fakemink – “Terrified” review

Basildon, Essex, England, United Kingdom recording artist & producer fakemink is back with his full-length studio debut. Introducing himself in 2021 off his debut EP Dog Heater, he would go on to drop 7 more extended plays in 90,900, Real Hospitality, London’s Saviour, Wild One, Furever, Disco Biscuit & Galaxy Pavillion Club until getting co-signs from music’s biggest names like André 3000 & Clipse. “Music & Me” would also become one of my favorite singles of 2025, coming off The Boy Who Cried Terrified almost 4 months earlier to serve the main course.

After the titular intro, the noisily self-produced “All Eyes on Me” talks about killing shit because it’s what he must do whereas “Playlist” gives off a more hypnotic vibe instrumentally detailing an innocent angel becoming a whore. “Creep” talks about him moving slowly & putting in work so he can spend all the money he makes while “Like a Virgin” reminds everyone that he’s been getting paid since the 9090gate phase of his career.

“51 Ttashpel Pony Ave.” after the “Jungle-Affair” interlude has a more tone in terms of lyrics sampling “Now” by Julia Wolf to talk about others making paper for his future children’s sake & other never seeing large amounts of cash in their lives while “Hard Candy” details him being allergic to broke shit. “Rewind” ends the 1st half wanting this woman to recognize that she’s his while “Essex Girls” talks about showing a woman what real affection is.

Pop rap, electropop, hip house, euro house & electro hop all collide on the single “Night, Blooming Jasmine” discussing that his objective has now become waking up daily & living his life now that he’s rich & famous while “Wrong Relief” talks about staying lit after setting himself on fire. “Kiss of Death” after the “Fire on Ice” interlude boasts that he bagged the baddest bitch alive while “Creed” talks about the pain that comes with the life he chose.

“Tell Me What You’re Missing” begins the final moments of Terrified asking his lover to let him know what she misses regarding her old life while “Forget Me Not” talks about him winning because he didn’t listen to what everyone else has told him. The final song “Rétard Angel” preceding the “Etna” outro finishes the LP advising not to let his wealth fool anything into thinking that he’s lucky when it’s the complete opposite the way he looks at it.

Taking more inspiration from 2018-2020 drill as opposed to grime music, fakemink’s debut album was conceived as this crude caricature of Los Angeles after returning home to London after a trip out to the west coast & lands behind the London’s Saviour EP for his 2nd best opus. His cloudy production includes elements of jerk, witch house, experimental hip hop & ambient music to lesser extents for a creepy California noir where models try to steal your soul & vampires drive Wraiths down Hollywood Boulevard.

Score: 4/5

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Ill Conscious – “The Premise” review

This is the 6th studio LP from Baltimore, Maryland emcee Ill Conscious. Introducing himself in 2010 off his debut mixtape The Underachiever, he would return in 2015 with the full-length debut The Essence followed by the 2018 sophomore effort The Prerequisite & Logistix. Coming off both Acres of Diamonds & The Aggregation of Marginal Gains however, I was excited to hear that Finn of the Brown Bag Money collective was gonna fully produce The Premise.

After the intro, the opening track talks about him freeing the people it’s the reign of the “Tuthmosis” over a boom bap beat with a lo-fi twist to it while “Pupils Become Rivals” keeps it dusty instrumentally explaining that the kind of people whose egos are inflated moving suicidally. “Prominent Sunz” featuring Rome C finds the 2 talking about the reason each of them stay shining while “Conductivity” jazzily talks about no one having the ability of fucking with him.

Asun Eastwood & Mandiq both appear on “Bass Drum” so they can end the 1st leg discussing their methods never changing this deep in their careers leading into “Pineapple Mimosas” talks about raising up a high glass for the culture to get the 2nd half going. “The Allegory” turns up the jazz influences again so he speak of disputing all the corny fables regarding him just before “Consortium” featured Snook da Crook talks about the battle becoming greater when the blessings are bigger.

“Carbon Traces” winds down The Premise’s final act detailing that the arbitrators have all betrayed us over this calming boom bap beat while “Pressure” featuring King Magnetic & Recognize Ali saves my favorite guest appearances for last, talking about hitting trifectas with the commas. “11th Commandment” hops over an instrumental kin to Conductor Williams taking us to a higher level of consciousness while “DNA” by combining a verse & a spoken word outro.

I’ve always enjoyed this guy’s collaborations with Jay Royale because it’s like the Baltimore version of AZ & Nas to a degree, but I’m confident of discussions eventually being had regarding The Premise surpassing Acres of Diamonds to be the finest LP in Ill Conscious’ whole discography. Regardless of a couple underwhelming guest appearances, Finn’s soulfully dusty boom bap production appropriately suits the intelligent lyrical style that makes Conscious so appealing compared to other artists around his neck of the woods.

Score: 4/5

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Recognize Ali – “Mantequilla” review

Ghanan emcee Recognize Ali dropping his 20th solo LP & the 2nd of 2026. This guy has been a dominant force in the underground from his vast discography of LPs, mixtapes & EPs within the last decade or so to the stellar feature performances that he’s provided for numerous artists. Some standouts in his ever-growing catalog to me personally include the Giallo Point-produced Back 2 Mecca, the Stu Bangas-produced Guerrilla Dynasty trilogy & the Bronze Nazareth-produced Season of the 7 to only name a few. Coming off Back to M3cca & the DJ D-Styles-produced All Shall Perish, he’s having Giallo fully produce Mantequilla.

“Risky Business” begins with this aggressive boom bap instrumental explaining his deadly tendencies that come out whenever the pin’s pulled out whereas “Russian Roulette with a Loaded Tech” talks about doing his thing & leaving it at that. “Criminal Kind (Violent by Design)” discusses him being the type of person who’d break the law over this cinematically raw beat while “Defy Death” talks about leaving anyone who tries him in a hearse.

Tru Trilla’s appearance on “Danger Zone” was ok despite the eerie boom bap sound & cautionary tone to the lyrics while the drumless title track after a skit hypnotizes audiences with his maddening flow. “Mic’s I Smoke” turns up the grittiness so he can boast his proficiency while “A King’s Ladder” talks about bringing out a bazooka when the beats matter of a piano flip. “These Streets” featuring Tru Trilla finds the 2 decently looking to split the wigs of those enter their home turf while “Meet Your Maker” was an enjoyably jazzy outro.

Both albums we’ve gotten from Recognize Ali so far almost halfway through the year have been enjoyable, but I could potentially see myself leaning towards Mantequilla a bit more since he & Giallo Point always kill it whenever they together for a project. Despite neither of Tru Trilla’s guest appearances doing much for me personally, I’ll always appreciate the completely raw flavor that the Greenfield Music founder & one of my favorite UK producers always deliver.

Score: 4/5

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Struggle Mike – “Muerte” review

This is the 10th & possibly final studio LP from Buffalo, New York producer, curator, record executive & audio engineer Struggle Mike. Introducing himself at the end of 2019 off the strength of his full-length debut Great Escape followed by Next Up as well as Wall & Progress, he eventually kept his consistency going on Ties & Struggles until signing to Black Soprano Family Records as an artist after becoming an A&R of theirs. IYKYK, IYDK & Honor would all come out through the label & he’s back 24 months later for Muerte.

“Bandits” by Benny the Butcher, ItsHOLY & Moon after the “Bandidos” intro welcomes everyone to the land of the robbers over a boom bap beat to get things going whereas “Solid” by Party G the Humble works in some violins so he can talk about staying loyal. “La Commission” by Heist Da Profit, YaH-Ra & 448 Brad finds the trio linking up to get on their mafioso shit leading into “Brick James” by Fuego Base & Mark 4ord talking about the country feeling like it’s end days are nearing.

B.A.R.S. Murre & Speedie da Icon both appear on the primarily drumless “Good Boy” up until the final 45 seconds talking about well-behaved children becoming hustlers while “It’s a Lifestyle” by Jess Classic discusses the way he lives over a bare guitar loop. Eto joins B.A.R.S. Murre for “Hell”, spending a couple minutes bodying a flute instrumental from DJ Benoit just before “Anything Goes” by The Hoodies finds E-Class & Young Poppa talking about there being no restrictions.

“Get to the Money” by Heist da Profit, Joxiel & Smoke Bulga after the “Locked Up” interlude Boons 153rd kicks off the 2nd half of Muerte talking about making some paper over a decent trap beat prior to Gunny H discussing his “Deals with God” on top of a vocal sample & mixed with hi-hats. “Violins” by Lo Profile & Rick Hyde embraces an eerier boom bap sound talking about making people go to sleep when the strings cease while “Take a Risk” by B$F Tone 066, Mike Major & Miles A aim to step out their comfort zones.

After the “Smoke Break” by D Les comes through with a quick drumless freestyle, “What’s Real?” by O.T. the Real & 067Red talks about not knowing what’s legit until it falls in the cooking bag while “Old NY” by Ockz & Spiderdagod explains that they’ve always liked being underdogs. “Southside” by Balistic Man, Chop the Father & Speedie da Icon brings everyone together to hustle until daylight while “The End” by Conway the Machine & Lefty Gunplay excluding the “Just Like That” outro finishes with an outstanding east/west coast boom bap closer.

Confirming in a recent interview that he’s fulfilled all of his contractual obligations for Black Soprano Family, this new era of Struggle Mike’s career collides some of the underground’s biggest artists as well as those who’re a part of his Mike’s own Struggle Cartel collective & a few of Steve Lobel’s clients for what could potentially be the last time we might hear from musically due to some legal issues. When he comes back, he did say he plans to capitalize on his squad over at the Struggle Compound.

Score: 3.5/5

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JPEGMAFIA – “Experimental Rap” review

Here we have the 6th solo LP from Baltimore, Maryland emcee, singer, producer & visionary JPEGMAFIA. Breaking out a decade ago with the release of his full-length debut Black Ben Carson, it wouldn’t be until the man’s next 2 albums Veteran & All My Heroes are Cornballs where he would reveal himself as one of the most creative minds in hip hop today. The 8-track EP, it’s follow-up with almost all newly recorded material, LP!, the Danny Brown collab effort Scaring the Hoes & I Lay Down My Life for You each had moments of their own despite Experimental Rap’s length worrying me.

The self-produced “babygirl” after the “投影の芸術” intro begins with this hardcore trap metal single referencing 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 14-time WWE world champion, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion & the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division’s CCO Triple H whereas “Burning Hammer” references former 10-time AJPWタッグチームチャンピオン, 3-time AJPW三冠ヘビー級チャンピオン, GHCヘビー級チャンピオン, GHCハードコアチャンピオン & 2-time GHCタッグチームチャンピオン小橋建太’s finisher.

“$” combines brostep tearout, hardcore hip hop, experimental hip hop, jersey club rap, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, hybrid trap & riddim talking about the love he has for his own wealth while “Pop this Heat” samples both “The Way” by Ariana Grande featuring the late Mac Miller & “A Little Bit of Love” by Brenda Russell to discuss the game being so soft. “Meet the Dealers” featuring DATPIFFMAFIA links up for a 2-parter about them telling who ain’t ever been to war in their lives based on how they act.

We have Peggy going at the throats of people who be running to the internet soon as shit happens to them during “headline but once “Degenerate Prayer” flips “Frankie Teardrop” by Suicide to talk about scrapping the plates if anyone who touches his paper, “Shake Your Booty” by Bunny Sigler gets sampled during “The Ghost of Emmett Till” making a reference to WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion, 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion, 17-time WWE Hardcore Champion & current English color commentator for their Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) subsidiary JBL.

“Since I Met Ye” chops up “Mr. Big” by 8Ball & MJG so Peggy can respond to the backlash he got after producing some tracks for ¥$’ debut album Vultures alongside it’s sequel while “¥” combines industrial hip hop, glitch hop, glitch, epic collage, hardcore hip hop & deconstructed clubhouse referencing the inaugural 2-time AEW World Trios Champions The Elite. “G.Y.B.B. (Get Your Bitch Back)” on the other hand goes for a more soulful boom bap vibe talking about being nothing like those in the streets.

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 gets referenced on “Tsar Bomba” to end the 1st half while “Mask On” talks about robbing people. “Lights” after the “His Will” interlude however references WWE Hall of Famer, former SMW Tag Team Champion, 3-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 12-time WWE tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion Kane.

“New Era” gives off a more laidback atmosphere talking about people wanting to dismiss him for coming to the game with a plan while “War Over Land” after the “1 Day It’ll All Be Over” interlude fuses conscious hip hop, urban contemporary gospel, glam rock, rap rock & drumless explains how possessive he can be. “Bridges on Fire” soulfully talks about him trying to make it through the night while “No Strippers in Heaven” includes a bar referring to the inaugural 4th Rope World Tag Team Champions & current 2-time HoG Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz.

After the “內戰” interlude, “Chat” experiments with a pluggier sound even though the “free Derek Chauvin” line when the hook comes around doesn’t sit with me right & the final song “The 1st Amendment” preceding the “You will always lose money chasing women, but you will never lose women chasing money” outro spends Experimental Rap’s final minutes talking about Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk being killed last fall.

Being a fan of JPEGMAFIA for almost 8 & a half years already, it’s been disappointing to see him go from giving us classics like Veteran & All My Heroes are Cornballs to beefing with artists that I’ve been a fan of longer than him like Armand Hammer or Earl Sweatshirt & Freddie Gibbs. That said: I’m sure it would surprise people to hear me say I’m more on the fence with Experimental Rap than a lot of his previous output. His experimentally industrial hip hop taking additional inspiration from riddim, brostep, glitch hop, rap rock, rap metal & deconstructed club is tastefully mixed even if the hardcore lyricism can be repetitive.

Score: 3/5

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Babylon Dead – “Death Upon Dem” review

England, United Kingdom boom bap, political hip hop & ragga duo Babylon Dead consisting of Bristol emcee Jman alongside London producer Illinformed reuniting for their 3rd LP. These guys initially got together for The Mould Tape’s outro “Gettin’ Mouldly” & signed to the Glastonbury, Somerset imprint Real Life Drama Records for their full-length debut 2000 B.D. near the end of 2017. Last we heard from them was the 2020 sophomore effort Book of the Dead, returning once more for Death Upon Dem almost a week after the Slater Dojo & Leyton Buzzard respectively became the new RPW British Tag Team Champions & RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

“Crash & Burn” begins with this cold blooded boom bap beat talking about destroying the whole system whereas “Real Badman” goes for a jazzier vibe instrumentally explaining that the legitimate are the ones busting shots. “How Yuh Mean” works in some vibraphones so Jman talk about the authorities wanting his people incarcerated leading into Illinformed embracing a darker boom bap sound so they can figure out who they’re trying to “Flex On”.

As for “Out Here”, we have Wyatt Earp appearing to diss the government along with them talking about burning up some weed because they’re struggling to breathe outside while “Bare Burial” after the “Covered in Blood” interlude nears the halfway point of Death Upon Dem on some ghostly boom bap vibes putting us inside the shoes of a mortician. “Buss a Shot” turns up the grittiness talking about shooting at corrupt officers while “Run” almost has this horrorcore quality to it surprisingly.

“Chant Down” after the “Seen” interlude winds down the last moments of the album promising that the revolution will in fact be televised this time while “Gully” rawly blends the sounds of ragga & boom bap for a hardcore hip hop anthem. “Redrum” has a ghostly yet dusty tone to it so they can quench for blood while “Anarchy & Chaos” sends it all off with an empowering rap rock outro suiting for a rebellion asking how high to raise the death toll.

It’s no secret that the world’s been in absolute shambles for the past 16 months, so Jman & Illinformed felt that it was only right for both of them to recapture the politically-charged boom bap/ragga fusions that Babylon Dead became known for in a time where we needed Death Upon Dem now more than ever for the people. Almost a decade since their debut, the subject matter they’ve always tackled directly over Illinformed’s jazzy boom bap production still feels relevant as it did 9 years ago except they only have 1 feature rather than a few.

Score: 4.5/5

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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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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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