Baby Ghost – “Free da Yung O.G.” review

Flint, Michigan rapper Baby Ghost hitting us with his 4th EP. Notable for being one of the earliest signings under Rio da Yung O.G.’s independent M.I.N.E. Entertainment, he made his full-length debut in the summer of 2020 with Emotionless & the debut mixtape Cut the Light Off a couple months later. Other than his well praised sophomore effort Gho Krazy & its sequel, he also has a couple EPs under his belt in the Mislead series with a trilogy chapter on the way. We only got Gho Krazy II a few months ago & looks to make the call for his mentor’s freedom even louder.

“3Hunna Blackout” brings the 808s in for Ghost to talk about fanning out those who run up on his block whereas “Wham!” breaks down his lifestyle recalling not hesitating the first time he ever shot somebody. “Fa Fa Fa” has a general Detroit trap sound showing off his gang ties for almost 2 & a half minutes while the title track blends synthesizers & 808s to talk about him wanting Rio home as much as the rest of us do too.

We get some bells & more 808s on “Circle Pink 10’s” warning to keep his name out your mouth unless you want your brother’s head tapped just before “Wyg Gang??” asks to stop advocating for his bitch made opps to be freed & killing someone who tried to slide on him. “Smoking Her Brother” brings the synths back in the fold letting his bitch do whatever because he don’t give a fuck leading into “He Know He Smoked” featuring Homi Michel marked the only collab of the 3 I didn’t care for in my respectful opinion.

“Gang Baby” cautions that you’ll catch a headshot tryna creep up on him while “EBK” featuring Babytron finds the duo trading verses with each other excellently for 102 seconds. “WWI” poses the question of why he should trust you when his big cousin snitched & “Blitz” featuring Babytron ends by finishing what they started on “EBK” except they both share 2 verses each instead of the back-&-forth execution of the previously mentioned collab.

Mislead 2.5 was massively disappointing considering that the first 2 entries of the series are on par with the Gho Krazy saga, but Free da Yung O.G. makes up for the last EP with one that joins Mislead & of course the sequel in being the finest. Aside from both crossovers with Tron making up for “He Know He Smoked”, I love that he dedicated to his mentor similarly to what Peezy did on Free Rio a few years back.

Score: 4/5

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EARTHGANG – “EARTHGANG vs. the Algorithm 2: Robophobia” review

Atlanta, Georgia duo the EARTHGANG consisting of Olu & WowGr8 back with their 7th EP. Starting out a little over a decade ago dropping 3 mixtapes along with 2 albums & an EP independently, this resulted in J. Colesigning them to his Interscope Recordsimprint Dreamville Records in 2017. This resulted in a trilogy of EPs leading up to their major label debut Mirrorland, which revealed themselves to be one of the best artists that the label has to offer. They went on to give their Spillage Village collective some shine by dropping their 4th album Spilligion on Dreamville the next year & Ghetto Gods further cemented them as the 2nd best signing on the roster behind J.I.D of course. EARTHGANG vs. the Algorithm: R.I.P. Human Art this past fall Dr. Dot & Johnny Venus severing ties with Interscope to solely stay with Dreamville, but are returning to give insight on EARTHGANG vs. the Algorithm 2: Robophobia about the technological advancements we’ve seen in recent years.

After the intro, “Blacklight” starts off by encouraging one to expose their flaws over a funky instrumental while “Put In Work” featuring Tommy Newport turns the funk up to 11 so both of them can get romantic. The futuristic R&B/pop rap crossover “Osmosis” has be my least favorite track on Robophobia asking if the love’s real in an cumbersome fashion & the warm “Perfect Fantasy” featuring WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg closes the EP asking what’s inside these walls.

The last EP we got from Olu & WowGr8 was a good introduction to the story of the trilogy & the follow-up has to be my favorite chapter thus far. A song or 2 I can do without, but the EARTHGANG still embarks on a sonic dive as they explore new soundscapes & topics on imperfections connections & projections within humanity’s relationship with each other & artificial intelligence.

Score: 3.5/5

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Krispylife Kidd – “Juice” review

Krispylife Kidd is a 30 year old rapper from Flint, Michigan who’s popularity in the local trap scene has been gradually increasing since 2019 going on to release a total of 13 mixtapes & 3 EPs all in that span of time. Icewear Vezzo even signed him to Iced Up Records during the pandemic & Lil Yachty had him featured on Michigan Boy Boat. Now I’d start with Krispylife 2 & The Art of Spice Talk trilogy if you wanna dive into Krispylife’s music but since Vezzo put out his Quality Control debut Live from the 6 at the beginning of the month, I was interested in hearing that Krispy had released his 4th EP.

The opener “Bam Got Me Stuttering” gets Juice rolling with pianos & hi-hats declaring this to be a mass whoopin’ whereas “1 Time” talks about not having to many friends & the ones he does have stay tweakin’ being on nonsense over a cloudy instrumental. “Trapped Too Much” featuring Clean Up Man finds the 2 getting on their Detroit trap shit & Clean Up Man’s verse doesn’t really do much for me truthfully that is until “Back in the Basement” gets back on track works in bells & hi-hats talking about how he finna do something dangerous.

YSR Gramz’ feature on “Who at the Door?” isn’t any better than the previous guest performance despite the bell-inflicted Detroit trap beat & the idea of doing the shit that some of these dudes be rappin’ & “What You On” instrumentally gives me a Bay Area vibe impressively clapping back at those who can’t beef with him because their money ain’t long. “On the Spiritual Side” however concludes the EP with a slick Detroit trap cut flexing that his Chakra shining.

It can seem kinda corny with the title & artwork paying homage to the iconic 2Pac film of the same name & other artists have done that on previous projects in the past. Case in point: Soulja Boy. But Krispylife been got the Juice when it comes to artists in the local trap scene & continues to keep up with Vez for real. Regardless of not being head over heels for the 2 features, there’s no cappin’ on Krispy’s passionate delivery during the 17 & a half minute experience.

Score: 3.5/5

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Decksterror – “Love & Honour” review

This is the debut extended play from London, England, United Kingdom producer Decksterror. Originally known under the moniker G-Man, he would form Hollow Sun Records alongside Cosm in the spring of 2020 a couple weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic began & eventually made his full-length solo debut with Black/Gold Stash a couple years later. However, he has since signed to the Croydon underground imprint Hidden Hobby Records as an in-house producer & is looking to make his debut for the label with Love & Honour.

“Tom Clancy” by C.o.N-Vers starts with a horn-heavy boom bap instrumental portraying himself as an assassin but after Cosm & Hus Kingpin join him on the rap rock-inflicted title track so all 3 of them can talk about holding the aces high even if the stakes have never been any higher, “Invisible Man” by Ash the Author & JabbaThaKut reaches the halfway point speaking of both artists making moves of their own & still running from the men in black.

King Kakarot gets the 2nd half going by landing a track of his own Move Back” talking about the lack of rebelliousness these days when I don’t entirely agree with that since there are artists whose music captures that mentality well while “Running for the Shade” by C.o.N-Vers speaks of living in the good & bad days. “Dark Speed” by Ill Sykes ends the EP talking about being the sum of things to come & letting shells roll of his tongue much like he’s firing an automatic firearm.

Considering that this guy produced the penultimate single from Montener the Menace’s latest album The Miserable Git Next Door & one of my personal favorite tracks on there “Tomorrow’s Never Promised”, it’s not so much of a shocker to hear Decksterror joining Hidden Hobby & his debut for the rising underground imprint has me excited for the sequel he’s already begun working on. His sample-lenient boom bap production created using an MPC solidifies himself amongst the UK’s greatest producers & the briefer guest list is more consistent than Black/Gold Stash’s.

Score: 3.5/5

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Vritra – “Amber” review

Vritra is a 32 year old rapper, producer & visual artist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana known for formerly being 1/2 of The Jet Age of Tomorrow, 1/3 of The Super D3Shay & a member of the influential Odd Future collective before focusing on his own crew that he’s the de facto leader of NKR. He’s also released 7 LPs, 19 EPs & 4 mixtapes as a solo artist with the best ones being Pyramid & the Stones Throw Records-backed Indra. Matt Martians put out his latest solo EP Matt’s Missing a month ago & that was the best thing he’s done by himself in a while, so Vritra releasing his 20th EP over the weekend had me wondering how it was going to hold up.

Things start off with a trip hop instrumental sequel to “Wool Glasses” off the Jet Age of Tomorrow’s only album God’s Poop or Clouds? whereas the self-produced “Walking” gives an experimentally glitchy approach continuing to venturing out of his department. “Tether Me” featuring Jay Cue brings these synths into the fold talkin’ about being down for the block like it’s Tetris prior to jazz/soul fusion “Silverado” stripping the drums advising to let it burn similarly to the way the doobie is.

After the “Non Fiction” interlude, “Proximity” by Wilma Vritra begins the 2nd half of the EP by bringing a psychedelic flare to the beat acknowledging that people around his vicinity are getting bold while “Grey Matter“ sonically feels like a breezy, summer day admitting he didn’t know how to approach the situation initially. “Insomnia” draws inspiration from industrial music addressing a woman he goes insane thinking of & lastly, “Running” featuring Eyedress is a jazzy closer talking about stacking cheese & counting proceeds in the back.

Hal said himself on Twitter shortly after Amber was released that it would the last body of work of his to be put out under the Vritra moniker & however he reinvents himself artistically going forward, I can tell you that he gave us the strongest EP in his discography since Palace a decade ago already. He sounds recharged after taking a year off & his experimentally cloudy, west coast sound has additional undertones of drumless, jazz, soul, glitch hop & trip hop.

Score: 3.5/5

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¡MAYDAY! – “The Thinnest Line III” review

Miami, Florida trio ¡MAYDAY! preluding their upcoming 9th full-length LP albeit the first under their very own label ¡MAYDAY! Music distributed by It Goes Up Entertainment & Strange Music with their 5th EP & the 3rd installment of The Thinnest Line trilogy. Formed in 2003 by keyboardist/guitarist Plex Luthor & emcee Bernz, the duo released their self-titled debut in the fall of ‘06 before adding 4 more members into the fold: emcee/producer Wrekonize, bassist Gianni Ca$h, percussionist NonMS & drummer L.T. Hopkins in 2009. Together, they would begin to rock the underground off 2 EPs & their sophomore album Stuck on an Island. This would catch the attention of Kansas City veteran Tech N9ne, who signed the group to his independent powerhouse Strange Music in 2011. They would go on to cement themselves as a flagship act on the label’s roster off critically acclaimed projects like Take Me to Your Leader, Thrift Store Halos, Believers & Future Vintage. However since 2016, ¡MAYDAY! has maintained it’s current lineup consisting of Wrek, Bernz & NonMS. Their first album as a trio Search Party was a decent sequel to Stuck on an Island & the heavily reggae-influenced South of 5th was slightly better, but Minute to Midnight wound up to easily be ¡MAYDAY!’s best in 6 years. They have since remained tied to Strange by forming ¡MAYDAY! Music & signing a distribution deal with Strange Music co-founder Travis O’Guin’s own subsidiary It Goes Up Entertainment. Now as far of The Thinnest Line series, the independently released first installment is my favorite & the follow-up backed by Strange was just decent. However since Minute to Midnight was a return to form, the latest entry had to be better in my mind.

After the “End” intro, the first song “Hate to Love You” is an incredibly catchy pop rap opener to The Thinnest Line III cooked up by NonMS coming to terms how hard it is to admit that they’re in love with these individual partners whereas “Warning Signs” takes the acoustic route thanks to MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 talking about having fun pretending what they had was permanent. “Pull Up” has a groovy self-produced instrumental as ¡MAYDAY! & Mike SB refuse to stop until they’re in the car with the windows down as Mike gives the weakest feature of the 2 but I still liked it, but then the futuristically funky “Last Night” picks things back up asking what you doin’ out here tonight. “At Least We Tried” shifts into summery turf refusing to say goodbye & “Hit My Line” featuring Trizz concludes The Thinnest Line III with an atmospheric trap flare advising to give ‘em a call.

This recent installment of the Miami trio’s trilogy has to be the best since the first one & it’s more than enough to hold fans off until their ¡MAYDAY! Music debut album because much like Minute to Midnight, what we have on The Thinnest Line III is another example of their recent output continuing to improve. The production’s more consistent than The Thinnest Line II’s was primarily due to letting one of their best collaborators handle 4 of the 7 tracks leaving the other 3 being in-house mixed in with versatile performances from ¡MAYDAY! themselves & 50/50 features.

Score: 4/5

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Little Simz – “Age 101: Drop 7” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee, singer & actress Little Simz returning with her 10th EP & the 7th installment of the Age 101: Drop series. Getting her start at the beginning of the previous decade, she would go on to drop 4 mixtapes along with her 9 previous EPs & 5 full-lengths LPs. GREY Area showed some serious artistic evolution, S.I.M.B.I. (Sometimes I Might Be Introvert) wound up being my 2021 Album of the Year after giving it a perfect 10 & No Thank You was a late AOTY contender in the following winter. However after 4 years, Simz is returning to put out a successor to Drop 6.

“Mood Swings” starts things off dabbling with hip house a bit talking about her mood abruptly changing on the regular whereas “Fever” tells the story of being in São Paulo, Brazil with her friend over a more tribal beat. “Torch” gives off a glitchy EDM trap vibe a bit advising not to be afraid of the bounce & that she’s trying to be the force but after the 3-minute instrumental cut “SOS”, we have Simz explaining that “they gon’ have to give me more of your soul when I’m needin’” over cloudy trap production. “Power” gives us off-the-top verse for nearly a minute as it sonically gives me a bit of a misty vibe & “Far Away” ends the EP with a jazzy UK drill fusion singing for her lover not to wait around for her.

Little Simz is by far my favorite UK artist in recent memory since S.I.M.B.I. (Sometimes I Might Be Introvert) is one of the best albums of this decade & No Thank You was near-flawless in it’s own right, but this has to be amongst the best installments of the Age 101: Drop EP series in my opinion. She’s demonstrating her range as an artist by rapping AND showing her singing voice as the overall sound here draws from electronic dance music, funk mandelão & of course grime.

Score: 4/5

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B.A.R.S. – Self-Titled review

B.A.R.S. is an underground quartet consisting of V Sinizter, Zitro, Tierre Diaz & Clifton Derrell. One of whom is a Saginaw, Michigan native releasing his debut EP Hunting Season in 2003 under Psychopathic Records, Zitro is one of the newest members of the hatchet family coming straight outta Detroit, Tierre hails from Boston, Massachusetts coming fresh off signing to DJ Clay’s very own Armed Robbery Entertainment last summer & finally Clifton represents the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois as an overly smart punk who experienced his first electric moment when Eric B. & Rakim’s rhythm hit him. So considering their histories intertwining with juggalo culture, it only makes sense for all 4 emcees to form a supergroup & introduce themselves as a unit on their debut EP.

The title track is an incredibly rugged opener talking about everyone watching them with all hands on deck whereas the rowdy “On Sight” sets out to start riots in every club they hit up. “The Pinnacle” begins the 2nd leg of the EP by giving off a bit of a futuristic vibe instrumentally boasting that they’re in demand & ready to bring the pain, but then “Top No More” rounds things out by calling out those who’re envious of seeing the 4 on top over these guitar licks & hi-hats.

Anyone who considers themselves to be a fan of any or all 4 of the members of B.A.R.S. has to check out their eponymous debut EP together here & it makes me anticipate hearing what the underground supergroup has coming down the pipe from hereon out. The production gives off a different vibe for everyone & although everyone has stood out in their own ways previously, hearing them together is another level.

Score: 4/5

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Kemastry – “A Delusional Guide for the Disillusioned” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee Kemastry breaking out solo with a whole entire EP locking in with one of the UK hip hop movement’s most decorated DJs/producers DJ Jazz T to handle the beats. Notable for being 1/3 of the trio CMPND alongside Vitamin G & Wundrop, they would make their debut under High Focus Records in the fall of 2019 with Eagle Court & most recently made a sequel with the sophomore effort Long Live the Court through the Hove, East Sussex imprint. Kemastry however has opted to crack open A Delusional Guide for the Disillusioned by having the founder of Boot Records producing it for his label.

After the compositional “Mind Control” intro, the first song “Delusional” begins with this old school boom bap instrumental talking about being stick up in this rat race from the sun whereas “Apocalyptic Flows” featuring Ramson Badbonez contains the strongest guest appearance of the 2 linking with Kemastry over pianos mixed with kicks & snares spittin’ deadly cadences of their own. “Hamster Wheel” featuring Roughneck Jihad has a cloudier, almost jazzier boom bap vibe to it having no one to trust & “Stay Grounded” smoothly ends by giving that very advice.

Countering the scathing observations & multi-syllables Wundrop & Vitamin G have respectively become known for with his surreal unpredictability, Kemastry elevates that to a whole new level providing A Delusional Guide for the Disillusioned to begin carving a path for himself individually. DJ Jazz T’s boom bap production pared with the CMPND member’s signature approach to songwriting with only a couple features joining him for roughly 15 & a half minutes isn’t a bad way for him to establish himself on his own & has me anticipating where he’ll go from here.

Score: 4/5

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Sly Moon – “No Gamble, No Future” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Sly Moon ending January with his 4th EP. A member of the Children of the Damned as well as its successor the Cult of the Damned & the Sohio Players, he made his full-length debut in 2020 with Why Am I So Sly? under Blah Records followed by the Lee Scott collab effort F.D.M.B. (Flippin’ Dough Makin’ Bread) & Banned From the Vic. The last extended play of his The Ghost of Ungar came out a year earlier & is taking a more conceptual approach to No Gamble, No Future.

After the “I’m a Compulsive Gambler” intro, the self-produced “I Don’t Know” starts with this soulful boom bap opener talking about being blinded after keeping his eyes on the prize whereas “Aces Baby” produced by Lee Scott instrumentally discussing him grinding night & day playing with higher stakes. “Tears of Joy” goes for a jazzier yet funkier vibe talking about being lonely at the top loving the view while “Back Door Key” boasts of his money speaking loudly.

“The Dream’s Over” continues the 2nd half of No Gamble, No Future with everything crashing down on our protagonist running into the wall of the house after trying to take it down over this crooning beat & after the “Spinnin’ Out” skit, “Casino Chippin’” ends the EP hopping over a boom bap beat with some strings talking about another chapter in the rat race running backwards amongst the gamblers watching people become rich only to steal food from children’s mouths.

We’ve heard a significant amount of growth from Sly Moon with every EP he’s given us since Why Am I So Sly? & the progression continues throughout No Gamble, No Future. He chronicles of the ups & downs of an addicted gambler beginning in the red & grinds his way into the green, only to go all the way back to Square 1 in a never-ending cycle that anyone who has or had a gambling addiction can relate to though it’s never been my thing personally.

Score: 4/5

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