Verb T – “To Love a Phantom” review

London, England, United Kingdom emcee Verb T running it back with Vic Grimes for his 14th studio LP. Most notable for being a member of The 4 Owls, he’s also been carving a path of his own for nearly 2 decades putting out over a dozen LPs & 8 EPs in that span of time. I didn’t care for Restoration as much as The Tower Where the Phantom Lives & the same can be said regarding both Homer Loan & it’s sequel, hoping To Love a Phantom would continue with the momentum of it’s predecessor.

We get a somber boom bap instrumental all over the intro “Through the Wall” talking about moving more cautiously whereas “Introvert” describes a man who consistently lies with a straight because the facts are hysterical. “Illusion of Self” featuring BVA & Farma G brings the trio together so they can talk about the very thing they’ve seen many people fall victim to just before “Absorbing Imagery” captures pieces of his soul within the screen of this machine he’s lost in.

“Distraction” brings a bit of a funkier vibe to the beat making his opponents fall backwards after zapping their energy leading into “See the Truth” featuring Leaf Dog goes for a boom bap vibe once again hoping that everybody listening has all of their doubts erased & becomes proud of who they genuinely are. “Change” featuring Verbz stays in the basement instrumentally refusing to freeze when the pressure hits while “Motivation, Pt. 2” featuring Karizz finds the pair asking what their motives are.

Nearing the end of the 1st half, “Alien Concept” talks about having to shake things up to create a distance from a group of people whose conscious has been invaded by a foreign idea while the vibraphone-inflicted “No Expression” featuring Scorzayzee & Teach Em discusses their expressionlessly deadly statures. “Adrenaline” featuring Beano hops over some horns to talk about feelin’ like their hearts have been displaced while “Suspense & Tension” featuring Harry Shotta & Jah Digga describes a situation overcome with those 2 emotions.

“To Kill a Phantom” begins the 2nd act with a funkier beat talking about a ghost-hunting woman who stays stalkin’ on the ghost train while “Not There” speaks of his presence being felt even when he isn’t around at all. “Anti-Stress” talks about building himself up from ruins & not letting anyone tell him he can’t do it while “1,000 Features 2” fully colors the sketch of dreams he’s been drawing, only for his sorrow to be interrupted by the thought of his squad’s gratitude.

Vic hooks up some jazzy pianos during “Swerve a Lot” talking about being way too avoidant lately only for a switch-up to occur midway through while the laidback “By Myself” describes what it’s like whenever he’s alone. “Minimal” featuring Truemendous talks about both of them trying to take a more scarce approach to their lifestyles while “Don’t Waste Time Rushing” featuring Jayahadadream tackles the idea of making every minute count.

“Prior to Existence” smoothly advises the crowd of people whose souls have been crushed to say whatever they want as long as one learns to control their own noise after “Bring It All Together returns to the boom bap with some horns talking about combining fractured pieces, “Late to School” featuring Donkobz swaps out the horns in favor strings breaking down a gravitational pull they experienced that forced them to make a move.

The song “Rejuvenate” featuring Fliptrix starts To Love a Phantom’s final moments fusing jazz rap & boom bap talking about healing through the body, mind & soul while “Everything” featuring Isaiah Dreads explains that things around us were always meant to be connected. “Phantom Laugh” finishes up Verb’s best offering in a couple years trying to figure out if the echoing laughs of a ghost are actually a memory haunting him & the only thing he learned was to never conform.

Noticeably more ambitious than The Tower Where the Phantom Lives was a couple years earlier, Verb T bounces back from Restoration & both installments of the Homer Loan series’ averageness with a sequel to his greatest 2020s offering for an adventurous double full-length. Blurring the everyday with the supernatural conceptually, the cast of UK underground guests including the other 3 members of The 4 Owls all add their own distinctive flare to the wider narrative & Vic Grimes’ production marks a huge improvement over Verb’s recent extended plays.

Score: 4/5

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Fliptrix – “Dragonfly” review

Brighton, England, United Kingdom emcee Fliptrix teaming up with the Leigh Brothers consisting of Illinformed & Leaf Dog to have them produce his 11th solo LP. The founder of High Focus Records as well as a member of The 4 Owls, he made his debut in 2007 off Force Fed Imagery followed by Theory of Rhyme and later 3rd Eye of the Storm & The Road to the Interdimensional Piff Highway. Out the Box & Polyhymnia both came couple years later as did Patterns of Escapism & Inexhale, but is coming off Light Work & Mantra #9 to unleash the Dragonfly.

“Striving” starts by stripping the drums completely hooking up a bare orchestral loop forever making great efforts to achieve or obtain more whereas “Forever” has a bit of a soulful boom bap flare instrumentally talking about having springs in their steps representing that. The acoustic “Keep Going On” wants to know if they can continue to go on with their lives since they’re unsure of it, but then “Dragonfly Steeze” works the kicks & snares back in flexing his titular style.

Moving on from there, “See it in the Clouds” delivers a cloudier boom bap flare forecasting rain that’ll be coming down feeling it in his bones leading into “Make It Rain” hopping over a soul sample for a minute discussing the importance of rain itself. “Funky Microphone” blends a piano with kicks & snares getting hardcore lyrically just before the jazzy “Cosmic Scenes” assuring that the sweet sound of birds can be heard though sirens.

“Spooky Times” maintains the jazz influence crossing it over with boom bap to talk about how nice it is to let the beauty rise sometimes while “The Glow” keeps it raw so everyone listening is able to feel the sunshine. “Paradoxical” has a darker atmosphere to the beat coming to heal you while the flute-heavy “Making Waves” talks being on madness these days. “Grapevine” maintains the instrumental vibes from previously feeling happy & sad simultaneously while the title track jazzily ends the album showing unconditional love to his family.

A series of life-changing events compelled Fliptrix to hole up in the studio to capture the true essence of his recent experiences in real time, resulting in his most alive offering to date with the handbrake fully off as well as emotions & energies dialed up to 11. Each unpacking a tumultuous year which included the birth of his daughter & unexpected passing of his father who played in a 70s rock band that Dragonfly is named after, all this while navigating the ever-shifting music scene he has championed for so long.

Score: 4/5

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Leaf Dog – “Year of the Leaf” review

This is the 9th full-length solo LP from Brighton, England, United Kingdom producer/emcee Leaf Dog. Notable for being amongst the best UK hip hop groups in recent memory The 4 Owls as well as the 3 Amigos & Brothers of the Stone, he branched out on his own in 2011 with From a Scarecrow’s Perspective, the sophomore effort 6 years later Dyslexic Disciple quickly became his most well-regarded body of work yet & I enjoyed Live from the Balrog Chamber at the beginning of 2020 just as much. However in 2024 alone he’s released a total of 5 albums so far: Photosynthesis, Don’t Scare the Crows Now, Outstanding in My Field, Anything is Possible & When Sleeping Giants Wake. It’s been 3 months since the latter 2 & Leaf’s coming off producing BVA’s most acclaimed solo effort to date The Dam Builder to declare this as the Year of the Leaf.

To begin, “Life’s All I Have” hooks up a soulful boom bap instrumental to talk about being the thing you see come the final destination whereas “Pay to Play” works in another soul sample with kicks & snares reminding us that the game ain’t free at all. “Weed Mantra” is another soulful, boom bap crossover dedicated to everyone listening who loves good kush like myself while the crooning “I Don’t Miss” flexes his consistency.

“Athentic” hooks up some strings keeping the kicks & snares in tact to talk about being the truth although real ones already knew, but then “Dr. Ooze” strips the drums completely explaining that he’ll make futures look uncertain all of the sudden. “Dem Times” returns to the boom bap showing off his wild style prior to “Even If It” sampling soul music again talking about needing the paper like the country gearing up for war.

The final leg begins with “I Need Little” blending elements of orchestral with kicks & snares needing y’all to surrender to the rhythm while the song “No Sound” goes for a dreary boom bap approach instrumentally talking about those he speaks for. “Greed” soulfully tries to fill a hole deep within & finally, the closing track “No Games” completes Leaf Dog’s 6th album of the year by working nights straight shootin’ for a better life.

Leaf himself has said that he plans on putting out 2 more solo LPs before 2024 is finished & regardless of when he’s ready to give them to the fans, the fact remains that this really has been the Year of the Leaf joining When Sleeping Giants Wake in being my favorites of the 6 he’s had to offer so far. There’s more drumless undertones than there was on the predecessor but nevertheless, you still get the boom bap production he’s known for topped with personal & hardcore lyrics.

Score: 4/5

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BVA – “The Dam Builder” review

This is the 3rd full-length LP from Glastonbury, Somerset, United Kingdom emcee BVA. Coming up as a member of The 4 Owls, he’s also given us a couple albums & EPs of his own over the course of this past decade with the 2021 sophomore effort Lex Neville & his first EP BVA MC standing out the most of the few solo efforts under his belt. However after learning that Leaf Dog was fully producing The Dam Builder after dropping When Sleeping Giants Wake a month ago, I went into it expecting to surpass everything BVA had done previously.

After the intro, the first song “Charge It to the Game” officially begins the album with a soulful boom bap instrumental talking about being heartless in the face yet the calmest in his lane whereas “New Days” featuring Verb T takes the jazzier route explaining that it ain’t ever same as older days. “Out Here” featuring Benny the Butcher & Leaf Dog returns to the boom bap so they can talk about being raised outside leading into Leaf sticking around on the mic for “8 Bit Tales” dustily telling freaky tales like Too $hort.

“Desire” brings a whimsical boom bap vibe to the beat talking about there still a fire even when it’s cold ahead of Leaf Dog returning inside the booth once again for the orchestral “Take It Easy” likening the instrumental hitting like a wake & bake. “Nice n Crispy” works in more kicks, snares & orchestra elements to say shit like this is what makes them say these type of days be some of the best just before “1 in the Ashtray” talking about getting stoned during the day pretty much as soon as he wakes up.

Meanwhile on “Flying Daggers”, we have BVA over more classical flavored boom bap production refusing to allow anyone to burst his bubble while the solemnly “Dreamer” talking about how it don’t cost shit to be nice & people having their heads up in the clouds rather than in their vices. “Lost” has a soulful boom bap flare instrumentally explaining that every one of us is lost looking for a way out while “Over the Edge” takes a second checking what he knows in his head over more kicks & snares.

“Couple Clues” luxuriously observes the humor in these kids being told they were special & reality cutting them like sharp metal as they grew up while the organ-laced “Curse of the Liquor” insightfully breaking down the cons of alcoholism. “Still Rowing” soulfully talks about your respect owing while “Mightier Than the Sword” mixed a crooning sample with kicks & snares likening himself to a beast in his lair calling the feeling home sweet home.

Ramson Badbonez joins BVA on “Hiding in Plain Sight” continuing the sampling of soul music cautioning not to trust the government, the lawmakers or pharmaceuticals while the track “The Medecine” featuring Leaf Dog brings back the strings throwing kicks & snares on top of them explaining that it was never about anything else. And prior to the outro, the final song “Always Something” featuring Leaf Dog ends the LP brushing bad things off like nothing over organs.

His last couple albums have been a tad bit overloaded with the guests, but BVA really tones it down for The Dam Builder resulting in living up to my expectations outdoing B.V.A. (Be Very Aware) & Lex Neville in becoming my new favorite solo effort in his discography. Leaf Dog’s production fuses the raw drum patterns of the traditional boom bap sound with samples along with strings & organs so BVA provides some of his most focused performances.

Score: 4/5

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Leaf Dog – “When Sleeping Giants Wake” review

Brighton, England, United Kingdom producer/emcee Leaf Dog of amongst the best UK hip hop groups in recent memory The 4 Owls as well as the 3 Amigos & Brothers of the Stone continuing his crazy 2024 run by releasing his 8th full-length solo LP. Branching out on his own in 2011 with From a Scarecrow’s Perspective, the sophomore effort 6 years later Dyslexic Disciple quickly became his most well-regarded body of work yet & I enjoyed Live from the Balrog Chamber at the beginning of 2020 just as much. However in 2024 alone he’s released a total of 4 albums so far: Photosynthesis, Don’t Scare the Crows Now, Outstanding in My Field & more recently Anything is Possible from a couple weeks ago. Much like January though, Leaf’s giving us 2 albums in 1 month by quickly following it up with When Sleeping Giants Wake.

After the intro, the first song “Victory” begins in the form of a crooning sample mixed with kicks & snares explaining that this is everything that his crew dreamed about whereas “The Storm” featuring Busta Rhymes & BVA finds the trio coming together over some Phantom of the Opera/boom bap shit bringing it hardcore. “It’s Never Easy” talks about trying to find a quick fix on top of a soulful instrumental with kicks & snares leading into “Daily News” continuing the sampling of soul music coming from a more personal place lyrically.

“Long Road Traveling” has a bit of an orchestral boom bap flare to the beat flexing that it ain’t no comparison when it comes to shit like this, but then “Check Mate” continues to clash strings with kicks & snares talking about calculating his next move similarly to chess. “Days of the Future Past” has a bluesier boom bap instrumental likening it to another scary movie tryna make you laugh that is until BVA returns alongside the late Sean Price for “Fade to Black” mixing that traditional hardcore shit with elements of classical.

Starting the 2nd half of the album, “War Report” soulfully paints the image of a horror story while “Conquer Your Fear” is a piano/boom bap crossover profoundly talking about his instincts. “The Ruler’s Back” has a bit of a triumphant atmosphere to it boasting that he can still make a classic even when he’s damn trending while “But For Now” takes the jazzier route a bit touching on some real life shit.

“Over Time” has a more colorful beat talking about having to pay his dues to get where he is at this point in his career while “Card to My Chest” incorporates a boom bap instrumental with a plucky guitar sample reflecting on when they was always waiting for him to slip. The final song “Soil Getting Sold” prior to the outro concludes When Sleeping Giants Wake with 1 last jazz rap cut telling y’all exactly where one can find him.

I can only imagine that Leaf will be dropping more albums throughout 2024 much like Flee Lord’s prolific 2020 run & although that’s certainly looking to be the case, When Sleeping Giants Wake could possibly be my favorite of the 5 LPs that we’ve gotten from him this year so far. His production is heavily boom bap centered although he fuses additional elements of soul & jazz music respectively, you get to see both sides of him as an artist & as a person joined by brief guest list.

Score: 4/5

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Verb T – “The Tower Where the Phantom Lives” review

Verb T is a 42 year old MC from London, England, United Kingdom starting out as a part of The 4 Owls. However, he’s also been carving a path of his own since 2006 putting out a dozen LPs & 5 EPs throughout that span of time. But when I found out that Vic Grimes was being brought in to produce T’s lucky 13th full-length album, it significantly raised my expectations to the point where The Tower Where the Phantom Lives could become my favorite solo effort of his.

“The Phantom Appeared” starts the LP fittingly by introducing us to the titular Phantom character over a dusty boom bap instrumental whereas “Tower With a View” ruggedly talks about the residential tower that this ghost resides in. “Inner Child” works in a dirty bass-line as well as kicks & snares detailing that you can’t believe in something that you pretend to be, but then “Very Superstitious” talks about this mythical feeling that T’s getting keeping it in boom bap turf.

On the other hand, “Fireworks & Flowers” hooks up these kicks & snares with vibraphones explaining the way he started & will end his career while “Forget Feelings” remains raw talking about walking with purpose. “I Guess?” is a piano/boom bap hybrid reminding everyone that you can’t make moves when you’re hands are tied while “The Invisible Fortress” describes the titular compound that happens to be unseen.

“New View” gives off a cloudy, boom bap edge to the beat visualizing a future that more secure continuing with a new story in his life while “4 Oh!” admitting that 4 decades of his life are on the horizon as he’s not ready over vibraphones, kicks & snares. “Your Heart Deserves” as a closer ties it all up by performing from a profound perspective.

As someone who’s been following this guy since my senior year of high school 8-9 years ago, The Tower Where the Phantom Lives certainly lived up to my expectations because I can firmly say that it’s the best that Verb T has sounded by himself. The conceptually has cohesively well-told & Vic Grimes couldn’t have been a better person to do the musical backings helping bring T’s story to life.

Score: 4/5

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