Whitechapel is a deathcore band from Knoxville, Tennesse consisting of drummer Brandon Zackey, lead guitarist Ben Savage, rhythm guitarist Alex Wade, the 3rd guitarist Zach Householder, bassist Gabe Crisp & frontman Phil Bozeman. They would later fit right in with Metal Blade Records following their debut The Somatic Defilement by putting out This is Exile, A New Era of Corruption,self-titled, Our Endless War & Mark of the Blade. Their last couple The Valley & Kin have proven to be their most acclaimed, returning after 6 years for the band’s 9th full-length studio LP.
“Prisoner 666” opens with this hellish deathcore intro bearing the number of the beast whereas the title track further integrates brutal palm-muted & tremolo-picked riffing, blast beat-focused drumming & guttural vocals with groovy breakdown sections coming to consume all the seas. “Diabolic Slumber” talks about life being a lie & suggesting that everyone meets their demise just before the lead single “A Visceral Reach” throws it back to The Somatic Defilement era.
After the “Ex Infernis” instrumental cut, “Hate Cult Ritual” begins the 2nd half revealing themselves as disciples of hate as well as rage & murder leading into “The Abysmal Gospel” talks about having a silver tongue continuing to fuse death metal & metalcore together. “Bedlam” reassures everyone listening that they’ll never be reborn descending towards the mouth of failure & doubt while “Mammoth God” talks about his greed growing strong. “Nothing’s Coming for Any of Us” ends with 1 more deathcore track revolving around nothing being real.
It’s really a sequel to This is Exile, but the band residing in the same city that made former 3-time WWE women’s world champion & 2-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Bianca Belair returns to their heavier roots prominently shown throughout their earlier material on Hymns in Dissonance following the story of a cultist who’s gathering worthy people to join his cult including moments in the storyline where the cult followers are singing an evil hymn to open a portal for the head cultist to enter. Some of the characteristics that made The Somatic Defilement so special notably seep their way throughout the dynamic, brutal musicality backing the compelling lyrical story.
Dough Networkz is a music management executive & underground hip hop curator from Inglewood, California notable for having the duo DirtyDiggs produce his full-length studio debut LP Above Cloud Vision in the summer of 2019. He even helped curate an East to West compilation from Lord Mobb Music about a year & a half ago, turning the sophomore effort here into a double album except both discs were released a week apart from each other.
“Niyyah” by Osbe Chill & Tek is a soulful intro talking about being strong & wrong simultaneously whereas “A Day Late & $1 Short” by Boldy James & Trizz featuring Jay Worthy on the remix was a great lead single linking up to boast they’ve been getting money since prior to them getting laid for the first time. “Fake Dead” by Jason Martin formerly known as Problem, Jayson Cash & WeSSmont SSkeme brings a west coast vibe with Jason Martin having the best verse while “Dreamin’” by Big Twins soulfully feels like the hood is his.
Conway the Machine & Sirrealist join forces for the gully boom bap joint “Sawed Off” talking about getting your nose blown the fuck off if you stick it where it shouldn’t be leading into the cloudy “3 Hours Past Noon” by Jay Worthy boasts that it ain’t a party until he pulls up to the spot. The soulful “Never Knew” by Jameel Na’im X, King Akeem & Young Roddy admitting they didn’t think the love the trio have would be the way it is & “Sunsets Over Inglewood” by Domo Genesis featuring Smoke DZA on the remix proved to be another great single choice representing the southwest.
“Old Rules” by N8NOFACE angrily gives a middle finger to the kids who be calling him an old head when he feels like you should rightfully have pride in your shit just before “Automatic Lovers” by Airplane James & The Jack Moves switches gears stylistically departing from hip hop in favor of a smooth soul ballad. “Rap Camp” by Ab-Soul, Baron Davis, Dazy Lyn, LaRussell, Malachi & Mani Coolin is this cool 7 & a half minute posse cut while “Crime Networkz” by Crimeapple & RLX feels reminiscent of their recent collab album Los Pollos Hermanos.
Tha God Fahim jumps on top of this haunting instrumental throughout “Eyes of the Beholder” doing squats with the weight of the world on his shoulders while “Goodbye Twice” by Baron Davis & T.F. soulfully talks hitting the parlay like it’s Uncut Gems. The song “Lil Bobby” by Hyde Park Firebug & Traffic discusses the realest shit meaning more to them & “Play Your Role” by Cala the Prophet & Eastside K-Boy offers nothing more than advice.
“Don’t” by Drebo sets off Side B with a west coast g-funk banger with a hook reminiscent of the late, great Nate Dogg carrying over elements from that era onto “Black Bentley” by Black C & Lil Woofy Woof except both of them are showing off their gang ties. “Player Made” by Brodie Fresh & The Musalini hops over a sample to talk about them being the players they are while “Beverly Hills Car Club” by AJ Snow finds therapy within wiping down the rims of his ride.
Osbe Chill & Rome Streetz appear for the crooning “However” talking about getting rich while “Phone Call from Dough” by Westside Webb jazzily making it clear that he really be hustling & flowing out here staying in his own zone. “Cash Rules” by Kai Ca$h goes boom bap so he can explain that money talks while “West to East” by Flee Lord & MC Eiht perfectly represents both Queens, New York & the city of Compton, California.
“Sticks & Scars” by Da$h & Win or Lose Records has a slower boom bap tone realizing that the payback is way past due the way they see it while “Mika & Sef” by Baron Davis & 2-1 keeps it in the basement showing off the different type of skill they’ve already mastered. “Center of Change” by Chance Infinite grittily performs prayers instead of a seance in the middle of chaos observing the devils having awareness of being wrong & “Designer Drugs” by Jonah Love makes me feel like I’m listening to Boldy James.
Mitchy Slick & Trizz come together to make “Money on the Fly” backed by a sample while “The Invitation” by Vel 9 finds her drifting on a star. The song “No Fronts” by Huey Bliss cloudily talks being reliant on his clientele & “Where We Are” by Sadat X opens up on only needing a few individuals by his side rather than a whole army with these piano chords playing behind him. “Time is Now” by Big Cheeko & JAY NiCE closes Side B with them talking about what a shame it is that people act lame & gossip.
After the “Follow Your Dreamz” skit, “Clearing My Mind” by G Perico starts the deluxe run with a drumless sample looking to free himself mentally while “3 for 50” by O.T. the Real soulfully talks about trappin’ since his halfway house days. “Allahu A Lem” by Osbe Chill & Tha God Fahim teams up together again to discuss God eternally knowing best while the funky “Black Business” by All Hail Y.T. & EDIDON talks about African American entrepreneurship.
“Came from the Bottom” by Morray cloudily admits to the mistake of bringing too much fake in his mix & not having anything growing up while “Cocaine Heroin” by G4 Jag & T.F drumlessly talks about pushin’ weight. “Darkside” by Reaper Mook continues the bare sampling to state he was in the trap too long because he felt like it was the only way while LIFEOFTHOM’s title track bodies a jazzy boom bap beat for 112 seconds.
After the “Follow Your Vision” spoken word interlude, “Handle Business” by Southside Vic smoothly talks about running up the money with bad ambition & his girl’s response when he told her he was in the lab while “It’s a Compton Thang” by Mari Ruger & MC Eiht represents their hometown with a g-funk flare. “Limo Tints” by Jay Worthy & Tiona Deniece experiments with trap soul hoping to make haters sick with their success while “Stronger Than My Pain” by EDIDON & Tha God Fahim talks about there being no love lost because it doesn’t cost shit.
Warren Wint gets introspective over some keys during “Out My Window” simply trying to survive around his parts livin’ to get by while “Triumph” by Bale & Neko Brim soulfully talks about this sounding like a victory lap to them. “Patterns” by Boldy James, Grafh & T.F. unites so each of them can describe livin’ like legitimate gangsters while the funky “Sliding” by B-Legit & LE$ talks about tying up anyone who tries to mess with their bread.
“Paisa” by El Nino switches up with a full-blown Latin rap song backed by a classy instrumental while “Yote Networkz” by Coyote makes up for it’s minute & a half brevity with both LadiesLoveGuapo & Ricky Blanco spitting aggressive verses in that matter of time. “Sushi” by Sirrealist & Starz Coleman prefers to peak out the window like Malcolm instead of turning the other cheek while the final bonus track is pretty much Win or Lose Records speaking “Straight from the Heart”.
Since both discs of Dis for the Project are finally in front of us now, it reveals itself to be an exciting double LP following up on Dough Networkz’ official debut Above Cloud Vision. I prefer the production that NoyOne & J.R. cooked up 6 years ago, except I appreciate the quality list of performers that he had to bring on board whether it be established veterans or some lesser-known names looking break down the wall of obscurity & get themselves out there.
Here we have the 10th studio LP from Bronx, New York rapper Jim Jones. A member of The Diplomats in the 2000s, his first 5 full-lengths from 2004-2011 had some highlights in them even if they were all average at best as whole albums. However it wouldn’t be until 2018 after dropping Wasted Talent where he would really start putting out his best material ever & then came out with his magnum opus the following year El Capo. El Capo 2 & the Harry Fraud-produced The Fraud Department continued the acclaim up until the Hitmaka-produced Back in My Prime proved to be disappointing. Over 2 decades after his debut, he’s arrived At the Church Steps.
“Jomo” produced by 1982 is actually a great sample-driven opener to get us started reminding everyone who he is 21 years later whereas “Genesis” fuses gospel & trap courtesy of Jim himself talking about half these dudes out here being broke to the point where they can’t pay their debts. “Seen It All” discusses getting it all in & never falling because of his shoes being tied, but then “Make It Out” maintains a trap vibe thanks to Hitmaka talking about him & Cam’ron falling out with each other again a month ago.
Conway the Machine & Keen Streetz join Jimmy for “Walking on Business” working in a boom bap instrumental to follow through with their actions & sticking to their values just before “White Lines” talks about being obsessed with spending money & refusing to back down for anybody. “Call on Me” goes for a solemn trap vibe again with the help of Smatt Sertified feeling like the world’s falling on him leading into “Opp Thot” featuring Fabolous talks about the L only being a loss if you’ve learned your lesson.
“This Shit Still in Harlem” embraces the Brooklyn drill sound representing the Manhattan neighborhood further proving Cam’s point that he isn’t from Harlem at all while “Dope Boy” featuring Keen Streetz ominously suggests to let them do their dance. “Cinema” featuring Fivio Foreign & Keen Streetz takes another shot at the New York Drill sound missing the landing even harder than previously & after the “Ray Ray” skit, “Back in My Bag” returns to the boom bap getting in the mix again.
Dave East appears with Jim on “What’s Going On?” so both of them can break down shit being different nowadays while “Back in the Day” by The Lobby Boyz keeps the traditional boom bap sound in tact getting reflective. “End of Summer” atmospherically asks God to make space in heaven for him & “Church Steps” ends with a gospel-inspired closer that The Heatmakerz cooked up talking about arriving at the steps of a place of worship.
“Outside” starts the deluxe run with Ron Browz going sample drill behind the boards talking about being out here with that shit on while “Shop” offers a weak take on cloud rap pointing out that some like to take out fires & others letting them burn. “Walk with Me” featuring Keen Streetz cavernously talks about their street mentality & legitimacy while the industrial hip hop joint “Fashion Killa” shows off his taste in drip.
Keen Streetz links back up with Jimmy on “Hoodie Season” providing an average anthem for that specific time of year when it starts to get cold out while “Hustlers” featuring Keen Streetz jazzily talks about being go-getters. “Swerv” featuring G Herbo takes another jab at sample drill doing it just as good as “Outside” did earlier while the trap rock hybrid “Civil Rights” shows a more conscious side to the Vamplife Records founder.
“Ring” slickly pleads for someone to call him while the underwhelming “Skin” fails in terms of an attempt at sexy drill. “Deep End” featuring Rick Ross intriguingly shows off their riches while “No Love” featuring YG shows absolutely 0 affection for these bitches while “Vamp Ooter’s” featuring Dilla illa & 34Zeussy doesn’t represent the VL label that well personally. The final bonus track “Flu Game” featuring Trinidad Jame$ is only slightly better, soulfully talking about being ok.
Some of the singles building up to At the Church Steps including the feature-heavy tracklist truly had me a bit torn on the sequel to the ByrdGang leader’s solo debut unlike the high praise I gave to El Capo, El Capo 2 & The Fraud Department. Now that I’ve actually heard the whole entire thing, I’m still a little iffy on it. Jim’s growth in the past 2 decades is there, except a lot of the hooks are cringe & some of the production tends to falter occasionally.
1300SAINT is an Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer known for staying out of the box with a versatile sound & style drawing in listeners from all walks of life painting pictures of all colors & shapes to create a true experience for his audience. The heavy 808 based instrumentals he lays his smooth vocals over on his debut album Noir makes you feel every song a little more than usual, catching Young Thug’s attention & signing him to YSL Records after coming home last Halloween for 1300SAINT’s official sophomore effort.
“Never Them” starts with a trap instrumental working in some sampling talking about this not being a homecoming whatsoever from his perspective whereas “Venom” talks about him chilling with the snakes in the pit now that he has a label deal. “I See Red” gives a glimpse of what’s in his cup & not wanting problems with him, but then “Out Bad” produced by Jwade fuses trap & rock reflecting on being at his lowest when he was 18 compared to his current status.
Meanwhile on “LCKY NMBR 7”, we have 1300SAINT over this cloudy trap instrumental reflecting on the days when he was playing on the block as if it was Tetris just before “Everything Slatt” really represents YSL to the fullest on here & he more than deserves it. “Life of a Don” blends an atmospheric trap backdrop with a guitar showing off what it’s like to be a Don & after the Young Thug interlude, the sample-based “Safe & Sound” suggests he & a romantic interest lay back some time.
“Gallery” calls out those who taught them the way they should be moving for not giving him credit for it while “BTTR & BTTR” talks about his evolution. “Cayenne” has these crazy synthesizers throughout observing the dog eat dog world for what it is while “Sunsex” melodically shows a sensual side to him. “The World is Yours” wraps it up with him getting everything he asked for.
It’s no secret YSL Records was in a rough patch for almost 3 years because of everything that went on & they really needed to bring someone on board who fits in with the rest of the roster keeping up with the modern trap sounds. 1300SAINT was the right person they could choose. As far as production goes, it’s a cut above his previous material & he holds the fort with no guests for 37 minutes.
New York emcee Queen Herawin returning ahead of her solo debut Metamorphosis turning 10 this spring with a sophomore effort. A member of the Juggaknots, she eventually went on to drop an EP after her debut The Space Between Things & appeared on Vinnie Paz’ 5th album as above so below only a month away from the world changing forever because of the pandemic. However after some recent singles, she’s teamed with Coalmine Records to help distribute Awaken the Sleeping Giant.
“Focus” is this spacious boom bap intro exploring the idea of resetting perspective until the aperture is properly set & allowing you to see things from a much more clearer perspective whereas “Anger” talks about time feeling like a ticking bomb to her occasionally through genuine angst. “Gluttony” featuring Breeze Brewin’ works in this crazy gospel sample venting that their people feel like straight meat sometimes just before “Denial” featuring Illa Ghee & Pretty Bulli finds the trio on a blink away from savagery.
Open Mike Eagle joins Herawin on the synth-heavy “Shame” delivering a relentless verbal onslaught over some additional organs leading into “Anxiety” produced by J. Depina somberly opening up about her struggles with the universal plague of anxiety & showing how her lyrical craft becomes her remedy. “Power” featuring Ke Turner hits y’all spiritual sound codes on top of these pianos & strings while “Arrogant” featuring Poison Pen ruggedly takes charge thanks to Johnny Slash.
“Love” featuring Aaqil Ali continues to go for a darker sound portraying 2 romantic partners wonderfully referencing to one another as their favorite monsters, but then “Manifest” featuring Apathy & Mickey Factz concludes the Sleeping Giant being awoken with them showcasing their elite style of lyricism each of them are known for in the underground & Supastition showing off some crazy sampling with the guitar flip he has to offer.
A whole entire decade after her solo debut, the Queen of the Juggaknots returns with a musical memoir of waking up to your true self, to your inherent power, embracing it & celebrating the entirety of who you are with a cathartic blend of stunning tales of her own personal growth addressing issues that she wanted to bring more awareness to with raw speaker-shaking production & consistent performances amongst the guests.
Los Angeles, California rapper Big Hit dropping his 3rd studio LP from behind bars. The father of Hit-Boy, he was found guilty & convicted of a hit & run resulting in great bodily injury almost a decade ago & unlawfully being sentenced to 12 years & 4 months in prison including a 5-year GBI enhancement connected to Count 1. His petition for a writ of habeas corpus was later granted & became a free man on his son’s 36th birthday. Hit would have his father join forces by making Surf or Drown 2 a collab effort tailored for Father’s Day Weekend & put out a debut album of his own The Truth is in My Eyes only 6 months later. Blacks & Whites produced by Hit-Boy & The Alchemist outdid the debut last spring, finding himself incarcerated again 4 months ago & Surf Club Inc. has put together Free Big Hit.
“The Game Just Forced Me” is this summery intro talking about wanting to live his life & not wanting to make any sacrifices whereas “Got What You Need” featuring WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Doggshows off their mob ties over a west coast trap instrumental from Hit-Boy. “It’s Obvious” featuring Lefty Gunplay & X4 cloudily brings the trio together to talk about being allergic to the bullshit while “Slow Your Roll” featuring Ty$ melodically breaks down the coldness of the ghetto.
Meanwhile on “Bigger Than Life”, we have Big Hit on top of more sampling aiming to plan for the future in the midst of the price increasing with the appetite just before “Fuck Me Back” featuring the Baby Stone Gorillas was an underwhelming choice of a single that came out couple months back when winter began. “Thug Love” featuring Jay Worthy & TeeFLii makes up for it with a dedication to the thugs leading into “Awake” featuring Hit-Boy stands a warming father-son moment.
“Beyond Solid” continues to push further towards the 2nd leg of Free Big Hit with a boastfully cloudy trap heater assuring that he still has it even with all the bullshit he’s been dealing with these last few months while “Crunch Time” shows a bit of a jazz rap flare instrumentally heading for the riches. “They Say They Proud of Me” featuring Joe Moses ends with them addressing everyone who claims to be happy for their success.
Wouldn’t be fair at all to say it’s Big Hit’s fault that this album didn’t do as much as his last couple did because he’s back on prison for some bullshit, but Free Big Hit even with the highlights it has could quite possibly be his most average listening experience. His performances are unquestionably on par with The Truth is in My Eyes and Blacks & Whites, the guests’ though either come off as exciting or disappointingly underwhelming.
This is the 8th studio LP from Philadelphia emcee O.T. the Real. Getting his start in the underground back in 2016 after coming home from prison & dropping his debut single “Papercuts”, his profile began to grow from there after showcasing his skills on radio stations or dropping his last 7 albums as well as a mixtape & 8 EPs. My favorites being the Heatmakerz-produced 3rd EP The Irishman & the DJ Green Lantern-produced 3rd album Broken Glass that dropped on my 25th birthday & the Statik Selektah produced Maxed Out. No Matter What, Desperation of December, It’s Almost Over & Red Summer were all hit or miss for me until O.T. finally signed to Black Soprano Family Records & enlisted araabMUZIK for Zombie to critical acclaim. Prepare for War & Pale Horse were ok, following up Moving Base O.T.’s eponymous debut showed improvement as did the Nickel Plated produced Cost of Living, so Nickel returning for The Devil You Know only makes sense.
“GOATS” grimly starts with this boom bap opener warning to watch what you say around him because you might wind up dead because of it later on at some point whereas “Silverspoon” morbidly keeps it in the basement instrumentally talking about making it out on his own. The beat on “Wall” kinda gives me a Griselda feel to it giving praise to the plug who helped him get into his current position while “Countryfried” featuring Smoke DZA cops a turkey on the low without knowing what it took.
As for “Highland”, we have O.T. over an uncannily raw instrumental suggest to watch who you servin’ just before “Eyes” ruggedly demand you show him the product & the bread right on the spot. “Insane” maintains the boom bap sound talking about staying outside trappin’ for what his leading into “Talez” taking about the stories of a hustler & wanting others to have his back whether it’s right or wrong.
“Devil” aggressively kicks off the final leg of The Devil You Know with O.T. getting right back in his zone over this rap rock/boom bap crossover while “Friends” featuring Dun Dealy finds the 2 talking about being unable to enter Canada & having homies out in Mexico. The song “Damn” is a dreary one reflecting on a homie texting him saying he needed to talk to him & “62” ends by explaining his come up was a dream come true.
Starting the deluxe run, “Bracelets” brushes off any notion of his competition being anything like him while “After Midnight” featuring SKNJ decently trades the mic back-&-forth with each other. “Carved” talks about being the only one who can see the blood on his hands while “Dead Opps” featuring Lik Moss talks about how nasty it is out here. “Lows” speeds up his flow over a piano-driven boom bap beat & the final bonus track “Junkie’s Son” coincides with his Long Bright River appearance.
Both You Are Who You Eat With & Cost of Living remain quality bodies of work within what’s already an impressive discography for O.T., unless The Devil You Know can now be included during conversation. Nickel Plated’s production for a good run of it primarily sticks out as being based around boom bap locking in with the Philly standout for another round of pressure.
Deep Sea Diver are an indie rock band from Seattle, Washington consisting of drummer Peter Mansen, guitarist Elliot Jackson, bassist Garrett Gue & frontwoman Jessica Dobson. Their 2012 debut History Speaks followed by Secrets & Impossible Weight were all solid in their own rights, eventually garnering the interest of the biggest local indie label Sub Pop Records & them fittingly signing the hometown act for their 4th full-length studio album in their discography having the potential to become their most important one ever.
The title track mixes indie rock, dream pop, neo-psychedelia, indie pop, new wave & post-punk revival together singing about welcoming the future by letting go of it whereas the existentially tongue-in-cheek “What Do I Know?” asks why Jessica feels so complicated. “Emergency” turns the punk influences back up warning she doesn’t anyone shit when she really doesn’t while “Shovel” blends new wave, post-punk revival & alternative dance gets at Jessica’s most angular & dualistic.
“Tiny Threads” comes through with a sweeping anthem for anyone trying to hold anything together just before “Loose Change” brings a heavy singer/songwriter vibe to the table with it’s acoustic heavy sound singing about all of us standing up to our mistakes. “Always Waving Goodbye” goes for their signature indie pop/indie rock sound hoping that we all stop hiding one day while “Let Me Go”featuring Madison Cunningham stands out with them giving flowers to PJ Harvey.
To begin the encore of Deep Sea Diver’s official Sub Pop debut, “Be Sweet” calls for everyone to give her more flowers than she can take only for the sole purpose of smelling them in the flesh & promising we’ll survive the bullshit in the past month or so while “See in the Dark” sings about having the ability of having night vision & there being no need for anyone else around her to find another way out. “Happiness Isn’t a Given” concludes the band’s most exciting offering perceiving joy as not being specified.
For a personal breakthrough that prompted an artistic one, Billboard Hearts exemplifies Seattle’s biggest label signing the local act & they hand them a defiant & brilliant exclamation mark at the end of a long period of wandering. They expand the indie rock/indie hybrids they’re known for venturing out in favor of new wave, synthpop, shoegaze, garage rock revival, post-punk revival, singer/songwriter & dream pop peeling back a renewed self of self Jessica has.
Boldy James teaming up with Chuck Strangers for his 12th full-length studio LP. Breaking out in the fall of 2013 off his Alchemist produced debut M.1.C.S. (My 1st Chemistry Set), the Detroit lyricist would later go on to land a contract with Nas’ independent label Mass Appeal Records for a little while before getting locked up. Once coming home, Uncle Al would help get his name back out there once getting out by dropping the Boldface EP around Christmas 2019 & then the sophomore album The Price of Tea in China. This was followed up with the Sterling Toles-produced Manger on McNichols which was as equally fantastic, but the Griselda Records-backed Versace Tape EP was a tad bit disappointing given how rushed it was. Bo Jackson though would become his most critically acclaimed work to date & Super Tecmo Bo was almost as great for an EP. Fair Exchange No Robbery produced by Nicholas Craven, Penalty of Leadership, Mr. 10-08 produced by Futurewave, the Conductor Williams-produced Across the Tracks, the Harry Fraud-produced The Bricktionary & the Carlo Anthony-produced Hidden in Plain Sight were all welcomed to warm reception as well so I went into Token of Appreciation hoping it would be better than both Murder During Drug Traffic & Permanent Ink.
“B.O.B. (Big Ol’ Business) is this calming opener with Boldy making it very clear what he’s standing on regularly whereas “Whale Fishing” works in a drumless chipmunk soul instrumental talking about being aware of this shit coming with gun-smoke or a jail cell. “Big Paws on a Puppy” hooks up this piano refusing to lack & staying in double action while “Unapologetic” strips the drums again so he can talk about trying to a catch a blessing recollecting.
The synth-organs on “Lop Sided” are the most attentive detail about Chuck’s beat here zip-lining through the ghetto with his Concreature family just before “Global Telling” brings psychedelic jazzy flare to the table talking about his mother being extremely proud of his career taking off. “Thank God” continues the sampling giving praise to the Most High, but then “UPS” hops over a harp laying the demo down soon as they get ups.
“Fail Proof” officially gets the final leg of Boldy’s Token of Appreciation rollin’ to observe a plain that wasn’t protected from fallin’ flat on it’s face while “3rd Little Piggy” goes for a richly groovier vibe instrumentally unsurprisingly fucking with the bricks. “Bird’s Eye View” properly finishes the best thing that Boldy has made in the first 2 months of the year telling everyone the sky’s the limit from that very perspective.
Seeing people on social media saying Boldy’s beginning to fall off because Murder During Drug Traffic & Permanent Ink were both mid really must’ve caught his attention because he & Chuck Strangers just made every one of those idiots eat their words with an album on 2/27 Day that clears both it’s predecessors. Chuck’s production is far more well detailed than what we got from Boldy last month & his rapping sounds better in comparison.
Brooklyn, New York duo Smif-n-Wessun consisting of Tek & Steele of the Boot Camp Clik returning with Jamla Records’ in-house production team The Soul Council for their 8th studio LP. Their 1995 debut Dah Shinin’ is widely regarded as an East Coast classic & the Pete Rock produced Monumental, I enjoy almost as much. The All maintain the high quality consistency of Monumental by teaming with The Soul Council for the first time, looking to do it again 6 years later on Infinity.
The title track produced by Khrysis begins The All sequel by promising that they’ll be here for eternity whereas “Moses Promise” takes the soulful boom bap route instrumentally needing the whole team to be straight in order to catch wins. “Namaste” romantically tells their partners they ain’t in a rush tonight with the help of Ka$h behind the boards leading into “Medina” featuring Pharoahe Monch bringing it hardcore over a vocal sample from Sndtrak.
“Black Eminence” featuring the late Prodigy exuberantly turns it up after being asked to tone it down some while “Chuuch” works in a gospel flip talking about keeping it rolling whether it be better or worse. “Beautiful Trip” keeps the sampling chops going flexing that the reach they have has been global for 3 decades, but then “Enjoy Ya Life” brings these pianos in the fold courtesy of 9th Wonder talking about making the best of the short time we have here on Earth.
As for “Shine”, we have Tek & Steele heading for a groovier approach explaining that they value those they battle for while “Just Stay!” featuring Conway the Machine hops over this crooning vocal sample to talk about running through whole entire squads. “On My Soul” featuring Buckshot finds the trio tackling the theme of loyalty & camaraderie while “Heard About Me” featuring the late Sean Price soulfully asks if you heard everything said regarding them lately.
“Elephant in the Room” hits the final moments of Infinity with the 2nd & final single talking about never being traitors because they find those type of people to be worse than bitches & the Nottz-laced closer “Bad Guy” rounds it all out by making everyone listening choose between whether they want to hear the ugly truth or a pretty lie being told to them when most would rather pick the pretty lies since honesty hurts sometimes.
Several years after The Soul Council first got with Smif-n-Wessun, the Jamla in-house production team ensures that Infinity didn’t sound dated it all by giving the duo the classic sound they’re known for & making it feel new in the process. They reflect of their life experiences after all these decades refusing to curve to conformity & staying true to their roots with a great list of guests in addition to the stellar production.
Legends Will Never Die 