Reason – “Porches” review

Reason is a 33 year old rapper from Carson, California who released a total of 4 mixtapes until signing to Top Dawg Entertainment in the middle of 2018 by reissuing the one that landed him the contract in the first place: There You Have It. However, his official full-length debut album New Beginnings received more mixed reception when it came out the fall where COVID had the whole world shut down. But considering a couple latest singles of his along with the fact that he called in some show on-air a few days ago to vent his frustrations over the ball being dropped promotion-wise & Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith’s son Moosa subsequently called in to get into a heated exchange of words with Reason saying former employee/pgLang co-founder Dave Free regrets even signing him in the first place, I went into the sophomore effort hoping I would like it more than the predecessor.

“Faded off Poor n Riches!” starts off the album with a drumless beat with the sound of a ticking clock talking about getting to share the Ws whereas “Caucasian Estates!” takes the morbid trap route thanks to Vinylz & Allen Ritter ensuring you to relax so he can push your shit to the max. The gospel influences throughout “At It Again” are pretty cool as he triumphantly focuses on winning once more that is until “A Broken Winter Break!” dives into soulful boom bap territory admitting he’s blurry of the 5th.

Moving on from there, “You Betta (Jesus Take the Wheel)” tells y’all to come & take the weight off him with a hazy trap beat just before “Send You 2 the Afterlife!” almost gives me a Memphis rap feel instrumentally with the title saying it all conceptually. “Call Me!“ gives off a more soothing vibe saying he’s way too stressed in here, but then the spacey boom bap-inflicted “Gang Shit!” calling out those who don’t like his image coming & you can hear the genuine frustration in his voice.

“F.T.N.! (Fuck These N***a!)” featuring Baby Tate has a more skeletal trap tone as they deliver a decent pop rap ballad together leading into the booming “Gina! (August Alsina)” dropping braggadocio likening his whip to 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena. “Too Much! (Melly Mel)” follows this up with a bleak jazz rap ballad FNZ cooked up about overthinking while “Bussin! (WB Pt.2) featuring Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate Ray Vaughn who has yet to drop a full-length debut with the label probably because they’re shelving him too finds them over keys & hi-hats co-produced by Boi-1da talking about never being upset with how they living.

Meanwhile, “Rich Mirages!” hazily confesses having the optical illusion of being wealthy while “I Don’t Trust You!” featuring TDE’s latest signing as of me writing this review Doechii finds the pair making a better version of “F.T.N.! (Fuck These N***a!)” with all respect to Baby Tate except they’re tackling mistrust. The song “Family First!” featuring Kalan.FrFr, SiR & Zacari delivers a piano trap ballad dedicated to family while the penultimate track “Porch Steps!” featuring Dirty Dell nocturnally talks about never leaving the hood. “Poster Child!” however wraps everything up with 1 final boom bap cut hungrily declaring he got where he is today in the music industry because of a specific mindset.

A lot of people including myself generally think Reason is one of the more average artists on the TDE roster but after the whole situation with Moosa only a few days ago, it didn’t sit right with me at all as someone who watched the label in it’s prime in high school. That being said: the guy deserves better. He’s at different place emotionally, but the production’s just okay at best & the guests’ performances are hit or miss. As someone who watched the label in its prime back in high school, their downfall has unquestionably become one of the biggest tragedies in hip hop history.

Score: 3/5

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Noname – “Sundial” review

We finally have the sophomore full-length album from Chicago, Illinois emcee, poet & producer Noname in our hands. Emerging as 1/3 of Ghetto Sage, she gained national exposure the summer of 2016 off her debut mixtape Telefone took it to another level couple years later on the debut LP Room 25. But after going on to drop some loosie singles & occasional feature performances since then, Noname’s finally looking to join Little Simz amongst others too in the ranks of shutting up everyone claiming that women in hip hop are one of the biggest if not THE biggest problem with the culture today by returning with Sundial.

“black mirror” is a calmingly smooth opener to the album calling herself a black author
Librarian, contrarian & MC whereas “hold me down” goes into spacious boom bap territory talking about kicking out on your for a favor for a certain amount. “balloons” featuring a repulsively antisemitic Jay Electronica speaks on metophorically crying the titular object over a slick backdrop with kicks & snares produced by SABA, but then “boomboom“ goes full-blown jazz rap talking about making a wish.

Meanwhile, “potentially the interlude” charismatically points out that “people said they love but they really love potential with a crescendoing beat that gets more layered as it goes on just before “namesake” blends these synthseziers & jazzy drum patterns explaining that she never needed a man. “beauty supply” tranquilly encourages you to take a trip with here to exactly that leading into “toxic” calling out a man who thrives off toxicity over a mellow boom bap instrumental.

The song “afro futurism” hooks up these pianos with kicks & snares showing her appreciation for the movement while the penultimate track “gospel?” featuring billy woods, $ilkMoney & Stout fuses gospel & boom bap promising the sun will shine. “oblivion” featuring Common is a perfect choice of a closer that comes in the form of a funky hip hop ballad talking their shit without giving a fuck.

Like I said: People love to complain about women in our culture severely lacking musically this day in age but artists like Noname, Simz like I mentioned earlier, Sa-Roc who’s gearing up to drop her Rhymesayers sophomore effort & Che Noir currently prepping Lotus Child further prove otherwise. The jazzy/neo-soul production is exuberantly pleasant to the ear & her conscious lyrics remain profound as they were when she first broke out.

Score: 4/5

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Kut 1 – “Live Wires 3” review

This is the 3rd full-length album from Australian producer Kut One. Emerging within the underground in 2019 off The Icons split EP, he would then go on to drop a debut LP Live Wires during the pandemic & follow it up over a year later in the form of a sequel. It does makes sense for Kut to celebrate by making the Live Wires series into a trilogy celebrating hip hop’s 50th birthday today & 3 weeks after former IWGPタッグチャンピオン, the inaugural 2-time 新日本プロレス強い無差別級タッグチャンピオン & 2-time RPW British Tag Team Champions Aussie Open became the ROH World Tag Team Champions.

“Get Some” by Change, King Magnetic & Tom Sav is a gritty, piano boom bap opener with the trio telling anyone to bring all the smoke to them whereas “Stay Sucker Free” by Jamal Gasol works in some kicks, snares & strings talking about cutting all the cornballs out of his life. “Good for Nuthin’” by Daniel Son, Estee Nack & Saipher Sozë is an easy highlight for me as we get 3 deadly verses over a synth-laced boom bap instrumental just before “Mount Up” by Guilty Simpson stands out to me as well sending warning shots accompanied by an apocalyptic backdrop attached to more kicks & snares.

The eerie atmosphere throughout “Skip the Nonsense” by The Bad Seed is cool as he obviously encourages to take the high road when it comes to all the bullshit, but then “Never Settle” by Rim of Da Villins delivers another great cut from the sample-heavy beat to the lyrics getting it on his own. “Listen Up” by Pretty Bulli has a gloomier boom bap approach talking about having a couple screws loose leading into the spacious “No Room to Grow” by Craig G tells us that’s how he’s feeling.

“It’s My Word” by Rasheed Chappell begins the final leg of the album with a somber backdrop mixing kicks, snares & occasionally some hi-hats on top of it to talk the facts prior to “Been a Long Time” by Verbz officially tying everything all up with an incredibly pleasant instrumental catching up with everyone telling us how it’s been with him in the last several years up to this point.

There’s no question that Kut One has already cemented himself as one of the underground’s biggest beatsmiths to come out of Australia & whether the Live Wires series will continue on with a 4th installment or we get a new series in general, the latest of the trilogy is on par with the predecessors. The production is sonically diverse grounded in boom bap & a tight list of performers with the highs being noteworthy highs.

Score: 3.5/5

K.A.A.N. – “The Death of a Rapper” review

K.A.A.N. is a 32 year old MC/producer from Maryland who’s already made himself well established in less than a decade by delivering standouts in his ever-growing discography like the Dem Jointz-produced Black Blood, the Ski Beatz-produced Requiem for a Dream Deferred & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced All Praise is Due & more recently Mission Hillz. But to celebrate hip hop’s 50th birthday, former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 is being enlisted behind the boards throughout K.A.A.N.’s 23rd album.

After the “Foreword from Soul Brother #1” intro, “The Spark” is truly what gets the album going with it’s organ-laced boom bap instrumental asking how one in this industry gets it all whereas “The Glow Up” goes into more sample-based territory talking about how they done see him blow up. “The Fame” gives off an eerier atmosphere with some kicks & snares worked in explaining that some live & would kill for clout prior to “The Life Imitating The Art” hooks up a crooning loop advising not to be scared of your reflection.

“The Politics” dives into wavy boom bap turf explaining that politicians & magicians are basically the same thing just before “The Image” hops on top of these strings, kicks & snares explaining the way to truly make a name for yourself in hip hop. “The Drugs” psychedelically confesses that he did too much & now he’s fucked up as a result leading into “The Self Hate” somberly airs out everything he dislikes about himself.

Beginning the final leg of the album, “The Cavities” discusses all the stale things in like that he likes to refer to as a cavity in a metaphoric sense with a syrupy, delicate beat while “The Fall Off”’s bluesy guitar passages fit with the subject matter of one artist’s demise in success. Eventually, the title track closes out the album manically gives us a glimpse into how our protagonist’s life unfortunately ends.

I’ve publicly stated numerous times that we were in for one of K.A.A.N.’s best albums to date & that’s exactly what we got here. 7’s cooks up production that provokes the emotions each individual joint offers the cohesively-told concept is so well thought out, really a tragic tale of how the industry can genuinely be sometimes.

Score: 4.5/5

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Wildcard – “Western Promises” review

This is the 7th full-length album from San Gabriel Valley, California emcee Wildcard. Coming up in 2007 off the debut Dark Night of the Soul, he would go on to build up an impressive discography for himself from there whether it be The Odyssey & The War or even his last couple efforts Shadow Work & Change in Cabin Pressure celebrating it’s 1-year anniversary at the end of the month. But given a couple of the singles off Western Promises, I went into it expecting it to be the strongest body of work in his catalog up to this point.

The title track is a rock-infused boom bap opener produced by Johnny Slash talking about being unable to stop this whereas “The Chaser” works in a sample on top of some kicks & snares detailing going from chasing dragons to chasing dreams. “The Rim” ruggedly confesses that he’s been envious of others’ success in the industry before, but then “Pink Diamonds” gives off a Middle Eastern boom bap flare instrumentally mixing insight commentary with humor in a tasteful manner.

“Cali Driver” featuring A-Wax hooks up an organ loop over more kicks & snares so both MCs can hope that the angels save their souls leading into C-Lance cooking up a more grueling sound for “Nightmares” pleading not to make a peep when you die like Freddy Krueger’s victims have. “St. Chris” incorporates a boom bap instrumental with horn sample talking about leaving loved ones at home that is until the crooning “Party for the Dead” says it all & I can definitely see some underground heads having it in their Halloween playlists.

Meanwhile, “The Era” makes it clear what time period he’s from with a sample-laced boom bap beat & clever wordplay just before the spirit-crushing “Place the Blame” getting more introspective on the lyrical side to pop off on all of his struggles personally.“Operator” featuring BARZ! gives me a more mafiosi feeling to the instrumental declaring themselves as exactly that prior to “Bewitched” featuring Savvy Red is a tenser cut talking about how he never meant to make her cry.

The song “Circles” looks back on never thinking that he would be using needles to get a buzz over a twangy boom bap beat from Stu Bangas while the penultimate track “Pick Your Battles” goes into a more piano-driven direction talking about selecting a specific issue of importance to focus on rather than trying to deal with many things at once. “Glass Moon Deluxe” featuring Krayzie Bone wraps up the album on a rap rock note talking about holding the ones they love tightly.

Over a decade into the game, Western Promises absolutely lived up to my expectations & I’d recommend it as a fantastic entry to Wildcard’s catalog for anyone who may be new to him. Sonically, it’s his most well-produced & you can hear that he sounds more inspired now that he’s getting older with time passing us all by as fast as it already does by embracing inspiration & exploring his past.

Score: 4/5

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Novatore – “Alchemy & Black Magic” review

This is the 11th full-length album from Chicago, Illinois emcee Novatore. Emerging as a member of the Infamous Crew, he’s also built up an impressive solo career since 2015 by dropping 4 EPs & a collaborative effort with A.M. Early Morning called Kingdom of Criminality on top of the all the previous LPs that he’s dropped along the way. But coming off Living in the End Times only 9 months backs on Veteran’s Day, the Chi-Town lyricist is now cooking up Alchemy & Black Magic.

After the “Immortal in Memory” intro, the first song “Rewind” featuring RJ Payne is a gully boom bap opener produced by C-Lance with both wordsmith’s talking about trying to figure this shit whereas “Horses of Instruction” keeps it dusty sonically to point out that he’s been a menace for nearly a decade already. “Suicide Choir” featuring both Ill Bill & Lord Goat of Non Phixion finds the trio over a sample-based boom bap instrumental delivering lyrical annihilation, but then “Death to the False” scathingly attacks every fraudulent person out here.

“Black Magic” gives off an uncanny boom bap atmosphere courtesy of Young Bangas discussing how much he’s elevated from the basement since he started out that is until Lord Goat returns on “Self Destruct” alongside A.M. Early Morning ruggedly talking about sending their goons up to your crib. “Dark World 2023” featuring JakProgresso is essentially a remake of a joint he did 5 years back showing the evolution of his craft just before “The Last Illusion” comes through with a delightful horrorcore/boom bap hybrid that Johnny Slash cooked up.

Moving on to the last couple 6 & a half minutes of the album, “Blood Brothers” featuring Novatore’s brother G-Pap showcases a back-&-forth chemistry between both siblings over a mobster-esque loop as well as kicks & snares declaring that the Infamous has hopefully been reawaken/reunited leading into “Spell Caster” featuring 20 Elbridge tying it all up in the form of both MCs on top of a mystically raw beat comparing themselves to sorcerers with their pens.

I maintain that Novatore’s been continuously outdoing himself in recent memory with each album he delivers, yet Alchemy & Black Magic is the guy’s most consistent solo effort since Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience couple years ago. The traditional production style & gritty lyricism we’ve come to know him for make their way onto here except the performances from the guests are a lot stronger personally.

Score: 4/5

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Tech N9ne – “Bliss” review

If anyone’s been following me long enough up to this point, you probably already know that I’ve covered Tech N9ne quite a bit around here. Starting out 3 decades back as a member of the groups Black Mafia as well as the 57th Street Rogue Dog Villians & Nnutthowze, his profile began to increase in the late 90’s after landing a spot on the Gang Related soundtrack & becoming among the first to join Yukmouth’s then-newly formed collective The Regime. But after having issues with Interscope Records & Universal Music Group following the release of his iconic 3rd album Anghellic, that’s when Tech decided to form his own label with the help of a man at Paradise Originals named Travis O’Guin. Together, they would call it Strange Music & solidified itself as one of if not the biggest indie label in the world. Tech has made it a tradition to drop an album every year since Everready (The Religion) back in ‘06 but after a taking a year off when Asin9ne came out a couple falls ago, N9na’s returning from the snake & bat-cave to unleash his monstrously long 24th full-length album.

After the introductory “Welcome to the P.I.T.S.” skit, the first song “Badge of Honor” is a trap/rock crossover produced by N4 talking about never needing exactly that whereas “Knock featuring Conway the Machine as well as X-Raided & Joyner Lucas all come together for a boom bap-inflicted tribute to the 50th anniversary of hip hop. Conway steals the show with his verse followed by Tech’s, then X-Raided’s & Joyner’s being the weakest in my respectful opinion due to his triteness. “KC Huh? KC What?” goes back into trap territory shedding light on Kansas City, Missouri up-&-comers King D, Lil’ Ava & Roblo Dastar leading into N9na reuniting with The Popper on the catchy “They Know Meh” laced with the help of Dominique Sanders of The Xtraordinaire$ talking about being known everywhere they go.

After the “Y’all Having a Good Time?” skit, “Tell Everyone” is another highlight for me personally as it’s a victorious ode to the Kansas City Chiefs winning this year’s Super Bowl & I acknowledge Pat Mahomes as the best QB in the league even though I’m more of a Pats/Buccs guy leading into “Things I Like” is a groovy rap rock banger talking about everything he enjoys. “3D” has a more atmospheric flare to it declaring he can see you in 1-dimension, but then “W H A T (We’re Hungry & Thirsty)” by BL1GHT featuring Kim Dracula is a decent trap metal “Riot Maker” callback in contrast to Tech & HU$H’s damn-near unlistenable eponymous brostep EP couple years ago.

After the “Crowd Participation” skit, “Wess Paul Bennett” featuring Joey Cool & King Iso find the trio attack everyone who downplays them over a rich trap beat from Wyshmaster while “Pull Out” might be the worst cut on the whole album. Not saying Tech can’t make love songs, he’s done it numerous times in the past whether it be “The Beast” or “Love Me Tomorrow”. It just sounds almost as corny as “Fish in a Pita” back on the Dominion collabos album. “Fatha Fig Ya (Food For Thought)” makes up the cringe with some pianos & hi-hats talking out how days will come while the “Reach Us” featuring X-Raided, 2Gunn Kevi & Head da Don is a cavernously decent trap cut with a lazy hook about haters.

“Red Aura” with Qveen Herby has to be another standout with it’s kicked-back sound & a way better chorus dedicated to his favorite color (& mine personally too) prior to the “Screen” remix featuring Jehry Robinson gives a more heinous trap approach asking why motherfuckers be knocking on the door of their properties. After the “That Was Dope!” skit, “Drill Sergeant” works in some creepy piano chords comparing himself to a noncommissioned officer that trains soldiers in basic military skills prior to “Bro So Mo (Lemony Snicket’s)” getting in his storytelling bag paying homage to Daniel Handler over synths & hi-hats.

The final leg of the album starts with Ubiquitous of prior CES Cru fame coming into the picture for “I Met a Morph” looking back on the old versions of themselves accompanied by symphonics & after the last skit “Problem at the Pump”, the song “Deer Alley” somberly details how much of a super inconvenience it is when you roll in the titular place while the penultimate track “2 Happy” by the Nnutthowze sees the 3 joyfully talking about being proud of being fucked up. “Got What I Wanted” ends the indie hip hop veteran’s 24th full-length with a warm ode to give him what’s his since he’s been all over the world

As a long-time Tech N9ne/Strange Music since high school, what else can I say other than Bliss has left me torn much like Enterfear & Asin9ne? The way he exemplifies just how far away he feels from conflict of any sort comes from a genuine place & the production’s cool, but it didn’t need to be 25 tracks/76 minutes long & the guests all perform on his caliber at best or mid to unlistenable at worst. If he left half of what we got here on the cutting room floor, I would’ve most likely enjoyed what we got here but that’s ok when you have that much of a extensive discography.

Score: 2.5/5

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Whitney Peyton – “Side Effects” review

Whitney Peyton is a 29 year old MC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who rose to prominence in the underground by releasing 3 albums, 2 mixtapes & 4 EPs all independently. She recently signed to Burbank, California powerhouse Suburban Noize Records at the beginning of the decade with my favorite full-length of hers Alpha, going on to leave afterwards to form Alpha Howse & made her debut under the imprint The Audacity only 14 months ago. But now, she’s returning to take us in a trip for her 6th official full-length.

“Leave Me Alone” featuring Enkay47 is a woozy trap opener advising not to bother either one of them since they don’t know who to trust whereas “Make Some Room” gives off more an electronic flare instrumentally getting flirtatious on the lyrical end. “Sometimes” featuring Astray takes the cavernous route so both of them admit they have moments where they just wanna run away, but then “Make Up Ya Mind” featuring Grieves comes through with a more stripped-back approach talking about a relationship where he doesn’t want her to be herself & gets mad when she’s with other guys.

C-Lance’s boom bap production “Climber” might be my favorite beat on the whole album calling out those with no shine who want to climb to the top, but then “Takes One to Know One” delivers the worst feature from Futuristic despite the acoustic trap instrumental & the subject matter of being headcases. “Full Moon” featuring Bag of Tricks Cat works in some heavy synthesizers talking about how something don’t feel right leading into “Get It from My Mom” featuring Reverie paying tribute to their mothers with a trap metal beat from Godsynth.

The song “Into the Fire” draws closer to the end of the album by jumping on top of a moody trap instrumental encouraging everyone that’s listening to live for the moment while the penultimate track “Be Mine” returns to more pop rap turf telling her significant other to take care of themselves & that your heart has to be yours first. “Ring Around the Rosé” is a cloudy closer to tie up Whitney’s 6th album albeit 2nd under her independent imprint by declaring it doesn’t have to be the way it is anymore.

The Audacity although I didn’t enjoy it as much as Alpha still had its highlights & undeniably marked a new chapter in Whitney’s career, but I actually might like Side Effects a tad bit more than the AH debut she put out over a year ago at this point. Only a couple features that under-performed like the predecessor, except the 2 biggest differences are that the production’s better & she has a brand new confidence.

Score: 3.5/5

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Travis Scott – “UTOPIA” review

It’s finally arrived: The 4th full-length album from Houston, Texas rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & entrepreneur Travis Scott. Not only was it confirmed by DJ Premier recently that La Flame’s father actually taught Preem how to play drum & bass, but Trav himself up as 1/2 of The Graduate$ until the duo disbanded after he signed a joint deal with T.I. to Grand Hustle Records as a recording artist & with one of my top 10 music producers of all-time Kanye West as a G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer. His debut mixtape Owl Pharaoh that came out my sophomore year had a blatantly heavy KiD CuDi influence which isn’t bad because it was even said that CuDi was Travis’ biggest musical influence & they’ve since formed a superduo called The Scotts. The sophomore tape Days Before Rodeo was where he started coming into his own artistically & the Epic Records distributed full-length debut Rodeo has rightfully become one of the most important trap albums of all-time. Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight followed the next fall to more moderate reception even though the highs like “sweet sweet” & “goosebumps” are very high, but ASTROWORLD came out only a few days after a death in the family & it helped me get through it as Travis would expand on the psychedelic trap sounds of his groundbreaking debut album. This would subsequently be his last body of work to be released under Grand Hustle, as he would go on to form his own Epic imprint Cactus Jack Records. But after years of singles & a crowd crush at the 3rd annual ASTROWORLD Fest that some people still blame him for even though the same security who worked there were the same ones who worked when Dave Chappelle got jumped on stage last year, the H-Town trap trailblazer is taking us to UTOPIA.

“HYAENA” is a self-produced boom bap opener flipping “Maggot Brain” by Funkadelic talking about shit being out of control as it is calling the situation we’re in currently to neither be a good one nor unblessed whereas “THANK GOD” gives his thanks to the man upstairs for still being here today & the only 12 he supports being the greatest QB of all-time or 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady over a drumless instrumental with co-production from Ye, BoogzDaBeast, WondaGurl, FNZ & Allen Ritter. “MODERN JAM” featuring Teezo Touchdown speaks on the way the world is now as Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo & Mike Dean sonically draw inspiration from Yeezus a bit that is until “MY EYES” has a dynamically dreamier vibe courtesy of Wheezy & Justin Vernon confessing that his eyes remain closed.

30 Roc & Dez Wright hook up a melodic vocal loop & hi-hats for “GOD’S COUNTRY” talking about how it ain’t up to you no more just before “SIRENS” energetically talks about being too determined & needing refurbishing. “MELTDOWN” featuring Drake is essentially a spiritual successor to “Sicko Mode” with all the instrumental switch-ups from Boi-1da, BNYX of Working on Dying, Tay Keith & Vinylz respectively getting on tea time with my only complaint being Drake’s redundantly corny diss to one of my idols Pharrell. We all know the story of Adidon, but he didn’t have to throw Skateboard under the bus. The secondary WrestleMania XLI official theme song “FE!N” featuring Playboi Carti though makes up for it by going into a synth-heavy realm talking about drug use & Carti’s vocal utilizations throughout are unbelievable.

“DELRESTO (ECHOES)” featuring Beyoncé sounds like it could’ve been on B’s comeback effort Renaissance from last summer as they jump on top of a house beat from Hit-Boy clarifying the only thing they escape for is the echoes themselves, but then “I KNOW?” talks about a girl that really ain’t even his type backed by a nocturnal trap instrumental. “TOPIA TWINS” featuring Rob49 & 21 Savage blends some organs & hi-hats referencing 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & $7 Productions co-founder The Rock showing off 2 twin bitches hoppin’ off a jetski even though Rob’s contribution doesn’t hold up to La Flame’s or 21’s, but “CIRCUS MAXIMUS” named after his debut film talks about having his final moment on top of synths & heavy drums.

Cactus Slatt gets together for the trippy, 6-minute “SKITZO” once again dabbling with multiple beat-switches pointing out how the bitches they bagged do that there on top of Travis rightfully choosing Kanye over Biden any day while the “PARASAIL” interlude gives off a slower edge promising to eternally fight for everything he loves. “Lost Forever” featuring Westside Gunn was something I was highly anticipating sampling both “f.o.r.e.v.e.r.” by James Blake & “Don’t Be Safe” by Check Senrick thanks to another top 10 producer of mine The Alchemist so Trav can discuss being lost in Utopia on top of West dropping the raw gangsta shit we’ve come to love him for later on.

“LOOOVE” by The Scotts goes into more robotic territory understanding that they’re loved asking if that’s how anyone else is feeling while “K-Pop” featuring Bad Bunny fresh off his WrestleMania XXXIX guest Spanish commentator appearance & The Weeknd is basically a male version of “Bang Bang” by Jessie J, which I actually understand why he chose it as a single even though I’ll most likely never listen to that song again. Really the only skip here. The cloudy penultimate track “TELEKINESIS” featuring Future & SZA finds the trio talking about seeing ahead into what’s to come, but “‘TIL FURTHER NOTICE” featuring James Blake & 21 Savage wraps up Utopia by saying x-rated love is the best kinda love accompanied by a synth-trap hybrid from Metro Boomin’.

ASTROWORLD quickly became my 2nd favorite Trav album for how it expanded on the psychedelics that made his full-length debut amongst the most groundbreaking trap projects to come out within the last decade & it makes me happy to see how much it’s aged well, but UTOPIA easily stands at the #3 spot. It’s refreshing to hear him behind the boards again with him wearing the Ye influences HEAVY as he shows us all experiences where utopian things can exist & you can enjoy yourself & have a good time.

Score: 4/5

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MacArthur Maze – “Blvck Saturday” review

MacArthur Maze is a Bay Area-based hip-hop collective consisting of Blvck Achilles, Champ Green, D. Blesdoe, Ian Kelly, Jane Handcock, Roux Shankle & the Golden State Warriors’ disc jockey DJ D Sharp. The septuplet has been turning quite a few heads in the west coast underground scene over the years, most notably WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg signing Jane to a contract with the infamous Death Row Records as a solo artist now that the cousin of the shortest reigning IWGP女子チャンピオン, 6-time WWE women’s champion, NXT Women’s Champion & the inaugural record-tying 3-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Mercedes Moné has full ownership of the label. However, the crew’s ready to make their mark as a unit on their official debut album.

After the intro, the first song “First Friday” starts it all off with an orchestral boom bap instrumental pledging allegiance to the family prior to “Panther Bruce Lee” working in a lounger sound so the crew can display some strong back & forth mic chemistry for nearly 3 minutes. “San Pablo Dam” goes into a more delicate direction with the beat talking about the titular road out in Contra Costa county, but then “Ms. Mula” shifts into solemn trap territory to put an interesting spin on the concept of money.

The title track blends a vocal sample with kicks & snares discussing what they can still remember just before “No More” comes through with a dope gospel flip talking about not wanting to hear wack shit anymore. “Table for 5” gives off a jazzier flare instrumentally declaring to be on the highway leading into the dreamier “Switching Lanes” talking about having his rap shit down to the chemistry.

Lastly to begin the final leg of the album, the penultimate track “Dealin’ Art” cooks up an even smoother beat detailing the many blessings that the collective has been grateful enough to receive up to this point & “Thank You Have a Nice Day” rounds out MacArthur Maze’s debut album with everyone over horns talking about reaching a certain high to be known & proving all their doubters wrong.

I was already familiar with Jane because of her extensive collaborations with Snoop Dogg & being taken under his mentorship, so that undoubtedly played a part in my interest for this album peaking. The final result being a solid introduction as to who MacArthur Maze is. They honor those in Northern California who paved the way while also carving out their own niche in the scene.

Score: 4/5

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