Stove God Cook$ – “Stop Callin’ Me, I’m Cookin’” review

This is the 2nd EP from Syracuse, New York emcee Stove God Cook$. A protégé of Roc Marciano, the latter produced Stovey’s highly acclaimed full-length debut Reasonable Drought in March 2020 right when the COVID-19 lockdowns began. He signed to Griselda Records not too long after & released his debut EP If These Kitchen Walls Could Talk a year & a half later. However he’s surprise-releasing Stop Callin’ Me, I’m Cookin’ ahead of his Griselda debut Stove Jesus & even an album produced by Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind.

“Earl the Pearl” is a soulful boom bap opener produced by Cool & Dre talking about dead rappers getting more life when their eyes are closed whereas “E$co Chipper” continues to chop up the soul samples showing disgust towards his competition. “Marvin Ye” works the kicks & snares back in likening himself as a mix between Marvin Gaye & Ye formerly known as Kanye West while “The Glove” after the “$ocrates” skit goes drumless again to talk about being amongst the illest. “Ba$eline Hov” has this chipmunk soul flare to the beat getting on his hustler shit & “Chapo Phone” sumptuously talks about being a don.

Stove God to me is an extraordinarily generational talent & I’m confident that will be getting a sequel to Stop Callin’ Me, I’m Cookin’ at some point near future, considering the fact that this is only Side A but what we have here nevertheless has to be amongst the best EPs I’ve heard in this year. The soulfully drumless/boom bap production matched with Stovey’s immaculate Coke raps increase anticipation for Stove Jesus & the Stoupe-produced album, as will Side B.

Score: 4.5/5

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Pradabagshawty – “10 Freak Ho’s” review

This is the 3rd extended play, the 2nd of 2024 & Cegular Records debut from Columbia, South Carolina born albeit Atlanta, Georgia rapper Pradabagshawty. Introducing himself last summer off his debut EP Bloxk Addiktion, he would go on to follow it up with 1 Love a few months earlier until Whyceg signed him to his very own Sony Music imprint not too long afterwards alongside Babystaydown. Appropriately, the time has come for him make a wider introduction with 10 Freak Ho’s preluding Forever & After later this fall.

“Go Best Friend” featuring NDO D joins forces over a plugg instrumental talking about their hoes calling them their besties after fuckin’ & once “She Goin’” carries over the plugg vibes in a bubblier fashion getting higher than KiD CuDi, my favorite track here “Ball Me Back” produced by both Whyceg & SOULJASPIRITS reaches the halfway point talking about being fine with this woman getting passed around by the whole crew.

Starting the 2nd half, the song “At All” clarifies that he ain’t fuckin’ with any of these guys or bitches who stay smellin’ over an aquatic trap beat while “Fasting” locks back on with SOULJASPIRITS for another plugg banger talking about taking a break from going down on women. “B My Hoe” featuring ImSoMarcus finishes the EP in the form of this decent plugg outro desiring more money & asking the females around them if they could vibe with them whilst desiring to make more bags.

1 Love sticks out as the best EP we’ve gotten from Pradabagshawty in 2024 despite Bloxk Addiktion, but 10 Freak Ho’s gives the underground a gander at what this Cegular/Sony deal could do for him in the long run & it’s still very much an average listening experience justifying him getting a label deal. The trap & plugg production isn’t as interesting as it was 4 months earlier, with the lyricism focusing more on themes of love than his earlier stuff.

Score: 3/5

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Mighty Morphin’ Wackness – “Tour EP” review

Mighty Morphin’ Wackness is an Ohio underground supergroup consisting of Billy D & Kyle Kombs a.k.a. Klokwerk E as well as Mr. 8 Legz & Whipstick or better known as the Super Famous Fun Time Guys. One of whom formed last year & the other became the first act that the almighty Alla Xul Elu signed to their independent Long Live Evil label. The quartet initially teamed up on “We’re Waaaack” off I’ll Tell You When I Want to Laugh By Laughing several months ago. Coinciding their first tour together, they’re cooking up a brand new EP of material as an official unit.

After the intro, the first song “Pull Over” shows off a back-&-forth delivery between all 4 members comedically hoping they hit a rest stop sooner instead of later whereas “Let Me Go” talks about turning everything into a horror flick & only amplifying it. After the “Waaaackest Commercial Ever” skit, the song “Super Spooky” by Kyle Kombs & the Super Famous Fun Time Guys builds itself around the supernatural & “Pussy Farts” ends with a humorous cut about queefs.

Whenever both halves of Mighty Morphin’ Wackness feel the time is right for them to put out a full-length debut studio album together, this quick Tour EP still remains to be an exciting listen for anyone who loves the self-deprecating horrorcore style the Super Famous Fun Time Guys are known for & the distinct originality of the 5th dimensional silver boof brothers Klokwerk E by emphasizing the humorous approach each of them have had to offer in the underground wicked shit scene all decade.

Score: 4/5

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Planet Asia – “Trust the Chain II” review

Fresno, California veteran Planet Asia back with 38 Spesh to produce his 12th EP & a sequel to one is his best EPs in recent years Trust the Chain. Emerging as 1/2 of the duo Cali Agents, he would also go on to have a very successful solo career & has made a lengthy yet consistent discography for himself. This includes The Grand Opening, The Medicine, the DJ Muggs-produced Pain Language, Abrasions, the Apollo Brown-produced Anchovies & Sardines backed by Mello Music Group, the Evidence-produced Rule of 3rds & the Snowgoons-produced U.Z.I. (Universal Zeitgeist Intelligence). Now with the 1-year anniversary of Sardines approaching in a few weeks, Trust the Chain II is finally here.

“Checking Traps” sets the tone of what’s to come with a rich instrumental talking about the whole team out here getting fat whereas “Inertia” takes a cloudier route expressing his gratitude to be alive serving a purpose. “Crumble Cake” works in some pianos preparing everyone for the poisonous arrows that have yet to be unloaded, but then “BBQ” goes head-on boom bap talking about bringing out the drink & partying.

Starring the EP’s other half, “Players & Dons” has a blaxploitation flare to the beat telling us the difference between the 2 types of people while the sample-driven “Illuminati Money” by the General Monks featuring Klass Murda calls out everyone on their weirdo shit. “Upscale” featuring A Plus tha Kid & The Musalini brings a blusier vibe to the table refusing to do deals with bitches in the field & “Greatness” ends Trust the Chain II peacefully brushing off that he’s on some fake shit.

Of the small handful of projects that Asia has given us in the last 11 months, Trust the Chain II easily stands as his best of 2024 so far surpasses last month’s God’s Timing or even last weekend’s Mother & Gun as my personal favorite from the TCF camp. Spesh’s production is more consistent than some of the Fresno emcee’s output in these last 8 months, the features are toned down significantly & the dude himself sounds as focused as he was on the predecessor 5 years ago.

Score: 4.5/5

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Benny the Butcher – “Buffalo Butch” review

This is the 8th EP from Buffalo, New York emcee Benny the Butcher. Being in the game for 2 decades already, it wouldn’t be until 2016 where he alongside his cousins Westside Gunn & Conway the Machine would take the culture by storm off projects like Tana Talk 3 & The Plugs I Met. Harry Fraud came in for a sequel to the latter following the mature Burden of Proof & finally, Tana Talk 4 took it back to the basement a couple years back. Coming off having Hit-Boy produce half of it & leaving the other half to The Alchemist produce his Def Jam Recordings debut & my album of the year so far Everybody Can’t Go, we’re now being treated to Buffalo Butch only a couple weeks after the previous EP Summertime Butch.

“Penny & Shaq” featuring 38 Spesh starts off the brief 3 track offering hopping over an extravagant beat comparing themselves to Orlando Magic veterans Penny Hardaway & Shaquille O’Neal whereas the For All the Dogs outtake “Buffalo” featuring Drake finds the pair linking up over a sample-driven instrumental from Boi-1da talking about the fact that it’s more when you earn it being iller than the illnesses haters be wishing on them. Lastly, the closer “Hard Way” featuring Fabolous officially rounds out Buffalo Butch on some boom bap shit letting it be known this fly shit ain’t cheap whatsoever.

We’ve only gotten 2 EPs from Benny this month & 3 projects from him in 2024 altogether if you include Everybody Can’t Go, but I still happen to prefer Summertime Butch only because it’s a little longer than Buffalo Butch although that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the 3 songs he dug up for us here. As opposed to the summer theme of the joint from 2 weeks ago, you only get 8 minutes worth of material shedding 16 minutes off the last one centering itself around Benny’s hometown mentality.

Score: 3.5/5

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OG Parker – “Moments” review

OG Parker is a 27 year old producer & songwriter from Fayetteville, Georgia who became an in-house producer for Quality Control Music in 2015. He even went on to form his own label Neutral Records in 2021 & produced DDG’s debut mixtape Die 4 Respect around that same time, except I was highly looking forward to that tape only to be disappointed by the time it officially saw the light of day. However, seeing that Parker was putting out a solo EP most certainly caught my interest.

“No Fuss” by PARTYNEXTDOOR starts with what could easily be the best song on the entire EP telling this girl to stay in her lane over a chilled out guitar passage whereas the trap-flavored “Rain Down” by Chris Brown, Latto, Layton Greene & the late PnB Rock finds the quartet continue to delve further into the themes of romance. “Still Work” by Muni Long & Ty$ is a trap soul duet singing about their numbers are both operationally functioning while the dance-inspired trap joint “All I Need” by Yung Bleu furthermore gets lustful. “In Person” by Lakeyah & Tyga ends the EP with a woodwind trap flare flexing they look better in the flesh.

Producer curated projects are generally looked at as being either hit-or-miss & there’s no question in my mind that OG Parker has the capability of pulling of an entire body of work producing songs for other artists & compiling them together. However, Moments stands out as an average beginning of treading those waters. There’s nothing with his signature take on the stylings of trap & R&B music, but some of the performances from the guests themselves are generally a mixed bag.

Score: 2.5/5

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Smallz 1 – “Defiled in the Lavender Fields” review

Smallz 1 is a 36 year old MC from Albuquerque, New Mexico who made her Lyrikal Snuff Productionz debut in 2009 off her full-length debut The Diary of a Black Widow shortly following her debut mixtape Sadistik Stylez. She has since become one of LSP’s most well-established artists putting out her sophomore effort The Crimson Kingdom, her 3rd album Mannequin, her debut EP Hourglass, her previous LP The Process of Elimination & more recently S.O.S.’ debut Blame Us. A week after the 24th annual Gathering of the Juggalos though, she’s putting her 2nd EP out on all streaming platforms.

“Gutted Eyes” starts us off with pianos & hi-hats promising to burn her competition & eventually herself asking why they judge here whereas “Way Below Average” by S.O.S. takes a bouncier trap route instrumentally talking about those who got them fucked up. “Lately” goes full-blown boom bap refusing to trust anyone always fuckin’ shit up, but then “Nevermind” brings the hi-hats back teaming up with her legion of demons to kill y’all.

Beginning the 2nd leg of the EP, the song “Lower Them Down” keeps it trap showing no mercy towards her opposition while “Garbage” ruggedly talks about doing shit better than the rest of these bitches. “Dismembered Wishes” featuring Bloody Ruckus cloudily discusses their lives going on & their haters’ being done leading into the cavernous “Trash Day” callin’ out those who really ain’t gonna do shit. “Pandora’s Box” wraps things up wishing long & enduring suffering on her enemies.

Claas so happened to give us the 3-track EP couple weeks ago In My Head centered around mental health & of the 2 new projects that LSP had to offer the gore hop heads & juggalos, I’m finding myself catering towards Defiled in the Lavender Fields more than The Summoning. Generally, it’s sound balances boom bap & trap allowing Smallz to put her own Lyrikal Snuff spin on those styles.

Score: 3.5/5

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Wic Kids – Self-Titled review

The Wic Kids are a horrorcore supergroup consisting of emcees Donnie Menace, Grewsum, ILLtemper & King Gordy as well as producer Stir Crazy. All of whom have crossed paths with one another at some point since everyone’s pretty much established themselves in their own rights whether it be Donnie quickly becoming a Lyrikal Snuff Productionz mainstay, Grewsum being one of the most popular members of the Mission: Infect collective, Gordy & Illtemper forming the duo Even Heathens few years ago or Stir Crazy’s role as part of Majik Ninja Entertainment’s in-house production team. Now that they’ve officially joined forces, the Wic Kids are introducing themselves through an eponymous debut EP.

“Letum Know” starts the EP on some boom bap shit talking about living under the cold streets of your town rolling deep without any limitations whereas “Lightless” takes the symphonic trap route instrumentally discussing evil being everywhere around them. “Toxic” has this acoustic boom bap flare to the beat delving into toxic relationships while “Fried Wires” keeps the kicks & snares in tact explaining they’re wired differently. “DGAF” mixes boom bap with rock talking about giving 0 fucks & “Inhumane” ends the EP aggressively warning to stay clear of them.

Illtemper has been teasing this EP since March & if this is only the beginning for the Wic Kids, then it’s a more than welcoming debut for the supergroup. Stir Crazy’s production is mostly boom bap centered throwing a hint of trap in the mix & all 4 MCs each have their own different takes on the wicked shit like Donnie’s cutthroat wordplay or King of Van Dyke & Harper a.k.a. Blaxl Rose reaffirming his Last American Rock Star status, but hearing them together makes the lyricism much more devastating.

Score: 4/5

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Lee Scott – “La Scala” review

Here we have the 9th EP from Runcorn, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom emcee, producer & author Lee Scott. Introducing himself through The Wrong Bootleg Demo & the full-length debut Put on the Glasses over a decade ago under his own label Blah Records, some may even recognize him for his memberships with the Antiheroes, the B-Movie Millionaires, the Children of the Damned, Cult Mountain, the Cult of the Damned, Group, HAPPYPPL, Hock Tu Down, the Mcabre Brothers, Nobodies Home & the Supergang. Peppered Mouth Soup & Happy Sellout Shit were ok, but the sophomore effort Stupid Poignant Shit produced by Illinformed would become his most celebrated work following it up with Tin Foil Fronts as well as CactusOwlMoonGoat & the High Focus Records-backed Butter Fly being another favorite of mine. Nice Swan would become as beloved although Supergod5000plus & Oh, the Fun We’re Having weren’t as good as that or Lou Reed 2000 or Somewhere Between Here & There. I felt like Friend, Come to Me & Be Saved was alright, coming off Gates Click Shutalong with There’s a Reason for Everything & To Tame a Dead Horse to drop the self-produced La Scala.

“Cabin Roof” begins with a boom bap instrumental Lee made himself confirming Cult Mountain’s disbandment due to Milkavelli scamming people whereas “Acme Point” talks about not wanting to hear any bullshit. “Starfish” speaks of having no time for chit chat if it has nothing to do with the rhyme or if it doesn’t match the money on his mind while “Next Door” asks himself why the individual he’s thinking of wants to be exactly like him & the rest of the Cult.

The song “Merry Karma” continues the final moments of La Scala by giving the B-Movie Millionaires a few minutes in the spotlight responding to people telling them they need to slow down when they’ve only gotten on the road while “Intrusive Thoughts” talks about being too old to play the nuisance & make excuses, yet he still does & will continue to do so. “Cathedral Breeze” finishes by going for a more compositional approach, taking a backseat vocally so he can whip up a ghostly boom bap beat clocking at 72 seconds.

Marking a conclusion to his most recent solo output using these kind of tempos, Lee Scott writes & self-produces another hardcore philosophical ignorant UK hip hop extended play. His production focuses around the boom bap elements There’s a Reason for Everything had ditching the secondary influences of drumless & chipmunk soul for a 17 minute statement primarily themed around what he can only describe as an insatiable & sometimes inadvertently destructive compulsion he has to create.

Score: 4/5

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Diamond D – “The Diam Piece 3: Initium” review

The Bronx, New York emcee/producer Diamond D preparing the final installment of The Diam Piece trilogy by splitting it into 3 EPs & giving us the first Initium ahead of Duo in November as well as Tria in February 2025. A mentor of Jazzy Jay, he would then form the D.I.T.C. collective alongside Lord Finesse & Showbiz in ‘92 only to put out his classic full-length debut Stunts, Blunts & Hip Hop shortly after. D went on to drop 6 more albums & a couple mixtapes of his own, the latest being Gotham’s acclaimed self-titled effort & The Rear View. The Diam Piece & its sequel left most of the rhyming to the guests, so I get why he’d return to that formula coming off The Rear View.

“Fire & Water” by RJ Payne & Skyzoo starts off ruggedly bringing hardcore lyricism over boom bap production whereas “The King” by KRS-One was a great lead single & another one of the best Blastmaster songs I’ve heard in recent memory taking the crown as rightfully his. “Merk” by Bishop Lamont & Torae keeps it in the basement instrumentally getting bloodthirsty, but then “Bosses” by Lord Tariq & Sauce Money finds the 2 getting on the mafioso tip for 4 minutes.

Fatman Scoop & Static the Prodigy hop on the playful sounding “Death B4 Dishonor” promising that you don’t wanna test either one of them leading into “Codes” by Agallah, David Bars & Royal Flush rawly reminding not to trust anyone in the streets. “Lay Me Down” by Inspectah Deck & Shyheim aggressively details the life of crime while “Blue Sunshine” by E-A Ski & 38 Spesh brings the respective west coast & east coast producer/MCs dustily getting on the battle rap tip. “My People” by Bonecrusher ends with a jazzy tribute to his kinfolk.

In the digital era where a lot of people’s attention spans are incredibly short, it’s more than understandable that the D.I.T.C. co-founder didn’t want to release a 29-song album & decided to split The Diam Piece 3 into a trilogy of EPs. Initium itself with its versatile list of performers over Diamond D’s signature sound is more than enough to hold everyone over until Duo at the end of 2024 & finally Tria early next year.

Score: 4/5

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