Big Pokey – “Stone Hard to the Boneyard” review

Big Pokey was a 48 year old MC from Houston, Texas notable for being an original member of the Screwed Up Click collective. He also began carving a path as a solo artist in the spring of 1999 off his full-length debut Hardest Pit in the Litter, which was followed up with the sophomore effort D Game 2000 as well as Da Sky’s da Limit & the MNRK Music Group-backed Eviction Notice. 13 years later, he returned in the spring of 2021 by putting out Sensei & tragically passed away of a heart attack onstage a couple summers later. A & a half after his death, Pokey’s 5th & final album is being released on Black Friday.

“Coast 2 Coast” featuring Paul Wall & Redimade is this laidback opener with all 3 of them coming together for a celebration of the real whereas “Don’t Look Back” featuring Lil’ Keke & Slim Thug finds the trio talking about keeping it moving & taking penitentiary chances for the fame. “Screwed Up Click” featuring Lil’ O & Z-Ro serves as a dirty south homage to the titular collective they’re a part of while the piano-trap hybrid “16 Bars” featuring Chris Ward discusses not being in the same lane as everyone else.

Lil’ Keke returns for “On da Map” talking about putting it on for their city just before “Paper Profit” featuring Mook kinda has this quirky trap vibe instrumentally going back-&-forth with each other flexing they got championship diamonds on as if they play for the Houston Rockets. “Gorilla Bizzness” featuring Big Third turns the bass up assuring you don’t have to wait since they in the tundra with the weight leading into “Fork Talk” featuring Killa Kyleon talking about only chasing money.

“So Screwed Up” featuring Daz Dillinger shows love from the west coast to the south just before “Smoke Something” talks about how if you’re looking for smoke, he’s rolling it up. “Brick City” gives off a symphonic trap vibe moving like a bull shark while “By Any Means” featuring Lil’ Keke & Mike-D promises to go hard whatever it takes. Finally, the closer “Yacht Music” ends the LP grinding to go get it over a rich beat.

25 years since his debut, Stone Hard to the Boneyard comes off what would be the final LP of Big Pokey’s lifetime with a posthumous effort that would make the SUC O.G. more than proud if he was still here today & one that reinforces his legacy in the Houston hip hop scene. The guest list here is more consistent than the predecessor was, with most of them complimenting Podina & the city of H-Town other than a couple others here & there.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Skyzoo – “Keep Me Company” review

Brooklyn, New York veteran Skyzoo signing to Old Soul Music for his 9th solo LP. Emerging in the underground off the 9th Wonder produced Cloud 9: The 3 Day High, he continued to make a name for himself with a consistent discography. Highlights include The Salvation, the !llmind produced Live from the Tape Deck, A Dream Deferred, Music for My Friends, the Apollo Brown produced The Easy Truth, In Celebration of Us & my personal favorite: the Pete Rock produced Retropolitan dedicated to his home state. All the Brilliant Things built itself around gentrification & coming off The Mind of a Saint dedicated one of my favorite shows Snowfall, he’s calling for everyone to Keep Me Company.

“Community Service” featuring a spoken word out from JRose is this jazzy boom bap opener produced by JR Swiftz discussing scriptures written in threads seemingly holding us all together & the aptly titled voluntary work lasting for eternity whereas “Finder’s Keepers” keeps the jazz rap vibes going talking about not leaving until finding what you came for. “Home Away from Home” addresses still being the one they call up even though he’s been gone while the atmospheric boom bap joint “Ayinde in the March” talks about the corner getting immortalized soon as it dies.

As for “Drug Free School Zone”, we have Sky acknowledging that his footprints are on the soapbox trying to rebuild pride ahead of “Prayers for the Customers” getting back on the jazz rap tip warning to not run around like you one of them after you done with them. The bare-boned yet layered all at once “Courtesy Call” featuring Chuck D advising to stand down if murder’s involved, but then the soulful “Esoteric” describes the feeling as abstruse.

“Record Store Day” after the “Store Runs” interlude playfully talks about women in record stores, which is very much my type personally while “Sleeping Beauty” pushes further towards the final leg of his Old Soul Music debut by talking about your presence speaking volumes before you even say a word. “Wins of the Father” points out that being proud goes both ways on top of sending an open letter to his seed & “Jazz in the Projects” sends it off with an 8-minute jazz rap closer hoping you win the wars you haven’t told anyone that you’re fighting.

Centered on the idea of growth, Keep Me Company shows Skyzoo at his most vulnerable since he speaks on his current personal state along with the effects of the past & the assumptions of the future. Feeling alone in this growth spurt of sorts, Sky come across people who felt the exact same way & lets everyone know that they should fear none if they’re in the middle of their own spurt too since the blessing of growth can be sometimes disguised.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Juice WRLD – “The Party Never Ends” review

This is the 5th & final full-length studio LP from Chicago, Illinois rapper & singer/songwriter Juice WRLD. Quickly becoming a prominent face in the emo rap trend in the spring of 2018 off the strength of his commercial debut Goodbye & Good Riddance, this was followed up the next year with the sophomore album Death Race for Love & Juice sadly passed away after his 21st birthday from a drug overdose. Now even though I personally found both of those albums to be average at best before his untimely death, they eventually grew on me & the kid was undeniably talented. Case in point: “Lucid Dreams” & his astonishing 1-hour Tim Westwood freestyle. Legends Never Die during the summer of the COVID-19 lockdowns was a cool little tribute & 3 years after Fighting Demons tied-in with his Into the Abyss documentary nicely, The Party Never Ends is finally seeing the light of day.

The title track begins by hopping over a psychedelic trap instrumental getting the party started whereas “Misfit” gets on his emo rap shit talking about not fitting in. “All Girls Are the Same 2 (Insecure)” featuring Nicki Minaj is this pointless sequel to one of Juice’s biggest hits, but then the bassy “Lace It” featuring Eminem makes up for it reflecting heavily on substance abuse & Eminem giving one of his best guest verse in recent memory discussing the recent deaths of many rappers due to drug overdose.

“Cuffed” produced by from benny blanco, Cashmere Cat & longtime collaborator Nick Mira of Internet Money Records joyously celebrates Juice’s accomplishments as result of his position as an artist up until the point of his death while the cloudy trap joint “KTM Drip” talks about letting in the drugs that’re knocking on his door. “Love Letter” goes for a trippier direction to the beat once more telling the woman that’s on his mind that he wants to be with her forever just before “Condone It” tackles the lifestyle that he lived over this woozy Boi-1da instrumental.

The Kid Laroi who recently starred in the A24 Films teen flick Y2K hops on the mic throughout the entirety of “Goodbye” heading for a minimal sound & looking back on the time that he spent with his late mentor while the guitar-driven “Party By Myself” talks about nothin’ else numbing his pain like the pills & the weed. “Adore You” addresses his issues with love & drugs over more guitars while “Celebrate” featuring Offset has one of the best beats on the album thanks to Metro Boomin’ mixing Raf Simons & Rick Owens together

“Jeffrey” pushes further towards the 2nd half hooking up a rubbery bassline chillin’ with killers referencing Jeffrey Dahmer while “Barbarian” reuses the instrumental of “Red Dead” by Yung Bans, doing it better by professing his affection for codeine referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson. “Best Friend” featuring Fall Out Boy tediously fuses trap, pop rap & a hint of pop rock for a duet asking their soulmates if they could put a yellow diamond ring on their left hands while the upbeat “Floor It” boasts about his drug use as well as expensive materialism & his girlfriend at the time of him recording it referencing 14-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion & WWE United States Champion Randy Orton.

The song “Oxycodone” has a cool rap rock flare courtesy of Purps talking about the drug addiction that he sadly lost his life to & Spend It” finishes the final body of work in Juice WRLD’s discography showcasing his wealth & the slow vibes that Zaytoven laced make it feel bittersweet. “Empty Out Your Pockets” though initially premiered during Fortnite’s Remix event falling back after needing millions over pianos & hi-hats until it was later added as an official bonus cut.

Shy of the 5-year anniversary of his tragic death in less than a couple weeks, The Party Never Ends fills the void for fans who grew up alongside the beloved rapper’s melancholy melodies in the form of misfit music running at 54 minutes. The familiar themes of doomed love, vicious cycles, numbing out & fighting demons sung in an anguished warble matched with the production blending emo rap, trap & pop rap ensures that the Chicago artist’s legacy will live on forever.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Jamie Madrox – “The November Brain” review

Jamie Madrox is a 49 year old MC, singer/songwriter, Astronomicon co-founder & former Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) commentator from Detroit, Michigan getting his start as 1/3 of the House of Krazees alongside The R.O.C. & Monoxide. The latter of whom would join Mr. Bones in signing to Psychopathic Records in late 1997 as Twiztid, becoming the biggest act to emerge out of the label that runs beneath the streets under the Insane Clown Posse’s wing next to Ouija Macc subsequently 2 decades later shortly after Majik Ninja Entertainment & PSY severed ties. Jamie briefly went solo in the mid-90s off his debut EP The Demon Inside & the full-length debut Sacrifice, returning over a decade later for the Psychopathic-backed sophomore effort Phatso. To celebrate Black Friday however, the multiple man’s returning for his 3rd solo LP to end his birth month.

“The Dice” is this melodic trap opener wondering if he can save himself again or being destined to die now whereas “Tell Me When” takes the tropical trap route instrumentally continually telling himself he’ll be fine with everything on his mind. “❤️ Me Then She ❤️ Me Not” samples one of my all-time favorite Sublime songs “Doin’ Time” letting this chick know that he’s a sure shot rather than a catch prior to “Mind Games” morbidly talking about your mind playing tricks on you.

The Green Kid a.k.a. Big Vin Dustin & Insane E join Jamie for “On the Spiral” giving off more of a hardcore hip hop vibe admitting that they’re over the edge & out of control while the grisly lead single “Dirt Sandwich” talks about self-happiness being the vibe that he promotes although I prefer the Stir Crazy remix. “G4” featuring G-Mo Skee shifts into boom bap territory for both of them dropping straight bars for 102 seconds just before “More Problems Than Yesterday” keeps the kicks & snares in tact wanting to know why his problems have increased.

“G9” featuring Boondox brings a trap flare back in the equation leading into “Blockin’ Out the Haters” featuring Blaze Ya Dead Homie returns to the boom bap talking about brushing off their detractors. “G6” featuring Hyro the Hero goes for a jazzier direction with the beat refusing to stop until the city goes down, but then “Can U Hear Me Now?” by Twiztid discusses being a part of the progress & dominating playlists.

Meanwhile on “G1”, we have Jamie & Young Wicked aggressively encouraging everyone to listen to their music on repeat when they both have material worthy of doing so while the soulful “Just a Little More” shows a mature side to the multiple man on the lyrical front. “Natural Born” featuring The R.O.C. hops over another boom bap instrumental displaying their murderous tendencies & “Impossible” somberly addresses the impossibility of life. “Ty (4Real)” finishes The November Brain with what feels like a successor to “You’re the Reazon” off Mirror Mirror.

You can only get The November Brain physically through the MNEStore because Jamie was jackin’ for beats from smaller & lesser-known underground producers. Either way, I still enjoyed it almost as much as The Chainsmoker II roughly 9 months ago & can say both halves of Twiztid put out their best solo efforts ahead of Welcome to Your Funeral this upcoming Valentine’s Day. The production although left uncredited in the hard copies more eclectic than Chainsmoker II going from boom bap to trap, jazz rap, hardcore hip hop & horrorcore introducing us to The Great Skull & the Graybow.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Sam R I – “12 Monkeys” review

Sam R I is a 31 year old MC & producer from San Diego, California who first emerged within the west coast underground off his first 4 EPs Purple Cashmere, Rush Hour, Nickz & more recently Stax Payne over the summer. However after William Bostick heard Sam’s verse on “Rise in Winter Crime (Brrrrr)” off the Christmas EP that XP the Marxman put out last winter ‘Tis the Season, the New York producer has been brought in to produce Sam’s official debut album.

“Been a Buck” rawly sets it off by letting it be known he’s been the same from the very jump whereas “2 Types” incorporates some vibraphones to discuss the kind of people who say it without actually putting in the effort & the ones who actually do it. “TGFF” takes the boom bap route instrumentally showing off his storytelling abilities while “Art Basil in Spain” featuring Chester & Doza the Drum Dealer finds the trio coming together for a hardcore joint with a hook delivered in Spanish.

Meanwhile on “Blockbuster”, we have Sam on some more kicks & snares talking about letting shots ring out from the Benz just before “Freemason” after the titular interlude hooks up a soul sample to run the game as if he’s a part of the world’s first & largest fraternal organization. “Stick Up Kids” featuring 7ven 30 suggests their pen-games being Godly due to living in Hell, but then “Filthy” returns to the boom bap & lets his paper stack.

“Cul-De-Sac” featuring Kahlee nears the conclusion of 12 Monkeys needing a bigger truck with the work they be moving clarifying that there’s only 1 way out of the street or passage that’s closed 1 end while “Guilty” boasts his tax brackets being colder than Grand Rapids during the winter. “Take Time” finishes the LP on a more introspective note venting about the shit he’s dealing with whether it be his cousin possibly never walking again & a homie doing time behind bars.

In the 6 & a half years that Sam R I’s been around dropping projects, 12 Monkeys takes it above & beyond all expectations set by the small handful his previous EPs he had given us up until this point & culminating in a full-length debut showcasing the west coast lyricist’s elevation since 2018 on top of east coast production standing out in being amongst the best of William Bostick’s career thus far.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Nowaah the Flood – “Plans of the Diligent” review

This is the 20th EP 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 Kanye West, he would go on to drop his last 19 EPs along with The Nowaah & the Dewer’s eponymous debut album and roughly 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 and finally the Kyo Itachi-produced Sudan Samurai Scrolls. However, he & Stu Bangas are celebrating Thanksgiving by laying out Plans of the Diligent.

“On King David” is this hardcore 86 second intro talking about being the one to rumble with & saying fuck the humble shit since others be clockin’ his style whereas “Don’t Get Spooked Now” takes the uncanny boom bap route instrumentally cautioning everyone not to get frightened. “The Criteria” goes for a luxuriously raw vibe altogether likening the EP to 80s dope while “To the Chest” samples a piano to talk about lyrical devastation.

Meanwhile on “Wisdom of the Ages”, we have Nowaah soulfully disses all the false prophets in the game these days just before “The Hellfire”aggressively pays tribute to both 12 O’Clock & the Ol’ Dirty Bastard. “Breaking Day” acknowledges that he’s never taken an L when working with Stu leading into “1 Chance” brings the keys back in the equation to talk about still having his distinct grit. “Keep a Banga on Me” finishes by keeping a heater on him even if he’s locked down in cellblock 3.

Tinted with Biblical references throughout in time for the holiday season in Nowaah the Flood’s inimitable fashion, Stu Bangas provides the antidote to drumless beats & quiet lo-fi sounds for the faithless to find solace in the gritty stories of the streets Nowaah so expertly tells on behalf of those who’re either dead or locked behind bars doing life sentences & unable to tell their own tales as a result of the statutes of limitation not passing yet.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Sparkz – “Full Circle” review

Highly anticipated debut album from Manchester, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Sparkz. A member of the LEVELZ collective & co-fronting The Mouse Outfit, he would later make appearances on projects like Verb T’s 8th album Good Evening & Pitch 92’s debut EP Lost in Space until Fliptrix signed Sparkz to his historic Hove, East Sussex underground imprint High Focus Records dropping the self-produced Overload following the Angle trilogy of EPs in preparation of Full Circle.

After the intro, the heavenly boom bap flavored title track talks about what goes around coming around in this world whereas the 2nd single “Start & Show” combines these luxurious piano chords with kicks & snares calling for the attention of all advising those offended to cry him a river. “Never” goes for a funkier vibe talking about not having to step back just before the smooth “Overnight” featuring Coops marks my favorite guest appearance of the 3 discussing their souls staying aligned.

“Got This” works in some more piano-driven boom bap instrumentation for a lead single talking about staying in the game now that he’s no longer sitting on the bench leading into the dustily summery “Supposed to Be” speaks of this breather he’s been looking for making time move slowly for him. The 3rd & final single “Genius” blends jazz rap & boom bap together for an aggressive look at his witty penmanship while “Can’t Limit” featuring oskarcw0 talks about the blessin’ of big steppin’ over keys, kicks & snares.

Starting the LP’s final leg, “Glass House” opens up regarding him losing money & eventually getting it bag while “Team Set” featuring Voodoo Black comes together to fire 3 hardcore verses over a fusion between boom bap & lo-fi hip hop. “Say” instrumentally honors the late J Dilla’s legacy telling people to spew whatever they want about him & after “Where We At” talks about cherishing memories with every act, “Got Me Here” soulfully ends with Sparkz looking to leave the whole scene shook.

Introducing himself as a solo artist by putting his dexterity in the limelight with the Overload extended play, I can’t complain that Pitch 92 fully produced Full Circle because it was really a matter of time given his & Sparkz’ history apart of The Mouse Outfit for over a decade already. A few guests join the latter during a few instances contrasting Overload having no features at all, made up for by Pitch 92’s buttery production & Sparkz’ confidence balancing elements of the timeless & new.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

WTM Scoob – “Peach Wolf” review

This is the 7th EP from Detroit rapper WTM Scoob. Formerly a member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, his solo career started in 2019 with his first few EPs Good Kid as well as When You Coming Home & A Beautiful Drug. Couple more EPs Euphoric Effects & Don’t Be Proud came out ahead of his debut album I Went to Plu2o, which was later followed by his first couple mixtapes Scoob & Sydney Tour the World and Unreleased Wav alongside his last EP Big Heart Small World. 13 months after the “Lil Motivator” single & the “Safety Route” b-side however, Scoob’s coming off the Scoob Wav mixtape from this spring to drop Peach Wolf a couple days before Thanksgiving.

“Greedy” opens with a piano trap instrumental talking about putting feelings into this shit since he can’t carry on & demanding his respect feeling like Birdman in reference to his historic Breakfast Club interview whereas “Loewe” cloudily brushes off the idea of making a relationship work when the other half fucked it all up. “Addict” featuring Taylor Bentley begins the other half of the EP psychedelically addressing shit getting wicked in his city & finally, the closer “LoveTheRealMe” ends it all by talking about his only fear being karma.

Admittedly, I haven’t heard much of Scoob’s solo output since he left WRLD Tour a few years ago. Either way, Peach Wolf for only a 4-track EP clocking in at 8 & a half minutes serves as a palatable prelude to whatever he has coming down in the pipe in 2025 whether it be a sophomore LP or a 4th mixtape. I enjoyed Lo Key P’s production as someone who wasn’t too familiar with him up to this point even with a couple projects under his belt already but most importantly, Scoob’s skills on the mic remain undeniable & I’m happy to hear he’s doing good.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Mickey Diamond – “Gucci Gambinos” review

Detroit, Michigan lyricist & one of the finest in the underground currently Mickey Diamond returning for his 14th LP. Emerging at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 13 albums alongside 7 EPs & a mixtape. But for the past year, Mickey has been consistent putting out some of the best material of his career thus far. This includes the Gucci Ghost album & it’s sequel produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Ral Duke-produced Oroku Saki EP, the Sadhugold-produced Death Threat$ album, the Camoflauge Monk-produced Capital Gains album or the the 3rd & 4th installments to the Gucci Ghost saga this past winter. Diamond & Ral Duke got back together for the outstanding Oroku Saki sequel Super Shredder & only 3 months after It’s 5:00 Somewhere, he & Big Ghost are linking back up for Gucci Gambinos.

“Fruits of Wisdom” featuring Pro Dillinger perfectly opens things up by hopping over an orchestrally drumless instrumental referencing former AJPWオール・アジア・タッグチャンピオン, 世界ジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, KO-Dタッグチャンピオン, FMWインディペンデントワールド世界ジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, 2-time IWGPジュニアタッグチャンピオン, GHCジュニアヘビー級タッグチャンピオン & current 新日本プロレス Jr. Heavyweight タカ みちのく of the ジャスト・フォー・ガイズ unit whereas “Word Bond” works in a sample-driven boom bap beat responding to everyone saying he ain’t outside.

Pro Dillinger returns on the soulful rock crossover “Green Paper” promising that the money will come if you keep pacing leading into “Truth or Dare” featuring Method Man taking it back to the basement instrumentally so they can talk about getting killed in the 313 & the 718 respectively advising to use y’all heads. “Speedknot” hooks the sampling back up for only a minute to make way for Diamond to shrug off these funny muhfuckas, but then the classy “Ice Cubes” talks about weatherin’ the storm & whippin’ out the pyrex.

“The Untouchables” featuring Pro Dillinger aggressively reaches the halfway point calling out those believing in their favorite rappers saying they finessed bricks when they were legitimately bullshittin’ just before the duo stick around for “A Man with a Dream” bringing the soul samples back cookin’ the dope up & baggin’ it in less than 80 minutes. “Cold Summer” gives off more of a solemn vibe to the beat reflecting on having the whole block in a submission chokehold prior to Pro Dillinger returning on “Rusty Blades”, promising to shoot back if they shoot 1st.

Getting the final leg of Gucci Gambinos going, “The Last Gangster” mixes a vocal sample with kicks & snares to talk about it being another day & another dollar while the song “Rockin’ a Gold Tooth” pays homage to the iconic Wu-Tang Clan single “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)”. The title track featuring Pro Dillinger gets together for an orchestral boom bap joint kin to “Wu-Gambinos” & finally, “Crime Paradise” also featuring Pro Dillinger finishes the LP with both of them rawly breaking down their exquisite lifestyles.

Ghost & Diamond achieve their mission of restoring a feeling by taking equal inspiration from Raekwon’s solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, early Hong Kong action movies, Martin Scorsese & Francis Ford Coppola films, the Avirex & Pelle Pelle fashion brands & finally the 90s dopeboy money gettin’ era. Pro Dillinger’s verses feel reminiscent to Ghostface Killah’s on OB4CL & it feels like the listeners are reliving or experiencing for the first time what it was like at the peak of the golden era of hip hop culture.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Kendrick Lamar – “GNX” review

Compton emcee, songwriter & actor Kendrick Lamar surprise-releasing his 6th studio LP outta nowhere ahead of his Super Bowl LIX halftime show in a few months. Coming up in ‘04 off his debut mixtape Y.H.N.I.C. (Youngest Head N***a in Charge): Hub City Threat (Minor of the Year), he would go on to follow-up with 2 more tapes as well as an eponymous debut EP before breaking out in the fall of 2010 off his 4th mixtape O(verly) D(edicated) & then Section.80 that next summer. Then came him signing to Dr. Dre’s very own Interscope Records imprint Aftermath Entertainment, where Kendrick made himself home at for a decade. Especially given that good kid, m.A.A.d city & To Pimp a Butterfly have quickly become some of the most beloved hip hop albums ever made in their own rights for good reason whether it be gkmc coming off as a hood movie on wax or TPaB delivering relevant social commentary on top of jazzy, funky production. DAMN. however was definitely his most commercial one yet & I don’t listen to it as much as his other work, but it’s still a great listen nonetheless with its phenomenal duality concept. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers fulfilled his Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath contract with a mature 2-disc effort, resulting in pgLang signing with Interscope for distribution. His beef with Drake this year has been absolutely prolific on his side from “euphoria” to my favorite “meet the grahams” & of course “Not Like Us”, returning a week ahead of Thanksgiving by pulling up in a GNX.

“wacced out murals” is this trap intro talking about Drake fans fucking up a mural of his in Compton a couple months ago additionally refusing to squash it with Drake himself, WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg reposting “Taylor Made”, feeling like his hard work let Lil Wayne down & Nas being the only person to congratulate him for the Super Bowl LIX halftime show whereas “squabble up” takes the hyphy route instrumentally to talk about walking in & later walking out both sides. “luther” samples “If This World Were Mine” by Cheryl Lynn & Luther Vandross thanks to Jack Antonoff, Kamasi Washington & Sounwave envisioning a world where pain & conflict are eradicated prior to the calming “man at the garden” talking about deserving it all when he absolutely does.

Meanwhile on “hey now”, we have Kendrick & Dody6 over a ratchet instrumental from none other than DJ Mustard boasting that they’re way too important just before my 2nd favorite track “reincarnated” flips “Made N****z” by 2Pac letting off concentrated thoughts on who he used to be & putting 100 hoods on 1 stage at the Pop Out show this summer. “tv off” serves as this 2-parter with the 2nd half standing out the most explaining that someone gotta do something about these muhfuckas actin’ bad out here with only a few real ones left, but then the atmospherically funky “dodger blue” with co-production from Terrace Martin talks about the westside getting the money.

“peekaboo” featuring AzChike & Dody6 nears the end of GNX by getting back on the nervous tip dissin’ everyone for talkin’ a whole lotta nothing while my personal favorite track “The Heart VI” serves as the real 6th installment of his famous “Heart” series disregarding that awful diss Drake put out this spring, sampling my favorite SWV song “Use Your Heart” to take ownership in a Black Hippy album never materializing & explaining why he left TDE. The title track by Hitta J3, Peysoh & YoungThreat gets together over some keys to talk about being the ones while “gloria” tropically finishes by addressing a fear of forever.

“Not Like Us” was a firm reminder that Kendrick is absolutely more than capable of making fun music rather than certain individual having him pigeonholed as a conscious artist & GNX being his first body of work after leaving TDE/Aftermath if anything expands on that. The production showcases his versatility with a decent list of lesser-known local guests prominently going for a west coast trap vibe with additional elements of ratchet music, nervous music, conscious hip hop, hardcore hip hop & pop rap.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!