1300SAINT – “NewDrug2.” review

This is the 5th extended play from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist 1300SAINT. Known for staying out of the box with a versatile sound & style drawing in listeners from all walks of life painting pictures of all colors & shapes to create a true experience for his audience, the heavy 808 based instrumentals he lays his smooth vocals over on his full-length debut Noir makes you feel every song a little more than usual & led to Young Thug signing him to YSL Records not too long after he came home Halloween 2024. All Hail marked his debut for the label, preluding Savior with Saint Season as well as 4 & NewDrug. respectively. However, a sequel to the latter has arrived without any prior announcement

“Encore.” hops over a rage beat talking about never missing shots again & after “Nightgown.” chaotically observing the surreality of his new lifestyle, “Painkillers”. reached the halfway point looking to get so geeked that he can’t feel his face. “Tattoos.” kicks off the 2nd act telling a woman to get tatted if she truly loves him leading into “NotASong.” talking about God giving us what we need rather than what we want. “808s.” lastly wraps up the EP in the form of a 2-parter encouraging someone not to lose their ways.

It was originally announced on Twitter back in April that he would be dropping Saint Season 2 later this year & now 1300SAINT has confirmed the idea was scrapped, he’s giving us a taste of what we can expect out of his upcoming 3rd album Pretty Boy later this year with a solid continuation of the NewDrug. saga. Might not have any criticisms regarding his performances, but the rage-inducing production doesn’t impress me the same way his sophomore effort did last fall.

Score: 3/5

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Ravyn Lenae – “Blue Island” review

Ravyn Lenae is a 27 year old singer/songwriter from Chicago, Illinois who broke out as a member of the 0 Fatigue collective. She would later sign to Atlantic Records & dropped 3 extended plays, including Moon Shoes as well as Midnight Moonlight & Crush. However, her full-length debut Hypnos alongside the sophomore effort Bird’s Eye have each contributed to her elevation amongst the most interesting R&B artists today & that was a huge reason for giving her 3rd studio LP a shot.

“Handle” produced by DJ Dahi opens up blending pop rock, the Minneapolis sound, new wave & alt-pop to sing about her love being more than the average person can typically put up with whereas “Familiar Dreams” confronts a person who’s become a stranger to her. “Never Let Me Go” feels like a cross between Hypnos & Bird’s Eye pleading for her partner not to leave her side until “In & Out” sings about the inability of letting this person she sees everywhere know how she feels.

Meanwhile on “Potential”, we have Ravyn suggesting she needs a break & declaring herself to be the one fucking with this guy’s head at night just before “Sew Me Back Together” sings about confessing to her lover that things get old real quickly when they’re not accompanying her. “Reputation” featuring Dominic Fike wraps up the 1st half of Blue Island portraying themselves as a dysfunctional couple leading into the final single “Saturday Night” combining freestyle, contemporary R&B, synthpop, chillwave & synth-funk singing about an ex missing her on a weekend.

“Babygirl” featuring Doechii continues the album’s 2nd act uniting for an R&B/hip hop crossover courtesy of Karriem Riggins reflecting on the risks they took in order to get in the positions they are presently but after “Barriers” yearns for a man who won’t run when it’s too deep including her suggesting he doesn’t back from showing any affection because she clearly came back for more, “Wish You Well” sends her final regards to an ex who can’t get her off his mind advising he moves on with his life & clarifying the breakup was to better herself.

The song “Bobby” has a more upbeat tone to it confronting our titular character regarding whether they should continue their relationship or end it right then & there while “Find It 1 Day” uses a composed rhyme to remind an ex of a love they fumbled except she’s making it clear towards the end that she still cares about this individual over a No I.D. beat. “Let Us In” takes up Blue Island’s concluding moments singing about getting emotional when the sun goes down, only to let it all out.

Marking a transitioning point in Ravyn Lenae’s career, Blue Island has me looking forward to what she & DJ Dahi can do going forward now that her ambitions have been redefined. The latter’s production maintains the primary contemporary R&B & pop influences of Bird’s Eye a couple years earlier including secondary elements of sophisti-pop, pop rock, new wave, folk rock, soft rock, synthpop, chillwave & synth-funk to explore the spaces between what once was & what could be.

Score: 4/5

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Cletus Strap – “rappers suck.” review

This is the 2nd extended play & Tan Cressida Records debut from Inglewood, California emcee/producer Cletus Strap. Dropping his debut St. Cletus in 2022, he would go on to follow it up with the Hidden Agenda EP along with the sophomore effort serving as the sequel & What Might Happen. Tan Cressida recently announced there would be a new & improved version of the label, releasing rappers suck. to commemorate this forthcoming era of widely showcasing up-&-coming talent.

“Paddleball” begins with a 90 second lowend intro produced by Earl Sweatshirt dismissing any back-&-forth shit coming his way whereas “chilli” takes a cloudy stoner rap approach psychedelically talking about smoking weed. “on tha run” works in some prominent synthesizers prior to “risk it” featuring VIP Skylark wrapping up the 1st half with the weakest guest appearance of the 2 if I had to pick, although the cloudy drill vibe in general to be sweet.

We have Cletus on “fuck no” talking about not bringing any money around him because it’s high stakes just before “nonchalant” featuring Earl Sweatshirt finds the pair talking about moving calmly combining cloud rap with Jersey club rap & sexy drill. “goose chase” hooks up a soul sample to advise against fuckin’ around in risky situations & the closer “way more fun” concludes rappers suck. talking about still taking charge regardless of his tab remaining open.

Black Noi$e dropped his only album Oblivion through Tan Cressida Records back in the summer of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic so that technically makes Cletus Strap the 2nd artist other than Earl to drop new music under the imprint, but rappers suck. widely introduces us to him by giving us 20 minutes of the finest material he’s made. The trap, cloud rap, drill, plugg, lowend, Jersey club rap, sexy drill & pluggnb production separates Cletus from Earl’s experimentally abstract style well although the lethargic delivery might not be for everyone.

Score: 3.5/5

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UFO Fev – “4 the High” review

New extended play & the 13th overall from Harlem, New York emcee UFO Fev. Coming up a little over a decade ago off his full-length debut Around My Way, it wasn’t until 2020 when he saw his biggest year yet by dropping not 1 but 3 well received projects: the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort Fresh Air along with the Termanology-produced debut EP From El Barrio, With Love & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced 3rd album The Ghost of Albizu. This was all followed up with Magnum Opus along with the Vanderslice-produced Enigma of Dalí & 4 EPs: The Most High, Prayer, Weed & Music, E Pluribus Unum, Sunsets in the Ghetto & of course the Finn-produced Blood on the Bills. I even enjoyed the Fredro Starr produced Strapped & Pyramid Schemes, coming off The Ghost of Albizu 2: Albizu’s Revenge last summer to have Machacha produce 4 the High.

“Left Lane” eerily begins talking about always bouncing back since that’s the way he balls whereas “Dealin’” hops over a boom bap instrumental to get on his gangsta shit, observing the crack game pretty much being dead. “Levels Up” ruggedly talks about someone who he perceived to be a gangsta winding up snitchin’ & a price goin’ on everything except their souls while “Middle Gates” orchestrally wraps up the 1st half discusses his daughters knowing a man when they see one.

Eto appears for “Us Never Them” kicking off the 2nd act of 4 the High talking about preparing for war over a piano-driven boom bap beat talking just before “The Palladium” featuring Red Inf explains one has to engage in conflict if they’re searching for peace, embracing a rap rock sound. “Saturday Mornings” issues a warning of potentially smoking anyone who runs up on him at a mall & the drumless closing track “God’s Sincere” talks about the Lord carrying him across the sand.

UFO Fev warms up for his upcoming 14th album Creatine produced by Eto set to arrive within the next few months toning down the number of guests A Night on the Moon has for an EP that’ll make up for most who were left underwhelmed by Hustle, Weed & Music this past fall including myself. Machacha’s production matches the consistency of Lost in Transit & Villano de Medianoche, giving Fev less than a half hour to take up most of the verses delivering that unmistakable New York grit.

Score: 4/5

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Lil Uzi Vert – “Maverick (Almost Forever)” review

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania rapper & singer Lil Uzi Vert celebrating their birthday with their 4th extended play. Becoming a household name in the trap scene with their 2015 mixtape LUV is Rage & then Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World the following year, Uzi has been entangled with a nasty legal battle with Generation Now Entertainment/Atlantic Records from their debut LUV is Rage 2 until the sophomore effort Eternal Atake came out in March of 2020 to moderate reception & followed it up a week later with the far superior Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World 2 that spawned the deluxe version trend where artists would drop a “deluxe version” of their newest project that’s basically an entirely new album. Red & White was a solid prelude to The Pink Tape which received mixed feedback, fulfilling their Generation Now/Atlantic deal with a panned sequel to Eternal Atake & dropping Maverick (Almost Forever) through Cor(e) in tandem with Roc Nation Records only 24 hours after Jason Hotch ended Mustafa Ali’s reign as TNA International Champion.

The “Maverick” intro produced by Ronny J & Supah Mario opens up with my favorite track right out the gate from the cloudy yet energetic vibe instrumentally talking about life being as crazy as it is whereas “Go!” boasts of them sellin’ out shows right when they walk outside. “Poured” begins the 2nd quarter with an ode to sipping lean just before “.223” reaches the halfway point hopping over a cinematic Cade beat getting on some gangsta shit.

10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion, United Football League (UFL) co-owner, TKO Group Holdings board of directors member, co-founder of $7 Productions & the final boss of professional wrestling himself The Rock gets referenced during “Yoko” to kick off the 2nd half of Maverick (Almost Forever) just before “Gas. Brake.” gives off a rebellious atmosphere comparing themself to a star out in the sky.

“Say It Was” hits us with what could possibly be the hardest instrumental here talking about everyone from their block knowing exactly how crazy Uzi truly is in real life & the closing track “London” gives their props to the capital of England & the United Kingdom only a month away from Will Ospreay ending Kenny Omega’s 2nd reign as AEW World Champion in his home turf at Wembley Stadium for All In V employing a cockney accent for the occasion.

In preparation of Chad Gable ending Penta’s reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion at SummerSlam XXXIX on Sunday evening, Lil Uzi Vert preludes the next LP giving ZeeGoinXrazy the honor of architecting their new pop rap, trap, rage, cloud rap & jerk sound ever since finally going independent & their performances are a lot more enjoyable than being fucked up off nitrous. If the next album’s gonna be anything like this EP, we’re gonna be in for a bounce back.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ariana Grande – “petal” review

Boca Raton, Florida singer/songwriter & actress Ariana Grande launching her own imprint Babydoll Music distributed by Republic Records for her 8th studio LP. The very same label who signed her in 2013 after breaking out through the Nickelodeon series Victorious alongside Leon Thomas III & has gradually become one of the biggest pop stars in the entire world since, dropping my personal favorite in her discography sweetener following the moderate reception of Yours Truly as well as My Everything & Dangerous Woman. I also enjoyed thank u, next for what it was following her engagement to Pete Davidson being broke off & Mac Miller’s tragic death even if Positions took it back to the mild feedback of her earlier output, coming off Eternal Sunshine to give us petal in time for July ending.

“kiss me” opens up yearning to be kissed like it could potentially be her final goodbye until “hate that i made you love me” averagely blends alt-pop, contemporary R&B, alternative R&B, synthpop & chillwave for a lead single venting about her divorce from her now ex-husband Dalton Gomez. The title track serves as a metaphor for how flowers can still bloom in the most rigid places just before “stay” detailing yet another corrective experience she had.

As for “oh well”, we have Ariana telling Dalton that more breakup songs about him are on the way & wishing all of the toxic people in her life the best luck traveling to Hell leading into “big feelings” reaching the midway point wanting this person to promise they’ll handle her properly & providing the kind of sex that can make grown men cry. “freak” sings about distancing herself from someone who doesn’t want to get to know her from a personal standpoint but after the “warning signs” interlude, “like i do” gets tongue-in-cheek for a sassy self-confidence ode.

“never get over me” embraces some R&B influenced to finish up petal’s concluding act singing about a unique kind of intimacy with a bridge calling back to “Thinking ‘Bout You” off Dangerous Woman while “bad thing (bunny hop)” finds herself rediscovering her feelings towards photographer & dancer Ricky Alvarez. The closing track “nowhere, nobody” sends off the album choosing to stay present in love regardless of the uncertainty of whether or not it’ll last in the end.

Despite coming away from petal with mixed feelings towards it, I can certainly see myself coming back to it more than I do Positions & Eternal Sunshine since it does have more high points than lows. I think Ariana Grande breaking up with all different kinds of negative attachments throughout her life comes from a sincere place although the alt-pop, contemporary R&B, alternative R&B, synthpop & chillwave production was merely ok. Would love for her to work with someone like Jermaine Dupri.

Score: 3/5

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Southpaw FLHC – “The Standard” reveke

Southpaw FLHC is a beatdown hardcore band from Jacksonville, Florida consisting of guitarist Alan King, bassist Marc Laroche, drummer Harrison Linder & frontman Daryn LaMontagne. Dropping off their eponymous debut extended play at the very beginning of 2021 in hopes of bridging the gap between hardcore’s past & present, they would go on to drop a couple singles afterwards only to spend a majority of the decade inactive musically until this full-length studio debut of theirs to conclude July.

“Rolling Stone” begins with a beatdown hardcore intro remembering Daryn’s late grandfather who served in Vietnam whereas “Run Game” angrily lashes out at those they taught to smooth talk & not everyone keep it real in the music industry. “T.T.G. (Trained to Go)” makes it clear they don’t give a fuck what it takes or bout the laws & the rules created but once “Nail in the Coffin” pleads for the chains bounding them from their destiny to be broken, “The Gavel” puts us inside shoes of a judge to conclude the 1st half.

Meanwhile on “Torches”, we have Daryn & company hitting us with more mediocre beatdown hardcore dedicated to those in the streets who lit the way for them while “The Path” featuring an Eric Ellis guitar solo near the final 30 seconds delivers an ode to the bold & the brave. “Play the Fool” comes through with an ironic jab at “pussy motherfuckers ain’t who they claiming to be” & once the title track talking about true power standing in our truths, “D.T.W.D. (Duvall ‘Till We Die)” concluded with a love letter to the county that made them.

For these guys to call their debut album The Standard for beatdown hardcore is pretty arrogant considering a great deal of this album to me lacks innovation or Knocked Loose & Hatebreed doing that style of hardcore punk more justice. Harrison Linder sporting apparel from the neo-Nazi associated clothing brand Curb Stomp & reposting a couple far-righters on their Instagram after their “apology” video only adds insult to injury, to which I think the punk rock scene shouldn’t let fly considering they’ve always stood on rebelling against authoritarianism & bigotry.

Score: 0.5/5

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Arca – “XXXXX” review

Arca is a 36 year old musician, singer, composer, producer, DJ, model & audio engineer from Caracas, Venezuela who dropped her full-length studio debut Xen during my senior year of high school followed by the sophomore effort Mutant exactly 12 months later. Her eponymous 3rd album under XL Recordings elevated herself beyond her earlier out & the same can be said regarding the entire kiCK pentalogy initially conceived in the midst of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, finally returning following the series’ conclusion for her 9th studio LP.

The intro “No Ends” kicks off the opening 91 seconds sampling “In the Face” for a spoken word passage regarding shadows speaking to her whereas “Willow” somewhat gives me an Aphex Twin vibe instrumentally including a chorus describing a willow tree blowing in the wind. “Eidolon” heads for a deconstructed club direction singing in Spanish about living for the moment & “Heart” continues the Spanish performances calling for everyone to watch her transmute.

“Syncope” keeps things going from there taking a compositional approach & it feels like something the late SOPHIE would’ve made if she was still here just before “Raver” fiercely taking it bake to Arca’s own roots a bit in terms of sound. The minute & a half “Cinch” gives us a brief verse describing a woman who’s moving further into the unknown with her eyes closed while “Fuck” reaches the midway point of XXXXX yearning to have sex like her partner has sincere love for her.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “Finisher” interestingly samples “Family Violence” including these jaw-dropping string serine & an outro explaining you were never alone prior to “Taconeando” fully embraces the Spanish lyricism once again talking about heeling under the lights. “Futurality” lets the instrumental do the speaking for here basically telling us the future has become reality while “Grip” once again feels like a refined version of something Arca would’ve done on Xen.

“Enraptured” winds down XXXXX’s last act continues to refine the Xen aesthetics asking her partner if they’re ready to come & get it while “Throb” has moments that take me back to the “@@@@@“ single she dropped before the pandemic preceding the kiCK saga. “Everything” comes through with an optimistic spiritual successor to “Alive” off Mutant & the outro “Sueño” concludes with a finalized version of “Arpia” previewed last fall.

Many including myself had to ask where Arca would go beyond the kiCK series & XXXXX answers that with a return to form playfully interrupting the rhythm of the rest of her discography. deconstructed club, IDM, epic collage, glitch, UK bass, glitch hop, wonky, glitch pop, ambient pop, wave & progressive electronic production mostly feels like her interestingly trying to perfect what she was doing on her earliest output at many points, rawly exploring a space between worlds where transformation is both terrifying & freeing.

Score: 4.5/5

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DOMi & JD Beck – “WHO ASKED?” review

DOMi & JD Beck are a jazz fusion duo from Los Angeles, California consisting of keyboardist DOMi & drummer JD Beck. They would eventually sign a joint deal to Anderson .Paak’s own imprint Apeshit Inc. in tandem with the greatest jazz label of all-time Blue Note Records in 2022, dropping their widely lauded full-length studio debut NOT TiGHT that summer. Exactly 48 months have passed since to celebrate, it only makes sense that the pairing returned for a highly anticipated sophomore effort.

“ÈPiPHANiE” begins with this colorful 2 & a half minute compositional intro I can imagine hearing at the start of a wonderful day whereas “HAD ENOUGH” co-written by Anderson Paak. finds the pair singing about tomorrow possibly being the same despite not being too far. “EXiT” embraces a more autumnal vibe instrumentally assuring this isn’t the end & never showing signs of helplessness just before “SiLHOUETTE” asks if the fear causing doubt in your mind is worth the mind fading out.

Meanwhile on “GROWiNG OLDER”, we have DOMi & JD observing the inevitable process of aging in the midst of seasons quickly passing us by leading into “SOME THiNGS NEVER CHANGE” blissfully sings about staying frozen in place & holding steady since certain stuff remains the same. “RAiN” discussing both fear & comfort over more woodwinds combined with intense drumming until “SMALL EYES” contains a J Dilla influence showing the love they have for their dogs.

“LOVELY MASQUERADE” continues the 2nd half with one of WHO ASKED?‘s most infectious grooves singing about the possibility of being betrayed whilst the puppets dance blindly & after “PUZZLE PiECES” promises us it’s ok if life doesn’t make sense sometimes because there are moments where pieces fall apart for no reason whatsoever, “PHANTOM TREAD” endearingly pays tribute to an individual who greatly helped them at some point in their career.

The song “OUT OF SYNC” finds the pair lost inside their heads while “CONCERTiNO (FOR PiANO, DRUMS & ORCHESTRA)” hits us with another delightful instrumental piece comprised of pianos, flutes, strings & brass. My least favorite track “CLiMBiNG HiGH” awkwardly experiments with J-pop singing about the sky still being above when heading upwards for a better view & the “ÈPiLOGUE” concludes the LP in the form of this orchestral outro that I can imagine hearing in a Disney movie.

Regardless of WHO ASKED? being ranked behind NOT TiGHT in DOMi & JD Beck’s discography, it’s still an exceptional continuation of their music. They swap out the secondary influences of neo-soul & jazzstep to incorporate more elements of chamber music & classical crossover but more specifically, they’re singing a lot more than they did on their debut & I feel like they could make some improvements in that specific department going forward.

Score: 3.5/5

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Crimeapple – “Top 85 Dead or Alive” review

Here we have the latest & 20th extended play from Hackensack, New Jersey lyricist Crimeapple. Becoming a fan of his almost a decade ago with his 4th EP Sweet Dreams along with the Big Ghost Ltd. produced full-length debut Aguardiente that next 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, Rose Gold & the V Don produced Bulletproof Chicken. Last time I covered him was when Evidence produced War Cash several months earlier & Top 85 Dead or Alive dropping out of nowhere had me anticipating it making up for Beemer on Broadway.

“Marv Albert” opens up with this cinematically produced beat demanding to prove if one’s really active with the strap like they claim to be & after “Jayson Williams” shifts towards an atmospheric vibe instrumentally thanks to Billy Loman pondering killing rappers for even thinking they could fit in his shoes over a sample, “All Star Weekend” already finishes up the 1st half of the EP flowing on top of a lo-fi boom bap beat getting himself ready to make his competition feel uncomfortable.

To get the 2nd leg going, the “Foul Line” combines some pianos & a tuba so Crime can kick it off-top for a little over a couple minutes while “Wristbands” luxuriously talks about opinions being exactly like bust down Cubans in the sense everyone has them. The closing track “Trick Shot” spends Top 85 Dead or Alive’s concluding moments coasting over this groovy instrumental boasting that he’s printing paper on the mobile phone getting high out in the Grenada region of the Caribbean.

I very much understand & appreciate what Crimeapple was trying to do with Top 85 Dead or Alive since he pretty much took it back to the essence of his earlier EPs nearly a decade ago when he was on the come up but regardless of War Cash still holding the bragging rights for my personal favorite thing he’s done this year, I have no doubt in my mind that I’ll be giving it more spins than Beemer on Broadway since he’s singlehandedly laying out short & sweet barwork that gets directly to the point.

Score: 3.5/5

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