Hardrock – “Slimyfella” review

In front of us is the 4th studio LP from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Hardrock. Getting his start over 2 years ago off his debut EP Y.N.S. (Young N***a Shit), he would continue to build up anticipation by delivering 6 more EPs ahead of the commercial debut LP Next! & the breakout sophomore effort 808 Speaker Knockerz. The latter of which contains some of his best tracks to date like “H.Y.L.M.N.? (How You Like Me Now)”, “Madonna”, “New WRLD” & “Luigi Mansion”. The last album 1of1 matched the caliber of it’s predecessor & Slimyfella has finally arrived following the prelude My Gift to You immediately after signing to Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic Records.

“New Level” hops on top of a rage beat out the gate to talk about bossing up tremendously in the 14 months since we’ve last heard from him whereas “Watch Out” pulls from hypertrap once more talking about pullin’ up with them killas. “Biggest Soldier” produced by Devstacks proved to be the most reasonable choice as the sole single during the rollout to drum up anticipation hooking up these synthesizers & hi-hats to throw opps in the wild leading into “Slide” flexing about the body he just caught on camera.

Meanwhile on “Get Go”, we have Hardrock airing out the people who’ve been plotting on him from the very beginning while “Blood Sweat Tears” turns the bass up extremely high to talk about being timeless & putting his all into this music shit unlike those who ain’t making it out the hood. “They Know” shows a hypertrap influence again promising to live by the code & die by it maintaining the roll he’s been on unbeknownst to others prior to “Gimmie Dat” going for a plugg direction to talk about knowing people who want the whole loaf of bread.

“Disgusting” show off how filthy his pockets have been in the past few years with another plugg instrumental making it’s way to the fold while “Hot” ends the first half of Slimyfella working his thumbs by twisting his fingers counting his bands. “Mr. Spendalot” kicks off the 2nd leg of the LP with some peppy synthesizers talking about being the type to blow a bag until “Bloody Seats” references the late CFFC fighter Kimbo Slice who briefly fought in the UFC during the hook.

Nosaint & Toom of Vanguard Music Group help turn the rage back up in full effect during the standout “De La Cruz” smoking big blunts because he ain’t a rookie, but then “Solid” keeps it rollin’ by waking up & getting right to it. “Familia” kinda has this quirky trap edge to it declaring the squad as his real family in addition to asking for his pedigree to be checked while “Heaven (007)” hazily compares himself to James Bond.

“Koko” bombastically pushes forward boasting about his lifestyle while “No Time” with Y3rip & n9ck cloudily looks get the bags poppin’ the second he gets up. “Slime Stroll” gives regalia a shot doing what he does since he’s a boss acknowledging everyone out in the streets speaking cocky on him & “Cold Stare” caps it off with a synth-driven trap closer talking about not going anywhere without his finger on the trigger.

Catching on to him right when he started blowing up a few summers ago, it pains me to say that I found myself liking Slimyfella less than his last couple projects & it could be the most divisive offering in his discography. Although I love that he got Vanguard to oversee it & the engineering has improved greatly compared to his earlier material, it feels like it runs a little longer than it should’ve been.

Score: 3/5

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Hardrock – “My Gift to You” review

Up-&-coming Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Hardrock celebrating his new Victor Victor Worldwide/Republic Records deal by releasing his 7th EP. Getting his start over 2 years ago off his debut EP Y.N.S. (Young N***a Shit), he would continue to build up anticipation by delivering 6 more EPs ahead of the commercial debut LP Next! & the breakout sophomore effort 808 Speaker Knockerz. The latter of which contains some of his best tracks to date like “H.Y.L.M.N.? (How You Like Me Now)”, “Madonna”, “New WRLD” & “Luigi Mansion”. Last summer’s 1of1 matched the caliber of its predecessor & is preluding the next full-length with My Gift to You.

“Boba” is a synth-heavy opener to the EP that Toom of Vanguard Music Group helped make looking to fuck them over & detailing being in the trenches with the pots whereas “Clear the Store” incorporates a trippy rage beat talking about walking into the store simply to clear that bitch out. “Taliban Hoodie” mixes some synth-horns & hi-hats together refusing to let anyone play him since the block knows he’s famous, but then “South ATL” takes a darker route instrumentally thanks to Nosaint for a dedication to the southern parts of Atlanta.

The trippy lead single “King Tut” produced by Honorable C.N.O.T.E. talks about how nobody can do shit to him or his squad in general leading into “Russian Cream” talking about his mob ties over a bit of a quirky trap beat from Cxdy of Internet Money Records. “St. Patrick’s Day” brings back the hypertrap influences eating green like the titular holiday just before “Nvrcared” turns up the bass thanks to ReidMD brushing off what everyone else thinks of him. “Pain Strain” concludes the EP on some cloudy trap shit styling.

Slattydon was my favorite Hardrock EP up to this point, but I really think My Gift to You is on that same level if not better as it reaches the bar that 808 Speaker Knockerz & 1of1 had both set for him as one of the most interesting trap artists that Atlanta has to offer right now. His overall style is still refining itself as his popularity grows on top of the songwriting getting catchier & maintaining his unique voice.

Score: 4/5

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Hardrock – “1of1” review

This is the 3rd full-length album from up-&-coming Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Hardrock. Getting his start over 2 years ago off his debut EP Y.N.S. (Young N***a Shit), he would continue to build up anticipation by delivering 6 more EPs ahead of the commercial debut LP Next! & the breakout sophomore effort 808 Speaker Knockerz. The latter of which contains some of his best tracks to date like “H.Y.L.M.N.? (How You Like Me Now)”, “Madonna”, “New WRLD” & “Luigi Mansion”. So when 1of1 was announced out of the blue merely days ago, one could only go into it expecting him to take his potential to new heights.

“poet” starts the album with a drumless string instrumental declaring himself as exactly that whereas “bleh” was not only the perfect choice for a single, but it’s another one of Hardrock’s best songs to date from the synth-heavy instrumental to the lyrics about being as rich as Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban & how everyone he knows loves to smoke weed. The title track works in a whistling trap beat discussing his uniqueness, but then “marathon” goes for a more futuristic direction with Cxdy of Internet Money Records’ help talking about not going down & running this money.

The luxurious piano chords & hi-hats throughout the DJ Phat hosted “kickdoors” are an ear-worm as he looks to slide through & wet your shit up just before “darkness” has this retro video game-inspired loop with hi-hats & sub-bass talking about chasing his shadows. SahBabii delivers the album’s only feature on “jansport” despite it being ok compared to the mellow ass instrumental & Hardrock’s own performances leading into “WA\VE” becoming another show-stealing moment much like “bleh” except he makes it clear he don’t have smoke with nobody over an off the wall rage beat from both BNYX & F1LTHY of the Working on Dying collective.

“eye to eye” goes for a hazier vibe produced by Nosaint from Vanguard Music Group admitting that he thought he was on the same page as someone else until he was sadly mistaken while “promises” is yet another highlight by making a 180 as ReidMD brings in a joyful synth lead & Hardrock pulling off the same remarkable vocal utilizations that made 808 Speaker Knockerz so special to me. “not afraid” confesses he has no fear of death whatsoever over some solemn chords while the trillwave-inflicted “range/era” admits he doesn’t think this is love.

To start the final leg of the album, “outofplace” has a bassy albeit cloudy beat owning up to his wrongdoings while the song “barry” pulls from dance music a little bit sonically talking about being up in this bitch even though he’s still slimy. The penultimate track “complicated” with 1 more airy pop rap cut revisiting the theme of what doesn’t feel like genuine love & “penny” serves as a nocturnally cloudy closer talking about a codeine dream he had that must be rooted in some meaning.

808 Speaker Knockerz was a fantastic introduction to Hardrock for a lot of people including myself & 1of1 continues to expand on the potential that he showed everyone last summer on the same pedestal. The production incorporates elements of pop rap into the cloudy trap sound of the last album with the rage/plugg undertones still in place, his songwriting is continuing to improve & the way he regularly switches up is incredibly distinct.

Score: 4/5

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