Paul Wall & Termanology – “Repeat Repeat Repeat” review

Paul Wall & Termanology finishing the trilogy with their 3rd collaborative studio LP. One hails from Houston, Texas & the other coming straight out of Boston, Massachusetts. However, both of them have been holding it down for the culture for the past 2 decades with their insane work ethics & albums like The People’s Champ or Politics as Usual. They’ve worked with one another a few times within the last couple years & took their chemistry to new heights with Start 2 Finish, following up the sequel Start Finish Repeat with Repeat Repeat Repeat.

“3-Peat” produced by DJ Fresh begins with a soulful boom bap instrumental talking about shit being plug & play to them at this point whereas “Feeling” featuring TrillStatik finds the quartet jazzily discussing their own individual high-ons. “Blessings” has 1982 accompanying Paul Wall & Masspike Miles encouraging all to focus on themselves because stressing over the next man would cause self-destruction while “Catch Me If You Can” featuring Le$ talks about riding clean because they got it made.

Dame Grease jumps behind the boards for “Make Me Feel” pretty much boasting how fresh both of them are just before “You Believe in You” wraps up the 1st half compassionately speaking directly towards the people who feel like they can’t go on in life & letting hard times get them down. The title track returns to the boom bap thanks to Statik Selektah expressing annoyance towards the fraudulent while “Pray for the Weak” featuring NEMS gets everyone on some delightfully murderous battle rap shit.

“Chasing Gold” featuring Wais P demands to point them to the paper soon as possible while “Back in Paris” runs it back 1 last time with DJ Fresh out in France keeping the hustle on continuous repeat. “Stoned Island” pairs S.T.R.E.E.T. with Paul Wall bringing a jazzier edge to the table talking about grinding daily & the closing track “Trill on Top” talks about the trillest muhfuckas always ending up taking over the world 1 way or another.

Start 2 Finish & Start Finish Repeat were both highly impressive to me as someone who’s been a fan of both Paul Wall & Termanology for some time, but Repeat Repeat Repeat could likely become the weakest installment of this whole saga they had going for 4 years already. It’s quantity of guests are comparable to that of it’s predecessors & the chemistry between both artists are great except some of the production & features miss at times.

Score: 3/5

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B-Movie Millionaires – “It Made Sense at the Time” review

United Kingdom hip hop duo the B-Movie Millionaires consisting of Manchester, England emcee Black Josh alongside Runcorn, Cheshire emcee/producer & Blah Records founder Lee Scott are back top drop a sophomore effort. Known for being members of the Cult of the Damned collective, these guys would make their eponymous debut in 2015 with an extended play & had Sam Zircon fully produce their 2018 full-length debut Attack of the 50,000ft Sweg Lawds from Outer Space. Damn near a decade later, It Made Sense at the Time has come months succeeding its original announcement.

“ICL” produced by King Kashmere has somewhat of a lo-fi boom bap vibe instrumentally opens up with them talking about answering to no one whereas “LAA” brings Spectacular Diagnostics behind the boards for a cavernous hardcore hip hop track waking up the block with the bass blarin’ their systems. “SOZ” combines a flute with kicks & snares so both Josh & Lee can keep spitting lyrical venom leading into “HEX” featuring Sly Moon talking about staying 10 steps ahead of the rest.

As for “MED”, we have the Millionaires over a mellow Lee Scott beat explaining their music to be medicinal rather than merely dope just before “316” featuring Nickelus F morbidly boasts about them being lyrical juggernauts. “REX” featuring Quelle Chris declares themselves kings of the apocalypse over a piano-driven instrumental to get the 2nd half going while the woodwind-infused “KEV” talks about their wishes of caring more than they do.

“SOL” featuring Granuja & Mir Nicolas gets bilingual over an unsettlingly fuzzy beat while “BAR” references 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. “SMH” continues the hardcore penmanship but once “HIM” featuring BeTheGun jazzily talks about being those dudes, “TTO” featuring Bill Shakes as well as King Grubb & Sly Moon wraps up It Made Sense at the Time with a Cult posse cut.

A lot has happened to Black Josh & Lee Scott since Attack of the 50,000ft Sweg Lawds from Outer Space came out 8 years ago, so It Made Sense at the Time certainly lives up to it’s name considering the fact Spectacular Diagnostics handled a great bulk of the production coming fresh off the Cult of the Damned’s 4th album Simony this past spring. The B-Movie Millionaires’ chemistry doesn’t lose any steam & I appreciate them increasing the number of guest appearances.

Score: 4/5

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Smash Mouth – “Mercury Comet” review

Smash Mouth is an alternative power pop band from San Jose, California consisting of bassist Paul DeLisle, keyboardist Michael Klooster, drummer Randy Cooke, guitarist Sean Hurwitz & frontman Zach Goode. Originally fronted by Steve Harwell from their inception to 2021, their 1997 debut Fush Yu Mang & the 1999 sophomore effort Astro-Lounge under Interscope Records are widely celebrated as their strongest material. Self-titled, Get the Picture?, The Gift of Rock, Summer Girl & Magic were received mediocrely at best & horrid at worst. 3 years after Steve’s death, they’re keeping the band on life support for their 8th LP.

“Better Believer” made for an average power pop, pop rock & geek rock intro calling back to their cover of “I’m a Believer” by The Monkees whereas “Whiskey, Gin & Wine” questionably sings about alcohol considering Steve’s death was brought on by alcoholism. “Had Enuff” was an underwhelming cross between pop rock, freakbeat, baggy, power pop & geek rock singing about being fed up with somebody just before “Big Sur Sky” makes a tacky metaphor for being a star one of Cali’s darkest areas.

We have Zach & company taking it back to the Get the Picture? era stylistically on “House of the Setting Sun” singing about always going home if you can’t find the door preceding “Monsters on My Block” hideously mutating pop rock, geek rock, cocktail nation, power pop, freakbeat, funk rock & new tone to wrap up the 1st half. “New Wave Rodeo” gets the 2nd act going making mediocre references to a plethora of older musical acts including Devo & Elvis Costello while “Gimmie Gimmie” provides a cringeworthy tale of some dude in a bind not wanting to share with his partner.

“Jackie-O” sings about thinking he’d seen everything until he saw the titular character diving headfirst into a wishing well while “Soaking Up the Sun” goes for a ska rock direction yearning to chill by the ocean to escape from all the turmoil in our world. “Face in the Crowd” sings about them looking for a way in the current landscape when I think disbanding would be the properly solution to that & “Midnight Doctor (Mercury Comet)” concludes the album putting us inside the shoes of a morning regretter.

There’s literally no reason for Smash Mouth to even try continuing post-Magic & unsurprisingly, Mercury Comet in comparison ties it’s predecessor over a decade ago to become the most unpleasant listening experience of their discography. The alternative pop rock, power pop, pop punk, geek rock, cocktail nation, pop, freakbeat, baggy, funk rock & new tone production sadly gets wasted on Zach Goode’s unbearable vocals & Paul DeLisle’s awful songwriting.

Score: 0.5/5

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Sk8star – “The Beautiful Rebellion” review

This is the latest extended play & the 8th overall from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Sk8star. Emerging all the way back in 2021 off Superstar Status, he would go on to follow it up with a total of 7 more EPs & a couple of mixtapes preceding him signing to Island Records for his full-length studio debut Designer Junkie this past spring marking a full circle moment when reflecting upon his earlier output. As he prepares for the upcoming sophomore effort After the Gala though, The Beautiful Rebellion has only just begun.

“Lo Mein” begins with a decent opener likening his girl to a vampire whereas “Bloodhound” produced by Pi’erre Bourne talks about these other muhfuckas being out of bounds compared to him. “Doom” featuring Pz’ finds the pair trading verses over an ahead of the curve trap instrumental from Nosaint of Vanguard Music Group leading into “Churchs’” bringing Richie Souf back behind the boards to resurrect the chemistry they displayed throughout Designer Junkie, talking about being the hood type.

Kicking off the 2nd half of the EP, we have Pi’erre & Sk8 cooking up 1 last banger together with the pluggy “Callin’” confronting someone who stayed the same unlike him evolving just before “Sk8rokk” introduces us to the titular MC/producer duo dissin’ those who run with what’s popular. “Loose Tooth” reunites with Richie Souf talking about receiving oral while the closing track “Siamese” featuring diamond* spends The Beautiful Rebellion’s final minutes discussing exactly how slimey each of them are individually.

Couple longtime fans of Sk8star I know have since hailed Designer Junkie to be the Take Care of his discography & regardless of my uncertainty towards that claim, I can say it was a satisfying culmination of everything he was doing throughout it’s preceding EPs & mixtapes. The Beautiful Rebellion nevertheless preludes After the Gala in the form of a tasteful transitional phase in Sk8’s career enlisting a couple ØWay members to remind the world on top of 16 minutes worth of tight trap, rage, plugg & cloud rap production that they really do this.

Score: 3.5/5

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Wakko the Kidd – “Infinity” review

Hollywood, California rapper & entrepreneur Wakko the Kidd staying busy with his sophomore effort. Introducing himself in the summer of 2018 off his debut single “Multiple Racks”, he would go on to launch his own strain of cannabis called Airheadz a year later. However a couple summers ago, the Insane Clown Posse signed him to Psychopathic Records & has performed at many of their events like the Gathering of the Juggalos or Hallowicked. Coming off his full-length debut In Airheadz We Trust & The Kidd That Did, I was highly anticipating Infinity since MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 was solely producing it himself.

After the intro, “17 Dead” opens with a homage to the ICP song of the same name until “For the Haters” featuring Esham kinda has a boom bap vibe instrumentally sending a message to the people who’ve doubted them along the way. “Why” goes for a trap direction trying to figure out the reason everyone tries to blame him just before “Chasing Shadows” featuring Brotha Lynch Hung talks about making the bitch known as jealously their girlfriends.

“Dark Skies” kicks off the 2nd half of Infinity professing his loyalty always lying with Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) Commissioner Violent J because he believed in him when no one else did while “Mirage (High All the Time)” embraces a calmer trap direction so the Kidd can talk about not trusting anyone since life’s an optical illusion. “Don’t Let Me Down” ghostly discusses not being left disappointed & the closing track “Save My Life” recalls a near-death experience.

In Airheadz We Trust & The Kidd That Did each have their own share of songs that made me understand why Psychopathic signed Wakko the Kidd, but Infinity finally gives us that 1 project I always knew he had in him that would finally shut up the detractors who’ve initially rejected almost every other artist who joined the hatchet until eventually leaving. 7’s production is a huge upgrade from Wakko’s earlier output, there are only a couple wicked shit guests joining him & it’s make absolutely sense for the west coast artist to step up his own performances.

Score: 4/5

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Dax – “Anger Management” review

St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada rapper Dax has returned for his 3rd studio LP. Working as a janitor before blowing up after dropping the single “YourWorthIt.org” with Hopsin in the summer of 2018, this was followed up with his debut EP It’s Different Now shortly after & the I’ll Say It For You EP under the Strange Music subsidiary It Goes Up Entertainment. Pain Paints Pictures was one of the worst debuts of this decade & the Columbia Records debut From a Man’s Perspective proved to be worse, unsure of what to get out of Anger Management.

“Big Boys Don’t Cry” tritely opens with this rap rock intro talking about men hiding vulnerability from the world whereas “Trauma” goes for a generic trap vibe, confessing to the feeling of in escaping the past. “Diary of an Alcoholic (10 Shots)” comes through with a fake deep perspective regarding alcoholism over a country rap instrumental leading into “God, Can You Hear Me?” melodramatically begs for the Man upstairs to listen to his pleas.

Continuing with “Man I Used to Be”, we have Dax talking about becoming half the person he was when Jamiroquai already tackled this subject with one of my favorite singles of theirs prior to the country-inspired “Temptation” reaching the halfway point speaking of desire knocking at his door. “The American Dream” forces himself to get in his patriotism bag when he’s not even American while over acoustics until “Caught You in the Bed” gets preachy regarding infidelity.

“Your Feelings” winds down the last leg of Anger Management mutating country rap & trap talking about the place Satan attacks at every chance while “Happy Wife, Happy Life” comes through with a corny pop rap track with a country twist to it. “Gave You the World” makes a turn towards cloudier territory talking about an ex-girlfriend he couldn’t save & “Comfortable Being Alone” hooks up a generic beat to send it all off finding solace in loneliness.

From a Man’s Perspective saw Dax coming into his own stylistically considering he’s pretty much embraced a more prominent country rap sound than anything he’s been doing for the past decade since & attached a sloppy point of view regarding men’s mental health when you got people like King Iso doing those topics justice, but Anger Management gratingly expands the musical ideas of it’s predecessor nearly 2 years ago to insincerely convey the reality of being honest with our struggles.

Score: 0/5

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Dinner Party – “Whatchu Bringing?” review

Dinner Party is a neo-soul/jazz rap supergroup consisting of Kamasi Washington, Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin & 9th Wonder. All 4 of whom are acclaimed producers in their own rights, dropping their eponymous full-length debut in the summer of 2020 through EMPIRE Distribution when the COVID-19 pandemic was occurring & following it up nearly 3 years later with the neo-soul influenced sophomore effort Enigmatic Society to more lukewarm reception. Nonetheless, I still had anticipation for their 3rd studio LP considering the respect I already for its individual members.

“Stop Being Late” begins with a 2 & a half minute opener blending jazz as well as hip hop & spoken word whereas “If It Ain’t Broke (Love Wins)” by Phoelix turns up the soulfulness, singing about leaving perfectly functioning things alone unless they’re no longer working. “Stargazing” also by Phoelix finds himself thinking of the world’s current state fusing jazz & R&B together but once “Breakfast at Sharkey’s” takes a prominently compositional approach, “I Wonder” by Phoelix kicks off the 2nd half on some neo-soul vibes.

As for “Just My Type”, we have Phoelix over some predominantly finger snaps carrying over the themes of romance leading into “I’m Yours” by Phoelix smoothly assures his partner that he won’t leave her for any other woman. “Mutual Respect “ leans towards the jazzier side of things for a bright instrumental piece preceding the outro “Peace of Mind” properly sending off Whatchu Bringing?tastefully combining elements of jazz rap & boom bap.

For anyone who came away from Enigmatic Society enjoying it less than Dinner Party’s debut album, you’re probably gonna prefer Whatchu Bringing? like myself because I’d have to put their most playful statement right behind self-titled for my 2nd favorite entry in their discography so far. The primary neo-soul sound remains in tact, incorporating secondary influences of jazz fusion & instrumental hip hop for the course of a half hour.

Score: 3.5/5

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Q-Unique – “The QR Code” review

Los Angeles, California deejay/producer DJ Rhettmatic teaming up with Brooklyn, New York emcee, singer & producer Q-Unique for his 4th studio LP. Emerging as 1/4 of the Arsonists & the lead singer of the 3-man hard rock outfit Stillwill, he’s also built up impressive solo discography for himself since the Uncle Howie Records-backed Vengeance is Mine nearly 2 decades back at this point. He would follow it up the previous decade with Between Heaven & Hell alongside BlaQ Coffee and The Mechanic before Stillwill bassist Fieldy of KoЯn fame produced the Pound for Pound EP. Coming off the Royal Blood EP produced by Jake Palumbo however, Rhettmatic’s handling The QR Code.

After the intro, “Cypha Up” aggressively opens up encouraging people to study with him & make some bread whereas “It Only Leads the Way” ruggedly describes an identity crisis some artists may experience after being deluded by materialism. “Fire Vision” featuring LMNO finds the pair linking up to flex their lyrical proficiencies over a raw beat just before “Suckess” talks about their experiences of people becoming unrecognizable after achieving success.

“The Good Life” encourages all shine their light through changes they make prior to “All in the Mind” featuring Ras Kass aggressively kicking off the 2nd leg teaming up to talk about the dangers of overthinking. “The Meltdown” featuring Esoteric joins forces for a cutthroat battle rap cut while “Comic Con Nerd Shit” featuring Pharoahe Monch pits the rebels against the stars. “Let’s Rock” embraces a rap rock vibe for a mosh anthem & the outro “Faith” talks about his everlasting future.

Excluding both Pound for Pound & Royal Blood because those were EPs, I might have to put The QR Code above Between Heaven & Hell & The Mechanic as Q-Unique’s 2nd best full-length rivaling his debut Vengeance is Mine to become the finest collection of material he’s made on his own. DJ Rhettmatic’s production paired with the concept of being original, staying authentic, respecting hip hop culture & never following the crowd sets the standard instead of chasing trends.

Score: 4/5

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Inspectah Deck – “Dragon’s Breath” review

Here we have the 5th solo LP from Staten Island, New York lyricist & producer Inspectah Deck. A member of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan as well as 1/3 of CZARFACEwith 7L & Esoteric, he would eventually drop his solo debut Uncontrolled Substance in the fall of 1999 under Loud Records & Relativity Records. Which I found myself enjoying more than the MNRK Music Group-backed The Movement as well as Manifesto & Chamber #9, although The Resident Patient marking the launch of Deck’s own label Urban Icons Records & Cynthia’s Son both came pretty close for their own separate reasons. I was nonetheless intrigued by P.A. Dre being brought in to fully produce Dragon’s Breath.

“Never Fold” featuring Raekwon, Sauce Money & Skyzoo after the “Dragon’s Intro” finds the quartet over a murderous boom bap instrumental talking about their refusal of backing down whereas “H.E.C.T.O.R. (Hustle Everyday Can’t Trust Or Rely)” discussing the daily grind & trusting nobody. “Lighter Fluid” featuring Eto, Mickey Factz & RJ Payne links up over a venomous boom bap beat continuing to spit hardcore lyricism just before “Shaolin Rebel 2” hits us with a soulful sequel to the Chamber #9 joint.

Ankhlejohn & Brizz Rawsteen both pop out for “Between the Lines” soulfully talking about seeing the signs God’s trying to send you although Ankhlejohn had my favorite guest appearance of the 2 personally leading into “The System” taking a more intricately conscious approach topically. “Up At Night” featuring Peedi Crakk switches it up by showing a more sensual side to both of them which is alright, but “Day in the Life” soulfully talks about being thankful for every day because it’s a dream to him.

“1 of 1” featuring G4 Jag, KXNG CROOKED & M.A.V. comes together for an eerie boom bap cut filled with all 4 artists detailing their unique skills while “Flight School” reaches the halfway point talking about grinding for his own shine. “Burgundy” kicks off the 2nd leg of Dragon’s Breath incorporating guitars to not let Satan steal his joy while “Cold Case” featuring Gripz & Ransom jazzily yet dustily puts us inside the shoes of detectives.

Che Noir & Sa-Roc teaming up during “Divine Protection” was an exciting moment talking about aiming the firearm & blasting to protect what’s theirs while “Solitude” featuring BVNGS, Flee Lord & Hus Kingpin coldly flexes that they be rollin’ around the parts muhfuckas can’t even hit up. “Anointed” featuring 40 B.A.R.R.S., Bahamadia & 7xvethegenius fiercely demands everyone honors them like the royalty they are while “Possession” featuring Cappadonna & Hell Fire would’ve been more enjoyable without the latter.

“Funny Style” symphonically talks about muhfuckas acting weird hoping to catch him down & out while “Czariana Grande” by CZARFACE produced by none other than 7L boasts of taking over car speakers whenever INS Ya Highness & 7LES unite. The closing track “Explicit Material” also by CZARFACE officially sends off Dragon’s Breath spending the remaining 3 minutes having Esoteric accompanying Deck going full battle rap mode ahead of their upcoming collab album with Tom Hardy at the end of the month.

Exhibiting the razor-lyricism that’s made Inspectah Deck a cornerstone of the Clan’s entire 36 Chambers mythology, Dragon’s Breath acknowledges the connecting theme of his storied career from his Shaolin foundations to the comic-book-noir world of CZARFACE & back again. Excluding a select handful of mediocre features, I can appreciate one of the most technically gifted & underappreciated MCs in all of hip hop doing his thing over P.A. Dre production for this full-circle moment.

Score: 3.5/5

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Pooh Shiesty – “All Eyes on Shiest” review

This could potentially be the only studio album from Memphis, Tennessee rapper & songwriter Pooh Shiesty. Signing to Gucci Mane’s historic 1017 Global in tandem with Atlantic Records in April 2020 off the single “Main Slime”, he would later drop the Shiesty Season mixtape merely 10 months afterwards until serving a 3 year prison sentence. However, he’s dropping All Eyes on Shiest under 1017/Atlantic ahead of his upcoming trial for armed robbery & conspiracy to kidnap.

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 during the intro “I’m Back” talking about his return whereas “Federal Reality” ironically flexes burning his prison uniform when he’s likely spending the rest of his life back behind bars for being stupid.

“Reap What You Sow” talks about laying low & playing slow being the motto around his parts of town leading into “Last Man Breathin’” containing one of my favorite instrumentals from Mike & Keys despite him discussing the struggle of rapping & being caught up in the streets. “Collecting Tears” talks about stealing hoes & putting them up on game just before “Still on Timing” featuring Big30 speaks of stealing 2 different souls together.

Sexyy Red appears for the raunchy strip club anthem “Booty Club” produced by the late Tay Keith delivering another standout beat leading into “Reckless Living” wrapping up the 1st act of All Eyes on Shiest talking about him making his lifestyle vivid for people. “CMO” featuring Baby Slime, Big30 & K Carbon finds the quartet uniting for an underwhelming freestyle until “McLaren Truck” talks about him sticking up Gucci.

“Trip” hits us with more mediocre gangsta raps on top of a bland piano-driven trap instrumental but after “JPay & CorrLinks” talks about him not understanding why other artists be movin’ lame when he made a stupid move himself at the beginning of the year that could cost him his eternal freedom, “New One” featuring K Carbon reunites so they can declare themselves smackers who happen to rap over more hi-hats & keys.

The song “Bigger Than the Program” winds down All Eyes on Shiest’s final moments hoping to explain the difference between him & most other rappers being bitches while “F.D.O. (First Day Out)” talks about staying true to himself upon coming home although it quickly aged like milk 4 weeks later when he got arrested again. “Mane” featuring Glorilla sends off the album having both of ‘em poppin’ out with that dog shit because that’s the way both of them stunt.

I can’t even begin to express the disappointment I have for Pooh Shiesty holding Gucci at gunpoint in an attempt to get out of his deal only for All Eyes on Shiest to still come out under said labels like a dumbass, which makes the full-length even less enjoyable than the final product already is because he pretty much threw himself beck behind bars for the rest of his life over nothing. I truly did believe he had the most potential out of everyone on 1017’s revamped roster despite the features & production becoming less enjoyable than Shiesty Season.

Score: 2/5

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