4Batz – “Still Shinin’” review

The full-length studio debut from Dallas, Texas singer/songwriter 4Batz is finally here. Earning co-signs from one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West to even Drake, the latter of whom signed 4Batz to OVO Sound for a 1-EP deal although his debut EP U Made Me a St4r was released independently through gamma. last spring. Buvision Entertainment & 10K Projects later bought 4Batz out of his OVO deal once he landed a spot in the 2024 XXL Freshman Class & eagerly anticipating Still Shinin’ to clear both of Ian’s recent output on the label Valedictorian & Goodbye Horses.

“too dam young” kicks it all off with a drumless 67 second intro singing about not being old enough to become this chick’s “main one” whereas “n da mornin” made for a decent R&B single with the biggest criticism lying with the repetitive & songwriting. “she ain’t no angel” featuring Leon Thomas III finds the pair teaming up for a duet about their lovers tryna justify their ways while “big on u” expresses the love he has for Anycia, whom he married in secret last weekend.

We get some heavier alternative R&B vibes on “my lil shootah” asking if he & his soulmate can get it on leading into “twerksongggg” appropriately following through with a tack for the strip clubs. “could we last 4ever?” shows a prominent alternative R&B influence again singing about wanting to sleep with a woman he feel like he can’t trust while “247” featuring Flo unites the quartet for a collaboration where a couple makes each other feel like heaven every day & hour of the week.

“done sippin’” featuring Maxo Kream gets together for a track discouraging the usage of lean putting the cups down for good while “getUwet” sings about going crazy alongside his newlywed wife in the middle of the evening. “yo typical lovestory” opens up to feeling like he done hit the lottery bagging Anycia comparing her to a model while “u” sings about needing the love of his life by his side.

The song “can u” begins the final moments of Still Shinin’ to assure that he’ll get any woman right if they show him what they can do with the cake while “ms. walker” featuring Zillionaire Doe meshes R&B & hip hop to talk about how they love the way their partners move. “let’s press play” finishes 4Batz’ debut with him recalling the first time he saw Anycia in her wedding dress.

In hindsight, it was probably a good thing that 4Batz’ 1-EP deal with OVO fell through because songs like “there goes another vase” & “i hate to be alone” contradict Rolling Stone’s claim that U Made Me a St4r had no purpose of existing. The R&B/trap soul star is Still Shinin’ in the midst of all the pressure he’s been receiving since blowing up becoming prideful of his home state down to Chopstars co-founder OG Ron C’s mixtape-esque narrations in time for Mads Krügger ending Matt Riddle’s reign as MLW World Heavyweight Champion tomorrow at Fightland VII.

Score: 3.5/5

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twenty øne piløts – “Breach” review

This is the 8th full-length LP from Columbus, Ohio duo twenty øne piløts consisting of lead vocalist, pianist, ukulele player, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, programmer & percussionist Tyler Joseph alongside drummer, percussionist, trumpeter & backing vocals Josh Dun. Although their eponymous debut as well as Regional at Best & Vessel were decent, Blurryfacenear the end of my senior year of high school caught my attention since former Aftermath Entertainment in-house producer Mike Elizondo did a few tracks on there including what’s arguably Tyler & Josh’s biggest hit “Stressed Out”. Trench in the fall of 2018 went on to become their most acclaimed body of work yet although Scaled & Icy wasn’t that well received Clancy almost a year & a half ago recovered from the subpar reception of it’s predecessor, anticipating Breach to continue traveling down that same trajectory.

“City Walls” starts with a fusion between alternative rock, ambient pop, rap rock, emo-pop, art rock & singer/songwriter finishing the Dema storyline for good whereas “RAWFEAR” goes for a synthpop vibe singing about living in constant fear. “Drum Show” combines alt-rock, post-punk revival, emo-pop, post-hardcore & garage rock revival to represent Josh’s metaphoric coping mechanism while “Garbage” produced by Mike Elizondo about feeling like complete shit.

Alternative dance, breakbeat, rap rock, indietronica, alt-pop, pop rock & hyperpop all cross paths during the lead single “The Contract”becoming increasingly anxious of a necromancer just before “Downstairs” sings about hiding one’s beliefs from others & oneself in a metaphorical cellar. “Robot Dance” heavily interpolates “My Soft Spots My Robots” by Blanket Approval for a love song of its own while “Center Mass” sings about fragility & resilience.

“Cottonwood” delves deeper into the 2nd act of Breach with a tribute to Tyler’s grandfather who passed away earlier this year while “1 Way” sings about struggling with escapism & limitation. “Days Lie Dormant” was conceived from Tyler feeling homesick away from his wife Jenna on the road & once “Tally” openly addresses fears of the Clique being disappointed, “Intentions” ties up any loose ends with a spiritual successor to “Truce” off Vessel.

Breach resolves the cliffhanger that ended Clancy almost a year & a half ago concluding a decade-long series conceptual albums that began with Blurryface when I was first introduced to twenty øne piløts surpassing Clancy for their 2nd best rivaling Trench. Their production emphasizes alternative rock as much as they did alt-pop & indie rock pulling further inspiration from emo-pop, post-punk revival, pop rock & indietronica to take on themes of breaking free from the cycles of mental health struggles.

Score: 4.5/5

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Guerilla Toss – “You’re Weird Now” review

Guerilla Toss is an indie rock band from Boston, Massachusetts consisting of drummer Peter Negroponte, guitarist Arian Shafiee, keyboardist Jake Lichter, bassist Zach Lewellyn & frontwoman Kassie Carlson. Following their first couple full-lengths Gay Disco & Eraser Stargazer, they would sign to DFA Records for the well received GT Ultra & Twisted Crystal until making their Sub Pop Records debut Famously Alive in 2022 experimenting with a neo-psychedelic indietronic sound. Few years later, they’re following it up with their 6th album.

“Krystal Ball” starts with a neo-psychedelic indie rock/synth-punk hybrid apologizing for coming to party whereas “Psychosis is Just a Number” blends dance-punk, zolo, mutant disco, dance-punk revival, neo-psychedelia, progressive rock & funk rock singing about staying present in the chaos.

The final single “CEO of Personal & Pleasure” finds Kassie taking control of her own happiness taking some time to reclaim herself from all the pressure leading into “Life’s a Zoo” fusing experimental rock, zolo, sound collage & synth-punk to take on the theme of overstimulation, which I understand as an autistic person.

“Red Flag to an Angry Bull” was my least favorite single of the 4 culminating in neo-psychedelia, indie rock, indie pop, psychedelic pop, piano rock, synthpop & psychedelic rock singing about feeling as if a rubber tongue’s coming right for her just before “Panglossian Mannequin” conceptually takes heavy inspiration from the 1759 satire The Optimist written by Voltaire.

We get some more doses of dance-punk revival on “Deep Sight” to start the final leg of You’re Weird Now containing some of the most commanding vocal performances from Kassie especially towards the backend of it while “When Dogs Bark” sings about mutts wanting to be seen. “Crocodile Cloud” taps back into the synth-punk influences 1 last time with some occasional shouted vocals popping in building up ahead of the space punk outro “Favorite Sun”.

Encouraging for everyone brave enough to let their freak flag wave high & stay true to their artistic vision, You’re Weird Now marks a significant point for Guerilla Toss’ career bringing new clarity to their confidently high energy performances reaching the same pedestal as Famously Alive & both their DFA full-lengths. The neo-psychedelic production here puts a bigger emphasis on art punk, zolo & new wave although the secondary influences include indie rock, indie pop, psychedelic pop, piano rock, synthpop, psychedelic rock, experimental rock, zolo, sound collage & synth-punk.

Score: 4/5

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Tony Shhnow – “Self Portrait” review

Here is the 8th studio LP from Atlanta, Georgia plugg pioneer Tony Shhnow. Being introduced to his music after my younger brother J$zpiech showed me his 4th mixtape Black Billionaires Club & the song “Vet” off the full-length debut Da World’s Ours 3, he then continued to turn heads with his 8th mixtape Reflexions to critical acclaim & I honestly wish I covered it considering that some of his best songs are on there like “Finessin’” or “Forgive Don’t Forget”. He would return to his plugg roots on the BeatPluggzproduced Plug Motivation, Love Streak showed a more sensual side to him, Shadowbanned 2 dabbled with new sounds, the self-produced #NoOneElse was a step above Out the Woods & looks to paint a Self Portrait fresh off the 3rd chapter of the Shadowbanned series.

After the “Mr. Shhnow” intro, the first song “I Can’t” produced by Mike & Keys sets up shop with a ratchet instrumental talking about making money from making music & trappin’ whereas “Die 4 Me” poses the question if anyone would still ride for him if life took a turn. “Think Again” talks about there being plenty of people who’d kill for you & spending with your lifespan just before “Beat da Odds” flexes that he stays quiet even if his money don’t.

“Thank God That I’m a Real N***a” obviously gives his praises to the most high that He made the Shhnowman as legitimate as they come & after the “Ion Wanna Talk” skit, “Voicemails” talks about all the O.G.s saluting him like he’s in the service. “Devotion” flexes that he’s on the incline & not fucking with swine despite going H•A•M while “Tush Push” featuring Chrisnxtdoor talks about metaphorically being identical twins with money.

Luh Tyler joins Tony on “Bank Statements” to smoke competition while “Infest” talks about having so much work that he could possibly supervise. “Burnt Out” featuring Marco+ explains that they stay strapped because they don’t know what other people be on & once “Boss Up” dismisses the hate from lames because it’s not worth it, “Understand” ends the Self Portrait with a self-produced throwback to his plugg origins.

Starring the deluxe run, “Cobb to Cabo” talks about seeing past the fake through a blindfold & his bitch snapping harder than Thanos while “D.Y.T.A.M. (Did You Think About Me)?” featuring 03 Greedo poses that very question over some sampling from Bakkwoods. The final bonus track “Certified” however finished with these sinister 808 patterns talking about the inability to take his homies anywhere since they all sell drugs & keep handguns close to them.

Been waiting for Tony Shhnow to drop another album for a while now & Self Portrait will easily go down as some of his best material joining Black Billionaires Club, Reflexions or #NoOneElse as a more recent example. Mike & Keys’ production on almost the entirety of it is easily amongst their most experimentally cutting-edge & the Shhnowman paints a clever image of who he is generally.

Score: 4.5/5

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King Iso – “ghetto psycho” review

Omaha, Nebraska emcee/producer King Iso is back after 23 months for his 7th LP. Coming up as a protege of San Diego chopper Twisted Insane, he would only drop first 2 albums & The Insanity Plea & Autophobia under Brainsick Muzik. Shortly after, they had an unfortunate falling out & it prompted Iso to put out his next full-length DeMenTia independently in 2018. However, I was thrilled to see him sign with Strange Music the following spring & his debut on the Kansas City powerhouse World War Me has quickly become one of the label’s best albums ever. Get Well Soon as well as 8 P.M. Med Call & iLLdren all went on to be equally well received, taking us on a trip through the mind of a ghetto psycho.

“Law 6126” starts with a dedication to the ghettos worldwide talking about having to prove to the state of Nebraska that Iso isn’t mentally insane over a self-produced cloudy trap instrumental whereas the deranged “Element” discusses the environment he grew up around. “Butcher Knife” featuring Snake Lucci blends trap & rock talking about being in the middle of the map with pistols on their laps while “Hell’s Architect” featuring Matt Phoenix finds the 2 talking about keeping life in those who need them.

Starlito appears for “Giving Down” hoping to succeed for the sake of their seeds & after the “Top of the Morning” skit, “Check” gives off a ghostly trap vibe staring in the face of death to say “aye that’s twin”. “Beat Box” throws it back to the g-funk era a bit talking about those envious of his name ringin’ the way it’s been while the hyphy-tinged “Crash Out” featuring E-40 after the “Gas Station” skit finds the 2 speaking of uncontrollable anger.

“S.D.G.A.F. (Still Don’t Give a Fuck)” featuring Kuniva aggressively unites the pair so they can talk about giving 0 while “Trip” heads for an eerie trap direction instrumentally explaining the ways of craziness life has to offer. After the “Checking In” skit, “Bloody” radiates a doomsday atmosphere that I find to be suiting going through shit he wants to forget while the smoky “High” talks about smoking the finest blunts.

JB’s appearance on “Bad” doesn’t do a whole lot for me & nor does the topic of his woman’s attractiveness while “Concrete Boxspring” featuring Don Trip only slightly improves despite the theme of keeping their souls in tact. After the “On the Way” skit, “Travis O’Guin” gives his flowers to the Strange Music CEO himself & the founder of it’s subsidiary It Goes Up Entertainment while “Talk to Me” explains to his woman that he’s going ghost to count paper.

“Normal” starts ghetto psycho’s final act by assuring that it’s usual for all of us to have our unusual quirks while the title track embodies the core theme of the album over a booming trap instrumental with some keys. “Against the World” takes a moment to deliver a heartfelt lyrical tribute to his whole entire family & “W.O.O.T.S. (Writ Out Of The Script)” featuring Taebo tha Truth ends with both of them advising not to be omitted from the game plan.

Pushing himself out of the darkness & ignites his own light, ghetto psycho simultaneously embraces King Iso creating his own sound handling the production much like the rest of his discography except he’s incorporating more live instrumentation & adding his own unique sauce to any different style of beat you’d want from him. Conceptually, what he considers to be the most important work of his career engages in lyrical homicide on a massive scale whilst his mask of sanity is slipping.

Score: 4.5/5

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K.A.A.N. – “Anger Management” review

Columbia, Maryland emcee/producer K.A.A.N. dropping off his 28th LP. He’s delivered numerous standouts in his ever-growing discography like Black Blood, the Ski Beatz-produced Requiem for a Dream Deferred, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced All Praise is Due, Mission Hillz, The Death of a Rapper & The Nightly News both produced by former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7, Peace of Minds and Delusions of Grandeur & In Due Time both produced by DJ Hoppa. Only a few months after the poorly received Yesterday, he & Hoppa are going to Anger Management.

The title track works in a flute with some kicks & snares to talk about being a problem child wylin’ whereas “Back to It” keeps a boom bap vibe instrumentally so he can see who’s really tough or not. “I.D.C. (I Don’t Care)” brings some organs into the fold to take 3 & a half minutes of not giving a fuck just before “What Do You See?” asks if one feels like him whenever you look in his eyes.

Coyote makes Anger Management’s sole guest appearance on the single “Breaking Bad” paying homage to my favorite show of all-time leading into “Smoke & Mirrors” talking about shit not being what it really seems. “Ego Death” has an eerier boom bap vibe addressing the kind whose thoughts are controlled by their self-esteem while “The Infamous” keeps it in the basement elevating above the minimals.

We get a sequel to “The Problem” where K.A.A.N. talks about having a bone to pick while “Illin’” feels like a full 90s throwback proclaiming to be the illest. “Comment Section” jazzily suggests to keep whatever they have to say in the social media comments while “Fuck ‘Em Up” suggests everyone else mind their own business. “Point of No Return” finishes the year-long trilogy by admitting he didn’t learn much & possibly erupting.

Some feel like K.A.A.N.’s whole trifecta with DJ Hoppa has overstayed it’s welcome & I would have to disagree with that because Anger Management can certainly hang with Delusions of Grandeur & In Due Time amongst the Maryland chopper’s greatest material of his entire career. Hoppa’s boom bap production is a huge upgrade from Yesterday’s & lyrically, Knowledge Above All Nonsense does a fine job of holding the fort by himself other than Coyote’s appearance.

Score: 4.5/5

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Ice Cube – “Man Up” review

Los Angeles emcee, songwriter, actor, film producer, CubeVision founder & BIG3 founder Ice Cube not slowing down musically with his 12th album. The cousin of Del the Funky Homosapien & Kam, he started as part of the C.I.A. gained notoriety as a member of N.W.A until departing after their historic debut Straight Outta Compton. Cube later got his own Priority Records deal as a solo artist, teaming with The Bomb Squad for his own debut AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted & later Kill at Will. Death Certificate went on to become another west coast hip hop landmark due to some of its racially & politically charged content, with his Lench Mob Records debut The Predator mainly addressing a lot of the racial tensions in the United States at the time. Lethal Injection was more g-funk heavy and the War & Peace double-disc effort marked the end of the former Westside Connection member’s Priority contract. Laugh Now, Cry Later distributed by Virgin Music & EMI Records was a solid comeback almost 2 decades ago next summer after mainly focusing on acting during the first half of the 2000s & then Raw Footage had it’s highlights although it was decent as a whole. I’m the West became his most negatively received body of work & the Interscope Records-distributed Everythang’s Corrupt showed to be an improvement although still average. Man Down last fall was a pretty great homage to his Day 1s & the sequel Man Up is here 10 months later.

“Man Power” produced by E-A-Ski starts by asking if one has masculine abilities from within whereas “What You Gonna Do About It?” disses the kind of people who only speak of doing things instead acting upon it. “Freedumb” consciously discusses how people are getting spied on through their smartphones while “Guess What?” talks about being in the cut figuring out if the targeted suspects are either for or against him.

We have Cube making it clear as day that one should “Forget Me If You Ain’t wit Me” leading into the only single “Before Hip Hop” featuring Chuck D & LL Cool J on the remix talking about life prior to making music over Hallway Productionz cooking up the original instrumental & DJ Premier handling the remix. “Act My Age” featuring Scarface dabbles with trap a bit for an ode to MCs over 35 just before “Ratchet Ass Mouth” cautions about the kind of women you shouldn’t date.

“Respect My Space” poses the question if anyone wants to battle him while “California Dreamin’” gives off a g-funk vibe for a tribute to the sunshine state. “That Salt & Pepper” shows off his grown man status for 115 seconds over a funky Erick Sermon beat & after “Bring Everybody” charismatically talks about being untouchable, “All Work No Play” finishes with a message to the O.G.s who feel the same way he does.

In spite of what others have to say about Ice Cube’s music in past 2 decades or so & don’t get me started with War of the Worlds flopping, I’d say that Man Down is the better of the 2 albums we’ve gotten from him in the past 10 months although Man Up’s very much decent. I appreciate that he only got 1 guest on here in contrast to the amount Man Down had, but the production here is a little weaker as a whole.

Score: 3/5

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Jermaine Dupri – “Magic City” review

Jermaine Dupri is 53 year old songwriter, producer, rapper, DJ, entrepreneur & music executive from Atlanta, Georgia notable for founding So So Def Recordings mentoring the likes of Kris Kross & Da Brat. He also released his full-length debut Life in 1472 in the summer of ‘98 & later Instructions on Devil’s Night 2001, both under a distraction deal with Columbia Records at the time. Neither of which were received favorably, but is returning now that So So Def has gone independent for his 3rd studio LP. Not only his first in a quarter of a century, but also over 3 & a half years after introducing former 2-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Jade Cargill during her reign as inaugural AEW tbs Champion.

“Tryna Beat the Thrill” by Skooly starts JD’s comeback with a rich trap instrumental representing Atlanta & after the “Conversation with Big Meech” skit, “This or That” by the late Rich Homie Quan has to be one of the best songs of his career from his bittersweetly catchy performances to the infectious beat. “She’s a Freak” by Bow Wow & Travis Porter talks about their preference in women while “Magic Money City” by Bankroll N!, BunnaB, J Money & Sean P East shouts out the ATL strip club the album is named after.

Cee-Lo Green’s appearance on “Atlanna” gives off a trap soul vibe that I really enjoy to it propping up the city that he, the Goodie Mob & the rest of [the Dungeon Family hail from leading into “Ass Shake” by Ludacris & Quavo sampling “Mercy” by Big Sean, Pusha T, Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West & 2 Chainz for another club anthem. “Pussy Got Me” by Akeem Ali, T.I. & Young Dro co-produced by BoogzDaBeast & FNZ blends soul & trap to get sexual while “Get It” by Rocko talks about letting in those who stay paid.

“Turn Around” by T.I., Young Dro, 2 Chainz and 8Ball & MJG was an outstanding choice of a single from the dirty south instrumental to the killer verses from all 5 performers while “I Wanna” by K CAMP & YFN Lucci doesn’t really captivate me the same way many other tracks do despite the glamorous beat. “More Than Me” by Belly Gang Kushington & Swavay throws it back to the snap era almost 2 decades ago while “Married to the Game” by Killer Mike & Jagged Edge meshes pop rap & R&B well.

Hollywood YC, Lil Scrappy & Skooly all team up on “The Kids from the Neighborhood” to talk about knocking on doors for the purposes of shopping people & stopping them while “We da Shit” by Lil Jon, Pastor Troy & Princess of the Crime Mob finishes our tour of Magic City with the trio throwing it back to when crunk was all over the airwaves in the early/mid 2000s hyping themselves up thematically with some simplistic keyboard melodies all over the instrumental.

Not too much of a fan of either Life in 1472 or Instructions as full-lengths outside a handful of songs from each of them, but Magic City switches it up entirely by focusing more on Jermaine Dupri’s production talents & that works out greatly in the long-run of his comeback. Recruiting a bunch of Atlanta artists, the So So Def founder’s beats here rival Metro Boomin’s on A Futuristic Summa with the exception of this being a love letter to the 770’s most famous strip club as opposed to the futuristic swag era in general.

Score: 3.5/5

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Daz Dillinger – “Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back 3” review

Long Beach, California rapper, producer & songwriter Daz Dillinger releasing his 22nd solo LP. Some of his cousins include Brandy & her brother Ray J, WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg & the current AEW tbs Champion, CMLL Mundial Femenil Campeon and RPW British Women’s Champion Mercedes Moné. He eventually signed to Death Row Records & became an original in-house producer under the guidance of its co-founder Dr. Dre, forming Tha Dogg Pound with Kurupt not too long afterwards. Daz finally made his solo debut on ‘98 by putting out Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back on Death Row until departing rather quickly to put out 20 more LPs of his own with almost 3 decades of experience in the game. Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back 2 took it back to the essence of his debut earlier this summer & is looking to recapture that feeling once more.

“It’s Automatic” starts with a hybrid between trap, rap rock & gangsta rap talking about staying strapped wherever he goes whereas “We Shoot Bacc” continues to portray the gangsta lifestyle assuring he’ll ship the bullets right back to it’s original sender. “Initiation” welcomes all to a battlefield where loyalty is law & love is weakness prior to “B4 I Let Go” throws it back to the g-funk era talking about having the west behind him.

The gospel direction of “Better Get It Right” suits the theme of having to keep one’s composure & offering a slice of a man who’s lost it all while “Glock 19z & Caskets” gives off a vintage west coast vibe talking about keeping his Glock on him until he gets buried 6 feet day. “It’s a Murder Rap” finds himself ready to go complete 187 on the whole rap game leading into “Kidnap, Robbery & Homicide” breaking down criminal activity over a g-funk instrumental.

“I Can’t Fucc wit U” begins the 2nd half of the album with a shot at all these suckas who did it for the paper having the nerve of snitching on each other while “What U Really Want” talking about the people asking for something not getting shit outta him. “Get Money on a Bad Day” optimistically speaks of making a paycheck regardless of how his day’s going while “In My 64” serves as an ode to his impala.

The song “Fucc Y’all” packs up Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back 3’s final leg with him giving a middle finger to the haters who don’t want him to shine & after the Beefy Loc skit, “We Gangsta” properly finishes up the RR&GB trilogy with a g-funk/gangsta rap outro talking making causing static on every block because of the environment he came from where the shots were always ringing loud.

Contrary to the reports a couple weeks ago claiming Daz Dillinger had fallen out with Snoop Dogg & that this was gonna be a whole project dissing him, he has since confirmed a couple days ago that isn’t the case & clarified his issues lie more with Death Row Records’ past when Suge Knight was at the helm of things & his own complicated history with the label instead of Snoop himself. Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back 3 feels more aggressive than Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back 2 was a few months earlier with the exception of him looking for closure instead of conflict.

Score: 4/5

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Ho99o9 – “Tomorrow We Escape” review

This is the 3rd studio LP from Newark, New Jersey punk rap trio Ho99o9. Consisting of theOGM & Eaddy, they originally emerged on the scene over a decade ago off their debut EP Mutant Freax & have since gone on to follow it up with 3 more EPs as well as 3 mixtapes & even a full-length debut. blink-182 drummer Travis Barker would sign them to his Elekta Records imprint DTA Records entirely producing Skin & their MNRK Music Group debut Tomorrow We Escape is here 3 years later.

“I Miss Home” featuring Moruf begins with a Yeezus influenced industrial hip hop opener talking about shit never changing if one doesn’t ever take risks whereas “Escape” embraces a complete hardcore punk vibe with hints of melodic hardcore during the first verse & punk rap during the other. “Target Practice” blends rap rock & industrial hip hop together to talk about not fucking around in the jungles while “Ok, I’m Reloaded” makes for an energetic hardcore hip hop/EDM experimentation.

We get some psychedelic synthesizers all throughout “Psychic Jumper” talking about trying to keep their heads up prior to the experimental hardcore hip hop single “Incline” featuring Pink Siifu further pulling from big beat, industrial hip hop & trip hop advising that no one wants to find out with them. “Upside Down” combines alt-metal, rap rock, industrial metal & post-hardcore talking about people being meant to sin prior to “Tapeworm” featuring Greg Puciato fusing drum & bass, alternative metal & hip hop together seamlessly.

“Immortal” featuring Chelsea Wolfe nears the conclusion of Tomorrow We Escape by colliding the sounds of gothic rock, industrial hip hop & trap talking love starting to hurt when it leaves a trial along with healing now that the weight’s off their shoulders while the commanding punk rap song “LA Riots” addresses the protests that took place in the west coast earlier this summer. “Godflesh” finishes up the album with double bass drums & punky guitar riffs talks about seeing nothing but fire.

Wanting to take a more honest approach lyrically, Ho99o9’s inaugural release under MNRK Music Group focuses less regarding the political aspect of their lyrics for the most intimate opus they’ve ever put their names on. Tomorrow We Escape’s range of old & new sounds varying from digital hardcore to rap rock, rap metal, industrial hip hop, trap metal, industrial metal, hardcore punk, nu metal, horrorcore & trap offers something for everyone whether regardless of when one started listening to them.

Score: 4/5

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