¡MAYDAY! – “South of 5th” review

¡MAYDAY! is a hip hop trio from Miami, Florida consisting of 2 MCs & a percussionist: Wrekonize, Bernz & NonMS. They signed to Strange Music as a sextet, dropping their magnum opus Take Me to Your Leader in 2012. They followed it up with 3 more albums & just 364 days since their last one Search Party, they’re coming back with their 7th full-length album.

After the intro, we go into the first song “Next to Go”. Here, Wrek & Bernz get motivational over a reggae instrumental. The track “Shelter” sees the 2 getting spiritual over a reggae/trap beat from MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 while the song “We Ain’t Sleeping” is a love tune with a ska beat. The track “Run Up” with Tech N9ne sees the 3 advising to watch your step over a reggae/trap beat while the song “New Blessings” pretty much speaks for itself over a ska beat. The track “Unfamiliar” talks about this woman who’s changed into someone they don’t even know anymore with a moody beat while the song “Magic in the Smoke” talks about finding oneself over a funky beat.

The track “Lifetimes” talks about being held down by the world over an acoustic instrumental while the song “Damaged Goods” vents about their demons over some prominent drums. The track “Broken Mirror” then talks about feeling higher than ever over a guitar & finger snapping while the song “Time is Up” talks about haters saying the trio is done just to sway them over a soothing beat with punchy drums. The album then closes with “Close So Far”, where Wrekonize vividly reflects on his childhood & Bernz seeing the end coming over an instrumental with a prominently mellow guitar throughout.

I’m a little confused as to why the trio chose to release this at the end of the summer instead as opposed to the beginning off the summer but other than that, this is one of ¡MAYDAY!’s best albums yet. The lyrics are thoughtful & I find the way that they fuse reggae into their sound to be organic & really fun.

Score: 4/5

Russ – “ZOO” review

Russ is a 25 year old rapper, producer & singer/songwriter from Secaucus, New Jersey. He’s released a total of 11 mixtapes on SoundCloud from 2011 up to 2014, eventually landing a contract with Columbia Records in 2016. He made his full-length debut last year with There’s Really a Wolf & within the past 16 months since that release, he has become one of hip hop’s most polarizing figures in recent memory. Primarily because of being a “fake activist” against drugs & then there’s an unignorable interview resurfaced from 2016 where he literally said “we need to blame producers for all the wack music today”. All of that aside, I‘ve decided to give this sophomore album of his a fair chance.

Things actually start off with “The Flute Song”, where Russ talks about doing whatever he wants when he wants over a flute-tinged trap beat from Scott Storch. It’s actually not bad at all, but I really just don’t understand why an immensely talented keyboardist & producer like Scott has been collaborating with Russ so much lately. The next track “Outlaw” compares himself to just that over a soulful boom bap beat from Russ himself (who of course produces the rest of the album solely) while the song “Kill Them All” is essentially a temper tantrum in response to the backlash he has received with a generically gritty trap beat & a WWE reference.

“Missing You” is a painful breakup anthem with an acoustic trap beat while the song “Voicemail” is basically him begging this girl to get back to him over an acoustic boom bap beat. The track “Parkstone Drive” is about never giving up over a laidback instrumental while the song “Begging You” is basically Russ telling himself to staying strong over a somber yet punchy beat. The hook is hilarious bad, too.

The track “Serious” is a simp anthem with a moody instrumental while the song “Keep My Wits” egotistically talks about his success over a nondescript beat. The track “Our Time” talks about a long distance relationship over some plinky keys & hard hitting drums while the song “From a Distance” tells this woman to look for someone who has more free time over something Drake would’ve sung over on VIEWS.

“Last Forever” is about longevity over some rich keys & faint hi-hats, but the only things that give it credit are the verses from Snoop Dogg & Rick Ross. The song “Keep It Pushin’” is a sappy description of a teenage relationship with a moody beat & the closer “Fuck That” is another temper tantrum over a beat that generically sounds like something Dr. Dre would’ve produced in the early 2000s.

This is slightly better than anything he’s done before, but that’s not saying much. The production is basic & when Russ isn’t telling melodramatic relationship stories, he’s either being self-centered or lashing out in a fit of bitter rage.

Score: 1/5

$uicideboy$ – “I WANT TO DIE IN NEW ORLEANS” review

The $uicideboy$ are a hip hop duo from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of G*59 Record$ founders Ruby da Cherry & $crim. Since their formation in 2013, both of these guys have made a name for themselves dropping a total of 8 mixtapes & 19 EPs with the most notable examples being My Liver Will Handle What My Heart Can’t & of course the Kill Your$elf saga. However, they are at last delivering their full-length debut.

Things start off with “King Tulip”, where the duo talk about fame & thoughts of suicide over a gloomy trap beat. The next song “Bring Out Your Dead” talks about killing this hoe over a bass-heavy trap beat while the track “Nicotine Patches” talks about their dying days over a trap beat with some chimes in the background. The song “10,000 Degrees” gets murderous over an ominous beat with a funky bass-line while the track “122 Days” talks about being true yourself over a spacey instrumental.

The song “Phantom Menace” reminisces about the duo’s early days over an eerie instrumental from none other than Juicy J while the track “Krewe du Vieux (Comedy & Tragedy)” is a short yet gritty description of Nawlins over a somber trap beat. The song “WAR TIME ALL THE TIME” gets confrontational over rattling hi-hats & monstrous bass while the track “Coma” vents about depression with an flawless sample of Kreepin’ Out da Kut” by Playa Fly.

The song “Long Gone (Save Me from This Hell)” continues the theme of the previous track over a moody trap beat while the song “Meet Mr. NICEGUY” is mediocre melodic breakup tune with a distorted guitar. The song “Carrollton” gets confrontational once again over an abrasive beat while the penultimate track “Fuck the Industry” pretty much speaks for itself over a spacey trap beat. The album then closes out with the 8 minute “I No Longer Fear the Razor Guarding My Hell IV”, where the duo get introspective & the beat switches are amazing!

I’ve been waiting for the duo to drop their debut album for quite some time & this did not disappoint. The duo continue to modernize the Three 6 Mafia’s signature sound & it really enhances the gritty lyricism more than ever.

Score: 4/5

Eminem – “KAMIKAZƎ” review

It’s been merely 8 months since the critically panned RƎVIVAL was released but earlier this weekend out of nowhere, Detroit hip hop icon Eminem is returning with his 10th full-length album.

The album begins “The Ringer”, where he says “fuck you” to everyone who trashed his last album over a gloomy beat. He also takes shots at Lil Yachty, Lil Pump, Lil Xan & Vince Staples. I found the disses at all 3 Lil’s to be pretty funny, but I can’t say the same for the one about Vince. The next song “Greatest” serves as a sequel to “Rap God” with a Mike WiLL-Made It instrumental while the track “Lucky You” with Joyner Lucas sees the 2 talking about being underlooked & overlooked despite their success over a trap beat with some chimes. After the Paul skit, we go into the song “Normal”. Em on here talks about an ex over a instrumental that starts off grimy, but switches into a trap beat with plinky keys. However, the hook & the delivery when the beat switches is trash. After the “Em Calls Paul” skit, we go into the song “Stepping Stone”. Here, Em pretty much confirms that D12 is done over a punchy instrumental. The song “Not Alike” by Bad Meets Ǝvil literally starts off as a parody of “Look Alive” by BlocBoy JB & Drake down to the Tay Keith instrumental, but it does a complete 180 as an original instrumental with a futuristic bass-heavy vibe comes in halfway through the track. I also liked the MGK diss at the halfway point of Em’s verse.

The title track sees Em pretty much calling RƎVIVAL the “FACK” of his albums over a Mike WiLL-Made It instrumental kin to ƎNCORE & while I don’t care for the instrumental or the hook on “Fall”, Eminem responds to his critics very well. I also found the one line at the beginning of the 2nd verse dissing Everyday Struggle creators DJ Akademiks & Joe Budden (the latter of whom was once signed to Shady Records as 1/4 of the now defunct supergroup Slaughterhouse) to be pretty unapologetically lethal. However, the jab at Charlemagne Tha God was just ok & the ones towards both Tyler, The Creator & Earl Sweatshirt were my least favorites on the entire album. It’s not even because he called Tyler a “faggot”, because Eminem has literally calling people that throughout his entire career. It’s because I found it to be unnecessary. However, I did find it interesting that he ends the final verse by taking a jab at Lord Jamar as well as owning up to influencing Hopsin & Logic, both of whom’s latest material has been pretty awful in my personal opinion. The next 2 songs “Nice Guy” & “Good Guy” with Jessie Reyez on both tracks Segway into each other very well sonically & lyrically, as they each talk about a failing relationship. The instrumental on “Nice Guy” has some pretty piano chords during the awkward Melanie Martinez sounding hook, but during the verses it switches into a gritty baseline. As for the beat on “Good Guy”, it has a WAY more classier tone to it. Both of them are just ok, but I just wish they were fused into 1 single track. The album ends oddly with “Venom”, which is commissioned for the upcoming Marvel movie with the same name. It’s a good theme song for it, but the hook is hilariously awful.

To be quite honest, I enjoyed this album quite a bit. A couple of the beats & hooks are weak but for the most part, Eminem manages to come out of the dark with a vengeance. The production is much better than RƎVIVAL’s down to the mixing & Em lights a fire under his ass, both lyrically & delivery-wise.

Score: 3.5/5

Bun B – “Return of the Trill” review

Bun B is a 45 year old MC from Port Arthur, Texas who came up as 1/2 of the iconic duo UGK. He released his solo debut Trill in 2005 under Rap-A-Lot Records & began focusing towards his solo career in late 2007 when his UGK cohort Pimp C passed away. He went on to release 3 more LPs, including II Trill well as Trill O.G. & of course the last one being Trill O.G.: The Epilogue in 2013. However, Bun is now making his official comeback with EMPIRE Distribution for his 5th full-length album.

The album begins with “Trill Over Everything”, where he & Killa Kyleon brag about their longevity over a trap beat with some interesting organ passages. The next song “Recognize” with T.I. sees the 2 continuing the message of the opener over an abrasive beat while the track “Knowhatimsayin’?” with Slim Thug & Lil’ Keke is an ode to Houston over a gritty beat. The song “Outta Season” with Big K.R.I.T. is about practicing what you’re preaching over a laidback instrumental while the track “Traphandz” with Yo Gotti & 2 Chainz is an ode to trappin’ over an instrumental with a blaring horn & rattling hi-hats.

“Blood on the Dash” vividly tells a story about being pulled over by a cop over a prominent organ while the track “Myself” with Run the Jewels is all about righting your wrongs over a futuristic instrumental. “Rudeboi” with Lil Wayne is of course reggae-tinged that comes off as VERY awkward when you have both Bun & Weezy rapping in a fake patois. The track “Hoes from da Hood” is self-explanatory with a bass-heavy instrumental while the song “Slow It Down” is a weed anthem with a jazzy Big K.R.I.T. instrumental.

The track “Never Going Back” with Giggs is about leaving their rough pasts behind & being blessed today over some prominent drums the song “U’s a Bitch” talks about snitches over a jazzy beat. The penultimate track “Grow Up” with 8Ball & MJG is about maturing over an instrumental with rubbery bass & somber piano chords. The album then finishes with “Gone Away”, which is a tribute to Pimp C over a settle instrumental with a prominently twangy guitar. However, I wish Bun had another verse.

I was wondering if Bun B would ever drop an album again & from front to back, this was a better return than I could’ve ever imagined. It’s mostly well produced, the founder of II Trill Enterprises himself sounds impeccably focused & his pen game is just as strong as it’s ever been. If you wanna hear a dirty south legend sounding like he never left, give this a listen.

Score: 4/5

Bas – “Milky Way” review

Bas is a 31 year old rapper from Paris, France who broke out onto the scene with his 1st mixtape Quarter Water Raised Me in 2011. He eventually signed to J. Coles’s Interscope Records imprint Dreamville Records at the beginning of 2014, dropping his debut album Last Winter a couple months after & then following it up in 2016 with what I believe to be his magnum opus: Too High to Riot. Then earlier this month out of the blue, Bas announced that he would be releasing his 3rd full-length album.

Things start off with “Icarus”, where he talks about an ex over a mellow instrumental. The next track “Front Desk” has a very funky instrumental, but Bas’ singing is horrendous & it’s concept is really corny. The song “Tribe” is all about making it over a creative sample of “Zum-Zum” by Edu Lobo & the J. Cole verse is probably my favorite feature on the entire album while the track “Boca Raton” with A$AP Ferg sees the 2 talking about partying in the titular city over Sango’s “Para a Luz”. The song “Barack Obama’s Special” takes a jab at his old racist neighbors over a jazzy boom bap beat from Ron Gilmore while the track “Purge” talks about killing people off from his life & the instrumental on here is just decent. The song “Fragrance” talks about this woman who won’t leave him alone over a smooth instrumental with rattling hi-hats, but Bas’ predominately sung-execution ruins it.

The spoken word “Infiniti” skit leads us into the next song “Infiniti+2”, where Bas tells this woman to get her head right over a spacey trap beat. It’s ok, but I don’t get why these 2 tracks weren’t merged into 1. The track “Sanufa” tells this woman that she knows better over a house instrumental from J. Cole & after the “Great Ones skit, we go into the song “PDA”. Here, Bas is about making up lost times with his girl due to his newfound success over a moody beat & the hook is absolutely God awful. The penultimate track “Designer” gets braggadocious over a settle instrumental & then the album closes with “Spaceships + Rockets”, which is a weird EDM/trap fusion.

For the most part, I found this to be just average. There are quite a few interesting ideas being presented, but Bas’ attempts at being melodic fall flat on it’s face & the romantic themes tend to wear thin after a while.

Score: 2.5/5

King Grubb – “Droopy.” review

Lancashire, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer King Grubb making his full-length studio debut. Known for being a former member the Children of the Damned & currently apart of it’s successor the Cult of the Damned, he would make his solo debut in the summer of 2007 by dropping the Mega Dumb Cheap Shit extended play under his original moniker Flash 4dem & fully produced by Blah Records founder Lee Scott. A little over a decade later, he’s bringing in Nobodies Home to produce Droopy. in it’s entirety.

“No Introduction” made for a perfectly synth-driven boom bap opener referencing my favorite WWE superstar in 7-time world champion, 7-time tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion The Undertaker whereas “Taglietelle Sandwich” take some more greater approach instrumental talking about nobody fucking with his squad. “Didn’t You Know?” takes the hypnotic boom bap route advising for fanboys to get their pom-poms out while “Hot Dogs” featuring Lee Scott trams up for another jab at wack rappers, furthermore applying the latter subject to the 112 second “Blue Green”.

Getting the 3rd quarter started, we have Grubb comparing his life to “Broke Dice” over an unsettlingly gritty boom bap beat leading into “Bad Samaritan” combines more synthesizers with kicks & snares talking about being the opposite of a charitable person going 0 fucks. “Oui Sag” featuring Sniff heads for a cloudier trap direction going harder than the feelings they harbor if money’s involved & after “No Hands” orchestrally talks about time waiting for no man, “Bud Be Good” finishes with a woozy ode to smoking the finest weed.

Making up for the long gap between this & Mega Dumb Cheap Shit, one of Blah Records’ original signings from its inception returns for an album I wound up enjoying as much as the latter as much as people sleep on that extended play now. Nobodies Home’s production here is a bit more experimental compared to Lee’s on the predecessor 11 years earlier & having both MCs of the trio as the only guest appearances seems appropriate, complimenting King Grubb’s wordplay buoyantly.

Score: 4/5

Hermit & the Recluse – “Orpheus vs. The Sirens” review

Hermit & the Recluse is a duo consisting of the renown Brownsville, New York underground MC Ka & former Brothaz Bent producer Animoss. They collaborated together last year on the song “Marksmen” off of Roc Marciano’s 4th album Rosebudd’s Revenge & now a year later, they have come together & have released their debut album out of the blue.

The album starts off with “Sirens”, which gets conscious while referencing numerous names in Greek mythology over an orchestral instrumental. The next track “Fate” talks about how superior he is with a faint organ in the background while the song “Orpheus” talks about “flexing with the God instead with the heathens” over a killer guitar. The song “Atlas” tells the story of a criminal over some prominent keys while the track “Argo” is about the path he’s on over a chilling instrumental.

The song “Golden Fleece” is about growing up in the hood over a settle instrumental with a prominent organ while “The Punishment of Sisyphus” gets insightful over a gloomy beat with an electric guitar. The song “Hades” is about bringing light to the gutter over some keyboards while the penultimate track “Oedipus” talks about his “you can’t relate” because “we ain’t family”’over some horns. The album then finishes with “Companion of Artemis”, where Ka talks about being the hunter or the prey over some laidback guitar passages.

From front to back, this is one of the best albums I’ve heard all year. Animoss perfectly provides a Godly feel in his instrumentals & Ka’s lyricism is just as smart as it’s been in the past, but my only real complaint about it is that a few of the tracks are way too short.

Score: 4/5

YSL Records – “Slime Language” review

YSL Records is a record label that was founded in 2016 by Atlanta, Georgia trap superstar Young Thug & is distributed by 300 Entertainment. The label’s biggest signee as of right now is Gunna, who’s been featured all over the place this year. Thugger’s 27th birthday a day prior continues to be celebrated with a compilation showcasing the artists on YSL over a month after former GCW World Champion, GCW World Tag Team Champion, 3-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, PWG World Champion, the inaugural ROH World Champion & 5-time TNA X Division Champion Low-Ki became the new MLW World Heavyweight Champion.

The album begins with “Tsunami”, where Thugger gets sexual over some over a druggy trap beat from Wheezy referencing 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair . The next song with “U Ain’t Slime Enough” with Karlae & Lil Duke sees the 3 shit-talking over a cloudy beat while the track “Gain Clout” talks about how people will do anything for fame nowadays & his speedy flow on here was unexpected yet amazing. The song “Oh Yeah” by HiDoraah has an instrumental kin to Young Thug’s previous mixtape Beautiful Thugger Girls, but her lifeless delivery does absolutely nothing for me.

The song “Audemar” with Tracy T sees the 2 getting braggadocious over a nondescript instrumental, but things do pick up on “Chanel (Go Get It)” as Thugger links up with Gunna & Lil Baby talking about taking their women on a shopping spree over a mellow Wheezy instrumental. The song “Dirty Shoes” sees Thugger & Gunna talking the lavish life over prominent hi-hats & the track “It’s a Slime” with Lil Uzi Vert is a club banger, but it’s not as fun as when they collaborated on “Up” off of the Hear No Evil EP that Young Thug dropped back in April. The song “Scoliosis” with Gunna & Lil Duke is a hilariously raunchy sex tune with a gritty instrumental while I can appreciate the message on “Goin’ Up”, the Lil Keed verse is generic as Hell.

The song “January 1st” is about being flexed out over a decent beat, but the verse from Trap Boy Freddy ruins it. Primarily because he sounds like a pre-pubescent version of Young Thug himself. However, there was a line during the first verse where Thugger disses Russ & I just couldn’t contain myself from laughing. The song “Chains Choking Me” with Gunna pretty much speaks for itself over a druggy beat with an acoustic guitar buried in the mix while the song “STS” with Strick feels like a mediocre Beautiful Thugger Girls leftover. The penultimate track “Expensive” is a decent showcase of Young Thug’s sisters HiDoraah & Dolly White as the 2 talk about getting wild over an instrumental that sounds like it was rejected during the LUV is Rage 2 sessions while the closer “Slimed In” is mostly dominated by Nechie, whose nasal auto-tuned delivery is annoying.

As a whole, this is compilation is a mixed bag. Young Thug himself & the production are ok & I can appreciate the fact that Thugger wanted to showcase the talent that he signed to YSL, but a lot of them don’t even stick out. It’s definitely for the hardcore fans.

Score: 2.5/5

Ariana Grande – “sweetener” review

Ariana Grande is a 25 year old singer/songwriter & actress from Boca Raton, Florida who first came to prominence as a part of the Nickelodeon shows Victorious and Sam & Cat. She would eventually focus on a music career after signing to Republic Records although I personally don’t consider myself the biggest fan of her debut Yours Truly or the sophomore effort My Everything & her previous full-length Dangerous Woman. I was however intrigued heading into her 4th studio album considering that one of my top 10 producers Pharrell was involved.

Things start off with “raindrops (an angel cried)”, which is a decent cover of the 4 Seasons song with the same name while “blazed” gets playful over a tropical Pharrell instrumental. “the light is coming” featuring Nicki Minaj is about getting through hard times with Pharrell providing a dance-pop vibe to the beat preceding “R.E.M.” telling us the story of her & Pete Davidson over a spacey Pharrell instrumental, preceding the sex positive “God is a woman”‘ fusing R&B/trap.

The title track is about bringing positive energy over rubbery bass & a piano while the song “successful” is an empowering woman’s anthem over a Pharrell instrumental that sounds like vintage Neptunes. The track “everytime” talks about going back to this terrible boyfriend over an atmospheric beat while the song “breathin’” talks about anxiety over an instrumental I feel like I’ve heard a couple times already. The track “no tears left to cry” is about the Manchester Arena bombings from last year over a the UK garage instrumental.

“borderline” featuring Missy Elliott gets sexual over a fun Pharrell instrumental that suits the tone perfectly & the Missy verse is great, but it should’ve been a little bit longer. The track “better off” talks about her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller over a moody Hit-Boy instrumental & the song “goodnight n go” is a mediocre cover of the Imogen Heap song with the same name. The penultimate track “pete davidson” is a heartwarming tribute to her fiancé with the same name & the closer “get well soon” talks about anxiety once again over a luscious Pharrell instrumental.

I don’t mean to come off disrespectful when I say that everything Ariana Grande’s done musically preceding sweetener simply wasn’t for me & on the contrary, this is easily the most I’ve ever enjoyed her music. The contemporary R&B, dance-pop, alternative R&B & pop soul production to me was done significantly better when either Pharrell & Hit-Boy were behind the boards tackling issues such as healing, optimism, romance, sexual intimacy, unhealthy relationships, anxiety & perseverance.

Score: 3.5/5