Lafayette, Louisiana rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Autumn! starting his 2024 by releasing his 20th EP. Gaining traction off all his previous EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018 prior to signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records succeeding the Not Much Left EP, he made his major label debut nearly 2 years ago with his sophomore effort Antagonist! as well as following it up with the last 2 installments of the Golden Child trilogy & Midnight Club. Ahead of Pretty Girls & Fast Cars however, we’re being treated to a Solitary sequel first.
“Where Yo Cash At!” begins the EP on an airy plugg note calling cap over those lying about how much money they really have whereas Not One!” takes the playful trap route instrumentally clarifying that he only fucks hoes as opposed to being in love with them. “Can’t Keep Up!” futuristically gives insight into Twinuzis’ relations & his issues with women only caring about his wealth rather than him, but then “Up to Speed!” kinda has this rage-inducing vibe to the beat talking about needing P’s instead of hoes.
The cloudy, self-produced 2-parter “Richer Man! / Get In Yo Bag!” expressing self-awareness of them being mad ’cause he hates rappin’ & it still made him $1M alongside getting out of your feelings to by stacking your chips while the dynamically atmospheric “Balmain! / Self Healing!” begins with an ode to the French luxury fashion house of the same name & that playing with money is self care for him. “Solitude!” hooks up some synths & hi-hats to overcome his past struggles just before the moody “Don’t Come Around!” explains that she’s just not the one for him.
“What’s the Point!” spaciously begins the final leg of the EP by trying to figure out what the point is of everyone trying to come & test him leading into “Average Night!” going for a subdued plugg sound describing what a regular night is for him at this point. “Uptown Coolin’” finishes Solitary 2 with this cloudy trap teaser to Pretty Girls & Fast Cars talking about the dreams of a young kid who has to use cracked programs to make a vision coming into reality.
Nevertheless of Solitary coming out only 6 months before I started listening & reviewing Wick’s music if I’m being honest with myself, the sequel over here takes everything that made it’s predecessor exciting & taking it to a new level. You still get the cloudy, poppy trap rap from previously with the pluggnb undertones along with him occasionally dabbling in rage for the first time in a couple years considering the last time we heard him in that particular style was Antagonist!.
This is the 6th extended play from North West London, England, United Kingdom emcee Kakarot now based in Ireland. Dropping his 3rd EP Yojimbo’s Demise a couple years earlier in the spring of 2022, he followed it up with both Hello World & Dark Matter respectively the following year. But looking at The Holy Armour’s brief list of the guest appearances including King Kashmere solely handling all of the beats, I felt like it would make a right opportunity for Kakarot to sharpen his pen.
The title track after the intro hops over a sample to talk about being protected by a legend while “Final Fall” takes the boom bap route instrumentally bringing it hardcore lyrically. “Dark Arts” featuring C.o.N-Vers finds the pair taking brains to new dimensions & after “Close Encounters” dustily talks about spotting a UFO, the final song “Wanderer” featuring Chino XL & King Kashmere preceding the outro sends it off having everyone flowing with vengeance.
His verse on The Album to End All Alien Abductions was tight, so for King Kashmere to produce The Holy Armour in it’s entirety only makes sense & it’s really a demonstration of how far Kakarot has come since Cosmic Lamp & Master of Ceremony. The Iguana Man’s production sounds more boom bap-oriented contrasting Cocoa Butter’s jazziness & all 3 guests excluding are wisely chosen, each matching Dr. Voodoo’s own intensity.
Lafayette, Louisiana recording artist Summrs preluding his upcoming 10th album Tale of da Raven with his 15th EP. Starting out as a member of the Goonie-founded SlayWorld collective, his presence has been known predominantly in the plugg scene by constantly dropping projects whether it be his last EP What We Have or even the Fallen Raven LP, both of which I highly recommend listening to if you wanna get into his music. Stuck in My Ways & Ghost were cool, but Rino brought back the plugg elements that Ghost lacked on the official What We Have sequel What We Didn’t Have last September prior to B4daRaven.
To start the EP, “Curbside at The Ritz” goes pluggnb talking about people throwing apples in the trash if he was passing them out back then whereas “Made Man” works in some heavier synthesizers flexing that he’s a soldier & the man with a plan. “Situationships” has a playfully cloudy tone to it referencing a bunch of women that he was previously with all by name, but then “Sneaky Link / Love That For Us” is this incredibly sequenced 2-parter telling a hoe who think she’s Sexyy Red that they ain’t ever done. The song “Drank n Sex” is this fun ode to lean & intercourse while “In Our Favor” continues the pluggnb vibes pointing out the people that need a savior just before “Brioni Shawl Colla / Catfish” concludes the EP with another 2-parter except he’s really talkin’ on this bitch.
B4DaRaven very much carries on the plugg/pluggnb elements that What We Didn’t Havereturned to after Stuck in My Ways & specifically Ghost lacked in that particular style. If that indicates anything to me, it’s that Tale of da Raven could very much be a spiritual successor to Fallen Raven of sorts. The production during it’s 19 minute duration is consistently chill as the last album was & the performances from Summrs himself are as strongly catchy similarly to the sequel to his best EP. However long the album takes, this prelude off in the meantime will hold off until then no problem.
Tek is a 50 year old MC from Brooklyn, New York notable for being 1/2 of Smif N Wessun & a member of the Boot Camp Clik collective. He also has 3 solo mixtapes, 3 EPs & even a couple full-length LPs under his belt in 24KT Smoke & Pricele$$ respectively. That said: My expectations for MVP: MotiVational Purposes we’re considerably high once I learned that Stu Bangas coming fresh off G-Mo Skee’s new album Filth City was fully producing the 4th EP that Tek’s put out on his own front to back.
“Back Inda Days” begins my mixing a pitched vocal sample with kicks & snares reminiscing on when everything used to be fun & games whereas “Hour After Hour” is this orchestral boom bap crossover talking about how the grind never stops & what’s good with having heart if you don’t use it. The song “Agave” keeps it dusty pullin’ up to the block at 5 with his Glock cocked & the horn-driven penultimate track “B.O.C. (Ballin’ Outta Control)” explanatorily talks about ballin’ insanely, but then “Big” closes shop with a triumphant trap joint boasting that everything’s huge.
Some heads I know weren’t too crazy about the Teksmokeelah EP nearly a year & a half ago, but MVP: MotiVational Purposes is undoubtedly a higher step above than it’s predecessor & even surpassing Pricele$$ as the best thing that Tek has ever made without his partner-in-rhyme Steele. Stu Bangas’ production is significantly more consistent than a lot of Tek’s past solo material & the latter resists overloading it with guests getting on the motivational tip lyrically.
New Jersey emcee B.A.R.S. Murre returning from a 4-year hiatus for the 5th full-length studio album in his discography. Signing to Black Soprano Family Records over a decade ago for his debut Chicken & Cake, he would continue to follow this up with Dead Nasty as well as Whimsical & Black Tanita respectively. However nearly 3 & a half years since the last LP Husky Marinara including the fact that B$F’s been growing as a label in recent years, Murre’s returning for some Jewelry Store Shootouts.
The title track has a funky boom bap flare to the instrumental talking about being on his way to Philly for a new piece until everything goes wrong whereas “Guess Who” featuring Rick Hyde & produced by Johnny Slash keeps it grimy asking to take a guess as to who they just served. “Like That” featuring Loveboat Luciano works in a flute with kicks & snares lookin’ to shake everything since it’s more than rap just before the symphonic/boom bap crossover “Beat Bleed” looks to son anyone who wants to step up to him.
“Gremlin” eerily likens himself to that of the titular mischievous sprite & after the “Stupid Motherfuckus” interlude, “Ralph Cifaretto” feat. Benny the Butcher finds the 2 ruggedly referencing the Sopranos character of the same name whom Tony eventually kills. “Uranus” featuring Elcamino brings a much colder atmosphere to the table instrumentally talking about being the new Patrick Swayze, but then “D’Lo Brown” turns up the rawness paying homage to the former WWE Superstar from the Attitude Era of the now WME Group-owned division of TKO Group Holdings.
B.A.R.S. jumps on top of sinister piano chords clashing with the kicks & snares for “Boomin’” talkin’ about everything being a heater while “Cooker X3” featuring Fuego Base & even Lil’ Fame brings the trio together aggressively reminding that they done came up from a shady crew. “Yes Sir” featuring Heem comes together to grittily talk about their bloodline coming together & after the “Big G.M.” interlude, “Paranoid” gives me a mafioso/boom bap vibe admitting to switch up as a result of paranoia. Armani Caesar hops on the “Pumper” remix serving as the penultimate track for a Bonnie & Clyde anthem done in the signature GxF fashion & “The Coolest” ends the album by wickedly having the power to rule Earth.
Jewelry Store Shootouts has been in the making since for quite some time when you look at 10 of the 17 songs being released as singles over three course of 2 & a half years, but it’s most definitely a step above anything that B.A.R.S. Murre has done previously. You can hear how much he’s evolved as a lyricist over a decade of being in the game, it’s more well-produced & even the guests all add their own flavor for the latest member of the Black Soprano Family introducing himself to a wider audience in the underground.
Connecticut underground MC/producer Apathy releasing a sequel to Connecticut Casual as his 9th full-length solo LP. Emerging only 2 decades back as a member of the Demigodz & the Army of the Pharaohs collectives founded by Open Mic & Vinnie Paz respectively, he was also signed to Atlantic Records at one point even though he eventually left due to creative differences. Since then The Alien Tongue has built up quite the solo discography on his own, with my favorites being Honkey Kong! as well as The Widow’s Son or more recently Where the River Meets the Sea. & King of Gods. No Second fully produced by Stu Bangas. Almost a year & a half later, it only makes sense to commemorate the upcoming 10 year anniversary of Connecticut Casual by enlisting Playa Haze to fully produce Connecticut Casual 2.
“Connecticut Formal” is a jazzy opener to the album representing his homestate whereas “Hammond Court Kids” shifts gears into a twangy boom bap direction talking about how they can only be 1 king & never forgetting who wears the crown. “No One Can Hear You Scream in Space” works in more kicks & snares over a soul sample to discuss a love that was for sure kin to the moon landing, but then “Vacation” keeps it boom bap with a calming vocal flip talking about being in his own head staring off to space.
Meanwhile, “Jackie O” mixes these kicks & snares with a mellow loop admitting that he’s been having dreams of JFK’s widow as of late just before “Fenwick” featuring Kappa Gamma brings back the jazz influences to the beat paying tribute to the titular city. “Never Change” featuring Little Vic hops over a woodwind-laced boom bap beat encouraging everyone out there not to switch up just before the warm yet dusty “Around the Planet” letting his mic take a cruise across the globe.
“Eazy $” goes drumless beginning the last leg of the LP by making some cash while “Todd McFarlane” featuring Celph Titled likening them themselves to the Canadian comic book creator over a dusty instrumental. The penultimate track “Kingdom of the Coroner” goes rap rock to justifiably declare himself as the king of Connecticut at this point & lastly, “Tick Tock Tick” sends off Connecticut Casual 2 dustily chasing time to make another classic referencing Neuralink founded by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder & Twitter owner Elon Musk.
Connecticut Casual was great showing of hometown pride almost a decade ago, but the sequel here essentially changed the outlook on Apathy’s whole career moving forward & while Where the River Meets the Sea was cathartically important for him to get out although he still wasn’t capturing the sound of what he wanted to do, Playa Haze’s production achieves that goal. It’s inspired by a sound that was from the Midnight Marauders, ‘93 ‘til Infinity & The Main Ingredient era albeit still on its own shit so Ap can deliver the soundtrack to where he & his crew come from: The New England shoreline.
This is a brand new collaborative LP from Key Largo, Florida emcee & Chapter 17 Records signee Darby O’Trill alongside C17’s founder/CEO & Psychopathic Records recording artist Ouija Macc. Both of whom have already established themselves in the underground, wicked shit scene at this point whether it be Ouija becoming the label that runs beneath the streets’ biggest solo act prior to launching his own subsidiary for Psychopathic or even Darby releasing his Chapter 17 debut Creek to widespread acclaim last summer joining his Lyrikal Snuff Productionz offering Gully celebrating it’s 2-year anniversary at the end of this month as his best full-length. Coronella with Trizz last fall became my favorite collab effort that Ouija has ever done surpassing We Never Forgot with Baby E right when C17 was established, but I had a feeling Anemoia could outdo both of those a month away from the first-ever tapings of JCW Lunacy.
“Kennel Cough” is a dark trap opener calling out all the juffs who be claimin’ they been around when they’ve never seen them around once prior whereas “Wafflehouse Warlock” works in this vocal sample mixed with hi-hats talking about being dead all their lives. “Darkmoon Talisman” brings a morbid trap atmosphere to the table thanks to Devereaux the demons in their heads can play hockey with their brains just before “Nugget Bowling” shoots for a ghostly approach instrumentally going straight for the dome.
Meanwhile on “Juggalunatic”, we have Ouija & Darby going trap metal to go unhinged leading into “Kidney Stones” talks about being able to promise something that you don’t really want over a bass-heavy trap beat with some bells. The Duke of the Wicked himself Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse appears as Anemoia’s only feature on “The Trees Have Eyes” cautions to stay out the woods over a ghoulish Shaggytheairhead instrumental, but then “Sage Allergy” continues with a fun banger about smokin’ until a motherfucker can’t see.
“Anemoians” makes a turn treading slower & cloudier waters knowing that both of them weren’t alone here while “Need 2 Kill Someone” delves further into the industrial trap sound talking about straight up murder. “Corpse01dotMDL” to me sounds like a bit of a hyphy/trap fusion being about the shit they be yappin’ & having work to do slammin’ a hammer on your skull repeatedly until it breaks while the 2nd single “Graveyard Shift” confesses to diggin’ these graves for days now over a demonic trap beat.
To start the last leg of the album, “Jokaroholio” murkily rubs in your face that the joke’s on you in the end while the lead single “Cobratoxin” is this grisly trap jurnt refusing to trust anyone who isn’t 17in’ in this bitch & Ouija dissing Lyrikal Snuff Productionz artist Cody Manson in his verse, which is a shame because I highly praised Cody’s sophomore effort E=MC Skelter couple years ago. “Worry Warts” hops on top of a sample-laced trap instrumental to not worry about the next man while “Death of a Summer” admits to feeling burnt out & hopeless taking the cloudier route once more. “Crossing Over” on the other hand finishes Anemoia with 1 last trap metal cut being unable to go home since they don’t have one.
Coronella only came out 7 months ago being completely unlike any other collab project that Ouija has done & Anemoia here already reached if not surpassed the bar Coronella had set. And when you think about them being the only 2 current artists on C17 as of me writing this, it’s an exemplification of the Psychopathic subsidiary’s strength. The chemistry between the both of them is incredibly natural as they jump over mostly trap-oriented production with additional elements of trap metal & cloud rap thrown in.
Atlanta, Georgia rapper & singer/songwriter Future teaming up with Metro Boomin’ once again for his 11th full-length album. Coming up as a member of the Dungeon Family thanks to his cousin Rico Wade of Organized Noize, he officially made his debut in 2012 with Pluto & would later follow it up with a hot streak of modern day trap essentials like Honest, Monster, Beast Mode & my personal favorite of his: D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2). However since 2017, Future has mostly been painting himself in a corner & prioritizing quantity over quality. I mean sure HNDRXX took a more sensual approach & SUPER SLIMEY showed a pretty great chemistry with fellow trap trailblazer Young Thug, but Beast Mode 2 was a step down from the predecessor & he got with Juice WRLD to put out a collab tape that literally should’ve never happened: WRLD on Drugs. Finally at the very beginning of that next year, The WIZRD was passable even though it showed NO artistic evolution whatsoever & Save Me was a decent attempt at being more vulnerable, High Off Life admirably found him staying true to himself in the midst of trying new things & I Never Liked You put the toxicity claims about him to rest. Metro reunited with Future for We Don’t Trust You only 3 weeks ago & that was his best since D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2), but We Still Don’t Trust You was said to be the HNDRXX counterpart to Pluto’s previous double album FUTURE HNDRXX & I had no doubts that they were gonna outdo themselves much like they did with We Don’t Trust You being a step above self-titled almost a month back.
The title track featuring The Weeknd providing it’s sole verse is a synthpop opener singing about how much of a freak this bitch is whereas “Drink n Dance” gives me an acoustic trap soul vibe basically basically looking to fuck all night long pretty much. “Out of My Hands” brings a misty trap atmosphere instrumentally to spit about flexing that everyone knows the shit that he be on leading into the futuristic “Jealous” co-produced with Dez Wright & Wheezy singing his heart out that he’s unsure why this woman makes him feel envious.
“This Sunday” melodically promises to buy a new Ferrari by the end of the weekend even though the beat feels vaguely similar to that of “Hallucinating” just before “Luv Bad Bitches” is this alternative R&B ballad about preferring bad bitches over good girls. “Amazing” has to be the weakest moment on the album heavilly building itself around a sample of “Girl After Girl” by Juicy J featuring Gucci Mane & Nicki Minaj although I admittedly respect the concept of it revolving around Future & Metro’s friendship, but then “All to Myself” featuring The Weeknd bounces back with this pop rap/alternative R&B crossover flipping “Let’s Lay Together” by The Isley Brothers with Mike Dean & notably Abel dissing Drake.
The heavy sampling of “Dancin’ On a Pole (MKU)” by the Three 6 Mafia on “Nights Like This” to sing AND rap about needing all of this significant other was a nice touch while “Came to the Party” admits to pullin’ up to the spot only to get flicks continuing to get back in his full-blown trap shit. “Right 4 You” brings the synthpop influences back professing to the love of his life that he’s trying to get Wright for her since he belongs to her while “Mile High Memories” has this cloudy trap soul groove to it courtesy of the So Icey Boyz to talk south of France.
“Overload” is the 2nd worst song on We Still Don’t Trust You presenting itself as a mediocre synth-trap hybrid fulfilling his ego pretty much that is until “Gracious” produced with Taurus picks us up again going for more of a stripped back trap sound singing about the gratitude he feels towards this woman who is faithful of him. “Beat It” clashes hi-hats with these triumphant synth-melodies tellin’ this hoe that she can either ride & stay committed or hit the bricks while “Always Be My Fault” featuring The Weeknd reunites the 2 for the final time for this electropop/synthpop duet about hearing the ones they converse in the dark with in the storm.
Meanwhile on “1 Big Family”, we have Pluto boasting that he has 20 different bitches with them over hi-hats & synthesizers while the acoustic trap flavored “Red Leather” featuring J. Cole finds them both rappin’ about pissin’ on your grave wearing leather specifically in my personal favorite color. After the “#1” intro, “Nobody Knows My Struggle” begins a bonus track run vibrantly letting the title speak for itself while “All My Life” featuring Lil Baby talking about growing up with steppers over this quirky trap instrumental.
“Crossed Out” continues the final moments of We Still Don’t Trust You on some rowdy trap shit looking to cross out anyone who ain’t with the gang while “Crazy Clientele” mixes elements of orchestral with trap getting in his Freebandz shit. “Show of Hands” featuring A$AP Rocky produced with Honorable C.N.O.T.E. begins the encore of the LP by energetically talking about being trap dudes & Rocky dissing Drake too prior to “Streets Made Me a King” concluding the album by bragging about his status in a fun, charming manner.
I prefer We Don’t Trust You by a slight margin, but We Still Don’t Trust You still stands as a primarily solid companion to the previous album Future had put out 3 weeks ago. It pretty much lived up to the anticipation of being a superior HNDRXX/Save Me outside of only a couple songs that missed the landing primarily as Metro builds it’s sound around trap, alternative R&B & pop rap in the midst of Pluto himself pushing himself as an artist venturing off into the styles of trap soul, synthpop & electropop.
This is the 2nd mixtape from up-&-coming Atlanta, Georgia rapper Sugie. Introducing himself in the off his debut single “Numb” on SoundCloud in 2018, he would continue make waves in the underground by dropping more tracks until he saw fit to release his debut mixtape Second2None last summer. He just put out an EP In the Wind at the end of this past January & over 2 months later, the leader of the DarkHeartedWorld is looking to slow down anytime soon continuing to apply pressure in the form of #FreeMySlime.
“Life of Sins” starts off the mixtape with a booming trap instrumental talking about the life he lives & trying to win whereas “HTX” brings more of a rage-inducing vibe to the table spending all his racks on a fly hoe at the drug party. “Fashion Killa” works in a jangly guitar, explosive bass & hi-hats deflecting that he’s right back in his element just before “France” the psychedelic trap highlight flexes with this French model.
Meanwhile, “UK” has a trippy drill atmosphere talking about a bitch who’s been calling his phone & telling her that he simply doesn’t have time for no feelings leading into the title track brings back the rage beats to talk about the shit that he’s poppin’ being real & the streets being hotter than Hell at times. “Way2Slime” starts the 2nd leg of the tape staying in the hypertrap lane showing off just how slime he really is, but then the otherworldly “Sleep” talks about being unable to sleep at night without drugs.
“Granted” solemnly calls out someone Sugie knew that eventually took him for granted in the end while the sinisterly yet party-starting “Function” shrugging off those who’ve tried to do him dirty in the past. The rage-inducing penultimate track “Night Owl” talks about being a night owl himself which I can relate to since I myself can be the same way prior to “Southside” properly concluding the tape with a sample-laced trap instrumental boasting that he’s with a bitch from the south side of the ATL.
If you enjoy artists like Brezzo or even Sk8star & Zukenee (both of whom I’ve covered in the past. Most recently: the latter’s debut album Player Slayer the weekend before), then I don’t see how you wouldn’t come away from #FreeMySlime without getting Sugie’s best material to date out of it. The raging trap production is gradually refining itself, he sounds more focused & gives his strongest performances as a result of that.
This is the 2nd EP from Charlotte, North Carolina emcee Reuben Vincent. Emerging under the original moniker Esau, his debut mixtape IDOL.escent would catch the attention of 9th Wonder & would sign Reuben to Jamla Records in 2016. His debut album Myers Park would be released the next fall followed by the previous EP Boy Meets World, the latter of which resulted in Roc Nation Records handling distribution for Reuben’s future output much like fellow Jamla signee Rapsody beginning with the sophomore effort Love is War almost a year & a half ago continuing to elevate his popularity. But starting the 2nd quarter of 2024, he’s following it up with General Admission.
“Troops” is a dizzying trap opener talking about the block boilin’ whereas the hypnotic “Big Bank” likening his pockets being deeper than Toni Braxton feelin’ like Mike Jones simultaneously. “Fufu” brings a more playful trap vibe instrumentally to tell everyone business is business, but then “32 Flavors” hooks up a sample & hi-hats talking about his closer coming in 32 different flavors & the crew like the 36 Chambers a.k.a. the almighty Wu-Tang Clan.
Beginning the encore of the EP, the lead single “Grand Cherry” goes for a luxurious atmosphere likening the taste of revenge to exactly that although I respectfully prefer the original version over the remix featuring Chris Patrick & SWAVAY that follows “Jump” featuring Southfield, Michigan’s very own Malaya properly concluding General Admission fusing pop rap with trap & R&B talking about bringing some change if you tell ’em what you goin’ through.
It makes me happy to see Reuben getting more love as of lately & this EP much like the last album continues to find himself continually evolving from an artistic standpoint. He’s at his most introspective balancing the wordplay, awareness & bravado you have come to expect from him exploring generational trauma & triumph, self-identity, success, struggle & growth all over a gumbo palette of soulful, southern & tribal sounds.
