Tag: DJ D Sharp

ST Spittin’ – “Risk & Reward” review

This is the 8th full-length studio LP from Oakland, California emcee ST Spittin. Emerging off his first few mixtapes Lighters & Ink Pens alongside 2nd Impression & Open Season, he would continue to expand his discography by putting out 3 albums The Morning Show, Action! & All in a Day’s Work followed by a trilogy of EPs Lucky 6, When the Ball Drops & Retrofitted ahead of the 4th LP, EP & mixtape Boom!, Don’t Judge Me & Footwrk respectively. We would later get a sequel to Boom! & Footwrk as his next 2 albums, Cool Water for the last one & Summer Madness being his 5th EP. However, I was interested in hearing Risk & Reward since Golden State Warriors deejay DJ D Sharp was behind the boards for the whole thing.

The title track is a jazzy trap opener to the album letting y’all it’s all about that whereas “Seat at the Table” shifts gears with it’s boom bap instrumental feeling like he’s moonwalking on the red carpet getting what everyone else wants. “Pesos” featuring Stunnaman02 goes for a cloudier vibe so both of them can talk about being unable to rest since they have cake to make, but then “God in the Room” featuring Dustin Sharpe & Mani Draper fuses some kicks & snares with strings admitting the Big G was at work when they wrote this.

“Profile Pics” brings a groovier flare to the beat talking about how it’s time to put in a new shift since he’s back on the job just before “Maximize” featuring HBK CJ & Khyenci dives into a pop rap direction advising to maximize your energy. “It’s Alright” featuring Ian Kelly incorporates twinkling piano chords trying to tell her that something’s better than nothing leading into the luxurious boom bap cut “Flashes” talking about seeing the greatness in him shining.

Champ Green & D. Bledsoe join ST on “Each One, Teach One” hopping over a symphonic sample admitting to buying a lot of time to spend more while “Wide Awoke” takes it back to the basement instrumentally flexing that he knows for a fact someone gets inspired whenever he’s on the mic. Lastly to finish the album, “What Ya Call That???” happens to be a soulful ode to the ones tellin’ ‘em how it is.

Over a decade into the game & ST. Spittin’ celebrated Steph Curry’s born day by putting out the most well-crafted body of work of his career so far. DJ D Sharp continues to reveal himself as one of the best beatsmiths in the Bay Area right now as his production here is varied in sound & we get a glimpse of the Oakland emcee at his rawest, most confident, playful & honest all in 1.

Score: 4/5

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MacArthur Maze – “Blvck Saturday” review

MacArthur Maze is a Bay Area-based hip-hop collective consisting of Blvck Achilles, Champ Green, D. Blesdoe, Ian Kelly, Jane Handcock, Roux Shankle & the Golden State Warriors’ disc jockey DJ D Sharp. The septuplet has been turning quite a few heads in the west coast underground scene over the years, most notably WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg signing Jane to a contract with the infamous Death Row Records as a solo artist now that the cousin of the shortest reigning IWGP女子王座, 6-time WWE women’s champion, NXT Women’s Champion & the inaugural record-tying 3-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Mercedes Moné has full ownership of the label. However, the crew’s ready to make their mark as a unit on their official debut album.

After the intro, the first song “First Friday” starts it all off with an orchestral boom bap instrumental pledging allegiance to the family prior to “Panther Bruce Lee” working in a lounger sound so the crew can display some strong back & forth mic chemistry for nearly 3 minutes. “San Pablo Dam” goes into a more delicate direction with the beat talking about the titular road out in Contra Costa county, but then “Ms. Mula” shifts into solemn trap territory to put an interesting spin on the concept of money.

The title track blends a vocal sample with kicks & snares discussing what they can still remember just before “No More” comes through with a dope gospel flip talking about not wanting to hear wack shit anymore. “Table for 5” gives off a jazzier flare instrumentally declaring to be on the highway leading into the dreamier “Switching Lanes” talking about having his rap shit down to the chemistry.

Lastly to begin the final leg of the album, the penultimate track “Dealin’ Art” cooks up an even smoother beat detailing the many blessings that the collective has been grateful enough to receive up to this point & “Thank You Have a Nice Day” rounds out MacArthur Maze’s debut album with everyone over horns talking about reaching a certain high to be known & proving all their doubters wrong.

I was already familiar with Jane because of her extensive collaborations with Snoop Dogg & being taken under his mentorship, so that undoubtedly played a part in my interest for this album peaking. The final result being a solid introduction as to who MacArthur Maze is. They honor those in Northern California who paved the way while also carving out their own niche in the scene.

Score: 4/5

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