Daniel Son – “Baggage Claims” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada emcee Daniel Son with his 9th proper full-length album. A member of the Brown Bag Money collective, his profile began to rapidly increase in the underground off projects like the Giallo Point-produced debut mixtape The Gunners or the Futurewave-produced sophomore album Yenaldooshi. He just teamed up with Raz Fresco this spring for the spectacular collab album Northside paying homage to the roots of the Toronto hip hop scene & a few months after reuniting with Futurewave for the first time since Son Tzu & the Wav.God on Bushman Bodega last summer & the Finn-produced Hare Brained Schemes a few months later. He & Futurewave however are looking to make some Baggage Claims almost 3 weeks after Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling founder Scott D’Amore crowned the longest reigning 2-time TNA World Champion, TNA X Division Champion, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion & former PWG World Tag Team Champion Josh Alexander the inaugural MLP Canadian Champion and former 2-time RPW British Women’s Champion Gisele Shaw the inaugural MLP Women’s Canadian Champion.

The title track is this grisly boom bap intro assuring shit ain’t always glamorous on his end & showing everyone the progression whereas “Sweet Peppers” soulfully wastes no time whatsoever to reach the penthouse views he desires. “French River” keeps it in the basement instrumentally venting over the visions he’s had ingrained in his mind as of late just before “Euthanize” featuring al.divino refuses to stop the bread income all because of hits getting put out.

“How It Goes” suggests over a flute-tinged boom bap beat to go the way it already is nowadays cheffing up the product & serving it leading into “1973” featuring Raspy teaming up for a lullaby dedicated to everyone laying their heads in the street. “Bleed the Shark” ruggedly explains that he can catch a rat from him being all the way in the field refining his chef skills at night, but then “The Fume” featuring Bito Slime cloudily yet rawly talks about moving in rare fashion.

Meanwhile on “Cold Chicken”, we have Daniel over a drumless instrumental talking about dying for what’s his & acknowledging the old fashioned tendencies he shares while “Need More Paper” returns to the boom bap expresses the necessity of making his bread stack up continuously higher. “Baylor” kicks the horns out trying to make it known to this girl he’s seeing that all he knows is the filth while “Fly the Pigeon” featuring King Bliss gives the finger to the entire world.

al.divino comes back for the dusty “Sun Lo” talking about never peaking & making sure their competition never eats again while “Crushed Stones” hooks up a vocal flip experiencing the same shit others warned him he’d experience in the rap game. “Sweet & Sour Duck” strips the drums learning to keep his mouth closed at an early age while “Run the Shop” featuring Recognize Ali finds the duo wanting to be loved for their ambition.

The jazzy “Pin Stripe” featuring Asun Eastwood feels reminiscent of the previous collaborative efforts Psychics of Filth & Bite the Bullet promises that everything they’re saying shouldn’t be taken in a metaphorical sense by any means while “Villains” talks about pushing coke. “Regular” concludes Baggage Claims on a rawly vintage note teasing more music with Futurewave to come since they’ve been cooking normally as of late.

Commemorating the 7-year anniversary of Pressure Cooker earlier this month, the Brown Bag Money standout & his go-to producer unearth 18 outtakes that were made during those sessions & compile them into a sequel of it’s own sounding like they recorded it recently. I can very much tell that Futurewave’s boom bap production was recorded during that era, except that & Daniel Son’s pen make an exciting throwback to their dual breakthrough.

Score: 4/5

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Daniel Son – “Hare Brained Schemes” review

Here we have the 8th proper full-length solo LP from Toronto, Ontario, Canada emcee Daniel Son. A member of the Brown Bag Money collective, his profile began to rapidly increase in the underground off projects like the Giallo Point-produced debut mixtape The Gunners or the Futurewave-produced sophomore album Yenaldooshi. He just teamed up with Raz Fresco this spring for the spectacular collab album Northside paying homage to the roots of the Toronto hip hop scene & a few months after reuniting with Futurewave for the first time since Son Tzu & the Wav.God on Bushman Bodega over the summer, he & Finn are linking up for Hare Brained Schemes.

“Femoral” is this grungy boom bap opener talking about turning flesh into ice since he’s so cold & people wasting time like they have extra lives whereas “Missing Teeth” gives off a jazzier approach instrumentally applying pressure on everyone’s necks with their feet for deep pockets. “Capital Gains” featuring Pro Dillinger maintains a jazzy boom bap flare cautioning to recognize before they reck their lives, but then “Dance of the Drunken Mantis” briefly expresses his desire to be a Bush Doctor Millionaire.

As for “Clicqout Fountains”, we have Daniel hopping over a soulful beat boasting at the main pot to piss in was shitting on the competition leading into “Courtleigh Chemist” regularly talking about not changing shit if he were to do it all over again. “Chalk Brothers” featuring Lord Juco mixes the exuberant with the raw bodying shit together while “Iron Leash” featuring Family Gang Black finds the 2 grittily translating their pain into passion now that their music rocking overseas.

“Talon Claw” starts the final leg of the LP talking about cooking as if he was a French chef in the ‘60s while “Call Me” drumlessly reaffirms that he’ll go down as a legend when it’s all said & done saying it’s the dope everyone needs. “Sharing Needles” featuring Mooch returns to the boom bap catching the big sharks since neither one of them want to meet their demise struggling & “Fall Breeze” closes Hare Brained Schemes in the form of a dedication of those who have to stay home on the weekends because they can’t afford a sitter.

Dirty Dishes has always stood out to me as one of my favorite Daniel Son projects much like everything he & Futurewave have done with one another in the past, so that was more than enough to have me anticipating the follow up here & they sure as Hell delivered. Finn’s production here is some of the best that I’ve heard from him in a while, the features all match Daniel’s energy & the BBM standout himself lyrically keeps the same energy from the other 2 acclaimed projects I’ve covered from him this year.

Score: 4.5/5

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Daniel Son – “Bushman Bodega” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada emcee Daniel Son has returned for his 7th LP. A member of the Brown Bag Money collective, his profile began to rapidly increase in the underground off projects like the Giallo Point-produced debut mixtape The Gunners or the Futurewave-produced sophomore album Yenaldooshi. He just teamed up with Raz Fresco a few months ago for the spectacular collab album Northside paying homage to the roots of the Toronto hip hop scene & is reuniting with Futurewave for the first time since Son Tzu & the Wav.God on Bushman Bodega.

“Symbiote Suit” couldn’t start off any better from the organ-laced boom bap instrumental to the hardcore lyricism keeping Toronto on lock whereas “Stone Cold works in some eerie pianos, kicks & snares looking to get them all out. “Line Busy” featuring Estee Nack menacingly advises to call them back later since they already busy on the phone as it is just before “No Man’s Land” dustily talks about everything being ugly.

Moving on from there, “Musashi” keeps the keys as well as the kicks & snares in tact providing a theme for those who need more leading into the jazzy boom bap crossover “30 Odd 6” featuring 36 Cypher telling y’all to get a plate since they in the hunting fields. “Trail Blazers” featuring Rome Streetz finds the 2 wordsmiths over a magically raw beat dropping lyrical pressure for 2 & a half minutes, but then “Seymour Stems” drumlessly advises to watch your mouth.

“Underground Parking” feat. Raz Fresco recaptures everything that made Northside the incredible collab effort it was & Futurewave elevating it while “Cleaning Staff” hops over vibraphones to fish for sharks through a storm. “Booger Sugar” featuring al.divino nears the conclusion of Bushman Bodega getting in their hardcore bag together over a haunting instrumental while “Owe Loot” ruggedly stands on his own. “Good on My Ones” closes shop on a psychedelic boom bap note having to get lost to find his way.

It’s been quite a while since we’ve gotten a solo project from Daniel Son that & his latest album here lands a cut above the same pedestal that Northsideset couple months ago. He & Futurewave have always had the type of chemistry where they’ve constantly brought the best out of each other over time, which is further exemplified by a near-perfect list of guests that match Daniel’s skill of lyricism along with killer beats & superb engineering.

Score: 4.5/5

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Daniel Son & Raz Fresco – “Northside” review

Here we have a brand new collaborative LP between Toronto, Ontario, Canada emcees Daniel Son & Raz Fresco. The latter of whom I was introduced to during my freshman year of high school off the strength of his feature on former Odd Future member Ace Hashimoto’s 5th mixtape All Day DeShay: AM & the other coming to my radar at the tail-end of 2019 linking up with Futurewave for his classic sophomore effort Yenaldooshi. We’ve heard both these guys together on numerous occasions such as the songs “Dirty Dozens” & “Big Bird”, so it shouldn’t be too surprising that they’re turning things up a couple notches on Northside.

To get us started, “Ice Water” works in a sample with kicks & snares talking about how cold it is where they’re from going back & forth with one another whereas the title track serves as a dusty ode to all the lock-breakers & Glock bleeders from where people get even instead of getting old. “W.C.H.M.F. (Who Can’t Hear Must Feel)” incorporates a string sample explaining that somebody eventually gonna get burned wherever there’s smoke while “Lawyer Fees” soulfully makes some noise in the studio.

“Rusty” featuring Gritfall brings a groovier flare to the beat talking about trying to get rich, but then “Frostbite” goes into soulfully drumless turf referring to themselves as trailblazers where the path is empty. “Last Minute” returns to the boom bap so both of them can bring you a different flavor on some court-side shit just before “What’s the Mission?” comes through with an atmospheric albeit dusty vibe explaining that the mission both of them are on is to get paid.

Nearing the conclusion of Northside, the calmingly drumless penultimate track “Watch Ya Mouth” flips the iconic Jeru the Damaja single “Ya Playin’ Yaself” warning everyone near their vicinities to watch what comes out their mouths that is until “Forks on the Road” closes up shop returning to the boom bap using the titular metaphor to talk about being unsure which way to take & that they must keep going.

Physics of Filth & Bite the Bullet with Asun Eastwood have been my favorites from Daniel Son when it comes to collaboration projects with another MC & now Northside has surpassed them both on top of being my new favorite Raz Fresco collab effort. The sound that the latter goes for like wearing a northface jacket in a snowstorm in the sense that it’s but with a feeling of warmth on the inside, but they also pay homage to the deep hip hop roots in Toronto & add on to that legacy with another solid contribution of art that continues to push the culture forward.

Score: 4.5/5

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Daniel Son – “Son Tzu & the Wav.God” review

Daniel Son is a 32 year old MC from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who came up as a member of the Brown Bag Money collective back in 2016. His profile began to rapidly increase in the underground off projects like the Giallo Point-produced debut mixtape The Gunners or the Futurewave-produced sophomore album Yenaldooshi but after spending 2021 dropping a few EPs, he’s bringing Futurewave back in the picture to lace his 4th tape from top to bottom.

“Son Rise” kicks the whole thing off on some boom bap shit with an almost glistening loop showing cats how he does it in his neck of the woods whereas “Full Moon” goes into a more euphoric route sonically talking about having nightmares that’ll haunt him until he’s gone. Rome Streetz tags along for vengeful “Field Trips” going at the throats of those jealous of their success, but then “Nostrildamus” incorporates a soul sample to get on his pusher shit. Meanwhile on “Death & Taxes”, we have Daniel Son talking about not having a choice to lead the way even tough Pro Dillinger’s verse at the start is just decent leading into the jazzy “Hallelujah” speaking on dying for his chips.

Flee Lord comes into the picture for the sedatively-produced “3rd Eye”talking about having records that’ll play when they’re both gone while the song “Stove Dance” goes into drumless turf up until the 2nd half saying he applies a pressure that they can’t take. The penultimate track “Talk to Yourself” has a horn-heavy sound advising to keep his name out these punks’ mouths & “Son Set” with Saipher Soze ends it all with some grimy street shit that hopefully serves as an appetizer for a Divizion Rivals sequel.

I know 2022 literally just started today, but we already got an Album of the Year contender straight out the gate. Daniel Son’s lyricism goes hand-in-hand with Futurewave’s raw production as always, but they really take it to another level much like they did on Yenaldooshi & Moonshine Mix 2.

Score: 4.5/5

Daniel Son – “JWP” review

This is the 5th EP from Toronto, Ontario, Canada emcee Daniel Son. Coming up as a member of the Brown Bag Money collective, his profile began to rapidly increase in the underground off projects like his debut mixtape The Gunners or the sophomore album Yenaldooshi. He recently dropped the Cuns-produced EP Dojo back in March to commemorate the 1-year anniversary of his previous album Dirty Dishes, but is now enlisting Ramzee for JWP.

“Above the Law” has a bit of a woozy feel in the instrumental with Daniel talking about how the cops will never catch him whereas “Tempo” is an airy boom bap cut saying he used to smell the hate on the new believers. “Haunted” goes into a more jazzier direction talking about your girl checking him naked just before proclaiming he’ll make sure the coast is clean on the soulful “Pinot Gris”. The penultimate track “Fried Burbot” works is a rap rock cut detailing the mud life while “The Ends” finishes off has a great trumpet loop & lyrics about the struggle never ending.

Dojo was good, but JWP to me is a much more consistent product. I like how Ramzee’s production ranges from boom bap to jazz & at this point, I think Daniel Son could very well be my favorite lyricist in the Canadian hip hop scene right now. I hope this & Dojo are warm-ups for a new album because I would love for him to get an all-star lineup of beat-makers on it.

Score: 4/5