Foul Mouth is a 42 year old producer & MC from Detroit, Michigan coming up as 1/2 of Da Bash Brotherz with the late PHD & 1/3 of JFK with Jake Knew & King Juke. He would also form the duos Bad News Brown & Speak of the Devil with Ketch P & DJ Skyrah respectively after starting his own label Middle Finger Music in 2018, producing albums for the likes of Fatt Father & Isaac Castor to name a couple. His most notable work has been with Bizarre of prior D12 fame, whether it be his work with King Gordy as L.A.R.S. or the He Got a Gun series & the final moments of “Antichrist” off Eminem’s 13th album THE DƎATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE). However, he’s finally to make his full-length studio debut as lyricist.
The intro breaks the door down with a gritty self-produced instrumental advising all the people ripping off Griselda to get lost whereas “Only the Right” jazzily talks about taking a break from rapping for a decade to focus on his successes producing for some of the biggest names in music. “From Above” featuring Isaac Castor & Jalen Frazier dustily boasts that nobody can ever be anything like them while “Code Red” featuring Bizarre & Fatboi Sharif eerily finds the trio staying in their hardcore bags lyrically.
“Louis Tripp” works in a drumless sample admitting that he’s been feeling lonely as of late even though he’s one of the most in-demand beatsmiths throughout the entire state leading into “Lucky Number” featuring Choke Uno, DJ Clay, Isaac Castor, J-Classic, Metasyons & Tru Klassick coming through with a 3 minute posse cut. “Discharge it to the Game” shows off Foul’s ear for sampling referencing former WWE Cruiserweight Champion, WCW World Tag Team Champion & 2-time WCW World Television Champion Disco Inferno just before the crooning “Bah Say” featuring J-Classic & Kain Cole talks about their boss mentalities.
To begin Everybody Goes Crazy Once’s final act, “Bombs Away (4XL Beefcake)” speaks of being the only attraction down river that hasn’t failed while “The Salton Sea” drumlessly talks about music being his only passion & for has-beens to blame themselves for their own downfall. “All Jokes Aside” confesses that all he ever wanted was to be normal until his soul got sucked through a portal & the title track appropriately sends things off losing it over a boom bap beat.
Knowing this guy personally for almost a decade, Foul Mouth’s always told people that he could freestyle better than he could make beats & Everybody Goes Crazy Once certainly proves his point that I had already figured out from the moment I heard his hooks on “Savage Life” by L.A.R.S. when they dropped their debut EP Foul World after Twiztid had signed them to Majik Ninja Entertainment. I feel like there isn’t much that hasn’t been said already regarding his production which is mostly self-produced but lyrically, his pen has sharpened significantly from his days with his late Bash Brother PHD & the guests that he brings on board all maintain their own weight.
Brooklyn, New York skateboarder, MC, producer, songwriter, visual artist & model Navy Blue starting the week off with his 8th studio LP. Breaking out a decade ago off his debut EP According to the Waterbearer, he would go on to drop 9 more EPs & 6 full-lengths before signing to Def Jam Recordings for his previous album Ways of Knowing produced by Budgie to critical acclaim. Coming off last summer’s Memoirs in Armour EP however, The Sword & The Sword has arrived as we reach the halfway point of the month.
“The Bloodletter” begins by hooking up a drumless piano from Chris Keys advising that you don’t have to die in order to live again whereas the only single “Orchards” takes the boom bap route instrumentally with some strings to talk about being on an other journey of self-discovery. “God’s Kingdom” produced by Graymatter gets back on the drumless vibes finding himself unable to cry lately since his uncle Carl passed while “Sunlight of the Spirit” soulfully talks about life being to beautiful to hide the way he’s living.
Moving on from there, “Guardadas” keeps it drumless calmly desiring for peace & recognition just before “My Heartbeat” heads for a jazzier boom bap direction talking about not being defined by who he’s living for soaring through an existential war. “Tale of the Truth” strips the drums once again trying to tone down the voices depriving him of his patience leading into the self-produced “Fight On” talking about love being the very thing he’s fighting for.
“Kindred Spirit” starts the 2nd half remembering the late Ka in light of his tragic passing 13 months earlier over a saxophone while “If Only…” brings a bluesy guitar in the fold apologizing for not returning calls due to falling back. “Illusions” maintains a drumless sound talking about looking high & low when he was high & low while “24 Gospel” featuring Earl Sweatshirt finds the 2 abstractly bodying a gospel sample that Animoss flipped.
To kick off The Sword & The Soaring’s final quarter, “Here & Now” jumps over a sampled piano for a couple minutes explaining his pain is where his day resides while Sebb Bash gives “Soul Investments” an appropriately soulful edge to it asks why he’s on with keeping lesser if he has more to gain. “Sharing Life blends these luscious keys & a flute talking about fatherhood while “The Phoenix” comes to the realization that the trials & tribulations have taught him he’s worthy of affection.
Navy Blue’s entire discography has been defined by his introspectively abstract lyricism & drumless production, but his newest album takes his use of music as a therapeutic outlet to newer territories having The Sword thematically representing an earthly tool used for the battle he’s cohesively describing or in this case grief & The Soaring symbolizing the heavenly council. The production on this one is soothingly peaceful handling only 25% of it himself & Ka would certainly be proud of the way he’s being honored if he was still here.
Hatch Wiseguy is a 37 year old MC from Detroit, Michigan making his full-length debut 2 decades ago with Wise Guy & following it up with an EP called Likewise. He would later go on to receive co-signs from local veterans like Royce da 5’9″ & Trick-Trick to established icons like The LOX & the late DMX, even forming a duo with Pony Evans called Role Idols. I also thought that he had the best performance of the 3 on the track he contributed to off Blizzard’s debut album Duel with Death, so hearing that he was returning for a sophomore effort felt long overdue in my personal opinion.
“To Whom It May Concern” produced by Foul Mouth starts off by hooking up a piano-based boom bap instrumental playing with fiery Hell like 2 magnums whereas “Pop Off” featuring Astray & Paradime finds the trio over a more jazzily soulful instrumental from Blizzard talking about needing head doctors since they’re so crazy. “Prolific” flexes his status with the pen continuing to demonstrate Foul’s ear for sampling just before “Foreigner” lavishly talks about popping overseas with his Gs.
38 Spesh joins the Wiseguy on the grimy boom bap collaboration “Yikes” giving no fucks as to what these pussies are like out here these days leading into “Snakes” featuring Astray reuniting the 2 to call out those exact kind of people scheming behind their backs over a dusty beat. “We Outside” featuring Bizarre gets together to give the audience that raw shit prior to “Leap Frog” featuring Marv Won talking about both of them hurdling over all these bitches, with Hatch referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson alongside the greatest basketball player of all-time Michael Jordan & the late king of pop Michael Jackson.
“It’s Not Ok” featuring KXNG CROOKED begins the 2nd half with both artists looking to keep angels by their side whenever they’re out because of devils following them while the drumless “Make You Proud” talks about having to learn some lessons the hard way & seeing his father pass away in front of him. “Seeing is Believing” brings the kicks & snares back in the fold humbly living his dreams until “Chill” scoffs at these group of people acting like bitches. “Bare My Soul” featuring Astray explains that he made this album because there’s not enough love being spread these days & “Nincompoop” wraps things up with some shit-talking.
Intentionally making this a niche boom bap project for those who truly appreciate the craft & artistry of lyricism & hip hop at it’s most traditional instead of the casual rap listener or a sing-a-long crowd, Dirt & Diamonds checks all the boxes in regards of making it a triumphant comeback from very personal moments to bangers, stories, lyrical exercises & some good ol’ bops. Pulling a lot of strings to include some of the top talents in the genre from features to production & even live instrumentation, it’s like he’s catching up with all of us as to what’s been going on with him & his growth since the last time he dropped forever ago.
New York underground duo Armand Hammer signing to Rhymesayers Entertainment for their 7th LP. Consisting of billy woods & Elucid, they formed together a decade ago already off their only mixtape Half Measures & the debut album Race Music. The pair would go on to release an EP & 4 more albums worth of abstract political hip hop, with the last one Haram fully produced by The Alchemist becoming the most critically acclaimed within their discography. We Buy Diabetic Test Strips quickly became the greatest musical statement in Fat Possum Records’ entire discography, reuniting with Uncle Al for the Haram sequel Mercy & switching labels from Fat Possum to Rhymesayers.
“Laraaji” comes out the gate hooking up an uncanny sample saving a reference to the late Ka’s 9th & final album The Thief Next to Jesus for billy’s verse whereas “Peshawar” trades the mic with one another over a piano talking about the technological advancements in AI with the “thou shall not make a machine in the likeness of a human” line. “Calypso Gene” embraces a jazzier vibe instrumentally using water as a metaphor for spiritual cleansing just before “Glue Traps” featuring Quelle Chris topically finds the trio addressing more economic issues.
We get some heavy pianos throughout “Scandinavia” talking about life being filtered through white curtains being stranger than the northern European subregion while “Nil by Mouth” continues to put Alchemist’s ear for sampling on full display comparing their flows to remote control lightning. “Dogeared” ends the 1st half with a drumless beat talking about their love running deep until “Crisis Phone” addresses the type of people who don’t know what it means to bleed.
“Moonbow” continues the 2nd leg of Mercy by incorporating a chipmunk soul instrumental hoping all shine through until the end of their days while “No Grabba” combines elements of boom bap & cloud rap talking about their preference of smoking weed without mixing tobacco with it. “U Know My Body” feels more like a brief billy woods solo track going on a complete massacre while “Longjohns” featuring Quelle Chris talks about seeing it all.
The 3rd & final single “California Games” featuring Earl Sweatshirt samples “Rehearse with Ornette” to continue the abstract brilliance of their previous collaborations “Falling Out the Sky” & of course “Tabula Rasa” while “Super Nintendo” wraps things up with a lead single that combines drumless, neo-psychedelia & chiptune using that very console as a metaphor for childhood memories fleeting away.
Despite being confirmed by both billy woods & Elucid that the creative processes behind Haram & Mercy were similar, you’d be disappointed to expect Armand Hammer’s debut under the triennal Rhymesayers Entertainment to sound much like it’s predecessor because that isn’t the case whatsoever. Obviously less experimental than We Buy Diabetic Test Strips was over 25 months earlier, the drumless & jazz rap influences of Haram still remain behind the revered abstract hip hop duo to test out more back-&-forth flows.
Rosalía is a 33 year old atypical pop star from Sant Cugat del Vallès, Catalonia, Spain introducing herself in 2017 with the new flamenco full-length debut Los Ángeles. Her sophomore effort El Mal Querer under Columbia Records would catapult her into stardom for embracing a more experimental flamenco sound & Motomami conceptually built itself around the way she was feeling during the 17-month studio sessions that conceived it. Preparing for a deeply personal return, her 4th studio album & it’s only single unsurprisingly marked a stylistic change of pace.
Rosalía es una estrella del pop atípica de 33 años, originaria de Sant Cugat del Vallès, Cataluña, España, que se dio a conocer en 2017 con su primer álbum de flamenco, Los Ángeles. Su segundo trabajo, El Mal Querer, con Columbia Records, la catapultó al estrellato por adoptar un sonido flamenco más experimental, y Motomami se construyó conceptualmente en torno a cómo se sentía durante las 17 meses de sesiones de estudio en las que lo concibió. Preparándose para un regreso profundamente personal, su cuarto álbum de estudio y su único sencillo marcaron, como era de esperar, un cambio de ritmo estilístico.
“Sexo, Violencia y Llantas” starts with some strings & pianos dichotomizing the physical & spiritual worlds that we’ve all become too familiar with while “Reliquia” works in more keys & violins to sing about wanting this person to take a piece of her with them as an heirloom. “Divinize” embraces a heavy art pop sound feeling more alive than she ever has whereas “Porcelana” tells the story of a 17th century Japanese nun named 良年幻象.
«Sexo, Violencia y Llantas» comienza con unos acordes de cuerda y piano que dicotomizan los mundos físico y espiritual con los que todos estamos tan familiarizados, mientras que «Reliquia» utiliza más teclados y violines para cantar sobre el deseo de que esa persona se lleve un pedazo de ella como reliquia. «Divinize» adopta un sonido art pop pesado que la hace sentir más viva que nunca, mientras que «Porcelana» cuenta la historia de una monja japonesa del siglo XVII llamada Ryōnen Gensō.
We get an art pop/classical crossover with “Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti” to conclude the 1st quarter singing about a friendship considered contemplative until the only single “Berghain” fuses those 2 previously mentioned genres with orchestral music, opera, choral & romanticism referencing the famous Berlin techno club. “La Perla” featuring Yahritza Y Su Esencia conceptually feels reminiscent of “Promesa” off RR’s eponymous debut EP leading into “Mundo Nueveo” reinterpreting “Quisiera Yo Renegar” by La Niña de los Peines to renounce the world entirely.
Con «Mio Cristo Piange Diamanti» obtenemos una mezcla de art pop y música clásica que concluye el primer cuarto, cantando sobre una amistad considerada contemplativa, hasta que el único sencillo, «Berghain», fusiona los dos géneros mencionados anteriormente con música orquestal, ópera, coros y romanticismo, haciendo referencia al famoso club techno de Berlín. «La Perla», con Yahritza Y Su Esencia, recuerda conceptualmente a «Promesa», del EP homónimo debut de RR, que da paso a «Mundo Nueveo», una reinterpretación de «Quisiera Yo Renegar», de La Niña de los Peines, para renunciar por completo al mundo.
“De Madrugá” produced by Pharrell & former G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer Noah Goldstein hooks up these violins for Rosalía to conclude the 1st half assuring that revenge’s seeking her & having 1,000 tongues of fire in her hair prior to “Dios Es un Stalker” topically stalking a man that she has her eyes on to make him fall in love with her. “La Yugular” goes bilingual singing in Spanish & Arabic promising that she’ll tear down the sky & destroy Hell for the love she has for this man while “Focu ‘Ranni” takes inspiration from Santa Rosalía de Palermo.
«De Madrugá», producida por Pharrell y el antiguo productor interno de G.O.O.D. Music, Noah Goldstein, acompaña a Rosalía con violines para concluir la primera mitad, asegurando que la venganza la busca y que tiene mil lenguas de fuego en su cabello antes de «Dios Es un Stalker», que acosa temáticamente a un hombre al que le ha echado el ojo para que se enamore de ella. «La Yugular» es una canción bilingüe, cantada en español y árabe, en la que promete que derribará el cielo y destruirá el infierno por el amor que siente por este hombre, mientras que «Focu ‘Ranni» se inspira en Santa Rosalía de Palermo.
The desire of purging all things materialistic creeps up during “Sauvignon Blanc” no longer being afraid of the past over a piano while “Jeanne” bases itself around the Joan of Arc, entrusting herself to God’s wishes. “Novia Robot” takes a jab at the men who prefer their women to be pliantly emotionless while “La Rumba del Perdón” sings about a stereotypical dad leaves for cigarettes & doesn’t come back situation without making it sound cliche.
El deseo de purgar todo lo materialista se apodera de nosotros durante «Sauvignon Blanc», en la que ya no tememos al pasado acompañados por un piano, mientras que «Jeanne» se basa en Juana de Arco, que se entrega a los designios de Dios. «Novia Robot» critica a los hombres que prefieren que sus mujeres sean dóciles y sin emociones, mientras que «La Rumba del Perdón» canta sobre la situación estereotipada de un padre que sale a comprar cigarrillos y no vuelve, sin que suene a cliché.
“Memória” featuring Carminho pushes further towards the final moments of Lux combining art pop & fudo pondering if anybody will remember who they are after enough time has passed sharing the microphone together while “Magnolias” finishes up the LP by summing up her own funeral, singing to be honored with delicacy & love when she’s not here anymore having the flowers that symbolize the presence of Christ in the deceased thrown at her grave.
«Memória», con la colaboración de Carminho, avanza hacia los momentos finales de Lux, combinando art pop y fudo, reflexionando sobre si alguien recordará quiénes son después de que haya pasado el tiempo suficiente, compartiendo el micrófono juntos, mientras que «Magnolias» cierra el LP resumiendo su propio funeral, cantando para ser honrada con delicadeza y amor cuando ya no esté aquí, con las flores que simbolizan la presencia de Cristo en los difuntos arrojadas sobre su tumba.
To enhance the classical crossover experience she was aiming for, Rosalía brought the London Symphony Orchestra in ensuring Lux would become the most universal listening experience of her career split in 4 different movements performed in 14 different languages to stick out in the divided world we’ve come to know. The production eschews the reggaeton influences of Motomami to additionally pull from orchestral music, flamenco pop & singer/songwriter for a conceptual look at her relationships both from a romantic & a religious standpoint.
Para mejorar la experiencia de fusión clásica que buscaba, Rosalía contó con la London Symphony Orchestra para garantizar que Lux se convirtiera en la experiencia auditiva más universal de su carrera, dividida en cuatro movimientos diferentes interpretados en catorce idiomas distintos para destacar en el mundo dividido que conocemos. La producción evita las influencias del reguetón de Motomami para inspirarse adicionalmente en la música orquestal, el pop flamenco y los cantautores, con el fin de ofrecer una visión conceptual de sus relaciones tanto desde un punto de vista romántico como religioso.
Score: 4.5/5
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Aaron Parks is a 42 year old pianist from Seattle, Washington making his debut in the late 90s, putting out 4 full-lengths as a leader until making his Blue Note Records solo debut the following decade with his magnum opus Invisible Cinema. He would go on to put out 9 more LPs until returning to Blue Note last summer for the final chapter of the Little Big trilogy, which marked my personal favorite installment of the 3 & his 16th album has arrived 13 months since coming back to the greatest jazz label.
“A Way” starts us off bringing bassist Ben Street, tenor saxophonist Ben Solomon & drummer Billy Hart all on board for a post-bop intro whereas the lead single “Parks Lope” shows a bit of a John Coltrane influence bringing a bluesier vibe for only a minute shorter than the opener. The 2nd single “For Maria José” serves as a compositional love letter to Aaron‘s wife that she’s surely adore prior to “Dense Phantasy” pulling inspiration from the late Bill Evans.
The song “Anywhere Together” begins the 2nd half of By Any Means!! with a post-bop jam reminiscent of the late Wayne Shorter’s early output (Juju & See No Evil in particular) while “Little River” publicly expresses the love he has for his son Lucas during the 3rd & final single. Of course I can’t for get to mention “Raincoat”, which so ends the last 6 & a half minutes on a succulent note colliding the piano & tenor sax with some cymbals.
Distancing himself from the jazz fusions that’ve defined a great deal of his output since the late 2010s or so, Aaron Parks reunites the very same trio who brought us Find the Way to embrace a rootsier post-bop approach throughout By Any Means!! as opposed to Invisible Cinema’s lenience towards the ECM style. It may even be his greatest musical statement of his career, celebrating his family & the traditions of jazz music as a whole.
Insecure Men is a neo-psychedelia duo from London, England, United Kingdom consisting of bassist Ben Romans-Hopcraft & vocalist/guitarist Saul Adamczewski. Originally a trio with Nathan Saoudi, they would go on to sign to Fat Possum Records & made their eponymous full-length studio debut in 2018 establishing themselves in the windmill scene by additionally pulling from psychedelic hypnagogic pop, returning for a sophomore effort after almost 8 years since properly introducing themselves.
The psychedelic pop intro “Love Again” sings about the horizons not always signify a new beginning whereas the 3rd & final single “Cleaning Bricks” takes inspiration from an old job they had. “Krab” feels like somewhat of a spiritual successor to “The Drones” by The Fat White Family left off their 2016 sophomore effort Songs for Our Mothers while the 2nd single “Time’s a Healer” sings about a hallucinatory narcotic dream that occurred this summer to conclude the 1st act.
“Tulse Hill Station” starts the 2nd half with an ode to the London railway station of the same name prior to the lead single “Alien” comes across as being envious that the woman of interest is seeing other dudes & feels like he’s a complete outsider to her. “Butter” asks what’s left for a person who lost their dream summer job while “Graveyard (Of Our Love)” sings about a relationship that didn’t last & the protagonist hoping he isn’t as stupid as he was. “Weak” concludes the LP with a folkier note pleading to have a hole drank inside their heads due to feebleness.
Focusing less around the hypnagogic pop elements of self-titled, A Man for All Seasons conceptually builds itself around Saul Adamczewski’s hospitalization for severe psychosis & opioid addiction sparking an entire artistic rebirth that includes 2 more albums exploring country & dub music to the fullest extent. The neo-psychedelic pop production of Insecure Men’s debut has matured greatly in the last 7 years since we’ve heard them together exemplified by some of the indie folk elements, taking a more confessionally escapist approach to the lyrics.
Port Arthur, Texas emcee & entrepreneur Bun B returning for his 7th studio LP. Coming up as 1/2 of the iconic duo UGK over 3 decade ago, he eventually released his solo debut Trill in the fall of 2005 & & began focusing towards his solo career a few months after UGK’s self-titled double album when his cohort Pimp C passed away. Bun went on to release 5 more albums, with the last one being the Cory Mo-produced Mo Trill & to which Way Mo Trill serves as an official sequel to ahead of it’s predecessor turning 4 in a few months.
“There He Go” featuring 8Ball & MJG starts with them forever staying on the grind every minute & every hour whereas the final single “Everywhere We Go” by UGK featuring Juicy J & Project Pat talks about representing the south regardless of where they’re at. “Better Believe It” featuring LaRussell co-produced by DJ Toomp pulls from gospel a bit flexing that they’re back bigger & better while “I Can’t Lie” featuring Monaleo & Scotty ATL after the “Queenie Keeping It Trill 2” skit finds the trio talking about not letting hoes ride with Ray Murray of Organized Noize handling co-production.
Killa Kyleon & Young Dro appear for the soulful lead single “Can’t Stop My Hustle” refusing to pump the brakes in terms of hustling while “Down in the South” featuring Akeem Ali & 24hrs talks about bumping country rap tunes in the ride driving around the city. Woodie Woo joins Bun in clarifying that they’re “Still Outside” & after “N****s Ain’t Right” featuring Z-Ro calls out the frauds, Jay Worthy alongside Legendary Baller & Scar get together with Bun to “Put You on Game”.
Starting the deluxe run, “Be About Some Bread” featuring Talib Kweli joins forces over sample-based trap instrumental advising to get the fuck out the game if you don’t even know how to play it when they’re absolutely correct about it while the final bonus track “Fight Music” featuring Grafh & Termanology finishes up with all 3 of them over some horns & hi-hats for a song either the WWE or the UFC divisions of the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings would include in a future video game soundtrack.
Unfortunately as much as I enjoyed Mo Trill for it’s demonstration of Bun B & Cory Mo’s artistic chemistry approximately 3 & a half years earlier, I wouldn’t consider the sequel to be on par with the predecessor even though I’m very much torn coming away from it. Not because of Cory’s dirty south/trap production or the killer lyricism from the founder of II Trill Enterprises & Trill Burgers, but mainly due to the opinion that the list of guests subtly tones down in consistency.
This is the 4th studio LP from Inglewood, California emcee & songwriter Domo Genesis. Starting in mid-2009 as a member of the now defunct Odd Future collective, he’s gone on to give us 3 full-lengths accompanied by 4 mixtapes & an EP excluding the Facade Records trilogy within the last dozen years, my personal favorites of which being his debut mixtape Rolling Papers, The Alchemist-produced 3rd mixtape No Idols, the Evidence-produced debut EP Aren’t U Glad You’re U? and sophomore effort Intros, Outros & Interludes. Doms’ last album What You Don’t Get!? produced by Graymatter had a more drumless sound & coming off World Gone Mad this summer, they’re advising any & all competition to Scram!.
“Sheddingweight” begins with a delicately drumless beat talking about being paid in pounds & not needing any extra baggage whereas “Makemealilmoney” takes an orchestral route instrumentally looking to get paid. “Goodgracious” talks about time waving the long hand wondering how fast it’ll prior to “Clocking2u” featuring Evidence bodying a bare sample together.
Moving on from there, “Money” discusses the most important thing that builds his ego with a more suspenseful sound just before the calming “Dedication” talks about always staying on his feet even when he’s sleeping. “Kurtrambis” kicks off the 2nd half reminding that he’s been running up numbers & others being too afraid to call it the way it is while “Deyknow” talks about the pedigree being stronger than the complication.
“Plainface” brings some synths into the fold speaking of those trying to use his likeness while the heavenly “Tiresmoke” talks about letting bullshit breathe instead of drawing guns. “Buenosnachos” chops up a soul sample to advise that his latest efforts aren’t a tone else’s honors while “Everythingimnot” featuring 3wayslim talks about changing in many ways. “Pray4u” wraps things up with a message to a person he loves more than himself.
Finally accepting himself at face value, Scram! sorta feels like everything that makes Domo Genesis who he is combined into 1. Graymatter’s production more soulful than What You Don’t Get?! & World Gone Mad were, both guests were refreshing to hear as much as I enjoyed both predecessors for holding the fort individually & Doms pens what could very likely be the most abstract lyrics of his entire career accepting himself at face value.
Chicago, Illinois rapper & songwriter G Herbo making his Uptown Records debut with his 9th LP. Breaking out over a decade ago off his debut mixtape Welcome to Fazoland, the resulted in him earning a spot in the legendary 2016 XXL Freshman Class along with 8 full-length albums, the previous ones being the 2-disc Survivor’s Remorse & more recently Big Swerv. Almost 4 & a half years since making his Republic Records debut 25, the artist formerly known as Lil Herb had been moved over to the relaunched Uptown subsidiary so he can take it back to his origins.
“Every Night” begins with a soulful drill instrumental talking about reasonably crying nonstop when his brother passed away whereas “Reason” produced by Don Cannon made for a promising lead single flexing that he’s why people have left the block to become rich, only to return. “Longevity” finds himself feeling like no one can fuck with him although the beat doesn’t move me the same way Southside & Smatt Sertified’s on “Blitz” does, using it to show off his champion status.
We get some strings & 808s meshing with one another during “Radar” asking if anybody listening has ever lived through a nightmare leading into “Where Would I Be?” referencing No Limit Records, who whooped Cash Money Records’ asses at the Verzuz occurring at ComplexCon a couple weeks ago. “Win Again” talks about forever stickin’ to the code for a W just before “1 Chance” reaches the halfway point encouraging the world to not blow their shot.
“Emergency” featuring Wyclef Jean finds the unlikely pairing joining forces over a Turbo instrumental to talk about having bullets piercing through their hearts while “Fallen Soldiers” remembers Juice WRLD, King Von & Pop Smoke respectively. “Give It All” talks about trading the money & fame for a chance to see his brother again while “Whatever U Want” has to be one of the weaker moments of Lil Herb moderately dabbling with pop rap.
The song “Thank Me” featuring Anderson .Paak gets together over some horns sampling WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg’s historic Hollywood Walk of Fame speech right when you press play feeling grateful that neither of them went broke while “Colossal” credits staying on top of business & logistics to him going hard. “Went Legit” concludes the album telling his rags-to-riches story looking back at the days when he had nothing to his successes, but the “Lil Herb Freestyle” starts the deluxe run with that “Ether” flow.
“Ran Thru” talks about making a career out of his pain while “This n That 2” boasts that he was riding around in phantoms before he even got his driver’s license & proving the world isn’t bigger than him for the last 15 years. “Hold My Hand” makes classy usage of sampling to prefer being honest of having no love towards fake shit instead of keeping it to himself & the final bonus track “No Bap” talking about being the only one paying out the bill whenever it’s due.
Needless to say: G Herbo’s last couple of projects have ranged from being average at best to uninspired at worst, so his Uptown Records debut here seemed like he would go back to what made him so popular over a decade ago & it’s exactly what he does sure enough. The production is the most Chicago drill-oriented since possibly 25, which makes up for Survivor’s Remorse & Big Swervo’s mixed-to-negative reception due to the way they both distance from that very sound & the passion of Welcome to Fazoland has been revived in a new incarnation.
Legends Will Never Die 