Jungle Brothers – “Concrete Jungle” review

The Jungle Brothers are a golden age hip hop duo from Brooklyn, New York consisting of Afrika Baby Bam & Mike G. Originally a trio alongside DJ Sammy B, their 1988 debut Straight Out the Jungle & the sophomore effort Done by the Forces of Nature under Warner Records are considered to be some of the most important hip house albums ever created, although their music since then has generally been hit or miss. However, I still had interest for the Native Tongues subgroup’s 2nd extended play.

“Make the Party Rock” featuring TdiMuzik begins with a fun intro talking about 2-steppin’ on muhfuckas even if the TdiMuzik verse was alright whereas “Check This Out” takes it back to the group’s signature hip house sound calling for everyone on the dance floor to put their backs into it. “Special Request (Dancin’)” kicks off the 2nd half with a carefree party anthem while “Rocket” concludes the EP talking about them continuing to rock stages.

A great deal of the Jungle Brothers’ output for the past 3 decades has mostly been average at worst & I might not have Concrete Jungle on the very same pedestal as their first couple of LPs that were so groundbreaking, but I think it’s a decent return for them overall. The production shifts between the hip house sound that made them so unique & boom bap, although I wouldn’t go as far to say that they don’t really push either those styles forward.

Score: 3/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Benny the Butcher – “The Plugs I Met 2.5” review

Buffalo, New York emcee Benny the Butcher preluding The Plugs I Met III with his 10th extended play. Being in the game for 2 decades already, it wouldn’t be until the previous one 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 few years back. Coming off the Summertime Butch duology & Excelsior however, The Plugs I Met 2.5 has come 48 hours succeeding its announcement.

“Rise & Fall” featuring Elcamino & 38 Spesh after “The Dog & The Wolf” intro hops over a soulful instrumental from Harry Fraud explaining that there’s a certain price of the game that we haven’t accept even if we don’t want to leading into “Big Difference” featuring Bruiser Wolf & Fuego Base produced by the late DJ Shay works in a symphonic boom bap beat so the trio can respond to all of the haters criticizing them for their recent acquisitions.

Daringer & Beat Butcha get behind the boards on “Once Upon a Time” to kick off the 2nd half of The Plugs I Met 2.5, replacing the strings with a more sinister backdrop explaining that every leader was a good soldier at a certain point in their lives just before “Talk Shows” featuring Raekwon reunites with Harry Fraud to discuss having no respect for those who buy their runs since they hustled to earn theirs. The closing track “Can’t Be Much” sends off the EP with a symphonic trap outro getting in his coke rap bag lyrically.

Many will presumably say that The Plugs I Met 2.5 is the best thing Benny the Butcher has made since Tana Talk 4 or Everybody Can’t Go, but I did enjoy it a lot more than Summertime Butch 2 almost a year earlier as much of a huge improvement it was over it’s predecessor & has me anticipating a forthcoming trilogy chapter. The production feels like a mix between both installments of The Plugs I Met series letting Harry Fraud handle most of it outside of Daringer & DJ Shay’s contributions, bringing a stellar guest list on board for all but 2 tracks excluding the intro to break down the mafioso life.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Pz’ – “No Turnin’ Back” review

Yes, we finally have another extended play from Atlanta, Georgia rapper & fashion model Pz’. Emerging a couple years ago off the strength of his debut single “Sun”, he would eventually blow up last summer when “Hedis Bussin’” came out & has since collaborated with the likes of billi0n for his debut mixtape Revenge as well as the Uy Scuti Bøyz’ eponymous tape earlier this spring. B4NTB came out a few days ago & No Turnin’ Back has arrived after a 48 hour delay as promised.

“Never Gon’ Home” opens with a bassy intro explaining that it’s difficult for him to specifically say where he’s headed leading into “Live Strong” hazily talking about how he prayed for his success to come & all of his ØWay brethren playing their individual roles. “Dis Ain’t Right” speaks of being trained to kill along with smoking up all his weed because he can’t sleep at night while “Canes” talks about all this internet shit being a joke to him & coming from a city where all the artists are homegrown.

dragnutz makes the EP’s sole guest appearance on the synth-driven “No Ceilings” so they can discuss reaching new heights together just before “X Tape” talks about possibly changing this woman’s life after having sex. “Fête Feeling” experiments with Afrobeats observing that the woman he slept with has been acting strange around him & after “Claim to Fame” talks about constantly thinking of money, the outro “Maxfields” finishes up suggesting he might make a bag only to put it in his will afterwards.

No Turnin’ Back retains the similar trap & pop rap production that made B4NTB such an interesting prelude although there are more elements of rage being incorporated & a small dosage of Afrobeats towards the backend of it contrasting the previous EP’s futuristic swag undertones. Pz’ could potentially be the most versatile member of the ØWay collective the more I think of it & I already know his discography will only improve going forward.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Germ – “Stay Gold” review

This is the 4th extended play from Atlanta, Georgia rapper Germ. Signing to G*59 Record$ in mid-2018, he would drop his debut EP Bad Shit a couple years earlier followed by the Badshit (Bootleg) EP along with the debut mixtape Germ Has a Deathwish as well as The Hijinx Tape & the Cold Summer EP. Last we heard from him was almost 2 & a half years ago when he dropped his full-length studio debut Every Dog Has It’s Day, celebrating his birthday by dropping Stay Gold entirely produced by Cosh.

The title track incorporates some heavy bass to get things going talking about moving with the wicked whereas “Out My Top” gives off a funkier vibe instrumentally explaining that he has tons of pain inside his heart. “Fasho Fasho” brings a more laidback beat to the table talking about the money calling him & after “Space Face” embraces a darker atmosphere to get on gangsta shit lyrically, the outro “Heart Went Cold” ends the EP looking to run the racks back up.

Every Dog Has It’s Day at this point has already surpassed Germ Has a Deathwish to become my favorite entry in Germ’s whole discography & if we’re gonna get a sophomore effort down the line, then I’d say Stay Gold would be an acceptable prelude to it. I was already familiar with Cosh since he produced the intro of that Mental Trillness 2 mixtape Juicy J did a couple years ago & it’s appropriate considering G*59’s heavily inspired by Three 6.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

vax – “Steeze” review

West Palm Beach, Florida rapper/producer vax staying busy with his 7th extended play. Someone who’s eventually go on to drop his last 6 EPs since 2023 after beginning to make music at the age of 12 including New Jazz as well as Forgive My Sins & Pyramid Scheme, with Is This You? following my personal favorite of the bunch Throne. Coming off #B4BlueDawn & the full-length debut Blue Dawn merely 8 weeks earlier & he’s applying more pressure by releasing Steeze.

“Parade” kicks things off with a rage-inducing intro talking about being with slayr in his hometown & looking for all the hoes back in the South shaking ass at a local parade while “Hetereo” bridges Steeze boasting that nobody can do this music shit the way he does it. “Screamer” spends the final minutes of the EP with 1 last hypertrap instrumental talking about going dumb whenever he’s on stage & making sure his bitch can’t walk for a week after sex.

Ditching the primary digicore influences of Blue Dawn along with the cloud/pop rap undertones, vax gets ready for the next era of his career dropping of a 6 minute 3-pack that I find to be average in comparison. The rage production doesn’t make a lasting impression on me as much as the debut a couple months ago & maybe a track or 2 could’ve been more fully fleshed out, but you can definitely still hear the hunger in his performances.

Score: 3/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

The Alchemist – “Liquid Form” review

New surprise EP & the 13th overall from Beverly Hills producer, DJ & rapper The Alchemist. Beginning as 1/2 of the duo The Whooliganz in 1993 with Scott Caan, they would only disband a year later after recording a debut album that eventually got shelved & Scott went onto acting like his father. Mudfoot on other end quickly established himself as one of the greatest producers in hip hop history with a resume including ranging names from Mobb Deep & Eminem to Travis Scott & even Drake. The Genuine Articulate found himself rapping more & he’s returning behind the boards once again to drop Liquid Form in celebration of the New York Knicks winning the NBA Finals.

“Gutter Pain” by Kool G Rap begins with a boom bap intro telling hood stories others aren’t his parts weren’t able to whereas “Beat Like a Key” by 2 Chainz maintains the dustiness talking about blowing shit down right when he pulls up. “Streets Don’t Change” by Conway the Machine kicks off the 2nd half on some more dark boom bap shit & Con explaining that the streets will always be the same, but “On the Spectrum” by Boldy James gives us a prelude of an upcoming Boldy LP produced by Uncle Al himself.

This has been a long time coming for the Knicks since their last championship was over half a century ago, so I completely understand why The Alchemist said “fuck it” & hit us with a 4-pack returning behind the boards in preparation of the upcoming self-titled debuts from the Forensics and Abi & Alan. Rather than continuing the abstractly drumless vibes The Genuine Articulate went for, the guests comprised of individually established veterans depict the life of gangstas & there are significantly more drums.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

che – “Empty Clip” review

The 2nd surprise EP of 2026 & the 6th overall from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist che. Starting as a member of the 4ersona collective under the original moniker murkio before settling on cheRomani+ & later abbreviating it, it wasn’t until more recently where he decided to build a solo catalog for himself by putting out the debut EP 3 & followed it up in the form of X or the original version of his 3rd EP Closed Captions a few summers ago. Crueger that same Halloween showed more of a Chief Keef influence & sayso says was an acclaimed rage debut of it’s own, coming off the beloved Rest in Bass & Fully Loaded to unload an Empty Clip.

The self-produced “Like Lil Mexico” starts us off with a bassy instrumental talking about being tatted whereas “Tuesday” produced by CXO samples “I Don’t Sell Molly No More” by iLoveMakonnen to discuss women & drugs. “DMX” turns up the bass so he can pull out his Mr. Krabs voice & after “O.G. Ginobili” talks about knowing he’d play with guns since he was a kid, “Los Santos” runs it back with CXO for a rage-inducing outro.

Continuing to tease his upcoming 3rd studio LP set to drop sometime before the end of the year, this most recent extended play of che’s could likely be my favorite of the 2 that we’ve gotten from him within these last few months. Empty Clip’s production is predominantly hypertrap-oriented although there are some secondary influences of trap metal & experimental hip hop, basically refining what he was trying to do at the beginning of the spring in time for summer.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Pz’ – “B4NTB” review

This is a brand new extended play of solo material from Atlanta, Georgia rapper & fashion model Pz’. Emerging a couple years ago off the strength of his debut single “Sun”, he would eventually blow up last summer when “Hedis Bussin’” came out & has since collaborated with the likes of billi0n for his debut mixtape Revenge as well as the Uy Scuti Bøyz’ eponymous tape earlier this spring. Only a few days away from No Turnin’ Back however, he’s dropping off B4NTB.

“Track Meet” hops over this colorful trap beat making it known to anyone who ain’t makin’ a profit that they can’t hang with him whereas “Seals & Tags” acknowledges the ØWay collective’s increasing popularity to end the 1st half. My favorite track here “Tamagochi” embraces a cloudier vibe instrumentally talking about puttin’ muhfuckas on dinner plates & “Keep It Tucked” produced by Noah Mejia finishes with an outro that I’d consider a close 2nd compared to the previous track.

It was already known since the very beginning of the month that Pz’ would finally begin building a discography for himself following his standout guest appearances & singles, but him dropping B4NTB literally 24 hours in advance increases what anticipation I’ve had for No Turnin’ Back tomorrow with an impressively brief collection of trap songs taking additional inspiration from rage, cloud rap, pop rap & futuristic swag in only under 10 minutes.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Fimiguerrero – “The Statue of a Fool” review

Greenwich, London, England, United Kingdom rapper & producer Fimiguerrero preluding his upcoming 3rd album Lost City with his 7th extended play. Releasing his debut EP Human Anatomy in 2019, he would continue to build up a catalog for himself with his next EP Fuck Brex!t as well as the eponymous full-length debut & the No Way Out EP. kvnt, Black, the sophomore effort Immigrant & New World Order all followed & he’s decided to shock the world after unveiling The Statue of a Fool without any prior announcement.

“Me Again” opens up with a jerk intro talking about his appetite being suppressed by taking some ecstasy whereas “Loser” keeps the hoodtrap vibes going clapping back at his haters doing the shit they wish they could do. “Good Girl” blends trap, emo rap & jerk so he can talk about his own struggles struggles with fame & trusting women leading into the self-produced “Cocaina” ending the 1st half touching on the subject of escapism & describing a kinda love that‘s addicting.

Kicking off the 2nd half, the song “Dutty” featuring Bassvictim takes an atmospherically darker approach instrumentally admitting to still feeling some sort of disconnect even after he started to gain popularity while “Skywalker” samples “Throw It In” by Lil Wayne addressing individuals who constantly have issues with him although I wish fakemink had a verse. “Mind the Gap” talks about repeating the same mistakes his own father had made & the cons of living in London while “Don’t Leave Me” ends the EP detailing a breakup.

Impressed by the guest appearances he had on both EsDeeKid’s debut EP Rebel & Jim Legxacy’s debut mixtape Black British Music last summer, Fimiguerrero gives us a glimpse of what we can expect out of Lost City in the guise of The Statue of a Fool which is a salvageable appetizer until the main course. I wouldn’t necessarily call it my favorite EP he’s done, but I do appreciate him experimenting a bit more outside of his signature jerk/rage sounds.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Ruby da Cherry – “Daily Reminders to Repent from Sin” review

Brand new extended play & the 4th overall from New Orleans, Louisiana emcee/producer Ruby da Cherry. Blowing up as 1/2 of the $uicideboy$ alongside his cousin $crim, they’ve built up an impressively extensive discography over the last decade & even have their own label G*59 Record$ with an ever-growing roster of artists. Tragic Love Songs to Study to & Existential Hymns for the Average Sigma were both enjoyably carefree punk EPs from Ruby, coming off last spring’s Coping Strategies to Combat the Algorithm to give Daily Reminders to Repent from Sin.

“Away from Me, Satan!” after the “¯\_(ツ)_/¯” intro screams over some speedy guitars & drumming about people pissing the day away when they could’ve done significantly more with it whereas “when there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth” after the “where y’at, duckboy?” skit made for an exciting single blending easycore, post-hardcore, metalcore & emo-pop asking for the Holy Ghost to show him hope & the end being near.

After the “where y’at, duckboy??” skit, “the inevitable fall & decline of myself” starts the 2nd half of Daily Reminders to Repent from Sin dissing Moloch just before the post-hardcore “a love as strong as death” after the “where y’at, duckboy???” skit encourages a love interest to hold his hand so they can stay for as long as they can. After the “where y’at, duckboy????” skit, the final song “high tide in the snake’s nest” finishes things off with a metalcore outro.

I still believe Runaway a couple weeks earlier would’ve been a lot more enjoyable if $crim had removed all the unnecessary filler on there & despite enjoying Daily Reminders to Repent from Sin a tad more, it’s my least favorite punk EP that Ruby da Cherry has done. The songs itself are fine since he’s going beyond easycore to dabble with metalcore, post-hardcore & emo pop. However, the voicemails in-between every single track are starting to get annoying.

Score: 3/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!