Scum – “Dyin’ World Chroniclez 3: Black Soulz” review

Scum is a 41 year old MC from Denver, Colorado known for founding the seminal horrorcore label Lyrikal Snuff Productionz. He’s gone on to release 13 albums on his own, the previous being the first 2 installments of the Dyin’ World Chroniclez trilogy Grey Skiez in the spring & then Red Groundz in the summer. But at last, The Gorefather is rounding out the trilogy with his 14th full-length offering.

After the intro, the first song “Keep It Bloody” is an apocalyptic opener getting murderous whereas “Curbside” with Cody Manson & Darby O’Trill finds the trio on some murky trap shit talking about leaving their opposition in a bag. “Dues” follows it up with a rap rock banger describing what he wants to see at his shows leading into Jade the Nightmare tagging along for the triumphant title track talking about being angels falling from the sky.

Meanwhile on “Tx4l”, we have Scum returning to trap turf continuing the themes of murder just before “Dumb” wickedly fires shots at all any stupidity that comes his way. “Mizundastood” perfectly lashes out at all those who be talking shit about juggalos, but then “Ain’t Shit” works in a bass-heavy Devereaux beat to diss any bum wanting to go up against them.

The song “Wake Up Dead” continues to delve further into the topic of death over a morbid instrumental while the penultimate track “Respekt” featuring ILLtemper & Tragik sees the trio on top of some strings talking about wanting their props. “Disrespekt” by S.O.S. ends the album with a counterpart to the previous cut except this one’s a lot more grimier in my personal opinion.

Now that the Dyin’ World Chroniclez trilogy is complete, I’d have to say it’s amongst some of Scum’s best material in his ever-growing discography & Black Soulz is a solid finisher. I could’ve done without half the features (the only ones that really stood out to me are the 3 LSP signees), but I do appreciate how he connects the gap between the last 2 installments.

Score: 3.5/5

Denzel Curry – “Melt My Eyez, See Your Future” review

Denzel Curry is a 27 year old MC from Carol City, Florida who came up as a member of the SpaceGhostPurrp-founded Raider Klan a little over a decade ago. He then left in 2013 & has seen quite the success on his own off projects like Nostalgia 64, 32 Zel (Planet Shrooms), imperial, TA13OO, Zuu & the Kenny Beats-produced UNLOCKED. But given that the 2 year anniversary of the latter just passed a month ago, Zel’s following up the 2 singles he’s dropped within the last few months with his 5th album.

“Melt Session #1” kicks the album off with a jazzy boom bap instrumental from Robert Glasper talking about how Zel stays walkin’ whereas “Walkin’” follows it up by sampling “The Loving Touch” by Keith Mansfield tackling the struggles of life. “Worst Comes to Worst” keeps things in boom bap turf thanks to Dot da Genius talking about institutional issues in the United States leading into the smoky “John Wayne” produced by JPEGMAFIA comparing himself to [the titular actor] when walking around the hood.

Meanwhile on “The Last”, we have Zel jumping on top of a cloudy trap beat FNZ made talking about how tomorrow’s not promised just before Saul Williams tags along for “Mental” confessing their suicidal thoughts on top of a calming boom bap beat. T-Pain comes into the picture for the vibrant”Troubles” produced by DJ Khalil & Kenny Beats talking about problems that drugs can’t solve, but then the Rico Nasty/J.I.D assisted “Ain’t No Way” finds the trio back on some trap shit addressing those who still doubt them.

“X-Wing” mixes some strings & hi-hats talking about not wanting power except the delivery makes it the weakest track on the album even with the reference to former 3-time WWE world champion Rey Mysterio while “Angelz” works in some pianos & dusty drums thanks to Karriem Riggins confessing being sick of the bullshit. “The Smell of Death” sees Thundercat incorporating a heavy amount of synthesizers for Zel to spit streams of consciousness while the song “Sanjuro” shouts out those who say he ain’t deep enough over an explosive Cardo instrumental. The penultimate track “Zatoichi” with slowthai is a cool ode to the Japanese character of the same name over a drum & bass beat from Powers Pleasant while “The Ills” ends the album on a jazzy note talking about his illusions.

Even though I liked ZUU, I think this up there with imperial & TA13OO in being one of the best albums of Zel’s career. I really admire how he continues to expand on the risks he took on the latter as well as taking influence from what’s going on right now in the world & films by one of the greatest directors of all-time: Akira Kurosawa.

Score: 4.5/5

Nigo – “I Know Nigo” review | ニゴー「知っていますニゴー」レビュー

Nigo is a 51 year old fashion designer, DJ, producer & entrepreneur from Maebashi, Japan who famously created one of my favorite clothing lines of all-time: A Bathing Ape. He’s also been involved with the hip hop industry as well, being the DJ for the Teriyaki Boyz ever since their inception. But finally, Nigo has seen fit to host his very own sophomore full-length album with the help of Steven Victor’s very own Republic Records imprint Victor Victor Worldwide.

ニゴは、日本の前橋出身の51歳のファッションデザイナー、DJ、プロデューサー、起業家で、私のお気に入りの服の1つであベイシング・エイプを作成したことで有名です。彼はまた、ヒップホップ業界にも関わっており、創業以来、照り焼きボーイズのDJを務めています。しかし、最後に、ニゴはスティーブン・ビクター自身のリパブリック・レコードのインプリントであるビクター・ビクター・ワールドワイドの助けを借りて、彼自身の2年生のフルレングスアルバムをホストするのにふさわしいと見ています。

“Lost & Found” by WANG$AP starts things off with A$AP Rocky on top of a “3 Kings” sample talking about wanting his credit prior to switching up into a sample of “Like a Boss” by Slim Thug for Tyler, The Creator to spit some braggadocio whereas “Arya” by Rocky works in a piano-heavy instrumental shouting out the Game of Thrones character of the same name. “Punch Bowl” by Clipse sees the duo reflecting on their past on top of an atmospheric Neptunes instrumental leading into “Functional Addict” by Gunna & Pharrell taking a funkier route getting sexual.

WANG$APの「ロストアンドファウンド」は、タイラー、クリエイターのためにスリム・サグの「ボスのように」のサンプルに切り替える前に、彼のクレジットが欲しいと話している「3 王様」サンプルの上にA$AP岩の多いで物事を開始しますが、ロッキーの「アーヤ」は、同じ名前のゲーム・オブ・スローンズのキャラクターを叫ぶピアノの重いインストゥルメンタルで働いています。クリップスの「パンチボウル」は、ガンナ&ファレルによる「機能性中毒者」につながる雰囲気のあるネプチューンズのインストゥルメンタルの上に、デュオが彼らの過去を振り返るのを見ます。

Meanwhile on “Want It Bad”, we have KiD CuDi on top of an electropop beat talking about how his work is never done just before “Morë Tonight” goes into hip house territory for a fun Teriyaki Boyz reunion. “Paper Plates” by A$AP Ferg continues to flex over a riveting beat, but then “Hear Me Clearly” by Pusha T follows it up with a boom bap banger produced by Kanye West telling everyone who fears him to admit it.

一方、「ひどく欲しい」では、エレクトロポップビートの上にキッド・カディが、「モレ・トゥナイト」が楽しい照り焼きボーイズの再会のためにヒップハウスの領域に入る直前に彼の仕事が決して行われなかったことについて話しています。A$APファーグの「紙皿」は、魅力的なビートを曲げ続けていますが、プシャTの「はっきりと聞いてください」は、カニエ・ウェストが制作したブームバップバンガーで続き、彼を恐れるすべての人にそれを認めるように伝えます。

The song “Remember” by Pop Smoke has a dope sample of “Sound of a Woman” by Kiesza to go at anyone who opposes him while the penultimate track “Heavy” by Lil Uzi Vert takes influence from UK Drill with the help of Brandon Finessin’ of Working on Dying talking about repping Moncler hard. “Come On, Let’s Go” by Tyler, The Creator ends the album by telling a bitch the time she’s wasting is on him with the beat giving off heavy summer vibes.

ポップスモークの曲「覚えている」には、キーザの「女性の音」のドープサンプルがあり、彼に反対する人に向けられていますが、リル・ウジ・ヴェールの最後から2番目のトラック「重い」は、モンクレールを激しくレッピングすることについて話しているUKドリルから影響を受けています。タイラーの「さあ、行こう」、クリエイターは、重い夏の雰囲気を放つビートで、彼女が無駄にしている時間が彼にあることを雌犬に伝えることでアルバムを終了します。

In comparison to a lot of producer/DJ curated albums these days, I came away from I Know Nigo loving a good portion of what I heard on it & hopefully this is only the beginning for the icon. The guests are all well picked out & I love the diversity of the production ranging from boom bap to hip house & even UK Drill.

最近の多くのプロデューサー/DJキュレーションアルバムと比較して、私は私はニゴを知っていますから離れて、私が聞いたことのかなりの部分を愛し、うまくいけば、これはアイコンの始まりに過ぎません。ゲストはすべてよく選ばれており、ブームバップからヒップハウス、さらにはUKドリルまで、生産の多様性が大好きです。

Score: 4/5

スコア: 4/5

Canibus – “C” review

This is the 5th EP from Kingston emcee Canibus. Coming up as 1/2 of the duo T.H.E.M. alongside C.I. about 3 decades ago, they eventually split up a few years later & Bis would blow up in ‘97 after appearing on the LL Cool J song “4, 3, 2, 1” that later resulted in a beef between both parties. He would then go on to make a lengthy yet consistent discography with albums like Rip the Jacker being breathtaking at best & then Mind Control being unlistenable at worst. He just dropped Body Bag Ben-produced 16th full-length Kaiju this past winter after a 3 year break & it wounded up being one of his better albums in his discography, even though the follow-up 1 Step Closer to ∞ was a little underwhelming. But when I found out that one of my top 5 producers Pete Rock was coming in to lace C from front to back, I had to check it out for myself.

“Princibly This” is an incredibly jazzy opener with ‘Bis talking about how life’s a bitch while the next track “Poet’s Palaquin” pulls from some Bollywood influences spitting bars like “They stealth bombed Wakanda after they killed Black Panther” & “You know this, still the dopest. Free the people like Moses, hyper focused with both barrels loaded ‘cause I’m a Poet”. The closer however is just a remix of the song they did on Time Flys, Life Dies…Phoenix Rise almost 7 years ago at this point except it’s more soulful & Bronze Nazareth is spitting a fresh verse on it.

Even though I’m a little disappointed that it’s only 2 songs & a remix, I still enjoyed what I heard & I’d definitely recommend it to the hardcore fans. Canibus sounds much more focused than he did on 1 Step Closer to ∞ & as far as the production goes, it’s pretty much night & day unsurprisingly.

Score: 3.5/5

Tha God Fahim – “6 Ring Champ” review

This is the 19th full-length album from Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim. Coming up as an affiliate of Griselda Records alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, he also has a incredibly vast discography with a couple of standouts being Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. Last year alone, Fahim dropped his 18th album Dump Gawd: Stock Lord & the 2 Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King EPs produced by Nicholas Craven. However, is bringing him & a couple other producers on board for 6 Ring Champ.

Your Old Droog tags along for the opener “Titanism” as he & Fahim talk about keeping their engines running with a horn sample provided by the latter whereas “Iron Mic” goes into dusty boom bap territory thanks to Camoflauge Monk saying he does this for his own liking. “4 Matic” works in a drumless loop provided by Nicholas Craven to spit some battle raps leading into the chipmunk soul-heavy “Love n Hate” talking about how people be acting towards him.

Meanwhile on “Job Well Done”, we have Droog & Fahim linking back up on some jazzy boom bap shit reflecting on their come ups just before the self-produced “Countless Nights, Endless Days” incorporates some sinister piano melodies talking about being bad to the metronome. “61 in a Game” has a more peaceful tone giving motherfuckers hope, but then Droog returns 1 last time for the dusty “Checkers” clapping back at their competition.

“O.W.J. (Off-White Jordans)” talks about running numbers up all night over a slick Craven instrumental while the song “Stay Down ‘Till You Come Up” is self-explanatory as far as subject matter goes & Fahim himself provides a dejecting atmosphere to it. The penultimate track “Drivin’ Me Crazy” goes back into soul turf confessing how these last few days have been for him & “The Last Shot” is a jazzy finisher expressing his desire to live free of pressures.

Much like Stock Lord & Shot Clock King, I think 6 Ring Champ is yet another example of Fahim leveling up as an artist. He sounds hungrier than ever on the mic & the production is so incredibly consistent whether it be the man himself or the outside collaborators he brought in.

Score: 4/5

Ty Fontaine – “B.4.B.M.G. (Before Beautiful Michi Girls): The Experience” review

This is the 4th EP from Washington, D.C. rapper Ty Fontaine. Breaking out in 2018 off the debut EP Do Not Disturb, his profile continued to grow from there & eventually landed in a short-lived deal with Internet Money Records. The last I covered Ty on my platform was last summer when he dropped Ascension & with B.M.G. (Beautiful Michi Girls) coming down down the pipe later this year, he’s preluding it by dropping B.4.B.M.G. (Before Beautiful Michi Girls): The Experience.

“Keep IT Real” is a great opener with it’s triumphant horn sections advising to stay truthful to him while the song “OutTheWay” takes a synth-heavy route talking about avoiding fuck shit. The penultimate track “WE or I” is an acoustic ballad showing his love to his better half & “Love4free” ends the EP with a decent lil R&B jam about needing his girl’s company for everything he does.

Whether these are gonna be on B.M.G. (Beautiful Michi Girls) or not, I think it’s a dope appetizer before the main course. I really admire how much he experiments with new sounds throughout & this album could really expand more on the versatility he’s shown here.

Score: 3.5/5

Skribbal – “Man with the Screaming Brain” review

This is the 3rd EP from Los Angeles, California emcee Skribbal. Coming up in 2016 off the strength of his full-length debut Drug Spun Funk, this would catch the attention of the rising Wisconsin underground label Force 5 Records & they would put out his sophomore effort Skinwalker a couple years later. But once Skribbal dropped his debut EP Quarantine Sessions a month after the pandemic started, he would leave the label to form his own Sony Music imprint Hell Patrol Records & celebrated this newfound independence by dropping his 3rd album Black Eyed Children last spring distancing himself from horrorcore in favor of a more hardcore hip hop style. However after dropping In Their Blood…& from the Gutter a couple months back, Skribbal is already following it up by dropping Man with the Screaming Bad on his Bandcamp out of nowhere.

“Child of the State” kicks off the whole EP on some jazzy boom bap shit talking about what he’s learned throughout the course of his life whereas the Joe Blak-assisted “At War with the Enemy” works in some dusty drums & somber piano chords to spit some battle raps. The title track has a cloudy trap vibe taking about smoking motherfuckers while the penultimate song “Biz Markie” incorporates some organs to pay homage to the late Juice Crew member of the same name. Kaze Jones then comes into the picture for the closer “Shogun Assassins”, which fuses an operatic vocal sample with some pianos declaring themselves as the dynamic duo.

Now in comparison to In Their Blood…& from the Gutter being inspired by Dave Berkowitz, he takes it back to the hardcore style of Black Eyed Childrenon Man with the Screaming Brain. The features are bit underwhelming, but Skribbal manages to deliver some impressive performances on top of production of the traditional boom bap style.

Score: 3.5/5

Phife Dawg – “Forever” review

Phife Dawg was a 45 year old MC from Queens, New York who came up in the mid-80’s alongside childhood friends Q-Tip as well as Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Jarobi White when they formed A Tribe Called Quest. They would go on to become one of the most well respected groups in hip hop history with a discography that pretty much speaks for itself, especially The Low End Theory & Midnight Marauders. But after The Love Movement came out in the fall of ‘98, the group disbanded & Phife put out his solo debut Ventilation: Da LP at the beginning of the new millennium to moderate reception. Tribe eventually got back together 15 years later by recording their swan song We Got It From Here…Thank You 4 Your Service following their performance on Jimmy Fallon in secrecy & Phife passed from type 2 diabetes right before it was finished. The end result was my 3rd favorite Tribe album & now to commemorate the 6 year anniversary of his death, DJ Rasta Root is overseeing a posthumous effort from the 5 foot assassin & giving it to the world.

After the “Cheryl’s Big Son” intro, the first actual song “Only a Coward” is peppy boom bap jam produced by 9th Wonder talking about acting your own age whereas “Fallback” with Rapsody goes into more soulful territory thanks to Khrysis talking about not knowing how to act around their crews. The remix of the J Dilla produced “Nutshell” is superior to original down to the newly added Busta Rhymes & Redman verses just before “Sorry” comes through with a smooth ballad to his other half hooked up by Nottz.

Meanwhile on “Dear Dilla”, we have Phife delivering a touching open letter to the late hometown producer with Q-Tip delivering an emotional ass hook leading into “Wow Factor” works in some dusty drums & a vocal loop to show off some phenomenal wordplay. “Residual Curiosities” goes into a cloudier direction to show his appreciation for the Cory of Detroit, but then “God Send” talks about life’s curveballs on top of some horns & a funky bass-line.

After the heartfelt spoken word poetry that Phife’s mother Cheryl Boyce-Taylor delivers during the “Round Irving High School” interlude, the track “French Kiss Trois” with Redman & Illa J is basically a 2nd remix of a joint on the latter’s eponymous sophomore album while the penultimate song “2 Live Forever” by Little Brother & Posdnuos finds the 3 on top of some summery guitar kicks & glistening pianos to talk about how much they miss the 5-Foot Assassin. The title track then ends the album on an orchestral note touching down on eternity with “Ms. Jackson” sample during the scratch hook.

Now that Rasta Root has finally given us Phife’s swan song, I think it bittersweetly shows that his significance to the culture will live on until the end of the time from the touching performances to the organic production. Long Live the Funky Diabetic!

Score: 4/5

Kid Rock – “Bad Reputation” review

Kid Rock is a 51 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, DJ & WWE Hall of Famer from Romeo, Michigan who came up as a b-boy for The Beast Crew in the late 80’s. However, he wound up signing to Jive Records & RCA Records for his full-length debut Grit Sandwiches for Breakfast before they cut ties with him due to comparisons to Vanilla Ice. Bobby then dropped The Polyfuze Method & Early Mornin’ Stoned Pimp on his independently owned Top Dog Records, but got Atlantic Records to help back Devil Without a Cause & the success of that rap rock classic lead to him shifting away from hip hop to teeter between classic rock & country for the last 2 decades even to this day. This foray has been either hit or miss with me personally, but I can’t deny the success of “Picture” & “All Summer Long” (the latter of which has been revealed in recent years even by the producer Mike E. Clark to have been originally made for the Insane Clown Posse) or how much I enjoyed the Rick Rubin-produced Born Free since it originally came out back when I was in middle school. But given that it’s been a little over 4 years since Sweet Southern Sugar & his homeboy Donald Trump being voted out of office, Kid Rock has seen fit to return with his 12th full-length album.

“Don’t Tell Me How to Live” was not only the worst single of last year, but it pretty much sets the tone for the whole album by bastardizing the Monster Truck joint of the same name referring to millennials as pussies whereas “We the People” follows it up with a temper tantrum against Joe Biden & coming from someone who didn’t even vote for him or Trump in the past election, it’s just very tedious & feels redundant since we don’t even have mask/vaccines mandates here in Michigan anymore as far as I’m concerned. “My Kind of Country” comes through with an annoying country rock ballad talking about liking it rough & real just before the title track is an underwhelming attempt at a hard rock party anthem.

Meanwhile on “Never Quit”, we have Kid Rock returning to country rock territory to talk about fighting like a g leading into the hideous trap/rock fusion “Shakedown” saying nothing’s gonna stop him. “Rockin’” is actually one of the more heartfelt moments on the album taking a southern rock route to talk about becoming a grandfather, but then “The Last Dance” follows it up with a twangy romance ballad.

“See You Again” jumps into acoustic territory singing about missing his lover while “Still Somethin’” mixes some pianos & a guitar expressing his love for rock music. “She’s Your Baby (Now Rock Her)” works in some live drums & horn sections talking about thanking God for your girlfriend whereas “Never Enough” on the other hands sings about a love that’s too much & the heavy auto-tune on his voice sounds so awful.

Following that, “Everything to Me” returns to southern rock turf describing how much his lady means to him & “Cold Beer” follows it up with a more folkier sound talking about summer campfires. “Ala-Fuckin’-Bama” is an awkward ode to the titular state given that Kid Rock isn’t from there at all like he says during the hook while the song “Am What I Am” steers things back to a more rap rock sound talking about being born in the country & raised in the streets.

The penultimate track “The Nashville I Know” comes through with a straight up country jam expressing his love for the Tennessee capital except it’s a lot more tolerable than “Ala-Fuckin’-Bama” is, but at least “50” finishes the album with an introspective country rock tune expressing how he feels about turning 50 a little over a year ago at this point.

Now before anyone reading this review tries to come at me & call me a liberal, I wanna make it clear as day that I’m NOT democratic OR republican because I believe both sides of our 2-party system are equally corrupt. That being said, Bad Reputation is basically RƎVIVAL for conservatives because it’s all over the place & the blatantly obvious lack of focus with the political concept that both albums show. However, I’ll ALWAYS give him credit for being one of Detroit’s first big emcees along with Awesome Dré & Esham. Much like how I’ll always give Eminem his props for his impact on the culture.

Score: 1/5

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Cypress Hill – “Back in Black” review

This is the 10th full-length album from South Gate’s very own Cypress Hill. Consisting of B-Real & Sen Dog on the mic as well as DJ Muggs on the boards & Eric Bobo on percussion, the quarter would take the west coast by storm a little over 3 decades back off their eponymous full-length debut under Ruffhouse Records in tandem with Columbia Records because of Muggs’ unique production style & their pro-marijuana legalization themes. Other standouts in the group’s discography include Black Sunday, my personal favorite Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom, the criminally underappreciated Cypress Hill IV & even their last one Elephants on Acid. But with the 4 year anniversary of the latter coming up in the fall & since DJ Muggs has been busy fully producing projects for other people ranging from Rome Streetz to more recently Rigz, they’re bringing in Detroit veteran Black Milk to produce Back in Black.

“Takeover” is an energetic opener talking about the return of the group on top of a cloudy boom bap instrumental whereas “Open Ya Mind” goes into a funkier direction celebrating weed being legal in their home-state. Demrick comes into the picture for the groovy “Certified” rightfully bragging about their legacies just before the Dizzy Wright-assisted “Bye Bye” pensively details the warzone that is the hood & the drums are so goddamn dusty.

Meanwhile on “Come with Me”, we have Cypress Hill coming through with a decent homage to the iconic Outlawz joint “Hail Mary” leading into “The Original” taking a funky boom bap route to talk about being OGs in this shit. “Hit ‘Em” finds B-Real & Sen Dog on top of some hi-hats to get anthemic while the song “Break of Dawn” works in a guitar talking about never stopping. The penultimate track “Champion Sound” mixes some elements of trip hop & digital dancehall to declare themselves champs, but then “The Ride” ends the album by jumping on top of a vibraphone & some bongos to tell the story of a crack dealer.

Now for all the fans who weren’t really fucking with Rise Up even though I’d say there are songs I appreciate now as much as I did then, you’re gonna like Back in Black a lot more since I’d say their MNRK Music Group debut could go down as my favorite they’ve done without Muggs’ involvement. In fact, I think it’s one of the best albums that Cypress Hill has put together yet. After all the experimenting that they did on Elephants on Acid, they manage to get one of Detroit’s greatest producers to take them back to their roots & succeeding.

Score: 4/5