ApolloRed1 – “Demon Heart Radio” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper ApolloRed1 releasing his debut mixtape under Opium Records & Interscope Records. Starting out a couple years ago off his full-length debut The Summer I Turned Red, his first few extended plays Villain as well as Vamp Diary & Tantrum were enough to have his blood cousin Playboi Carti make him the newest member of the Opium roster by dropping a Midnight Blassic. ApolloRed1 vs. the World in October continued to make some more artistic improvements & Demon Heart Radio has finally arrived after months of delays.

“#Demon” produced by Cardo made for an entertaining single that came out last weekend addressing someone he facilitated all his love for whereas “Where I’m @“ works in some heavy 808s from Bakkwoods admitting that he’s so high off the drugs that he doesn’t know his exact location. “Pink!” hops over an Ayelavish! instrumental I really enjoyed talking about pulling his Glock out like it’s a shiv while “#SRT” pulls from plugg courtesy of SOULJASPIRITS likening himself to Deadpool.

Trgc gets behind the boards for the EDM-inspired “More Time” talking about the only thing he wants is to be with this woman more just before “Love You > Myself” gives off a more hyper tone altogether pondering what to do when the drugs won’t help & speaking of someone he loves more than himself over a rage beat from Clayco & OPM BABI. “Shell” maintains the hypertrap vibes instrumentally depicting imagery of the gangsta life until putting dollar signs “OnYoHead!” over a sinister Bugz Ronin beat.

“Codeine Shower” featuring Destroy Lonely finds the 2 reuniting to end the 1st half of Demon Heart Radio talking about treating drugs like probiotics while “Can’t Go” runs it back over another Ayelavish! instrumental for a couple minutes or so assuring that shit being real life to him. “Caution” has a playful rage aura to it catching those speaking ill on his name on offense while “Geeked Up” featuring OsamaSon talks about both of them seeing red.

We have ApolloRed on the rage-inducing “ARP My Bitch” likening his AR-15 pistol to romantic lover while “Drive u” embraces more of a pluggier sound thanks to F1LTHY of Working on Dying to talk about him being on top of the hill of the Atlanta scene with the rest of his Opium squad. “Tight Pants” featuring the Homixide Gang joins forces to express their disdain for those fuckin’ with rats & while “Pullup##” winds down the last few moments of Demon Heart Radio turning up the hypertrap elements courtesy of Ayelavish! talking about going crazy soon as he hits the stage.

“Hood-Made” explains that the streets made him the person he is today over an instrumental Zodiac of Vanguard Music Group made while the outro “Set You Free” sends off Apollo’s major label debut suggesting he might let go of an ex if they weren’t meant for each other. “Machete” talks about having hundreds of dollars coming in & having a book bag for it while “NoCrash” samples “Put on a Smile” by Silk Sonic to detail his no fucks given attitude.

Midnight Blassic & ApolloRed1 vs. the World have both proven that ApolloRed1 could potentially be the most underrated signing on the Opium roster considering both of those were big step-ups from his earlier output, but his major label debut Demon Heart Radio tops both of those in unveiling a tape packed with the highest quality of rage & plugg music I could’ve expected from him. Whether it’s the consistently fun production or the guests & Apollo himself, the latter’s making it known that he’s arrived.

Score: 4/5

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ApolloRed1 – “ApolloRed1 vs. the World” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper ApolloRed1 preluding his debut mixtape with his 3rd EP. Starting out a year ago off his full-length debut The Summer I Turned Red along with his first couple EPs Villain & Vamp Diary, his last EP Tantrum in March was enough to have his cousin Playboi Carti make him the newest member of the Opium Records roster & dropping a Midnight Blassic this spring. In preparation for his debut mixtape Demon Heart Radio, he’s preluding it with ApolloRed1 vs. the World.

“No Running” is a rage-inducing opener produced by Clayco talking about having whole rounds for their opps whereas “Benz Muhfucka” featuring Protect with co-production from OPM BABI & n9ck finds the pair assuring you won’t catch them leaving the house strapped. “Riot” continues to rep the hypertrap influences thanks to Goxan for an ode to the New York stop of Opium’s upcoming Antagonist Tour while “Contraband” talks about putting it this shit on command over a 16yrold, Bakkwoods & Rafmade instrumental.

Meanwhile on “Loaded Diper”, we have ApolloRed1 over more rage beats to discuss him still poppin’ pills & hopping out the van leading into “ARP” talks about the rifle doing exactly what he tells it to do over an Ayelavish! beat. “Profit” uses a flow reminiscent to Future’s confessing to fucking up the financial gain just before “Bad Bitch Fetish” featuring 9 Vicious teases their upcoming collab tape YVLFN.

“10:03” starts the final leg of ApolloRed1 vs. the World by talking about not wasting his money at the Magic City strip club Jermaine Dupri named his comeback album from last month after prior to “headed2thesky” promising to put the world in his girl’s hands over a Trgc instrumental. “Vamp Language” featuring Destroy Lonely was the perfect choice of a last minute guest appearance as they get on top this Bugz Ronin beat to talk about speaking in vampire.

Putting a bigger emphasis on the Chicago drill & plugg styles than Midnight Blassic did earlier this spring, ApolloRed1 vs. the World might seem like a homage of Lil Uzi Vert’s greatest tape on the surface only to get a collection of trap & rage tracks that rival ApolloRed1’s inaugural release under Opium several months ago. The production expands on the artistic potential that began flourishing post-Tantrum giving more reasons to validate his signing.

Score: 4/5

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ApolloRed1 – “Midnight Blassic” review

This is the sophomore effort & Opium Records debut from Atlanta, Georgia rapper ApolloRed1. Starting out a year ago off his full-length debut The Summer I Turned Red along with his first couple EPs Villain & Vamp Diary, his last EP Tantrum a couple months ago was enough to have his blood cousin Playboi Carti make him the newest member of the Opium roster by putting out a Midnight Blassic ahead of his upcoming collaborative project YVLFN with one of the newest YSL Records artists 9 Vicious at some point.

“PBrazy” produced by Clayco & OPM BABI felt like a promising start talking about the whole squad getting brazy with it now that he got a label deal whereas “Beauty Pageant” links up with Ayelavish!to rejects the news for an accountant since he’s been stacking bread since he was young. “Georgia Boy” turns up the rage a bit courtesy of none other than F1LTHY from Working on Dying getting on his bullshit since he’s from the ATL, but then “Ready2Purge” gives off a plugg vibe suggesting people listen & learn from him.

We get back on the hypertrap vibes a bit on “Hallucinating” putting money over everything & handing out bounties by throwing out prices on muhfuckas’ heads just before “Face Tattoos” reunites with F1LTHY to continue the rage beats talking about his girl wanting Chanel when she’s flat out broke. “Gotta B” breaks down the way he feels like he has to be for 2 & a half minutes leading into “XO Tourlyfe” responds to his chick hitting his phone in the midst of him being on the road.

“Rick Addiction” kicks off the 2nd half of Midnight Blassic with him, BryceUnknwn & Clayco linking up again to publicly address his fascination for Rick Owens while “Delta” cloudily talks about his chick promising that she’ll ride with him until the very end even if she drives him crazy & Clayco sticking around. “Tom Holland” makes a witty reference to the actor who plays Spider-Man in The Walt Disney Company-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) over a Rafmade/Trgc instrumental while “Halo” skeletally calls out people who ain’t really saying shit.

To get the encore of Apollo’s debut with Opium going, “Honest” brings a bit of a robotic trap flare to the table coming clean with having too many close calls while “Chanel Shooter” talks about not needing to call any backup because of him being his own person. “Drug Love Demo 2” serves as a spiritual successor to a loosie single he put out at the beginning of February leveling up compared to the original & the closer “Back to That” finds him unwilling to be a nobody again.

Looking at all 4 of the other artists Opium has to offer, it’s not too hard for me or really anyone else familiar with them to see why they would want to bring ApolloRed1 on board as the most recent addition to the label roster since it takes the potential displayed on Tantrum & turns it up a few volumes. The trap, rage & plugg production in only 35 minutes feels more cultivated than what I’ve heard from him previously & holds the fort down by himself in an effort to elevate himself.

Score: 3.5/5

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