Chxrry – “U, Me & My Ego” review

Chxrry is a 29 year old singer/songwriter from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who made a wider musical introduction for herself in the fall of 2022 when she dropped her debut extended play The Other Side shortly after The Weeknd made her the First Lady of his Republic Records imprint X♥O Records. She would later follow it up 13 months later with her 2nd EP Siren & has since dropped a handful of singles building up anticipation for her full-length studio debut elevating beyond those early EPs.

“Blockstar” opens up with an intro clashing elements of industrial music & trap singing about her making this guy fall in love with her whereas the title track takes a more atmospheric approach instrumentally cautioning what’s gonna happen when she & her man tie the knot. “Hall of Fame” blends electropop, jook, synthpop, Atlanta bass & contemporary R&B to sing about being too sexy to go home while “Bible” likens this guy’s words to the gospel.

Reaching the halfway point of the album, “Call Security” comes through with an anthem dedicated to all the crazy women who’ve gone from being angels to criminals while “Boring” sings about her willingness of lowering her standards as long as her partner isn’t tedious. Cash Cobain makes the 1st of 2 guest appearances on “Badness” where he & Chxrry are detailing the possibility of finding love in the late night although Cash’s verse was the weakest of the 2.

“Bottles & Lights” featuring Mariah the Scientist winds down the last leg of U, Me & My Ego with an empowering alternative R&B duet looking back at previous relationships they were in where their exes constantly disrespected them while “Groupie” conceptually portrays the irrational obsession that hits when you begin to develop feelings for somebody. “Main Character” though ends with her breakout single fusing pop rap, contemporary R&B, trap, futuristic swag, trap soul & pluggnb.

Most people would say that The Other Side & Siren were both average at best which I can agree with despite the introspectively sultry approach made me understand why Abel signed Chxrry earlier this decade. U, Me & My Ego on the contrary achieved my expectations of outdoing herself embracing her more toxic alter-ego over production combining influences of pop, industrial music, trap, electropop, jook, synthpop, Atlanta bass, pop rap, futuristic swag, trap soul & pluggnb with her contemporary/alternative R&B style.

Score: 3.5/5

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Blog Era Boyz – Self-Titled review

The Blog Era Boyz are a superduo consisting of Cleveland, Ohio rapper, singer/songwriter, musician & actor MGK alongside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania rapper, singer/songwriter, actor & entrepreneur Wiz Khalifa. Both of whom achieved their own individual levels of popularity during my adolescence even if I’ve always been more of a Wiz fan than MGK. However after initially crossing paths on “Mind of a Stoner” over a decade ago, they’re dropping an eponymous debut under Taylor Gang Entertainment & Interscope Records.

“family > everything” wasn’t all that exciting of a cloudy trap intro despite talking about catching Ws for the sake of those they love whereas “everything tatted” goes for a more boastful vibe expressing the love both of them have for tattoos. “MPH” finds the Blog Era Boyz trying to “rock out like it’s heavy metal” over this generically atmospheric beat until “fill my pockets” ruins a sample of “Scar Tissue” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers to end the 1st half.

Kicking off the 2nd leg, “girl next door” comes through with this corny pop rap anthem sampling “KKMJ” by Sweet Trip just before “stoned” produced by FNZ & Jim Jonsin sings & raps about smoking weed. “passport” finds the 2 moderately going back-&-forth with each other doing it better than “fill my pockets” but after “grind everyday” talks about hustling daily over a Sledgren beat, “fiberglass” finishes with both members addressing those who ain’t on their side.

I tend to look back at the blog era very fondly since I was an adolescence during that timeframe, but MGK & Wiz Khalifa aren’t necessarily the first people who come to mind when I think of that specific period. Maybe to some it’ll make better sense as to why they formed the Blog Era Boyz since both of them came up primarily rooted in the pop rap style, except I can actually take Wiz seriously unlike MGK & would call it almost as bad as genre: sadboy.

Score: 1.5/5

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BNYX – “Genesis FM” review

This is the full-length studio debut from Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania producer, songwriter & occasional rapper BNYX. Mentored by Jean Baptiste & later joining the Working on Dying production team known for pioneering tread music, he’s also known for being an extensive collaborator of Yeat, signing to the latter’s Lyfestyle Corporation imprint under Field Trip Recordings & Capitol Records distributed by Universal Music Group. His debut extended play Loading… made for a decent prelude & Genesis FM has arrived 7 months afterwards.

After the titular intro, “HunchO Step!” by Quavo begins with what I consider to be one of the stronger singles getting all the baddies to dance whereas “squEEze !i” by Lancey Foux was another track I enjoyed from the instrumental to the lyrics about being on go. “luv yoU right” by Chromeo stylistically shifts gears so the latter can confess to meeting their match just before “what’s happenin?” by Ledbyher talks about being with a woman thicker than his accent at the end who loves fake acting.

“Telepathy Love” by Clara La San goes for a poppier R&B sound so she can describe a relationship that feels rather psychic leading into “Fuëgo” by Peso Pluma & Yeat reaching the halfway point for a bilingual anthem about going loose off the alcohol. “OVERLOADDD” gets the 2nd leg of Genesis FM going on a more compositional note embracing an EDM sound while “I wanna know :)” by Big Sean & Clara La San links up for a pop rap duet where they’re trying to hear the truth.

Alt-pop, Atlanta bass, synthpop, electro, alternative R&B & indietronica all collide on another highlight single “Everywhere I Go (Remind Me)” by KiD CuDi interpolating the Röyksopp track “Remind Me” while “Science” by Nippa sings about his lover’s being a test subject for analyzation. “FANatic” by Beau Nox expresses a desire to touch the sights that’ve been speaking out & once “Fallen” by Don Toliver sings about falling for someone, “Time’s Slipping Away” by Anatole Muster bittersweetly ends yearning for 1 more day with this person.

I went into Genesis FM expecting to enjoy it more than Loading… because I adamantly believe BNYX is one of the greatest mainstream producers of this decade & as much as it pains to me say it, his debut album isn’t much better in terms of consistency. Happy an instrumental version happened since the pop rap, electropop, alt-pop, alternative R&B, electro hop, EDM trap, freestyle, indietronica, Atlanta bass & synthpop production is magnificent. However, the guest list once more feels hit or miss.

Score: 3/5

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Drake – “Habibti” review

Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake going solo for the first time in 3 years with his 9th studio LP. Skyrocketing to fame in 2009 off his 3rd mixtape So Far Gone, the success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records & they helped put out the man’s underrated full-length debut Thank Me Later the next summer. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall, More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic, his YM/CM swan song Scorpion was a disappointingly failed attempt at making a double disc album showcasing the hip hop/R&B sides of the OVO Sound founder’s music respectively, Care Package is decent collection of 17 loosies from 2010-2016 that we’ve all heard before, Dark Lane Demo Tapes tried to experiment with new sounds only to miss the landing & Certified Lover Boy just felt like the same old shit we’ve heard from him before. Honestly, Nevermind was basically Drake’s own version of Renaissance by foraying into house music a month ahead to mixed reception until Her Loss with 21 Savage was a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. For All the Dogs was the most I’ve enjoyed Drake’s music since If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR last Valentine’s Day would become his worst collaborative project yet, coming off getting destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in a rap beef to drop Habibti, Maid of Honour & Iceman.

The “Rusty” intro awfully begins with him singing over some acoustics for 62 seconds sending a message to the sweethearts & those he’s dated whereas “WNBA” produced by Gordo mediocrely details a long-distance relationship that’s effected by travel. “Slap the City” might be my favorite track here from the Noel Cadastre beat to Drizzy’s hedonistic lyrics, but then “High 5s” finds himself getting in his petty bag over a 40 instrumental.

“Hurrr Nor Thurrr” featuring Sexyy Red could be my 2nd least favorite track here because of the way they describe an addictively messy relationship ruining a sample of “MORAL” by Avenoir, but “I’m Spent” featuring Loe Shimmy tops it as the worst song here wasting a moody beat to talk about both emotional instability & luxury. “Classic” continues with this grating alternative R&B ballad encouraging a woman to leave the man she’s with until the minimally cold “Gen 5” makes a tacky statement regarding him getting a Glock for last Christmas.

The song “White Bone” was another moment that I was fine with instrumentally even if Drake ruins it by singing about a relationship on the verge of collapsing that he thinks is a real connection while “Fortsworth” featuring PARTYNEXTDOOR feels like an $$$4U leftover from the slow beat to them singing about being with long-distance partners. “Prioritizing” finally ends Habibti attempting to strip his confidence & replace it with the feeling of uncertainty.

Some people would say either Honestly, Nevermind or Certified Lover Boy are Drake’s worst solo efforts, but I feel like he managed to outdo both of those & have Habibti take the cake. It’s more on the R&B side of things stylistically compared to Maid of Honour & Iceman although the production’s decent explorations of alternative R&B, pop rap, trap soul, downtempo, contemporary R&B & pop rap are ruined by the songwriting.

Score: 1/5

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Drake – “Maid of Honour” review

Continuing our coverage of Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake with his 10th LP. Skyrocketing to fame in 2009 off his 3rd mixtape So Far Gone, the success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records & they helped put out the man’s underrated full-length debut Thank Me Later the next summer. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall, More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic, his YM/CM swan song Scorpion was a disappointingly failed attempt at making a double disc album showcasing the hip hop/R&B sides of the OVO Sound founder’s music respectively, Care Package is decent collection of 17 loosies from 2010-2016 that we’ve all heard before, Dark Lane Demo Tapes tried to experiment with new sounds only to miss the landing & Certified Lover Boy just felt like the same old shit we’ve heard from him before. Honestly, Nevermind was basically Drake’s own version of Renaissance by foraying into house music a month ahead to mixed reception until Her Loss with 21 Savage was a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. For All the Dogs was the most I’ve enjoyed Drake’s music since If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR last Valentine’s Day would become his worst collaborative project yet, coming off getting destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in a rap beef to drop Habibti, Maid of Honour & Iceman.

“Hoe Phase” begins with a club-inspired intro reminiscent of Honestly, Nevermind butchering a sample of “It’s Like That” by Run-D.M.C. whereas “Road Trips” goes for more of an R&B vibe singing about relationships falling apart. Stunna Sandy helps him take it back to 2016 during “Outside Tweaking” with the dancehall beat & “Cheetah Print” featuring Sexyy Red could not only be the worst track here, but also one of the worst songs Drake has ever career sampling “(It Goes Like) Nanana” by Peggy Gou

Central C appears on the tiring pop rap, dancehall, hip house, funk brasileiro, zess & dembow single “Which 1?” asking if one wants success or friends leading into “Amazing Shape” featuring Popcaan turns up the dancehall influences to describe women who’re built like an hourglass. “BBW” reaches the halfway point with a body positivity anthem that feels subpar until “True Bestie” samples “PSA” by Iconic Savvy to break down the chemistry between him & women when he’s out.

After the “Where’s Your Stuff?” interlude, “New Bestie” delivers a boring dancehall 2-parter expressing his gratitude towards Vybz Kartel while “Q&A” feels an egotistically insecure breakdown on wax. “Stuck” produced by Gordo & Internet Money Records in-house producer Nico Baran talking about taking Pamelor because of a breakup but once “Goose & the Juice” makes himself an escape route for someone trapped in a stagnant long-term relationship, “Princess” experiments with pop punk undertones for an underwhelming outro.

Thankfully this bridging entry of Drake’s trilogy Habibti began & Iceman concludes is the 2nd & last installment that I can say I flat out didn’t like even if Maid of Honour’s only a slight cut above the predecessor. The pop rap, dance, hip house, miami bass, electro, jersey club rap, dancehall, contemporary R&B & afrobeats production makes it feel like a cross between Views & Honestly, Nevermind except both of those are more tolerable even if they’re not necessarily great either.

Score: 1.5/5

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Drake – “Iceman” review

And finally there’s the Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake’s 11th LP & subsequently his last for Republic Records. Skyrocketing to fame in 2009 off his 3rd mixtape So Far Gone, the success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records & they helped put out the man’s underrated full-length debut Thank Me Later the next summer. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall, More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic, his YM/CM swan song Scorpion was a disappointingly failed attempt at making a double disc album showcasing the hip hop/R&B sides of the OVO Sound founder’s music respectively, Care Package is decent collection of 17 loosies from 2010-2016 that we’ve all heard before, Dark Lane Demo Tapes tried to experiment with new sounds only to miss the landing & Certified Lover Boy just felt like the same old shit we’ve heard from him before. Honestly, Nevermind was basically Drake’s own version of Renaissance by foraying into house music a month ahead to mixed reception until Her Loss with 21 Savage was a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. For All the Dogs was the most I’ve enjoyed Drake’s music since If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & $ome $exy $ongs 4 U with PARTYNEXTDOOR last Valentine’s Day would become his worst collaborative project yet, coming off getting destroyed by Kendrick Lamar in a rap beef to drop Habibti, Maid of Honour & Iceman.

“Make Them Cry” begins with a sample “The pressure is on me.” by Muchi to talk about his father Dennis battling cancer & some questioning the sincerity of that when he’s now cancer free whereas “Dust” takes a jab at Kendrick claiming that he doesn’t remember a word of his raps when it’s a lie. “Whisper My Name” disses JAY-Z stating he’d take the $500K instead of having dinner with him prior to “Janice STFU” dissing Hov once more over FNZ & Rogét Chahayed sampling “I Follow Rivers” by Lykke Li that was later remixed.

Future & Molly Santana appear on the 2-parter “Ran to Atlanta” that Dez Wright, !llmind, Southside & Wheezy all cooked up making a self-aware nod to “Not Like Us” just before “Shabang” produced by 40 talks about the aftermath of the Kendrick beef. “Make Them Pay” works in an ovrkast. instrumental I really found myself enjoying until he disses J. Cole, Rick Ross, DJ Khaled & Pharrell but then “Burning Bridges” splits itself in halves to take a jab at A$AP Rocky reusing a “back to back” line for some odd reason.

“National Treasures” concludes the 1st half of Iceman with another 2-parter that Boi-1da & Internet Money Records in-house producer Nico Baran both put together attacking LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan, James Harden & Russell Westbrook for attending the Pop Out show on Juneteenth 2024 while “B’s on the Table” talks about his ongoing Universal Music Group lawsuit. “What Did I Miss?” however began the whole rollout dissing DeMar & LeBron once more over a cloud trap beat from Tay Keith.

Meanwhile on “Plot Twist”, we have Drake over an instrumental Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group co-produced representing OVO & rebutting “Not Like Us” while “2 Hard for the Radio” basically pokes fun at “Not Like Us” even harder with it’s Bay Area sound & includes a DJ Mustard diss. “Make Them Remember” throws jabs at Kendrick, Cole, Dr. Dre & Joe Budden over a Boi-1da beat while “Little Birdie” talks about the aftermath of the Kendrick beef again.

“Don’t Worry” at last nears the conclusion of Iceman taking an alternative R&B approach courtesy of Sledgren interestingly pleading for his partner to come have the best time on the bedside while “Firm Friends” contains one of my favorite instrumentals thanks to Conductor Williams, only for Drizzy to hit us with more bars about the Kendrick beef & UMG CEO Lucian Grainge. The closing track “Make Them Know” spends the last 4 minutes admitting that the 4th of July in 2024 when the “Not Like Us” video premiered was the worst he felt in a minute.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to everyone that Habibti & Maid of Honour were passionlessly rushed throughout the Iceman sessions because Drake wanted to get out of his Republic contract, but the final installment of the trilogy was actually my favorite of them all even if it’s average at best. Aside from the alternative R&B joint, the production carries over the trappy pop rap/chipmunk soul ideas For All the Dogs had contrasting the R&B & dancehall/EDM influences of Habibti & Maid of Honour although the victim raps ruin it.

Score: 2.5/5

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Trap Dickey – “The Ville” review

Hartsville, South Carolina rapper Trap Dickey making his Top Dawg Entertainment debut by dropping a brand new mixtape a month after signing. Carving a path for himself artistically after getting shot in the face as a result of a crossfire, his full-length debut Trap or Die would eventually arrive in the spring of 2021 & he has since spent the last several years building up anticipation for The Ville through numerous teasers. However in light his new deal, he’s ready to make a broader introduction under a major label.

“Sonny” produced by Sonny Digital was actually an impressive southern trap intro talking about him always looking up to the dealers whenever he watched gangsta movies whereas “Slidin’” mixes a guitar & some hi-hats to spit that g shit. “Jacker” brings a more energetic vibe to the table asking this woman if she’s ever fucked with a gang member until the 5th single “Don’t Trip” explains the reason a lot of rappers leave their hood is because they really don’t run the city.

As for the 7th & final single “Tell Me Why”, we have Trap Dickey confronting someone regarding the purpose of them fucking with him & the 6th single “Down South” featuring Key Glock was quite possibly my favorite of the bunch from FNZ sampling “Darkest Light” by the Lafayette Afro Rock Band to both artists calling to stop hatin’ on the wrong hitters. “Keep Going” featuring K Camp was a mediocre way to conclude the 1st half despite the messaging just before the 2nd single “No Love” featuring BigXthaPlug flips “Nothing But Love” from The 5 Heartbeats for a moderate gangsta rap cut.

“Blue Devils” featuring DaBaby on the remix trades verses with each other representing both Carolinas for the lead single while “LA Nights” samples “Island in the Sun” by Weezer to talk about spending evenings out in the west coast. The 3rd single “Gettin’ Money” featuring OJ da Juiceman has some cool strings & bells even if the “this shit gon’ stay on me like babies, please don’t pamper me” line was a bit trite while “Morning” samples “Easy” by the Commodores to provide some introspection.

YTB Fatt makes an appearance on the gospel trap crossover “Glory” referring themselves to be the big dog rookies of the year despite the fact that neither one of them are beginners while the 4th single “Day Shift” fuses a bluesy guitar & hi-hats talking about putting on for everything that’s in the streets along with no longer being a hitter due to the money that’s on his head. “New Philly” ties up the last few minutes of The Ville with a passionately drumless outro.

There are only a select few artists on the TDE roster that I would have to put in the C tier like Lance Skiiiwalker & Zacari, but you could add Trap Dickey to that same category considering that a great deal of The Ville was mediocre to me personally. Even if the guest list & production both falter at times, I can totally understand why Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith signed him because his whole style’s like a preacher’s grandson speaking directly to the audience.

Score: 2.5/5

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PlaqueBoyMax – “Crash Dummy” review

West Orange, New Jersey recording artist, producer, audio engineer, media personality & streamer PlaqueBoyMax is back with his 6th extended play. Catching on to him at the beginning of the year after calling out DJ Akademiks for being a child groomer, he has since stayed busy by churning out 5 EPs in the quick amount of time he’s been in the spotlight signing with Field Trip Recordings & Capitol Records. 5 Forever almost last year wasted some genuinely solid production on Max’s weakly performed raps. The same can be said regarding Too Much Music, which didn’t raise my anticipation for Crash Dummy.

“Bussin’” made for an underwhelming intro talking about not needing any handouts whereas “Elastiboy” explains the new nickname he gave himself now that he’s got all these bands on him. “Break the Bank” reaches the halfway point redundantly talking about his wealth while “Get Off Me” tells a bitch to hop off his dick. “Different Bag” hilariously talks about being in a whole other category than everyone else & “Bad Bitch Addiction” produced by Internet Money Records in-house producer Rio Leyva details his obsession for baddies.

Since we got Too Much Music this past winter, PlaqueBoyMax has already comforted that he’s in the midst of working on his full-length debut Prince & an entire body of work fully produced by Metro Boomin’ afterwards. There’s only a few problems with that however: His rapping hasn’t improved at all compared to 5 Forever almost a year earlier or Crash Dummy’s predecessor 5 months ago despite his production choices & Atlanta proving himself to be better at curating.

Score: 2/5

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Nettspend – “him” review

Richmond, Virginia rapper & songwriter Nettspend surprise-releasing his 2nd mixtape on his SoundCloud. Blowing up in 2023 off his debut EP Kickdoor, he would also team up with Hooligan Lou for the poorly received collab EP 3rd Knock preceding him signing to Grade A Productions & Interscope Records a few months afterwards. His debut mixtape Badass Fucking Kid was welcomed to divisive feedback although I personally enjoyed it more than Kickdoor or Nettgenes’ eponymous debut EP. Coming off the introspective Early Life Crisis a couple months ago, him looks to prepare us for the next era.

“kriss kross” opens up with him talking about not having any friends & for his sidekick to slide back over a rage beat whereas “sumthin’ different” describes him taking 10s all day to the point where he feels like he’s spinnin’. “medicine taste like shit” produced by che sticks out amongst my personal favorites on the tape detailing his dislike of fentanyl & cocaine until “strong” samples “hey, hello” encouraging this person to take hard-hitting drugs with him over yet another hypertrap instrumental.

We get a cross between plugg & cloud rap on “bliss” suggesting the problem between him & this woman was him waking up & asking her which drugs he should take prior to “change on me” bringing the rage beats back into the picture talking about having the ability to steal hoes before becoming famous. “goin’ dumb” embraces a more prominent digicore sound discussing all the hoes knowing exactly how hard he’s been going while “team x” shifts towards a pluggier direction again getting on his gangsta shit.

“high off life” contains one of my favorite hypertrap instrumentals on the tape courtesy of gyro advising for this individual to never hit up his line again going forward & if I had to pick a least favorite track, “breesh breesh” takes the cake talking about having guns & drugs inside his bag. “$ MF” blends cloud rap & plugg again moderately flexing his cash flow while “H.Y.W.D.S. (How You Wanna Do Shit)?” goes full Chicago drill to talk about having no time for the power.

The rage lets itself loose once more during “young ho” detailing him being at the point in his life where he’s used to hearing gunfire & what he refers himself to be instead of an O.G. while the Early Life Crisis outtake “pocket bag” incorporates some jerk undertones confessing that he isn’t playing for keeps. “killin’” emphasizes the jerk influences with a bit of a plugg twist talking about being a real villain while “sallys” cooks up another outstanding hypertrap instrumental from CXO shouting out the place he dyes his hair.

“problems” spends almost a couple minutes colliding cloud rap cautioning for everyone near him not to test your luck since he has the ability to leave muhfuckas dead but after ”Snapchat” swaps out the cloudier elements in favor of standard trap music talking about women sending him nudes through the social media app itself, “sonder” experiments with mixing characteristics of emo rap & jerk asking if the chick he’s addressing meant what she said.

The last 3 songs all have their own rage-inducing auras to them, except “10k ona dogg” talks about his savagery & making out of the rap shit off the rap shit itself while “beep beep” calls out the crowd of individuals who stay envious of him experiencing the lifestyles of the rich & famous from his Range Rover to his fit. “shootin’” finishes him by posing the question of why things have gotten worse for him in the midst of trying to find a way out of this dead end while “fuck tsa” starts the deluxe run dissing the TSA over a jerk beat.

“mona lisa” talks about having bitches who’re works of art the way he see thems & money making their worlds spin while “u not a demon” calls back to both “plan b” & “paris hilton” off the last album. “forever never” might be my favorite bonus track of them all talking about his plans of replacing everything that’s was built & ironically, the weakest of the bunch “maybach” reserve my least favorite for last bulletproofing his luxury car in case he runs into some haters.

Wasn’t anticipating Nettspend to drop again so soon, but I suppose it makes up for the delays Early Life Crisis faced taking a couple leftovers from those sessions & throwing some unreleased material in there ahead of his upcoming sophomore effort Slut vindicating why he’s been him. I’d even put him above 2slimey when it comes to that experimental rage style & there’s more variety between jerk, trap, cloud rap, plugg, digicore, Chicago drill & emo rap than the hardcore/pop raps of his debut.

Score: 3.5/5

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BabyBartier – “Nightmare on Rodeo” review

Here is the full-length studio debut from Los Angeles, California rapper BabyBartier. Emerging off his debut EP Baby Blanco a year ago followed by Diablo a little over a month later, his popularity would continue to grow over the course of the summer after Awe$ome & Terror respectively became most most acclaimed extended plays. Now that he’s signed a joint deal Internet Money Records alongside Mercury Records & Republic Records, it only makes sense for the Nightmare on Rodeo to officially commence now that he’s under a major label.

“Lean Crazy” get things going with the 2nd & final single looking to party like it’s Project X daily over a plugg instrumental while “Forgiveness” talks about winning the world inside his hands & the chopper loading up. “Scene” looks back at going from being in the battlefield sending shot to having the scars to prove it until “Red Dead” produced by Rio Leyva cautions that people better duck the second his squad rolls past your hood.

NASH gets behind the boards for “Flexin’”, continuing the plugg vibes so he can talk about his girl bringing a TEC to the club just before “I Know It’s Coming” speaks of not falling in love because he can’t trust no hoe. “Cash Out” pushes further towards the halfway point talking about poppin’ tags & taking the swag up on his bitch just before “Poppin’” works in a chill beat from Vendr to boast that he’s high enough to hang with the Gods.

“Basic” kicks off the 2nd half incorporating some wavy synthesizers pullin’ up to the function under the influence of ecstasy while the lead single “Each of My Pockets” talks about putting on the swag for his people & carrying a bunch of blue Benjamin Franklins on him. “Tomato” keeps it rollin’ by rubbing his success in the faces of those who didn’t think he’d make it this far over a Cade instrumental while “Cali Dreamin’” talks about making a crowd of thots lose their shit over him performing.

Rounding out 3rd, we have him clarifying that Bartier’s had swag since he was in “High School” prior to “Latest” talking about the way he’s been living since last summer. “Dirty Sprite” comes through with a brief dedication to sippin’ lean & after “Hancock” likens himself to the main character of the 2008 superhero film of the same name written by the creator of Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul, the outro “B4 I Die” ends the LP talking about running up more bags.

I kinda had a feeling that BabyBartier was gonna sign to Internet Money Records given their heavy involvement on the instrumental side of Terror last fall, but Nightmare on Rodeo instead became an average major label debut containing more highs than lows that I firmly believe he can outdo whenever the time for his sophomore effort comes. Even if the production doesn’t interest me like his last EP did & most of the songs are under 2 minutes, that same hunger still translates itself exceptionally.

Score: 3/5

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