Homixide Gang – “Homixide Lifestyle 2” review

Homixide Beno! & Homixide Meechie known together as the Atlanta, Georgia duo the Homixide Gang releasing their 4th LP. Bringing to turn heads off their debut EP Snotty World to the point where trap trailblazer/rage pioneer Playboi Carti made them the 3rd act to sign to his Interscope Records imprint Opium Records following Ken Carson & Ken Destroy Lonely respectively, Homixide Lifestyle was a solid debut & Snot or Not wound up being a mixed bag of a sophomore effort. Their debut mixtape 5th AMNDMNT & their previous album I5U5WE5 were both received more favorably, looking to revisit the Homixide Lifestyle for a sequel.

“PC5” is a bombastic trap intro shows love to their homie Problem Child 5 presently incarcerated on murder charges whereas “Redrag” produced by Maaly Raw talks about shooting a lame in his face with the Glock. “1-800-555-OPIUM” blends trap & rock together so they can discuss the money callin’ them just before “Call in Me” links with Toom of Vanguard Music Group so they can compare themselves to walkie talkies being only a call away.

The way “Cherub Rock” by The Smashing Pumpkins was sampled on “5G” was pretty rad refusing to sell their souls while “PB&J” featuring Ken Carson finds the trio talking about their dangerous tendencies & trying to score as opposed to goaltending. “Soul-Fly” works in an unexpected soul sample to discuss their past leading into “Vice City” talking about having bitches go crazy over a Pi’erre Bourne beat.

“Frank Matthews” reflects over a Clayco & OPM BABI instrumental of wanting to become drug lords their whole entire lives while “Red Tails” references the greatest QB of all-time & 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. “Villain” conceptually dissects the Dark Knight quote “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” prior to F1LTHY of Working on Dying sampling “Downtown” by SWV during the highlight “Facet!me”.

ATL Jacob hops behind the boards for “Johnny Cage” referencing the character from the Warner Bros.-owned Mortal Kombat franchise prior to Homixide Mali appearing for “Sober” so the trio can get loaded. “Breeze” has a more laidback approach than what Homixide normally does boasting that they have more stripes on their backs than referees while “Watch Out!” bombastically talks about needing to stay geeked up.

“Going On” heads for a trap metal direction instrumentally to flex the kinda shit that pops off around them while “Headtap” talks about slangin’ the sticks with no aim & leaving blood everywhere. “Free Agents” touches base regarding their lifestyle & after “Shopping Bags” talks about hitting the store with them since they got everything y’all need, “State Property” playfully sees the pair getting money hungry.

To start Homixide Lifestyle 2’s final leg, “$$$ Problems” talks about having no issues regarding their finances returning to a trap metal sound while ”Nun 2 It” assures their respective girlfriends that they’ll go global effective immediately. “Gvnganati” talks about the subject of loyalty remembering the late R5 Homixide & “Nintend0” wraps up the LP with both of them playing the gamble of life using all cash.

Aside from Carti unsurprisingly not clearing his “Chopshop” verse hence why it didn’t make the final cut & Destroy Lonely only doing a hook for “Shopping Bag” instead of a verse, the Homixide Gang’s successor to their debut has a more general hardcore hip hop approach instead of gangsta rap although it very much expands on it’s rage/trap metal production minus the industrial hip hop elements.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

prettifun – “Funhouse 2” review

In front of us is the 4th studio LP from Charlotte, North Carolina rapper & producer prettifun. Known for his membership with the 4ersona collective, he would go on to put out 3 full-lengths & 7 EPs in almost 3 years prior to Victor Victor Worldwide signing him last fall & appearing on the new Lucy Bedroque mixtape Unmusique. mikey’s last album Funhouse was greeted to the same warm welcoming reception Pretti got & looks to expand the palpability of Funhouse by making a sequel.

Outtatown’s welcomingly playful rage atmosphere of “My Name” couldn’t have been a more appropriate intro talking about having fun with the money he’s been making while “Kisses” gets in depth regarding him not having to prove shit to anyone. “Fuck with Ya” produced by Ginseng suggests to keep blowing up his phone since he had to cop a new one covered in dough posted up in your hood just before the rage/plugg crossover “Famous” advised not to act as if he’s a huge star.

“Digital Love” gives his props to the Daft Punk single of the same name talking about his relationship struggles leading into “Last Wish” remembering his late grandmother. “Sides” clears up the rumors of him & another 4ersona member che having beef with each other when they simply haven’t talked in some time while “Heartbreaker” ties back into “Digital Love”.

Ending the first half of Funhouse 2, the lo-fi rage single “Unfazed” talks about starting a trend as a result of the waves he’s been making while “Different” professes that he feels like nothing’s been the same recently stepping on muhfuckas without a camp. “Internet” talks about having no fear inside of him because he’s self-aware of his artistic potential while “Back” speaks on his money addiction & there being no way out of it.

“idk wtf” combines rage, hardcore hip hop & digicore so asking for his vision to be trusted while “Infinity” talks about the endless flows he has in his arsenal & being ahead of the curve compared to his peers. “Hi-Fi 2026” finishes prettifun’s major label debut by announcing Hi-Fi 2 coming out some point within the next 52 weeks, which has me hoping it’ll surpass it’s predecessor when it comes to quality.

Honoring prettifun’s 20th birthday this weekend, Funhouse 2 feels nothing like a “deluxe version” of its predecessor & more of an eager standalone continuation. The production feels complexly layered compared to the original Funhouse embracing it’s experimental rage sound heavier than he initially did last fall aside from the occasional pop rap, trap, plugg, hardcore hip hop & digicore detours peeling back the vulnerability layers of his confessional approach to songwriting.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Madd Maxxx – “G A T H E R” review

Brockton, Massachusetts emcee Madd Maxxx of the Mission: Infect collective dropping his 4th studio LP. He’s also released a few full-lengths as well as a mixtape & his 6 EPs on his own, with the last album being his 3rd album albeit Dirtcore Music debut Kaleidoscope becoming the strongest body of work he’s ever made thus far as was the Dirtcore ‘24 EP late last summer. He & Bodies Below Sea Level will be performing at the Gathering of Legends or the 25th annual Gathering of the Juggalos next month, so it makes sense for Crossworm to fully produce G A T H E R with the festival coming up in a few weeks.

After the “Unnecessarily Long Skippable Intro”, the title track hops over a synthesizer & a drum machine to encourage the underground to come with him whereas “Let’s Fuckin’ Go Then” goes for a boom bap vibe so he can talk about being on the surface & no longer denying it. “God is a Juggalo” dustily speaks on his belief of our higher power supporting the Insane Clown Posse when they’ve said themselves that Dark Carnival is God, but then “Jester’s Privilege” aggressively calls out weak MCs & talks about saying whatever he wants.

“Zombie Walk” hooks up a creepy violin sample with kicks & snares talking about appealing to fans of smoking weed, horror movies & hip hop while the industrial hip hop/horrorcore crossover “Bats in the Belfry” opens up regarding the voices in his head disliking what they say to him. “Stop Rapping” returns to the boom bap with a bar at the halfway point of it homaging the recently deceased Prince of Darkness in Black Sabbath frontman & WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne prior to the industrial “I Can’t Stop” declaration of never quitting.

As someone who got to see Maxxx perform at the 2021 Gathering & unfortunately won’t make it to the Gathering of Legends or the 2 Day War between Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) & Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) including record-holding 5-time JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion 2 Tuff Tony looking to take the title back from former GCW World Champion & GCW World Tag Team Champion Matt Tremont in The Final Battle, he & Crossworm lock in for a collection of tracks that I’m confident he’ll perform at that event encapsulating the label’s signature industrial hip hop spin on the underground wicked shit scene & additional hints of boom bap.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Cool Calm Pete – “_demolition” review

Cool Calm Pete is a 46 year old MC/producer born in Seoul, South Korea & raised in Queens, New York getting his start by forming the group Babbletron with both Jaymanila & DJ Pre respectively. Although the trio would eventually disband after their sophomore effort Mechanical Royalty despite the acclaim it received compared to Ramble at a Discount, his solo debut Lost had celebrated it’s 2 decade anniversary only a couple weeks ago & has making a primarily self-produced comeback following Leonard Z getting scrapped.

After the instrumental “Hertz” intro, the lead single “These Daze” works in a drumless piano loop to ask if anyone remembers the times when life was carefree & becoming increasingly careful with time passing whereas “Now!?” takes a cloudier boom bap approach talking about people wanting to break you down. “Mountains” keeps it dusty to discuss being anything you want & after the “Atlantis” instrumental interlude, “Prologue” samples a violin to talk about trying to survive for kicks having nothing left other than a shoe deal.

“Online” gives off a funkier vibe to it with a spoken word delivery during the 1st half of it until letting the beat ride out on the other just before the psychedelic “Everyday” explaining that running away isn’t an option as a far as he’s concerned. “Ruff Mix” goes for a cloudier direction instrumentally so he can talk about getting rich leading into the funkier “Economics” points out society is either over the top or over the hill.

The kicks & snares come back in the fold on “Seconds” boasting that he could be counting the bread for days while the drumless “Ghost Time” talks about the way everything seems to him. After the compositional “Short Stop” intermission, “GPS” gives off a lo-fi feeling to address someone who’s been in his dreams while “1000 mph” dustily talks about others not knowing shit regarding him. “Hats & Glasses” lastly sends off the LP by having Pete salute his people rockin’ it.

Almost 2 weeks succeeding the 20 year anniversary of Lost, the founding Babbletron member makes his official return by focusing less on the humor that his solo debut had in favor of emphasizing a more personal side to himself. Furthermore, he holds off on having any guests join him to let his production on all except the last 2 tracks occasionally shine taking a backseat from the mic using crazy sampling chops.

Score: 4/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Even Heathens – “Handful of Cancel” review

Even Heathens is a horrorcore duo consisting of Pennsylvania emcee ILLtemper & Detroit veteran King Gordy. Forming in 2021 off an eponymous full-length debut & the Horrorcore Stories EP, they would go on to put out a sophomore effort Unpleasant Never Dies & the Odd Gods trilogy until forming the Wic Kids with Donnie Menace & Grewsum respectively last summer. Signing to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz a few months ago for a 2-album deal, the Heathens are ready to make their debut for the label.

The first song “Dig” produced by J Reno after the intro made for a cavernously dark opener talking about not finding what you were hoping for going deep in their minds whereas the guitar/trap crossover “Canceled” addresses the topic of cancel culture, which Cormega called an abused power & he wasn’t wrong. Stir Crazy reunites with the Heavens for a rap rock sequel to “King” bringing that horror music to your speakers while “Choices” talks about choosing 1 of 6,000,000 ways to die.

Insane Poetry joins ILLtemper & Gordy on “You Think?” as a way of responding to those speculate they’re crazy over a boom bap instrumental with some vibraphones just before “Can’t Hide” replaces the vibraphones with pianos to talk about them being unavoidable. “Fear Us” blends boom bap & horrorcore lyricism together explaining why they should be feared while “Grime” featuring Nasaan & Seuss Mace finds the quartet cautioning not to disturb them.

After the shock value “Coby Gets Raped” skit, “Tu Weered” featuring Killator gets the trio together for a trap joint talking about how they’re uncomfortable to be around & the closing track “Lot Lizards” closes the Even Heathens’ debut for LSP with 1 more boom bap track with a bit of a funkier twist to it describing sexual relations with those exact type of women feeling reminiscent of Necro’s sex raps regarding the level of vulgarity.

Only halfway through the decade with 6 LPs & an EP deep, the Heathens introduce themselves as the newest members of Team Snuff by carrying on the Experimental Drugz series with their finest work together so far in addition to raising my expectations for their next offering under the saw & axe. Stir Crazy & J Reno both kill it with their shares of the production & lyrically, both ILLtemper & King Gordy are at their filthiest.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Paul Wall – “The Tonite Show” review

West coast producer DJ Fresh tapping in with Houston, Texas emcee, DJ & businessman Paul Wall for the latter’s 16th studio LP. An affiliate of Swishahouse Entertaimment & a co-founder of The Color Changin’ Click, his sophomore effort albeit major label debut The People’s Champ propelled him as an H-Town veteran 2 decades ago & has since been steadily dropping music whether it be Bounce Backs Over Setbacks becoming the best album of his from the previous decade to the mixed reception of The Great Wall a year & a half ago. Once Upon a Grind dropped on my birthday weekend last winter making up for The Great Wall’s divisive feedback by homaging the city who made him the person he is presently & DJ Fresh has brought back The Tonite Show to make Paul the most recent guest.

“Wake Up” blends jazz rap & trap together so the Oiler Mobb Entertainment founder can talk about getting his mind right the second he gets up every single morning whereas “It’s Necessary” turns the jazz influences up even higher to discuss doing what’s obligated & his legendary grind. “Dedicated to the Game” gives off a west coast Mobb vibe with a hint of trap talking about his loyalty to this shit leading into the piano-driven “Husslin’ For Eons” boasting his hustle.

We get a bluesy guitar sample on “Same Ol’ P” talking about nothing changing with him a little over 2 decades into his career while “Drink 1st” fuses cloud rap & trap opting to take a sip from his cup before he heads out. “Blanton’s Tonite” takes a smoother approach instrumentally for an ode to my personal favorite alcoholic beverage bourbon whiskey while “Out Yo Mind” talks about the crowd who thinks he ain’t paid tweaking.

“Riding with the Top Down” whips up a breezy anthem for the California & H-Town to blast in their whips on a sunny day while “Money on My Mind” shifts his focus towards the bag. “Still Froze” hooks up some synthesizers to show off the watch on his wrist while “Get the Paper” talks about grinding to the utmost. “Whatchu Really Kno” concludes The Tonite Show with a dirty south outro advising to keep a clear vision.

Approximately a couple days following Wednesday’s season premiere of South Park on Comedy Central poking fun at the Paramount Skydance Corporation cancelling The Late Show in 2026 because of a joke Stephen Colbert made regarding his show’s parent company settling a $16M lawsuit, Paul Wall & DJ Fresh get together to make a highly successful attempt at capitalizing their chemistry 7 months ago & my favorite late career entry in Paul’s catalog.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Bronze Nazareth – “Funeral for a Dream” review

Grand Rapids, Michigan emcee/producer Bronze Nazareth enlisting Detroit veteran Apollo Brown to produce his 6th solo album. Known for being a member of the group Wisemen alongside his late brother Kevlaar 7 & eventually the Wu-Tang Clan’s in-house production team the Wu-Elements, he would also go on to build a solo career for himself beginning with The Great Migration almost 2 decades ago & School for the Blindman only 5 years later. Bundle Raps & Ekphrasis produced entirely by Leaf Dog & Roc Marciano respectively became his strongest output since his debut, coming off producing Things I Seen for Termanology a few months ago to deliver Funeral for a Dream.

“Banshee Walk” after the “Next Dream” intro chops up a vocal sample for a boom bap instrumental with synthesizers talking about the streets being alive & keeping the cannon sharp prior to “Enough Lord” sampling gospel music asking God to chill in the same week Malcolm-Jamal Warner predeceased WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath and the inaugural IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, Real American Beer founder, Real American Freestyle Wrestling (RAF) co-founder & known racist Hulk Hogan.

Apollo removes the drums completely on “Right There” talking about a person he knows having it all in front of him & fucking it up somehow while “Blue Albacore” gets back on the boom bap vibes slowing down the pitch of the sample used comparing success to a diamond suggesting that you gotta be moving mountains sometimes. “Lavender” goes for a heavier chipmunk soul direction tapping in with Love Jones on the outro hoping for critics to withdraw once he pivots the law while “Wheels of Misfortune” flexes about no one having bars like him.

“Meeting in the Clouds” combines chipmunk soul & boom bap together for a crushing tribute to his late brother Kevlaar 7 until “Faded Pictures” talks about envious individuals watching him shine wanting to turn him into a distant memory. “Smorgasbord” continues the distinct sampling to get on his luxurious fly shit & after the chipmunk soul collab “Lemon Glue” featuring Eddie Kaine talking about teaching you unexpected lessons, “The Quiet Years” drumlessly ends the LP by talking about being unbreakable.

Marking the longtime Mello Music Group in-house producer’s debut under his own label Escapism Recordings after leaving MMG this past winter, Apollo Brown & a close friend since his childhood Bronze Nazareth have caught up with one another for an obituary regarding the bond they’ve had for 4 decades strong beginning their individual careers simultaneously as teenagers saying goodbye to the dream itself because of them realizing the goals they had have been achieved by now.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Quadeca – “Vanisher, Horizon Scraper” review

Quadeca is a 24 year old singer/songwriter, producer, YouTuber & rapper from Los Angeles, California whose early mixtapes Work in Progress, Nostalgia for the Now, Bad Internet Rapper & Out of Order were all received negatively as was the full-length debut Voice Memos. His sophomore effort From Me to You proved to be decent, with both I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You & Scrapyard under deadAir Records garnering widespread praise for artistically reinventing himself. Recently starting up his own label X8 Music distributed by Virgin Music, the founder is making his official debut under the imprint in the form of his 4th album a month after Kevin Abstract signed with him to put out blush.

Chico Buarque gets sampled during the post-rock, modern classical, chamber music, neo-psychedelia, totalism, progressive folk, folktronica, art pop, avant-folk, choral, MPB & capoeira intro “No Questions Asked” repetitively singing about being there when no one else is just before “Waging War” gets split up into 3 different sections built around neo-psychedelia, art pop, folktronica, glitch pop, glitch hop, progressive pop, post-rock, chamber folk, deconstructed club, experimental hip hop & experimental rock as he tries to calm himself down & attempt to take his own advice. The lusciously gentle “Ruin My Life” carries forward by talking about an existential crisis leading into art pop, jazz pop, folk pop, Bossa nova, chamber folk, lounge, progressive folk, jazz rap, progressive soul all culminating in the lead single “Godstained”.

“At a Time Like This” continues the first half of Vanisher, Horizon Scraper talking about keeping his soul on high alert centered towards experimental hip hop, neo-psychedelia, art pop, glitch pop, glitch hop, cloud rap, alternative r&b, abstract hip hop, post-rock, wonky & progressive pop while the 2nd single “Monday” combines folk pop, baroque pop, art pop, chamber folk, chamber pop, folktronica & Waltz reflecting on a relationship that didn’t last. “Dancing Without Moving” has gotta be the catchiest moment on the entire LP balling pop rap, experimental hip hop, neo-psychedelia, art pop, alt-pop, alternative r&b, jazz rap, nu jazz, neo-soul, boom bap & chamber pop into 1 looking at the night sky to copy what he does until “That’s Why” speaks of life not getting any better than it is at this very moment.

After the “I Dream About Sinking” instrumental, we have the distortion gradually increasing over the course of “Natural Causes” suiting the increasing paranoia while “Thundrrr” blends hardcore hip hop, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, funk mandelão, glitch hop, grime & wonky. “The Great Bakunawa” featuring Danny Brown makes for a breathtakingly industrial hip hop, hardcore hip hop, neo-psychedelia, illbient, abstract hip hop, post-rock & horrorcore collab while the final single “Forgone” divided in 3 parts speaking of remaining through it all. “Casper” by Maruja frontman Harry Wilkinson ends with a melting pot of post-rock, experimental rock, post-industrial, art punk, post-hardcore, space rock revival, nature recordings, totalism, noise rock, poetry, chamber jazz, jazz-rock & noise to talk about death.

“Learn to Swim” starts the deluxe run by throwing it back to the I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You era while “A Little Too Much” puts his range on display with him singing the first couple verses & rapping the final one. “Touch the Sky” feels it it could’ve been placed between “Ruin My Life” & “Godstained” as an interlude but after the “Horizon Scraper” compositional piece, we’re treated to a “Forgone” prelude subtitled “Not Enough” & the “Sundown” instrumental cut. “Burns Down” uses a flow similar to Lucy Bedroque’s except it feels reminiscent of brakence’s stuff aesthetically & the final bonus track “Wind Catcher” excluding the “Godstained” demo happens to be another composition.

Conceptually focused around a lone traveler sailing into the ocean alone pursuing freedom & cosmic understanding with his own self-destruction subconsciously motivating it, Quadeca’s musical evolution in recent memory continues with the most ambitious entry in his discography thus far & the finest of this redeeming trilogy arc. His masterful production goes outside of the box showing influences of art pop, folktronica, jazz pop, folk pop, Bossa nova, chamber folk, lounge, progressive folk, jazz rap, progressive soul, baroque pop, chamber pop, Waltz, singer/songwriter, progressive pop, neo-psychedelia, post-rock, psychedelic folk, experimental hip hop, ambient music, hardcore hip hop, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, funk mandelão, glitch hop, grime, wonky, illbient, abstract hip hop, horrorcore, experimental rock, post-industrial, art punk, post-hardcore, space rock revival, nature recordings, totalism, noise rock, poetry, chamber jazz, jazz-rock, noise, modern classical, chamber music, totalism, avant-folk, choral, MPB, capoeira, nu jazz & neo-soul coordinated in ways to pull you deeper into the story.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Freddie Gibbs – “Alfredo II” review

Yes, the 6th studio LP from Indiana emcee Freddie Gibbs has finally arrived. Blowing up initially over 2 decades ago with his debut mixtape Full Metal Jackit, he would sign to Interscope Records for a brief period of time until he left without dropping an album with them. This was made up for with the mixtapes The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs & Str8 Killa No Filla, which would catch the attention of Jeezy & land Freddie a contract with CTE World in 2011. However, Gibbs eventually left CTE the following year after releasing the tapes Cold Day in Hell & B.F.K. (BabyFace Killa). In 2013, he decided to form his own label E$GN Records & finally dropped the full-length album E.$.G.N. (Evil $eeds Grow Naturally). He & iconic Oxnard producer Madlib would drop their MadGibbs debut Piñata the year after that, which is EASILY one of the greatest hip hop albums of the previous decade. Gibbs continued to grow his profile after that with Shadow of a Doubt, You Only Live 2wice, Freddie & the Curren$y collab EP Fetti & who can forget MadGibbs’ sophomore effort Bandana or Alfredo produced by The Alchemist? $oul $old $eparately made for a valiant major label debut under Warner Records & You Only Die 1nce returned to his independent hustle, recapturing the magic of Alfredo for a sequel of it’s own.

“1995” opens with a jazzy, drumless 2-parter picking up exactly where “1985” left off talking about being ok regardless of haters & bitches snaking whereas “Mar-a-Lago” swaps out the drumless elements in favor of boom bap making it clear that the feds ain’t gettin’ nothing after tryna hit his shit. “Lemon Pepper Steppers” turns the jazz influences up a bit talking about people tryna block his blessings prior to the silky “Ensalada” pleading to get away from this place he’s in.

Jim Jones gets dissed during “Empanadas” stripping the drums once again just before “Skinny Suge II” talks about being the last don & looking to body every last person whenever he’s in the middle of a job. “Feeling” featuring Larry June chops up a soul sample for both of them to keep it trill leading into “I Still Love H.E.R.” homaging the テリヤキ・ボーイズ single of the same name featuring & produced by Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West.

“Shangri La” soulfully airs his grievances towards a woman that he deems to be “sneaky”making better use of an unused verse recorded during the Vultures sessions when ¥$ was still together at the beginning while “Gas Station Sushi” addresses his falling out with Curren$y not too long after Fetti was released. I found both the “Pee on city girls like P. Diddy” line & the DJ Akademiks diss not even a minute into “Lavish Habits” to be pretty funny while “Gold Feet” featuring J.I.D finds the pair getting together talking about feeling great.

The song “Jean Claude” gets the final 7 & a half minutes of Alfredo II started with a drumless jazz rap track comparing life to the 1988 martial arts film Bloodsport & recommending to take the role of Frank Dux in that situation as a way of survival while “1,000 Mountains” closes the album with 1 last boom bap cut arguing that the only person who he feels can outrap him is André 3000, taking it a step further by contemplating taking a flute & hiding out similarly to what the Prince of hip hop did.

Don’t want to take away from the highlights $oul $old $eparately & You Only Die 1nce both have even if I lean more $oul $old $eparately, but Freddie Gibbs reunites with one of my top 10 producers of all-time for a successor to make an Alfredo successor that takes it back to what made that original LP the most beloved solo effort in the E$GN Records founder’s discography as he prepares for his next project fully produced by KAYTRANADA.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Estee Nack – “B.R.A.P. 2 (Big Rifles & Pistols)” review

Pretty sure this has to be the 14th proper full-length studio LP from Lynn, Massachusetts emcee/producer Estee Nack. Emerging as a member of the Tragic Allies, he also branched out on his own my senior year of high school off his Purpose-produced solo debut 14 Forms: The Book of Estee Nack & has since built a lengthy yet impressive discography for himself. Other highlights include the Sadhugold-produced Surfinongold.wav alongside it’s sequel The Order of the Golden Fleece, the Giallo Point-produced Papitas & it’s sequel, his collab efforts with al.divino, the V Don-produced B.R.A.P. (Born Rewards & Penalties), the Griselda Records debut Nacksaw Jim Duggan, the Mike Shabb-produced Live at the Tabernackle & the Futurewave-produced Stone Temple Pyrex. Commemorating the 2-year anniversary of B.R.A.P. (Born Rewards & Penalties) this spring, Nackman & V Don are looking to pull out the Big Rifles & Pistols for a follow-up.

The title track was a jazzily drumless intro talking about haters casually ducking headshots whereas the 2nd & final single “LAKOTA DREAM CATCHER” heads for a soulful boom bap direction speaking on trying to wake up those who prefer to sleep on him. The lead single “CARVEL” finds himself properly executing a plan that cannot fail leading into “EZBRED” featuring Al-Doe links the 2 up to talk about being centuries ahead of the rest.

“OGFIRE” nears the end of the 1st half of the album by telling those who think they know him to cut that shit out just before the atmospheric “HIGHTECHNOLOGY” featuring al.divino, BoriRock & Shaykh Hanif finds the trio talking about running the game in a vice grip. After the “TRUE ESSENCE” interlude, “COLDER” featuring Ty da Dale returns to the boom bap so both of them can talk about their pockets being full of bloods & crips just before we get a treated to a “PAPERCHASIN’” sequel pulling from rap rock.

To start the final leg of B.R.A.P. 2 (Big Rifles & Pistols) the song “OFFTHEPLANE” takes it back to the basement looking at taking his competition down rather quickly while “RINGWALK” talks about being in tip top shape for the purchase. “ELEGANTDELINQUENT” featuring al.divino reunites the duo 1 last time over pianos providing something flavorful for their customers while “ILDUCE” caps it all off with a hardcore hip hop closer talking about being victorious without violence.

V Don’s been staying busy all year whether it be his 2nd EP albeit Black Soprano Family Records/Roc Nation Records debut Sent For at the end of January or producing Boldy James’ 14th album Alphabet Highway over 2 months later, but his production during B.R.A.P. 2 (Big Rifles & Pistols) feels a little jazzier than the original B.R.A.P. (Born Rewards & Penalties) not to mention the guest list being a step down from the predecessor.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!