Uy Scuti Bøyz – Self-Titled review

The Uy Scuti Bøyz are a duo consisting of Mechanicsville, Virginia rapper diamond* & Atlanta, Georgia rapper Tezzus. Both of whom have collaborated with one another a handful of times including songs like “Bada Bing Bada Boom” or “Pisces” & “Slime”. They’ve also achieved quite some success as solo artists, resulting in Young Thug signing them to YSL Records & resulted in 9 Vicious departing the label due to his feud with them. Nevertheless, it was only a matter of time until they made their eponymous full-length debut as a pairing almost a week after The Conglomeration ended The Dogs’ brief reign as AEW World Trios Champions & Kevin Knight becoming the new AEW TNT Champion respectively.

“Uy Scuti” featuring Thug finds the trio over a triumphant London on da Track instrumental to get things going reporting live from the biggest star in the universe whereas “Ew” featuring EA TJ talks about not charging prices when they’re running through all the stores. “Trashcan” bombastically represents the ØWay collective both members are apart of for a couple minutes while “Baby” by Tezzus featuring southsidesilhouette & Yung Fazotalks about getting head over a Hariroc beat.

Biggs Money appears on “Slime for Years” so they can proclaim that both of them have been YSL long before they were officially signed just before “Stepchild” featuring HittMan talks about shit getting ridiculous to them out here, giving middle fingers to all of their opps & dismissing their attention-seeking. “Guess What” by Tezzus featuring skaiwater joins forces to brag that each of them knowing they would make it until “Da Fuck” also by Tezzus featuring Rylo Rodriguez & Young Thug talks about upping the score.

“Chill Øut” featuring Shawtyrokk reaches the halfway point advising to watch out for your hoes around them over a Goxan instrumental or else it’s case closed while “Ice Øn” embraces a heavy pop rap vibe to talk about love. “Head Øver Heels” feels a lot like a Pz’ track since neither of the Uy Scuti Bøyz have verses of their own despite him explaining that he’s in love with money while “J.Ø.T.P. (Jump Øut the Plane)” featuring EA TJ, Lil Righteous & Sk8star details their luxuries over a Richie Souf beat.

southsidesilhouette returns for “Møtherfuckers” to talk about flexin’ racks because they used to struggle in addition to pullin’ up on their bitches so they can fuck since they don’t do any of that cuddling shit & after “St. Claire’s” gives diamond* a chance to shine by himself talking about rockin’ his ice during the evening as well as likening the way he sees things clearly to light itself, “Løve Løst” expresses their disappointment in the way this person moves.

“I’m an Artist” winds down the last few moments of the Uy Scuti Bøyz’ self-titled debut talking about upgrading their ranks within the streets & baiting women with blue $100 bills while “Hell Yeah” featuring BSlime decently makes it clear that they’re talking business, hence why they don’t fuck around whenever either of them open their mouths. The only single “Duality” ends the tape with a rage-inducing trap outro taking risks to live the lavish lives that have now.

Becoming a fan of these guys early last year, I was excited to hear that diamond* & Tezzus had signed to YSL considering the high praise projects like Nø Idøls & Backrooms received last summer. However, I felt like the Uy Scuti Bøyz’ introductory tape was more average than I had expected although I firmly believe they can top this if they ever make a full-length debut (which I’m confident they will). Their chemistry isn’t the issue in any capacity earning comparisons to the inaugural 4th Rope World Tag Team Champions & current 2-time HoG Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz or WWE Hall of Famers D-Generation X, but some of the production & features kinda weigh it down.

Score: 3/5

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A.G. – “$ € £ ₣ ¥” review

The Bronx, New York veteran A.G. enlisting Boston, Massachusetts producer Stu Bangas to produce his 7th solo LP. Known for being 1/2 of Showbiz & A.G. as well as a member of the D.I.T.C. collective, he would make his solo debut in 1998 with The Dirty Version & came back 8 years later for the sophomore Get Dirty Radio. He has since followed these up with Everything’s Berri, The Taste of AMBrosia, Always Protect the King, NYLUV & Giant in the Mental which I personally prefer some more than others. However, I already knew $ € £ ₣ ¥ had great chances of being some hit best material individually when Stu’s involvement was announced.

“Borderline” featuring D-Flow & Diamond D angrily opens up shop talking about nobody being above them lyrically & Diamond D having my favorite guest appearance of the 2 whereas “Get It Going” continues from there providing words of wisdom. “Creatures” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally so he can spew unapologetically hardcore lyricism prior to Cory Gunz appearing on the hypnotic “Replicant” talking about being the naked truth with clothes.

To end the 1st half, “Skywalker” experiments with an unsetting trap atmosphere using the clouds as his stepping stone while “She Like to Dress Up So I Modeled Her” calling back to when his original moniker was reminiscent of the late WWE Hall of Famer, the shortest reigning WWE Champion & former WWE Tag Team Champion André the Giant. “Suspense” featuring Prince Julius was a more laidback cut making people disappear by merely uttering 1 sentence.

“All These Things All These People” heinously talks about coming from an era when you couldn’t rap if you didn’t write it & going to all sorts of different places while “Really Rapping” encourages people to ask his crew if he’s capping or being serious in his rhymes. “Real Hip Hop” lastly sends off the album with a boom bap outro where the hook ironically samples “Ova Here” by KRS-One on what would’ve been Afrika Bambaataa’s 68th birthday but I digress.

A great bulk of A.G.’s solo material for the past 16 years has been average at best, so $ € £ ₣ ¥ on paper seemed like it would reach the same level of quality The Dirty Version & Get Dirty Radio had reached decades earlier. Thankfully, my expectations were met because a great deal of this was enjoyable to me anyway. His pen & Stu Bangas’ production combined make for the strongest he’s sounded since all of those earlier full-lengths putting aside a couple guests sticking out personally.

Score: 4/5

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The R.O.C. – “No Direction” review

Detroit horrorcore veteran The R.O.C. finally back with his 4th LP. Getting his start as a member of the House of Krazees with Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, he later hooked up with Skrapz to put out 1 last album under the HOK name before starting a duo of their own called HaLFBrEEd when the Insane Clown Posse signed Twiztid to Psychopathic Records. Although they would only release 1 official full-length under the HaLFBrEEd name titled Kontamination, it would go on to become a horrorcore classic. Welcome to the Darkside came out under Psychopathic’s now defunct Hatchet House sub-label & dropped Digital Voodoo under Majik Ninja Entertainment almost a decade later. Last we heard from him was Monsters Ain’t Real in late 2019 & returns with No Direction.

After the “Space” intro, the self-produced “It Ain’t My Business” explosively marks his return advising that your lips will follow suit if one swallows their tongue whereas “My Fantasy” asks if he’s the only one this woman prefers & her reoccurring when he runs. “Best Decision” featuring Jamie Madrox finds the 2 linking up so they can voice what they consider to be the greatest choices they’ve never made over a groovy beat leading into “Around We Go” talking about getting up outta here right now.

Monoxide appears on “Superpower” so they can energetically discuss how being themselves is their extraordinary ability just before “I’m In Love With You” tries to put the right together to express his affection towards this person knowing exactly the way he feels. “Broadcast System” goes for a futuristic boom bap vibe talking about this being nowhere close to the end of his story prior to “2084” by Zodiac MPrint consciously issues the reminder that Big Brother’s watching us all.

“Finish Strong” nears the conclusion of No Direction hopping over a grim instrumental so he can talk about ending things on as great of a note as possible while “Bridges” leads towards a gospel influenced sound & taking a spiritual approach to his songwriting. The closing track “New You” finishes things up charismatically bringing nothing but good vibes to the table celebrating improved versions of themselves on top of a funky boom bap beat.

This guy is amongst the most underappreciated artists in all of Detroit & one of the greatest human beings I’ve ever met, so I had to pull up to the listening party last Friday afternoon at the Astronomicon 9 pre-party prior to meeting the current MLW World Heavyweight Champion Killer Kross & would put No Direction right behind Digital Voodoo as The R.O.C.’s 2nd best album since Welcome to the Darkside & Monsters Ain’t Real were both extended plays. All 3 of his Samhein Witch Killaz brethren body their verses & it’s amazing to hear how far he’s come since Rollin’ with Strength.

Score: 4/5

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Cult of the Damned – “Simony” review

England, United Kingdom collective the Cult of the Damned comprised of Blah Records founder Lee Scott, BeTheGun, Sly Moon, Salar, Bill Shakes, King Grubb, Tony Broke, Black Josh, Stinkin’ Slumrok, Bisk, Sleazy F Baby, Col. Mustard, Dr. Zygote, Sam Zircon & Reklews reuniting for their 4th studio LP. Introducing themselves as a unit over a decade ago off an eponymous debut EP, a sequel would come in the form of their full-length debut Brick Pelican Posse Crew Gang Syndicate & the sophomore effort The Church Of mostly produced by Nobodies Home was more rawer sonically. Almost 4 years since Cultgangrapsh!t however, they’re reforming to release Simony.

“Ext. Car Park – Night” was the perfect lead single to mark the Cult’s comeback having everyone spitting hardcore verses over a boom bap instrumental for 5 minutes whereas “Deet” by the B-Movie Millionaires alongside King Grubb & Stinkin’ Slumrok angrily talking about having chaos in their arteries. Tony Broke gets his own solo track with “Medicine Man” hopefully teasing a follow-up to Broke as F$£k leading into “Capital £” by Sly Moon, Sniff & the Super Sag Bros talking about needing more money.

To end the 1st half, “Creekin’” ominously reunites the B-Movie Millionaires alongside Sly Moon so they can admit that something doesn’t feel right to either of them while “Covenant” goes for a more somber boom bap vibe suggesting that people might actually learn a thing or 2 from them if they lean to shut the fuck up. “Sapnin” continues the 2nd leg of the album on some luxuriously dusty shit talking about liking their money, women & beats dirty.

“& Then Some” takes the jazzier route instrumentally reminding everyone of the reputation they’ve had for the past 11 years & cautioning any competitor who wants to step up to them in a battle to fall back but “The Next Move” grittily talks about looking outside of the window plotting the succeeding phase of their plan, “Slum Lawds” takes up the last few moments expressing views that come straight outta the back book than the bible.

I’m not totally sure if we’re still getting Cultgangrapsh!t 2 at some point down the road but either way, the Cult of the Damned are finally back 4 years after Milkavelli got ousted for scamming fans with an album that I’d say rivals Cult of the Damned 2: Brick Pelican Posse Crew Gang Syndicate & The Church Of respectively. The production Spectacular Diagnostics cooks up is heavier on the boom bap side of things stylistically compared to their last one with some jazzy undertones & they sound overjoyed for this new era of their career.

Score: 4/5

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Action Figure 973 – “What Would Harley Race Do?” review

Belleville, New Jersey emcee/producer Action Figure 973 has returned with his 3rd studio LP. For a while at this point, his first couple mixtapes followed by his last 10 EPs & the full-length debut DOOM Was Right almost a year ago giving flowers to one of my all-time personal favorite albums Madvillainy have each established himself as a promisingly skilled luchador who so happens to rap. The Most Interesting Man in the World got with Machacha for his sophomore effort in October, coming off the Lucha Libre for the Soul sequel Lucha Libra for Christmas & airing out some Luchador Body Odor to ask What Would Harley Race Do? a couple days after Darby Allin became the new AEW World Champion.

“Harley & Nash Driving Through the Hood” after the “Harley’s Credo” intro sets it all off with a grittily drumless loop referencing WWE Hall of Famer, 7-time WWE world champion, 7-time WWE tag team champion, WWE Hardcore Champion & current Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) booker The Undertaker whereas “Puerto Rican Pyramids” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally to talk about there being a difference between him & us.

The title track references none other than the late 8-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, WWE Hall of Famer & the inaugural WWE United States Champion Harley Race himself while “Harley Warned Bruiser About Puerto Rico” includes a bar about former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Rampage Jackson’s son Raja infamously beating Syko Stu to death damn near at KnoX Pro-Wrestling founded by WWE Hall of Famer, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion Rikishi.

“Blame Game” nocturnally references WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE Champion, 11-time WWE tag team champion, the inaugural WWE Hardcore Champion, CWA World Tag Team Champion & TNA World Champion Mick Foley alongside WWE Hall of Famer & former 3-time WCW Hardcore Champion Eric Bischoff and WCW founder Ted Turner while the drumless “WWE Ice Creams” featuring Brother Tom Sos makes a nod to the late WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time WWE Champion & 2-time WWE Tag Team Champion Yokozuna.

The song “Harley Pulling a Gun on Hogan” embraces a jazzier sound whilst continuing to strip the drums talking about having dinner with former 2-time IWGPタッグチャンピオン, WWE Hall of Famers & 10-time WWE tag team champions The Steiner Brothers while “Bred 11’s” preceding the “Don’t Matter Who It Is” outro dustily spends the last couple minutes of What Would Harley Race Do? boasting that nobody can walk a mile inside of his shoes.

Both of Act-Lo’s previous full-lengths were already released under the ECW of underground hip hop a.k.a. Bars Over B.S. Records a year earlier & that was how I discovered his music last spring, so it’s not really that much of a surprise that they exclusively dropped What Would Harley Race Do? on their site at the beginning of the month & would agree with the sentiment of it being amongst his most refined material. I liked that he toned down the number of guest appearances to simply 1 so the east coast luchador can rip up some of Artifcer’s finest beats by himself 99% of the time.

Score: 4.5/5

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Natural Elements – “aligNmEnt” review

Baychester, Bronx, New York outfit the Natural Elements are making their long-awaited full-length debut under Fat Beats Records. Consisting of A-Butta as well as Mr. Voodoo & Swigga, they would go on to sign with Tommy Boy Records in late ‘90s off a debut extended play only to leave after their major label album was shelved. They would return in 2013 with the NE Definitely mixtape & a handful of EPs including All Hail NE, Death Comes in 3s, 3 Kings & 3Times Dope. Over 3 decades since their formation, they’ve made great timing for this aligNmEnt since all of hip hop’s O.G.s have been coming back in recent memory.

“As We Should” opens up with them talking about evolving & adapting with the times since that’s a crucial focal point of the way life works whereas “This Isnt a Drill” produced by the group’s founder Charlemagne finds the trio trading cutthroat bars with each other over a symphonic boom bap instrumental. “Whole Foods of Rap” explains their style being why it’s been so long to get here since Tommy Boy didn’t know what to do with it leading into “We Could Exist” representing their home state.

Meanwhile on “Naturally (Natural E)”, we have the Elements sampling “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan decades after the latter’s court battle with the late Biz Markie changed hip hop & the music industry at large forever just before the hardcore “dopamiNE” talks about still having their touch. The soulful boom bap crossover “infiNitE shiNE” continued with them boasting that they’re unstoppable while “Alive & Well” thanks the most high for allowing them to still be here.

“Cosmos is Calling” begins the 2nd half of aligNmEnt venting everything that hits their minds looking at the nighttime sky pondering our existence while the title track hooks up a chilling sample mixed with kicks & snares carrying the same words they honor to this day. “NilE River Flows” sticks to the traditional boom bap sound meshing some keys & occasionally melodic background vocals talking about getting better with age while “Book Smart Street Smart” explains the way they prefer their women.

Things go for a funkier direction for “Y.K.T.V. (You Know the Vibes)” boasting that they’re always on fire while “nooNE Can Tell Me Shiii…” returns to the boom bap & putting an atmospherically soulful twist to it feeling confident of themselves. “Time Doesn’t Exist” explains the very reason they consider themselves timeless & the beat embracing a more nostalgic tone but after “Demon Frequency” confesses to the thing that’s been fucking with their collective vision, the outro “3-Card moNtE” ends NE’s debut album trading bars with each other 1 last time.

Notable for having the late Ka as a member of the Natural Elements at some point during their early years, an official LP from these guys excluding the 1999 compilation has been long overdue & it’s like they never even went through all that label drama 3 decades earlier to begin with. The production mostly handled by Charlemagne brings a durable take on boom bap to the table in enhancing the feeling of the types of songs these guys’ cult following worldwide has become accustomed to since Day 1.

Score: 4/5

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Flee Lord – “Everything I Never Said” review

Queens, New York emcee Flee Lord has returned for what I’m sure is his proper 7th studio LP. Blowing up a decade ago as a protégé of the late Prodigy, he has since become known for building up a massive discography for himself since. This includes the Loyalty or Death: Lord Talk trilogy produced by GodBlessBeatz, the Loyalty or Trust duology produced by 38 Spesh, the DJ Shay-produced Lucky 13, the Buckwild-produced Hand Me My Flowers, the Pete Rock-produced The People’s Champ, the Havoc-produced In the Name of Prodigy, the DJ Muggs-produced RAMM£LLZ££, the Roc Marciano produced Delgado, the RocAmeriKKKa trilogy with Eto & the Mephux-produced Pray for the Evil trilogy. It’s been a couple years since I covered the Raised in the Sand EP & now he’s letting out Everything I Never Said.

“Coinless” was a decent opener wanting to know how these people know everything when they’re broke whereas “I Can Dig It” featuring Eto brings back that RocAmeriKKKa energy talking about pain & bullshit coming with it over a horn instrumental. “Infinite” featuring Pounds448 goes for a sample-driven boom bap vibe dropping verses together without a hook leading into the jazzy “Honoring the Greats” featuring Shoota93 giving their flowers to those who paved the way.

O.T. the Real appears on “Residue” so they can talk about the drums making them go dumb enough to not know shit while “40 Shots” featuring Starz Coleman was an underwhelming gangsta rap single to get the rollout going. The late DJ Ra Lee’s strings on “It Ain’t Safe” featuring Mummz stood out to me even if Flee had the better performance of the 2 once again, but then the 72 second “Stress Turns Into Cancer” freestyle produced by Harry Fraud has to be the most soulfully passionate cut here.

“Floor Seats” kicks off the 4th quarter of Everything I Never Said triumphantly talking about going from pissy hallways to pissy elevators while “Ryder Music” featuring Dirtyyaycochino teams up for another average collab over a soulful boom bap beat. “Quarter Lbs of Rapper” makes up for things with a track that recaptures the feeling of the Euro Money EP putting on his steppers & the closer “Suburban Views” featuring Mickey Factz spends the last couple minutes talking about the real having each other’s backs.

Inspired by him losing 2 friends less than 3 weeks apart from each other, Flee Lord tries something different with Everything I Never Said & that’s one of the biggest compliments I can give it ahead of his upcoming projects produced by Statik Selektah & Apollo Brown respectively. I wouldn’t put it in the same conversations as a lot of his earlier material, but he sounds ready to apply pressure again like he did at the beginning of this decade flowing over tight production with a decent guest list joining him.

Score: 3/5

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M.I.A. – “M.I.7.” review

London, England, United Kingdom rapper, singer, producer & activist M.I.A. going independent with her 7th LP. Blowing up off her full-length debut Arular that XL Recordings & Interscope Records jointly put out 2 decades earlier, her popularity would begin to increase following the sophomore effort Kala & was even granted her own vanity label N.E.E.T. Recordings by the time ΛΛ Λ Y Λ became her most-left field body of work to date inspiring future acts like Death Grips & PC Music. She eventually fulfilled her Interscope contract by dropping Matangi & AIM, coming off the Island Records-backed MATA to bring M.I.7. towards a new direction.

“Prayer 777” after the “Trumpet” intro technically begins with a remix of the cloudy & experimental Christian hip hop single “Armour” with secondary influences of neo-psychedelia, tribal ambient, ambient pop, ambient dub & dub whereas “Jesus” after another “Trumpet” intermission goes for a hip house vibe asking for the son of God to set her free. “Sacred Heart” reworks “Un Nenju” from the Bells Collection tape talking about what we feel makes us the same while “Money” after the 3rd “Trumpet” interlude annoyingly demanding some bread.

After the 4th “Trumpet” interlude, “Circle” starts the 2nd half asking God to lead her prior to “Calling” after the 5th “Trumpet” interlude talks about following the waves. After the penultimate “Trumpet” interlude, “Ride the Sky” makes an odd Fortnite reference although I understand the concept of good defeating evil while the final song “Everything” after the last “Trumpet” interlude excluding the “30 Minutes of Silence” outro ends M.I.7. talking about chasing bags than looking for them.

We’ve only gotten 3 full-lengths from M.I.A. within the past decade & MATA had me hoping she would continue to take the right path going forward musically, but it pains me to say that M.I.7. could be the weakest entry of her entire discography. It has nothing to do with the predominant Christian hip hop themes because I’ll put it over Will Smith’s comeback Based on a True Story any day, except the overabundance of interludes & the half hour outro make it feel like a glorified EP.

Score: 2/5

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James Joyce the Squatch – “Discomfort Inn” review

Here we have the 4th studio LP from Brooklyn, New York emcee James Joyce the Squatch. A member of the Nitebreed collective alongside Donnie Menace & White Cheddar, he would make his solo debut in 2016 with Pawn Your Heart of Gold & follow it up with the sophomore effort The King James Version: The Pre-Quill as well as Dapper Scumbags: Reality Check Cashing. However, he recently signed to Stray’s newly formed Rogue Hollow collective & having the label’s in-house producer Charlie Beans soundtrack James trip to Discomfort Inn.

“Butterflies & Bile” produced by Charlie Beans opens up with a sinister boom bap instrumental talking about the inability to trust your gut when it’s filled with those 2 things whereas “Chef’s Kiss” gives off a heavy g-funk/trap vibe boasting his lyrical proficiency. “Chaise Lounging” leans further towards a trap sound with chopped & screwed and g-funk undertones talking about not fucking with drama because he doesn’t see any importance in doing so while “Cat n’ Mouse” explains that the depths get darker the further we descent.

Stray makes Discomfort Inn’s only guest appearance on “Little People” dismantling the kind of individuals who don’t have anything to live for just before “Know Your Worth(less)” stylistically reminds me a bit of Heltah Skeltah from the boom bap beat to the unapologetic hardcore lyricism. “Molting Truth (I Was Happy)” experiments with a cloudier sound repeating what his inner-child said to him while “Pick Your Poison” ends the 1st leg talking about choosing between disappointed or getting ignorant.

“Blunt as Fuck” gets the 2nd half going taking some inspiration from the dirty south forever keeping it to the point leading into the title track profoundly talking about this home he built being more perfect than life itself. “Phoenix Down” combines cloud rap & boom bap confessing this long ride he’s been on simply following the way he’s been feeling while “Shampaign” walks a razor’s edge without even knowing where it’s bound to go.

Nearing the album’s final moments, “Ghost10” hops over some pianos to talk about seeing everyone in Hell toasting with the squad while “Plottin’ & Schemin’” kinda has this shimmery trap quality to it detailing that the man in the mirror’s trying to kill him. “Leave Behind” continues the cloudy boom bap crossovers talking about building himself up to heaven to scrap the golden gates while “Dirty Water Baptism” expressing thankfulness for the people he was starving with.

Having previously heard his verses on both Chainsaws & Boomsticks albums when Donnie Menace was signed to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz, it was interesting to hear Charlie Beans was producing all but 2 tracks on Discomfort Inn & I’d have to argue that it’s the most cohesive entry of James Joyce the Squatch’s entire solo catalog. Charlie’s production is a huge upgrade from James’ previous full-lengths & I commend him for getting a lot off his chest with this one lyrically.

Score: 4/5

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BabyBartier – “Nightmare on Rodeo” review

Here is the full-length studio debut from Los Angeles, California rapper BabyBartier. Emerging off his debut EP Baby Blanco a year ago followed by Diablo a little over a month later, his popularity would continue to grow over the course of the summer after Awe$ome & Terror respectively became most most acclaimed extended plays. Now that he’s signed a joint deal Internet Money Records alongside Mercury Records & Republic Records, it only makes sense for the Nightmare on Rodeo to officially commence now that he’s under a major label.

“Lean Crazy” get things going with the 2nd & final single looking to party like it’s Project X daily over a plugg instrumental while “Forgiveness” talks about winning the world inside his hands & the chopper loading up. “Scene” looks back at going from being in the battlefield sending shot to having the scars to prove it until “Red Dead” produced by Rio Leyva cautions that people better duck the second his squad rolls past your hood.

NASH gets behind the boards for “Flexin’”, continuing the plugg vibes so he can talk about his girl bringing a TEC to the club just before “I Know It’s Coming” speaks of not falling in love because he can’t trust no hoe. “Cash Out” pushes further towards the halfway point talking about poppin’ tags & taking the swag up on his bitch just before “Poppin’” works in a chill beat from Vendr to boast that he’s high enough to hang with the Gods.

“Basic” kicks off the 2nd half incorporating some wavy synthesizers pullin’ up to the function under the influence of ecstasy while the lead single “Each of My Pockets” talks about putting on the swag for his people & carrying a bunch of blue Benjamin Franklins on him. “Tomato” keeps it rollin’ by rubbing his success in the faces of those who didn’t think he’d make it this far over a Cade instrumental while “Cali Dreamin’” talks about making a crowd of thots lose their shit over him performing.

Rounding out 3rd, we have him clarifying that Bartier’s had swag since he was in “High School” prior to “Latest” talking about the way he’s been living since last summer. “Dirty Sprite” comes through with a brief dedication to sippin’ lean & after “Hancock” likens himself to the main character of the 2008 superhero film of the same name written by the creator of Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul, the outro “B4 I Die” ends the LP talking about running up more bags.

I kinda had a feeling that BabyBartier was gonna sign to Internet Money Records given their heavy involvement on the instrumental side of Terror last fall, but Nightmare on Rodeo instead became an average major label debut containing more highs than lows that I firmly believe he can outdo whenever the time for his sophomore effort comes. Even if the production doesn’t interest me like his last EP did & most of the songs are under 2 minutes, that same hunger still translates itself exceptionally.

Score: 3/5

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