Gotti Mob – “Don’t Be Stupid” review

The Gotti Mob is a newly formed hip hop duo consisting of Kurupt & C-Mob. One is a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania born albeit Los Angeles, California bred veteran notable for being 1/2 of Tha Dogg Pound alongside Daz Dillinger & the latter coming straight outta Marion, Indiana turning heads in the underground since 2005, particularly within the horrorcore scene. They’ve only crossed paths with each other on wax a few times over the years, but are linking together & putting their chemistry to the test with a full-length debut.

“Mid West” is a grim piano/boom bap opener produced by Tone Spliff to start off the album talking about being so much more than the images that both MCs have portrayed whereas “Want Smoke!” works in some melodic vocal chops & dusty drums courtesy of Johnny Slash acknowledging that people don’t wanna fuck with them. Too $hort tags along for “Dumb Shit (Delirious)” to talk about not dealing with stupidity over a syrupy sample just before “I Ain’t Even Know!” has a more spacious sound speaking on living their lives & not trying to do anyone wrong.

Moving on from there with “Player’s Ball”, we have WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg joining the Gotti Mob over some production blending g-funk & boom bap referencing the titular gathering of pimps that takes place in Chicago every year leading into “Da Buzine$$” diving into trap territory talking about doing big business only. After the “Game Recognize Game” interlude, Sacramento veteran & the newest addition to the Strange Music roster X-Raided comes into the picture for the bell-infused “Often” advising to take caution prior to the bouncy “Take Me Away” showing a more romantic side lyrically.

“Medicine” with MC Eiht finds all 3 of them over a dark trap beat asking if one wants to do some gangsta shit or handle a certain situation like gentlemen while the song “Move Nice” pulls from hyphy music instrumentally recommending that one needs to be aware of all the tension surrounding them. The penultimate track “Wanna Be a Ho” returns to the trap sound 1 last time telling their significant others to be themselves around them, but then “Everywhere” with KXNG CROOKED & Spice 1 truly ends the album with a delirious ballad about being all over the place.

Now despite already being familiar with Kurupt at a young age due to his history with Death Row Records & the D.P.G.C. collective, I personally haven’t really heard much of C-Mob’s own material outside of some features he’s done for artists like Tech N9ne & Kung Fu Vampire throughout the last 3 years. All of that being said: the Gotti Mob gave us a pretty solid debut here & only time will tell if they plan on working with one another more down the road. The production from start to finish is trunk-rattling & the styles of both MCs gel with one another impressively.

Score: 4/5

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Cappadonna – “3rd Chamber Grail Bars” review

Cappadonna is a 53 year old MC from New York City notable for being a member of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan since the mid/late 90s. His verse on “Winter Warz” is still regarded by many to this day to be one of the greatest verses in hip hop history & as much as I love his criminally underrated solo debut The Pillage, I’m pretty sure it’s safe to say with all respect that his solo discography since has been nothing short of inconsistent ranging to be mediocre at best & complete trash at worst. But when it was announced that underground veteran Stu Bangas was going behind the boards for Cappa’s 15th album right here, my expectations for it were very high considering that Stu has been on a ROLL for the past few years now producing projects for the likes of Ill Bill & Recognize Ali only to name a couple.

After the intro, the first song “Bring It Out” sets it all off with some braggadocio on top of some suspenseful boom bap production whereas “Get Lost” takes a more solemn route talking about how the Wu’s the hardest team. After the “Discovery” interlude, Celph Titled tags along for the horn-laced “Toss the Blick” to get on their hardcore shit just before “How We Rolling” dives into more playful turf talking about a fun night out.

Meanwhile on “Continuous Threat”, we have Planet Asia accompanying Cappa over a keyboard-driven boom bap instrumental spitting some lethal battle raps leading into Sick Jacken coming into the picture for the dusty “Everything is Measured” talking about how fly both of them are. The track “No Fake Dreads” following the “Redemption” interlude works in some more horns to get that bread & prior to the outro, the final song “Tryna Survive” with Ill Bill ends the album on an uncanny note talking about life in the projects.

All 3 of the singles that Cappa has dropped throughout the summer had me anticipating 3rd Chamber Grail Bars to be amongst his best solo albums yet & not only did it achieve that status, but it’s also my favorite project to come out of the Wu-Tang Clan anthology this year. Stu Bangas’ production is a breath of fresh air compared to most of Cappa’s output post-The Pillage & lyrically, he reminds everyone exactly who the fuck he is.

Score: 4/5

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Canibus – “C” review

This is the 5th EP from Kingston emcee Canibus. Coming up as 1/2 of the duo T.H.E.M. alongside C.I. about 3 decades ago, they eventually split up a few years later & Bis would blow up in ‘97 after appearing on the LL Cool J song “4, 3, 2, 1” that later resulted in a beef between both parties. He would then go on to make a lengthy yet consistent discography with albums like Rip the Jacker being breathtaking at best & then Mind Control being unlistenable at worst. He just dropped Body Bag Ben-produced 16th full-length Kaiju this past winter after a 3 year break & it wounded up being one of his better albums in his discography, even though the follow-up 1 Step Closer to ∞ was a little underwhelming. But when I found out that one of my top 5 producers Pete Rock was coming in to lace C from front to back, I had to check it out for myself.

“Princibly This” is an incredibly jazzy opener with ‘Bis talking about how life’s a bitch while the next track “Poet’s Palaquin” pulls from some Bollywood influences spitting bars like “They stealth bombed Wakanda after they killed Black Panther” & “You know this, still the dopest. Free the people like Moses, hyper focused with both barrels loaded ‘cause I’m a Poet”. The closer however is just a remix of the song they did on Time Flys, Life Dies…Phoenix Rise almost 7 years ago at this point except it’s more soulful & Bronze Nazareth is spitting a fresh verse on it.

Even though I’m a little disappointed that it’s only 2 songs & a remix, I still enjoyed what I heard & I’d definitely recommend it to the hardcore fans. Canibus sounds much more focused than he did on 1 Step Closer to ∞ & as far as the production goes, it’s pretty much night & day unsurprisingly.

Score: 3.5/5

Canibus – “Kaiju” review

Canibus is 47 year old MC from Kingston, Jamaica who came up as 1/2 of the duo T.H.E.M. alongside C.I. back in ‘92. They eventually split up a few years later & Bis would blow up in ‘97 after appearing on the LL Cool J song “4, 3, 2, 1” that later resulted in a beef between both parties. He would then go on to make a lengthy yet consistent discography with albums like Rip the Jacker being breathtaking at best & then Mind Control being unlistenable at worst. Last we heard from him was in 2015 with the incredible Time Flys, Life Dies…Phoenix Rise fully produced by Bronze Nazareth & is now enlisting Body Bag Ben for his 16th full-length outing.

“Curmudgeon” sets off the whole album with a symphonic boom bap instrumental killing it for 4-minute about how bad-tempered he is whereas the “Entameta” remix sounds better than the original although the DMX feature is pointless because he doesn’t have a verse at all. “Hydra” takes a more dustier route ripping his opposition to shreds just before the production on “Live Action Role Play” seems ripped out of a horror flick portraying a dystopian future.

I have no doubt in my mind that “Travis Scott Concert” with Body Bag Ben himself & Born Sun was recorded before the ASTROWORLD Fest crowd crush that took place last month, but for him to keep it on the album just seems a little too soon if that makes any sense. However, “Animal Husbandry” picks things back up by declaring not giving a duck about much other than well-prepared bars on top of a dire beat. “COVID Santa” paints some incredibly vivid imagery having a more occult sound to it just before the intimidating “Kaiju Karaoke” continuing to slit doubters’ throats.

Meanwhile on “The Long Road”, we have ‘Bis on top of some dusty drums & shrilling synth melodies to take a ride out to the country side while the song “Verzuz”. As for the last 2 tracks: They’re both unnecessary remixes of the MF DOOM/Kool Keith loosie “Notebook 04” & “Desperados”, which was one of my favorites off Hus Kingpin’s last album The Firm.

For the 6 year wait, this is a fantastic comeback for the rapping scientist & arguably one of the best albums of his career thus far. He sounds incredibly focused continuing to rap circles around cats like it’s nothing & Body Bag Ben knocks it out or the park behind the boards.

Score: 4/5

KXNG CROOKED – “Gravitas” review

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KXNG CROOKED is a West Coast veteran from Long Beach, California that got his start signing to the infamous Death Row Records in the early 2000’s. Eventually, he left the label in 2004 after they shelved his debut & released a handful of mixtapes that helped grow his profile. This was enhanced by his membership in the now defunct supergroup Slaughterhouse, who would go onto release their 2009 self-titled debut with E1 Music as well as their 2012 sophomore album welcome to: OUR HOUSE with Shady Records before imploding on themselves in 2015. He has gone on to release 4 studio albums since then & for this new one, Bronze Nazareth has been enlisted to produce it in it’s entirety.

The “Emperor’s Arrival” intro finds Crook comparing himself to royalty over some triumphant horns while the next song “Outer Limits” with Hus Kingpin & Killah Priest sees 3 flexing their pen-game over a grimy boom bap beat. The track “From Slavechains to Handcuffs” with Bishop Lamont, Compton Menance & Ras Kass sees the 4 getting conscious over a boom bap over an alluring sample & after the “Still” interlude, the song “I Can Still Remember…” talks about the struggles of the hood over an orchestral instrumental with an intense drum loop. The track “Westside Willie” with P.U.R.E. & Planet Asia sees the 3 interpolating the 1999 Nas joint “Hate Me Now” over an instrumental that enhances the overall charisma while the song ” Change Ur Beliefs” with Bronze & the late Kevlaar 7 sees the 3 getting triumphant over a blissful beat.

After the “Precious Moments” interlude with WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg, the song “French Connection” with Bronze, La the Darkman & TriState sees the 4 getting mafioso over a vintage soul sample. The track “Soul Drenched” talks about having his 3rd eye open over a soulful beat & then after the “Get Me Rich” outro, we are treated to 3 decent remixes to 3 different songs that’ve been previously released. First one being Ghostface Killah’s “Buckingham Palace” off that Lost Tapes album he did with Big Ghost Ltd. that came out last October, second one being “King Kong” off of Forever MC’s self-titled compilation with It’s Different from last March & then “Fresh from the Morgue” off of Bronze’s 2011 sophomore album School for the Blindman.

This is a solid effort from Crook overall. There’s way too many features & I can do without the remixes, but Crook reaffirms his status as of the illest MCs to come out of the LBC whereas Bronze Nazareth accompanies him with rich & colorful production.

Score: 3.5/5

Ghostface Killah – “The Lost Tapes” review

Ghostface Killah is a 48 year old MC known for being a member of the almighty Wu-Tang Clan. He’s easily the most consistent member of the group with albums like Ironman, Supreme Clientele, FishScale, Apollo Kids & 12 Reasons to Die just to name a few. Last time we heard from him was in 2015 when he dropped Soul Soul & 12 Reasons to Die 2 but now, he’s finally returning with his 14th full-length album & he has enlisted Big Ghost Ltd. to produce it in it’s entirety.

After an intro from Michael Rapaport, we go into the first song “Buckingham Palace”. Ghostface on here links up with Benny the Butcher, KXNG CROOKED & 38 Spesh to tell you to watch how you talk to his goons get over a soulful beat with some triumphant horns. The track “Majestic Accolades” with Hus Kingpin & Planet Asia sees the 3 bragging about their skills over an instrumental kin to the Wu-Elements while the song “Cold Crush” with Chris Rivers, La the Darkman & Ras Kass is filled with battle bars an eerie beat with a prominent grimy guitar-passage.

After the “Put the Ghostface on It” interlude, we go into the song “Saigon Velour”. Where Ghostface gets with E-40 & Snoop Dogg to talk about the code of the street over a soulful beat. The track “Constant Struggle” with Bishop Lamont & Killah Priest sees the 3 vividly describing life in the hood over a soul sample with thunderous drums while the song “Done It Again” with Big Daddy Kane, Cappadonna & Styliztik Jones gets romantic over a piano & some horns.

After the “Reflections or C.R.E.A.M.” interlude, the penultimate song “Watch ‘Em Holla” with Raekwon, Cappadonna & Masta Killa feels like a classically gritty Wu banger with some horns. And before things end with a Michael Rapaport outro, the final song “I Think I Saw a Ghost with Sheek Louch & Vic Spencer is a rap rock anthem that’ll make you wanna flip your table over.

While it is short & I wish there were a couple tracks where Ghostface is rapping by himself, this is another solid effort. Big Ghost Ltd.’s vintage production style perfectly suits Ghostface’s lyricism & the guest verses are great, too.

Score: 4/5