Tag: Leaf Dog

Ramson Badbonez – “White Rabbit” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee Ramson Badbonez teaming up with Real Life Drama Records co-founder Leaf Dog for his 15th studio LP. An underwing of the Task Force, he would eventually sign to High Focus Records in 2013 making his debut for the label with A Year in the Life of Oscar the Slouch that same winter. Hypnodic, Jason Bonez, Mic Day the 13th, Death Mask & Fusion would all come out under the Hove, East Sussex imprint with White Rabbit now becoming the 7th raising my expectations with Leaf’s heavy involvement.

After the “Nothing Stops Him” intro, the first song “Hijack” is this sample-driven boom bap opener letting y’all know what he’s all about whereas “The Great” maintains a boom bap edge working in these horns boasting his lyrical technicality. “More 4 Less” featuring Smellington Piff instrumentally kinda reminds me of Mobb Deep talking about them being lyrically gifted until he looks back on getting called upon to take the “Dirt Road” to get where he is currently sampling a piano.

“Rabbit Hole” featuring mysdiggi finds the pair tryna open everyone’s heads in the midst of them getting deeply involved musically just before “Stolen Scrolls” gets back on the orchestral boom bap tip calling himself a professional dread expressionist with a vengeance list. “Try Not to Judge” featuring Verbz soulfully discusses their judgmental free tendencies, but then “Upside Down” featuring Cymarshall Law talks about the current state of the world.

As for “Loop Holes”, we have Badbonez over another piano-boom bap instrumental kicking hardcore lyricism for a few minutes while “Soul Searching” featuring Phoenix da Icefire talking about them being the butterfly effect that emerged from the chrysalis. “Can’t Give Up” soulfully gets on the motivational side lyrically & ahead of closing out with a “Wondaland” sequel, “Strike” featuring The 4 Owls gives a taste of what’s to come from the quartet’s upcoming 4th album.

Marrying his street poetry with the macabre at every turn, White Rabbit is a potent reminder of Badbonez at his lucid best & searches out the truth in the music he makes. Leaf Dog’s production provides a pitch-perfect soundtrack for Badbonez to showcase his full arsenal of multi-syllable flows, punchlines & infectious hooks as he adventures further down the rabbit hole.

Score: 4/5

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Eric the Red – “The Red Alert” review

Bristol, England, United Kingdom emcee Eric the Red starting 2025 with his 3rd studio LP. Known for being the brother of Illinformed & Real Life Drama Records co-founder Leaf Dog of The Four Owls, he would also become 1/3 of the Creatures of Habit & 1/4 of NLP in addition to forming his own label Lost Scroll Records almost a decade ago. His compositional solo EP Basement Blues dropped in 2016 & the In My Element beat tape followed as did the Illinformed-produced debut album Caught Red Handed. Coming off Broken Ear Drum & more recently the sophomore effort Painting da Town Red under Illin’ for Meds Records, he’s having Leaf fully produce The Red Alert.

“Wins & Sins” begins with a symphonic boom bap instrumental talking about having to risk yourself in part of making your dreams come true whereas “The Good, the Bad & the Druggies” works in some pianos speaking of benefiting his by pushing buggies or moving weight for baby necessities. “Place of the Lost” featuring Verbz finds the 2 dismissing their competition’s reputation for being a parody of itself just before the crooning “Champagne” featuring Leaf Dog talks about delivering Christmas presents via a spaceship in 2021.

“Candies”, we have Leaf flipping organs mixing some kicks & snares in the picture for Eric to get more sexual lyrically leading into “Black Hole Wisdom” featuring Killah Priest soulfully linking the 2 up so they individually hold their own composure dissecting the track together. “The Fish Scale Tale” chops up more soul samples talking about the downsides of cocaine addiction while the jazzy boom bap fusion “Bentley” talks about people becoming envious of Lost Scroll’s success.

“Bad Luck” reaches the halfway point of The Red Alert hauntingly shrugging off the idea that he’d look back at his past feeling remorseful while the 109 second “Asgard” featuring Leaf Dog jazzily reunites the 2 siblings on the mic to drop lyrical braggadocio. “Shut It All Down” also featuring Leaf Dog sticks around so both of the Leigh Brothers can talk about being professionals with the mic while “Don’t Be Scared” features Leaf Dog again likening themselves to sleeping giants.

Eric holds the fort down by himself again for “Duck & Dive” hopping over a violin-infused beat talking about conquering the whole entire map with Leaf but after “Takes Practice” carries over the orchestral boom bap aesthetics explaining that it takes preparation to acquire the kind of skills has, “Sepia” soulfully advises those looking for a sign to hold their loved ones closely & grief doesn’t become easier the more time passes.

“Pappa’s Brothers” featuring Leaf Dog kicks off The Red Alert’s final moments talking about burning weed tags by the numbers & laughing at undercover cops driving past them due to them being so wild while “3 Kings” featuring Leaf Dog & Sonnyjim hops over a prominent woodwind for all 3 of them to flex their royalty status. “Last Lesson” finishes with Eric talking about smoking kush to help him sleep at night & his squad being a bunch of baboons hopping off the balcony spraying up houses.

I’ve been hoping for Eric the Red to have Leaf Dog produce an entire body of work for a minute now & since The Red Alert has arrived, I’d comfortably rank it in the top 3 amongst the Lost Scroll CEO’s discography alongside Caught Red Handed & Painting da Town Red. Leaf’s boom bap production is more rawer than Illinformed’s jazzier sound obviously, his 6 guest appearances all combined make a great showcasing at both Leigh’s’ performative chemistry & Eric going as hard as he did a year earlier.

Score: 4/5

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Fliptrix – “Dragonfly” review

Brighton, England, United Kingdom emcee Fliptrix teaming up with the Leigh Brothers consisting of Illinformed & Leaf Dog to have them produce his 11th solo LP. The founder of High Focus Records as well as a member of The 4 Owls, he made his debut in 2007 off Force Fed Imagery followed by Theory of Rhyme and later 3rd Eye of the Storm & The Road to the Interdimensional Piff Highway. Out the Box & Polyhymnia both came couple years later as did Patterns of Escapism & Inexhale, but is coming off Light Work & Mantra #9 to unleash the Dragonfly less than a couple weeks away from 白川未奈& Luke Jacobs becoming the new RPW British Women’s Champion & RPW British Heavyweight Champion respectively.

“Striving” starts by stripping the drums completely hooking up a bare orchestral loop forever making great efforts to achieve or obtain more whereas “Forever” has a bit of a soulful boom bap flare instrumentally talking about having springs in their steps representing that. The acoustic “Keep Going On” wants to know if they can continue to go on with their lives since they’re unsure of it, but then “Dragonfly Steeze” works the kicks & snares back in flexing his titular style.

Moving on from there, “See it in the Clouds” delivers a cloudier boom bap flare forecasting rain that’ll be coming down feeling it in his bones leading into “Make It Rain” hopping over a soul sample for a minute discussing the importance of rain itself. “Funky Microphone” blends a piano with kicks & snares getting hardcore lyrically just before the jazzy “Cosmic Scenes” assuring that the sweet sound of birds can be heard though sirens.

“Spooky Times” maintains the jazz influence crossing it over with boom bap to talk about how nice it is to let the beauty rise sometimes while “The Glow” keeps it raw so everyone listening is able to feel the sunshine. “Paradoxical” has a darker atmosphere to the beat coming to heal you while the flute-heavy “Making Waves” talks being on madness these days. “Grapevine” maintains the instrumental vibes from previously feeling happy & sad simultaneously while the title track jazzily ends the album showing unconditional love to his family.

A series of life-changing events compelled Fliptrix to hole up in the studio to capture the true essence of his recent experiences in real time, resulting in his most alive offering to date with the handbrake fully off as well as emotions & energies dialed up to 11. Each unpacking a tumultuous year which included the birth of his daughter & unexpected passing of his father who played in a 70s rock band that Dragonfly is named after, all this while navigating the ever-shifting music scene he has championed for so long.

Score: 4/5

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Leaf Dog – “Year of the Leaf” review

This is the 9th full-length solo LP from Brighton, England, United Kingdom producer/emcee Leaf Dog. Notable for being amongst the best UK hip hop groups in recent memory The 4 Owls as well as the 3 Amigos & Brothers of the Stone, he branched out on his own in 2011 with From a Scarecrow’s Perspective, the sophomore effort 6 years later Dyslexic Disciple quickly became his most well-regarded body of work yet & I enjoyed Live from the Balrog Chamber at the beginning of 2020 under his own label Real Life Drama Records just as much. However in 2024 alone he’s released a total of 5 albums: Photosynthesis, Don’t Scare the Crows Now, Outstanding in My Field, Anything is Possible & When Sleeping Giants Wake. It’s been 3 months since the latter 2 & Leaf’s coming off producing BVA’s most acclaimed solo effort to date The Dam Builder to declare this as the Year of the Leaf.

To begin, “Life’s All I Have” hooks up a soulful boom bap instrumental to talk about being the thing you see come the final destination whereas “Pay to Play” works in another soul sample with kicks & snares reminding us that the game ain’t free at all. “Weed Mantra” is another soulful, boom bap crossover dedicated to everyone listening who loves good kush like myself while the crooning “I Don’t Miss” flexes his consistency.

“Athentic” hooks up some strings keeping the kicks & snares in tact to talk about being the truth although real ones already knew, but then “Dr. Ooze” strips the drums completely explaining that he’ll make futures look uncertain all of the sudden. “Dem Times” returns to the boom bap showing off his wild style prior to “Even If It” sampling soul music again talking about needing the paper like the country gearing up for war.

The final leg begins with “I Need Little” blending elements of orchestral with kicks & snares needing y’all to surrender to the rhythm while the song “No Sound” goes for a dreary boom bap approach instrumentally talking about those he speaks for. “Greed” soulfully tries to fill a hole deep within & finally, the closing track “No Games” completes Leaf Dog’s 6th album of the year by working nights straight shootin’ for a better life.

Leaf himself has said that he plans on putting out 2 more solo LPs before 2024 is finished & regardless of when he’s ready to give them to the fans, the fact remains that this really has been the Year of the Leaf joining When Sleeping Giants Wake in being my favorites of the 6 he’s had to offer so far. There’s more drumless undertones than there was on the predecessor but nevertheless, you still get the boom bap production he’s known for topped with personal & hardcore lyrics.

Score: 4/5

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BVA – “The Dam Builder” review

This is the 3rd full-length LP from Glastonbury, Somerset, United Kingdom emcee BVA. Coming up as a member of The 4 Owls as well as Brothers of the Stone & the 3 Amigos, he’s also given us a couple albums & EPs of his own over the course of this past decade with the 2021 sophomore effort Lex Neville under his own label Real Life Drama Records & his first EP BVA MC standing out the most of the few solo efforts under his belt. However after learning that Leaf Dog was fully producing The Dam Builder after dropping When Sleeping Giants Wake a month ago, I went into it expecting to surpass everything BVA had done previously.

After the intro, the first song “Charge It to the Game” officially begins the album with a soulful boom bap instrumental talking about being heartless in the face yet the calmest in his lane whereas “New Days” featuring Verb T takes the jazzier route explaining that it ain’t ever same as older days. “Out Here” featuring Benny the Butcher & Leaf Dog returns to the boom bap so they can talk about being raised outside leading into Leaf sticking around on the mic for “8 Bit Tales” dustily telling freaky tales like Too $hort.

“Desire” brings a whimsical boom bap vibe to the beat talking about there still a fire even when it’s cold ahead of Leaf Dog returning inside the booth once again for the orchestral “Take It Easy” likening the instrumental hitting like a wake & bake. “Nice n Crispy” works in more kicks, snares & orchestra elements to say shit like this is what makes them say these type of days be some of the best just before “1 in the Ashtray” talking about getting stoned during the day pretty much as soon as he wakes up.

Meanwhile on “Flying Daggers”, we have BVA over more classical flavored boom bap production refusing to allow anyone to burst his bubble while the solemnly “Dreamer” talking about how it don’t cost shit to be nice & people having their heads up in the clouds rather than in their vices. “Lost” has a soulful boom bap flare instrumentally explaining that every one of us is lost looking for a way out while “Over the Edge” takes a second checking what he knows in his head over more kicks & snares.

“Couple Clues” luxuriously observes the humor in these kids being told they were special & reality cutting them like sharp metal as they grew up while the organ-laced “Curse of the Liquor” insightfully breaking down the cons of alcoholism. “Still Rowing” soulfully talks about your respect owing while “Mightier Than the Sword” mixed a crooning sample with kicks & snares likening himself to a beast in his lair calling the feeling home sweet home.

Ramson Badbonez joins BVA on “Hiding in Plain Sight” continuing the sampling of soul music cautioning not to trust the government, the lawmakers or pharmaceuticals while the track “The Medecine” featuring Leaf Dog brings back the strings throwing kicks & snares on top of them explaining that it was never about anything else. And prior to the outro, the final song “Always Something” featuring Leaf Dog ends the LP brushing bad things off like nothing over organs.

His last couple albums have been a tad bit overloaded with the guests, but BVA really tones it down for The Dam Builder resulting in living up to my expectations outdoing B.V.A. (Be Very Aware) under High Focus Records & Lex Neville in becoming my new favorite solo effort in his discography a couple months after the Grizzled Young Veterans became the new RPW British Tag Team Champions. Leaf Dog’s production fuses the raw drum patterns of the traditional boom bap sound with samples along with strings & organs so BVA provides some of his most focused performances.

Score: 4/5

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Leaf Dog – “When Sleeping Giants Wake” review

Brighton, England, United Kingdom producer/emcee Leaf Dog of amongst the best UK hip hop groups in recent memory The 4 Owls as well as the 3 Amigos & Brothers of the Stone continuing his crazy 2024 run by releasing his 8th full-length solo LP. Branching out on his own in 2011 with From a Scarecrow’s Perspective, the sophomore effort 6 years later Dyslexic Disciple quickly became his most well-regarded body of work yet & I enjoyed Live from the Balrog Chamber at the beginning of 2020 under his own label Real Life Drama Records just as much. However in 2024 alone he’s released a total of 4 albums so far: Photosynthesis, Don’t Scare the Crows Now, Outstanding in My Field & more recently Anything is Possible from a couple weeks ago. Much like January though, Leaf’s giving us 2 albums in 1 month by quickly following it up with When Sleeping Giants Wake.

After the intro, the first song “Victory” begins in the form of a crooning sample mixed with kicks & snares explaining that this is everything that his crew dreamed about whereas “The Storm” featuring Busta Rhymes & BVA finds the trio coming together over some Phantom of the Opera/boom bap shit bringing it hardcore. “It’s Never Easy” talks about trying to find a quick fix on top of a soulful instrumental with kicks & snares leading into “Daily News” continuing the sampling of soul music coming from a more personal place lyrically.

“Long Road Traveling” has a bit of an orchestral boom bap flare to the beat flexing that it ain’t no comparison when it comes to shit like this, but then “Check Mate” continues to clash strings with kicks & snares talking about calculating his next move similarly to chess. “Days of the Future Past” has a bluesier boom bap instrumental likening it to another scary movie tryna make you laugh that is until BVA returns alongside the late Sean Price for “Fade to Black” mixing that traditional hardcore shit with elements of classical.

Starting the 2nd half of the album, “War Report” soulfully paints the image of a horror story while “Conquer Your Fear” is a piano/boom bap crossover profoundly talking about his instincts. “The Ruler’s Back” has a bit of a triumphant atmosphere to it boasting that he can still make a classic even when he’s damn trending while “But For Now” takes the jazzier route a bit touching on some real life shit.

“Over Time” has a more colorful beat talking about having to pay his dues to get where he is at this point in his career while “Card to My Chest” incorporates a boom bap instrumental with a plucky guitar sample reflecting on when they was always waiting for him to slip. The final song “Soil Getting Sold” prior to the outro concludes When Sleeping Giants Wake with 1 last jazz rap cut telling y’all exactly where one can find him.

I can only imagine that Leaf will be dropping more albums throughout 2024 much like Flee Lord’s prolific 2020 run & although that’s certainly looking to be the case, When Sleeping Giants Wake could possibly be my favorite of the 5 LPs that we’ve gotten from him this year so far. His production is heavily boom bap centered although he fuses additional elements of soul & jazz music respectively, you get to see both sides of him as an artist & as a person joined by brief guest list.

Score: 4/5

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BVA – “Lex Neville” review

Here is the sophomore effort from Glastonbury, Somerset, United Kingdom emcee & Real Life Drama Records co-founder BVA. A member of The 4 Owls as well as the Brothers of the Stone & the 3 Amigos, his solo debut B.V.A. (Be Very Aware) arrived in 2014 under High Focus Records roughly 3 years succeeding an eponymous debut extended play. Coming off Peep the EP produced by the Leigh Brothers a few years earlier, he & the latter duo are introducing the world to Lex Neville.

After the titular intro, the first song “Walk the Atlas” produced by Leaf Dog begins with a soulful boom bap opener talking over rappers to compensate for their wackness whereas “In the Grip” woke in an organ to caution that we’ve entered an age of ignorance. “End of Days” featuring Jack Jetson & King Kashmere talks about entering the apocalypse over an Illinformed instrumental prior to “Groundhog Day” featuring Datkid & Leaf Dog living life deliriously.

“No Model” continues by talking about the very person who used to always have his back becoming the reason he had to watch it himself & that he isn’t someone that others should be looking up to while “Bring Me Back” desires to be brought back from the place of no return. “The Oh Oh” featuring Leaf Dog reunites the pair so they can talk about smashing their competitors lyrically while the organ-heavy “Music Wot’s Real?” speaks of always keeping things legitimate.

Meanwhile on “Fear & Loathing”, we have BVA over a woodwind mixed with kicks & snares cautioning that he might piss in other’s potions while “Reach & Bong” featuring Leaf Dog finds the 2 talking about their love for smoking weed. “Rollin’” featuring Verb T comes together to stay holding it down goldenly while “Snake Eyes” featuring Leaf Dog & Smellington Piff links up so they can turn haters into weepers.

“Carving Tablets” begins to wrap up Lex Neville’s last leg going for a soulful boom bap direction instrumentally explaining that the only thing he’s ever given fuck about was making raw music while “Nothin’ Else” hooks up a harmonic gospel flip talking about there being no better feeling to him than this very moment. “Family” chops up a crooning sample sprinkling some kicks & snares in the mix to send off the LP suggesting haters to either suck a dick or to simply go home.

B.V.A. (Be Very Aware) remains a tight collection of tracks presenting BVA’s buoyant capability of holding down an entire project all by himself & the follow-up 7 years since makes big improvements over it’s predecessor. The Leigh Brothers’ boom bap production fully realizes the cohesive ideas in terms of sound Peep the EP had initially teased, hitting fans with more entertaining quotable accompanied by a consistent list of associated collaborators.

Score: 4/5

Bronze Nazareth – “Bundle Raps” review

Bronze Nazareth is a 41 year old MC/producer from Grand Rapids, Michigan who started out as a member of the group Wisemen alongside his late brother Kevlaar 7 & later became a member of the Wu-Elements, the in-house production team for the almighty Wu-Tang Clan. He also has 2 solo albums under belt with The Great Migration & School for the Blindman but after a little over 7 years, Bronze is ready to hop back on the mic in a full-length capacity & has enlisted London, England, United Kingdom producer Leaf Dog of The 4 Owls as well as the Brothers of Stone & the 3 Amigos produce it from front to back.

After the “Think Carefully” intro, the first song “Theatre Speak” talks about striving for perfection over some foreboding string sections whereas the next track “It’s On” featuring Leaf Dog finds the 2 getting cocky over a bare sample of Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell’s “If This World Were Mine”. The song “Madman” featuring Recognize Ali sees the 2 talking about trying to make it out the ghetto over a high-pitched vocal sample & ominous horns then after the “Wise Wakening” interlude, “The War on Us” gets conscious over a twangy beat.

“Lisbon Dinners” gets on the mafioso side of things over a funky instrumental with some wind-blowing samples & after the “Burnt Leaf” interlude, the track “Get It Myself” talks about hustling on his own over a boom bap beat with some triumphant horns. The song “Lyrical Wars” featuring BVA & Leaf Dog finds the trio challenging their opposition over an instrumental kin to Wu-Tang Forever while “The Deranged” is a full-blown Wisemen reunion talking about how it only takes 1 shot to leave your clothes stained in blood over a weepy beat.

The track “Grime Lords” featuring June Megalodon sees the 2 declaring themselves as such over a fuzzy instrumental with some vinyl cracking while the song “J My Man!” talks about being ruthless over some thunderous drums. Then before finishing off with the “No Turning Back” outro, the final song “The Immaculate” boasts his prowess about over a boom bap beat with some trumpets.

I was wondering when or if Bronze would drop another solo album, but I’m glad he did because this is a dope body of work under his own label Black Day in July Productions in tandem with the Glastonbury, Sommerset underground imprint Real Life Drama Records. His lyricism is still as good as his production-skills & then Leaf Dog on the other hand continues to remind listeners that he’s one of the best producers the UK has to offer.

Score: 3.5/5

The 4 Owls – “Nocturnal Instinct” review

The 4 Owls are a boom bap quartet from London, England, United Kingdom consisting of BVA, Fliptrix, Leaf Dog & Verb T. Making their full-length debut Nature’s Greatest Mystery under High Focus Records during my freshman year of high school, their sophomore effort Natural Order came out a few months prior to my graduation & have since considered “Think Twice” to be the greatest single of their career. 5 years later, the group’s returning for their 4th studio album a month since the COVID-19 pandemic began globally.

“Sound the Alarm” featuring Smellington Piff begins with all 4 of them over a boom bap instrumental from Leaf Dog promising to behead everyone questioning their leadership whereas “Coming Home” find the Owls talking about dumping every & all toxic styles into the wasteland. Kool G Rap joins forces over a vocal sample during “Pioneer” to see who has the most intricate pen of the 5 just before “Be Free” carries forward talking about the whole idea of freedom.

The 2nd single “Honor Codes” ponders if one’s capable of making the right choices & making changes to their lives while “Life Lines” continues to let Leaf Dog’s ear for sampling shine dropping off 4 rapid-fire verses in the midst of it all. DJ Premier returns behind the boards for the 3rd & final single “100%” assured their story will be told like Atilla the Hun while “Air Strike” featuring R.A. the Rugged Man references Black Sabbath frontman & WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne.

“Dark Days” featuring Roc Marciano continues the 2nd half with an organ-heavy boom bap beat ripping it hardcore for almost 5 minutes without the need of a hook & after “Let Go” confesses the Owls’ awareness of having things they need to stop holding onto like giving a fuck about whatever others nearby think of you over an orchestral flip, “Deadly Movements” featuring Masta Killa tells the story a man with a heart of gold becoming increasingly weaker as he gets older going from a once sharp & full mind that’s now clouded & diseased.

To start Nocturnal Instinct’s encore, the song “Lessons” blends kicks & snares with a guitar sample talking about studying the essence while “I Got You” speaks of the Owls trying to free themselves mentally whilst searching for another world & feeling something within the air once they’ve gone through the open portal over this boom bap instrumental radiating a mafioso atmosphere to it. Regarding the outro, we’re presented a soulful sequel to “All My Life” off Nature’s Greatest Mystery revisiting the predecessor’s themes nearly a decade earlier.

Yearning to elevate themselves further, The 4 Owls recruit a handful of East Coast veterans to accompany them behind the mic besides Smellington on the intro to further exemplify their status as the greatest boom bap group that the UK hip hop scene has to offer only a few months deep into this new decade. The production is a lot similar to Natural Order’s in that it’s almost entirely handled by Leaf Dog with the exception of Preemo doing a track & every single member pushing themselves lyrically farther than they did over the course of their last couple LPs.

Score: 4.5/5

Datkid – “Confessions of a Crud Lord” review

Bristol, England, United Kingdom emcee Datkid officially making his debut for High Focus Records debut with the 4th studio LP in his discography. Beginning as a part of the Split Prophets, he began embarking on a solo career in the summer of 2011 off Dkay n Gramma & the subsequent sophomore effort called Home by 8 a little over 8 months later. Coming off Teeth Ledger however, Real Life Drama Records co-founder Leaf Dog of The 4 Owls being picked to fully produce Confessions of a Crud Lord had it shaping up to be the most important entry of Datkid’s individual catalog a week after Aussie Open became the new RPW British Tag Team Champions.

“Fire in My Belly” opens up with a boom bap intro talking about his opponents being worse actors than the entire cast of modern day EastEnderswhereas “Myth” marks the return of the all-time dirtiest continuing to make history 2 decades later. “Crud Addict” issues a warning that he’s the very last person one should be bringing drama to just before “The Chosen One” keeps things in the basement instrumentally talking about being prophetic.

To kick off the 2nd quarter, “I’m Nice” hooks up a grungy sample so he can talk about keeping his focus toward bringing his audience some crud for them to bump prior to “Briefcase” featuring Westside Gunn handcuffing suitcases to their wrists referencing 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 4-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & the newest writer/producer of their developmental NXT brand Shawn Michaels.

“Lord Give Me Patience” takes a moment to ask God to grant him perseverance & searching for a sign because he’s getting hungrier the more time goes faster while “Heroin” eerily promises that he can rap around his opposition on his tiptoes if he really wanted to. “Eyes” featuring Conway the Machine begins the 2nd half wanting to smoke weed & count money over a piano mixed with kicks & snares while “Money & Dip” dives deeper down the mafioso rabbit hole.

Roc Marciano joins Datkid for “Scheme On” talking about what their backup plan is if their music careers don’t pan out the way they hope it will & Marc explaining that people will go the way wind blows because they have no loyalty but once “Blank Page goes for an orchestral boom bap vibe wanting to bring life to his notebook by using his pen to write rhymes, “Grown Up” soulfully finds himself caught in the middle of Commissioner Gordons & 2-Faces from the Warner Bros. subsidiary DC Entertainment owned Batman franchise.

The song “Cook Book” nears Confessions of a Crud Lord’s final moments whippin’ some gourmet & coming out claim his stake while the penultimate track “Crud Lord” shifts towards a funky boom bap direction to the beat essentially breaking down his position as a boss of his own style that he calls “crud”. Taking up the last few minutes, “Hoes” wraps it all up by setting out to rule the money out of greed & have women surrounding him.

High Focus Records has been heralding Datkid’s inaugural opus under the Hove, East Sussex imprint to be the grimiest musical statement in the label’s entire discography almost a decade after it’s formation & I can’t even complain with that statement now that Confessions of a Crud Lord has arrived in full since the Split Prophets member’s greatest entry of his solo catalog comfortably fits up in the ranks of that discourse. Leaf Dog’s cooks up amongst the dirtiest production of his career & Bristol’s finest reminds the world why he’s amongst the UK’s most proficient lyricists.

Score: 4.5/5