Ketch P – “Gift Certificate” review

Ketch P is a veteran from Inkster, Michigan known for being a member of the quartet Street Justice. He’s released a few solo mixtapes in the past like What Happened? & Motown is Back but with the help of Middle Finger Music, he’s returning from a 6 year hiatus with Gift Certificate.

The tape starts off with “Welcome/Whatupdoe”, where Ketch reintroduces himself over a classy soul sample. The next song “313” is filled with witty battle bars over an beat from Chanes while the track “Doap Pusher” compares himself to a drug dealer over a vintage beat from Peace of Mind. The song “Kareem & Shaq” finds Ketch liking him & his Bad News Brown cohort Foul Mouth to the legendary Lakers players of the same name over an alluring boom bap beat while the track “Ode to the Roots” pays tribute to those that came before him over an instrumental from Jimbo Slice with these Godly background vocals.

The song “Back Outside” with Finale & Vstylez sees the 3 talking about shutting shit down over an uplifting instrumental from Blizzard while the song “Middle Finger Trophies” with Bubba Rock & Rim finds the 3 getting bellicose over a soulful boom bap beat. The song “Boom Bap Shit” pays homage to the titular subgenre over a soulful instrumental while the track “Get the Money” with Isaac Castor talks about making dough over some claps & a fitting vocal sample. The song “Street Justice Nigga” with Jypsy sees the 2 reminding their competition who they’re dealing with over a boom bap beat with some strings & horns while the track “Death Soup” with Guilty Simpson & Paradime finds the 3 talking about Detroit being untouchable over another soulful boom bap beat.

The song “Top 10s & Buffs” talks about Middle Finger Music being in the house over a Foul Mouth beat with some eerie vocals looped throughout while the track “Poured Up” of course talks about alcohol over a wavy boom bap beat. The song “Like This” sees the 2 getting romantic over a delicate beat then the closer “Fish Grease” takes the opportunity to showcase Ketch’s lyricism 1 last time & not only do I like how the instrumental switches from being organ-inflicted to something funky, but I love how he speeds up his flow during the last 30 seconds.

I’ve been waiting for this all year & at the end of the day, it’s easily Ketch’s best work to date. Middle Finger Music has been reminding me for the past year now that they’re one of the best labels in the underground right now & this is no exception, as Ketch P’s lyricism has gotten sharper with time & the production continues to be grimier with each release the label puts out.

Score: 4/5

Brother Ali – “Secrets & Escapes” review

This is the surprise 7th full-length album from Minneapolis, Minnesota veteran Brother Ali, the activist/battle emcee that first exploded in the underground with his 2003 sophomore album Shadows in the Sun along with his 2007 follow-up The Undisputed Truth. He just made a fantastic comeback in 2017 with All the Beauty in This Whole Life & with the Halloween season being over, he has teamed up with Evidence for Secrets & Escapes.

The opener “Abu Enzo” talks about where he comes from over a lush instrumental while the next song “Situated” with Pharoahe Monch finds the 2 spitting battle bars over a boom bap beat with a soul sample cutting in & out. The “Greatest That Never Lived” charismatically brags over a spooky instrumental while the song “Father Figures” talks about the people Ali looks up to over a reclining beat. The very short “Apple Tree Me” gets threatening over a ghostly instrumental while the song “Red” finds both Ali & Evidence showing off their own levels of lyricism over a suspenseful beat.

The title track talks about internal conflict over a chilling instrumental while the song “De La Kufi” with Talib Kweli of course sees the 2 kicking knowledge over savory soul sample. The track “Red Light Zone” disses those who be clout chasing on the internet over a funky beat & even though “The Idhin” is brief, Ali comes through with some vivid bars over an almost ambient-like instrumental. Then there’s the closer “They Shot Ricky”, where Ali shows off his storytelling talents over this jazzy instrumental.

Wasn’t expecting this, but it’s one of his best efforts yet. Even though it’s a little over a half hour long, there’s a prominently fantastic chemistry between Evidence’s top notch production & Brother Ali’s intelligent lyricism. If you wanna hear 2 underrated titans from the midwest & the west coast, then PLEASE give this a listen.

Score: 4/5

Earl Sweatshirt – “Feet of Clay” review

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This is the new surprise EP from Chicago, Illinois born/Los Angeles, California raised lyricist Earl Sweatshirt, known for being a member of the now defunct Odd Future collective. He made his debut in 2010 with his only mixtape to date Earl which was solid, but Earl’s mother would send him to a therapeutic retreat school for at-risk boys in Samoa sometime after until February of 2012. Earl was then granted his own Columbia Records imprint Tan Cressida Records & released his debut album Doris in 2013 to critical acclaim for improving on Earl. Then came the duo Hog Slaughta Boyz with OF affiliate Na’kel at the beginning of 2015 along with Earl’s sophomore album I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside a couple months after. Many of which consider to be better than Doris for it’s darker aesthetic. Earl laid low until last November with his magnum opus Some Rap Songs & almost a year later, here we are with Feet of Clay.

The opener “74” is pretty much Earl shittalking over a grimy piano sample while the next song “EAST” touches down on alcoholism over an odd accordion sample. The track “M.T.O.B.” talks about the death of his father over a soulful instrumental while the song “OD” venting about loneliness over some horns & background vocals. The track “El Toro Combo Meal” with MAVI sees the 2 getting reflective over a smooth ovrkast. instrumental while the song “Tisktisk / Cookies” vents about depression over a dark instrumental. Then the closer “4N” with Mach-Hommy finds the 2 talking shit just like the opening cut & I really like the clever Michael Henderson sample on here.

This was a nice lil Halloween surprise. It feels more like a small collection of Some Rap Songs leftovers from the lo-fi production as well as the content & the brevity, but I’ll take it. Can’t wait to see where Earl takes things on the next album.

Score: 3.5/5

Yelawolf – “Ghetto Cowboy” review

Yelawolf is a 39 year old rapper, singer & producer from Gadsden, Alabama who first came onto the scene in 2005 with an honestly mediocre debut album Creekwater. He eventually broke out onto the mainstream in 2010 with his Trunk Muzik mixtape & eventually signed to Shady Records/Interscope Records & releasing his sophomore album Radioactive: Amazing & Mystifying Chemical Tricks the following year. A focused grouped, yet still fun major label debut. He then returned in 2015 with Love Story, where he started to incorporate country & rock music into his style. But when his childhood friend Shawty Fatt passed away at the tail-end of 2016, it caused him to disappear from the scene for a while. The man fortunately returned with Trial by Fire, a self-produced & refined sequel to Love Story. Yelawolf just fulfilled his contract with Shady/Interscope this past March with Trunk Muzik III & a little over 7 months later, we’re now getting his 6th full-length album.

After the “Mama Wolf” intro, we go into the first song “Unnatural Born Killer”. Where Yela claims himself as just that over an abrasive instrumental. The track “Opie Taylor” finds Catfish Billy comparing himself to the famous Ron Howard character of the same name over a relaxing instrumental from DJ Klever while “Box Chevy VII” is another banging installment of Yelawolf’s titular song series.

The song “Here I Am” talks about whooping someones ass referencing Facebook founder & Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg over a sweet guitar line while the track “Still Ridin’” talks about leaving Shady/Interscope over a funky bass-line & some keys. The song “Lightning” tells the story of Tommy over a horror-esque instrumental while the track “Renegades” is taken off of Yelawolf’s 2016 EP H.O.T.E.L. (House Of The Endless Life).

The song “So Long” is a decent country rap anthem about relationship issues while the track “You & Me” is a cool follow-up. After the DJ Paul skit, he actually gets with Yelawolf on “Country Rich” to talk about being a rich hip hop artist from the south over an acoustic guitar co-produced by TWhy. The penultimate track “Keep on Rollin’” with Big Henry & Cub da CookUpBoss is an average sequel to the song they did on Trunk Muzik III. The album then finishes off with the titular song, where Yelawolf declares himself as such over a druggy beat.

For this being his first release off Shady/Interscope, I enjoy this. It’s like a mixture between the Trunk Muzik era as well as the Love Story & Trial by Fire eras. If this is the road he wants to keep traveling down in the future, then I’m all for it.

Score: 3.5/5

Westside Gunn – “Hitler Wears Hermes VII” review

This is the latest mixtape from Buffalo, New York emcee & entrepreneur Westside Gunn, who first rose to stardom in 2016 with his debut album FLYGOD. This has been continued with a handful of mixtapes, his 2018 sophomore album Supreme Blientele & his own label Griselda Records even signing a distribution deal with Shady Records. Westside has a history of releasing new installments of his Hitler Wears Hermes mixtape series on Halloween & despite being delayed a day, this is the 4th year in a row of that.

The opener “FCKNXTWK” finds Westside providing a very brief verse as DJ Drama’s pretty much talking all over some harmonious vocals in the back while the next song “Broadway Joes” is a self proclamation as the King of New York over a rugged beat. The track “Size 42” gets cutthroat over an eerie Daringer beat while the song “Connie’s Son” brags over a soulful beat.

The track “Banana Yacht” with Estee Nack finds the 2 flexing over a grand instrumental & while I like how menacing “GONDEK” is, it’s way too short. The track “Kelly’s Korner” with Fat Joe sees the 2 getting bloodthirsty over a jazzy beat from Statik Selektah while the DJ Green Lantern produced “Undertaker vs. Goldberg” named after WWE’s 2nd annual Super Showdown’s main event gets on the classic Hall ‘N Nash vibe.

The track “Whoopy” talks about wanting to be with this woman over a laidback instrumental while the Animoss produced “Love U” is a better continuation of the previous cut. The track “Kool G” is an epic Griselda cut where Westside, Conway the Machine & Benny the Butcher use the same rhyme scheme throughout with this raw Alchemist/Daringer beat while the song “It’s Possible” with Boldy James & Jay Worthy sees the 3 talking about making it out of the hood over a beautiful soul sample.

The track “Lucha Bros.” with Benny the Butcher & Curren$y named after the current HOG World Tag Team Champions & AAA Mundial Parejas Campeons The Lucha Brothers who’re also former Tag Team Champions in PWG & TNA Wrestling sees the 3 getting rowdy over a vintage Alchemist beat boasting that current AAA Mega Campeon as well as former PWG World Champion, KO-D無差別級チャンピオン, DDTエクストリームチャンピオン, KO-Dタッグチャンピオン, KO-D6人タッグチャンピオン, IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, IWGPインターコンチネンタルチャンピオン, IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, IWGPジュニアタッグチャンピオン, the inaugural IWGP USヘビー級チャンピオン, NEVER無差別級6人タッグチャンピオン & the only gaijin to win the G1クライマックス Kenny Omega whipped an extra brick while the song “Westside Gunn Day” goes at Westside’s competition over a symphonic boom bap beat from JR Swiftz. And before a spoken word outro from Keisha Plum, the final song “Kesington Pool” pays tribute to NY over a decent boom bap beat.

This is a lot better than FLYGOD is an Awesome God that came out earlier this year. Westside goes back to his roots more on this one in comparison to taking more risks on his last album. The beats are punchier & the pen game continues to flourish.

Score: 3.5/5

Gang Starr – “One of the Best Yet” review

Gang Starr is a revered East Coast hip hop duo consisting of Guru & DJ Premier. Before disbanding in 2006 as well as Guru’s death in 2010, the 2 have made a name of themselves with arguably one of the greatest discographies in hip hop history. But with the 10 year anniversary of Guru’s passing coming up in 5 months, Premier has decided to commemorate him with 1 last album under the Gang Starr name.

After the “Sure Shot” intro, we go into the first song “Lights Out”. Where Guru & M.O.P. get bloodthirsty over an explosive piano-inflicted beat. The track “Bad Name” disses wack rappers over a soulful boom bap beat while the song “Hit Man” with Q-Tip sees the 2 comparing themselves to assassins over a gritty beat.

The track “What’s Real” with PRhyme finds both Guru & Royce da 5’9″ defining their versions of real over an instrumental that sounds like Moment of Truth era Gang Starr & after the “Keith Casim Elam” interlude, the song “From a Distance” with Jeru the Damaja sees the 2 reclaiming their prowesses over an orchestral boom bap beat.

The track “Family & Loyalty” with J. Cole finds the 2 talking about diamonds over a luxurious beat while the song “Get Together” with Nitty Scott sees the 2 getting romantic over a slow instrumental. After the “NYGz/GS 183rd” interlude, the song “So Many Rappers” talks about the rap game over a tense instrumental.

The track “Business or Art” with Talib Kweli sees the 2 talking about the industry over a haunting beat, but the next song “Bring It Back Here” is so short that it really shouldn’t have been placed on here. After the titular interlude, the penultimate track “Take Flight” is a cutthroat installment of Gang Starr’s “Militia” series. Then the closer “Bless the Mic” finds Guru flawlessly showing off his skills 1 last time.

I’m not a big fan of posthumous albums, but this is one of the better ones out there. Guru’s unreleased verses are well incorporated as are the features & DJ Premier continues to show that he’s one of the best producers in hip hop history.

Score: 4/5

Kut 1 – “The Icons, Vols. 1 & 2” review

Kut 1 is a producer from Melbourne, Australia & this is the inaugural installment of a series of EPs celebrating the grimier side of underground hip hop. We got Kut paying homage to Queens veteran Neek the Exotic on the first half & then to Bronx titan 9 on the other.

The opener “Welcome to Violence” with Kool G Rap & Royal Flush sees the 3 delivering grim bars in their own unique styles over a sinister instrumental then the next song “We Do It” reclaims his prowess over a high-pitched soul sample. The track “Everything’s on Course” with Large Professor sees the 2 talking about their longevity over a boom bap beat with some luxurious keyboards & then the final Neek song “I Don’t Know” talks about the culture being his life over a blissful instrumental.

Then we get into the second half with “Basquiat”, where 9 talks about his craft over a woozy beat. The next song “When Ah Pull Up” gets into the mind of a criminal over a suspenseful instrumental while the track “Might Get Shot” gets paranoid over a gloomy instrumental. The track “Welcome to New York” is a vivid description of life in 9’s home-state over a mafia-like instrumental & then “Gimme My Money” is a cool bonus cut where 9 perfectly switches up his flow over a militant instrumental. The uncredited guest rap verse near the end was alright too.

For the first installment, this isn’t bad. Neek & 9 both go on to remind us that they’re some of the rawest NY spitters of all-time with Kut 1’s grimy production suiting their bars fantastically.

Score: 4/5

Kanye West – “Jesus is King” review

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Kanye West is a Chicago, Illinois icon that really needs no introduction at this point. From his polarizing public image to his damn near flawless discography, the man has really made a continuous & undeniable impact on hip hop within the past 15 years. However throughout 2019, Kanye has been going around the world with his newly formed gospel-rap outfit Sunday Service performing gospel songs & covers of his discography for an hour. But after teasing fans with listening parties for his 9th full-length album for the past month, he’s actually dropping it worldwide.

The album begins with “Every Hour”, where the Sunday Service choir sing about how we always need God over a bare piano instrumental. The next song the track “Selah” talks about looking back & reflecting upon over an organ while the track Follow God” finds Ye encouraging the listener to find a higher power over a College Dropout-esque instrumental.

“Closed on Sunday” makes painfully corny references to Chick-fil-A over a Timbaland instrumental starting off with an acoustic guitar & later switching up into something more minimalist & ominous while the track “On God” uses the titular expression to address his current well-being along with his past comments on the 13th amendment over a Graduation-inspired instrumental from Pi’erre Bourne.

The song “Everything We Need” by ¥$ & Ant Clemons sees the 3 talking about switching their attitudes over an trap beat co-produced by FNZ, Ronny J & Mike Dean with an organ in the background while the track “Water” with Ant finds the 2 talking about purity over a somewhat funky instrumental co-produced by Timbaland. The song “God Is” sings about how the Lord is victorious & gives him power over a soulful instrumental while the track “Hands On” talks about religion being more prominent in Ye’s life over an intoxicating instrumental.

“Use This Gospel” is pretty much a full blown Clipse reunion as Kanye only does the hook, but I’ll take it. Pusha T & No Malice both talk about seeking forgiveness like they never left over some plinky keys, but the sax solo from Kenny G was unexpectedly good. The album then finishes off with “Jesus is Lord”, where Kanye of course sings about his newfound love for Christ himself over some horns.

While I myself am not the biggest fan of gospel music, this is an underwhelming experience. Kanye truly sounds like he’s legitimately happy & finally at peace with himself in comparison to his last 3 albums, but the mixing is absolutely terrible. The closest he did to patching it up like he did with The Life of Pablo back in 2016 was the Dr. Dre remix of the album & that’s significantly better.

Score: 2/5

SevidemiC – “Bending Teeth” review

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SevidemiC is a rapper from Compton, California that performs his own style of music called “zombie hop”. The man has released a handful of projects throughout the 2010s, but his biggest breakthrough yet wasn’t until this year when he signed to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz & dropped his 7th EP Xenogod this past March. But with Halloween being 6 days away, Sev has decided to give fans yet another EP.

The opener “Groundfall” talks about how he came to fuck shit up over a glitchy yet moody beat & the song “Solipsistia” right after is an annoyingly repetitive club joint which I completely get, but it just doesn’t do anything for this reviewer personally. The next track “Get Off Me” though is a completely off the wall banger both lyrically & sonically while the song “Zedicine” is another party starter like “Solipsistia”, except SevidemiC’s performances are more captivating & the electro-funk instrumental is infectious. The track “Nip / Tucc” is basically a “fuck everyone” anthem over a bassy trap beat with some synths & then the closer “Amen” finds Sev comparing himself to a demon over a skeletal trap beat.

I honestly think I like this EP more than Xenogod. Bending Teeth continues to reveal how unique SevidemiC truly is to LSP’s roster with it’s synth/trap production as well as his lyricism continuing to step up. Definitely looking forward to his full-length debut with the label even more now.

Score: 3.5/5

G-Eazy – “Scary Nights” review

G-Eazy is a 30 year old rapper from Oakland, California that broke out into the mainstream with his 3rd album These Things Happen in 2014. This was followed up a year later with When It’s Dark Out as well as The Beautiful & Damned back in 2017. But to prepare listeners for the sequel to the album that got Gerald where he is today, he’s giving fans an appetizer with his 4th EP.

The title track that kicks the EP off whines about how they don’t want him to shine over a sinister Boi-1da instrumental whereas the next song “I Wanna Rock” with Gunna finds the 2 boasting over a dime a dozen trap beat. The track “Full Time Cappers” with Moneybagg Yo is as generic as it gets both musically & lyrically while the song “Big Ben” with Preme sees the 2 flexing over a comatose instrumental.

“K I D S” with Dex Lauper talks about how neither of them ever sleep over an airy instrumental & even though the song “Hittin’ Licks” makes sappy Bonnie & Clyde comparisons over a banging instrumental from Charlie Heat. The penultimate track “Demons & Angels” with The Game sees the 2 talking to their significant others over a soulful boom bap instrumental & then the closer “A Very Strange Time” talks about losing his mind over a tasteless trap beat.

Even though this might be his darkest work yet, it’s still not very good. I understand Halloween‘s around the corner & that Gerald’s in the holiday spirit which isn’t a bad thing, but his trite lyricism & bland production from his past material all remain intact to the point of boredom.

Score: 1.5/5