Tag: Stinc Team

Ralfy the Plug – “Grandmaster Ralfy 2” review

Los Angeles, California rapper Ralfy the Plug making his 11th mixtape a sequel to his previous one last Halloween. A member of the Stinc Team & the brother of the late nervous music pioneer Drakeo the Ruler, his discography includes a total of 5 albums as well as his last 11 tapes & a handful of collaborative projects with my favorites ranging from A Cold Day in Hell to Pastor Ralfy 2 & Old Ralfy vs. New Ralfy. It’s been a couple months after the 3-year anniversary of his brother’s murder & he’s looking to further continue the Grandmaster Ralfy saga.

“Options” begins with a piano & hi-hats talking about him & money going together promising to kill anyone who tries him whereas “Inevitable” takes a nervous route instrumentally guaranteeing he’ll stack his chips up. “Type Shit” admits to his brother’s death being worse than my 2nd favorite basketball player of all-time Kobe Bryant’s working in some sampling & a bass-line just before “I Understand It Now” points out that everyone hates you when you’re doin’ somethin’ right.

Ralfy portrays himself as a pimp on “Long Live the Mac” maintaining a nervous edge & likening his style of mackin’ to that of a coach while “Bikini Bottom” boasts his jewelry & coupe suggesting every rapper who’s still broke for a decade later needs to get a new hobby. “Simpsons” named after the longest running animated series on the Fox Corporation’s flagship property copyrighted by The Walt Disney Company reflects on him beatin’ a life sentence aspiring to be rich some day, prior to “Paw Patrol 2” continuing where the Pastor Ralfy 2 highlight left off talking about being a dog.

“Los Angeles, CA” continues the traffic music vibes representing his hometown cautioning that it can get janky out there while “Always Hating” wants to know why people are downplaying him since life’s going great for him & he’s still grinding as opposed to everyone thinking he made it already. “The Difference” observes his legitimacy compared to these lame frauds not making a dime while “Side Hustle” focuses on his mission of reaching the top.

The closer “Legal Money” hits the backend of Grandmaster Ralfy 2 by unloading a whole verse on top of a vocal sample advising that the first step in succeeding is to have a vision & goin’ against him being the end of you while the bonus track “40 with a Beam” ends the tape talking about his heart being cold in addition to letting it be known that you don’t get no award out here for keepin’ it real & praying all his demons go straight back to Hell.

Pastor Ralfy 2 & Old Ralfy vs. New Ralfy have both become my favorite entries in his discography thus far & Grandmaster Ralfy 2 surpasses it’s predecessor from over 3 months ago. You’ll probably already know what you’re getting yourself into terms of overall sound since the artists in the nervous subgenre of ratchet music tend to stick with that distinct style top-to-bottom, but Ralfy’s performances on the sequel are more enjoyable to me.

Score: 3.5/5

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Drakeo the Ruler – “The Undisputed Truth” review

This is the 12th mixtape & 2nd posthumous outing from Los Angeles, California emcee Drakeo the Ruler. A pioneer of the nervous music scene & a member of the Stinc Team, his flow & oddly expressive yet poetic word-choices has led to the Los Angeles Times to call him the most original West Coast stylist in decades. He’d go on to put out his last 11 tapes & a full-length debut until he was stabbed to death in late 2021. A sophomore effort was posthumously released 9 months later & to celebrate what would’ve been his 31st birthday, his estate’s unveiling The Undisputed Truth.

“Perfect Eulogy” gets the tape rollin’ nervously advising to make sure everyone talking loud on his Instagram have their funerals placed out whereas “Diss Me Again” addresses everyone who wanted beef with him. “Bop Bop Bleed ‘Em” featuring Baby Smoove maintains the traffic vibes detailing the gangsta lifestyles they live calling out these lames for askin’ their plugs for the exact price of the dope they be movin’ while “Stalemate” goes for a colder atmosphere referring to himself as a soul snatcher.

We have Mr. Mosely wanting to know exactly what these dudes posting high points in their pictures are gonna do with ‘em on “Instant Jammer” just before “Archie Bunker” keeps it nervous talking about clowns, wanting to be a part of something. “Rerock the Hook” featuring Icewear Vezzo brings the pair together to wreck the chorus & kill it again prior to “Vince McMahon” named after the disgraced TKO Group Holdings co-founder now separated from the next Secretary of Education Linda McMahon likens the rap game to the WWE division of the Endeavor-owned conglomerate in light of TKO board of directors members WWE President Nick Khan alongside TKO President & COO Mark Shapiro both becoming the key figures in moving Monday Night RAW to Netflix next month.

“Stella Got Her Groove Back” continues the 2nd leg of The Undisputed Truth referencing the titular 1998 movie with one of my favorite flows on the entire project while “Not the 1” featuring 03 Greedo samples “Who Shot Me?” by YG teasing a collaborative effort from both artists that they recorded until the Big Bank Budda passed. “No Hard Feelings” featuring his Stinc Team brethren Ketchy the Great & Ralfy the Plug has an icier traffic flare calling themselves trophies while “Play with Your Life” freestyles over “Deal with Us” by Jooba Loc.

The only single “I’m the Reason” actually stands as the final song here since the title track is simply a 75 second outro getting on the dark, sinister & menacing sound that Mr. Pops on My Knots pioneered with heavy sub-basses, simple melodies & slow, sparse & slamming drums with the only thing on his mind being violence on top of being why these cats put diamonds in their Rollies & started making money themselves.

It annoys me when people claim that Kendrick Lamar was “biting” Drakeo the Ruler on “Not Like Us” or his latest album GNX from a little over a week ago not because they were clearly homages, but there’s also no doubt in my mind that Mr. Everything would’ve had a feature on the latter since numerous up-&-coming artists in the nervous scene got their biggest exposure thus far when GNX dropped outta nowhere & Drakeo’s 6th mixtape Cold Devil remains a groundbreaking landmark in the subgenre.

Score: 3.5/5

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