Salute da Kidd – “Time Heals All Wounds” review

Detroit, Michigan emcee Salute da Kidd enlisting his Wisemen brethren Bronze Nazareth to produce his sophomore effort in its entirety. Joining the Wu-Tang Killa Beez offshoot with Phillie alongside Bronze & his late brother Kevlaar 7, they would later welcome Illah Dayz & June Megalodon to the group after their debut Wisemen Approaching for their 2nd & final album to date Children of a Lesser God. It’s already been a decade since we’ve visited Diggstown & da Kidd’s coming back after 13 years to reflect on how Time Heals All Wounds.

After the “Thaw” intro, the first song “Why?” makes his comeback official over a boom bap instrumental talking about losing a decade of his life in the penitentiary & the difficulty of being fair because life has never been that way whereas “Eastside Hustle” featuring Kurt Solid finds the 2 teaming up to describe what it was like trying to survive on the eastern parts of the Motor City.

Termanology appears during the chipmunk soul infused “Rock Magician” to talk about stacking the currency to stay current & after the “Way We Were” interlude, “Grandma’s Prayers” gives off a gospel boom bap vibe reflecting on the days he was counting down to his freedom leading into the late Kevlaar 7 posthumously appearing on “Black Roses” chopping up more soul samples referring to themselves as the rarest of jewels.

“For Ours for Hours” featuring Hollywood Dots the Oncelor sees the pair talking about time being precious & getting to work since it’s eternally ticking faster than we know it over a prominent vibraphone throughout the beat while “Aura Elite” featuring Bronze Nazareth himself & Wuzee joins forces over a boom bap instrumental with some pianos to discuss their distinctive atmospheres being amongst the greatest to ever done it.

38 Spesh saves one of my favorite features for “Bob & Weave” linking up so they can conquer the rap game together maintaining a boom bap sound while “Sliders” featuring June Megalodon & Recognize Ali unites all 3 of them to see who can go the hardest for almost 4 minutes with heavy pianos & Salute talking about not manning up during his incarceration.

“James Worthy” featuring HNIC Pesh rounds up Time Heals All Wounds’ final leg with a soulful boom bap crossover referencing the 3-time NBA Champion Big Game James of the Los Angeles Lakers while “Seldomville” introspectively talks about the only thing up he gives up now is prayers. The appropriately titled “Storm Survivor” finishes up the LP sampling an organ & throwing some final thoughts at us regarding his prison sentence.

Since Kevlaar’s been protecting Salute da Kidd’s spirit for over a decade, Bronze Nazareth comes off Funeral for a Dream fully produced by his childhood friend Apollo Brown to help his Wisemen family make Time Heals All Wounds the most special entry of both in his discography. Salute lyrically reflects on his time behind bars with the guests adding their own different perspectives to it & Bronze Nazareth’s boom bap production rivaling the 78% he did of Diggstown.

Score: 4/5

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The Musalini & Wais P – “Choose or Lose” review

This is a brand new collaborative EP between from New York emcees The Musalini & Wais P entirely produced by Boston veteran Statik Selektah. One of whom has been signed to Jamla Records for the past few years now recently releasing a sequel to Pure Izm produced by Khrysis & the other also put out an EP with Khrysis last year called Hocaine. We’ve only heard them together once on a Planet Asia single last summer, so them uniting on Choose or Lose was exciting as a fan of Mu$ & Statik.

“Can a Player Live?” featuring Izzy Hott kicks it all off with a bluesy boom bap instrumental talking about forever gliding with no roadblocks of any kind in sight whereas “Return of the Mack” goes for an orchestrally dusty vibe to take us through the perspective of pimps. “How to Knocka” shows listeners the proper way to knock a bitch down keeping it in the basement instrumentally just before “Live in the Flesh” silkily takes about bringing it live & direct.

To get the 2nd half started, “4 Real” featuring Planet Asia clarifies that you’re fucking with 3 of the best MCs out currently maintaining a raw boom bap edge leading into the synthesizer heavy “Cashmere Coast” also featuring Planet Asia once again flexing that they’re dead nice. “Sake Bombs” brings some refreshing organs into the fold talking about their statuses being already solidified & “Pimpin’ Saved” ends with a warning that Mu$’ next LP could possibly get him banned.

If fans of either or have ever wondered what The Musalini & Wais P would sound like doing a whole entire body of work with one another, Choose or Lose collides both worlds with one another over rich boom bap production from the Showoff Records founder himself Statik Selektah to offer the player protocol of running to the game instead of running away from it.

Score: 4/5

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Duffel Bag Hottie – “Could Be Worse” review

This is the 4th studio LP from Buffalo, New York rapper Duffel Bag Hottie. Known as one of the earliest Black Soprano Family Records signees, he’s dropped his last 3 full-lengths along with 5 mixtapes & a couple EPs through the label. Ghost of Rick James stands out the most in his discography personally although I’d be remised if I didn’t mention all 3 entries of the Max Julian trilogy each include essential tracks of their own. Shut Down the Dance Floor made his return in late February over a prison phone & over 6 months later, he’s still applying pressure suggesting it Could Be Worse.

“Reminisce” hops back on the phone over a sample-woven trap instrumental to talk about not doing this music shit for the fame although he’s confident that he’ll become rich once he finally comes home whereas “Hottie & 3s” goes for a boom bap vibe explaining that money’s important than anything all because it feeds his family.

We get a sequel to “Story Time Duff” talking about being in his own lane compared to Tory Lanez & I can’t really blame him for saying that because I’d much rather listen to prison Hottie than Peterson, which quickly became one of 2025’s worst albums only a week after Duffel Bag Hottie’s previous EP at the start of the year.

“You & Me Against the World” blends chipmunk soul & trap to talk about his real ones holding him down from behind prison walls leading into “315 Newburgh” talking about getting your bag stolen if one ever comes around his parts. “Niggas Duckin Jail Calls” airs out those ignoring Duffel’s calls when he’s able to dial up those he cares for while “We Miss You Prodigy” remembers the late Bandana P of the infamous Mobb Deep.

The song “Rere Love” continues the soulful trap hybrids flexing that he never needed features from anyone while “Miss Me with That” featuring K Pistol finds the pair brushing off any & all bullshit. “71 Redrum” featuring Jae Skeese contains my favorite guest appearance of the 2 talking about Duffel still smiling through the pain while “Free VV” rounds out the album maintaining hopeful of trying to make it out for his babies.

Responding to the criticism of Shut Down the Dance Floor several months earlier, Duffel Bag Hottie’s point about how things Could Be Worse still ring true since he’s fortunately still with us albeit incarcerated. The production’s a lot similar to that previous EP we got 24 hours prior to 17-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena turning heel on the current 2-time WWE Champion Cody Rhodes & the prison phone verses Duffel spits are still more entertaining than Tory Lanez’ new album.

Score: 3.5/5

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Quest Mcody – “Smoker’s Alley” review

Detroit, Michigan battle rapper, poet, actor & filmmaker Quest Mcody releasing a brand new EP. Notable for being the right hand man to Marv Won of the world famous Fat Killahz, he would goon to release both installments of the Ctrl+Alt+Delete mixtape series along with the King Cody & The Conquest tapes & his full-length debut The Light Project. A sophomore effort followed in 2018 called Th3 Gospel & is taking everyone down to Smoker’s Alley.

“I Just Wanna Smoke” makes for a cloudy trap intro talking about wanting to inhale some of that good kush whereas “Safe” goes for a soulful boom bap route instrumentally taking shots at those selling drugs to only include it in their raps. The self-produced “Duly Noted” expresses his desire to be quoted when he’s gone leading into “Seems Like It” talking about sinking the ship for showboating.

The song “Covered” starts the final leg of Smoker’s Alley on a cloudy drumless vibe flexing that he’s got money all over him while “Pray for the Prey” works in a reversed sample from Quest himself thanking his mom for the blessings & apologizing for making her stress. “Bring You Back” finished up the EP with Marv’s hype man looking at old pictures reminiscing over someone who can’t be here with him anymore.

Keeping my fingers crossed that we don’t have to wait very long for Quest Mcody to put out another body of work because I’d put him in the same ranks as his partner in rhyme when it comes to the battle rap scene & even with Smoker’s Alley hitting harder if you’re a stoner like myself, nonsmokers will even come away from this EP impressed by the production & sharp lyricism that has already established the seasoned Detroit native.

Score: 4/5

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Matt Phoenix – “Still Dreaming” review

Kansas City, Missouri rapper, singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, DJ & audio engineer Matt Phoenix releasing his full-length solo debut. Formerly a frontman for Anti-Crew & Sage N Sour, he has since become an in-house producer for Strange Music in recent years & later signed to King Iso’s newly Project Be Well Inc. distributed by the Strange subsidiary It Goes Up Entertainment as a recording artist. Interestingly enough, Matt wants to make it clear he’s Still Dreaming only 24 hours from It Goes Up finally making up for the new Saigon album Paint the World Black produced by Buckwild getting continuously delayed.

After the “Awakening” intro, the self-produced title track fuses industrial hip hop with pop rap talking about him trying to keep a smile on his face when it’s harder than it seems whereas “Meltdown” switches things up with an explosive trap metal song & the screamed vocals can’t help but remind me of the late LINKIN PARK frontman Chester Bennington. “Let Me Be” featuring King Iso finds the 2 looking to do it their own way over a piano instrumental while “Primetime” featuring Joey Cool & Ubiquitous talks about being on their grind dabbling with trap.

“Sacrifice” wraps up the first leg of Still Dreaming giving off more pop rap energy talking about rather facing destiny than live off of someone else’s time leading into “Sober” featuring King Iso reunites for a poppy trap metal crossover hoping that they’ll kick the habit of drinking alcohol some day. “Unconditional” raps about criticisms of him writing for the Hell of it when he’s clearing his vision while “Lost” sings over some crescendoing guitar work that he feels stray.

The most surprising feature on Still Dreaming is none other than the Snake & Bat original and Ear House Inc. co-founder Krizz Kaliko during the poppy “I’m Not a Robot” exploring the struggle of feeling inadequate in a relationship filled with all kind of technological metaphors while “Identity” finishes Matt’s debut album with a synthpop button singing about him feeling like he’s a completely different person than he once was & that he’s ready to open his eyes.

From producing for the likes of former Strange Music acts like the previously mentioned Krizz Kaliko or the CES Cru to some or their current signees like Joey Cool or Jehry Robinson, it’s been shaping up to be a huge month for the Kansas City indie major & Still Dreaming emphasizes Matt Phoenix’s artistry to newer heights whether be his vocals fluctuating between rapping, singing & screaming or the eclectic production.

Score: 4/5

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Crimeapple – “Bulletproof Chicken” review

Hackensack, New Jersey lyricist Crimeapple tapping in with V Don for his 18th studio LP. Becoming a fan of his in the fall of 2017 with his 4th EP Sweet Dreams along with the Big Ghost Ltd. produced full-length debut Aguardiente that following spring, his profile in the underground grew exponentially from there. Discography standouts include the DJ Skizz-produced Wet Dirt, the DJ Muggs-produced Medallo, Cartagena, Breakfast in Hradec, Sin Cortar, the Preservation-produced El León, the official Aguardiente sequel Bazuko, the Mello Music Group-backed This, Is Not That produced by Apollo Brown & more recently Rose Gold. Over 3 months later & Bulletproof Chicken has arrived only a few days into September.

“Scrape the Pot” sets the tone with a drumless piano sample flexing his knack for customer service resulting in fiends coming back for more whereas “Railroad Avenue” goes for a jazzier direction talking about his neck being like an arcade. “Victor Charlie” takes a luxurious boom bap approach getting in his mafioso bag lyrically & “4.99 Special” divides itself into 2 halves with a beat-switch in the middle asking what you have to floss after getting on his dignity.

T.F. & Crime link up on the drumless “Groundhog’s Day” talking about getting money repeatedly leading into “Brazil” featuring Primo Profit returning to the boom bap to show off their strict policy of keeping their potencies high. “Wings” featuring Bruiser Wolf eerily unites the 2 to talk about needing the chicken & needing to make the pay while “Ocean Drive” finds himself hitting the district to show what the wrist do.

The title track begins the final leg of Bulletproof Chicken by stacking bread to the ceiling over an exuberant boom bap instrumental while “Clientele” goes off-the-dome for 105 seconds sampling soul music & spitting mafioso lyrics on top of it. “Fluegame” rawly talks about not being bestowed from his position in the underground & “Scooby Sweaters” caps it all off with a boom bap beat mixed with vocal harmonization in the background getting real serious with it as if he already hasn’t been.

Over 3 months since Rose Gold completed the trilogy that Wet Dirt started & Breakfast in Hradec bridged, what has already been a prolific year for V Don continues since he can now add Crimeapple to the growing list of names he’s produced for after Boldy James & Estee Nack respectively. What the New York producer cooks up here is a healthy mix between boom bap, drumless, jazz rap & chipmunk soul to back Crime’s mafiosi pen-game.

Score: 4.5/5

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Read the PDF – “Listen, It’s Too Late. The Jig’s Up!” review

Read the PDF is an MC/production trio consisting of mR. pOrTeR, Focus… & Dem Jointz. One of whom is Eminem’s current hypeman originally known as Kon Artis of D12 & the other 2 are known for being in-house producers for the Quincy Jones of hip hop Dr. Dre’s very own Interscope Records imprint Aftermath Entertainment. dEnAuN would eventually become an in-house producer for the label & some point, releasing their debut EP a year after their full-length studio debut By the Time You Look Up N.C. What We Doin’.

“Listen” starts with a hardcore hip hop intro with incredibly sequenced beat switches from all 3 members basically hopping over their own instrumentals dismantling their opponents whereas “It’s Too Late” finds the trio talking about how 2026’s gonna be different for them. “The Jig’s Up” wraps up Read the PDF’s inaugural EP with them taking shots at those tricking them structures similarly to the opener.

Listen, It’s Too Late. The Jig’s Up! finds each member creating their own individual sonic universes & merging them together onto a single track for a rawly authentic 3-song hip hop EP becoming a uniquely conceptual meeting of 3 visions from a group of Aftermath Entertainment in-house producers who all have their own different experiences in the past as MCs.

Score: 4/5

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Jamil Honesty – “M.E.M.O.I.R.S. (Music Evokes Memories Offering Inspiration, Radiating thru Sound)” review

Here is the 5th studio LP from Staten Island, New York born albeit Baltimore, Maryland based emcee/producer Jamil Honesty. Getting his footing in off the strength of his debut mixtape Verses, he would go on to build a name for himself but putting out 3 EPs & a full-length debut serving as a sequel to one of the EPs that Hobgoblin produced. He would later release the Harbor Kidz’ self-titled debut, the Krazyfingaz-produced The God Honest Truth, the Machacha-produced Give Us Our Daily Bread, the final installment of the Martyr Musik trilogy & more recently Shots from the Soviet produced by Giallo Point. Almost 10 months later, JR Swiftz is getting brought in to fully produce M.E.M.O.I.R.S. (Music Evokes Memories Offering Inspiration, Radiating thru Sound).

After the “Foreword” intro, the first song “Chakra’s Cuts” refuses to worry about the future since what’s for everyone else is in the cards whereas “Follow Me” works in a boom bap instrumental to talk about being the living truth others speak of. “Real Rap” suggests that it’s carry-on if others aren’t carrying the culture & being out for legacy & wanting to be remembered as a lyrical paragon just before “‘94 Nas (The Chip Tooth Era)” featuring Jay Royale finds the 2 outclassing their competition like they’re substitutes.

“4evaNyce” starts the 2nd half with a jazzy boom bap beat talking about being nice with for all eternity leading into “Gold Teeth & Beepers” dustily advises to speak truthfully & giving fanatics what they’ve been craving. The title track works in a piano sample to tell ghetto stories with a plot twist while “Tennis Filas” featuring Awon, Blu, Kev Brown & Griot Noy turns the jazz influences back up for a 4 minute cypher. “Summer 90’s” finishes up by reflecting on what summer felt like to him 3 decades earlier.

Similarly to how Shots from the Soviet has already cemented itself as Jamil Honesty’s finest EP, M.E.M.O.I.R.S. (Music Evokes Memories Offering Inspiration, Radiating thru Sound) has officially taken over the spot of the predecessor 10 months ago & I’d strongly recommend both if you’re still sleeping on him. JR Swiftz’ cinematic production matched with Jamil’s precise lyrics make the album feel more like a time capsule of an era that we all miss crafted with precision & soul for fans of uncompromising hip hop rooted in sincerity.

Score: 4.5/5

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Joey Bada$$ – “Lonely at the Top” review

New York City emcee, singer & actor Joey Bada$$ making up for the delays of his 4th LP. Emerging as a founding member of the Pro Era & Beast Coast collectives, his debut mixtape 1999 under GoodTalk Records has gone on to become a classic & Summer Knights was a solid prelude to his full-length debut. B4.DA.$$ eventually came on his 20th birthday & lived up it to it’s expectations by expanding on the vibes of 1999, although the sophomore effort ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ unquestionably became the most political he’s ever been & 2000 would’ve been a perfect 10 if “Welcome Back” was left off of it. Set to come out earlier this month, Columbia Records has finally letting him tell the world what it’s like for him being Lonely at the Top.

“Dark Aura” produced by Chuck Strangers was a great gangsta/jazz rap single & a better intro choice talking about how nothing can be done regarding his return whereas “Swank White” featuring Westside Gunn works in some heavy sampling to reference former TNA World Tag Team Champion, 3-time IWGP USヘビー級チャンピオン & IWGPタッグチャンピオン Juice Robinson of former AEW World Trios Champions & ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Champions Bullet Club Gold a.k.a. the Bang Bang Gang.

The instrumental Kirk Knight cooks up on “Supaflee” feels reminiscent of the iconic N.O.R.E. single “Superthug” produced by the production duo of all-time The Neptunes & it’s a dope homage if that’s the intention prior to “Highroller” featuring A$AP Ferg teaming up over a boom bap instrumental from Boi-1da so they can talk about blowing the bag. “Ready to Love” combines pop rap & boom bap seamlessly with the help of Hitmaka leading into “BK’s Finest” featuring CJ Fly, Kai Ca$h & Rome Streetz repping their borough over a Statik Selektah beat.

“Underwater” finds himself occasionally feeling trapped & being unable to break free, which may or may not be related to Columbia Records delaying Lonely at the Top earlier this month. Regardless, “3 Feet Away” moves forward with a more trap direction instrumentally talking about putting trust in God just before “Speedin’ Through the Rain” gives off a jazzy boom bap vibe thanks to Jay Versace keeping his foot on the gas pedal traveling the road to riches.

The penultimate song & final single “Still” featuring Ab-Soul removes the jazzier elements of the previous joint talking about knowing that their artistic successes were destined while the title track homages the title track off Gang Starr’s masterpiece Moment of Truth. “ABK” deserves an acknowledgement too because of its fusions between hardcore hip hop, hyphy & boom bap even though it didn’t make the final cut. And of course Jelly Roll revealing the Lonely at the Top cover weeks prior to him tagging with former 14-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion & WWE United States Champion Randy Orton at SummerSlam XXXVIII.

By far one of the craziest moments of 2025 was when Joey Bada$$, CJ Fly, Kai Ca$h, Jae’Won, Ray Vaughn, Reason, AZ Chike, Daylyt & Hitta J3 were all trading diss tracks with one another in May & the founding Pro Era member gears up for an upcoming album fully produced by Statik Selektah to come out of the vault with a tight collection of songs culminating in hardcore hip hop, boom bap, jazz rap, pop rap, trap & gangsta rap that are still worth your time even if it’s not up to par with 2000.

Score: 4/5

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Rakim – “The Re-Up” review

This is the 2nd EP from pioneering Long Island, New York emcee/producer Rakim. Notable for being 1/2 of the seminal golden age duo Eric B. & Rakim, they put out 4 classic albums together from the mid-80s to the early 90s, with their debut Paid in Full & the sophomore effort Follow the Leader laying out the groundwork for future generations of hip hop to come. Kid Wizard eventually went solo in late ‘97 signing to Universal Music Group for an acclaimed debut The 18th Letter & the follow-up The Master while not as acclaimed still received positive feedback. Reception to The 7th Seal a decade after The Master was more mixed due to the lackluster production although the lyricism was certainly praised & G.O.Ds Network (REB7RTH) was a step in the right direction despite the heavy features, but Big Ghost Ltd. producing 2 new tracks on The Re-Up minus the 7 remixes raised my expectations greatly as a fan of both him & The God.

“I’m Good” makes for the only track of the 2 piece that doesn’t have a guest on it, but The God still delivers on the mic nonetheless over a boom bap instrumental from none other than the The Hands of Zeus himself whereas the final song consisting of brand new material & it’s sole single “Not to Be Defined” featuring Lazarus is also the sole moment that Big Ghost didn’t produce, leading it up to Dem Jointz showing the rhythm of the souls in both lyricists’ hearts.

I’m only gonna rate this purely based on the short batch of material that we got from The Re-Up because 1 thing that I wanna make clear is that the 5 remixes from G.O.Ds Network (REB7RTH) rival the original versions from the previous EP that I prefer more since that was all new material. Nevertheless, I still believe that the 3 newly recorded cuts are worth mentioning because they continue to exemplify that Rakim is still The God almost 4 decades later. G.O.Ds Network (REB7RTH) 2 has been said to have lesser guests than the predecessor & if that’s true, it could be on The 18th Letter caliber.

Score: 3.5/5

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