Mickey Diamond – “Wolf Tickets” review

Here is the 17th studio LP from Detroit, Michigan lyricist & one of the finest in the underground currently Mickey Diamond. Emerging at the beginning of this decade off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 16 albums alongside 7 EPs & a mixtape. Since 2022 however, Mickey has been consistent putting out some of the best material of his career thus far. This includes the Gucci Ghost album & it’s sequel produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Ral Duke-produced Oroku Saki EP, the Sadhugold-produced Death Threat$ album, the Camoflauge Monk-produced Capital Gains album, the 3rd & 4th installments to the Gucci Ghost saga, the outstanding Oroku Saki sequel Super Shredder & Gucci Gambinos. We got Diamond Cutter this spring & most recently the Dolla $ign Diaries, a couple weeks ago, making Wolf Tickets the beginning of a new trilogy.

A soul sample gets flipped right out the gate during “Peter & Paul” until the drums come in the fold talking about hearing shit because he constantly keeps his ear to the streets in addition to the number of speed bumps & potholes when taking the road to success just before “High Steaks” references the late WWE Hall of Famer Paul Bearer in addition to WWE Hall of Famer, former SMW Tag Team Champion, 3-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 12-time WWE tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion Kane and WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion, 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion, 2-time NWA National Heavyweight Champion & AJPW世界タッグ王座 Ted DiBiase.

“Black Tears” works in a crooning sample so he can talk about the struggles he used to experience in his hood daily while “Wolfenstein 3D” hooks up a piano-driven boom bap instrumental suggesting to put your money where your mouth is. “No Jumper” talks about nobody moving units the way he does leading into “I Dare You” ends the 1st half by promising to blast anyone who gets way too close to him & keeping snitches in a rear-view.

Starting off the 2nd leg, “You Can’t Buy Love” chops up more samples advising to open your eyes & read the signs when it comes the topic of romance while “WTF” gets in his mafioso bag over a somber boom bap beat. “Missed Calls” talks about him not being afraid to let shots ring out like people are hitting up his number & he isn’t answering them while “Michael Knight” reminds the world as to exactly what type of person he’s always been.

“Blood Moon” begins the final 6 & a half minutes of Wolf Tickets going for a drumless rap rock vibe looking to bring terror to every single flow he uses while “1 Shot Kill” finishes up this inaugural entry of The Wolf, The Sheep & The Goat pretty much poking fun at all these other rappers who’re crying wolf leaving them dead the very second he fires the gun he keeps close to him whether it be on the warm summer days or the cold winters.

Tough for me to say whether or not Mickey Diamond will eventually make Dolla $ign Diaries available on Bandcamp & whatever digital streaming platform of your choice since it’s a physical exclusive for now, but what I can tell you is that he & Big Ghost Ltd. take a more introspectively spiritual approach to Wolf Tickets unlike the Gucci Ghost series or Gucci Gambinos over a year earlier quickly surpassing Diamond Cutter to no surprise. He’s essentially recapping everything that’s happened in his life since Gucci Gambinos with the same rawness we’ve grown accustomed to from him & new perspectives.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Gucci Gambinos” review

Detroit, Michigan lyricist & one of the finest in the underground currently Mickey Diamond returning for his 14th LP. Emerging at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 13 albums alongside 7 EPs & a mixtape. But for the past year, Mickey has been consistent putting out some of the best material of his career thus far. This includes the Gucci Ghost album & it’s sequel produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Ral Duke-produced Oroku Saki EP, the Sadhugold-produced Death Threat$ album, the Camoflauge Monk-produced Capital Gains album or the the 3rd & 4th installments to the Gucci Ghost saga this past winter. Diamond & Ral Duke got back together for the outstanding Oroku Saki sequel Super Shredder & only 3 months after It’s 5:00 Somewhere, he & Big Ghost are linking back up for Gucci Gambinos.

“Fruits of Wisdom” featuring Pro Dillinger perfectly opens things up by hopping over an orchestrally drumless instrumental referencing former AJPWオール・アジア・タッグ王座, 世界ジュニアヘビー級王座, KO-Dタッグ王座, FMWインディペンデントワールド世界ジュニアヘビー級王座, 2-time IWGPジュニアタッグ王座, GHCジュニアヘビー級タッグ王座 & current 新日本プロレス Jr. Heavyweight タカみちのく of the ジャスト・フォー・ガイズ unit whereas “Word Bond” works in a sample-driven boom bap beat responding to everyone saying he ain’t outside.

Pro Dillinger returns on the soulful rock crossover “Green Paper” promising that the money will come if you keep pacing leading into “Truth or Dare” featuring Method Man taking it back to the basement instrumentally so they can talk about getting killed in the 313 & the 718 respectively advising to use y’all heads. “Speedknot” hooks the sampling back up for only a minute to make way for Diamond to shrug off these funny muhfuckas, but then the classy “Ice Cubes” talks about weatherin’ the storm & whippin’ out the pyrex.

“The Untouchables” featuring Pro Dillinger aggressively reaches the halfway point calling out those believing in their favorite rappers saying they finessed bricks when they were legitimately bullshittin’ just before the duo stick around for “A Man with a Dream” bringing the soul samples back cookin’ the dope up & baggin’ it in less than 80 minutes. “Cold Summer” gives off more of a solemn vibe to the beat reflecting on having the whole block in a submission chokehold prior to Pro Dillinger returning on “Rusty Blades”, promising to shoot back if they shoot 1st.

Getting the final leg of Gucci Gambinos going, “The Last Gangster” mixes a vocal sample with kicks & snares to talk about it being another day & another dollar while the song “Rockin’ a Gold Tooth” pays homage to the iconic Wu-Tang Clan single “C.R.E.A.M. (Cash Rules Everything Around Me)”. The title track featuring Pro Dillinger gets together for an orchestral boom bap joint kin to “Wu-Gambinos” & finally, “Crime Paradise” also featuring Pro Dillinger finishes the LP with both of them rawly breaking down their exquisite lifestyles.

Ghost & Diamond achieve their mission of restoring a feeling by taking equal inspiration from Raekwon’s solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…, early Hong Kong action movies, Martin Scorsese & Francis Ford Coppola films, the Avirex & Pelle Pelle fashion brands & finally the 90s dopeboy money gettin’ era. Pro Dillinger’s verses feel reminiscent to Ghostface Killah’s on OB4CL & it feels like the listeners are reliving or experiencing for the first time what it was like at the peak of the golden era of hip hop culture.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Super Shredder” review

One of the illest Detroit emcees in the underground currently Mickey Diamond back with his 12th LP. Emerging at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 11 albums alongside 7 EPs & a mixtape. But for the past year, Mickey has been consistent putting out some of the best material of his career thus far. This includes the Gucci Ghost album & it’s sequelproduced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Ral Duke-produced Oroku Saki EP, the Sadhugold-produced Death Threat$ album, the Camoflauge Monk-produced Capital Gains album or more recently the 3rd & 4th installments to the Gucci Ghost saga this past winter. But to begin the 2nd quarter of the new year, Diamond & Ral Duke are getting back together for the Oroku Saki sequel Super Shredder.

“TGRI” begins with a cold boom bap instrumental treating the sewers like his 2nd home calling himself a bonafide villain with the chrome mask referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE United States Champion, WCW World Television Champion & the inaugural WWE Royal Rumble winner “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan whereas “Shredder Loves April” goes for a soulful approach instrumental likening his romantic interest to April O’Neil. “Foot Clan Party” comes through with a cinematic sample talking about his name ringing bells from the Motor City all the way to Baltimore, but then “Cartoon Car Tunes” takes the uncanny boom bap route to cook in Dex’s lab in hazmat suits & protective masks declaring to be the face of true terror.

Moving on from there, “Coffee Beans” hooks up kicks & snares with a melodic vocal chop grinds on the office scene as well as people not knowing shit about high fashion until you saw him prior to “Rocksteady” ruggedly cautioning to get the fuck out the way since the Umbrella making their way in this bitch including a reference to WWE Hall of Famer, 7-time WWE women’s champion & WWE Hardcore Champion Trish Stratus. “The Masked Man” menacingly talks about Diamond’s competition knowing the deal with him by now but after the “Feudal Japan” interlude, “Tin Can Assassin” hops over strings discussing his style.

After the “Oozey” interlude, “Technodrome” continues the symphonic boom bap vibes to brush off anyone who steps up to him on the mic as “old news” while “Hyperstone Heist” heinously talks about being a killer. After the “Shredder’s Hideout” interlude, “They Took Splinter” dustily tells everyone else to say their prayers for God’s sake & after the “Anchovies” interlude, the final song “Shell Shock” finishes the album with a fun track for the party people.

4 months after dropping 2 last-minute additions to my Best of 2023 list, Diamond has done it again by taking everything that made Oroku Saki his best EP & translating it for the duration of an entire full-length. Ral Duke’s production is grimier even though he’s still somewhat new to being behind the boards for others’ projects, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles concept remains untouched for any fan of the franchise & Mickey’s lyricism goes harder.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Gucci Ghost 4” review

This is the 11th full-length studio album from one of the illest Detroit emcees in the underground currently: Mickey Diamond. Emerging at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 9 albums alongside 7 EPs & a mixtape. But for the past year, Mickey has been consistent putting out some of the best material of his career thus far. This includes the Gucci Ghost album & it’s sequel produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Ral Duke-produced Oroku Saki EP, the Sadhugold-produced Death Threat$ album, the Camoflauge Monk-produced Capital Gains album & more recently Gucci Ghost 3 only last weekend. But as we approach Christmas weekend, Diamond & Big Ghost are keeping the series going by unleashing a 4th installment to the Gucci Ghost saga with only a few days’ notice.

After the “Cut the Check” intro, the first song “Gucci North Face” is a sample-based opener referring to WWE Hall of Famer, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion Rikishi whose nephew Jacob Fatu is the longest reigning MLW World Heavyweight Champion & a former HoG Heavyweight Champion whereas “Ice Caps” gives off a somber boom bap edge talking about being in the last days. “Maurizio’s Funeral” has this drumless soul flip declaring himself as a hitman for hire rocking luxurious attire prior to “Giverny Frames” bringing back the kicks & snares so he can get on his mobster shit to round out the first half of the album referencing 10-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion, United Football League (UFL) co-founder & $7 Productions co-founder The Rock.

After the “Gucci Boycott” interlude, “Yachts n Boycotts” starts the 2nd leg of the LP by jumping over a suspensefully dark boom bap instrumental asking to be forgiven for his sins along with reminding that there’s a thin line between family & friends just before “Godzilla Mac 10s” keeps it raw talking about being a certified killa. “Murder for Hire” morbidly gets in his outlaw bag leading into “The Last Supper” featuring Big Trip, Bori Rock, Shaykh Hanif, Snotty & Ty Farris closing out Gucci Ghost 4 in the form an 8-minute posse cut with my favorite verses going to Diamond as well as Big Trip, Snotty & T-Flame. I also loved the line Ty had regarding Dana White, who is now the CEO & President of the UFC after Endeavor merged Zuffa with the WWE to form TKO Group Holdings this fall.

You know since the first Gucci Ghost came out at the beginning of December last year & then 2 followed only 3 weeks later, I should’ve figured that a 4th installment was on the horizon at some point & I actually happen to love it as much as the predecessor that we got only the previous weekend. Big Ghost Ltd.‘s production is predominantly in that boom bap style with more drumless undertones, Mickey still remains as one of the sharpest lyricists in the Umbrella collective & I love how there’s more features except they all pop up in the backend of it.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Gucci Ghost 3” review

Detroit emcee Mickey Diamond is back with his 10th full-length LP. Emerging at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 9 albums alongside 7 EPs & a mixtape. But for the past year, Mickey has been consistent putting out some of the best material of his career thus far. This includes the Gucci Ghost album & it’s sequel produced by Big Ghost Ltd., the Ral Duke-produced Oroku Saki EP, the Sadhugold-produced Death Threat$ album & the Camoflauge Monk-produced Capital Gains album. However to come off Gone in 60 Seconds & Bangkok Dangerous 4, he’s surprise-dropping a 3rd installment of Gucci Ghost.

The first song “Live Fast” after the “Maurizio’s Dead, Somebody Shot Em” intro sets off the LP with a piano-driven boom bap instrumental living in the fast lane & looking to die free whereas “Nauti by Nature” works in more pianos, kicks & snares talking about shooting ya. “Gucci Underwear” weaves another piano-boom bap hybrid into the fold firing shots at everyone who’s been lamed out up to this point prior to “Icebergs” shifting into more lavish turf reminding that there’s dark matter scattered over everything.

“Patrizia’s” starts the 2nd leg of the LP by returning to the boom bap assuring that he could do this shit forever if he wanted to just before “Reggiani’s Revenge” ruggedly calls these computer thugs Microsoft & seeing all the dead people a.k.a. dead presidents that he’s stacked up for himself by now. After the “Murder for Hire” interlude, “Designer Caskets” dustily compares his flow to hot lava & “Aldo’s Ghost” ties up the Gucci Ghost trilogy by eerily disappearing into the vapors RKOing everybody as if he’s 14-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion & WWE United States Champion Randy Orton.

Oroku Saki is the best EP that we’ve gotten from Mickey in 2023, but I firmly believe that Gucci Ghost 3 has now taken over Death Threat$’ spot for the best full-length he’s dropped this year & most certainly a late AOTY contender with only a couple weeks left until 2024 begins. Unlike the predecessor being more feature-heavy & the original Gucci Ghost only having a couple, it’s just Diamond & Big Ghost here continuing to elevate one another like they’ve been doing for the past year.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Capital Gains” review

Detroit, Michigan emcee Mickey Diamond linking up with Camoflauge Monk for his 9th studio LP. A member of the Umbrella collective, he emerged at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous & has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 8 albums alongside 7 EPs & a mixtape. Gucci Ghost & its sequel produced by Big Ghost Ltd. on top of Ral Duke producing Oroku Saki in its entirety all became his strongest bodies of work to date. Couple months after the Sadhugold-produced Death Threat$, he’s looking to make Capital Gains.

“Nobody Moves” sets it off with this boom bap intro talking about nothing moving around his parts other than the money while the title track samples the remix of “Sleep for Dinner” by the Lords of the Underground boasting everyone knowing their names now referencing Key & Peele on the Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned Comedy Central. “Current Events” featuring Jamil Honesty finds the pair flippin’ through scriptures to get their minds right whereas “Nike Checks & New Balances” featuring Cise Greeny breaks down everything that makes their cypher complete referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE world champion & WWE Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage.

Big Trip gets his own solo cut with “Carbones” encouraging y’all to walk with him to new horizons on top of his time & heart both being cold for no reason at all just before “Army Jacker Lining” featuring Substance810 discusses their game being amazingly skilled including a reference to former WWE writer, WCW booker, TNA Wrestling booker & WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vince Russo. “Anything to Get to the Doe” talks doing anything he can in order for him to make some paper, but then “Cross the Line” featuring The Steiner Brothers finds the trio dismantling their competition.

“Tats on My Belly” by Mvck Nyce is a lot like “Carbones” in that Mickey Diamond doesn’t appear on the track at all making way for another member of the Umbrella collective to show off his lyrical abilities talking about the recklessness of his whole entire style & the closing track “Stocks x Bonds” finishes Capital Gains by talking about now being his time to shine when he’s actually been doing so ever since last winter along with a bar on top of hitting heavier than Tyson Fury.

Capital Gains has now joined it’s predecessor from a couple months ago Death Threat$ in addition to Oroku Saki & both Gucci Ghost albums in continuing Mickey’s dominance of the underground by dropping off his 5th classic over a week after the fall season began. Camoflauge Monk’s production maintains the boom bap edge of Death Threat$ except he swaps out the drumless undertones of the latter in favor of jazz rap & Diamond enlists his Umbrella brethren to lay out commanding gangsta-themed lyrics rather than not having any guests last time.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Death Threat$” review

This is the 8th full-length album from Detroit emcee Mickey Diamond. Emerging at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 6 albums alongside 7 EPs & a mixtape. Gucci Ghost & it’s sequel produced by Big Ghost Ltd. on top of Ral Duke producing Oroku Saki in it’s entirety all became his strongest bodies of work to date. But coming off the Smoke Face EP & the last full-length Nobody Bleeds Like Flair, the hot streak is going by enlisting Sadhugold behind the boards for Death Threat$.

“When a Stranger Calls” is an eerie boom bap opener to party like it’s Mardi Gras whereas “2412” works in an hair-raising loop on top of some kicks & snares referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time WWE Champion & 2-time WWE Tag Team Champion Yokozuna. “Sleepers” instrumentally is reminiscent to RZA’s production work in the 90’s looking to make & break rules at the same time leading into alarm-ring “Pen Diesel” obviously referring to himself as Vin Diesel with the lyricism only seeing money like WWE Hall of Famer, former WWE Champion, 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion, 2-time NWA National Heavyweight Champion & AJPW世界タッグ王座 Ted DiBiase.

Things get drumless on “Tokyo Tea” stretching anyone who dares to fuck around with him, but then the piano sample throughout “Def Leppard” is really nice as he talks about those who choose to be disrespectful getting battered & bruised. “Prime Time Deon” hooks up a bare soul sample cautioning not to press your luck with him just before “Sir Smoke a Lot” gives off an unsettling groove to the beat talking about stepping aside to let him cook.

The penultimate song “Racer X” takes a hazier route sonically to bring on a samurai showdown & shortly after the “Disturbia” interlude, the closer “Death Threats” ends what I personally consider to be Mickey’s best full-length album in 7 months (Oroku Saki was an EP mind you) by returning to the boom bap 1 last time with a groovy guitar passage wailing behind him asking if music nowadays is considered as art or simply something to buy.

Smoke Face & Nobody Bleeds Like Flair both had their highlights, but they didn’t give me the same feeling that both Gucci Ghosts or Oroku Saki as consistent bodies of work. Death Threat$, I can say does. As a matter of fact: I might like it more than the Ral Duke EP by a hair. Sadhugold’s production does more than a fine job at teetering between boom bap & drumless so Diamond can spit some of hardest bars that he’s jotted down all year.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Oroku Saki” review

This is the 6th EP from Detroit underground emcee Mickey Diamond. Emerging at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 6 albums alongside 5 EPs & a mixtape. His last 2 outings Gucci Ghost & Gucci Ghost 2produced by Big Ghost Ltd. that dropped back to back last month have quickly become my favorite bodies of work that Diamond has put out yet so when I found out that one of my favorite graphic artists in recent memory Ral Duke would be behind the boards for Oroku Saki in it’s entirety, it was only right to give it my first review of 2023 since Gucci Ghost 2 was my last review of 2022.

After the “Can Opener” intro, the title track is a symphonic boom bap opener where Mickey talks about how he’s gonna make you learn to respect the throne whereas “Chrome Dome” works in some more strings whilst dashing some jazzy undertones to the beat as well referring to himself as the masked man. “Wow!” hooks up some kicks & snares with a piano loop talking about how those listening be knowing his style & making the sun shine like WWE Hall of Famer Luna Vachon leading into “Multiverse” following the “Krangstrumental” interlude takes a more cavernous route in terms of sound echoing the iconic Tribe Called Quest joint “Can I Kick It?” painting images of the wicked mean streets. “Turtle Soup” is a killer rap rock cut talking about what he be dining on tonight & ruthlessly hijacking your whole residence while “The Foot” returns to the boom bap talking about how he could never take all of this from a rat. After the “Ooze” interlude though, Mondo Slade come into the picture for the closer “Shredder vs. Casey Jones” as he & Diamond essentially battle rap one another over an uncanny instrumental with co-production from & Swab.

It’s funny how Gucci Ghost 2 was a last minute addition to my best of 2022 list & now here is 3 weeks later kicking off the new year the exact same way: By giving us his 3rd consecutive classic. As someone who enjoyed the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series as well as the first 2 movies from the early 90’s & the ‘03 series, the concept of the EP is incredibly cohesive as Mickey ties in references into his hardcore lyrical style excellently. Now the only time I can recall hearing Ral Duke production a track was “Painkillers” off Conway the Machine’s 11th mixtape Everybody‘s F.O.O.D. 2: Eat What U Kill & that was always a highlight track for me personally, but I genuinely appreciate how much his production here has fluctuated so much in the last 4 years or so.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Gucci Ghost 2” review

Mickey Diamond is an up-&-coming MC from Detroit, Michigan who first emerged at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with 5 full-lengths alongside 5 EPs & a mixtape. He literally just dropped his last album Gucci Ghost produced by Big Ghost Ltd. at the beginning of the month & have now decided to drop a sequel 3 weeks later out of nowhere.

After the “Tax Evasion” intro, the first song “Paolo’s Ghost” kicks off the album with some sample-based boom bap production & Mickey declaring himself to be a troublemaker prior to Hus Kingpin & Mondo Slade both assisting him on “Vanity Fair” taking a more dejecting tone instrumentally as the trio leave the scene bloody lyrically. Especially with the hilarious thumbdrive line during the first verse. The electric guitar throughout “Gucci Godzilla” is absolutely badass confessing that he feels like an iced-out version of the King of Monsters referencing former NWA World Tag Team Champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion & 6-time WWE Hardcore Champion Bob Holly just before “Gold Grill Villains” featuring Eddie Kaine & Mooch has a more rawer approach in sound as the 3 spit some ruthless battle bars.

“Aldo’s Interlude” is a self-described brief intermission with some down-tuned synths & a bass guitar layered on top of some kicks & snares discussing how no one can fuck with him leading into “Nowhere to Run” explains that the hood’s the only life he knows over a desolate boom bap beat. The song “Dapper Dan War Suits” brings back the rap rock vibes with some minimal drums talking about being dressed to kill while the penultimate track “Blood on the Runway” is a symphonic boom bap posse cut showcasing the Umbrella collective with each member standing out in their own way. “Death By Designer” ends things by reminding us that our demises are always 1-step away with a climatic instrumental.

When we initially got Gucci Ghost at the beginning of the month, I had stated that it was Mickey’s most well crafted body of work to date. Fast forward literally weeks later & here we are with a sequel that’s on par with if not superior to that of the predecessor. Dude’s continuing to reveal himself to be amongst my favorite lyricists within the Umbrella by continuing to sharpen up his pen-game & Big Ghost Ltd.‘s production is more versatile than it was on the last album.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mickey Diamond – “Gucci Ghost” review

This is the 5th full-length album from up-&-coming Detroit emcee Mickey Diamond. Emerging at the beginning of 2020 off the strength of his debut EP Bangkok Dangerous, the dude has since gone on to turn quite a few heads in the underground by building up the impressive discography for himself with his previous 4 albums alongside 5 EPs & a mixtape. But when it was announced that Big Ghost Ltd. would be jumping behind the boards to lace Gucci Ghost in it’s entirety, I had to check it out considering the fact that the revered underground producer tends to bring the best out of the MC that he links up with.

After the “Crimes of Fashion” intro, the first song “The Invisible Man” sets off the album with Mickey hopping on top of a synth/boom bap instrumental with lyricism more stunning than WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion & NWA World Tag Team Champion Stone Cold Steve Austin whereas “Vineyards in France” has a more sinister atmosphere to it advising wack rappers to tear up the contracts that they just signed. “Icicles” has a more symphonic flare to it whilst keeping it dusty showing off his ice just before The Steiner Brothers tag along for the forlorn “Stone Island Shooters” to insult their opposition.

However with “Maurizio’s Ghost”, we have Mickey over some dramatic boom bap production delivering some wig-splitting rhyme schemes for nearly 5 minutes asking what you’d expect while the song “Deluxe Flux” following the “Answer to a Dream” interlude keeps it in the basement as far as sound talking about being more than just an emcee. The penultimate track “GG Buckets” has a more grimier aesthetic to it with it’s blaring beat & Mickey referencing WWE Hall of Famer, 6-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion, IWGPヘビー級王座, the inaugural 6-time TNA World Champion, TNA X Division Champion & 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion Kurt Angle prior to “Chain Gretzky” is such a perfectly gully finish to the instrumental to the war-ready pen-game.

I’ve already covered a few of the Umbrella collective’s members in the past like Substance810 & Jay Royale, so it was really overdue for me to be to get to one of Mickey’s project & I’m sure as Hell happy that I did because Gucci Ghost just so happens to be is the crown jewel of his discography thus far in my eyes. Lyrically, dude’s the best he’s ever sounded & Big Ghost’s signature boom bap production compliments his gruff style in an impressive fashion.

Score: 4.5/5

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