Category: New reviews

$uicideboy$ – “Thy Kingdom Come” review

This is the 5th studio LP from New Orleans, Louisiana duo Ruby da Cherry & $crim a.k.a. the $uicideboy$. In over a decade, they have given a plethora of projects whether it be the Kill Your$elf  saga & Eternal Grey or even I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS & the Travis Barker-produced Live Fast, Die Whenever. The sophomore effort Long Term Effects of Suffering would follow as did Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation a few summers ago, most recently entering a New World Depression only 14 months back & coming off solo detours this spring for the boy$’ return on Thy Kingdom Come.

“Count Your Blessings” samples “Hot Razor” so they can flex on every single opponent after betting their lives on becoming successful whereas the bounce-influenced “Napoleon” talks about the 7th Ward. “Oh, What a Wretched Man I Am!” finds themselves feeling lucky to still be here going for a Memphis direction instrumentally while “Full of Grace (I Refuse to Tend My Own Grave)” produced by $crim & G*59 Record$ in-house producer Dynox talks about feeling emptier than their own graves.

Reaching the halfway point, “Chainbreaker” works in some synthesizers & hi-hats to speak on bitches always trippin’ over real ones while “Now & at the Hour of Our Death” featuring BONES combines hardcore hip hop, trap, Memphis rap, horrorcore, cloud rap & phonk looks to tear shit down. The lead single “Self Inflicted” throws it back to the Long Term Effects of Suffering era while “Grey+Grey+Grey” promises to see the end before you’ll see the end of them.

Night Lovell joins his mentors for “Carried Away” talking about getting overly enthusiastic because they’re sinnin’ & dedicating itself to those listening who’re experiencing some sort of pain in their lives right now just before “Monochromatic” finishes Thy Kingdom Come with an emo rap flare to it talking about feeling all alone on this road they’re heading down every single time they so happen to blink their eyes.

Bridging the $uicideboy$’ underground roots & their continuously evolving musical palate together, Thy Kingdom Come simultaneously celebrates where Ruby & $crim came from & sends a warning of what’s still to come. The production eclectically blends hardcore hip hop, trap, Memphis rap, horrorcore, cloud rap, phonk, bounce & emo rap putting their range on full display without losing any steam & maintaining the potent nihilism that made them popular. Even if they’re lyrically sticking to their bread & butter.

Score: 4/5

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WTM Miles – “Shortstop” review

Detroit, Michigan rapper WTM Miles releasing his long-awaited debut mixtape. A member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, his solo career began in the end of 2020 off his first couple EPs I Shoulda Been Dropped & Trappin’ n L.A. ahead of the full-length debut studio album Crackhouse Mafia. Born of his most recent batch of EPs Cross State Lines & Road Music would individually prelude Shortstop, which has arrived in the midst of what’s already shaping up to be a stacked week musically.

“Brick by Brick” comes out the gate with the Detroit sound to get on his off the planet shit whereas “Who I Am 2” picks up where the Cross State Lines highlight left off on some Detroit trap vibes not needing to say much because of his reputation. Homealone Drock & Prince Jefe join Miles on “Not Enough” with Jefe having my favorite guest appearance of the 2 staying committed to the bills prior to the self-produced “See Me Now” talking about waking people up.

We get another Cross State Lines sequel track, except this time it’s “Forever Hustling” explaining that nothing’s changed since while “Dame Time” blends some horns & 808s together referencing Portland Trailblazers point guard Damian Lillard. “March Madness” speaks on choosing to either go hard or go home just before “No Gimmicks” featuring WTM Solid talks about living the life they rap of.

“Daisy Navy Mafia” featuring Talibando & WB Nutty finds the trio coming together to press down keys without typing leading into “Code Talking” tells those on the consistent grind that their time will come with patience. “Mobsters” featuring Rafa unites both WRLD Tour members discussing turning Slam A Slut Records into a trend together while the Detroit trap/Mobb crossover “4am in the Raq” talks about not resting so he can tour.

Samuel Shabazz joins Miles on “Slow” to flex their own waves without Max B while “1 Strike” introspectively talks about his brother watching over him & trying to do him proud since everything gets bigger to him by the daily. “Fairy Odd Parents” heavily samples the theme song of the original Fairly OddParents, whose sequel series A New Wish is currently preparing for another season on the Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned Nickelodeon.

Money Man’s been teasing Shortstop for the past year at this point & for only a half hour tape, I enjoyed it a tad more than Road Music & it could plausibly rival Crackhouse Mafia if I had to pick a specific favorite or 2 out of the WTM Miles solo discography. He saves both the rap game & the road with tighter production than the last time we heard him, basically solidifying himself as the most recent AL Cy Young Award recipient Tarik Skubal of WRLD Tour stealing all the clientele.

Score: 4/5

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Blizzard – “Devilish Killer” review

This is the 2nd EP from Detroit, Michigan producer & rapper Blizzard. Aside from the 3 instrumental projects he’s already put out, his 2021 full-length debut from the Yung Fam Mafia co-founder Duel with Death had a few moments where the Middle Finger Music in-house producer hopped on the mic in contrast to letting a cast of guests handle the performances & Iron Tiger of Shaolin capitalized more on that last spring. A whole year later & Devilish Killer looks to take it a few steps further.

After the intro, the self-produced title track compares himself to the nuke following a 25 kill-streak in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 whereas “Shadowboxing” carries over the boom bap vibes talking about catching hands or the blade from him. “Midas” observes those tryna get on his same level when it’s a difficult within itself & after Foul Mouth chops up a soul sample for “Deadly Venom” talking about being a walking guillotine, “The Executioner” closes the EP by grabbing the sticks & tearing shit up.

Iron Tiger of Shaolin was the most we’ve ever heard Blizzard on the MCing side of things & instead of fully producing Devilish Killer all by himself, he takes a backseat from behind the boards except for a couple songs & holds the fort on his own disregarding the need for any features to hone in deeper on his lyricism. The sample-lenient boom bap production is still there, but it’s refreshing to hear him at his best as a performer & I’m happy he’s showing this side of him more.

Score: 4/5

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Rx Papi – “Where I’m From” review

Montréal, Québec, Canada producer Nicholas Craven fully producing a 5 track EP for Rochester, New York rapper Rx Papi. Beginning his music career when he was 9, Lil Meechy has since build up a solo discography consisting of 6 proper full-length studio LPs as well as his last 17 EPs & 13 mixtapes on top of a dozen collaborative projects. Essentials of Papi’s include the sophomore effort Numbers Tell a Different Story, his 13th EP Foreign Exchange, his 10th mixtape 100 Miles & Walkin’ and lastly the Pack a Punch EP with Smokingskul. I even enjoyed Raheem Dead, Somebody Shot ‘Em & his eponymous collab EP with 1600J last spring, with Where I’m From becoming highly anticipated for me as fan of both Papi & Craven.

“2 5th Rick” drumlessly samples a church organ to talk about the east side of the Roc & not wanting anyone to get that fucked up whereas “2am on the Eastside” switches it up for a chipmunk soul direction wanting to chill in the late night hours with a cup & a pill. “Walked Me Into the Wild” is a drumless sequel to the Raheem Dead, Somebody Shot ‘Em track that I prefer over the original while “Groovy Lou” works in a jazz-funk sample getting in his penthouse bag. The closer happens to be the 8th installment of the “Fay” saga, joining the last couple entries to go on a 3-peat speaking straight from the heart.

The singles teased in the Where I’m From rollout were already amongst his best 2020s output, but what we get out of these 15 in a half minutes is a drumless gangsta rap EP with minor boom bap & chipmunk soul influences that I’d have to put behind Foreign Exchange as my favorite one in Rx Papi’s whole entire discography. Obviously they’re different in sound because Foreign Exchange’s more cloudier & pluggier, I just mean in a way that compliments his range artistic range pulling off all those styles.

Score: 4.5/5

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Madd Maxxx – “G A T H E R” review

Brockton, Massachusetts emcee Madd Maxxx of the Mission: Infect collective dropping his 4th studio LP. He’s also released a few full-lengths as well as a mixtape & his 6 EPs on his own, with the last album being his 3rd album albeit Dirtcore Music debut Kaleidoscope becoming the strongest body of work he’s ever made thus far as was the Dirtcore ‘24 EP late last summer. He & Bodies Below Sea Level will be performing at the Gathering of Legends or the 25th annual Gathering of the Juggalos next month, so it makes sense for Crossworm to fully produce G A T H E R with the festival coming up in a few weeks.

After the “Unnecessarily Long Skippable Intro”, the title track hops over a synthesizer & a drum machine to encourage the underground to come with him whereas “Let’s Fuckin’ Go Then” goes for a boom bap vibe so he can talk about being on the surface & no longer denying it. “God is a Juggalo” dustily speaks on his belief of our higher power supporting the Insane Clown Posse when they’ve said themselves that Dark Carnival is God, but then “Jester’s Privilege” aggressively calls out weak MCs & talks about saying whatever he wants.

“Zombie Walk” hooks up a creepy violin sample with kicks & snares talking about appealing to fans of smoking weed, horror movies & hip hop while the industrial hip hop/horrorcore crossover “Bats in the Belfry” opens up regarding the voices in his head disliking what they say to him. “Stop Rapping” returns to the boom bap with a bar at the halfway point of it homaging the recently deceased Prince of Darkness in Black Sabbath frontman & WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne prior to the industrial “I Can’t Stop” declaration of never quitting.

As someone who got to see Maxxx perform at the 2021 Gathering & unfortunately won’t make it to the Gathering of Legends or the 2 Day War between Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) & Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) including record-holding 5-time JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion 2 Tuff Tony looking to take the title back from former GCW World Champion & GCW World Tag Team Champion Matt Tremont in The Final Battle, he & Crossworm lock in for a collection of tracks that I’m confident he’ll perform at that event encapsulating the label’s signature industrial hip hop spin on the underground wicked shit scene & additional hints of boom bap.

Score: 4.5/5

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Seth Narley – “Oceans: Mondrian” review

South Bronx, New York emcee Seth Narley releasing his 9th EP & the 2nd one this year alone. Dropping his debut EP 5am on Crosby in 2019, he would later follow it up by putting out the Trissland trilogy & drop 3 more EPs last year; Night at the Roxy, A Millbrook Story & S.A.L.Y. (Still Ain’t Lie Yet). My favorite EP of his so far The American Dream: Son of a Dealer came out this past spring & only 4 months later, he’s continuing to stay busy with Oceans: Mondrian.

“Alton Road” was a drumless rap rock intro talking about moving on the low because he’s afraid of heights whereas the jazzy “Bob Costas” references the Discovery Global-owned CNN commentator. “Pussy & Paper” kicks the synthesizers into full gear talking about being hotter than the bread on the scale just before “Versace Mansion Memoirs” soulfully explains how deep shit gets when you got hood ties.

Hus Kingpin joins Seth for the jazzily drumless “Playa or Red” to talk about drawing the line once the fence got fucked with leading into “Sade at Carbone” sampling none other than Sade making the beginning of the week feel like the weekend. “What You Say” brings a guitar into the picture reflecting on the times he was on the 7 with that pure raw while “AB on DMP” keeps the drums out of the fold to talk about the rap game not being what it used to be.

“From Denmark” starts the final act of Oceans: Mondrian with a smoother vibe altogether flexing that nobody out here talking the way he is while the drumless “Los Muchachos” hits the back of a Rolls Royce to wish upon a dead. “Check Out Time (Mondrian)” wraps up the EP with Seth hopping over a bare guitar instrumental to admit that he might as well say his vows if he & this chick double fuck in the whip.

The former A$AP Mob affiliate comes off a unique tribute to former 3-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, NWA National Heavyweight Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, WWE United States Champion, 2-time WCW World Tag Team Champion & 3-time WCW World Television Champion Dusty Rhodes by taking a calmer & relaxed approach to his rapping style over primarily drumless production & the sole guest appearance outperforming the one we got last time.

Score: 4/5

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Sada Baby – “The Green Tape: DX” review

This is the 18th mixtape from Detroit rapper/singer Sada Baby. Becoming amongst Detroit trap’s biggest names in 2017 off his first couple mixtapes Skuba Sada & D.O.N. (Day One N***a), he signed to Asylum Records for his 4th tape & major label debut Bartier Bounty to widespread praise in 2019 & has since put out 17 more mixtapes, with my favorites of being Skuba Sada 2 as well as both Bartier Bounty sequels & more recently The Black Tape: nWo. Almost 2 months later & The Green Tape: DX has arrived.

“Triple H” starts with a homage to 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 14-time WWE world champion, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion & the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division’s CCO whereas “Road Dogg Skuba James” references the 2-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, WWE Hardcore Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & WWE’s current Senior Vice President of Live Events.

We have the Detroit trap vibes carrying over on to “Pikkolo” throwing in a bar near the end referring to Rip Hamilton of the 2004 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons just before “HulkSmash” brings the bells in full effect talking saying no more because he ain’t saying shit. “X-Pac” gives his praises to the former アイアンマンヘビーメタル級王座, GCW Tag Team Champion, TNA X Division Champion, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 2-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion, 5-time WWE tag team champion & XPW Television Champion while “Limelight” featuring Hellboy Rodd was the weakest collab of the 2.

“Newport 500s” blends cloud rap & Detroit trap that goes well up until the cringey 94 second auto-tone outro while “Saibaman” featuring Lil Yachty continues to pull inspiration from ドラゴンボールZ referencing the creatures dwelling in the demon realm. “Billy Gunn” references the former AEW World Trios Champion, WWE Hall of Famer, 2-time WWE Hardcore Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion & 11-time WWE tag team champion leading into “Canada Dry” talking about pettiness.

The late WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & WWE Women’s Champion “Chyna” gets a song dedicated to her while “Captain Planet” refers to the animated edutainment show on the Discovery Global-owned tbs created by WCW founder Ted Turner. My favorite beat on the tape goes to Helluva on “Hal Jordan” sampling “Who Run It?” by the Three 6 Mafia prior to “Shenron” delving back in the ドラゴンボールZ lore

“Celtics” starts the last leg of The Green Tape: DX with a nod to the 18-time NBA Champions out in Boston while the disco rap/Detroit trap crossover “Granny Smith” suggests to get away from him. “Sweet Spin Music (HBK)” shows love to 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 4-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion, the current WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development & head booker of their developmental NXT brand Shawn Michaels & “Beast Boy” ends with a reference to the Teen Titans character.

The Grey Tape: Smoke last month was simply ok in my opinion, but The Green Tape: DX joins Sada Baby’s debut for Hitmaker Music Group earlier this summer The Black Tape: nWo with another project filled with Easter eggs wrestling fans will easily catch on to not even 24 hours following the death of the inaugural IWGPヘビー級王座, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, Real American Beer founder, Real American Freestyle Wrestling (RAF) co-founder & known racist Hulk Hogan.

Score: 3.5/5

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Boldy James & Rome Streetz – “Manhunt” review

Griselda Records signees Boldy James & Rome Streetz teaming up for a brand new collaborative EP. One of whom hails from Detroit, Michigan & the other was born in London, England, United Kingdom albeit raised in Brooklyn, New York. We’ve gotten hear both of these guys cross paths on several instances over the years on tracks like “Open Door” or “Serving”, but they’re looking to go on a Manhunt with one another as a way of elevating their chemistry coinciding Ricky Knight Jr. becoming a 2-time RPW British Heavyweight Champion.

After the intro, the first song “Hot Plate” works in a drumless sample to start the EP talking about everything they touch being high grade whereas “Like Biggie Did” takes the chipmunk soul route instrumentally becoming richer than ever after betting it all. “Tricky” is a Rome Streetz solo cut with a boom bap flare speedin’ in an AMG because of the wave he caught while “Only 1” soulfully talks about God knowing their come up wasn’t easy for them.

“Cheat the Grind” by Boldy James produced by Chuck Strangers could’ve been an outtake from Token of Appreciation & I wouldn’t mind if that’s the case at all as a a fan of that album, advising that the hustle cannot be cheated & the title track finishes up the EP with both of them getting together 1 last time for a mafioso heater about everyone else not having the drive they possess.

2 of the most consistent artists in the GxFR camp these recent years have joined forces coming off Trainspotting & Late to My Own Funeral respectively for an EP full of drumless chipmunk soul & hardcore gangsta lyricism enhancing the speed they’re individually known for running circles around. Boldy James & Rome Streetz have always been deadly MCs separately & combining them makes it significantly lethal.

Score: 4/5

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Cool Calm Pete – “_demolition” review

Cool Calm Pete is a 46 year old MC/producer born in Seoul, South Korea & raised in Queens, New York getting his start by forming the group Babbletron with both Jaymanila & DJ Pre respectively. Although the trio would eventually disband after their sophomore effort Mechanical Royalty despite the acclaim it received compared to Ramble at a Discount, his solo debut Lost had celebrated it’s 2 decade anniversary only a couple weeks ago & has making a primarily self-produced comeback following Leonard Z getting scrapped.

After the instrumental “Hertz” intro, the lead single “These Daze” works in a drumless piano loop to ask if anyone remembers the times when life was carefree & becoming increasingly careful with time passing whereas “Now!?” takes a cloudier boom bap approach talking about people wanting to break you down. “Mountains” keeps it dusty to discuss being anything you want & after the “Atlantis” instrumental interlude, “Prologue” samples a violin to talk about trying to survive for kicks having nothing left other than a shoe deal.

“Online” gives off a funkier vibe to it with a spoken word delivery during the 1st half of it until letting the beat ride out on the other just before the psychedelic “Everyday” explaining that running away isn’t an option as a far as he’s concerned. “Ruff Mix” goes for a cloudier direction instrumentally so he can talk about getting rich leading into the funkier “Economics” points out society is either over the top or over the hill.

The kicks & snares come back in the fold on “Seconds” boasting that he could be counting the bread for days while the drumless “Ghost Time” talks about the way everything seems to him. After the compositional “Short Stop” intermission, “GPS” gives off a lo-fi feeling to address someone who’s been in his dreams while “1000 mph” dustily talks about others not knowing shit regarding him. “Hats & Glasses” lastly sends off the LP by having Pete salute his people rockin’ it.

Almost 2 weeks succeeding the 20 year anniversary of Lost, the founding Babbletron member makes his official return by focusing less on the humor that his solo debut had in favor of emphasizing a more personal side to himself. Furthermore, he holds off on having any guests join him to let his production on all except the last 2 tracks occasionally shine taking a backseat from the mic using crazy sampling chops.

Score: 4/5

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Even Heathens – “Handful of Cancel” review

Even Heathens is a horrorcore duo consisting of Pennsylvania emcee ILLtemper & Detroit veteran King Gordy. Forming in 2021 off an eponymous full-length debut & the Horrorcore Stories EP, they would go on to put out a sophomore effort Unpleasant Never Dies & the Odd Gods trilogy until forming the Wic Kids with Donnie Menace & Grewsum respectively last summer. Signing to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz a few months ago for a 2-album deal, the Heathens are ready to make their debut for the label.

The first song “Dig” produced by J Reno after the intro made for a cavernously dark opener talking about not finding what you were hoping for going deep in their minds whereas the guitar/trap crossover “Canceled” addresses the topic of cancel culture, which Cormega called an abused power & he wasn’t wrong. Stir Crazy reunites with the Heavens for a rap rock sequel to “King” bringing that horror music to your speakers while “Choices” talks about choosing 1 of 6,000,000 ways to die.

Insane Poetry joins ILLtemper & Gordy on “You Think?” as a way of responding to those speculate they’re crazy over a boom bap instrumental with some vibraphones just before “Can’t Hide” replaces the vibraphones with pianos to talk about them being unavoidable. “Fear Us” blends boom bap & horrorcore lyricism together explaining why they should be feared while “Grime” featuring Nasaan & Seuss Mace finds the quartet cautioning not to disturb them.

After the shock value “Coby Gets Raped” skit, “Tu Weered” featuring Killator gets the trio together for a trap joint talking about how they’re uncomfortable to be around & the closing track “Lot Lizards” closes the Even Heathens’ debut for LSP with 1 more boom bap track with a bit of a funkier twist to it describing sexual relations with those exact type of women feeling reminiscent of Necro’s sex raps regarding the level of vulgarity.

Only halfway through the decade with 6 LPs & an EP deep, the Heathens introduce themselves as the newest members of Team Snuff by carrying on the Experimental Drugz series with their finest work together so far in addition to raising my expectations for their next offering under the saw & axe. Stir Crazy & J Reno both kill it with their shares of the production & lyrically, both ILLtemper & King Gordy are at their filthiest.

Score: 4/5

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