The Alchemist & Hit-Boy – “Goldfish” review

Beverly Hills producer, DJ & rapper The Alchemist joining forces with Fontana producer, rapper & singer/songwriter Hit-Boy for their long-awaited collaborative LP. Both of whom have respectively become amongst the most in-demand beatsmiths, with Uncle Al ranking amongst my top 10 producers ever. They’ve crossed paths with each other on multiple instances whether it be producing Benny the Butcher’s 4th album Everybody Can’t Go or Big Hit’s sophomore Blacks & Whites, but are finally dropping Goldfish a little over a couple years in the making.

“Doing My Best” finds the 2 trading bars with one another over a sumptuous Hit-Boy beat they cooked up together to begin while the jazzy single “Business Merger” turns up the watts whilst beating up the pots. “Show Me the Way” takes the drumless chipmunk soul route instrumentally thanks to Uncle Al feeling confident they won’t ever be the same people they once were prior leading into the Conway the Machine solo track “Mick & Cooley”.

Alchemist & Hit-Boy get back on the mic during the soulful “Ask for Me” talking about being on the low with the only thing you gotta do is simply ask while “Ricky” hooks up an pretty orchestral sample so Uncle Al can reflect that a 2-parent household is all he & his siblings ever knew. “Groupie Love” brings back the drumless chipmunk soul vibes getting rotation on the radio after doing a freestyle just before “Celebration Moments” talks about wanting the crown now.

“Home Improvement” primarily has a smooth drumless sound until the drums come in full gear near the end of both verses delivered from a deeply introspective place while “Recent Memory” talks about their only competition being themselves. “Walk in Faith” continues the sampling until a switch-up during Hit-Boy’s part freezing because of the cold world we’re in & “Not Much” featuring Boldy James soulfully flexes their own individual spaces as MCs.

Continuing to holding it down by themselves “Drawing Bridges” talks about there being nothing to take because nothing was given in the beginning while “All Gas No Breaks” featuring Big Hit & Jay Worthy finds the quartet applying pressure to the pedal. “God’s Great” officially ends Goldfish giving praise to the most high over a pitched sample while “Morrissey” starts the deluxe run comparing their lives to theatrical films.

“The Main Event” structurally is built a lot similarly to “Slipping Into Darkness” where Hit-Boy’s rhyming over an Alchemist instrumental & vice versa with the exception Johnathan Hulett’s briefly sung verse following Uncle Al’s & the final bonus track “Don’t Be Gone” flips a Chicago Gangsters deep cut going back-&-forth with each other on top of drumless sampling for a little over 3 minutes.

Goldfish isn’t really any different from what The Alchemist has done with Oh No under the Gangrene moniker for the past 15 years aside from the Conway joint & that’s not a criticism because Hit-Boy has already proven himself to be a capable MC on Surf or Drown alongside it’s sequel. The west coast veterans gel with one another exceptionally on the mic as they have in the past producing for other artists.

Score: 4/5

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Big Hit – “Free Big Hit” review

Los Angeles, California rapper Big Hit dropping his 3rd studio LP from behind bars. The father of Hit-Boy, he was found guilty & convicted of a hit & run resulting in great bodily injury almost a decade ago & unlawfully being sentenced to 12 years & 4 months in prison including a 5-year GBI enhancement connected to Count 1. His petition for a writ of habeas corpus was later granted & became a free man on his son’s 36th birthday. Hit would have his father join forces by making Surf or Drown 2 a collab effort tailored for Father’s Day Weekend & put out a debut album of his own The Truth is in My Eyes only 6 months later. Blacks & Whites produced by Hit-Boy & The Alchemist outdid the debut last spring, finding himself incarcerated again 4 months ago & Surf Club Inc. has put together Free Big Hit.

“The Game Just Forced Me” is this summery intro talking about wanting to live his life & not wanting to make any sacrifices whereas “Got What You Need” featuring WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Doggshows off their mob ties over a west coast trap instrumental from Hit-Boy. “It’s Obvious” featuring Lefty Gunplay & X4 cloudily brings the trio together to talk about being allergic to the bullshit while “Slow Your Roll” featuring Ty$ melodically breaks down the coldness of the ghetto.

Meanwhile on “Bigger Than Life”, we have Big Hit on top of more sampling aiming to plan for the future in the midst of the price increasing with the appetite just before “Fuck Me Back” featuring the Baby Stone Gorillas was an underwhelming choice of a single that came out couple months back when winter began. “Thug Love” featuring Jay Worthy & TeeFLii makes up for it with a dedication to the thugs leading into “Awake” featuring Hit-Boy stands a warming father-son moment.

“Beyond Solid” continues to push further towards the 2nd leg of Free Big Hit with a boastfully cloudy trap heater assuring that he still has it even with all the bullshit he’s been dealing with these last few months while “Crunch Time” shows a bit of a jazz rap flare instrumentally heading for the riches. “They Say They Proud of Me” featuring Joe Moses ends with them addressing everyone who claims to be happy for their success.

Wouldn’t be fair at all to say it’s Big Hit’s fault that this album didn’t do as much as his last couple did because he’s back on prison for some bullshit, but Free Big Hit even with the highlights it has could quite possibly be his most average listening experience. His performances are unquestionably on par with The Truth is in My Eyes and Blacks & Whites, the guests’ though either come off as exciting or disappointingly underwhelming.

Score: 3/5

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LaRussell – “Rent Paid” review

Vallejo, California emcee & the leader of the Good Compenny collective LaRussell linking up with Surf Club Inc. founder Hit-Boy once again to put out his 27th EP & the sequel to Rent Due. For the past 7 years, the man originally known under the moniker Tota has been steadily hustlin’ in the west coast underground by putting out over 2 dozen EPs along with 3 full-length albums & 7 mixtapes as of me writing this. The 1-year anniversary of Rent Due happens to be next weekend, so Hit-Boy’s getting back with him on Rent Due.

Lefty Gunplay joins LaRussell on the intro “I Thought I Told Y’all” to tell everyone listening that they can get it on their own & do everything in their raps over a west coast trap instrumental whereas “Let Me Know Sum” featuring E-40, Mistah F.A.B. & Richie Rich puts it down for both Vallejo & Oakland respectively. “Rollin’” featuring Malachi cloudily talks about shit being bigger than a moment to both of them, but then “50 Broke N****s” shows confidence of him not being one of the 50 broke people that’s in the room.

“Oprah” goes for a morbid trap atmosphere wanting to know who’s stopping everyone from being interviews from the OWN network majorily owned by Discovery Global while “Life of a Star” featuring Tierra doing a spoken word bit talks about how things been since his popularity is growing. “Mass Appeal” featuring Malachi & Michael Prince suggests they should’ve signed to Nas’ label of the same name while “Sacrifices” talks the things he had to give up to get to where he is today. “Leeches” featuring Malachi lastly ends the EP by discussing burning those type of people since you can’t fuck off them.

The mixed reception of Rent Due & Rent Paid are both pretty surprisingly to me since I enjoyed his features on DJ Drama’s 6th album I’m Really Like That, E-40’s previous album Rule of Thumb, Courtney Bell’s sophomore effort Microdose & Tech N9ne’s most recent Collabos joint C.o.S.M. (Class of Strange Music). The successor of Rent Due itself, I like more than the previous one whether it be the guests or Hit-Boy’s production & LaRussell’s own performances.

Score: 4/5

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Big Hit – “Blacks & Whites” review

This is the sophomore full-length LP from Los Angeles rapper Big Hit. The father of Hit-Boy, he was found guilty & convicted of a hit & run resulting in great bodily injury almost a decade ago & unlawfully being sentenced to 12 years & 4 months in prison including a 5-year GBI enhancement connected to Count 1. Last February, his petition for a writ of habeas corpus was granted & became a free man on his son’s 36th birthday. Hit would have his father join forces by making Surf or Drown 2 a collab effort tailored for Father’s Day Weekend & put out a debut album of his own The Truth’s in My Eyes only 6 months later. Blacks & Whites here raised my expectations after learning Hit-Boy was producing half of it & most importantly, The Alchemist doing the other.

“Drug Tzar” is this murky boom bap opener to the album talking about being a drug star as opposed to a rap star whereas “Only Weight I Feel” works in more kicks & snares reminding that he’s the one who sold these cats the news & gave them the rules. “Godfather, Pt. 2” featuring Boldy James is this piano-boom bap hybrid with both of them calling out the cross-artists out here just before “Heartless” goes drumless revealing that he’s suited up ready for y’all.

Moving on from there, “Foreclosure” takes the heinous route instrumentally cautioning that you better count your fingers when you shake his hand while “Temperature Check” kinda has an atmospheric flare to the beat talking about being ready for war. The title track featuring The Alchemist & Hit-Boy themselves finds the trio lavishly keeping everything black & white prior to “Champion” coming through with a warmer vibe talking about being a winner.

“Count Your Blessings” featuring Figg Rarri, Killa Twan & LongBodyy brings the quartet over more keys as they discuss keeping track of one’s blessings while “Sly, Slick & Wicked” featuring Hit-Boy’s son & Big Hit’s grandson C3 soulfully talks about disliking these n****s. “Dirtball” nears the conclusion eerily explaining that everyone else can’t keep up with him while “Gank Move” featuring Hit-Boy’s sister & Big Hit’s daughter HitgirlLena cloudily samples “Murderer” by the titular Detroit duo to end the LP detailing the gangsta lifestyle.

Big Hit’s been steadily getting his name back out there ever since coming home from the pen, but Blacks & Whites as I had anticipated takes himself to a whole new level & dethrones The Truth’s in My Eyes as the best album of his discography thus far. Hit-Boy & Uncle Al’s production are like yin & yang with their own distinctive styles, complimenting Big Hit’s gangsta lyricism stronger than the debut we got last winter.

Score: 4.5/5

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BlueBucksClan – “Biggest Out the West” review

The BlueBucksClan are a duo from Los Angeles, California consisting of DJ & Jeeezy who’ve been making themselves known in the nervous music scene by putting out a couple mixtapes & EPs alongside 3 full-length studio albums of material. All of which so far if I’m being honest ranges from ok at best to obnoxiously annoying at worst, but my interest in their 4th LP over here peaked since it was announced that Hit-Boy was going to be behind the boards throughout the entire duration of it.

“Forever” is a 2-minute hyphy opener calling out those who haven’t run it up yet & that nothing lasts eternally in the end whereas “Open Slot” works in a dark, sinister & menacing sound with heavy sub-basses, simple melodies & slow, sparse & slamming drums boasting that they could’ve opened up a mom & pop shop. “World Tour” goes into a synth-based direction talking about having bitches all over the globe that is until “Safe Space” brings a vibraphone-trap flare to the table telling their hoes to go do their thang.

2 Chainz joins the BlueBucksClan on the playful “Scroll” talking about driving the Lamborghini slow rockin’ designer clothes to the floor in the midst of looking for your hoe just before “Useless” takes a cloudier approach as they make it clear that even their ex-girlfriends will tell people that they’re real ones out here. “Made for the People” was a fun choice of a single suited for all the clubs out in the west coast, but then “Color Purple” gives me a bit of a psychedelic trap vibe putting their shit on huddle since they ballin’ so hard.

“Ship & Handle” has this gritty trap approach to the beat refusing to fuck with haters & that the duo done told y’all they run the globe leading into “Soul Taker” featuring Half-a-Mil has a bouncy yet somber groove instrumentally talking about bitches texting them. “Standing Tall” hooks up an organ with hi-hats hanging with some made people out here while “Fantastic” carelessly talks about their pockets big flexing these days.

The song “Don’t Count Me Out” featuring Kalan.FrFr & Ty$ is an ok banger to keep the parties going advising that none of them should be counted out at this point in their careers while the piano-drive penultimate track “Dog a Bitch” talks about knowing who the biggest dogs are around here. “Momentum” rounds out the album with 1-last nervous cut calling themselves Dodgers since they got pockets full of blue.

Artists that come to mind when talking about the nervous scene include the late Drakeo the Ruler or even Mozzy, but Biggest Out the West if anything takes the BlueBucksClan to the next level. The production is more consistent than what they’ve done previously since Hit-Boy completely refines their whole style on top of their performances improving & a minimal guest-list.

Score: 4/5

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Big Hit & The Game – “Paisley Dreams” review

This is a brand new collaborative mixtape between Big Hit & The Game. One of whom hails from Los Angeles, California coming fresh off his debut album The Truth’s in My Eyes a few weeks ago after being in the making for a decade & the other is an established Compton, California veteran at this point mentored by both Dr. Dre & 50 Cent who put out Drillmatic: Heart vs. Mind a year & a half ago, which was the most I’ve enjoyed a project from him in quite some time. Both projects where executive produced by Big Hit’s son Hit-Boy, who eventually produced Paisley Dreams to start 2024.

“Backfade” is an ominous boom bap opener talking about having each other’s backs using the old school west coast terminology whereas the title track takes a more soulful approach admitting to being fathers first & real ones secondly. “P Fiction” featuring Hit-Boy finds the trio shifting into trap territory declaring themselves to be menaces leading into “Bang” talking about banging for the cause over a Mobb instrumental.

Meanwhile, “Cutthroat” starts off the 2nd leg ballin’ on top of a g-funk beat & TeeFLii’s hook being inspired by the late Zapp frontman Roger Troutman just before “The Game Won’t Stop” returns to a more soulful sound talking about shaking the cops. “Crisis” featuring Half-a-Mil has a gospel flip to it discussing the struggle while “Happy Ru Year” is a hyphy-tinged New Year’s anthem. “Body for Body” rounds out the tape by smelling homicide over a trap instrumental.

Wild to think that Game pulled up on Big Hit & Hit-Boy to only do 1 track with each other only to end up with a 9-song tape to release out of nowhere on New Year’s Day. If you’re a west coast head, you gotta check out Paisley Dreams at some point. Hit-Boy’s production mixes boom bap, trap, g-funk, Mobb music & hyphy altogether as his dad teams up with the Compton vet on the mic to rep their sets.

Score: 4/5

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Big Hit – “The Truth’s in My Eyes” review

Big Hit is a 52 year old rapper from Los Angeles, California notable for being the father of one of hip hop’s most in-demand producers that we’ve seen in recent memory: Hit-Boy. He was found guilty & convicted of a hit & run resulting in great bodily injury almost a decade ago, unlawfully being sentenced to 12 years & 4 months in prison including a 5-year GBI enhancement connected to Count 1. This February, his petition for a writ of habeas corpus was granted & became a free man few weeks ahead of his son’s 36th birthday. Hit would have his father join forces by making Surf or Drown 2 a collab effort tailored for Father’s Day Weekend & now only less than a couple weeks until Christmas, they’re keeping it rolling except Hit-Boy is fully producing his dad’s official full-length solo debut album.

The title track is a symphonic opener to the album talking about keeping it gangsta so I ain’t got shit to hide whereas “Red Lotion” featuring Jay Worthy & RJ finds the trio boasting that they’re flamed up & burning forever on top of a drumless soul sample. “Load ‘Em Up” featuring the Baby Stone Gorillas sets out to load it the sticks, spin the block, load ‘em up & pull off in the Lotus truck leading into “Take Some Off of That” going into trap turf with co-production from Rogét Chahayed calling out those who ain’t cut from the same cloth as him.

“Extra Clips” gives off a smoother edge to the instrumental describing the way he lived in the streets proclaiming the LA County Sheriffs to be worse than the feds just before “Wigglin’” featuring Mozzy shifts gears by lacing a chill backdrop with hi-hats & even a g-funk beat switch during the end of it as both of them admitting they’re trappin’ again, but then “Broke the Mold” luxuriously disses all the copycats out here these days.

Big Hit’s son joins his dad on the mic for the booming lead single “A$AP Chauncey” looking to run it up while “Boo Bop” works in these strings & later keys accompanied by hi-hats dropping braggadocio on the lyrical front. “Shoppin’ Monster” featuring WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg fuses elements of trap & g-funk so both of them can celebrate while the highlight “Man, I’m Rollin’” gives off a jazzier flare thanks to The Alchemist rockin’ shit that’s fresh off the showroom floor.

“Breaking the Ice” featuring Half-a-Mil & J. Stone weaves together pianos chords with kicks & snares so everyone can handle business while “The Pain is Deep” gives off a g-funk vibe once more admitting that if this is heaven, then he doesn’t even wanna see hell. “Inspiration” featuring Figg Newton & Killa Twan is a decent trap cut dedicated to everyone catching cases while “Speaking in Codes” featuring Benny the Butcher does that general sound significantly better advising that the sharks gotta learn to finesse around.

The penultimate track “Stay On” featuring Big Tray Deee formerly of the LBC Crew & Tha Eastsidaz finds the 2 joining forces over a funky boom bap beat as both of them make it known that they’ve paid their debts to society after spending time behind bars prior to “G’z Don’t Cry” closes out Big Hit’s debut LP that’s been almost a decade in the making by soulfully admitting that the titular rule is in fact a lie.

Now for those of you who just got into Big Hit this spring when he came home & put out Surf or Drown 2 with his son the next month for Father’s Day, there’s no way that you’re not gonna walk away from The Truth’s in My Eyes liking it more since you get a better look of who he is artistically & personally. Even though a few guests fall flat, the overall sound impressively ranges from boom bap to trap & g-funk on top of Big Hit’s passionate performances.

Score: 3.5/5

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Big Hit & Hit-Boy – “Surf or Drown 2” review

This is the brand new collaborative album between California producer, emcee & singer/songwriter Hit-Boy & his father Big Hit. Coming up as a Polow da Don protege signing to his Interscope Records imprint Zone 4 Records with early production credits ranging from “Stronger” by Mary J. Blige to “Drop the World” by Lil Wayne & Eminem, it wasn’t until the winter following the last 2 jams where Hit-Boy would catch the attention of Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West by producing his Christmas posse cut “Christmas in Harlem” & becoming an in-house producer for G.O.O.D. Music for 2 years approximately 5 months after that. It was there that he would cookup some notable bops such as “N****s in Paris” by The Throne as well as “Cold” by Ye & even “Backseat Freestyle” off Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore album albeit major label debut good kid, m.A.A.d. City. He then launched his now defunct Interscope imprint HS87 Music as his tenure under Kanye’s wing was coming to a close, continuing to build a reputation for himself by working with the likes of Beyoncé or Drake & Travis Scott for the remainder of the decade. But it’s no secret that these past few years have easily been amongst Hit-Boy’s most prolific yet considering his recent work with Big Sean, Benny the Butcher & more specifically Nas. But after demonstrating his talents on the mic this past spring by dropping his full-length debut Surf or Drown is through his newly founded EMPIRE Distribution imprint Surf Club Inc., it’s only right to celebrate Big Hit’s release from prison by dropping a sequel on Father’s Day Weekend.

The sequel to “Grindin’ My Whole Life” is an uncanny trap opener with co-production from Rogét Chahayed reminding that g’s don’t cry whereas Y.K.W.S.F. (You Know What’s So Funny?)” featuring Big Sean works in these horn sections & hi-hats calling out those who think they stressed out when they stretched out in reality. “Sunrise” pushes forwards as a warm Hit-Boy solo cut talking about seeing everything coming from the top floor leading into “Monte Carlo” pairs Big Hit with [Half-a-Mil] going for a more sample-based sound declaring to be the hosts for the evening.

“Reckless & Ratchet” gives off a vintage west coast groove to the beat so they can talk about just wanting to fuck prior to “Show Me” delves future into that with a groovy ballad dedicated to all the freaks out there. The 4th installment of the “Tony Fontana” series fuses jazz rap with trap & these g-funk synthesizers discussing their Scarface inspired lifestyle while the song “Police” weaves some organs into the fold talking about he should’ve been a cop to be above the law with a license to kill. The piano trap driven penultimate track “Wake Your Game Up” apologizes to all the women they’ve disrespected & “More 4 Me” is a boom bap flavored sendoff to the album as they talk about wanting more.

Surf or Drown is still a solid debut showcasing of Hit-Boy’s abilities on the microphone, but for him to do the sequel with Big Hit fresh out of the pen as a Father’s Day gift alongside paying homage to all the solid ones out there is truly inspiring to me. The natural father/son chemistry throughout is entertaining as Big Hit’s pen-game is on par with Hit-Boy’s as the latter continues to draw rom all sorts of different sounds on the production end.

Score: 3.5/5

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Hit-Boy – “Surf or Drown” review

Hit-Boy is a 35 year old producer, MC & singer/songwriter from Fontana, California who’s been at for 2 decades after Polow da Don took him under his wing by signing him to his Interscope Records imprint Zone 4 Records. His early production credits range from “Stronger” by Mary J. Blige to “Drop the World” by Lil Wayne & Eminem, but wasn’t until the winter following the last 2 jams where he would catch the attention of Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West by producing his Christmas posse cut “Christmas in Harlem” & becoming an in-house producer for G.O.O.D. Music for 2 years approximately 5 months after that. It was there that he would cookup some notable bops such as “Niggas in Paris” by The Throne as well as “Cold” by Ye & even “Backseat Freestyle” off Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore album albeit major label debut good kid, m.A.A.d. City. He then launched his now defunct Interscope imprint HS87 Music as his tenure under Kanye’s wing was coming to a close, continuing to build a reputation for himself by working with the likes of Beyoncé or Drake & Travis Scott for the remainder of the decade. But it’s no secret that these past few years have easily been amongst Hit-Boy’s most prolific yet considering his recent work with Big Sean, Benny the Butcher & more specifically Nas. So considering that & recently founding his own EMPIRE Distribution imprint Surf Club Inc., it’s only right for him to follow-up his 6 solo mixtapes in the form of his very own full-length debut.

After the “Big Hit” intro, “The Tide” fittingly enough sets off the album with Nas & Hit-Boy over a soulful beat with a trap switch-up later on displaying their tight chemistry whereas “State Champ” by Half-a-Mil & Jay305 find the trio accompanied by a cloudy yet vibrant instrumental representing Cali to the fullest. Dom Kennedy sticks around for “Corsa” admitting their hearts are still cold on top of some hi-hats & an airy backdrop leading into Curren$y being subbed into the game on the chill trap banger “Tony Fontana III” talking about how this shit is a marathon but they ain’t running a track.

Spank Nitti James takes up a bulk of “Just Ask” his verse is just ok personally although I love the hypnotically crooning trap production & the themes of asking before assuming leading into “NU.WAV” follows it up with a moody trap ballad about the way he formulates until “Slipping into Darkness”starts off with The Alchemist spitting a verse over a sample-based boom bap beat until Hit-Boy calls out those who tried to deflect him over some jazzy piano chords Uncle Al chopped up.

The song “2 Certified” goes full-blown UK drill as Avelino sets it off by helping the man behind the boards boast about their respective legitimacies in the rap game while the penultimate track “M.T.R. (Make the Rules)” is a vibrant yet chiller cut about how he simply knows the rules as opposed to making them. The album ends with a sequel to “Composure” off King’s Disease II with an aquatic yet jazzy boom bap instrumental getting more vulnerable lyrically.

Much like how The College Dropout cemented Ye’s abilities as a performer & The Life of Pi’erre 4 with Pi’erre Bourne, I think anyone who’s been fucking with Hit-Boy as long as me could tell you that’s exactly what Surf or Drown does for him. You get a good look into who one of the most consistent producers in the game today really is on the mic as he enlists a mainly consistent guest list that helps him rip his own beats to shreds ranting from boom bap to trap & even UK drill.

Score: 4/5

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