Swapa – “CLRBLND” review

Swapa is a 21 year old recording artist & producer from Harlem, New York introducing himself in 2021 off his poorly received debut EP To Each It’s Own. He would gradually improve himself from there whether it be New Harmony, Bannon, Ollo, Eigen, Island or his most recent extended play as of me writing this Armageddon celebrating it’s 1-year anniversary last month. In regards to his full-length studio debut album CLRBLND, seeing a couple notable producers that I’m a fan of making some contributions to it had me intrigued & I thought I’d give it a shot.

“tap in” starts us off by introducing a new mind of swag to the world since he’s in his bag differently whereas the experimental “fully chop” talks about nobody being able to fuck with him because of his boss status. “redinyoeyes” appreciatively throws it back to the Bannon era a little for those who’re fond of that point in his career leading into the self-produced “skull” talking about the type of guy he is compared to some of these lames.

Moving on from there, “heavy metal” continues to display Swapa’s production talents assuring that he’s in it similarly to the titular genre of music just before the 808-heavy “steve kerr” talks about being richer than the Golden State Warriors’ head coach himself. “nah” stylistically feels like some new age Future shit getting fried while “sir scale” produced by Whyceg & Goxan works in more 808s talking about everything he says eventually selling.

“rigged” reaches the halfway point of the LP subtly referencing the NBA’s ongoing illegal gambling scandal involving Chauncey Billups, Damon Jones & Terry Rozier while “old habits” sticks out with one of my favorite flows throughout CLRBLND asking if one wants to die now that he gave his bitch a Glock to carry for protection. “nother level” speaks of wanting to murder their opps & throw their corpses in the river while “again” talks about it only being him & his bands in the end.

Things take a more rage-inducing vibe on “troll” considering himself a threat while “ykisshme” leans heavier towards a synth-based sound thanks to Clayco promising y’all gonna know it’s him when he pulls up. “marni” much like “old habits” shines as a moment where he shows off what he can do with his flows while the piano-heavy “why not?” talks about doing this music shit for himself. “alien” finishes Swapa’s debut with him psychedelically arriving to the function looking extraterrestrial.

Impressed with his verse on Devstacks’ sophomore effort 4SouljasOnly earlier this spring, it only made sense for me to find out if CLRBLND would be capable of topping Armageddon in addition to some of the other EPs he has under his belt that I don’t find myself going back to very often like Island for instance. Surely enough, all 5 tracks he produced by himself along with “sir scale” & “ykisshme” to name a couple all make for the finer moments over the course of Swapa’s proper introduction.

Score: 3.5/5

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che – “Rest in Bass” review

Atlanta, Georgia recording artist che releasing his sophomore effort a month after its announcement. Starting as a member of the 4ersona collective under the original moniker murkio before settling on cheRomani+ & later abbreviating it, it wasn’t until more recently where he decided to build a solo catalog for himself by putting out the debut EP 3 over a year ago & followed it up in the form of X or the original version of his 3rd EP Closed Captions a couple summers ago. Crueger that same Halloween showed more of a Chief Keef influence & is saying Rest in Bass nearly 11 months since his highly acclaimed rage debut sayso says.

“Slam Punk” was a rage-inducing opener talking about a girl calling him “Based God” shouting out none other than Lil B whereas “Rolling Stone” turns up the hypertrap vibes talking about having the Devil on his shoulders telling him to go. “On Fleek” puts his vocal range on the forefront advising the opps to call it keeps leading into “Lip Filler” talking about being so dangerous that he could possibly die young.

Former 4-time WWE world champion, 3-time WWE United States Champion, future WWE Intercontinental Champion & 5-time WWE tag team champion Sheamus gets referenced on the 2-parter “Hood Famous” posting up with felons just before “Bossupp” incorporates another beat switch referencing both WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE world champion & WWE Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage and the inaugural 4th Rope World Tag Team Champion Jeff Hardy of The Hardy Boyz.

“Marceline” keeps the rage beats coming likening his girl to the character from the Discovery Global-owned Cartoon Network series Adventure Time because she only comes out during the evening leading into “Die Young” produced by gyro talking about not wanting to grow old & going out in the fast lane. “Hellraiser” by OsamaSon looks to stir up some shit & CXO going for an experimental trap direction instrumentally, but then “Dior Leopard” hits us with another 2-part song talking about relapsing on drugs.

xaviersobased continues the 2nd half of Rest in Bass joining che during “Mannequin” homaging the late great Kobe Bryant bagging 24 hoes together while “Black Swan” splits itself in half again talking about being uncancellable & turning up at Summer Smash last month. “MDMA” makes several callbacks to sayso says speaking up regarding his lifestyle of recording in the studio & doing ecstasy while “Never Too Young to Die” featuring Chuckyy talks about being on top instead of middle men.

“Eardrummer” kicks off the final leg of the LP on a cloudier note thanks to Ginseng addressing his consistency & rise to fame while the distorted “Doe Deer” talks about simultaneously being a monk & a punk. “Stagedivin’” discusses making the mosh pit at the rave even bigger dying on the hill of not fucking with pigs while “Ba$$” samples “Lemon Glow” by Beach House finishing the album by talking about doing drugs & not wanting to leave.

Ditching the secondary digicore & electroclash influences, Rest in Bass hones in on the experimentally hardcore rage sound of his debut last summer perfecting in his own way that makes it feel refreshing when it began to seem that the style was getting played out & taking heavier inspiration from Playboi Carti’s sophomore effort Whole Lotta Red celebrating it’s 5-year anniversary this upcoming Christmas.

Score: 4/5

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che – “Sayso Says” review

This is the full-length debut studio album from Atlanta, Georgia up-&-comer che. Starting as a member of the 4ersona collective under the original moniker murkio before settling on cheRomani+ & later abbreviating it. But it wasn’t until more recently where he decided to build a solo catalog for himself by putting out the debut EP 3 over a year ago & followed it up this past February in the form of X, which was supposed to be the original version of his 3rd EP Closed Captions over the summer which was a solid introduction to who he is artistically & personally. Crueger last Halloween showed more of a Chief Keef influence & is releasing Sayso Says with only less than a month left of summer.

“I Rot, I Rot” starts by hopping over an intergalactic trap instrumental from CXO talking about not needing any more new friends whereas “Saska, You Made It” turns the rage up celebrating his newfound success. “Pretend We’re Sleeping” encourages everyone to do their own shit working in some synths & hi-hats prior to “Get Naked” goes hypertrap again flexing his VIP status.

The message on “Enjoy Your Life” comes from a good place of heart maintaining the rage beats thanks to Ginseng telling his fans to enjoy their time here alive just before “Been There, Done That” has this bubbly hypertrap tone to the beat talking about doing it all. “Hex On My Chest, It’s Going Down” goes for a spaciously booming approach instrumentally advising to simply get through it & you’ll be ok leading into the energetic “Pissy Coffee” refuses to play games with anyone.

After the interlude, “It’s My Party & I’ll Die If I Want To” kicks off the other half of Sayso Says inducing more rage talking about not wanting peace anymore while “Don’t Tell No1” encourages people to come fuck with him over densely buzzing synth work with repetitive chord progressions & melodic synth leads. “Nunca Hacer Cocaina” incorporates a hint of digicore undertones speaking out against cocaine usage while “School Girl Sashimi” keeps the rage beats rolling talking about lust.

“Y.D.F.W.M.N.M.? (You Don’t Fuck With Me No More?)” whips up an ethereal trap banger calling out the people who switched up on him while the futuristic “Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things” wishes this bitch knew how he really felt. “Cut Off Your Hands” turns the bass up suggesting his girl should chop her hands off since she gives so much head & “My Favorite Color is Red” serves as a bombastic closer leaving blood everywhere.

Only a couple years in the game & I have no doubt in my mind that Sayso Says will take che to newer heights since it basically surpasses every expectation set out by his early EPs. His songwriting/performances are on par if not above Crueger’s last Halloween & I’d be reminded if I didn’t commend him for doing such an outstanding job self-producing a lot of it basing the LP’s sound primarily in the rage subgenre that he emerged out of.

Score: 4/5

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che – “Crueger” review

Atlanta, Georgia teenage up-&-comer che celebrating Halloween by dropping his 4th EP. Starting as a member of the 4ersona collective under the original moniker murkio before settling on cheRomani+ & later abbreviating it. But it wasn’t until more recently where he decided to build a solo catalog for himself by putting out the debut EP 3 over a year ago & followed it up this past February in the form of X, which was supposed to be the original version of his 3rd EP Closed Captions over the summer which was a solid introduction to who he is artistically & personally. However after dropping 2 singles earlier this month, he’s quickly following up his last EP in the form of Crueger.

“Ok Den” is a futuristic trap opener to the EP produced by CXO flexing that he has fat racks like Pumba whereas “Sayso” likens himself to a demon to his girl with a new Moncler coat for the season over a rage beat. “Busan” mixes elements of pop rap & trap melodically speaking on themes of romance just before the atmospheric “Batman” talks about feeling like the titular DC superhero. To start the 2nd half of the EP, “Gah Damn” dives headfirst back into hypertrap territory threatening that you don’t wanna play games with che since he’ll wet your block up leading into the pluggy “Right Now” singing about his trap falling off so she wants him over quickly. “That’s My Type” gives off a playful atmosphere describing his kind of woman while the dreamy “Badu” comparing his new chick to the neo-soul icon. The closer “Call Me” ends Crueger with 1-last rage beat telling his significant other to call him back.

If anyone came away from Closer Captions impressed as I was earlier this summer, then I’m sure that Crueger would fit well in your Halloween playlist this season. There’s more of a rage influence to the production compared to our introduction to che only a few months ago being based around trap & Chicago drill, but the plugg undertones were quite noticeable & he’s more inspired by Chief Keef. Also, cheRomani himself as a performer is continuing to improve & that goes for his catchy songwriting too.

Score: 3.5/5

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Slump6s – “Exodus” review

Sophomore full-length LP from 18 year old Rochester up-&-comer Slump6s. Ever since the pandemic, he’s built a name for himself in the rage/drill scenes by releasing a total of 10 EPs & a debut album up to this point. However, he’s returning over a year later after Genesis by taking us through his Exodus.

The intro is a futuristic trap opener dropping braggadocio whereas “Habits” featuring Dvertigo finds the 2 keeps things cloudy so both of them can talk about how every day is a new mannerism to them. “Sex” takes a more atmospheric approach instrumentally from CXO & che struggling with the problem of too many hoes to pick from as far as the one he wants to smash, but then the riot-inducing “Often” talks about falling in love with the crosshairs & hanging with the dogs.

“Solid” blends these finger snaps & a UFO-like backdrop keeping it exactly that just before “Tags” hooks up these synths & hi-hats to talk about how he didn’t come this far for no reason. “YSL” wavily detailing a chick that wants all of him & debating on whether or not he should go for the kill leading into quasi-quirky “Frontline” talking about turning up in the AM.

Meanwhile, “Karma” spaciously acknowledges that destiny be watching everything he does prior to “Nicki” shooting for a playful sound comparing this hoe that he with to Nicki Minaj herself. “Flu” featuring OsamaSon is a favorite of mine as both of them energetically boast while the cavernous “Issey” talking about going global.

“Gotchu” nears the end of the LP by singing with heavy auto-tune over an electronic beat & the closer “Amore” rounds out the album by vigorously talking about being the king of the hill. The booming bonus cut “$$$” however truly saves things for last telling a bitch straight up that she doesn’t have a clue of exactly what the fuck he’s been on.

Genesis & even some of the features that I’ve heard Slump on up to this point have shown me that there is in fact potential in him even though that & his EPs are more moderately received compared to his debut tape Origin, but I think we get a look from him on a new level with this sophomore effort. The production’s better & he’s displaying his versatility more.

Score: 3.5/5

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che – “closed captions” review

che is a 16 year old recording artist from Atlanta, Georgia emerging as part of the 4ersona collective under the original moniker murkio before settling on cheRomani+ & later abbreviating it. But it wasn’t until more recently where he decided to build a solo catalog for himself by putting out the debut EP 3 over a year ago & followed it up this past February in the form of X, which was supposed to be the original version of his 3rd EP over here to my surprise. So with that in mind, I had to give the final product a listen almost 2 weeks since former MLW National Openweight Champion Alex Kane became the new MLW World Heavyweight Champion.

“blueberry bakwood” was a dope choice for the final single whether it be CXO’s trap production with undertones of both Chicago drill & plugg or che dedicating it to his personal favorite flavor of Backwoods blunt wraps whereas “sativa” works in a more atmospheric instrumental talking about the titular strain of marijuana although I’m more of a hybrids guy personally. The futuristically bombastic “fangs” flexing that he be toting heavy pistols & is able to tell who smokes wack shit, but then “????” gives off a more energetic sound talking about his lifestyle.

Moving on from there, “sol” blends some hi-hats & synthesizers telling his girl to slide through his spot on top of coming clean that he isn’t looking for closure prior to “canary” enhances the euphoric mood refusing to go out bad. The lead single “blac chyna” fuses trap with Chicago drill letting the drum off just before “sos” returns to an otherworldly vibe to the beat talking about his girl calling him papa & copping expensive Balencis.

The penultimate track “draco draco” gives off a more euphoric drill edge instrumentally acknowledging that he still be popping tags & wanting all his bread in the mail while the closer “frank ocean” produced by SOULJASPIRITS talks about not being with the bullshit & getting a foreign hoe some vetements over a wavy ass trap beat. The bonus cut “flip” officially caps off the EP with a synth-laced drill instrumental calling your hoe a dirty skank & going so cray.

Given that 3 was a solid beginning in che’s career & X started off the year by giving us a taste of what was to come, Closed Captions has cemented him as my personal favorite 4ersona member & he has more than enough room to grow artistically down the line. The trap production is cloudier with a hint of Chicago drill mixed in as opposed to some his previous works putting his life on wax by delivering some of his infectious performances of his career

Score: 4/5

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Slump6s – “Forgive Never Forget” review

Slump6s is a 19 year old recording artist from Rochester, New York who broke out right when the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic started off the strength of his debut EP Naveah. He has since gone on to follow it up with 7 more EPs, a collab EP with tana who just dropped his major label debut GAULTIER through Lil Tecca’s very own Republic Records imprint Galactic Records a couple months ago & even the full-length debut Genesis last summer. But coming off the 3-piece Dog Pack, slump starting off the 2nd quarter of the year the way he started it: with a new EP & his 9th one overall.

“Show Me Luv” is an ethereal trap opener produced by CXO about how he does this for all the people he knows in his life who couldn’t be here standing with him whereas “Ruthless” works in a futuristic backdrop & some hi-hats talking about being focused on getting this money. “Fashion” shifts gears with the rage beats making it clear that he’s back in his motherfuckin’ bag again prior to “Commas” returning for a more psychedelic trap to rock all black like he’s DONDA referencing Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West & the EP artwork itself. The penultimate track “S.D.M.N.S. (Shit Don’t Make No Sense)” returns to hypertrap turf with the title saying it all & “Walked” featuring Maajins ends the EP with both of them over some hi-hats & an intoxicating loop talking about being on route.

As the rage subgenre of trap music continues to expand from Playboi Carti helping start it all by dropping the album that started it all with 2020 Christmas Day sophomore album Whole Lotta Red to the rise of artists like Yeat, Summrs, the Homixide Gang, Ken Carson & KanKan to only name a small handful, I think Slump6s has definitely grown as an artist tremendously since he stated 3 years ago today & that not only proves what he said in late February that this is some of his best work, but intrigues me to hear if this is only the beginning of that.

Score: 3.5/5

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