Lex Walton – “Ultimate Love Forever” review

This is the 9th studio LP from Pleasant Hill, California singer/songwriter & actress Lex Walton. In almost a decade, she has dropped a total of 8 full-lengths & 4 extended plays including the Shame Music series as well as Girlfriends & most notably I Want You to Kill Me. I was however interested in learning that Ultimate Love Forever would reach the same pedestal the previously mentioned album did upon learning she had signed to the prominent Seattle, Washington indie label Sub Pop Records after her apartment had tragically burned down.

“For Thee I Sing” begins with this slacker rock intro interpolating “My Country, ’Tis of Thee” Samuel Francis Smith & discussing the US enacting fascist overreach whereas “Hipster Runoff” gives off a garage rock revival vibe critiquing Gavin McInnes. “Yr Op-Ed Won’t Get You Into Heaven Anymore” includes an insane guitar solo towards the end after downing some bourbon while “USA = Fag Nation” suggests the world would be a better place if different people got shot.

Continuing the 2nd half of Ultimate Love Forever, the song “I Wish I Was an M80” sings about alienation blending slacker rock with indietronica & power pop while the lo-fi singer/songwriter crossover “Adrian Borland Will Have His Revenge on London” confesses she was on the verge of death when writing this. The title track properly concludes Ultimate Love Forever singing about the only thing she wants being a kind of affection that would last eternally.

I Want You to Kill Me still remains the most groundbreaking statement in Lex Walton’s decade-long career, but her Sub Pop debut Ultimate Love Forever will certainly appeal to fans of Jonathan Richman’s early material with The Modern Lovers from the mid-70s to late 80s or either one of the 2 extended plays Dollhouse have put out this decade. The slacker rock, noise pop, power pop, garage rock revival, noise rock, singer/songwriter & dance-punk revival production basically providing commentary on society’s decay from the perspective of a transgender woman living in a transphobic America.

Score: 4/5

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Busta Rhymes – “Dillagence II” review

This is the long-delayed 12th studio LP from Brooklyn, New York emcee, songwriter, producer & actor Busta Rhymes. A member of the Leaders of the New School, he would go on to turn heads in the spring of ‘92 off the strength of his verse on “Scenario” off of A Tribe Called Quest’s flawless sophomore effort The Low End Theory. The dragon would see greater success as a solo artist with full-lengths like The Coming, When Disaster Strikes…, E.L.E. (Extinction Level Event): The Final World Front, Anarchy, Genesis & The Big Bang. However when E.L.E. 2 (Extinction Level Event 2): The Wrath of God dropped Devil’s Night 2020, it would find Busta returning to form considering the mixed to subpar reception of B.O.M.B.S. (Back On My Bullshit) & the panned Year of the Dragon backed by Cash Money Records. Blockbusta preluded by The Fuse is Lit were both treated to mixed-to-negative responses, looking to redeem himself with Dillagence II.

After the “Ma Dukes Speak Again” intro, “How the Boss Will Deliver” opens up with a ferocious 81 second freestyle preceding “Entry” featuring La Reezy joining forces over a boom bap instrumental laughing off the dummies going up against them. The lead single “Spazzz” co-produced by Black Milk & Kev Brown splits itself in 3 different sections for more hardcore penmanship while “Back Pain, Chest Pain, Head Pain” climbs another mountain in the midst of traumatizing people.

“Royalty” featuring Cie & Trillian finds the trio talking about there never being another version of either of them over a colorful boom bap beat just before the subdued “This Woman” featuring a hook from the late D’Angelo takes a more romantic approach conceptually & does it without sounding forced. “Shoo” returns to the boom bap tellin’ all these wack rappers they straight up need to get the fuck out the culture leading into the soulfully jazzy “Drugs” solely produced by Karriem Riggins likens his music to that of an addictive substance.

After the “Story of the Old Man” interlude, “Run ‘Em Down” gets the 2nd half going reminding the world who he is while “Lay Down” featuring T3 has him & Busta in their energetic hardcore bag together. “Wait 4 U” featuring Big Sean & Honey Bxby gets back on the pop rap tip although it’s one of the weaker tracks in the few exploring that style while “Kingpin (Knock Ya Head Off) featuring Anderson .Paak & Ludacris necessarily turns the aggressiveness back up.

“How You Want It” winds down the final act of Dillagence II making sure everything remains raw both lyrically & instrumentally while “Love & War” featuring Talib Kweli freestyles over “I Must Love You” by Guilty Simpson off his 2008 debut Ode to the Ghetto. The 2nd & final single “Talk Shit”featuring Lil Wayne samples “I Know You Got Soul”by Bobby Byrd featuring James Brown for a superior “Nirvana (Hello)” remix while “What We Got in Common” featuring Common preceding the “Ma Dukes & J Dilla’s Closing Word” outro wraps it all up with a 6 & a half minute closer.

Confirming the rumors of J Dilla giving Busta Rhymes over 300 beats prior to his passing, I’m happy he makes up for the excessive commercialization that made Blockbusta so disappointing & his sequel to the Dillagence mixtape would be placed above it’s predecessor for the best in the series in addition to being a step in the right direction for him like E.L.E. 2 (Extinction Level Event 2): The Wrath of God was 6 years earlier. He’s not trying too hard to appeal to a younger crowd like the previous album did, having a more consistent guest list joining him to bring their A-game over Dilla production.

Score: 4/5

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Stella Lefty – “Long Way Push” review

Stella Lefty is a 24 year old country pop singer/songwriter from Winnetka, Illinois who happens to be the daughter of Groupon co-founder & Tempus AI CEO Eric Lefkofsky. She would eventually begin exploring a music career when her debut extended play last summer Tragic, Really last summer preceding a debut single the year earlier, but the lead single to this full-length studio debut “Boston” quickly became her breakout single this past spring following “The Kill” for the Scream VII soundtrack & signing with Atlantic Records to give Long Way Push wider exposure.

“Lean In, Kiss Me” sets the tone with this bland country pop intro singing for her lover to make out with here whereas “Whiskey” as somebody who enjoys the alcoholic beverage feels heavily reminiscent of Taylor Swift’s earliest material 2 decades ago to the point where it gets annoying. “Thinking ‘Bout You” delivers a middle of the road singer/songwriter track singing about getting intimate with her partner while “Ain’t Something I Do” goes country pop again confessing she’s falling for someone.

“Forever Guy” shifts away from country pop in favor of singer/songwriter again asking why she cries over a man who wasn’t meant to be in her life forever & once “Something to Lose” featuring Vincent Mason unites for an underwhelming lovey dovey country pop/pop rock duet, “Good at Leaving” emphasizes the country pop elements singing about being a product of too many heartbreaks.

The singer/songwriter-tinged “Summer You Were Mine” suggests they call it a fling for a reason after a relationship went cold with the seasons wishing things never changed between them while “Feel Better” asks herself when she’ll get out of this rut she’s in, which I can respectfully answer by saying if she makes any artistic evolution down the road. This derivatively uneventful debut at last finished with “Why Wouldn’t We?”, where Stella gives us 1 last Taylor Swift-esque country pop song making corny comparisons like being the laugh to my jokes or the lighter to your smokes.

Former commentator/in-ring performer for the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE, analyst for ESPN’s College GameDay, host of The Pat McAfee Show also on ESPN & former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee still holds the bragging rights of having the absolute worst country album of 2026 when The Diary of a Polarizing Figure came out the week earlier & if I had to pick a close 2nd, Stella Lefty already reserved her spot with Long Way Home. The production’s obviously more country pop & singer/songwriter influenced than the bro-country subgenre McAfee embraced, yet there isn’t really anything special to me regarding her vocals & songwriting. Blatant industry plant/nepo baby ordeal on Atlantic’s part.

Score: 1/5

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Weezer – “The Gold Album” review

Weezer is a power pop/alt-rock band from Los Angeles, California consisting of bassist Scott Shriner, guitarist Brian Bell, drummer Patrick Wilson & frontman Rivers Cuomo. These guys’ 1994 debut The Blue Album & the 1996 sophomore effort Pinkerton under Geffen Records are both hailed as their finest material, following it up with The Green Album & Maladroit to moderate reception. Make Believe produced by Rick Rubin was a let down, their Interscope Records debut The Red Album was alright, Raditude’s the worst thing they’ve ever made & the Epitaph Records-backed Hurley’s ok regardless of “Memories” being one of their best tracks. Everything Will Be Alright in the End through Republic Records & their Atlantic Records debut The White Album were both some of their finest material in years, but Pacific Daydream was trash as were The Teal Album & The Black Album. I found myself loving OK Human in 2021 despite Van Weezer being a letdown, coming of the SZNZ saga of EPs to have Kenny Beats produce their 16th studio LP albeit first for their new home at Reprise Records/Warner Records.

“Say Yes” was a solid alt-rock/power pop intro singing about being down if Rivers’ partner is whereas “Shine Again” takes us to an alternate universe thematically incorporating elements of post-grunge, stoner rock & hard rock whilst maintaining the other 2 sounds. “Don’t Make It Weird” awkwardly sings about everything being cool if this person lets it be while “We Might as Well Be Strangers” featuring Wednesday has a real chance of becoming Weezer’s best single this decade from the power pop, indie rock & slacker rock vibes to the romantic lyrics.

Alternative rock, post-grunge, power pop, spoken word & slacker rock all make up for the other single “C.E.O.”confirmed to be a “Undone (The Sweater Song)” sequel & I’ll certainly take that instead of “Hoops” unceremoniously kicking off the 2nd half of The Gold Album with what could likely be my least favorite track here despite the shoutout to WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg in the final verse. “Nowhere” thankfully is where things begin to pick back up fusing alt-rock, power pop & post-grunge singing about wanting to be with someone if the snow’s cold or the sky’s grey.

“The Show Must Go On” has more of a self-referential tone than any other song here using a riff reminiscent of “Rock & Roll” by Led Zeppelin while “Up in the Clouds” comes through with what I’d consider a top 5 track & maybe the best example of the post-grunge undertones explored pairing that with Rivers Cuomo’s optimistic performance. “The LA Sound” triumphantly concludes The Gold Album singing about how you can’t fake their knack of digging into each other’s individual collective chops & flipping the concept of pop music on it’s head.

In addition to becoming the Coloring Book saga’s most gratifying installment since The White Album an entire decade earlier, it doesn’t surprise me that I’d have The Gold Album became Weezer’s most reinvigorating statement since OK Human with the only exception being this surpassing it. Kenny Beats’ alternative rock, power pop, post-grunge & slacker rock production combined with the entire band making songwriting contributions gets back to their sense of wonder & hopefully keeping it that way.

Score: 4.5/5

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13° – “Ghetto Hipster” review

Brand new sophomore effort from Chicago, Illinois rapper 13°. Emerging only a few years ago off his first couple mixtapes Urban Junkie & Metropolitan respectively, he would go on to follow both of those up with Uptown Dropout as well as Clique City & it’s sequel. His debut EP Cyber Sundayz caught the attention of Island Records & they helped introduce him to a wider audience with the positively received full-length studio debut Black Fridayz, now declaring himself to be the Ghetto Hipster nearly 2 months since CM Punk became a 9-time WWE world champion.

“A Gloomy Morning” hops over a synth-driven boom bap beat produced by longtime collaborator Gyant to kick things off talking about being the king of his city & his life soarin’ past him whereas “Lordz Never Worry” gives off some Graduation vibes declaring himself to be a superstar. “White Sox Capz” psychedelically represents his hometown advising to get the fuck out his face unless one’s looking for him to put them to shame while the cloudily poppy “Pistolet” flexes of dating every model & comparing the head to blowing the smoke off a fired pistol.

We have some crazy sampling techniques being pulled off on “Membership” talking about not needing a patch because he’s already a gold member leading into “Ridiculouz” maintains the euphoria confessing he kinda digs people detracting him for being a golden ticket. “Poetry Jamz” stood out to me for it’s unignorable throwback to when The Neptunes dominated the airwaves in the early 2000s just before the poppy yet cloudy “Juene O.G.” poses the question of whether his not his name will be brought up in discussions a century from now.

“Northside Synonymz” begins the 2nd half likening life to another public assembly with the background vocals sticking out the most to me regarding the instrumental while the cloud rap/pop rap-infused 2nd single “Dwntwn Luv” intoxicatingly talks about trying to fuck a bouncer. “Lyricz” made for a solidly cloudy pop rap lead single making a cold reference to the late Juice WRLD at the end of the hook hoping this woman can heal his heart while the Ye-inspired “Brand New” talks about life giving him body shots.

Trippie Redd makes Ghetto Hipster’s sole guest appearance during the penultimate single “Emotionlezz” dedicating itself to all the weirdos & having apathetic pulling from future bass thoughts while the 3rd single “Hipster Encore” talks about his love of skinny Vogue models who do coke. “Microphone Fein” ironically lager includes a bar referring to 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena while “Journalistic” atmospherically concludes the album clapping back at the way fraudulent blogs be acting.

Black Fridayz was a solid farewell to the Clique City sounds 13° blew up off of & to begin this new chapter of his career, his 2nd major label offering initially stemming from a highlight off his debut last fall dethrones it’s predecessor & the Clique City mixtape series for the bragging rights of becoming his finest collection of material so far. The production’s significantly cloudier than the debut & he’s having more fun with his music taking inspiration from the likes of Nas, Westside Gunn, the late Capital STEEZ & A$AP Rocky.

Score: 4/5

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Mike Shabb – “Sewaside IV” review

Finally have the 4th studio LP from Montréal, Québec, Canada emcee, producer & engineer Mike Shabb in front of us. Emerging in the spring of 2018 off his full-length debut Northwave, he would continue to make his presence known by putting out a few extended plays & mixtapes before gaining notoriety for engineering Boldy James’ 5th album Fair Exchange No Robbery along with producing “Switches on Everything” off Hitler Wears Hermes X & enlisting his mentor Nicholas Craven to fully produce his 5th EP Shadow Moses. He would follow these up with Hood Olympics, Sewaside III, Shabb Van Gogh, Fight the Power!, Vrai Rap Keb!, the Drega33-produced Lost Tapes & Maple Flavored. The latter of which was ok compared to the others I named, coming off Hood Olympics 2 to drop Sewaside IV.

After the “Fiya Fi Dat!” intro, “Montreal!” begins with a soulfully jazzy ode to the city that made him preceding him going full “Jack Mode!” for the next track swapping out the jazzier elements in favor of a funkier vibe. “1,2,1,2” references the late WWE Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali’s motto for anyone looking to commit career suicide in a battle with him over an old school beat while “Tell ‘Em Again” dabbles with reggae sending love to all of his family out in New York.

We have Shabbo completely going hard with the sampling again on “Disco Duck III” continuing a trilogy in which Hood Olympics began & Shabb Van Gogh bridged while “Mr. Triggerman” gets on his gangsta rap shit over a crooning boom bap instrumental. “Conehead!” keeps it funky for more lyricism reminiscent of 90s hardcore east coast hip hop & so does “Tales from da Hood” except he’s recalling stories about his neck of the woods, assuming the saga will continue since it’s labeled “Part 1”.

“Boom It Up!” officially marks the halfway point of Sewaside IV speaking of getting rich like a muhfucka now as opposed to people doubting him & after the reggae-tinged “Mike Shabb Getting Married” interlude, “Leflaur Leflah!” homages one of the few tracks The Fab 5 have done with each other as a supergroup. “Ring-A-Round!” featuring Obijuan talks about keeping the guns & butter between them over some pianos while “85.5FM” featuring ANKHLEJOHN & Rvlr Magz gives us a hardcore intermission.

I felt like “Buckshot ‘26” was a dusty sequel to “Buckshot Flow ‘93” off Broken World while the jazzy “Bastard Child!” continues to give his flowers to the Boot Camp Clik. The other single “Dontsweatit!” featuring MIKE links up talking about walking through their own shadows & not letting detractors define who you are as a person until “Flowers!” takes a more smoother approach instrumentally yearning to show appreciation towards people while they’re still here.

“Reminisce!” returns to the boom bap looking back at him making it out of the jungles of Montréal & expressing his annoyance towards people hating for him being legitimate from the rip but after the celebratory “Party People!” outro, the bonus cut “Imnotakilla!” officially ends Sewaside IV with 1 last heater clocking at precisely 100 seconds basically getting in his shit-talking bag attacking those who ain’t getting bread or pussy daring them to pull up.

At the time, I really did believe Sewaside III was gonna conclude the saga & here we are 2 years later proving me wrong with what I’d consider the finest chapter of them all. Mike Shabb’s production takes heavy inspiration fromThe Bomb Squad similarly to what C-Doc did for Public Enemy last summer when Black Sky Over the Projects: Apartment 2025 dropped last summer & the lyricism calling back to Duck Down Music Inc.’s run 3 decades earlier.

Score: 4.5/5

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Rapsody – “God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops” review

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina emcee Rapsody is back for her 5th studio LP. Rising to prominence last decade with a handful of mixtapes & EPs, her 2012 debut album The Idea of Beautiful continued to show her potential until the Roc Nation Records-backed Laila’s Wisdom in 2017 truly refined her style & sound almost perfectly. 2 years later, she signed to Def Jam Recordings releasing EVE to similar acclaim, coming off Please Don’t Cry to explain God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops.

After the “Peace, God!” intro, “Free Yo’ Mind” produced by mR. pOrTeR kicks things off on a funky note suggesting maybe she’s too humble or has too much ego & trauma in her search for freedom whereas “No Way” goes for a tropical vibe instrumentally dissing DJ Vlad & No Jumper for being culture vultures. The 2nd & final single “Apple Juice” blends neo-soul & jazz rap for an ode to the late D’Angelo leading into “Never Break” shifts towards a drumless approach showing us an indestructible heart.

We have the lead single “God Gotta Afro” experimenting with industrial hip hop & electro so she can talk about shattering dreams & duckin’ schemes just before “OMG! (Love to Sun Ra)” presents us a psychedelic love letter to none other than the late avant-garde jazz icon himself. “Black Love” featuring No Malice discusses Afrocentrism over some soulful background vocals & finger snaps while “Pick a Side” featuring Amanda Reifer hits the midway point talking about individuals hiding the truth away because they have privileges they ignore.

“Abandoned Me” kicks off the 2nd half on a cavernous synth-driven beat clapping back at a guy who’s angry because she put up boundaries he can no longer get around while “The Peejaays” by MadRaps talks about about the projects on top of this heavenly Madlib instrumental. “You!” proves to the crowd who doesn’t like trap that she can very much kill it over that sound exemplified by the hunger in her cutthroat delivery while “Black is Beautiful” by MadRaps tackles the Afrocentric subject matter once more.

The song “Pretty Bird” preceding the “Way U R” interlude remembering his niece’s girl who passed away asking to capture a picture of what it’s like beyond the light & singing at her wonder of love lost while the upbeat “Joyful” attempts at making the crowds dance, refuting the claim people don’t do it anymore. “Act II: Bloodline / Growing Older” wraps up God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops with a 6 & a half minute 2-parter talking about having the patience of an old timer.

Conceived when she took a vacation to Ghana, it made Rapsody look at the US rewriting history through whitewashing & that eventually resulted in God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops landing right behind Laila’s Wisdom for my 2nd favorite album in her discography. mR. pOrTeR handling a vast majority of the production other than a few tracks makes me happy as a Detroit native who feels like he can be underappreciated behind the boards, providing the right musical backdrops for Rapsody to preserve African American stories & truths.

Score: 4.5/5

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Denzel Curry – “Unlocked II” review

The Scythe’s de facto leader & Floridian emcee Denzel Curry coming off the collective’s debut tape for his 6th studio LP. Originally a member of the SpaceGhostPurrp-founded Raider Klan a little over a decade ago, he’s seen quite the success on his own since departing off projects like Nostalgia 64, 32 Zel (Planet Shrooms), imperial, TA13OO, Zuu & the Kenny Beats-produced UNLOCKED. Melt My Eyez, See Your Future went on to become his most mature & acclaimed body of work to date has ran it back with Kenny for Unlocked II coming off King of the Mischievous South 2: Ultraground nearly 2 years prior.

“Gone Fishing” opens up with a rap rock intro referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson prior to “Evil Grin” featuring JPEGMAFIA not only blending rap rock & boom bap, but the line in Peggy’s verse about him not having fans anymore made me laugh as a fan of his since Veteran knowing it’s because the main critiques people had with Experimental Rap was the flows used being repetitive & Ye formerly known as Kanye West rubbing off on him after producing for ¥$ a little over 2 & a half years ago.

Had to address the elephant in the room there. Anyway, the psychedelic “Candlelight” contains cool interpolation of “DIET_” off the original Unlocked & a hilarious outro calling back to “Bounce with Me” by Bow Wow just before “Product” talks about going from the hood to investing in shit he’s a part of. “Ups” turns up the funkiness delivering a present from the villain himself to ensure he’s remembered leading into “Benjamin” admitting he shouldn’t give a fuck about cheese unless $100s are involved since it ain’t about him at that point.

“Cold Night in Hell” winds down the last act of Unlocked II telling apologizing to his fans for getting used to the way he’s been living these days while “Crown” featuring Westside Gunn teams up declaring if anyone wants the throne, they better come take it from them & assurances of making it in due time that require patience. The closing track “Difference” featuring a brief Yebba verse sends off the album basically talking about SpaceGhostPurrp going from being an influential figure to burning every bridge he had.

Continuing the prolific run Kenny Beats has been on all year from Weezer’s new full-length The Gold Album earlier today to FATHERS’ eponymous debut & Rico Nasty’s latest EP RX, he & Denzel Curry reunite for an Unlocked sequel containing jazzier boom bap production compared to Unlocked II’s predecessor & there’s more of a conscious twist to Zel’s hardcore lyricism bringing a respectfully small handful of guests on board in comparison to holding it down by himself again.

Score: 4.5/5

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prettifun – “Pretti Loves U 2” review

Charlotte, North Carolina rapper & producer prettifun finally returning for his 5th studio LP. Known for being a member of the 4ersona collective, he would eventually go on to put out 3 full-lengths & 7 extended plays in the span of nearly 3 years prior to Victor Victor Worldwide signing him in 2024 off the positive reception of Pretti & Funhouse respectively. A sequel to the latter made for an impressive debut for the label 12 months earlier further embracing the rage sound more than it’s predecessor did, dropping Pretti Loves U 2 in preparation of both You Can Die Laughing & Hi-Fi 2.

The self-produced “Rollacoasta” turns up the bass to recall a hoe telling him she’s in love with the struggles whereas “Scene” combines rage & digicore so he can talk about feeling like his mind’s breaking. “Steps” emphasizes the digicore elements addressing Autumn, Duwap Kaine & 9 Vicious just before “Deposit” talks about spraying clips at those fucking around along with needing people to pick a side & not wanting the continuous amounts of money coming in to cease.

We have prettifun admitting to being ready for marriage at this point in his life on “Just Me” & throwing shots back at whoever sent them to begin with while “Nobody” wraps up the 1st half blending digicore, rage, pop rap, bubblegum bass, plugg & future bass so he can acknowledge his rise in popularity. The lead single “Moon & the Stars” dabbles with new jazz & kawaii future bass to kick off the 2nd leg asking if his lover would stay if he gave her those 2 specific things while “All Knowing” talks about being a top player.

“Room” kicks off the 4th quarter with some blaring 808s keeping it legitimate from the jump & doing this for his late homie Angie while “WTF Idk” confronts an individual who feels like they’re above him when he was the one who initially helped them over a digicore instrumental. “UI” talks about changing the form on all these fuckboys along with seeing if his label can pay him more while the closing track “All Love!” concludes Pretti Loves U 2shouting out his new group La Familia comprised of slayr, ezcodylee & Egobreak.

Funhouse & it’s sequel saw prettifun taking a backseat from the producing side of things so he could put some more recognition for himself as a performer, so I had higher expectations for Pretti Loves U 2 & would say it dethrones it’s predecessor last summer to become his magnum opus alongside the best thing he’s done of the 2 albums he’s made since Victor Victor signed him. His rage, pop rap, digicore, trap, bubblegum bass, plugg, future bass, new jazz & kawaii future bass production has evolved since Pretti using lesser influences of bitpop & his performances are equally catchier.

Score: 4/5

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Payroll Giovanni – “M.O.B. (Mind my Own Business)” review

Detroit, Michigan rapper Payroll Giovanni self-producing his 15th studio LP. Notable for being a part of the Doughboyz Cashout collective, he also released over a dozen solo albums with the most notable being Big Bossin’ as well as Big Bossin’ 2 & Another Day, Another Dollar all fully produced by Cardo. Last time I covered him was when he self-produced Have Money, Have Heart a couple years ago & that was the most I’ve enjoyed his music since Giovanni’s Way, which didn’t wane any anticipation I had for M.O.B. (Mind my Own Business).

The title track opens up with some otherworldly synthesizers talking about leaving any conversation that doesn’t involve money whereas the only single “Puppies” recalls a situation occurring a long time ago where he tried to help someone only for said person to foolishly try robbing him. “No” talks about being up more these days after staying down for so long declining those who want something outta him while the west coast-tinged “Locked In” maintains his focus.

“Cash Tall” moves on from there embracing the Detroit sound to discuss keeping his circle small & his money in large amounts while the Mobb-influenced “Enough” ends the 1st leg of M.O.B. (Mind my Own Business) about having his share of days where he wasn’t making as much money as he would’ve hoped to. “Rollie wit Baguettes” gets the 2nd half going incorporating more synths talking about what happens when listening to Payroll’s music just before “On the Flo” breaks down going from the streets to riches.

The song “Point of View” talks about his perspective always being on a woman he’s romantically involved with, encouraging her to hop in his whip asking whether she wants to know anything or do something while “Bosses in the Clouds” discusses staying prayed up handling his own business. “New Levels” though spends M.O.B. (Mind my Own Business)’s final minutes talking about being in the season of his life where he can’t settle.

Getting sick of producer/artist agreements & paying lawyer fees, Payroll Giovanni had all the right reasons to solely create M.O.B. (Mind my Own Business) & I can certainly see myself coming back to it more than Hustle Muzik or If Not Me Then Who?. His production’s gotten better since 2024 & hearing it will prelude another full-length the Detroit trap veteran’s preparing within the next coming months has me hoping he’ll continue capitalizing on his artistic deftness.

Score: 4/5

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