Hand to god. It was not that long ago that I was thinking to myself when this man would drop a project. After the undeniable success of ‘FEED THE FAMILY’, I felt surely it had to be a matter of time this year that he’d drop, and thankfully my question was answered in the form of one of the most interesting and exciting records to date! Let’s talk about it!
This is the brand new record by MC and ‘FEED THE FAMILY’ soldier Shaykh Hanif, which showcases the producers of
-SAMY BEATS
-WINO WILLY
-SPANISH RAN
-NICHOLAS CRAVEN
-VDON
-STATIK SELEKTAH
-CAMOFLAUGE MONK
-CONDUCTOR WILLAMS
-CEASE FLEMMI
That is a ridiculous flexing statement of beat makers to come alongside your album! And we also have the MC’s
-Rome Streetz
-Smoke DZA
-Estee Nack
-Al-Doe
And I can’t stress enough. In trademark FEED artist style, this record is the definition of ‘cinematic’. This album sounds beyond a hip-hop album but more a grand social statement that makes you feel like you’re witnessing a movie score in real time, and it’s fucking phenomenal.
The instrumentation itself doesn’t even feel real; it feels like 8D Dolby Atmos quality songs that surround your entire senses 360 degrees as if you’re at a live concert in your living room. It’s fucking insane. This album feels like it spent 8 billion dollars to make, and they hired John Williams, James Cameron, and Martin Scorsese to make this album. It’s that meticulously crafted that I almost feel ‘unworthy’ to review it, as if some orchestra head came to me to review their ‘classical music’ as if I had any business attempting that!
When I read the list of producers, I was a little bit concerned (only because I prefer the old-fashioned one artist to one producer formula), but it was clear once I turned this on that there was no problem, and in this scenario, too many heads in the kitchen was the right move!
It’s impossible for me to find a favourite beat because each track feels like it deserved to win a Grammy for its technical mastery! I was just trying to pay attention to the record’s content and not drift off into my own thoughts!
If you thought FEED’s 2025 has been ‘grand’ up until this point, you haven’t heard ANYTHING YET. This album may have taken the number one spot in the ‘AOTY’ list. I’m not kidding, my words can’t do the music itself justice; you have to listen and experience it for yourself!
Now onto the man himself, Shaykh. This man has already proven his worth and skill on the mic with just this year alone featuring on a wide range of releases and often performing ‘feature verse of the album’, but now he’s back to take centre stage, and man does he ever kill in that position!
Pairing with that flawless production, we have Shaykh who gives a performance of his lifetime; he hits everything right.
Whether you want to talk about his pen game, where each song is a different vividly painted story and introspective social commentary that absorbs you into the scene he was verbally painting, where you can see every tiny detail he’s laid out with his words.
He’s a true ‘artist’ and ‘author’ in every sense of the word. There wasn’t a song that went by that I didn’t feel moved me or absorbed me across the whole.
Or we can talk about his god-given charisma and aura. Not only was his pen game on point, but the way he utilised his flow, which was wrapping around the beats themselves like a bird flying through the clouds!
You can tell by his cadence that he’s confident, convicted, and passionate about his work. Every breath on the album has a purpose, and he performs all this with pride in his skills and his rap family that stand beside him!
Even looking at the small handful of MC’s he had features on this record is a testament to where his mind is at and keeping a down-to-earth mentality with who he wants on it! He’s going to start, grow, and succeed with the brothers he knows best, and I fucking love that!
I also loved that intro; it had me dying. It was describing me to a tee, and I gotta say it humbled me real quick!
I can’t speak highly enough about this record. I NEED everyone to listen and study the masterpiece of sounds that this album does with extreme precision!
https://open.spotify.com/album/4vqYN2CKju4dHCGK0PLfpn?si=6a02YcPxR_C_7B6o9qwp0g
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