This is the sophomore album from Compton, California emcee Westside Boogie. Breaking out onto the scene in 2014 with his debut mixtape Thirst 48 as well as following it up with The Reach exactly a year later as well as Thirst 48, Pt. II the year after that, he would eventually catch the attention of Detroit icon Eminem by signing to his Interscope Records imprint Shady Records in late 2017. His full-length debut Everything’s for Sale at the beginning of 2019 was a solid way to introduce himself to a wider audience & he’s finally returning in the form of More Black Superheroes.
“KILLA MODE” opens up the album with an acoustic guitar & some crooning vocals as Westside Boogie warns everyone to stop playing with him whereas “STUCK” takes a more piano-trap route & show a more contemplative side of him. “NONCHALANT” has a more summery tone to it getting romantic just before “LOL SMH II” starts off with a more soulful tone talking about needing power to be present, but switches into somewhat of a funkier sound saying he’s as calm as can be.
Meanwhile on “CAN’T EVEN LIE”, we have Soulja Boy tagging along over some keys & hi-hats calling out the pussies leading into the smooth “PRIDEFUL II” asking his girl what she be getting into. “AIGHT” returns to trap territory to brush off all the cap people be telling him, but then Smino & Teezo Touchdown come into the picture for the sensual “CAN’T GET OVER YOU” talking about how they can’t get over their significant others.
“RATCHET BOOG” is an aggressive introduction to one of the 3 alter egos that Westside Boogie has with a cool beat-switch towards the end while “SOMETHIN’ STRANGE” seems a little out of place given the fact that Kalan.FrFr has the most presence on it out of everyone. The penultimate track “WINDOWS DOWN” with WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg finds the 2 talking about smoking weed over a tranquilizing instrumental & “ANTHONY (WAR)” finishes the album with a well sequenced 2-parter admitting he thinks he’s too bougie now.
We’ve waited 3 long years for this one to come out & I think I happen like it a tad bit better than Everything’s for Sale. I admire the whole concept of embracing your powers as well as how much Westside Boogie has grown both creatively & personally since the last time we heard from him.
Logic is a 32 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, author & Twitch streamer from Rockville, Maryland who came up just about a decade ago off the strength of the first 3 installments of the Young Sinatra mixtape series. His potential would continually be shown on his first 2 albums Under Pressure & The Incredible True Story but it’s no secret that since the release of Bobby Tarantino in 2016, the dude’s discography has become a definition of inconsistent. ΞVERYBODY, Bobby Tarantino II & Young Sinatra IV were all mid at best, but who can forget the embarrassing attempt at going indie rock on Supermarket or the unlikeable bitterness of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind?No Pressure however was a mature sequel to his full-length debut & I also thought the Doc D concept mixtape Planetory Destruction was decent too, but Bobby Tarantino III was pretty underwhelming. That being said, almost every single he dropped leading up to this 8th album of his albeit his last with Def Jam Recordings has been incredible & had me very excited going into it.
After the “Danger” intro, “Tetris” kicks off the album with a soulful boom bap note spitting some braggadocio whereas “In My Lifetime” with Action Bronson has a more energetic tone to it warning their competition to be concerned. “Decades” flips “Oh How You Hurt Me” by The Fabulous Performers talking about how money isn’t everything & after the “J.J. Abrahams” skit, “BLACKWHITEBOY” comes through with a visceral shot at everyone who’s ever doubted him.
Meanwhile on “Quasi”, we have Logic asking Madlib to start rapping again with an instrumental that’s clearly influenced by The Beat Konducta just before “Bleed It” heavily samples the Beastie Boys looking back on his childhood. “LaDonda” has a bit of a J Dilla influence to the production with Logic looking back on his career up to this point & after the “Aaron Judge” skit, “Clouds” with Langston Bristol serves as a decent prelude to College Park with the beat-switching up during the last minute so Curren$y can steal the show.
After the “Michael Rap” skit, “Therapy Music” was the only single that I didn’t like prior to the album’s release due to how similar Russ & Logic both sound. However, I do like the jazzy instrumental & the reference Russ had to Game of Thrones on the Warner Bros.-owned HBO. After the “Tony Revolori” skit, “Rogue 1” works in some dusty drums & a whistling teapot kettle to talk about how he had to take a step back leading into “Breath Control” sampling “I Really Really Love You” by Father’s Children as he & Wiz Khalifa tell anyone who wants to set up to them not to try them.
After the “NEMS” skit, “Nardwuar” marks the return of Logic’s alter-ego Doc D accompanied by a fuzzy boom bap beat while “Kickstyle” is just a decent Ratt Pack reunion & I’m disappointed that Bobby doesn’t have a verse on here at all because Big Lenbo & IamJMARS’ are both just mid. After the “EarlyBird” skit, Royce da 5’9” tags along for the raw “10 Years” to celebrate their accomplishments in the previous decade while RZA comes into the picture for the basement-sounding “Porta 1” to spit some hardcore bars.
After the “NeedleDrop” skit, “Introducing Nezi” is basically Logic’s way of showing Nezi Momodu to a wider audience with a siren-laced instrumental while “Orville” with Blu & Exile and Like has a chipmunk soul flare to it letting y’all know how they get down. “Carnival” with AZ finds the 2 over some horns to creep up on them lyrically referencing 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & $7 Productions co-founder The Rock while the title track after the “Lena’s Insight” skit goes into a more symphonic direction talking about wanting the ESPN division of The Walt Disney Company to get their shit right.
The penultimate track “I Guess I Love It” with The Game brings back the jazz to admit that it’s funny how their feet been on the beach lookin’ at the sky & the stars above with “Sayonara” ending the album with a 10-minute open letter to Def Jam since Vinyl Days fulfills his contract with the label after being signed to them for the past decade.
Going into this, I had a strong feeling that this would be the best album of Logic’s career given how much I loved almost every single that he put out prior & that ended up being the case here. Granted there are WAY too many skits & some of the “mumble rap” lines are outdated as Hell but once you get past that, the actual music on here is actually his most artistically definitive yet.
Drake is a 35 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who skyrocketed to fame in 2009 off his 3rd mixtape So Far Gone. The success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records & they helped put out the man’s full-length debut Thank Me Later the next summer. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall, More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic, his YM/CM swan song Scorpion was a disappointingly failed attempt at making a double disc album showcasing his hip hop/R&B sides of his music respectively, Care Package is decent collection of 17 loosies from 2010-2016 that we’ve all heard before, Dark Lane Demo Tapes tried to experiment with new sounds only to miss the landing & Certified Lover Boy just felt like the same old shit we’ve heard from him before. However to celebrate his new SiriusXM radio show, Drizzy is surprise-dropping his 7th album.
After the intro, “Falling Back” opens up the album by going full-blown afrobeats with Drake singing about giving his all into a relationship whereas “Texts Go Green” is a more mellower cut produced by the album’s executive producer Black Coffee as he details him moving on from an ex. “Currents” pulls from Jersey club music with a distracting squeaking sound throughout talking about how he feels like he’s tumbling & doing a shitty Abel impression on the hook, but then “A Keeper” asks his old muse why he’d have her stick around over an airy instrumental.
Meanwhile on “Calling My Name”, we have Drizzy returning to dance-pop turf thanks to Gordo asking why it’s hard for him to give this bitch up just before “Sticky” comes through as the best track off the album with the lyrics about knowing tough situations can be & how the drums just hit you in the chest. “Massive” embraces a housier sound singing to his lover about finding them again, but then “Flight’s Booked” incorporates some synths to singing for his chick not to make him wait.
“Overdrive” has a funky ass groove to it with a fresh guitar solo at the end that I both really like admitting that his heart’s racing while “Down Hill” tells his bitch that they’re done & the 40 instrumental has an intriguingly wavy flare of the beat as well as the finger-snaps. The song “Tie That Blinds” throws a nylon guitar in with some prominent drums confessing that he never wants to see his lover leave while the penultimate track “Liability” slathers his vocals in chopped & screwed effects singing about changing for this woman with the hi-hats being mixed louder than the synths. “Jimmy Cooks” with 21 Savage ends the album with a fun 2-parter produced by Vinylz, Tay Keith & Cubeatz describing them throwing a party for their Day 1s remembering Lil Keed & warning this ain’t the WME Group-owned UFC.
I’ve noticed the reception for this has been very polarizing but for it to be a homage to the late Off-White founder Virgil Abloh, I’m honestly on the fence with it. I respect that Drake put his signature pop rap sound in the back-burner in comparison to Certified Lover Boy not elevating it any further so he can mix house & alternative R&B with afrobeats, but the results are extremely hit or miss.
This is the 5th full-length album from XP the Marxman. Coming up as 1/3 of the trio Rhyme Addicts. As far as his solo career goes, the dude has a handful of projects under his belt already, with my personal favorite being the Roc Marciano-produced Keep Firing. He just dropped The Marxman at the very beginning of the year & as we finally enter summer, D-Styles & DJ Rhettmatic are being brought in to fully produced Pacific Standard Time
After the “Pst #1” intro, “Get At a God” kicks off the album on a dreary note thanks to D-Styles with XP comparing himself to that of a God whereas “Lil Mijos” takes a jazzy boom bap route talking about growing up in the streets. RhymeStyleTroop tags along for the guitar-driven “Ms. America” embracing their Mexican heritages leading into the spine-tingling “Trunk” getting in his hustler bag.
After the “Pst #2” skit, Sick Jacken comes into the picture for the dusty “Tom Fears” produced by Rhettmatic reminding everyone how they play just before the eerie “Paint Pictures” quenching for blood. “The Kuyas” with Big Twins finds the 2 over a piano-laced boom bap instrumental talking about keeping them open, but then “Ski Mask to Jet Skis” lavishly reflects on his life then & now.
The song “Turn Up the Volume” incorporates some colorless piano melodies so XP can get on his thug shit while the penultimate track “Old to New” talks about being a king & the beat on here is just petrifying to the core. However, “Frost Bitten” is a gully ass way to end the album from the horn-laced production to XP’s malicious lyricism.
I was very excited going into this given that I’ve been a fan of The Beat Junkies for a minute & how much I’ve enjoyed some of XP’s most recent projects. Needless to say: It’s some of the best shit he’s ever done considering how great the chemistry between him, D-Styles & Rhettmatic is. Purely raw penmanship & production from start to finish.
This is the full-length debut from Boston producer C-Lance. Breaking out in 2010 after becoming an in-house producer for Enemy Soul Entertainment, he would go on to become one of the underground’s most prominent names ranging from the Army of the Pharaohs to Swollen Members. He spent last year dropping a beat tape every single month with each one being composed of samples of music from other countries with summer approaching, C-Lance is at long last unleashing The Undying Flame.
After the intro, “Sons of Godzilla” by Apathy & Celph Titled is an apocalyptic boom bap opener flexing their rapping prowesses whereas “Avocado Money” by Crimeapple & Vinnie Paz works in some vibraphones talking about being in a different ballgame. “Lord of Illusions” by G-Mo Skee & Jarren Benton finds the pair over a melodic vocal sample belittling their competition referencing the recently departed former アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, TNA World Tag Team Champion, WCW World Television Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 7-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall leading into the piano-laced “Total Disaster” by Cryptic Wisdom, Novatore & Rittz talking about going from nothing to the successful artists that they are today.
Meanwhile on “Behead the God”, we have Tha Connection coming into the picture over some synths that’re reminiscent to that of an old school video game saying the world is theirs just before “The Book of Life” by MURS & R.A. the Rugged Man brings the keys back in to provide the listeners with some inspirational subject matter. “Macaulay Culkin” by Chris Webby & Merkules incorporates some whistling into the beat talking about how crazy they are, but then “Something Different” by Junk hooks up a crooning loop calling out wankstas.
“Leap of Faith” by Big Twins & Evidence finds the 2 boasting their greatness over blobby boom bap instrumental while the appropriately “Bring the Terror” by Blaq Poet & Reef the Lost Cauze weaves in some horns to wreak havoc lyrically. “Tales from the Darkside” by Ill Bill & Snak the Ripper has this dope, pitched-up vocal sample with both MCs delivering some morbidly vivid imagery & after Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind’s interlude, “Riots By Masked Men” by Lord Goat & Recognize Ali eerily gets on their murder shit.
Following that, “Wildfire” by Madchild & Sick Jacken has these incredible organ harmonies comparing themselves to such while the song “Keep Calm” by Charlie Fettah, Daniel Son & Jay Royale finds the trio over a thunderous beat talking about maintaining through the fire. The penultimate track “Last Wishes” by Esoteric, Slaine & Termanology returns to a soulful sound advising not to fuck with them while “Ride It Out” by Blind Fury ends the album on a feel-good note saying he’ll be here until the end.
I’ve been a fan of this dude’s production work since my high school years, so for him to get his own full-length debut was very much anticipated & it certainly lived up to my expectations. It’s a fresh showcase of his signature sound & some of the illest MCs in the underground happen to pop up so they can rip his beats to shreds.
Post Malone is a 26 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & producer from Grapevine, Texas who rose to stardom in 2015 with the single “White Iverson”. This resulted in him signing to Republic Records, where’s made himself home ever since by dropping a total 3 full-lengths & a mixtape in that span of time. Now even though I’ve never really been the biggest fan of Posty’s work, there’s no denying that he has a decent amount of tracks that I genuinely enjoy like “Congratulations” as well as “rockstar” & who could forget “Sunflower”? Hell I even liked his sophomore effort beerbongs & bentleys, which I maintain is the crown jewel of his discography. It’s been almost 3 years since we last heard from him in the form of Hollywood’s Bleeding, which didn’t resonate to me because I felt like he was just riding the emo rap coattails. That being said, I didn’t know what to expect from this 4th album of his given how long it’s been since he’s put out music.
“Reputation” is a passionate piano ballad produced by longtime collaborator Louis Bell to open up the album with Posty advising the world to save themselves whereas “Cooped Up” with Roddy Ricch has somewhat of a hyphy flare to it & the way they both go on about pullin’ up to a party is just so boring. “Lemon Tree” takes a more acoustic route singing that he’s shit out of luck, but then “Wrapped Around Your Finger” goes full blown dance-pop to whine & cry about missing his ex.
Meanwhile on “I Like You (A Happier Song)”, we have Doja Cat accompanying Post for a moody trap banger with a playful attitude to it leading into the Gunna-assisted counterpart “I Cannot Be (A Sadder Song)” asking what they want them to be over a cloudy instrumental from Taurus. “Insane” obnoxiously describes a bitch that went from classy to nasty over a cavernous beat just before “Love/Hate Letter to Alcohol” comes through as my favorite off the album, as Posty wears his heart on his sleeve about alcoholism & the production is intense.
The Kid Laroi comes into the picture for “Wasting Angels”, which unfortunately wastes a synth-heavy beat for them to spit some unlikeable bars about how crazy their lives are while “Euthanasia” has a more skeletal approach in terms of sound singing that it’s not gonna hurt when he passes. “When I’m Alone” fuses these synths & punky drums only to spill more breakup melodrama while the song “Waiting For a Miracle” is yet another piano ballad about how he stays fucked up. The penultimate track “1 Right Now” is a laughable “Blinding Lights” ripoff which is a shame since The Weeknd carries it & the closer “New Recording 12, Jan 3, 2020” ends the album with an unfinished acoustic demo.
For this to be Posty’s comeback after 3 long years, I can say that I walked away from 12kt Toothache enjoying it even less than Hollywood’s Bleeding. Primarily because it seems like there’s little to no risks being taken as far as the overall sound goes & he sounds mostly uninspired throughout a good portion of the 43 minute run.
Bizarre is a 45 year old MC from Detroit, Michigan who came up as an original member of the now defunct D12 led by the late Proof. He was also among the first in the crew to put out solo efforts, with his 1998 debut EP Attack of the Weirdos being a hometown classic in my eyes. Fast forward 7 years later, Biz followed it up with a worthy full-length debut Hannicap Circus & has continued to put out music on his own since, with the last time we heard him being his 10th mixtape Peter this past winter. But for his 5th album, the idiotic kid is bringing in one of the city’s greatest producers Foul Mouth behind the boards for the whole thing.
“Uzi” is a soulful boom bap opener with Bizarre going at the throats of anyone who wants to step up to him lyrically whereas “Hecker” with Kool Keith takes a grimier route talking about how they’re just built different. “Gauge” works in some strings reminding everyone he doesn’t think realistically just before Dope D.O.D. tags along for the dusty “Desert E” talking about how dangerous they are.
Meanwhile on “MG3”, we have Kain Cole joining Bizzy over some pianos admitting that they just wanna fly leading into “XM307 (Night Shift)” throwing a soul sample into the mix talking about him looking forward to his bitch clocking out of work as she comes in during the evenings. “FN” returns to boom bap turf asking if people are really living what they’re rapping & after the first of 2 skits, “9MM” shoots for a more psychedelic sound telling the story of his sex life.
NEMS & Young Z both come into the picture for the gully “25” to get ignorant on the mic while “Smith & Wesson” with the homies Dango Forlaine, Nick Speed, Ty Farris & 7 the General finds the quartet over some keys for an incredible Detroit posse cut. “AS50” encourages listeners to run because you don’t wanna get shot by him over an uncanny beat, but then “Dillinger” fuses elements of rock & boom bap talking about fucking up people outside.
Following that, Guilty Simpson & Mvck Nyce join Bizarre for the forlorn “Saw Off” to apply pressure while “45” incorporates a guitar talking about coming from the gutter. “Glock (College Bitch)” is one of the weaker cuts on the album despite it’s soulful production due to it’s subject matter about fucking bitches that’re over 2 decades younger than him & after the “Coney Island” skit, “Detroit” picks it up with a raw ode to the city. Prior to the outro though, “Rusty 38” with Big T ends the album on a chaotic note delivering that raw hip hop.
A lot of people like to dismiss Bizarre as an MC, but I came away from He Got a Gun liking it just as much as Attack of the Weirdos & Hannicap Circus. Easily some of the best work of his career in my opinion. There are a couple lackluster features & song topics throughout, but Foul Mouth’s production doesn’t miss a step & Peter S. himself has a fire under his ass lyrically.
Bishop Nehru is a 25 year old MC/producer from Nanuet, New York who started out dropping a couple beat tapes before emerging in the underground off the solid debut mixtape Nehruvia. His profile would only begin to increase in 2014 by signing to Mass Appeal Records & form the duo NehruvianDOOM alongside the late MF DOOM, putting out an overlooked self-titled effort together that same fall. Bishy would leave Mass Appeal a couple years later to drop 2 full-lengths Elevators & My Disregarded Thoughts on his own, both of which I look at as some of the best shit he’s ever done. However for this 3rd album of his, Kelz Scott has decided to base it around his experience with trying heroin.
“HELLo” opens up the album by ominously welcoming listeners to a land of corruption whereas the title track cavernously talking about being at the highest trying to escape. “The First Hit” takes a more hazier approach proclaiming that he’s losing his shit leading into “Sun Showers” talking about being prepared for the rain outside over a minimal instrumental with a soft vocal sample throughout that I actually find to be a nice addition to it.
Meanwhile on “World of the Gods”, we have Bishy seeing through the façades on top of a shrilling beat just before “TheScornEmperor” mixes some keys & synths to attack his detractors. “Can You Feel My Soul?” has a twangier vibe talking about how amazing it is once you start to heal the spirit while the song “Abandoned” goes full-blown trap expressing his desire to advance & not be deserted. The penultimate track “Is It Okay If I Wanna Die?” takes a turn into cloudier territory opening up about his thoughts of suicide & “Goodbye.” closes out the album well with it’s forlorn instrumental & Bishy bidding farewell due to how he’s feeling inside.
Ever since this album was announced, Bishop has been accused of doing it all for the clout which is ridiculous considering that he’s always had elements of conscious hip hop throughout his career. That being said, solid tape. I wish some cuts were a little longer, but whole idea of Heroin Addiction is well conceived & I appreciate how much his production game has evolved in the last decade.
This is the 8th full-length album from Chicago, Illinois emcee Novatore. Coming up as a member of the Infamous Crew, he’s also built up an impressive solo career in the last 6 years by dropping 4 EPs & 7 albums, the previous being Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience last year. He just teamed up with A.M. Early Morning a couple months back for the Stu Bangas-produced collab effort Kingdom of Criminality & is celebrating the 1-year anniversary of his last solo effort in the form of Master of Morbid Creations.
After the “Ascend the Heavens” intro, Chris Crack tags along for the spacey boom bap opener “God Level” by Azthmatix produced by Young Bangas talking about burning lots of shit whereas “Sentient” works in a high-pitched vocal sample thanks to C-Lance flexing how elaborate he is. A.M. Early Morning comes into the picture for “Chemical Experiments” comparing themselves to mad scientists over a rap rock instrumental from none other than Stu Bangas, but then “Split” throws in a crooning loop & mixes some dusty drums in talking about having 2 personalities.
Meanwhile on “Cyborg vs. Nazi”, we have Novatore telling the story from the point of view of a cyborg being a prisoner of war over some uncanny boom bap production leading into “Lab Rats” going into battle rap turf over an instrumental kin to Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind. The song “Eat Their Brains” by Azthmatix finds the 2 paying homage to my mother’s favorite song of all-time “Wonderwall” by Oasis over a boom bap beat with a dirty bass-guitar riff while the penultimate track “Can’t Relate” with Wildcard has a more heinous sound to it talking about not having respect for those who don’t have a passion for their craft. “Sci-Fi” with Eto & Lord Goat ends the album with a futuristic Johnny Slash instrumental to get gruesome lyrically.
To hear how much Novatore continuing to level up as an MC throughout the years has been incredible to watch & Master of Morbid Creations further solidifies that. The performances from the features are 50/50, but the subject matter definitely lives up to the name & the production is consistently raw.
This is the 13th studio LP from Highbury, North London, England, United Kingdom emcee Ramson Badbonez. An underwing of the Task Force, he would eventually sign to High Focus Records in 2013 making his debut for the label with A Year in the Life of Oscar the Slouch that same winter. Hypnodic, Jason Bonez, Mic Day the 13th & Death Mask would all come out under the Hove, East Sussex imprint to warm reception. However with Fusion now becoming the 6th, he’s looking to go in a different direction stylistically.
“Alpha” produced by Jehst begins with a hypnotic ode to one of my all-time favorite Nas tracks “The World is Yours” whereas “Lift Off” goes for more of a hip house vibe courtesy of Ghosttown making the place “Jump” like Kris Kross did. We get a horn sample mixed with drums & bass to give the fans “What Ya Need” prior to the synth-heavy “Rap Bio”solemnly swearing that nothing can compare to his output through a biography on his career.
As for “Blame”, we have Ramson over a hypnotic beat talking about his country’s education system failing the youth hence why he can’t blame them leading into “Hoodflix” featuring Datkid & Truemendous on the remix finds the trio looking back at their upbringings over a Telemachus instrumental. The experimental trap-tinged title track gets in his storytelling bag describing the dark streets of London while “Beat the Odds” takes a few minutes to talk about achieving what many deemed impossible.
“Just Say…” kicks off the 4th quarter of Fusiontalking about the real calling the frauds on their bluff, wanting nothing more than them to back off & cut their bullshit while “Roll On” dabbles with grime suggesting not everyone was made to be a rapper when that couldn’t be any more factual. “Could’ve Been You” featuring Confucius MC advises to never hold a grudge because time flies rather quickly until “Omega” wraps things up with a bombastic 5 & a half minute outro letting those who fucked up around him know what they’ve done.
Some of the mixed reception I was seeing towards Fusion going into it had a me a little worried that it could be Ramson Badbonez’ worst album but now that I’ve finally gotten a chanced to sit down & break it down, I wouldn’t say it that’s bad personally. The production’s more experimentally genre blurring than what we’re normally used to hearing from him dissecting the many highs & lows that took him from a life running the roads to documenting his own experiences.
