Niontay is a 26 year old rapper, songwriter & producer from Brooklyn, New York who introduced himself in 2023 off his first couple EPs Dontay’s Inferno & Demon Muppy. I was also impressed with his features across projects like MIKE’s 5th album Burning Desire or Ritchie with a T’s solo debut Triple Digit (112) & Mike Shabb’s sophomore effort Shabb Van Gogh, putting out a well received debut album of his own Fada<3of$ earlier this spring & returning 8 months later to drop off his debut mixtape.
“Rockoutcentury” produced by Dylvinci starts off with a cloudy Detroit sound talking about cracking the code whereas “100days100nights” made for an boisterous trap single getting geeked after being let out of the kennel. “3am@tony’s” featuring Lerado Khalil teams up over a dark Mobb instrumental from Harrison & Tony Seltzer talking about them doing no pretending leading into “Cressidaway! / Tpgeek” initially going for a plugg vibe & Earl Sweatshirt delivering my favorite guest appearance of the 3 until a cloudy beat switch during Niontay’s verse.
The tape’s final feature goes to Sunny on “Soulja Hate / Mr.havemyway X Mr.beatdaroad”, which is another 2-parter instrumentally taking it’s cues from the plugg subgenre of trap throughout both halves although I prefer the 2nd half over the other just before “Larizzy’s Laire” ends the 1st leg of Soulja Hate Repellant with some 808s & synths dismissing his “opponents” since they nothing like him. “Dadecountydates” pitches Niontay’s vocals enough to make it sound like he inhaled helium prior to getting in the booth refusing to fuck with people who pick sides while “April 7 (Westside Swanging)” goes full chopped & screwed.
“Mark William Lewis Flow” begins the 3rd & final act with a summery trap beat likening his cadence to the experimental artist of the same name while “Dreamin’ (of U ;)” incorporates some heavily drumless sampling talking about a person that’s been constantly appearing in his dreams as of late. “Neymar” experiments with Miami bass referencing the Brazilian soccer team Santos’ star forward & of course the closer “Free Luigi” calls for the freedom of Luigi Mangione ahead of his upcoming trial for murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Soulja Hate Repellant’s finishes Niontay’s breakthrough year refining a lot of the same production styles Fada<3of$ explored whether it be the Detroit sound or trap, plugg, cloud rap & drumless with small hints of chopped & screwed and Miami bass sprinkled in the mix transitioning into one another cohesively. He may also be my personal favorite act that MIKE has signed to his growing independent label 10k Global thus far, penning some of his most emotionally sharpest lyrics of his career & using a handful of a number of different flows in only a half hour.
Here we have the 15th EP from Los Angeles, California emcee/producer A-F-R-O. A protege of R.A. the Rugged Man after winning the Definition of a Rap Flow contest, his Duck Down Music Inc.-backed 5th EP A-F-R-O Polo produced by Marco Polo introduced himself as a promising up-&-comer within the underground. The Drawing Board alongside the Stu Bangas-produced The Bad & the Ugly: The Goods Always Die First and Crimson Fury have all testified to his vengeful return in recent memory, coming off The Bad & the Ugly II to declare he has No More Patience… left in him.
“Who’s Dat?” starts with a vintage boom bap instrumental talking about being that muhfucka & assuring those who ain’t with the flow won’t rock the same as him leading into “Cross da Line” referencing current AEW performer & commentator as well as former 7-time WWE world champion, 11-time WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion Paul Wight.
Meanwhile on “N.B.N.A. (No Bitch N****s Allowed)”, we have A-F-R-O sharpening his pen so he can show off his wordplay abilities leading into “Hillz Have Eyes” featuring Illa Ghee & Rim uniting the trio so they can talk about committing mass murder. “U Ain’t” might be my favorite track here from the Erick Sermon beat to the confrontational lyricism while “Cyanide” featuring Johnny Smoke finds the 2 showing off their mean styles.
The self-produced “Things I Do” starts the final moments of No More Patience… talking about always checking his surroundings because things in life are always changing while “Da Formula” cites the late Sean Price of Heltah Skeltah & the Boot Camp Clik amongst his biggest lyrical inspirations, going from being a student to a professor himself. “Sittin’ on Top ov da World” concludes the EP feeling alone at the top of the underground, announcing his full-length debut will come within the next 12 months.
Said to be the most aggressive work of his whole entire career, A-F-R-O’s 5th & final extended play of 2025 finishes up the west coast lyricist’s year with my 3rd favorite of the quintet placed in the middle between My Mind’s My Biggest Gun & the final chapter of the AFRODEEZEAK trilogy behind it and Fromage & Crimson Fury above. Most of the production doesn’t interest me the same way the latter did or The Bad & The Ugly II aside from a couple notable moments, but No More Patience…will still satisfy many hardcore hip hop fans who’ve stuck around for the past decade.
East Orange, New Jersey rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Chris Patrick making his major label debut with his 3rd full-length studio LP. Introducing himself off his debut EP From the Heart along with it’s sequel & X-Files, it wasn’t until his last couple EPs Lost Files & most notably The Calm caught the interest of Def Jam Recordings last fall. He’s additionally caught my attention via some of his most recent guest appearances asking everyone to Pray 4 Me almost 13 months since getting signed.
“Audra’s Prayer” comes out the gate with a militantly hungry intro & removing the drums during the 2nd to speaking of his friends passing away whereas “Ramen Noodles” angrily talks about muhfuckas not lasting a day in his shoes “Frankenstein” featuring Marco+ links up over a boom bap instrumental from Conductor Williams boasting their prophetic statuses while “The Mayor” featuring Swavay dabbles with trap to promise that they won’t ever walk back on their word.
Reaching the halfway point, “Doremi” gets in his R&B bag on top of a summery beat singing about themes of love leading into “100x” featuring Amindi heading further down that trajectory for a tightly spacey duet. “Patience” brings back the hip hop vibes feeling like God’s testing his forbearance while “Screaming at the Sky” talks about a loved one who passed blending a soul sample & hi-hats. “Huncho’s Prayer” produced by Reuben Vincent finishes the album with a 9 minute closer pouring his heart out, including beat-switch at the backend of it.
Familiarizing myself with him through his features on projects like Reuben Vincent’s 2nd EP General Admission or Reason’s 5th mixtape I Love You Again & most recently WowGr8’s solo debut Howl at the Moon, I’m just as equally happy as Chris Patrick is that he didn’t wind up quitting music 3 months earlier since Pray 4 Me wouldn’t have happened had he done so. He’s honing in on his artistic range pulling from conscious hip hop, boom bap, drumless, R&B & neo-soul for a love letter to surviving all of his sleepless nights.
Brand new studio LP & the 5th overall from London, England, United Kingdom born albeit Atlanta, Georgia raised rapper, songwriter & occasional producer 21 Savage. Appearing on the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class list, he continued to make a household name for himself in the current trap landscape by dropping his 2nd EP Savage Mode with Metro Boomin’ producing it in it’s entirety shortly after. Then came his full-length debut Issa Album & an incredible collab album he did with Offset called Without Warning the following year, but it wouldn’t be until the end of 2018 where 21 dropped his most mature work to date with i am > i was. Fast forward a little over a month later, he was arrested by ICE after it was revealed that he was born in the UK & stayed in the US on an expired visa only to be freed 10 days later. Savage Mode II quickly became amongst the most celebrated trap albums of the current decade & american dream was more soulful than anything 21 has done previously, trying to figure out What Happened to the Streets?.
“Where You From?” produced by Southside, Wheezy & Dez Wright comes out the gate cautioning to not ask him anything regarding Metro Boomin’s beef with Drake whereas “Ha” samples “Hit Another Lick” by Gucci Mane thanks to Zaytoven talking about drawing gins on muhfuckas for his own amusement. “Stepbrothers” featuring Young Nudy finds the 2 cousins linking up behind a Coupe instrumental backing them to break down the gangsta lifestyle prior to “Cup Full” talking about how this vibe has been making him fill up his cup to the brim over a Taurus beat.
Latto reunited with 21 on “Pop It” for a run-of-the-mill ode to poppin’ tags while “Mr. Recoup” featuring Drake picks up where “Mr. Right Now” from Savage Mode II left off & as much as I still love that song now, I can’t say the same for this generic snooze fest. “J.O.W.Y.H. (Jump Out Wit Ya Hoe)” reaches the halfway point talking about his bitch in an underwhelming fashion & after “Dog $hit” featuring Glorilla sums it up nicely fumbling the concept of being a playa, “Code of Honor” featuring G Herbo comes together to talk about giving everything to their hoods.
“Gang Over Everything” jumps over a chipmunk soul/trap fusion from Metro Boomin’, BoogzDaBeast & FNZ for a reminder that he’s married to this street shit while “Halftime” feels less of an interlude & more of a cloudy statement of him getting amped up after lettin’ bullshit slide for too long. “Big Steppers” incorporates some pianos courtesy of d.a. got that dope talking about his girl knowing he’s legitimate & after the potential Leak$ outtake “Atlanta Tears” featuring Lil Baby, the closer “I Wish” ends on a sincere note shouting out his dead homies.
Next summer will be a whole entire decade since I got introduced to 21 Savage via the Savage Mode EP & if I have to honest, What Happened to the Streets? could eventually become a serious contender for the weakest entry in his discography thus far. The guests are a great example of the “government mandated features” joke that’s been all over social media for the past year or so, a lot of the same themes of his previous material are being rehashed & the production choices stick out amongst the most questionable thus far.
Queensbridge, New York icon Nas linking up with DJ Premier for his 18th LP. Known for being the son of jazz cornetist/guitarist Olu Dara, his debut illmatic & the equally classic sophomore effort It Was Written would both go on to be widely acknowledged as some of the greatest albums in hip hop history. I also enjoy stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God’s Son & Life is Good. Then there was the Kanye West-produced NASIR & The Lost Tapes II, which I felt like they were fine additions to his catalogue even though the overall consensuses were polarizing. Both the King’s Disease & Magic trilogies produced by Hit-Boy however would all become his most celebrated material since Life is Good, finishing Mass Appeal Records’ historic Legend Has It series with the mythical Light-Years coming out after almost 2 whole decades in the making.
“My Life’s Real” opens up by talking about telling the truth because there’s no use in lying over a piano-driven boom bap instrumental just before “Git Ready” brings a funkier vibe to the table laying down criminal lines all because of some paper. “N.Y. State of Mind 3” serves as the trilogy chapter to one of my top 10 Nas songs in his whole entire discography using a Billy Joel sample while “Welcome to the Underground” flips a guitar so he can talk about tuning cornballs into cornstarch.
As for “Madman”, we have Nas eerily coming together to drop murderous material from a psycho while “Pause Tapes” recalls making his 1st beat by using dual cassette decks to loop samples. “Writers” blends funk music & boom bap so they can give their flowers to hip hop’s oldest element a.k.a. graffiti writing prior to the “Daughters” sequel “Sons (Young Kings)” sampling a piano for a shoutout to everyone in their lives who have sons of their own wishing them nothing but the most powerful bond.
“It’s Time” samples “Fly Like an Eagle” by Steve Miller continuing the 2nd half of Light-Years talking about the whole concept of time itself while “Nasty Esco Nasir” samples some strings mixed with kicks & snares promising the world that we’re entering the 4th phase of his career. “My Story Your Story” featuring AZ makes for the only guest appearance & 1 that doesn’t disappoint, tossing the mic back-&-forth with each other seamlessly for 4 minutes while “Bouquet (To the Ladies)” dedicated itself to the women in our culture.
The song “Junkie” rounds out 3rd with an orchestral boom bap crossover talking about being his great-great-grandfather’s dream in the living flesh while “Shine Together” suggests that easy money is robbery in the grand scheme of things, becoming increasingly phenomenal for every word he spits. “3rd Childhood” finishes off by revisiting the concept of “2nd Childhood” from stillmatic, which I’ve always related to especially since I get older including a reference to the late Black Sabbath frontman & WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne.
There was a point in time where people thought Light-Years wouldn’t ever see the light of day similarly to Redman’s 9th album Muddy Waters 2 last Christmas Eve & roughly 37 months since “30” on King’s Disease III teased it, I’m grateful it finally came to finish what has been amongst the most important years in Mass Appeal Records’ entire decade-long history. DJ Premier’s jazzy boom bap production rivals Hit-Boy’s throughout the King’s Disease & Magic series earlier this decade and Nas’ pen continues to sharpen with time.
Brand new LP & the 5th overall from Buffalo, New York emcee Conway the Machine. Blowing up a decade ago as part of the 3 OGs of Griselda Records alongside his brother Westside Gunn & their cousin Benny the Butcher, the trio have had hip hop on lock ever since their arrival by their constant work ethic balancing quality & quality as well as vividly detailing their lives in the streets. Con’s full-length debut From King to a God was my Album of the Year for 2020 & the Shady Records-backed sophomore effort God Don’t Make Mistakes is the most personal he’s ever been. Last we heard the Drumworm Music Group founder by himself was S.F.K. (Slant Face Killah), marking his Roc Nation Records debut with You Can’t Kill God with Bullets.
“Lightning Above the Adriatic Sea” produced by the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League after the “Gun Powder” intro includes a bar referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mr. T whereas “B.M.G. (Black Man is God)” goes for a soulful boom bap vibe thanks to Sndtrak so he can discuss African American excellence. “Diamonds” featuring Roc Marciano references former WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 2-time WWE tag team champion Carlito over a Conductor Williams beat while “Hell Let Loose” featuring Tony Yayo admits that being called names doesn’t mean shit to them.
Timbaland’s instrumental on “Crazy Avery” was fortunately better than I had initially expected it to be due of his recent AI shenanigans talking about his mind being deeper than the deepest river just before “The Painter” reunites with Daringer breaking down all the problems others don’t need in their lives. After the “Undying” interlude, “Nu Devils” featuring G Herbo takes the trap route courtesy of both araabMUZIK & Beat Butcha spittin’ that gangsta shit together while “Otis Driftwood” talks about him getting better with time over a JR Swiftz beat.
“Mahogany Walls” continues the 2nd half promising that Drumwork will reign for all of eternity bringing Conductor’s lo-fi boom bap sound back in the fold while “Parisian Nights” takes a moment to celebrate success over an E. Jones instrumental with chopped & screwed vocals at the backend of it. The lead single “17.5” goes for a drumless direction stylistically using the pen to paint imagery of the gangsta lifestyle while “Attached” featuring Lady London talking about the future being nonexistent when you’re living in the past.
Apollo Brown chops up a soul sample throughout “Never Sleep” adding some kicks and snares into the picture, asking God to forgive him for his foul ways while “Hold Back Tears” talks about the feeing of losing someone in your life that was close to your heart. The Alchemist strips the drums 1 last time during “Organized Mess” detailing the life money has brought him for the past 10 years & the closer “Don’t Even Feel Real (Dreams)” sends it all off on the soulful boom bap tip talking about his success being surreal to him.
Conway taking more time with You Can’t Kill God with Bullets than he did Won’t He Do It & S.F.K. (Slant Face Killah) was a very smart idea in my opinion because as much as I love both it’s predecessors, I can certainly tell you that this is the most I’ve enjoyed an album from him since God Don’t Make Mistakes. He takes a relatable approach to songwriting relating to whatever many are doing in life whether be celebrating, dating, lost someone special or struggling with mental health all whilst maturing the feeling of Reject 2 & G.O.A.T. (Grimiest Of All-Time).
Here we have the 5th EP from York, Pennsylvania rapper Mikahl Lawless. Introducing himself in the summer of 2019 off his debut EP Pen to Paper, he would go on to follow it up with Overture for the Ill & Broken Hearted as well as 13 & Kisses to Nowhere until Cody Manson made him a member of his Trife Life collective. Cody eventually introduced Mikahl to Scum, impressing The Gorefather enough to give him his own deal with Lyrikal Snuff Productionz & introduce himself as part of the roster on Gangri-La. Commemorating the 1-year anniversary of The Snuff Gremlin later this weekend, he’s ending LSP’s year by releasing Cult.
“Ash” starts with a trap metal intro talking about what‘s left of him being blackened whereas “Cold Snow” blends this cloudy backdrop & live drumming telling how he’s feeling on the inside. “Ghost” reaches the halfway point by throwing it back to LINKIN PARK’s earlier output while the title track embraces a synth-pop vibe singing to bleed out beside him. “Prey” shifts back in nu metal turf comparing himself amongst the hunted & the same can be said regarding the outro “In Absence”, singing about him wishing he found nothing.
Many of the previews sounded nothing like Gangri-La & The Snuff Gremlin whatsoever, which gave me the impression of Mikahl Lawless venturing out artistically throughout the duration of Cult & he does it well enough to the point where I can confidently say that it could be the boldest musical statement he’s ever made. The production’s more versatile exploring trap metal, nu metal & synthpop in addition to the horrorcore lyrics being primarily sung as opposed to rapped.
London, England, United Kingdom emcee Verb T running it back with Vic Grimes for his 14th studio LP under High Focus Records. Most notable for signing to Low Life Records & briefly YNR Productions prior to becoming a member of The 4 Owls, he’s also been carving a path of his own for nearly 2 decades putting out over a dozen LPs & 8 EPs in that span of time. I didn’t care for Restoration as much as The Tower Where the Phantom Lives & the same can be said regarding both Homer Loan & it’s sequel, hoping To Love a Phantom would continue the momentum of it’s predecessor ahead of Jay Joshua becoming the new RPW British Heavyweight Champion along with the longest reigning RPW British Women’s Champion Alex Windsor ending the current champion Mercedes Moné’s reign & Joe Lando being crowned the new RPW British Cruiserweight Champion respectively this past week.
We get a somber boom bap instrumental all over the intro “Through the Wall” talking about moving more cautiously whereas “Introvert” describes a man who consistently lies with a straight because the facts are hysterical. “Illusion of Self” featuring BVA & Farma G brings the trio together so they can talk about the very thing they’ve seen many people fall victim to just before “Absorbing Imagery” captures pieces of his soul within the screen of this machine he’s lost in.
“Distraction” brings a bit of a funkier vibe to the beat making his opponents fall backwards after zapping their energy leading into “See the Truth” featuring Leaf Dog goes for a boom bap vibe once again hoping that everybody listening has all of their doubts erased & becomes proud of who they genuinely are. “Change” featuring Verbz stays in the basement instrumentally refusing to freeze when the pressure hits while “Motivation, Pt. 2” featuring Karizz finds the pair asking what their motives are.
Nearing the end of the 1st half, “Alien Concept” talks about having to shake things up to create a distance from a group of people whose conscious has been invaded by a foreign idea while the vibraphone-inflicted “No Expression” featuring Scorzayzee & Teach Em discusses their expressionlessly deadly statures. “Adrenaline” featuring Beano hops over some horns to talk about feelin’ like their hearts have been displaced while “Suspense & Tension” featuring Harry Shotta & Jah Digga describes a situation overcome with those 2 emotions.
“To Kill a Phantom” begins the 2nd act with a funkier beat talking about a ghost-hunting woman who stays stalkin’ on the ghost train while “Not There” speaks of his presence being felt even when he isn’t around at all. “Anti-Stress” talks about building himself up from ruins & not letting anyone tell him he can’t do it while “1,000 Features 2” fully colors the sketch of dreams he’s been drawing, only for his sorrow to be interrupted by the thought of his squad’s gratitude.
Vic hooks up some jazzy pianos during “Swerve a Lot” talking about being way too avoidant lately only for a switch-up to occur midway through while the laidback “By Myself” describes what it’s like whenever he’s alone. “Minimal” featuring Truemendous talks about both of them trying to take a more scarce approach to their lifestyles while “Don’t Waste Time Rushing” featuring Jayahadadream tackles the idea of making every minute count.
“Prior to Existence” smoothly advises the crowd of people whose souls have been crushed to say whatever they want as long as one learns to control their own noise after “Bring It All Together returns to the boom bap with some horns talking about combining fractured pieces, “Late to School” featuring Donkobz swaps out the horns in favor strings breaking down a gravitational pull they experienced that forced them to make a move.
The song “Rejuvenate” featuring Fliptrix starts To Love a Phantom’s final moments fusing jazz rap & boom bap talking about healing through the body, mind & soul while “Everything” featuring Isaiah Dreads explains that things around us were always meant to be connected. “Phantom Laugh” finishes up Verb’s best offering in a couple years trying to figure out if the echoing laughs of a ghost are actually a memory haunting him & the only thing he learned was to never conform.
Noticeably more ambitious than The Tower Where the Phantom Lives was a couple years earlier, Verb T bounces back from Restoration & both installments of the Homer Loan series’ averageness with a sequel to his greatest 2020s offering for an adventurous double full-length. Blurring the everyday with the supernatural conceptually, the cast of UK underground guests including the other 3 members of The 4 Owls all add their own distinctive flare to the wider narrative & Vic Grimes’ production marks a huge improvement over Verb’s recent extended plays.
Sugar Cherry a.k.a. Rozey is a rapper, singer/songwriter & producer from Detroit, Michigan now based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who began as an emo trap metal rapper on SoundCloud under his original Lil Rozey moniker & became 1/2 of the duo Plastic Dagger alongside ITSOKTOCRY. He would later drop an electronic ambient EP in 2023 called sugarcherrykisses, going for an indie folk direction for Isn’t It Wonderful? as well as It Was Almost You & the self-titled EP later that same year. Death Trap came out this past spring & Anything Instead of Anything celebrated Halloween with a brief collection of shoegazey goth rock cuts, signing to Quadeca’s very own Virgin Music imprint X8 Music for what has been described as Sugar Cherry’s only studio album on my 29th birthday.
“Every Knife in the House is Mine” begins with a lo-fi indie folk opener singing about missing warm summer days & for people to gather around the picnic whereas “Heaven” gives off a more prominently compositional tone aside from a few occasional lines working in these fuzzy piano chords to wish he was at the pearly gates with the person he has in mind. “It’s Her Moon” goes back to a lo-fi indie folk direction singing about a woman in his life who had passed a week earlier while “Irish” takes the loner folk route wishing that summer would come to an end.
The downer folk influences get amplified on “In a Lonely Place” singing about this person finding a reason to move forward & that he hasn’t just before “I’ve Known for a While” takes the slacker rock route hoping that it isn’t the last time he sees the one he wants to get away with for an unspecified period of time asking if it really matters when he’s already dead. “The Detroit Strangler” blends loner folk & indie rock together for a 91 second single sampling the Paramount Skydance Corporation’s faithful adaption of Revolutionary Road for the outro while the violin-heavy “Flowers (When You Come Home)” sings about blood moving slower his partner’s home.
“Bird Violence” continued with an indie/loner folk crossover wanting his lover to know she’s all he needs & the distancing between them taking a toll on his mental state while “Veins” compares his love interest to heroin, returning to the shoegaze sound that was all over Anything Instead of Anything nearly 6 weeks ago. “I Just Want You to Like Me” would have to be the weakest link if I had to pick 1 mostly due to it’s incredibly receptive approach to songwriting. “Beautiful World” sings about feeling like a ghost for the past 7 days getting fed up with being sick & alone when he awakes in the morning while “If I Come Home” trades off between a chorus & an instrumental breakdown.
As for “Heroin”, we have more elements of wombadelia being incorporated singing about crying for the last time & an individual who he thought was safe until they came his way while “Somehow a Part of Me Still Thinks You’re Coming Home Because In My Dreams I Got to Kiss You Goodbye” addressing someone he wants to see soon even if he can’t. “Surf David Surf” sings about the same old trick he plays on his that he’s been sobering up & doing well when none of those things are accurate while “October Sky” depressingly assures a deceased colleague he’ll join them when it’s time.
“Et Je Vous Montrerais Les Feux” continues the loner folk atmosphere wanting be loved in the midst of him trying to maintain his sobriety while “10,000 Pines” officially wraps up the LP in the form of this an 8 & a half minute ambient outro with a lo-fi edge to it. “A Killer” starts the deluxe run telling a friend named Darren that his life’s been falling apart, buying a gun for the sole purpose of murdering every last one of his friends in cold blood while “Sugar” admits to being unsure regarding whether or not he’ll have the ability of reuniting with a loved one in heaven.
Moving on from there, “Oh God” turns up the shoegaze undertones freaking out on the floor over the realization that he had let down an individual that he wants back in his life while “Scottish” sings about fleeing to the Scotland region of the United Kingdom or the country of Ireland only because he had planned on doing so with a woman who can’t be here with him presently. “Even If the Sky Turns Black” promises his soulmate that he’ll go to rehab again & get clean off drugs for hopefully the last time only for her sake while the slacker rock/outsider folk fusion “Shoobie” recalls seeing his late girlfriend by the Oceanside staring in one another’s eyes.
“The Way You Live” somberly sings about being unable to live without his partner as evident when she walked away while “The Great Big Fire in the Sky” likens his love for this woman to the usage of heroin, becoming self-aware of her hating the person he’s become & injecting her in his veins if he had the opportunity. The indie rock-flavored “Change (It Must Be)” sings about something in his life needing to be switched up while “Smiley” could’ve easily been combined with the previous cut serving as more of an interlude from my perspective.
Influences of loner folk bleed heavier during the single “On October 14, 2021, I Visited Lake Michigan & Saw My Own Reflection Staring Back at Me Drowning in the Water” confessing that he doesn’t know whether he’s in Hell or something closer to it while “I Can’t Feel You When You’re High” addresses a person he doesn’t recognize anymore, hating their own body as much as he hates his own. The final bonus track “Dog Food (Fall Time)” suiting for the season of autumn expressing true hatred for a junkie’s new friends.
With the exception of 3 newly recorded tracks, Land of Pine most likely concludes Sugar Cherry’s music career by making his own version of Minor Threat’s complete discography compilation after 6 years in the making & I say that because most of the full-length’s material has already been previously released as singles or originally appearing on Rozey’s earlier EPs like Isn’t It Wonderful? or self-titled. You might’ve also noticed almost all of his previous output has been scrubbed off the internet and it only makes this collection of singer/songwriter, indie folk, loner folk, tape music, slacker rock, shoegaze, dream pop & bedroom pop songs more poignant slowly pulling the layers back of his artistic growth from the late 2010s to now.
New surprise EP & the 6th overall from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Diorvsyou. Coming up in 2021 off his inaugural extended play Scoreboard, it wasn’t until I saw him open up for southsidesilhouette in Brooklyn the following November where I was personally introduced to his music & I was actually impressed with his set. w.t.f.i.dvy? (who the fuck is diorvsyou?) marked a bigger breakthrough for him artistically & returned up from the Ashes almost a year since Diorvsrxlvnd’s eponymous debut. The last few EPs Untitled EP.9 as well as So Cunt. & Paussus.99 have all been received positively, dropping Pre Gamé in the midst of his ongoing Twitter beef with Destroy Lonely alongside ApolloRed1 & 9 Vicious.
“Options” starts with a plugg instrumental from 406ahmad & an eyebrow-raising bar about wanting to sleep with this hoe’s friend despite being underage whereas “Pullup!” goes for a pluggier vibe thanks to n9ck telling all the hoes to come where he’s staying at. “H8 da Real Meh” heads for cloudier territory explaining that he drinks in the middle of the day because of self-hatred & after “Dope!” bodies a Pi’erre Bourne beat to send off the Pre Gamé talking about all his women doing drugs, “High Schøøl” featuring EAtj starts the deluxe run taking the rage-inducing route looking back at when they didn’t have shit during their adolescence.
EAtj sticks around 1 last time for “2 Shows” talking about the women they’re dating having their own styles while “Manual” has an angrier atmosphere generally responding to people saying he sold his soul after meeting with Interscope Records. “Fukitup!” featuring Reezy X & Tezzus talks about derailing their opps while “Hell of It” boasts of him having tons of hoe’s for fun. “Cannibal” compares the head he’s receiving to the act of cannibalism itself & the final bonus track “1st Off” goes back-to-back with Pi’erre.
I truly couldn’t tell you whether he’s being serious about the minor bar during the intro or if it’s a jab at the fact 9 Vicious put the worst song of his entire career “Clout Demons” on his YSL Records debut Tumblr Music at the end of March but either way, a great deal of this EP teases what’s to come of Diorvsyou’s forthcoming debut album Soirée a year from now putting out a 10 minute 4-pack improving from Paussus.99’s production & performing by himself for most of the time other than a few guests.
Legends Will Never Die 