WTM Miles – “Road Music” review

Here we have the 4th EP from Detroit, Michigan rapper WTM Miles. A member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, he would properly introduce himself at the beginning of this current decade off his first couple EPs I Shoulda Been Dropped & Trapped n L.A. ahead of the full-length debut studio album Crackhouse Mafia. Miles’ previous EP Cross State Lines celebrated its 1-year anniversary this fall & is preluding the upcoming Shortstop mixtape by dropping off some Road Music.

“Shandeur Sanders” is this stellar Detroit trap opener produced by WTM Niketech boasting that he got more bags than Michael Kors whereas “Cup Dirty” puts a morbid flare to the Motor City’s unique take on trap music talking about a woman letting him know she’s worthless by looking for a come-up. “Future Bright” has a dark Detroit trap atmospheric remaining optimistic regarding his future while “Bad Habits” featuring Homealone Drock trades the mic back-&-forth over a Carlo Anthony instrumental. “Racing to Ms” ends with a 1 more Detroit trap joint talking about being on track when it comes to getting closer making millions.

I can only assume that we’re gonna get Shortstop at some point following R.A.F.A. (Rockstars Are Fuckin’ Awesome) in a few weeks until we get to crossing that bridge, Road Music will hold off fans well enough. The production primarily bases itself around the Detroit trap sound that the group he’s a part of made a name for themselves off & giving a taste of what’s to come in the form of a gift before the year ends.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Boldy James – “Hidden in Plain Sight” review

This is the 8th EP from Detroit veteran Boldy James. Breaking out in the fall of 2013 off his Alchemist produced debut M.1.C.S. (My 1st Chemistry Set), the Detroit lyricist would later go on to land a contract with Nas’ independent label Mass Appeal Records for a little while before getting locked up. Once coming home, Uncle Al would help get his name back out there once getting out by dropping the Boldface EP around Christmas 2019 & then the sophomore album The Price of Tea in China. This was followed up with the Sterling Toles-produced Manger on McNichols which was as equally fantastic, but the Griselda Records-backed Versace Tape EP was a tad bit disappointing given how rushed it was. Bo Jackson though would become his most critically acclaimed work to date & Super Tecmo Bo was almost as great for an EP. Fair Exchange No Robbery produced by Nicholas Craven also became another essential until Penalty of Leadership surpassed it & Mr. 10-08 produced by Futurewave is up there too as is the Conductor Williams-produced Across the Tracks at the beginning of the summer & The Bricktionary produced by Harry Fraud. A month after the latter, Carlo Anthony’s joining him for Hidden in Plain Sight.

“I.S.D.A.M.L. (I Sold Dope All My Life)” starts the EP with a drumless, funky instrumental talking about being in the drug game forever whereas “Dirty Dancing” reminds us that no one wins when the family feuds & wants to make sure y’all bring your dance shoes. The title track featuring Conway the Machine & Styles P brings a jazzier vibe to the beat spittin’ that gangsta shit & after the “Wire Taps” skit, “1st & 15th” featuring King Hendricks goes for a cloudy boom bap flare talking about supplying the coke.

ZelooperZ joins Boldy on “Big Wigs” fusing chipmunk soul & trap together sitting back as they watch everything blossom after going from being at the bottom to chillin’ at the spot sittin’ on $600K prior to “Brick James” swapping out the chipmunk soul elements of the previous joint in favor of jazz rap calling for Only the Family Entertainment founder Lil Durk to come home since he got arrested last month & sending his condolences to their biggest signee King Von, who was murdered several years ago.

Carlo’s primarily known the Detroit trap scene so a lot of people were expecting it to be a lot like The Bricktionary in terms of sound, but he completely proved everyone wrong by trying out sounds that’re new to his wheelhouse. His production goes from drumless to jazz rap, chipmunk soul, boom bap & cloud rap in the span of 18 minutes so Boldy James can finish off 2024 the way he started it: Applying pressure.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Peysoh – “Peysoh Did It” review

Maywood, California up-&-comer Peysoh dropping off a brand new EP with only 11 days left in 2024. Introducing himself 4 years ago already with the debut single “6 Block”, he would later sign to EMPIRE Distribution for his full-length debut Ghetto Journal at the beginning of 2022 in addition to a sophomore effort Get Rich or Life Sliding the next summer. He recently landed guest verses on Berner’s 16th album Hoffa & of course the title track of Kendrick Lamar’s 6th album GNX a month ago, preluding next album by declaring Peysoh Did It.

“Ain’t as Evil as Me” is this Mobb-influenced open or talking about how nobody out here is more evil than he is whereas “Not Me” eerily works in some pianos getting on the gangsta rap tip lyrically. “Lucky 7” embraces the Detroit trap vibes talking about his nickname & getting away with some shit while “What’s Beef?” puts a modern west coast trap twist on a homage to the iconic Biggie track. “Let ‘Em Run” goes Mobb for the final moments asking the city to tell you who be poppin’ shit.

Similarly to the new YoungThreat mixtape that came out earlier today It Gets Greater Later, we have another artist who was featured on Dot’s surprise LP coming through with a body of work that lands a step above Siete7x’s recent tape Stucc in the Hole in terms of quality. All 3 artists can very much rap, but the latter tape had too many features & the other 2 artists didn’t have to bring any in whatsoever.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Elcamino – “Full Moon” review

This is the 18th EP from Buffalo emcee & singer Elcamino. Blowing up in 2017 off his self-titled EPwith 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. 6 months after having Real Bad Man produce The Game is the Game followed by Ill Tone recently producing Built for Cuban Links named after Raekwon’s iconic solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…produced by RZA, Meech started the final quarter of the year flexing his Millionaire status & is ending it with a look at a Full Moon.

“Who Braggin’?” awkwardly kicks things off by impersonating Future for whatever reason while “Legal Money” takes the atmospheric trap route instrumentally doing shit that no one else can compared to him. “Forever” works in some background vocals & hi-hats talking about being too valuable whereas “Real” featuring Duckman vibrantly flexes that they’re still clappin’ out here. “Dat’s My Bae” feels like another Future-inspired song & so does “Back Ballin’” except it’s more playful. “Everything He Knows” lavishly ends with promising that he’ll do this shit for life.

Not trying to make it to sound like that I’m hating on the guy because I’ve been listening to Elcamino ever since he first signed to Griselda almost 8 years ago & have given him his praise in the dozen of projects I’ve reviewed him in the past, but I’m kinda torn on this EP personally. He can very much sing as well as he can rap on trap production like he can on traditional east coast sounds, it’s that the heavy-Future influences can be a little off-putting to me.

Score: 2.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Frayser Boy – “Christmas Trees” review

Memphis, Tennessee emcee Frayser Boy ringing in the holidays with his 4th EP. A member of the Hypnotize Camp Posse, his first 3 albums under Hypnotize Minds Productions produced by his mentors DJ Paul & Juicy J would solidify himself as one of the label’s biggest acts ever as did the B.A.R. (Bay Area Representatives) collab effort with fellow Hypnotize Minds alumni Lil Wyte a decade ago already. Coming off the Bay Day trilogy of EPs however, Bizzle’s got Christmas Trees for everyone.

“Bah Humbud” is this choir-trap opener about smoking weed whereas the title track takes the Memphis route instrumentally telling us how he spending Christmas Eve gettin’ stoned. “Fly Away” gives off a dirty south vibe altogether talking about wanting to take a flight while “Let Me Smoke” returns to a trap direction inhalin’ & exhalin’. “High” featuring T-Rock formerly of the Prophet Posse ends with them flexing that you’re now smoking with the best.

Frayser for me has always stood out within the Hypnotize Camp Posse & I still hold his first 3 LPs in high regards when it comes to his discography. That said: Christmas Trees as a stoner myself is a fun holiday themed stoner’s EP to smoke to during the holiday season heavily basing it’s theme off puffin’ that good good in the middle of winter on top of production built around trap, the Memphis scene that made him who he is or even a hint of dirty south thrown in.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Boondox – “Black Winter” review

Covington, Georgia emcee Boondox releasing his 7th EP. Coming up as 1/3 of the trio Southern Hustlas Inc. under the moniker Turncoat Dirty, he would go on to sign with Psychopathic Records in 2005 following the release of his debut EP Dama Blanca & remained under the Insane Clown Posse’s wing for about a decade putting out his first 4 albums along with his 2nd EP PunkinHed through the Detroit label that runs beneath the streets. “Sippin’” off his debut The Harvest is also the entrance theme for former 5-time JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion & JCW Hall of Famer 2 Tuff Tony if you watch JCW Lunacy. Former labelmates Twiztid later brought the Killer Scarecrow on board over at Majik Ninja Entertainment in the winter of 2016, whom he’s still signed to today. So Much Blood a couple years ago marked his return to the wicked shit & is now returning for a Black Winter.

After the titular intro, the first song “Punisher” produced by MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 is this dark trap intro likening himself to the titular Marvel antihero whereas “2 Wrongs Make a Right” embraces a rap rock vibe instrumentally warning that you don’t really want it with him. “Intermission” keeps the guitars in tact feeling like he won’t be forgiven because of the life of sin he lives while “War Journal” chaotically gets ready for a massacre.

“Vigilante” gets back on the trap metal tip again to talk about the season of killin’ shit coming as well as never being the same & undertaking in public safety or retributive justice without commission, but then “Vae Victis” suggests that everyone pulls the curtain down to see for themselves that everything really ain’t what it seems making sure they know who he is in the midst of giving everyone else the 3rd degree.

Both of the previous EPs that Boondox had put out through Mobstyle Music in tandem with MNE under his original Turncoat Dirty stage name has shown how much the persona has grown artistically in the past 2 decades & Black Winter reaffirms that. 7’s production is mainly trap-based with some trap metal undertones sprinkled in & Boondox’ lyricism tends to be more hardcore as opposed to the gangsta-concept of Cryptodirt over 3 years ago.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Fury – “The Bender in November” review

Bristol, Connecticut emcee as well as Leathal Wreckords founder & the founder of the Leathal Weekends festival Fury releasing his 2nd EP. For 17 years almost 18, he’s dropped 3 full-length studio LPs & an EP by himself in addition to the Leathal Winter collaborative EP with Majik Ninja Entertainment alumni/iLLViLLE Worldwide founder Gibby Stites & most notably the You Already Know collab EP with Tre Lb of the Chop Shop over the summer. 6 months later, the younger brother of Shaggy 2 Dope from the Insane Clown Posse is now fully producing The Bender in November.

“I Wouldn’t” featuring Trikkdout opens up with this alarm-raising trap instrumental & both of them talking about their deadly tendencies whereas “Red Lights” featuring Vanity Grime somberly admits nothing good’s coming to him in this place he’s in right now. “Somebody Help Me” works in some guitars to talk about not wanting to go on & after the “A Friend” skit, “The Last Time” ends the EP by orchestrally wanting to heal this person’s soul.

Fury himself has been saying that The Bender in November stands as some of the best music that he’s ever made & being somebody who’s been paying attention to him since he formed the duo Something Awful alongside Bizarre of prior D12 fame, I’d have to agree with him on that fully. Tre Lb’s production maintains the consistency of You Already Know except this time around, he’s letting the Weirdo Movement member rip the mic by himself for 15 minutes.

Score: 4/5

Polo Perks – “American Pie” review

Polo Perks is a 30 year old rapper from New York notable for formerly being a member of the Surf Gang in addition to the 13 EPs & 3 mixtapes of his own that he has built up for himself since 2018 already. He just linked up with AyooLii & Feardorian for the collaborative effort A Dog’s Chance this summer becoming the most acclaimed body of work in the lowend subgenre thus far, returning 6 months later to drop off his 14th EP hopefully ahead of an upcoming full-length debut studio album & only 48 hours away from the current 2-time ROH World Champion Chris Jericho’s defense against the inaugural WWE Women’s Champion Chelsea Green’s husband in former DDT普遍的なチャンピオン, GCW World Champion, ECW World Television Champion, HoG Heavyweight Champion, TNA Digital Media Champion, NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 2-time WWE tag team champion Matt Cardona.

“Sir Loogie Noise” starts by jumping over a distorted, sample-driven lowend instrumental from Feardorian talking about being in his head and showing him the money if you want him to come to your party whereas “Elvis Presley is Dead as Fuck” dabbles with digicore flexing that he’s too turnt at the moment. “Skramz” goes for a hazier lowend vibe except that Polo’s vocals are mixed too low for my tastes & finally, “Stay Gold” featuring Reno ends with both of them dropping braggadocio over a flute-based beat.

What has always made Polo stand out for me is that he’s constantly trying new sounds from plugg to cloud rap, sample drill or emo rap & American Pie comes off A Dog’s Chance by continuing to do that. The lowend production from that previous collab album makes its way over here in addition to pulling further inspiration from the jerk, midwest emo & emo rap scenes as he offers a take on all those styles that’s more exciting than what other artists have been recently doing for roughly 7 & a half minutes.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

DMX – “Let Us Pray: Chapter X” review

Yonkers, New York icon DMX posthumously releasing a brand new EP of unreleased material. Originally started off as a beatboxer for Ready Ron as a teenager in the mid-80s, it wasn’t until 1998 when X saved Def Jam Recordings from bankruptcy by dropping 2 of the most critically acclaimed hip hop albums of that decade back to back: It’s Dark & Hell’s Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. The follow-up …And Then There Was X at the tail-end of the next year was just as great in my opinion but from there, the next 4 albums from Ruff Ryders Entertainment’s flagship artist would range from average at best or hideous at worst. Exodus 1:7 was posthumously released a couple months after his death to mixed reception although I can definitely tell it was completed before his passing & wanted to give Let Us Pray: Chapter X a chance since I have nothing but respect from the greatest to ever come from the hometown of the inaugural AEW Continental Classic winner, former CZW World Heavyweight Champion, 2-time CZW World Tag Team Champion, アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, EVOLVE Tag Team Champion, 新日本プロレス強無差別級チャンピオン, IWA World Champion & ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston.

“Favor” produced by Warryn Campbell is this orchestrally drumless intro talking about being God’s favorite child & thanking Him for making X as righteous of a person as he was while “Bear with Me” featuring Lecrae works in some pianos hi-hats to get on the spoken word tip for 3 & a half minutes. “1 Life to Do It” featuring MC Lyte continues the spoken word delivery over drumless strings & “Until I’m Gone” featuring WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg ends with a bare jazz instrumental speaking on a unique kind of love.

What a lot of people including myself initially thought was gonna be 4 gospel rap tracks that DMX had left in the vaults for an unspecified amount of time turned out to be a disappointing cash-grab from Def Jam that I like even less than Exodus 1:7. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Warryn Campbell’s production whatsoever, but the spoken word performances from the guests & even DMX himself seems like a significant letdown reminiscent to The Rose That Grew from Concrete that 2Pac’s estate put out 24 years back.

Score: 2/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Valee – “Great Sky London” review

New York producer Evilgiane teaming up with Chicago, Illinois rapper Valee for the latter’s 7th EP. Making his name known by releasing 3 mixtapes & a couple EPs from the span of 2015-2018, it wasn’t until one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye formerly known as Kanye West signed him to a joint deal with G.O.O.D. Music & Def Jam Recordings. The next 2 EPs G.O.O.D. Job, You Found Me & Runnin’ Rich helped spread plugg music to a mainstream audience despite both receiving mixed reception to the point where he would go his own way from Thersday onward. I should also mention that Valee additionally has 2 EPs with AYOCHILLMAN as the duo The TrAppiEst as well as 2 more with ChaseTheMoney as the duo VTM & 2 with Stan Lane as the duo Vlane. His full-length debut Virtuoso produced by Harry Fraud from last summer won me over on him & Partridge produced by Black Noi$e from this spring reached that same caliber & increasing my excitement for Grey Sky London.

“Why Not” is this sample drill opener that he & WTM Niketech put together talking about being in Malibu & a bitch gotta catch him even though this ain’t the MLB whatsoever in addition to taking the backstreet whereas “Up Here” co-produced by Harrison takes a cloudier direction instrumentally asking the hoe what type of time she on since he has the same clock. “Hi Hater Maino” promises that he’ll break up with his girl if he finds out she’s broke & “Elbow” kinda has a plugg vibe to the beat from Eera talking about pulling a hoe for lean, but then “By da Way” ends the EP by refusing to chase a hoe & stopping at Chase Bank instead.

It’s incredible to think that the same guy Ye signed to G.O.O.D. Music for 15 minutes nearly 7 years ago by now would be going on a full redemption arc starting with Virtuoso, only for Partridge & now Great Sky London to expand on. Evilgiane’s cloudy, sample drill & plugg-influenced production is a welcoming change of pace compared to the experimental vibes that Black Noi$e brought to Partridge over 7 months ago & Valee’s own performances maintains the laser-focus that were prominent throughout the other 2 previously mentioned projects he’s given us in the past year & a half.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!