Lil Baby – “The Leak$” review

Here is the 5th mixtape from Atlanta, Georgia rapper & CBFW Records founder Lil Baby. Rising to stardom in 2018 off his debut album Harder Than Ever, his profile would gradually increase from there by following up with a collab project with Gunna entitled Drip Harder & his previous tape Street Gossip. His sophomore effort My Turn & the previous album It’s Only Me both came out to mixed reception as did W.H.A.M. (Who Hard As Me?), cancelling Dominique in favor of unearthing a collection of Leak$.

“Mrs. Trendsetter” begins with an underwhelming trap intro talking about a woman who everyone else copies while “Guaranteed” produced by Wheezy makes for one of the few tracks I’d revisit, declaring himself as a certified dripper. “Try to Love” being the 2nd single wasn’t exactly the greatest choice whether it be the generic beat or the themes tiring themes of heartbreak leading into “Nasty Girl” talking about looking for a freak bitch.

The 4th single “Real Shit” continues with another mediocre trap single representing Zone 4 of his city just before “Violation” talks about being more than a 1 hit wonder & although that may be factually correct, it doesn’t excuse the low quality output we’ve gotten from him in recent memory. “Let’s Do It” featuring Playboi Carti feels like a leftover from the Whole Lotta Red sessions & “Forever Slime” ends the 1st half talking about being the same albeit in a better form.

“Middle of the Summer” starts the 2nd leg of The Leak$ with the 5th & final single that came out a week ago admitting he hasn’t gotten much sleep because he doesn’t want his dreams to fade away while “What She Like” has to be another favorite from the cloudy Murda Beatz instrumental to the wrestling reference midway through the 1st verse, nodding to the appearances he’s been making for the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE since WrestleMania XL & coinciding the news of their development brands NXT & EVOLVE’s partner promotion Total Nonstop Action (TNA) Wrestling announcing a TV deal with amc.

Lil Yachty, Lucki & the best signing throughout the CFBW roster by a mile Veeze all join Baby on the boastfully calm “Get Along” desiring to maintain their focus towards staying slimed while “Superman” contains one of the worst Young Thug features that I’ve ever heard not because he re-recorded a part at the backend of his verse that initially dissed Gunna, but because his vocals are slowed down to the point where it sounds silly.

“St. Tropez” featuring Bino Rideaux & Rylo Rodriguez hooks up a pitched vocal sample & some hi-hats bringing the trio together so they can talk about flying their lovers out to the commune in France while the 3rd single “Otha Boy” was my favorite of the 5 dissing Gunna, Offset, DJ Akademiks & YoungBoy Never Broke Again over a TM88 beat. “All on Me” featuring G Herbo finishes the tape with a lead single themed around the pressures of fame.

Initially teased this summer, Lil Baby finally drops The Leak$ to coincide with his 31st birthday & it doesn’t surprise me whatsoever that I came away from it liking it less than W.H.A.M. (Who Hard As Me?) celebrating it’s 1-year anniversary next month. As somebody who’s been following him since Harder Than Ever, I’ll take it a bit further arguing it could be the worst thing he’s ever put out. Somehow, the production is worse than the last full-length & the CEO of CBFW Records himself sounds bored ahead of his imprint’s upcoming showcase compilation.

Score: 1.5/5

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A-F-R-O – “The Bad & the Ugly II” review

Los Angeles, California emcee/producer A-F-R-O running it back with Stu Bangas for his new mixtape. A protege of R.A. the Rugged Man after winning the Definition of a Rap Flow contest, his Duck Down Music Inc.-backed 5th EP A-F-R-O Polo produced by Marco Polo introduced himself as a promising up-&-comer within the underground. The Drawing Board alongside The Bad & the Ugly: The Goods Always Die First and Crimson Fury have all testified to his vengeful return in recent memory, preluding his upcoming 14th EP No More Patience with The Bad & the Ugly II.

A sequel to “Lost Souls” off the original Bad & the Ugly begins assuring that he still sees the finer things despite having glaucoma whereas “Pack It In” mixes sampling with kicks & snares calling back to the House of Pain single “Jump Around” in that battling him’s a sin. “Bring Ya Best Army 2” featuring One Be Lo dustily picks up where the predecessor left off last Halloween leading into “Mastermind” featuring Wordsworth talking about life ain’t a game to them.

“Use Your Brain” pushes towards the end of the 1st half advising one to think prior to stepping up to the microphone just before “Conductor” hops over an organ-inflicted boom bap instrumental to talk about conducting poetry whenever he’s in the booth. “Man of God” featuring Motion+ finds the 2 speaking being beyond blessed with their lives & having no tolerance towards disrespect while “My Saloon” talks about pouring up lyrical brew & not allowing any punk muhfuckas in his bar.

We get some pianos & a drum machine on “The Quick & The Dead” addressing the type of rappers who think they slick by busting their rhymes with speed when they’re really not while “No Regrets” featuring 4-IZE talks about living life without any remorse. “D’Amalfi” produced by Young Bangas marks the only track that Stu didn’t produce soulfully discussing being on this grind, but never thought he’d still be dreaming.

“Pandemic Posse” featuring Blaq Poet, EKYM1536, Emsee Prospekt, Horror City, Motion+ & Pulse Reaction takes up the next 6 minutes properly introducing themselves collectively while “Glistening” asks all the party people if they’re still listening to him rock the stage. “Stairway 2 Heaven” finishes with some rap rock undertones explaining that God told him to use his mind as a weapon.

The Bad & The Ugly II might be a little more heavier on the features compared to the original that came out last Halloween, but I’d certainly put it above Crimson Fury by only slight margin as much as I highly enjoyed that conceptual self produced extend extended play 5 months ago. The production almost entirely handled by Stu Bangas of course recaptures the flawlessly raw energy of The Bad & The Ugly, with A-F-R-O’s pen leveling up in terms of gruesomeness.

Score: 4/5

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Westside Gunn – “Heels Have Eyes III” review

Buffalo, New York emcee, songwriter, entrepreneur, curator & professional wrestling promoter/booker Westside Gunn celebrating Halloween with the final chapter of the Heels Have Eyes trilogy. Proving his legend status & that he’s a force to be reckoned with all in nearly a decade whether it be running one of the hottest hip hop labels in recent memory to his first 2 full-lengths FLYGOD & Supreme Blientele. The success of the 4th Rope independent professional wrestling circuit has included 2-time RoW Heavyweight Champion Zilla Fatu becoming the inaugural 4th Rope Heavyweight Champion carrying on the legacy of his late father in former AJPW世界タッグチャンピオン, FMWハードコアタッグチームチャンピオン and 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion Umaga as well as former 2-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion Real1 becoming the inaugural 4th Rope Flyweight Champion and even the current 4-time TNA World Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz becoming the inaugural 4th Rope World Tag Team Champions, following up Heels Have Eyes II with Heels Have Eyes III instead of FLYGOD is an Awesome God III.

“Free Rolleys” featuring Benny the Butcher & produced by CG after an intro from former JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion Joshua Bishop begins with a boom bap instrumental & Benny dissing Freddie Gibbs whereas “Mankind” featuring Stove God Cook$ references WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE Champion, 11-time WWE tag team champion, the inaugural WWE Hardcore Champion, CWA World Tag Team Champion & TNA World Champion Mick Foley over a soulful Daringer beat.

We have Westside Gunn over a boom bap instrumental with strings during “Eddie Bauer” shouting out the titular outdoor recreation brand just before “Tito Santana” featuring Rome Streetz gives their flowers to the WWE Hall of Famer, former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 2-time WWE Tag Team Champion of the same name. The pianos Denny LaFlare works in during “Tiffany Blue” suit the Halloween timing & West lets off some insane rhyme schemes.

“R-Truth” salutes the former 2-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, 2-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, TNA World Tag Team Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 2-time WWE Hardcore Champion & 2-time WWE tag team champion who recently made his foray into country music this summer while “Babas” gives off a lo-fi boom bap vibe instrumentally referencing WWE Hall of Famer, 2-time WWE Champion & WWE Tag Team Champion Bob Backlund.

After the “Grey St.” interlude, the final song “Gus Smacker” featuring Brother Tom Sos provides a taste of what’s to come from the latter’s upcoming debut album in 2026 teaming up over this jazzy beat talking about how some people need to be using common sense & an outro from former JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion Joshua Bishop is what officially ends the Heels Have Eyes trilogy tying things up the way he started it only 25 & a half minutes earlier.

The insert of the Heels Have Eyes III states that FLYGOD is an Awesome God III will be released “soon” & whether that be within the next couple months or sometime the following year, Westside Gunn carries on his tradition of celebrating Halloween concluding what he started during WrestleMania XLI weekend curating 25 & a half minutes of the mafioso rap he’s become celebrated for with the production going from boom bap to jazz rap & drumless.

Score: 4/5

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Lloyd Banks – “Halloween Havoc VI: The 6 of Swords” review

Wouldn’t be a Halloween without the 21st mixtape from Queens, New York emcee Lloyd Banks. Gaining notoriety in the 2000s for his witty punchlines along as well as being an original member of G-Unit alongside childhood friends 50 Cent & Tony Yayo, he kept himself busy for a little while after the group’s disbandment in 2015 by releasing A.O.N. 2 (All Or Nothing 2): L.I.U. (Live It Up) & Halloween Havoc 3: 4 Days of Fury just before taking on a 5-year hiatus that really lasted until he received a song placement on the soundtrack for Griselda Records’ theatrical debut Conflicted along with the whole Course of the Inevitable album trilogy gaining renewed interest in the PLK himself. 6 months following A.O.N. 3: (All or Nothing 3): Despite My Mistakes, it was only a matter of time until we got Halloween Havoc VI: The 6 of Swords.

“Addition by Subtraction” starts with a drumless chipmunk soul instrumental from Cartune Beatz talking about cropping pictures because some people don’t belong in them whereas “Eat What You Kill” promises to make the music split people in half like he’s slicing their faces with a razor blade. “Book of Records” goes for a bit a boom bap direction talking about not slowing down because he can’t afford to do so leading into the grisly “If Time Permits” looking to get everything on the table.

As for “Haddonfield”, we have Lloyd over a chillin vocal sample providing mayhem to the masses just before “Supposed to Be” hooks up a soul flip to talk about how things are meant to unfold from his perspective. “Die Slow” experiments with trap a bit explaining that he’d rather be living fast while “Save a Spot” profoundly finishes the 1st half talking about time continuously flying away & the race again against has all been by design.

“Made a Fool of Me” works in a boom bap instrumental that Haas Almahdi cooked up with some cumbersome piano chords speaking of disloyal people & love being cancelled to some while the cloudily raw “Changed Up” talks about people switching on him. “The Eye Test” brings some organs into the fold ready to 187 microphones for the 718 while “It Ain’t Going Well” confesses he hasn’t been doing all that greatly for him as of late because another problem occurring on the daily.

Starting the final act of Halloween Havoc VI: The 6 of Swords, the song “Talk About It Lata” caution that there’s consequences for people acting gangsta out in the streets while “Father Forgive” talks about him hoping that people will appreciate this last rush. “Happy Eyes Lie People” plays with the idea of him checking outta here for good & “What’s Your Purpose?” concludes by asking for our motives because those who don’t have one don’t have anything going for them.

With all of the praise I have for Lloyd Banks’ penmanship & I can appreciate him continuing the Halloween Havoc series because of the way shit’s been going for him, I feel like he needs to switch up his production a bit. No shade towards Haas Almahdi or Cartune Beatz because they’re both good dudes, but I’m confidently sure some of the greats like The Alchemist or Hit-Boy & Conductor Williams would love to work with him.

Score: 3.5/5

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Icewear Vezzo – “Purple Passion” review

Detroit trap veteran & Iced Up Records founder Icewear Vezzo celebrating his birthday weekend with a brand new mixtape. For over a decade now after appearing on the studded “Detroit vs. Everybody” remix, this dude has been making waves locally by releasing the Rich Off Pints trilogy of LPs & over a dozen tapes. The previous Paint the City hosted by DJ Drama preluded his Quality Control Music debut album Live from the 6, which had a sequel of it’s own & the Undefeated looks to discuss his Purple Passion.

“Regular” opens with a reference to 14-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 5-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE tag team champion & current the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division’s CCO Triple H whereas “GMB” featuring GT finds the 2 entertainingly trading verses with one another for almost 3 minutes. “Tesla” produced by Danny G could be my favorite track here even though the clean energy automotive company’s CEO, Twitter owner since 2022, SpaceX founder & Neuralink founder is a Nazi while “Heavy Metal” smoothly pulls up prices with the devil out in the ghetto.

Finesse2tymes’ appearance on “Trophy Music” is actually ok as someone who isn’t really a fan of him & the name does a solid job at matching that same vibe down to the horns until “Party on the 6” talks about shutting 6 Mile down for a block party. “High Fashion” glamorously expresses his appreciation towards haute couture just before “Status” featuring 2 Chainz taps into the Detroit sound whilst using a sample to talk about both of them getting everything they dreamt of.

Beginning the final act of Purple Passion, we have Vezzo atmospherically satisfied he’s “Having My Way” with things in his life as of late while “Supreme” gives a nod to the influential New York streetwear brand of the same name. “I Be Knowing” winds down the mixtape’s last 7 minutes with more sampling techniques talking about him being aware of the difference a woman & a hoe while the soulful Detroit trap outro “Free” talks about still being himself despite all his flaws.

Purple Passion preludes the next era of Icewear Vezzo’s artistry coming 2026 delivers the unique kind of raw storytelling that made the Iced Up Records CEO well beloved in his hometown & eventually the trap spectrum. Not only would I consider this tape to be an improvement over Undefeated because he’s elevated his style for the past decade, but also it’s heavy themes revolving around the hard work & dedication it took for him to be in his current position.

Score: 4/5

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JayaHadADream – “Happiness from Agony” review

This is the debut mixtape from Cambridge, England, United Kingdom rapper, singer/songwriter & producer of Jamaican-Irish descent JayaHadADream. Eventually moving to Nottingham, her debut single “Half Hearted Heart” wouldn’t come out until the spring of 2019 & her debut extended play Redemption Songs arrived a little over 5 years later. Despite it’s moderate reception, I still appreciated the jazzy sound her long-time collaborator Zoutr went for & felt Happiness from Agony would only improve from there.

We get treated to a powerful reflection regarding Jaya’s views on the “State of the World” for the opening 4 & a half minutes whereas “The Bank” gives off some heavy festival vibes instrumentally talking about the pressures that come with fame. “Repackage” featuring Capo Lee finds the pair talking about sending the shots right back to the initial sender leading into “Hideout” featuring Frisco links up so they can dismiss those who’re lyrically inferior.

“Bug” ends the 1st leg of the LP letting Jaya hold the mic down myself again over a jazzy drill beat telling all of her haters to cry her a river just before “Yoga” featuring Keeya Keys kicks off the 2nd half spaciously talks about trusting no one. “Main Characters” featuring Big Zuu sees both artists calling out fake love when they see it until Coops saves my favorite guest appearance for last during “If It Ain’t”, coasting a boom bap instrumental to balance many emotional forces.

The song “I Know” tackles the familiar themes of heartbreak to wind down Happiness from Agony’s concluding moments while “At the Abbey” hits us with a beat reminiscent of something that my favorite group of all-time the almighty Wu-Tang Clan or the late, great MF DOOM would’ve killed, talking about the concept of identity. “Nothing’s Changed” sends off the tape balancing her increasing success in music & being a person who’s still searching for peace.

Receiving co-signs from the likes of Fred again.. & Giggs to name a couple, JayaHadADream continues to reveal herself amongst the most prominently rising voices in UK hip hop by becoming more self-aware throughout Happiness from Agony from a personal & political perspective. The jazz rap production incorporates elements of UK drill, grime & garage to expand Jaya’s sound & enlist a handful of guests for explore the dissonance between public success & private struggle.

Score: 4/5

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Niko B – “Cheerleader” review

Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom recording artist Niko B following up his most recent EP earlier this spring with a debut mixtape of his own. Starting at the very beginning of this current decade off the strength of his debut single “Marry Berry”, his popularity began to grow exponentially a few months later after putting out his next single “Who’s That What’s That” & the full-length debut album dog eat dog food world last spring being well received enough where it was being recommended to me. people took a more optimistic approach altogether & only a couple months later, we’re finally getting Cheerleader.

“Beginner’s Luck” comes right out the gate with it’s best song from the cloudy New York Drill instrumental from Evilgiane to the hunger in Niko’s performances whereas the trap, grime & UK drill single “mongoose” talks about taking dustcaps almost 2 decades ago. The EDM-inspired “Shoebox” flexes that he’ll run figures with his shoes off leading into “Spawn Trap” talking about not knowing the party he’s in spending 40 on drinks.

Moving on from there, “X-Factor” has a cloudy UK drill vibe to it boasting that he’s the word around his city nowadays while my favorite collaboration “Bolbeck” featuring RealYungPhil turning dust into diamonds. “Polka Dot” instrumentally feels reminiscent of The Neptunes talking about talking about walking with patches on his knees just before “Sellit!” produced by Kwes. steps out of a Civic on Westbound dabbling with jerk.

“Ringing a Bell?” advises to check his wrist if anybody wants to know what he’s been on for the past 17 months & after the boldly boastful “Stunt Jump” experiments with rage for 85 seconds, “Take 5” featuring S5 pulls out more surprises with a fun regalia track. “Pop World” featuring Dimzy atmospherically celebrates their individual successes while “Hermes Stock” describes making 40 bands in a burglary. “They Could Fly” finishes with a glitch hop outro giving the listeners a special thank you.

Eschewing the pop rap & hip house influences of the people EP earlier this summer, Cheerleader is similar to dog eat dog food world from the standpoint of Niko B broadening his artistic palette ahead of a sophomore effort presumably coming next the year. His performances are fun as is the trap, UK drill, new jazz, cloud rap, New York Drill, jerk, rage, glitch hop & regalia production except the brevity of it makes it feel more like an extended play rather than mixtape.

Score: 3.5/5

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LIFEOFTHOM – “Driving Blind” review

New York emcee LIFEOFTHOM enlisting seasoned talent manager, producer, DJ, songwriter, audio engineer & record executive Plain Pat to produce his debut mixtape. Introducing himself off his first couple EPs Thomas & Robot Jesus, he would go on to release 3 more in Floor 11 as well as Room 44 & Cocotaso respectively. However, the singles that we got teasing Driving Blind & learning that the former KIDS SEE GHOSTS manager was solely handling all of the production.

“Wasted” was a passionate choice of an opener talking about risking it all for a plate & wanting a lot of stacks whereas the highlight “42nd St.” featuring Lørd Skø takes a jazzier yet soulful approach instrumentally representing the uptown. “Hands” featuring Wiki proves to be another favorite clllaboration of the 4 working in more sampling stripping the drums to talk about being the boss type while “Overthinking” tackles the theme of analysis paralysis.

Meanwhile on “Hittas”, we have THOM over a soulfully cloudy beat talking about the lesson that every journey has to have the kind of people who’ll stick knives in our backs just before “Night” hooks up a drumless guitar so he can get married to the game. “Cadillac” featuring jev. & Wiseboy Jeremy pairs the trio for a funky ode to luxury vehicle division of the General Motors Company while “Jeep” takes a more cavernous approach to the beat talking about his obnoxiousness.

“G.T.F.O. (Get the Fuck Out)” starts the final leg of the tape by addressing the people who want to see him out of bounds while “Lost in Vegas” featuring Swavay talking about being the type to snatch phones & log into finstas. “XO Tour Life” jumps over a boom bap instrumental with pianos speaking of money always coming his way & “Jumpin’ In” finishes the most important entry of LIFEOFTHOM’s discography leaping up out the edge of his seat for $100.

Reinventing the classic New York sound by blending classic boom bap rhyme schemes together with genre blurring melodies, Plain Pat helps take the meticulously thoughtful pen & use of experimental cadences/flows that’s skyrocketed LIFEOFTHOM’s popularity to a completely different stratosphere with no shade intended towards those early extended plays. Driving Blind’s refreshing production is unlike any of Thomas’ earlier work & firmly stands behind the homie Lørd Skø in helping pave a bright future for east coast lyricists.

Score: 4.5/5

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Jeezy – “Still Snowin’” review

Brand new mixtape & the 15th altogether for Atlanta, Georgia rapper, songwriter, trap pioneer & actor Jeezy. Emerging in the early 2000s off his full-length debut T.U.I. (Thuggin’ Under the Influence) & the sophomore effort Come Shop wit Me, his biggest breakthrough wouldn’t come until 2004 where he began a partnership with Def Jam Recordings that’s going on strong to this very day & dropped the classic Thug Motivation 101: Let’s Get It the following summer. Subsequent discography highlights would include Thug Motivation 102: The Inspiration, The Recession, Thug Motivation 103: Hustler’z Ambition, Seen It All: The Autobiography & even The Recession 2 that came out the day after his Verzuz battle against longtime rival Gucci Mane during the COVID-19 pandemic. He went back to basics with the help of DJ Drama on Snofall fulfilling his Def Jam contract & is looking to do it again with Still Snowin’ a couple years since I Might Forgive…But I Don’t Forget.

The funky instrumental on the title track produced by DJ Toomp & Don Cannon took me by surprise to start the tape although Jeezy nonetheless comes correct flexing that he’s still making it snow whereas “Slide for Sho” turns up the funk to turn the clubs up. “Treason” works in some sampling so he can refuse to waste his time on the people who’ve betrayed him while “Snowman Party” has a bit of a jazzier tone talking about his parties being unique.

“Inside My Soul” continues the incredible choice of samples making his grandmother proud maintaining the plug motivation while “My Friends” brings back the funk talking about not being the kind to cheat on his homies. “Another Sad Song” discusses the truth of it taking a coward to shoot up a school referring to the Evergreen tragedy in Colorado earlier this month while “Bruce Wayne” likens himself to the Warner Bros. subsidiary DC Entertainment franchise’s protagonist.

Kicking off the 2nd half, “The Whole Town” soulfully dedicates itself to all the 80s babies just before the funky “Don’t Play ‘Bout Me” cautions everyone to not fuck around with him. “Head to the Sky (You Can Win)” takes an optimistically uplifting approach conceptually over chopping up more soul samples while “Anything” returns to funkier territory taking aim at people who’ll say whatever about him.

“Hustler’s Paradise” hooks up some slick sampling to give some peace of mind since God has done him some favors over the course of his life while “Keep That Same Energy” talks about feeling like Kanye on the night of the 2009 MTV VMA Awards when he notoriously interrupted Taylor Swift’s Best Female Video acceptance speech & later put out his 2nd best album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy behind The College Dropout.

The song “Thug Life Again” nears the conclusion of Still Snowin’ soulfully making it known that he’s still living that Corporate Thug lifestyle now that CTE World is no longer distributed by a major label while the funky “Back for More” talks about his entrepreneurship. “If You Don’t Know Me” dabbles with drumless for 107 seconds to ends by reflecting on giving the streets everything but his life & time everything except for tears.

Commemorating 2 whole decades of both Trap or Die & Thug Motivation 101: Let’s Get It respectively, both Don Cannon & DJ Toomp give Jeezy a more jazzier sound than some of output in this current decade & it’s welcomed as much as I loved The Recession 2 alongside Snofall & I Might Forgive…But I Don’t Forget. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll have to make a Recession 3 at some point within the next few years & if that’s the case, this is a mature prelude to it.

Score: 4.5/5

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Destroy Lonely – “</3³” review

The 3rd mixtape from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Destroy Lonely finally arriving in time for fall. The son of former Disturbing tha Peace Records signee I-20, he’s released a total of 9 EPs & a couple mixtapes since originally breaking out through SoundCloud in 2019 prior to Playboi Carti signing alone to his Interscope Records imprint Opium Records to surprise drop his last tape No Stylist in light of his ongoing tour with fellow label-mate Ken Carson last summer followed by the full-length debut If Looks Could Kill. Love Lasts Forever was disappointing in comparison & See U Soon </3 would make great improvements paving the way for </3³.

“ain’t hard” starts the tape with Lone & Bugz Ronin telling us that it ain’t that hard to be a boss & that the rest of his crew is merely getting started whereas “risk” flexes that he doesn’t need a stylist to this very day, hence the project that made him popular amongst Opium fans alike. “see no evil” produced by Cxdy of Internet Money Records & Vanguard Music Group boasts of him living the Top Floor life while “no pressure” flexes that he keeps 2 hands on the steering wheel.

As for “stfu”, we have Lone advising everyone around to him to keep their mouths shut entirely leading into “show u how” askin’ if he’s putting up whatever he’s gonna put down. “top flo” reunites with Clayco for a successor to “ss” off of A Great Chaos leading into “kansas” talking about moving like a demon & sending anyone who tries to snatch his chain to God.

“screwed up” ends the first half of </3³ with a homage to the late DJ Screw while “party n get high” gets the 2nd act of the tape going by talking about wanting to do those 2 things. “leash” finds Lone trying to put his ego to the side for a woman who can’t be tamed over a Toom instrumental while the single “jumanji” talks about moving so quickly to the point where everyone else behind him finishes last.

Meanwhile on “not the mayor”, we have Destroy Lonely flexing that he’s counting up green as if he went to Yale prior to “blowin’ smoke” linking up with Rafmade to talk about smoking weed in a black & white Maybach in addition to being overly locked in with his team. “kool on ya” makes it known that he’s cool with anyone who’s cool with him while the 2-parter “soooo high” talks about the way his money makes him feel.

“open it up” featuring Ken Carson gives us a taste of what’s to come from their collaborative mixtape calling for the mosh pits to be opened whilst paying respects to the late Black Sabbath frontman & WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne while “leave u out 2 dry” caps off the tape with Lone talking about being too good for this chick he’s been speaking to. Serving as an epilogue, “what’s it gon take?” samples “The Way That Wind Moves” by Sons of the Morning telling all his homies he misses them.

Starting the deluxe run, “with my bitch” talks about riding around the whip with his girl while “sipped too much” admits to consuming more lean than he should’ve. “hide it” talks about going days without eating & sleeping searching for peace & after “exorcist” with Nosaint compares his chick to Sexyy Red, the final bonus track “rose gold ice” once again gets back to the habit of sippin’ on some sizzurp.

For me: The biggest flaw Love Lasts Forever had going for it was easily the production was more lackluster than If Looks Could Kill & No Stylist. Fortunately for us, </3³ resolves that issue & lands behind Music for the best project we’ve gotten from the Opium camp all year. Mostly because it’s a return to the sound of Destroy Lonely’s earliest material & it’s topics take on an introspective tone.

Score: 4/5

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