diamond* – “Bling Slime” review

Mechanicsville, Virginia rapper diamond* making his official YSL Records solo debut with a brand new mixtape. A member of the ØWay collective, his full-length debut Nø Idøls last summer caught the attention of Young Thug around the same time he signed Tezzus & their eponymous debut as the Uy Scuti Bøyz a few months earlier was met with disappointingly mixed reception. The Resurrectiøn recently became Tezzus’ most celebrated material & Bling Slime looks to join the conversation.

“Man øn the Møøn” gets things going talking about being the flyest artist his age in the room over some synthesizers & hi-hats whereas “Almighty Dølla” has a more hypertrap vibe instrumentally boasting his thick pockets & his refusal of backing down. “WYD2” produced by both thr6x & Zaan gives us a sequel to a 2024 single the latter also produced just before “4s” featuring Young Thug talks about pouring up Sprite with the guy over more rage beats.

Pz’ appears on “Hedis n Pelles” to energetically put dope in the pot & let it marinate leading into “GG” embracing a bit of a pluggier sound talking about rocking out shows. “Hørsebit” featuring Lil Righteous references the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s Big 5 pay-per-view events the Royal Rumble while the cloudy “3 Wishes” lets Sk8star handle a bulk of the rapping, likening himself to Derrick Rose in the 4th quarter.

“STFU” winds down the last few moments of Bling Slime talking about not beefing with anyone because his squad likes to spin over a hypertrap instrumental with a pitched vocal sample while “Burgers n Fries” featuring southsidesilhouette finds the pair promising to kill anyone who touches their chain, which is ironic because of the recent incident between che & 9 Vicious. “Matter øf Time” ends the tape talking about sticking to the script since it’s what got him here while “All Star” featuring Pz’ & southsidesilhouette starts the deluxe run linking up over a rage beat to tackle romantic topics.

Whyceg combines elements of both trap & plugg for “Ferrari” talking about fucking up anyone who touches his chain while “Splurge” featuring EA TJ links up over a Goxan instrumental flexin’ they been poppin’ shit since birth. “Tattøøs All Summer” featuring Pradabagshawty runs it back with Whyceg to talk about getting baddies tatted up while “Fucked Up” gets in his gangsta bag lyrically. “Sickø” talks about his whole team being fresh & the final bonus track “Møntreality” concludes with a decent freestyle.

Bling Slime to me seemed like it had the possibility of dethroning Nø Idøls but even if that album still does a better job at displaying diamond*’s artistic range, it’s a still worthy prelude to his sophomore effort Jubilee next month. The production’s a lot less experimental & cloudy, maintaining the elements of trap along with rage & plugg. I also felt like a great deal of the guests other than an underwhelming selection or 2 delivered.

Score: 4/5

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Sublime – “Until the Sun Explodes” review

Sublime is a ska punk band from Long Beach, California now comprised of drummer Bud Gagh, bassist Eric Wilson & frontman Jakob Nowell. The trio’s 1992 debut 40oz. to Freedom & their eponymous 3rd LP under MCA Records would become some of the greatest material to come out of the fusion genre between 3rd wave ska & punk rock music although their sophomore effort Robbin’ the Hood wasn’t as positively received. 3 decades since the death of Jakob’s father Brad, they’re signing to Atlantic Records for their 4th & final album.

“Ensenada” begins with a reggae rock intro where Jakob’s singing about wanting to make love to a whore whereas “Wizard” instrumentally takes it back to their ska punk origins describing 7 years of darkness. “Can’t Miss You” pulls further inspiration from the reggae rock style cautioning not to trust his love because it’ll only go just before “Backwards” featuring FIDLAR makes a turn into ska punk turf once more addresses the problem with their friends.

After the “Maybe Partying Will Help…” interlude, “Favorite Song” featuring Skegss unites both parties so they can sing about the music they love the most sounding like shit to them now leading into “Personal Hell” fusing ska punk & hip hop recalls a man Jakob knew in a previous life. “F.T.R.” not to be confused with the record-tying 3-time AEW World Tag Team Champions & former ROH World Tag Team Champions of the same name sings about having a good feeling & keeping the positive vibes rolling.

“Evil Men” hooks up some bright guitar tones & some drums yearning to make love while “Trey’s Song” featuring Bad Brains frontman/guitarist H.R. finds the pair describing a situation where they’re in love with women who don’t feel the same way. “Casino Toarmina” has a more stripped-back feeling singing about wanting to take a Costa Rican woman home over some acoustics while “The Problem with That Is It Makes Me Stoked…” hits us with another interlude.

Kicking off the 2nd half of Until the Sun Explodes properly, “Gangstalker” gives off a more standard punk flare putting us inside the shoes of somebody experiencing paranoia while “Figueroa” treads the reggae rock waters once more singing about breakin’ his back doin’ the best Jakob can. “Froggy” tells the story of someone who everyone wanted to become friends with carrying over the reggae elements while “Come Correct” featuring G. Love & Special Sauce sings about acting accordingly around them.

“What For” makes it clear that Jakob only wants to be around this woman for 24 hours while “247-369” with my favorite feature Pennywise brings both SRH Productions representatives together for a punk rock headbanger. After the last 2 installments of the “Maybe Partying Will Help…” trilogy, the title track sings about Jakob owing his deceased father Brad his life & “Thanx Again” finishes Until the Sun Explodes showing gratitude for the band’s supporters.

I wouldn’t consider Until the Sun Explodes to be on the same tier as 40oz. to Freedom or self-titled by any means, but I’d put it above Robbin’ the Hood as the 3rd best in Sublime’s brief yet impactful discography without hesitation even if plans of blink-182 drummer Travis Barker originally producing it fell through. The production entertainingly combines alternative rock, 3rd wave ska, reggae rock, punk rock, ska punk, hip hop, dub & rap rock for a satisfactory epilogue to their illustrious career.

Score: 4/5

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Protect – “slimedude2003” review

This is the debut extended play from Buffalo, New York rapper Protect. Introducing himself to the trap & plugg subgenres of hip hop by releasing his full-length debut All on Me followed by the sophomore effort albeit major label debut Ball Hog of Life under Atlantic Records a couple years earlier, his previous LP 500 Days of Summer last August was my introduction to him & remains his strongest collection of material today. 10 months later, he’s dropping off slimedude2003.

“RAF Trench” starts us off with a plugg instrumental talking about shooting as if he’s Cade Cunningham whereas “Firearm” cloudily admits to constantly pouring lean like he’s awaiting his own death. “0s” could be a weaker moment here since he’s pretty much sandwiching an unacceptably underwritten verse in the middle of a chorus, but then “Makatussin” continues to express the love he has for consuming cough syrup over a bubbly beat from R8 of Vanguard Music Group

As for “Whole Crowd”, we have Protect talking about getting concertgoers turnt soon as he he hits the stage prior to the plugg-influenced “RE4” referencing one of my all-time favorite video games Resident Evil 4 & dissing N3on for seeking attention online. “What Doesn’t Kill U” begins the 2nd half talking about sending out convoys over a synth-driven trap beat just before “Reset” confesses to feeling overwhelmed by a handful of things.

“AC130” gets slimedude2003’s last let going talking about making opps bleed soon as he catches them while “Sk8r” samples “believe me” alyorra discussing the importance of finding yourself & getting it together. The highlight “Last of Us” produced by Cade makes a nod to another all-time favorite video game of mine & the outro “U da 1” finishes the EP with 1 last motivational anthem about the audience making an impact too by doing it.

500 Days of Summer stands tall as the most refined musical statement of Protect’s career & although I do acknowledge that slimedude2003 was meant to be a collection of “grails”, I felt that the final production turned out to be pretty average compared to his previous LP. You can definitely tell these were recorded sometime before or after All on Me & Ball Hog for Life when he was getting his footing in even if I wouldn’t call it some of my favorite material he’s done outside a couple joints.

Score: 3/5

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Shoreline Mafia – “Bidness is Boomin’” review

This is the 4th extended play from Los Angeles, California duo the Shoreline Mafia now consisting of Ohgeesy & Fenix Flexin’. Originally a quartet, their debut mixtape ShorelineDoThatShit resulted in them signing to Atlantic Records for their next couple tapes & EPs as well as a full length studio debut. They would temporarily disband following Mafia Bidness so it’s members could pursue their solo careers, reuniting with half it’s members in 2023 & are coming off returning to Atlantic in tandem with 300 Entertainment for the sophomore effort Back in Bidness to explain how Bidness is Boomin’.

“Planet of the Apes” opens up by detailing the gangsta lifestyle over a nervous instrumental whereas “We Like to Party” produced by Hitmaka & Ty$ was easily my favorite single of the 4, interpolating “La Di Da Di” by Slick Rick himself during the hook. “Take U Home” gives off a more soulful vibe talking about their desires of bringing women back to their residences while the 4th & final single “Wood Wire Buffs” explains that the main reason women fuck with them is because of their professionalism.

The 2nd single “Out My Mynd” kicks off the latter half talking about having the ability to make wishes come true due to their statuses as stars while the hyphy-tinged lead single “Rockin’” samples “Funky Little Beat” by Debbie Deb so they can discuss their success. “Fine Shyt” winds down Bidness is Boomin’s final minutes talking about the women they’re seeing fucking their exes prior to the closer “Play Ball” ties things up with this gangsta rap/hyphy outro.

I wasn’t so much a fan of the Disco Mafia’s eponymous debut a few months earlier was a bit underwhelming, so the singles that were building up towards Bidness is Boomin’ gave me the impression of surpassing Party Pack 2 to become the Shoreline Mafia’s greatest EP. A lot of the same musical ideas we heard on Back in Bidnessover a year ago from nervous to hyphy & gangsta rap all bleed through the production once more, but it’s more polished.

Score: 3.5/5

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Kehlani – Self-Titled review

Kehlani is a 31 year old singer/songwriter & dancer from Oakland, California who introduced themself in 2014 off their debut extended play Cloud 19 followed by the debut mixtape You Should Be Here during my senior year of high school. They would later make their full-length debut SweetSexySavage under Atlantic Records & later appeared on RƎVIVAL, which is universally accepted as the shittiest thing Eminem’s ever made. It Was Good Until It Wasn’t, Blue Water Road, the While We Wait series & Crash were all moderately received too & it seemed like their eponymous 5th LP might change that.

After the intro, the opener “Anotha Luva” featuring Lil Wayne begins with both of them talking about not wanting to love anyone else than those they’re currently with whereas “No Such Thing” featuring Clipse samples “Runnin’” by The Pharcyde to let their soulmates know how special they are to each of them. “Folded” made for a great contemporary R&B/smooth neo-soul single singing about the end of a relationship while “I Need You” featuring Brandy produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis surprisingly details the aftermath of a breakup.

“Oooh” moves on from there singing about nothing mattering when they & their romantic interest start fucking with the windows open while “Back & Forth”fuses contemporary R&B & pop rap although the interpolation of a song R. Kelly did of the same name with the late Aaliyah was ok. “Shoulda Never” featuring Usher links up over a Babyface instrumental Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group co-produced for a duet about wasting each other’s time until “You Got It” describes their partner as heaven sent.

Hip hop soul & contemporary R&B collide on the 2nd single “Out the Window” revisiting the themes of “Folded” pleading for their ex-girlfriend not to throw everything they had away while “Still” gets over a DJ Camper beat to sing about this person they’re addressing eventually apologizing for losing them. “Call Me Back” featuring T-Pain joins forces depicting a couple trying to contact each other cellularly while “Pocket” featuring Cardi B talks about needing someone to lift up them up.

“Lights On” featuring Big Sean goes for a smoother R&B/pop rap vibe thanks to both Jermaine Dupri & Allen Ritter getting sexual topically while “Sweet Nuthins” featuring Leon Thomas III continues the themes of lust together, wanting nothing but to make sweet love. “Cruise Control” sends a message to a partner who’s trying to go a bit too fast in a new relationship & “Unlearn” ends with them singing about the difficulty of loving an individual who’s still healing.

A lot of Kehlani’s previous output to come out in the past decade are average at best but looking at the list of guests appearing on their eponymous album, it’s an improvement above everything she’s done previously although there have been other full-lengths in the R&B genre in 2026 that’re significantly better. The production furthermore takes secondary influences from the hip hop soul, neo-soul & pop rap styles to provide a sweet glimpse of their artistic evolution.

Score: 3.5/5

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Dylan Brady – “Needle Guy” review

St. Louis, Missouri singer/songwriter & producer Dylan Brady dropping his 5th extended play under his own imprint Dog Show Records in tandem with Atlantic Records. Known for being 1/2 of 100 gecs, he would eventually carve a path of his own by releasing Saxophone Joe & Taste the Rainbow as well as the full-length debut All I Ever Wanted & Choker respectively. Dog Show would eventually catch the attention of Mad Decent, whom Dylan signed to for his previous EP Peace & Love. 8 years later, the Needle Guy ready to make his major label debut.

“Throat Song” co-produced by Skrillex kicks things off with the weakest composition of the bunch due to how repetitive it mostly is with the central Asian throat singing whereas “Stay High” could be my favorite instrumental here, leaning heavier towards the festival progressive house side of things. “Ashley” embraces a Dutch house vibe decently remixing the Afrojack single “Ashley” while the title track finishes with Dylan blending dubstep, tearout & hard techno

Peace & Love almost a decade later has been widely considered to be the finest entry of Dylan Brady’s solo career, but Needle Guy returns to the averageness a lot of his individual output tends to suffer from. His production’s more catered towards the sounds of hardgroove techno, tearout, Dutch house, festival progressive house & tribal house than it’s hyperpop & alternative R&B predecessor except it isn’t as groundbreaking for those styles of electronic dance music than I would’ve hoped.

Score: 2.5/5

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Jack Harlow – “Monica” review

Louisville, Kentucky recording artist, producer & actor Jack Harlow returning with his 4th studio LP. Breaking through when the pandemic started off the single “What’s Poppin’?”, this resulted in DJ Drama & Don Cannon signing him to their Atlantic Records imprint Generation Now Entertainment as well as them putting out a mediocre full-length debut with That’s What They All Say that same winter & who could forget the arduous listen of a sophomore effort Come Home the Kids Miss You in 2023? Jackman. followed 11 months later & I thought that was alright, not really expecting anything different out of Monica.

“Trade Places” begins with Jack desiring to get alone with his lover the way she wants to whereas “Lonesome” produced by Rogét Chahayed talks about how sometimes he has to walk away when his partner’s feeling alone. “Prague” admits to his partner that he should stop holding on to them existing as a couple because he misses this woman the more she resists just before “My Winter” goes for a more laidback vibe describing a woman who he considers to be the complete opposite of himself.

To get the 2nd half of the album going, “Move Along” comes across as this 54 second interlude cautioning to be careful of what you take from him while “All of My Friends” talks about people telling him he comes off too strong to others. “Living Alone” confesses he can’t postpone disrupting the tempo of this person’s life any further & after “Against the Grain” asks his partner why she’s opposing what considered to be normal, “Say Hello” finishes with him suggesting he’ll get at this person when his life gets slow.

I kinda had the feeling that the commercial success of the obnoxious “Lovin’ on Me” would get to Jack Harlow’s head because Monica is a step above Come Home the Kids Miss You, but worse than Jackman. & has me questioning the future of Generation Now following Lil Uzi Vert’s departure. The production is more lenient towards the contemporary R&B & pop soul side of things rather than the pop rap style he became known for & although I very much appreciate him trying to artistically transcend by doing what he hasn’t done previously, I’d much rather listen to GENA’s full-length debut The Pleasure is Mine or Jill Scott’s 6th album To Whom This May Concern.

Score: 1.5/5

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Ty$ – “Girl Music” review

Los Angeles, California singer/songwriter, rapper, musician, producer & EZMNY Records founder Ty$ is back for a brand new extended play of material. Becoming popular during my 1st half of high school when his 3rd mixtape Beach House dropped. Signing to both Atlantic Records & Taylor Gang Entertainment, his full-length debut Free TC in the fall of 2015 was welcomed to warm reception although Beach House 3 & Featuring Ty$ were both merely average compared to it’s predecessor. He’s also a part of the duos MihTy with Jeremiah & of course ¥$ alongside one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye formerly known as Kanye West, the latter making their debut with Vultures during Super Bowl LVII weekend & dropping a widely panned sequel almost 6 months later. Tycoon would become the biggest entry in his solo career thus far & has decided to make some Girl Music.

“Nobody Has to Know” blends R&B & trap soul to get things going singing for the woman he’s with to take his soul whereas “3,000,000,000” produced by DJ Camper & Wax Motif tells this female that she’s been looking for love in all the wrong places. “Bad Bitch Alert” hooks up a guitar & some finger snaps to sing about how stunning his partner is while “Intention” featuring Brandy finds the wanting to know each other’s plans. “Miss U 2” featuring Leon Thomas III was a solid alternative R&B/trap soul single telling their lovers how much they miss them & “Good to Me” ends by singing about the one he needs over a piano.

From what I understand: Airplane Mode 2 & Purple Moon are still coming out, but an evening out in New York where Ty$ was at a restaurant where the DJ was playing all the right music had him constantly thinking of what kind of music women would like to hear & leans heavier towards the R&B side of his versatility throughout Girl Music than Tycoon & he’s already hinting at more installments going forward. Instrumentally, it’s a natural return to his R&B origins & to hear where he’ll take it on the next few entries does have me intrigued.

Score: 3.5/5

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Bruno Mars – “The Romantic” review

Bruno Mars is a 40 year old singer/songwriter, producer & dancer from Honolulu, Hawaii breaking out in the late 2000s as 1/3 of The Smeezingtons. He would eventually make his solo debut in the fall of 2010 with Doo-Wops & Hooligans under Elektra Records & Atlantic Records, moving over to solely the latter for the sophomore effort Unorthodox Jukebox. Both of which contain some of his biggest hits like “Just the Way You Are” & “Locked Out of Heaven”, but didn’t floor me as much as 24K Magic for it’s nostalgic revival of the classic 1990s R&B sound including new jack swing. A decade later, the other half of Silk Sonic’s making a comeback with his 4th album.

“Risk It All” begins with this Latin soul-tinged intro singing about him being willing to do anything for the woman of his life whereas “Cha Cha Cha” turns up the Latin influences with an interpolation of “Slow Motion” by Juvenile featuring the late Soulja Slim during the hook. “I Just Might” blends pop soul, dance-pop, disco, boogie & funk singing about the possibility of making this woman his just before he brags about how “God Was Showing Off” when he was making the female who has his eyes.

Moving on from there, “Why You Wanna Fight?” asks his partner for the reason she’s trying to start shit when they could be making love leading into “On My Soul” promising her that he’ll cherish her in ways her exes haven’t. “Something Serious” goes for a funkier vibe singing about always having the back of this chick who should be his boo-thang & after “Nothing Left” describes his feelings towards a female who doesn’t love him the same way he does her, the final song “Dance with Me” made for a suiting closer yearning to hit the dance floor with his partner 1 last time until parting ways.

Compared to the other LPs we’ve gotten from Bruno Mars for the past 16 years, The Romantic is a worthy follow-up to 24K Magic & lands right behind Unorthodox Jukebox at #3 when it comes to ranking his discography although it’s average as a whole. The production is more predominantly pop soul oriented than the last time we heard him in the mid-2010s bringing some Latin soul, smooth soul, funk, Chicago soul & Philly soul undertones for a half hour dedicated to love & dancing.

Score: 3/5

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Ricky Hil – “10,000 Grams” review

Ricky Hil is a 35 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Manhattan, New York who happens to be the son of fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. He also has 27 mixtapes & 2 collaborative efforts with Psychopathic Records subsidiary Chapter 17 Records CEO Ouija Macc in addition to forming his own label Limosa Nostra Records, recently signing to Atlantic Records for a distribution deal & had SosMula formerly of the City Morgue make his debut for the imprint Kamp Krystl Lake last Halloween. 808 Mafia co-founder Lex Luger has been said to be returning to fully produce a sequel to 500 Grams for about a year or so & it’s finally dropping ahead of Valentine’s Day weekend.

“Hell Valley” begins by hopping over a minimal trap beat talking about giving a fuck less if he dies because he’s dead already & nobody caring when his day comes whereas “Slut” works in some strings & hi-hats so he can continue detailing the gangsta lifestyle. Things go for a cloudier trap vibe talking about people selling “Pipe Dreams” near him & involving themselves with the drug scene than the club scene just before “U Like Me Dead” pulls from trap metal instrumentally talking about riding a foreign stoned

SosMula makes the first of 3 appearances on the 2nd & final single “Blow” aggressively depicting imagery of gangsta lifestyle together including drug use while “Amerie” blends cloud rap, trap & pop rap to tell the titular character he’s more interested in her friends than her herself. “Sephora” boisterously talks about living life his way giving a fuck he offends anyone just before “1,000 Poundz” featuring Omertà continues the 2nd half of the tape moderately makes it known they ain’t here to play with hoes.

“In God We Trust” featuring SosMula kicks off the 4th quarter demanding to have the the racks through the money machine handed over to them while “Turkey Bagz” featuring Niko G4 finds the 2 talking about having their own set of problems that won’t be resolved. “Oxycontin” featuring SosMula reunited the pair 1 last time making bodies drop with his posse beside him & after “13” featuring Clowny talks about trying to catch a buzz in the middle of the woods out of boredom, the title track atmospherically ends representing all the stoners & the next generation of shooters.

Next month will mark an entire decade since 500 Grams became my favorite Ricky Hil solo tape & I’d still consider 10,000 Grams to be the most I’ve enjoyed his individual output in quite some time even if my expectations weren’t fully met necessarily. The evolved chemistry between Lex Luger’s production & the Limosa Nostra founder’s distinct approach to songwriting can’t be ignored, but it does start to lose steam towards the backend of it partly due to the increase of guests than the predecessor.

Score: 3/5

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