Ken Carson – “Project X” review

Ken Carson is a 21 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia breaking out in the SoundCloud scene & becoming a protege of Playboi Carti as one of the first artists to sign to the latter’s newly founded label Opium Records after originally starting a part of the 808 Mafia. But after a total of 5 EPs under his belt, of course Ken had to bring it full circle on this debut album of his.

“Who’s Next?” kicks the album off with an accordion & hi-hats talking about passin’ hoes like tests whereas “Rock n Roll” is a spacious banger produced by Outtatown about him trippin’. “Party All Day” serves as an uptempo sequel to “Butterfly” just before addressing people switching up on the minimalist “Change”.

Meanwhile with “Run + Ran”, we have a 2-parter about feeling like Pac & stacking bands with the 2nd half being much stronger leading into the bass-heavy stripper theme “Shake”. The kid later reveals that he’s got a lot of hoes on the distorted “Hella” prior to the dramatically threatening “Clutch”.

The song “‘Till I Die” works in some more synths & snares talking about he’ll always be counting racks while the penultimate track “Burnin’ Up” addresses his increasing profile over an instrumental from Dynox of Internet Money Records with a bit of an electro flare. Then the album ends with “So What”, which vibrantly details a 1-night stand.

For those who’ve never heard of Ken, I think Project X is a solid place to start off because what he is to Opium is what Gunna was to YSL & by that I mean I think he’s gonna become the label’s biggest signee behind the founder. Some of the production choices could’ve been a little bit better to me, but I do enjoy his youthful enjoy quite a bit.

Score: 3.5/5

UFO Fev – “Enigma of Dalí” review

This is the 5th full-length album from Harlem emcee UFO Fev. Coming up in 2014 off his debut album Around My Way., it wasn’t until 2020 when he saw his biggest year yet by dropping not 1 but 3 well received projects: the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort Fresh Air along with the Termanology-produced debut EP From El Barrio, With Love & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced 3rd album The Ghost of Albizu. Dude just dropped Magnum Opus last month & is already enlisting Vanderslice for the follow-up Enigma of Dalí.

After the titular intro, the first song “Crack Shifts” is an eerie boom bap opener with him & Flee Lord talking about that’s exactly what they be workin’ whereas “Moody Bass” has a more rich instrumental & Fev saying he’s gonna take this shit mainstream. Red Inf tags along for the mellow “Pack Flip” talking about a plan to wake up the masses just before advising to keep it off the speakerphone when talking money on “Home Team”, which has some amazing sampling throughout.

Meanwhile with “Artfully Done Street Shit”, we have Red Inf returning over a guitar & some dusty drums calling out those stealing the sauce leading into him saying he’s too far over the top on the dusty albeit piano-laced “Scroll Music”. The song “Jazz Criminals” with SmooVth fittingly has a jazzy beat with both of them getting mafioso while the penultimate track “Scarlett Letters” jumps on top of some violins to state that he’s painting like Salvador Dalí. Then there’s the closer “All That Glitters”, where Fev & Sure Shot come together for a slick romance ballad.

Magnum Opus was cool, but I personally prefer Enigma of Dalí better. Vanderslice’s production is much more consistent than it was on Fev’s last album & the dude continues to reveal himself as one of the illest MCs in the New York underground right now.

Score: 4/5

Pop Smoke – “Faith” review

This is the sophomore album from New York rapper & singer/songwriter Pop Smoke. Emerging in the summer of 2019 off his debut EP Meet the Woo, things were looking like the Brooklyn drill pioneer was just about to take off until he was tragically murdered in a home invasion less than 2 weeks after Meet the Woo 2 dropped last February. Pop’s full-length debut Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon was later completed by the hands of his idol 50 Cent & just celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary at the beginning of the month. As for the actual music on that album: I personally was indifferent towards it because as much as I adore 50’s output both solo & with G-Unit from 2002-2006, he made it sound a lot more commercial than it really needed to be. So to see he had no involvement with Faith gave me hope that I’d like it more than Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon.

After the “Good News” intro, the first song “More Time” is an endearing piano ballad produced by 808Melo about how that’s all he needs whereas “Tell the Vision” featuring Pusha T finds the duo boasting their success on top of a menacing trap beat from FNZ & Kanye West. I also dig Push acknowledging Call Me If You Get Lost as the 2021 AOTY so far as well as teasing his upcoming album & calling someone who I refuse to acknowledge on my platform a clown without sounding like beating a dead horse. He & Rick Ross get murderous on the soulful “Manslaughter” that Jake One laced leading into the acoustic materialism anthem “‘Bout a Million” with 21 Savage & 42 Dugg.

Meanwhile on “Brush ‘Em”, we have Rah Swish tagging along over a chilling sample to spit that gangsta shit just before the triumphant “Top Shotta” featuring Pusha T & TRAVI along with The Neptunes behind the boards. Bizzar Banks comes into the picture to talk about being sleazes on the cinematically produced “30” while the spacious “Beat the Speaker” grimly talks about Pop being the man. “Coupe” has a nocturnal instrumental whilst returning to the gangsta rap themes just before he & Takeoff talk about having a lot of guns for the cavernous “What’s Crackin’?”. The choir vocals on the Lil Tjay/Swae Lee assisted “Genius” are chilling as the trio are proclaiming themselves as such while he & Future talking about 100 bitches that’s ready to fuck.

After the pointless “Woo Baby” interlude, the actual “Woo Baby” song itself is an attempt at a radio hit saying he & Chris Brown like their yummy yellow whatever the fuck that’s supposed to mean while the moody Dua Lipa duet “Demeanor” finds the 2 talking about his shawty. “Spoiled” even though it’s 2 minutes long is what “Woo Baby” should’ve been while the song “8-Ball” with KiD CuDi serves as a guitar ballad produced by Swizz Beatz about robbin’ ‘cause they never had nothing. The penultimate track “Back Door” with Kodak Black & Quavo sees the trio lavishly looking back on what their mothers had told them growing up & the closer “Merci Beaucoup” beautiful tells listeners that he ain’t got shit to prove to nobody.

Now I like this a bit more than the previous Pop Smoke album, but just by a very small margin. Some of the features either hit or miss & I really appreciate how it doesn’t try as hard to appeal to a nonexistent radio market like Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon did.

Score: 3/5

KSI – “All Over the Place” review

KSI is a 28 year old YouTuber, rapper & boxer from Watford, Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom who broke out in ‘09 by uploading videos of himself playing the FIFA games. However his music career dates back to 2015, teaming up with P Money for his debut single “Lamborghini”. He later went on to release 4 EPs before the full-length debut Dissimulation last spring & is already following it up by dropping a sophomore album.

“The Moment” starts out the album with a generic trap cut about how he has no fear whereas “#2” with Future & 21 Savage uses the title as a corny metaphor for being “the shit” despite the chilled out instrumental. “Patience” with Polo G takes a turn into nu-disco saying that’s all they need while “You” is a hideously sung ballad to his partner & I almost wanna say the production kinda reminds me of Drake’s “Passionfruit” for some reason. Meanwhile on “Don’t Play”, we get a mediocre dance-pop duet with Anne-Marie telling each other not to fuck around before asking his lover all these questions for the UK Garage-influenced “Really Love”.

JAY1 tags along for the loyalty-themed “Gang Gang” & even though I like the groove of the instrumental, it sounds out of place for a song like this. “Rent Free” calls out a woman who be running her mouth about him going back into electronic territory before bragging about himself on the UK drill-flavored “Madness”. Bugzy Malone comes into the picture to get “Silly” on top of a rubbery trap beat referencing 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair leading into him trying to making his doubters into believers for the piano-heavy “Flash It”.

The song “No Time” with Lil Durk luxuriously goes on about fake love while “No Pressure” is another attempt at being sexy, but falls flat on his face although the tropical instrumental is cool. The penultimate track “Holiday” is a God awful contemporary R&B joint saying this woman makes him feel alive & then “Sleeping with the Enemy” speaks on someone watching him over a plinky trap beat.

Even though I will say All Over the Place is better than anything KSI has done before, it’s only by a small margin. I genuinely appreciate him for going taking a more versatile route, but there are more points where he misses the mark than sticks the landing.

Score: 1.5/5

Ali Cashius Jr. – “Flight Club” review

Ali Cashius Jr. is a 35 year old MC from Detroit, Michigan who first emerged a decade ago off the strength of his debut album A Message 4 tha People. This was followed up with The Barrio Boombox in 2018 & after dropping a handful of well-received singles within the last 3 years, Ali is back in effect for his long-awaited 3rd album.

“1985” serves as a hypnotic boom bap introduction to the world that created him whereas the Joell Ortiz-assisted “No Justice No Peace” serves as a passionate response to George Floyd’s murder. He delves into spirituality with the somber “Bismillah” before hoping his pain will be taken away on the jazzy “Broken”. Meanwhile for “Rude Boi”, we have Ali & Big Preme taking things into reggae territory leading into him & HK Meek propping up their “Day 1’s”, which almost has a west coast flare to it instrumentally. Futuristic tags along to ask if they can hear them now on trap-tinged “Hello” leading into the seductive “Parallel Parking”.

“Leave Me Alone” reunites Ali with HK Meek to say they have a lot on their mind over a guitar & hi-hats, but then Big Preem shows back up for “Caribbean Blues” to say they wrote the song for their beautiful warrior. “Desperados” is a slow trap cut opening up about seduction while “Tina’s Song” is a beautiful dedication to Ali’s older sister of the same name. Then there’s the title track, where Ali & Dags come together to victoriously talk about ballin’ in the skyline.

I really enjoyed a good portion of the singles that this guy has dropped in the last few years, so I was curious to hear how he would sound on this album & I ending up digging it. I feel like he kinda overdid it with the features since nearly half the songs on here have one, but his the production is on point & his pen-game is relentless.

Score: 3.5/5

Cabal – “The Watchers” review

Cabal is a newly formed supergroup consisting of Bukshot, Lo Key & Mr. Grey. Up to this point each of the members have worked with one another, but we haven’t heard them all together at once. Bukshot just dropped Double Dragon’s self-titled debut with Kung Fu Vampire back in February & just about a month ago, Lo Key put out a his Metanoia EP paying homage to nu metal. I also loved Gorilla Voltage’s 2 albums through Majik Ninja Entertainment (especially Gods & Claws), so I’m very excited to see what they trio are gonna pull off on this debut album of theirs. Especially since they got MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 behind the boards for the whole thing.

After the “Monolith of Xaos” intro, the first song “Horn of Hades” is a heinous look at the trio having crazy thoughts as of late whereas “Shadow People” goes into a trap direction talking about being stuck in a familiar place referencing BJW認定デスマッチヘビー級チャンピオン & WWE Hall of Famer Abdullah the Butcher. The title track works in some haunting synth melodies saying they don’t like what they see & after the “Dark Assembly” skit, the trio come back to in action to proclaim themselves as “Death Merchants”. Meanwhile on “The Spawning”, we get a dastardly depiction of Cabal being Hellspawn just before taking listeners through their inner turmoils on the petrifying “Madness in Me”.

I think “Devil Inside” has the best hook on the entire album as the trio speak on something in them wandering the darkness spiritually & after the “Offering of Souls” skit, the song “Don’t Go in the Basement” works in some organ & synth melodies to paint a picture of Hell. The penultimate track “Maelstrom” with the Super Famous Fun Guys & the Venomous 5 finds the 10 emcees aggressively proclaiming themselves as the wickedest creatures, but then “Phanchasm” ends the album by talking about learning things you should never learn.

If you loved Double Dragon’s self-titled debut that dropped at the beginning of 2021, then you might enjoy The Watchers just as much it not more. All 3 of the members have great chemistry with one another & 7 just knocks it out of the park in terms of the overall sound of it.

Score: 4.5/5

Vince Staples – Self-Titled review

This is eponymous 3rd full-length album from Compton, California rapper, singer/songwriter & actor Vince Staples. Coming up as a close affiliate of the now defunct Odd Future crew, he would go on to release 4 mixtapes before signing a joint deal with Blacksmith Records & even No I.D.’s very own Def Jam Recordings imprint ARTium Recordings. My personal favorite of which being Stolen Youth, which was entirely produced by the late Mac Miller. His first major label outing Hell Can Wait was a dope little EP preluding the full-length debut Summertime ‘06, which became one of the best double disc albums of the previous decade. Vince later detailed the pitfalls that came with his success on the next EP Prima Donna, but the dude’s last album Big Fish Theory was unquestionably his most experimental work yet. But ever since linking up with Kenny Beats at the tail-end of 2018 for the radio show-themed EP FM!, we’ve heard very little from Vince. So given the 3 year gap & him jumping ship from Def Jam to Motown Records, to say I was excited for him to finally make a comeback is an understatement.

“Are You With That?” kicks things off with a wonky trap instrumental from Kenny Beats (who produced the whole album start to finish) & Vince saying all he wanted was to be a thug growing up whereas “Laws of Averages” is much more slower in terms of production with lyrics about how “I don’t trust no bitch with my government”. Vince jumps on top of a slowed down sample on “Sundown Town” to talk about running wild before taking things into a murky trap direction for “The Shining”.

Meanwhile on “Taking Trips”, we go into more psychedelic territory for Vince to bug out over leading into an interlude entitled “The Apple & The Tree”. He later expresses homesickness with the R&B flavored “Take Me Home” while the penultimate song “Lil Fade” serves as a symphonic ode to all his homies in the pen. After the “Lakewood Mall” interlude, the closer “MHM” works in some synths & rubbery bass to spit that gangsta shit.

For the 3-year wait, I think this self-titled joint was well worth it. Wish it was longer than 22 minutes, but Vince takes through events in his life that he’s never put out there before & he sounds a lot better with Kenny Beats than he did on FM!. Looking forward to hear what route he takes for Ramona Park Broke My Heart.

Score: 4/5

IDK – “USEE4YOURSELF” review

This is the sophomore album from Bowie, Maryland by way of Clapham, London, England, United Kingdom rapper, singer/songwriter & producer IDK. Breaking out in the mid-2010s off his first 3 mixtapes under his original moniker Jay IDK, his profile began to significantly increase in 2017 when he signed to William Street Records put out a 4th tape entitled IWasVeryBad to critical acclaim. This was followed up with the debut EP IDK & Friends as well as his first full-length Is He Real? but with the 1-year anniversary of IDK & Friends 2 passing a couple weeks ago, Jay is delivering the long-awaited USEE4YOURSELF.

After the 301–809-1821 intro, the first song “Santa Monica Bvld.” is a bassy celebratory opener about him winning whereas “Dogs Don’t Lie” works in an alluring vocal sample to talk about trust. He also disses Anthony Fantano for giving Is He Real? a 6/10, which is bitter because many other people gave it the same score including ShawnCee’s annoying ass & even myself. “Truth” is a 30-second ambient cut saying he’s focused on money leading into Young Thug tagging along for the braggadocious “PradadaBang” produced by Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee of all fucking people.

Meanwhile on the 5th & final WWE NXT WarGames theme song “Shoot My Shot”, we get a vibrant trap beat from T-Minus along with Offset accompanying IDK to be flirtatious just before Westside Gunn & Jay Electronica come into the picture to help discuss gold diggers on the luxurious trap banger “Red”. After the “Jelly” interlude, the Lucky Daye-assisted “Puerto Rico” serves as a corny ode to “5-star bitches” whereas “Temporary Love” is pretty much a 1-minute SiR song with little to no IDK presence whatsoever.

“10 Feet” with T-Pain is a lukewarm attempt at a strip club banger, but then “Keto” makes up for it with it’s synth-laced instrumental from The Neptunes to the charismatic performances from IDK alongside Rico Nasty & Swae Lee. He later compares himself to the great Michael Jordan on the minimal “1995” & then the “Payback’s a Dog” sample that “Peloton” brings to the table is so well played for him to talk about a woman who made his ego so high.

The track “Hey Auntie” with Slick Rick is a keyboard-heavy tribute to both of their respective aunts while the final song “Cry in Church” has a tension-building beat & lyrics about how IDK would rather be. Finally, “Closure” serves as a spoken-word outro with IDK talking over the phone saying that mockingbird represents innocence to him.

Coming away from this album, my feelings on it are pretty mixed. I think the concept of toxic masculinity being instilled in his mind at the early age is intriguing, but nearly half the cuts on here are so short that there’s literally no point of them being on here & most of the features hardly have any presence to them.

Score: 2.5/5

Declaime – “In the Beginning” review

This is the 11th full-length album from Oxnard veteran Declaime. Debuting on “WLIX” off Tha Alkaholiks’ sophomore album Coast II Coast in 1995, it wouldn’t be until 2001 when Dudley Perkins started putting out albums under his own name by dropping Andsoitisaid. Last we heard from him was in 2017 when he released Young Spirit but as the 4 year anniversary of that album approaches next month, dude is unearthing 13 joints that were recorded with longtime collaborator Madlib from 1993-1996 & putting them out to the public in the form of In the Beginning.

“Enuff” kicks things off with Declaime & even Madlib himself jump on top of some bass licks & handclaps talking about not letting stress wound, but then “One on One” works in a lo-fi beat & battle rap lyricism. The pair later go into boom bap territory on “Cool Ways” saying he’ll never slip up whereas “2 to da Head” has these dusty drums & what sound like Seagull noises addressing the days we’re living in.

Meanwhile on “Madman”, we have Dudley giving us a rowdy look at someone who’s insane before diving into the “Declaime Speaks” interlude as well as the fuzzy “Black” jabbing at the racist system. “Wake Up” is yet another boom bap cut themed around battle rap while “Out Like Dat” has these vinyl cracklings throughout it’s 2 minute run & Declaime saying there’s no turning back when you hit the street.

After the “Meltdown” interlude, the track “All Over the World” with M.E.D. serves as a funky crowd-mover propping up both the West & the East while the last actual song on the album “2 MC ‘95” is a keyboard-laced take on the Hamlet quote “To be or not to be”. Then there’s “Outrose”, which serves as a 2-minute instrumental piece to finish the album off.

Although the material In the Beginning presents to us was recorded 25-28 years ago, it still sounds really good now & that shouldn’t come a surprise given how well these guys have bounced off each other in the past. Madlib’s production is much more rawer on here & the topics that Declaime covers range from social commentary to braggadocio.

Score: 4/5

Montener the Menace – “Anyone Home?” review

This is the sophomore effort from Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom emcee & Hidden Hobby Records founder Montener the Menace. We first caught wind of the guy last spring when he released his full-length studio debut I Have a Hidden Hobby in which dude was rapping his ass off, but was overloaded with features & the instrumentals sorta sounded similar to one another. Not even a year has passed & Montener is continuing to stay busy by dropping Anyone Home?, bringing an interesting list of veterans on board that raised my expectations in comparison that previous album.

After the intro, the first song “We Need to Talk About Kevin” works in a chipmunk vocal sample to talk about being hurt whereas “High Noon” featuring Fatlip, Masta Ace, Rah Digga & Wordsworth compares themselves to that of outlaws over an old western loop. He later addresses his flaws on the twangy boom bap cut “Imperfections” just before he, Craig G & Ed O.G. return things to the essence on the violin-heavy “Take It Back”.

“The Struggle” featuring El Da Sensei, Guilty Simpson & Micall Parknsun is a icy look at everyone’s own problems that they face while “Dog Food” is an orchestral depiction of being homeless. After the “Anyone Home?” interlude, “It’s Always Sunny in Croydon” is a decent little posse cut showcasing Montener’s homies from the titular London city leading into him & A.G. talking about their legacy on the uplifting “Legends Never Die”.

The song “I Can’t Resist Hearing…” is an endearing tribute to fatherhood while the track “Feed the Foxes” featuring bood uses the title as a metaphor for giving to the poor accompanied by a bluesy beat. Then just before the outro, the final song on the album “Bloody Marvelous” featuring Keith Murray finds the 2 flexing their rapping prowesses over a rich instrumental.

To me, Anyone Home? is exactly what I wanted out of I Have a Hidden Hobby & it gives me a good impression that Montener the Menace could top this at some point later this decade. The features are toned down to an appropriate amount, Montener’s lyrical topics are more serious & I also like how he refines the traditional old school sound he goes for by dabbling with a variety of different styles.

Score: 3.5/5