The Doppelgangaz – “Bet on Black Cloak” review

Orange County, New York duo The Doppelgangaz back with their 13th EP on Halloween. Consisting of MCs/producers Matter ov Fact & EP, they’ve gone on to make waves in the underground by dropping a total of 8 full-length albums as well as a dozen EPs & 6 beat tapes. Standouts include their breakout sophomore effort Lone Sharks, the follow-up Hark, their 5th album Dopp Hopp, Aaaaggghh, Black Cloak Lifestyle & Went Left. The latter of which got a sequel this summer, assuring that you can Bet on Black Coat a few months later.

“Dopp Gang Thang” starts off with a piano-boom bap instrumental talking about being the game never being the same again whereas “6 Ways 2 Sunday” dustily flexes that they do things the dumb way. “Wacky Wild Crazy” works in some pianos to talk about acting that way sometimes while “Don’t Mess with Them Sharks” advises that you don’t wanna fuck with them. “Whatchu Wanna Do?” soulfully asks their partners that very question for the evening & “Live 2 Regret It” ends with a message to the hardheaded.

The ghastly duo continue to warm up for their forthcoming 9th LP by taking it back to the traditional boom bap sound that made The Doppelgangaz so popular in the underground after taking a quick g-funk detour with a rawer, more rugged, dustier & dirtier extended play than the slept-on Groggy Pack Entertainment founders have ever sounded almost 2 decades in the game.

Score: 4/5

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The Doppelgangaz – “Still Left” review

This is the 12th EP from Orange County, New York duo The Doppelgangaz. Consisting of MCs/producers Matter ov Fact & EP, they’ve gone on to make waves in the underground by dropping a total of 8 full-length albums as well as 11 EPs & 6 beat tapes. Standouts include their breakout sophomore effort Lone Sharks, the follow-up Hark, their 5th album Dopp Hopp, Aaaaggghh, Black Cloak Lifestyle & Went Left. Been almost a couple years since the latter embarking on a west coast sound as opposed to their roots & they’ve decided to hit us with a sequel to it.

After the “JO VM” intro, the title track was a g-funk opener showing their love for the sunshine state once again whereas “All in Your Mind” works in a piano/boom bap instrumental talking about taking it all in stride. “Do It Like We” brings the funk influences back in the fold boasting that nobody can do shit on their level while “Would’ve Had a Hit” is a g-funk heavy stoner’s ballad. “Too Too Much” caps it all off with 1 final g-funk joint to play when you’re out in the weekends.

Continuing the G Pack saga in the 23 months since they initially Went Left, The Doppelgangaz once again shift away from the traditional boom bap style of the Groggy Pack Entertainment founders’ home turf in favor of drawing inspiration from the west coast scene once again embracing the g-funk production with ease & carrying over the original’s playful subject matter.

Score: 4/5

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The Doppelgangaz – “Went Left” review

The Doppelgangaz are an East Coast hip hop duo from Orange County, New York consisting of MCs/producers Matter ov Fact & EP. Within the last 15 years, they’ve gone on to make waves in the underground by dropping a total of 8 full-length albums as well as 7 EPs & 6 beat tapes. Standouts include their breakout sophomore effort Lone Sharks, the follow-up Hark, their 5th album Dopp Hopp the follow-up to that Aaaaggghh. But coming fresh off their 8th LP Black Cloak Lifestyle last winter, they’re going left on their 8th EP.

“Easy Street” is a g-funk opener to the EP looking to get everyone’s hands up in the air & recite a prayer from the 2 cloak players that stay representing Groggy Pack Entertainment whereas the title track delves further into the g-funk realm justifiably flexing that they really did turn left here considering their East Coast roots. “Cloakland” takes the spacious route with some heavy synthesizers & more g-funk influences during the hook welcoming you to the titular city, but then “Cloak Life” ends the EP with 1-last g-funk banger as both Matter ov Fact & EP themselves talk more about the Black Cloak Lifestyle they live.

Considering the title of Went Left, I went into it expecting to be a change of pace for the New York duo & sure enough: I was highly impressed with what they delivered on here. Quite possibly the riskiest EP in their whole entire catalog. Instrumentally, they ditch the traditional boom bal sound they became known for in favor of showing their love & appreciation for the west coast by recapturing what made g-funk so special 3 decades ago meshing that well with more vibrant lyrics.

Score: 4/5

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Maez301 – “Hello, Goodbye.” review

Maez301 is a 28 year old rapper from Gaithersburg, Maryland that first got his start in 2017 with his debut mixtape Nowhere. The project eventually caught the attention of Ervin Pope & Jerome Taylor, both of whom helped Maez get a record contract with Strange Music the following year & dropped his eponymous full-length debut showing Strange fans who he is artistically a little bit after his 26th born day. The sophomore effort HASAAN took a more personal tone to it & now that he’s home from the Strange New World Tour, Maez is keeping EP behind the boards for his 3rd album.

The title track has some gospel qualities to it telling listeners to be ready when he goes whereas “Let Up” with Tech N9ne is a west coast-tinged banger talking about never slowing down. “First Place” goes into cloudy, trap territory striving for victory & “Black” has to be one of the best songs of his career thus far detailing issues that’re very much relevant today on top of a bluesy instrumental.

Meanwhile on “Frenemies”, we have King Iso joining Maez on top of an acoustic guitar as well as a flute & some snares addressing trust issues leading into “Olsen Twins” serving as a romantically lush trap banger. After the “Different” interlude, “Fallen” is a downtrodden cut cussing out those who wanna see him fail just before “Inspire Me” tells his lover how much she means to him & the beat kinda reminds me of DJ Mustard for whatever reason.

Jehry Robinson tags along for the ethereal “Strange Flows” talking about hoes, but then “Slow Down” keeps the cloud rap vibes going by trying to steal a girl fed up with fuckboys. “Girlfriend” is a smooth dedication to his new sweetheart whereas “Lot on My Plate” has a bit of a cavernous feel to it venting about people hating him because he did it his way.

“Nun 2 Me” is a more spacious cut saying it ain’t shit to him while the song “What a Life” follows it up with a high-spirited bop about how blessed he is. The penultimate track “Ecstasy” psychedelically encourages listeners to live in the moment & “No Limit” rounds it all off has this sparkling quality to the beat talking about taking things as high as possible.

If you liked how Maez introduced the world to who he is artistically & personally on the last 2 albums as much as I did, then I HIGHLY encourage you to check this new one out as soon as you can because he really outdoes himself this time. I always appreciate when one tries to expand themselves artistically & that’s EXACTLY what he does with EP on here successfully.

Score: 4/5

JPEGMAFIA – “EP” review

This is the 3rd EP from Baltimore emcee & producer JPEGMAFIA. Making his mark in 2016 with the release of his full-length debut Black Ben Carson, it wouldn’t be until the man’s next 2 albums Veteran at the beginning of 2018 & then All My Heroes are Cornballs last fall where he would earn respect across the board & reveal himself as one of the most creative minds in hip hop today. However after spending 2020 dropping a slew of singles, Peggy is compiling some of them together in the form of EP.

The opener “BALD!” gets on the battle bar tip over a cloudy instrumental whereas the next song “Covered in Money!” gets braggadocious over a glitch hop beat. The track “BODYGUARD!” is a full-blown alternative R&B cut about not wanting to go to war with his lover over a lusciously slow piano instrumental & then the song right after is a “BALD!” remix with a new Denzel Curry verse that I actually prefer more than the OG version.

The track “Cutie Pie!” compares his haters to Milli Vanilli over a boom bappy instrumental while “The Bends!” takes aim at Donald Trump over a sparse, quirky beat. The penultimate track “Rough 7” with Tommy Genesis sees the 2 over an instrumental that heavily samples Brandy’s “Never Say Never” & then the closer “living single” talks about this woman who’ll always be a part of him over an ethereal trap beat.

Pretty sure we’ve all heard these singles 1-by-1 but as an EP experience, it just makes them even better in my personal opinion. Peggy does a great job at continuing to show how versatile he can be & his production is still cutting edge. Really looking forward to hear where he takes things on his next album, hopefully in 2021.

Score: 4/5