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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Ill Bill – “Billy” review

This is the 8th full-length album from Brooklyn underground veteran Ill Bill. Rising to prominence as a member of the seminal quartet Non Phixion, he would become one of the most hard working dudes in the underground whether it be his solo discography or his subsequent output as part of groups like La Coka Nostra & Heavy Metal Kings. Last we heard from the Cult Leader was during the COVID-19 pandemic when he formed the Gorilla Twins with NEMS & dropped their self-titled debut, following it up with his previous effort La Bella Medusa that same fall. But after 3 years in the making, the east coast MC/producer is returning in the form of Billy.

“Alpha Futura” is a 2-minute opener with a whimsical boom bap instrumental & Bill referring to himself as a supreme guillotine whereas “Hell Awaits” over a futuristically eerie instrumental from Furio with some kicks & snares talking about holding a rifle to someone’s head while holding the Bible at the same time. “Jordan 3s” speaks on chilling in the projects rocking the titular shoes over a nasty boom bap beat courtesy of Stu Bangas, but then the Boston beatsmith sticks around to helps him tell “The Ballad of Billy®” over a solemn loop attached to some more snares & kicks.

Moving on from there with “Know My Name”, we have Skam2? tagging along over an organ-laced beat with some claps cooked up by the former Old World Disorder member promising y’all gon’ know who they are once it’s all said & done leading into “Canarsie Koresh” returning to the boom bap courtesy of Lord Goat talking about keeping your weapon loaded. Immortal Technique & Sick Jacken both come into the picture for “Prophets of Doom” making it clear we could only be a second away from taking our last breaths with a cataclysmic instrumental from Farma G just before “The Mandalorian” fuses boom bap with some guitar licks calling himself the lone bounty hunter of Canarsie.

“Supreme Magnetic” by the Heavy Metal Kings & Lord Goat finds the trio over some string sections coming through with them aggressive battle raps we all know & after the “Higher Power” interlude, “Smarten Up” by the Gorilla Twins talking about all you know not being enough over a soulful Little Vic instrumental. “Once Upon a Time in Canarsie” with Lord Goat sees both Non Phixion members looking back on the days growing up where the sharks be over booming yet nocturnal beat while “Yallah Yallah” by La Coka Nostra & O.T. the Real talking about getting your face shot off.

Meanwhile, “This is Anger” weaves some more pianos on top of kicks & snares thanks to DJ JS-1 delving into lividness prior to the Heavy Metal Kings returning alongside Kool G Rap on “Root for the Villain” to cheer on the bad guys over a morbidly raw DJ Muggs beat. “Sunday at the Tunnel” hooks up a classy sample provided by Statik Selektah paying homage to his influences in hip hop while “Leviathan” with Tragedy Khadafi talks about murder making summer colder over a grisly instrumental.

Lord Goat & Q-Unique come together for the mellow “Chubb Rock” making it clear they treat ‘em right kin to the hometown veteran of the same name with the flamethrower until Tragedy Khadafi returns alongside Ransom to deliver the crooning “Casino” overdosing on confidence. OMB Jay Dee’s verse on “Willis” has to be the weakest feature performance on the album even though it’s still cool nonetheless to see Billy give props to the Brooklyn drill scene. On top that, I love the churchy C-Lance production along with the Gorilla Twins & Rittz’ performances wanting to know exactly what the fuck they talkin’ ‘bout referencing Diff’rent Strokes.

After the “Wrong Place” interlude, the penultimate track “Time to Go” makes it clear that the grim reaper lives in every violent soul there is with a foreboding beat featuring co-production from Scott Stallone & the closer “Omega Therion” referencing the iconic Swiss extreme metal band Celtic Frost’s timeless sophomore effort To Mega Therion of course as every Bill fan should know that he’s a metalhead wrapping the album up with an eerie boom bap heater Body Bag Ben cooked up streetsweeping everybody.

Obviously given the title, I went into Billy expecting this to be a more personal effort & lo & behold: That’s what we got & one that I would say is an improvement to La Bella Medusa as dope as that album was a few Halloweens back because Bill never disappoints if we’re being honest here. Some people will complain about the 71 minute runtime, but he definitely he has the lyrical prowess & the gulliest batch of beats to pull it off as he does here.

Score: 4/5

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NEMS – “Congo” review

This is the 3rd 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 is now returning for Congo.

“Go Fish” is an empowering opener telling the listener they’re destined to do great things whereas “Grind Mode” with Black Savv & Richie Ricks almost has a bit of a soulful trap vibe talking about hustling. “Bing Bong!” finds Vinny Idol working in some violins & dusty drums for NEMS to get on his disrespectful shit just before the summery romance tune “You & I” with the Terror Squad’s very own Tony Sunshine

Meanwhile with “Gorilla Clip”, we have NEMS hopping on top of a heavy guitar to get on the battle tip leading into him & UFO Fev going back & forth with one another for the synth-laced “Body at the Dice Game”. The homie Johnny Slash takes things back to boom bap territory on the confrontational “Wow”, but then the Gorilla Twins enlist Stuyville to pay homage to “Tha Boro” over a piano instrumental. “Real Lyfe” goes back into that trap lane saying he doesn’t feel right if he doesn’t make a stack a night whereas the Charlie G-produced “Cousins” is a touching tribute to his family.

Spit Gemz & King Cardi tag along to ominously detail what it’s like “Downstate” while the song “You Don’t Exist” takes shots at clout chasers. The penultimate track “Highly Favorable” flexes his skills on top of a celebratory beat from JAZZSOON, but then “U Dumb” with Nrok Dinero & Dinero Daboss is an awkward closer with a drill instrumental sampling the iconic Kanye joint “Power”.

I was curious to hear where he would go after Gorilla Monsoon giving how amazing that album was, but this is a solid follow-up. It’s interesting to hear him dabbling with new sounds & being one of the very few battle rappers to actually carry over his nasty lyricism for a full-length capacity.

Score: 3.5/5

Gorilla Twins – Self-Titled review

The Gorilla Twins are a Brooklyn hip hop duo consisting of Ill Bill & NEMS. Both of whom have cemented themselves as underground titans with releases like The Hour of Reprisal, Prezident’s Day, The Grimy Awards & Gorilla Monsoon. The 2 have collaborated with each other a few times in the past but after 5 years in the making, they’ve decided now is the time to team up with this new album over here.

After the titular intro, we get into the first song “Married to the Game”. Where the duo pretty much talk about their grind over a wrathful instrumental. The track “Wolves” with Vinnie Paz sees the 3 telling their opponents that they don’t want the smoke over a boom bap beat with a mournful piano-loop while the song “Highs & Lows” talks about the trials & tribulations of their lives over a perilous beat from Stu Bangas. The track “Bong!” finds the duo going back & forth with each other nonchalantly over some strings & a despondent vocal sample looped by Shortfyuz while the song “Supply & Demand” compares themselves to the bad guys in movies over a boom bap beat with an angelic choir hanging in the background.

After the “Twinning” interlude, the track “Nah” talks about running the spot over an unsettling instrumental from Scram Jones while the song “Shootout at the Cyclone” with Lord Goat sees the 3 getting on the mafioso tip over a Middle Eastern-influenced instrumental from Ill Bill himself. The track “Gunners” talks about those who lie in their raps over an apocalyptic boom bap beat & although I like how the song “Pay Homage” tells the listeners to put respect on both of their names along with the Stu Bangas instrumental that they both trade bars, I wish it was a little bit longer. The album finishes off with “Adios”, where the Gorilla Twins link up with Immortal Technique to talk about inevitable death over a funereal boom bap beat.

This was well worth the 5 year wait if you ask me. During the album’s 35 minute runtime, Ill Bill & NEMS manage to show that they have an impeccably natural chemistry together & the production is grimy as it’s always been. The lack of features are a really nice touch as well. If you’re a fan of either one of the Canarsie & Coney Island veterans or both for that atter, then this is definitely a must listen!

Score: 4/5