Tag: Stu Bangas

Watson & Holmes – “The Case of the BPM Killer” review

Watson & Holmes are an East Coast hip hop duo consisting of Stu Bangas on production & Blacastan on the mic. They made their debut together in 2014 with a fantastic self-titled album, which was followed up with The Uncanny Adventures of Watson & Holmes in 2017. been another 3 years, the duo are reuniting for what would unfortunately by their 3rd & final full-length studio album.

After “After Intro”, we get into the first song “Bull’s Eye”. Where Blacastan talks about how skilled he is about over an eerie instrumental. The track “Crumpets” is a continuation of where “Bull’s Eye” left off despite only being a minute & a half then the song “Don’t Judge Me” with SmooVth sees the 2 talking about growing up in the 90’s over a boom bap beat with a cumbersome guitar in the background.

The track “Sincere” lyrically is probably the most introspective cut on the entire album & the beat is pretty calming too whereas the song “Crawl Space” with Goretex sees the 2 getting murderous & the instrumental fits the vibe like a glove. The track “Behold” talks about his longevity over a suspenseful beat while the song “23 x 1” talks about how sharp his lyricism is over a daunting instrumental.

The track “Bookies” with Nowaah the Flood has a mobster feel to it down to the Italian-flavored beat while the song “Styles” talks about how original Blacastan is over a cutthroat instrumental. The track “Hair Pins” finds the duo linking back up with SmooVth to go at their competition over a buzzing instrumental with 80’s-like synths & then before the outro, the final song “Grand Imperial” with Marvalyss is just a decent riot starter.

If you wanna get into Watson & Holmes, I’d recommend their first 2 albums. However,  what they do on this new one is still dope. The chemistry between Blacastan & Stu Bangas is still there without a bit of doubt but the features are hit or miss & it’s too short, only running at 27 minutes.

Score: 3.5/5

Stu Bangas – “Beats & Blood” review

Stu Bangas is a producer from Boston, Massachusetts who’s been making a name for himself in the underground for decades now from his collaborative work from Philly beat-maker Vanderslice to producing projects for Esoteric & Ill Bill. However to kick off 2020, he’s surprising fans with his 2nd EP.

It all starts with “Open the Lane”, where Detroit’s very own Ty Farris comes through with some vicious battle bars over a dystopian beat. The next song “The Healing Remedy” by Vic Spencer talks about being someone you should idolize over a mellow beat while the track “Inherit the Earth” by Mr. Lif & Nowaah the Flood sees the 2 getting conscious over a suspenseful boom bap beat.

The song “Keeping Time” by Juga-Naut touches down on doing just that over a euphoric instrumental while the track “Gideon” is a vicious Watson & Holmes reunion backed with a suiting Recognize Ali verse. The song “Sound the Horns” by Verbal Kent talks about beefing over a boom bap beat with some perfectly incorporated trumpets while the penultimate track “Prayers Up” by PhybaOptikz speaks about his family over a futuristic-sounding beat. The EP then finishes off with the titular song, where Celph Titled gets murderous over an apocalyptic beat.

To kick off a new decade, it’s pretty solid. A few of the performances could’ve been better to me personally, but Stu‘s production is absolutely great. If you wanna see a beat-making veteran ringing in the new year on a high note, then give this a listen.

Score: 3.5/5