Bruiser Wolf – “Made by Dope” review

Detroit, Michigan emcee Bruiser Wolf releasing his 4th studio LP. A member of the Bruiser Brigade collective, his 2021 solo debut Dope Game Stupid would become an experimentally gangsta & comedic gem although the sophomore effort My Story Got Stories was more moderately received 21 months ago. Potluck quickly became his most celebrated work back in May for good reasons & had higher expectations for Made by Dope due to Harry Fraud solely producing it himself.

“Tubi” named after the Fox Corporation’s streaming service of the same name airing new episodes of the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s new secondary developmental brand EVOLVE every Wednesday night with Jackson Drake, Cappucino Jones & Kendal Grey currently reigning as WWE EVOLVE Champion, WWE ID Champion & WWE EVOLVE Women’s Champion works in some soulful sampling to symbolize his diamonds of a rock & a hard place whereas the lead single “Raised by Dope” featuring Benny the Butcher talks about the dope fiends making them who they are today.

We get a bit of a drumlessly jazzy vibe on “Against the Odds” promising that the best from him has only yet to come prior to the 2nd & final single “Eye Owe You”talks about coming from the bottom & things being up from hereon out keeping the drums out of the equation once more. “The Money Say” featuring Mick Jenkins fuses soul & jazz being advised by the paper in their pockets to not play with opps while “My Whole Life” luxuriously talks about repping the 313 for as long as he can remember.

“Connect 4” featuring Curren$y finds the pair flexing that they send people out for cream like dermatologists while “Layup Lines” soulfully talks about getting used to this new world. “The Spaniard” featuring his fellow Bruiser Brigade brethren ZelooperZ refuses handouts because everyone has something to say & after “Boss Up” talks about improving your game, “Heart Broke” closes by saying that he’s enlisted in a 1-man army & that it saddens him whenever the paper comes slowly.

Stemmed from the Potluck sessions after working on “Air Fryer” & “Baby You” respectively, Made by Dope elevates the expansiveness of it’s predecessor 5 months earlier with one of my favorite albums of 2025 & the greatest entry of Bruiser Wolf’s discography yet. His unique flow reminds me of E-40 & Suga Free even though comparisons to the Warner Bros.-owned Quick Draw McGraw/Yogi Bear Show character Snagglepuss have been made on Twitter recently with Harry Fraud’s production perfecting the drumless, jazz rap & chipmunk soul elements from this spring.

Score: 4.5/5

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Valee – “Egonomics” review

In front of us is the sophomore effort from Chicago, Illinois rapper Valee. Making his name known by releasing 3 mixtapes & a couple EPs from the span of 2015-2018, it wasn’t until one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye or the Nazi now formerly known as Kanye West signed him to a joint deal with G.O.O.D. Music & Def Jam Recordings. The next 2 EPs G.O.O.D. Job, You Found Me & Runnin’ Rich helped spread plugg music to a mainstream audience despite both receiving mixed reception to the point where he would go his own way from Thersday onward. I should also mention that Valee additionally has 2 EPs with AYOCHILLMANN as the duo The TrAppiEst as well as 2 more with ChaseTheMoney as the duo VTM & 2 with Stan Laneas the duo Vlane. His full-length debut Virtuoso produced by Harry Fraud from 2023 won me over on him as did Partridge produced by Black Noi$e & the Evilgiane-produced Grey Sky London, reuniting with Harry to tackle Egonomics.

“Numerical” begins with a vocal sample & synthesizers talking about him hitting the lottery being a miracle within itself whereas “Pocket Dial” featuring Fat Money finds the 2 flexing that the money be inadvertently calling both of them. “Cut Corners” featuring Wizz Havinn mixes soul & trap observing everyone who’s taking shortcuts rather than taking the longer route, but then “Top That” featuring D.R.A.M.makes a 180° by going hyphy.

The sequel to “Miami” lives up to the original featuring Pusha T during Valee’s time on G.O.O.D. Music while “Driver’s Ed” featuring Curren$y was a great jazz rap single to start the Egonomics rollout. “Orange Drop” featuring Sir Michael Rocks & Z Money finds the trio boasting over a sample-woven beat while “LegASee” featuring Bruiser Wolf speaks on their own respective legacies. “Dividends” lastly closes up fusing rap rock & trap to break down his lifestyle.

5 months since the Great Sky London EP expanding his sound in favor of plugg & jerk, it only makes sense for Harry Fraud to come back in the picture to make a Virtuoso sequel taking everything that made it a turning point in Valee’s career & take them to higher levels. Harry’s production feels much similar than the predecessor couple summers ago except for the hyphy & rap rock undertones with more guests than last time & most of them sticking the landing.

Score: 4/5

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Curren$y – “Never Catch Us” review

Here we have the 24th studio LP from New Orleans, Louisiana rapper, songwriter & record executive Curren$y. Starting with No Limit Records in 2002, he would then hop over to Young Money Entertainment & Cash Money Records in 2006 & eventually branched out in 2008 with his own label Jet Life Recordings. The man has since made a name for himself by dropping a handful of projects every single year with my favorites including the Harry Fraud-produced Cigarette Boats, the Alchemist-produced Covert Coup, the prominently Ski Beatz produced Pilot Talk series, The Carrollton Heist, the Lex Luger produced Motivational Speech, the Statik Selektah-produced Gran Turismo & Continuance to name a small handful. Last time I covered Spitta was when he had So So Def Recordings founder Jermaine Dupri produce For Motivational Uses Only & was intrigued by the Never Catch Us singles.

“Drop Zone” couldn’t have started any classier with it’s sumptuous trap instrumental talking about turning blank pieces of paper into all kinds of things whereas “Checkpoints” works in some great vocal sampling to run up the score by selling dope & cheffing up more. “Dream Machines” featuring Premo Rice gets on some laidback jazz rap vibes talking about their lifestyles leading into “Airport Industries” featuring Wiz Khalifa dreaming of the finer things.

Conway the Machine & Rome Streetz join Spitta for “Money Magnet” embracing a boom bap flare talking about them being able to attract paper just before “Zack Morris Phone” featuring Bruiser Wolf strips the drums discussing the concept of perspective. “Duct Tape” gets back on the trap tip refusing to partner with cowards & flying with the loudest until “True Lies” featuring Babyface Ray, Styles P & 03 Greedo uniting the quartet talking about playing seriously & cool.

“No Wrinkles” featuring Fendi P hooks up these strings & hi-hats showing off their smoothness widen it comes to women while “320 Estate” featuring Dave East soulfully explains their first rule being not to speak ill of them. “All Season Long” featuring D.R.A.M. & Jay Worthy has these prominent synthesizers suggests those who lie to kick it ain’t your friends while “Encrypted Messages” psychedelically asks what you raising the top for.

The continuous themes of past fan favorites Cigarette Boats, The Stage, The Marina & The Outrunners are prevelant during the course of Never Catch Us showing the evolution of Curren$y & Harry’s chemistry for the past decade or so. Nearly every guest come correct with their verses, Spitta himself sounds focused & the production eclectically bounces between boom bap to trap & jazz rap.

Score: 4/5

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Boldy James – “The Bricktionary” review

Boldy James teaming up with Harry Fraud for his 9th full-length studio LP. Breaking out in the fall of 2013 off his Alchemist produced debut M.1.C.S. (My 1st Chemistry Set), the Detroit lyricist would later go on to land a contract with Nas’ independent label Mass Appeal Records for a little while before getting locked up. Once coming home, Uncle Al would help get his name back out there once getting out by dropping the Boldface EP around Christmas 2019 & then the sophomore album The Price of Tea in China. This was followed up with the Sterling Toles-produced Manger on McNichols which was as equally fantastic, but the Griselda Records-backed Versace Tape EP was a tad bit disappointing given how rushed it was. Bo Jackson though would become his most critically acclaimed work to date & Super Tecmo Bo was almost as great for an EP. Fair Exchange No Robbery produced by Nicholas Craven also became an essential until Penalty of Leadership surpassed it & Mr. 10-08 produced by Futurewave is up there too as is the Conductor Williams-produced Across the Tracks at the beginning of the summer, so I knew The Bricktionary would live up to my expectations.

“Pressing My Bunk” is this drumless opener promising that the new shit will make toes curl daydreamin’ of the big stage whereas “Rabies” featuring Benny the Butcher works in a guitar so they can rap about still trappin’ & having motion within the jungles. “Pillar to Post” takes the trap route instrumentally likening this shit to a vicious cycle feelin’ worn down just before “Speedy Gonzales” hooks up some sampling & hi-hats shakin’ the bag at record time

Tee Grizzley joins Boldy for the slick lead single “Cecil Fielder” getting on their authentic d-boy shit together prior to the chipmunk soul/trap hybrid “Ronald Bishop” talking about wanting people to stop calling him crazy. “Shrink Wrap” featuring Babyface Ray brings a cloudy trap vibe to the table flexing their dope game being as cold as it is while “Shadowboxing” hops over more soul sample chops & hi-hats sparrin’ with his demons.

“Harvey Grant” nears the conclusion of The Bricktionary by asking God to forgive him for his sins the evil in the hearts of men with a luxurious trap beat backing him, but then “Thuggin’” properly finishes the 3rd classic that Boldy’s put out this year soulfully admitting he’s got bad habits & furthermore explaining the moral of the story being that the 227 Concreatures were steadily cuttin’ them corners.

A lot like Penalty of Leadership & Across the Tracks respectively, Boldy James nears the end of what has been a prolific year for hip hop musically by going on a 3-peat in terms of releasing some of the very best music of his entire career. Harry Fraud’s production puts a bigger emphasis on the chipmunk soul undertones of its predecessors & throwing a hint of trap in the mix, allowing Boldy & his guests to spit game from The Bricktionary itself.

Score: 4.5/5

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Ransom – “Lavish Misery” review

This is the 11th EP from Jersey City wordsmith Ransom. Coming up as 1/2 of the short-lived duo A-Team alongside Hitchcock, he branched out on his own in 2008 following their disbandment beginning with the full-length debut Street Cinema & the Statik Selektah-produced sophomore effort The Proposal. But it’s been safe to say these last couple years have been his biggest so far whether it be the 5 EPs that he put out produced by Nicholas Craven, 7 based around the 7 deadly sins, Heavy’s the Head produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Rome Streetz collab album Coup de Grâce, or even his last couple albums Chaos is My Ladder, Director’s Cut 4 & Deleted Scenes 2. But I knew Lavish Misery had to be a step above Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child especially with Harry Fraud on production top to bottom.

“Immaculate Conception” is a smooth ass opener to get things going talking about being a God born in human form whereas “Chain of Command” works in these rich piano chords, kicks & snares advising everyone to look at what y’all did to him. “Matchstick Men” takes the orchestral boom bap reminding you to leave the bullshit behind route leading into the soulful “Live from the Roxy” featuring Boldy James talking about staying to themselves because misery loves company.

Approaching the 2nd half of the EP, “The Losses” focuses on the Ws whilst ignoring the Ls bringing a groovier atmosphere instrumentally just before “Wilson Fisk” featuring 38 Spesh spaciously likening themselves to the Kingpin from the Marvel franchise. “Eye of the Storm” tackles the richness of his pain with some synthesizers backing him, but then “& 1” finishes Lavish Misery by ruggedly breaking down a long road to recovery.

Ransom has already been one of the most consistent MCs that hip hop has seen in recent memory, but he really did give us a classic EP as we begin to near the end of the first quarter of the new year. The features are kept to a minimum yet both of them maintain his level & Harry Fraud’s production is more consistent Spare the Rod, Spoil the Child last fall so the Jersey City vet can find exuberance in his distresses.

Score: 4.5/5

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RXKNephew – “Life After Neph” review

I believe this is the 10th full-length studio album from Rochester, New York emcee RXKNephew. Noted for his use of atypical beats & his comedic gangsta raps, he’s already built quite the catalog for himself since 2019 with his last 9 LPs as well as over a dozen mixtapes & EPs. Most notably Slitherman Activated, the Shawty RXK Too trilogy, the Crack Therapy series or singles like “Slitherman Conspiracy”. I was highly impressed with his feature on former G.O.O.D. Music artist Valee’s debut album Virtuoso earlier this summer so when it was announced a couple months ago by Andrew Barber of Fake Shore Drive that Harry Fraud was producing Life After Neph, I was ecstatic going into it.

“Pebble Beach” is a soulful trap opener telling the listener to come get some drugs calling himself “Uncle Jemima” whereas “Authority Figure” featuring Valee works in some synthesizer leads & hi-hats so both of them can team up to talk about refusing to let anyone take their spots in the game. “RX Instructions” by Neph & Pap takes a more drumless route as the 2 frequent collaborators join forces getting on their g shit just before “How I’m Coming” talks about spending time with himself over a jubilant beat.

Meanwhile, “Dub 4 U” shifts into groovier territory appreciating the beauties of life leading into “All Gone” featuring former 1017 Global artist Z Money brings the pair together over a more somberly instrumental asking where it all went. “Gotta Eat” gives off a cloudier flare explaining that we all gotta survive, but then TedsBudz has the album’s weakest feature on “The Roundtable” despite the atmospheric production & the lyrics about him grinding for a minute.

The song “Fine Wine” with Valee on the hook details his lifestyle & has a little bit of a cavernous trap vibe to the beat poppin’ shit every day talkin’ his shit while “Hunnid on the Dresser” clarifying that this ain’t a love track & that he’s puttin’ it on over a tropical loop hooked up to some hi-hats. And to end Life After Neph, the closer “Top Chef Neph” mixes these finger-snaps with synths to go on the grill real quick because “fuck the microwave”.

As someone who’s been relatively new to RXK for the past few months since Virtuoso, I highly recommend checking out some of that earlier material I mentioned in the beginning because this is an excellent way to introduce Neph to someone who isn’t familiar with him by now. His signature Lil B-inspired style combined by Harry Fraud’s signature sound truly happens to be a highly entertaining match & the guest contributions are mostly consistent.

Score: 4.5/5

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Jay Worthy & Kamaiyah – “THE AM3RICAN DREAM” review

This is a brand new collaborative EP between Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada born albeit Compton, California raised emcee Jay Worthy alongside Oakland recording artist Kamaiyah. Both of whom have crossed paths with one another on previous singles like “Bullshit” & “Good Lookin’” throughout the duration of these last 3 years, but both west coast spitters are now looking to take things to the next level by enlisting Brooklyn beatsmith Harry Fraud behind the boards to fully produce THE AM3RICAN DREAM.

“9AM” is a triumphantly soulful kickstarter talking about the pigs knocking on their doors at 9am pacific time or noon eastern since both emcees are out in Cali whereas “Money in the Bag” has a jazzier boom bap flare talking about making that bread. “Pressure” featuring Buddy & Guapdad 4000 finds the quartet joining forces takes a groovier route admitting freaks they type, but then “Good Shit” featuring Max B flips another soul sample talking about smoking that good weed.

To start the 2nd half of the EP, “Pull Up” brings in the funk for an irresistibly fun party-starter just before “Entrepreneur” goes for a cloudier approach cautioning that shit’s gonna be getting real scary. “Figueroa Fortunes” references the luxuries of the major north-south street in Los Angeles County while “Ragtop Riches” gives me a bit of a summer feeling talking about being the highway dippin’. “Streetlights” lastly closes out this EP by asking what you would do for the spotlight over a chopped up soul flip.

It’s no 2 P’z in a Pod, but what we got here is more than worthy of further solidifying THE AM3RICAN DREAM as the 2nd best collab effort in Jay Worthy’s discography as of me writing this & the strongest I’ve heard Kamaiyah in a while. They build off one another impressively considering they’re both westside representers, the features are all well picked out & Harry Fraud’s production elevates both lyricists’ chemistry.

Score: 4/5

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Valee – “Virtuoso” review

Valee is a 34 year old rapper from Chicago, Illinois making waves by releasing 3 mixtapes & a couple EPs from the span of 2015-2018 until one of my top 10 producers of all-time Kanye West signed him to a joint deal with G.O.O.D. Music & Def Jam Recordings. The next 2 EPs G.O.O.D. Job, You Found Me & Runnin’ Rich helped spread plugg music to a mainstream audience despite both receiving mixed reception to the point where he would go his own way from Thersday onward. It should also be noted that Valee additionally has 2 EPs with AYOCHILLMANN as the duo The TrAppiEst as well as 2 more with ChaseTheMoney as the duo VTM & 1 with Stan Lane as the duo Vlane. But coming off the Vacabularee mixtape this past winter, Harry Fraud’s now being brought in to produce Valee’s official full-length debut from top to bottom & it actually had me looking forward to it. On top of that: His manager is now Andrew Barber of Fake Shore Drive, who has one of the most resourceful Twitter pages ever.

“Sea Bass” is a cloudy trap opener to the album talking about the lifestyle that he lives whereas “About That” featuring 03 Greedo goes into even spacier territory sampling Geno Smith’s iconic line they wrote me off but I ain’t write back though” asking how they supposed to feel about bullshit. “Yea But Um” brings in some wavy synthesizers & hi-hats admitting he forgets the brands when he walks in the store, but then “Vibrant” featuring Action Bronson is a more soulful cut showing off the fresh outfits they walked out with.

Meanwhile, the Z Money feature on “Uppity” is one of his best verses post-1017 Global as he & Valee jump on top of a piano trap instrumental describing their bitches as exactly that leading into “Dutty Laundry” giving off a more psychedelic edge boasting that he’s in Gucci like a mixtape, humorously referencing Gucci Mane’s historically endless mixtape catalog. The woodwinds & synths blended throughout “Not Right Now” work so pleasantly targeting it towards his lover on top of RXKNephew’s invigorating guest appearance truthfully making me a fan of his leading into the quirkily-produced “WTF” featuring Twista talking about their bitches once more & it makes sense considering Kanye had a hand in 2 of the Tung Twista’s biggest hits “Slow Jamz” alongside “Overnight Celebrity”.

The song “Washington Wizard” dives into trillwave turf once more telling his girl he needs space with these luscious synthesizer patterns while the penultimate track/final single “Watermelon Automobile” was actually what prompted me into wanting to reviewing this album especially since MAVI & SABA both appear together for the first time I believe over some keys & hi-hats flexing that they switched the paint. To wrap things up here, “Ufillme” sees the former G.O.O.D. Music artist sets to find out if any of us can feel him on everything that says accompanied by an intoxicating beat.

G.O.O.D. Job, You Found Me was an incredibly underwhelming for a lot of people including myself & here we are 5 years later with Harry Fraud behind the boards for his full-length debut album that completely surpassed all expectations I had going into it. Easily the most well-crafted body of work in Valee’s discography. He has some dope lines, but I can understand that his LUCKI-inspired delivery/flow isn’t for everyone & the vibes from the production are mostly similar to that of one of my favorite Playboi Carti cuts “Location”.

Score: 4/5

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38 Spesh – “Beyond Belief” review

This is the 4th EP from Rochester emcee/producer 38 Spesh. Notable for being the leader of the Trust Army, he’s been steadily busy throughout the last few years whether it be him producing projects for the likes of Planet Asia & Elcamino. He’s also built up an impressive solo discography for himself with my favorites being the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced A Bullet for Every Heathen & even his last full-length Interstate 38 a couple Christmases ago. But to follow-up 7 Shots almost 3 months ago, Spesh is enlisting Harry Fraud to fully produce Beyond Belief.

“Warm Winter” is a rap rock opener with Spesh talking about flying out to Hawaii with a bunch of bitches in December whereas “Speshal” works in more guitars as Stove God Cook$ comes into the picture following his immaculate feature on “Shootouts in Soho” off Westside Gunn’s latest mixtape Hitler Wears Hermes X to help Spesh deliver an ode to the drug dealing lifestyle. “2 23’s” has more symphonic boom bap quality to it as Conway the Machine drops the best feature verse with it’s insane rhyme scheme & Spesh talking about never stressed visits when he was locked up. “Loverboy” acknowledges that he was living exceptional behind bars, but then “Back to Shore” with Elcamino & Wiz Khalifa is an impassioning ballad about the road to riches.

Following that on “Target Practice”, we have Jim Jones & Spesh over more rock guitars talking about pulling up to your show with backstage passes until “Band of Brothers” with Benny the Butcher & Ransom finds the trio saying they came together similar to how The Jackson 5 did & the string sections throughout the beat are just absolutely fucking stunning. The song “Sal’s Pizza” has a cool vocal sample before the verses as Spesh hops on top of some pianos & guitars confessing he moved out of Rochester because home is where you receive the worst hate while “Mint Green” with Curren$y has a more chilling quality to it calling out those who were never them dudes. “Sharlene” though ends the EP chipmunk soul style talking about chasing big money ever since he first realized what it was.

For this to be the first EP he’s done outside of the Shots trilogy, it’s gotta be my favorite one he’s done so far & absolutely a highlight on his solo catalogue. Harry’s production has a predominant boom bap sound with some chipmunk soul & drumless undertones, the features all bring their unique styles to the table excellently with Spesh ensuring that people don’t sleep on him lyrically.

Score: 4.5/5

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Jay Worthy – “You Take the Credit, We’ll Take the Check” review

Jay Worthy is a 36 year old MC born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada & raised in Compton, California who caught my attention in 2017 after The Alchemist produced his debut EP Fantasy Island from top to bottom. He would go onto drop 5 more EPs & just put out a fantastic collab album with Larry June back in March called 2 P’z in a Pod even though initial plans of putting it out through Griselda Records fell through for whatever reason, but is now reuniting with Harry Fraud for his 2nd mixtape.

“Believe” is a classy opener talking about how he did it whereas the soulful “Pacific Coast Highway” with Larry June confessing that they’re married to the hustle. “Good Lookin’” takes a funkier route as Kamaiyah tags along to talk about how you have to pay for their time just before the Conway the Machine-assisted “Helicopter Homicide” works in some lush guitar licks so both MCs can kill shit lyrically.

Meanwhile on “Tonight”, we have Harry taking back to the 80s instrumentally with Jay verbally harassing all the peons out there leading into Curren$y coming into the picture for “Editorials” talking about the rebirth of Max Julien & gunning your spot over a well-flipped sample. “Daytons” featuring Ramirez layers a harmonica on some crooning vocals expressing their desire to take trips & break hoes, but then “Almighty” returns to soulful turf talking about how he been through it.

The vibraphone/boom bap combo throughout “Stickup Kids” is a nice touch with Detroit’s very own BandGang Lonnie Bands joining Jay in recalling them knocking people down before getting involved with hip hop while “Earth Sky” with MadeinTYO talking about all their homies who’re not here with them anymore. “Monday Motivation” has a funkier flare to it providing words of wisdom going into the new week while the song “Winnipeg Winters” with A$AP 12vy brings in a harmonious loop talking about being them dudes homing t. The penultimate track “6 Figure Strolls” with $ha Hef brags that they made $100k off 1 hoe over a shimmery instrumental & to finish off the album, the sound of “St. Nick the P” is more guitar-heavy talking about being worldwide.

Anticipation for this tape was very high for me personally considering that Eat When You’re Hungry, Sleep When You’re Tired has to be one of my favorite EPs that Jay has put out & I think this is yet another example of a sequel that living up to or surpassing the expectations set by the original. Harry Fraud’s production is more varied compared to the mobb-inspired 2 P’z in a Pod, the features are fantastically consistent & Jay himself comes through with some of his hardest verses he’s ever laid.

Score: 4/5

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