DJ Oreeyo – “Prodigy” review

This is the sophomore effort from Detroit Michigan emcee, producer & disc jockey DJ Oreeyo. The son of local veteran Fatt Father previously of the world famous Fat Killahz, he eventually followed his dad’s footsteps by making music himself, properly introducing himself in 2022 & Freshman Year the subsequent fall made for an impressive self-produced debut primarily rooted in trap. It’s been a few years since & the Prodigy’s ready to let us see how much he’s grown since 2023.

The self-produced “Killshot” hops over an orchestral trap beat talking about his preference of having kin instead of friends whereas “How We Comin’” aggressively talking about holding nothing back his confidence being mistaken as arrogance. “Him” keeps expressing his self-assurance of being that muhfuckin’ dude & “What We On” featuring T Cruz was one of the weaker moments here despite them talking about these haters being fans in the grand scheme of things.

“Quick Workout” goes off-the-top for 80 seconds over some horns & hi-hats flexing that he doesn’t need a personal chef because he’s cooking in the studio regardless leading into “Old Soul” reminds me of Slum Village’s early output from the boom bap instrumental to the scratch hook appealing to the old school & new school fans. “Gen Check” has a more cinematic sound to it addressing the people he sees daily while “Me vs. Me” feels like a convo between his older & younger self.

After the compositional “Commercial Break” intermission, “Ain’t Worried Bout U” cloudily makes it clear that he ain’t stressing over anyone while “Makin’ Moves” shifts back towards a more trap-oriented sound suggesting those who support him to get in the mood. “I Have a Dream” however feels less of an interlude & more of an atmospherically woozy statement regarding him making it to the end of this movie we that many would call life.

“Growth Mindset” has a more exuberant boom bap flare to it winding down Prodigy’s final moments talking about bringing his homies with him to make sure they’re all fed by the time he’s gone while “Suspense” has a bit of a west coast groove to it pleading not to show him love later if you’re not gonna do it at this present moment. The closing track “My Dear Reflection” takes up the last couple minutes of the album expressing the importance of standing tall in any challenge the world might hit us with.

Freshman Year was a impressively broader introduction to who DJ Oreeyo from both artistic & personal standpoints, but Prodigy pushes himself further by taking everything that made his debut LP so interesting from the continuation of the predecessor’s trap sound aside from a couple moments where he’s rapping over boom bap production to the penmanship being more sharpened now that he’s older than he was 2 & a half years ago.

Score: 4/5

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Drake – “Iceman” review

And finally there’s the Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake’s 11th LP & subsequently his last for Republic Records. Skyrocketing 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 underrated 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 the hip hop/R&B sides of the OVO Sound founder’s 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. Honestly, Nevermind was basically Drake’s own version of Renaissance by foraying into house music a month ahead to mixed reception until Her Loss with 21 Savage was a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. For All the Dogs was the most I’ve enjoyed Drake’s music since If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR last Valentine’s Day would become his worst collaborative project yet, coming off getting destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in a rap beef to drop Habibti, Maid of Honour & Iceman.

“Make Them Cry” begins with a sample “The pressure is on me.” by Muchi to talk about his father Dennis battling cancer & some questioning the sincerity of that when he’s now cancer free whereas “Dust” takes a jab at Kendrick claiming that he doesn’t remember a word of his raps when it’s a lie. “Whisper My Name” disses JAY-Z stating he’d take the $500K instead of having dinner with him prior to “Janice STFU” dissing Hov once more over FNZ & Rogét Chahayed sampling “I Follow Rivers” by Lykke Li that was later remixed.

Future & Molly Santana appear on the 2-parter “Ran to Atlanta” that Dez Wright, !llmind, Southside & Wheezy all cooked up making a self-aware nod to “Not Like Us” just before “Shabang” produced by 40 talks about the aftermath of the Kendrick beef. “Make Them Pay” works in an ovrkast. instrumental I really found myself enjoying until he disses J. Cole, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled & Pharrell but then “Burning Bridges” splits itself in halves to take a jab at A$AP Rocky reusing a “back to back” line for some odd reason.

“National Treasures” concludes the 1st half of Iceman with another 2-parter that Boi-1da & Internet Money Records in-house producer Nico Baran both put together attacking LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, James Harden & Russell Westbrook for attending the Pop Out show on Juneteenth 2024 while “B’s on the Table” talks about his ongoing Universal Music Group lawsuit. “What Did I Miss?” however began the whole rollout dissing DeMar & LeBron once more over a cloud trap beat from Tay Keith.

Meanwhile on “Plot Twist”, we have Drake over an instrumental Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group co-produced representing OVO & rebutting “Not Like Us” while “2 Hard for the Radio” basically pokes fun at “Not Like Us” even harder with it’s Bay Area sound & includes a DJ Mustard diss. “Make Them Remember” throws jabs at Kendrick, Cole, Dr. Dre & Joe Budden over a Boi-1da beat while “Little Birdie” talks about the aftermath of the Kendrick beef again.

“Don’t Worry” at last nears the conclusion of Iceman taking an alternative R&B approach courtesy of Sledgren interestingly pleading for his partner to come have the best time on the bedside while “Firm Friends” contains one of my favorite instrumentals thanks to Conductor Williams, only for Drizzy to hit us with more bars about the Kendrick beef & UMG CEO Lucian Grainge. The closing track “Make Them Know” spends the last 4 minutes admitting that the 4th of July in 2024 when the “Not Like Us” video premiered was the worst he felt in a minute.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to everyone that Habibti & Maid of Honour were passionlessly rushed throughout the Iceman sessions because Drake wanted to get out of his Republic contract, but the final installment of the trilogy was actually my favorite of them all even if it’s average at best. Aside from the alternative R&B joint, the production carries over the trappy pop rap/chipmunk soul ideas For All the Dogs had contrasting the R&B & dancehall/EDM influences of Habibti & Maid of Honour although the victim raps ruin it.

Score: 2.5/5

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TopOppGen – “Peace Doesn’t Reside on My End” review

TopOppGen is a 20 year old rapper from Charlotte, North Carolina who dropped his debut mixtape Mind of a Menace in the summer of 2021. He would go on to follow this up with 3 extended plays & 6 mixtapes including TopOppBusiness, All I Know is 6, ?, 6orry for the Wait, House Arrest Tingz, The Last 6ixer…, love, topopp & imperfections until signing to Columbia Records. The full-length debut fake pills & real scars along with the sophomore effort kalon have both been making waves & the singles building up towards his 3rd album made it seem like it could be his most defining statement thus far only hours after Cedric Alexander ended Leon Slater’s reign as TNA X Division Champion.

“purple fluid” opens things up talking about falling in love with drugs after having his heart broken whereas “don’t cry” fuses rap rock, trap & emo rap assuring his partner that she doesn’t have to do him wrong if he does it initially. “chemistry” talks about love not meaning anything to him until “scrimmage” for some reason admits to stalking this woman’s page when he knows he has better stuff to do.

The 2nd & final single “love war” suggests maybe he’s better off in his deathbed when most would consider it to be the worst case scenario while “don’t wanna do that” talks about being on drugs that his homies have never heard of previously. “emo girl” wraps up the 1st leg of the LP proclaiming the chick he’s been with to be dumber than Patrick Star leading into “everything” talks about remembering all he & an ex have done together.

“I hate relationships” kicks off the 2nd half warns everyone who wants to kill him that he has guns of his own at the crib while “features” talks about being mesmerized by the beauty of this pretty girl with a cold heart. “rampaging” touches base regarding him being on lean for 3 straight weeks & pondering if he’s been losing his feelings while “heartfelt message” blends a guitar & hi-hats expresses hope of him never seeing a hoe’s face again because of their love dissolving.

The song “blow me away” winds down Peace Don’t Reside on My End’s final moments advising to let him be if someone finds him bleeding out all over the ground & his partner’s absence causing him to begin hallucinating while “cavity” talks about making it out the hood even if he couldn’t take the hood with him. The closing track “way past 10” spends the full-length’s last couple minutes taking inspiration from the late XXXTENTACION’s emo-folk stuff, primarily 17.

Proving himself to be one of emo rap’s most prominent forces within the past year, TopOppGen extends the back-to-back streak he’s been on since signing to a major label & making it a 3-peat considering how much Peace Doesn’t Reside on My End feels like a continuation of both it’s predecessors. The production refines his style by maintaining the secondary influences of gangsta rap, pop rap, rap rock & trap and he refrains from having any guests join him in expressing his pain.

Score: 3.5/5

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Chill Rob G – “Survival of the Better” review

Chill Rob G is a 62 year old MC from Jersey City, New Jersey who became notable for being a part of the Flavor Unit collective. His full-length debut Ride the Rhythm produced by the late 45 King would come out in 1989 under Wild Pitch Records & EMI Records, which would subsequently be followed up with the sophomore effort Black Gold & No Running. He also had C-Doc fully produce his SpitSLAM Records debut Empires Crumble in the spring of 2022 & here we are 50 months later picking up where the latter left off for Rob’s 4th album.

“Level Up Season” begins with this jazzy boom bap intro promising that shit won’t ever be even as long as Rob’s still alive whereas “Never Ready” featuring Copywrite finds the 2 linking up over a bass-line advising not to call yourself the best when you can’t prove it. “Ridiculous” featuring R.A. the Rugged Man & Sadat X brings the trio together to talk about sending wack rappers back to irrelevance while “I Am” reminds us all who he is over a jazzy drum & bass instrumental.

Treach joins Rob so both of them can let out some “Intrusive Thoughts” they’ve been having on top of a piano mixed with kicks & snares just before “Shots Fired” takes a funkier boom bap approach for some raw battle raps. “Let’s Go” featuring Chuck D hops over another bass guitar talking about trusting your instinct & actually think while “Higher Level” featuring Lakim Shabazz & Wise Intelligent continues the conscious lyricism hooking up a crooning beat behind them.

“G.T.F.O. (Get the Fuck Out)” winds down Survival of the Better’s last leg turning up the jazz rap influences for a message directed at those who might get it confused with him when they shouldn’t while “Dream Big” featuring Thrilla aka Shardcore brings back the funk encouraging their younger selves to listen to their hearts. The closing track “Choose Life” earned off the LP on a jazzier note talking about being motivated if anyone wants to achieve their goals like they say they do.

Empires Crumble to me was the most that I’ve enjoyed a Chill Rob G album since his debut, but Survival of the Better inserts itself in the middle right above it’s predecessor & behind Ride the Rhythm for a top 3 spot if I had to rank Rob’s discography. C-Doc’s production feels noticeably jazzier than Empires Crumble’s & the Flavor Unit member elevates his pen midway through this 5th act of his storied career alongside a murderer’s row of guests.

Score: 4/5

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Telehealth – “Green World Image” review

Telehealth is a post-punk/synthpop duo from Seattle, Washington consisting of Alexander Attitude & Kendra Cox. Their 2023 debut Content Oscillator properly introduced themselves combining both of those previously mentioned styles with new wave as well as egg punk, garnering the interest of locally historic indie label Sub Pop Records & they were officially signed a few months earlier. So for Alex & Kendra to make their debut for the imprint through their sophomore effort seemed like it could be the pairing’s biggest breakthrough yet.

After the “(user onboarding sequence)” intro, “The Telehealth Shuffle” begins with this compositionally playful & quirky dance-punk opener whereas “Kokomo 2” goes for a new wave/egg punk vibe singing about a machine rendering a senseless future to be useless. The 3rd single “Donor Country (A gOoD cAuSe)” asks why can’t we coexist & trying to find some charitable context leading into “Age of Muralcide” embracing a synth punk sound to explain capitalism & consumerism.

The 2nd single “Things I’ve Killed” embraces the a heavy Devo influence singing about a subreddit blaming millennials for all the industries that they blame for destroying prior to them asking for the “Cost of Inaction” to kick off the 2nd half incorporating elements of new wave, synthpop & dance punk. “Silver Spoon” humorously sings about being unable to afford death & taxes anymore considering everything’s getting more expensive while the lead single “Cool Job” describes looking for an occupation that would actually be fun.

“Yassify Me” for the 4th & final single explains the result of a $0 budget, a dream & Kendra’s aunt Becky absolutely committing to the bit while “Maria, Machine” takes inspiration from Devo once more with hints of Sparks or Zolar X. The penultimate song finds the duo embracing their “Villain Era” & confidently looking to take the crown while the outro “Living, Laughing, Loving, Trying” pretty much sums up the way most of us have been doing for the past year & a half.

Continuing their mission of financializing any difference of opinion over how the in-shambles local “music scene” should proceed, Telehealth’s 2nd album & Sub Pop debut vertically integrates itself towards the average Seattleite & consumers around the globe who are also ready to financialize their own passion for music. Green World Image has a more predominant post-punk feeling than synthpop except they’re progressively evolving beyond both styles in favor of exploring art punk, synth punk, dance-punk, egg punk, new wave & art rock.

Score: 4/5

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BNYX – “Genesis FM” review

This is the full-length studio debut from Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania producer, songwriter & occasional rapper BNYX. Mentored by Jean Baptiste & later joining the Working on Dying production team known for pioneering tread music, he’s also known for being an extensive collaborator of Yeat, signing to the latter’s Lyfestyle Corporation imprint under Field Trip Recordings & Capitol Records distributed by Universal Music Group. His debut extended play Loading… made for a decent prelude & Genesis FM has arrived 7 months afterwards.

After the titular intro, “HunchO Step!” by Quavo begins with what I consider to be one of the stronger singles getting all the baddies to dance whereas “squEEze !i” by Lancey Foux was another track I enjoyed from the instrumental to the lyrics about being on go. “luv yoU right” by Chromeo stylistically shifts gears so the latter can confess to meeting their match just before “what’s happenin?” by Ledbyher talks about being with a woman thicker than his accent at the end who loves fake acting.

“Telepathy Love” by Clara La San goes for a poppier R&B sound so she can describe a relationship that feels rather psychic leading into “Fuëgo” by Peso Pluma & Yeat reaching the halfway point for a bilingual anthem about going loose off the alcohol. “OVERLOADDD” gets the 2nd leg of Genesis FM going on a more compositional note embracing an EDM sound while “I wanna know :)” by Big Sean & Clara La San links up for a pop rap duet where they’re trying to hear the truth.

Alt-pop, Atlanta bass, synthpop, electro, alternative R&B & indietronica all collide on another highlight single “Everywhere I Go (Remind Me)” by KiD CuDi interpolating the Röyksopp track “Remind Me” while “Science” by Nippa sings about his lover’s being a test subject for analyzation. “FANatic” by Beau Nox expresses a desire to touch the sights that’ve been speaking out & once “Fallen” by Don Toliver sings about falling for someone, “Time’s Slipping Away” by Anatole Muster bittersweetly ends yearning for 1 more day with this person.

I went into Genesis FM expecting to enjoy it more than Loading… because I adamantly believe BNYX is one of the greatest mainstream producers of this decade & as much as it pains to me say it, his debut album isn’t much better in terms of consistency. Happy an instrumental version happened since the pop rap, electropop, alt-pop, alternative R&B, electro hop, EDM trap, freestyle, indietronica, Atlanta bass & synthpop production is magnificent. However, the guest list once more feels hit or miss.

Score: 3/5

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Lørd Skø – “Elevator Music” review

New York emcee Lørd Skø following up PiFF with his 4th LP. Getting his start 6 years ago off his debut EP 13th Angel, his profile would grow from there eventually hiring one of the greatest A&Rs in the industry Dante Ross as his manager & showing the world of what he’s capable of doing when he put out his debut Museum. His sophomore effort United Palace was a great dedication to his neighborhood, coming off the Fat Beats Records-backed PiFF to have Statik Selektah produce Elevator Music singlehandedly.

The title track begins incorporating a boom bap instrumental with synthesizers giving us something for all those days he used to play the stairs whereas “How It Is” talks about calling things the way they are. “Better Days” featuring Dave East finds the 2 linking up over a soulful beat to discuss waiting for things in their lives to improve prior to “Northern Lights” featuring B-Real & Smoke DZA finds the trio getting on their stoner shit.

“Drunk Dial” featuring Ab-Soul ends the 1st half on a funkier note instrumentally sliding onto the scene with the meanest gangsta lean but after “Hangman” combines a slowed down vocal sample with some kicks & snares to tackle some mental health issues admitting he’s been hanging on by a thread, “Donnie Brasco” continues the 2nd leg of Elevator Music referencing the crime drama of the same name & wondering if this is where he’s supposed to be.

The song “Wonder” brings a jazzier boom bap vibe to the table pondering the meaning of that very word while “nWo” featuring Andre Lawrence, Kai Ca$h, LIFEOFTHOM, Marco+ & Rhakim Ali likens themselves to the WWE Hall of Famers of the same name & the most dominant faction in WCW’s later years. The soulful closing track “Wish Upon a Star” concludes Elevator Music talking about him staying busy as of late & wanting to admit his exhaustion to his mother.

We’ve already heard Lørd Skø over Statik Selektah production a handful of times within the past several years, so for the latter to handle all of Elevator Music’s beats raised my expectations for it significantly & can say with confidence that it’s the greatest thing Skø has done. From his sharp penmanship to the jazzy boom bap production the Showoff Records founder has become known for, it’s like simultaneously bridging generations of New York hip hop & pushing the culture forward at the same time.

Score: 4.5/5

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Lucki – “dr*gs r bad” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper & occasional producer Lucki’s highly anticipated 4th LP has finally arrived. Beginning to turn heads in the summer of 2013 when he released his debut mixtape Alternative Trap to critical acclaim, he would later go on to give his fans 6 more tapes & a dozen EPs with the last one being the F1LTHY-produced Wake Up Lucki a week before my 25th birthday in December 2021. The full-length debut Flawless Like Me saw Lucki finding his style & the sophomore effort s*x mon*y dr*gs was the most I enjoyed Tune’s music in a while, coming off Gemini & the divisively received Daysb4bad* to deliver the main course that the latter preluded.

The “Nuppy” intro opens up the first couple of minutes talking about a woman who he feels like is the right one for him whereas “Picky Demons :)” talks about him not being the fastidious type & shit not being for show with him. “No Stars in Maybachs” featuring Rylo Rodriguez & Veeze finds the trio joining forces to trade verses with each other although I think Veeze was the better guest of the 2 while “Stupid Prizes” cloudily talks about what happens when one plays stupid games.

“Supertune!!” gives off a heavier psychedelic trap vibe instrumentally courtesy of Noah Mejia boasting that he feels like a superhero whenever he pops pills leading into “rookie 2 barbie” talks about how far he’s come since his Lucki Eck$ days over a decade ago back when I was in high school. “AllWay2Space” embraces a pluggier sound thanks to Taurus discussing his eagerness of going to the moon just before the “mdnt series” talks about going on a midnight roll driving around in his Maybach.

Lil Baby appears for “Snake Pit Flow” to describe the feeling they have of being made for this music shit over a LulRose instrumental while “(madness)!” shifts towards a more futuristic trap direction stylistically talking about there being hoes with no voices out here. “a theme atp…” expresses his willingness to have his people call him whenever their day’s been rough while “Keep It 1,000, Plz” talks about his desire to have everyone keep it legitimate when speaking to him.

“Brazy” reached the halfway point of dr*gs r bad with what I’d consider more of a brief freestyle than an interlude while “WAYBetter Dayz” featuring the late Chynna talks about being geeked up so much to the point where today could be his last day alive. “Loyal Snake” keeps the synthesizers coming to ask this woman if she could love him the way he loves her while the Detroit trap-tinged “Roundtripski” encourages someone who went rogue on him to do it again because he fucks with it.

Veeze returns again for the “Twin Flow” sequel “Twin FlowGodfather II”, going back-&-forth with each other to save my favorite guest appearance for last while “Ur a Vet!” talks about being on 3 different diamonds every single day & most being unable to keep up. “Gemini Dramatic” wraps up dr*gs r bad’s final moments describing a relationship where he’s got it out the mud & has a hoe who’s for the streets beside him while the outro “Yesterday On My Face” talks about being unable to trust this person.

“Not So Virgo of You” starts the deluxe run with a cloudy trap 2-parter that I’d say is one of the best songs he’s done this decade & once “I Don’t Care…” featuring the current WWE United States Champion Trick Williams’ manager Lil Yachty teams up for a atmospheric jerk single that I liked more than the other one they did at the beginning of the month, “Diamond Stitching” fuses the Detroit sound & tread so he can talk about his newfound wealth.

The single “Free Mr. Banks” combines trap & plugg to call for Lil Durk’s freedom in addition to remind us all of the code of the streets while “Overth!nking” experiments with vaportrap a bit to vent about his internal struggles including experiences of betrayal. The final bonus track “Tuff Luver” is what truly sends off the album, confessing that he’s been feeling somewhat nervous of becoming a superstar & shrugging it off suggesting maybe that’s the Chiraq in him.

Considering that one of the deluxe cuts stirred up controversy when Lucki dropped it through Steve Stoute’s independent distributor UnitedMasters & it’s competitor EMPIRE filing a lawsuit against Tune, some including myself would have to presume that dr*gs r bad fulfills the Chicago artist’s contract with them & I wish him nothing but the best if that’s in fact the case. However, it’s still an impressive trap/Detroit sound album even if it’s an undeniable improvement above Daysb4bad*.

Score: 3.5/5

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Drake – “Habibti” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake going solo for the first time in 3 years with his 9th studio LP. Skyrocketing 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 underrated 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 the hip hop/R&B sides of the OVO Sound founder’s 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. Honestly, Nevermind was basically Drake’s own version of Renaissance by foraying into house music a month ahead to mixed reception until Her Loss with 21 Savage was a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. For All the Dogs was the most I’ve enjoyed Drake’s music since If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR last Valentine’s Day would become his worst collaborative project yet, coming off getting destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in a rap beef to drop Habibti, Maid of Honour & Iceman.

The “Rusty” intro awfully begins with him singing over some acoustics for 62 seconds sending a message to the sweethearts & those he’s dated whereas “WNBA” produced by Gordo mediocrely details a long-distance relationship that’s effected by travel. “Slap the City” might be my favorite track here from the Noel Cadastre beat to Drizzy’s hedonistic lyrics, but then “High 5s” finds himself getting in his petty bag over a 40 instrumental.

“Hurrr Nor Thurrr” featuring Sexyy Red could be my 2nd least favorite track here because of the way they describe an addictively messy relationship ruining a sample of “MORAL” by Avenoir, but “I’m Spent” featuring Loe Shimmy tops it as the worst song here wasting a moody beat to talk about both emotional instability & luxury. “Classic” continues with this grating alternative R&B ballad encouraging a woman to leave the man she’s with until the minimally cold “Gen 5” makes a tacky statement regarding him getting a Glock for last Christmas.

The song “White Bone” was another moment that I was fine with instrumentally even if Drake ruins it by singing about a relationship on the verge of collapsing that he thinks is a real connection while “Fortsworth” featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR feels like an $$$4U leftover from the slow beat to them singing about being with long-distance partners. “Prioritizing” finally ends Habibti attempting to strip his confidence & replace it with the feeling of uncertainty.

Some people would say either Honestly, Nevermind or Certified Lover Boy are Drake’s worst solo efforts, but I feel like he managed to outdo both of those & have Habibti take the cake. It’s more on the R&B side of things stylistically compared to Maid of Honour & Iceman although the production’s decent explorations of alternative R&B, pop rap, trap soul, downtempo, contemporary R&B & pop rap are ruined by the songwriting.

Score: 1/5

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ShittyBoyz – “Back to the Basics” review

Here we have the 5th studio LP from Detroit trap trio the ShittyBoyz. Consisting of BabyTron alongside Stanwill & TR Dee, they emerged off their debut mixtape 3-Peat under the mentorship of Lando Bando in the summer of 2019 taking the motor city by storm & following it up with another tape. They even have 4 full-lengths in Trifecta as well as the the sequel & of course the trilogy chapter. Last time we heard the 3 Man Weave was in 2024 & they’re taking it Back to the Basics.

The title track produced by Danny G fuses the Detroit sound & techno talking about the food they’re cooking not being for plates whereas “Killian Hayes” shrugs off this crazy bitch for proclaiming themself to be a demon when that isn’t the case. “Timeout” talks about their motion being unstoppable over a Detroit trap instrumental leading into “Heist” explains that they can’t let the phone ring twice if there’s any money involved.

“Rocket Science” by Stanwill gives off somewhat of a mafioso atmosphere talking about blasting off in UFOs just before the 2nd & final single “Geek Squad” finds the trio trading verses with each other for a few minutes. “Fetty, Mula, Gwalla” continues the 2nd half of the album hopping over a darker beat with some bells talking about money while “Pumpkinhead” lets Babytron shine for a solo joint of his own hittin’ hoes with the sidestep.

We have Danny G running it back with the ShittyBoyz on “Kudos” assuring that anyone can do it too if they’ve already done it while “Lord Sidious” talks about the possibility of becoming rich if one makes the right choices. TR Dee gets a track of his own with “Work” suggesting that any competition has been confused with ghosts over a Jakesand instrumental & once “Mojo” talks about using door codes instead of keys, “Outta Town” ends with them ignoring advice from those who’ve never been in their position.

These guys have been saying in recent interviews that Back to the Basics is their most refined material yet & I would have to agree with that sentiment in the sense that it’s a lot shorter than the longer projects they’ve been known for, linking back up after taking a year off to focus on their solo endeavors without having any guest appearances to either trade verses each other or letting each member putting their individual growth on display for the world.

Score: 3.5/5

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