Mumm Ra – “Autogod” review

This is the 2nd EP albeit Dirtcore Music debut from Chicago, Illinois emcee Mumm Ra. A member of the Mission: Infect collective, he eventually made his solo debut in 2008 with Remember the Name & the sophomore effort The AboM:Ination. His debut EP Clash of the Titans: The Return of 3rd Earth & his 3rd album The God Complex both came out back-to-back a decade ago, which later resulted in him following those up with Wrath of the Titans & House of M respectively. Madd Maxx just put out his new EP Dirtcore 24 at the beginning of the month celebrate his birthday, so it makes perfect sense to have The God kick off the Autogod trilogy.

After the “Chapter 1” intro, the first song “You Can’t Get Rid Me” produced by Crossworm is this incredibly dark opener addressing everyone who thought he was done making music whereas “Come On” talks about loyalty not being what it once was anymore over an electronic trap instrumental. “Had Enough” takes the apocalyptic trap route expressing his frustrations with rappers frontin’ while “King Omega” embraces the boom bap discussing his range being a beautiful thing. “1 Time” ends the EP dustily promising he’ll annihilate your squad.

Dirtcore has been steadily proving itself to be a dominant force within the underground ever since Crossworm started signing other artists to the label & Autogod not only proves my point further, but it has me feeling confident that the rest of the EP trilogy will go on to become some of the most important material in his discography. It’s more well-produced than some of his past material & you can really hear the reignited passion through Mumm’s verses.

Score: 4/5

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Madd Maxxx – “Dirtcore 24” review

This is the 6th EP from Brockton, Massachusetts emcee Madd Maxxx. A member of the Mission: Infect collective, he’s also released a few full-lengths along with a mixtape & his previous 5 EPs on his own, with the last LP being his 3rd album albeit Dirtcore Music debut Kaleidoscope becoming the strongest body of work he’s ever made thus far & he’s returning on his born day once again condensing Dirtcore 24 down to a 5 track 12 & a half minute offering preluding a future full-length in the future at some point I presume.

After the “Keep It Dirtcore” intro, the first song “Terrifying” produced by J Reno starts the EP shooting for a trap vibe instrumentally telling us why his shit he cold whereas “Diary of a Madd Man” switches into the boom bap lane taking aim at every juggalo rapper who thinks they can body him when he’s right. “Shinobi Stance” works in some synths as well as kicks & snares from Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm continuing to deliver hardcore lyricism while the closer “Rat Race” ruggedly talks about Dirtcore being the leaders of the hip hop zombie horde.

M:I just put out their magnificent comeback EP arM:Igeddon earlier this spring & not only is it my favorite EP of Maxxx’, but I’ll even argue it’s right behind Kaleidoscope from last year in being the 2 go-tos if you wanna get into Madd Maxxx’ solo work. Crossworm & J Reno both kill their respective shares of Dirtcore 24’s production & Maxxx refrains from having any guests joining him so he can hold down the lyrical side of things on his own, to which he succeeds at. Has me more intrigued about fellow Mission: Infect member Mumm Ra’s upcoming album albeit Dirtcore Music debut Autogod in a couple weeks.

Score: 4.5/5

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Mission: Infect – “arM:Igeddon” review

Mission: Infect are an underground collective consisting of Lo Key, Badluck, Dubbs, DurtE, Grewsum, Madd Maxxx, Malaria, Mumm Ra, St. Sinna, Tha Wikid One & 0. They’ve released 6 full-lengths together in the span of nearly 2 decades including the Chemical Threats tetralogy, XterM:Ination & Asphyxiation with quite a few other members finding success on their own as solo artists in the wicked shit scene. However after 7 years of silence as a unit, the crew are getting back together for their first EP.

“Pathogen” featuring Grewsum, Lo Key, Madd Maxxx & Tha Wikid One is this hardcore trap opener putting their gas masks on whereas “Guns Up” featuring Badluck, Grewsum & Lo Key kinda draws from electronic dance music instrumentally talking about rallying up the soldiers. All 3 emcees stick around for “Old Man Flow” working in kicks & snares to drop battle bars just before “Load ‘Em Up” featuring DurtE, Lo Key, Madd Maxxx & Tha Wikid One finds the quartet over a dark trap beat talking about taking ‘em down.

Badluck, Grewsum & Lo Key get back together for “Get Ya Mask On” returns to the boom bap going door-to-door to get their blast on leading into “Fire Back” featuring Dubbs, Lo Key & Malaria keeps it raw talking about rightfully being veterans decapitating heads again. “Welcome Home” featuring Badluck, Grewsum, Malaria, Mumm Ra, St. Sinna & 0 concludes the EP with everyone over kicks, snares & electronic-toned synths acknowledging that the underground missed them as a unit.

This is the 2nd longest gap between releases for Mission: Infect since Chemical Threats 3 & 4 both came out 8 years after Asphyxiation since everyone’s been focusing on further establishing themselves as solo artists. That said: arM:Igeddon still proves the collective hasn’t gone anywhere after all this time. The production is varied in sound whether it be horrorcore, trap, boom bap, hardcore hip hop or electronica/electronic dance music & everyone sounds happy to be reunited.

Score: 4/5

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Lo Key – “Portraits of Horror” review

Philadelphia horrorcore emcee Lo Key unleashing his 15th EP. You may know him for his involvement in a handful of groups within the underground like Mission: Infect or more recently Cabal & Neon Sermon or even his own solo discography of LPs that he calls the 12 Oracles. So far the only 4 we’ve gotten from him are Shadowland, The Book of Time, The Blood of Izu, The Eyes of Parasuva. But to help him paint Portraits of Horror, we have Lo Key enlisting former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 to produce the whole thing.

After the intro, the first song “The Box” opens the EP with some pianos & hi-hats with heavy guitars during the hook proclaiming that you could never kill him whereas “Burn the Witch” takes the eerie trap route looking to do exactly that as it is a necessity for him. “You’re My Everything” morbidly answers if he’s ever had to deal with stalkers just before “Parasitic” frighteningly admits he gave it his best & it wasn’t enough. “Remote Control” wraps everything up with a ghoulish trap beat looking to lead everyone to Shadowland.

25 years in the game & here we have Lo Key returning to form by taking it back to his horrorcore roots in comparison to his last few solo efforts going for different sounds. 7’s production is incredibly consistent & not only can the Mission: Infect leader still spit the wicked shit raw all these years later, but he shows his versatility as a vocal performer along the way too. Most notably during the hooks.

Score: 4.5/5

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Madd Maxxx – “Kaleidoscope” review

Madd Maxxx is a 38 year old MC from Brockton, Massachusetts notable for being a member of the Mission: Infect collective. He’s also released a couple full-lengths along with a mixtape & 5 EPs on his own, with the last LP being Where thx Wxld Thxngs Are back in 2016 & more recently the Halloween’s Over EP celebrating it’s 1-year anniversary this past spring. But when it was announced that Crossworm had signed Maxxx to Dirtcore Music, I was highly looking forward to hearing what was in store for his debut for the label & 3rd album overall.

After the intro, “The Culmination” is a ghostly trap opener to the LP speaking to the congregation whereas “Hell Yeah” has a more energizing atmosphere to it this time around talking about how there ain’t no limits until the finish. “Fuck Around & Find Out” dives into boom bap territory with a message directed at all of his detractors out there just before the woozy trap cut “I’m Still Here” acknowledges that he’s still rockin’ it in the underground wicked shit scene to this very day.

“B.L.G.B. (Bad Little Goth Bitch)” continues forward with a cool ode to all the goth bitches in the haughhh that is until “2Gunz” featuring Sleep Lyrical gives off more of a somber trap vibe instrumentally asking if anyone knows who they really dealing with. “IDK?” hooks up this unsettling loop & hi-hats talking about not caring or really giving any fucks leading into “Lovecraftian featuring Doc Gruesome, Lo Key & Samson Samson finds the quartet showing their appreciation for the titular horror subgenre over an occult beat.

Problemattik & 9 Millz both join Maxxx to tell everyone what “Life on Stage” is really like for them backed by a boom bap instrumental while “The Merry Go Round Broke Down” featuring Crossworm on the remix ruggedly points out the fact that he’s putting his life into this music shit for 2 decades at this point. “She Doesn’t Love Me Anymore” tugs at the heartstrings a bit on all fronts by discussing a breakup while the dusty “No Umbrella” tackles the themes of depression metaphorically standing in bad weather without an umbrella.

The song “Single Dad” profoundly starts the final leg of Maxxx’s debut on Dirtcore with a piano & a melodic vocal sample giving us a look to what it’s like for him to raise a son by himself while the penultimate track “The Only Life I Know” blends these rich chords & hi-hats together talking about how those who ain’t a part of his life already are all the targets. “1 More Show” featuring Reverend Television rounds out the LP in the form of a inspiring trap closer dedicated to all their homies that couldn’t be here with them today.

Of the 3 full-lengths that Madd Maxxx has dropped thus far, Kaleidoscope stands as my favorite in his whole entire catalog & it has me ecstatic for his future with Dirtcore in general. The skits with his son throughout are ironic if anyone couldn’t tell but it’s well-produced, the feature list is pretty tight & you get a more personal look at one of my favorite Mission: Infect members.

Score: 4/5

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Neon Sermon – “001” review

Neon Sermon are a horrorcore trio consisting of BatiBatt, Krux 1 & Lo Key. The latter of whom is most notable for being the leader of the Mission: Infect collective with Bati being his wife & Krux as his latest protege, joining the crew last year. They only have a couple songs under their belt together prior to bringing Bati into the picture couple months back for the lead single coinciding with the news of the trio’s formation & are following it up by dropping their debut EP enlisting former Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 behind the boards for the entire thing.

After the “Signal Received” intro, the first song “Doomsday Device” is a boom bap/EDM fusion to start off the EP talking about a weapon of mass destruction that has malfunctioned whereas “Beamed Up” dives deeper into electronic territory looking for smoke. “GODZILLA” works in a trap beat to admit they they feel like the King of the Monsters with some speedy flows as well as a freshly chopped & screwed Eminem sample for the hook, but then “Level Up” takes a more abrasive route to declare sermon now being in session.

The song “B.I.A.T.D.A.T.L.M.O.M.F.K. (Bitch I Am The Devil And They Let Me Out My Fuckin’ Kettle)” returns to an EDM-influenced sound comparing themselves to Satan & that they’ve been let loose while the penultimate track “The Sickness” detours into boom bap territory talking about how no one’s ready for this. “You Now Belong to Us” on the other hand sends 001 off with an electronic/trap hybrid asking to step into their spaceship with a melodic hook that I consider to be the best throughout the whole thing.

Lo Key has been known for dabbling with completely different sounds with the most recent example being his nu metal-influenced 13th EP Metanoia last spring or even the last solo album The Eyes of Parasuva taking on a more alt-rock vibe & that’s exactly what he did here with his fellow Neon Sermon brethren. 7 embraces a heavy EDM influence over the course of a good bulk of his instrumentals with KruX turning the chemistry between him & his mentor up to 11.

Score: 4/5