$uicideboy$ – “Yin Yang Tapes 3: Fall Season”

The $uicideboy$ are a hip hop duo from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of Ruby da Cherry & $crim. For almost a decade now, these guys released a plethora of projects whether it be the Kill Your$elf saga & Eternal Grey or even I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS & the Travis Barker-produced Live Fast, Die Whenever. The boy$’ sophomore effort Long Term Effects of Suffering followed as did their last album Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation over the summer & continuing the Yin Yang Tapes series in the form of their 26th EP.

After the “Fall Season” intro, the song “whatwhat” opens things up with some gritty synthesizer patterns & hi-hats cautioning that you better stay the fuck away from them while the penultimate track “Every Dog Has His Day” gives off a more atmospherically Memphis kind of vibe to it this time around getting on their Scarface shit. “Provolone & Heroin” featuring Freddie Dredd however happens to be a mediocre closer despite its mystic trap production the lyrics representing the north side of New Orleans.

If you’re already familiar with the last 2 installments of the series, then you pretty much know what you’re getting yourself into here as they drop off 3 songs that fans can get themselves into the fall mood in about 4 months when the leaves actually start to turn brown. The feature at the backend is probably the weakest of the tetralogy so far, but they continue to expand on the cloudy rare phonk sounds from before & dropping their signature gangsta-infused lyrics on top of it.

Score: 3.5/5

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Gavyn Gunn – “Malevolent” review

Gavyn Gunn is a 26 year old MC & songwriter from Dallas, Texas who’s been sending shockwaves in the underground wicked shit scene for a while now because of his introspectively content as well as his aggressive delivery & blurring the lines blending a few different genres & styles together. He most recently signed to Dirtcore Music last month, becoming the 7th artist to join its ever-growing roster albeit the 3rd to put out new material following Samson Samson & Madd Maxxx respectively. For his debut EP on the other hand, it’s been said to be the first in a trilogy & was curious to hear what he had to bring to the table for the Grand Rapids imprint.

“Breathe” produced by Crossworm fuses drumless & industrial hip hop comparing the stress he feels to the massive heaviness of an actor whereas “Looking for Trouble” hooks up more synthesizers getting ready to go to work with the razor blade to your throat. “Mind in Madness” switches it bringing a trap vibe to the beat talking about only seeing fear while “The Bug” featuring Bodies Below Sea Level industrially finds the trio honing in all your fears. “Your Scars” featuring Køvin Kestnar uncannily finishes the EP with both of them lighting their way through the dark.

Finally getting to see Dirtcore go from solely handling the discography of it’s own CEO for 2 decades next spring to becoming an actual label increasing their signings has been a long time coming but if you’ve enjoyed Sammy’s most recent sophomore effort Witch Hunt as much as I did or the latest singles Maxxx has been heading ahead of his official debut on the imprint this fall, Malevolent kicks off what’s shaping up to be an exciting trilogy by letting his intense craft shine brightly. Crossworm’s aggressively raw production pulling inspiration from industrial hip hop & trap goes hand-in-hand with Gavyn’s anxiously hungry performances drenched in dark introspection.

Score: 4/5

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8tari – “Lofi Punk” review | 8タリ – 「ロフィ・パンク」レビュー

This is the debut EP from Japanese-American transplant 8tari. Born in Tokyo, she moved to New York as a child & began piano lessons before returning to Japan at when she was 12. However, a freak accident with a prototype blockchain connected gashapon machine outside of a keki shop near Takeshita Street resulted in 8tari being decentralized & becoming an NFT. Lost in the network & no longer able to physically touch a piano, she began making beats that soon began to fill the back streets of Shibuya after down-resizing them for transmission at human audible levels. Renown west coast producer DJ Muggs eventually took 8tari under his wing & is producing her debut EP in full.

これは日系アメリカ人移植8tariのデビューEPです。東京で生まれ、子供の頃にニューヨークに引っ越し、12歳の時に日本に戻る前にピアノのレッスンを始めました。しかし、竹下通り近くのケキショップの外でプロトタイプブロックチェーン接続されたガサポンマシンとの異常な事故により、8tariは分散化され、NFTになりました。ネットワークで失われ、もはや物理的にピアノに触れることができなくなった彼女は、人間の可聴レベルで伝送するためにそれらをダウンリサイズした後、すぐに渋谷の裏通りを満たし始めたビートを作り始めました。有名な西海岸のプロデューサーDJ Muggsは、最終的に彼の翼の下で8tariを取り、彼女のデビューEPを完全に制作しています。

“Neon Sunburn” is a dreary piano opener to the EP that I can only visualize serving as the soundtrack to a rainy ass day whereas “The Guns of Brixton” continues on with a lo-fi instrumental cover of the Clash song of the same name off their iconic 3rd album London Calling. The penultimate track “Paradise” has a more climactic vibe to it almost as if it were playing in the background of an important scene to a really good movie leading into “Bad Scene, Everyone’s Fault” ending the EP with another cover except this time it’s the joint off Jawbreaker’s 4th & final album Dear You.

「ネオン・サンバーン」はEPの退屈なピアノオープナーで、雨の日のサウンドトラックとして視覚化することしかできませんが、「ザ・ガンズ・オブ・ブリクストン」は、象徴的な3rdアルバム「ロンドン・コーリング」から同名のクラッシュの曲のlo-fiインストゥルメンタルカバーで続きます。最後から2番目のトラック「Paradise」は、まるで「Bad Scene, Everyone’s Fault」につながる本当に良い映画の重要なシーンの背景で再生されているかのように、よりクライマックスの雰囲気を持っています。今回はJawbreakerの4th&finalアルバムDear Youのジョイントです。

What we have on Lofi Punk here is essentially Muggs dabbling with chillhop for a duration of 4-songs, 15 minutes & it makes me wonder if he plans on traveling further down this rabbit hole in the future because it’s a really interesting change of pace for the seasoned west coast producer. The covers truly make the EP live up to it’s name, but the 2 original compositions are an even better homage to the style pioneered by the late Nujabes.

Lofi Punkで私たちがここで持っているのは、本質的に4曲、15分間チルホップをいじるMuggsであり、それは経験豊富な西海岸のプロデューサーにとって本当に興味深いペースの変化なので、彼が将来このウサギの穴をさらに下って旅行する予定があるかどうか疑問に思います。カバーは本当にEPをその名前に応えていますが、2つのオリジナル作品は、故ヌジャベスによって開拓されたスタイルへのさらに良いオマージュです。

Score: 3.5/5

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$uicideboy$ – “Yin Yang Tapes 2: Summer Season” review

This is the 25th EP from New Orleans, Louisiana duo the $uicideboy$. Consisting of Ruby da Cherry & $crim, these guys released a plethora of projects within the last decade whether it be the Kill Your$elf saga & Eternal Grey or even I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS & the Travis Barker-produced Live Fast, Die Whenever. The boy$’ sophomore effort Long Term Effects of Suffering followed as did their last album Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation over the summer & are now coming off the EP they dropped last weekend Yin Yang Tapes: Spring Season for the sequel Summer Season.

After the intro, the first song “5 ‘n the Mornin’” is an occult trap opener with the boy$ declaring that players never die while the penultimate track “Starry 9” has more of a Memphis-inspired sound to it à la one of my all-time favorite groups & one of the Nawlins duo’s biggest inspirations Three 6 Mafia sonically so they can rep the 7th ward. “Bloody ‘98” featuring Ghostmane concludes the first half of the Yin Yang Tapes tetralogy with the trio collaborating for the first time with a demonic trap closer & all 3 MCs gelling with one another better than one would anticipate discussing their killer instincts.

I can only assume Fall is coming next Friday & eventually Winter the weekend after, but I really can’t complain because this is a tad bit superior to Spring in my personal opinion & it has me anticipating the 6 songs from the other 2 installments later on in the month ahead of Grey Sheep III afterwards. Blanco & Wetto continue to build upon the cloudy trap sounds of the predecessor with their production here as they keep spitting some gangsta-laced braggadocio for us to vibe to in time for next month.

Score: 3.5/5

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Russ – “CHOMP 2.5” review

This is the 3rd EP from New Jersey rapper, producer & singer/songwriter Russ. Dropping off a total of 11 mixtapes on SoundCloud from 2011 up to 2014, he wound up signing Columbia Records a couple years later & made his full-length debut in 2017 with There’s Really a Wolf. Quickly becoming one of hip hop’s most polarizing figures in recent memory in the process by being a “fake activist” against drugs & then there’s his infamous 2016 interview with DJ Vlad the culture vulture where he literally said “we need to blame producers for all the wack music today”. His 2018 follow-up ZOO kinda caught my interest due to“The Flute Song”, but the end result of it being taken over by this annoyingly bitter demeanor. Shake the Snowglobe was slightly better & his debut EP CHOMP in 2020 ended up being his best work so far, although it’s because the features & producers carried. Funny enough, the same thing happened on the sequel a year & a half ago. But to prelude the 3rd installment, he’s rockin’ it by himself on CHOMP 2.5.

“Wicked Race”’ is a self-produced opener with no real stand-out lines even though the instrumental that he cooks up here is actually pretty decent whereas “Blow the Whistle” calls this a warmup to CHOMP 3 dropping this summer & even though Statik Selektah’s boom bap production is groovy, bars like “Stand tall like who? Like Tyler” & that he “never had to chase clout or do a bunch of weird shit” when he started to blow by constantly making a narcissistically bitter ass-hat of himself.

The “Buckle Up Freestyle” is more sample-based courtesy of Havoc talking about calling himself out on my bullshit & luckily he picked up, which I’m actually happy to hear him acknowledge that because it takes a real man to own up to his mistakes & don’t have any personal vendetta against the guy whatsoever. “Easy” weaves in some soulful chops from The Alchemist talking about showin’ why no one can fuck with him lyrically even though he literally made a whole fuckin’ tape where the features outshined him although the self-improvement line I felt was sincere.

“Reflection” has a more summery vibe to it thanks to Boi-1da & the melodic delivery that Russ executes here just isn’t doing it for me at all which is a shame considering it’s overall theme of rarely getting a second to put himself first. I don’t mind the reference to 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 either. “Perfectionist” closes out the EP with a soulful boom bap ballad that 9th Wonder cooked up confessing that he had 32 sessions with a therapist about being a recovering purist although the “in my Depeche Mode” line was cringe.

Although the first 2 installments of the CHOMP series were loaded with guest verses, the fact that Russ took the risk of proving that he doesn’t need features for a project to be good is admirable. However, this is as average as the predecessors. The production is remarkable, but the songwriting & performances from Russ himself are both mid at best. That being said though: I can’t deny that he’s trying to improve himself both artistically & personally and continue to hope for that down the road.

Score: 2.5/5

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Axel Holy – “Persian Grillz” review

Here we have the 7th extended play from Bristol, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Axel Holy. Originally known under the moniker Baileys Brown producing for several local underground hip hop artists, he would eventually make his full-length solo debut in the spring of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic with WonderWorld followed by the Jack Danz-produced God Comflex as well as the Micall Parknsun-produced Got It Down & Welcome Back. Coming off Chess however, hearing that Badhabitz of the Split Prophets was fully producing Persian Grillz sounded promising on paper.

After the intro, “Flava” samples “Big Sur Suite” by Johnny Hammond to get things going shouting out all the people who’re still by his side today whereas “Runnin’” goes for a piano-driven boom bap vibe talking about switching up the pace. “Grillz” instrumentally has this nostalgic feeling to it boasting of going toe-to-toe in a battle & after the funky “Bwoyyyy” talks about stealing the show, the outro “Bitch Don’t” ends with a warning not to fuck up his mood.

Welcome Back & Chess both have their individual share of songs that I still enjoy, but Persian Grillz lived up to my expectations that were set when it was announced & joins Got It Down to become yet another crucial EP in Axel Holy’s growing discography as an artist. The production Badhabitz cooked up here’s significantly rawer than last couple EPs we got from Axel & lyrically, he goes a lot harder than he did compared to both of it’s predecessors.

Score: 4/5

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$uicideboy$ – “Yin Yang Tapes: Spring Season” review

The $uicideboy$ are a hip hop duo from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of Ruby da Cherry & $crim. For almost a decade now, these guys released a plethora of projects whether it be the Kill Your$elf saga & Eternal Grey or even I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS & the Travis Barker-produced Live Fast, Die Whenever. The boy$’ sophomore effort Long Term Effects of Suffering followed as did their last album Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation over the summer & are now coming off the collaborative Shameless $uicide with G*59 Record$ signee Shakewell by ringing in the warmer weather with their 24th EP.

After the “Spring Season” intro, the first of 3 songs that we get here “Hot Razor” sets off the whole EP with a Memphis rap banger keeping it gangsta as a motherfucker while the penultimate track “Realism vs. Idealism” comes through with a straight up dirty south vibe as they talk about squeezin’ like they fiendin’ for a reason to give up & asking where your Makaveli is. “Château Gris” though finishes things up with a quirky yet cloudy trap jam admitting they be psychopathic with the 9 & that they be heaven sent.

They’re saying we’re getting a 3rd installment of the Grey Sheep series at some point this summer & for the boy$ to celebrate spring by giving us a 10-minute kickoff to the Yin Yang Tapes series is a fine way to hold everyone off until it’s time to complete the trilogy the way they started it. The production remains grounded in the duo’s southern roots as they stick to their guns (no pun intended) covering the usual topics that one would expect going into one or their projects.

Score: 3.5/5

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Q-Unique – “Pound for Pound” review

This is the 2nd EP from Brooklyn emcee, singer & producer Q-Unique. Emerging as 1/4 of the Arsonists & the lead singer of the 3-man hard rock outfit Stillwill, he’s also built up impressive solo discography for himself since the Uncle Howie Records-backed Vengeance is Mine nearly 2 decades back at this point. He would follow it up the previous decade with Between Heaven & Hell alongside BlaQ Coffee and The Mechanic, but is returning after nearly 5-years to have Stillwill bassist Fieldy of KoЯn fame to produce Pound for Pound in full.

“Thank You” by Stillwell starts off the EP with a cinematic boom bap instrumental by showing his gratitude the best way possible whereas “I Believe It’s Getting Better” is a opener ballad about a young brother being put on hold. “Torch Them All” is a Bollywood/boom bap hybrid grabbing the automatic from the corner store just before “Free” keeps it in the basement as far as sound goes talking about being imprisoned by his own thoughts. The song “Danger Room” takes a more menacing approach sonically robbing suckas for their bounty while the penultimate track “Blackout” hooks up some synths, kicks & snares being on his kung fu hustle. The ominous closer “Knevil Reeves” ties up the EP making it known that he has plenty of gas left in the tank.

As someone who loved Vengeance is Mine during his adolescence, it’s most certainly safe to say that Pound for Pound will quickly go down as the best EP in Q’s catalog & one of his best solo projects ever. The production that he & Fieldy cook up is the most consistent batch of beats that he’s hopped on top of in a while as the Brooklyn lyricist sounds incredibly-laser focused proving that he’s still got it lyrically after all these decades in the game.

Score: 4/5

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DaBaby – “Call da Fireman” review

DaBaby is a 31 year old rapper from Charlotte, North Carolina blowing up almost 2 years ago off his viral single “Suge”. He has since built up the discography of 4 full-lengths, 13 mixtapes, a couple EPs & a collaborative project with NBA YoungBoy. Last time we heard from him was back in September when he dropped off a horrific sequel to his debut Baby on Baby, but is now enlisting G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer Charlie Heat to return in the form of a 3-track EP.

“Shake Sum’n” is a Philly club opener with DaBaby encouraging all the bad bitches to show him exactly what they’re working with while the penultimate track “Ghetto Girls >>>>” samples “Project Bitch” by the Cash Money Millionaires so he can talk about his preference in woman that be ratchet as fuck. “Sellin’ Crack” however comes through with a bouncy closer to end the EP saying he makes music like he slanging dope & Offset goes on to murder him on his own shit with his guest verse.

Baby on Baby 2 wound up being the worst hip hop album of last year & unsurprisingly, Call da Fireman as a 3-piece 6 minute EP really isn’t any better. There’s nothing wrong with Charlie Heat’s production on here at all & I’ll even argue that it’s more stronger than any beat we heard on DaBaby’s previous album, but I just feel like he’s continuing to paint himself into a corner with the same fucking flows & vapid subject matter.

Score: 1/5

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Pawz 1 – “Persona Non Grata” review

This is the 8th EP from Los Angeles underground mainstay Pawz 1. Breaking out in 2014 off the strength of his full-length debut Face the Facts, he would go on to add a couple more albums & 7 EPs under his belt with the last we heard from him being Random Acts of Violence’s eponymous debut EP last spring, but his returning solo solo in the form of Persona Non Grata ahead of him opening up for Cormega at Catch 1 in Los Angeles a couple months from now.

“Sepekku” is a gully boom bap opener giving all phony fans the finger saying he don’t need them anyway whereas the “Out of Bounds” remix featuring MC Eiht & Ras Kass is superior to the original we heard on his last full-length Watch & Learn. “Welcome Home” has a summery boom bap quality talking about the streets having good intentions prior to the title track has a playful vibe with some kicks & snares saying respect ain’t worth what it used to be.

Meanwhile, “Bad News” starts the final leg of the EP weaves in a twinkling boom bap beat so he can admit that he’d probably be afraid of himself too just before the “Cross Fire” remix keeps it dusty talking about how it be like the roads in the hood. The song “Good with That” gives off a richer groove speaking on learning to accept that things ain’t always gonna be good while the penultimate track “Still” ruggedly says fuck you to all his critics & doubters. We then get treated to the original version of “Cross Fire” which is dope, but prefer the remix a bit more.

As somebody who’s been a fan of Pawz since his debut dropped my junior year of high school, this EP is no question my favorite of his in a while & quite possibly the best body of work that he’s put out in this current decade. The production stays grounded in the traditional boom bap sound as he makes a statement in regards to his surroundings & the music business altogether basically telling any 2-face snake to fuck off.

Score: 4/5

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