Maya Delilah – “The Long Way Round” review

Maya Delilah is a 24 year old R&B singer/songwriter from London, England, United Kingdom who introduced herself in the summer of 2020 with her debut EP Oh Boy & later It’s Not Me, It’s You the next fall. Both of which were welcomed to mixed reception, signing a joint deal with Blue Note Records & Capitol Records roughly 12 months later. 2 & a half years have passed since & she’s ready to take herself to new heights on her debut album.

“Begin Again” minimally begins her Blue Note debut hoping nothing changes whenever she rewinds to a certain point in her life whereas “Look At the State of Me Now” hooks up some mellow ass guitar work singing about everyone taking a look at how she’s doing currently. “Man of the House” experiments with country-pop reveling in the domestic potential of new love prior to “Maya, Maya, Maya” delving further down the introspection topically.

Meanwhile on “Jeffrey”, we have Maya taking a backseat vocally making way for an acoustic guitar & some organs to prominently take over the spotlight just before “Squeeze” brings a funkier vibe to the table telling her lover to never let her go. “Actress” samples the late Curtis Mayfield singing that she’s on the verge of losing control & getting lost, but then “Did I Dream It At All?” hops over these pianos to address the theme of despair.

“I’ll Be There in the Morning” starts the final leg of The Long Way Round by taking inspiration from an unpleasant experience she once had while the acoustic “My Balloon” apologizes to this individual for keep pulling them back to her. The western-tinged “Necklace” sings about feeling as if 2 worlds are intersecting & being a realist while “Never with You” ends by admitting her fear of growing old.

The Long Way Round compared to her early EPs feels like combination of so many parts of her since she’s so influenced by different genres, people, places & experiences that it’s always felt hard for me to fit my music into a consistent sound or mood. It took her a long time to realize that it’s a beautiful thing to have a body of work that explores so many different influences. It brings her intimacy, ability, inspiration depth & lightness into 1 striking debut.

Score: 4/5

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Lil Durk – “Deep Thoughts” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper & Only the Family Entertainment founder Lil Durk finally dropping his 5th studio LP ahead of his murder-for-hire case. Rising to prominence a little over a decade ago off his debut mixtape I’m a Hitta, he would go on to follow this up with Life Ain’t No Joke & the first 2 installments of the Signed to the Streets trilogy until signing to Def Jam Recordings for his full-length debut Remember My Name & the sophomore effort Lil Durk 2X. Since then, Durk has made himself home at Alamo Records by dropping 9 more mixtapes & bounced back from the mixed reception of 7220 in the form of Almost Healed to let off a collection of Deep Thoughts.

“Shaking When I Pray” is this decent cloudy trap intro that Isaiah Valmont of Internet Money Records whipped up talking about people doing anything to go viral these days whereas “Keep on Sippin’” addresses an individual he gave everything to & yet, they still continue to trip out. “They Wanna Be You” featuring Future finds the 2 talking about kids wanting to be exactly like the both of them prior to “Soul Bleed” admits to putting others ahead of his own team as of late.

Lil Baby joins Durk on “1,000 Times” talking about people they used to hang with in the hood leaving them drowning just before “Turn Up a Notch” has one of my favorite instrumentals from Southside & Smatt Sertified clapping back at everyone who counted him out a decade ago. “Vanish Mode” produced by Chopsquad DJ addresses a bitch lying to him about loving him leading into “Monitoring Me” getting in his Chicago drill bag.

“Untouchable” ends the 1st leg by hustling whenever he gets a chance & barely holding his stance as it already is while “Notebook” gives off a laidback trap direction talking about the industry putting him in beefs. “Can’t Hide It” was a decent pop rap single that benny blanco & Cashmere Cat laced together delving into relationships, but then “Wondering Again” ponders if an ex will ever love him once more.

Hunxho appears for the mediocre “Late Checkout” still in disbelief they found love while “Think You Glowed” shuts down a hoe lying to herself that he’s glowing up. The song “Opportunist” remembers his late brother & describes the way he copes with depression while “Alhamdulillah” talks about finally being healed. “Deep Depression” with Metro Boomin’, BoogzDaBeast & FNZ all behind the boards closes the album figuring out why he’s in love with the streets since shit gets ugly.

7220 & Almost Healed were both admirably personal with the latter kinda stepping it up in the production department, which led me hoping Deep Thoughts would expand on. Unfortunately for the most part, it turned out to become the same old melodic trap/pop rap that we’ve been getting from him in recent memory. Even with the introspection he brings to the table, the production is a step down from Almost Healed & it kinda feels repetitive.

Score: 2/5

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Black Josh – “YSL Bootleg” review

This is the 8th studio LP from Manchester, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Black Josh. Known for being a member of the Cult of the Damned & LEVELZ collectives as well as 1/2 of the B-Movie Millionaires & the Super Sag Bros, he would make debut over a decade ago off an eponymous EP & the full-length debut Blick Flair’s Ape Mountain until signing to Blah Records. He went on to drop 6 more albums & 3 EPs under the London label, coming off Today’s the Day a couple years earlier with YSL Bootleg.

“Aw, Here It Goes” by the B-Movie Millionaires starts with them trading verses with each other over a Lee Scott beat fusing g-funk & boom bap whereas “CBA” co-produced by Sumgii talks about refusing to be assed when he tries hard replacing the g-funk elements with hints of cloud rap. “Flu Game” featuring Sly Moon maintains the boom bap vibes speaking of feeling themselves when they’re not exactly feeling themselves while “Drink Champs” featuring Stinkin’ Slumrok shouts out the mishaps making money.

King Grubb appears on the sinisterly dusty “Gutter” talking about good things coming to those who pull the weight just before “Mossy Tree” luxuriously talks about being ready whenever shit pops off, calling back to one of my all-time favorite Cypress Hill tracks. “Council Pop” featuring Sly Moon finds the 2 lyrically going back-&-forth with each other just before “Garfield” heads for a lo-fi direction instrumentally talking his bars wrapping his doubters up in a weed joint to light up, reserving the last 55 seconds for a jazzy synthesizer breakdown.

“Who’s on What” begins the final act hopping over a psychedelic boom bap beat talking about partying until the sun rises while the cavernously hardcore “Don Julio” likens himself to playing the role of a villain in a theatrical film & dismissing rappers who aren’t on Blah’s level of lyricism. “Yes, Man” featuring Sniff has this uncanny boom bap tone talking about getting whatever it is they ask while the closer “Tiger Blood” by the Super Sag Bros drumlessly makes a reference to Charlie Sheen’s infamous 2011 meltdown except they’re drinking Hennessy instead of a tiger’s actual blood.

The only complaint I have regarding YSL Bootleg was it being marketed as an extended play when it’s a dozen tracks & over a half hour long but nonetheless, I’d have to put it above Mannyfornia when it comes down to the greatest entry in Black Josh’s solo discography. Lee Scott’s production here captures Josh’s versatility better than Today’s the Day since it largely stuck to 1 unified sound & the latter sharpens his skills after opening for Danny Brown during the UK leg of the Quaranta tour for this next chapter of a career spanning over an entire decade.

Score: 4/5

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Deafheaven – “Lonely People with Power” review

Deafheaven is a San Francisco, California blackgaze & post-metal band consisting of guitarist Kerry McCoy, drummer Daniel Tracy, guitarist/keyboardist Shiv Mehra, bassist Chris Johnson & frontman George Clarke. Being introduced to the at the end of my sophomore year of high school when Sunbather succeeded what Roads to Judah was going for. New Bermuda as well as Ordinary Corrupt Human Love & Infinite Granite were all incredible in their own regards, looking to make their debut for Roadrunner Recordswith the quintet’s 6th studio album.

After the “Incidental” intro, the first song “Doberman” begins with a cryptically introspective opener confessing his own fear whereas the lead single “Magnolia” viciously blends atmospheric black metal & thrash metal singing about the loss of a father figure. “The Garden Route” returns to their blackgaze origins wanting the world to see their growth as songwriters since Infinite Granite prior to the 2nd & final single “Heathen” secondarily explores post-metal, dream pop, post-rock & post-punk to put ourselves in the shoes of a person who’s given up on themselves.

“Amethyst” proves to be the most vital representation of Lonely People with Power giving a fresh take on the beloved post-metal subgenre these guys popularized thematically basing itself around the LP’s own artwork while “Revelator” after the 2nd “Incidental” intermission takes a look at the inside of Kerry’s mind throughout a great deal of the studio sessions making this. “Body Behavior” painfully dissects all of George’s insecurities while “Winona” following the final “Incidental” intermission takes 7 & half minutes to sing about being left with emptiness in the end. “The Marvelous Orange Tree” on the other hand finishes up with a swan song without redemption walking into blackness.

Rather than distancing themselves further from the blackgaze sound Deafheaven has become known for like Infinite Granite did, Kerry & company take it back to their origins for their inaugural LP under Roadrunner describing the globe in general to be Lonely People with Power in addition to them prioritizing post-metal post-rock, screamo & black metal as secondary influences harnessing roughly every different idea they’ve had for 15 years using a similarly precise execution that made Sunbather so special during my adolescence over a decade ago except it’s pushing more boundaries than what became my introduction to blackgaze had initially done.

Score: 4.5/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 8” review

This is the 55th EP from Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records as well as being 1/3 of the Dump Gawds alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, we also can’t ignore the massive discography that he’s managed to build for himself, some of the standouts include Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. He’s been putting out amongst his best material in the past few years like the Camoflauge Monk-produced Dark Shogunn Assassin, the Nature Sounds-backed Iron Bull, the Nicholas Craven-produced Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King series, the Oh No-produced Berserko, Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays produced by Mike Shabb, Tha Supreme Hoarder of All Pristine Wealth. Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga produced by Cookin’ Soul & Machine Gun Vocabulary produced by Cartune Beatz. A Dumpathon began last Thursday & his putting together his 5th EP in the week with Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 8.

“Blk Luster S” jazzily begins by boasting the fact he dropping music more than singlehanded record labels & going beyond the standard whereas “KaioX10” soulfully talks about the flow being inhumane & being one of the greatest with the pen. “Malfunction” maintains a chipmunk soul vibe making everyone break down & not work properly prior to “Saiyan Blood” hooking up an orchestral flip taking shots at the bitter.

Getting the 2nd half of the EP going, “Tha Heart’s Darkness” returns to more of a chipmunk soul sound promising it won’t end well for any challenger whenever he raises the excalibur while “Special Benefits” has these prominent saxophones making premises diminish with fatalities Mortal Kombat style. “Tha Way” featuring Big Cheeko lastly strips the drums so both of them can talk about aiming for the stars.

We needed a change of pace from the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap saga like Lethal Weapon since we’ve been getting the first 6 installments for several months, but both parties keep everything that makes this series so great in the picture much like they did 24 hours ago. Nicholas Craven blends hardcore hip hop, drumless chipmunk soul, boom bap & jazz rap seamlessly for 15 & a half minutes on top of Fahim performing better.

Score: 4.5/5

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$amaad – “Child of Drama 5: Fin” review

Compton, California rapper/producer $amaad concluding the Child of Drama series that made him a breakout name in the underground with his 3rd mixtape. Since 2018, he’s built quite a large discography for himself consisting of his last couple tapes as well as 26 EPs & 4 albums. The Say Hi $amaad! (Care Package) series would go on to receive the same favorable reception as the Child of Drama, making the 5th installment of the latter the final entry of & his 5th body of work in 2025 ultimately.

“Rigo” is this cloudy trap intro asking if you’ll be mad or not if people start sleeping on you & needing adderall whereas “Keep the Dream Alive” talks about the things he does never being enough on top of knowing nobody but everybody. “Interface & Glock” works in some sampling boasting that he doesn’t have any rivals he can think of while “Pimp Juice” expresses the love he has for sippin’ lean keeping the Sprite in his cup dirty.

RTW Biggs’ feature on “Put the Pint Back” is the weakest of the 2 even if they embrace a heavy plugg vibe so both of them can turn the city up together just before the warmongering “Tank Davis” homages the current WBA Lightweight Champion of the same name. “Bootychaaain” brings back the cloud rap vibes talking about working hard for all he has & getting by off his music career, but then the atmospheric “Bands & Strippers” doing it the way he does because he came from nothing.

“Telegram” featuring Rafa & produced by Evilgiane takes it’s name after the cloud-based, cross-platform, social media & IM service with Milt saving the best feature of the 2 for last while “Use Ya Brain” playfully references 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 4-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion, the current WWE Senior Vice President of Talent Development & head booker of their developmental NXT brand Shawn Michaels said to be inducting WWE CCO Triple H as a 2-time WWE Hall of Famer next month after recently making former CMLL Mundial Femenil Campeon, inaugural CMLL Mundial Femenil Parejas Campeon & 新日本プロレス STRONG女子チャンピオン Stephanie Vaquer the current NXT Women’s Champion & NXT Women’s North American Champion.

Meanwhile on “Explicit to Do List”, we have $amaad talking about his life going the way he’s planned it & being unable to wait for all his homies behind bars to come home while “All These Hoes Get Wet” hooks up these pianos to tackle themes of lust. “Who Am I?” mixes a reversed sample & 808s together to talk about being in this shit for way too long that is until “Purple Swag” once again serves as an ode to that purple drank.

“Until the Sun” continues to push towards the conclusion of the Child of Drama series dissing everyone who keeps putting him in a box only to get out of it every single time & being in your city throwing cash prior to “Femto” reuniting with Evilgiane for the final time going as hard as they did on with Rafa on “Telegram” earlier radiating a cloudy drill hybrid warning that you’ll have to go through him if they want his bitch.

Archie’s Comic almost a couple months ago has been singled out from many including myself to be the worst project in $amaad’s whole discography & to close the book on Child of Drama for good, it’s far more interesting than the boredom that Archie’s Comic was plagued by. The production shows influences of wave, plugg, cloud rap & drill music putting a bigger emphasis on killer rather than filler.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ramson Badbonez – “White Rabbit” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee Ramson Badbonez teaming up with Real Life Drama Records co-founder Leaf Dog to fully produce his 14th studio LP. An underwing of the Task Force, he would eventually sign to High Focus Records in 2013 making his debut for the label with A Year in the Life of Oscar the Slouch that same winter. Hypnodic, Jason Bonez, Mic Day the 13th, Death Mask & Fusion would all come out under the Hove, East Sussex imprint with White Rabbit now becoming the 7th raising my expectations with Leaf’s heavy involvement.

After the “Nothing Stops Him” intro, the first song “Hijack” is this sample-driven boom bap opener letting y’all know what he’s all about whereas “The Great” maintains a boom bap edge working in these horns boasting his lyrical technicality. “More 4 Less” featuring Smellington Piff instrumentally kinda reminds me of Mobb Deep talking about them being lyrically gifted until he looks back on getting called upon to take the “Dirt Road” to get where he is currently sampling a piano.

“Rabbit Hole” featuring mysdiggi finds the pair tryna open everyone’s heads in the midst of them getting deeply involved musically just before “Stolen Scrolls” gets back on the orchestral boom bap tip calling himself a professional dread expressionist with a vengeance list. “Try Not to Judge” featuring Verbz soulfully discusses their judgmental free tendencies, but then “Upside Down” featuring Cymarshall Law talks about the current state of the world.

As for “Loop Holes”, we have Badbonez over another piano-boom bap instrumental kicking hardcore lyricism for a few minutes while “Soul Searching” featuring Phoenix da Icefire talking about them being the butterfly effect that emerged from the chrysalis. “Can’t Give Up” soulfully gets on the motivational side lyrically & ahead of closing out with a “Wondaland” sequel, “Strike” featuring The 4 Owls gives a taste of what’s to come from the quartet’s upcoming 4th album.

Marrying his street poetry with the macabre at every turn, White Rabbit is a potent reminder of Badbonez at his lucid best & searches out the truth in the music he makes. Leaf Dog’s production provides a pitch-perfect soundtrack for Badbonez to showcase his full arsenal of multi-syllable flows, punchlines & infectious hooks as he adventures further down the rabbit hole.

Score: 4/5

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Nowaah the Flood – “Beluga” review

This is the 7th studio LP from Dallas, Texas emcee Nowaah the Flood. Breaking out in the summer of 2018 by releasing his first EP Trill Life Mathematiks around the same time as Nas’ 11th album NASIR fully produced by Ye formerly known as Kanye West, he would go on to drop 21 EPs along with The Nowaah & the Dewer’s eponymous debut album and roughly his last 6 proper full-lengths. Standouts for me personally include the DirtyDiggs-produced Private Stock, the Estee Nack collaborative effort Planted Seeds, The Infallible, the Stu Bangas-produced Respectfully, the Giallo Point-produced Right Over Left & it’s sequel, the DJ D-Styles-produced Crème de la Crème, the Kyo Itachi-produced Sudan Samurai Scrolls & recently Plans of the Diligent last Thanksgiving. Almost exactly 4 months later, DJ D-Styles is returning for Beluga.

After the intro, the first song “On Sight” kicks it all off perfectly from the grimy synth-driven boom bap instrumental to Nowaah’s lyricism promising the way it’ll be to those who wanna front whereas “7,000°” ruggedly talks about turning the heat up on everyone. “Big Wheels” keeps it in the basement making a reminder of his murderous reputation, but then “As I Walk Out My Door” featuring DNTE speaks of being weight watchers on the way to a weight house suggesting Planet Fitness can’t even catch a cardio case now.

“No Safehaven” starts the 2nd half of Beluga with a beat feeling reminiscent of “Back Down” by 50 Cent taking no prisoners & showing no mercy while “Willie Bobo” remembers the late Latin jazz percussionist of the same name. “The Sleeping Giant” strips the drums comparing his bars going straight to your brain to blow while “Never Expected” returns to the boom bap for a 3 & a half minute lyrical attack. “Rent Due” wraps things up by waking up the snakes in the grass with a pistol.

Crème de la Crème remains one of the most beloved entries in Nowaah’s catalog & this sequel nearly 2 months after the divided reception of Smash & Grab (Vanglorious Vandals) was what he needed, myself personally annoying it as much as Plans of the Diligent last fall. He’s significantly more focused, DJ D-Styles’ production is stronger, the songs feel more fully structured out in contrast to the rushed state of Smash & Grab (Vanglorious Vandals) almost 8 weeks ago.

Score: 4.5/5

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Reuben Vincent – “Hit Me When You Get Here” review

Charlotte, North Carolina emcee Reuben Vincent preluding his upcoming 3rd album by putting out his 3rd mixtape. Emerging under the original moniker Esau, his debut tape IDOL.escent would catch the attention of 9th Wonder & would sign Reuben to Jamla Records in 2016. His debut album Myers Park would be released the next fall followed by the previous EP Boy Meets World, the latter of which resulted in Roc Nation Records handling distribution for Reuben’s future output much like fellow Jamla signee Rapsody beginning with the sophomore effort Love is War almost 2 & a half years ago continuing to elevate his popularity. General Admission was ok in comparison & with the next LP set to be fully produced by 9th Wonder, they’re dropping off Hit Me When You Get Here in anticipation of it.

After the “Mama” intro, the first song “Mama’s Prayer” begins with this soulful instrumental likening himself to a pimp tryna get his cake up whereas “God’s Children” works in a crooning vocal sample taking more of a boom bap route looking back on the days before their innocence was taken from them stuck in their ignorance. “In Search Of” flips a piano to talk about going from being 13 to getting a deal while “Surfin’” gives off a chipmunk soul vibe initially thinking the picture would be perfect when it’s torn.

“The Way (You Love Me)” keeps the sample chops going addressing a romantic interest that he can’t get off his mind leading into “Let You Down” giving off a significantly jazzier approach to the beat talking about not wanting to disappoint anyone he deeply cares for. “Getting Along” featuring Foggieraw tells their lovers they do this music shit because they love it as opposed to selfishness prior to “Anything (Have!)” talking about his dream girl having whatever she wants.

As for “Good to Me”, we have Reuben over more soulful boom bap production expressing the large amount of gratitude he has currently on top of the hip hop game treating him greatly & “It’s Alright” gets back on the chipmunk soul tip to finish up Hit Me When You Get Here the way it really began talking about the familiar feeling of the world crashing down on us & God having a plan for everything.

Granted I felt that General Admission & As If Nobody’s Listening… were more average compared to Myles Park & Love is War, it shouldn’t really come off as that much of a surprise that Hit Me When You Get Here clears both of those projects & ranks as the greatest mixtape of his career. 9th Wonder’s sample-heavy production unsurprisingly doesn’t miss for anyone familiar with his general sound & Reuben fully locks in regarding his own performances.

Score: 4.5/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 7” review

Here we have the 54th EP from Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records as well as being 1/3 of the Dump Gawds alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, we also can’t ignore the massive discography that he’s managed to build for himself, some of the standouts include Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. He’s been putting out amongst his best material in the past few years like the Camoflauge Monk-produced Dark Shogunn Assassin, the Nature Sounds-backed Iron Bull, the Nicholas Craven-produced Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King series, the Oh No-produced Berserko, Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays produced by Mike Shabb, Tha Supreme Hoarder of All Pristine Wealth. Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga produced by Cookin’ Soul & Machine Gun Vocabulary produced produced by Cartune Beatz. Coming off Lethal Weapon the other day, Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 7 is keeping the Dumpathon alive.

“From the Void” is this soulful intro likening people fucking with the Dump Gawd to gambling whereas “Falsified Documents” hooks up this string sample talking about being an envelope pusher & a master cooker at the same time. “Simple Math” takes the chipmunk soul route telling everyone to keep a positive attitude just before “Real Gainz” smacks the evil out of demons’ mouths giving consequences to those who go against the brotherhood.

The song “Strategic Plans” works in some crooning vocal sampling comparing his squad to the Avengers owned by The Walt Disney Company subsidiary Marvel while “Not tha Only One” maintains the chipmunk soul vibes talking about life being a lonely one sometimes. “Fallen from Grace” ends the EP with these pianos talking about him always trying to love something.

Lethal Weapon was a solid showcasing of Drega33’s talents behind the boards & Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 7 takes it back to what makes the series so beloved warming up for Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 8 tomorrow. Nicholas Craven’s production on this one is more prominently boom bap centered with the elements of chipmunk soul, jazz rap & drumless all revealing themselves at points during the 15 & a half minutes.

Score: 4.5/5

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