Oh, get the fuck outta here, these two are collaborating? This year’s a wrap. Out of all the duos I was expecting in 2026, this wasn’t one of them! These two were new discoveries for me last year, and they quickly became some of the biggest standouts, and now they join forces to create one of the most deadly albums you’ll hear, period.
This is the brand-new collaboration album between MC Gamblez, Tha Lucky Bastard, and producer Johnny Slash, and mixed and mastered by Gibby Stites, and I can’t even front, this record and the seven tracks it contains are some of the dopest you’ve heard in culture.
From the very second this album is turned out, we hear Gamblez and his trademark aggressive and gritty performance that is equal parts compelling and raw! He’s not the one to play with. The way he plays with the lyricism and pen game is like a thug walking through a dangerous street, knuckle dusters in hand, taking on all competition! This is the sonic equivalent of that, with each word he spits is a different verbal combo!
His flow is an uppercase, his pen game a straight gut shot, his cold charisma a running knee to the jaw, his bars and one-liners the final curb stomp to the back of the head! He’s out here verbally killing these beats one song at a time!
I felt myself slipping into a vivid world of violence and adrenaline listening to this! He can create such intense rushes with his performances that very few can rival; what’s scary most about him is the fact he’s actually a complex and technically capable MC! He just chooses to go the darker path of approaches, which makes him that much more powerful!
Across this tape, he’s accompanied by the illest spitters in the industry, such as -Mo Rukuz, -Skull Bludgeon, -Hanzo Bladez, -The Bad Seed, -King Magnetic, -DJ TMB
And you couldn’t ask for a more brutal team to be accompanied by! I’ve supported all these men before, and each man has their own devastatingly skilled talents that make them a threat in the culture and have phenomenal chemistry with Gamblez!
As far as the beats go, Jonny Slash comes back with his fire that burns everything around him and leaves only the toughest thriving in his world of instrumentals and chaos!
These seven tracks read as a masterful score that is the definition of ‘scorched earth’ in music form as he decides to create an underground soundtrack so deep and heavy that it’s impossible to ignore!
For example, we have tracks like -The Truth, which starts off with a snippet of the classic ‘Tropical Thunder’ as it evolves into this jazz-influenced boom-bap offering that I couldn’t get enough of! You have those hypnotic horns that are looped across the track that’s accompanied by some heavy-set drums and some plucked keys that intricately ride the wave of the instrumentals, especially towards the end! One of the key examples of tracks I found myself returning to per this review write-up!
Another track was the track right before it -Anybody Can Get It. This track had me feeling a certain way! It was the best example of classic meets modern! You had those intense, 90’s East Coast hip-hop vibes with those swaying keys and ridiculous drum beats!
Alongside the defying bass to tie all this together in a modern boom-bap twist!
Not to mention hearing Mo back on the case on the opening verse? Nah, when I heard that, I got goosebumps! He and the rest of the gang absolutely killed it on this track!
And I have to talk about the opener -All I Got, as it was one of the most powerful intro statements I’ve heard in a minute! FUCK THIS HAD ME GOING!
The combination of those synth-style chords that were equal parts glistening and cinematic! You had those swaying separate chords that sounded sci-fi in nature as well as more unforgiving drums and some light vocal choir-style harmonies! This was the PERFECT way to kick the record off that it set the tone for the rest!
I have to re illustrate the fact that this duo is a crime against nature. Two monsters coming together for an unholy union and one you won’t want to ignore! Check it out now!
https://open.spotify.com/album/2dmpfpwZ5OwoLxZdkHiVrS?si=0yvDYVl3SO2zUZO-uCzJlA
The Serpent Tongue Reviews 