7xvethegenius is a 31 year old MC from Buffalo, New York breaking out a couple years ago off her debut EP The Calm Before & the full-length album 7xve is Love. This was followed up with the Self 7xve EP & then this past winter, she & Jae Skeese both became the first artists that Conway the Machine would sign to his newly formed Drumwork Music Group. Now since 7xve’s sophomore album albeit Drumwork debut Death of Deuce on the way, she’s preluding it by dropping her 3rd EP.
“Tunechi” is a trap-flavored opener produced by Chup with 7xve & Armani Caesar telling motherfuckers to ask about them whereas “Payback” has an atmospheric boom bap tone thanks to EYEKETYSON speaking on her family. “Roses” goes into jazz territory addressing her lover just before “Marching” returns to that trap sound talking her shit.
The song “Psalm” with Jae Skeese takes it back into jazz turf with the help of Camoflauge Monk saying they out their lives on wax while the penultimate track “If I” with Heem meditatively tells the good they can be anything. Finally, the closer “Bailey Ave” luxuriously pays homage to the street that she came up from.
I feel like this chick has only been getting better within the last 8 months or so. Everything from 7xve’s songwriting to the production choices have improved significantly in comparison to her previous efforts. At this rate, Death of Deuce could very well be her best work yet.
Rick Hyde is a 31 year old emcee/producer from Buffalo, New York notable for being a flagship artist on Benny the Butcher’s very own E1 Music imprint Black Soprano Family Records. His debut album Plates that came out at the very beginning of 2019 was pretty solid & after a couple years of teasing a sequel, we’re finally getting it in the form of Ricky’s sophomore album & he’s pulling out all the big guns for it.
The intro with Tearz finds the 2 jumping on top of some keys & faint strings talking about being another product of the 80s whereas the Westside Gunn-assisted “Nova” speaks on their youngest shooters ‘til it’s all said & done backed by a smooth Daringer instrumental. Benny the Butcher & G Herbo tag along to tell motherfuckers to show their actions on the soulful trap banger “Alone” but after the “Booney on the Phone” interlude, the song “Hustler’s Prayer” enlists Heem to say they’re thankful for the paper & the holy vibe of the beat fits well.
Meanwhile on “Glorious Mourning”, we have Ricky jumping on top of a high-pitched vocal loop preparing for a mental funeral just before “Sarah” serves as an alluring 2-minute freestyle. Killa Kyleon comes in for the R&B-tinged “When I Go” produced by Sha Money XL talking about how people are still gonna love them when they’re both gone leading into “Momma Luv”, which is a crooning tribute to his Ma Dukes if you couldn’t tell by the title.
After the “Come Up” interlude, the Jay Worthy/Chase Fetti-assisted “Red Moon Rising” has a dope vocal loop throughout despite having some of the weaker performances on the album but then he & Meyhem Lauren make up for it by talking about making their homies bosses on the Harry Fraud-produced “Enrique” that comes up following the “Blasphemy” interlude.
The song “Skid Row” with Elcamino & T.F. finds the trio dramatically details their lives in the hood while the penultimate track “Slow Eddie” with Grafh & Skyzoo come together for some drug shit accompanied by a somber beat from the late DJ Shay. Then there’s “Black Sinatra”, where Benny & Heem join Rick to operatically compare themselves as such.
The first Plates is a bit better, but that’s not to say this isn’t a worthy follow-up. I think he overdid it on the features however, the production has improved & Ricky delivers a respectable thank you to Shay for help getting him where he is now.
This is a brand new collaborative EP between underground veterans Blu & Mickey Factz. One hails from the City of Angels & the other coming out of the City of Dreams. The pair have worked with one another countless times in the last decade & they were even apart of the 2009 XXL Freshman Class together, but are teaming up for The Narrative produced entirely by Nottz.
“Stay Down” starts things out with a soulful tribute to those who stuck with them up to this day whereas “Freedom” with Kota the Friend talks about what the title means to them on top of some synths & heavenly background vocals. “Roll Up” an eerie boom bap cut up about how rough 2020 was just before Asher Roth tags along for the churchy “Reign” saying they’re taking the through. The penultimate track “1” with Fashawn continues the gospel-influenced production saying they’re one with the moon & stars, but then the Sy Ari da Kid-assisted closer “Dark Souls” is a melancholic piano ballad talking about someone abusing their power.
If you’re a longtime fan of either one of these guys like I am, then you’re gonna love this EP because this was exactly what I expected from it & I mean that in a good way. Both emcees do a great job at bouncing off each other, Nottz’ traditional production is a great addition & almost every feature rips it up on their own right.
This is the 3rd full-length album from New York emcee NEMS. Coming up in the battle rap circuit, he would go on to have a brief stint with Psycho+Logical-Records in the late 2000’s before dropping the debut Prezident’s Day under Creative Juices Music back in 2010. This was followed up almost 9 years later when he & JAZZSOON teamed up for the damn near flawless Gorilla Monsoon, but is now returning for Congo.
“Go Fish” is an empowering opener telling the listener they’re destined to do great things whereas “Grind Mode” with Black Savv & Richie Ricks almost has a bit of a soulful trap vibe talking about hustling. “Bing Bong!” finds Vinny Idol working in some violins & dusty drums for NEMS to get on his disrespectful shit just before the summery romance tune “You & I” with the Terror Squad’s very own Tony Sunshine
Meanwhile with “Gorilla Clip”, we have NEMS hopping on top of a heavy guitar to get on the battle tip leading into him & UFO Fev going back & forth with one another for the synth-laced “Body at the Dice Game”. The homie Johnny Slash takes things back to boom bap territory on the confrontational “Wow”, but then the Gorilla Twins enlist Stuyville to pay homage to “Tha Boro” over a piano instrumental. “Real Lyfe” goes back into that trap lane saying he doesn’t feel right if he doesn’t make a stack a night whereas the Charlie G-produced “Cousins” is a touching tribute to his family.
Spit Gemz & King Cardi tag along to ominously detail what it’s like “Downstate” while the song “You Don’t Exist” takes shots at clout chasers. The penultimate track “Highly Favorable” flexes his skills on top of a celebratory beat from JAZZSOON, but then “U Dumb” with Nrok Dinero & Dinero Daboss is an awkward closer with a drill instrumental sampling the iconic Kanye joint “Power”.
I was curious to hear where he would go after Gorilla Monsoon giving how amazing that album was, but this is a solid follow-up. It’s interesting to hear him dabbling with new sounds & being one of the very few battle rappers to actually carry over his nasty lyricism for a full-length capacity.
Shaggytheairhead is a 27 year old producer, rapper & fashion designer from Las Vegas, Nevada who came to my attention after producing one of my all-time favorite Ouija Macc songs “Nardwuar Glocc” back in 2018. He would later go on to become an in-house producer for Psychopathic Records, allegedly having 9 beats on the Insane Clown Posse’s upcoming 16th album Yum Yum Bedlam. But with the 21st annual Gathering of the Juggalos going down this weekend, Shaggy’s dropping his full-length debut in the midst of his performances.
After the “Shaggythelegend” intro, the first song “The Gem / I Rap” is a bit of a jazzy boom bap kickstarter to the album with a murky switch up during the 2nd half saying it’s about time he snapped & turning losses into profit whereas the Trade Voorhees-produced “Reminisce” takes a cloudier direction speaking on getting older. “About Nothin’ / Bake It” is another 2-parter with a bit of a mystical vibe at the beginning saying he doesn’t have to brag at all, but then switches up into something trippier saying instrumental meditation is his only medication.
Meanwhile on “In the Road”, we have Shaggytheairhead enlisting Killatime to show off their lyrical abilities a boom bap beat inspired by the classic Joey Bada$$ tape 1999 leading into “Wakin’ Up / Steady Learnin’” starting off by atmospherically telling cats to catch him sleeping with his eyes open & then switching into a eerier tone proclaiming that he’s cursed. Darby O’Trill & Ouija Macc tag along for the riot-inducing “Act Up” produced by the homie Devereaux leading into “This Is Hell / Ceiling” somberly opening up about depression & later going into dark ambient turf comparing himself to the grim reaper.
“Vengeance” has a much quirkier beat as the wicked clowns Violent J & Shaggy 2 Dope themselves come in to talk about wanting revenge, but then he & Trade Voorhees follow it up by asking if they’ll miss them when they’re gone on the trap banger “Ghost”. He later calls out those who were hating on him for the cloudy “Jealously Woes I”, but then “Goin’ Goin’ Goin’” is an intoxicating cut about blowing up whether people like it or not.
“Rain Rain” works in some dusty drums & wavy synths to say his happiness has been gone while the song “Feel This Way” has a moodier tone sonically saying he’ll never change. The penultimate track “You Would Stay” is of course a funky love ballad & “Death to the Ego” psychedelically calls to humble himself.
I didn’t know what to expect from Wakin’ Up given that we’ve only heard Shaggytheairhead rapping a few times prior, but I must admit that this was a pretty impressive debut. Easily the best batch of songs that he’s crafted yet in my opinion. His lyrical skills have gotten better since the early days & it’s really awesome to hear him taking on a diverse range of sounds.
This is the 5th full-length album from Ohio rapper & singer/songwriter Trippie Redd. Coming up in the 2017 off the first 2 installments of the A Love Letter to You mixtape series, the kid would continue to grow after dropping his full-length debut Life’s a Trip & then A Love Letter to You 3 the following year. However, the quality of his music started to take a nosedive given the mediocrity of ! & A Love Letter to You 4. If you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Pegasus was a bloated mess & the Travis Barker-produced pop punk foray Neon Shark vs. Pegasus is barely better. 6 months later, Trippie is taking it back to basics with Trip at Knight.
“Molly Hearts” kicks things off a synth-heavy instrumental from Cashmere Cat & Outtatown talking about ecstasy if you couldn’t tell by the title already whereas the SoFaygo- assisted “MP5” speaks on being strapped despite the generic ass Pi’erre Bourne type beat that you can probably find on YouTube. “Betrayal” with Drake is nothing more than a bitter Kanye diss produced by Internet Money Records in-house producer Dynox, but “Finish Line” later serves as an electronic tinged-lust tune that Rafmade helped cook up just before Lil Uzi Vert tags along for the entrancing yet braggadocious “Holy Smokes”.
Meanwhile on “Super Cell”, we get a respectable tribute to the Dragon Ball Z series leading into the rowdy festival anthem “Miss the Rage” with Playboi Carti. “Supernatural” is a 2-parter starting out by psychedelically telling this bitch to take a chill pill, but then switches up to an aggressive ode to his gang. “Demon Time” reuses the “*Givenchy” beat for Trippie & Ski Mask the Slump God to talk about how they don’t play games “Matt Hardy 999” named after former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, 11-time WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE United States Champion, WWE Cruiserweight Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion, 2-time ΩCW Heavyweight Champion, 2-time ΩCW Tag Team Champion, 2-time TNA World Champion, HoG Tag Team Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion & The Crash Mundial Parejas Campeon Matt Hardy finds him & the late Juice WRLD going back & forth with each other backed by some Neptunes-inspired synthesizers.
“Vibes” has a bit of a retro video game feel to the best bragging about getting that paper whereas “New Money” continues the themes of wealth except it’s much more cloudier. “Danny Phantom” is a half-assed reworking of “Ghostbusters” trying to milk off the late XXXTENTACION just before the futuristic, 2-minute “Space Time” calling out those who’re mad at him. The keyboard melodies on “Baki” are nice change of pace with Trippie opening up about his rockstar lifestyle while the song “iPhone” named after the iconic Apple Inc. smartphones has one of the most skeletal instrumentals on the whole album referencing Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder & Neuralink founder Elon Musk.
The penultimate track “Rich Motherfucka” with Lil Durk & Polo G has a sinister piano loop with the trio showing off their wealth, but then “Captain Crunch” is a fiery finisher to the album getting on the gangsta rap tip with assistance from some of the hottest MCs my city has to offer right now: Babyface Ray, Icewear Vezzo & Sada Baby.
Now I much rather prefer Trip at Knight than Pegasus & Neon Shark vs. Pegasus, but by a very small margin. I feel like the production is very samey for a good 90% of it’s 47 minute runtime & a good majority of the features are outshining Trippie himself both lyrically & vocally.
UnderRated is a 40 year old MC/producer from Arcata, California notable for formerly being 1/2 of the revered Humboldt County duo Potluck. Ever since their disbandment at the beginning of 2017, he & 1 Ton have been focusing on their solo careers even though neither one of them have dropped an official project up to this point. However, it looks like UnderRated is finally preluding his Suburban Noize Records-backed solo debut Growing’s Always Good by premiering an EP on his YouTube channel.
“U Don’t Want It” is a piano trap ballad calling out those who try bringing the smoke to him whereas “Bow to Your Sensei” hypnotically shows you where he’s at right now. “Uppercut” meditatively gets on his weed shit just before the flute-tinged “All I Need” expressing his desire for love. The penultimate track “L.F.G. (Let’s Fucking Go)” has a more trap metal vibe talking about getting lit & to finish it off, we’re treated to a sequel to “What’s Your Purpose?” off the first Potluck album Humboldt County High.
I really think fans will enjoy Room to Grow as much as the Potluck shit, because UnderRated’s just snapping lyrically throughout it’s 17 minute run-time & it’s cool to hear him bringing outside producers into the fold. If he keeps it up, Growing’s Always Good will absolutely be worth the wait.
Ka is a 49 year old MC/producer & firefighter from Brooklyn, New York notable for his association with his Metal Clergy cohort Roc Marciano since 2008. He’s gone on to release 5 full-lengths in the last 13 years, my personal favorite of them being Honor Killed the Samurai back in 2016. But with the 1 year anniversary of Descendants of Cain passing by just a few months back, Ka is reemerging out of the dark for his 6th album.
“Everybody Up” is a guitar-driven opener about trying to make it from the bottom whereas “I Need All That” jumps on top of a piano saying he wants back everything they claim. “Peace, Peace, Peace” has a more atmospheric feel instrumentally talking about what he prays for just before reflecting on the hard life that he’s lived for “Sad to Say” & everything about it from the melancholic production to Ka’s passionate delivery makes it one of the most emotional songs he’s ever crafted.
Meanwhile with “P.W.H.”, we get some organ harmonies for Ka to explain how he got everything he needed leading into the frightening “I Notice” talking about going to Hell & back. “Like Me” has a bit of a triumphant feeling to it talking about making someone as resilient as him, but then “We Livin’ / Martyr” is a 2-parter with Navy Blue accompanying him for the entrancing first half about living fast & the other spaciously speaks on suffering no more.
Dr. Yen Lo reunites for the hypnotic “Subtle” addressing a woman lifting his spirits whereas “With All My Heart” mellowly lets you know you’re safe with him if he agrees to say “peace”. The song “Enough Praise / Recovering” starts out eerily talking about ass-kissers, but then goes into an ambient direction spending his whole life recovering. The penultimate track “Be Grateful” is a rock-flavored cut speaking for itself & then “Having Nothin’” lavishly talks about being broke gave him everything.
One of the most refreshing things about Ka is that whenever he puts out a new album, it always has a different concept to it & A Martyr’s Reward is amongst his most personal. This time around, he’s taking listeners through what it was like for him growing up & doing it with such raw emotion.
Fat Joe is a 50 year old MC, songwriter & actor from The Bronx, New York who came up as a member of D.I.T.C. & the Terror Squad. His first 3 albums Represent, J.O.E. (Jealous Ones Envy) & Don Cartagena are considered by many to be the best in his discography. However, much of his output since then has been either hit or miss from the underrated The Elephant in the Room to the horrendous J.O.S.E. 2 (Jealous Ones Still Envy 2). Last we heard from him was in late 2019 when he & Dre dropped their collab effort Family Ties, but is now returning with a brand new EP produced by Cool & Dre.
The intro has a soulful vibe instrumentally with Joe flexing whereas “Michael” is a luscious romance anthem. “Honey” vibrantly talks about hustling just before he & Dre reunite for the fly shit that “Diamonds” delivers on top of a fucking Prince sample. “Demon Girl” serves as a spacious bad bitch theme, but then “Africa” with Lil Yachty bastardizes the iconic Toto song of the same name.
The song “Babyface” compares his sex game to Verzuz despite the sensual beat while the penultimate track “Back Outside” with Remy Ma serves as a funky ass shaker. The closer “Sunshine (The Light)” then samples both Rihanna & Luther Vandross saying that his girl is everything to him.
I still stand on what I said earlier about Fat Joe’s discography in the last 20 years being hit or miss, but What Would Big Do? isn’t bad. Cool & Dre do a good job for the most part at flipping the classics as Joe gets on his grown man shit.
The Boom Bap Project are a trio from Seattle, Washington consisting of Destro, Karim & DJ Tre. They’re also apart of the Oldominion collective, dropping their full-length debut Circumstance Dictates only 2 decades back & then the Rhymesayers-backed sophomore effort Reprogram to even more critical acclaim 4 years later. Last time we heard the crew together was in 2007 with The Countdown, but have decided to reunite from their long hiatus for a debut EP.
“Been So Long” is a lush opener talking about their hiatus whereas “Don’t Follow Me Down” enlists Wordsworth to talk about being steady on their own with a harp loop throughout. “Deion Sanders” goes into more chilled out territory talking about the golden era just before saying they’ll always kill it on the rugged “Rain or Shine”.
The song “Hagler vs. Hearns” showcases their chemistry proclaiming their music as the real shit with a woozy instrumental while the penultimate track “Achilles” has a bit of a soulful feel to it showing them they way they do shit. “Ink Drips” then finishes off the EP with an emotional piano ballad.
I’ve been a fan of these cats since the Rhymesayers days, so to hear them come back albeit in a short capacity makes me happy as Hell. The production stays true to their name all these years later & in terms of chemistry, they haven’t lost a single step.
