Vallejo, California rapper & songwriter Larry June joining forces with Atlanta, Georgia rapper, actor & songwriter 2 Chainz for a brand new collaborative studio LP. Both of whom have already crossed paths with one another a couple times in recent years on the tracks “Still Boomin’” & “Ocean Cuisine”, ultimately deciding to get together with one of my top 10 producers of all-time The Alchemist to entirely produce Life is Beautiful after being teased on Twitter a couple months ago sparking interest even further by letting off a couple singles the previous month & 2 Chainz appearing on WWE’s flagship program Monday Night RAW on Netflix a couple weeks ago.
“Munyon Canyon” is a drumless intro with both of them talking about needing everything whereas “Colossal” works in a reversed sample to admit they find it therapeutic counting it up referencing WWE Hall of Famer Arnold Schwarzenegger & calling it exactly the way they see it. “I Been” continues to strip the drums as they discuss minding their own business leading into “LLC” talking about how there’s so much money to get bringing a boom bap flare to the table instrumentally.
The jazzy, drumless & boom bap lead single “Bad Choices” was one to begin the rollout perfectly wanting to know where all the good women who make bad decisions are at in the building while the title track has a flute sample that I really enjoy as they discuss the beauties of life. “Generation” dabbles with trap again talking about being the ones getting kids doing drugs, but then “Any Day” strips the drums to talk about giving their all.
“Epiphany” begins the final leg of Life is Beautiful on a mellow note flexing that their cribs be looking exactly like an Airbnb & “Tru Organics” continues to keep the drums out the equation talking about money being the motivator. “Jean Prouvé” psychedelically comes to the realization of them getting their minds right while “Days Like This” starts the deluxe run praising God daily for their blessings. The final bonus track “Spy Hunter” featuring The Alchemist ends with the trio chillin’ on a yacht & staying forever hungry.
Larry has brought the best out of 2 Chainz in the past throwing it back to his Tity Boi days & even though I initially thought that Jay Worthy was gonna be on here a couple months ago, the former Playaz Circle member taps in with The Freeminded Records founder to take their chemistry to the next level. Alchemist’s production is mostly drumless other than some hints of boom bap & trap for both of them to drop their signature luxurious raps.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada singer/songwriter The Weeknd ending a 5 year trilogy with his 6th studio LP. Rising to stardom in the early 2010s with a trilogy of highly acclaimed mixtapes, he then made his full-length debut in 2013 with Kiss Land which was a decent attempt at symbolizing tour life forming his own Republic Records imprint X❤️O Records after nearly signing to Drake’s label OVO Sound. The sophomore effort Beauty Behind the Madness proved to be even better as it started to incorporate elements of pop, although Starboy ended up being another mixed bag much like Kiss Land except he embraced a more electropop sound. Abel’s debut EP My Dear Melancholy, though was a solid return to his alternative R&B roots & let’s not forget After Hoursgoing on to becoming the best album of his career thus far in my opinion. Dawn FM picked up right where it left off & the final chapter Hurry Up Tomorrow is finally upon us.
“Wake Me Up” produced with Oneohtrix Point Never & Mike Dean is this epic 2-part intro to begin the end balancing synthwave & synth-funk started singing about his legacy being the only thing he has & it feels as if he’s dying whereas “Cry for Me” works in more synthesizers & hi-hats thanks to Metro Boomin’ interpolating “Within” by Daft Punk hoping that a woman I presume to be his ex Bella Hadid still cries for him. After the “I Can’t Fucking Sing” skit which I highly disagree with it’s title, “São Paulo” featuring Anitta was the weakest single of the 3 although I appreciate the fusion of funk mandelão, alternative R&B, synthwave, funk automotivo, mega funk & Brazilian phonk.
After the “Until We’re Skin & Bones” skit, the 3rd single “Baptized in Fear” dives into the feeling of being overwhelmed by guilt & regret going for more of a general alternative R&B vibe while “Open Hearts” explores themes of healing from heartbreak & learning to love again treats his love interest as an angel in disguise. The criminally short “Opening Night” sings over a futuristic instrumental to give him what I want & the show will start just before “Reflections Laughing” featuring a verse & drumless production from honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott fresh off appearing with former WWE Intercontinental Champion & 10-time WWE tag team champion Jey Uso at the Netflix premiere of Monday Night RAW made possible by TKO board of directors members WWE President Nick Khan alongside TKO President & COO Mark Shapiro brings the 2 together to talk about vulnerability, self-reflection & the pressures of fame.
“Enjoy the Show” featuring Future has a clever interpolation of “Can’t Feel My Face” making way for both of them coming together for a light R&B-inspired duet revolving around the concept of heartbreak leading into the 2-parter “Given Up on Me” asking God for his company preferring the final half more personally. “I Can’t Wait to Get There” brings a synth-funk flare to the table singing about the darkness keeping his romantic interest shining ahead of the official WrestleMania XLI theme song “Timeless” featuring Playboi Carti with Doechii on the remix uniting over a Pharrell beat uniquely molding trap, pop rap, alternative R&B, synthwave, cloud rap, trap soul, wave music & plugg.
Meanwhile on “Niagara Falls”, we have another 2-part track portraying The Weeknd looking back on a woman he used to love & got to hold until the sun used to come up while “Take Me Back to LA” comes across as a official sequel to the After Hours highlight“Escape from LA” wanting to return to the very city that he wanted to escape from nearly 5 years ago. “Big Sleep” hooks up some prominent synths telling his lover that she knows she loves it when she’s angry while the synth-funk driven “Give Me Mercy” sings about wanting God to grant him leniency.
“Drive” starts the final leg of Hurry Up Tomorrow confessing fame being a disease & not wanting to waste others’ time while “The Abyss” describes the fleetingness of love between him & his partner in the midst of the world erupting into despair. “Red Terror” goes for an electro-pop direction showcasing a distanced relationship that never loses its primary spark while the synth-based “Without a Warning” hopes his fans will love him until his final day.
The title track officially concludes The Weeknd’s swan song hoping he finds what he’s looking for being done with the lies & the loss genuinely hopping his confession of wanting to change is enough transitioning into “High for This” while “Dancing in the Flames” starts the deluxe run with a decent teaser of what was to come synthpop, dance-pop, synthwave, freestyle & Hi-NRG encapsulating the idea of a passionate love that endures through risks & chaos. “Runaway” acoustically assures all are safe in the afterlife while “Society” is a dance-pop number wanting to show his lover how it feels. The final bonus track “Closing Night” that the Swedish House Mafia & Wheezy laced together ends with a “Opening Night” sequel that’s more fleshed out than the predecessor.
Whatever’s next for Abel this point forward, the new trilogy of albums that he’s put out during the first half of this current decade shows how much he’s grown since House of Balloons, Thursday & Echoes of Silence all put him in the forefront of alternative R&B & now pop music in general. The production culminates in alternative R&B, synthpop, synthwave, trap, progressive electronic, dance-pop, synth-funk, drumless, funk mandelão, funk automotivo, mega funk, Brazilian phonk, pop rap, cloud rap, trap soul, wave, plugg, synthpop, freestyle & Hi-NRG music reaching a point in his life where he wants to to shed skin & be reborn.
This is the 4th solo LP from Detroit emcee, singer/songwriter, Astronomicon co-founder & former Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) commentator Jamie Madrox. His start as 1/3 of the House of Krazees alongside The R.O.C. & Monoxide, the latter of whom would join Mr. Bones in signing to Psychopathic Records in late 1997 as Twiztid & becoming one of the biggest acts to emerge out of the label that runs beneath the streets under the Insane Clown Posse’s wing for 15 years until forming Majik Ninja Entertainment to do it themselves. Jamie briefly went solo in the mid-90s off his debut EP The Demon Inside & the full-length debut Sacrifice, returning over a decade later for the Psychopathic-backed sophomore effort Phatso & a couple months ago on The November Brain. And with Twiztid getting ready to drop their 17th album Welcome to Your Funeral produced by Zeuss a couple weeks from now on Valentine’s Day & Juggalo Weekend, the multiple man has More Music You Don’t Wanna Hear from Someone You Barely Like.
“This Ain’t No Safe Space” is a solemn boom bap intro produced by Fritz the Cat welcoming y’all to the story of The Great Skull & the Graybow whereas “Man on the Edge” takes the trap route instrumentally courtesy of Grady Finch not giving a fuck what they gotta say. “Frazzled” fuses boom bap, rap rock & trap thanks to James Garcia or the artist formerly known as Young Wicked giving middle fingers to everyone above the criticism prior to the drum-&-bass “Free Fall” not wanting anyone to think he isn’t afraid because he is.
Moving on from there, “Sunny Always Forever” serves as another trap/rap rock hybrid talking about having enough problems being himself rather than wondering what it’s like being you while the only single “Fairy Tale” switches it up with a rock ballad singing that he wants things to go back to the way it used to be. “Am I Allowed 2B Me?” gets back on the hardcore hip hop vibe wanting to know if he can be himself just before “Fallin’ Out the Sky” returns to the boom bap talking about there being a lot of stories between here & greatness
“Rotate” begins the backend of More Music You Don’t Wanna Hear from Someone You Barely Like by experimenting with the Detroit trap sound explaining that it’s always the same fate when it’s him against them while “Until I Become Dirt” brings a morbid trap flare refusing to stop grindin’ until the wheels fall off. “☠️ Don’t Like Me ‘Cause I’m Already ☠️” ends the LP showing his versatility once again singing on top of this upbeat instrumental feeling alone.
It’s only been a couple months since The November Brain initially came out & despite me still enjoying it more than Phatso due to both the rawness of it & the amount of guests, More Music You Don’t Wanna Hear from Someone You Barely Like goes above & beyond the predecessor. The production mostly handled by Grady Finch & James Garcia is more consistent pulling from boom bap to hardcore hip hop, trap & rock music with Jamie showing his versatility as an artist by rapping stronger of even a couple tracks highlighting his singing abilities.
Livingston, New Jersey emcee & 10k Global founder MIKE ending the first month of 2025 with his 7th studio LP. Breaking out a decade ago off his debut mixtape Winter New York, he would continue to make a name for himself by churning out 4 more tapes as well as his previous 4 albums & 8 EPs full of amongst the finest abstract hip hop that you’ll hear within the last decade. Standouts include May God Bless Your Hustle, War in My Pen & even the Faith is a Rock collab effort with Wiki entirely produced by The Alchemist. Burning Desire has become his best work yet & 10 months after Pinball, he’s back in Showbiz!.
“Bear Trap” strips the drums with some jazzy & abstract elements thrown in to get us started talking about his future being in the music industry whereas “Clown of the Class (Work Harder)” works in some heavily sampling to break down him still hustling during a new day. “Then we could be free..” turns the jazz rap influences up again explaining there’s shit you can’t replace for the cheese like a bracelet just before “Watered down” soulfully talks about those reducing the force or effectiveness of their styles.
As for “man in the mirror”, we have MIKE going for a peppier vibe instrumentally to discuss his adaptability leading into “Artist of the Century” hooks up a prominent flute so he can talk about putting his life on the fact that he’s the best making music in the 21st century. “What U Bouta Do? (A Star was Born)” featuring 454 sees the pair coming together suggesting that being in their shoes is a scary route referencing the Paramount Skydance Corporation, but then a personal standout “Belly 1” produced by Harrison talks about shit being cruel & never deter.
“Da Roc” kinda has this glitch hop/trap vibe throughout admitting to feeling like JAY-Z at times & that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s rockin’ with y’all while “The Weight (2K20)” takes the drumless jazz rap route taking about struggling with the shade & the passive abusiveness. “Lost Scribe” smoothly cautions a war going every time he’s scribing wanting his respect when he’s throwing the dice while “You’re the Only One Watching” gets on the drumless, chipmunk soup tip thanking God whilst talking to the sky.
To get the other half of Showbiz! started, “Lucky” hops over these crooning background vocals making his mission clear that he’s out for every bag as he can possibly take while the woozy “#82” assures that he can piece a broken heart together. After the “Too Hot” interlude, “Pieces of a Dream” experiments with some dub undertones throughout the jazz rap lead single acknowledging the rain ain’t done while the groovy “Strange Feeling” talks about tryin’ to skip the jump rope of life & puttin’ his life into this shit since it’s only 1 go.
“Zombie 2” entrancingly picks up right where the Burning Desire highlight left off conceptually reflecting on when he was once blind not seeing shit & leaving it up to the God’s since he’s tired of achieving while “Burning House” goes for a soulful, psychedelic 2-parter talking about learning how to be a part of something rather than the whole thing. The drumless title track warning that people know better than going against him while “Spun Out” suggesting having too much heart for this shit & possibly running out.
The song “Miss U” officially reaches the final moments of Showbiz! with MIKE taking a backseat vocally allowing duendita to demonstrate her singing chops for a minute & a half R&B joint serving as a bridge to the track “When It Rains” apologizes for his lyrics getting dark wondering if it’s bad the feelings he once had for this woman departed me since he hardly hits her line anymore. “Diamond Dancing (Broke)” closes the album hoping to stay close before he feels a certain way & there being no better way to cope once going separate ways.
Considered as a spiritual successor to Disco!, Showbiz! lifts the curtain on the everyday realities of life on tour absorbs an era of influence with MIKE’s use of lounge music records whether it be pitching up neglected soul singles & ultimately creating his own style as opposed to the predecessor moving to the rhythm of carefree dancefloors. The sounds of drumless, experimental hip hop, jazz rap, trap & dub pair up with MIKE’s abstract lyricism to make his point that he’s more than an artist.
California City horrorcore duo Madopelli back together again for their 4th studio LP. Consisting of M.A.D & Ant Dog, the pair have also gone on to drop a couple of mixtapes & EPs ever since forming in 2016. Their sophomore effort albeit Lyrikal Snuff Productionz debut No Bluffin’ proved itself to be Madopelli’s most refined work to date both lyrically & sonically to the point where they were instantly accepted within the Gorehop realm. The follow-up Stories from the Sanctum later resulted in both members making their LSP debut as solo artists with Sadistic Symphony & M.A.D (Me Against Death), coming off their feature on IOUz couple weeks ago with Suffer Not Dishonor.
After the intro, the title track is an uncanny opener talking about rather dreaming on than losing all their love for the game whereas “Breaking the Mold” samples blues music telling everyone listening to never give up the fight since it could be worse. “O.M.G.W.T.F.Y.D.” (Oh My God, What The Fuck Y’all Drinking?)” shows a more carefree attitude dedicating this to all the drinkers & after the “Descend into Madness” skit, “Save Some Time” dabbles with trap waiting for the rain to come down & wash them away.
“Murder Glow” aggressively breaks down their mission of getting LSP on top of the underground leading into “Bad Side” featuring Scum bringing the trio together for a skull-smashing trap metal cut talking about putting you out our misery once you’ve crossed the line with them. “Perfect Place” brings a regular trap flare to the table feeling like you’re gonna die while “This Life” sends prayers to the lost souls hoping they find peace.
Mikahl Lawless joins Madopelli on “Superstitious” stacking up dead bodies on the 13th floor talking about everyone who’s said the trio has always had an irrational belief or practice that is based on magic or chance rather than reason & prior to the outro, the final song “Really Mid Faces” rounds out Ant Dog & M.A.D.’s first body of work together in a year & a half.
Both halves of the duo spent 2024 focusing on crafting the finest solo efforts of their careers last spring with their respective LSP debuts & 10 months later, they’re linking back up to drop off their 3rd album since signing to the Gorehop powerhouse & reaffirming their ever-rising status as one of the biggest acts on the label. The production draws from trap music to trap metal, sampling blues music & hardcore hip hop bringing the type of wicked shit that’ll make the squeamish suffer.
EST G is a 30 year old rapper & songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky who put out his first 3 mixtapes independently until Interscope Records signed him for his 4th tape I Still Don’t Feel Nun & later signing with Collective Music Group the next summer to put out Bigger Than Life or Death. His debut album I Never Felt Nun finally came after Bigger Than Life or Death 2 & the Last Ones Left collab tape with 42 Dugg, following it up with Mad & El Toro 2. Couple years later, he’s returning for his official sophomore effort.
“Free Rico” is this Detroit trap intro wanting everyone that’s listening to follow his lead whereas “The Streets” was a decent 2nd single building up anticipation for I Ain’t Feeling You bringing trap & gangsta rap together. “Houstonatlantaville” featuring Lil Baby & honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott blends horns & hi-hats recommending y’all to take your time when you gettin’ it out the oven while “Right Now” brings the Detroit trap vibes back talking about someone who ain’t learn shit.
The 3rd single “R.I.P. Lu Mike” remembers a friend of his who was tragically taken from us last summer just before the lead single “Go” sticks to a general trap sound altogether talking about being too high to the point where he can barely even think. “Plug Motivation” admits it didn’t hurt when someone who lied to him regarding being turnt died since he changed on him, but then “Do My Own Stunts” likens himself to the late Evel Knievel.
TM88 saves what’s by far my favorite instrumental on the album for “Crash” turning baby-mama drama into opportunities while “Slime” talks about having too much on his mind & the time for another killin’. The final single “My Love” featuring CBFW Records labelmates Rylo Rodriguez & Veeze finds the trio wishing their love was good enough on top of Veeze having the best verse of the 3 & the outro makes a clear-eyed accounting of his imperfections or mistakes that make him even more relatable.
“Flash” featuring Bloodhound Q50 gets the deluxe run going with both of them sampling “Flashing Lights” by Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West promising that their chains won’t ever get snatched while “Free Z5” talks about being raised way differently than the average person in the streets. “Free Leaf” calls for the squad to point out an opp whenever they come across one trappin’ viciously & the final bonus track “It Ain’t Work Yet” talks about using percocets to unsuccessfully numb the pain.
Keeping up with the CMG camp’s rise in popularity for almost 4 years now, I’ve given praise to a handful of their artists in that span of time whether it be 42 Dugg or Mozzy & more recently Glorilla. That in mind: I Ain’t Feeling You maintains the mixed reception of his output in the last few years due to it’s relatable themes getting drowned out as a result of uninteresting production.
Farma G is a 40 year old MC/producer from London, England, United Kingdom known for being a member of the Mud Family collective & 1/2 of the Task Force alongside his brother Chester P. He would go on to produce for several big names within the underground from Rome Streetz to Vinnie Paz & the latter’s Heavy Metal Kings cohort Ill Bill. However after signing to High Focus Records as a solo artist, he’s ready to show the world what he’s capable of doing on the mic & dropping a full-length solo debut a month after Michael Oku became a 2-time RPW British Heavyweight Champion.
“Cats & Dogs” begins with a cumbersome beat from Relense referring to the titular idiom used when it’s raining really hard just before “Bearskin Coats” shifts towards a boom bap direction so he can liken himself to a walking killer carrying a harpoon. The self-produced “Junkyard” sticks out to me as a favorite of mine from the overall mafioso vibe to the lyrics detailing the kind of business you can’t get out of once you’re in while “Say How You See It” speaks of calling things the way they are.
Moving on from there, “Classic Tech” instrumentally somewhat reminds me of Griselda’s late 2010s output talking about a bad moon rising & a new sun’s quest to take it’s 1st breath leading into “Here Come the Gods” works in a gritty piano flip to explain that he was born to rock clubs. “Peet” samples an organ so he can a couple minutes to remember his late father while “In Between the Lines” talks about how he feels trapped whenever he’s writing songs over a Cuth & DJ Jazz T beat.
“Found That Funny” laughs at rappers who only have money on their minds while “Angels” talks about hearing messengers of God speaking to him. “Me Oh My” dustily offers an easy listening experience for the drug dealers & their victims while “Goat Shit” featuring Jehst finds the 2 over a woodwind instrumental talking about ranking amongst the greats. “The Start & End” finishes up the LP by jumping over a drumless loop suggesting death runs the numbers until our time comes.
Hanging up the mic in 2013 following the completion of the Task Force’s 6th & final album Music from the Corner 5 so he could focus more on his production skills, How to Kill a Butterfly thematically connects itself to Farma G’s origins as part of the Mud Family duo he & his younger sibling formed 3 decades ago officially closing that chapter of his life & beginning anew. I understand him only producing a few cuts so he can let his pen shine, but I’d love to hopefully hear the guy fully produce a future sophomore effort all by himself now that his solo career’s begun.
Michigan rapper MJPaid dropping off a sophomore effort. Coming up off the 6 Mile Trend$etter EP along with it’s sequel & the debut album 6 Mile Mi$fit respectively, Detroit trap group the ShittyBoyz would make 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 Fordio celebrating it’s 1-year anniversary last week. Coinciding with a deluxe version of that tape in the near-distant future, Paid Ponzi coming out made for an exciting prelude with 1 of the 2 performers handling the mic by himself.
“Ian Feelin’ That” pops it all off with a Detroit trap intro expressing his desire for $1B like he’s JAY-Z & shit not being hard to get if you put your mind to it whereas “Flavors” talks bitches chasing him & him chasing the money. “Dave Blunts” likens his pockets to the morbid obesity of a collaborator on Tronicles almost 3 months ago that I’m not too much of a fan of leading into “On Bro” featuring Babyfxce E exchanging brief verses with one another.
The vibraphones & pianos on “I Got It!” are peppily pleasant to the ear shrugging off any help some thinks he may need since he has it all taken care of while “6 Times” featuring Certified Trapper finds the pair asking how you a scammer when you ain’t even seen $10. “My Story” chops up a vocal sample for MJ to give everybody some backstory regarding himself just before “Elon Musk” feels like bad timing in light of the Tesla CEO, Twitter owner, SpaceX founder & Neuralink founder’s recent sieg hail.
“Y.N.W. (Young N Wild)” featuring DaBoii brings the pair together so they explain what kind of individuals they are while “3 Peat?” talks about everyone asking him for a handout being hoes. “Dracula” gives off a cloudier approach to the beat wanting red as if he’s a vampire while “OT7” talks about being out here with 7 hoes like he’s Quanny when I’d personally prefer him more than Quanny.
Babytron joins MJ on “It Depends” doing the back-&-forth execution of the verses better than the “On Me” single while “Don’t @ Me” produced by Danny G & Jakesand talks about mastering the art of cracking backs & going ghost when you need people the most. “Home Team” featuring Fordio recaptures the energy of that Made & $tyle tape we got 53 weeks earlier while “Dr. Doom” references the Fantastic 4 antagonist in light of his brief First Steps appearance.
“MJPaid Type Beat” pushes the 2nd leg of Paid Ponzi even further talking about trying to get his homies rich while “Scuba Dive” blends jazz & Detroit trap in a unique fashion talking about what he does every time a wave comes in his direction. “Bandz = Band-Aids” swaps out the jazz influences in favor in Mobb feelin’ like shit gonna be stayin’ the same while “Cold Summer” talks about how shit gonna be several months from now.
The song “What I Say?” speaks of having shit on his chest that ain’t gonna come out refusing make cheap convos with anyone broke while “Dog $hit” represents his team & talks about getting married to the money with Ben Frank becoming his best man. “Shhh” closes the album incorporating a chipmunk soul flip addressing the individuals who have no dedication wanting the lifestyle he’s experiencing.
Nearly 4 years since the 6 Mile Trend$etter properly introduced him within the Detroit trap realm, MJPaid makes his solo debut as part of the Dog $hit Militia once that pushes himself compared to his previous material & has me keeping my fingers crossed of the other members showing us what they’re capable of doing by themselves in the coming months. Even with 6 Mile Mi$fit having a stronger guest-list, the production is a big improvement from that earlier output & MJ channeling the energy of my 2nd favorite basketball player Kobe Bryant.
Pasadena, California singer/songwriter, producer & multi-instrumentalist Charlie Bereal returning after almost 6 years to release his 3rd album. Formerly a member of The Soul Seekers, he would later depart the gospel group in 2017 to make a name for himself putting out the full-length solo debut Testimony independently followed by the Coalmine Records-backed sophomore effort 11-11-11 couple years later. His biggest breakthrough however came when WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg signed him to Death Row Records last summer & wants everyone to Walk with the Father.
“Hope” begins his Death Row debut showing a heavy Curtis Mayfield influence keeping his head up to the sky remaining hopeful after Donald Trump’s 2nd inauguration earlier this week whereas “Some People” sings to take someone, share with them & building their own together. The self-produced “Never Gonna Take Away My Love” pays homages to The Delfonics promising that his love cannot be stolen from him, but then “The Greatest” pulls inspiration from The Stylistics assuring it’s all for the best.
Moving on from there, “My Only One” comes to the realization that he’s finally ready to settle down with the woman of his life crooning on top of these horns leading into the title track going for a Curtis Mayfield/Marvin Gaye vibe singing about how hard it is in Los Angeles & the ongoing wildfires in the SoCal area surely aren’t helping unfortunately. “Energy” featuring JMo & the Greats goes for a soulful funk rock direction instrumentally admiring one another’s vitality or power prior to “Wherever You Are” singing about a woman who’ll always be in Charlie’s heart going forward.
“Jack Move” starts the final leg of Walk with the Father crooning for his lover to give their heart to him while “Don’t Want to Get Up” brings back the funk once again to sing about trusting the process. The song “Toxic Love” soulfully asks why the love he has with the woman he has specifically in mind here is as harmful as it is while the penultimate track “Keep It Pushing” tells anyone listening who’s going through some shit to move forward since you only have 1 life. The funky closer “Come Go with Me” lastly ends the LP encouraging everyone to join him in being free.
Walk with the Father continues to strengthen the R&B side of Death Row Records following October London’s latest album October Nights a few months ago & Chocc’s debut EP Journals to Johnny a week preceding her father reuniting with his mentor Dr. Dre on Missionary by throwing it back to the days of 70s music giving flowers to those in the genre who paved the way & mixing elements of R&B’s present in too. Charlie does his preacher father’s memory justice recruiting Josef Leimberg to help him make the album his dad always wanted him to make before he passed away.
FKA twigs is a 37 year old singer/songwriter & dancer from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom notable in the art pop scene for her XL Recordings subsidiary Young Recordings debut EP2 after her eponymous debut EP along with her full-length debut LP1 & her 3rd EP M3LL155X. Her sophomore effort Magdalene was also acclaimed with many saying it’s better than LP1 & the same goes with her Atlantic Records-backed debut mixtape Caprisongs, heading into Eusexua maintaining the classic caliber of both it’s predecessors.
The title track produced by Koreless brings together trance, art pop, progressive trance, melodic techno, ambient techno & minimal techno describing a feeling of momentary transcendence whereas “Girl Feels Good” desires men to listen to the passion of women unashamedly displaying the power women hold. “Perfect Stranger” works in elements of 2-Step, dance-pop, Euro house, alt-pop & future garage content with living with some mystery while “Drums of Death” with deconstructed club, UK bass, glitch pop, IDM, alternative R&B & glitch sings about you being her main character in your life.
“Room of Fools” sees her tempt the idea of love against this room of fools dances without a care of the real ongoings of the world while “Sticky” finds herself in the aptly titled kind of situations over & over again in attempts to express herself sexually since deep down she knows it’s a punishing cycle, but yet she can’t let go. “Keep It, Hold It” admits to feeling like wanting to turn the other way sometimes asking what she has to do & so just before the Jeff Bhasker co-produced “Childlike Things” featuring one of my top 10 producers Kanye West’s eldest daughter North West both going where the wild things are & North performing in Japanese better than she did “Bomb” off Vultures 2.
Meanwhile on “Striptease”, we have FKA twigs reaching the encore of Eusexua by singing on top of this angelic trap beat that Dog Show Records founder Dylan Brady of the hyperpop duo 100 gecs helped put together additionally while “24hr Dog” feels herself becoming a so-called full time ‘slave’ for her partner resolving herself as to being a domesticated ‘dog’ for them in addition to their demands & wishes. “Wanderlust” ends the album telling her love to find her even if she is ‘lost’ in the immaterial lusting for the endless voyage that both life & death have to offer.
“The 11” starts the deluxe run describing a method she developed by encouraging conscious action on repeat for the mind & body via spoken word while the vocal trance, dance-pop, hard techno, progressive house, progressive trance, UK hard house & peak time techno single “Perfectly” sings about times things were messy for her yet doing it so well. “The Dare” seems like a cross between Madonna’s late 90s output & Dido knocking at this guy’s door daring him to forgive her & after “Gotta Feel” sings of her desires to be bathed in forgiveness & trust, the final bonus track “Lonely But Exciting Road” opens up regarding her belief of heaven possibly coming her way.
Inspired by a night in the summer of 2022 where FKA twigs found her way outside the city to a warehouse rave where hundreds of strangers were dancing to loud immersive techno, her first album in 6 years is more a love letter to dance music’s emancipating powers due to her channeling through the auteur’s heady, haunting signature style. The production shows influences of electronic dance music, art pop, trance music, dance-pop, alternative R&B, downtempo, deconstructed club, UK bass, glitch pop, IDM, glitch music, 2-Step, Euro house, alt-pop & future garage, progressive trance music, melodic techno, ambient techno & minimal techno providing greater understanding to the term she created herself defined as a state of being.
Legends Will Never Die 