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 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

Hatfield – “No Change” review

Hatfield is an MC from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who’s been steadily been dropping singles for over a year now like “Tax” & more recently “Did It All Without a Quake Feature”. But for his debut EP, he’s enlisting local producer DJ BLKUOS behind the boards for the whole thing given that they’ve been working with each other quite a bit as of late.

“Greenery” is a spacious boom bap opener telling everyone to leave him be whereas “Ohohh” takes a more calmer approach talking about acting clean around him. “No Lunch” returns to boom bap territory asking the lil homies what they doing leading into the groovy “My Ppl” paying tribute to his people of course. The song “Crosstheline” comes through with some heavy auto-tune detailing relationship issues while the title track takes a soulful route talking about being the one. “Stuck” ends the EP on a trap note challenging his opposition.

Overall, I think these guys gave us an impressive EP right here & I’m very intrigued by what they’re gonna do next. The amount of versatility that both parties show from Hatfield’s gritty raps to auto-tuned singing as well as DJ BLKLUOS’ production ranging from boom bap to trap really go hand-in-hand with each other & as a result, they present an admirably natural chemistry.

Score: 3.5/5

Vega7 the Ronin – “The Lead Lined Wall” review

Queens, New York emcee Vega7 the Ronin recruiting København, Hovedstaden, Denmark producer Machaha to produce his debut EP. Known for his multisyllabic rhymes & dense wordplay, Detroit veteran Ty Farris has seen fit to sign Vega7 to his rising indie label Bars Over B.S. Records to make a significantly bigger splash within the underground hip hop scene, treading along The Lead Lined Wall to make a broader introduction to everyone who might not be familiar with him yet since he’s never had an official body of work until now.

“Sage Mode” begins by referencing former 7-time WWE world champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart over a drumless instrumental whereas “Dakota Arms” takes a bit of an eerier boom bap turn to the beat talking about his lyricism being vulgar & the script being full of sulfur. 

As for “Water Style” featuring Ja’king the Divine, we have both parties maintaining the hardcore vibes altogether showcasing their prowesses while “The Lost Knife of a Hunter” includes a reference to WWE Hall of Famer & former WWE Tag Team Champion Tony Atlas who mentored current AEW coach/commentator as well as fellow WWE Hall of Famer & 2-time WWE world champion holding the original World Heavyweight Championship & the ECW World Heavyweight Championship Mark Henry.

“Food & Medicine” featuring MTS Music strips the drums in favor of a prominent vocal sample showing off clever wordplay with the bar centered around Cordae’s breakout single “Old N****s” leading into “PAL Code” showing respect to former SMW Tag Team Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion & 6-time WWE Hardcore Champion Al Snow. “Akai Pads” references former NXT Women’s Champion, 6-time WWE women’s world champion & 2-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Mercedes Moné & the final song “GZA Chew Sticks” featuring Book$ ahead of the “Requiem” outro includes a bar referring to Bubbles from the Warner Bros.-owned HBO series The Wire.

The amount of buzz that this guy’s been generating in the underground up until this point makes it all worth it with one of the greatest hip hop EPs that I’ve heard in 2021 & establishes Veg7 the Ronin as a force to be reckoned with in the underground for years to come. Machacha’s production prominently goes for towards a minimalistically dark & drumless sound that near-perfectly helps enhance the display of Vega7’s penmanship showing off his technicality & wordplay abilities aside from a few guests showing up to add their own flavor to the table even if Ja’king delivers the hardest feature of the 3 in my respectfully personal opinion.

Score: 4.5/5

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Ho99o9 – “Skin” review

Ho99o9 is a punk rap duo from Newark, New Jersey consisting of theOGM & Eaddy. They originally emerged on the scene in 2014 off their debut EP Mutant Freax & have since gone on to follow it up with 3 more EPs along with 3 mixtapes & even a full-length debut. But in light of them signing to Travis Barker’s newly formed Elektra Records imprint DTA Records, it was only appropriate to have the revered blink-182 drummer produce their sophomore effort over here.

“NUGE SNIGHT” is a short yet heavy opener cleverly welcoming listeners to Death Row whereas “BATTERY NOT INCLUDED” works in some thrashy drums talking about how “nothing’s ever perfect”. “BITE MY FACE” comes through with a riot-starter demanding to show ‘em what you’re living in just before Bun B tags along for the chopped & screwed “SLO BREAD” to get on their hustler shit.

Meanwhile on “PROTECT MY BITCH, Pt. 2”, we have Ho99o9 going into a more industrial sound calling out an internet gangsta leading into “…SPEAK OF THE DEVIL” incorporating a heavy ass riff talking about how you can’t run from them because this is who they are. Saul Williams comes into the picture for the punky “SKINHEAD” screaming to give them drugs, but then “LOWER THAN SCUM” comes through with a killer guitar riff talking about the devil being in them.

“DEVIL AT THE CROSSROADS” starts out the final leg of the album with an uncanny trap cut confessing their temptations with Satan himself while “THE WORLD, THE FLESH, THE DEVIL” goes into trap metal territory getting murderous. The penultimate track “LIMITS” with Jasiah finds the 2 chaotically talking about not seeing such & “DEAD OR ASLEEP?” ends the album with a punk rap ballad singing to take them out with no regret.

These guys have always caught my interest beginning when Horrors of 1999 came out over a week after my high school graduation, but I’m so happy they linked with Travis Barker because he gave them their best body of work yet. His production’s a lot more rawer in comparison to the recent shit he’s been doing with Machine Gun Kelly & both MCs sound angrier than ever on the mic.

Score: 4/5

Shenseea – “Alpha” review

Shenseea is a 25 year old singer/songwriter & DJ from Mandeville, Manchester, Jamaica who’s dropped a handful of singles since 2015 like the Vybz Kartel-assisted “Loodi” or “Run Run”. She then signed to Interscope Records prior to the pandemic, but got her biggest push yet after appearing on the “Ok Ok” remix off Kanye West’s final Def Jam album DONDA this past summer. So given that, it was only a matter of time until she’d strike while the iron’s hot & drop a full-length debut.

“Target” with Tyga starts off the album with a decent ballad accompanied by a blissful atmosphere talking about doing right by one another whereas “Can’t Anymore” produced by London on da Track is a much more peppier follow-up wanting to get nasty. “Deserve It” goes into a more dancehall direction fantasizing over the perfect guy leading into 21 Savage tagging along for “R U That?”, which is a fresh fusion of contemporary R&B & trap outlining what kind of relationships they want.

Meanwhile on “Lick”, we have Megan Thee Stallion coming into the picture for a more refined version of “W.A.P. (Wet Ass Pussy)” down to the Murda Beatz instrumental just before the Offset-assisted “Bouncy” reveals itself to be a playful ass-shaking anthem. “Henkel Glue” returns to dancehall turf as Shenseea goes back & forth with Bernie Man talking about how this isn’t any kind of regular love, but then “Lying If I Call It Love” is a reggae-tinged slow jam courtesy of Cool & Dre detailing not being in love with her partner (played by Sean Paul) even though the sex is great.

“Hangover” comes through with an airy trap ballad advising how much it’s gonna hurt when she breaks up with her man while “Body Count” spaciously advises her new lover not to worry about such. “Egocentric” melodically advises how much your ego can damage you fighting for money like 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena.

The song “Shen Ex Anthem” pretty much speaks for itself over a pillowy instrumental while the penultimate track “Sun Comes Up” reveals itself to be an empowering anthem about rising up. Tyga oddly returns 1 last time for the lead single “Blessed” addressing their gratitude for where they are today blending dancehall, Afrobeats & pop rap.

For a commercial debut, I think Alpha further cements Shenseea as the most exciting new face in the dancehall scene. She stays true to her roots providing doses of contemporary R&B, dancehall, Afrobeats & trap for 40 minutes crossing paths with a handful of producers I’ve been a fan of making some magic happen together although having Tyga on both the intro & the outro of your very 1st LP is certainly a choice when he’s probably the most irrelevant artist to come out of the YMCMB camp.

Score: 3.5/5