Ariana Grande – “petal” review

Boca Raton, Florida singer/songwriter & actress Ariana Grande launching her own imprint Babydoll Music distributed by Republic Records for her 8th studio LP. The very same label who signed her in 2013 after breaking out through the Nickelodeon series Victorious alongside Leon Thomas III & has gradually become one of the biggest pop stars in the entire world since, dropping my personal favorite in her discography sweetener following the moderate reception of Yours Truly as well as My Everything & Dangerous Woman. I also enjoyed thank u, next for what it was following her engagement to Pete Davidson being broke off & Mac Miller’s tragic death even if Positions took it back to the mild feedback of her earlier output, coming off Eternal Sunshine to give us petal in time for July ending.

“kiss me” opens up yearning to be kissed like it could potentially be her final goodbye until “hate that i made you love me” averagely blends alt-pop, contemporary R&B, alternative R&B, synthpop & chillwave for a lead single venting about her divorce from her now ex-husband Dalton Gomez. The title track serves as a metaphor for how flowers can still bloom in the most rigid places just before “stay” detailing yet another corrective experience she had.

As for “oh well”, we have Ariana telling Dalton that more breakup songs about him are on the way & wishing all of the toxic people in her life the best luck traveling to Hell leading into “big feelings” reaching the midway point wanting this person to promise they’ll handle her properly & providing the kind of sex that can make grown men cry. “freak” sings about distancing herself from someone who doesn’t want to get to know her from a personal standpoint but after the “warning signs” interlude, “like i do” gets tongue-in-cheek for a sassy self-confidence ode.

“never get over me” embraces some R&B influenced to finish up petal’s concluding act singing about a unique kind of intimacy with a bridge calling back to “Thinking ‘Bout You” off Dangerous Woman while “bad thing (bunny hop)” finds herself rediscovering her feelings towards photographer & dancer Ricky Alvarez. The closing track “nowhere, nobody” sends off the album choosing to stay present in love regardless of the uncertainty of whether or not it’ll last in the end.

Despite coming away from petal with mixed feelings towards it, I can certainly see myself coming back to it more than I do Positions & Eternal Sunshine since it does have more high points than lows. I think Ariana Grande breaking up with all different kinds of negative attachments throughout her life comes from a sincere place although the alt-pop, contemporary R&B, alternative R&B, synthpop & chillwave production was merely ok. Would love for her to work with someone like Jermaine Dupri.

Score: 3/5

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Arca – “XXXXX” review

Arca is a 36 year old musician, singer, composer, producer, DJ, model & audio engineer from Caracas, Venezuela who dropped her full-length studio debut Xen during my senior year of high school followed by the sophomore effort Mutant exactly 12 months later. Her eponymous 3rd album under XL Recordings elevated herself beyond her earlier out & the same can be said regarding the entire kiCK pentalogy initially conceived in the midst of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, finally returning following the series’ conclusion for her 9th studio LP.

The intro “No Ends” kicks off the opening 91 seconds sampling “In the Face” for a spoken word passage regarding shadows speaking to her whereas “Willow” somewhat gives me an Aphex Twin vibe instrumentally including a chorus describing a willow tree blowing in the wind. “Eidolon” heads for a deconstructed club direction singing in Spanish about living for the moment & “Heart” continues the Spanish performances calling for everyone to watch her transmute.

“Syncope” keeps things going from there taking a compositional approach & it feels like something the late SOPHIE would’ve made if she was still here just before “Raver” fiercely taking it bake to Arca’s own roots a bit in terms of sound. The minute & a half “Cinch” gives us a brief verse describing a woman who’s moving further into the unknown with her eyes closed while “Fuck” reaches the midway point of XXXXX yearning to have sex like her partner has sincere love for her.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “Finisher” interestingly samples “Family Violence” including these jaw-dropping string serine & an outro explaining you were never alone prior to “Taconeando” fully embraces the Spanish lyricism once again talking about heeling under the lights. “Futurality” lets the instrumental do the speaking for here basically telling us the future has become reality while “Grip” once again feels like a refined version of something Arca would’ve done on Xen.

“Enraptured” winds down XXXXX’s last act continues to refine the Xen aesthetics asking her partner if they’re ready to come & get it while “Throb” has moments that take me back to the “@@@@@“ single she dropped before the pandemic preceding the kiCK saga. “Everything” comes through with an optimistic spiritual successor to “Alive” off Mutant & the outro “Sueño” concludes with a finalized version of “Arpia” previewed last fall.

Many including myself had to ask where Arca would go beyond the kiCK series & XXXXX answers that with a return to form playfully interrupting the rhythm of the rest of her discography. deconstructed club, IDM, epic collage, glitch, UK bass, glitch hop, wonky, glitch pop, ambient pop, wave & progressive electronic production mostly feels like her interestingly trying to perfect what she was doing on her earliest output at many points, rawly exploring a space between worlds where transformation is both terrifying & freeing.

Score: 4.5/5

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DOMi & JD Beck – “WHO ASKED?” review

DOMi & JD Beck are a jazz fusion duo from Los Angeles, California consisting of keyboardist DOMi & drummer JD Beck. They would eventually sign a joint deal to Anderson .Paak’s own imprint Apeshit Inc. in tandem with the greatest jazz label of all-time Blue Note Records in 2022, dropping their widely lauded full-length studio debut NOT TiGHT that summer. Exactly 48 months have passed since to celebrate, it only makes sense that the pairing returned for a highly anticipated sophomore effort.

“ÈPiPHANiE” begins with this colorful 2 & a half minute compositional intro I can imagine hearing at the start of a wonderful day whereas “HAD ENOUGH” co-written by Anderson Paak. finds the pair singing about tomorrow possibly being the same despite not being too far. “EXiT” embraces a more autumnal vibe instrumentally assuring this isn’t the end & never showing signs of helplessness just before “SiLHOUETTE” asks if the fear causing doubt in your mind is worth the mind fading out.

Meanwhile on “GROWiNG OLDER”, we have DOMi & JD observing the inevitable process of aging in the midst of seasons quickly passing us by leading into “SOME THiNGS NEVER CHANGE” blissfully sings about staying frozen in place & holding steady since certain stuff remains the same. “RAiN” discussing both fear & comfort over more woodwinds combined with intense drumming until “SMALL EYES” contains a J Dilla influence showing the love they have for their dogs.

“LOVELY MASQUERADE” continues the 2nd half with one of WHO ASKED?‘s most infectious grooves singing about the possibility of being betrayed whilst the puppets dance blindly & after “PUZZLE PiECES” promises us it’s ok if life doesn’t make sense sometimes because there are moments where pieces fall apart for no reason whatsoever, “PHANTOM TREAD” endearingly pays tribute to an individual who greatly helped them at some point in their career.

The song “OUT OF SYNC” finds the pair lost inside their heads while “CONCERTiNO (FOR PiANO, DRUMS & ORCHESTRA)” hits us with another delightful instrumental piece comprised of pianos, flutes, strings & brass. My least favorite track “CLiMBiNG HiGH” awkwardly experiments with J-pop singing about the sky still being above when heading upwards for a better view & the “ÈPiLOGUE” concludes the LP in the form of this orchestral outro that I can imagine hearing in a Disney movie.

Regardless of WHO ASKED? being ranked behind NOT TiGHT in DOMi & JD Beck’s discography, it’s still an exceptional continuation of their music. They swap out the secondary influences of neo-soul & jazzstep to incorporate more elements of chamber music & classical crossover but more specifically, they’re singing a lot more than they did on their debut & I feel like they could make some improvements in that specific department going forward.

Score: 3.5/5

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Onyx – “It All Started in Brooklyn” review

Queens, New York duo Onyx consisting of Sticky Fingaz & Fredro Starr dropping their 14th studio LP. Their debut Bacdafucup followed by All We Got Iz Us & Shut ‘Em Down under Def Jam Recordings are rightfully considered by many to be East Coast classics, releasing 2 mediocre albums in the early 2000s returning in 2014 with the Snowgoons produced #WAKEDAFUCUP. The sequel Snowmads was great & I also enjoyed Onyx vs. Everybody more than others, coming off the subpar reception of World Takeover as well as Blood on da X & Lower Eastside to the remind everyone It All Started in Brooklyn.

After the “Go Brooklyn” intro, “Get Live” featuring Ayoo Bigz produced by Fredro Starr finds the trio over a clunky boom bap instrumental talking about looking to hype the crowds whereas “How U Like Me Now?” aggressively talks about going from the barbershop to coppin’ different whips even though the beat isn’t much better. “Around My Way” menacingly cautions to show no fear around them although it instrumentally feels run-of-the-mill just before “Lift Off” talks about nobody being able to terrorize a club like them.

“It’s on U” continues from there hopping over a cavernous boom bap beat asking if one’s gonna take the charge or go out blastin’ while “The Goonies” likens themselves to thugs who be waitin’ for muhfuckas in the alley carrying baseball bats. “Hear Dem Knocking” talks about paying attention to the feds tryna come inside the spot leading into “Body Ya”, which was the ONLY single from the rollout that I didn’t mind since Fredro’s instrumental was less clunky albeit still AI.

We get an underwhelming “Last Dayz” sequel with “Still Last Dayz” mainly because of the beat dragging it down while “Up Dat” aggressively suggests for opponents to upgrade their arsenals. “Lordz of Flatbush” was actually a cool representation of the Brooklyn neighborhood that I can appreciate but once “Fuck Love” tepidly shows a more romantic side to Onyx, the title track concludes It All Started in Brooklyn taking everyone back to where it all began for both of it’s remaining members.

The last time I enjoyed a project from Onyx was when Onyx vs. Everybody initially came out 4 years earlier & considering the mediocrity of the singles, I wasn’t anticipating It All Started in Brooklyn to change that & it surely enough joins Triggernometry in becoming one of the pairing’s weakest collection of material in their entire discography. Sticky Fingaz & Fredro Starr can still very much rap, but I wish Fredro would handle the production the same way he did Onyx vs. Everybody because these AI generated beats “Powered by Play That AI” are absolutely hideous.

Score: 1.5/5

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Too $hort – “Sir Too $hort 2: Drink & Smoke” review

Oakland, California emcee, songwriter, producer & record executive Too $hort bridging the Sir Too $hort trilogy with his 22nd LP. Someone who’s been around for 4 decades with Born to Mack, Life is…Too $hort, $hort Dog’s in the House, Get In Where You Fit In & Gettin’ It (Album #10) all stick out in his extensive catalog. Sir Too $hort: Freaky Tales last spring under his own label Dangerous Music in tandem with EMPIRE Distribution was an improvement above his EMPIRE debut The Pimp Tape in 2018, looking to simply Drink & Smoke this summer reuniting with Lil Jon to have the crunk originator produce the whole thing.

“Better Pimp” pretty much sets the tone for what’s to come flowing over a piano-driven beat talking about being a pimp whereas “Drink & Smoke” featuring E-40 & Tyga made for an disappointing single mainly because the latter’s appearance completely ruins the vibe. “Back It Up” featuring Show Banga & UC Kayla finds the trio getting raunchy over an instrumental reminiscent of the mid-2000s even though I can do without the 2 guests, but I suppose “Thicky” isn’t bad in comparison talking about thick women.

Saweetie appears for “That’s My Bitch” discussing the pimp lifestyle once again & the Santa Clara artist taking on the thematic role of a bottom bitch just before “Wouldn’t Wanna Be Him” works in a flute to talk some shit about bitch-ass hater. “I’m Not a Square” featuring Suga Free unites so both of them can make it clear that they’re far from lame leading into “Good Coochie” by Mount Westmore teasing a potential sophomore effort from the supergroup.

“So So So Good” featuring Snow Tha Product treads the trap waters having both of them talking about how addictive the pussy is & after the “Invite” interlude, “We Came to Party” hits us with a cloudy ode to merely having fun in the club. “Out Tonight” spends a few minutes wanting to dance for an evening & the outro “5 Letter Word” sends off Sir Too $hort 2: Drink & Smoke talking about the fact African Americans are all across the globe.

Soon as I found out Lil Jon was gonna be fully producing Sir Too $hort 2: Drink & Smoke, I already knew that it was gonna be the best installment of this whole trilogy Too $hort’s been working on & it makes me wonder how the final installment will be even though he said he was gonna retire afterwards for the 3rd or 4th time. Nevertheless, the production’s more consistent than the predecessor 15 months ago & most of the guests are unmatched regardless of the select few I could’ve done without.

Score: 3.5/5

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Kurupt – “Tales from My Hood” review

Kurupt is a 53 year old MC, songwriter, actor & occasional producer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who relocated to Hawthorne, California to comprise 1/2 of Tha Dogg Pound with Daz Dillinger. He eventually made his double solo debut Kuruption! under A&M Records almost 3 decades earlier, following it up with a widely praised sophomore effort Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha & Space Boogie: Smoke Oddessey until dropping Against tha Grain through Death Row Records in tandem with MNRK Music Group to mixed reception. Same Day, Different Shit produced by Daz & his previous full-length Streetlights each left audiences further divided even if the latter helped launch Young Gotti’s own imprint Penagon Records, remaining on Tha Row now distributed by gamma. following Daz’s departure to have DJ Battlecat solely produce his 7th studio LP.

After the intro, Sneacc Attacc” featuring Charlie Bereal & WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg begins spitting that gangsta shit over a g-funk instrumental whereas “Me N the Boyz” samples “Mothership Connection (Star Child)” by Parliament to talk about getting money. “Special” featuring Jane Handcock finds the pair getting romantic over a smooth beat while the summery “Mystic River” represents the D.P.G.C. even after Daz & Snoop fell out.

D Smoke & Snoop Dogg appear on “Wat U Do to Me” bringing back the g-funk vibes instrumentally to kick off the 2nd half of the album talking about him & his Death Row inmate being unable to fake how they do things but after “Love Letter” featuring Jane Handcock soulfully addresses the people in their lives who were made for them, “West Coast Muzik” once again shifts towards a g-funk direction representing the west coast hip hop scene altogether.

“Mindstate” featuring Ill Camille gets the Tales from My Hood’s final act going embracing a jazzier sound & some grown man subject matter Tha Kingpin’s delivering while “I Don’t Luv Her” featuring Akeem Ali & Soopafly brings the trio together so they can promise their soulmates that they’re not in love with anyone else over a g-funk beat. The closing track “Gunna” sends it all off suggesting for people to duck whenever he’s out in public.

Considering how much of a superiorly skilled performer Kurupt has always been on the microphone, I found myself being more excited for Tales from My Hood than I have been with Daz’s last few solo efforts & it sure enough makes up for Against tha Grain’s mediocrity by surpassing Tha Streetz Iz a Mutha to become Young Gotti’s finest hour by himself. DJ Battlecat’s g-funk production paired with one of the most underrated lyricists of all-time who also became 1/2 of the Gotti Mob & 1/4 of The HRSMN makes for possibly the strongest album Death Row’s dropped this year.

Score: 4/5

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Hariroc – “The Squidfather 2” review

Atlanta, Georgia producer & rapper Hariroc dropping his 3rd studio LP merely days after announcing it. Known for being an extensive collaborator of Lil Tony, he would go on to fully produce the Troc & Swaggbaggs extended plays for Tony in their entireties preceding a full-length debut of his own Indalment in 2024 even if the reception was generally lukewarm. The Squidfather last summer despite being overloaded had some incredible songs on it & the sequel retains that same length although I should note there being guests who weren’t on the predecessor appearing for The Squidfather 2.

“Red” by Hardrock was actually an impressive opener & amongst the latter’s better songs I’ve heard in a bit regardless of it only being less than a minute & a half until “Sold Not Told” by Lil Tony talks about the way the game goes over a plugg instrumental. “Donald Trump” by Double XL & Ealuhri finds the pair wasting another plugg beat likening their black truck to a pedophilic fascist just before “Greed” by B6 vents about everyone yapping their needs to him & turning to Jesus for help finding peace.

RRoxket gets a joint of his own with “Johnny Depp” & I like more than the last couple, talking about snorting as much coke as the iconic actor himself just before another favorite of mine “Long Live Virgil” by Pradabagshawty pays tribute to the late Off-White founder of the same name. “Røck Øut” by Tezzus fresh off the disappointing controversy between him, ilykimchi & Oogie Mane talks about standing on business leading into “Murder He Wrote” by Doowopgz & Rx Yp discussing seeing hate from a mile away.

“3 Man Drill” by Stikkhead takes over the mic to air out the kind of people who ain’t on shit like they claim to be despite the instrumental sticking out more while “Radioactive Rage” by Teflon Zay embraces a hypertrap sound talking about carrying guns whenever they’re riding through the ATL & laying their opps out. “Free Twin” by Babystaydown was another moment I enjoyed calling for his incarcerated homie to come home while “Chess Game” by BabyDrill airily speaks of living a double life with the blick.

Chuckyy makes a 98 second statement telling everyone to “Stop Pouring Lean” & I agree with because I’ve never done that shit nor am I a fan of it personally, preceding “Illegal Money” by Zone1eriic assuring that he can get in a scuffle at this very moment since he got sticks in his ride. “Switch My Move” by Yksteexy ends the 1st leg of The Squidfather 2 with a monotonous performance like he barely has a pulse while “Mufasa” by RW 5 kicks off the 2nd act talking about his mom wanting him to be better than his father.

“Suck Yuh Mada” by 1900Rugrat annoyingly rambles on regarding people who hate him now that he’s been making money while the standout “Dirty Bird” by ApolloRed1 talks about having a favorite trapper instead of having a favorite rapper growing up. “Split the Tab” by tana continues with another highlight addressing a see-through bitch who he hasn’t seen in some time while “Dreams I Can’t Reach Yet” by PCF ManMan talks about his brother being locked up for some dumb shit.

I’d say Pradabagshawty outrapped Ealuhri during “Typo” texting freak hoes wanting to fuck them high off percocets while “Geeked Up” by Bby Kellwoozily elaborates more about being under the influence of drugs. “Beaver” by Zukenee entertainingly references the Comcast Corporation subsidiary NBCUniversal owned sitcom Leave It to Beaver while “Free RRed” by IsoBkae & 4E_Redd averagely trades verses over some pianos & 808s

“Purple Heart” by Babytron was a delightful surprise to me talking about receiving the titular military decoration after the tragic death of his Dog $hit Militia brethren $camaurion back in October of 2022 & after “Free Roc (Rox)” by Luhtrentt flexes that he plays the game of truth instead of pleading the 5th amendment, “Puppet” by GetRichZay confronts someone flexing who claims to be about that life wanting him to take the test to see whether he’s telling the truth or cappin’.

Famous Dex unexpectedly makes “Don’t Touch My Cup” one of the most interesting tracks he’s done this decade along with “Lex Meet Dex”, cautioning not to test him because of the real possibility of him spazzing out while “Emo Ho” by B6 provides a lukewarm anthem dedicated to anyone who’s been stacking up bread. “Fake Thuggin’” by Lil Tony wraps up The Squidfather 2 in the form of this plugg outro becoming a soldier if his opposition’s brought around him.

I would’ve enjoyed The Squidfather a lot more than I did when it came out last August if Hariroc shaved off the half of it that I could’ve done without & unfortunately, The Squidfather 2 suffers from the very same problems it’s predecessor except I might like it a little less than the original. There’s no issue with his production varying between trap & cloud rap to plugg & rage since I do respect his artistry, but the guest list leaves me more torn than the previous one.

Score: 2.5/5

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Goosebytheway – “Nature Boy” review

Buffalo, New York rapper & singer/songwriter Goosebytheway making his full-length studio debut. Signing to Drumwork Music Group back in 2022, he would make a handful of guest appearances across several Conway the Machine projects preceding his debut mixtape By the Way a year afterwards. But the time has come for him to drop his very own LP Nature Boy named after 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair following The Demand ending The Conglomeration’s reign as AEW World Trios Champions.

“203” featuring Conway the Machine finds the pair talking about where they come from over an opulent beat whereas “Rivi” takes the boom bap route instrumentally asking whether anyone’s hearing him or if they’ve heard of him yet. “Pesto Margarita” maintains the more kicks & snares keeping a gun on him in case anyone acts out leading into “Walk Ups” featuring Conway the Machine & Fuego Base seeing the trio ripping up a drumless loop from Bozack Morris.

K’mani & Spark Houston’s contributions to “Pedigree” weren’t that great despite the reference to 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 14-time WWE world champion, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion & the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division’s CCO Triple H while “Nowhere to Be Found” featuring Jottibee after a skit continues the 2nd act of Nature Boy talking about being prepared for war since they’ve hit rock bottom.

“Selfish” featuring Jae Skeese makes up for the mediocre guest verses having both Drumwork labelmates getting stingy as fuck together while “Heisenberg” featuring Conway the Machine & SK da King includes a reference to the main character of my all-time favorite show: Breaking Bad. The closing track “I Ain’t Did Enough” spends the album’s final minutes with 1 last boom bap cut feeling like he should’ve done more since he has 2 kids to raise.

Regardless of former NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion as well as WWE Hall of Famer & the inaugural WWE Champion Buddy Rogers originally earning the Nature Boy nickname, I typically see people caring less for the features Goosebytheway has been doing for Conway in recent memory & I’ve been giving him the benefit of the doubt since he got his label deal because I felt there was room for him to grow. The production has improved since his last tape so have the performances from both Goose & the guests.

Score: 3.5/5

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T.F. – “Skanless Summers: The Legend of…Maniac Blue” review

Los Angeles, California emcee T.F. enlisting MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 to produce his Roc Nation Records debut & his 2nd LP of the year. Initially hearing him on “Tookie Knows, Pt. II” off ScHoolboy Q’s magnum opus Blank Face LP, he subsequently dropped his debut EP No Hooks only 7 months later, which was followed up by his full-length debut ErThangSkanless & then a 2nd EP called OktoberFest. After appearing on Flee Lord’s 8th EP Hand Me My Flowers produced entirely by Buckwild& put out 2 more EPs on his own, T.F. eventually signed to Lord Mobb Music & put out Blame Kansas produced by both Mephux & Roc Marciano. Coming off the Khrysis-produced The Green Bottle & the DJ Muggs-produced Don’t Call Me Lucky however, he’s staying hot with Skanless Summers: The Legend of…Maniac Blue.

“Maniac Blue” opens up with the funky trap beat introducing us to the main character who’s widely known for being a gangsta whereas “Janky Gold” gives me some heavy Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas vibes instrumentally flexing the rubber bands around his wrist. “South Coast Plaza” featuring Jay Worthy finds the pair over a g-funk beat talking about being big budget prior “Bounce Rocc” featuring Trizz & Zoe Osama bringing the trio together for my least favorite single since Zoe didn’t impress me like Trizz did.

As for “Hollywood Slang’n”, we have T.F. maintaining the funk vividly putting us inside the shoes of a dope dealer just before “Cend’n Corners” featuring LilBunko talks about both of them driving around the street carrying pistols in their laps. “A Different Cloth” featuring Dreebo & Fat Meech links up so all 3 of them can decently talk bout being built differently than the rest of these muhfuckas while “Luv Letters” takes a more soulful route getting romantic topically.

“I’m a Dog” featuring pushes closer towards the conclusion of Skanless Summers: The Legend of…Maniac Blue discussing the kind of person he is over a g-funk instrumental while “Bebe’s Kids” featuring ICECOLDBISHOP references the Paramount Skydance Corporation adult animated comedy of the same name based off the late Robin Harris’ standup routine. “The Ballads” masterfully sends off the album telling the stories of a dead loc.

Originally announced last month, Skanless Summers: The Legend of…Maniac Blue had me expecting it to maintain the level of quality Don’t Call Me Lucky achieved several months earlier & I’m somewhat disappointed with the final results. Which doesn’t have anything to do with MIKE SUMMERS’ production or T.F.’s gangsta-infused subject matter, it’s mostly because of the excessive number of guest appearances varying between enjoyable & lackluster.

Score: 3/5

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King Kashmere – “0 Point Modulations” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer King Kashmere getting behind the boards for his 8th studio LP. Notable for being a part of several groups or duos over the last few decades ranging from Kingdom of Fear & Invisible Inc. to Gawd Status as well as Old Children & Strange U, he also has 7 full-lengths & a few extended plays under his belt through a multitude of labels from Low Life Records to YNR Productions & Boot Records. The most recent being The Album to End All Alien Abductions & Sounds Like Home via High Focus Records, looking to kick off the 0 Point Modulations series strong.

“Kulcha” by Gawd Status after the intro starts us off with Joker Starr hitting us with skillful lyricism over a boom bap instrumental whereas “Shadows” by Durrty Goodz, Flirta D & Harry Shotta comes through with their own rendition of “Valley of the Shadows” by Origin Unknown. “Big(Bad)” by Dabbla, Genesis Elijah & Killa P aggressively joins forces to piss off their detractors including a brief beat switch prior to “Good Morning” by Harry Shotta, Jaz Kahina & PAV4N spitting flows that’ll leave people impressed.

As for “All Night”, we have Jae Mann taking the mic so he can talk about how it’s always the people who don’t do shit who be disrespecting those that put in the work just before “I.Y.N.K. (Illest You Never Knew)” by Cappo returns to the boom bap ruggedly boasts of reaching a level many wish they could achieve. “Earendel” by Illaman suggests to meet him in the courtyard with bars prepared until Flowtecs & Ramson Badbonez team up for the spooky “Violatorz”.

“Doin’ It” by Micall Parknsun talks about his detractors being pissed that he’s still around making music when it’s their own loss while “I Smoke” by BVA ruggedly discusses being ready to body anyone in a battle. “Alive” by Farma G & Fliptrix wraps up the 1st leg of 0 Point Modulations talking about keeping this shit going strong while “God Complex” by C.o.N-Vers talks about swinging swords whenever it’s time for war.

Verb T gets his own solo track with “Heights” talking about the feeling he has of taking things to higher levels musically while “Dragon’s Lair” by the Double Dragons grittily expresses Ray Vendetta & Tommy Biz’s refusal of surrounding themselves with artists who’re insignificant compared to them. “Is It?” by HPBLK talks about revving a chainsaw after being cast in the dark while “Cooked” by Reign MC dismisses those who claim they can smoke him.

“Classic Style” by Confucius MC dustily talks about the autobiographical subject matter he’s kicking being superior to a simple novel & becoming impactful when it’s laid out on wax but after “No Stress” by Alecs DeLarge poses the question of winning when people aren’t even rooting for themselves to achieve said victories in the first place, “Unfunny” by Truemendous talks about never being apart of a joke she doesn’t find humor in.

The track “Anne Boleyn” by Anyway tha God & Ragga Zulu Rebel references King Henry VIII’s 2nd wife who was beheaded due to fabricated charges of high treason & adultery in the 1500s while “Nuisance” by Fliptrix & JayaHadADream talks about leaving the past behind now that their voices have been found. The final song “Phone on Silent” by Larwood preceding the outro concludes 0 Point Modulations explaining that life’s about timing & making every second count.

King Kashmere has been producing since the late 90s & after fine-tuning that aspect of his career since 2010 when he began evolving behind the boards, 0 Point Modulations officially rings in this new chapter of his storied career shining the brightest light on The Iguana Man’s true calling although I can respectfully understand the 77 minute runtime being lengthy for some listeners. His production experiments with different genres other than hip hop like grime or dub & dubstep developing ways to make the process authentic through sampling & enlisting an all-star cast of MCs representing the UK hip hop scene’s past & present.

Score: 4/5

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