King Combs is a 27 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from New York notable for the being the son of disgraced Bad Boy Entertainment founder, Sean John founder, Cîroc brand ambassador, Revolt founder & music industry mogul Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy and the late Kim Porter. His debut mixtape 90’s Baby as well as his first couple EPs Cyncerely, C3 & C3 were all released either moderately or negatively, but Ye formerly known as Kanye West has decided to solely produce C3’s newest EP in the midst of Diddy’s ongoing trial coming to a close.
“Lonely Roads Still Go to Sunshine” produced by Ye, The Legendary Traxster & Mario Winans was teased on Twitter way back in March & one that Ye’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian had every right being mad at over their daughter North West appearing on the bridge regardless off The Hobbit’s weird relationship with a Tesla robot now whereas “Kim” remembers his mother over a chipmunk soul instrumental.
Ye actually appears on “People Like Me” chopping up a soul sample & throwing some hi-hats over it so he & King Combs can talk about needing people like them when one of them is a self-professed Nazi, but then “Diddy Free” unsurprisingly survived the In a Perfect World sessions by making it’s way onto this EP & King Combs not doing the beat any better than the man who made it did himself.
The song “Repeat Me” heavily builds itself around a slowed down sample of “Slauson Ave” by Karri subtly saying that this is his way of doing house compared compared to what Drake went with on Honestly, Nevermind ruined by the poor pop rap lyrics while “The List” makes it even worse with the “suck a n***a cock ’til I’m cockless” line. Finally, the closing track “Souls” butchers a chipmunk soul instrumental with repetitively annoying pop rap bars.
For all the hate Nasir for being rushed, at least an off-beat Nas was a far more interesting MC on there how King Combs sounds on Never Stop. I’ll play devil’s advocate & give him credit for actually writes his own lyrics unlike his father’s storied history with ghostwriters, although him getting the same treatment as everyone involved in the 2018 Wyoming sessions feels like a downgrade when you think of Ye’s production being wasted this way.
Kansas City, Missouri veteran Tech N9ne kicking summer in full gear with his 26th studio LP. Starting out 3 decades back as a member of the groups Black Mafia as well as the 57th Street Rogue Dog Villians & the Nnutthowze, his profile began to increase in the late 90’s after landing a spot on the Gang Related soundtrack & becoming among the first to join Yukmouth’s then-newly formed collective The Regime. But after having issues with Interscope Records & Universal Music Group following the release of his iconic 3rd album Anghellic, that’s when Tech decided to form his own label with the help of a man at Paradise Originals named Travis O’Guin. Together, they would call it Strange Music & solidified itself as one of if not the biggest indie label in the world. Tech has made it a tradition to drop a project or 2 every year since Everready (The Religion) back in ‘06 except for 2022, returning the next summer with Bliss to mixed reception. C.O.S.M. (Class of Strange Music) became the best Collabos entry since my personal favorite Welcome to Strangeland & 5816 Forest looks outdo himself even more with only 2 guests on it because of people clowning him for overloading his projects with guests in the last 2-3 years or so.
After the “Donnie Call” skit, “The Birth” takes a trip down memory lane over some keyboards from Matt Phoenix speaking candidly on his mother’s health struggles whereas “Fridee to Sundee” (Triality)” demonstrates his storytelling abilities & unique slang taking a darker trap approach to the beat. “Yoda” featuring Lil Wayne finds the 2 likening themselves to the Jedi Grand Master from The Walt Disney Company-owned Star Wars franchise until “Ball” recalls another story from his household growing up.
“RDV” after the “Alyia Call” skit throws it back to the days of old school hip hop instrumentally harking back to his 57th Street Rogue Dog Villians days & “Lola” takes it a step further remembering the woman to convince him to go from beatboxing to MCing. “Black Walt Street (The New Breed)” dabbles with hyphy a bit reminiscing of his middle school days when he took on the original moniker Black Walt, but then “Excited” cheerfully talks about making his days the brightest.
Wrapping up the first leg, “The Nice One” cloudily remembers when the “white ones” used to come up to his locker telling him what people have said regarding him while “The Punishment (Lockdown)” paints a picture of a formative childhood memory backed by some thick bass & organic percussion. The chipmunk soul-based “What I Do” recalls beginning to steal during his freshman year of high school & after the “Reign Call” skit, “No Rub” takes it back to a hyphy vibe suggesting he should’ve smashed raw.
“Fish Captain” remembers when his stepfather gave him a summer gig because of the kids he was rolling with at the time of his adolescence while “Sacrifice” featuring Strange Music signee Jehry Robinson acoustically admits to working on their craft instead of what regular kids did. After the “Bella Call” skit, “Livin’ in the Sky” brings a trap flare back refusing to write sad songs for those in his life who’ve passed on & can’t be with us today.
After the “Call with 2 Year Old Alina” skit, “This I Know” blends bright piano blinks beneath triumphant horns along with a loose bluesy guitar & a soul sample reaching back into his earliest memories to make a big screen-worthy image of his formative years prior to the closer “J6’s” finishing up talking about not knowing his life would change at some point when life deals you bad hands lot of times & avoiding these issues by coming up with a plan.
Maybe the most I’ve enjoyed a Tech album since N9na, it’s such a deeply personal & sonically ambitious LP that marks a significant chapter in a legendary career for the indie titan. 5816 Forest reminisces on legacy, loyalty & the roots of independence in hip hop revisiting the foundational moments that shaped him & Strange Music resulting in a raw, reflective body of work that combines hard-hitting lyricism with moments of vulnerability, grit & growth.
In front of us is the 4th studio LP from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Hardrock. Getting his start over 2 years ago off his debut EP Y.N.S. (Young N***a Shit), he would continue to build up anticipation by delivering 6 more EPs ahead of the commercial debut LP Next! & the breakout sophomore effort 808 Speaker Knockerz. The latter of which contains some of his best tracks to date like “H.Y.L.M.N.? (How You Like Me Now)”, “Madonna”, “New WRLD” & “Luigi Mansion”. The last album 1of1 matched the caliber of it’s predecessor & Slimyfella has finally arrived following the prelude My Gift to You immediately after signing to Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic Records.
“New Level” hops on top of a rage beat out the gate to talk about bossing up tremendously in the 14 months since we’ve last heard from him whereas “Watch Out” pulls from hypertrap once more talking about pullin’ up with them killas. “Biggest Soldier” produced by Devstacks proved to be the most reasonable choice as the sole single during the rollout to drum up anticipation hooking up these synthesizers & hi-hats to throw opps in the wild leading into “Slide” flexing about the body he just caught on camera.
Meanwhile on “Get Go”, we have Hardrock airing out the people who’ve been plotting on him from the very beginning while “Blood Sweat Tears” turns the bass up extremely high to talk about being timeless & putting his all into this music shit unlike those who ain’t making it out the hood. “They Know” shows a hypertrap influence again promising to live by the code & die by it maintaining the roll he’s been on unbeknownst to others prior to “Gimmie Dat” going for a plugg direction to talk about knowing people who want the whole loaf of bread.
“Disgusting” show off how filthy his pockets have been in the past few years with another plugg instrumental making it’s way to the fold while “Hot” ends the first half of Slimyfella working his thumbs by twisting his fingers counting his bands. “Mr. Spendalot” kicks off the 2nd leg of the LP with some peppy synthesizers talking about being the type to blow a bag until “Bloody Seats” references the late CFFC fighter Kimbo Slice who briefly fought in the UFC during the hook.
Nosaint & Toom of Vanguard Music Group help turn the rage back up in full effect during the standout “De La Cruz” smoking big blunts because he ain’t a rookie, but then “Solid” keeps it rollin’ by waking up & getting right to it. “Familia” kinda has this quirky trap edge to it declaring the squad as his real family in addition to asking for his pedigree to be checked while “Heaven (007)” hazily compares himself to James Bond.
“Koko” bombastically pushes forward boasting about his lifestyle while “No Time” with Y3rip & n9ck cloudily looks get the bags poppin’ the second he gets up. “Slime Stroll” gives regalia a shot doing what he does since he’s a boss acknowledging everyone out in the streets speaking cocky on him & “Cold Stare” caps it off with a synth-driven trap closer talking about not going anywhere without his finger on the trigger.
Catching on to him right when he started blowing up a few summers ago, it pains me to say that I found myself liking Slimyfella less than his last couple projects & it could be the most divisive offering in his discography. Although I love that he got Vanguard to oversee it & the engineering has improved greatly compared to his earlier material, it feels like it runs a little longer than it should’ve been.
Frankie Cosmos is a 31 year old singer/songwriter & musician from New York City releasing her first couple EPs Zentropy & Fit Me In ahead of the full-length studio debut Next Thing. The latter going on to catch the attention of Sub Pop Records, who signed her in the spring of 2017 & has remained on the Seattle indie label to this day. Vessel, the Haunted Items tetralogy, Close It Quietly & Inner World Peace have all been well-received in the bedroom pop subgenre of indie pop albeit not as much as Zentropy was. Something that I was hoping her 5th studio LP would change going into it & based on both singles that were teased ahead of time.
“Pressed Flower” opens with some acoustics singing about gentrification & rebirth whereas “1 of Each” confesses that she doesn’t know what she wants & not even gravity can hold onto her. “Against the Grain” maintains a steady indie rock direction singing about her preference of being along as of late while the 2nd & final single “Bitch Heart” finds herself missing who she was because she can’t go a day without being on her phone.
We get some synthesizers & jangly guitars colliding on “Porcelain” to address dissociation just before “1! Grey! Hair!” maintains a general indie rock vibe singing about the idea of growing up hardly crossing her mind & suggesting heartbreak occasionally means heartthrob. “Vanity” was a great lead single pulling from indie pop feeling as if she’s another victim of another’s careless futility leading into “Not Long” turning back to an indie rock direction singing about the relatable desire to stay in bed all day.
“Margareta” works in these warm riffs that give off a summertime feeling briefly summarizing our main character of the song rolling down the street in a run down car with her jacket hanging in the backseat while “Your Take On” delves further down the indie rock sound painting a love interest as a villain because it makes her worthy of being cherished. “High 5 Handshake” executes some of the most calmly passionate vocal performances throughout the album portraying, but then “You Become” laments over a friendship dissolving as a result of said former friend becoming a person she doesn’t recognize.
Dismissing the presumption of her passing away, Frankie rather insists she was taking more of a “Joy Ride” chillin’ in a bike lane of a restaurant since that’s where everything goes down while the twee-driven “Tomorrow” sings about not backing out from a show she has to perform in 24 hours. “Wonderland” continues down the final moments of Different Talking singing about getting to know herself more than with time while “Life Back” recalls feeling like she wasn’t gonna reclaim herself the day prior, feeling completely fine after some time to recollect. “Pothole” lastly caps it all off with colorful death of ego optimistically finding meaning in the world as we know it.
Vastly themed around growing up & figuring out how to know yourself, Different Talking redeems Frankie Cosmos from the lukewarm reception of her output since her label deal with the most insularly written AND sonically varied material of her entire career. Primarily combining indie rock & indie pop together, she furthermore takes the opportunity to focus less on twee pop than Inner World Peace did almost 3 years ago leaving the comforting bravery of her early adulthood behind due to the epiphany of that same person always living inside you no matter how much we change.
Sandusky, Ohio emcee/producer Nezzy back with his 3rd studio LP nearly 10 months since the last one. Emerging within the underground in 2022 off his first 2 EPs Subject to Change & Pyramids, he went on to follow this up by releasing the debut album Hippie Thug in the subsequent spring & his 3rd EP New World Disorder in the fall. His sophomore effort Hall of Infamy came last summer the week following him opening for Psychopathic Records alumni Anybody Killa & DJ Clay at the co-headlined Welcome Home Party, getting another summer in effect by dropping Worm Food.
After the titular intro, the first song “Tha Boogeyman” kicks the door down with a hardcore boom bap opener promising to show you the ropes if you don’t understand it whereas “Ohio State of Mind” featuring Copywrite finds the 2 linking up to rep their home state with secondary rap rock influences. “Nezferatu” produced by Hobgoblin sticks out from the creepy boom bap instrumental to Nezzy’s bloodthirsty lyrics just before “Toyz in the Attic” recalls a time where he wanted to kill the man who sexually took advantage of his sister & with every reason in the world.
“Death of a Poet” featuring Psyonik works in a crooning soul sample from Jamil Honesty so they can make a blueprint & devise off it but after the “By Any Meanz” skit, “‘68 Grand Prix” takes it back to the basement with a siren raising boom bap beat & boastful lyricism. The instrumental on “Alakazam” sounds like it was flipped from a horror film soundtrack & drums added on to pull tricks out his sleeve while “Shark Fin Soup” unleashes stored anger with his pen over some pianos.
We have Nezzy promising that he’ll live forever through his discography & giving it “Raw ‘n’ Uncut” over a mobster-like sample until “Necron 99” after the “Huey Freeman” skit recites his soul to the microphone making better use of his days instead of being incarcerated counting down his release. “Trigger Warning” nears the final moments with another favorite of mine where he & Johnny Slash laugh off how sensitive everyone is & “Spittin’ Image” flexes his pen 1 last time.
Almost a year since the Halls of Infamy were explored, Nezzy’s distinct blend of hardcore vulgar references & deeply introspective conscious rap full of uncompromising rhyme schemes & thought-provoking choice of words gets pushed to newer heights with what he’s been calling the finest work of his career. Rightfully so too since his sword’s sharper than ever & the boom bap production feels rawer.
Lorde is a 28 year old singer/songwriter from Auckland, New Zealand breaking out as an international superstar in the fall of 2013 after signing to Republic Records & putting out her full-length studio debut Pure Heroine many months after the debut of former AEW World Trios Champion, ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Champion, 2-time IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, IWGPインターコンチネンタルチャンピオン, IWGP USヘビー級チャンピオン & NEVER無差別級チャンピオン Jay White until eventually focusing on her double life in South Park, Colorado as a geologist named Randy Marsh. In all seriousness: Her sophomore effort Melodrama would go on to become the greatest alt-pop album of all-time & Solar Power produced by Jack Antonoff stands as her most polarizing work to this very day, hoping that her 4th LP would recapture the acclaim of her first 2.
“Hammer” fuses alt-pop & electropop with indietronica, Baltimore Club, ghettotech & art pop for an ode to city life & horniness leading into “What Was That?” dabbling with alt-pop, electropop, dance-pop, future garage & synthpop to sing about the aftermath of a breakup. “Shapeshifter” collides alt-pop with a hint of alternative R&B together so she can portray her partner having the ability to transform himself due to mixed signals & misunderstood communication while “Man of the Year” brings some indietronica & singer/songwriter vibes to the the styles of the last track singing about the person she wants to be.
Her relationship with her mother gets touched on during “Favourite Daughter” carrying over the alt-pop & indietronica styles just before “Current Affairs” acoustically samples “Morning Love” by Dexta Daps recalling an experience she had watching Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee’s sex tape under the influence of both ecstasy & psilocybin. “Clearblue” keeps everything stripped back instrumentally to make caution of becoming pregnant following unprotected sex just before “Grown Woman” finds herself back in an alt-pop direction singing about trying to find a mature female in her life for almost 3 decades & counting.
“Broken Glass” hits the final leg of Virgin with a cathartic take on synthpop bringing up the self-hatred Lorde has towards her own image while “If She Could See Me Now” blends alternative R&B & indietronica reflecting on everything that made her the person she is today expressing her hardiness of a past version of herself being happier with her future self. “David” finishes up the album with a minimal direction up until the halfway point where it starts crescendoing asking if she’ll ever love again & feeling as if she doesn’t belong to anybody.
Flicking a light on inside of her in midst of Solar Power’s divisive feedback & her breakup with Justin Warren at the same time, Virgin diverts away from the prominent folk pop sound of her 2021 predecessor in favor of focusing more on what made her break out in the alt-pop subgenre reflecting on her femininity. The secondary influences of indietronica, singer/songwriter, art pop, electropop & alternative R&B in Jim-E Stack’s production pans out more impressively than what the Bleachers spearhead tried to do with indie folk, psychedelic pop, soft rock & indie pop 4 years ago.
Memphis Bleek is a 46 year old rapper & songwriter from Brooklyn, New York starting as the original hype man for JAY-Z. Hov eventually signed him to Roc-A-Fella Records once their distribution deal with Def Jam Recordings was settled, dropping both his full-length debut Coming of Age & the sophomore effort The Understanding to mixed reception. M.A.D.E. (Money, Attitude, Direction & Education) would become my personal favorite album of his in the winter of 2003 & with the 20-year anniversary of 534 passing last month, the Warehouse Music Group founder is looking to make a comeback with his 5th studio LP.
“Durag Bleek” produced by Just Blaze was a perfect lead single to kick off the rollout talking about the Roc life being bigger than that mob shit whereas “Still R.O.C.” works in a gospel sample to talk about representing the same squad he’s been with for almost 3 decades, which he’s not wrong since Roc Nation Records is distributing Warehouse now. “You Should Know” laughs off those copping out more than they drop out over a soulful Cool & Dre instrumental leading into the mild pop rap cut “On My Way”.
We get a spoken word intro that takes up the first half of “Holla at Cheech” ahead of a 52 second verse off the top flexing that y’all should be following him outside of social media over a Sndtrak beat while “I’m the Type” brings a chipmunk soul vibe to the table talking about being the kind of person to ride with you until the very end. “King’s Design” suggests that he should be charging people the way he be speaking like a boss just before “3 Kings” featuring Benny the Butcher & Smoke DZA finds the trio talking about being royalty around their respective parts.
“Believe It” begins the 3rd & final leg of APT 3D with boom bap instrumental showing off the large lifestyle he’s been involved with ever since his music career took off really while “Choosing You” brings back the pop rap vibes except he & Mario Winans are doing it much better than they did on “On My Way” from the atmospheric sound to the lyrics of always remaining loyal to his partner. “Word to Hov” finishes Bleek’s first body of work in 2 decades with him taking the last 2 & a half minutes to shout out his mentor as well as explain that he had to take time away from music to pick himself back up from personal shit.
Taking it back to the apartment complex in the Marcy Projects that made him, APT 3D rivals M.A.D.E. (Money, Attitude, Direction & Education) by passionately returning to the booth casually shrugging off whatever Memphis Bleek had going on in his life outside of music. The production nostalgically throws it back to when Roc-A-Fella was at their prime as a label in the early 2000s & most of the features doing hooks other than both MCs who were on the 2nd single was a great move on his part since that time away gave him a lot to get off his chest.
Brand new collaborative EP between Harlem, New York emcee Dave East as well as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania emcee Young Chris. The latter of whom gained notoriety as part of the State Property subgroup Young Gunz & the other broke out by landing a spot in the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class almost a decade ago. Both of these guys have collaborated with each other a couple times in the past & only 4 months after the From the Dirt Records founder linked with Ransom on The Final Call, he & Chris are going out for some Fine Dining.
“Pablo & Gunner” was a great single in my opinion from the back-&-forth delivery both parties employ to the boom bap instrumental whereas “Gemstars & Baggies” fuses jazz & trap together so they can talk about wanting to catch Ws as a way of rebounding from all the Ls they’ve previously took. “Kiss the Sky” takes it back to the basement representing a city where the skinny ones ride leading into “Ain’t Adding Up” airs out everyone who ain’t doing the math.
Elcamino provides the hook on the smooth pop rap cut “She’s Choosing” talking about getting high with women & having them lay on their chests while “We Won’t Stop” gets on the soulful boom bap tip once again refusing to pump the brakes & keep putting it on for their home state. “10 Toes Down” finds the pair needing a gallon of water each since the rap game so dry & “Get That $” dustily finishes with both of them chasing the paper.
Dave’s really been stepping it up with the collaborative projects this year because if you come to find yourself enjoying Fine Dining more than The Final Call, I wouldn’t even complain since Young Chris’ pen has always been as sharp as Peedi Crakk’s probably would’ve gotten a solo album on Roc-A-Fella Records after Prince of the Roc had the label not imploded on itself due to Dame Dash’s ego. You get more versatile production pulling from boom bap, jazz rap, trap & pop rap as opposed to the drumless chipmunk soul direction of The Final Call & both of them hone in on their chemistry together.
Samara Cyn is a 26 year old rapper & singer from Murfreesboro, Tennessee beginning her career in 2019 after writing her first song. However, it wasn’t until last fall where her debut EP The Drive Home began to turn heads and catch people’s attention because of the way she fused alternative hip hop with neo-soul. She’s been landing features on Ray Vaughn’s most recent mixtape The Good, The Bad, The $1 Menu preceding his beef with Joey Bada$$ the following month as well as the new ovrkast. album While the Iron’s Hot a few weeks ago, coming off the latter with her 2nd EP.
“Summer’s Turning” was a woozy intro finding herself sweating often because she feels like the jig is up whereas “Pop n Olive” featuring Sherwyn takes a cloudy boom bap approach instrumentally trading verses back-&-forth about killing people. “hardheaded” offers a funkier vibe to the beat confronting society in 2025 & after the cloudy yet relatable “Bad Brain” talks about facing the anxieties & distractions of life, “Brand New Teeth” featuring Smino wraps up the EP with both of them talking about delusional pressure.
Receiving co-signs from Doechii & even Lauryn Hill bringing her out on stage after she started her set late like always, Samara faces the parts of herself she’s been denying & confronting them well enough to make a Drive Home follow-up that makes her realize her potential even more than she did 8 months ago taking a path to success that’s been rarely traveled. She’s hungrier than she was back in October & if she keeps purifying the style that made her popular to begin with, her full-length studio debut will only leave a mark on the industry bigger than this moment.
Louisville, Kentucky emcee & Mobstyle Music founder Bukshot subtly dropping his 10th studio LP. From his lengthy solo discography to the groups & duos that’s formed with some of the biggest names that the underground has to offer, there’s no question that dude’s been putting it down for the culture for a grip at this point. Double Dragon had reunited a couple months ago for their sophomore effort Big Trouble with Double Dragon heavily inspired by the movie Big Trouble in Little China & is finally releasing Antagonist exactly 6 months to the day as Boondox’ most recent EP Black Winter.
After the “Villadictorian” intro, the first song “Bad Guy” produced by none other than MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 opens with a trap beat talking about being a villain whereas “I Was There” featuring Ill Bill goes for boom bap vibe to discuss never being afraid of the outcome & buckin’ at opps at every opportunity. “No More Fight” keeps it in the basement instrumentally finding his mind drifting further as time goes on leading into “Martyrs” bringing a doomsday atmosphere talking about handling business.
“All I See is Red” featuring Str8jaket likens themselves to the inaugural IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer & Real American Beer founder Hulk Hogan alongside fellow WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff in light of their new promotion Real American Freestyle (RAF) Wrestling holding it’s first show in a couple months just before “Darkest Night” dastardly talks about wanting to see the sun rise.
Jamie Madrox joins Buk on the cavernous trap single “Tear It Off” to talk about being in a standoff & burning the whole place down because their enemies don’t wanna stand tall while “My Woods, My Rules” after the “Hanzel & Gredel” skit morbidly portrays himself as a serial killer riding in a cabin in the forests. “Turbulence” featuring the Lune Squad & Str8jaket unites the quartet over some hellish background vocals talking about being living nightmares while “Chess” checkmates every last one of these heretics.
“Heel Song” after the titular skit references former 3-time CWA Tag Team Champion, WCW World Heavyweight Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 10-time WWE tag team champion, 2-time WCW World Television Champion, 2-time IWGPタッグチャンピオン & 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion Scott Steiner while “Clocks” featuring Jarren Benton & Stevie Stone asks why everyone’s so foul. “Walk in My Shoes” promises to raise Hell whether he wins or loses while “Proceed with Caution” talks about doing God’s work.
Rittz appears for “Deserted” feeling like they don’t deserve to be left behind yet it’s worth it because they both live beautiful lives while “Bottom Feeders” talks about upgrading his hustle. “Dramacyde” completely dismantles all these so called influencers that we come across all over social media while “Rule My World” featuring Apathy talks about concocting ways of conquering the globe.
“Lovely” faces the concept of self-remorse head-on while “Get It Done” featuring Joey Cool explains that it doesn’t matter how you do your job as long as everything’s completed somehow someway. “Merciless” admits that he’s been in a weird mental place as of late showing absolutely no mercy & after the “Magnum Opus” skit, “Are You Still Down?” talks about people being there for you 1 day & gone the next.
Meanwhile on “Slaughterous” featuring Timbo, we have the father-son duo getting together to unload a full clip at everyone who be spewing bullshit regarding them while “It Ain’t the Same” talks about holding on to memories of a person who isn’t here with him anymore. “Pressure” suggests to shake yesterday off like a bad habit since we’re living for today while “Enough” talks about our families needing us now more than ever.
“Man Down” featuring Chris Webby & Slaine advises to stand your ground instead of running since people will stab you in the back if you’re not watching it while “Wide Awake” talks about being unable to sleep as a result of the thoughts racing through his head. “Loyalty” colorfully explains what allegiance means to him while “Free” featuring Matt Phoenix talks about never letting anyone else steal your shine.
After the “Say Bye to the Bad Guy” interlude, the penultimate track “Summer Vibes” featuring Str8jaket & Wrekonize nears the end of Antagonist with a ballad that thematically revolves around them getting fucked up during the warmest time of the year while “Nuisance” by The Horde featuring 9 Millz by grittily talking about refusing to fuck with any & all dimwits.
For a triple disc offering Antagonist has gotta be the the most I’ve enjoyed a Bukshot solo project in a while. Maybe even surpassing Weirdo as my new favorite of his. 7’s production on this one balances boom bap & trap as opposed to his recent output with Buk focusing more on the latter subgenre with the Mobstyle founder showing a villainous side to himself.
Legends Will Never Die 