Jon Connor – “The Artist Yahn Freeman V” review

Flint, Michigan emcee/producer Jon Connor switching things up for this month’s entry in The Artist Yahn Freeman series. Someone who’s steadily been holding it down for the last 2 decades including The Calling, Vinnie Chase & S.O.S. trilogies along with the Best in the World series paying homage to some of Jon’s influences, Salvation, While You Were Sleeping & Unconscious State. He was even signed to Aftermath Entertainment for 6 years before departing after Vehicle City wound up being shelved, coming off Food for the Soul & 24 produced by KLC of the No Limit Records in-house production team Beats by the Pound to have iRockSays produce this guest-heavy installment.

“High Key” begins with a trap intro talking about hoes needing a streamer to tell them exactly what their mother & grandfather have been saying since their youth whereas “I Get’s Down” discusses being born in a system where they’re trying to fuck everyone over. Courtney Bell appears so he & Jon can take things back to “The Essence” over a soulful beat leading into Freeway joining to talk about both of them only having their balls & “My Word”.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “Stay Up” has a more motivational tone to the lyrics explaining that you’re always gonna lose pretending to be someone you’re not while “Glory” talks about everything being ok as long as he never quits. “Held High” featuring X-Raided unites both artist over another boom bap instrumental refusing to lose focus & fearing nobody while “At the Top” ends V encouraging everyone listening to enjoy the journey.

This whole saga has been divisively received by fans in general although I personally would tell you that last month’s chapter still has the strongest engineering compared to the rest, but I didn’t get the same enjoyment out of The Artist Yahn Freeman V compared to it’s predecessors produced by Smitti Boi. I commend him for bringing a new producer & more features on board, even if the amount of features are too many.

Score: 3/5

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Freddie Gibbs – “RBT” review

Gary, Indiana emcee Freddie Gibbs surprise-dropping his 4th extended play. Blowing up initially 2 decades ago with his debut mixtape Full Metal Jackit, he would sign to Interscope Records for a brief period of time until he left without dropping an album with them. This was made up for with the mixtapes The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs & Str8 Killa No Filla, which would catch the attention of Jeezy & land Freddie a contract with CTE World in 2011. However, Gibbs eventually left CTE the following year only releasing the tapes Cold Day in Hell & B.F.K. (BabyFace Killa). In 2013, he decided to form his own label E$GN Records & finally dropped the full-length album E.$.G.N. (Evil $eeds Grow Naturally). He & iconic Oxnard producer Madlib would drop their MadGibbs debut Piñata the year after that, which is EASILY one of the greatest hip hop albums of the previous decade. Gibbs’ profile continued to grow his with Shadow of a Doubt, You Only Live 2wice, Freddie & the Curren$y collab EP Fetti & who can forget MadGibbs’ sophomore effort Bandana or Alfredo produced by The Alchemist? $oul $old $eparately made for a valiant major label debut under Warner Records & You Only Die 1nce took it back to his independent roots, coming off Alfredo II to give us RBT.

“Immigrants” produced by Boi-1da opens up with what could possibly be my favorite track here talking about laughing to keep himself from crying & a homicide staying on his mind while “Rabbit Mode” boasts the fact that his shows have been selling out when Instagram constantly banned him for the wild memes he posted. The outro “Axxtion” ties things up sampling “Flex” by Mad Cobra telling a woman to get in his 2-seater to fuck.

In preparation for Freddie Gibbs’ upcoming 7th album entirely produced by KAYTRANADA set to arrive in 2027 along with The Alchemist returning for Alfredo III & the final MadGibbs album Montana, we get a solid 3-pack from Gangsta Gibbs filled with the boastful gangsta rap lyricism he’s become known for bouncing between boom bap & trap for almost 9 minutes. Because of RBT’s brevity on the contrary, I can’t necessarily call it superior in comparison to YOD1 or Alfredo II.

Score: 3.5/5

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Seth Narley – “Prada Cups in the South of France” review

Here is the brand new extended play & the 10th in his discography overall from South Bronx, New York emcee Seth Narley. Dropping his debut EP 5am on Crosby in 2019, he would later follow it up by putting out the Trissland trilogy & drop 3 more EPs in 2024: Night at the Roxy, A Millbrook Story & S.A.L.Y. (Still Ain’t Lie Yet). Coming off both The American Dream: Son of a Dealer & Oceans: Mondrian however, he’s copping Prada Cups in the South of France.

“Jordan on the Baseline” begins with a soulfully jazzy opener clocking at 109 seconds likening himself to my favorite basketball player of all-time whereas “$2K on the Knicks” chops up a gospel sample to talk about betting for his home team in the NBA Playoffs & not trippin’ live it because of his bias instinct. “Unplugged from Marsielle” kicks off the 2nd half of the EP admitting his brother took his own life over a drumless loop while “Celia Cruz & Gloria Estefan” ends on a jazzier note talking about being worth $1M.

Only a few days after getting to see Adam Copeland & Christian Cage end FTR’s record-tying 3rd reign as AEW World Tag Team Champions in person at Double or Nothing VIII this past weekend surpassing All Out III as the best PPV the company has ever put on, Seth Narley begins summer a few weeks early by coasting over a bunch of drumless sampling techniques Creestal has to offer ranging from jazz to soul music reminding us of the symbolism Luna Rossa’s commissioned sneakers have over in Marseille.

Score: 3.5/5

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BVNGS – “Only Crying Because I’m Drunk Too” review

New York City emcee BVNGS has returned for her 9th extended play. Beginning over a decade ago off the strength of her debut EP Not Available, she would follow it up with 7 Dutches & a Sweet Tea, Brown Girls & Bubble Coats, Lula & Only Crying Because I’m Drunk respectively. She later blew up off her 6th EP LaQuisha in the spring of 2021 & only 4 months later, I had the privilege of meeting her at a Catch 1 show in Los Angeles & was impressed by her set. Coming off Mary Mack & Twice a Day w/ Food however, she’s admitting to Only Crying Because I’m Drunk Too.

After the “Statistics Show” intro, the opening song “In Love Again” hooks up a soul sample to get things going talking about her falling for someone whereas “Crazy” embraces a smoother sound instrumentally describing the way this person drives her insane. “Opal” takes a more melodic approach in terms of delivery asking her lover if they’d write her if she was incarcerated while “Reaction” turns up the alternative R&B influences singing about trying to relax.

“Everything That You Do” following “Apple Pie (Bianco’s Interlude)” winds down the last leg of Only Crying Because I’m Drunk Too cavernously addressing someone in her life who makes her feel complete while the syrupy Me Too” gets in her R&B bag again singing about her lover’s body calling her. The outro “Delusional” takes up the EP’s final 135 seconds on an atmospherically alternative R&B note asking this person if she’s a loss to them or if they’d miss her.

Only Crying Because I’m Drunk still remains one of the most vulnerable entries throughout BVNGS’ whole discography, but this sequel takes it up a few notches in terms of vulnerability & capitalizes on her versatility taking more inspiration from R&B music although there are moments where she’s very much rapping. I appreciate Only Crying Because I’m Drunk Too for displaying her artistic range more coming off her appearance on the late Big L’s posthumous 5th & final album Harlem’s Finest: Return of the King.

Score: 3.5/5

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Tayo – “Farewell” review

Brand new extended play & the 9th overall from Seattle, Washington up-&-coming rapper & producer Tayo. Originally starting under the moniker ByeTayo, he started on SoundCloud close around Halloween 2021 off his first few EPs Crash on Purpose as well as Inside Voices & PM the following year. He would later go on applying pressure with couple more EPs in wintr & a sequel to PM, coming off Thank You Tayo taking himself to newer levels both artistically & personally on both Bye & Goodbye. The latter of which is the most refined he’s ever sounded, returning 6 months later to end the trilogy Bye began & Goodbye bridged with Farewell.

“rainbow 6 2” begins with an enjoyable plugg sequel to a Bye highlight nearly 13 months earlier whereas “proud of you” hops over a more upbeat instrumental to tell his bae how happy he is for her & watching himself on YouTube smoking weed. “window” incorporates another blissful plugg beat encouraging someone flexing on their own to do the same thing to these hoes while “cancer” talks about not believing this woman who wants him back.

As for “3am”, we have Tayo turning up the plugg influences so he can tell his lover that he’ll be right here waiting for her while “bailey” produced by Pi’erre Bourne tells his lover to show her patience for him. After a sequel to the Tooly? interlude, “burn” featuring Tooly? finds the 2 talking about each of their pockets staying crowed & the closer “thing about it” sends off Farewell with a 2 minute outro admitting that he gets high out of nervousness.

I may have not loved Farewell as much as I did Goodbye last fall, but I still believe that Tayo’s one of the most interesting plugg artists I’ve heard within the past couple years & would consider this to be on par with Bye around this time 12 months earlier. His knack for catchy songwriting has changed & it’s still rooted in plugg & pluggnb stylistically, although I’d like to hear him working with producers in that vein who I’m a fan of like SOULJASPIRITS or Ayelavish! for example.

Score: 4/5

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A-F-R-O – “Blood Rain” review

Los Angeles, California emcee/producer A-F-R-O back with his 16th extended play. A protege of R.A. the Rugged Man after winning the Definition of a Rap Flow contest, his 5th EP A-F-R-O Polo produced by Marco Polo under Duck Down Music Inc. introduced himself as a promising up-&-comer within the underground. The Drawing Board alongside the Stu Bangas-produced The Bad & the Ugly: The Goods Always Die First and Crimson Fury have all testified to his vengeful return in recent memory, coming off The Bad & the Ugly II and No More Patience… to let Blood Rain.

The self-produced “No H.E. Double Hockey Sticks” begins talking about him being a man of God hence why he stays away from the pits of Hell whereas “The Hangman” goes for a symphonic boom bap vibe instrumentally assuring that he ain’t the one to fuck with. Highway Robbery” featuring 4-Ize finds the 2 speaking of winning the lottery & no one taking them alive while “No Talk” flexes of being more legitimate than someone who regularly stays silent.

“Saints Row” kicks off the 2nd half of Blood Rain taking a funkier approach to the beat advising for those nearby not to make a move unless he says it’s alright to while “Antagonist hooks up an organ flip to talk about becoming more villainous the older he got. “Burn It Up” has a more ghostly boom bap flare to it staying gold because he’s always outside with his squad & the title track finishes up talking about there eventually being a sunny time.

I’m sure his full-length debut will be coming within the next 7 months or so like the No More Patience… outro last winter promised, but Blood Rain will suffice for those who’re ok with going on a quick 20 minute journey through his mind. Compared to a great deal of his earlier output, the boom bap production’s more experimentally darker even if I felt like the self-produced half of it was stronger & he sounds significantly angrier.

Score: 3.5/5

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GILLtemper – Self-Titled review

GILLtemper is an east coast underground hip hop duo consisting of Millville, New Jersey rapper & producer Gibby Stites alongside Trevose, Pennsylvania rapper ILLtemper. Both of whom have already made themselves known whether it be Gibby briefly signing to Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2021 or the other being 1/2 of the Even Heathens, making his Lyrikal Snuff Productionz debut last fall with Paxil Rose. However after linking up on songs like “MayNeedAxe” or “April Showers”, they’re linking up for an eponymous extended play.

After the intro, “Save Us” begins with an opener produced by Gibby where he hooks up a gospel sample & both of them are pleading to be saved whereas “Lost Puppy” takes a more darker approach talking about darkness constantly following them. “Doing Fine” works in some pianos & strings to explain that nobody’s gonna get in either of their way leading into “Violence” ending the 1st leg talking about the enjoyment they get outta watching brutality unfold.

“Song” begins the 2nd half by being intentionally unserious for 3 minutes over an orchestral boom bap beat even if I’d say it’s my least favorite track here, but then “Cruise Dread” gives off a summery vibe instrumentally talking about a murder mystery on a boat. “Misogyny” asks themselves what kind of rappers they’d be without bringing up prejudice against women & “Manic” concludes with a boom bap outro feeling like they don’t have much left.

Excluding both remixes & the intro, I’d say that GILLtemper feels more like an EP than a full-length LP although I very much appreciate what both Gibby Stites & ILLtemper were trying to do blending humor & stealth-horror with hip hop over the course of their self-titled debut. There are a couple moments I don’t see myself revisiting especially like “Song” or “Misogyny”, but I do enjoy a great bulk of the production & each performer compliments one another.

Score: 3/5

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Lelo – “Pink Tiles” review

Another extended play & the 8th overall from Detroit, Michigan rapper Lelo. Signing to 10K Projects a couple years ago, he would make his presence known more widely in the local trap scene by putting out his 4th EP Nightingale not too long after landing a record deal & gained even more exposure a month later by dropping the single “No Contempt” on SoundCloud. LifeAfterDogshit along with When It’s Over & New Detroit would further increase his profile, coming off Mastiff earlier this month to drop Pink Tiles.

The self-produced “Mo Betta” hooks up a sped-up vocal sample to talk about turning a bitch out whereas “Get Geeked” experiments with Detroit techno to speak of getting no sleep during the weekends. “White Russian” take a more soulful approach instrumentally to discuss hustlers receiving no love while “End of the World” suggests to worry about tonight over a pluggier beat. “All I Want” embraces a dancier sound talking about making this woman feel good & “I Just Wanna” ends by admitting he wants to fuck.

I respect Mastiff’s counterpart being more musically fun than it’s was 2 weeks earlier experimenting with secondary influences of Detroit techno as well as ghettohouse & juke, but I’m admittedly on the fence with Pink Tiles since I wouldn’t put it in the same ranks as the predecessor or New Detroit & When It’s Over. His performances & songwriting both validate him as one of the best Detroit trap artists in recent memory even if the production can feel repetitive, certainly doing more justice for dance music than Drake’s 10th album Maid of Honour tried to do.

Score: 3/5

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Hexxx – “Endless Night” review

The 4th extended play from Los Angeles, California emcee Hexxx has finally arrived. Coming up a decade ago off his debut extended play Samhain, he would go on to follow it up 3 years later with his 2nd EP West Coast Wicked Shit prior to his full-length debut Demon Season & the sophomore effort Tales of a Cursed G becoming west coast wicked shit classics in their own rights. Coming off the Suerte EP last summer, he’s coming back for an audio description of an Endless Night over 2 months after Persephone ended Mercedes Moné’s reign as CMLL Mundial Femenil Campeon & a couple weeks since Templario became a 2-time MLW World Middleweight Champion.

“Rock, Paper, Cemetery” reemerges out the dusk to talk about this shit being hereditary to him whereas “Crash Out” goes for a trap vibe admitting that he’s been feeling like a ghost drowning his pain away. After an interlude, “The Real” talks about his future plans of staying independent & shouting out the legitimate who’re still with him just before things take a darker turn instrumentally to discuss feeling like a “Freight Train” as of late.

After the “Ghost Dog” interlude, “Westside Samurai” keeps the west coast wicked shit coming talking about it taking a lot of pain for him to get the kinda shine he has while “Loco” gets on his g shit over a ratchet beat. “Entrance Theme” kinda has a Memphis-inspired atmosphere dedicating itself to all his fellow gangstas & once “Chrome Clouds” talks about keeping the wave moving, “Friday” sends it all off with a jazzy west coast outro for a weekend celebration anthem.

Despite putting out Suerte almost a whole year ago next month, Hexxx spent a great deal of 2025 taking a break from touring so he could dedicate all of this time towards making Endless Night the greatest thing he’s ever done in his career yet & I can definitely say it’s not too far behind the predecessor regarding his EPs. The production ranges from jazz rap to ratchet to Memphis rap & lyrically, the procurator of west coast wicked shit answers a few questions he’s had bubbling in his mind.

Score: 4/5

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Chip Fu – “Invisible Footsteps” review

This is the 2nd solo extended play from Brooklyn, New York veteran Chip Fu. A member of the Fu-Schnickens, he would eventually put out a solo mixtape of his own 16 years earlier called Stop Playing & the sequel arrived roughly 32 months later. The Beginning of the Reckoning under Blaq Ink Entertainment in tandem with Fat Beats Records was a solid EP last summer & the highlights it had made me eager of where Invisible Footsteps would go next.

After the intro, we have the man himself welcoming us to the “Shell Down” except I feel like the trap instrumental is merely ok compared to the enjoyable lyricism whereas “Double Dutch” hooks up a more thunderous beat & flows that would make the heads of those unfamiliar with start spinning. Busta Rhymes later appears on “Have Mercy”, where both lyricists join forces over a boom bap instrumental so they can ask God to grant them lenience.

“MI-JOI” might be my least favorite track on Invisible Footsteps & that’s disappointing because I appreciate the positive messaging despite the execution of the dancehall sound while “Warning” featuring Shaquille O’Neal finds the 2 linking up to talk about those thinking they can fuck with them, assuring them they’re all sorely mistaken. “More Amor (Love)” finishes the EP fusing jazz rap, boom bap & pop rap for an ode to affection.

With all due respect to Chip Fu because I did enjoy his previous EP alongside his output with the Fu-Schnickens or guest appearances, Invisible Footsteps does have moments that I can see myself going back to since the verses as well as the flows & both guest appearances are on point. My main criticism I have towards this newer batch of material is that the production’s somewhat more inconsistent at times, which I find disappointing.

Score: 2.5/5

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