Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom singer/songwriter & dancer FKA twigs releasing a sequel to Eusexua with her 4th album. Notable in the art pop scene for her XL Recordings subsidiary Young Recordings debut EP2 after her eponymous debut EP along with her full-length debut LP1 & her 3rd EP M3LL155X. Her sophomore effort Magdalene was also acclaimed with many saying it’s better than LP1 & the same goes with her Atlantic Records-backed debut mixtape Caprisongs, releasing Eusexua at the beginning of 2025 & has followed it up almost 10 months later with Afterglow.
“Love Crimes” makes for a post-dubstep intro singing about the best time being the hardest ones to let go & advising her lover to take things slow whereas “Slushy” blends alternative R&B & glitch pop so she can create some harmony by painting her own utopia with her mind. “Wild & Alone” featuring PinkPantheress finds the 2 joining forces over a UK garage be at to sing about loving a celebrity who constantly has the feeling of isolation leading into ”Hard” pulling inspiration from Janet Jackson a little describing the way she wants to be loved.
Trip hop, illbient, alternative r&b, future garage, chopped & screwed, ambient dub and eccojams all collide on the final single “Cheap Hotel” yearning for her & her romantic interest to go all night with each other sexually at a spot behind the club just before “Touch a Girl” shifts more towards an alternative R&B vibe singing about a clever man leaving her spinning although he’s not good with women. The lead single “Predictable Girl” comes across as an internal monologue blending UK bass, 2-step, glitch pop deconstructed club, future garage & industrial techno while “Sushi” starts the 2nd half singing about wanting to take this guy out.
“Piece of Mine” starts the final moments of Eusexua 2: Afterglow balancing glitch pop & alternative R&B advising the man she’s with to relax his mind because he’s a part of her while “Lost All My Friends” could be my least favorite track here due to be heavily repetitive songwriting despite the EDM approach instrumentally. “Stereo Boy” finishes twigs’ 2nd full-length of 2025 singing about hearing the static within the titular character’s heart, allowing him to drive herself off the edge if she can land in his oils although her pain has remained even after she changed the station.
Maintaining than continuing the primary electronic dance music influences of it’s predecessor & swapping out the art pop elements in favor of alternative R&B, what was originally set to be an expansion of Eusexua has become a spiritual successor that’s more experimental than it’s counterpart. The production additionally exploring sounds of UK garage, post-dubstep, glitch pop, UK bass & deconstructed club expands on the feelings that come after experiencing Eusexua & transmuting them into a soundtrack for the hours after the rave tackling themes of freedom alongside pleasure & maximizing every moment to the fullest.
Brooklyn, New York skateboarder, MC, producer, songwriter, visual artist & model Navy Blue starting the week off with his 8th studio LP. Breaking out a decade ago off his debut EP According to the Waterbearer, he would go on to drop 9 more EPs & 6 full-lengths before signing to Def Jam Recordings for his previous album Ways of Knowing produced by Budgie to critical acclaim. Coming off last summer’s Memoirs in Armour EP however, The Sword & The Sword has arrived as we reach the halfway point of the month.
“The Bloodletter” begins by hooking up a drumless piano from Chris Keys advising that you don’t have to die in order to live again whereas the only single “Orchards” takes the boom bap route instrumentally with some strings to talk about being on an other journey of self-discovery. “God’s Kingdom” produced by Graymatter gets back on the drumless vibes finding himself unable to cry lately since his uncle Carl passed while “Sunlight of the Spirit” soulfully talks about life being to beautiful to hide the way he’s living.
Moving on from there, “Guardadas” keeps it drumless calmly desiring for peace & recognition just before “My Heartbeat” heads for a jazzier boom bap direction talking about not being defined by who he’s living for soaring through an existential war. “Tale of the Truth” strips the drums once again trying to tone down the voices depriving him of his patience leading into the self-produced “Fight On” talking about love being the very thing he’s fighting for.
“Kindred Spirit” starts the 2nd half remembering the late Ka in light of his tragic passing 13 months earlier over a saxophone while “If Only…” brings a bluesy guitar in the fold apologizing for not returning calls due to falling back. “Illusions” maintains a drumless sound talking about looking high & low when he was high & low while “24 Gospel” featuring Earl Sweatshirt finds the 2 abstractly bodying a gospel sample that Animoss flipped.
To kick off The Sword & The Soaring’s final quarter, “Here & Now” jumps over a sampled piano for a couple minutes explaining his pain is where his day resides while Sebb Bash gives “Soul Investments” an appropriately soulful edge to it asks why he’s on with keeping lesser if he has more to gain. “Sharing Life blends these luscious keys & a flute talking about fatherhood while “The Phoenix” comes to the realization that the trials & tribulations have taught him he’s worthy of affection.
Navy Blue’s entire discography has been defined by his introspectively abstract lyricism & drumless production, but his newest album takes his use of music as a therapeutic outlet to newer territories having The Sword thematically representing an earthly tool used for the battle he’s cohesively describing or in this case grief & The Soaring symbolizing the heavenly council. The production on this one is soothingly peaceful handling only 25% of it himself & Ka would certainly be proud of the way he’s being honored if he was still here.
Hatch Wiseguy is a 37 year old MC from Detroit, Michigan making his full-length debut 2 decades ago with Wise Guy & following it up with an EP called Likewise. He would later go on to receive co-signs from local veterans like Royce da 5’9″ & Trick-Trick to established icons like The LOX & the late DMX, even forming a duo with Pony Evans called Role Idols. I also thought that he had the best performance of the 3 on the track he contributed to off Blizzard’s debut album Duel with Death, so hearing that he was returning for a sophomore effort felt long overdue in my personal opinion.
“To Whom It May Concern” produced by Foul Mouth starts off by hooking up a piano-based boom bap instrumental playing with fiery Hell like 2 magnums whereas “Pop Off” featuring Astray & Paradime finds the trio over a more jazzily soulful instrumental from Blizzard talking about needing head doctors since they’re so crazy. “Prolific” flexes his status with the pen continuing to demonstrate Foul’s ear for sampling just before “Foreigner” lavishly talks about popping overseas with his Gs.
38 Spesh joins the Wiseguy on the grimy boom bap collaboration “Yikes” giving no fucks as to what these pussies are like out here these days leading into “Snakes” featuring Astray reuniting the 2 to call out those exact kind of people scheming behind their backs over a dusty beat. “We Outside” featuring Bizarre gets together to give the audience that raw shit prior to “Leap Frog” featuring Marv Won talking about both of them hurdling over all these bitches, with Hatch referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson alongside the greatest basketball player of all-time Michael Jordan & the late king of pop Michael Jackson.
“It’s Not Ok” featuring KXNG CROOKED begins the 2nd half with both artists looking to keep angels by their side whenever they’re out because of devils following them while the drumless “Make You Proud” talks about having to learn some lessons the hard way & seeing his father pass away in front of him. “Seeing is Believing” brings the kicks & snares back in the fold humbly living his dreams until “Chill” scoffs at these group of people acting like bitches. “Bare My Soul” featuring Astray explains that he made this album because there’s not enough love being spread these days & “Nincompoop” wraps things up with some shit-talking.
Intentionally making this a niche boom bap project for those who truly appreciate the craft & artistry of lyricism & hip hop at it’s most traditional instead of the casual rap listener or a sing-a-long crowd, Dirt & Diamonds checks all the boxes in regards of making it a triumphant comeback from very personal moments to bangers, stories, lyrical exercises & some good ol’ bops. Pulling a lot of strings to include some of the top talents in the genre from features to production & even live instrumentation, it’s like he’s catching up with all of us as to what’s been going on with him & his growth since the last time he dropped forever ago.
Lefty Gunplay is a 29 year old rapper from Baldwin Park, California who began his music career in 2023 after a prison stint. He has since dropped 6 full-lengths & an EP, including an outro on “tv off” from Kendrick Lamar’s 6th album GNX around this time 12 months ago. Can’t Get Right produced by Jason Martin formerly known as Problem would become his most celebrated work this spring, coming off Ghetto Heisman‘s mixed reception to have Jason produce his 2nd EP alongside Mike & Keys.
“C-Murder Flow” opens with a homage to the wrongfully incarcerated member of TRU himself almost 2 weeks after No Limit Records smoked Cash Money Records at the Verzuz occurring at ComplexCon whereas Jiggy works in a vocal sample so he can talk about nobody being in his division. “Califa” featuring MC Davo & pfacebabyy finds the trio decently flexing that they’re catching fades throughout the city leading into “M.W.A. (Mexican With an Attitude)” eerily talking about being Hispanic & having an N.W.A mindset.
The song “She Fell in Love with an Ese” beginning the final leg of I Told You So asking if there’s a single person out in the streets who can outrun his gun while “Story of My Life” featuring Coyote, Cricket, Jason Martin & pfacebabyyy gets together over some horns so they can talk about being in the position of making their own rules. The title track ends the EP in the most appropriate way imaginable from the summery guitar instrumental to the lyrics promising that he wouldn’t break his lovers’ heart.
Ghetto Heisman earlier this fall was a little disappointing compared to Can’t Get Right mainly because the production & guests simultaneously felt all over the place in terms of consistency, not quite reaching the bar of WC’s sophomore effort of the same name under Def Jam Recordings over 2 decades earlier. Now regarding I Told You So, it comes off to me as an amalgamation of Ghetto Heisman‘s inconsistencies & Can’t Get Right‘s refinement of Lefty Gunplay’s whole entire Chicano/west coast style.
This is the 8th EP from Seattle, Washington up-&-coming rapper & producer Tayo. Originally starting under the moniker ByeTayo, he started on SoundCloud close around Halloween 2021 off his first few EPs Crash on Purpose as well as Inside Voices & PM the following year. He would later go on applying pressure with couple more EPs in wintr & a sequel to PM, coming off Thank You Tayo taking himself to newer levels both artistically & personally on Bye this past spring. Merely 6 months later, he’s setting out to do it again with Goodbye.
lade takes up a bulk of the intro “strawberry” aside from the hook melodically talking about getting fly & wanting to know who has a better closet just before the 70 second “wells fargo” produced by Pi’erre Bourne asks his this woman trusts him or not. “fitch” brings a pluggnb vibe to the table courtesy of Goyxrd for a woman to continuously question his feelings towards her while “Pull Out More” featuring Ppgcasper talks about oxycontin taking over
“icarly” references the Paramount Skydance Corporation owned Nickelodeon franchise of the same name & after a 90 second Tooly? solo joint disguised as an interlude, “fake bby” locks back in with Goyxrd for another foray into pluggnb talking about relationships. The self-produced “that part” brings a standard plugg flare to the table while “lil peep” featuring Tooly? finishes Goodbye on more of a rage-inducing note remember the emo rap pioneer.
Looking to take the evolution Bye began embracing to the next level, Tayo’s 2nd extended play of 2025 improves from the previous one we got in May & could easily become the greatest body of work in the 4 years he’s been making music. Goodbye’s plugg & pluggnb production feels stronger than its predecessors obviously since he’s generated enough buzz to lock in with some of the greatest trap producers & the Seattle artist’s hunger hasn’t waned.
Rosalía is a 33 year old atypical pop star from Sant Cugat del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain introducing herself in 2017 with the new flamenco full-length debut Los Ángeles. Her sophomore effort El Mal Querer under Columbia Records would catapult her into stardom for embracing a more experimental flamenco sound & Motomami conceptually built itself around the way she was feeling during the 17-month studio sessions that conceived it. Preparing for a deeply personal return, her 4th studio album & it’s only single unsurprisingly marked a stylistic change of pace.
Rosalía es una estrella del pop atípica de 33 años, originaria de Sant Cugat del Vallès, Cataluña, España, que se dio a conocer en 2017 con su primer álbum de flamenco, Los Ángeles. Su segundo trabajo, El Mal Querer, con Columbia Records, la catapultó al estrellato por adoptar un sonido flamenco más experimental, y Motomami se construyó conceptualmente en torno a cómo se sentía durante las 17 meses de sesiones de estudio en las que lo concibió. Preparándose para un regreso profundamente personal, su cuarto álbum de estudio y su único sencillo marcaron, como era de esperar, un cambio de ritmo estilístico.
“Sexo, Violencia y Llantas” starts with some strings & pianos dichotomizing the physical & spiritual worlds that we’ve all become too familiar with while “Reliquia” works in more keys & violins to sing about wanting this person to take a piece of her with them as an heirloom. “Divinize” embraces a heavy art pop sound feeling more alive than she ever has whereas “Porcelana” tells the story of a 17th century Japanese nun named 良年幻象.
«Sexo, Violencia y Llantas» comienza con unos acordes de cuerda y piano que dicotomizan los mundos físico y espiritual con los que todos estamos tan familiarizados, mientras que «Reliquia» utiliza más teclados y violines para cantar sobre el deseo de que esa persona se lleve un pedazo de ella como reliquia. «Divinize» adopta un sonido art pop pesado que la hace sentir más viva que nunca, mientras que «Porcelana» cuenta la historia de una monja japonesa del siglo XVII llamada Ryōnen Gensō.
We get an art pop/classical crossover with “Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti” to conclude the 1st quarter singing about a friendship considered contemplative until the only single “Berghain” fuses those 2 previously mentioned genres with orchestral music, opera, choral & romanticism referencing the famous Berlin techno club. “La Perla” featuring Yahritza Y Su Esencia conceptually feels reminiscent of “Promesa” off RR’s eponymous debut EP leading into “Mundo Nueveo” reinterpreting “Quisiera Yo Renegar” by La Niña de los Peines to renounce the world entirely.
Con «Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti» obtenemos una mezcla de art pop y música clásica que concluye el primer cuarto, cantando sobre una amistad considerada contemplativa, hasta que el único sencillo, «Berghain», fusiona los dos géneros mencionados anteriormente con música orquestal, ópera, coros y romanticismo, haciendo referencia al famoso club techno de Berlín. «La Perla», con Yahritza Y Su Esencia, recuerda conceptualmente a «Promesa», del EP homónimo debut de RR, que da paso a «Mundo Nueveo», una reinterpretación de «Quisiera Yo Renegar», de La Niña de los Peines, para renunciar por completo al mundo.
“De Madrugá” produced by Pharrell & former G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer Noah Goldstein hooks up these violins for Rosalía to conclude the 1st half assuring that revenge’s seeking her & having 1,000 tongues of fire in her hair prior to “Dios Es un Stalker” topically stalking a man that she has her eyes on to make him fall in love with her. “La Yugular” goes bilingual singing in Spanish & Arabic promising that she’ll tear down the sky & destroy Hell for the love she has for this man while “Focu ‘Ranni” takes inspiration from Santa Rosalía de Palermo.
«De Madrugá», producida por Pharrell y el antiguo productor interno de G.O.O.D. Music, Noah Goldstein, acompaña a Rosalía con violines para concluir la primera mitad, asegurando que la venganza la busca y que tiene mil lenguas de fuego en su cabello antes de «Dios Es un Stalker», que acosa temáticamente a un hombre al que le ha echado el ojo para que se enamore de ella. «La Yugular» es una canción bilingüe, cantada en español y árabe, en la que promete que derribará el cielo y destruirá el infierno por el amor que siente por este hombre, mientras que «Focu ‘Ranni» se inspira en Santa Rosalía de Palermo.
The desire of purging all things materialistic creeps up during “Sauvignon Blanc” no longer being afraid of the past over a piano while “Jeanne” bases itself around the Joan of Arc, entrusting herself to God’s wishes. “Novia Robot” takes a jab at the men who prefer their women to be pliantly emotionless while “La Rumba del Perdón” sings about a stereotypical dad leaves for cigarettes & doesn’t come back situation without making it sound cliche.
El deseo de purgar todo lo materialista se apodera de nosotros durante «Sauvignon Blanc», en la que ya no tememos al pasado acompañados por un piano, mientras que «Jeanne» se basa en Juana de Arco, que se entrega a los designios de Dios. «Novia Robot» critica a los hombres que prefieren que sus mujeres sean dóciles y sin emociones, mientras que «La Rumba del Perdón» canta sobre la situación estereotipada de un padre que sale a comprar cigarrillos y no vuelve, sin que suene a cliché.
“Memória” featuring Carminho pushes further towards the final moments of Lux combining art pop & fudo pondering if anybody will remember who they are after enough time has passed sharing the microphone together while “Magnolias” finishes up the LP by summing up her own funeral, singing to be honored with delicacy & love when she’s not here anymore having the flowers that symbolize the presence of Christ in the deceased thrown at her grave.
«Memória», con la colaboración de Carminho, avanza hacia los momentos finales de Lux, combinando art pop y fudo, reflexionando sobre si alguien recordará quiénes son después de que haya pasado el tiempo suficiente, compartiendo el micrófono juntos, mientras que «Magnolias» cierra el LP resumiendo su propio funeral, cantando para ser honrada con delicadeza y amor cuando ya no esté aquí, con las flores que simbolizan la presencia de Cristo en los difuntos arrojadas sobre su tumba.
To enhance the classical crossover experience she was aiming for, Rosalía brought the London Symphony Orchestra in ensuring Lux would become the most universal listening experience of her career split in 4 different movements performed in 14 different languages to stick out in the divided world we’ve come to know. The production eschews the reggaeton influences of Motomami to additionally pull from orchestral music, flamenco pop & singer/songwriter for a conceptual look at her relationships both from a romantic & a religious standpoint.
Para mejorar la experiencia de fusión clásica que buscaba, Rosalía contó con la London Symphony Orchestra para garantizar que Lux se convirtiera en la experiencia auditiva más universal de su carrera, dividida en cuatro movimientos diferentes interpretados en catorce idiomas distintos para destacar en el mundo dividido que conocemos. La producción evita las influencias del reguetón de Motomami para inspirarse adicionalmente en la música orquestal, el pop flamenco y los cantautores, con el fin de ofrecer una visión conceptual de sus relaciones tanto desde un punto de vista romántico como religioso.
Score: 4.5/5
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The Bronx, New York rapper Jim Jones dropping a brand new extended play a few days succeeding it’s announcement. A member of The Diplomats in the 2000s, his first 5 full-lengths from 2004-2011 had some highlights in them even if they were all average at best as whole albums. However it wouldn’t be until 2018 after dropping Wasted Talent where he would really start putting out his best material ever & then came out with his magnum opus the following year El Capo. El Capo 2 & the Harry Fraud-produced The Fraud Department continued the acclaim up until the Hitmaka-produced Back in My Prime proved to be disappointing & At the Church Steps was ok, coming off Pusha T dissing him on the Clipse single “Ace Trumpets” to present The Fall Before the Rise.
The intro opens up with a genuinely decent instrumental telling the God’s honest truth until “I’m the Best” butchers a sample of “You’re the Best” by Joe Esposito for a little over a minute to stroke his ego after having Fivio Foreign do so not too long ago. The usage of sampling on “Rich Water” isn’t done any better having something for everyone who did him wrong leading into “Move ‘Em” talking about having the city under control like a PlayStaion over some 808s.
“Friday” thunderously speaks of formerly making money by putting yay on the highway just before “Eat Tonight” with an uncredited feature comes through with a mediocre Bonnie & Clyde ballad. “Revolution” talks about us getting increasingly closer to a rebellion of sorts while “Summer Where You Been At?” flips “Summertime” by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince to address a lost love interest. We’re then treated to a freestyle spit during the 3rd annual Mafiathon, which was merely ok.
Wasted Talent marked a huge turning point in Jim Jones’ career putting out some of his greatest material over the course of the late 2010s/early 2020s but since Back in My Prime, the quality of his music is continuing to steeply decline the bigger his head grows. We still would’ve gotten a better product if you kept both tracks from At the Church Steps (deluxe included), whereas The Fall Before the Risecontains worse production & reminds us all he’s not even close to surpassing Nas as an MC.
Atlanta, Georgia producer & rapper MexikoDro making his full-length studio debut under Republic Records. A member of the BeatPluggz, he would later embark on a solo career with Down Bad as well as De Mayo & Quatro respectively. In almost a decade he’s also produced tracks for the likes of Maxo Kream, Drake, Bktherula, Smokingskul, Tony Shhnow & more recently Diorvsyou this spring. 14 months since Quatro, he’s making it clear that he’s Still Goin’.
“Hurt” jumps over a futuristic trap instrumental to talk about making songs as a way of getting shit off his chest leading into “Stuck” discussing the importance of never folding even when life was getting really tough. “Den” talks about fucking up the roads driving in his new Durango over some synthesizers until the celebratory trap single “Remy” speaks of life improving with God by his side.
As for “No Clear Coat”, we have Dro on top of more trap production talking about living life blindly because he has too much faith just before “Marta”boasts that he has more women than an all women’s school over a plugg beat. “Wish” reaches the halfway point thanking the Higher Power for a new day right when he wakes up while “Hire” confesses that he’s far from perfect & feeling confidence of doing well.
“Height” has to be the most personal single this guy‘s ever put out, basically talking about going from calling his mother whilst incarcerated & checking into rehab for drug abuse to turning down huge opportunities while “Maid” desiring to have a big body vehicle instead of a sports car. “Twice” talks about doing better than he was a couple years earlier previously while “Aware” embraces the plugg sound fully looking to turn himself up for the summer.
To begin the last 5 minutes of the LP, the deadpan lead single “No Date” finds himself refusing to do any punk ass bullshit for the sole purpose of going viral because he’s been artistically upgrading throughout the course of these past 11 months while “Doin Right” ties things up in the from of this celebratory outro talking about taking his music career seriously considering that it’s his blessing.
Usually whenever a producer takes the risk of adding the performer occupation onto their repertoire whether they choose to rap or sing their vocals, it could either be a success or a failure. In MexikoDro’s case, the BeatPluggz member’s major label debut album wowed me more than I had initially thought it would. Even if it can be a little monotonous, the production isn’t bad for him making no contributions in that department & the passion’s certainly there in terms of what he gets off his chest.
New York underground duo Armand Hammer signing to Rhymesayers Entertainment for their 7th LP. Consisting of billy woods & Elucid, they formed together a decade ago already off their only mixtape Half Measures & the debut album Race Music. The pair would go on to release an EP & 4 more albums worth of abstract political hip hop, with the last one Haram fully produced by The Alchemist becoming the most critically acclaimed within their discography. We Buy Diabetic Test Strips quickly became the greatest musical statement in Fat Possum Records’ entire discography, reuniting with Uncle Al for the Haram sequel Mercy & switching labels from Fat Possum to Rhymesayers.
“Laraaji” comes out the gate hooking up an uncanny sample saving a reference to the late Ka’s 9th & final album The Thief Next to Jesus for billy’s verse whereas “Peshawar” trades the mic with one another over a piano talking about the technological advancements in AI with the “thou shall not make a machine in the likeness of a human” line. “Calypso Gene” embraces a jazzier vibe instrumentally using water as a metaphor for spiritual cleansing just before “Glue Traps” featuring Quelle Chris topically finds the trio addressing more economic issues.
We get some heavy pianos throughout “Scandinavia” talking about life being filtered through white curtains being stranger than the northern European subregion while “Nil by Mouth” continues to put Alchemist’s ear for sampling on full display comparing their flows to remote control lightning. “Dogeared” ends the 1st half with a drumless beat talking about their love running deep until “Crisis Phone” addresses the type of people who don’t know what it means to bleed.
“Moonbow” continues the 2nd leg of Mercy by incorporating a chipmunk soul instrumental hoping all shine through until the end of their days while “No Grabba” combines elements of boom bap & cloud rap talking about their preference of smoking weed without mixing tobacco with it. “U Know My Body” feels more like a brief billy woods solo track going on a complete massacre while “Longjohns” featuring Quelle Chris talks about seeing it all.
The 3rd & final single “California Games” featuring Earl Sweatshirt samples “Rehearse with Ornette” to continue the abstract brilliance of their previous collaborations “Falling Out the Sky” & of course “Tabula Rasa” while “Super Nintendo” wraps things up with a lead single that combines drumless, neo-psychedelia & chiptune using that very console as a metaphor for childhood memories fleeting away.
Despite being confirmed by both billy woods & Elucid that the creative processes behind Haram & Mercy were similar, you’d be disappointed to expect Armand Hammer’s debut under the triennal Rhymesayers Entertainment to sound much like it’s predecessor because that isn’t the case whatsoever. Obviously less experimental than We Buy Diabetic Test Strips was over 25 months earlier, the drumless & jazz rap influences of Haram still remain behind the revered abstract hip hop duo to test out more back-&-forth flows.
Detroit, Michigan emcee Danny Brown staying with Warp Records for his 7th LP. Emerging as a member of the Rese’vor Dogs in the mid-2000s, he would go onto form the Bruiser Brigade at the start of the previous decade & put out his debut album The Hybrid shortly after. This resulted in him signing with Fool’s Gold Records & delivering a near perfect sophomore effort XXX the next year, which was followed up with Old in 2013 as well as his 2016 magnum opus & Warp debut Atrocity Exhibition. Coming off uknowhatimsayin¿ in 2019 & what was originally supposed to be his final Warp Records album Quaranta, the Motor City’s finest has decided to stick around & have them drop Stardust.
Quadeca’s ethereal instrumental on “Book of Daniel” matched with Danny’s lyrics confidently talking about making it by the end of the night couldn’t have been a perfect combination to set it all off whereas “Starburst” fuses experimental hip hop, hardcore hip hop, industrial hip hop, bubblegum bass, trap, hybrid trap, deconstructed club, poetry & wonky for a speechless 2-parter showing no pity for a clout-chasing succubi.
“Copycats” combines pop rap, electropop, electro hop, electro house, grime, hyperpop, electro hop, dance-pop & bubblegum bass into 1 thanks to underscores expressing the importance of staying authentic in a world full of imitators just before “1999” featuring JOHNNASCUS works in some skittery synthesizers from the former Spider Gang member himself to tell us that the world truly ended a quarter of a century ago referencing Y2K.
Meanwhile on “Flowers”, we have Danny over an EDM beat talking about persevering through the hardest times of his life leading into “Lift You Up” embracing a hip house vibe instrumentally suggesting to move slower as a result of things going too fast. To conclude the 1st act, “Green Light” shifts towards a bit of an industrial hip hop/pop rap direction telling the love of his live that nothing won’t stop him from giving.
“What You See” reunites with Quadeca to begin the 2nd half on a colorful note wanting to know what their lovers see in them specifically & once “Baby” featuring Rodney Chrome finds the pair coming together to talk about being the perfect type of guys, ISSBROKIE joins Danny during “Whatever the Case” so they can clarify to those in pain due to their hustle that they won’t be knocked off their axis.
Femtanyl’s drum & bass influence throughout “1L0v3myL1f3!” is pretty cool talking about enjoying how things are going in his life because he has his paper up right when some tried counting him out while “Right from Wrong” advises to continue the journey & focus more regarding what’s ahead of us. “The End” featuring Ta Ukrainka links up for a bilingual 3-parter produced by Cynthoni & Quadeca, but “All4U” featuring Jane Remover stands as the true outro doing everything for those who take the time out to listen to their music.
Not to be mistaken with the lowest point of the current 2-time WWE Champion Cody Rhodes’ entire career, Stardust isn’t necessarily superior compared to Atrocity Exhibition but what I can say that it’s an admirable foray into electronic dance music after getting sober. He’s essentially telling about his recovery from addiction & finding joy in art again through the lens of a 90s-era semi-autobiographical popstar named Dusty Star additionally exploring the styles of pop rap, hardcore hip hop, bubblegum bass, deconstructed club, hyperpop & industrial hip hop.
Legends Will Never Die 