Blu & Exile – “Miles: From an Interlude Called Life” review

This is the 3rd full-length album from the critically acclaimed California hip hop duo Blu & Exile. Their 2007 full-length debut Below the Heavens: In Hell Happy with Your New Imaginary Friend is rightfully regarded by many to be one of the best hip hop albums to come out within the past 15 years. This was followed up in 2011 with Give Me My Flowers While I Can Smell Them & then the 2017 rarities compilation In the Beginning: Before the Heavens. But as we enter the 2nd half of 2020, they’re returning with the double-disced Miles.

Things starts off with “Blue”, where Blu makes a bunch of witty references to the titular color including one of WWE Hall of Famer, the shortest reigning WWE Champion & former WWE Tag Team Champion André the Giant on top of a heavenly beat from none other than Exile. The next song “When the Gods Meet” tells the story of an African American meeting a caucasian on a Saturday over a hypnotic instrumental while the track “True & Livin'” sends an impassioned message to the people over a soulful beat. The song “Miles Davis” speaks on how his opponents are washed up & his crew is superior over a jazzy boom bap beat while the track “The Feeling” talks about hope over a gorgeous piano instrumental.

The song “Music is My Everything” with Choosey of course is about how hip hop is their #1 passion over a soothing instrumental while the track “Bright as the Stars” with Aceyalone touches down on their earliest memories in the culture over a delicate beat. The song “Blue as I Can Be” of course talks about how unique he is over a forlorn keyboard instrumental while the track “You Ain’t Never Been Blue” is pretty much Blu talking his shit over a minimalist boom bap beat.

The song “Miles Away” talks about touring over an upbeat instrumental while the track “Troubled Water” comes through with some fiery bars over a harmonious soul sample hanging in the background. The song “Roots of Blue” is an amazing 10-minute black power anthem while the track “African Dream” talks about Africa being “the motherland” over a tribal instrumental. The song “Requiem of Blue” reflects on 2 points in his life in ’83 & ’88 over a flute-tinged beat whereas “The American Dream” talks about wanting it all over a luscious boom bap beat.

The song “Dear Lord” talks about a dream he had where everyone was united backed by a gorgeous horn section while the track “To the Fall, But Not Forgotten” pays tribute to a bunch of famous celebrities who’re no long with us & I really dig the Saloon-style piano chords on here. The song “All the Blues” tells the life story of Miles Davis over a jazz-flavored beat while the penultimate track “Spread Sunshine” talks about positivity over a joyous instrumental. The album then finishes with “The End”, which is a decent Dirty Science posse cut.

Double albums are usually hit or miss with me personally because many of them are just bombarded with filler cuts, but the duo manage it to pull it off very well. For this to be their first release of original material in almost a decade, it’s almost like they never left. Blu reminds us of his place as a West Coast underground titan & Exile’s extravagant production fitting his conscious lyricism like a glove.

Score: 4.5/5

Ouija Macc – “PRETTY/UGLY” review

Ouija Macc is a 35 year old rapper from Las Vegas, Nevada who’s been making music for about a decade now. In 2017, the Insane Clown Posse swooped him up with a deal on their label Psychopathic Records. Ouija has since been putting in mad work by constantly dropping projects like Gutterwater, Waterdamage & Resistance: The Walk to Wasteland. He just released Resistance II: Hell’s Holotape a couple months ago & we’re already getting another mixtape entirely produced by longtime collaborator Devereaux.

The tape kicks off with “Ugly Face Ass”, where Ouija ponders why bitches like him despite his appearance over a trap beat with some rubbery bass & wailing synths. The next song “Let It Go” with Shotty Horroh sees the 2 talking about sex over a dazing instrumental while the track “Midnight” with Olah Bliss finds the 2 getting nocturnal over an ominous beat. The song “Spring Valley” talks about robbing people over an instrumental with a deranging atmosphere to it while the track “1-800-Bodies” is a gruesome amalgamation of horrorcore & trap.

The song “Vegan Pussy” with Heart Attack Man talks about the beauty of vegan women all over the world on top of a beat that just makes you wanna mosh while the track “Juggalit” starts flexing over some prominent hi-hats & snares. The song “NOMO” talks about dusting yourself off when you’re down over a mystical beat while the track “Malfoy Twins” with Golden BSP sees the 2 talking about being the future of the wicked shit over a misty trap beat.

The song “Ostriches” talks about running his checks up over an instrumental with a chilling vocal-loop while the track “Chop Suey” talks about how the wicked shit lives inside him over a noisy yet scary instrumental. The song “Wedding Gown” while the track “Area 17” talks about talks about how his clique is better than those frontin’ on them over a trap beat with an electric guitar throughout. The song “Macc wit da Goop” with KirbLaGoop sees the 2 talking about being the young killers they are over a somewhat cloudy beat & then the tape finishes with “Bones Broke”, where Ouija talks about being addicted to murder over a frightful instrumental.

I personally prefer the dude’s previous tape Resistance II: Hell’s Holotape a lot more, but this is still a solid nonetheless. The features don’t really do anything for me personally, but Devereaux nails it with the production Ouija Macc still does a good job at presenting himself as one of the most unique faces in the underground today.

Score: 3.5/5

Mickey Avalon – “Speak of the Devil” review

Mickey Avalon is a 44 year old rapper from Hollywood, California blowing up on Halloween 2006 with the release of his self-titled debut & then the loose single “What Do You Say?” appearing in The Hangover just 3 years later. This resulted in a deal with Suburban Noize Records, who helped Mickey release his 2012 magnum opus Loaded. Since then, he’s kept himself busy by self-releasing the equally fantastic Teardrops on My Tombstone & a handful of EPs. But with Subnoize’s reforming last year, Mickey has seen fit to link back up with Kevin Zinger & the spade for his 4th full-length album entirely produced by Smoov-E.

The opener “Handyman” is essentially Mickey proclaiming himself as that dude to solve all your problems over a trunk-knocking beat whereas the next song “Ulra-Violence” touches down on how nothing’s free over an instrumental with a jangly guitar hanging during the verses. The track “Shooting Up” obviously about doing drugs over an decent EDM beat while the song “Woke AF” takes a jab at the politically correct over a bombastic instrumental. The track “Johnny Come Lately” sees Mickey comparing himself to that of a pimp over a tuba-inflicted trap beat while the song “Dolly Parton” is a strip-club banger backed by some sirens that really kick up the vibe of it.

The track “Bad Luck Billy” tells the story of a man that’s always doing wrong over a stripped-back acoustic instrumental while the song “Let’s Go” finds Mickey getting into a lot of mischief from robbing a bank with a knife to carjacking over an EDM/trap fusion. The song “Rich Friends” brags about Mickey’s homies on top of an instrumental that sounds like something out of an old video game while the closer “End of My Line” gets right back into the acoustic side of things except the lyrics open up about how it’s difficult to look for a woman the opposite of him. The bonus cut “Dodging Bullets” is a teaser from his upcoming collab EP with reggae artist Landon McNamara entitled Highs & Lows.

If you enjoyed Loaded & Teardrops on My Tombstone as much as I did, then you’re gonna enjoy this album too. The lyricism remains wilder than ever before & Smoov-E continues to be a good match for Mickey because the sounds that he comes through with behind the boards continue to compliment his debauchery well.

Score: 3.5/5

Juice WRLD – “Legends Never Die” review

This is the 1st posthumous outing & 3rd full-length album overall from Chicago, Illinois rapper Juice WRLD. Quickly becoming a prominent face in the emo rap trend in 2018 off the strength of his commercial debut Goodbye & Good Riddance, he tragically passed away late last year just 9 months after the release of his sophomore effort Death Race for Love. Now even though I personally found both of those albums to be average at best, the kid was undeniably talented as proven on songs like “Lucid Dreams” & his astonishing 1-hour Tim Westwood freestyle. But just 7 months after Juice’s passing, his estate is coming together with Legends Never Die.

After a spoken word intro, the first song “Conversations” talks about his demons over a spacious Ronny J beat while the track “Titanic” compares himself to that of a sinking ship over a cavernous DY instrumental. The song “Bad Energy” talks about flushing out all the negativity in him over a skeletal instrumental while the track “Righteous” talks about how his anxiety’s the size of a planet over a melancholic beat from longtime collaborator Nick Mira of Internet Money Records.

The song “Blood On My Jeans” is an endearing tribute to his girlfriend Ally Lotti with an acoustic trap beat from Gezin while the track “Tell Me U Luv Me” finds him begging Ally to tell him everything will be ok on top of an instrumental with a bit of a dancehall influence to it. The song “Hate on the Other Side” by Polo G & The Kid LAROI seems out of place since Juice has very little appearance on it whatsoever & the Marshmello production is just kinda plain to me.

After the “Get Through It” interlude, the track “Life’s a Mess” with Halsey is an awkward rapper/pop singer duet that we’ve all seen done a million times already while the song “Come & Go” feeds into another pop rap cliche as Juice goes in on top of an EDM instrumental. The song “I Want It” talks about love over some more acoustic trap production while the track “Fighting Demons” needs no further explanation over a keyboard-inflicted beat.

The song “Wishing Well” talks about how he deals with fame over a glossy instrumental while the track “Screw Juice” tells the listener if he made it as far as he did, they can as well & the beat on here is just monstrous. The track “Up Up & Away” talks about getting high over an acoustic instrumental & after The Man, The Myth, The Legend” instrumental, the song “Stay High” talks about balance over a moody beat.

The track “Can’t Die” talks about how Ally changed his life over a synth-heavy instrumental from DY & before the album finishes off with the “Juice WRLD Speaks from Heaven” outro, the final song “Man of the Year” is a tearjerking celebration of life over a rap rock instrumental from Skrillex of all fucking people.

This is just a tad bit better than the latest Pop Smoke album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon. It was clearly put together out of passion rather than just money, but there are slightly more hits than misses during the 55 minutes of this final product.

Score: 3/5

Big B – “Welcome to the Club” review

Big B is a 47 year old rapper from Las Vegas, Nevada starting out as the frontman for 187. After the band’s dissolution, the hooligan would go on to join OPM in 2002 & become a household name for the infamous California powerhouse Suburban Noize Records just a couple years later. His first 3 solo albums High Class White Trash, White Trash Renegade & More to Hate would become some of my favorite releases that the label has ever put out. We just celebrated the 7 year anniversary of B’s previous album Fool’s Gold earlier this past week & after going on a musical hiatus since then, he’s ready to make a comeback with his 7th full-length album.

“Enjoy the Show” is a good way to start off the album as B encourages the listener to just relax on top of a fitting rock instrumental whereas the next song “It Ain’t Punk Rock” talks about being him over a more traditional hip hop instrumental with a guitar thrown in. The track “Whiskey & Women” talks about it’s hard to maintain from the things he loves over a fast tempo instrumental while the song “Band of Brothers (This is How I Roll)” is a catchy country rock cut about keeping it real.

The track “San Felipe Blues” is a road trip anthem accompanied with an acoustic instrumental while the song “Forget You” with Everlast sees the 2 talking about drinking themselves blind because of scandalous women over some summery production. The track “That’s Country” talks about how he speaks the truth over a banjo & some hard hitting drums while the song “2nd Pistol in My Pocket” tells the story of a man being on a run after murdering someone the night before over a more outlaw instrumental.

The track “Where Were You” is a powerful ballad calling out those who weren’t there for him when he was struggling while the song “It’s Too Late” takes aim at those who wanna act tough over a hard rock instrumental. The track “Down” talks about partying over over some banjos & guitars while the song “My Old Lady” of course is an endearing tribute to Big B’s mother over a more vintage country instrumental. The album then finishes off with “The Whiskey Blues”, which obviously talks about alcohol over a luxurious piano instrumental.

Now if anyone’s followed Big B’s career long enough, then you probably already know that he’s repped that white trash life in his music since the very beginning. That being said: This is pretty much his very own country album & it’s a mature one at that. Michael Bradford did a good job on the production end & you can definitely hear B has the passion again after that 7 year hiatus.

Score: 3.5/5

Che Noir – “As God Intended” review

Che Noir is a 26 year old MC from Buffalo, New York that I’ve been keeping up with for the past couple years now. I first caught wind of her through here extensive collaborations with 38 Spesh whether it be Che featured on his projects or Spesh producing a couple of her EPs. But to change things up, she’s enlisting Detroit veteran Apollo Brown for her full-length debut.

The album kicks off with “Anti-Social”, where Che talks about being a star since she was a kid over a boom bap beat with a luxurious piano-lead. The next song “Blood’s Thicker” paints a picture of what it was like for her growing up in Buffalo over a vintage soul sample while the track “Hustle Don’t Give” with Black Thought finds the 2 spitters being money hungry over an upbeat instrumental. The song “Money Orientated” lyrically needs no further explanation over a mystical beat while the track “12 Hours” tells the story of Che killing her man after catching him cheating on her with her friend Lisa over a desponding instrumental.

The song “Hold It Down” with Ty Farris sees the 2 talking about fighting until they die over an orchestral beat while the track “Daddy’s Girl” talks about her father being absent in her life on top of a spacious instrumental. The song “Worth Gold” talks bout being an adolescent over a somber boom bap beat while “The Apple” with Planet Asia finds the 2 making a dedication to black women worldwide over over a peaceful instrumental.

The song “Freedom” tackles racism in the United States over a woozy boom bap beat while the track “Follow the Wisdom” with Skyzoo displays a churchy beat & the way Apollo flips Scarface’s “My Block” on the hook is just incredible. The song “Winter” talks about how this man loves the streets more than her over a jazzy beat while the penultimate track “Live By the Code” over a tempting instrumental. The album then finishes with “’94”, which is a tribute to some of Che’s influences from Biggie to G-Unit over a meditative boom bap beat.

Buffalo has really been taking over the hip hop scene in recent years thanks to Griselda & this album only proves that Che Noir is on her way to becoming one of the illest female spitters out today. Throughout its 51 minute runtime, you’ll find some of her best songwriting to date accompanied by Apollo Brown‘s ever-so-phenomenal set of production.

Score: 4.5/5

Coops – “Crimes Against Creation” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Coops ending his High Focus Records tenure with an extended play full of material. Introducing himself during my adolescence off his full-length debut What Do You See? as well as Lost Soul, & God Complex, his High Focus debut No Brainer would be welcomed to mixed reception & Life in the Flesh was later received more positively a few months later. To begin the 2nd half of what has already been a disastrous 2020, he looks to outdo both in the form of Crimes Against Creation.

“Boom Biddy Bye” breaks the gate down with this old school boom bap instrumental from Talos dismantling all lyrical opponents in his path whereas “Factory Reared” jazzily talks about being fed up with all these rappers to the point of wanting to kill them. “Bring the Fire” works in a vibraphone with some kicks & snares talking about blazing the spot up just before “Piss Poor” eerily tackles the fear he has of becoming broke from a financial point of view.

Starting the 2nd half, “Laws of Nature” blends jazz rap & boom bap once more talking about being seen as either a threat to humanity or a savior just before the title track turns up the jazzier elements telling his story the way it happened refusing any other negotiations. “Profile” takes the lo-fi boom bap route stylistically recalling the time a woman gave him a number of her’s to dial & “End Times” jazzily finishes by talking about living in the middle of the apocalypse beginning.

In the midst of COVID-19 shutting the whole entire world down for 4 months & counting, Crimes Against Creationcomes across significantly darker than what Coops has done previously providing the soundtrack for these times of uncertainty we’re experiencing all across the globe. Taking inspiration from the greats instead of what’s current, the jazzy boom bap production feels nostalgically reminiscent of 90s east coast hip hop such as Mobb Deep facing issues like the current state of hip hop & politics directly.

Score: 3.5/5

C.O.N-Vers – “Way Too Patient” review

Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom emcee C.O.N-Vers dropping his debut extended play on the 4th of July 2020 fully produced by local veteran Micall Parksnun. The latter of whom has been making himself known for decades from his early Low Life Records output to his more recent material under Boot Records & the other has been fresh off a lengthy sabbatical with a new purpose to create music in a different direction, enlisting Micall behind to the boards to explain the feeling that he’s been Way Too Patient.

“Dead & Buried” begins talking about taking his style that made him a staple in the UK underground hip hop scene for what it is over a heavenly raw beat whereas “As I See It” embraces a boom bap vibe instrumentally & spits nothing but lyrical heat for 3 minutes straight. “My Monologue” suggests he might pop things off sending 21 shots while “M.I.A” finishes the 1st half talking about knowing what you’re running from.

Kicking off the 2nd leg of Way Too Patient, “The Conversation” brings a symphonic boom bap atmosphere to the table warning to never interrupt him when he’s deep in the middle of a discussion leading into “Mad Ramblings” swaps out the orchestral elements in favor of a jangly guitar loop rapping an fascinatingly long verse start to finish. The title track finishes up with a 2-parter maintaining a boom bap sound the whole time including after the beat switch.

Notable for being 1/2 of Write 2 Speak as well as 1/3 of The Last Elect & a member of the D.S.o.t.M. collective respectively, C.O.N-Vers makes his long-awaited solo debut in a time of uncertainty & would say Way Too Patient does the finest job it could of encapsulating his growth since his early days in the garage scene. Micall Parknsun’s boom bap production greatly compliments C.O.N’s knack of thought provoking bars & smooth flows, holding off on having any guest verses accompanying him to give more room for his own.

Score: 4/5

Pop Smoke – “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon” review

Pop Smoke was a 20 year old rapper from Brooklyn, New York who released his debut mixtape Meet the Woo last summer. He put out a sequel this past February but unfortunately, he was murdered 2 weeks after said-sequel came out. But with the help of 50 Cent, they’re continuing Pop’s legacy with his full-length debut.

The album kicks off with “Bad Bitch from Tokyo”, where Pop Smoke brags for 50 seconds over a woozy beat. The next song “Aim for the Moon” with Quavo sees the 2 talking about their high statuses over an instrumental that sounds like it could’ve been on Travis Scott’s ASTROWORLD while the track “For the Night” with Lil Baby & DaBaby finds the trio getting raunchy over a beat kin to Young Thug’s Beautiful Thugger Girls. The song “44 Bulldog” gets confrontational over a mournful beat while the track “Gangstas” talks about how legit he was over a rubbery piano instrumental.

The song “Yea Yea” is a trite, buttery sex anthem while the track “Creature” with Swae Lee sees the 2 describing their rich lifestyles over a spacious beat while the track “Snitching” with Future & Quavo is pretty much them talking about not breaking street code over a shimmery, skeletal instrumental. The song “Make It Rain” with Rowdy Rebel sees the 2 talking about fakes over an aggressive instrumental while “The Woo” with 50 Cent & Roddy Ricch sees the 3 talking about bitches over another Beautiful Thugger Girls inspired beat.

The song “West Coast Shit” with Tyga & Quavo lives up to its name down to Mustard’s production while the track “Enjoy Yourself” with Karol G is a weird, Latin-flavored piece about relaxation. The song “Mood Swings” with Lil Tjay is a horrific auto-crooner while the track “Something Special” is literally a 2 minute freestyle over Tamia’s “Into You”.

We have more tiresome lovey dovey shit on the songs “What You Know ‘Bout Love?” & the King Combs featured “Diana”, but then “Got It on Me” is pretty much a modern take on the classic 50 Cent joint “Many Men (Wish Death)” & it’s actually pretty cool. The final song “Tunnel Vision” talks about how nice he is over a mesmerizing instrumental & then we get “Dior” off Meet the Woo as a bonus track, which is easily one of the best songs he ever made.

I’m usually 50/50 on posthumous releases because they can either turn out amazing like Circles or end up horrendously like Pac’s Life. However, this kinda falls in between for me. The cuts that’re done more in Pop Smoke’s signature UK Drill style are fine, but almost all the poppy sex songs except for “Something Special” are just fucking terrible. If we’re getting a follow-up, here’s to it being better.

Score: 2.5/5

Westside Gunn – “FLYGOD is an Awesome God II” review

This is the 5th full-length album from Buffalo emcee/entrepreneur Westside Gunn. Breaking out in 2016 with his near-perfect debut album FLYGOD, he would go on to take over the hip hop scene with his brother Conway the Machine & their cousin Benny the Butcher as they’ve consistently dropped a slew of high quality releases both solo-wise & as a trio. However, Westside has stated on numerous occasions that 2020 will be his final year rapping & kicked it off just this spring with Pray for Paris. But with the 1 year anniversary of FLYGOD is an Awesome God approaching this weekend, Westside is celebrating with a sequel preluding his Shady Records debut Who Made the Sunshine? set to drop next month.

After the “Praise God” intro, the first song “Michael Irvin” finds Westside talking about how no one’s flyer than him referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson over a jazzy beat whereas the next track “Jose Canseco” with Stove God Cook$ sees the 2 talking charismatically boasting including a reference to WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion Curt Hennig over a soulful instrumental from STREETRUNNER. I was surprised to see the loosie “1 More Hit” appearing on here, but I’m glad it did & the new Stove God Cook$ verse added on is a nice touch to it as well.

After the first “Sadhu Interlude”, the song “Lil Cease” with Griselda Records’ newest signee Armani Caesar finds the 2 rightfully proclaiming their thrones as King & Queen of Buffalo over a creepy boom bap beat from JR Swiftz. After the “Fuck the Police” skit, the song “Buffs vs. Wires” with Benny the Butcher & Boldy James of course gets on the drug dealer tip over a classy ass loop from Daringer.

Then after the “Mr. Maino” skit, we’re treated to a remix of another old WSG loosie “Bubba Chuck” with Stove God Cook$ being added on once again & I actually like this a lot more than the “1 More Hit” remix that I discussed earlier. Including the bar about WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion & 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior. After the final “Sadhu Interlude”, the song “Drive By Love” is a gangsta sex tune over a savory Chuck Inglish instrumental.

The penultimate track “Rebirth” namedrops both WWE Hall of Famers & former 3-time WWE tag team champions The Road Warriors alongside former CZW World Jr. Heavyweight Champion, PWG World Champion, record-setting 3-time ROH World Champion, ROH World Television Champion, the longest reigning NXT Champion, the inaugural NXT North American Champion & NXT Tag Team Champion Adam Cole on top of the peaceful instrumental. The album then finishes with “Steve Behr”, where Westside enlists Rome Streetz to talk about pushing coke over a hypnotic sample.

It’s not as good as Pray for Paris, but I still think this is a solid album regardless. In contrast to the predecessor seeing Westside Gunn experimenting & trying new things, he pretty much takes it back to the basement on here. Beyond excited to see where he takes things on Who Made the Sunshine?.

Score: 3.5/5