LaRussell – “Something’s in the Water” review

This is the 32nd extended play & Roc Nation Records debut from Vallejo, California emcee LaRussell. For the past 8 years, the man originally known under the moniker Tota has been steadily hustlin’ in the west coast underground by putting out his last 31 EPs along with 5 full-length albums & 7 mixtapes as of me writing this. Personal favorites include the Hit-Boy produced Rent Due, the sequel Rent Paid, the Mike & Keys-produced Party on the Westside & Black Boy Fly. However, he’s having Lil Jon fully producing Something’s in the Water.

“I’m From the Bay” after the “United Bay of America” gets things started with a hyphy beat talking about coming from the northern parts of the sunshine state whereas “Wigglin’” succeeding the titular skit goes for a bit of a g-funk vibe almost counting money until his face turns blue. The synthesizers continue to seep their way through expressing a desire to do “More for Me” & after the Marshawn Lynch skit, “Wake Shit Up” reaches the halfway point talking about his involvement in bringing this crunk shit back.

After the “Chuy Gomez” skit, Kalan.FrFr joins LaRussell to moderately recall a “Hot Summer Night” out in the west coast while “Get Off Me” does a better job at maintaining the hyphy vibes talking about how saucy he is. “I Got Flavor” instrumentally keeps throwing it back to ‘06 when “Blow the Whistle” became amongst Too $hort’s most celebrated singles once again boasting his distinctiveness, but then “You’ve Reached LaRussell’s Phone” turns out to be the 5th & final skit.

“How Far Can You Go?” winds down the final minutes of Something’s in the Water posing that very question to the world & further elaborating the reality of those who don’t put in any effort never knowing if they’ll achieve any art of success until Malachi appears on the outro, helping the leader of the Good Compenny collective in making the kind of music that would make a “Thug Cry” & having a heart full of regret soon as the doves start soaring in the air even if his feature wasn’t much better than Kalan’s.

Something’s in the Water marks a full circle moment after LaRussell was listening to “Tell Me When to Go”by E-40 featuring Keak da Sneak or the previously mentioned $hort Dog single “Blow the Whistle” on the radio 2 decades ago, getting Lil Jon to snap out of that whole guided meditation phase he was in the middle of a couple years ago & nostalgically celebrating his hometown for a hyphy-lenient Roc Nation debut although neither of the guests stuck out in addition to the amount of skits being unnecessary.

Score: 4/5

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DJ Sam Seed – “The Unaligned” review

This is the solo debut extended play from London, England, United Kingdom producer & disc jockey DJ Sam Seed. Someone’s who caught my attention in the last couple years after producing the “Chardikala (Chardi Color)” interlude off Chino XL’s 6th album Darkness & Other Colors in November 2024 as well as “Rafiki Books” off Vinnie Paz’ 9th album God Sent Vengeance almost 6 months afterwards. He would sign to the Croydon underground imprint Hidden Hobby Records this past summer & has compiled The Unaligned as a way of properly introducing himself.

“Live on the Road” by Blade & Kool Keith opens up with both MCs over a rap rock beat explaining that each of them knows who they are whereas “Digging My Grave” by Eskar & Ill Bill finds the pair talking about doing things their way. “Whole New Chapter” by Kurious & Only1OnlySon works in a soul sample so they can show off their lyrical fluencies leading into “Freedom or Death” by Ill Sykes, Lord Goat & Ruste Juxx suggesting not to waste your breath since those are our only 2 choices.

Ghostface Killah joins bood & Montener the Menace on my personal favorite song “Wu Who?” blending hardcore & industrial hip hop just before “Drive You Insane” by Cymarshall Law, Farma G & Hypnopottomas continues the sampling talking about troubles & pain plaguing the world as we know it. “False Narrative” by Lord Goat & Scorzayzee hops over a piano to boast their respectively scientific scriptures prior A-F-R-O & Jr. Disprol sending it all off by having them set the “Microphone on Fire”.

Noticing that rappers from the both UK & the United States remain largely unaligned even when they share the same artistic ideals & many local producers around DJ Sam Seed’s neck of the woods landing international placements to this day, he amasses a guest list of veterans from both counties who prioritize integrity over fame paying homage to older hip hop icons & established talent from the current underground scene whilst showcasing younger emerging artists who haven’t been given a platform until now. The Unaligned represents unity, the long enduring sound of global underground hip hop through the decades & a symbol of what can be achieved when those who are unaligned with the mainstream band together for a greater good.

Score: 3.5/5

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Sonnyjim – “Chinatown Chicken Tour” review

Here we have the 18th EP from Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Sonnyjim. Making his debut in the summer of 2011 with The Psychonaut, he would go on to drop 8 more albums as well as his last 17 EPs & a mixtape. Most notably the No Vi$ible Means of Income trilogy produced by Giallo Point, the Buckwild-produced Coke Le Roc, the Illinformed-produced The Chemistry Must Be Respected, the Leaf Dog-produced How to Tame Lions, the Camoflauge Monk-produced Money Green Leather Sofa, White Girl Wasted and finally the Lee Scott-produced Ortolan & Armagnac. Coming off the moderately received Golden Parachute a few months earlier, Sumgii’s being brought in to fully produce the Chinatown Chicken Tour.

“Muse” begins with a psychedelically dark boom bap instrumental talking about knocking muhfuckas off horses with an entire kilo of ketamine whereas “Marsellus Wallace” asks for God to have mercy on him & his squad because they’ve never broken a promise. Phaze What’s appearance on “Flakey Flakey” is truly the only feature that I could’ve done without despite the the lo-fi beat or the lyrics about cooking cocaine a kitchen with a pastry chef beside him.

The late アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, TNA World Tag Team Champion, WCW World Television Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 7-time WCW World Tag Team Champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall gets referenced on “Buttermilk” just before “Edan” featuring Jehst reaches the halfway point talking about dirty money being persy to them as opposed to others considering it to be a lot.

“Capital” featuring Dream McLean after the “Kate Fried Chicken” interlude finds the 2 spending 109 seconds advising to never disrespect either one of them while “Mandy & Rosé” featuring Tha God Fahim strips the drums completely so they can talk about maintaining their composure rather than getting caught in their emotions. “Guinea Fowl” featuring Lee Scott returns to the boom bap making way for them both dropping hardcore verses without a hook & “Dru Ha” spends the last couple minutes saluting Duck Down Music Inc.’s co-founder of the same name.

Sumgii has had a hand in producing some of the greatest UK hip hop that I’ve heard within the past 15 years, so the idea of him doing an entire extended play with Sonnyjim was only a matter of time & it wound up being the most I’ve enjoyed a project from the latter since No Vi$ible Means of Income 3 almost a year & a half ago. Sonny’s luxurious penmanship & the Potent Funk Records co-founder’s atmospheric boom bap production make a great pairing for less than a half hour with the guest list being near-flawless.

Score: 4/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Slam Dump 2” review

Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim with his 2nd extended play of the month & his 72nd overall. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records & being 1/3 of the Dump Gawds alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, we also can’t ignore the massive discography that he’s managed to build for himself, some of the standouts include Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. He’s been putting out amongst his best material in the past few years like the Camoflauge Monk-produced Dark Shogunn Assassin, the Nature Sounds-backed Iron Bull, the Nicholas Craven-produced Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King series, the Oh No-produced Berserko, the Mike Shabb-produced Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays, Tha Supreme Hoarder of All Pristine Wealth, Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga produced by Cookin’ Soul & Machine Gun Vocabulary produced by Cartune Beatz. Last time I covered him was when Slam Dump & the self-produced Ultimate Rapper 5000 Guillotine towards the end of 2025, running it back with Drega33 for a Slam Dump sequel.

“Behold It” sets it all off with a soulful opener talking about not letting life slip away whereas “Il Find” featuring Jay NiCE continues the chipmunk soul vibes so they can discuss keeping the streets on smash regularly. “Freedom N Knowledge” goes for a smoother vibe instrumentally suggesting not reach for his belt when his discography speaks for itself leading into “Broken Hope” jazzily talking about every dog having it’s day.

The song “Became Great” chops up more soul samples to push towards Slam Dump 2’s final moments admitting that he had to let go of people he used to go to school with while “1up” featuring Jay NiCE reunites the pair 1 last time stripping the drums so they can talk about being on a power level with no estimate. “Venomous” spends the final couple minutes ripping a chipmunk soul instrumental explaining that he had to learn how to adjust to the diabolic world we’re living in & that it’s never too much.

I have no doubts that Season 2 of the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap series will be resuming sooner than later, so it isn’t really too much of a shocker that Tha God Fahim would drop off Slam Dump 2 on the same day Nature Sounds reissued Tha Dark Shogunn Saga 2 for streaming ahead of it’s 10-year anniversary when next January rolls around. Drega33’s production maintains the predominant chipmunk soul sound that we heard on the predecessor a few months earlier & Lethal Weapon 4, occasionally taking some inspiration from drumless & jazz rap rather than continuing the lo-fi boom bap direction Solar Lottery primarily embraced.

Score: 4/5

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Curren$y & Larry June – “Spiral Staircases” review

This is a new collaborative EP between New Orleans, Louisiana rapper, songwriter & record executive Curren$y as well as Vallejo, California rapper & songwriter Larry June. Both of whom began their careers 2 decades ago each, crossing paths on a number of tracks in recent years like “Sunday Morning Drive” or “Vintage Haze” to name a couple. They’re also known for their own individual projects produced by one of my top 10 producers of all-time The Alchemist, who’s bringing them together to walk up a set of Spiral Staircases.

“Stars on the Roof” opens up with a rap rock instrumental talking about how real shit gets & the streets making them move at a different speed whereas the only single “Everything Allocated” goes for a boom bap direction referencing WWE Hall of Famer Koko B. Ware. “Drive Alone” brings a drumlessly jazzy vibe to the table talking about feeing high & low leading into the title track discusses their player statuses.

The song “Palo Santo” smoothly starts the final leg of Spiral Staircases looking back at going from chasing their freedoms to taking the money & fame while “2.P.I.G.” brings the boom bap vibes back 1 last time suggesting to focus on winning since no one will save you. “Empty Pages” featuring The Alchemist however sends off the EP with all 3 of them spitting hardcore verses without the need of a hook over a soul sample playing the game hard to the max.

Sucks we won’t ever get a sequel to Fetti because of Freddie Gibbs having beef with Curren$y for some reason but as much as I enjoyed Life’s Beautiful with 2 Chainz a little over 12 months ago, I’d have to prefer Spiral Staircases between the 2 collaborative efforts. Alchemist’s drumless jazz rap production compliments Spitta & Larry June’s calm flows whilst both of them hit us with a chemistry that makes the most absolute sense.

Score: 4.5/5

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Autumn! – “Kickoff” review

Here is the 23rd EP from Lafayette, Louisiana rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Autumn!. Gaining traction off all 22 of his previous EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018 prior to signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records following the Not Much Left EP, he made his major label debut nearly 4 years ago with his sophomore effort Antagonist! as well as following it up with the last 2 installments of the Golden Child trilogy & Midnight Club. Wick delivered a sequel to Solitary in addition to You Never Was Mine & ##B4B2MR in 2024, looking to Kickoff a new era after recently going Back 2 My Roots & embracing the Rolling Stone lifestyle.

“Massaging Seats!” talks about his girl trying to find a spark in him when love doesn’t live inside him in the 1st place over a colorfully self-produced instrumental whereas “Grok!” combines pop rap, trap, rage & cloud rap comparing himself to the AI chatbot created by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder & Nazi Elon Musk. “Houstatlantavegas!” however reaches the halfway point sampling the Drake track off So Far Gone & turning up the 808s to talk about a hoe familiar with all 3 cities.

“That’s a Fendi!” gets the other leg of the EP going by shifting towards a pluggnb vibe making it clear that he can be found in the backseat of a Maybach with all of his homies that were beside him on Day 1 still being here while “Uknowigotit!” explains that he doesn’t need anyone around him because he has money. The closing track & lead single “party4u!” samples “party 4 u” by Charli XCX to finish Kickoff, talking about going from rocking Gosha to all black Wraiths unless he’s inside of a Ghost.

It’s already been confirmed that Autumn! next move involves dropping 2 singles back-to-back ahead of his next full-length & Kickoff gives me the impression of this next LP will be a melting pot of all the sounds Wick has explored over the course of his career. That said: I being a fan of his music since earlier this decade hope he pulls off the styles of pluggnb, pop rap, trap, rage, cloud rap & alternative R&B a lot better than he does here because I didn’t enjoy it as much as the improvements Wick had made to Rolling Stone last fall.

Score: 3/5

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Chetta – “highatus” review

New Orleans, Louisiana emcee/producer Chetta celebrating Valentine’s Day with his 23rd EP. Starting out a decade ago with his debut mixtape Nino White, this was followed up with 18 EPs as well as 11 more tapes & a full-length debut, but gained significant attention off his G*59 Record$ debut Been Here Forever a few summers back. Falling Off went on to be an equally dope prelude to the previous album Playboy, which also maintained the level of consistency as those previous projects since signing to G*59 as did Sick Bitch. $crim of the $uicideboy$ produced the overlooked Sacrifice & Sabotage a couple years ago, following that with Can’t Replace Me & Mix with Poison to say highatus.

“Plaza Drive” was a self-produced trap intro with a Memphis twist talking about grabbing the yellow tape after dropping bodies leading into “Messy Hoes” continuing to depict another day in the life of a gangsta. “Burn This City” combines a vocal sample & some 808s so he can talk about abusing drugs while “Downbad” kicks off the 2nd half speaking of partying inside a hearse. “Desert Storm” cloudily talks about many artists moving in circles these days & “Too Rich to Rot” concludes with him advising everyone to move aside when war breaks out.

If you’re like me & celebrating another year of being single this Valentine’s Day weekend, you’re probably gonna find yourself enjoying highatus a lot more than the divisive reception Mix with Poison got last summer although I’m in the minority of liking that previous extended play a lot more than most. His emo-tinged gangsta rap lyricism over his own production taking elements of Memphis rap, cloud rap & trap are still enough to satisfy who know what they’re getting themselves into.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jon Connor – “II” review

Celebrating the Valentine’s Day weekend with the 2nd installment of a 12-part EP saga from Flint, Michigan emcee/producer Jon Connor. 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 drop II almost a month after I.

Smitti Boi cooks up a victorious trap instrumental in the intro “Don’t Cry” talking about the shit God had prepared him for whereas “Random Thoughts” references current 8-time WWE world champion CM Punk claiming the Best in the World’s nickname for himself. “The Acknowledgment” jazzily confesses there’s no easier way to reach a higher version of ourselves unless admitting the bullshit won’t stop us just before “For Life For Real” featuring Mickey Factz finds the 2 talking about never letting anyone discredit you.

“Get It” starts the 2nd half of II suggesting for everyone he’s been watching on the grind to go out & take what’s theirs while “Completion” optimistically talks about it being proud of yourself for coming this far so we can remember who we are during any hard times. “The Party” takes a couple minutes to vent regarding all the kinds of people he’s been fed up with for a minute already while “Be Free” wraps things up talking about making peace from within & shit not changing 5 decades later.

Now I couldn’t tell you whether or not Smitti Boi intends to produce the other 10 extended plays Jon Connor has lined up for the rest of the year, but I did enjoy II almost as much as I even if the general reception towards the predecessor was divided. The production isn’t any different than last month’s EP regarding stylistic variety & Jon’s still using his God given talents to counter the negative energy our world experiences daily with positivity.

Score: 3.5/5

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RMC Mike – “Lover Boy Mike” review

Brand new EP & the 5th overall from Flint, Michigan recording artist RMC Mike. Signing a joint deal with Rio da Yung O.G. & Peezy’s own labels M.I.N.E. Entertainment & #Boyz Entertainment alongside EMPIRE Distribution, his first couple EPs Rookie Season & Sophomore Season established himself as in the Detroit trap scene until his full-length studio debut Junior Season elevated it further. Ghetto Season was a good debut & the sophomore effort Senior Season left me on the fence, boasting after a trip to The 6 that nobody can do it Like Mike & now introducing us to Lover Boy Mike.

“Clap Back” sets up shop with a lowend beat talking about smashing from behind & that he acts fat despite not being all that big whereas “Fine Shit” featuring Rio da Yung O.G. embraces the Flint sound fully so they can big up how beautiful the women beside them are. “S.T.A.B. (Shake That Ass Bitch)” comes through with a quirky Flint trap anthem catered towards the strip clubs while “Lil Booties Matter” talks about his appreciation for females who’s asses aren’t the biggest.

To get the 2nd half going, “Is We” featuring Louie Ray confronts the ladies in mind to ask if they’re officially in relationships or if they’re being played just before “Slow” featuring Jiggs Ent & Tiera Santoya cloudily finds the trio getting raunchy. “Where They At” instrumentally takes a more boisterous approach talking about him looking for hoes & after “Punch In” featuring Rio da Yung O.G. improves above “Fine Shit” to let their back-&-forth chemistry shine, “Kensington” combines pianos & 808s to end the EP so he can boast that he’s the one.

I don’t see myself coming back to Lover Boy Mike as much as The 6 or Like Mike considering both of those have quickly become amongst his most celebrated material as of late, but I have to give it up to RMC Mike for making an entire extended play themed around his sensual side in preparation for Valentine’s Day weekend. Even if a couple of the guests punched under their weight, Mike keeps his wild sense of humor in tact & the Flint/Detroit trap production’s more luscious than usual.

Score: 3/5

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RJ Payne – “Cinematic Payne” review

New surprise EP & the 20th overall from New York emcee & revered battle rapper RJ Payne formerly known as Reign Man. Building up an extensive solo catalogue for himself with 2 dozen mixtapes as well as well as his last 19 EPs & 4 full-length albums, Benny the Butcher even signed RJ to Black Soprano Family Records for a brief period of time & putting out some of best material like Leatherface & Square Root of a Kilounder Benny’s ever-growing indie label of his own. My Life’z a Movie produced by Stu Bangas quickly became my favorite LP in RJ’s discography & Enemy Soil Entertainment in-house producer C-Lance went on a trip with him to The Barbershop, reuniting with Drega33 for a sequel to Triangle D’or called Cinematic Payne.

“Cinematic” starts with a soulful boom bap instrumental talking about sending those who crash out on him straight to the hospital & killing everyone’s favorite rappers while “Bambino” swaps out the vocal sample in favor of some strings bringing a clip beside him to clear the whole block. “Effuse” talks about mastering the game of Russian roulette because he was born to play leading into “State of Mind” explains how great it is to make money even if his job isn’t the best.

The song “Jealous Pride” winds down Cinematic Payne’s final moments by talking about how sad it is muhfuckas will do anything for fame these days & that not changing anytime soon the way he sees it while the drumlessly crooning “Iran” looks to break whole crews apart since all these cornball artists have been teaming up. “Flying End” concludes the EP with 1 last boom bap beat talking about taking those who get way too close to him within seconds almost like a mini-date.

Granted I didn’t cover Leatherface 4 or It Feels Good 2 Win & Winning Ain’t Enough, I was fairly certain Cinematic Payne would become the most I’ve enjoyed RJ Payne’s music since Sinnerz produced by Cartune Beatz considering all those projects were received mixed-to-positively & it did live up to those expectations thankfully. If you’re a fan of the Beautiful Payne series in particular, RJ’s distinctly complex penmanship paired with Drega33’s production minimizing the drumless influences of Triangle D’Or will potentially satisfy you.

Score: 4/5

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