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 only days away from Will Kaven becoming the new RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

“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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Tinashe – “Quantum Baby” review

Lexington, Kentucky singer/songwriter, dancer & actress Tinashe returning a year after her critically acclaimed 3rd EP BB/Ang3l to release a 4th EP. Breaking out over a decade ago off her first 3 mixtapes In Case We Die as well as Reverie & more specifically Black Water, her RCA Records-backed debut Aquarius was as well received as the latter although her debut EP Amethyst was moderately received & the 4th tape Nightride was seen as an improvement. She would later depart RCA following a mid sophomore effort Joyride going independent on both Songs for You & 333 respectively to better reception again. Looking to continue the momentum, she’s setting out to make Quantum Baby her 2nd consecutive classic EP.

“No Stimulation” starts with a stripped-back sound looking for the truth or in this case love whereas “Getting No Sleep” blends Jersey club & alternative R&B so she can sing about doing overtime. “Thirsty” goes for a delicate trap vibe instrumentally singing that she doesn’t wanna leave her man in a hurry while “Red Flags” strips the drums completely asking a bad boy to show her who he really is.

To start the 2nd half of the EP, the song “Cross That Line” addresses someone who could be the love of her life working some cloudy trap influences into the beat leading into the 2-parter “When I Get You Alone” promising her man she’ll take it nice & slow. “No Broke Boys” has a catchier feeling altogether telling the broke men to hit the bricks & “Nasty” finishes Quantum Baby asking if anyone will match her freak.

Hoping fans will enter her personal universe & rediscover her at the most fundamental & molecular level, the 2nd installment of the EP trilogy in comparison to the 1st entry really focuses more on getting to know Tinashe a little bit deeper continuing to wear the artistic/creative freedom that RCA wouldn’t grant her on her sleeve harder & allowing her full potential to further reveal itself.

Score: 4/5

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Ilajide – “Tape Delay” review

Detroit, Michigan emcee/producer Ilajide formerly of the Clear Soul Forces enlisting Seattle producer Def D to produce his 7th EP in its entirety. In addition to his last 6 EPs, he also a couple beat tapes & 4 full-length albums under his belt. It’s been over 3 years since I covered Code 200 & that was the finest solo LP of his entire career, but Tape Delay had me anticipating it as much if not more.

“Trippin’” is a cloudy boom bap opener to the EP talking about being the coach running the scrimmages now out in Los Angeles whereas “Live from Jump” works in more kicks & snares to make it clear that money is class & he’s taking notes. “More Bling” has this old school flare instrumentally talking about needing more expensive, ostentatious clothing/jewelry just before the funky “Scam Jam” featuring Boog Brown looking at each day as another scam for them to get paid.

To finish the first half of Tape Delay, “Back Up” keeps the funk for a party jam while the beat on “Send ‘Em In” pulls inspiration from J Dilla so Ilajide can talk about counting money in his office. “Don’t Touch My Hair” has a jazzy boom bap flare coming fresh out the salon leading into the groovy “Did What You Do?” saying he’ll do it again. After a “Back Up” remix, the final song “Dippin’” ends the EP by reminding that the players know what he be talkin’ ‘bout.

I’ve been a fan of Def D for over a decade when 33⅓ was released in the summer of 2013 following my sophomore year of high school, so for him to produce an entire EP for Ilajide was very exciting for me & it so happens to be the best EP in the former Clear Soul Forces member’s discography on top of joining Code #200 for some of his strongest solo material. Def D’s production is versatile whether it be pulling from boom bap, jazz rap, funk music, old school hip hop & cloud rap allowing the Detroit emcee to focus on rippin’ these beats to shreds for roughly 25 minutes.

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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Durkalini – “Church & Surf” review

This is the 2nd EP from Roanoke, Alabama rapper Durkalini. Introducing himself in the trap scene over a year ago off his last EP 4000 Degrees, he continued to push himself in the forefront by releasing a couple mixtapes Pyro the Pastor & Pilgrimage last fall. After taking a 9-month break, lini’s taking us to Church & Surf teaming up with the remaining producer members of the Surf Gang collective so they can help make it the most well-rounded offering in his discography

“Freaks Out” produced by Evilgiane, Eera & even Goner right before he departed the Surf Gang only recently starts the sermon on some plugg shit talking about being out all night when the freaks come out whereas “Rather Be Safe 2” works in an orchestral backdrop & hi-hats thanks to Harrison preferring to be safe than sorry. “Green Card” brings the plugg vibes back asking where the fuck your card is again while “Objection” has a fuzzier trap flare to talk about every day being the weekend.

The cloudier aesthetics of “Soho” are a nice touch referencing the titular shopping destination in New York south of Houston Street in Manhattan leading into Giane & Graham Perez providing “Alligator” with an atmospheric sound feeling like it’s a holy matrimony the way Durkalini be married to this shit. “Bottega Boots” has more of a rich trap groove flexing the designer footwear copped from Bottega Veneta, but then “Damn Huh” hooks up an organ & hi-hats knowing he gon’ race the pigs.

“Guinness” pushes towards the encore of Church & Surf talking about being unable to buy new guns since he’s a bandit, staying on the corner although he can’t give no directions, not stopping at red lights since he already got a ticket anyway & the fact that they don’t teach us shit in school still tryna give people in the streets a sentence while “Cartier Wires” finishes the EP on a peppy cloud rap note boasting that his pockets are loaded & broke bitches being the very last thing he’s thinking about.

Surf Gang’s been on a crazy production team run since Pasto Flocco, Polo Perks, Moh Baretta & pretty much all the other former vocalists in the crew departed to focus on their solo careers and Church & Surf joins Matt Ox’s 4th EP OXygen as the best of the 5 EPs they’ve laced in the last 10 months. The production’s more consistent than lini’s past material & the Alabama up-&-comer lets new listeners in as to who he is.

Score: 4/5

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Ameer Vann – “WOOF” review

Here we have the 3rd EP from Houston, Texas rapper Ameer Vann. Coming up as one of the original members of the now defunct BROCKHAMPTON collective, he played a key-role in their 2017 SATURATION trilogy in until getting kicked out of the boyband for sexual misconduct allegations the following year. Ameer’s removal from the boyband was a decision that is still polarizing by many, but Emmanuel was treated to mixed reception & Ameerlyn’s debut EP Slime in the Ice Machine was a tad bit better. Woof however peaked my interest, especially in light of BROCKHAMPTON’s dissolvement in 2022.

To get us started, “Listen” jumps over a symphonic trap instrumental to call himself a living messiah whereas “In the Building” aggressively talks about feelin’ himself at the spot & his trap being for everything must go clearance over pianos & hi-hats. “Yeah” dabbles with rage beats standing on business & setting out to change the game much like the SATURATION trilogy did while “Good Boy” goes drumless breaking everything he touches albeit staying optimistic that he’ll be fine.

“Medicine” has these impressive jazz influences throughout the beat talking about the shadows in the dark always following him just before “Gemini” starts with a drumless first half ahead of a dirty south switch-up always getting back up when he slips & falls poppin’ the trunk “Moving Slow” further embraces the chopped & screwed influences discussing cough medicine prior to the delicate trap joint “Shawty” serves as a dedication to his girl.

Nearing the encore of Woof, the song “Choosing” hooks up a slowed down soul sample with hi-hats dying by the second to live for the moment & the final track “Genesis” prior to the g-funk outro finishes up the EP officially by mixing trap & blues letting the world know that he found his peace in the darkest of places & that his connection with infinity cannot be cloned in any way shape or form.

Even if I thought Emmanuel had better production, Woof is still a good 21 minute EP & makes me hope that Ameer continues to further improve himself from here because I like Ameer’s first solo effort since BROCKHAMPTON dissolved more than Slime in the Machine. The production ranges from trap to rage, drumless, jazz rap, g-funk, blues music, soul music, a hint of orchestral music or chopped & screwed allowing the SATURATION trilogy poster boy to tell us where he’s at currently.

Score: 3/5

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Benny the Butcher – “Summertime Butch” review

Buffalo, New York emcee Benny the Butcher putting out his 7th EP full of summer anthems. 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 Summertime Butch.

“1 Verse Butch” starts us off with the Butcher over a piano/boom bap hybrid speaking that slick, street, intellectual drug shit whereas the soulfully dusty “The Most” talks about making it out of the hood alive & taking a lot for him for that to even happen. After the “Sundress & Sandle Season” interlude, “Knightfall” keeps the kicks & snares in tact advising not to let any static stop your business & the only single “Summer ‘24” gives off a symphonic boom bap flare instrumentally looking to shut the block down.

My favorite track here “Kitchen Table” hops over a smooth Harry Fraud beat continuing to discuss the dope game & after the “Peachtree” interlude, “The Blue Building” brings the soul vibes back in the fold mixed with hi-hats from STREETRUNNER playing more than simply a distributor role. “The Warehouse 3” featuring Elcamino, Fuego Base & Rick Hyde is this guitar-laced successor to both “Warehouse” tracks off Fuego’s debut Biggest Since Camby & “Higher” luxuriously ends the EP taking y’all to a greater level.

Everybody Can’t Go still remains my album of the year so far 8 months later & yet, Summertime Butch still stands out on its own going for a completely different vibe than the Def Jam debut did at the very beginning of 2024 telling us the biggest lesson Benny’s learned. The balance between boom bap & trap remains prevalent, he’s simply giving us 24 minutes & 8 songs for you to enjoy with only little time left of summer itself.

Score: 3.5/5

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Zukenee – “Guillotine” review

Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer Zukenee following up his debut Player Slayer with a 4th EP. Starting in the spring of 2021 off his debut EP Undiscovered, he would continue to make a name for himself in the underground by putting out a couple more EPs in Castle & Playful alongside the debut mixtape Stop Playing last summer. Subsequent exclusive singles like “OJAYS” & “Chest” would later become amongst his best singles since both of them were released in the span of a year & a half until Player Slayer came this spring. Interestingly enough, Cade’s being brought in to produce Guillotine.

“Dungeon Detour” has a quirky trap feeling to get us started warning that the roundabout route to the dungeon has begun & to prepare for imminent battle whereas the vibrant “Dragons” talks about catching plays & running shit now. “Village” comes through with a rubbery dedication for all the slayers out there while “Trap Candle” flexes that he got money bustin’ out both of his pockets.

Meanwhile on “Checkmate”, Zukenee aggressively explains to u that you have to choose between the 2 sides of life being a boy or a slayer just before the synth-trap crossover “Warplay” declaring that he’s ready for war. “Bend” has an acoustic trap quality to it reworking a brick & a bitch, but then the rage-inducing “Trimlewinsky” balls hard. The trippy “Por Favor” warns he might fuck around & rinse you leading into “Blow Up” ending the EP by keeping the Glock hot.

If you weren’t feeling Player Slayer when it was first given to us over 4 months ago like a couple people were, you might find yourself enjoying Guillotine more & that for me personally has quickly established itself as the crown jewel of Zukenee’s discography. Cade’s takes him to a brand new level in a consistent fashion & the medieval theme during the 19 minute run stays pretty consistent.

Score: 4/5

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Ramirez – “The Warlock & The Gorilla” review

San Francisco, California emcee Ramirez following up From tha Guttah to tha Grave by surprise releasing The Warlock & The Gorilla as his 12th EP. Coming up in 2014 as a longtime affiliate of the $uicideboy$, he would go on to co-found to the New Orleans-based indie label G*59 Record$ with them & build himself as an artist by dropping 8 mixtapes, his last 10 EPs & 4 full-lengths in the span of nearly a decade. Tha Playa$ Manual was his best LP yet with it’s g-funk production from Rocci & The Tragedy of a Clown was a good comeback from a year & a half ago, From tha Guttah to tha Grave back in March was good & this new one had me especially intrigued since he said it was to hold us off until his upcoming 5th album Tha Playa$ Manual II.

After the titular intro, the first song “Stackin’ Ends” featuring Soulzay has a slick Memphis vibe instrumentally to officially begin letting us know that’s exactly what both of them be doing whereas the cloudy trap banger “Carti Frames” continues forward talking about cold blooded pimpin’ going through his veins. “Window” featuring Shakewell has an eerier atmosphere to beat almost like it’s something out of a horror flick flexing their gangsta ties & “The Depths” hellishly talks about looking to blast someone in the deepest pits with the shotty.

“Crocodile Skin” builds the concept around the infamous “interior crocodile alligator” line from King Chip of The Almighty GloryUS blending a soul sample with hi-hats while the jazz/trap hybrid on “Medusa Packs” blew me away getting returning to his pimpin’ shit. “Casket Dreamz” featuring Pouya talks only having their brothers over a solemn trap instrumental leading into the west coast-flavored “International Waters” featuring Jay Worthy find the 2 gettin’ fly. “It Ain’t My Fault” featuring Shakewell lastly ends with a homage to Silkk the Shocker’s biggest hit.

In what would turn out to be Ramirez’ final release on G*59, The Warlock & The Gorilla surpasses From tha Guttah to tha Grave as the best of the 2 EPs that he’s put out this year alone. Stronger feature list, the production expanding beyond from trap as well as g-funk, the Memphis scene, cloud rap & jazz rap & the Lil Homewrecker delivering performances that go considerably harder.

Score: 3.5/5

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