Tag: Ankhlejohn

Ankhlejohn – “Live! at the Disco” review

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

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

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

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

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

Score: 4.5/5

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Ankhlejohn – “The Michelin Man” review

Washington, D.C. emcee/producer Ankhlejohn teaming with Cookin’ Soul for his 7th mixtape. Breaking out off his Big Ghost Ltd.-produced sophomore effort Van Ghost, he’s given the underground a total of 6 full-length studio albums as well as 27 EPs & his last 6 tapes in almost a decade. Other favorites of mine in his discography include the Navy Blue-produced As Above, So Below & the Rome Streetz collaborative effort effort Genesis 1:27. I was however interested in hearing The Michelin Man after his verse on Gangrene’s comeback effort Heads I Win, Tails You Lose.

“Landlord Member” sets the tone by hooking up this gospel sample to talk about being the kind of father that actually lives with his children whereas “Rump with Me” takes the boom bap route instrumentally asking if anyone out there wants smoke with him. “The Hell Pit” goes drumless talking about everyone already knowing the deal with him for these past several years leading into “Lance Vance” featuring Premo Rice praising God for keeping their affairs in order.

As for “Deuteronomy 28”, we have Cookin’ Soul continuing to strip the drums once again making way for Ankhlejohn feeling like Onyx telling everyone to do the knowledge just before “Seed of Chucky” featuring Tony Shhnow marks the soulful collaboration I never thought I needed to hear. “Sturgeon Eggs” returns to the boom bap putting his street life on full display lyrically while “Halfway” featuring Mike Shabb sees the 2 leaving y’all shot in the mouth.

“Riga Mortis” officially starts the final moments of The Michelin Man referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & NWA World Tag Team Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin following the premiere of Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s new developmental brand Evolve revived by EVOLVE Wrestling’s original founder Gabe Sapolsky showcasing talent under the WWE ID (Independent Development) program on tubi yesterday prior to “Feel the Breeze” finishing us off on a jazzier note making his mother proud with his words.

Some of LORDY’s output in the past 7 years has been hit-or-miss & heads I know who’ve been following him for the same amount of time as me have agreed on that when engaging in conversations of his discography, but The Michelin Man easily sticks out as Anhklejohn’s finest offering of the 2020s elevating Cookin’ Soul’s production run that began last year & the D.C. artist’s finest performances in a while.

Score: 4.5/5

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