(BYRDS)

It feels as though it’s a daily occurrence these days where I discover a new artist, and today is no exception as I found the new ‘BLUEHILLBILL’ album called ‘BYRDS’.

I didn’t know what to expect with this album (as is the case with all new artists), but based on not only the visuals of the album cover but also from a friend’s recommendation, I expected at very least a dope hip-hop record, and I must say after listening through, that’s exactly what I got.

Now, starting with the production side of things, it’s very reminiscent of the ‘Indie/Underground’ scene with its raw and grimy elements and sound structures as well as at times its ‘Lo-fi/Ambient’ inspirations in the production undertones. All and all, making for a unique and interesting head-banging listen from start to finish!

My favourite track (instrumentally speaking) would have to be ‘Have More’ with its repeating key loop beat; it’s something I can imagine getting high and listening to for hours on loop!

Now, onto the rapping himself. I’ll admit it took me a minute to get used to his voice, similar to the experience for what it took for me to get used to an artist like ‘Danny Brown’, but equally as quick, it didn’t take long, and it was out of mind fast. When it comes to the lyricism and flow, I was pleasantly impressed with the level of penmanship, wordplay, and puns.

I saw there were a few wrestling bars, which as a wrestling head made me happy, and overall just a lot of clever verses and quotes across the 16 tracks’ runtime!

Overall, an interesting and refreshing listen that should make any hip-hop head of all tastes and cultures happy, and I recommend everyone should listen!

Shoutout to all the features who helped make the album pop!

-Reem Skully 

-BoriRock 

-Godda Bouche 

-Main’tain 

https://open.spotify.com/album/28xTDcUXcHsZ98R2xUhSDA?si=CzGbJ9W0SGqXXd7ESt1amg

(Arnam Palmer)

Today, I get the privilege to review the latest 2025 release by producer ARNAM, who in the past few years has been making waves in the underground circuit, and with albums like these, it’s not hard to see why! With 11 tracks and a 24-minute run time, this project is sure to blow you away!

Firstly, I must add that this record has a certain ‘aura’ behind it that most albums I’ve heard this year don’t! A certain level of passion and enthusiasm, creativity, and originality, all tied up into one!

You can hear woven in every word, bar, and verses delivered by the Rarefield Air boys, men I only discovered from this record yet their conviction for the art and their determination to be the best going this year is as evident as ever in this record!

Across the 11 tracks, Aram provides you some of the grimiest and bass-heavy hip-hop tracks I’ve heard in a minute. The smooth beats crossed with that underground trademark vibe make for the kind of record you’d want to bang your head to on a hot day, windows down, music blazing! 

I really love about this record is the Synchronicity and fluency of the features. Some projects just incorporate a bunch of voices for guest’s sake, but here each person joined feels like an important element to the album as a whole, as if they are sharing one mind and pen in creating each song. I absolutely love it! Shouting out the features including: 

-Solute

-Lord Ra 

– Unorthodocks

-Gorgeous Jefe 

-Dr. LaFlow

-Maze Overlay

Arizona is looking strong as of late. Of course, legends like Maze have already set the table, but with upcoming legends such as Arnam on the way, without a doubt, you can expect a takeover by this state, and you can put my name on that! Go check this shit out! 

https://rareair.bandcamp.com/album/arnam-palmer

(All About Me)

This is an exciting single for me to review because it features a man who is part of one of my favourite bands in the world! The bassist of ‘Tyr’, Gunnar Thomsen, has decided to go out solo, and it’s something I couldn’t be more excited for than I am now!

So, as the track starts, we have this lavish, beautiful chord progression before the song kicks off its badass metal tunes with those heavy guitars and rhythmic drum patterns!

Since he was also backing vocals for the band, it’s no surprise his singing voice is incredible on this solo project! He has a very deep yet smooth vocal style that fits this kind of music he’s playing perfectly.

I also love how towards the back end of the track, we have this switch-up which consists of a slow-down in pace with some distorted sounds and melodies before the track returns to its regular rhythm for the closing!

All in all, I love this song. It’s an exciting new venture into his life and career, and I can’t wait to see it progress! Make sure you all check this new song out and get ready for more! 🤘🏼

Also shoutout this Guns daughter for creating this amazing artwork for the singles!

https://youtu.be/_t0hGk8DHzs?si=QOAhLcwD8UvZMcEW

(Namaste)

As someone who has been a fan of Rome since he came to my attention with his debut Griselda release ‘KISS THE RING’ he’s been on my radar since.

From his numerous underground/Griselda feature verses to his album collaboration with Daringer ‘Hatton Garden Holdup’ to his upcoming project with Conductor Williams he’s been on a role most can only dream of and on his way to that new release he has released this single with Cuzzin Howie called ‘Namaste’

Firstly, this production is a lot different then what we are use to him from this point in his career. It’s a lot smoother, sweeter on the ears, that vocal loop is beautifully done and helped enhance that ambient/lo-fi vibe instrumental making for the kind of track that you’d assume off the bat might be too mellow for the type of style Rome presents but that’s not the case at all.

Rome, pulls off a killer two verses in his usual braggadocio tone and flow. I feel with every new release his skill as a lyricist and wordsmith improves as the more he spits the more seamless his verses and bars become. This is definitely the case here as he absolutely kills this beat and makes it work for him! 

All in all, a fun single to keep us going until his new album and I would be interested to hear more collaboration between these two because I feel they have great chemistry and it would work well! 

https://open.spotify.com/track/34Nhx8nMM8gsEwlTLqBejA?si=D6_nMmRuSzuUyDdxLXqWuw

(Holiday Land)

Once again, it’s time for me to discover a new artist and their latest 10-track album. This time it’s that new ‘Benny Holiday’ project, so let’s talk about it!

This project runs just over half an hour with 31 minutes in length, and I gotta say even though I didn’t know what to expect, the production of this one surprised me for its variety and creativity almost for each individual song.

For example, from the first song to the last, every song has a different stylistic choice and different instrumental choice to change the whole structure of the track from the one that came before!

Shoutout to the producers for doing their thing with the sounds such as

-Snowgoons

-Al’tarba

-I.n.c.h

-Shookz

We have hardcore tracks like ‘Payback’, which featured a posse-like vibe with multiple features on the one song like 

-Conway The Machine

-Caskey 

-Dope D.O.D

-DJ Illegal

And it feels like an Onyx or M.O.P. track 

And then on the final track ‘Francisco Goya’, has this soulful, slower, and smooth aesthetic to it to close the album off. So in that respect of sonic diversity and variety, I fuck with this album 

As far as the rapping goes, I feel similarly to the production. Benny likes to switch it up and try new styles, flows, vocal parts, and things of that nature. He’s a dope rapper and he has solid verses and lyricism, but in the same way, an ODB or even a Sticky Fingaz who might talk in an unpredictable manner on a track, or ODB being completely untrained in his style, I feel the same way here, not to mean it wasn’t enjoyable but unpredictable! 

All in all, a very interesting listening experience, and I feel those who are looking for something different, this would be the one!

Shoutout to the names involved!

-Jupiter May

-DJ Tray

-Lil Flip

-Jacc D. Frost

-Gorilla Zoe

-Dogma

https://open.spotify.com/album/0YJT97PuHAyxM760hvn6hZ?si=SQUQXh7bSjGgb41IiSAvaw

(40 Cal Capone)

Man, with the amount of dope albums that have come around in January alone, I always get surprised when the consistency gets better and better, and this record has blown my mind in every way possible!

What we have here is the latest collaboration album between Chubs x Rob Viktum, and they hold nothing back in this verbal assault on hip hop with a hostage grip on the industry that I’m not sure any man or group could take over from them!

Starting with Rob, his production here is relentless to say the least. Raw, traditional underground hip hop at its finest. Nothing fancy, just straight-up vicious and boom bap style beats with the utmost mastery and precision. 

This is the kind of album you could play on repeat for days on end just for the production alone; it’s near impossible to get sick of it! Each song hits harder than most in the game right now, and paired with Chubs and the various collaborations, this project blows absolutely everything out of the water!

Now onto Chubs. A man who has proven himself tenfold over the years, but on this one, his lyricism, bars, and flow are even more refined, powerful, and damn near perfect in flow. When I say there isn’t even an off ‘word’ or ‘breath’ by Chubs in this album, I mean it; he doesn’t fucking miss! It’s incredible.

With every new track, his bars keep blowing me away for the fact of his immaculate flow; he’s on beat with everything, and I’ve listened to this album 3x now for this review, and every time, just gets more and more impressive.

Talking impressive are the features on this project, with one standout track ‘Oxymorons’ ft Bub Styles, who complements Chubs’ styles like no other, helping him create a hood banger of 2025 that will be unrivalled!

Not to shadow the other features such as

-ILL BILL

-Fastlife

-Reek Osama

-Northside Lord

-Dusty Renoylds

All who help elevate this project also, each bringing the same savage energy as Chubs!

I’m telling you, this album is beyond incredible, and I can’t believe with all the records we’ve already got that we have artists like this continuing to push the limits and quality even further!

THIS IS A CAN’T MISS ALBUM!

https://open.spotify.com/album/2tpAf9aA5D26eq3fXYNRQl?si=rxJM_HJwTuGI8kqG65kdnA

(Theatrical Torture)

The best thing about the underground is the fact that I could discover a new artist every week for 10 years and never run out of new recommendations! The case in question is here: 3 new artists, one rapper, and two producers, and this is one hell of an album to discover them on! I present to you the latest collaboration from 

‘SC Static’ X ‘Dynasty Brothaz’

When talking about this 8-song record that runs just under 30 minutes, I’d love to start with the production because it does do justice to the album title ‘THEATRICAL TORTURE.’ Because most of the instrumentals on here do give off a strong ‘classical/theatrical’ vibe and aura about them.

This album has a sense of smooth, crisp, and historic vibe that most albums just don’t have. The way the brothaz have utilised those 18th-19th-century sounds with all the trimmings of intensity, suspense, and build-up is all insane.

It’s like Mozart himself is behind them, orchestrating this whole album himself over the dope beats! I honestly haven’t heard anything quite like this (at least in hip-hop), and for the production alone, this will make it a standout album for 2025.

Now, on to SC Static, especially after I hyped up the production to the extent I did, how does he hold up against that? Well, turns out extremely well! He’s a lyrical beast, and for those who already know him, I’m sure this is no surprise, but for me, he blew me away!

I love his lyricism, his witty wordplay, like ‘You’ll drop dead but not because you’re gorgeous.’ I love that line. He provided more complicated bars per verse than most rappers in the mainstream do per album! He knew he couldn’t let that fantastical production go to waste, and boy did he prove his worth 10x fold on this one. Every song left my face scrunched up and in awe over his ability! 

For an 8-song project, this is beyond great; this is a phenomenon! Each man involved helped create a modern-day classic, and I hate to use that term lightly, but I just can’t think of any other way to describe this! Definitely a standout for the year!

Shoutout to ‘Marz One’ for his dope feature on the record as well!

https://snowgoons.bandcamp.com/album/theatrical-torture

‘Aquarius III’

I gotta be honest, it’s been a while since I checked out Logic. I think the last project I fucked with heavily was his ‘Bobby Tarantino II’ back in 2018. 

He’s an artist that has always left me with a swinging feeling for him. Some of his projects back in the day I bumped for months, while others I listened to once and never went back to (this being the more consistent narrative for his last few leading up to his first retirement announcement).

But I saw this one and thought ‘fuck it’ let’s give it a try, and honestly I’m glad I did because it wasn’t bad at all!

This is a 5-song EP with only 14 minutes. With this short of a project, you know there can’t be any room for error, and he understands the task at hand and makes one of his most fun, groovy, and intriguing albums I’ve heard of his in years! (At least to me.)

The production itself is very Lo-Fi mixed with boom bap-flavoured instrumentation. The more I think about it. This is the kind of production you heard in the later years of Mac Miller with releases like ‘Swimming’ or even some beats on his first posthumous release ‘Circles’, so in that respect, I’m happy Logic chose this style because it definitely suits him!

Lyrically, it’s less bullshit, less gimmicks, and more straightforward bars, which is the Logic I always strive for. Don’t get me wrong, rappers who have a certain level of in-studio persona or ‘character’ to them don’t necessarily mean bad. I love Busta Rhymes and Redman, for example, but I always found Logic at his best when he’s at his most no-nonsense, and I find these songs exactly that! 

Overall, for a 14-minute track, he absolutely kills this EP. It’s short, sweet, and fun, it should definitely satisfy die-hard fans, and for those who are side-line fans like me, I’m sure this will give you something in the realm of replay value!

https://open.spotify.com/album/2Sgg02H2euJ1x6eZAysstY?si=ptSjrPD2QLK07CpO0Tpw3g

(MADON)

Really for another dope EP review? I sure am and today we have the latest RLX X LOMAN project. The best thing is, I haven’t heard of either of these guys till now but as fate had it, it was destined for me to cover this and I’m so glad I did because this is the SHIT!

Firstly, we gotta talk about the production by ‘Loman’ I absolutely love the lowkey lo-fi, smooth soul vibe on this one. Every track I heard made me get in touch with my imagination and almost have an outer body experience, it’s one of those albums you could smoke a fat one to while laying back and just vibing strong.

Although this project is only 12 tracks long each song has it’s own fresh personality and character, it’s as if he found the essence of the most chill guy ever and used his energy to convert to a sonic landscape for this EP. It’s something you definitely have to experience to understand but definitely my kind of aura, I fuck with this heavy.

On the other side of things we have ‘RLX’ who blends surprisingly well to the task at hand of matching the aura of this production and he does that perfectly! Each bar, each verse, each word out this man’s mouth is solid! He sounds confident and in his lane with this one, I’m not sure what kind of production he’s normally on but either way this kind of shit fits him like a glove and I’m hoping going forward he prefers this kind of instrumentals since it suits him so well!

Overall, a dope short EP with no gaps or filler. Just straight 20 minutes of banger that I recommend everyone check out!

Shoutout to all the collaborators on this shit for keeping it popping!

-Chandler Ward

-Swizzy 

-Michael Christmas

-Swan Lingo

https://lomantypebeats.bandcamp.com/album/madon

‘SUBTERRANEAN ART’

Lerics X Eclyse ‘SUBTERRANEAN ART’

Who’s ready for killer single? The type of aura that would leave you mindless with nothing but Hip Hop left in your mind and heart, more specifically leave your essence as nothing but 

SUBTERRANEAN ART

Across this track we have a back and fourth relentless lyrical volley between Lerics and Eclyse who leave nothing to the imagination with their killer penmanship, performance and persistence helps lay the ground work for two true artists battling out in the purest form of competition possible!

Also on this track we have said rap feature ‘Eclyse’ under his producer name ‘Someone’ dropping one of the coldest and mind bending beats I’ve heard in a while. The kind of thing you could you play at night while tripping out trying to experience something supernatural in nature, truly a unique listening aura to this one!

Definitely check this out when possible! A dope collaboration with a dope instrumental! 

https://lrics.bandcamp.com/track/subterranean-art-feat-eclyse