Rick Ross – “Set in Stone” review

Miami, Florida rapper, entrepreneur & record executive Rick Ross going solo for the first time in 5 years with his 12th studio LP. Making his debut on wax in 2000 on Erick Sermon’s 3rd album Erick Onasis, he would go on to drop Port of Miami & Trilla under Def Jam Recordings until forming his own label Maybach Music Group. Deeper Than Rap, Teflon Don, God Forgives, I Don’t & Mastermind are all rightfully regarded as his best bodies of work. Rather You Than Me as well as Port of Miami 2 & Rather You Than Me through Epic Records each had their moments, but Rozay’s independent debut Set in Stone seemed appealing considering the fact gamma.’s been distributing Maybach since 2023.

“Caviar Bumps” featuring Don Toliver on the remix produced by Fuse of the 808 Mafia talking about being the Miami version of Martin Scorsese whereas “Mahogany Caskets” featuring T.I. finds both of 50 Cent’s rivals trading verses with each other over a sample-based instrumental from Neff-U. The worst single by far was “Minks in Miami” featuring French Montana talking about elevating when it kills the vibes until “Face Down” featuring Rich the Kid gets sexual behind a captivating Metro Boomin’ & Mike Dean beat.

YFN Lucci’s appearance on “Ring Around the Rolls” was unnecessary despite the reference to the inaugural IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion, record-tying 3-time WWE Hall of Famer, Real American Beer founder, Real American Freestyle Wrestling (RAF) co-founder & known racist Hulk Hogan who passed away around this time last summer until “Camel Meat” recalls an event detailed in The Renaissance of a Boss over a STREETRUNNER instrumental.

“Maybach Music VII” featuring Jeezy marks the return of Rozay’s beloved series dedicated to anyone who owns a Maybach while “Living Large” featuring BigXthaPlug comes through with an uninspired anthem about their pockets getting bigger. “Purple Fentanyl” ends the 1st leg of Set in Stone hopping over an uncanny trap beat to discuss racing for millions while “#23” likens himself to the greatest basketball player of all-time: Michael Jordan.

Continuing the 2nd half, “Porsche GT3 (RS)” talks about sending a prayer to God every single morning he wakes up even if the beat doesn’t do much for me while the pop rap-flavored “City Lights” wasn’t any better because of them trying WAY too hard of chasing a radio hit. “Chain of Command” featuring Big Tony & Nino Breeze further commences the mediocrity trading underwhelming gangsta rap verses while “Remarkable Hu$$le” featuring Leon Thomas III remembers the late Nipsey Hu$$le over a Cardiak instrumental.

“Big Fish” featuring Gucci Mane links up for a disappointing ode to their wealth & after “Diamonds Never Die” featuring Ball Greezy & Kodak Black does a worse job at talking about hedonism, “She’s My Star” featuring Yung Miami makes up for it getting romantic over a J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League beat. “Do It 1 Time” featuring Young Breed reunites both Triple C’s members for an ode to the 305 & once “The Algorithm” spends the concluding minutes wanting to go to Mars with his lover to escape, “For the Money” courtesy of Pharrell divisively experiments with reggaetón & Afropiano talking about the paper.

To celebrate 2 decades of his debut, Rick Ross returns almost 5 years after leaving a major label making an statement of independence that I found myself to be largely indifferent towards & the amount of delays Set in Stone suffered didn’t exactly help. You get the usual luxurious subject matter the MMG founder has become known for despite the production side of things falling apart midway through & overloading it with guest appearances that either stick the landing or miss it entirely, which is why I can only see myself revisiting the portion I enjoyed & hope the next full-length has more consistency.

Score: 2.5/5

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Buju Banton – “Too Too Bad” review

Buju Banton is a 53 year old singer/songwriter from Kingston, Jamaica who’s widely considered to be one of the most important figures in dancehall. His 4th album ‘Til Shiloh under Island Records however shifted towards a roots reggae direction & has been ranked amongst the greatest reggae music ever recorded. He would drop 6 more full-lengths until spending a majority of 2010s incarcerated, returning during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic to release Upside Down through Roc Nation Records & the Def Jam Recordings-backed Born for Greatness. Now signed to VP Records after 2 decades, his 13th studio LP had me intrigued.

“We Nuh Play” starts us off with a dancehall intro talking about how he doesn’t fuck around including a nod to Michigan & Smiley’s hit single “Diseases” whereas “F.A.F.O. (Fuck Around Find Out)” continues from there getting more aggressive in tone & delivery. “Eye 2 Eye” hits us with more bashment vibes for a couple minutes speaking to an individual he views to be just before both “X Rated” & “Good Pum Pum” talk about still chasing pussy even at this stage in his life.

As for “Like You”, we have Buju incorporating elements of modern hip hop without trying to blatantly imitate it observing the beauty of a female he’s addressing directly while “Wild Woman” produced by DJ Khaled heads for a trap dancehall direction so he can sing about his love for a chick who acts crazy. “House Call” treads the ragga waters explaining that pretty girls need no reservation for his parties once more while “Satisfy Me” featuring Ari Lennox finds the 2 dialing up the romance.

“Butterflies” winds down Too Too Bad’s final act flipping “Real Rock” by Coxsone Dodd to sing about the potential he sees in the eyes of his lover while “Be Good” switches gears embracing a bit of a roots reggae flare instrumentally, pleading to be treated carefully. “Heavy Hitters” moves forward boasting his legacy as an icon in the dancehall scene prior to “Power” featuring Gramps Morgan sending off the album a political note taking it back to roots reggae for the closer.

People often view Too Bad to be a huge improvement above the mixed reception Unchained Spirit & Friends for Life both got, but the sequel in time for it’s 2 decade anniversary this upcoming fall surpasses the original & makes up for Friends for Life’s mediocrity to become maybe Buju Banton at his best since coming home. The production’s more ragga & trap dancehall-oriented as opposed to Born for Greatness’s prominent dancehall sound & Upside Down leaning towards the roots reggae side of things exploring topics ranging from politics to sex & partying.

Score: 4/5

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Steve Lacy – “Oh Yeah?” review

Steve Lacy is a 28 year old singer/songwriter, guitarist & producer from Compton, California known for being the guitarist of the now defunct Odd Future collective’s The Internet. Following a demo extended play in 2017, he would make his full-length studio debut in the spring of 2019 with Apollo XXI & his sophomore effort albeit major label debut Gemini Rights under RCA Records marked a huge artistic evolution compared to his early solo output to there point where his 3rd studio LP has become the most anticipated of his career.

The self-produced title track has a bit of a repetitive approach to the songwriting singing about being let out for the evening since he’s too young for death whereas “Is It Cool?” featuring SZA co-produced by his OF/Internet brethren Matt Martians blends alternative R&B, neo-soul, downtempo & neo-psychedelia to admit that the pair don’t even trust themselves. “The Feeling” incorporates secondary influences of psychedelic soul, bedroom pop & sophisti-pop asking why this person tested his patience.

Erykah Badu herself appears on “Pure Colour” teaming up to sing about 2 partners who desire to let them take control of one another so they can feel lighter while “Show You Me” reaches the midway point of the album with some cheery acoustics expressing the love he has for a bad boy. “Doom” continues from there with a nihilistically grungy 2-parter observing that people value validation instead of genuine connections while “nothing” sings about the inability of getting someone off his mind.

“LoveSexDrugBomb” winds down the last few moments of Oh Yeah? including a writing credit from Tyler, The Creator warmly yearning to have his partner right beside him while “Nice Shoes / In Your World” splits itself into 2 separate halves, climatically spiraling downwards for the sole purpose of him keeping to wish this body of work bestowed upon us. The alt-rock closing track “Bebe” sends it all off recalling the time I got my life screwed up.

Watching him blow up since Gemini Rights has been a long time coming for Steve Lacy as someone who’s been paying attention to him for almost a decade & Oh Yeah? contradicts the expansiveness of his idea. His production continues to push boundaries exploring neo-psychedelia, bedroom pop, indie folk, indie rock, alt-pop, singer/songwriter, alternative R&B, neo-soul, downtempo, psychedelic soul, sophisti-pop, alternative rock & grunge to tackle his usual themes of lust & longing from every angle he can possibly find.

Score: 4.5/5

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Syd – “Beard” review

Syd is a 34 year old singer/songwriter, DJ & producer from Los Angeles, California known for being one of the now defunct Odd Future collective’s earliest members alongside her younger brother Taco. She would also front the alternative R&B band The Internet, who would go on to drop 4 studio LPs. I should also mention the Raunchboots solo mixtape back in 2011 along with her 2017 full-length debut Fin under Columbia Records & the accompanying Always Never Home extended play. Her sophomore effort Broken Hearts Club arrived in 2023 & had hopes of her Warner Records debut albeit 3rd LP artistically elevating herself beyond her previous material.

“Walls” starts us off with a settle R&B intro singing for her lover to come over to her place whereas “Callin’” featuring Blu June finds the pair using 911 for a metaphor detailing how much these 2 lovers need each other. The self-produced “Jasmin 17” embraces a groovier vibe instrumentally singing about this woman’s physique being therapeutic to her just before the bossa nova-inspired “My Love” gives a fuck less if anyone thinks she’s crazy for proving her love to this person.

Jordan Ward appears on “Always Be Mine” depicting a couple who doesn’t want to leave each other’s sides leading into “Closet” featuring CUBE wrapping up the 1st leg having Raphael Saadiq play bass singing about feeling the complete opposite of usually desiring for their own space. “Bad Guys” co-produced by Benny Cassette kicks off the 2nd half reminding us all that every villain was once goodhearted at some point while “G.M.F.U. (Got Me Fucked Up)” featuring Big Sean on the remix talks about being misperceived.

“Do Better” finds Syd refusing to go in circles again telling this woman she’s crazy for that she needs to make some improvements after the love she had for her became a weapon while “Any Time” featuring James Fauntleroy neo-psychedelically sings about always losing when running from the individuals addressed. “Water” assures the female partner she adores that she wouldn’t have if she found someone else & “2 Many Days” sings about working too hard to not make any money.

Nearly everything Syd has released on her own up until this point has left listeners torn, but I adamantly believe Beard sticks out in a league of it’s own compared to her early output although I wouldn’t put it above Steve Lacy’s new album Oh Yeah? that dropped earlier today. The largely self-handled production distills the contemporary/alternative R&B influences of her earlier output, coming into her own mixing them with some smooth & trap soul undertones.

Score: 3.5/5

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Dave Blunts – “I’ll Believe It When I See It” review

This is the 4th studio LP from Davenport, Iowa by way of Salt Lake City, Utah rapper, singer/songwriter & internet personality Dave Blunts. Dropping a total of 16 EPs & a few full-length albums since 2018 or so, I’ve even mentioned a couple guest appearances he made for Babytron & D. Savage on Tronicles & We Love D. Savage a couple years earlier respectively. You Can’t Say That last spring got some rightful backlash for the transphobia & dissing artists who have stronger discographies than him, not expecting anything different out of I’ll Believe It When I See It.

“Shuey Gets a Job” opens up talking about his friend Ethan Shutak’s being hired for a minimum wage occupation whereas “Burning Spoons” tells the story of Jordan’s baby momma being a meth addict. “Vbucks” hits us with a corny KanKan diss although it’s not as disgusting as it was on You Can’t Say That until “1 More Day” finds himself crying about wanting to be with his ex-girlfriend Solar again for 24 hours if he had that opportunity.

We unfortunately have Dave Blunts getting transphobic again on “Cupcake” dissing KanKan again & throwing at jab at one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye formerly known as Kanye West prior to the single “World Champ” throwing out a homophobic slur during the hook. “Rollie” talks about people thinking he was gay for writing “Cousins” for Ye when I’ve literally never heard anyone say that while “Scale” expresses his love for codeine & sleeping with a semi-automatic by his side.

“Unnecessary” after a redundant remix of “Back on Oxygen” jabs at KanKan & Dax, with the latter being the only one that’s deserved because his music’s not any better than Dave’s at all. The penultimate track “Ciara Come Home” nears the end of I’ll Believe It When I See It bitching & moaning for a woman he’s known for 6 years to take him back while “Drown” finally sends off the album wasting a plugg beat on some horrifically performed vocals talking about his life being exciting.

Now before anyone asks me why I subjected myself to I’ll Believe It When I See It when Dave Blunts has been throwing shots at Ye or even 50 Cent of all people for the past year? I don’t know. What I can say that he’s retaining his usual gimmick of lyrics using dark humor, introducing characters, dissing more prominent artists even if there’s always 1 who’s justified & his hatred for transgender people when they literally haven’t done anything to him.

Score: 1/5

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Aaron Lewis – “Give My Country Back” review

Aaron Lewis is a 54 year old singer/songwriter from Longmeadow, Massachusetts notable for being the frontman of Staind. Although his 2011 solo debut extended play Town Line was divisively received, the eponymous EP as well as the full-length debut The Road & the sophomore effort Sinner were all moderately received in comparison. State I’m In & Frayed at Both Ends marked a decline in quality, coming off the worst entry of his solo catalog The Hill to say “hold my beer” & record his 6th LP.

“The Door” begins with a tiring country intro singing about being judged by the world when he inflicted that upon himself by becoming a bootlicker whereas “Bad Thing to Be Good At” promises to let freedom ring whenever he makes music when the authoritarianism he supports suggests otherwise. “Too High for This” sings about heading down the lowest road he can find & I guess you can use that in a literal sense while the crooning “List of Things to Quit” lets the whiskey consume him after imagining someone who isn’t real.

We have Aaron spending a great deal of the sickening title track telling anyone who doesn’t like the rise of fascism to pack their shit & leave to reach the midway point of Give My Country Back. Right after “People I’ve Known” kicks off the 2nd half singing about the world changing in front of his very eyes for half his life however, “Let Go Like the Rain” continues from there crooning dabbling with a country rock sound to address familiar themes of moving on.

The song “A Showman’s Life” winds down the last leg stylistically stripping things back so he can observe the parts of being famous that no one has ever told him about while “Keeping Up with the Jonesin’” leaning towards a country rock vibe again singing it wouldn’t be so hard if he didn’t knew what he was missing. “Duct Tape & Baling Wire” sends off what could likely be the worst country album I’ve heard all year singing about using those 2 things for a patch up.

“It’s Been a While” ranks amongst the most overrated post-grunge singles of all-time & it’s unfortunate watching him go from that being such a hit to embracing a fascist heel turn to keep his name relevant. And unfortunately, it’s bleeding a lot heavier into Give My Country Back basically making the album equivalent of the “Where My Country Gone?” episode of the Paramount Skydance Corporation subsidiary Comedy Central’s flagship animated series South Park.

Score: 0/5

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Action Figure 973 – “Polo Grounds” review

Here is the 13th extended play from Belleville, New Jersey emcee/producer Action Figure 973. For a while at this point, his first couple mixtapes followed by his last dozen EPs & the full-length debut DOOM Was Right over a year ago giving flowers to one of my all-time personal favorite albums Madvillainy have each established himself as a promisingly skilled luchador who so happens to rap. The Most Interesting Man in the World got with Machacha for his sophomore effort last October, coming off What Would Harley Race Do? & 24 Hours in Switzerland to have DiMaggio fully produce Polo Grounds only a day prior to Harlem Lewis becoming the new WWE EVOLVE Champion.

After the intro, “Butch Husky” begins with a mafioso vibe instrumentally talking about constantly being in the field whereas “Ken Griffey Jr. Was Never a Yankee” embraces a drumlessly dark sound to discuss doing a lot for people & them never thanking him even once. “Showdown at Shea” has an eerier tone to it talking about offing your favorite rapper while “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” references the terminal neurodegenerative illness AEW performer Rebel has been dealing with since this spring.

“Nomar Garciaparra” gives a shoutout to the retired shortstop & current SportsNet LA analyst of the same name while “Pete Rose” featuring 067 Red finds the pair referencing the 3-time World Series champion & WWE Hall of Famer who passed away a couple years ago. “War Memorial” featuring Brother Tom Sos reunites the 2 over a jazzy boom bap beat talking about living the dream of life itself while “Relief Pitcher” includes a bar referring to the current 2-time AAA Mundial Mixtas Parejas Campeon Mr. Iguana of the WWE subsidiary Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide.

Act-Lo even said during the closer that he has countless lyrics that wrestling fans sing at his shows & it’s gotten to a point where he felt like he had to switch it up a bit & it would surprise me if the general consensus would be that Polo Grounds serves as a breath of fresh air for his discography. The hardcore lyricism’s more baseball themed in time for the Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star game tonight, coasting DiMaggio’s batch of jazzy boom bap & drumless instrumentals with only a couple guests accompanying him instead of What Would Harley Race Do? only having 1.

Score: 3.5/5

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L-Z Roselli – “Angels Cry & Demons Lurk” review

This is the 2nd extended play from West London, England, United Kingdom rapper L-Z Roselli. Dropping his debut single “My Sharp Bride” in 2018, the guest appearances on Surf or Die as well as Invisible War & Tears of the Dragon when Onoe Caponoe initially dropped those full-lengths under High Focus Records world be my introduction to him although reception towards Unforgivable Sins was generally mixed New Years Day 2025. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, I had hoped that Angels Cry & Demons Lurk would be superior only 24 hours after Cowboy Way ended the Slater Dojo’s reign as RPW British Tag Team Champions.

“War Cry” begins with a UK drill intro screaming during his verses about being ready for combat whereas the trap-influenced “Jealous Ghosts” featuring Janset reaches the halfway point referencing Wembley Stadium, where record 2-time AEW International Champion Will Ospreay is set to end Kenny Omega’s ongoing 2nd reign as AEW World Champion next month at All In V that’ll mark the 3rd bout between the 2 following Wrestle Kingdom 19 & Forbidden Door IV.

To get the 2nd half of Angels Cry & Demon Lurk going, we have L-Z taking it back to the UK drill sounds from earlier with “Launch & Attack” once again with some blobby bass breaking down his militant mindset 1 last time while the closing track “Angels Cry” ties up all loose ends by spending the last 4 minutes of the EP combining piano with some 808s & bells talking about taking muhfuckas through crimes that’re legitimately violent in every sense of the word.

Angels Cry & Demons Lurk eschews the secondary influences of drift phonk, Memphis rap & Chicago drill to put a bigger emphasis on the horrorcore side of its predecessor. The end result was L-Z Roselli something far removed from mainstream hip hop by blending cinematically dark production with raw lyricism & a horror inspired atmosphere, proving why he deserves to be in the conversations Central C’s being put in regarding modern UK drill.

Score: 4/5

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Nosaint – “The Truth” review

Maryland recording artist & producer Nosaint dropping his debut solo mixtape. A member of the Vanguard Music Group in-house production team, he also has 4 extended plays under his belt with 3 of them showing off his abilities as a rapper & the Saint Tape taking a backseat vocally to let some of his most notable collaborators rock his beats from Hardrock to Sk8star. For the past year however, he’s been preparing to reveal The Truth to the world & time has finally come.

“Weary Souljah” opens with a majestic 3 minute intro produced by his manager Zodiac reminiscent to some of Ye & Travis Scott’s material whereas “Absolutely Fucking Brazy” instrumentally gives off a delicate trap vibe so he can talk about his glow up. “Ruger” discusses treating life like it’s a scrimmage since it’s often compared to a game within itself leading into “2Bool” let’s it known to the haters that they better start worrying about themselves.

406ahmad gets behind the boards for the 2-parter “No Dubs / Dealing with Loneliness” laying out anyone who tries him over some hi-hats & synths that later get swapped out in favor of a vocal sample to describe feeling alone just before “See What I See” ends the 1st leg of The Truth talking about putting in worn to better his life. The self-produced “Q.2.H.” (Quarter 2 a Half)” boasts of him flipping the product & making it whole until the pluggy “Pharmacy” courtesy of his Vanguard brethren R8 dismisses those riding his wave.

“Chocolate Rain” spends 90 seconds talking about a person who never had it figured Lucy over a piano-inflicted trap beat while “Toosie” after the compositional “Palmy” interlude admits to hiding his heart behind his jewelry. “Youngest O.G.” nears closer towards the conclusion of the tape talking about sticking to the code since everyone else ain’t shit compared to him & following the “Masaka Choirs” intermission, “Psalm 13” wraps things up shrugging off muhfuckas who’re all bark with no bite.

Becoming a fan of his production work after hearing “slatty” off the Mogul EP near the end of 2022, I truthfully haven’t heard much of Nosaint as a rapper up until this point & was surprised at how much I enjoyed a good chunk of The Truth. I understand why he only self-produced a couple tracks, but I’d be interested if he continues to spit over his own instrumentals going forward even if the tracks R8 as well as 406ahmad & the mixtape’s engineer Zodiac all cooked up stood out to me the most.

Score: 3.5/5

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Show Me the Body – “Alone Together” review

Show Me the Body is a post-hardcore trio from New York consisting of drummer Jack McDermott, bassist Harlan Steed & frontman Julian Cashwan Pratt. For the past 17 years, they’ve dropped a total of 3 full-lengths as well as 3 extended plays & a couple mixtapes. A vast majority of which came out under Loma Vista Recordings other than Yellow Kidney in 2013, enlisting Connecticut producer Kenny Beats to produce their 4th studio LP in it’s entirety the same day FATHERS made their eponymous debut.

After the horn-heavy “Overture” intro, “Eat for Peace” blends post-hardcore with noise rock & hardcore punk talking about radical love compelling him to fight whereas “No God” combines post-hardcore & rap rock to discuss explaining that you gotta break down to realize what’s at stake. “Good Time” rebelliously expresses their desire of the band always lookin’ for some fun leading into “Dance in the USA” fusing post-hardcore, rap rock, industrial rock, noise rock & dance-punk encourages to embrace the struggle.

“Do What’s Right (Happy)” winds down the last half of Alone Together discussing the things that people do to keep them satisfied just before “See You Again” after an interlude militantly sings about no grave or cemetery being capable of missing the 2 friends they’ve recently lost. “Mileage” keeps hitting us with more hardcore vibes boasting that they’re fueled up while “New Line” sings about a woman running back to her man after a couple days.

The song “Trust” could potentially be the catchiest one here detailing the struggles of finding reliability in people while the “Finale” was really the 3rd & final spoken word intermission preceding the “Overture” intro & the interlude respectively. The title track spends Alone Together’s last minutes dabbling with industrial rock, posing the question of friend or foe since it’s either one or the other & sending blessings to the people who’re standing individually.

Dog Whistle often gets mentioned as Show Me the Body’s most celebrated album even if some would debate it was surpassed by Trouble the Water, but the NYHC outfit might’ve outdone both of those. Kenny Beats’ dichotic production soundtracks Julian Cashwan Pratt’s themes of putting belief in action more hardcore punk & noise rock-oriented although there are lesser influences of industrial rock, post-hardcore & rap rock being displayed.

Score: 4/5

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