Diorvsyou – “w.t.f.i.dvy? (who the fuck is diorvsyou?)” review

This is the 2nd EP from Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer Diorvsyou. Coming up in 2021 off his last EP Scoreboard, it wasn’t until I saw him open up for southsidesilhouette in Brooklyn back in November where I was personally introduced to his music & I was actually impressed with his set. But considering that his born day was just a few days ago, what better way for him to give back to the fans than to introduce himself to a wider audience & enlist Zaan to oversee w.t.f.i.dvy? (who the fuck is diorvsyou?).

The title track kicks off the album with euphoric trap ballad produced by Toom of Vanguard Music Group talking about trying to hit everybody in the club whereas “mi amor” works in an angelic loop as well as some horns & hi-hats for a dedication to the love of his life. “Django” takes a more otherworldly trap route thanks to thr6x telling the coach to put him in the game because he knows the plan just before the cloudy yet bass heavy “look alike” by 4evrrthumbin’ boasts the fact that all their bitches fine.

Meanwhile, “fuck a bank” co-produced by Patrick Garza flexes having a money counter with a wavily colorful trap beat while the penultimate track “prize pick” takes a futuristic approach telling his hoe that he chose from the start to play her part cleverly enough. The penultimate track “joerogan” is a psychedelic banger of a closer that Cxdy of Internet Money Records laced making it clear to some hoe that living good these days & “throw up” ends the EP with some hi-hats & high-pitched synthesizers courtesy of Nosaint talking about classy shit.

If you’re aren’t familiar with this guy, then I think this EP should make you wake the fuck up because he just took it to a whole new level on here in comparison to Scoreboard. Zaan continues to himself to be a producer that you should keep an eye out for down the road as his production game is amongst is strongest to date & Dior’s performances are his most captivating.

Score: 4/5

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Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays” review

This is the 45th EP from Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim. Coming up as an affiliate of Griselda Records as well as being 1/3 of the Dump Gawds alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, we also can’t ignore the massive discography that he’s managed to build for himself, some of the standouts include Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. But dude has been on a CRAZY ass EP run in 2023 with the standouts being the Camoflauge Monk-produced Dark Shogunn Assassin, the Nature Sounds-backed Iron Bull & the Nicholas Craven-produced Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King 4 & the Oh No-produced Berserko. Now I didn’t get the chance to cover Dump Gawd Reloaded or the Sadhugold-produced Dump Gawd: Tha Knocking of Loose earlier this month, but to hear Mike Shabb fully producing Dump Gawd: Rhyme Pays was more than enough to peak my interest considering he just dropped his best EP Shadow Moses earlier a couple weeks ago.

The title track kicks the whole thing off with bare crooning soul loop with Fahim describing the way every single one of us play the game in our own different ways whereas “Cash Over Convo” takes the boom bap route with a gospel sample working in some kicks & snares to talk about every song he makes being mind-blowing as an innovator. “Fo My Peoples” blends some jazzy horns & strings making it clear exactly who he does this shit for leading into “Mr. Truth” returning to drumless territory talking about having to see it through because he’s a visualizer.

“The Dragon n The Treasure” dives back into the boom bap sound to begin the 2nd half of the EP asking to be protected by his enemies & his friends while “The League” hooks up a humming loop, horns, snares & kicks to talk about never interfering when it’s his turn ever on any circumstances comparing his readiness to that of UFC Hall of Famer, former Middleweight Champion & former 2-time Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre. “The Remembrance” is mostly drumless even though there are few drum that pop up in the mix occasionally as he magnifies his riches & “Crème Dela Crème” closes out the EP glamorously talking about being the best of them all at the end of the day.

Of the 3 EPs that Fahim’s given us this month, Rhyme Pays is my favorite & Tha Knocking of Loose is right behind it. If you can tell by the title paying homage to the full length debut from West Coast gangsta rap pioneer Ice-T, tha 50 tape legend himself steps his pen-game in comparison to the 2 predecessors with Mike Shabb’s production style teetering between drumless along with chipmunk soul & boom bap. Very exciting to see what May brings us from the Dump Gawd.

Score: 4.5/5

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Billy Atlas – Self-Titled review

Billy Atlas is an MC/producer duo from San Diego, California consisting of Billy NoJokes on the mic & Admiral Atlas behind the boards respectively. Neither of whom have worked with each other in the past surprisingly considering the fact that they’re both from the same neck of the woods, but come to the realization that now is the time for them to form like Voltron & put out an eponymous debut EP to coincide with the celebration of Billy’s born day.

The titular intro kicks off the album with a grungy boom bap instrumental keeping the vibrations high for 78 seconds whereas “Nada Ain’t It” takes a more sample based approach with some kicks & snares attached to it talking about those who actually think they got it on the mic. “Soul Sweat” makes it known that this music shit gets him high with a more lo-fi vibe to it leading into “Premium Petro” working in some organs to compare his rhymes to high quality crack.

Johnny Hoax slides through on “Cook It More” I’d a flute/boom bap crossover talking about not having a chance to fail because they’re masterminds just before “It’s a Dub” with RMthePoet displays a back & forth chemistry that actually isn’t too bad over the dustiest of beats imaginable. “In the Nude” throws a little bit of distortion into the mix calling this the anthem while the song “Belligerent” incorporates more woodwinds to get hostile.

The penultimate track “God’s Chair” has more morbid quality to the beat making it known he’s in the upper echelon while the official closer to the album “Nothingless” weaves in some more sample chops cautioning to watch out exactly who you spend your energy on. “140” by Masamoon however is a perfect bonus cut preluding their upcoming debut album with a cutthroat ballad addressing those who’ve praised for death in the past 100 seconds.

NoJokes been putting it down for the past decade with 2 full-lengths & an EP on the solo tip, but I think we’ve only been seeing the real beginning of his growth ever since the formation of Masamoon & this self-titled offering from Billy Atlas is a short yet worthy way for the west coast duo to introduce themselves. The admiral’s lo-fi, dirty production matched with lyricism that knows no bounds is certainly more than enough to satisfy any underground head.

Score: 4/5

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Swizz Beatz – “Hip Hop 50, Vol. 2” review

This is the debut EP from New York producer, “rapper”, DJ, songwriter, record executive & hype man Swizz Beatz. Emerging already a quarter of a century ago as the in-house producer for Ruff Ryders Entertainment, he later started his now defunct Full Surface Records in 2001 & dropped a decent compilation called G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories the following year on my 6th birthday. It wouldn’t be until 2007 however that he would try to officially go solo with 1 Man Band Man, a solidly produced album that was unfortunately weighed down by the lack of features & of course Swizz’ horrendous rapping on every song. He eventually took a backseat from the mic on the sophomore effort Poison over a decade later & is doing so on the Mass Appeal Records-backed Hip Hop 50, Vol. 2 following up the Hip Hop 50 EP that DJ Premier dropped through Nas’ indie label last summer.

“Runaway” by Nas starts off the whole thing with a soul sample & admitting that he’s still trapped in a box tryna clear his name whereas “This Shit Right Here” by Lil Wayne has a more celebratory vibe as Weezy F drops some fly braggadocio. “Take ‘Em Out” by Benny the Butcher, Jadakiss & ScarLip goes into boom bap turf making it clear that it’s all about the calls prior to “City Sound Like” by Fivio Foreign & Bandmanrill dives into synth territory paying homage to the Brooklyn drill scene with Fivio stealing the show. “Say Less” by A Boogie wit da Hoodie & Lil Durk finds the pair talking about they ain’t squashing shit over a cinematic trap instrumental, but then “Khalas” by Jay Electronica finishes the album with a drumless loop telling y’all about himself.

The previous Hip Hop 50 EP that Mass Appeal dropped last summer is still my favorite of the 2 that we’ve gotten so far, but I’d still say that the new installment here is worth checking out if you liked Poison as much as I did. Even though a couple of the guests punched under their weight with their performances, most of them manage to hit the mark as they rock it over Swizz’ signature production style. Curious to hear as to who’s producing the next installment of this series celebrating this culture we all know & love.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ty Fontaine – “Black Truck Life” review

Ty Fontaine is a 23 year old recording artist from the DMV area who broke out in 2019 off the strength of his debut EP Waiting on Ascension. He would go on to follow this up with the full-length debut We Ain’t the Same alongside a couple of mixtapes & 3 more EPs, the previous being The Revive which was a prelude to his Internet Money-backed debut mixtape Ascension. But as Ty gears up for a sequel to the latter, he’s returning with a 5th EP.

“DSO (4AM in the Black Truck)” starts it all off by Ty speaking on finding his purpose on top of a cloudy trap instrumental whereas “The Sky is Falling” with TTM Dawg finds the pair talking about the type of freaks they like over a moody backdrop with some hi-hats interpolating the Jay Sean/Lil Wayne song “Down” during the hook. “Sexc Lady” comes through with a more sample-based trap vibe describing just how sexy the woman in his life is, but then “Spread (on da Counter)” is an atmospheric/acoustic hybrid with some braggadocio-infused lyricism.

Moving on from there with “Lobstermac”, we have Ty talking about eating exactly that for dinner accompanied by another cloudy trap beat leading into the brief yet delicately produced “heartbreak hotel” telling his girl to fly with him even though she’s sober now. “Where I’d B” featuring Highway happens to be a favorite of mine off the EP from the vibrant instrumental to the lyrics about being lost without their lovers, but then “B.S.T. (BloodSweatTears)” is a 2-minute piano trap ballad explaining that it’s do it for as well as giving praise to the most high.

The song “City of Angels (Vinny Chase)” flips “Whole Lotta Something Goin’ On” by Raphael Ravenscroft referring to Los Angeles as his 2nd home which I can relate to personally while “The Come Down” returns to an airier, more melodic vibe pointing out the fact that it could be worse. “Keep It In Confidence” however ties things up here by hooking up hi-hats on top of a high-pitched sample by taking everything he was told & putting his trust into them.

Ascension still stands as my personal favorite body of work throughout Ty’s discography thus far & this prelude EP over here has me intrigued to hear what direction the sequel will take it when we get it presumably later on in the year. He does a fine job displaying his versatility whether it be poppy trap bangers or contemporary/alternative R&B ballads as L.3.G.I.O.N. helping him continue to expand his sound on the production end.

Score: 3.5/5

redveil – “playing w/ fire” review

This is the 3rd EP from Maryland emcee & producer redveil. Emerging up at the tail-end of 2019 off his debut EP Bittersweet Cry, I wouldn’t get introduced to his music until 8 months after when a short-lived Twitter beef between him & the internet’s busiest music nerd himself Anthony Fantano broke out merely days after dropping his following EP Niagara. He then celebrated his 18th birthday last year in the form of his debut mixtape learn 2 swim & is returning by dropping playing w/ fire in the midst of the most recent tour that he’s currently on promoting it.

“stuck” is a triumphantly drumless way to kick the whole thing off talking about running it back whereas “giftbag” experiments fusing pop rap with jazz rap & chipmunk soul telling motherfuckers to get off his dick as well as how they be hoes by switching up on you. JPEGMAFIA slides through for the politically charged “black enuff” fusing trap metal with highlife & industrial music just before “f2g (fucks 2 give)” with Mekdelawit has a bit of an EDM groove to it talking about running out of exactly just that. “captain” makes it clear that it be known who’s frontin’ & that redveil is the man in charge over a soulful trap beat until the title track ends it all by blending synths, pianos & hi-hats declaring it to be done on everyone/everything he loves.

For those’ve you who started tuning into this guy off. His remarkable guest verse on Danny Brown & JPEGMAFIA’s latest collab effort Scaring the Hoes, then I’d tell you off the bat that this & learn 2 swim are the strongest offerings in his catalogue thus far. The production is a bit more experimental this time around in comparison to his older stuff & the performances are incredibly captivating.

Score: 4/5

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Fulcrum – “All at Once” review

Fulcrum is a 24 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & YouTuber from Walnut Creek, California emerging off the strength of his debut single “Fucking Nothing”. He then began to turn heads in the fall of 2021 off the banger “My Way Out” & his YouTube momentum taking off this past fall by getting faded than hoe all over public places on Yodie Land spreading positivity to the yodie gang. But to celebrate his born day, he’s giving the yodie gang his 4th EP following up Identity as well as abundance & self-titled.

“Fly Around” sets off the EP with a plugg instrumental from none other than Goyxrd telling y’all he is nowhere to be found in your area whereas “Further” takes the mellow trap route talking about how he keeps it pushing. “Japanese” has a more happier tone to the instrumental describing a woman in his life that he considers to be unforgettable just before “Back Then” calls out those who didn’t want to fuck with them until he blew up over another pluggy beat.

Moving on to the self-produced Fed Hoe”, we have Fulcrum asking why his girl lied to him by his side over some keyboards & hi-hats leading into the title track talking about smoking a whole pack of good kush at once over some more plugg instrumentals. “Driving to the Moon” has a more cloudier vibe as he continues to run it up, but then “Faded than a Hoe” comes through with a more delicate sound delivering an anthem based on one of his catchphrases. The penultimate track “Someone 2 Luv” returns to a pluggier aesthetic tackling romance until the closer “Lovely” ends it all with some hi-hats & pianos talking about feeling lucky.

Even though I enjoy this dude’s videos & some of his songs, one of my biggest critiques in the past was that you can blatantly hear a huge Pi’erre Bourne influence on some of his early material & it was a little distracting at times. However, I think Fulcrum shakes that off with All at Once because this is quickly becoming my favorite EP of his yet. It’s interesting to hear him take a backseat on the production side of things & stepping up his songwriting, thus coming into his own. Need I say more?

Score: 3.5/5

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Mike Shabb – “Shadow Moses” review

This is the 5th EP from Montréal, Québec, Canada emcee, producer & engineer Mike Shabb. Coming up in the spring of 2018 off his full-length debut Northwave, he would continue to make his presence known by putting out his last 4 EPs & a couple of mixtapes before gaining notoriety for engineering Boldy James’ 5th album Fair Exchange No Robbery & producing “Switches on Everything” off Hitler Wears Hermes X this past fall. So to continue capitalizing off that, Mike’s bringing in his mentor & one of the most prolific beatsmiths that the underground has seen in recent memory Nicholas Craven to fully produce Shadow Moses from top to bottom.

“Smokin’ Samson” is an atmospherically drumless opener with Shabbo letting y’all know that he only smokes only the finest kush in the world whereas “All Greatness” takes a more soulful route to flex his lyrical prowess. “Play for Keeps” goes into a groovier direction advising to look around & tell him what you see while the song “Save the Joker” incorporates some crooning background vocals making it clear that not even God can save you. The penultimate track “Baskiat” has more delicate sound to it talking about how the repercussions will be felt & learning from his mistakes just before “Respectfully” comes through with a jazzy closer boasting that no one can do it the way he does it.

From the moment Craven himself introduced me to this guy by networking us through social media, I knew it was only a matter of time before his profile in the underground would grow & I highly recommend that the people who got introduced to Mike through “Switches on Everything” give Shadow Moses a listen because it’s my favorite solo effort of his to date. He really is at his best as an MC which should satisfy the new fans he’s already made & those he’ll continue bring in with his mentor also helping make it his most well-produced effort as well.

Score: 4.5/5

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Pi’erre Bourne – “Grails” review

Pi’erre Bourne is a 29 year old producer, rapper, songwriter & engineer from South Carolina who became one of the most in demand beatsmiths in hip hop today off amongst the biggest songs in Playboi Carti’s entire catalog “Magnolia”. He’s also made a name for himself on the mic by dropping 10 mixtapes as well as a couple EPs & 3 full-lengths albums, with the latest being Good Movie over last summer to mixed reception. However, Pi’erre’s looking to switch things up with his 3rd EP over here by officially releasing his biggest, most popular unreleased songs that were stashed in the vault.

“IG” sets the tone for what’s to come with it’s synthesizers & hi-hats as well as the lyrics addressing running into social media models at an Odell party whereas “Love Reeks” has a more playfully nocturnal vibe to it talking about how the grass is much greener after cutting hoes off. “Chicken & Waffles” for a TLoP4 leftover might be my favorite on the EP with it’s cloudy, bassy instrumental & the braggadocio throughout prior to “George Lopez” pulling together some synth-strings talking about feeling like Biggie with the more problems that arise when having more paper.

The final leg of the EP starts off with the cloudy “NY in June” telling his lover to simply follow him while the song “Tabloid” talks about a bitch that’s all up in him kin to the titular newspaper with a compact page size smaller than broadsheet accompanied by a psychedelic trap beat. The penultimate track is [a sequel] to “Honeyberry” with an instrumental that gives me 8-bit video game vibes discussing an ancient love & the wavy “Lessons” ends the EP talking about fucking bad hoes for practice.

I know some people like to dismiss Pi’erre as an MC as distinct of a producer he is but as someone who’s been following him for the past 6 years, Grails is easily the best EP he’s ever put out for a collection of previously unreleased leaks in contrast to the mediocrity of Good Movie & will keep everyone satisfied until Made in Paris drops. His improved songwriting is more catchier as opposed to the excessive horny subject matter throughout the previous album that gets annoying rather quickly & his production game remains unmatched.

Score: 4/5

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halfBREED – “3P” review

halfBREED is an east coast hip hop duo consisting of Virginia rapper C Dot Castro as well as Maryland rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, author & Twitch streamer Logic. These guys have been longtime collaborators & friends dating back to the Young Sinatra days, but reunited last summer on Vinyl Days & even a couple months ago on Bobby’s latest album College Park. So considering their decade plus history of working with one another, they’re now announcing the formation of halfBREED & releasing a 3-track debut EP.

“Vroom Vroom” sets it all off with a booming trap instrumental from Bobby Boy Records in-house producer 6 & Logic even giving own producer tag at the beginning even though it’s a blatant ripoff of Tay Keith’s as the duo warn any crew who wants to step up to them of their impending doom whereas “That’s What She Said” is a horrid indie pop ballad throwing it back to Supermarket about being fools for love. “Game 6” however closes the EP with a decent boom bap jam getting over the sickness like they MJ & Pippen.

The first thing that came to mind to me personally when C Dot & Logic announced the formation of halfBREED was actually the now-disbanded Detroit duo HaLFBrEED consisting of The R.O.C. & Skrapz since their 2nd & final album kontamiNATION is such a horrorcore classic, but what a mediocre debut EP from the new halfBREED here. The production is ok as is Bobby Boy’s performances for the most part, but C Dot Castro’s were pretty average.

Score: 2.5/5

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