Madchild – “Super Beast” review

Madchild is a 46 year old MC from Vancouver, Canada coming up as part of the trio Swollen Members & the founder of Battle Axe Records, but would be until 2012 when he officially broke off solo with his Suburban Noize Records-backed full-length debut Dope Sick. He would later go on a hot streak of follow-ups including Lawnmower Man, Silver Tongue Devil, the Evidence-produced The Darkest Hour & Demons. But even though he went into a more trap direction on The Little Monster LP a year & a half ago ago, the results of that stylistic change weren’t all that interesting & the sequel he dropped 3 months later spring The Little Monster LP 2 was slightly better. Shane & Shane 2 both took a more personal approach with the sequel enhancing the seriousness of the predecessor, but is returning 6 months later in the form of his 10th album.

“The Beast” is a horn-laced boom bap opener produced by C-Lance calling himself a damn dirty ape with the .38 whereas “Blood on the Carpet” works in a guitar to take aim at his competition. “Swamp Monster” keeps the boom bap rolling with an chilling vocal sample thrown into the mix talking about how some things never change & after the first interlude, the instrumental that “Bat Phone” delivers sounds ripped straight from the Adam West incarnation of Batman declaring himself the most devious in hip hop.

Meanwhile on “Skeleton”, we have Madchild over what sounds like a Godzilla flip challenging anyone to bring the smoke to him just before “Bad Thoughts” has a quirky tone to the beat talking about being a lunatic his whole life. “Nostradamus” takes a more dramatic route saying he can see the future & after the 2nd interlude, “Arson” mixes some pianos detailing pyromania.

The track “Scattered” keeps the keyboards intact admitting he still needs darkness despite being in God’s light while the penultimate song “Problem Child” has this relaying vocal sample throughout declaring himself as such. After the 3rd & final interlude, “Bang” closes out the album with a trap cut talking about how life is awesome.

For those of you who weren’t feeling the trap influences that were present on Madchild’s last few albums, I think you’re gonna like Super Beast a lot more. The production primarily takes it back to his boom bap roots & the same goes for the aggressive lyricism as well.

Score: 4/5

Madchild – “Shane 2” review

This is the 9th full-length album from Vancouver titan Madchild. Coming up as part of the trio Swollen Members & the founder of Battle Axe Records, it wouldn’t be until 2012 when he officially broke off solo with his Suburban Noize Records-backed debut album Dope Sick. He would later go on a hot streak of follow-ups including Lawnmower Man, Silver Tongue Devil, the Evidence-produced The Darkest Hour & Demons. But ever since dropping The Little Monster LP from last winter, dude has been grinding his ass off following it up in the spring with The Little Monster LP 2 & then Shane in the summer. Now that we’re in the midst of fall, it’s fitting for Madchild is dropping Shane 2 before his upcoming collab EP with Obnoxious.

“Boom” sets it off with some horns & hi-hats talking about how life’s a scary movie with a psycho plot whereas “Abattoir” incorporates some dusty drums & a keyboard loop with the help of C-Lance welcoming listeners to his slaughterhouse. “Damage Control” sonically weaves in a faint vocal loop proclaiming himself as a broken soul leading into the guitar, boom bap fused “Kampai” talks about letting the beast out it’s cage.

Meanwhile on “Dog Tags”, we have Joey Oz joining Madchild over an airy trap instrumental from Jimmy Donn to say they were born with such on their chests just before the acoustic-tinged “Trapped” opening up on the demons in his head dancing. “A Confession” vividly tells the story of a good homie of his over a soulful boom bap instrumental, but then “Running” serves as a dark look into his depression.

“Rock Bottom” has a bit of a more playful sound to it with Madchild talking about coming from nothing whereas “Victims” is a jazzy battle rap anthem. The dejected guitar ballad “I Don’t Care” opens up about being cheated on leading into the symphonic “Hangman” getting on his confrontational shit. The penultimate track “Haunted” somberly confesses that he feels like he’s drowning while the closer “Overdose” is a bombastic look at his drug addiction.

It’s also worthy pointing out that “Salty” has a cool saxophone loop dissing those who’re envious of him, but then “OnlyFanz” is the epitome of fake woke basically saying he’s against sex work & even throws some transphobic jabs in the hook. Now as for Madchild putting freedom of speech in question after the song got the backlash it deserved: That’s not the case whatsoever. I & anyone with common sense is all for freedom of speech. It’s just that the talking points through the track are extremely shitty.

Much like how The Little Monster LP 2 is better than the predecessor, I can say the same thing about this. Yeah “OnlyFanz” is one of the worst songs of the year & I’ll even go as far to say it’s the worst song dude has ever made, but I like how it’s more serious than the first Shane was.

Score: 3.5/5

Madchild – “Shane” review

Madchild is a 45 year old MC from Vancouver, Canada coming up as part of the trio Swollen Members & the founder of Battle Axe Records, but would be until 2012 when he officially broke off solo with his Suburban Noize Records-backed debut album Dope Sick. He would later go on a hot streak of follow-ups including Lawnmower Man, Silver Tongue Devil, the Evidence-produced The Darkest Hour & Demons. But even though he went into a more trap direction on The Little Monster LP last winter, the results of that stylistic change weren’t all that interesting & the sequel he dropped back in the spring The Little Monster LP 2 were slightly better. Nonetheless, I was still very much interested in seeing what Madchild would pull off this double disc 8th full-length album of his.

“Alone” starts off the album with a downcast ballad produced by Jimmy Donn venting about never feeling so lonesome whereas “Boxed In” is a trap cut saying he feels brand new. “MVP” goes into boom bap territory with the help of C-Lance going on about how he “ain’t putting any food on anybody’s plate unless they’re on my team” before declaring himself as an alpha male on the vibraphone heavy “Suck It”.

Meanwhile with “Lone Wolf”, we get a Hellish ode to the 1 Man Gang movement just before jumping on top of a comatose trap beat saying he’s “Underrated”. Of course “Not in Control” addresses his past drug use on top of a post-&-pans instrumental whereas “Mental Hellth” is SLATHERED in auto-tune talking about being the Devil’s play-thing. “God’s Child” works in a symphony saying he was failing the higher power while “Evolved” goes back into that trap sound saying he’s a changed man.

The song “Why I’m Mad” is a misty warning saying you shouldn’t fall for bullshit while the penultimate track “Forgiveness” is a piano ballad apologizing to everyone he’s hurt. Finally there’s “Cojones”, which is an almost electronic-tinged closer talking about swimming with the sharks & dancing with the wolves.

Madchild been grinding hard all year & it’s really been paying off because I think this is a solid effort from him. Dude really takes you through how much he’s bettered himself in the last couple years & the production choices have improved also. I know he said Shane 2 is coming soon & I’m curious to hear where that goes.

Score: 3.5/5

Madchild – “The Little Monster LP 2” review

This is the surprise 7th full-length album from Vancouver veteran Madchild. Coming up as a co-founder of the seminal Swollen Members, the dude also has a prolific solo career with a total of 6 full-lengths as well as 6 EPs & 3 mixtapes. His latest effort The Little Monster LP just dropped a few months back & we’re already being treated to a 10-track sequel before he & Obnoxious drop a collab EP under Suburban Noize Records later on this year.

Things kick off with “Smoke Session”, where Madchild talks about lighting it up whenever he’s in the room over a rock-tinged boom bap beat from C-Lance. The next song “Love Me or Hate Me” with Peter Jackson finds the 2 talking about fighting demons over some clicking noises & somber piano chords while the track “Python” talks about rinsing his enemies over a trap beat with some creepy bells. The song “Way Out” calls out those who kicked him when he was down over an instrumental that’s somewhat similar to the previous cut while the track “Legends Never Die” talks about going to Hell & back over a plinky beat.

The song “100 Keys” with Peter Jackson & 6-10 finds the trio boasting over an instrumental that reminds me of “Goodbye” off of Slaughterhouse’s final album welcome to: OUR HOUSE while the track “Drive By” talks putting his energy in the wrong place over a desolate boom bap beat. The song “Brain Wash” talks about putting ropes around necks over a piano & a vocal sample while the penultimate track “Vengeance” talks about revenge over a boom bap beat with some astonishing string sections. The album then finishes off with a decent remix to “Curb Stomper” off the original Little Monster LP.

Even though I thought Madchild’s previous album was just ok at best, this sequel is a little bit better in my opinion. In comparison to the previous effort being more trap-centered, I feel like this is a good combination between that & the raw traditional hip hop sound he came up on.

Score: 3.5/5

Madchild – “The Little Monster LP” review

Madchild is a 45 year old MC from Vancouver, Canada most notable for being a part of the well regarded trio Swollen Members. He also has 5 solo albums, with the previous one being the Suburban Noize-backed Demons. However just a year & a half later, Madchild is back with his 6th full-length effort.

The album kicks off with “Narcos”, where Madchild talks about studio gangsters over a rubbery trap beat. The next song “I Was on Drugs” talks about his addiction over an instrumental with some plinky keys while the track “Silver Surfer” talks about being explosive over a grimy boom bap beat from C-Lance. The song “Pallbearer” gets on the battle bar tip over a chaotic instrumental while the track “Structural Damage” talks about having mob ties over a quirky trap beat.

The song “Demons in Human Form” talks about cops over murky instrumental while the track “Hard Headed” talks about how violent-minded he is over a gloomy beat. The song “G.F.Y. (Go Fuck Yourself)” is a middle finger anthem backed by an evil instrumental while the track “Run It Up” talks about remembering his enemies over an abrasively dark trap beat.

The song “Fucdat” talks about never folding up over a Middle Eastern-inflicted trap instrumental while the track “Pale Horse” talks about time no longer being on his side. The song “Curb Stomper” with Jimmy Donn sees the 2 talking about being out of their minds over a funereal instrumental & then the closer “Sleeping Bear” is Madchild comparing himself to such over an old school beat.

Even though dude is a veteran in the underground, this album is just average to me. Madchild is definitely spitting harder than ever before, but most of these joints are really short running at 2 minutes & the production is hit or miss. Still very much looking forward to his upcoming collab album with Obnoxious set to drop next year though.

Score: 3/5