The Kottonmouth Kings are a Placentia, California rip hop outfit now consisting of D-Loc, Chucky Chuck, Judge D & The Taxman. The original marquee act of Suburban Noize Records, their full-length debut Royal Highness distributed by Capitol Records was easily the rawest entry of their discography & the sophomore effort High Society embraced a more futuristic soundpreceding Hidden Stash II: The Kream of the Krop & Rollin’ Stoned stylistically bringing KMK to their own. The last time we heard these guys as a group was when the late Saint Dog & Johnny Richter got with Loc for their 14th album Kingdom Come on 4/20 2018, excluding 25 to Life which is essentially D-Loc’s 3rd solo album. To celebrate 3 decades since their formation however, they’re signing to Virgin Music for a brand new extended play of material.
“Red Eye” produced by Mike Kumagai thunderously begins talking about people everywhere knowing the Kings got the best flow whereas the title track goes for more of a reggae vibe to discuss Americans struggling these past 16 months. “Break the Chains” shifts towards punkier territory talking about rebelling against the system & once “Move Along” encourages all to overcome the odds, “Raise Up” finishes off with a celebratory heater.
I recently got to see the Kottonmouth Kings live the day before Mother’s Day earlier this month since both Motown Rage & Kung Fu Vampire opened for them, but this new lineup’s inaugural collection of music was what 25 to Life should’ve been & makes me more optimistic of where things will go for them hereon out. It’ll be a delightful surprise for fans to hear Kumagai reuniting behind the boards & taking it back to the rip hop sound he helped perfect almost a quarter of a century earlier, mixing political rebellion & stoner raps they’ve become synonymous with.
doPE is a superduo consisting of Los Angeles, California musician, songwriter, author & actor John Densmore alongside Hempstead, New York emcee, songwriter & producer Chuck D. The latter of whom gained notoriety for being the frontman of the seminal political hip hop outfit Public Enemy & the other broke out as the drummer for one of rock music’s most celebrated bands: The Doors. Both members announced their formation a few months earlier & are dropping a debut album under SpitSLAM Records.
“every tick tick tick” begins with a funky rap rock intro produced by C-Doc where Chuck’s talking about ageism, sexism & racism being in the way of people living their daily lives whereas the title track discusses elders being the roof that shelters the youth. “doomsay” returns to a rap rock sound for a gritty description of the apocalypse & after a recitation of “The Bone of my Father” by Etheridge Knight, we have “i love that i don’t love” soulfully ending the 1st half speaking of The Rhyme Animal’s relevancy.
As for “people are strangers”, we have doPE suggesting not to even try at being friends with them if you only know of them while “breakthru” spends 115 seconds talking about the rise of technology over the course of their lives. “ops3ssion” does it’s job masterfully fusing Public Enemy’s politically charged lyrics with 70s rock instrumentation while “everyone dies” following a reading of “Djali II” by Kamau Daáood concludes no country for old men by providing 1 last crucial message for the younger generations listening.
Originally released as a Record Store Day exclusive last month, doPE’s full-length studio debut finally arrives streaming services a month later & would say no country for old men joins Radio Armageddon & Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025 in terms of the run Chuck D has musically been on for the past 12 months. The production impressively mixes hip hop with funk & rock, sprinkling hints of spoken word along the way to provide some social commentary many need to hear.
GILLtemper is an east coast underground hip hop duo consisting of Millville, New Jersey rapper & producer Gibby Stites alongside Trevose, Pennsylvania rapper ILLtemper. Both of whom have already made themselves known whether it be Gibby briefly signing to Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2021 or the other being 1/2 of the Even Heathens, making his Lyrikal Snuff Productionz debut last fall with Paxil Rose. However after linking up on songs like “MayNeedAxe” or “April Showers”, they’re linking up for an eponymous extended play.
After the intro, “Save Us” begins with an opener produced by Gibby where he hooks up a gospel sample & both of them are pleading to be saved whereas “Lost Puppy” takes a more darker approach talking about darkness constantly following them. “Doing Fine” works in some pianos & strings to explain that nobody’s gonna get in either of their way leading into “Violence” ending the 1st leg talking about the enjoyment they get outta watching brutality unfold.
“Song” begins the 2nd half by being intentionally unserious for 3 minutes over an orchestral boom bap beat even if I’d say it’s my least favorite track here, but then “Cruise Dread” gives off a summery vibe instrumentally talking about a murder mystery on a boat. “Misogyny” asks themselves what kind of rappers they’d be without bringing up prejudice against women & “Manic” concludes with a boom bap outro feeling like they don’t have much left.
Excluding both remixes & the intro, I’d say that GILLtemper feels more like an EP than a full-length LP although I very much appreciate what both Gibby Stites & ILLtemper were trying to do blending humor & stealth-horror with hip hop over the course of their self-titled debut. There are a couple moments I don’t see myself revisiting especially like “Song” or “Misogyny”, but I do enjoy a great bulk of the production & each performer compliments one another.
England, United Kingdom boom bap, political hip hop & ragga duo Babylon Dead consisting of Bristol emcee Jman alongside London producer Illinformed reuniting for their 3rd LP. These guys initially got together for The Mould Tape’s outro “Gettin’ Mouldly” & signed to the Glastonbury, Somerset imprint Real Life Drama Records for their full-length debut 2000 B.D. near the end of 2017. Last we heard from them was the 2020 sophomore effort Book of the Dead, returning once more for Death Upon Dem almost a week after the Slater Dojo & Leyton Buzzard respectively became the new RPW British Tag Team Champions & RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.
“Crash & Burn” begins with this cold blooded boom bap beat talking about destroying the whole system whereas “Real Badman” goes for a jazzier vibe instrumentally explaining that the legitimate are the ones busting shots. “How Yuh Mean” works in some vibraphones so Jman talk about the authorities wanting his people incarcerated leading into Illinformed embracing a darker boom bap sound so they can figure out who they’re trying to “Flex On”.
As for “Out Here”, we have Wyatt Earp appearing to diss the government along with them talking about burning up some weed because they’re struggling to breathe outside while “Bare Burial” after the “Covered in Blood” interlude nears the halfway point of Death Upon Dem on some ghostly boom bap vibes putting us inside the shoes of a mortician. “Buss a Shot” turns up the grittiness talking about shooting at corrupt officers while “Run” almost has this horrorcore quality to it surprisingly.
“Chant Down” after the “Seen” interlude winds down the last moments of the album promising that the revolution will in fact be televised this time while “Gully” rawly blends the sounds of ragga & boom bap for a hardcore hip hop anthem. “Redrum” has a ghostly yet dusty tone to it so they can quench for blood while “Anarchy & Chaos” sends it all off with an empowering rap rock outro suiting for a rebellion asking how high to raise the death toll.
It’s no secret that the world’s been in absolute shambles for the past 16 months, so Jman & Illinformed felt that it was only right for both of them to recapture the politically-charged boom bap/ragga fusions that Babylon Dead became known for in a time where we needed Death Upon Dem now more than ever for the people. Almost a decade since their debut, the subject matter they’ve always tackled directly over Illinformed’s jazzy boom bap production still feels relevant as it did 9 years ago except they only have 1 feature rather than a few.
Here we have the 6th solo LP from Baltimore, Maryland emcee, singer, producer & visionary JPEGMAFIA. Breaking out a decade ago with the release of his full-length debut Black Ben Carson, it wouldn’t be until the man’s next 2 albums Veteran &All My Heroes are Cornballs where he would reveal himself as one of the most creative minds in hip hop today. The 8-track EP, it’s follow-up with almost all newly recorded material, LP!, the Danny Brown collab effort Scaring the Hoes & I Lay Down My Life for You each had moments of their own despite Experimental Rap’s length worrying me.
The self-produced “babygirl” after the “投影の芸術” intro begins with this hardcore trap metal single referencing 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 14-time WWE world champion, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion & the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division’s CCO Triple H whereas “Burning Hammer” references former 10-time AJPWタッグチームチャンピオン, 3-time AJPW三冠ヘビー級チャンピオン, GHCヘビー級チャンピオン, GHCハードコアチャンピオン & 2-time GHCタッグチームチャンピオン 小橋 建太’s finisher.
“$” combines brostep tearout, hardcore hip hop, experimental hip hop, jersey club rap, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, hybrid trap & riddim talking about the love he has for his own wealth while “Pop this Heat” samples both “The Way” by Ariana Grande featuring the late Mac Miller & “A Little Bit of Love” by Brenda Russell to discuss the game being so soft. “Meet the Dealers” featuring DATPIFFMAFIA links up for a 2-parter about them telling who ain’t ever been to war in their lives based on how they act.
We have Peggy going at the throats of people who be running to the internet soon as shit happens to them during “headline but once “Degenerate Prayer” flips “Frankie Teardrop” by Suicide to talk about scrapping the plates if anyone who touches his paper, “Shake Your Booty” by Bunny Sigler gets sampled during “The Ghost of Emmett Till” making a reference to WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion, 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion, 17-time WWE Hardcore Champion & current English color commentator for their Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) subsidiary JBL.
“Since I Met Ye” chops up “Mr. Big” by 8Ball & MJG so Peggy can respond to the backlash he got after producing some tracks for ¥$’ debut albumVultures alongside it’s sequel while “¥” combines industrial hip hop, glitch hop, glitch, epic collage, hardcore hip hop & deconstructed clubhouse referencing the inaugural 2-time AEW World Trios Champions The Elite. “G.Y.B.B. (Get Your Bitch Back)” on the other hand goes for a more soulful boom bap vibe talking about being nothing like those in the streets.
2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair gets referenced on “Tsar Bomba” to end the 1st half while “Mask On” talks about robbing people. “Lights” after the “His Will” interlude however references WWE Hall of Famer, former SMW Tag Team Champion, 3-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 12-time WWE tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion Kane.
“New Era” gives off a more laidback atmosphere talking about people wanting to dismiss him for coming to the game with a plan while “War Over Land” after the “1 Day It’ll All Be Over” interlude fuses conscious hip hop, urban contemporary gospel, glam rock, rap rock & drumless explains how possessive he can be. “Bridges on Fire” soulfully talks about him trying to make it through the night while “No Strippers in Heaven” includes a bar referring to the inaugural 4th Rope World Tag Team Champions & current 2-time HoG Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz.
After the “內戰” interlude, “Chat” experiments with a pluggier sound even though the “free Derek Chauvin” line when the hook comes around doesn’t sit with me right & the final song “The 1st Amendment” preceding the “You will always lose money chasing women, but you will never lose women chasing money” outro spends Experimental Rap’s final minutes talking about Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk being killed last fall.
Being a fan of JPEGMAFIA for almost 8 & a half years already, it’s been disappointing to see him go from giving us classics like Veteran & All My Heroes are Cornballs to beefing with artists that I’ve been a fan of longer than him like Armand Hammer or Earl Sweatshirt & Freddie Gibbs. That said: I’m sure it would surprise people to hear me say I’m more on the fence with Experimental Rap than a lot of his previous output. His experimentally industrial hip hop taking additional inspiration from riddim, brostep, glitch hop, rap rock, rap metal & deconstructed club is tastefully mixed even if the hardcore lyricism can be repetitive.
Another extended play & the 8th overall from Detroit, Michigan rapper Lelo. Signing to 10K Projects a couple years ago, he would make his presence known more widely in the local trap scene by putting out his 4th EP Nightingale not too long after landing a record deal & gained even more exposure a month later by dropping the single “No Contempt” on SoundCloud. LifeAfterDogshit along with When It’s Over & New Detroit would further increase his profile, coming off Mastiff earlier this month to drop Pink Tiles.
The self-produced “Mo Betta” hooks up a sped-up vocal sample to talk about turning a bitch out whereas “Get Geeked” experiments with Detroit techno to speak of getting no sleep during the weekends. “White Russian” take a more soulful approach instrumentally to discuss hustlers receiving no love while “End of the World” suggests to worry about tonight over a pluggier beat. “All I Want” embraces a dancier sound talking about making this woman feel good & “I Just Wanna” ends by admitting he wants to fuck.
I respect Mastiff’s counterpart being more musically fun than it’s was 2 weeks earlier experimenting with secondary influences of Detroit techno as well as ghettohouse & juke, but I’m admittedly on the fence with Pink Tiles since I wouldn’t put it in the same ranks as the predecessor or New Detroit & When It’s Over. His performances & songwriting both validate him as one of the best Detroit trap artists in recent memory even if the production can feel repetitive, certainly doing more justice for dance music than Drake’s 10th album Maid of Honour tried to do.
GRPPLNG is a punk band from Detroit, Michigan founded by former DPW World’s Tag Team Champions, GCW World Tag Team Champions, IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, 新日本プロレス 強力オープンウェイト タッグチームチャンピオン, ROH World Tag Team Champions, 3-time TNA World Tag Team Champions & WWE Tag Team Champions The Motor City Machine Guns. The full lineup however includes drummer Adam Tatro, guitarist Chris Plumb, guitarist Adam Cline, former TNA World Champion & record 10-time TNA X Division Champion Chris Sabin playing bass and lastly former TNA World Champion & TNA X Division Champion Alex Shelley performing lead vocals. However ahead of Alex & Chris signing to AEW in a couple months, they’re dropping off a debut extended play.
“Hovering” finds Alex singing about cutting his gateway drugs into 2 with all the things he does over pop punk instrumentation while “Held Out” reaches the midway point of H’s All Around pleading to let him move along. Hollowed” kicks off the 2nd half of the EP singing about being laid to rest in the graveyard of Alex’s dreams & the closing track “Hellbound” spends the final minutes suggesting for an ex to claim a spot with the bereaved if she breaks up with him.
The Motor City Machine Guns were already apart of another band called The High Crusade with former 2-time TNA X Division Champion Petey Williams back in the late 2000s so this isn’t really anything entirely new for them, but H’s All Arounddoesn’t sound anything like It’s Not What You Think even I prefer the latter. GRPPLNG eschews the alt-rock style of The High Crusade’s only album in favor of embracing a more pop punk sound exploring themes of heartache, happenstance, hubris & hope.
This is the sophomore effort from Detroit Michigan emcee, producer & disc jockey DJ Oreeyo. The son of local veteran Fatt Father previously of the world famous Fat Killahz, he eventually followed his dad’s footsteps by making music himself, properly introducing himself in 2022 & Freshman Year the subsequent fall made for an impressive self-produced debut primarily rooted in trap. It’s been a few years since & the Prodigy’s ready to let us see how much he’s grown since 2023.
The self-produced “Killshot” hops over an orchestral trap beat talking about his preference of having kin instead of friends whereas “How We Comin’” aggressively talking about holding nothing back his confidence being mistaken as arrogance. “Him” keeps expressing his self-assurance of being that muhfuckin’ dude & “What We On” featuring T Cruz was one of the weaker moments here despite them talking about these haters being fans in the grand scheme of things.
“Quick Workout” goes off-the-top for 80 seconds over some horns & hi-hats flexing that he doesn’t need a personal chef because he’s cooking in the studio regardless leading into “Old Soul” reminds me of Slum Village’s early output from the boom bap instrumental to the scratch hook appealing to the old school & new school fans. “Gen Check” has a more cinematic sound to it addressing the people he sees daily while “Me vs. Me” feels like a convo between his older & younger self.
After the compositional “Commercial Break” intermission, “Ain’t Worried Bout U” cloudily makes it clear that he ain’t stressing over anyone while “Makin’ Moves” shifts back towards a more trap-oriented sound suggesting those who support him to get in the mood. “I Have a Dream” however feels less of an interlude & more of an atmospherically woozy statement regarding him making it to the end of this movie we that many would call life.
“Growth Mindset” has a more exuberant boom bap flare to it winding down Prodigy’s final moments talking about bringing his homies with him to make sure they’re all fed by the time he’s gone while “Suspense” has a bit of a west coast groove to it pleading not to show him love later if you’re not gonna do it at this present moment. The closing track “My Dear Reflection” takes up the last couple minutes of the album expressing the importance of standing tall in any challenge the world might hit us with.
Freshman Year was a impressively broader introduction to who DJ Oreeyo from both artistic & personal standpoints, but Prodigy pushes himself further by taking everything that made his debut LP so interesting from the continuation of the predecessor’s trap sound aside from a couple moments where he’s rapping over boom bap production to the penmanship being more sharpened now that he’s older than he was 2 & a half years ago.
Chill Rob G is a 62 year old MC from Jersey City, New Jersey who became notable for being a part of the Flavor Unit collective. His full-length debut Ride the Rhythm produced by the late 45 King would come out in 1989 under Wild Pitch Records & EMI Records, which would subsequently be followed up with the sophomore effort Black Gold & No Running. He also had C-Doc fully produce his SpitSLAM Records debut Empires Crumble in the spring of 2022 & here we are 50 months later picking up where the latter left off for Rob’s 4th album.
“Level Up Season” begins with this jazzy boom bap intro promising that shit won’t ever be even as long as Rob’s still alive whereas “Never Ready” featuring Copywrite finds the 2 linking up over a bass-line advising not to call yourself the best when you can’t prove it. “Ridiculous” featuring R.A. the Rugged Man & Sadat X brings the trio together to talk about sending wack rappers back to irrelevance while “I Am” reminds us all who he is over a jazzy drum & bass instrumental.
Treach joins Rob so both of them can let out some “Intrusive Thoughts” they’ve been having on top of a piano mixed with kicks & snares just before “Shots Fired” takes a funkier boom bap approach for some raw battle raps. “Let’s Go” featuring Chuck D hops over another bass guitar talking about trusting your instinct & actually think while “Higher Level” featuring Lakim Shabazz & Wise Intelligent continues the conscious lyricism hooking up a crooning beat behind them.
“G.T.F.O. (Get the Fuck Out)” winds down Survival of the Better’s last leg turning up the jazz rap influences for a message directed at those who might get it confused with him when they shouldn’t while “Dream Big” featuring Thrilla aka Shardcore brings back the funk encouraging their younger selves to listen to their hearts. The closing track “Choose Life” earned off the LP on a jazzier note talking about being motivated if anyone wants to achieve their goals like they say they do.
Empires Crumble to me was the most that I’ve enjoyed a Chill Rob G album since his debut, but Survival of the Better inserts itself in the middle right above it’s predecessor & behind Ride the Rhythm for a top 3 spot if I had to rank Rob’s discography. C-Doc’s production feels noticeably jazzier than Empires Crumble’s & the Flavor Unit member elevates his pen midway through this 5th act of his storied career alongside a murderer’s row of guests.
And finally there’s the Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake’s 11th LP & subsequently his last for Republic Records. Skyrocketing to fame in 2009 off his 3rd mixtape So Far Gone, the success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records & they helped put out the man’s underrated full-length debut Thank Me Later the next summer. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall, More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic, his YM/CM swan song Scorpion was a disappointingly failed attempt at making a double disc album showcasing the hip hop/R&B sides of the OVO Sound founder’s music respectively, Care Package is decent collection of 17 loosies from 2010-2016 that we’ve all heard before, Dark Lane Demo Tapes tried to experiment with new sounds only to miss the landing & Certified Lover Boy just felt like the same old shit we’ve heard from him before. Honestly, Nevermind was basically Drake’s own version of Renaissance by foraying into house music a month ahead to mixed reception until Her Loss with 21 Savage was a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. For All the Dogs was the most I’ve enjoyed Drake’s music since If You’re Reading ThisIt’s Too Late & $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR last Valentine’s Day would become his worst collaborative project yet, coming off getting destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in a rap beef to drop Habibti,Maid of Honour & Iceman.
“Make Them Cry” begins with Noel Cadastre sampling “The pressure is on me.” by Muchi to talk about his father Dennis battling cancer & some questioning the sincerity of that when he’s now cancer free whereas “Dust” takes a jab at Kendrick claiming that he doesn’t remember a word of his raps when it’s a lie. “Whisper My Name” disses JAY-Z stating he’d take the $500K instead of having dinner with him prior to “Janice STFU” dissing Hov once more over FNZ & Rogét Chahayed sampling “I Follow Rivers” by Lykke Li that was later remixed.
Future & Molly Santana appear on the 2-parter “Ran to Atlanta” that Dez Wright, !llmind, Southside & Wheezy all cooked up making a self-aware nod to “Not Like Us” just before “Shabang” produced by 40 talks about the aftermath of the Kendrick beef. “Make Them Pay” works in an ovrkast. instrumental I really found myself enjoying until he disses J. Cole, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled & Pharrell but then “Burning Bridges” splits itself in halves to take a jab at A$AP Rocky reusing a “back to back” line for some odd reason.
“National Treasures” concludes the 1st half of Iceman with another 2-parter that Boi-1da & Internet Money Records in-house producer Nico Baran both put together attacking LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, James Harden & Russell Westbrook for attending the Pop Out show on Juneteenth 2024 while “B’s on the Table” talks about his ongoing Universal Music Group lawsuit. “What Did I Miss?” however began the whole rollout dissing DeMar & LeBron once more over a cloud trap beat from Tay Keith.
Meanwhile on “Plot Twist”, we have Drake over an instrumental Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group co-produced representing OVO & rebutting “Not Like Us” while “2 Hard for the Radio” basically pokes fun at “Not Like Us” even harder with it’s Bay Area sound & includes a DJ Mustard diss. “Make Them Remember” throws jabs at Kendrick, Cole, Dr. Dre & Joe Budden over a Boi-1da beat while “Little Birdie” talks about the aftermath of the Kendrick beef again.
“Don’t Worry” at last nears the conclusion of Iceman taking an alternative R&B approach courtesy of Sledgren interestingly pleading for his partner to come have the best time on the bedside while “Firm Friends” contains one of my favorite instrumentals thanks to Conductor Williams, only for Drizzy to hit us with more bars about the Kendrick beef & UMG CEO Lucian Grainge. The closing track “Make Them Know” spends the last 4 minutes admitting that the 4th of July in 2024 when the “Not Like Us” video premiered was the worst he felt in a minute.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise to everyone that Habibti & Maid of Honour were passionlessly rushed throughout the Iceman sessions because Drake wanted to get out of his Republic contract, but the final installment of the trilogy was actually my favorite of them all even if it’s average at best. Aside from the alternative R&B joint, the production carries over the trappy pop rap/chipmunk soul ideas For All the Dogs had contrasting the R&B & dancehall/EDM influences of Habibti & Maid of Honour although the victim raps ruin it.
