The Truth & Frank B. – “Badfellas” review

This is a brand new collaborative debut EP between New York emcees The Truth & Frank B. The pair first came together last year on the song “I Know I Can” off of The Truth’s Spring EP & with the 1 year anniversary of that project coming up this weekend, they’ve seen fit to take listener through what it means to be Italian-American hip hop fans by crafting Badfellas.

After the “Lil Mo Mozzarella” intro, the title track incorporates some harps into a boom bap instrumental as the duo take a Ray Liotta quote from Goodfellas about wanting to be a gangster for as long as he can remember & making it into their own before lacing some keyboards & an organ on the money hungry “Fuck U Pay Me”. The homie Bobby J from Rockaway tags along for “Paint Houses” as the 3 show homage to The Irishman before going into a more rubbery direction on “Funny How?” as they put their own spin on a Joe Pesci quote from Goodfellas.

Meanwhile, we have Cold Shoulda stopping by for the quasi-jazzy “Code Red” discussing that they gotta watch their backs whereas the dusty “Caruso” is more reflective in terms of lyricism. I can definitely see people getting rowdy to the penultimate track “My Cousin” given it’s disrespectful lyricism & it’s off the chart energy before “That’s It” ends things off by telling listeners not to break the code of the streets & you can definitely tell the instrumental has a strong DJ Premier influence to it.

If anyone reading this is a fan of both traditional East Coast hip hop & Scorsese flicks, then this EP is absolutely work checking out. Both emcees bounce off each other very well, the movie references are super clever & the production is incredibly gritty.

Score: 4/5

88GLAM – “Heaven Can Wait” review

88GLAM is a duo from Toronto, Ontario, Canada consisting of Derek Wise & 88 Camino. They originally caught my attention in 2018 when The Weeknd signed them to his Republic Records imprint X♥O Records, only re-releasing their first 2 mixtapes before departing last summer. But with their full-length debut Close to Heaven, Far from God on the way, they’re preluding it by dropping a 3-track EP.

“Five Stars” kicks the whole 10 minute torture chamber off with a plain instrumental, lifeless performances & lyrics that aren’t very sexy at all. In fact, this one part during the hook were 88 Camino says “she gon’ take this dick like she a virgin again” could very well be one of the worst lines I’ve heard all year. The next song right after “Clockwork” goes into more cloudier territory as the duo mopes about “I hate what happened to you but it’s all my fault” & the guitar laced closer “Wockstar” is a vapid look into their rich lifestyles.

Coming from someone who’s been a huge Weeknd fan since the Trilogy days, I could never see the appeal in these guys & Heaven Can Wait exemplifies that more than ever. I don’t mean any disrespect, but the production choices are painfully drab & it’s poorly written throughout. I’d rather listen to any ΠΔV project (specifically Emergency Tsunami) than this EP & that dude’s one of the most boring artists to blow up in the last 5 years.

Score: 1.5/5

Nametag Alexander – “The Limit” review

Nametag Alexander is a 35 year old MC from Detroit, Michigan who came up as part of the short-lived trio 10 Speed & Brown Shoe almost 2 decades back. He has since gone on to drop a slew of solo projects within the last 14 years all to pretty positive reception. Last we heard from Nametag was last spring with the release of his 8th EP Work. Win. Repeat. & to follow it up, local producer Black Bethoven is being tapped in to produce this new EP from top to bottom.

“Set Go” kicks things off with a heavy instrumental with battle bars being peppered into the mix whereas the title track takes things in a much more dancier direction encouraging listeners to push it as far as you can go. The song “Conquer” incorporates a guitar & some claps as Nametag talks about taking over the world while “The Victor” shows some ambition in the lyrics & the beat almost as a Scott Storch feel to it.

Travis Slang’s feature on the penultimate track “Believe” is kinda weak, but I do enjoy the overall message about hustling & the Japanese sample in the production. Finally, I think “Pressure Applied” is a worthy closer with Nametag jumping on a soulful boom bap instrumental to spit that weight-bench rap.

In his ever-growing discography, to me The Limit is an absolute stand out. The whole concept of it is well put together & I really like how varied in sound Black Bethoven’s production is, ranging from boom bap to dance.

Score: 4/5

Presice85 – “Narcos & Boom Bap” review

Presice85 is a 36 year old MC from South Gate, California who first emerged at the very beginning of 2017 off his debut mixtape My Life Novel & followed it up a couple years later with a sequel during the spring time. However with a handful of singles that came down the pipe ever since then, it’s all lead up to his debut EP over here.

“War” starts off the EP with some keyboards & dusty drums talking about how no one wants smoke with him & even though I love the positive vibes of “No More L’s”, the King Lil G verse is kinda corny to me. “Street Poets” with KXNG CROOKED has a more orchestral sound declaring themselves as such whereas the somber “City of God” details going crazy for the cash, even though I’m a bit indifferent towards the Iceman Skrill verse.

The song “Russian Roulette” with Oside Blaze finds the 2 on top of a suiting Russian sample spitting that battle shit while the penultimate track “Body Catcher” gets on that sinister murderous shit. “Blood Sport” ends the EP by forebodingly comparing the rap game to such & taking shots at anyone who wants to step up to him.

If you’re not familiar with dude already, I think Narcos & Boom Bap is a pretty good place to start. I think he’s definitely a talented lyricists, but there are features sprinkled into a good 60% of the EP & it really didn’t need to be the case.

Score: 3.5/5

The Alchemist – “This Thing of Ours” review

This is the 9th EP from Beverly Hills producer, DJ & emcee The Alchemist. Coming up as 1/2 of The Whooliganz in 1993 with Scott Caan, the disbanded a year later after recording a debut album that eventually got shelved & Scott went onto acting. Mudfoot however, quickly established himself as a household name in hip hop production by working with a handful of the culture’s most iconic names ranging from Mobb Deep to Eminem. Last thing we heard from him solo wise was The Food Villain back in October & after producing the new Armand Hammer album Haram to universal acclaim last month, Uncle Al is staying busy by amassing 6 emcees for This Thing of Ours.

The opener “Nobles” weaves in a Sun Ra sample as Navy Blue & Earl Sweatshirt trade bars back & forth with one another while the next song “TV Dinners” is a bit oxymoronic with it’s calming instrumental along with Boldy James & Sideshow declaring themselves as soldiers through the lyrics. The penultimate track “Holy Hell” by Maxo & Pink Siifu goes on about the devil wanting their souls over a guitar & a vocal sample before Earl returns to talk about people nickel & diming on the trumpet-heavy closer “Loose Change”.

Not the best EP we’ve heard from The Alchemist, but still an enjoyable listen. His production is a lot more chilled out in comparison to Haram & despite a couple of the guest MCs providing weak verses, most of them do what they do best.

Score: 3.5/5

Twiztid – “Electric Lettuce” review

This is the 12th EP from Detroit duo & Astronomicon founders Twiztid. Consisting of Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, the pair originally started out as part of the House of Krazees alongside childhood friend The R.O.C. in 1992 before their initial disbandment 5 years later. Almost immediately after, the Insane Clown Posse took Jamie & Mono under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records as the demented duo they’re known as today. They would become the label’s 2nd biggest act being their mentors off projects like Mostasteless, Freek Show, Mirror Mirror, The Green Book, W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day) & Abominationz. Shortly after the latter was released, Twiztid left Psychopathic to form Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2014. Since then they’ve released 5 albums, with my favorites being The Darkness at the top of 2015 & then /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/ from this past Black Friday. But being big stoners for as long as they’ve been around, Jamie & Mono have decided to drop Electric Lettuce just 3 days after Alla Xul Elu’s new album Necronomichron 2: Dead by Bong.

After the “Safe Place” intro, the first song “We All Float” encourages the listeners to “come down here” with them since the weed hits harder than former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou & the trap instrumental Young Wicked cooks up is totally off the wall. After the “Get Matt Nipps” skit, the following song “Light It Up” goes into a more west coast direction I almost wanna say as they talk about “rollin’ rappers up”. After the “Get Blaze” skit, the song “No Smoke” is a MNE posse cut sans Lex the Hex Master & The R.O.C. threatening their opposition with a piano-instrumental from MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 that really helps kick up the grimy tone of it.

The track “High ‘Til I Die” goes back into that trap direction as they talk about always being lifted & Lee Carver just shows why he’s my favorite Alla Xul Elu member. Especially when he said “Breaking up weed on the case of The Green Book”. I’m kinda disappointed that “Right Here Ninja” makes no reference or homage to “Here I Am” off of Blaze’s classic debut 1 Less G n da Hood, but the futuristic sound is fresh. “Feeling Stuck” is a great way to finish the EP, as it’s a guitar-trap driven cut about how COVID has effected everyone.

“420 Premium Quality” rawly starts the deluxe run telling all y’all muthafuckas to sing along lighting that shit up while “Wasted 3” by the Samhain Witch Killaz featuring G-Mo Skee, King Gordy, Redd, Rittz & Young Wicked matches the caliber of “Wasted 2 featuring Chris Webby, Kung Fu Vampire, R.A. the Rugged Man, the Three 6 Mafia & Whitney Peyton off of Twiztid’s 8th EP Get Twiztid along with “Wasted 3” featuring Anybody Killa & the Axe Murder Boyz off of their 13th album Mad Season as the best installments of the “Wasted” series. “It’s Been a Long Time” serves as the final bonus track going rap rock to admit they haven’t been this high in forever.

Despite my expectations not being super high given that this is a holiday-themed EP, I actually like it more than that short Songs of Samhain compilation that MNE put out this past fall. It continues to stray away from the wicked shit in favor of a more traditional hardcore hip hop vibe much like /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/, except most of the songs are weed-related.

Score: 3.5/5

Yelawolf – “Mile 0” review

Yelawolf is a 41 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, fashion designer & entrepreneur from Gassen, Alabama coming up on the scene as a contender on The Road to Stardom in 2005. His debut album Creekwater that same year, but didn’t catch the mainstream’s attention until New Year’s Day 2010 off the strength of his 4th mixtape Trunk Muzik. This caught the attention of Detroit icon Eminem, who signed Catfish Billy to his Interscope Records imprint Shady Records the following year. Yelawolf went on to release 4 albums under his contract with Slim, leaving in Spring 2019 to focus on continuing to build his own label Slumerican Records. Dude’s been staying busy all month by dropping a project damn near each week & to come fresh off his latest EP Slumafia produced entirely by DJ Paul, we’re being treated to another EP produced entirely by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill fame.

“W.T.F. (What the Fuck?)” kicks the whole thing off by Yelawolf depicting his seriousness on top of an string-laced boom bap beat & the next song “Geeyat Damnit” featuring Jelly Roll recaptures that sound except with a piano being weaved in as he spits about how he’s “getting it”. B-Real hops aboard the cavernous, money-stacking anthem “Hand Over Fist” in a natural fashion before diving into the cinematic, rags-to-riches story “Harvest” featuring Struggle Jennings.

“The Catch” is a breezy, romantic boom bap track while Caskey of course joins Catfish Billy for the rich tribute to success that is “Matador”. The song “Flea Market” with Bub Styles is oxymoron giving that they’re rapping about keeping it g over a peaceful instrumental, but then longtime collaborator DJ Paul jumps on the mic accompanied by Del the Funky Homosapien of all people come together to talk about desired-reclusiveness for the spacey yet jazzy “Privacy”. As for the closer “Dust Broom”, I do appreciate it’s wretched tone despite Christian Rose & Sam Lee having the weakest features on the whole project.

Of all the projects Yelawolf has dropped in 2021 so far, I genuinely don’t know if anything can top Mile 0. Everything about it is a welcoming detour from what you’d expect from him in terms of his wise lyrics & the lo-fi sound DJ Muggs shoots for. Will I be proven wrong when Mud Mouth drops next Friday? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z.

Score: 4/5

ssgkobe – “KO.” review

ssgkobe is a 17 year old rapper from Louisiana emerging out of the SoundCloud scene just a few years back, but I was unfamiliar with him until earlier this month when he was featured on a bonus track off of BROCKHAMPTON’s new album ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE. And with his profile continuously growing, of course he’s gonna ride the wave by dropping a 15 minute EP.

“listen before you indulge” is a bare acoustic opener with underwritten lyrics about being torn spiritually whereas the next “Capsules” sees right past the bluff on top of a plucky trap beat. “Condo” is an annoying cloud rap diatribe about how kobe & BoofPaxkMooky got money walking while the track “Angels” portrays his adventures in the sunshine state.

Then we have the rushjob of a breakup cut that is “why’re you scared?”, but then the WondaGurl-produced “Again” is basically the other side of the coin as he talks about moving on to a new chick. The song “Calabasas” featuring $not is a pretty drab way to end the EP, but I do enjoy the Crimson Chin reference in the hook quite a bit.

Yeah I ain’t got much else to say other that KO. is just another addition to the ever-growing pile of run of the mill trap projects. Despite being far from the worst thing I’ve listened to all year & maybe he’ll refine his style on the next project, it’s nothing that I haven’t heard already.

Score: 2/5

Jay-Ef – “Believe It or Not” review

Jay-Ef is a 51 year old DJ from Tenafly, New Jersey notable for being a protege of DJ Rob Swift as well as the co-host of The Leschea Show. But after putting out a handful of stuff from different artists on his Mona Hip Hop record label, the east coast veteran is beginning to build a solo discography from himself by dropping a debut EP with J. Pedina on the boards from start to finish.

After the Rob Swift & DJ Total Eclipse-assisted turntablism intro “Back 2 the Basics”, the title track by Wordsworth encourages the listener to take a look around over a classy boom bap beat before going into jazz rap territory as Torae details what happens when the sun goes down on “Night Time”.

The song “Stages of Asia” by Planet Asia is a piano-tinged mafiosio ballad whereas the string-heavy “Still Friends” by Masta Ace details what friendship means to him. The closer “9 Lives” incorporates some saxophones as Pearl Gates spills out wisdom.

Now if Jay-Ef has plans to put out any more material like this down the road, then sign me up. The guests are well picked out with just about all of them giving fiery performances as J. Pedina’s production predominantly sticks to the traditional hip hop sound we’ve all come to love.

Score: 3.5/5

Def Soulja – “There’s a Saint in Every Soulja” review

This is the latest EP from Bronx emcee Def Soulja. Emerging in 2015 off of the 3-pack Recognize a Soulja, the 37 year old wordsmith only continued to gain notoriety by dropping a handful of singles & small projects since then. But after finishing off the trilogy that got his name out there to begin with, Saint Michael is being brought in the picture for There’s a Soulja in Every Saint.

“Let Masses Begin” is a great opener as Def Soulja hops on a piano instrumental to describe everything he’s seen in the hood while things take a turn into the boom bap route so he can call out tough talkers on the short but deadly “Your Worth”. Jay Blue comes into the picture on the hair-raising “Stimmy” as the pair articulate what money can do & even though Def is saying ill shit on “Ripe Fruit”, the instrumental is obnoxious as Hell. The closer “New Day Same Agenda” is a classy way to finish the EP off by flipping the phrase “same shit, different day” on it’s head.

I gotta say, There’s a Soulja in Every Saint could very well be the best body of work that Def Soulja has put out to date. He doesn’t ham-fist the religious themes of the EP like other artists sometimes do & Saint Michael’s production is amongst the grimiest he’s ever whipped up.

Score: 3.5/5