Cormega – “The Realness II” review

This is the 6th full-length album from Brooklyn veteran Cormega. Coming up as an original member of The Firm, he would depart from the supergroup right after being signed to Aftermath Entertainment & has gone onto release a handful of solo efforts including The Realness and Born & Raised. Last we heard from him was the solid STREETRUNNER-produced debut EP MEGA, but is now returning after 4 long years in the form of a sequel to The Realness.

“Once & For All” is a 2-minute boom bap opener produced by Domingo talking about being a legend spitting at an elite level whereas “Her Name” takes a symphonic yet dusty route calling someone who forgot where she came form. Nas tags along for The Alchemist-laced “Glorious” to talk about exceeding their dreams of better living, but then “The Saga Resumes” is basically a mature sequel to “The Saga” down to the Big Ty instrumental.

Meanwhile on “What’s Understood”, we have Mega over a rich beat that he & Sha Money XL helped put together explaining that the titular matter doesn’t need to be explained this day in age leading into Large Professor producing the piano/boom bap “Life & Rhymes” providing inspiring words of wisdom for everyone listening. Lloyd Banks comes into the picture for “Grand Scheme” talking about how the quality of life means nothing to death on top of a shimmering STREETRUNNER instrumental just before the cavernous “White Roses” recalls how notorious the way he used to live was.

“Essential” picks things up with a more symphonic flare thanks to Havoc dropping jewels while “This Life of Ours” works in an alluring vocal sample encouraging to remove weakness & acknowledge strength. “Age of Wisdom” goes a capella to reflect on his hustling days while the penultimate track “Paradise” with Havoc finds the 2 diving into soulful territory calling out those who fake until they make it. “Man vs. Myth” though finishes the album with a roomy Harry Fraud beat talking about how his name’s familiar where he’s from.

Although I’m more of a True Meaning guy personally, The Realness has always been my #2 & this is most definitely a sequel that lives up to the expectations of the classic full-length debut. The lyrics are incredibly introspective & the production is on par if not superior to the predecessor. If it takes us until 2026 for him to give us another project considering the fact that Mega Philosophy came out in 2014 & then MEGA in 2018, then I wouldn’t even be opposed.

Score: 4.5/5

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Flee Lord – “Ladies & Gentlemen” review

This is the 4th proper full-length album from Queens emcee Flee Lord. Coming up in 2017 as protege of the late Prodigy, he has since become known for building up a massive discography for himself in the last 5 years. This includes the Loyalty or Death: Lord Talk trilogy produced by GodBlessBeatz, the Loyalty or Trust duology produced by 38 Spesh, the DJ Shay-produced Lucky 13 the Buckwild-produced Hand Me My Flowers, the Pete Rock-produced The People’s Champ & the Havoc-produced In the Name of Prodigy, the DJ Muggs-produced RAMM£LLZ££ & the Roc Marciano produced Delgado. He just linked back up with Mephux over the spring for the 3rd & final installment of the Pray for the Evil trilogy, but is returning 5 months later with Ladies & Gentlemen.

“We Was Gettin’ It Off” opens up the album with a string-laced boom bap instrumental from GhostDave spitting some battle bars whereas “Da Warm Up” takes a jazzier route thanks to Futurewave encouraging to throw some shells if you’re real with the steel. Rome Streetz & T.F tag along for “Outta Bounds” with a fresh ass Tiona Deniece hook as well getting in their hustler bags on top of some keys & dusty drums prior to the cinematic “Ride Away” bringing you the hardcore.

Continuing from there with “Step Brothas”, we have O.T. the Real coming into the picture for a weepy boom bap ballad detailing the crime life just before “Recipes” with Vic Spencer returns to jazz rap territory explaining that the recipe to lose is being too high & fly. The soul sample throughout 3 Queens” by Che Noir, Dazy Lyn & 7xvethegenius is a nice touch as the 3 display their skills leading into Flee returning on the piano/boom bap infused Fake Thugs” with Bangdana Red talking about how crazy shit is.

“Pardon Me” brings back the jazz courtesy of Harry Fraud to speak from the heart while “Broken Hearted” with Trizz weaves a vocal loop into the mix as the pair admit they’re more mad about their bros & a bitch. “Mission Complete” despite its 53 second brevity finds Flee on top of an orchestral beat from Che Noir talking about going down in history while the song “Everything” with G4 Jag jumps on top of a tense instrumental talking about coming from nothing to having it all. The penultimate track “Last of the Real” has a more dejecting tone sonically declaring himself as such & “On to the Next” is a guitar-woven closer talking about those who hate seeing him win.

As classic some of Flee’s extensive EP work has been, I’ve felt that an full-length effort with more than 10 tracks & over a half hour in length has been a little overdue & the last time I think we really got anything in that form was No More Humble Fashion a couple Black Fridays back. Needless to say: It’s a solid follow-up to Pray for the Evil 3. He sounds fully focused, the production cast all stick to their own stylistic strengths & most of the features come correct as well. If this is the last thing we’re getting from him this year, then here’s to 2023!

Score: 3.5/5

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Unc & Phew – “Only Built for Infinity Links” review

Unc & Phew are a trap duo from Atlanta, Georgia consisting of Quavo & Takeoff. Both of whom came up as 2/3 of the Migos with their cousin Offset & would see huge success during the early/mid 2010s, most notably when Y.R.N. (Young Rich N****s) & C U L T U R E both dropped. But as Offset prepares for a follow-up to the best Migos solo effort to date Father of 4 next month, the other 2 members have seen fit to form a duo of their own & put out a full-length debut.

“2 Infinity Links” opens up the album with a horn-laced trap beat from Buddah Bless describing the strongest links in the world bonded by blood whereas “Tony Starks” takes a more cavernous route thanks to Murda Beatz talking about putting holes in your chest kin to that of Iron Man. “Hotel Lobby” has a more twangier vibe to it dropping some braggadocio just before “Bars into Captions” samples “So Fresh, So Clean” by OutKast welcoming y’all to the ATL.

Meanwhile on “See ‘Bout It”, we have Unc & Phew bragging about stealing hoes over a hyphy instrumental from DJ Mustard leading into YoungBoy Never Broke Again tagging along for the slick “To the Bone” describing how bad their bitches are. “Not Out” shoots for a cloudier sound provided by DJ Durel talking about popping out, but then Gunna & Young Thug both come into the picture for the acoustic/trap-laced “Chocolate” getting in their hustler bags.

“2.30” has a wavier sound to it even though the Percocet-heavy lyricism just doesn’t do it for me personally while “Look @ This” fuses trap with orchestral talking about all the shit they got. “Mixy” with Summer Walker is a moody little trap/R&B fusion with the trio of course tackling the themes of love while “Messy” talks about the main reason why not to let a bitch in their crib over a glitchy trap beat with Quavo apparently airing out Offset for fucking his ex Saweetie along with a reference to Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Twitter owner Elon Musk.

Continuing from there, “Nothing Changed” was clearly made for Huncho Jack down to the psychedelic instrumental even though I don’t mind the subject matter addressing that ain’t shit change but the ice while the mellow “Integration” brags about having white everything. “Big Stunna” is a fun little boastful trap banger as Birdman comes through with a decent verse while the song “Us vs. Them” with Gucci Mane finds the trio aggressively talking about how it’s them against the world. The penultimate track “Hell Yeah” shoots got a more stripped back aesthetic as Unc & Phew chase a bag together with “Tools” though is a shimmering finisher encouraging you to spread the cash.

For as much shit that C U L T U R E III got last summer, I still think it was a more enjoyable listen than C U L T U R E II & that it would’ve been more well received if you got rid of 4-5 cuts. As for Only Built for Infinity Links, it’s a solid debut from Unc & Phew. Both Quavo & Takeoff manage to take it back to the basics are some more interesting ideas with the production this time around. Here’s to Blame It on Set next month!

Score: 3.5/5

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Grip – “5 & a Fuck You” review

This is the 2nd mixtape from Atlanta, Georgia emcee Grip. Coming up in 2017 of his debut mixtape Porch, he would go on to drop his full-length debut Snubnose along with 2 EPs Halo & Proboscidea prior to Detroit veteran Eminem signing Grip to his very own Interscope Records imprint Shady Records last summer. His sophomore effort I Died For This?! the following month was an impressive major label debut showing his potential, so I was excited going into 5 & a Fuck You when he announced it out of the blue a couple nights ago.

“Cook Up” is a booming yet dark trap opener with Grip talking about needing a week to do exactly just that whereas “‘94 Flow” takes the boom bap route to spit some aggressive battle bars. Marco+ tags along for trap-laced “Static” calling out those who don’t want smoke with them, but then “Popular Demand” returns to the boom bap with an organ sample laced with the help of DJ Khalil addressing his return.

Moving on from there with “Da Benzo”, we have Grip delivering a shrilling trap ode to Mercedes-Benz leading into “The F Word” switching it back into boom bap turf talking about giving no fucks. “Value Mall” has a more atmospheric vibe to it explaining how you can ball on a budget just before Tate228 tags comes into the picture for “Cory ‘N Mel” telling the story of 2 robbers of the same name with some chilling soundscapes.

The song “Good” is a soulful celebration of how far we’ve come in this life while the penultimate track “Many Thanks” has a more twangier aesthetic to it with Grip sincerely expressing his gratitude to everyone listening for being the reason why he’s even here for a little over 8 minutes. “Ain’t Ok” though happens to be a solemn closer to the tape talking about the kids not being alright.

If this is something to warm people up for his next full-length, then I think it’ll be even bigger splashes than I Died For This?! as impressive of a major label debut was when it came out a little over a year ago. It’s a lot more rawer in sound, his penmanship is continuing to get better & he’s starting to come into his own artistically.

Score: 3.5/5

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Pacewon – “Good Dope Sells Itself” review

Pacewon is a 48 year old MC from Newark, New Jersey who came up with Young Z as one of the 2 founding members of the now defunct Outsidaz collective that once included the likes of Rah Digga & Eminem. He would also go on to drop 4 solo albums & 3 EPs, with the last one being the Daniel El Campeon-produced Invincibles nearly a little over a year & a half ago this point. But to coincide with what would’ve been the 49th birthday of the late D12 de facto leader Proof, Pace is enlisting Detroit veteran DJ Butter behind the boards for the majority of his 4th EP.

“First Impression, Last Impression” is a jazzy boom bap opener produced by DJ Butter with Pace referring himself as the one you wanna rap like prior to Bizarre & B-Boy Reg tagging along for the futuristic “Holdin’ It Down” promising that they ain’t going nowhere. “The DJ (Tribute)” dives into trap territory giving his flowers to all the DJs that our culture has seen, but then 4-Ize comes into the picture for the dusty “Watch It Smoke” to spit some charismatic battle bars.

Meanwhile on “Adventures of…”, we have Pace going into a moodier direction thanks to DJ Dez getting on the more romantic side of things while the final song “Get Blunted” with Davey Diggla a.k.a. DJ King David finds the 2 talking about weed of course over a funky trap beat. The penultimate track “Grow House (Outhouse) is a more instrumental cut with a little bit of an electronic dance groove to it & the outro “Chattin’ with Young Z” sends off the EP with a 10-minute phone call that Pace had with Z when he was still locked up at the time.

Now for those’ve you who enjoyed Won along with The Only Color That Matters is Green & The Only Number That Matters is Won as much as I do, then you’re gonna wanna give Good Dope Sells Itself a listen because it’s one of Pace’s best efforts to date. He can still very much rap his ass off at this point of his career as proven on his last EPs & further proves that here, but the production that DJ Butter brings to the table with the help of DJ King David & DJ Dez is more consistent in my opinion.

Score: 4/5

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Samson Samson – “Witch Hunt” review

Samson Samson is a 30 year old rapper from Hampton, Virginia introducing himself a decade ago by releasing his debut EP Regret. He just made his return this spring by releasing the full-length debut studio album Beforecore flooded with guest appearances on nearly half of it, signing to Dirtcore Music exactly a month later. To celebrate the fall & with the Halloween season coming up in 30 days, it’s only right for him to make his Dirtcore debut in the form of his sophomore effort & have the label’s founder Crossworm fully producing it.

After the intro, “The Witch” opens the LP with a boom bap instrumental co-produced by BAD MiND asking exactly how does he know that he’s free & why does he love what isn’t even his whereas “Where to Go” ponders if he’s safe on this road along with his thoughts being unsure of the exact location he’s headed towards. “Gone” featuring J Reno on the remix maintains a dusty vibe to the beat talking about being sick in the head drinking life forces to fix himself prior to “See What You Can’t” boasting of envisioning things others are unable to.

“Stay Quiet” reaches the halfway point of the Witch Hunt feeling like everything’s caving in prior to “Distasteful Static” bringing an industrial hip hop vibe to the table talking about hearing pain & expressing hope of others feeling the exact same way. “Break Down” talks about the bittersweet feeling of his mind collapsing on him & after “Bodies Below Sea Level” introduces the horrorcore duo of the same name with a refreshing industrial hip hop sound, “Run” ends the LP going into rap rock turf doing what others are scared of doing.

Embodying everything he’s been wanting to do artistically, Witch Hunt makes for a captivating comeback from Dirtcore’s inaugural signing officially marking the beginning of a new era as a force to be reckoned with in the underground for years to come. Crossworm’s production pulls heavily from boom bap, rap rock & industrial hip hop with Sammy’s lyrics taking on the perspective of a newly released insane asylum patient recapping his traumatic pain to a therapist.

Score: 4.5/5

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Rafa – Self-Titled review

This is the eponymous 2nd EP from Detroit rapper Rafa. Coming up as a member of the WRLD Tour Mafia a couple years ago, he would also begin a solo career of his own starting on Thanksgiving 2020 with his debut EP Not for Household Use & followed it up earlier this year in the form his full-length debut Dog$hit & Ammunition. But with the Mafia coming fresh off Tourmania a couple weeks back, Rafa continuing to apply pressure by dropping a self-titled effort.

“Tighten Up” is an acoustic/trap opener produced by Carlo Anthony with Rafa talking about how that’s exactly what he had to do before going out & getting it whereas “Cat n da Hat” takes a more rawer route with it’s deathly instrumental & the lyrics essentially shit-talking. “Hoe Need Jesus” has a more wavier vibe to the beat talking about getting fly for no reason, but then “Last Dump” works in some foreboding piano chords & hi-hats addressing that they don’t wanna see him winning.

Continuing from there with “Touch the Sky”, we have Rafa over some more mellow production exposing a rat & telling a hoe to get the fuck out his messages prior to “Prophet” returning to the Detroit trap sound declaring himself as such. “Wrldtour17” has a little bit of a West Coast flare to the instrumental confessing that he thinks God’s blessing him for his mother & he doesn’t deserve it because of how wild he can be just before “LIL Stro” almost gives off a cloudier tone to the beat opening up about this rap shit taking him to new heights.

“King Tut” switches up to a peppier sound admitting that he feels like the titular Egyptian pharaoh leading into the horn-laced “Dover Street” delivering some braggadocio. The song “Lean” laces some synths in responding to those asking what’s in his system while the penultimate track “Welcome to My Wrld” gets more personal lyrically with a drowsy trap instrumental. “Pushin’ On” though serves as a soulful closer to the tape talking about continuing to move forward.

Now for those’ve you who recently got put onto WRLD Tour off Tourmania & are looking to get into Rafa’s solo stuff, you’re gonna wanna check out self-titled because I happen to like it more than both Not for Household Use and Dog$hit & Ammunition even though that’s not to say either of them are bad whatsoever. Even though it almost feels like an EP running only at 25 & a half minutes, I can’t deny that it’s well produced & that Rafa’s performances & songwriting are both at their strongest.

Score: 4.5/5

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KanKan – “WAY2GEEKED” review

KanKan is a 22 year old artist & producer from Dallas, Texas who emerged in 2019 as a member of Slayworld & by landing production credits for a wide range of artists from Summrs to even Little Pimp. He’s also dropped an eponymous debut mixtape, 20 EPs & a full-length debut all in that short amount of time with the last offering being ##B4W2G this past summer. But as we enter the final quarter of the year, Kan’s returning in the form of a sophomore album.

“Groupiez” kicks things off with a rubbery, bell-laced trap instrumental talking about his life being a movie whereas “hat4hat” takes a grimmer route admitting that he’s way too geeked. “Over 200” has a more glistening quality to the beat showing off how fast his new whip goes leading into the intoxicating “Go Sit” confessing that one of my twins got caught for that body.

Meanwhile on the title track, we have Kan bragging that he got the racks on him over some minimal production just before the rowdy “No Photos” admits that he doesn’t like taking pics. “Off Roxy” has a cloudier sound to it talking about playing his cards right, but then “Richer Than Him” brings a rage beat into the cut warning that he isn’t afraid to whack a motherfucker.

Lucki tags along for the electronic tinged “##RR##EFG” to spit some some braggadocio while the airy “Fall On” promises that everyone he loves is gonna win. “Livefastdieslay ##4Kaine” is an incredibly profound tribute to Kan’s homie Kaine who passed away of a drug overdose while “New Seal” returns to the hypertrap zone continuing to boast.

Moving on from there, “Playin’ It Cool” blends some hi-hats & vibraphones together talking about maintaining while “X ‘Em Out” shoots for a more futuristic aesthetic reminding everyone that he got rich with no gimmicks. “Ok Kool” is a moodier cut expressing how a lot of these cats get zo’ed while “Can’t Cap” goes into a more materialistic bag lyrically.m with some plugg undertones to the instrumental.

“Figure It Out” has a more orchestral trap flare to it telling the cappers to go make some bread of their own prior to the rage-inducing “OMG” admitting that he doesn’t even give a fuck about the racks. The song “Stay to Myself (Schedule II)” blends acoustic with trap saying these rap motherfuckers ain’t his twin while the penultimate track “Fake 0pps” is a well-sequenced 2 parter about haters being mad ’cause he’s well off & dissing those pretending to be the feds. “High Tech” though ends the album by spitting some gangsta raps on top of some more hypertrap beats.

A lot of artists in this new wave of trap have been making big waves in 2022 ranging from Yeat to Autumn! & Summrs, so it was only a matter of time before Kan did so with WAY2GEEKED & that’s exactly what he does here. His performances are more hedonistic than they were on the debut & the production refines the rage/plugg sound with elements of pop rap & cloud rap.

Score: 3.5/5

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King Iso – “8 P.M. Med Call” review

King Iso is a 32 year old MC/producer form Omaha, Nebraska who up as a protege of San Diego chopper Twisted Insane. But he would only drop first 2 full-lengths The Insanity Plea & Autophobia under Brainsick Muzik, falling out with his former mentor & putting out his next album DeMenTia independently in 2018. However, I was thrilled to see him sign with Strange Music the following spring & his debut on the Kansas City powerhouse World War Me that came out when the COVID-19 pandemic started quickly become one of the label’s best albums ever. He just dropped Get Well Soon earlier this year & I happened to like almost as much as World War Me. So when Iso took to social media saying he recorded so much music for his last effort that he’s giving us the leftovers in the form of his debut EP, it intrigued me enough to check it out.

Tech N9ne & X-Raided tag along for the trap opener “R.A.P. (Really A Psycho)” talking about that’s exactly what they are whereas “Happy” works in some somber keys to wonder if he’ll ever find happiness again. “N.A.A. (Not At All)” returns to trap turf calling out someone for not listening to him, but then Taebo tha Truth comes into the picture for “F.W.T.T. (Fuck What They Think)” shoots for a moodier aesthetic down to the finger-snaps & hi-hats talking about not caring of what others say of them.

“I.M.H. (In My Head)” brings in the acoustic to let y’all know where he spends way too much of his time while the song “Speedy Recovery” is a twangy trap banger admitting that his road to recovery isn’t happening fast enough. The penultimate track “Touch the Sky” has a more glistening quality to the beat giving the world a letter from the other side & “Otherwise” ends the EP by chillingly confessing his hopes.

For a bunch of outtakes, I think nearly all of them would’ve fit right it on Get Well Soon somewhere in the track listing as a little long as that album already is. His production is on par with that & World War Me with Iso’s themes of mental health will definitely continue to resonate with a lot of people who’re not alone & are also in a dark point of their lives.

Score: 4/5

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Freddie Gibbs – “$oul $old $eparately” review

This is the 4th full-length album from Gary, Indiana emcee Freddie Gibbs. Coming up in 2004 with his debut mixtape Full Metal Jackit, he would then sign to Interscope Records for a brief period of time until he left without dropping an album with them. This was made up for with the mixtapes The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs & Str8 Killa No Filla, which would catch the attention of Jeezy & land Freddie a contract with CTE World in 2011. However, Gibbs eventually left CTE the following year after releasing the tapes Cold Day in Hell & B.F.K. (BabyFace Killa). In 2013, he decided to form his own label E$GN Records & finally dropped the full-length album E.$.G.N. (Evil $eeds Grow Naturally). He & iconic Oxnard producer Madlib would drop their MadGibbs debut Piñata the year after that, which is EASILY one of the greatest hip hop albums of the previous decade. Gibbs continued to grow his profile after that with Shadow of a Doubt, You Only Live 2wice, Freddie & the Curren$y collab EP Fetti & who can forget MadGibbs’ sophomore effort Bandana or even Freddie’s last effort Alfredo produced by The Alchemist? But after much anticipation, Gibbs is dropping $oul $old $eparately in light of E$GN’s new distribution deal with Warner Records.

“Can’t Be Done” is a soulful trap opener with Gibbs talking about doing the impossible whereas “Blackest in the Room” takes a jazzier route thanks to Uncle Al comparing himself to Sam Cooke. Offset tags along for the decent trap banger “Pain & Strife” talking about making that bread just before “Zipper Bagz” works in some hi-hats & a chilling vocal sample provided by KAYTRANADA admitting all he knows is that & yayo.

Meanwhile on “Too Much”, we have Moneybagg Yo coming into the picture to assist Gibbs for a boring trap cut that aged like milk since dropping as a single last month with all respect to everyone involved prior to Rick Ross & Jake One helping him make it up in the form of “Lobster Omelette” spitting lavish bars on top of a sample-based beat. “Space Rabbit” is a synth/boom bap hybrid produced by Boi-1da & Rogét Chahayed detailing Cocaine City, but then “Feel No Pain” with Anderson .Paak & Raekwon somberly prays that they good forever.

“Rabbit Vision” calls out someone who went against a family oath over some smooth J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League production also admitting he still has love for Jeezy also while the DJ Paul-assisted “PYS” comes through with a jazzy trap banger talking about being pimps. “Dark Hearted” finds James Blake sonically fusing pop rap & hip hop soul admitting that he still has mob ties even though he’s rich now while “Gold Rings” with Pusha T of course spits that hustler shit over a nocturnal instrumental. The song “Grandma’s Stove” somberly opens up about depression while the penultimate track “CIA” by MadGibbs returns to jazzier turf making it clear that he needs the check & the bar mentioning him getting continuously banned from Instagram is priceless. “Decoded” however brings in one of Gibbs’ idols Scarface for a bluesy closer to the album hooked up by DJ Dahi talking about knowing that this rap shit was in their veins.

I’d still say The Elephant Man’s Bones is my Album of the Year, but this dude been talking about $.$.$. for nearly 3 years now & the final product is one of his best solo efforts to date in my opinion. A couple lackluster cuts here & there, but Gangsta Gibbs locks in with his niche on here by exposing his style to a wider audience without it being too excessive like a lot of other major label debuts can normally be.

Score: 4/5

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