Jay NiCE & Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 22” review

This is the 7th collaborative EP from Atlanta, Georgia emcee Jay NiCE & the local Dump Gawd himself Tha God Fahim. Both of whom have worked with each other countless times in the past several years, teaming up for the collab album Strictly 4 My D.U.M.P.E.R.Z. during the spring of 2018 & the Bloodspiller extended play 3 years ago. Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 12 produced by Nicholas Craven became their greatest joint offering yet, locking back in for the 17th as well as the 18th & 20th chapters. Coming off the 21st earlier today, they’re giving us another one when we least expected it.

“Powerful Blast” come straight out the gate with a euphorically drumless instrumental from Craven talking about learning from the scholars in addition to getting their defense up & after “Soul” jazzily talks about the very thing they’re floating over sonics with, “Statement of the Day” works in some lavish piano chords & a chipmunk soul sample recalling when they had to survive the darkest of clouds.

To begin the 2nd half of Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 22, “The Price is Right” takes a funkier approach to the beat talking about how y’all gotta be built for the type shit they on while “Your On Ya Own” blends jazz rap & boom bap flexing they have enough rhymes to go against mankind. “Assassin’s Hitlist” produced by Tha God Fahim himself finishes with blissful sampling to talk about not wanting to lose time, hence why they build.

It’s a bit jazzier than Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 21 was, but I didn’t enjoy this as much as the last couple installments of the endless saga & the previous one literally came out an hour earlier although it’s still very much a tight collection of hardcore hip hop tracks with influences of boom bap as well as chipmunk soul & drumless. Goes back to what I said in my review of the previous EP: None of the Jay NiCE & Tha God Fahim collab EPs we’ve gotten are bad, I just prefer some more than others.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jay NiCE & Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 21” review

Starting the final month of 2025 by diving into the first of 2 new collaborative EPs from Atlanta, Georgia emcee Jay NiCE & the local Dump Gawd himself Tha God Fahim. Both of whom have worked with each other countless times in the past several years, teaming up for the collab album Strictly 4 My D.U.M.P.E.R.Z. during the spring of 2018 & the Bloodspiller extended play 3 years ago. Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 12 produced by Nicholas Craven became their greatest joint offering yet, coming off the 17th as well as thr 18th & 20th chapters going back-to-back with not 1 but 2 installments.

“Cultivating” begins with a soul sample referencing the greatest basketball player of all-time Michael Jordan alongside 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair whereas “Deathtouched” likens their verses to The Jackson 5 & The Beatles combined.

We get some more chipmunk soul vibes on “I Kno What to Do” talking about nobody having the ability to dump like him regardless of how talented they are & once the drumlessly soulful “Let ‘Em Know” explains that the Dump Gawd remains destructive even in bunches, “Lucrative Offers” takes the boom bap route incorporating sampling into the fold so they can talk about meeting their competitors in the middle of the battlefield.

“Major League” gets the last few minutes of Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap 21 rollin’ with both MCs looking for payback on those from way back who hate seeing their money coming in haystacks & “Operation” sends it all off in the form of a crooning boom bap outro expanding on the topic of the cash flow, clarifying that it’s an everyday operation that requires patience & persistency.

Season 2 of the Dump Gawd: Hyperbolic Time Chamber Rap saga has mostly been collaborative efforts with Jay NiCE & I want to let it be known that none of them are wack by any means, but I prefer some more than others if that makes any sense. And the 1st of 2 new entries that we’ve gotten 12 hours apart from one another via YouTube could be my favorite, focusing less around the drumless elements than the predecessor did last month & swapping out the conscious lyricism in favor of slight boom bap influences.

Score: 4/5

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FlyG – “MENNBLVCK II” review

This is the 7th EP from Washington, D.C. emcee of Nigerian descent FlyG. Properly introducing himself to the underground last spring off his inaugural extended play Soulful Journey, SPCL_CHRCTRS would fully produce the next one Serenade Symphony at the end of February & rising French producer Drega33 helped him turn more head with MENNBLVCK this spring. He has since dropped an EP dedicated to the 10-time WCW World Tag Team Champions & WWE Hall of Famers Harlem Heat, reuniting with Drega for MENNBLVCK II after going back-to-back with SHRPNDBLDS & A Righteous Tale.

The title track begins with a drumless chipmunk soul instrumental talking about being thankful for his patience this Thanksgiving whereas “GO@T” works in this prominently heavy vocal sample referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson. “LFNTMS” soulfully talks about his father being a huge influence on him & a coward forcing him to an exit early while “TIMECOP” tells his dad that he wishes that he got to spend more time with him.

“CMBKHM” starts the 2nd half with crooning sampling chops talking about the concept of returning home while “B.R.T.$.” talking about his music being his calling & being the type to wind up on your favorite hip hop sites. The soulful “T.P.O.P.” confesses to things getting hectic missing his father & raising daughters of his own now just before “SHWNPRV” ends the EP making the game-winning touchdown with a chipmunk soul outro.

Harlem Heat & SHRPNDBLDS were both enjoyable for their own different reasons but considering that MENNBLVCK became my introduction to FlyG this past summer, I could’ve only expected MENNBLVCK II to join the ranks of it’s predecessor & I can confirm that it very much does. Drega33’s drumless production focuses less around the jazz rap elements of the original & prioritizing the chipmunk soul undertones, getting more personal than previously in terms of penmanship.

Score: 4/5

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Papoose – “Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop” review

Brooklyn, New York emcee & songwriter Papoose back with his 13th EP. Emerging under the mentorship of the late Streetsweepers Entertainment founder DJ Kayslay, he would go onto release 25 mixtapes building up towards his full-length debut The Nacimera Dream during my sophomore year of high school. Both entries of the Hoodie Season duology would later come in preparation for the sophomore effort You Can’t Stop Destiny couple months succeeding my high school graduation, with Back 2 the Streets & Underrated alongside Food for Thought & Endangered Species all following. He announced Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop earlier this week & it’s up on DSPs, coming off all 12 of the 2021 extended plays.

“Need for Speed” works in a drumless soul sample to get things going talking about not slowing down killin’ his competition & once “Big 3” takes the boom bap route instrumentally making French Toast out of puttin’ bread on these eggheads, “I Said What I Said” finishes up the 1st half maintaining a dusty vibe talking about wack muhfuckas flipping his spaz mode switch making a spooky return to the lab.

To kick off the 2nd leg, “Chill Button” justifiably speaks of residence in hip hop being where all the most notable names are sitting at the throne & making positive back-to-back business moves while “Fentanyl” drumlessly talks about the increasing deaths linked to opioids like the Season 2 premiere of Smiling Friends on April Fool’s Day 2024 had pointed out. The closer “Counting Green” featuring Busta Rhymes & Cuhdeejah finishes with a lively outro dedicated to stacking his chips.

As much as I highly respect Papoose’s lyrical technicality, I can’t say Bars on Wheels: A Journey to Save Hip Hop will go down to be one of the best EPs he’s ever made although the culture is very much evolving as time goes on rather than being in a position where it needs to be saved. Sean 2Miles’ production on here is merely average compared to Brady Watt’s on Endangered Species during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, but hardcore fans of Pap’s penmanship will enjoy it a lot more than others normally would.

Score: 3/5

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Your Old Droog – “anything’s possible” review

48 hours following it’s announcement, Ukrainian-American lyricist Your Old Droog’s 10th EP is here. Breaking out through his self-titled debut, many actually first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. He eventually became a legend in his own right off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close, TIME & the Nicholas Craven-produced YOD Wave. The 4 last EPs he’s given us YOD Stewart, Yodney Dangerfield, The Yodfather & The Shining weren’t as great in my opinion yet most certainly had their highlights at the same time. Movie became a depiction of his life on wax & wants y’all to know anything‘s possible.

“Game 7” produced by Khrysis starts with a soul sample explaining that practice being the most important thing whereas “Confetti” featuring Count Bass D finds both of them talking about being willing & ready to feel the tiny pieces of streamers raining down. “No More” goes for a rap rock vibe admitting this shit doesn’t feel special anymore & after “Vanilla Fudge” flexes that not many can see him with the grammar, “Bronny” finishes by talking about having sons in the game already over a Kenny Segal instrumental.

Literally the only other time we’ve gotten to hear YOD in 2025 was his feature on “The Rose Bowl”off The High & Mighty’s reunion album Sound of Market, so it makes me happy he gave us a 12 minute extended play to hold fans off until Droogie Otis’ highly anticipated full-length debut. The production feels equally consistent as Movie’s was 17 months ago with the anything’s possible name playing a huge role conceptually.

Score: 4/5

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MAVI – “The Pilot” review

Here we have the 4th EP from Charlotte, North Carolina abstract lyricist MAVI. Emerging off his full-length debut Let the Sun Talk a day before his 20th birthday, he would go on to land a verse on “El Toro Combo Meal” off of Earl Sweatshirt’s 2nd EP Feet of Clay a month later as well as preluding the further well received Laughing So Hard It Hurts in the form of his previous EP End of the Earth. His 3rd album Shadowbox celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary this summer & The Pilotlooks to start the final week of November after signing to Loma Vista Recordings.

“Heavy Hand” is a lo-fi boom bap vibe to the beat talking about using his eyes because his heart’s somewhat like a blindfold whereas “Triple Nickel” featuring MIKE finds the 2 jazzily discussing pushing people far back when they see their dreams creeping up closely. “Silent Film” works in a psychedelic guitar riff getting honest regarding him never learning & not needing anyone to worry about him while “G-Annis” produced by Reuben Vincent references the current WWE Intercontinental Champion John Cena.

Kenny Mason joins MAVI on the drumless “Typewriter” warning that anyone comparing them to artists below them will have lost credibility because of it “31 Days” hooks up a vocal sample telling us he’s been sober for over a month now. “Denise Murrell” goes for a jazzier vibe once again with a flute heavy instrumental talking about his grandma calling him asking when he’s gonna stop making sad shit prior to Jay Versace incorporating some bare sampling for “Mender” telling this romantic interest that they’re gonna be together some day.

“Landgrab” featuring Earl Sweatshirt began The Pilot’s rollout with a drumless lead single trading consciously abstract bars back-&-forth with one another while the 2nd & final single “Potluck”featuring Smino blends trap, cloud rap & neo-soul talking about detractors hating all they want. “Jammers Anonymous” featuring Niontaydeserves a mention of it’s own whether it be the plugg/Philly jerk beat or both artists nailing it with the “Landgrab” delivery for a 2nd time.

Taking control of this new sobered up version of himself in a time of constant travel as well as growing exposure to the arts/design & alienation from home, MAVI introduces himself as part of the Loma Vista roster with a 26 & a half minute EP setting the stage of what we can expect out of his 4th album 1st in Flight next year. The production explores old & new sounds for him from boom bap to jazz rap, drumless, lo-fi hop, trap, cloud rap, neo-soul, plugg & Philly jerk bringing a tight list of guests on board for less that half of it to properly celebrate his sobriety.

Score: 4.5/5

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Tezzus – “##FilthyLikeMax” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper Tezzus making his YSL Records debut with his 8th EP. Introducing himself with his first few EPs Hard2Kill as well as Hellraiser & Everyday’s Halløween, his debut mixtape Tezzus Khrist last holiday season would significantly elevate his profile locally as did the handful of appearances he made on The XA Tape earlier this year. He’s given us the Søufside collaborative EP with Percaso, Backrooms, King Phønk, I Phønk, U Phønk and Tezzy Pendergrass until Young Thug signed him following 9 Vicious’ departure due to him & Tezzus beefing. Nonetheless, getting ##FilthyLikeMax a couple days succeeding Savior was still a welcoming surprise.

“Animal 🐕‍🦺🐍🐲” starts with an industrial hip hop intro likening himself to a beast whereas “I’m Røyal 👑🤴🏿👑” goes for a rage-inducing vibe talking about his royalty status. “Bacccarat 💁‍♀️🛍️💝” featuring Skaiwater & 1300SAINT finds the trio buying out a while Chanel store over a hypertrap instrumental but once “Krøssed Ø Gang 🚂🚫🖤” featuring billi0n & ShawtyRokk angrily refuses to argue with peasants, “Life øf a Dølla 🕊️❤️‍🔥🕊️” finishes by remembering maxon over a rage beat.

Thug continuing to shift his focus towards rebuilding YSL Records ever since Uy Scuti polarized both critics & fans alike couldn’t have been a smarter move & ##FilthyLikeMax properly introducing himself to the label over 84 hours succeeding his labelmate’s greatest body of work the previous weekend. The production is more prominently centered around the rage subgenre of trap as opposed to Tezzy Pendergrass’ blatant pop rap influence as he & all 4 guests pay tribute to maxon a week after his death.

Score: 4/5

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Tommy Richman – “Worlds Apart*” review

This is the 4th EP from Woodbridge, Virginia singer/songwriter & rapper Tommy Richman. Beginning to make music almost a decade ago by releasing his debut single “Ballin’ Stallin’” on SoundCloud & Spotify respectively, he would go on to put out 3 EPs including Paycheck as well as Alligator& The Rush. The latter of which caught the attention of Brent Faiyaz who in turn made Tommy the first signee to his newly formed ISO Supremacy imprint. Coyote marked his full-length debut 14 months ago & is following it up with Worlds Apart*.

“Stuck in My Head” was a fun g-funk intro singing about all the girls wanting them to be their man whereas “Amen!” instrumentally feels like a throwback to my favorite production duo of all time The Neptunes opting to focus on his vision even when things don’t feel right. “San Andreas”blends contemporary R&B with synth-funk & g-funk for an ode to the greatest Grand Theft Autogame ever while “West Coast” by mynameisntjmack & 03 Greedo unite for another Neptunes-inspired pop rap cut in which Giddy steals the show in this instance.

We get some prominent bongos on “What’s on Your Mind?” to kick off the 2nd half asking his lover what she’s thinking about at this very moment prior to “Actin’ Up” featuring Sexyy Red on the remix blending trap, pop rap, dirty south, contemporary R&B, hip hop soul & snap talking about cutting ties for what it is. “Bother Me” featuring Brent Faiyaz comes together for a duet admitting they were in their heads a week prior & “Mortal Sacrifice” ends by asking the woman he’s speaking to if she’s turning his wrongs into rights.

The “culture vulture” allegations surrounding Tommy Richman in the past year since he said he doesn’t make hip hop music around the time Coyote came out last is kinda silly to me because not only have both “$1M Baby” & “Devil is a Lie” revealed his artistic potential already, but he wasn’t entirely wrong when you take consideration of the fact that his music is more rooted in contemporary & alternative R&B with hints of hip hop soul & neo-soul. Worlds Apart* however makes for a decent extension of Tommy’s versatility fusing those 4 styles with g-funk, synth-funk, trap, pop rap, dirty south & snap ahead of a presumed sophomore effort in 2026.

Score: 3/5

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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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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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