Napoleon da Legend – “F.L.A.W. (Following Lies Always Wounds)” review

French-American veteran Napoleon da Legend wasting no time on his 30th studio LP. Heads in the underground should already be familiar with him due to the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade including Coup D’État, it’s sequel, Street Universe, Dragon Ball G, the Sicknature-produced Colossus of GOATs, Buckets or the DJ D-Styles-produced Invincibl Rap Mislz & the DJ Rhettmatic-produced Legmatic. He & JR Swiftz came together on the outstanding Great Minds last month, bringing Giallo in the fold again on F.L.A.W. (Following Lies Always Wounds).

“Chasing Shadows” ominously kicks off Napoleon’s 2nd body of work this year by talking about being on the verge of doing something drastic whereas “Life or Death” featuring Jay Royale finds the pair talking about this being survival of the fittest. “That Ain’t It” keeps it in the basement to break down the concept of hustling on the daily prior to “Welcome 2 the Theater” featuring Ghost Machine working in some strings referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 3-time WWE world champion, 3-time WWE United States Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 9-time WWE tag team champion, 8-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion & アイアンマンヘビーメタル級王座 Rey Mysterio.

Invisible Handz joins Napoleon for the drumless “Unforgiving” talking about the game never being fair from what they understand & their former opps ain’t breathing no more leading into “No Morals” returning to the boom bap suggesting that conscious hip hop & gangsta rap are the same other than being packaged differently. “Doing What I Gotta Do” speaks of one doing what has to be done in order to get by, but then “Nesquik” eerily talks about making everyone take Ls quickly.

“Solar Opposites” featuring Eloh Kush finds the 2 including a reference to SpaceX founded by Tesla CEO, Neuralink founder & Nazi Elon Musk while “Motivation” hollowly talks about everyone having it if it was much easier. Sunez Allah teams up with Napoleon on the title track so they can explain one always being wounded by following lies while the piano-driven “Peace” talks sitting back & counting his stacks.

Nejma Nefertiti appears for “Presume the Unpredictable” to get the final moments of F.L.A.W. (Following Lies Always Wounds) calling themselves the deadliest you’ve ever seen on the mic from the womb to the tomb & the closing track “Marathon” completes the 2nd consecutive classic in Napoleon’s catalog within 2 months tackling the Japanese philosophy of having 3 faces.

Exactly 4 weeks after Great Minds marked the halfway point of the first month of this year, Napoleon gets back with another album maintaining the high quality underground hip hop that it’s predecessor & even Legmatic achieved. Giallo Point’s production is on par with JR Swiftz’ & although I will say I wasn’t as big on the features since I preferred the couplet of guests last time, I appreciate Napoleon warning everyone of the consequences that come with following lies.

Score: 4.5/5

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Napoleon da Legend – “Great Minds” review

This is the 29th studio LP from French-American emcee Napoleon da Legend. Heads in the underground should already be familiar with him due to the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade including Coup D’État, it’s sequel, Street Universe, Dragon Ball G, the Sicknature-produced Colossus of GOATS, Buckets or the DJ D-Styles-produced Invincibl Rap Mislz & the DJ Rhettmatic-produced Legmatic. 8 months later, he & JR Swiftz are coming together on Great Minds.

“Death Star Lazer Beam” kicks things off with this airy boom bap intro talking about not wasting time & making money with his whereas “Raining Sledgehammers” aggressively sends a message to everyone who thought it was over for him. “Destroy Your Ego” sets out to dismantle the egos of everyone who ain’t willing to go the distance just before “Pride” maintains a dusty edge feeling like failure coming up similarly to the reaper.

Moving on from there, “K.O.B. (Knock Out Blow)” keeps it in the basement referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson while “My Truth” featuring REKS finds the 2 linking up to apply lyrical pressure. “Sniperific” featuring Nejma Nefertiti rawly demands respect & $1M each while “Righteous” featuring Awon gets together to talk about their grind being unbelievable. “Sistine Gravel” concludes Great Minds on a piano-driven note cautioning no one wants smoke with him.

Napoleon usually comes out with more than 1 project a year in contrast to Legmatic being his only 2024 offering but either way: Great Minds continues to maintain the high level of quality that its predecessor achieved. JR Swiftz’ boom bap production carries the Griselda sound over strongly & Napoleon himself taking 8 months off to focus on making this another standout in his vast discography feels evident.

Score: 4.5/5

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Napoleon da Legend – “Legmatic” review

Paris, France born albeit Brooklyn, New York based emcee Napoleon da Legend releasing his 28th studio LP. Heads in the underground should already be familiar with him due to the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade including Coup D’État, it’s sequel, Street Universe, Dragon Ball G, the Sicknature-produced Colossus of GOATS, Buckets or the DJ D-Styles-produced Invincibl Rap Mislz. Much like the latter, this time we have another Beat Junkies member DJ Rhettmatic being enlisted to produce Legmatic.

After the titular intro, the title track sets us off with a horn-heavy boom bap instrumental referencing Evander Holyfield whereas “Legendary Legacy” works in more kicks & snares on top of some subsistier horn melodies & the title rightfully not needing any further explanation. “Midnight Madness” is this misty piano-boom bap hybrid talking about making your own destiny prior to “Pressure” featuring Innocent? ruggedly putting their feet on their necks.

“2 Step 2 the Bank” has a lavishly dusty flare to the beat providing an anthem for those built for this leading into “The King Walk” telling everyone running their mouth album to make it make sense over heavier kicks & snares. After the DJ D-Styles interlude, “Not Without a Heart” featuring Nejma Nefertiti finds the 2 backed by horns once again talking about gasoline running through their veins on the warpath & “We Don’t Know You” ends Legmatic going for a futuristic albeit grimy approach instrumentally rebelling until his last day on Earth.

Invincibl Rap Mislz became amongst Napoleon’s best material around this time last year & sure enough, Legmatic standa out as one of his strongest LPs in a while & most definitely a go-to for anyone who isn’t up on him by now already. Everything from Invincibl Rap Mislz whether it be the boom bap production or Napoleon’s hardcore lyricism is recaptured, but the founding Beat Junkies member himself DJ Rhettmatic takes it a whole new level completely.

Score: 4.5/5

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Napoleon da Legend – “Invincibl Rap Mislz” review

Napoleon da Legend is a 43 year old MC born in Paris, France & based in Brooklyn, New York who a lot of underground heads should be familiar with at this point considering the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade ranging from Coup D’État & it’s sequel to Street Universe & Dragon Ball G. But coming fresh off Le Dernier Glacier last month which was disappointing considering the Sicknature-produced Colossus of GOATS & the Giallo Point-produced Buckets were his strongest bodies of work in a while, his 22nd album here fully produced by DJ D-Styles of the Beat Junkies was more than enough for me to hope Napoleon would redeem himself.

After the intro, “Blaktual News” featuring Innocent? & Josiah the Gift kicks off the album with the trio talking about standing by their word protecting it like their kids over a boom bap instrumental whereas “Food” works in some piano chords cautioning that your biggest mistake is not knowing when to shut up. “Rubiks Cube” featuring Amerigo Gazaway finds the pair surviving dark times to face the light over some more kicks & snares, but then “Supreme Haiku” takes a drumless acoustic route talking about not being the one to lie to.

Moving on from there, “Alligator Tears” featuring Aïda returns to the boom bap as the 2 MCs telling y’all to sit back as you watch them do their thing just before “Gods vs. Titans” has a more symphonic groove to it calling out those operating from a distance like a narc. “Games We Play” has a glistening boom bap beat asking if anyone wants to play a game leading into “Snake Oil” lacing some guitar passages discussing the promise of a better life.

“Distortion” starts the final leg of Invincibl Rap Mislz by expressing his desire to have the music bring it out of them instead of just bringing it to the music over a synth-heavy instrumental while the song “Table Manners” featuring Nejma Nefertiti reminds how much of a good combo they are over a dusty beat. The title track has a more nocturnal aesthetic to it sonically dissing those with arms too short to box the God on the mic & “Wu-Masters” is a cool Wu-Tang homage to end the album from the lyrics to even the RZA-inspired instrumental.

If anyone else walked away from Le Dernier Glacier disappointed like I did, then PLEASE check out this new body of work right here because it’s on par with both The Colossus of GOATS & Buckets as far as I’m concerned. DJ D-Styles’ production is more consistent than what we got from Napoleon a month ago, the features list is brief yet tighter & the French-American wordsmith delivers harder performances.

Score: 4/5

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Napoleon da Legend – “Buckets” review

This is the 20th full-length album from Paris, France born albeit Brooklyn, New York raised emcee Napoleon da Legend. By now, underground heads should be familiar with at this point considering the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade ranging from Coup D’État & it’s sequel to Street Universe & Dragon Ball G. But coming fresh off the Sicknature produced Colossus of GOATS about 6 weeks back, Po’s linking back up with Giallo for the first time in 2 years with Buckets.

“Reminisce to ‘88” finds Napoleon reflecting on how much the titular year means to him over a boom bap instrumental whereas “Federer’s Racket” has a more lavish quality to it for a dedication to his counterparts. The piano sections throughout “Order Seconds” were a very nice touch in my opinion with the lyrics talking about being “Rather Unique” much like the underrated Brooklyn veteran himself AZ, but then “Guard Ya Grill” has a more rawer approach to it down the aggressive subject matter & delivery.

Moving on to “Intermittent Blasting”, we have Supreme Cerebral tagging along on top of a glossy beat calling themselves the biggest bag-getters just before “Avirex Days” delivers a classy boom bap ballad acknowledging that his output is really the only thing you hear about from him. “Nas & AZ” has a funkier groove to it was Nejma Nefertiti coming into the picture to engage in some crazy back & forth chemistry with Po comparing themselves to the titular New York veterans leading into the soulful “Buzzer Beater” referencing the inaugural IWGPヘビー級王座, former 12-time WWE world champion, WWE tag team champion & 2-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan.

“Spoils for War” works in a drumless orchestral sample talking about wearing his scars proudly & time flying when you’re fearless while “Asylum” embraces a more luxurious vibe encouraging one to slide up in the nuthouse & talking about no longer being surprised because of his conscious being anchored to reality. “The Finest Things” is an upbeat ode to exactly just that while the dusty penultimate track “Stress” cautions what ages you the fastest. The closer “All Eyez on Me” however has some stellar jazz undertones to the beat flexing on them.

Everything that Giallo Point has laced for Po has become amongst the best work in his ever-growing discography & not only is Buckets is a welcoming addition to that, but it’s just as fantastic if not better than The Colossus of GOATs only a couple months ago. Both of them continue to bring the best out of one another from Giallo’s raw production to the highly impressive songwriting that Napoleon hits down.

Score: 4/5

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Napoleon da Legend – “The Colossus of G.O.A.T.s” review

Napoleon da Legend is a 42 year old MC born in Paris, France & based in Brooklyn, New York who a lot of underground heads should be familiar with at this point considering the lengthy discography that he’s built up for himself for nearly the past decade ranging from Coup D’État & it’s sequel to Street Universe & Dragon Ball G. But coming fresh off the 1 Piece inspired 2 Piece almost 2 months ago, Napoleon’s enlisting Sicknature of the Snowgoons to fully produce his 19th album.

“96 Bulls” is a grand boom bap opener to the album referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson whereas “Self-Talk” takes a more peaceful route in terms of sound so Po can basically have a profound discussion with himself. “Dance with the Devil” brings a more somber vibe to the instrumental admitting that’s exactly what he did the night prior, but then Brian Bars Burns & Nejma Nefertiti both come into the picture with Supa Kaiju for “Ultra” dropping battle bars on top of some kicks & organs.

As far as “Hustla” goes, we have Napoleon over some synth-woven boom bap talking about thinking of a master plan leading into “Disinformation” addressing more conscious subject matter & the beat has a warm yet fuzzy feeling to it that only further reveals the place of sincerity that it comes from. Eloh Kush tags along for the dusty yet keyboard driven “Indigenous Jedi” referring to themselves as just that prior to “Last Days” is a more rugged successor to “Disinformation” from the beat to the conscious lyrics.

The penultimate track “Rest in Perfection” finds Sicknature accompanying Napoleon on the mic 1 last time so they can deliver a potent ballad that honors & mourns every single person that we lost in 2020 with “Health First” rounding the album off with a groovy ode to eating healthy making reference to former IWGPヘビー級王座 as well as 10-time WWE world champion & former UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.

Of the 5 albums that Napoleon has dropped throughout the year, The Colossus of G.O.A.T.s has to be the most well conceived of the bunch & is quickly becoming a standout in his ever-growing catalog for me personally. Sicknature’s always been an incredibly talented producer whether it’s just him or with the Snowgoons & his signature sound compliments Napoleon’s style more than most of the producers he’s worked with in the last couple years.

Score: 4/5

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