Berner is a 41 year old rapper, songwriter & entrepreneur from San Francisco, California who began battle rapping in high school. Following his 2007 debut mixtape Dirty Sneakers…Plenty Ways to Get It, he would go on to drop 15 LPs along with a couple more mixtapes & a couple EPs in addition to the plethora of collaborative projects he has with numerous artists. Ahead of the Cookies cannabis brand’s 10-year anniversary however, Berner’s coming off The Farmer’s Market for his 16th album.
“Sweat” is this slick west coast trap opener flexing that he got big money whereas “Remember” moves on from there working in some sampling to talk about the memory he has remembering way things were before the cash flow. “Hard to Spend” gets on the psychedelic trap tip admitting that the dirty money getting more difficult to blow as time goes on just before “Heavy” featuring Mozzy & Peysoh gives off a Detroit trap vibe describing shit as sketchy
As for “Power”, we have Berner calmingly talking about being attracted to the titular feeling into “Callin’” featuring Moneybagg Yo & Ty$ brings the trio together so all 3 of them can ball with money on the mind. “Who Gon’ Love You?” featuring Larry June offers a cloudier flare to the table asking that exact question when it goes dry while “Lots of Green” featuring B-Real, Devin the Dude & Wiz Khalifa finds the quartet expressing their love for weed.
“Fried” featuring De’Migo has cool sampling techniques throughout pulling from soul & jazz music knowing that both of them will be fine as long as they wake up in the morning, but then “Easy” turns the jazz rap influences way higher talking about breaking the bank. “The Source” featuring Ghostface Killah, Killer Mike & Raekwon is a standout for me since every single one of them floated over a chipmunk soul beat while “The Smoke” featuring Too $hort produced by Ant Banks finds both of them assuring not to worry over where they going.
Galaxy! & Zakee both join Berner for “Ruthless” reminding that they’ve been shining while “Possible” talks jumping obstacles in 2024 doing the impossible. “Litigation” featuring Cozmo gets stuck between fake smiles & legal proceedings while the title track featuring Chevy Woods & Cozmo homages labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa who disappeared almost 50 years ago. “Keep Pushin’” passionately gets his message across & the closer “Amazing” sends it all off smoking the pain away.
Hoffa as a sequel to Gotti recaptures everything that made its predecessor stand out in his discography & makes it a completely different listening experience altogether. The production offers a wide range of palates from trap to cloud rap, Detroit trap, psychedelia, chipmunk soul & jazz rap for the Cookies founder to tackle themes of organized crime joined by guest performances that’re either outstanding or tiresome.
Detroit emcee Babytron delivering his highly anticipated sophomore effort. Coming up as a member of the trio ShittyBoyz along with his childhood friends Stanwill & TR Dee signing to Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records, he also branched out on impressive solo career for himself as well as the side groups Lewis & Clark and the Dookie Brothers. But the last couple years was probably his biggest yet landing interviews ranging from No Jumper to even Rolling Stone following the release of Luka Trončić a couple summers prior to signing with EMPIRE Distribution later that same month & then Bin Reaper 2: The 2nd Coming that same fall. Bin Reaper 3 ended the trilogy with a 2-disc effort, the bootleg Style EP wound up being disappointing, the full-length LP 6 made up for it as did his previous tape Megatron 2. His collaborative mixtape Mario & Luigi with Certified Trapper wasn’t all that great either, so I was hoping Tronicles would bounce back again.
“1 of Them Ones” is this robbery Detroit trap opener talking about being in the kitchen suggesting you go get some pans since it’s too much work in here whereas “Yew!” has a bit of a dancy trap vibe instrumentally wanting to get tapped in with Warner Bros. alongside referencing both SMW Tag Team Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion & 6-time WWE Hardcore Champion Al Snow AND 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion, United Football League (UFL) co-owner, TKO Group Holdings board of directors member, $7 Productions co-founder & the final boss of professional wrestling The Rock whose 2nd cousin once removed Nia Jax is the current 2-time WWE Women’s Champion.
The grim atmosphere of “Nightmare on Yo Street” was perfect, considering the fact that it was released as a single this Halloween shrugging off his ex moving on to finer things in life while “Hawk Tuah” references Hailey Welch becoming a meme earlier this summer. “Hellraiser” likening the Dog $hit Militia to terrorists suggesting he should rock shorts the way he balls just before “Neymar” offers a delicate trap flare homaging the Brazilian soccer player of the same name including a reference to former 2-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion, FTW Champion, ECW World Television Champion, 3 time ECW World Tag Team Champion, JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion, NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン & the longest reigning XPW World Heavyweight Champion Sabu.
“TRX” maintains a Detroit trap edge asking how you fly when he ain’t even past TSA leading into “Tronald Trump” talks running for president since the bigoted, misogynistic 45th president of the United States Donald Trump is now unfortunately the president-elect & will be inaugurated as the 47th president in January although I’m not saying I support the current Vice President Kamala Harris & “Is You Serious?” featuring Project Money flexes they’re more macho than WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time world champion & Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage.
Meanwhile on “Haunted House”, we have Babytron cautioning that you won’t ever step out of the D$M haunted house once you set foot in that bitch prior to “3 OT” talking about putting a triple overtime, assuring that it wasn’t luck at all for him. “Lost in the Sauce” produced by Certified Trapper stands out as a lowend hit throwing in a bar referring to former WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 2-time WWE tag team champion Carlito ahead of “Headbop” cleverly referencing Eminem over a Danny G & Jakesand instrumental since he was featured on THE DƎATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE) this summer.
“DPOY” finishes the first half of the Tronicles boasting that he feels like San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy the way he touches down in the Bay Area of California while “Me & My Bitch” fuses Detroit trap with chipmunk soul flexing that he & his new girl are chillin’ in a 2-seater. “Funnybutt” makes something outta nothing as if the D$M crew are really a bunch of magicians while “Clark Fent” pokes fun at a fiend who thinks he’s Superman.
Lazer Dim 700’s feature on “Lion’s Den” doesn’t do much for me although I love Tron referencing 2-time WWE Champion, 8-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion & 9-time WWE tag team champion The Miz a.k.a. The Mid that is until “AMP” makes a dope reference to former No Limit Records founder Master P. “What Type?” wants to know the bullshit people on pointing out the fact WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson will literally beat the living shit outta Jake Paul a week from today on Netflix while the piano-driven “Poison Oak” admits being stingy with the Quagen.
“Lame Asl” contains one of my favorite beats on the entire album courtesy of Helluva dissin’ everyone out here for being as corny as they are while “Home Run” featuring Dave Blunts dismissing those who bullshit with the bags they make in contrast to them legitimately making theirs. “Silly Goose” flexes everyone better get a raffle ticket if they really want a chance to win including a bar referring to the current UFC Heavyweight Champion & former 2-time UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones while “Really Jimmy? blows through 50 states poppin’ out with $3M.
The song “Summer ‘24” pushes towards the final moments of the Tronicles talking about the block scorching as much as it was earlier this past summer while the penultimate track “Heavy Mental” fuses Detroit trap & orchestral talking about how nobody asked for any favors in regards to what he did out here in the streets. “Legend of Tron” ends the Tronicles brushes off not getting enough respect since the ain’t done yet.
Clocking in at almost an hour & 15 minutes, Babytron reaffirms exactly why he’s the biggest member of the ShittyBoyz & one of Detroit’s finest in general. His production stands out amongst his local contemporaries sounding similarly to one another making further room for his unique punchlines to reveal himself as one of the Motor City’s best in recent memory.
This is the 3rd full-length studio LP from Detroit trap star DaeMoney. Coming up as the nephew of one of the 2 biggest artists in the city right now Babyface Ray as well as a now former member of the WRLD Tour Mafia collective, he broke out on his own by dropping his debut mixtape Young Sexual Misconduct & his debut EP Slae Season accompanied by his 2nd EP Rockstar Lifestyle & Slae Season 2. Slae went on to sign to EMPIRE Distribution couple summers ago & celebrated in the form of his Slayer’s Coming EP fully produced by Trees shortly after as well as the final installment of the Slae Season trilogy & a sequel to Rockstar Lifestyle. He was surprisingly dismissed from WRLD Tour this spring due to scamming through Slam A Slut Records & is returning as The Godson.
The title track sets the tone of what’s to come with this mafioso trap instrumental letting y’all in on the family business & explaining the way he got out of the hood whereas “Snotball” featuring Babytron brings the 2 together for a Detroit trap highlight. “All My Sons” featuring Peezy continues to apply pressure under Detroit trap tip showcasing both the subgenre’s different generations while “Fuck Slae” hooks up pianos & 808s getting smarter with age.
“SpongeBob & Patrick” has this energetic Detroit trap vibe throughout flexing that his naysayers can’t stand it when he be goin’ hard just before the wavy “King of the Hill” talks about coming from the trenches. “Vice City” has a meditative trap atmosphere rockin’ 20 venues straight leading into the cloudy Detroit trap hybrid “07 Melo” compares himself to Carmelo Anthony in his prime.
Rally joins Slae for the slow-tempo “Sam Called Me Billy” talking about how late really far from the millions while the synth-driven “Kurt Cobain” produced by LulRose flexes a bitch blowing brains exactly like the iconic Nirvana frontman. “Manifest” pushes further down the 2nd half of The Godson doing everything differently prior to “Painting” explains the streets being dangerous due to the snitches & snakes.
“Can’t Sleep” gets the final leg of the LP going on a psychedelic note boasting that there’s no trading for the WRLD Tour Mafia even after the fact that him & Rafa had fallen out with each other while “Superstar” takes a couple of minutes of our time to show off his current status. “Game Winning Speech” ends by reflecting on going from chillin’ in the projects to where he is now.
Becoming a fan of WRLD Tour about 2 & a half years ago when DaeMoney was still a part of the group, I still look at him as one of the most talented members & will continue to support him on his solo endeavors as is the same with Slam A Slut. What about The Godson? It’s another consistent Detroit trap project that you’d expect from him. He pretty much breaks down his titular position playing a significant role in his success & the production mainly basing itself around the city’s unique take on trap.
This is the 19th mixtape from Queens emcee Lloyd Banks. Gaining notoriety in the 2000s for his witty punchlines along as well as being an original member of G-Unit alongside childhood friends 50 Cent & Tony Yayo, he kept himself busy for a little while after the group’s disbandment in 2015 by releasing A.O.N. 2 (All Or Nothing 2): L.I.U. (Live It Up) & Halloween Havoc 3: 4 Days of Fury just before taking on a 5-year hiatus that really lasted until he received a song placement on the soundtrack for Griselda Records’ theatrical debut Conflicted a year & a half ago along with the whole Course of the Inevitable album trilogy gaining renewed interest in the PLK himself. A year after Halloween Havoc IV: The 72nd Hr, Lloyd’s keeping the saga alive.
“You Have My Word” produced by Ron Browz eerily starts off by telling anyone who crosses him to make sure that they stay crossing him for the rest of their lives whereas “Complications” takes the Hellish boom bap route instrumentally talking about being careful of when you speak before you get all the facts. “Season of the Psychos” with Haas Almahdi morbidly promises that he can handle his own weight, but then “Connoisseur” takes us back in the basement calling himself the top seed when he gets on.
Meanwhile on “Broken Hearts”, we have Lloyd over more kicks & snares from Cartune Beatz to talk about the city of heartbreak just before “Double Up” maintains a somber boom bap flare to the beat calling victory the love of his life. “Love is Love” dustily seeks to fuck up the arguments & hypothetics of someone he used to know that fell off musically leading into “Choose Wisely” ruggedly, talking about how there ain’t no money behind these fake pages.
“Resources” rawly observes that everything’s strange now & everyone feeling his energy the second he sets foot in the room while the cold-blooded “Taking Notes” talks about the fact that where he comes from ain’t no joke to him whatsoever. “Shooting the Messenger” aggressively check the temperature since he’s burning up again while “Seminar” publicly expresses his frustration towards everyone else out here & he’s pretty much sick of ‘em.
Starting the 5th installment of the Halloween Havoc series’ final leg, “Regrets” looks at all the possibilities in his future & going broke not being an option while “In the Mix” kinda has some trap undertones talking about expecting a snitch since this life’s a bitch. “Keep It Solid” pushes further to the end keeping it legit & “Graduated” viciously ends reminding that what goes around comes around.
Cartune Beatz has been getting a lot of attention as of late & only a couple weeks after fully producing Machine Gun Vocabulary for Tha God Fahim, he produces nearly half of Halloween Havoc V improving on the predecessor that we got 365 days ago exactly. The production is prominently built around the traditional boom bap sound, refined from The 72nd Hr so the former G-Unit member can go even harder with his signature punchlines.
Detroit, Michigan rapper Peezy coming off his sophomore full-length studio LP from last fall Ghetto to release his 2nd EP. A part of the Team Eastside collective about a little over decade ago, he would later go on to release about a dozen solo projects beginning with Mud Muzik in 2014 & subsequently became one of the most prominent figures that the Motor City’s distinct trap scene has to offer. I covered his 8th mixtape Free Rio in 2022 when he got out of prison back at the beginning of that year for racketeering, followed by his debut album Only Built 4 Diamond Links as well as the previously mentioned Ghetto & now Small Town Ghetto.
The opener “All Black Trucks” is a great way to kickoff the 8-track, 20 minute offering over a Detroit trap instrumental airing out everyone claiming the Eastside when they’re actually not from that part of town whatsoever whereas “Get It Going” talks about plugging the money counters up & bustin’ a brick open. “I’m Back Up” has a serious tone to the beat continuing the Motor City’s unique spin on trap music tackling his resurgence since coming home while “100” motivates that you can stack a Benjamin Franklin if you can stack an Alexander Hamilton.
“Same Type” featuring Payroll Giovanni brings a raw Detroit trap flare starting of the other half of Small Town Ghetto repping those who have similar characteristics as a person just before “You Know It Girl” vibrantly talks about the woman in his life being bad as Hell & that even she knows it. “For 6 Months” featuring G.T. gets his point across of him going back to basics whenever this rap shit starts to get slow & “Detox” featuring Lil Karty ends the EP by hooking up bells & 808s getting a piece of mind.
For this EP, Peezy takes proverbial aim at those purporting to live the lifestyle that he’s actually led keeping his deceptively casual delivery over quintessentially bumping beats that resulted in some of his biggest his & fan favorites due to frauds emerging in the wake of real ones when Detroit’s street rap sound grew in popularity beyond Michigan’s borders. 2/3rds of the features were enjoyable, the production improves from the sophomore effort & the Team Eastside member exposes the fakes.
This is the 3rd full-length studio LP from Detroit rapper TR Dee. Notable for being 1/3 of the ShittyBoyz alongside Babytron & Stanwill signing to Lando Bando’s own The Hip Hop Lab Records, he also began carving a path for himself as a solo artist off his first couple mixtapes Trapped in My Bag & Made for This ahead of his debut album M.I.P. (Most Improved Player). He has since given us 5 more tapes in Trapped in My Bag 2, Crunch Time, Ice Trae, Trapped in My Bag 3 & Early Mornings, Late Nights followed by the sophomore effort The Greatest until it was time for the next Evolution.
“2 Steps” hooks up a soothing sample & rattling hi-hats to get things going talking about his future looking tropical since nobody else been able to fuck with the Dog $hit Militia while “Rain on Me” cavernously discusses being in the midst of a storm. “Stars” samples “The Body” by Wale owing the fact that he doesn’t flex a lot to remaining humble just before the calm “Summer Fling” talks about some things never changing.
The sampling continues on “Passport” encouraging listeners to grab their travel documents since they heading out of the country whereas the title track flips “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” by Cyndi Lauper thanks to Danny G talking about his growth in the last 5 years that he’s been in the game. “2050” has a dancier flare to the beat telling us he’s living a little over a quarter of a century in the future leading into synth-driven “Goated” talking about being one of the best.
“Love No Thotti3s” makes it abundantly clear over a lightheartedly carefree Detroit trap instrumental that he has absolutely no love for thots at all, but then “Favorite Pastor” officially closes out the first half of TR Dee’s Evolution hoping that he gets his flowers by the time he’s ready to hang up the mic for good & call it a career chopping up soul samples. “Role Modelz” sets out to grind for a couple millions putting his family on & giving back to the youth while the tense “Crashout Music” serves as the theme song for people to legit crash out to.
Meanwhile on “TR Dee Type Beat” produced by Jakesand, we have TR himself boasting that he’s hotter than an oven ridin’ around with 4 sticks taking the Detroit trap sound & giving it a lavish edge prior to “Top Dawg” featuring Stanwill demonstrating a back-&-forth chemistry between the 2 for only 110 seconds. “Double Double” grimly talks about knowing the opps were coming when they were out of plain sight & “Triple Double” laces these prominent bells making an expensive puddle.
“Kill the Game” boasts that he puts up shooting with the left that you’d think it was really Tayshaun Prince while “What the Fuck is This?” addresses everybody being haters nowadays. “50 Ball” featuring M.I.N.E. Entertainment signee 3200 Tre finds the pair coming clean regarding how much the ice costed & “Grand Finale” ends the LP on a charismatic note talking about real ones coming last when it’s all said & done.
Merely 4 months since 4ever $hittin’ quickly became the most exciting that Stanwill has sounded all by himself since Van Gundy & approximately 6 weeks out from Babytron making up for Tronicles’ continuous delays, the Evolution of TR Dee isn’t too hard for me or anyone else who’s been following him this long enough to hear. After half a decade, he’s showing off his earned stripes demonstrating his growth both artistically & personally.
This is the 6th full-length studio LP from Kansas City, Missouri emcee & business executiv Kutt Calhoun. Originally a hype man for Tech N9ne & amongst the first to sign to Strange Music alongside Krizz Kaliko, he ended up dropping 4 albums & 2 EPs with the local independent powerhouse before starting his very own EMPIRE Distribution imprint Black Gold Entertainment named after his classic Strange victory lap. The only 3 projects he’s given us on his own so far are his 3rd EP Kuttin’ Loose, his 5th album Persona Non Grata: Truth Be Told & his 4th EP Residue a year & a half ago. Refusing to slow down, he’s hitting us with T.D.I.A.L. (The Devil Is A Lie).
After the “Mis-Understanding” intro, the title track featuring Stevie Stone who recently did a theme song for former Evolve Champion & The Crash Pesocompleto Campeon as well as 2-time WWE United States Champion & WWE Tag Team Champion Austin Theory finds the Black Gold Ahdasee together over a symphonic trap instrumental talking about Satan being a myth whereas “No Comparison works in more strings & hi-hats dissing those who think they flyer than him. “Hot Comb” hauntingly lets listeners know that it’s never too late to make the call & after the “Understanding” interlude, “Pandemik” featuring Yocelin Ali hops over horns talking about the plot taking form.
“2 Sides” featuring Da Real King offers a soulful trap vibe to the beat wanting to be free just before “I Can’t Complain” featuring Trap Banks hooks up these guitar licks & hi-hats saying this some shit to fly too even though Kutt doesn’t smoke weed at all. “The Undenied” featuring Bishop da Don Moshey Ben Yahudah has a bland trap tone despite the theme of not being denied any longer while “The World’s a Ghetto” featuring Ben G da Prince of Soul says it all.
After the 3rd & final interlude “Wisdom” we get to the final moments of T.D.I.A.L. (The Devil Is A Lie) starting with “Redrum-Eulogy” featuring Z_ taking the eerie trap route instrumentally getting murderous & “All I Need” featuring Irv da Phenom ends the album on a high note due to it’s soulful production matched with the subject matter of God himself being everything they need.
Residue was a solid comeback for Kutt after a 4 year hiatus & as excited as I was for T.D.I.A.L. (The Devil Is A Lie) since Bloody Kutty might as well be the most underrated artist in the history of Strange Music considering that he’s a Day 1er, I came away from the finished product a little torn on it. I don’t mind the concept or even the production, the thing with it is the overabundance of features that’re hit or miss.
Cardo is a 40 year old producer & rapper from St. Paul, Minnesota notable for lacing a couple standout tracks on Wiz Khalifa’s best mixtape Kush & Orange Juice. He would later go on to become one of the most in-demand beatsmiths in recent memory, producing hits ranging from “THat Part” by ScHoolboy Q featuring Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West to “goosebumps” by Travis Scott featuring Kendrick Lamar or more recently “euphoria” by the latter serving as the first of 4 Drake disses. To celebrate his 40th birthday though, he’s stepping out as a rapper more for a debut album.
The title track sets the tone of what’s to come with this smooth west coast style beat talking about being a made man whereas “Thinking of Wayz” featuring Payroll Giovanni takes the g-funk route instrumentally trying to come up with ways to making straight up cash. “Bankroll” kinda gives off a Mobb vibe to talk about getting money being the only thing he knows, but then “Can’t Stop” returns to the g-funk refusing to slow down.
“Never 2 Much” featuring Seafood Sam has this synth-funk vibe generally talking about being out here making that fetti just before the exuberantly groovy “Thumbin’” calls out people trying to speak to him when it has absolutely nothing to do with making the bread. “Woke Up Ballin’” has a summary trap flare talking about the money always calling him leading into the atmospheric west coast jam “Nameless” featuring Larry June refusing to be around anyone broke in their lives.
Kamaiyah joins Cardo on “Paper” continuing to flex their grind over a spaciously funky instrumental prior to the atmospheric “Mac Dre Flow” paying homage to one of the greatest Bay Area emcees of all time, the late Thizz Entertainment founder Mac Dre. “When You See Me” gets back on the Mobb tip a bit opening up more of having to get it on his own while the synth-driven “C-Bo Flow” featuring Payroll Giovanni gives their flowers to C-Bo of The Regime.
“Ain’t No Way” pushes towards the final moments of Cardo’s official full-length debut LP by hooking the g-funk sound back up pointing out that trying to come up with plots to stop this shit on his end is simply an impossibility & the outro featuring Payroll Giovanni ends MADeMAN with 1 final Mobb joint advising that you have to manage the money in order to master it, even having more income as a result of both of them changing their habits up.
Disregarding the fact that we’ve hardly heard Cardo on the mic as much as we have up until this point, MADeMAN as a producer album altogether happens to be a much more salvageable debut than the new Southside album Break the Silence or even the Pyrex Whippa album Sincerely, Rex. His production hones in on the west coast sound whether it be g-funk or Mobb music, his performances are stronger than both 808 Mafia members on their respective debuts & the minimal guests are well-selected.
Beverly Hills producer, DJ & rapper The Alchemist following up the Flying High EPs with his 12th EP. Beginning as 1/2 of the duo The Whooliganz in 1993 with Scott Caan, they would only disband a year later after recording a debut album that eventually got shelved & Scott went onto acting like his father. Mudfoot on other end quickly established himself as one of the greatest producers in hip hop history with a resume including ranging names from Mobb Deep & Eminem to Travis Scott & even Drake. Gangrene got back together this spring for Heads I Win, Tails You Lose & The Genuine Articulate is refusing to slow down.
“Ferraris in the Rain” featuring ScHoolboy Q is this jazzy, drumless opener with both of them asking for the rain to remove them from all the pain they’re going through in their lives whereas the first 3 Uncle Al solo joints “Something Light” delivers it hardcore over a futuristically rugged self-produced instrumental. “Minnesota Fats” featuring Action Bronson finds the pair over a rock sample pledging allegiance to the fellowship while “Scientology” featuring Havoc displays how hard-headed they are.
The penultimate Alchemist solo track “Everybody’s Favorite Uncle” strips the drums once more further elaborating on the Uncle Al nickname Earl Sweatshirt gave him a decade ago on Doris that is until “Diego Mardona” featuring Conway the Machine heinously talks about the scenery only getting intenser & darker. “Details” featuring Larry June hops on top of this bare soul sample boasting anyone can do this, but then “Seasons Change” was a remarkable Father’s Day single from this summer & the best closer imaginable.
On the contrary to a lot of Alchemist’s previous solo material that I’ve covered in the past, this is probably the most that I’ve heard him vocally since he’s performing on every single track including with the guests & I welcome that since he’s been ripping mics before he even became a top 10 producer of mine. He maintains his signature sound & holds his own weight lyrically with a cast of high-profile MCs.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada born albeit Compton, California raised emcee Jay Worthy as well as Honolulu, Hawaii born/Tokyo, Japan raised rapper, singer & producer MadeinTYO joining forces for a new collaborative EP fully produced by the latter. One of whom has been grinding in the underground for the last 7 years & the other landing a spot in the 2017 XXL Freshman Class producing Ransom’s latest EP Smoke & Mirrors earlier this summer. However, Mr. Tokyo’s continuing to apply pressure by linking up with Jay for Time After Time.
After the intro, the first song “Master Delux” is a drumless opener to the EP with both of them provide the soundtrack to motherfuckers making bread whereas “Nino” jazzily keeps the drums out the picture boasting that the paper be doing double flips in their dreams. “School Daze” hops over yet another bare jazz loop refusing to lay up having work to do prior to “Chop” drumlessly talking about having the milk & not referring to dairy whatsoever.
“Fashion Week” maintains the jazz rap vibes working some drums in this time hoping that God forgives them for their fortunes & after the interlude, “London Carry-On” goes drumless again keeping extra sugar in their sweet tea. The final song “Antiqua Barrio” telling wack MCs to get off the mic being black as they are Off-White & the outro finishes the EP with a 3-minute instrumental piece.
Like I said a couple months ago during the Smoke & Mirrors review: I’ve never considered himself a MadeinTYO fan other than maybe “Uber Everywhere”, but he & Jay Worthy cooked up a collab EP that’s as enjoyable as THE AM3RICAN DREAM. His production’s more jazzier than it was on the Ransom EP keeping it prominently drumless in addition to that & lyrically, he & Jay Worthy ping off each other impressively during the course of the 24 minutes you get out of Time After Time.
Legends Will Never Die 