Wallie the Sensei is a 29 year old rapper from Compton, California emerging in the summer of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic off his debut extended play No Love. He went on to follow this up with the full-length debut Golden Child & the sophomore effort Here 2 Stay under Capitol Records, which resulted in him doing the hook for “Dodger Blue” off Kendrick Lamar’s 6th album GNX. The latter would impress Travis Scott enough in signing Wallie to Cactus Jack Recordslast spring & his debut for the label has finally arrived in the form of his 2nd EP.

“No Shirt” made for an atmospherically decent intro talking about waking the streets up whereas “Dirty Bastard” carries over the cloudiness until the beat switch during the final minute or so to discuss the coldest hearts playing with the most heat. “City of Angels” goes for a moodier vibe confessing that he’s been going numb to the pain until the title track produced by Taurus talks about there being too many killers & not enough bodies as well as deserving of wealth.

The song “4 Lines / Self Destruct” splits itself into 2 halves again trying to get his mother out the hood & feeling like he’ll fail if he doesn’t prior to some drumless acoustics being incorporated midway through talking about carrying heavy weight. “Beam” featuring Roddy Ricch finds the 2 embracing a nervous vibe advising that real Gs don’t do the shit they do for entertainment purposes & “Product of My Environment” talks about making it this far because he hasn’t changed.

His brief appearances on Jackboys II last summer & more recently DJ Chase B’s debut album Be Very Afraid a couple months earlier raised some concerns regarding my anticipation for M.A.D. D.O.G.G. (Managing Angry Demons Deprived of God’s Grace) but considering that the chances of a sequel or 2 are looking increasingly likely, I hope they’re better than this. A lot of these instrumentals are dull & it’s disappointing since I don’t mind the perspective he gives regarding the people in his hometown.

Score: 3/5

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