Novatore – “Embrace the Darkness III” review

Chicago, Illinois emcee Novatore celebrating Halloween early with his 14th studio LP. Emerging as a member of the Infamous Crew, he’s also built up an impressive solo career over nearly a decade by dropping 4 EPs & an acclaimed collaborative effort with A.M. Early Morning produced by Stu Bangas called Kingdom of Criminality & it’s recent sequel produced by Johnny Slash. Other highlights include Louie, Louie II, Embrace the Darkness, Portrait of a Madman, Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience, Master of Morbid Creations, Living in the End Times, Alchemy & Black Magic, his Goon MuSick debut The 87 Arsonist & the Brenx-produced Agoraphobia. Only halfway through the month, he’s looking to outsource both of his previous discography entries under Goon MuSick with Embrace the Darkness III.

After the “Possession” intro, the first song “Apostrophes” opens with a boom bap instrumental from none other than C-Lance talking about his demons wanting full control the way he constantly acts whereas “Last Chapter” featuring Lord Goat finds the pair making sure their competition doesn’t have a career. “In the Scope” eerily talks about staying underground forever & once “Murder for Hire” featuring Apathy spends a few minutes quenching for blood, we’re treated to a compositional “War Plans on Signal” intermission.

“Mannequins” brings some chilling pianos into the fold starting the 2nd half bodybagging those who want to battle him while “Moving Keys” featuring Chubs & K-Prez turns peons into vegetables. The sampling on “Deafening Silence” feels reminiscent of Jedi Mind Tricks giving shoutouts to those showing love & after “No Masters” featuring 2 Feathers talks about not being afraid to fight, “Dark Empire” featuring DreamTek ends with them giving their 2 cents regarding the current political climate.

During the COVID-19 pandemic at the beginning of this decade, the original Embrace the Darkness like both Louies marked a huge improvement from Novatore’s earlier material & the sequel 13 months afterwards further propelled himself artistically. Fast forward to present day only a couple weeks away from Halloween, he & C-Lance return to the darker vibes of both it’s predecessors surpassing The 87 Arsonist & Agoraphobia to become his finest work since signing to Goon MuSick.

Score: 4.5/5

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A.M. Early Morning & Novatore – “Kingdom of Criminality II” review

This is the 2nd collaborative album between Chicago, Illinois emcees A.M. Early Morning & Novatore. Both of whom have been turning heads in the underground for a several years now, but didn’t actually connect with each other until “Looking Back” off the latter’s Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience produced by C-Lance. They teamed up on Kingdom of Criminality produced by Stu Bangas in 2021 & are back 4 years later with Johnny Slash producing the sequel.

“Rabbit & Elephant” opens Kingdom of Criminality II with a hardcore rap rock intro with some solemnly jazzy horns talking about their return as a duo whereas “VHS” takes the boom bap route instrumentally cautioning the apocalyptic vibes when the pistols come out. “Gore Hounds” makes a dope reference to the Prince of hip hop André 3000 making New Blue Sun a flute-heavy solo debut while “Circle of Goats II” featuring Lord Goat turns up the horrorcore influences all the way for a sequel to a standout on the predecessor.

Jarren Benton joins A.M. & Novatore on “Battleground” fuses orchestral & boom bap individually discussing the violent nature of all 3 of themselves & after “Hyenas” hooks up a soul sample likening themselves to assassins ready to take you out with snipers, “Twisted Metal” homages the video game franchise TV adaption with it’s upcoming 2nd season on the Comcast Corporation subsidiary NBCUniversal-owned peacock with the franchise’s mascot being played by Samoa Joe of the current AEW World Trios Champions The Opps.

“King of the Jungle” featuring Chubs angrily expresses the struggle each of them had to endure in their lives to get in the positions they’re at now while “Smurfs” obviously sounds grittier & cutthroat than the Paramount Skydance Corporation’s upcoming reboot of the franchise starring Rihanna later this summer. “Nocturnal Predators” finishes up the LP with the pair describing themselves as being those who come out during the night to attack their prey.

Looking back when I first got into these dudes individually around the same time period, Kingdom of Criminality II lives up to the expectations. I had set out for it in terms of being another great underground hip hop collab effort. It’s refreshing to hear their chemistry still flowing tightly as it did 4 years previously & Johnny Slash’s production style seamlessly compliments Stu Bangas’ on the predecessor when we had originally entered the Kingdom of Criminality.

Score: 4.5/5

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Lords of the Underground – “So Legendary” review

The Lords of the Underground are a trio from Newark, New Jersey consisting of DoItAll, Mr. Funke & DJ Lord Jazz. The group’s Elektra Records-backed debut Here Come the Lords produced by Marley Marl & K-Def would become an east coast essential, with Keepers of the Funk also being positively received. Resurrection was treated to more mixed reception & their previous full-length 18 years ago House of Lords is regarded as their weakest, enlisting the Snowgoons to produce their 5th studio LP after 5 years in the making.

“Circle of Life” is a boom bap opener with a piano sample discussing the series of biological changes an organism undergoes from fertilization to death whereas “Cook ‘Em” maintains a hardcore vibe dismantling their opposition. “Every Man” ruggedly talks about their bars elevating y’all & everyone needing to learn how to navigate, but then “Another Zone” rawly finds them getting back in a lane unlike any other.

As for “Keep on Rockin’”, we have the Lords encouraging everyone to never give up over another boom bap instrumental while “Out of Body” embarks us a rugged OBE roughly lasting a good 2 & a half minutes. “Absolution” works in these organs telling everyone that only they can save themselves leading into the piano-driven “U Can Get It” talks about being everything you’re not.

“Insomniac” was the very 1st single to come out when So Legendary was initially announced at the very beginning of the decade crossing over boom bap & a hint of rap rock reminding everyone that they know exactly where the trio can be found while “What’s Up?” featuring Onyx rounds out their comeback effort to turn the aggression up 1 last time.

This past year or 2 has seen several of established O.G.s in the game returning after so many years of inactivity when it comes to putting out music & even if So Legendary marks the Lords of the Underground’s best album in over 3 decades, it still makes me happy to see these veterans redeeming themselves & adding to their longevities. The Snowgoons’ production is a lot more well-crafted than both of the Lords’ predecessors & the group themselves really took their time to making it the best return as possible.

Score: 4.5/5

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King Syze, Planetary & Reef the Lost Cauze – “Murderers’ Row” review

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania emcees King Syze, Planetary & Reef the Lost Cauze coming together for a brand new collaborative EP produced by the Snowgoons. All 3 of whom are members of the Army of the Pharaohs collective, with Planetary making up the duo OuterSpace alongside King Syze’s brother Crypt the Warchilda year prior to AotP’s formation. Reef on the other hand did a stellar collab EP with King Syze a decade ago called Year of the Hyenas & are getting back together on Murderers’ Row with Planetary by their side.

After the titular intro, the first song “Yard Rec” is this boom bap opener talking about everyone listening up in case they don’t know by know whereas “Royal Family” featuring Planetary’s children ELEMXNT joined by Kxng Charisma & Trxstworthy serves as the only track without Reef the Lost Cauze talking about liking scary things. “The Most Imperial” grimily lets everyone know the type of people they stay rollin’ with just before “Heat Wave” talks there being too many lames.

“Death Penalty” gets the other half of the EP going by working in this piano-driven boom bap instrumental warning everyone that last year was their last year while “187” find a trio of setting out to make murdering an artform. The closing track “Something Outta Nothing” officially rounds out Murderers’ Row by mobbin’, stealin’, grindin’ & hustlin’ in order for them to achieve the goal they’re going for.

Year of the Hyenas holds a very special place in my heart since it came out in the winter of 2014 during my senior year of high school & I played it heavily then since it was one of the most stressful time periods of my life, but Murderers’ Row recaptures the energy of that previous collab EP & adds Reef the Lost Cauze into the equation excellently. The Snowgoons’ signature boom bap production combined with the performances from each AotP member make for an exciting hardcore hip hop experience.

Score: 4.5/5

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Novatore – “Agoraphobia” review

This is the 13th studio LP from Chicago emcee Novatore & his Goon MuSick sophomore effort. Emerging as a member of the Infamous Crew, he’s also built up an impressive solo career over nearly a decade by dropping 4 EPs & an acclaimed collaborative effort with A.M. Early Morning produced by Stu Bangas called Kingdom of Criminality on top of all the previous LPs that he’s dropped along the way. Other highlights include Louie, Louie II, Embrace the Darkness, Portrait of a Madman, Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience, Master of Morbid Creations & Living in the End Times, Alchemy & Black Magic & following up his Goon MuSick debut The 87 Arsonist by discussing a Brenx-produced Agoraphobia.

After the intro, the first song “No Restraint” featuring Lord Goat is this boom bap opener with both of them showing off their top notch lyricism whereas “Blood Pies” delivers further down a morbid atmosphere talking about murdering those who can’t compete. After the “Voicemail” skit, the title track featuring Termanology works in more kicks & snares pleading to be taken out the house prior “Knives” featuring Jak Tripper bringing it hardcore for 2 & a half minutes.

“Piano Man” hops over a piano-driven boom bap beat hence the title admitting that he barely leaves the house likening himself to that of a black widow while “Blacksmith” featuring King Magnetic & Recognize Ali finds the trio aggressively boasting that their pens are sharper than ever before. The grisly “Water Shadows” laughs off anyone who comes at them without any skill & finally, “Killer Instinct” ends Agoraphobia by angrily talking about his murderous tendencies.

Loosely basing it’s concept around the fear of leaving one’s home, Novatore’s follow-up to The 87 Arsonist remembers the late Cast Gawd after he was killed in the middle of a shootout with the Arizona police department last spring by giving the underground another reason as to why he fits in so well on the Goon MuSick roster. Brenx’ production here is on par with its predecessor rooted in the traditional boom bap sound, I like that he got lesser guests & even the cohesiveness in general.

Score: 4/5

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Novatore – “The 87 Arsonist” review

Chicago, Illinois emcee Novatore is back with the 12th solo LP in his catalog. Emerging as a member of the Infamous Crew, he’s also built up an impressive solo career over nearly a decade by dropping 4 EPs & an acclaimed collaborative effort with A.M. Early Morning produced by Stu Bangas called Kingdom of Criminality on top of all the previous LPs that he’s dropped along the way. Other highlights include Louie, Louie II, Embrace the Darkness, Portrait of a Madman, Embrace the Darkness II: Explorers of Experience, Master of Morbid Creations & Living in the End Times. He just put out Alchemy & Black Magic last summer & is returning to make his Goon MuSick debut as The 87 Arsonist.

After the “Ronald Bartel” intro, the first song “Flammable Material” is a grimy boom bap opener produced by C-Lance talking about feeling like he’s showing off every single time he’s writing whereas “Backdraft” featuring Lord Goat finds the 2 over a coldblooded instrumental with kicks & snares as they look to burn everyone lyrically. “Point of Origin: The Biography of John Leonard Orr” portrays the life of the titular serial arsonist & mass murder on his 75th birthday coincidentally with the help of Stu Bangas, but then “Pyromaniacs” featuring Celph Titled hops on top of a piano/boom bap crossover talking about their names raising to the top.

“All Consuming” featuring Daniel Son finds the 2 on their battle shit over some more keys, kicks & snares from Johnny Slash just before “Burning Monk” featuring Moecyrus begins with some jazzy horns & a vocal sample talking about feeling like a monk lighting himself on fire tackling the theme of self-destruction. The song “Waking Up to the Fire” is an operatic boom bap cut about his rhymes being conceived in his sleep leading into “Incendiary Device” featuring A.M. Early Morning recapturing the magic of their collab effort from a couple years ago. “Sent from Hell” featuring Benny Holiday ends on an atmospherically dusty note thanks to the Snowgoons burning hoes naked.

It’s been amazing to watch this guy gradually getting better over the last 3 years & his Goon MuSick debut here as I expected stands as yet another fiery entry in Novatore’s discography. The traditional boom bap production dominant throughout his entire catalog continues to only get consistently stronger by each year, it has a one of the more consistent list of guest MCs that match his caliber of lyricism portraying himself as an arsonist for about 27 minutes.

Score: 4/5

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Sicknature – “Paintings of a Withering Forest” review | Sicknature – “Malerier af en visnende skov” anmeldelse

This is the 4th full-length solo album from Copenhagen, Denmark emcee & producer Sicknature. Coming up as a member of the revered German production team Snowgoons, he’s also been showcasing his talents on the mic for nearly 18 years starting with The Outbreak as well as Honey I’m Home & my personal favorite: Nature of the Contaminated. But with the 10-year anniversary of the latter approaching this fall & fully producing The Colossus of GOATs for Napoleon da Legend roughly 5 months ago, the Danish extraordinaire is looking to make a comeback why vividly portraying Paintings of a Withering Forest.

Dette er det 4. fuldlængde soloalbum fra København, Danmark emcee & producer Sicknature. Som medlem af det ærede tyske produktionshold Snowgoons, har han også vist sine talenter på mikrofonen i næsten 18 år, startende med The Outbreak samt Honey I’m Home & min personlige favorit: Nature of the Contaminated. Men med 10-års jubilæet for sidstnævnte nærmer sig dette efterår og fuldt ud producerede The Colossus of GOATs for Napoleon da Legend for cirka 5 måneder siden, søger den danske ekstraordinær at gøre comeback, hvorfor den levende portrætterer Paintings of a Withing Forest.

“A Few Good Paintings” is a piano boom bap opener to the album discussing leaving the past in the past whereas “Dynahmite Harry” works in some heavy kicks & snares talking about how explosive his shit be whether it be his lyrics or his production work. “Plastic Sun” acknowledges that the titular object won’t give you any vitamins with the instrumental kinda giving off a DJ Premier influence which isn’t a bad thing, but then “Street Dance Records” talks about needing more records over a horn-inflicted boom bap beat.

“A Few Good Paintings” er en pianoboom bap-åbner til albummet, der diskuterer at forlade fortiden i fortiden, hvorimod “Dynahmite Harry” arbejder i nogle tunge spark og snarer og taler om, hvor eksplosivt hans lort er, uanset om det er hans tekster eller hans produktionsarbejde . “Plastic Sun” anerkender, at titelobjektet ikke vil give dig nogen vitaminer, og det instrumentale afgiver en slags DJ Premier-påvirkning, hvilket ikke er en dårlig ting, men så taler “Street Dance Records” om, at der skal flere plader over et horn- påført boom bap beat.

On the other hand, “Little Mermaids” weaves some more keys with kicks & snares telling the story of a quiet girl in one of his classes that actually used to be a prom queen leading into “A Nonfiction Story” recalling the 1998 Roskilde festival keeping it in boom bap territory as far as sound goes. “Rewinding the Tape” has a more solemn tone to it sincerely apologizing for getting shit so fucked up just before “Road Walk” vulnerably talks about not looking back because he knows where’s been.

På den anden side væver “Little Mermaids” nogle flere nøgler med spark og snarer, der fortæller historien om en stille pige i en af hans klasser, der faktisk plejede at være en promdronning, der førte ind i “A Nonfiction Story”, der minder om Roskilde-festivalen i 1998. det i boom bap-territorium, hvad lyden angår. “Rewinding the Tape” har en mere højtidelig tone i sig, der oprigtigt undskylder for at blive lort så fucked lige før “Road Walk” sårbart taler om ikke at se sig tilbage, fordi han ved, hvor han har været.

The penultimate track “Lonely Den” brings back the pianos encouraging to come on over to the titular spot because they got better songs & finally to round out the album, we have Sicknature appropriately doing everything he can in his might to “Brush Off” any distractions & encouraging everyone else who may be listening to do the same with another Premier-inspired instrumental backing him.

Det næstsidste nummer “Lonely Den” bringer klavererne tilbage og opmuntrer til at komme videre til titelpladsen, fordi de fik bedre sange og endelig for at runde albummet af, har vi Sicknature på passende vis gjort alt, hvad han kan i sin magt for at “Brush Off” enhver distraktioner og opmuntring af alle andre, der måske lytter, til at gøre det samme med en anden Premier-inspireret instrumental, der støtter ham.

Nature of the Contaminated gives me a lot of high school junior year memories (particularly “Violent Rage” featuring the Heavy Metal Kings) so considering that it’s been nearly a decade since he went solo, I wasn’t sure if this day was ever gonna come & I’m glad it did. The concept of this one is more personal than what he’s done in the past as he puts a more melodic spin on the traditional boom bap sound we know & love.

Nature of the Contaminated giver mig en masse minder om gymnasiet (især “Violent Rage” med Heavy Metal Kings), så i betragtning af, at det er næsten et årti siden, han gik solo, var jeg ikke sikker på, om denne dag nogensinde ville komme til at ske. kom & jeg er glad for det gjorde. Konceptet med denne er mere personligt end hvad han har gjort tidligere, da han sætter et mere melodisk spin på den traditionelle boom bap-lyd, vi kender og elsker.

Score: 3.5/5

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Planet Asia – “U.Z.I. (Universal Zeitgeist Intelligence)” review

Planet Asia is a 46 year old MC from Fresno, California who came up as 1/2 the duo Cali Agents. He would also go on to have a very successful solo career & has made a lengthy yet consistent discography for himself that includes The Grand Opening, The Medicine, Pain Language, Abrasions, Anchovies, Trust the Chain & Rule of 3rds. But for his 10th EP over here, Planet Asia’s enlisting the Snowgoons to produce the whole thing top to bottom.

“Splashing” sets it off with a holy instrumental & Asia boasting how great his style truly is whereas “Pistol Grip Pump” with Jay Royale takes a more rugged route from the boom bap sound to the lyrics letting y’all know they ain’t on fake shit whatsoever. Flash tags along for the creepy yet dusty “Metabolism” talking about both having high chemical reactions when it comes to the streets while the song “Scud Missile” returns to a more rugged sound providing information to everyone listening. The penultimate track “Brick & Motor” keeps it in boom bap turf to give it raw & uncut with “The Office” accompanied by A Plus tha Kid ending the EP with a guitar-based beat taking through another day at the titular location.

Of the 5 projects that he’s given us throughout the year, U.Z.I. (Universal Zeitgeist Intelligence) has to be my favorite one of them all & possibly amongst the best bodies of work in Planet Asia’s ever-growing discography to date. The Snowgoons’ signature sound compliments his lyrical style well in my personal opinion & even though the features are kept to a minimum, the verses that Jay Royale & Flash both spit on this EP go as hard as those of the seasoned West Coast vet.

Score: 4/5

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Wise Intelligent – “Omnicide” review

Wise Intelligent is a 50 year old MC from Trenton, New Jersey coming up as a frontman of the Poor Righteous Teachers, who put out 4 albums together before disbanding in the mid-90’s. Since then, the man has kept himself busy by putting out a number of solo projects. The latest being this new 4-track EP produced entirely by the Snowgoons.

The EP kicks off with the title track, where Wise Intelligent talks about a number of things from Jeffrey Epstein to Trump originally planning to hold a rally in Tulsa on Juneteenth over a woodwind-infused beat. The next song “Possibly?” ponders a number of things over an instrumental with a relaying, high-pitched vocal sample & an organ while the penultimate track “Before I Wake” talks about fighting the power over a shadowy beat. The EP then finishes with “His-Story”, where Wise Intelligent talks about the things people have said to him throughout his life over a symphonic instrumental.

Overall, this is a solid EP. I wish we got like 3 more joints, but the Snowgoons never disappoint behind the boards & everything that Wise Intelligent does a good job of tackling the issues that we face in the world today.

Score: 3.5/5

Onyx – “SnowMads” review

Onyx is a revered hip hop duo from Queens, New York consisting of Sticky Fingaz & Fredro Starr. Their first 3 albums Bacdafucup, All We Got Iz Us & Shut ‘Em Down are rightfully considered by many to be East Coast classics. They went on to release 2 mediocre albums in the early 2000s before going AWOL, returning in 2014 with the Snowgoons produced #WAKEDAFUCUP. This was followed up early last year with the long-lost Black Rock but with Thanksgiving around the corner, they’re getting back with the Snowgoons to deliver a follow-up to the album that returned them to form.

After the intro, the first song “Who da Fuc?” finds Sticky & Fredro challenging their opponents over a boom bap beat with some suspenseful string sections. The next track “Robbing Hip Hop” with Bumpy Knuckles & NEMS sees the 4 comparing taking the game back to a burglary over a frightening instrumental while the song “Monsters Gorillas” with V Knuckles sees the 3 talking about being stone-cold killers over a suspenseful boom bap beat. The track “Rat Tat Tat” of course talks about guns which is cool, but the Quadro & UFO Fev features don’t do anything for me.

The song “Hoodies Down” finds Sticky & Fredro talking shit over an adrenaline pumping beat while the track “Kill da Mic” shows that their lyricism is still grittier than ever over mafiosi-like instrumental. The song “Street Art” with SickFlo sees the 3 showing y’all how hardcore hip hop should be done over a boom bap beat with a fantastic organ lead while the track “Trolling” with V Knuckles is an actually decent diss track towards Charlamagne tha God & 6ix9ine. The song “Ringolevio” flawlessly goes back & forth over a bloodcurdling instrumental while the track “Built Like That” talks from the heart about their courage & strength over an upbeat instrumental.

The song “Mad Shoot Outs” with Flee Lord lyrically needs no further explanation & the lugubrious instrumental fits very well whereas the track “I Got the Tec-9” continues the themes of the previous joint over a boom bap beat with some keyboards. The standard edition closer “Ain’t No Time to Rest” feels like a leftover from Onyx’s Shotgunz in Hell collab album with Dope D.O.D. & then the album finishes with the bonus cut “Good Fight”, which is an energetic crowd mover.

I’ve been wanting a #WAKEDAFUCUP follow-up for a while now & I’m finally glad they did it. Some of the features I could do without, but the Snowgoons‘ raw production yet again fits the duo’s cutthroat lyricism like a glove.

Score: 4/5