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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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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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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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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Don Toliver – “Octane” review

This is the 5th studio LP from Houston, Texas rapper & singer/songwriter Don Toliver. Catching my attention in 2018 off his debut mixtape Donny Womack along with being featured on “Can’t Say” off the honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott’s 3rd album ASTROWORLD signing to Cactus Jack Records literally the very next day, his full-length debut Heaven or Hell is a bit underappreciated since it came out when the pandemic started in my opinion & the sophomore effort Life of a Don was solid yet not as good. Lovesick received mixed feedback a few years ago although I appreciated that it was more conceptual, ready to push himself further than his Hardstone Records debut Hardstone Psycho did with Octane a day prior to Tommaso Ciampa ending Mark Briscoe’s reign as AEW TNT Champion.

“E85” begins with Travis Scott sampling “Chest Pain (I Love)” by Malcolm Todd so Don can sing about being on the highway with the love of his life & the mother of his child Kali Uchis whereas “Body” decently flips one of my favorite Justin Timberlake singles “Rock Your Body” thanks to BNYX of Working on Dying admitting to Kali that he goes out of control crushing over her. “Rendezvous” featuring Yeat might be my least favorite collab of theirs & it has more to do with the structuring despite the Rio Leyva instrumental while the atmospherically melodic “2ndhand” sings about Kali being all he wanted in life.

Trap, pluggnb & Memphis rap all collide during the lead single “Tiramisu” produced by Cardo speaking of wanting to spend some quality alone time with Kali Uchis leading into the infectious 2nd & final trap single “ATM” that Honorable C.N.O.T.E. cooked up spitting braggadocio. After the “Long Way to Calabasas” interlude, Wheezy goes for an acoustic trap sound for “Rosary” featuring Travis Scott continuing the themes of love while “All the Signs” featuring Teezo Touchdown ends the 1st half with an alternative R&B duet.

“Call Back” kicks off the 3rd quarter with this futuristic trap heater asking his partner when she’ll return his phone calls while the psychedelically repetitive “Tuition” talks about kinda getting fucked up at the strip club. SahBabii’s appearance on “K9” might be the weakest feature so far although I don’t mind futuristic trap approach Vendr takes instrumentally. “Excavator” combines synths, bells & hi-hats talking about being the type to go & bring her home to take her on vacation while the horn-heavy “Gemstone” courtesy of 30 Roc & FNZ asking why he’d ask a DJ to play his music when he knows it slaps.

Reaching the 4th & final act of Octane, the song “Opposite” confidently assures us he’ll still be making money when he’s no longer here with us physically while “T.M.U. (Turn Me Up)” shifts towards sample-driven cloud rap territory with the help of Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic continuing to tackle the subject of romance. “Pleasure’s Mine” brings the synths back in full effect singing about never picking his feet up from using it to crush the necks of his opps & “Sweet Home” sends it all off finding himself stuck in an cycle.

Hardstone Psycho has already topped Heaven or Hell because I feel like that’s where Don Toliver came into his own, but I’d have to put this new full-length behind his debut although I’d much prefer it over Life of a Don & Lovesick. The production’s more trap-oriented similarly to Octane’s predecessor exploring further elements of pop rap, cloud rap, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B, rage, experimental hip hop & neo-soul trading 2 wheels for 4.

Score: 4/5

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Alla Xul Elu – “No Masters” review

Portsmouth, Ohio horrorcore trio & Long Live Evil founders Alla Xul Elu ending the 1st month of 2026 with their 7th LP. Consisting of Billy Obey as well as Joey Black & Lee Carver, they broke out a decade ago as a duo by releasing their first 2 albums Head of Horns & Sci-Co that same year. This was followed up with their 4/20-themed debut EP Necronomichron in 2017 & adding Carver into the fold shortly after, but it wasn’t until Twiztid signed them to Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2018 when the Xul Boys’ music got increasingly better. Their MNE debut The Almighty is unquestionably the greatest horrorcore album of the 2010s, their 2019 sophomore EP Church of Xul took a much darker approach, Mauxuleum made it in the top 10 of my Best Releases of 2020 list despite them ditching their signature boom bap sound for a more industrial, trap metal direction & Necronomichron 2: Dead by Bong was a superior sequel to their 4/20 EP. The Magic Xul Bus preluded their final MNE offering Gods of Evil Rise produced by Mike E. Clark, opening for Psychopathic Records & Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) founders the Insane Clown Posse this past Hallowicked. A couple weeks after JCW Lunacy head writer Vince Russo crowned Facade of The Neon Blondes & Ken Anderson the new JCW American Champion & JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion respectively, A.X.E. are dropping No Masters.

After the “SINTRO”, the title track begins jumping over this horror-sounding trap instrumental talking about them bowing down to no one whereas “BRINGTHEVIOLENCE” goes for a boom bap vibe & getting gorier with their pens for the Xuligans’ sake. “ONEXONE” blends industrial hip hop & trap talking about converting people at the Church of Xul leading into the 33 second Billy Obey solo cut “FROMAXE” advising to cop a shotty if anybody got a problem with someone.

“INLOVEWITHAGHOST” has a funkier vibe to the beat showing a more lustful side of Xul regarding the horror movie queens from their darkest dreams & an outro reminiscent of “Rigor Erectus” but after the “BUCKYFUCKNERS” skit, “Black” takes a darker boom bap route instrumentally talking about blackening out the sun. “FUCKLIFE” gives a middle finger to all the bullshit they’ve been fed up with & no longer looking at things on the brighter side while “CHURCHBURNER” infernally talks about being fire breathing shell blazers.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “DIEONEDAY” goes for a vintage boom bap approach stylistically reminding us that every living being will soon meet it’s demise while “REALFAKEAI” talks about the rise of AI these past couple years getting to the point where people don’t know what’s real anymore. After the “WORKOUTPLAN” skit, “UNDERNEATHTHEFLOORBOARDS” gives flowers to the horrorcore subgenre they’ve been representing for a decade while “OPPOSITEOFCHRIST” talks about there being nothing like what the Church provides.

After the minute long “CANTSAVETHEMALL” intermission from Billy Obey kinda like what “FROMAXE” was, “NOREASONWHY” featuring S.O.N. & the Super Famous Fun Time Guys brings the modern day Dark Lotus together for an LLE posse cut while “TIMEBOMB” comes across as another interlude using the same structuring “CANTSAVETHEMALL” & “FROMAXE” did. “MASKMAKER” ends No Masters talking about the Forever Faces got their name because they’re eternal, although “IGETITTWIZTID (DEALWITHTHEDEVIL)” was a nasty Twiztid diss.

Warming up for this new chapter in Alla Xul Elu’s prolific career where they have No Masters doing their own thing under Long Live Evil for all of eternity by having Billy Obey & Lee Carver going solo with both Rhymebook of the Recently Deceased & Meathead: Satanic Steakhouse this past fall, the production’s like a mix of all the sounds they’ve explored from boom bap to industrial hip hop & trap with Billy, Lee & Joey Black lyrically declaring their independence.

Score: 4.5/5

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Joel Ross – “Gospel Music” review

This is the 5th studio LP from Chicago, Illinois vibraphonist Joel Ross. Signing to Blue Note Records in 2019, he would go on to make his debut for the greatest jazz label of all-time a couple months later with Kingmaker followed by the sophomore effort Who’re You? as well as The Parable of the Poet & most recently Nublues almost a couple years earlier. He would also form The Blue Note Quintet a.k.a. Out Of/Into, coming off the latter’s sophomore effort Motion II to finish January offering some Gospel Music.

“Wisdom is Eternal” brings along alto saxophonist Josh Johnson, tenor saxophonist Maria Grand, bassist Kanoa Mendenhall, drummer Jeremy Dutton & pianist Jeremy Corren for this meditative 4 & a half minute intro dedicated to Barry Harris whereas “Trinity (Father, Son & Holy Spirit)” goes for a heavy post-bop vibe thematically building itself around religion. “Protoevangelium (The 1st Gospel)” sticks out being the longest composition here dedicating itself to the Gospel of James leading into “Hostile” taking it back to the post-bop sound with intense vibraphone playing midway through.

Meanwhile on “The Shadowlands”, we have Joel & company continuing to take the hard bop subgenre of jazz & throwing the unconventional elements it’s preceding style’s successor has become known for in the mix while “Nevertheless” lets the saxophonists shine for the opening 51 seconds until properly letting the bandleader shine throughout the rest of the track’s duration. “Word for Word” reserves the spotlight for the vibraphonist & drummer for a vast majority of the instrumental aside from the saxophones at the earliest & latest parts of it just before “Repentance” compositionally soundtracks the familiar feeling of remorse.

“The Sacred Place” gets the 2nd half of Gospel Music going mostly relying on the piano, vibraphone & drums for roughly 180 seconds or so conceptually taking inspiration from shrines while “A Little Love Goes a Long Way” gives me the impression the sextet freely improvised it although I don’t consider it’s brevity to be an issue with me whatsoever. “Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ” heads for a prominently spiritual jazz direction worshipping our Savior who died for our since while “Calvary” celebrates Black excellence in the form of this Juneteenth single.

Andy Louis takes the microphone all over “The Giver” singing with Joel’s piano backing him that God’s role as a provider of all things while “To the Throne (The Mercy Seat)” instrumentally takes a more subdued approach than a lot of the earlier cuts. The final single “Be Patient” earlier this month continues Gospel Music’s last leg taking a few moments to convey the virtue of forbearance in sonic form but after “The New Man” reveals itself to have some of the most lively performances over the course of the album, “Now & Forevermore” appropriately sends off the full-length with this heavenly grandiose outro.

For his newest offering on the Blue Note imprint, Joel Ross ends January with the most religious musical statement of his entire career composing post-bop’s answer to the biblical story in addition to simultaneously exploring his own faith & the fulfilment of his musical upbringing in the church. His deepened study & exploration into the theological & historical depths of his religious beliefs has really paid off considering he furthermore uses the opportunity of Gospel Music to fuse the intricacy of his earlier output with the accessibility of his recent material.

Score: 4.5/5

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Jordan Ward – “Backward” review

Jordan Ward is a 29 year old singer/songwriter & dancer from St. Louis, Missouri introducing himself in 2017 off his debut EP A Peak at the Summit, signing to ARTium Recordings & Interscope Records for his debut mixtape Valley Hopefuls as well as another extended play called Remain Calm. His debut album Forward elevated himself beyond his earlier material capturing his potential in the styles of contemporary & alternative R&B, ending the 1st month of 2026 with a sophomore effort.

“Stranger” singing about feeling like a newcomer in his own life with a rush of strings behind him whereas “Smokin’ Potna” featuring SAILORR finds the 2 linking up over a groovier instrumental for a soothing weed smoker’s ode. “High Functioning” sings about how robust he’s coming across being high at the function taking a funkier approach to the beat & after the “BWD” interlude, “Ross Fit” keeps the groovy vibes rolling confessing he has way too much motion.

Things go for more stripped back approach instrumentally during “Noisy Neighbors” praying that his landlord does him right & all of us having our own internal struggles while “Change of Scenery” sings about feeling inspired again over more acoustics suggesting a landscape switch up would mean everything to him. “Juicy” reaches the halfway point advising this woman to forget him since he doesn’t have to be her favorite while “Themselves” sings about turning your passion into your hustle.

“Take-Out” feels like 97 second interlude yearning in the midst of ordering food to go that he’ll return home to his lover some day when he’s touring but after “Til Then” takes a more significantly personal approach to his songwriting singing about saving it all & breaking the cycle, the final single “Champion Sound” dedicates itself to Jordan’s mother calling her a warrior & asking if she’s been cheering him on already after all the success he’s been seeing.

The piano-driven “Y” tells his partner who seeks reassurance that she’ll come with him for the next run of shows praying he’ll find her again if there’s more to this life we all live while “Cutti” featuring Smino finds the pair coming together for a 2-parter combining elements of trap as well as R&B & pop rap. “Carsex” featuring TiaCorine finishes Backward with another track stylistically similar to the previous one advising his lover impatiently desiring to sleep with him in his ride to slow things down due to him touring.

Tyler, The Creator co-signing Jordan Ward prior to Forward coming was what made me a fan of his music Backward continues where the predecessor left off exploring the darker sides of his fame whilst channeling some of music’s most celebrated greats from the late Donny Hathaway to Bob Marley & Joni Mitchell throughout his songwriting. The production’s a bit funkier than Jordan’s debut was a few years earlier assuringly tackling subjects like growth, nostalgia & self-discovery.

Score: 3.5/5

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