Joell Ortiz – “Monday” review

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Joell Ortiz is a 39 year old rapper who first gained recognition after being included in the Unsigned Hype column of The Source in 2004. He then signed to Aftermath Entertainment in 2006, who allowed him to release his debut album The Brick: Bodega Chronicles with E1 Music in the next year. Yaowa would eventually leave Aftermath in 2008 & form Slaughterhouse with Royce da 5’9”, KXNG CROOKED & Joe Budden shortly after. The supergroup rose to prominence with their self-titled debut that just celebrated it’s 10 year anniversary this year & would go on to sign with Eminem’s Interscope Records imprint Shady Records in 2011. But sadly, their major label debut welcome to: OUR HOUSE in the summer of 2012 would unfortunately end up being their last. Joell has been focusing on his solo career ever since then & not even a year after his Apollo Brown produced Mona Lisa, he’s hitting fans with his 7th full-length album.

After the titular intro, we go into the first song “Captain”. Where Joell talks about his place in hip hop over a stylistic Heatmakerz beat. The track “Sip Slow” is filled with clever battle bars over a joyous boom bap beat from Apollo Brown while the song “Champion” declares himself as just that over a tribal instrumental from Nottz. The track “Anxiety” vents about his insecurities over a soulful acoustic instrumental while the song “Same Time” talks about hearing a lot all at once over a boom bap beat with some strings.

The song “Learn You” talks about the sacrifices he made to chase his dreams over a grand Big K.R.I.T. instrumental then the track “Screens” talks about his kids & reflecting on his own childhood over a colorful J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League instrumental including a WWE reference. The song “Jamaican Food” is a lust anthem with a sweet minimalist beat while the track “Before Hip Hop” talks about his life before making music over some bongos & soulful background vocals. The penultimate track “Momma” of course pays tribute to Yaowa’s mother over an piano that suits the vibe & then the album ends with “Grammy”, where Joell talks about doing him over a boom bap beat with some more beautiful keyboard passages.

This is easily one of Yaowa’s best releases to date. The production is sweet to the ear & the lyrics are some of his most personal yet.

Score: 4/5

Royce da 5’9” – “Book of Ryan” review

With PRhyme 2 being released just a month & a half ago, renown Detroit underground MC Royce da 5’9” has now delivered his long-awaited 7th full-length album. After the intro, we go into the first song “Woke”. Here, Royce sends a message to those who’re sleeping confrontational over a Key Wane instrumental with some eerie choir vocals in the back. After the “My Parallel” skit, we go into the song “Caterpillar”. Here, Bad Meets Ǝvil reunites to tell the audience pretty much what Mark Jackson told Steve Kerr a few years ago over a hard hitting vibraphone instrumental from S1.

The track “God Speed” talks about making it of the hood over a smooth mR. pOrTeR instrumental while the song “Dumb” with Shady Records’ latest signee Boogie sees the 2 talking about the current state of the music industry over an S1 instrumental that sounds like something Dr. Dre & Scott Storch would’ve made together in the Early 2000s. After the “Who Are You” skit, we go into the song “Cocaine”. Here, Royce reflects on his dad’s issues with the drug over a murky DJ Khalil beat. The track “Life is Fair” talks about an ungrateful woman from his childhood over a heavy piano-Fuse instrumental while the song “Boblo Boat” sees Royce reminiscing about family trips to amusement parks & J. Cole reflecting on growing up in North Carolina over a soulful Cool & Dre instrumental.

The song “Legendary” talks about his status in the game over a bass-heavy electro instrumental from mR. pOrTeR while the track “Summer on Lock” with Fabolous & Jadakiss is filled with braggadocious bars over an eerie beat. The song “Amazing” reflects on his old neighborhood over a blissful beat while the track “Outside” vents about his fears over an atmospheric DJ Khalil instrumental. The song “Power” talks about his family’s alcoholism over a piano/bass heavy instrumental from Boi-1da & after recalling an childhood incident at a basketball court during the “Protecting Ryan” skit, we go into the track “Strong Friend”. Here, Royce reflects on his past alcoholism with some dramatic strings & funky bass.

The song “Anything/Everything” gets conscious over some jazzy piano chords while the penultimate track “Stay Woke” thanks his Bad Meets Ǝvil cohort Eminem for his sobriety while also reminding us how dope he is during the 2nd half of it over an orchestral Ging & !llmind instrumental. The album then finishes with “1st of the Month”, where Royce gets with T-Pain recalls how happy they would be when they used to get welfare checks during the 1st day of the month over a luscious piano instrumental. Overall, this is tied with Street Hop as Royce’s magnum opus. It sounds focused & passionate, the production is organic & we are truly getting Royce at his most personal point blank period with each track

Score: 4.5/5

Joe Budden – “Rage & the Machine” review

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53 weeks have passed since Slaughterhouse member Joe Budden gave us a near perfect ending to his Love Lost trilogy but now, he’s teaming up with araabMUZIK to give us his 8th & most likely final album. The opener “3” tells the listener what to expect going into this thing & the choir vocals in the background are just beautiful. The track “Uncle Joe” pretty much addresses the current state of hip hop over some piano chords from a personal point of view & the song “Serious” is a gritty duet with fellow Slaughterhouse member Joell Ortiz about how you shouldn’t fuck with either MC. The track “By Law” talks about keeping it real over a militant instrumental & the Jazzy hook isn’t too bad either. The song “Flex” with Fabolous is a smooth sex tune & the Troy Lanez hook fits like a glove. The track “Forget” is only 91 seconds long, but I can totally get where he’s going when he confesses about meeting so many people that he forgets them over a beautiful soul sample. The song “I Gotta Ask” gets into battle rap mode & the Into the Woods soundtrack sample was surprising, yet interesting. The track “Time for Work” is another sexual jam, but the production here is more energetic than it was on “Flex”. The song “Wrong One” has a chaotic instrumental that fits perfectly with Joe’s hardcore bars & the track “I Wanna Know” gets reflective on his life over a beautiful Manhattans sample with an equally beautiful hook from Stacy Barthe. The closer “Idols” is Joe naming all of his influences over a mellow instrumental if this really is Joe’s final album, then this was a perfect close the book. The production is on par with his previous album All Love Lost & Joe lyrically is getting into an OG’s perspective on things.

Score: 4/5