Shah Leezy – “The Iron Sheik Tape” review

Shah Leezy is an MC from Staten Island, New York who’s been floating around for a couple of years now. So far he has a few EPs under his belt up to this point but last month, he released his 6th EP paying tribute to WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion & WWE Tag Team Champion The Iron Sheik.

The opener “Theme Music” gets on the competitive side of things lyrically over a string loop whereas the next track “Who the Fuck is Shah Leezy?” is a proper introduction to the man himself with a churchy-beat. The song “Sheik’s Shadow” talks about betrayal over some snares & an orchestral sample while the penultimate track “World Stage” advises the listener to keep dreaming over a soulful beat. The EP then finishes with “The Main Event”, where Shah speaks on being the King of the Middle East over a luxurious instrumental.

I think this is Shah’s best work to date & I can only see him going up from here. He sounds hungrier than ever lyrically & I’m not sure who did the production, but the soundscapes they bring to the table all suit him pretty well.

Score: 3.5/5

Micall Parknsun – “Back in Business” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Micall Parknsun returning for his 2nd extended play. Making his debut under Low Life Records in 2005 describing life as The Working Class Dad, his debut mixtape The Interview would be his last offering for the label & signed to YNR Productions to release the sophomore effort 1st 2nd Time Around as well as Me, Myself & Akai. I Should’ve Done This Time Ago was ok, but his Boot Records debut Practicing Tag Team Moves at the beginning of 2017 was better & he’s looking to outdo himself now that he’s Back in Business.

The self-produced title track begins with some eerie organs melodies making it his mission to have everyone listening to him whereas “Reality” produced by DJ Jazz T & Dr. Zygote takes a grittier boom bap/rap rock route talking about being too inconsiderate. “Still Living Black” featuring Napoleon da Legend hooks up a prominent flute providing conscious lyricism regarding the system & once “Message in the Music” refuses to stomach fabricated bullshit over another woodwind instrumental, “Go Get It” ends the EP talking about getting yours over a vibraphone-inflicted beat.

Practicing Tag Team Moves was a solid introduction of what could happen for Micall Parknsun after signing to Boot Records, but Back in Business ends what’s been a tumultuous year for the entire world as a whole whopping up my favorite EP of the 2 he’s given us thus far 9 months since the COVID-19 pandemic began. He produces a good 60% of it by himself & has some of the UK hip hop scene’s most notable names to do the rest, bringing only 1 guest on board as opposed to a couple & making it count so he could handle the rest of the rhymes to himself.

Score: 4/5

Che Noir – “After 12” review

This is the 4th EP from rising Buffalo emcee Che Noir. Coming on my radar by extensively collaborating with 38 Spesh, she would really change things up earlier this summer by enlisting Apollo Brown for one of the illest albums of the year: As God Intended. However, Che herself has decided to start hopping on the boards & showcase her beat-making skills on the self-produced After 12.

After the “Foxy’s Intro”, the first song “Cruise Control” talks about riding through the city over a mystical beat whereas the next track “Hunger Games” with Ransom & 38 Spesh finds the trio talking about starving for greatness over a churchy instrumental. The song “Reasons” with Jynx sees the 2 talking about backstabbers over a lush soul sample while the track “Divine Knowledge” talks about thinking better when it’s harder to see over an alluring instrumental. The song “Moment in the Sun” with RJ Payne & Sa-Roc finds the 3 talking about not speaking about shit unless they know it over a piano & some vocal harmonies while the closer “Grace” talks about wanting it all over an uplifting beat.

Pretty solid follow-up to As God Intended if you ask me. There are a couple features that I personally could’ve done without, but Che’s production is honestly just as dope as her lyricism & I can only imagine her perfecting it as time goes on.

Score: 3.5/5

Ketch P – “Untitled” review

Ketch P is a 40 year old MC from Inkster, Michigan who started off as part of the quartet Street Justice. He eventually went solo & put out 3 mixtapes in the late 2000s, but Ketch took a hiatus in 2013 & returned last fall by dropping the fantastic comeback tape Gift Certificate under Middle Finger Music. This was followed up a couple months ago with the full-length Out of Nowhere but almost 3 months later, he’s surprise-dropping an untitled EP that he recorded with Black Milk about a decade ago.

Things start off with “Barricade ’08”, where Ketch spits about being the livest over soulful beat. “The Virus” with Guilty Simpson sees the 2 comparing their music to that of a sickness over a grimy instrumental while the song “Grind Mode” talks about hustling over a suspenseful boom bap beat. The penultimate track “Shut the Phuck Up!!” sends a message to all the haters out there over an instrumental with some beautiful background vocals talks about & then the closer “My Detroit” with eLZhi & Trick-Trick finds the trio paying tribute to their hometown over a churchy beat.

Man even though the material on here is 10 years old, it sounds like they made it earlier this year because these joints in 2020 still sound really good. Black Milk kills it on the boards as he usually does & Ketch P’s lyricism is just as raw as he is today. Looking forward to the albums he has with Bad News Brown & 2 Door Coupé.

Score: 4/5

Elcamino – “Sacred Psalms” review

Elcamino is a 26 year old MC from Buffalo, New York who blew up in late 2017 when he dropped his self-titled EP with Griselda Records. This was followed up by his Walking on Water mixtape in the summer of 2018 along with dropped 2 studio albums & a few EPs last year. He just dropped an dope EP produced by 38 Spesh back in February called Martyr’s Prayer & now as we start the 4th quarter of the year, he & Spesh are back for another one.

The opener “Hammers on the Hip” talks about being strapped over a glistening instrumental whereas “The Avenue” horrendously sings about what it’s like on his block over a slow, dreary beat. The track “Hold U Up” continues to sing poorly (this time on some gang shit) over a gloomy instrumental while the song “Don’t Know” hops back on the rapping tip to boast over a slick beat.

The track “Hustle Like Me” talks about his grind over a woodwind-infused instrumental while the song “What I Be On” talks about being rich over a boom bap beat with some synth-horns. The penultimate track “Camino Season” talks about taking over the rap game over an instrumental with a funky bass-line & some synth-chords whereas the outro is a decent remix to “If You Want It” off the Trust Army’s sophomore album Army of Trust II.

I prefer Martyr’s Prayer of the 2, but this is still a solid effort nonetheless. 38 Spesh comes through with consistent production once again & Camino sounds like he took his time on it in contrast to a handful of his latest material.

Score: 3.5/5

DaBaby – “My Brother’s Keeper (Long Live G)” review

This is the brand new EP from Charlotte’s very own DaBaby. Blowing up almost 2 years ago off his viral single “Suge”, the man would drop 2 average full-lengths to build off of it. Last we heard from him was this spring with his subpar 3rd album Blame It on Baby but in light of his brother Glenn committing suicide recently, DaBaby is back with My Brother’s Keeper (Long Live G).

The opener “Brother’s Keeper’s” is a touching tribute to Glenn with an acoustic trap beat whereas the next song “8 Figures” with Meek Mill finds the 2 talking about being in their feelings & carrying ungrateful people over a symphonic instrumental. The track “Shanyah” pays tribute to a person in his life with the same name over a funereal beat while the song “Gucci Peacoat” talks about his family over an instrumental kin to the opening cut.

The track “Handgun” with NoCap & Polo G sees the 3 talking about being strapped over a banger beat while the penultimate song “Bidness” with Toosii finds the 2 talking about mixing hoes with their business over a JetsonMade beat with some Roger Troutman-like vocal harmonizing. The EP finishes off with ”More Money More Problems”, which talks about the cons of being wealthy over some more acoustic-trap production.

Yeah, this is yet another mediocre project from DaBaby. The introspective lyrics are a nice change of pace of what he usually does on joints, but the production could’ve been a lot better in my personal opinion.

Score: 2.5/5

Meek Mill – “Quarantine Pack” review

This is the 6th EP from Philly’s very own Meek Mill. Starting out as a battle rapper, he later became a protege of Rick Ross & signed to Maybach Music Group in the 2010s. We’ve all watched this man have a series of ups & downs throughout his career from his critically acclaimed Dreamchasers mixtapes to his beef with Drake. However a couple years ago, he was freed from prison after a corrupt judge sentenced him to 6 years in November of 2017 & made a triumphant return with his 4th album Championships. But with a new full-length in the works, Meek is preluding it by dropping a Quarantine Pack.

“Middle of It” compares himself to Richard Porter over a trap beat with some heavy bass & a flute while the next song “Pain Away” with Lil Durk sees the 2 talking about money relieving them of their stresses over a slow instrumental from S1. “GTA” with 42 Dugg finds the 2 talking about how there’s certain things that don’t need to be said over a hyphy beat & then the closer “Think It’s a Game” talks about a homie who turned his back on him over a spacious instrumental.

Personally, this is a decent collection of songs & I’m curious to hear how all 4 of them play out in the context of Meek’s next album whether he puts it out in the next month or in 2021 once this whole pandemic begins to sort itself out at least. I mean he definitely took is time with these joints & I appreciate that to the highest degree, but there’s not much else to it beyond the production feeling like a significant step down compared to Championships.

Score: 2.5/5

Russ – “Chomp” review

This is the brand new surprise EP from New Jersey rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Russ. After releasing a total of 11 mixtapes on SoundCloud from 2011 up to 2014, he wound up signing Columbia Records in 2016 & made his full-length debut the next year with There’s Really a Wolf. However, the dude became one of hip hop’s most polarizing figures in recent memory because of being a “fake activist” against drugs & then there’s his infamous 2016 interview with DJ Vlad the culture vulture where he literally said “we need to blame producers for all the wack music today”. His 2018 follow-up ZOO kinda caught my interest due to “The Flute Song”, but the end result of it being taken over by this annoyingly bitter demeanor. This was followed up at the beginning of the year with Shake the Snowglobe which was SLIGHTLY better but now, he’s celebrating his freedom from Columbia by dropping CHOMP.

The EP begins with “Stockholm Syndrome”, where Russ & KXNG CROOKED talk about how they’re playing a whole nother game over a dreary string-laced beat. The next song “Who Wants What?” with Ab-Soul sees the 2 looking for people to challenge them over a ghostly beat while the track “Inside Job” gets in an ugly egocentric mood over a luxurious beat from DJ Premier. The song “Line ‘Em Up” with Busta Rhymes finds the 2 talking about knocking out their competition over a boom bap instrumental from The Alchemist with a hypnotic sample while the closer “Momentum” with Black Thought & Benny the Butcher sees the trio talking about how far they’ve all come over a soulful beat from 9th Wonder.

I can honestly say this EP is the best thing Russ has done yet. However, it’s still very much a mixed bag in my personal opinion. He is consistently outshined by the amount of legendary features & guest producers on every single joint throughout, as Russ’ own rapping & production are all still mediocre at best. All the Mountain Dew chugging “real hip hop” elitists & out-of-touch old heads will probably eat this up though because to them, getting all these iconic names whom I respect A LOT automatically makes it a “classic”

Score: 2.5/5

JPEGMAFIA – “EP” review

This is the 3rd EP from Baltimore emcee & producer JPEGMAFIA. Making his mark in 2016 with the release of his full-length debut Black Ben Carson, it wouldn’t be until the man’s next 2 albums Veteran at the beginning of 2018 & then All My Heroes are Cornballs last fall where he would earn respect across the board & reveal himself as one of the most creative minds in hip hop today. However after spending 2020 dropping a slew of singles, Peggy is compiling some of them together in the form of EP.

The opener “BALD!” gets on the battle bar tip over a cloudy instrumental whereas the next song “Covered in Money!” gets braggadocious over a glitch hop beat. The track “BODYGUARD!” is a full-blown alternative R&B cut about not wanting to go to war with his lover over a lusciously slow piano instrumental & then the song right after is a “BALD!” remix with a new Denzel Curry verse that I actually prefer more than the OG version.

The track “Cutie Pie!” compares his haters to Milli Vanilli over a boom bappy instrumental while “The Bends!” takes aim at Donald Trump over a sparse, quirky beat. The penultimate track “Rough 7” with Tommy Genesis sees the 2 over an instrumental that heavily samples Brandy’s “Never Say Never” & then the closer “living single” talks about this woman who’ll always be a part of him over an ethereal trap beat.

Pretty sure we’ve all heard these singles 1-by-1 but as an EP experience, it just makes them even better in my personal opinion. Peggy does a great job at continuing to show how versatile he can be & his production is still cutting edge. Really looking forward to hear where he takes things on his next album, hopefully in 2021.

Score: 4/5