(Mysterioso)

The one part about living in Australia is that I get albums close to a day earlier than everyone else! So as the clock struck midnight, I’m here to cover the latest anticipated album by New Villain X Circa 97, so let’s go!

This latest project is 10 tracks and 29 minutes in length, with features including 

-ILLAH

-Sphere47

-$AMO HEUNG 

And across this project, we get a very different sound from Circa 97, a man who, if you’re familiar with the underground scene, needs no introduction, but for those who aren’t, he’s one of the best producers grinding the last few years to be one of the hottest and most sought after in the game. 

In this one, he’s bringing a more somber and earnest soundscape. On its surface, it sounds as if the 60’s has been revived, distorted, and in parts, the use of reverb to create a whole new sub-genre of beats that sound equally raw and grim. Such as tracks like ‘Spidey Senses’ that have that old-school voice sample slowed down and pitched to sound as eerie as possible over a skeletal and stripped-down underground beat.

Or the track ‘Infinite Horizons’ with those piano keys that sound like they are being played by the very soul of ‘melancholy’; it sounds like dread personified. Slow, shadowy, and heavy keys that really give the listener a creepy vibe. 

I’ve heard Circa on dark beats before, but this project takes his previous work and injects a whole new level to what we’ve known so far; this is a side of him that, although fascinating, is also very serious and solemn; it’s just honestly hard to absorb all at once.

Now, onto New Villain. A man who is new to me before this project, so I didn’t have any previous expectations for what I should expect, but across these doomsday beats, he does very well, utilising his no-nonsense lyrical style with the occasional pop culture puns such as ‘Shawn Michaels Smile’ or ‘Spidey Senses’, which does break the seriousness for a small while, but overall, I find his flow, penmanship, and bars in your face and savage at heart, which is fitting considering the production he’s working with.

The features do a fantastic job also at matching the sinister energy across this project with this apocalyptic atmosphere maintained from start to finish.

I’ll be honest, I was not expecting that. Is it a good album? Yes, it’s great! No surprise with Circa on the production, but it’s just 10x more sinister than I was experiencing, and that has surprised me so much that I think I might need a few days to process all I’ve heard! Either way, definitely not one to miss! Great collaboration between the two!

https://open.spotify.com/album/1TPhYgcpFiSjn8IowAnYrv?si=80PYFtveRIibBhVCfcl9sg

(The Sky Walker Chronicles 2)

This man right here is a man who I’ve had on my radar since I heard his work on ‘Dusty Souls’ alongside Y.N.X. 716, two men who have impressed me more than most, and today it’s the day of Aaqil Ali and producer Cheff Carter for this sequel that as always exceeds expectations!

So, this is a whopping 18-track project with features from the likes of 

-Jamal Gasol

-Cheena Black

-Shakir

-Ian J

-Weedie The God

-Bigboy Jones

-Raquel

-Gems

-MoneySignHines

-Bdaylight X Vocero

And most importantly -mum and surprisingly -Mike Epps! 

Either way, for such a huge project, I guess you need a group to help maintain it, and these features do a fantastic job at keeping the atmosphere and aura alive that Aaqil worked hard to achieve and bring to the table!

What’s always interesting and exciting about hearing either a feature verse or a full-length project by Aaqil is his level of quality and larger-than-life persona he brings to every single song he’s on. He makes every word sound cinematic and important. He’s a motivational speaker turned MC where you hang on every bar, verse, and song he puts down on principle alone because he’s just that damn fluent.

Some people just have the ‘gift.’ I know my dad has it, where you just walk into a room and speak, and everyone listens. Aaqil has the exact same gift, and even though I expect that from him, every new project I’m just left in awe at this level of passion and execution of lyrical ability that very few people in the culture have! 

Pairing up with Cheff Carter, the man understood the assignment and helped create this masterful soundscape of smooth, soulful, and elegant sonic designs with various instrumentation and production. With every new instrumental, the more soothing and beautiful the album becomes. It’s as if he reads the mind of Ali and creates the atmospheric equivalent to his rapping, which I can only describe as laying across a star-studded sky without a care in the world, just letting your mind wander and dream. 

It’s ambient in presence and it’s also one thing I love about Ali, he generally chooses such lush and delicate beats that tend to go against the grain to normal underground music and I absolutely love that. It’s different but also stands out in the best way possible!

The overall feel of this album is that it’s yet another phenomenal masterpiece by Aaqil who hasn’t made a dud yet. The pairing of him and Cheff Carter is a combination that can’t fail and including the helpful and talented features laid out on this thing you have a gem that I hope is properly appreciated over the year and years to come! 

https://aaqilali.bandcamp.com/album/cheff-carter-presentz-sky-walker-chroniclez-vol-2

(At Peace)

Just as the title suggests. This single is one of the most beautifully crafted instrumentals I’ve heard all year. Apollo Brown, one of the most credited and respected producers in the game, is soon to release a beat tape called ‘Elevator Music’, and he chose this as his first teaser track. Let me tell you all, if this shit played in the elevators where I’m from, I’d be riding those things all day and night.

This is a 3-minute instrumental track with these long-winded notes playing as if they were the breezing wind itself brushing through your body on a hot summer’s day. Alongside these exquisite notes, we have a simplistic yet well-crafted skeletal hip-hop beat playing in the background to accompany such angelic strings. 

This type of instrumental reminds me of the soundtrack of those classic ‘Studio Ghibli’ movies with those peacefully ambient soundscapes that just take you away into another realm as your mind tries to focus on the film, but the music is just so fucking powerful and poetically executed that your thoughts are left going on a journey of their own.

This is beyond music at this point; this is art at its finest, and I can’t be more excited to hear the full project in its entirety! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/4Jq9sQYt3ThcloJqLNcgnD?si=HpcQ7xbYTd-wOGQey4k8qA

(Bruiser Brody LP)

Since discovering Chubs this year with his 2025 drop ‘40 Cal Capone’, I can honestly say he’s been on my replay list for the whole year since. So I naturally had to go through his discography, and I came across this gem. As a hip-hop fan and a wrestling fan, this is the perfect album for me! So let’s talk about it!

So, this was a March 2024 release with 13 tracks and a 32-minute run time and produced by ‘Fumes The Threat’, also a new artist for me, but the production value on this one is some of the best I’ve heard in a minute!

From the opening track, you can hear those raw, dark, and absolutely cut-throat boom-bap beats so hard that I swear my recent neck issues have been due to overdosing on this album and its ridiculous production.

Every track has its own variety of gritty, street underground hip-hop good enough to blow your mind! There’s no beat in this rotation that lacks or sticks out like a sore thumb; it’s just all tough, crisp, and hardcore beats that are thankfully not wasted on any rubbish artist but instead use to its full potential on the man known as Chubs.

Chubs, the man with his impeccable flow, lyricism, and penmanship, has climbed to the very top of my rappers list. I hang on every bar he spits, and the way he can glue words and phrases together is literally unmatched. Plus, his use of ‘Son’ and the spin he puts on it has become a phrase that’s been stuck in my head all year.

Across this project, he’s joined by the likes of: 

-Dusty Renoylds 

-Supreme Cerebral

-Mondo Slade

-A.M. Early Morning

-Pro Dillinger

All these names are underground royalty! You can’t find better than this group of lyrical monsters, and even so, Chubs stands toe to toe with them with ease; he’s an equally terrifying beast on the mic, and with his magical wordplay, I can’t seem myself getting sick of him anytime soon.

When I tell you this album has been in my Spotify recently played for almost the last 2 months, I mean it. From the wrestling references with Brusier Brody, to the badass album cover, to the immaculate rapping, to the legendary crew of names featured, to the ridiculously talented production, there’s not even a weak second on this project! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/1LgLKo2sUGqi6GK2mRI50Q?si=73xZ3ek2TBOZaLpe0ICxTA

(Tae Beast Tape 1)

Okay, I’m travelling back in time for this one. To 2010 to be exact. Why? Well, the release of the ‘Tae Beast Tape 3’ was promoted on my social media accounts, and it got me curious, but I didn’t want to start at the latest, and so my journey to the start began. So, let’s talk about it!

As the album title suggests, this is a beat tape by Tae Beast. A man I can admit I’ve never heard of until today, and so I had no idea what to expect, which is kind of exciting to go into a project with no preconceptions. This has 19 tracks and a 49-minute length.

I’ll start by saying the intro track ‘Believe’ was surprising. As it had the album introduced by none other than Bill Cosby. I’m not sure if he was accused yet in 2010, but regardless, it was a voice I wasn’t expecting, and we start the album with that.

As the project goes on, we have a lot of different sounds and samples across the 19 songs, all with their own flavours, personalities, and auras. If I had to describe how this album felt to me, I would have to word it like this.

What would happen if Madlib and Conductor Williams had a love child? It would sound like this. A mixture of creative and artistic ideas combined with experimental, out-there, and unpredictable soundscapes and atmospheres that leave you in a state of thrilling confusion until the last seconds.

You’ve got tracks like ‘El Campo’ which present a straightforward yet infectious hip-hop loop over light vocal samples and piano keys. Then you have a beast of a track like ‘Gorilla Monson,’

Which literally sounds like Godzilla’s footsteps walking towards you, and it’s actually quite terrifying to think about. Nonetheless, a theatrical and cinematic adaptation of a beat.

There’s tracks like ‘Blue Ship’ which has a softer tone and exterior with a lighthearted instrument loop and 80’s-sounding aesthetic that makes me feel like I’m on a fancy cruise in the warm sun, forgetting all my worries!

There’s even Reggae flavoured songs such as ‘Jamaican Gold’ which highlights that Caribbean flare and vibe that makes you want to light one up, sit back and just enjoy the party atmosphere as your mind wonders throughout the night.

This album is chocked full of different and exciting songs and production. Your always left guessing as to what sound he’s going to go for next and the beats themselves are masterfully done and composed excellently. My first impressions are strong and I can’t wait to dive into tape 2!

https://open.spotify.com/album/3gduqb2pKPNCbk1u5kYBwI?si=ozDoufi-QuKNK_1hyksyaw

(Martyr’s Prayer III)

The long-awaited 2025 release of legendary producer 38 Spesh is finally here, and this time he’s with underground assassin ElCamino, and together they come back to stand on business, so let’s get to it!

So, this latest collaboration project is 10 tracks with a run time of 23 minutes, which, as of late, is pretty standard for underground projects, and as usual, short doesn’t mean lacking, especially when you have two of the dopest in the culture on the same project!

Let’s talk about 38. He’s released more projects than I can count, and every single one has been as dope as the next, and his standards have been immortalised in the culture. With this one, we hear his trademark raw, grimy beats and this time mixed in with some smooth and crisp instrumentation that reminds me of a cross between Westside Gunn and prime-era 50 Cent with the combination of grime and East Coast street boom Bap! 

You’ve got cuts like ‘Offend You’ with those infectious hood keys over those orchestral instrumentation in the background. Or on the song ‘Babygirl,’ which sounds like a modernised twist on 90’s RnB and New Jack Swing, one of the most polished and serene beats I’ve heard from 38 in a minute.

My point being, he’s on his shit to make a statement that no matter the consistency or year in the game, he’s the one to beat, and he ain’t giving up his crown any time soon!

El Camino. A man who has spent the past few years grinding, sharpening his skills until he became a monster that no one could take lightly, and on this album, he’s proving why! 

He’s got that lethal penmanship combined with his raw, bloodthirsty energy and lyricism that could match anyone in the game right now. He’s effortlessly blitzing through these songs one by one with his uncanny flow, ability, and distinct voice that puts him in that next-level tier from everyone else.

Rapping alongside the likes of Benny The Butcher, he maintains his status as his and anyone’s equal no matter who you put in front of him. No matter if the production is raw or smooth, he can rock with any sound, and he proves it on this one!

Overall, this ain’t the record to sleep on. It hits on every aspect, and 38 proves once again he doesn’t know the meaning of taking a loss, and I doubt he ever will! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/6haklDQ3CU11vrhaVx3UOh?si=ObyDcV9MSeercuQ4J7WeUQ

(Dior Da Vinci)

The day has finally arrived! The drop of one of the most anticipated releases of the year! Now that it’s dropped. Let’s talk about it!

This is the latest by Reek Osama and producer Work Scorsese. Two giants in the underground whose individual catalogues have made more waves than most, so to come together on such a dynamic project as this is a game changer to say the least! 

With 9 tracks and features from 

-Eto and -WhoIsBravy, they come to shake the game up once again, and let me tell you, this one goes HARD.

Let’s start with the production. From the very first track, you can hear just how theatrical and cinematic the sounds are. This feels like a movie, and it only gets more intense as the album goes on. 

Whether you’re talking about the track ‘Pat Holmes’ with those eerie chords loops over that skeletal beat structure. Or the track ‘10k’ with those booming strings and lavish beats that sound like an 80’s montage from your favourite thriller!

The point being, Work does an excellent job navigating the sonic waters between the cold-blooded and raw atmosphere and the larger-than-life/picturesque landscape and doing so in the most masterful way possible!

Onto Reek. The man whose savage, deep voice and ruthless wordplay has made waves across the culture for years. Now he’s back with an ever bigger voice, more monstrous aura, flow, and penmanship. 

The way he nails the energy over those vivid beats is incredible. He’s become one with the production and executes a killer performance that only he could pull off! 

When it comes to ‘living up to the hype’, Reek and Work did this in spades. The production is amazing, the rapping is top tier, and the features are ruthless and well performed! Definitely an album of the year contender!

https://open.spotify.com/album/7z5mIReHijfJUnFMfOhxB0?si=suPbhpTHRwK-UpQg1hFCww

(Are You In There)

Well, this is a first for me. The first remix album I’ve been able to cover, but when I read the premise for the EP, you know I had to check it out: Mac Miller X Japanese Samples? Yes, please!

So, 6 remix tracks: 

-One Life

-And Let Go

-Be In This Moment

-Corny As Nebraska 

-Universal Energy

-Are You In There

And of course, let’s get the elephant in the room out of the way. The vocal performances are, of course, brilliant; it’s Mac Miller. One of the greatest MC’s of the modern day, and so yes, across the 6, he doesn’t miss; it’s always a sentimental moment to hear him rap again, and his energy, passion, aura— they just don’t match anyone else I’ve heard. So yes, if you’re a Mac Miller fan, then of course, these verses are elite as you should come to expect.

What the real question here is ‘how is the production’? And honestly, I dig these remixes. Gold Matter himself always provides masterclasses in how to perfectly execute some of the best production you could hear, and for this, I hear a combination of, as stated, Japanese style influences, and the rest are more a mix of Lo-Fi and Classic Soul! Similar to some of the sounds you’d hear on ‘Divine Feminine’ with those smooth, crisp, and ambient arrangements. 

I think no track matches this energy better than ‘Corny as Nebraska,’ but across the board, each track has its own beautifully orchestrated scores utilising those gorgeous keys, vocal loop samples, and modernised hip-hop production to create another perfect Mac Miller posthumous release.

For a 12-minute EP, this thing warms my heart and rests my mind at the same time. To be able to hear Mac again and in such a respectful and loving manner of these masterful production remixes makes me happy to know that he left such an impact on the culture that legends from all over come to pay their respects by doing projects as extraordinary as this. Please check this one out!

https://open.spotify.com/album/6hdO71IIebLF7yCJ1fz0sS?si=YQQB9fCvRcGUTn9A_avRkA

(Martyr)

It was a few years back that I was blessed to interview the lead singer ‘Samuel’ about the band, and it was then that I developed my interest in the band and since then I’ve had them on my radar, and today I get to cover their new release, and let me tell you, you now, this is not the album to miss!

7 tracks with a runtime of 23 minutes, and as usual, this band brings some of the most fresh, exciting, and vibrant metal in the game right now, and I love it!

Whether you’re talking about the lush and atmospheric instrumentation and production of those smooth guitars and melodically done drums, it all comes together track to track to make for a dreamlike experience that reminds me of bands like: 

-Sleeping With Sirens

-Black Veil Brides

-Memphis Mayfire, etc. 

A solid mix of heavier and lighter elements in the songs makes for a nice mesh of sounds and vibes to make this 7-track album something all kinds of Rock/Metal fans can enjoy! Something for everyone!

Now, onto the man himself, Samuel. Not to discredit the rest of the band’s performance because they do an incredible job at establishing the mood and vibe, but the vocals on Samuel are always mind-blowing to me. I can count on one hand bands in today’s era that have the same angelic/awe-inspiring vocals that he does, with every note sung, every chord hit, I feel goosebumps at his range, soothing delivery, and powerful performance!

Every song on this record hits on that next level due to the synchronicity of both singer and band, and this is a band I can honestly listen to for hours and never get sick of!

Whether you’re talking about that theatrical instrumentation or those vocals that could rival anyone in the game right now. This project is a must-listen to all, not only ‘Softspoken’ fans but metal fans in general!

https://open.spotify.com/album/7E3VtHkaCp5Yqqg29Tcb5K?si=_A9nqpduTxuzLOBsWYvtXQ

(Physical Hell/Mental Heaven)

Three MC’s Fam Ross, Arsinel, and Audio Messiah AKA (PEN LORDZ)

Two men who have released a collection of records in the recent past that I’ve not only praised but bought on Bandcamp! 

-Fam Ross X Kheyzine (Slaughter Tape)

-Arsinel X Kheyzine (Steel Dreaming)

And Audio Messiah, the man I’ve heard on many projects I fuck with heavily!  Are together alongside Goldmatterr to give you one of the most tranquil Hip Hop releases of the year! Let’s go!

This is an 11-track project with 27 minutes in length. As stated above, this project has some of the most smooth and intricate production I’ve heard in 2025.

From the opening track, you can hear those beautiful soul vocal samples crossed with that slow jam, soft strings, and gorgeously orchestrated instrumentation to create an aura that would cure any feelings of stress, depression, and pain.

Goldmatterr and shares a vision for this production and is almost a sixth sense at this point! I find it absolutely unreal track to track.

Nothing is worse than having a producer on an album and it doesn’t sync with the rapper’s style and vision.

That has to be one of my biggest music pet peeves, but thankfully, that’s not an issue on this record! He does such a phenomenal job, and I swear the few listens I did for this review destroyed a decade of stress and anxiety built up for real!

Now, the infamous PEN LORDZ!

These three underground titans come together and deliver dope, crisp, and addictive verses over these luscious beats. They all bring their own individual personalities to the songs and help maintain the energy of the other per verse.

The penmanship, lyricism, and flow are flawless over this, and they understood the assignment of what to bring for these immaculate productions and acted accordingly.

Considering they are one of the most infamous underground rap groups in the game right now, to hear them on a collaboration project of this magnitude makes me happier than ever as a fan, and I really hope we can hear more of these boys with this type of angelic production going forward!

This is a must-listen! Go check out now with the link below! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/65Uy3bE3V15ltZNJoxGjGv?si=2GQpk65DSPatCF_R8vmCTA