ApolloRed1 – “Demon Heart Radio” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper ApolloRed1 releasing his debut mixtape under Opium Records & Interscope Records. Starting out a couple years ago off his full-length debut The Summer I Turned Red, his first few extended plays Villain as well as Vamp Diary & Tantrum were enough to have his blood cousin Playboi Carti make him the newest member of the Opium roster by dropping a Midnight Blassic. ApolloRed1 vs. the World in October continued to make some more artistic improvements & Demon Heart Radio has finally arrived after months of delays.

“#Demon” produced by Cardo made for an entertaining single that came out last weekend addressing someone he facilitated all his love for whereas “Where I’m @“ works in some heavy 808s from Bakkwoods admitting that he’s so high off the drugs that he doesn’t know his exact location. “Pink!” hops over an Ayelavish! instrumental I really enjoyed talking about pulling his Glock out like it’s a shiv while “#SRT” pulls from plugg courtesy of SOULJASPIRITS likening himself to Deadpool.

Trgc gets behind the boards for the EDM-inspired “More Time” talking about the only thing he wants is to be with this woman more just before “Love You > Myself” gives off a more hyper tone altogether pondering what to do when the drugs won’t help & speaking of someone he loves more than himself over a rage beat from Clayco & OPM BABI. “Shell” maintains the hypertrap vibes instrumentally depicting imagery of the gangsta life until putting dollar signs “OnYoHead!” over a sinister Bugz Ronin beat.

“Codeine Shower” featuring Destroy Lonely finds the 2 reuniting to end the 1st half of Demon Heart Radio talking about treating drugs like probiotics while “Can’t Go” runs it back over another Ayelavish! instrumental for a couple minutes or so assuring that shit being real life to him. “Caution” has a playful rage aura to it catching those speaking ill on his name on offense while “Geeked Up” featuring OsamaSon talks about both of them seeing red.

We have ApolloRed on the rage-inducing “ARP My Bitch” likening his AR-15 pistol to romantic lover while “Drive u” embraces more of a pluggier sound thanks to F1LTHY of Working on Dying to talk about him being on top of the hill of the Atlanta scene with the rest of his Opium squad. “Tight Pants” featuring the Homixide Gang joins forces to express their disdain for those fuckin’ with rats & while “Pullup##” winds down the last few moments of Demon Heart Radio turning up the hypertrap elements courtesy of Ayelavish! talking about going crazy soon as he hits the stage.

“Hood-Made” explains that the streets made him the person he is today over an instrumental Zodiac of Vanguard Music Group made while the outro “Set You Free” sends off Apollo’s major label debut suggesting he might let go of an ex if they weren’t meant for each other. “Machete” talks about having hundreds of dollars coming in & having a book bag for it while “NoCrash” samples “Put on a Smile” by Silk Sonic to detail his no fucks given attitude.

Midnight Blassic & ApolloRed1 vs. the World have both proven that ApolloRed1 could potentially be the most underrated signing on the Opium roster considering both of those were big step-ups from his earlier output, but his major label debut Demon Heart Radio tops both of those in unveiling a tape packed with the highest quality of rage & plugg music I could’ve expected from him. Whether it’s the consistently fun production or the guests & Apollo himself, the latter’s making it known that he’s arrived.

Score: 4/5

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Krispylife Kidd – “Krisp Flair” review

Flint, Michigan rapper Krispylife Kidd is back with his 16th mixtape. Since 2019, his popularity in the local trap scene has been gradually increasing since 2019 going on to release a total of his previous 15 tapes & 4 EPs all in that span of time. Icewear Vezzo even signed him to Iced Up Records during the pandemic & Lil Yachty had him featured on Michigan Boy Boat. Now I’d start with Krispylife 2 & The Art of Spice Talk trilogy if you wanna dive into Krispylife’s music, although Juice& B.A.G. (Born A Goat) each had their own individual standouts a couple years ago. Coming off the Stunt Life EP & Why Me Worry? however, Krisp Flair has arrived following some delays.

“My Old Self” opens with a Flint sound intro talking about still being the same if he was hypothetically down to $2 whereas “Who U Talking To?” fires shots at all these shrimp ass cornballs trying to diss him. “My Time to Shyne” featuring Detwan Love was one of the weaker moments due to their melodic performances despite the messaging while “Walking in the Park” confidently talks about him only getting started.

We have Krispylife offering some “Self Motivation” to end the 1st half of Krisp Flair & an instrumental that tries to tug at the heartstrings a bit while “No New Members” featuring Clean Up Man made for a Detroit trap collaboration that wasn’t any better than the one earlier. The freestyle spends a minute & a half going off the dome over a woozy beat while “Do This Go Right?” talks about his feet aching from running up checks.

“Realest You Ever Met” winds down the last leg of the tape fusing pop rap & trap for north him & the woman that he’s been romantically involved with to realize that they were essentially made for each other but once “Talking Loose” switches back to an aggressive tone recklessly running his mouth like he used to do when he initially began making music, the outro “Do You FWM?” spends the last couple minutes telling his lover what about her he fucks with the most.

2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair made himself the greatest shit-talker in the whole professional wrestling business & Krisp Flair improves above his previous mixtape last spring sending shots for nearly a half hour with no guest appearances.

Score: 4/5

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DJ Clay – “Let ‘Em Bleed 5” review

This is the 9th mixtape from Detroit, Michigan emcee, producer & turntablist DJ Clay. Being an in-house producer for Psychopathic Records for 2 decades already, he would also start up his own label Armed Robbery Entertainment in addition to putting out his last 8 tapes & the 2019 full-length debut Over the Fear Of…. However, the DJ for the Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) hit YouTube show JCW Lunacy has finally returned ahead of a sophomore effort for the long-awaited 5th installment of the Let ‘Em Bleed series.

After the EDM intro, “Man of the Year” begins with a Clay solo track getting boastful over a vocal sample & some horns whereas “Chop ‘Em Up” by Ouija Macc hops over a trap instrumental produced by DeadBoyGrim & DJ Clay to spit the wicced shit. “After the “Yoo-Da” skit, “Dumbazz” by Bailz & Shaggy 2 Dope finds the 2 comedically poking fun at all the dumbasses while “Skrrt Skrrt (Juggalo Phonk)” by Shaggytheairhead finds the latter putting a juggalo spin on the phonk subgenre.

“Willis” brings Clay back on the mic for a trap-tinged single that we got summer responding to those claimin’ to be the man while “Party Like Us” by Lardi B kicks off the 2nd half with a decent club anthem. “Hurt You” by Shaggy 2 Dope hooks up some pianos & hi-hats addressing an individual whom the Southwest Strangla can’t get enough of leading into “Shiny Shit” by Tierre Diaz confidently giving fans what they want musically.

Violent J returns for a “Duke of the Wicked” sequel reminding everyone why the JCW Commissioner & 50% owner alongside former WWE, WCW & TNA writer and former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Vince Russo earned himself that nickname to begin with while “The Darth Fader Cut” dabbles with turntablism with the help of DJ Chunk for 110 seconds. “The Father, The Son & The Holy Spirit” marks the last DJ Clay solo joint calling to let the feelings we don’t know free from our souls while “Sorry for the Wait” by the Odd Squad Family ends with an apology for Let ‘Em Bleed 5’s delay.

I knew it was gonna be different since some of the former Psychopathic alumni who appeared on all 4 of the previous entries of the Let ‘Em Bleed saga had their ties to the Clowns severed for almost a decade, but it’s alright because Let ‘Em Bleed 5 continues the series strong showcasing where the hatchet’s been at currently with both of it’s co-founders & the CEO of it’s Chapter 17 Records subsidiary all contributing in addition to A•R signee Tierre Diaz & a couple affiliates like the Odd Squad Family or Lardi B who’ve all performed at previous Gatherings.

Score: 4/5

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Blog Era Boyz – Self-Titled review

The Blog Era Boyz are a superduo consisting of Cleveland, Ohio rapper, singer/songwriter, musician & actor MGK alongside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania rapper, singer/songwriter, actor & entrepreneur Wiz Khalifa. Both of whom achieved their own individual levels of popularity during my adolescence even if I’ve always been more of a Wiz fan than MGK. However after initially crossing paths on “Mind of a Stoner” over a decade ago, they’re dropping an eponymous debut under Taylor Gang Entertainment & Interscope Records.

“family > everything” wasn’t all that exciting of a cloudy trap intro despite talking about catching Ws for the sake of those they love whereas “everything tatted” goes for a more boastful vibe expressing the love both of them have for tattoos. “MPH” finds the Blog Era Boyz trying to “rock out like it’s heavy metal” over this generically atmospheric beat until “fill my pockets” ruins a sample of “Scar Tissue” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers to end the 1st half.

Kicking off the 2nd leg, “girl next door” comes through with this corny pop rap anthem sampling “KKMJ” by Sweet Trip just before “stoned” produced by FNZ & Jim Jonsin sings & raps about smoking weed. “passport” finds the 2 moderately going back-&-forth with each other doing it better than “fill my pockets” but after “grind everyday” talks about hustling daily over a Sledgren beat, “fiberglass” finishes with both members addressing those who ain’t on their side.

I tend to look back at the blog era very fondly since I was an adolescence during that timeframe, but MGK & Wiz Khalifa aren’t necessarily the first people who come to mind when I think of that specific period. Maybe to some it’ll make better sense as to why they formed the Blog Era Boyz since both of them came up primarily rooted in the pop rap style, except I can actually take Wiz seriously unlike MGK & would call it almost as bad as genre: sadboy.

Score: 1.5/5

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Veeze – “Y’all Won” review

New surprise mixtape & the CBFW Records debut from Detroit, Michigan rapper Veeze. Emerging back in 2019 off the strength of his debut extended play Navy Wavy, he would go on to blow up in the summer of 2023 after dropping his full-length debut Ganger under Warner Records. He has since spent the last few years making guest appearances for several projects & felt like Y’all Won only announced 24 hours prior through social media would cement Veeze as the greatest signing on the entire CBFW roster.

“Tesla Pill” begins with a cloudy trap instrumental talking about him not hanging it up until he becomes a billionaire whereas “Wrong Place, Wrong Time” embraces the Detroit sound so he can discuss keeping it lit for the city. “Bruce Wayne Coupe” talks about how there should be 1,000 people kissing his ring considering people take a lot from him just before “Malice in the Palace” sticks out as a favorite from the Taurus beat to the boastful lyrics.

Meanwhile on the significantly darker “New Clothes”, we have Veeze detailing him being rich without any problems prior to another highlight track explaining that he doesn’t talk about “Old Shit” & tana producing a cloudy instrumental that I’d consider to be amongst Y’all Won’s strongest. “Listen to Me” describes giving advice to bosses over this soulful trap beat while “Still Grinding” talks about this shit historically being in his blood.

“IDK” winds down the last act of the tape observing that the reason all these muhfuckas are broke is simply because they don’t have any aura & his main bitch being unapproachable while “Birdman” compares himself to the Cash Money Records co-founder of the same name way he stunts in addition to staying around shottas whenever he’s in the hood. The outro “Lose It All Today” takes up the last 4 minutes hopping over a sped-up vocal sample talking about making bands flip.

Ganger already made it pretty clear that Veeze ranks amongst the 2020’s finest Detroit trap artists alongside the likes of Lelo & Y’all Won marks Veeze’s comeback with a respectable half hour letting the world know what makes him more appealing than Rylo Rodriguez or Lil Dann & Noodah05. Not even gonna mention EST G & 42 Dugg because they’re both on CMG too, but I respect that he held it down without any guests even if some of the production could be better.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jane Remover – “Status Update Music” review

Here is the 7th mixtape from Newark, New Jersey musician Jane Remover. Aside from the 3 full-lengths under deadAir Records including Frailty as well as Census Designated & most notably Revengeseekerz, they have also released the Ghostholding mixtape on the label & 4 tapes pioneering the Dariacore sound. Coming off the Indie Rock mixtape last summer & Young Dabo’s sickeningly transphobic “Bleed” diss towards them however, Jane’s back to give the world some Status Update Music.

“If You Think I’m a Bitch, You Should Meet Jane Remover” blends Dariacore, hybrid trap, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, xtra raw, jerk & complextro for an energetic intro mentioning underscores whereas “XO Tour Llif3” experiments with hyperphonics, speed house, electro house, hybrid trap, electro house, future bass & complextro to distinguish itself from Lil Uzi Vert’s biggest hit.

Brostep, Dariacore, rawstyle, EDM glitch hop, complextro & hardstyle all collide on the emotional “I Did This for Us” single while “…Like Watching a Zombie Turn” would debatably be amongst my top 3 tracks here due to the way future bass, changa tuki, UK hard house, brostep, psystyle & power soca are all mixed with hyperflip. “Crowdkilling 101” on the other hand explores bass house, electro-industrial, hard techno, complextro, speed house & French electro whilst maintaining the hyperphonics elements.

“Nothing Lasts Forever (Every Detail U Have Ever Told Me)” was a too 5 moment personally expanding beyond Dariacore in favor of rawstyle, speed house, hybrid trap, bubblegum bass, complextro, future riddim, festival progressive house, alternative rock & bass house while the manically dense “Chase This Feeling” bringing secondary influences of hyperflip, future bass, speed house, bubblegum bass, changa tuki, hard trance, rawphoric & rawstyle to the table.

Dariacore, deconstructed club, complextro, changa tuki, electro, nu skool breaks & bass house each have their own distinctive presence throughout “#BoyLetMeKnow” kick off the 2nd half of Status Update Music while “The Summer I Pretty” comes through with a mechanical melting pot of bass house, industrial techno, hyperflip, deconstructed club, complextro, Detroit techno, electro-industrial, hard techno, French electro, bass house & tearout.

“Right Nowww (Tear Me Apart)” would be my 2nd favorite song on the tape maximally meshing Dariacore, happy hardcore, hard trance, freeform hardcore, speedcore, buchiage trance, UK hardcore, hyper techno, psytrance, nightcore, midtempo bass, hardtek & bouncy techno while “L.A.M.B. (Love.Angel.Music.Baby.)” bears it’s name after Gwen Stefani’s timeless solo debut despite being stylistically rooted in brostep, hyperphonics, rawstyle, tearout brostep & hybrid trap.

The rhythmically buzzy “I Belong to Nobody (But Tonight I’m Yours)” keeps pushing boundaries of Dariacore drawing further inspiration from neoperreo, deconstructed club, digicore, lento violento, snap, jerk, trap, xtra raw & rawstyle prior to “Get Ugly” containing it’s individual sections varying between French electro, electro-industrial, hyperflip, drumline, industrial metal, ballroom, Jersey club, deconstructed club, neoperreo, midtempo bass & rawstyle.

“In Every Lifetime (Together Like This)” nears closer towards Status Update Music’s conclusion with a melodically polyrhythmic bass house, Dariacore, alternative R&B, hard techno, bubblegum bass, indietronica & speed house while the outro “Summer Fling” ends in the form of this perfect dance-pop, contemporary r&b, funky house, Baltimore club, akishibu-kei & 2-step anthem in time for next month.

Most would say Dariacore 2: Enter Here, Hell to the Left is the best thing Jane Remover had done under the leroy moniker, but Status Update Music surpasses it 5 years later. Their production nearly perfects the Dariacore subgenre of hyperpop & EDM microgenre Jane created eclectically mixing it with hints of hard dance, hybrid trap, industrial hip hop, deconstructed club, xtra raw, jerk, complextro, speed house, electro house, future bass, rawstyle, EDM glitch hop, hardstyle, changa tuki, UK hard house, brostep, psystyle, power soca, bass house, electro-industrial, hard techno, French electro, bubblegum bass, future riddim, festival progressive house, alternative rock, hard trance, rawphoric, nu skool breaks, industrial techno, Detroit techno, tearout, happy hardcore, freeform hardcore, speedcore, buchiage trance, UK hardcore, hyper techno, psytrance, nightcore, midtempo bass, hardtek, bouncy techno, tearout brostep, neoperreo, digicore, lento violento, snap, trap, drumline, industrial metal, ballroom, Jersey club, midtempo bass, bass house, alternative R&B, indietronica, dance-pop, contemporary R&B, funky house, Baltimore club, akishibu-kei & 2-step.

Score: 4.5/5

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Ankhlejohn – “Everything Beautiful Died Early” review

Here we have the 8th mixtape from Washington, D.C. emcee/producer Ankhlejohn. Breaking out off his Big Ghost Ltd.-produced sophomore effort Van Ghost, he’s given the underground his last 7 tapes as well as 8 EPs & 7 full-lengths in almost a decade. Other favorites of mine in his discography include the Navy Blue-produced As Above, So Below, the Rome Streetz collaborative effort Genesis 1:27, the Cookin’ Soul-produced The Michelin Man & the August Fanon-produced Live! at the Disco last summer. A whole year later & V Don’s producing Everything Beautiful Died Early.

“Origins” gets things going with a 125 second intro talking about being paid to prove cases over a drumless orchestra backing him whereas “No Specifics” goes for a boom bap vibe instrumentally referencing The Sopranos, which is one of my top 3 shows. $ha Hef joins Lordy so they can talk about some “Monyun” over a sample & some drums while “Trauma or Tragedy” incorporates a more laidback beat to talk about being there when the powder was still stone.

Babymaine joins Ankhlejohn on “Inglorious” for a gangsta rap/boom bap crossover detailing their experiences living in The Bronx & the DMV just before “Stoneisland” wraps up the 1st half of Everything Beautiful Died Early looking back at when Juelz Santana was a big inspiration to him. “Vegan Goose Down Silence” kicks off the 2nd leg talking about making this tape because he felt like the game needed him leading into “King, Pawn & Rook” featuring Crimeapple breaking down the mafioso lifestyle.

“Solar Faxx!” aggressively talks about his desire of making educating ourselves more mainstream while “Laugh & Cry” once again touches base regarding the subject of the gangsta life, explaining that it’s pretty much a cycle. “Day 1” talks about his refusal of disrespecting the plates he came from & his knowledge of the game dating back since the beginning while “Packback” ends by observing the amount of love since his youth that’s faded.

Next fall will be a whole decade since Ankhlejohn introduced himself by taking the underground on a trip through The Red Room & for the past 14 months, he’s been dropping the greatest output of his entire career from The Michelin Man to Live! at the Disco & now Everything Beautiful Died Early. There are only a small handful of guests on this one rather than Lordy holding down the mic all by himself throughout the predecessor last spring, but they’re all carefully selected since everyone flows well over V Don’s distinct production style.

Score: 4.5/5

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J Reno – “The Dirttape 3” review

Windsor, Ontario, Canada emcee/producer J Reno finishing The Dirttape trilogy with his 4th mixtape. Introducing himself over 2 decades ago off his debut tape Ground 0 as well as the full-length debut Unleashed & the sophomore effort The Lunatic’s Back, he would follow it up with 6 more albums preceding Crossworm signing him to Dirtcore Music: Lost in the Dark, Politikilla, Into the Fire, Welcome Home, Blood, Guts & Boom Bap and Me & My Demons. His debut for the Grand Rapids label The Dirttape & it’s sequel have both come out over the course of these past 5 months, building us up for this final chapter.

“Returned” hops over an eerily self-produced trap instrumental talking about becoming amongst the dead whereas “Outsider” shifts towards a symphonic boom bap vibe explaining that the industry can be cancerous when I don’t hear any lies. “They Want More” featuring Samson Samson finds the 2 aggressively talking about their coldblooded tendencies leading into “The Villain”combining rap metal & boom bap so he can get a bit more antagonistic.

Meanwhile on “Wreck Yo Self”, we have J Reno warning people that he’ll check anyone who disrespects him while “The Facade” not to be confused with the current JCW American Champion talks about fearing no wanksta over a west coast beat. “Stirring” by Misery Coast reunites the duo to talk about causing destruction together once this series is exhumed prior to “Dopamin” posing the question of what’s left once the rush fleets.

“Windows Down” talks about pulling up to cities blasting his system pulling inspiration from the west coast again while “Demons & Heathens” featuring the Even Heathens leans back into the horrorcore side of things. “Earn Some” discusses him grinding without taking a single day off & what to do if one wants respect while the final song “Enemynd” preceding the “Back to Dust” outro finishes The Dirttape saga talking about mental health, basically saying that your own mind can be your worst enemy sometimes.

The Dirttape 2 still had quality performances & beats from J Reno even if most of the features weren’t doing it for me personally, but The Dirttape 3 ends on a stronger note putting itself behind the one that started it all when 2026 began & raises anticipation of where he goes from here as a part of the Dirtcore roster. The guest list is more consistent than the predecessor back in March & he finishes the Tape Keeper arc hitting us with a primary boom bap sound.

Score: 4/5

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BigBabyGucci – “Asleep at the Wheel” review

Charlotte, North Carolina recording artist BigBabyGucci preluding his next LP with his 5th mixtape. Starting almost a decade ago off his debut EP ART HOE Collection, he would continue to build a name for himself by putting out 19 more EPs as well as 7 full-lengths & his last 4 tapes along the way. When U Wake Up, When You Go to Sleep, Baby 5 & the heavily alternative ANTI have all become his strongest material of the 2020s although I can’t the same for Isolation 2.5 a month after the latter. Internet Explorer was a fun redemption for himself & 5 months later, following up And When I’m Alone & Serotonin to fall Asleep at the Wheel.

“Bound” begins with him talking about smoking blunts & poppin’ bottles right when he gets up in the morning whereas “Glass Table Girls” samples “Don’t Play” by Travis Scott featuring Big Sean & The 1975 to describe the kind of women who get high every night. “Kiss & Tell” works in some synthesizers to talk about a type of love that’s on fire leading into “Still Around” confronts somebody for hanging around lames.

To finish the 1st half, “Is It a Dream?” talks about him still kicking it with thugs & still having aim even when he’s under the influence of drugs while “Alpina” gets the 2nd leg going confessing whilst drunk off tequila that the reason he has trust issues is because of all the real ones wanting to fuck with his girl. “Sonny Liston 2” comes through with a sequel to one of my favorite Universe 2 songs, refusing to give the ball back to anyone who crosses him.

“Fake Friends” wraps up Asleep at the Wheel’s final moments talking about the kind of people only come around in your life when it makes sense to them while “Chardonnay” likens himself to the Sunday paper hence why he doesn’t entertain old news & preferring lean over wine when I don’t drink either. “Prevail” spends the last couple minutes of the tape blaming him for being different as the cause of why he doesn’t fit in, admitting he isn’t doing so well.

Tha Leak was an intriguing collection of previously unreleased tracks between 2019-2022 & not only has he confirmed that there’ll eventually be a sequel, but we’ll get 2 more albums called Side Effects & 1 Long Trip by the end of the year with Asleep at the Wheel confirmed to be a prelude to either one of those. House of Mirrors & Mint Colored Stones are supposedly still coming too, conceptually taking us on a 26 minute car ride soundtracked by a producer he’s been bending genres with since 2019 already.

Score: 3.5/5

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Trap Dickey – “The Ville” review

Hartsville, South Carolina rapper Trap Dickey making his Top Dawg Entertainment & Uptown Records debut by dropping a brand new mixtape a month after signing. Carving a path for himself artistically after getting shot in the face as a result of a crossfire, his full-length debut Trap or Die would eventually arrive in the spring of 2021 & he has since spent the last several years building up anticipation for The Ville through numerous teasers. However in light his new deal, he’s ready to make a broader introduction under a major label.

“Sonny” produced by Sonny Digital was actually an impressive southern trap intro talking about him always looking up to the dealers whenever he watched gangsta movies whereas “Slidin’” mixes a guitar & some hi-hats to spit that g shit. “Jacker” brings a more energetic vibe to the table asking this woman if she’s ever fucked with a gang member until the 5th single “Don’t Trip” explains the reason a lot of rappers leave their hood is because they really don’t run the city.

As for the 7th & final single “Tell Me Why”, we have Trap Dickey confronting someone regarding the purpose of them fucking with him & the 6th single “Down South” featuring Key Glock was quite possibly my favorite of the bunch from FNZ sampling “Darkest Light” by the Lafayette Afro Rock Band to both artists calling to stop hatin’ on the wrong hitters. “Keep Going” featuring K Camp was a mediocre way to conclude the 1st half despite the messaging just before the 2nd single “No Love” featuring BigXthaPlug flips “Nothing But Love” from The 5 Heartbeats for a moderate gangsta rap cut.

“Blue Devils” featuring DaBaby on the remix trades verses with each other representing both Carolinas for the lead single while “LA Nights” samples “Island in the Sun” by Weezer to talk about spending evenings out in the west coast. The 3rd single “Gettin’ Money” featuring OJ da Juiceman has some cool strings & bells even if the “this shit gon’ stay on me like babies, please don’t pamper me” line was a bit trite while “Morning” samples “Easy” by the Commodores to provide some introspection.

YTB Fatt makes an appearance on the gospel trap crossover “Glory” referring themselves to be the big dog rookies of the year despite the fact that neither one of them are beginners while the 4th single “Day Shift” fuses a bluesy guitar & hi-hats talking about putting on for everything that’s in the streets along with no longer being a hitter due to the money that’s on his head. “New Philly” ties up the last few minutes of The Ville with a passionately drumless outro.

There are only a select few artists on the TDE roster that I would have to put in the C tier like Lance Skiiiwalker & Zacari, but you could add Trap Dickey to that same category considering that a great deal of The Ville was mediocre to me personally. Even if the guest list & production both falter at times, I can totally understand why Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith signed him because his whole style’s like a preacher’s grandson speaking directly to the audience.

Score: 2.5/5

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