Mike Shabb – “Hood Olympics 2” review

Montréal, Québec, Canada emcee, producer & engineer Mike Shabb still applying pressure with his 10th EP & the 4th within the last month. Emerging in the spring of 2018 off his full-length debut Northwave, he would continue to make his presence known by putting out his last 9 EPs & a few mixtapes before gaining notoriety for engineering Boldy James’ 5th album Fair Exchange No Robbery along with producing “Switches on Everything” off Hitler Wears Hermes X & enlisting his mentor Nicholas Craven to fully produce his 5th EP Shadow Moses from top to bottom. He would follow these up with Hood Olympics, Sewaside III, Shabb Van Gogh, Fight the Power!, Vrai Rap Keb!, the Drega33-produced Lost Tapes & Maple Flavored. The latter of which was alright compared to the others I named, but Hood Olympics 2 has finally arrived nevertheless.

The self-produced “Don’t Know” asks himself why would he fuck with all of these raggedy hoes when he already has a fine bitch by his side whereas “Dilla” euphorically talks about his desire being like one of my top 5 producers of all-time: The late, great J Dilla himself. “Scrubb”aggressively issues a warning of pulling up on blocks for the purpose of wiping ‘em up while “Smack!” talks about doing real damage if he has to send messages.

“Smile” gives off a more sensual vibe altogether telling his girl that nobody can ever make him hate her since she’s family to him at this point leading into Spook making Hood Olympics 2’s sole guest appearance on “Unc Rob”, finishing up the 1st half by letting his partner hold the blick. “I Like It” kicks off the 2nd half experimenting with sample drill flipping “That’s the Way” by KC & The Sunshineband just before “Muffinz” talks about being fresh as fuck every time he pops out, baking anyone who messes with his girl.

The song “Moune Bizz” has this experimental trap flare to it addressing the kind of people who think people wouldn’t want to get flicks with him or the women while “Grandma” talks about his inability of trusting his Day 1 homie because he doesn’t know any better. “Jackie Chan” winds down the last few minutes of Hood Olympics 2 looking to crack anybody who fucks around too much & “Juxtapose” ends by promising that he’ll keep moving the way he’s supposed to.

Of the 4 extended plays Mike Shabb has given us only a quarter away through the year, Maple Flavored was the only one that I didn’t really care for that much but for him to drop Hood Olympics 2 in preparation for Sewaside IV somewhere between the next 8 months makes up for the averageness of the EP that came out last weekend. I love hearing the finest in Montréal today testing out new sounds beyond the drumless/boom bap styles he’s become known for even if he has the stronger half of the production & his pen’s a lot sharper than Hood Olympics 2’s predecessor.

Score: 3.5/5

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Canibus & Chino XL – “Necksnapper” review

New collaborative extended play between the late East Orange, New Jersey emcee Chino XL & The Bronx, New York by way of Kingston, Jamaica lyricist Canibus. Both of whom have crossed paths several times prior including tracks like “Cypher of 5 Mics” & “Pendulum Swing” by Rakim, the latter of which was the very last song that came out prior to Chino’s untimely tragic passing a couple summers ago. However, they’re coming together to deliver a complete Necksnapper.

The title track breaks the gate down with this boom bap intro Johnny Slash cooked up looking to make human mean out of all competitors whereas “Abu La-Haab” continues with a 5-minute Canibus solo joint explaining that a work of art is actually a world of labor. Chino takes the mic from beyond the grave on “Always There” talking about the mental health struggles that took his life just before “God’z Wrath” featuring Rock finds all 3 of them coming correctly.

“Basquiat 2” starts the 2nd half with 1 more Chino XL solo track that surpasses it’s predecessor included on Prelude to The Mantis while “Celebration” by Canibus experiments with rapping over an EDM beat talking about still being here a quarter of a century later. “Bulletproof Metals” featuring Eto & Planet Asia returns to the boom bap calling for everyone to bow down to them while “Sick Mind” featuring Block McCloud, Joker & Poison Pen ends with them making bodies disappear in a flash.

Putting all of the previously released material like both the “Pendulum Swing” & “Champion” remixes and “Cypher of 5 Mics” aside, I think Necksnapper’s the best of the 2 posthumous offerings we’ve gotten from Chino XL in 2026 & it’s not too far from S.L.I.C.C. (Self Licking Ice Cream Cone) in becoming some of the most enjoyable material Canibus has put out in some time. When they’re not putting their chemistry to the test half the time, they’re spending the other portion of the EP holding it down themselves.

Score: 4/5

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Daniel Son – “Shattered Glass” review

Pretty sure this has to be the 7th EP from Toronto, Ontario, Canada emcee Daniel Son. A member of the Brown Bag Money collective, his profile began to rapidly increase in the underground off projects like the Giallo Point-produced debut mixtape The Gunners or the Futurewave-produced sophomore album Yenaldooshi. He also teamed up with Raz Fresco for the spectacular collab album Northside paying homage to the roots of the Toronto hip hop scene & a few months after reuniting with Futurewave for the first time since Son Tzu & the Wav.God on Bushman Bodega & the Finn-produced Hare Brained Schemes a few months later. Almost a whole year since Baggage Claims though, he & Futurewave are running it back for Shattered Glass a week after Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling (MLP) founder Scott D’Amore crowned The Good Brothers as the inaugural & shortest reigning MLP Canadian Tag Team Champions.

“Old Starter Kit” hops over a drumless jazz loop to talk about doing this shit for his own legacy’s sake whereas “Lil Earl” instrumentally goes for a boom bap vibe so he can discuss cookin’ ‘em all in the same pot. “Shipping Container” has this lo-fi quality to the beat talking about ordering more if you want to pay less prior to “Ticket Sales” featuring Asun Eastwood teaming up so bottom of them can discuss making any money rather than not bringing any in at all.

Moving on from there, “Bear Steaks” strips the drums to talk about making it out of the storm & finding his own directions while “Kolors on Queen” continues to embrace a lo-fi boom bap sound speaking of keeping his head on a swivel during his late night strolls. “Ocean Smock” featuring Sayzee finds the 2 joining forces to talk about the recoil from their firearms making shoulders pop while “Shotgun Draw” clarifies to those who were sending shots at him that they wound up completely missing.

“Broke Routine” winds down Shattered Glass’ final moments observing that some not being built to take any fall while “Late for Dinner” talks about seeing a ghost rockin’ in the hallway making noises every day of the week. “Hogwash” goes drumless again so he can express his belief of the musical oversaturation getting out of control & after “Bow Flesh” prays for chaos to balance his good days, the outro “All My Dice” finishes by talking about his future looking brighter than his past.

Taking the foundation of Soundwave & approaching it in his own way, Daniel Son builds on the energy of the beats & pushes it into something new with Shattered Glass after what had initially started as a simple idea quickly turned into something else with it’s completely separate identity. The transitions & pacing are chaotic in the best way possible, but it never loses direction by maintaining the intentionally raw & unpredictable feeling.

Score: 3.5/5

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Decksterror – “Love & Honour 2” review

London, England, United Kingdom producer Decksterror returning with his 2nd extended play Originally known under the moniker G-Man, he would form Hollow Sun Records alongside Cosm in the spring of 2020 a couple weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic began & eventually made his full-length solo debut with Black/Gold Stash a couple years later. Signed to the Croydon underground imprint Hidden Hobby Records as an in-house producer, he made his debut for the label with Love & Honour and has dropped the highly anticipated follow-up only 24 hours away from Callum Newman becoming the youngest IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン.

“Democracy Manifest” by Ill Sykes, Kakarot & Lomax opens with the trio spitting hardcore bars over a boom bap instrumental whereas “The Source Code” by Lomax lets everyone know what this shit’s really all about. “Terminal Horizon” by Ill Sykes works in some horns to talk about his words being more effective than sticks & stones while “Tony Stark / Speed of a Train” by Murkerz gets the 2nd half of the EP going with a dusty 2-parter.

Body Bag Ben & DreMilla appear together on “P.A.K. (What Does It Mean?)” talking about their respective pens slicing anyone who dares to step up to them in a rap battle while “The Golden Eye” by Juga-Naut, Micall Parknsun, Montener the Menace & Teach ‘Em ends on a more luxuriously rawer note talking about how they made a pledge when it comes to the artform & those who ain’t do shit having the inability of complaining because ain’t a game to them unless anyone else has actually played it.

A little over a month since DJ Sam Seed introduced himself artistically bridging The Unaligned, we’re now being treated to a Love & Honour sequel that reached the bar it’s predecessor had set & continues what could be Hidden Hobby Records’ biggest year yet. There are some slight improvements within the list of guests most notably towards the backend of it, but it’s really Deckterror’s production that really shines the most.

Score: 3.5/5

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LIFEOFTHOM – “Re-Route: Reflection” review

This is the 6th extended play from New York City emcee LIFEOFTHOM. Coming up in the late 2010s off his first couple EPs Thomas & Robot Jesus, he would go on to release 3 more in Floor 11 as well as Room 44 & Cocotaso respectively. Driving Blind produced by Plain Pat following an appearance on Lørd Skø’s sophomore effort United Palace has since become his most acclaimed material & Re-Route: Reflection produced by Supah Mario looks to reach that same pedestal.

“Can’t Help” featuring Meechy Darko gets things going with this gritty boom bap beat talking about being outside looking for the hard play whereas “Monday” goes for a summery vibe instrumentally telling this woman he can’t live without her. “The World is Yours” shift towards a cloudier direction realizing that it seems like he doesn’t need the internet anymore & “Grape Vine” ties it all up in the form of this boom bap outro talking about him staying asking questions because answering them is a bonus.

LIFEOFTHOM already has 5 other EPs he’s given over the course of this ongoing decade & I might not have Re-Route: Reflection above Driving Blind, but it’s pretty close & continues to dent more cracks into realizing his true potential than a lot of his earlier output a decade ago. There’s more of an obvious reflective approach to his songwriting & Supah Mario’s production is more lenient towards the trap sound he’s become known for over the course of a decade.

Score: 4/5

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Giffy Pluggo – “The Layoff: No Hooks” review

Here is the 4th extended play from Chicago, Illinois emcee & ATIP Records founder Giffy Pluggo. Emerging a few years ago off his debut mixtape Paid Leave & its sequel put out an expanded version of his debut album Los Pluggos followed by Pluggo’s Birthday & Douda respectively. The latter mostly produced by Myles & becoming the most beloved entry in his discography thus far, coming off a Luxury Manifesto almost 9 months prior to break down The Layoff: No Hooks.

“Notice Received” recalls the very moment he was let go from his day job over a crooning vocal sample talking about this only being an overview of the feature presentation whereas “Overqualified” goes for a chipmunk soul vibe instrumentally boasts of copping a Cybertruck when I personally think they look like refrigerators although I don’t mind the interface of it. “Division Shut Down” talks about knowing your worth & labels having to pay him in advance while “Out Here” includes a dope bar referring to Ye’s debut The College Dropout.

Global appears on the song “Pink Slip Poetry” shifting towards a cloudier direction with the beat talking about the Cybertruck that Giffy copped earlier being unable to fit in his garage & considering it to be the problems of a baller while “Exit Strategy” incorporates some warm synthesizers so he can speak of growing up on a different type of block. “Restructured” spends the last few minutes of the EP announcing that Paid Leave 3 will be arriving soon over a drumless loop & going through a lot to get to where he’s at presently.

Giffy Pluggo has also confirmed that he’s working on something with Drumwork Music Group founder Conway the Machine as we speak & I look toward to that considering that the Black Soprano Family Records collaborations happened through him opening for Benny the Butcher several time. And in light of him getting laid off from his job, The Layoff: No Hooks rebuilds himself in real time & this improvement above Luxury Manifesto EP is only the beginning of this new era in his career. The production’s an improvement above the predecessor & conceptually, he’s taking a piece of the moment when life flips on us & we have to decide whether to fold or level up.

Score: 4/5

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che – “Fully Loaded” review

New surprise EP & the 5th overall from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist che. Starting as a member of the 4ersona collective under the original moniker murkio before settling on cheRomani+ & later abbreviating it, it wasn’t until more recently where he decided to build a solo catalog for himself by putting out the debut EP 3 over a year ago & followed it up in the form of X or the original version of his 3rd EP Closed Captions a few summers ago. Crueger that same Halloween showed more of a Chief Keef influence & sayso says was an acclaimed rage debut of its own, coming off the beloved Rest in Bass to drop Fully Loaded.

The self-produced “$1M Mansion” begins with some synthesizers & 808s boasting the new crib he copped around his parts whereas “Promoting Violence” talks about people getting robbed for pennies. “White Folk” energetically describes his lifestyle becoming more expensive these past 2 & a half years but once “Tattoos” comes through with an ode to all of the ink he has on his skin, “Kittens” sends off Fully Loaded talking about being a big pup.

It’d be a huge stretch to put Fully Loaded in the same category as both of his LPs, but it feels like the beginning of a new era for che & eagerly await where his next album takes it beyond this point. The production experiments beyond the rage sound to explore trap metal & retain the Chicago drill influences of his previous material, spitting hardcore lyrics & using a deep voice reminiscent of Mr. Krabs from the Paramount Skydance Corporation subsidiary Nickelodeon hit series SpongeBob SquarePants.

Score: 3.5/5

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Central C – “All Roads Lead Home” review

Here we have the 6th extended play from Ladbroke Grove, London, England, United Kingdom rapper & singer/songwriter Central C. After putting out a total of 4 EPs & a couple mixtapes in addition to his Split Decision collab EP he & Dave did, the 2023 XXL Freshman Class member signed to Columbia Records & his full-length debut Can’t Rush Greatness was received mixed-to-negatively even if his popularity keeps growing. 14 months later, All Roads Lead Home has arrived following it’s delay only a few days after Alexxis Falcon ended Alex Windsor’s 2nd reign as RPW British Women’s Champion to become a 2-time champion herself.

The introductory freestyle was an mediocre choice of an intro considering he’s just going off the top promoting Drake’s upcoming 9th album Iceman whereas “Slaughter” featuring J Hus blends UK drill & 3-step, countering each other by spitting forgettable verses of their own. “Wagwan” kinda has this lo-fi drill vibe to it talking about a shorty he hasn’t seen in a minute prior to the self-produced “Feelings” acknowledges what it’s like when nobody believes in you.

“DC10” winds down the last few minutes of All Roads Lead Home talking about being inside of a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos until Einer Bankz produces what could be my favorite instrumental on the EP during “Maka” featuring A2Anti, even if the latter’s guest appearance was worse than the other one. “Y Fi Dat” finally ends All Roads Lead Home talking about having his eye for sexy women & saving a hoe like he’s Spider-Man.

You’re better off listening to the new Fliptrix album Elevation produced by Telemachus if you’re looking for some new UK hip hop this weekend because not only has Can’t Rush Greatness aged like milk, but Central C’s newest EP preparing for his sophomore effort is somehow worse. A lot of that would attribute to a great deal of the beats feeling pretty cheap for this style of drill as well as his singular flow & basic lyrics.

Score: 1.5/5

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Mike Shabb – “The Lost Tapes” review

New surprise EP & the 8th overall from Montréal, Québec, Canada emcee, producer & engineer Mike Shabb. Emerging in the spring of 2018 off his full-length debut Northwave, he would continue to make his presence known by putting out his last 7 EPs & a few mixtapes before gaining notoriety for engineering Boldy James’ 5th album Fair Exchange No Robbery along with producing “Switches on Everything” off Hitler Wears Hermes X & enlisting his mentor Nicholas Craven to fully produce his 5th EP Shadow Moses from top to bottom. Hood Olympics & Sewaside III were both solid in their own rights, following up Shabb Van Gogh as well as Fight the Power! & Vrai Rap Keb! to have Drega33 produce The Lost Tapes.

The jazzy “Don Gargon” officially kicks us off talking about how he can’t be seconded out by anyone while “Nike Tech” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally wondering why people acting like he isn’t pushing hip hop culture forward. “Kiss & Tell” embraces a more psychedelic sound talking about keeping shit to himself just before “Evidence Flicks” hops over a bare saxophone loop whacking up anyone who fucks around with him.

“Dudududu” continues the final half of The Lost Tapeson some soulfully funky shit talking about dying for this shit since he’s way too deep into it & once “Jet2” continues the crooning sampling techniques calling out someone who’s acting all tough when everyone knows that isn’t the case with him, the closing track “World Go Round” wraps things up combining chipmunk soul & jazz so he can talk about money making the globe spin.

It was already announced earlier this week that he’s working on Sewaside IV & I have no clue whether that’s coming before or after Hood Olympics 2, but I wasn’t anticipating Mike Shabb to drop another extended play so soon after Vrai Rap Keb! became some of the greatest French hip hop I’ve heard recently. He takes a backseat from the production so Drega33 can pull inspiration from drumless, boom bap, chipmunk soul, jazz rap, psychedelia & funk all for Montréal’s finest to body himself.

Score: 4.5/5

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Elcamino – “Bruv” review

2nd extended play of 2026 & the 22nd overall from Buffalo, New York emcee & singer Elcamino. Blowing up almost a decade ago off his self-titled EP with Griselda Records, his profile increasingly grew after being followed up by Walking on Water mixtape in the summer of 2018 along with dropped 2 studio albums & a few EPs the year after that. They Spit on Jesus proved to be a well received Black Soprano Family Records debut becoming the first Camino project that I had covered since On the 3rd Day & that much like No Weapon Formed Against Me was an improvement over some of the material we’ve gotten from him in recent memory. Real Bad Man would produce The Game is the Game followed by Ill Tone producing Built for Cuban Links named after Raekwon’s iconic solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… produced by RZA in addition to flexing his Millionaire status & Full Moon showing a heavy Future influence. Martyr’s Prayer III produced by 38 Spesh made for a gratifying conclusion to the beloved trilogy as did Mino, but now he’s coming off the Ill Tone-produced God is Love to drop Bruv.

“London Bruv” hops over a soulful boom bap instrumental to give his flowers to the United Kingdom’s capital whereas “Green Beret” produced by Ill Tone continues the chop up the soul samples talking about those kind of people not getting a whole lot of love. “Adele” keeps the crooning chipmunk soul vibes going using the same rhyme scheme for a couple minutes while “You’re Here” talks about doing it all for the glory & taking pride in the joys of him being African American.

The song “Getting Old” continues Bruv’s last leg going completely drumless to speak of knowing he’d lock himself in since there was always more in store for him than what he’s already achieved while “Eating Steaks” brings back the sampling techniques so he can talk about being in Paris for Fashion Week last year, embracing some jazzier undertones additionally. The closer concludes the EP with a chipmunk soul outro calling out a backstabber who doesn’t wanna see the “Other Side”.

Although I lean a little more towards God is Love, I can appreciate Elcamino getting in passport mode for Bruv since France & the UK have always been my 3rd & #1 biggest audiences outside of the States respectively. The production’s more soulful than it’s primarily drumless predecessor & Meech details a hustler philosophy with runway lighting including overseas backdrops, designer details & war-ready bars balanced by flashes of family, memory, the weight of who didn’t make it, grief, pressure & discipline through flexes that he earned himself.

Score: 4/5

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