RJ Payne – “Sinnerz” review

New York emcee & revered battle rapper RJ Payne formerly known as Reign Man dropping his 16th EP. Building up an extensive solo catalogue for himself with 24 mixtapes as well as well as his last dozen EPs & 4 full-length albums, Benny the Butcher even signed RJ to Black Soprano Family Records for a brief period of time & putting out some of best material like Leatherface & Square Root of a Kilo under Benny’s ever-growing indie label of his own. My Life’z a Movie produced by Stu Bangas quickly became my favorite LP in RJ’s discography & Enemy Soil Entertainment in-house producer C-Lance went on a trip with him to The Barbershop, coming off Erick Sermon producing a 3-Piece & Drega33 fully producing Triangle D’or to team up with Cartune Beatz on Sinners.

After the “Let Me In” intro, the first song “Stacks” hooks up a bare slowed down sample to refer himself as royalty in the flesh whereas “Sammy’s Guitar” takes the chipmunk soul route instrumentally hoping that everyone has accepted their fate. “Ryan Coogler” warns not to make him come to your house for cleaning only leaving nothing behind but the bill & “Land of the Sinner” soulfully talks about his heart being bigger than his patience, but then “Smoke” wraps up Sinnerz with 1 last drumless observing a glitch in the game.

Furthering the acclaim of 3-Piece & Triangle D’or, the Reign Man’s consistent 2025 run carries on with another EP that will likely go down as amongst the best RJ has ever done similarly to both predecessors I mentioned earlier. Cartune Beatz’ production here goes for a primarily drumless sound further pulling from chipmunk soul & RJ refrains from having guests once again to spit the Payne fans have come to love him for.

Score: 4/5

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RJ Payne – “Triangle D’or” review

This is the 15th EP from New York emcee & revered battle rapper RJ Payne formerly known as Reign Man. Building up an extensive solo catalogue for himself with 24 mixtapes as well as well as his last dozen EPs & 4 full-length albums, Benny the Butcher even signed RJ to Black Soprano Family Records for a brief period of time & putting out some of best material like Leatherface & Square Root of a Kilo under Benny’s ever-growing indie label of his own. My Life’z a Movie produced by Stu Bangas quickly became my favorite LP in RJ’s discography & Enemy Soil Entertainment in-house producer C-Lance went on a trip with him to The Barbershop, coming off Erick Sermon producing a 3-Piece to have Drega33 fully produce Triangle D’or.

“Quinconces” is this soulfully drumless intro talking about being in the top 10 conversations when it comes to checking off all the boxes whereas “Paris Attack” keeps the drums out of the equation asking not to anger the Lord since he’s giving everybody heavenly music. “Brings to Me” maintains a chipmunk soul vibe likening his flow to the strength of cocaine while “Coffee or Tea” talks about the world waking up recognizing the Payne.

The song “Elegant Payne” starts the 2nd & final half of Triangle D’or by aggressively making it known to these other rappers that they’re levels behind him lyrically while “Splendid” pulls from chipmunk soul once again talking about leaving the red carpet covered in DNA if anybody crosses him. “Final Boss” concludes Triangle D’or with 1 last drumless track boasting about his soul not being for sale & his appetite being elite compared to others.

Coming off the 4th installment of the Leatherface saga a couple weeks ago, Drega33 comes fresh off producing both entries of the Lethal Weapon series of EPs by making Triangle D’or the most I’ve enjoyed a body of work from RJ Payne in a couple months. The production heavily draws upon the sounds of drumless chipmunk soul lyrically spitting some of that international Payne ahead of his upcoming collab effort with Method Man.

Score: 4/5

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RJ Payne – “The 3-Piece” review

Here we have the 13th EP New York emcee & revered battle rapper RJ Payne formerly known as Reign Man. Building up an extensive solo catalogue for himself with 23 mixtapes as well as well as his last dozen EPs & 4 full-length albums, Benny the Butcher even signed RJ to Black Soprano Family Records for a brief period of time & putting out some of best material like Leatherface & Square Root of a Kilo under Benny’s ever-growing indie label of his own. My Life’z a Movie produced by Stu Bangas quickly became my favorite LP in RJ’s discography & Enemy Soil Entertainment in-house producer C-Lance went on a trip with him to The Barbershop, looking to continue the acclaim by having Erick Sermon produce a 3-Piece.

After the “Warning” intro, the first song “Right Cross” featuring Erick Sermon himself is a boom bap opener with both of them dropping hardcore lyricism together for a little over 2 & a half minutes while “The Hook” suggests that everyone else should get on his level of penmanship & I’d have to agree with him on it. “The Uppercut” is a soulful closer to the EP talking about everyone else being unable to match him lyrically & being a businessman as opposed to simply an MC with true skill.

For only a 4-track EP running at a little over 8 & a half minutes, there’s quite a lot to unpack from it & continues the prolific run of output that RJ’s been on for the past couple of years or so. The Green Eyed Bandit fresh off producing the highlight “Don’t U Miss” off his protege Redman’s comeback album Muddy Waters 2 a couple months ago in a Christmas Eve miracle to give the Reign Man a few beats showcasing his signature style & for him to let off lyrical pressure in that short amount of time.

Score: 4.5/5

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GUTTR – “Everything is…GUTTR” review

GUTTR is a newly formed supergroup consisting of Ras Kass, RJ Payne & Havoc. All 3 of whom have been established within hip hop whether it be the waterproof MC’s debut Soul on Ice, RJ decimating anyone in the battle circuit that dared to step up against him under the original moniker Reignman or last but not least Havoc being 1/2 of the greatest duos of all-time Mobb Deep alongside the late Prodigy. Ras & RJ have worked with each other a few times previously, but got one of the East Coast’s most underrated producers as their 3rd member in time to put out a full-length debut.

“Roll Call” featuring Lil’ Fame & Method Manis a grimy way to kick off the album asking where all the real ones at in this bitch whereas “Nostalgia” incorporates a soul sample for the trio to pour one out for all the fallen soldiers we’ve lost along the way. The title track featuring Kurupt & KXNG CROOKED takes the cavernous route talking about how it’s only right for them to get the cheese but after the “RNR Ep. 1” skit, “Once Again It’s On” featuring Twista ruggedly finds everyone in their battle rap shit.

On the other hand, “Different” kinda has a jazzier flare asking not to be compared to any other artists out here while “Lo-Fi” right after the “RNR Ep. 2” skit soulfully talks about liking the atmosphere gritty. “Stop Playin’” featuring Freeway & Raekwon brings back the pianos to tell everyone to not fuck around with them but after the “RNR Ep. 3” skit, the final song “Old Soul” ends GUTTR’s debut warning that gossiping to them will leave you with your head blown clear.

The hardcore hip hop fans are really gonna find themselves gravitating towards GUTTR’s introductory album & hopefully this is only the beginning of more to come from what is recognized as hip hop’s very first unionization. Primarily due to Ras Kass & RJ Payne paying homage to Prodigy by channeling that old Mobb Deep energy, Havoc setting the musical canvas on an entire album for both lyricists to paint their bars, the guests all matching their intensity

Score: 4/5

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RJ Payne – “The Barbershop” review

New York emcee & revered battle rapper RJ Payne formerly known as Reign Man back with his 9th EP. Building up an extensive solo catalogue for himself with 23 mixtapes as well as well as his last 7 EPs & 4 full-length albums. Benny the Butcher even signed RJ to Black Soprano Family Records for a brief period of time, putting out some of best material like Leatherface & Square Root of a Kilo under Benny’s ever-growing indie label of his own. However, My Life’z a Movie produced by Stu Bangas quickly became my favorite LP in RJ’s discography celebrating it’s 1-year anniversary last weekend & to come off the moderately well received P.A. Dre-produced sequel last month, Enemy Soil Entertainment in-house producer C-Lance is teaming up with the Reign Man for a trip to The Barbershop.

After the “Barberchair” intro, the first song “Uninspired” explains his reasons for inspiration being at a low currently over a luxurious boom bap instrumental whereas “Already Rich” works in some glamorous keys talking about being rich spiritually. “Man Child” gives off a somber vibe musically coming to teach & rebuild the love, but then the piano-driven “The Ghost of Kevin Samuels” gives his flowers to the late controversial internet personality going on to say that we need to look into the mirror & get our shit together.

“Losing My Religion” has a crooning soul vibe to it telling y’all to consider him to be a hoodlum with a mission while “Slave Food” cautioning those who’ll use food as a weapon as he’s been noticing it since the recession. But until the “Barberchair” outro, the final song “Conspiracy Theories” prays that every day will get better being well aware of what the government’s hiding over some kicks, snares & an luscious backdrop.

If My Life’z a Movie is RJ’s best album, then there’s no question in my mind that The Barbershop will stand the test of time as my favorite EP of his because I went into it expecting it to be an LP but they still delivered on the same caliber as that Stu Bangas-produced album. Conceptually, RJ takes the listeners through a trip experience feeling as if you’re at an actual barbershop & the score that C-Lance cooks up is incredibly consistent.

Score: 4.5/5

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RJ Payne – “My Life’z a Movie” review

This is the 3rd full-length album from Philly emcee RJ Payne. Coming up in the battle rap circuit under the original moniker Reignman, he would go on to build up an extensive solo catalogue for himself with 23 mixtapes as well as well as 6 EPs & of course his last 2 albums.Benny the Butcher even signed RJ to Black Soprano Family Records for a brief period of time, putting out some of best material like Leatherface & Square Root of a Kilo under Benny’s ever-growing indie label of his own. But to follow-up If Cocaine Could Talk 7 & Blood on My Chainsaw from the beginning of the year, RJ’s enlisting Stu Bangas to produce My Life’z a Movie in it’s entirety.

After the “Home Sweet Home” intro, the first song “Central Park Vibes” is a piano/boom bap-laced opener with RJ letting y’all in on a day in his life whereas “Time Hotel” takes a more jazzier route confessing that he feels like he never rests & that no one can stop him. “Little Italy” goes into drumless turf spitting some mafioso bars & after the “Vintage Brooklyn” interlude, “Brooklyn Love” returns to the boom bap professing his appreciation for the titular city in NY. After the “Q Borough” interlude though, we have RJ getting in his selfish bag on the dusty “Jamaica Ave” just before the funk/gospel hybrid “Long Island Expressway” talks about how this gon’ be a Hell of a night & that he feels like King Kong.

“Top Down in Harlem” weaves some synthesizers to flex about drive around the titular neighborhood in the City of Dreams” with the top down & after the “D Train” interlude, the song “Bronx Tale” comes through with a bluesy story that occurred in our culture’s birthplace. The penultimate track “Staten Island Vibes” works in a soul sample & a flute so RJ can rep Shaolin prior to “The Check Out” sending off the album with him on top of an orchestral yet jazzy beat talking about having a great time chilling at the Time Hotel.

As much as I enjoyed RJ’s brief run with BSF, I can argue that My Life’z a Movie is quite possibly the most cohesive body of work in his his catalog thus far. The production that Stu Bangas cooks up on here pull from an eclectic range of sounds & it’s a bit conceptual with the lyrics throughout basically serving as a genuine love letter to the Big Apple with the references to all the cities.

Score: 4.5/5

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RJ Payne – “Square Root of a Kilo” review

RJ Payne is an MC from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that started off battling under the name Reignman. He recently signed with Black Soprano Family/Griselda Records back in May & promoted it with a decent mixtape entitled Leatherface. 3 months have passed since & he’s continuing his grind with his full-length debut.

After the 7 minute “Cocaine Radio Intro”, we go into the first song “The Payne”. Where RJ gets triumphant over a soulful beat. The track “A New Day” cements his prowess over a vocal sample with some horns while the song “The Smoke” with 38 Spesh sees the 2 flexing their lyrical abilities over a boom bap beat with a sample that gets annoying after a while. The track “Drumline” with Dark Lo sees the 2 spitting battle bars over a boom bap beat with a subdued soul sample while the song “Purge Night” speaks for itself over an eerie Daringer beat.

The track “Cocaine Symphony” truly lives up to its name fantastically from the pen game to DJ Shay’s production while the song “Hitman” sees RJ comparing himself to an assassin over a boom bap beat with some synths in the background. The track “Philly Soul” with O.T the Real describes the ghettos of their hometown over a settle instrumental while the song “My Dreams” explains RJ’s ambitions over a sweet soul sample.

“The GOAT” gets back on the battle bar tip over the exact same Cortex sample that Madvillain used for “1 Beer” while “The Love” preaches for positivity over a pretty piano instrumental. The penultimate track “Never Give In” with eLZhi sees the 2 spitting game over a funky bass-line & then the album ends with “Rebirth of the ROC”, where RJ teams with Da Fever & Sunnie Blac getting vicious over a symphonic beat.

As a debut album from someone with RJ’s longevity, this is pretty promising. Most of the instrumentals & some of the features could’ve been a little bit better personally, but there’s no denying that the dude sounds hungry on here & I really think BSF/Griselda is doing a great job bringing that hunger out.

Score: 3/5