Tag: Goliath Records

NEMS – “America’s Sweetheart” review

Brooklyn, New York emcee NEMS celebrating Valentine’s Day by putting together his 5th studio LP. Coming up in the battle rap circuit, he would go on to have a brief stint with Psycho+Logical-Records in the late 2000’s before dropping the debut Prezident’s Day under Creative Juices Music back in 2010. This was followed up almost 9 years later when he & JAZZSOON teamed up for the damn near flawless Gorilla Monsoon, but the follow-up Congo received more mixed results despite it’s highlights like “Wow” & “Cousins”. Paul Rosenberg signed the Mayor of Coney Island to Goliath Records & Virgin Music in the summer of 2023 for his Scram Jones-produced Goliath debut Rise of the Silverback which I liked more than Congo, building further anticipation ahead of America’s Sweetheart.

Following the “America’s Intro”, the first song “Go Fat Boy” produced by Cartune Beatz was a fun hardcore hip hop & boom bap lead single warning that your face will get cut quickly if you talk shit to him whereas “CTE” keeps it in the basement courtesy of Vinny Idol to get on his battle rap shit lyrically. “My Side” featuring Millyz finds the 2 dabbling with trap a bit stealing your bitch while “2 Live & Die in NY” featuring Leeky Bandz maintains a trap vibe thanks to Statik Selektah talking about his home state.

“Gunther” not to be confused with the current World Heavyweight Champion, the longest reigning WWE Intercontinental Champion & former PWG World Champion whose Imperium tag partner in former 2-time NXT Tag Team Champion Ludwig Kaiser is dating the current WWE Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton returns to the boom bap airing out his grievances towards a woman who holds genuine hatred towards him just before the 2-parter “Coney Island” represents the part of Brooklyn that made him who he is today. “Light the Room” hooks up some organs maintaining a dusty edge once again belittling everyone who wants to step up to him, but then “God’s Hands” shows an inspirational side to the Fuck Ya Lyfe general talking about everything being God’s plans & not yours.

Tony Touch joins NEMS on the horn-infused “Afuera” aggressively making it clear that absolutely no one wants smoke with either of them while “Amouna” talks about trying to get right & everything in him died. “Big Shot” brings a trap flare back to the table flexing his newfound popularity in recent years & “Viral” featuring Dios Moreno ends America’s Sweetheart promising to keep winning whether others like it or not.

After the “America’s Reintroduction” skit, “Son Shines” starts the deluxe run with a Shortfyuz instrumental talking about the rain clearing up whenever he steps out during a rainy day while “Zoo” reminds everyone where he comes from over more horns. “Count It Out” talks about it taking a while for him to get his foot through the door over a Ron Browz beat & the final bonus track “Go Realer” dustily suggests you do your research.

A year & a half after signing to a major label, the Mayor of Coney Island reinforces his status by cooking up an album that showcases his gritty lyricism & charismatic storytelling paired with his signature humor & wit even if I think the production on the predecessor was more consistent. The same can be said about the guests even though I can appreciate him bringing on a lesser amount than he did last time.

Score: 3.5/5

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NEMS – “Rise of the Silverback” review

This is the 4th full-length album from New York emcee NEMS. Coming up in the battle rap circuit, he would go on to have a brief stint with Psycho+Logical-Records in the late 2000’s before dropping the debut Prezident’s Day under Creative Juices Music back in 2010. This was followed up almost 9 years later when he & JAZZSOON teamed up for the damn near flawless Gorilla Monsoon, but the follow-up Congo received more mixed results despite it’s highlights like “Wow” & “Cousins”. But after signing a joint deal with Paul Rosenberg’s very own Goliath Records alongside distribution from Virgin Music earlier this summer, NEMS is returning to have Scram Jones fully produce Rise of the Silverback.

After the “Ascenscion” intro, the first song “Pussy” is a gully boom bap opener directed at all the bitch boys out there whereas the title track featuring Sheek Louch works in some Godzilla-esque horns as well as these kicks & snares talking about putting bullets in your mouth. “Drip” goes for a more cavernously shrilling boom bap route boasting how he got exactly that just before “Blicky” shifts gears into orchestral-trap turf paying ode to the heat.

“Demon” featuring Gunplay has a more chaotic loop with some hi-hats talking about not giving a fuck & quite possibly the most repetitive hook on the LP, but then “Don’t Ever Disrespect Me” featuring Ghostface Killah finds the 2 returning to the boom bap cautioning to never go against them. “Keep On” blends some pianos, kicks & snares looking to always move forward no matter what by telling his story leading into “Hold That” turning back into trap territory getting raunchy lyrically. Probably the weakest track on the entire album in my opinion with all respect to the Fuck Ya Lyfe General.

To begin the last leg of the album, “Gorilla on Your Back” weaves a boom bap instrumental with a gospel choir sample into the fold calling out your dreams being gone because you kept chasing dragons while “No Face” featuring Fat Joe keeps the organs, kicks & snares in tact talking about keeping it litty. The penultimate track “Dirt” featuring Peedi Crakk sees the pair hop on top of a flute-tinged trap beat declaring to be dirty dickheads & NEMS ties everything up aptly by firing “Missiles” over an eerie boom bap instrumental.

Considering NEMS’ popularity on TikTok almost reaching 1M followers on top of Eminem’s manager giving him a record deal & having Scram Jones produce his major label debut, my expectations into it were EXTREMELY high. Lo & behold: Rise of the Silverback is up there with Gorilla Monsoon for his finest body of work to day. Scram’s production balances boom bap & trap in a way I felt Congo lacked, the feature performances are more consistent & the Coney Island emcee doesn’t miss a step with the pen.

Score: 4.5/5

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