Chetta – “Mix with Poison” review

This is the 22nd EP from New Orleans, Louisiana emcee/producer Chetta. Starting out a decade ago with his debut mixtape Nino White, this was followed up with 18 EPs as well as 11 more tapes & a full-length debut, but gained significant attention off his G*59 Record$ debut Been Here Forever a couple summers back. Falling Off went on to be an equally dope prelude to the previous album Playboy, which also maintained the level of consistency as those previous projects since signing to G*59 as did Sick Bitch. $crim of the $uicideboy$ produced Sacrifice & Sabotage last spring & is back 7 months after Can’t Replace Me to release Mix with Poison.

“I Guess This is Where I’m Supposed to Apologize” was a self-produced rage intro co-produced by Dynox talking about never folding whereas “Sobe” keeps things in the hypertrap lane to discuss his old self being dead. “Fail on My Own” pulls inspiration from the Memphis scene being too high to give a fuck just before “Come Down Feel the Love” enraging airs out a how’s true intentions with him. “Flat Earth” finally closes Mix with Poison getting on his emo rap shit falling into Hell & hanging on until he feels numb.

Earlier this week, it was announced by G*59 that the first artist they ever signed Ramirez was departing to focus on starting his new label Velvet Note Records & Mix with Poison carries forward a new era for the independent southern hip hop/trap powerhouse by whipping up an EP ahead of their annual Grey Day Tour starting 6 weeks from now by writing & fully producing 5 new songs that I prefer more than Can’t Replace Me.

Score: 4/5

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Benson Boone – “American Heart” review

Benson Boone is a 22 year old singer/songwriter from Monroe, Washington garnering the attention of Warner Records following “Ghost Town” going viral. Introducing herself to a wider audience off both her EPs Walk Me Home… & Pulse, his inaugural full-length Fireworks & Rollerbladesmarked a poorly received debut in terms of the pop rock style & his follow-up here has been generating a lot of attention from critics & fans so much that I had to give it a listen to hear what made it so appealing.

“Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else” was a mediocre pop rock single to start my off with further showing influences of big music & new wave addressing a former lover whereas “Mr. Electric Blue” sings about his father disrespecting the progressive pop rock band Electric Light Orchestra, who influenced a personal favorite artist of mine in KiD CuDi. “Man in Me” overloads this synth-heavy breakup letter with so much melodrama where it gets annoying after a short & “Mystical Magical” easily sticks out amongst the absolute worst songs I’ve heard all year making the late Olivia Newton-John roll in her grave.

Reaching the halfway point of this torturous listening experience, “Reminds Me of You” makes me miss Bruno Mars in light of 24K Magic turning 10 next fall & of course the Silk Sonic album An Evening with Silk Sonic. “Momma Song” was a disappointingly tiring adult contemporary single dedicated to his mother doing piano & symphonic rock little to no favors leading into “I Wanna Be the One You Call” redundantly exemplifying why it should’ve been on the cutting room floor & Malay’s involvement disappoints because of his production on the best alternative R&B album of all-time in Frank Ocean’s sophomore effort blond right above The Weeknd’s mixtape trilogy.

“Wanted Man” feels like him taking a giant shit on glam rock which the late David Bowie defined with his 1972 magnum opus The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars followed by “Take Me Home” homaging the EP that broke him out as a star except it underwhelmingly asks to be kissed like the old days. “Young American Heart” finally finishes this shitty album with him & recalling a time where he & his best friend felt limitless & indestructible.

Said to be inspired by heartland rock pioneer Bruce Springsteen & the Americana subgenre of country music, Benson Boone’s sophomore effort feels utterly commercialized to the point where you’d hear it in a dressing room of a store like Kohl’s instead of a generational attempt of solidifying himself as a successor to pop rock alongside adult contemporary & new wave doing the bare minimum of justice to every individual who’s brought out the good of all those styles making them what they are now.

Score: 1/5

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3200 Tre – “Spin the Block” review

This is the 13th EP from Lansing, Michigan rapper 3200 Tre. Introducing himself on wax during the fall of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic had completely shut the world down, he has since built up his last dozen EPs along with the full-length debut Michigan Music & of course the sophomore effort 30ville all during the first half of this ongoing decade. Signing to Rio da Yung O.G.’s very own EMPIRE Distribution imprint M.I.N.E. Entertainment last summer however, Tre’s ready to Spin the Block only a couple months since 30ville.

“Mindset” hooks up a piano-based Detroit trap instrumental referencing the Warner Bros.-owned Mortal Kombat franchise & talking about becoming his niece’s backup after her dad was tragically taken too soon whereas “No Attention” expresses his love for bustin’ bricks to serve crackheads. “1 Man Army” blends these keys & 808s together talking about the off topic shit he says being sidebars until “Sound of Love” flips some strings to detail his love for hearing CashApp notifications.

The song “Mix It Up” incorporates a Detroit trap beat with prominent bass & pianos occasional talking about his preference of standing on shit because he’s a grown ass man while “Bigger Goals” discusses the importance of making his kids rich because of his heart being broken as it already is. “Navy Seal” ends the EP by hopping over a bell-woven Detroit trap instrumental talking about liking fiends because they helped him change is life.

Not even a month after his latest album, 3200 Tre continues this personal comeback he’s been on since January with what could possibly be my favorite of the 4 projects he’s done since Rio made him a part of the M.I.N.E roster & serving as another example of why he’s one of the hardest working artists in the city today. He’s carrying the verses by himself rather than having a few guests with him, which I’m fine with since it makes more room for him to get wittier with the pen than he has previously.

Score: 3.5/5

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EsDeeKid – “Rebel” review

This is the debut extended play from Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom rapper EsDeeKid. Making his debut on wax towards the backend 2023 on the Dualspines loosie “Altered”, he subsequently began to drop a slew of songs on his SoundCloud a few months later that would help him gain traction such as “Apathy” or “Palaces”. A great deal of the teasers building up towards Rebel have been considered to be his most celebrated material & had myself curious to hear if it would live up to the hype only 48 hours away from Nino Bryant becoming the new RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

“4 Raws” featuring Timothée Chalamet on the remix combines hardcore hip hop, trap, Chicago drill, gangsta rap, cloud rap & wave talking about their own pasts whereas “Cali Man” featuring Rico Ace embraces the styles of jerk, gangsta rap & cloud rap discussing their preference of high quality weed. “Prague” works in some 808s to talk about leaving a show at the Czech Republic’s capital leading into “Dirty” expressing his love of sippin’ lean.

fakemink & Rico Ace appear on “LV Sandals” fusing jerk, cloud rap, gangsta rap & hardcore hip hop talking about hoes acting scandalous while “Panic” produced by Fimiguerrero explains that he won’t ever stop the racket since he’s always been a mad kid. Fimiguerrero himself gets his own solo track with “5am”, continuing the 2nd half blending jerk, cloud rap & rage referencing WWE Hall of Famer & former World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali.

“Phantom” featuring Rico Ace reunites for a jerk, hardcore hip hop, dark plugg, cloud rap & gangsta rap single talking about being blacked out while “Mist” also featuring Rico Ace finds the 2 teaming up 1 last time for a cloudy jerk joint detailing their lifestyles. “Rottweiler” could most likely be my least favorite track here mostly because of its structuring while “Tartan” featuring Fimiguerrero references the current 17-time WWE world champion John Cena.

Jerk has been becoming hip hop’s next big subgenre within the past couple years characterized by taking elements of both plugg & the late 2000s jerk rap fad during my early middle school days, but Rebel has to be the greatest body of work I’ve heard done primarily using this new style for only being an EP on top of validating EsDeeKid’s increasing popularity across the world. He’s essentially flipping UK grime on its head through the added influences of both Playboi Carti & Yeat to the mix describing the debauchery in his life.

Score: 4/5

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Che Noir – “The Color Chocolate 2” review

Here we have the 9th EP from Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir. Discovering her after 38 Spesh signed Che to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 was where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She has since followed this up with the sophomore effort Food for Thought as well as The Last Remnants, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Noir or Never, The Color Chocolate, The Lotus Child. & the recruiting Superior-produced Seeds of Babylon. Damn near 3 months to the day, The Color Chocolate 2 is kicking summer in full gear.

“Painting Class” was a drumless intro opting to give haters interventions instead of bars whereas “Buy vs. Sell” brings a self-produced boom bap instrumental in the fold talking about a woman who makes her every dime off crime. “Who’s the Greatest?” featuring eLZhi finds the 2 painting visions for the blind with intricate wordplay from both parties while “Show & Tell” featuring 7xvethegenius reunites the pair ahead of their collab effort in November to grind until they can’t anymore.

Starting the 2nd half, “Where You Go” takes a soulful route to the beat stripping the drums once again being colorblind to those showing her their true colors while “Blink Twice” talks making atheists pray on her downfall over a piano instrumental from Evidence. “Stories” expresses her frustration of being fed up with fake friends who never gave a fuck of what she wanted & the closer “New Beginning” remembers a late friend whose girl is carrying his child.

Pushing her lyrical prowess as well as her storytelling abilities & dexterity as a producer even further, Che Noir gets back on her bully shit with a sequel to The Color Chocolate 2 that I enjoy more than the predecessor from a year & a half ago. The sequel’s production is stronger than the original’s personally & I think there’s significantly more consistency within the guests’ performances.

Score: 4/5

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ScarLip – “Scarred B4 Fame” review

ScarLip is a 24 year old rapper & producer from Brooklyn, New York signing to Epic Records following the single “This is New York”. I on the other hand wasn’t introduced to her until she appeared on “Take ‘Em Out” off the Hip Hop 50, Vol. 2 EP that Swizz Beatz produced a couple years ago & began seeing the appeal in her music once “Blick” came out weeks after a couple of her fans were messaging me on social media last summer. To get THIS summer started, the Broken Child Entertainment founder’s preluding her debut album with a debut EP.

I didn’t mind “Pop That” featuring Lil Wayne as an intro bringing both of them together over a Rockwilder & Swizz Beatz instrumental to remind where you can find them if you need some weight whereas “Melanin” angrily talks about beefing with ghostwriters instead of other rappers. “Eastside” fuses trap & soul advising not to call her since she don’t need anyone leading into the mediocre New York drill collab “Fruity Pebbles” featuring TaTa.

“Could’ve Been Me” featuring Skilla Baby begins the final moments of Scarred B4 Fame with both of them keeping guns by their side asking what the plan is but after “Runaway Love” freestyles over the instrumental of the Ludacris track of the same name from Release Therapy, “Lord Please” sends off the EP fusing trap & gospel asking God to be easy on her.

Haven’t really consider myself the biggest fan of the New York drill scene other than the late Pop Smoke & right when I thought that subgenre was starting to fade out because nobody has really carried the torch since, hearing ScarLip for the past couple years had me hoping that she would capitalize on her potential with this EP & the results are mixed. I can certainly say the hunger’s there in her verses, although most of the guests’ performances & some of the instrumentals are 2 of the biggest criticisms I have with it.

Score: 2.5/5

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Nick Grant – “I Took It Personal” review

Nick Grant is a 36 year old MC from Atlanta, Georgia emerging in 2016 off his debut mixtape ‘88 along with the Epic Records-backed debut album Return of the Cool. His next tape Dreamin’ Out Loud would prelude the acclaimed God Bless the Child produced by Tae Beast of the Top Dawg Entertainment in-house production team Digi+Phonics, which later led to Carolina Diaries & Welcome to Loveland. A year & half since Sunday Dinner however, I Took It Personal has finally arrived a week after its initial release date.

“Unforgettable” sets the tone with a piano/boom bap hybrid sprinkling remnants of the past in his music testifying to the legacy he’s already established for himself whereas “Let It Reign / Read Your Contract” gets split into a soulful first half boasting that everything he writes murders & the other lamenting his time being on a major label including giving advice to anyone who wants to get signed basing it from his own experiences with Grand Hustle Records & later Epic.

The soul sample on “Do You Love Me?” fits the whole theme of love telling his girl that she’s the very reason he bosses up & he’s the realest out of all the fish in the sea leading into “Big Tymers” talking about there not being any other better story than the underdog. “Pass It Out / House Calls” serves as another 2-parter cloudily looking to chalk out his competition during the first half & the other talking about there being a problem if the dogs get called.

Chipmunk soul & boom bap get fused during “The Ritual” boasting that he’s the very reason why the matrix is glitching at the moment just before “No Apologies” belittles everyone who relies on ghostwriters over a jazzy yet soulful instrumental. “Love for the Mob” finds himself keeping it p & moving in silence like psalms showing off some killer wordplay while “The Pride” talks about joking a lot with his girl & still getting deep with her.

“Back Home” experiments with sample drill a bit reflecting on going major now & getting it out the mud when he started while “Product, User, Dealer” talks about making your favorite MC relapsing snorting lines again on top of observation the treachery of them street corners. Moving on from there, “Something to Sei” tackles a kind of love Nick feels should be illegal considering he was selling merch to give her heaven on earth.

The song “Nothing’s Free” brings a darker trap atmosphere to the table blending these hi-hats & ominous piano chords together until a symphonic switch up halfway through saying that America’s eating it’s babies when that couldn’t be any more true while “It Ain’t Personal” caps off the LP with 1 last soul sample chop making y’all think somebody filming him the way he’s shooting muhfuckas.

God Bless the Child was what renewed my interest in Nick during a rough time period in the lives of many & now that we’re pretty much halfway through the decade, I Took It Personal surpasses Return of the Cool as his strongest full-length & I feel like lot of people can learn a few things from it if you want to get involved with the music business. He’s laying out every experience he’s had in the industry whether it be good or bad & the production could be his most eclectic showing influences of boom bap, trap, jazz rap, chipmunk soul, cloud rap & sample drill.

Score: 4/5

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Memphis Bleek – “APT 3D” review

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.

Score: 3.5/5

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Dave East & Young Chris – “Fine Dining” review

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.

Score: 3.5/5

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Samara Cyn – “Backroads” review

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.

Score: 4/5

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