Drip Drops – Self-Titled review

Drip Drops is a West Coast duo from California consisting of Inland Empire up-&-comer S.Dub & the original P-Town Balla himself D-Loc of prior Kottonmouth Kings fame. Both parties initially landed their own spots on the Kingmaker Music compilation The Harvest, but are now joining forces together for a full-length debut under Loc’s independently owned P.T.B. Records imprint.

“Get Wet” is a fun opener to the album with Drip Drops talking about keeping the party popping whereas “Bic Bros” blends trap with hyphy encouraging all the weed smokers in the building to bounce & burn an ounce of that good kush with them. “Strains” takes a more spacious route in terms of sound to rattle off some of their favorite weed strains hence the title just before the flute-tinged “Shine It Up” talks about shining like the rims on a brand new truck.

Moving on with “Who Want the Smoke?”, we have Loc & S. Dub asking if anyone really wants beef with either one of them over some synth-based production leading into the bouncy “S.a.B. (Smoke a Blunt)” encouraging the listener to light up an L with them. “Hello Modelo” has more of a hyphy flare to it talking about alcohol, but then “Talking My Shit” acknowledges that they’re both doing just that on the regular over a bombastic beat. The track “We Kings” weaves some pianos referring to themselves as royalty & prior to the outro, “Drips from the Bong” ends the album with their own spin on the Cypress Hill jam “Hits from the Bong”.

Now if the glorified D-Loc solo album 25 to Life turned you off to P.T.B. Records, then you’re gonna wanna check out Drip Drops’ self-titled debut here because it’s the best product that we’ve gotten from Shaky Bonez’ indie label thus far. The mix is better & I feel like S.Dub gets a really good look throughout whether it be the verses that he wrote for Loc or the way that one another pings off each other on the mic.

Score: 3.5/5

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King Kashmere – “TR3B” review

Grahame Park, London, England, United Kingdom emcee King Kashmere recruiting Wolverhampton, West Midlands production duo Letherette for his 3rd EP. Notable for being a part of several groups or duos over the last few decades ranging from Kingdom of Fear & Invisible Inc. to Gawd Status as well as Old Children & Strange U, he also has 4 full-length solo albums & a couple of extended plays under his belt through a multitude of labels from Low Life Records to YNR Productions & Boot Records. Signing to High Focus Records recently, he’s ready to make his debut for the label with TR3B a couple months after Ricky Knight Jr. became a 2-time RPW British Heavyweight Champion.

“G-Cell” starts off with a futuristic boom bap instrumental talking about being in his own different lane lyrically & covering his stomach in armor while “Black Knight Satellite” hooks up some synthesizers to get the audience hyped for the mysteries of life. The final song “Snake Pie” takes a bit of a bombastic approach to the beat wondering if humanity’s ghost will find another host before insanity approaches leading into “T-33” finishing off in the form of this compositional outro catered towards Andy Harber & Richard Roberts’ signature house sound.

Meeting each other roughly a decade ago after performing in the same boiler room & connecting through a shared love of the same genre-blurring styles that’ve defined their respective careers, it was only a matter of time until King Kashmere locked in with Letherette to give their fans something worth celebrating & it could possibly be considered Chuck Enzo’s finest EPs years to come from now. Andy & Richard’s production is heavily centered around their experimentations of the 2010s compared to Motherbox and The Iguana Man lyrically finds himself stuck between thought & feeling.

Score: 4/5

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Westside Gunn – “Hitler Wears Hermes X” review

This is the 11th mixtape from Buffalo emcee, songwriter & entrepreneur Westside Gunn. Whether it running one of the hottest hip hop labels in recent memory to his first 2 full-lengths FLYGOD & Supreme Blientele, he truly has proven his legend status & that he’s to be a force to be reckoned with all in only the span of 7 years. just put out his last tape PEACE FLYGOD over the summer & with in tradition to the Halloween season, West is dropping the true conclusion of the decade long Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series after originally dropping the 8th & 9th installments last fall.

Doe Boy tags along for the trap opener “FLYGOD Jr.” produced by West’s son hence the title after the intro to spit some gangsta-laced braggadocio whereas “Super Kick Party” works in a sample-based boom bap instrumental courtesy of Conductor Williams taking it’s name after the finisher of AEW EVPs, former 2-time AEW World Tag Team Champions, the inaugural AEW World Trios Champions, 2-time ROH World Tag Team Champions, 2-time ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Champions, HoG Tag Team Champions, AAA Parejas Campeons, 2-time IWGPタッグチャンピオン, 7-time IWGPジュニアタッグチャンピオン, 3-time NEVER無差別級6人タッグチャンピオン & 4-time PWG World Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks.

A$AP Rocky & Stove God Cook$ both come into the picture for the uncanny yet dusty “Shootouts in Soho” getting on their hustler shit including a bar referring to WWE Hall of Famer Mr. T, but then Black Star tags along for the heavily soulful “Peppas” to blend their conscious styles with Westside’s boasting including a reference to former 2-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones & him using an excerpt of his appearance on the Discovery Global-owned TNT series AEW Rampage last month for the outro is the ultimate flex.

Meanwhile on “Nigo Louis”, we have West over a drumless yet groovy beat with a guitar talking about hitting shit in broad daylight leading into the Rome Streetz-assisted “BDP” spitting that fly gangsta shit hitting harder than UFC Hall of Famer, the inaugural UFC Women’s Batnamweight Champion, former WWE Women’s Champion & the current WWE Women’s World Champion in her 2nd reign Ronda Rousey accompanied by a crooning boom bap instrumental. The Margo Guryan flip from Swizz Beatz throughout “Science Class” with Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon & Stovey is remarkable as the 5 talk about being the plug just before “God is Love” weaves a drumless sample into the fold prior to a beat switch during the last minute & a half as Estee Nack & Stove God talking about how they done made this work.

The song “Switches on Everything” with Run the Jewels has a jazzier sound to it thanks to Mike Shabb admitting the only way to get them to leave the crib while the penultimate track “Mac Don’t Stop” turns the jazz levels up to 11 with the help of Pete Rock including a bar referring to lucha libre popularized by the Lutteroth family-owned Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) & it’s rival promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) owned by the Peña–Roldán family. “Red Death” however ends the tape with an epically grimy 10-minute Griselda cut produced by none other than The Alchemist showcasing the unique styles of everyone who laid & killed their verses.

Now as solid was Hitler VIII & IX both were in their own rights, X to me is a great note to end the iconic Halloween mixtape series on in light of Ye formerly known as Kanye West’s antisemitic comments at the beginning of the month & I wanna thank West for all the memories that it’s given me along the way. It’s more focused than PEACE FLYGOD as expected, the features all compliment him in their own respective fashion & the production throughout is just absolutely stellar.

Score: 4.5/5

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Che Noir – “The Last Remnants” review

This is the 5th EP from Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir. Catching my attention after 38 Spesh signed her to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, it wasn’t until her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She just dropped her sophomore album Food for Thought at the beginning of the year & is rounding out her 2022 in the form of The Last Remnants.

“Handicap” is a 2-minute opener with Che belittling her competition on top of a weepy boom bap instrumental whereas “Therapy Session” takes a more soulful approach to tell the story about herself as a Buffalo queen. Ransom comes into the picture for the atmospheric yet dusty “Bidding War” produced by Trox speaking on the music industry just before Elcamino tags along for the classy “Summertime” talking about how they kept fighting to be where they both are today.

Meanwhile on “Wine & Dine”, we have Jynx716 assisting Che on top of a rich boom bap beat comparing their love for this rap shit to that of their own kinfolk leading into “Wash the Dishes” weaving a funky bass-line & a vocal sample together so she & Benny the Butcher can flex their boss statuses. The song “Lately” with Klass Murda finds the 2 over a more whimsical instrumental talking about being stressed as of late while the penultimate track “Promised Land” with 38 Spesh returns to soulful turf celebrating their success. “Art of Patience” however serves as an ambitious conclusion to the EP needing to know if the goals she sets are achievable.

Che has already proven herself to be one of the most skilled women in the game today & if The Last Remnants is only an appetizer for something bigger coming down the pipe in the near future, then it’s most definitely on par with all 4 of the EPs that she’s given us in the past. The concept of her thanks the man upstairs for the bread on her table & blessing it is incredibly profound as she takes a backseat behind the boards to allow some of the best producers in the underground to shine.

Score: 4/5

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BeTheGun – “Miami Deco” review

Here we have the debut solo EP from London, England, United Kingdom emcee & filmmaker BeTheGun. A former member of the Children of the Damned collective & currently apart of it’s successor the Cult of the Damned, he’s probably the most elusive member of both crews making occasionally rare guest appearances on a handful of projects to come out of Blah Records for over a decade. However, we’re finally getting a better look at who Barebase is altogether using some Miami Deco.

“Excepts of Irony” hops over this funky beat produced by Lee Scott talking about nothing changing around his part of town whereas the title track goes for a lo-fi boom bap vibe instrumentally observing that everything seems to be the same to him. “Force Majeure” keeping the dustiness ensuring he maintains his audience & after “Better Daze” smoothly talks about knowing what some people out there have been looking for, “Metropolis” ends the EP discussing most of the frogs that got kissed became princes of darkness.

Keeping my fingers crossed that Miami Deco won’t be the only time we get to hear the original Children of the Damned member as a solo artist & was quite surprised it took BeTheGun this long for him to create a body of work under his own name, but it makes me hopeful it won’t take another extended period of time until he makes his full-length debut. The hook maestro & storyteller extraordinaire we were introduced to 15 years ago hasn’t lost a step & the production mostly handled by Lee Scott could be some of his greatest.

Score: 4/5

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Jeezy – “Snofall” review

Jeezy is a 45 year old rapper, songwriter & actor from Atlanta, Georgia who came up in the early 2000s off his full-length debut T.U.I. (Thuggin’ Under the Influence) & the sophomore effort Come Shop wit Me. Both of which were mediocre, but his biggest breakthrough wouldn’t come until 2004 where he began a partnership with Def Jam Recordings that’s going on strong to this very day & dropped the classic Thug Motivation 101: Let’s Get It the following summer. Subsequent discography highlights would include Thug Motivation 102: The Inspiration, The Recession, Thug Motivation 103: Hustler’z Ambition, Seen It All: The Autobiography & even The Recession 2 that came out the day after his Verzuz battle against longtime rival Gucci Mane during the COVID-19 pandemic. So when Jeezy announced that he was linking back up with DJ Drama & Don Cannon for his 14th mixtape right here, anticipation was pretty high from me.

The title track sets things off with a drumless yet triumphant instrumental from Cool & Dre as Jeezy talks about being in a billionaire’s mindset whereas “Bruh” takes a more horn-laced trap route talking about how we already know the deal. Lil Durk tags along for the boisterous “Most Hated” produced by the J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League (who did nearly half the album) to call out those who despise them prior to “Street Cred” blends some keys & hi-hats thanks to Don Cannon talking about the credibility that the Snowman has in the streets.

Meanwhile on “Kolors”, we have Jeezy returning to a more victorious sound to brag his riches to everyone that’s listening just before “MJ Jeezy” dives into cloudier territory courtesy of FNZ talking about handling his business & speaking that fluent trap shit. “Plug on ‘Em” has a more vibrant tone to it boasting that he does it best leading into the lead single “I Ain’t Gon’ Hold Ya” jumps on top of a rubbery trap instrumental from Helluva reminding us of his rightful place in this culture as one of what I like to call “the big 3” trap pioneers.

42 Dugg comes into the picture for “Put the Minks Down” to deliver a ratchet summer anthem while “King’s Crown” shoots for a more ghostly aesthetic paying tribute to all the fallen soldiers who couldn’t be here with us today. “Still Havin’” weaves some synthesizers into the fold talking about living right while “Scarface” with EST. G luxuriously finds the 2 watching the titular movie with the sound off, being bosses & showing off their girls being stronger than WWE Hall of Famer & 7-time women’s champion Trish Stratus.

Continuing from there, the vocal sample on “How Deep” was flipped very well if you ask me with Jeezy continuing to brag lyrically while “Grammy” fuses more horns & hi-hats together to talk about how he deserves the titular award at this point even though it’s the most rigged popularity contest ever. The song “My Accountant” cinematically rubs his wealth into everyone’s faces while the penultimate track “Big Sno” hooks up a high-pitched loop talking about his status. “100” though ends the tape with a victory lap encouraging to stay true.

If you’re of the few heads that I know who were disappointed with The Recession 2 even though I personally thought it was his best in a while, then I think you’re gonna like Snofall just as much if not better because Jeezy went back to back with it. He & Drama pretty much return to basics in an entertaining fashion from the production being as equally consistent to the return of the Snowman persona.

Score: 3.5/5

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Rock – “Ether Rocks” review

Rock is a 46 year old MC from Brooklyn, New York notable for being a member of the Boot Camp Clik collective & 1/2 of the duo Heltah Skeltah alongside the late Sean Price. He & Ruck were also 2/5 of The Fab 5 with O.G.C. despite the fact that they never put out a full-length debut as a quintet. The Rockness Monsta has also given us a couple mixtapes as well as a full-length debut & an EP, the latter of which just came out this past spring. But for his sophomore effort right here, he’s enlisting Manhattan producer Ron Browz behind the boards for the entire thing.

“Lettuce & Cabbage” is a rugged boom bap opener with Rock attacking anyone who dares to step up to him whereas “Pay Me” works in a more symphonic trap instrumental talking about being the best. “Flamboyant” returns to the boom bap to declare his gun game as such leading into Method Man tagging along for the cacophonous trap banger “Beastie Boyz” talking about being beasts in their own rights.

Meanwhile on “Billy Joel”, we have Rock on top of another orchestral trap beat much like “Pay Me” brushing off the negative shit that they try to throw his way just before Bo Blackk & Milly D.O.D. come into the picture for “Feast” which I like the suspenseful production & the subject matter about being different, but the features just don’t do it for me personally with all respect. “Got It Movin’” blends some dramatic strings with hi-hats & snares acknowledging that he makes it look easy, but then “Faith” with The Last American B-Boy & Ron dives into jazzy yet soulful boom bap turf talking about not wanting smoke with them.

“Shark Tank” with Ruste Juxx & Steele returns to a more symphonic trap sound yet again flexing their lyricism while the song “Hood Up” brings it back to soulful territory talking about how you should always rep where you came from no matter where you shine. The penultimate track “Squad” with The Last American B-Boy embraces a dustier vibe to rep their crew & “The Answer” sends the album off with a cheerful trap hit with the lyrics coming from a more introspective place.

Of the 2 solo albums that Rock has given us in the last 5 years, Ether Rocks just might be my new favorite of the pair thus far. He sounds passionate & proves that he can still very much hold it down on his own this deep in his career, but a lot of the trap stuff that Ron Browz whips up sounds samey to me. That being said, the boom bap beats that he delivers suit the Rockness Monsta’s style much better.

Score: 3.5/5

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Armani Caesar – “The Liz 2” review

This is the official full-length debut album from Buffalo emcee Armani Caesar. Coming up in 2011 by dropping her debut mixtape Hand Bag Addict under Buff City Records, she would go on to follow it up with her sophomore tape Caesar’s Palace in the fall of 2015 & her debut EP Pretty Girls Get Played Too a few years later. Then when the whole world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, she signed to Griselda Records & totally refined her style on her last project The Liz that same fall. But as the 2-year anniversary of that EP approaches this weekend, Mani’s back in the cut for a sequel.

After the intro, Westside Gunn comes into the picture for the guitar-woven boom bap opener “Paula Deen” produced by Camoflauge Monk referencing former 2-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, 2-time WCW World Television Champion, 3-time WCW World Tag Team Champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion Lex Luger whereas “Diana” takes a more lavish route to spit that raunchy shit & the Kodak Black verse was completely unexpected yet I don’t mind it at all much like both of his appearances on Kendrick’s latest album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers this past spring. After the skit, “Mel Gibson” dives into dustier turf thanks to Daringer so Mani can charismatically flex just before Benny the Butcher & Stove God Cook$ come into the picture for the grimy “$100 Hiccup” reminding everyone how nice all 3 of them are in their own rights.

Continuing from there with “Survival of the Littest”, we have Mani over some boom bap production from Sovren justifiably explaining why she’s different than these other bitches in the game right now since a lot of females in the mainstream get a lot of unjust hate this day in age prior to the cloudy yet organ-laced “Queen City” admiring that she’s all about money this year. “Liz Claiborne Jr.” is a remarkably well structured 2 parter comparing herself to the late fashion designer, but then “Meth & Mary” picks it up from there with a sumptuous ballad about wanting a love like Method Man & Mary J. Blige in “I’ll Be There for You (You’re All I Need to Get By”.

“Ice Age” has a more colder tone to the instrumental fittingly expressing her love for all the finer things in this life while “1st Wives Club” brings a more jazzy boom bap flare as Mani’s just singing her ass off telling her man that he doesn’t own her. “Big Mood” talks about having stacks on deck over a more groovier instrumental while the symphonic “El Puro” links up with Conway the Machine so that they can both warn everyone to stay the fuck out of their lines.

The song “That Money Maka” speaks on using what she gots over a bare loop that’s calming to the ear while the penultimate track “Snowfall” resurrects the R&B sounds of “1st Wives Club” except this time she’s singing on top of some piano chords singing that she’s in beast mode & counting her Ms. However, I find “Sike” with Queendom Come to be a bit of a mediocre closer to the album as it’s basically a generically mediocre ass-shaker’s anthem.

The Liz was an impressive departure from the styles of Mani’s pre-Griselda work, but I recommend that those who’re still sleeping on her better wake the fuck up because this sequel right here as a full-length debut sees the 1st Lady of the Buffalo empire coming into her own stylistically. She‘s becoming versatile than before from the strip-club hit at the end to the more R&B & hardcore boom bap cuts on here with the lyricism coming from a more personal place.

Score: 4/5

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Napoleon da Legend – “The Colossus of G.O.A.T.s” review

Napoleon da Legend is a 42 year old MC born in Paris, France & based in Brooklyn, New York who a lot of underground heads should be familiar with at this point considering the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade ranging from Coup D’État & it’s sequel to Street Universe & Dragon Ball G. But coming fresh off the 1 Piece inspired 2 Piece almost 2 months ago, Napoleon’s enlisting Sicknature of the Snowgoons to fully produce his 19th album.

“96 Bulls” is a grand boom bap opener to the album referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson whereas “Self-Talk” takes a more peaceful route in terms of sound so Po can basically have a profound discussion with himself. “Dance with the Devil” brings a more somber vibe to the instrumental admitting that’s exactly what he did the night prior, but then Brian Bars Burns & Nejma Nefertiti both come into the picture with Supa Kaiju for “Ultra” dropping battle bars on top of some kicks & organs.

As far as “Hustla” goes, we have Napoleon over some synth-woven boom bap talking about thinking of a master plan leading into “Disinformation” addressing more conscious subject matter & the beat has a warm yet fuzzy feeling to it that only further reveals the place of sincerity that it comes from. Eloh Kush tags along for the dusty yet keyboard driven “Indigenous Jedi” referring to themselves as just that prior to “Last Days” is a more rugged successor to “Disinformation” from the beat to the conscious lyrics.

The penultimate track “Rest in Perfection” finds Sicknature accompanying Napoleon on the mic 1 last time so they can deliver a potent ballad that honors & mourns every single person that we lost in 2020 with “Health First” rounding the album off with a groovy ode to eating healthy making reference to former IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン as well as 10-time WWE world champion & former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.

Of the 5 albums that Napoleon has dropped throughout the year, The Colossus of G.O.A.T.s has to be the most well conceived of the bunch & is quickly becoming a standout in his ever-growing catalog for me personally. Sicknature’s always been an incredibly talented producer whether it’s just him or with the Snowgoons & his signature sound compliments Napoleon’s style more than most of the producers he’s worked with in the last couple years.

Score: 4/5

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M.I.A. – “MATA” review

M.I.A. is a 47 year old rapper, singer, producer & activist from Hounslow, London, England, United Kingdom who came up in 2005 off her full-length debut Arular that XL Recordings & Interscope Records jointly put out. Her popularity would begin to increase following the sophomore effort Kala & was even granted her own vanity label N.E.E.T. Recordings by the time ΛΛ Λ Y Λ became her most-left field body of work to date inspiring future acts like Death Grips & PC Music. She eventually fulfilled her Interscope contract by dropping Matangi & AIM but after 6 long years, she’s returning by having Island Records back her 6th full-length album over here.

After the “Freedom is a State of Mind” intro, the actual “Freedom is a State of Mind” song itself that kicks the album off with a tribal EDM banger asking what’re you gonna do with her freedom while “100% Sustainable” serves more as a Tamil folk music interlude. “Beep” though dives into moombahton territory thanks to Skrillex & Rick Rubin talking about being who you want leading into the warm yet empowering “Energy Freq” encouraging to feel the synergy.

“The One” continues on with M.I.A. over some cloudy trap production provided by T-Minus talking about sticking to who you are just before “Zoo Girl” hops on top of some bongos & woodwinds declaring herself as such. “Time Traveller” has more rubbery quality to the beat laced by Pharrell advising not to slip on no matter what you hit on, but then “Popular” returns to the moombahton sound with the help of longtime collaborator Diplo sarcastically detailing how hard it is to maintain popularity.

Meanwhile on “Puththi”, we have MIA spitting in Tamil for nearly 3 minutes with an entrancing instrumental while the song “K.T.P. (Keep the Peace)” has a more peppier groove to it warning not to con her a certain way. The penultimate track “MATA Life” has a more spiritual flare to it sonically talking about going all in with “Marigold” ending the album with an airy ballad declaring that we need miracle.

Compared to how mid AIM was, that’s absolutely not the case with MATA here. In fact, I’d say that it’s the best thing she’s done in nearly a decade. It’s cool to see her recharged on the mic as her ego & spirituality clash accompanied by production that expands on the moombahton sounds of her last 2 albums by fusing it with the likes of Tamil folk & funk ostentação.

Score: 3.5/5

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