This is the 6th EP from Detroit, Michigan up-&-comer Lelo. Signing to 10K Projects earlier within the year following his first 3 EPs, he would make his presence known more widely in the local trap scene by putting out his 4th EP Nightingale not too long after landing a record deal & gained even more exposure a month later by dropping the single “No Contempt” on SoundCloud. LifeAfterDogshit just so happened to come out a month ago & exactly 30 days later, he’s picking up exactly where he left off on When It’s Over.
“Broken” starts by mixing a rubbery bass-line with hi-hats talking about his top shelf status & being in it forever whereas “Get It Together” takes the cloudy trap route instrumentally talking about trying to get everything all in order. “Manga” has a cool symphonic trap vibe advising not to compare him to anyone he’s better than while “Dresser” cautions that all the extra shit is gonna result in y’all getting lined up.
To get the other half going, “Evangelion” talks about his desires of becoming rich & not trying to come off as being too brash while “Game” speaks on racing his idols out here rather than looking up them & callin’ a fuck boy his child since he raised him. “Numbers” nears the end of the EP by talking about having hoes leading into “Real Dogshit” closing up shop pointing out some of these dudes be actin’ tough & not seeing any action.
Whenever the time comes for Lelo to put out an official full-length debut, I really do think it’s gonna elevate him to the next level because I can say with confidence that When It’s Over has to be the most enjoyable EP in his discography other than Nightingale. The production maintains the consistency of the EP that he gave us only a month ago, once more holding off on any guests to make way for him rippin’ mics by himself.
Boston, Massachusetts up-&-comer Rich Amiri returning for the final month of 2024 with his 3rd full-length studio album. Beginning to turn heads since the fall of 2021 off the strength of his debut EP Ethereal, the 4ersona member would go on to follow it up with 6 more EPs before signing to Internet Money Records & introducing himself to a wider audience on the aptly titled Evolution followed by the sophomore effort Ghetto Fabulous. He landed a spot in this year’s XXL Freshman Class over the summer & is now War Ready roughly 6 months later.
“Amiri Trendsetter” featuring OsamaSon finds the pair kickin’ things off with this psychedelic trap instrumental talkin’ about people bitin’ their styles & that life can’t be any better in 2025 whereas “Oh Myy” has a bit of a rage influence living life as if it’s a movie. “Don’t Make Me” hazily suggests that he can show y’all how to move & finesse thanks to Internet Money in-house producer Synthetic & venny just before “U Want That?” flexes that he’s at Maggianos with a baddie over a siren & hi-hats courtesy of Rio Leyva.
OsamaSon & Amiri link back up on the futuristic trap joint “I’m wit It” explaining that shit’s getting gnarly in addition to showing off their new sticks & everyone else’s glitching while “Touché” works in a hypertrap beat talking about bitches tryna fuck him for his paper being outta their minds. “Count My Bandz” with co-production from Taz Taylor triumphantly clarifies that the world don’t owe you shit, but then the hypnotic “That’s It” boasts his lifestyle.
“Hunchos” ends the first half of War Ready expressing his fear of telling a bitch that he loves her because he’ll feel completely stupid if she ends up cheating on him while “Same Old Me” samples “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” by Tame Impala to talk about those thinkin’ shit’s sweet being goners. “I’m Gone” admits that he doesn’t want to choose violence & he’ll dead any beef if they bring it to him over a rage-inducing instrumental while “Stormi Daniels” likens his girl to the titular pornstar.
Meanwhile on “Keep It Cool”, we have Amiri maintaining the hypertrap vibes saying y’all better keep it cool ’cause shit could get ugly at any point while the carefree “So Easy” talks about having his way. “Gutta Gutta” promises that he won’t ever switch on his Day 1s shell shocking people & leaving them wrapped up while “G23” turns the bass up staying focused off the adderrall.
“U Like?” reaches further towards the backend of War Ready turning the distortion up a bit addressing a mischievous bitch who doesn’t love him at all & actually wants to beef him coming to the apparent realization that he doesn’t think he can save himself anymore while “Day After Day” finishes the LP with a cavernous trap cut knowing he’s been making it look like a breeze as a result of doing it from the very beginning.
Starting the deluxe run with a bang, “Heavy Steps” that Toom of Vanguard Music Group helped laced asks how you saying you have a check when you can’t even afford your rent while the intergalactic trap cut “New Celine” talks about him refusing to cop a plea deal. “Ray Charles” happens to be the final bonus track of the 3, treating a bitch as if she’s the rhythm & blues icon not seeing shit alluding to his blindness when he was still here.
Many have criticized Amiri for having a supposed “lack of authenticity” & he pretty much takes the opportunity to silence those individuals by putting out an album that reinforces why he landed a spot the 2024 XXL Freshman Class nearly 6 months ago. Although he’s been experimenting with his music for a while now, he’s trying out more new sounds on here & it results in his most eclectic offering.
Nettspend is a 17 year old rapper & songwriter from Richmond, Virginia notable for being an affiliate of both the Novagang & 1c34 collectives. His debut EP KiCKDOOR was released a year & a half ago to mixed reception, although his subsequent singles have been skyrocketing his popularity in the jerk & lowend subgenres to the point where he landed a record deal with Grade A Productions & Interscope Records for his official debut mixtape with an interesting list of production credits that could make it clear the breakout EP.
“Growing Up” starts the album on some atmospheric trap shit talking about not wanting to grow up although Tyler, The Creator did the concept better on “Parade” off his only mixtape Bastard whereas “Leader” goes for a rage-inducing vibe instrumentally thanks to Kenny Beats & Ok talking about trying new things, which I’m all for. “Project Pat” keeps the hypertrap vibes going paying homage to the titular Hypnotize Camp Posse member & “Tommy” flexes his girl street slimin’.
Moving on from there, “Tyla” maintains the rage beats talking about needing a bitch as lit as the mononymous Queen of Popiano prior to “A$AP” incorporating some pianos & hi-hats making it clear to pull up soon as you can referencing Rocky’s upcoming 4th album Don’t Be Dumb. “Fuck Cancer” talks about being on the run like he’s Foxy Brown & his girl being on the daily grind, but then “Skipping Class” sampling “Genesis” by Grimes cuts straight to the chase that he’s done being bad with this specific person.
“Beach Leak” is another favorite of mine from the drill instrumental from Evilgiane to him likening himself to a Gen Z version of Future while “Shut Up” gets back on the hypertrap tip talking about feeling like it’s a glitch considering how big he is on ‘em & being the shit. “Bird Box” bombastically makes an interesting comparison to the 2018 film that it’s named after while “Drop the Blunt” playfully steadily stays smoking dope.
The song “Perc Soda” begins the encore of Badass Fucking Kid talking about lacing his pop with percocets & he’s the baddest kid of 2024 while the energetic penultimate track “Laughin’” wants to know exactly why these fuckboys be bluffin’ out here. The closer “Say Please” finishes Nettspend’s debut fusing cloud rap & drill talking about how it ain’t his fault he got as much swag as he does.
Announcing his arrival officially, the Virginia up-&-comer hailing from the same city that made Pharrell from the greatest production duo of all-time The Neptunes as told in Piece by Piece a couple months ago showcases his promising future with the production ranging rage to cloud rap, drill & trap in addition to Nettspend giving us a look at who some of his influences are musically.
This is the 5th & final full-length studio LP from Chicago, Illinois rapper & singer/songwriter Juice WRLD. Quickly becoming a prominent face in the emo rap trend in the spring of 2018 off the strength of his commercial debut Goodbye & Good Riddance, this was followed up the next year with the sophomore album Death Race for Love & Juice sadly passed away after his 21st birthday from a drug overdose. Now even though I personally found both of those albums to be average at best before his untimely death, they eventually grew on me & the kid was undeniably talented. Case in point: “Lucid Dreams” & his astonishing 1-hour Tim Westwood freestyle. Legends Never Die during the summer of the COVID-19 lockdowns was a cool little tribute & 3 years after Fighting Demons tied-in with his Into the Abyss documentary nicely, The Party Never Ends is finally seeing the light of day.
The title track begins by hopping over a psychedelic trap instrumental getting the party started whereas “Misfit” gets on his emo rap shit talking about not fitting in. “All Girls Are the Same 2 (Insecure)” featuring Nicki Minaj is this pointless sequel to one of Juice’s biggest hits, but then the bassy “Lace It” featuring Eminem makes up for it reflecting heavily on substance abuse & Eminem giving one of his best guest verse in recent memory discussing the recent deaths of many rappers due to drug overdose.
“Cuffed” produced by from benny blanco, Cashmere Cat & longtime collaborator Nick Mira of Internet Money Records joyously celebrates Juice’s accomplishments as result of his position as an artist up until the point of his death while the cloudy trap joint “KTM Drip” talks about letting in the drugs that’re knocking on his door. “Love Letter” goes for a trippier direction to the beat once more telling the woman that’s on his mind that he wants to be with her forever just before “Condone It” tackles the lifestyle that he lived over this woozy Boi-1da instrumental.
The Kid Laroi who recently starred in the A24 Films teen flick Y2K hops on the mic throughout the entirety of “Goodbye” heading for a minimal sound & looking back on the time that he spent with his late mentor while the guitar-driven “Party By Myself” talks about nothin’ else numbing his pain like the pills & the weed. “Adore You” addresses his issues with love & drugs over more guitars while “Celebrate” featuring Offset has one of the best beats on the album thanks to Metro Boomin’ mixing Raf Simons & Rick Owens together
“Jeffrey” pushes further towards the 2nd half hooking up a rubbery bassline chillin’ with killers referencing Jeffrey Dahmer while “Barbarian” reuses the instrumental of “Red Dead” by Yung Bans, doing it better by professing his affection for codeine referencing WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson. “Best Friend” featuring Fall Out Boy tediously fuses trap, pop rap & a hint of pop rock for a duet asking their soulmates if they could put a yellow diamond ring on their left hands while the upbeat “Floor It” boasts about his drug use as well as expensive materialism & his girlfriend at the time of him recording it referencing 14-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE tag team champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion & WWE United States Champion Randy Orton.
The song “Oxycodone” has a cool rap rock flare courtesy of Purps talking about the drug addiction that he sadly lost his life to & Spend It” finishes the final body of work in Juice WRLD’s discography showcasing his wealth & the slow vibes that Zaytoven laced make it feel bittersweet. “Empty Out Your Pockets” though initially premiered during Fortnite’s Remix event falling back after needing millions over pianos & hi-hats until it was later added as an official bonus cut.
Shy of the 5-year anniversary of his tragic death in less than a couple weeks, The Party Never Ends fills the void for fans who grew up alongside the beloved rapper’s melancholy melodies in the form of misfit music running at 54 minutes. The familiar themes of doomed love, vicious cycles, numbing out & fighting demons sung in an anguished warble matched with the production blending emo rap, trap & pop rap ensures that the Chicago artist’s legacy will live on forever.
Compton emcee, songwriter & actor Kendrick Lamar surprise-releasing his 6th studio LP outta nowhere ahead of his Super Bowl LIX halftime show in a few months. Coming up in ‘04 off his debut mixtape Y.H.N.I.C. (Youngest Head N***a in Charge): Hub City Threat (Minor of the Year), he would go on to follow-up with 2 more tapes as well as an eponymous debut EP before breaking out in the fall of 2010 off his 4th mixtape O(verly) D(edicated) & then Section.80 that next summer. Then came him signing to Dr. Dre’s very own Interscope Records imprint Aftermath Entertainment, where Kendrick made himself home at for a decade. Especially given that good kid, m.A.A.d city & To Pimp a Butterfly have quickly become some of the most beloved hip hop albums ever made in their own rights for good reason whether it be gkmc coming off as a hood movie on wax or TPaB delivering relevant social commentary on top of jazzy, funky production. DAMN. however was definitely his most commercial one yet & I don’t listen to it as much as his other work, but it’s still a great listen nonetheless with its phenomenal duality concept. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers fulfilled his Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath contract with a mature 2-disc effort, resulting in pgLang signing with Interscope for distribution. His beef with Drake this year has been absolutely prolific on his side from “euphoria” to my favorite “meet the grahams” & of course “Not Like Us”, returning a week ahead of Thanksgiving by pulling up in a GNX.
“wacced out murals” is this trap intro talking about Drake fans fucking up a mural of his in Compton a couple months ago additionally refusing to squash it with Drake himself, WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg reposting “Taylor Made”, feeling like his hard work let Lil Wayne down & Nas being the only person to congratulate him for the Super Bowl LIX halftime show whereas “squabble up” takes the hyphy route instrumentally to talk about walking in & later walking out both sides. “luther” samples “If This World Were Mine” by Cheryl Lynn & Luther Vandross thanks to Jack Antonoff, Kamasi Washington & Sounwave envisioning a world where pain & conflict are eradicated prior to the calming “man at the garden” talking about deserving it all when he absolutely does.
Meanwhile on “hey now”, we have Kendrick & Dody6 over a ratchet instrumental from none other than DJ Mustard boasting that they’re way too important just before my 2nd favorite track “reincarnated” flips “Made N****z” by 2Pac letting off concentrated thoughts on who he used to be & putting 100 hoods on 1 stage at the Pop Out show this summer. “tv off” serves as this 2-parter with the 2nd half standing out the most explaining that someone gotta do something about these muhfuckas actin’ bad out here with only a few real ones left, but then the atmospherically funky “dodger blue” with co-production from Terrace Martin talks about the westside getting the money.
“peekaboo” featuring AzChike & Dody6 nears the end of GNX by getting back on the nervous tip dissin’ everyone for talkin’ a whole lotta nothing while my personal favorite track “The Heart VI” serves as the real 6th installment of his famous “Heart” series disregarding that awful diss Drake put out this spring, sampling my favorite SWV song “Use Your Heart” to take ownership in a Black Hippy album never materializing & explaining why he left TDE. The title track by Hitta J3, Peysoh & YoungThreat gets together over some keys to talk about being the ones while “gloria” tropically finishes by addressing a fear of forever.
“Not Like Us” was a firm reminder that Kendrick is absolutely more than capable of making fun music rather than certain individual having him pigeonholed as a conscious artist & GNX being his first body of work after leaving TDE/Aftermath if anything expands on that. The production showcases his versatility with a decent list of lesser-known local guests prominently going for a west coast trap vibe with additional elements of ratchet music, nervous music, conscious hip hop, hardcore hip hop & pop rap.
070 Shake is a 27 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from North Bergen, New Jersey who started out as a member of the 070 collective. She later caught the attention of one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye formerly known as Kanye West, who signed her to a joint deal with G.O.O.D. Music & Def Jam Recordings in 2016. Her debut EP Glitter saw a release in the spring of 2018 a couple months ahead of her mentor’s historic Wyoming sessions & it showed her artistic potential, which the full-length debut Modus Vivendi & the sophomore effort You Can’t Kill Me both expanded on. Def Jam would sever all ties with G.O.O.D. Music a few months after the latter due to Ye’s antisemitic meltdown forever altering his public appearance after calling himself a Nazi & later starting YZY SND, resulting in people questioning G.O.O.D. Music’s future. Over 2 years later, Shake’s returning for her 3rd album & presumably the last under the G.O.O.D./Def Jam tandem.
“Sin” works in some pianos & guitars to get us started singing about being awake & in a dream state simultaneously whereas “Elephant” keeps the guitars in tact addressing an individual that she doesn’t even recognize anymore & vice versa. “Pieces of You” brings the pianos back in the fold swapping out the guitars for strings asking what to do with the pieces of this person in her head, but then the standout “Vagabond” was originally conceived during the Vultures 2 sessions never loving anyone else than Johnny Depp & Vanessa Paradis’ daughter Lily-Rose Depp.
Moving on from there, the minute long “Lungs” wants to know if Lily-Rose would come with her to go find another one when the sun explodes & there’s nowhere to run kinda giving me a Yeezus vibe instrumentally just before “Into Your Garden” featuring JT brings the pair together over more keys being under the impression that all good things come to an end. “Battlefield” has these prominent organs throughout asking to come & give it up on top of restoring her faith, but then “Winter Baby / New Jersey Blues” is a drumless 2-parter paying her dues & doing her time.
“Song to the Siren” featuring Courtney Love asks if they should stand amid the breakers or lie with death while the synth-driven “What’s Wrong with Me?” sings about feeling as if a virus took control of her body with a new host. The crescendoing “Blood on Your Hands” finds her being unable to begin untangling herself from Lily-Rose while the song “Never Let Us Fade” repetitively sings about if she had her way. “Love” ties up Petrichor professing her love for her partner.
Taking it’s name from a term used to describe the smell of rain on arid soil after a long period of dry weather, what’s likely the end of G.O.O.D. Music’s partnership with Def Jam gives 1 final look at 070 Shake’s genre-bending style & a glimpse into her fatal vision of desire. The musical palate consists of acoustic guitars, ornate piano passages, ominous synths, dembow & hip-hop rhythms with a dash of psychedelia leveling up her maturity.
Gwen Stefani is a 55 year old singer/songwriter, producer, fashion designer & actress Fullerton, California most notable for being the frontwoman of No Doubt. She later embarked on a solo career by signing to Interscope Records, seeing huge success following the release of her full-length debut L.A.M.B. (Love.Angel.Music.Baby.) named after her fashion line & The Sweet Escape. A decade later, she returned to positively received This Is What the Truth Feels Like as well as the Christmas album You Make It Feel Like Christmas consisting of covers during the 1st half & original material for the other. However, country producer Scott Hendricks is now joining Gwen for her 5th studio LP.
“Somebody Else’s” starts with this country rock opener singing about her current state mind after moving on from her ex-husband Gavin Rossdale whereas the title track those for more of a traditional country flare explaining that her heart was broken when meeting her new husband Blake Shelton. “Pretty” goes for more of a stripped-back approach singing that she’s bloomed & the acoustic-heavy “Empty Vases” tells Blake that he filled this lonely space of her’s.
Meanwhile on “Marigolds”, we have Gwen going country pop explaining that the tears they cry brought them back to life just before “Late to Bloom” goes for a country rock vibe once again singing about how waiting for Blake took centuries from her perspective. “Swallow My Tears” mixes country, pop & rock into 1 feeling as if the past has been chasing her around wanting Blake with her leading into “Reminders” asking if she can stay in his shade when she’s scared.
“All Your Fault” pushes towards the final moments of Bouquet pulling from traditional country music once again singing about her previous ex-husbands making her feel broken putting all the blame on them & “Purple Irises” featuring Blake Shelton himself properly finishes the LP in the form of this country duet telling each other that they’ve never known I love like the kind they have picking the titular flowers that symbolize wisdom, respect & admiration.
Chock full of 70’s pop-rock radio gems with a prominent Nashville influence, Scott Hendricks helps Gwen make her foray into country music one that’s better than I had originally anticipated because I can definitely see myself going back to this more than This is What the Truth Feels Like or You Make It Feel Like Christmas. Scott was the greatest choice of a producer that the No Doubt lead singer could make since he’s worked with her new husband plenty of times & Gwen’s songwriting throughout is prominently based around her experiences with love.
London, England, United Kingdom singer/songwriter Ella Mai celebrating her 30th birthday with her 4th EP. Signing to DJ Mustard’s very own Interscope Records imprint 10 Summers Records, her first few EPs Time as well as Change & Ready were all solid preludes ahead of her acclaimed eponymous full length debut studio album. Her sophomore effort Heart on My Sleeve would also be well received & 2 years later, she’s dropping off a 3-track offering produced by Mustard.
“Hearts on Deck” is this infectiously catchy ass opener singing about how this person’s next move better be the best one whereas “One of Those” samples I’ll Be Around” by Gnarls Barkley frontman Cee-Lo Green of the Goodie Mob subunit of the Dungeon Family collective admitting that she can’t get her boyfriend Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics off her mind. “Little Things” ends the EP on some trap soul vibes wanting to take some time thank y’all & just let you know just how you make her proud.
Introducing a fresh chapter in Mai’s career now that her 20s are behind her, 3 finds her & DJ Mustard’s reinforcing her signature soulful sound bringing listeners into a journey of love, connection & self-awareness. It also mirrors her personal growth & evolution, aligning beautifully with the themes of maturity & discovery reflected throughout the course of a 10 & a half minute listening experience without any features whatsoever.
This is the 5th studio album from Portland rapper Yeat. Coming up in 2018 off his debut EP Deep Blue $trips, he would followed up with 2 mixtapes & 3 more EPs before beginning to dominate the mainstream in 2021 whether it be him dropping a total of 4 projects (2 mixtapes, an EP & a full-length debut) or cosigns from the likes of Drake & Earl Sweatshirt. He eventually signed to Geffen Records, who backed his sophomore effort albeit major label debut 2 Alivë a little over a year ago & then a deluxe EP Gëek Pack shortly after. Coming off his 5th mixtape Lyfë couple summers ago alongside Aftërlyfe & the experimental 2093, he’s back to rep the Lyfestylë.
“Geek Timë” is this rage-inducing opener with Yeat boasting that he hits with the 10 instead of the 5 whereas “STFU” takes the Memphis route instrumentally sampling “Test My Nutz” by 2 Low Key to talk about being outside with the rag. “They Tell Më” heads back towards a hypertrap direction even though it’s one of the more repetitive moments lyrically, but then “Heard of Më” maintains a rage vibe altogether thanks to both Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic as well as venny talking about being geeked up like a God.
Moving on from there, “Speedball” sticks to the signature sound that many have come to know him for gettin’ this motherfuckin’ bag carryin’ a Glock by side in the process leading into “U Don’t Know” keeping the rage beats going leaving everyone who eventually tried him dead. “Orchestratë” has these prominent horn sections throughout that I found myself enjoying running it back up every weekend just before the sinister “Bë Quiet” featuring Kodak Black talks about being way too rich.
“The Costës” continues the dense, buzzing synth work with repetitive chord progressions & melodic synth leads wantin’ to know what y’all need so he can do the opposite while “Go2Work” featuring Summrs finds both SlayWorld members over a hypertrap instrumental comparing themselves to demons lurking during the evening. “Gone 4 a Min” suggests that maybe he’s bad for his own good throwing it back to Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West’s 4th album 808s & Heartbreak with the beat while the synth-driven “Forever Again” asks a dead man walking if he remembers him.
As for “On 1”, we have Yeat turning the rage back up shrugging off the lyfestylë is what others wants to be instead of them thinking they actually be living it out here while “Flytroop” maintains a hypertrap aesthetic dissing Lil88. The bassy “Eliminatë” talks about not needing a lamp or light since he already knows where the fuck he’s at while “Lying 5 Fun” flexes that he’s on a new level as further justified by 2093 & everyone else thinking he was done hooking up more synthesizers & hi-hats.
“New High” featuring Don Toliver psychedelically finds the pair dropping braggadocio while the synth-trap crossover “So What” admits to being fried. The title track featuring Lil Durk energetically sees both of them rockin’ out while “God Talkin’ Shhh” addresses everyone who thought of him as a pilgrim. “Lyfë Party” asks shawty if she’s being real on top of promising shit hasn’t changed & “Fatë” ends with him ridin’ with the windows down in this bitch.
Starting the deluxe run, “Project Lyfestylë” is this siren-heavy dedication to his Field Trip Recordings & Capitol Records imprint Lyfestyle Corporation while “For Lyfë” asks if anyone would want to do this with him for the rest of their lives. “Night Come” talks about feelin’ himself since he’s high as Hell at the moment & wanting to know why you so basic over more synths & hi-hats while the raging “5Brazy” featuring Quavo on the remix interpolates “TURNMËUP” spazzing out.
“Barbarian” futuristically dares y’all to come out & fool his squad with all them sticks they’re carrying while the blaring “Gravëyard” talks about Lyfestyle party wanting everyone to come on in & bring a friend. “Gonë” sticks to his hypertrap guns suggesting that he could be trippin’ while “Style Lyfë” showing off his flytroop status once more. The final bonus track “Back Thën” ends the deluxe complexed between not wanting to be alone & those who won’t leave him alone.
2093 marked a stylistic departure from Yeat since he took on more of a industrially experimental hip hop sound in comparison to rage & if you were disappointed in that previous LP even if I think it’s the best thing he’s ever done, you’ll probably find yourself preferring Lyfestylë. The production mainly returns to the hypertrap sound that made the Portland star a household name with additional elements of pop rap & experimental hip hop showing off a handful of new obsessions whether it be telling lies, gazing with wonderment at lights, threatening to cut people’s heads off like the Red Queen.
Memphis rapper Glorilla following up her 2nd mixtape EhhThang EhhThang with her full-length debut studio album. Breaking out off the viral & undeniably fun single “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” couple years ago, the ultimately resulted in local veteran Yo Gotti signing her to his Interscope Records imprint Collective Music Group a little over a week before they dropped their 2nd showcase compilation Gangsta Art a few months later, making her the very 1st female recording artist on the label. Anyways, Life’s Great… continued to have her presence felt & EhhThang EhhThang was ok, but all roads trace back to Glorious.
The intro has a gospel sample mixed with hi-hats that I find myself enjoying quite a bit promising it’ll always gonna be what it is until the very end whereas “Hollon” produced by FNZ takes the crunk route instrumentally talking about these muhfuckas wanting to bag a stupid bitch these days. “Procedure” featuring Latto pulls from the Mobb scene a bit thanks to Supah Mario telling y’all what to do when a bad bitch walk in the room & I found myself appreciating “T.G.I.F. (Thank Glow It’s Friday)” in the context of the LP blending influences from the Memphis scene with cloud rap & crunk music turning up on a Friday evening.
“Whatchu Kno ‘Bout Me?” featuring Sexyy Red works in some synths & hi-hats so both of them can carry on the theme of partying prior to the rubbery “Stop Playing” that Timbaland laced telling everyone listening to stop fuckin’ with her. “Don’t Deserve” featuring Muni Long kinda has this trap soul admitting women all go stupid for men at one point in their lives while “Rain Down on Me” heads for a gospel trap direction showing a spiritual side to herself.
Meanwhile on “Glo’s Prayer”, we have Glo continuing the themes of religion over a cloudy trap beat just before “How I Look” featuring Megan Thee Stallion gives off a Detroit trap vibe instrumentally showing off their mob ties together. The horn-heavy “I Ain’t Going” continues to detail the gangsta lifestyle she lives, but then Bossman DLow has the weakest guest verse on “Step” despite a return to the Detroit trap sound matched with the lyrics about hoppin’ on 385 & do the dash pass these bitches.
“Let Her Cook” hooks up these hi-hats & a horn sample courtesy of both Coupe & Pooh Beatz displaying a complimentary no fucks given attitude during the 2 & a half minute run while the pop rap-flavored “I Luv Her” has a bit of nostalgia to it from the DJ Montay beat to the T-Pain hook. “Queen of Memphis” ties up Glo’s long-awaited commercial debut rightfully taking the throne as the most dominant force in Memphis right now.
Regardless if I wasn’t big on Anyways, Life’s Great… or EhhThang EhhThang, I still considered Glorilla to be one of my personal favorite artists on the entire CMG roster & Glorious dethrones her last 2 projects as the most essential body of work in her career thus far. The glow-up in comparison to the predecessors is real, nevertheless let it be known that the reigning queen of crunk is still hanging out the window with her ratchet-ass friends when the opportunity arises.
Legends Will Never Die 