Offset – “Haunted by Fame” review

New surprise-EP from Atlanta, Georgia rapper Offset. Starting out as 1/3 of the Migos with Unc & Phew, he released a fantastic collaborative project with 21 Savage & Metro Boomin’ exactly 8 years ago to the very day called Without Warning only to make his solo debut Father of 4 the best of the 3 compared to QUAVO HUNCHO & The Last Rocket. Set It Off wasn’t too bad either, coming off Kiari a couple months ago so he can take up the next 25 minutes or so confesing to being Haunted by Fame.

The soul sample on “Free Pick” was an attention-grabbing way to begin suggesting not to start anything with him & it won’t be any beef whereas the title track produced by Pooh Beatz talks about the cons that come with being a celebrity. “I Heard” featuring YoungBoy Never Broke Again isn’t that much better than “Pills” off Kiari earlier this summer until the Travis Scott vibes Coupe goes for during “No Sweat” makes up for it.

“Okay, Okay” easily has Haunted by Fame’s most annoying hook & the nondescript instrumental doesn’t really make it all that much better just before “Fashion Icon” reunites with DJ Durel that goes smoothly until the Labubu bar threw me off almost a minute in. “N.A.M.E.” featuring NoCap gives me a country trap vibe protecting their energy while “Another Problem” featuring Lil Dump mediocrely talks about getting to the bands in different ways.

The song “Ya Digg” starts the final leg of the EP with Offset jumping over a beat that reminds me a little of Future’s output boasting of him pulling up looking trim while “No Regrets” disses his ex-wife Cardi B, who was the hostess of the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s SummerSlam XXXVIII almost 3 months earlier. “Headhunter” finishes with a moderate outro talking about only seeing money at the end of the tunnel.

Unfortunately as much as I was looking forward to this since hasn’t Offset dropped anything on Halloween since Without Warning almost a decade earlier, I came away from Haunted by Fame liking it less than the most introspective album of his career earlier this summer. I can appreciate the concept of him cautioning of the downsides that come with fame, but the production’s a lot weaker.

Score: 2.5/5

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Danny G – “WTF Daniel!?” review

Danny G is a producer, DJ & occasional rapper from Detroit, Michigan notable for being an in-house producer for Lando Bando’s very own EMPIRE Distribution imprint The Hip Hop Lab Records. He’s gone on to produce some of the biggest names in the Detroit/Flint trap scenes from the ShittyBoyz to Rio da Yung O.G. & RMC Mike, expanding his production rapport greatly all of 2025 from Bruiser Wolf to most recently Icewear Vezzo yesterday. However, Danny’s celebrating Halloween with a debut album of his own after announcing it 12 hours earlier.

“Dynaco” by Babytron made for a promising intro talking about tripling his net worth as opposed to what Google will say whereas “Larry Bird” by DJ Lucas co-produced by Jakesand decently references the former 3-time NBA champion of the same name. “Gotta Have It” by Kasher Quon talks about trying to put someone afraid of taking risks on just before the cold-blooded “Roomba” by Joeyy that Danny & Carlo Anthony cooked up likens his Glock to a lightsaber.

$kid & Danny share a moment together trading bars with “Newsport” talking about puffin’ Newports in a brand new 2-door whip leading into “Heat Streak” by Krispylife Kidd embracing a Flint sound flexing that Danny paid him a reasonable $54K for his appearance. “Kpop” by Certified Trapper works in a vibraphone talking about flaming people with the blick while “Kith” by Since99 & $weet-T trades the mic back-&-forth with each other.

“Starbury” by Babytron & ZelooperZ pairs the 2 so they can go hard until they’re cremated in urns while “The Yoyer in the Froyer” by Big Bye feels more like a spoken word interlude rather than carrying over that Paper Plates energy, which disappoints me. “Shottas Music” by Louie Ray, RMC Mike & YN Jay links up with each of her for a Flint trap ode to the gangsters around their parts while “Alpha Bay” by Danny G himself featuring LG Deno Skeno & $weet-T serves base that will melt faces off.

Ankith Woods’ performance on “Guitar Hero” was alright despite the nod to the popular series of rhythm games celebrating it’s 2-decade anniversary while “F&N” by $weet-T surpasses “Kith” & “Alpha Bay” in my opinion, recapturing the $weet & Silent Dan aura with Helluva’s asistance. Since99 returns by $weet-T’s side during “Marquis Chris” causing pandemonium & madness while “I Want It All” by Big Quis talks about desiring the finer things in life

Finishing up Danny’s debut, he hops back on the mic 1 last time for the song “Darius Rucker” featuring ChoppaLee turning up the Northern California influences referencing Hootie & the Blowfish’s frontman of the same name while “It’s Funny” by Stanwill talks about not giving a fuck who’s fake because he’s surrounded by real ones. “Back Talk” by Fordio & MJPaid recaptures the chemistry of their Made & $tyle collab tape while “Sometimes” by Babytron finishes things the way he started it.

One of my personal favorite producers in the Detroit/Flint sound subgenres of trap, Danny G’s full-length studio debut was an exciting surprise to me although I didn’t enjoy it as much as Jakesand’s 2nd EP Sandbox last summer. Although I have no complaints regarding Danny’s production, one of my biggest criticisms regarding WTF Daniel!? boils down to the list of performers over his beats being some what inconsistent.

Score: 3/5

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Lil Bushwick – Self-Titled review

Lil Bushwick is a 29 year old rapper from Houston, Texas notable for being the son of the late Bushwick Bill of the seminal horrorcore group the Geto Boys. Interestingly, Sid Wilson from one of the greatest nu metal bands of all-time Slipknot recently signed the artist formerly known as Yung Knxw to his Soulspazm Records imprint Vomit Face Records founded with J57 earlier this month & has decided to produce Lil Bushwick’s full-length debut studio album to appropriately celebrate Halloween being on a Friday.

After the “Fell on a Weekend” skit & the “Apple Tree” skit back-to-back, “Born to Die” open a with a rap rock intro produced by Sid Wilson talking about reaping what he’s sowed whereas “Pussy Ass N***a” works in some guitars to shit all over those exact type of people. After the “Moments” skit, “Prepare” talks about knowing his life’s goal from when he was a kid while “Got 2 Go Thru” admits to the feeling of love flowing over some pianos.

“Money N Da Foes” after the “Geto Boy 4 Life” skit asks if the cost if your soul is worth the game & gold while “Still Have Faith” talks about going through Hell & back. “We Gone” featuring Sid Wilson finds the 2 talking about having every floor on lock & after the “Better Version” skit, “Take It Back” featuring Bushwick Bill sends off the album with a father-son collab that feels like a bittersweet passing of the torch moment.

The eponymous debut of Lil Bushwick honors the spirit of a hip hop pioneer while forging a bold, new path forward, an emotional and daring journey through grief, heritage & growth. Blending Houston’s hip-hop roots with experimentally hardcore production & narrations from Yung Knxw’s father, he’s pushing the envelope musically & tries new sounds he would’ve never thought he’d be rapping over although there are too many skits.

Score: 4/5

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Florence + the Machine – “Everybody Scream” review

Florence + the Machine are an art/chamber pop & indie rock band from London, England, United Kingdom, consisting of drummer Loren Humphrey, violinist/rhythm guitarist Dionne Douglas, percussionist/keyboardist Aku Orraca-Tetteh, bassist Cyrus Bayandor, harpist/percussionist Tom Monger, lead guitarist Robert Ackroyd & frontwoman Florence Welch. Making their debut in the summer of 2009 under Island Records with Lungs, their sophomore effort Ceremonials during my freshman year of high school & their final Island offering How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful shortly after my graduation would both receive similar praise as did their Republic Records debut High as Hope. It’s already been over 3 years since Dance Fever & they’re celebrating the 14 year anniversary of Ceremonials with their 6th album.

The title track gives us a taste of what’s to come from the artsy, gothic & glam rock instrumentation asking how can she retire when people are shouting for her name whereas the 2nd single “1 of the Greats” blends art rock, alternative rock, gothic rock, singer/songwriter & post-punk sings about a 2023 near-death experience she had. “Witch Dance” works in some haunting choir vocals in the background using sex as a metaphor for her almost losing her life while the final single “Sympathy Magic” sings about the costs of fame pulling from art pop, indie rock & art rock.

“Perfume & Milk” leans heavier towards a singer/songwriter direction stylistically referring to the natural process of growing & returning to Earth just before the folkier “Buckle” finishes the first half of Everybody Scream with Florence singing about carrying the weight of memory & the beauty of moving on. “Kraken” begins the 2nd act with an indie/rock crossover searching for meaning while “The Old Religion” sings about the feeling of animal instinct starting up from within herself wounded so tightly to the point that she can hardly breath.

Starting the final leg, “Drink Deep” finds herself seeking the hidden folk through bramble & briar under ash & oak nightly realizing she drank of herself while “Music by Men” sings about her knowing how to fall in love because she does it constantly with everyone she meet for 10 seconds. “You Can Have It All” embraces an art pop vibe again admitting that she was wrong about her perception of sadness her whole entire life until these past couple years while “& Love” finishes by optimistically singing that peace is coming.

Returning to the spellbinding world-building that has defined Florence Welch’s entire creative universe, Everybody Scream channels her fascination with mysticism & folk horror in the wake of a life-changing surgery she had to undergo during the Dance Fever tour when she suffered a miscarriage. It’s more singer/songwriter & art rock oriented than what’s she’s done previously, getting more than that previous LP with secondary influences of art pop, alternative rock, gothic rock, post-punk & glam rock seeping through.

Score: 4.5/5

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Lil Gotit & Lil Keed – “Fraternal” review

Atlanta, Georgia rappers & siblings Lil Gotit & the late Lil Keed celebrating Halloween with a brand new collaborative project. The latter eventually became the most popular of the 2 in the late 2010s when Young Thug announced he has signed him to YSL Records & his younger brother would go on to put out a total of 5 full-lengths as well as a couple mixtapes under Alamo Records until his departure almost 3 years ago already. Keed unfortunately passed away in 2022 of eosinophilia & Gotit’s finally putting Fraternaltogether after teasing it with a couple singles throughout the entire month, making it Keed’s 2nd posthumous offering succeeding Keed Talk to ‘Em 2.

“Game Time” finds the Renders over a cloudy trap instrumental for 85 seconds talking about nobody being in their range artistically whereas “Cash Brothers” takes a few minutes to back out with each other & stack their bread. “Relapse Game” works in some strings & hi-hats so they can talk about loading up the sticks while “Red Eyes” conceived during for the Trapped in Cleveland 3 sessions has a new life of it’s breathed into it.

Tee Grizzley joins Gotit & Keed on the cloudy trap fusion “From the Heart” talking about how everything they do comes from a place of sincerity just before “Stupid Shit” produced by CashMoneyAP demands answers for all the stupidity around them recently. “How Bout You?” continues the 2nd half suggesting that people should be taking risks & trying to become rich while “Woah” lusciously getting higher than the rest thanks to Outtatown behind the boards.

“Young N***a” gets to the encore of Fraternal by digging up another outtake from the Trapped in Cleveland 3 sessions while “5 Star Residence” sticks out in being another favorite of mine personally from the Supah Mario instrumental to the Render siblings talking about the bankroll coming in all different types of colors. “Wild Life (I’m Higher)” closes Gotit & Keed’s joint effort with them reflecting on their crazy lifestyles while “What’s Up?” starts the deluxe run talking about wanting to get high.

As for “Give ‘Em Hell”, we have the Render brothers taking a few minutes to speak of sliding with their money in their pockets while “I’m So Sorry” apologizes in advances for the possibility of sending hits at the detractors who want nothing more than to see them both lose. “Boss Man” airs out the clones stealing their drip & getting pissed because they didn’t get co-signs from either one of them while “Cat Got His Tongue” speaks of cornballs pillow talkin’ to hoes on the phone over a Taurus beat.

“Minaj” featuring Ty$ with G*59 Record$ in-house producer Dynox behind the boards brings the trio together talking about the baddies they’re dating playing their parts while “Rappin’ Shit” guides listeners through the rap game itself. “Fierce” marks the last time both performers appear on the same song with each other since the last 3 bonus tracks “Disgust Me” & “5AM” are Lil Gotit solo joints & “Baby Boy” being a Lil Keed solo song, shrugging off all competition they might have for being weirdos.

Personally, I’ve always found myself listening to Lil Keed more than Lil Gotit although I’ve enjoyed a great deal with their collaboration so I had no problem going into Fraternal. Solid way of Gotit remembering his older brother & I’m pretty sure he would be happy with it if he were still here. The production’s ok but from beyond the grave, it’s bittersweet hearing Keed with his younger sibling carrying his legacy & doing so the right way.

Score: 3.5/5

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SosMula – “Kamp Krystl Lake” review

This is the 4th studio LP from Manhattan, New York rapper SosMula. Coming up as 1/3 of the now defunct City Morgue alongside fellow emcee ZillaKami & producer Thraxx, they’ve released 2 full-length albums & an EP together up before branching out on their own for a little bit. Sos was the first to step up to the plate by dropping 13 Songs 2 Die 2, which was a bit of a disappointment in my opinion due to the features & production. ZillaKami followed it up a month later with HIS solo debut Dogboy & the duo reunited to drop Bottom of the Barrel the month after that, both of those I found much more tolerable. 2 High 2 Die was better than it’s predecessor & the Sleez Machine EP that fall was the worst solo effort of his yet. Signing to Limosa Nostra Records & Atlantic Records following the divisive reception of his final Republic Records offering Sleez Religion, it only makes to go to Kamp Krystl Lake on Halloween.

“Killa Season” begins with a bloodcurdling trap metal intro talking about shooting his opps on camera whereas “Mr. Anderson” bombastically flexes that his stick matches the kicks in his wardrobe. A favorite of mine “Kathedral” featuring Ricky Hil & produced by Thraxx blends a shredding guitar riff & some hi-hats to get on some gangsta rap shit lyrically leading into “Aaron Hernandez” referencing the disgraced New England Patriots tight end of the same name.

Moving on from there, we get more trap metal production on “Blood of My Blood” showing a bit of a Marilyn Manson inflection in SosMula’s vocals during the hook just before “God’s Country” embraces a cloudier trap direction & pens a more nauseating chorus than earlier. The lead single “Trench Brazy” was an impressive 2-parter Lex Luger cooked up likening himself to a pimp while “House in the Trees” feels like God isn’t answering his prayers.

“Project Baby” was another exciting single reusing the same beat as “Deception” by Cameron Azi from 13 months ago except I feel like Mula suits it better down to the additionally included sampling of “Pop Out” by Playboi Carti while “Spiral” angrily talking about running up to houses to put his gun in the mouths of whoever opens it. “Preacher” speaks of hooking up with the reaper & gangbangers repping his set while “Mercedez Brazy” takes a slower approach than the other singles.

The song “Blakk Bootz” winds down Kamp Krystl Lake’s final 8 minutes with an industrial trap sound talking about his preference of rockin’ an all black got while “Outlaw Squad” contains some of the goofiest vocals throughout the album comparing himself to a fugitive. “Circus Roaches” lastly ends things experimenting with a grungy rock outro talking about him trying to figure out all this shit happening recently while “Excalibur” starts the deluxe run going to war over a trap metal beat.

“Spin Class (Fitness for Opps)” cloudily promises to gauge out the eyes of those going against him while “GTA VI” references Rockstar Games’ upcoming action-adventure game of the same name. “Death from Above” talks about the sky & eyes turning red over a rap rock instrumental while “Walk ‘Em Home” boasting all his stacks are chrome. “Barbellz” featuring Ricky Hil intriguingly trades the mic back-&-forth with one another the final bonus track “M. Bison” has a bar referring to WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson.

None of SosMula’s solo effort have come close to Dogboy but surprisingly, Kamp Krystl Lake gives pretty good reasons as to why Ricky Hil signed him to Limosa Nostra Records & Atlantic Records ahead of 10,000 Grams. Maybe even the best Sleezy has sounded on his own ever, stylistically drawing from the trap metal sound City Morgue pioneered to cloud rap & alternative rock taking it’s themes after the iconic Friday the 13th franchise.

Score: 4/5

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Dirtcore Music – “Overkill” review

This is the 2nd showcase compilation from Grand Rapids, Michigan independent record label Dirtcore Music founded by local rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Crossworm. The latter of whom was sole artist officially signed for its first 2 decades of existence until bringing Samson Samson whom he formed Bodies Below Sea Level with, Madd Maxxx, Mumm Ra, Sleep Lyrical, J Reno whom he formed Misery Coast with & Grounds all on board. Others such as Gavyn Gunn & Oblivia have spent a brief amount of time signed to Dirtcore with Gavyn’s debut EP Malevolent being a great start to his ongoing trilogy, celebrating Devil’s Night with Overkill.

Crossworm eerily starts with a self-produced intro “Halloween Sucks” talking about him spraying mace at anyone who knocks on his door whereas “The Veil” by J Reno takes the trap route instrumentally discussing the boundary between life & death. “Mask On” by Sleep Lyrical shows a bit of a Memphis influence being in the kitchen with evil eyes every Halloween while “Agree to Disappear” by Madd Maxxx speaks to his therapist on wax.

“CR4V3 M3” by Samson Samson embraces a funky industrial direction talking about a woman who’s yearning for him just before “The Old Man” by J Reno returns to the boom bap vividly describes a house usually skipped during trick-or-treating being the only 1 in town this year. “The Warning” by Mumm Ra aggressively asks if anyone wants smoke with him because he ain’t got shit to lost leading into “The Dead Can’t Die” by Crossworm industrially talking about the undead being immortal.

Misery Coast comes off their eponymous debut EP earlier this week with the dusty “Never Woulda Guessed” confessing they didn’t imagine themselves winding up 6 feet in the ground while the horrorcore/industrial “Scream” by Samson Samson talks about making innocent victims shriek when walking in the room. “Demon Me” by Madd Maxxx & Sleep Lyrical bodies a trap beat together feeling lost out their minds while the outro “Nobody” by Grounds sends off the compilation with a metal closer kin to his debut EP Walking into Tragedy.

Dirtcore last Christmas finished 2024 with Dirtcore Music by compiling a collection of songs that’ll get the average listener who hasn’t heard of with the label familiarized with who everyone is from an artistic standpoint & a little bit as people. As far as Overkill’s concerned, they’re switching it up by having the entire roster penning songs that celebrate Samhain through a mix of styles from horrorcore & industrial music to metal & a small dosage of spoken word.

Score: 4/5

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Aesop Rock – “I Heard It’s a Mess There Too” review

New York emcee/producer Aesop Rock surprise-releasing his 12th studio LP almost 5 months since Black Hole Superette. Universally revered for his massive vocabulary, the man has put out a handful of underground hip hop essentials throughout the decades whether it be his solo catalogue or his membership of groups like Hail Mary Mallon or Malibu Ken. As far as his solo stuff: I recommend his sophomore effort & Definitive Jux Records debut Labor Day alongside The Impossible Kid, which was his 2nd under Rhymesayers Entertainment whom Aesop has made himself home with for over a decade strong. Blockhead had fully produced Garbology to acclaim & Integrated Tech Solutions has quickly received the same love The Impossible Kid, coming off the most complexly-produced opus of his career to put I Heard It’s a Mess There Too on YouTube & his website.

“Crystals & Herbs” starts us off with a quirky, self-produced boom bap intro abstractly explaining that you can’t blame the rigged system for not being able to defend yourself whereas “The Cut” takes an eerier route to the beat talking about being in a secluded location. “Full House Pinball” advises to remember what a little fresh air can do for us all just before “Bag Lunch” talks about having whole blocks on lockdown instead of avenues.

Meanwhile on “Spin to Win”, we have Aes over a funkier beat whipping around the woods & rattling the limbs of those nearby leading into “Opossum” instrumentally reminding me a little of Griselda running circles around instead of running in circles. “Oh My Stars” begins the 2nd half sharing donuts with crows whenever he finds himself unsure as to where to go while “Potato Leek Soup” talks about playing in the streets all day & encouraging bystanders to be scared.

“Pay the Man” begins the 3rd & final act of I Heard It’s a Mess There Too by working in a boom bap beat with some chimes feeling confident that he could throw a playing card that would land between one’s praying hands while “Poly Cotton Blend” shows off his sampling techniques forever hittin’ the ground runnin’ with the bum rush. “Fall Home” tells all of his friends he hopes they find what they need to become the people they were meant to be & the closer “Sherbert” advising one could be the likes of which we ain’t seen.

Rather than expanding the complexity of Black Hole Superette’s production earlier this spring, Aesop Rock makes a conscious shift in approach when making I Heard It’s a Mess There Too using newer tools to make his sound cleaner & more minimal because he felt like he’s been making music similarly for quite some time embracing a detailed concept around keeping up with long-distance friendships & the ways social media’s being used to document tragedies & political uprisings.

Score: 4.5/5

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WowGr8 – “Howl at da Moon” review

WowGr8 is a 35 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia notable for being 1/2 of the EARTHGANG with Olu. They would later form the Spillage Village collective together, which J. Cole signing the EARTHGANG as well as J.I.D & the rest of the crew to his Dreamville Records imprint. He also has a solo mixtape & an extended play of his own on SoundCloud at this point, celebrating his birthday weekend by dropping an official solo debut in preparation for his partner-in-rhyme’s Earth 2 Olu.

After the “Red Band Trailer” intro, the first song “Keep It in Da Fam” sets up shop with a soulful trap instrumental talking about people only hating on him & his crew because they’re unstoppable whereas “Dirty Job” featuring Chris Patrick takes a jazzier approach explaining that they’re doing the tough work because someone has to. “Dumbass” dabbles with trap talking about learning the hard way sometimes leading into “Avant Garde” featuring Flvme explaining that they had to switch up their approach.

“Ya Woah” incorporates some sampling to suggest that any children around his vicinity should head home because he’s got a fully loaded clip on him just before “Debo” featuring Bigg Cup & Deante’ Hitchcock homage Tiny Lister’s character from the Friday franchise. Marco+ later joins WowGr8 for 3 minutes of “Pure Debauchery” prior to “Labrador” talking about not being with the back-&-forth shit.

After the “Doc Deescalates” skit, “At the Same Time” featuring Mick Jenkins takes a psychedelic trap turn describing their partners loving & hating them simultaneously while “Right Now” featuring Nicki Jupiter could have my favorite beat on the LP produced by Powers Pleasant, colorfully fuses pop rap with trap soul. “Alley” featuring MediSun embraces a bit of a reggae vibe continuing the themes of romance while “Flamingo” featuring Tonye Ayeba embraces a heavier R&B direction stylistically.

“Too Much Ass” talking about being a young entrepreneur trying to get a check & run a business experimenting with a neo-psychedelic trap sound while “P.N.C. (Post-Nut Clarity)” themed around the idea of being mentally reset after sex could be the most awkward moment on Howl at da Moon coming out the gate with a PornHub intro sample. “Uh Oh” meshes soul & gospel singing about his partner fucking but after the “N***a Pop” interlude, “Meow” featuring Benji makes playful feline references over a funky beat.

Starting the album’s final leg, “The Equation / Chuck Town Freestyle” divides itself in 2 halves with an EDM instrumental during the 1st & spitting off-the-top with a cloudy trap beat backing him during the other while “Swim” featuring Chaz French talks about needing more time & patience. “Throwbike” samples a flit & throws some hi-hats in the equation promising he’ll always give things his all while “Howl at the Moonlight” finishes by talking about everything coming with a price as a part of life.

It’s most likely safe to assume at this point that Earth 2 Olu will be more lenient towards an R&B style based on all 3 singles we’ve gotten from Olu these past 8 months & Howl at da Moon on the contrary stays rooted in hip hop telling the story of WowGr8’s life these past 3 & a half decades. Aside from a few lackluster tracks, I do appreciate him being more vulnerable & dramatic than normally compared to both EARTHGANG & Spillage Village’s own output as their own units.

Score: 3.5/5

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Slaine – “A New State of Grace” review

Boston, Massachusetts veteran Slaine has returned with his 6th LP. Most notable for being a member of La Coka Nostra, he released an EP & a total of 4 mixtapes before coming through with his debut album A World with No Skies in 2011 under Suburban Noize Records. This was followed up with The Boston Project in 2013 as well as The King of Everything the year after that, but the man went took a 3-year hiatus following the release of the Slaine is Dead EP in 2016 & returned by dropping the mature 1 Day in 2019. It’s been a while since The Things We Can’t Forgive, but he’s locking in with Statik Selektah to enter A New State of Grace.

The title track opens up by jumping over some synthesizers & a vocal sample talking about going places there usually isn’t any coming back from whereas “Cancel Culture” by La Coka Nostra tackles that very subject on top of a boom bap instrumental. “Listen Up” meshes these quirky synths with kicks & snares for a b-boy anthem just before “Ambition of the Crown” featuring Millyz talks about playing with fire being a dangerous thing when aiming at the king.

“It’s All Good” continues with an apology for someone he hurt whilst thanking them for being a true friend of his while “Ain’t Been the Same” talks about waking up saying hello to his new life & adios to his old one. “Coka Grillz” by La Coka Nostra featuring Paul Wall was a great single with everyone spraying lyrical bullets at those looking to battle them while “Crumbled God” featuring Rasheed Chappell & 1982 takes a more conscious approach topically.

“The Real Shit” featuring Masta Ace & O.C. starts A New State of Grace’s final leg with the trio over a piano-tinged boom bap instrumental talking about times eternally changing while “Gusto” featuring O.T. the Real & Statik KXNG samples “In Memory Of…” by Gang Starr to see who can spit the illest verse. “World Don’t Stop” concludes with a heartfelt outro talking about the future making sense in hindsight.

Capturing the energy of A State of Grace original whilst carrying the weight as well as the wisdom & scars of everything that’s happened since, A New State of Grace seems like a homecoming of sorts regarding Slaine & Statik Selektah’s friendship dating back 2 decade. From the latter’s signature boom bap sound to the sharp lyricism balancing bravado with the maturity of 1 Day & The Things We Can’t Forgive, the sequel to Slaine’s most beloved tape raises the bar both it’s predecessors have set in the late 2010s/early 2020s.

Score: 4.5/5

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