King Iso – “8 P.M. Med Call” review

King Iso is a 32 year old MC/producer form Omaha, Nebraska who up as a protege of San Diego chopper Twisted Insane. But he would only drop first 2 full-lengths The Insanity Plea & Autophobia under Brainsick Muzik, falling out with his former mentor & putting out his next album DeMenTia independently in 2018. However, I was thrilled to see him sign with Strange Music the following spring & his debut on the Kansas City powerhouse World War Me that came out when the COVID-19 pandemic started quickly become one of the label’s best albums ever. He just dropped Get Well Soon earlier this year & I happened to like almost as much as World War Me. So when Iso took to social media saying he recorded so much music for his last effort that he’s giving us the leftovers in the form of his debut EP, it intrigued me enough to check it out.

Tech N9ne & X-Raided tag along for the trap opener “R.A.P. (Really A Psycho)” talking about that’s exactly what they are whereas “Happy” works in some somber keys to wonder if he’ll ever find happiness again. “N.A.A. (Not At All)” returns to trap turf calling out someone for not listening to him, but then Taebo tha Truth comes into the picture for “F.W.T.T. (Fuck What They Think)” shoots for a moodier aesthetic down to the finger-snaps & hi-hats talking about not caring of what others say of them.

“I.M.H. (In My Head)” brings in the acoustic to let y’all know where he spends way too much of his time while the song “Speedy Recovery” is a twangy trap banger admitting that his road to recovery isn’t happening fast enough. The penultimate track “Touch the Sky” has a more glistening quality to the beat giving the world a letter from the other side & “Otherwise” ends the EP by chillingly confessing his hopes.

For a bunch of outtakes, I think nearly all of them would’ve fit right it on Get Well Soon somewhere in the track listing as a little long as that album already is. His production is on par with that & World War Me with Iso’s themes of mental health will definitely continue to resonate with a lot of people who’re not alone & are also in a dark point of their lives.

Score: 4/5

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Smokingskul – “Nat Cap” review

Smokingskul is a 20 year old Swedish-American rapper from Naples, Florida who first came up in the spring of 2018 off his debut EP Souls. He has since gone on to follow it up with 25 more EPs in that short amount of time, but it wasn’t until earlier this week 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 his 26th EP right here following his born day on Tuesday & landing a deal with Geffen Records.

“PSA” is an eerie trap opener sending a message to the TSA whereas “Nina” that MexikoDro & Trgc laced takes a pluggier turn talking about guns. XanMan’s verse on “If U Was Me” is a bit underwhelming if I’m being honestly as much as I like the quirky synths & the line during Skul’s verse where he says “You Justin Bieber with that baby Glock when you up that, you Ludacris” leading into the experimental “Jenga” produced by TDF calling himself “a main-eventer” & referencing WWE Hall of Famer Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Continuing from there with “Who is U?”, we have Skul calling out those who ain’t slime over a glossy trap instrumental just before “Hi tech” working in a whistling beat & a reference to 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena. “Valid” has a glitchier quality to the production as Lunchbox comes into the picture to ponder what they be on their dicks for, but then “Kong Kong” has a more rubbery yet psychedelic vibe to it talking about doing it all himself.

The bassy “Blick” of course boasts that he has a Draco on him while the penultimate track “Who I Am” shoots for a more hypnotic aesthetic talking about running up on motherfuckers that ain’t do shit & to your spot. “Good Lad” however managed to send off the EP on a pluggier note with Skul explaining how you would’ve passed off to him if you were from the UK including a bar about former 3-time WWE world champion, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion, 3-time TNA World Champion, ΩCW Heavyweight Champion, 9-time WWE Tag Team Champion, 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion, HOG Tag Team Champion, 2-time ΩCW Tag Team Champion, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion & The Crash Mundial Parejas Campeon Jeff Hardy at the end of his verse is insane!

I seriously gotta shout out my lil brody for putting me onto to this dude because I think he really is someone to keep an eye on in the plugg scene right now. Both of the features didn’t really do anything for me with no disrespect intended whatsoever, but Skul’s witty gangsta rap heavy lyricism & crazed flows throughout this EP are both huge selling points for me to want to go back to it.

Score: 3.5/5

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Darby O’Trill – “Amputate” review

This is the 5th EP from Floridian emcee Darby O’Trill. Coming up in the fall of 2018 off his full-length debut Blood, Guts & a Whole Lotta Love, he would go on to follow it with Fester almost a year later & has extensively been working with Chapter 17/Psychopathic Records in-house producer Devereaux by bringing him into the cut to fully produce his 3rd album Piecemeal to critical acclaim during the COVID-19 pandemic. His last full-length Gully came out this past spring under Lyrikal Snuff Productionz & instantly became a modern day wicked shit classic so when it was announced that Darby & Dev were giving us Amputate as a prelude to The Tomb on Halloween, the anticipation was most certainly there.

“Carcass in the Car Wash” kicks off the whole EP with a synth-laced trap beat taking aim at all the knock-offs while the penultimate track “Take a Shower & Clean Your Clothes, You Smell Like Complete Garbage” has a more haunting atmosphere to it talking about drinking bleach. “I Hate Rappers Who Only Rap About Rapping” though sends Amputate off with an operatic loop, some hi-hats & Darby describing the sick world that we all be living in.

You know for a 3 track/5 minute EP, I think it’ll hold off just fine until we enter The Tomb a little over a month from now. Devereaux’s production continues to elevate, Darby lyrically continues to push himself as one of the best newcomers in the underground right now & the Jugg-A-Holics tags throughout are a fresh homage to DJ Trap-A-Holics.

Score: 3.5/5

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Cam’ron – “U Wasn’t There” review

Cam’ron is a 46 year old rapper, record executive & actor from Harlem, New York who came up in the mid-late 90’s as a member of the Children of the Corn. He eventually signed to Epic Records as a solo artist, dropping his first 2 full-lengths Confessions of Fire & S.D.E. (Sports, Drugs & Entertainment) with them until the contract expired. However Cam’s biggest exposure would come by forming his own group The Diplomats as a well as signing to Roc-A-Fella Records & Def Jam Recordings in 2001. His next 2 efforts Come Home with Me & Purple Haze would become his most sought out bodies of work, but Cam would leave The Roc & sign to Asylum Records in ‘05 due to the poor promotion of Purple Haze. Cam would yet again drop 2 outings with Asylum before parting ways, Killa Season & Crime Pays. He has since dropped a couple mixtapes & originally planned on retiring from making music following Purple Haze 2 a few Christmases back, Killa has had a change of heart & is bringing in Fool’s Gold Records founder A-Trak to produce his 7th EP.

Things kick off with a superior remix to “This is My City” off Cam’s last album featuring co-production from Thelonius Martin whereas “All I Really Wanted” works in some lavish keyboard embellishments & chipmunk soul with G Koop’s assistance talking about all the things he desires most in life. Conway the Machine tags along for the horn-laced “Ghetto Prophets laced with the help of DJ Khalil wittingly declaring themselves to be such, but then “Dipset Acrylics” weaves some reggae influences into the fold down to the Mr. Vegas feature awkwardly talking about sex.

After the spoken word Dame Dash skit with Kenny Beats supplying the synths, “Cheers” comes through with a colorful celebratory anthem just before Jim Jones & Styles P come into the picture for the tropical trap banger “Think Boy” demanding to know how others really feels bout them. The penultimate track “What You Do” is a jazzy ode to Killa’s accomplishments that !llmind helped put together & “Dipshits” ends the EP with a throwback to the Dipset era from the Juelz Santana appearance to Just Blaze having his hand with the beat.

For a little 27 minute EP, I can honestly say that U Wasn’t There is the most I’ve enjoyed a Cam project in a minute & will go down as a high point on his catalog in due time. A-Trak’s production happens to be admirably more eclectic than Purple Haze 2 was with Killa Cam sounding like he has a fire under his ass lyrically.

Score: 4/5

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Ransom – “This Life Made Me” review

This is the 8th EP from Jersey City wordsmith Ransom. Coming up as 1/2 of the short-lived duo A-Team alongside Hitchcock, he branched out on his own in 2008 following their disbandment beginning with his 2008 full-length debut Street Cinema & the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort The Proposal. But it’s been safe to say these last couple years have been his biggest so far whether it be the 5 EPs that he put out produced by Nicholas Craven & his last EP 7 based around the 7 deadly sins, Heavy’s the Head produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Rome Streetz collab album Coup de Grâce & more recently his latest album No Rest for the Wicked earlier this spring. But now that fall’s here, Ransom’s enlisting Mayor & Ty Jamz to produce This Life Made Me top to bottom.

“Pain is Glory” is an organ-laced opener declaring himself to be the modern day Michelangelo whereas “Ignorance” works in a boom bap instrumental to talk about talking about being a businessman. “The Prophecy” takes a more triumphant route bragging that he’s the greatest while 38 Spesh tags along for the soulful “Last Gasp” confessing that they wanna see the best sides of them. “The World is Yours” has some cool rock undertones to the beat talking about swerving the law, but then Havoc comes into the picture to bring back the organs for the closer “Purge Night” belittling their opposition.

Ran went on social media last night calling this EP “a warm up for what’s about to come” & whatever that may be, I’m very excited to hear it because this dude is one of the most consistent MCs in all of hip hop today. Not only does he manage to explain how he the life he loved made him, but Mayor & Ty Jamz also manage to cook up some very eclectic production together pulling from boom bap to soul & even rock.

Score: 4/5

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Boondox – “So Much Blood” review

This is the 6th EP from Covington, Georgia emcee Boondox. Coming up as 1/3 of the trio Southern Hustlas Inc. under the moniker Turncoat Dirty, he would go on to sign with Psychopathic Records in 2005 following the release of his debut EP Dama Blanca & remained under the Insane Clown Posse’s wing for about a decade putting out his first 4 albums along with his 2nd EP PunkinHed through the infamous Detroit label that runs beneath the streets. Former label-mates Twiztid then brought the Killer Scarecrow on board over at Majik Ninja Entertainment in the winter of 2016, whom he’s still signed to today. Last time we heard from Boondox was last summer with the 7-produced Cryptodirt EP that Mobstyle Music backed with the help of MNE & is now ringing in the fall 4 days early in the form of So Much Blood after his Astronomicon appearance this past spring.

After the titular intro, the first song “Prey for Me” is a demented opener produced by Fritz the Cat with some rock undertones talking about being unable to pray for those who be hoping on his downfall whereas “A Beautiful Death” dives into trap territory thanks to MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 pondering how he ends up in the situations he gets himself into. “Re-Animator” works in some more rock undertones expressing that he wants something real while the song “Devil’s Due” returns to the trap talking about possession. The penultimate track “Open Vein” has a bit of a boom bap flare to it admitting that he feels alive committing murders & “Gravely Ill” ends the EP with a heinous trap banger about falling asleep in the cemetery.

In comparison to the heavy gangsta rap themes of Cryptodirt about 13 months ago now, So Much Blood finds Boondox returning to the wicked shit just in time for the Autumn Equinox next Thursday. Lyrically, the killer scarecrow sounds more vicious than ever with 7 & Fritz’ production excellently honing in on a darker sound to help bring these gruesome tales to life.

Score: 4/5

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Mo$tWanted – “L.A. Zoo” review

This is the 2nd EP from up-&-coming Los Angeles emcee Mo$tWanted. Emerging in the spring of 2020 off his full-length debut Flesh of West, he would go on to follow it up with his last EP Mentally iLL alongside his last 2 albums ‘Till Heaven Land & Divine Timing. But as he pr pares to open for Conway the Machine in November, it most certainly intrigued me enough to the point where I had to give L.A. Zoo over here a listen

“L.A. Zoo Troopn’” opens things up with a trap instrumental & Mo$tWanted rapping about the streets recruiting more soldiers at a young age whereas “Can I Hit It?” is a more melodic cut with heavy auto-tune & a bit of a skeletal beat getting romantic. “Step on ‘Em” however goes into hyphy turf talking about having his foot on their necks prior to “600 East” returning to the trap sound discussing never switching up.

Continuing with “Live Grenades”, we have Mo$tWanted sliding for his killers on top of a spacious instrumental with some hi-hats while the song “Way That They Made Me” is a piano-trap cut detailing the exact cloth that he was cut from. The penultimate track “Grateful” has a more personal tone to it lyrically expressing his gratitude with an instrumental that has a bit of a psychedelic flare to it & “Mob Talks in the Mirror” is an acoustic/trap closer with the title saying it all as far as subject matter goes.

If y’all not up on this guy by now, then L.A. Zoo would be an ideal place to start because this has gotta be the most well-crafted body of his so far. The trap/hyphy production is cold & I give him all the credit in the world for taking the listeners through his mind with vicious vernacular & witty wordplay touching on the highs & lows of this crazy thing that we call life.

Score: 3.5/5

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Sonnyjim – “White Girl Wasted” review

Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Sonnyjim enlisting The Purist to produce 75% of his 14th EP. Making his debut in the summer of 2011 with The Psychonaut, he would go on to drop 4 more albums as well as his last 13 EPs & a mixtape, most notably the No Vi$ible Means of Incomeduology produced by Giallo Point or the Buckwild-produced Coke Le Roc & the Illinformed produced The Chemistry Must Be Respected. Looking at some of the names involved with White Girl Wasted however, it’s not hard to see why it’s been getting a lot of attention.

“Paris Hilton” is a slickly luxurious intro clocking in at 64 seconds spitting a quick verse off the top referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion & WWE Tag Team Champion The Iron Sheik but after “Barz Simpson” featuring Jay Electronica & the late MF DOOM finds the trio spitting 1 head-spinning verse after another over a woodwind instrumental, “Doc Ellis” produced by one of my top 5 producers of all-time DJ Premier references 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & $7 Productions co-founder The Rock.

Reaching the halfway point of the EP, “No Case No Face” works in some sampling to talk about life being a bitch that he’s fucking while “Does Mushrooms Once” returns to the boom bap Thais to another one of my top 10 producers Madlib boasting how nice Sonny is when he rocks the mic. “Lemon 714” brings the flutes back so he can talk about the holy grail of quaaludes while the final song “999” featuring the Mcabre Brothers preceding the “Buy Cocaine Not Art” outro finds the trio sending us off with them dropping hardcore verses on top of a blissful boom bap beat.

Almost 15 years since Trading Standards & this dude has already given us what might go down as the greatest extended play of his entire career, surpassing the Camoflauge Monk-produced Money Green Leather Sofa or the Leaf Dog-produced How to Tame Lions & the rest of those previous standouts I mentioned earlier. Joined by only a couple of elite lyricists, Sonnyjim’s abstract lyrics of braggadocio & using drugs over jazzy boom bap production makes for some of the most important songs he’s ever written.

Score: 4.5/5

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Autumn! – “Golden Child 2” review

Autumn! is a 24 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & producer from Lafayette, Louisiana who made he got his start by dropping 17 EPs & a full-length debut on SoundCloud since 2018 prior to signing to Victor Victor Worldwide & Republic Records following Not Much Left this past fall. He put out his sophomore effort albeit major label debut Antagonist! few months back to positive reception & returned to his plugg roots a month ago with ##B4GC2, but is steadily grinding by putting out his 18th EP.

The intro sets it off with a glistening instrumental talking about being up now whereas “Inside My Head!” takes a more atmospheric route thanks to Goyxrd refusing to let the industry take his soul. “Can We Talk!” goes pluggnb responding to everyone who said he fell off prior to “Golden Child!” confessing about lying that he’s fine when he’s really not over a tranquil instrumental. The song “Jay n Bey!” works in a guitar comparing his love for his partner to that of The Carters while the penultimate track “Should Know Me Better!” spaciously talks about needing to relax after moving too fast & that he’ll always be here in the scene. “Myself!” though is a fun send-off to the EP telling this hoe not to deny that she’s like the rest.

As a sequel to one of the best projects in Autumn!’s ever-growing discography, it certainly lived up to my expectations. Much like the prequel & the predecessor, the actual follow-up itself picks up where things left off with it’s well-crafted pluggnb production that helped blow him up & the subject matter all comes from a unique perspective that he continues to bring to the table. He & Weiland are definitely holding it down for Victor Victor right now.

Score: 3.5/5

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Verbz – “Where It Started” review

Here we have the 2nd EP from Croydon, South London, England, United Kingdom emcee Verbz. Introducing himself in 2017 off the full-length debut Lessons of Adolescence produced by Brighton beatsmith Mr. Slipz, he would later put out the debut mixtape Pathways & the sophomore effort Radio Waves under High Focus Records followed near the end of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following up The Low almost 14 months earlier, he & Slipz are reuniting so they can take things back Where It Started.

The title track is a lo-fi boom bap intro talking about home being where the heart is & wearing it on his sleeve whereas “Music Banging Like” rawly speaks of reaping what he sowed now he’s getting older. “For My Peeps” instrumentally reminds me of A Tribe Called Quest shouting out all the important people in his life & after “Felt Like a Dream” takes a moment to talk about his successes in making music, “Walk Like a King” dedicates itself to those who left too soon.

Catching a 52 minute train between Croydon & Brighton to reconnect throughout Where It Started, this extended play does everything & more fan have come to expect from Verbz & Mr. Slipz diving deep into their hearts & minds. Slipz’ boom bap production was made with an MPC without the need of using any samples & Verbz nostalgically conceives themes revolving around the trials & tribulations of both artists doing what they done & still do presently in order of surviving the streets of the Cronx.

Score: 4/5

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