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.
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.
This is the 5th extended play from Nottingham, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee Vandal Savage. A member of the trio VVV alongside Cappo & Juga-Naut, he would additionally drop a total of 4 EPs on his own throughout the 2010s from Savagery Over Everything to 1000th Prestige & the Bic Master duology. Stakes however were significantly raised upon learning Birmingham, West Midlands veteran Sonnyjim was gonna solely produce Sauvage being a fan of his for some time already.
After the “0.00” intro, “Prep the Shark” opens up with psychedelically funky vibes talking about fighting for peace & living rather gnarly than the average person whereas “From the Balcony” featuring Da Flyy Hooligan finds the pair over a vibraphone-driven instrumental reminding us of the golden rule: Sticking to the script. “Roll Safe” featuring Juga-Naut talks about coming a long way from their small towns while the funky “Pesci Poker” searches for peace in the midst of a piff cloud.
“Savvy” kicks off the 2nd half of Sauvage on some temporary orchestral vibes talking about his shrewdness just before “Holy Mackrel” featuring Sonnyjim himself teams up for a brief period of time to get boastful with each other. “The Dilly” has a funkier tone to it talking about these muhfuckas actin’ silly out here & l the “Run with It” remix preceding the “Unst” outro concludes the EP explaining all he’s done since he was a youngin’.
Out of everything Vandal Savage has done by himself between 2016 & Sauvage, the latter could most likely become my favorite EP of the 5 he’s dropped despite Cappo being the illest from VVV & putting Juga-Naut behind him. In no way am I trying to imply Vandal can’t spit because Sonnyjim’s production here is a vast improvement above Vandal’s previous output, the small handful of guest appearances including the producer himself all maintain his intensity regarding their performances.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This is the debut EP from North Carolina emcee Cordae. Emerging in 2014 as a member of the now defunct YBN collective, the 23 year old released a total of 3 mixtapes under his original moniker Entendre before catching mainstream attention 4 years later by dropping the J. Cole response “Old N****s”. After landing a spot in the 2019 XXL Freshman Class, the kid continued to turn heads by dropping a potential-filled debut album The Lost Boy & is returning after 2 years with a 4-track prelude to his sophomore effort.
“More Life” is a funky, boom bap opener produced by Q-Tip as Cordae proclaims life being an antidote while the next song “Dream in Color” talks about his boldest dreams over some vocal harmonizing hanging behind him from Terrace Martin & Raphael Saadiq. Young Thug hops on the Take a Daytrip-laced “Wassup” for a flashy party starter & then the EP rounds out with “Thornton Street”, which returns to that boom bap sound as Cordae recalls his childhood.
I know he said on Twitter that none of these joints will appear on the upcoming album, but it has me excited for it nonetheless. With his artistry continuing to grow at a rate like this, I geniunely think his potential is being fully realized & he could possibly top The Lost Boy.
This is the 10th EP from Detroit veteran Anybody Killa. Coming up as a member of the Krazy Klan with his childhood friend Lavel, it wouldn’t be until 2000 when the Native Funk dropped his official solo debut Rain from the Sun. 2 years later, he made his big break in the underground when the Insane Clown Posse signed him to Psychopathic Records & released his sophomore album Hatchet Warrior to universal acclaim amongst the juggalos. This was followed up in 2004 with Dirty History & the debut EP Road Fools a year after, but ABK decided to form his own label Native World Inc. in 2006 & he even left Psychopathic temporarily so he could focus on building his own brand. His 2008 comeback Mudface ended up being a total mess on all fronts, but he would eventually team up with Brian Kuma in 2010 to make up for it with Medicine Bag. Then after a 9-year hiatus, ABK left Psychopathic to focus on Native World once again & put out a party-themed comeback album Tampon Juice to mixed responses. But as he’s currently prepping for A.B.K. (Always Bringing Knowledge) & supposedly Shapeshifter, Killa is celebrating 4/20 by putting out Smoke That Up produced entirely by DJ Hazey.
“Pre-Session” is a short, bass-heavy introduction warming up the listener for what’s to come where’s the next song “Smoking In Common” goes into a more g-funk direction sound-wise as ABK dedicates this to all the like-minded tokers out there. The title track is a synth-laced banger encouraging listeners to light one up & then “We Smoking” is a more groovy, melodic cut about wanting them to leave him be as he gets high.
I know this is just a 4/20-themed EP, but I actually come to enjoy it significantly more than Tampon Juice & has me looking forward to both A.B.K. (Always Bringing Knowledge) & Shapeshifter whenever either one of those actually come out. The production from Native World in-house producer DJ Hazey is sincerely amongst the best I’ve ever heard from him & the playful vibes that ABK traditionally delivers in his performances have improved.
