Ramson Badbonez – “Fusion” review

This is the 13th studio LP from London, England, United Kingdom emcee Ramson Badbonez. An underwing of the Task Force, he would eventually sign to High Focus Records in 2013 making his debut for the label with A Year in the Life of Oscar the Slouch that same winter. Hypnodic, Jason Bonez, Mic Day the 13th & Death Mask would all come out under the Hove, East Sussex imprint to warm reception. However with Fusion now becoming the 6th, he’s looking to go in a different direction stylistically.

“Alpha” produced by Jehst begins with a hypnotic ode to one of my all-time favorite Nas tracks “The World is Yours” whereas “Lift Off” goes for more of a hip house vibe courtesy of Ghosttown making the place “Jump” like Kris Kross did. We get a horn sample mixed with drums & bass to give the fans “What Ya Need” prior to the synth-heavy “Rap Bio”solemnly swearing that nothing can compare to his output through a biography on his career.

As for “Blame”, we have Ramson over a hypnotic beat talking about his country’s education system failing the youth hence why he can’t blame them leading into “Hoodflix” featuring Datkid & Truemendous on the remix finds the trio looking back at their upbringings over a Telemachus instrumental. The experimental trap-tinged title track gets in his storytelling bag describing the dark streets of London while “Beat the Odds” takes a few minutes to talk about achieving what many deemed impossible.

“Just Say…” kicks off the 4th quarter of Fusiontalking about the real calling the frauds on their bluff, wanting nothing more than them to back off & cut their bullshit while “Roll On” dabbles with grime suggesting not everyone was made to be a rapper when that couldn’t be any more factual. “Could’ve Been You” featuring Confucius MC advises to never hold a grudge because time flies rather quickly until “Omega” wraps things up with a bombastic 5 & a half minute outro letting those who fucked up around him know what they’ve done.

Some of the mixed reception I was seeing towards Fusion going into it had a me a little worried that it could be Ramson Badbonez’ worst album but now that I’ve finally gotten a chanced to sit down & break it down, I wouldn’t say it that’s bad personally. The production’s more experimentally genre blurring than what we’re normally used to hearing from him dissecting the many highs & lows that took him from a life running the roads to documenting his own experiences.

Score: 4/5

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Madchild – “Super Beast” review

Madchild is a 46 year old MC from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada coming up as part of the trio Swollen Members & the founder of Battle Axe Records, but would be until 2012 when he officially broke off solo with his Suburban Noize Records-backed full-length debut Dope Sick. He would later go on a hot streak of follow-ups including Lawnmower Man, Silver Tongue Devil, the Evidence-produced The Darkest Hour & Demons. But even though he went into a more trap direction on The Little Monster LP a year & a half ago ago, the results of that stylistic change weren’t all that interesting & the sequel he dropped 3 months later spring The Little Monster LP 2 was slightly better. Shane & Shane 2 both took a more personal approach with the sequel enhancing the seriousness of the predecessor, but is returning 6 months later in the form of his 10th album.

“The Beast” is a horn-laced boom bap opener produced by C-Lance calling himself a damn dirty ape with the .38 whereas “Blood on the Carpet” works in a guitar to take aim at his competition. “Swamp Monster” keeps the boom bap rolling with an chilling vocal sample thrown into the mix talking about how some things never change & after the first interlude, the instrumental that “Bat Phone” delivers sounds ripped straight from the Adam West incarnation of Batman declaring himself the most devious in hip hop.

Meanwhile on “Skeleton”, we have Madchild over what sounds like a Godzilla flip challenging anyone to bring the smoke to him just before “Bad Thoughts” has a quirky tone to the beat talking about being a lunatic his whole life. “Nostradamus” takes a more dramatic route saying he can see the future & after the 2nd interlude, “Arson” mixes some pianos detailing pyromania.

The track “Scattered” keeps the keyboards intact admitting he still needs darkness despite being in God’s light while the penultimate song “Problem Child” has this relaying vocal sample throughout declaring himself as such. After the 3rd & final interlude, “Bang” closes out the album with a trap cut talking about how life is awesome.

For those of you who weren’t feeling the trap influences that were present on Madchild’s last few albums, I think you’re gonna like Super Beast a lot more. The production primarily takes it back to his boom bap roots & the same goes for the aggressive lyricism as well.

Score: 4/5

Whitney Peyton – “The Audacity” review

This is the 5th full-length album from Philly emcee Whitney Peyton. Rising to prominence in the underground in 2007 & off her full-length debut The Remedy only a few years after, she would go on to release 3 albums as well as 2 mixtapes & 4 EPs all in the last 12 years. Last we heard from her was a couple months before the pandemic broke out when she dropped Alpha under Suburban Noize Records & that just further cemented her status as a force to be reckoned with. But now in light of her starting up her own label Alpha Howse, she’s returning in the form of The Audacity.

“Give It Gas” opens up the album with a suspenseful trap instrumental talking about being back in her ways whereas “Ding Dong” goes full-blown Detroit trap to deliver a party anthem. C-Mob tags along for the cloudy “Suck It Up” produced by Godsynth reminding us all how important mental health is with both MCs putting their own perspectives out there just before the Mega Ran-assisted “Don’t Even Ask” takes things into more braggadocio territory & the instrumental that Godsynth brings to the table here in comparison to the joint we heard earlier has a much more vibrant aesthetic to it.

Meanwhile on “Outta My System”, we have Whitney Peyton on top of a trap beat from C-Lance surprisingly talking about flushing an ex out leading into Reverie coming into the picture for the thunderous “Slippin’” to declare that you’ll never catch them taking Ls. “Over & Over” works in some impressive rock influences talking about being a puppet to her own emotions while the actual closer “Bad Bitch” with Melissa Marie take it back to the MySpace days in terms of sound for the ladies to go wild too. We are then treated to “On My Way to Phoenix” off of Bag of Cat Tricks’ last EP Milk & Vodka as well as the “Give It Gas” remix as bonus tracks.

I’ve been wondering for the last 2 years how Whitney would follow-up what I consider to be her finest hour & I think this new album just further proves that she’ll find great success with Alpha Howse down the line. It’s really cool to hear how every cut has it’s own different vibe & lyrically, she still sounds as hungry as she did in ‘09 when she was starting out.

Score: 3.5/5

O.T. the Real – “Maxed Out” review

O.T. the Real is a 36 year old MC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who came up in 2016 after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”. His profile began to grow from there after showcasing his skills on radio stations as well as dropping 3 full-lengths & 4 EPs so far, my favorites of the bunch so far being the Heatmakerz-produced The Irishman & the DJ Green Lantern-produced Broken Glass. But fast forward 5 months later since we last heard him, O.T. has recruited Boston veteran Statik Selektah behind the boards for his 4th album.

“Loyalty” is an airy boom bap opener declaring trust being everything to him whereas “Make It Count” works in a symphony providing words of wisdom for the listener. “Revelations” feels like something out of an Italian mobster flick talking about disclosure just before [Statik-Free] tags along for the soulful “Hardcore” spitting that rugged street shit. Meanwhile on “Turned on Me”, we have O.T. on top of some pianos & dusty drums taking aim at those who betrayed him leading into Merkules coming into the picture for “The Bottom” to talk about never forgetting what having nothing feels like over a cheery instrumental.

G-Weeder definitely has the weakest feature on the album with “Treachery” even though I like the production & the concept of deceiving people, but then “Windows” has some jazzy undertones talking about his coming up. The penultimate track “Came Up Fast” incorporates an operatic vocal sample discussing his meteoric rise in the underground within the last year or 2 & finally, “History” ends the album with an organ advising to check his resume.

I think O.T.’s been putting out some of his best work within the last year & you haven’t checked him out based on The Irishman or Broken Glass yet, then PLEASE give Maxed Out a listen. Statik remains one of the most consistent producers in hip hop today & O.T. continues to put his life on wax ever so sincerely.

Score: 4.5/5

Hexxx – “Demon Season” review

This is the full-length debut from Los Angeles emcee Hexxx. First emerging in the underground back in the fall of 2016 off his debut EP Samhain, he would go on to follow it up 3 years later with his 2nd EP West Coast Wicked Shit & here we are another 3 years later just in time for Demon Season after becoming the first act to sign to Ouija Macc’s very own Psychopathic Records imprint Chapter 17 Records other than Ouija himself.

After the bell-heavy intro produced by Devereaux, the title track opens up the album with a trunk-rattling yet dreary instrumental shouting out all his killas whereas “Big Time” with Baldacci has a more celebratory tone to it talking about all their homies being on the rise. The way the beat on “Ruthless” pays tribute to “Deep Cover” by Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg with a modern flip is pretty impressive as Hexxx delivers more raw gangsta raps but after the “Cruise Night” interlude, “Another Homicide” goes into boom bap territory as he viciously quenches for blood.

Meanwhile on “Villains”, we have Ouija Macc accompanying Hexxx to unnervingly declare themselves as the antagonists of this rap shit while the song “Pale Horse” with Project Born takes it back to the trap with some pianos that’re reminiscent to that of a horror flick calling out those who wanted them to fail. The penultimate track “Blood Drip” goes full-blown hyphy thanks to Shaggytheairhead to spit the wicked shit & “Cali Dreamin’” ends the album with an intoxicating confession that he’s trying not to fall in the deep end.

I really didn’t know what to expect when Ouija announced that he was beginning to sign acts to Chapter 17 & when I found out Hexxx was the first new artist, I knew he’d refine his style & that’s exactly what the fuck he does. The way he takes the classic west coast gangsta rap vibes & mixes it with the wicked shit, I haven’t heard uniquely fused together so well in a long time. Chapter 17 definitely knows what they’re doing & this is just the beginning.

Score: 4.5/5

Method Man – “The Meth Lab 3: The Rehab” review

This is the 7th full-length album from Staten Island’s very own Method Man. Coming up as a member of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan, he would go on to have a very successful career of his own on top of that whether it be albums like the solo dolo Tical & the Redman-assisted Blackout! or appearing in movies like How High or shows such as Power. He’s already dropped the first 2 installments of The Meth Lab trilogy to mediocre reception & is already closing it out by dropping The Rehab.

“Stop Crying” with Cappadonna is a soulful opener encouraging that there’s no room for bitching in this game whereas “Butterfly Effect” with RJ Payne finds the 2 over some airy boom bap production talking about being in the public eye. Hanz On tags along for the rock-tinged “Black Ops” taking shots at those who thinks they can be a music critic just before the grimy “Guillotine” produced by Rockwilder reminds everyone how raw Meth is with the lyrics.

Meanwhile on “Live from the Meth Lab”, we have Redman & KRS-One accompanying Meth over some dusty drums declaring themselves as the ones leading into Jadakiss as well as Eddie I & 5th Pxwer coming into the picture for “Switch Sides” talking about they can’t be around those who change up over a crooning vocal sample. 5th Pxwer sticks around for the Bollywood-influenced “Act Up” laced by Erick Sermon telling everyone to move back from them, but then “Training Day” takes a more morbid route thanks to the homie Blizzard welcoming listeners to such.

“King of New York” with Carlton Fisk & Chunk Bizza finds the trio on top of an eerie instrumental advising no one wants trouble with them while the song “Find God” with Intell incorporates some more rap rock production talking about either becoming a born again Christian or grinding hard. The penultimate track “The Last 2 Minutes” is a boom bap banger with a haunting sample saying he’ll give you the world & “K.A.S.E.” with Carlton Fisk & Hanz On ends the album with some social commentary over some more traditional East Coast production.

I didn’t go into this album with the highest expectations given how lackluster the previous 2 installments were, but it’s probably my favorite of the trilogy albeit not by a whole lot. The features are pretty uninteresting for the most part & Meth can still rap his ass off much like the predecessors, but the production is a tad bit better.

Score: 2/5

Jack Harlow – “Come Home the Kids Miss You” review

Jack Harlow is a 24 year old rapper & songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky who broke through when the pandemic started off the single “What’s Poppin’?”. This resulted in DJ Drama & Don Cannon signing him to their Atlantic Records imprint Generation Now Entertainment as well as them putting out his full-length debut That’s What They All Say that same winter, which was pretty mediocre in my opinion. However, I still went into this sophomore effort of his with an open mind given some of the features that were revealed earlier this week.

“Talk of the Town” kicks off the album with a sample of “No No No” by Destiny’s Child so Jack can speak on coming a long way from Bardstown whereas “Young Harleezy” is a generic trap cut with braggadocious lyrics. “I’d Do Anything to Make You Smile” follows it up with a corny romance ballad produced by Boi-1da & Rogét Chahayed, but then “1st Class” is no better as he pretty much bastardizes the classic single “Glamorous” by Fergie & Ludacris.

Meanwhile on “Dua Lipa”, we have Jack simping over the titular singer accompanied by a bland trap beat FNZ made just before “Side Piece” butchers “Beautiful” by Snoop Dogg talking about wanting to bring DeJ Loaf home to meet his family. “Movie Star” is one of the better cuts on the album thanks to Pharrell’s bassy instrumental & his verse at the back end declaring themselves as such, but then “Lil Secret” gets back to the tepid lovey dovey bullshit even though the GoldLink sample is impressive.

“I Got a Shot” is such a pathetic attempt at him hitting on any bitch he wants over a tropical beat while “Churchill Downs” has a more skeletal approach talking about where he’s at now & Drake just phones his verse the fuck in down to the cringy Pusha T jabs. “Like a Blade of Grass” shoots for a moodier vibe with uneventful storytelling about a woman he met in the dark & “Parent Trap” picks it up with cold trap production from Timbaland talking about his lover holding him down.

The song “Poison” with Lil Wayne sees the 2 comparing their significant others to such over a cloudy trap instrumental that Leon Thomas III co-produced sampling “Mrs. Officer” while the penultimate track “Nail Tech” is a decently victorious ballad about the “king” if you can even call him that being back in his hometown. “State Fair” on the other end closes out the album with some hi-hats & a mellow atmosphere reflecting on fame.

What else do y’all want me to say beyond that? I still don’t see what’s so appealing about Jack because this album to me is even worse than That’s What They All Say was. Not that I have anything against pop rap since I’ve made that clear as day if you look at some of my past reviews in the subgenre, but Jack’s performances/songwriting are primarily mediocre mixing that with some decent features & annoying production.

Score: 1.5/5

Black Star – “no fear of time*” review

This is the highly anticipated sophomore album from Brooklyn duo Black Star. Consisting of Yasiin Bey & Talib Kweli, the pair started off as childhood friends before dropping their self-titled debut in the fall of ‘98 to universal acclaim. Both parties would go on to have very successful solo careers of their own, but reunited with Madlib in late 2019 when they recorded no fear of time & is finally seeing the light of day thanks to Luminary.

“O.G. (On God)” opens up the album talking about how the real don’t die over a bass-guitar & some strings hanging in the background whereas “So Be It” has somewhat of a rugged quality to the instrumental going at the throats of anyone who wants to step up to them lyrically. “Sweetheart. Sweethard. Sweetodd” takes a more soulful route getting romantic just before “My Favorite Band” works in a crooning vocal sample to make a dedication to their favorite group of human beings.

Meanwhile on “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing”, we have Yasiin & Kweli on some pianos & dusty drums talking about how automatic they are leading into the entrancing “Yonders” delivering bars like “Real G’s try to stop the violence” as well as how Satan runs everytime they smell him coming. The track “Supreme Alchemy” shoots for a more mellow sound talking about paying tribute & commemorating shortly after while the penultimate song “Freequency” with Black Thought finds the trio over a beat with some jazzy undertones to it repping the few that can sell you their life stories. The title track ends the album by keeping the jazz going talking about floating on.

I didn’t think this album would ever see the light of day, but I’m sure happy as Hell that it did because this is a stellar follow-up to their self-titled debut. Madlib’s production is a bit more abstract in comparison to the duo’s debut, but both of them sound incredibly laser-focused & manage to deliver the conscious hip hop we’ve all come to know & love them for as if it hasn’t been almost 24 years.

Score: 4.5/5

Action Bronson – “Cocodrillo Turbo” review

Action Bronson is a 38 year old MC from New York City who blew up with release of his debut album Dr. Lecter in 2011. He then landed a joint venture with VICE Music & Atlantic Records while following up his debut with a couple EPs & mixtapes. The most notable being the Blue Chips duology, Saab Stories & my personal favorite: Rare Chandeliers. He then put out his major label debut Mr. Wonderful in 2015 & it has some of his best songs on there, but the end result would be a more glitzy mixed bag. He fulfilled his contracts by dropping Blue Chips 7000 & celebrated his freedom the next year in the form of White Bronco which were both solid, but didn’t reach the caliber of Lamb Over Rice the Thanksgiving after. Only for Dolphins though was pretty mid given that some of the production choices were questionable, but I was more optimistic going into his 7th full-length album given the lead single earlier this month.

“Hound Dog” is a rock-tinged opener produced by Daringer declaring himself as such whereas the self-produced “Tongpo” with Conway the Machine goes into bluesier territory with both of them getting in their battle rap bag including a reference to WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE Champion, 11-time WWE tag team champion, the inaugural WWE Hardcore Champion, CWA World Tag Team Champion & TNA World Champion Mick Foley. Hologram tags along for the piano-laced “Estaciones” talking about estimation just before “Jaws” works in a flute & guitar so that Bronson can compare himself to that of a crocodile.

Meanwhile on “Sub0”, we have Bronson on top of some more jazzier production provided by The Alchemist delivering some sick punchlines leading into Meyhem Lauren coming into the picture for the dusty “Turkish” talking about needing the money on the table by this morning. “Jaguar” takes a more soulful route thanks to Roc Marciano spitting some witty braggadocio, but then “Zambezi” finds Marci jumping on the mic with Bronson on top of a beat with some rock undertones to it delivering mafioso bars.

The penultimate track “‘91” shoots for a more keyboard heavy sound addressing those who said he disappeared by explaining he was only practicing while “Storm of the Century” ends the album with a drumless instrumental mixing elements of rock & jazz as Bronson talks about doing things that only the devil happens to know of referencing the late WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion, 2-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion, 2-time ECW World Television Champion & AAA Mundial Parejas Campeon Eddie Guerrero.

I really didn’t know what to expect from Cocodrillo Turbo given the mediocrity of Only for Dolphins but much like Lamb Over Rice, I came away from this album looking at it as one of his best projects in a while. The production is a lot more consistent than it was 7 months ago & I really admire that Bronson decided to bring back the Dr. Baklava alter ego.

Score: 4/5

Autumn! – “Antagonist!” review

Autumn! is a 23 year old rapper/producer from Lafayette, Louisiana who’s made a name himself in the plugg scene by dropping 15 EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018. But in light of him signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records following the release of his previous EP Not Much Longer last summer, he’s now returning with his long-awaited sophomore album & major label debut after teasing it for so long.

The self-produced title track opens up the album with some rage beats throwing shots at KanKan, SeptembersRich & Yeat whereas “STFU!” works in some Atari-like synths & some heavy bass talking about not wanting to hear shit unless it’s about the money. “STFU! 2” picks up right where it’s predecessor left off calling out those who backstabbed him, but then “I’m Him!” takes a ghostly route asking “Why these n****s keep playing like I ain’t him?”.

Meanwhile on “Everything!”, we have Autumn! returning to hypertrap territory declaring himself as a boss just before “Bentley Bentayga!” has a more futuristic flare to it talking about the rich lifestyle. “Bentley Bentayga! 2” is a bombastic follow-up to it’s predecessor asking how many bitches can fit in the titular car leading into the rage-sounding “Etiquette!” admits not knowing shit about protocol.

“Jumpin’!” goes into cloudier yet poppy territory thanks to Internet Money Records’ very own Rio Leyva reflecting on being destined for this music shit while “We Adapted!” returns to a more pluggier sound talking about feeling like a bastard & a pastor. The song “Free Bugga! 3” with Goyxrd is the 3rd tribute that Autumn! has made for his uncle Bugga in prison that’s just has touching as the predecessors while the penultimate track “Talk’s Cheap!” keeps the plugg vibes going talking about moving smarter. “1 Way!” eventually closes out the album with a contemporary R&B ballad addressing an ex.

Coming from someone who got put onto him last summer, I think this is a very impressive major label debut for Autumn! & some of the best work that he’s put out so far. The production is diverse in sound ranging from hypertrap to plugg & I admire that he didn’t go crazy for features to demonstrate his vocal/songwriting talents.

Score: 3.5/5