Reason – “Everything in My Soul_Blue” review

Carson, California rapper Reason finishing his 2025 with his 2nd EP. After releasing his first 4 tapes, Top Dawg Entertainment signed him in the middle of 2018 by reissuing the one that landed him the contract in the first place: There You Have It. However, his official full-length debut album New Beginnings received more mixed reception when it came out the fall where COVID had the whole world shut down & Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith’s son Moosa subsequently got into a heated exchange of words with Reason the week Porches dropped saying former employee & pgLang co-founder Dave Free regrets even signing him in the first place. I Love You Again came out 8 months ago under his own label Do More Records, which preluded Everything in My Soul_Blue.

The soulful trap instrumental on “Pity Parties_BLUE” was an immediately intriguing way to start us off talking about being known for slam dunking as if he’s Vince Carter prior to “Lie to Me_BLUE” pretty much channeling the frustration of being lied to in a relationship. “Paralyzed_BLUE” featuring Westside Boogie finds the 2 talking about love being stiff while “Idols & Rivals_BLUE” featuring Kai Ca$h continues with them feeling like they’re spiraling.

“Liu Kang_BLUE” begins the 2nd half of Everything in My Soul_BLUE bringing a summery vibe instrumentally referencing the Warner Bros.-owned Mortal Kombat character of the same name while “There’s Pain in Photos_BLUE” takes the pop rap route stylistically talking about pushing through his lowest points & praying to stay focused. “Thass My Word_BLUE” concludes the EP with a cloudy trap beat trying to see who’s really all in for action like they claim.

Apparently said to be the inaugural entry in a new ongoing series of extended plays & despite remaining optimistic regarding however many installments are being planned, Reason begins this new era of his career moderately. I can admire the personal topics he addresses coming off I Love You Again renewed passion for songwriting & recording, but the moodier direction in sound can be hit or miss.

Score: 3/5

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Reason – “I Love You Again” review

This is the 5th mixtape from Carson, California rapper Reason. After releasing his first 4 tapes, Top Dawg Entertainment signed him in the middle of 2018 by reissuing the one that landed him the contract in the first place: There You Have It. However, his official full-length debut album New Beginnings received more mixed reception when it came out the fall where COVID had the whole world shut down & Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith’s son Moosa subsequently got into a heated exchange of words with Reason the week Porches dropped saying former employee & pgLang co-founder Dave Free regrets even signing him in the first place. Understandably, he left TDE & is returning to his independent roots by telling the game I Love You Again in light of starting his own label Do More Records.

“Fly Away” is this 1 minute drumless intro tackling the theme of escapism whereas “MY Own” featuring Junii takes the trap route instrumentally talking about keeping your head up whilst treading them waters. “Stuck on Moments” featuring Kota the Friend goes for a summery vibe to the beat taking a road different from the proper trail just before “Fleece” hooks up these pianos & hi-hats showing off his young ghetto n***a status.

The soul-trap hybrid on “Not What You Think” featuring Bas crosses the halfway mark of I Love You Again nicely turning all of their demons into meanings but after the “Do More with Thoughts & Ideas” interlude, Ben Reilly joins Reason for “100” going off the top together that is until “Hol’ That” featuring Coyote & Ransom reveals to be the most fun collab here. The final song “Cross the Waters” ahead of the “I Really Do Love You Memoir” outro wraps it up with him & Hit-Boy sharing a moment on the mic together over a Supah Mario instrumental.

After the “I Still Love You Memoir” interlude, “Count It Up” gets on a soulful trap note taking happiness over money & fame while “Tears Over Rose Petals” featuring Cozz cumbersomely talks about wanting people to feel the words they’re speaking instead of simply listening. “On Site NE” hooks up a vocal sample & some finger snaps saying he needs his paper pronto & after the “Spin the Block Memoir” interlude, “I Hate You. I Love You.” dustily breaks down his love/hate relationship with the game.

Once the final bonus track “Home to Me” featuring Chris Patrick excluding the “Support Ya Ppls” outro finishes the deluxe run with a pop rap joint feeling safe around the love of their lives, I wanted to take an opportunity to discuss both “The Dead Apple” & “New York Crash” since both of them were released in the midst of Ray Vaughn & Joey Bada$$’ series of friendly competition disses. The first is a 2-parter replying to a jab Joey threw during “The Finals” & the other finds himself tempted carrying a .40 on him at all times.

Sitting in the weight of reflection, contemplation & healing, one of the industry’s most compelling young voices renowned for his gift for narrative & storytelling prowess makes his highly anticipated return as he embarks on creating his own path & proves that his star is as bright as ever now that’s independent free to drop whenever he wants as opposed to a major label holding his creativity hostage.

Score: 3.5/5

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Reason – “Porches” review

Reason is a 33 year old rapper from Carson, California who released a total of 4 mixtapes until signing to Top Dawg Entertainment in the middle of 2018 by reissuing the one that landed him the contract in the first place: There You Have It. However, his official full-length debut album New Beginnings received more mixed reception when it came out the fall where COVID had the whole world shut down. But considering a couple latest singles of his along with the fact that he called in some show on-air a few days ago to vent his frustrations over the ball being dropped promotion-wise & Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith’s son Moosa subsequently called in to get into a heated exchange of words with Reason saying former employee/pgLang co-founder Dave Free regrets even signing him in the first place, I went into the sophomore effort hoping I would like it more than the predecessor.

“Faded off Poor n Riches!” starts off the album with a drumless beat with the sound of a ticking clock talking about getting to share the Ws whereas “Caucasian Estates!” takes the morbid trap route thanks to Vinylz & Allen Ritter ensuring you to relax so he can push your shit to the max. The gospel influences throughout “At It Again” are pretty cool as he triumphantly focuses on winning once more that is until “A Broken Winter Break!” dives into soulful boom bap territory admitting he’s blurry of the 5th.

Moving on from there, “You Betta (Jesus Take the Wheel)” tells y’all to come & take the weight off him with a hazy trap beat just before “Send You 2 the Afterlife!” almost gives me a Memphis rap feel instrumentally with the title saying it all conceptually. “Call Me!“ gives off a more soothing vibe saying he’s way too stressed in here, but then the spacey boom bap-inflicted “Gang Shit!” calling out those who don’t like his image coming & you can hear the genuine frustration in his voice.

“F.T.N.! (Fuck These N***a!)” featuring Baby Tate has a more skeletal trap tone as they deliver a decent pop rap ballad together leading into the booming “Gina! (August Alsina)” dropping braggadocio likening his whip to 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena. “Too Much! (Melly Mel)” follows this up with a bleak jazz rap ballad FNZ cooked up about overthinking while “Bussin! (WB Pt.2) featuring Top Dawg Entertainment labelmate Ray Vaughn who has yet to drop a full-length debut with the label probably because they’re shelving him too finds them over keys & hi-hats co-produced by Boi-1da talking about never being upset with how they living.

Meanwhile, “Rich Mirages!” hazily confesses having the optical illusion of being wealthy while “I Don’t Trust You!” featuring TDE’s latest signing as of me writing this review Doechii finds the pair making a better version of “F.T.N.! (Fuck These N***a!)” with all respect to Baby Tate except they’re tackling mistrust. The song “Family First!” featuring Kalan.FrFr, SiR & Zacari delivers a piano trap ballad dedicated to family while the penultimate track “Porch Steps!” featuring Dirty Dell nocturnally talks about never leaving the hood. “Poster Child!” however wraps everything up with 1 final boom bap cut hungrily declaring he got where he is today in the music industry because of a specific mindset.

A lot of people including myself generally think Reason is one of the more average artists on the TDE roster but after the whole situation with Moosa only a few days ago, it didn’t sit right with me at all as someone who watched the label in it’s prime in high school. That being said: the guy deserves better. He’s at different place emotionally, but the production’s just okay at best & the guests’ performances are hit or miss. As someone who watched the label in its prime back in high school, their downfall has unquestionably become one of the biggest tragedies in hip hop history.

Score: 3/5

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Reason – “New Beginnings” review

This is the official full-length debut from California emcee Reason, whom I first caught wind of a couple years ago when he signed to Top Dawg Entertainment & reissued his 4th mixtape There You Have It. The project was cool, but I feel like he could grow as time went on because we all know TDE‘s lineup of artists are mostly all-stars. But with a slew of singles throughout the year, Reason is ready to make New Beginnings.

The opener “Something More” talks about his deepest desires in a significant other over a cavernous instrumental whereas the next song “Stories I Forgot” talks about not missing over a flute-tinged beat. The track “Pop Shit” with ScHoolboy Q finds the 2 talking about riding with their hoods over an instrumental with a murky atmosphere to it while the song “Show Stop” flexes over a druggy trap beat from !llmind.

The track “Favorite N***a” talks about money not changing him over a weary instrumental while the song “I Can Make It” with Rapsody sees the 2 getting romantic over a moody boom bap beat from S1. The track “Fall” talks about the difficulties of being an artist over some keys & occasional drums thumping away while the song “Slow Down” talks about needing to appreciate ones’ process over a boom bap beat with an alluring sample hanging in the background.

The song “Flick It Up” with Ab-Soul finds the 2 bragging over a spacious instrumental while the track “Sauce” with Vince Staples sees the 2 talking about being bosses over a trap beat with some somber keyboard melodies. The song “Extinct” with Isaiah Rashad & J.I.D finds the trio talking about a “doorbell dumb” vixen over a calming boom bap instrumental while the track “Westside” is another romantic cut like “I Can Make It”, but the vibe on this one is kinda eh. The penultimate song “Gossip” claps back at those who be saying “fuck him” & then the closer “Windows Cry” addresses the elephant in the room over a melancholic Wu10 beat.

Reason could very well be the underdog of TDE & this album only goes to show it in my opinion, because there are some notable improvements in comparison to his previous mixtapes. The pen-game has stepped this time around, a good majority of the features are on point & it’s a bit more well-produced as well.

Score: 3.5/5

Reason – “There You Have It” review

Reason is a rapper from De Amo, California who I first caught wind of on the Black Panther soundtrack. He just signed to Top Dawg Entertainment last month & now, he’s releasing his full-length debut.

After the “Rufus Collection” skit, we go into the title track. Here, Reason talks about coming from the streets over a moody soulful instrumental. The track “Kurupt” talks about seizing the moment over an uplifting beat with punchy drums while the song “Fuck wit Me” gets braggadocious over a gloomy beat. The track “Bottom” talks about coming from nothing, but the Xian Bell feature is obnoxious. The song “Drive Slow / Taste Like Heaven” talks about the advice from his grandfather over a boom bap beat, but then it transitions into a something more jazzier.

The track “Thirst” is a club banger with some quirky synths while the song “Colored Dreams: Killers, Pt. 2” recalls a murder case he caught over a boom bap beat with some beautiful piano chords. The track “Better Dayz” is a solid cut taken from his 2016 mixtape The Free Album while the song “Situations” talks about a failing relationship over a moody beat. The penultimate track “State We In” talks about his newfound fame & the closer “Summer Up” returns to the braggadocious tip over a bass-heavy beat.

Overall, this was a solid debut. The production is much better than Jay Rock’s latest album Redemption & Reason sounds very passionate whenever he’s on the mic. If you wanna hear one of the hottest labels right now showcasing an up-&-coming star, give this a listen.

Score: 3.5/5