untiljapan – “Trompe-L’oeil” review

untiljapan is a 19 year old recording artist from Atlanta, Georgia putting out 5 EPs & was featured on “light ice” off Sk8star‘s 2nd mixtape whole new meaning until his own full-length studio debut album Safe Travels established him as an up-&-comer in trap, emo rap, cloud rap, alternative R&B & neo-psychedelia. Diorvsyou most recently had untiljapan on “west” off his newest EP Paussus.99 few weeks ago, with the elusive underground trailblazer signing to Interscope Records & generating buzz surrounding a sophomore effort.

“Shoot for the Moon” was a regalia intro shouting out the people in his life who’ve shown him love & the women who took him in whereas “Yayo / White Paris” shakes it up with a 2-parter flexing that he made it snow out in France with all that white powder in the street. “More Moët” hooks up a crooning sample giving a glimpse of his $1M habits prior to “Born 2 Be Great” sampling “Bonnie & Clyde” by Tink talking about working all day.

Moving on from there, “Kiss tha Ring” works in another sample & turns up the bass to tell his girl he’s on a plane to go see her just before “Broad Day” cautions of the people around you who’ll eventually try & fuck you over in the end when you least expect it. “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” gets on some drumless rap rock shit unable to get the thought of homicide out of his head leading into “Watch Yo Back” talks about how sad it is the real players ain’t in the game no more.

“1 Helluva Drug” cacophonously gets in his breakup bag talking about an ex-girlfriend being a memory after she blocked his number while “Pyramidz” produced by Nosaint & ReidMD of Vanguard Music Group was a great cloudy trap single throwing a hint of alternative R&B in too talking about life moving fast with the squad. “Just Breathe” heavily builds itself around a harp & acoustics not showing away from sending shots to the soul if he has to while “Coast 2 Coast” talks about his colleagues being in the east & the west.

The song “Die Like This” begins the final minutes of untiljapan’s sophomore effort albeit major label debut sampling “Larabar” by Wet addressing individuals who didn’t like exactly how hot he broke out in the music scene & “Goodbye, Come Again” closes the LP with a Moses Ideka sample speeding on the highway since he’s in the fast lane along with blowing up the phone of a woman he told he loved on the verge of puttin’ him down.

“Mercedes. 2005” starts the deluxe run sampling “Indecision” by Sampha talking about having a close call & asking where he stands with a flight attendant while “Tightropes” flips “Ropes” by Scott James asking if she remembers the night he said he wouldn’t ever leave her. Clayco chops up “DNM” by Mk.gee & “enemy” by Charli XCX for my favorite bonus track “Old Vices. New Cities.” becoming my favorite 2-parter by a mile & “London Nights” samples “How Many Miles?” by Mk.gee looking for love during the evening riding around.

Often cited as one of the most promising artists in underground trap today, his major label debut elevates himself from his debut celebrating it’s 2 year anniversary this fall & catapulting himself in the same conversations as his Interscope labelmates Destroy Lonely & Nettspend. In terms of production, he completely comes into his own artistically & his feature-less performances are a testament to some of his recent guest appearances.

Score: 4/5

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Destroy Lonely – “See U Soon </3” review

Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Destroy Lonely preluding his 2nd mixtape </3³ with his 12th EP. The son of former Disturbing tha Peace Records signee I-20, he’s released a total of 11 EPs since originally breaking out through SoundCloud in 2019 prior to Playboi Carti signing alone to his Interscope Records imprint Opium Records to surprise drop his last tape No Stylist in light of his ongoing tour with fellow label-mate Ken Carson last summer followed by the full-length debut If Looks Could Kill. Love Lasts Forever was disappointing in comparison & hoped See U Soon </3 would at least surpass it.

“Nylon” produced by Clayco throws it back to Lone’s early days for an intro preluding his upcoming 3rd album Drop Dead Gorgeous whereas the cloudy “SDP” courtesy of Cade homages an interlude off Travis Scott’s sophomore effort Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight that I personally find the original version of being far superior to the shortened final version you can hear on whatever streaming platform you use.

The instrumental on “See Ur Face” kinda feels reminiscent of “Tryna Get Down” by Carti despite the themes of love while “Super Serum” keeps his head up after some personal stuff he dealt with in 2024 unbeknownst to the public. “SRTBBL” featuring Ken Carson finishes by showing a back-&-forth chemistry over a beat from F1LTHY of Working on Dying ahead of the 00pium Twins’ upcoming collab tape.

Some feel that Lone’s output since his label deal hasn’t really lived up to the hype </3 & most of those in his fanbase will find themselves satisfied with what See U Soon </3 has to offer giving a taste of what </3³ will sound like when he feels the time is right for him to put out the tape: A return to his roots musically except he has a new perspective of things since he’s gotten older & the popularity continually growing.

Score: 3.5/5

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Niko B – “people” review

Brand new EP from Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom recording artist Niko B. Starting at the very beginning of this current decade off the strength of his debut single “Marry Berry”, he popularity began to grow exponentially a few months later after putting out his next track “Who’s That What’s That” & the full-length debut album dog eat dog food world last spring being well received enough where people were recommending it to me. A whole year later, Niko’s preluding an upcoming sophomore effort by holding fans off with people.

“Hairclips” was a tight hip house intro telling this woman he’s hitting on how much he loves her hair being able to tell she doesn’t give a fuck by the way she cuts it while “I Like the Way You Talk Looking at Me” fuses hip hop with house & funk music asking if his partner enjoys how he speaks when they’re making eye contact with one another. “What Am I to Do?” rounds out peoplewith 1 more hip house jam talking about optimism being amazing from his perspective.

You know? It’s actually pretty awesome that people dropped on the same day as Little Simz’ brand new album Lotus because Niko B a lot like Simz sticks out to me as one of my favorite UK hip hop artists of the current decade. The production on this one is prominently centered around the hip house sound & you get to see a more optimistic side of Niko.

Score: 4/5

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D2X – “Boy in the Blue Hoodie” review

Chicago, Illinois emcee D2X coming off his first EP The Hunger Era last summer to put out a 2nd one. Releasing his full-length studio debut album The Color Blue in the spring of 2021 & later the sophomore effort Hotel 1105 a couple summers later. Like I said earlier: The Hunger Era was essentially a love letter to the Windy City that made him sending bigger shockwaves in the underground than his first couple LPs did & was wondering if Boy in the Blue Hoodie could reach or surpass that same level.

The harps at the start of “‘Twas the Day” are pleasant to the ear until the chipmunk soul instrumental comes in full effect making way for the Chicago MC to tell the story of a young boy’s dream & finding his peace in mine for the next album whereas “Light Up the Lake” takes a jazzier approach with the horns & a soulful sample making a love letter to a better version of himself. After the spoken word jazz “Miles Away” interlude, “Blue Ocean Water” sends off the tale of the Boy in the Blue Hoodie with a beat kin reminiscent of The Heatmakerz calling himself a future hall of famer.

Understandably, D2X’s continuation of The Hunger Era goes from paying homage to the City that made him giving the world an idea of where he’s from to a more introspective side of himself letting people inside of who he is as a person & his background. One of the coolest things Boy in the Blue Hoodie is that he balances the jazz rap sound he’s always been known for with the chipmunk soul style of production that RZA, Ye or formerly Kanye West, Just Blaze & as I mentioned earlier The Heatmakerz have all pioneered & popularized retelling his life’s story.

Score: 4.5/5

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SK da King – “No More Mr. Nice Guy” review

Baltimore, Maryland emcee SK da King returning after almost 2 years for his 3rd EP. Emerging as a member of the Checkered Flag Boyz under the original moniker Paul Skola, it wasn’t until a few years ago where he signed to Conway the Machine’s very own Drumwork Music Group as a solo act as announced by his debut single “Actions” & would go on to introduce himself to the Drumwork fanbase that fall in the form of the debut EP Horus. His full-length debut studio album Made 4 This came after Before the Album & is back once again to put his foot down saying No More Mr. Guy.

“Fuck Being Humble” was exactly how I could’ve imagined it starting off from the boom bap instrumental to the confidentially boastful lyrics never selling out unless it’s weight whereas the title track goes for a darker atmosphere so he can take the gloves off on being generous. “Not at All” switches it up in favor of a trap direction talking about putting rubber bands on the cash like lobster claws while “Hustle or Starve” grittily takes on the familiar theme of survival of the fittest.

The drums get stripped on The New King” stepping up his rhyme schemes off the dome until SK drops dime on what he’s learned in the streets & the music industry in general during “The Game 101” giving advice from his own personal experiences. “They Don’t Love You” finishes No More Mr. Nice Guy with 1 last boom bap track talking about there being nothing worse than receiving fake love from fake thugs you for everything you’ve got.

Gearing up for an upcoming sophomore effort since last summer when SK da King’s last EP Guns N Butter came out, No More Mr. Nice Guy gives me a strong feeling it could surpass Made 4 This & hopefully get more attention from heads in the underground whenever the next LP is ready. Holding the fort by himself unlike the predecessor having a few features, the penmanship of the Checkered Flag Boyz’ strongest link feels notably sharpened from when he initially signed in 2021 & the boom bap production packs a bigger punch.

Score: 3.5/5

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ovrkast. – “While the Iron’s Hot” review

Oakland, California emcee/producer ovrkast. with his official full-length studio debut album. In almost a decade, he’s been making waves by releasing a couple mixtapes on top of 13 EPs in his discography later landing production credits ranging from MAVI to Earl Sweatshirt & even Drake. KastGotWings produced by Cardo became my new favorite EP of his last fall even if some would say it’s too early since it’s the most recent one as of me writing this & he’s finally striking While the Iron’s Hot for an LP.

After the jazzy “HOT!” intro, the first song “truth?” is drumless sample-heavy intro talking about shaking shit up and originally came away from “Small Talk” featuring Samara Cyn a little mixed on it even if I appreciate it more in the context of While the Iron’s Hot. “I’m On” shows a boastful side of kast with a laidback instrumental backing him just before the groovy “Stumblin’” talks about clumsiness showing when he’s trying to get a way.

“MAVKAST!” featuring MAVI after the “NewPowers” skit marks the official formation of a duo comprised of 2 of underground hip hop’s biggest artists in recent memory while “Spike Lee homages one of my favorite directors ahead of A24 Films putting out Highest 2 Lowest next month. “6AM” radiates intoxicating energy from the beat melodically talking about staying up late leading into “Strange Ways” featuring Vince Staples addressing the type of crowd with those uncommon tendencies.

The song “New Era” continues to travel down the final moments of ovrkast.’s debut hooking up a woodwind & a high-pitched vocal sample entering a new chapter in his life similarly to the way I myself did last summer while “Dog Days” featuring Frsh Waters & SABA talking about the hottest time of the year on top of some cumbersome piano chords. “On TIME!” closes the album with more keys wanting everyone to know he’s arrived exactly when he should’ve.

Going through an immense amount of change alongside loss & again to receive the clarity & focus in order for this day to come, ovrkast.’s debut feels refreshingly modern as a result of it’s contemporary & referential approach. Taking its cues from the sample-based production & lyric-centric approach that defined hip hop’s golden age, it’s not hard to blame him for having this as his favorite body of work ever.

Score: 4/5

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Miley Cyrus – “Something Beautiful” review

Miley Cyrus is a 32 year old singer/songwriter, actress & director from Franklin, Tennessee breaking out as the older sister of Noah Cyrus & the 2nd eldest daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus. Achieving greater success as the titular character on the The Walt Disney Company-owned Disney Channel teen sitcom Hannah Montana, her first 3 LPs Meet Miley Cyrus alongside Breakout & Can’t Be Tamed under Hollywood Records were equally met with mixed or negative reception. Same goes with The Time of Our Lives. Her debut for RCA Records during my junior year of high school Bangerz was when her music started to improve since I prefer songs like “#GetItRight” produced by The Neptunes over it’s biggest hit “Wrecking Ball”. Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz became a polarizing take on neo-psychedelia & psychic pop even with The Flaming Lips’ involvement, Younger Now went for a mid country pop direction aside from a DJ Premier remix of the title track, She’s Coming missed the landing with R&B & electropop and Plastic Hearts was a decent way to fulfill her RCA contract following her divorce from Liam Hemsworth of the mid A24 Films thriller Cut Bank. Moving over to Columbia Records, her debut for them Endless Summer Vacation once again divided public opinion & the high praise her 9th full-length album has been getting made me want to hear it to believe it.

“Prelude” has gotta be one of the boldest lead singles to a body of work that I’ve heard in a long time since it’s spoken word poetry over an epic post-minimalistic & progressive electronic instrumental until the title track goes full gear drawing from art rock, psychedelic soul, psychedelic rock, smooth soul, jazz-rock & experimental rock desiring something beautiful lasting eternity.

Pop rock, Europop, new wave, psychedelic pop, soft rock & big music all collide on “End of the World” suggesting that we should be making the best of our final moments if the apocalypse were to happen leading into “More to Lose” maintains a steady cross between soft rock, adult contemporary, piano rock & art pop singing about not wanting to be interrupted or overthinking of chasing perfection.

“Easy Lover” after the first of 2 interludes was actually conceived during the Plastic Hearts sessions fusing country, rock & pop addressing the emotional addiction to a complicated relationship but after the other interlude, “Golden Burning Sun” turns up the soft rock influences employing themes of devotion. “Walk of Fame” featuring Brittany Howard is a synthpop duet singing about what it’s like for he to be at her level of international superstardom just before “Pretend You’re God” yearns to have that person in her life who’ll make her their everything.

The song “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” featuring Naomi Campbell blends funk & pop together for another duet asking if they’re pretty enough for more than fun in the dark while “Reborn” experiments with meshing trance music & pop together for a spiritual enlightenment ode inspired after she & Greg Aldae sat at church together one day. “Give Me Love” as a closer heavily builds itself around synthesizers instrumentally singing that heaven & terror both await behind the curtain while “Secrets” starts the deluxe run by forgiving her father. The final bonus track “Lockdown” finishes with a 13 & a half minute 2-parter singing about a relationship on the lowkey.

Never thought I’d see the day where I’d actually being saying any of what you’re gonna read in this paragraph, but here we are! Regardless of Bangerz always holding a place in my heart as time goes on, I can’t say that I’ve would’ve NEVER thought I’d hear Miley surpass it in terms of cohesiveness until Something Beautiful. Inspired by Pink Floyd’s iconic 11th album The Wall, it’s heavy concept centered around healing from trauma on top of finding beauty in life’s darkest moments & reconciliation of lost time heavily dabbling with pop rock, art rock, electro-disco, dance-pop, soft rock, neo-psychedelia, spoken word, poetry, epic music, post-minimalism, progressive electronic, psychedelic soul, psychedelic rock, smooth soul, jazz-rock, experimental rock, adult contemporary, piano rock, art pop, Europop, new wave, psychedelic pop, big music, synthpop & a small dose of country blows everything she’s done out the water.

Score: 4.5/5

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Molly Santana – “Molly & Her Week of Wonders” review

Los Angeles, California up-&-comer Molly Santana with her sophomore effort. Originally a streetwear influencer, the Fontana native began making music in 2021 by releasing her debut EP Molly’s World as well as her debut mixtape Neptune & her 2nd EP Mélange. Her eponymous full-length debut studio album resulted in her signing a joint deal with Victor Victor Worldwide & Capitol Records despite the moderate reception, which Masonic Musik made up for. Fast forward 8 months, Molly & Her Week of Wonders looks to continue solidifying herself on the Victor Victor/Capitol labels.

“No Rules” produced by Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic is this rage-inducing intro rapping about her gratitude towards living without any restrictions whereas “Piss Me Off” melodically looks to get what’s hers for the cause & a triumphant vibe to the instrumental. “Cayenne” blends hypertrap & electronic music boastfully cashing out with the drop top while “Unstoppable” featuring che joins forces with CXO for a highly enjoyable rage collab.

Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group gives “Handle It” an industrial trap flare promising her pistol will make anyone famous homaging the late Freda Santana just before “BRB” featuring Showjoe teams up for a pluggnb/drill hybrid talking returning to the people who count on them. The single “Not Regular” shuns the individuals who want to test her over a poppy & cloudy trap beat until “Been Did That” featuring labelmate Hardrock advising all these hoes to sit back.

“Acting Nice” asserts Molly’s dominance & shutting down any hate that’s thrown in her direction while “Globe” fuses rap rock & trap talking about life moving quicker than ever carrying the show on for those who can’t be here with us & the increase of hate speech. “Honest” makes it a point to be the only one in a circle of loved ones who keeps it 100 rather than lying to them while “When I’m Gone” instrumentally reminds me of Yeezus wanting to be remembered & leaving a mark on the industry.

Moving on from there, “I Know” taps in with Supah Mario asking her lover to hold her down apologizing for fucking up a night out while “Life I Chose (Ms. Americana)” homages “Summertime Sadness” by Lana Del Rey. The song “Set Up” finds herself running back to her old ways continuously while “Stupid Money” cloudily talks about it being time to up the scores. Lastly, the closer “Weekend” advises everyone to stay high chasing their dreams & getting the bag.

“Everybody Knows” starts the deluxe run sampling “Backstabber” by Ke$ha talking about everyone around her accepting the fact she’s becoming richer than she ever would’ve suppose she would while “1/1” suggesting it’ll be a long time until her exes find another woman like her in their lives. The final bonus track “Find a Way” strips the drums completely feeling confident that her day will come promising she won’t change.

Inspired by the film Valerie & Her Week of Wonders, Molly speaks a lot on what it feels like to be like a woman in the type of business she’s working with & in her world feeling like the movie’s plot translates what the world in general & the music industry feels like to most women. She’s pulling out all the stops with this more frequently & broader than Mansion Musik going crazy with her culminations of the rage, pop rap, cloud rap & trap styles she’s known for.

Score: 4/5

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yoon – “wounds” review

yoon is a 19 year old rapper from Broward County, Florida turning heads for blending emotional grit with distorted clarity in a sound that’s entirely his own. He introduced himself in the fall of 2023 by releasing a 3-track debut EP Eternal giving glimpses of what his potential looks like. It’s been 18 months since & we haven’t really heard much from him in that extended period of time, taking further steps to cement himself as an artist by putting out a 2nd EP to keep warming up for a full-length studio debut album.

My favorite song here happens to be the intro “relocate” from the Rio Leyva of Internet Money Records instrumental to the lyrics about having to move to a new place on top of not doing any favors for no hoe whereas “shouldertoleanon” goes for a piano-trap direction asking for his partner to tell him what it is & what it ain’t. “itsgonbealright” turns up the rage a little wanting his girl to tell him he loves him leading into “it’s rags, hoe” talking about the love he has for the bag & his homies lessens the hypertrap influence.

“cut cut, cut” hops over some hi-hats & bass flexing that he’s rocked out despite all the fair share of pain in his life just before “showuimtheone” fuses pop rap & trap talking about wanting to stop by this woman’s house to prove they’re a good fit. “putmyprideaside” brings a cloudier vibe to the table feeling spaced out as of late refusing to fuck hoes who listen to him while “yeah, I’m cut” talks about the cuts he has from many dark days.

The song “cauterize” kicks off the final minutes of wounds observing the irony of a bitch not wanting anything to do with him until he started making a little money & maintaining his cool even with the feeling that his detractors are plottin’ on him until “deadmanwalking” wraps up the EP by talking about having no other option than to stack his paper higher as well as his popularity steadily growing.

As opposed to Eternal offering a brief taste of yoon’s artistry, he capitalizes it with another EP that’s significantly introspective than the predecessor a year & a half ago by now. Heavily catered to the rage subgenre of trap in terms of production, the Atlanta underground performer’s personal struggles he’s endured whether it be recently or in the past all gets unpacked in a way that seems more endearing compared to his previous output & it lives up to all the hype I’ve been hearing.

Score: 4/5

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Aesop Rock – “Black Hole Superette” review

Here we have the 11th studio LP from New York emcee/producer Aesop Rock. Universally revered for his massive vocabulary, the man has put out a handful of underground hip hop essentials throughout the decades whether it be his solo catalogue or his membership of groups like Hail Mary Mallon or Malibu Ken. As far as his solo stuff: I recommend his sophomore effort & Definitive Jux Records debut Labor Day alongside The Impossible Kid, which was his 2nd album with Rhymesayers Entertainment whom Aesop had made himself home with for over a decade at this point. Blockhead had fully produced Garbology to acclaim & Integrated Tech Solutions has quickly received the same love The Impossible Kid, returning for a trip to the Black Hole Superette.

“Secret Knock” opens up shop with a quirky & futuristic self-produced instrumental advising to walk with him & opting to not go on any signal taking it in his own hands whereas “Checkers” works in elements of abstract conscious subject matter, space ambient, boom bap & illbient that made for a promising lead single. “Movie Nights” turns up the boom bap influences even more talking about his blue eyed dog & his cat prior to the synth-driven “EWR – Terminal A, Gate 20” explaining that vandals are unordinary now.

Armand Hammer teams up with Aesop on the collab “1010WINS” taking their consciously abstract pens to newer grounds with one another over a rap rock/boom bap hybrid while “So Be It” featuring Open Mike Eagle finds the 2 advising to not look down, sitting still & letting things fall. “Send Help” takes a jazzier boom bap approach to his sound & going nerdcore at the same time just before “John Something” brings lounge music in the fold recalling a man named John he met 3 decades ago referencing WWE Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali.

“Ice Sold Here” intricately describes how cold he is in many different ways while the funky “Costco” talks about the chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores operated by the multinational corporation. “Bird School” puts a cloudy spin on boom bap boasting his witchcraft pops up in the Atmos & everyone else’s taking practice, but then “Snail 0” wants to know what the fuck he’s supposed to do with this bagful of snails he has.

Lice gets together with Lupe Fiasco on “Charlie Horse” warning that everyone in their path should stay as clear from the streets as they possibly can while “Steel Wool” reflects on going from pairing cereals & cartoons back in the 80s to panicking in a war room turning up the quirky boom bap vibes. “Black Plums” tackles the theme of gardening admiring the way his fruit is getting fatter each summer & becoming a minute quantity of matter while “The Red Phone” talks about being the keeper of the keys.

“Himalayan Yak Chew” pushes further down the last 10 minutes or so of the album describing fish jumping in his boat whenever he pushes off of the dock without even getting a single duck in a row in addition to having a horse in the way when he gets his car without having 1 in the race & “Unbelievable Shenanigans” featuring Hanni El Khatib on the outro recalls a hamster he had almost 4 decades ago named Elizabeth as well as talking about the universe nothing if not silver lining stuffed into compartments.

Delving into the invisible forces that shape our lives & psyches, Black Hole Superette will become amongst Aesop Rock’s most technically accomplished bodies of work in his entire discography. The experimentally complex structures of his beats drawing further inspiration from space ambient, boom bap, jazz rap, rap rock & illbient attribute to that as much as his consciously abstract & occasionally nerdy lyrics portrayed from the perspective of a mad scientist seeing bigger picture of the small moments in our lives that wind up overlooked.

Score: 4.5/5

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