Claas – “In My Head” review

This is the 4th EP from Arlington, Texas emcee Claas. For about 2 decades, this guy’s been steadily putting in work for the underground whether it be on it his own or as a member of groups like The Underground Avengers as well as VLNC & the Caarnivorz. He teased his previous LP albeit 3 with Lyrikal Snuff Productionz by dropping a trilogy of EPs leading up to it much like Strange Music used to do in 2019/2020 right before the COVID pandemic, culminating in This is Revenge being released in full 2 & a half years ago. He has since decided to take listeners In My Head over a month after UGA’s 3rd & final album Oblivion & 3 weeks since former AAA Mega Campeon, AAA Mundial Parejas Campeon, AEW International Champion, AEW World Tag Team Champion, AEW World Trios Champion, HoG Tag Team Champion, MLW World Tag Team Champion, PWG World Tag Team Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion & TNA World Tag Team Champion Rey Fénix had his final AEW match in Claas’ city.

The title track has a morbid trap atmosphere to get the 3 song, 11 minute offering started demonically talks about demons following him with no end in sight while “In This Box” drearily acknowledges death at the door encouraging to let him in. “A Part of Me” ends the EP with a guitar & hi-hats talking about searching, but being unable to find.

Very much outside his norm, what we have is a culmination of the roughest stretch in Claas’ life dealing with everything that has happened over a 2 year span & finding a way to put all that into words. He tells a story of himself battling the thoughts in my head & finally coming to grips with the biggest tragedy in his life happening, slowing falling into the depths of dark thoughts in his head.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ja’king the Divine – “Children of the Scorned” review

Brooklyn, New York emcee Ja’king the Divine retuning a year & a half after his 3rd album Parables of the Sower with his 5th EP. Introducing himself off his first 3 EPs Growing Pains as well as The Marvelous R7ght Wrist & Pray for New York, his last one Paint Chips came in April 2021 & he released his full-length debut Delusions of Grandeur 4 months later. The sophomore effort 手术: Black Sun Tzu the next summer would receive significant acclaim giving him wider exposure within the underground, raising the stakes for Children of the Scorned.

“Minstrel Show” is a soulful boom bap kickstarter talking about this shit being as different as it is whereas “Negro Spiritual” continues the soul sampling thrown in with kicks & snares refusing to lose or give up. “Aim at the Embassy” gives off a tenser boom bap vibe flexing that he’ll disgrace the American flag for the sole purpose of choking a skinhead & “A Shape of Things to Come” hops over another soul sample talking about change on the rise.

Moving on from there, “Idiom” warns over strings that he’ll decapitate anyone who tempers with his crown while “Public Enemy” strips the drums completely talking about striking the eardrums with a death note & warning that he’ll sign treaties to blow your whole vicinity. “Ward of the State” soulfully cautioning that we’re nearing the end while “Bambi Redd” jazzily demonstrates how word made a powerful man. After the “Youngnturnt” interlude, “Killer’s of the Flower Moon” ends with a flute asking what’s an artist with no torch or soul.

Children of the Scorned on the contrary to 手术: Black Sun Tzu speaks directly towards the black diaspora & the angst among the youth culture in America. He details some of his own battles with love, trust, alienation, self deprivation, discipline, addiction, frustration with our culture & the wavering will to carry on the weight of the world as a black man with trauma in a scathing society backed by production that balances boom bap & drumless including samples of both jazz & soul music.

Score: 4/5

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Gibby Stites – “Echo Chamber” review

I believe this is the 12th EP from Millville, New Jersey emcee/producer Gibby Stites. Starting in the music industry over a decade ago off his first 2 mixtapes Gillmatic & Broke n Local, he wouldn’t catch my attention until performing a set during Netfest On Your Couch during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns. Later that fall, he signed to Majik Ninja Entertainment & I had the honor of interviewing him shortly after the deal was made public. The 13th Wonder pretty much showcased Gibby to the juggalos as Jamie Madrox’ protégé & Welcome to iLLViLLE several months later took listeners through exactly where he comes from, but decided not to renew his MNE contract to form his own label iLLViLLE Worldwide shortly after. Off Air from last summer marked his return behind the boards after 5 years & is so far my favorite thing he’s done since leaving Majik Ninja & Pariah earlier this year was centered around mental health, but is getting back with Charlie Beans to take us to the Echo Chamber.

“Wrapped Up” hops over a cutthroat boom bap beat to get us started kicking that iLL shit whereas “Work Ethic” keeps the kicks & snares in tact talking about his grind. “So Alone” featuring Charlie Beans himself finds the 2 sharing the mic together pointing out the loneliness that everyone’s been feeling these days just before the cavernous boom bap title tracks talks about being unable to hear a word.

Paradime joins Gibby for “Commotion” aggressively looking to both of their plans in motion leading into “Twist of Fate” throwing it back to the 90s instrumentally letting y’all know he’s chillin’ like he should be asking what’s good with you. “Durban Poison” psychedelically lets the listeners know exactly what type of shit he smokes & “To Whom It May Concern” ends the EP unbottling all the pain inside.

In comparison to STiLL iLL roughly 2 & a half years ago by now, Echo Chamber shows a significant amount of maturity from both Gibby Stites & Charlie Beans since each of them went through a lot of personal matters individually during the making of this & they channeled every single one of those hardships into a motivating 27 minute EP for the illvillains.

Score: 3.5/5

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Sk8star – “Rebel in the Room” review

Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Sk8star back for his 5th EP. Breaking out in the spring of 2021 off Superstar Status, he would go on to follow it up last year with both the B4NWØ EP & his debut mixtape New World Ørder respectively. The latter being my introduction to Sk8’s music after my lil brody UnreleasedSnip put me on, with songs like “Standin’ on Business” & “YSL Flow” being the standouts for me personally. Following his 3rd EP Mogul along with rebel at the beginning of 2023 & whole new meaning that same spring, Sk8’s addressing the Rebel in the Room.

“E Sex” is a futuristically smooth & romantic trap joint to start the EP cuffing his girl to the bed whereas “FlyLikeABird” takes a rage-inducing route instrumentally talking about his money getting longer. “Southside” has a cloudier vibe to it showing off his bitch from the titular part of the ATL leading into “fukyaface” ending Rebel in the Room’s first half restoring the hypertrap vibes thanks to Clayco & Y3rip of Vanguard Music Group boasting that he’s fly as shit in his own lane.

To start the 2nd leg, “SaidSome” turns the bass up to talk about doing what he wants shrugging off the broke ass muhfuckas around him while “Racks on Racks” vibrantly gets boastful. “KameFromNothin” starts the 4th quarter of the LP with a cloudy trap beat talking about not coming from shit similarly to local trap trailblazer Young Thug & “PlayNoGames” finishes the EP hopping on top of a cavernous instrumental letting it be known that he don’t fuck around.

As someone who’s been following Sk8star for a year & a half, the dude’s been getting progressively better with each project he’s put out & his statement as the Rebel in the Room has been made very much loud & clear. The production draws from rage to trap, cloud rap & pop rap serving as an eclectically cumulating backdrop for a recharged Sk8 to body.

Score: 4/5

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Phonte – “Pacific Time 2” review

Phonte is a 45 year old MC, singer/songwriter, producer & podcaster from Greensboro, North Carolina notable for being of the 3 founding members of Little Brother alongside Rapper Big Pooh & 9th Wonder as well as 1/2 of The Foreign Exchange with Nicolay. In the fall of 2011, he would break out solo with the acclaimed debut Charity Starts at Home followed by the sophomore effort No News is Good News roughly 7 a half years later. His first EP Pacific Time the next spring went full R&B/neo soul which makes sense considering that Drake was heavily influenced by Percy Miracles when he first rose to stardom, so hearing that a follow-up was coming down the pipe had me interested.

“Run for Your Life” starts us off going for a synthpop direction produced by Focus… talking about heading somewhere he can get a peace of mind whereas “Follow” featuring Carlitta Durand embraces a house flare instrumentally singing about themes of romance. “5:55am” starts the 2nd leg of the Pacific Time sequel working in a spacious atmosphere describing the vibes he’s getting in the early hours of the new day before the sun comes up & the final song “Outta My Head” featuring Carmen Rodgers hooks up a psychedelic guitar lead as they sing about being here together for a night.

The original Pacific Time almost 5 & a half years prior was more centered around R&B & neo-soul so I kinda knew what I was getting myself into for the sequel, but Pacific Time 2 takes it a step further developing further beyond of both those particular styles blending them with other sounds ranging from synthpop to house & even psychedelic rock with a couple decent guest performances joining him here & there.

Score: 3.5/5

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Summrs – “Nightfall” review

Lafayette, Louisiana recording artist Summrs once again preluding his upcoming 10th album Tale of da Raven with his 16th EP & the 2nd of the year following B4daRaven. Starting out as a member of the Goonie-founded Slayworld collective, his presence has been known predominantly in the plugg scene by constantly dropping projects whether it be his last EP What We Have or even the Fallen Raven LP, both of which I highly recommend listening to if you wanna get into his music. Stuck in My Ways & Ghost were cool, but Rino brought back the plugg elements that Ghost lacked on the official What We Have sequel What We Didn’t Have last September & was curious of what direction Nightfall would take.

“Bentley Mulsanne” starts the final EP ahead of the next LP boasting that he’s at the top of the food chain over a futuristic trap instrumental whereas “F.W.W.Y.N. (Fuck Wrong With Y’all N****s?)” brings a cavernous trap beat to the table talking about never catching him slip. The hollowly produced “Phantom Musik” confesses he still doin’ things wrong thinking everything was right while the vibrantly catchy “F.O.B. (Family Oriented Business)” produced by Synthetic of Internet Money Records discusses coming for his. “Marble Floors” was a great trap/regalia crossover & the outro is a rage-inducing anthem for his fans.

B4daRaven had more of a prominent pluggnb/pop rap sound with cloud rap undertones in comparison to What We Didn’t Have astoundingly returning to Rino’s plugg roots, but the overall vibe on Nightfall generally leans more toward straight forward trap in comparison although you do get hints of cloud rap along with regalia & even rage. That tells me all of these sounds are gonna come together into 1 by the time Summrs himself feels ready to tell the Tale of da Raven sooner rather than later.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jakesand – “Sandbox” review

This is the 2nd EP from Michigan producer Jakesand. Releasing his debut EP El Fureidis in the summer of 2018, he has since become an in-house producer for Lando Bando’s own EMPIRE Distribution imprint The Hip Hop Lab Records working with some of their biggest acts from the ShittyBoyz both as a group & as solo artists to $weet-T & Prince Jefe. 6 years later, he’s making a comeback & putting out Sandbox through the biggest Detroit trap label out amassing what looks to be an immensely promising list of guest performers.

“Motion Picture” by Babytron co-produced by Danny G references WWE Hall of Famer, 7-time WWE Women’s Champion & former WWE Hardcore Champion Trish Stratus while “Business” by Lil P might be the only track I don’t care for despite the rich Detroit trap instrumental. “Jonah Hex” by J1Hunnit has a witty bar referring to the Paramount Skydance Corporation subsidiary NBCUniversal-owned Shrek franchise while “100 Routes” by Stanwill talks about having 100 methods.

Tony Shhnow surprisingly has his own song with “Sell a Dream” boasting that he’s in love with the money & wakes up every morning with the intention of making more of it just before “Pints, Pills, Prescriptions” by Babytron, Fordio & MJPaid finishes up the Sandbox experience with all 3 members of the Dog $hit Militia trading brief verses with one another & everyone holding their own weight.

Between this & the El Fureidis EP, it’s no debate from my perspective that Sandbox is the best solo offering that we’ve gotten from Jakesand thus far. I’m confident that we’ll be getting a sequel to it at some point sooner rather than later because his production as strong as the predecessors, except there’s more consistency from the guests who’re performing over his Detroit trap beats.

Score: 4/5

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Ice Spice – “Y2K!” review

This is the 2nd EP from Bronx, New York rapper Ice Spice. Growing up with a hard knock life at the Hudson Street Orphanage ran by Agatha Hannigan & later being adopted by Oliver Warbucks (kidding), she grew up to pursue a music career in 2022 after uploading a couple viral music videos & landing a Capitol Records contract. Drake eventually flew her out to join him at OVO Fest not too long after & unfollowed her on Instagram rather quickly once the festival concluded, with him calling her “a 10 trying to rap” & that her music is “good on mute” on the highlight track “BackOutsideBoyz” off their collab album with 21 Savage later that fall Her Loss. Ice Spice’s debut EP Like…? a year & a half ago was greeted to mixed reception & is looking to make a bigger breakthrough on Y2K!.

“Phat Butt” was a mediocrely experimental hardcore New York Drill opener sampling “Oh I Think Dey Like Me” by Dem Franchize Boyz talking about women biting her flows & poses whereas “Oh Shit” featuring Travis Scott takes a bouncier drill route instrumentally courtesy of Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic so both of them can look to turn up the spot. “Popa” dabbles a bit into rage territory to talk about getting super lit out here since she from the trenches, but then “Bitch I’m Packin’” featuring Gunna fuses drill & hypertrap explaining they got what they need.

Finishing the EP’s first half, “Plenty Sun” goes for a futuristic drill approach explaining that she don’t know how to do shit leading into “Did It First” featuring Central C fusing Jersey Club & cloud rap addressing themes of infidelity. “BB Belt” murkily declares herself as Ms. Poopie even though she doesn’t smell while “Think U the Shit (Fart)” swaps out the trillwave elements in favor of Miami Bass & new jazz courtesy of venny belittling her competition.

“Gimme a Light” nears the final moments of Y2K! with an underwhelming crossover between sample drill & dancehall flipping both “Gimme the Light” by Sean Paul & “Hazard Lights 4” by Blockwork featuring ShotBy O.A telling them to pass the dro to her prior to the bell-driven closer “T.T.Y.L. (Talk To You Later)” going out for the paper from the very moment that she first wakes up in the morning.

Starting the deluxe run, “Gyat” is a Jersey Club rap joint telling the haters to back up & the baddies to throw their asses back while “Hannah Montana” featuring DaBaby & NLE Choppa includes a dope line referencing “Tweakin’ Together” by Bktherula offering nothing else exciting than the drumless beat. “So What?” is this generic trap number talking about being spoiled & the final bonus track “Like” wants to know why everyone coming for her.

My thing with Ice Spice has always been the fact that I’ve heard the styles that she presents done better as said previously when I reviewed Like…? about 2 & a half years ago, which still stands of this very moment. Examples include Don Toliver’s 4th album Hardstone Psycho coming into his own through the help of new jazz, Yeat’s early stuff when it comes to rage, RealYungPhil’s 7th EP Dr. Phil regarding New York/sample drill & the Moh Baretta mixtape Unorthodox in terms of Jersey club rap. I don’t mind her trying out sounds, it’s just not as interesting as some of her contemporaries.

Score: 2.5/5

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Rakim – “G.O.Ds Network (REB7RTH)” review

Rakim is a 56 year old MC/producer from Long Island, New York notable for being 1/2 of the seminal golden age duo Eric B. & Rakim. They put out 4 classic albums together from the mid-80s to the early 90s, with their debut Paid in Full & the sophomore effort Follow the Leader laying out the groundwork for future generations of hip hop to come. Kid Wizard eventually went solo in late ‘97 signing to Universal Music Group for an acclaimed debut The 18th Letter & the follow-up The Master while not as acclaimed still received positive feedback. Reception to The 7th Seal a decade after The Master was more mixed due to the lackluster production although the lyricism was certainly praised, but is returning after 15 years for a self-produced solo EP.

“Be Ill” featuring Kurupt & Masta Killa was a soulful boom bap choice of a lead single allowing the trio to talk about being down & real whereas “Now’s the Time” featuring B.G., Compton Menace & Hus Kingpin keeps it rugged explaining that the time is in fact now & they’re the last to know it. “Love’s the Message” featuring the late Nipsey Hu$$le, Planet Asia & WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg takes the cloudy boom bap route instrumentally asking if you can see what they see while the symphonic “God’s Playground” featuring DMX, Fred the Godson, Skyzoo & 38 Spesh declares that the chase is on.

Canibus, Chino XL in what would be the final feature of his lifetime, KXNG CROOKED & La the Darkman all join The God for “Pendulum Swing” hooking up kicks, snares & strings looking to make a major change in the game together referencing Neuralink founded by Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder & Twitter owner Elon Musk leading into “International” featuring Joell Ortiz, Kool G Rap & TriState nearing the conclusion of G.O.Ds Network (REB7RTH) on some piano/boom bap shit wanting the money as opposed to violence. “Sign of 7” featuring Big Twins, Method Man, the late Prodigy & X-Raided finally ends the EP with the quintet luxuriously talking about being the mob including a reference to WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne.

This man has to be in my top 3 with Nas & Kendrick Lamar, so it makes me more than thrilled that hear that his “G.O.D.” status extends to more than just lyricism by showing Rakim’s chops as a producer & resulting in one of the best EPs of what’s already been a prolific year in hip hop culture. The God hasn’t lost a step lyrically, the production is WAY better than The 7th Seal & a majority of the guests hold their own weight on the mic being some of the best that the east, west & south have to offer.

Score: 4/5

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Flee Lord – “Raised in the Sand” review

Queens, New York emcee Flee Lord is back with his 18th EP. Coming up in 2017 as protege of the late Prodigy, he has since become known for building up a massive discography for himself in the last 5 years. This includes the Loyalty or Death: Lord Talk trilogy produced by GodBlessBeatz, the Loyalty or Trust duology produced by 38 Spesh, the DJ Shay-produced Lucky 13 the Buckwild-produced Hand Me My Flowers, the Pete Rock-produced The People’s Champ & the Havoc-produced In the Name of Prodigy, the DJ Muggs-produced RAMM£LLZ££, the Roc Marciano produced Delgado. Last time I covered him was his 4th proper full-length album Ladies & Gentlemen which was followed by 2 more LPs 2-3 Zone & Full Court Press, but Raised in the Sand peaked my interest even more.

The title track starts off with a hypnotic boom bap instrumental talking about drawing a clear vision in the booth with his pen whereas “Hate When You Rich” produced by Harry Fraud works in a drearier loop with kicks & snares addressing those who envy his bread stacking up. “Snakes in Disguise” is an organ/boom bap crossover that DJ Green Lantern cooked up calling out those in the streets who’re literally snakes in disguise prior to “Pay the Price” swaps the organs out with a piano explaining that it takes to business with him.

V Don gives “Where’s the Love?” a soulful vibe telling y’all to get yours, lay low & stay out the way leading into “Ice Water 2” featuring Roc Marciano serving as a drumless sequel to “Ice Water” by Raekwon featuring Cappadonna & Ghostface Killah laced with the help of Mephux. Lord Mobb Music in-house producer Ghost Dave jumps behind the boards for the rap rock flavored “Lord’s Work” featuring Mummz & Trizz getting on their street shit just before “Brother 4 Life” soulfully talks about loyalty over Pounds440 sampling soul music.

“Skipping Out the Bank” featuring Pounds440 himself starts the final moments of Raised in the Sand by jumping on top of horns together literally skipping out the bank in the midst of everyone in their lives who’re jealous of them stressing out even further due to the fact & “Get Yours” ends the EP telling the homie to pass him a drink & given that he doesn’t do it very often, he’s in the mood to celebrate right now keeping the beat exuberant yet dusty at the exact same time.

Flee’s last couple albums were good, but I haven’t found myself enjoying a project from him this much since Delgado. Needless to say, what we have in front of us is the best EP that the guy has put out in 3 years. The production is a cut above 2-3 Zone & Full Court Press, I like that the amount of guests are toned down in comparison & Flee Lord himself tells everyone what it was like for him being Raised in the Sand.

Score: 4.5/5

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