Blu – “The Color Blu(e) review

Blu is a 38 year old MC from Los Angeles, California who became notorious in the underground in 2007 when he & Exile dropped their debut album Below the Heavens: In Hell Happy with Your New Imaginary Friend. Since then, he’s managed to put out a handful of collab projects & solo efforts of his own. The most notable being: Her Favorite Colo(u)r, the M.E.D.-assisted Bad Neighbor produced by Madlib, the Oh No-produced A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night & the Damu the Fudgemunk-produced Ground & Water. But with the 1-year anniversary of the 3rd Blu & Exile album Miles: From an Interlude Called Life passing by over the summer, Blu is enlisting Nature Sounds to back up his 7th full-length solo outing right here.

“I Am Blu(e)” starts off the album with some keyboard embellishments going on about how magnificent he is whereas “Everyday Blu(e)s” has a bit of a jazz flare to it saying he shakes off negativity every day. “People Call Me Blu(e)” incorporates an ill ass blues sample reminding everyone who the fuck he is, but then “Because the Sky’s Blu(e)” harmoniously proclaims himself as a reflection of God.

Meanwhile on “You Ain’t Never Been Blu(e)”, we have Blu jumping on top of some pianos to get conscious leading into “I Was Born to Be Blu(e)” flipping the Ella Fitzgerald cut of the same name telling us he was destined for this. “Blu(e)r Than Blu[e]” fuses orchestral & boom bap bragging about himself just before “We’re Darker Than Blu(e)” serves as a heavenly pro-black theme.

The song “Mr. Blu(e) Sky” is an upbeat ode to living in the moment while the penultimate track “Mr. Blu(e)” has some crooning vocals & trumpets sending a message to the youth. “Blu(e) World” ends the album with an angelic sample & paying tribute to the coolest kid in his city named Ricky.

This dude’s been in the game for nearly 15 years at this point & still come together with incredible music like it’s nothing because I think The Color Blu(e) is amongst his best solo efforts. Blu’s jots down some of the most personal lyrics of his entire career & the production is very creative.

Score: 4/5

The Grouch & Eligh – “What Would Love Do?” review

The Grouch & Eligh are a duo from California who both came up in the mid-90’s as members of the seminal West Coast underground outfit Living Legends & unified as a pair in 2000 off their full-length debut G&E Music. This was followed up with No More Greener Grasses in ‘03 & then Say G&E! in ‘09, but started focusing on other projects after the release of 333 in 2014. However about 7 & a half years later, they’ve seen fit to reunite in the form of their 4th album.

After the titular intro, “Love Feels” is a beautiful piano-laced opener asking if the listener is vibing with them leading into “Dreams” euphorically going back & forth about some of the dreams that they’ve had themselves. “Handball” weaves in a mesmerizing vocal sample putting both of their charisma on display whereas the Mistah F.A.B.-assisted “Ghost” has a bit of a snappy instrumental comparing themselves to the supernatural.

“Because” basically describes being married to the game accompanied by a hollow beat just before “The Call” serves as an empowering tribute to all the Kings & Queens in the world. “Piano God” does it’s job mystically painting an image of the titular behind, but then “Good as You” comes off a sweet letter to their significant others.

Meanwhile on “Don’t Say”, we have G&E going into tropical turf telling listeners that only love can bring you to a new day leading into Eli-Mac tagging along to express their desires to be “Like Water” & the downtuned guitar tone kinda reminds me of “Laffy Taffy” for whatever reason.

“Train Song” comes through with a somber traveling man anthem, but then “Never Kill” whips up a minimal beat speaking out against murder. After the titular interlude, the title track smoothly ponders if love was an actual person & then “Girl Be Loved” rounds out the album with a touching letter to the duo themselves.

For as long as it took, I think What Would Love Do is a welcoming comeback for the duo. Their chemistry is still one of a kind after being in the game for over 2 decades & the production (mostly handled by Eligh) sets a different vibe for each cut.

Score: 3.5/5

Dark Lo – “Extreme Measures” review

Dark Lo is a 39 year old MC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who broke out in the winter of 2013 off his debut mixtape SK Tales. He’s gone on to release a handful of projects since, most notably the V Don-produced debut album Timeless back in 2018 & more recently his 3rd EP Borrowed Time over the spring produced entirely by Harry Fraud. But after dropping his 3rd album Charlie Pope back in July & being sentenced to 7½ years in prison a few weeks later due to witness tampering, he’s managing to drop his 4th full-length outing behind bars produced entirely by Havoc.

“Mob Tales” is a cinematic opener with the lit getting in that mafioso bag whereas “Lost Innocence” mournfully looks back on his past. I almost wanna say “Zombie Land” has a bit of a futuristic sound in the production with him & Hav talking about gunning cats down in broad daylight leading into Styles P tagging along for the combative yet alluring title track.

Meanwhile on “Greatest Ever”, we have Dark Lo proclaiming himself as such on top of an heinous instrumental just before the murderous “Reports” going into boom bap territory. “Make It Home” with Vado is easily the saddest cut on the entire album detailing their homies who got smoked, but then “Force of Life” brings in a hypnotic sample talking his shit.

The song “Dirty Work” has a cinematic organ loop taking shots at lukewarm MCs while the penultimate track “Captivating” brings in a cavernous beat to proclaim himself as such. “Strong Minded” ends the album by dramatically telling the story of Dark Lo’s homeboy getting murked when he was in the pen.

As much as I love Timeless & Borrowed Time, I think it’s safe to say that Extreme Measures is the best thing that this dude has done yet. He brings his A-game lyrically & Havoc’s production on here is just nasty from front to back. Whenever his next project drops, I’m definitely curious to see where he takes it.

Score: 4/5

Eternia – “Free” review

Eternia is a 40 year old MC from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada who came up in 2005 off her full-length debut It’s Called Life. This was followed up with Where I’m At & the MoSS-produced At Last but after taking a 12 year hiatus, so much has happened to her in life & has decided to tap in Rel McCoy for her 4th album backed by now none other than Fat Beats Records.

After the intro, the first song “Freedom99” with Wordsworth kicks things off with a boom bap cut about how the city used to be their playground leading into him & Shad addressing homelessness on the emotional “Home”. She & Rel come together on the piano-tinged “Cycles” to talk about their lives are like 1, but then her husband Mr. Lif come together with “The Story of Us” compassionately detailing how they met.

“Most PPL” works in a fuzzy instrumental tackling the themes of loyalty just before “Praise” almost has a bit of a funk flare showing love to the higher power. “Grow” is quite possibly Eternia at her most vulnerable moments talking about how the world as she knows it is gone whereas “All the Men” dramatically calls out her exes on wax.

The song “Wonderful World” almost has a bit of a dystopian sound taking shots at modern technology while the penultimate track “Secret” finds Mr. Lif reuniting on top of a hollow instrumental tackling the theme of fear. “Let No Dream Fall” finishes off the album by emotionally telling us how she feels inside at the moment.

I was wondering what happened to Eternia for a while now, so it makes me happy to see that she’s made a comeback on here. She rips up the mic like she never even left to begin with & Rel McCoy’s production is just boom bap galore.

Score: 4/5

Crimeapple – “Cartagena” review

Crimeapple is a 35 year old MC from Hackensack, New Jersey who came onto my radar in the fall of 2017 with his 4th EP Sweet Dreams along with his Big Ghost Ltd. produced full-length debut Aguardiente that following spring. His profile began to grow after dropping the DJ Skizz-produced Wet Dirt & the DJ Muggs-produced Medallo the next year, but his output since then has been either hit or miss with me personally. However, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to hear that he was re-enlisting Muggs for his 7th album right here.

“Grey Skies” is a glorious opener about him waking up feeling unstoppable whereas “Bathtubs Full of Veuve” takes things into boom bap turf spitting that fly shit. “Tony 2C” goes into a drearier direction reminding us he got that dope on demand leading into Stove God Cook$ tagging along for the battle rap piano ballad “Mermaids”.

“Meanwhile on “Papas”, we have Crimeapple jumping on top of a Daringer-inspired boom bap instrumental talking about getting a bag just before “Cheap Work” has a bit of a dark industrial sound letting us know he’s in that getting money stage. “Designer Label” has an unsettling atmosphere in the production detailing how it is from the cradle to the grave back to the cradle, but then “Reputation” has a more celebratory vibe saying he don’t care about the bullshit.

“Some More Paper” has some chilling organ harmonies confessing that’s all he really needs at this point whereas “Kleenex” brings in a guitar saying he’s been to shit since seeing TGIF on Fridays. The song “Swish” continues the rock vibes proclaiming the throne to the rap game while the penultimate track “Peligrosisimo” grimily flexes his Spanish. “Fly Shit” with RLX then ends the album by going at those who envy them.

From the moment Muggs initially announced Cartagena, I knew he was gonna give Crime what his last couple projects have been lacking & am more than satisfied with the end results. He’s been one of the nicest lyricists to come out of New Jersey in recent memory & that hasn’t changed at all, but the production on here in comparison is like night & day.

Score: 4.5/5

Lil Nas X – “Montero” review

Lil Nas X is a 21 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Lithia Springs, Georgia who skyrocketed to stardom in 2019 of the novelty country rap banger “Old Town Road”. His debut EP 7 later that summer would later prove that he was no 1-hit wonder, especially with tracks like “Panini” & “Rodeo”. But since then (this year specifically), it’s safe to say that Nas X has made himself one of the most polarizing figures in hip hop today from his most recent music videos to some of his outfit choices at award shows which I’m not gonna get too deep into because people in the culture have been wearing questionable shit for a very long time now dating back to my all-time favorite producer Dr. Dre wearing lipstick on those World Class Wreckin’ Cru album covers & I don’t understand why people are acting like it’s new when it really isn’t. I guess I just contradicted myself there but let’s dive into this full-length debut of his over here, shall we?

The title track starts off the album with a catchy Flamenco pop/rap fusion with the help of Take a Daytrip telling his lover to call him when he needs him whereas “DEAD RIGHT NOW” works in some synths & snares going at a fraud. “INDUSTRY BABY” brings in some horns as he & Jack Harlow with co-production from Kanye West surprisingly declare themselves champions just before “THAT’S WHAT I WANT” goes into acoustic expressing his desire for love.

After the “ART OF REALIZATION” skit, we have Lil Nas X & Doja Cat coming together for the bouncy yet futuristic “SCOOP” talking about trying to be the daily for one another leading into the Elton John-assisted piano ballad “ONE OF ME” going at those who called him a 1-hit wonder. “LOST IN THE CITADEL” has a bit of a rock flare paying tribute to his guardian angel, but then Megan Thee Stallion pops up for the braggadicious & vibrant “$ SLIME”.

“TALES OF DOMINICA” has a bit of a summery feel instrumentally as he addresses his relationship with his mother whereas “SUN GOES DOWN” is a contemporary R&B cut talking to his younger self. “VOID” serves as a passionate note to a friend from the road while the song “DON’T WANT IT” serves as a moody look at the cons of fame produced by Nick Mira of Internet Money Records. The penultimate track “LIFE AFTER SALEM” samples “Take What You Want” by Post Malone calling out someone he used to love & “AM I DREAMING?” is an acoustic duet with Miley Cyrus telling the listener to remember them.

Now I’m absolutely not one of these Karen’s spouting off about how “He’s confusing children, he’s a bad role model to them” because it should all really boil down to the quality of the music. That being said: I think this is a solid, respectable album. His versatility is undeniable as demonstrated on 7, but he expands it further & gets a bit more personal on the lyrical end.

Score: 3.5/5

The Brazy Bunch – “Written n Blood” review

The Brazy Bunch is a duo from Omaha, Nebraska consisting of A-Wax & King Iso. We’ve heard them a couple times throughout the year with songs like “At All” by Taebo the Truth or even “Bag Up” & “Blemish” off of A-Wax’s latest solo projects but after a small debacle revolved around the pair’s full-length debut Written n Blood getting pulled within hours of it’s initial release over the spring due to proper procedures not being followed by Iso’s current contract with Strange Music, they managed to work everything out with Travis O’Guin & officially drop it under the It Goes Up Entertainment subsidiary of the renown Kansas City label.

The acoustic/trap-tinged title track opens things up about how it’s their lives whereas “Ran Up” works in some sirens to speak on being chased by the cops. “Helpless” is a guitar ballad saying that money multiplied their problems referencing Terence Crawford just before the spacious materialistic ode “Slimy”.

Meanwhile on “Spain”, we have The Brazy Bunch somberly talking about revisiting the past even though it’s hurtful leading into them telling motherfuckers to get out of their feelings for the misty “Mad For”. The pianos on “Go Brazy” are pretty cool as they come through with a riot starter, but then “Measure It” serves as an ominous coke pusher’s theme surprisingly.

“Tears Dry” has a minimal beat going on about their bitches try’na fix what isn’t broken while “Time” is a much more downtrodden cut detailing going from their harder days to where they are now. “Flooded” continues the darker vibes saying they can’t scrub the blood on their hands whereas “Corrode” is an atmospheric cut about being paranoid that everyone is with the feds.

The keyboard passages on “So Strange” fit well given that they’re telling us that fame came with a cost leading into “Omaha”, which is a decent lil homage to their hometown. The song “Trip” is a cloud rap banger about never wishing jail on their brothers while the penultimate track “Fuck It Up” atmospherically details getting these bitches to trust them again. “Packin’” finally ends things with a foreboding theme about running up checks.

If you’re expecting more of that World War Me shit, then you’re gonna be disappointed. However, I think this is a solid debut nonetheless. King Iso’s production goes into more of that trap shit than he did on the last album & the chemistry with A-Wax is pretty unique as well.

Score: 3.5/5

ZillaKami – “Dogboy” review

ZillaKami is a 21 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Islip, New York who originally came up as part of the punk band Scud Got Quayle. He later began ghostwriting for someone who’s name I refuse to acknowledge on my platform to leave it at that before forming City Morgue alongside SosMula & their honorary 3rd member/producer Thraxx. Together, they started to make a name for themselves in the fall of 2018 by uniquely fusing trap with metal on their full-length debut Hell or High Water. But just a month after Sos dropped his solo debut 13 Songs 2 Die 2 to mixed reception, it’s only right for Kami to step next at bat before the gang gets back together for Bottom of the Barrel at the end of the year.

“Chewing Gum!” is a ass-kicking trap/rock opened produced by Thraxx taking shots at a certain rat whereas “Chains” is a Hellish follow-up about choking betrayers with his ice. I can definitely see “Lemon Juice” getting the pits going with its lyrics about punching motherfuckers & it’s down-tuned guitar riff just before “Not Worth It” goes into grunge territory saying he doesn’t deserve everyone’s love.

Meanwhile on “Hello”, we have Kami paying homage to the iconic Nirvana joint “Smells Like Teen Spirit” leading into Denzel Curry tagging along for the emo-tinged “Bleach”. I think the chaotic Suffolk County homage that “631 Made Me” delivers does a great job at showing us his upbringings, but then “I.H.Y. (I Hate You)” serves as a distorted “fuck the world” theme.

“Badass” has a bit of a nu metal flare to it with Lil Uzi Vert coming into the picture to help declare themselves as such & after the “Tactical Nuke” interlude, “Nissan Only” aggressively gets in his shooter bag just before “Black Cats” comes off as another Nirvana tribute.

The song “dedgrl” is a downtrodden story about a broken woman killing herself while the penultimate track “Frosty” goes into alt-rock turf detailing ZillaKami’s very own depression. “Space Cowboy” then ends the album with grungy tribute to his fallen homie.

I was a bit worried given how mediocre 13 Songs 2 Die 2 was, but he really came through with it. He sticks to the trap metal sound that City Morgue came up on with the exception of the alt-rock/grunge shit, but his songwriting is much better & I like how he only brought in 2 features rather than having one on damn near every joint.

Score: 3.5/5

Injury Reserve – “By the Time I Get to Phoenix” review

This is the 2nd & subsequently final full-length album from Arizona trio Injury Reserve. Originally coming together in 2013, it wasn’t until Floss & Drive It Like It’s Stolen where most people (myself included) really started tuning into them. It was really cool how the guys brought their own hardcore west coast sound to the table with a bit of an experimental edge that would later come full circle on their eponymous debut a couple years back. But with the unexpected death of Stepa J. Groggs last summer, Ritchie with a T & Parker Corey are coming back together for By the Time I Get to Phoenix.

“Outside” is a 6-minute opener dabbling in electronics saying they’ve been talking to ’em kindly whereas “Superman That” takes a glitchier route going on about how there “ain’t no savin’ me or you”. ZelooperZ tags along for the guitar-driven “SS San Francisco” with him & Ritchie expressing their desire to not want to be there anymore just before “Footwork in a Forest Fire” reveals itself as amongst my favorite Injury Reserve songs ever made, with them manically depicting an apocalypse ever so flawlessly.

Meanwhile on “Ground 0”, we get a deranged cut detailing how he “got my shit buss down” leading into the dissonant “Smoke Don’t Clear” putting their own spin on the idiom “when the smoke clears”. The drumless instrumental that “Top Picks for You” brings to the table is entrancing as Hell with Ritchie going on about how “your patterns are still in place & your algorithm is still in action”, but then “Wild Wild West” takes a more sporadic route sonically referencing the shitty Will Smith movie of the same name fittingly enough.

The song “Postpostpartum” psychedelically goes in about birthing motherfuckers while the penultimate track “Knees” takes a turn into experimental rock territory with the group asking if there’s any way they can grow. “Bye Storm” ends the tape with some blaring guitars & Ritchie saying the show must go on even though Stepa is no longer with him or Parker in the flesh.

Given the events that have transpired within the past year or so, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that By the Time I Get to Phoenix would become Injury Reserve’s darkest body of work to date. Parker Corey’s production is absolutely out of this world & Ritchie couldn’t have done a more excellent job at paying his final respects to Stepa.

Score: 4.5/5

Cymarshall Law – “I Still Love H.E.R.” review

Cymarshall Law is a 40 year old MC from Burlington, New Jersey who emerged back in ‘04 as part of the duo Power Man & Iron Fist alongside the late Pumpkinhead. However it wasn’t until 3 years later where he branched out on his own off the full-length debut Hip Hop in the Flesh, which was followed up by the Hip Hop in the Soul trilogy & Freedom Express. He’s made a handful since, but is returning in full effect for his 11th album.

“Intro to H.E.R.” begins things with a bit of a plinky instrumental saying he’s still here because of his dedication to the culture whereas “MF Law” has a bit of a Tribe feel to it reiterating the JAY-Z line “Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?”. The title track with Venomous2000 & Kafeeno is basically his own rendition of the Common joint “I Used to Love H.E.R.” just before the self-explanatory “4 Jersey” pays homage to Law’s home state on top of a heavenly instrumental.

Meanwhile on “The Innocence of Love”, we have Kafeeno returning alongside Dynasty for a sensual R&B-tinged cut leading into U.G. taking Dynasty’s spot for the tense “For the Love (No Cap)” talking about the future. After the “Voice of Hip Hop” interlude, “The Normal New (Growing Up in the Pandemic)” richly details how he’s been living with the post-COVID world & “Electric B-Boy” is fresh ass anthem for the breakdancers out there.

The song “The Incredibles” with Grafh finds the 2 on top of an organ loop to start going at their opposition’s throats while the penultimate track “Creators” is easily the most motivational one on the entire album & the production really kicks the emotion up. “Spit It Dad (King’s Revenge)” ends with a 3-minute barfest with a dusty ass beat.

This dude has damn near a dozen albums under his belt already after being in it for almost 2 decades, but I Still Love H.E.R. is definitely amongst his best. You can easily tell the dude was having fun spitting again given how animated his performances are & the vintage production is also much appreciated.

Score: 4/5