J Billz – “Streetz Hottest Young’n” review

J Billz is a 23 year old rapper from Spartanburg, South Carolina who came up at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut mixtape Home Detention. He also happens to be a protege of local recording artist, songwriter, producer & engineer Pi’erre Bourne by signing to SossHouse Records prior to that previous tape coming out. However, he’s enlisting Pi’erre to make a bigger breakthrough on his debut full-length album following the sophomore efforts of his 3 labelmates last month Frazier Trill alongside Chavo & Sharc respectively.

“Trappin’ Like a Fool” is a piano-trap opener to the album talking about riding around with the toolies whereas “Onion” has a more peppier flare to it calling himself a trap junkie going hard 25 hours & 8 days a week. “Pick Today” returns to a more ominous groove so he can reminisce of all the shit that he didn’t say that is until “War with Us” aggressively airs out those who want beef with the Sosshouse crew with a cloudy instrumental backing him.

Meanwhile, “Steppas” keeps things hazy as Billz makes it clear that he sees all the fuck shit just before “Fuck Dat” talking about feeling like DJ Khaled since all he does is win & stomping a bitch boy out in public on sight. “Megan Thee Stallion” gives off a more playful sound comparing his bitch to the queen of the hot girls herself, but then “Kreepin’” weaves some pianos & hi-hats advising everyone to lock their doors since the young homies out here.

“Tony Jeff Story” gives off a somber trap tone as he tells the story of both Tony & Jeff being deep in the streets while “Depend on Me” pulls from plugg music a big asking how things are gonna work out if she claims she hates him. The song “Back to Trappin’” returns to a cloudier vibe talking about never forgetting where he came from even though he can’t stay away from the trenches while the penultimate track “Best of Me” brings in more keys & hi-hats wanting everyone to be up front about any smoke with him. “Opp N****z” however ties the album up with a booming trap closer saying he drops people instead of dissing them.

It was only a matter of time until J Billz got an album produced by Pi’erre & now that we got Streetz Hottest Young’n, I consider it to most certainly be a cut above Home Detention & a solid introduction to his mentor’s fanbase. It’s more well-produced than that previous mixtape which is kinda what I expected so Billz can improve both his songwriting & performances by giving more introspective content without needing any guest verses.

Score: 3.5/5

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X-Raided – “A Prayer in Hell” review

X-Raided is a 48 year old veteran from Sacramento, California exploding onto the scene in 1992 off the strength of his full-length debut Psycho Active. He was shortly after sentenced to 31 years in prison on murder charges, only to be granted parole in the fall of 2018 & continued to build his discography by dropping 13 more albums whilst incarcerated. Following his last 2 since being a free man California Dreamin’ & There Will Be a Storm however, the Nefarious Loc surprisingly signed to Strange Music last spring & his making his 17th full-length his official debut through the Kansas City independent powerhouse.

The title track is a chilling opener produced by MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 praying for everything that’s holy to give him strength from slaying this child that only feels disdain whereas “Return of the Living Dead” goes into trap territory talking about having a heart full of pain & dread. “Life Sentences” gives off a more shimmering flare to it telling y’all what his life like just before “To Whom It May Concern” talks about ending it all over a morbid instrumental.

Tech N9ne comes into the picture for “Stratus Fear” to hop on a booming trap beat from Wyshmaster claiming that they fear the ascension of the lyricists leading into “Any Challenger” featuring Ras Kass hop on top of some strings courtesy of Robert Rebeck so both of them can talk about taking on anybody. “Legendary” featuring King Iso on the other hand fuses these horns & hi-hats making it known what the mission is, but then “Knoccin’” has some of the weaker feature performances from Bleezo & Playboi Prada despite the heinous instrumental & lyrics comparing themselves to Michael Myers on Halloween.

“No1 is Safe” was a cold choice for a lead single talking about carry the Heat like Mourning with a fittingly depressing atmosphere to the beat while “Celebration” featuring A-Wax dives into soulful turf as both MCs find themselves in a more commemorative mood. “Blaxploitation” hooks the strings back up comparing his music to the soundtrack of the titular genre of films while “Villains in the Field” has another mundane feature performance except this time it’s from Yowda even though I like the piano instrumental & the concept of who he’s with these days.

Continuing from there, “Parasitic” begins the final leg of the album gives off a more traditional west coast sound talking about not giving a fuck about anyone or anything while “The Bridge” featuring Joey Cool returns to the boom bap looking back on childhood memories. The penultimate track & 2nd single “Kal-El” gives off an eerier trap feel declaring he cannot be brought down no matter how hard you try & “Many Apologies” closes out the album some pianos talking about embracing the dichotomy.

As someone who considers Psycho Active to be a west coast classic & a Strange Music fan since high school, my anticipation was very high for these 2 parties to crossover & I can argue that it’s X’s 2nd best album right behind his debut. The production is incredibly consistent as are a good majority of the features & the tale of his dysmorphic relationship with time itself is profoundly well-told.

Score: 4/5

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Elevated Focusion – Self-Titled review

Elevated Focusion is a producer from Queens, New York who initially emerged in the underground under the moniker Jonny Rythmns dropping a handful of beat tapes such as Slow & Steady or The Sinthmeister. But after changing his name earlier this year, he’s looking to further introduce the new him to the underground by cooking up a full-length debut album of his own that’s primarily instrumental even though it’s most certainly worth pointing out the small handful of vocal performances from a few featured recording artists.

“Elevation” by Brigid Bites is a trippy opener to the album as she raps about climbing to the top of the mountain whereas the beat on “Stolen Time” by Bassiedee & Larissa Almeida feels like something out of an acid trip in a good way as both of them give off a more melodic delivery clarifying it’s not the end as they will find love again. “Yoko Loko” is a fresh little instrumental cut pulling from electronic dance music & after the “Amplifeyed” interlude, “Mind Frames” blends these chopped up operatic vocal samples with kicks & snares.

Continuing from there, “Waltz into the Wilderness” dabbles a bit with spoken word a bit over a hair-raising backdrop taking you through the jungle that is until “Late Night Dive” gives off a groovier feel & Katie Burke’s singing here is are provocatively passionate talking about needing to look out for herself. “Trypnotica” perfectly lives up to its name as a 105 second instrumental piece pulling from trap & psychedelia prior to “Natural Born Scumbags” pulling from dance once more.

“Tabla Tea Party” by EIMAS & Vincenzo Nocerino mixes some tablas with synthesizers declaring to be both the bullet AND the gun while “Stained in the Zone” delves further into a more futuristic sound. “About Today” by Day Vision resurrects the dance vibes singing about gazing in the mirror expecting to find herself & looking for help while the song “Psychodelicate” by Brigid Bites turns into trap turf bracing herself for a bad trip. The penultimate track “Trance Bender” gives us 1 last EDM joint & “Lost Time” ties things up entrancingly.

He’s come a long way from those early beat tapes & this eponymous debut album takes his career to the next stage in an impressive fashion. His production here is more genre-bending as he combines his love for New York culture & all genres of music but at the same time providing a place where the outsiders & insiders can meet through music & clothing representing creativity, originality, counterculture, passion, and the moment of change.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jamil Honesty – “The God’s Honest Truth” review

This is the sophomore full-length album from Staten Island born albeit Baltimore based emcee/producer Jamil Honesty. Getting his footing in off the strength of his debut mixtape Verses, he would go on to build a name for himself but putting out 3 EPs & a full-length debut serving as a sequel to one of the EPs that Hobgoblin produced. However, he’s coming fresh off the Harbor Kidz’ self-titled debut by enlisting Krazyfingaz to produce The God Honest Truth.

After the intro, “Better Days” starts off the album on a solemn boom bap note taking his mom’s word on her telling him when he was younger that brighter times would be ahead whereas “Empower” goes into soulful turf talking about how it’s crazy that a conversation can emancipate somebody. After the first “Conversing” interlude, “Pray” featuring Ke Turner works in another soul sample so both of them can make it clear that’s all you need to do just before “Unknown” brings back the kicks & snares pondering if anyone really knows the truth or if they like to have it presented to them in a fabricated manner.

After another “Conversing” interlude, “Reflections” featuring Josiah the Gift gives off a bit of a jazzy boom bap flare to the instrumental this time around to reminisce leading into “Wake Up (Spread Love)” shifts gears with a more delicate beat talking about having to do it ourselves. “Self Condemnation” featuring Sistah D has a grimier edge hoping everyone’s listening to their message & the final “Conversing” interlude, the song “Running Out of Problems” talks about how’s feeling over a smooth loop with some kicks & snares. The penultimate track “Blessings” featuring Cayoz da MC has a bassier groove discussing their benedictions & “Stair of Echoes” featuring eLZhi ties up the album on a dustier note tackling depression.

It’s been a minute since Jamil’s dropped a solo effort & I genuinely believe The God Honest Truth ranks amongst the strongest in his discography behind Martyr Musik alongside Martyr Musik 2: The Kingdom. He demonstrates his range & depth more by being more personal on the lyrical end of things as Krazyfingaz cooks up what could possibly be his rawest batch of beats yet.

Score: 3.5/5

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Metro Boomin’ – “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Music from & Inspired by the Motion Picture)” review

This is a brand new soundtrack album curated by St. Louis producer, DJ & record executive Metro Boomin’. Gaining notoriety in the middle of the previous decade as one of the most in-demand beatsmiths in hip hop today, he’s gone on to produce some of the best trap projects of the decade in their entireties including Future’s 3rd album D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2) as well as Gucci Mane’s 53rd mixtape Droptopwop and the Offset/21 Savage collab tape Without Warning. It was until after Halloween 2018 when he put out his solo debut Not All Heroes Wear Capes & returned last winter with the superior sophomore effort Heroes & Villains widely & rightfully earning him more respect as a beatsmith, but is now being recruited to do the soundtrack for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.

“Annihilate” by Lil Wayne, Offset & Swae Lee kicks off the soundtrack talking about being in another universe with a bit of an electronic trap flare to the instrumental with co-production from Mike Dean whereas “Am I Dreamin’?” by A$AP Rocky & Roisee finds the pair triumphantly admits to feeling beaten yet refusing to give up. “All the Way Live” by Future & Lil Uzi Vert works in some synths & hi-hats so both of them can discuss the type of time they on just before “Danger (Spider)” by JIDTRO & Offset gives off a smoother sound despite the fact that it was solely produced nby Honorable C.N.O.T.E. as they both demonstrate being made for this dangerous life.

Young Metro returns behind the boards for the colorfully laced “Hummingbird” with beautifully sung vocals performed by James Blake realizing that his lover might be all he needs leading into “Calling” by ΠΔV & Swae Lee providing y’all a syrupy pop rap anthem with the Brown Boy continuing to improve as a performer like he previously showed on Demons Protected by Angels. “Silk & Cologne” by Ei8ht & Offset is essentially a dancehall remix of a Fortnite lobby track that Ei8ht recently did, but then “Link Up” by Don Toliver & Wizkid is easily the worst cut on the entire soundtrack as they get on the more melodic side pulling from afrobeats alongside pop rap & pop reggae talking about syncing up.

“Self Love” has to be one of Coi Leray’s best songs to date with a poppy, futuristic cut detailing a man that doesn’t even love himself trying to love on her while “Home” by Donny Womack & Uzi dives into more atmospheric trap turf talking about being alone this evening. The song “Nonviolent Communication” by James Blake, Pretty Flacko & 21 Savage is a somber acoustic trap ballad caught up in the whip with Mary Jane Watson in his head explaining their bond is misunderstood while the penultimate track “Givin’ Up” by Don Toliver, 21 & 2 Chainz come together for 1 last Honorable C.N.O.T.E. banger psychedelically talking about refusing to lose. “Nas Morales” however ends the album with Metro going drumless so Nas can cleverly compare himself to Miles Morales.

Now I really don’t review soundtrack albums unless it has something going for them since a lot of movie soundtracks these days are generally trash, but there was no doubt in my mind that this would live up to the expectations set by the respective Black Panther and Judas & the Black Messiah soundtracks especially given the growth Metro shown this past winter on Heroes & Villains. Lo & behold: I stand corrected. Metro continues to expand on his evolution as a producer with a primarily consistent guest list joining him.

Score: 3.5/5

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Dirty Dike – “Mattress” review

Here we have the 6th studio LP from Cambridge, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Dirty Dike. A member of Contact Play, his solo debut Bogies & Alcohol as well as the sophomore effort Constant Dikestar under High Focus Records were both welcomed to warm reception although Return of the Twat was considered average by many in comparison. The Sloshpot EP & Sucking on Prawns in the Moonlight have since become his most celebrated work ever & Acrylic Snail was a great look at his transformation into his current self, leaving High Focus to start his own label Melonskin Records afterwards & is returning to the mic to drop Mattress independently.

“Pusspuss” produced by Melonskin co-founder Pete Cannon chops up a sinister piano sample for the 3rd & final single talking about putting pussies in their places whereas “My Way” dustily finds himself turning up on a weekday like it’s the weekend. After the “Samaritans” skit, “Bumpkin” has a more ghostly boom bap vibe instrumentally attacking those who aren’t fit to swim an inch of his one leading into “Broken Mattress” featuring Ronnie Bosh & Skuff finds the trio giving a fuck less about people bigging up their chest.

After the “Arr Kid” skit, “I’m a Peen” blends boom bap & jazz rap together for a self-aware depiction of how much of a dickhead the Dirty Dike can be just before “The Places We’ve Been In” featuring Jam Baxter takes a shot at the people who don’t know what it’s like setting foot in the locations they’ve visited. “Keith Meets Dike” featuring Kool Keith sees the 2 ruggedly talking about being completely insane in their own rights while the 2nd single “Just Dreamin’” spits a verse off-top over a soul sample.

“Cyclops” after the “Pouring a Rum” skit continues the nostalgic boom bap beats reminiscent of 90s east coast hip hop taking people to places they’ll feel uncomfortable in & after the “U About?” skit, the lead single “Bucket Kicker” would ultimately be saved for the last song reiterating his mission of speaking to those who push us to know what we’re supposed to be. We do get a proper “Goodbye” with the outro, although it’s the 5th & final skit throughout Mattress altogether.

Instead of producing his Melonskin Records debut by himself, Dirty Dike has his partner-in-crime Pete Cannon handle Mattress’ production duties & celebrates this new era of his career by doing his own thing after making some of High Focus Records’ most celebrated material the previous decade. The instrumentals created using a Commodore Amiga 1200 are more lenient towards the traditional boom bap sound rather than continuing Acrylic Snail’s varied explorations & the Contact Play extraordinaire retains his signature sense of humor.

Score: 4/5

3-Headed Monster – “Obliteration” review

The 3-Headed Monster is a horrorcore supergroup consisting of Esham, Violent J & Ouija Macc. One of them being the unholy godfather of the wicked shit founding Reel Life Productions, the other co-founded Psychopathic Records as 1/2 of the Insane Clown Posse whom the Boogey Man was once signed to from 2002-2005 & the other has become the hatchet’s biggest artist since Twiztid departed over a decade ago to form Majik Ninja Entertainment now continuing to gradually build Chapter 17 Records as a subsidiary of the label that runs beneath the streets as he’s been their only current artist other than the wicked clowns themselves since the pandemic. But as they head out on the road earlier this week fresh off Bloody Sunday & Detritus alongside the preparation of Purgatory next month, they’re announcing the formation of the trio & even unleashing a full-length debut.

After the intro, the first song “Fire Breathin’” opens things up with a hardcore hip hop anthem produced by Dead Heat advising to run from the 3-Headed Monster itself whereas “Crushin’” blends trap with rock & these grueling bells during the hook talking about squashing on all y’all motherfuckers. “Clownzilla” gives off a more suspenseful trap groove courtesy of Shaggytheairhead so J can himself the Godzilla of juggalos just before “Juggalos 4 Jesus” gives off a cloudier route thanks to Devereaux with Ouija heavily calling back to “24/7” off 4th album Closed Casket which is widely considered by suicidalists to be his best even though I’d put KKKill the Fetus above it personally.

“Don’t Sell Your Soul” switches things up with a jazzy boom bap ballad as Esham solely reminds the world to never sellout leading into “The Biggest” weaves these chilling horn melodies likening themselves to 30 gorillas referencing WCW original Giant González. “Leave That Dope Alone” is another Esham solo cut works in a soul sample with these kicks, snares & twinkling keys so he can get on his hustler shit à la Dead Flowerz that is until Violent J singlehandedly covers “Possum Kingdom” by The Toadies which really isn’t a surprise to me considering the Duke’s love for rock music. Especially with Zug Izland’s debut album Cracked Tiles turning 20 this year & that being one of the most underrated Psychopathic albums of all-time in my humble juggalo opinion.

Meanwhile, “Kiccin’ the Bass” dives into the wavy trap territory including a chopped & screwed samples of “What’s a Juggalo?” off their 1997 wicked shit masterpiece as well as this reviewer’s personal favorite Joker’s Card The Great Milenko & even “Dead Body Man” off my 2nd favorite Card Riddle Box for the hook so Ouija can shine with his own solo cut talking about being born as a corpse that they called a disgrace that is until “Shaggy Shit” pops up as a brief Shaggy 2 Dope interlude. The final song ends the album “Rubble” finds the 3-Headed Monster reuniting once more with monster movie soundtrack flips spitting that hardcore shit one more time & the Mike E. Clark remix of “Fire Breathin’” is most certainly on par with the original.

If you call yourself a fan of the wicked shit, then you’d know how much of a big deal this album is considering Esham’s influence on ICP & eventually ICP’s on Ouija. We knew they were going on tour together too, but the formation of 3-Headed Monster & Obliteration as their debut is as enjoyable as the Quest for the Ultimate Groove that Shaggs went on last weekend. Each member’s generationally distinctive styles are all well displayed & to hear their chemistry together is quite fascinating.

Score: 4/5

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Lil Durk – “Almost Healed” review

This is the 4th full-length album from Chicago, Illinois rapper Lil Durk. Rising to prominence a little over a decade ago off his debut mixtape I’m a Hitta, he would go on to follow this up with Life Ain’t No Joke & the first 2 installments of the Signed to the Streets trilogy until signing to Def Jam Recordings for his full-length debut Remember My Name & the sophomore effort Lil Durk 2X. Since then, Durk has made himself home at Alamo Records by 9 more mixtapes & is looking to bounce back from the mixed reception of 7220 due to it’s weak production yet admirably more personal subject matter in the form of Almost Healed.

After the “Therapy Session” intro, the first song “Pelle Coat” starts off the album with an mellow trap instrumental from Chopsquad DJ explaining why everyone’s scared to come outside this day in age whereas “All My Life” featuring J. Cole despite the positive message of people always trying to bring them down was a disappointing choice for a single largely due to Dr. Luke’s sanitary production. “Never Again” works in some pianos & hi-hats talking about not helping others ever again prior to “Put ‘Em on Ice” telling everyone that nobody is safe over a rich trap beat.

Chief Wuk delivers one of the weaker feature performances on “Big Dawg” as they discuss only hating it when their bitches are on lil girl shit on top of a distorted instrumental just before “Never Imagined” featuring Future makes up for it with a more colorful trap vibe talking about the way they’re living now. The beat throughout “Sad Songs” is a bit of a nonstarter for me personally addressing a pretty lil liar, but then “Before Fajr” talks about people hating him for being more famous and both Southside & Smatt Sertified’s production here has a lot more going for it this time.

“War ‘Bout It” featuring 21 Savage make it known that you can’t discuss any criminal activity that you’ve ever been involved with as Metro Boomin’ supplies more keys & hi-hats while “You Got ‘Em” talks about perc poppers not being his friends except we have one of the weakest instrumentals on the album yet again. “Grandson” featuring Kodak Black has a hazier flare sonically courtesy of both Metro & Zaytoven as they discuss the lifestyles they live while “300 Urus” making it clear there’s a reason some ain’t with him no more over an atmospheric trap beat from Wheezt

Rob49’s verses throughout “Same Side” are underwhelming compared to Durk’s although I appreciate the back-&-forth delivery as well as the morbid Lil Ju instrumental while “B12” weaves some hi-hats & quirky synth patterns talking about being fucked up off ecstasy. “At This Point We Stuck” moodily asks why everyone’s mad at him while “Cross the Globe” featuring the late Juice WRLD is an acoustic trap hybrid with both of them tackling themes of love.

“Dru Hill” is an melodramatically piano trap crossover wanting to be shown something new & what love feels like while the song “Belt2Ass” declares himself to be a rockstar from the trenches & the instrumental here has more of a symphonic flare to it. The penultimate track “Stand By Me” returns to a cleaner sound so he can desire his girl’s honesty asking if she’d stand by him if he lost it all & “Moment of Truth” closes the album with a trap/rock fusion produced by Alicia Keys talking about being out all night getting the bread.

As admirably introspective as 7220 was, the production on that previous album was lacking quite a bit & it makes me relieved that Almost Healed revealed itself to be a step in the right direction for Durk because it could possibly be the best full-length he’s ever dropped. Some of the features underperformed but most of them stick the landing, it’s more well produced for the most part & it really does feels like a therapy session on wax as the personal themes of the predecessor are expanded here.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jay Worthy – “Nothing Bigger Than the Picture” review

Jay Worthy is a 37 year old MC born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada & raised in Compton, California who caught my attention in 2017 after The Alchemist produced his debut EP Fantasy Island from top to bottom. He would go onto drop 5 more EPs & just put out a fantastic collab album with Larry June over a year ago called 2 P’z in a Pod even though initial plans of putting it out through Griselda Records fell through for whatever reason. But Jay’s looking to come off the Harry Fraud-produced You Take the Credit, We’ll Take the Check & the DJ Muggs-produced sophomore effort What They Hittin’ 4 by enlisting Long Island veteran Roc Marciano behind the boards throughout the duration of his 3rd mixtape.

After the intro, the first song “Underground Legends” featuring Bun B kicks things off rightfully declaring themselves as such with a drumless loop accompanying them in the background whereas the title track with A$ton Matthews calling this the shit you see only in gangsta movies with a slicker instrumental. “The Field” featuring Jay 305 brings in the drums & a Middle Eastern sample as they both pray for those still in the trenches until “The Plug” featuring Ab-Soul jumps on top of some pianos & choir vocals talking about being resources for obtaining something valuable that would otherwise be difficult to obtain.

Marc joins Jay on the mic for “Wake Up” spitting that fly shit with a luxurious beat just before “My Own 2” featuring A$AP Ant & former 2x NBA All-Star Baron Davis has a soulful, jazzier flare to it as they bring to you a day in their lives. “How?” keeps the soul in tact addressing those who always want to know his background & how he reps the CPT even though he was born in Vancouver by telling them not to worry about it since it really doesn’t concern them whatsoever, but then “Players Only” has a triumphantly wavier feel to it talking about how life been different.

The song “Simple Man” featuring Kurupt make it clear to understand that they only want the money with a glossy, drumless instrumental backing them while the penultimate track “The Huddle” featuring Baron Davis brings back the horns & soul sample so all the real ones can click up declaring trouble for all the fakes out there. “Fur Coat Talk” featuring Da$h on the other hand sends off the album on a jazzier note as they discuss minks if you couldn’t already tell by the title of the closer.

I’ve been hearing some people online still calling Jay a boring MC oddly enough considering that he’s been at his best for the past year after putting out 2 P’z in a Pod with Larry alongside his previous couple solo albums & Nothing Bigger Than the Program continues that trajectory if you ask me. Sure one can complain about the amount of features & their performances kinda being 50/50, but the bars from Jay himself continue to elevate solidly over Marci’s signature production style.

Score: 3.5/5

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SK da King – “Made 4 This” review

This is the full-length debut from Baltimore emcee SK da King. Emerging as a member of the Checkered Flag Boyz under the original moniker Paul Skola, it wasn’t until a couple years ago where he signed to Conway the Machine’s very own EMPIRE Distribution imprint Drumwork Music Group as a solo act as announced by his debut single “Actions” & would go on to introduce himself to the Drumwork fanbase that fall in the form of the debut EP Horus. Da King has now come fresh off last September’s prelude tape Before the Album to make it clear to everyone that he was simply Made 4 This rap shit almost a week since former オープン・ザ・お笑いゲートチャンピオン, トライアングル・ゲート・チャンピオンを開け, ユナイテッド・ゲート・チャンピオンを開, RPW British Tag Team Champion, TNA World Champion, TNA Digital Media Champion & TNA World Tag Team Champion Rich Swann became the new CZW World Heavyweight Champion.

“Rick Flare Flow” is a dirty boom bap opener referring himself to be a heavyweight & comparing his flow to that of 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 whose daughter Charlotte is a former 14-time WWE women’s world champion, 2-time NXT Women’s Champion & WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion married to CMLL Mundial Parejas Campeon, 2-time CMLL Mundial Trios Campeon, IWGPインターコンチネンタルチャンピオン, 2-time NWA Mundial Historico Pesowelter Campeon, NXT Champion & WWE United States Champion Andrade whereas the title track gives off a more somber trap vibe talking about being destined to take over the music game. “Where I’m From” featuring Izm400 works in a hazy loop & some hi-hats so the pair can discuss their respective backgrounds, but then “Show Me” has a more triumphant tone to it wanting to know exactly how he’s like these other motherfuckers.

Meanwhile, we have Ejwarwick coming into the picture for “This Side” experimenting with Latin trap talking about the specific side they don’t fuck around with just before he sticks around on “Earn Ya Stripes” following the “P.O.M.E.” skit so both of them can return to the boom bap calling out those who ain’t ever do shit in their lives. “Solid” featuring Heavygold has a somewhat dramatic feel to it talking about being on top leading into Izm400 returning with Mandriq for “The Kitchen” to ruggedly spit that dope shit.

“When It’s Over” experiments with a more Carribean sound trying to get some Ms as well as leaving a legacy when it’s all said it & done while “Nervous” featuring Tony Bosco goes back into trap territory to address the elephant in the room that nobody shining like they are. The song “Came from Nothin’” blends some hi-hats & chipmunk soul talking about not having shit while the penultimate track “Been Thru” weaves in some keys unbottling his mental stresses. “God Willin’” on the other hand closes the album with a churchy beat talking about coming from hard living.

Now I didn’t get the chance to cover Before the Album last fall but considering how much I enjoyed Horus, I was eager to hear how much SK’s grown both artistically & personally Made 4 This. So if you’re enjoying the Drumwork takeover that’s been going on for the past few months, he’s definitely playing his part in applying pressure. The production choices are gradually improving & da King takes his hunger to a whole nother level.

Score: 3.5/5

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