Strick – “All Time High” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper & songwriter Strick releasing his sophomore full-length studio LP after a few delays. Following his debut mixtape Risk=Reward & it’s sequel, this resulted in Young Thug signing him to YSL Records putting out 3 more tapes as well as the debut album Strick Land & more recently the 2Late 2Apologize. 21 months later, he’s at an All Time High regardless of YSL’s ongoing R.I.C.O. case & is ready to share it with the world as fall’s getting ready to start in 3 weeks or so.

The synth-driven “Chess Not Checkers” starts by singing about living like a star ever since signing to YSL whereas “Kisses Make Sure” featuring James Blake & Young Thug gives off an acoustic trap/pop rap vibe so the trio can tackle the themes of love. “Neat Freak” keeps the mellow trap production rolling flexing his current status while the cloudy “Cr@sh” featuring Travis Scott recalls the previous night where shit got too crazy.

“Lacrosse” moves on from there with 110 second trap cut talking about always keeping a stick on him just before “Nightcrawler” hooks up a stripped-back loop & hi-hats getting boastful lyrically. “Recipe for Love” featuring Future has a syrupy flare to the beat calling out their partners for doing them bad, but then “Party @ 4am” moodily talks about turning up in the early hours of the morning.

Meanwhile on “Fighter Jet”, we have Strick over another acoustic trap hybrid beating the odds letting y’all see for yourselves the way he’s living now leading into “Complete You” starting the 2nd leg of the album on the melodic pop rap tip. “On Your Line” intoxicatingly keeps the subject of romance in mind while “Come Alive” featuring 6LACK fuses trap, pop rap & R&B talking about their partners being enlivened during sex.

“Higher Living” serves as this lavish ode to living better while “Vase” produced by ATL Jacob atmospherically tells everyone listening to not let the fast life change you whatsoever. “Voice & Laugh” samples soul music throwing hi-hats into the equation learning a lot about loyalty & missing his ex while “ILY.” hops over a crooning beat talking women & people stealing his style.

Nearing the conclusion of the LP, the penultimate track “Slurricane” goes off-the-top for little over a minute telling his new bitch that he can get her in the mood & he isn’t anything like her previous man in any way shape or form while “Point Proven” ends the album talking about being a rockstar over a horn-laced trap beat.

YSL’s output in last year or so has been extremely hit or miss & I actually happened to enjoy All Time High more than Gunna’s last 2 post-incarceration efforts A Gift & A Curse and One of Wun combined. Mainly because it’s produced better, the guest-list is stronger than Strick Land almost 3 years ago & Strick himself lets everyone know where he’s at in his life currently.

Score: 3.5/5

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

Josiah the Gift – “Lavish Language” review

Brooklyn, New York emcee Josiah the Gift returning 6 & a half months after The Glorious Si’s eponymous debut to release his 6th solo LP. Starting out in the late 2010s by releasing his first 2 EPs Jack Johnson & Raw, he later broke out within the underground back in the summer of 2020 off his acclaimed debut album Iron Mic. His profile continued to elevate with the debut mixtape Remain Raw, the sophomore effort Mightier Than the Sword as well as the sequel, the True Cipher-produced TOGO & his previous album God’s Gracious. A year & a half after the lagger, the Gift of The Umbrella is returning to speak that Lavish Language.

“Rep” starts us off with an orchestral beat talking about the reputation proceeding, elevating & focusing on his goals demonstrating whereas “Hommy” works in some background vocals suggesting that you should lay low if you catch a body because the case will be closed if they find it. “Wolvez” embraces the boom bap sound instrumentally letting everyone know who y’all be fuckin’ with prior to “Mulsanne” maintaining those kicks & snares refusing to introduce himself since they should know by now.

The guitar/boom bap hybrid “Take II” finds him evening out the butters wondering where all his homies stumbled at musically & his mom being out in the streets during the 80s, but then the exuberantly dusty “Karhu Sneakers” talks about never disrespecting him since he the reason people even on the guest list showing off his kicks from the titular brand. “Florence Cathedral” featuring HooksArthur samples soul music wanting their flowers givin’ ‘em love just before “True Story” takes it back to the basement instrumentally talking about being the one you can call for peace.

“Lavish” featuring Bless Picasso takes a funkier approach to the beat comparing the chef in the kitchen that’s cookin’ up the drug supply to Guy Fieri additionally suggesting that root of evil is necessary & love being secondary while “Patra” returns to the boom bap telling the story of a homie of hos who ends up getting shot to death. “The Glory” rawly talks being satisfied with life even though he’s not a millionaire while “You’re Gonna Die” strips the drums details another homie that’s moving with no fear of death.

Pushing towards the final moments of Lavish Language, the instrumental on “The Filth” sorta gives me a capacious vibe pointing out the fact that everyone comes from nothing on top of being tired of seeing others strugglin’ or his mind still being wired to hustlin’ that is until “The Chosen” ties up the LP soulfully feelin’ his spirit leaving him fantasizing of owning Benz’ & jet skis seeing one’s future in different directions.

5 years in the making damn-near & what Josiah the Gift presents to us here stands out differently than what he’s done previously, joining Iron Mic & The Glorious Si album as one of the 3 essential standouts in his discography. Bishop cooks some of the most thorough beats of his career, the 2 guests strongly contribute to their verses hold their own weight & Josiah’s performances maintain the laser-focused hunger of both full-lengths I mentioned earlier.

Score: 4/5

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

Glokk40Spaz – “Da Real Oso” review

Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Glokk40Spaz coming off his acclaimed collab EP with OsamaSon earlier this summer 3vil Reflection to release his 4th album. Emerging off the Don’t Get Took Off mixtape trilogy & the debut EP Spaz&B, he would also go on to drop his very first LP 2 Glokks followed by the sophomore effort Baby Whoa with both of them receiving quite a bit of acclaim. Took the Biggest Risk distributed by Columbia Records was a great major label debut for EBG Records founder & is commemorating the 1-year anniversary of the latter by dropping Da Real Oso.

“My Last Breath” is this rage-inducing opener to Glokk40 laced with Four3va shooting the Glock like the Dallas Mavericks brushing off any interest in recruits whereas “Pothead & Stoner” produced by F1LTHY of Working on Dying & OPM BABI who did a lot of the album maintains the hypertrap sound talking about being high as fuck. “505” bombastically warns that shit’ll be getting scary once you enter the trap & “How Vampz Feel” goes plugg thanks to Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic to talk about rolling the dice since the streets be a gamble.

Given by the title, “Let’s Get Active” has an aggressive tone altogether fucking all y’all shit up by himself while “Mystikal Draco’s (Psychotic)” hops over another rage beat talking about his psycho tendencies although the Aaron Rodgers bar felt awkward since his 1st season as a New York Jet lasted as long as former WWE Tag Team Champion & WWE Hardcore Champion Shane McMahon’s return at WrestleMania XXXIX this spring. Very much happy to hear Shane’s son Declan being a RB for the Indiana Hoosiers with NFL potential though.

“Copperhead” keeps the dense, buzzing synth work with repetitive chord progressions & melodic synth leads sliding on the block with the demons later referencing 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena just before “You Not Da Only 1” hunts the opps like animals over synthesizers from Trgc.

The rage gets turned back up once again on “No Español” so he can catch a flip leading into “BLV Anthem” rocks out over more detailed hypertrap production hoppin’ in the whip & cranking that bitch up without a key. Who Don’t Love Money?” dabbles with plugg 1 more time detailing the gangsta lifestyle, but then “I’m Oso Shiesty” wraps things up raging again reaffirming that he really is in fact Da Real Oso.

Almost a year to the day where he Took the Biggest Risk & only 3 months since 3vil Reflection, the 2nd album that Glokk40 has released since joining a major label elevates himself further artistically where I feel like this is his best album to date. His performances are equally cutthroat than they were last September & most importantly, the production mostly handled by F1LTHY consistently sticks the latter’s signature rage sound diverting from Glokk40’s dark plugg roots.

Score: 4/5

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

K.A.A.N. – “In Due Time” review

Columbia, Maryland emcee/producer K.A.A.N. back with his 26th LP. Over the past decade or so Knowledge Above All Nonsense has been delivering numerous standouts in his ever-growing discography like Black Blood, the Ski Beatz-produced Requiem for a Dream Deferred, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced All Praise is Due, Mission Hillz, The Death of a Rapper & The Nightly News both produced by former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 or even Peace of Minds from just a few months ago. Los Angeles producer/deejay DJ Hoppa was brought in to produce Delusions of Grandeur a few months ago & is sticking around for In Due Time.

The title track starts by sampling soul music & throwing hi-hats into the equation boasting that he’s in a whole different category than everyone else whereas “C.T.T.S. (Can’t Touch This Shit)” goes full-blown boom bap talking about nobody being able to touch him lyrically. “Cautionary Tale” works in a soulfully dusty beat telling us what happens when you’re consumed by greed while “Weight” demonstrates a speedier flow trying to get rid of this baggage.

“Bon Appetit” returns the boom bap feeling like he’s about to be unleashed murdering everything in his path just before “Another Play” hooks up a woodwind talking about how much of a shame it is people are lost in the maze of the same game. “Warm It Up, K.A.A.N.” continues get in his chopper bag continuing to go at the throats of other rappers leading into the symphonic trap-flavored “Succession” advising everyone to get back.

Meanwhile on “Status Symbol”, we have K.A.A.N. over more strings swapping out the hi-hats in favor of kicks & snares likening the rap game to a petty bitch while “Stay Blessed” substitutes the orchestral elements with pianos spreading the titular message. “It Ain’t Easy” has a generally old school sound detailing the struggles while “Expectations” ruggedly tells us what some people look for all around the world.

“Enough of the Filler” pushes towards the end of the Delusions of Grandeur sequel In Due Time expressing his frustration over how much filler is packed into some of these artist’ projects in the digital age while the boom bap-tinged “Rat Race” lastly closes the 3rd consecutively amazing offering of K.A.A.N.’s this year alone talking about the weak being unable to survive.

For almost a little over 12 months now, K.A.A.N. has steadily been putting out some of the best material of his entire career & as much as I loved Delusions of Grandeur, I think In Due Time stands out as a sequel that’s better than the original. DJ Hoppa’s production is still boom bap heavy except you got some more trap undertones compared to last time & the Maryland chopper sounds hungrier.

Score: 4.5/5

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

Destroy Lonely – “Love Lasts Forever” review

Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Destroy Lonely returning for his sophomore effort. The son of former Disturbing tha Peace Records signee I-20, he’s released a total of 11 EPs since originally breaking out through SoundCloud in 2019 prior to Playboi Carti signing alone to his Interscope Records imprint Opium Records to surprise drop his last tape No Stylist in light of his ongoing tour with fellow label-mate Ken Carson last summer followed by the full-length debut If Looks Could Kill last summer. Another year passing & the most versatile Opium artist looks to remind us that Love Lasts Forever.

If you really think about it, “Forever” pretty much gets the ball rollin’ in the form of the title track telling us love as well as money & his particular lifestyle being eternal sampling All Saints whereas “Love Hurts” featuring Lil Uzi Vert finds the 2 telling us the downsides of romance going for an atmospheric trap instrumentally. “Luv 4 Ya” was a fine choice of a lead single waking up too rich while “Crystal Clear” goes for psychedelic approach admitting to not understanding that some of his homies ain’t here & bitches being unforgivable. The latter being odd considering the domestic abuse allegations couple months earlier & he responded by saying “hoes mad” & nothing more.

“Baby Money” moves on from there with an atmospheric trap flare to the beat flexing the newest nickname that he’s received prior to the quasi-pluggy “Say That” reuniting with Lone’s longtime collaborator Clayco telling it’s only life as opposed to a lifestyle of it’s own. The symphonic trap vibes of “Pimp Talk” happens to be a cool change of pace portraying himself as an actual pimp just before “Cadillac” shows off the 200 on his neck over a decent FNZ instrumental.

Nearing the end of Love Last Forever’s first half, “Syrup Sippin’” produced by Toom of Vanguard Music Group brags he got weed blowin’ strong similarly to that of a speaker & that he does in fact sip lean while “Lock In” talks about a bitch tryna skate all on his ice thinking she Frozone from The Incredibles trilogy. “Doubt It” refuses to a miss a single dollar further embracing the Baby Money persona, but then “Wish You Well” has one of my favorite beats on the album courtesy of Wheezy so he can talk about the legitimate trappin’ he does.

“Ship Her Off” once again portrays himself as a pimp droppin’ an entire check with his clothes refusing to switch up his flow reconnecting with Cxdy of Internet Money Records while “Honestly” opens up about a breakup wishing an ex-girlfriend of his was still here with him since shit’s been getting real & he’s been bigger than big lately. “Take a Trip” brings an energetic quality to the table getting in his young rich bag for 3 & a half minutes while “Extra High” talks about feeling safe once he’s higher than he normally is.

Meanwhile on “Amerika”, we have Lone over a somber trap sound making everything black & “Thrill” featuring Ken Carson reminds us of the strong chemistry between Opium’s first 2 artists. “About Money” starts the bonus track run making it clear he’s got his mind on the paper over rattling bass while the uncanny atmosphere of “No Worries” co-produced by Taurus shrugs off any concerns. “Pass Me the Keys” lastly closes shop talking about being high to the point where he shouldn’t be driving.

“The Bounce” officially starts the deluxe run rockin’ 5 star since stylin’ ain’t so hard for him over a cavernous trap instrumental from BryceUnknwn while the trippy “Make a Sound” talks about shawty fallin’ in love with Baby Money leaving $100s peakin’ out & his cross is upside down representing the Opium clique. “See You Tomorrow” cloudily sets out to pop a bottle & call up the models the next day since there ain’t no time for sorrow while “Meet the Boss” chaotically boasts that he doesn’t know another young dude out here like himself. “Bling” entrancingly shows off old school bling puttin’ on for the ’99 & 2000s paying homage to the Juvenile hit “Back That Azz Up” servin’ crack like the 80s named after the Cash Money Millionaires single “Bling Bling” off B.G.’s 4th & best album Chopper City in the Ghetto.

“Smoking” remains locked in with all his dogs rockstar trippin’ in a bassy, hallucinatory fashion while “Healing” turns the atmosphere back up referencing UFC Hall of Famer, the inaugural UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, 3-time WWE women’s world champion & WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Ronda Rousey formerly of both TKO Group Holdings divisions. “Forgot My Name” hazily further continues expands on the theme of getting stoned while “LSD” with Y3rip energetically gets extra lit every single night without getting exhausted making bar mitzvah money. “Money Anthem” is a whole theme song dedicated to the bread wanting naysayers to say something leaving their main bitches mouth full unable to say shit & the physical exclusive “Bangaz” featuring Don Toliver otherworldly talks about liking the way their bitches twist their fingers. “Get Right” goes rage again standing tall & “Prettiest One” cavernously cops a Chanel bag for the prettiest bitches.

I’d like to start the final paragraph of this review by apologizing to all my Opium fans reading this because I’m well aware of the fact I’ve gained a following within their fanbase not too long after Anthony Fantano’s scathing criticism for my support of them & even if Love Lasts Forever has it’s highlights, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did No Stylist or even If Looks Could Kill. It’s understandable the most versatile signing on the Opium roster would want to take a break from having Clayco produce a large portion of the LP since they have that Metro & Future chemistry, it’s that a lot of this production feels repetitive as a result.

Score: 3/5

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

Nails – “Every Bridge Burning” review

Nails is an Oxnard, California grindcore band consisting of guitarist Shelby Lermo, bassist Andrew Solis, drummer Carlos Cruz & frontman/guitarist Todd Jones. Their 2010 debut Unsilent Death has become of the greatest albums in the extreme metal/hardcore punk fusion subgenre, landing them a contract with Sunn O)))’s independently owned Southern Lord Records to put out an acclaimed sophomore effort in Abandon All Life & later signing with Nuclear Blast Records a few years after that for You’ll Never Be One of Us. Nearly a decade of radio silence, Todd & company are returning on Every Bridge Burning.

“Imposing Will” couldn’t have been a better choice for an opening track mixing grindcore & metalcore having the effect of an urgency talking about no matter how deep it cuts, it’ll never be enough whereas the 1-minute “Punishment Map” brutality sets out to making people feel the way they make Todd feel. The title track explosively talks about the knife inside & the past being where there’s hurting just before “Give Me the Painkiller” fuses metalcore, grindcore, thrash metal, speed metal & stenchcore discusses a painkiller addiction.

On “Lacking the Ability to Process Empathy”, we have Nails going for a primarily metallic hardcore sound with additional elements of grind to talk about friends turning into enemies leading into “Trapped” going full-blown grindcore feeling stuck in a living Hell. “Made Up You Mind” continues the shortened song structures & a diverse palette of intense techniques calling out someone who isn’t in control, but then the skull-smashing “Dehumanized” discusses the idea of dehumanization.

“I Can’t Turn It Off” reaches the final moments of Every Bridge Burning addressing everyone who thinks that Todd’s a terrible person refusing to apologize for doing it his way & never compromising himself or the rest of the Nails for that matter & lastly, “No More Rivers to Cross” is this adrenaline-inducing 3 minute closer clarifying that he doesn’t see things the way others do wanting be left alone, pay his bills & die in his home.

Almost 15 years of cementing themselves further as the greatest grind band that the subgenre has seen in recent memory, Nails’ comeback effort makes it seems like they never even left in the first place because it’s their 2nd classic with Nuclear Blast & their 4th consecutively gratifying LP overall. They show everyone exactly how much they’ve evolved since the last time we heard from them taking their signature style & excellently fuse it with metalcore, crust punk, sludge metal, thrash metal & speed metal.

Score: 4.5/5

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

che – “Sayso Says” review

This is the full-length debut studio album from Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer che. Starting as a member of the 4ersona collective under the original moniker murkio before settling on cheRomani+ & later abbreviating it. But it wasn’t until more recently where he decided to build a solo catalog for himself by putting out the debut EP 3 over a year ago & followed it up this past February in the form of X, which was supposed to be the original version of his 3rd EP Closed Captions over the summer which was a solid introduction to who he is artistically & personally. Crueger last Halloween showed more of a Chief Keef influence & is releasing Sayso Says with only less than a month left of summer.

“I Rot, I Rot” starts by hopping over an intergalactic trap instrumental from CXO talking about not needing any more new friends whereas “Saska, You Made It” turns the rage up celebrating his newfound success. “Pretend We’re Sleeping” encourages everyone to do their own shit working in some synths & hi-hats prior to “Get Naked” goes hypertrap again flexing his VIP status.

The message on “Enjoy Your Life” comes from a good place of heart maintaining the rage beats thanks to Ginseng telling his fans to enjoy their time here alive just before “Been There, Done That” has this bubbly hypertrap tone to the beat talking about doing it all. “Hex On My Chest, It’s Going Down” goes for a spaciously booming approach instrumentally advising to simply get through it & you’ll be ok leading into the energetic “Pissy Coffee” refuses to play games with anyone.

After the interlude, “It’s My Party & I’ll Die If I Want To” kicks off the other half of Sayso Says inducing more rage talking about not wanting peace anymore while “Don’t Tell No1” encourages people to come fuck with him over densely buzzing synth work with repetitive chord progressions & melodic synth leads. “Nunca Hacer Cocaina” incorporates a hint of digicore undertones speaking out against cocaine usage while “School Girl Sashimi” keeps the rage beats rolling talking about lust.

“Y.D.F.W.M.N.M.? (You Don’t Fuck With Me No More?)” whips up an ethereal trap banger calling out the people who switched up on him while the futuristic “Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things” wishes this bitch knew how he really felt. “Cut Off Your Hands” turns the bass up suggesting his girl should chop her hands off since she gives so much head & “My Favorite Color is Red” serves as a bombastic closer leaving blood everywhere.

Only a couple years in the game & I have no doubt in my mind that Sayso Says will take che to newer heights since it basically surpasses every expectation set out by his early EPs. His songwriting/performances are on par if not above Crueger’s last Halloween & I’d be reminded if I didn’t commend him for doing such an outstanding job self-producing a lot of it basing the LP’s sound primarily in the rage subgenre that he emerged out of.

Score: 4/5

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

Juicy J – “Ravenite Social Club” review

Memphis, Tennessee rapper, songwriter, producer & record executive Juicy J coming off the Mental Trillness duology to release his 8th solo LP. 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. Further diverting from the norm, he’s going jazz rap in the Ravenite Social Club.

After the “Provider” intro, the first song “The Higher Ups” further sets the tone of what’s to come hopping over a jazz boom bap instrumental from longtime Griselda affiliate JR Swiftz dissing corporate America whereas “Don’t Go Out” works in some pianos as well as kicks & snares advising not to go out the way Paul Castellano of the Gambino crime family did. “That’s Gangsta” keeps it boom bap explaining how hard it is to be splitting 50/50 with his bitch, but then “Everything All Good” has a warmer trap approach telling us he’s been doing ok.

“Fucked Up Era” hooks up some horns describing what he was living in for the past year & a half or so that resulted in both Mental Trillness albums prior to “Thought It Was” strips the drums completely boasting his luxurious ways of living. “Deserve It” has this orchestral boom bap flare to the beat dedicating it to all the independent shawties ahead of “The Past is the Past” colorfully leaving everything behind him for approximately 116 seconds.

The self-produced “Consequence” mixes these pianos with kicks & snares reminding the listeners of the most valuable lesson a person can learn in their lifetime while “Payment” swaps the keys out in favor of synthesizers admitting The Notorious B.I.G. wasn’t lying when he said “Mo Money, Mo Problems” using his own experiences. “1 in 1,000,000” hops on top of more horns advising what a dangerous lie it is that you don’t have to work just before the soulfully drumless “Suicide Doors” featuring Cordae warns to get a bag before you beef since you’ll need money for war.

“The Bottom Line” continues to chop up the soul samples smoking & drinking 1 for old time’s sake while the 4 minute “To You” pays tribute to Lord Infamous, Koopsta Knicca & Gangsta Boo over Robert Glasper playing piano. “Sometimes” further pushes the closure of the Ravenite Social Club for the night soulfully asking if you needed someone to talk to & no one was there while “Things Changed” promising he’ll be there when his baby falls automatically telling her yes if she ever calls him.

Beginning the deluxe run, the drumlessly jazzy “In Plain Sight” disses the haters for wanting to see him torn down legalizing products to sell at the same price while “Fit the Mode” featuring Project Pat puts a mature spin on trap generally talking about the best thing in the world being a woman by your side. “Could’ve Been Worse” goes boom bap reminding that you only get 1 chance to make it while “Enemy Lines” angrily warns what happens once you cross a specific path.

“Just Listen” jazzily advises everyone who’s still tuning in for them to take care of their business while “Dizzy” drumlessly reflects on spending most of his time denying what the heavens planned & refusing to fake the funk anymore by letting the prophets come true. The final bonus track “Point ‘Em Out” featuring Remy Ma goes trap for a dedication to all the real women & not trying to risk being around the bitches who’re fake.

Both installments of the Mental Trillness duology were greeted to mixed reception although I personally appreciate them for being more introspectively serious than some of Juicy’s past solo material & now that we finally got Ravenite Social Club after 8 months in the making, it could very well be my favorite of his since branching out on his own & he’ll even tell you that himself. It’s a change of pace with its production building upon the sounds of jazz rap, boom bap, drumless & chipmunk soul focusing less on trap taking the overall maturity a step further.

Score: 4.5/5

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

X-Raided – “A Sin in Heaven” review

Here we have the 18th full-length studio LP albeit Strange Music sophomore effort from Sacramento, California veteran X-Raided. Exploding onto the scene in 1992 off the strength of his full-length debut Psycho Active, he was shortly after sentenced to 31 years in prison on murder charges, only to be granted parole in the fall of 2018 & continued to build his discography by dropping a little over a dozen more albums whilst incarcerated. The Nefarious Loc surprisingly signed to Strange in 2022 & his previous offering A Prayer in Hell was a true blue return to form, so A Sin in Heaven had me expecting no differently.

“2400” is a trap opener airing out everyone for getting here late & flexing that he got here early whereas the rapid-fire “Sacrilegious” discusses not understanding the dark if you ain’t ever been in the light. “Can’t Hold Us Down” has a gospel trap vibe to the beat looking to ball in the midst of them tryna keep his people broke, but then “California State” featuring Locksmith is a cloudy tribute to the state out in the west coast that raised them.

Meanwhile on “Boy Meets World”, we have X over a much more bouncier beat from Mario Casalini talking about wanting to become a banger as he was growing up just before the groovier “P.T.S.D. (Passing The Story Down)” talks about his story being passed on to his children. “A Favor for a Favor” featuring Nox finds the 2 coming together so they can tell a hustler’s story but after the “Waste Management” interlude, “A Cold Day in Hell” featuring C-Mob & Joey Cool refuses to choose hoes over his bros supposing that’s the way life goes.

“Olly Olly Oxen Free” featuring Bleezo, Tech N9ne & T-Nutty has these nervous undertones throughout stepping on these muhfuckas in a real way acknowledging that only the top MCs be fuckin’ with them while “The Sunken Place” produced by Wyshmaster solemnly lives in a drunken state. “Anymore” strips the drums completely hopping over pianos asking if it’s too late to admit he’s broken & “Pray” hooks the trap vibes back up talking praying when all else fails.

Moving on from there, “Conception (Aneraé’s Song)” produced by Matt Phoenix atmospherically looks to break all generational curses in his family tree while the trap-driven “Invigorated” featuring Ellis Prescott as well as Macntaj & Trizz talks about the feeling of being revitalized. “It’s Up” featuring KXNG CROOKED & Ras Kass sees the trio coming together for a 3 & a half minute west coast barfest while “Juggernaut” goes drill refusing to ever stop now that he’s home.

“Paranoia” featuring Tech N9ne blends a guitar & hi-hats allowing them to demonstrate speedier flows revolving around the theme of being paranoid referencing WWE Hall of Famer Drew Carey & after the “All or Nothing” interlude, the psychedelic rock/trap hybrid “No Conversations” tells everyone to hold their breaths as he balls. “Baby Mama Music” wittingly expresses his gratitude to be free while “Water” featuring Ellis Prescott, Jerome Dillard, Laza & Macntaj takes a delicately melodic approach.

Pushing further towards the end of A Sin in Heaven, the penultimate track “Elevating” featuring Don P is this gospel/trap hybrid finding both of them talking about constantly evolving from an artistic standpoint while MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 laces the closer “Gladiator” featuring C-Mob & King Iso finding all 3 of them coming together passionately referring to themselves as being trained to fight with weapons against others.

Only the 2nd release from the Strange Music camp this year following Tech’s first Collabos album in a long time C.O.S.M. (Class of Strange Music) after signing a new distribution deal with both RBC Records founder Brian Shafton’s new label Compound Interest Entertainment alongside Virgin Music even last summer & it’s a worthy successor to what has already become X’s strongest body of work in recent memory. He takes things full circle experiencing joys in life now that he has crafted a life he could only have imagined just a few years ago.

Score: 3.5/5

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

Rock & Ruste Juxx – “Crownsville” review

Brooklyn, New York emcees Rock & Ruste Juxx teaming up for a brand new collaborative LP. One of whom is a member of the Boot Camp Clik as well as the now defunct subgroups Heltah Skeltah & The Fab 5 alongside the late Sean Price while the other was a protege of Ruck making his debut on Heltah Skeltah’s sophomore effort Magnum Force. They’ve crossed paths with one another countless times in the span of 26 years & to commemorate almost a decade of Sean’s passing, they’re getting together to take us through Crownsville.

The title track is a morbid boom bap opener representing Brownsville & Crown Heights respectively whereas “Black Out” has a soulful flare to the beat proudly wearing the borough that made them on their sleeves. “Vehicular Manslaughter” produced by D-Block Records in-house producer Vinny Idol works in more kicks & snares laying out some of their hardest verses on the album prior to “Crash Ya Whip” aggressively making y’all choose one of the 6,000,000 ways to die.

After the Bernadette Price Speaks skit, “Sean Lives On” serves as a sincere tribute to P with a ghostly boom bap instrumental while “B-83” sorta dabbles with trap feeling like an open hand palm slap so they can flex their status as nuclear bomb threats. “Ruck Down” brings a rap rock vibe to the table thanks to Bumpy Knuckles representing Sean’s independently owned Duck Down Music Inc. subsidiary Ruck Down Records, but then “Change Nothing” featuring Frankie Storm as well as 9th Uno behind the boards finds the trio linking up advising the listener to not switch-up.

“Dust Pan” has a fun back-&-forth chemistry from Rock & Ruste cautioning that your whole team will get swept fucking with them for roughly 135 seconds while “Kings County” pulls inspiration from rock music again instrumentally shouting out the titular Brooklyn county. “Wotcha Call Strength” by the Boot Camp Clik finishes Crownsville by having the collective reuniting for the first time since 2007 for a high-energy 6 minute closer that The Arcitype laced.

Knowing both artists’ individual history with Sean Price, it’s only right that they joined forces for the duration of an entire album & one that would make Sean proud if he was still with us today. Rock & Ruste elevate their chemistry over the course of 33 minutes other than a couple guests backed by the sounds of boom bap, a hint of trap & of course samples of rock & soul music.

Score: 4/5

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