Dutch Interior is an indie rock band from Long Beach, California consisting of guitarist/vocalist Jack Nugent, guitarist/vocalist Conner Reeves, keyboardist/vocalist Shane Barton, drummer Hayden Barton, bassist/vocalist Davis Stewart & guitarist/vocalist Noah Kurtz. Their 2021 debut EP Kindergarten would prelude their full-length debut Blinded by Fame, the latter of which would become their most acclaimed project thus far & resulted in Fat Possum Records signing them earlier this winter. To coincide with spring, they’re making their debut for the label by putting out their sophomore effort.
“Canada” is this indie rock opener singing about seeing 2 sparrows flirting by the lake whereas “Sandcastle Molds” goes for more of an alt-country vibe dealing with holding on to your sense of self as the world descends into madness at a nauseating pace. “Wood Knot” keeps the alt-country influences going disregarding the idea of being a leaf when he’s a natural irregularity, but then “Science Fiction” sings about something shifted in his shape over acoustics & an organ.
The acknowledgement of self-awareness on “Sweet Time” of the world moving fast day by day is made clearly with it’s traditional country tone while “Life (So Crazy)” goes indie rock again singing that he misses the days when the moments were still until the weight came. “4th Street” embraces an Americana direction keeping their secrets close to the ground & the country-driven “Horse” dreams of living in the countryside. “Christ on the Mast” feels more alt-country feeling Hell bent & “Beekeeping” finishes their Fat Possum debut with a reflection on personal flaws.
These guys’ disparate influences all converge on here shapeshifting oscillates between sharply hewn indie rock as well as alt-country along with hints of dissonant ambience & Americana, all while still sounding like a band who both speak their own private language & translate it into something universal. They take the observation of us existing in a tradition of American music & take that to places that are personal to them finds its way in terms of songwriting through its own humorous twists & turns, an undercurrent of omnipresent & steadfast declarations of love.
This is the 51st 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. That said: He’s been on a CRAZY ass run in 2023 with the standouts being 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. Continuing the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap saga that later had a 2nd & 3rd installment, he’s returning 2 months after the predecessor for Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 5.
“Crimes Against Humanity” references the current UFC Middleweight Champion Dricus du Plessis of the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division over a spacious boom bap instrumental to get us started whereas “Hakai” soulfully talks about him meeting the requirements to become a titan. “Mass Gainer” keeps the chipmunk soul vibes going unable to put it any plainer than him continuing to gain mass while “Mirko” talks about so many people nowadays hiding their foul smells.
To kick off the other half, “Radioactive” keeps chopping up the soul samples always knowing that he was fortune’s favorite leading into “Remote Location” maintaining a chipmunk soul edge talking about how you can’t come back once you cross the line with him. “SSDG” makes a reference to WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion & 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior prior to “Wayne Towers” ending with a drumless closer dumpin’ like it’s a meteor shower.
These past 10 weeks staying locked in was really what Fahim needed after dropping the previous entries in the series all within the end of 2024 other than the 4th one coming out a little after a week into 2025 & I’m genuinely not trying to sound like a broken record here, but Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 5 could be the new best in the saga. Nicholas Craven’s brings an influx of samples to the table & the Dump Gawd goes fully automatic on the mic.
This is the 6th EP from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Sk8star. Getting his footing in the spring of 2021 off Superstar Status, he would go on to follow it up last year with both the B4NWØ EP & his debut mixtape New World Ørder respectively. The latter being my introduction to Sk8’s music after my lil brody UnreleasedSnip put me on, with songs like “Standin’ on Business” & “YSL Flow” being the standouts for me personally. Following his 3rd EP Mogul along with rebel at the beginning of 2023 & whole new meaning that same spring, Sk8 addressed the Rebel in the Room & the time has now come for a Rebelution.
“Backbone” starts off with a cool trap intro talking about everyone out here being scared simply because they’re losers whereas “On God” talks about people unable to ball with him if you can’t take no charge. “walk down” cloudily boasts that nobody can fuck with a vet like him with the help of Richie Souf until the plugg standout “sex” featuring Diorvsyou & Southsidesilhouette produced by Pi’erre Bourne elevates all 3 of them. “Fuck on a Fan” ends the EP talking about being in the trap & that muhfuckas jumping.
Even if Ye formerly known as Kanye West’s behavior in the past 5 weeks has been absolutely pissing me off, I’m not too surprised regarding him co-signing “sex” yesterday & I myself find to be an exciting moment as somebody who’s been following all 3 artists on there since 2022. As far as the rest of the EP, it’s a good way to prelude his upcoming full-length debut album Designer Junkie.
This is the 4th full-length studio LP from Chicago, Illinois emcee/producer SABA. The co-founder of the Pivot Gang collective a decade back, he broke out in the fall of 2016 off the solo debut Bucket List Project & the follow-up CARE FOR ME was where his potential would be put on a much more broader display. Few Good Things was a better version of Cordae’s sophomore effort From a Bird’s Eye View & after 3 years, he & No I.D. are finally unearthing tracks From the Private Collection.
“Every Painting Has a Price” soulfully kicks it all off talking about it being a lovely day for him to go out of his way & everything being good aside from shit getting ugly whereas “Breakdown” takes the jazzy trap route instrumentally asking his romantic partner what’s really going on. “Crash” gives off a calmer vibe to the beat talking about making time go fast together just before “Woes of the World” brings a trap flare back getting emotional to know what he knows.
The drums get stripped during “Stop Playing with Me” telling everyone that he ain’t wanna be fucked with leading into “Westside Bound 4” featuring MFnMelo jazzily talking about being unstoppable under any given circumstance. “head.rap” samples “No Time to Lose” by Madison McFerrin covering Saba’s hair & it’s continuous changes, but then “Acts 1.5” looks to fuck the street up referencing the baddest man on the planet & WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson.
After the “Reciprocity” interlude, “Stomping” boasts that he’s so smooth of a talker to the point where he could convince Jesus Christ to buy an NFT off him while the soulful trap hybrid “Big Picture” talks about considering the broader context, long-term implications & overall goals of a situation. “30secchop” featuring Jean Deaux & Joseph Chilliams finds the trio no longer walking with their heads low while “How to Impress God” delves into the complex relationship between earthly achievements & spiritual purpose.
“She Called It” featuring Frsh Waters nears the final moments From the Private Collection with both of them talking about Pivot being a collective that’s respected as a family refusing to break their balls & their word since those’re the only 2 things they got left while “a FEW songs” featuring Smino finishes with them assuring the listeners of it being ok l to change it all so beautifully, feeling the love & letting it go. The jazzy boom bap fusion “Back in Office” warns his competition to take caution & the other bonus track “Hue_Man_Nature” carries over the sounds of the predecessor putting a conscious spin on it.
SABA’s been teasing this for nearly 3 years now & because of the death of his uncle, the final product underwent a complete change of direction & could very well be the brightest collection of material of his whole career. Arguably surpassing Care for Me as the crown jewel of his discography. No I.D.’s versatile production goes from boom bap to jazz rap, trap, drumless & neo-soul remaining more consistent than Few Good Things providing a little bit of everything & refusing to misuse an opportunity like this coming with fully developed ideas.
Miami, Florida trio ¡MAYDAY! surprise-dropping their 9th studio LP albeit the first under their very own label ¡MAYDAY! Music distributed by It Goes Up Entertainment & Strange Music. Formed in 2003 by keyboardist/guitarist Plex Luthor & emcee Bernz, the duo released their self-titled debut in the fall of ‘06 before adding 4 more members into the fold: emcee/producer Wrekonize, bassist Gianni Ca$h, percussionist NonMS & drummer L.T. Hopkins in 2009. Together, they would begin to rock the underground off 2 EPs & their sophomore album Stuck on an Island. This would catch the attention of Kansas City veteran Tech N9ne, who signed the group to his independent powerhouse Strange Music in 2011. They would go on to cement themselves as a flagship act on the label’s roster off critically acclaimed projects like Take Me to Your Leader, Thrift Store Halos, Believers & Future Vintage. However since 2016, ¡MAYDAY! has maintained it’s current lineup consisting of Wrek, Bernz & NonMS. Their first album as a trio Search Party was a decent sequel to Stuck on an Island & the heavily reggae-influenced South of 5th was slightly better, but Minute to Midnight wound up to easily be ¡MAYDAY!’s best in 6 years. They have since remained tied to Strange by forming ¡MAYDAY! Music & signing a distribution deal with Strange Music co-founder Travis O’Guin’s own subsidiary It Goes Up Entertainment. Now as far of The Thinnest Line series, the independently released first installment is my favorite & the follow-up backed by Strange was simply decent. Minute to Midnight was a return to form for them & are returning a little over a year after The Thinnest Line III to drop Justus.
After the “Top of the World” intro, the first song “Just Us” produced by NonMS starts us off by asking what will happen when it’s only them left whereas “Black Lemonade” talks about refusing to ever ride the wave at any point in their career. “Unapologetic” reunites with Gianni Ca$h & Plex Luthor behind the boards to discuss their aptly mentioned mindset leading into the whistling “Acting Grown” talking about them simply acting grown & the inner child basically.
“Misinformed” goes for a bit of a melodic rap rock vibe observing coming down quicker than that of a middle just before the heavily melodic “Cold Shoulder” reunites with former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 to sing about hoping one doesn’t forget now. “No One’s Around” gets back on on the rap rock tip telling everyone to turn up & get down, but then the acoustic “Silver Linings” featuring Mike SB finds them driving in the late night.
The song “Ain’t for Them” nears the conclusion of ¡MAYDAY!’s official It Goes Up debut responding to those saying that the group has been aging firing back by pointing out the mere fact of the world changing by each & every day that goes by while “I Don’t Wanna Know” featuring kaub decently brings a tropical flare to the table. “Ceilings” featuring Mike SB ends with them assuring that hard work does pay off in the long run.
All the singles we’ve dropped since starting ¡MAYDAY! Music as a fully independent venture has lead us to this moment & their debut under the It Goes Up/Strange distributed imprint retains everything that made the group so beloved within the underground scene to begin with the in-house production or Mike SB improving on his feature game & the versatility that they’ve always been known for whether it be rap rock cuts or the pop rap tracks.
Atlanta, Georgia rapper, singer/songwriter, model & Opium Records founder Playboi Carti at long last releasing his 3rd full-length studio LP. Putting out 3 mixtapes & an EP under the original Sir Cartier moniker, he would become an affiliate of the A$AP Mob & sign to Interscope Records for an eponymous 4th mixtape & a groundbreaking debut album Die Lit that became some of the best trap music of the previous decade. Whole Lotta Red on Christmas 2020 birthed the rage scene, signing Ken Carson alongside Destroy Lonely & the Homixide Gang to Opium since. Ahead of Rolling Loud this weekend however, I AM MUSIC is here after it was initially set to be released last year as said in the “2024” single.
“Pop Out” is this rage-inducing opener talking about pulling up to the party only to fuck you up whereas “Crush” featuring honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott fresh off giving the current WWE Champion Cody Rhodes a black eye couple weeks ago accompanying The Rock ‘n’ Soul Connection & produced by F1LTHY of Working on Dying works in some synths & hi-hats boasting that a hoe gonna let them smash. “K Pop” originally called “Ketamine” brings this suspenseful atmosphere to the table flexing he stays running checks & holding a knife since it’s a sport while “EVIL J0RDAN” discusses his lifestyle being out of control & referring to himself as an emo thug rather than a rockstar over a Cardo beat.
Moving on from there, “Mojo Jojo” takes it’s name after the primary PowerPuff Girls antagonist saying the only reason everyone’s nice to him now is because of his wealth leading into “Philly” featuring Travis Scott talking about having brand news eyes & noses. “Radar” brings a triumphant flare to the table courtesy of Metro Boomin’ discussing that he should be swaggin’ up just before “Rather Lie” featuring The Weeknd on the hook with co-production from Mike Dean talks about lying to his girl instead of losing her.
“Fine Shit” co-produced by Cash Cobain shows off how bad his bitch is to the point where she can’t even go outside anymore nor can she post online leading into Ye formerly known as Kanye West fusing trap & chipmunk soul during “BACKD00R” talking about raising some Dons with all 3 artists he currently has on the Opium roster & the title referencing his infamous Adin Ross stream. “Toxic” featuring Skepta ominously links both of them up observing the poisonous state of a mosh pit & them having too much profit these days prior to “Munyun” rightfully talking about those being unfamiliar with his voice living under a rock.
As for “Crank”, we have Carti telling a lil freak hoe to slow it up for him due to her having a free throat sampling “Fuck Taylor Gang” by SpaceGhostPurpp while “Charge Dem Hoes a Fee” featuring Future & Travis Scott teams up on top of a Wheezy, Dez Wright, Southside & Smatt Sertified instrumental so they can talk about charging these bitches some money. “Good Credit” featuring Kendrick Lamar has these prominent rage undertones cautioning of the hate only getting realer, making fun of A$AP Relli for snitching, addressing the Drake lawsuit & mentioning Los Angeles Lakers player Luka Dončić while the futuristic “I Seeeeee You Baby Boi” talks about his girl wanting to be the one to lie to him.
Travis Scott returns for the psychedelic “Wake Up F1LTHY” that BNYX helped laced with F1LTHY homaging the latter’s producer tag tryna to run some cake up with each other while the bouncy “Jumpin’” featuring Lil Uzi Vert talks about the way these drugs got them feeling. “Trim” featuring Future is a cloudy Mixtape Pluto outtake that he & Barti made with TM88 referring to themselves as the richest in their hoods until “Cocaine Nose” samples “Only U” by Ashanti to make a sick reference to 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.
“We Need All Da Vibes” featuring Young Thug & Ty$ finds the trio cloudily wants everyone listening to see the way that each of them be ballin’ while the sleeper-hit “Olympian” interestingly dabbles with glitch hop & trap wanting to know why he’s being stared at & shouting out Ricky Hil. Clayco gives “OPM BABI” a bit of a bombastic edge representing the very label that Carti launched 6 years ago & the in-house producer of the same name while “Twin Trim” featuring Lil Uzi Vert feels more like a back-&-forth interlude.
Carti gives his flowers to the New Orleans icon Lil Wayne on “Like Weezy” with a cool sample of “Bend Over” by the Rich Kidz showing up to this bitch off the rocks & fucking up his thumbs after counting so many hundreds while “Dis 1 Got It” mixes some hi-hats with a piano sample feeling like he’s invincible off the percocets. “Walk” homaging the late Bankroll Fresh wants all his Day 1s to know this’ll be a new beginning for them & the apocalypse for his opps while the Memphis-driven “H00DBYAIR” confronting hate he’s received throughout his career.
“Overly” continues to push further towards Music’s final moments with a simplistic Maaly Raw beat built around a piano likening the blue Bugatti he has to Sonic the Hedgehog stunning with the rest of the Opium squad by his side & “South Atlanta Baby” couldn’t have been a better choice of a closer whether it be DJ Swamp Izzo telling Carti that he’s in a whole new category when it comes to his artistry or the lyrics of growing up in the southern region of Atlanta.
Starting the deluxe run, “Different Day” shows ’em what the fuck he’s really been on going for a cloudy trap direction while “2024” was one of my top 10 singles of 2023 from Ye sampling “Jacob’s Ladder” by Yeo to Carti talking about putting anyone who poses as a threat to him on a mural & on the news. “BACKR00MS” featuring Travis Scott reunites the duo 1 more time to liken themselves as the quarterbacks of the rap game holdin’ bombs & throwin’ these hoes & the final bonus track “Fuck on My DJ” talks about women wanting to sleep with DJ Blak Boy.
Obviously it’s gonna be a while until we have the discussion of where this lands compared to both it’s predecessors, but I can easily tell you that Music was worth the continual delays since it feels like a mix of his old sounds & the new ones he’s been trying out since this era of his initially began. Some of the best collection of tracks in the trap & rage subgenres you’ll hear in 2025 showing influences of hardcore hip hop, cloud rap, pop rap & experimental hip hop assembling a high quality list of guests to join him.
Los Angeles, California experimental hip hop trio clipping. fronted by Daveed Diggs alongside William Hutson & Jonathan Snipes with their 5th studio LP. Emerging off their midcity mixtape in 2013, they signed Sub Pop Records shortly after & the label gave them a full-length debut the following year. However, I didn’t completely hop on board with these guys until their Deathbomb Arc debut Splendor & Misery in 2016, which is a fantastic sci-fi odyssey. They returned to Sub Pop by dropping their magnum opuses There Existed an Addiction to Blood & Visions of Bodies Being Burned. They’re returning halfway through to put out Death Channel Sky almost a week since former AEW World Champion, AEW World Tag Team Champion, the inaugural shortest-reigning 2-time AEW World Trios Champion, AJPW世界ジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン,DDTエクストリームチャンピオン, KO-D無差別級チャンピオン, 3-time KO-Dタッグチャンピオン, 2-time KO-D6人タッグチャンピオン, AAA Mega Campeon, 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, 2-time 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 2-time IWGP USヘビー級チャンピオン, 2-time NEVER無差別級6人タッグチャンピオン, PWG World Champion & TNA World Champion, Kenny Omega ended the current NEVER無差別級チャンピオン 竹下 幸之介’s reign as AEW International Champion’s at Revolution VI.
The first song “Dominator” after the intro begins by fusing hip house & industrial hip hop together to talk about being 1 of a kind whereas the 3rd single “Change the Change” takes the industrial hip hop, breakbeat hardcore, acid breaks, big beat, power noise, digital hardcore & hardcore breaks route making faces hurt with the waves they’re making. The lead single “Run It” draws inspiration from the Detroit techno scene painting a picture of a drug dealer & addict from the highs of partying to the lows of being caught, arrested or killed.
“Go” strips the drums for a brief experimental hip hop joint talking about running it down & after the “Simple Degradation (Plucks 1-13)” interlude, “Code” explores themes of digital identity along with hacking culture & futuristic survival going for a cyberpunk vibe. “Dodger” goes for a drum & bass direction talking about finding & killing a virus because time is of the essence but after the “Malleus” interlude, “Scams” featuring Tia NoMore finds her & Daveed talking about the beat continuously knocking in the back.
West coast gangsta rap, pop rap, conscious hip hop, acid house, political hip hop & boom bap all mold into 1 for the 2nd single “Keep Moving” suggesting to keep pushing dope everywhere you go while “Mood Organ” after the “From Bright Bodies” interlude bares it’s name after a fictional device in Philip K. Dick’s novels Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? & We Can Build You. “Polaroids” unearths all of these photos hidden tucked neatly in a box & hidden in a sock drawer or underneath the bed just before “Madcap” after the “Simple Degradation (Plucks 14-18)” interlude advises not to get it twisted with a businessman.
“Mirrorshades 2” featuring Cartel Madras continues the renowned cyberpunk anthology edited by Bruce Sterling since it’s a cornerstone of the genre’s aesthetic & themes while “Welcome Home Soldier” featuring Aesop Rock after the “& You Called” interlude was a great nerdcore cut with additional elements of industrial hip hop, abstract hip hop & glitch hop exploring into digital escapism & the allure of virtual worlds. “Ask What Happened” closes the LP by talking about history & future belong to the 1%.
The original “Mirrorshades” starts the deluxe run recapturing the themes of the sequel that we all got hear first earlier this spring while “Forever War” blends industrial hip hop, conscious hip hop, electronic, electro, hardcore hip hop & political hip hop talking about the way war goes. “Hard-Eyes” suggests to keep the family close & the ghosts in the closet with the safe while the final bonus track “Night of Heaven” reminds us all that the government is watching.
In contrast to their last few projects containing record-long concepts like the classic prog rock of old, Dead Channel Sky is more like a mixtape with it’s carefully curated collection of songs in which every track is a love letter to a possible present. Their industrial hip hop production expands in favor of hardcore hip hop, glitch hop, glitch music, acid techno, noise, big beat, electronic dance music, abstract hip hop, nerdcore, west coast hip hop, gangsta rap, pop rap, conscious hip hop, acid house, political hip hop, boom bap, drum & bass, hip house, breakbeat hardcore, acid breaks, power noise, digital hardcore & hardcore breaks texture-mapping the twin histories of hip hop & cyberpunk onto an alternate present.
Here we have the 24th studio LP from New Orleans, Louisiana rapper, songwriter & record executive Curren$y. Starting with No Limit Records in 2002, he would then hop over to Young Money Entertainment & Cash Money Records in 2006 & eventually branched out in 2008 with his own label Jet Life Recordings. The man has since made a name for himself by dropping a handful of projects every single year with my favorites including the Harry Fraud-produced Cigarette Boats, the Alchemist-produced Covert Coup, the prominently Ski Beatz produced Pilot Talk series, The Carrollton Heist, the Lex Luger produced Motivational Speech, the Statik Selektah-produced Gran Turismo & Continuance to name a small handful. Last time I covered Spitta was when he had So So Def Recordings founder Jermaine Dupri produce For Motivational Uses Only & was intrigued by the Never Catch Us singles.
“Drop Zone” couldn’t have started any classier with it’s sumptuous trap instrumental talking about turning blank pieces of paper into all kinds of things whereas “Checkpoints” works in some great vocal sampling to run up the score by selling dope & cheffing up more. “Dream Machines” featuring Premo Rice gets on some laidback jazz rap vibes talking about their lifestyles leading into “Airport Industries” featuring Wiz Khalifa dreaming of the finer things.
Conway the Machine & Rome Streetz join Spitta for “Money Magnet” embracing a boom bap flare talking about them being able to attract paper just before “Zack Morris Phone” featuring Bruiser Wolf strips the drums discussing the concept of perspective. “Duct Tape” gets back on the trap tip refusing to partner with cowards & flying with the loudest until “True Lies” featuring Babyface Ray, Styles P & 03 Greedo uniting the quartet talking about playing seriously & cool.
“No Wrinkles” featuring Fendi P hooks up these strings & hi-hats showing off their smoothness widen it comes to women while “320 Estate” featuring Dave East soulfully explains their first rule being not to speak ill of them. “All Season Long” featuring D.R.A.M. & Jay Worthy has these prominent synthesizers suggests those who lie to kick it ain’t your friends while “Encrypted Messages” psychedelically asks what you raising the top for.
The continuous themes of past fan favorites Cigarette Boats, The Stage, The Marina & The Outrunners are prevelant during the course of Never Catch Us showing the evolution of Curren$y & Harry’s chemistry for the past decade or so. Nearly every guest come correct with their verses, Spitta himself sounds focused & the production eclectically bounces between boom bap to trap & jazz rap.
B.G. is a 44 year old rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana known for being 1/2 of The B.G.’z with Lil Wayne prior to forming the Hot Boy$ with Juvenile & Turk along with the Cash Money Millionaires supergroup with the Big Tymer$. His first 5 solo albums Chopper City, It’s All on U, It’s All on U 2, my personal favorite Chopper City in the Ghetto & Checkmate all came out on Cash Money Records until he wanted to his own label Chopper City Records. The next 5 Living Legend, Life After Cash Money, The Heart of tha Streetz, Tha Heart of tha Streetz 2: I Am What I Am & Too Hood 2 Be Hollywood would all be distributed by MNRK Music Group aside from Atlantic Records providing further distribution for the latter. He would later spend a little over a decade in prison for 2 counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm & 1 count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, returning after over 15 years for his 11th studio LP.
The title track is a guitar-driven trap intro talking about him only getting greater whereas “Rock-A-Bye-Bye” works in a vocal sample reminding us that those who’re already familiar with him know his story by now. “1st Question” featuring Birdman dabbles with the Detroit trap sound reuniting with his mentor by having the better verse while “Go Live” featuring Boosie Badazz & Juvenile brings the trio together to rep their home state.
“Thank You” profoundly thanks everyone for still standing by him after being incarcerated going through it behind bars just before “Saved My Life” gets on the Detroit trap tip again talking about how trapping is the reason that he’s still alive today. “My Hood” hooks up pianos & hi-hats to clap at all the suckas out here with no style leading into “Live from the Gutta” featuring E-40 finds the duo taking us to the trenches.
Reese Youngn’s hook on “Know Your Worth” is hilariously awful despite the average beat & the genuine message within the lyrics, but then “Been a Dog” featuring Fredo Bang is one of my least favorite collaborations on the entire album. “Real Life” makes up for it with Gizzle solemnly looking back on the way he grew up & refusing to cap as a result while “Get It Poppin’” featuring Finesse2tymes doesn’t really get it poppin’ for me all that much.
“All Nite” shows a more romantic side to the original Hot Boy to begin the final leg of Freedom of Speech keeping this woman in his mind during the evening & giving it to her all day while the song “Real as It Gets” talking about still maintaining his legitimacy even if it was ruled last summer that his future songs have to be approved by the government. “When You Come Home” featuring Fiend jazzily ends with the former No Limit Soldier teaming up with the Cash Money Millionaire.
Starting the deluxe run, “Firebomber” by The B.G.‘z featuring Busta Rhymes makes it a mission to fuck up everything in existence while “Louisianimal” comes through with an anthem to his home state. “Lost Lives” featuring Juvenile warns that no one wants to be in the jungle when it’s war time while “We in Here” takes on a more celebratory attitude. “A Long Time” looks back on his career up to this point & the final bonus track “When I” finishes with a mediocre pop rap joint.
His collaborative mixtape with Gucci Mane called Choppers & Bricks marked the first of 8 projects that the Baby Gangster had written during his time behind bars, except the 2nd albeit his first solo effort in 16 years is a tad more decent in comparison. Other than a few guests faltering with their performances & some of the production being a little spotty, it’s somewhat refreshing to hear him holding down an entire body of work by himself again & am confident he can improve with the other 6 albums he has coming down the pipe. The deluxe however improves upon itself.
The Consentrik Quartet are a jazz band consisting of drummer Tom Rainey, upright bassist Chris Lightcap, tenor saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock & guitarist Nels Cline. The latter of whom has already put out his most recent solo efforts Lovers alongside Currents, Constellations & Share the Wealth through what I consider to be the greatest jazz label of all-time: Blue Note Records. Understandably, it only makes sense for the Consentrik Quartet to come over to Blue Note to put out their official debut album as a group.
“The Returning Angel” takes inspiration from Nels’ career spanning 5-decades already with a quietly reflective intro whereas “The 23” was a highly enjoyable lead single embracing a jazz-rock sound. “Surplus” prominently shows off Nels & Ingrid’s abilities playing the guitar & tenor saxophone for a little over 5 minutes keeping the jazz-rock vibes going strong until “Slipping into Something” starts with a guitar for the first half until the drums & tenor sax both make their way in the equation for the other.
Meanwhile on “Allende”, we have the Consentrik Quartet giving off a somber mood feeling like the perfect composition that would suit a rainy day just before “House of Steam” layered some guitars on it to get extra resonance on the opening theme. “Inner Wall” begins the 2nd half of the band’s debut giving off a mysterious flare for a good chunk of it waiting during the last minute & a half or so to bring the drums to the table, but then the “Satomi” turns the nihilism up going for a darker & deliberate turn through punk & post-rock.
“The Bag” was actually written as a dedication to drummer Tom Rainey including some of my favorite instrumentation on the entire LP leading into the 2nd single “Down Close” excitingly blending the cool jazz & free improvisation subgenres together. “? (The Spot)” continues the backend of these guys’ introductory debut since the tumultuous disorientation is another moment of aggression or fervor on the entire thing & “Time of No Sirens” finishes up with a gently, emotionally deep counterpart.
By turns swinging, grooving, bracing, mesmeric & quietly stunning, the Consentrik Quartet’s spotlights the ensemble’s profound chemistry as well as Cline’s versatility as both a player & a writer with 12 evocative soundscapes. It’s a love letter to the Brooklyn improvised-music scene that he became a vital player in well over a decade ago & though he no longer lives in the borough, his allegiance to the creative musicians Brooklyn nurtures remains steadfast.
Legends Will Never Die 