Dave East & Young Chris – “Fine Dining” review

Brand new collaborative EP between Harlem, New York emcee Dave East as well as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania emcee Young Chris. The latter of whom gained notoriety as part of the State Property subgroup Young Gunz & the other broke out by landing a spot in the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class almost a decade ago. Both of these guys have collaborated with each other a couple times in the past & only 4 months after the From the Dirt Records founder linked with Ransom on The Final Call, he & Chris are going out for some Fine Dining.

“Pablo & Gunner” was a great single in my opinion from the back-&-forth delivery both parties employ to the boom bap instrumental whereas “Gemstars & Baggies” fuses jazz & trap together so they can talk about wanting to catch Ws as a way of rebounding from all the Ls they’ve previously took. “Kiss the Sky” takes it back to the basement representing a city where the skinny ones ride leading into “Ain’t Adding Up” airs out everyone who ain’t doing the math.

Elcamino provides the hook on the smooth pop rap cut “She’s Choosing” talking about getting high with women & having them lay on their chests while “We Won’t Stop” gets on the soulful boom bap tip once again refusing to pump the brakes & keep putting it on for their home state. “10 Toes Down” finds the pair needing a gallon of water each since the rap game so dry & “Get That $” dustily finishes with both of them chasing the paper.

Dave’s really been stepping it up with the collaborative projects this year because if you come to find yourself enjoying Fine Dining more than The Final Call, I wouldn’t even complain since Young Chris’ pen has always been as sharp as Peedi Crakk’s probably would’ve gotten a solo album on Roc-A-Fella Records after Prince of the Roc had the label not imploded on itself due to Dame Dash’s ego. You get more versatile production pulling from boom bap, jazz rap, trap & pop rap as opposed to the drumless chipmunk soul direction of The Final Call & both of them hone in on their chemistry together.

Score: 3.5/5

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Dabbla – “BLOTS” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee & Potent Funk Records co-founder Dabbla teaming up with local producer Ghosttown for his 2nd solo EP. Both of whom formed the Dead Players alongside Jam Baxter until Dabbla made his solo debut in 2016 off Year of the Monkey followed by the debut mixtape Chapsville under High Focus Records & the sophomore effort Death Moves respectively. Coming off Nobody as well as Bad Tuesday & G.W.O.A.T. (Greatest Wanker Of All-Time), it was intriguing to hear the LDZ & Problem Child member returning to High Focus with Ghosttown by his side throughout the duration of BLOTS ahead of Nino Bryant becoming the new RPW British Cruiserweight Champion this weekend.

“Shoosh” opens with what’s easily my favorite track here from the bassy trap beat to the rapid-fire flow & lyrics about being UK hip hop royalty whereas the 3rd & final single “Paper Boats” featuring PAV4N links the pair up to flex leveling up on some next shit. The 2nd single “Karate Good” featuring Dubbledge goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally having both of them wishing a muhfucka would just before the lead single “Bang” featuring Tis Zombie spits that gun talk pulling from trap once again.

Succeeding the “My Guy” interlude, “Uh Oh” begins the 2nd half of BLOTS fusing trap & jazz rap explaining that the true meaning of boredom is when one’s lacking inner resources while “Yadda Yadda Yadda” featuring Smuj joins forces to talk about hearing a whole lotta bullshit out these people’s mouths. The closer “Nonsense” sends off the EP with him over a woodwind so he can take aim at those speaking in balderdash.

Chapsville still remains my favorite solo project Dabbla has ever made almost a decade later so when I heard Ghosttown was fully producing BLOTS, I was hoping for it would surpass Bad Tuesday in becoming the most celebrated extended play of the 2 we’ve gotten from him & I certainly did it enjoy it more than it’s 2022 predecessor by only a slight margin. My criticisms of this EP lie more with them overloading it with guest appearances for nearly every son, but I can respect Ghosttown’s chaotic trap production & Dabbz recapturing the spirit of his LDZ days.

Score: 3/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 14” review

Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim releasing his 62nd EP over a week since the last one. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records as well as 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. Continuing the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap Rap saga, the dumpathon finds no end in sight with the 14th installment.

“Post Apocalyptic” sets off the EP with a laidback boom bap instrumentally talking about the state of the world especially with everything that happened in the Middle East last weekend whereas “No Traffic” heads for a chipmunk soul direction boasting that he’s in his own different lane when he’s not entirely wrong. “Warmonger” hooks up a drumless guitar instrumental to talk about living life like a gladiator while “The Work of 1,000” soulfully uses the element of surprise to fight his mental struggles.

Ru$h teams up with Fahim on “Megamen” like he did over a week ago for “Twisted Metal” letting it be known that there ain’t no 2nd chances when they make advancements to their styles leading into the atmospherically dusty “Olympic Weightlifters” talking about keeping a pump on him & looking to fulfill his destiny since this is our only opportunity alive. “Versace N Pepper Steak” rounds out the EP by hopping over a funk sample paying homage to the recently departed Sly Stone.

Noticeably less jazzier than the EP we got from him 8 days ago, Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 14 continues the historically unstoppable run Fahim & Craven have been on together since last fall. The latter’s production carries over the chipmunk soul, boom bap & drumless sounds that a vast majority of the series has been praised for from the get-go & Breadrick Douglas’ lyrics cut deeper than a samurai sword.

Score: 4.5/5

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Jalen Frazier – “Ethics of War” review

Detroit, Michigan emcee Jalen Frazier linking with Lord Mobb Music in-house producer godBLESSbeatz for his 4th EP. Getting his footing in during the fall of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Expressions of the Neglected, he would continue to turn heads in the local underground scene last summer with the follow-up God Bless My Chalice. His debut album The Drop produced by Foul Mouth elevated himself from both of it’s predecessors & 15 months later, the Ethics of War are being laid out.

“Just War Theory” ominously begins the EP finding himself back in his essence after dealing with some losses whereas “Collateral Damage” featuring J-Classic brings a soulful boom bap vibe to the table bodying anyone who wants to step up to them in a battle. “On a Mission” swaps out the vocal sampling in favor of pianos suggesting you weigh your options before committing a robbery while “Infrared Nightmares” admits to giving a fuck less about a conviction.

The song “King’s Blood” featuring Liym Capital kicks off the Ethics of War’s final leg with both of them teaming up so they can make a few dollars to pay off some fees leading into “Manipulated Thoughts” ruggedly talks about making sure every single thing that he does wasn’t in vain. “Old Stainless” caps off the EP with a hardcore boom bap joint explaining his motivation is the green presidents as if it’s life or death for him.

Some of the production on both I Hope Your Pistol Don’t Jam… & even All Love Until It’s Not wasn’t hitting for me like it was on The Drop last spring, but Ethics of War more than makes up for it matching that debut LP on all fronts. godBLESSbeatz’ gritty boom bap sound matched with Jalen’s street bars fit just as fluidly as it did when he linked with Foul over a year ago, once again saving only a couple guest performances so he can step up his own pen game a week before summer.

Score: 4/5

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Smiley – “Never Box Me In” review

This is the 3rd EP from Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper Smiley. Beginning as a member of the Garden Gang, he would go on to drop his debut mixtape Buy or Bye in the spring of 2018 followed by 2 EPs & even a couple more tapes before local superstar Drake signed him to OVO Sound a little over 3 years ago already. As for his OVO debut Buy or Bye 2, it didn’t really do all that much in catching my interest or standing out enough to the point where I’d go back to it & I Did What I Did wasn’t doing any favors. In spite of Kendrick Lamar performing last night & tonight in the label’s city, Smiley’s advising to Don’t Box Me In.

“Budge” wasn’t that good of a single bragging over a piano-trap instrumental that his trap house was doing the same numbers as the NFL when I doubt that whereas “6SideKids” cloudily talks about feeling bored on tour. “2 Mazza” featuring Drake has gotta be one of the more salvageable moments on the EP from the Boi-1da beat to even Smiley’s mentor barely outperforming him leading into the atmospheric “Kept Snowin’” tediously speaking on the racks making him feel good.

Why G pops up on “Trapman” for a subpar trap collab prior to Icewear Vezzo saving the best feature on the EP for “Money Feen” talking about their overly obsessive desire for money. “Big Dog” featuring Baka Not Nice whose weird case still makes people wonder why he’s around takes a nosedive again hilariously referring to themselves as bosses & after “Wave the Flag” adds insult to injury talking about not making it worse since he learned from the best, Pooh Beatz samples Sean Leon during “Spill the Tell” until Smiley derails it by making them “put out your hand like Wii”.

“Bob Curry” cloudily starts the deluxe run boldly asks if anybody wants smoke when the guy who have him a deal’s still taking Ls while “Oliver North” continues with a comatose tribute to his city. “Ratchet Baby” featuring Roy Wood$ finds the 2 talking about preferring some nastiness in their women while “Faddah” pleads for all the time he’s lost to come back when that isn’t happening. The final bonus track “Not a Fan” ends the EP with him talking about being a “guyser” whatever that means.

Last summer, it was mentioned when I had reviewed I Did What I Did that Smiley was by far the weakest link compared to the rest of the OVO roster & Don’t Box Me In solidifies that even further. I appreciate the fact he wanted to go for a different direction compared to his earlier material, but that doesn’t mean I found a lot of his performances boring compared to almost half of the guests on top of the production for a good run of the 36 minutes coming off as mostly uninteresting.

Score: 1.5/5

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Feardorian – “Out the Past With a Window” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper & producer Feardorian following up their eponymous debut solo EP with a 2nd EP commemorating their 19th birthday over 4 months since their full-length studio debut album Leaving Home. A prominent figure in the lowend as well as jerk & sample drill subgenres of hip hop, I first learned of them once they produced “T.M.U. (Turn Me Up)” off Pasto Flocco’s 2nd mixtape R.O.A.M. (Rich Off A Mic) & more recently Ritchie with a T’s recent solo EP Quiet Warp Xpress nearly 9 months ago. Coming off a production credit on the new Lørd Skø album PiFF earlier this spring, Out the Past with a Window has finally come out with a week left until summer begins.

“Backbone” is this psychedelic trap intro breaking down the difficulty of getting it when you grew up without a spine whereas “Fooling” flips “Fall Into You” by Soulstice for a sample drill vibe instrumentally feeling like they’re in heaven after getting fried after a show. “Snowed In” goes for a hazier direction with the beat talking about having to find their mind because they had lost it initially just before “Sit Tight (IRL)” tries to lift this curse on them laying back until the bands start flowing their way.

The downtempo flare of “Life Hack” was a dope change of pace feelin’ like they doesn’t want to live or be seen at certain points leading into “Trickster Spirits” gives off a more minimalistic tone talking about being content with their ex-girlfriend moving on from them & going against the grain so much that they ran off. “RBF” cloudily airs out a loser who’s hanging around too many yes-men because the life they’re living currently being Hell, but then “Fulton” featuring lade finds the pair talking about being in their zone & others biting their styles.

“4 Signs” gets the final leg of Out the Past with a Window started with another sample drill track looking to waste no time whatsoever touchin’ $1B & signing it on the spot while “Flame” hops over a bare guitar/vocal sample hoping they haven’t been a bother to anyone during the course of their life still ballin’ regardless. “Mutual Aid” featuring Prblem was a cool drill/cloud rap fusion linking up with each other to talk about still living even with their spirits passing on & “Worth (Junebug)” warns they might leave this bitch hurt despite that not being intentional.

Between this as well as self-titled & Leaving Home, the rising southern hip hop recording artist has really outdone themself by providing a celebration & slice of life on the very moment their 2nd official year of adulthood began & looking at what their 20s hold. Their production culminating in trap, cloud rap, sample drill, emo rap, jerk, downtempo, ambient plugg & experimental hip hop sticks out as amongst the strongest of their whole entire career & to hear them trying out new flows demonstrates their growth as a performer.

Score: 4/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 13” review

Another EP from Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim & the 2nd in less than a week, marking the 61st in his discography. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records as well as being 1/3 of the Dump Gawds alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, we also can’t ignore the massive output that he’s managed to build for himself, some of the standouts include Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. He’s been releasing 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. He just had Drega33 produce Lethal Weapon 3 this past Friday & returning with the 13th entry in the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap saga.

“Render Punishment” is this piano-boom bap intro talking about gaining a piece of mind surviving in these current times of protest in Los Angeles whereas the soulful “Twisted Metal” featuring Ru$h homages the video game franchise TV adaption with it’s upcoming 2nd season on the Comcast Corporation subsidiary NBCUniversal-owned peacock & the franchise’s mascot being played by former AEW World Champion & 2-time AEW TNT Champion Samoa Joe of the current AEW World Trios Champions The Opps.

The drums get stripped on “Hold the Throne” catching bodies in the studios & feeling ungodly maintaining a chipmunk soul vibe just before “Smoke in Mirrors” continues the drumless sampling to talk about profit being essential to his mental being. “Brand New” hooks ups a crooning sample chop looking to boomerang interest in his opps leading into the jazzy “It’s Automatic” boasting about his raps being cinematic.

“I’m Leavin with Sum” lastly wraps up the EP leveling up his rhyme schemes a couple notches notable when starts by referencing being wittier than Michael Scofield from Prison Break on the Fox Corporation’s flagship property & leavin’ enemies with their throats slit during the final seconds giving the wisdom of preferring a 9-5 instead of going broke. Couldn’t forget to mention the spoken word outro where he touches on always getting to himself something.

Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 13 is a lot like the predecessor in terms of the jazzy, boom bap & drumless production except it’s not another Jay NiCE collaborative effort & maybe the most I’ve enjoyed an EP in the series since Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 10 because of the performances Fahim handles by himself for most of it. Wouldn’t surprise me if he does a collab EP with Ru$h because I’d actually welcome it if that is in fact planned at any point.

Score: 4.5/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Lethal Weapon 3” review

This is the 60th EP from Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim. Starting as an affiliate of Griselda Records as well as 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 Vocabularyproduced by Cartune Beatz. He & Jay NiCE linked for their 2nd collab EP Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 12 last weekend & Drega33’s back to produce Lethal Weapon 3.

“Against the Grain” was a piano-driven boom bap intro talking about contrasting the natural inclination to slay wack rappers by the boatload whereas the soulful “Caught My Eye” became an unexpected yet welcoming turn of things getting in his sensual bag lyrically. “Free Speech” embraces a heavily jazzier sound showing gratitude he’s still alive by the ocean side while “Carnage” gets back on the chipmunk soul tip telling us how he lives.

The song “DNA” gets the ball rollin’ on the final 10 minutes of Lethal Weapon 3 fusing chipmunk soul & jazz rap into 1 talking about being supernatural while “Foot the Bill” talks about watching these chumps squeal in their own blood. “Each Passing Day” heads for a chipmunk soul direction once again suggesting opposites detaching as much as they attract & the crooning outro “Championship Status” talks about the proper steps it takes to become a champion.

Compared to both its predecessor, the trilogy chapter in the Lethal Weapon saga preludes Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 13with the most detailed entry of the series. Drega33’s production is more jazzier than Lethal Weapon 2, harking back to the original Lethal Weapon except he’s meshing it with chipmunk soul to backdrop a deadlier Fahim.

Score: 4/5

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9 Vicious – “B4FN” review

The newest YSL Records signee 9 Vicious coming straight outta Atlanta, Georgia preluding his upcoming 3rd album For Nothing with a new EP. Breaking out last summer off his debut single “U Fancy”, he would go on to further introduce himself on B4SA & the debut album Studio Addict helped him gain more exposure to the point where Young Thug signed him to YSL after B4TM dropped & Tumblr Music wasn’t that bad of a debut for the label other than “Clout Demons”. Over a couple months later, B4FN gives a taste of what the LP’s gonna be.

“So For Nothing” was a delicate trap intro produced by 406ahmad looking back on when he was suicidal during his college days & having to read the Bible after putting his trust in God whereas “I Miss You” cloudily talks about missing his ex. “Movin’ On” works in a plugg instrumental finding himself not looking back on his previous flings while “Fuck Yo Gang” with Patrick Garza talks about these opposing “gangs” ain’t being shit. “Me N Slime” flexes that he & the whole squad stay stealing hoes until “A Song” finishes with a 2-parter asking why his partner’s love is this crazy.

Putting the “Clout Demons” controversy aside, 9 Vicious’ popularity in the trap underground has grown enough to the point where he & Opium’s newest signing ApolloRed1 are putting out a collab tape soon called YVLFN. But if For Nothing is gonna sound anything remotely like B4FN, it could really reach or surpass Studio Addict in his discography. What he delivers here is a mix of that debut & The Life of Pablo.

Score: 4/5

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WTM Solid – “Killa $eason” review

This is the surprise 5th EP from Detroit rapper WTM Solid. A member of the WRLD Tour Mafia. he also embarked on a solo career of his own beginning a few years back with the debut EP Originatour followed by both Matter of Time & What’s the Difference?. His previous EP Bigg a little over 13 months ago as well as the subsequent full-length studio debut album Imagine That at the start of this year elevated himself as an individual amongst the rest of WRLD Tour, making a return 4 months later in time for Killa $eason.

“Honda or Ferrari?” gets the ball rollin’ with a Detroit trap intro produced by Carlo Anthony unnaturally talking about seeing goats whenever he looks at himself in the mirror & after the title track homages the former Dipset leader & current It Is What It Is co-host Cam’ron, the song “Different Town” humorously asks for the pronouns of these bitch ass dudes hating.

Starting the 2nd half, “Hate When Girls Die” dabbles with plugg a little interestingly promising you want see any snakes around him since he cut the grass with a chopped & screwed effect on his vocals until “$.A.$.R. ($uper Awesome $uper Rich)” creates a new acronym using the Slam A Slut Records initials. Finally, the close “Ws in the Chat” finishes the EP comparing bystanders to cops due to the way they be on his dick.

In an effort to make a point that he can make a whole 6 track EP better than most Detroit trap rappers’ whole entire careers, Killa $eason takes Solid’s penmanship even farther than he did on Imagine This when that initially dropped 4 months ago. I didn’t really expect a whole lot in terms of production since he & the rest of Slam A Slut are pretty well known in Detroit trap, but he really sharpens himself lyrically & keeps making his case of what makes him stand out out individually compared to the rest of the group.

Score: 3.5/5

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