Eem Triplin’ – “Melody of a Memory” review

Eem Triplin’ is a 23 year old recording artist & producer from Johnstown, Pennsylvania beginning his music career over a decade ago as a result of his older brother introducing him to the FL Studio program. His first 3 EPs N0WH3R3 as well as No More Tears & Still Pretty caught the attention of RCA Records, signing him after appearing on the deluxe version of Camila Cabello’s most recent album C,XOXO for a full-length debut studio album showing everyone what he’s capable of doing.

“Came In It” produced by DJ Dahi is this cloudy intro talking about pulling up to the spot with the gang & all guns blazing whereas “If We’re Being Honest” works in some prominent synthesizers to admits to wanting his romantic interest to want him back refusing to trick in the current economic climate. “Fiji” featuring Cruza finds the pair drinking Hennessy as if it’s the titular brand of water crossing over alternative R&B, plugg & pop rap leading into “23” showing off the player in him even if he’s in his early 20s.

Meanwhile on “Duya”, we have Eem rapping over this delicate pop rap instrumental asking if this woman wants to love him or not homaging “ELEMENT.” by Kendrick Lamar during the outro just before “Out Miami” featuring Ty$ sees the 2 talking about being unable to keep up with their partners who’re out in Florida enjoying it there. “IYKTYK” tells his ex that he ain’t mad for her cancelling her subscription while “Feyoncé” talks about wanting to pull a woman as bad as Beyoncé of The Carters.

“Miss Me?” mixes pop rap as well as alternative R&B & plugg wanting to know if anyone still cares for him in the midst of his career taking off, but then “Crazy Hoes” talks about a hoe stalkin’ him following an on-&-off relationship. “Tall Tales” serves as a 2-parter asking his main chick if she would ride or die for him while “On & On” talks about this woman refusing to admit her needing him. “Kingdom of Hearts” finishes with an R&B joint singing that he wants to keep his woman as if she’s a secret.

The Pennsylvania recording artist’s major label debut reveals parts of himself that he’s never shared before & furthermore reveals a side of his sound that he hasn’t shown folks yet. Showing his evolution as an artist, he steers away from the sample drill undertones of Still Pretty in favor of DJ Dahi giving him an east coast pop rap/trap flare with additional elements of alternative R&B & plugg.

Score: 3.5/5

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Brigid Bites – “Hot Honey” review

Here is the 3rd EP from Davenport, Iowa rapper & dancer Brigid Bites. Creating the juggalette burlesque troupe in 2017 called Juggalesque, they’ve have since become a drawing attraction at the Gathering since then with her eventually joining Chapter 17 Records CEO/Psychopathic Records recording artist Ouija Macc on stage quite a few times since. However, she made a pretty solid introduction into the music world with Hatchet Girl & Pumpkin Spice respectively. Coinciding with Juggalo Weekend wrapping up, she’s returning by serving Hot Honey almost 2 years since Hatchet Girl.

The title track made for a hip house intro talking about having what you need & others not handling her spicy heat whereas the rage-inducing “Reap Wut U Sow” featuring Kasuke finds the pair reminding us of karma’s legitimacy. “My Money” expresses the love she has for her bread & the affection money has for her while “Loved 2 Death” somberly tells her younger self she’ll fly one day. “Beat ‘Em” finally ends with a sample of the Riddle Box intro tackling the idiom “if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em”.

Those wanting to get into Brigid Bites’ music are gonna wanna listen to Hatchet Girl & Pumpkin Spice since I still feel like both of them musically present her to us in peak form but nevertheless, it’s still exciting to hear the Daughter of the Wicked Shit coming back with a body of work after doing a couple guest appearances & releasing a single or 2 only a year earlier. Production-wise, the trap/electronic sounds of Hot Honey’s predecessors are being recaptured & she’s hooking the underground up with the flavor they need.

Score: 3.5/5

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Dody6 – “Dodyworld” review

This is the 4th full-length studio LP from South Central Los Angeles, California rapper Dody6. Beginning at the start of the decade with a couple EPs Deep in da Gang & Sumn 4 the Streets, his debut album #FreeDody & the sophomore effort Property of the State made a name for himself as someone to keep an eye out for in the nervous scene as did The Godfather. Few months after his appearance on “hey now” off Kendrick Lamar’s 6th album GNX last fall, we’re entering the Nightshift & Dayshift of Dodyworld.

“Who” gets things going with this nervous instrumental talking about being 40 crips deep whereas “Stomach Ache” hooks up some pianos to promise that he’ll always be himself without a giving a fuck what others say. “Savage Mode” featuring R3 da Chillman finds the 2 showing off the ruthlessness that’s inside of both of them keeping the traffic music vibes in tact while “Rich as Fucc” talks about not being the one to fuck with.

Yatta joins Dody for “‘Bout My Life” keeps the nervous atmosphere going cautioning that they stay carrying the sticks on them just before “Dead Homiez” featuring Lefty Gunplay & X4 has my favorite beat on the album from Hit-Boy bring a Mobb-heavy there to the table matched with the trio displaying their gang ties. “Not the Same” featuring HBK Jachi goes for a traffic vibe talking about doing what they had to, but then “Cold N Here” featuring X4 links up so they can get money over on their side.

“Pressured Up” lets out some anger he’s been bottling up prepared to slide & people annoying him with a bunch of weird shit leading into “Demons” featuring Li Rye talks about nobody touching them because their homies got guns. “Party of Your Life” featuring Tru Carr works in more pianos to point out the amount of bitches in this party while “Sleeping Without You” featuring 03 Greedo talking about their lovers keeping them focused.

The penultimate song “Girls Gone Wild” welcomes everyone to the wildest party you’ve been to getting shit hype with him as the pilot of it all with heavy sub-basses, simple melodies, slow, sparse & slamming drums backing him that is until the closer “Air CNC” finishes it all up by getting this bitch jumpin’ advising for everyone to listen up if you want him to explain how you can be living. “Changed Me” begins Disc 2 boasting how smooth he is on the mic over some keys while “Trippin’” fuses g-funk & hyphy together talking about touching more chicken than the pots.

“Hating on Me” works in a woodwind warning that he shouldn’t be one to be pushed clapping back at his detractors in light of his biggest feature yet while “Day 4” featuring X4 looks at both of them tryna get their bust-downs whether it be their teeth or wrists. “Why” featuring Lil Vada returns to the nervous wheelhouse double-crossing hoes in the vein of Kyrie Irving while “Big Sandwich” goes off the top backed by some finger-snaps feeling more like himself.

Not too surprised by the Detroit trap feels of “Dozing Off” since some of that style borrows from the traffic scene a bit keeping his circle small enough excluding his own friends around him while “No Competition” featuring Shybelligerent talks about everyone making it to the top when it’s all said & done. “Just Bait” menacingly keeps a 3-headed snake on him betting his mother’s life on it while “Another Dimension” gives a glimpse of him getting extremely fucked up.

“Off Drugs” talks about spazzing out so hard to the point where a lot of people speculate that he’s geekin’ off substances while “Class Over” featuring 03 Greedo & Ralfy the Plug surpasses “Sleeping with You” from Disc 1 as a collaboration. “Troop By Myself” stunts on everything who disses Hood Trophy Records & confidently dismisses the need for any backup regarding them being handled while “Dody Did It” ends by talking about feeling like he has to lie since the truth hurts.

Dody’s been working on Dodyworld for a little while before GNX randomly came out & shocked the whole world, so hearing that this was gonna be a double LP made the stakes even higher for it although I probably would’ve enjoyed it more if you took the highlights from both discs & combined them into 1. There’s nothing wrong with the nervous-heavy production nor are there any issues with Dody’s own performances; the main critique that I have of this is the feature performances are generally hit or miss.

Score: 3/5

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LaRussell – “Rent Paid” review

Vallejo, California emcee & the leader of the Good Compenny collective LaRussell linking up with Surf Club Inc. founder Hit-Boy once again to put out his 27th EP & the sequel to Rent Due. For the past 7 years, the man originally known under the moniker Tota has been steadily hustlin’ in the west coast underground by putting out over 2 dozen EPs along with 3 full-length albums & 7 mixtapes as of me writing this. The 1-year anniversary of Rent Due happens to be next weekend, so Hit-Boy’s getting back with him on Rent Due.

Lefty Gunplay joins LaRussell on the intro “I Thought I Told Y’all” to tell everyone listening that they can get it on their own & do everything in their raps over a west coast trap instrumental whereas “Let Me Know Sum” featuring E-40, Mistah F.A.B. & Richie Rich puts it down for both Vallejo & Oakland respectively. “Rollin’” featuring Malachi cloudily talks about shit being bigger than a moment to both of them, but then “50 Broke N****s” shows confidence of him not being one of the 50 broke people that’s in the room.

“Oprah” goes for a morbid trap atmosphere wanting to know who’s stopping everyone from being interviews from the OWN network majorily owned by Discovery Global while “Life of a Star” featuring Tierra doing a spoken word bit talks about how things been since his popularity is growing. “Mass Appeal” featuring Malachi & Michael Prince suggests they should’ve signed to Nas’ label of the same name while “Sacrifices” talks the things he had to give up to get to where he is today. “Leeches” featuring Malachi lastly ends the EP by discussing burning those type of people since you can’t fuck off them.

The mixed reception of Rent Due & Rent Paid are both pretty surprisingly to me since I enjoyed his features on DJ Drama’s 6th album I’m Really Like That, E-40’s previous album Rule of Thumb, Courtney Bell’s sophomore effort Microdose & Tech N9ne’s most recent Collabos joint C.o.S.M. (Class of Strange Music). The successor of Rent Due itself, I like more than the previous one whether it be the guests or Hit-Boy’s production & LaRussell’s own performances.

Score: 4/5

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Ohgeesy – “Paid N Full” review

Ohgeesy is a 31 year old rapper from Los Angeles, California notable for being a member of the seminal nervous group the Shoreline Mafia now consisting of him & Fenix Flexin’ as of me writing this. Following their hiatus as a unit, Ohgeesy has since put out 2 solo mixtapes GEEZYWORLD & GEEZYWORLD 2 under Atlantic Records to mixed reception. In light of him signing a new deal with 300 Entertainment though, his official full-length solo debut is coming in time for Valentine’s Day although it’s not lovey dovey necessarily.

The title track begins with this sample-driven trap intro talking about getting the money, flipping it & stacking it higher whereas “Keep Goin’” produced by Hit-Boy is a highlight for me personally advising to not give up & move forward on top of what I consider to be amongst the strongest instrumentals. “Fa Real” brings more of a bouncier flare to the table boasting that he’s the one calling shots while “What It Iz” featuring Lefty Gunplay highlights their success & relentless hustle in the street & music.

Charlotte Hornets player Miles Bridges has one of the weaker guest appearances on the song “Digital” referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE world champion, 3-time WWE United States Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 9-time WWE tag team champion, 8 time WWE Cruiserweight Champion & アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン & The Crash’s inaugural Mundial Pesocompleto Campeon Rey Mysterio fresh off staring at the newest Monday Night RAW superstar in former AEW World Tag Team Champion, AEW World Trios Champion, HoG Tag Team Champion, TNA World Champion, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion, the longest reigning 3-time AAA Mundial Parejas Campeon, AAA Mundial Mixtas Parejas Campeon, AAA Latinoamericano Campeon, The Crash Pesocrucero Campeon, The Crash Parejas Campeon, MLW World Tag Team Champion, PWG World Tag Team Champion & ROH World Tag Team Champion Penta to start this year’s Royal Rumble leading into “Cuttin’” featuring Saweetie making up for it as they talk about making it rain in the west coast today.

“Cropped Out” kinda gives off some Mobb vibes altogether assuring that he ain’t on some middle man shit at all & he loading up with the chopper with his gloves on prior to the Shoreline Mafia reuniting for “Heat Stick” including a reference to 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena who recently put over former WWE Intercontinental Champion & 10-time WWE Tag Team Champion Jey Uso at this year’s Royal Rumble that is until “Tell Me Something” featuring Kalan.FrFr boasts about them doing drank in the club.

Meanwhile on “Let It Be Known”, we have Ohgeesy telling his girlfriend the name of this very album we’re dissecting start to finish in advance & it’s her world while “Novio #2” featuring Jr. H tells their ex-girlfriends that they completely understand of them moving on to new men. “Babygirl” hits on a woman who’s been looking for a thug in her life while “Wanna Fuck” by Jeeezy, Kalan.FrFr & the Shoreline Mafia shows a sensual side to them.

The BlueBucksClan & Wallie the Sensei get together for “Wet” continuing the themes of list while “Work” feels more like an Ohgeesy solo track with Fenix Flexin on the hook than a Shoreline Mafia joint. “Refrigerated” featuring Luh Tyler boats they both of them stay ice cold out in the streets & “Yacht Master” addresses not taking credit for every time his brother slides homaging the titular brand of Rolex watches.

Geezy has always being a personal favorite member of the Shoreline Mafia & regardless of the divided responses both GEEZYWORLD tapes got, he really takes it up a couple notches for what he’ll even tell you himself is the official debut album in his discography. The production refines the nervous elements of both of those mixtapes & the guest list isn’t really all that bad either.

Score: 3.5/5

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Skaiwater – “#mia” review

Skaiwater is a 24 year old rapper & producer from Nottingham, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom who began in 2019 off their debut EP After God Fear Eve. The 4ersona member would go on to put out 3 more EPs along with a mixtape & a couple of full-length studio LPs, the most notable being their sophomore effort #Gigi from last summer under GoodTalk Records & Capitol Records fully realizing on the potential that was shown on their earlier material. 7 months later, Skai’s looking to prelude their 3rd album with their 5th EP.

The intro “pop” brings together trap, pop rap, alternative R&B, rage, pluggnb & industrial hip hop telling their bae that they’ve been hustlin’ extra hard for her as of late whereas “feral” talks about being the one to find a reason to run away. “by the moon” expresses the fear of losing the woman they’ve seeing currently just before “wolf” featuring Rada talks about a chick who hasn’t slept in 4 days falling in love with the drugs they doing not even knowing either of their names.

“You don’t feel the same.” reaffirms the love they still has for this woman & suggesting she must think they’re a clown when they’re far from it just before “maria” addresses an individual with that very name wanting to own their heart. “ur song” is a tribute to their soulmate loving her for the way she is just before “manicinamerica” ends the the EP by confessing they’re far from sober wanting to hold Mia in their bleeding arms & asking if they can be a home to their partner.

Young Skai managed to push themself artistically back in June & they prelude the next LP in their disposal with what’s definitely the most I’ve enjoyed an EP from them. The production takes the UK hip hop sound & fuses it with pop rap, plugg, jerk, electropop, trap, alternative R&B, rage, pluggnb & industrial hip hop once more leveling up their pen-game like Skai did previously.

Score: 3.5/5

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Pradabagshawty – “B What You B” review

Columbia, South Carolina born albeit Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer Pradabagshawty releasing his 5th EP. Introducing himself in the spring of 2023 off Bloxk Addiktion, his popularity within the plugg subgenre of trap continued to grow last year by putting out 3 more EPs in 1 Love as well as his Cegular Records/Sony Music debut 10 Freak Ho’s & most recently Forever & After a few months back. That said: I personally wasn’t too familiar with him up until the beginning of this week gearing up for B What You B.

“Gfreak” starts with a plugg instrumental telling a hoe to not get offended after he passed on sleeping with her whereas “Brew Love” featuring yotti finds the 2 talking about their romantic interests having love for the alcohol. “Black N’ White” encourages everyone to watch the magic he can do with the stick he’s carrying that is until “Outta State” featuring Baby Auto & imsomarcus talks about them slammin’ along with them refusing to do half a pill & even airing out those who be cappin’

To get the EP’s other half going, “Tinder Date” hits the streets so hard where his whole entire body began shaking while “Cash Cow” talks about getting active from the east to the south. “P Wit Ha” maintains a plugg vibe discussing the fuck shit that comes across his line while “Heart 2 Heart” produced by WhyCeg talks about a woman wanting to have his son for the money. “AR Inna Trenchcoat” finishes the EP with a 9 Vicious solo song since Prada does the hook, which I don’t mind since I like Young Thug’s nephew artistically.

Really since catching up to Pradabagshawty’s music, Forever & After quickly became my favorite EP of his going into B What You B & the actual finished product right in front of us recaptures every quality that made it’s predecessor a standout in his discography & an exciting artist in the plugg scene to keep an eye on going forward. The production’s a more consistent than both its predecessors were & Prada’s nack for catchy songwriting reveals itself much like he did 10 months ago.

Score: 4/5

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D. Savage – “We Love D. Savage” review

D. Savage is a 28 year old rapper & songwriter from Los Angeles, California who signed to Victor Victor Worldwide & Capitol Records for his debut EP D Phoenix & the full-length debut Trust No One shortly after his debut mixtape Born a Savage dropped. The sophomore effort BPL marked his debut for EMPIRE Distribution & with the 2-year anniversary of Mafia Musik approaching in a few days following this ongoing weekend, D.’s dropping his 4th studio album to coincide with Valentine’s Day.

“Kick ‘Em Out” starts the album with a plugg instrumental talking about hoes not wanting him back then & all of the sudden wanting him now that he’s becoming a popular artist whereas “Woozy” turns the cloudiness up so he can get fucked up off the lean he poured up. “2025” flexes that he got all the hoes he wants without it even mattering ahead of “Slow Rise” talking about refusing to slow down.

The intoxicating atmosphere of “Like Me” is fitting telling this woman he sees running around that she won’t find anyone else on his level out here leading into “Been a Joint” featuring 310babii finds the pair talking about building an EMPIRE a lot like the label D. Savage is signed to. “How Many Grams?” wants to know the exact amount of weed that was put into the blunt prior to it being rolled while “Palm of My Hand” asking why the fuck everyone soft as they are nowadays.

“Donut” featuring Dave Blunts brings the 2 together wanting to have fun & the killas by their side going up with them just before “inthej” featuring the streamer who finally got DJ Akademiks cancelled PlaqueBoyMax addresses every single person who wants to see them down & failing. “Geek’d Up” featuring Ty$ pours up the lean high enough where it’ll knock them out, but then “Until I Fall” boasts being as wealthy one of the greatest boxers of all-time & Mayweather Promotions founder Floyd Mayweather.

As for “Sin4thewin”, the conclusion of We Love D. Savage draws even closer getting back on his bullshit carrying a machete on him taking his meds to calm his ass down “Fr!ed” rounds out the LP by talking about being back in his bag grindin’ on the road & geeking up with 100 other rich homies outside with him as well as promising to kick the asses of anyone he catches speaking ill of him.

Given that I’ve never reviewed D. Savage up until now, I was first introduced to him when D Phoenix came out & felt that he was a good fit for Victor Victor until his departure. We Love D. Savage as far as his EMPIRE output goes stands as my new favorite compared to his last couple offerings. It’s produced better, the guest-list is tight & he returns after almost 2 years to deliver some of the most enjoyable performances I’ve heard from him in a while.

Score: 3.5/5

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Josiah the Gift – “The Happening” review

This is the 7th full-length studio LP from Brooklyn, New York emcee Josiah the Gift. Emerging in the late 2010s by releasing his first 2 EPs Jack Johnson & Raw, he later broke out within the underground back in the summer of 2020 off his acclaimed debut album Iron Mic. His profile continued to elevate with the debut mixtape Remain Raw, the sophomore effort Mightier Than the Sword as well as the sequel, the True Cipher-produced TOGO, God’s Gracious, The Glorious Si’s eponymous debut & his previous album Lavish Language from last summer. Over 5 months later, Machacha’s being listed to fully produce The Happening.

“Jeux” featuring Vega7 the Ronin sets the tone of what’s to come with both of them over a drumless loop talking about the flowers they tried to water being hydrophobic whereas “Honor” featuring Willie the Kid taking the boom bap route showing off a savage psychiatry. “Guess Who” featuring Eddie Kaine reminds that they were the ones down with the drama & left in the end leading into “Thor” stripping the drums asking how you want it.

M.A.V. joins Josiah on “Royalties” returning to the boom bap talking about stacking up their dough & “Teflon” keeps it in the basement instrumentally showing us what his legend status has made out of. “The Lord is My Sheppard” aggressively makes it a mission for him to go hunting for dead meat while the flute-tinged “Heroes” talking about every single way that people could imagine a hero being refusing to get political in the process.

“When the Pen Hits” brings the woodwind-heavy boom bap sound back in the fold once again boasting his lyrical ability that’s been elevated, but then “The Reality” featuring Jamil Honesty talks about being prisoners feeling the conviction beforehand asking why they have to comprise themselves for their safety. “Trivial” finishes my new favorite Josiah project with him over a vocal sample turning shit into gold possibly only bodying your soul with his skills.

Familiarizing myself with the Gift of the Umbrella several years ago through several features he’s done, his first offering of 2025 & the Lavish Language follow-up surpasses his debut from 5 years ago as the strongest & most cohesive thing he’s ever done. Machacha’s production outstandingly balances drumless & boom bap on top of the well-assessed guest appearances leveling Josiah’s penmanship.

Score: 4.5/5

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Pasto Flocco – “Rebirth” review

Queens, New York rapper Pasto Flocco returning after a 2 year hiatus for his 8th EP. Coming up as an associate of Lil Tecca, he’s seen quite the success off his own once branching out on his own by dropping his first 2 albums March Madness & Dreams 2 Reality along with a debut mixtape Surf to Kill (SGBSTK) as a member of the Surf Gang collective. Pasto rang in 2022 by dropping sophomore tape R.O.A.M. (Rich Off A Mic) under his newly founded Ghetto Luxury Entertainment & continued to build upon the sample drill sound on March Madness 2 & Walking Glitch. The Way Lyfe Goes was a solid mix of all kinds of sounds & is returning for a Rebirth following up Flocc4President.

“My Aura” is this cloudy trap intro produced by Swervo of Vanguard Music Group talking about the chick that’s seeing him feeling the vibes he gives off generally whereas “Nick Cannon (Wylin’ Out)” works in some synthesizers to flex that he still gets these hoes going crazy even after his sabbatical. “D Rose” maintains a synth-heavy sound comparing himself to the Windy City Assassin who retired after the previous NBA season, but then “Mentally Stable” talks about stepping away to get right.

Moving on from there, “Off the Grid” goes for a plugg vibe refusing to go for 2nd place while “Jimmy Butler (Sean John)” makes a bold nod to disgraced Bad Boy Entertainment founder Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy & that he feels like the Golden State Warriors player. “Hot Like Summer” has these fabulous synthesizers showing off his stunner status leading into “Keep It 100” calling for everyone to be legit around him.

“Accident Prone” starts the encore of Pasto’s first body of work in 2 years with a colorful plugg track talking about a clumsy woman trying to get with him & basically telling her to back the fuck up from him that is until the official closer “Lobotomy” finishes off the EP with these psychedelic synths talking about having too much on his mind calling out every fuck boy copying him these past couple years when he stepped away.

The Surf Gang nowadays is mostly known for their run as a production team since a lot of their vocalist members have departed the collective & for Pasto’s comeback effort, quite possibly my favorite member of the collective departs from the sample drill sound that was prominent on his most recent material in favor of plugg rapping as if he never even had to take a step back.

Score: 4/5

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