Zukenee – “Slaytanic” review

Here we have the sophomore effort from Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer Zukenee. Starting in the spring of 2021 off his debut EP Undiscovered, he would continue to make a name for himself in the underground by putting out a couple more EPs in Castle & Playful alongside the debut mixtape Stop Playing last summer. Subsequent exclusive singles like “OJAYS” & “Chest” would later become amongst his best singles since both of them were released in the span of a year & a half until Player Slayer came last spring. Cade was brought in to produce the highly acclaimed Guillotine EP the previous summer, coming off Birth of St. Slay from on Halloween with Slaytanic.

“Cut Ya Hand” is an anthemic regalia intro with strings, organs & retro trap drums referencing one of my favorite clothing brands ア・ベイシング・エイプ founded by ニゴー whereas “Game Winner” produced by Cade & Murda Beatz talks about the real relating to him in addition to the fakest backstabbing him. “Bromance” shows off an effortlessly distinct flow admitting that he’s fallen in love with the money he’s been making prior to “Hindu” finds him rapping as if the rent is due.

Meanwhile on “Roof Roof”, we have Zukenee boasting about this girl being just as equally wild as he is mixing that with some street talk just before “Stoopid Fool” talks about his preference in women who’re insane to the point where they gotta have new screws in their heads. “Gimmie Gimmie” boasts catching the Holy Spirit the way he baptizin’ these racks leading into “Nun” embarking us on a trip to the trap house right ‘round the village.

“Sticks & Swords” pulls influence from Playboi Carti’s new album MUSIC down to the Cardo instrumental & “Yoga” finds him flipping a 0 into a 100 until “Spontaneous Slay” speaks on living that Slayer life the weekend after former Slayer guitarist Kerry King performed during the intro of former ROH World Television Champion, World Heavyweight Champion, WWE United States Champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & NXT North American Champion Damian Priest at WrestleMania XLI.

The song “Hot Ass Greece” boasts that nobody out here is poppin’ on the exact same level as he is preferring to count his wishes whilst blowing that stick simultaneously & the closing track “In the Woods” details his life in the streets along with the violence that comes with it, his sexual relationships, what it was like for him growing up in the hood & the constant conflict with the police conveyed through medieval metaphors.

Yes I didn’t get the chance to cover Birth of St. Slay, but I still thought it was fun way for him to celebrate the Halloween season listening to it almost 6 months ago & would tell you that Slaytanic in comparison reaches the same quality of trap his debut Player Slayer taking it a step or 2 down from Guillotine. The unique production on this one is prominently influenced by plugg pioneer Zaytoven, presenting a dark take on late 2010s pop rap & the early mixtape days of the 2000s.

Score: 3.5/5

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Tom MacDonald – “Proud to Be a Problem” review

Tom MacDonald is a 36 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & former professional wrestler from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada breaking out in the late 2010s off some of the worst singles of the previous decade from “Whiteboy” to “Everybody Hates Me” & “Straight White Male”. Tracks like “If I Was Black” & “People So Stupid” have also publicly professed himself as a racist & a transphobe, deciding to follow in the footsteps of Post Malone’s latest album F-1,000,000,000,000 by putting out a country LP of his own & his 9th overall.

“Can’t Cancel All of Us” is this country alt-right intro claiming the right-wing can’t be criticized for being what they’re are & denying that they have prejudice against minorities when he’s made numerous racist or transphobic lines in some of his previous material whereas “I’m a Rock” compares himself to his father. “Bad Bitch” bitterly wishes death on every ex-boyfriend this crazy woman he knows has ever had just before “Wildfire” sings about his life being a wildfire.

The religious themes of “Man in the Sky” as a spiritual person feel inauthentic when you think of “Hide a Body” singing about his murderous tendencies offering to hide corpses for the safety of his loved ones right away later. “Watch You Leave” disturbingly expressed the joy & sadness he simultaneously feels seeing this woman being taken away by the police, but then “Diana” likens people fiending for clout referencing the late Princess Diana’s tragic death.

“Walls” tries to gaslight Tom’s critics by playing the victim blaming other’s for his shortcomings when he’s done this numerous times in his career to this very day leading into “Broke My Heart” wining about a breakup that he caused himself. “Good Die Young” sings about the “hardships” that he goes through when his supposed struggles are pandering towards the right-wingers who self-victimize as much as him while “Superman” fuses country pop & singer/songwriter asking for the Warner Bros. subsidiary DC Entertainment-owned hero who’s set to begin the DC Universe media franchise & shared universe this summer to appear.

As for “Sinner”, we have this cringeworthy comparison of his love towards his girlfriend of 8 years Nova Rockafeller to the Heroin Hero joke in the timeless Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned Comedy Central series South Park’s parody of the Guitar Hero franchise almost 2 decades back while “Hell & Back” sings about being called a loser since 2nd grade when I find that to be the case almost a decade into Tom’s popularity. “Do Me Wrong” warns what will happen to those who’ll end up crossing him when I guarantee you he’s pussy as the rest of the edgelords he appeals to while “Ugly” deflects his girl’s self-image so he can make it into a “woe is me” type deal.

“Still Need Saving” seems like a deliberate & embarrassing bite of “I’m Not Ok” off Jelly Roll’s major label debut Beautifully Broken while “Good Man Badass” sings about being the capability of being those 2 things at the same time when he’s simply an bigoted, intolerant asshole more than anything. “Under Construction” dejects the idea of self-destructing when he’s literally selling himself out stylistically trying to make a bigger breakthrough than he should’ve had while “Perfect” serves as a failed attempt at tackling the insecurities women find themselves facing.

The song “Drunk Dial” reads as a conservative country answer to my favorite Drake alternative R&B cut “Marvin’s Room” with Tom getting completely shitfaced on the alcohol taking it upon himself to contract a girl he’s no longer seeing at 3 in the morning assuring she’s still in love with him when she most likely moved on like he did because “Goodbye Joe” by GFBF comes off as a forced Joe Biden diss. The title track further embraces a country sound in general for the final time continuing to pander towards the far-right suggesting that they should be proud of being unsolvable.

Like I said when I reviewed WWE Hall of Famer Kid Rock’s most recent album Bad Reputation: I’m NOT democratic OR republican because I personally believe both sides of our 2-party system are flawed as much as most people don’t want to have that discussion unfortunately. However, Tom MacDonald’s music throughout his career has appealed to closeted racist white men to feel he represents them by crying about the struggles he suffers as a white man & he’s been only amplifying it the last year or so. Hip hop never has & never will be the culture for a far-right white agenda, end of story.

Score: 0/5

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Vinnie Paz – “God Sent Vengeance” review

Here we have the 9th full-length solo LP from Philadelphia underground veteran Vinnie Paz. Breaking out as the MC of Jedi Mind Tricks & the leader of the Army of the Pharaohs collective, he put out his first 2 solo albums Season of the Assassin & God of the Serengeti in 2010 & 2012 respectively until returned in 2016 with The Cornerstone of the Corner Store. The Pain Collector would become my favorite of his since his first 2 but since as above so below, Paz has been staying consistent by delivering a new solo effort every year. Tortured in the Name of God’s Unconditional Love spawned a trilogy & All Are Guests in the House of God continued it, only for it to come to a close on God Sent Vengeance.

After the “Abudadein” intro, the first song “Shepherd’s Rod” is this soulful boom bap opener courtesy of Hobgoblin talking about slapping a few rappers because of them moving backwards whereas “2 Knights Forced” produced by Evidence asks if he has to tell anyone time & time again that they’re flat out wack. “Bulldozer” featuring Young Buck darkly makes it clear neither one of them are trying to be righteous in any way thanks to Stu Bangas while “Head of David” ruggedly talks about being the real bad man.

Lord Goat joins the Heavy Metal Kings on “Acid Teeth” aggressively venting what it was like for them to be born into pain just before the August Fanon-laced “Timetravel_0” talks about everyone adapting if it comes down to him having to drop a body. “Megaton Swords” featuring Cappadonna teams up to take aim at sucka MCs together leading into “Rafiki Books” talking about learning to take a stand instead of taking THE stand over a DJ Sam Seed instrumental.

“Perfect Enemy” reunites with C-Lance behind the boards referencing former 2-time NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion Héctor Guerrero and 3-time NWA National Heavyweight Champion, WCW World Television Champion, 3-time WCW World Tag Team Champion & WWE Hall of Famer Paul Orndorff just before “Battle Scars (Pharaoh Overlords)” comes through with this raw ass AotP posse cut making reference to the 2025 NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “Chico’s Bail Bonds” ominously continues forward having the feeling that somebody’s gonna end up dying tonight, but then “All Guns Full Ammo” featuring Onyx finds the trio shooting shit up together.

Sick Jacken appears on the rugged “Sacrificio (De Muerte)” to send shots towards any man’s way over a Relense beat while “Heavy Chains” hauntingly talks about being afraid of himself. “Wings of Azrael” featuring Napoleon da Legend suggests for everyone to dance with the wolves while “Mao’s War on Sparrows” talks about there less Indians & more thieves these days. “Noise Drug” featuring Boob Bronx & Recognize Ali ends with all 3 of them coming for the weak.

Although the Jacinto’s Praying Mantis EP from last summer was a minor step down from the previous installments of the God trilogy, I still enjoyed it as a prelude & the final chapter of the saga finishes it off the way it started. The production is a mix of established veterans & lesser known beatsmiths on the come up focusing less on the trap elements of its predecessors in favor of a general hardcore hip hop direction.

Score: 4/5

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Fordio – “Fordi Milligrams” review

Michigan rapper Fordio releasing his full-length studio debut. Emerging in 2022 off his debut EP Foreva$camz, the follow-up Blame It on My Cup resulted the ShittyBoyz making him a member of their Dog $hit Militia collective signed to Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records dropping the Made & $tyle collab project with MJPaid & recently the Forever Juggin’ EP almost a year ago already. We literally got MJPaid’s own debut Paid Ponzi at the beginning of 2025 & here we are 3 months later with Fordio applying pressure on Fordi Milligrams.

“Rackz on Rackz” made for a cloudy Detroit trap intro imaging the YC & Future single of the same name whereas “No Lol” completely blocks out all the hate being spewed from the nosebleed section. “Aha” gives a spacious yet funky feeling to the beat making those who’ve turned on him regret their decisions while “Tell Me Sum” puts his faith in the drugs since he can’t trust a soul.

That subject matter gets delved deeper onto “Ain’t Feeling Luv” talking about taking percocets to help put him in a better mood leading into “Tryfe Lyfe” featuring Babytron refusing to give slices of their cheese since they’re too stingy with it. “Hot Boyz” featuring G.T. brings the pair together suggesting that people out here are more broke than they are tough while “Not Too Long” produced by Danny G talks about pouring up with 5 folks.

“Run” reaches the halfway point of the LP vowing to sprint until his legs don’t work anymore & counting his bread up until his hands go numb while “Dirty $oda Club” if you clearly couldn’t tell speaks of his love for sippin’ lean. “Jugg Anthem” experiments with plugg advising not to come around him if the loot isn’t a priority while “Y.N.B.W. (You N****s Better not Wait) talks about seeing millions coming in his dreams.

As for “IDK”, we have Fordio dismissing what others gotta say since he’s been in the v-cut & “PA All-Stars” featuring MJPaid & 72 Reezy unites the trio to talk about being the worst nightmare of any individual with nothing in their pockets until Baby Ghost outraps Glockboyz Teejaee on a song named after 6-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE tag team champion, 2-time AEW World Champion, inaugural ROH Hall of Fame inductee, ROH World Champion, 2-time ROH World Tag Team Champion & former UFC fighter “CM Punk” finally getting his WrestleMania main event last weekend.

“Leanin’” featuring Certified Trapper kicks off the 4th quarter of the tape trading verses over a lowend instrumental while “Overtime” suggests not to mind him or the crew whenever they pull up to your town. “72mg” oozes of psychedelia explaining that his heart is beating fast due to the drugs he’s consuming while “NeedDat” finishes the album talks about not being a fool whenever it comes to the bag.

Not too far off from Paid Ponzi several months back, Fordi Milligrams similarly to what that previously mentioned debut had done displays what Fordio has to offer by himself & makes me hope the other 2 members of the collective catch up to them with projects of their own. The production is a step up from that early material & despite a few features I could’ve done without, many of their verses rival Fordi’s.

Score: 4/5

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Roy Wood$ – “Dark Nights” review

This is the 5th EP from Brampton, Ontario, Canada rapper & singer/songwriter Roy Wood$. Signing to Drake‘s very own OVO Sound a decade ago already, he has since gone on to release a total of 3 full-length studio LPs & 4 EPs, with the most notable of the handful being the 2015 debut EP Exis & of course the debut album Walking at Dawn the following winter. Rolling Stone back in December felt like a bunch of uninspired Weeknd runoff & is looking to take us on a journey through the Dark Nights nearly 2 months since Drizzy followed the current 4-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Liv Morgan on social media regardless of her on-screen relationship with the newest WWE Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio.

“So Obvious” begins by talking about clearly seeing this woman in pain advising her to lay her problems out in front of him whereas “Stay with Me” after a brief interlude asks for his lover not to leave him & asking what he has to do for their love. “Whatchu Mean” comes off as another Weeknd bite addressing an individual who has no love for themselves just before “What I Used to Get Into” produced by Drumma Boy talks about being different as of late.

To start the 2nd half, “Like You” embraces an alternative R&B vibe continue to copy The Weeknd singing that he’s as fucked up as his romantic interest is while “You” asks how did he ever let this relationship go wrong. “Disrespectful” speaks on a woman who’s constantly talking over him & “Tell Me What I’m Living For” responds by saying respect isn’t hard to show.

Roy initially saying that Dark Nights was gonna mark a return had me hoping that he would improve from the lackluster reception his most recent output has been receiving, but it’s still the same ol’ generic alternative R&B & pop rap we’ve been getting from him in who knows how long at this point. I understand the situations of betrayal he’s been through are very much real, the execution of it is what leaves little to be desired.

Score: 2/5

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Salami Rose Joe Louis – “Lorings” review

This is the 6th studio LP from San Diego, California singer/songwriter & producer Salami Rose Joe Louis. Coming up almost a decade ago off her full-length debut Son of a Sauce!, the subsequent sophomore effort Zlaty Sauce Nephew caught the attention of Flying Lotus & he wound up signing her to Brainfeeder Records distributed by Ninja Tune. Her debut for the label Zdenka 2080 would become the most revered entry of her entire catalog, coming off Chapters of Zdenka & Akousmatikous to invite us all on a personal exploration of her own through Lorings.

“Inside” begins with a 2nd single fusing elements of neo-psychedelia, art pop, indietronica & space ambient singing about being lost inside this person’s love whereas “Motorway” finds Flanafi bringing in a guitar & some percussion to express hope of those roaming the unfamiliar streets having mercy on her. “That Must Be Hard for You” sticks out to me as a least favorite of mine & it has to do with the repetition than the subject matter until the 5th & final single “A Sauna Sized Pill” sings about Michael Caine hiding under a rock in plain sight.

Meanwhile on “I Dunno Ways”, we have Lindsay spending 72 seconds repeatedly singing about her being unable to play the game because she doesn’t know the way while the minimalistic “I’ll Never Say” finds herself refusing to show this person what’s really deep inside of her mind. “Crow, Friendship” sings about carrying a loaf of rye on here trying to befriend a group of birds she regularly sees outside of her apartment leading into “Hobbies” opening up regarding her stepfather telling her to find a pastime, which I’d have to assume is music.

“Basketball” ends the 1st half with this 2 & a half minute composition that feels bittersweet just before the lead single “Arm Fell Asleep” blends neo-psychedelia, art pop, indietronica & ambient pop sings about an experience she had when going boat sailing. The 4th single “Fill the Void” kinda reminds me of Toro y Moi in a way explaining that she likes to ride on faith until “Upstairs” relies itself upon its dreamy instrumentation.

One of my favorite tracks would be “Wet Log” simply because of the raw emotion packed into only a minute & a half while “Dribs & Drags” sings about getting up off the ground & wanting to see the person she’s addressing being content with life. After the melancholic “A Pool to Cry In”, the final song “Farewell” preceding the “ Fill the void // house by the lake // coda” outro ties up all loose ends confessing that she wants to start a family in addition to making her family proud & wanting her partner to be more stable.

Compared to Zdenka 2080 & Akousmatikous, I’m a bit disappointed to say Lorings could be the weakest opus of the 3 she’s dropped since signing to Brainfeeder since I’d rank it above it’s predecessor & place Zdenka 2080 above it. I have no issue with the vulnerably introspective approach to indietronica, neo-psychedelia, art pop, ambient pop, bedroom pop & glitch pop carving out her personality over the course of 43 minutes. That said: There are a handful of moments where it feels like I’m listening to half baked demos due to the amount of ideas that sound incomplete.

Score: 3/5

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M.M.M.F.D. – “Horrorcore” review

M.M.M.F.D. or Make My Muthafuckin’ Day is a horrorcore superduo consisting of Los Angeles, California wicked shit pioneer Cyco a.k.a. Insane Poetry alongside Denver, Colorado emcee & Lyrikal Snuff Productionz founder Scum. Introducing themselves off Random Acts of Violence as well as Unsubs & Butcher Brothaz, they would later begin the Deadly Drug trilogy with the 1st entry & the sequel Overdoze. Preluding the final chapter, they’re diverting from the concepts of both predecessors on their 6th studio LP.

“Then It Gets All Quiet” kicks it all off with a dark trap instrumental showcasing a back-&-forth deliver from both members suggesting to turn down the sobbing that only they can hear whereas “Monsters Among Us” works in some pianos talking about the inside of a book potentially being worse than it’s cover. “Devil’s Trident” featuring Smallz 1 finds the trio fucking people up with no mercy prior to “On That Sick Shit” keeps it wicked.

As for “Vengeance”, we have M.M.M.F.D. getting back on a trap vibe to get their revenge just before “Corpse of a Foe” heads for a boom bap direction suggesting that their enemies should’ve never tried to come at them in the beginning. “D.W.T.D (Dance with the Devil)” maintains a dusty edge to the beat telling everyone to observe them & Satans dancing in the pale moonlight, but then “Never Be the Same” talks about your chances of survival changing you forever.

“Brazen Bull” produced by Gibby Stites gets the 2nd half of Horrorcore started with another boom bap instrumental proclaiming that they’ve come to commit torture & the flames being hot while “In & Out” solemnly talks about punchin’ muhfuckas in the face in the middle of stab ‘em. “Soon” promises those being kept to rest will awaken & most will not survive while “Obey” brings a trap flare back to the table wanting a hostage to tell them what they know.

Hitting the final leg of the album, “2 Pumps & a Black Mask” assures they still have the Deadly Drug secured in a black bag & overdosing off the sick while “Let the Beasts Out” unleashes the demons from within to leave their opps hangin’ from a hook. “Head on a Spike” cautions their competition to stay away from them if they know what’s best & the closer “Stampede” puts the final nail in the coffin by talking about seeing only red.

Continuing to celebrate 25 years of Snuff, M.M.M.F.D. comes off this past Easter weekend by delivering what I consider to be the best offering from the LSP camp thus far this year & hope whatever they have planned to drop in 2025 maintains this caliber of gore hop. The production is generally a mix of boom bap & trap except the lyricism from the duo truly is Horrorcore at it’s purest in response to people now watering down the style & trying to pass it off as such.

Score: 4/5

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Harry Shotta – “Odyssey” review

Essex, England, United Kingdom emcee Harry Shotta of SaSaSaS signing to High Focus Records for his 5th solo LP. Making his solo debut in 2010 off 8 Days a Week followed by the debut EP Xtravagence & debut mixtape 12 Months, he would go on to follow those up with Back 4 More as well as It’s Showtime & Screaming at the Skies until having Erb n Dub & Xyphon producing Spanner in the Works & Year of the Lyricist respectively. Possessed by the DNB came in the summer of 2020, making his debut for High Focus to embark on an Odyssey following the death of Skibadee.

After the intro, “Put My Feet Up” starts off jumping over a sample-driven boom bap instrumental from King Kashmere talking about feeling like his younger self in the booth whereas the lead single “It Wasn’t Easy” produced by Leaf Dog discusses being a product of hip hop culture. “Final Results” featuring Grafh joins forces to dismantle any opposition over a Farma G beat sampling a piano just before “Different Fabric” talks about the type of cloth he was cut from with Wundrop behind the boards.

MC Spyda & P Money both join Harry for the bass heavy 3rd & final single “Imposter” airing out those who be cappin’ in their lyrics leading into “Bad Boy Sound” featuring Eksman & Shabba D embraces a jungle drum & bass sound thanks to Telemachus homaging that popular style emerging out of the UK rave scene. “Labor of Love” featuring Scrufizzer talks about what this music shit mean to the both of them while the drum & bass “Motion Picture” compares his scriptures to movies.

“Stay Defiant” ends the 1st half of this audio Odyssey instrumentally taking it’s cues from the grime scene while the 2nd single “Legendary” featuring Fliptrix & Verb T comes together over a soulful DJ Jazz T & Illinformed beat talking about their respective legacies. “Wild Bunch” featuring Leaf Dog asking for everyone to put their hands in the sky although it ain’t a robbery while “Chasing a Buzz” returns to the boom bap talking about becoming a better version of himself after sobering up & firing back in the midst of the world becoming colder.

As for “New Breed”, we have Harry over this uncanny trap instrumental showing an eagerness of raising the bar & switching things up while grim-influenced “Overthinking” talks about the requirement of finding peace if one truly wants to get to the end of their journey. “Lazy Days” brings the kicks & snares back in full gear celebrating a fun evening out prior to Pitch 92 jumping behind the boards for “You Deserve It”, endearingly gives his flowers to his wife ahead of a whole decade being married coming up later this summer.

“Breathing Under Water” starts Odyssey’s final moments with a chipmunk soul beat talking about hiding out of fear while “Salute” dustily pens a passionate love letter to hip hop itself. The title track combines cloud rap with drum & bass talking about life changing since nothing stays the same while the closer “No Competition” featuring Westman sends off the full-length shrugging off the haters who keep both of them rent free inside their heads.

Taking it back to his roots in the wake of Skibadee’s passing, Harry Shotta’s introduction as part of the High Focus Records roster surpasses everything he’s done by himself within the last decade plus breaking down his adventures in music & the significance hip hop has had in every chapter of his life. The production’s more innovative compared to what the label normally puts out from going from grime to jungle, drum & bass, boom bap and chipmunk soul for an reflective Odyssey themed around Harry’s life both artistically & personally.

Score: 4/5

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Twiztid – “Nickel Bag 2” review

In front of us is the 17th EP from Detroit, Michigan’s demented duo Twiztid. Consisting of Jamie Madrox Madrox & Monoxide, both of whom originally started out as part of the House of Krazees alongside childhood friend The R.O.C. in 1992 before their initial disbandment 5 years later. Almost immediately after, the Insane Clown Posse took Jamie & Mono under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records as who they’re known as today. They would become the label’s 2nd biggest act being their mentors off projects like Mostasteless, Freek Show, Mirror Mirror, The Green Book, W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day) & Abominationz. Shortly after the latter was released, Twiztid left Psychopathic to form Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2014. Since then they’ve released 7 albums & 9 EPs on their own label, my favorites of which being /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/, Glyph & more recently the Zeuss-produced Unlikely Prescription sequel Welcome to Your Funeral. Their own pop culture convention Astronomicon had it’s 8th annual event at the beginning of the month with appearances from the current TNA World Champion Joe Hendry, former AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker and 5 WWE Hall of Famers; Sting, Lita, Trish Stratus, Kevin Nash & Bret Hart. However to coincide with 4/20 weekend, they’ve whipped up a Nickel Bag sequel.

“421” is this hardcore hip hop intro produced by Fritz the Cat talking about getting down every single whether there’s a party going on or not with absolutely 0 fucks given whereas “Tarantula” takes a slower route instrumentally suggesting to keep it pushing getting high on the daily. “422” goes for a glitchier trap vibe thanks to Grady Finch talking about losing hope & control at the same time until the closing track “By Myself” maintains a darker trap edge courtesy of James Garcia or the artist formerly known as Young Wicked asking not to let them smoke by themselves.

The original Nickel Bag was known for it’s collection of remixes & only a couple newly recorded songs, but the sequel here outdoes it’s predecessor by completely ditching the need for any remixes in favor of more refreshing compositions other than “420 Premium Quality” being included on the Electric Lettuce deluxe. Fritz handles the production again other than James & Grady’s individual contributions, marking a return to Twiztid’s hardcore hip hop style after the heavy rap metal/nu metal influences during Welcome to Your Funeral.

Score: 4/5

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Ilajide – “Pocket Jams 2” review

Here we have the 6th studio LP from Detroit, Michigan emcee/producer Ilajide. Formerly of the Clear Soul Forces, he’s put out a couple beat tapes along with 5 full-length albums & 7 EPs under his belt. It’s been 4 years since I covered Code 200 & that was the finest solo LP of his entire career, linking up with Seattle producer Def D for his best EP Tape Delay last summer. Continuing the 4/20 tradition of releasing music, Pocket Jams 2 announced on New Year’s Day is finally here on Night 2 of WrestleMania XLI merely hours after the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings acquired Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) from the Peña–Roldán family as a subsidiary of their WWE division in response their Tony Khan-owned competitors All Elite Wrestling (AEW) & Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) both being involved with this year’s annual Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), 新日本プロレス (NJPW) & Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW) co-promoted event Fantastica Mania this summer held at La Catedral de la Lucha Libre Arena México.

“Pimp Talk” sets the tone with this funky self-produced instrumental telling us what it’s like to be a playa in his shoes whereas the aptly-named “Issa Nice Day” keeps bringing the funk for a summertime anthem only 2 months ahead of time. “Stop Talkin’” works in some crooning vocals & synthesizers for a retro, carefree club banger prior to “Impress Me” groovily talking about women having to wow him to get his attention.

Moving on from there, “Backhand” goes for a bit of a psychedelic flare telling his girl to shake somethin’ for him while “Don’t Talk to Me” woozily talks about bossing up & feeling wavy as a result. “Don’t Play” keeps the dance vibes going cautioning everyone not to fuck with him just before the funky “Party in Her Pants” talks about themes of lust.

“Make Me Loose” begins the final leg of Pocket Jams 2 for a playful ode to loosening himself up off the alcohol while “Slide” comes through with another funky dance number encouraging all the party people on the place to move their bodies. “Stallion” featuring & produced by Radio Galaxy finishes the Pocket Jams sequel paying homage to Parliament-Funkadelic as far as influence goes.

Representing a deeper dive into Ilajide’s artistic identity, Pocket Jams 2 fuses hip hop & funk music together blending the vibe of the 70s with the sound of 2025. Think of it as a UFO Time Machine from the 70s crash-landing in the future. The main goal he had in mind during the studio sessions is to make people move while staying true to himself, the journey he’s been on, growth & lastly self reflection.

Score: 4/5

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