Substance810 – “Desolate Lands” review

This is the 10th full-length album from Port Huron emcee/producer Substance810. Coming up in ‘06 off his debut The Definition under his original moniker Tekneek, he’s since gone on to build up an impressive catalog for himself whether it be the sequel The Definition Of… or the Hobgoblin-produced The Hanging Gardens. He just dropped the Onaje Jordan-produced A Righteous Offering back in the fall & now 6 months later, Substance is enlisting Chuck Chan to produce Desolate Lands in it’s entirety.

The title track sets the album up by asking how many times he & Chuck gotta give listeners that raw over a calming instrumental whereas the Josiah the Gift-assisted “Substantial” throws in a pillowy boom bap beat talking about making music with substance. Pro Dillinger tags along for the soulful “Thrill of the Hunt” advising that you can’t escape them, but then Dango Forlaine & Mickey Diamond come into the picture for the dusty “Noteworthy” ripping their opposition to shreds.

Meanwhile on “Nomads”, we have King Author joining Substance810 on top of a lush drumless loop keeping the battle raps going just before “Forever Forage” works in an orchestral boom bap instrumental wanting to know who the most potent is. After the titular interlude, “Pompeii” asks what’s really left to say over a hazy beat prior to “Dead Flowers” throwing a sick guitar lead talking about wising up.

The song “Block Spill” with King Micah the Infamous & Philmore Greene finds the trio going into jazzier territory talking about how it be in the streets while the penultimate track Staircases” with Supreme Cerebral has a more orchestral sound admitting that the light at the end of the tunnel is hard to see. “Coming Home” then ends the album with a horn-laced tribute to his hometown of Port Huron.

As much as I loved Chess Pieces, I happen to dig Desolate Lands a little bit more by a small margin. Substance’s lyricism continues to get more intense with each passing project Chuck Chan’s production is a lot more eclectic this time around.

Score: 4/5

A.M. Early Morning & Novatore – “Kingdom of Criminality” review

This is a brand new collaborative album between Chicago emcees A.M. Early Morning & Novatore. Both of whom have been turning heads in the underground for a couple years now, but didn’t actually connect with each other until “Looking Back” off the latter’s Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience produced by C-Lance last spring. However, the pair are now coming together to take the world through the Kingdom of Criminality & are bringing Stu Bangas on board to produce the whole thing.

The titular intro sets the album off by grimly talking about turning crews into fairy dust whereas “Sons of Satan” mixes a guitar in with some dusty drums proclaiming themselves as hellspawn. Spit Gemz tags along for the piano/boom bap laced title track welcoming you to the titular world just before the raw “Jumanji” talks about getting into any obstacle. Lord Goat & Recognize Ali come into the picture for “Circle of Goats” to spit some deadly battle raps leading into “Left in Ruins” by detailing how the crime life will follow you & the beat on here has an alien-esque feel to it. “Cannibal Feast” weaves in a piano & guitar to provide the theme for cannibals while the orchestral “Pissy Stairwells” finds the 2 trading rhymes back & forth excellently with one another. The penultimate track “Another Dimension” with Chino XL heinously talking about being beyond sick & “Underestimated” with Apathy ends the album on rock-tinged note calling out those who doubted them.

Given that both of these guys just came through with some of the highest points of their careers last year, I was pumped going into this & it certainly lived up to my expectations. A.M. Early Morning & Novatore both bring the best out of each other with unique chemistry while Stu Bangas still maintains to be a monster behind the boards.

Score: 4.5/5

Yelawolf – “Sometimes Y” review

Yelawolf is a 42 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, fashion designer & entrepreneur from Gadsden, Alabama who came up as a contestant on The Road to Stardom in 2005. His debut album Creekwater that same year, but didn’t catch the mainstream’s attention until New Year’s Day 2010 off the strength of his 4th mixtape Trunk Muzik. This caught the attention of Detroit icon Eminem, who signed Catfish Billy to his Interscope Records imprint Shady Records the following year. Yelawolf went on to release 4 albums under his contract with Slim, leaving in Spring 2019 to focus on continuing to build his own label Slumerican Records. He’s gone rogue since dropping a different project every week throughout last April, but is re-emerging with his 8th full-length album produced entirely by Shooter Jennings.

The title track is a hard rock flavored opener talking about being battle ready whereas “Hole in My Head” goes into more acoustic territory touching down on alcoholism. “Rock & Roll Baby” has a bit of a Lynyrd Skynyrd influence to it telling the story of a woman who’ll be heart broke by the sunlight, but then “Make Me a Believer” pulls from Ric Ocasek talking about self worth. Meanwhile on “Shoestring”, we have Yelawolf returning into acoustic turf detailing the tale of him barely missing bus call just before “Radio” talks about how pretty this chick used to be before she did coke & the riff has this rebellious feeling to it.

“Jump Out the Window” goes into a more cheerful direction encouraging the listener that everything’s possible, but then the song “Catch You on the Other Side” reveals itself to be a piano ballad pondering where he went wrong. The penultimate track “Fucked Up Day” has crescendoing instrumental talking about a shitty day in the neighborhood & “Moonshiner’s Run” ends the album with an ass-kicking dedication to all the moonshine makers out there.

A lot of genre-crossovers can fall flat on their faces like Rebirth & Supermarket, but I’m actually surprised at how much I liked a good portion of Sometimes Y. I really admire how Yelawolf managed to stick to a southern rock style without trying too hard to appeal to a radio market that doesn’t exist & there really couldn’t have been a better producer choice than Shooter Jennings because he really homes in on that sound pretty well.

Score: 3.5/5

K.A.A.N. – “Mission Hillz” review

This is the 20th full-length album from Maryland emcee K.A.A.N., who’s already made himself well established in less than a decade. Some of the standouts in his ever-growing discography include the Dem Jointz-produced Black Blood, the Ski Beatz-produced Requiem for a Dream Deferred & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced All Praise is Due. He’s coming fresh off 4 albums as well as the fact that it’s been over 2 years since the prelude EP Mission to Mission Hillz, K.A.A.N. is re-enlisting the Aftermath Entertainment in-house producer to take us down Mission Hillz.

“Falling Trees” is a cloudy trap opener talking about how the journey’s been a Jungle whereas “Way Out There” goes into a more vibrant route saying he just wants to ball all day. “Flatline” keeps it rolling with a celebratory banger about feeling like he’ll never go down, but then “Timing” takes a darker turn to address those who can’t comprehend what he’s accomplished.

Meanwhile on “U.F.W. (Unfuckwitable)”, we have K.A.A.N. on top of a flute sample attacking those who want to step up to him lyrically leading into the spacious trap cut “Patience” talking about never quitting. “Emergency” incorporates some stellar horn sections to show his hunger for the paper just before “Free Fall” savagely calls out those who started fucking with him now that he’s big.

“Greatness” comes through with a cavernous banger talking about how ill he is while “Show Them” works in a more stripped back instrumental advising to watch how he gets his paper to build. “I See” bombastically advises his competition to fall back prior to “Captured” bringing the flutes back in talking about seeing the shit as a nightmare.

The song “2 Much” incorporates an organ telling his opposition to take a break while the penultimate track “Matter Fact” hypnotically talks about the difference between him & where everyone else is at in their careers. “Count’n Me Out” sends the album off on a suspenseful note airing out those who doubted him.

Every time these guys link up with one another, they always bring the heat & [i]Mission Hillz[/i] is no exception at all. I felt like some of K.A.A.N.’s last few albums have been lacking in the production department, so it makes me happy to hear him taking it back to the basics with Dem Jointz.

Score: 4/5

Lyte – “Metamorphosis” review

Lyte is a 32 year old MC from Flint, Michigan who broke out in 2014 off his debut mixtape Follow the Lyte. He then signed to the Insane Clown Posse’s very own Psychopathic Records on New Year’s Day 2017 & put out his debut EP Psychopathic MonStar that summer following the 18th annual Gathering of the Juggalos in Oklahoma, but amicably left a couple years later in order to focus on building his own label MonStar Entertainment & becoming a father. But now after returning from his sabbatical, he’s finally unleashing his full-length debut to the world.

“Bars XXX” kicks off the album on a victorious note with the help of MonStar in-house producer Lendo Smiley talking about how he used to pray for this moment whereas “You Might Know” works in a guitar to tell the story of his struggle & where he is today. Layzie Bone & Stevie Stone tag along for the piano-laced “Problem” advising that you don’t want any beef with either one of them just before “Sunshine” returns to rap rock turf talking about making it out of the storm.

Meanwhile on “Flame”, we have Lyte on top of an operatic vocal sample boasting his rapping prowess leading into “Take Control” mixing some keyboards & guitars talking about fueling the flame except the hook is like nails to a chalkboard. “Change You” however goes into a spacious direction admitting that he hasn’t been the same since he’s made some dough, but then “Lyte It Up” goes into mellow boom bap turf talking about smoking weed.

“Level” incorporates some synthesizers with the help of Hypnotic Sound’s very own Str8jaket prior to Skitzo coming into the picture for the eerie “Cut Like That” produced by Jim Job referencing former IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion Owen Hart. “Outlaw” is a dope piano ballad comparing himself to such while “Mind Back Right” brings in P.R.E.A.C.H. & Twisted Insane to showcase their chopper flows over a solemn trap beat that Lyte happened to cook up himself.

The track “We Got That” goes full blown rap rock to talk about his ride or die bitch while the penultimate song “Stay in Yo Lane” with Ant G, Bam Beda, DJ Clay, Double Dragon, Frank Nitty & Tha Hav Knots is a lethal 7-minute posse cut going at their competition. The title track then finishes the album with an acoustic trap banger talking about being so much more than what the world thought he was.

I wasn’t sure if this day was actually gonna come like a lot of juggalos thought, but I’m actually happy it did because what a way for Lyte to return after that 5 year gap. The way he goes into detail as to how much he’s changed since then is very admirable & the production is as consistently stellar as it was on Psychopathic MonStar. Welcome back, dude!

Score: 3.5/5

Babytron – “Megatron” review

This is the 6th mixtape from Detroit rapper Babytron. Coming up as a member of the trio ShittyBoyz along with his childhood friends Stanwill & TR Dee signing to Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records, he’s also branched out on impressive solo career for himself as well as the side groups Lewis & Clark and the Dookie Brothers. However, it seems like last year was probably his biggest year yet landing interviews ranging from No Jumper to even Rolling Stone or the release of Luka Trončić last summer prior to signing with EMPIRE Distribution later that same month & then Bin Reaper 2: The 2nd Coming back in the tail-end of October. But to follow all that success up, he’s kicking off his 2022 run with Megatron.

“Letter to Cornelius” starts out the tape mixing jazz & trap to spit braggadocio whereas “Manute Bol” works in some strings to talk about being paid similar to that of the late NBA player of the same name later referencing the greatest WWE superstar ever; soon-to-be inducted Hall of Famer, 7-time world champion, 7-time tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion The Undertaker. “Peachtree” goes into a cloudier direction letting muthafuckas know that no one can beat him, but then “Cobra Kai” works in a danceable groove to talk about some late night shit.

Meanwhile on “Beyond Turnt”, we have the Dog $hit Militia general continuing to flex accompanied by some strings leading into “Huge Lifestyle 2” is a mediocre sequel to a loosie that GTP Daidoe put out a little over a year back. “Area 51” has an appropriately spacious atmosphere to it talking about being an alien just before “Mr. Do the Dash” brings a weepy violin loop into the mix declaring himself as such.

“Extra Butter” has a dope ass funk sample dissing his competition while Helluva takes “Crocs & Wock” into a more electro-direction to ball. “BMF” of course flips the 50 Cent single “Wish Me Luck” paying tribute to Big Meech’s operation of the same name prior to DaBoii tagging along for the hyphy-laced “Chess Players” to talk about their reckless gangster mentalities.

Following that, “6 Star Wanted Level” comes through with some insane beat switches for each verse saying he lives a GTA life while “Mainstream Tron” has a more playful tone talking about all the success he’s been seeing as of late. “Hustle Junkie” is basically him admitting that he’s addicted to grindin’ with an exotic sample woven in while “God Tier” goes into soulful territory talking about being his own boss.

“December 1st” flips the Sue Ann Carwell joint “I’ll Give You Love” to declare himself a living legend while “Hold Up, Wait!” returns to a more symphonic sound talking about being too high & punching a clerk harder than the longest reigning 2-time WWE Universal Champion, former 3-time WWE Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & WWE Tag Team Champion Roman Reigns. “RIP Virgil” experiments with disco paying homage to the late Off-White founder of the same name while “Stupid” finds Babytron displaying a decent back & forth chemistry with Glockboyz Teejaee over a violin instrumental.

The song “Jerry Rice” returns to the jazzy sounds of the opener continuing to diss anyone who thinks they can step up to him while the penultimate track “10 Toes Wherever” samples the classic Nate Dogg/Warren G banger “Nobody Does It Better” to talk about feeling cocky. “The Lost World” ends the tape with multiple beat switches from Danny G & some incredible charisma in Babytron’s verses.

If you ask me, Megatron serves as yet another reminder as of why Babytron is one of the hottest rappers in the city right now. He continues to bring some exciting new sounds into the Detroit trap scene & his pen-game (most notably the punchlines) continue to level up at an astonishing rate.

Score: 3.5/5

Stinkin’ Slumrok – “Stink-O-Vision” review

This is the sophomore effort from Walthamstow, East London, England, United Kingdom emcee Stinkin’ Slumrok. A member of the Cult of the Damned collective as well as 1/2 of the duos Swamp Harbour & Morrstinkin’, he would eventually sign to the London imprint Blah Records in the summer of 2015 after I had graduated from high school & make his full-length debut with Don Pong. He has since shifted his focus towards Swamp Harbour & Morrstinkin’ whilst making a handful of guest appearances, returning to his solo endeavors by turning on the Stink-O-Vision globally for all to view.

Nobodies Home hits us with a jazzy boom bap instrumental on the intro “Yeayeayea” responding to a woman saying he needs to change his ways that he’ll take it slow whereas “SAS” featuring Black Josh finds the 2 teaming up to rip it hardcore together. “Burst” takes a piano flip & throws some kicks & snares in the mix talking about now being the time to get wrecked instead of split open prior to “Botany Bay” featuring King Grubb & Lee Scott finding the trio talking about keeping it going until they hit kingdom come.

“Why Slummy?” reaches the halfway point of the album addressing the people who question him for the way he is leading into “Whodafuckisthis? leaning towards the trap side of things so Swamp Harbour can talk about people giving no fucks regarding them whatsoever. “Show Me” has a moodier boom bap sound altogether tackling themes of lust just before “Some Things” hooks up a prominent vibraphone talking about spending an entire 24 hours not doing shit.

Meanwhile on “Goblet”, we have Bang On! joining Slummy getting ready wrap up the broadcast on the Stink-O-Vision needing their paper pronto due to the fact of time waiting for nobody while “Rah Rah Rah” featuring the B-Movie Millionaires alongside Bill Shakes & King Grubb spends the full-length’s last 4 minutes or so representing the Cult each of them have memberships in over synthesizers combined with kicks & snares.

Sticking out amongst the other Cult of the Damned members for his style bridging younger & older hip hop fans alike, the follow-up to Stinkin’ Slumrok’s debut could be a cut above his debut 7 years earlier although some could dispute that opinion. Nobodies Home’s production kinda reminds of King Grubb’s debut album Droopy. in the sense that it’s experimental, except it’s catered towards the jazz rap style & Grubb’s wordplay has been swapped out in favor of Slummy getting waved & smoking weed with baby mamas despite him not having any children.

Score: 4/5

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King Von – “What It Means to Be King” review

King Von was a 26 year old rapper from Chicago, Illinois who came up as a Lil Durk protege. Now I wasn’t big on his mixtapes Grandson: The Mixtape or LeVon James at first, but he really blew me away once his full-length debut Welcome to O’Block came out a little over a year ago on Devil’s Night. But as soon as he finally won me over, he was tragically murdered a week later in broad daylight. So it was only a matter of time before Only the Family Entertainment put out a posthumous album albeit Von’s 2nd overall.

“Where I’m From” opens up the album with Chopsquad DJ mixing some pianos & snares as Von addresses Patoon’s death whereas “War” has a more dramatic tone sonically talking about his mob ties. G Herbo tags along for “FaceTime” to spit that gun talk on top of a rubbery bass-line & some murky choir vocals provided by Hitmaka leading into the 21 Savage-assisted “Don’t Play That” taking a more cloudier route talking about what they usually do with their day.

Meanwhile on “Straight to It”, we have Fivio Foreign assisting Von in cooking up a combative drill banger just before “Trust Nothing” with MoneyBagg Yo finds the 2 talking about bitches tripping about shit that has nothing to do with them over a thunderous trap beat with some piano chords. “Evil Twins” showcases some amazing back & forth chemistry with Lil Durk accompanied by an atmospheric backdrop, but then “Too Real” goes into a hazier direction talking about how legit he was.

“Rich Gangsta” with Tee Grizzley pretty much speaks for itself as far as the content goes even though it has one of the weaker instrumentals on the album until the synth-laced “Mad” picks things back up with Von angrily calling out those who envied him prior to his murder. “My Fault” incorporates some rich keyboard melodies as A Boogie wit da Hoodie assists Von in a decent romance ballad & the electronic undertones of “Change My Life” are a nice change of pace addressing a lover who thinks she was his wife.

Following that, “Hard to Trust” is an Asian Doll tribute that goes well down to TM88’s production until Dreezy’s verse comes in towards the backend of it while “Get Back” with Boss Top & DQFrmDaO fails at it’s attempt at a Chicago drill anthem. “Get It Done” with OMB Peezy kinda has a Detroit trap vibe to the instrumental with the pair delivering some mediocre gangsta raps while “Chase the Bag” references the WWE’s 2nd flagship program Friday Night SmackDown on the Fox Corporation’s flagship property.

The track “Go N Get Em” sees Boss Top returning for a chilling look at how murderous they can be while the final song “Grandson for President” is pretty much a remix of the classic Crime Mob single “Knuck If You Buck”. The outro “Family Dedication” though ends the album with a moving spoken word bit paying tribute to all of Von’s loved ones.

For a posthumous album, I’m actually kinda torn on it. There’s nothing really wrong with King Von’s verses or a good portion of the production, but the feature-list is just so oddly picked out with their contributions ranging from focused at best to pointless & phoned in at worst.

Score: 2.5/5

RZA – “Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater” review

RZA is a 52 year old MC, producer, actor & filmmaker from New York City who’s widely recognized as being the de facto leader the almighty Wu-Tang Clan. But he was the 2nd & last person of the group following GZA to come out with a solo effort before their full-length debut Enter the Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, dropping his debut EP Ooh I Love You Rakeem under Tommy Boy Records just 5 months after The Genius put out his full-length debut Words from the Genius under Cold Chillin’ Records. It wasn’t until late ‘98 though where RZA put out his own debut album Bobby Digital in Stereo, which I think gets criminally overlooked because people were expecting The Cure. He then followed it up with a worthy sequel Digital Bullet, but I can’t say the same for Birth of a Prince or the conclusion to the Bobby Digital trilogy Digi Snax. But after teasing it during Method Man & Redman’s 4/20 Verzuz, he’s returning from a 14-year break in the form of his 4th EP produced entirely by DJ Scratch.

After the intro”, the title track kicks it all off on a symphonic note as Bobby Digital makes his glorious return whereas “Pugilism” mixes some keyboards & strings to get in his shit-talking bag except his vocals are mixed WAY better than it was when he originally dropped it on YouTube last spring. “Never Love Again” keeps the orchestra vibes going getting lovey dovey while the song “Fate of the World” dispiritedly vents about the current state of the world. The penultimate track “Fisherman” goes into jazzy territory talking about how “no one knows for whom the bell tolls” & lastly, “Kaiju” ends the EP getting conscious on top of a militant beat.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this EP given how mid Birth of a Prince & Digi Snax were as well as the 14 year time gap, but I can honestly say this is The Abbot’s best solo effort in 2 decades. I love how DJ Scratch’s production is pretty much a love letter to The RZA’s unique sound down to the Kung Fu movie samples as he details the collision between him & his alter-ego.

Score: 4/5

Your Old Droog – “YOD Wave” review

This is the 5th EP from Ukrainian-American emcee/producer Your Old Droog. Emerging in the underground off his self-titled debut, many first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. Nonetheless, the guy has reached legend status at this point by proving that he was in his own lane off later albums such as Packs & It Wasn’t Even Close. But coming fresh off the incredibly conceptual TIME & Space Bar over the summer & fall respectively, Droog is kicking off his 2022 by enlisting Nicholas Craven to fully produce YOD Wave.

“Fela Kuti” kicks off the whole EP with some gorgeous piano melodies saying he’s being away for too long whereas “Scooby Snacks” takes a more soulful boom bap route looking back on where he came from before getting back to business. “.500” works in some dramatic string sections talking about having less than nothing just before the organ-laced “Purple Rain Freestyle (Game, Blouses)” comes through with some braggadocio.

The song “Black n Red Huaraches” with Tha God Fahim finds the 2 comparing their lives to operas even though the instrumental is my least favorite on the whole EP while the penultimate track “Lost Love” gets romantic over a drumless chipmunk soul sample. Fahim returns once more for the closer “Body Right, Mind Right” to jump on top of some solemn piano chords talking about taking no one’s advice.

Coming from someone who’s been down with Droog since the beginning, I genuinely believe that YOD Wave is the best EP he’s made yet. It’s not as conceptual as his last 2 albums, but he’s just spitting nothing but pure heat for 20 minutes accompanied by some of the most astonishing production that Craven had to offer.

Score: 4.5/5