Minneapolis, Minnesota rapper 730atMorning preluding Context with his 2nd mixtape. Someone who would drop 3 extended plays in 2022 including Pots*, untitled & Hi, I’m Alive. He would later follow it up with the Creeper EP, the 7:30* EP, the full-length debut Asphalt, the Guarded EP, the sophomore effortalbeit Virgin Music debut Under the Bridge, the Rotten Fruit EP, his previous full-length Save Your Grievance, the almost inside EP & the Insiders tape. Last we heard from him was the I Can’t STFU EP last Halloween & 1 Man Band’s offering a preview of the new era over a month after Tiffany Stratton ended ジュリア’s record-tying 2nd reign as WWE Women’s United States Champion.
After the compositional “Withered” intro, the opener “Graye” featuring Lerado Khalil begins with them talking about the fuck shaping them to the people they are presently whereas “Clouds n Rain” channels a pluggier vibe instrumentally pleading not to tempt him. “40MGs” produced by LulRose might be my favorite track here talks about trying to get back with a woman who kept putting up a fight while “My Favorite Part” splits itself into halves detailing a woman who doesn’t miss him back.
“Sequence of Events” embraces a cloudier sound altogether talking about being in charge & making the rules since he doesn’t have any corny bullshit in his life but after “God Still Take Me” talks about paying for all his sins as well as him praying for the Higher Power to take him to the afterlife, “Lost the Plot” incorporates some icy synths to talk about finding love in Los Angeles with his homies & being here today because of his hard headedness.
The track “Interesting Character” nears further towards the conclusion of 1 Man Band explaining that he doesn’t need shit from this individual since they told him to die & him reasonably taking that to heart while the final song “Body” preceding the “Repulsive” outro expresses the desire he has of giving this individual what they need even if they gotta go how he wants them to & not keeping up with his own flexes.
1 Man Band warms us up for Context with the most densest entry in 730atMorning’s entire discography & gives me confidence of this next project coming down the pipe maintaining this momentous run he’s been on since last fall. The tape’s trap production takes its secondary influences more from cloud rap, plugg, witch house & wave rather than capitalizing on I Can’t STFU’s rage, free car music, jerk & new jazz undertones & I found the inclusion of guests to be a refreshing move compared to the predecessor’s lack of features.
This is the 12th studio LP from Salem, Massachusetts metalcore band Converge consisting of drummer Ben Koller, bassist Nate Newton, guitarist Kurt Ballou and finally frontman & Deathwish Inc. co-founder Jacob Bannon. Although their 1994 full-length debut Halo in a Haystack was moderately received, nearly everything they’ve done since has cemented them as quite possibly the greatest metallic hardcore band of all-time. Petitioning the Empty Sky, When Forever Comes Crashing, my personal favorite Jane Doe, their Epitaph Records debut You Fail Me, No Heroes, Axe to Fall, All We Love We Leave Behind when I was a sophomore in high school, The Dusk in Us & Love Is Not Enough have all been widely praised for the own individual reasons & are back with Hum of Hurt.
“Slip the Noose” begins with a metalcore intro reminiscent of the Jane Doe era directly tackling generational trauma whereas “Doom in Bloom”combines post-hardcore & sludge metal exploring how Jacob’s middle-aged introspection doesn’t always bring a brighter light. “It Only Gets Worse” spends a couple minutes angrily realizing the world’s indifference towards him & after the intimidating “Detonator” encourages one not to be blown apart by their mistakes, “I Won’t Let You Go” ends the 1st leg with the official Cyberpunk 2077theme.
Kicking off the 2nd half, “It’s Not Up to Us” made for another aggressive moment explaining there’s no end in sight without a will to fight while the doomy “Dream Debris” starts with a simple bass note that builds to a booming crescendo detailing the deception of being led to believe we could be anything we wanted to be. The post-hardcore, metalcore, neocrust & post-metal title track after the “It Used to Matter” composition emotionally examines the price of the lives we pursue & the outro “Nothing’s Over” ends on a sludgier note saying we must rage for the dying light.
Love Is Not Enough made for a great comeback for the greatest metalcore band & following a sense of urgency, Converge have outdone themselves by delivering a raw counterpart retaining the unpredictable potency of their last album. Their signature sound’s still being fused with elements of mathcore & sludge metal similarly to it’s predecessor aside from the hardcore punk undertones being swapped out for post-hardcore for another bleak yet empathetic assessment of the human condition & it’s ongoing deterioration.
Slift is a heavy psych trio from Toulouse, Occitanie, France consisting of guitarist/vocalist Jean Fossat, bassist/vocalist Rémi Fossat & drummer Canek Flores. Emerging in 2017 off the band’s debut extended play Space is the Key as well as their 2018 full-length debut La Planète Inexplorée & the widely praised 2020 sophomore effort Ummon, they returned 4 years later by dropping an equally celebrated Sub Pop Records debut Ilion & are looking to outdo both of those with their 4th studio LP.
The title track opens up with an epic 9 minute intro taking some inspiration from doom metal signing about rising above our pain & finding a fire for our souls whereas “Corrupted Sky” describes a fictional town plagued by a sense of xenophobic unknowing. “The Village” continues the story finding this bigoted city welcoming an outsider like poison over progressive instrumentation just before the lead single “A Storm of Wings” blends stoner metal, progressive rock & heavy psych so our protagonist can depict the town’s downfall.
“Orbius Tertius” kicks off the 2nd half taking heavy inspiration from the late Jorge Louis Borges’ short story of the same name using idealism to ask a multitude of questions while “Waiting Man” feels like a mix of Pink Floyd & Masters of Reality-era Black Sabbath, realizing the world our hero was committed to was a lie. The 2nd & final single “The Day of Execution” again bases itself in the styles of stoner metal, progressive rock & heavy psych singing about time passing all of us prior to “Secret Mirror” sending off Fantasia with an astounding space rock outro.
Ditching the sci-fi narrative of their Sub Pop debut a couple years earlier, Slift’s follow-up ironically bares it’s name after a description of the band’s previous output for their leanest statement yet improving above Ilion & dethroning Ummon for their magnum opus. The production captures their versatility eclectically varying between space rock, stoner rock, stoner metal, heavy psych, post-metal, progressive rock, progressive metal, post-rock, doom metal & post-hardcore for a tale of overcoming international upheaval.
This is the full-length studio debut from Suriname-born albeit Amsterdam-raised singer/songwriter Imani Imani. Being introduced through her feature on the unreleased Kendrick Lamar track “I Feel Something” that was previewed at the beginning of 2024 in promotion of Chanel’s Spring-Summer Haute Couture Show a few months afterwards, she’s returning after almost 2 & a half years signing to pgLang & Interscope Records to surprise-drop Papercut in celebration of her new major label deal.
“Bet on Me” kicks things off with this passionate R&B intro singing about knowing what’s on her lover’s mind & feeling what he says without even knowing his name whereas “Come Together” peppily suggests that she & her lover need to make some improvements within their relationship. “Snatch” sings about a man who gets her high since she gives her dreams & lifestyle over pianos leading into “On Demand” leans towards a synth-funk direction assuring her partner she’ll be here waiting for him.
Moving on from there, “You’re Mine” delicately finishes the 1st leg of Imani’s debut singing about her preference of having men obsessed with her while the stripped-back “Mindgames” admits that she can’t lay her head down for too long when her romantic interest isn’t with her. “Slideee” gives off more of a dance-pop vibe yearning to put her waist on her soulmate’s body while “Chasing” incorporates more acoustics singing about trying to find peace regardless of rain never ceasing.
“1 of 1” nears closer towards the end of Imani’s debut embracing a more alternative R&B direction wanting to feel her muse’s love & pillow talk until the sunrise while the final song “Let Go (Wishes)” preceding the compositional “My Mistakes” outro croons about needing some time away from her own mind & asking if this individual would stay with her for a bit or run over an instrumental that had a bit of a minimalistic quality to it.
Considering that Baby Keem & Tanna Leone are both primarily rappers, I fully support the idea of Kendrick giving Imani Imani the right to call herself First Lady of pgLang & depart from the hip hop sound all 3 of the label’s other artists are primarily known for. The comparisons I’ve already seen made by Drake fans on social media to OVO Sound’s First Lady Naomi Sharon is stupid considering OVO’s been signing R&B acts in addition to Naomi being more rooted in the smooth soul side of things rather than Imani’s own style varying between contemporary & alternative R&B to dance-pop.
Here is the 3rd & potentially final studio LP from Athens, Georgia recording artist Babystaydown. Somebody who already has 16 EPs under his belt including PL Top Recruits, 1,350, Drugz Sex & Money and it’s sequel, 17, Genesis, his Cegular Records/Sony Music debut Hate da Way Um Livin, Saint, Pain Before Pleasure, Chief 13, Aimai, I.L.M.F. (I Love My Friends), ##Kool ##Kat & the Lost Files duology. Coming off his full-length debut album Born Anew as well as his sophomore effort Art of War & his most recent EP I.B.S.D.W.M.P. (I Been Still Dealing With My Pain) to drop the introspective Lil Yae.
“Mob Boss” opens up with this stunning plugg intro produced by Whyceg depicting imagery of the gangsta life whereas “Dirty Diana” works in this lovely woodwind from Traiqo talking about refusing to take his time because he’s gotta get it. “Free4nixkk” hops over another Whyceg instrumental admitting that he’s been doing everything he can lately leading into “Hate” talking about getting outside of the ghetto on top of a predominantly bare piano.
Whyceg sticks around behind the boards for “Magnolia” so Babystaydown can discuss being ready for his demise since he lives like a soldier while the atmospheric “That’s Just Life” talks about responding to those asking of his wellbeing that he’s been merely alright. “Van Cleef” concludes the 1st half expressing his confusion of being compared to other artists over more delightful Whyceg beats prior to “Energy” spaciously beginning the 2nd leg understanding his bitch not standing him because he’s fucked inside the head.
“Monogamy” finds Cade helping Whyceg carry over the cloudy elements detailing a relationship where an ex-girlfriend of staydown’s claimed to love no one else but him while “Baby Haitian” exuberantly talks about him schemin’ throughout the course of an entire night. “Strange” leans back towards the cloudier side of things stating they hate him now he’s rich while “2 Feet” talks about looking around & seeing a bunch of rich people in the same room he’s in.
The song “Bygones” winds down Lil Yae’s final moments with combining this dreamy backdrop & skittering hi-hats looking to bust shots at anyone who tries to jump him while “Fake Love” hits us with 1 last Whyceg instrumental talking about the Draco turning his opps into angel dust. The closing track “White Keys” officially sends off the album him spending $10K on made him realize how serious his career’s been starting to become.
Almost a couple weeks earlier, Babystaydown took to social media to say that 2026 will be his final year making music because of people spewing fuck shit out their mouths & I hope that isn’t the case considering Lil Yae would be placed on the same pedestal Art of War was 7 months earlier. He rocks the mic by himself similarly to I.B.S.D.W.M.P. (I Been Still Dealing With My Pain) & the production’s less rage-inducing than the last full-length although the 46% of it Whyceg handles provides the half hour’s most enjoyable collection of pop rap, plugg, cloud rap & trap.
Flint, Michigan emcee/producer Jon Connor switching things up for this month’s entry in The Artist Yahn Freeman series. Someone who’s steadily been holding it down for the last 2 decades including The Calling, Vinnie Chase & S.O.S. trilogies 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, coming off Food for the Soul & 24 produced by KLC of the No Limit Records in-house production team Beats by the Pound to have iRockSays produce this guest-heavy installment.
“High Key” begins with a trap intro talking about hoes needing a streamer to tell them exactly what their mother & grandfather have been saying since their youth whereas “I Get’s Down” discusses being born in a system where they’re trying to fuck everyone over. Courtney Bell appears so he & Jon can take things back to “The Essence” over a soulful beat leading into Freeway joining to talk about both of them only having their balls & “My Word”.
Kicking off the 2nd half, “Stay Up” has a more motivational tone to the lyrics explaining that you’re always gonna lose pretending to be someone you’re not while “Glory” talks about everything being ok as long as he never quits. “Held High” featuring X-Raided unites both artist over another boom bap instrumental refusing to lose focus & fearing nobody while “At the Top” ends V encouraging everyone listening to enjoy the journey.
This whole saga has been divisively received by fans in general although I personally would tell you that last month’s chapter still has the strongest engineering compared to the rest, but I didn’t get the same enjoyment out of The Artist Yahn Freeman V compared to it’s predecessors produced by Smitti Boi. I commend him for bringing a new producer & more features on board, even if the amount of features are too many.
Brand new LP & the 4th overall from Maywood, California recording artist Peysoh. Introducing himself 4 years ago already with the debut single “6 Block”, he would later sign to EMPIRE Distribution for his full-length debut Ghetto Journal at the beginning of 2022 in addition to a sophomore effort Get Rich or Life Sliding the next summer.Peysoh Did It following an appearance on Kendrick Lamar’s 6th album GNX was great although FinallyFed proved to be disappointingly mediocre, returning for a description of his experiences as a BastardChild only 24 hours away from Rey Fénix ending the Laredo Kid’s 2nd reign as AAA Mundial Crucero Campeon to become a 2-time champion himself as well as El Hijo Del Vikingo ending El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.’s reign as AAA Latinamericano Campeon & former 3-time WWE tag team champions The War Raiders becoming the new AAA Mundial Parejas Campeons at Noches de Los Grandes.
“EvilEastSide” opens with this 97 second intro spittin’ gangsta raps over a g-funk instrumental whereas the title track talks about his self-awareness of living wrong in a previous life. “Star” featuring Lefty Gunplay finds the 2 linking up to discuss having to be in court the next morning, but then “GangTats” featuring Blueface made for one of the weaker collaborations on here despite it’s bouncy beat although Peysoh had the better performances.
The Game makes up for it by appearing on “Don’t Play At All” talking about how neither of them fuck around & embracing a more nervous vibe instrumentally leading into “GunSmoke” tapping back into the gangsta rap side of things lyrically & bringing back the g-funk elements. “Retail” kicks off the 2nd half of the full-length speaks of mixing the peach smell with smoking dead opps while “Conejos” talks about the gangsta lifestyle once more.
“I Ain’t Trippen” featuring Young Aktive decently brings both artists together not sweatin’ over the envious trying to kill them while “I’m Worse” incorporates elements of nervous music to once more talking about being quick to bust shots unlike these other rappers. “- 1 Opp” featuring MemoTheMafioso joins forces to each drop verses over a nervous piano beat & the main artist coming out on top but after “HatedBeinBroke” reflects on his hardships, the outro “Hairs Gettin’ White” featuring Mozzy ends on a pleasantly atmospheric note.
A huge reason that I felt like FinallyFed was a letdown mainly boiled down to the excessive guest appearances & I give Peysoh his props for diminishing the amount of them during the BastardChild sessions even if only half stood out. Not to say I don’t believe this was an improvement over it’s predecessor last summer because it very much is whether it’s the nervous/g-funk production or the Maywood allowing more room for himself to grow.
This is the 3rd studio LP from Detroit, Michigan emcee Courtney Bell. Dropping his full-length debut 10 Commandments in 2018 followed by the debut mixtape Poverty Stricken a couple years later, he would later be taken under the mentorship of Royce da 5’9” & his 2024 sophomore effort Microdose under MNRK Music Group provided a new perspective after he overcame his own mental health struggles. Celebrating its anniversary a couple weeks earlier, he’s realizing It Gets Greater Later prior to the month of May ending.
“Wounded Healer (Book of Eli)” begins with this soulfully drumless intro clocking in at 2 & a half minutes talking about turning his verses into gospel whereas “Stumble” reminds the world that every single one of us are flawed. “He Don’t Know” leans more towards a pop rap vibe telling this woman that her man has no idea how to treat her just before talking about “Everyday” being the same shit, scheming only so he can get by.
Meanwhile on “Virgil”, we have Courtney over a jazzier Detroit sound promising that he ain’t ever going back to the hood when he checks out to life the rest of his days while “Guard My Temple” blends some horns & bells talking about being fed up with acting like he ain’t the one they’re copying. “ISO” continues the trap instrumentation cautioning that he’ll leave someone on a stretcher if his trigger finger gets itchy while “Bang” featuring Benny the Butcher rehashes a Microdose highlight for whatever reason.
“Problems” turns up the soulfulness discussing the fact everyone has their own respective issues that they’re dealing with while “Costly” featuring Nick Grant unites over a jazzy boom bap beat talking about how if they ain’t done it, they’ve seen it. “Hope You Understand” produced by Haas Almahdi confesses him finding God after a period in time where he almost didn’t make it & “Thank You” concludes It Gets Greater Later talking about the grieving he’s been doing.
2 years since his MNRK debut, Courtney Bell’s return conceptually bases itself around delayed gratification & suggesting that we should instead put faith above timing. Basically when he says It Gets Greater Later, it really does. The production varies between boom bap, jazz rap, drumless, trap & Detroit trap telling us that God sometimes hides the reward until the soul’s ready to carry it & most of the guest appearances doing the hooks aside from a couple.
Brand new solo LP & the 5th overall from New Orleans rapper, producer & deejay $crim of the $uicideboy$. 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. Lonely Boy was a solid introduction to $crim’s alter-ego even though you can tell it was inspired by Destroy Lonely’s debut album If Looks Could Kill & the sequel Lonely Boy 2 was more of a thank you, coming off Via Crucis for the 3-hour Runaway.
“a nightmare worth pursuing” produced by both $crim & G*59 Record$ in-house producer Dynox begins with Budd Dwyer asking God gives him a peace of mind prior to “claymore” admitting that he’s feeling dead as of late & pouring a bottle up for the shit he bottles up now. “is this really it?” poses the question whether or not there truly is an afterlife when we all die or if it’s lights out while “fort wayne” talks about getting psyched the fuck out.
We have $crim dropping a single verse for “deus vult” preceding an instrumental break & a spoken word outro sampling “Small Café” by the late Leon Ware leading into “broken boy” talking about his struggles with mental health from overdosing on pills to possibly shooting himself as part of suicidal ideation. “range (i don’t show it)” confesses to him waiting all evening got a woman he’s infatuated with just before “bleak midwinter” talks about having no one to call, hence the Lonely Boy nickname.
“if life was fair, ducks would have shotguns” asks if one has ever been killed in a mosh pit & boasting that he’s more eastbound than Danny McBride while “2ndworldvagrant” suggests for everyone to stay the fuck away from him. “country boy” hits us with a freestyle talking about the Devil picking the wrong person to tempt & not being with the drama while “unbelief” confesses to being numb after his grandfather passed as a teenager.
Dynox gets behind the boards once again for “blood knife” asking God to have mercy on a sinner like him while “clairaudience” talks about the nights growing longer & the days becoming shorter, suggesting the reaper’s close if he isn’t here already. “dead eyes ent” likens him & his brother $lim Gucci to the inaugural 4th Rope World Tag Team Champions & current 2-time HoG Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz while “broken vessels” addresses the children who only know goodbyes.
“moments of nothing & bridges to nowhere” asks himself if anyone would ever noticed if something were to happen to him when I’m sure the G*59 fanbase would while “calabasas” issues a response to the people who claim he doesn’t act Christian, claiming he found God in the middle of a smokey meeting. “tears of war” references his squad’s health & wellness coach Jewel Scott while “get behind me, Satan!” talks about the way he be swervin’ the coupe.
Things make a turn for bombastic territory during “north like korea” looking to shake up the entire block by staying where the schemes are at while “american spirits” flips “Right My Wrongs” by Bryson Tiller talking about the voices in his head that won’t go away until his time comes. “jose alvarado” aims to walk more people down than the New York Knicks’ point guard of the same name while “maybe you’re right…” co-produced by ReidMD of Internet Money Records & Vanguard Music Group talks about him going from his mother kicking him out the house to being a millionaire.
“cortisol” for being Runaway’s only single didn’t really make me any more or less excited for it regardless of him describing the stress hormones taking over while “the narrow door” samples “Changes” by Black Sabbath talking about counting his nights after wasting half his life. “weep for me, for i whither away” explains that his road’s already been chosen & being too far gone to return while “nightmare on the northside 4” continues the saga containing 5 different musical sections of it’s own.
My 2nd favorite Ye single “Runaway” gets interpolated on “trackstar” to end the 1st leg of the full-length realizing there’s no escaping nothing no matter where he goes while “another man” confronts a woman demanding to know whether or not she’d still love him if he was a regular guy. “heaven 4 a fiend” shows optimism regarding there possibly being a paradise for drug addicts while “freestyle courtesy of trauma” has a more cutthroat approach in terms of lyrics & delivery.
“hourglasses” gives the world a glimpse inside of his diary instead of chasing for hits & others being completely unaware that he’s terrified in the inside while “i don’t go outside anymore” talks about being alone in his room convinced that he’s unworthy of healing. “silent floods” admits to the fear he has of losing his life & crying when he’s driving by himself while “color me dead” talks about none of these pussies wanting smoke with his team.
The soul sample Wetto chops up “for the love of the game” was pretty impressive boasting that he’s already popped off more than he could count while “bleeding ghosts” tried to figure out how some people perceive him. “widow voice note 48” splits itself in 2 separate halves admitting that he hates the life he has as much as his own family does & becoming a dad himself while “screw tape letters” suggests for his girl to backstab him in the chest if that’s what she intends to do.
“baptized in ash” talks about him never giving any fucks over the course of his career & demanding for all the sick pedophiles in the world to be executed while “wojak” interestingly flips “Bossier City Kidnap Victims” firmly confident of these lame ass dudes eventually phasing out because they don’t phase him even a little. “skrt cobain” comes through with another 2-parter detailing what he would say was amongst the loneliest days of his life while “saint maximilian kolbe” talks about consuming 20 pills.
One of the more melodic moments easily has to be “lest i die because of her” encouraging a woman he’s been interacting with to stop doubting herself & for all the fuckboys to hit the bricks while the “starlight freestyle” cloudily talks about having to play his cards right. “lord, i’m tired” much like “broken boy” contemplates suicide except he’s asking for God to take the pain away while “dirty realism” calling for those who’re truly about it to raise their guns up.
“sans deur” discusses his murderous tendencies & every day growing colder than the winter while the rage-inducing “bust down keanu reeves” tries to figure out what everyone else be talking about exactly. “a mother’s burden” assures a woman whose face is painted with regret that he’ll literally starve to death for her while “is it worse to live as a monster or die a good man?” pleads for this person to make a reservation for their expectations.
There’s a bit of an emo influence to “comfortably numb”, singing over a guitar about getting an individual to no longer hurt him again since he feels the need for a companion while “swan song” raps of him being forever trapped inside of the hero they demand. “credo” flexes that his girl won’t ever need a full-time job unlike some of these other rappers while “millionaires vow of poverty” talks about hustling for the fuck of it & disassociating because of life feeling like a trance.
“narco melody” finally winds down the last moments of Runaway asking why he feels alone & broken preceding the urges of taking his own life getting to him not too long following a beat switch while “memento mori” talks about his entire body itching from the drugs he’s been sippin’ along with losing what little pieces left of me with each day passing. “all death is certain” takes up the last 3 minutes hopping over a bare guitar to discuss life constantly breaking down.
Since 2018 already, I’ve primarily been positive whenever reviewing the $uicideboy$ & G*59 as a label other than an exception or maybe 2. That said: I do think Runaway has more enjoyable moments rooted in trap, emo rap, Christian hip hop, rage & bounce than A Man Rose to the Dead even if I’d have to say it’s the 2nd weakest entry in $crim’s solo catalog. Putting aside the fact that it’s 59 tracks as a nod to G*59, I would’ve enjoyed the album A LOT more if the amount of filler wasn’t a giant elephant in the room
Here we have the 4th studio LP from Atlanta, Georgia rapper Latto. Winning the very first season of The Rap Game & eventually turned down a deal with So So Def Recordings because it wasn’t enough money, she eventually broke through a few summers back after signing to RCA Records & putting out a decent full-length debut Queen of da Souf. The sophomore effort 777 in 2022 sure enough won me over & her previous album Sugar Honey Iced Tea a couple years earlier was alright, welcoming this era of her career as the Big Mama with open arms
“Business & Personal” produced by Coupe & Pooh Beatz begins talking about motherhood slowing nothing down but the horsepower but once “Get Money Girl” recalls people initially thinking she wasn’t serious regarding her music career until declining the So So Def contract, “G.O.M.F. (Get Out My Face)” featuring Glorilla samples “Yahhh by Soulja Boy & Arab for a crunk single individually addressing some rumors that’ve been made about them.
Former PWG World Champion, 2-time WWE world champion & the longest reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther retiring 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena by gets referenced on “Chrome Heart Diaper Bag” once again talking about becoming a mother just before “Okayyy” featuring Doja Cat unites for a passable pop rap single.
“Hostage” featuring the father of her child 21 Savage disses Washington Wizards point guard Trae Young for some reason sampling “For the Love of You” by The Isley Brothers prior to “Death Row” talking about real bitches staying 10 toes down. “Onnat” flips “Kryptonite (I’m On It)” by the Purple Ribbon All-Stars discussing the typa shit she’s on lately while “Gimme Dat” ends the 1st half of Big Mama taking a jab at Cardi B after their Twitter spat back in October.
We have “Fallin’” kicking off the 2nd leg of the album opening up more regarding her relationship with 21 while “Need Luv 2” featuring Sexyy Red finds the 2 talking about gangsta bitches needing love as much as the male Gs do. “Make Me” featuring Mariah the Scientist blends alternative R&B & pop rap for a duet where they’re telling their respective partners to make them shut up while “Naked” continues the lustful themes talking about wanting to see the real 21.
“Anxious” featuring Wizkid takes inspiration from Afrobeats asking their lovers if their hearts ever skip a beat when they’re with both artists while “4L” talks about 21 Savage helping her get out of her comfort zone. After the “Daddy’s Little Girl” interlude details her upbringings, “Mama” featuring Jelly Roll links up for an ode to Latto’s mother while “Somebody” concludes with an interpolation of “Are You That Somebody?” by the late Aaliyah over a sample of “Give It to Me Baby” by the late Rick James.
I truly couldn’t tell you if this will be the last we’ll ever heard from Latto musically especially since she later admitted that her retirement was fueled by post-partum depression, but she still hasn’t topped 777 & would consider Big Mama to be a mild note to end on if she’s really done. The production mostly handled by Coupe & Pooh Beatz was an improvement over Sugar Honey Ice Tea’s, although the subject matter from the main artist & the guests themselves are mostly average outside of some profound moments.
Legends Will Never Die 