Tag: Billy NoJokes

Masamoon – “B.I.D.S. (Beautifully Ignorant Disrespectful Shit)” review

Masamoon is an underground hip hop supergroup consisting of Big Left, Aztek the Barfly, Billy NoJokes & Frankie Fadeless. You may remember Big Left as an original member of La Coka Nostra or perhaps Aztek the Barfly for his 3rd album Line King beginning Middle Finger Music’s dominance in the Detroit hip hop scene. Billy NoJokes just teamed up with Admiral Atlas last spring to properly introduce themselves as the MC/producer duo Billy Atlas & Frankie’s been doing singles/features for the past few years. The group made their debut on the closer “Get It” off Big Left’s comeback effort Slaughter of the Innocents, which I have now infamously called beautifully ignorant disrespectful shit. 2 & a half years later, the group recorded an entire full-length debut LP named after my breakdown of that track.

“Call ‘Em Out” is a soulful boom bap opener dropping aggressively hardcore bars for 4 straight minutes whereas “Born Killa (You Lack Damage)” works in some kicks, snares & ominous horns from Stu Bangas talking about all 4 of them being bred to be killers. Ill Bill joins Masamoon for “52 Steak” ruggedly breaks down every studio session becoming a battle of swordplay leading into a sequel to the “Shook Me” remix that was uploaded onto their YouTube channel in the fall of 2021.

Meanwhile on “Gunpowder”, we have Masamoon likening their level of lyricism to that of the titular chemical explosive over a grimy ass boom bap beat that Aztek the Barfly cooked up just before “Wasabi Wolf” keeps it dusty instrumentally thanks to Pig Pen showing off their flows. “No Answers” produced by Billy NoJokes has to be one of the most cutthroat moments on the album talking about not having the answers & that neither do y’all, but then the neck-snapping “100lbs” brings that exact amount of pain & pressure staying ready for it.

“Shadow Soldiers” goes for an eerier boom bap atmosphere talking being being the shadow soldiers themselves while “Doké” incorporates a Moog synthesizer with kicks & snares asking exactly just how many operations you’ve really seen & that you can take it to the streets or the both if you have a problem with them. “The Enemy Within (Arch Nem)” brings more of a spacious boom bap vibe talking about shooting up those talking gun shit & running while “Reveal the Snakes” leaves them busted & disgusted.

Starting the LP’s last leg, “Metaphysical Fly Shit” hops on top of a guitar sample with kicks & snares woven in so they can stay in their lane while “Ready” menacingly talks about Karma being a bitch that looks pretty damn sexy. The song “Dive Bar Dojo” aptly lives up to it’s name as a banger for everyone to get drunk to while “88 Assassins” finds the 4 delivering 1 grisly verse after another for about 3 & a half minutes. The closing track “Jimmy Conway” ends the group’s debut with 1 last boom bap cut about being taking the way of the samurai.

Chances are that if you would’ve told me a decade ago when I was on the verge of graduating high school beginning to write music reviews that at least someone out there would’ve made a whole album inspired by one of my breakdowns of their songs, I would’ve never believed you. As for Masamoon’s debut, it’s one of the grimiest LPs of this year & reveals themselves as an unstoppable force in the underground. Everything about it lyrically & in terms of production choices are all embodied by its title: B.I.D.S. (Beautifully Ignorant Disrespectful Shit).

Score: 4.5/5

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Billy Atlas – Self-Titled review

Billy Atlas is an MC/producer duo from San Diego, California consisting of Billy NoJokes on the mic & Admiral Atlas behind the boards respectively. Neither of whom have worked with each other in the past surprisingly considering the fact that they’re both from the same neck of the woods, but come to the realization that now is the time for them to form like Voltron & put out an eponymous debut EP to coincide with the celebration of Billy’s born day.

The titular intro kicks off the album with a grungy boom bap instrumental keeping the vibrations high for 78 seconds whereas “Nada Ain’t It” takes a more sample based approach with some kicks & snares attached to it talking about those who actually think they got it on the mic. “Soul Sweat” makes it known that this music shit gets him high with a more lo-fi vibe to it leading into “Premium Petro” working in some organs to compare his rhymes to high quality crack.

Johnny Hoax slides through on “Cook It More” I’d a flute/boom bap crossover talking about not having a chance to fail because they’re masterminds just before “It’s a Dub” with RMthePoet displays a back & forth chemistry that actually isn’t too bad over the dustiest of beats imaginable. “In the Nude” throws a little bit of distortion into the mix calling this the anthem while the song “Belligerent” incorporates more woodwinds to get hostile.

The penultimate track “God’s Chair” has more morbid quality to the beat making it known he’s in the upper echelon while the official closer to the album “Nothingless” weaves in some more sample chops cautioning to watch out exactly who you spend your energy on. “140” by Masamoon however is a perfect bonus cut preluding their upcoming debut album with a cutthroat ballad addressing those who’ve praised for death in the past 100 seconds.

NoJokes been putting it down for the past decade with 2 full-lengths & an EP on the solo tip, but I think we’ve only been seeing the real beginning of his growth ever since the formation of Masamoon & this self-titled offering from Billy Atlas is a short yet worthy way for the west coast duo to introduce themselves. The admiral’s lo-fi, dirty production matched with lyricism that knows no bounds is certainly more than enough to satisfy any underground head.

Score: 4/5

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