North West is a 12 year old producer, singer/songwriter, rapper, actress & music video director from Los Angeles, California known for being the eldest child of one of my top 10 producers of all-time: Ye formerly known as Kanye West. She would make her musical debut on “Talking / Once Again” & “Bomb” off ¥$’ full-length debut Vultures & it’s sequel respectively, the latter being my least favorite track on Vultures 2personally. I did however enjoy her appearance on “Childlike Things” off FKA twigs’ 3rd album Eusexua & the “blink twice” interlude she produced for Skaiwater’s 3rd album wonderful, signing to gamma. briefly after announcing it’s distribution deal with YZY SND to drop her debut extended play ahead of her own full-length studio debut The Elementary School Dropout.
The self-produced intro “H0w Sh0uld ! f33l” opens with this rage-inducing beat sampling “Monster” by Meg & Dia to talk about everyone only seeing her appeal because who her parents are whereas “D!e” fuses hypertrap & pop rap to discuss her rockstar lifestyle. The title track shifts gears with a full metal instrumental to end the 1st half of the EP, talking about having so much people around her except she feels like it’s all fake because of their shadiness.
“Th!s tim3” gets the 2nd leg of n0rth4evr going by embracing a more industrial sound taking accountability for fumbling when this person’s heart was on the line & having no one by her side other than some bands while “W0ah” gets on a kawaii trap metal vibe talking about signing autographs in elementary school as well as running the world. “Aishite (愛して)” ends the EP with a hypertrap ode to 愛して愛して愛して by きくお featuring 初音ミク.
It can a bit blatantly obvious that North West shows us who some of her artistic influences are like Playboi Carti as well as Molly Santana & Bktherula to only name a few, but I’d consider n0rth4evr to be a decent beginning to her musical career even if I think it won’t be until she’s a bit older when her full artistic potential fully reveals itself & gives us something more groundbreaking. Her production’s more rage, pop rap, rap metal, hardstyle & Jersey club rap oriented than the chipmunk soul direction she went for on “Punch Drunk” off her father’s latest album Bully & the boastful teenage angst throughout the lyrics was somewhat expected.
Akon is a 53 year old singer/songwriter, producer, businessman & philanthropist from Newark, New Jersey who blew up in 2004 off his Universal Music Group-backed full-length debut Trouble. His sophomore effort Konvicted under his own imprint Konvict Muzik in tandem with SRC Records would easily become his best & Freedom left people divided. El Negreeto & Akonda on the contrary were more negatively received even if the latter was the beginning of Konvict becoming the first label gamma. signed a distribution deal with. The Ain’t No Peace extended play was a mediocre response to the Big Floyd protests & wasn’t so sure what I could’ve possibly expected out of his 6th studio LP.
The title track produced by J.R. Rotem wasn’t that bad of a contemporary R&B/pop reggae intro in the context of the rest of the material here graciously thanking God for the sunshine & hoping to bring people together during these troubling times whereas “Never Really Mattered” featuring SIMIEN makes me wanna listen to “Don’t Matter” instead, butchering a sample of “Love You Down” by Ready for the World.
“Ringtone” goes for a heavy dancehall vibe singing for his lover to hit his line whenever she pleases while “Way Up Der” makes a turn into Afrobeats territory promising that everything will be alright in spite of the world falling apart. “Huawei” featuring Nektunez finds the 2 coming together for a horridly outdated attempt at afro house & the same applies to “Long Road” stylistically, which wasn’t any better.
The self-produced “Sorry” for being the halfway point of Beautiful Day that gives me déjà vu of “Sorry, Blame It on Me” while “Que Calor” featuring Ochok begins with this boring attempt at going Latin & would be better off listening to Bad Bunny instead. “Mean the Same” takes a more stripped-back approach promising to always stay true while “Let You Go” featuring Tears of Joy sings about nobody wanting to leave or drown.
“Konflicted” featuring RMR advises listeners over more house production to stay strong & face the pain while “Keys” sings about having this woman’s heart on lock. “So Ruff” featuring Jahvor mediocrely breaks down having it hard growing up & after “Your Body” featuring Ozuna yearns to be the person his lover can trust, “Just a Man” featuring Stephen Marley finally puts things to an end with a reggae outro that I’d say would be one of the better tracks here.
It’s no secret that Akon went from dominating the mid-late 2000s to putting out projects that were mid at best & unlistenable at worst, but watching his music become continuously worse ever since coming back in 2019 feels reminiscent of Katy Perry going from Teenage Dream to 143. Out of everything he’s made musically, Beautiful Day is the worst album he’s done. It has nothing to do with the Afrobeats, dancehall, pop & house influences nor does it pertain to him wanting to spread positivity in the midst of chaos. The problem is that he isn’t doing either of those ideas any justice & there being artists who’re doing it better.
St. Louis, Missouri rapper Sexyy Red celebrating her birthday with her 4th mixtape. One of the most polarizing, controversial & popular artists in hip hop today who dropped her debut single “1,000 Jugs” in 2018 & eventually her debut mixtape Ghetto Superstar on Christmas Eve 2021 to subpar reception. The follow-up Hood Hottest Princess after signing to gamma.received more mixed responses in the public eye including from myself on the contrary to Anthony Fantano giving it an 8, which was what I gave her previous tape In Sexyy We Trust around the time she started making appearances for the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s developmental brand NXT. A little over a week since Tony D’Angelo became the new NXT Champion however, Yo Favorite Trappa Favorite Rappa is here after a brief delay.
Shawn Ferrari produces the intro “Her Her Her” trying to argue that no other female being able to fuck with her when Doechii or Little Simz automatically come to mind whereas “Richer Then Alla My Opps” hops over a Lil Yachty beat so she can talk about having more money than her haters. “David Ruffin” is where the tape really starts to fall apart & it has more to do with the lackluster instrumental than comparing herself to The Temptations’ late lead singer until “It Bitches” talks about her homegirls being far from lame.
“Top Motch” boisterously expresses her desire for a guy of high quality & bringing Shawn back behind the boards in the process while “Attached” brings a more menacing vibe to the beat thanks to Maaly Raw, conceptually detailing a dude who’s trying to get all up in her pants. “Bitch I’m Awesome” talks about nobody having the capability of fucking with her because she’s so gnarly while “Team Lil Booty” featuring Pluto finds both of them teaming up for an anthem dedicated to women who have flat asses.
Ending the 1st half, “Rackies” attempts to recreate the classic D4L single “Laffy Taffy” & awkwardly misses the landing although ATL Jacob’s instrumental is the best thing going for it while “Hood Bitch 2” much like the predecessor details her upbringings except I prefer the sequel in this scenario. “Cut Like Us” produced by Tay Keith introduces us to the Blood Sustaz in the most underwhelming fashion just before “Tatted Asf” makes up for it by talking about her love of tattoos.
“If You Want It” butchers a sample of “Paradise” by LL Cool J to discuss her having the ability of turning this guy’s life up because of her hoodrat lifestyle & after “Hang Wit a Bad Bitch” featuring Key Glock proved to be the stronger single of the 2 talking about Sexyy upping the score in light of all the baddies continuing to win, “All Da Hoes” hits us with another mediocre track advising not to trust her around any man & not going broke because her hoes got her back.
Less than 10 minutes to go, the song “Stick to the Code” aggressively talks about abiding by the code of the streets & having 0 time for any goofy shit while “NDA” humorously suggests that one would have to sign a non disclosure agreement prior to smashing her since she’s had players from both the NBA & the NFL tryna hit it. “YOP (U Wit a Star)” sends off the tape tolerably acknowledging the real trappers over a Metro Boomin’ & Zaytoven beat.
My thing with Sexyy Red is: You can dislike her music &/or her public image, but I still admire the fact that gamma. allows her & everyone else they’ve signed full ownership of her masters when you had Prince in court 3 decades earlier with “Slave” written on his cheek fighting Warner Records in court for his. However, anyone who was surprised as I was at myself enjoying In Sexyy We Trust a couple years ago will most likely be happier to hear me say that Your Favorite Trappa Favorite Rappa was significantly mediocre & I’d place the blame for that on the subpar guest list as well as the weaker production.
This is the 22nd studio LP from Long Beach, California emcee, songwriter, media personality, actor, entrepreneur, record executive & WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg. His 1993 debut Doggystyle produced his mentor Dr. Dre is widely regarded as a west coast essential, but his output since has been hit or miss whether it be Tha Last Meal & Tha Blue Carpet Treatment almost reaching the same caliber of his debut or Da Game is to be Sold, Not to be Told & Bible of Love falling flat on their faces. He purchased Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group days ahead of the Super Bowl LVI halftime performance hence why he’s been B.o.D.R. (Bacc on Death Row) since & partnered with gamma. for their ongoing distribution deal. Missionary drew mixed reception because of some delusional fans expecting it to be another Doggystyle, coming off Iz It a Crime? to drop 10 ‘Til Midnight.
“Step” produced by Swizz Beatz kicks things off on a funky note looking to shut down every party he pulls up to whereas “Lied 2 U” goes for a melodic vibe thanks to Pharrell throwing it back to the BUSH era prior to my high school graduation singing about an unfaithful man. “Slid Off” gets back on his gangsta shit for a self-produced lead single & after the “Daddy Rich” interlude, “Stop Counting My Poccets” works in a summery west coast instrumental from Nottz to talk about having $100M in his bank account.
As for “O.G. to B.G.”, we have Uncle Snoop giving the world some game over a g-funk beat leading into “Dogg Wattup Doe?” solely letting Peezy handle the verses to represent the 313 instrumentally fusing elements of cloud rap & jazz rap. “Leave That Dogg Alone” gets the 2nd half going carrying over the cloudiness talking about peasants trying to knock down King Kong while “Pop My Shit” featuring Trinidad Jame$ teams up for a decent gangsta rap joint with a trunk-knocking Young Fyre beat.
“17 Rules” brings back the feel good atmosphere talking about a homie who done lost his mind while “Bread Under the Bed” jumps over a Rick Rock instrumental to tell us where he keeps his money. “No Ticcet Needed” smoothens things out courtesy of both Soopafly & Erick Sermon looking to have a good time but once “Long Beachin’” shouts out the city that made Snoop who he is, “Q.T.S.A.M.Y.A.H.” featuring October London soulfully ends with both of them clarifying that you gotta earn respect & the crown if anyone wants either of them.
There are a couple singles teased for 10 ‘Til Midnight that didn’t make the final version of it & I wanted to still go over them because I thought they were worth mentioning. “High Life” featuring Tha Twinz & Young Sagg was my favorite of the 2 although I would’ve liked it a lot more minus Young Sagg’s verse, continuing to put it down for the LBC decades later. “Heart in Need of a Hug”on the contrary has potential to become amongst the worst songs dude has ever made, which is more embarrassing of an R&B attempt than “Lied 2 U”.
B.o.D.R. (Bacc on Death Row) & Iz it a Crime? both reminded us that Snoop Dogg doesn’t need new tricks on songs breathing new life into vintage g-funk grooves so if you enjoyed those albums like I did, you’re kinda already know what you’re getting yourself into with 10 ‘Til Midnight. It’s admirably shorter than its predecessor last spring & there’s more consistency within the production than his last one, although hearing him over different sounds from beatsmiths he hasn’t worked with yet would be refreshing.
Chicago, Illinois rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, fashion designer & former G.O.O.D. Music founder Ye formerly known as Kanye West finishing his long-delayed 12th studio LP. Someone who I personally have considered a top 10 producer of all-time up until this point with 3 perfect 10s in his discography: The College Dropout, Late Registration & My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. He sadly lost touch with reality in 2025 for a 4-month manic episode amplifying the hate speech he’s been spewing since late 2022, for which he claims to be deeply mortified & has deep regret over. However, the final version of Bully is among us now that YZY SND signed a distribution deal with gamma. & removing all the YeI vocals that plagued the unfinished version of it around this time 12 months earlier.
The self-produced “King” samples “Reach for a Star” by Duke Edwards thanking Martin Luther King Jr. for him marrying Bianca Censori whereas “This a Must” goes for an industrial hip hop vibe talking about him coming for the glory during the Graduation era & the 9 Vicious adlibs were unexpected. “Father” featuring Travis Scott with co-production from Che Pope flips “Heavenly Father, You’ve Been Good” by Johnnie Frierson speaking of waking up to new versions of themselves leading into “All the Love” singing about having nothing to worry of & having YZY’s Head of Music 88-Keys sample “Fayek Alaya” by Fairuz.
North West instrumentally takes it back to the College Dropout/Late Registration days on the chipmunk soul-inspired “Punch Drunk” rapping about him having to lead to read between the lines just before “Whatever Works” flips “Don’t Wonder Why” by Cissy Houston referencing WWE Hall of Famer Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Mama’s Favorite” heavily builds itself around Ty$’s background vocals thanks to YZY SND in-house producer 1SRAEL of Working on Dying remembering his late mother Donda while “Sisters & Brothers” survives the infamous In a Perfect World sessions chopping up both “Get Involved” by Jonah Thompson & “My Loleatta (Dish Apella)” by Ellis D to discuss his antihero status.
The title track ends the 1st half sampling “Mujhe Maar Daalo” by Ashle Bhostle courtesy of The Legendary Traxster addressing all the controversy he got himself into between February & May of last year while “Highs & Lows” wasn’t as strong as the original version due to the sample not being cleared in time. “I Can’t Wait” flips “You Can’t Hurry Love” by The Supremes talking about figuring the system out & being consecutive at shutting shit down while “White Lines” samples Stevie Wonder’s cover of “They Long to Be (Close to You)” by The Carpenters admitting he belongs by himself sometimes.
“Circles” might be the only track on the album that I don’t care for & it has nothing to do with Don Toliver handling all of the vocal performances, but rather the way “Huit Octobre 1971” by Cortex is being sampled. Makes me wanna listen to one of my favorite Madvillain songs “1 Beer” instead. “Preacher Man” has to be a top 5 on the whole thing flipping “To You with Love” by The Moments talking about the plot twist being convenient when there isn’t any lies told there while the downtempo “Beauty & the Beast” was originally conceived during the Donda sessions according to Mike Dean, sampling “Don’t Have to Shop Around” by The Mad Lads singing about overcoming a few things when I’d say it’s more than a few.
The song “Damn” has a significantly minimal approach to the beat pondering whether Ye ruined things or if it’s because this is the way he is while “Last Breath” featuring Peso Pluma comes together over a sample of “Bésame Mama” by Poncho Sanchez, going full Latin to tackle the concept of toxic relationships. That said: It’s another cut on here I’d do without. “This One Here” ends the album with a reworked version of a leftover from him & James Blake’s cancelled collaborative effort War looking back at all the hot water he got himself into since 2022, clarifying with confidence that he’s healed & moved on from it all in addition to killing his ego when the argument can be made that we haven’t seen Ye’s ego in it’s final form yet.
Hype Williams’ visuals as a fan of the ブシロード-owned 新日本プロレス deserve to mentioned, adding onto his recent attendances at events put on by the サイバーファイト-owned division プロレスリング・ノア & DDTプロレスリング’s sister promotion 東京女子プロレス (TJPW). Appearances in the video include former 2-time NEVER無差別級6人タッグチャンピオン & 6-time IWGPジュニアタッグチャンピオン ヨウ, former 3-time IWGPタッグチャンピオン, 7-time NEVER無差別級6人タッグチャンピオン & GHCタッグチャンピオン 矢野 通, AJPW世界ジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion, 6-time IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, 2-time IWGPジュニアタッグチャンピオン & 2-time GHCジュニアヘビー級タッグチャンピオン タイガーマスクIV and former 5-time IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, CMLL Arena Coliseo Parejas Campeon, 4-time IWGPジュニアタッグチャンピオン, NEVER無差別級6人タッグチャンピオン & GHCジュニアヘビー級タッグチャンピオン エル・デスペラード.
You’ll always have that group of people who say they won’t forgive Ye or listen to his music ever again after everything he said & did the year earlier, which is absolutely more than understandable & I can’t place blame on anyone for feeling that way because of morally obvious reasons. Nevertheless: If he’s truly committed to taking accountability or receive treatment to break a destructive cycle he’s based nearly his entire career off of, then Bully’s a start because merely calling it superior to the Vultures series would be a ginormous understatement. The production’s heavily reliant on the use of samples bouncing between the styles of neo-soul, experimental hip hop, drumless, chipmunk soul, alternative R&B, art pop, industrial hip hop & urban contemporary gospel revitalizing his passion now that he’s no longer under the reign of a major label.
This is the 7th EP from South Bend, Indiana singer/songwriter & producer October London. starting out in 2013 off his debut EP The Introduction & both installments of the Color Blind series, he eventually caught the attention of Long Beach icon & WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg by signing to Doggystyle Records for his 4th EP Please Leave a Message before moving over to Death Row Records not too long after Snoop bought the label he started out at. October has since released his first 2 albums & a couple more EPs through the revived west coast powerhouse with Crypto Winter, Technicolor, The Rebirth of Marvin & The Greatest Gift. His last LP October Nights refined his soulful contemporary R&B style & has dropped off For You, My Love to begin the final month of 2025.
“Christmas Gift” starts by singing over a drumless self-produced instrumental eager to kiss the love his life by the tree & after “Naughty List” works in some jazzy pianos wanting this chick to put him on her list, “Rudolph Guide Me Home” sings for the Red Nosed Reindeer to lead him back to the crib so he can see his woman. “Where You’ll Go for Christmas” hopes she winds up in his arms this holiday season. “Happy Holidays My Love” pulls from jazz music a bit singing that he was his lover for Christmas & “Frisky on Christmas” finishes with a 3 minute holiday experience.
I’ve already made it clear a couple times in the past by now that Christmas projects generally tend to be hit or miss for me, but I didn’t mind what October London was going for throughout For You, My Love because it’s a slight improvement over The Greatest Gift roughly 25 weeks ago. I commend him for penning the whole thing by himself & focusing more as a producer than he did on October Nights, celebrating the most wonderful time of the year better than he has previously.
Mariah Carey is a 56 year old singer/songwriter, entrepreneur, producer, actress & the Queen of Christmas from Huntington, New York notable for her eponymous debut, Daydream, her penultimate Columbia Records album Butterfly, the soundtrack to Glitter under Virgin Music, The Emancipation of Mimi improving over her Island Records debut Charmbraclet, her only Def Jam Recordings opus Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse & her previous full-length Cautions through Epic Records. Only 3 months away from the holiday season, she’s signing to gamma. for her 16th studio LP.
“Mi” takes on a modern hip hop soul sound singing about self-care & once the self-produced “Play This Song” featuring Anderson .Paak throws it back to the 70s advising to put this very track on for your own sake, “Type Dangerous” featuring Big Sean alongside Busta Rhymes and Method Man & Redman on the remix seeks excitement out of a relationship with Tobe Nwigwe sampling “Eric B.’s President” by Eric B. & Rakim.
Kehlani & Shenseea both join Mariah on the contemporary R&B/pop single “Sugar Sweet” singing that all 3 of them will keep everything nice & neat just before “In Your Feelings” produced by Rogét Chahayed recollects a story of something she’s been through. “Nothing’s Impossible” topically addresses her own resilience over a piano instrumental leading into “Confetti & Champagne” singing about somebody that you’re not with anymore.
“I Won’t Allow It” locks in with Breezy Lovejoy for a refusal to entertain one’s narcissistic behavior while “My Love” serves as a moderate cover to her favorite Wings song off the band’s sophomore effort Red Rose Speedway. “Jesus I Do” featuring The Clark Sisters sticks out to me embracing a gospel heavy sound & the title track finishes by thanking God she’s lived to see physical embodiment of love.
Fully capitalizing on the soul-searching Mariah Carey has done since Caution, her independent debut finds the Songbird Supreme taking the emotional depths of her memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey to a newer level almost half a decade later. The contemporary R&B & pop production celebrates every era of her’s further pulling from hip hop, disco, gospel, smooth soul & adult contemporary in light of her losing her mother & sister as opposed to the predecessor heavily revolving around a concept of relationships.
Oakland, California singer/songwriter Jane Handcock releasing a sophomore effort after teasing it with a few singles. A member of MacArthur Maze, she introduced herself in the beginning of 2016 off her debut EP Truth Be Told followed by Where’s Jane? as well as Where’s Jane 1.5 & Summer Type Flow. Making her way onto the radar of WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg through Fa Real, she joined Death Row Records now distributed by gamma. for her debut album W.o.W. (World of Women) & is returning almost 2 years since Blvck Saturday with It’s Not Me, It’s You.
After the intro, the first song “Use Me” opens with a boom bap/neo soul crossover produced by Soopafly feeling like she has a genuine connection with this man instead of gold digging whereas “Sorry” swaps out the boom bap elements to throw a hint of rock in the picture apologizing for saying shit she didn’t mean. “Same Ol’ Love” colorfully sings about needing her lover from beginning to end while “You” featuring BJ the Chicago Kid gets together for a jazzy & soulful duet glad to be surrounding each other.
“For the Views” goes for a tenser direction in terms of sound singing about seeing truth & lies just before the funky “Stare at Me” featuring Anderson .Paak finds the pair taking it uptown & running it back downtown. “Stingy” smoothly asks for her lover to save all his love for her wanting him all to herself leading into “Can’t Let Go” after an interlude slickly add singing about being unable to get this man off her mind.
As for “Niraj”, we have Jane over some guitars from Charlie Bereal suggesting that this heartbreaker she knows plausibly needing love while “Smile” serves as a 90 second ode to happiness. “Good ta Me” puts her versatility on the forefront rapping & singing about her desires to give this man everything he wants over a Hit-Boy beat, but then “That’s All I Need” talks about only requiring love over a guitar & finger snaps. “Blowing Wind Around” closes the LP by favoring of rising in love rather than falling in it.
Jane uses It’s Not Me, It’s You as an opportunity to look at herself in all attributes to get the good, bad & ugly parts of her story out there in addition to strengthening Tha Row’s revived R&B division. Unlike the recent October London album October Nights basing itself around soul & contemporary R&B or Charlie Bereal’s debut for the label Walk with the Father throwing it back to the days of 70s smooth soul, MacArthur Maze’s biggest member diversifies from them shifting towards neo-soul mostly.
Here we have the 21st studio LP from Long Beach emcee, songwriter, media personality, actor, entrepreneur, record executive & WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg. His 1993 debut Doggystyle produced his mentor Dr. Dre is widely regarded as a west coast essential, but his output since has been hit or miss whether it be Tha Last Meal & Tha Blue Carpet Treatment almost reaching the same caliber of his debut or Da Game is to be Sold, Not to be Told & Bible of Love falling flat on their faces. He purchased Death Row Records from MNRK Music Group days ahead of the Super Bowl LVI halftime performance hence why he’s B.o.D.R. (Bacc on Death Row) since. Missionary last winter drew mixed reception because of some delusional fans expecting it to be another Doggystyle, coming off the Altar Call compilation to ask Iz It a Crime? fresh off gamma. signing a distribution deal with Tha Row.
After the intro, the title track featuring October London on the hook samples “Is It a Crime?” by Sade asking how many out there are still living by the code whereas “Joy” crosses over soul & boom bap to talk about it being that time for him to fuck up the streets making a feast out of the crumbs he was given. “Unsung Heroes” works in some cool organ melodies responding to people criticizing him for his half hour DJ Snoopadelic set at the Crypto Ball in January when even I myself found that odd due to the video he shared on Instagram in 2017, but then “Sophisticated Crippin’” sampling Marvin Gaye courtesy of DJ Battlecat talking about his 3+ decade legacy.
“Can’t Wait” featuring LaRussell finds the pair linking up so they can get shit poppin’ together over a g-funk instrumental from Nottz just before “Can’t Get Enough” featuring Jane Handcock cooks up a smooth R&B & west coast hip hop duet portraying 2 lovers who’re quite obsessed with being in each other’s company. “Keep It Moving” brings the g-funk vibes back in the fold thanks to Rick Rock talking about never stop pushin’ leading into “Just the Way It Iz” featuring Wiz Khalifa teaming up on top of a moody Soopafly beat to not change shit in their lives.
Akeem Ali easily delivers the worst feature on the entire album during “You Want My All” kinda sounding like a Lil Wayne knockoff when I’m sure Uncle Snoop could’ve easily got Weezy himself on there if he wanted to while Charlie Bereal takes a shot at g-funk behind the boards on “What’s Hattnin’?” giving a shoutout to everyone who’s been with Tha Doggfather from the very jump. “Spot” reunites with Pharrell for a pop rap joint reminiscent of “Beautiful”or “Perfect” with a modern twist & “ShutYoBitchAssUp” disses Suge Knight.
“Cold Summer” switches it up with a synth-pop cut & the vocal performances predominantly sung by it’s own producer mR. pOrTeR formerly of D12 while “Snoop Will Make You Dance” returns to a g-funk direction for a good old fashioned west coast party anthem. “Life’s Journey” feels like a bit of a response to his daughter Chocc fresh off dropping her debut EP Journals to Johnny last winter & becoming a mother a few months ago while “Me N O.G. Snoop” featuring Sexyy Red still remaining one of the most polarizing, controversial & popular artists in hip hop today talks about their ties to the Crips & the Bloods respectively.
Getting the final leg of Iz It a Crime? started, “Let Me Love You” heads for a bit of a delicate boom bap approach instrumentally for a tribute to his wife of almost 3 decades Shante Taylor while “West Up” slides through with a g-funk love letter to the west coast asking why the fuck should he retire when the west justifiably dominated the previous year. “My Friend” featuring mR. pOrTeR unites both of them for a passionate remembrance of Snoop’s cousin Darryl Daniel passing away 10 months ago & “Live Life” ends by talking about his only advice being to love yourself getting what’s yours.
Uncle Snoop here’s trying to understand if it’s a felony for him to do the things he’s done, to take care of people, to love them & to be there for them due some of the things that he’s done & becoming speculation. My response to those questions is absolutely not, although many including myself found it hypocritical for him to post said IG video 8 years ago with the “Lavender 2” music video literally months later only to do that Crypto Ball DJ set. Iz It a Crime? top to bottom however feels reminiscent of B.o.D.R. (Bacc on Death Row) due to the way both albums feel heavily inspired by the older days in career from gangsta rap to boom bap, g-funk & pop rap.
Death Row Records is the infamous west coast hip hop record label based in Beverly Hills, California founded by Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, The D.O.C., Dick Griffey & Harry-O. A dominant force in the sunshine state during the early & mid 90s, the label began to decline due to Dre departing for starting up Aftermath Entertainment in addition to Master P fresh off his AEW Dynamite appearance during The Opps’ celebration as the new AEW World Trios Champions this past week signing WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg to No Limit Records & of course 2Pac’s murder currently investigating to see if disgraced Bad Boy Entertainment founder Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy was involved in ahead of his upcoming sex trafficking trial. Snoop would buy Tha Row from MNRK Music Group the week of his Super Bowl LVI halftime show performance & has cleaned the label up by reviving it from the gamma. distribution deal to signing O.G.s like Tha Dogg Pound & Danny Boy or newcomers such as Merkules & D Smoke. Commemorating what would’ve been Snoop’s mother Beverly Tate’s 74th birthday, Death Row is releasing their 10th compilation album as a sequel to the RCA Records-backed Bible of Love.
“Mother I Miss You” by John P. Kee is this self-produced gospel intro dedicated to Snoop’s late mother whereas “No Backsliding” by Michael Bereal continues the Sunday Service thanks to his brother Charlie behind the boards singing about being too blessed to be stressed. “You Can Win” by Flintstone & Lisa Santa Cruz brings the duo together over a DJ Green Lantern instrumental promising victory if you keep your hands to the sky while “Redeemed” by Jane Handcock & Kanobby finds them achieving redemption over a Soopafly beat.
Curt Chambers makes his plea to God over some churchy choir vocals & organs for “Ready, Willing, Able” declaring his willingness to depend on the higher power just before “Been to Good to Me” by Flintstone sings about how great the Lord has been to them over a slow Mike & Keys instrumental. “Won’t He Do It” by Jazze Pha blends gospel & trap talking about putting God above everything always leading into “Grandma’s Hands” by Jamie Foxx acoustically remembers his grandmother.
“Help Me Jesus” introduces The Death Row Choir calling for the Son of Christ himself to help them during the hard times they’re going through while “Just Believe” by Jane Handcock mixes some organs & synthesizers singing about one having a lot on their mind with difficulty trying to find happiness. “Grace & Mercy” by Charlie Bereal gives off the Curtis Mayfield flare he’s known for asking for those 2 things respectively, but then “Like I Know God” by October London sings over pianos about not knowing God the way he does.
Uncle Snoop himself joins Charlie & Reo Varnardo whose daughter is the current AEW tbs Champion, 新日本プロレス STRONG女子チャンピオン & RPW British Women’s Champion Mercedes Moné on the gospel rap hybrid “Brand New” feeling reborn while “Call His Name” by Camille Grisby encourages to call for God & Jesus’ names whenever you’re lonely. “A Still Mind” by mR. pOrTeR formerly of D12 with Robert Glasper on piano confidently declares he’s got his feet set on the ground while “Never Failed Me Yet” by Mali Music sings about God never failing them.
“Yes” by Laura Wilson Johnson passionately gives in to the ways & will of the higher power while “Good Day” by Lil ½ Dead has a funkier soul approach keeping their peace of mind when it’s all said & done. “Done” by Charlie Bereal & Mali Music acoustically admits they don’t know what to do without God while “He is God” by Michael Bereal sings about healing when wounded. “Make Time” by Flintstone ends by smoothly asking if time can be made for.
My expectations for Altar Call were pretty low since Bible of Love wasn’t that good at all in my respectful opinion & the sequel surprisingly reflects on Beverly teaching Snoop to use his voice & his platform to spread love & heal the world similarly to his 2013 pop reggae album Reincarnated produced by Major Lazer back when I was a sophomore in high school. Some interesting names pop up during the production credits & the list of performers are stronger than they were 7 years ago.
Legends Will Never Die 