Ransom – “Smoke & Mirrors” review

Jersey City wordsmith Ransom is back for his 12th EP & the 2nd of 2024. Coming up as 1/2 of the short-lived duo A-Team alongside Hitchcock, he branched out on his own in 2008 following their disbandment beginning with the full-length debut Street Cinema & the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort The Proposal. But it’s been safe to say these last couple years have been his biggest so far whether it be the 5 EPs that he put out produced by Nicholas Craven, 7 based around the 7 deadly sins, Heavy’s the Head produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Rome Streetz collab album Coup de Grâce, or even his last couple albums Chaos is My Ladder, Director’s Cut 4 & Deleted Scenes 2. Lavish Misery produced by Harry Fraud was a step above Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child & hearing that MadeinTYO was producing Smoke & Mirrors.

The title track starts off with a bare guitar loop talking about the time coming to fight the good fight & he was never suited for the bottom at any point his career whatsoever while “Antebellum” gives off a bit of a soulful vibe instrumentally delving further into drumless territory telling a woman not to put a bandage over her permanent flaws & Che Noircountering Ransom’s verse by lacing the best feature of the 2 on the EP. The closer “Human Nature” featuring J. Arrr subsequently wraps up the 3 track, 9 minute listening experience working in lavish piano chords to discuss history choosing a victor.

I wouldn’t say that Smoke & Mirrors is as near-flawless as Lavish Misery was 4 months back, but there’s no denying as someone who’s never considered himself a fan of MadeinTYO other than maybe “Uber Everywhere” that I genuinely didn’t know what to get out of this EP going in & am impressed with what he had to offer. His production is more drumless than Harry Fraud’s was on Ransom’s previous EP & the lyricism from the latter as well as both guests do it justice. I just wish they could’ve gotten a couple more tracks outta it.

Score: 3.5/5

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SNAKEGANG – Self-Titled review

The SNAKEGANG are a supergroup consisting of London, England, United Kingdom electronic duo Snakehips as well as Atlanta, Georgia conscious hip hop duo the EARTHGANG. One of whom made their full-length debut the previous summer never worry & the other has quickly placed themselves behind fellow Spillage Village member J.I.D as the best Dreamville Records signees. Especially after their last couple LPs Mirrorland & Ghetto Gods. Ahead of the & final chapter in the EARTHGANG vs. the Algorithm trilogy of EPs, Olu & WowGr8 are coming off the latest installment Robophobia to unite the SNAKEGANG for an eponymous EP of their own as a quartet.

“if u down” starts the SNAKEGANG’s debut with a dance-inspired beat wanting to know if anyone out there listening is in fact down with them while “Glimmer.” continues to turn up the EDM club influences a bit talking about shining brightly. “Bounce” featuring DijahSB has a futuristically funky vibe to the instrumental loving the way that ass bounces whereas “The Remedy” featuring Rush Davisgroovily asks if you can handle them. “Been a Minute…” featuring Sinéad Harnett closes the EP with 1 last electronic/hip hop hybrid spending all their time & riches on themselves & the deluxe bonus track “Don’t Rush” mixes funk with hip house encouraging everyone to get lit.

This kinda reminds me of when Big Boi & Phantogram formed Big Grams to put out an eponymous EP of their own almost a decade ago, but fans of Snakehips & the EARTHGANG are gonna find themselves enjoying SNAKEGANG’s introductory EP more. Snakehips do a fine job of carrying their electronic sound over here allowing Olu & WowGr8 to lay down more fun subject matter on top of.

Score: 3.5/5

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Freeway – “The Stimulus Package 2” review

Philadelphia emcee Freeway returning after 6 years for his 8th full-length LP. A longtime friend of Beanie Sigel, he subsequently became a member of State Property & signed to Roc-A-Fella Records/Def Jam Recordings after appearing on “1-900-Hustler” off The Dynasty: Roc La Familia. His own solo debut Philadelphia Freeway became a classic of its own mostly produced by Just Blaze, Bink! & Ye formerly known as Kanye West eventually taking 4 years off to later return on the 2007 sophomore effort Free at Last departing the imploding Roc-A-Fella not too long afterwards. Philadelphia Freeway 2 was a mediocre sequel to his debut & the Rhymesayers Entertainment- backed The Stimulus Package produced by Jake One saw itself as a return to form. Babygrande Records helped put out to Diamond in the Ruff & Free Will to moderate reception until Roc Nation Records interestingly enough signing Freeway for Think Free following a kidney transplant. The Stimulus Package 2 on the contrary had me highly anticipating it living up to its predecessor & his first 2 major label efforts since I enjoy the initial Stimulus Package as much as the latter couple.

Conway the Machine joins Freeway for the jazzy opener “Time” coming clean that it’s been quite a while since we’ve last heard from Free whereas “Philly” featuring Peedi Crakk works in a soul sample so both of them can talk about their hometown. “My Own” featuring Sauce Walka continues the sampling of soul music calling themselves different individuals in a pitiful game leading into “Keep Winning” featuring Black Thought uniting the pair over a dusty instrumental catching Ws.

“Price of Fame” soulfully talks about what the cost of success for him was just before “Lord Forgive Me” sets out to stay on his grind & to let the 9 off if anyone crosses him or the squad. “Freezer” mixes strings with kicks & snares talking about getting his nickname for the fact that he’s been cold for 20 winters at this point in his career, but then the horn-infused “Ringin’” featuring Jadakiss talks about the street life being illusion & that they took a better way out.

Meanwhile on “Heartbreaker”, we have Freeway somberly describing himself as the king of breaking hearts while the summery sample throughout “Nothin’ They Can Do” fits perfectly for him to deliver some east coast Benz music. “Crystals & Keys” featuring Scholito soulfully portrays the life of chandeliers & grand pianos while “Bearded Legend” hooks up a gospel flip addressing those who wanna see him drown. “Surgery” featuring Symba nears the conclusion of The Stimulus Package 2 providing an anthem for the hurting hearts that is until the official closer represents the children of the Roc-A-Fella “Family Tree”.

His output in the last 14 years for me personally have generally come across as average & as I expected, The Stimulus Package 2 has to be the most I’ve enjoyed an album from Free since the predecessor joining that & both his Roc-A-Fella offerings as the most essential standouts in his discography. Jake One’s production here is more consistent than the last 3 that the Philly Freezer gave us & lyrically, the State Property member remains focused in reminding the culture of his legacy.

Score: 4.5/5

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Astray – “Made It Out Alive” review

This is the 5th full-length LP from Detroit emcee/producer Astray. Making a name for himself at the beginning of the current millennium off a self-titled debut, he continued to follow this up with Hungry as well as Who’s Coming with Me? & my personal favorite Daydreaming at a Green Light. From there, local veteran Eminem signed him to his Interscope Records imprint Shady Records for a publishing deal up until his official departure earlier on in the year. Whitney Peyton launched her own indie label Alpha Howse after leaving Suburban Noize Records a while back & after making him one of the first 2 signees, Astray’s happy as anyone he Made It Out Alive.

“Avalanche” is a self-produced boom bap opener advising to put your eyes where they can see to put on a show for you whereas the title track has a grimier tone working in more kicks & snares expressing his gratitude for still being here today. “1 Eye Open” gives off a desponding boom bap vibe instrumentally talking about a keeping with 1 eye closed & the other open prior to “Kimbo Slice” ruggedly likening himself to the late MMA figure who fought in the both Cage Fury Fighting Championships (CFFC) & temporarily in the UFC division of the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings

Meanwhile on “Pack of Wolves”, we have the entire Alpha Howse roster coming together for a raw posse cut showcasing what they’re capable of just before “Cut Throat” returns to the boom bap thanks to Pig Pen talking about being here with a vengeance. “Breaking the Law” featuring Willy Northpole & Bag of Tricks Cat experiments with cloudy trap looking to commit some crimes leading into “Art of War” hooks the kicks & snares back up bringing it hardcore. “Lift the Sorrow” featuring Blumoon ends the album speaking from the heart about gun violence.

Being someone that’s been following Astray since the Shady publishing deal, it makes me happy to see Whitney expanding her new indie label & Made It Out Alive certainly makes the case for the Alpha Howse label growing stronger on top of looking forward to Willy Northpole’s upcoming Alpha Howse debut Broadway Theatre next month. The production’s mostly boom bap centered & the Detroit emcee expresses his gratitude for still being here today.

Score: 4/5

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JT – “City Cinderella” review

JT is a 31 year old rapper from Miami, Florida who rose to mainstream attention in 2017 as 1/2 of the City Girls with Yung Miami. They put out 3 full-length albums & a mixtape together under Quality Control Music, disbanding after R.A.W. (Real Ass Whores)completely wiped everything else they did in the past & an actually good note for them to end on. Even if both parties think it underperformed due to poor management & bad timing. It still makes sense that the duo split off after it was announced they were featured on “Dade County Dreaming” off Camila Cabello’s latest Geffen/Interscope debut C,XOXO since their solo careers have already been getting more attention as it is & Lil Uzi Vert’s partner since 2019 seems to be stepping up to the plate first.

Take a Daytrip get JT’s official solo debut rolling by cooking up a gospel trap instrumental on the standout opener “Hope” explaining that she’s still the same bitch & ain’t shit changed after the City Girls’ breakup whereas “Brick Talk” has more an hypnotizing flare to the beat talking about the drug game. “Oh” vibrantly tells all the hoes how they want it & that her time is finally here prior to “Servin’” working in some pianos & hi-hats telling y’all to look at how she be working it.

“D.O.D. (Dance on the Dick)” goes for a Middle Eastern groove instrumentally thanks to Cubeatz talking about how she’s never ran away from some good sex just before “Lemon Pepper” featuring Stunna Girl returns to the piano trap route allowing both of them to show out. “Swang” samples “Stay a Little While, Child” by Loose Ends telling everyone who has a problem with her to swing on her if they cross paths leading into “90s Baby” produced by Buddah Bless talking about being born in early December of 1992 which I can relate to since I myself was born 4 years after.

OG Parker, G. Ry & Rogét Chahayed bring some synthesizers & hi-hats to the table on another favorite track “Uncle Al” providing an anthem that all the bad bitches can vibe to in the midst of partying while “Sideways” fuses Detroit trap & mobb music talking about the fact that she isn’t as friendly as it seems. “Okay” featuring Jeezy on the remix blends crunk & bop assuring they’re both doing better these days, but then “JT Coming” jumps over a vigorous beat to talk about being in the gym doin’ squats in her YeezyPods which is awesome since I myself have a pair & they’re comfortable as Hell.

The song “All Stars” featuring one of the biggest up-&-comers in the cloud rap scene Clip nears the end of City Cinderella embracing the latter’s sound with the help of none other than Clams Casino since he’s generally known for that expressing their love for high fashion while the penultimate track “Red Flowers” flexes about scamming a bitch near Trump Towers in New York over horns. Last but not least, “Star of the Show” ends the LP going chipmunk soul talking about the fake hoes hating & the real bitches loving it.

If City Cinderella proves anything to me, it’s that the torch for fly girls everywhere is still being carried even though the City Girls as a duo are no more. The album provides listeners with insights into how JT became the artist that she is presently with flows that reflect the influence of some of the South’s biggest personalities from one of the big 3 trap pioneers Gucci Mane to Miami’s very own Rick Ross & prominent trap production backing her with additional elements of Detroit trap, mobb music, crunk, bop, cloud rap & chipmunk soul.

Score: 3.5/5

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Childish Gambino – “Bando Stone & the New World” review

California actor, writer, rapper, comedian, singer, DJ, director, producer & former FX hit series Atlanta creator Donald Glover or Childish Gambino finally following up Atavista with his 5th & final full-length LP. In only 2 decades, he’s also put out a couple EPs & 7 mixtapes in addition to all his other albums. The 2 that stand out the most are the sophomore effort Because the Internet released on my 17th birthday & the 2016 follow-up “Awaken, My Love” pulling heavy influence from the Parliament-Funkadelic collective. 3.15.20 was randomly released during the beginning of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in an unfinished state only to be finalized & reissued as Atavista recently, which most people including myself decided they’d rather wait for Bando Stone & the New World.

“H3@RT$ W3RE M3@NT T0 F7¥” featuring Amaarae is a self-produced industrial hip hop opener dissing those who did him greasy & still being on whereas the lead single “Lithonia” works in elements of alternative rock, pop rock, post-grunge, art rock & glam rock telling the story of Cody LeRae. “Survive” featuring Chlöe is a beautiful hip hop/neo-soul crossover tryna save their lives since summer’s always coming leading into “Steps Beach” singing over a stripped back instrumental from Steve Lacy talking about wanting to walk the beach on a Saturday.

Amaarae & Flo Milli join Gambino to the trap joint “Talk My Shit” so all 3 of them can boast on the lyrical side of things just before “Got to Be” turns the industrial influences all the way back up talking about 2020 being his time. “Real Love” takes a electropop/dance-pop route to the beat hoping that everyone listening gets to feel genuine love at some point in their lives, but then “In the Night” featuring Amaarae & Jorja Smith fuses alternative R&B with alté as well as gqom & alt-pop singing about needing each other at night.

“Yoshinoya” concludes the first half of Bando Stone & the New World with a 2-parter showing a bit of a Ye formerly known as Kanye West influence sticking around similarly to the titular Japanese multinational fast food chain while “Can You Feel Me?” featuring Legend Glover is a heartwarming moment on the album where father & son singing together referencing the alphabet in every verse. The 8-minute rollercoaster ride “No Excuses” goes neo-soul singing about receiving cold love while “Cruisin’” featuring Yeat produced by DJ Dahi, Ludwig Göransson, Michael Uzowuru & Donald himself brings a synth-trap vibe to the table living their dreams since this dreamin’ ain’t enough.

Meanwhile on the atmospheric “We Are God”, we have Gambino singing about being inseparable flying through the dark while “Running Around” featuring Fousheé blends soul & rock going crazy during the weekend. The track “Dadvocate” goes for another stripped back approach tackling fatherhood & after the “Happy Survival” interlude, “A Place Where Love Goes” concludes the Childish Gambino chapter of Donald’s life with 1 more EDM joint going wherever love does.

In contrast to a lot of artists saying they’re gonna retire from music & later coming back, it really does feel like the end of Childish Gambino since it’s not fun for him anymore & what a way for him to go out. We get a concept album revolving around a singer named Bando Stone stumbling into a post-apocalyptic world before teaming up with a woman & her son to fight prehistoric creatures & try to escape from an unexplained phenomenon that seems to delete “chunks” of the world blending experimental hip hop, neo-soul, psychedelic soul, neo-psychedelia, rock music, electronic dance music, alternative R&B, alté, gqom & alt-pop.

Score: 4.5/5

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Ouija Macc – “Darcc Planet” review

Las Vegas emcee Ouija Macc has returned a year after Detritus for his 4th LP. Breaking out in the fall of 2017 after the Insane Clown Posse signed him to Psychopathic Records shortly after putting out his debut EP Trashfire independently, Ouija has since proven himself as the hatchet’s biggest solo act dropping his last 3 full-lengths, 2 greatest hits compilations, 8 mixtapes & 4 EPs all in the span of nearly 7 years. He even started his own label Chapter 17 Records & made the big homie HEXXX the first signee to putting out his first 2 classic west coast wicked shit albums Demon Season & Tales of a Cursed G before amicably fulfilling all contractual obligations with the Psychopathic subsidiary last fall. Darby O’Trill is now the only C17 artist other than Ouija, teaming up with each other back in April for the excellent collab effort Anemoia few months ago. Now that he near-perfectly completed the Elements series on Stalewind during the Gathering of Dreams, it’s finally time for the Darcc Planet to ascend 6 months following Corruptus & performing at a JCW Lunacy taping a couple months ago.

After the “Signal Interruption Event” intro, the first song “Psychocidal” starts off with a murky trap instrumental from Devereaux detailing the psycho sick mentality that Ouija posses whereas “Macc Mode” steals from the rich & kills a pig for them cuffs at the wrist further embracing a morbid atmosphere. “Labiaplasty” works in some bells & hi-hats explaining that all the killers know they ain’t coming back, but then the rubbery “Baton” produced by Shaggytheairhead talks about the type psycho shit that Chapter 17 & Psychopathic are on.

“Sin City” brings a misty trap flare to the beat reminding everyone exactly where he came from just before “Boomshaka” serves as a uniquely crafted sequel to “Chicken Huntin’” & that brings a huge smile to my face since the Slaughterhouse remix of which ranks amongst the greatest ICP songs of all-time. “Last Laugh” embraces a manic trap direction instrumentally wanting to know who they laughin’ at exactly while “Sun Don’t Shine” ends the first half on some emo rap shit talking about life getting dark.

To start Darcc Planet’s other leg, “Juggular Vein” gives the juggalos & the underground in general music to be buried by while the 5 & a half minute “For the Tombstone (When I Go)” serves as one of the most chilling moments here & one of the best Ouija songs ever sounding like he conceived it as a parting open letter for when day comes where he’s no longer with us. “Murder Dance” infernally admits that C17 ain’t for everyone & Psychopathic being the set while “Moonlit Dungeon” morbidly talks about the hatchet forever choppin’.

“Butternuts” hauntingly welcomes listeners to the dead side while “Tropicana Ave” mixes a guitar & hi-hats talking about being fucked up to the point where he ain’t looking down. “My Luv (Sometimes)” experiments with rage beats making the pack flip & running the bag up while the cloudy “Prophet Paint” declaring the wicked clown paint as prophetic. “Deincarnation” depressingly end the album with a guitar/trap fusion hoping this his last life.

Beginning the deluxe run, “Dead Bitches” murkily talks about runnin’ through 34 dead hoes while “Gotta Have It” goes for a bouncier trap approach keeping the hatchet on his hip for the static & being an addict. “Poltergas” turns the trap metal influences up again talking about something controlling him while the morbidly atmospheric “Meht kcuF” gives the middle finger to everyone who’s been hating on him since becoming the biggest solo artist ICP ever signed.

“Talk It Now” fuses a sample & hi-hats continuing to go at the throats of everyone dismissing C17 while the cloudier “Murder Everything” sets out to literally slaughter everyone & everything in his path. “What’s Up” is another bell/trap joint making sure the club is burnt down & shot up by the time he pulls up & the final bonus track “Losing My Mind” ahead of the “Forbidden Signal Event” outro tells the story of a naked man shot dead on a Saturday because he was gnawing off another man’s face.

Stalewind for the past couple years has quickly become my favorite LP of the 4 that Ouija has dropped & Darcc Planet sure enough reaches the same caliber that the final installment of the Elements series reached at the Gathering of Dreams. As the title suggests, it’s the darkest material that the C17 CEO has ever conceived on his own since branching out on solo in 2017 & you can hear how much he’s artistically grown since.

Score: 4.5/5

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Denzel Curry – “King of the Mischievous South 2: Ultraground” review

Floridian emcee Denzel Curry gearing up for his upcoming 6th album by releasing his 5th mixtape ahead of it. Coming up as a member of the SpaceGhostPurrp-founded Raider Klan a little over a decade ago. He then left in 2013 & has seen quite the success on his own off projects like Nostalgia 64, 32 Zel (Planet Shrooms), imperial, TA13OO, Zuu & the Kenny Beats-produced UNLOCKED. Melt My Eyez, See Your Future went on to become his most mature & acclaimed body of work to date & I had no problem in him making Ultraground a sequel to his best mixtape King of the Mischievous South.

After the intro, the first song “Ultra Shxt” featuring Key Nyata is a Memphis inspired opener with both of them talking about never folding whereas “Set It” featuring Maxo Kream has an eerie trap direction that Oogie Mane of Working on Dying goes for telling everyone to run it right there. “Hot One” by The Scythe produced by FNZ mixes Memphis rap & trillwave together making money from the comfort of their sofas just before “Black Flag” featuring That Mexican O.T. continues to pull inspiration from the Memphis scene smoking on bitter motherfuckers & calling it sour.

After the “Headcrack” interlude, “G’z Up” featuring Mike Dimes & 2 Chainz has more of a symphonic trap flare to the beat refusing to hear shit until they get paid leading into the bombastic “Sked” featuring Kenny Mason & Project Pat following the “Lunatic” interlude explaining they’re about family, God, business & bread over a Charlie Heat instrumental. After the “Choose Wisely” interlude, “Cole Pimp” featuring Juicy J luxuriously paints themselves as big players while “Wishlist” featuring Armani White charmingly shows the lames how to do this.

“Hit the Floor” featuring Ski Mask the Slump God nears the end of the tape on some rage shit courtesy of ilykimchi dropping bodies 1-by-1 & the final song “Hoodlumz” featuring A$AP Rocky & PlayThatBoiZay ahead of the outro officially wraps up King of the Mischievous South 2: Ultraground with 1 last cloudy Memphis joint & all 3 of them painting images of the lifestyles that each one of themselves live. “Act a Damn Fool” featuring Duke Deuce & Slim Guerilla is a decently trippy start to the deluxe run wylin’ out while “Got Me Geeked” makes up for it from the Powers Pleasant instrumental to the carefree lyricism.

Key Nyata & Sauce Walka join Denzel on “P.O.P. (Paper Over Pussy)” heads for a smooth trap direction prioritizing money instead of bitches while the cloudy “Anotha Late Night” featuring 454 finds both of them teaming up to talk about shawties wanting to test the pimp in them. The final bonus track “Still in the Paint” featuring Bktherula & Lazer Dim 700 samples the iconic Waka Flocka Flame single “Hard in da Paint” capturing the raw energy & reality of life in the streets by conveying themes of loyalty, resilience & authenticity.

Everything that made King of the Mischievous South my favorite tape that Zel has offered us yet has been brought to a whole new level over a decade after a predecessor. He went harder on the features than he did on his mature magnum opus 2 & a half years ago, the reference points from which he draws has expanded significantly. He still has a hypnotic ear even though no longer cakes his music in warped cassette grime, it’s just that he’s seeing Memphis with new eyes now that he’s older & has a decade of experimentation under his belt.

Score: 4.5/5

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Rich the Kid – “Life’s a Gamble” review

Rich the Kid is a 31 year old rapper & songwriter from College Park, Georgia notable for being the founder of Rich Forever Music. Following the debut mixtape Been About the Benjamins, he would catch the attention of the local Quality Control Music & signed a distribution deal with them for his next 6 tapes. The World is Yours along with it’s sequel distributed by Interscope Records were both mediocre in their own rights & the Republic Records-backed Boss Man was his worst album yet. His opening verse on the hit single “Carnival” ended up being more enjoyable than I thought it would & now that Rich Forever Music signed a new distribution deal with gamma., Rich is finally releasing his 4th album independently executively produced by ¥$.

The intro starts off hopping over a trap instrumental with the sound of a clock ticking refusing to pause whereas “Gimme a Second” featuring Peso Pluma & produced by DJ Durel links the pair together so they can flex. “Not in the Mood” featuring Offset takes a bouncier route instrumentally dissing everyone out of the loop leading into “New Chanel” going off-the-cuff for about a minute & a half explaining that he’s a big dog that can never be belittled.

“Upside Down” featuring French Montana darkly finds the 2 looking to flip the club off it’s axis while the hyphy joint “Back Then” talking about never feeling like he’s actually make it out & them thinking he was cappin’ in the early days until all the success came. “Louie Coat” featuring Chief Keef kinda has this uncanny atmosphere that Murda Beatz provides showing off their new coats from Louis Vuitton, but then the d.a. got that dope piano-driven “Band Man” continues to boast his wealth.

BIA joins Rich for the exuberant trap cut “Like Yoga” to talk about making a scene like Doja Cat out here just before the cloudy “Hold On” asks how one would doubt him with all the plaques that he has on the wall giving them racks to riches. “Tell Me” featuring Young Adz continues to emphasize on atmosphere asking who else got the hood trappin’ than them while the “Gimme a Second” remix has a simpler beat from Ye formerly known as Kanye West, The Legendary Traxster & Digital Nas in addition to a new ¥$ verse.

“Keep It Exclusive” featuring Quavo woozily tells the listeners not to sleep on the gang while the synth-heavy “Sometimes” admits that he has moments where he would rather want to be himself instead of a rapper. “No Mileage” somberly talks about being unable to trust anyone while “Plain Jane” featuring Ye comes straight from the DONDA 2 sessions boasting their wealth once more. “Rocking & Rolling” ends the album hopping over another cloudy instrumental that Supah Mario cooked up saying he can’t be stopped.

Other than “New Freezer” or “Carnival”, I’ve never really been a fan of Rich the Kid myself since all 3 of his previous albums (more specifically Boss Man) have proven how much of a nonessential character & Life’s a Gamble makes a slight cut above everything he’s done as his best full-length yet albeit not by much. Some of the features punch under their weight, the production’s just ok & Rich himself as performer doesn’t excite me as he did on 2 of the biggest singles of his career.

Score: 1.5/5

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Onoe Caponoe – “Tears of the Dragon” review

Perivale, West London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Onoe Caponoe continuing summer with his 6th LP. Introducing himself in the early 2010s off his debut mixtape Central Control as well as Willows Midnight Gallery & Holy Mountain, it wasn’t until The Staircase to Nowhere caught the attention of High Focus Records & made his full-length debut for the label with Voices from Planet Cattele during my senior year of high school. Spells from the Cyclops would continue Onoe’s evolution & Surf or Die has become the most celebrated work of his yet as did Concrete Fantasia succeeding Invisible War, returning a year & a half later shedding Tears of the Dragon.

“Jane Flower” featuring Lofty305 begins with this delicate trap instrumental talking about a woman who has both of their minds constantly spinning whereas “Going Sweet” featuring Ledbyher works in this cloudy backdrop & a guitar so both of can describe the strength of this love they have. “Summer of Love” gives off a chipmunk soul vibe creepin’ in parks during the evening on some slayer shit while the trap-flavored “Red Riding Hood” after the “Deadly Nightside” interlude talks about trying to get away from things lately.

We get some 808s & hypnotic sample during “The Wilderness” until a beat switch telling a woman he’s no longer seeing that he hope she never forgets him leading into the boisterous trap heater “Fright Night” ending the first half of Tears of the Dragon letting off flows like a submachine gun. “Peanut Butter” blends hi-hats & a vocal flip flexing that his words can make bones shatter while the Memphis influenced “Vampire Date” gets in his storytelling bag lyrically, vividly describing a dating experience with a female vampire.

“Angel” embraces a bluesier atmosphere talking about having his back against the wall because of a phone call he had received but after Eter & L-Zee Roselli appear for the hollowly produced “Psycho Planet” averagely describing a world fu of lunatics running around it, “Tamagotchi Girl” experiments with a bubbly plugg flare instrumentally for an ode to the women who still happen to enjoy the たまごっち brand of handheld digital pets.

Continuing to push further towards Tears of the Dragon’s final moments, the song “$1M Cat” recaptures the Memphis rap atmosphere asking if his ex still thinks of him regularly while “Fur Rug” incorporates some soulful sampling chops explaining that he’s trying to hold on to this person, but the problem with that being he legitimately can’t. “Funky Butterfly” however finishes the album jumping over a piano-heavy beat talking about being in a state of chrysalis.

The high praise I gave Surf or Die & Concrete Fantasia would already make it pretty clear that I consider Onoe Caponoe to be one of High Focus’ greatest signings in recent memory for his experimentally abstract style. That said: Tears of the Dragon feel like the weakest entry of his entire discography. It has nothing to do with the production taking secondary influences from trap, cloud rap, tread, Memphis rap & plugg aren’t bad either. My thing with it is that he doesn’t sound inspired as the predecessor did when 2023 began.

Score: 4/5

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