Tag: Bern 1 Entertainment

Berner – “Carbon” review

This is the 3rd EP from San Francisco, California rapper, songwriter & entrepreneur Berner. Beginning as a battle rapper in high school, he would go on to drop 16 LPs along with a few mixtapes & a couple EPs in addition to the plethora of collaborative projects he has with numerous artists. Hoffa was a Gotti sequel that recaptured the essence of its predecessor from a new perspective & the Cookies founder is back 5th months later to put out Carbon teasing his next studio album.

“Mid Flight” soulfully talks about everything you need if you want to get right whereas “Envy” strips the drums to discuss themes of jealousy. “Fuck ‘Em” featuring Mando works in a rock sample to give everyone the middle finger while “1,000,000 Bags Sold” featuring Ohgeesy & Yung Chowder finds the trio talking about pushing that many bags of dope. The title track goes for a dreary trap vibe embarking on an endless paper chase & “Corporate Thuggin’” featuring Chevy Woods smoothly ends with them tryna get paid.

Hoffa was the most that I personally have found myself enjoying a project from Berner in some time since his most recent output has been generally treated to mixed reception & sadly to say, Carbon feels like a step or 2 back after taking a few steps forward last fall. His verses & the production are both, but I feel like the performances from the features primarily don’t really hold up to the Bern 1 Entertainment founder’s other than both Ohgeesy & Chevy Woods.

Score: 2.5/5

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Berner – “Hoffa” review

Berner is a 41 year old rapper, songwriter & entrepreneur from San Francisco, California who began battle rapping in high school. Following his 2007 debut mixtape Dirty Sneakers…Plenty Ways to Get It, he would go on to drop 15 LPs along with a couple more mixtapes & a couple EPs in addition to the plethora of collaborative projects he has with numerous artists. Ahead of the Cookies cannabis brand’s 10-year anniversary however, Berner’s coming off The Farmer’s Market for his 16th album.

“Sweat” is this slick west coast trap opener flexing that he got big money whereas “Remember” moves on from there working in some sampling to talk about the memory he has remembering way things were before the cash flow. “Hard to Spend” gets on the psychedelic trap tip admitting that the dirty money getting more difficult to blow as time goes on just before “Heavy” featuring Mozzy & Peysoh gives off a Detroit trap vibe describing shit as sketchy

As for “Power”, we have Berner calmingly talking about being attracted to the titular feeling into “Callin’” featuring Moneybagg Yo & Ty$ brings the trio together so all 3 of them can ball with money on the mind. “Who Gon’ Love You?” featuring Larry June offers a cloudier flare to the table asking that exact question when it goes dry while “Lots of Green” featuring B-Real, Devin the Dude & Wiz Khalifa finds the quartet expressing their love for weed.

“Fried” featuring De’Migo has cool sampling techniques throughout pulling from soul & jazz music knowing that both of them will be fine as long as they wake up in the morning, but then “Easy” turns the jazz rap influences way higher talking about breaking the bank. “The Source” featuring Ghostface Killah, Killer Mike & Raekwon is a standout for me since every single one of them floated over a chipmunk soul beat while “The Smoke” featuring Too $hort produced by Ant Banks finds both of them assuring not to worry over where they going.

Galaxy! & Zakee both join Berner for “Ruthless” reminding that they’ve been shining while “Possible” talks jumping obstacles in 2024 doing the impossible. “Litigation” featuring Cozmo gets stuck between fake smiles & legal proceedings while the title track featuring Chevy Woods & Cozmo homages labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa who disappeared almost 50 years ago. “Keep Pushin’” passionately gets his message across & the closer “Amazing” sends it all off smoking the pain away.

Hoffa as a sequel to Gotti recaptures everything that made its predecessor stand out in his discography & makes it a completely different listening experience altogether. The production offers a wide range of palates from trap to cloud rap, Detroit trap, psychedelia, chipmunk soul & jazz rap for the Cookies founder to tackle themes of organized crime joined by guest performances that’re either outstanding or tiresome.

Score: 3.5/5

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