A.M. Early Morning – “Late Night Early Morning III” review

A.M. Early Morning is a 34 year old MC from Chicago, Illinois who emerged off his debut EP The Maxi Single Project back in 2017. He would later go on to release a couple more installments making a trilogy & then 7AM 747 but with the 1-year anniversary of Oakley approaching this Devil’s Night, it’s only right for A.M. to return for a 6th EP enlisting local producer Nightwalker to lace the entire thing.

The title track that kicks the album off is a jazzy boom bap with Eto tagging along to talk about hustling 24/7 whereas the PozLyrix-assisted “Herb Adams Sniff” has a bit of a Wu-Tang Forever era RZA feel to the production getting on their gangsta shit. Otis Ghost comes in for the bluesy “La Historia De Mi Primo” addresses the opioid crisis in their city just before the symphonic “Holy Matrimony” expresses being married to the game

The song “Dusk ‘Til Dawn” with King Magnetic is a lot like the opener in the sense that it’s a boom bap joint about grinding except there’s no jazz influences while the penultimate track “Bape Sweats, Supreme J’s” serves as a rich dedication to their favorite streetwear brands. Little Vic then joins A.M. for “Jacob’s Ladder”, a guitar/soul infused closer about making it up to their own heavens.

Coming away from this, I think it’s A.M.’s best work yet. He paints a vivid picture of the Hell that he’s been through in his hometown & Nightwalker’s production has a bit of an East Coast flare to it despite the fact that he’s from the same city as the MC is.

Score: 4/5

Cymarshall Law – “I Still Love H.E.R.” review

Cymarshall Law is a 40 year old MC from Burlington, New Jersey who emerged back in ‘04 as part of the duo Power Man & Iron Fist alongside the late Pumpkinhead. However it wasn’t until 3 years later where he branched out on his own off the full-length debut Hip Hop in the Flesh, which was followed up by the Hip Hop in the Soul trilogy & Freedom Express. He’s made a handful since, but is returning in full effect for his 11th album.

“Intro to H.E.R.” begins things with a bit of a plinky instrumental saying he’s still here because of his dedication to the culture whereas “MF Law” has a bit of a Tribe feel to it reiterating the JAY-Z line “Do you fools listen to music or do you just skim through it?”. The title track with Venomous2000 & Kafeeno is basically his own rendition of the Common joint “I Used to Love H.E.R.” just before the self-explanatory “4 Jersey” pays homage to Law’s home state on top of a heavenly instrumental.

Meanwhile on “The Innocence of Love”, we have Kafeeno returning alongside Dynasty for a sensual R&B-tinged cut leading into U.G. taking Dynasty’s spot for the tense “For the Love (No Cap)” talking about the future. After the “Voice of Hip Hop” interlude, “The Normal New (Growing Up in the Pandemic)” richly details how he’s been living with the post-COVID world & “Electric B-Boy” is fresh ass anthem for the breakdancers out there.

The song “The Incredibles” with Grafh finds the 2 on top of an organ loop to start going at their opposition’s throats while the penultimate track “Creators” is easily the most motivational one on the entire album & the production really kicks the emotion up. “Spit It Dad (King’s Revenge)” ends with a 3-minute barfest with a dusty ass beat.

This dude has damn near a dozen albums under his belt already after being in it for almost 2 decades, but I Still Love H.E.R. is definitely amongst his best. You can easily tell the dude was having fun spitting again given how animated his performances are & the vintage production is also much appreciated.

Score: 4/5

Stezo – “The Last Dance” review

Stezo was a 52 year old MC/producer from New Haven, Connecticut who broke out in 1989 off his full-length debut Crazy Noise. This was followed up with the Where’s the Funk At? EP & C.T. (The Lost State) but now with his unexpected death a little over a year ago, Fat Beats is dropping a 3rd & final album containing his last recordings.

After the “Main Event” intro, “Keep the Grove” with Johnny Famous is a somewhat minimal opener calling out the industry. After the “Hip Hop Eulogy 1” interlude, we get a decent remix to the 1996 joint “Where the Funk At?” just before the cinematic “Opera House” goes at those who can’t flow.

Following the “Hip Hop Eulogy 2” interlude, Ed O.G. tags along with Masta Ace & Craig G for the grim “Psychopathic Maniac” declaring themselves as such. After the “Hip Hop Eulogy 3” interlude, we got Chubb Rock & Grand Puba coming in for the jazzy boom bap banger “Check 1, 2” flexing their lyricism.

“Rapzone” with Special Ed & Tash has a more futuristic sound taking listeners down a dimension of penmanship & after the the “Hip Hop Eulogy 4” interlude, “Lucky Me” is a gorgeous declaration of how grateful he was.

After the “Hip Hop Eulogy 5” interlude, Stezo & the late Biz Markie show an immaculate chemistry on “Steve N the Biz”. He later reflects on the hard times of his life for the airy “Homeless Stevie” & then the “It’s My Turn” sequel is just alright, as much I fuck with the original. Hakim Green & Tall T help flex their prowess on “Bring the Horns” with despite it’s title is heavy on some live drumming.

After the 6th & final “Hip Hop Eulogy” interlude, the penultimate track “Ruff N Rugged” is a dusty ode to the underground & the closer “4 Stezo” is basically a Shomari song given that Stezo himself isn’t on it at all. However, it’s a touching tribute to the man.

For a posthumous album, I think it’s pretty respectable. I think the remixes to older joints & the interludes are a bit unnecessary, but Chris Lowe’s production is raw as Hell & the guests do a great job at complimenting Stezo rather than just being there for a paycheck.

Score: 4/5

Moemaw Naedon – “River Rats” review

Moemaw Naedon is a 39 year old MC/producer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who made his full-length debut in the fall of 2014 with the Latebloomer-produced Circular Signals. This was followed up with Hard Head Mush Brain & Dr. Deadhorse but just a couple months after dropping a collab EP alongside Calig Kontra entitled Cult Theatre, he’s enlisting C. Scott to produce his 3rd album from start to finish.

After the “Pittsburgh Thril” intro, the first song “Awesome Environment” is a slick boom bap opener talking about having one too many drinks whereas “Space Log” has a more synth-funk vibe advising those not to kick the mic when they spit their last bar. After the “Midnight Rapper” interlude, JM the Poet tags along for the meditative “Owls in the Sun” to say they feel like they’re just getting starting just before Dinosaur Burps takes JM’s place on the aggressive “Summer in the Muck”.

After the “Where You Wander” & “Scene Before” interludes, “Hardly New Havoc” speaks on how shit ain’t really new with a moodier instrumental leading into the psychedelic “Off the Path” as Moemaw & El Da Sensei deliver a lyrical onslaught. The song “Death Shots” is a guitar ballad with the Galactic Brethren reuniting like it’s nothing & after the “Weird Places Heavy Stories” interlude, the penultimate track “Ringing Bells” takes a jazzier direction saying the reflections in puddle are to muddy to tell. “Pardon Angels” later ends the album with a beautiful instrumental piece.

Of all of Moemaw’s solo efforts, I think River Rats could very well be his best one yet. I think the number of interludes are a tad bit annoying, but his lyrics are amongst his most thoughtful & C. Scott knocks it out of the park in terms of the production.

Score: 4/5

Boom Bap Project – “Return Flight” review

The Boom Bap Project are a trio from Seattle, Washington consisting of Destro, Karim & DJ Tre. They’re also apart of the Oldominion collective, dropping their full-length debut Circumstance Dictates only 2 decades back & then the Rhymesayers-backed sophomore effort Reprogram to even more critical acclaim 4 years later. Last time we heard the crew together was in 2007 with The Countdown, but have decided to reunite from their long hiatus for a debut EP.

“Been So Long” is a lush opener talking about their hiatus whereas “Don’t Follow Me Down” enlists Wordsworth to talk about being steady on their own with a harp loop throughout. “Deion Sanders” goes into more chilled out territory talking about the golden era just before saying they’ll always kill it on the rugged “Rain or Shine”.

The song “Hagler vs. Hearns” showcases their chemistry proclaiming their music as the real shit with a woozy instrumental while the penultimate track “Achilles” has a bit of a soulful feel to it showing them they way they do shit. “Ink Drips” then finishes off the EP with an emotional piano ballad.

I’ve been a fan of these cats since the Rhymesayers days, so to hear them come back albeit in a short capacity makes me happy as Hell. The production stays true to their name all these years later & in terms of chemistry, they haven’t lost a single step.

Score: 3.5/5

UFO Fev – “Enigma of Dalí” review

This is the 5th full-length album from Harlem emcee UFO Fev. Coming up in 2014 off his debut album Around My Way., it wasn’t until 2020 when he saw his biggest year yet by dropping not 1 but 3 well received projects: the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort Fresh Air along with the Termanology-produced debut EP From El Barrio, With Love & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced 3rd album The Ghost of Albizu. Dude just dropped Magnum Opus last month & is already enlisting Vanderslice for the follow-up Enigma of Dalí.

After the titular intro, the first song “Crack Shifts” is an eerie boom bap opener with him & Flee Lord talking about that’s exactly what they be workin’ whereas “Moody Bass” has a more rich instrumental & Fev saying he’s gonna take this shit mainstream. Red Inf tags along for the mellow “Pack Flip” talking about a plan to wake up the masses just before advising to keep it off the speakerphone when talking money on “Home Team”, which has some amazing sampling throughout.

Meanwhile with “Artfully Done Street Shit”, we have Red Inf returning over a guitar & some dusty drums calling out those stealing the sauce leading into him saying he’s too far over the top on the dusty albeit piano-laced “Scroll Music”. The song “Jazz Criminals” with SmooVth fittingly has a jazzy beat with both of them getting mafioso while the penultimate track “Scarlett Letters” jumps on top of some violins to state that he’s painting like Salvador Dalí. Then there’s the closer “All That Glitters”, where Fev & Sure Shot come together for a slick romance ballad.

Magnum Opus was cool, but I personally prefer Enigma of Dalí better. Vanderslice’s production is much more consistent than it was on Fev’s last album & the dude continues to reveal himself as one of the illest MCs in the New York underground right now.

Score: 4/5

Declaime – “In the Beginning” review

This is the 11th full-length album from Oxnard veteran Declaime. Debuting on “WLIX” off Tha Alkaholiks’ sophomore album Coast II Coast in 1995, it wouldn’t be until 2001 when Dudley Perkins started putting out albums under his own name by dropping Andsoitisaid. Last we heard from him was in 2017 when he released Young Spirit but as the 4 year anniversary of that album approaches next month, dude is unearthing 13 joints that were recorded with longtime collaborator Madlib from 1993-1996 & putting them out to the public in the form of In the Beginning.

“Enuff” kicks things off with Declaime & even Madlib himself jump on top of some bass licks & handclaps talking about not letting stress wound, but then “One on One” works in a lo-fi beat & battle rap lyricism. The pair later go into boom bap territory on “Cool Ways” saying he’ll never slip up whereas “2 to da Head” has these dusty drums & what sound like Seagull noises addressing the days we’re living in.

Meanwhile on “Madman”, we have Dudley giving us a rowdy look at someone who’s insane before diving into the “Declaime Speaks” interlude as well as the fuzzy “Black” jabbing at the racist system. “Wake Up” is yet another boom bap cut themed around battle rap while “Out Like Dat” has these vinyl cracklings throughout it’s 2 minute run & Declaime saying there’s no turning back when you hit the street.

After the “Meltdown” interlude, the track “All Over the World” with M.E.D. serves as a funky crowd-mover propping up both the West & the East while the last actual song on the album “2 MC ‘95” is a keyboard-laced take on the Hamlet quote “To be or not to be”. Then there’s “Outrose”, which serves as a 2-minute instrumental piece to finish the album off.

Although the material In the Beginning presents to us was recorded 25-28 years ago, it still sounds really good now & that shouldn’t come a surprise given how well these guys have bounced off each other in the past. Madlib’s production is much more rawer on here & the topics that Declaime covers range from social commentary to braggadocio.

Score: 4/5

Moemaw Naedon & Calig Kontra – “Cult Theatre” review

This is a brand new collaborative EP between Pittsburgh emcee Moemaw Naedon & New Orleans’ very own Calig Kontra. The pair have worked together on a couple of songs in the past like “Slime Volcanos” & “Old Times”, but are now joining forces with producer Pyramid Tapes (also hailing from New Orleans) to take their chemistry to the next level on Cult Theatre.

“A New Abyss” is a short yet evil opener as the duo jump on an organ-laced boom bap instrumental to talk their shit just before Lyrikill tags along the psychedelic “Lucid Fragments” to say they’re proud of their environments. Meanwhile on “Witches Sabbath”, the production has an almost industrial feel to it as Lord Goat comes in to help get boisterous before going into more conscious direction on “Magenta Brainwash”.

I think the prophetic lyrics on “Sovereign Sirens” are really great as is the cinematic beat & despite the brevity of “Pass the Vodka”, it does it’s job as an aggressive alcohol-themed banger. The song “Tortured Calculations” tells the story of both MCs pulling up to someone’s show backed by an instrumental while the penultimate track “Altered Beast” is a thunderous proclamation of being living embodiments of syllable evolutions. “Futura Dystopia” is a victorious closer telling everyone to stay late for the sequel.

Now if we really do get a follow-up to this EP at some point down the road, I’d be all for it because I happen to like Cult Theatre quite a bit. Pyramid Tapes whips up some of the best batch of beats he’s ever made & both MCs hit down some pretty provocative lyricism throughout it’s 26 minute run.

Score: 4/5

The Truth & Frank B. – “Badfellas” review

This is a brand new collaborative debut EP between New York emcees The Truth & Frank B. The pair first came together last year on the song “I Know I Can” off of The Truth’s Spring EP & with the 1 year anniversary of that project coming up this weekend, they’ve seen fit to take listener through what it means to be Italian-American hip hop fans by crafting Badfellas.

After the “Lil Mo Mozzarella” intro, the title track incorporates some harps into a boom bap instrumental as the duo take a Ray Liotta quote from Goodfellas about wanting to be a gangster for as long as he can remember & making it into their own before lacing some keyboards & an organ on the money hungry “Fuck U Pay Me”. The homie Bobby J from Rockaway tags along for “Paint Houses” as the 3 show homage to The Irishman before going into a more rubbery direction on “Funny How?” as they put their own spin on a Joe Pesci quote from Goodfellas.

Meanwhile, we have Cold Shoulda stopping by for the quasi-jazzy “Code Red” discussing that they gotta watch their backs whereas the dusty “Caruso” is more reflective in terms of lyricism. I can definitely see people getting rowdy to the penultimate track “My Cousin” given it’s disrespectful lyricism & it’s off the chart energy before “That’s It” ends things off by telling listeners not to break the code of the streets & you can definitely tell the instrumental has a strong DJ Premier influence to it.

If anyone reading this is a fan of both traditional East Coast hip hop & Scorsese flicks, then this EP is absolutely work checking out. Both emcees bounce off each other very well, the movie references are super clever & the production is incredibly gritty.

Score: 4/5

Ed O.G. & Insight – Self-Titled review

This is a brand new collaborative album between Boston veterans Ed O.G. & Insight. Both emcees have collaborated before on songs like “Strategy” off the latter’s 2004 classic The Blast Radius but all these years later, they’ve decided to come together for an eponymous full-length outing.

“Just Listen” is a plain & simple opener to the album with it’s flute-inflicted boom bap production as the whole thing starts off with the duo telling Siri they wants something classic, but not trendy just before telling listeners to remember who they are on the dreamy albeit punchy “It’s Edo & Insight”.

With the perfectly titled “Never Too Late to Correct Your Mistakes”, we get some grand string sections with lyrics about righting your wrongs whereas “Choose Your Path” provides food for thought over a luxurious instrumental.

Meanwhile on “Good in Goodbye”, we go into a somewhat funkier direction as the 2 talk about breakups leading up to them telling the listener that life isn’t about choices but how one chooses on the piano-heavy “1 Step at a Time”.

The pair bring in some sirens for “Ceiling” as they talk about not even reaching their pinnacle yet & then we get a remake of my all-time favorite Big Daddy Kane song: “Set It Off”.

The penultimate track “It Takes Process” sonically mixes together some keys & strings as they talk about how Rome wasn’t built in a day & to finish it off, we get a reimagining of the Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs joint “I Gotta Have It” with the closer “Unite & Let’s All Get Down.”

As a fan of both these guys, I’m really glad to hear them come together because this is a super solid album in my book. The chemistry is great & I love the jazzy undertones in the production as well. If they plan on doing more together down the road, then I’m here for it.

Score: 4/5