Brent Faiyaz – “Icon” review

Brent Faiyaz is a 29 year old singer/songwriter, rapper & producer from Columbia, Maryland starting off in the DMV hip hop until shifting towards R&B & more specifically alternative R&B. He’s put out a couple full-lengths along with 6 EPs until forming his own label ISO Supremacy, releasing his debut mixtape Larger Than Life under his imprint & signing Tommy Richman. It’s been almost a couple years since the latter’s debut Coyote & Icon looks to recapture the magic of his debut for his 3rd album.

After the compositional “white noise.” intro, the first song “wrong faces.” begins with an acoustic instrumental telling this woman he’ll become the reason she’s not alone whereas “have to.” produced by Tommy Richman takes a much smoother approach singing about being in a race with time to get where he belongs. “butterflies.” splits itself in 2 halves thanks to benny blanco & Cashmere Cat asking his partner if she feels the way he does leading into “other side.” explores a dance pop vibe singing about a woman he saw in his dreams.

“strangers.” starts the other half of the album taking the alternative R&B route describing a relationship that has completely fallen apart just before “world is yours.” throws it back to the 90s with a synth-woven beat from Chad Hugo & singing about wanting his woman to have him her way. “4 seasons.” exuberantly describes a female who’s either hotter than a day in July or cold as the winter but once “pure fantasy.” atmospherically sings about his lover being all he needs, “vanilla sky.” wraps up Icon posing the question of whether one’s happiness lasts forever or if it’s short term.

The self-produced “full moon. (fall in tokyo)” starts the deluxe run sampling “mewtwo” by Ken Carson expressing his desire of staying in Japan with his soulmate for the rest of their lives while “1 for you. (spring in new york)” flips “If” by Destiny’s Child singing about being the one for this chick if she’d like him to be. “tony soprano.” moodily puts himself inside the shoes of the lead character from one of my top 3 shows The Sopranos & Beat Butcha samples “Chapel Hill Heist” by Father during the final bonus track “peter pan.” singing about flying to Neverland with his Wendy.

Initially set to come out on his birthday last fall until pushing it back, the extra 5 months Brent Faiyaz would spent ensuring Icon would outdo both it’s predecessors really paid off despite initially letting down many who were looking forward to it including myself & I’m thankful we got the most expansive entry in his discography out of it. The intimately cinematic production merges the foundations of classic soul music with elements of modern R&B depicting themes of growth, loss, renewal & his evolution from both an artistic & a personal standpoint.

Score: 4/5

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Jill Scott – “To Whom It May Concern” review

Jill Scott is a 53 year old singer/songwriter, actress, model & poet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania known for her classic 2000 full-length studio debut Words & Sounds: Who’s Jill Scott? under Epic Records. Her sophomore effort Words & Sounds 2: Beautiful Human and Words & Sounds 3: The Real Thing would both go on to become well received too, starting up her own Blues Babe Records to drop the Warner Records-distributed The Light of Sun & the Atlantic Records-backed Woman after I had graduated high school. Over a decade later, she’s returning for her 6th album.

After the “Dope Shit” intro, “Be Great” kicks it all off with a vibrantly soulful opener singing over some horns about the only thing she wanted to do was make history whereas “Beautiful People” produced by Om’Mas Keith expresses her love for African Americans fusing neo-soul, smooth soul, boogie & funk. “Offdaback” blends jazz, neo-soul & spoken word dedicating itself to all the pioneers who took the backdoor while “Norf Side” featuring Tierra Whack finds the 2 telling their city over a boom bap instrumental from none other than DJ Premier.

“Pay U on Tuesday” after the “Disclaimer” skit fuses soul & jazz telling a man she doesn’t want anymore when he’s trying to be something he isn’t leading into “Pressha” combines elements of neo-soul, psychedelic soul contemporary R&B & neo-psychedelia to sing about her finding it pathetic this guy stays chasing her. “B.P.O.T.Y. (Biggest Pimp of the Year)” featuring Too $hort teams up over a funky beat throwing it back to the days of 70s blaxploitation movies while “Me 4” spends 95 seconds singing about learning from her mistakes.

DJ Camper jumps behind the boards during “The Math” advising to subtract the disingenuous from the authentic ones for the sole purpose of seeing how it makes you feel while the soulfully jazzy “A Universe” sings about the very thing she comes across when looking in her man’s eyes. “Liftin’ Me Up” reincorporates more influences of jazz & soul music expressing a kind of love that uplifts her while the hip hop-driven “Ode to Nikki” featuring Ab-Soul honors the legacy of the late Nikki Giovanni over a Young RJ instrumental.

“Don’t Play” rounds out 3rd smoothly yearning for full mental & mattress satisfaction instead of a mere fraction of it while “To B Honest” featuring J.I.D portrays themselves as 2 lovers singing & rapping about their needs of getting to know one another other. “Right Here Right Now” experiments with house a little providing all the answers to questions like if affection still exists or if we’ll ever be loved & after “Àṣẹ” passionately alludes to the Yoruba religion concept for a few minutes, “Sincerely Do” ends the LP seeking clarity over an S1 beat.

The Light of the Sun & Woman both have their share of great songs although I wouldn’t necessarily put them in the same ranks as the Words & Sounds trilogy, but To Whom It May Concern marks Jill Scott’s comeback reinforcing why she’s been such a prominent figure in neo-soul for over a quarter of a century. The production additionally explores the styles of smooth soul, boogie, funk, hip hop, boom bap, psychedelic soul, contemporary R&B & neo-psychedelia with Jill reflecting the personal growth she’s experienced since leaving a major label to go independent.

Score: 4/5

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Converge – “Love Is Not Enough” review

Converge is a metalcore band from Salem, Massachusetts consisting of drummer Ben Koller, bassist Nate Newton, guitarist Kurt Ballou and finally frontman & Deathwish Inc. co-founder Jacob Bannon. Although their 1994 debut Halo in a Haystack was moderately received, almost everything they’ve done since has cemented them as quite possibly the greatest metallic hardcore band of all-time. Petitioning the Empty Sky, When Forever Comes Crashing, my personal favorite Jane Doe, their Epitaph Records debut You Fail Me, No Heroes, Axe to Fall, All We Love We Leave Behind during my sophomore year of high school & The Dusk in Us have all been widely praised for the own individual reasons & they’re back after almost a decade for their 11th studio album.

The title track combines their signature metalcore sound with elements of both mathcore & thrash metal explaining that love won’t do much to fend off the scavengers whereas “Bad Faith” explores the concept of helplessness after witnessing a friend suffering in the midst of a horrible situation beyond his control. “Distract & Divide” takes 91 seconds to express Jacob’s frustrations regarding modern society while “To Feel Something” confesses to being overwhelmed by his own fears, insecurities & stressors to the point where he feels numb to everything.

“Beyond Repair” takes a more compositional approach to reach the halfway point of the LP although it might be the weakest track here, but “Amon Amok” continues the excitement by talking about taking what they deserve & life presently feeling like there’s a whole bunch of demons running around. “Force Meets Presence” explores the concept of 2 different things that forever expand without choosing a winner leading into “Gilded Cage” making some commentary towards the pharmaceutical industry, the opiate epidemic & how it’s tied to so many other things.

The song “Make Me Forget You” winds down Love Is Not Enough‘s last 10 minutes or so observing everything we’ve let slip by as well as silence persisting where memories used to live while the 2nd & final single “We Were Never the Same” blends metalcore with atmospheric sludge metal & post-hardcore to conclude the full-length expanding the previous track’s concept in the sense of Jacob becoming self aware of reaching at the end of the line & it’s too late, coming to terms with him trying to be a better person.

This fall will mark a quarter of a century since Jane Doe became the greatest metalcore ever recorded, so it’s only right Converge celebrates with an album I must confess to enjoying more than The Dusk in Us although I wouldn’t put it above You Fail Me or All We Love We Leave Behind & Axe to Fall. The production in terms of primary & secondary influences is almost similar to Love Is Not Enough‘s predecessor except the post-hardcore undertones are being swapped it in favor of hardcore punk & Jacob makes a clear statement about us needing more than positive relationships & emotional affirmation to survive humanity’s darkest forces closing in on us.

Score: 4.5/5

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Buddah Bless – “Buddah Bless the Streets” review

Buddah Bless is a 34 year old producer, songwriter & former rapper from Atlanta, Georgia who I began paying attention to in the late 2010s through his extensive collaborations with Quality Control Music when the label was at their prime. He would also go to produce for many other artists like the late Young Dolph or his cousin Key Glock & Megan Thee Stallion to name a few, following the footsteps of 808 Mafia co-founder TM88 a little over 2 months ago & kicking off a brand new series of albums by curating his very own solo debut.

“Same Soldier” by Hunxho & Skooly was a decent trap intro with both of them talking about remaining the same as they were when they finally made it out of poverty leading into “Owe Me” by Kodak Black being one of the latter’s better songs I’ve heard in a while speaking of controlling his anger & thumbin’ racks. “From the Trap” by Skooly & UFO Toon finds the pair talking about where they both come from while “I Feel Good” by 41 isn’t much better despite shifting towards a New York Drill sound.

I would’ve liked the single “See the World” a lot better if Bossman DLow was taken off of it since I don’t mind either Big Sean or 2 Chainz’ verses leading into “Toxic” by Big Fredo & Kodak Black taking a more raunchier approach topically than “Owe Me” do & Fredo’s verse was the weakest of them both honestly. “On Arrival” by Tre Loaded mediocrely talks about being the one to hop out the car & he isn’t even the driver while “Scared AF” by UFO Toon feels more off-the-cuff than his 1st appearance.

“Guinea Pig” by Smokepurpp was another song that I truthfully enjoyed more than others talking about being a big stepper while “Can’t Pretend” by Trinidad Jame$ dismisses the idea of playing it cool with weird hoes, corny A&Rs & these bitch ass dudes who have no money. “All She Got” by Skooly would be the best of the 3 contributions he makes personally talking about sex once more while “Buyers” surprisingly finishes the album with Buddah Bless himself rapping over his production suggesting he could retire off the money he made producing for other artists.

Sadly as much as I wanted to enjoy Buddah Bless the Streets because I’ve always considered him to be talented behind the boards, I found myself underwhelmed by a great majority of Buddah Bless’ full-length debut & it makes me hope that the next installment of installments depending on how long he plans to span this whole saga out will be much more enjoyable in my opinion. His beats aren’t the problem at all, it’s the inconsistency from the guests a great deal of the time if anything.

Score: 2/5

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Sk8star – “Designer Junkie” review

Brand new debut album 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 & has since come off the Rebelution & Pale Fever signing with Island Records for the long-awaited Designer Junkie

“Incognito” strips the drums to get the us started thanks to Richie Souf talking about him taking Ls & playing his part whereas “Brazy Brazy Hoe” goes for an energetic trap vibe instrumentally speaking of him getting it out the mud. The 2nd & final single “ForMyFolks” produced by Nosaint of Vanguard Music Group gives off a futuristic trap atmosphere talking about being all the way over representing all of loved ones leading into “Muse” dabbling with regalia yearning to make a bad bitch his inspiration.

The title track hooks up some synthesizers & hi-hats talking about finally making it to the racks although not many people know what it took for him to get the cash steadily flowing while “No Compadre” hops over a rage beat so he can flex that everything he does is the greatest. “Yeannn” feels more like a Tezzus song since he’s handling the sole verse & Sk8’s doing the hook despite him admitting to loving bank deposits more than sex itself like any other person just before the lively single “Beret turns the hypertrap influences back up talking about staying on people’s heads.

“BleedLike Me” heads for a luxurious cloud rap direction talking about his competition not shedding blood the way he does while “PlayYaPart” reaches the halfway point with a psychedelic trap instrumental from Cade reflecting on going from droppin’ out of school to counting blue $100 bills regularly. The lead single “2 Sexy” interpolates Right Said Fred’s biggest hit “I’m Too Sexy” talking about the shooter sitting in the backseat of his whip being ready to get down to business while the synth-driven “Slatt Slatt” boasts of him being fresher than a peppermint.

Tezzus returns on the cloudy trap fusion “N.S.D. (N****s Start Dyin’)” telling all the losers to worry about themselves rather than spending all day constantly thinking of both artists’ hoes & finances while “Macon” treads the exuberant trap waters once again asking how this person he’s addressing ended up making out of the titular city. “Upper Echelon” bodies an exuberant trap beat from Taurus talking about reaching higher levels of quality within the past 3 & half years while “Roxy Paparazzi” goes full pluggnb admiring his girl’s beauty.

“All In” kicks off the final quarter of Sk8’s full-length debut blending cloud rap, trap & pop rap telling a stripper to work that pole while “Black Sheep” continues to pull inspiration from the regalia subgenre talking about his own personal experiences of feeling like an outcast. “R.I.P. Scooter” dedicates itself to the late Young Scooter who was killed in broad daylight on his birthday late last March & the closer “Nameless” cloudily talks about not changing shit if he had the chance to rewind time.

It’s been over a couple years since Sk8star initially announced Designer Junkie the end of 2023 & his major label debut culminates the long road he took to stardom surpassing every single extended play he’s made within the past 5 years. He’s evolved from the boy we met looking to reach Superstar Status in the midst of his own struggles to the man he’s become today, honing in on his chemistry with Richie Souf handling a great deal of the production & refining Sk8’s sound.

Score: 4/5

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J. Cole – “The Fall-Off” review

Fayetteville, North Carolina rapper, singer/songwriter & producer J. Cole finishing his career with his 7th & final album. At this point, I’m pretty sure everyone & their mom knows who dude is. Especially given the universal acclaim of projects like The Warm Up, Friday Night Lights, Born Sinner & my personal favorite: 2014 Forest Hills Drive. 4 Your Eyez Only & K.O.D. however were both released to mixed reception. Matter of fact: my review for K.O.D. is amongst my most controversial. I don’t get shit for it anymore but at the time when I gave it a 6/10, Cole stans were on my ass for the next 2-3 weeks. Almost a decade later: my opinions on that & 4YEO haven’t changed at all but that’s not the point. The Off-Season was the most I’ve enjoyed a Cole project since FHD & Might Delete Later was the worst tape he ever made, dropping The Fall-Off after a decade in the making.

After the “29” intro, the first song “2 6” gets the victory lap going with a boisterous trap beat produced by Omen & T-Minus talking about Cumberland County residents usually wylin’ out whereas “Safety” takes the boom bap route instrumentally thanks to Powers Pleasant & Wu10 telling all of his homies what’s changed with him since he left. “Run a Train” keeps the kicks & snares in the fold asking what anyone knows about him although the Future hook sounds like a bad impression of himself leading into the self-produced “Poor Thang” working in a sample & some hi-hats to speak of young pups playing war games.

“Legacy” has to be one of the weaker tracks here because the topic of commitment issues doesn’t do a whole lot for me personally, but “Bunce Road Blues” featuring Future & Tems makes up for it whether it be the nocturnally dusty beat from The Alchemist to Cole’s verse written in the form of a suicide note being countered by both guests’ melodic performances. “Who TF Iz U?” finds Vinylz sampling “Drop a Gem on ‘Em” by Mobb Deep talking about a real one coming through while “Drum n Bass” advises to stay inside because it ain’t safe out around his parts over a piano-inflicted trap instrumental.

We get some cheap guitars in the midst of Cole asking himself whether he’ll survive “The Let Out” or not prior to Boi-1da playing a role in the 2-parter “Bombs in the Ville / Hit the Gas” talking about life being a film that can’t be rewinded & staying violent at all times. “Lonely at the Top” returns to the boom bap admitting that he didn’t understand the meaning of that phrase in his late 20s until FNZ divides “39” in 2 halves providing some insight to his mindset making a similar trip back home except he’s a little closer to finding the peace he’s been seeking.

“The Fall-Off is Inevitable” continues Disc 2 telling the story of his life in reverse over this funky beat while “The Villest” flips “The Realest” by Mobb Deep & Kool G Rap wanting you to know dreams do come true. “Old Dog” talks about learning new tricks over an energetic trap instrumental while the summery “Life Sentence” declares itself to be the realest shit Cole has ever written in his whole entire career dedicating itself to anyone who knows what it’s like to do life with someone in a time where it could be easy to give up.

Pop rap & pop reggae get fused on “Only You” featuring Burna Boy for an ode to Cole’s wife Melissa Heholt while “Man Up Above” samples “Never Would’ve Made It” by Marvin Sapp giving all his praises to God. One of my all-time favorite Common tracks “The Light” gets flipped on “I Love Her Again” courtesy of Jake One talking about the renewed passion he had for hip hop after apologizing for “7 Minute Drill” a lot like “I Used to Love H.E.R.” & addressing Kendrick Lamar’s beef with Drake.

2 of the most iconic hip hop artists of all-time 2Pac & The Notorious B.I.G. fictitiously apologize to each other for the 90s east coast/west coast beef over the course of Beat Butcha & Tae Beast dustily producing “What If” preceding the drumless “Quik Stop” talking about changing our ways based on the differences we make. “& the Whole World is the Ville” samples “Love Put Me in the Corner” by The Isley Brothers with the help of BoogzDaBeast representing Dreamville & the closer “Ocean Way” uses the same Sekou sample Kevin Abstract did for “Text Me” comparing love to a candle wick in the rain.

The Fall-Off has been said for the past decade to be the greatest achievement in J. Cole’s discography & I wouldn’t be mad if anyone puts it above 2014 Forest Hills Drive even if I’d put this behind the latter for right now. The concept of Cole World: The Sideline Story gets bridged full circle regardless of myself leaning more towards Disc 2 than Disc 1 in terms of consistency, depicting himself traveling back to his hometown when he had accomplished the impossible in New York & when he had backed out of the Kendrick/Drake feud once it started escalating.

Score: 4/5

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Ella Mai – “Do You Still Love Me?” review

Ella Mai is a 31 year old singer/songwriter from London, England, United Kingdom signing to DJ Mustard’s very own Interscope Records imprint 10 Summers Records over a decade ago. Her first few EPs Time as well as Change & Ready were all solid preludes ahead of her acclaimed eponymous full length debut, following up her sophomore effort Heart on My Sleeve & the most recent extended play 3 coinciding the end of her 20s with her 3rd studio album asking Do You Still Love Me?.

“There Goes My Heart” was a lavish R&B intro with some finger snaps advising Jayson Tatum to not look or touch because that’s the last thing she wants whereas “100” goes for a more atmospheric vibe instrumentally singing about love never being 50/50 & wanting to give this guy the best love imaginable. “My Mind” describes all the ways her man continues to impress her & things not being too risky with him while “Somebody’s Son” sings about being weak for an individual who gets anything he wants from her.

3’s trap soul outro “Little Things” reappears towards the end of the 1st half describing her willingness to do the simplest activities with Jayson by her side just before “Outside” exuberantly sings about the comfort of her own home being her favorite place to be since there isn’t shit out there for her the way she sees it. After the “Audio Message” interlude, “Luckiest Man” soothingly kicks off the 3rd quarter bragging that they don’t make women like her anymore leading into “Might Just” singing about burning the whole roof down.

“Tell Her” cavernously advises her ex-boyfriend to let his new girl know that he still has feelings towards Ella while “Bonus” moodily goes back to the trap soul vibes singing about Jayson keeping her focused. “1st Day” has a more laidback sound to it telling her boyfriend that she’s fucking with him every day of the year & after “Chasing Circles” explains how she’d rather stay true to herself instead of faking the funk, “No Angels” blends R&B & gospel for the outro singing that we should be grateful until the time she & her partner have is up.

Do You Still Love Me? takes a more intentional approach than any of Ella Mai’s previous material in the past decade has done & it makes for the most intimate statement of her whole career. Using a myriad of perspectives for an intimate look at her life & a soulful journey through love, she delves into love’s complexities with a new outlook on that & life in general since she conceived a great deal of the album during after her pregnancy & postpartum with her mentor’s detailed production making big improvements above Heart on My Sleeve’s.

Score: 4/5

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Mayhem – “Liturgy of Death” review

Mayhem is a black metal band from Oslo, Norway currently comprised of bassist Necrobutcher, drummer Hellhammer, guitarist Teloch, secondary guitarist Charles Hedger & frontman Attila Csihar. Considered pioneers in the most extreme metal subgenre imaginable, their 1994 debut De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas is considered to be some of the greatest black metal ever recorded & the sophomore effort Grand Declaration of War would go for a more avant-garde direction. Can’t forget to mention one of their original frontmen Dead taking his own life only for the photo of the aftermath to be used as the coverart for a live bootleg or original guitarist Euronymous being murdered by the most notorious black metal musician of all-time Varg Vikernes a.k.a. Burzum. Chimera & Ordo ad Chao were both great even though Esoteric Warfare near the end of my junior year of high school holds a special place in my heart today, returning for their 7th album almost 7 years since Daemon.

“Ephemeral Eternity” infernally starts us off singing about death ruling everything without any exceptions whereas the 2nd single “Despair” combines elements of their signature black metal style & progressive metal suggesting the reaper’s already here & has supremacy over us all. “Weep for Nothing” takes a more dissonant black metal approach stylistically singing about the world around us falling apart & leaving no remains leading into “Aeon’s End” making a statement regarding every civilization meeting their demise.

To begin the Liturgy of Death’s other half, “Funeral of Existence” describes the point in life where everything decays & loses all meaning while the 3rd & final single “Realm of Endless Misery” goes for a more traditional black metal vibe singing about existence functioning as part of suffering. “Propitious Death” looks at dying from the perspective of being freed from life’s repetitions & “The Sentence of Absolution” finishes with the realization that greatest deception has been the idea of human life the whole entire time.

Determined to push the boundaries of extremity itself even further over 4 decades later, Mayhem reaffirms their status as the most uncompromising force in all of Norwegian black metal reaching an entirely different apex of darkness by making Liturgy of Death yet another testament to their longevity. It’s easily the most progressive & dissonant the band has sounded since Esoteric Warfare & I commend Attila for deepening his research on the idea of every living being inevitably passing away since it’s been such a prominent theme within the dark arts.

Score: 4/5

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Joji – “Piss in the Wind” review

Joji is a 32 year old rapper, producer, singer/songwriter & internet personality from Osaka, Japan making his full-length debut in 2017 with Pink Season. He would go on to follow it up with the sophomore effort Ballads & then Nectar, signing to Warner Records for his previous full-length Smithereens. Forming his own label distributed by Virgin Music called Palace Creek following his departure from the 88rising collective, he’s ready to begin this new era of his career declaring his independence in the form of his 5th studio album.

The self-produced “Pixelated Kisses” featuring Yeat on the remix blends alternative R&B, rage, witch house, trap soul & wave music talking about online relationships just before “Cigarettes” moodily uses the tobacco product as a metaphor for being burnt out. “Last of Dying Breed” combines alt-pop, alternative R&B, outsider house, neo-psychedelia & chillwave to grieve the rarity of an ex-girlfriend leading into “Love You Less” experimenting with dream pop, indie rock, shoegaze & jangle pop to sing about a toxic relationship.

“If It Only Gets Better” explores alt-pop, alternative R&B, indie folk, folktronica, wonky, trip hop & bedroom pop tackling the forever relevant subject of change just before “Love Me Better” sings about how he could’ve stayed with this woman he’s no longer seeing if she cherished him a lot more than she did. “Piece of You” feels more like a GIVĒON track since he handles a great deal of the performances despite the Kenny Beats instrumental while “Hotel California” heads for a lo-fi direction singing about a woman who makes his heart beat fast.

As for “Tarmac”, we have Joji finding himself emotionally stuck & looking for a way to something that felt authentic over some unsettling guitar passages while “Forehead Touch the Ground” spaciously sings about the inability of him trying to get this person out of his head. “Past Won’t Leave My Bed” ends the 1st half combining piano rock, adult contemporary, singer/songwriter & space rock revival for a personification of sleep while “Fade to Black” feels like a 75 second interlude performed by 4Batz.

“Can’t See Shit in the Club” brings some trap soul undertones in the mix for a spiritual successor to the 2020 loosie “F.T.C. (Fuck the Club)” until Dylan Brady joins Kenny Beats behind the boards during “Sojourn”, singing about a kind of love that’s in the middle of being eternal & unremembered. “D.Y.K.I.L.Y. (Don’t You Know I Love You?)” digs up an outtake from the Balladssessions to make a finished version of it while “Rose Colored” produced by BNYX of Working on Dying makes room for Yeat to spit 1 last verse so Filthy Frank can handle the hook.

Nearing the LP’s final moments, “Silhouette Man” slows down Joji’s vocals over this cloudy beat portraying himself as a shadow while “Fragments” mostly performed by Don Toliver sings about desiring pieces of his partner Kali Uchis since he can’t promise her eternity. “Horses to Water” hooks up a bassline & some pianos responding to people claiming the water’s different that it all tastes the same but after the repetitively written “Strange Home” sings about losing a part of him, the industrial outro “Dior” concludes with a chorus asking the woman he’s in love with if he’ll ever get the chance of seeing her again.

The teasers building up to Piss in the Wind gave me the impression that Joji would make the most enjoyable body of work in his career since a great deal of his output until this point has been average at best & it very much succeeds at capturing his artistic evolution since his YouTube days. Parts of wave music, lo-fi hip hop, trap soul, art pop, rage, witch house, trap soul, indie folk, folktronica, wonky, trip hop, bedroom pop, outsider house, neo-psychedelia, chillwave, dream pop, indie rock, shoegaze, jangle pop, piano rock, adult contemporary, singer/songwriter & space rock revival all get incorporated into his alt-pop/alternative R&B sound in a versatile manner to compliment his melancholic songwriting & it feels like more of a complete product than Smithereens did.

Score: 3.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Black Sheep” review

Detroit, Michigan lyricist & one of the finest in the underground currently Mickey Diamond is back with his 18th studio LP. Emerging at the beginning of this decade 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 17 albums alongside 7 EPs & a mixtape. Since 2022 however, Mickey has been consistent putting out some of the best material of his career thus far. This includes the Gucci Ghost series 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, the outstanding Oroku Saki sequel Super Shredder & Gucci Gambinos. We recently got Diamond Cutter as well as Dolla $ign Diaries & Wolf Tickets, coming off the latter almost 2 months ago for the 2nd installment of this new trilogy days after Killer Kross was crowned the new MLW World Heavyweight Champion & the morning of former TNA World Champion Joe Hendry becoming the new NXT Champion.

“Shepherd’s Pie” begins with a drumless soul sample talking about him learning how to save money rather than chase it whereas “Big Bad Wolf” takes the boom bap route instrumentally so he can fuck up anyone who steps in his way. “Murda He Wrote” strips the drums once again talking about pulling up to shows with 10 of homies while “B22” soulfully talks about him shaking up the block consistently unlike those no one wants to collaborate with.

As for “Silence of the Lambs”, we have Diamond over some pianos mixed with kicks & snares letting the fear breathe again leaving the feds asking what happened to him during his break leading into “Rabbit Hole” bringing back the crooning sampling chops talking about his style being too flashy for the poor. “Matthew 7:15” eerily boasts of slitting throats using a Liquid Sword while “Business as Usual” continues the 2nd half talking about seeming cool up until everything comes down to the money.

“Cry Wolf” starts the 4th quarter bringing us more hardcore boom bap cautioning the whole community would take his side if anyone’s beefing with one of his while “When It Rains” soulfully talks about feeling the pain of his homie who’s been down bad. “False Profits” rawly makes it clear his purpose here is to challenge the greatest to ever do it & “Want You Back” ends by chopping up soul samples 1 last time talking about not being mad at a woman he was once in a relationship with.

It hasn’t even been a couple months since Wolf Tickets began The Wolf, The Sheep & The Goat trilogy shooting a buzzer beater in terms of how 2025 was musically & Black Sheep isn’t what many who’ve caught up with Mickey Diamond over the years would expect it to be topically. His lyricism is more focused towards his capability to tell stories centered around friendships, relationships, spirituality, conspiracy theories & politics accommodated in the way Big Ghost’s signature production style always has.

Score: 4.5/5

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