Trapmat Savior – “Scottie Trippin’” review

Montréal, Québec, Canada emcee Trapmat Savior is back for his sophomore effort. Emerging a few years ago off his solo debut EP To Riches & Peace along with DozaTrap’s eponymous debut EP, he would later follow it up in September by releasing a few more EPs Kirby along with I Could Tell only a week apart & Still Grinding. Nicholas Craven & Mike Shabb both produced his widely received debut 1st Coming near the end of 2024, running it back with solely Craven for Scottie Trippin’ roughly a whole year & a half later.

“Last Night’s Soda” hops over a drumless loop to get things going talking about his soldier status & being built for this shit whereas “Grin” takes the boom bap route instrumentally working in some synthesizers to flex that his pockets are thicker than his girl. The lead single “Pillz” hooks up a guitar sample mixed with kicks & snares talking about grinding 24/7 leading into “Close Enough” embracing a chipmunk soul vibe so he can discuss this title run he’s been on.

We get more synths on “Bittersweet Taste” speaking of taking no Ls because he’s learned from all of his mistakes & after the “Cherry Garcia” interlude, the 2nd & final single “B!tch” featuring Mike Shabb finds the 2 teaming up over a slick beat to talk about women. Forest N/A joins Trapmat on top of some strings referencing the original “Space Jam” & boasting of the way they be stretching the bar just before “Brunch” incorporates a vibraphone admitting he doesn’t take it personal when they take a lot after him.

“Dust” rounds out 3rd with a victorious instrumental talking about going double or nothing while “Scouts” featuring Forest N/A & willjxmes brings the trio together to explain that shit gets hotter than the south in addition to it seeming like they signed for a small amount when that couldn’t be any further from the truth. “Otis” sends off the album pouring his heart out about the blood, sweat & tears he’s been put into pushing his music over some exuberant piano chords.

Still Grinding 2 was ok compared to 1st Coming & the same can be said regarding that Knockout Mafia collaborative EP with Monsi, but I was fairly confident about Scottie Trippin’ was going to be a huge improvement over both of those extended plays & that unsurprisingly happens to be the case. We get a few guest appearances unlike 1st Coming with Shabbo’s being my personal favorite of the 3 accompanying Trapmat Savior over Nicholas Craven’s sample-lenient production style for another excellent LP.

Score: 4.5/5

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Baby Keem – “Ca$ino” review

This is the sophomore effort from Carson, California rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Baby Keem. The younger cousin of Kendrick Lamar, he went on to drop 4 EPs & a couple of mixtapes with Die for My Bitch being the one that helped boost his popularity to the point where he rightfully earned a spot on the 2020 XXL Freshman Class. His full-length debut The Melodic Blue under pgLang & Columbia Records continued to excel his artistic potential, returning after 5 years for a trip to the Ca$ino.

“No Security” produced with Danja & FNZ begins with a drumless sample talking about preferring to have his gang beside him than a bodyguard whereas the title track comes through with a 2-parter that Cardo cooked up speaking of being somewhat deranged at this point in his career. “Birds & the Bees” flips “Honey Honey” by Feist showing a more romantic side to Keem leading into “Good Flirts” by The Hillbillies poking fun at Young Thug’s leaked phone calls with Mariah the Scientist.

Things go for a chipmunk soul vibe on “House Money” sampling “You Know the Feeling” by Steven Wightman to talk about fearing no one when he steps in the party just before “I’m Not a Lyricist” channels his inner André 3000 over a piano instrumental. “$ex Appeal” featuring Too $hort of course finds the 2 taking it to the Bay stylistically for a more raunchier approach topically until “I Do Love You” by Billy Stewart gets chopped up for the “Highway 95” sequel.

“Circus Circus” splits itself in 3 halves addressing his family dynamics whilst blending some braggadocio while “Dramatic Girl” feels more like a Che Ecru & Sam Dew song since Keem only handles the hook, although he & Sounwave do a fine job of sampling “Kids” by MGMT for the upbeat R&B detour. “No Blame” samples “I Never Learnt to Share” by James Blake to finish our Ca$ino tour talking about his difficult upbringings & not blaming his mother for it.

I appreciate that Baby Keem got more personal with Ca$ino, but I wouldn’t put it above The Melodic Blue & firmly believe that he has the capability of making a project that’ll top both albums even if some people like to ignorantly dismiss him as a nepo baby. It’s more pop rap sounding than the predecessor although the alternative R&B & trap elements are maintained, adding some more ratchet & chipmunk soul undertones than previously & getting more conscious than hardcore.

Score: 3.5/5

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Skaiwater – “wonderful” review

This is the 3rd studio LP from Nottingham, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom rapper & producer Skaiwater. Beginning in 2019 off their debut EP After God Fear Eve, the 4ersona member would go on to put out 7 more EPs along with a mixtape& a couple albums, the most notable being their 2024 sophomore effort #Gigi under GoodTalk Records & Capitol Records fully realizing on the potential that was shown on their earlier material. Coming off the Pinkprint trilogy however, they’re ready to make a wonderful return.

Ti Steele appears for the R&B-tinged duet “as above so below” starting off with both of them singing about the possibility of losing their heads whereas “Star” combines rage & digicore flexing that they made their bitch go punk. The self-produced “iPhone 5” carries over the hypertrap influences talking about leaving their old life in London while “1 battle after another” tries to convince their partner to turn against the streets & their friends.

“Nitty” works in more rage beats to talk about being a real black British punk rollin’ off ecstasy just before “Skins” brings back some of the digicore elements thanks to Ginseng talking about them not needing anyone. “Zoot” is essentially a remix of “6AM” featuring diamond* & one that I lean towards more than the original version while “bodies bodies bodies” melodically asks this woman if she could settle for their soul & admitting to being a bit insecure.

Reaching the halfway point of wonderful, the rage-inducing “Tool” talks about Young Skai loving their bitch more than their firearm & showing her what real hustlers do leading into “Playa” trying to open up their romantic interest’s mind as well as getting geeked after popping’ a couple mollys. “Let the House Burn” fuses hypertrap & industrial hip hop talking about plotting against a hoe who wasn’t even theirs while “blink twice” produced by North West feels more like an interlude sampling “ぽっぴっぽー” by ラマーズP featuring 初音ミク.

“Virgo / My Room” comes through with a 2-parter asking the women they’re seeing if they can trust them & once “Dog” featuring Tezzus continues the subject of relationships over a chaotic BenjiCold instrumental differing from his signature pluggnb style, “A Threesome” leans heavier towards the digicore side of things following a person home to pose the question of possibly having sex with them.

The song “midsommar” featuring Ti Steele reunites the pair that gave us wonderful’s opening moments 1 last time portraying themselves as a couple who meditates over each other while “Marilyn” spends a couple minutes on top of an OPM BABI beat talking about doing drugs for their hoe whilst maintaining control over themselves. “My Zombie” sends off the LP on a more colorfully catastrophic note telling anyone who’s willing to bleed for them that they’ll have to live with that for the rest of their life & telling their babe who wants to get paid that she will.

We were supposed to get Femme Fatale this past Christmas until it got scrapped, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if some of the material recorded during those sessions made their way onto wonderful & this new era marking Skaiwater’s independence from a major label begins with a full-length that captures Young Skai’s growth since Happy Hour & of course #Gigi. They only produce a few tracks themself rather than doing the whole thing like #mia or the Pinkprint trilogy, reaching out to some of the biggest names currently both behind the boards & on the mic in the process to make tiger lily’s great musical achievement.

Score: 4/5

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Streets Soprano – “Success or Death” review

This is the 6th studio LP from Buffalo, New York rapper Streets Soprano. Signing to Benny the Butcher’s very own Black Soprano Family Records, he would go on to drop 5 full-lengths as well as a couple EPs & a mixtape for the label including Damn: Nothing Last Forever. or the U Hear Me? duology. He also teamed up with Heckler this past 4th of July for the collaborative EP Birth of a Dynasty which was alright to me personally with no disrespect intended towards Heckler at all, but a couple of his B$F brethren appearing on Success or Death had me more intrigued.

“More Integrity, Less Pride” featuring Rick Hyde starts by sampling “She Said She Loves Me” by Kleeer with both of them offering some good advice to artists in general today whereas “Loyalty Worth More Than Money” continues the thoughtful concepts over some strings. “Game in a Frenzy” takes a more hardcore approach altogether talking about trusting nobody leading into “Potent as Dopamine” featuring Heckler finds the 2 talking about the way they keep their music hittin’ powerfully.

Fuego Base appears on “Trap House Way” kicking off the 2nd half giving us the type of shit that would make the block hot while “Gangster & a Thug” featuring Heckler reunites the pair over a boom bap instrumental talking about shit being the way it is because it’s mud mixed with blood. “Art of Patience” blends some bells & a vocal sample venting that nobody knows what he’s been through since he doesn’t show it while “See My Pain” ends Success or Death in the form of this boom bap outro talking about this game not coming with much guidance.

Coming off his Off the Radar freestyle a few weeks earlier, the Trust Nobody Music Group founder & Black Soprano Family member’s first solo effort in a couple years has to be the most I’ve enjoyed something he’s put out since Damn: Nothing Last Forever. maybe. There’s a feature on pretty much half of Success or Death compared to U Hear Me? 2, spending a couple moments recapturing Birth of a Dynasty’s chemistry or rockin’ it with some of B$F’s biggest acts for Street Soprano’s most lyrical ambitious opus.

Score: 3.5/5

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DaeMoney – “Slae Season IV” review

Detroit trap star DaeMoney returning for his 4th studio LP. Coming up as the nephew of one of the 2 biggest artists in the city right now Babyface Ray as well as a now former member of the WRLD Tour Mafia collective, he broke out on his own by dropping his debut mixtape Young Sexual Misconduct & his debut EP Slae Season accompanied by his 2nd EP Rockstar Lifestyle & then his previous tape Slae Season 2. Slae went on to sign to EMPIRE Distribution a few summers ago & celebrated in the form of his most recent EP Slayer’s Coming fully produced by Trees shortly after as well as a 3rd installment of the Slae Season trilogy & a sequel to Rockstar Lifestyle. He was surprisingly dismissed from WRLD Tour in 2024 due to scamming through Slam A Slut Records, coming off the last LP The Godson & the Slayer’s Revenge mixtape continuing the Slae Season saga.

“Training Day” begins with a cloudy take on the Detroit sound talking about people coming around with him looking like Ethan Hawke’s character in the classic Denzel Washington crime thriller of the same name whereas “Hero < Villain” works in some bells, synths & 808s flexing that the shit he does is rare compared to anyone else. “Wassup” moves forward talking about having too much sauce & advising not to ask how much it costed him leading into Allstar JR joining Slae to post up “On 7 Mile” although I prefer the latter’s verse over JR’s personally.

Babytron helps make things up on “Heat” saving the best Detroit trap collaboration for last continuing the streak of crossovers they’ve had previously like “Earned It” or of course “Mafia & Militia” just before “Sick & Tired” expresses his frustrations towards people throwing lies on his name. “Blessing” starts the 2nd half incorporating some sampling chops talking about how he doesn’t snitch because he was raised differently leading into “Right Now” going for a somewhat tropical approach telling us where his heart’s at currently.

“Ecstasy” blends some piano chords with hi-hats talking about the love of his life while “M.I.L.E.” suggests all of his young homies to get out the streets after learning it’s not worth staying there. “I Meant It” has a more exuberant trap vibe talking about being in the mob for real & once “Yours Truly” spends a couple minutes to spit a verse off the top talking about being WRLD Tour forever despite not appearing on their output these past couple years, the closing track “Pain” sends it all off confessing he went insane after losing his money & people.

Slayer’s Revenge was probably the most conscious that DaeMoney has ever gotten lyrically & although I liked it more than The Godson, I felt like there was no way that Slae Season IV would be worse than either of those considering how beloved the other 3 installments are & thankfully I can say it’s Slae’s since Rockstar Lifestyle 2. The production healthily balances the Detroit sound & cloud rap mixing the signature gangsta raps that he’s become known for with some of the same maturity we got from him a few weeks ago.

Score: 4/5

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Brent Faiyaz – “Icon” review

Brent Faiyaz is a 29 year old singer/songwriter, rapper & producer from Columbia, Maryland starting off in the DMV hip hop until shifting towards R&B & more specifically alternative R&B. He’s put out a couple full-lengths along with 6 EPs until forming his own label ISO Supremacy, releasing his debut mixtape Larger Than Life under his imprint & signing Tommy Richman. It’s been almost a couple years since the latter’s debut Coyote & Icon looks to recapture the magic of his debut for his 3rd album.

After the compositional “white noise.” intro, the first song “wrong faces.” begins with an acoustic instrumental telling this woman he’ll become the reason she’s not alone whereas “have to.” produced by Tommy Richman takes a much smoother approach singing about being in a race with time to get where he belongs. “butterflies.” splits itself in 2 halves thanks to benny blanco & Cashmere Cat asking his partner if she feels the way he does leading into “other side.” explores a dance pop vibe singing about a woman he saw in his dreams.

“strangers.” starts the other half of the album taking the alternative R&B route describing a relationship that has completely fallen apart just before “world is yours.” throws it back to the 90s with a synth-woven beat from Chad Hugo & singing about wanting his woman to have him her way. “4 seasons.” exuberantly describes a female who’s either hotter than a day in July or cold as the winter but once “pure fantasy.” atmospherically sings about his lover being all he needs, “vanilla sky.” wraps up Icon posing the question of whether one’s happiness lasts forever or if it’s short term.

The self-produced “full moon. (fall in tokyo)” starts the deluxe run sampling “mewtwo” by Ken Carson expressing his desire of staying in Japan with his soulmate for the rest of their lives while “1 for you. (spring in new york)” flips “If” by Destiny’s Child singing about being the one for this chick if she’d like him to be. “tony soprano.” moodily puts himself inside the shoes of the lead character from one of my top 3 shows The Sopranos & Beat Butcha samples “Chapel Hill Heist” by Father during the final bonus track “peter pan.” singing about flying to Neverland with his Wendy.

Initially set to come out on his birthday last fall until pushing it back, the extra 5 months Brent Faiyaz would spent ensuring Icon would outdo both it’s predecessors really paid off despite initially letting down many who were looking forward to it including myself & I’m thankful we got the most expansive entry in his discography out of it. The intimately cinematic production merges the foundations of classic soul music with elements of modern R&B depicting themes of growth, loss, renewal & his evolution from both an artistic & a personal standpoint.

Score: 4/5

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Jill Scott – “To Whom This May Concern” review

Jill Scott is a 53 year old singer/songwriter, actress, model & poet from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania known for her classic 2000 full-length studio debut Words & Sounds: Who’s Jill Scott? under Epic Records. Her sophomore effort Words & Sounds 2: Beautiful Human and Words & Sounds 3: The Real Thing would both go on to become well received too, starting up her own Blues Babe Records to drop the Warner Records-distributed The Light of Sun & the Atlantic Records-backed Woman after I had graduated high school. Over a decade later, she’s returning for her 6th album.

After the “Dope Shit” intro, “Be Great” kicks it all off with a vibrantly soulful opener singing over some horns about the only thing she wanted to do was make history whereas “Beautiful People” produced by Om’Mas Keith expresses her love for African Americans fusing neo-soul, smooth soul, boogie & funk. “Offdaback” blends jazz, neo-soul & spoken word dedicating itself to all the pioneers who took the backdoor while “Norf Side” featuring Tierra Whack finds the 2 telling their city over a boom bap instrumental from none other than DJ Premier.

“Pay U on Tuesday” after the “Disclaimer” skit fuses soul & jazz telling a man she doesn’t want anymore when he’s trying to be something he isn’t leading into “Pressha” combines elements of neo-soul, psychedelic soul contemporary R&B & neo-psychedelia to sing about her finding it pathetic this guy stays chasing her. “B.P.O.T.Y. (Biggest Pimp of the Year)” featuring Too $hort teams up over a funky beat throwing it back to the days of 70s blaxploitation movies while “Me 4” spends 95 seconds singing about learning from her mistakes.

DJ Camper jumps behind the boards during “The Math” advising to subtract the disingenuous from the authentic ones for the sole purpose of seeing how it makes you feel while the soulfully jazzy “A Universe” sings about the very thing she comes across when looking in her man’s eyes. “Liftin’ Me Up” reincorporates more influences of jazz & soul music expressing a kind of love that uplifts her while the hip hop-driven “Ode to Nikki” featuring Ab-Soul honors the legacy of the late Nikki Giovanni over a Young RJ instrumental.

“Don’t Play” rounds out 3rd smoothly yearning for full mental & mattress satisfaction instead of a mere fraction of it while “To B Honest” featuring J.I.D portrays themselves as 2 lovers singing & rapping about their needs of getting to know one another other. “Right Here Right Now” experiments with house a little providing all the answers to questions like if affection still exists or if we’ll ever be loved & after “Àṣẹ” passionately alludes to the Yoruba religion concept for a few minutes, “Sincerely Do” ends the LP seeking clarity over an S1 beat.

The Light of the Sun & Woman both have their share of great songs although I wouldn’t necessarily put them in the same ranks as the Words & Sounds trilogy, but To Whom This May Concern marks Jill Scott’s comeback reinforcing why she’s been such a prominent figure in neo-soul for over a quarter of a century. The production additionally explores the styles of smooth soul, boogie, funk, hip hop, boom bap, psychedelic soul, spoken word, progressive soul, vocal jazz, contemporary R&B & neo-psychedelia with Jill reflecting the personal growth she’s experienced since leaving a major label to go independent.

Score: 4.5/5

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Converge – “Love Is Not Enough” review

Converge is a metalcore band from Salem, Massachusetts consisting of drummer Ben Koller, bassist Nate Newton, guitarist Kurt Ballou and finally frontman & Deathwish Inc. co-founder Jacob Bannon. Although their 1994 debut Halo in a Haystack was moderately received, almost everything they’ve done since has cemented them as quite possibly the greatest metallic hardcore band of all-time. Petitioning the Empty Sky, When Forever Comes Crashing, my personal favorite Jane Doe, their Epitaph Records debut You Fail Me, No Heroes, Axe to Fall, All We Love We Leave Behind during my sophomore year of high school & The Dusk in Us have all been widely praised for the own individual reasons & they’re back after almost a decade for their 11th studio album.

The title track combines their signature metalcore sound with elements of both mathcore & thrash metal explaining that love won’t do much to fend off the scavengers whereas “Bad Faith” explores the concept of helplessness after witnessing a friend suffering in the midst of a horrible situation beyond his control. “Distract & Divide” takes 91 seconds to express Jacob’s frustrations regarding modern society while “To Feel Something” confesses to being overwhelmed by his own fears, insecurities & stressors to the point where he feels numb to everything.

“Beyond Repair” takes a more compositional approach to reach the halfway point of the LP although it might be the weakest track here, but “Amon Amok” continues the excitement by talking about taking what they deserve & life presently feeling like there’s a whole bunch of demons running around. “Force Meets Presence” explores the concept of 2 different things that forever expand without choosing a winner leading into “Gilded Cage” making some commentary towards the pharmaceutical industry, the opiate epidemic & how it’s tied to so many other things.

The song “Make Me Forget You” winds down Love Is Not Enough‘s last 10 minutes or so observing everything we’ve let slip by as well as silence persisting where memories used to live while the 2nd & final single “We Were Never the Same” blends metalcore with atmospheric sludge metal & post-hardcore to conclude the full-length expanding the previous track’s concept in the sense of Jacob becoming self aware of reaching at the end of the line & it’s too late, coming to terms with him trying to be a better person.

This fall will mark a quarter of a century since Jane Doe became the greatest metalcore ever recorded, so it’s only right Converge celebrates with an album I must confess to enjoying more than The Dusk in Us although I wouldn’t put it above You Fail Me or All We Love We Leave Behind & Axe to Fall. The production in terms of primary & secondary influences is almost similar to Love Is Not Enough‘s predecessor except the post-hardcore undertones are being swapped it in favor of hardcore punk & Jacob makes a clear statement about us needing more than positive relationships & emotional affirmation to survive humanity’s darkest forces closing in on us.

Score: 4.5/5

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Buddah Bless – “Buddah Bless the Streets” review

Buddah Bless is a 34 year old producer, songwriter & former rapper from Atlanta, Georgia who I began paying attention to in the late 2010s through his extensive collaborations with Quality Control Music when the label was at their prime. He would also go to produce for many other artists like the late Young Dolph or his cousin Key Glock & Megan Thee Stallion to name a few, following the footsteps of 808 Mafia co-founder TM88 a little over 2 months ago & kicking off a brand new series of albums by curating his very own solo debut.

“Same Soldier” by Hunxho & Skooly was a decent trap intro with both of them talking about remaining the same as they were when they finally made it out of poverty leading into “Owe Me” by Kodak Black being one of the latter’s better songs I’ve heard in a while speaking of controlling his anger & thumbin’ racks. “From the Trap” by Skooly & UFO Toon finds the pair talking about where they both come from while “I Feel Good” by 41 isn’t much better despite shifting towards a New York Drill sound.

I would’ve liked the single “See the World” a lot better if Bossman DLow was taken off of it since I don’t mind either Big Sean or 2 Chainz’ verses leading into “Toxic” by Big Fredo & Kodak Black taking a more raunchier approach topically than “Owe Me” do & Fredo’s verse was the weakest of them both honestly. “On Arrival” by Tre Loaded mediocrely talks about being the one to hop out the car & he isn’t even the driver while “Scared AF” by UFO Toon feels more off-the-cuff than his 1st appearance.

“Guinea Pig” by Smokepurpp was another song that I truthfully enjoyed more than others talking about being a big stepper while “Can’t Pretend” by Trinidad Jame$ dismisses the idea of playing it cool with weird hoes, corny A&Rs & these bitch ass dudes who have no money. “All She Got” by Skooly would be the best of the 3 contributions he makes personally talking about sex once more while “Buyers” surprisingly finishes the album with Buddah Bless himself rapping over his production suggesting he could retire off the money he made producing for other artists.

Sadly as much as I wanted to enjoy Buddah Bless the Streets because I’ve always considered him to be talented behind the boards, I found myself underwhelmed by a great majority of Buddah Bless’ full-length debut & it makes me hope that the next installment of installments depending on how long he plans to span this whole saga out will be much more enjoyable in my opinion. His beats aren’t the problem at all, it’s the inconsistency from the guests a great deal of the time if anything.

Score: 2/5

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Sk8star – “Designer Junkie” review

Brand new debut album from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Sk8star. Getting his footing in the spring of 2021 off Superstar Status, he would go on to follow it up last year with both the B4NWØ EP & his debut mixtape New World Ørder respectively. The latter being my introduction to Sk8’s music after my lil brody UnreleasedSnip put me on, with songs like “Standin’ on Business” & “YSL Flow” being the standouts for me personally. Following his 3rd EP Mogul along with rebel at the beginning of 2023 & whole new meaning that same spring, Sk8 addressed the Rebel in the Room & has since come off the Rebelution & Pale Fever signing with Island Records for the long-awaited Designer Junkie

“Incognito” strips the drums to get the us started thanks to Richie Souf talking about him taking Ls & playing his part whereas “Brazy Brazy Hoe” goes for an energetic trap vibe instrumentally speaking of him getting it out the mud. The 2nd & final single “ForMyFolks” produced by Nosaint of Vanguard Music Group gives off a futuristic trap atmosphere talking about being all the way over representing all of loved ones leading into “Muse” dabbling with regalia yearning to make a bad bitch his inspiration.

The title track hooks up some synthesizers & hi-hats talking about finally making it to the racks although not many people know what it took for him to get the cash steadily flowing while “No Compadre” hops over a rage beat so he can flex that everything he does is the greatest. “Yeannn” feels more like a Tezzus song since he’s handling the sole verse & Sk8’s doing the hook despite him admitting to loving bank deposits more than sex itself like any other person just before the lively single “Beret turns the hypertrap influences back up talking about staying on people’s heads.

“BleedLike Me” heads for a luxurious cloud rap direction talking about his competition not shedding blood the way he does while “PlayYaPart” reaches the halfway point with a psychedelic trap instrumental from Cade reflecting on going from droppin’ out of school to counting blue $100 bills regularly. The lead single “2 Sexy” interpolates Right Said Fred’s biggest hit “I’m Too Sexy” talking about the shooter sitting in the backseat of his whip being ready to get down to business while the synth-driven “Slatt Slatt” boasts of him being fresher than a peppermint.

Tezzus returns on the cloudy trap fusion “N.S.D. (N****s Start Dyin’)” telling all the losers to worry about themselves rather than spending all day constantly thinking of both artists’ hoes & finances while “Macon” treads the exuberant trap waters once again asking how this person he’s addressing ended up making out of the titular city. “Upper Echelon” bodies an exuberant trap beat from Taurus talking about reaching higher levels of quality within the past 3 & half years while “Roxy Paparazzi” goes full pluggnb admiring his girl’s beauty.

“All In” kicks off the final quarter of Sk8’s full-length debut blending cloud rap, trap & pop rap telling a stripper to work that pole while “Black Sheep” continues to pull inspiration from the regalia subgenre talking about his own personal experiences of feeling like an outcast. “R.I.P. Scooter” dedicates itself to the late Young Scooter who was killed in broad daylight on his birthday late last March & the closer “Nameless” cloudily talks about not changing shit if he had the chance to rewind time.

It’s been over a couple years since Sk8star initially announced Designer Junkie the end of 2023 & his major label debut culminates the long road he took to stardom surpassing every single extended play he’s made within the past 5 years. He’s evolved from the boy we met looking to reach Superstar Status in the midst of his own struggles to the man he’s become today, honing in on his chemistry with Richie Souf handling a great deal of the production & refining Sk8’s sound.

Score: 4/5

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