Jamil Honesty – “Shots from the Soviet” review

Staten Island, New York born albeit Baltimore, Maryland based emcee/producer Jamil Honesty linking up with Giallo Point for his 4th EP. Getting his footing in off the strength of his debut mixtape Verses, he would go on to build a name for himself but putting out 3 EPs & a full-length debut serving as a sequel to one of the EPs that Hobgoblin produced. Coming off the Harbor Kidz’ self-titled debut alongside the Krazyfingaz-produced The God Honest Truth or the Machacha-produced Give Us Our Daily Bread & the final installment of the Martyr Musik trilogy, Jamil’s firing Shots from the Soviet.

After the intro, the first song “Bolshevik Bullets” is this piano-driven boom bap opener comparing the bars to Russian strays whereas “The Hit” strips the drums completely talking about everyone in the streets knowing the name. After an interlude, “Double Barrel” featuring Substance810 hooks the kick & snares back up, spitting that gun talk while the solemn boom bap joint “DNA” talks getting your life in a cypher if you’re made for it.

“Makarov Murders” starts the final leg of the EP dropping bodies with the titular semi-automatic pistol that the Soviet Union has made their standard military sidearm for over 7 decades leading into “Gun Pen” grittily comparing his pen-game to that of a firearm, which is pretty accurate. The final song “No Evidence” prior to the outro ends the EP mixing some sampling with kicks & snares talking about leaving the murder scene clean.

After producing Big Trip’s most acclaimed EPs to date Honestly Filthy & it’s sequel, Jamil taps in one of the UK hip hop scene’s most prolific producers in recent memory to make an EP that surpasses the Martyr Musik trilogy as the most essential offering in his discography. I have no complaints regarding Giallo Point’s boom bap production during the 21 minute run nor is there any regarding Jamil’s performances.

Score: 4.5/5

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Lex Luger – “TMOG Forever” review

Lex Luger is a 33 year old producer from Suffolk, Virginia notable for co-founding the 808 Mafia production team with Southside & mostly producing Waka Flocka Flame’s groundbreaking debut album Flockaveli. He later battled drug addiction throughout the mid-late 2010s, kicking the habit for good in 2018 & has been looking to redeem himself by getting his name back out there by producing again. Interestingly enough, he surprise released a 3-track EP clocking in at 9 minutes & it peaked my interest.

“Leech” by Jay Critch happens to be a decent trap intro talking about the money flowin’ similarly to the lean feelin’ crazy flexin’ on Instagram while “Lex Meet Dex” by Famous Dex makes up for it with what’s easily the most enjoyable Dex song I’ve heard in a long time & maybe one of the best tracks in his discography period going harder than Critch on the previous joint. “Workin’” by Casey Veggies & Rich the Kid finishes the EP with both of them showing off their hustle & Casey outrappin’ Rich.

TMOG Forever is basically Lex Luger working with all 3 artists on the Rich Forever Music roster but if you’re a fan of the collaborative tapes they’ve done in the past, you’ll get a kick out of this. I’ll even say it’s the best that they’ve sounded since linking back up. Lex’s distinct production style is exactly what they needed considering the fact that some of the beat selections on a lot of their recent material has been lackluster.

Score: 3.5/5

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Matt Champion – “Slint’s Favorite” review

This is the 2nd EP from Woodlands, Texas rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Matt Champion. A founding member of the now defunct BROCKHAMPTON collective, he also released a solo EP Harley in the spring of 2017 right before the classic SATURATION trilogy & Mika’s Laundryfrom this spring showed the versatility that he was very much capable of. 8 months later, Matt’s surprise-dropping Slint’s Favorite.

“Faye” fuses experimental hip hop, trap, cloud rap, alternative R&B, witch house & industrial hip hop to talk about being haunted while “Hacker”works in elements of alt-pop, neo-soul, alternative R&B & psychedelic soul singing that he wants a home run. “SPJ” produced by Romil Hemnani brings indietronica, alt-pop, minimal wave, alternative R&B & neo-soul together asking if everyone would erase their minds if it was easier prior to “Ash” featuring Deb Never finishing the EP pulling from bedroom pop, alt-pop, downtempo, alternative R&B, art pop, neo-soul & dream pop wanting to know why they don’t ask each other out anymore.

Ahead of his solo set at Camp Flog Gnaw this weekend, Matt whips up a 4-track EP that continues to demonstrate the artistic range prominently shown throughout Mika’s Laundry earlier within the year. Styles like experimental hip hop, trap, cloud rap, alternative R&B, witch house, industrial hip hop, alt-pop, neo-soul, psychedelic soul, indietronica, minimal wave, bedroom pop, downtempo, art pop & dream pop all shift into 1 another fluidly during the span of 12 minutes.

Score: 4/5

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

Nicholas Craven back once again with Tha God Fahim for his 47th EP. 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. But dude has been on a CRAZY ass EP run in 2023 with the standouts being the Camoflauge Monk-produced Dark Shogunn Assassin, the Nature Sounds-backed Iron Bull & the Nicholas Craven-produced Dump Gawd: Shot Clock Kingseries, the Oh No-produced Berserko, Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays produced by Mike Shabb, Tha Supreme Hoarder of All Pristine Wealth. Supreme Dump Legend: Soul Cook Saga produced by Cookin’ Soul & more recently Machine Gun Vocabulary produced by Cartune Beatz. 5 years since Tha Myth Who Never Quit, we got a 2nd AND a 3rd installment last month & they’re maintaining the dumpin’ with Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap.

“Saiyan Pride” is this soulful boom bap intro reminding us of the fact that his catalogue is extensive on top of the mystic energy that he always brings whereas “A Nightmare You Can’t Come Back From” works in a chipmunk soul instrumental asking who’s as dope as him lyrically. “Dump Dynasty” hooks up a guitar sample with more kicks & snares making change by spitting flames prior to “10x Gravity” soulfully talking about his power level unable to be mapped out or calculated.

As for “Tha Riddle of Steel”, we have Fahim over a flute cautioning what will happen if you fuck with the known unknown just before “LSSJ” strips the drums altogether talking about MCs tryna weather the storm. “Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 2” is a raw sequel to a Myth Who Never Quit 3 standout leading into “Tha Supreme Kai of Bean Pies” makes MCs meet death sampling soul once more, but then “Repetition” finishes the EP rhymin’ like a brewin’ storm.

Giving a couple weeks for both Tha Myth Who Never Quit 2 & Tha Myth Who Never Quit 3 to breathe, Breadrick Douglas & the greatest hip hop producer from Montréal recapture the same energy of the original “Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap” track on the last EP & carried it over onto a 20 minute EP of it’s own. Nicholas Craven’s chipmunk soul-heavy boom bap & drumless sound has always brought the best out of the Dump Gawd, except I like this more than Tha Myth Who Never Quit 3 & almost as much as Tha Myth Who Never Quit 2.

Score: 4.5/5

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Glokk40Spaz – “Slaughter House Recordz” review

This is the 2nd EP Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Glokk40Spaz. Emerging off the Don’t Get Took Off mixtape trilogy & the debut EP Spaz&B, he would also go on to drop his very first LP 2 Glokks followed by the sophomore effort Baby Whoa with both of them receiving quite a bit of acclaim. Took the Biggest Risk distributed by Columbia Records was a great major label debut for EBG Records founder, as was the acclaimed collab EP with OsamaSon earlier this summer 3vil Reflection & his latest magnum opus Da Real Oso. However, what was intended to be a deluxe version of his latest album has morphed into Slaughter House Recordz.

“Welcome 2 da Slaughter” produced by Internet Money Records in-house producer Vendr is this eerie drill opener breaking down his lifestyle whereas the rage-inducing “Decoy” boasts that he’s self-employed & rich as a muhfucka. “3rd Day Out” maintains a hypertrap vibe talking about being home from the pen for 3 days just before the drill-sounding “Take It Up with God” once again shows off his mob ties.

The song “Vicinity” talking about hoes being around him taking risks & bitches at the exact same time leading into “Black Rose Nightmare” hopping over another rage beat from Dylvinci flexing that he’s cool with the heat despite how cold his diamonds are. Finally, the closing track “Yess” rounds out the EP showing off his money being tall as fuck keeping his whole entire block on lockdown.

All 7 of these cuts could’ve easily made it onto Da Real Oso & would’ve fit with the context of it, but I’m not mad at him making it into a separate entity of it’s own. Even if I think the production on the latter is a tad bit better, Glokk40 still undeniably makes some aggressively hungry performances in roughly 17 minutes continuing to hold off from having any guests joining him.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jason Martin – “Repack” review

This is the 3rd 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 & a couple EPs. I 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. earlier this summer. However, he’s warming everyone up for the next era by dropping off a Repack.

“Problem” featuring Laila! is a soulful, self-produced Mobb opener referencing the moniker that made a name for Jason whereas “Kill Switch”featuring Daz Dillinger further pulls inspiration from the Bay thanks to Fredwreck talking about their gang ties. “Live It Up” featuring Lil Vada & Sada Baby on the remix maintains a Mobb vibe instrumentally detailing the gangsta lifestyle once more leading into “You Know What It Is” going for a traditional west coast flare to talk about everyone knowing the deal courtesy of Mike & Keys.

As for My Boy”, we have Jason & Glasses Malone coming together to drop braggadocio just before “Poridge” featuring Jay Worthy & Mitchy Slick shows off the rare aura of all 3 of them. “5 Pack” blends g-funk & hyphy talking about being artists being indicted for what they say in their music which I think is wrong, but then “Cookie” turns the bass up refusing to go back-&-forth over a topic of discussion he doesn’t care enough for.

“Come & Shine with Me” featuring RJmrLA playfully encourages everyone to shine with them leading into “Hold Up” featuring LaToiya Williams balancing g-funk & trap to talk about y’all having no more chances. “Actin’ Tuff” featuring Dreebo goes drumless breaking down specific type of bitches & after the “God Knows Best” skit, “Goin’” featuring Lil Neph soulfully finishes by talking about keeping it moving the money flowin’.

Restoring a feeling that’s been missing from California music as a whole 5 months ago, the Repack is completely different since Mike & Keys take the opportunity to help Jason bring together a myriad of west coast sounds old & new with the beats with the guests that join him being a dope mix of mainly west coast veterans and of course a few up-&-comers sprinkled into the equation.

Score: 3.5/5

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Sule – “Written on Wide’s Corner 2” review

This is the 9th EP from Englewood, New Jersey emcee Sule. Signing to Benny the Butcher’s very own Black Soprano Family Records at the end of 2022 after putting out 7 EPs over the course of a decade, he’s also notable for his guest verse on the Biggest Since Camby closing track “White Lives Matter” produced by Havoc formerly of Mobb Deep & of course the well received Black Soprano debut Written on Wide’s Corner earlier this spring. Fast forward to Election Day 2024, we’re being treated to a sequel.

“New Jersey State of Mind” is a boom bap opener, letting us know what it was like for him growing up in the titular state whereas “Trois Sopranois” featuring Benny the Butcher & Fuego Base finds the trio representing B$F to the fullest for a few minutes. “Victor Cruz” produced by STREETRUNNER offers a soulful trap flare referencing the WR for the New York Giants, but then “Cutz” featuring Flames Dot Malik gets the 2 together for an aggressive hardcore hip hop joint breaking generational curses.

To start the other half, “My Brother’s Keeper” soulfully talks being known for making promises instead of threats while “Sule Common Wealth” featuring Lo Pro works in more kicks & snares so they can refer to themselves as the same ones who ran it. “I Made You Wealthy” featuring Fuego Base maintains a boom bap flare addressing people who’ve betrayed them after making them rich & “The Crash Out Story” ends by teaching everyone to leave their valuables at the stash house.

Sule has quickly risen to become one of the best artists on the Black Soprano Family roster in the past 8 months & in contrast to Written on Wide’s Corner achieving his goal of making Englewood a landmark, the follow-up elevates that further. The production is a mix of boom bap & trap just like the predecessor was, a couple of the guests stick the landing performance-wise & the New Jersey artist himself continues to tell us what it’s like where he’s from.

Score: 4/5

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Psycho Les – “Escape the Matrix” review

Psycho Les is a 52 year old MC/producer from Queens, New York notable for being 1/2 of The Beatnuts alongside Juju as well as 1/5 of the Liknuts supergroup with Tha Alkaholiks. He eventually started carving a path for himself as a solo artist in the spring of 2007 with the debut album Psycho Therapy & returning almost a decade later for the weed-themed, feature-heavy sophomore effort Dank God. Ahead of the Real Psychos’ eponymous debut with B-Real next month, Eric Bobo & Stu Bangas are getting together to help Escape the Matrix on his 1st solo EP.

“S.O.S.” starts by spitting conscious lyricism over a boom bap instrumental cautioning of the world we know it today being in danger & considering yourself lucky if you’re still alive refusing to get on his Chuck D shit whereas “Crooks” featuring Snyp Life works in more kicks & snares with a delicate backdrop referring to themselves as the last ones of their kind pleading for everyone to take facts over fear. “Fire” featuring Blahzay Blahzay properly ends the EP with Outloud joining Les with PF Cuttin’ on the scratching to talk about the world burning.

Dank God had its high points, but I’ve always felt like it was overloaded with features in comparison to Psycho Therapy. And although Escape the Matrix only became a 3-track EP instead of a full-length studio album, what it offers in nearly 10 minutes is better than a lot of what was on that previous LP almost a decade ago. Eric Bobo & Stu Bangas both recapture the magic of their production throughout their Empires collaborative effort on 4/20 2021 keeping it underground traditional boom bap vibes alive & Les himself offers more politically conscious subject matter.

Score: 4/5

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SoFaygo – “Pressure” review

This is the 14th EP from Cobb County, Georgia rapper SoFaygo. Cementing himself as one of the biggest faces in the plugg/pluggnB & rage scenes in recent memory, he’s since gone on to drop a dozen EPs & it’s even resulted in Houston trap trailblazer Travis Scott signing him signed to a Cactus Jack Records for his long awaited full-length debut Pink Heartz couple years back even though reception towards it was generally mixed. He coincided with the 1-year anniversary of both him making it on the XXL Freshman Class & the release of B4Pink with Go+, returning to once again apply Pressure.

“Big Body” produced by thr6x starts by mixing trap & pop rap together melodically flexing that he’s been on that shit hopping out of the big bodies whereas “Road Rage” takes a bit of a psychedelic trap route instrumental staying geeked 24/7 including a dope reference to Nettspend. “Pointers / Act Up” is a 2-parter to begin the other half of Pressure rockin’ out with the diamonds around his neck making plays in the field & “Minute Maid” properly ties up the EP with an incredibly loud snare leaving the bank boasting that he might let it rain.

There’s been a lot of speculation in regards to whether or not SoFaygo had actually quit making music & not only did he debunk all of that by surprise releasing a 4-track 10 minute EP, but one that serves as a prequel to his upcoming sophomore effort Mania that was originally conceived as a sequel to his 2019 EP War. Even if I think the production is average for the most part, his performances aren’t too bad.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ella Mai – “3” review

London, England, United Kingdom singer/songwriter Ella Mai celebrating her 30th birthday with her 4th EP. Signing to DJ Mustard’s very own Interscope Records imprint 10 Summers Records, her first few EPs Time as well as Change & Ready were all solid preludes ahead of her acclaimed eponymous full length debut studio album. Her sophomore effort Heart on My Sleeve would also be well received & 2 years later, she’s dropping off a 3-track offering produced by Mustard.

“Hearts on Deck” is this infectiously catchy ass opener singing about how this person’s next move better be the best one whereas “One of Those” samples I’ll Be Around” by Gnarls Barkley frontman Cee-Lo Green of the Goodie Mob subunit of the Dungeon Family collective admitting that she can’t get her boyfriend Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics off her mind. “Little Things” ends the EP on some trap soul vibes wanting to take some time thank y’all & just let you know just how you make her proud.

Introducing a fresh chapter in Mai’s career now that her 20s are behind her, 3 finds her & DJ Mustard’s reinforcing her signature soulful sound bringing listeners into a journey of love, connection & self-awareness. It also mirrors her personal growth & evolution, aligning beautifully with the themes of maturity & discovery reflected throughout the course of a 10 & a half minute listening experience without any features whatsoever.

Score: 4/5

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