Jalen Frazier – “Eye of the Beholder” review

Here is the 5th EP from Detroit, Michigan emcee Jalen Frazier. 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 & Ethics of War produced by godBLESSbeatz elevated himself from both of its predecessors, aiming for a 3-peat with Eye of the Beholder produced by Machacha.

“The Luz” opens up with a somber boom bap instrumental trying to make a profit overnight & aiming guns at nosy muhfuckas whereas “Dolphins” soulfully talks about emptying clips on whole entire regimes. “Tale of the Streets”works in a guitar mixed with kicks & snares masterfully showing off his storytelling abilities for 111 seconds while “God Forbid” talks about needing a ticket to hear these thoughts.

J-Classic joins Jalen on the song “Duffel Bag Written” winding up the 2nd half of Eye of the Beholder with a crazy Crash Bandicoot reference in light of Netflix producing an upcoming animated series based on the iconic franchise while “Conflict Resolution” hooks up a reversed sample shouting out all his homies locked down behind prison walls. “Political Theater” featuring Isaac Castor finishes with both of them talking about there being 2 sides of America.

A tribute to those who carry the weight of being authentic in the world full of imitators & searching for meaning amongst the misunderstood, Jalen Frazier continues to put out some of the most essential material of his whole entire career throughout Eye of the Beholder continuing to improve above All Love Until It’s Not roughly 8 months ago. Machacha’s production is on par with The Most Interesting Man in the World’s & each verse feels like a testimony.

Score: 4/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Ultimate Rapper 5000 Guillotine” review

New EP & the 68th overall from Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim. 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. Coming off a Slam Dump with Drega33 earlier this week, the Ultimate Rapper 5000 Guillotine has emerged.

“50 Lunch Numbers” proves to be a great taste of what to expect whether it be the self-produced boom bap beat or the sharp lyricism talking about how nobody can take his musical accomplishments away from him whereas “My Off Day” goes for a jazzier vibe working when he wasn’t scheduled to. “Miseducation” hooks up some dusty vibraphones recalling a lot of people he knew having guns before graduating high school while “Mic Clutchin’” brings back the jazz suggesting separation can be for the best sometimes.

Meanwhile on “Modern Marvel”, we have Fahim going for a lo-fi boom bap vibe breaking & building empires leading into “Reigning Victor” talking about his state of mind scarily being out of planetary. “Tha Coming of Shogunn” keeps things in the basement instrumentally comparing his discography to a library of knowledge just before “Tha Dump” talks about his imperviousness. “Illusions of tha Mind” shits on those who’re still hating over a guitar & “Mortal Wounds” featuring Jay NiCE ends by thanking God they’re true Gs.

The only time we really got to hear Tha God Fahim over his own production in 2025 was the 42% of Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 15 (Final Explosion) that he did all by himself & Ultimate Rapper Guillotine 5000 makes up for the last few installments of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap saga with the most I’ve enjoyed a project of his since Lethal Weapon 4. After spending the last 13 months sharpening his sword, he jumps back behind the board to prove that he hasn’t lost a step in that department.

Score: 4.5/5

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Truth – “Nostalgia ThEraPy 2” review

Brand new EP from Queens, New York emcee Truth. Formerly of the trio Gods’Illa, he would start to build up a solo discography for himself the year after the group’s full-length debut Believe in Gods’Illa however with From Ashes to Kingdom Come. He later followed it up 3 years later by dropping the sophomore effort The Fight for Survival as well as For All Intents & Purposes. The latter of which was also produced by Da Beatminerz fully as was Nostalgia ThEraPy, running it back with DJ Evil D & Mr. Walt for a sequel.

“Painful Truth” set up shop with a gully boom bap instrumental suggesting to try fuckin’ with him in a battle just to see what would happen until “Want It Back” dustily talks about his desire for New York to take it back to it’s roots dismissing “mumble rap” when I feel like we’ve been past that phase for a grip already. “Redrum Seen” brings a murderous vibe from the beat to the relentless penmanship while “Cause for Concern” featuring Psycho Les & Tragedy Khadafi comes together for a lyrical onslaught.

The song “Done Did It” kicks off the 2nd half of Nostalgia ThEraPy 2 by having Truth hopping over some horns mixed with kicks & snares talking about doing this rap shit with ease while “Check It Out” unloads a couple of razor-sharp 16s with more authority than the MTA on top of an aggressive backdrop. “Get to It” featuring Royal Flush finishes the EP with both of them over a soul sample refusing to slow down until they get what’s owed to them.

Hungrier than ever, the 3rd dosage of potent east coast boom bap from Truth & Da Beatminerz continues the former Gods’illa member’s elevation as a solo artist that began nearly 4 years ago with For All Intents & Purposes alongside the original Nostalgia ThEraPy EP celebrating it’s 2-year anniversary in only a couple months. Everything regarding the latter being elevated throughout its follow-up from DJ Evil D & Mr. Walt’s production to the sharp lyricism.

Score: 4/5

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Ransom – “The Uncomfortable Truth” review

Jersey City wordsmith Ransom dropping his 14th EP a week following its announcement. Coming up as 1/2 of the short-lived duo A-Team alongside Hitchcock, he branched out on his own in 2008 following their disbandment beginning with the full-length debut Street Cinema & the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort The Proposal. But it’s been safe to say these last couple years have been his biggest so far whether it be the 5 EPs that he put out produced by Nicholas Craven, 7 based around the 7 deadly sins, Heavy’s the Head entirely produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Rome Streetz collab album Coup de Grâce, Chaos is My Ladder, Director’s Cut 4 & Deleted Scenes 2. Lavish Misery produced by Harry Fraud was a step above Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child & MadeinTYO producing Smoke & Mirrors last summer was an exciting surprise, coming off The Reinvention produced by DJ Premier this past Halloween to confront The Uncomfortable Truth with Conductor Williams.

“Clairvoyance” ferociously breaks the gate down talking about his ability to perceive events in the future whereas “Blood Stains on Coliseum Floors” works in a crooning soul sample posing the question of why one would believe in faith when every single prophecy he’s familiar with has been ignored. The only single “Bomaye” drumlessly references the Rumble in the Jungle between George Foreman & WWE Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali just before “Temple Run” featuring J. Arrr talks about not reaching their full potentials.

To begin the 2nd half, “Late Replies” keeps chopping up the soul samples apologizing to the love of his life for responding to her calls & texts later than he normally does leading into “The Human Animal” talks about people trying to pass batons in the midst of racing death. “Flowers & Tombstones” featuring J. Arrr reunites the pair 1 last time over a drumless beat to place blossoms on these analytics’ gravesites while “Trigger or Trigga” soulfully ends the EP talking about people falling victim to trigger works.

Wouldn’t have expected The Uncomfortable Truth to drop so soon after The Reinvention almost 3 weeks earlier but unsurprisingly, it’s another one of the greatest extended plays throughout Ransom’s whole entire catalog. Conductor Williams’ production leans heavier towards the drumless side of things contrasting Preemo’s signature boom bap sound of The Reinvention on Halloween & the lyrics are more soul baring, bringing along J. Arrr for a couple appearances instead of holding it down by himself again.

Score: 4.5/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Slam Dump” review

Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim shaking things up a bit with his 67th EP. 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. Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 19 on Halloween was technically his most recent solo effort until Slam Dump, starting a new series instead of doing a Lethal Weapon 5.

“Happily Ever After” jumps over a chipmunk soul instrumental talking about there being no happy endings when ever he closes a chapter whereas “All Buckets” chops up another sample cycling through an entire clip until he hears a click. The title track featuring Jay NiCE soulfully talks about this rap shit being easier than breathing prior to “Clean ‘Em Up” also featuring Jay NiCE winning championships without coaching.

Jay NiCE makes his 3rd & final appearance on “International Champs” talking about making sure your “gold” doesn’t turn out to be copper in reality while “1st Strike” make for some of the extended play’s craziest rhyme schemes continuing a legend’s story. “Professional Hits” incorporates more samples to talk about his words representing lightness & “Noble Lineage” concludes with a soulful outro explaining that trials are a part of the process.

Regardless of how long it’ll be until Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 21 & whether or not it’ll be another collaborative effort with Jay NiCE, I have to appreciate Tha God Fahim for doing a 180° although it wouldn’t surprise me if Lethal Weapon 5 does come to fruition within the next year. Drega33’s production ranks amongst his best as he & FlyG prepare for the MENNBLVCK sequel in less than a couple weeks & the lyricism maintains Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 19‘s caliber.

Score: 4/5

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ИF – “Fear” review

Gladwin, Michigan recording artist ИF dropping off his 3rd EP. Coming up 15 years ago off his debut mixtape Moments, he eventually signed to Capitol Records & made his full-length debut during my senior year of high school with Mansion. This was followed up with Therapy Session & Perception, the latter of which spawning his biggest hit “Let You Down”. Coming off The Search & Hope however, he’s decided to face Fear head-on as we reach the halfway point of November 2025.

The self-produced title track opens with him talking about his OCD being worse than ever and asking God, if this fire and his life was started by Him & after “Home” finds himself pretending this chick’s actually here leaving a voicemail and telling her to call him back, “Who I Was” featuring MGK brings 2 of the corniest artists together talking about everything they care for being burnt up in front of them.

“Gimme a Reason” talks about forgetting what the hustle & struggle was like despite the cosign from UFC fighter Michael Chandler while “Sorry” featuring James Arthur starts the final moments of Fear with both of them coming together for a pop rap crossover apologizing to exes for the way things ended with them & not trying to start any more issues than Necessary. “Washed Up” concludes the EP regressing to a more negative mindset that was seen prior to Hope.

Unfortunately as much as I really want to like ИF’s music, Fear merely faulters at an attempt to shift towards singer/songwriter with minor elements of conscious hip hop along with pop rap & folk pop. There’s not really a whole lot for me to complain about in regards to the production since it’s merely decent at best, it’s that some of the lyrics can be irritatingly corny & the flows aren’t really all that interesting to me either personally.

Score: 1.5/5

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Meek Mill – “Indie Pack” review

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania rapper & songwriter Meek Mill preluding his 6th album with his 8th EP. Starting out in the battle rap circuit before T.I. briefly signed him to Grand Hustle Records. Once he left, Rick Ross brought him over to Maybach Music Group & we’ve seen a handful of ups & downs in his career over the past decade. The critically acclaimed Dreamchasers mixtape series, his beef with Drake & who could forget where he was sentenced to 6 years in prison by a corrupt judge only to be released 5 months later?Championships was seen as his most mature body of work yet despite being a tad bit bloated, fulfilling his contractual obligations for Maybach & Atlantic Records with Expensive Painto divisive reception. Coming off Heathenism & Who Decides War?, the next phase of his career is being teased via an Indie Pack only a couple days succeeding what would’ve been the 45th birthday of BJWジュニアヘビー級王座, 3-time CZW World Tag Team Champion, JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion & ROH World Tag Team Champion Trent Acid.

“Save Yourself” open with a bland instrumental talking about the fact that everybody can’t be saved because all of us weren’t meant to make it whereas “How Far We Came” works in some decent sampling feeling prideful of his successes. “Free Smoke” speaks of people talking shit behind his back wanting to see him dead & “4th of July in Philly” featuring Fridayy finishes with both of them cooking up a mediocre Independent’s Day anthem.

Before I get to my closing thoughts regarding Indie Pack, lemme just say that I’m very happy for Meek Mill getting off a major label & becoming fully independent. However, he hasn’t had a consistent body of work since Championships & this EP unfortunately continues towards the same trajectory as Expensive Pain. Clearly there’s a lot less pressure on him now that he doesn’t have to worry about appeasing record executives anymore, but his production choices are getting worse.

Score: 2/5

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Jason Martin – “Mafia Cafe” review

Here is the 5th EP from Compton, California emcee, songwriter & producer Jason Martin. Originally known as Problem, he would go on to release over a dozen mixtapes as well as 4 full-length studio albums & 4 EPs. Can’t forget to mention both collaborative efforts DJ Quik, the first being Rosecrans back in 2017 & the follow-up Chupacabra days before Kendrick Lamar’s now historic 1-off Pop Out concert at the Kia Forum. 52 weeks since Repack produced by Mike & Keys, they’re heading to the Mafia Cafe merely 6 weeks following A Hit Dog Gon Holla.

“I Can’t Tell” sets the tone with a drumlessly jazzy instrumental reversing his opposition’s plays whereas “When Will They Learn?” & after “Check It Out” skit embraces a chipmunk soul vibe talking about being in Jamaica backflipping off yachts. “Expensive Rentals” brings back the jazz reminding that Coffee & Kush are great for the mental just before the soulful “Choices” hones in on Jason’s storytelling abilities, portraying a conversation taking place over the phone.

We get some jazzy horns during “Black Entertainment” breaking down the industry as a whole leading into “Cafalonia” drumlessly wittily talks about sipping a latte smoother than Sade’s music. “Pity the Fools” soulfully references WWE Hall of Famer Mr. T & after the hilarious “Akademiks Finally Says Something Worth Listening To” skit, “Tricky Times” jazzily speaks of some harsh realities despite the fact that he got to “Stay Fresh Through It All”.

Not even a couple months since A Hit Dog Gonna Holla & the 3rd extended play from Jason Martin within an entire year quickly surpasses the one that recently came out earlier this fall. Mike & Keys’ production on this one is more sample heavy than it was last time, chopping up records from the jazz & soul genres to provide Jason more than enough space for him to step up his pen-game.

Score: 4.5/5

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Alemeda – “But What the Hell Do I Know?” review

Phoenix, Arizona singer/songwriter of Sudanese-Ethiopian descent Alemeda returning for her 2nd EP. Appearing on the Hit-Boy produced highlight “Fallacy” off Ab-Soul’s 5th album Herbert at the end of 2022, she would eventually sign to Top Dawg Entertainment under an exclusive distribution deal with Warner Records for a positively received pop rock/bedroom pop debut EP Fuck It last fall. 14 months have passed & she’s looking to further her establish her by releasing But What the Hell Do I Know?.

Things begin with the pop rock intro “Happy with You” singing about being in disbelief that she can feel contented by a romantic figure whereas “Beat a Bitch Up!” featuring Doechii fuses alternative rock, post-punk revival, indie rock, pop rap, pop punk & shoegaze for a ventilation of resorting to physical violence. “Losing Myself” sings about feeling like she’s falling into a metaphorical abyss while the indie/pop rock & bedroom pop lead single “Chameleon” featuring Rachel Chinouriri cautions that karma’s coming to manipulators.

“1-800-FUCK-YOU” starts the 2nd half of But What the Hell Do I Know? with a pop rock/post-punk revival single confidently standing up to any bullshit hurled at her while the self-produced “Stupid Little Bitch” asks why she wastes her days crying over someone in her life worth deeming that very title. “I’m Over It” lately sends off the EP with 1 more pop rock track singing about how things started in this relationship she’s describing wound up being the same way things were lost, being on the verge of giving up trying to fix it.

Expanding the predominant pop rock & bedroom pop sounds of Fuck It almost 14 months ago including it’s secondary post-punk revival influences, Alemeda comes to the realization that she didn’t know everything like she always thought & takes a more vulnerable approach than she did on But What Do I Know?’s predecessor. Her whole entire style that makes her differ from her labelmates is being distilled right in front of us for 17 minutes additionally pulling from alternative rock, indie rock, pop rap, pop punk & shoegaze.

Score: 4/5

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MexikoDro – “Still Goin’” review

Atlanta, Georgia producer & rapper MexikoDro making his full-length studio debut under Republic Records. A member of the BeatPluggz, he would later embark on a solo career with Down Bad as well as De Mayo & Quatro respectively. In almost a decade he’s also produced tracks for the likes of Maxo Kream, Drake, Bktherula, Smokingskul, Tony Shhnow & more recently Diorvsyou this spring. 14 months since Quatro, he’s making it clear that he’s Still Goin’.

“Hurt” jumps over a futuristic trap instrumental to talk about making songs as a way of getting shit off his chest leading into “Stuck” discussing the importance of never folding even when life was getting really tough. “Den” talks about fucking up the roads driving in his new Durango over some synthesizers until the celebratory trap single “Remy” speaks of life improving with God by his side.

As for “No Clear Coat”, we have Dro on top of more trap production talking about living life blindly because he has too much faith just before “Marta”boasts that he has more women than an all women’s school over a plugg beat. “Wish” reaches the halfway point thanking the Higher Power for a new day right when he wakes up while “Hire” confesses that he’s far from perfect & feeling confidence of doing well.

“Height” has to be the most personal single this guy‘s ever put out, basically talking about going from calling his mother whilst incarcerated & checking into rehab for drug abuse to turning down huge opportunities while “Maid” desiring to have a big body vehicle instead of a sports car. “Twice” talks about doing better than he was a couple years earlier previously while “Aware” embraces the plugg sound fully looking to turn himself up for the summer.

To begin the last 5 minutes of the LP, the deadpan lead single “No Date” finds himself refusing to do any punk ass bullshit for the sole purpose of going viral because he’s been artistically upgrading throughout the course of these past 11 months while “Doin Right” ties things up in the from of this celebratory outro talking about taking his music career seriously considering that it’s his blessing.

Usually whenever a producer takes the risk of adding the performer occupation onto their repertoire whether they choose to rap or sing their vocals, it could either be a success or a failure. In MexikoDro’s case, the BeatPluggz member’s major label debut album wowed me more than I had initially thought it would. Even if it can be a little monotonous, the production isn’t bad for him making no contributions in that department & the passion’s certainly there in terms of what he gets off his chest.

Score: 3.5/5

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