Infinite Coles – “Sweetface Killah” review

Infinite Coles is a 33 year old singer/songwriter & rapper from Staten Island, New York notable for being the son of one of hip hop’s greatest storytellers: Ghostface Killah from the almighty Wu-Tang Clan. He’s also the brother of both Sun God from the Theodore Unit & of course Supreme-Intelligence, putting out an alternative R&B extended play in the fall of 2021 called Destiny to moderate reception. He made headlines a few months ago when the title track to his full-length studio debut album right here dropped, which went viral because of Infinite airing out his grievances towards his father for disowning him after coming out to him over a decade ago.

After the previously mentioned breakout single, “DMs” continues by singing over a house instrumental that he’ll give the man of his eye anything he wants whereas “Boots” featuring Julz & Maleigh Zan on the remix takes the hip house/ballroom route stylistically challenging anyone who wants to go up against them. “Shoot” finds himself singing over house production again warning he’ll call his siblings if this gunman pull the trigger on him until “Thankful” goes full gospel expressing his gratitude.

“Dad & I” after the “Why’s It Important?” interlude continues to delve deep into Infinite’s relationship with Ghostface while “Body Song” sings over a bare piano getting in his gospel bag again. “Mama Song” moves on with a heartfelt tribute to Infinite’s mother & after the “Different Kind of Rain” interlude, “BGM” goes for a soulful house vibe singing about this woman with a soul like the sun. The closer “Hummingbird” sends it all off with a moody ode to his lover working it for him.

It’s a shame albeit not really that surprising to hear that Starks doesn’t want anything to do with Infinite Coles because of his sexual orientation, but the latter uses Sweetface Killah to carve a stylistic path that’s a lot different than what his father & his siblings are all known for. Its production tends to be more based around both contemporary & alternative R&B, progressive soul, pop rap, ballroom, hip hop soul, dance-pop, hardcore hip hop, house & gospel introducing the world to an alter ego that was created by the homophobia that surrounded him.

Score: 3.5/5

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Erick Sermon – “Dynamic Duos” review

Islip, New York emcee/producer Erick Sermon taking a backseat vocally for his 9th LP. A member of the duo EPMD & the trio Def Squad, it was’t until the early/mid 90s where he made his solo debut No Pressure & followed with a sophomore effort Double or Nothing under Def Jam Recordings. Following the DreamWorks Records-backed Erick Onasis as well as Music & React under J Records, he contemplated retiring in the summer of 2004 with Chilltown, New York under Universal Music Group. He fortunately made a flawed yet solid comeback over a decade later with E.S.P. (Erick Sermon’s Perception) & his last album Vernia was a great tribute to his late grandmother, but he’s ready to roll out the Dynamic Duos trilogy.

After the intro, the lead single “Look at ‘Em” by Method Man & Redman begins with them talking about their whole crews going off over a ghostly instrumental whereas “Sidewalk Executives” by M.O.P. works in a soul sample to proclaim administrative status of their home turf. “Like That” by WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg takes a funkier route to spit playful romance & after the “Maya Crockett” skit, “God Mode” by Conway the Machine & The Game links up to talk about their verses being scriptures.

“How Do You Know?” by Cypress Hill goes for a boom bap vibe cautioning that nobody want the purple haze smoke from them while “How Long?” by Public Enemy brings back the funk shifting from hardcore lyricism to the politically relevant subject matter they’ve always been known for. EPMD get a song of their own with “Test Me” daring for their opposition to try them & see what happens but after the “Pimp Gators” skit, “The City” by Tha Dogg Pound represents the west coast.

The song “Spectacle” by Heltah Skeltah blends soul & funk talking about making the music world experience something incredible while “No Gimmicks” featuring 38 Spesh with Da Youngfellaz on the remix finds the quartet reminding us all that they remain authentic. Prior to the outro, “Back 2 the Party” by Salt-n-Pepa finishes with the recently inducted Rock & Roll Hall of Famers smoothly getting nostalgic over the days of block parties.

Focusing more on the production side of things, Dynamic Duos marks the 1st time since the insomnia compilation under Interscope Records almost 3 decades ago where Erick Sermon lets a list of guest performers shine on the mic although he does drop a couple verses here & there. And it’s no surprise that the inaugural entry of this series has great potential to be his greatest material honoring some of hip hop’s most iconic groups & duos.

Score: 4.5/5

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Out Of/Into – “Motion II” review

Out Of/Into is a post-bop quintet consisting of pianist Gerald Clayton, alto saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, vibraphonist Joel Ross, drummer Kendrick Scott & bassist Matt Brewer. Forming in the winter of 2023, they would go on to introduce themselves last winter in the form of their full-length studio debut album Motion under the greatest jazz label of all-time Blue Note Records & are celebrating it’s upcoming 1-year anniversary this weekend by getting back together for an official sophomore effort succeeding Gerald’s love letter to turntablism 1s & 2s in April.

“Brothers in Arms” opens the 2nd LP with an 8 minute post-bop single having The Blue Note Quintet jamming out & everybody getting their own solos whereas “Finding Ways” gives off a laidback vibe from the prominent saxophone to the vibraphones popping up midway through or the pianos towards the backend of it. “Juno” starts with some bass licks for the first 90 seconds or so, paving way for Immanuel & Joel to trade the spotlight with one another.

Were treated to the 2nd & final single “Familiar Route” to start the other half of Out Of/Into’s sequel to their introductory full-length, taking inspiration from my favorite Herbie Hancock’s 5th album & my personal favorite during his Blue Note tenure Maiden Voyage. “The Catalyst” continues Motion II’s last act by giving off an otherworldly atmosphere until switching into something more playfully catchy & “Nacho Supreme” feels like a love letter to Blue Note output 5 decades earlier.

Developed during a 40 date tour commemorating the 85th anniversary of Blue Note Records’ formation a year earlier, the successor to Out Of/Into’s inaugural opus expands on the direction it’s predecessor traveled down 52 weeks earlier reaching farther than they did when the quintet was properly introduced last winter shaping the future of the post-bop style & jazz music altogether by continuing to embody the spirit of what the finest in the genre has done for almost a century.

Score: 4/5

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redveil – “Sankofa” review

Largo, Maryland emcee & producer redveil starting the final month of 2025 with a brand new mixtape. Emerging at the tail-end of 2019 off his debut EP Bittersweet Cry, I wouldn’t get introduced to his music until 8 months after when a short-lived Twitter beef between him & the internet’s busiest music nerd himself Anthony Fantano broke out merely days after dropping his following EP Niagara. His debut mixtape learn 2 swim celebrated his 18th birthday elevating himself artistically, coming off playing with fire to put out Sankofa.

“Time (A Dream Deferred)” breaks the door down with soulful background vocals & a passionate verse about his feet telling him to call his roots whereas “Lone Star” takes a more conscious approach lyrically over an organ-based instrumental. “History” gives off a jazzier vibe talking about being historic from the get go while “Brown Sugar” featuring Smino pulls from neo-soul to show off a flirtatious side of themselves.

Meanwhile on “Or So I”, we have redveil leaning heavier towards the jazz rap side of things talking about how he’d rather die right here instead of being surveilled just before “Pray 4 Me” chops up a soul sample cutting off his phone for the last 18 hours he has in the west coast. “Mini Me” returns to a neo-soul direction singing about not wanting to hide his true self anymore leading into the drumless chipmunk soul track “Save” desiring to preserve himself.

“Stay the Night” begins the last leg of Sankofa with a drumless neo-soul track singing for the woman he’s in love with to spend the evening by his side while “Buzzerbeater / Black Christmas” starts off with a majestic trap instrumental prior to shifting towards jazzier territory during the last minute & a half talking about planning to take his own life since he was 13. “Glimpse of You” finishes with a tribute to his schizophrenic brother wanting to visit him for his birthday due to it being forever since they last saw each other.

Honoring his inner child as a beatsmith more so than anything else he’s ever made, Sankofacontextualizes a lot of the same feelings of anxiety & depression that’ve been interconnected between all of the projects redveil’s dropped for almost 7 years. He eventually hit a ceiling creatively by executing the styles of jazz rap, conscious hip hop, neo-soul, boom bap, drumless, trap & chipmunk soul a lot bigger than he has over the course of the decade promising a lot more exciting things in 2026.

Score: 4.5/5

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Lil Baby – “The Leak$” review

Here is the 5th mixtape from Atlanta, Georgia rapper & CBFW Records founder Lil Baby. Rising to stardom in 2018 off his debut album Harder Than Ever, his profile would gradually increase from there by following up with a collab project with Gunna entitled Drip Harder & his previous tape Street Gossip. His sophomore effort My Turn & the previous album It’s Only Me both came out to mixed reception as did W.H.A.M. (Who Hard As Me?), cancelling Dominique in favor of unearthing a collection of Leak$.

“Mrs. Trendsetter” begins with an underwhelming trap intro talking about a woman who everyone else copies while “Guaranteed” produced by Wheezy makes for one of the few tracks I’d revisit, declaring himself as a certified dripper. “Try to Love” being the 2nd single wasn’t exactly the greatest choice whether it be the generic beat or the themes tiring themes of heartbreak leading into “Nasty Girl” talking about looking for a freak bitch.

The 4th single “Real Shit” continues with another mediocre trap single representing Zone 4 of his city just before “Violation” talks about being more than a 1 hit wonder & although that may be factually correct, it doesn’t excuse the low quality output we’ve gotten from him in recent memory. “Let’s Do It” featuring Playboi Carti feels like a leftover from the Whole Lotta Red sessions & “Forever Slime” ends the 1st half talking about being the same albeit in a better form.

“Middle of the Summer” starts the 2nd leg of The Leak$ with the 5th & final single that came out a week ago admitting he hasn’t gotten much sleep because he doesn’t want his dreams to fade away while “What She Like” has to be another favorite from the cloudy Murda Beatz instrumental to the wrestling reference midway through the 1st verse, nodding to the appearances he’s been making for the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE since WrestleMania XL & coinciding the news of their development brands NXT & EVOLVE’s partner promotion Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling announcing a TV deal with amc.

Lil Yachty, Lucki & the best signing throughout the CFBW roster by a mile Veeze all join Baby on the boastfully calm “Get Along” desiring to maintain their focus towards staying slimed while “Superman” contains one of the worst Young Thug features that I’ve ever heard not because he re-recorded a part at the backend of his verse that initially dissed Gunna, but because his vocals are slowed down to the point where it sounds silly.

“St. Tropez” featuring Bino Rideaux & Rylo Rodriguez hooks up a pitched vocal sample & some hi-hats bringing the trio together so they can talk about flying their lovers out to the commune in France while the 3rd single “Otha Boy” was my favorite of the 5 dissing Gunna, Offset, DJ Akademiks & YoungBoy Never Broke Again over a TM88 beat. “All on Me” featuring G Herbo finishes the tape with a lead single themed around the pressures of fame.

Initially teased this summer, Lil Baby finally drops The Leak$ to coincide with his 31st birthday & it doesn’t surprise me whatsoever that I came away from it liking it less than W.H.A.M. (Who Hard As Me?) celebrating it’s 1-year anniversary next month. As somebody who’s been following him since Harder Than Ever, I’ll take it a bit further arguing it could be the worst thing he’s ever put out. Somehow, the production is worse than the last full-length & the CEO of CBFW Records himself sounds bored ahead of his imprint’s upcoming showcase compilation.

Score: 1.5/5

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Jay NiCE & Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 22” review

This is the 7th collaborative EP from Atlanta, Georgia emcee Jay NiCE & the local Dump Gawd himself Tha God Fahim. Both of whom have worked with each other countless times in the past several years, teaming up for the collab album Strictly 4 My D.U.M.P.E.R.Z. during the spring of 2018 & the Bloodspiller extended play 3 years ago. Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 12 produced by Nicholas Craven became their greatest joint offering yet, locking back in for the 17th as well as the 18th & 20th chapters. Coming off the 21st earlier today, they’re giving us another one when we least expected it.

“Powerful Blast” come straight out the gate with a euphorically drumless instrumental from Craven talking about learning from the scholars in addition to getting their defense up & after “Soul” jazzily talks about the very thing they’re floating over sonics with, “Statement of the Day” works in some lavish piano chords & a chipmunk soul sample recalling when they had to survive the darkest of clouds.

To begin the 2nd half of Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 22, “The Price is Right” takes a funkier approach to the beat talking about how y’all gotta be built for the type shit they on while “Your On Ya Own” blends jazz rap & boom bap flexing they have enough rhymes to go against mankind. “Assassin’s Hitlist” produced by Tha God Fahim himself finishes with blissful sampling to talk about not wanting to lose time, hence why they build.

It’s a bit jazzier than Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 21 was, but I didn’t enjoy this as much as the last couple installments of the endless saga & the previous one literally came out an hour earlier although it’s still very much a tight collection of hardcore hip hop tracks with influences of boom bap as well as chipmunk soul & drumless. Goes back to what I said in my review of the previous EP: None of the Jay NiCE & Tha God Fahim collab EPs we’ve gotten are bad, I just prefer some more than others.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jay NiCE & Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 21” review

Starting the final month of 2025 by diving into the first of 2 new collaborative EPs from Atlanta, Georgia emcee Jay NiCE & the local Dump Gawd himself Tha God Fahim. Both of whom have worked with each other countless times in the past several years, teaming up for the collab album Strictly 4 My D.U.M.P.E.R.Z. during the spring of 2018 & the Bloodspiller extended play 3 years ago. Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 12 produced by Nicholas Craven became their greatest joint offering yet, coming off the 17th as well as thr 18th & 20th chapters going back-to-back with not 1 but 2 installments.

“Cultivating” begins with a soul sample referencing the greatest basketball player of all-time Michael Jordan alongside 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair whereas “Deathtouched” likens their verses to The Jackson 5 & The Beatles combined.

We get some more chipmunk soul vibes on “I Kno What to Do” talking about nobody having the ability to dump like him regardless of how talented they are & once the drumlessly soulful “Let ‘Em Know” explains that the Dump Gawd remains destructive even in bunches, “Lucrative Offers” takes the boom bap route incorporating sampling into the fold so they can talk about meeting their competitors in the middle of the battlefield.

“Major League” gets the last few minutes of Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 21 rollin’ with both MCs looking for payback on those from way back who hate seeing their money coming in haystacks & “Operation” sends it all off in the form of a crooning boom bap outro expanding on the topic of the cash flow, clarifying that it’s an everyday operation that requires patience & persistency.

Season 2 of the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap saga has mostly been collaborative efforts with Jay NiCE & I want to let it be known that none of them are wack by any means, but I prefer some more than others if that makes any sense. And the 1st of 2 new entries that we’ve gotten 12 hours apart from one another via YouTube could be my favorite, focusing less around the drumless elements than the predecessor did last month & swapping out the conscious lyricism in favor of slight boom bap influences.

Score: 4/5

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Papoose – “Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop” review

Brooklyn, New York emcee & songwriter Papoose back with his 13th EP. Emerging under the mentorship of the late Streetsweepers Entertainment founder DJ Kayslay, he would go onto release 25 mixtapes building up towards his full-length debut The Nacimera Dream during my sophomore year of high school. Both entries of the Hoodie Season duology would later come in preparation for the sophomore effort You Can’t Stop Destiny couple months succeeding my high school graduation, with Back 2 the Streets & Underrated alongside Food for Thought & Endangered Species all following. He announced Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop earlier this week & it’s up on DSPs, coming off all 12 of the 2021 extended plays.

“Need for Speed” works in a drumless soul sample to get things going talking about not slowing down killin’ his competition & once “Big 3” takes the boom bap route instrumentally making French Toast out of puttin’ bread on these eggheads, “I Said What I Said” finishes up the 1st half maintaining a dusty vibe talking about wack muhfuckas flipping his spaz mode switch making a spooky return to the lab.

To kick off the 2nd leg, “Chill Button” justifiably speaks of residence in hip hop being where all the most notable names are sitting at the throne & making positive back-to-back business moves while “Fentanyl” drumlessly talks about the increasing deaths linked to opioids like the Season 2 premiere of Smiling Friends on April Fool’s Day 2024 had pointed out. The closer “Counting Green” finishes with a lively outro dedicated to stacking his chips.

As much as I highly respect Papoose’s lyrical technicality, I can’t say Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop will go down to be one of the best EPs he’s ever made although the culture is very much evolving as time goes on rather than being in a position where it needs to be saved. Sean 2Miles’ production on here is merely average compared to Brady Watt’s on Endangered Species during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, but hardcore fans of Pap’s penmanship will enjoy it a lot more than others normally would.

Score: 3/5

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FlyG – “MENNBLVCK II” review

This is the 7th EP from Washington, D.C. emcee of Nigerian descent FlyG. Properly introducing himself to the underground last spring off his inaugural extended play Soulful Journey, SPCL_CHRCTRS would fully produce the next one Serenade Symphony at the end of February & rising French producer Drega33 helped him turn more head with MENNBLVCK this spring. He has since dropped an EP dedicated to the 10-time WCW World Tag Team Champions & WWE Hall of Famers Harlem Heat, reuniting with Drega for MENNBLVCK II after going back-to-back with SHRPNDBLDS & A Righteous Tale.

The title track begins with a drumless chipmunk soul instrumental talking about being thankful for his patience this Thanksgiving whereas “GO@T” works in this prominently heavy vocal sample referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson. “LFNTMS” soulfully talks about his father being a huge influence on him & a coward forcing him to an exit early while “TIMECOP” tells his dad that he wishes that he got to spend more time with him.

“CMBKHM” starts the 2nd half with crooning sampling chops talking about the concept of returning home while “B.R.T.$.” talking about his music being his calling & being the type to wind up on your favorite hip hop sites. The soulful “T.P.O.P.” confesses to things getting hectic missing his father & raising daughters of his own now just before “SHWNPRV” ends the EP making the game-winning touchdown with a chipmunk soul outro.

Harlem Heat & SHRPNDBLDS were both enjoyable for their own different reasons but considering that MENNBLVCK became my introduction to FlyG this past summer, I could’ve only expected MENNBLVCK II to join the ranks of it’s predecessor & I can confirm that it very much does. Drega33’s drumless production focuses less around the jazz rap elements of the original & prioritizing the chipmunk soul undertones, getting more personal than previously in terms of penmanship.

Score: 4/5

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Crimeapple – “Hanzai” review

Brand new full-length LP & the 19th overall from Hackensack, New Jersey lyricist Crimeapple. Becoming a fan of his in the fall of 2017 with his 4th EP Sweet Dreams along with the Big Ghost Ltd. produced full-length debut Aguardiente that next spring, his profile in the underground grew exponentially from there. Discography standouts include the DJ Skizz-produced Wet Dirt, the DJ Muggs-produced Medallo, Cartagena, Breakfast in Hradec, Sin Cortar, the Preservation-produced El León, the official Aguardiente sequel Bazuko, the Mello Music Group-backed This, Is Not That produced by Apollo Brown, Rose Gold & more recently the V Don produced Bulletproof Chicken. Almost 3 months since the latter, Hanzai has arrived in time for Black Friday.

“Mastery” kicks the door down by hooking up a drumless beat recalling a time where he was deemed more than worthy following a performance in Tokyo, Japan & with by the blade whereas “Cocainerose” cloudily talks about rising out the coke game to having his neck froze. “14hrflight” takes the boom bap route instrumentally going to get what’s his right off the payload just before “Talmbout” featuring RLX go at the throats of the type of people who have no business discussing smoke.

As for “Forever” produced by Billy Loman, we have Crime ominously talking about traveling around the world doing the most trying to motivate leading into “Zipfile” ruggedly making guap with the ziplock bags of dope that he’s been whipping up where his homie’s girlfriend stays at. “Bajo” strips the drums again lighting a black & mild over some sumptuous piano chords but after “Sayonara” reunites with DJ Skizz talks about leaving a hoe who loves toxicity way too much, “Madamewoo” advises to picture him running the game without using his legs.

“MetroPCS” starts the final leg of Hanzaiexplaining that raising fingers at his crew isn’t the way he does things around here while “1,000,000 Miles” talks about running laps around the entire city. “Brownbutter” including an uncredited feature incorporates a drumless soul sample clarifying that they only bang bitches & bank accounts while the V Don-laced closer “Tippytoes” sends it all off talking about doing his time acting humble, advising one should’ve taken advantage at that point.

Can’t say I came away from Hanzai enjoying it on the same caliber as Rose Gold or Bulletproof Chicken, but the 4th & likely final project from Crimeapple this year excluding the Escama collaborative EP with Primo Profit contains plenty of highs that make it worth your time. Some of the production may not stick out to me as much as his last couple albums & both guest performances were passable, although his lyricism remains gratifying.

Score: 3.5/5

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