WTM Solid – “Bigg” review

This is the 4th EP from Detroit rapper WTM Solid. A member of the WRLD Tour Mafia, he also embarked on a solo career of his own beginning a couple years ago with the debut EP Originatour followed by both Matter of Time & more recently What’s the Difference? from last fall. WRLD Tour themselves collectively are coming off their 3rd mixtape Tourmania II incorporating heavier wrestling themes than its processor, so I was interested in Bigg. Especially considering both DaeMoney & Rafa’s latest solo material Rockstar Lifestyle 2 & Good Girls Don’t Exist respectively.

“FTP (FuckThePolitics)” begins with a mind-altering trap beat wanting his girl to tell him that he’s the hardest whereas “Pledge Allegiance” produced by LulRose turns the psychedelia up a notch needing $1M & looking to cut off any & all bullshit they try to bring his way. “H-Town” brings a Detroit trap vibe instrumentally talking about being his own boss callin’ bluff on those actin’ like they’ve pulled off scams when they really haven’t while “Blessings > Luck” mixes these g-funk like synthesizers & hi-hats expressing his gratitude for his blessings.

The tenser atmosphere throughout “Kapital P” is a nice touch taking shots at everyone out here who stay petty as Hell & that he’s done thinking he’s just gonna do it ahead of the cloudy “Kiss & Tell” talking about refusing to stop until he’s rich. “$treet Gospel” airily admits that he’s infatuated with his lifestyle watering all his swag down leading into “Karrah Blue” sampling Street Fighter throwing orchestral synth melodies & hi-hats into the picture additionally to talk about being all around the world & warning that whoever checks him is a mismatch.

“S.A.S.G. (Slam A Slut Girl)” incorporates icier synthesizers & 808s bragging how fly as fuck he is getting higher than a billboard & representing his squad Slam A Slut Records until the very end, but then the trillwave-laced “Challenges” shows an introspective side to Solid lyrically talking about improving every day & really learning to manage only worrying about the cash a bit rather than a hoe. And finally, “Who’s to Blame?” concludes Bigg calmly asking himself if it’s his fault for certain things in his life.

Regarding the 4 EPs in Solid’s discography so far, I always had Originatour as my personal favorite & he manages to give us a new one days before it’s 2-year anniversary displaying everything that makes him stand out amongst WRLD Tour both individually & collectively. You’re still very much getting the upbeat 808 percussion & dynamic flows synonymous within the Motor City’s trap scene dashed with cloud rap undertones whilst demonstrating his growth in the last 104 weeks.

Score: 4/5

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WRLD Tour Mafia – “Tourmania II” review

This is the 3rd mixtape from Detroit, Michigan trap group the WRLD Tour Mafia consisting of DaeMoney, Rafa, WTM Miles, WTM Re & WTM Solid. These guys originally formed in 2019 dropping their debut mixtape World Tour Mafia or Die a couple summers later followed by Tourmania the fall after that & most recently the Mob Ties EP from 7 months ago. However with Slae & Rafa coming fresh off Rockstar Lifestyle 2 & Good Girls Don’t Exist respectively, WRLD Tour’s getting back together for an official Tourmafia sequel as a way of celebrating 4/20.

“Tourmania” is a triumphant trap opener to the tape cautioning that trying their shit with them would be worst day flexing that they’re getting cake on a daily basis whereas “Pat Mahomes” gives me a psychedelic vibe instrumentally talking about their pockets looking like Teletubbies since the money coming in different colors. “WUTANG” might be my favorite on the project from the rage-inducing Carlo Anthony beat calling out everyone who be on some childish shit & keeping their heads up staying focused just before the cloudy Detroit trap cut “Citgo” talking about cracking back if you lackin’ in the field.

Luh Tyler joins WRLD Tour for the atmospheric “Money in the Bank” produced by LulRose getting in a different bag from what they had yesterday leading into “Halloween 2” serving as a sequel to a standout from the previous Tourmania almost a year & a half ago. “W.T.M.D.$.M. (WRLD Tour Mafia Dog $hit Militia)” featuring Babytron has a bit of a futuristic beat as WRLD Tour & Tron remind us why they’re amongst the best the D has seen in recent memory, but then “Jansport” fuses cloud rap with Detroit trap talking about grinding for everything you want.

“Degenerates” works in some guitars & hi-hats boasting that they run this shit while “Feel Like TC” hops over a hypertrap instrumental talking about the squad catching back-to-back dubs as if they’re the Golden State Warriors. The aggressively jumpy production on “SmackDown vs. Raw” named after the 2-main brands of the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE is really fun admitting to feelin’ like A$AP Rocky as they need them Pesos & that Slam A Slut Records got girls all over the world much like Lloyd & Lil Wayne while the appropriately titled “Life of Tour” gives you an otherworldly look into their lives.

WB Nutty of Los & Nutty appears on “Daisy World” bringing a bassy Detroit trap sound to the table throwing some bells in the picture on top of it bragging that they’ll teach you how to flip it while “Ed Reed” takes a more serious approach generally talking about having to get your own & that you can’t depend on anyone else out here. The sample flip throughout “Cross $tate Brothers” is astounding to get on another fuckin’ level while the operatic/trap crossover “Kill” talks about how this life chose them rather than the WRLD Tour Mafia choosing it themselves.

“Boo Thumper” featuring Brooks goes into a piano-driven direction flat out warning everyone that fuckin’ with them will find you layin’ in the dirt while “B.O.D. (Brothers of Destruction)” named after the 3-time WWE tag team champions serves as an introduction to the greatest gang sampling WWE Hall of Famer Kane’s entrance theme. “Wise Guys” has these cool ass horns throughout showing off their real mob ties while “Bigger Dreams” follows it up with an atmospherical mob meeting. “Trilogy” is another heartfelt moment talking about those not knowing what comes with this shit & “Lenny Kravitz” wraps things up rockin’ out over strings.

In the past couple years of familiarizing myself with the WRLD Tour Mafia, they’ve really been outdoing themselves both from a collective & individual standpoint further solidifying themselves as one of the most exciting groups to emerge from the Detroit trap scene as of lately. Tourmania II much like Rockstar Lifestyle 2 takes it a step above the predecessor. The last one had a tighter guest list but anyway, there are some interesting ideas within the production & there are significantly more wrestling references than last time that I admire as someone who grew up during the Attitude/Ruthless Aggression Era.

Score: 4/5

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Rafa – “Good Girls Don’t Exist” review

Detroit rapper Rafa is back with his 3rd EP. Coming up as a member of the WRLD Tour Mafia a couple years ago, he would also begin a solo career of his own starting on Thanksgiving 2020 with his debut EP Not for Household Use & followed it up in the form his full-length debut Dog$hit & Ammunition. Last we heard from him was almost a year & a half ago when he put out an eponymous EP that I still consider to be his strongest solo effort to this day, but is applying pressure with Good Girl’s Don’t Exist since DaeMoney dropped Rockstar Lifestyle 2 earlier this month.

The title track is a cloudy opener clarifying that there are no such thing as good girls to him whereas “Waste No Time” is an acoustic trap hybrid ripping his heart out & putting it on display. “Luv a Do” dives into the Detroit trap sound throwing some synthesizers into the fold going ape shit like he was hanging around Nigo just before “Money Virus” melancholically admits he don’t know how to live & is unable to trust his homie.

“Cash Rules” fuses rock with trap saying he’s never met another woman like the one he wrote this song for while the “Interlude” takes the atmospheric route hoping to be a billionaire like one of my top 10 producers Ye since making money is a hobby for him. “200 Days (Malala)” talks about coming a long way & previously doing stuff ass-backwards over a dreamy trap instrumental prior to “On Me” featuring Rally & Samuel Shabazz dabbles with plugg being able to tell the love ain’t there.

The untitled penultimate song continues to draw near the end of the EP by bringing rage beats into the picture acknowledging that there are so many things for him to figure out, but then “A$AP & Riri” finishes Good Girls Don’t Exist by talking about being too busy getting rich & refusing to let a hoe have his kid going for an entrancing vibe instrumentally. “Matchin’ Tracks” cloudily starts the deluxe advising to stay down until you up while “Understanding” hops over a sample-woven trap beat addressing someone he can’t live life without.

“I Luv WRLD Tour” psychedelically bridges the halfway point of the bonus track run representing the crew that he stay running with while “Rafa Bieber” pulls inspiration from the trillwave scene once more talking about handling the trials & tribulations by his lonely. The final bonus cut “Surf Gang” featuring Rally wraps up the deluxe on some plugg shit bragging over being more lit than propane itself.

It’s only a couple weeks after Slae put out Rockstar Lifestyle 2 & here we have Rafa continuing to elevate the WRLD Tour Mafia by putting out an an EP that I actually believe tops Not for Household Use almost 3 & a half years ago by now. His sound is growing & lyrically, he has to be right behind DaeMoney as my favorite member of what has to be one of the most exciting up-&-coming groups in the Detroit trap scene.

Score: 3.5/5

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Rafa – Self-Titled review

This is the eponymous 2nd EP from Detroit rapper Rafa. Coming up as a member of the WRLD Tour Mafia a couple years ago, he would also begin a solo career of his own starting on Thanksgiving 2020 with his debut EP Not for Household Use & followed it up earlier this year in the form his full-length debut Dog$hit & Ammunition. But with the Mafia coming fresh off Tourmania a couple weeks back, Rafa continuing to apply pressure by dropping a self-titled effort.

“Tighten Up” is an acoustic/trap opener produced by Carlo Anthony with Rafa talking about how that’s exactly what he had to do before going out & getting it whereas “Cat n da Hat” takes a more rawer route with it’s deathly instrumental & the lyrics essentially shit-talking. “Hoe Need Jesus” has a more wavier vibe to the beat talking about getting fly for no reason, but then “Last Dump” works in some foreboding piano chords & hi-hats addressing that they don’t wanna see him winning.

Continuing from there with “Touch the Sky”, we have Rafa over some more mellow production exposing a rat & telling a hoe to get the fuck out his messages prior to “Prophet” returning to the Detroit trap sound declaring himself as such. “Wrldtour17” has a little bit of a West Coast flare to the instrumental confessing that he thinks God’s blessing him for his mother & he doesn’t deserve it because of how wild he can be just before “LIL Stro” almost gives off a cloudier tone to the beat opening up about this rap shit taking him to new heights.

“King Tut” switches up to a peppier sound admitting that he feels like the titular Egyptian pharaoh leading into the horn-laced “Dover Street” delivering some braggadocio. The song “Lean” laces some synths in responding to those asking what’s in his system while the penultimate track “Welcome to My Wrld” gets more personal lyrically with a drowsy trap instrumental. “Pushin’ On” though serves as a soulful closer to the tape talking about continuing to move forward.

Now for those’ve you who recently got put onto WRLD Tour off Tourmania & are looking to get into Rafa’s solo stuff, you’re gonna wanna check out self-titled because I happen to like it more than both Not for Household Use and Dog$hit & Ammunition even though that’s not to say either of them are bad whatsoever. Even though it almost feels like an EP running only at 25 & a half minutes, I can’t deny that it’s well produced & that Rafa’s performances & songwriting are both at their strongest.

Score: 4.5/5

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WRLD Tour Mafia – “Tourmania” review

These guys are a group from Detroit, Michigan consisting of DaeMoney, Rafa, WTM Miles, WTM Re & WTM Solid. They originally formed in 2019 & dropped their debut mixtape World Tour Mafia or Die last summer to positive reception. But with the Mafia’s popularity continuing to grow as well as Scoob departing the group not too long ago & even the 1-year anniversary of their collective debut passing by a few weeks back, they’re continuing to move forward by putting out a sophomore tape.

“Gang Gang Gang” is a suspenseful opener talking about taking over your city & “running through them thangs like Reggie Bush” whereas “This It Right Here” detailing the lifestyles that they live on top of some gnarly piano chords, snares & a hi-hat. “Final 4” works in some strings & bells talking about making money instead of chasing it prior to the formidable “Backdoor Open” warning to extort anyone who even thinks about fucking with them.

Continuing from there with “Stamped on Me”, we have the Mafia over a horn-laced instrumental talking about how turnt they are leading into “Halloween” samples the main title theme of the iconic 1978 horror masterpiece of the same name spitting some vivid gangsta raps. GT comes into the picture for “Demon” blending some keys & hi-hats together to deliver braggodio for a couple minutes just before the thunderous “Or Die” talks about representing ‘til the casket drops.

“Good Game” has a more angelic tone to the beat explaining that not being afraid of taking risks is the reason why they’re loaded on paper while “Re Birthday” with Lucki weaves some synthesizers to declare themselves as the chosen ones. “Oink Girl (Tour Girl)” is basically a hoe anthem with a blaring instrumental, but then Veeze tags along for “Construction” returning to daunting territory talking about dropping $700 on a hoodie with paint on it.

Meanwhile on “Erotic City”, the Mafia & Babyface Ray manages to sample one of my all-time favorite Prince songs boasting that they “really doing it” with the ambitious “For the Kids” strives to be rich for their families over some pianos & the hi-hats here are just rattling off like machine guns. The hypnotizing vibes of “Money Power Respect” are a nice touch expressing the amount of all 3 of the titular things to be increased while “No Timeouts” brings a more fraughting tone talking about how everyone wants the style now.

“Welcome to the Vault” has a bit of a rickety quality to the drums fused with some piano chords promising to change bitches’ lives while the song “Get Influenced” confesses over a wavy Carlo Anthony beat that they don’t even sweat about those taking inspiration from them. The rubbery penultimate track “Lethal Weapon” finds the crew cautioning to lay out anyone who dares to step up to them & “Backend” is a gripping closer talking about being the fuckin’ mob.

Now if Tourmania proves anything to me, it’s that the WRLD Tour Mafia is amongst one of the best groups in the city right now. Their chemistry as a unit remains as strong as it’s ever been even with Scoob’s departure, the production compared to the last tape being more distinct & the performances from the very few features that they bring with them for the ride are more consistent.

Score: 4/5

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