Latto – “Sugar Honey Iced Tea” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper Latto returning for her 3rd LP. Winning the very first season of The Rap Game & eventually turned down a deal with So So Def Recordings because it wasn’t enough money, she eventually broke through a few summers back after signing to RCA Records & putting out a decent full-length debut Queen of da Souf. The sophomore effort 777 sure enough won me over & Sugar Honey Iced Tea named after a highlight track off Kelis’ 3rd album Tasty had me hoping she’d continue towards that trajectory.

“Georgia Peach” comes straight out the gate going drumless thanks to Pooh Beatz dedicated to all the baddies out in Georgia whereas the incredibly structured 2-parter “Big Mama” is a strong anthem from which self-assurance & success breathe & women show the clear capacity for self-support pulling from trap, hardcore hip hop, New York dril, pop rap, contemporary R&B & sample drill. “Blick Sumn” featuring Playboi Carti on the remix works in some synths & hi-hats letting it be known she don’t trust a man without his heater while “Settle Down” talks about the possibility of that happening & minding her business as opposed to bitches worrying over her.

Young Nudy joins Latto for “Shrimp & Grits” radiating a more enticing vibe from the beat paying homage to all the women in their city who be country thick prior to “There She Go” talking about going from being broke in the ATL to being on an island boasting that a real one has stepped in the building. “Brokey” hooks up chimes & hi-hats explaining that you supposed to drown when a real one hold you down & after the “Mimi” interlude, “H&M (Hurt & Miserable)” charismatically discusses the way hoes be envious of her.

“Copper Cove” featuring Hunxho has more of a mellow trap groove to it for a slut-me-out-spit-on-my-tongue song & the angelically produced “Ear Candy” with Coco Jones supplying one of my favorite hooks on Sugar Honey Iced Tea talks all the sweet things her partner says to her. Earl on the Beat laces Latto up with seductive instrumental for “Liquor” confessing that the harder alcohol turns her into an absolute freak while “Squeeze” featuring Megan Thee Stallion follows it up with a club banger for all the baddies that wanna get freaky.

Ciara levels up the chorus game on “Good 2 You” with it’s uptempo production & the romantic subject matter addressing those who they feel are the ones for them as does Mariah the Scientist on “Look What You Did” serving as a short but grand dedication to Latto’s bae. “Prized Possession” featuring Teezo Touchdown intoxicatingly talks feelin’ out their minds while “S/O to Me” is a soulful boom bap cut showing pride in herself.

The first of 3 bonus tracks “Put it on da Floor” featuring Cardi B on the remix brings the pair together has some cool Detroit trap undertones start to finish saying both of them have done done it all at this point in their respective careers & the other “Sunday Service” featuring Flo Milli & Megan Thee Stallion on the remix gets on their hardcore, Memphis, dirty south trap tip giving middle fingers to hoes because their men perfect. “Chicken Grease” ends the deluxe run on some dark trap shit refusing to fuck with broke guys.

Compared to 777, I came away from the follow-up liking it a little less than the predecessor although the highs outweigh the lows. I appreciate the fact that she elevates her work beyond “single-driven & club-driven” culture showcasing different sides & versions of her artistry recapping these last couple years of her life, I just think the production could’ve been a tad bit better.

Score: 3.5/5

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Southside – “Break the Silence” review

Southside is a 35 year old producer, rapper & songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia notable for co-founding the 808 Mafia with Lex Luger as well as being 1/2 of the duo So Icey Boyz with Metro Boomin’ in addition to the 7 solo mixtapes of his discography. Most notably the Free Agent trilogy & both Trap Ye installments. However for Sizzle’s official full-length solo debut album Break the Silence, he’s having it backed by Epic Records.

“Switch” is a 2-part trap opener with a mostly cloudy sound until the regalia influences come up during the last minute or so flexing that he’s been going strong from the start whereas “Uber” has more of a rage-inducing vibe overall talking about moving on to for a new bitch because he “got bored as shit”. “Bape” hooks up some bells & hi-hats paying homage to one of my all-time favorite clothing brands A Bathing Ape, but then “Excite Me” goes for a grimmer atmosphere saying that the bread excites him.

Meanwhile on “Drive Thru”, we have Southside bringing a psychedelic trap flare to the table cautioning that he can make muhfuckas disappear telling it how it is with everyone on the sidelines hating just before “Hoes” goes hypertrap thanks to TM88 talking about how his new girl being little rather than a hoe. “Break a Promise” works in bells & hi-hats admitting that he promised one of his exes the world only for him to break it leading into the 2 minute “In This Bih” findin’ him stuntin’ in the spot.

“Topp” heads for a cloudier direction instrumentally from it’s titular producer suggesting those who lost their smell of money should be called COVID while the atmospheric trap joint “Broadway” lets the world know that he’s living with his heart again. The rattling “Blockstar” that Smatt Sertified laced with his monitor obviously given the title discusses his status in the hood & shit getting wicked prior to “Run a Mile” drawing from rage scene again feelin’ like people changed on him ever since his bread went up.

Starting the final leg of Break the Silence, the song “Vette Pass By” gives off a morbid flare to the beat to call most out here pussy while the 90 second “Ain’t Nothin’” talks about not seeing numbers first & that makes me happy because neither do I myself. “My Kitchen” is another 2-parter with a Hellish first half going hypertrap for the other declaring that no one knows how to fuck with him out here & finally “No Disguise” interestingly ends on some drumless chipmunk soul shit advising that you ain’t cool ‘cause you rich.

We haven’t heard from Sizzle since the Southside & ChaseTheMoney EP fully produced by the latter & I’d suggest listening to both Trap Ye tapes if you really want to hear what the 808 Mafia co-founder at his best on the mic. As for his first proper solo LP, it’s alright. His distinctly known gangster, bombastic, gritty, rambunctious & menacing trap sound compared to that of his collaborators takes a backseat sticking to regular trap additionally pulling from the rage subgenre which funny enough takes cues from Pi’erre Bourne’s production style & I prefer Pi’erre as a rapper than Southside although both are on the Mt. Rushmore of trap producers with Metro & Zaytoven.

Score: 3/5

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Kevin Abstract – “glue” review

Corpus Christi, Texas rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & director Kevin Abstract following up his 5th LP Blanket with his 4th official mixtape. Making his debut in 2014 in the form of MTV1987, he followed it up 2 years later with the fantastic sophomore effort American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story & rose to stardom as the de facto leader of the now defunct BROCKHAMPTON collective the year after. Both of Kevin’s solo efforts afterwards ARIZONA baby & The Family were solid although I liked the latter more for being chipmunk soul heavy & Blanket improved by going indie rock. Now that the summer nears its final month, Kevin’s putting glue together.

“Dirty Boy Swag” produced by Quadeca starts off the tape pulling inspiration from Lil B & Kevin showing off his titular swagger whereas “Kobe” talks about adopting the late Lakers icon’s mentality over a cloudy & illbient instrumental. “Jefferson” finds Romil Hemnani sampling “ELEMENT.” by Kendrick Lamar feeling like his father truly loves him leading into the highly anticipated collaboration “Tennessee” featuring Lil Nas X fuses trap, pop rap, cloud rap, alternative R&B, dirty south & regalia with the help of Devstacks talking about meeting guys in the titular state.

Meanwhile on “Beautiful Dumb Boys”, we have Kevin taking it back to the Blanket era coming to the realization that he has to break up with this guy just before the creatively fun 2-parter “Diamondz N Cash” featuring HVN & Lil Yachty gets unearthed from the Beverly Daze sessions telling us what they think of when they wake up. “2am Halcyon” has a bit of a Ye formerly known as Kanye West influence aesthetically rapping over synths telling his new man that he knows he wants to be with him prior to the bubbling, low-key “Creek” serves as an official version of “Green” allowing Romil helping Kevin return to form telling us what romance is to him.

“You’re My Type of Pleasure” sings to his partner over some organ-like synthesizers he feels like they know something about me that I hasn’t even discovered yet while “Big Dog” blends pop rap, trap & hyphy with the help of Kevin himself, Romil, Quadeca & Popstar Benny talking about how it’s lights out for him. “Red Light” reunites with Ameer Vann on top of an outstandingly gorgeous Quadeca beat wanting their lovers to stay in their dreams with them & “I Love These Hoes, They Don’t Judge” drearily ends glue talking about feeling the most fake these days.

The people that thought Blanket was a disappointingly average stylistic departure gonna find themselves enjoying glue more than Kevin’s last album going from the indie rock sound of the predecessor back to his hip hop roots whether it be experimental hip hop, west coast hip hop, dirty south, alternative R&B, regalia, illbient, cloud rap, pop rap, hyphy, trap or even a small hint of indie rock. It’s already been well established that he’s by far the most talented member of BROCKHAMPTON & glue could very well be his most enjoyable mixtape yet.

Score: 4/5

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Childish Gambino – “Bando Stone & the New World” review

California actor, writer, rapper, comedian, singer, DJ, director, producer & former FX hit series Atlanta creator Donald Glover or Childish Gambino finally following up Atavista with his 5th & final full-length LP. In only 2 decades, he’s also put out a couple EPs & 7 mixtapes in addition to all his other albums. The 2 that stand out the most are the sophomore effort Because the Internet released on my 17th birthday & the 2016 follow-up “Awaken, My Love” pulling heavy influence from the Parliament-Funkadelic collective. 3.15.20 was randomly released during the beginning of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in an unfinished state only to be finalized & reissued as Atavista recently, which most people including myself decided they’d rather wait for Bando Stone & the New World.

“H3@RT$ W3RE M3@NT T0 F7¥” featuring Amaarae is a self-produced industrial hip hop opener dissing those who did him greasy & still being on whereas the lead single “Lithonia” works in elements of alternative rock, pop rock, post-grunge, art rock & glam rock telling the story of Cody LeRae. “Survive” featuring Chlöe is a beautiful hip hop/neo-soul crossover tryna save their lives since summer’s always coming leading into “Steps Beach” singing over a stripped back instrumental from Steve Lacy talking about wanting to walk the beach on a Saturday.

Amaarae & Flo Milli join Gambino to the trap joint “Talk My Shit” so all 3 of them can boast on the lyrical side of things just before “Got to Be” turns the industrial influences all the way back up talking about 2020 being his time. “Real Love” takes a electropop/dance-pop route to the beat hoping that everyone listening gets to feel genuine love at some point in their lives, but then “In the Night” featuring Amaarae & Jorja Smith fuses alternative R&B with alté as well as gqom & alt-pop singing about needing each other at night.

“Yoshinoya” concludes the first half of Bando Stone & the New World with a 2-parter showing a bit of a Ye formerly known as Kanye West influence sticking around similarly to the titular Japanese multinational fast food chain while “Can You Feel Me?” featuring Legend Glover is a heartwarming moment on the album where father & son singing together referencing the alphabet in every verse. The 8-minute rollercoaster ride “No Excuses” goes neo-soul singing about receiving cold love while “Cruisin’” featuring Yeat produced by DJ Dahi, Ludwig Göransson, Michael Uzowuru & Donald himself brings a synth-trap vibe to the table living their dreams since this dreamin’ ain’t enough.

Meanwhile on the atmospheric “We Are God”, we have Gambino singing about being inseparable flying through the dark while “Running Around” featuring Fousheé blends soul & rock going crazy during the weekend. The track “Dadvocate” goes for another stripped back approach tackling fatherhood & after the “Happy Survival” interlude, “A Place Where Love Goes” concludes the Childish Gambino chapter of Donald’s life with 1 more EDM joint going wherever love does.

In contrast to a lot of artists saying they’re gonna retire from music & later coming back, it really does feel like the end of Childish Gambino since it’s not fun for him anymore & what a way for him to go out. We get a concept album revolving around a singer named Bando Stone stumbling into a post-apocalyptic world before teaming up with a woman & her son to fight prehistoric creatures & try to escape from an unexplained phenomenon that seems to delete “chunks” of the world blending experimental hip hop, neo-soul, psychedelic soul, neo-psychedelia, rock music, electronic dance music, alternative R&B, alté, gqom & alt-pop.

Score: 4.5/5

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G-Eazy – “Freak Show” review

Here we have the 7th full-length studio LP from Oakland, California rapper G-Eazy. Breaking out into the mainstream with his 3rd album These Things Happen in 2014, this was followed up a year later with When It’s Dark Out as well as The Beautiful & Damned back in 2017. Scary Nights was a subpar prelude to These Things Happen Too, Everything’s Strange Here easily stands as his embarrassing body of work yet & the These Things Happen was only better by a small margin. Almost 3 years later, G’s bringing the Freak Show to our ears.

After a cringeworthy intro, the first song “Showbiz” has a general hardcore sound than what I typically expect from him describing his musical influences whereas the title track featuring French Montana is where shit really starts heaping up in piles gratingly talking about having 3 hoes each over an uninteresting trap instrumental. “Femme Fatale” featuring Coi Leray & Kaliii samples “Heaven & Hell’s on Earth” by the 20th Century Steel Band discussing feminism although Coi has the best verse, but then Lancey Foux washes G-Eazy harder than Coi on the grimier “Say Less” advising to do simply that.

“Backseat” clouding reminisces being in the backseat of a taxi in New York during the fall with an ex who left him asking if happiness is possible to achieve when it most certainly is while “W.T.F.D.I.K. (What The Fuck Do I Know?)” turns back into trap turf trying to persuade the audience he’s grown when he’s still dropping corny bars like he’s the Johnny Cash or Elvis Presley of hip hop when his music has never been enjoyable as either late artist prior to “South of France” returning to the boom bap asking what he is if he isn’t a star, which I can answer with a below average pop rap artist with a proving discography who went multi-platinum.

Leon Bridges’ hook on “1 Day” might be my favorite on the album nor do I mind the kicks & snares, it’s that I’ve heard the theme of giving his partner the world done better previously. “Love You Forever” produced by Apex Martin was a genuinely heartfelt single dedicated to Gerald’s mother while the 3rd installment of the “Love Killers” trilogy takes it back to his pre-fame roots. “Anxiety” atrociously ends the LP butchering a sample of the London Callingtitle track by The Clash like he wants to be MGK to talk about getting high to ease the pain away.

The Outsider & The Endless Summer have always remained as the most I’ve ever enjoyed any of G-Eazy’s output & granted both of those mixtapes are average at best, none of the EPs or full-lengths he’s offered us over a decade of mainstream popularity have been able to surpass them in quality by punching under their weight & Freak Show sure enough adds on to the pile. Gerald occasionally displays some cool personal moments outside of his usual corniness like “Showbiz or “Love You Forever”, the guest performances are 50/50 & the production makes me appreciate These Things Happen Too’s more by a hair.

Score: 1/5

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KAYTRANADA – “Timeless” review

KAYTRANADA is a 31 year old DJ, producer, singer/songwriter & rapper born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti albeit raised in Montréal, Québec, Canada starting as 1/2 of The Celestics alongside his younger brother Lou Phelps. For the past decade, he’s has been widely recognized as being amongst the most popular & in-demand producers in all of music working with everyone from Mobb Deep to Mach-Hommy. KAYTRA even has 2 solo efforts under his belt in the debut 99.9% through XL Recordings & the RCA Records-backed Bubba as well as the eponymous debut from KAYTRAMINÉ last summer. KAYTRADAMUS gained more exposure after opening for The Weeknd during the After Hours ‘til Dawn Tour & is capitalizing by releasing a 3rd album.

“Pressure” is an instrumental opener to the LP with synthesizers & danceable groove whereas “Spit It Out” by Rochelle Jordan sings about reflecting on what she had with a former partner of hers over a spacious beat. The Celestics team up on the tropical “Call U Up” admitting that they don’t wanna hit up their current romantic interests in fear of falling in love with them, but then the funky “Weird” by Durand Bernarr confronts his lover for acting strange around him.

We get some hip house vibes on “Dance Dance Dance Dance” for a couple minutes prior to Don Toliver poppin’ in for the atmospherically smooth “Feel a Way” confessing to being caught up in his ways & guarding one’s love. “Still” by Charlotte Day Wilson luxuriously & passionately professes the attraction that she still feels towards a man that she cries thinking of while “Video” by Ravyn Lenae brings the synths back into the fold telling her partner to show her which way he wants her to go & recording it.

“Seemingly” nears the end of Timeless’ first half sampling Don Blackmon just before “Drip Sweat” by Channel Tres turns the house music influences back up singing about a man who thinks he can come in the night telling him to jump off the ledge. “Hold On” by Dawn Richard asks if we go back to days when lights use to dance & when love wasn’t scared yet over a house beat ahead of the hypnotically entrancing “Please Babe”.

Meanwhile on “Stepped On”, we have KAYTRA going for a synth-based direction instrumentally so he himself can demonstrate his singing chops addressing something wrong with him while “More Than a Little Bit” by Tinashe has a dreamy alternative R&B flare to it talking about her heart being frozen. “Do 2 Me” by Anderson .Paak & SiR links the pair up for a charming pop rap/R&B hybrid that is until the summery “Witchy” by Childish Gambino sings his heart out about missing something for a while.

“Lover/Friend” by Rochelle Jordan was a solid deep house/R&B single head-on asking if this person really wants a relationship with her while the mellow “Wasted Words” by Thundercat starts the deluxe run encouraging to rise above it all. The song “Snap My Finger” by PinkPantheress is this danceable R&B jam getting an ex of her’s off her mind while the penultimate track “Stuntin’” by Channel Tres goes contemporary R&B feeling the best. “Out of Luck” by Mariah the Scientist ends the album futuristically singing about having no luck left.

Much has changed since Bubba nearly 5 years ago representing a shift in collaborations & his RCA sophomore effort here marks a superior return along with my new 2nd favorite full-length of his behind the debut. Primarily because Timeless has a stronger guest-list, the overall feeling of it takes inspiration from 80s new wave, he’s using newer equipment & expands his house/R&B sound to newer heights.

Score: 4/5

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Bring Me the Horizon – “Post Human: NeX GEn” review

Bring Me the Horizon is an alt-metal/post-hardcore band from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom consisting of frontman & keyboardist Oli Sykes, bassist Matt Kean, guitarist/backing vocalist Lee Malia & drummer Matt Nicholls. Introducing themselves into late 2000s/early 2010s off their first 3 full-lengths Count Your Blessings as well as the Epitaph Records debut Suicide Season & There Is a Hell Believe Me I’ve Seen It. There Is a Heaven Let’s Keep It a Secret., it wasn’t until their RCA Records debut Sempiternal during my sophomore year of high school where I became a fan of theirs & I also enjoyed That’s the Spirit few months after I graduated for it’s departure from their metalcore roots. amo was a decent exploration of every aspect love has to offer & the singles building up their 7th album had me expecting it to live up to their best EP Post Human: Survival Horror.

After the “[ost] dreamseeker” intro, “YOUtopia” is a metalcore opener feeling dead inside whereas “Kool-Aid” fuses alternative metal, metalcore, industrial metal & nu metal to talk about the Jonestown Massacre. “Top 10 staTues tHat CriEd bloOd” moves on from there with the antithesis of “Follow You”, but then “liMOusine” featuring AURORA serving as the other side of the introductory song “YOUtopia”. “DArkSide” served as the official theme for this year’s Vengeance Day IV premium live event or pay-per-view from the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s developmental brand NXT exploring the darker side of the mind & the struggles you can have with yourself from within over an alt-metal, post-hardcore & nu metal hybrid just before “a bulleT w- my namE On” featuring Underoath is a thematic sequel to “One Day The Only Butterflies Left Will Be In Your Chest As You March Towards Your Death”.

Aftet the “[ost] (spi)rituals” interlude, “n/A” opens up about Oli’s addiction & his desire to break the habit just before the emo-pop, post-hardcore, hyperpop, easycore, pop punk & electronicore single “LosT” sings about not belonging on this planet. Meanwhile on “sTraNgeRs”, we have Oli tackling themes of depression & mental illness with an overall message of unity & togetherness over an emo-pop/post-hardcore fusion leading into “R.I.P.” singing about voices in his head that’ll never leave giving off a bit of an electronicore vibe instrumentally. The song “AmEN!” featuring Glassjaw frontman Daryl Palumbo & rapper Lil Uzi Vert takes it back to the band’s original heaviness with religious connotations within the lyrics mixing alternative metal, metalcore, industrial metal, post-hardcore & rap metal into 1 while “DiE4u” following the “[ost] puss-e” interlude blends pop rock, emo-pop, electropop, alt-pop, post-hardcore, electronicore to create a style described by Oli as “future emo” dealing with addiction from the perspective of a toxic relationship prior to “DIg It” ending the album talking about self-hatred.

Post Human: Survival Horror renewed my interest in the bad considering the mixed reception that Music to listen to~dance to~blaze to~pray to~feed to~sleep to~talk to~grind to~trip to~breathe to~help to~hurt to~scroll to~roll to~love to~hate to~learn Too~plot to~play to~be to~feel to~breed to~sweat to~dream to~hide to~live to~die to~GO TO & what I hear in NeX GEn is the band’s best album in nearly a decade. They expand beyond their alternative metal & metalcore sound in favor of emo-pop, electronicore, post-hardcore, hyperpop alt-pop, industrial metal, rap metal, electropop, easycore, pop rock, pop punk & nu metal to tell an intentionally buried & hidden story from the last EP.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ian – “Valedictorian” review

This is the 4th EP from up-&-coming rapper/producer Ian of the D1shonorable collective. Somebody that got his start in 2019 producing the single “Know That” by Izaya Tiji before going on to release 3 EPs of his own: Only for a While, Remembrance & the gyo-produced Empty Suit. For the past few months however, he’s been going viral off a couple singles to the point of landing a contract with Akon’s brother Bu Thiam’s very own Columbia Records imprint Buvision Entertainment & further building off the recent hype to put out Valedictorian.

After the DJ Holiday intro, the first song “Never Stop” is a playful trap opener to the tape refusing to quit under any circumstances whereas “Bentayga” works in some synths & hi-hats detailing the luxurious lifestyle. “Airbnb” vibrantly brushes off any tough talk that comes his way & throwing a hoe a bag if she shows him something leading into “Hermes Sheets” giving me a heinous atmosphere instrumentally continuing to show off his wealth. “Omakase” talks about busting his ass day & night like KiD CuDi referencing WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE world champion & WWE Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage over a synth-laced trap beat while “Chauncey” might be favorite track from the cloudy instrumental from Galactic Records signee tana to the lyrics referencing former Detroit Pistons player Chauncey Billups.

“Judgement” flexes that he’s too rich to entertain chumps over minimal synthesizers & hi-hats, but then “Grand Slam” has these rage-inducing undertones boasting that his hermano crazy about the pollo similarly to my favorite show of all-time Breaking Bad. The EP’s final song & lead single “Figure It Out” just so happens to be the very first song of Ian’s that I ever heard carrying over the minimal hypertrap influences from “Grand Slam” as I had previously mentioned including a reference to the Batman franchise owned by the Warner Bros. subsidiary DC Entertainment. The first bonus cut “Options” keeps the rage going talking about his neck changing the weather & the other “Magic Johnson” produced by Rio Leyva & Taz Taylor becoming another standout passing bread like the Lakers player.

Being already somewhat familiar with the D1 crew since Fakekickin’ just fully produced the new Moh Baretta mixtape RE:VAMP over a week ago, Ian here has been catching my interest for a few weeks as a result of Valedictorian’s final 2 tracks continuing to grow in popularity & he might even be my new favorite member. He properly introduces himself to a wider audience whilst maintaining the plugg/rage elements of his earlier EPs, further solidifying himself as an exciting new face in both subgenres.

Score: 3.5/5

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PARTYNEXTDOOR – “PARTYNEXTDOOR 4” review

PARTYNEXTDOOR is a 30 year old singer/songwriter, rapper & producer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada becoming the first artist that Drake signed to OVO Sound in the spring of 2013 & released a well-received eponymous debut EP few months later. His full-length debut PARTYNEXTDOOR 2 nearly 13 months later took everything from self-titled to another level & Colours that winter was noticeably more contemporary. PARTYNEXTDOOR 3 received generally mixed responses in comparison to it’s both predecessors until Colours 2 showed a bit of improvement, but 7 Days ended up missing harder than P3 did. PND’s next EP Partypack became another redeeming moment much like Colours 2 & keeping in mind that the last album Partymobile easily stands as his worst, PARTYNEXTDOOR 4 gave me some optimism that it would outdo his last couple LPs.

“C o n t r o l” gets started with this atmospheric trap soul/alternative R&B crossover with Cardiak behind the boards talking about wanting to sex up this woman whereas “L o s e M y M i n d” ruins the timeless DMX song “Party Up (Up in Here)” gratingly discussing 2 women driving him to the point of insanity. “S t u c k I n M y W a y s” takes a groovier route instrumentally thanks to Alex Lustig & 40 so PARTYNEXTDOOR can talk about never wanting to change just before “C h e e r s” brings this futuristic trap soul vibe to the table dedicating this one to all the lovers that like to turn up by consuming alcohol.

Drawing near the end of P4’s first half, “M a k e I t T o T h e M o r n i n g” spaciously sings about not wanting to fight with his romantic interest wanting them to last until the sunrise while the moody “N o C h i l l” produced by Nonstop da Hitman telling the star of the show that she been acting reckless ever since he got her some ice. “H e r O l d F r i e n d s”produced by OG Parker & G. Ry was an ok trap soul/alternative R&B single talking about sleeping with girl’s old friends but after the “R e t r e a t” skit, “F o r C e r t a i n” sounds like a boring dancehall track running off from VIEWS/More Life.

“S o r r y, B u t I’ m O u t s i d e” works in luscious synths & hi-hats singing that he has someone waiting for him inside playing with their emotions while “R e a l W o m a n” is another alternative R&B/trap soul fusion showing off this model he’s dating who’s taller than him. After the “M o t h e r’ s P r a y e r” skit, “F a m i l y” stands as the most heartfelt moment on the album talking about that he misses his family & the self-produced “R e s e n t m e n t” closes shop with some downtempo undertones needing respect.

The reason both P3 & Partymobile weren’t was well received as PARTYNEXTDOOR’s first couple LPs is because of the fact that he confirmed he wasn’t using everything he learned artistically on them & cheating on the quality of the art, which P4 does the complete opposite of as the best album he’s put out in almost a decade. He cooks up 46 minutes worth of amongst the most focused alternative R&B/trap soul in his discography from a “me & her” perspective that the intimacy for the prime PND listening experience requires.

Score: 3.5/5

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Future – “We Still Don’t Trust You” review

Atlanta, Georgia rapper & singer/songwriter Future teaming up with Metro Boomin’ once again for his 11th full-length album. Coming up as a member of the Dungeon Family thanks to his cousin Rico Wade of Organized Noize, he officially made his debut in 2012 with Pluto & would later follow it up with a hot streak of modern day trap essentials like Honest, Monster, Beast Mode & my personal favorite of his: D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2). However since 2017, Future has mostly been painting himself in a corner & prioritizing quantity over quality. I mean sure HNDRXX took a more sensual approach & SUPER SLIMEY showed a pretty great chemistry with fellow trap trailblazer Young Thug, but Beast Mode 2 was a step down from the predecessor & he got with Juice WRLD to put out a collab tape that literally should’ve never happened: WRLD on Drugs. Finally at the very beginning of that next year, The WIZRD was passable even though it showed NO artistic evolution whatsoever & Save Me was a decent attempt at being more vulnerable, High Off Life admirably found him staying true to himself in the midst of trying new things & I Never Liked You put the toxicity claims about him to rest. Metro reunited with Future for We Don’t Trust You only 3 weeks ago & that was his best since D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2), but We Still Don’t Trust You was said to be the HNDRXX counterpart to Pluto’s previous double album FUTURE HNDRXX & I had no doubts that they were gonna outdo themselves much like they did with We Don’t Trust You being a step above self-titled almost a month back.

The title track featuring The Weeknd providing it’s sole verse is a synthpop opener singing about how much of a freak this bitch is whereas “Drink n Dance” gives me an acoustic trap soul vibe basically basically looking to fuck all night long pretty much. “Out of My Hands” brings a misty trap atmosphere instrumentally to spit about flexing that everyone knows the shit that he be on leading into the futuristic “Jealous” co-produced with Dez Wright & Wheezy singing his heart out that he’s unsure why this woman makes him feel envious.

“This Sunday” melodically promises to buy a new Ferrari by the end of the weekend even though the beat feels vaguely similar to that of “Hallucinating” just before “Luv Bad Bitches” is this alternative R&B ballad about preferring bad bitches over good girls. “Amazing” has to be the weakest moment on the album heavilly building itself around a sample of “Girl After Girl” by Juicy J featuring Gucci Mane & Nicki Minaj although I admittedly respect the concept of it revolving around Future & Metro’s friendship, but then “All to Myself” featuring The Weeknd bounces back with this pop rap/alternative R&B crossover flipping “Let’s Lay Together” by The Isley Brothers with Mike Dean & notably Abel dissing Drake.

The heavy sampling of “Dancin’ On a Pole (MKU)” by the Three 6 Mafia on “Nights Like This” to sing AND rap about needing all of this significant other was a nice touch while “Came to the Party” admits to pullin’ up to the spot only to get flicks continuing to get back in his full-blown trap shit. “Right 4 You” brings the synthpop influences back professing to the love of his life that he’s trying to get Wright for her since he belongs to her while “Mile High Memories” has this cloudy trap soul groove to it courtesy of the So Icey Boyz to talk south of France.

“Overload” is the 2nd worst song on We Still Don’t Trust You presenting itself as a mediocre synth-trap hybrid fulfilling his ego pretty much that is until “Gracious” produced with Taurus picks us up again going for more of a stripped back trap sound singing about the gratitude he feels towards this woman who is faithful of him. “Beat It” clashes hi-hats with these triumphant synth-melodies tellin’ this hoe that she can either ride & stay committed or hit the bricks while “Always Be My Fault” featuring The Weeknd reunites the 2 for the final time for this electropop/synthpop duet about hearing the ones they converse in the dark with in the storm.

Meanwhile on “1 Big Family”, we have Pluto boasting that he has 20 different bitches with them over hi-hats & synthesizers while the acoustic trap flavored “Red Leather” featuring J. Cole finds them both rappin’ about pissin’ on your grave wearing leather specifically in my personal favorite color. After the “#1” intro, “Nobody Knows My Struggle” begins a bonus track run vibrantly letting the title speak for itself while “All My Life” featuring Lil Baby talking about growing up with steppers over this quirky trap instrumental.

“Crossed Out” continues the final moments of We Still Don’t Trust You on some rowdy trap shit looking to cross out anyone who ain’t with the gang while “Crazy Clientele” mixes elements of orchestral with trap getting in his Freebandz shit. “Show of Hands” featuring A$AP Rocky produced with Honorable C.N.O.T.E. begins the encore of the LP by energetically talking about being trap dudes & Rocky dissing Drake too prior to “Streets Made Me a King” concluding the album by bragging about his status in a fun, charming manner.

I prefer We Don’t Trust You by a slight margin, but We Still Don’t Trust You still stands as a primarily solid companion to the previous album Future had put out 3 weeks ago. It pretty much lived up to the anticipation of being a superior HNDRXX/Save Me outside of only a couple songs that missed the landing primarily as Metro builds it’s sound around trap, alternative R&B & pop rap in the midst of Pluto himself pushing himself as an artist venturing off into the styles of trap soul, synthpop & electropop.

Score: 4/5

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