Kanye West – “DONDA 2” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, fashion designer, former G.O.O.D. Music founder & YZY SND’s sole proprietor Ye or formerly known as Kanye West finishing his 11th studio LP. Someone who I personally have considered a top 10 producer of all-time up until this point with 3 perfect 10s in his discography: The College Dropout, Late Registration & My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. However since late 2022, he has been on a mission to destroy his legacy by identifying as a Nazi on Alex Jones’ fake news platform InfoWars. He’s been taking it up a few notches for the past couple months on Twitter owned by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & fellow Nazi Elon Musk making comments that’re antisemitic, ableist, homophobic & misogynistic or dissing numerous celebrities including showing envy towards Kendrick Lamar since he’s on the throne of the rap game. Coming off his vile interview with child groomer DJ Akademiks earlier this month, Ye has randomly decided to finish Donda 2.

“True Love” was an average pop rap, alternative R&B, emo rap & boom bap intro produced with Mike Dean talking about how genuine romance shouldn’t be complicated with a surprisingly great hook from the late XXXTENTACION whereas “Broken Road” pondering what it means to find your soul on top of a doleful beat that original G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer Brian “AllDay” Miller had a hand with Ye in making & Don Toliver’s hook on here is so catchy. “Get Lost” goes a cappella looking back on all the good & bad memories of his life so far with an excessive amount of auto-tune slathering his vocals leading into “Flowers” throwing it back to the Graduation days in terms of sound courtesy of Digital Nas encouraging to send him $100k rather than the titular object.

As for “Too Easy”, we have Ye embracing a bit of a glitchier quality to the production thanks to Dem Jointz & Beach House discussing his trials & tribulations just before “Pablo” featuring Future follows it up with a trap cut that ATL Jacob, FNZ & $crim of the $uicideboy$ helped laced except Ye uses AI or what I like to call YeI for his verse. “Mr. Miyagi” featuring Future & Playboi Carti takes the drill route instrumentally likening themselves to the wise sensei from the Karate Kid films using more YeI until Future sticks around for “Happy” & it’s WAY better than “Pablo” other than the YeI from the peppier flare Wheezy delivers behind the boards to the subject matter asking the world if they look like they’re doing fine to them.

“Security” asserts that nothing can get in the way of him being with his family & Digital Nas’ production here almost reminds me of Yeezus in a way except Ak’s intro at the start was a sickening move while “Sci-Fi” works in some string sections as Sean Leon joins Ye in addressing his divorce from Kim Kardashian or The Hobbit now romantically involved with a Tesla robot. “Louie Bags” starts off great with its hypnotic beat & talking about boycotting LV after Virgil Abloh’s passing except Jack Harlow’s verse & the YeI ruin it. Can’t forget to mention the fact that Ye tweeted “Fuck Virgil” this February when his meltdowns began to worsen & has a song coming out at some point in the year called “Virgil Let Me Down” telling Ak it’s all because he’s evil.

Baby Keem appears with Quavo & Offset on “We Did It Kid” with Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group supplying additional production addressing the hardships they endured to achieve their current success & the product of their constant grind while the industrially drumless “Maintenance” talks about those who’s preservation or upkeep is constantly high. “Lord Lift Me Up” is a decent Vory solo cut BoogzDaBeast helped Ye cook up asking for God to lift up his spirits & “First Time in a Long Time” featuring Soulja Boy ends with them talking about Ye’s faith in God & his feelings stemming from his divorce from Kim using YeI as well as Big Draco’s humble beginnings & everything he’s done to achieve success. “Jesse” starts the deluxe run with a bubbly trap beat butchering it with YeI vocals while “Suzy” reminds me of Graduation minus the YeI. The final bonus track “City of Chi” gets plagued with YeI again talking about being closed for business.

Hearing the original version of this that came out 3 years ago, I’m happy & furthermore shocked than anything regarding Donda 2 finally getting to see the light of day except I don’t think those who won’t find themselves forgiving Ye for initially abandoning it won’t find themselves satisfied with it & I’ll argue the final product isn’t even that much better than the original was. The pop rap, trap, contemporary R&B, alternative R&B & gospel sound hasn’t really changed all that much except that the mixing is considerably worse since Mike Dean literally hasn’t had anything to do with Ye in 2 & a half years by now.

Score: 2/5

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Death Row Records – “Altar Call” review

Death Row Records is the infamous west coast hip hop record label based in Beverly Hills, California founded by Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, The D.O.C., Dick Griffey & Harry-O. A dominant force in the sunshine state during the early & mid 90s, the label began to decline due to Dre departing for starting up Aftermath Entertainment in addition to Master P fresh off his AEW Dynamite appearance during The Opps’ celebration as the new AEW World Trios Champions this past week signing WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg to No Limit Records & of course 2Pac’s murder currently investigating to see if disgraced Bad Boy Entertainment founder Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy was involved in ahead of his upcoming sex trafficking trial. Snoop would buy Tha Row from MNRK Music Group the week of his Super Bowl LVI halftime show performance & has cleaned the label up by reviving it from the gamma. distribution deal to signing O.G.s like Tha Dogg Pound & Danny Boy or newcomers such as Merkules & D Smoke. Commemorating what would’ve been Snoop’s mother Beverly Tate’s 74th birthday, Death Row is releasing their 10th compilation album as a sequel to the RCA Records-backed Bible of Love.

“Mother I Miss You” by John P. Kee is this self-produced gospel intro dedicated to Snoop’s late mother whereas “No Backsliding” by Michael Bereal continues the Sunday Service thanks to his brother Charlie behind the boards singing about being too blessed to be stressed. “You Can Win” by Flintstone & Lisa Santa Cruz brings the duo together over a DJ Green Lantern instrumental promising victory if you keep your hands to the sky while “Redeemed” by Jane Handcock & Kanobby finds them achieving redemption over a Soopafly beat.

Curt Chambers makes his plea to God over some churchy choir vocals & organs for “Ready, Willing, Able” declaring his willingness to depend on the higher power just before “Been to Good to Me” by Flintstone sings about how great the Lord has been to them over a slow Mike & Keys instrumental. “Won’t He Do It” by Jazze Pha blends gospel & trap talking about putting God above everything always leading into “Grandma’s Hands” by Jamie Foxx acoustically remembers his grandmother.

“Help Me Jesus” introduces The Death Row Choir calling for the Son of Christ himself to help them during the hard times they’re going through while “Just Believe” by Jane Handcock mixes some organs & synthesizers singing about one having a lot on their mind with difficulty trying to find happiness. “Grace & Mercy” by Charlie Bereal gives off the Curtis Mayfield flare he’s known for asking for those 2 things respectively, but then “Like I Know God” by October London sings over pianos about not knowing God the way he does.

Uncle Snoop himself joins Charlie & Reo Varnardo whose daughter is the current AEW tbs Champion, 新日本プロレス STRONG女子チャンピオン & RPW British Women’s Champion Mercedes Moné on the gospel rap hybrid “Brand New” feeling reborn while “Call His Name” by Camille Grisby encourages to call for God & Jesus’ names whenever you’re lonely. “A Still Mind” by mR. pOrTeR formerly of D12 with Robert Glasper on piano confidently declares he’s got his feet set on the ground while “Never Failed Me Yet” by Mali Music sings about God never failing them.

“Yes” by Laura Wilson Johnson passionately gives in to the ways & will of the higher power while “Good Day” by Point 5ve formerly Lil’ ½ Dead has a funkier soul approach keeping their peace of mind when it’s all said & done. “Done” by Charlie Bereal & Mali Music acoustically admits they don’t know what to do without God while “He is God” by Michael Bereal sings about healing when wounded. “Make Time” by Flintstone ends by smoothly asking if time can be made for.

My expectations for Altar Call were pretty low since Bible of Love wasn’t that good at all in my respectful opinion & the sequel surprisingly reflects on Beverly teaching Snoop to use his voice & his platform to spread love & heal the world similarly to his 2013 pop reggae album Reincarnated produced by Major Lazer back when I was a sophomore in high school. Some interesting names pop up during the production credits & the list of performers are stronger than they were 7 years ago.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ghost – “Skeletà” review

Ghost is a hard rock/heavy metal band from Linköping, Östergötlands län, Sweden consisting of percussionist Olivia Morreale, keyboardist/percussionist Mad Gallica, keyboardist/percussionist Laura Scarborough, baritone guitarist/percussionist Jutty Taylor, drummer Hayden Scott, bassist Cos Sylvan, rhythm guitarist Randy Moore, lead guitarist Per Eriksson & of course frontman Tobias Forge. Breaking out nearly 15 years ago off their debut Opus Eponymous, their sophomore effort Infestissumam marked their debut on Loma Vista Recordings to initially mixed reception although it’s viewed more favorably in retrospect. Meliora came out after I graduated high school was my introduction to them, seeing the band on the tour they did for it & put on a theatrically superb performance. Prequelle toned it down on the heaviness although “Dance Macabre” got the stamp of approval from former NXT Champion, AEW World Trios Champion & PWG World Tag Team Champion Aleister Black married to the new WWE Women’s United States Champion Zelina Vega in addition to the inaugural AEW World Champion, FTW Champion, 2-time ROH World Champion, ECW World Television Champion, IWGPインターコンチネンタルチャンピオン, WCW World Television Champion, 6-time WWE world champion, record 9-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 7-time WWE tag team champion, 4-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion & WWE Hardcore Champion Chris Jericho and Impera is widely regarded as their weakest effort so far, taking 3 years off to focus on the band’s 6th studio LP.

“Peacefield” sets the tone of what’s to come with it’s prominent AOR & hard rock influences with additional elements of heavy metal dashed in describing at present a state of chaos & despair whilst instructing how to achieve renewal whereas “Lachryma” talks about being done crying over the restrictions of religion. “Satanized” maintains a hard rock/AOR vibe sprinkling a couple heavy metal & glam metal undertones asking to be saved from the monster eating inside of him, but then “Guiding Light” continues with a soul searching epic ballad.

To end Skeletà’s first half, “De Profundis Borealis” pays homage to one of the most important bands in the Norwegian black metal scene Immortal while “Cenotaph” receives affirmation of eternal presence of the memory of a loved one who has passed away. “Missilia Amori” sings about someone excited to be his demise just before “Marks of the Evil One” references the antichrist further including a line that had me think of the Death Riders led by the current 4-time AEW World Champion, former AEW International Champion, 2-time CZW World Heavyweight Champion, GCW World Champion, IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, 2-time IWGP USヘビー級チャンピオン, WWE Champion, 3-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 2-time WWE tag team champion Jon Moxley. “Umbra” puts their love in the darker shadows & “Excelsis” embraces us all meeting or demise 1 day.

Nevertheless of Impera’s mixed reception, Ghost recovers by delivering their most unflinchingly introspective work to date including lyricism of the newly instated Perpetua & showcasing a variety of distinct individual emotional vistas embracing the sounds of hard rock, occult rock, AOR, pop rock, heavy metal & glam metal. Almost a decade this summer since I became a fan & I’m only happy they made up for the predecessor’s mixed discourse.

Score: 3.5/5

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Mike Dean – “4:25” review

This is the 6th studio LP from Houston, Texas producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist & one of the greatest audio engineers of all-time Mike Dean. Pioneering the dirty south sound in the 90s as an in-house producer for Rap-A-Lot Records, one may also know him for engineering nearly all of Ye formerly known as Kanye West’s output up until his 2022 antisemitic meltdown calling himself a Nazi on InfoWars. 4:20 was a 90 minute exploration into progressive electronic & the nearly 2 hour sequel 4:22 continued towards that trajectory. Smoke State 42222 went for more of a straight-forward electronic sound with additional elements of space ambient & even Mike’s last LP 4:23 went head-on synthwave, landing a spot on my Honorable Mentions of 2023 list as a result of being more well-put together than his last couple solo efforts. Almost a year to day since 4:24, I wasn’t too surprised regarding 4:25

“In Paradisum” keeps the tradition alive hooking up these prominent synth-organ melodies that immediately grab your attention whereas “Scream” kinda gives me a progressive electronic vibe that I generally enjoy with this shrilling scream sample occasionally popping up. “Late Night” shows off the space ambient influences that’ve been prevalent since when he began making solo output 5 years ago.

Meanwhile on “Colour”, we have Mike blending elements of synthwave that’ve also been displayed on 4:20 just before what could probably be my personal favorite song here “Sax Sector” goes full-blown nu jazz & pulling it off as perfectly as I would’ve expected him to. “Trancy” gets back in his progressive electronic bag for roughly 3 minutes until “Messenger” embraces the synthwave elements once more as

“Bluey” not to be confused with The Walt Disney Company owned Disney Jr. hit series phenomenon in the midst of having a theatrical film set to be released in 2027 continues to bring a progressive electronic flare to the guitar including an electric guitar during it’s final moments, but then “Eyes Closed” swaps out the prog-rock undertones of the previous joint in favor of ambient to a similarly lesser extent.

The song “Half Awake” hits the backend of 4/25 maintaining the prog electronic edge throughout except now the hints of prog-rock & ambient are borrowing from western classical musical becoming not as a prevalent as the other 2 were while “411425” goes full-blown drum & bass to my excitement. As far as the closer “The End”? It’s an exciting collision between these guitars & synthesizers.

Halfway through the decade that he started carving a path for himself as a solo artist & 4:25 encapsulates everything that has made him stood out on his own individually from when he first started. His progressive election heavy production additionally pulls from synthwave, nu jazz & space ambient carrying on what Kraftwerk laid the foundation for half a century ago at this point.

Score: 4/5

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Zukenee – “Slaytanic” review

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

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

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

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

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

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

Score: 3.5/5

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Tom MacDonald – “Proud to Be a Problem” review

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Score: 0/5

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Vinnie Paz – “God Sent Vengeance” review

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

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

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

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

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

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

Score: 4/5

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Fordio – “Fordi Milligrams” review

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

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

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

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

As for “IDK”, we have Fordio dismissing what others gotta say since he’s been in the v-cut & “PA All-Stars” featuring MJPaid & 72 Reezy unites the trio to talk about being the worst nightmare of any individual with nothing in their pockets until Baby Ghost outraps Glockboyz Teejaee on a song named after 6-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE tag team champion, 2-time AEW World Champion, inaugural ROH Hall of Fame inductee, ROH World Champion, 2-time ROH World Tag Team Champion, 5-time IWA World Champion & former UFC fighter “CM Punk” finally getting his WrestleMania main event last weekend.

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

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

Score: 4/5

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Roy Wood$ – “Dark Nights” review

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

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

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

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

Score: 2/5

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Salami Rose Joe Louis – “Lorings” review

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

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

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

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

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

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

Score: 3/5

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