This is the sophomore full-length LP from Los Angeles emcee Maxo. Emerging in 2015 off his debut EP After Hours, his profile would continuously grow following his next couple EPs Smile & most notably Lil Big Man to the point where Def Jam Recordings backed his debut Even God Has a Sense of Humor this past spring. Now that his 1-album major label deal is finished, Maxo is looking to introduce everyone to Debbie’s Son.
After the “Juanita” intro, the first song “Playdis!” featuring ZelooperZ is a cloudy opener to the album encouraging y’all to let this shit bump your speakers whereas “2 for $10” has to be one of my favorite on the LP from the groovy Beat Butcha instrumental to the lyrics feeling closer to his grave than anything else. Following that, “Another LAnd” proves to be another highlight as The Alchemist brings in an orchestral vibe to the instrumental asking to speak for a moment leading into “What Are You Looking For?” incorporates some bare drums to get on some spiritual shit.
“#3” shoots for a tropical atmosphere musically calling out someone who felt like they were too good for him just before another standout “Eyes on Me” produced by Uncle Al fuses jazz rap with contemporary R&B sometimes wishing the woman in his life had her eyes on him. The moody title track looks to take every piece of him & rearrange it while the groovy “Boomerang” talks about spitting like all he has is his word. “F.W.M. (Fuck with Me)” ends the LP by lusciously airing out why people fuck with him.
Maxo to me yet to drop an LP on the same caliber as Lil Big Man & considering that a few of the best songs he’s ever made reveal themselves here, it makes me more than hopeful of that in the future. We still get the jazzy abstract west coast hip hop from his major label-backed debut, but more contemporary R&B & lo-fi undertones in comparison.
This is the 2nd EP from New York emcee/producer Roga Raph. Getting his start in the spring of 2015 off his full-length debut Visionary Shift, he would go on to follow this up in the form of his next couple albums Nostalgiks & Current-Space respectively. Raph even put out his very first EP Passing Momentsover a couple years ago & is looking to return by coming from an introspective approach on We’ll See.
“dontwannarun” has an aggressively psychedelic trap instrumental to set off the EP admitting having the desire to not run away from the problems anymore whereas “SeeingThru” works in some pianos this time around looking to trick them real good. “Up & Away” goes for a more chopped & screwed vibe paying homage it’s origins in Houston just before “LevelUp” pulls inspiration from jazz music with the beat talking about his elevation.
The song “Peace” shoots for a sample-based sound pleading for freedom of any disturbance whatsoever that is until the luscious boom bap joint “So It Seems” sheds light on the various illusions that blind us from experiencing life in its truest form. The title track ends the EP focusing on the subject of sacrifice & a wavier flare instrumentally.
If anyone reading this enjoys artists like Fly Anakin alongside Maxo or even CJ Fly from the Pro Era, then you’re gonna want to give Roga a shot because We’ll See has to be the strongest project throughout all 3 LPs & the couplet of EPs that he’s given us in the span of almost a decade at this point. The self-production is the catchiest batch he’s ever cooked up on top of him profoundly hoping that it’ll get listeners thinking about their own lives.
This is a brand new collaborative full-length LP between east coast hip hop artists MIKE & Wiki. One of them represents Livingston, New Jersey forming his own label 10k Global & the latter hailing from Manhattan, New York. Both of whom have individually been making waves in the underground off their own solo efforts such as May God Bless Your Hustle or even Wiki’s previous LP Half God almost 2 years ago already on top of previously working with each other on songs like “Standout” or “Promised” off both of those albums that I had previously mentioned. They dropped a 3-track EP together last Black Friday fully produced by The Alchemist called 1 More, but are bringing Uncle Al back into the picture once again to turn it up a notch on Faith is a Rock.
“Stargate” is a drumless orchestral opener to the album with Wiki talking about how he feels like his life’s improved & MIKE talking about how these motherfuckers soft compared to them whereas “Thug Anthem” takes the jazzier route instrumentally promising to make it jump without any tangent. “Mayor’s a Cop” works in some more jazz-inspired horns with kicks & snares getting on the more conscious side of things lyrically, but then “Bledsoe” strips the drums once more looking to balance what they know with this new trend & that there ain’t no limit to what they can do.
Moving on from there, “Pray for Him” gives off a hypnotic trance to the sample-heavy beat discussing that they ain’t trying to play God asking what they put this pain in for & ecstatically remaining calm leading into the MIKE solo cut “Odd Ways” returning to the boom bap with orchestral flare to it talking about his soul being strong & his mind is crazy. Wiki returns once more on ”Scribble Jam” admitting he doesn’t understand what she saw in him when the floors was all he could see on top of MIKE breathing faster & living slower just before Wiki’s solo joint “Be Realistic” keeps the strings, kicks & snares in tact getting in his hardcore bag lyrically.
The penultimate track “Memory Loss” finds MIKE & Wiki back together for encore of Faith is a Rock looking to live for the large payment with Uncle Al drawing inspiration from jazz music instrumentally once again & the aptly titled “1 More finds both east coast underground MCs looking to provide 1 last thought each before they head out previously having lost sight as opposed to seeing more nowadays in comparison over a soul sample.
Both of these guys are well known in the underground for their abstract lyricism, so to hear them coming together with one of my top 10 producers of all-time sounded like a match made in Heaven on paper. Lo & behold: This might be the best collab album I’ve heard all year. Uncle Al’s jazzy production matched with the elevated use heavy metaphors, symbolism or cryptic meanings used by both lyricists result in some of best work of their careers.
Torae is a 46 year old MC from Coney Island, New York emerging in 2008 off his debut mixtape Daily Conversation & the follow-up Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself. Fast-forward to the next spring/summer, he enlisted Toronto, Ontario, Canada beatsmith Marco Polo for his next 2 tapes Armed & Dangerous and Double Barrel before preluding his full-length debut For the Record on Valentine’s Day 2011 by releasing the debut EP Heart Failure. For the Record would come that fall & a 2nd EP Off the Record consisting of outtakes from that debut LP arrived about 9 or 10 months later. Torae then put out his 5th mixtape Admission of Guilt a week before spring & eventually released his sophomore effort Entitled when 2016 started. He’s been pretty much doing features since then, but is re-emerging with Marco Polo returning behind the boards to unleash the 3rd album in his discography.
“Reloaded” is a grimy boom bap opener looking to aim at your spot whereas “The Return” works in an orchestral sample as well as some kicks & snares talking about being back up in this bitch after 7 & a half long years. “Makin’ Up” takes the soulful route asking if you rockin’ that ill shit just before “Oh No” flips “Remember(Walking In The Sand)” by The Shangri-Las a thousand times better than TikTok did talking about how he can’t be fucked with lyrically.
Meanwhile, “Grey Sheep” is another rugged boom bap talking about being here for the cash money & to last leading into “Life Behind Bars” shoots for a tender approach atmospherically talking about his personal experiences of what it was like for him to be incarcerated. “Mardi Gras” blends more horns, kicks & snare so than describe the way they mob the streets, but then “Rap Shit” is another sample-based boom bap cut talking about taking this seriously.
I think the gospel flip on the penultimate track “Days of Your Lifetime” is pretty dope as are the subject matter revolving around the fact that the days that we live don’t even compare to his on any circumstances whatsoever & “More Danger” is an incredibly raw closer paying homage to one of my all-time favorite KRS-One cuts ”Rappaz R.N. Dainja”.
As someone who got into Torae during my freshman of high school when For the Record came out & enjoyed that album as much as I did Double Barrel, I’m very happy to hear that he & Marco reunited here because this could very well be better than the body of work they did together 14 years ago. The signature boom bap production from the Toronto maestro & hardcore lyricism from the Coney Island wordsmith have always sounded great together, but they elevate it here over a decade later.
Paradime is a 48 year old MC, producer, DJ & hype man from Detroit, Michigan who was discovered by WWE Hall of Famer Kid Rock in 1996 signing to Bobby’s very own Top Dog Records. He eventually made his full-length debut few years later with Paragraphs, but the sophomore effort Vices in the fall of 2001 would go on to become his most celebrated body of work yet. Following 11 Steps Down & Spill at Will however, Dime would mainly take a step back from music & is returning after 16 years by signing to Mello Music Group for his 5th album.
After the “Porch” intro, the title track sets the tone of what’s to come with a piano-heavy instrumental from Pig Pen & DJ Los on the wheels of steel flexing his penmanship whereas the self-produced “It’s Ok” works in a gospel-flip talking about how he used to hit a 5th a day praying for the IRS to go away. “Same Planet” ruggedly discusses being on the same plane as these other cats with the help of Middle Finger Music in-house producer Peace of Mind just before “Annie” is a cloudy boom bap tribute to his daughter laced by Chanes.
“This High” featuring A-Minus works in some lavish keys, kicks & snares courtesy of Apollo Browncalling out those who didn’t think they could take it as high as they could leading into “Heart on Tape” blends some acoustics & hi-hats coming from a more emotional place with his delivery. “Diahubeetus” is a woodwind-trap hybrid produced by Charlie Beans taking about diabetes with a speedy flow of course, but then “Wolf of Greys” featuring Marv Won & Ty Farris finds the trio over a soul sample getting on their hardcore shit.
Meanwhile, “September 22nd” tackles the significance of this day to him on top of a dreamy trap instrumental while “Resurrection of Lemmy” returns to the boom bap thanks to Middle Finger co-founder Foul Mouth being able to see through all the cap that comes towards his way while “Could Be” is a groovy rap rock jam with Marv Won behind the boards reflecting on when he used to tell them he knew life would be this good & that he feels like he truthfully didn’t in the grand scheme of things.
“Folded Hands” hooks up these pianos, keys & snares talking about having questions that need to be answered up until “The Trap” interlude brings back the hi-hats to switch up his flow a bit. “Rock a Bye” featuring Guilty Simpson dives back into boom bap turf getting on murk mode while “Dumb” comes through with a club banger produced by Eminem’s current hype man mR. pOrTeR from prior D12 fame. The penultimate track “Phlegm” featuring production & verse from Copywrite hooks up a sample with kicks & snares continuing to bring it hardcore, but “Make My Way” is a heartfelt closer about having to do exactly that.
After setting his solo career aside to treat music strictly as a profession previously having no plans to ever rap again, what mattered more was cultivating a strong family & a thriving DJ, production & songwriting career. However, he’s back after 16 years like he never left with a lot to say. The production balances some old sounds with some new in a healthy dosage & Dime’s just rapping like getting sucker-punched in the nose by a fist.
Crossworm is a 42 year old recording artist & producer from Grand Rapids, Michigan starting as 1/2 of 2Korpse before branching out on his own for the full-length solo debut Phoenix. This was followed up by a sophomore LP Ready to Burn alongside 2 EPs Mouth Full of Dirt & jaws: Deciduous respectively. Crossworm took a few years off after the latter only to return in the summer of 2014 by dropping 4 more albums: Parasite Avenue, Drowning in Restricting Thought, Finding X & Eat the Weak. Coming off his 3rd EP Gōst this past spring, that was all building up to the 7th LP in the Dirtcore Music founder’s discography & the 10th solo effort overall if you include all 3 EPs that I previously mentioned.
After the “Play” intro, the first song “Finally Alive Again” opens the album by setting the tone for it singing over synthesizers that he took a lesson from the brave whereas “Everything Changed” delves further into synth-pop territory singing that he needs his significant other here with him. “It’s Unheard Of” gives me a bit of an industrial vibe continuing to sing that he doesn’t know how it all came to him just before the quasi-funky “Candy” talks about trying to find something sweeter.
“Your Misery” points out that there’s no one out here in the street other than you & him over another synth-pop beat leading into “Get Out of Here” by Bodies Below Sea Level talking about finding themselves in these long waters they’re treading accompanied by an electro-pop instrumental. “Slovenly” makes it clear people tried to turn him at the stake again & he barely made it out alive with some rock undertones musically, but then “Burn” featuring Oblivia bringing back the funk a little covering The Cure joint of the same name.
The penultimate track “Protogeist” shoots for a spacier approach to the beat admitting that he’s on the fence of someone he used to be & someone that he’s actually never been in the past prior to “Feel” featuring Good Spells rounding out the LP on a cloudier note talking about feeling this woman whenever he breathes & knowing from when he sees it that them being a couple wasn’t meant to be.
This dude has always displayed his versatility over these past couple decades & for ANTI, he makes a stylistic departure from the horrorcore sound that he came up on in favor of drawing inspiration from synthpop music. His singing is reminiscent to that of the late LINKIN PARK frontman Chester Bennington & the production he cooks up is more reminiscent to that of Depeche Mode.
Joey Cool is a 38 year old MC from Kansas City, Missouri starting out as a long-time affiliate of local independent hip hop powerhouse Strange Music dropping a total of 4 mixtapes & a studio album on his own until Tech N9ne decided to officially sign him to the Snake & Bat in 2017. He then dropped an eponymous sophomore album the next spring followed by Old Habits Die Hard as well as Coolie High & I Tried to Be Normal Once. But with the 1-year anniversary of The Chairman of the Boardpassing by a couple months ago, Joey’s beginning the fall by enlisting Mario Casalini to fully produced his 7th album.
After the “It’s Rare” intro, the first song “Oh God” is a gospel trap crossover to start off the album declaring that he is who he is & that he will help teach you what to say on your journey whereas “Kingdom” featuring Tech N9ne is a more rap rock infused cut calling out those trying to bring their paradises down. “Kansas City Classic” shoots for a more playful vibe aesthetically talking about continuing to drop exactly that in you bastards leading into “Flickin’” giving off a bit of a west coast feel sonically reminding that he isn’t going anywhere.
“Sweet” featuring Lex Bratcher starts off with a wavy trap sound prior to a triumphant beat-switch during the 2nd half both being at a level that’s not near, but then “At My Expense” takes a groovier approach refusing to the back & forth tonight. After the “Please Tip Your Ushers” interlude, “Hallelujer” goes full blown gospel rap telling you to ask anyone if he’s been that dude just before “Closer Now” featuring K.A.A.N. & King Iso talks about how they was all supposed to drown there over a moody instrumental.
Meanwhile, “Sink” blends some keys & hi-hats tackling the concept of depression even further while “I Bet” featuring Wennely Quezada comes through with more of a pop rap duet accompanied by an spacious beat explaining that they just can’t go down the river. “Peanut Butter Jealous” featuring X-Raided pointing out how no one wanted flicks with him now that they’re well established with a bouncy trap instrumental while the lead single “Great Time”drops off a club banger for the 1-time.
“Buckets” gives off an eerie tone to the beat feeling like he’s on today while spirit-lifting “We Got Us” talks about how his mom told him there would we be days like this & that all his family as his each other specifically with his father Bill Johnson being featured on here as he’s been in the past. The penultimate track “Buddy Effyn” hops on top of a pitched sample explaining that too many tried to shade or change him & “American Swankster” closes out the album on a jazzier note declaring himself to be just that.
Now the deluxe has 8 bonus tracks & I’ll touch base on them. The first of which “Swank You Very Much” is this empowering trap rock cut talking about knowing that his mother is proud of him while “Big Cool” looks to add another title over more guitars & hi-hats. “Give ‘Em Hell” has this cool gospel flip throughout telling everyone to stop talking to him like it’s 2012 while “Oxygen” featuring Jehry Robinson gives off a peppier trap tone advising to get back.
“Chai Tea” featuring Lex Bratcher goes into a futuristic direction talking about being off the titular mixed-spice tea while the piano-driven “Don’t Cry” featuring Mac Lethal talks about not shedding tears for them. The “Kingdom” remix adds 2 new verses from King Iso & High Deafinician of the unConventionAl KingZ that make it better than the original & “Do-Over” ends the deluxe by having Matt Phoenix help Joey go full-on rock down to the Swankiest of Strangeland flexing his singing voice predominantly.
Self-titled & Old Habits Die Hard are my personal favorite albums in Joey’s catalog, but Enjoy the View has to be my favorite that he’s done in a while in my opinion. Mario Casalini’s production gives off a different vibe of its own & the American Swankster himself happens to be the most emphatic he’s ever previously as far his performances go. Couple underwhelming features too, but it should be noted that most of them stick the landing.
This is a brand new collaborative album between west coast hip hop artists Ouija Macc & Trizz. The latter hailing from Los Angeles as a Brotha Lunch Hung protégé briefly signing to Madesicc Muziccwith the other taking the underground wicked shit scene by storm since signing to Psychopathic Records in 2017 & forming his own subsidiary of the Insane Clown Posse’s label that runs beneath the streets Chapter 17 Records over 2 years ago. Both of whom have crossed paths with each other a couple times in the past even though they’ve already made a name for themselves with stellar albums like Stalewind or Baseline Cavi. But with Ouija coming fresh off the 3-Headed Monster’s sophomore effort Rampage last week, he & Trizz are teaming up to make Coronella quite possibly the best collab project in his whole discography ahead of his upcoming 4th solo LP Darcc Planet.
The intro sets it off with an uncanny trap instrumental talking about they been down before & remain 10 toes down in spite of it all whereas “Pedigree” works in some horns & hi-hats declaring this to be a robbery with their destiny being the death of them. “Dead Presidents” gives off a murkier atmosphere acknowledging all these bitches want & Ouija taking a shot at Donald Trump just before the cloudy trap banger “Round the Way” talking about you waiting in Hell for them referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE Champion, 11-time WWE tag team champion, the inaugural WWE Hardcore Champion, CWA World Tag Team Champion & TNA World Champion Mick Foley.
“Smoke Dope” gives off a nocturnal edge to the beat of course providing an anthem for all the smokers out there leading into the cavernous “International” produced by Devereaux talking about both of them being known on a global scale at this point in their careers. “Vegan Caviar” works in these rattling hi-hats promising to fuck you up, but then “Outcast” is a spacious boom bap ballad dedicated to everyone out there listening who’s been rejected by society.
Golden BSP on “Spokes” is ok despite the eerie trap production along with the subject matter of how this shit’s a game & they’re getting paid about it instead of playing about it while the cloudy “Black Card” calling out those who be frontin’ that they hard when we all know they’re not whatsoever. Brotha Lynch Hung gives one of the best feature performances throughout “The Opera” solemnly declaring that the homies will deal with any problem while “Too Many” has more of a traditional west coast sound to it talking about being surrounded by more than enough of the wrong people.
The song “Terror” featuring HEXXX mixes trap with g-funk sampling “High Powered” by RBX reminding everyone of their gangsta backgrounds & C17’s first signing spitting as hard as Brotha Lynch did a couple joints ago the penultimate track “Spiral” featuring Ricky Hil gives off an airier tone instrumental with smoking weed & drinking tequila being what they’re about. To finish Coronella, former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 cooks up the psychedelic closer “I’m Outside” admitting they’re feeling like losing their minds.
2 & a half years ago by now when Ouija Macc teamed up with Baby E on We Never Forgot, it quickly became my favorite collaborative project that the hatchet’s biggest solo act had ever done even though it was a new sound for him. That being said: Ouija & Trizz have just dethroned that tape in favor of Coronella as his best collab effort & Trizz’ too. The guests are 50/50, but both MCs help bring the best out of one another as far as chemistry goes & the production is more eclectic from trap to boom bap & g-funk.
The EARTHGANG are a duo from Atlanta, Georgia consisting of Olu & WowGr8. Starting out a little over a decade ago dropping 3 mixtapes along with 2 albums & an EP independently, this resulted in J. Cole signing them to his Interscope Records imprint Dreamville Records in 2017. This resulted in a trilogy of EPs leading up to their major label debut Mirrorland, which revealed themselves to be one of the best artists that the label has to offer. They went on to give their Spillage Village collective some shine by dropping their 4th album Spilligion on Dreamville the next year & Ghetto Gods further cemented them as the 2nd best signing on the roster behind J.I.D of course. But in light of severing ties with Interscope & staying on Dreamville solely, Dr. Dot & Johnny Venus are celebrating by releasing their 5th EP.
“The Wake” intro sets things off where things musically have a bit of Frank Ocean influence to it calling to let all their homies free whereas “Die Today” asks if you’d come & kiss my cold or run up in my bank account if something were to happen to them over a pop rap/contemporary R&B crossover produced by Olu that’s actually better than half of what was on Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy’s final album The Love Album: Off the Grid. “Flavors of Karma” is an organ/boom bap hybrid talking about karma coming in different flavors & not telling you what it feels like that is until the cloudy “Imagine” talks about having paradise at their fingertips. “Bobby Boucher” featuring Benji is a groovy southern pop rap closer reuniting with their vices.
These guys are truthfully my 2nd favorite act on Dreamville behind J.I.D other than Cole of course & here we have the first in a trilogy of EPs after no longer being distributed by Interscope makes me anticipate that they’re gonna have more creative freedom down the line now that they’re still with Dreamville Records & don’t have to worry about major label bullshit. The southern hip hop production also draws from cloud rap as well as boom bap & alternative/contemporary R&B with the EARTHGANG themselves feeling as if a weight’s off their chest delivery-wise.
This is the 4th full-length album from Detroit trap trio the ShittyBoyz. Consisting of BabyTron alongside Stanwill & TR Dee, they emerged off their debut mixtape 3-Peat under Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records in the summer of 2019 taking the motor city by storm & following it up with another tape & 2 full-lengths with the last ones being Trifecta as well as the the sequel last summer shortly after BabyTron performed at the Gathering of Dreams with his father Mr. Sadistic of former Psychopathic Records rap metal outfit Motown Rage. Over a year later, the Boyz are now looking to close out the trilogy by completing the TRIF3CTA with a finale.
“Perfect 3” starts it all off with some flutes & hi-hats talking about how they really are an immaculate trio together whereas “Boomshakalaka” works in some horns tossing the mic back & forth with each other boasting that they’re the ones. “Triumphs & Trophies” is a 2-minute bell/trap crossover encouraging to let them get the drop, but then “Tronald & Stanley” if you couldn’t tell by the name finds the Dookie Brothers jumping over pianos for a minute & a half saying you can’t see them like 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena.
Meanwhile, “50 Boyz” gives off a straight forward Detroit trap sound talking about how they be with the fuckery leading into “Fun & Games” gets on their hi-NRG shit betting the’ll put ‘em in the ground if it’s beef for that cheese. “Forever Lit” has a more suspenseful atmosphere declaring that they’ll always be up just before “Fly Life” beautifully kicks the hi-NRG back up going into detail of the fly shit they be doing.
“Mosh Pit” references former 14-time WWE world champion, WWE Hall of Famer, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion & WWE’s current CCO Triple H while “Duck! Duck! Goose!” aggressively cautions not to flex on them because they’ll embarrass you in the process. The synth-laced yet Bay Area inspired “Mood Switch” that Jakesand cooked up points out that they’re still undefeated while “Ball Players” gives off a piano-driven trap vibe chockfull of basketball players wordplay including a bar about Point Grey Pictures founder Seth Rogen, who plays Allen on Invincible.
Moving on from there, “Tip Off” makes me feel like blasting this in the middle of driving downtown making it no secret that they’ve been waiting just to ball while the cloudy “WrestleMania” named after the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s marquee event makes it clear that they ain’t even gonna fight. “Game 7” gets on their back & forth shit for a minute a half over a rowdy beat calling out those in the club who ain’t throwing shit while “Juggernaut” brings back the synthesizers contemplating if this shit for them on the beach as they dancing.
“Sh!tty Pack” featuring BFB da Packman goes into a more sample-based trap direction even though BFB doesn’t do it for me not wasting bullets on their asses while “On Fire” hooks up a shimmery backdrop with hi-hats having more stripes than a referee. “Wembanyama” blends these strings, bass licks letting it be known his cousin in a suit after saying the wrong shit until “Danny & Jake” featuring GrindHard E & YSR Gramz ends the album with the latter 2 getting washed in a 3 minute cypher.
This whole trilogy has been some of the ShittyBoyz’ best material & they went on a pretty fun note to complete the TRIF3CTA. Wasn’t too big on the features personally, but the Detroit trap production never fails to interest me as do the charismatic chemistry that the trio have always had. Here’s to the next chapter of the biggest group that the local trap scene has to offer today.
