Swans – “Birthing” review

Swans are a highly regarded New York experimental post-rock outfit masterminded by Young God Records founder Michael Gira. Their lengthy discography includes essentials in the band’s respective styles like Filth, Children of God, White Light From the Mouth of Infinity, The Great Annihilator, my favorite of theirs Soundtracks for the Blind, my 3rd favorite The Seer, my 2nd favorite To Be Kind & The Beggar. The latter will be celebrating its 2-year anniversary next month & Birthing’s getting us ready for another summer.

“The Healers” was a magnificently ambitious evolving intro embarking on a 21 minute journey through slick textures on an ocean of sounds singing about the heavens raining down knives of silver to kiss our bodies in the river whereas “I’m a Tower” sticks out as a Single of the Year contender bringing together post-rock, experimental rock, drone, krautrock, totalism, poetry, art rock, post-punk, goth rock & noise rock fluidly for 19 minutes.

Getting to the title track, it evolved into a lengthy sonic beast full of colorful grooves & rich soundscapes because of of multiple portions of it improving progressively during the band’s last tour advising all these motherfuckers to pay attention to him prior to the shortest track here “Red Yellow” fuses their experimental post-rock sound with goth rock with a hook that’s powerfully sung enough to send goosebumps down your arms.

“Guardian Spirit” starts the 2nd half of Birthing emphasizing a darker atmosphere compositionally talking about Michael’s life being your death while “The Merge” feels reminiscent to the handful of musical experimentations Swans has been known for since the early portion of their career trying out sound collage & harsh noise. “Rope / Away” ends with a 2-part closer making the first leg of it entirely instrumental remembering his mother, Bill Rieflin, Catherine Ceresole & Simon Henwood the other

Finishing the trilogy that leaving meaning. started & The Beggar bridged, allegedly the last album in their discography to focus on all-consuming sound worlds to take on a significantly pared down form for the foreseeable future adds to their legacy with their 3rd generational masterpiece behind Soundtracks for the Blind & To Be Kind. Michael’s production expands the experimentally droney post-rock style Swans have made a name of themselves off of & blending it with krautrock, totalism, poetry, art rock, post-punk, goth rock, noise rock, sound collage & harsh noise.

Score: 5/5

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LMNO – “3 Mimes & an Elephant” review

LMNO is a 51 year old MC from Long Beach, California known for being a member of the Visionaries. Making his solo debut over 2 decades ago with Leave My Name Out, he would go on to release a total of 17 more bodies of work under his own name with the most notable being the 10-disc James Kelly & the Madlib-produced 10:20. The last time I covered LMNO was when he formed the trio LMD in the fall of 2022 & put out an impressive debut called Flying High. So when I heard DJ D-Styles was fully producing the 19th LP in LMNO’s catalog, I knew it was gonna be quality considering D-Styles’ recent production run.

After an intro, the first song “A Dual with a Dual Edge” featuring Self Jupiter finds the 2 over a boom bap instrumental reflecting in coming from the bottom & jumping off the ledge before their wings began to spread whereas “Cross Examination” takes a funkier yet mellower approach not knowing what to do if he couldn’t create never tapping out. “Best to Lay Low” dabbles with rap rock preferring to sail the 7 seas instead of selling his soul leading into “Son of a Daughter” dustily talks about keeping babies out the street & never competing

“Hip Hop as Fuck” ruggedly breaks down the explanation of others either having it or not just before “Garlic Braid” was a great piano-driven single homaging the title track off Eric B. & Rakim’s sophomore effort down the hook & sample. “Bloody White Flags” deliriously suggests you find him if you want the smoke brought right to you directly while “Saved & Spent” drearily talks about giving thanks daily. “Out of Sight (Out of Mind)” featuring Blu closes the album with them flexing they daydream with night vision & their west coast underground statuses.

10:20 was easily the most I’ve enjoyed a solo effort from LMNO since After the Fact produced by Evidence over a decade ago & like I had expected, he & DJ D-Styles knock it out of the park with a follow-up halfway through the current decade that compensates the gap between the predecessor & now. D-Styles’ production similarly to Invincibl Rap Mislz & Beluga pushes the Beat Junkies sound forward with LMNO holding down the performances by himself like he did the last time we heard from him.

Score: 4.5/5

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Rivers of Nihil – Self-Titled review

Reading, Pennsylvania progressive tech-death metal band Rivers of Nihil consisting of lead guitarist/keyboardist/programmer Brody Uttley, drummer/backing vocalist Jared Klein, rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist Andy Thomas & bassist/frontman Adam Biggs returning after 4 years with an eponymous 5th LP. Signing to Metal Blade Records on my 16th birthday in 2012, their full-length debut the next fall The Conscious Seed of Light & their sophomore effort Monarchy broke their ground as a progressive tech-death outfit until Where Owls Know My Name became notable for it’s secondary djent & jazz fusion influences. The Work toned it down on the death metal elements in favor of standard prog metal & had a feeling this self-titled body of work would delve further down that rabbit hole.

“The Sub-Orbital Blues” was a tolerable progressive death metal single singing about the dichotomy of living in a 21st century society rife with scientific & technological advancements whereas “Dustman” asks if you believe what you see & being nothing but dust. “Criminals” had to be my least favorite single due to it’s meat & potatoes take on death metal, melodic metalcore & deathcore preying on innocent men while “Despair Church” promises to take the whole world away.

To end the first half, “Water & Time” encourages to let those 2 things disintegrate it leaves you alone lost in space going for a progressively melodic death metal direction just before “House of Light” ditching the melodic elements of the previously mentioned single asking for a sign to be set free told no lies. “Evidence” turns up the hostility talking about dangerous games being played with a cage, waiting at the end, but then “American Death” refuses to believe a word said & calls themselves the American Dream itself.

“The Logical End” keeps the progressive death metal hybrids going singing about building another empire right where they’re standing due to them never having to see a logical end for as long as they live the rest of their days & not fading away while the title track appropriately finishes the album asking not to breathe in a disease born from the flowers of despair, encouraging to wake up or you’ll bе swept away because of another day being lost wasted.

Setting out to bring the sounds of their previous material with all the fat cut away, Rivers of Nihil complete their mission successfully with a body of work reminiscent of The Conscious Seed of Light & Monarchy in terms of technicality with the only exception being these guys having a mature understanding of pacing or bringing a more refreshed perspective of the experimentation throughout Where Owls Know My Name & The Work respectively.

Score: 4.5/5

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Miley Cyrus – “Something Beautiful” review

Miley Cyrus is a 32 year old singer/songwriter, actress & director from Franklin, Tennessee breaking out as the older sister of Noah Cyrus & the 2nd eldest daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus. Achieving greater success as the titular character on the The Walt Disney Company-owned Disney Channel teen sitcom Hannah Montana, her first 3 LPs Meet Miley Cyrus alongside Breakout & Can’t Be Tamed under Hollywood Records were equally met with mixed or negative reception. Same goes with The Time of Our Lives. Her debut for RCA Records during my junior year of high school Bangerz was when her music started to improve since I prefer songs like “#GetItRight” produced by The Neptunes over it’s biggest hit “Wrecking Ball”. Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz became a polarizing take on neo-psychedelia & psychic pop even with The Flaming Lips’ involvement, Younger Now went for a mid country pop direction aside from a DJ Premier remix of the title track, She’s Coming missed the landing with R&B & electropop and Plastic Hearts was a decent way to fulfill her RCA contract following her divorce from Liam Hemsworth of the mid A24 Films thriller Cut Bank. Moving over to Columbia Records, her debut for them Endless Summer Vacation once again divided public opinion & the high praise her 9th full-length album has been getting made me want to hear it to believe it.

“Prelude” has gotta be one of the boldest lead singles to a body of work that I’ve heard in a long time since it’s spoken word poetry over an epic post-minimalistic & progressive electronic instrumental until the title track goes full gear drawing from art rock, psychedelic soul, psychedelic rock, smooth soul, jazz-rock & experimental rock desiring something beautiful lasting eternity.

Pop rock, Europop, new wave, psychedelic pop, soft rock & big music all collide on “End of the World” suggesting that we should be making the best of our final moments if the apocalypse were to happen leading into “More to Lose” maintains a steady cross between soft rock, adult contemporary, piano rock & art pop singing about not wanting to be interrupted or overthinking of chasing perfection.

“Easy Lover” after the first of 2 interludes was actually conceived during the Plastic Hearts sessions fusing country, rock & pop addressing the emotional addiction to a complicated relationship but after the other interlude, “Golden Burning Sun” turns up the soft rock influences employing themes of devotion. “Walk of Fame” featuring Brittany Howard is a synthpop duet singing about what it’s like for he to be at her level of international superstardom just before “Pretend You’re God” yearns to have that person in her life who’ll make her their everything.

The song “Every Girl You’ve Ever Loved” featuring Naomi Campbell blends funk & pop together for another duet asking if they’re pretty enough for more than fun in the dark while “Reborn” experiments with meshing trance music & pop together for a spiritual enlightenment ode inspired after she & Greg Aldae sat at church together one day. “Give Me Love” as a closer heavily builds itself around synthesizers instrumentally singing that heaven & terror both await behind the curtain while “Secrets” starts the deluxe run by forgiving her father. The final bonus track “Lockdown” finishes with a 13 & a half minute 2-parter singing about a relationship on the lowkey.

Never thought I’d see the day where I’d actually being saying any of what you’re gonna read in this paragraph, but here we are! Regardless of Bangerz always holding a place in my heart as time goes on, I can’t say that I’ve would’ve NEVER thought I’d hear Miley surpass it in terms of cohesiveness until Something Beautiful. Inspired by Pink Floyd’s iconic 11th album The Wall, it’s heavy concept centered around healing from trauma on top of finding beauty in life’s darkest moments & reconciliation of lost time heavily dabbling with pop rock, art rock, electro-disco, dance-pop, soft rock, neo-psychedelia, spoken word, poetry, epic music, post-minimalism, progressive electronic, psychedelic soul, psychedelic rock, smooth soul, jazz-rock, experimental rock, adult contemporary, piano rock, art pop, Europop, new wave, psychedelic pop, big music, synthpop & a small dose of country blows everything she’s done out the water.

Score: 4.5/5

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Alan Sparhawk – “With Trampled by Turtles” review

Duluth, Minnesota singer/songwriter Alan Sparhawk recruiting local band Trampled by Turtles to produce his sophomore effort. One of whom was the lead singer of the slowcore band Low breaking up in 2022 & the other is a bluegrass folk sextet with 9 full-lengths under their belt already. Alan signed to Sub Pop Records for his solo effort White Roses, My God met with mixed reception due to its leanings towards alt-pop, indietronica, alternative R&B, trap, minimal wave & cloud rap compared to the ambient inspired Solo Guitar turning 20 next summer. With Trampled by Turtles based on the singles had me thinking it could outdo both of them & that’s why I dove right into it.

The lead single “Stranger” was a great Americana/indie folk intro further pulling from progressive bluegrass singing about having to go through some dangerous things than you thought you’d have to whereas “Too High” addressed a part of this person that nobody knows other than Alan acknowledging their blindness instead of imbecility. “Heaven” sings of the pearly gates being a lonely place if you’re alone prior to the alt-country/chamber folk hybrid “Not Broken”eventually learning something I’ve potentially heard.

“Screaming Song” works in some prominent acoustics feeling like he’d never stop screaming this individual’s name when they flew out the window & into the sunset but after a remixed version of “Get Still” from Alan’s debut, “Princess Road Surgery” asks what this girl see in adversity stripping back the sound further. “Don’t Take Your Light” tells God he can be patient & hopeful with an alt-country flare until “Torn & in Ashes” wants to know when the last word will be as the first because of getting the same answer repeatedly.

When you think of the fact Low had mentored Trampled by Turtles & had performed with each other several times, there’s no doubt in my mind Alan’s follow-up to his debut last fall feels like a more collective, communal, fraternal & empathetic entry in his catalog than it’s predecessor. His friends & loved ones who’ve always been beside him make his sentiments drenched in Americana, indie folk, progressive bluegrass, alt-country & chamber folk seem as if they aren’t his alone regardless of Alan being the primary vocalist.

Score: 4.5/5

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ovrkast. – “While the Iron’s Hot” review

Oakland, California emcee/producer ovrkast. with his official full-length studio debut album. In almost a decade, he’s been making waves by releasing a couple mixtapes on top of 13 EPs in his discography later landing production credits ranging from MAVI to Earl Sweatshirt & even Drake. KastGotWings produced by Cardo became my new favorite EP of his last fall even if some would say it’s too early since it’s the most recent one as of me writing this & he’s finally striking While the Iron’s Hot for an LP.

After the jazzy “HOT!” intro, the first song “truth?” is drumless sample-heavy intro talking about shaking shit up and originally came away from “Small Talk” featuring Samara Cyn a little mixed on it even if I appreciate it more in the context of While the Iron’s Hot. “I’m On” shows a boastful side of kast with a laidback instrumental backing him just before the groovy “Stumblin’” talks about clumsiness showing when he’s trying to get a way.

“MAVKAST!” featuring MAVI after the “NewPowers” skit marks the official formation of a duo comprised of 2 of underground hip hop’s biggest artists in recent memory while “Spike Lee homages one of my favorite directors ahead of A24 Films putting out Highest 2 Lowest next month. “6AM” radiates intoxicating energy from the beat melodically talking about staying up late leading into “Strange Ways” featuring Vince Staples addressing the type of crowd with those uncommon tendencies.

The song “New Era” continues to travel down the final moments of ovrkast.’s debut hooking up a woodwind & a high-pitched vocal sample entering a new chapter in his life similarly to the way I myself did last summer while “Dog Days” featuring Frsh Waters & SABA talking about the hottest time of the year on top of some cumbersome piano chords. “On TIME!” closes the album with more keys wanting everyone to know he’s arrived exactly when he should’ve.

Going through an immense amount of change alongside loss & again to receive the clarity & focus in order for this day to come, ovrkast.’s debut feels refreshingly modern as a result of it’s contemporary & referential approach. Taking its cues from the sample-based production & lyric-centric approach that defined hip hop’s golden age, it’s not hard to blame him for having this as his favorite body of work ever.

Score: 4/5

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Molly Santana – “Molly & Her Week of Wonders” review

Los Angeles, California up-&-comer Molly Santana with her sophomore effort. Originally a streetwear influencer, the Fontana native began making music in 2021 by releasing her debut EP Molly’s World as well as her debut mixtape Neptune & her 2nd EP Mélange. Her eponymous full-length debut studio album resulted in her signing a joint deal with Victor Victor Worldwide & Capitol Records despite the moderate reception, which Masonic Musik made up for. Fast forward 8 months, Molly & Her Week of Wonders looks to continue solidifying herself on the Victor Victor/Capitol labels.

“No Rules” produced by Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic is this rage-inducing intro rapping about her gratitude towards living without any restrictions whereas “Piss Me Off” melodically looks to get what’s hers for the cause & a triumphant vibe to the instrumental. “Cayenne” blends hypertrap & electronic music boastfully cashing out with the drop top while “Unstoppable” featuring che joins forces with CXO for a highly enjoyable rage collab.

Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group gives “Handle It” an industrial trap flare promising her pistol will make anyone famous homaging the late Freda Santana just before “BRB” featuring Showjoe teams up for a pluggnb/drill hybrid talking returning to the people who count on them. The single “Not Regular” shuns the individuals who want to test her over a poppy & cloudy trap beat until “Been Did That” featuring labelmate Hardrock advising all these hoes to sit back.

“Acting Nice” asserts Molly’s dominance & shutting down any hate that’s thrown in her direction while “Globe” fuses rap rock & trap talking about life moving quicker than ever carrying the show on for those who can’t be here with us & the increase of hate speech. “Honest” makes it a point to be the only one in a circle of loved ones who keeps it 100 rather than lying to them while “When I’m Gone” instrumentally reminds me of Yeezus wanting to be remembered & leaving a mark on the industry.

Moving on from there, “I Know” taps in with Supah Mario asking her lover to hold her down apologizing for fucking up a night out while “Life I Chose (Ms. Americana)” homages “Summertime Sadness” by Lana Del Rey. The song “Set Up” finds herself running back to her old ways continuously while “Stupid Money” cloudily talks about it being time to up the scores. Lastly, the closer “Weekend” advises everyone to stay high chasing their dreams & getting the bag.

“Everybody Knows” starts the deluxe run sampling “Backstabber” by Ke$ha talking about everyone around her accepting the fact she’s becoming richer than she ever would’ve suppose she would while “1/1” suggesting it’ll be a long time until her exes find another woman like her in their lives. The final bonus track “Find a Way” strips the drums completely feeling confident that her day will come promising she won’t change.

Inspired by the film Valerie & Her Week of Wonders, Molly speaks a lot on what it feels like to be like a woman in the type of business she’s working with & in her world feeling like the movie’s plot translates what the world in general & the music industry feels like to most women. She’s pulling out all the stops with this more frequently & broader than Mansion Musik going crazy with her culminations of the rage, pop rap, cloud rap & trap styles she’s known for.

Score: 4/5

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Aesop Rock – “Black Hole Superette” review

Here we have the 11th studio LP from New York emcee/producer Aesop Rock. Universally revered for his massive vocabulary, the man has put out a handful of underground hip hop essentials throughout the decades whether it be his solo catalogue or his membership of groups like Hail Mary Mallon or Malibu Ken. As far as his solo stuff: I recommend his sophomore effort & Definitive Jux Records debut Labor Day alongside The Impossible Kid, which was his 2nd album with Rhymesayers Entertainment whom Aesop had made himself home with for over a decade at this point. Blockhead had fully produced Garbology to acclaim & Integrated Tech Solutions has quickly received the same love The Impossible Kid, returning for a trip to the Black Hole Superette.

“Secret Knock” opens up shop with a quirky & futuristic self-produced instrumental advising to walk with him & opting to not go on any signal taking it in his own hands whereas “Checkers” works in elements of abstract conscious subject matter, space ambient, boom bap & illbient that made for a promising lead single. “Movie Nights” turns up the boom bap influences even more talking about his blue eyed dog & his cat prior to the synth-driven “EWR – Terminal A, Gate 20” explaining that vandals are unordinary now.

Armand Hammer teams up with Aesop on the collab “1010WINS” taking their consciously abstract pens to newer grounds with one another over a rap rock/boom bap hybrid while “So Be It” featuring Open Mike Eagle finds the 2 advising to not look down, sitting still & letting things fall. “Send Help” takes a jazzier boom bap approach to his sound & going nerdcore at the same time just before “John Something” brings lounge music in the fold recalling a man named John he met 3 decades ago referencing WWE Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali.

“Ice Sold Here” intricately describes how cold he is in many different ways while the funky “Costco” talks about the chain of membership-only big-box warehouse club retail stores operated by the multinational corporation. “Bird School” puts a cloudy spin on boom bap boasting his witchcraft pops up in the Atmos & everyone else’s taking practice, but then “Snail 0” wants to know what the fuck he’s supposed to do with this bagful of snails he has.

Lice gets together with Lupe Fiasco on “Charlie Horse” warning that everyone in their path should stay as clear from the streets as they possibly can while “Steel Wool” reflects on going from pairing cereals & cartoons back in the 80s to panicking in a war room turning up the quirky boom bap vibes. “Black Plums” tackles the theme of gardening admiring the way his fruit is getting fatter each summer & becoming a minute quantity of matter while “The Red Phone” talks about being the keeper of the keys.

“Himalayan Yak Chew” pushes further down the last 10 minutes or so of the album describing fish jumping in his boat whenever he pushes off of the dock without even getting a single duck in a row in addition to having a horse in the way when he gets his car without having 1 in the race & “Unbelievable Shenanigans” featuring Hanni El Khatib on the outro recalls a hamster he had almost 4 decades ago named Elizabeth as well as talking about the universe nothing if not silver lining stuffed into compartments.

Delving into the invisible forces that shape our lives & psyches, Black Hole Superette will become amongst Aesop Rock’s most technically accomplished bodies of work in his entire discography. The experimentally complex structures of his beats drawing further inspiration from space ambient, boom bap, jazz rap, rap rock & illbient attribute to that as much as his consciously abstract & occasionally nerdy lyrics portrayed from the perspective of a mad scientist seeing bigger picture of the small moments in our lives that wind up overlooked.

Score: 4.5/5

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Rome Streetz – “Trainspotting” review

London, England, United Kingdom born & Brooklyn, New York raised lyricist Rome Streetz enlisting Conductor Williams for his 10th studio LP. Emerging in 2016 off his debut mixtape I Been Thru Mad Shit, this was followed up by a plethora of projects with the most notable being the Noise Kandy tetralogy & Headcrack. These past couple years however we’re probably his biggest ones yet, as he dropped some of the best work of his career from the DJ Muggs-produced Death & the Magician or the Futurewave-produced Razor’s Edge to the Ransom-assisted collab effort Coup de Grâce & the Griselda Records deal that followed. His debut with the Buffalo powerhouse Kiss the Ring alongside the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Wasn’t Built in a Day both made the top 10 spots of my last couple Best Of lists & Hatton Garden Holdup produced by Daringer became a flawless spot in my top 5 of 2024 last winter. Mass Appeal Records in the midst of their upcoming 7 album series has locked in with both GxFR acts to go Trainspotting.

“Andre Agassi” sets the tone with a gully boom bap instrumental making reference to one of the greatest tennis players of all-time whereas “M*A*S*H” homages the Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned CBS sitcom of the same name holding the record for the most-watched series finale of any TV show. “Runny Nose” dustily gets in his pyrex bag talking about moving weight until “Ricky Bobby” featuring Method Man takes it’s name after the main character of the classic film Talladega Nights.

Meanwhile on “Blood in Boogers”, we have Rome running more laps around the whole game lyrically maintaining the traditional boom bap sound instrumentally while the single “Rule 4080” reiterates what A Tribe Called Quest taught everyone 3 decades ago. “Died 1,000 Times” aquatically suggests to stack more instead of spending the income quickly just before “Heartbreaker” chops up a soul sample to talk about breaking another hearts once again.

“10 Toes” featuring Jay Worthy psychedelically unites the pair to discuss their commitment to the game leading into “Connie’s Revenge” talking about putting your favorite rapper’s neck on the chopping blocks. “99 Attributes” soulfully gears up to smoke whole entire record labels comparing his bars to coke while “Joe Pesci” makes comparison to the actor & best friend of Robert De Niro in the Martin Scorsese classics Goodfellas, Casino & The Irishman.

The song “Electric Slide” works in a slickly drumless rap rock vibe talking about being in the best form he’s been at in his whole entire career & pushing the output in his discography to prove it, but then “Resource Room” finishes Trainspotting with a woozily jazzy reminding everyone that he’s been on for a grip & I can certainly confirm since I started reviewing him when Joyeria came out on my 23rd birthday 6 years ago already.

Verifying the reality of Rome being on the grasp of fully realizing his potential, Conductor directs the Trainspotting trip & it pushing him closer to a space where when spirited debates around “top 10 MCs lists” are being held. The Heartbreakers member’s production is heavily rooted in the boom bap sound with secondary influences of jazz rap, drumless & rap rock to make Rome’s distinct fashion of putting rhymes together the backdrop they couldn’t deserved more.

Score: 4.5/5

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Crimeapple – “Rose Gold” review

This is the 17th studio LP from New Jersey lyricist Crimeapple. Becoming a fan of his in the fall of 2017 with his 4th EP Sweet Dreams along with the Big Ghost Ltd. produced full-length debut Aguardiente that following spring, his profile in the underground grew exponentially from there. Discography standouts include the DJ Skizz-produced Wet Dirt, the DJ Muggs-produced Medallo, Cartagena, Breakfast in Hradec, Sin Cortar, the Preservation-produced El León, the official Aguardiente sequel Bazuko & the Mello Music Group-backed This, Is Not That produced by Apollo Brown. The latter 3 have all become the most I’ve enjoyed Crime’s music in a while to the point where I didn’t expect any different out of Rose Gold.

“Taste Like Butter” samples “O-o-h Child” by The Stairsteps suggesting you take a look at how he went from being broke & down to an icon within the modern underground hip hop scene whereas “Oro Rosa” strips the drums to talk about spoiling himself rotting after giving it everything when he had nothing left. “Paradigms” hooks a boom bap instrumental with some horns coming at the throats of these lame & strange muhfuckas leading into “Discounts” finding him living his best life.

Estee Nack & Eto both team up with Crime on “World Famous” bringing the trio together so they can talk about being well known all across the globe prior to the lead single “‘97 Tape Master” likening themselves to ghetto celebrities. “Easy Enough” flexes that he’s the embodiment of the term MC regardless of his eventual demise settling in on him just before the dusty “Congratulations” talks about taking his foot off the gas to take advantage.

“Paulie” begins the final leg of Rose Gold gives a middle finger to being competitive & becoming more confident in peddling death itself while “Pastor’s Whip” shows a religious side to himself & the gospel sample really couldn’t have fit the overall aesthetic any better. “Trifecta” hops over these stellar pianos to call out the individuals in his life who’re envious of his success while “Crystal City” ends with prominent synthesizers feeling like his bus riding days were yesterday.

Wet Dirt was the very 1st time that I’ve ever reviewed Crime & in light of Breakfast in Hradec celebrating it’s 3-year anniversary next month, Skizz taps back in with the east coast underground vet at this point completing a timeless trilogy by embarking on a journey built on sound matched with storytelling & consistency that those who’ve been following from the start will find themselves enjoying as much as both predecessors.

Score: 4.5/5

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