Lil Peep – “High Fashion” review

This is a brand new posthumous EP from Long Island, New York rapper, singer/songwriter & model Lil Peep. Blowing up in late 2016 with the release of his 4th mixtape Hellboy & then following it with his debut album Come Over When You’re Sober last summer, I can see why it connected with a couple of my friends even though I found both of them to be underwhelming. Unfortunately though, Lil Peep passed away just 2 weeks after his 21st birthday of an accidental fentanyl–xanax overdose right before a show in Tucson, Arizona. The rights of his unreleased music were then given to Columbia Records, who dropped a sequel to the full-length debut showing some improvements compared to his early work. But with Harry Fraud announcing High Fashion earlier this week, he & Columbia have managed to put it out there for the public.

“Choose” is a great opener to the EP accompanied by a pillowy instrumental & Peep calling out a woman who’s lying about being in love with him while the penultimate track “Old Me” follows it up with an acoustic cut chillingly looks back on the person that he used to be prior to his untimely death. Finally, the closer “Living Rooms” sends off the EP with a slow guitar ballad venting about the drug addiction that costed him his life.

I was immediately drawn in when I saw Harry Fraud was involved & at the end of the day, I think High Fashion is amongst some of the best material of Peep’s career. Much like Tierra Whack’s new EP RAP?, I feel like it could’ve used at least a couple more songs but I’m not totally sure if I can blame that on anyone because who knows if they have any more material together? Nonetheless, both parties compliment reach other well.

Score: 3.5/5

Wreckage Manner – Self-Titled review

Wreckage Manner is a newly formed superduo from Queens, New York consisting of Styles P & Havoc. The latter most notable for formerly being 1/2 of the seminal Mobb Deep alongside the late Prodigy & the other coming up as 1/3 of The LOX with his childhood friends Jadakiss & Sheek Louch. Now we’ve heard these guys together a few times before on songs like on “Hard Life” off Filthy America…It’s Beautiful or the Billy Danze loosie “Chasin’ Money”, but was very much looking forward to their full-length debut over here given the impact both of them have on the culture.

“Fuck Around” is an amazingly eerie opener about how the duo don’t play no games whereas “Move How We Wanna” incorporates some heavenly background vocals saying they follow their own blueprint. The strings that “Fiend For” brings to the table are really cool talking about money, power & respect just before “Pay Me in Cash” does a good job of angrily demanding that paper over a dusty boom bap instrumental.

Meanwhile on “21 Gun Salute”, we have Wreckage Manner teaching the youth that keeping it real will get you further in life with the production enhancing a serious tone to it leading into “YO 2 QB” weaves in some more strings serving as a fresh homage to their neck of the woods. “Havoc & the Ghost” is a nice change of pace sonically talking about how they just wanna gross while the song “Good as Gold” calmly declares family over everything.

The penultimate track “Hymn to Him” has a dope lil guitar wailing in the background sending a warning to anyone who dares to cross them & finally, “Nightmares 2 Dreams” is a great sendoff to the album by grimly calling out cats who don’t understand them saying those people don’t even understand themselves.

Now if these guys are gonna make any more albums with each other down the road, then sign me the fuck up because this is a great debut. Havoc’s production remains unmatched & lyrically, he & Styles P sound really good with one another.

Score: 4/5

Polo G – “Hall of Fame 2.0” review

This is the 4th full-length studio LP from Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter & record executive Polo G. Rising to prominence a couple years ago off his debut album Die a Legend under Columbia Records which I personally found it to be decent, it wasn’t until the sophomore effort The GOAT a year & a half ago at this point where I noticed some significant improvements. He just dropped Hall of Fame this past spring & is now quick to follow it up with a sequel.

“Bad Man (Smooth Criminal)” is a brief yet clever opener paying homage to the late, great Michael Jackson as well as WWE Hall of Famer & former World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali whereas the Lil Baby-assisted “Don’t Play” mixes some snares with a vibraphone very well as both of them talk about being a problem. “Start Up Again” with Moneybagg Yo is a short & mid gangsta rap theme, but then “Heating Up” takes another jab at it actually sounding more threatening despite YungLiV’s wack ass feature.

Meanwhile on “Black Man in America”, we have Polo successfully delivering what could possibly be his most conscious song yet just before “Young n Dumb” serves as a raw & emotional depicting the live in the slums. Smatt Sertified gives “Unapologetic” a more atmospheric tone & Polo’s verse is catchy even though I can’t say the same for NLE Choppa’s leading into the 2-minute rock-infused “Fortnight” telling his lover he’d die for her which I wish was about another minute or 2 longer.

“Decisions” goes into a more acoustic direction thanks to Census, Nash & Taz Taylor of Internet Money Records melodically asking if he can count on this woman whereas “With You” brings in a skeletal yet moody beat saying the hardest thing is to sacrifice & lose”. Things go back into acoustic territory for the weak breakup ode “Partin’ Ways” & the same applies to “Suicide”, except Polo & Lil Tjay are talking about people trying to go up against them.

The penultimate track “Piano G” perfectly lives up to it’s name with a rich beat tugging at the heart strings & Polo admitting he was in denial running from reality, but “Alright” ends the album on a more optimistic note with some more acoustic passages & encouraging the listeners that everything will be ok in the end.

Compared to the predecessor, this is a bit of a decent sequel although I can’t say I enjoyed it as much. The first leg starts off pretty solidly & I appreciate that Polo continues to make him sound different from everyone else in the trap landscape, but the latter half (especially all the forced lovey dovey shit) is a bit of a mess.

Score: 2.5/5

Cozz – “Fortunate” review

Cozz is a 27 year old rapper from Los Angeles, California who caught the attention of J. Cole in 2013 with the single “Dreams” & eventually signed to the North Carolina veteran’s Interscope Records imprint Dreamville Records. His full-length debut Cozz & Effect would come out the next year, which was followed up with the debut mixtape Nothin’ Personal as well as the sophomore album Effected & the 2nd mixtape Aftermath of My Dreams. But after dropping a couple singles throughout these last couple months, Cozz is finishing off Dreamville’s year with his debut EP.

The title track is a cool guitar/trap ballad about being blessed that he’s still alive whereas the gospel vibes of “Higher Power” fits really well given the subject matter of belonging to God. “Juice Bars” has one of the weaker instrumentals on the EP trying to rip off D4L’s “Laffy Taffy” even though the boastful lyricism is ok, but then “So Am I” has a more nocturnal sound talking about he & his boys being witit.

I really dig the boom bap production on the song “Addicted” even though I don’t care for the thirsty lyricism while the penultimate track “Control Problems” with YG weaves in an uneventful trap beat despite the lyrics about letting God handling their issues. That being said: I think “Cry” is a powerful closer looking back on his parents domestically abusing each other & the cops coming to their house.

Now this is far from being one of the best EPs I’ve heard all year or anything like that, but a good majority of Fortunate is pretty solid. Cozz is really starting to elevate on the mic & the production game is starting to improve as well. Very curious to hear where he’ll go with his next album.

Score: 3.5/5

Your Old Droog – “Space Bar” review

Your Old Droog is a 32 year old MC from Brooklyn, New York who caught my attention when he dropped his self-titled debut & many first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. Nonetheless, the cat has reached legend status at this point by proving that he was in his own lane off later projects such as Packs & It Wasn’t Even Close. He just dropped the incredibly personal TIME over the summer & with only 1 month left in the fall, Droog’s celebrating Cyber Monday by dropping his 8th full-length album.

The titular intro sets it all off with Droog on top of a drumless, atmospheric instrumental talking about living like a Saudi Prince whereas “Cosmonaut” follows it up by going into boom bap territory spitting them battle bars. “Yuri” incorporates a psychedelic rock sample with the help of Nicholas Craven speaking on making money like a Rothschild these days, but then “White Russian” has a bit of a quirky beat talking about how everyone loves him.

Meanwhile on “Bloody Mary”, we have Droog telling the story of a woman attracted to harm accompanied by a more calmer instrumental just before “Babushka IV (Zinfandel)” goes into a jazzier direction calling out anyone who think he’s mid for not understand the slang. “2001: A Space Yodyssey” has a more smokier sound to it basically saying that’s what he’d call his life & after the “Sector 7” interlude, billy woods & Lil Ugly Mane tag along for the Sadhugold-produced “Meteor Man” working in a train whistle loop keeping the battle raps going.

Nickelus F comes into the picture on the summery “Mojito” comparing their rhymes to the titular cocktail while the song “Blue Hawaiian” with Tha God Fahim weaves in a full-blown funk sample getting on their Sopranos shit. And prior to the titular outro, Fahim sticks around for the final song “Dom Perignon” making a toast sipping on the titular champagne over a classy instrumental.

TIME has quickly become my 2nd favorite Droog album behind self-titled, so my expectations were very high given that & the singles leading up to this one. That being said, I was not disappointed at all because the whole space/alcohol concept is well drawn out & it’s really great to see him continue to dive further into the abstract rabbit hole. At this rate, I feel like his next projects produced by Edan & Count Bass D are destined to be immaculate.

Score: 4/5

Stu Bangas – “Death Wish” review

This is the full-length solo debut from Boston producer Stu Bangas. For the last 15 years, the dude has become a household name in the underground realm by giving beats to an ever-growing list of veterans ranging from members of the Army of the Pharaohs collective to the late Sean Price. But since 2019, he’s been steadily grinding his ass off producing projects for the likes of Ill Bill & Recognize Ali. He just dropped the conceptual Empires with Cypress Hill percussionist Eric Bobo back on 4/20 & is now branching out on his own once more in the form of Death Wish.

After the titular intro, the first song “So What You Wanna Do?” by the Heavy Metal Kings is a dramatic boom bap opener thirsting for blood whereas “Candy From a Baby” by Vangarde takes a happier note looking back when Mr. Lif’s mom gave him his 1st boombox. “Levitate” by Apathy lividly talks about defending the throne referencing WWE Hall of Famer William Shatner & after the titular interlude, “Skull Fucker” by Starvin’ B weaves in some grim pianos telling listeners to be glad he ain’t tapping their chins.

Meanwhile on “Come Correct”, we have Tha Connection forlornly spitting that dope slanger shit just before “Dead Body” by Lord Goat & Recognize Ali wickedly quenches for blood. “Brotherhood” is a serious Watson & Holmes reunion talking about getting right, but then “Same Spot” by Juga-Naut weaves in some keys speaking on not really advancing when you know the path.

The track “Outta My Way” by Snak the Ripper & Young Sin finds the 2 aggressively advising their opposition to walk away before it’s too late & before the titular outro, the final song “Fill the Cemetery” by Celph Titled & G-Mo Skee rounds out the album with endless wig-flipping punch you in the face bars & an apprehensive instrumental.

As much as I liked Beats & Blood, I’d have to say that he really stepped it up on Death Wish. Easily one of the best producer albums that I’ve heard in a while in my opinion. His production is top notch as it usually is, but the list of MCs that he brings along for the ride is much more consistent in terms of their performances.

Score: 4/5

Twiztid – “Untitled” review

This is the 13th EP from Detroit duo & Astronomicon founders Twiztid. Consisting of Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, the pair originally started out as part of the House of Krazees alongside childhood friend The R.O.C. in 1992 before their initial disbandment 5 years later. Almost immediately after, the Insane Clown Posse took Jamie & Mono under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records as the demented duo they’re known as today. They would become the label’s 2nd biggest act being their mentors off projects like Mostasteless, Freek Show, Mirror Mirror, The Green Book, W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day) & Abominationz. Shortly after the latter was released, Twiztid left Psychopathic to form Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2014. Since then they’ve released 6 albums, with my favorites being The Darkness at the top of 2015 & then /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/ which just celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary recently. But after going into rock territory on Unlikely Prescription at the beginning of the fall, Twiztid gave fans a little treat to those who placed an order of $75 or more this Black Friday.

“The Hell That We Been Through” is an impressive opener from Triple Threat produced by Stir Crazy energetically encouraging their Day 1’s to stick together with them while the song “Sugar” goes into a bleaker direction talking about how they’re not fine mentally which they always do well with at subjects like that. The penultimate track “Real Clique” is a ghoulish trap banger taking shots at their opposition which is dope if you’re into battle raps & “On the Grind” finishes the EP off with Triple Threat reuniting on top of a misty Fritz the Cat instrumental flexing their hustle.

Although the mixed reception of Unlikely Prescription was a given & even I myself was 50/50 on it (that’s coming from a place of love too), I came away from this untitled EP enjoying it as much as I did Electric Lettuce back in the spring. They pick up where /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/ left off in the sense that they demonstrate how talented they are as MCs & returning to a more hardcore hip hop sound, proving that they haven’t forgotten about their core fanbase.

Score: 3.5/5

R.A.P. Ferreira – “The Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures” review

This is the 7th full-length album from Kenosha, Wisconsin emcee/producer R.A.P. Ferreira. Coming up as 1/3 of Nom de Rap, he eventually broke out solo in 2011 off his debut mixtape I Wish My Brother Rob Was Here & followed it up with 2 more tapes before dropping his full-length debut A Toothpaste Suburb in the fall of 2014. However, it wasn’t until the Kenny Segal-produced sophomore effort So the Flies Don’t Come where Ferreira would come onto my radar. He’s dropped 3 more albums since then with the latest one being Bob’s Son: R.A.P. Ferreira in the Garden Level Cafe of the Scallops Hotel this past New Year’s Day, but is ending the year by dropping The Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures.

“contrapuntal” is a moody opener talking about another long day for lone wolf & cub whereas “brother mouzone library card” speaks on his metamorphoses accompanied by a lo-fi instrumental. “hyperion” takes a spacey boom bap route talking about fucking the antennas, but then “wedding cake 8ths” dissonantly details splitting weed on a first date with a nemesis.

Meanwhile on “humboldt park jibaritos” we have Ferreira on top of a jazzy beat talking about how it’s all about the feeling than the wording leading into the mellow “gemilut hassadim” proclaiming that art is part of being alive. ELDON tags along for “Blackmissionfigs” which once again goes a into a more lo-fi direction talking about rapping forever just before “east nashville” goes into a more cavernous direction saying he’ll never quit.

The song “Praise & Worship” has a bleak, boom bap tone to it comparing himself to Black Orpheus while the penultimate track “uptown 37” brings in a dramatic tone to the instrumental vowing to be gorgeous & homeless. As for “hot bref”, it closes out the album on a smokier note by talking about having God in him.

Even though Bob’s Son was a great tribute to the late Bob Kaufmann, I’d have to say The Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures is a little bit more consistent in comparison. It’s really cool to see him showcasing the talents of all these unknown, up-&-coming producers while attaching his poetically unique style to their beats.

Score: 4/5

A.M. Early Morning – “Nicholson” review

This is the full-length debut from Chicago, Illinois emcee A.M. Early Morning. Coming up off his debut EP The Maxi Single Project back in 2017, he would later go on to release a couple more installments making a trilogy out of it as well as 7AM 747 & Oakley. He just dropped the Nightwalker-produced Late Night Early Morning III a couple months back & now to see Johnny Slash fully producing Nicholson from front to back definitely peaked my interest given how much I enjoyed the beats of his that G-Mo Skee freestyled over when he would finish his YouTube video game streams.

“Wendy” is a brief yet gruesome intro proclaiming he’ll turn his competition to slaw whereas “Full Amount” goes into boom bap territory talking about how it’s going out once it comes in. Daniel Son & Poison Pen tag along for the sinister “This Tape” saying that the rap game is a legal hustle just before “Vibes” dolefully talks about fucking with the best.

Meanwhile on “When I Shoot”, we have Johnny Gunnz coming into the picture to earnestly help remind listeners they don’t miss leading into “Can’t Let ‘Em Breathe” fuses together some dusty drums & keyboards talking about having his foot on the rap game’s neck. “The Hammer” with Jaber & Lo Gun then finds the trio bloodthirsty on top of a unhinged instrumental, but then “Criminal Collective” ominously talks about making your own moves.

The song “No Cap” grimily calls out all the studio gangsters out there while the title track with Gavlyn almost has a bit of a dejected yet jazzy tone to the production & the 2 are comparing themselves to that of the retired actor of the same name. “Joe Pesci” then finishes it off by aggressively airs out everyone under the sun.

Coming away from Nicholson, I can say without question that it’s even better than the EP he just put out a couple months ago. He & Johnny Slash couldn’t have payed tribute to one of the greatest horror movies of all-time any better while bringing the best out of each other.

Score: 4.5/5

Remedy – “Remedy Meets Wu-Tang” review

Remedy is a 51 year old MC/producer from Staten Island, New York who first made his mark with the song “Never Again” off the Wu-Tang Killa Beez’ debut album The Swarm in the summer of ‘98. He eventually made his full-length debut The Genuine Article in the spring of ‘01 & followed it up with Code Red about 2½ years later. The last we heard from him on his own was when It All Comes Down to This but as the 11-year anniversary of that approaches in a few weeks, he’s enlisting a star studded cast of veterans to be featured on his 4th album.

Ghostface Killah tags along for the opener “Modern Day Miracle” working in an occultist loop to verbally abuse anyone who wants to challenge them whereas “Death Defying” with Inspectah Deck finds the 2 over an operatic instrumental talking about choosing whether to kill or be killed. “Sparrow” takes a more soulful route feeling comparing himself to the titular bird leading into Ghostface returning alongside Conway the Machine for “The Pulpit” incorporating some orchestral samples talking about the street life.

Meanwhile on “Crazy 8’s”, we have 5 of the 9 current Wu-Tang Clan members joining Remedy alongside Solomon Childs & Streetlife for a cool 3-minute cypher just before RZA hops on the dusty “Supreme Intellect” getting on their Killa Bee shit. “To Say the Least” has a more suspenseful tone addressing George Floyd’s murder, but then Solomon returns with Trife Diesel for the piano-laced “Greatness: The Kila Bee Legacy” talking about witnessing such.

“The Recipe” weaves in a more funkier sound as Remedy & Method Man get flirtatious whereas “The Art Basel” with Ghostface Killah & Shyheim climactically talks about belonging in such. “Calculated Risk” lusciously sums of Rem’s life in 2 & a half minutes while the song “Killa Bee Invasion” with Cappadonna & Solomon Childs serves as a gritty homage to the collective of affiliates.

The penultimate track “Noir Story” is a full-on Killah Priest solo cut with a drumless instrumental & his lyricism on here is a reminder as to why he’s this reviewer’s 2nd favorite affiliate right behind Killa Sin in terms of lyrical skill, but sticks out like a sore thumb compared the previous cuts. “Never Again” then ends the album by mournfully paying tribute to those we’ve lost along the way.

If you’re a diehard Wu fan like I am, then you’re gonna come away from this highly impressed. It’s great to hear Remedy completely rejuvenated & he does an awesome job of paying homage to my all-time favorite hip hop group from the guests to the production.

Score: 4/5