KiD CuDi – “INSANO” review

Cleveland rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, actor, fashion designer, model, director & filmmaker KiD CuDi really getting New Music Fridays for 2024 rolling by putting out his 9th full-length solo LP. Blowing up in 2008 off his debut mixtape A KiD Named CuDi as well as his songwriting credits on his mentor Kanye West’s 4th album 808s & Heartbreak, his profile from there would increasingly grow off his groundbreaking debut & sophomore albums Man on the Moon: The End of the Day& Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. But following the self-produced & overlooked Indicud, CuDi would leave G.O.O.D. Music amicably to form his own Republic Records imprint Wicked Awesome Records. Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon though was mediocre at best & who could forget when CuDi attempted to go alt-rock on the critically panned Speedin’ Bullet 2 Heaven? Luckily he would redeem himself on his next effort Pain & Demon Slayin’in 2016 along with the self-titled album from him & Ye as the duo KIDS SEE GHOSTScouple summers later & even Man on the Moon III: The Chosen the day after my 24th birthday despite it’s blatantly heavy Travis Scott influence. At the beginning of 2022 though, Kanye announced that CuDi wouldn’t be on the unfinished DONDA 2 due to the latter’s friendship with Skete because he was dating Ye’s hobbit ex-wife at the time & ultimately resulted in a falling out between the mentor/protege duo that always brought the best out of one another. He stormed off stage at Rolling Loud later that same year because ignorant hecklers were throwing shit at him while performing & now Mike Dean announcing on Twitter that CuDi booted him off the inaugural Moon Man’s Landing festival that just went down earlier this month due to his longstanding ties as Kanye’s engineer. Shortly after, KiD CuDi would release his previous LP Entergalactic to mixed reviews although I appreciate how he took it back to his roots on there musically. But now only a month after making amends with Ye once more, CuDi’s finally going INSANO to sign off on his longstanding Republic deal.

“Often, I Have These Dreams” begins by assuring God has your back “when there’s a punk motherfucker tryin’ to bring you down when they see you shinin’” accompanied by a psychedelic instrumental from Mike Zombie whereas “Keep Bouncin’” produced by Honorable C.N.O.T.E. goes for a electro-trap vibe encouraging everyone to bounce to this shit. “Get Off Me” by The Scotts talks about being fresher than everyone else over horns & hi-hats, but then “Most Ain’t Dennis” balances trap & rage thanks to BNYX of Working in Dying alongside his mentor Jean Baptiste & FNZ showing off a more carefree attitude giving a nod to his manager Dennis Cummings.

A$AP Rocky joins CuDi for the trippy “Wow” explaining that life is amazing for them these days as they put a blunt up in the air & that everything will only get better from hereon out just before “Electrowavebaby” sings over a synth-funk beat sampling “All That She Wants” by Ace of Base about if anyone’s here with no issues & wanting a superstar to come fly with him. “A Tale of a Knight” however brings listeners into his life with a vibrant ass trap instrumental that Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group co-produced backing him leading into the mind-altering “CuD Life” with Keyon Christ providing co-production referring himself as the king of Rager Town.

“Too Damn High” featuring Lil Yachty embraces the rage beats even further as both of them look to get fucked up while “Getcha Gone” goes for a cloudier trap groove working all night long. The Scotts link back up 1 last time for the album’s final single “At the Party” getting live over a synthwave instrumental from Pharrell whose hook admittedly could’ve been performed a little better while “Mr. Coola” hooks up an airy backdrop & hi-hats dropping braggadocio.

Meanwhile, “Freshie” gives off a murky atmosphere with the help of CuDi’s longtime collaborator & WZRD cohort Dot da Genius joined by Plain Pat saying you can’t tell him shit whenever he pops up in the room while “Tortured” asks God to help him over a quirky trap beat from WondaGurl & Cubeatz. “X & CuD” heavily flips “Orlando” by the late XXXTENTACION underwhemingly explaining that he was born to be a grinder & that he’s doing it ill while “7” featuring Lil Wayne talking about being in heavy over more cloudy trap production cooked up by Clams Casino & Take a Daytrip.

“Funky Wizard Smoke” shouts out everyone who got that swish & some bread over an incredibly groovy instrumental while the acoustic trap-flavored “Rager Boyz” featuring Young Thug gives a middle finger to the law. “Porsche Topless” was a fun choice of a lead single & I still maintain that it’s a summertime bop even though people ripped on it at first while the warm “Blue Sky” produced by CuDi himself alongside Yachty & Sadpony goes on a quest to grind. “Hit the Streetz in My Nikes” ends CuDi’s final Republic offering groovily talking about being too cold.

I know people turned their backs on CuDi when he & Kanye were beefing for the 2nd time, but I’ve always stood by both artists throughout their careers as they’ve always brought the best out of one another & I’m more than glad they squashed it again. As for INSANO, it lived up to my expectations of being superior to Entergalactic. The production is a mixture of old & new sounds, it has a stronger feature list & CuDi is giving a toast to the ones living their best life not giving a fuck about what anyone thinks or has to say.

Score: 3.5/5

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Bas – “We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re Fucked Up” review

Bas is a 36 year old Sudanese-American rapper & songwriter born in Paris, France & raised in Queens, New York who emerged in 2011 by putting out his debut mixtape Quarter Water Raised Me. The 2013 sequel Quarter Water Raised Me 2 would catch the attention of J. Cole, who shortly after helped Bas become the 2nd act after Omen other than Cole himself to sign to his Interscope Recordsimprint Dreamville Records. He would introduce himself more to the Dreamville fans the next spring on the moderately received full-length debut Last Winter & the sophomore effort Too High to Riot couple years later won them over, as it’s still the most critically acclaimed body of work in Bas’ discography to date. His previous LP Milky Way in 2018 was also treated to mild reception as were the couple of EPs that he’s given us since then Spilled Milk & [BUMP] Pick Me Up, but the highlights on those last few projects had me holding out hope that Bas would reach the heights that Too High to Riot did once again.

“Light of My Soul” starts the LP with a drumless loop from Boi-1da sampling “We’ve Got a Way Out Love” by The Originals confessing that he has a problem makin’ other people’s problems his own whereas “Black Jedi” likens himself to Mace Windu shifting gears with it’s trap instrumental. “Choppas” talks about going round like the helicopter working in a cloudy backdrop & hi-hats just before “Home Alone” featuring J. Cole produced by T-Minus & Cubeatz serves as a vibrant dedication to the people that switched up on them, the women they miss, the ones they I love, the ones that stayed & the seeds that we growin’ although Bas feels like he’s been featured on his own track.

Meanwhile, “Risk” takes a smoother approach sonically detailing a relationship with a woman in which he took a risk with because she was almost too perfect at first until distancing herself from him leading into “Decent” featuring Amaarae talking about being 100% the same as they were when they started over a spacious trap beat. “Ho Chi Minh” gives a look at Bas’ emotional & mental state as well as his experience with substance abuse over a solemn instrumental, but then “179 Deli” featuring AJ Tracey dabbles with the UK drill sound a bit telling y’all to stay with them for the ride.

Cole returns on “Passport Bros.” for a mediocre pop rap/dancehall fusion with some afrobeats undertones & I say it’s mediocre because my biggest problem with it personally is that both of Bas’ verses feel underwritten although I’ll still take it over “Testify” featuring Sha Sha since it continues to expand on that dancehall vibe singing that they’re gonna “fuck each other right”. The atmospheric “U-Turn” featuring A$AP Ferg & Blxckie breaks down a woman who had them running back with Ferg having the better of the 2 guest performances prior to the final J. Cole appearance on the album “Papers Cuts” groovily asking if you dumb.

“Diamonds” looks to take a leap as artist have to continually explore & give more of themselves to feed the insatiable appetite of the audience on top of some summery acoustic passages while “Yao Ming” boasts that he got racks as tall as the iconic Houston Rockets player of the same name over soulful background vocals. The song “Dr. O’blivion” is more stripped-back thanks to Cole himself explaining that “she don’t want none of the madness you come with” while the penultimate track “Khartoum” is a powerful ballad about the ongoing war in Sudan featuring Adekunle Gold on the hook. “Wait on Me” ends the LP on a melodic note singing that he loves the moments you spending with him.

I remember upsetting a couple Dreamville fans after the Milky Way review because I still believe it’s the most commercial body of work I’ve heard from Bas, but We Only Talk About Real Shit When We’re Fucked Up happens to be the most I’ve enjoyed a project from the guy in about 7 & a half year. Those pop rap/trap elements from that previous album make their way over here once more except this time, he’s mixing them with some new sounds that he’s trying out like dancehall or afrobeats.

Score: 3.5/5

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ColleGrove – “Welcome 2 ColleGrove” review

ColleGrove is a southern hip hop duo consisting of Atlanta, Georgia rapper & songwriter 2 Chainz as well as New Orleans, Louisiana emcee, singer/songwriter, record executive & entrepreneur Lil Wayne. Both of whom have known each other since Tity Boi was Weezy’s weedman, which lead to Wayne appearing on the Playaz Circle’s debut album Supply & Demand and the rest is history. They eventually formed ColleGrove in 2016 & put out a decent eponymous debut album that same year, but was credited as a 2 Chainz solo effort due to Tunechi’s issues with Cash Money Records at the time. So it makes absolute sense to me for ColleGrove to put out a sophomore effort & be properly credited as a duo.

After the titular intro, the first song “G6” starts off the 2nd LP with an underwhelming trap instrumental despite the lyrics justifiably boasting themselves as the realest ones here whereas “Big Diamonds” featuring 21 Savage picks things up from the ratchet Mannie Fresh beat to the subject matter about being big dogs. “Presha” works in some whistling & hi-hats courtesy of Bangladesh looking to apply pressure of course, but then “Long Story Short” has a more soulful flare thanks to Big K.R.I.T. admitting this life they live are gonna be the death of them.

After the “Duffel Bag Boys” interlude, the horns from Apex Martin & Mike Dean on the official theme song for the WME Group-owned TKO Group Holdings division WWE’s developmental NXT brand “Millions from Now” are pretty fun talking about not remembering certain people once they become rich leading into the mediocre “Crazy Thick” jumping over a bass-heavy instrumental talking about thick women. “Transparency” strips the drums completely in favor of synths provided by Hitmaka seeking clarity just before “Significant Other” produced by Honorable C.N.O.T.E. & 30 Roc is a 2-parter that’s pretty much ColleGrove’s equivalent to “Life is Good” by Future & Drake except better.

After the “Ladies Man” interlude, “P.P.A. (Pretty Pussy Award)” featuring Fabolous has this sweet vocal sample chop throughout as the trio tell the special women in their life exactly what they deserve while “Oprah & Gayle” featuring Benny the Butcher moves on from the romantic themes in favor of dropping nothing but bars for 5 minutes over an exuberant DJ Toomp beat. Havoc’s sampling throughout “Shame” is absolutely crazy promising to leave your homies’ brains on you that is until “Bars” ruggedly talks about the disease they have.

After the “No Fent” interlude, “Godzilla” featuring Vory asks what’s a gorilla to the titular kaiju with the hi-hats being added after Vory’s sung-verse while “Crown Snatcher” talks about being exactly that over an explosive Murda Beatz instrumental. “Can’t Believe You featuring Rick Ross tackles the theme of untrustworthiness on top of a soulful STREETRUNNER beat & after the “Never Was Lost” interlude, the Dem Jointz-lazed closer “Moonlight” profoundly asks why we don’t run away referencing Mayweather Promotions founder Floyd Mayweather.

Truthfully: I had put ColleGrove eponymous debut on one my top 10 worst albums of 2016 list and it hasn’t grown on me a little bit over the course of the past 7 years since, but Welcome 2 ColleGrove is way more cohesive than the predecessor. The production’s tighter, you get a better look at their chemistry since the original had 2 Chainz solo joints on there & the features all give solid performances along the way.

Score: 4/5

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Drake – “For All the Dogs” review

This is the 8th full-length album from Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor, producer & entrepreneur Drake. 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 his hip hop/R&B sides of his 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 the Her Loss collab album with 21 Savage easily became the best thing he’s done in 8 years & that’s a 6/10 at best because 21 felt like a featured artist on there. So considering that, I went into For All the Dogs expecting something interesting. Especially since he said he was going to throw it back to his roots musically.

“Virginia Beach” begins it all with 40 sampling “Wiseman” by Frank Ocean accompanied by some hi-hats dedicating this to everyone from the titular city in Virginia whereas “Amen” featuring Teezo Touchdown is a piano/trap hybrid that Budgie hooked up with both of them talking about gratefulness. “Calling You” with an underwhelming 21 Savage feature & co-production from Cash Cobain starts off by layering an electro loop over hi-hats until a soulful switch-up needing to be held until the inevitable, but then the synth-laced “Fear of Heights” produced by BNYX of Working on Dying, Pooh Beatz & xynothing makes various references to travelling abroad.

Meanwhile, “Daylight” with Adonis goes for a shimmery trap vibe courtesy of Southside & Smatt Sertified talking about shooting them in broad day leading into “First Person Shooter” starting off with a slowed down sample prior to a heavenly beat switch with co-production from Boi-1da, FNZ, Tay Keith & Vinylz comparing this to the Super Bowl as J. Cole delivers one of the best features on the LP making this the first time the 6 God & the King of Dreamville have crossed paths in about a decade. Yeat’s verse on “IDGAF” has to be another standout guest appearance as he & Drizzy join forces over a rage beat talking about their nonchalant-like personalities.

“7969 Santa” primarily has a woozier vibe to it instrumentally referencing a Delilah restaurant located out in Santa Monica Boulevard looking to get someone off his mind while “Slime You Out” featuring SZA is a disappointingly mediocre alternative R&B duet basically saying they slimin’ each other for them kid choices they made as corny as it sounds. After the superiorly chilled out R&B-inflicted “Bahamas Promises” reflecting on a troubled relationship, the wavy “Tried Our Best” talks about treating this woman right & has been growing on me over the last couple months that is until the mid atmospheric trap 2-parter “Drew a Picasso” right after another interlude “Screw the World” paying homage to DJ Screw telling this chick she ain’t gon’ find no one better & possibly making it work again.

PARTYNEXTDOOR’s chemistry with his mentor shown on the minimally moody “Members Only” is pretty tight saying these bitches are too down with the gangy even though lines like “Feel like I’m bi ’cause you’re one of the guys, girl” are total cringe while “What Would Pluto Do?” subliminally disses Future over a piano/trap beat. “All the Parties” is an airy 2-parter with reflecting on his success, distance from others in the music industry & paints a vivid image of his fortune & close-knit crew until Conductor Williams gives “8am in Charlotte” a dustier edge rapping his ass off for 4 & a half minutes. I seriously don’t even care about the supposed Ye diss either.

“BBL Love” strips the drums completely tackily comparing love to a Brazilian Butt Lift in the sense that “you won’t know if it’s real until you feel one” making it the worst song on the album ironically right after the best while “Gently” featuring Bad Bunny goes into Latin trap turf with the help of Gordo talking about living like The Sopranos from the Warner Bros.-owned HBO which is one of my top 3 shows of all-time behind Better Call Saul & Breaking Bad on amc respectively. However, I don’t see myself listening to it ever again. “Rich Baby Daddy” featuring Sexyy Red mixes elements of Jersey Club with trap providing a decent anthem for the strip clubs while “Another Late Night” featuring Lil Yachty picks up the pace fusing pop rap & rage chilling with women during the evening & Drake fuckin’ FINALLY addressing the rumors about him with Millie Bobby Brown.

As we continue to the encore of the album, the penultimate track “Away from Home” confesses that it doesn’t feel like a home to him anymore more rather just simply wall, doors & floors that only he can afford & lastly “Polar Opposites” ties up this 23 song album clocking in at 85 minutes in the form of an average spacey slow jam singing about how immature it is for Mariana to block him on everything in an unprovoked manner without exactly knowing why whatsoever. As he had legitimately plans to understand her a bit more, but obviously that’s not going to happen anymore because she broke his faith.

Now the Scary Hours deluxe version of this album contains 6 new bonus cuts & I’ll go over them right now. “Red Button” produced by ovrkast. & Lil Yachty starts off the deluxe run shouting out Taylor Swift, mentioning his truce with Kanye West & promising to find out wherever his opposition is celebratin’ to see who really crazy & after “Stories About My Brother” goes into jazzy boom bap territory with the help of Conductor calling this “the storm before the calm, we’ll get to the vacation later” including a Joe Budden diss, “The Shoe Fits” works in a woodwind addressing the ladies wonderin’ why Drake can’t rap like the same old guy answering he doesn’t know how anymore.

“Wick Man” has to be my favorite bonus track of the 6-pack comparing himself to John Wick & starting off by taking a laughable jab at Pusha T calling him “broke” over a reversed loop from one of my top 10 producers of all-time The Alchemist that’s later made up with a reference to 16-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion & 5-time WWE United States Champion John Cena while “Evil Ways” featuring J. Cole displays a back & forth chemistry between the 2 with a soulful trap sound this time. Finally, the last bonus cut “You Broke My Heart” is easily the most melodic of the bunch singing over pianos about a woman who broke his heart. Want to mention him, BNYX, the latter’s brother BEAUTIFULMVN, Lil Yachty & 40 failing miserably with the standalone trap, pop rap, alternative R&B, cloud rap, emo rap single “Search & Rescue” too.

Look: I haven’t enjoyed a Drake project consistently in 8 years up to this point, but I’ll always give him his credit where it’s due because his place in hip hop has been cemented by the impact he’s had on it & the music industry at large. With all of that being said: I genuinely think For All the Dogs is a step in the right direction for him compared to his last couple albums Certified Lover Boy & Honestly, Nevermind. Easily his most consistent solo effort since If You’re Reading This in my respectful opinion. He mainly returns to his trappy pop rap roots also dabbling with trap soul, chipmunk soul, contemporary R&B & even Latin music in the process with slightly more hits & than misses.

Score: 3.5/5

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Dave East – “Fortune Favors the Bold” review

Dave East is a 35 year old MC from Harlem, New York breaking out in 2014 off his 8th mixtape Black Rose. This resulted in the man signing a joint deal with Def Jam Recordings & even Nas’ independently owned Mass Appeal Records as well as a spot in the iconic 2016 XXL Freshman Class. However, his full-length debut Survival wouldn’t come out until 3 years later & was very disappointing in the sense that he tried appealing to a more mainstream audience that just didn’t exist. But as the 2 year anniversary of the superior Harry Fraud-produced sophomore effort Hoffa approaches at the end of the month, Dave’s dropping off his 3rd album.

After the “Here I Go” intro, the first song “Come 2 Far” is a soulful trap opener produced by Cool & Drealongside 808-Ray asking why he would turn around & walk away from the rap game at this point whereas “Still Here” after the “Pops” interlude gives off a wavier boom bap feeling this time making it known that he ain’t going nowhere anytime soon. “Long Way” featuring Cordae reflects on how far they’ve both come over a bassy, sample-based instrumental just before “DAMN” takes a smoother route thanks to DJ Khalil with co-production from Mike & Keys talking about eating as of late.

“Sex So Good” featuring Coi Leray goes into a more pop rap direction courtesy of Don Cannon going back & forth with one another about how great the intercourse is leading into “Good Good Good” featuring Ghostface Killah finding themselves diving into spacious trap territory with the help of Scram Jones as they find their way out. After the 2nd & final “Pops” interlude, Tyga spits one of the weaker features on “Hustlers” despite the fun beat that the Cannon laced & the lyrics about staying on the grind.

The G-Eazy feature on “WDGAF” is no better although I appreciate the eerie trap instrumental from Mike WiLL Made-It & certainly the whole theme of giving 0 fucks but after the “Kairi” interlude, the mellowly produced “Can’t Make This Up” reflects on when he started with a nickel bag of regular green that is until “Dope Boy” right after the “Still Outside” interlude pays homage to the Brooklyn drill scene a bit talking about of course slanging drugs.

“$1M Off Rap” almost gives off a west coast-flavored groove to the beat boasting that he’s young & fly while the tranquil trap joint “Good Things” with additional vocals performed by Ty$ gets on some Bonnie & Clyde shit for a couple minutes. “Rich Problems” turns into more lavish territory instrumentally venting about the cons of wealth prior to araabMUZIK returning it to the boom bap for “Weirdos” featuring Jadakiss so both N.Y. lyricists can come through by dissing those who be on some weird shit in a cutthroat fashion.

Getting to the final leg of the album, “From the Mud” gives off a morbid tone sonically telling those who want his life to take it from him while Sap makes “It’s a Lot” more piano-driven so Dave can vent about everything that’s been going on. “Like a Rose” is a warmer ballad produced by 1500 or Nothin’promising to grow while “Letter 2 Kobi” sends a profound message to his toughest daughter of the same name. The bonus cut “Hallway Piss” though truly ends the album by saving the best for last from the solemn RZA beat to concept that shit’s bigger than rap.

Despite the fact that I thought Dave’s last EP H.D.I.G.H. (How Did I Get Here?) & even the DJ Drama-hosted Book of David mixtape were both pretty average, I can’t deny that Fortune Favors the Bold surpassed my expectations a bit. Somewhat too long & a couple stale feature performances, but the production’s mostly tight & I do enjoy the concept of recognizing the hustle to stay in real time. If he condensed the tracklist down to half, I’d most likely give it the same rating I gave Hoffa.

Score: 3.5/5

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Grip – “Still 5 & a Fuck You” review

Grip is a 34 year old MC from Atlanta, Georgia emerging in 2017 off his debut mixtape Porch. His full-length debut Snubnose received significant attention as 2 subsequent EPs Halo & Proboscidea lead to Detroit veteran Eminem signing Grip to his very own Interscope Records imprint Shady Recordsa couple summers ago. His sophomore effort I Died For This?! the following month was an impressive major label debut showing his potential, but his sophomore tape 5 & a Fuck You last fall took a more rawer approach that I liked. So when it was announced that Grip was dropping a sequel ahead of his upcoming tour, I had to check it out for myself.

The intro is a piano trap opener talking about shit still being the same with him whereas “Fetch” almost gives off a dirty south edge instrumentally getting on the more intimate side of things lyrically. “Numbers” works in some hi-hats & fabulous soul sample talking about putting exactly that on the board & rubbing in his success to the faces of those who doubted him just before “SS” takes a more organ-trap route keeping the heat tucked on him everywhere he goes.

“Bare” has more preachier sound this time as Grip himself airing out a person he knew since middle school knowing something was gonna change between them leading into “Keys” is a synthesizer/hi-hat fusion talking about making a scene. “Time” has a moodier aesthetic to the beat continuing to display a more romantic side of him, but then “Hyperbole” shakes it up with a grim trap banger talking about it being him vs. himself.

The song “Angels” goes into boom bap turf giving his flowers to the special people in his life who’re no longer here to see how far he’s made it while the penultimate track “Still” mixed these auto-tuned vocals with kicks & snares talking about remaining to yet reach his prime even though his skills aren’t up for debate. “You” wraps up the tape in the form of an emotional boom bap closer produced by both Tae Beast & Chris Keys telling his younger self to go as far as he can.

Although Snubnose was a promising introduction to Grip’s discography for me personally, I feel like some people are still sleeping on him which sucks for them because because Still 5 & a Fuck Youfurther proves that he’s continuing to outdo himself musically ever since the Shady/Interscope deal. He expands on the mindset that was brought onto that previous 5 & a Fuck You tape without any features this time around balancing the boom bap/trap sounds yet again.

Score: 3.5/5

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Coi Leray – “Coi” review

This is the sophomore full-length album from New Jersey rapper & singer Coi Leray. Growing up as the younger brother of Sosshouse Records signee Chavo & the daughter of Benzino, she began to carve a path of her own with her debut mixtape Everythingcoz along with her first 2 EPs Everythingcoz 2 & Now or Never even though they were mediocre to me personally. She then signed to Uptown Records last spring after being relaunched by Republic Records & put out her major label debut Trendsetter not too long after which had a few of her strongest tracks yet, but the bad mostly outweighed the good. But only a month after her brother dropped the final installment of the Chavo’s World trilogy, I went into Coi expecting a more personal effort obviously given the title & was hoping I’d like it more than the last album considering “Self Love” off the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack could be my favorite song of hers yet.

The opener “Bitch Girl” heavily samples “Rich Girl” by Hall & Oates so Coi can spit some average braggadocio on top of it whereas “Bops” has to easily by my favorite single that was released of the 5 that we got having more of a snap influence to it that I actually think is pretty interesting dedicating it to all her haters out there. David Guetta flipping “Pump Up the Jam” by Technotronic on “Make My Day” is kind of tacky even though I don’t mind the party-filled lyrics at all, but then “Players” is an ode to all the female hustlers sampling “The Message” by Grandmaster Flash & the Furious 5 that I’m a little 50/50 towards honestly.

“My Body” was easily the worst possible choice for a single from the tedious sample of “It’s My Party” by Lesley Gore to the half-baked songwriting & even the chorus having a cringey twist to the hook of “Pity Party” by Melanie Martinez, but then “Get Loud” co-produced by Tom Levesque of Vanguard Music Group reveals itself as a redundant successor to the Jennifer Lopez joint “Let’s Get Loud”. The quirky trap beat on “Phuck It” stands out to me although I can’t really say the same about the raunchy lyrics leading into “Spend It” featuring Saucy Santana giving off a dancier vibe talking about blowing money.

Meanwhile, “Don’t Chat Me Up” has the best feature on the album in the form of Giggs’ verse at the halfway point over a funky bass-line & hi-hats as he & Coi tell their lovers to give them exactly what they want & “On My Way” changes it up stylistically with a moody R&B ballad talking about pulling up on her mans. “Run It Up” gives off a more atmospheric approach calling herself an angel during the day & a demon at night while London on da Track cooks up the strongest instrumental of the bunch on “No Angels” featuring Lola Brooke catching licks.

“Man’s World” returns to the old school samples once again except this time “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World” by the late James Brown is being flipped calling out someone for breaking her heart while the song “Black Rose” goes full-blown rap rock talking about taking this shit back. The penultimate track “Radioactive” featuring Skillibeng has a more stripped back sound to it with both of them describe a passionately strong love until “Come & Go” spaciously asks to give her flowers while she’s still here to smell them all.

Beyond that, I went into Coi hoping that she would bring the same energy that she brought onto Metro Boomin’s soundtrack debut earlier this month & came away from it liking it even less than I did than the offering she gave us over a year ago. Now that doesn’t mean I’m discrediting her talent or saying she can’t be a captivating performer. She’s proven she can that in the past. It’s that my biggest issue with her music lies within the production department.

Score: 1.5/5

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Highway – “Monochrome” review

This is the full-length, major label debut from Seattle up-&-comer Highway. Emerging during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns, he would go on to drop 4 EPs & a couple of mixtapes until Brooklyn Haitian-American record executive/manager Steven Victor jointly signed him to his Victor Victor Worldwide imprint with exclusive distribution from Geffen Records last year. So given that, it was only a matter of time until Highway properly introduced himself to a wider audience by dropping Monochrome.

“B & W (Black & White)” starts the album with an atmospheric JetsonMade instrumental saying he don’t got no type of bad bitch & likes them all whereas “Don’t Lie” tells his girl not to front because she does a lot to drive him crazy with the beat having a more roomy feel to it. “Show Goes On” keeps things in cloudier territory saying all he does is rock, but then “All U Needed” featuring Ty$ takes a more moodier route as they talk about needing passengers like their significant others.

Meanwhile, “My Shit” makes it known that nobody built like him over a more calmer instrumental just before “Let Up” is a piano trap ballad talking about not feeling any pressure whatsoever even after the fact that he’s signed now. “Wake Up Early” featuring Seddy Hendrinx aims to blow his money without any worries over some hi-hats & claps leading into “Jet” returns to a cloudier vibe talking about hopping off his flight & knowing his people straight.

“Fuck-a-Rubberband” dives into spacious turf boasting that he does a lot while “on dat shit” returns to a more synth-based sound asking if you can depend on someone you call your brother. The song “Sin City“ happens to keep the synthesizers in tact making it clear he’s focused on his own path while the penultimate track “Gotta Kno” tells his girl not to worry about anyone other than him with a chilled out beat. “And Go” ties things up with a cavernous trap closer feeling’ like a heavyweight champion in his mind.

Compared to his earlier work, you can definitely hear the growth in Highway’s artistry on Monochrome & it makes me excited to see what the future holds for him from this point on. He delves deeper into the murky, R&B-tinged hip hop style that he’s been sporting ever since he came up by refining it to & stepping up his knack for catchy songwriting even though Ty$ had the stronger feature performance than Seddy personally.

Score: 3.5/5

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Destroy Lonely – “If Looks Could Kill” review

Destroy Lonely is a 21 year old recording artist from Atlanta, Georgia who happens to be the son of former Disturbing tha Peace Records signee I-20. He’s released a total of 11 EPs since originally breaking out through SoundCloud in 2019 prior to Playboi Carti signing Lone to his Interscope Records imprint Opium Records to surprise drop the last tape No Stylist in light of a tour that he co-headlined with fellow label-mate Ken Carson last summer. However, he’s returning nearly 9 months later to drop a full-length debut & one that I hope would make the haters shut up considering that he’s already proven himself to be the most versatile Opium signing to date.

“how u feel?” opens the album with some guitars & hi-hats saying he feels fine other than needing a few more dollar signs whereas the title track follows it up with a cloudy emo rap ballad produced by longtime collaborator Clayco about being a fashion demon. “fly shit” returns to a more trap metal sound so he can flex a bit, but then “which one” shreds some chunkier riffs on top of some hi-hats thanks to Cade trying to figure out who loves him.

Continuing from there with “raver”, we have Lone over more trap metal production so he can go brazy leading into “came in wit” has a bit of a rage vibe to Y3rip’s beat talking about looking like he jumped out the ocean with all of his diamonds. “by the pound” has a more playful sound to it provided by TM88 even though he delivers one of the weaker performances on the album badly impersonating Future just before “all the time” confesses that he feels like he’s lost his mind & the instrumental here gives me an aquatic feeling for whatever reason.

“biggest problem” has a more spacious trap approach to it that Cxdy provides bragging that he’s riding around with some fly shit while “chris paul” talks about ballin’ out over a booming trap beat. “superstar” returns to atmospheric territory watchin’ the bodies fall from the swag he’s droppin’ while “new new” weaves some synthesizers into the fold talking about being the freshest whenever you compare him to everyone else in the trap scene right now.

Meanwhile, “right now” concludes the first leg of the album taking it returning to trap metal turf telling his girl he’ll get her whatever the fuck it is that she desires & “which way” starts the 2nd half with a ghostly trap beat admitting that he doesn’t have a clear as to which specific what that he’s going. “wagwan” blends some skittering hi-hats & a futuristic backdrop asking what’s up prior to “moment of silence” sampling “Your Skull’s Red” by Team Sleep talking about going harder than everyone else while “brazy girls” is a trap rock hybrid about his women.

“goin’ up” dives into more psychedelic waters tackling his continuously rising popularity that is until “passenger” shifts gears with it’s twinkling trap production talking about switching up his swag & smokin’ on Metro Boomin’ every single day. “promo” gives me a bit of a ghostly feeling as far as the beat goes so Destroy can be able to update his swag while “worth it” makes sure every second counts over a trap instrumental with a blobby bass-line

BryceUnknwn, Zodiac & y2tnb keep it rolling on the ultramodern “redlight” keeping an FN under his seat for all the fuckboys while “make sum work” brings back the guitars & hi-hats going berserk. The song “safety” flips Team Sleep yet again except it’s “Blvd. Nights” this time spending more on his protection & well-being while the penultimate track “your eyes” gets more cavernous courtesy of ReidMD from Vanguard Music Group & Internet Money Records talking about seeing himself when looking into the eyes of his raver. “money & sex” with Ken Carson though ends the album with a hypertrap jam talking about the 2 things they love.

“too damn rich” starts the deluxe by rubbing his newfound wealth in people’s faces flipping “Lucid” by slenderbodies while “spillin’” cautioning that this shit can go many ways over a trap beat giving off retro video game feels. “check the fleet” has this grungy guitar riff & hi-hats only focusing on money while “back sippin’” brings in heavier guitar work relapsing on lean referencing the greatest WWE superstar ever; Hall of Famer, 7-time world champion, 7-time tag team champion & WWE Hardcore Champion The Undertaker. “catch a kill” is a well-structured 2 parter going brazy about his top floor status & “that’s my” concludes the run of bonus tracks with a nocturnal dedication to his ride or die.

A lot of people are probably gonna complain about the 90 minute runtime straight out the gate & I’m well aware that not everyone ends up pulling off that feat, but I think Lone has enough versatility to make it stick the landing & that’s exactly the point he has proven yet again. He continues to expand his sound by dabbling a bit more with dream pop & neo-psychedelia than he’s done in the past & his performances on a good amount of these cuts are pretty fun.

Score: 4/5

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Rae Sremmurd – “Sremm 4 Life” review

Rae Sremmurd are a trap duo from Atlanta, Georgia consisting of real life brothers Swae Lee & Slim Jxmmi. However, many forget that they came up as a quartet in 2009 alongside Bobo Swae & Lil Pantz under the name Dem Outta St8 Boyz & dropped their only mixtape 3 Stooges with Lil Pantz would departing the group prior due to legal issues & Bobo following suit after to focus on his studies in Florida. P-Nazty would go on to introduce Swae & Jxmmi to revered trap producer Mike WiLL Made-It, who took the Brown brothers under his wing by making them the first act to sign to his Interscope Records imprint Ear Drummer Records rechristened as the names they’re known by today. After beginning to turn heads with hits like “No Type” & “Throw $um Mo” featuring Young Thug, it was enough for Rae Sremmurd to properly introduce themselves on the full-length debut SremmLife a month after the final single & the sophomore effort SremmLife 2 the following summer finding them to artistically expand more. Especially considering that “Black Beatles” featuring Gucci Mane is unquestionably the duo’s biggest hit to date. Their previous album however SR3MMLIFE in the spring of 2018 had a pretty strong start as it contains some of their best songs like “T’d Up” or even “CLOSE” featuring Travis Scott, but each of the Brown brothers’ respective solo debuts that were attached to it Swaecation & Jxmtro were both underwhelming at best which is a shame because I really was intrigued by the whole Speakerboxxx / The Love Below concept/homage except it’s 3 discs instead of simply 2 & the first one actually has new music from the titular duo. But after 5 long years, Swae & Jxm are returning with their 4th full-length outing.

“Origami (Hotties)” is a synth-trap opener produced by none other than Mike WiLL Made-it as the Brown brothers asking if you can see the others that’re surrounding them & to fold the paper whereas “Royal Flush” works in some horns & hi-hats courtesy of Chopsquad DJ as Thugger tags along so the trio can talk about dropping cash on land along with making grandmaster plans that’re complex. “Mississippi Slide” has a more shimmery approach sonically thanks to Zaytoven so Rae Sremmurd can pay homage to the titular state leading into the piano/trap “Not So Bad (Lean’s Gone Cold)” interpolating “Thank You” by Dido on the hook talking about the racks stacking up too tall.

On the other hand, “Tanisha (Pump That)” feels like a Slim Jxmmi solo cut featuring Swae on the hook despite the electro undertones throughout the instrumental & the lyrics describing how no one can do it the way she does just before the Murda Beatz co-produced “Bend Ya Knees” brings back the keys & hi-hats so they can ask their lovers to forgive them for their rich tendencies. Future joins Rae Sremmurd for the cloudy “Activate” talking about not being normal anymore, but then “Flaunt It / Cheap” delivers a well sequenced 2-parter encouraging the the party girls to get if started & nearly spending a dozen.

“Sexy” is an irresistibly catchy pop trap jam that 30 Roc helped Mike lace describing how physically attractive they both are while “YMCA” weaves some synth horns & hi-hats talking about how the conduct will quickly become disorderly now that they in the place. “Something I’m Not” has more acoustic groove to it as Rae Sremmurd gets more introspective on the lyrical front while Sonny Digital gives the song “Torpedo” a more atmospheric vibe so the duo can take off the the cash. The penultimate track “Diamonds Dancing” reminds everyone they’re here to stay over a trap beat from DJ Sremm with a reversed loop & “ADHD Anthem (Too Many Emotions)” sends off the album with some rage beats from Ronny J & Dynox of Internet Money Records talking about being misunderstood.

Considering the 5-year gap between this & Rae Sremmurd’s last album, I was intrigued to hear where both these guys would take it with the comeback effort & I think fans will find Sremm 4 Life to be more salvageable than SR3MM was. I admire how the approach & content are both a little different than before, Mike WiLL & company bring some consistent trap production to the table, Swae & Jxmmi both sound more focused than they did on their respective solo debuts that were attached to the predecessor & they didn’t go overboard with the features.

Score: 3.5/5

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