Che Noir & 7xvethegenius – “Desired Crowns” review

Buffalo, New York emcees Che Noir & 7xvethegenius joining forces for a collaborative full-length studio LP. One of whom blew up after 38 Spesh signed her to TCF Music Group & the other would sign with Conway the Machine’s own Drumwork Music Group, although they have since started their own labels Poetic Movement Records & Broadband Sound respectively. We’ve heard them cross paths with each other several times over the years, elevating their chemistry in part of their quest of their Desired Crowns.

After the “Trapped in the Silicone” intro, the first song “Topanga” produced by Lord Sear sets it all off with a soulful sample for both ladies to body for a few minutes whereas “Not Me” locks in with Chup so they can talk about going pound for pound. The 3rd & final single “Sum of 2 Evils” hooks up a crooning boom bap instrumental from Conductor Williams flexing that they could fit all the money everyone’s bragging of in their purses leading into “Amina” talking about making it because of survival.

Reason joins Che & 7xve on “Flight” recalling the best thing that their mothers told them was that the sky limit’s over a V Don beat & after the “Love You” interlude, Che Noir herself works in a soul sample during “Conquer” talking about making waves by following moves. “Town Ballroom” brings a dustier vibe thanks to Khrysis coaching shit ain’t funny despite them smiling while “Breaker” prior to the “Black Girl” remix ends with them in disbelief over the goals they’ve achieved.

Almost 4 years in the making, Desired Crowns progresses a chemistry that previous cuts like “Bless the Food” or “Neck Protected” have already captured previously except 2 of the illest women in Buffalo have grown a lot artistically throughout this ongoing decade & that’s a reoccurring reminder of this album now that they’re both doing their own thing. Appropriately, Che Noir & 7xvethegenius only have 1 guest to accompany them to put all their energy towards their synergetic bonds over a consistent batch of beats for nearly a half hour.

Score: 4/5

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Che Noir – “No Validation” review

Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir staying busy with her 10th EP. Discovering her after 38 Spesh signed Che to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 was where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She has since followed this up with the sophomore effort Food for Thought as well as The Last Remnants, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Noir or Never, The Color Chocolate, The Lotus Child & the Superior-produced Seeds of Babylon. The Color Chocolate 2 kicked summer off in full gear a couple months ago with a sequel that I liked more than the original & needs No Validation at this point.

“Incense Burning” kicks it all off with an angelic boom bap instrumental from The Other Guys feeling like she’s finally found her tempo whereas the jazzily dusty “Smooth Jazz” featuring 38 Spesh talks about their self-education regulating their street abilities. “Sugar Water” keeps the jazzy boom bap vibes going to speak on the real ones rising while “Moroccan Mint” featuring Jae Skeese talks about never folding because of the wisdom they teach.

Ransom & Skyzoo join Che on the crooning “Katastwof” explaining that it ain’t really a journey if there’s no specific destination intended leading into “Dollar Tree” featuring Skyzoo & Von Pea talking about having it all despite not needing much. “Ego Trips” keeps it in the basement instrumental not having it because she controls her destiny & “Susie” featuring Smoke DZA talks about a woman acting like the character from the Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned Nickelodeon series Rugrats.

Making a mission statement for those who know what they bring to the table with or without applause, Che Noir & the curated lineup of elite lyricists that joins her side navigate themes of legacy as well as resilience & self-worth over the soulfully signature analog rich production style that Mighty Joe & Isaiah or The Other Guys have become known for with each guest MC adding their own signature flavor to the Poetic Movement Records founder’s reflective world.

Score: 4.5/5

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Che Noir – “The Color Chocolate 2” review

Here we have the 9th EP from Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir. Discovering her after 38 Spesh signed Che to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 was where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She has since followed this up with the sophomore effort Food for Thought as well as The Last Remnants, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Noir or Never, The Color Chocolate, The Lotus Child. & the recruiting Superior-produced Seeds of Babylon. Damn near 3 months to the day, The Color Chocolate 2 is kicking summer in full gear.

“Painting Class” was a drumless intro opting to give haters interventions instead of bars whereas “Buy vs. Sell” brings a self-produced boom bap instrumental in the fold talking about a woman who makes her every dime off crime. “Who’s the Greatest?” featuring eLZhi finds the 2 painting visions for the blind with intricate wordplay from both parties while “Show & Tell” featuring 7xvethegenius reunites the pair ahead of their collab effort in November to grind until they can’t anymore.

Starting the 2nd half, “Where You Go” takes a soulful route to the beat stripping the drums once again being colorblind to those showing her their true colors while “Blink Twice” talks making atheists pray on her downfall over a piano instrumental from Evidence. “Stories” expresses her frustration of being fed up with fake friends who never gave a fuck of what she wanted & the closer “New Beginning” remembers a late friend whose girl is carrying his child.

Pushing her lyrical prowess as well as her storytelling abilities & dexterity as a producer even further, Che Noir gets back on her bully shit with a sequel to The Color Chocolate 2 that I enjoy more than the predecessor from a year & a half ago. The sequel’s production is stronger than the original’s personally & I think there’s significantly more consistency within the guests’ performances.

Score: 4/5

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Che Noir – “Seeds of Babylon” review

Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir recruiting Superior for her 8th EP. Discovering her after 38 Spesh signed Che to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 was where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She has since followed this up with the sophomore effort Food for Thought as well as The Last Remnants, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Noir or Never, The Color Chocolate & more recently The Lotus Child. It’s been only 5 months since the latter, the Seeds of Babylon have now been planted.

After the intro, the first song “Revelation” soulfully kicks it all off talking about getting a crown after trying to save this rap shit whereas “Bow & Arrow” kinda has a funkier vibe to the beat treating the money as if it’s a fish on a pole. “Sovereignty” goes drumless staying on the grind refusing to go for a day off & after the interlude, “Jynx’s Dream” is really a Jynx716 solo cut giving him a couple minutes to shine by himself.

“Ivory” works in some bongos to reflect on the days when she was surviving in the jungle while “Midnight” featuring ICECOLDBISHOP finds the pair talking about seeing rookies become masters outta special ed. The final song “Destiny Rose” prior to the outro strips the drums once again in favor of these bare strings expressing the joy that she gets out of motherhood being unlike anything else.

When discussing the EPs in Che’s discography, Seeds in Babylon has to be my favorite of her’s since Noir or Never couple years ago & I even enjoyed it as much as The Lotus Child this past fall. Superior keeps pushing himself as one of the German hip hop scene’s most in-demand producers currently & his sound combined with the Buffalo standout’s conscious lyricism makes her first offering of the year more than salvageable to any longtime fan of either of them.

Score: 4.5/5

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Che Noir – “The Lotus Child” review

This is the 3rd full length studio LP from Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir. Discovering her after 38 Spesh signed Che to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She has since followed this up with the sophomore effort Food for Thought as well as The Last Remnants, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Noir or Never & more recently The Color Chocolate. Almost 9 months to the day, The Lotus Child has finally arrived.

“Shadow Puppet” is a soulful, jazzy self-produced opener talking about being unable to appreciate the sun until being in the shadows whereas “Black Girl” featuring Rapsody takes the boom bap route instrumentally allowing them to uplift African American women as a whole. “Sister Act” maintains a dusty edge to the beat teaching lessons from a student of the game just before “Guns & Roses” featuring 38 Spesh keeps the sampling in tact rubbing clean money into the faces of doubters.

Starting the other half, “Jodie Landon” comes through with an angelic boom bap vibe to the beat talking about the light guiding us all while “Wis Love” shifts into a cloudier direction paying tribute to her husband. “Choices” has to be one of the most passionate moments on the entire EP reflecting on the days where she was sleeping in cars feeling hopeless, but then Statik Selektah fuses gospel & boom bap on the closer “Angels” remembering her brother & cousin who were both murdered.

It was smart of Che waiting until the timing was optimum to deliver something focusing on her growth & artistry, which The Lotus Child very much achieves being 3 years in the making. Easily the most I’ve enjoyed something from her since Noir or Never. Her lyrical prowess, storytelling abilities & dexterity as a producer are all being fully realized as she raises the stakes & leaving some of the most essential cuts of her entire career along the way.

Score: 4.5/5

Jynx716 – “A.N.D.Y. (Absolutely Not Done Yet)” review

This is the 3rd EP from New York emcee Jynx716. Emerging in 2020 off his debut mixtape The Green Album, he would continue to follow this up with his debut EP The 33 & most notably Careful What You Wish For produced by Che Noir which would be an ideal place to start if you’re not familiar with Jynx at this point already, but he’s Absolutely Not Done Yet returning with Che for 8 tracks & 25 minutes worth of material.

“2nd Impression” is a symphonic opener talking about how his first impression couldn’t have been too bad whereas “Time” works in some piano chords laying it out that he ain’t doing this part time at all. “Where I Gotta Go” talks about doing what he had to do in order to get where he needs be in life giving off a mystical atmosphere instrumentally leading into “Stay Underground” featuring & produced by 38 Spesh going for a much rawer approach.

G4 Jag joins Jynx on “Pretty Penny” gives off a cinematic vibe once again as Che hops back behind the boards putting a spin on the phrase “a penny for your thoughts”, but then “Hope” featuring Che herself & Freeway incorporates this well-flipped sample talking about their triumphs. “No Voicemail” hooks up these pianos with kicks & snares to get his just before “Intent” featuring Vic Spencer finishes the EP with a declaration that they’ve done this all with purpose.

Careful What You Wish For quickly became my favorite EP that Jynx has done & A.N.D.Y (Absolutely Not Done Yet) is quite possibly better than the predecessor although it’s a solid gateway into his discography. Che sets out to evolve as a producer which I don’t see anything wrong with at all & Jynx’ lyricism has leveled up within the last couple years.

Score: 4/5

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Che Noir – “The Color Chocolate” review

Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir releasing her 7th EP ahead of the 1-year anniversary of the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced predecessor Noir or Never. Discovering her after 38 Spesh signed Che to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She has since followed this up with the sophomore effort Food for Thought as well as The Last Remnants & Noir or Never like I previously mentioned, so I went into The Color Chocolate interested in hearing what is said to be the first of many projects she has this year.

“Peaches & Herb” featuring Ransom starts things off with a soul sample advising to embrace losses since there’s some shit you gotta learn leading into “Junior High” featuring Evidence & Your Old Droog working in some pianos with a crooning vocal flip getting on the same page with one another conceptually. “Greek Scholar” featuring ICECOLDBISHOP starts the 2nd half of The Color Chocolateblending these kicks & snares with synthesizers on a race for money & power prior to “Vanilla Skies” produced by Graymatter rounding out the EP altogether with it’s lone solo cut speaking from the heart over a summery boom bap instrumental.

The Color Chocolate is said to just be the beginning of the world fully knowing Che Noir’s art along with who she is & I’m sure we’re gonna get another project from her soon that I’ll like more, but yeah this’ll hold off just fine until that time comes. The production is a mix of boom bap, soul samples & synthesizers with guests on almost every song that give equally impressive performances as one of the best from Buffalo. Highly looking forward to hearing what the rest of 2024 has in store for her.

Score: 3.5/5

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Che Noir – “Noir or Never” review

Che Noir is a 28 year old MC/producer from Buffalo, New York who caught my attention after 38 Spesh signed her to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs. However, her Apollo Brown produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 where her potential began to blossom exponentially. But coming fresh off her sophomore effort Food for Thought & her last EP The Last Remnants, Che’s enlisting Big Ghost Ltd. to fully produce her 6th EP.

After the “Female Rappers” intro, the first song “Resilient” is an intense sample-based opener taking pride in killing wack MCs & proving people wrong every time they spoke on what they thought she wasn’t capable of doing prior to Flee Lord tagging along for the demented boom bap cut “Sleep Paralysis” cautioning to never chill on the weekend. “Quiet Moves” works in some pianos, strings, kicks & snares detailing touching on the power of keeping a secret leading into 7xvethegenius coming into the picture for the grimy “Veracruz” getting in their battle rap bag.

“Cap Locks” featuring Planet Asia sets off the 2nd half of the EP with both MCs on top of a piano instrumental bringing you the hardcore, but then “Low Altitude” opens up about the road she had to travel down to get to where she is today over a calmer boom bap beat. The penultimate track “Brilliance” with Skyzoo touches on brilliant minds being a minority this day in age blending some kicks & snares with a delicate loop leading into “Bad Apples” with Ransom & 38 Spesh coming through with a horn-inflicted closer as the trio talk about their corruptness.

Wasn’t Built in a Day has quickly become my favorite album of 2023 so far since it dropped only a few days ago & Big Ghost just ended the week the way he started it except Noir or Never could very well be my favorite EP of the year as of me writing this review. The production is more consistent than it was on The Last Remnants as one of the best females in the rap game currently continues to ascend on the lyrical front.

Score: 4.5/5

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Che Noir – “The Last Remnants” review

This is the 5th EP from Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir. Catching my attention after 38 Spesh signed her to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, it wasn’t until her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She just dropped her sophomore album Food for Thought at the beginning of the year & is rounding out her 2022 in the form of The Last Remnants.

“Handicap” is a 2-minute opener with Che belittling her competition on top of a weepy boom bap instrumental whereas “Therapy Session” takes a more soulful approach to tell the story about herself as a Buffalo queen. Ransom comes into the picture for the atmospheric yet dusty “Bidding War” produced by Trox speaking on the music industry just before Elcamino tags along for the classy “Summertime” talking about how they kept fighting to be where they both are today.

Meanwhile on “Wine & Dine”, we have Jynx716 assisting Che on top of a rich boom bap beat comparing their love for this rap shit to that of their own kinfolk leading into “Wash the Dishes” weaving a funky bass-line & a vocal sample together so she & Benny the Butcher can flex their boss statuses. The song “Lately” with Klass Murda finds the 2 over a more whimsical instrumental talking about being stressed as of late while the penultimate track “Promised Land” with 38 Spesh returns to soulful turf celebrating their success. “Art of Patience” however serves as an ambitious conclusion to the EP needing to know if the goals she sets are achievable.

Che has already proven herself to be one of the most skilled women in the game today & if The Last Remnants is only an appetizer for something bigger coming down the pipe in the near future, then it’s most definitely on par with all 4 of the EPs that she’s given us in the past. The concept of her thanks the man upstairs for the bread on her table & blessing it is incredibly profound as she takes a backseat behind the boards to allow some of the best producers in the underground to shine.

Score: 4/5

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Jynx716 – “Careful What You Wish For” review

Jynx716 is a 33 year old MC from Niagara Falls, New York who came to my attention in 2020 off his debut mixtape The Green Album. This was followed up last spring with his debut EP The 33 & now just a month after killing a verse on Che Noir’s sophomore album Food for Thought, he’s enlisting Che to produce his 2nd EP from top to bottom & it definitely had me curious to check it out.

“Focus” kicks off the EP with some bells & a high-pitched vocal sample talking about avoiding trouble whereas the Ransom-assisted “Legacy” finds the 2 proclaiming themselves as legends on top of a captivating instrumental. “Electrifying” encourages listeners to stash more & stay in the moment over some fresh ass guitar licks while Stove God Cook$ tags along for the soulful “Lava Lamp” talking about going from broke to where they are now. Jamal Gasol’s verse on the penultimate track “Bitcoin” is a little underwhelming even though I like the chipmunk soul inspired production & “Wake Up” ends the EP on a cinematic note talking about how it’s his turn.

Dude’s been raising this for a few months now & to finally hear it, I can say Careful What You Wish For is the best thing he’s has done yet. Che Noir’s production is incredibly consistent & Jynx is just bringing his A-game rapping his ass off. If he keeps it up at this rate, I feel like he’ll be getting even better over time

Score: 4/5