Twiztid – “Nickel Bag 2” review

In front of us is the 17th EP from Detroit, Michigan’s demented duo Twiztid. Consisting of Jamie Madrox Madrox & Monoxide, both of whom originally started out as part of the House of Krazees alongside childhood friend The R.O.C. in 1992 before their initial disbandment 5 years later. Almost immediately after, the Insane Clown Posse took Jamie & Mono under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records as who they’re known as today. They would become the label’s 2nd biggest act being their mentors off projects like Mostasteless, Freek Show, Mirror Mirror, The Green Book, W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day) & Abominationz. Shortly after the latter was released, Twiztid left Psychopathic to form Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2014. Since then they’ve released 7 albums & 9 EPs on their own label, my favorites of which being /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/, Glyph & more recently the Zeuss-produced Unlikely Prescription sequel Welcome to Your Funeral. Their own pop culture convention Astronomicon had it’s 8th annual event at the beginning of the month with appearances from the current TNA World Champion Joe Hendry, former AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker and 5 WWE Hall of Famers; Sting, Lita, Trish Stratus, Kevin Nash & Bret Hart. However to coincide with 4/20 weekend, they’ve whipped up a Nickel Bag sequel.

“421” is this hardcore hip hop intro produced by Fritz the Cat talking about getting down every single whether there’s a party going on or not with absolutely 0 fucks given whereas “Tarantula” takes a slower route instrumentally suggesting to keep it pushing getting high on the daily. “422” goes for a glitchier trap vibe thanks to Grady Finch talking about losing hope & control at the same time until the closing track “By Myself” maintains a darker trap edge courtesy of James Garcia or the artist formerly known as Young Wicked asking not to let them smoke by themselves.

The original Nickel Bag was known for it’s collection of remixes & only a couple newly recorded songs, but the sequel here outdoes it’s predecessor by completely ditching the need for any remixes in favor of more refreshing compositions other than “420 Premium Quality” being included on the Electric Lettuce deluxe. Fritz handles the production again other than James & Grady’s individual contributions, marking a return to Twiztid’s hardcore hip hop style after the heavy rap metal/nu metal influences during Welcome to Your Funeral.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Jamie Madrox – “More Music You Don’t Wanna Hear from Someone You Barely Like” review

This is the 4th solo LP from Detroit emcee, singer/songwriter, Astronomicon co-founder & former Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) commentator Jamie Madrox. His start as 1/3 of the House of Krazees alongside The R.O.C. & Monoxide, the latter of whom would join Mr. Bones in signing to Psychopathic Records in late 1997 as Twiztid & becoming one of the biggest acts to emerge out of the label that runs beneath the streets under the Insane Clown Posse’s wing for 15 years until forming Majik Ninja Entertainment to do it themselves. Jamie briefly went solo in the mid-90s off his debut EP The Demon Inside & the full-length debut Sacrifice, returning over a decade later for the Psychopathic-backed sophomore effort Phatso & a couple months ago on The November Brain. And with Twiztid getting ready to drop their 17th album Welcome to Your Funeral produced by Zeuss a couple weeks from now on Valentine’s Day & Juggalo Weekend, the multiple man has More Music You Don’t Wanna Hear from Someone You Barely Like.

“This Ain’t No Safe Space” is a solemn boom bap intro produced by Fritz the Cat welcoming y’all to the story of The Great Skull & the Graybow whereas “Man on the Edge” takes the trap route instrumentally courtesy of Grady Finch not giving a fuck what they gotta say. “Frazzled” fuses boom bap, rap rock & trap thanks to James Garcia or the artist formerly known as Young Wicked giving middle fingers to everyone above the criticism prior to the drum-&-bass “Free Fall” not wanting anyone to think he isn’t afraid because he is.

Moving on from there, “Sunny Always Forever” serves as another trap/rap rock hybrid talking about having enough problems being himself rather than wondering what it’s like being you while the only single “Fairy Tale” switches it up with a rock ballad singing that he wants things to go back to the way it used to be. “Am I Allowed 2B Me?” gets back on the hardcore hip hop vibe wanting to know if he can be himself just before “Fallin’ Out the Sky” returns to the boom bap talking about there being a lot of stories between here & greatness

“Rotate” begins the backend of More Music You Don’t Wanna Hear from Someone You Barely Like by experimenting with the Detroit trap sound explaining that it’s always the same fate when it’s him against them while “Until I Become Dirt” brings a morbid trap flare refusing to stop grindin’ until the wheels fall off. “☠️ Don’t Like Me ‘Cause I’m Already ☠️” ends the LP showing his versatility once again singing on top of this upbeat instrumental feeling alone.

It’s only been a couple months since The November Brain initially came out & despite me still enjoying it more than Phatso due to both the rawness of it & the amount of guests, More Music You Don’t Wanna Hear from Someone You Barely Like goes above & beyond the predecessor. The production mostly handled by Grady Finch & James Garcia is more consistent pulling from boom bap to hardcore hip hop, trap & rock music with Jamie showing his versatility as an artist by rapping stronger of even a couple tracks highlighting his singing abilities.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Jamie Madrox – “The November Brain” review

Jamie Madrox is a 49 year old MC, singer/songwriter, Astronomicon co-founder & former Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) commentator from Detroit, Michigan getting his start as 1/3 of the House of Krazees alongside The R.O.C. & Monoxide. The latter of whom would join Mr. Bones in signing to Psychopathic Records in late 1997 as Twiztid, becoming the biggest act to emerge out of the label that runs beneath the streets under the Insane Clown Posse’s wing next to Ouija Macc subsequently 2 decades later shortly after Majik Ninja Entertainment & PSY severed ties. Jamie briefly went solo in the mid-90s off his debut EP The Demon Inside & the full-length debut Sacrifice, returning over a decade later for the Psychopathic-backed sophomore effort Phatso. To celebrate Black Friday however, the multiple man’s returning for his 3rd solo LP to end his birth month.

“The Dice” is this melodic trap opener wondering if he can save himself again or being destined to die now whereas “Tell Me When” takes the tropical trap route instrumentally continually telling himself he’ll be fine with everything on his mind. “❤️ Me Then She ❤️ Me Not” samples one of my all-time favorite Sublime songs “Doin’ Time” letting this chick know that he’s a sure shot rather than a catch prior to “Mind Games” morbidly talking about your mind playing tricks on you.

The Green Kid a.k.a. Big Vin Dustin & Insane E join Jamie for “On the Spiral” giving off more of a hardcore hip hop vibe admitting that they’re over the edge & out of control while the grisly lead single “Dirt Sandwich” talks about self-happiness being the vibe that he promotes although I prefer the Stir Crazy remix. “G4” featuring G-Mo Skee shifts into boom bap territory for both of them dropping straight bars for 102 seconds just before “More Problems Than Yesterday” keeps the kicks & snares in tact wanting to know why his problems have increased.

“G9” featuring Boondox brings a trap flare back in the equation leading into “Blockin’ Out the Haters” featuring Blaze Ya Dead Homie returns to the boom bap talking about brushing off their detractors. “G6” featuring Hyro the Hero goes for a jazzier direction with the beat refusing to stop until the city goes down, but then “Can U Hear Me Now?” by Twiztid discusses being a part of the progress & dominating playlists.

Meanwhile on “G1”, we have Jamie & Young Wicked aggressively encouraging everyone to listen to their music on repeat when they both have material worthy of doing so while the soulful “Just a Little More” shows a mature side to the multiple man on the lyrical front. “Natural Born” featuring The R.O.C. hops over another boom bap instrumental displaying their murderous tendencies & “Impossible” somberly addresses the impossibility of life. “Ty (4Real)” finishes The November Brain with what feels like a successor to “You’re the Reazon” off Mirror Mirror.

You can only get The November Brain physically through the MNEStore because Jamie was jackin’ for beats from smaller & lesser-known underground producers. Either way, I still enjoyed it almost as much as The Chainsmoker II roughly 9 months ago & can say both halves of Twiztid put out their best solo efforts ahead of Welcome to Your Funeral this upcoming Valentine’s Day. The production although left uncredited in the hard copies more eclectic than Chainsmoker II going from boom bap to trap, jazz rap, hardcore hip hop & horrorcore introducing us to The Great Skull & the Graybow.

Score: 4/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

House of Krazees – “31” review

The House of Krazees are a seminal Detroit, Michigan horrorcore trio consisting of The R.O.C. alongside Mr. Bones & Hektik. Introducing themselves 31 years ago off the strength of their first 2 EPs Home Sweet Home & Home Bound, the next one Outbreed & their full-length debut Season of the Pumpkin back-to-back would later become classics in the early wicked shit scene followed by the sophomore effort Head Trauma until their 1997 disbandment. The R.O.C. would form HaLFBrEEd with Skrapz releasing their debut The Night They Came Home under the H.o.K. moniker in contrast to Mr. Bones & Hektik signing with Psychopathic Records as protégés of the Insane Clown Posse, renaming themselves as Jamie Madrox & Monoxide of the demented duo & Astronomicon founders Twiztid. HaLFBrEEd disbanded in 2000 after kontamiNATION despite that becoming another horrorcore essential & Twiztid released their first 9 albums through hatchet, departing at the end of 2012 & forming their own label Majik Ninja Entertainment a decade ago already. Kicking off the Halloween festivities, the original lineup of The R.O.C. & Twiztid are returning for their 3rd proper LP.

After the intro, the first song “Sent Here to Take You” perfectly starts us off foreshadowing what’s to come with this aggressive opener detailing their schizophrenic tendencies whereas “Lifeline” take the cold blooded boom bap route instrumental, talking about stabbing muhfuckas. “Into Hell Face 1st” brings a rap rack vibe to the table asking y’all what it’s worth once you reach Hell’s Pit prior to “Mask, Playing Games” drearily getting on the Jason Voorhees tip lyrically.

“Make It Dark” returns to the boom bap bringing the dark to your life discussing if they could stab the entire world just before “Killing Machine” brings a bit of an industrial hip hop vibe to the beat so they can talk about being comatose numb with a mask butcher knife stabbing. “The Slaughter, The Carnage” continues to show the trio’s murderous tendencies leading into “Swim in Your Blood” dusty talking about being addicted to doing exactly that.

As for “Break Skin”, we have the House of Krazees offering a bit of a dark atmosphere instrumentally discussing the possibility of living forever & never dying again biting the cartilage while “Killer Hunter” hopped over more kicks and snares to talk about killin’ ‘em all. “The Basement” pushes towards the final moments of 31 by putting an uncanny spin on the traditional boom bap sound talking about how it’s up to you if that’s where you really wanna die & “Thorn” ends by making sure there’s nothing left off everyone they’re killing. The bonus track “Down the Street” dabbles with trap yelling in the streets in black hoodies & pumpkin masks.

If you ask me, I never really considered The Night They Came Home to be the final House of Krazees album up to this point & more of the unofficial debut album from HaLFBrEEd. That said: their 1st body of work since Head Trauma goes to show the pioneering wicked shit group’s longevity. The R.O.C.’s production takes it back to their roots & it’s the most wicked that I’ve heard Twiztid sound in a while, foreshadowing their upcoming album Welcome to Your Funeral produced by Rob Zombie’s engineer Zeuss by taking it back to where it all started.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Monoxide – “The Chainsmoker II” review

Monoxide is a 50 year old MC/producer from Detroit, Michigan getting his start as 1/3 of the House of Krazees alongside The R.O.C. & Jamie Madrox. The latter of whom would join Hektic in signing to Psychopathic Records in late 1997 as Twiztid, becoming the biggest act to emerge out of the label that runs beneath the streets under the Insane Clown Posse’s wing next to Ouija Macc subsequently 2 decades later shortly after MNE & PSY severed ties. Some may not even know Twiztid sporadically wrestled during the early years of Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW), later inviting multiple wrestling veterans to their annual Astronomicon pop culture convention since it’s 2018 foundation. Mono was actually the last of the demented duo to go solo, with Chainsmoker turning 20 this fall & Jamie already being established as a solo artist almost 3 decades ago. So with that in mind as well as the 10 year anniversary of Majik Ninja Entertainment’s founding & how much Monoxide has gotten better lyrically as time has gone by, it makes sense to put out a sophomore effort on Leap Day produced by MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 to hold off until Welcome to Your Funeral produced by Zeuss.

After the intro, “F.A.F.O. (Fuck Around Find Out)” is an eerie trap opener to the album based on that whole entire mentality whereas “Blown Away” works in pianos as well as kicks & snares cautioning that y’all don’t want this smoke. “I See Everybody Dead” gets in his wicked shit bag reminding that no one listened to him about the issues he has & after the “You Said It” skit, “Smoke Train” featuring Blaze Ya Dead Homie & Joe Black of Alla Xul Elu unites the trio for a ghostly ballad dedicated to smoking weed.

“Not Normal” by Twiztid finds Jamie & Mono over vibraphones & hi-hats feeling the abnormalities in their chests but after the “Is That You?” skit, “Anxiety” featuring Boondox & James Garcia or the artist formerly known as Young Wicked is this badass trap metal cut that’ll definitely get the pots going. “Bad Medicine” gives off an ominous trap vibe encouraging to light a doobie & enjoy the ride since life’s too short, but then the rap rock “B.M.A. (Baddest Motherfucker Alive)” by Twiztid featuring G-Mo Skee references WWE Hall of Famer, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 3-time WWE Tag Team Champion Rikishi.

The House of Krazees get back together for the penultimate track “Night They All Died” which is actually one of my favorite songs that they’ve done with each other in recent memory reminding that the horrorcore trio are still out here over 3 decades later & “Turn the Lights Off” concludes The Chainsmoker II fusing rock with trap talking about wandering for way too long.

Jamie was my favorite of Twiztid up until Monoxide started elevating his pen game in the late 2000s & considering the amount of insane verses he’s been dropping as time goes on, I went into The Chainsmoker II thinking it would be better than the album he put out on Psychopathic almost 20 years ago & that’s exactly what we got. 7’s production is more tighter than the original Chainsmoker, you can hear Hektic’s lyrical evolution & the features from the MNE roster all maintain his level.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Twiztid – “Glyph” review

This is the 16th full-length album from Detroit hip hop/rock duo & Astronomicon founders Twiztid. Consisting of Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, they originally started out as part of the House of Krazees alongside childhood friend The R.O.C. in 1992 before their initial disbandment 5 years later. Almost immediately after, the Insane Clown Posse took Jamie & Mono under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records as the demented duo they’re known as today. They would become the label’s 2nd biggest act being their mentors off projects like Mostasteless, Freek Show, Mirror Mirror, The Green Book, W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day) & Abominationz. Shortly after the latter was released, Twiztid left Psychopathic to form Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2014. Since then they’ve released 6 albums & 7 EPs on their own label, my favorite of which being /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/. Astronomicon has even become Metro Detroit’s top pop culture convention & I’ve gotten to meet some guests in the past such as former アイアンマンヘビーメタル級王座, GCW Tag Team Champion, TNA X Division Champion, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, 2-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion, 5-time WWE tag team champion & XPW Television Champion X-Pac. Their full-fledged rock debut Unlikely Prescription was a bit mediocre in my opinion but ahead of the follow up Welcome to Your Funeral produced by Zeuss dropping in the new year containing more rapping & wicked shit, they’re returning to their hip hop roots on Glyph.

“Keepin’ 1” is an upbeat rap rock opener produced by Str8jaket with Jamie & Mono talking about doing fine & still being here whereas “Stab” takes the trap route thanks to the artist formerly known as Young Wicked himself James Garcia spitting the wicked shit. “Fallin N Love W Some1 Who Hates U” works in some synthesizers courtesy of Fritz the Cat with the title speaking for itself as far as subject matter goes, but then the Eastside Ninjas get together for “360” returning to the trap sound provided by Stir Crazy giving the middle finger to everyone hating on them.

Meanwhile on “Signs of a Villain”, we have Twiztid over a trap metal instrumental from Grady Finch of Oh! The Horror revealing that the red flags of an antagonist are everything you hate never changing leading into one of my favorites on the album “Never / Reboot” talking about this shit never stopping despite the beat here being a bit minimal. “Dig Another Hole” has a bit of an industrial flare to it speaking on trying not to lose control while the song “Clown” featuring Str8jaket talks about not being suckers even if their tears amuse you over a somber trap beat. The penultimate track “HD” almost has a Middle Eastern vibe to the instrumental advising to ask someone if you forgot who they are & “Guts” finishes things with a trap metal horrorcore anthem.

It’s already been a decade since these guys have left Psychopathic to start MNE & the fact that they’re still putting out great material like this at the rate they do is astonishing to me because I could argue that Glyph is the 2nd best post-PSY album that Twiztid has done behind /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/. Primarily because of them returning to their horrorcore roots for the first time since Mad Season & the experimentation with new sounds like trap metal within the production.

Score: 4/5

@legendswill_never_die on Instagram for the best music reviews weekly!

Twiztid – “Untitled” review

This is the 13th EP from Detroit duo & Astronomicon founders Twiztid. Consisting of Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, the pair originally started out as part of the House of Krazees alongside childhood friend The R.O.C. in 1992 before their initial disbandment 5 years later. Almost immediately after, the Insane Clown Posse took Jamie & Mono under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records as the demented duo they’re known as today. They would become the label’s 2nd biggest act being their mentors off projects like Mostasteless, Freek Show, Mirror Mirror, The Green Book, W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day) & Abominationz. Shortly after the latter was released, Twiztid left Psychopathic to form Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2014. Since then they’ve released 6 albums, with my favorites being The Darkness at the top of 2015 & then /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/ which just celebrated it’s 1-year anniversary recently. But after going into rock territory on Unlikely Prescription at the beginning of the fall, Twiztid gave fans a little treat to those who placed an order of $75 or more this Black Friday.

“The Hell That We Been Through” is an impressive opener from Triple Threat produced by Stir Crazy energetically encouraging their Day 1’s to stick together with them while the song “Sugar” goes into a bleaker direction talking about how they’re not fine mentally which they always do well with at subjects like that. The penultimate track “Real Clique” is a ghoulish trap banger taking shots at their opposition which is dope if you’re into battle raps & “On the Grind” finishes the EP off with Triple Threat reuniting on top of a misty Fritz the Cat instrumental flexing their hustle.

Although the mixed reception of Unlikely Prescription was a given & even I myself was 50/50 on it (that’s coming from a place of love too), I came away from this untitled EP enjoying it as much as I did Electric Lettuce back in the spring. They pick up where /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/ left off in the sense that they demonstrate how talented they are as MCs & returning to a more hardcore hip hop sound, proving that they haven’t forgotten about their core fanbase.

Score: 3.5/5

Twiztid – “Unlikely Prescription” review

Twiztid is a hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan consisting of Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, both of whom originally started out as part of the House of Krazees alongside childhood friend The R.O.C. in 1992 before their initial disbandment 5 years later. Almost immediately after, the Insane Clown Posse took Jamie & Mono under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records as the demented duo they’re known as today. They would become the label’s 2nd biggest act being their mentors off projects like Mostasteless, Freek Show, Mirror Mirror, The Green Book, W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day) & Abominationz. Shortly after the latter was released, Twiztid left Psychopathic to form Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2014. Since then they’ve released 5 albums & 4 EPs on their own label, my favorite of which being /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/. But for their 15th full-length right here, the Astronomicon founders are making a complete stylistic departure from the horrorcore sound they became known for.

“Corkscrew” is an electronic rock opener produced by A Danger Within talking about breaking down & asking for God to forgive them whereas “Twist & Shatter” gets on some emo shit talking about pulling apart again. “Broken Heart” goes into industrial rock territory with the help of drummer Drayven Davidson addressing an ex, but then “Confused” has a bit of an airy backdrop during the verses as the guitars dominate the majority of it. Lyrically, they’re talking about going from being hated to being famous.

Meanwhile on “Neon Vamp”, we have Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth joining Twiztid for a blatantly pure industrial hip hop banger encouraging the listener to go crazy leading into the hard rock banger “Comes with an Apology” talking about dealing with life until they’re gone. “Rose Petal” fuses together industrial music & rap metal going at the throats of judgmental people, but then “Dead Instead” has some killer guitar work despite the verses being mixed low & I appreciate the message of metaphorical walls closing in their minds.

“Parasite” has these infectiously catchy riffs as Jamie & Mono say they’ll never conform whereas the ScatteredBrains-produced “Perfect Problem” has to be my favorite on the album, being a straight up rap rock riot starter declaring themselves as such. “If I Get Things Right” asks to stop with the pretending on top of some killer drums & the hook one of the catchiest on the album, but “More Than a Memory” somberly tells the listener to remember their names in the end.

The song “Envy” is basically a mediocre attempt at a radio rock hit even though I can commend the message about how jealously can be the end of someone while the MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7-produced penultimate track “No Change” with Matt Brandyberry sounds like a cheesy entrance theme you’d hear on WWE nowadays. “World of Pretend” ends the album on a victorious note, with Twiztid talking about what it feels like when you’re reeled into such.

These guys have ALWAYS had elements of rock in their music but now that they took on that sound for the length of an entire album, I’m on the fence with it. Half of these joints actually sound really good & the other doesn’t do all that much for me personally. That being said: I am looking forward to the successor Welcome to Your Funeral produced by Zeuss because he did a great job on the mastering, so I have a feeling he’s gonna help refine the style of rock Jamie & Mono wanna go into. Hopefully they give us more shit like “Empty”, “Wrong with Me”, “Alone”, “Darkness” & “Familiar”.

Score: 2.5/5

Twiztid – “Electric Lettuce” review

This is the 12th EP from Detroit duo & Astronomicon founders Twiztid. Consisting of Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, the pair originally started out as part of the House of Krazees alongside childhood friend The R.O.C. in 1992 before their initial disbandment 5 years later. Almost immediately after, the Insane Clown Posse took Jamie & Mono under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records as the demented duo they’re known as today. They would become the label’s 2nd biggest act being their mentors off projects like Mostasteless, Freek Show, Mirror Mirror, The Green Book, W.I.C.K.E.D. (Wish I Could Kill Every Day) & Abominationz. Shortly after the latter was released, Twiztid left Psychopathic to form Majik Ninja Entertainment in 2014. Since then they’ve released 5 albums, with my favorites being The Darkness at the top of 2015 & then /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/ from this past Black Friday. But being big stoners for as long as they’ve been around, Jamie & Mono have decided to drop Electric Lettuce just 3 days after Alla Xul Elu’s new album Necronomichron 2: Dead by Bong.

After the “Safe Place” intro, the first song “We All Float” encourages the listeners to “come down here” with them since the weed hits harder than former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou & the trap instrumental Young Wicked cooks up is totally off the wall. After the “Get Matt Nipps” skit, the following song “Light It Up” goes into a more west coast direction I almost wanna say as they talk about “rollin’ rappers up”. After the “Get Blaze” skit, the song “No Smoke” is a MNE posse cut sans Lex the Hex Master & The R.O.C. threatening their opposition with a piano-instrumental from MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 that really helps kick up the grimy tone of it.

The track “High ‘Til I Die” goes back into that trap direction as they talk about always being lifted & Lee Carver just shows why he’s my favorite Alla Xul Elu member. Especially when he said “Breaking up weed on the case of The Green Book”. I’m kinda disappointed that “Right Here Ninja” makes no reference or homage to “Here I Am” off of Blaze’s classic debut 1 Less G n da Hood, but the futuristic sound is fresh. “Feeling Stuck” is a great way to finish the EP, as it’s a guitar-trap driven cut about how COVID has effected everyone.

“420 Premium Quality” rawly starts the deluxe run telling all y’all muthafuckas to sing along lighting that shit up while “Wasted 3” by the Samhain Witch Killaz featuring G-Mo Skee, King Gordy, Redd, Rittz & Young Wicked matches the caliber of “Wasted 2 featuring Chris Webby, Kung Fu Vampire, R.A. the Rugged Man, the Three 6 Mafia & Whitney Peyton off of Twiztid’s 8th EP Get Twiztid along with “Wasted 3” featuring Anybody Killa & the Axe Murder Boyz off of their 13th album Mad Season as the best installments of the “Wasted” series. “It’s Been a Long Time” serves as the final bonus track going rap rock to admit they haven’t been this high in forever.

Despite my expectations not being super high given that this is a holiday-themed EP, I actually like it more than that short Songs of Samhain compilation that MNE put out this past fall. It continues to stray away from the wicked shit in favor of a more traditional hardcore hip hop vibe much like /ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/, except most of the songs are weed-related.

Score: 3.5/5

Twiztid – “/ˌrevəˈlāSH⁽ᵊ⁾n/” review

Twiztid is a hip hop duo from Detroit, Michigan consisting of Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, both of whom got their start alongside The R.O.C. as part of the trio House of Krazees throughout the early/mid 90’s. After their initial disbandment in 1997, the Insane Clown Posse almost immediately took Twiztid under their wings by signing them to Psychopathic Records & sporadically wrestled during the first few years after Juggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) was formed. But at the end of 2012, the demented duo decided to branch out on their own & started up their own record label Majik Ninja Entertainment just a couple years after. They’ve released a few outings on their own since, with the latest being Mad Season back in April of this year. However, the Astronomicon founders have decided to go back-to-back & drop their 14th full-length album.

The album starts off with “Hallelujah”, where Twiztid talks about the game being fake referencing WWE Hall of Famer as well as former 6-time WWE world champion & WWE Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage over a bass-heavy trap beat from Young Wicked. The next song “Blueprint” talks about going back to their old ways over an ominous instrumental from MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 while the track “We Just Wanna Be Heard” literally speaks for itself over an apocalyptic beat. The song “Get Through the Day” talks about wanting their pain to be taken away over a ScatteredBrains instrumental with a flute in the background & a heavy guitar during the hook while the track “Come Alive” with Kid Bookie sees the 3 talking about living every day like they don’t see the sunlight over a trap beat with blobby bass.

The song “Clear” takes aim at those biting them over an instrumental with a pots & pans loop while the song “Hold Up” with Young Wicked finds the trio talking about pushing it ‘til the wheels fall off over a tropical trap beat. The song “Separate” would have to be my favorite on the entire album as it talks about escapism over an instrumental that continues to build up while the track “Twinz” gets on their shit-talking tip over a boom bap beat with some chimes.

The song “Laughable” with Lex the Hex Master sees the 3 talking about how “one of us has to go & no it won’t be me” over an instrumental with some angelic background vocals while the penultimate track “Change Me” talks about striving to become the person you want to be over an acoustic instrumental. The closer “Never Be Nothing” talks about being misunderstood over a trap beat with some somber piano chords.

Not only is this better than Mad Season, but I’ll also say that this is Twiztid’s best album post-Psychopathic. It all flows together so well as they distance themselves from their horrorcore roots in favor of showing listeners they still have it lyrically this deep into their career & the production only enhances the emotion behind each joint.

Score: 4/5