J Reno – “The Dirttape 3” review

Windsor, Ontario, Canada emcee/producer J Reno finishing The Dirttape trilogy with his 4th mixtape. Introducing himself over 2 decades ago off his debut tape Ground 0 as well as the full-length debut Unleashed & the sophomore effort The Lunatic’s Back, he would follow it up with 6 more albums preceding Crossworm signing him to Dirtcore Music: Lost in the Dark, Politikilla, Into the Fire, Welcome Home, Blood, Guts & Boom Bap and Me & My Demons. His debut for the Grand Rapids label The Dirttape & it’s sequel have both come out over the course of these past 5 months, building us up for this final chapter.

“Returned” hops over an eerily self-produced trap instrumental talking about becoming amongst the dead whereas “Outsider” shifts towards a symphonic boom bap vibe explaining that the industry can be cancerous when I don’t hear any lies. “They Want More” featuring Samson Samson finds the 2 aggressively talking about their coldblooded tendencies leading into “The Villain”combining rap metal & boom bap so he can get a bit more antagonistic.

Meanwhile on “Wreck Yo Self”, we have J Reno warning people that he’ll check anyone who disrespects him while “The Facade” not to be confused with the current JCW American Champion talks about fearing no wanksta over a west coast beat. “Stirring” by Misery Coast reunites the duo to talk about causing destruction together once this series is exhumed prior to “Dopamin” posing the question of what’s left once the rush fleets.

“Windows Down” talks about pulling up to cities blasting his system pulling inspiration from the west coast again while “Demons & Heathens” featuring the Even Heathens leans back into the horrorcore side of things. “Earn Some” discusses him grinding without taking a single day off & what to do if one wants respect while the final song “Enemynd” preceding the “Back to Dust” outro finishes The Dirttape saga talking about mental health, basically saying that your own mind can be your worst enemy sometimes.

The Dirttape 2 still had quality performances & beats from J Reno even if most of the features weren’t doing it for me personally, but The Dirttape 3 ends on a stronger note putting itself behind the one that started it all when 2026 began & raises anticipation of where he goes from here as a part of the Dirtcore roster. The guest list is more consistent than the predecessor back in March & he finishes the Tape Keeper arc hitting us with a primary boom bap sound.

Score: 4/5

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Razakel – “The Possession of Razakel” review

I believe this is the 5th extended play from San Antonio, Texas rapper & Shrunken Head Entertainment founder Razakel. Known for being 1/3 of the Slice Girls as well as the Dead Girlz & 3FRMHELL in addition to her formerly comprising 1/2 of the Serpentines, she also has over a dozen solo albums under her belt along with her last 4 extended plays. She had a song on her most recent full-length Surprise, Surprise! last fall that was produced by Grand Rapids, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm and that has now led us to The Possession of Razakel.

“Sum1 Like U” begins with this industrial boom bap intro lyrically talking about figuring out the kind of people who’re fake & live always wishing for those specific types of individuals whereas “Funeral” further embraces an industrial vibe instrumentally, advising for the crowd who’re against her to begin planning their own memorials in advance & lacking any mercy. “Slasher” on the other hand ends the EP fusing horrorcore lyricism with EDM instrumentation.

Come to think of it: Pretty much everyone on the current Dirtcore roster has already put out new music on the label over the course of these past 4 years, so I can get on board with Crossworm’s idea of reaching out to other artists in the underground & do a brief takeover of sorts. Mainly because I firmly believe people will consider The Possession of Razakel to be some of greatest material she’s recorded in whole career, sharpening her pen for 10 minutes over a small handful of industrial hip hop beats.

Score: 4/5

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J Reno – “The Dirttape 2” review

Here is the 3rd mixtape from Windsor, Ontario, Canada emcee/producer J Reno. Introducing himself over 2 decades ago off his debut tape Ground 0 as well as the full-length debut Unleashed & the sophomore effort The Lunatic’s Back, he would follow it up with 6 more albums preceding Crossworm signing him to Dirtcore Music: Lost in the Dark, Politikilla, Into the Fire, Welcome Home, Blood, Guts & Boom Bap and Me & My Demons. His debut for the Grand Rapids label The Dirttape came out a cool months earlier & the bridging portion of the trilogy has arrived.

After the “Press Play” intro, the first song “Consume” begins with this bloodthirsty boom bap beat talking about facing repercussions of playing haunted cassettes whereas “Fuck It Up” goes for a trap vibe instrumentally talking about him not being here to save a soul. ZOT’s appearance on “It’s Hip Hop” doesn’t really do much for me despite the topic of this culture running through their veins while “All In” somberly talks about the rap game being like a casino.

“Catch a Body” ends the 1st half continuing to embrace the influences of trap explaining that social media nowadays would be the new way of giving yourself a lobotomy leading into “Smoke” featuring Dr. Gigglez finds the 2 teaming up for an average stoner’s ballad. “In a Box” featuring Madd Maxxx would be my favorite collaboration of the 4 talking about people trying to pigeonhole them over a horn-inflicted beat just before “Eat You Alive” brings some orchestral influences to the picture warning that the struggle will consume all.

The track “No Compromise” featuring JxmesLxmb rounds out 3 talking about how there isn’t a check big enough for them to sell out & nobody having the power of being persuaded regarding what’s real while “Do Something” hops over some pianos for an attack directed at someone who isn’t anything like him & has no respect at all. “Step Back” ends by taking an introspective approach topically, feeling like a failure at wanting to give the ones he love an easier life than his own origins.

Now that there’s only a couple months left until the concluding chapter drops, The Dirttape 2would have to be my least favorite of this entire saga although the good moments outweigh the bad. Him carrying the concept of the series’ original installment revolving around the Tape Keeper forward & the increasingly varied production are both 2 of the biggest pros this sequel has going for it, but the guest list doesn’t make that much of an impression on me like the previous Dirttape did other than a couple of them.

Score: 3.5/5

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J Reno – “The Dirttape” review

J Reno is a 39 year old MC/producer from Windsor, Ontario, Canada introducing himself over 2 decades ago off his debut mixtape Ground 0 as well as the full-length debut Unleashed & the sophomore effort The Lunatic’s Back. He would follow it up with 6 more albums preceding Crossworm signing him to Dirtcore Music: Lost in the Dark, Politikilla, Into the Fire, Welcome Home, Blood, Guts & Boom Bap and Me & My Demons. Coming off Misery Coast’s eponymous debut EP this previous Hallowicked weekend, he’s making his official debut under Dirtcore with the inaugural entry of The Dirttape trilogy.

After the “Meet the Maker” intro, the self-produced “Exhumed” begins with an eerie boom bap opener talking about this whole saga of tapes coming with a curse whereas “Kill Flow 2” works in some strings & pianos for a sequel to one of the finishing moments off Lost in the Dark. “In the Ring” featuring Sleep Lyrical embraces the darker vibes even further talking about being undefeated for a reason while “The Juice” shrugs off him receiving hate because he’s got motion when they don’t.

“City of Fiends” talks about a once promising town shaping into it’s current form inhabited by zombies while “Should’ve Been” hints at him committing crimes instead of having a music career because we’re pitiful slaves to the rich. “NBT4LYFE” featuring Krimmy Van Skull decently combines boom bap & horrorcore lyricism despite Krimmy’s verse being alright to me personally while “Kill at Will” talks about acquiring a set of skills throughout the course of time that allow him to murder anyone at anytime.

After the “Voicemail” skit, “FU” contains what could most likely be my favorite beat here sounding like some 90s east coast shit explaining that rappers & their opinions are the only 2 things in the underground that haven’t changed at all while “Stand on Biz” featuring Bukshot finds the pair warning those who don’t take responsibility for themselves they’ll take everything plus interest. “What You Fighting For” goes full-blown rap rock talking about oligarchy prior to him discussing the kind of people who don’t know what it’s like to be “The Man”.

Shaping up to be the most ambitious body of work in J Reno’s solo discography with almost 26 more tracks spread across The Dirttape & assuming the next couple installments are gonna divide those songs, the beginning of this new era in his career makes some major improvements over Me & My Demons almost a couple years ago and it’s a great way for Dirtcore Music to kick off 2026 wiping a clean slate after a difficult 12 months. The production’s mostly boom bap centered other than a couple hints of rap rock & trap, there are fewer guests & the lyrics conceptually introduces us to a character named the Tape Keeper.

Score: 4.5/5

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Dirtcore Music – “Overkill” review

This is the 2nd showcase compilation from Grand Rapids, Michigan independent record label Dirtcore Music founded by local rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Crossworm. The latter of whom was sole artist officially signed for its first 2 decades of existence until bringing Samson Samson whom he formed Bodies Below Sea Level with, Madd Maxxx, Mumm Ra, Sleep Lyrical, J Reno whom he formed Misery Coast with & Grounds all on board. Others such as Gavyn Gunn & Oblivia have spent a brief amount of time signed to Dirtcore with Gavyn’s debut EP Malevolent being a great start to his ongoing trilogy, celebrating Devil’s Night with Overkill.

Crossworm eerily starts with a self-produced intro “Halloween Sucks” talking about him spraying mace at anyone who knocks on his door whereas “The Veil” by J Reno takes the trap route instrumentally discussing the boundary between life & death. “Mask On” by Sleep Lyrical shows a bit of a Memphis influence being in the kitchen with evil eyes every Halloween while “Agree to Disappear” by Madd Maxxx speaks to his therapist on wax.

“CR4V3 M3” by Samson Samson embraces a funky industrial direction talking about a woman who’s yearning for him just before “The Old Man” by J Reno returns to the boom bap vividly describes a house usually skipped during trick-or-treating being the only 1 in town this year. “The Warning” by Mumm Ra aggressively asks if anyone wants smoke with him because he ain’t got shit to lost leading into “The Dead Can’t Die” by Crossworm industrially talking about the undead being immortal.

Misery Coast comes off their eponymous debut EP earlier this week with the dusty “Never Woulda Guessed” confessing they didn’t imagine themselves winding up 6 feet in the ground while the horrorcore/industrial “Scream” by Samson Samson talks about making innocent victims shriek when walking in the room. “Demon Me” by Madd Maxxx & Sleep Lyrical bodies a trap beat together feeling lost out their minds while the outro “Nobody” by Grounds sends off the compilation with a metal closer kin to his debut EP Walking into Tragedy.

Dirtcore last Christmas finished 2024 with Dirtcore Music by compiling a collection of songs that’ll get the average listener who hasn’t heard of with the label familiarized with who everyone is from an artistic standpoint & a little bit as people. As far as Overkill’s concerned, they’re switching it up by having the entire roster penning songs that celebrate Samhain through a mix of styles from horrorcore & industrial music to metal & a small dosage of spoken word.

Score: 4/5

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Misery Coast – Self-Titled review

Misery Coast is a horrorcore & production duo consisting of Grand Rapids, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm and Windsor, Ontario, Canada rapper/producer J Reno. These guys have already been established within the underground wicked shit scene individually for over a decade or 2 already, forming last Christmas after having a couple tracks land on the Dirtcore showcase compilation. Some of the label’s acts had the honor of performing at the Gathering of Legends or the 25th annual Gathering of the Juggalos this summer & with Hallowicked festivities in a few days, Misery Coast’s looking to introduce themselves by releasing a brand new EP.

After the “Coast is Cursed” intro, the first song “Dance with the Devil” begins with a cold-blooded boom bap instrumental talking about sitting beside a fire where the lost souls go whereas “I Fuckin’ Do” takes a rap rock approach to the beat flexing they have the keys to a dead city. “Feed the Fear” talks about death always being nearby no matter how far any one tries to run from it & a haunted heartbeat stealing sleep leading into the “Coast is Clear” interlude.

“Welcome to” starts the 2nd half of the extended play with Crossworm & J Reno by dabbling with trap advising to disregard all the corpses beneath them looking to cause more than simply disorderly conduct while “The Ghost of Who I Used to Be” returns to the boom bap with some sampling talking about seeing part versions of themselves. “Is It Even Halloween?” celebrates the upcoming holiday with a 2 & a half minute wicked shit heater while “1 Last Cloud” finishes by talking about being born with violent cores.

Similarly to what Bodies Below Sea Level did with their eponymous debut album at the very beginning of November immediately following the previous Hallowicked season, it’s Misery Coast turn to properly introduce themselves as a group with a 21 minute EP providing depressive wicked shit for the hopeless & J Reno continuing to bring Crossworm right back to his hip hop roots in time for this weekend.

Score: 4/5

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Madd Maxxx – “G A T H E R” review

Brockton, Massachusetts emcee Madd Maxxx of the Mission: Infect collective dropping his 4th studio LP. He’s also released a few full-lengths as well as a mixtape & his 6 EPs on his own, with the last album being his 3rd album albeit Dirtcore Music debut Kaleidoscope becoming the strongest body of work he’s ever made thus far as was the Dirtcore ‘24 EP late last summer. He & Bodies Below Sea Level will be performing at the Gathering of Legends or the 25th annual Gathering of the Juggalos next month, so it makes sense for Crossworm to fully produce G A T H E R with the festival coming up in a few weeks.

After the “Unnecessarily Long Skippable Intro”, the title track hops over a synthesizer & a drum machine to encourage the underground to come with him whereas “Let’s Fuckin’ Go Then” goes for a boom bap vibe so he can talk about being on the surface & no longer denying it. “God is a Juggalo” dustily speaks on his belief of our higher power supporting the Insane Clown Posse when they’ve said themselves that Dark Carnival is God, but then “Jester’s Privilege” aggressively calls out weak MCs & talks about saying whatever he wants.

“Zombie Walk” hooks up a creepy violin sample with kicks & snares talking about appealing to fans of smoking weed, horror movies & hip hop while the industrial hip hop/horrorcore crossover “Bats in the Belfry” opens up regarding the voices in his head disliking what they say to him. “Stop Rapping” returns to the boom bap with a bar at the halfway point of it homaging the recently deceased Prince of Darkness in Black Sabbath frontman & WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne prior to the industrial “I Can’t Stop” declaration of never quitting.

As someone who got to see Maxxx perform at the 2021 Gathering & unfortunately won’t make it to the Gathering of Legends or the 2 Day War between Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) & Game Changer Wrestling (GCW) including record-holding 5-time JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion 2 Tuff Tony looking to take the title back from former GCW World Champion & GCW World Tag Team Champion Matt Tremont in The Final Battle, he & Crossworm lock in for a collection of tracks that I’m confident he’ll perform at that event encapsulating the label’s signature industrial hip hop spin on the underground wicked shit scene & additional hints of boom bap.

Score: 4.5/5

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Crossworm – “Cruelty” review

Here is the 8th studio LP from Grand Rapids, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm. Starting as 1/2 of 2Korpse before branching out on his own for the full-length solo debut Phoenix, this was followed up by a sophomore LP Ready to Burn alongside 2 EPs Mouth Full of Dirt & jaws: Deciduous respectively. Taking a few years off after the latter, he returned in the summer of 2014 by dropping 4 more albums: Parasite Avenue, Drowning in Restricting Thought, Finding X & Eat the Weak. I’ve covered the Gōst EP along with the synthpop inspired ANTI & of course the eponymous Bodies Below Sea Level debut, dropping Cruelty a month after both Dirtwave & Shelter Skelter.

The first song “We Rise, They Fall” after the “Live, Laugh, Lobotomy” intro was an industrial rock opener singing about how every single one of us should be standing tall whereas “You Fucking Lying Bitch” by Bodies Below Sea Level gets back on the industrial horrorcore sound of their self-titled effort last fall. “Warning” maintains the vibes of the previous track except Crossworm’s doing the MCing all by himself until “Bully” by Bodies Below Sea Level lets out some overcrowded angst they can’t keep in anymore.

“Liquify My Dick & Drink It” hops over an industrial beat for 50 second pleading to be left alone with his peace beneath the cold dirt subtly referencing The Beneath the Dirt Podcast in which the Dirtcore CEO produced it’s theme song, but then “Get the Fuck Off My Lawn” featuring Madd Maxxx industrially unites the 2 so they can repeat the same shit until they’re wrong. After the “What Do You Do?” interlude, “You’re Dead to Me” sings over synthesizers with the lyrics airing out some grievances he has leading into the “Vulnerable” interlude AND the “Useless Entitled Cripple” interlude.

Things get minimal for “It’s All My Fault” meshing pianos & an acoustic guitar taking some accountability for himself while “Shatter” by Misery Coast talks about their squad leaving everyone behind in dust. “Some Call Me the Devil” continued the industrial horrorcore hybrids acknowledging some comparing him to Satan while “I Still Hate” experiments with nu metal feeling loathsome. Lastly, “I Have My Reasons” closes Cruelty with a melodic boom bap joint recalling when he used to feel oblivious.

Eat the Weak was considered to be the most aggressive entry in Crossworm’s whole entire solo career up until this point & over 2 decades since Phoenix, he’s taken it to another level on Cruelty. His production feels like a mix of all the sounds he’s employed during the course of his career from horrorcore to industrial music, nu metal, industrial rock & boom bap bringing half of the artists he’s already signed to his increasingly popular underground hip hop label on board balancing his rapping abilities with his singing chops evenly.

Score: 4.5/5

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Crossworm – “Shelter Skelter” review

Grand Rapids, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm quickly following up Dirtwave with his 5th EP. Starting as 1/2 of 2Korpse before branching out on his own for the full-length solo debut Phoenix, this was followed up by a sophomore LP Ready to Burn alongside 2 EPs Mouth Full of Dirt & jaws: Deciduous respectively. Taking a few years off after the latter, he returned in the summer of 2014 by dropping 4 more albums: Parasite Avenue, Drowning in Restricting Thought, Finding X & Eat the Weak. I’ve covered the Gōst EP along with the synthpop inspired ANTI & of course the eponymous Bodies Below Sea Level debut, coming off an EP couple weeks ago by making another stylistic departure on Shelter Skelter.

The title track starts with a witch house intro that sounds like it could be played at the end of an episode during the upcoming 5th & final season of the Netflix hit series Stranger Things whereas “Condemned” takes a prominently industrial direction instrumentally kinda like the Bodies Below Sea Level album without the hip hop fusion. “Oubliette” dabbles with the darksynth subgenre of synthwave additionally using a drum machine prior to “Bones in the Cellar” finishing the way he started in the form of another witch house cut.

When you look at the Depeche Mode influence on ANTI almost 2 years ago & the industrial horrorcore concept of Bodies Below Sea Level’s wider introduction to the underground as a team, Shelter Skelter gives a shot at making industrial & witch house music taking a break from rapping or singing to cook a few beats catered around the experimental style of music emerging out of 70s punk & sprinkling in hints of crunk shoegaze occasionally for a little over 10 minutes.

Score: 3.5/5

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Crossworm – “Dirtwave” review

This is the 4th EP from Grand Rapids, Michigan rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm. Starting as 1/2 of 2Korpse before branching out on his own for the full-length solo debut Phoenix, this was followed up by a sophomore LP Ready to Burn alongside 2 EPs Mouth Full of Dirt & jaws: Deciduous respectively. Taking a few years off after the latter, he returned in the summer of 2014 by dropping 4 more albums: Parasite Avenue, Drowning in Restricting Thought, Finding X & Eat the Weak. I’ve covered the Gōst EP along with the synthpop inspired ANTI & of course the eponymous Bodies Below Sea Level debut, dropping off not 1 but 2 EPs this month.

“Losing You” kicks off the Dirtwave with a synth-pop intro singing about needing & wanting to get rid of somebody to no avail whereas “Meet Me at My Grave” works in a guitar sample & synthesizers explaining that everything they wouldn’t dare say being in the middle of them. “Watch Us Die” featuring THE H0LL0W goes for a summer vibe advising to sit back & watch their demise while “Out in Space” is another great synth-pop cut. “Drown Me” featuring Grounds gets heavier asking to be drowned if they become weak & “Beyond the Grave” finishes by throwing it back to late 2000s/early 2010s-era LINKIN PARK.

Pretty sure that we were gonna get Shelter Skelter before Dirtwave since that was initially teased a month ago, but I’m fine with it being held off for a couple weeks for a 19 minute EP that recaptures the Depeche Mode influences prominently displayed throughout ANTI a year & a half ago as a warm up to Shelter Skelter since it’s more based around industrial & witch house music. His singing feels reminiscent to the late Chester Bennington at times, both remixes take their original versions to greater levels of quality & Crossworm’s versatility continues to extend further.

Score: 3.5/5

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