Ramirez – “From tha Guttah to tha Grave” review

San Francisco, California emcee Ramirez back with his 11th EP. Coming up in 2014 as a longtime affiliate of the $uicideboy$, he would go on to co-found to the New Orleans-based indie label G*59 Record$ with them & build himself as an artist by dropping 8 mixtapes, his last 10 EPs & 4 full-lengths in the span of nearly a decade. Tha Playa$ Manual was his best LP yet with it’s g-funk production from Rocci & The Tragedy of a Clown was a good comeback from a year & a half ago, but is now taking us From tha Guttah to tha Grave.

“Beige Butter” featuring Le$ starts by hooking up this synth-lead with hi-hats swangin’ in their spaceships whereas “Rehabilitation” gives off a more psychedelic approach instrumentally except it hurts to say the Lil Homewrecker’s melodic vocals feel like they’re being drowned out in the mix. “Sleepin’ with the Fishes” takes the morbid trap route getting in his hardcore bag lyrically just before “Amphisbaena” featuring SXMPRA turns up the aggressiveness hitting licks together.

Meanwhile, “Warfare” has a glitchy trap vibe to the beat talking about having his victims brought to him out in the trenches leading into the heinous “Stick Up” letting the gunshots ring out. “Goodfellas” featuring SosMula chillingly asks if anyone wants the smoke with them but prior to the chopped & screwed version of “Rehabilitation” finishing the EP, the final song “In da Trunk” is a Memphis-infused closer pushing down the block.

After pretty much laying low last year, From tha Guttah to tha Grave happens to be a pretty solid return for RVMIRXZ & and. Maybe even the most I’ve enjoyed an EP from him since the Judgement Day trilogy. The production has some cool ideas pulling inspiration from the Memphis scene, chopped & screwed music, cloud rap, glitch hop, trap, psychedelia or hardcore hip hop boiling down the features to 3 as opposed to 5 previously continuing portray the experiences of gang life.

Score: 3.5/5

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$crim – “Lonely Boy 2” review

New Orleans, Louisiana rapper, producer & deejay $crim of the $uicideboy$ releasing the deluxe version of his new sophomore LP Lonely Boy. Wetto here was actually the first of the boy$ to branch out on his own by dropping the solo debut A Man Rose to the Dead during the COVID-19 pandemic to mixed to negative reception including from myself. Ruby da Cherry’s been grinding with a couple of skate punk EPs since last summer & Lonely Boy was a solid introduction to $crim’s alter-ego couple weeks ago even though you can tell it was inspired by Destroy Lonely’s debut album If Looks Could Kill. And since the deluxe is said to be a different LP of its own, I was wondering where he was gonna take it from there.

“90 day wonder” starts the deluxe off with a quirky trap instrumental boasting that he just dropped money on his necklace whereas “back4revenge” talks about seeking revenge for having his heart taken out of his chest & torn apart going straight-up dirty south. “operation fishnet” weaves these pianos & hi-hats together so he can ride around town with his shirt off just before for the trap metal-infused “pete rose” co-produced by G*59 Record$ in-house producer Dynox & named after the WWE Hall of Famer boasts about jumping out of the coupe.

Meanwhile, “heartbreak shorty” gives off a hazier flare sonically talking about lighting 1 for the gang leading into “i juh wanna ball” is self-explanatory conceptually & the beat here has a bit of a Pi’erre Bourne influence to it. “i cannot promise you that, i give you my word” talks about his bitch being backed up with love over these synthesizers & hi-hats, but then “#ScrimJustWannaHaveFun” brings back the rage beats admitting that the guy wants to have some fun of his own.

“where to go when the levee breaks” confesses to drowning in percocets dabbling into trillwave a bit while “the future only stings once” is this acoustic trap hybrid talking about never understanding his father until he became a father himself. “void” is a pretty cool 2-parter flexing about pulling up in a Hellcat feeling like the man while “lick my nuts” draws from the $B’s Memphis roots instrumentally telling y’all straight forwardly to suck his balls.

Moving on from there, “icarus” talks about the possibility of turning his dog up going for a psychedelic trap sound generally while the ominous boom bap cut “dropping the cross” admits to being in his room chatting with Satan himself. “separation of crows” continues to drop braggadocio giving plugg music a shot while the moody “thought that you should know” admits to thinking about his mistake. “terminally unique” continues to give a psychedelic edge boasting he’s incurable my one of a kind & lastly the vast “find my way” ends the LP by admitting he doesn’t wanna die a certain way.

In contrast to Lonely Boy showing obvious inspiration from Lone & really the whole Opium crew in general due to their popularity at the moment, the deluxe has a way different vibe than the the solo album that we got from Wetto only a couple weeks ago. It’s pretty much a completely different body of work of its own with a good feeling to it this time around & serving more as a thank you.

Score: 3.5/5

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$crim – “Lonely Boy” review

This is the sophomore full-length solo LP from New Orleans, Louisiana rapper, producer & deejay $crim. Coming up as 1/2 of the $uicideboy$, the duo has been impeccably consistent since their formation over a decade ago & Wetto here was actually the first one to branch out on his own by dropping the solo debut A Man Rose to the Dead during the COVID-19 pandemic to mixed to negative reception including from myself. However since Ruby da Cherry’s been grinding with a couple of skate punk EPs since last summer, it’s only right for Budd Dwyer to introduce us to the Lonely Boy.

“destination: home” is a cloudy trap opener co-produced by G*59 Record$ in-house producer Dynox encouraging to dream on whereas “a boy whistling in the graveyard” displays a more melodic delivery over an atmospheric instrumental with some hi-hats hoping that he gets right. “maserati slick” shows off the new whip that he just copped accompanied by a psychedelic trap beat leading into “who saves the savior?” asking who could love what he’s become going for a Memphis-influenced sound this time.

Meanwhile, “night gallery” continues forward by working in this vast instrumental keeping the hi-hats into the fold just before “demo demon” looks to pull up on his opposition. The synth-heavy title track goes into territory addressing the loneliness that he feels, but then the meditative “don’t know why” rides around town so fucked up to the point where he can’t even see

“blam!” experiments with rage beats talking about unloading the chopper on anyone who goes against his set prior to “4muhslime #freethug” paying tribute to Young Thug & the beat giving off a solemn vibe. “devil’s revenge using god’s subjects” sets out blow all these racks with a bitch blowing his high shooting for a moodier aesthetic while “i just hope that my death makes more cents than my life” delves into hypertrap turf flexing that his money keeps going up.

Starting the 2nd leg, “new glock 4 my opps” continues to blend buzzing synths with repetitive chord progressions & melodic synth leads looking to make the block hot while “1st things first” admits that he doesn’t go outside much although everyone should pray whenever he does returning to a relaxed, dream-like & reverb-heavy production style. “north pontchartrain blues” suggests to come spend the night & never leave him over a slick trap instrumental while the bass-heavy lead single “paradise” describes his ideal place.

“just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean you’re wrong” atmospherically laces $crim’s feelings with drugs clarifying he can’t help but go when they call him while “a man touched the sky” talks about refusing to take any chances over another trillwave beat. “all graves go unvisited in the end” dejectedly confesses to people betraying him when he never thought they would while “nightmare on the northside 2” is a worthy sequel to a highlight off A Man Rose from the Dead.

Moving on to the final quarter of the LP, “chrome cowboy” looks to do whatever it takes to keep catching those Ws trying to give off a vibrant approach generally while the rage-inducing “die4me” asks if anyone’s loyal to him. “1-800-PAIN” is cloudy a reminder that shit ain’t sweet when you look in his eyes while the trippy “marlboro country” talks about a whole new vibe he’s been on. The angelic/trap crossover “a nice place to visit” heads back west & lastly, “levitate” ends Lonely Boy on an upbeat note riding & dying by his shawty.

Granted it kinda seems like $crim heard Destroy Lonely’s last album If Looks Could Kill since it was also 26 tracks & nearly 90 minutes long when we first got it last spring, yet Lonely Boy still shows significant improvements over A Man Rose from the Dead. It’s refreshing to hear Budd experimenting with new sounds & his performances actually sound invigorated as opposed to being monotonously boring on the predecessor.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ruby da Cherry – “Existential Hymns for the Average Sigma” review

This is the 2nd solo EP from New Orleans emcee/producer Ruby da Cherry. Blowing up as 1/2 of the $uicideboy$ alongside his cousin $crim, they’ve built up an impressively extensive discography over the last decade & even have their own Virgin Music imprint G*59 Record$ with an ever-growing roster of artists. Budd dropped his full-length solo debut A Man Rose from the Dead in the midst of the COVID-19 to mixed reviews & as Ruby comes off Tragic Love Songs to Study to earlier this summer, he’s back at it with more Existential Hymns for the Average Sigma.

After the “¯\_(ツ)_/¯” intro, the first song “Excalibur” is a punk rock opener with Ruby singing that he knows he’s gonna find a way down the line whereas “I Was a Teenage Nihilist” following the “where y’at, duckboy?” interlude features faster instrumentation talking about the nihilism he faced as an adolescence. “Pearls Are Just Oyster Puke” after the “where y’at, duckboy??” interlude continues to take things heavier assuring that he’s still breathing & after the final “where y’at, duckboy???” interlude, the final song “Heroin As a Recreational Activity” is a punk rock closer talking about his past drug addiction.

tragic love songs to study to was a solid way for Ruby to properly introduce everyone to his pop punk alter-ego because he continues to delve further into the world of punk rock music recalling back to his Vapo-Rats days. His vocals & songwriting are still on point, but I noticed a couple heavier instrumentals in comparison to the previous EP last summer & it has me wondering if he’s gonna dabble with metal music in regards to his next solo EP.

Score: 3.5/5

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Night Lovell – “I Hope You’re Happy” review

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada rapper, songwriter & producer Night Lovell is back with his 3rd full-length LP albeit his 2nd for the $uicideboy$‘ very own G*59 Record$. Emerging in 2014 when he dropped his debut EP I’ll Be Back & then following it up 4 months later with his debut mixtape Concept Vague, heads continued to turn in 2016 off the sophomore tape Red Teenage Melody & the 2019 full-length debut Goodnight Lovell. His sophomore effort & G*59 debut Just Say You Don’t Care was a step above the album before that, but is returning by simply saying I Hope You’re Happy.

“Morrison” is a morbid trap opener produced by outby16 who did the entire project explaining that they tried to take him down with no success whereas “Who’s This Weirdo?” takes the boom bap route instrumentally talking about being back & asking exactly what the plan is. “My Day’s Ruined!” was an underwhelming choice of a single hooking up a suspenseful loop with some hi-hats dissing those who be fucking up his mood, but then “Golden Ticket” grimly talks about running ’round the fuckin’ world tryna conquer.

Meanwhile, “Sunday” goes for a dreary trap vibe melodically asking why they make him feel like it’s nowhere to go leading into “Life Sucks So We Fuck” featuring ZillaKami of prior City Morgue fame who has the best feature on the LP goes full-blown trap metal talking about how there really isn’t any better remedy when you think about it. “Peek-a-Boo” likens himself to that of a monster over some heinous piano chords & hi-hats just before “Sucks to Be You :/“ draws inspiration from the Memphis scene a bit telling y’all to pick your battles.

“Freak” featuring Freddie Dredd who’s guest appearance is a little weaker in comparison to Kami’s, but nonetheless was a ghostly trap single addressing those lookin’ like freaks tryna take their shines from them while “Eye Spy” gets in his young stunner bag keeping that occult atmosphere in the fold. “Alive Even When I Die” draws near the end of Night Lovell’s official G*59 sophomore effort by telling guys a story ’bout his life over a psychedelic guitar riff & hi-hats. Finally, the closer “Cold Shoulder” ties up the LP by professing that he doesn’t wanna live this life over a woozy beat.

Just Say You Don’t Care was a considerable step-up from Goodnight Lovell, but he really takes his elevation to a whole new level by going above & beyond on I Hope You’re Happy. outby16’s production expands KLNV’s cloudy trap sound in favor of experimenting with trap metal & even boom bap. As far as Lovell’s performances go, he outdoes himself 2 & a half years ago when he was first introduced to $B’s audience & bringing in a couple features unlike last time also.

Score: 3.5/5

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Chetta – “Sick Bitch” review

New Orleans, Louisiana emcee/producer Chetta is returning with his 20th EP & his 3rd body of work this year. Coming up in the spring of 2014 off his debut mixtape Nino White. This was followed up with 18 EPs as well as 11 more tapes & a full-length debut, but gained significant attention off his G*59 Record$ debut Been Here Forever last summer as well as his last EP Falling Off & his latest album Playboy.

“My Misery, Your Entertainment” pretty much comes straight out the gate with it with a rage beat asking if anyone out there happens to not be entertained at all leading into “Finally Killing Myself!” talking about jumping out the window over a cloudy trap instrumental. “Y2K” works in some hi-hats & twinkling keys declaring that no one can do it like him while “Look_What_God_Did” gives off a drearier vibe talking about how we already know he slidin’. “W/orw/oyou” pushes near the end of Sick Bitch with a bombastic trap beat going through the back since he doesn’t need his ID. “Be My Permanent High” closes the EP by ghoulishly admitting that he feels alone.

Chetta to me has been continuously putting out the best material of his career throughout these last few years ever since signing to G*59 during the pandemic. The production is grounded in the southern trap sound that the New Orleans label has become predominantly known for & he gets back on his emo shit a little just like we did on Falling Off, which we didn’t hear a whole lot of on Playboy.

Score: 3.5/5

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$uicideboy$ – “I No Longer Fear the Razor Guarding My Heel V” review

The $uicideboy$ are a revered duo from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of of Ruby da Cherry & $crim. Together, they’ve released a plethora of projects within the last decade whether it be the Kill Your$elf saga & Eternal Grey or even I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS & the Travis Barker-produced Live Fast, Die Whenever. The boy$’ just dropped their last album Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation over the summer & are coming fresh off the Yin Yang Tapes tetralogy by saying fuck Grey Sheep III in favor of a new installment of their widely acclaimed I No Longer Fear the Razor Guarding My Heel series.

“Not Even Ghosts Are This Empty” starts the EP with a sample-based trap banger produced by $crim & Dynox of Internet Money Records talking about not being able to feel their faces no matter how hard it gets at times whereas “Finding Shelter In My Larynx” confessing that everything is black to them now over a more trillwave instrumental. “A Little Trauma Can Be Illuminating & I’m Shining Like the Sun” actually ends the EP by depressingly confessing that they still can’t sleep at night even though they playa.

The Yin Yang Tapes were ok even though I still go back to a couple cuts on there, but my expectations for I No Longer Fear the Razor Guarding My Heel Vwere very high the second it was announced & easily the best EP the boy$ have dropped all year. They take it back to the signature cloud rap sound of the predecessor & some emo subject matter on top of it

Score: 4/5

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Ruby da Cherry – “tragic love songs to study to” review

Ruby da Cherry is a 35 year old MC/producer from New Orleans, Louisiana emerging as 1/2 of the $uicideboy$ alongside his cousin $crim. In the span of the decade, they’ve built up an impressively extensive discography & even have their own Virgin Music imprint G*59 Record$ with an ever-growing roster of artists. Budd dropped his full-length solo debut A Man Rose from the Dead in the midst of the COVID-19 to mixed reviews & as the boy$ gear up for Grey Sheep III, it’s only right for Ruby to step up to the plate & drop off a solo EP of his own.

After the “¯\_(ツ)_/¯” intro, the first song “ROUGAROU (i’ve become the monster)” sets the tone for what’s to come embracing the pop punk sound talking about liking to hunt alone whereas “XXL hadron colliderr” following the “where y’at, duckboy?” interlude shifts gears into skate punk territory clarifying that he’s been stabbed in the back. “my love life needs a lobotomy” describes the way he learned to detail his ex & the final song “after further reasoning, i’m going to bed” after 1 last “where y’at, duckboy??” interlude closes the EP with 1 last pop punk jam asking if his soulmate would bring flowers to his grave.

For an EP, I’d still say that tragic love songs to study to is still cuts above A Man Rose From the Dead & I’m actually pretty impressed with the artistic detour he takes in comparison to his $uicideboy$ work. He completely ditches the signature $B sound so he can experiment with pop punk as well as skate punk & easycore. Almost kinda like how ZillaKami of City Morgue dabbled with grunge & alt-rock on his solo debut Dogboy a couple years back.

Score: 3.5/5

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Chetta – “Playboy” review

Chetta is a 32 year old rapper/producer from New Orleans, Louisiana who came up in the spring of 2014 off his debut mixtape Nino White. This was followed up with 18 EPs as well as 11 more tapes & a full-length debut, but gained significant attention off his G*59 Record$ debut Been Here Forever last summer & his 19th EP Falling Off only 5 months ago. However, it seems that Chetta’s returning with his 3rd album & is fully producing it again except for 1 joint this time.

“Holy:Fuck” is an unsettlingly dark trap opener making it known that he gon’ move exactly how the fuck he wants whereas “fake.com (Subscribe Now)” has a cloudier approach instrumentally talking about the fact that half of these hoes are getting fucked for free. “4am in Nola” details swerving both lanes keeps it in atmospheric trap territory asking if it’s worth snorting painkillers, but then “I’ll Get High If I Want To” gives off a bass-heavier yet cavernous vibe talking about of course being high & I as a stoner can already imagine those who get under the influence recreationally getting turnt to it.

With “2 Wrongs & a Right”, we have Chetta returning to a trillwave-inspired groove reminding that we know how it goes just before “Hot*59” gives me a dejecting atmosphere talking about being unable to fuck around. “Spoiled Rotten” comes through with more of a distorted trap edge being out on the street instead of on the clock leading into “Penthouse for My Feelings” going full-blown trap metal talking about having to watch hoes being curved like stop signs. $crim saves the wickedest beat on the whole album for the penultimate track “Blown Veins” telling a lame to get their act right until the hazy closer “Come with Me If It’s Pain You Seek” says it all topically.

At 33 projects under his belt throughout almost the span of a decade, Playboy further proves that Chetta’s progressively been stepping it up ever since the $uicideboy$ signed him their Virgin Music imprint & I’d recommend those who fuck with the boy$ as much as I do give his music a shot of they haven’t done so already. His production game as strong as it was earlier on in the year & it’s really cool to see him throw it back to his old ways a bit so new fans can familiarize themselves with his pre-G*59 material.

Score: 3.5/5

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$uicideboy$ – “Yin Yang Tapes 4: Winter Season” review

This is the 27th EP from New Orleans, Louisiana duo the $uicideboy$. Consisting of Ruby da Cherry & $crim, these guys released a plethora of projects within the last decade whether it be the Kill Your$elf saga & Eternal Grey or even I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS & the Travis Barker-produced Live Fast, Die Whenever. The boy$’ just dropped their last album Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation over the summer & are wrapping up the month of May by concluding the Yin Yang Tapes tetralogy.

After the intro, the first song “Bossier City Kidnap Victims” starts the final entry of the saga by making the block wet with an eerie trap instrumental backing them while the penultimate track “Didn’t They Give You Percoset?” takes a more straightforward dirty south turn talking about getting the money. “I Deleted Facebook a Long Time Ago” rounds out the EP with a cloudy Memphis trap banger knocking motherfuckers out they case, thus ending the Yin Yang Tapes era & marking the beginning of the Grey Sheep III rollout.

People were complaining about the predecessor to be 1-dimensional & I think I can just come straight out the gate saying that’s not the case with this final installment of the series. I mean yeah we still get doses of cloudy Memphis gangsta rap & rare phonk, but the dirty south opener was a refreshing change of pace from what we heard throughout the dozen joints we got from the boy$ this month excluding the intros & makes me confident about the Grey Sheep trilogy coming to a conclusion this summer since the original contains some of their strongest material.

Score: 3.5/5