Westside Boogie – “Live at the Novo” review

Westside Boogie is a 33 year old MC from Compton, California who broke out onto the scene in 2014 with his debut mixtape Thirst 48. He would go on to follow it up with The Reachexactly a year later as well as Thirst 48 II the year after that before catching the attention of Detroit icon Eminem & signing to his Interscope Records imprint Shady Records in late 2017. His full-length debut Everything’s for Sale at the beginning of 2019 was a solid way to introduce himself to a wider audience & the sophomore effort More Black Superheroes did it’s job encouraging the world to embrace their powers, but is returning 9 months later in the form of his debut EP.

“Cold as Love” is a spacious trap opener with Superblood Boog talks about being in his head & pondering why one feels so safe yet shady can’t save him after invading his space while the penultimate track “Tell Me” works in a chipmunk soul sample & some hi-hats so Anthony can describe all the things that he wants to be told such as never hearing any kind of sucka shit again or how to fix the hood if he ain’t never in the hood. “Mood” on the other end sends off the EP with Ratchet Boog over a piano trap instrumental dropping some braggadocio for dat azz.

Everything’s for Sale gave a wider audience a good look as to who he really is & the concept of More Black Superheroes is still compelling to this day in my book but if Live at the Novo is only a prelude for his upcoming 3rd album, then I think it’s a solid offering to keep listeners satisfied until then. He delves more into himself lyrically whilst introducing his 2 alter-egos & the trap undertones of his 2 full-lengths are more prominent here than they were in the past.

Score: 3.5/5

Westside Boogie – “More Black Superheroes” review

This is the sophomore album from Compton emcee Westside Boogie. Breaking out onto the scene in 2014 with his debut mixtape Thirst 48 as well as following it up with The Reach exactly a year later as well as Thirst 48, Pt. II the year after that, he would eventually catch the attention of Detroit icon Eminem by signing to his Interscope Records imprint Shady Records in late 2017. His full-length debut Everything’s for Sale at the beginning of 2019 was a solid way to introduce himself to a wider audience & he’s finally returning in the form of More Black Superheroes.

“KILLA MODE” opens up the album with an acoustic guitar & some crooning vocals as Westside Boogie warns everyone to stop playing with him whereas “STUCK” takes a more piano-trap route & show a more contemplative side of him. “NONCHALANT” has a more summery tone to it getting romantic just before “LOL SMH II” starts off with a more soulful tone talking about needing power to be present, but switches into somewhat of a funkier sound saying he’s as calm as can be.

Meanwhile on “CAN’T EVEN LIE”, we have Soulja Boy tagging along over some keys & hi-hats calling out the pussies leading into the smooth “PRIDEFUL II” asking his girl what she be getting into. “AIGHT” returns to trap territory to brush off all the cap people be telling him, but then Smino & Teezo Touchdown come into the picture for the sensual “CAN’T GET OVER YOU” talking about how they can’t get over their significant others.

“RATCHET BOOG” is an aggressive introduction to one of the 3 alter egos that Westside Boogie has with a cool beat-switch towards the end while “SOMETHIN’ STRANGE” seems a little out of place given the fact that Kalan.FrFr has the most presence on it out of everyone. The penultimate track “WINDOWS DOWN” with Snoop Dogg finds the 2 talking about smoking weed over a tranquilizing instrumental & “ANTHONY (WAR)” finishes the album with a well sequenced 2-parter admitting he thinks he’s too bougie now.

We’ve waited 3 long years for this one to come out & I think I happen like it a tad bit better than Everything’s for Sale. I admire the whole concept of embracing your powers as well as how much Westside Boogie has grown both creatively & personally since the last time we heard from him.

Score: 3.5/5

Westside Boogie – “Everything’s for Sale” review

Westside Boogie is a 29 year old MC from Compton, California who first broke out onto the scene in 2014 with his 1st mixtape Thirst 48, eventually following it up with The Reach exactly a year later as well as Thirst 48, Pt. II the year after that. This would eventually catch the attention of Detroit icon Eminem, who signed Boogie to his Interscope Records imprint Shady Records in late 2017. He then gained even more exposure with a pretty great feature on “Dumb” off of Royce da 5’9”’s latest album Book of Ryan but now almost 9 months later, he’s ready to deliver to his full-length debut.

Things kick off with “Tired (Reflections)”, where Westside Boogie talks about what he’s sick of over a mellow beat. The next track “Silent Ride” talks about being detached over a flute-heavy instrumental while the song “Swapmeet” is an pretty, acoustic love ballad. The track “LOL SMH” talks about his baby momma over a smooth beat with a nice switch-up during the 2nd half while the song “Soho” with J.I.D. sees the 2 talking about being sick of people tryin’ to be cool with them now that they’re famous over a banger beat. The track “Skydive” is another acoustic love tune while the song “Live 95” talks about being broke & the beat has a great vintage West Coast vibe to it.

The track “Rainy Days” with Eminem sees the 2 talking about not wanting to be forgotten over a monstrous trap beat from S1 & STREETRUNNER that kinda sounds like it was made during the sessions of Em’s latest album KAMIKAZƎ, but it’s still enjoyable. The song “Skydive II” is pretty much a reprise of the predecessor & while it’s not bad, but it should’ve been merged together with the first one because it seems so out of place standing by itself. The track “Whose Fault” reflects on the arguments he’s had with his baby mama over a somber beat while the song “No Warning” talks about his toxic attitude over a minimalist beat with some gloomy piano chords. The penultimate track “Self Destruction” talks about his ignorance over a nocturnal trap beat & then the closer “Time” with Snoh Aalegra is a corny duet about Boogie treating Snoh like a side-chick

Overall, this is Westside Boogie’s best work yet. The production’s more refined in comparison to his mixtapes & I feel like we get a greater glimpse of who he is. Definitely a solid beginning for Shady Records’ next big star.

Score: 3.5/5