Freddie Gibbs – “Freddie” review

After making a strong comeback with his last full-length album album 2017’s You Only Live 2wice, Indiana MC Freddie Gibbs is now returning with his 10th mixtape.

The opener “Weight” of course talks about drugs over a decent trap beat while the next song “Automatic” gets confrontational over a murky beat. The song “Death Row” with 03 Greedo talks about criminal activity over some dinky keys & heavy bass while “Triple Threat” talks about how hot this chick is over a smooth trap beat. The song “2 Legit” gets braggadocious over an amazing sample of Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves the Sunshine” & after the FML interlude, we go into the track “Set Set”. Here, Gangsta Gibbs gets lavish over some rattling hi-hats & an atmospheric backdrop. The track “Toe Tag” gets murderous over an eerie beat & the song “F.B.C. (Fendi Buckle Coat)” charismatically talks about how fly he is over a fun beat. Then we get the closer “Diamonds 2”, which serves as a heartwarming sequel to the song “Diamonds” off of his Pronto EP from 2015.

While I still prefer Freddie’s last 2 albums more, this is still solid. Despite Freddie’s gritty lyricism staying in tact & while I also adore the nod to the classic Teddy Pendergrass album Teddy in the artwork, some of the production could’ve been better & the 03 Greedo verse didn’t really do much for me admittedly. Regardless, I think this is still is an enjoyable treat to hold us off until MadGibbs drops Bandana

Score: 3.5/5

Ski Mask the Slump God – “Beware the Book of Eli” review

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After much anticipation, Floridian SoundCloud sensation Ski Mask the Slump God is finally releasing his 3rd mixtape to spite his former management. The tape starts off with “Lost Souls”, where he & Rich the Kid compare themselves to Elder Scrolls over a beat that reminds me of a Southern hip hop hit during the Early 2000s. The next song “Run” gets confrontational over a murky Timbaland beat & Ski Mask’s flow on here is insane! The track “SkiMeetsWorld” talks about sex over a clever Boy Meets World sample & not only is Timbaland’s production on “Worldwide” spacey, but Ski’s continuous references to the Nationwide insurance company is pretty funny.

The track “Throwaway” with Ronny J sounds unfinished & sonically, it gets really annoying quickly. Especially with the hook. The song “With Vengeance” with Offset gets braggadocious over an eerie Timbaland, but the hook is badly sung in my opinion. The track “CoolestMonkeyInTheJungle” with SahBabii gets sexual over a sinister Murda Beatz instrumental & it’s absolutely hilarious. Especially with the references to Quagmire & Honey Nut Cheerios. The next 2 songs “Suicide Season” & “DoIHaveTheSause? (The Bees Knees)” are filled with yet more sex bars, but the first of the 2 has a bland beat & the other has a tedious hook. The track “Geekin’” gets back to the braggadocious tip over an twangy guitar/trap beat & “Child’s Play” while short, is super abrasive & fun. The the penultimate track “Bukakke” with Rich the Kid is a fine display of their chemistry over a chaotic beat while the closer “Dapper Dan” rapidly flexes over a bass-heavy beat.

As a whole, this was just as average as his last mixtape YouWillRegret. The production is certainly better, his rapid-fire flow is even more exciting & he sounds as charismatic as ever. However, he REALLY needs to make some of his songs longer because it really comes off as rushed to me. If he takes more time with his next project, I truly think it could become his magnum opus

Score: 3/5

6ix9ine – “DAY69” review

6ix9ine is a 22 year old rapper from Brooklyn, New York who’s after gaining a lot of buzz in 2017. He’s also received a lot of controversy up to the release of his 1st mixtape right here from pleading guilty to sexual misconduct with a minor to canceling a show & getting jumped in Los Angeles. The album starts off with “BILLY”, where 6ix9ine gets confrontational over an eerie trap beat. The next track “GUMMO” ruins a beautifully haunting instrumental from P’ierre Bourne by emotionlessly yelling vapid street lyrics & the track “RONDO” with Tory Lanez & Young Thug talks about throwin’ money instead of fighting dudes over a spacey trap beat. The track “KEKE” with A Boogie wit a Hoodie & Fetty Wap vapidly about how gangsta they are over a decent instrumental & the song “93” gets confrontational once again over a gritty thunderous beat.

“DOOWEE” has another grimy bass heavy trap beat, but the verses are redundant & the hook is annoying as fuck. The song “KOODA” disses Trippie Redd over a keyboard-trap beat & while the “BUBA” instrumental Internet Money Records founder Taz Taylor whips up isn’t too bad, it sounds underwritten. The track “MOOKY” is about stomping people out over a bland beat & the “Damn!” homage at one point really pissed me off.

THE “GUMMO” sequel is slightly better than the original, but that’s because the only 2 saving graces are (once again) the Pi’erre Bourne production & the Offset verse. The tape then finishes with “CHOCOLATÉ”, where he yells about how tough his crew is over a chaotic beat.

Honestly, this was just as bad as I expected it to be. The production is mostly decent as are the features, but 6ix9ine pretty much ruins every song with his annoying delivery & substanceless lyrics. Also, some of the tracks on here sound underwritten or even unfinished

Score: 1/5

Lonzo Ball – “Born 2 Ball” review

Lonzo Ball is a 20 year old rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers & this is his very 1st mixtape. The opener “Grind Mode” with DC the Don talks about working hard over an Atari-trap beat & the next track “Get Off” is filled with lame braggadocious lyrics over a piano-trap beat. The song “Z02” is basically him promoting his sneakers over an airy trap beat & the track “Puttin’ in Work” with Kenneth Paige & DC the Don brags about their alleged rapping prowesses over an eerie piano with rattling hi-hats. The song “Better” talks about the lavish life over an organ-trap beat & “L.A.M.L. (Look At My Life)” with Kenneth Paige is basically about success with a bass heavy instrumental.

The song “Super Saiyan” compares himself to the titular Dragon Ball Z transformation albeit in a corny fashion over a trap beat with some eerie keyboards. The track “Bring It Home” with Kenneth talks about doing it for their families & the production isn’t really anything special either. Both “Money Talks” & “Check” redundantly talk about making money, but the production on the latter is more describable with it’s keyboards & monstrous bass. The song “Day 1s” is a dedication to everyone who’ve stuck with him up to this point over an eerie keyboard trap-beat while the track “Livin’ Lavish” is basically another “Better” but with a spacey beat. The 2 & half minute freestyle is basically Lonzo & Kenneth Paige going back & forth about how big they are & while there is chemistry, it’s not good. The synth-trap production is pretty mediocre as well.

The track “Gotta Get It” is another boring money making anthem with a beat that knocks off something Dr. Dre would’ve produced in the Early 2000s & the song “What Is You Doin’?” touches down on how he’s doing his own thing over a bland instrumental. The penultimate track “BBB” is basically a promotional song for his dad Lavar’s Big Ball Brand over some grimy down-tuned synthesizers & the closer is a tribute to his dad over a spacey beat.

I don’t have a problem with basketball players trying to rap (case in point Shaquille O’Neal or even Damian Lillard), but this is a serious contender for Worst Release of 2018. The production is generic, it’s monotonous & the content gets super stale after a while. Just stick to basketball. Please

Score: 0/5

Conway the Machine – “G.O.A.T. (Grimiest Of All-Time)” review

Conway the Machine is an MC from Buffalo, New York who has been making a name with himself alongside his brother Westside Gunn & their label Griselda Records. They even signed to Eminem’s Interscope imprint Shady Records back in March of this year & after a long wait, he’s releasing his 8th mixtape (which is an abbreviation for Grimiest Of All-Time) & he has enlisted Griselda’s in-house producer Daringer to produce all but 1 track.

The album starts off with the title track, where he’s bragging about his rapping prowess over a killer guitar. The next song “Trump” gets murderous & the production from The Alchemist fits the vibe perfectly. The track “TH3RD F” gets mafioso over a prominent soul sample & the Raekwon verse fits like a glove. The song “Die on X-Mas” with Benny the Butcher sees the 2 getting confrontational over a super eerie instrumental & the track “Rodney Little” with Prodigy sees the 2 getting braggadocious over a haunting boom bap beat.

“XXXTRAS” vividly reflects on his days as a hustler over some horns & militant drums while the track “Bishop Shot Steel” takes a shot at the snakes over a gloomy beat. The track “Mandatory” with Royce da 5’9” sees the 2 taking a jab at their haters over a somber yet menacing beat while the penultimate track “Arabian Sam’s” with Styles P gets murderous over a grimy boom bap beat. “Bullet Klub” featuring Benny the Butcher & Lloyd Banks takes it’s name after the popular 新日本プロレス unit バレットクラブ to tell the studio gangsters what life’s really like in the streets over an ominous instrumental.

Personally, this is Conway’s magnum opus. His lyricism is grittier than ever as is the production & the features are all on point. Griselda is one of my favorite labels right now & this is yet another example of why that is

Score: 4.5/5

L.A.R.S. – “Foul World” review

L.A.R.S. is a Detroit horrorcore duo consisting of childhood friends & longtime collaborators Bizarre of D12 fame & King Gordy of the Fat Killahz. The duo originally formed & debuted as The Davidians on Esham’s Butcher Shop mixtape back in 2008, but now they’re re-emerging with a new name along with a recent record deal with Twiztid’s Majik Ninja Entertainment & this 7 track mixtape preluding their upcoming debut album.

The opener “L.A.R.S. (Last American Rock Stars)”, sees the duo talking about partying over a decent rap rock instrumental from their DJ & honorary 3rd member Foul Mouth, who produced all but 1 song on the entire project. The next track “Put Me Thru” has a very surprising soul sample throughout & the way Gordy talks about this woman who’s being physically abused is super vivid. Also, there’s one line during Bizarre‘s verse where he accidentally mixes up Conway the Machine with his brother Westside Gunn (both of whom got signed to Shady Records earlier this year).

“Fuck Yo Baby Daddy” featuring Big T shittalks an unnamed baby daddy over a decent trap beat from Rooq, but I think both Gordy & T’s verses at the beginning & the end respectively fit the concept a lot better than Bizarre’s verse in the middle. The track “Lose Your Mind” gets gangsta over a sinister boom bap beat & the way they go back & forth with each other just goes to show how strong their chemistry still is. The song “Mother’s Best Friend” is a hilarious sex tune over a jazzy instrumental & then the penultimate track “Savage Life” talks about how insane Gordy & Bizzy are over a fittingly sinister instrumental. The closer “I’m a Celebrity” then boasts about the lavish life & the rap rock instrumental here sounds a lot more exciting than the one we heard during the opener.

I personally think Majik Ninja is one of the rawest labels out right now & I think this latest mixtape from their newest sign act is no exception. Sure it feels like an EP given that’s only 7 tracks & 23 minutes long, but Foul Mouth’s production is on point & both King Gordy & Bizarre sound as crazy as they’ve ever been. Here’s to their upcoming debut album & hopefully some solo albums from both MCs at some point in the future

Score: 4/5

$ki Mask “The $lump God” – “YouWillRegret” review

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In light of fellow Members Only co-founder XXXTENTACION exploding into stardom, $ki Mask “The $lump God” is releasing his 2nd mixtape with Republic Records. The opener “Rambo” has an obnoxious hook, but the way he gets braggadocious over this abrasive trap beat is so animated. The next song “JustLikeMyPiss” with MadeinTYO sees the 2 talking about how attractive their ladies are & the trap instrumental here compared to the opener is much more eerie. The track “Bird is the Word” is a sinister gangster anthem & the Surfin’ Bird reference during the hook was unexpected, yet cool. The song “BabyWipe” could very well be $ki Mask’s best song yet, as it has an energetic instrumental & the way he flows over it is just deadly! The track “Gone” talks about getting intoxicated, but it just overall sounds unfinished. The song “Adventure Time” has a decent beat, but the verses don’t really do anything for me. The track “EverTookATab?” talks about drugs & the bass is THUNDEROUS! The song “Winnie” has a great rapid-delivery, but the hook is super corny hook & he’s just repeating himself. The penultimate track “Energy” has a guitar-tinged trap beat that’s actually pretty cool, but the hook is bitten off of “Pornography” by Travi$ Scott & it sounds underwritten. The tape then closes out with the hard hatting almost chopper-like XXXTENTACION duet “H2O”, which was taken from the Members Only 3 mixtape. As his first release with a major label, this was a decent mixtape. $ki Mask’s energy & flow are definitely there, but a lot of the tracks seem unfinished. I definitely hope his upcoming tape with Timbaland will be much more superior

Score: 3/5

Future & Young Thug – “SUPER SLIMEY” review

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If it wasn’t enough that Future dropped his self-titled album & HNDRXX earlier this year along with Young Thug dropping Beautiful Thugger Girls mixtape back in June, the 2 Atlanta, Georgia trap superstars are now coming together with a surprise collaborative mixtape. The opener “No Cap” sees Future & Thugger getting braggadocious over an eerie beat from 808 Mafia co-founder Southside & then on the next track “3”, they channel their inner pimp over a futuristic-ish (no pun intended) trap instrumental from DY. The song “All da Smoke” is a party anthem with a fitting cloudy trap instrumental & the track “200” is yet another braggadocious tune, but this time with more of an atmospheric trap instrumental from Tre Pounds & Wheezy. The track “Cruise Ship” is a Thugger solo cut & I love how insanely energetic he sounds over this dreamy trap instrumental.

The song “Patek Water” is basically Young Thug & Offset rapping about not wanting to go back to being broke & not only was I disappointed that Future only did the hook on here, but Offset’s line near the end about “her sucking on semen” made me cringe a little bit. However, Future makes up for it by having the track “Feed Me Dope” to himself as he raps over a sinister instrumental. The song “Drip on Me” sees Future & Thugger linking back up once more to get mafioso over a wavy instrumental & then the track “Real Love” is an spacey sex tune with Future sounding more slick to set the vibe in contrast to Thugger sounding hype. The track “4 da Gang” is another Future solo cut, but with him talking about how nothing’s changed & repping his Freebandz crew over another cloudy beat from Fuse.

The song “Killed Before” is another Thugger solo cut & despite the verses being decent, I really love how he got London on da Track to bring back that country rap vibe from Beautiful Thugger Girls. The penultimate track “Mink Flow” gets back to the braggadocio bars over a hard beat from Mike WiLL Made-It & with the closer “Group Home” venting about their break-ups, Future’s verse is more sad & Thugger’s is more fittingly hostile considering the fact that he broke off his engagement with his ex-fiancée Karlae recently.

Modern trap fans would dream of someone as unique as Future doing a collab project with someone as versatile as Young Thug & in the end, I think this is better than the Drake & Future collab mixtape What a Time to Be Alive that they did back in 2015. Sure it’s not super lyrical, but I see that Future has a more natural chemistry with Thugger then he did with Drake. On top of that, the production is almost as lively & the deliveries are just wild

Score: 3.5/5

Young Thug – “Beautiful Thugger Girls” review

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Atlanta, Georgia trapper/singer Young Thug is finally releasing his Drake-executive produced 13th mixtape after a 2-month pushback. The tape opens with “Family Don’t Matter”, where he’s talking about his homies over a beautiful country/trap instrumental. The next song “Tomorrow ’till Infinity” is about Thugger wanting to spend the rest of his life with his fiancé Karlae & the production on here is just THUNDEROUS! “She Wanna Party” if you couldn’t tell is about a wild party chick over a smooth ass instrumental & “Daddy’s Birthday” gets braggadocious over a mellow instrumental from longtime collaborator London on da Track & surprisingly Scott Storch.

The track “Do You Love Me?” is another song about Karlae & while it kinda reminds me of “LOVE.” off of Kendrick Lamar’s latest album DAMN. (especially during the hook), I thought the one line on here like about “busting in her hair Milky Way” was funny as fuck. The song “Relationship” is a duet with Future & I love how they trade back & forth about treating their ladies right over a joyous trap instrumental.

“You Said” featuring Quavo sees the 2 talking about their relationships with Karlae & Quavo’s side-chick over a Latin guitar-tinged trap instrumental, but I didn’t think it had to be 7 minutes long. “On Fire” has a dreamy instrumental & lyrically, Thugger is asking Karlae for a threesome but in a hilarious fashion. The track “Get High” featuring Lil Durk & WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg is a nice down-tuned piano party anthem

The song “Feel It” melodically raps about having sex over a just as intoxicating instrumental & despite not being crazy on the songwriting with the track ”Me or Us”, the way he sings over an acoustic guitar & some heavy bass is just beautiful. The song “Oh Yeah” gets introspective about being a father & a future husband over a spacey instrumental.

”For Y’all” expresses his gratitude for his success over an acoustic guitar with some triumphant horns during the hook & the closer “Take Care” beautifully speaks on posing to Jerrika over a surprising almost-electronic instrumental.

Didn’t need consider myself a fan of Young Thug at first & will admit that it did take me some time to appreciate his artistry. Either way, I think Beautiful Thugger Girls was almost as great as his last mixtape Jeffery was. Primarily because it’s a prime example of how versatile Thugger really is, despite him being a polarizing figure in recent years

Score: 3.5/5

J Tantrum – “Hidden Faces” review

After spending the last few months dropping singles, California emcee J Tantrum is now delivering his 3rd mixtape exclusively on DatPiff. The opener “Reap’N” gets braggadocious over a somewhat jazzy boom bap instrumental, but then it transitions into something more eerie halfway through. The next song “Fear the Real” is basically a message to all the Waco rappers out there & the vibraphone instrumental enhances the ominous vibe of the song as Tantrum’s delivering his aggressive bars. The track “Green Light” sees Tantrum getting vulnerable & the somber pianos enhances the stress that he’s venting out. The song “Basics” has a decent spacey trap beat, but the A.Chal hook is beautifully sung & both Tantrum’s delivery & flow is off the wall insane.

The track “The Essence” has a solid beat change from having heavy bass into something more gloomy & his bars during the first 2 verses are straight hardcore. The song “Geddit” charismatically talks about getting money over a piano-trap beat & A.Chal’s hook here reminds me of Frank Ocean for some reason. The song “Nothin’ But a Thang” gets on some gangsta shit & the Guu verse is ok, but the hook is kinda weak to me. The track “Find Out” talks about taking the crown & living like winner now over a funky bass guitar. The song “High” raps about his squad being The A-Team & fucking you up for slippin’ some vibraphones along with some heavy bass & DJ scratches.

The track “Wop” has an ominous yet abrasive beat & while I didn’t expect the A$AP Twelvyy feature at all, he definitely came through. I also like how first verse in Spanish, but the hook sounds too comatose for me. The song “Dutchboy” is basically Tantrum taunting wack rappers yet again over a druggy instrumental & the line about calling him Lamar despite not having crack under his nose is just absolutely hilarious. The track “Damn Lil Mama” sees J getting back with Guu to get on the romantic tip over a smooth instrumental & the next song “Bonnie” talks about his down bitch with a rest the soulful vocal sample in the background.

The track “Hide” is just lethal over a set of twinkling keys with a sinister bassline & the Da$h verse on the song “Not Guilty” might be my favorite feature on the entire album. The song “Izm” gets back on the gangsta tip over a jazzy instrumental & the rhyme schemes on the penultimate track “Gas Chamber” are just bananas from start to finish. The tape then closes out with “‘Bout It”, where he’s flaunting about him being real along with you being a no name & the trap beat is abrasive is Hell.

Overall, this mixtape is right behind The Come Up for J Tantrum’s best work. A couple of the features were decent & I wasn’t feeling some of the hooks, but the production hits hard for the most part & the bars are just as nastier than ever before. I personally feel that Tantrum is one of the best in the LA underground right now & this tape definitely solidifies that

Score: 4/5

Click here to to check out the mixtape