Internet Money Records – “We All We Got” review

Internet Money Records is a record label & producer collective from Los Angeles, California founded by Taz Taylor. Their full-length debut B4 the Storm celebrates it’s 2 year anniversary at the end of the month & even though it was a disappointment for me personally, the singles they put out prior to their debut EP over here intrigued me enough to go into it optimistic that it would be better than their last effort.

“$2k in the Soda” by Lucki is a triumphant opener talking about only pulling up to Los Angeles for the drink whereas “She Want Some More” by Ken Carson & Lil Tecca takes a cloudier route thanks to Outtatown describing bitches who can’t get enough of them. “On Me” by Destroy Lonely works in a rage beat talking about staying strapped while the song “No Handoutz” by Yeat is a fun successor to “Twizzy Rich” off his full-length debut Up 2 Më. The penultimate track “Codeine Cowboy” by Lil Yachty incorporates some synthesizers thanks to Rio Leyva talking about how he hasn’t slept in a week & “Falsetto” by Tecca closes out the EP on a spacious note going into detail about his ride or die.

Coming away from We All We Got, it definitely lived up to my expectations & is without hesitation the best project that the Internet Money crew has put together yet. This time around, the production that they bring to the table dabbles with more modern sounds like hypertrap & the performances from the guests are a lot more consistent than they were almost 2 years ago.

Score: 3.5/5

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RhymeStyleTroop – “Cypher” review

RhymeStyleTroop is a 26 year old MC from Imperial Beach, California who’s been turning heads in the underground for the past year now by dropping a total of 6 head-banging singles along with her mic session at UndergroundHipHopBlog.Com & her opening set at their 10 year anniversary show last month. However, all of that has been leading up to her conceptual debut EP over here fully produced by Manzu Beatz.

After the titular intro, the first song “Full Metal Jacket” sets it off with a soul sample & some dusty drums spitting some battle bars whereas the MC Wicks-assisted “Militant” takes a more spookier route talking about their titular mindset. “War of Art” works in some weepy strings advising that you’ll get burned playing with her just before “Ill” talks about being as dope as she is all her life over a downtrodden instrumental.

Following that, “Power” with M Doc Diego takes a more ominous turn explaining that they don’t give a fuck about any of these other cats while the song “Robin Hood” incorporates some vibraphones talking about making the time-wasters pay. The penultimate track “Strength” fuses some strings & keys together expressing that she feels like $1M & “Solomon” is a cinematic closer warning that the reaper’s coming.

For Cypher to be RhymeStyleTroop’s first official project, I think it’s a pretty solid introduction to a wider audience. The whole concept of a soldier finding her resilience is well pieced together down to the intricate lyricism & Manzu Beatz reveals himself to be one of the best producers that Italy has to offer right now.

Score: 4/5

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YBN Nahmir – “Faster Car Music” review

This is the debut EP from Alabama rapper YBN Nahmir. Coming up as the de facto leader of the now defunct YBN collective, he would go on to drop his full-length debut Visionland about a year & a half ago under Atlantic Records to be universally panned (more specifically for “Soul Train”). But after jumping ship to Def Jam Recordings recently, Nahmir’s looking to redeem himself in the form of Faster Car Music.

“Spend It” is a generically produced opener unenthusiastically bragging, that he has $800 on him whereas “Where I’m From” happens to be one of the better cuts with it’s vibrant production & the subject matter describing what it’s like around his parts. “Bows” has a decent instrumental to it even though there’s not that much substance to what Nahmir’s saying leading into “Pip ‘n Walk”, which is a bass-heavy cut talking about being the plug.

The song “Inna Trap” confesses that the feds raided his shit over a grim beat while the penultimate track “Only 1” comes off as a forced pop rap ballad with an ok Jeremih hook & the lyrics talking about how this bitch is the only partner that he really needs. “Lamborghini Truck” however finishes the EP with a bland ode to the whip that he be pulling up in.

As decent as From a Bird’s Eye View was compared to The Lost Boy, at least Cordae publicly acknowledged that recently & makes me feel like next album we’ll be better. That being said: I don’t get any more out of Faster Car Music than I did with Visionland whatsoever. It’s lazy songwriting, uninspired subject matter & cut-rate production makes it really hard for me to believe that this EP would appeal to any sports car enthusiast.

Score: 1/5

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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