Erick the Architect – “I’ve Never Been Here Before” review

Erick the Architect is a 35 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & producer from Brooklyn, New York notable for being 1/3 of the trio Flatbush ZOMBiES as well as 1/5 of the supergroup Clockwork Indigo & a member of the Beast Coast collective. He also has an EP & 3 mixtapes worth of solo material as well as a couple beat tapes, but is now the 3rd & final person at bat for a full-length solo debut from the ZOMBiES.

After the “I’m Still” intro, the first song “2-3 Zone” introduces us to the album with an uncannily psychedelic instrumental from James Blake boasting that he’s sitting on $1M while “Parkour”is a synth-trap fusion rapping about doing everything candidly. “Breaking Point” is a straight up R&B track addressing a type of love that doesn’t feel the same anymore, but then “Mandevillain” hops over this summery boom beat reminding that this ain’t luck.

“Ezekiel’s Wheel” shoots for a groovier vibe acknowledging that everyone’s keeping secrets for oilin’ & their good intentions giving through to severance until the smoothly self-produced “Jammy Jam” admits to not knowing what’s wrong with his ex-girlfriend. “Ambrosia” makes no time for bullshit as he’s never been a bozo pulling inspiration from J Dilla instrumentally just before the funky “Shook Up” featuring Joey Bada$$ refuses to deny burden of proof.

Unfortunately, “Beef Patty” featuring Boy Boy might be my least favorite track on the LP since it’s an awkward attempt at going dancehall while “Colette” makes up for it by bringing an eerie trap flare thanks to T-Minus talking about hoes still asking questions & motherfuckers acting like the feds. “Instincts” featuring Westside Boogie shows gratitude for still being here with Chris Keys going for a cloudier sound while the groovy “Neue Muse” talks about having a new person acting as a source of inspiration to him.

“Leukemia / AM” is this heartfelt 2-parter forced to find fortune in the midst of suffering many losses while “Too Much Talkin’” hops over synthesizers & hi-hats telling y’all exactly how it is whenever Erick has to fallback. “Liberate” concludes the first run of Flatbush ZOMBiES solo albums by melodically teaming with Lalah Hathaway as they address themes of romance having to slow things down.

Now that all the ZOMBiES have their own solo LPs out, I’ve Never Been Here Before could be the most risk-taking of them all. The themes of fearlessness, Black resilience, beauty in darkness & unity all come from authentic place mixed with production that’s significantly more versatile than both Gothic Luxury & Love Without Condition by ranging from hip hop to soul, dub & psychedelia.

Score: 3.5/5

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Uncle Murda – “Lenny Grant Story” review

This is the 17th mixtape from New York emcee Uncle Murda. Being in the game for nearly 2 decades, he briefly signed to Roc-A-Fella Records/Def Jam Recordings in the mid/late 2000s but has since made himself home over at G-Unit Records for the past 8 years & doing his own take of the Rap Up series a decade ago inspired by Skillz. I can’t say I have a favorite tape of his since they’re pretty much moderately received, but the buildup to Lenny Grant Story got the best of me.

“If I Die” starts off with piano chords & hi-hats explaining that one of his opps is coming with him if he were to pass away whereas “The Projects” featuring Conway the Machine has a jazzy drill vibe talking about the trenches of their home state. “They Said” featuring Symba shifts back into trap territory telling y’all to look at them now leading into the soul/drill crossover “I’m Ok With That” talking about making his son into a king & fulfilling his promise.

Jadakiss accompanies Murda on the atmospheric “Money” dropping braggadocio just before cavernously hazy “No Safety” featuring Benny the Butcher acknowledges that it’s safe to say that ties have been cut. “10 Toes Down” has a spacious quality to the instrumental tackling themes of commitment, but then “Spin the Block” featuring Styles P & 50 Cent finds the trio looking to simply that on top of a ghoulish vocal sample.

“Grimey” weaves a rich boom bap beat in the fold reflecting on the welfare days while the song “Ride Out” featuring Peezy is an acoustic trap cut clearing out any place their opposition is at. The penultimate track “I Changed” soulfully breaks down how he’s become a different person as he’s gotten older & “2 Hurt 2 Cry” rounds out the tape in an upbeat fashion explaining they reason you don’t see no tears from him.

Once again: I’m not big on Uncle Murda’s previous material & I’ve heard numerous features from him across a multitude of projects over the years that I’ve actually enjoyed. Surprisingly, I was impressed to come away from Lenny Grant Story liking it more than I initially thought I would’ve. I’ll even say it’s the best thing he’s done ever since 50 signed him in the first place. The guest-list is impressive, Murda himself sounds concentrated & the production represents both past & present sounds of the New York hip hop scene.

Score: 3.5/5

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Vritra – “Amber” review

Vritra is a 32 year old rapper, producer & visual artist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana known for formerly being 1/2 of The Jet Age of Tomorrow, 1/3 of The Super D3Shay & a member of the influential Odd Future collective before focusing on his own crew that he’s the de facto leader of NKR. He’s also released 7 LPs, 19 EPs & 4 mixtapes as a solo artist with the best ones being Pyramid & the Stones Throw Records-backed Indra. Matt Martians put out his latest solo EP Matt’s Missing a month ago & that was the best thing he’s done by himself in a while, so Vritra releasing his 20th EP over the weekend had me wondering how it was going to hold up.

Things start off with a trip hop instrumental sequel to “Wool Glasses” off the Jet Age of Tomorrow’s only album God’s Poop or Clouds? whereas the self-produced “Walking” gives an experimentally glitchy approach continuing to venturing out of his department. “Tether Me” featuring Jay Cue brings these synths into the fold talkin’ about being down for the block like it’s Tetris prior to jazz/soul fusion “Silverado” stripping the drums advising to let it burn similarly to the way the doobie is.

After the “Non Fiction” interlude, “Proximity” by Wilma Vritra begins the 2nd half of the EP by bringing a psychedelic flare to the beat acknowledging that people around his vicinity are getting bold while “Grey Matter“ sonically feels like a breezy, summer day admitting he didn’t know how to approach the situation initially. “Insomnia” draws inspiration from industrial music addressing a woman he goes insane thinking of & lastly, “Running” featuring Eyedress is a jazzy closer talking about stacking cheese & counting proceeds in the back.

Hal said himself on Twitter shortly after Amber was released that it would the last body of work of his to be put out under the Vritra moniker & however he reinvents himself artistically going forward, I can tell you that he gave us the strongest EP in his discography since Palace a decade ago already. He sounds recharged after taking a year off & his experimentally cloudy, west coast sound has additional undertones of drumless, jazz, soul, glitch hop & trip hop.

Score: 3.5/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Dump Goat II” review

Tha God Fahim releasing his 2nd full-length LP of the month & the 22nd overall in his insanely large discography. 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 King 4, the Oh No-produced Berserko, Fahim’s last EP Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays produced by Mike Shabb, Tha Supreme Hoarder of All Pristine Wealth & more recently Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga produced by Cookin’ Soul from a few weeks ago. But as promised, Fahim’s finally unloading Dump Goat II onto Bandcamp.

“Fireball Jitsu” is a jazzy boom bap opener cooked up by DJ Tako rapping ball hard similarly to Damian Lillard whereas “Don’t Come Home” works in this incredible sample thanks to Nicholas Craven talking about being out here hustling all day by himself. “Legend Has It” hooks up these sumptuous piano chords with kicks & snares courtesy of Camoflauge Monk admitting he’s ok with criticism since he confidently has thick skin just before the groovy “Constitution Saving Throw” talks about how you barely following trends & that everything ain’t what it seems.

Moving on from there, “Tha Reflection ofSpawn” finds Craven taking the soulful boom bap route instrumentally boasting that he’s on the verge of blowing up kin to that of a hydrogen bomb leading into “S Prime One Million” hopping over these haunting organ melodies talking about his legacy surviving a lot of turmoil in the process. The vocal chops throughout “Belly of tha Beast” are pretty catchy & Fahim is on top of it passionately looking to stand on his feet, but then “Lonely Girl” is this decently dusty ass romance ballad.

“Penalty” blends some kicks & snares with a Cathedral-esque sample from Sadhugold breaking down that he learned the game through taking Ls while the self-produced “Logan’s Pain” has this cinematically climactic vibe to the beat flexing that he’s lit & asking why people be talking shit. “Stuck in My Dumpin’ Ways” brings a funkier flare making it clear he stays Dumpin’ while the cloudy/boom bap crossover “Grassroots” puts it all on his rhyme book refusing to let anything come between it.

The penultimate track “Tales of tha Forsaken” begins the last moments of the album with Camouflage Monk mixing a woodwind sample with kicks & snares reminding that it’s another day, another dollar that he makes prior to “Visions of Madness” sending off Dump Goat II by coming armed & dangerous with rhymes over a whistling boom bap instrumental that both Sadhugold & Camoflauge Monk produced together.

It should also be noted that there 9 previously released tracks on here, but the 10 new songs that the Dump Goat gives us here are pretty solid altogether although I’m still riding high from Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Sagafrom the beginning of the month. The production goes from boom bap to drumless, cloud rap & jazz rap as Dump Gawd makes it clear he’s still stuck in his ways. Still more interested in the 3 upcoming projects he has with Monk, the 3 with Craven, another one with Cookin’ Soul presumably titled Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga 2 & the self-produced one.

Score: 3.5/5

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Quadeca – “Scrapyard” review

This is the 3rd mixtape from Los Angeles, California singer/songwriter, producer, YouTuber & rapper Quadeca. His earliest output including Work in Progress, Nostalgia for the Now, Bad Internet Rapper & Out of Order were all received negatively as was the full-length debut Voice Memos. The sophomore effort From Me to You proved to be decent & coming off his most beloved offering yet I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You, he’s taking us to the Scrapyard full of material that didn’t make the final version of it’s predecessor to simultaneously fulfill his contractual obligations with deadAir Records.

Experimental hip hop, emo rap, glitch hop, cloud rap, folktronica, art pop, digicore, slacker rock & glitch hop all culminate in the intro “Dustcutter” begging not to be left out in the cold to dry prior to “A La Carte” featuring brakence blending experimental hip hop, emo rap, bedroom pop, digicore, midwest emo, glitch pop, glitch hop, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B, art pop & abstract hip hop talking about rather being in their heads instead of their partners’ beds.

“Pretty Privilege” brings more of a general trap vibe confused by the compliments he’s been receiving from a woman he initially felt was lying when she called him pretty & trying to get to the bottom of as to why she genuinely feels that way leading into “Easier” fusing art pop, folktronica, neo-psychedelia, bedroom pop, emo rap, ambient pop, bossa nova, alternative R&B, dream pop, chamber folk & glitch pop talking about being in love with a chick who doesn’t feel the same way.

Quadeca steps outside the box in terms of sound on “Even If I Tried” with an outstandingly calculated outro trying to stop himself whenever he’s not feeling like himself while “What’s It to Him?” vulnerably admits his desire to hide a little less & cry more pulling inspiration from bands like The Beatles & Queen to Weezer. We get a solid attempt at hyperpop during “U Don’t Know Me Like That” touching base regarding a relationship that didn’t last while “I Make It Look Effortless” goes back to his roots over a combination of experimental hip hop, glitch hop, digicore, Americana, deconstructed club, industrial hip hop & folktronica.

“Way Too Many Friends” made for an introspectively eclectic pop rap, boom bap, jazz rap, neo-psychedelia, glitch hop, cloud rap, trip hop & abstract hip hop song advising to stop having his bluff called if you wanna make amends with him followed by a repetitive hook while “Guess Who?” expands on the versatility balling experimental hip hop, hardcore hip hop, glitch hop, industrial hip hop, dark plugg, rage, trap metal, glitch hop, wonky, deconstructed club, digicore & beat bruxaria all in 1 to spit braggadocio.

Shoegaze makes itself a prominent influence in the 2 & a half minutes “Under My Skin” has to offer feeling paranoid while “Being Yourself” sees past another person trying to act like someone else & airs ‘em out on it right on the spot. Would be furthermore remised to leave out the instrumental breakdown outro. “U Tried That Thing Where Ur Human” sonically feels reminiscent of Björk talking about being fed up of getting treated as if he’s dirt while the “Guide Dog” delivers a 2 minute folk ballad about the love he has for his romantic interest.

“Texas Blue” featuring Kevin Abstract concludes the tape with my favorite collaboration of the 2 realizing they’ve been masking their emotions throughout the portrayed relationships they’re involved with crossing over Americana, pop & R&B while “perfectly cut scream” starts the deluxe run by running to his hip hop roots tackling the theme of self-confidence & simultaneously giving a giant “fuck you” to the crowd who dismissed his artistic potential entirely because of his earlier output. Most of which he even said himself was trash in the midst of the last album rollout.

What was the original 2nd half of “perfectly cut stream” spins off into the noisy experimental glitch hop cut “like me” boasting that nobody’s doing this on his level while the 80 second “123” talks about having everyone’s eyes on him after counting to 3. “mad at me” heads for a synthpop direction realizing the person he’s addressing doesn’t care if they’re wrong while “1 step program” fired back at an individual tryna take credit in his success. “lifespan” could most likely be my least favorite of the 7 outtakes here with my criticisms having little to do with the instrumental & more so in terms of the half-baked structuring, which carries itself onto the final bonus track “who i am”.

For a collection of I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You leftovers, it’s similar to what Kendrick Lamar did with untitled unmastered. & To Pimp a Butterfly in that the cutting room floor of a great concept album got an equally beloved life of it’s own. It’s themes are focused around the issues Gen Z are facing masterfully combining art pop, experimental hip hop, electronic, glitch pop, emo rap, folktronica, alternative R&B, glitch hop, neo-psychedelia, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, cloud rap, digicore, slacker rock, bedroom pop, midwest emo, abstract hip hop, ambient pop, bossa nova, dream pop, chamber folk, hyperpop, Americana, pop rap, boom bap, jazz rap, trip hop, hardcore hip hop, dark plugg, rage, trap metal, wonky, beat bruxaria, shoegaze & synthpop.

Score: 4.5/5

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Yeat – “2093” review

Portland, Oregon rapper Yeat continuing his tradition of releasing music in February with the 4th full-length LP in his discography. Coming up in 2018 off his debut EP Deep Blue $trips, he would followed up with 2 mixtapes & 3 more EPs before beginning to dominate the mainstream in 2021 whether it be him dropping a total of 4 projects (2 mixtapes, an EP & a full-length debut) or cosigns from the likes of Drake & Earl Sweatshirt. He eventually signed to Geffen Records, who backed his sophomore effort albeit major label debut 2 Alivë a little over a year ago & then a deluxe EP Gëek Pack shortly after. But coming off “Rich Minion”& his 5th mixtape Lyfë couple summers ago alongside Aftërlyfe, we’re now being taken into the future on 2093.

“Psycho CEO” really gives everyone a look at what they’re getting themselves into with this industrial boom bap/trap crossover pushing up on the beat like a knife whereas “Power Trip” with co-production from Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group admits to possibly doing things that he never did before over some synthesizers up until the switch-up during the last minute in a half or so. “Breathe” literally samples Regular Show flexing that he made a billion bored on the jet prior to the dense “Morë” produced by Bugz Ronin & Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic confessing he loves losing control & needs a lot of shit.

The drums are completely removed on “Bought the Earth” going synthwave delving into themes of power & self-interest just before “Nothing Changë” blends these synths & hi-hats together talking about wanting too feel real referencing SpaceX founded by Tesla CEO, Neuralink founder & Twitter owner Elon Musk. “U Should Know” kinda gives off a rage inducing vibe likening himself to a fiend that likes to make money & doing things that you never should, but then the electro-industrial “Lyfestylë” featuring Lil Wayne discusses not being surprised by living this life.

“ILUV” entrancingly talks about seeing the future & coming back on top of loving it when his partner stays with him so they can rage together over a hypnotizing Rio Leyva beat while “Tell Më” talks about being born to live forever over kicks, snares & synthesizers. “Shade” continues to pull from electro-industrial thanks to Keyon Christ tackling the concepts of defiance, self-assurance & personal reflection while the distorted “Keep Pushin’” talks about defiance

Moving forward, “Riot & Set It Off” is this captivatingly dynamic 2-parter to start the 2nd half of the album refusing to conform & initiating action while “Team CEO” sonically builds itself around multiple synths from Outtatown acknowledging they might not get it at first. The title track breaks down the futuristic lifestyle he lives as the EBM influences make their way back into the fold while “Stand on It” featuring Future returns to Yeat’s hypertrap roots showing their swagger.

“Familia” reflects on wealth, power & loyalty within his inner circle over this mind-altering instrumental from BNYX of Working on Dying while the self-produced “Mr. Inbetweenit” declares that to be a new nickname for himself “because everything I said about that shit, I didn’t mean it” over synthesizers once more. “Psychocainë” hops on top of this booming trap beat while the raging “Run Thëy Mouth” tells y’all that “when you level up, you get that money like it’s Follywood”.

Continuing the encore of the LP, the penultimate track “If We Being Rëal” gives off a mysteriously dreamier atmosphere talking about taking shit to a new level on top of simultaneously feeling isolated & detached until the soothingly produced closer “1093” talking about not being from this Earth as well as being unable to stay although he wishes that he could. The first of currently 6 bonus cuts “As We Speak” featuring Drake experiments with pop rap, regalia & wave music to show off their luxurious lifestyles beginning Phase 2 & the rock/trap crossover “Never Quit” subsequently ends it by talking about refusing to walk away.

“Timë Passed” begins Phase 3 with a sequel to “Sidëwayz” tackling his continued success over a plugg instrumental that marks the return of the bells from some of his previous material also contained & the industrial/rage elements clashing on “Oh My Pockëts” are pretty fun telling y’all straight up he doesn’t & doesn’t want to know shit about those he refuses to let in his circle. “SKLUB” admits to havin’ problems with these demons & being amazed that no one has caught on except the synth-horn trap beat reminds me a bit of Pi’erre Bourne, but the 6th & so far final bonus track “H.A.B. (High As a Bitch)” ends Phase 3 in the form of a hypertrap anthem dedicated to being high as fuck.

It’s always exciting when an artist goes right when everyone expects them to go left & that’s pretty much what Yeat does throughout 2093. It’s noticeably more experimental than his previous material switching rage from a primary to secondary influence next to trap, electro-industrial, synthwave, EBM, pop rap & wave music predominantly showcasing an industrial hip hop sound painting an image of what life will be like 69 years from now.

Score: 4/5

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Heems – “Lafandar” review | हीम्स – “लफ़ंदर” समीक्षा

Heems is a 38 year old MC from Queens, New York emerging in 2008 as 1/3 of the alternative hip hop group Das Racist. Following their disbandment in 2012, he put out a couple mixtapes Nehru Jackets & Wild Water Kingdom as well as the full-length debut album Eat Pray Thug. However coming back from a 9-year sabbatical, Hima has started up his own Mass Appeal Records imprint Veena Sounds & is joining forces with the new label’s in-house producer Lapgan on the sophomore effort.

क्वींस, न्यूयॉर्क से 38 वर्षीय एमसी हीम्स 2008 में वैकल्पिक हिप हॉप समूह दास रेसिस्ट के 1/3 के रूप में उभरे। 2012 में उनके विघटन के बाद, उन्होंने कुछ मिक्सटेप नेहरू जैकेट्स और वाइल्ड वॉटर किंगडम के साथ-साथ पूर्ण लंबाई वाला पहला एल्बम ईट प्रेयर ठग निकाला। हालाँकि, 9 साल के विश्राम से वापस आकर, हिमा ने अपना स्वयं का मास अपील रिकॉर्ड्स इंप्रेशन वीना साउंड्स शुरू किया है और द्वितीयक प्रयास में नए लेबल के इन-हाउस निर्माता लैपगन के साथ जुड़ रही हैं।

To start us off, “Stupid Dumb Illiterate” admits to being a little bit of an idiot over a Middle Eastern instrumental whereas “I’m Pretty Cool” gives off more of a psychedelic flare talking about how everyone loves him. The album’s 2nd & final single “Sri Lanka” featuring Your Old Droog speak on doing well in the titular country over these woodwinds that is until the jazzy single “Accent” featuring Saul Williams from a couple weeks prior to that gets on the conscious tip lyrically.

हमें शुरू करने के लिए, “स्टूपिड डंब अनलिट्रेट” एक मध्य पूर्वी वाद्य यंत्र के मामले में थोड़ा-सा बेवकूफ होने की बात स्वीकार करता है, जबकि “आई एम प्रिटी कूल” एक साइकेडेलिक फ्लेयर की तरह इस बारे में बात करता है कि हर कोई उससे कैसे प्यार करता है। एल्बम का दूसरा और अंतिम एकल “श्रीलंका” जिसमें योर ओल्ड ड्रूग शामिल है, इन वुडविंड्स पर टाइटैनिक देश में अच्छा प्रदर्शन करने के बारे में बात करता है, जो कि कुछ हफ़्ते पहले शाऊल विलियम्स की विशेषता वाले जैज़ी “एक्सेंट” के गीतात्मक रूप से सचेत टिप पर आने तक है।

“Going for 6” featuring Abhi the Nomad & Sonnyjim finds the trio draws inspiration from Daringer with it’s boom bap beat boasting that they keep the coke at the crib & the 6 people who’re rolling alongside them have sticks just before “Baba Ganoush” featuring Cool Calm Pete & Lee Scott has these eerily plucky sitar tones getting in their battle rap shit. “Obi Toppin’ (Darling)” featuring Kool Keith looks to hijack this soul sample & that’s exactly what both of them get done, but then “Kala Tika” shifts into drill territory talking about being the man in Long Island.

“गोइंग फ़ॉर 6” में अभि द नोमैड और सन्नी को दिखाया गया है। जिम को लगता है कि यह तिकड़ी अपने बूम बैप बीट के साथ डेरिंगर से प्रेरणा लेती है, जिसमें दावा किया गया है कि वे पालने में कोक रखते हैं और जो 6 लोग उनके साथ चल रहे हैं, उनके पास “बाबा गनौश” के ठीक पहले लाठी है। कूल कैलम पीट और ली स्कॉट की विशेषता वाले ये शानदार साहसी सितार स्वर उनके बैटल रैप में शामिल हो रहे हैं। कूल कीथ की विशेषता वाला “ओबी टॉपपिन’ (डार्लिंग)” इस आत्मा के नमूने को हाईजैक करना चाहता है और वास्तव में वे दोनों यही करते हैं, लेकिन फिर “काला टीका” लॉन्ग आइलैंड में आदमी होने के बारे में बात करते हुए ड्रिल क्षेत्र में चला जाता है।

Open Mike Eagle & Sir Michael Rocks join Heems on “Yellow Chakra” over a Bollywood flip with kicks & snares likening their infectious bars to the COVID-19 pandemic while the raw “Porches” featuring Blu & Quelle Chris sees the trio talking about going from jumping off porches to passing torches in Porsches. The sedative penultimate track “Bukayo Saka” details the wild life he lives & “Yo Momma” featuring Fatboi Sharif ties up the LP over strings projecting their fears into their projects.

ओपन माइक ईगल और सर माइकल रॉक्स बॉलीवुड फ्लिप पर “येलो चक्र” पर हीम्स के साथ जुड़ते हैं, जिसमें किक और स्नेयर उनके संक्रामक बार की तुलना सीओवीआईडी -19 महामारी से करते हैं, जबकि ब्लू और क्वेले क्रिस की विशेषता वाले कच्चे “पोर्चेस” में तीनों आगे बढ़ने के बारे में बात करते हुए दिखाई देते हैं। पोर्श में मशालों को पार करने के लिए बरामदे से कूदना। शामक अंतिम ट्रैक “बुकायो साका” में उनके द्वारा जीते गए वन्य जीवन का विवरण दिया गया है और “यो मम्मा” में फतबोई शरीफ ने एलपी को उनके प्रोजेक्टों में उनके डर को पेश करने के लिए बांध दिया है।

Nehru Jackets always stood as my favorite Hima tape & the best solo effort in his discography up to this point, but Lafandar is a comeback with some notable improvements over the previous full-length he last gave us almost a decade ago. Lapgan’s production worthily introduces to a wider audience by giving them a look at how much he’s evolved behind the boards over the course of the last 5 years incorporating various cinematic South Asian samples top to bottom that entertainingly compliment Heems’ trademark laugh-out-loud wit & a consistent tight guest list.

नेहरू जैकेट हमेशा मेरी पसंदीदा हेमा टेप और इस बिंदु तक उनकी डिस्कोग्राफी में सर्वश्रेष्ठ एकल प्रयास के रूप में खड़ा रहा है, लेकिन लफ़ंदर पिछले पूर्ण-लंबाई में कुछ उल्लेखनीय सुधारों के साथ एक वापसी है जो उन्होंने हमें लगभग एक दशक पहले दी थी। लैपगन का प्रोडक्शन बड़े पैमाने पर दर्शकों को यह दिखाकर परिचय देता है कि पिछले 5 वर्षों के दौरान वह बोर्ड के पीछे कितना विकसित हुआ है, जिसमें ऊपर से नीचे तक विभिन्न सिनेमाई दक्षिण एशियाई नमूने शामिल हैं जो मनोरंजक रूप से हीम्स के ट्रेडमार्क हंसी-मजाक की प्रशंसा करते हैं। और एक सतत तंग अतिथि सूची।

Score: 4/5

स्कोर: 4/5

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Jon Connor – “III: The Calling, Vinnie Chase & S.O.S.” review

Jon Connor is a 38 year old MC/producer from Flint, Michigan who’s released a dozen mixtapes & his previous 4 LPs over the course of nearly 2 decades. This includes the first 2 installments of The Calling, Vinnie Chase & S.O.S. respectively which III here serves as a continuation of along with the Best in the World series paying homage to some of Jon’s influences, Salvation, While You Were Sleeping & Unconscious State. He was even signed to Aftermath Entertainment for 6 years before departing after Vehicle City wound up being shelved. However, he’s been growing his All Varsity Music imprint since & is back for his 5th album.

“The Gospel According to Ron” begins by cavernously taking y’all to church in order to balance what the serpents say to you whereas the luxurious “Dreams” encourages one not to cry their dreams away. “Connor for the Win” is this fiery tribute to the late DJ Kay Slay accompanied by this glamorous instrumental just before “Homecoming” gives off symphonic trap vibe talking about wanting to run away & never losing faith.

Stretch Money joins The People’s Rapper on “On God (The Sauce)” takes a more rugged approach confidentially giving the secret to the sauce & staying optimistic until their goals become realistic leading into the emotional trap ballad “Forever” advising to never give up all your secrets due to then taking it as a sign of weakness. “The Addiction” featuring Flawless goes for a somber trap approach acknowledging that addiction itself is a Hell of a drug, but then the cloudy “Paper Soldiers” featuring Caas Swift & Khujo talking about being soldiers when it comes to the money.

“Subtle/Rose (The Gospel According to Chyna)” starts the LP’s next chapter with a 2-parter asking this woman who she’s loyal to & even wanting to spoil her while “Double Standard” has to be a highlight for me from the key-driven Focus… beat to Keke Palmer on the hook & the subject matter admitting that she be all in the crib where he be laying. “I’m Sorry/You Deserve It” is a more vulnerable 2-parter balancing karma has feels every heartbreak that he was ever a part of while the melodic “Bulletproof/Tryna Get There” talks about not being designed for perfection.

My favorite track here “Worst Day Ever” has this crazy sample flip from Middle Finger Music co-founder & in-house producer Foul Mouth describing a day where he woke up feeling like shit & rather be sleeping again when in this particular mood but after the “This Jon Connor Interview” skit, “We Gon See Then (The Gospel According to Nana)” featuring Mr. Nuby shifts back into trap turf talking about not fucking around. “Generation Gap/Heaven Sent Evidence” is the most heartfelt 2-part song throughout the album describing memories that’ll eternally carry on while “The Greatest Show on Earth/Bid You Adieu” eerily calling out those who haven’t been to the circus lately if you don’t think this is spectacular.

“Harvey/2-Face” pushes near the end of III heartbreakingly explaining how villains are made while the song “The Dame Theory/We Won (One)” hops over these strings boasting about putting in work & that you’re either strong or weak. The penultimate track “Celebrate” comes through with this groovily commemorative ode & the appropriately titled “Last Laugh” rounds out the album using the same sample as “B.I.B.L.E. (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth)” by Killah Priest saying that he’s gon’ let it shine.

I know this has been in the works for quite some time & anyone who’s familiar with Jon up to this point should come away from III as a solid conclusion to a few trilogies on his catalog. Each component of the album individually accumulates the magic that The Calling, Vinnie Chase & S.O.S. individually brought to close out every saga out by displaying his musical roots mixed with how much he’s grown artistically in the last 19 years.

Score: 3.5/5

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$crim – “Lonely Boy 2” review

New Orleans, Louisiana rapper, producer & deejay $crim of the $uicideboy$ releasing the deluxe version of his new sophomore LP Lonely Boy. Wetto here was actually the first of the boy$ to branch out on his own by dropping the solo debut A Man Rose to the Dead during the COVID-19 pandemic to mixed to negative reception including from myself. Ruby da Cherry’s been grinding with a couple of skate punk EPs since last summer & Lonely Boy was a solid introduction to $crim’s alter-ego couple weeks ago even though you can tell it was inspired by Destroy Lonely’s debut album If Looks Could Kill. And since the deluxe is said to be a different LP of its own, I was wondering where he was gonna take it from there.

“90 day wonder” starts the deluxe off with a quirky trap instrumental boasting that he just dropped money on his necklace whereas “back4revenge” talks about seeking revenge for having his heart taken out of his chest & torn apart going straight-up dirty south. “operation fishnet” weaves these pianos & hi-hats together so he can ride around town with his shirt off just before for the trap metal-infused “pete rose” co-produced by G*59 Record$ in-house producer Dynox & named after the WWE Hall of Famer boasts about jumping out of the coupe.

Meanwhile, “heartbreak shorty” gives off a hazier flare sonically thanks to Noah Mejia talking about lighting 1 for the gang leading into “i juh wanna ball” is self-explanatory conceptually & the beat here has a bit of a Pi’erre Bourne influence to it. “i cannot promise you that, i give you my word” talks about his bitch being backed up with love over these synthesizers & hi-hats, but then “#ScrimJustWannaHaveFun” brings back the rage beats admitting that the guy wants to have some fun of his own.

“where to go when the levee breaks” confesses to drowning in percocets dabbling into trillwave a bit while “the future only stings once” is this acoustic trap hybrid talking about never understanding his father until he became a father himself. “void” is a pretty cool 2-parter flexing about pulling up in a Hellcat feeling like the man while “lick my nuts” draws from the $B’s Memphis roots instrumentally telling y’all straight forwardly to suck his balls.

Moving on from there, “icarus” talks about the possibility of turning his dog up going for a psychedelic trap sound generally while the ominous boom bap cut “dropping the cross” admits to being in his room chatting with Satan himself. “separation of crows” continues to drop braggadocio giving plugg music a shot while the moody “thought that you should know” admits to thinking about his mistake. “terminally unique” continues to give a psychedelic edge boasting he’s incurable my one of a kind & lastly the vast “find my way” ends the LP by admitting he doesn’t wanna die a certain way.

In contrast to Lonely Boy showing obvious inspiration from Lone & really the whole Opium crew in general due to their popularity at the moment, the deluxe has a way different vibe than the the solo album that we got from Wetto only a couple weeks ago. It’s pretty much a completely different body of work of its own with a good feeling to it this time around & serving more as a thank you.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jerry – “lovemesooner” review

Trenton, New Jersey emcee, singer, producer & music video director Jerry celebrating Valentine’s Day by releasing his 2nd full-length studio LP. You may know him for coming up as 1/2 of the duo MellowHype alongside Left Brain in the mid/late 2000s under the original moniker Hodgy Beats & later simply Hodgy prior to helping I Smell Panties, Casey Veggies & The Jet Age of Tomorrow form the impactful albeit now defunct alternative hip hop collective Odd Future. He was also the first person in the Wolf Gang to put out a solo effort, dropping his debut mixtape The Dena Tape only 9 months after the crew put out their 1st tape as a unit The Odd Future Tape. would go on to expand his solo discography with 2 more mixtapes & 3 EPs prior to his full-length debut Fireplace: TheNotTheOtherSide a day before my 20th birthday which to this day, I still think it’s possibly the most criminally overlooked offering that we’ve gotten since OF’s disbandment due to how much growth was shown on that album. Entitled was a solid comeback EP a couple years ago experimenting with contemporary R&B on top of a predominant west coast trap sound, but Higashi Miyagi reinventing himself once again going by Jerry & is looking to make lovemesooner a broader reintroduction.

“the letter I wanted to write” is a head-on acoustic opener produced by Benja finding Jerry singing about finding time whereas “i’ll say it here” tackles the idea of empty vices & asking if you want to sip cough syrup on top of both Chester Hansen & Leland Whitty of the production trio BADBADNOTGOOD help Benja maintain a stripped-back sound. “an obsessed woman” sings about a woman who’s tired of his games over more acoustics leading into “i became her” confessing that he lost a best friend & isolation blending these melodic background vocals with elements of folk music.

Meanwhile, “to you” has a bit of this acoustic R&B/pop rap tone directing it towards someone who picked their poison destroying what they had together & even their own heart just before the boom bap-inflicted “when you willingly” tell the flight attendant to come with him inside his head cautioning it’s in fact a scary place. “showed your hand” continues to strip things back sonically once more reflecting on a story he had read with no solution in the midst of driving around Hollywood that is until the downtuned “i placed my brain inside it” sings about being all over the place.

“kept my heart for myself” makes it known that he’d rather have her look him in the eyes & kill him slowly or tell him that they simply weren’t meant to be together while the folky “you chose to leave” is an open letter to London asking how they’re doing. “facing the worst fears” instrumentally continues to expand on the folk music influences melodically confessing to having suicidal thoughts while the acoustic “known to man” sings about being the star near the sun you worship.

I love the passionate vocals on “care is given to show” about remaining undefeated & tomorrow being a day repeated although the production remains stripped-back while “us how fucked we are” brings some woodwinds into the fold sings that distance makes the heart getting on some bitter ex-boyfriend shit. “time is measured” tells y’all to save the fuckin’ drama for yourself over a piano-driven boom bap until “to tell us 2” returns to the acoustic ballad callin’ out someone who went behind his back.

The penultimate song “move along” begins the encore of the LP by singing over acoustics yet again that you can take everything from him but his dreams & finally to round out Jerry’s sophomore full-length body of work, the title track hooks this jangly guitar & melodic vocal performances about fighting like a Jedi along with trophies/awards weighing less on his mind with all his might.

I respect that Jerry stepped out of his comfort zone on Entitled by showing off his singing voice more & even making a predominant showcasing of it on this new album over here but as someone who’s been following him since the OF days, it’s just ok. Some of the acoustic cuts can feel a bit samey at times & he still shows his hip hop roots although in a diminished capacity, it’s that some of his sung vocals can sound eerily reminiscent to that of alternative R&B pioneer & fellow Odd Future member Frank Ocean.

Score: 3/5

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