Ill Conscious – “The Premise” review

This is the 6th studio LP from Baltimore, Maryland emcee Ill Conscious. Introducing himself in 2010 off his debut mixtape The Underachiever, he would return in 2015 with the full-length debut The Essence followed by the 2018 sophomore effort The Prerequisite & Logistix. Coming off both Acres of Diamonds & The Aggregation of Marginal Gains however, I was excited to hear that Finn of the Brown Bag Money collective was gonna fully produce The Premise.

After the intro, the opening track talks about him freeing the people it’s the reign of the “Tuthmosis” over a boom bap beat with a lo-fi twist to it while “Pupils Become Rivals” keeps it dusty instrumentally explaining that the kind of people whose egos are inflated moving suicidally. “Prominent Sunz” featuring Rome C finds the 2 talking about the reason each of them stay shining while “Conductivity” jazzily talks about no one having the ability of fucking with him.

Asun Eastwood & Mandiq both appear on “Bass Drum” so they can end the 1st leg discussing their methods never changing this deep in their careers leading into “Pineapple Mimosas” talks about raising up a high glass for the culture to get the 2nd half going. “The Allegory” turns up the jazz influences again so he speak of disputing all the corny fables regarding him just before “Consortium” featured Snook da Crook talks about the battle becoming greater when the blessings are bigger.

“Carbon Traces” winds down The Premise’s final act detailing that the arbitrators have all betrayed us over this calming boom bap beat while “Pressure” featuring King Magnetic & Recognize Ali saves my favorite guest appearances for last, talking about hitting trifectas with the commas. “11th Commandment” hops over an instrumental kin to Conductor Williams taking us to a higher level of consciousness while “DNA” by combining a verse & a spoken word outro.

I’ve always enjoyed this guy’s collaborations with Jay Royale because it’s like the Baltimore version of AZ & Nas to a degree, but I’m confident of discussions eventually being had regarding The Premise surpassing Acres of Diamonds to be the finest LP in Ill Conscious’ whole discography. Regardless of a couple underwhelming guest appearances, Finn’s soulfully dusty boom bap production appropriately suits the intelligent lyrical style that makes Conscious so appealing compared to other artists around his neck of the woods.

Score: 4/5

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JPEGMAFIA – “Experimental Rap” review

Here we have the 6th solo LP from Baltimore, Maryland emcee, singer, producer & visionary JPEGMAFIA. Breaking out a decade ago with the release of his full-length debut Black Ben Carson, it wouldn’t be until the man’s next 2 albums Veteran & All My Heroes are Cornballs where he would reveal himself as one of the most creative minds in hip hop today. The 8-track EP, it’s follow-up with almost all newly recorded material, LP!, the Danny Brown collab effort Scaring the Hoes & I Lay Down My Life for You each had moments of their own despite Experimental Rap’s length worrying me.

The self-produced “babygirl” after the “投影の芸術” intro begins with this hardcore trap metal single referencing 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 14-time WWE world champion, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion & the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division’s CCO Triple H whereas “Burning Hammer” references former 10-time AJPWタッグチームチャンピオン, 3-time AJPW三冠ヘビー級チャンピオン, GHCヘビー級チャンピオン, GHCハードコアチャンピオン & 2-time GHCタッグチームチャンピオン小橋建太’s finisher.

“$” combines brostep tearout, hardcore hip hop, experimental hip hop, jersey club rap, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, hybrid trap & riddim talking about the love he has for his own wealth while “Pop this Heat” samples both “The Way” by Ariana Grande featuring the late Mac Miller & “A Little Bit of Love” by Brenda Russell to discuss the game being so soft. “Meet the Dealers” featuring DATPIFFMAFIA links up for a 2-parter about them telling who ain’t ever been to war in their lives based on how they act.

We have Peggy going at the throats of people who be running to the internet soon as shit happens to them during “headline but once “Degenerate Prayer” flips “Frankie Teardrop” by Suicide to talk about scrapping the plates if anyone who touches his paper, “Shake Your Booty” by Bunny Sigler gets sampled during “The Ghost of Emmett Till” making a reference to WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion, 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion, 17-time WWE Hardcore Champion & current English color commentator for their Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) subsidiary JBL.

“Since I Met Ye” chops up “Mr. Big” by 8Ball & MJG so Peggy can respond to the backlash he got after producing some tracks for ¥$’ debut album Vultures alongside it’s sequel while “¥” combines industrial hip hop, glitch hop, glitch, epic collage, hardcore hip hop & deconstructed clubhouse referencing the inaugural 2-time AEW World Trios Champions The Elite. “G.Y.B.B. (Get Your Bitch Back)” on the other hand goes for a more soulful boom bap vibe talking about being nothing like those in the streets.

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 gets referenced on “Tsar Bomba” to end the 1st half while “Mask On” talks about robbing people. “Lights” after the “His Will” interlude however references WWE Hall of Famer, former SMW Tag Team Champion, 3-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 12-time WWE tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion Kane.

“New Era” gives off a more laidback atmosphere talking about people wanting to dismiss him for coming to the game with a plan while “War Over Land” after the “1 Day It’ll All Be Over” interlude fuses conscious hip hop, urban contemporary gospel, glam rock, rap rock & drumless explains how possessive he can be. “Bridges on Fire” soulfully talks about him trying to make it through the night while “No Strippers in Heaven” includes a bar referring to the inaugural 4th Rope World Tag Team Champions & current 2-time HoG Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz.

After the “內戰” interlude, “Chat” experiments with a pluggier sound even though the “free Derek Chauvin” line when the hook comes around doesn’t sit with me right & the final song “The 1st Amendment” preceding the “You will always lose money chasing women, but you will never lose women chasing money” outro spends Experimental Rap’s final minutes talking about Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk being killed last fall.

Being a fan of JPEGMAFIA for almost 8 & a half years already, it’s been disappointing to see him go from giving us classics like Veteran & All My Heroes are Cornballs to beefing with artists that I’ve been a fan of longer than him like Armand Hammer or Earl Sweatshirt & Freddie Gibbs. That said: I’m sure it would surprise people to hear me say I’m more on the fence with Experimental Rap than a lot of his previous output. His experimentally industrial hip hop taking additional inspiration from riddim, brostep, glitch hop, rap rock, rap metal & deconstructed club is tastefully mixed even if the hardcore lyricism can be repetitive.

Score: 3/5

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Babylon Dead – “Death Upon Dem” review

England, United Kingdom boom bap, political hip hop & ragga duo Babylon Dead consisting of Bristol emcee Jman alongside London producer Illinformed reuniting for their 3rd LP. These guys initially got together for The Mould Tape’s outro “Gettin’ Mouldly” & signed to the Glastonbury, Somerset imprint Real Life Drama Records for their full-length debut 2000 B.D. near the end of 2017. Last we heard from them was the 2020 sophomore effort Book of the Dead, returning once more for Death Upon Dem almost a week after the Slater Dojo & Leyton Buzzard respectively became the new RPW British Tag Team Champions & RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

“Crash & Burn” begins with this cold blooded boom bap beat talking about destroying the whole system whereas “Real Badman” goes for a jazzier vibe instrumentally explaining that the legitimate are the ones busting shots. “How Yuh Mean” works in some vibraphones so Jman talk about the authorities wanting his people incarcerated leading into Illinformed embracing a darker boom bap sound so they can figure out who they’re trying to “Flex On”.

As for “Out Here”, we have Wyatt Earp appearing to diss the government along with them talking about burning up some weed because they’re struggling to breathe outside while “Bare Burial” after the “Covered in Blood” interlude nears the halfway point of Death Upon Dem on some ghostly boom bap vibes putting us inside the shoes of a mortician. “Buss a Shot” turns up the grittiness talking about shooting at corrupt officers while “Run” almost has this horrorcore quality to it surprisingly.

“Chant Down” after the “Seen” interlude winds down the last moments of the album promising that the revolution will in fact be televised this time while “Gully” rawly blends the sounds of ragga & boom bap for a hardcore hip hop anthem. “Redrum” has a ghostly yet dusty tone to it so they can quench for blood while “Anarchy & Chaos” sends it all off with an empowering rap rock outro suiting for a rebellion asking how high to raise the death toll.

It’s no secret that the world’s been in absolute shambles for the past 16 months, so Jman & Illinformed felt that it was only right for both of them to recapture the politically-charged boom bap/ragga fusions that Babylon Dead became known for in a time where we needed Death Upon Dem now more than ever for the people. Almost a decade since their debut, the subject matter they’ve always tackled directly over Illinformed’s jazzy boom bap production still feels relevant as it did 9 years ago except they only have 1 feature rather than a few.

Score: 4.5/5

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GILLtemper – Self-Titled review

GILLtemper is an east coast underground hip hop duo consisting of Millville, New Jersey rapper & producer Gibby Stites alongside Trevose, Pennsylvania rapper ILLtemper. Both of whom have already made themselves known whether it be Gibby briefly signing to Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2021 or the other being 1/2 of the Even Heathens, making his Lyrikal Snuff Productionz debut last fall with Paxil Rose. However after linking up on songs like “MayNeedAxe” or “April Showers”, they’re linking up for an eponymous extended play.

After the intro, “Save Us” begins with an opener produced by Gibby where he hooks up a gospel sample & both of them are pleading to be saved whereas “Lost Puppy” takes a more darker approach talking about darkness constantly following them. “Doing Fine” works in some pianos & strings to explain that nobody’s gonna get in either of their way leading into “Violence” ending the 1st leg talking about the enjoyment they get outta watching brutality unfold.

“Song” begins the 2nd half by being intentionally unserious for 3 minutes over an orchestral boom bap beat even if I’d say it’s my least favorite track here, but then “Cruise Dread” gives off a summery vibe instrumentally talking about a murder mystery on a boat. “Misogyny” asks themselves what kind of rappers they’d be without bringing up prejudice against women & “Manic” concludes with a boom bap outro feeling like they don’t have much left.

Excluding both remixes & the intro, I’d say that GILLtemper feels more like an EP than a full-length LP although I very much appreciate what both Gibby Stites & ILLtemper were trying to do blending humor & stealth-horror with hip hop over the course of their self-titled debut. There are a couple moments I don’t see myself revisiting especially like “Song” or “Misogyny”, but I do enjoy a great bulk of the production & each performer compliments one another.

Score: 3/5

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Lelo – “Pink Tiles” review

Another extended play & the 8th overall from Detroit, Michigan rapper Lelo. Signing to 10K Projects a couple years ago, he would make his presence known more widely in the local trap scene by putting out his 4th EP Nightingale not too long after landing a record deal & gained even more exposure a month later by dropping the single “No Contempt” on SoundCloud. LifeAfterDogshit along with When It’s Over & New Detroit would further increase his profile, coming off Mastiff earlier this month to drop Pink Tiles.

The self-produced “Mo Betta” hooks up a sped-up vocal sample to talk about turning a bitch out whereas “Get Geeked” experiments with Detroit techno to speak of getting no sleep during the weekends. “White Russian” take a more soulful approach instrumentally to discuss hustlers receiving no love while “End of the World” suggests to worry about tonight over a pluggier beat. “All I Want” embraces a dancier sound talking about making this woman feel good & “I Just Wanna” ends by admitting he wants to fuck.

I respect Mastiff’s counterpart being more musically fun than it’s was 2 weeks earlier experimenting with secondary influences of Detroit techno as well as ghettohouse & juke, but I’m admittedly on the fence with Pink Tiles since I wouldn’t put it in the same ranks as the predecessor or New Detroit & When It’s Over. His performances & songwriting both validate him as one of the best Detroit trap artists in recent memory even if the production can feel repetitive, certainly doing more justice for dance music than Drake’s 10th album Maid of Honour tried to do.

Score: 3/5

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DJ Oreeyo – “Prodigy” review

This is the sophomore effort from Detroit Michigan emcee, producer & disc jockey DJ Oreeyo. The son of local veteran Fatt Father previously of the world famous Fat Killahz, he eventually followed his dad’s footsteps by making music himself, properly introducing himself in 2022 & Freshman Year the subsequent fall made for an impressive self-produced debut primarily rooted in trap. It’s been a few years since & the Prodigy’s ready to let us see how much he’s grown since 2023.

The self-produced “Killshot” hops over an orchestral trap beat talking about his preference of having kin instead of friends whereas “How We Comin’” aggressively talking about holding nothing back his confidence being mistaken as arrogance. “Him” keeps expressing his self-assurance of being that muhfuckin’ dude & “What We On” featuring T Cruz was one of the weaker moments here despite them talking about these haters being fans in the grand scheme of things.

“Quick Workout” goes off-the-top for 80 seconds over some horns & hi-hats flexing that he doesn’t need a personal chef because he’s cooking in the studio regardless leading into “Old Soul” reminds me of Slum Village’s early output from the boom bap instrumental to the scratch hook appealing to the old school & new school fans. “Gen Check” has a more cinematic sound to it addressing the people he sees daily while “Me vs. Me” feels like a convo between his older & younger self.

After the compositional “Commercial Break” intermission, “Ain’t Worried Bout U” cloudily makes it clear that he ain’t stressing over anyone while “Makin’ Moves” shifts back towards a more trap-oriented sound suggesting those who support him to get in the mood. “I Have a Dream” however feels less of an interlude & more of an atmospherically woozy statement regarding him making it to the end of this movie we that many would call life.

“Growth Mindset” has a more exuberant boom bap flare to it winding down Prodigy’s final moments talking about bringing his homies with him to make sure they’re all fed by the time he’s gone while “Suspense” has a bit of a west coast groove to it pleading not to show him love later if you’re not gonna do it at this present moment. The closing track “My Dear Reflection” takes up the last couple minutes of the album expressing the importance of standing tall in any challenge the world might hit us with.

Freshman Year was a impressively broader introduction to who DJ Oreeyo from both artistic & personal standpoints, but Prodigy pushes himself further by taking everything that made his debut LP so interesting from the continuation of the predecessor’s trap sound aside from a couple moments where he’s rapping over boom bap production to the penmanship being more sharpened now that he’s older than he was 2 & a half years ago.

Score: 4/5

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Drake – “Habibti” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake going solo for the first time in 3 years with his 9th studio LP. Skyrocketing to fame in 2009 off his 3rd mixtape So Far Gone, the success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records & they helped put out the man’s underrated full-length debut Thank Me Later the next summer. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall, More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic, his YM/CM swan song Scorpion was a disappointingly failed attempt at making a double disc album showcasing the hip hop/R&B sides of the OVO Sound founder’s music respectively, Care Package is decent collection of 17 loosies from 2010-2016 that we’ve all heard before, Dark Lane Demo Tapes tried to experiment with new sounds only to miss the landing & Certified Lover Boy just felt like the same old shit we’ve heard from him before. Honestly, Nevermind was basically Drake’s own version of Renaissance by foraying into house music a month ahead to mixed reception until Her Loss with 21 Savage was a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. For All the Dogs was the most I’ve enjoyed Drake’s music since If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR last Valentine’s Day would become his worst collaborative project yet, coming off getting destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in a rap beef to drop Habibti, Maid of Honour & Iceman.

The “Rusty” intro awfully begins with him singing over some acoustics for 62 seconds sending a message to the sweethearts & those he’s dated whereas “WNBA” produced by Gordo mediocrely details a long-distance relationship that’s effected by travel. “Slap the City” might be my favorite track here from the Noel Cadastre beat to Drizzy’s hedonistic lyrics, but then “High 5s” finds himself getting in his petty bag over a 40 instrumental.

“Hurrr Nor Thurrr” featuring Sexyy Red could be my 2nd least favorite track here because of the way they describe an addictively messy relationship ruining a sample of “MORAL” by Avenoir, but “I’m Spent” featuring Loe Shimmy tops it as the worst song here wasting a moody beat to talk about both emotional instability & luxury. “Classic” continues with this grating alternative R&B ballad encouraging a woman to leave the man she’s with until the minimally cold “Gen 5” makes a tacky statement regarding him getting a Glock for last Christmas.

The song “White Bone” was another moment that I was fine with instrumentally even if Drake ruins it by singing about a relationship on the verge of collapsing that he thinks is a real connection while “Fortsworth” featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR feels like an $$$4U leftover from the slow beat to them singing about being with long-distance partners. “Prioritizing” finally ends Habibti attempting to strip his confidence & replace it with the feeling of uncertainty.

Some people would say either Honestly, Nevermind or Certified Lover Boy are Drake’s worst solo efforts, but I feel like he managed to outdo both of those & have Habibti take the cake. It’s more on the R&B side of things stylistically compared to Maid of Honour & Iceman although the production’s decent explorations of alternative R&B, pop rap, trap soul, downtempo, contemporary R&B & pop rap are ruined by the songwriting.

Score: 1/5

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Chip Fu – “Invisible Footsteps” review

This is the 2nd solo extended play from Brooklyn, New York veteran Chip Fu. A member of the Fu-Schnickens, he would eventually put out a solo mixtape of his own 16 years earlier called Stop Playing & the sequel arrived roughly 32 months later. The Beginning of the Reckoning under Blaq Ink Entertainment in tandem with Fat Beats Records was a solid EP last summer & the highlights it had made me eager of where Invisible Footsteps would go next.

After the intro, we have the man himself welcoming us to the “Shell Down” except I feel like the trap instrumental is merely ok compared to the enjoyable lyricism whereas “Double Dutch” hooks up a more thunderous beat & flows that would make the heads of those unfamiliar with start spinning. Busta Rhymes later appears on “Have Mercy”, where both lyricists join forces over a boom bap instrumental so they can ask God to grant them lenience.

“MI-JOI” might be my least favorite track on Invisible Footsteps & that’s disappointing because I appreciate the positive messaging despite the execution of the dancehall sound while “Warning” featuring Shaquille O’Neal finds the 2 linking up to talk about those thinking they can fuck with them, assuring them they’re all sorely mistaken. “More Amor (Love)” finishes the EP fusing jazz rap, boom bap & pop rap for an ode to affection.

With all due respect to Chip Fu because I did enjoy his previous EP alongside his output with the Fu-Schnickens or guest appearances, Invisible Footsteps does have moments that I can see myself going back to since the verses as well as the flows & both guest appearances are on point. My main criticism I have towards this newer batch of material is that the production’s somewhat more inconsistent at times, which I find disappointing.

Score: 2.5/5

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ShittyBoyz – “Back to the Basics” review

Here we have the 5th studio LP from Detroit trap trio the ShittyBoyz. Consisting of BabyTron alongside Stanwill & TR Dee, they emerged off their debut mixtape 3-Peat under the mentorship of Lando Bando in the summer of 2019 taking the motor city by storm & following it up with another tape. They even have 4 full-lengths in Trifecta as well as the the sequel & of course the trilogy chapter. Last time we heard the 3 Man Weave was in 2024 & they’re taking it Back to the Basics.

The title track produced by Danny G fuses the Detroit sound & techno talking about the food they’re cooking not being for plates whereas “Killian Hayes” shrugs off this crazy bitch for proclaiming themself to be a demon when that isn’t the case. “Timeout” talks about their motion being unstoppable over a Detroit trap instrumental leading into “Heist” explains that they can’t let the phone ring twice if there’s any money involved.

“Rocket Science” by Stanwill gives off somewhat of a mafioso atmosphere talking about blasting off in UFOs just before the 2nd & final single “Geek Squad” finds the trio trading verses with each other for a few minutes. “Fetty, Mula, Gwalla” continues the 2nd half of the album hopping over a darker beat with some bells talking about money while “Pumpkinhead” lets Babytron shine for a solo joint of his own hittin’ hoes with the sidestep.

We have Danny G running it back with the ShittyBoyz on “Kudos” assuring that anyone can do it too if they’ve already done it while “Lord Sidious” talks about the possibility of becoming rich if one makes the right choices. TR Dee gets a track of his own with “Work” suggesting that any competition has been confused with ghosts over a Jakesand instrumental & once “Mojo” talks about using door codes instead of keys, “Outta Town” ends with them ignoring advice from those who’ve never been in their position.

These guys have been saying in recent interviews that Back to the Basics is their most refined material yet & I would have to agree with that sentiment in the sense that it’s a lot shorter than the longer projects they’ve been known for, linking back up after taking a year off to focus on their solo endeavors without having any guest appearances to either trade verses each other or letting each member putting their individual growth on display for the world.

Score: 3.5/5

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Lil Shine – “Get Rich or Die Sippin’” review

Lil Shine is a 21 year old recording artist from Minneapolis, Minnesota who introduced himself off his first couple of extended plays Sh!ne & Heavenly Ascension respectively. He would go on to follow these up with the full-length debut Losing Myself as well as the Lovesick & Tearscape EPs. Coming off the sophomore effort Shine Forever though, his 3rd album here has been clamored to be superior to his debut & I had to see for myself whether or not that’s the case.

“Nobody” gives us a taste of what’s to come from the pluggnb instrumental to the lyrics about the inability to feel love or the drugs he consumes whereas “Way 2 Up” tells his bitch his infatuation with the drank & her showing him tough love. “Got Down” has a more standard plugg vibe in general talking about his girl wanting to fight prior to “Dam, Dam” compares the strength of the lean in his cup to mace & telling anyone who wants to live like him to take risks.

As for “Like What”, we have Shine making it clear that you can’t ask him for drugs because he’s not the plug & bringing a firearm inside of a store while “Still Sippin’” featuring Summrs finds the 2 entertainingly linking up to talk about codeine once again. “Forever” admits to the thoughts of this woman keeping him up at night sampling the iconic single by Drake, Eminem, Lil Wayne & Ye just before the self-produced “I Can’t Go 4 Dat” talks about a hoe wanting drunk love.

“So High” wraps up the 1st leg of Get Rich or Die Sippin’ describing the rush he feels whenever he doubles his cup while “Just Me N’ My Cup” kicks off the 2nd half continuing to talk about his love for lean & Perc 10s, the latter of which he calls his favorite drug. “You + Me” hops on top of this blissful pluggnb beat being upfront regarding a chick telling him they’ve been over while “Aye Malice, Where the Bass @?” combines pop rap & pluggnb talking about being outside.

Moving on from there, “Jump Back In” details a scenario where he put everything to the side for someone he liked until she fucked it up & it’s all for her while “Loud” issues a warning to anyone trying to fuck with him that they’ll each wind up in caskets carrying over the plugg elements instrumentally. “All Love” on the other hand talks about having bitches outside of the trap house & doing things legitimately instead of merely doing it for social media reels.

“Red Dot” featuring KanKan joins forces for an outstanding 2-parter where both of them are trading verses keeping that same energy when the beat switches while “5 Star” talks about heading out to a luxurious hotel for the weekend & making his time out there count. The closing track “Finally (The End)” finishes Shine’s most defining material of his career giving it all for this individual to trust him & asking if he can call them back 1 last time.

Unfortunately because of Lil Shine’s being convicted on 5 federal charges, Get Rich or Die Sippin’ has the possibility of becoming the last time we could hear new music from him for the next 3 years & this couldn’t have been a higher note to end on if this is it until then. The pluggnb, Asian rock, pop rap & plugg production is all tastefully textured & he provides what I’d say ranks amongst the most versatile performances of his career so far joined by a couple high profile guests.

Score: 4.5/5

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