Rich Amiri – “Evolution” review

Rich Amiri is an 18 year old recording artist from Boston, Massachusetts who’s been turning heads since the fall of 2021 off the strength of his debut EP Ethereal. He would go on to follow it up with 6 more EPs before signing to Internet Money Records not too long ago. So considering a new label deal, it’s only right for Amiri to shake things up harder than normal in the form of a 12-track/25 minute full-length debut.

“Mention” is a spacey trap opener produced by Taz Taylor, Nick Mira & Rio Leyva referring to himself as a top dog & telling this chick he genuinely loves her whereas “Don’t Feel Ya” works in some synths & hi-hats talking about drawing a million as well as being the one taking risks whippin’ bricks. “Best Friend” keeps things in atmospheric trap territory detailing a hoe trying hard to get close to him just before the wavy “Friend of Mine” talks about hitting the lottery.

Moving onto “Salty”, we have a bassy yet hazy banger showing off his sticks until Lil Tecca tags along for the vibrant pop rap cut “Poppin’” that eventually became the album’s 3rd single to talk about the famous lifestyle that both of them are living these days. “Ballin’” finds him telling his girl that he wants to have fun with her tonight on top of a minimal yet rubbery beat, but then “Don’t Exist” comes through with a vulnerable letter to his ex.

“Ace” blends some pianos & hi-hats to brush off any & all nonsense that people try to send his way while the song “Casket” is a catchier jam about living lavish & running up the bag. The penultimate track albeit “Dirty Money” opens up on the benefits of his newfound success over a pluggy instrumental & to round things out, “Can’t Die” finishes the album with him over a rage beat talking about cutting off old friends & copping new bands.

TyFontaine was my favorite Internet Money signee up until he left the label quite some time ago, but Amiri most certainly continues to fulfill that roll with Evolution here. The production is as strong as it was on For the Better last summer & dude really does display how much he’s grown within the last couple years with some of his catchiest songwriting yet.

Score: 3.5/5

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Internet Money Records – “We All We Got” review

Internet Money Records is a record label & producer collective from Los Angeles, California founded by Taz Taylor. Their full-length debut B4 the Storm celebrates it’s 2 year anniversary at the end of the month & even though it was a disappointment for me personally, the singles they put out prior to their debut EP over here intrigued me enough to go into it optimistic that it would be better than their last effort.

“$2k in the Soda” by Lucki is a triumphant opener talking about only pulling up to Los Angeles for the drink whereas “She Want Some More” by Ken Carson & Lil Tecca takes a cloudier route describing bitches who can’t get enough of them. “On Me” by Destroy Lonely works in a rage beat talking about staying strapped while the song “No Handoutz” by Yeat is a fun successor to “Twizzy Rich” off his full-length debut Up 2 Më. The penultimate track “Codeine Cowboy” by Lil Yachty incorporates some synthesizers thanks to Rio Levya talking about how he hasn’t slept in a week & “Falsetto” by Tecca closes out the EP on a spacious note going into detail about his ride or die.

Coming away from We All We Got, it definitely lived up to my expectations & is without hesitation the best project that the Internet Money crew has put together yet. This time around, the production that they bring to the table dabbles with more modern sounds like hypertrap & the performances from the guests are a lot more consistent than they were almost 2 years ago.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ty Fontaine – “Ascension” review

Ty Fontaine is a 21 year old rapper from Washington, D.C. breaking out in 2018 off the debut EP Do Not Disturb. His profile continued to grow from there, especially when Taz Taylor signed him to Internet Money Records last spring. But to build off the hype as a potential nominee for the 2021 XXL Freshman Class this summer, Ty has to decided to drop his long-awaited 3rd mixtape.

“Glowin’ Up” is a touching opener as Ty hops on a cloudy, drumless instrumental to address his continuous rise to fame whereas “RIP Whitney” is a beautiful tribute to the late Whitney Houston that heavily samples “I Have Nothing”. Meanwhile on “Dummy”, we have Supah Mario help go into an electronic-tinged direction with lyrics about going hard just before Cactus Jack Records’ latest signee SoFaygo tags along for the atmospheric banger “Run It Up”.

The song “Right My Wrongs” is a psychedelic cut about forever stuntin’ while the Richie Souf-produced “Nelly Furtado” is a short, dancier joint about his girl. I thought “Inhale” was a dope single leading up to the tape with it’s stripped back-production & Ty’s melodic delivery about smoking weed as was “Pristine”, which is a pillowy ode to Goyard.

“I Can’t Feel My Face” is a drug anthem that almost has a Neptunes influence in the beat while “White Girl Benjamins” is a tropical tune about choosing money over bitches. The track “Celebration” is a cavernous yet bassy theme to his newfound fortune while the penultimate song “Addicted” assures his lover that they ain’t gon’ lose everything they started without getting too sugary with it. The tape ends with the title track, which is Ty rapping over a glistening instrumental saying it’s only up from here & rightfully so.

This kid is one of my favorite mainstream artists on the come-up & I think Ascension is really gonna increase his chances of going places because it’s his best work yet in my opinion. The production choices are much more refined in comparison to Ty’s previous efforts & his performances are infectiously catchy.

Score: 3.5/5