Jamil Honesty – “M.E.M.O.I.R.S. (Music Evokes Memories Offering Inspiration, Radiating thru Sound)” review

Here is the 5th studio LP from Staten Island, New York born albeit Baltimore, Maryland based emcee/producer Jamil Honesty. Getting his footing in off the strength of his debut mixtape Verses, he would go on to build a name for himself but putting out 3 EPs & a full-length debut serving as a sequel to one of the EPs that Hobgoblin produced. He would later release the Harbor Kidz’ self-titled debut, the Krazyfingaz-produced The God Honest Truth, the Machacha-produced Give Us Our Daily Bread, the final installment of the Martyr Musik trilogy & more recently Shots from the Soviet produced by Giallo Point. Almost 10 months later, JR Swiftz is getting brought in to fully produce M.E.M.O.I.R.S. (Music Evokes Memories Offering Inspiration, Radiating thru Sound).

After the “Foreword” intro, the first song “Chakra’s Cuts” refuses to worry about the future since what’s for everyone else is in the cards whereas “Follow Me” works in a boom bap instrumental to talk about being the living truth others speak of. “Real Rap” suggests that it’s carry-on if others aren’t carrying the culture & being out for legacy & wanting to be remembered as a lyrical paragon just before “‘94 Nas (The Chip Tooth Era)” featuring Jay Royale finds the 2 outclassing their competition like they’re substitutes.

“4evaNyce” starts the 2nd half with a jazzy boom bap beat talking about being nice with for all eternity leading into “Gold Teeth & Beepers” dustily advises to speak truthfully & giving fanatics what they’ve been craving. The title track works in a piano sample to tell ghetto stories with a plot twist while “Tennis Filas” featuring Awon, Blu, Kev Brown & Griot Noy turns the jazz influences back up for a 4 minute cypher. “Summer 90’s” finishes up by reflecting on what summer felt like to him 3 decades earlier.

Similarly to how Shots from the Soviet has already cemented itself as Jamil Honesty’s finest EP, M.E.M.O.I.R.S. (Music Evokes Memories Offering Inspiration, Radiating thru Sound) has officially taken over the spot of the predecessor 10 months ago & I’d strongly recommend both if you’re still sleeping on him. JR Swiftz’ cinematic production matched with Jamil’s precise lyrics make the album feel more like a time capsule of an era that we all miss crafted with precision & soul for fans of uncompromising hip hop rooted in sincerity.

Score: 4.5/5

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Napoleon da Legend – “Great Minds” review

This is the 29th studio LP from French-American emcee Napoleon da Legend. Heads in the underground should already be familiar with him due to the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade including Coup D’État, it’s sequel, Street Universe, Dragon Ball G, the Sicknature-produced Colossus of GOATS, Buckets or the DJ D-Styles-produced Invincibl Rap Mislz & the DJ Rhettmatic-produced Legmatic. 8 months later, he & JR Swiftz are coming together on Great Minds.

“Death Star Lazer Beam” kicks things off with this airy boom bap intro talking about not wasting time & making money with his whereas “Raining Sledgehammers” aggressively sends a message to everyone who thought it was over for him. “Destroy Your Ego” sets out to dismantle the egos of everyone who ain’t willing to go the distance just before “Pride” maintains a dusty edge feeling like failure coming up similarly to the reaper.

Moving on from there, “K.O.B. (Knock Out Blow)” keeps it in the basement referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson while “My Truth” featuring REKS finds the 2 linking up to apply lyrical pressure. “Sniperific” featuring Nejma Nefertiti rawly demands respect & $1M each while “Righteous” featuring Awon gets together to talk about their grind being unbelievable. “Sistine Gravel” concludes Great Minds on a piano-driven note cautioning no one wants smoke with him.

Napoleon usually comes out with more than 1 project a year in contrast to Legmatic being his only 2024 offering but either way: Great Minds continues to maintain the high level of quality that its predecessor achieved. JR Swiftz’ boom bap production carries the Griselda sound over strongly & Napoleon himself taking 8 months off to focus on making this another standout in his vast discography feels evident.

Score: 4.5/5

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eLZhi – “7 Times Down, 8 Times Up”

eLZhi is a 42 year old MC from Detroit, Michigan rising to prominence as a member of Slum Village shortly after the departure of J Dilla in 2002. Fast forward to 2008: His solo debut The Preface would go on to be a hometown classic & was followed up 8 years later with Lead Poison. Last we heard from eLZhi was in 2018 when he formed Jericho Jackson with Khrysis & dropped their critically acclaimed self-titled debut that same year but almost 3 years later, eLZhi is returning with JR Swiftz for his 3rd full-length album.

After the “Foolish” intro, the first song “Smoke & Mirrors” talks about seeing through the lies over a luxurious instrumental while the next track “EarlyBird NightOwl” talks about how they can’t bar him to death & likening himself to a fighter signed to the Endeavor Group Holdings-owned UFC over a cloudy boom bap beat. The song “Hot Winter Cold Summer” talks about being a problem over a euphoric instrumental while the track “Light 1 Write 1” over a boom bap beat with a harp & occasional background vocals.

The song “Ferndale” talks about memories with a significant other over a slow instrumental while the track “Guns & Boats” with Fes Roc sees the 2 painting vivid street imagery over an atmospheric beat. The song “THUGGed Out Zombies” talks about racial injustice over a rock-influenced instrumental while the track “Potential” talks about how he wishes they could’ve seen that in him over a punchy beat. The song “G.O.D. (Gold, Ore & Diamonds)” talks about materialism over a meditative instrumental while the penultimate track “Master Class” talks about the lyrical level that he’s on over an eerie beat. The album finishes off with “JASON”, where eLZhi analyzes himself over a droney instrumental.

Man, this is on par with The Preface for his magnum opus & one of the greatest albums I’ve heard all year. The cohesion is off the charts, JR Swiftz kills it behind the boards, the themes of resilience being presented in eLZhi’s lyrics throughout sure need to be heard after all we’ve been through in 2020.

Score: 4.5/5