MonStar Entertainment – “Game Ain’t Safe” review

MonStar Entertainment is an independent hip hop label based out of Flint, Michigan, founded by local emcee Lyte & his business parter Matt Estep almost a decade ago by now. Their presence was first felt in the summer of 2014 when Young Lyte put out his debut mixtape Follow the Lyte, but took a backseat once he signed to Psychopathic Records on New Year’s Day 2017 & preluded his full-length debut Broke But Still Shining at that summer in the form of a debut EP Psychopathic MonStar before leaving the next fall. Eventually, he returned last March by dropping Metamorphosis solidly detailing his artistic & personal growth since taking time off in music. But after signing longtime affiliate Skitzo as well as Hypnotic Sound Studios co-founder Str8jaket & even Psychopathic’s first act that they signed Project Born, all 5 of them are joining forces to deliver a debut EP showcasing the ever-growing MonStar roster.

After the intro, the title track truly opens the whole thing with a nocturnal trap ballad so they can talk about taking over the rap game whereas “Can’t Stop Us” works in some luxurious keys & hi-hats making it known that MonStar is a force to be reckoned with. “Black Sheep” dives into cloudier turf referring to themselves as the underdogs while the song “Another Level” laces a booming trap instrumental addressing their elevation. The penultimate track “Heavy” blends these hi-hats with some whistling flexing about the noise they make & “Soldier’s Code” closes it all out with a vulnerable trap ballad bracing for the fight that’ll soothe the soul.

Even though MonStar’s been around for 9 years, most of us were introduced to them through Lyte’s brief tenure under the Insane Clown Posse’s mentorship & to hear the whole current roster together like this gives me the feeling that it’s only the beginning of the Flint label’s rise in the underground. The production’s more trap based, each artist has their own distinct characteristics to them & they all ping off one another naturally throughout.

Score: 4/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

$uicideboy$ – “Yin Yang Tapes 3: Fall Season”

The $uicideboy$ are a hip hop duo from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of Ruby da Cherry & $crim. For almost a decade now, these guys released a plethora of projects whether it be the Kill Your$elf saga & Eternal Grey or even I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS & the Travis Barker-produced Live Fast, Die Whenever. The boy$’ sophomore effort Long Term Effects of Suffering followed as did their last album Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation over the summer & continuing the Yin Yang Tapes series in the form of their 26th EP.

After the “Fall Season” intro, the song “whatwhat” opens things up with some gritty synthesizer patterns & hi-hats cautioning that you better stay the fuck away from them while the penultimate track “Every Dog Has His Day” gives off a more atmospherically Memphis kind of vibe to it this time around getting on their Scarface shit. “Provolone & Heroin” featuring Freddie Dredd however happens to be a mediocre closer despite its mystic trap production the lyrics representing the north side of New Orleans.

If you’re already familiar with the last 2 installments of the series, then you pretty much know what you’re getting yourself into here as they drop off 3 songs that fans can get themselves into the fall mood in about 4 months when the leaves actually start to turn brown. The feature at the backend is probably the weakest of the tetralogy so far, but they continue to expand on the cloudy rare phonk sounds from before & dropping their signature gangsta-infused lyrics on top of it.

Score: 3.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Estee Nack – “Nacksaw Jim Duggan” review

Estee Nack is a 38 year old MC & producer from Boston, Massachusetts emerging as a member of the Tragic Allies. He also branched out on his own my junior year of high school of his Purpose-produced solo debut 14 Forms: The Book of Estee Nack & has since built a lengthy yet impressive discography for himself. Other highlights include the Sadhugold-produced Surfinongold.wav alongside it’s sequel The Order of the Golden Fleece, the Giallo Point-produced Papitas, his collab efforts with al.divino or more recently the V Don-produced B.R.A.P. (Born Rewards & Penalties). But coming fresh off the 6th installment of the #MiniMansionDust series, he’s finally unveiling his 8th full-length album & Griselda Records debut executive produced by the FLYGOD himself Westside Gunn named after WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE United States Champion, WCW World Television Champion & the inaugural WWE Royal Rumble winner “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan.

“Nackman Coletrain” is a drumlessly jazzy opener to the album produced by Denny LaFlare already getting on his coke rap shit whereas “Mass Money Wires” featuring al.divino works in some pianos, kicks & snares so both of them talking about burning trees instead of bridges which as a weed smoker myself, I can absolutely relate to. “Bonductor We Have a Problem” obviously plays into Conductor Williams’ name as the KC beatsmith ditches the drums once more talking about refusing to fuck around with anyone today that is until “Angeldior” dives back into boom bap territory courtesy of JR Swiftz so Estee can make it clear that he’s been a dreamer encouraging to come get with a crowd pleaser.

On the other hand, “Green Celophane” works in a drumless rock instrumental from Camoflauge Monk talking about being in the jungle with creatures just before “Fetty Guerrero” by al.divino has a more minimal albeit morbid vibe discussing watch what they do when the torch is passed down to them. “Strawberry Milk” has a more cheerful tone sonically calling out those trying to copy the formula who simply don’t get it leading into “We Made History” following the “Knowledge Wisdom” interlude having a more shimmery quality to it courtesy of the big homie CG with the title saying it all subject matter-wise.

“Mini Mansion Bartel” dives into drearier turf saying that his homies go to war for him as if he’s the son of Chapo alongside paying the price since he got stripes like Waldo while “Tal Commando” gives off a more tense vibe this time around talking about turning into WWE Hall of Famer Arnold Schwarzenegger in the jungle. The song “Vanilla Skies” returns to the boom bap cautioning that it’s gonna be a hot summer while the penultimate track “SpaceX” takes it’s name after Tesla CEO, Twitter owner & Neuralink founder Elon Musk’s space technology company. “Old NackDonald Had a Farm” featuring West is a cold boom bap closer dissing those for growing shit that ain’t as half as strong as theirs.

Considering that Ester’s lengthy history of working with Griselda, it was only a matter of time he put out an album of his own through them & it sure enough happens to be amongst the strongest in his discography. The production is rooted into the label’s signature sound & Mr. Rose’s performances throughout are on par if not stronger than B.R.A.P. (Born Rewards & Penalties)’s, which should be more than enough to satisfy longtime fans & has me anticipating his future with the Buffalo powerhouse even more

Score: 4.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

KAYTRAMINÉ – Self-Titled review

KAYTRAMINÉ is a newly formed MC/producer superduo consisting of Portland, Oregon emcee, singer/songwriter & music video director Aminé as well as born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti albeit raised in Montréal, Québec, Canada producer & deejay KAYTRANADA. One of whom I was introduced to in the 2017 XXL Freshman Class & the other notable for being 1/2 of The Celestics with his younger brother Lou Phelps The first time we heard these guys cross paths was when Kaytradamus laced 3 joints off Aminé’s sophomore mixtape Calling Brío, but are reuniting to release a full-length debut of their own.

“Who He Iz” is a groovy opener to the album calling himself misunderstood & living where the coochie live whereas “letstalkaboutit” featuring Spreadie Gibbs discuss their wealth over a glistening instrumental. “4eva” gives off a more hip house vibe to it with some afro house & contemporary R&B undertones refusing to let anything come between his forever leading into “Westside” works in some string sections talking about being hot & cold at the same time not wanting to be compared to these fools out here.

Moving on from there, we have Big Sean coming into the picture for “Master P” blending these hi-hats with a vocal sample as they tell everyone in the game right now to watch it just before “Rebuke” is a pop rap/contemporary R&B ballad with some elements of neo-soul sprinkled in calling himself the type that you remember when you go to sleep. “Sossaup” talks about upgrading his bitch with a wavier beat in the fold, but then “STFU3” continues the trilogy that Good for You started & 1.5 continued with a J Dilla inspired sound.

The song “Ugh Ugh” brings back the synths talking about hustling 5 days of the week except for balling on Fridays & cuddling with his girl on Sundays while the penultimate track “Eye” featuring WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg goes back into hip house turf 1 last time so the trio can discuss having to get focused locked in & never being unbelievable. “K&A (KAYTRANADA & Aminé)” ties up the album by talking about doin’ what we want ’cause we want accompanied by an impeccably smooth ass instrumental.

If this is only the beginning of what’s to come from KAYTRAMINÉ, then it has me anticipating what’s in store from them in the future because this is a highly enjoyable debut album from the duo. KAYTRANADA’s production gives heavy summer vibes, Aminé gives some of the finest performances of his career, the feature list is brief yet tight & I’m really amazed by simply how well everything flows together throughout the 34 minutes.

Score: 4.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Sharc – “Sharc Wave” review

This is the sophomore full-length album from Atlanta, Georgia rapper Sharc. Breaking out as a Pi’erre Bourne protégé signing to the South Carolina recording artist & in-demand producer’s very own Interscope Records imprint SossHouse Records, he would drop a few singles & land some feature placements until dropping his own debut 47 Meters Down literally the week after appearing on “Drunk & Nasty” off the 5th & final installment of his mentor’s Life of Pi’erre series. But coming off producing both Still Trapp’n & Chavo’s World 3 earlier this month, Pi’erre’s keeping the hot streak going by lacing Sharc Wave in it’s entirety ahead of J Billz’ full-length debut Streetz’ Hottest Young’n in a couple weeks.

The instrumental throughout the opener “Walk Down” has these retro-video game like synths & hi-hats so he call out every single motherfucker that’s jackin’ his swag out here whereas “Sicario” switches it up with a more euphoric sound talking about going pistol for pistol. “PMR 30” laces more hi-hats & synths making it known that he ain’t afraid to spray rounds from his strap just before “1 of 1” is a piano trap ballad reminding how much of a threat he is.

“Skeleton Mansion” incorporates some woodwinds & more hi-hats so he can stick while your hood up playing with handguns since he from New York even though his shawty got a fetish for rifles, but then “Super Bowl” goes for a more horn-based sound talking about how SossHouse stays winning without competition. “Members” is a more keyboard/trap crossover saying he in the mood, but then “Miami” has a cloudier vibe talking about going through shit.

Meanwhile, “Hashtag” begins the last leg of Sharc Wave with a woozy beat detailing a bitch that simply wants to act bad while “Harley Quinn” is a cloudy trap banger comparing his lover to that of the Joker’s titular ex & Suicide Squad member. The song “Soss Love” is a triumphant dedication to his squad while the penultimate track “Brixton” has a futuristically bassy approach talking about swimming instead of surfing. “Talm Bout” on the other hand ties up the album with a thunderous closer discussing the lifestyle that he lives.

Sosshouse has been on a tear these past 3 weeks with all these albums that Pi’erre’s been producing for his artists because so far, Sharc Wave is my 2nd favorite of the 3 behind the very one we got last weekend Chavo’s World 3 & has me wondering how J Billz will properly introduce himself on Streetz’ Hottest Young’n in merely a couple weeks. Sharc sounds recharged throughout his performances as he surfs over his mentor’s signature production style.

Score: 3.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Gavyn Gunn – “Malevolent” review

Gavyn Gunn is a 26 year old MC & songwriter from Dallas, Texas who’s been sending shockwaves in the underground wicked shit scene for a while now because of his introspectively content as well as his aggressive delivery & blurring the lines blending a few different genres & styles together. He most recently signed to Dirtcore Music last month, becoming the 7th artist to join its ever-growing roster albeit the 3rd to put out new material following Samson Samson & Madd Maxxx respectively. For his debut EP on the other hand, it’s been said to be the first in a trilogy & was curious to hear what he had to bring to the table for the Grand Rapids imprint.

“Breathe” produced by Crossworm fuses drumless & industrial hip hop comparing the stress he feels to the massive heaviness of an actor whereas “Looking for Trouble” hooks up more synthesizers getting ready to go to work with the razor blade to your throat. “Mind in Madness” switches it bringing a trap vibe to the beat talking about only seeing fear while “The Bug” featuring Bodies Below Sea Level industrially finds the trio honing in all your fears. “Your Scars” featuring Køvin Kestnar uncannily finishes the EP with both of them lighting their way through the dark.

Finally getting to see Dirtcore go from solely handling the discography of it’s own CEO for 2 decades next spring to becoming an actual label increasing their signings has been a long time coming but if you’ve enjoyed Sammy’s most recent sophomore effort Witch Hunt as much as I did or the latest singles Maxxx has been heading ahead of his official debut on the imprint this fall, Malevolent kicks off what’s shaping up to be an exciting trilogy by letting his intense craft shine brightly. Crossworm’s aggressively raw production pulling inspiration from industrial hip hop & trap goes hand-in-hand with Gavyn’s anxiously hungry performances drenched in dark introspection.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Oodaredevil – “Rawr” review

This is the official full-length debut album from Dallas, Texas recording artist Oodaredevil. Getting his footing in off the strength of his 2019 debut EP Dr. Daredevil after early collab after being featured on some of Yeat’s early material, he would continue to make his presence in the trap scene known by building up a discography for himself by putting out a total of 10 more EPs & even a couple mixtapes. He’s just coming fresh off Diary of an Inky Kid 2.5 a couple months ago & of course Diary of an Inky Kid 2 back in February, but all those tapes & EPs have all been leading up to rawr.

The title track is a moody trap opener to the album describing feeling like Mowgli since he be in the jungle whereas “Dangerous” has some grin piano chords & hi-hats courtesy of Kevi with co-production from Henney of the 808 Mafia & Svdominik talking about not playing with them because of how menacing he is. “Zone” makes it clear that he’s in his lane & that no one else can get on it with a bit of a psychedelic trap flare to the instrumental that is until “Maniac” talking about going crazy over a more quirkier beat this time around.

“woahwoah” on the other hand a hazier sound to it discussing riding around in a foreign & blowin’/shootin’ up the spot just before “Bonquisha” refers himself as to a monster than needs to be fed accompanied with Lucid taking a more minimal approach behind the boards. “Both Ways” makes it known that his brand new shit ain’t rinky dinky even though there’s not a whole lot to say about the instrumental just before “Bad Feet” talks about needing a mansion & a couple acres over a quasi-futuristic trap beat cooked up with the help of 20, Safari, Ds2Krayz & Jakik.

Meanwhile, “Loose” has a cloudier tone to it courtesy of Bugz Ronin responding to being asked what’s good by saying that it’s simply up leading into “Good Morning” featuring Keen Cortex continues to delve deeper into a more chilled out vibe as the 2 talk about first thing they say in people in the morning is “Diamonds hittin’, they glistenin’”. “Kimjun” talks about bringing the thunder over a peppily cloudy beat from Steven Shaeffer & Kelewya while the song “ok 🆗” blends some hi-hats & flutes to go into a more repetitive direction lyrically.

The penultimate track “King of the Jungle” continues to expand on the sounds of the previous cuts with more woodwind-infused trap production except Kavi & Spaceman elevate it to the next level talking about trying to be humble these days & the round the album up, “2 Phones” admits that he don’t know how to act & that he’s in lane preceding to ask if anyone else is in theirs with Mingo & Juice delivering a more playful vibe with the instrumental.

For those of you who’ve been following Oodaredevil through the features on those couple early Yeat EPs, this day has been a long time coming & it’s certainly safe to say that he pulls off a full-length debut album worth revisiting. One that new fans can familiarize themselves with as to who he his stylistically & personally too with it’s flavorful trap production & captivating performances.

Score: 3.5/5

Planetary – “Project Pluto” review

Planetary is a 44 year old MC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania emerging within the underground as 1/2 of the duo OuterSpace with Crypt the Warchild as well as a member of the Army of the Pharaohs collective led by Vinnie Paz. He’s even landed quite a bit of solo features on various albums over the past couple decades too, but it hasn’t been until now where he’s putting out a full-length debut of his own fully produced by his son Elemxnt.

“Ruin Ya Life” is a solemn boom bap opener bringing the truth to the light whereas “You Know Who I Am” works in some more kicks & snares so the man can talk about everyone knowing exactly who the fuck he is as he expands. “Where the Legends Are” has a more morbid atmosphere to it setting out to finish what he started that is until Vainglory’s titular track finds the quartet talking about being overly vain over an unsettling piano instrumental.

Meanwhile, “Holy Water” takes a more haunting route aspiring to excel just before “I Get It” switches it up by energetically talking about giving them all that dope shit & wanting all the smoke possible. “The Bicentennial” has a really cool organ melody throughout keeping it 200 calling himself the best in the building in general leading into “Self Destruction” featuring WRD Life goes into sample-based boom bap turf as they both talk about being sent to win.

“It’s Elementary” begins the final leg of the album with some chimes, kicks & snares making it clear that they shining with the darker days in the past along with slapping OGs prior to “Get Slumped” is a rugged ode to getting your shit fuck up with a fitting piano instrumental. “1 2” reunites with Elemxnt on the mic 1 last time to belittle their opposition with an echoing boom bap, but then “Keep On” ties up the album with a tearjerking ballad about time trying you & encouraging everyone to never stop for any given reason.

Considering that no one in OuterSpace has ever dropped a solo effort until now, I was a bit surprised when Project Pluto was announced yet it didn’t bog down any expectations considering how much of an AotP fan I’ve been since high school & it definitely has me looking forward to what he has to offer by himself down the road. Elemxnt’s production game is sounding better & his dad mixing more personal topics with the usual hardcore bars one would expect.

Score: 3.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Russ – “CHOMP 2.5” review

This is the 3rd EP from New Jersey rapper, producer & singer/songwriter Russ. Dropping off a total of 11 mixtapes on SoundCloud from 2011 up to 2014, he wound up signing Columbia Records a couple years later & made his full-length debut in 2017 with There’s Really a Wolf. Quickly becoming one of hip hop’s most polarizing figures in recent memory in the process by being a “fake activist” against drugs & then there’s his infamous 2016 interview with DJ Vlad the culture vulture where he literally said “we need to blame producers for all the wack music today”. His 2018 follow-up ZOO kinda caught my interest due to“The Flute Song”, but the end result of it being taken over by this annoyingly bitter demeanor. Shake the Snowglobe was slightly better & his debut EP CHOMP in 2020 ended up being his best work so far, although it’s because the features & producers carried. Funny enough, the same thing happened on the sequel a year & a half ago. But to prelude the 3rd installment, he’s rockin’ it by himself on CHOMP 2.5.

“Wicked Race”’ is a self-produced opener with no real stand-out lines even though the instrumental that he cooks up here is actually pretty decent whereas “Blow the Whistle” calls this a warmup to CHOMP 3 dropping this summer & even though Statik Selektah’s boom bap production is groovy, bars like “Stand tall like who? Like Tyler” & that he “never had to chase clout or do a bunch of weird shit” when he started to blow by constantly making a narcissistically bitter ass-hat of himself.

The “Buckle Up Freestyle” is more sample-based courtesy of Havoc talking about calling himself out on my bullshit & luckily he picked up, which I’m actually happy to hear him acknowledge that because it takes a real man to own up to his mistakes & don’t have any personal vendetta against the guy whatsoever. “Easy” weaves in some soulful chops from The Alchemist talking about showin’ why no one can fuck with him lyrically even though he literally made a whole fuckin’ tape where the features outshined him although the self-improvement line I felt was sincere.

“Reflection” has a more summery vibe to it thanks to Boi-1da & the melodic delivery that Russ executes here just isn’t doing it for me at all which is a shame considering it’s overall theme of rarely getting a second to put himself first. I don’t mind the reference to 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 either. “Perfectionist” closes out the EP with a soulful boom bap ballad that 9th Wonder cooked up confessing that he had 32 sessions with a therapist about being a recovering purist although the “in my Depeche Mode” line was cringe.

Although the first 2 installments of the CHOMP series were loaded with guest verses, the fact that Russ took the risk of proving that he doesn’t need features for a project to be good is admirable. However, this is as average as the predecessors. The production is remarkable, but the songwriting & performances from Russ himself are both mid at best. That being said though: I can’t deny that he’s trying to improve himself both artistically & personally and continue to hope for that down the road.

Score: 2.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Recognize Ali – “Guerilla Dynasty 2” review

This is the 14th full-length album from Ghanan emcee Recognize Ali. This guy has been a dominant force in the underground from his vast discography of LPs, mixtapes & EPs within the last decade or so to the stellar feature performances that he’s provided for numerous artists. Some standouts in his ever-growing catalog to me personally include the Giallo Point-produced Back 2 Mecca, the Stu Bangas-produced Guerilla Dynasty & the Bronze Nazareth-produced Season of the 7 to only name a few. He’s just coming off Back to Mecca II & is reuniting with Stu Bangas to drop Guerilla Dynasty 2.

After the intro, the first song “In a Rebel’s Mind” is an eerie boom bap opener talking about being on another level with the MCin’ whereas “Guerilla Warfare” works in some pianos, kicks & snares getting in his battle rap bag saying he slays rappers for the fun of it. “Put You to Sleep” jumps on top of a boom bap instrumental with a crooning sample claiming none of y’all are realer or iller than him leading into “Pulverized” featuring Lord Goat bringing you the hardcore over some string sections.

“Full Clip” has a futuristic boom bap quality to the beat letting it be known that your whole crew can catch a whole round just before “Get Folded” talks about hating actors that play as rappers with a dingy ass instrumental. “Real Housewives” by the Dueling Experts brings back the pianos aiming to leaving heads backwards whenever this comes on & after the “Che Guerilla” skit, “Sheep’s Clothing” featuring Eff Yoo &Spit Gemz sonically feels like something ripped out of a monster movie as they deliver a catastrophe in the making.

Ali begins the final leg of the album with the intergalactic-leaning boom bap joint “Eat What You Kill” tackling the titular metaphor while “0 Smoke” eerily makes it clear that he’ll start clapping motherfuckers. The track “Murder Was the Case” featuring Boob Bronx & Sage Infinite is a rock/boom bap crossover informing what the case they gave them was that is until the final song “Bearer of Bad News” prior to the outro giving off a scary atmosphere preparin’ y’all for an ass-kicking.

Back to Mecca II in my opinion was Jamal’s best album since Season of the 7 & my expectations were already high going into this but needless to say, Guerilla Dynasty 2 is his finest album of this year as of me writing this because I’m sure he could drop at least 1 or 2 within the next 6 months. The feature performances are mostly ok, but he & Stu Bangas really elevate their chemistry to the next level here building upon what made the previous Guerilla Dynasty as great as it was.

Score: 4/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!