Glokk40Spaz & OsamaSon – “3vil Reflection” review

This is a brand new collaborative EP between Glokk40Spaz & OsamaSon. Both of whom have collaborated with one another in the past on the track “Codeine Dreamz”, but have individually made a name for themselves as 2 of the biggest up-&-comers that trap music has to offer with projects like Took the Biggest Risk or Flex Musix. However, they are linking up to surprise-drop 3vil Reflection on SoundCloud.

To start the EP, “2X” finds the 2 vividly portraying the gangsta lifestyles they live backed by an atmospheric trap instrumental whereas “Movie” works in some rage beats talking about having sticks on them & throwing their Dracos up in the air. “Blame Dem Drugz” might be my favorite track on 3vil Reflection diving into pluggnb territory going dummy that is until “Bankroll” brings back the hypertrap influences turning the bass up to 11 & counting their pesos.

“No Rules” has a straight up plugg vibe to it instrumentally taking out everyone who tries to get in their way just before the synthesizer-heavy “ADHD” talks about going to hit that kid since they actually have ADHD itself. The rage-inducing “Jungle” boasts that they just spent about $10K & “Wicked” shoots for a dark plugg sound popping out with the potato barrels on their glizzys, but then “Vixen” finishes the EP with 1 last hypertrap cut not giving a fuck no more.

Both of these guys have been dominating the plugg/rage scenes in their own distinctive fashions, so hearing them coming together on 3vil Reflection is a momentous occasion considering each artists’ rightfully increasing popularity & they give us the tightest collaborative effort in their discographies. Its production mostly has a hypertrap tone throughout with additional elements of dark plugg & pluggnb as 2 of their hottest artists in that field match their intensities.

Score: 4.5/5

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Rio da Yung O.G. – “Rio Circa 2020” review

Flint, Michigan rapper Rio da Yung O.G. celebrating his 30th born day by releasing his 10th EP. Breaking through the local trap scene during the latter portion of the previous decade under the mentorship of Peezy, he has since put out his last 9 EPs as well as a full-length debut album & a handful of collaborative projects under his belt all over the duration of 6 years. Rio’s previous EP The F Tape celebrated its 1-year anniversary several days ago, I can totally see why his estate unearthed Rio Circa 2020.

“Warm Up” has a rubbery, atmospheric Detroit trap flare instrumentally to get us started thanking God for allowing this rap shit to change his life whereas “Grease” bouncily talks about having the grease as opposed to the fire. “Grizzly Flow” pays homage to fellow Detroit artist Tee Grizzley over pianos & fingersnaps detailing the gangsta lifestyle prior to “Me & Mike” featuring follow M.I.N.E. Entertainment/#Boyz Entertainment artist RMC Mike demonstrating a back & forth chemistry between the 2 that gave us the Dumb & Dumber trilogy.

Mike sticks around for “Mike Voice” bringing a Bay Area vibe to the beat referencing former 11-time WWE Tag Team Champions, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champions, ROH World Tag Team Champions, HOG World Tag Team Champions, ΩCW Tag Team Champions & The Crash Mundial Parejas Campeons The Hardy Boyz that is until Louie Ray joins Rio & Mike on “Flint Boyz” representing Vehicle City over a bell-laced instrumental. “Brother Flow” featuring Louie Ray brings in more bells, keys, strings & 808s laying out braggadocio for a few minutes preferring to shoot people than watching the WWE division of the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings just before “Primo Beat” keeps the bells in tact throwing the hi-hats into the fold once again continues to flex dissing those who ain’t doing shit.

“Collective Nights” produced by Danny G nears the EP’s final moments calling himself Dr. Seuss since he sold a green egg to a ham on top of having a money fight & doing a drive-by in the Hellcat coming out from up the roof of the demon over a grisly Detroit trap beat that is until the closer “DD4” finishes Rio Circa 2020 teaming up with RMC Mike for 1 more time so they can prelude an upcoming 4th installment of their standout Dumb & Dumb3r trilogy.

Rio been incarcerated for 3 years already & although only has 2 more until he finally comes home, he’s still been able to keep the streets hot in the form of both Fiend Lives Matter & The F Tape. And nevertheless of the material on this new EP being made during the COVID-19 pandemic, I happen to enjoy it more than the last one The F Tape from over a year ago. The guest are boiled down to a couple & his status in the 313 is firmly reminded.

Score: 3.5/5

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A-F-R-O – “The Drawing Board” review

This is the 9th EP from Los Angeles emcee/producer A-F-R-O. A protege of R.A. the Rugged Man after winning the Definition of a Rap Flow contest, his Duck Down Music Inc.-backed 5th EP A-F-R-O Polo produced by Marco Polo introduced himself as a promising up-&-comer within the underground. He would eventually end up only doing features up until making his official return last summer putting out 3 more EPs, the latest being New Colonel in Town only 5 months ago. However, he’s going back to The Drawing Board.

The title track is a symphonic boom bap opener talking about feeling like he’s the greatest & the most underrated at the same time whereas “Next 2 Shine” works in more kicks & snares with synths breaking down that some of y’all really don’t know him & telling everyone who don’t rock with him to step to the side. “Wing Chun” boasts about things turning lethal every time he drops over a string-laced boom bap instrumental just before “Gone 4 a Second” takes a cloudier route instrumentally acknowledging that he’s been taking time off from music.

“Behead the Beat” speeds up his flow a bit maintaining his prosperity & seeing clarity these days over an orchestral sample while “Old Tyme’s Sake” returns to the boom bap talking about sticking to the script refusing to change it up. “Redemption” mixes synths & hi-hats explaining that he’s found the light in his soul painting his story on the canvas of his own production prior to “Battle Royale” featuring Blind Toxic, EKYM1536, Felcon, Pulse Reaction, SuperBrownBum & 60 East rounding out the EP with an average posse cut.

I admittedly wasn’t sure what was going on with All Flows Reach Out until he made his comeback last year, but The Drawing Board has to be the best EP that he’s put out since he started dropping music again almost a year ago by now & the most that I’ve enjoyed something from him since A-F-R-O Polo the year after I had graduated from high school. His lyricism gives listeners a more personal side to himself & his beats generally stick to the traditional boom bap sound.

Score: 4/5

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Bear1boss – “Bubbles” review

This is the 28th EP from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Bear1boss. Emerging in 2015 off his debut mixtape #beentrill#, he has since gone on to build up a lengthy yet impressive catalog for himself including 5 more tapes as well as all 27 of his previous EPs & even 5 full-length albums. My introduction to his music was last spring when my younger brother my little brother & UnreleasedSnip founder Jacob! played me “Fair” & “All Alone” off his 18th EP Dynamic, where I found myself being impressed by unique voice & style to the point where I’ve been following him since. I covered Blow Up! over a year ago & that was a solid rage effort, but I thought Bubbles here was worth giving a shot since it’s been a while. I should also worth noting the viral clip of him in January of him meeting Playboi Carti while they were locked up & then Anthony Fantano interestingly enough criticizing him on TikTok a month later.

“Cannonball” is this repetitively catchy & colorful synth-heavy opener produced by Popstar Benny boasting that he’s being cold fashioned & that he’s with a Latin bitch whereas “Unbearable” works in some horns, bells & hi-hats to talk about being the man & that he’s incredible. “Protect Scuffle” brings a playful rage beat into the picture assuring that he’s been good leading into another standout for me “Throwrocks!” admitting that he’s off the Hennessy in the booth & his life mattering over a pluggy instrumental from Popstar.

Continuing from there, “Hella Money” shows off his wealth going for a peppy hypertrap vibe just before “Louder” talks about rapping on shrooms since he’s on a spiritual journey & that his cup is more purple than Chowder. “I’m Not a Pimp” has this cheerful trap flare to it courtesy of Popstar Benny once again explaining that life can be easy & simple aside from explain that he doesn’t pimp leading into the cavernous “Theme Song” bragging about getting high in a mansion & that this music is his passion.

“Positive Vibes” featuring SossHouse Records signee Bermuda Yae approaches towards a cloudier atmosphere instrumentally promising that they’ll pop you before you try to pop them keeping the Glock by their sides while “Sauce Walker” featuring Key! finds the pair talking about how saucy both of them are with rage-inducing Popstar production backing them & “Important” rounding out Bubbles with 1 last hypertrap cut declaring himself flyer than everyone else.

The last 5 EPs that Bear1’s been giving us since I last reviewed him are mostly ok at best personally putting Lil Hotsauce as my favorite & Outta Here! as my least favorite, but I can’t deny that he gave us one of his best offerings in a while on the 4th EP that he’s released this year alone. You still get the rage beats that were heavily on Blow Up in a lesser extent, favoring for pop rap & trap dashed with additional doses of plugg & cloud rap.

Score: 3.5/5

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4Batz – “U Made Me a St4r” review

4Batz is a 22 year old singer/songwriter from Dallas, Texas gaining popularity this past winter off the single “date @ 8” earning co-signs from one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye or formerly known as Kanye West to even Drake, who ultimately appeared on the “date @ 8” remix & signed 4Batz to OVO Sound for a 1-EP deal. Only a month later, the most interesting new name in R&B of 2024 is putting out an EP through gamma. only a week after PARTYNEXTDOOR’s latest album PARTYNEXTDOOR 4.

After the titular intro, the first song “stickerz “99””starts off with an alternative R&B cut with additional elements of trap soul and chopped & screwed leaving bitches screaming anything whereas “date @ 8” featuring Drake on the remix puts a bigger emphasis on the trap soul undertones from earlier giving their significant others $700 for them to get new nails & hair. “on god?” featuring Ye on the remix takes the PBR&B route once again throwing additional neo-soul undertones calling out those hard to please & after the “get out yo feelings ho” skit, “fckin u (18+)” featuring Usher on the remix crosses over contemporary & alternative R&B with trap soul being unable to stop fucking all night long.

“there goes another vase” starts the 2nd half of the EP smoothly delving into a tumultuous relationship where the artist recognizes partner’s toxicity & at the same time feels a deep attachment to her while the stripped-back “mad man” turns sex with this woman into a passion. “all we do is argue, argue” spaciously asks her why she be breaking his heart out here just before the final song & my personal favorite “i hate to be alone” is this beautiful closer talking about not wanting to be by his lonely.

You know you’re into something when you get the Ye co-sign & it really makes me excited to hear 4Batz go from here when his EP deal with OVO is fulfilled on a later date, regardless U Made Me a St4r further pushes him as one of the most exciting new faces in the alternative/contemporary R&B scene. You also get neo-soul, pop rap, trap soul & hip hop soul undertones with a hint of chopped & screwed so the Dallas singer/songwriter can pull off his passionate singing chops whilst displaying his abilities with the pen.

Score: 4/5

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Ed O.G. – “AudiO EDibles” review

Roxbury, Boston, Massachusetts veteran Ed O.G. joining forces with Los Angeles beatsmith Tone Spliff for his 5th EP. Signing to Mercury Records as the leader of Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs, they would go on to put out 2 albums together before disbanding & Ed himself eventually established himself as a solo artist put out 4 EPs & 10 full-length LPs of his own. My favorites include his 3rd album My Own Worst Enemy produced by Pete Rock & his 6th album After All These Years. However, learning that Tone was hopping behind the boards for AudiO EDibles raised expectations in being Ed’s best EP.

After the titular intro, the first song “Catch Up” gets us started on some ominous boom bap shit talking about building this empire whereas “Act of God” works in these orchestral elements on top of kicks & snares asking who else do you know can pull off a feat like this. “Another Broken Heart” flips a soul sample advising listeners not to be fools & let them break your heart while the piano-driven “Hard 2 Get” talks about a woman that’s difficult to bag. “Achieve” keeps it boom bap explaining that a closed mind can’t be opened leading into the luxurious “Someday” calling to cease gun violence, but then “Move Mountains” serves as a dusty closer looking to do exactly that soon as he enters the zone.

That self-titled collaborative effort Ed O.G. did with Insight from a few years ago affirmed to me that both of them still very much haven’t lost a step & since then had been hoping for a solo effort from him that I would enjoy as much. AudiO EDibles, I can say gets the job done. Tone Spliff’s gives Ed some of the best production that he’s had in a while grounded in the traditional boom bap sound & the lyrics from the Roxbury emcee provides thought-provoking themes throughout.

Score: 4/5

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Slimesito – “EVILSLIME” review

This is the 16th EP from Atlanta, Georgia rapper Slimesito. Notable for being a member of the quintet Jurassic Park, he would also drop 3 LPs as well as 15 EPs & a mixtape of his own. Highlights in his discography include his 4th EP Scarface Sito, his 9th EP Rich Slime, his full-length debut Vida Brazy, 11th EP Life of a Slime & lastly the Dedication duology hosted by DJ Phat. And now with Yonkers producer Evilgiane of the Surf Gang coming fresh off lacing The Hillbillies’ eponymous debut single, I had a strong feeling ahead of EVILSLIME that it could top everything else as the crown jewel of Sito’s discography.

“Designer Drugz” gets the ball rolling detailing Slimesito’s lifestyle over a plugg instrumental whereas “Right or Wrong” co-produced by Eera finds the 2 joining forces going into a cloudier direction with some hi-hats thrown in talking about sliding for the gang without caring who’s in the right or who’s in the wrong. “Bandoleros” kinda has this airy drill vibe to the beat referring to himself as a rebel prior to the booming “Mona Lisa” painting the block much like the iconic painting the EP’s artwork pays homage to.

K$upreme joins Sito on the psychedelic “Top Floor” flexing the penthouse status that both artists have earned at this point in their careers while the atmospheric drill hybrid “Make It Home” reminding everyone that he been had motion. “Bruise Wayne” works in these ominous synth melodies & hi-hats talking about being on the block no differently than Batman, but then “12 03 93” gives me a cinematic vibe instrumentally feeling like making shit snow although it’s summertime.

“Top Kapo” pushes near the end of EVILSLIME calling himself a top dog over a cloudy beat just before “No Stress” clashes hi-hats & low-register synth melodies refusing to stress over Ls by getting back in counting through all the racks. The closing track “Dr. Evil” finishes the EP with a more playful tone in the production & Sito talking about everyone calling him evil since they know he stay plotting, likening himself to the titular antagonist of the Austin Powers trilogy.

Giane’s increasing popularity in the last couple years has been making me extremely happy as someone who’s been paying attention to him for the past 3 years & not only has become EVILSLIME my new favorite Slimesito EP, but I’d even put it up there with RealYungPhil’s 5th EP Dr. Phil as one of the greatest projects that the Surf Gang member has fully produced for another artist so far since the end result is Evilgiane’s sound being used as a canvas for Sito to paint his masterpiece.

Score: 4/5

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Rome Streetz – “Buck 50” review

New York lyricist Rome Streetz is joined by Floridian producer Wavy da Ghawd for his 5th EP. Emerging in 2016 off his debut mixtape I Been Thru Mad Shit, this was followed up by a plethora of projects with the most notable being the Noise Kandy tetralogy & Headcrack. These past couple years however we’re probably his biggest ones yet, as he dropped some of the best work of his career from the DJ Muggs-produced Death & the Magician or the Futurewave-produced Razor’s Edge to the Ransom-assisted collab effort Coup de Grâce& the Griselda Records deal that followed. His debut with the Buffalo powerhouse Kiss the Ring came in at the #9 spot on my Best Albums of 2022 list & the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Wasn’t Built in a Day ended up being a tad bit higher but coming off the 5th & final installment of the Noise Kandy series, Wavy is joining Rome for Buck 50.

The raw, 2-minute opener “Ball of Soft” boasts that he’s ballin’ like the league leader & that these rappers’ albums don’t amount to shit whereas “Runnin’ It Up” goes drumless talking about the fact that he’s been had the world in his fist. “Why is Water Wet?” goes for a smoother approach to the instrumental discussing a woman who says she never leaves him alone just before the dusty “Ya Understand” talks about no one being able to fuck with him. “‘92 Mike” is this luxurious boom bap cut going on a killin’ spree & the flute-infused “Saliva” ends the EP by doing what he had to do so cracks on the cash pursued.

The first 2 installments of the Noise Kandy series were my favorite EPs in Rome Streetz’ catalog for the longest time, but I truly consider Buck 50 to be head & shoulders above those including Narco Lingo & The Residue. I think that Wavy da Ghawd’s production here is amongst the best of career being a bit more consistent than Noise Kandy 5’s was as much as I still enjoy that previous project & Rome’s style of lyricism fits Wavy’s whole sound generally.

Score: 4.5/5

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Valee – “Partridge” review

Chicago, Illinois rapper Valee now joining forces with Detroit, Michigan producer Black Noi$e for his 5th 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. Anyway, his full-length debut Virtuoso produced by Harry Fraud from last summer won me over on him & I was certain of Partridge being as enjoyable.

“Partridge” is a sample-heavy trap opener with Valee boasting about putting a bitch in Chanel & skating harder than Molly Bloom whereas “Clutch” works in this crazy beat switch near the 2 minute mark so the dude can lay out his lifestyle on wax. “DiGiMon” takes the eerie boom bap route instrumentally talking about fucking on the money while “Ruff” pushes near the end of the EP taking a bit of a mellow trap turn flying out to Berlin & playing with the idea of pulling up in something new. “Sonnet” finishes up Partridge cloudily showing off his baby rockin’ A Bathing Ape with no monkey in the middle.

Originally, I had Runnin’ Rich as my favorite Valee EP since it took everything from G.O.O.D. Job, You Found Me & improved on it. 5 years later, he outdoes himself here much like he did with Harry Fraud on Virtuoso last summer. Black Noi$e’s production is more experimental than Harry’s was on that debut LP & the performances from Valee himself are an improvement over some of the other material he’s given us in the last 10 months since.

Score: 4/5

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Rx Papi & 1600J – Self-Titled review

Here we have a brand new self-titled collaborative EP from New York rappers Rx Papi & 1600J. Both of whom have established themselves individually within their local underground scene off projects like Foreign Exchange, Pack a Punch, NextDoorNeighbors or more recently 16GTC & Raheem Dead, Somebody Shot ‘Em. Now both of these guys have previously crossed paths with one another before on tracks like “1 Time” or “Blowin’ My Phone”, so a whole EP from them together only make sense.

The cloudy “All Day Long” produced by Harrison couldn’t have been a more perfect opening track to the EP flexing that they making money all day every day whereas “Flood Warning” takes the psychedelic route instrumentally callin’ the cappers on their bluffin’. “Not the Night” melodically promises their significant others that they still love them no matter how big they get just before “Cross My Screen” returns to a cloudier vibe talking about getting excited when their bitches numbers hit their phone screens.

“Only Fans” starts the 2nd half of the EP on some melodic, romantic plugg shit while “Special Ed” delves into pluggnb refusing to go back to their old hoes since they bagged the right ones now. “Ain’t Shit” has this luxuriously smoother trap vibe to the beat clapping back at the bitches that told them that they wouldn’t be shit, but then the closer “Money Hunt” closes up shop with 1 last plugg track talking about being on a hunt for the bread.

What Rx Papi & 1600J give us on this eponymous EP joins the ranks as one of the best collaborative projects they’ve ever done, reaching the bar set by Fleechy’s joint efforts with RXKNephew & the Pack a Punch EP with Smokingskul. I’d even argue it’s on the same pedestal as the NextDoorNeighbors EP that 1600 did with Pasto Flocco couple years back. It’s more plugg/pluggnb centered production-wise & both artists do a noteworthy job of elevating the chemistry.

Score: 4/5

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