MexikoDro – “Still Goin’” review

Atlanta, Georgia producer & rapper MexikoDro making his full-length studio debut under Republic Records. A member of the BeatPluggz, he would later embark on a solo career with Down Bad as well as De Mayo & Quatro respectively. In almost a decade he’s also produced tracks for the likes of Maxo Kream, Drake, Bktherula, Smokingskul, Tony Shhnow & more recently Diorvsyou this spring. 14 months since Quatro, he’s making it clear that he’s Still Goin’.

“Hurt” jumps over a futuristic trap instrumental to talk about making songs as a way of getting shit off his chest leading into “Stuck” discussing the importance of never folding even when life was getting really tough. “Den” talks about fucking up the roads driving in his new Durango over some synthesizers until the celebratory trap single “Remy” speaks of life improving with God by his side.

As for “No Clear Coat”, we have Dro on top of more trap production talking about living life blindly because he has too much faith just before “Marta”boasts that he has more women than an all women’s school over a plugg beat. “Wish” reaches the halfway point thanking the Higher Power for a new day right when he wakes up while “Hire” confesses that he’s far from perfect & feeling confidence of doing well.

“Height” has to be the most personal single this guy‘s ever put out, basically talking about going from calling his mother whilst incarcerated & checking into rehab for drug abuse to turning down huge opportunities while “Maid” desiring to have a big body vehicle instead of a sports car. “Twice” talks about doing better than he was a couple years earlier previously while “Aware” embraces the plugg sound fully looking to turn himself up for the summer.

To begin the last 5 minutes of the LP, the deadpan lead single “No Date” finds himself refusing to do any punk ass bullshit for the sole purpose of going viral because he’s been artistically upgrading throughout the course of these past 11 months while “Doin Right” ties things up in the from of this celebratory outro talking about taking his music career seriously considering that it’s his blessing.

Usually whenever a producer takes the risk of adding the performer occupation onto their repertoire whether they choose to rap or sing their vocals, it could either be a success or a failure. In MexikoDro’s case, the BeatPluggz member’s major label debut album wowed me more than I had initially thought it would. Even if it can be a little monotonous, the production isn’t bad for him making no contributions in that department & the passion’s certainly there in terms of what he gets off his chest.

Score: 3.5/5

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Tony Shhnow – “Plug Motivation” review

Tony Shhnow is a 26 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia whom my brother J$zpiech introduced me to off the strength of his 4th mixtape Black Billionaires Club & the song “Vet” taken from the full-length debut Da World’s Ours 3. He just dropped his 8th mixtape Reflexions to critical acclaim over the summer & I honestly wish I covered it considering that some of his best songs are on there like “Finessin’” or “Forgive Don’t Forget”. So when Tony announced his 6th album right here, the interest was most definitely there & I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.

The title track is a triumphant opener to the album produced by MexikoDro & Popstar Benny taking you through the trials & tribulations of the rich & famous whereas “5 P’s” takes a more pluggier route discussing pints, pounds, pills, pussy & power. “Trust” works in some synths to tell all the pussies to quit flexing prior to the delicately produced “A to Z” cleverly using the alphabet to describe his lifestyle referencing 14-time WWE world champion, WWE Hall of Famer, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion & current WWE CCO Triple H.

As far as “Fuck da Rap Game” goes, we have Tony keeping the plugg vibes going talking about becoming a boss just before “Life n Hard Times” confesses that he’s clean as a bitch & his trap house is dirty over a dreamy beat. The Darkside Mally feature on “Shook Dem Haters Off” doesn’t do it for me even though I like Tony’s verse & the CashCache instrumental, but then “Hell’s Hot” has a more darker quality to it getting on some bitter ex-boyfriend shit.

“Everything I Should” blends some synths & keys talking about having literally every single thing he believes he should in his possession until “Paper Trail” returns to pluggier territory telling a bitch he might dip on her because “I got chips, no you can’t Frito-Lay with me” & the hook from Bear1boss just so happens to be the best feature on the entire album in my personal opinion. “Sorry!” laces some more synths apologizing for not spending time with this woman while “10 Blocks” with SB Nunkk weaves some organs into the fold talking about how much their wrists cost.

Moving on from there, the cheery atmosphere of the “Can’t Say I’m Broke” instrumental is something I really enjoy as Tony brags about his wealth while “M’s” with ManMan Savage has a more calmer sound to it talking about how that’s all they just want. “Dat’s Me” is a bassy plugg banger comparing himself to a dog on a leash while “Jugg” with Diego Money finds the 2 dropping some gangsta raps over a quirky MexikoDro beat.

“World on My Back” has a more energetic tone to it talking about having power & Darkside Mally returns once more on the aggressive “Join the Campaign” with his verse here being better than “Shook da Haters Off” showing off their big dog statuses. “Not the Same” has an entrancingly psychedelic atmosphere to the instrumental talking about being cut from a different cloth while “Don’t Know” with Seddy Hendrinx comes through with an awkwardly sensual ballad.

The song “Know Us” sees Tony over a trap beat with some horns talking about how everyone is familiar with him & his squad while the penultimate track “Mean” explains how he likes his women over a plugg instrumental. “Work Like Dis” though is an explosive closer to the album going into detail as to what happens when one decides to grind as hard as he does.

This dude‘s a pretty much a pioneer in the plugg scene so for him to return to that style on Plug Motivation will definitely appeal to any fan of his old or new. He has a unique voice, his gangsta themed bars are ear-grabbing for all the right reasons & the BeatPluggz were the perfect people to enlist behind the boards as they whip up is some of their finest batch of beats to date.

Score: 4/5

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