Black Josh & Milkavelli – “Swegasus” review

Runcorn, Cheshire, England, United Kingdom veteran Lee Scott solely producing Manchester emcee Black Josh & London emcee Milkavelli’s collaborative studio LP. The latter of whom was a member of the Children of the Damned & the other joined its succeeding collective the Cult of the Damned. So considering the intertwining history both of these guys have with the Blah Records founder comprising 1/2 as the B-Movie Millionaires & the Mcabre Brothers respectively, I can understand the intention behind Swegasus.

“Fisher Price” opens up with a boom bap instrumental assuming life’s a joke until we all die from laughter whereas “La La La” mellowly references Jamiroquai’s 3rd album Traveling Without Moving containing their biggest hit “Virtual Insanity”. Anyway, the song “Doin’ Bits” continues from there dippin’ to the crib in a whip that eventually flipped just before “Sherbert” dustily reaches the halfway point talking about being 6 feet in their graves with weed in their papers.

Meanwhile on “Golden”, we have Josh & Milk flowing on top of a boom bap beat with synths talking about things being far from over for either one of them musically leading into “Proper” shifts towards a west coast vibe a bit boasting their lyrical proficiency combined. “Take a Chance” shows off Lee Scott’s ear for sampling to talk about life being a fat joke other than keeping their heads to see the sun in the clouds & “Die to This” wraps up Swegasus sends it off with a boom bap outro.

Blah Records would unfortunately drop Milkavelli only months after Swegasus came out when it was revealed he was scamming fans, making Swegasus the last time the prominent UK hip hop label would release anything that had his creative input. It’s a shame too because not only did he & Black Josh really had someone beginning to develop in terms of abstract chemistry, but Lee Scott’s lo-fi boom bap production was the most suiting musical soundscape conceivable.

Score: 3.5/5

Supergang – Self-Titled review

The Supergang are a quartet from England, United Kingdom consisting of Runcorn, Cheshire, emcee/producer Lee Scott, London emcee Milkavelli, Sheffield emcee Sniff & finally London producer Sumgii. All of whom have cross paths with each other several times over the courses of each member’s careers, so them forming & introducing themselves as a unit by dropping an eponymous debut EP under Blah Records was understandable given the founder of the label’s involvement in many different side projects.

The g-funk instrumental on the intro “Zap” was a welcoming way to get the extended play started having each of them spitting hardcore verses without the need of a hook whereas “Yellow x Green” goes for a lo-fi boom bap vibe talking about dreaming in only those 2 colors. “GNGLVD” keeps the beats dusty making it clear the Devil Gang’s retaliation has begun while “Do It Twice” rawly yet slowly talks about living life do or die because of the rush they get out of it.

“I Confess” starts the backend of the Supergang’s self-titled debut admitting to pushing drugs on their Twitter feeds & being happier than a kid on Christmas Eve once they’re caught instrumentally experimenting with trap leading into the “Unofficial Anthem” coming through with their own 5 & a half minute theme song. “Bubblewrap” closes up shop with 1 last boom bap beat subduing it so all 3 lyricists can fire off 1 last hardcore verse of their own.

Making it their mission to become the UK hip hop scene’s next unstoppable force, the Supergang’s inaugural musical statement certainly does what everyone involved had set out to do & those who enjoy the Mcabre Brothers’ output or Nobodies Home’s debut EP ADHD Concerto 77 wouldn’t deny it. Sumgii’s production here sticks out amongst the funkiest he’s ever made & Lee handles the verse with both Milkavelli & Sniff by his side rather than either or.

Score: 4/5

Mcabre Brothers – “Tell a Friend” review

The Mcabre Brothers are a duo from the United Kingdom consisting of Runcorn, Cheshire, England emcee/producer & Blah Records founder Lee Scott alongside London emcee Milkavelli. Known for being members of Cult Mountain & the Children of the Damned, these guys made their eponymous debut in 2009 & followed it up with their debut EP Merry Critmass. Their sophomore effort Gonzo Lyricism was the last time we heard from the brothers & are back nearly a decade later with their 2nd extended play.

The title track sets the tone with a boom bap instrumental encouraging everyone to let their friends know the Mcabre Brothers are in effect again & after “Tie Die Sky” ruggedly talks about keeping it going until the job’s done, “Ring Back” featuring Black Josh works in more kicks & snares ending the 1st half comparing acid trips to an episode of the Discovery Global subsidiary Cartoon Network late night block [adult swim] hit series Rick & Morty.

“64 Bit” featuring Salar starts off the other leg of Tell a Friend with all 3 off them giving us witty video game wordplay over this industrial beat while “Flush” humorously talking about discarding mixtapes wack rappers are always passing out by making it go down the toilet. “No Chance” however wraps things up with this coldblooded boom bap instrumental dismissing the idea of any crew having the possibility of defeating them in a battle.

Ending the longest gap in-between releases so far, the Mcabre Brothers return after nearly 8 years for an EP making it clear as day for anyone listening to Tell a Friend they’ve returned & hopefully it won’t be the last time we hear them again. I’d still say their self-titled debut has the best production of all 4 projects Lee Scott & Milkavelli have done although I can appreciate the depiction of their style evolving over the course of an entire decade.

Score: 3.5/5

Milkavelli – “Cult Member” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee Milkavelli making his solo debut. Originally known under the moniker Monster Under the Bed, he was also a former member of both the Children of the Damned & the Piff Gang collectives in addition to him presently comprising 1/4 of Cult Mountain & 1/2 of the Mcabre Brothers. Although he’s considered to be more of an affiliate of the Cult of the Damned, he’s telling us what it was like being a Cult Member a year after the 616god extended play days after Ryan Smile ended Josh Bodom’s record-tying 3rd reign as RPW British Cruiserweight Champion.

“Spaceman” begins with him talking about having vices because he’s hellspawn & giving middle fingers to the enemy at war whereas “Rehab” featuring Suspect OTB finds the 2 comparing the feeling of being inside of a studio to that of rehabilitation. “Lock & Load” continues with him talking about feeling comfy by himself carrying a pistol in his hand leading into “Jamaa” produced by Sumgii talking about his enigmatic profile & feeling trippy after taking a few tabs.

Nobodies Home jumps behind the boards on “Cold Outing” speaking of treating his weed sack religiously in sense to people telling him he raps sacrilegiously & winning when he’s never won while “ZZZ” featuring the late Lil Peep talks about each of their own relationships with drugs. “Foul Mouth” has a more chaotic trap vibe instrumentally talking about him going all in while “There It Is” tackles drugs, relationships, success & spirituality over a Reklews beat.

“Yay High” featuring Jesse James Solomon gets the other half of the album going with both of them talking about having different shit within the same day over a Tony Seltzer instrumental while “Silk Tears” admits to doing this shit for the fuck of it only for people to bit him. “S!ck” has the Mcabre Brothers linking up to talk about being fed up with being too ill at everything while “Feeling Like” psychedelically discusses him only having his teammates & going up against the weekend when it’s actually a weekday.

Kicking off the 4th quarter, “Hello Kitten” shows a more flirtatious side to Don Silk telling this woman who has his attention that doesn’t play with religion despite having faith while “Mmm Bop” featuring Sniff gets together over an eerie boom bap beat the latter made himself to talk about going to Hell merely for their own amusement. “Where’s Olly?” suggests those worrying of what he’s doing to get a real hobby & “Roger Rabbit” sends it all off describing him watching The Walt Disney Company-owned Who Framed Roger Rabbit? with Zapp playing in the background.

There are a few other members from the original Children of the Damned crew who either haven’t released any solo material whatsoever like Salar or Tony Broke solely doing guest appearances for the past few years following his last EP Money in the Bag, but I’d have to say I prefer Cult Member more than 616god if this is the last we’ll hear from the Monster Under the Bed individually. The production’s an upgrade from its predecessor last Halloween, there are more guests in comparison & includes a myriad of different hip hop styles like boom bap & cloud rap.

Score: 3.5/5

Cult Mountain – “The 616sons” review

Cult Mountain is a quartet from England, United Kingdom consisting of London producer Sumgii, Sheffield emcee Trellion, London emcee Milkavelli & finally Runcorn, Cheshire, emcee/producer Lee Scott. Dropping an eponymous debut EP & a sequel, the latter would form the duo HAPPYPPL with Trellion a few months ago & introduced themselves providing a list of Things to Do in Happy Land When Ur Dead. However, the other half are joining them for the 3rd extended play from the Mountain preluding 2.5 ahead of the trilogy chapter.

“Yugen Pie” gets the ball rollin’ over a slow boom bap instrumental asking where the wisdom goes whenever they drop knowledge whereas “Mzungu Poa” finds everyone getting on some hater shit dabbling with trap a bit. “Life’s So Hard” reaches the halfway point spitting some arrogant pimp shit while “Cult Sweg” comes through with a cloudy Cult of the Damned anthem. “Brink” talks about those who think they give a fuck being sorely mistaken & “Spell It Out” ends with them turning their arrogance up.

The HAPPYPPL’s introductory EP a few months earlier Things to Do in Happy Land When Ur Dead was an experimentally dark prelude to The 616sons, but Milkavelli continues rockin’ mics beside Lee Scott & Trellion with none other than Sumgii behind the boards recapturing every aspect of the last couple entries in Cult Mountain’s discography whilst homaging the Fox Corporation’s longest-running animated series The Simpsons.

Score: 4/5