Homixide Gang – “Homixide Lifestyle 2” review

Homixide Beno! & Homixide Meechie known together as the Atlanta, Georgia duo the Homixide Gang releasing their 4th LP. Bringing to turn heads off their debut EP Snotty World to the point where trap trailblazer/rage pioneer Playboi Carti made them the 3rd act to sign to his Interscope Records imprint Opium Records following Ken Carson & Ken Destroy Lonely respectively, Homixide Lifestyle was a solid debut & Snot or Not wound up being a mixed bag of a sophomore effort. Their debut mixtape 5th AMNDMNT & their previous album I5U5WE5 were both received more favorably, looking to revisit the Homixide Lifestyle for a sequel.

“PC5” is a bombastic trap intro shows love to their homie Problem Child 5 presently incarcerated on murder charges whereas “Redrag” produced by Maaly Raw talks about shooting a lame in his face with the Glock. “1-800-555-OPIUM” blends trap & rock together so they can discuss the money callin’ them just before “Call in Me” links with Toom of Vanguard Music Group so they can compare themselves to walkie talkies being only a call away.

The way “Cherub Rock” by The Smashing Pumpkins was sampled on “5G” was pretty rad refusing to sell their souls while “PB&J” featuring Ken Carson finds the trio talking about their dangerous tendencies & trying to score as opposed to goaltending. “Soul-Fly” works in an unexpected soul sample to discuss their past leading into “Vice City” talking about having bitches go crazy over a Pi’erre Bourne beat.

“Frank Matthews” reflects over a Clayco & OPM BABI instrumental of wanting to become drug lords their whole entire lives while “Red Tails” references the greatest QB of all-time & 7-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady. “Villain” conceptually dissects the Dark Knight quote “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain” prior to F1LTHY of Working on Dying sampling “Downtown” by SWV during the highlight “Facet!me”.

ATL Jacob hops behind the boards for “Johnny Cage” referencing the character from the Warner Bros.-owned Mortal Kombat franchise prior to Homixide Mali appearing for “Sober” so the trio can get loaded. “Breeze” has a more laidback approach than what Homixide normally does boasting that they have more stripes on their backs than referees while “Watch Out!” bombastically talks about needing to stay geeked up.

“Going On” heads for a trap metal direction instrumentally to flex the kinda shit that pops off around them while “Headtap” talks about slangin’ the sticks with no aim & leaving blood everywhere. “Free Agents” touches base regarding their lifestyle & after “Shopping Bags” talks about hitting the store with them since they got everything y’all need, “State Property” playfully sees the pair getting money hungry.

To start Homixide Lifestyle 2’s final leg, “$$$ Problems” talks about having no issues regarding their finances returning to a trap metal sound while ”Nun 2 It” assures their respective girlfriends that they’ll go global effective immediately. “Gvnganati” talks about the subject of loyalty remembering the late R5 Homixide & “Nintend0” wraps up the LP with both of them playing the gamble of life using all cash.

Aside from Carti unsurprisingly not clearing his “Chopshop” verse hence why it didn’t make the final cut & Destroy Lonely only doing a hook for “Shopping Bag” instead of a verse, the Homixide Gang’s successor to their debut has a more general hardcore hip hop approach instead of gangsta rap although it very much expands on it’s rage/trap metal production minus the industrial hip hop elements.

Score: 3.5/5

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Metro Boomin’ – “A Futuristic Summa” review

St. Louis producer, DJ & record executive Metro Boomin’ finally dropping off his highly anticipated 2nd mixtape. Gaining notoriety in the middle of the previous decade as one of the most in-demand beatsmiths in hip hop today, he’s gone on to produce some of the best trap projects of the decade in their entireties including Future’s 3rd album D.S. 2 (Dirty Sprite 2), Gucci Mane’s 53rd mixtape Droptopwop and the Offset/21 Savage collab tape Without Warning. It was until after Halloween 2018 when he put out his solo debut Not All Heroes Wear Capes & the 2022 sequel Heroes & Villains continued an ongoing trilogy by elevating his production game. A Futuristic Summa was announced earlier this month & we’re finally getting it weeks since the current 2-time World Heavyweight Champion Gunther retired WWE Hall of Famer, 4-time WWE world champion, WWE United States Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion Bill Goldberg at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLI followed by former AEW Women’s World Champion Blake Monroe betraying former 3-time TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace & another former TNA Knockouts World Champion Naomi becoming a 3-time WWE women’s world champion by ending イヨ・スカイ’s 2nd reign as a WWE women’s world champion at Evolution II.

“I Want It All” by J Money after the “Black Migo Forever” intro starts with a decent futuristic swag opener talking about his desire for everything nice whereas “They Wanna Have Fun” by Gucci Mane, Quez & Young Dro co-produced by Zaytoven homages the Cyndi Lauper single “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” with Quez’ verse in the middle being my least favorite of the 3. “Butterflies (Right Now)” by Roscoe Dash & Quavo goes for an Atlanta bass vibe so they can talk about doing the crime & time of killing pussy prior to “Take Me Thru Dere” by Quavo & YK Niece inferiorly continuing the themes of lust.

The colorful “Loose Screws” by Shad da God & Skooly blends pop rap & trap with the help of DK Spinz to discuss losing their mind if the baddies they’re seeing move in with them just before the first of 2 Young Dro solo cuts “Stealin’ All the Swag” cloudily talks about wanting his swagger back. “WTF Goin’” combines these pianos & hi-hats shrugging off the haters because they only add flavor to what he’s doing while “Issa Party” by Jose Guapo, Shad da God & Young Dro warmly talks about wanting hoes to hit their line to rock & move with them.

“Clap” has gotta be the most I’ve enjoyed a Waka Flocka Flame song in a minute putting his politics & that corny publicity stunt where he got “jumped” aside while the danceable “Slide” by Young Dro confesses he hasn’t been able to talk the same since meeting this woman he’s addressing. “My Lil Shit” by BunnaB, J Money & Meany throws it back to the ringtone era of late 2000s southern hip hop while “Still Turnt (Forever B$hot)” by Shad da God talks about still being lit to this very day.

J Money, Quavo & Waka Flocka Flame all link up on the synthesizer-woven “Drip BBQ” showing off their sauce as if they’re at a cookout while “I Go” by J Money holds the fort by himself to show off his wealthy possessions. “Make It Make Sense” by Rocko has a darker trap mood to it talking about shit being illogical if it it ain’t making any money while “I Like That” by Waka Flocka Flame & 2 Chainz despite Honorable C.N.O.T.E. producing it wasn’t too bad of a pop rap track.

“Birthday” by Metro Thuggin’ & Skooly uses a bunch of playful metaphors to speak about sex & confidence while “Don’t Stop Dancin’” by Lil Baby & Skooly talks about loving the way their partners dance. “U Deserve” by T.I. & Young Dro throws it back to Grand Hustle Records’ prime in the mid-late 2000s while “Overly Trimm” by Jose Guapo, Quavo, Shad da God, Skooly, Travis Porter & Young Dro made for a mild posse cut.

Future & 21 Savage deliver A Futuristic Summa’s smoothest moment “Partying & Drinking” talking about women who be acting like they’re single when having fun with their friends while “Jerry Curry (Love & Basketball” by Lil Baby & Yung L.A. references TKO Group Holdings co-founder Vince McMahon. The futuristic swag closer “I Need (Where U From)” by J Money, Lil Baby, Roscoe Dash & 2 Chainz sends off the tape with all 4 of them asking the women they’re dating about their sets.

Taking the aesthetics of early 2010s mainstream Atlanta hip hop & putting some modern touches on it, A Futuristic Summa will feel nostalgic to anyone like me who was in middle school when songs like “Lemonade” or “Hard in da Paint” were dominating the airwaves. Metro Boomin’s production easily sticks out as the best part of the whole thing diverting from trap to experiment with futuristic swag, plugg, Atlanta bass & contemporary R&B. However, the guests’ performances are more hit or miss compared to Heroes & Villains.

Score: 3/5

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Justin Bieber – “Swag” review

Justin Bieber is a 31 year old singer/songwriter from London, Ontario, Canada signing to Island Records during my time in middle school to put out My Worlds & Under the Mistletoe only to fulfill his obligations with them on Believe & Journals. He has since been on Def Jam Recordings for the past decade & Purposemarked a divisive debut for the label, although Changes & Justice was equally as bad as a great deal of his Island output. Coinciding with Clipse’s comeback Let God Sort ‘Em Out, his 7th album has arrived after receiving an 8 hour notice.

“All I Can Say” made for a decent synthpop intro singing about the inner turmoil in his life at the moment & trying to find some sort of solace whereas “Daisies” fuses bedroom pop & sophisti-pop courtesy of Mk.gee to count down the days he has left for him & his wife Hailey to reunite. The stripped-back “Yukon” tries to figure out what his soulmate would do if he didn’t love her including corny lines like “get a move on like U-Haul” until the atmospheric “Go Baby” sings about creating an emotional space without any sort of judgment.

Haile gets brought up again during “Things You Do” throwing out more weak bars such as “Sunday to Sunday, I’m here whеn you’re weak” leading into “Butterflies” responding to paparazzi gangin’ on him at Coachella this spring. “Way It Is” featuring Gunna was an underwhelming pop rap/synthpop crossover talking about wanting to settle down with their respective partners just before “First Place” sings about wanting to see his spouse in 1st place like “it’s a birthday”.

After the first of 3 questionable Druski skits, “Walking Away” breaks down a few different chapters in the story of his decade-long relationship with Haile while “Glory Voice” sings over a bare guitar for a minute to show off a religious side of himself. “Devotion” featuring Dijon co-produced by Daniel Caesar finds the 2 teaming up for a tribute to Justin’s son Jack stripping the sound back even further while “Dad’z Love” continues to expand on the themes of fatherhood.

“Sweet Spot” featuring Sexyy Red after another Druski skit gets together to bang out a decently sexual synthpop & pop rap duet while “405” after the final Druski skit makes a weak reference to Tom Holland’s portrayal of Spider-Man in The Walt Disney Company-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe. The title track feels like a Cash Cobain song since Justin’s only handling the chorus & it does very little for me since I prefer Cash Cobain as a producer than a rapper.

The song “Zuma House” counts down towards the last 5 minutes of the LP singing over an acoustic guitar for a mere 83 seconds asking Hailey if she would catch him if he happened to fall backwards & “Too Long” ahead of the “Forgiveness” outro feels reminiscent to those luscious new wave pop songs you would’ve heard back in the 80s letting off some steam regarding the length of time he’s had away from Haile.

Didn’t even have a review for Swag in mind for the majority of the weekend but when Biebs joined Travis Scott & Jim Jones in dissing Clipse because they “make music for bitter grown men who collect KAWS dolls & still shop at KITH & Union”, it gave me some inspiration & I’ll argue that I liked Swag less than I did Jackboys II & At the Church Steps combined. Mainly because it feels like his attempt at Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers for casuals except it stylistically focuses around contemporary R&B, pop, pop soul, alternative R&B, bedroom pop, sophisti-pop, neo-psychedelia, synthpop, pop rap & gospel

Score: 2/5

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Openness Trio – Self-Titled review

The Openness Trio are a jazz trio consisting of Oakland, California guitarist Nate Mercereau alongside Takoma Park, Maryland saxophonist Josh Johnson & Los Angeles, California percussionist Carlos Niño. Known for collaborating with the likes of Kamasi Washington & André 3000, all 3 members have decided to form a new supergroup under none other than the greatest jazz label of all-time Blue Note Records & make a broader introduction with an eponymous full-length debut studio album.

“Hawk Dreams” was a solid, freely improvised new age lead single & a better intro to the LP with secondary influences of spiritual jazz whereas “…Anything’s Possible” works in a saxophone & some percussion for a little over 5 minutes. The final single “Openness” blends new age & ambient for the shortest composition of the 5 but once “Chimes in the Garden” embraces the spiritual jazz vibes a bit heavier for a moment, “Elsewhere” finishes with a mesmerizing free improvisational outro that Nate originally teased on YouTube in 2021.

For fans of the prominently ambient new age direction that André 3000 embraced on New Blue Sun or Kamasi Washington making amongst the greatest spiritual jazz of this current millennium even a decade after The Epic, the freely improvised self-titled debut from the Openness Trio brings a sound to the modern Blue Note roster than their own moniker implies & hopefully it’s only the beginning for them collectively.

Score: 4/5

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Pi’erre Bourne – “Made in Paris” review

South Carolina producer, rapper, songwriter & engineer Pi’erre Bourne finally making up for the 15-month delay of his 4th studio LP. Becoming one of the most in demand beatsmiths in hip hop today off Playboi Carti’s “Magnolia”, he’s also made a name for himself on the mic by dropping 10 mixtapes as well as a couple EPs & 3 full-length albums. Grails was a short yet highly favorable collection of Pi’erre’s most anticipated solo tracks & with the 2-year anniversary of that passing a couple months back, Interscope Records has at long last allows him to recount a trip to France he made in the form of Made in Paris.

Splitting the intro “Façade” into 2 different sections, the first “Inside” wishes his uncle who did the spoken word intro was still here to see him today & the other “Alone” remembers his late grandmother along with flexing that he has more Soss than Ragu. The warm synthesizers on “Le Vôtre” make for one of my personal favorite instrumentals on the whole entire album talking about 2 hoes never feeling right with him while “Bon Appétit” takes a pop rap turn wanting his partner to eat him alive.

“J.B.H. (Just Being Honest)” featuring Young Nudy pairs the 2 over a syrupy plugg beat feelin’ like people are still doubting them as artists leading into “La Loi, C’est La Loi” trying to tell this woman how much he misses her when she doesn’t wanna hear it over an accordion. “Bleu” hooks up these organs tackling the issue of not knowing he would leave a chick heartbroken after trying to save their love while “Temps de Chasse” talks about not wanting to fuck around with his life anymore & the grass not being as greener on the other side.

The 2nd & final single “Pop” opens up regarding the kind of relationships he’s had in the past blending pop rap & trap with cloud rap while “Retraite” combines the colorfully atmospheric Good Movie outtake “Kit Kat” with an original latter half “Playground” turning up the rage. “En été” digs up these fuzzy synthesizers flexing his gains not that he’s playing his cards right while “Rapunzel” recaptures the themes of lust once again.

“J’adore” addresses his current love life referencing WWE Hall of Famer, 6-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE United States Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion, IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, the inaugural 6-time TNA World Champion, TNA X Division Champion & 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion Kurt Angle & “Toot It Up” might be my favorite song here only because of the plugg instrumental & NOT because of the Timbaland line due to his ongoing AI tomfoolery.

Reaching the final leg, “Violette” meshes these acoustics & quirky synths with one another making reference to Futurama in light of it’s upcoming 10th season on The Walt Disney Company-owned hulu later this summer until “Blocs” proved to be a fun pop rap/trap lead single talking about being on the block when he was younger. “L’amour” offers a bit of a pluggnb vibe speaking to a woman he seems completely dependent on & “Sait” promises to give his girl everything but a wedding ring.

Recharging from all the traveling & barely getting any sleep in part of making sure the visuals were presented in the best possible way he wanted, Made in Paris pushes Pi’erre back in the spotlight with the most vital album of his career & one that captures his growth more than Good Movie did. Inspired by a trip to Paris a year or 2 ago, he takes some ideas that he’s had going far back as 2019 or presently & uses them together resulting in the most consistent LP in his canon since The Life of Pi’erre 4 & The Life of Pi’erre 5.

Score: 4.5/5

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Lorde – “Virgin” review

Lorde is a 28 year old singer/songwriter from Auckland, New Zealand breaking out as an international superstar in the fall of 2013 after signing to Republic Records & putting out her full-length studio debut Pure Heroine many months after the debut of former AEW World Trios Champion, ROH World 6-Man Tag Team Champion, 2-time IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン, IWGPインターコンチネンタルチャンピオン, IWGP USヘビー級チャンピオン & NEVER無差別級チャンピオン Jay White until eventually focusing on her double life in South Park, Colorado as a geologist named Randy Marsh. In all seriousness: Her sophomore effort Melodrama would go on to become the greatest alt-pop album of all-time & Solar Power produced by Jack Antonoff stands as her most polarizing work to this very day, hoping that her 4th LP would recapture the acclaim of her first 2.

“Hammer” fuses alt-pop & electropop with indietronica, Baltimore Club, ghettotech & art pop for an ode to city life & horniness leading into “What Was That?” dabbling with alt-pop, electropop, dance-pop, future garage & synthpop to sing about the aftermath of a breakup. “Shapeshifter” collides alt-pop with a hint of alternative R&B together so she can portray her partner having the ability to transform himself due to mixed signals & misunderstood communication while “Man of the Year” brings some indietronica & singer/songwriter vibes to the the styles of the last track singing about the person she wants to be.

Her relationship with her mother gets touched on during “Favourite Daughter” carrying over the alt-pop & indietronica styles just before “Current Affairs” acoustically samples “Morning Love” by Dexta Daps recalling an experience she had watching Pamela Anderson & Tommy Lee’s sex tape under the influence of both ecstasy & psilocybin. “Clearblue” keeps everything stripped back instrumentally to make caution of becoming pregnant following unprotected sex just before “Grown Woman” finds herself back in an alt-pop direction singing about trying to find a mature female in her life for almost 3 decades & counting.

“Broken Glass” hits the final leg of Virgin with a cathartic take on synthpop bringing up the self-hatred Lorde has towards her own image while “If She Could See Me Now” blends alternative R&B & indietronica reflecting on everything that made her the person she is today expressing her hardiness of a past version of herself being happier with her future self. “David” finishes up the album with a minimal direction up until the halfway point where it starts crescendoing asking if she’ll ever love again & feeling as if she doesn’t belong to anybody.

Flicking a light on inside of her in midst of Solar Power’s divisive feedback & her breakup with Justin Warren at the same time, Virgin diverts away from the prominent folk pop sound of her 2021 predecessor in favor of focusing more on what made her break out in the alt-pop subgenre reflecting on her femininity. The secondary influences of indietronica, singer/songwriter, art pop, electropop & alternative R&B in Jim-E Stack’s production pans out more impressively than what the Bleachers spearhead tried to do with indie folk, psychedelic pop, soft rock & indie pop 4 years ago.

Score: 3.5/5

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Joshua Redman – “Words Fall Short” review

Joshua Redman is a 56 year old saxophonist from Berkeley, California notable for being the son of the late Dewey Redman. Signing to Warner Records in 1994 with his eponymous debut, he would go on to follow it up Wish as well as Moodswing & Freedom in the Groove. He would stay with Warner for Timeless Tales (For Changing Times) followed by Beyond & Passage of Time, leaving after Elastic in the fall of 2002. Recently signing to the greatest jazz label of all-time, Joshua’s 16th solo LP will now be his official debut under Blue Note Records.

“A Message to Unsend” begins with a 5 minute post-bop composition enlisting labelmate Paul Cornish on piano ahead of his debut You’re Exaggerating! later this summer alongside Philip Norris playing bass & Nazir Ebo handling the drums prior to tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana joining the quartet for “So It Goes” to improvise 7 minutes of pure swagger. Philip’s bassist skills kicks off the first 60 seconds of the title track until the drums, sax & pianos all come in respectively while “Borrowed Eyes” reaches the halfway point with a bluesier mood.

Getting the ball rollin’ on Words Fall Short’s final act, “Icarus” could be my favorite post-bop song throughout the whole 45 & a half minute runtime bringing trumpeter Skylar Tang along for an exhilarating improvised post-bop jam just before “Over the Jelly-Green Sea” shows Joshua’s appreciation towards the late W.G. Sebald. The final instrumental piece “She Knows” explores his full range with a soprano saxophone giving a shot at avant-garde jazz during it’s 2nd half “Era Ends” by Gabrielle Cavassa sends off the album with a vocal jazz outro reminiscent to the most recent entry of her discography Where Are We?.

Conceived in a working environment that inspired him to dig into compositions that hadn’t found a home yet, Joshua Redman’s approach to bandleading hasn’t changed from the very moment he introduced himself to the world 3 decades earlier still performing with virtuosos who’ve mastered all the different jazz vocabularies & know how to express their individual brilliance through group improvisation & collective interaction. Primarily departing from the vocal jazz direction that took up a good bulk of Where Are We? & turning up the post-bop influences, Josh’s previously unheard collection of originals the beauty of human imperfection sees the light of day as his greatest material since leaving Warner.

Score: 4/5

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Lil Tecca – “Dopamine” review

Here we have the 4th LP from New York rapper, singer/songwriter, producer & Galactic Records founder Lil Tecca. Blowing up in 2018 after signing a distribution deal with Republic Records & the viral single “Ran$om”, it would later be included on his debut mixtape We Love You Tecca that same year & would receive lukewarm reception although it’s truthfully grown on me a tad bit over the course of time. His debut album Virgo World was released during the pandemic & is widely considered to be the weakest entry in his discography. The last time we heard from Tecca was a couple summers ago when Internet Money Records founder Taz Taylor executive produced a worthy sequel to We Love You Tecca & Tec showed maturity to the point where I recanted calling him a 1-hit wonder when Virgo World came out. Plan A came out last fall refuting the indication of him having a backup plan & Dopamine has arrived the weekend after the artwork was shared.

“Dark Thoughts” was an outstanding pop rap, g-funk & bounce single assuring his partner that she can open herself up to him whereas “Owa Owa” produced by Rio Leyva & Taz Taylor samples “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles talking about his time & presence not being taken for granted. “½ the Plot” hooks up a blobby bassline clarifying he does whatever he wants without any other options necessary, but then “The Truth” talks about doing so much with little to prove & always being outside.

Meanwhile on “Favorite Lie”, we have Tecca dismissing all the lame shit in addition to only rockin’ Gucci if it’s Tom Ford & referencing my favorite WR of all-time growing up Randy Moss just before “Hollywood” explains it’s been a while because of all the bullshit’s been going through as of late & being so fly to the point where others stop stylin’. “X Factor” suggests he might as well pull up to the UK since things out here are turning into the Simon Cowell hosted game show just before “Don’t Rush” advises his lover to slow things down in their relationship.

“Boys Don’t Cry” compares the relationship he’s currently in to Bonnie & Clyde on the verge of committing a crime & wanting to get to know her even though he can’t call her while the cloudy yet melodic “Sure of It” boasts about him walking into the bank on some movie shit coming with 1 life & opting to live it hard enough where he’s betting on himself every time. “LYK” tries to show this woman what’s right & what’s wrong feeling as if it’s him against the world like Rambo in First Blood leading into “On Your Own” counting all of his commas & not trying to speak leaving his texts on “read”.

Clams Casino & Ginseng link with Tecca on the standout “1 Night” talking about doing a hoe so badly that he’s pulling out voodoo magic on him while “Irish Goodbye” expresses a desire for him to go A.W.O.L. laying on the down low. “Wake Up” finds himself cancelling his plans & feeling like it’s all fake love whenever he rolls his dope up while “Malibu’s Most Wanted” talks about partying out in Austin, Texas pullin’ up in a foreign. “Tic Tac Toe” featuring Ken Carson finishes the Dopamine rush with both of them getting boastful of their lifestyles.

“Catch Me If You Can” starts the deluxe run with a song that clears the recent KSI single of the same name talking about being in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan counting up his yen while the self-produced “Not Too Much” dabbles with plugg a bit to ask why you let your life of gold rust up the way it already has. “Sold Not Told” finds himself stealin’ hoes & drenching them in Celine Dion while the final bonus track “L.A.N. (Lame Ass N****s)” airs out every single cornball this hoe’s been texting figuring out how she found him through them.

Leaning into his pleasures more than ever during this current chapter of his life, Dopamine gears up for summer 2025 by summarizing who Lil Tecca is as an artist opting in favor of a pleasurably catchier direction as opposed to sadder more melancholic tones. You still get whiffs of the staple styles he’s known for except he’s introducing new sounds to his wheelhouse along the way, including newer tempos & even newer subjects to address lyrically. It’s like you’re getting a mix of his older material & him trying new things.

Score: 3.5/5

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Lil Wayne – “Tha Carter VI” review

New Orleans, Louisiana emcee, singer/songwriter, record executive & entrepreneur Lil Wayne continuing one of his most beloved sagas on his 14th studio LP. Signing to Cash Money Records at the very age of 9, he would go on to become 1/2 of The B.G.’z as well as 1/4 of the Hot Boy$ & 1/6 of the Cash Money Millionaires. His first 3 solo albums Tha Block is Hot, Lights Out & 500 Degreez were average at best but we then found him improving in the mid 2000’s with Tha Carter, Tha Carter II, Dedication, Dedication 2, Da Drought 3 & my personal favorite Tha Carter III. He then started his own label Young Money Entertainment & followed his magnum opus up with a God awful “rock” album Rebirth along with the mediocre I Am Not a Human Being. He was able to bounce back in 2011 with Tha Carter IV, but things looked rough once again with the horrendous I Am Not a Human Being II in 2013 & then being entangled in legal issues with Cash Money from 2014-2018. Wayne eventually broke free from Birdman & was able to release Tha Carter V in 2018 to celebrate his 36th birthday returning to form. Funeral however was a step-down in comparison & Tha Carter VI has finally come over 5 years later.

After the “King Carter” intro, the first song “Welcome to Tha Carter” was a soulful boom bap intro eating rappers he’s already heard as if they’re appetizers whereas “Bells” samples “Rock the Bells” by LL Cool J to boast how hot he’s been on the mic for 2 decades almost. “Hip Hop” featuring Jay Jones works in a trap instrumental from Infamous & Einer Bankz with a vocal sample for a representation of the culture that I’d like more without Jay’s verse while “Sharks” featuring Big Sean & Jelly Roll finds the trio talking about snakes not always hiding in the grass over a guitar-based beat from Boi-1da.

“Banned from New Orleans” featuring Nicki Minaj on the remix gets in their dirty south bag flexing that they’re sellin’ chromes to bricks out here leading into “The Days” recalling being in a hospital bed after one of the countless epileptic seizures he’s had since childhood blending rap rock & boom bap together. “Cotton Candy” by ColleGrove interestingly fuses jazz, trap & pop rap all into 1 for a collab that’s primarily compared to most of what was on Welcome to ColleGrove even with the reference to former IWGPヘビー級チャンピオン as well as a 10-time WWE world champion & former UFC Heavyweight Champion in both TKO Group Holdings divisions Brock Lesnar just before “Flex Up” continues with a mildly boastful cloud rap cut.

One of my least favorites easily has to be “Island Holiday” & not because of the subject matter of getting away on vacation, but rather because of the performances heavily slathered in auto-tune. “Loki’s Theme” turns up the rap rock influences courtesy of DJ Clue? of all people to my surprise talking about getting it out the mud while the acoustic “If I Played Guitar” throws it back to “How to Love” down to the sung vocals a little except not as good.

“Peanuts 2 N Elephant” links up with Lin-Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame for a spiritual successor to “6 Foot 7 Foot” featuring Cory Gunz with what sounds like a Crash Bandicoot level while “Rari” hops over a joyous trap instrumental from Wheezy talking about driving around Los Angeles in a sports car. “Maria” featuring Wyclef Jean hooks up an opera sample from the latter discussing a party girl waking up in the underworld while “Bein’ Myself” stays true to himself over a soulful Mannie Fresh beat.

The song “Mula Komin’ In” featuring Wayne’s son Lil Novi has little to no presence from Weezy F. Baby other than his verse at the backend of it although I very much appreciate what he was trying to do giving more exposure to Novi’s own music career while “Alone in the Studio with a Gun” featuring Kodak Black & MGK sticks out as the worst collab here since Young Money General washes both of the guests on it. “Written History” finishes C6 with spoken word passages from the late WWE Hall of Famer Muhammad Ali speaking on his legacy in hip hop while “Momma Don’t Worry” featuring Lil Baby advises their mothers not to stress out since they birthed real ones over an ATL Jacob instrumental.

Some will argue that him signing Drake & Nicki has tainted Wayne’s legacy considering “Big Foot” & “The Heart 6” have both been mocked equally as much as “Ghoulish”, to which I understand completely. Anyway, I went into Tha Carter VI with fingers crossed that it would reach the level of quality as Tha Carter V did 7 years ago & it makes me sad to call this the weakest installment of the series. Weezy can very much rap his ass off & I won’t deny that, my issues are more towards some of the guests & production choices.

Score: 1.5/5

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untiljapan – “Trompe-L’oeil” review

untiljapan is a 19 year old recording artist from Atlanta, Georgia putting out 5 EPs & was featured on “light ice” off Sk8star‘s 2nd mixtape whole new meaning until his own full-length studio debut album Safe Travels established him as an up-&-comer in trap, emo rap, cloud rap, alternative R&B & neo-psychedelia. Diorvsyou most recently had untiljapan on “west” off his newest EP Paussus.99 few weeks ago, with the elusive underground trailblazer signing to Interscope Records & generating buzz surrounding a sophomore effort.

“Shoot for the Moon” was a regalia intro shouting out the people in his life who’ve shown him love & the women who took him in whereas “Yayo / White Paris” shakes it up with a 2-parter flexing that he made it snow out in France with all that white powder in the street. “More Moët” hooks up a crooning sample giving a glimpse of his $1M habits prior to “Born 2 Be Great” sampling “Bonnie & Clyde” by Tink talking about working all day.

Moving on from there, “Kiss tha Ring” works in another sample & turns up the bass to tell his girl he’s on a plane to go see her just before “Broad Day” cautions of the people around you who’ll eventually try & fuck you over in the end when you least expect it. “Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” gets on some drumless rap rock shit unable to get the thought of homicide out of his head leading into “Watch Yo Back” talks about how sad it is the real players ain’t in the game no more.

“1 Helluva Drug” cacophonously gets in his breakup bag talking about an ex-girlfriend being a memory after she blocked his number while “Pyramidz” produced by Nosaint & ReidMD of Vanguard Music Group was a great cloudy trap single throwing a hint of alternative R&B in too talking about life moving fast with the squad. “Just Breathe” heavily builds itself around a harp & acoustics not showing away from sending shots to the soul if he has to while “Coast 2 Coast” talks about his colleagues being in the east & the west.

The song “Die Like This” begins the final minutes of untiljapan’s sophomore effort albeit major label debut sampling “Larabar” by Wet addressing individuals who didn’t like exactly how hot he broke out in the music scene & “Goodbye, Come Again” closes the LP with a Moses Ideka sample speeding on the highway since he’s in the fast lane along with blowing up the phone of a woman he told he loved on the verge of puttin’ him down.

“Mercedes. 2005” starts the deluxe run sampling “Indecision” by Sampha talking about having a close call & asking where he stands with a flight attendant while “Tightropes” flips “Ropes” by Scott James asking if she remembers the night he said he wouldn’t ever leave her. Clayco chops up “DNM” by Mk.gee & “enemy” by Charli XCX for my favorite bonus track “Old Vices. New Cities.” becoming my favorite 2-parter by a mile & “London Nights” samples “How Many Miles?” by Mk.gee looking for love during the evening riding around.

Often cited as one of the most promising artists in underground trap today, his major label debut elevates himself from his debut celebrating it’s 2 year anniversary this fall & catapulting himself in the same conversations as his Interscope labelmates Destroy Lonely & Nettspend. In terms of production, he completely comes into his own artistically & his feature-less performances are a testament to some of his recent guest appearances.

Score: 4/5

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