Tha God Fahim – “Dump Gawd: Shot Clock King 4” review

This is the 41st EP from Atlanta, Georgia emcee/producer Tha God Fahim. Coming up as an affiliate of Griselda Records alongside Mach-Hommy & Your Old Droog, he’s also built up an incredibly vast discography with a couple of standouts being Breaking Through tha Van Allen Belts & Dump Assassins. Now the last time I covered Fahim’s work was when he dropped his 19th full-length album 6 Ring Champ & the final installment of the Shot Clock King trilogy of EPs produced by Nicholas Craven shortly after last spring. But coming off of 3 EPs since 2023 started with Dark Shogunn Assassin & Iron Bull being my favorites so far, Fahim & Craven are back together for a 4th installment in the Shot Clock King saga.

Jay NiCE’s appearance on the opener “Area of Effect” is the only feature on the EP as he & Fahim jump on top of a soulful boom bap instrumental referring to themselves as heavy dumpers boasting how terrific they are prior to “Nice to Know” going into drumless turf as he puts up points as much as Carmelo Anthony does. The sample on “Damage Over Time” is fascinatingly delicate with Fahim going out for revenge while the song “Defense” has a bit of a psychedelic rock route talking about being unable to give or let up. The penultimate track “Mentally Prepared” has a catchy vocal loop touching on nonstop dominance & “Work Hard Play Hard” is a crooning boom bap closer paying tribute to those who came before him & continuing the glory.

I still enjoy Dark Shogunn Assassin & Iron Bull as much as I do when both of those EPs dropped not too long ago, but the Shot Clock King series is amongst Fahim’s strongest work & the latest installment here sure enough has quickly become my favorite project that he’s given us this year as of me reviewing this. Nicholas Craven’s production is more prominently drumless much like the first installment & the way the Dump Gawd lyrically continues to float on top of these bare sample flips is as fresh as always.

Score: 4.5/5

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Acetone Boogie – “Rayamiento” review

Brand new EP from Tucson, Arizona emcee Acetone Boogie. Emerging from the depths of the Dark Carnival a decade ago this spring off his full-length debut studio Karma Circus, the summer of 2017 saw the release of his sophomore effort The Divine Trickster & has since joined the Swamp Society collective forming the Gloom Unit with fellow Swamp Society member Frankie Goldie. So keeping that in mind, it makes sense for Chapter 17/Psychopathic Records in-house producer Devereaux to fully produce Rayamiento.

After the titular intro, “Carousel Spinners” opens with an occult trap instrumental suggests not to be looking his way since he be posted up with the criminals whereas “Oya’s Betrayal” featuring .strife talks about getting cracked in the mosh pit & not wanting problems with either one of them. “Witch Blood” featuring Darby O’Trill gets on some wicked cloudy trap shit asking if you’d die for them while “Spinesnappin’” aggressively takes a couple minutes to find himself breakin’ backs.

“Hitta Licc” starts the final leg of Rayamiento bringing some chaotic trap vibes into the fold with lyrics from a gangster’s perspective & after “All My Heroes Are Dead” featuring Jvztizzo gives off a murky trap atmosphere to the beat referring to themselves as outcasts when that’s what being a juggalo has always been about, “Been Been Wicket Shit” featuring Darby O’Trill closes the EP with both of them channeling Acetone’s southwest phonk style calling to put your middle fingers high.

There were always hints of potential on both of Acetone Boogie’s previous LPs, but Rayamiento elevates himself artistically & has made itself comfortable in being the greatest thing he’s ever done in this decade long career. Devereaux’ production on here is a vast improvement compared to the Tucson artist’s earlier albums & the guests are far stronger than they were during The Divine Trickster, giving Ace the opportunity to step up his pen & that’s what he sure as Hell did.

Score: 4.5/5

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Westside Boogie – “Live at the Novo” review

Westside Boogie is a 33 year old MC from Compton, California who broke out onto the scene in 2014 with his debut mixtape Thirst 48. He would go on to follow it up with The Reachexactly a year later as well as Thirst 48 II the year after that before catching the attention of Detroit icon Eminem & signing to his Interscope Records imprint Shady Records in late 2017. His full-length debut Everything’s for Sale at the beginning of 2019 was a solid way to introduce himself to a wider audience & the sophomore effort More Black Superheroes did it’s job encouraging the world to embrace their powers, but is returning 9 months later in the form of his debut EP.

“Cold as Love” is a spacious trap opener with Superblood Boog talks about being in his head & pondering why one feels so safe yet shady can’t save him after invading his space while the penultimate track “Tell Me” works in a chipmunk soul sample & some hi-hats so Anthony can describe all the things that he wants to be told such as never hearing any kind of sucka shit again or how to fix the hood if he ain’t never in the hood. “Mood” on the other end sends off the EP with Ratchet Boog over a piano trap instrumental dropping some braggadocio for dat azz.

Everything’s for Sale gave a wider audience a good look as to who he really is & the concept of More Black Superheroes is still compelling to this day in my book but if Live at the Novo is only a prelude for his upcoming 3rd album, then I think it’s a solid offering to keep listeners satisfied until then. He delves more into himself lyrically whilst introducing his 2 alter-egos & the trap undertones of his 2 full-lengths are more prominent here than they were in the past.

Score: 3.5/5

Bear1boss – “Blow Up!” review

Bear1boss is a 24 year old recording artist from Atlanta, Georgia who came up in 2015 off his debut mixtape #beentrill#. He has since gone on to build up a lengthy yet impressive catalog for himself including 5 more tapes as well as 21 EPs & even 5 full-length albums. My introduction to his music was last spring when my younger brother & UnreleasedSnip founder Jacob! played me “Fair” & “All Alone” off his 18th EP Dynamic, where I found myself being impressed by unique voice & style to the point where I’ve been following him since. But coming off his last EP Leave Me Alone! exactly a month ago, Bear1’s back for another.

Things kick off with Bear admitting on the opener “Taking It Too Far” that he’s been on shrooms over a digicore instrumental from PROJECT4PLAY whereas “Ratchet” works in some synths & hi-hats talking about how he simply cannot be topped considering the position he’s currently at now in his life. “SRT 4 Leaf Clover” has a more rage inducing vibe to it to deliver some braggadocio just before “Pockets on Evil” comes through with a more bombastic quality to the beat as he flexes his wealth & I love how he utilizes his voice during the hook.

The song “Stick in the Trunk” comes through with a more atmospheric sound with a rubbery bass-line & hi-hats woven into the fold so Bear1 can point out that he is indeed strapped while the penultimate track “Gucci Prayer Sock” returns to a more glitchcore-based sound touching on romance on the lyrical end. “Demise” on the other end finishes the EP by blending hypertrap with plugg by calling out those who wanna be just like him & feeling like that guy.

If you’re not up on this guy yet, then I think you should because you never know what you’re gonna get yourself into considering how experimental he is with his sound & Blow Up!. The production is more rage-centered with some pop rap & digicore undertones throughout the 7-track/18 minute course of the EP & combining that with his signatory fun performances laced with a bunch of crazy vocal effects continues to show as to why he’s one of the most exciting new faces in the trap subgenre.

Score: 3.5/5

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Conway the Machine & Jae Skeese – “Pain Provided Profit” review

This is the brand new collaborative EP between Buffalo recording artists Conway the Machine & Jae Skeese. One being Westside Gunn’s brother & Benny the Butcher’s cousin with the other becoming the first to sign to La Maquina’s very own EMPIRE Distribution imprint Drumwork Music Group a couple years back. Both of them have worked with one another a handful of times since, but are joining forces to deliver Pain Provided Profit ahead of Con’s upcoming 3rd album Won’t He Do It at the end of the month & & Jae prepping his sophomore album albeit Drumwork debut Abolished Uncertainties after coming off his critically acclaimed 3rd EP Authenticity Check last spring.

“Cocaine Paste” is a bluesy opener produced by Graymatter detailing the way Drumwork be landsliding whereas “Metallic 5’s” takes a more rawer approach from the boom bap instrumental referring themselves as 2 of the illest at large. “Stefon Diggs 2” dives into jazzier turf explaining that their story is motivation leading into “Le Chop” displaying a killer back & forth chemistry between the 2 talking about how they gon’ ride for their freedom over some keys, kicks & snares.

The song “Immaculate Reception” is essentially a Jae Skeese solo cut keeping things in boom bap turf acknowledging that they watch his current position in the game while the penultimate track “Promise” is a more inspiring ballad from the beat to the lyrics about grinding for the paper. “Food” with Goosebytheway, SK da King & 7xvethegenius however ends things with a ruthless posse cut advising to get out their way.

Every time we’ve heard Con & Jae on the same song together, it’s always been nothing but pure heat & that’s exactly what I expected going into this EP right here. Lo & behold: It’s most certainly worth the listen for any hardcore Griselda fan like myself to the point where my anticipation for both Won’t He Do It & Abolished Uncertainties have increased as well. The production is hard yet rich as the student & teacher ping off each other as wonderfully as I could’ve imagined. The Drumwork takeover has officially begun & I’m all for it.

Score: 4/5

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Smokingskul – “Smoke Carter 1.5” review

Smokingskul is a 20 year old Swedish-American rapper from Naples, Florida who came up in the spring of 2018 off his debut EP Souls. After going on to drop 25 more down the road, it wasn’t until last September where my little brother & UnreleasedSnip founder Jacob! played some of his shit for me during a smoke session. Namely the singles “Assembly Line” & “Vlone”. I was so impressed by the witty lyricism throughout both of those cuts, that it intrigued me enough to check out the Geffen Records-backed Nat Cap a few days later & that’s where he won me over. I didn’t get to cover the follow-up Swedish Guy, but I did enjoy Bready quite a bit at the beginning of the year & is now following up Death Before Dishonor with his 28th EP.

“pocket money” is a 45 second plugg opener produced by SenseiATL with Skul talking about being in his element & that everyone knows who finna run that shit while the song “kanye” produced by TDF works in some 808s for 53 seconds for 53 seconds starting off with him confessing that he feels like Ye formerly known as Kanye West himself “with the Nazi” obviously poking fun at Ye’s recent antisemitic behavior forever altering his public appearance after calling himself a Nazi & being off the flock. The penultimate track “mom” has a more chaotic vibe sonically thanks to boolymon asking if you want the baby Glock or the bigger straps & to finish things off, we’re treated to an aggressive sequel to “backdoor” reusing the same TDF beat with all new lyrics such as the bar about keeping an Uzi like Autumn! or the Rodneyy diss at the end of his verse.

I’ll admit that I was a bit worried going into this EP considering that it’s 4 joints & 4 minutes long as a whole, but but it surpassed my expectations & I came away from it looking at it to be superior to the EP that he dropped just a few weeks ago. He’s only been getting stronger with the punchlines & I find this here to be more well-produced than the predecessor. Without a doubt my favorite artist in the dark plugg scene right now next to Glokk40Spaz.

Score: 4/5

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Brigid Bites – “Hatchet Girl” review

Brigid Bites is a 35 year old rapper & dancer from Davenport, Iowa notable for creating the juggalette burlesque troupe in 2017 called Juggaleque. They have since become a drawing attraction at the Gathering or the Juggalos since then with her eventually joining Chapter 17 Records CEO/Psychopathic Records recording artist Ouija Macc on stage quite a few times since. But with the announcement of the 23rd annual Gathering being unveiled a couple days ago, Brigid is now delving into music in the form of a 10-minute debut EP.

The title track is a dance-influenced opener produced by Elevated Focusion a.k.a. Jonny Rhythms about pulling out the hatchet out her back & attacking a crooked cop as well as a dude in a mask standing in her kitchen while the song “Incubooty Call” takes a more occult route sonically for a dedication to all the wicked succubi out there. And prior to the “Heartbeat”outro, the final song “Branded” ties things up nicely with a cloudy trap banger courtesy of Devereaux encouraging everyone to burn down the fucking house.

Coming away from Hatchet Girl, it’s most definitely an impressive introduction as to who Brigid is both musically & personally to the point where I’m excited to watch her grow as an artist from hereon out. Jonny Rhythms & Devereaux both cook up song freshly detailed production on their parts as she establishes herself as a fresh new face in the underground wicked shit scene with some cutthroat lyrical performances. As someone who has mad clown luv for all juggalos throughout the history of the Dark Carnival since I too know what it’s like to be misunderstood & an outcast, it’s always exciting to see your homies succeeding

Score: 3.5/5

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Che Noir – “Noir or Never” review

Che Noir is a 28 year old MC/producer from Buffalo, New York who caught my attention after 38 Spesh signed her to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs. However, her Apollo Brown produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 where her potential began to blossom exponentially. But coming fresh off her sophomore effort Food for Thought & her last EP The Last Remnants, Che’s enlisting Big Ghost Ltd. to fully produce her 6th EP.

After the “Female Rappers” intro, the first song “Resilient” is an intense sample-based opener taking pride in killing wack MCs & proving people wrong every time they spoke on what they thought she wasn’t capable of doing prior to Flee Lord tagging along for the demented boom bap cut “Sleep Paralysis” cautioning to never chill on the weekend. “Quiet Moves” works in some pianos, strings, kicks & snares detailing touching on the power of keeping a secret leading into 7xvethegenius coming into the picture for the grimy “Veracruz” getting in their battle rap bag.

“Cap Locks” featuring Planet Asia sets off the 2nd half of the EP with both MCs on top of a piano instrumental bringing you the hardcore, but then “Low Altitude” opens up about the road she had to travel down to get to where she is today over a calmer boom bap beat. The penultimate track “Brilliance” with Skyzoo touches on brilliant minds being a minority this day in age blending some kicks & snares with a delicate loop leading into “Bad Apples” with Ransom & 38 Spesh coming through with a horn-inflicted closer as the trio talk about their corruptness.

Wasn’t Built in a Day has quickly become my favorite album of 2023 so far since it dropped only a few days ago & Big Ghost just ended the week the way he started it except Noir or Never could very well be my favorite EP of the year as of me writing this review. The production is more consistent than it was on The Last Remnants as one of the best females in the rap game currently continues to ascend on the lyrical front.

Score: 4.5/5

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Kutt Calhoun – “Residue” review

Kutt Calhoun is a 46 year old MC & business executive from Kansas City, Missouri who came up as a hype man for Tech N9ne & amongst the first to sign to Strange Music alongside Krizz Kaliko. He ended up dropping 4 albums & 2 EPs with the local independent powerhouse before starting his very own EMPIRE Distribution imprint Black Gold Entertainment named after his classic Strange victory lap. The only 2 projects he’s given us on his own so far are his last EP Kuttin’ Loose & his 5th album Persona Non Grata: Truth Be Told, but is returning after a nearly 4 year hiatus in the form of his 4th EP.

“I’m Back” is a fun way to set it all off from the dirty south-inspired beat to the lyrics telling the world of his return in the rap game whereas “Let ‘Em Know” takes the eerie trap route talking about there being a time & place for literally everything. The song “Been So Long” works in some hi-hats & spooky backdrop encouraging to walk down with him to see if you can truly feel the pain he’s lived while the penultimate track “Therapy” creepily declares that he ain’t slowing down anytime soon. “Last One Left” though is a great sendoff to the EP whether it be the piano trap instrumental that DJ Pain 1 whips up or Kutt’s lyrics about being the last of a dying breed.

Dude’s discography has always been consistent from the early days as a Strange Music household name to even the 2 offerings he’s given us since carving his own path, so I had no reason to have any worries going into Residue & it sure enough wound up being a solid comeback for Kutt. You can genuinely tell that he sounds passionate to be spittin’ again & the production is more consistent than the last album was.

Score: 3.5/5

H.A.R.D. – “JFK2LAX” review

H.A.R.D. is a hip hop super-duo consisting of Joell Ortiz & KXNG CROOKED. Both of whom have had notorious label issues at the start of their careers, but would go on to see success as members of the supergroup Slaughterhouse along with Royce da 5’9” & Joe Budden from the late 2000s up until the mid-2010s. The quartet had quietly disbanded in 2016 after Joe’s retirement from making music even though it wasn’t confirmed until 2 years later, but the other 3 members have been keeping themselves busy ever since. H.A.R.D. introduced themselves a couple months after the pandemic hit with an incredible eponymous debut EP along with 2 full-lengths last year: The Rise & Fall of Slaughterhouse and Harbor City. But as the 1-year anniversary of their debut album approaches next month, they’re retuning with the 2nd EP.

“Take Time” is a triumphant opener to the EP about the dynamic duo’s return & that getting paid doesn’t make sense whereas “Dodgers” has a more psychedelic groove to it paying homage to the team’s current home on the west coast & their roots in the east. The song “Foe or Friend” hooks up a sample of “Hey, What’s That You Say” by Brother to Brother’s with some hi-hats saluting Hov while the penultimate track “Stay Dangerous” has a more symphonic quality to it referencing current NXT commentator, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 6-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE United States Champion, 14-time WWE tag team champion, 2-time WWE Hardcore Champion, RoW Tag Team Champion & TNA World Tag Team Champion Booker T. “Blue Magic” however is a touching note to tie things up on from the production to the sincerity in their performances.

These guys have really been working nonstop as of late & I just wanna say although I’m well aware this is an EP, I think I like JFK2LAX a bit more than H.A.R.D.’s last album Harbor City by a small margin. Only a couple questionable production choices every here & there, but I genuinely appreciate how both parties give their flowers to each state that they came from with a chemistry as exciting as theirs is.

Score: 3.5/5

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