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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Sean Peng – “Trips to the Medicine Cabinet” review

This is the official full-length studio debut album from Bristol, England, United Kingdom emcee Sean Peng. Known for being 1/3 of the Creatures of Habit & 1/4 of NLP, he would go on to drop the Crazed Conductor beat tape in 2016 preceding the formation of Lost Scroll Records. Coming off the Controlled Experiment extended play preluding Trips to the Medicine Cabinet a couple years earlier, locking in with his Creatures brethren Illinformed to have him produce this next chapter of Sean’s career raising my expectations compared to both of his earlier output.

“Danka Sean” opens with a jazzy boom bap instrumental reliant towards a vibraphone sample introducing us to the titular character himself whereas “Elixir” swaps out the vibraphones in favor of pianos chippin’ off a sip of his own medicine. “Cryostasis” keeps the same aesthetics of the previous track in play undergoing the experimental process of freezing himself for later resuscitation just before “Continuum” by NLP reunites the quartet for a heavy hitting boom bap face-melter.

I felt the opera sample throughout “Bug House” stood out amongst my favorite beats on the album talking about his only interest being him fucking up your funds while “Dr. Doctor” hooks the vibraphones back up pleading for help in fear that the drugs are gonna overcome him. “Green God” by the Creatures of Habit featuring People Without Shoes stands out coasting over boom bap instrumentation naturally leading into “Bitter Sweet” featuring Life MC jazzily demonstrates the power of positive messaging.

“3rd Eye” moves on making it his mission to elevate his fans to another plateau spiritually with his music instead of being fed propaganda while “Full Moon” offers a depressive glimpse at his battle with mood swings. “Deranged Halfwits” jumps over more piano flips talking about the kind of people he’s been living with while “Humming” featuring Datkid ruggedly speaks of both of them living in a whole different dream of their own individually.

The song “Too Many Lines” begins Trips to the Medicine Cabinet’s final leg sampling soul music advising to make the most out of thing since there’s no turning back the clock while “Rotten Seeds” featuring Mothman & Scott Lark finds the trio laughing off the idea of haters not getting what they can’t have despite not having my favorite guest appearances. “Paradigm” wraps up the full-length officially in the form of 1 last boom bap track describing another day inside his own personal paradise.

Compared to the highlights both Crazed Conductor & Controlled Experiment had, Trips to the Medicine Cabinet lands right behind Eric the Red’s sophomore effort Caught Red Handed in being my 2nd favorite LP in the Lost Scroll Records canon. Illinformed’s jazzy boom bap production hits a lot harder than either one of those previous entries in Sean’s discography & the latter makes a cohesively told story themed around prescription drug abuse.

Score: 4/5

Jack Jetson – “Strange Cinema” review

This is the sophomore effort from Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee Jack Jetson. Introducing himself in 2012 off his debut EP High 5 & subsequent debut album The Adventures of Johnny Strange under Real Life Drama Records, he would go on to follow these up with his 2nd EP Lo 5preceding Eric the Red from the Creatures of Habit & NLP signing Jack to his own label Lost Scroll Records in addition to having his brother Illinformed produce Strange Cinema in it’s entirety.

“Go Get It” sets up shop by working in this triumphant boom bap instrumental talking about wanting to rule the world similarly to 魔ま人じんブウ of the ドラゴンボール franchise whereas “Strange World” takes a soulfully dusty approach to the beat speaking of pushing white bricks & nice whips. “Time Flies” continues the sampling of soul music throwing some strings in the equation to discuss life shit leading into the crooning “Overdose” talking about shaving haters off like Britney Spears infamously did.

Former 3-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion, 3-time TNA World Champion, ΩCW Heavyweight Champion, 8-time WWE Tag Team Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion, HOG Tag Team Champion, 2-time ΩCW Tag Team Champion, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion & The Crash Mundial Parejas Campeon Jeff Hardy gets referenced at the backend “4777” prior to Sean Peng & Smellington Piff joining Jack to talk about what “Paradise” means to them.

“Kandinsky” radiates a gospel-influenced boom bap atmosphere comparing himself to the abstract art pioneer Wassily Kandinsky just before “Flashing Lights” jazzily talks about being more elusive than camouflage soldiers hiding amongst the trees. “Creatures” has an eerier jazz rap flare to it talking about the earthquake upon the island of his mind’s eye “Spells” featuring Smellington Piff reunites the pair 1 last time referencing the late IWGPジュニアヘビー級王座, WWE Intercontinental Champion & 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion Owen Hart.

The song “Vices” comes off feeling more of like a 62 second breather talking about seeing double while “G.O.D.” gets back to kicking some jazzy boom bap flavor asking if anyone’s ever seen a higher power in the flesh. “Gone” soulfully talks about leaving a place that he’s always considered home until this point while the delicately sampled boom bap crossover “High Ona Hill” recalls him rolling through some valleys off pill, “1 Day” wraps things up soulfully promising himself he’ll make it out of this funk he’s been in.

Rather than having Leaf Dog coming back behind the boards like The Adventures of Johnny Strange, it makes more than enough sense from my perspective to have his brother handle all of Strange Cinema’s beats since the follow-up rivals it’s predecessor 5 years earlier as well as further establishing Lost Scroll Records amongst the biggest forces in the UK underground. Illinformed’s boom bap production is more jazzier & soulful compared to Leaf’s, reserving the guests for only a couple of his NLP brethren so Jack Jetson can primarily shine by himself lyrically.

Score: 4/5

Eric the Red – “Caught Red Handed” review

This is the full-length debut album from Bristol, England, United Kingdom emcee Eric the Red. Known for being the brother of Illinformed & Real Life Drama Records co-founder Leaf Dog of The 4 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 on Halloween 2016. His compositional solo EP Basement Blues dropped in 2016 & the In My Element beat tape followed, teaming with Illinformed in getting Caught Red Handed.

“Redrum” opens up with a jazz rap intro talking about his liver getting fucked up from drinking too much alcohol whereas “Eyes Open” featuring Datkid & Paro of the Split Prophets brings the trio together so they can aggressively play the upper hand. “Mr. Paranoid” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally talking about his own personal experiences of paranoia leading into the crooning “Lift Off” speaking of going around the galaxy & nebula.

Bill Shakes joins Eric on “Lah Lah Lah” ruggedly suggesting to run far if both of them come walking down your street & after the “Raid” skit, “Omen” embraces a bluesy boom bap atmosphere talking about him watching shit unfold from the blinds when they weren’t expecting it. “Limbo” keeps the kicks & snares in tact speaking of being in a state of intermediate uncertainty showing some occasionally jazzy undertones while “Sleepless Nights” soulfully gets in his bag as a storyteller describing an evening around his parts.

“Burning” featuring Leaf Dog links up over a violin observing the state of the world while “Mankind” talks about never knowing what you’ll find awaiting your fate. “Track & Walls” dedicates itself to hip hop’s oldest element in graffiti writing while “Year of the Snake” blends jazz rap & boom bap suggesting maybe it’s time for him to break out because of what he initially perceived 2018 to be. “Analogy” ends the LP incorporating heavy organs talking about returning with a new similarity.

In My Element proved to be a solid introduction to Eric the Red’s artistic dexterity since he fully produced that project all by himself, but Illinformed has already built up an impressive repertoire behind the boards throughout the 2010s & unsurprisingly helps his brother surpass that tape. Illinformed remains amongst the most consistent beatsmiths in the jazz rap/boom bap fields of the decade & Eric lyrically goes a lot harder than he did 7 months prior.

Score: 4/5

Sean Peng – “Controlled Experiment” review

Bristol, England, United Kingdom emcee Sean Peng preluding his debut solo album with an extended play of written material. Known for being 1/3 of the Creatures of Habit & 1/4 of NLP, he would go on to drop the Crazed Conductor beat tape a year earlier preceding the formation of Lost Scroll Records. In preparation of an upcoming debut album, we’re getting a taste of what the UK hip hop movement can expect from it with a Controlled Experiment coinciding Sean signing to the previously mentioned label.

“Devolution” produced by Illinformed starts with a glistening boom bap intro wanting to know where the evolution’s at whereas “Crooked Luck” by the Creatures of Habit featuring El Grobbo talks about poverty as well as keeping it raw. “Snakes & Ladders” basically takes a few minutes to observe the game of life while “Addicts” featuring Glacia dustily talks about being junkies for beats to rhyme over. “The Industry” finishes up the EP at artist slaughtering themselves down for success.

So far looking at this extended play compared to his full-length debut, i’ve been finding myself leaning towards Controlled Experiment between the 2 projects & it gives me a feeling that this next album Sean Peng has in the works could make more waves than anything here or Crazed Conductor already has. Illinformed nails his 60% portion of the production & I’m clearly happy Sean’s actually rapping unlike Crazed Conductor, but I feel like he has the capability of pushing himself further from a songwriter’s point of view.

Score: 3.5/5