13° – “Ghetto Hipster” review

Brand new sophomore effort from Chicago, Illinois rapper 13°. Emerging only a few years ago off his first couple mixtapes Urban Junkie & Metropolitan respectively, he would go on to follow both of those up with Uptown Dropout as well as Clique City & it’s sequel. His debut EP Cyber Sundayz caught the attention of Island Records & they helped introduce him to a wider audience with the positively received full-length studio debut Black Fridayz, now declaring himself to be the Ghetto Hipster nearly 2 months since CM Punk became a 9-time WWE world champion.

“A Gloomy Morning” hops over a synth-driven boom bap beat to kick things off talking about being the king of his city & his life soarin’ past him whereas “Lordz Never Worry” gives off some Graduation vibes declaring himself to be a superstar. “White Sox Capz” psychedelically represents his hometown advising to get the fuck out his face unless one’s looking for him to put them to shame while the cloudily poppy “Pistolet” flexes of dating every model & comparing the head to blowing the smoke off a fired pistol.

We have some crazy sampling techniques being pulled off on “Membership” talking about not needing a patch because he’s already a gold member leading into “Ridiculouz” maintains the euphoria confessing he kinda digs people detracting him for being a golden ticket. “Poetry Jamz” stood out to me for it’s unignorable throwback to when The Neptunes dominated the airwaves in the early 2000s just before the poppy yet cloudy “Juene O.G.” poses the question of whether his not his name will be brought up in discussions a century from now.

“Northside Synonymz” begins the 2nd half likening life to another public assembly with the background vocals sticking out the most to me regarding the instrumental while the cloud rap/pop rap-infused 2nd single “Dwntwn Luv” intoxicatingly talks about trying to fuck a bouncer. “Lyricz” made for a solidly cloudy pop rap lead single making a cold reference to the late Juice WRLD at the end of the hook hoping this woman can heal his heart while the Ye-inspired “Brand New” talks about life giving him body shots.

Trippie Redd makes Ghetto Hipster’s sole guest appearance during the penultimate single “Emotionlezz” dedicating itself to all the weirdos & having apathetic pulling from future bass thoughts while the 3rd single “Hipster Encore” talks about his love of skinny Vogue models who do coke. “Microphone Fein” ironically lager includes a bar referring to 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena while “Journalistic” atmospherically concludes the album clapping back at the way fraudulent blogs be acting.

Black Fridayz was a solid farewell to the Clique City sounds 13° blew up off of & to begin this new chapter of his career, his 2nd major label offering initially stemming from a highlight off his debut last fall dethrones it’s predecessor & the Clique City mixtape series for the bragging rights of becoming his finest collection of material so far. The production’s significantly cloudier than the debut & he’s having more fun with his music taking inspiration from the likes of Nas, Westside Gunn, the late Capital STEEZ & A$AP Rocky.

Score: 4/5

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benny blanco – “Hermoso” review

benny blanco is a 38 year old producer, songwriter, record executive & author from Reston, Virginia who made his debut in 2018 with Friends Keep Secrets under Interscope Records. He recently produced my favorite album Selena Gomez has ever made I Said I Love You First…& You Said It Back in the spring of last year preceding their marriage several months later, departing from A&M Records following a 10 month tenure on the label to drop his sophomore effort that I’m sure will have a 2nd disc much like the predecessor a week after Adam Page & Brodido ended The Demand’s week-long reign as AEW World Trios Champions at Grand Slam VIII in partnership with Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) at Arena México.

“Un poco perdido” by Neton Vega opens up drunkenly admitting he’s lost whereas “Te Olvido (La La)” by Becky G & Selena Gomez blends Latin pop, reggaetón & cumbatión asking what their partners have that no one else does. “Joven y salvaje” by Bb trickz co-produced by Cashmere Cat wasn’t bad of a contemporary R&B, pop rap, bedroom pop, alt-pop, post-punk revival single talking about not wanting to pick up the phone while the dream pop-inspired “Memoria De Paz” by The Marías depicts 2 lovers holding the sound of their voices on the phone tightly.

After the “Te Amo” interlude, “Ay Bendito” by Mora featuring co-production from Ovy on the Drums takes a breezier approach instrumentally getting sexual with the songwriting & “Degenere” by Myke Towers succeeding the “Cinco” skit properly concludes Hermoso with a reggaetón closer fans of his already heard a couple years ago when his 5th album La Pantera Negra came out so it’s a bit unnecessary although I suppose it wouldn’t be a bad introduction for those who’ve never heard of him.

Part of me respects benny blanco for what he’s musically done with artists like Eminem & of course the late Juice WRLD in the past, but I do find it strange for him to go full Latin for a Friends Keep Secrets follow-up that I’d consider weaker than his debut. Hermoso’s production is more Latin-heavy experimenting with Latin pop, reggaetón, cumbatión, contemporary R&B, pop rap, bedroom pop, alt-pop, post-punk revival & dream pop except I feel like it doesn’t come from a sincere place like Cypress Hill’s latest full-length Dios Bendiga.

Score: 1.5/5

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Internet Money Records – “We All We Needed” review

This is the sophomore effort from Los Angeles, California label & producer collective Internet Money Records founded by Taz Taylor. Releasing their full-length debut B4 the Storm to moderate reception in the summer of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, they would later drop an extended play a couple years later called We All We Got which I found myself enjoying more than majority of people generally did. BabyBartier, ladé, Sir Untre & unitus have all signed to Taz since & he’s having all 4 of them coming to they’re for We All We Needed under their new distribution deal with Mercury Records & Republic Records.

“Lambo, Maybach & Black Truck” by BabyBartier, Sir Untre & unitus produced by Nash opens up with the trio boasting the luxurious whips they’re hopping out of whereas “Helly” finds all 3 of them sticking together over a Cxdy instrumental dedicating this to all the rebels who’re staying down. “Flexed Up” by BabyBartier & Sir Untre combines some synthesizers & 808s so they can talk about being too geeked prior to BabyBartier getting a track of his own with “No Problems” clarifying that he doesn’t have any issues.

As for “Tellin’ Lies”, we have unitus talking about walking with the bag differently than everyone else while “Monster” by BabyBartier & Sir Untre impressively trades verses with one another on top of a rage beat. “Home” by Sir Untre gives the latter a chance to shine talking about not being broke anymore while “Medusa” by BabyBartier & Sir Untre runs it back over a PROJECT4PLAY instrumental so they can topically get some gangsta shit together.

“Yellow” by BabyBartier talks about being up in the club all night sippin’ lean while “Pop Tags” by BabyBartier & unitus reaches the midway point of We All We Needed explaining that they be fuckin’ so many bad hoes boiling down to them having that swag when walking around over synthesizers & hi-hats. “Ceiling” by BabyBartier hooks up some bells to talk about stacking money higher than it can go while “Steve Nash” by BabyBartier references the Phoenix Suns’ senior advisor of the same name.

Sir Untre joins Bartier for the only single “556” explaining their precise caliber over a Maaly Raw beat while “Do the Most” by unitus talks about the very reason his hoe loves him & putting her in Chanel. “Sing” by ladé marks one of the latter’s only 2 appearances & giving him a solo cut to spit that gangsta shit preceding “Down” by BabyBartier, Sir Untre & unitus was only right until the 3 talking about breaking it off with bitches who have no swag over a Zaan instrumental.

“Words Don’t Hurt, Bullets Do” by Sir Untre winds down We All We Needed’s final moments discussing his preference of letting the stick leave everyone in pain since he’s so pissed that he doesn’t even wanna talk while “Whole Lot” by BabyBartier talks about having so much product where he straight up asks what one would like to buy. “I Love” by Sir Untre expresses the gratification he gets outta hearing gunfire while “Mojo” by BabyBartier & ladé concludes the album talking about getting drugs off a boat.

To my knowledge: Rich Amiri has been primarily holding it down for Internet Money Records within the past couple years so it overdue for Taz to bring some fresh new faces on board & We All We Needed certainly offers a promising future for the imprint. BabyBartier, ladé, Sir Untre & unitus all deliver some of their hungriest performances on wax & I found myself enjoying more out of the production than I did when Bartier made his major label debut this spring.

Score: 3.5/5

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Sk8star – “The Beautiful Rebellion” review

This is the latest extended play & the 8th overall from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Sk8star. Emerging all the way back in 2021 off Superstar Status, he would go on to follow it up with a total of 7 more EPs & a couple of mixtapes preceding him signing to Island Records for his full-length studio debut Designer Junkie this past spring marking a full circle moment when reflecting upon his earlier output. As he prepares for the upcoming sophomore effort After the Gala though, The Beautiful Rebellion has only just begun.

“Lo Mein” begins with a decent opener likening his girl to a vampire whereas “Bloodhound” produced by Pi’erre Bourne talks about these other muhfuckas being out of bounds compared to him. “Doom” featuring Pz’ finds the pair trading verses over an ahead of the curve trap instrumental from Nosaint of Vanguard Music Group leading into “Churchs’” bringing Richie Souf back behind the boards to resurrect the chemistry they displayed throughout Designer Junkie, talking about being the hood type.

Kicking off the 2nd half of the EP, we have Pi’erre & Sk8 cooking up 1 last banger together with the pluggy “Callin’” confronting someone who stayed the same unlike him evolving just before “Sk8rokk” introduces us to the titular MC/producer duo dissin’ those who run with what’s popular. “Loose Tooth” reunites with Richie Souf talking about receiving oral while the closing track “Siamese” featuring diamond* spends The Beautiful Rebellion’s final minutes discussing exactly how slimey each of them are individually.

Couple longtime fans of Sk8star I know have since hailed Designer Junkie to be the Take Care of his discography & regardless of my uncertainty towards that claim, I can say it was a satisfying culmination of everything he was doing throughout it’s preceding EPs & mixtapes. The Beautiful Rebellion nevertheless preludes After the Gala in the form of a tasteful transitional phase in Sk8’s career enlisting a couple ØWay members to remind the world on top of 16 minutes worth of tight trap, rage, plugg & cloud rap production that they really do this.

Score: 3.5/5

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Ariana Grande – “petal” review

Boca Raton, Florida singer/songwriter & actress Ariana Grande launching her own imprint Babydoll Music distributed by Republic Records for her 8th studio LP. The very same label who signed her in 2013 after breaking out through the Nickelodeon series Victorious alongside Leon Thomas III & has gradually become one of the biggest pop stars in the entire world since, dropping my personal favorite in her discography sweetener following the moderate reception of Yours Truly as well as My Everything & Dangerous Woman. I also enjoyed thank u, next for what it was following her engagement to Pete Davidson being broke off & Mac Miller’s tragic death even if Positions took it back to the mild feedback of her earlier output, coming off Eternal Sunshine to give us petal in time for July ending.

“kiss me” opens up yearning to be kissed like it could potentially be her final goodbye until “hate that i made you love me” averagely blends alt-pop, contemporary R&B, alternative R&B, synthpop & chillwave for a lead single venting about her divorce from her now ex-husband Dalton Gomez. The title track serves as a metaphor for how flowers can still bloom in the most rigid places just before “stay” detailing yet another corrective experience she had.

As for “oh well”, we have Ariana telling Dalton that more breakup songs about him are on the way & wishing all of the toxic people in her life the best luck traveling to Hell leading into “big feelings” reaching the midway point wanting this person to promise they’ll handle her properly & providing the kind of sex that can make grown men cry. “freak” sings about distancing herself from someone who doesn’t want to get to know her from a personal standpoint but after the “warning signs” interlude, “like i do” gets tongue-in-cheek for a sassy self-confidence ode.

“never get over me” embraces some R&B influenced to finish up petal’s concluding act singing about a unique kind of intimacy with a bridge calling back to “Thinking ‘Bout You” off Dangerous Woman while “bad thing (bunny hop)” finds herself rediscovering her feelings towards photographer & dancer Ricky Alvarez. The closing track “nowhere, nobody” sends off the album choosing to stay present in love regardless of the uncertainty of whether or not it’ll last in the end.

Despite coming away from petal with mixed feelings towards it, I can certainly see myself coming back to it more than I do Positions & Eternal Sunshine since it does have more high points than lows. I think Ariana Grande breaking up with all different kinds of negative attachments throughout her life comes from a sincere place although the alt-pop, contemporary R&B, alternative R&B, synthpop & chillwave production was merely ok. Would love for her to work with someone like Jermaine Dupri.

Score: 3/5

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DOMi & JD Beck – “WHO ASKED?” review

DOMi & JD Beck are a jazz fusion duo from Los Angeles, California consisting of keyboardist DOMi & drummer JD Beck. They would eventually sign a joint deal to Anderson .Paak’s own imprint Apeshit Inc. in tandem with the greatest jazz label of all-time Blue Note Records in 2022, dropping their widely lauded full-length studio debut NOT TiGHT that summer. Exactly 48 months have passed since to celebrate, it only makes sense that the pairing returned for a highly anticipated sophomore effort.

“ÈPiPHANiE” begins with this colorful 2 & a half minute compositional intro I can imagine hearing at the start of a wonderful day whereas “HAD ENOUGH” co-written by Anderson Paak. finds the pair singing about tomorrow possibly being the same despite not being too far. “EXiT” embraces a more autumnal vibe instrumentally assuring this isn’t the end & never showing signs of helplessness just before “SiLHOUETTE” asks if the fear causing doubt in your mind is worth the mind fading out.

Meanwhile on “GROWiNG OLDER”, we have DOMi & JD observing the inevitable process of aging in the midst of seasons quickly passing us by leading into “SOME THiNGS NEVER CHANGE” blissfully sings about staying frozen in place & holding steady since certain stuff remains the same. “RAiN” discussing both fear & comfort over more woodwinds combined with intense drumming until “SMALL EYES” contains a J Dilla influence showing the love they have for their dogs.

“LOVELY MASQUERADE” continues the 2nd half with one of WHO ASKED?‘s most infectious grooves singing about the possibility of being betrayed whilst the puppets dance blindly & after “PUZZLE PiECES” promises us it’s ok if life doesn’t make sense sometimes because there are moments where pieces fall apart for no reason whatsoever, “PHANTOM TREAD” endearingly pays tribute to an individual who greatly helped them at some point in their career.

The song “OUT OF SYNC” finds the pair lost inside their heads while “CONCERTiNO (FOR PiANO, DRUMS & ORCHESTRA)” hits us with another delightful instrumental piece comprised of pianos, flutes, strings & brass. My least favorite track “CLiMBiNG HiGH” awkwardly experiments with J-pop singing about the sky still being above when heading upwards for a better view & the “ÈPiLOGUE” concludes the LP in the form of this orchestral outro that I can imagine hearing in a Disney movie.

Regardless of WHO ASKED? being ranked behind NOT TiGHT in DOMi & JD Beck’s discography, it’s still an exceptional continuation of their music. They swap out the secondary influences of neo-soul & jazzstep to incorporate more elements of chamber music & classical crossover but more specifically, they’re singing a lot more than they did on their debut & I feel like they could make some improvements in that specific department going forward.

Score: 3.5/5

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The Rolling Stones – “Foreign Tongues” review

The Rolling Stones are a blues rock trio from London, England, United Kingdom comprised of rhythm guitarist Ronnie Wood, lead guitarist Keith Richards & frontman Mick Jagger. A band who dropped some of the greatest rock music recorded throughout the late 60s-early 70s like Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St. & Some Girls. Their previous full-length Hackney Diamonds under Geffen Records made for a tolerable comeback after 2 decades & the Stones joining Capitol Records for their 24th studio LP had me intrigued since the material dates back to 2019.

“Rough & Twisted” begins with a blues rock single incorporating further elements of electric blues & boogie rock singing about flashing jewelry being a false pretense to them whereas “In the Stars” takes the pop rock route stylistically with some bluesy undertones admitting to feeling a heavy hand meddling with their plans. “Jealous Lover” goes completely smooth soul singing about a relationship going sour while “Mr. Charm” starkly reminding the world of life being as short as it is.

Meanwhile on “Divine Intervention”, we have the Stones singing about our existence being a gamble within it side just before “Ringing Hollow” brings a bit of a country twang into the fold observing all the political turmoil in the United States for a year & a half. “Never Wanna Lose You” reaches the halfway point of the full-length taking back to the pop rock style not wanting to lose the love of their lives whiles “Hit Me in the Head” has a more traditional rock flare acknowledging they won’t be here eternally.

“You Know I’m No Good” takes back to their blues rock origins reminding this woman who’s interested in them cautioning that they were trouble from the very beginning & after “Some of Us” brings a summery atmosphere to the table singing about all of us needing some love in troubling times like these, “Covered in You” continues to make it clear that they’re fed up with the rise of fascist autocracy. More specifically Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder, Neuralink founder, Twitter owner & Nazi Elon Musk.

The song “Side Effects” hits us with a powerful rock ballad singing about there being a price to pay for literally everything pondering whether if it’s the drugs fucking with their mood or not while the 6 minute “Back in Your Life” treads the Americana waters a bit singing about doing whatever it takes to for this individual to let them in their good graces once more. The closer “Beautiful Delilah” sends off the album with a passable cover of the late Chuck Berry’s track of the same name.

If I have to be serious with myself, Hackney Diamonds still remains a decent comeback for The Rolling Stones after nearly 2 decades exclude the Blue & Lonesome covers but I came away from Foreign Tongues confident that it could be the most gratifying entry in their extensive catalog since Tattoo You. The bluesy pop rock production refines what they tried to do 3 years earlier mixing elements of electric blues, boogie rock, smooth soul & hard rock for a politically charged hour.

Score: 4/5

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FATHERS – Self-Titled review

FATHERS is a jazz quartet from Los Angeles, California comprised of keyboardist Kiefer Shackelford, bassist Ben Carr, drummer Nate Smith & producer Kenny Beats. Almost everyone has an established background in the instrumental hip hop field except from Nate, whose output generally ranges from jazz fusion to jazz-funk & neo-soul. The greatest jazz label of all-time Blue Note Records have decided to bring the band on board for their eponymous full-length debut & only a couple weeks away from Kenny fully producing Rico Nasty’s upcoming 3rd album RX finally seeing the light of day later this month.

“Eye Level” sets things off with a 3 minute intro working in some synthesizers, pianos, drums & bass giving off heavy instrumental hip hop vibes whereas “Patchwork” brings alto saxophonist Nicole McCabe on board for an infectiously bright jazz track that I can imagine hearing at opulent hotel from a complimentary standpoint. The only single “Pearl” experiments with Brazilian pop-jazz & I admire the way they gave it a modern luster just before “Stub” kinda has hypnotically quirkier approach compositionally.

We have FATHERS incorporating some organs for “The Leak” to kick off the 2nd half of their self-titled debut while “Tomorrow, Again” concludes the 3rd quarter bringing a more tropical flare to the table instrumentally enlisting violinist Yasmeen Al-Mazeedi to handle the strings. “Front Yard” comes through with some colorfully rich keys & drums that have a boom bap quality to them while the closer “Figure 8” brings Yasmeen back 1 last time provide a heavenly outro fusing jazz & instrumental hip hop.

I can’t deny Kenny Beats taking the risk of expanding his clientele outside of hip hop by producing Geese’s 4th album Getting Killed last fall & Weezer’s next full-length The Gold Album later this August, so it was interesting to hear him forming FATHERS with 3 other jazz-rooted instrumentalists who’ve already established themselves & I hope this is only the beginning for the band since they improvised a tastefully jazzy instrumental hip hop debut with some occasional funk influences.

Score: 4/5

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Ken Carson – “Xperiment” review

Kicking off the 2nd half of 2026 with the 5th studio LP from Atlanta, Georgia recording artist Ken Carson. Breaking out in the SoundCloud scene & becoming a protege of local trailblazer Playboi Carti as one of the first artists to sign to the latter’s Opium Records, he would go on to drop a total of 5 EPs prior to his full-length debut Project X & coming off the mature sophomore effort X which Anthony Fantano infamously gave a 0. Coming off A Great Chaos & More Chaos however, he’s looking to Xperiment a lot more ahead of Cartunez.

Former 17-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE United States Champion & 4-time WWE tag team champion John Cena gets referenced on the intro “wheredoistart?” produced by Four3va whereas “deaf note” featuring Playboi Carti finds the 2 detailing their lifestyles. “shadeson” was disappointing since it’s pretty much a remix of “girl” off 2hollis’ major label debut star prior to “gynecologist” making up for it whether it be the instrumental from F1THY of Working on Dying to the lyrics detailing what he’d do if he wasn’t making music.

“wrist” continues from there talking about being in kitchen serving up weight & deceiving a woman into thinking they’re locking in when Ken wants to fuck her friend leading into “edm” addressing the rumors of Xperiment & Cartunez fulfilling his ongoing contractual obligations. “truth” hops over an Art Dealer & Outtatown beat so he can drop a lengthy verse sandwiched between a chorus expressing his sincerest feelings while “outofmybody” talks about being a wireless plug.

As for “the ritual”, we have Ken setting the record straight regarding a woman acting like he’s her man when it’s false & finding a way to always prevail while the “interlude” feels more of a brief freestyle talking about others not being able to reach his high. “ghost” featuring Lil Uzi Vert speeds up the pace instrumentally so both of them can switch shit up for those moving too slowly while “drug kit” featuring Young Thug details being under the influence of drugs over a celebratory beat from DY & Tre Pounds.

“possession” continues the 2nd half of Xperimenton some more rage-inducing vibes talking about raking money in like a bunch of leaves that’ve fallen off branches while the distorted “fw00” discusses having money on his mind & the fact that he’s been setting trends for some time already. “somanybags” hops over another hypertrap instrumental to talk about being so geeked up where he can’t relax while “shopping” featuring Destroy Lonely prepares us for their collab tape trading the mic back-&-forth.

The song “amandabynes” brings some buzzing synthesizers into the picture talking about falling in love with a woman for who she is as a person & her being attracted to his timing but after “amnesia” runs it back with Art Dealer & Outtatown to confess that he forgot the times he’s seen this chick being addressed, “flamethrower” airs out his grievances towards a an ex-girlfriend whom he did so much for yet she still ended up leaving.

“knocking” brings a hypnotically futuristic sound to the table talking about someone he knew since Day 1 who’s changed so much that he doesn’t even have friends anymore while “addiction” references former WWE United States Champion & WWE tag team champion Logan Paul. “wedidit” featuring Playboi Carti concludes our Xperiment referencing current AEW performer/commentator, former 7-time WWE world champion, 11-time WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion & 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion Paul Wight while “Too Many Poles” talks about his stick having no switch over a Clayco beat.

Even if it’s not quite experimental as I hoped it would be, Xperiment could still debatably surpass A Great Chaos to become Ken Carson’s greatest full-length & it has me wondering whether or not Cartunez next Friday will join either of those albums in that same conversation. Excluding a small handful of songs that I felt were pointless, rage/trap production’s less watered down than More Chaos last spring & there’s a tight guest list.

Score: 3.5/5

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民謡クルセイダーズ – 『日本民謡より愛をこめて』レビュー

The Minyo Crusaders are a min’yō band from Fussa City, Tokyo, Japan consisting of guitarist 田中克海, saxophonist 大沢広一郎, percussionist 小林ムツミ, timbalero イデソノオ, trumpeter 山内ステファン, conguero Irochi, keyboardist Moe & vocalist フレディ塚本. Dropping their full-length studio debut Echoes of Japan in 2017 followed by the 2023 sophomore effort Tour of Japan, they have since signed to Blue Note Records & are making their debut for the greatest jazz label of all-time with the Crusaders’ 3rd studio LP.

“北海盆唄” begins with a rendition of a vulgar coalminer’s song originating in Hokkaido that was eventually rewritten in the 1940s containing a bit of a Latin twist to it whereas “こきりこ節” by Minyo Cumbiero comes through with a cumbia colombiana/tropicanibalismo spin on the oldest Japanese folk song. “花笠音頭” also by Minyo Cumbiero blends both ensemble’s styles again for an ode to the community dance originating in the Yamagata Prefecture while “下津井節” covers track dating back to the Edo period.

Kicking off the 2nd half, we have [朝倉さや] joining the Crusaders for the single “朝倉さや” reintroducing another cut from the Edo period except it was conceived in the Shimane Prefecture leading into another work song “木山音頭” during the construction of Imabari Castle being modernized for newer generations. “ワイド節” featuring 元ちとせ unites for a cover of the Amami Islands’ famous min’yō track synonymous with bullfighting & “伊予万才” ends From Japan with Love renditioning a humorous song written back in the 17th century.

Forming back in 2011 with the goal of making min’yō more international by incorporating rhythms from Latin as well as African & Caribbean music, the Minyo Crusaders’ debut for Blue Note Records surpasses both of it’s predecessors to become the most vibrant statement of their existence by rooting From Japan with Love in the passionate respect they’ve always had for Japanese folk & it’s ability of resonating across multiple cultures.

Score: 4/5

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