Black Thought – “Streams of Thought” review

Black Thought is a legendary 46 year old MC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania most notable for being the frontman of The Roots. Fans have been wanting some sort of solo project for a long time now (especially after his iconic Hot 97 freestyle this past winter) & he is now delivering an EP with the help of The Soul Council.

The opener “215” talks about growing up in Philly over an upbeat instrumental & the next track “Black vs. 9th” talks about self-evaluation over some punchy drums. The song “Dostoyevsky” with Rapsody sees the 2 talking about the judicial system over a nice boom bap beat while the penultimate track “Making a Murderer” with Styles P pretty much speaks for itself over a menacing instrumental. This magnum opus then finishes off perfectly with “Thank You”, where Black gets grateful for how his life turned out over a soulful beat.

It’s been long overdue, but we finally got an official solo project from Black Thought & it’s perfect. His lyricism is sharp & intelligent as expected & The Soul Council’s production gives them a flawless backing. I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a follow-up soon given that it’s labeled “Vol. 1”, but I’m all for it

Score: 5/5

Ramson Badbonez – “Jason Bonez” review

Here is the 3rd extended play from London, England, United Kingdom emcee Ramson Badbonez from the Task Force. He would eventually sign to the Hove, East Sussex imprint High Focus Records in 2013 & made his debut for the label with the highly received A Year in the Life of Oscar the Slouch that same winter. Coming off the DJ Fingerfood-produced Hypnodic however, he’s introducing us to a character who takes the name of Jason Bonez almost a whole entire year since the latter & nearly a week after David Starr became the new RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

“Mr. Voorhees” opens with this sinister boom bap instrumental produced by DJ Jazz T & Dr. Zygote comparing himself to the main antagonist of the Friday the 13th franchise whereas “Lock Your Doors” hooks up some foreboding horns mixed with kicks & snares advising everyone to bolt the entrances of their homes. “Black Heart” stylistically keeps it rugged recalling his mother telling him what made him lonely leading into “The Witch is Pregnant” spitting a freestyle over an organ-inflicted beat.

To get the 2nd half of Jason Bonez going, “Killing Fields” heinously talks about leaving doubters bleeding for all of eternity while “Machete Madness” continues to take us inside the shoes of a serial killer donning a hockey mask & cutting up bodies. “Rain, Drains” maintains a spooky boom bap vibe to the beat talking about doing all the dirty work by himself but after the synth-driven “Get My Head Fixed” suggests to do either that or find the nearest exit, “Bloodsplat” finishes with a jazzy boom bap outro getting bloodthirsty.

Maintaining the skillful standards that A Year in the Life of Oscar the Slouch for example has set, Ramson Badbonez follows Hypnodic up with the most horrorcore-themed project of his entire career without making it sound gimmicky like some artists in that particular subgenre of hardcore hip hop. The production’s more boom bap-oriented than Hypnodic’s was & I love that he holds down the verses all by himself instead of getting a bunch of guests, conceptually likening himself to one of the most iconic franchises in all of horror cinema.

Score: 3.5/5

Boondox – “Dirty Days of Night” review

Boondox is a 40 year old rapper from Covington, Georgia who first came onto the scene in the Early 2000s as Turncoat Dirty. He then changed his moniker after signing to Psychopathic Records from 2005 & remained with them until 2015. Eventually he would sign to Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2016 & is still on the label to this very day. Since about 2012, Boondox has been teasing the idea of making music under his original Turncoat Dirty moniker & he is now finally doing it with his 3rd EP

After the intro, we go into the first song “Frank Castle”. Here, he talks about doing Satan’s bidding over a murky trap beat. The next track “Excuses” is pretty gritty in terms of songwriting & the production, but I don’t like the execution. The song “Desert Evil” gets murderous about over some a trap beat with a somber guitar in the background while the track “The Rage” with Redd sees the 2 talking about fighting over a rap rock instrumental & it’s just ok. The song “Knockin'” is about the devil coming for him over an eerie instrumental & the penultimate track “Unstable” issues warning not to mess with him because of how crazy he is over a thunderous beat. The EP finishes with “Chronicle”, which is a story about murdering someone over an instrumental a gloomy piano instrumental.

Turncoat Dirty’s return has been a long time coming but at the end of the day, I think this is a solid way to hold fans off until Demonic Woods drops later this year. There are a couple mediocre tracks but the horrorcore/gangsta rap lyrics are mostly in your ace & while I didn’t expect him to take on the trap sound on a few tracks at all, the production does enhance the grittiness of these lyrics very well

Score: 3.5/5

Kevin Gates – “Chained to the City” review

After being released from prison at the beginning of the year, Louisiana rapper Kevin Gates has been laying low ever since. However, he is now officially returning to music out of the blue with a 3-track EP. The first song “Changes” vents about his success as well as his conviction over a gloomy trap beat while the 2nd track “Vouch” is his rags to riches story over a bouncy beat. The EP then finishes with “Let It Sing”, where Kevin gets confrontational over a thunderous beat.

I’ve been waiting for Kevin to make his official return to music & while it isn’t perfect, it goes to show that he’s still one of the best in the trap scene. I wish he added on about 2 more tracks, but the production bangs & he sounds more focused & passionate than ever before

Score: 3.5/5

André 3000 – “Look Ma No Hands” review

With today being Mother’s Day, former OutKast member André 3000 is coming out of the blue with a 2 track EP. The first track “Me&My(To Bury Your Parents)”, where 3 Stacks sings about memories of being with his mom at a grocery store & driving to a football game with his dad over a somber piano from Kevin Kendrick. The other one is the title track, which is just a beautiful 17 minute free jazz instrumental.

I always thought The Love Below would be the closest thing we’d ever get to an André 3000 solo project, but this EP was a pleasant surprise. I wish it was more than just 2 tracks, but it goes to show that he’s still a very talented singer & producer to this very day

Score: 4/5

Desiigner – “L.o.D. (Life of Desiigner)” review

Ever since appearing on the 2016 XXL Freshman Class & rushing his New English mixtape shortly after, New York rapper Desiigner has been laying low ever since. However, it was announced out of the blue Thursday night that he had returned with with his 1st EP.

The EP starts off with “Priice Tag”, where he gets braggadocious over a video gamey trap beat from Ronny J. The next song “Tonka” has an instrumental with an eerie atmosphere to it, but the songwriting is lazy. Especially during the hook & the 2nd verse. The track “After Party” is a generic club banger while the song “Pop iiT” is pretty much a poor man’s “Mask Off” albeit with a spacey beat. The song “Destiination” sounds like a leftover from Future’s last album HNDRXX while the track “LA to New York” does sound charismatic & fun, the songwriting is yet again lazy. The EP finally finishes with “HOOD”, where he talks about seeing another day over a moody beat

This is definitely better than New English, but it’s still pretty bad. Not only did it take way too long to come out but even 2 years after he blew up, the production is generic trap & Desiigner himself still sounds like a poor man’s Future

Score: 1/5

Ugly God – “just a lil something before the album…” review

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With his debut album coming soon, Indiana comedy rapper Ugly God is delivering a prelude EP out of the blue. Keep in mind that this is 4 tracks & almost 9 minutes long so therefore, this’ll be a very quick review.

The EP starts with Leave a Tip, where he charismatically talks about flexing on his ex-girlfriends over a cloudy trap beat with some eerie synthesizers. However, I didn’t care all that much for the Splash Drexler verse. The next song “BITCH WHERE MY HUG AT” hilariously reflects on an old girlfriend over a piano-trap beat & the penultimate track “Tropics” gets braggadocious over a spacey beat. The closer “WEWANTALLTHESMOKE” is about him pulling up on you over a cloudy beat, but it’s too short just like with the the other 2 tracks I mentioned.

While I did enjoy The Booty Tape, this was just ok. Ugly God has a great sense of humor (unlike Lil Dicky) & the cloudy trap production is as much fun as it was on his mixtape, but the last 3 songs didn’t sound fully fleshed out to me. Regardless, I’m still excited to hear his full-length debut

Score: 3/5

The Alchemist – “Lunch Meat” review

After releasing 2 instrumental albums at the tail-end of last year, renown Beverly Hills producer The Alchemist is now coming through with a 4 track EP. The EP begins with “Dean Martin Speaks” by Roc Marciano, where he delivers some pretty gritty street bars over a haunting instrumental & the next song “Judas” by Hall ‘N Nash is pretty much Westside Gunn & Conway the Machine dissing trash rappers over an eerie beat. The track “The Hopeless Romantic” by Action Bronson gets braggadocious over a jazzy yet soulful & the final song on here “Massacre” by Styles P & Benny gets mafioso over a gritty instrumental. The last 4 tracks of this thing are pretty much the instrumental versions of all the tracks I just mentioned & that’s fine with me.

Overall, it’s definitely a great project. I wish Al added a couple more tracks, but it’s well produced as expected & the performers fit over them fantastically

Score:

Wrrdsmith – “Back in the Lab” review

Wrrdsmith is a California based up-&-coming MC & this is his first EP. It starts off with “I’m the Man”, where he & Asce Blayze brag about how dope they are over an atmospheric instrumental. The next song “The Interview” talks about him as an artist over a 9th Wonder-esque instrumental while “Progress” talks about him giving his best over a druggy beat. The song “The Phone Call” is a love tune with a twangy guitar while the title track gets braggadocious over a boom bap beat.

The song “Can’t Trust ‘Em” takes a jab at all the lames over a murky trap beat from Southside of all-people & the penultimate track “Who I Am” talks about his never ending grind over a somewhat cloudy trap beat. The EP finishes with “Grind”, where he gets ambitious over some strings & hi-hats.

Overall, this was pretty dope. Despite a few songs sounding unfinished, I love the genuine passion that Wrrdsmith shows & it’s pretty well produced

Score: 3.5/5

Kannon – “Psycho” review

Kannon is an 18 year old rapper from Bakersfield, California & this is his first EP.

The EP kicks off with “You Can Be”, where he gets ambitious over some heavy bass & piano keys. The next song “Sin” touches down on internal conflict over banging trap beat while the track “Drug” compares his girl to a drug over cloudy trap beat. The song “I’m Sorry” is a sung apology to an ex over a booming yet somber beat while the track “Rose” tells this girl not to go away over a cloudy beat. The song “Run Up a Check” with Jaylon sees the 2 gets braggadocious over a bass-heavy instrumental & the closer “#BeTheSame” gets menacing over a decent trap beat.

As a whole, this was a pretty solid EP. The production isn’t too bad & Kannon shows a lot of ambition

Score: 3.5/5