Che Noir – “Seeds of Babylon” review

Buffalo emcee/producer Che Noir recruiting Superior for her 8th EP. Discovering her after 38 Spesh signed Che to TCF Music Group & fully produced her first 3 EPs, her Apollo Brown-produced full-length debut As God Intended & then her self-produced 4th EP After 12 during the 2nd half of 2020 was where her potential began to blossom exponentially. She has since followed this up with the sophomore effort Food for Thought as well as The Last Remnants, the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Noir or Never, The Color Chocolate & more recently The Lotus Child. It’s been only 5 months since the latter, the Seeds of Babylon have now been planted.

After the intro, the first song “Revelation” soulfully kicks it all off talking about getting a crown after trying to save this rap shit whereas “Bow & Arrow” kinda has a funkier vibe to the beat treating the money as if it’s a fish on a pole. “Sovereignty” goes drumless staying on the grind refusing to go for a day off & after the interlude, “Jynx’s Dream” is really a Jynx716 solo cut giving him a couple minutes to shine by himself.

“Ivory” works in some bongos to reflect on the days when she was surviving in the jungle while “Midnight” featuring ICECOLDBISHOP finds the pair talking about seeing rookies become masters outta special ed. The final song “Destiny Rose” prior to the outro strips the drums once again in favor of these bare strings expressing the joy that she gets out of motherhood being unlike anything else.

When discussing the EPs in Che’s discography, Seeds in Babylon has to be my favorite of her’s since Noir or Never couple years ago & I even enjoyed it as much as The Lotus Child this past fall. Superior keeps pushing himself as one of the German hip hop scene’s most in-demand producers currently & his sound combined with the Buffalo standout’s conscious lyricism makes her first offering of the year more than salvageable to any longtime fan of either of them.

Score: 4.5/5

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Jae Skeese – “Testament of the Times” review

Buffalo emcee Jae Skeese joining forces with Superior for his 4th full-length studio LP. Getting his start off the strength of his his debut mixtape W.A.C.K. (Women, Alcohol, Cash & Kicks) in the fall of 2010, it wasn’t until a decade later where he & 7xvethegeniusgained wide exposure as the very first signees to Conway the Machine’s very own EMPIRE Distribution imprint Drumwork Music Group. The Big Ghost Ltd.-produced 3rd EP Authenticity Check & the previous album Abolished Uncertainties both elevated Skeese’s popularity in the last couple years, so Testament of the Times can only amplify it.

To get us started, “Union 2’s” hops over a guitar-laced boom bap instrumental talking about being lowkey dangerous when that’s already been proven with the last 2 projects of his that I named near the end of the previous paragraph in my opinion whereas “In My Hands” has a jazzier approach aiming to stay focused. “Cement 4’s” works in some organs asking what y’all think he did this for since he been on one for life leading into the flute-tinged “2Cents” referring to real game as priceless.

“Cantonese Characters” featuring Rome Streetz & Ty Farris references current AEW manager, WWE Hall of Famer & former SMW Heavyweight Champion Jake “The Snake” Roberts prior to the luxurious keyboard embellishments on “Preguntas” talking about staying hungry & blessed. “Ksubi Tags” isn’t really much of an interlude rather it’s Jae over a sample-heavy boom bap beat feeling like a threat waking up, but then “Risk & Reward” draws inspiration from rap rock talking about having to work to get as nice as he is now.

O.T. the Real comes into the picture on “Sign of the Cross” somberly advises to let the problems accumulate while the delicately-produced “Broken Mirrors” talks about being in his head overthinking at times. “Mothers & Gods” clarifies that he’s never been anyone’s favorite except for his mom alongside the higher power over plainly piano chords until “Skycraper” concludes the LP on a drumless note continuing to put in the time & labor building from ground level.

The introspective story that Abolished Uncertainties told almost a year ago this month was a personal way for Jae to introduce himself to a wider audience, but I think I might prefer Testament of the Times more. Superior continues to stand as amongst the most interesting German producers in hip hop, the guest-list is tighter & Skeese here sets out to encourage everyone in taking themselves to new heights.

Score: 4.5/5

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Vega7 the Ronin – “Sleep’s the Cousin” review

This is the official full-length debut from emcee Vega7 the Ronin. Emerging out almost a year & a half ago by enlisting Danish beatsmith Machacha to produce his debut EP The Lead Lined Wall, he would then go on to land feature placement on the 5th & final installment of Ty Farris’ historic No Cosign Just Cocaine mixtape series this past February. But to kick off the 2nd half of 2023, the Ronin himself’s bringing in Germany producer Superior to remind that Sleep’s the Cousin of death which peaked my interest given that Baladas was the first Estee Nack album I ever reviewed right when the pandemic was happening despite being a fan since high school.

“N1 (Sleep’s the Cousin)” is a glistening boom bap opener making reference to WWE Hall of Famer, former 6-time WWE world champion & WWE Intercontinental Champion Randy Savage alongside WWE Hall of Famer Gene Okerlund whereas “‘72 Dolphins” works in some organs, kicks & snares comparing his squad to the Miami Dolphins over 5 decades ago & likening himself to 5-time WWE world champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE Tag Team Champion, PWG World Tag Team Champion, ROH World Champion & 2-time ROH World Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins married to 6-time WWE women’s world champion & WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Becky Lynch. “Saleen” kinda has a Latin flare to the bare loop hooked up reminding when they were calling money “C.R.E.A.M.” & the guitars throughout “Enterprise” are really cool expressing his desire for his own business.

“After the “N2” interlude, “Stone Fish Venom” featuring Connecticut born/New York based emcee Cambatta finds the 2 over some bare piano chords & ghostly background vocals calling this truth serum with some intriguing back-&-forth chemistry just before “A Voice in the Wind” brings in a woodwind telling his brothers it’s us against those who show fake love leading into “Buckwheat” featuring Daniel Son joining forces over some blaring horns to throw in a line referring to former 3-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, 2-time WWE United States Champion, 5-time WWE tag team champion & WCW World Television Champion Diamond Dallas Page.

“Body Count” concludes 2nd leg of the album with some strings & occasionally empowering guitar riffs talking about that being the only stays they check while but then after the “N3” interlude, “NightShade” featuring Lord Owen gives off a spacier feeling as both detail being lost on the road to stardom. The song “M-65 Jackets” fuses boom bap with rap rock declaring to be God’s competent son while the drumless yet climactic penultimate track “The Mutiny” dissing the cowards dishonoring their decrees. “R.E.M.” however is a crooning closer making it safe to call him a carnivore.

Considering the standout feature on “Dope Speak 4 Itself” almost 5 months ago at this point, it makes sense to see all the hype that Sleep is the Cousin has been getting lately because it’s undeniably a promising debut album. Superior’s drumless production is on par with Baladas, Vega7’s lyricism is a cut above the previous EP’s & the amount of features in comparison are similar yet more stronger here.

Score: 4/5

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