Tag: 808 Mafia

TM88 – “F.I.L.A. (Forever I Love Atlanta) 25” review

TM88 is a 38 year old producer & songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia known for being a founding member of the 808 Mafia alongside Lex Luger & Southside respectively. He would also form the TGOD Mafia trio with rappers Juicy J & Wiz Khalifa in addition to producing Lil Uzi Vert’s biggest hit: “XO Tour Llif3”. However in light him forming his very own EMPIRE Distribution imprint Crash Dummy Records, one of trap music’s greatest beatsmith has celebrated with his own debut album.

After the “Vet Radio” skit, “Juiceman” by OJ da Juiceman co-produced by Zaytoven begins comparing his wrist to Fruity Pebbles whereas “Wrong with That” by Jose Guapo & Quez finds the 2 talking about a shawty who wants to fuck their partners. “B.A.B. (Break a Bitch)” by Tracy T breaks the law down to become a boss just before “Layers” by iMcFli references Tubi, the home network of the WWE’s secondary development brand EVOLVE.

“Grady Baby” by Yung Ralph gives the world insight in regards to what things where like for him growing up as an 80s baby while “Return of Church” by Mucho flexes that he sent a freaky hoe to H-Town coming off a jet. “Quadruple” by Futuretalks about sleepin’ with women in 4s off of nothin’ leading into “Friday Night” by iMcFli, Luchee Mulan & Quez sampling “Issa Party” by Jose Guapo, Shad da God & Young Dro to recall how they used to spend their Friday evenings.

DJ Spinz gets behind the boards for “Lies” by Baby D & Travis Porter bridging together the crunk & futuristic swag eras while “Make Em Get the Money Right 25” by Pastor Troy serving as a spiritual successor to the D.S.G.B. track off their final album ‘Til Death Do Us Part. “Ice Cream Truck” by Travis Porter throws it back to the futuristic swag days again while “Extra” by Shad da God talking about having his old shit with him.

“Kick In (Oww)” by Fabo of D4L starts the 2nd half explaining that he’s experienced some shit in his life because of being born in the hatred while “Shake Sum” by Travis Porter & 2 Chainz comes together for an ATL strip club heater. Fabo returns with Moneymyface so they can get “Geeked Up” together to mixed results while “I Want That” by Sosotrap talks about being anything but average throughout his career.

Preceding the “Crash Out Radio” skit, “B.D.A. (Bounce Dat Ass) by 4Batz’ wife Anycia continues to channel that strip club energy handling a sole verse wedged between a repetitive Waka Flocka Flame hook while “Take It Away” by T.I. & Young Dro talks about their respective legacies. “What’s This?” by T.I. & 2 Chainz links up to speak of materialism while “Stuff Man” by Yung L.A. could be his dopest song since “Ain’t I”.

“Twin Bruddaz” by Waka Flocka Flame talks about feelin’ a way he hasn’t felt since Slim Dunkin’ was murdered during my freshman year of high school while the “F.I.LA. (Forever I Love Atlanta) Tribute” by Blanco Brown finishes in the form of this passionately sung dedication to Trouble, Bankroll Fresh, Rich Homie Quan, Young Scooter & Takeoff. Maybe the greatest song of his career considering that a great deal of his music isn’t for me at all.

Being a genuine fan of TM88’s production work ever since my adolescence, hearing that he was putting out an entire LP containing other artists performing over his beats from start to finish had me excited from when it was announced because I believe he could curate something special if he wanted to. F.I.L.A. (Forever I Love Atlanta) 25 however has me a little divided due to the inconsistency amongst the guest & most importantly, parts reminiscent of Metro Boomin’s 2nd mixtape A Futuristic Summa & Jermaine Dupri’s 3rd album Magic City.

Score: 3/5

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Ken Carson – “More Chaos” review

Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Ken Carson celebrating his 25th birthday with his 4th studio LP. Breaking out in the SoundCloud scene & becoming a protege of local trailblazer Playboi Carti as one of the first artists to sign to the latter’s Opium Records, he would go on to drop a total of 5 EPs prior to his full-length debut Project X & coming off the mature sophomore effort X which Anthony Fantano infamously gave a 0. A Great Chaos came in the fall of 2023 & is looking to stir up More Chaos.

“Lord of Chaos” featuring Ty$ on the remix starts it off with a rage-inducing instrumental from Outtatown talking about being a master of disorder whereas “Xposed” maintains a hypertrap flare shouting out the 808 Mafia since some forget the fact of him starting out as a member of the prolific trap production team. “Money Spread” blends glitch hop & trap to talk about his paper getting bigger while “Root of All Evil” locks in with 16yrold to discuss his current run he’s on bringing back the rage in the process.

Moving on with “K Hole”, we have Ken over a rattling bass-heavy beat with some horns making a nod to “K Pop” off Carti’s 4th album MUSIC that finally dropped month ago just before “Trap Jump” talks about getting the trap crazier than the greatest basketball player of all-time Michael Jordan himself. The 2-parter “Blakk Rokkstar” produced by F1LTHY of Working on Dying dismisses the need for a diamond tester since his ice be blinging out leading into another 2-part song “LiveLeak” making reference to the current TNA World Tag Team Champion in his 3rd reign & the inaugural 4th Rope World Tag Team Champion Jeff Hardy of The Hardy Boyz.

“Diamonds” keeps the 2-parters going refusing to trip over hoes who don’t reciprocate his energy while “Dismantled” gives those same bitches a middle finger since he’s getting money regardless. “200 Kash” with Four3va ends the first half of More Chaos airing out a supposed Blood he saw rollin’ with a rival Atlanta gang called the 60 Crips, but then “Down2Earth” talks about vacationing in Japan with a woman he’s sleeping with & encouraging her to bring a friend.

The rage continues to be turned up to higher levels on “Confetti” upping a million times on everyone else who look at him as competition while “Naked” talks about a wack relationship he found himself involved in & preferring to be solo since it’s that stale. “Kryptonite” displays a raunchier side to Ken feeling he & his girl the only 2 people in the world when they link up while “Psycho” opens up about him being as crazy as he is.

“Inferno” reunites with F1LTHY to stay true to himself & not fucking with too many people other than his Opium family while “Thx” confesses his fear of having his heart broken. “2000” represents the year he was came in this world on his 25th born day while “Evolution” talks about the overall growth in Ken since he began making music. Pi’erre Bourne saves another standout beat for last on the uncannily dark “Ghoul” homaging my 2nd favorite basketball player of all-time Kobe Bryant when he hits a buck while “Off the Meter” featuring Destroy Lonely & Playboi Carti serves as an Opium posse cut referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & NWA World Tag Team Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Originally said to come out last Halloween & unsurprisingly being delayed 6 months later since that’s how the whole Opium roster has been moving when you really think about it in the grand scheme of things, More Chaos carries over the ethos of it’s year & a half old predecessor. The prominent rage production showcasing additional influences of pop
rap, hardcore hip hop, Chicago drill, digicore, industrial hip hop & experimental hip hop feels as if it’s a cut above the previous installment & Ken holds off from having any guests to hold the fort down on the day of his Silver Jubilee.

Score: 3.5/5

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Lex Luger – “TMOG Forever” review

Lex Luger is a 33 year old producer from Suffolk, Virginia notable for co-founding the 808 Mafia production team with Southside & mostly producing Waka Flocka Flame’s groundbreaking debut album Flockaveli. He later battled drug addiction throughout the mid-late 2010s, kicking the habit for good in 2018 & has been looking to redeem himself by getting his name back out there by producing again. Interestingly enough, he surprise released a 3-track EP clocking in at 9 minutes & it peaked my interest.

“Leech” by Jay Critch happens to be a decent trap intro talking about the money flowin’ similarly to the lean feelin’ crazy flexin’ on Instagram while “Lex Meet Dex” by Famous Dex makes up for it with what’s easily the most enjoyable Dex song I’ve heard in a long time & maybe one of the best tracks in his discography period going harder than Critch on the previous joint. “Workin’” by Casey Veggies & Rich the Kid finishes the EP with both of them showing off their hustle & Casey outrappin’ Rich.

TMOG Forever is basically Lex Luger working with all 3 artists on the Rich Forever Music roster but if you’re a fan of the collaborative tapes they’ve done in the past, you’ll get a kick out of this. I’ll even say it’s the best that they’ve sounded since linking back up. Lex’s distinct production style is exactly what they needed considering the fact that some of the beat selections on a lot of their recent material has been lackluster.

Score: 3.5/5

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Pyrex Whippa – “Sincerely, Rex” review

Pyrex Whippa is a 27 year old producer, rapper, singer/songwriter & audio engineer from Baltimore, Maryland notable for being a member of the seminal trap production team 808 Mafia. It should also be said that this isn’t even the first body of work that he’s put out, releasing a debut EP Separation Anxiety in the fall of 2019 & having his mentor Southside produce his 2nd one Blood on the Hills roughly 13 months later to more positive reception followed by Thanks for Holding On & Guns ‘N Romance. Sizzle gave us his full-length debut album Break the Silence under Epic Records last month & Rex is following suit.

“Burning Bridges” starts the album better than I thought it would singing over a groovy, drumless instrumental telling the homies he got them whereas “Screamin’” produced by Smatt Sertified takes the cavernous trap route calling out a hoe for playing with his love & couldn’t see it from the very beginning. “Met Gala” hooks up a reversed sample & hi-hats promising to get the ladder instead of the table & “Baby” further puts an emphasis on atmosphere going crazy for his new girl.

As for Unfair”, we have another pop rap/trap cut asking this woman how she gon’ do him the way she did since it was incredibly undeserving while “No Mercy” strips the drums again hopping over a bare guitar displaying the merciless side of himself. “Void” keeps it drumless dissing an ex because of the fact that her heart doesn’t make a sound & his shakes the ground, but then “DND” brings the hi-hats in again talking about the mode he’s in.

“Vacuum Sealer” goes for a spacious, bassy vibe to the beat discussing shit getting musty in the mansion & it’s so hard to miss this bitch the way he misses those racks leading into the plentiful trap banger “Wat I’m On” talking about making it out of the trenches & reaching the upper echelon. “All Wrong” despite the cloudily instrumental has some of the weaker subject matter throughout the LP that is until “Buddha Man” has a delicate trap tone generally shrugging off those treating him average.

The song “Skeletons” removes the drums from the equation encouraging the people in his life to do the right thing by grabbing his hand when he falls while the acoustic “All 4 U” sings about leaving it how it is after fucking around with his heart. “Exhale” finally closes Sincerely, Rex in the form of 1 last trap joint letting a homie with mob ties know that he’s refusing to let him leave on him tryna play it cool with ice in his veins.

Break the Silence as a commercial debut for Southside was disappointing compared to the Trap Ye mixtapes since his lyrical performances weren’t the best except I did appreciate the risk of departing from the signature sound that the 808 Mafia co-founder is known for. Pyrex’s debut here happens to be the better of the 2 surprisingly. The production here is more interesting bringing balance to drumless & trap displaying his life on wax.

Score: 3.5/5

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Southside – “Break the Silence” review

Southside is a 35 year old producer, rapper & songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia notable for co-founding the 808 Mafia with Lex Luger as well as being 1/2 of the duo So Icey Boyz with Metro Boomin’ in addition to the 7 solo mixtapes of his discography. Most notably the Free Agent trilogy & both Trap Ye installments. However for Sizzle’s official full-length solo debut album Break the Silence, he’s having it backed by Epic Records.

“Switch” is a 2-part trap opener with a mostly cloudy sound until the regalia influences come up during the last minute or so flexing that he’s been going strong from the start whereas “Uber” has more of a rage-inducing vibe overall talking about moving on to for a new bitch because he “got bored as shit”. “Bape” hooks up some bells & hi-hats paying homage to one of my all-time favorite clothing brands A Bathing Ape, but then “Excite Me” goes for a grimmer atmosphere saying that the bread excites him.

Meanwhile on “Drive Thru”, we have Southside bringing a psychedelic trap flare to the table cautioning that he can make muhfuckas disappear telling it how it is with everyone on the sidelines hating just before “Hoes” goes hypertrap thanks to TM88 talking about how his new girl being little rather than a hoe. “Break a Promise” works in bells & hi-hats admitting that he promised one of his exes the world only for him to break it leading into the 2 minute “In This Bih” findin’ him stuntin’ in the spot.

“Topp” heads for a cloudier direction instrumentally from it’s titular producer suggesting those who lost their smell of money should be called COVID while the atmospheric trap joint “Broadway” lets the world know that he’s living with his heart again. The rattling “Blockstar” that Smatt Sertified laced with his monitor obviously given the title discusses his status in the hood & shit getting wicked prior to “Run a Mile” drawing from rage scene again feelin’ like people changed on him ever since his bread went up.

Starting the final leg of Break the Silence, the song “Vette Pass By” gives off a morbid flare to the beat to call most out here pussy while the 90 second “Ain’t Nothin’” talks about not seeing numbers first & that makes me happy because neither do I myself. “My Kitchen” is another 2-parter with a Hellish first half going hypertrap for the other declaring that no one knows how to fuck with him out here & finally “No Disguise” interestingly ends on some drumless chipmunk soul shit advising that you ain’t cool ‘cause you rich.

We haven’t heard from Sizzle since the Southside & ChaseTheMoney EP fully produced by the latter & I’d suggest listening to both Trap Ye tapes if you really want to hear what the 808 Mafia co-founder at his best on the mic. As for his first proper solo LP, it’s alright. His distinctly known gangster, bombastic, gritty, rambunctious & menacing trap sound compared to that of his collaborators takes a backseat sticking to regular trap additionally pulling from the rage subgenre which funny enough takes cues from Pi’erre Bourne’s production style & I prefer Pi’erre as a rapper than Southside although both are on the Mt. Rushmore of trap producers with Metro & Zaytoven.

Score: 3/5

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Ken Carson – “A Great Chaos” review

Ken Carson is a 23 year old recording artist from Atlanta, Georgia breaking out in the SoundCloud scene & becoming a protege of local trailblazer Playboi Carti as one of the first artists to sign to the latter’s newly founded Opium Records. He would go on to drop a total of 5 EPs prior to his full-length debut Project X couple summers back & coming off the mature sophomore effort X over a year ago already which Anthony Fantano infamously gave a 0. However to commemorate Friday the 13th being in October this year, Ken’s unleashing his 3rd full-length LP.

“green room” is a rage-inducing highlight produced by F1LTHY of Working on Dying to start everything off calling out half of these motherfuckers out here that ain’t never seen shit whereas “jennifer’s body” talking about his bitch being a hottie interpolating “Good Riddance” by Green Day over some hi-hats & fuzzy synths. “fighting my demons” keeps it rolling with a hypertrap, cloudy 2-parter from Outtatown smokin’ on kush & looking to triumph mentally, but then “singapore” featuring Destroy Lonely keeps the rage beats in tact flexing in the titular country.

Meanwhile, “lose it” goes for a bombastic approach instrumentally confesses that he feels like he’s going to snap at any moment leading into “hardcore” talking about going gore on top of this set of booming sub-bass & hi-hats. “Me n My Kup” gives off a psychedelically vibrant atmosphere making it known he’s the only one up in here with his cup by his side just before the shrilling trap banger “it’s over” talks about his pants falling because of carrying too many racks on him.

Lone returns alongside Lil Uzi Vert for “Like This” jumping over a futuristic instrumental with some hi-hats showing y’all how lit it can get while “succubus” goes for a distorted sound courtesy of a returning F1LTHY behind the boards talking about a bitch he knows that’s going straight to Hell without a doubt in his mind. “Paranoid” featuring Destroy Lonely wipes “singapore” from F1LTHY’s rage beat to discuss the paranoia that both of them face while the glitchy “pots” talks about curving someone’s girl until he saw the way she twerk.

“overtime” continues to scathingly diss those who be frontin’ that they killed people or having swag when they never did over some rattling hi-hats while “vampire hour” takes a cloudier approach sonically dedicating this one to all the vamps that’ve been in the building. “nightcore” perfectly lives up to it’s starting off with a nocturnal trap beat clarifying they ain’t shooting shit like Julius Randle, but the 2nd half has a cavernous tone to the instrumental talking about the way she move.

If you couldn’t already tell by the title of “rockstar lifestyle”, we have Ken giving everyone a look into how he’s living these days promising to never sell his soul whatsoever over a rubbery trap beat prior to the pop rap/rage hybrid “i need u” serving to be a good choice for a single & a closer exhibiting his unrequited love for his girl on top of continuing to brag about his lifestyle for the last time.

“loading” starts the deluxe run on some plugg shit to talk about the only thing he fears of is having his heart broken while “more chaos” keeps the icy synths & hi-hats in tact continuing the chaos. “toxic” has more of a hypertrap approach to talk about an evil bitch while the rage-inducing “leather jacket” likens himself to a biker. “mewtwo” jumps over synthesizers & hi-hats comparing his girl to the titular Pokémon while “s.s. (sydney sweeney)” energetically pays tribute to the titular actress. The glitching “overseas” serves as the final bonus track talking about beatin’ muhfuckas like Creed.

I’ve maintained that Lone is the most versatile Opium signing out of the 3 acts that Carti’s taken under his wing, but A Great Chaos happens to be an improvement over X as solid as that previous album was compared to his debut for it’s maturity. The production expands on the signature hypertrap sound that he’s made himself known for & another favorite thing about it for me is the simple fact that it’s significantly more darker than the previous LP was.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ken Carson – “X” review

This is the sophomore album from Atlanta, Georgia rapper Ken Carson. Breaking out in the SoundCloud scene & becoming a protege of Playboi Carti as one of the first artists to sign to the latter’s newly founded Opium Records, he would go on to drop a total of 5 EPs prior to his full-length debut Project X last summer. But as he & Destroy Lonely gear up to hit the road next month, Ken’s re-emerging in the form of X.

The intro kicks off the album with some Atari-like synths & rattling hi-hats letting y’all know he ain’t stupid whereas “New” works in some rage beats to show off all the shit he has now. “Gems” stays in hypertrap territory talking about his evolution from Teen X to X Man, but then “Nobody” goes into a bassier direction confession all that he really needs is the bread & nothing else.

Meanwhile on “Go”, we have Ken coming through with an energetic ballad about running all your shit up just before Destroy Lonely tags along for the rage-induced “MDMA” produced by OPM BABI & Outtatown flexing their wealth. The title track continues to bury the Teen X persona deeper into the ground over some bombastic production just before “P.D.B.M.H. (Please Don’t Blow My High)” has a more uptempo flare to it asking not to blow his high as the title suggests.

The somewhat tropical vibe of “Money Hunt” is really cool as he expresses his joy of everything in his life going up while the blobby “South Beach” lets everyone know that he’s a real one. “Goin’ Schitz” psychedelically describes a bitch feeling of ecstasy while “Same Thing” has some incredibly dancy grooves to it talking about pulling up on you & your gang.

Following that, “Freestyle 1” dismisses any kind of discussion that doesn’t involve money keeping it in hypertrap turf prior to the F1LTHY of Working on Dying-produced “Freestyle 2” perfectly picking up whether the predecessor left off talking about how you shouldn’t have fucked with his crew. “Fuk 12” is a brief yet chaotic middle finger to the feds & Destroy Lonely returns yet again for “Murda Musik”, which goes 10x rawer than “MDMA” was.

The Homixide Gang come into the picture for the quasi-mystic “Delinquent” confessing they get high until they can’t think straight while the song “Get Rich or Die” gives off a futuristically fresh aesthetic to the instrumental talking about talking about going on vacation. The penultimate track “Turn Up” is of course a synth-laced riot starter & “The End” closes out the album with some poppy undertones calling out an ex for being unfaithful.

Project X showed a lot of room for growth in Ken & now that we got X, I think it has to be the one of the best rage albums I’ve heard all year so far right behind Fallen Raven & 2 Alivë of course. The production is a little bit better than the offering we got a few years ago & I’d actually have to say Destroy Lonely is my favorite Opium signee now that he just signed to the label a few months back, but Ken really shows some admirable maturity as well.

Score: 3.5/5

Ken Carson – “Project X” review

Ken Carson is a 21 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia breaking out in the SoundCloud scene & becoming a protege of Playboi Carti as one of the first artists to sign to the latter’s newly founded label Opium Records after originally starting a part of the 808 Mafia. But after a total of 5 EPs under his belt, of course Ken had to bring it full circle on this debut album of his.

“Who’s Next?” kicks the album off with an accordion & hi-hats talking about passin’ hoes like tests whereas “Rock n Roll” is a spacious banger produced by Outtatown about him trippin’. “Party All Day” serves as an uptempo sequel to “Butterfly” just before addressing people switching up on the minimalist “Change”.

Meanwhile with “Run + Ran”, we have a 2-parter about feeling like Pac & stacking bands with the 2nd half being much stronger leading into the bass-heavy stripper theme “Shake”. The kid later reveals that he’s got a lot of hoes on the distorted “Hella” prior to the dramatically threatening “Clutch”.

The song “‘Till I Die” works in some more synths & snares talking about he’ll always be counting racks while the penultimate track “Burnin’ Up” addresses his increasing profile over an instrumental from Dynox of Internet Money Records with a bit of an electro flare. Then the album ends with “So What”, which vibrantly details a 1-night stand.

For those who’ve never heard of Ken, I think Project X is a solid place to start off because what he is to Opium is what Gunna was to YSL & by that I mean I think he’s gonna become the label’s biggest signee behind the founder. Some of the production choices could’ve been a little bit better to me, but I do enjoy his youthful enjoy quite a bit.

Score: 3.5/5