Summerville, South Carolina rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Dro Kenji is back for his 3rd EP. Signing to both Internet Money Records & 10K Projects not even 365 days after he began making music, he has since put out 7 full-length studio LPs along with a couple EPs & a mixtape. The End of Nothing earlier this summer marked a return to form after experimenting with rage beats & a sequel’s here 6 weeks later.
“Fade” made for an emo rap intro confessing to his lover that he feels as if his heart’s beating I it of frame & the fear of showing how he feels whereas “Stay Focused” finds himself maintaining his concentration asking if he does too much when he’s off the drugs. “Outlandish” talks about never leaving his romantic interest stranded & wanting her to fall in love while “Plug’s House” poses the question of his authenticity being legit or not.
The End of Nothing 2’s final leg starts with “Joggin’”, where Dro hops over a melancholic guitar with more hi-hats talking about running to the bread. “Hookup 4 Anything” looks to start a catastrophe with his partner & realizes he possibly knows her more strongly than himself prior to “Annoying” getting to the bottom of whether or not he’s aggravating her.
Dro Kenji’s previous EP at the beginning of the summer welcomingly took it back to his emo pop rap/trap roots after experimenting with rage beats on Valentine’s Day, but I came away from The End of Nothing 2 liking it only slightly less than I did the predecessor. He’s topically sticking to his bread & butter which isn’t a criticism, except the production on here compared to the original End of Nothing doesn’t catch my attention similarly.
Timbo is a 26 year old rapper from Louisville, Kentucky notable for being the eldest son of Mobstyle Music founder Bukshot. The latter of whom you may be familiar with either through his solo material or his memberships with groups like The Underground Avengers, The Horde, The Berzerkers, Cabal & Double Dragon spanning in a nearly 3 decade career. Following his dad’s footsteps, none other than MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 has locked in with Timbo for the latter’s official debut EP.
“Silence” opens with a cloudy ratchet instrumental talking about being the type to refrain from wasting his time on some minimal bullshit whereas “Duck Down” throws it back to The Neptunes’ late 90s sound feeling like he’s had enough with all the questions getting thrown towards his direction. The jazzy trap crossover “Ordained” finds himself flexing that no one can fuck with him & the lo-fi “Cool Breeze” advises not to come at him unless it’s purposeful.
It’s a bit different in sound compared to what we’ve gotten out of Mobstyle Music for nearly 3 decades at this point, but Timbo’s inaugural body of work makes an impressive introduction as to who he is both artistically & personally dissecting his Perfect Imperfections over MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7’s expectedly detailed production carrying on his father’s legacy by coming to his own.
Atlanta, Georgia rapper Tezzus coming off his new Søufside collaborative EP with Percaso only a week ago to put out his 4th solo EP. Introducing himself with his first few EPs Hard2Kill as well as Hellraiser & Everyday’s Halløween, his debut mixtape Tezzus Khrist last holiday season would significantly elevate his profile locally as did the handful of appearances he made on The XA Tape earlier this year. Another weekend later & Backrooms arrives merely hours following its announcement.
“Back” opens with a horn-laced trap instrumental fearing nobody talking because he rules whereas the rage-inducing “Rich Gang” takes a couple minutes to boast his wealth. “50 Cities 50 Nights” featuring Boofinesse works in some 808s to talk about only trusting the money leading into “10th Grade” goes for a hypertrap vibe again calling himself a Guitar Hero the way he rocks stages. “Øh My Gød” by the Uy Scuti Bøyz ends the EP with both of them suggesting for others to come to grips with their successes.
Continuing to prepare for his debut album & the sophomore effort done in the styles of R&B & phonk respectively, Tezzus diverts from the Søufside journey that was embarked on merely 7 days ago & releases a 5-pack clocking in at 11 minutes that’s still worth your time even if it it’s a minor step down from Tezzus Khrist. The production here ditches the secondary tread & plugg influences of his debut tape to focus more around trap & rage and the few guests do their job of keeping the same energy.
BABYMETAL is a Kawaii metal trio from Tokyo, Japan consisting of Su-metal, Moametal & Momometal. Releasing an eponymous debut album together under Toy’s Factory over a decade ago already, the band’s sophomore effort Metal Resistance a couple years later was where I personally became a fan of their music. On the contrary, Metal Galaxy & The Other One were both average in comparison. Signing to Capitol Records this spring, the band’s finally ready to make their major label debut.
“from me to u” featuring Poppy blends alternative metal, metalcore, electronicore, nu metal, industrial metal & kawaii metal to sing about killing the enemies with the rage inside them whereas the WWE Bash in Berlin official theme song “Ratatata” featuring Electric Callboy fuses electronicore, kawaii metal & Eurodance comparing their bodies to weapons.
Slaughter to Prevail joins BABYMETAL for the disappointingly mediocre kawaii metal/metalcore crossover “Song 3” trying to make their version of “Revolution 9” by The Beatles just before “Kon! Kon!” featuring Bloodywood embraces a heavier nu metal vibe with additional elements of kawaii metal, rap metal & Bhangra in what both parties have called “creature metal”.
KxAxWxAxIxI concludes the first half of “Metal Force” by embracing the kawaii metal style they have come to recognize and standing at the top of the subgenre hierarchy, while the gradually cute “Sunset Kiss” featuring Polyphia reflects on the lovers’ relationship coming to an end, as it melts into the red sky of dawn , depicting the sun setting and the faded face still burning.
Spiritbox & BABYMETAL team up for the kawaii metal, alt-metal, metalcore & djent hybrid “My Queen” asking to be freed from some sort of pain while “Algorism” sings about the past & the future not going away because love’s a process within itself. “METAL!!” experiments with alternative metal, groove metal & Japanese folk music for an energetically playful single to dance to while “White Flame” climactically finishes the melodic speed metal series on a powerfully emotional note.
Metal Forth embodies BABYMETAL’s artistic growth by pushing boundaries & collaborating with artists they’ve connected with from around the world, landing behind Metal Resistance for their most essential full-length. Kobametal’s production is more bolder than the band’s earlier output going beyond kawaii metal to further explore the styles alternative metal, electronicore, industrial metal, power metal, j-pop, metalcore, deathcore, djent, nu metal, groove metal, Eurodance, rap metal, Bhangra & Japanese folk music.
Phoenix, Arizona trap metal outfit the Dropout Kings consisting of vocalists Adam Ramey & Eddie Wellz, guitarist Rob Sebastian & drummer Jeremy Garcia releasing their 3rd studio LP. Making theirbdwbur in 2018 off their full-length debut AudioDope & gaining more momentum a couple years later with their debut EP GlitchGang, they signed to Suburban Noize Records for their divisive sophomore effort Riot Music even if I personally have it as my favorite in their discography. Adam tragically took his own life this spring & the Kings are dedicating Yokai to his memory.
“Black Sheep” starts the album with a rap metal/nu metal throwback talking about being out of their minds whereas “Brace Yourself” advises to prepare for what they’ve done to break themselves embracing both styles of the intro once again. “Baka” gets back to the band’s trap metal roots promising to live & die by honor as well as referencing my favorite WR of all-time Randy Moss, but then “F.T.W. (Fuck the World)” lividly gives a middle finger to everyone around them.
The rap metal vibes return for “Devil Fruit” observing the game for being as cutthroat as it is just before “First Day Out” starts the 2nd half of Yokai with the most melodic moment on the entire project singing about life going south & things looking brighter these days. “Guillotine” blends rap metal & alternative metal together so they can speak of finding their own ways around the darkness while “Fake It” asks if their names will be said or disappeared if they happened to fade away.
Meanwhile on the title track, we have the Dropout Kings going in an industrial hip hop direction instrumentally talking about bringing knifes to gun fights & becoming smartasses when they get too high prior to the rap rock-tinged “Eye Bleach” suggesting that they should be treating all these other bands in their lane like they’re children advising to hang it up already. The closer “Deadname” ends the sextet’s Napalm debut with a metalcore/rap metal hybrid wanting to be buried as their former forenames.
Getting to see the Dropout Kings live during both the Gathering of the Juggalos & Fright Fest in the late summer/early fall of 2021, what could most likely be Adam Ramey’s final recordings ever celebrates everything he stood for marks a bittersweet end of an era in the group’s story. The indomitable will, ambition, struggle & pain that’ve shaped these guys into what they are today get vouched for adapting to trap metal’s evolution during a time of their greatest loss.
Champtown is a 52 year old MC, producer, DJ, film director & teacher from Detroit, Michigan known for his involvement in establishing a myriad of the city’s hip hop artists from Kid Rockto the Insane Clown Posse & even Eminem. His first couple EPs Call Me Joker & Check It! in the early/mid 90s would prelude his 1999 debut Now or Never N***a!, returning in 2016 for the sophomore effort Racial Profilin’ & almost another decade to release his 3rd EP executive produced by Body Count frontman Ice-T.
The title track is a rap rock intro with a hook reminiscent of old school hard rock talking about politics being wack as fuck to him & I have to agree with him as someone who enjoyed the South Park season 27 premiere couple weeks earlier whereas “Burn” carries over the rap rock vibes for an interpolation of “Disco Inferno” by The Trammps, which I prefer far more than the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion as well as the 2-time WCW World Television Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion of the same name.
“Hasbulla” aggressively references the Russian social media personality who signed a 5-year promotion contract with the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division UFC merely 12 months prior to them buying the WWE for $9.3B just before “We Dranking” moves forward with a rap rock song about consuming alcohol. “Jumpin’ for Eddie V” pays homage to the late Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen while “My Matrix” feels like an attempt at a throwback to 80s pop rock/synth-wave era.
Excluding the essential “What Color is Soul?” featuring Chaos Kid & Eminem taken from Now or Never N***a! reappearing to make it’s DSP debut, “W.A.G.D. (We All Gonna Die)” featuring Unko Jozee sends off the EP officially with a 6 minute outro remixing a rap rock with boom bap & trap talking about the color of one’s skin doesn’t matter because we’ll all meet our demise eventually with nothing to save you from it happening.
Only less than 10 days away from his performance at the 25th annual Gathering of the Juggalos or the Gathering of Legends, the Straight Jacket Records founder Champtown leans heavier towards a rap rock sound on Rocker at Heart compared to his previous material taking notes from The Rolling Stones of hip hop Public Enemy led by his mentor Chuck D to put his versatility front & center almost 4 decades in the game.
Portland, Oregon rapper Yeat elusively announcing his 7th EP earlier this week & it’s finally here. Emerging in 2018 off his debut EP Deep Blue $trips, he’s been dominating the mainstream since 2021 whether it be him dropping several projects or receiving cosigns from the likes of Drake & Earl Sweatshirt. He eventually signed to Geffen Records, who backed his sophomore effort albeit major label debut 2 Alivë & it’s companionable deluxe EP Gëek Pack shortly after. Coming off his 5th mixtape Lyfë a few summers ago alongside Aftërlyfe & the experimental Capitol Records debut 2093, he went back to his roots to rep the Lyfëstyle & has returned 10 months later for a Dangerous Summer.
“Put It Ong” produced by BNYX of Working on Dying hops over a vocal sample with some synthesizers & hi-hats flexing that he can make $1M in a week tops whereas “Loco” travels towards a rage-inducing direction thanks to Synthetic of Internet Money Records admitting that the money got him going insane. “Loose Leaf” finds himself talking about a woman who loves percs & pearls leading into “Oh I Did” featuring NGeeYL finds the pair refusing to even waste a minute.
Meanwhile on “Comë n Go”, we have Yeat over some quirky synths to tell a bitch to come out & show him exactly how thankful she is that he showed her his Lyfestylë just before “[ADL IS COMING]” preludes the man’s upcoming 6th LP A Dangerous Lyfë& A Dangerous Love. “I’m Yeat” was a fun west coast trap/rage single talking about the kind of guy he is while “M.F.U. (Middle Fingers Up)” featuring SahBabii finds the pair breaking down the way they live until the end.
“2Tone” featuring Don Toliver starts the last leg of Dangerous Summer going back-&-forth with one another over a futuristic beat thanking God for the times they used to pray for coming to fruition while “Fly Nitë” featuring FKA twigs serves as a duet wanting to proven why they shouldn’t leave each others’ sides tonight. Last but not least, “Growing Pains” finishes up the EP by talking about feeling as if he’s going insane.
Whether we get A Dangerous Lyfë & A Dangerous Love by the end of 2025 or at some point the following year, Yeat reunites with BNYX for a 34 minute precursor that’s less 1-dimensional regarding the production & bringing a menacing demeanor with only less than a couple months until fall begins. In terms of consistency from the guests, the last 2 features at the backend of it suit the vibes the Lyfestyle Corporation founder was going for.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania emcee O.T. the Real making his TCF Music Group debut with his 9th studio LP. Getting his start in the underground almost a decade ago after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”, his profile began to grow from there after showcasing his skills on radio stations or dropping his last 8 albums as well as a mixtape & 8 EPs. My favorites being the Heatmakerz-produced 3rd EP The Irishman & the DJ Green Lantern-produced 3rd album Broken Glass that dropped on my 25th birthday & the Statik Selektah produced Maxed Out. No Matter What, Desperation of December, It’s Almost Over & Red Summer were all hit or miss for me until O.T. finally signed to Black Soprano Family Records & enlisted araabMUZIK for Zombie to critical acclaim. Prepare for War & Pale Horse were ok, following up Moving Base O.T.’s eponymous debut showed improvement as did the Nickel Plated produced Cost of Living & The Devil You Know. That said: 38 Spesh fully producing Possession with Intent had me feel like this could be a special entry in O.T.’s catalog & the singles hinting towards it. Especially ahead of Shane Taylor Promotions becoming the new ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Champions & La Facción Ingobernable becoming the new ROH World Tag Team Champions when Death Before Dishonor XXII takes place at 2300 Arena a.k.a. ECW Arena.
“18 Ballgames” opens with some jazzy horns splitting a rat’s shit in half & dipped before the cops came whereas “Never Saw Me” hops over a boom bap instrumental with some pianos to talk about having people who depend on him. “Big Fish” featuring Grafh brings the brass instrumentation back in effect referencing my favorite show of all-time Breaking Bad leading into “For the Face” talking about friends becoming foes & grams turning into ounces.
Amir Ali joins O.T. for a shimmery “Philly Special” advising to make money because money won’t make you while “Americans” talks about the possibility of his enemies winding up dead or behind bars serving life. “Grease” featuring Dave East chops up a soul sample so the pair can talk about the work their plugs gave them just before “Warlock” takes it back to the basement instrumentally pleading not to blame him since he doesn’t mess with fentanyl
“Richer” featuring Flee Lord gets the ball rollin’ on the final leg of Possession with Intent responding to criticisms of being in their bags too much while the cinematically grimy “Jon Jek” talks about lasting longer than the beef you got if you mind your business. The jazzy “Streets Alone” speaks on putting family over everything & “Doin’ Bad” finishes the LP with 1 more boom bap joint addressing his past beefs.
Granted I did enjoy O.T. the Real’s last couple projects with Nickel Plated, the singles we got out of the Possession with Intent rollout had me feeling like it would become another one of his most essential LPs. Lo & behold: The most I’ve enjoyed an O.T. solo project since Zombie. A good 75% of the guests stick the landing in terms of their performances, but he & 38 Spesh both make for a pretty damn good MC/producer pairing.
Inglewood, California emcee & songwriter Domo Genesis linking back up with Graymatter for his 2nd EP. Starting in mid-2009 as a member of the now defunct Odd Future collective, he’s gone on to give us 2 studio albums accompanied by 4 mixtapes & an EP excluding the Facade Records trilogy within the last dozen years, my personal favorites of which being his debut mixtape Rolling Papers, The Alchemist-produced 3rd mixtape No Idols, the Evidence-produced debut EP Aren’t U Glad You’re U? and sophomore effort Intros, Outros & Interludes. Doms’ last LP What You Don’t Get!? had a more drumless sound & they look to recapture that feeling in a World Gone Mad.
After the intro, “Weezy Face” is a jazzily drumless opener with a hint of a rock music talking about being the underrated greatest whereas “Church’s Chicken” gives off an orchestral boom bap vibe talking about having belief in half of what he’s seen. The title track strips the drums again explaining that he’s exactly what he sells because it’s his real life & “Rough Diamonds” soulfully ends with Domo talking about still drawing pictures in the sand.
What You Don’t Get!? to me was a solid continuation of the drumless sound he went with on Intros, Outros & Interludes even if I still have that as my favorite solo album of the 3 that Domo Genesis has dropped. World Gone Mad regardless maintains the jazz elements of What You Don’t Get!? aside from Graymatter occasionally venturing out in favor of chipmunk soul, boom bap or a small dosage of rap rock & Doms spitting heat for 10 minutes.
Homixide Beno! & Homixide Meechie known together as the Atlanta, Georgia duo the Homixide Gang releasing their 4th LP. Bringing to turn heads off their debut EP Snotty World to the point where trap trailblazer/rage pioneer Playboi Carti made them the 3rd act to sign to his Interscope Records imprint Opium Records following Ken Carson & Ken Destroy Lonely respectively, Homixide Lifestyle was a solid debut & Snot or Not wound up being a mixed bag of a sophomore effort. Their debut mixtape 5th AMNDMNT & their previous album I5U5WE5 were both received more favorably, looking to revisit the Homixide Lifestyle for a sequel.
“PC5” is a bombastic trap intro shows love to their homie Problem Child 5 presently incarcerated on murder charges whereas “Redrag” produced by Maaly Raw talks about shooting a lame in his face with the Glock. “1-800-555-OPIUM” blends trap & rock together so they can discuss the money callin’ them just before “Call in Me” links with Toom of Vanguard Music Group so they can compare themselves to walkie talkies being only a call away.
The way “Cherub Rock” by The Smashing Pumpkins was sampled on “5G” was pretty rad refusing to sell their souls while “PB&J” featuring Ken Carson finds the trio talking about their dangerous tendencies & trying to score as opposed to goaltending. “Soul-Fly” works in an unexpected soul sample to discuss their past leading into “Vice City” talking about having bitches go crazy over a Pi’erre Bourne beat.
“Frank Matthews” reflects over a Clayco & OPM BABI instrumental of wanting to become drug lords their whole entire lives while “Red Tails” references the greatest QB of all-time & 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. “Villain” conceptually dissects the Dark Knight quote “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” prior to F1LTHY of Working on Dying sampling “Downtown” by SWV during the highlight “Facet!me”.
ATL Jacob hops behind the boards for “Johnny Cage” referencing the character from the Warner Bros.-owned Mortal Kombat franchise prior to Homixide Mali appearing for “Sober” so the trio can get loaded. “Breeze” has a more laidback approach than what Homixide normally does boasting that they have more stripes on their backs than referees while “Watch Out!” bombastically talks about needing to stay geeked up.
“Going On” heads for a trap metal direction instrumentally to flex the kinda shit that pops off around them while “Headtap” talks about slangin’ the sticks with no aim & leaving blood everywhere. “Free Agents” touches base regarding their lifestyle & after “Shopping Bags” talks about hitting the store with them since they got everything y’all need, “State Property” playfully sees the pair getting money hungry.
To start Homixide Lifestyle 2’s final leg, “$$$ Problems” talks about having no issues regarding their finances returning to a trap metal sound while ”Nun 2 It” assures their respective girlfriends that they’ll go global effective immediately. “Gvnganati” talks about the subject of loyalty remembering the late R5 Homixide & “Nintend0” wraps up the LP with both of them playing the gamble of life using all cash.
Aside from Carti unsurprisingly not clearing his “Chopshop” verse hence why it didn’t make the final cut & Destroy Lonely only doing a hook for “Shopping Bag” instead of a verse, the Homixide Gang’s successor to their debut has a more general hardcore hip hop approach instead of gangsta rap although it very much expands on it’s rage/trap metal production minus the industrial hip hop elements.
Legends Will Never Die 