Devereaux & DJ Chunk – “Another Day in Hell” review

This is the new collaborative EP between Devereaux & DJ Chunk. One of whom is a producer from Florida & the other being Ouija Macc’s official tour DJ coming straight out of Utah, but have both been taking the underground by storm together in recent years as part of Chapter 17 Records. And to celebrate the Gathering of Dreams going down earlier this month, Dev & Chunk are joining forces to take you through Another Day in Hell.

“What You Got” by Shaggytheairhead is a rowdy opener talking about knocking out those who be sneak dissing them whereas “Chasing Monsters” by Baker Ya Maker & Damien Quinn works in a meditative trap beat talking about trying to find the shine. “Life in Prison” by Darby O’Trill & Ouija Macc bombastically calls out the pigs while the song “Mind Ain’t Right” by Řezník morbidly talks about how crazy he is. The penultimate track “Fro Curse” by A-F-R-O dives into boom bap territory with some rugged battle bars & “Don’t Listen to Them” is a dark instrumental outro with some killer cuts.

In comparison to the Moonlight Monster House project that Chunk did with Shaggytheairhead being a cool little remix project, Another Day in Hell is all original material & happens to be my personal favorite of the 2. Devereaux reminds everyone why he’s currently one of the most in-demand producers in the underground at the moment, the guest performances are consistent & Chunk is a monster with the turntables.

Score: 4/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Your Old Droog – “Yodney Dangerfield” review

This is the 7th EP from Ukrainian-American emcee Your Old Droog. Catching my attention when he dropped his self-titled debut, many actually first thought he was an alter ego of Nas given that their voices are somewhat similar. He eventually became a legend in his own right off later projects such as Packs as well as It Wasn’t Even Close, TIME & the Nicholas Craven-produced YOD Wave. YOD Stewart came out this past spring & it was ok, but the singles Droog has dropped in the last month had me raised my anticipation for Yodney Dangerfield immensely.

“The Unknown Comic” opens up the EP with an abstract boom bap beat taking about sending his opposition to the G League whereas “The Hand of YOD” works in some pianos to confess that people are just mad at him because he outgrew his peers.“$50K of Brunch” takes a soulful route thanks to Nicholas Craven talking about choosing to flip that bread than have brunch with Hov, but then “The Man on the Moon” mixes a crooning loop & strings provided by Jonwayne to air out some hacks.

The song “The Simpsons” named after the longest running animated series on the Fox Corporation’s flagship property copyrighted by The Walt Disney Company shoots for a cloudier yet dustier aesthetic talking about being the only one at the top while the penultimate track “The Tonight Show” embraces the funk to remind everyone that hoes will treat you like an OutKast unless you got some Stankonia. The Sadhugold-produced “Triple Lindy” ends the album by grimly promising to get his competition in their roots like Black Thought.

Of all 3 of the EPs that Droog has dropped this year, Yodney Dangerfield has to be right behind YOD Wave for my favorite so far. The bars that he spits here are like earworms in a good way & the production compared to YOD Stewart is significantly better too. If “The Return of Sasquatch” is supposed to be on YODFATHER, then my anticipation is very high because it’s one of my favorite singles of the year.

Score: 3.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Insane Clown Posse – “Pug Ugly the Stink Bud” review

This is the 18th EP from Detroit horrorcore duo, Juggalo Championship Wrestling founders & the longest reigning JCW World Juggalo Tag Team Champions the Insane Clown Posse. Consisting of Violent J & Shaggy 2 Dope, but very few know that 3 other members came & went during the first 5 years of the group’s inception. Not only would The Duke of the Wicked & the Southside Strangla go on to create seminal wicked shit albums like The First 6, but they gained an extremely loyal fanbase in the process & their self-owned Psychopathic Records became an independent hip hop powerhouse as the label’s roster continued to grow. I was a bit worried about their latest album Yum Yum Bedlam given that the prelude EP Yum Yum’s Lure was panned by fans when it came out last Juggalo Day but when Halloween came around, they proved me wrong with what I believe to be my 3rd favorite card in the 2nd deck. Last we heard from them was Wicked Vic the Weed during the first quarter of the year & are now continuing the Seeds of Yum Yum trilogy in the form of Pug Ugly the Stink Bud.

“I’m Ugly” kicks off the EP with a horn-laced instrumental from Mike E. Clark & Violent J describing how unattractive Pug Ugly the Stink Bud truly is whereas “Abbracadabbra” has a more carnivalesque sound to it as 2 Dope joins the Duke talking about making hoes disappear. “Pug Ugly” takes a funkier route so the Wicked Clowns can vividly describe how gross the world is just before “Scrub Gang” is a piano/hi-hat infused ballad out to all the scrubs out there. The spooky atmosphere of “I’m Afraid” is pretty cool with J & Shaggs confess their fears while the 80’s Rock Ballad” is a country rock jam that’s slightly better than their “After Murder Sunrise” loosie that came out back in March & the Mike P. remix of “Queens” is inferior to the O.G. with it’s more electronic-centered sound.

As decent of a beginning to the Seeds of Yum Yum trilogy that Wicked Vic the Weed was, I think I might like Pug Ugly the Stink Bud over here a tad bit more. The production is a refinement of the Carnival sound that the predecessor had brought back & the duo sound as focused as they did at the beginning of the year. Here’s to WOH the Weepin’ Weirdo being a potentially dark conclusion to the Yum Yum era this Halloween.

Score: 3.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Pasto Flocco – “Walking Glitch” review

Pasto Flocco is a 18 year old rapper from Queens, New York notable for being formerly being associated with Lil Tecca. However since their falling out, he’s seen quite the success off his own dropping his first 2 albums March Madness & Dreams 2 Reality along with a debut mixtape Surf to Kill (SGBSTK) as a member of the now defunct Surf Gang collective. This was all followed up back in the spring with his sophomore tape R.O.A.M. (Rich Off A Mic) but considering how much I liked March Madness 2 in the spring, I was still optimistic going into Pasto’s 5th EP over here nonetheless.

“3Hunna” is an rage-inducing opener talking about stacking them Benjamins whereas the “Murder She Wrote” remix takes the sample drill route calling out those who tried to play him like a pussy. “FA$TER THAN YOU!” works in some synths bragging that he’s getting richer faster than everyone, but then “All Blacc” shoots for a more futuristic aesthetic talking about how he prefers his outfit.

Meanwhile on “GLiTCH”, we have Pasto over a plugg/drill fusion describing going from nothing to rich while “GLiTCH 2” turns into intergalactic territory airing out those moving like hoes & bragging that GLE gets it poppin’. The song “Send Him 2 God” addresses his desire to run up $100M over a hypertrap beat while the penultimate track “HunnitBandzUp” keeps the rage going talking about stacking his bread. “Heartstop!” though ends the EP with some synths & bells saying this bitch is so hot, that she’ll give him a heart attack.

Since Walking Glitch’s here in it’s entirety, I’m gonna conclude this review by letting everyone know that it’s much of a consistent listen as March Madness 2 was a few months ago. Pasto’s hunger & knack for catchy songwriting only continues to grow stronger with the production continuing the tradition of evolving with each project that he puts out more.

Score: 3.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Doechii – “she / her / black bitch” review

Doechii is a 23 year old MC from Tampa, Florida who broke out in the spring of 2019 off her debut EP Coven Music Session. Then following her next 2 EPs Oh the Places You’ll Go & Braless, she went on to sign to Top Dawg Entertainment/Capitol Records this past March & earned a spot in the XXL Freshman Class earlier this summer given that her latest singles have shown some impressive artistic evolution. So considering that & having one of the best verses during this year’s Freshman Cypher, I was very intrigued to her hear her 4th EP over here.

“Swamp Bitches” is a dark trap opener featuring Rico Nasty with the pair attacking their opposition additionally referencing 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena whereas “Bitch I’m Nice” takes a Miami Bass route talking about being the biggest threat to your spouse. The song “Bitches Be” works in a guitar advising her lover to take it slow while the penultimate track “This Bitch Matters” goes into boom bap territory confessing that depression made her realize she had something to prove. “Persuasive” with SZA ends the EP contemporary R&B/pop rap fusion with some deep house undertones asking how it feels to be yourself.

If you’re still sleeping on Doechii, then I think now’s the time for you to wake up because this EP has me very intrigued for her full-length debut that is when or if TDE & Capitol put it out at some point down the road. The amount of versatility that she shows throughout is impressive & her performances have so much character to them.

Score: 3.5/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Guilty Simpson – “Guilt” review

This is the 6th EP from one of Detroit’s greatest MCs: Guilty Simpson. Coming up as a member of the Almighty Dreadnaughtz collective & a frequent collaborator of the late J Dilla, it wasn’t until late March of 2008 where he officially branched out on a solo career by having Stones Throw Records back his incredible full-length debut Ode to the Ghetto. He has since followed it up with a handful of equally great projects including his Madlib-produced sophomore album O.J. Simpson, the Apollo Brown-produced Dice Game, the Oh No-produced Simpson Tape & more recently the Gensu Dean-produced EGO just to name a few. However, the hometown veteran’s seeking to deliver a portal between the listener & his Detroit reality in the form of Guilt.

“Looking for More” is a synth-laced opener to say sayonara to all the fakes whereas “Make It Count” with Jason Rose finds the 2 over a jazzy boom bap instrumental talking about burning through an ounce. Bronze Nazareth & Oh No tags along for the dusty “Off Herb” to show off their lyrical prowesses leading into the guitar-laced “Linch Pins” with Prince Po talking about being triumphant. The song “Go Where I Please” works in a funky bass-line getting in his battle rap bag while the penultimate track “Dark Night” has a more glossier aesthetic talking about having the heater ready. “For the Real Only” however closes out the EP with some strings dedicating it to all the authentic ones.

If anyone enjoyed EGO as much as I did, then I HIGHLY recommend giving Guilt a listen sooner than later because this is a very impressive EP. The desire that he has to grow artistically is truly inspiring & the cast of producers that Guilty brings with him for the ride bring more live instrumentation into the picture this time around with some highly interesting results.

Score: 4/5

Sly Moon – “Banned From the Vic” review

This is an extended play of solo material from London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Sly Moon. A former member of the Children of the Damned as well as currently being apart of 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 & teamed up with it’s founder Lee Scott for the collab effort F.D.M.B. (Flippin’ Dough Makin’ Bread). Fast forward 8 months later & he’s been Banned from the Vic nearly a week after Luke Jacobs ended Michael Oku’s longest reign as RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

We get an eerie self produced instrumental on the intro talking about being dressed like a jester of sorts in the middle of “Leicester Court” whereas the title track confirms that the Grosvenor Casino Victoria did in fact ban him over a drumless chipmunk soul loop. “Take Money” featuring Sonnyjim goes for a jazzier vibe expressing their love of money leading into “Back for More” incorporating some synthesizers talking about coming at people’s doors after going from rich to poor.

“How My Thoughts Go” gets the other half of the EP blending a crooning sample & a piano for a dedication to the 24/7 grinders & nightlifers while “Stuck in the Hippodrome” featuring BeTheGun & Stinkin’ Slumrok finds the trio teaming up for a hardcore jazz rap anthem reminiscent of the Cult of the Damned’s output collectively. The jazz elements seep through the 67 second look at a “Holographic World” & the final song sends it all off on a smoother note sipping Hennessy at the local “Hippo Bar”.

Taking in consideration that the Sohio Players produced a vast majority of Why Am I So Sly?, it was interesting to hear Sly Moon solely handling the beats himself & Banned from the Vic provides a better look at his individual dexterity whilst leaning towards a gambling theme. His production’s more soulful than was a couple years earlier & spends 19 minutes telling late-night stories right around the poker table with a well selected guest list adding their perspective to the issue.

Score: 4/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Autumn! – “##B4GC2” review

This is the surprise 17th EP from Louisiana rapper/producer Autumn!. Making a name himself in the plugg scene, he got his start by dropping 16 EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018 prior to signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records after his last EP Not Much Left last fall. He just put out his sophomore effort albeit major label debut Antagonist! few months back to positive reception & now surprise-dropping ##B4GC2 ahead of Golden Child 2.

“My Collection!” is a spacious opener talking about letting Keisha think that he’s the one that needs her while the self-produced “I’m Doin’ Fine!” takes a pluggier route assuring everyone that it’s all good on his end. The penultimate track “Know You Hear Me!” has a more psychedelic edge to it delivering a message to the higher power & “Wait Yeah!” closes out the EP with a fun trap banger produced by Maajins confessing that he doesn’t know who he’d be without the power of music.

Golden Child is still a favorite of mine throughout Autumn!’s catalog due to how personal he got on there & this prelude has me anticipating the sequel highly. The production is a lot more plugg-influenced than Antagonist! was & the introspection that made the first Golden Child so special happens to carry it’s way over here.

Score: 4/5

FlexxBabyy – “Barbara’s Son” review

This is the 4th EP from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist FlexxBabyy. Coming up in the spring of 2020 after Benny the Butcher signed him to his MNRK Music Group imprint Black Soprano Family Records, he has gone on to drop a plethora of singles & 3 EPs since being taken under the Buffalo emcee/entrepreneur’s wing. He just dropped OutKast a few months back & is already following it up in the form of Barbara’s Son now that we’re about halfway through the summer at this point.

“1 Day” is a short yet catchy trap opener talking about how cats stay mad at him whereas “Bothering Meh” works in a rage beat to confess that he has shit buggin’ him. “Other Hand” shoots for a more cloudier aesthetic to chase the bag leading into the bassy yet somewhat mystic “Racks In” continuing to thirst for the bread.

The song “Stuck to Meh” returns to hypertrap detailing a bitch that’s stuck to him like they use honey while the penultimate track “Wraith” takes it back to a cloudy trap sound talking about trying to pull up in the Rolls-Royce of the same name. “That’s Yo Word” closes the EP with an airy beat with some bells woven in to describe how bad this other bitch is.

Even Benny himself has said in the past that he has bigger plans for BSF by bringing in artists that separate themselves form the boom bap sound that the label has become known for & FlexxBabyy is a good example of that. His hunger only increases by the minute, the songwriting is getting catchier & I can’t knock on the fact that he’s continuing to refine his rage-influenced sound.

Score: 3.5/5

Lil Uzi Vert – “Red + White” review

Lil Uzi Vert is a 26 year old rapper & singer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that became a household name in the trap scene with their 2015 mixtape LUV is Rage & then Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World the following year. Since the release of their 2017 debut album LUV is Rage 2, Uzi has been entangled with a nasty legal battle with Generation Now Entertainment/Atlantic Records until Eternal Atake came out in March of 2020 to moderate reception & followed it up a week later with the far superior Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World 2 that spawned the deluxe version trend where artists would drop a “deluxe version” of their newest project that’s basically an entirely new album. But after dropping a bunch of singles on SoundCloud thought the past week, Uzi is warming everyone up for The Pink Tape by dropping their 3rd EP.

“Space Cadet” is an pluggy opener produced by Brandon Finessin’ of Working on Dying that’s a bit all over the place if I’m being honest with Uzi talking about not being used to stallin’ & used to cake whereas “I Know” taking a cloudier route thanks to Sonny Digital being aware of what their lover is really like referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson. “Flex Up” reunites with Maaly Raw for a mellow trap banger talking about being the next & best one, but then “Hittin’ My Shoulder” has a more abstract approach thanks to Dun Deal calling out people on their fake love & biters.

Meanwhile on “For Fun”, we have Uzi over an airy instrumental taking about counting ranks solely for his pleasure leading into the vibrant “Believe Me” continuing to brag lyrically. The song “Issa Hit” shoots for a more abrasive aesthetic thanks to Oogie Mane asking if it’s lit just before the penultimate track “Glock in My Purse” advises to look at it like a bag with DJ Mustard providing a synth-heavy sound. “Final Fantasy” on the other end finishes the EP with a rage beat bragging that they have the strategy.

It’s been over a little over 2 years since we last heard from Uzi on their own & for them to give us Red + White in advance, I think it’ll definitely hold us over until The Pink Tape whenever it comes out. It sounds laser-focused & I appreciate that production experiments with the plugg/hypertrap sounds that’ve been becoming more popular in recent memory.

Score: 3.5/5