Esham – “Psyops” review

Esham is a 48 year old MC/producer from Detroit, Michigan who is widely recognized as the godfather of horrorcore alongside his former Natas cohorts Mastamind & the late TNT. His run from 1989-2005 (particularly the albums KKKill the Fetus, Closed Casket & Doubelievengod?) would go on to lay out the groundwork for subsequent horrorcore acts such as the Insane Clown Posse & even Eminem. His output since then has incredibly inconsistent but after dropping an unbearable cover of “Rock ‘n’ Roll N****r” by the punk poet laureate Patti Smith herself over the spring, I was still morbidly curious going into The Unholy’s 22nd full-length offering given his impact on this reviewer’s hometown as well as the most underappreciated subgenre of hip hop culture.

“Off Duty” opens the album with some funky bass licks & a heavy guitar calling out the guy who filmed George Floyd’s murder rather than doing something whereas “Wildlife” keeps the rap rock vibes going detailing how it is in the jungles even though I don’t really like how muffled Esham’s voice is. “B.L.M. (Burn, Loot, Murder)” has a riff buried in the drums that sounds like it was taken from the 60’s calling to retaliate against Big Brother, but then “Ms. Information” weaves in a bare guitar riff to call out the uneducated with a garish hook.

Meanwhile on “Lone Wolf”, we have Esham on top of some punky drums advising to stay away from criminals just before “#NoGoZone” has a much more rawer aesthetic to it sonically talking about the hard times we’re in. “Scam Likely” weaves in a buzzing guitar lead tackling identity thief leading into “Silver Bullet”, which is an 83 second riot starter Down the heavier riff.

“Selling Dope” literally has nothing to do with such rather it’s yet another addition to the evergrowing list of boring Esham love songs whereas “SNAFU” gets back on the punk tip talking about partying 24/7 with some catchy whistling throughout. The distorted guitar on “A Love Song” is pretty badass even though the vocals & lyrics are just awful while the track “Unholies” has a more bluesy tone to it getting in hustler bag. The penultimate song “Reel Spill” seems like an off-the-cuff freestyle even though I do like the a bare guitar instrumental & the title track rounds it off with a badass revolutionary ballad.

I genuinely had no what idea to expect from Psyops, but it just so happens to be Esham’s best album since Dichotomy. Dude’s always been notorious for sampling rock music throughout his career, so it’s nice to hear him stick to that sound for the course of an entire project. Plus given that Reel Life Productions has been based in Minneapolis for quite some time now & the protests that took place over there a year & a half ago as a result of George Floyd’s murder, I like how he sticks to this political/conscious concept revolving around it. However, my only real complaint is that some of these songs could’ve been mixed better.

Score: 4/5

Roddy Ricch – “Live Life Fast” review

This is the highly anticipated sophomore album from Compton, California rapper Roddy Ricch. Coming up in the fall of 2017 off his debut mixtape Feed tha Streets, he would follow it up with a sequel almost a year later & signed to Atlantic Records shortly after. His full-length debut Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial was a significant improvement over this early tapes & with the 2-year anniversary of that album passing by a couple weeks ago, Roddy is finally following it up with Live Life Fast.

After the titular intro, the first song “thailand” starts off the album excellently with a bassy instrumental from Southside & some catchy braggadocio whereas “all good” follows it up with a zestful Ronny J beat as well as Future tagging along to talk about everything being straight. “rollercoastin’” to me seems like a blatant Young Thug ripoff that goes over horribly, but then “hibachi” seems out of place since Roddy barely has any presence on it only handling the hook. Even though Kodak Black’s verse at the start is just vapid, 21 Savage manages to go off at the backend of it & I also like Wheezy’s twangy production.

Meanwhile on “paid my dues”, we have Roddy & Takeoff impressively going back & forth with each other on top of a spacious Boi-1da instrumental about earning everything they got just before “crash the party” follows it up with some keyboards & hi-hats pondering if this woman really loves him. “no way” follows it up by talking about how he can’t trust an ungrateful bitch on top of a tranquil Cardo beat & after the “slow it down” interlude, “man made” is a fantastic piano ballad about being proud of himself.

“murda 1” with Fivio Foreign has a more cloudier approach to it with the help of Kenny Beats as the 2 compliment each other well spitting that gangsta shit while “everything you need” comes off as a boring attempt at a moody, lovey dovey ballad. Lil Baby comes into the picture for “moved to miami” proclaiming themselves as champs with TM88 having the best instrumental on the album without question, but I can’t say the same for “don’t i” even though Roddy & Gunna both kill their verses.

After the “bibi’s interlude”, the song “more than a trend” reveals itself as a half baked attempt at being flirtatious down to the skeletal beat while the penultimate track “late at night” takes another jab at it except it’s MUCH much better from the DJ Mustard beat to the songwriting. “$25M” finishes it all off with a cavernous banger produced by Tarentino reflecting on a vow he made when he was younger to make more bread.

For the 2 year wait, I’d say Live Life Fast very much lived up to the hype & I’ll even go as far to say that it’s Roddy’s most impressive body of work yet. It’s more well-produced compared to his previous material & I appreciate that he’s showing a more vulnerable side to him lyrically

Score: 3.5/5

Endemic Emerald – “The Virux” review

Endemic Emerald is a 42 year old producer from New York City who started putting out projects of his own in 2009 with the full-length debut Terminal Illness. This was followed up with a sequel record nearly half a decade later & now coming fresh off fully producing Darkim Be Allah’s sophomore effort Antediluvian King last fall, Endemic is enlisting a lengthy list of underground MCs for his 3rd album.

After the titular intro, the first song “Militant Ethos” by Royal Flush, Ruste Juxx, Steele, Tragedy Khadafi sets the album off fantastically with a glistening boom bap instrumental comparing themselves to that of a militia whereas “Champion Sound” by Darkim Be Allah & Kasim Allah weaves in some organ melodies talking about being victorious. “The Awakening” by FRD FRLN, Lucky Tatt & Planet Asia sonically picks up where previous cut left off getting spiritual leading into the symphonic “Across 110th Street” by Revenge of the Truence flexing their lyrical abilities.

Meanwhile on “Critical Mae”, we have Rim alongside Innocent & Foul Monday over some more organ loops declaring themselves as that real hardcore just before “Actual Science” by Planet Asia, Sadat X & Darkim Be Allah is chockfull of insightful lyricism on top of some classy production. “They Live” by Chris Rivers & Revenge of the Truence goes into a more eerier direction paying homage to the WWE Hall of Famer Roddy Piper film of the same name.

The song “Battle Zone” by Ruste Juxx, Skanks & Supreme goes back into boom bap turf with some keyboards causing ruckus lyrically while the penultimate track “Yesterday’s Tomorrow by Innocent, Mic Handz & Dready Kruger weaves in a chipmunk soul sample paying homage to the fallen icons of our culture. “The Struggle” by Neek the Exotic & Darkim Be Allah is then a touching closer talking about making a respective hustle.

Coming away from this, I think it could very well be Endemic Emerald’s best solo outing thus far. I think the whole bioweapon concept is very well thought out & despite a few lackluster performances, the MCs manage to do their thing on the mic.

Score: 3.5/5

Rick Ross – “Richer Than I Ever Been” review

This is the 11th full-length album from Miami, Florida rapper, entrepreneur, record executive & Maybach Music Group Rick Ross. Making his debut on wax in 2000 on Erick Sermon’s 3rd album Erick Onasis he would eventually make his full-length debut 6 years later with Port of Miami & was followed up by Trilla. Both of which were just ok, but it wouldn’t be until 2009 that Rozay would really solidify himself as a legend in the game as Deeper Than Rap, Teflon Don, God Forgives, I Don’t & Mastermind are all rightfully regarded as his best bodies of work. Rather You Than Me & Port of Miami 2 were both impressive as well, so to see him come back in the form of Richer Than I Ever Been had me excited given the mediocrity of both Expensive Pain & Folarin II earlier this fall.

The-Dream tags along for the opener “Little Havana” advising listeners that you gotta learn to use your mind to help keep you out of certain situations on top of a Boi-1da instrumental whereas the Timbaland-produced “The Pulitzer”, which has a more ominous sound & boastful lyrics. Benny the Butcher comes into the fold for the lavish “Rapper Estates” talking about living big time, but then “Marathon” weaves in a glistening STREETRUNNER beat reminding that he’s more than rich.

Future accompanies Rozay on “Warm Words in a Cold World” alongside Wale coming fresh off performing during former WWE Champion, NXT Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 8-time WWE tag team champion Big E’s entrance at WrestleMania XXXVII this past spring although his 2nd reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion came to an end by former WWE United States Champion Apollo Crews for an infectiously fun ballad about icing out their shawties leading into the DreamDoll-assisted “Wiggle” which is basically a failed attempt at strip club banger despite the Don Cannon instrumental.

“Can’t Be Broke” has an admirable concept on top of Johnny Shipes’ production being another notable factor, but Yungeen Ace & Major 9’s performances are both wack as fuck. “Made It Out Alive” has one of the weaker beats on the album even though Rozay kills it lyrically detailing him surviving the hood prior to Gordo, araabMUZIK & Infamous bringing in the horns for “Outlawz” with 21 Savage declaring themselves as such forever.

The song “Imperial High” has a grim DJ Toomp instrumental comparing himself to royalty while the Black Metaphor-produced title track has a more piano heavy sound talking about being at his wealthiest. To finish the album off, “Hella Smoke” with Wiz Khalifa for the glossy weed smoking theme.

Ross has always stayed consistent with his music, but I feel like Richer Than I Ever Been is one of his best albums thus far. The production is top notch as to be expected & lyrically, it’s nice to hear him take listeners through where he’s at currently.

Score: 3.5/5

Canibus – “Kaiju” review

Canibus is 47 year old MC from Kingston, Jamaica who came up as 1/2 of the duo T.H.E.M. alongside C.I. back in ‘92. They eventually split up a few years later & Bis would blow up in ‘97 after appearing on the LL Cool J song “4, 3, 2, 1” that later resulted in a beef between both parties. He would then go on to make a lengthy yet consistent discography with albums like Rip the Jacker being breathtaking at best & then Mind Control being unlistenable at worst. Last we heard from him was in 2015 with the incredible Time Flys, Life Dies…Phoenix Rise fully produced by Bronze Nazareth & is now enlisting Body Bag Ben for his 16th full-length outing.

“Curmudgeon” sets off the whole album with a symphonic boom bap instrumental killing it for 4-minute about how bad-tempered he is whereas the “Entameta” remix sounds better than the original although the DMX feature is pointless because he doesn’t have a verse at all. “Hydra” takes a more dustier route ripping his opposition to shreds just before the production on “Live Action Role Play” seems ripped out of a horror flick portraying a dystopian future.

I have no doubt in my mind that “Travis Scott Concert” with Body Bag Ben himself & Born Sun was recorded before the ASTROWORLD Fest crowd crush that took place last month, but for him to keep it on the album just seems a little too soon if that makes any sense. However, “Animal Husbandry” picks things back up by declaring not giving a duck about much other than well-prepared bars on top of a dire beat. “COVID Santa” paints some incredibly vivid imagery having a more occult sound to it just before the intimidating “Kaiju Karaoke” continuing to slit doubters’ throats.

Meanwhile on “The Long Road”, we have ‘Bis on top of some dusty drums & shrilling synth melodies to take a ride out to the country side while the song “Verzuz”. As for the last 2 tracks: They’re both unnecessary remixes of the MF DOOM/Kool Keith loosie “Notebook 04” & “Desperados”, which was one of my favorites off Hus Kingpin’s last album The Firm.

For the 6 year wait, this is a fantastic comeback for the rapping scientist & arguably one of the best albums of his career thus far. He sounds incredibly focused continuing to rap circles around cats like it’s nothing & Body Bag Ben knocks it out or the park behind the boards.

Score: 4/5

O.T. the Real – “Broken Glass” review

This is the 3rd album from Philadelphia emcee O.T. the Real. Coming 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 an eponymous full-length debut & 2 EPs. His sophomore album Evil Empire just came out at the beginning of the year & celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the Heatmakerz-produced The Irishman, but is now finishing 2021 by enlisting DJ Green Lantern to produce Broken Glass from start to finish

The title track is a cold blooded opener talking about coming up from the mud whereas the piano laced “Coke & Guns” with Benny the Butcher perfectly gets in their mafioso bags. “4 Wheeler” has a more drearier sound talking about being remembered when he’s gone leading into Millyz tagging along for the combative “Go to War”.

Meanwhile on “The Wheels Fall Off”, we have O.T. delivering a powerful piano ballad about riding until the end just before “The Details” has a more chipmunk soul vibe spilling his come-up on wax. Eto & Uncle Murda come into the fold for the downhearted “So Foul” calling out the industry, but then “You Do It” goes into a more bluesy direction talking about how there’s rules to life even though it ain’t no game.

“Serious Shit” hauntingly advises listeners that this is as real as it gets even though SKNJ’s verse is a bit underwhelming & the “You Are Who You Eat With” sequel is arguably better than the predecessor down to the organ-laced beat. The song “Philly Streets” basically tells you how it is in O.T.’s hometown over a groovy instrumental while the penultimate track is a wig-flipping freestyle lasting 3 minutes. The album ends with the guitar-driven “I Got You”, where O.T. pretty much looks back on his life up to this point.

I know I said that The Irishman was O.T.’s best work thus far, but he really might outdone himself on this one. The lyricism is continuing to level up at mindblowing rate & DJ Green Lantern’s production on here is much more darker than The Heatmakerz’ even though I love their signature sound.

Score: 4/5

Juice WRLD – “Fighting Demons” review

Juice WRLD was a 21 year old rapper from Chicago, Illinois who quickly becoming a prominent face in the emo rap trend in the spring of 2018 off the strength of his commercial debut Goodbye & Good Riddance. This was followed up the next year with the sophomore album Death Race for Love but unfortunately, Juice passed away later that same year from a drug overdose. Now even though I personally found both of those albums to be average at best before his untimely death, they eventually grew on me & the kid was undeniably talented. Case in point: “Lucid Dreams” & his astonishing 1-hour Tim Westwood freestyle. Legends Never Die from last summer was a cool little tribute to Juice also but with the 2 year anniversary of his death passing by earlier this week, his estate is dropping his 2nd posthumous album albeit 4th overall.

“Burn” is an bittersweet opener produced by Metro Boomin’ opening up about Juice’s drug addiction whereas “Already Dead” finds Nick Mira of Internet Money Records working in some pianos & the dude is essentially foreshadowing his own death through the lyrics. Gezin keeps the heat going with “You Don’t Understand” talking about never giving a fuck about anything, but then the Justin Bieber-duet “Wandered to LA” just seems like a forced attempt at a radio hit & that’s not Juice’s fault at all.

After the “Eminem Speaks” interlude, we have T-Minus taking the album in a more cavernous direction on “Rockstar in His Prime” with Juice rightfully comparing himself as such leading into Take a Daytrip sampling “High School” by iON LIL GUT for “Doom” which speaks on looking for self destruction. “Go Hard” has one of the weaker instrumentals on the album even though I like that Juice’s basically paying tribute to Ally Lotti & after the “Juice Speaks” interlude, “Not Enough” is a badass rap rock tune about failed relationships.

Polo G & Trippie Redd tag along for “Feline” referencing the WWE’s 2nd flagship program Friday Night SmackDown on the Fox Corporation’s flagship property while “Relocate” almost has a country trap vibe to it talking about his success. After the “Juice Speaks 2” interlude, “From My Window” continues to fuse guitars with snares talking about living like Rambo whereas “Until the Plug Comes Back Around” has a more trippier sound once more detailing drug addiction.

The song “Girl of My Dreams” with SUGA is a pretty awkward romance ballad while the penultimate track “Feel Alone” sees Danny Wolf bringing in some somber guitar chords with Juice talking about depression. And to finish off the album, “My Life in a Nutshell” goes into a more cloudier route noting the fact that people knew him for his music & not his struggles before he passed.

I was honestly a bit worried about how this album was gonna turn out, but I ended up enjoying it quite a bit & it’s definitely one of the better posthumous outings I’ve heard all year. Only a couple of the joints on here seem cobbled together, but the rest is just fully fleshed out AND they’re actually enjoyable for the most part.

Score: 3.5/5

al.divino – “2 Nights in Marrakesh” review

This is the latest full-length album from Massachusetts emcee/producer al.divino. For the last 4-5 years, the dude has been steadily dropping music ranging from the Dump Gawd: Divino Edition duology to the Futurewave-produced Kataklizm & the DJ Muggs-produced Kilogram. He’s also dropped a total 6 EPs & 2 mixtapes throughout 2021, but they’ve have been either hit or miss unfortunately. That being said though, I was undeniably excited for 2 Nights in Marrakesh given that one of my favorite producers in recent memory Big Ghost Ltd. was lacing the whole thing from front to back.

“Locusts” is a disgustingly ill opener weaving in a bare guitar loop talking about he’s trying to get rich than drunk whereas “Premium Octane” gets on the hustler shit & the jazzy production is super fresh to me. “Aqua Pyro” goes on to tell the listeners to trust what he rights with a fittingly Hellish tone to the instrumental, but then “Derelict Wisdom” talks about wetting up the block & the drumless beat enhances the seriousness of it to me.

Meanwhile on “Fuck the Covenant”, we have al.divino just going in on top of another guitar wailing in the background proclaiming himself as a product of the ghetto leading into the “Alhambra” interlude which has some dope vibraphone embellishments. I like how “Drunken Monk” sounds like something from a blaxploitation chase scene spitting that blick talk just before “Estevanico” brings in some soothing horns calling out those tough talking through cyber space.

The penultimate track “Malevolence” perfectly lives up to it’s name lyrically & the instrumental that Big Ghost brings to the table send chills straight down your spine. “Byzantine Slang” then finishes the album off on a more calmer note sonically wisely & compellingly encouraging to teach the babies.

To me, this is the most consistent divino project I’ve heard since Kilo. My only real complaint about it is that it could’ve used a feature or 2 because it can be a tad bit 1-dimensional as far as the rapping goes, but he really sounds focused & it’s very interesting for Big Ghost to go into a more Moroccan-inspired sound through his production.

Score: 4/5

Polo G – “Hall of Fame 2.0” review

This is the 4th full-length studio LP from Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter & record executive Polo G. Rising to prominence a couple years ago off his debut album Die a Legend under Columbia Records which I personally found it to be decent, it wasn’t until the sophomore effort The GOAT a year & a half ago at this point where I noticed some significant improvements. He just dropped Hall of Fame this past spring & is now quick to follow it up with a sequel.

“Bad Man (Smooth Criminal)” is a brief yet clever opener paying homage to the late, great Michael Jackson as well as WWE Hall of Famer & former World Heavyweight Champion The Great Khali whereas the Lil Baby-assisted “Don’t Play” mixes some snares with a vibraphone very well as both of them talk about being a problem. “Start Up Again” with Moneybagg Yo is a short & mid gangsta rap theme, but then “Heating Up” takes another jab at it actually sounding more threatening despite YungLiV’s wack ass feature.

Meanwhile on “Black Man in America”, we have Polo successfully delivering what could possibly be his most conscious song yet just before “Young n Dumb” serves as a raw & emotional depicting the live in the slums. Smatt Sertified gives “Unapologetic” a more atmospheric tone & Polo’s verse is catchy even though I can’t say the same for NLE Choppa’s leading into the 2-minute rock-infused “Fortnight” telling his lover he’d die for her which I wish was about another minute or 2 longer.

“Decisions” goes into a more acoustic direction thanks to Census, Nash & Taz Taylor of Internet Money Records melodically asking if he can count on this woman whereas “With You” brings in a skeletal yet moody beat saying the hardest thing is to sacrifice & lose”. Things go back into acoustic territory for the weak breakup ode “Partin’ Ways” & the same applies to “Suicide”, except Polo & Lil Tjay are talking about people trying to go up against them.

The penultimate track “Piano G” perfectly lives up to it’s name with a rich beat tugging at the heart strings & Polo admitting he was in denial running from reality, but “Alright” ends the album on a more optimistic note with some more acoustic passages & encouraging the listeners that everything will be ok in the end.

Compared to the predecessor, this is a bit of a decent sequel although I can’t say I enjoyed it as much. The first leg starts off pretty solidly & I appreciate that Polo continues to make him sound different from everyone else in the trap landscape, but the latter half (especially all the forced lovey dovey shit) is a bit of a mess.

Score: 2.5/5

Wreckage Manner – Self-Titled review

Wreckage Manner is a newly formed superduo from Queens, New York consisting of Styles P & Havoc. The latter most notable for formerly being 1/2 of the seminal Mobb Deep alongside the late Prodigy & the other coming up as 1/3 of The LOX with his childhood friends Jadakiss & Sheek Louch. Now we’ve heard these guys together a few times before on songs like on “Hard Life” off Filthy America…It’s Beautiful or the Billy Danze loosie “Chasin’ Money”, but was very much looking forward to their full-length debut over here given the impact both of them have on the culture.

“Fuck Around” is an amazingly eerie opener about how the duo don’t play no games whereas “Move How We Wanna” incorporates some heavenly background vocals saying they follow their own blueprint. The strings that “Fiend For” brings to the table are really cool talking about money, power & respect just before “Pay Me in Cash” does a good job of angrily demanding that paper over a dusty boom bap instrumental.

Meanwhile on “21 Gun Salute”, we have Wreckage Manner teaching the youth that keeping it real will get you further in life with the production enhancing a serious tone to it leading into “YO 2 QB” weaves in some more strings serving as a fresh homage to their neck of the woods. “Havoc & the Ghost” is a nice change of pace sonically talking about how they just wanna gross while the song “Good as Gold” calmly declares family over everything.

The penultimate track “Hymn to Him” has a dope lil guitar wailing in the background sending a warning to anyone who dares to cross them & finally, “Nightmares 2 Dreams” is a great sendoff to the album by grimly calling out cats who don’t understand them saying those people don’t even understand themselves.

Now if these guys are gonna make any more albums with each other down the road, then sign me the fuck up because this is a great debut. Havoc’s production remains unmatched & lyrically, he & Styles P sound really good with one another.

Score: 4/5