$uicideboy$ – “Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation” review

This is the 3rd studio album from New Orleans duo $uicideboy$. Consisting of Ruby da Cherry & $crim, the released a plethora of projects within the last 8 years whether it be the Kill Your$elf saga & Eternal Grey or even the full-length debut I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS & the Travis Barker-produced Live Fast, Die Whenever. The boy$ recently dropped their sophomore effort Long Term Effects of Suffering last summer & are ringing in another one in the form of Sing Me a Lullaby, My Sweet Temptation.

“Genesis” kicks off the album sampling the greatest Mario game of all-time Super Mario World with Ruby & $crim talking about reinventing themselves whereas “Matte Black” takes a cloudier route to rep the ever-growing G*59 Record$ that they founded from their inception. Fucking Your Culture” shoots for a darker aesthetic to flex just before “1,000 Blunts” works in a vocal sample talking about not giving in & relapsing on drugs.

Meanwhile on “In Constant Sorrow”, have the boy$ over some jazzy production tackling their depression leading into “Escape from BABYLON” returning to cloudier territory talking about finding love in the wrong places. “Ashes of Luxury” comes through with a mellow weed-smoking anthem, but then “Resistance is Useless” flips the late Koopsta Knicca talking about stacking up addictions & the only thing that’s changed is that they cut off one of their homies.

“Eulogy” has a mystical feel to it asking to play this song at their funerals while “No Matter Which Direction I’m Going In, I Never Chase These Hoes” atmospherically opens up about troubled relationships. The song “$uicideboy$ Were Better in 2015” is a piano-laced diss towards those who preferred their music when they were on drugs while the penultimate track “Unlucky Me” is an impressive sequel to “Lucky Me” down to the SWV sample. “THE_EVIL_THAT_MEN_DO” ends the album on a boom bap note addressing trust issues & being away from the public eye.

For the people who keep complaining that the $uicideboy$ sound the same every time they put a project out together, this is another reminder for them to shut the fuck up. The production that $crim cooks up is some of his most versatile that he’s ever made with him & Ruby giving the listeners a wide range of emotions from braggadocio to heartbreak, anger & even anticipation about their reinvention.

Score: 4/5

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Chetta – “Been Here Forever” review

Chetta is a 31 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 now after catching the attention of & signing to G*59 Record$ last spring, he’s returning in the form of a sophomore effort that he himself has claimed to have waited a long time to give the world.

“Blair Witch” is a grim trap opener produced by none other than $crim with Chetta talking about how it pays to be a boss whereas “Heaven Ain’t Free” sinisterly admits that he’s just doing him. The $uicideboy$ tag along for the hyphy-laced “Poydras” talking about re-upping on these hoes just before “All Thug No Love” solemnly detailing how bad the ecstasy got him geekin’.

Meanwhile on “Dracula”, we have Chetta over a cloudy trap instrumental declaring himself as a real rockstar leading into the ghoulish “Hiroshima!” talking about how he hates himself too. “Take You Out This World” shoots for a wavier approach to the beat getting in his murder bag, but then $crim comes into the picture for “Murder He Wrote” to talk about hittin’ the road when it’s frozen & going ghost.

“Save Me the Rain” however fuses a guitar & some hi-hats telling a hoe he don’t need her anymore while “(Killers Cry Too)” is an impressive spiritual successor to “Thug Cry” off his last EP Major Pain. The song “Spend My Whole Life Getting High” returns to a cloudier sound talking about putting his money on him while the penultimate track “Drugs in Her Gut” telling a bitch he can’t stop now over a surprisingly elated instrumental. “When Life Hands You Nothing” ends the album by disturbingly confessing he feels like he’s drowning & sinking.

Now for those of you who’re new to Chetta & his music, then I’d say Been Here Forever is a good place to start because it happens to be my favorite that he’s ever done so far. He takes the listener through where he’s at now in his life & $crim also happens to do a really great job behind the boards as well.

Score: 4/5

Shakewell – “Pray 4 Shakewell” review

Shakewell is a 30 year old MC from Los Angeles, California who came up in the spring of 2017 off his debut EP Keystone Prince. This was followed up a year later with his 2nd EP Big Juice tha Sip but in light of him signing to G*59 Record$ right when the pandemic started & the 5 year anniversary of Keystone Prince approaching this weekend, Shakewell is finally dropping his long-awaited full-length debut.

“Symphony No. 1” is a quirky yet fun opener talking about getting a new phone whereas “Take the Field” has a earlier tone to it asking why he’s still depressed despite his success. “The Foil & The Damage Done” takes a cloudier route melodically saying that you don’t wanna feel the pain he’s lived just before “Felonious” declares himself as a prodigy over some eerie trap production.

Meanwhile on “Nuestra Señora”, we have Shakewell talks about his ride or die bitch accompanied by a beat with a vintage west coast flare to it leading into the aggressive “Biscuit” confessing that he always rides strapped. “20/20 Vision” incorporates some organs talking about seeing shit clearly, but then Fat Nick tags along for “Survival” to passionately express their hatred for the pigs.

“Late Night” returns to more atmospheric trap territory talking about serving packs to get his change while Boobie Lootaveli comes into the picture with one of the weaker features on “Woke Up” despite the piano instrumental & concept of what kind of man he wants to be today. The $uicideboy$ themselves make up for this on the tropical “Solutions” talking about using drugs to solve their problems while the song “Voodoo Walked” shoots for a more pillowy aesthetic bragging about the famous life.

The penultimate track “5 Ways” returns to a more quirkier yet bassy sound asking his opposition to choose 5 ways he can kill you & last but not at least, “Branzino” ends the album with some ghoulish trap talking about how he’s the type to pull up on you with the sticks.

Coming from someone who got introduced to Shakewell prior to his performance at the 20th annual Gathering of Juggalos the summer before COVID hit, I’ve been waiting eagerly for this full-length debut of his & it just goes to show that he fits right in with G*59. He comes through with some raw pen-game & the production is really interesting from the poppy & trappier cuts to the more hardcore & vintage west coast shit.

Score: 4/5

$uicideboy$ – “Long Term Effects of Suffering” review

The $uicideboy$ are a duo from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of Ruby da Cherry & $crim. They’ve released a plethora of projects within the last 7 years like the Kill Your$elf saga, Eternal Gray, the debut album I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS & the Travis Barker/produced Live Fast, Die Whenever EP. The boy$’ last project together Stop Staring at the Shadows came out last Valentine’s Day & now for Friday the 13th, they’re reuniting for a sophomore effort.

“Degeneration in the Key of A Minor” is a mind-altering opener comparing Earth to Hell whereas “If Self-Destruction was an Olympic Event, I’d be Tonya Harding” ghostly reflects on their career up to this point. “Life is a Stream~” is a guitar/trap ballad about wasting your life & drug abuse just before “5 Grand at 8 to 1” brings in some jazzy undertones comparing & contrasting their lives then & now.

Meanwhile on “WE ENVY NOTHING IN THE WORLD”, we have the boy$ coming through with an abrasive riot starter leading into them
somberly comin’ straight out of the dark for “Lighting the Flames of My Own Personal Hell”. They once again speak on addiction while shit-talking at the same time on the dreary “New Profile Pic” prior to the duo calling out those who tell them what to think for the devilish “Bleach”.

“Forget It” is a spacey breakup theme whereas “Avalon” spookily talk about being dons. The song “Materialism as a Means to an End” nocturnally speaks on being full of hate while the penultimate track “Ugliest” rounds out the trilogy “Ugly” started 6 years back. “The Number You Have Dialed is Not in Service” ends things by somberly telling fans to keep marching when life gets hard.

I really enjoyed the singles leading up to this album & as a whole, Long Term Effects of SUFFERING didn’t let me down at all. I admire how the boy$ challenge themselves to new sounds & opening up on their lives within the last few years.

Score: 4/5

Night Lovell – “Just Say You Don’t Care” review

Night Lovell is a 23 year old rapper, songwriter & producer from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada originally 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, but his biggest break came just a few months ago when the $uicideboy$ signed him to their Virgin Music imprint G*59 Record$. And with his born day coming up later this month, it’s only right for Night to drop his sophomore album.

“Trying to Float” is a stellar way to kick off the album with it’s jangly trap beat as well as Night Lovell telling a story of him in the position to change everything about his life whereas the next song “Smoke Screen” is a cloud rap banger telling those to mind their business. The instrumental on “Bandage” is somewhat similar to the opener except dude goes into detail about fake people & then piano-trap infused “I Know Your Ways” serves as an expansion of this theme lyrically.

Meanwhile on “You Motherfucker”, we have Night Lovell jumping on top of a cacophonous beat to brush of those who’re envious of him before leading up to the depraving sex song “Call Me Water” & a melancholy-filled breakup anthem “Sadly I Can’t Control”. The song “10 Wishes” is a distorted description of what he would do if he had such while “Bottom Top” goes into psychedelic territory to talk about getting head.

“Puppet” has a more industrial-edge to it with lyrics detailing a woman controlling him before thinking about his life on the airy “On the Hill”. The song “Crawl” is a woozier cut about living in 2029 & then the penultimate track “Counting Down the List” is a cloud rap tune about knowing this woman was a demon. To finish the album off, we have Night Lovell detailing his loneliness on the atmospheric “Alone”.

I can totally see why Ruby da Cherry & $crim took this kid under their wing because is a pretty solid album. He sticks to his typically dark sound in terms of production & the songwriting is at it’s best. Looking forward to keep watching him evolve from hereon out.

Score: 3.5/5

$crim – “A Man Rose from the Dead” review

$crim is a 31 year old rapper & producer New Orleans, Louisiana known for being 1/2 of the $uicideboy$. The duo has been impeccably consistent since their formation in 2013, but it seems like we’re finally getting solo efforts from them with the youngest of the 2 being the first at bat.

The album begins with “Delusions of Grandeur”, where $crim vents about how he can’t tell what’s real & fake over a cloudy trap beat. The next song “Scars” gets on the more melodic side of things opening up about his depression while the track “Jesus Wept” is a bombastic moshpit starter. The song “Naloxone” depressingly speaks on his drug use with some heavy auto-tune in his voice while the track “Feel It Too (It’s Too Much)” talks about how this woman left him hurt & I really love how hard the drums hit on here.

The song “Tell Me When I’m Good Enough” stays on the theme of being heartbroken over a weary beat while the track “He Got Game” finds $crim bragging over a psychedelic instrumental. The song “Portola (Blood Clot!)” robotically talks about feeling delirious over a solemn instrumental while the track “El Paseo” sings about getting rowdy over a surprisingly tropical instrumental.

The song “Nightmares from the Northside” is of course a nod to the iconic Juicy J cut “Soldiers from the Northside” down to the dynamic production while the track “Euphoria Euphoria” gets back on the drug use tip over a nightly instrumental. The song “Violent Secrets” is a lifeless love tune while the track “Side Effects” discusses how it’s lonely at the top over a bland instrumental. The song “Carcosa” talks about self-destructing over a dull instrumental while the track “Fight Club (Psychosis)” gets murderous over a bass-heavy beat.

The song “Percocets & Papers” talks about being high over a skeletal instrumental while the track “PTSD” talks about living lies over a trap beat with some decent guitar passages. The song “El Guerro” is another riot starter while the penultimate track “The Devil I Know” gets back on the lifeless heartbreak bullshit. The album finishes with “Lost Child”, where $crim talks about how he just wants to smile over a dreary beat.

Coming from someone who’s been following $uicideboy$ for quite a while now, what a disappointment. I don’t mind the overall sound, but $crim’s singing on a good bulk of this album is pretty bad & the auto-tune doesn’t help at all. Also I appreciate the fact that he wanted to it to be all him & all him only, but the lack of features really make it monotonously boring.

Score: 2/5

Ramirez – “Tha Playa$ Manual” review

Ramirez is a 22 year old MC from San Francisco, California who you may recognize for being the very 1st artist that the $uicideboy$ ever signed to G*59 Record$. Joining his mentors for the G.R.E.Y.G.O.D.S. collab EP & it’s sequel, he would make his full-length debut at the beginning of 2016 off Meet Me Where the River Turns Greyfollowed by The Grey Gorilla & Son of Serpentine. For his 4th studio album however, he’s recruiting Virginia producer Rocci to produce the whole entire thing top to bottom.

After the intro, the first song “Lane Switching”opens with a cloudy yet funky ode to the playas giving middle fingers to the perpetrators whereas “Hunnids” kinda has a Memphis influence to the beat talking about having all the shit that everyone else doesn’t have. “Gold Thangs & Pinky Rangs (Da Hooptie)” featuring Pouya & Shakewell takes the g-funk route for the trio offering fine wine & necklaces instead of money until the moody “Brown Eyes” featuring Rocci finds the pair looking to steal hoes.

“Lavender Lust” after the “Radio” skit is pretty much Rocci singing over a funky instrumental for a minute asking if his romantic interest loves him back just before “Glitter & Gold” gets back on the g-funk vibes to include a dope ass 士セーラームーン reference early during the first verse. “The Fo 5” radiates a bit of a cavernous feel to the beat making way for Ramirez to talk about murder just before “Lead Sled” keeps his head up in the rain with an instrumental harking back to the west coast sound of the 90s.

Moving on from there, “Out da Way” homages the Memphis scene again talking about feeling some type of way as of late while “Tales from da Guttah fuses gangsta rap with trap & dirty south repping G*59 until his body turns grey. After the “Ebony Wood Stock” interlude with a 35 second verse during the backend of it, “Red Dot” featuring Night Lovell ahead of the outro sends off Tha Playa$ Manual with both of them leavin’ people in critical condition by putting bullets through their domes.

The most sonically expansive project that we’ve ever gotten from Ramirez to this day will arguably become the greatest musical opus in the history of the G*59 Record$ discography. Rocci’s production is heavily driven by the g-funk sound that shaped Death Row Records approximately 3 decades ago further drawing inspiration from Memphis rap, trap, hip hop soul, pop rap, phonk, contemporary R&B & the dirty south combined in a smoothly manner with the west coast artist’s gangsta themes.

Score: 4.5/5

$uicideboy$ – “STOP STARING AT THE SHADOWS” review

This is the 9th mixtape from New Orleans, Louisiana duo the $uicideboy$ consisting of Ruby da Cherry & $crim. The founders of G*59 Records have been releasing a plethora of EPs & mixtapes since 2013, but it wasn’t until 2018 that they made their full-length debut with I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS. Last time we heard from them was last May with the Travis Barker produced Live Fast Die Whenever EP & now 9 months later, they’re hitting fans with Stop Staring at the Shadows.

The opener “All Dogs Go to Heaven” finds the duo getting bloodthirsty over a bass trap beat with some Atari-esque synths & then the next song “I Wanna Be Romanticized” talks about being on the verge of killing themselves over a moody beat. The track “One Last Look of the Damage” talks about making it to 30 over a cloudy beat while the song “[whispers indistinctly]” talks about death over a woozy beat. The track “MEGA ZEPH” gets apocalyptic over an frightening trap beat while the song “Putrid Pride” speaks on time moving fast over a dreary beat.

The track “That Just Isn’t Empirically” talks about losing their minds over a bleak instrumental while the song “What the Fuck is Happening?” thematically picks up where the previous joint left off over an abrasive beat. The track “Bizarro” is a horrifically delivered drug anthem backed with an intoxicating beat while the song “Scope Set” talks about murder over some sirens & loud bass. The penultimate track “Fuck Your Culture” is a dedication to 2 of their late homies that appear on the refrain over a spooky instrumental then the closer “…& to Those I Love, Thanks for Sticking Around” reads off as a suicide note backed with a cumbersome instrumental.

While it’s not a cut above Eternal Grey & I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS as hyped up to be, this is still a solid tape from Ruby da Cherry & $crim. It’s a little too short running at only 26 minutes but both of them still go hard in terms of delivery, lyrics & their Three 6 Mafia-influenced sound.

Score: 3.5/5

$uicideboy$ – “LIVE FAST, DIE WHENEVER” review

The $uicideboy$ are a hip hop duo from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of G*59 Record$ founders Ruby da Cherry & $crim. They’ve been releasing a plethora of EPs & mixtapes since 2013, but it wasn’t until last September that they made their full-length debut with I WANNA DIE IN NEW ORLEANS. But now 8 months later, they’re delivering their 23rd EP & have enlisted the legendary blink-182 drummer Travis Barker to produce it in it’s entirety.

The EP kicks off with “Killing 2 Birds with 22 Stones”, where the duo get murderous over a grimy trap/metal fusion. The next song “Sour Grapes” calls out the music industry over an druggy instrumental while the track “DON’T TRUST ANYONE!” talks about paranoia over a noisy trap beat. The song “Individuality Was So Last Year” talks about wanting to be left alone over an atmospheric beat while the penultimate track “Aliens are Ghosts” brush off their naysayers over an eerie trap beat & I love how they incorporated samples of Anthony Fantano all over. The EP then finishes with “nothingleftnothingleft”, which is a dime a dozen digital hardcore cut about wanting to commit suicide.

All & all, this was a solid EP. The duo pretty much stick to their Three 6 Mafia influenced guns & Travis really helps enhance their aggression quite a bit. I also love how they got Munky from KoЯn to play guitar on half of the cuts to enhance the rock feeling to the project.

Score: 3.5/5

$uicideboy$ – “I WANT TO DIE IN NEW ORLEANS” review

The $uicideboy$ are a hip hop duo from New Orleans, Louisiana consisting of G*59 Record$ founders Ruby da Cherry & $crim. Since their formation in 2013, both of these guys have made a name for themselves dropping a total of 8 mixtapes & 19 EPs with the most notable examples being My Liver Will Handle What My Heart Can’t & of course the Kill Your$elf saga. However, they are at last delivering their full-length debut.

Things start off with “King Tulip”, where the duo talk about fame & thoughts of suicide over a gloomy trap beat. The next song “Bring Out Your Dead” talks about killing this hoe over a bass-heavy trap beat while the track “Nicotine Patches” talks about their dying days over a trap beat with some chimes in the background. The song “10,000 Degrees” gets murderous over an ominous beat with a funky bass-line while the track “122 Days” talks about being true yourself over a spacey instrumental.

The song “Phantom Menace” reminisces about the duo’s early days over an eerie instrumental from none other than Juicy J while the track “Krewe du Vieux (Comedy & Tragedy)” is a short yet gritty description of Nawlins over a somber trap beat. The song “WAR TIME ALL THE TIME” gets confrontational over rattling hi-hats & monstrous bass while the track “Coma” vents about depression with an flawless sample of Kreepin’ Out da Kut” by Playa Fly.

The song “Long Gone (Save Me from This Hell)” continues the theme of the previous track over a moody trap beat while the song “Meet Mr. NICEGUY” is mediocre melodic breakup tune with a distorted guitar. The song “Carrollton” gets confrontational once again over an abrasive beat while the penultimate track “Fuck the Industry” pretty much speaks for itself over a spacey trap beat. The album then closes out with the 8 minute “I No Longer Fear the Razor Guarding My Hell IV”, where the duo get introspective & the beat switches are amazing!

I’ve been waiting for the duo to drop their debut album for quite some time & this did not disappoint. The duo continue to modernize the Three 6 Mafia’s signature sound & it really enhances the gritty lyricism more than ever.

Score: 4/5