Roughneck Jihad – “Methanol” review

This is the 11th studio LP from the South Bay Area, Northern California emcee Roughneck Jihad. A member of the trio 3rd Sight, he would go on to drop his last 10 full-lengths along with 10 extended plays & a mixtape in over a decade. The most notable being his 2nd EP The Little Assassination Handbook produced by Brussels, Belgium producer Senz Beats under Boot Records. The sequel Lobespierre came out in 2023 to mixed reception & have gone back to the Manchester, England, United Kingdom indie label 3 years later for the trilogy chapter Methanol.

“Great Like Gonzo” hops over a psychedelic rap boom bap intro with a fuzzy guitar sample talking about keeping his enemies close whereas “PCP Flow” instrumentally gives off a shimmery yet dusty vibe likening his cadence to angel dust. “Tongue Toast” embraces a jazzier sound talking about the karma police needing an injunction of some sorts just before “Circle of Life” incorporates some pianos cautioning that he ain’t the guy one should pester.

As for “Magnetar”, we have the Roughneck Jihad over an groovy beat talking about having the capability of smackin’ styles up similarly to a misogynistic pimp while “Life in the City” reaches the midway point giving us his understanding of living in a metropolis. “New Eugenics” kicks off the 2nd half of Methanol on the bloodthirsty boom bap tip cuttin’ muhfuckas off like weeds while the horn-driven “Barbarella” talks about keeping the tech ready & others needing to catch up to him.

“Doo Doo” gets the 4th quarter going with a shrilling instrumental ripping apart any wack rapper who can’t keep up with him lyrically while “Methanal Flame” talks about executing anything that moves in his vicinity & Hell smelling like napalm in the morning. “Rap in Québéc” discusses there being no artist that can do what he does without paying dues & the outro “Your Favorite” wraps things up getting on his Bay shit, advising to keep ya mouth shut after runnin’ up in cribs.

Both of these guys have each been around for nearly 3 decades but regardless of how some people feel about Lobespierre or even the Def Boys EP that recently came out near this past January’s conclusion, Methanol certainly makes for Jihad the Roughneck MC’s most enjoyable collection of material coincidentally since Boot Records signed him 5 years earlier. He & Senz are pretty much distilling their chemistry rather than providing a weird revolution of the mind, making another great case for the Disgruntled Sound Recordings founder ranking amongst the west coast’s most underrated.

Score: 4/5

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Joker Starr – “Sidenote” review

Slough, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Joker Starr making his Boot Records debut with his 7th studio LP. Dropping his debut mixtape Raw Spittage in 2011, he would go on to follow it up with all 6 of his previous full-lengths as well as 3 extended plays & a beat tape. My personal favorite being G.A.W.D. (God And Wisdom Driven) mostly produced by Micall Parknsun & of course Gawd Status’ debut Firmamentum. Both of which came out in 2019, conceiving Sidenote during the COVID-19 pandemic the next year.

“Same Old Flow” featuring Chima Anya finds the 2 joining forces to dismantle rappers who can’t switch shit up whereas “Don’t Try to Test” featuring Anyway tha God & produced by Micall Parknsun goes for a boom bap vibe talking about not being the ones to fuck with. “Stop Acting Like a Pussy” featuring Micall Parknsun turns up the aggressiveness flaming dudes for being spineless leading into “Let’s Be in Love” featuring Anyway tha God soulfully getting romantic.

Big Cakes appears on “Cold So Bold” to kick off the 2nd half spitting hardcore lyricism over a boom bap instrumental until “For the Legacy” & “Divine Blessings” both feature Anyway tha God over more Micall Parknsun instrumentals, talking about why they still make music & expressing their own gratitude. The raw yet lo-fi title track featuring Marv Won spends the final minutes of Sidenote calling out people for moving with their eyes closed.

Regardless of putting Boot Records in the same conversations as YNR Productions regarding both labels being around for decades yet neither of them have released a lot of music in recent years as opposed to High Focus Records or Blah Records constantly staying busy, Sidenote was more enjoyable than Gawd’s Children although I would’ve loved to hear a song where Joker Starr’s rapping by himself even if a majority of the guests are revered in their own fields.

Score: 4/5

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Kemastry – “A Delusional Guide for the Disillusioned” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee Kemastry breaking out solo with a whole entire EP locking in with one of the UK hip hop movement’s most decorated DJs/producers DJ Jazz T to handle the beats. Notable for being 1/3 of the trio CMPND alongside Vitamin G & Wundrop, they would make their debut under High Focus Records in the fall of 2019 with Eagle Court & most recently made a sequel with the sophomore effort Long Live the Court through the Hove, East Sussex imprint. Kemastry however has opted to crack open A Delusional Guide for the Disillusioned by having the founder of Boot Records producing it for his label.

After the compositional “Mind Control” intro, the first song “Delusional” begins with this old school boom bap instrumental talking about being stick up in this rat race from the sun whereas “Apocalyptic Flows” featuring Ramson Badbonez contains the strongest guest appearance of the 2 linking with Kemastry over pianos mixed with kicks & snares spittin’ deadly cadences of their own. “Hamster Wheel” featuring Roughneck Jihad has a cloudier, almost jazzier boom bap vibe to it having no one to trust & “Stay Grounded” smoothly ends by giving that very advice.

Countering the scathing observations & multi-syllables Wundrop & Vitamin G have respectively become known for with his surreal unpredictability, Kemastry elevates that to a whole new level providing A Delusional Guide for the Disillusioned to begin carving a path for himself individually. DJ Jazz T’s boom bap production pared with the CMPND member’s signature approach to songwriting with only a couple features joining him for roughly 15 & a half minutes isn’t a bad way for him to establish himself on his own & has me anticipating where he’ll go from here.

Score: 4/5

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Micall Parknsun – “Still” review

This is the 7th studio LP from London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Micall Parknsun. Making his debut under Low Life Records in 2005 describing life as The Working Class Dad, his debut mixtape The Interview would be his last offering for the label & signed to YNR Productions to release the sophomore effort 1st 2nd Time Around as well as Me, Myself & Akai. I Should’ve Done This Time Ago was ok, but his Boot Recordsdebut Practicing Tag Team Moves at the beginning of 2017 was better. Coming off the superior Back in Business EP however, we’re getting a statement regarding him Still being here.

The self-produced “Same Difference” opens up with a drumless intro clocking at 2 & a half minutes talking about him continuing to try to make change whereas “Kept Going” has a jazzier vibe instrumentally expressing his refusal of hanging it up. The title track stylistically takes the boom bap route responding to people wanting to know if he’s lost a step leading into “Same Ol’” featuring Kyza Sayso & Skriblah bringing the trio together to talk about not changing.

“Sorry 4 the Wait” incorporates some buzzing synthesizers apologizing for how long it took him to make Still just before “From King to a Gawd” featuring Joker Starr comes through with my personal favorite guest appearance, stripping the drums again to talk about their own separate elevations over some horns. “Do Dat” kicks off the 2nd half speaking of simply doing his own thing while “The Harvest” featuring Naughtz hops over a funky loop dropping boastful lyricism.

As for “In & Out (Make It Count)”, we have Micall talking about the fact that people are either determined to chase success or they’re not while “Ever Since” opulently discusses his discography evidently testifying to his legacy in the UK hip hop scene. “Back” has a gullier approach stylistically talking about his return & the drumless closer “Own It” sends off the album defining dopeness, including a spoken word outro performed by his son Josiah.

Spending the last 3 years producing for local artists including Axel Holy & Juga-Naut to name a couple, Still has noticeably lesser guest appearances Micall Parknsun’s previous full-length The Magnum Opus produced by Giallo Point although it’s exciting to hear him producing a great majority of it. Some might even find themselves disappointed with the predominantly drumless sound, but it doesn’t bother me since his passionate performances additionally make it worth your time.

Score: 4/5

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Roughneck Jihad – “The Little Assassination Handbook” review

South Bay Area, Northern California emcee Roughneck Jihad making his Boot Records debut with his 2nd extended play. A member of the trio 3rd Sight, he would go on to drop 7 full-length studio LPs along with his previous EP Disco Sinistro in 2018 & the debut mixtape Red Herring that same year in over a decade. Brussels, Belgium producer Senz Beats has been enlisted to fully produce The Little Assassination Handbook & that didn’t wane any excitement I had for the fact an American artist would be joining Boot.

“Endearing” spends the opening 2 minutes talking about continuing to make the people cheer because it’s lovable for him whereas “Half Man Half Amazo” works in a lo-fi piano instrumental to boast that he can singlehandedly rip crews apart. “Smiling” wittingly talks about his refusal to pillage a village when muhfuckas are playing scrimmage just before “Catastrophe” dustily wraps up the 1st half cautions that going against him in a battle won’t end well for his opponents.

Meanwhile on “Cold Blood”, we have Jihad the Roughneck MC continuing the 2nd act of the EP hopping over a sample-driven boom bap beat talking about needing tons of cash for his impending domination of the rap game while “Ill Still Build” discusses the greats standing tall because of them painting masterpieces & maintaining longevity. The title track properly concludes The Little Assassination Handbook with a 114 second boom bap outro warning the unbroken chain can still snap back.

Over a decade since his debut E Pluribus Urine, the Disgruntled Sound Recordings founder comes off Micall Parknsun’s 2nd EP Back in Business a couple months earlier to drop the best thing he’s ever done by himself under the Manchester, England, United Kingdom indie label who once signed King Kashmere & Ramson Badbonez. The production Senz Beats cooks up is some of his most pleasant production & it’s refreshing for the west coast vet to diversify Boot Records’ roster.

Score: 4/5

Micall Parknsun – “Back in Business” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Micall Parknsun returning for his 2nd extended play. Making his debut under Low Life Records in 2005 describing life as The Working Class Dad, his debut mixtape The Interview would be his last offering for the label & signed to YNR Productions to release the sophomore effort 1st 2nd Time Around as well as Me, Myself & Akai. I Should’ve Done This Time Ago was ok, but his Boot Records debut Practicing Tag Team Moves at the beginning of 2017 was better & he’s looking to outdo himself now that he’s Back in Business.

The self-produced title track begins with some eerie organs melodies making it his mission to have everyone listening to him whereas “Reality” produced by DJ Jazz T & Dr. Zygote takes a grittier boom bap/rap rock route talking about being too inconsiderate. “Still Living Black” featuring Napoleon da Legend hooks up a prominent flute providing conscious lyricism regarding the system & once “Message in the Music” refuses to stomach fabricated bullshit over another woodwind instrumental, “Go Get It” ends the EP talking about getting yours over a vibraphone-inflicted beat.

Practicing Tag Team Moves was a solid introduction of what could happen for Micall Parknsun after signing to Boot Records, but Back in Business ends what’s been a tumultuous year for the entire world as a whole whopping up my favorite EP of the 2 he’s given us thus far 9 months since the COVID-19 pandemic began. He produces a good 60% of it by himself & has some of the UK hip hop scene’s most notable names to do the rest, bringing only 1 guest on board as opposed to a couple & making it count so he could handle the rest of the rhymes to himself.

Score: 4/5