Acetone Boogie – “R U Still Dead? (Remember Me)” review

Acetone Boogie is a 36 year old MC from Tucson, Arizona releasing his debut album Karma Circus in the spring of 2013 & dropping a sophomore effort The Divine Trickster during the summer of 2017 respectively. He has since joined the Swamp Society collective, dropping Rayamiento & Southwest Phonk both produced by Devereaux along with forming the Gloom Unit with Frankie Goldie. And to coincide with him performing at the Gathering of Legends next month, his 3rd studio LP looks to gives juggalos a preview of what’s to come during his set.

After the “R U Still Dead?” intro, the first song “Gittin’ Nutty” was a great southwest phonk single talking about making money being reckless whereas “Self Inflickted Success” produced by Devereaux talks about working overtime simply because he wants what’s his. “Suffokate” featuring Jvztizzo finds the 2 fusing the Memphis phonk sound with horror-themed lyricism just before “Double Dosin’” thinks of the days when he had no worries or pain when the maggots get in his head.

“Mantra uv da Maniaccs” starts the 2nd half of the album talking about shawty making it crash like it’s broken & the cash flow leading into “Juggin’ in Hell” bringing a cloudy trap vibe to the table representing the juggalo lifestyle until he can’t anymore. “Disposable Stalefaced Raps” talks about people loving what he can do for them instead of loving him personally while “Santacruzriver” pulls inspiration from the Memphis scene once again keeping only real ones around.

The song “Dead Dude Muzik” starts the clock regarding R U Still Dead? (Remember Me)’s final minutes turning the Memphis influences up even higher fusing horrorcore & gangsta rap subject matter with one another prior to “Bleeding Out” featuring Jvztizzo wrapping everything up with a rock ballad & both artists we got to hear team up 18 months ago on their Children of the Moon collaborative EP produced by Shaggytheairhead getting emo thematically.

You’re gonna wanna give Rayamiento & Southwest Phonk when discussing Acetone Boogie’s EPs, but R U Still Dead? (Remember Me) sticks out as some of the craziest shit he’s ever done in his whole entire discography & any juggalo getting to see him rock some of these cuts on the Detonation Stage on August 14 at 1am at the Gathering will be very lucky to hear his continued artistic growth whilst celebrating the biggest family reunion’s silver jubilee.

Score: 4.5/5

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UFO Fev – “The Ghost of Albizu 2: Albizu’s Revenge” review

Harlem, New York emcee UFO Fev surprise-releasing his 12th studio LP. 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, although The Ghost of Albizu 2: Albizu’s Revenge already raised the expectations looking at it on paper.

“Road to Redemption” gets the ball rollin’ on The Ghost of Albizu sequel talking about spending it all & making it back twice because he’s a hustler with a Jose Santiago hook performed in Spanish whereas “The High & Mighty” embraces a sample-heavy boom bap direction admitting to thinking before he speaks now. “My People” loops up some sped-up vocals talking about Puerto Ricans wanting to be free since he himself has Puerto Rican origins while “Scarlet Fever” featuring Red Inf makes sure they leave no prisoners boasting that nobody can stand a chance against them.

Jose Santiago comes back to kill it with the choruses 1 more time on “Work Hard, Play Harder” blending rap rock & boom bap together except he’s singing in English this time about getting it out the mud off the muscle just before “Puerto Rock” leaves wack rappers layin’ on their backs & flexing of him opening up his own lane for Puerto Ricans who’re nice on the mic. “Culture Cypher” jazzily takes us all the way back to the South Bronx where hip hop all started leading into “Vengaza” dustily talking about the concept of revenge.

Lil D saves my personally favorite guest verse of the 2 during the boom bap & chipmunk soul fusion “Benicio” to kick off The Ghost of Albizu 2: Albizu’s Revenge’s last 6 minutes or so assuring that the plug knows his face & he’s been simply running in place as of late prior to “The Cornerstone” finishing up the album with 1 final jazzy boom bap joint about being emotionally generated rather than AI generated & a hook homaging “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)” by the almighty Wu-Tang Clan.

Crazy to think it’ll already be 5 years this upcoming Halloween since I first got introduced to Fev by hearing The Ghost of Albizu and catching up to both Fresh Air & From El Barrio, With Love afterwards. And I understand that some weren’t feeling Pyramid Schemes as much as Enigma of Dalí, but most people are gonna enjoy The Ghost of Albizu 2: Albizu’s Revenge a lot more since it continues the hardcore/conscious themes & jazzy boom bap sounds of the predecessor expanding it occasionally in favor of rap rock & chipmunk soul.

Score: 4.5/5

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Cactus Jack Records – “JACKBOYS II” review

This is a brand new mixtape from Houston, Texas label Cactus Jack Records founded by local rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & the honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott. The current roster includes Don Toliver, SoFaygo, Sheck Wes, Luxury Tax, DJ Chase B & Wallie the Sensei with both Smokepurpp & Malu Trevejo being signed at one point except neither one of them officially put anything out during their short time. They collectively dropped a JACKBOYS EP days following Christmas 2019 & have returned for a sequel since they’ve brought a few new artists on board since.

The first song “Champain & Vacay” by Don Toliver & Travis Scott after the “JB2 Radio” intro finds the latter subtly responding back to Pusha T with the “Made a hunnid off pushin’ T’s” line over some synthesizers & hi-hats whereas “2000 Excursion” by Don Toliver, Sheck Wes & Travis Scott finds Cardo mixing trap, pop rap, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B & rap rock homaging the titular brand of Ford cars. “Kick Out” by Travis Scott gives me a gritty dirty south vibe until the switch-up during the last minute courtesy of T-Minus talking about getting the boot of shit gets complicated prior to “Dumbo” also by Travis Scott guaranteeing that the baddie he with is going stupid.

SoFaygo gets his own song with “MM3” shutting down the rumors of him being unhappy on Cactus Jack by giving us what we can expect on his forthcoming sophomore effort Mania rapping like the rent was due sampling “Ski Mask” by Project Pat just before “Velour” finds Don Toliver prominently singing a refrain & chorus with Sheck Wes providing a sole verse & Bugz Ronin musically backing them. “Contest” by SoFaygo & Travis Scott marks the first time they’ve collaborated with each other jumping over a rage beat talking about catching Ws their whole lives while “I.L.M.B. (I Love My Bitch)” by Sheck Wes & Travis Scott made for an average trap single with secondary hypertrap influences.

“Where Was You” by Travis Scott featuring Future & Playboi Carti produced by F1LTHY of Working on Dying reunites the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren & Jalen Williams of trap so they can kill all these hoes wanting to eat their bones while “No Comments” by Don Toliver kicks the synths back in full gear to talk about sprinkling more hi-hats in the fold trying to get to know a woman. “Beep Beep” by Travis Scott ruins a self-produced instrumental by giving SahBabii the weakest feature on the entire compilation while “PBT” by Travis Scott featuring Tyla & Vybz Kartel feels like an outdated attempt at dancehall.

Glorilla’s appearance during “Shyne” by Travis Scott makes sense heavily pulling from Chicago drill & crunk referencing Matthew McConaughey in light of his upcoming appearance in the A24 Films thriller The Lost Bus & hitting the wiggly wobbly while “Outside” by Travis Scott featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again links the 2 up over synthesizers & hi-hats talking about stealing people’s bitches. “Can’t Stop” by Don Toliver & Wallie the Sensei brings both of them together to deliver a psychedelic tribute to ingesting all sorts of drugs & “Florida Flow” by Travis Scott featuring Kodak Black finishes the tape with them beat reflects on the Miami scene speedin’ people’s shit up the way H-Town slows shit down over a Tay Keith beat.

My favorite Travis Scott solo song is actually the one that starts off the deluxe run “Da Wizard” dropping braggadocio over Metro Boomin’ & TM88 production while “Trip Out” feels like a Yeat song featuring Sheck Wes considering Yeat’s all over it except for the final verse out-rapping Sheck & it’s catered to the rage sound Yeat became known for when his popularity grew. The final bonus track “110 South” by Luxury Tax & Wallie the Sensei marks Luxury’s only appearance on the entire compilation joining Cactus Jack’s newest member backed by a ghostly trap instrumental giving no fucks.

So much going down in Texas this weekend considering Adam Page became a 2-time AEW World Champion ending Jon Moxley’s 4th & worst reign, オカダ・カズチカ defeating his biggest 新日本プロレス rival Kenny Omega to become the new AEW International Champion, the longest reigning ROH Women’s World Champion Athena becoming the current 4-time AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm’s #1 Contender, the seeds being planted for a reunion between former 7-time WWE Tag Team Champions Adam Copeland & Christian Cage since the current ROH World Television Champion Nick Wayne turned on the latter and lastly the current ROH World Tag Team Champion & ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Champion Dustin Rhodes becoming the new AEW TNT Champion because of Adam Cole vacating it due to career-threatening health issues at All In IV yesterday. Regarding the Let God Sort ‘Em Out & JACKBOYS II debate, Let God Sort ‘Em Out sweeps because JACKBOYS II feels reminiscent of Drake & 21 Savage’s collab album Her Loss.

Score: 3/5

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Bizarre – “He Got a Gun 5: Basement Jazz” review

5 installments deep into the He Got a Gun saga & the 9th studio LP from Detroit emcee Bizarre. Emerging as an original member of the now defunct D12 led by the late Proof, he was also among the first in the crew to put out solo efforts with his 1998 debut EP Attack of the Weirdos being a hometown classic in my eyes. Fast forward 7 years later, Biz followed it up with a worthy full-length debut Hannicap Circus & has continued to put out music on his own since, with the last time we heard him being his 11th mixtape 18159 Stout during the first quarter or the year. The Foul Mouth-produced He Got a Gun has since become a whole entire series of it’s own, releasing Basement Jazz as a way of celebrating THE DƎATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE) turning 1.

“Therapy” opens with a drumless gospel sample talking about having eternal loyalty for his brethren refusing to be friends with somebody whose brother got popped by him whereas “Screws Loose” featuring B-Real takes the boom bap route instrumentally still getting psycho with it. “Deep into Thought” works in some pianos to talk about living life to the fullest & showing y’all how to ball just before “Warrants” angrily gets involved with criminal activity.

L.A.R.S. or the Last American Rock Stars reunite on “Bag ‘Em Up” talking about servin’ it up & turning up all the smoke that all the hoes bring to them while “Cooley High” strips the drums to spit that gangsta shit asking why a knife got brought to a gunfight. “He’s Nice” featuring Cassidy finds the pair over a rap rock/boom bap hybrid filled with battle raps leading into “All Gas No Breaks” featuring Kain Cole grittily talking about not slowing down.

“Purpose” featuring Fool Boy Marley gotta has my least favorite guest performance on the entire thing despite the theme of not wanting their friends & family to worry for them, but then “Raised in the Ghetto” hooks up a crooning sample to talk about coming to rob instead of poppin’ bottles. “Practice What I Preach” brings some finger snaps & pianos to the fold speaking on being no good until “I Just Wanna Have Sex With You” ruins synth-lenient beat with average depictions of romance.

Meanwhile on “I Miss My Dogs”, we have Bizarre reflecting over the people in his life who can’t be with him presently while “Motion” by L.A.R.S. featuring X Factor works in a trippy guitar riff talk about steadily being on the move. “Mid July” combines themes of sex with the rockstar lifestyle he’s been on for 2 decades prior to Bruiser Wolf linking up to make some “Junky Music”.

“Get Off My Corner” featuring Jalen Frazier & Max Hilli begins the final quarter of the album with the trio advising certain people to back up from their respective blocks while “David Starr” featuring Foul Mouth & Nick Speed brings a jazzier vibe to the table for them to dismiss being soft. “Tap Dance” featuring Lokye ahead of the “Basement Jazz” outro as a closer hops over some pianos, kicks & snares taking on the lustful themes better than “I Just Wanna Have Sex With You”.

All 4 of He Got a Gun 5: Basement Jazz’ predecessors carry some of Bizarre’s most essential material by himself & I can say the same for most of what we got throughout this latest entry. Foul’s production a whole 365 days since the most vital placement of his resume lives up to the name in that it’s than what he’s done with his longtime collaborator almost a decade since their creative partnership began regardless of the few moments where the performances lack.

Score: 4/5

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Jane Handcock – “It’s Not Me, It’s You” review

Oakland, California singer/songwriter Jane Handcock releasing a sophomore effort after teasing it with a few singles. A member of MacArthur Maze, she introduced herself in the beginning of 2016 off her debut EP Truth Be Told followed by Where’s Jane? as well as Where’s Jane 1.5 & Summer Type Flow. Making her way onto the radar of WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg through Fa Real, she joined Death Row Records now distributed by gamma. for her debut album W.o.W. (World of Women) & is returning almost 2 years since Blvck Saturday with It’s Not Me, It’s You.

After the intro, the first song “Use Me” opens with a boom bap/neo soul crossover produced by Soopafly feeling like she has a genuine connection with this man instead of gold digging whereas “Sorry” swaps out the boom bap elements to throw a hint of rock in the picture apologizing for saying shit she didn’t mean. “Same Ol’ Love” colorfully sings about needing her lover from beginning to end while “You” featuring BJ the Chicago Kid gets together for a jazzy & soulful duet glad to be surrounding each other.

“For the Views” goes for a tenser direction in terms of sound singing about seeing truth & lies just before the funky “Stare at Me” featuring Anderson .Paak finds the pair taking it uptown & running it back downtown. “Stingy” smoothly asks for her lover to save all his love for her wanting him all to herself leading into “Can’t Let Go” after an interlude slickly add singing about being unable to get this man off her mind.

As for “Niraj”, we have Jane over some guitars from Charlie Bereal suggesting that this heartbreaker she knows plausibly needing love while “Smile” serves as a 90 second ode to happiness. “Good ta Me” puts her versatility on the forefront rapping & singing about her desires to give this man everything he wants over a Hit-Boy beat, but then “That’s All I Need” talks about only requiring love over a guitar & finger snaps. “Blowing Wind Around” closes the LP by favoring of rising in love rather than falling in it.

Jane uses It’s Not Me, It’s You as an opportunity to look at herself in all attributes to get the good, bad & ugly parts of her story out there in addition to strengthening Tha Row’s revived R&B division. Unlike the recent October London album October Nights basing itself around soul & contemporary R&B or Charlie Bereal’s debut for the label Walk with the Father throwing it back to the days of 70s smooth soul, MacArthur Maze’s biggest member diversifies from them shifting towards neo-soul mostly.

Score: 4/5

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Boldy James – “Late to My Own Funeral” review

Here is the 16th studio LP from Detroit veteran Boldy James. Breaking out in the fall of 2013 off his Alchemist produced debut M.1.C.S. (My 1st Chemistry Set), he would later go on to land a contract with Nas’ independent label Mass Appeal Records for a little while before getting locked up. Once coming home, Uncle Al would help get his name back out there once getting out by dropping the Boldface EP around Christmas 2019 & then the sophomore album The Price of Tea in China. This was followed up with the Sterling Toles-produced Manger on McNichols which was as equally fantastic, but the Griselda Records-backed Versace Tape EP was a tad bit disappointing given how rushed it was. Bo Jackson though would become his most critically acclaimed work to date & Super Tecmo Bo was almost as great for an EP. Fair Exchange No Robbery produced by Nicholas Craven, Penalty of Leadership, Mr. 10-08 produced by Futurewave, the Conductor Williams-produced Across the Tracks the Harry Fraud-produced The Bricktionary & the Carlo Anthony-produced Hidden in Plain Sight were all welcomed to warm reception additionally. Token of Appreciation produced by Chuck Strangers was much better than both Murder During Drug Traffic & Permanent Ink, the Antt Beatz-produced Hommage left people divided although I didn’t mind it, coming off the V Don-produced Alphabet Highway & the Killing Nothing sequel Conversational Pieces by showing up Late to My Own Funeral.

“Spider Webbing Windshields” opens with a sped-up gospel sample keeping blue tips in the tin mill & putting $10K bounties on heads whereas “Marrero” dabbles with rap rock instrumentally talking about being a ghetto trophy & a collector’s item. “Trapezoid” gets back on the chipmunk soul vibes boasting of the 227 Concreatures been real trappers while “Antonio Tuttle” drumlessly talks about his near death experience.

Reaching the halfway point, “Cordon Bleu” featuring David Wesson brings a jazzier flare to the table breaking down how real this shit gets at time & going crazy with the highest class just before “The Whole Shabang” soulfully talks about wanting it all. “Genie in a Bottle” continues with the sampling advising to take this as a token because time isn’t on his side prior to the 2nd & final single “Nice Try Wrong Guy” figuring out where one’s loyalty lies.

“Meal Prepping” gets the final leg of Late to My Own Funeral soulfully talking about hating thieves as much as rats just before “AT&T” featuring C Dell & Nick Bruno concludes the service linking the trio up over a chipmunk soul beat reaffirming their legitimacy getting up close & personal unlike some of these other killers around their parts or addressing the group of individuals burning bridges with them not knowing how to swim.

Regarding the run Boldy’s been on this year, Token of Appreciation & Alphabet Highway gotta make some room for Late to My Own Funeral since it’s head above shoulders compared to those enjoyable projects & The Pop Catcher has a very high chance joining this a month from now. Nicholas Craven’s production recaptures the drumless, jazzy & chipmunk soul feeling of Fair Exchange No Robbery combined with the expansion of Penalty of Leadership’s near-death experience exploration.

Score: 4.5/5

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Clipse – “Let God Sort ‘Em Out” review

Clipse is a duo from Virginia Beach, Virginia consisting of Pusha T & No Malice. Signing to Elektra Records in the mid-90s, their original debut Exclusive Audio Footage produced by the greatest production duo of all-time The Neptunes wound up getting shelved & jumped over to Star Trak Entertainment/Arista Records to widely introduce themselves on Lord Willin’. Switching distribution deals with Jive Records a couple years later, the Clipse took them to court & Hell Hath No Fury has since become one of the greatest coke rap albums ever. Following the mixed reception of the Columbia Records-backed ‘Til the Casket Drops, both members would embark on solo careers for over a decade & having Roc Nation Records buy them out of their Def Jam Recordings contract according to longtime manager & Victor Victor Worldwide founder Steven Victor for a Pharrell-produced comeback.

“The Birds Don’t Sing” opens the Thornton brothers’ return insisting that the birds screen in pain as the siblings talk about their parents passing on whereas the very reason Def Jam pussed out “Chains & Whips” featuring Kendrick Lamar in fact sticks out as a rap rock highlight calling back to his verse on “Nosetalgia” off Push’s solo debut M.N.I.M.N. (My Name Is My Name) during my sophomore year of high school succeeding that classic song when you think about 3 of the 4 contributors involved in both “Nostealgia” and “Chains & Whips” all have 1 common enemy.

Tyler, The Creator airing out Playboi Carti on “P.O.V.” had to have been a full circle of a moment from him as somebody who’s been following Yung T since the Odd Future era or especially hearing “Trouble on My Mind” during my adolescence until “So Be It” fuses Khaliji music & dirty south airing out the honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott for playing “Meltdown” a week prior to UTOPIA’s release & adding Drake’s verse onto it after the fact.

“Ace Trumpets” made for a perfect experimental hip hop & rage lead single with lyrics from the perspective of their days movin’ weight including jabs at Consequence & Jim Jones’ egotistical self having the nerve of putting himself above a later guest at some point during Let God Sort ‘Em on God, but then “All Things Considered” lets everyone know what’s been going on with them lately & the “Dior slides made of iguana” line during the hook made me think of how great they’d look on the current AAA Mundial Mixtas Parejas Campeon Mr. Iguana signed to the Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide subsidiary of the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE.

We have women wanting a “M.T.B.T.T.F. (Mike Tyson Blow to the Face)” since the coke strong as a punch delivered by the WWE Hall of Famer himself harboring white slave master souls in their safe over a boom bap instrumental prior to the blog era throwback “E.B.I.T.D.A. (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation & Amortization)” featuring Pharrell talking about there being no evening between them since the scale be telling no lies. “F.I.C.O.” picks up from there breaking down the survival of the fittest being either getting acquitted or facing time leading into “Inglorious Bastards” named after the Quentin Tarantino film of the same name marking the return of the Re-Up Gang.

“So Far Ahead” gets the 4th quarter of the Clipse’s comeback going off the rip refusing to eat at Roscoe’s out of respect for the late PnB Rock which is understandable as someone whose had Roscoe’s in the past & a crazy Brittney Griner line while the title track featuring Nas on the 2nd half “Chandeliers” leaving y’all dead on your back with your eyes lookin’ up clearing most of At the Church Steps & “By the Graces of God” closes the LP with the Thorntons explaining they way they escaped the odds.

When the timeless Public Enemy asked on “What Eye Said” off their newest full-length Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025 if any MC can write a verse without cursing, I had mentioned No Malice alongside Method Man’s most recent material & isn’t as bad as O-V-Hoes are making it out to be since their all-time favorite wants to ask “What Did I Miss?” when he got bodied in 2 rap beefs & the group their biggest foe once looked up to saw the Louis Vuitton men’s creative director put doubters calling him washed by going demon time with production & the siblings providing a Ying & Yang factor lyrically regardless of everything that happened with Chad Hugo when he’s always been musically superior as his best friend as said on the criminally underrated In My Mind & the Piece by Piece biopic that I highly enjoyed the previous fall.

Score: 4.5/5

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Larry June – “Until Night Comes” review

This is the 12th LP from Vallejo, California emcee Larry June. Someone who’s been quite busy for almost 2 decades his last 11 studio efforts as well as 14 EPs & 7 mixtapes with the highlights of his ever-growing discography including the Lex Luger-produced Trap Larry, the Cardo-produced Cruise USA & it’s sequel Into the Late Night, the Harry Fraud-produced Keep Going & more recently the mobb music-influenced Jay Worthy collab effort 2 P’z in a Pod, The Alchemist-produced The Great Escape & The Night Shift. His previous album Doing it for Me just came 11 months ago & he’s looking to link back up with Cardo for him to produce Until Night Comes.

After the “Free Uncle Sherm 6” intro, the first song “50’s in the City” kicks it all off showing everybody the way he does shit in the bay over a slick Mobb instrumental whereas “Black Man” kinda leans heavier towards g-funk in terms of sound givin’ a fuck less of what others gotta say regarding him. “Meet Me on Harbor” featuring Black C finds the 2 smoothly doing whatever the fuck they be wanting to do having everything others desire, but then we get a sequel to “7 Mile Bike Ride” off Orange Pint.

“Organic Free Range Chicken” finds himself catching Ws & mobbin’ on all these hoes but after the “Cardo’s Groove” interlude, “Ya Feel Me” featuring E-40 turns the Mobb influences up even higher talkin’ about feelin’ good with a couple big stacks on ‘em. “Gotta Be Love” goes for a nocturnal g-funk vibe to the beat tellin’ his girl how fly she is just before “On the Unda” portrays himself as a pimp suggesting this chick to slip out of store shoes for hoe shoes.

To get the final act of Until Night Comes rollin’, “100 Bags” featuring Don Toliver gets together for a psychedelic pop rap cut responding to their partners asking where they’ve been by saying they’ve been around while “Canadian Snow” soulfully boasts of him speaking like a boss & walking like a kingpin. “Still Game Related” featuring HBK & Payroll Giovanni finds the trio talking about doing what others can’t while the title track featuring Richie Rich & Wiz Khalifawraps it all up with a Mobb outro.

Standing by that Doing it for Me wasn’t up to par with either The Great Escape or The Night Shift, I did however come to enjoy it as much as the Life is Beautiful collaborative effort Larry June did with 2 Chainz produced by The Alchemist back in February & cuts above the last solo effort almost 2 years ago. Cardo’s production get back in the Mobb/trap fusions that made his previous material with Larry stick out & making slight improvements regarding the choice of compared to guests Until Night Comes’ predecessor.

Score: 4.5/5

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Giffy Pluggo – “Luxury Manifesto” review

Chicago, Illinois emcee & ATIP Records founder Giffy Pluggo dropping his 3rd EP ahead of the Douda reissue. Emerging a couple years ago off his debut mixtape Paid Leave & it’s sequel last summer, he put out an expanded version of his debut album Los Pluggos several months ago followed by Pluggo’s Birthday & Douda respectively. The latter mostly produced by Myles becoming the most beloved entry in his discography thus far, coming back after a few months for a Luxury Manifesto.

The title track produced by Scott Storch will arguably surpass “Casino” in being his biggest hit from the exuberantly cloudy instrumental to the lyrics about having the winning head whereas “Long Distance” featuring Global blends cloud rap & jazz rap taking on more romantic topics. “Livin’ Life” brings a soulful trap vibe to the table expressing gratitude for being in his current position until “Smoke & Stack” featuring BSF Tone 066 pleas for their homies who took risks to come home from the penitentiaries.

Shifting focus away from the conceptual Douda this spring letting the world inside of Giffy Pluggo’s personal life, Luxury Manifesto turns the pressure up for the midwestern Black Soprano Family affiliate to state his aims of fortune ditching the predecessor’s balancing between boom bap & trap in terms of production opting in favor of ditching that traditional east coast sound in favor cloud rap along with jazz rap & chipmunk soul.

Score: 3/5

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J. Michael Phillips & Yelawolf – “Whiskey & Roses” review

Toledo, Ohio singer/songwriter J. Michael Phillips joining Alabama rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, fashion designer & entrepreneur Yelawolf for a new collaborative album. One of whom is an urban country artist with only 1 LP of his own under his belt thus far & the other used to be signed to Eminem’s own Interscope Records imprint Shady Records a decade ago. Tony Martinez put out his own debut last summer Everything West introducing an outlaw country style to Slumerican Records & the producer of that is teaming with his newest signing for Whiskey & Roses.

“Helping Hand” throws it back to the 80s new wave & soft rock era instrumentally so both of them can talk about being there for one another whereas “I Swear” marks the first of 3 Yelawolf solo tracks throwing it back to the Arena Rap era suggesting to meet him at the church since he’s no longer afraid of death. “Amnesia” & “Falling” continue the themes of love speaking on a rough breakup during the first & continuously falling for their new partners on the other.

Reaching the halfway point, “Honey Hole” finds both parties sharing verses agin getting on their country shit together just before “Giddy Up” switches it up since Catfish Billy takes on the role of a feature letting J. Michael shine more talking about 2-faced people. “Searching for Heaven” speaks on finding Satan during their journey of seeking the pearly gates while “Yay Yay Yay” featuring Struggle Jennings finds the trio on some trap shit dropping hardcore lyrics.

“Big Trucks” sets Whiskey & Roses’ final minutes off revisiting the structural of “Giddy Up” except Yelawolf’s verse on here in comparison to that previous song feels garishly half-baked prior to “All I Ever Seen” saving J. Michael Phillips’ only solo cut for last embracing a traditional country vibe singing about not forgetting the nightmares & rising above the depths of where he was in life to live his dreams.

For clarification: I firmly believe that J. Michael’s upcoming sophomore effort & Slumerican debut will capitalize on his artistic potential much like Everywhere West did 11 months ago, but Whiskey & Roses would’ve made a better EP than a full-length because of everyone feeling like guests on their own project much like Drake & 21 Savage’s collab album Her Loss or the new Cactus Jack Records compilation Jackboys II.

Score: 2.5/5

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