Benson Boone – “American Heart” review

Benson Boone is a 22 year old singer/songwriter from Monroe, Washington garnering the attention of Warner Records following “Ghost Town” going viral. Introducing herself to a wider audience off both her EPs Walk Me Home… & Pulse, his inaugural full-length Fireworks & Rollerbladesmarked a poorly received debut in terms of the pop rock style & his follow-up here has been generating a lot of attention from critics & fans so much that I had to give it a listen to hear what made it so appealing.

“Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else” was a mediocre pop rock single to start my off with further showing influences of big music & new wave addressing a former lover whereas “Mr. Electric Blue” sings about his father disrespecting the progressive pop rock band Electric Light Orchestra, who influenced a personal favorite artist of mine in KiD CuDi. “Man in Me” overloads this synth-heavy breakup letter with so much melodrama where it gets annoying after a short & “Mystical Magical” easily sticks out amongst the absolute worst songs I’ve heard all year making the late Olivia Newton-John roll in her grave.

Reaching the halfway point of this torturous listening experience, “Reminds Me of You” makes me miss Bruno Mars in light of 24K Magic turning 10 next fall & of course the Silk Sonic album An Evening with Silk Sonic. “Momma Song” was a disappointingly tiring adult contemporary single dedicated to his mother doing piano & symphonic rock little to no favors leading into “I Wanna Be the One You Call” redundantly exemplifying why it should’ve been on the cutting room floor & Malay’s involvement disappoints because of his production on the best alternative R&B album of all-time in Frank Ocean’s sophomore effort blond right above The Weeknd’s mixtape trilogy.

“Wanted Man” feels like him taking a giant shit on glam rock which the late David Bowie defined with his 1972 magnum opus The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars followed by “Take Me Home” homaging the EP that broke him out as a star except it underwhelmingly asks to be kissed like the old days. “Young American Heart” finally finishes this shitty album with him & recalling a time where he & his best friend felt limitless & indestructible.

Said to be inspired by heartland rock pioneer Bruce Springsteen & the Americana subgenre of country music, Benson Boone’s sophomore effort feels utterly commercialized to the point where you’d hear it in a dressing room of a store like Kohl’s instead of a generational attempt of solidifying himself as a successor to pop rock alongside adult contemporary & new wave doing the bare minimum of justice to every individual who’s brought out the good of all those styles making them what they are now.

Score: 1/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Nick Grant – “I Took It Personal” review

Nick Grant is a 36 year old MC from Atlanta, Georgia emerging in 2016 off his debut mixtape ‘88 along with the Epic Records-backed debut album Return of the Cool. His next tape Dreamin’ Out Loud would prelude the acclaimed God Bless the Child produced by Tae Beast of the Top Dawg Entertainment in-house production team Digi+Phonics, which later led to Carolina Diaries & Welcome to Loveland. A year & half since Sunday Dinner however, I Took It Personal has finally arrived a week after its initial release date.

“Unforgettable” sets the tone with a piano/boom bap hybrid sprinkling remnants of the past in his music testifying to the legacy he’s already established for himself whereas “Let It Reign / Read Your Contract” gets split into a soulful first half boasting that everything he writes murders & the other lamenting his time being on a major label including giving advice to anyone who wants to get signed basing it from his own experiences with Grand Hustle Records & later Epic.

The soul sample on “Do You Love Me?” fits the whole theme of love telling his girl that she’s the very reason he bosses up & he’s the realest out of all the fish in the sea leading into “Big Tymers” talking about there not being any other better story than the underdog. “Pass It Out / House Calls” serves as another 2-parter cloudily looking to chalk out his competition during the first half & the other talking about there being a problem if the dogs get called.

Chipmunk soul & boom bap get fused during “The Ritual” boasting that he’s the very reason why the matrix is glitching at the moment just before “No Apologies” belittles everyone who relies on ghostwriters over a jazzy yet soulful instrumental. “Love for the Mob” finds himself keeping it p & moving in silence like psalms showing off some killer wordplay while “The Pride” talks about joking a lot with his girl & still getting deep with her.

“Back Home” experiments with sample drill a bit reflecting on going major now & getting it out the mud when he started while “Product, User, Dealer” talks about making your favorite MC relapsing snorting lines again on top of observation the treachery of them street corners. Moving on from there, “Something to Sei” tackles a kind of love Nick feels should be illegal considering he was selling merch to give her heaven on earth.

The song “Nothing’s Free” brings a darker trap atmosphere to the table blending these hi-hats & ominous piano chords together until a symphonic switch up halfway through saying that America’s eating it’s babies when that couldn’t be any more true while “It Ain’t Personal” caps off the LP with 1 last soul sample chop making y’all think somebody filming him the way he’s shooting muhfuckas.

God Bless the Child was what renewed my interest in Nick during a rough time period in the lives of many & now that we’re pretty much halfway through the decade, I Took It Personal surpasses Return of the Cool as his strongest full-length & I feel like lot of people can learn a few things from it if you want to get involved with the music business. He’s laying out every experience he’s had in the industry whether it be good or bad & the production could be his most eclectic showing influences of boom bap, trap, jazz rap, chipmunk soul, cloud rap & sample drill.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Joshua Redman – “Words Fall Short” review

Joshua Redman is a 56 year old saxophonist from Berkeley, California notable for being the son of the late Dewey Redman. Signing to Warner Records in 1994 with his eponymous debut, he would go on to follow it up Wish as well as Moodswing & Freedom in the Groove. He would stay with Warner for Timeless Tales (For Changing Times) followed by Beyond & Passage of Time, leaving after Elastic in the fall of 2002. Recently signing to the greatest jazz label of all-time, Joshua’s 16th solo LP will now be his official debut under Blue Note Records.

“A Message to Unsend” begins with a 5 minute post-bop composition enlisting labelmate Paul Cornish on piano ahead of his debut You’re Exaggerating! later this summer alongside Philip Norris playing bass & Nazir Ebo handling the drums prior to tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana joining the quartet for “So It Goes” to improvise 7 minutes of pure swagger. Philip’s bassist skills kicks off the first 60 seconds of the title track until the drums, sax & pianos all come in respectively while “Borrowed Eyes” reaches the halfway point with a bluesier mood.

Getting the ball rollin’ on Words Fall Short’s final act, “Icarus” could be my favorite post-bop song throughout the whole 45 & a half minute runtime bringing trumpeter Skylar Tang along for an exhilarating improvised post-bop jam just before “Over the Jelly-Green Sea” shows Joshua’s appreciation towards the late W.G. Sebald. The final instrumental piece “She Knows” explores his full range with a soprano saxophone giving a shot at avant-garde jazz during it’s 2nd half “Era Ends” by Gabrielle Cavassa sends off the album with a vocal jazz outro reminiscent to the most recent entry of her discography Where Are We?.

Conceived in a working environment that inspired him to dig into compositions that hadn’t found a home yet, Joshua Redman’s approach to bandleading hasn’t changed from the very moment he introduced himself to the world 3 decades earlier still performing with virtuosos who’ve mastered all the different jazz vocabularies & know how to express their individual brilliance through group improvisation & collective interaction. Primarily departing from the vocal jazz direction that took up a good bulk of Where Are We? & turning up the post-bop influences, Josh’s previously unheard collection of originals the beauty of human imperfection sees the light of day as his greatest material since leaving Warner.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Bas & The Hics – “Melanchronica” review

New collaborative LP between Sudanese-American rapper & songwriter Bas alongside London, England, United Kingdom alternative R&B duo The Hics. One of whom began in 2011 by putting out his debut mixtape Quarter Water Raised Me & the 2013 sequel Quarter Water Raised Me 2 would catch the attention of J. Cole, becoming the 2nd act after Omen other than Cole himself to sign to his Interscope Records imprint Dreamville Records. Bas would introduce himself more to the Dreamville fans the next spring on the moderately received full-length debut Last Winter & the sophomore effort Too High to Riot couple years later won them over, as it’s still the most critically acclaimed body of work in Bas’ discography to date. Milky Way was also treated to mild reception as were the couple of EPs that he’s given us since then Spilled Milk & BUMP (Pick Me Up), returning a year & a half after We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re Fucked Up to team up with The Hics on Melanchronica.

“Out of Sight” was a soulfully orchestral trap fusion were 2 lovers talk about being down & out for each other whereas “Norbit” featuring Ab-Soul references the shitty Eddie Murphy movie that came out at the beginning of 2007 on top of mentioning that they want no parts with politics. “4 Walls” brings the alternative R&B & pop rap vibes they’re both known for in full effect wanting to get to know each other by telling war stories of their worst times while the cloudy “Everyday Ppl” reunites both acts for another R&B/hip hop duet talking about not wanting to fight anymore.

I found “San Junipero” to be a decent 2-parter with a beat switch during the final couple minutes pleading to hold onto love & “Comfort Levels” after the “Roxanne’s Interlude” acoustically talks about never seeing his squad going under since only God knows his hunger. “Mine” featuring Domani finds the quartet going for a tropical direction not wanting to let each other go while “Erehwon” featuring SABA talks about having tons of problems to pay for. “Sometimes” ends the album with a 7-minute closer split in 2 different halves observing tangible qualities in one another.

Breaking free from Interscope albeit staying with Dreamville much like the EARTHGANG did, Melanchronica feels like a longer version of the SNAKEGANG’s eponymous debut EP with the exception of The Hics’ production fusing Bas’ pop rap style with the indietronica/alternative R&B elements of the British duo’s own music. It’s concept is based around the longing of a lost love as well as the battle between our own duality & the pensive self reflection of one’s own shortcomings satisfying fans of both artists encompassing the stories of their lives from pre to post COVID.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Ankhlejohn – “Live! at the Disco” review

This is the 7th studio LP from Washington, D.C. emcee/producer Ankhlejohn. Breaking out off his Big Ghost Ltd.-produced sophomore effort Van Ghost, he’s given the underground his last 6 full-lengths as well as 8 EPs & 7 tapes in almost a decade. Other favorites of mine in his discography include the Navy Blue-produced As Above, So Below, the Rome Streetz collaborative effort Genesis 1:27. & more recently the Cookin’ Soul-produced The Michelin Man earlier this year. August Fanon had produced Blu’s widely praised 13th solo album 40 back in April & hearing him produce Live! at the Disco had raised my expectations for it going in.

“Electric Funk Daddy” sets up some woodwinds & keys to get the party going assuring that you best believe he’s got some personal shit poppin’ off in his life right now whereas “Lexus GS300” embraces a funkier direction instrumentally so he can get on his smooth shit on the mic for a couple minutes. “Emilio Pucci” takes the drumless chipmunk soul route giving his flowers to the late founder of the Italian fashion house Pucci just before “The Lordy Way” brings back the funk talking about doing shit the only way he knows how to: his own.

The late “Marion Barry” gets brought up on a song named after him lettin’ y’all know where Lordy comes from over some delicate synthesizers behind him while “Long Overdue” chops up the soul sample again to map out big heists you won’t even believe. “Replica Jazz Club” dives into jazz rap turf talking about new beginnings & his vision being bigger than everyone else’s prior to “Monday Morning” soulfully talks about needing permission from no one except his mother.

“Day by Day” mixed soul & synth-funk showing everyone his imagination smoking the finest mush he could find on the daily while “Eddie Brock” makes reference to The Walt Disney Company subsidiary Marvel-owned Venom’s alter ego turning the jazz influences back up again. “Majic 102.3 Vibes” maintains a jazz rap flare airing out the people who haven’t paid their dues in the game & “Digital Love” ends with a drumless saxophone talking about being that muhfucka.

I did enjoy the Grace Given EP don’t get me wrong, but Live! at the Disco recaptures almost every that made The Michelin Man his best in a while & both of them will be hailed as his most essential listens the more time passes. August Fanon’s production on this one a lot like 40 earlier this spring prominently centers itself around chipmunk soul, jazz rap & drumless swapping out the conscious subject matter Blu is known for in favor of the hardcore lyricism that Lordy’s become popular off of.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Crossworm – “Cruelty” review

Here is the 8th studio LP from Grand Rapids, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm. Starting as 1/2 of 2Korpse before branching out on his own for the full-length solo debut Phoenix, this was followed up by a sophomore LP Ready to Burn alongside 2 EPs Mouth Full of Dirt & jaws: Deciduous respectively. Taking a few years off after the latter, he returned in the summer of 2014 by dropping 4 more albums: Parasite Avenue, Drowning in Restricting Thought, Finding X & Eat the Weak. I’ve covered the Gōst EP along with the synthpop inspired ANTI & of course the eponymous Bodies Below Sea Level debut, dropping Cruelty a month after both Dirtwave & Shelter Skelter.

The first song “We Rise, They Fall” after the “Live, Laugh, Lobotomy” intro was an industrial rock opener singing about how every single one of us should be standing tall whereas “You Fucking Lying Bitch” by Bodies Below Sea Level gets back on the industrial horrorcore sound of their self-titled effort last fall. “Warning” maintains the vibes of the previous track except Crossworm’s doing the MCing all by himself until “Bully” by Bodies Below Sea Level lets out some overcrowded angst they can’t keep in anymore.

“Liquify My Dick & Drink It” hops over an industrial beat for 50 second pleading to be left alone with his peace beneath the cold dirt subtly referencing The Beneath the Dirt Podcast in which the Dirtcore CEO produced it’s theme song, but then “Get the Fuck Off My Lawn” featuring Madd Maxxx industrially unites the 2 so they can repeat the same shit until they’re wrong. After the “What Do You Do?” interlude, “You’re Dead to Me” sings over synthesizers with the lyrics airing out some grievances he has leading into the “Vulnerable” interlude AND the “Useless Entitled Cripple” interlude.

Things get minimal for “It’s All My Fault” meshing pianos & an acoustic guitar taking some accountability for himself while “Shatter” by Misery Coast talks about their squad leaving everyone behind in dust. “Some Call Me the Devil” continued the industrial horrorcore hybrids acknowledging some comparing him to Satan while “I Still Hate” experiments with nu metal feeling loathsome. Lastly, “I Have My Reasons” closes Cruelty with a melodic boom bap joint recalling when he used to feel oblivious.

Eat the Weak was considered to be the most aggressive entry in Crossworm’s whole entire solo career up until this point & over 2 decades since Phoenix, he’s taken it to another level on Cruelty. His production feels like a mix of all the sounds he’s employed during the course of his career from horrorcore to industrial music, nu metal, industrial rock & boom bap bringing half of the artists he’s already signed to his increasingly popular underground hip hop label on board balancing his rapping abilities with his singing chops evenly.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Daz Dillinger – “Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back 2” review

Daz Dillinger is a 52 year old rapper, producer & songwriter from Long Beach, California who happens to be the cousin of Brandy, her brother Ray J, WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg & the current AEW tbs Champion and RPW British Women’s Champion Mercedes Moné set to face set to face the current CMLL Mundial Femenil Campeon Zeuxis at Grand Slam VI at Arena México this upcoming Wednesday & the current 4-time AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm at All In IV at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas next month. He eventually signed to Death Row Records & became an original in-house producer under the guidance of its co-founder Dr. Dre, forming Tha Dogg Pound with Kurupt not too long afterwards. Daz finally made his solo debut on ‘98 by putting out Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back on Death Row until departing rather quickly to put out 19 more LPs of his own with almost 3 decades of experience in the game. We just had the Dogg Pound Gangstaz make a return to form with W.A.W.G. (We All We Got) under Tha Row last spring & his 21st album looks to take it back to the essence of his own debut.

After the “Level 4 Yard Bizniz” intro, the first song “Death Row N’Matez” by Tha Dogg Pound featuring RBX & Soopafly was a funky west coast hardcore hip hop intro with all 4 of them justifiably showing off their status as O.G.s of The Untouchable west coast label whereas the soulful “Calculate the Time” talks about the chosen few who’re simply too cold. “West Coast is the Best Coast” boastfully represents the sunshine state to the fullest since hip hop’s a habit to him & after the “Get Down You Clown” interlude, “Set Trippin’” advises that those who ain’t from the same block as him to watch their step.

“Retaliation & Revenge” apocalyptically suggests you better not come around his parts or the city anymore bringing images of gang violence to life so he can back up the warning message he’s sending out just before “Get Bacc” lets y’all know the exact moment the guns start to blow reaffirming he’s always been with the gang life then, now & forever. “Start Bacc Bangin’” featuring a verse from the late Big Skye finds the 2 linking up for a modernized g-funk vibe flexing their Crip ties, but then “We Came to Play” featuring B-Legit goes for a traditional g-funk approach to dedicate itself to the playas.

Lil’ C-Style formerly of the LBC Crew joins Diggity Daz for “Switchin’ Lanez” working in more synthesizers so they can fondly recall the people in their lives who gave them a sack simply because they knew how hard both of them were hustlin’ until getting signed back in the day while “Like a Movie” by Tha Dogg Pound takes the trap route a little asking if you’re ready to do & comparing the way they live to a theatrical film. “Destiny” samples The Jackson 5 single of the same name standing tall because he was born for it while “On the Dead Homies” puts it all on the people in his life who aren’t with us today.

“The Reason” was a cloudy g-funk crossover breaking down why he’s been grinding with a purpose all this time while “Ask the Homie Daz” pulls from trap music again instrumentally to tell anyone who got questions for him to take them to someone else due to him having nothing for ya. “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” dives into g-funk turf once again talking about the gangsta lifestyle he lived during his younger days & “Mentally Crazy” finishes Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back 2 with a powerful reflection on mental health explaining the stigma around that touchy subject makes it hard to reach out for help when it absolutely does.

It’s no secret a vast majority of Daz’ solo material since DPGC: U Know What I’m Throwin’ Up has been either received positively such as the So So Def Recordings-backed So So Gangsta & Dazamataz or left west coast heads divided in Matter of Dayz’ case. Retaliation, Revenge & Get Back 2 on the contrary makes for a worthy sequel to the album he broke out as a solo act with. His production takes cues from the west coast’s past & present, enlisting a more consistent guest list than The Adventures of Dilly tha Dogg exactly 6 months ago who perform on his same level rather than constantly being subpar.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Juicy J – “Live & in Color” review

This is the 9th studio LP from Memphis, Tennessee rapper, songwriter, producer & record executive Juicy J. Rising to stardom in the 90s as the co-founder of the seminal Three 6 Mafia alongside his Tear Da Club Up Thugs cohorts DJ Paul & the late Lord Infamous, he’s also had the most successful solo career out of everyone in the Mafia whether it be the Taylor Gang Entertainment/Columbia Records-backed Stay Trippy & Rubba Band Business: The Album or more recently Crypto Business & Mental Trillness. The latter & it’s sequel noticeably taking on a more serious tone than some of Juicy’s latest material, taking a good chunk of it’s time coping with Gangsta Boo’s untimely passing. Coming off the mature Ravenite Social Club, he’s having Logic fully produce Live & in Color.

The title track sets it off with a boom bap instrumental asking if you understand getting money with the rest of the hood whereas “Get Right” featuring Project Pat works in a psychedelic sample keeping his back against the wall. After the first of many “Discussion” interludes, “Big Bag Talk” finds himself back in the basement to show off his riches just before “The Problem” featuring Logic himself after the “Discussion 2” interlude soulfully brings the pair together to discuss coming from nothing.

“Shame” featuring Logic once again brings a trap vibe to the beat from Bobby Boy Records in-house producer 6 suggesting you watch them kick their feet up after rolling their weed up & after the “Discussion 3” interlude, “We Live” returns to the boom bap talking about striving for something better. After the “Discussion 4” interlude, “Kill For” heads for a dustily exuberant approach flexing that he’s lived a life many wish they had leading into the 2-parter “& Did” immediately following the Discussion 5” interlude focusing on motion instead of pussy.

Chipmunk soul & boom bap collide with each other during “Flowers” talking about the samples getting his daughters through college but after the “Discussion 6” interlude, “20 Years Later” featuring Logic & Project Pat swaps out the boom bap elements in favor of trap sticking to the codes to this very day like they did 2 decades prior while “Fame” suggests to not let the internet mislead you & allow him to do all the guiding since Juicy’s a product of his people.

After the “Discussion 7” interlude, “Black Rothstein” featuring Wiz Khalifa likens themselves to Arnold Rothstein of the Jewish Mob over an instrumental meshing soul & trap with each other 1 last time until the final song “I Need a Hug” ahead of the “Discussion 8” outro properly ending Live & in Color by telling his late mother to take a good look at him because he’s genuinely trying figuring out if she can even hear him from the pearly gates.

Saving only 3 verses, Logic takes a backseat on the mic for a good portion of Live & in Color in favor of opting to focus more on the production side of things & that to me is actually a great call because this is almost on the same enjoyability level as Juicy’s jazz rap album 10 months ago. Bobby’s production in spite of the ridiculous amount of “Discussion” interludes tightly balances boom bap, trap & chipmunk soul during the course of 13 tracks displaying both sides of the Three 6 co-founder whether it’s the maturity of his recent output for fun trap joints to play when you’re out having fun.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Apathy – “Mom & Dad” review

In front of us is the 10th studio LP from Connecticut underground MC/producer Apathy. Emerging only 2 decades back as a member of the Demigodz & the Army of the Pharaohs collectives founded by Open Mic & Vinnie Paz respectively, he was also signed to Atlantic Records at one point even though he eventually left due to creative differences. Since then The Alien Tongue has built up quite the solo discography on his own, with my favorites being Honkey Kong! as well as The Widow’s Son or more recently Where the River Meets the Sea & King of Gods. No Second fully produced by Stu Bangas. Connecticut Casual 2 mostly produced by Playa Haze was a highly worthy successor to Connecticut Casual last spring, getting ready for the summer by remembering his Mom & Dad.

“The Great Flood” featuring Little Vic & Suave-Ski recalls a series of severe floods that affected various regions of the U.S. roughly 4 decades ago whereas “Shore Life” keeps the trio together for a self-produced boom bap joint reminiscing on what it was like for them growing up in the east coast. “Put the Money in a Bag” featuring Little Vic produced by Playa Haze finds the pair sticking together so they can talk about hustling to the point of exhaustion just before “All Good” soulfully suggests you holla at him if you need anything.

Slaine of La Coka Nostra appears on “Blue Collar Scholar” to talk about the kind of art they make in a world built on lies over a sample-driven boom bap instrumental while the title track goes drumless referring to the President & First Lady of the U.S. during a bulk of the 80s as his parents. “Vintage Canvas” slickly cracks the code without having to go into practice mode, but then “Old Lyme Like Old Times” featuring Ryu gives off a laidback approach to the beat talking about letting the champagne blast off.

“Summer at the Shore” chops up a soul sample so he can confess that he’s getting sick of getting his fingers dirty from counting money & sleeping with his wife in high fashion declaring themselves as slaves of consumerism while “1 Crown” returns to the boom bap wanting to know the possibility of people who’ve never been great relating to what he’s saying. “Lee Harv” featuring a verse & production from Little Vic sees the 2 warning you’ll get shot in front of the world as if it’s JFK’s assassination & “Whalers” wraps it all up with some woodwinds using the same scale they use to weigh the whales with.

Coalmine Records has teamed with Anchors Up Records formerly Dirty Version Records to uncover Ap’s biggest memory growing up in the 80s, which was during Ronald Reagan’s presidency because he feels as if he was raised by the actor turned politician & his widow even though neither one of them were related to him. Meshing the nostalgia of the very decade that raised The Alien Tongue & socio-political commentary, the underground veteran takes it up a notch with the personal topics going from expanding on the state that made him last spring to reflecting on the Reagan administration’s impact on his life felt to this day.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Slick Rick – “Victory” review

Slick Rick is a 60 year old MC from New York City by way of London, England, United Kingdom becoming the 3rd artist to sign with Def Jam Recordings over 4 decades ago. His debut The Great Adventures of Slick Rick became a golden age landmark cementing Rick the Ruler one of the greatest storyteller hip hop has ever heard. The Ruler’s Back would be received more moderately & Behind Bars was a dope venting session of his time incarcerated. It’s been over 26 years since his 2nd best work The Art of Storytelling fulfilled his Def Jam contact & has opted to sign with Mass Appeal Records for his long-awaited 5th LP overseen by actor Idris Elba set to appear in A24 Films’ upcoming TV adaption of Things Fall Apart. Couple more noteworthy things to get off my chest here & first is the announcement of Mark Kerr now to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in light of his upcoming biopic that I’m anticipating in the fall The Smashing Machine with Mark being played by 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion, United Football League (UFL) co-owner, TKO Group Holdings board of directors member, co-founder of $7 Productions & the final boss of professional wrestling himself The Rock of The Rock ‘n’ Soul Connection with the current record breaking 17-time WWE world champion John Cena accompanied by the honorary WWE Hardcore Champion Travis Scott. Speaking of the UFL since I’m at it for the fuck of it, the last thing I wanna say before finally diving into the music is I hope my hometown team the Michigan Panthers defeat the XFL conference champion DC Defenders in the Championship game this upcoming Sunday.

After the intro, the first song “Stress” featuring Giggs has a vintage old school vibe to the beat talking about feeling lonely & needing to be consoled whereas the self-produced “Angelic” flexes the higher-ups still studying “La-Di-Da-Di” to this very day justified by how much it’s been sampled or covered. “Foreign” suggests you peep the home increasing on him & the amount of individuals sleeping on him since he’s been gone leading into the “I Did That” interlude.

“Come On Let’s Go” goes for a hip house direction instrumentally grabbing his coat in spite of him having to go to work in a few hours right when things were getting hot while “Landlord” explains the occupation of owning property in New York these days isn’t easy whatsoever. After the “Mother Teresa” interlude, “Spirit to Cry” briefly discusses those wanting his soul to meet it’s demise just before “Documents” featuring Nas talks about being watched as if they’re top agent shoguns.

The piano-driven boom bap flare of “So You’re Having My Baby” suits it’s concept of getting a woman pregnant with her saying it’s his child while “Cuz I’m Here” gets back on the hip house tip observing all the honeys who came out to have fun. After the “Matrix” interlude, “We’re Not Losing” advises to keep it moving like him when taking Ls with the beat reminiscent to RZA’s production work 3 decades ago & “Another Great Adventure” produced by Q-Tip ends with a funky homage to his 1988 debut.

Reflecting where the Ruler’s been this past quarter of a century & where he’s going hereon out, Victory kicks off the Legend Has It series by reintroducing a pioneer to this next generation of hip hop fans who can still rock the mic like he did on his Who Made the Sunshine? appearances at the beginning of the decade. The production palatably blends hip house, funk, boom bap & hip hop’s golden age to backdrop Slick Rick’s themes of perseverance, storytelling, imagination & evolution.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!