Dave East – “Living Proof” review

This is the 5th studio LP from Harlem emcee Dave East. Breaking out in 2014 off his 8th mixtape Black Rose, this resulted in the man signing a joint deal with Def Jam Recordings & even Nas’ independently owned Mass Appeal Records as well as a spot in the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class. However, his full-length debut Survival wouldn’t come out until 3 years later & was very disappointing in the sense that he tried appealing to a more mainstream audience that just didn’t exist. The Harry Fraud produced sophomore effort Hoffa proved to be better as did his final Def Jam offering Fortune Favors the Bold & APT 6E produced by Mike & Keys marked a return to his independent roots, so hearing would be Living Proof fully laced by araabMUZIK gave me a feeling it would be one of the most essential listening experiences of Dave’s career.

“Percocet” is the synthesizer driven boom bap intro talking about there not being any better feeling re-uppin’ whereas “Bet My Life” shifts towards a cloudy trap direction instrumentally flexing that he’s on his 2nd-wind. “Solid N****z” featuring Cruch Calhoun gives off a bit of a victorious flare to the beat as they tell the difference between the real & the cowards. I also owe Cruch an apology for what I said in regards to his verse on “The Win” when Hoffa dropped, I was wrong & I own up to that.

Fabolous joins Dave for the orchestrally hardcore “Buss Down” to discuss all that they ever wanted was a Rollie so they got some prior to “Walk wit Me” working in a bit of a jazz rap vibe for the instrumental advising y’all to take a walk with him real quick. “Lift ‘Em Up” featuring Benny the Butcher returns to a symphonic edge talking about having better patience & only broke people think money can solve problems, but then “Roll Up” pulls influence from jazz music once again not knowing too many living the life he does.

“Joe Jackson” featuring O.T. the Real starts the other half of Living Proof with both of them cautioning that rappers acting like something they’re not is what leads to them getting shot while “All I Know” heads back for a trap direction putting on for shit that he could die for. “Same Shit” featuring Giggs finds the 2 boasting they’re still with exact same group of homies they came up with while “Everything for Sale” featuring Ransom samples “To the Other Man” by Luther Ingram admitting they’ve done bad & grew better.

Starting the final leg of the LP on a psychedelic note, “The Love Fake” tackles themes of envy and no smut being put on his legacy once he’s gone while the luxurious trap flavored “Run Down” featuring Millyz talks going through it in the midst of everyone else not understanding it whatsoever. “The Other Side” pushes towards the final moments exuberantly warning that money ain’t a thing since you can’t take it with ya & “Barbara” ends by telling the titular person that he misses her.

Highlighting the shared vision & chemistry of both collaborators, Living Proof delivers one of the year’s standout releases & of course amongst the most important high points in the 2016 XXL Freshman’s career. araabMUZIK’s signature production throughout is a lot more consistent that it was on APT 6E pulling from boom bap to trap, chipmunk soul & jazz rap making more than enough room for Dave East to go harder lyrically than he did during the summer.

Score: 4/5

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Maxo Kream – “Personification” review

This is the 4th full-length studio LP from Houston, Texas emcee & songwriter Maxo Kream. Breaking out in the beginning of 2018 off his debut album Punken following his first 4 mixtapes, this resulted in him signing to RCA Records for the sophomore effort Brandon Banks & of course Weight of the World that celebrated it’s 3-year anniversary last month. Some of the singles ahead of Personification however have become the best of his entire discography & I had to give it a shot.

The cloudy trap intro “Mo Murda” acknowledges that people start thinking you’re a part of the illuminati once you start making the amount of money that he does whereas “Fashitso” works in a flute from Cubeatz to talk about coming a long way from kickin’ doors down. “Cracc Era” featuring & produced by Tyler, The Creator references former SMW Tag Team Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion & 6-time WWE Hardcore Champion Al Snow prior to the sample-driven “Street Fraternity” explaining that you die for eternity once you join.

“Big Hoe Me” kinda has this atmospheric drill vibe instrumentally publicly admitting that he’s almost lost his life twice out in the streets until the fame while “Smokey” featuring BigXthaPlug links up over a Memphis-inspired trap beat from Hit-Boy making it clear they blasting you the next time you owe them. “Higher Than Ever” featuring Rob49 & Skilla Baby dabbles with Detroit trap boasting they real smooth, but then “Drizzy Draco 2” is a sequel to the Brandon Banks highlight.

Josh Kream joins Maxo on the moody trap joint “Walk by Faith” that Beat Butcha laced taking aim at TKO Group Holdings co-founder with individually self-booked runs as WWE Champion & ECW World Heavyweight Champion Vince McMahon while “Drop Top Impala” featuring Z-Ro sees them getting rich off vocals & touring globally. “Bibles & Rifles” is another standout from the Evilgiane instrumental to ask if he’d be forgiven or struck down for wishing death while “Talkin’ in Screw” featuring That Mexican OT remembers the late Screwed Up Click leader and chopped & screwed pioneer DJ Screw.

“Bang the Bus” reunites with Evilgiane again except they experiment with sample drill painting images of the gangsta lifestyle that he’s lived through for nearly 3 minutes & finally, the closing track “Triggaman” featuring Denzel Curry properly rounds out Maxo’s first offering in 3 years & the first in his discography since leaving RCA with both southern MCs over a trap beat ringing off an eerie atmosphere talking about letting the sticks off.

Upping the ante by imbuing it with a heady concept organized around the various ways he has presented himself on wax, Personification is pretty much Maxo diving into all of the themes presented by these different characters. Trigga Maxo, Punken & Emekwanem all get a chance to show what parts of him they represent whether it be the first being hardened by the streets & inspired by the swampy Southern goodness of Houston’s rap tradition, the other becoming more fond of nostalgia & simpler times or the final one discussing his responsibilities as a man & father.

Score: 4/5

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Lex Luger – “TMOG Forever” review

Lex Luger is a 33 year old producer from Suffolk, Virginia notable for co-founding the 808 Mafia production team with Southside & mostly producing Waka Flocka Flame’s groundbreaking debut album Flockaveli. He later battled drug addiction throughout the mid-late 2010s, kicking the habit for good in 2018 & has been looking to redeem himself by getting his name back out there by producing again. Interestingly enough, he surprise released a 3-track EP clocking in at 9 minutes & it peaked my interest.

“Leech” by Jay Critch happens to be a decent trap intro talking about the money flowin’ similarly to the lean feelin’ crazy flexin’ on Instagram while “Lex Meet Dex” by Famous Dex makes up for it with what’s easily the most enjoyable Dex song I’ve heard in a long time & maybe one of the best tracks in his discography period going harder than Critch on the previous joint. “Workin’” by Casey Veggies & Rich the Kid finishes the EP with both of them showing off their hustle & Casey outrappin’ Rich.

TMOG Forever is basically Lex Luger working with all 3 artists on the Rich Forever Music roster but if you’re a fan of the collaborative tapes they’ve done in the past, you’ll get a kick out of this. I’ll even say it’s the best that they’ve sounded since linking back up. Lex’s distinct production style is exactly what they needed considering the fact that some of the beat selections on a lot of their recent material has been lackluster.

Score: 3.5/5

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Matt Champion – “Slint’s Favorite” review

This is the 2nd EP from Woodlands, Texas rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Matt Champion. A founding member of the now defunct BROCKHAMPTON collective, he also released a solo EP Harley in the spring of 2017 right before the classic SATURATION trilogy & Mika’s Laundryfrom this spring showed the versatility that he was very much capable of. 8 months later, Matt’s surprise-dropping Slint’s Favorite.

“Faye” fuses experimental hip hop, trap, cloud rap, alternative R&B, witch house & industrial hip hop to talk about being haunted while “Hacker”works in elements of alt-pop, neo-soul, alternative R&B & psychedelic soul singing that he wants a home run. “SPJ” produced by Romil Hemnani brings indietronica, alt-pop, minimal wave, alternative R&B & neo-soul together asking if everyone would erase their minds if it was easier prior to “Ash” featuring Deb Never finishing the EP pulling from bedroom pop, alt-pop, downtempo, alternative R&B, art pop, neo-soul & dream pop wanting to know why they don’t ask each other out anymore.

Ahead of his solo set at Camp Flog Gnaw this weekend, Matt whips up a 4-track EP that continues to demonstrate the artistic range prominently shown throughout Mika’s Laundry earlier within the year. Styles like experimental hip hop, trap, cloud rap, alternative R&B, witch house, industrial hip hop, alt-pop, neo-soul, psychedelic soul, indietronica, minimal wave, bedroom pop, downtempo, art pop & dream pop all shift into 1 another fluidly during the span of 12 minutes.

Score: 4/5

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Young Nudy – “Sli’merre 2” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper Young Nudy back for his 10th mixtape. Despite being cousins with 21 Savage, he eventually carved a lane of his own in the last decade with his last 9 mixtapes (the most notable one being the Pi’erre Bourne-produced Sli’merre) & 3 full-lengths. Rich Shooter & EA Monster were the last projects of his that I covered, coming off Gumbo from a year & a half to reunite with Pi’erre for the highly awaited Sli’merre 2 ahead of his next album fully produced by Metro Boomin’.

“Come to My World” is this syrupy trap intro talking about Nudy being way too geeked up as it is whereas “Get Fucked Up” works in some synthesizers & hi-hats once again not shying away from making it known that he’s under the influence. “Money” pushes forward with an uncanny trap atmosphere instrumentally stacking his bread all the way up to the ceiling prior to “I’m Big Dawg” hookin’ the synths back up in order for him to flex his current status in the rap game.

Moving on from there, “Breakdown” kinda has this bubbly trap flare to the beat talking about doing shakedowns taking everything since he’s #1 & everyone else is right behind him just before “Bang Pistols” pulls a bit from the plugg scene showing off his mob ties. “Loaded” is another synthesizer-heavy trap joint boasting that he’s sitting on millions leading into “Splash” sampling “NEVEREVER” by Destroy Lonely addressing the theme of lust.

“10pc Teriyaki” kicks off the 2nd half of Sli’merre 2 on a playful tip maintaining a synth-trap edge talking about being a star in the subgenre & smiling at his opps while “Gotta Salute” flexing that his clique remains bulletproof on top of broke muhfuckas being unable to do what he does. The prominent woodwinds throughout “Save Myself” featuring BabyDrill are a uniquely distinct touch getting on their gangsta shit referencing current AEW performer & commentator as well as former 7-time WWE world champion, 11-time WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion Paul Wight while “4Slime” cloudily talks being a stone cold killer.

Meanwhile on “Bloody”, we have Nudy beginning the final leg of the tape by cautioning that he’ll shut down your trap the second he pulls up speaking the truth on wax since it’s beyond rap while the synthesizer-driven “Hakuna Matata” gets down & dirty. The lead single “Right Now” remains in the trap house tryna beat it ’til it down & finally, “How It Be” ends with more synths telling everyone who ain’t getting money to get the fuck off his dick.

Over 5 years since the original, Sli’merre 2 recaptures the essence of what made Sli’merre the best mixtape in Nudy’s catalog since Nudy Land & joins it’s predecessor as one of the most essential bodies of work in his catalog. Granted you can never go wrong with Pi’erre’s 1-of-a-kind production style top to bottom, but I most importantly appreciate the fact Nudy got lesser guests than he did last time he did a tape with Pi’erre & mostly held it on his own.

Score: 4.5/5

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Berner – “Hoffa” review

Berner is a 41 year old rapper, songwriter & entrepreneur from San Francisco, California who began battle rapping in high school. Following his 2007 debut mixtape Dirty Sneakers…Plenty Ways to Get It, he would go on to drop 15 LPs along with a couple more mixtapes & a couple EPs in addition to the plethora of collaborative projects he has with numerous artists. Ahead of the Cookies cannabis brand’s 10-year anniversary however, Berner’s coming off The Farmer’s Market for his 16th album.

“Sweat” is this slick west coast trap opener flexing that he got big money whereas “Remember” moves on from there working in some sampling to talk about the memory he has remembering way things were before the cash flow. “Hard to Spend” gets on the psychedelic trap tip admitting that the dirty money getting more difficult to blow as time goes on just before “Heavy” featuring Mozzy & Peysoh gives off a Detroit trap vibe describing shit as sketchy

As for “Power”, we have Berner calmingly talking about being attracted to the titular feeling into “Callin’” featuring Moneybagg Yo & Ty$ brings the trio together so all 3 of them can ball with money on the mind. “Who Gon’ Love You?” featuring Larry June offers a cloudier flare to the table asking that exact question when it goes dry while “Lots of Green” featuring B-Real, Devin the Dude & Wiz Khalifa finds the quartet expressing their love for weed.

“Fried” featuring De’Migo has cool sampling techniques throughout pulling from soul & jazz music knowing that both of them will be fine as long as they wake up in the morning, but then “Easy” turns the jazz rap influences way higher talking about breaking the bank. “The Source” featuring Ghostface Killah, Killer Mike & Raekwon is a standout for me since every single one of them floated over a chipmunk soul beat while “The Smoke” featuring Too $hort produced by Ant Banks finds both of them assuring not to worry over where they going.

Galaxy! & Zakee both join Berner for “Ruthless” reminding that they’ve been shining while “Possible” talks jumping obstacles in 2024 doing the impossible. “Litigation” featuring Cozmo gets stuck between fake smiles & legal proceedings while the title track featuring Chevy Woods & Cozmo homages labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa who disappeared almost 50 years ago. “Keep Pushin’” passionately gets his message across & the closer “Amazing” sends it all off smoking the pain away.

Hoffa as a sequel to Gotti recaptures everything that made its predecessor stand out in his discography & makes it a completely different listening experience altogether. The production offers a wide range of palates from trap to cloud rap, Detroit trap, psychedelia, chipmunk soul & jazz rap for the Cookies founder to tackle themes of organized crime joined by guest performances that’re either outstanding or tiresome.

Score: 3.5/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap” review

Nicholas Craven back once again with Tha God Fahim for his 47th EP. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records as well as being 1/3 of the Dump Gawds alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, we also can’t ignore the massive discography that he’s managed to build for himself, some of the standouts include Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. But dude has been on a CRAZY ass EP run in 2023 with the standouts being the Camoflauge Monk-produced Dark Shogunn Assassin, the Nature Sounds-backed Iron Bull & the Nicholas Craven-produced Dump Gawd: Shot Clock Kingseries, the Oh No-produced Berserko, Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays produced by Mike Shabb, Tha Supreme Hoarder of All Pristine Wealth. Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga produced by Cookin’ Soul & more recently Machine Gun Vocabulary produced by Cartune Beatz. 5 years since Tha Myth Who Never Quit, we got a 2nd AND a 3rd installment last month & they’re maintaining the dumpin’ with Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap.

“Saiyan Pride” is this soulful boom bap intro reminding us of the fact that his catalogue is extensive on top of the mystic energy that he always brings whereas “A Nightmare You Can’t Come Back From” works in a chipmunk soul instrumental asking who’s as dope as him lyrically. “Dump Dynasty” hooks up a guitar sample with more kicks & snares making change by spitting flames prior to “10x Gravity” soulfully talking about his power level unable to be mapped out or calculated.

As for “Tha Riddle of Steel”, we have Fahim over a flute cautioning what will happen if you fuck with the known unknown just before “LSSJ” strips the drums altogether talking about MCs tryna weather the storm. “Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 2” is a raw sequel to a Myth Who Never Quit 3 standout leading into “Tha Supreme Kai of Bean Pies” makes MCs meet death sampling soul once more, but then “Repetition” finishes the EP rhymin’ like a brewin’ storm.

Giving a couple weeks for both Tha Myth Who Never Quit 2 & Tha Myth Who Never Quit 3 to breathe, Breadrick Douglas & the greatest hip hop producer from Montréal recapture the same energy of the original “Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap” track on the last EP & carried it over onto a 20 minute EP of it’s own. Nicholas Craven’s chipmunk soul-heavy boom bap & drumless sound has always brought the best out of the Dump Gawd, except I like this more than Tha Myth Who Never Quit 3 & almost as much as Tha Myth Who Never Quit 2.

Score: 4.5/5

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HPBLK – “Bis Kwi” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee, producer, artist & animator HPBLK has returned for his 2nd solo extended play. Originally emerging under the moniker Gen Uchiha prior to forming the Old Children with King Kashmere & Booda French, he made his solo debut back in 2016 with F.Y.M.O. (For Your Mind Only) followed by the Energy & the sophomore effort Audio Arcade. Last time we heard from him was The All Natural Supernatural in 2021 excluding the compositional Pass the Pad that succeeded it, returning after 3 years to drop Bis Kwi without having any guest appearances.

“Ultra Instincts” opens with a lo-fi jazzy intro talking about people trying to shine when they’re the ones asking for a light whereas “Yagami” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally recalling an encounter he had with a woman who loved his profile. “Kane” pays tribute to the WWE Hall of Famer, former SMW Tag Team Champion, 3-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 12-time WWE tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion of the same name.

“Adult Swim” clarifies the reason behind the long gap between releases boiling down to personal reasons while “Amorphus” talks about getting the cream or becoming cash ruled. “Dark Souls” spends a minute & a half making people rethink their energy but after talking about having no “Shade” to waste over a lo-fi boom bap beat, “Retrograde & Motion” speaks down upon those who aren’t as fly as him. “#FFFFFF” dustily wraps up the EP talking about running amuck out in the streets with his squad.

Regardless of HPBLK admitting that he’s had hangups believing he was done with music & couldn’t be assed to care anymore, but Bis Kwi will satisfy anyone who hears the guest appearances he made for The Album to End All Alien Abductions & Alecs in Wonderland even if I’d prefer the significantly shorter Energy in comparison. He takes a backseat from the production side of things to tackle social issues accompanied by production fluctuating between boom bap, jazz rap & lo-fi hip hop.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jason Martin – “Repack” review

This is the 3rd EP from Compton, California emcee, songwriter & producer Jason Martin. Originally known as Problem, he would go on to release over a dozen mixtapes as well as 4 full-length studio albums & a couple EPs. I can’t forget to mention both collaborative efforts DJ Quik, the first being Rosecrans back in 2017 & the follow-up Chupacabra days before Kendrick Lamar’s now historic 1-off Pop Out concert at the Kia Forum. earlier this summer. However, he’s warming everyone up for the next era by dropping off a Repack.

“Problem” featuring Laila! is a soulful, self-produced Mobb opener referencing the moniker that made a name for Jason whereas “Kill Switch”featuring Daz Dillinger further pulls inspiration from the Bay thanks to Fredwreck talking about their gang ties. “Live It Up” featuring Lil Vada & Sada Baby on the remix maintains a Mobb vibe instrumentally detailing the gangsta lifestyle once more leading into “You Know What It Is” going for a traditional west coast flare to talk about everyone knowing the deal courtesy of Mike & Keys.

As for My Boy”, we have Jason & Glasses Malone coming together to drop braggadocio just before “Poridge” featuring Jay Worthy & Mitchy Slick shows off the rare aura of all 3 of them. “5 Pack” blends g-funk & hyphy talking about being artists being indicted for what they say in their music which I think is wrong, but then “Cookie” turns the bass up refusing to go back-&-forth over a topic of discussion he doesn’t care enough for.

“Come & Shine with Me” featuring RJmrLA playfully encourages everyone to shine with them leading into “Hold Up” featuring LaToiya Williams balancing g-funk & trap to talk about y’all having no more chances. “Actin’ Tuff” featuring Dreebo goes drumless breaking down specific type of bitches & after the “God Knows Best” skit, “Goin’” featuring Lil Neph soulfully finishes by talking about keeping it moving the money flowin’.

Restoring a feeling that’s been missing from California music as a whole 5 months ago, the Repack is completely different since Mike & Keys take the opportunity to help Jason bring together a myriad of west coast sounds old & new with the beats with the guests that join him being a dope mix of mainly west coast veterans and of course a few up-&-comers sprinkled into the equation.

Score: 3.5/5

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Glokk40Spaz – “Slaughter House Recordz” review

This is the 2nd EP Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Glokk40Spaz. Emerging off the Don’t Get Took Off mixtape trilogy & the debut EP Spaz&B, he would also go on to drop his very first LP 2 Glokks followed by the sophomore effort Baby Whoa with both of them receiving quite a bit of acclaim. Took the Biggest Risk distributed by Columbia Records was a great major label debut for EBG Records founder, as was the acclaimed collab EP with OsamaSon earlier this summer 3vil Reflection & his latest magnum opus Da Real Oso. However, what was intended to be a deluxe version of his latest album has morphed into Slaughter House Recordz.

“Welcome 2 da Slaughter” produced by Noah Mejia & Internet Money Records in-house producer Vendr is this eerie drill opener breaking down his lifestyle whereas the rage-inducing “Decoy” boasts that he’s self-employed & rich as a muhfucka. “3rd Day Out” maintains a hypertrap vibe talking about being home from the pen for 3 days just before the drill-sounding “Take It Up with God” once again shows off his mob ties.

The song “Vicinity” talking about hoes being around him taking risks & bitches at the exact same time leading into “Black Rose Nightmare” hopping over another rage beat from Dylvinci flexing that he’s cool with the heat despite how cold his diamonds are. Finally, the closing track “Yess” rounds out the EP showing off his money being tall as fuck keeping his whole entire block on lockdown.

All 7 of these cuts could’ve easily made it onto Da Real Oso & would’ve fit with the context of it, but I’m not mad at him making it into a separate entity of it’s own. Even if I think the production on the latter is a tad bit better, Glokk40 still undeniably makes some aggressively hungry performances in roughly 17 minutes continuing to hold off from having any guests joining him.

Score: 3.5/5

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