(WSTFIELD)

This is a man that I’ve seen going viral in the last few months. His name has been everywhere on my socials and mentions alike, so when he reached out to me to cover one of his albums, I knew I had to check it! So without further delay, let’s talk about it!

This is the 8th of June release by MC Wst. Taylor featuring ten tracks and the likes of 

-Macc Dolo

-Nyeusi Loe

-Kaleo Jacobs

-Dionys

-Red Amandala. 

And Production from

-Tea The Truth

-AbbotJackson

-Chewy

-Created Lanes

-KMF Eddie

And sometimes from the first track, you can tell a project is going to be special, and that’s how I felt on this one! Because what I feel off this project is that he’s bringing the energy and charisma from the golden era of rap and bringing that into the modern day!

I love how right from the second track in, he’s going off the cuff and straight into that rhyming shit! He ain’t playing around. I’m talking straight bars, hooks, bars, and sharp wordplay that will cut any competition off!

He kind of reminds me of a splash combination of Kendrick Lamar and D.O.C. You’ve got that colourful and creative rhythm and flow style of Kendrick, and then you’ve got that hard-hitting, in-your-face street dynamic that comes with D.O.C! Imagine To Pimp Meets No One Can Do It Better, and that’s what this record reminds me of! The best of both worlds between Complex and Muddy! 

I was blown away with his performance and lyrical ability! I know I heard some of his verses across other people’s projects, but on this one, he really goes off! He’s rapping for his life on this album, and you can hear his enthusiasm and his passion for this shit in every single line he delivers. It’s absolutely surreal! 

As far as the production goes, it’s something I also love. This again feels like an inspiration of the golden era ‘West Coast’ era Hip Hop but modernised for the present day. Paying homage to the old school while creating something absolutely original and fresh!

I love how smooth, fluent, and atmospheric the instrumentation is. This feels like a throwback to the classic DJ Quik or Nipsey Hussle! In the way those elegant sounds meet the tough West Coast streets, it’s the perfect balance, which isn’t easy to do, which is why only a handful of artists in the genre over the decades have been able to pull it off!

Plus, I was addicted to the soul/R&B and jazz sounds that came out towards the second half of the record; they were incredible! Really reminded me of 2000s hip-hop with those single tracks you’d hear on radios and clubs around the world! Absolutely incredible!

Man, this thing was a work of art! I’m not joking; as soon as I finished listening to this, I bought it on Bandcamp immediately because this thing is worth it!

Only $9? Come on, man. If you’re telling me you can’t break a digital $10 to support the underground, then what are you really doing? 

https://flacowst.bandcamp.com/album/wstfield

(WAY OF THE GUNZ)

The 6th Man Army are back! They have been taking over the industry this year, and it looks like they have no signs of stopping as we have another edition to the dominant 2025 discography list! Let’s go!

This is the latest album by Producer Van Gunz! It features the likes of 

– Shade Cobain

– Crotona P

– Juxx Diamondz

– Honey Dinero

– Tone Spliff

– Poe Mack

– The Bad Seed

– Xcel

– Jamaal Matters

– Seven Da Pantha

– ILLPO

With that star-studded roster, you know there’s no way this can miss, and it doesn’t! Neither does Van, as the responsible beatmaker, he unleashes his most impressive and sharp instrumentals the world has heard yet!

I’m talking hard-hitting, bone shattering old school influenced east coast flare combined with soulful, smooth and delicate vocal snippets and funky grooves that come together to create the perfect balance of ‘Raw, Fresh, Heavy and Intricate’

Every one of the 11 tracks flows into the other amazingly! Even though each track has its own sonic identity and characteristics, they all fit in a tight balance within the record that helps each song feel refined and comfortably entwined to create one of the strongest records I’ve heard in a while! 

I love how this album sounds like a homage to the old-school era. Taking inspiration and influence from the ones that have come before! It takes skill to create a record that pays respect to the classics while being able to do so in a modern/present way that shows originality and creativity! That’s exactly what we have here!

Now, onto the powerhouse roster. What makes this record extra impressive and memorable is the fact that each and every single man and woman brings their own individual A+ game to the record and uses the opportunity to record some of their best verses you’ll hear from all of them!

You’ve got the trademark 6th Man roster on the case, all absolutely killing it! I was especially impressed with Crotona P and Honey Dinero! They seemed to deliver their magnum opus verses I’ve heard personally!

Seed, as usual, presented his savage, no-nonsense honest bars that you’d expect from the veteran! ILLPO was a nice surprise for the finale track, who came in with their notoriously ridiculous bars and verses!

It’s common to hear Poe Mack on a project with Van, and they obviously mashed up perfectly! Juxx Diamondz on track three destroyed the song as well! 

Again, you won’t find a bad verse from any of these artists, so all you can do is find which tracks with which feature you love most! Because each of them is absolutely immaculate and shows the purest form of MC work!

Easily my favourite Van Gunz release so far this year! Ridiculous performance with production and MC’s! This is a 6th Man album you don’t want to miss!

(Sidewalks To HillTops)

It’s truly been a minute since I last covered this man. If I’m not mistaken, it was one of my earliest reviews on this website that had me discover him, and now as we have a brand new release, and it’s got me hyped! Let’s talk about it!

This is the brand new album by MC JFliz with Hilltop Productions on the beats! 12 tracks with the likes of 

-MONEY MOGLY 

-DJ DECEPTA

-G-Fam Black

-Mike Titan

-DJ Lump

-Tali Rodriguez 

If you don’t recognise him already, maybe this album isn’t for you! because they are some of the heaviest hitters in the game right now, and they don’t play! And neither does JFliz on this one. Just like the last one I covered, he comes here swinging! 

On this one, he comes with a bit of a razor’s edge! He ain’t playing around and he’s letting his words speak for him! He’s putting his sensible and teaching mindset aside and coming for blood! Hearing him flex with his sonic blood lust is something that literally gave me goosebumps!

We hear him spit savage verses with chaotic frequency, cold flows, and threatening lyricism! We are seeing the darkside of this man unleashed, and if he wasn’t already considered one of the most lethal MC’s in the game before, he fucking is now! 

His presence is otherworldly. He sounds like hip hop’s grim reaper that’s done enhancing life and now is here to take it! His tones and cadence are night and day from what I remember him from in the past, and with these new characteristics come sharper, deadlier, and more ruthless bars and presence!

Especially on tracks like ‘Knuckle Up, Buckle Down’ and ‘Madness’, first of all, the fact he can match G-Fam’s energy is ridiculous. That alone deserves praise. When I heard his verse, I was like ‘oh, that’s a dope G-Fam verse’, then heard G-Fam’s verse, and I was like ‘what the fuck?’ That wasn’t him already? 

And ‘Madness’ is perfectly titled. We hear J completely unhinged and letting the most insane version of himself appear on a track, and it’s shocking to say the least!

I can tell you one thing, this level of performance by JFliz will be standing out in 2025. It was engaging, entertaining, and memorable 10x! Unbelievable!

As far as the production goes, I love how theatrical it all sounded. You’ve got various elements from thick bass lines to plucked guitar to infectious drum patterns and subtle piano keys! 

Groovy synth chords, atmospheric jazz notes, and classical melodies as well. This album even has some vocal snippet loops! This record contains everything you could ask for in an album and all done with the most finesse and care I’ve heard in a minute!

Hilltop made sure not to over-saturate any one track. The formula seems to be (for the most part) to isolate a small handful of instruments, enhance and master said instruments until they sound absolutely cinematic in execution, and proceed to make a catchy and memorable tune out of it! 

Nothing worse than either a record that has the ‘throw it all to the wall and see what sticks’ OR ‘is so minimal that you’re only one beat shy of listening to ASMR Static’. That’s why people need either balance or professional utilisation of production and whatever elements chosen!

That’s why I’m very happy with the sounds on this record! How it’s crafted, how each song flows into the other seamlessly while also standing out each track to the next! It’s definitely a fine line to walk, and it was nailed perfectly!

This one will be going viral over socials for sure! This is the kind of album that will be talked about for months to come! Make sure you don’t miss out on the experience!

https://open.spotify.com/album/24HDCxb86JXoBcOynUnnkX?si=8LaoJeJuTNeWpgKEkgMFlw

(Therapy Session)

Nothing excites me more than my continued quest to discover new artists, and today is that day. With both MC’s and producers foreign to me, I had the opportunity to not only further my knowledge in the underground but provide myself with a hip-hop therapy session.

THERAPY SESSION

This is the latest EP by MC’s Benny From The Sandlot and Square 2 God, and production by S-Dot, and together they dropped six tracks, 18 minutes of content, and a feature from

-Mic Hoffa.

Not that I had any sense of ‘expectation’ going in as I had no previous experience with either person on here, but I was surprised with the level of intense and crisp quality sounds on here! Right from the opening track ‘Lost Souls’, you can hear that grand instrumentation combined with those muffled and angelic vocal snippets waving in and out of the track in an almost ghost/spirit-like sense! 

As the album goes on, while maintaining that cinematic style, we get a more traditional early to mid-2000s hip-hop feel with those booming drum patterns, chipmunk-adjacent vocal harmonies, and those plucked chords! Real stadium-level music that you’d expect to hear on radios and clubs around the world!

The main thing I take from this album is that although it continues to dive into more trademark and familiar hip-hop sounds and inspirations, it never loses sight of its theatrical or cinematic nature in its execution! It’s like elevating an already established dish higher! Whether it be in the technical ability of the production itself or the absolute emphasis on those instruments themselves and how crisp and smooth they are! Everything on this album, from the beats to the atmosphere they provide, is on a whole different level and should be celebrated as such!

As far as the duo goes on this record, again I’d have to say I’m impressed with the level of chemistry and synchronicity both men possess! 

You can hear both men giving Masterclass in rhythm, flow, lyricism, and wordplay in their respective ways! I love how they both feature incredible charisma and enthusiasm on their tracks as they pass each other the spotlight to deliver their own verses and showcase their abilities! 

I also love the level of depth and rich lyricism featured in their bars! They aren’t just spitting for no reason or dropping pointless verses; they are telling stories or enlightening the listener with witty puns and one-liners or entertaining braggadocio lines to flex on the audience! No matter what they seem to do, they hit it out of the park!

There’s only one mentioned feature, ‘Mic Hoffa’, who does the job of making his verse memorable and in keeping with the overall energy and flow of the record!

All in all, especially for an 18-minute EP, this thing hits on all cylinders from the production to the verses! I highly recommend everyone check this thing out ASAP! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/2h20Vy81zPvTj9hq2H773Q?si=N4TPNAzTSmWT5qsZMGbYyw

(PARAPHERNALIA)

Damn, this whole year has been full of collaborations I didn’t think would come! This one has to be the most surprising so far! Two of my main guys coming together for one of the toughest EP’s we’ve got all year! Let’s talk about it!

This time around we got MC SHA and Producer VINYL VILLAIN! These two release three tracks

-SMOKEFACE VILLAIN

-GORGEOUS KILLAZ

-NOSE CANDY

And let me tell you what. Vinyl Villain is one of those beat makers that is far too severely underrated in this game. He’s been on a run that most overshadow. Hell, his Bori Rock album ‘Lord Of The Zingz’ is one of the greatest records to come out this year alone! When this man goes off, he GOES OFF, and this EP is no different!

The production this time around feels a lot more abstract, dark, and sinister! Actually, similar to the vibe of ZINGZ but with a more emphasis on those heavy, destructive, and ambient sounds that make you feel like you’re walking around in the dark in a bio shock game! 

You have elements such as those twisted and manipulated jazz horns, those methodical drum patterns that slowly bang in such a haunting fashion! 

You have this really eerie clicking sound in the background of track one that gave me goosebumps as if some creature was just in the pitch black standing there and clicking. I kept hyper-focusing on that sound the whole time!

Track 2 is even worse with the most experimental I’ve heard Vinyl sound yet. Ambient and Lo-Fi/Sci-Fi instruments that have been turned inside out and made to sound like a horror space movie. It sounds like you’re stuck in the middle of space, nothing but darkness and emptiness for miles in each direction, fuck me, even typing this is terrifying! 

Track 3 comes down a little bit but is still drastic compared to his former work. This one sounds like a serial killers remix of Boom Bap. Those droning drums, repetitive synth chords, and what sounds like a keyboard spacing off in the background!

This is definitely the more ‘Hip-Hop’ flavoured track over the other two but is still extremely unnerving and is definitely not the kind of track I could play in the dark! I’m going 100% bitch lights on TV on, playing friends type shit while listening to this!

Now, hearing Sha on this tape although shocking can’t say I blame Vinyl! Because Sha is the definition of DOPE and he handles these beats like no one’s business!

He uses his versatile flow and vocal performances to showcase many different styles such as dark and gritty, introspective and thoughtful and straight up flexing! 

He also has the perfect blend of enthusiasm, energy and charisma across this project! 

I love how similar to the beats, he’s also very methodical in the way he spits his bars, he places emphasis on his words to make them sound as impactful and theatrical as possible! He’s swift, in depth lyrically and savage when he has to be (and on this one he definitely has to be)

These beats would honestly take out most MC’s who wouldn’t know how to handle the extreme nature of these beats but not my main man Sha! He came in ready to kill and that’s exactly what he did! Absolutely incredible effort once again by Sha!

Although short, this thing can’t be missed! Because these are a trio of songs I guarantee you won’t hear anywhere else in the game right now!

https://therealvinylvillain.bandcamp.com/album/paraphernalia?fbclid=PAQ0xDSwLihp1leHRuA2FlbQIxMAABp06NbrZoAXu1MEEYujCGewANfmR0rXuhsmMeIG2AEn8frGyg6P2xh33UHwQm_aem_Rtw5FjNY6b20LJAg18-p4g

(Albizu’s Revenge)

What a shock! A new album by Big Ghost Ltd! It’s been a minute and a half since he last dropped a record, and a collaboration with UFO Fev nonetheless? This thing is about to be a classic before it even drops by name value alone! Let’s talk about it!

As stated, this is the brand new Big Ghost Ltd X UFO Fev Album! Unless you’re living under a rock, Big Ghost has been the producer to beat for the past 3-4 years at least! And UFO Fev has had a dream couple of years run, with this year alone being some of his best work to date! So together they are bound to hit!

10 fresh tracks, 30 minutes of content with features from

-Jose Santiago

-Red Inf

-DJ Perly

-Lil Dee

It feels like an early Christmas to hear Big Ghost back on the beats! No one hits quite like he does. We’re talking some of the most heavy, cinematic, and down-to-earth production you’ll hear in the game period!

His drums hit louder, his bass lines are heavier, his vocal harmony samples give goosebumps, and his keys are sharper than anyone else’s. The reason he’s such a critically acclaimed producer is because of the way he handles the beats in such a masterful way that it sounds elevated, evolved, and polished down to every millisecond of sound we hear.

Across this tape, we have some of his most smooth instrumentals yet. This feels like the 2000s era G-Funk! Those delicate uses of those horns, violin strings, synth chords— all of it is just done to such a level that it transported the listener back to the golden era of hip hop, and it sounds fucking golden!

I love how theatrical everything is. So much of this album reminds me of ‘Dr Dre-2001’ in how it’s executed. I love the beautiful instruments, the utmost respect given to each sound, and the way it all comes together in one of the most seamless records we’ve heard this year!

The other reason why this album was such a massive deal was because of UFO FEV! This man hasn’t missed yet, and his last 3-4 albums have been critical to say the least! How does he sound alongside Big Ghost? Incredible.

He spends the whole 30 minutes showcasing his undeniable talent on the beat! His immaculate pen game and lyricism. His flawless flow that hits every beat without issues! His words land exactly where it’s meant to, he’s always been one of the strongest in that area of bar placement across instrumentals!

As usual, his storytelling ability is incredible in the fact that he can tell an in-depth situation in just 16 bars that has more descriptive meaning than most people’s whole albums! With every few lanes I feel transported into the situations he’s describing and even when he’s just flexing on the beat I can feel his energy and his emotions while spitting these bars and that’s a talent definitely not everyone has!

He always flaunts his charisma and passion on the songs. He’s always got a message to tell and he’s going to use his strong will and conviction to convey that as strongly as he can! He’s a preacher for the art of Hip Hop and ain’t no one gonna silence this man!

The features are incredibly dope across projects and match his style nicely! I must say I was surprised to see Lil Dee on this album! He’s an incredibly dope MC and it makes me happy to see him on a project of this magnitude!

As expected Big Ghost came back STRONG and elevated an already lethal talent in UFO FEV back to astronomical heights that only he can achieve! This is a MUST LISTEN PROJECT 

https://open.spotify.com/album/4azr4sDurPC2yyakduETbe?si=5i0Eg83gQOKmW5pcy0mfJA

(Luboogie & Da Dummies, Vol. 1)

Looks like we’ve got a familiar face back into the mix! I remember the two dope singles this man dropped, and so to hear he’s finally dropped a record, you know I gotta check that shit out! Let’s talk about it!

This is the July 4th drop by MC LuAble and Producer Dskillz Harris which consists of ten tracks, 30 minutes, and the likes of 

-Black Chakra

– Michlopedia

-E.X Da HawkSpitta

And I gotta speak on this real quick. Although I knew somewhat to expect based on previous dealings, I was still shocked by the production. I loved these so much! Because they don’t sound like anything that I’ve heard this year! The way they are handled, how the instruments and sound palettes are represented and manipulated is absolutely fascinating and fire.

For example, the track ‘GODZILLA RAPS’ the way those haunting notes come in and out in a repetitive pattern with those subtle jazz piano keys and minimal drum beat. This sounds like 80’s Horror Synth Pop! Like imagine if ‘Tears For Fears’ went sinister, and this is the music they’d make, it’s absolutely chilling and yet original as fuck!

Or let’s even look at the track ‘E&J’ which consists of a combination of those plucked strings which give off a violent jerk motion, like a classic violinist playing his notes in an angry and fast-paced sequence! It’s hard to describe, but the way the instrument itself is being played is rather intense and again unlike anything I’ve heard this year!

Accompanying that loop, we have this angelic vocal harmony that’s on a constant loop. I love how this is an obvious contradiction to the strings, and yet they both complement each other well!

‘One For One Time’ is a track that feels like a trip back to the late 80’s or early 90’s with that old-school hip hop production with more simplistic drum patterns and that subtle execution of that synth chord in the background!

Plus, how can you ignore those tough scratches and cuts along with that ‘Ol Dirty Bastard/Biz Markie’ vocal performance for that chorus! It was absolutely wonderful and the perfect throwback to the classics! 

What I’ve just described is detail: three of the ten tracks, and yet there’s so much more to unpack that listeners should be excited to discover! With these three tracks alone, we see just how versatile and creative LuAble can be on tracks! He’s making sure each track is not only original but memorable and stands out from the rest, which I feel it 100% will!

As far as the MC work goes, I am very pleased and impressed with his work! LuAble is one of those cats who can utilise various different styles across a wide range of songs! For example, 

On some tracks, we get a more monotone and cold side shown by him with traditional flows and wordplay structures! Shit you’d expect from the 90s or 2000s! 

Then on others, you’ll hear his personality come out in spades, and we will hear his colourful side, his complex puns, witty one-liners, and intricate flow that goes all different directions! 

So, depending on the track, you can have a different side of his artistry showcasing itself, and to me, that proves the utmost talent and skill to be able to pull out various hats to fit the moment! Not many can do that!

Outside of this, his pen game is strong, honest, and at some points introspective! He ain’t speaking no nonsense shit that most other rappers are on. He’s true to himself and writes as such! 

His rhythm is point, and his lyricism even more so!

I like how well he paired with the features also! They all provide essence to the album and not just there for feature sake, which I was happy about, and they all showed brilliant chemistry and synchronicity together!

After an impressive singles showing, it should be no surprise that turned into an impressive album showing! None of the 30 minutes was wasted in needless filler, everything slapped from start to finish, and provided LuAble with an undoubtedly strong record drop! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/3bq01tNuo2YIaAhDrLWiIT?si=ENNO9m9-SkGo2PpWuvhdMQ

(The Wave Gallery)

I feel honoured that I’ve been able to be chosen to review an album for its anniversary! I feel like a proud parent seeing something grow up! Weird explanation I know, but that’s how I feel regardless. Let’s get into this!

This is the 2024 collaboration album between MC’s Sabio Dub and BECK, while Sabio remains on the production! 10 tracks, 31 minutes, and the likes of 

-Primo Jab

-Miskeen Haleem

-Johnny Storm

-Unorthodocks 

Man, why is it that Sabio’s production is so fucking smooth? I know I’ve dubbed him ‘Sunshine Rap’, but he sounds like he’s been touched by Jack Kahuna Lagun, the legendary surf guru from SpongeBob! It’s flooded with aura, vibes, atmosphere, lo-fi excellence, and jazz-filled soundscapes that soothe your brain unlike anyone else I’ve come across!

He’s taking that ‘Mellow/Art Rap’ subgenre to a whole new dimension. From those shining keys to the drowning synth pop influences. The manipulated notes and ambient noises of birds in the sky and beautiful vocal loops, even sticky guitar strings, and what sounds like wave sounds accompanied by subtle drums!

I mean, what do you even say to that? Every track feels like the real-life definition of ‘Bliss’ and ‘Harmony’, like the actual feelings came to life and turned into audio form just for this album. This type of production is the closest music to reggae I can think of without it actually being reggae. As far as I’m concerned, Sabio is Bob Marley’s spirit reincarnated, and I’m standing on that statement! Anyone who disagrees obviously hasn’t actually listened to the music itself!

As far as the MC work goes, you already know he’s good for it! One of the most chill and optimistic voices in the rap game today! The way he flows is exactly how the production sounds! He’s equally smooth, introspective, and larger than life on his bars!

He’s always dropping positivity on his records. Either talking about life or weed or experiences he’s had, he’s just always with his head up, never stooping to that hardcore, gritty, trendy shit (and I hope he never does).

He’s this time accompanied by BECK, and as I reviewed him recently, I already know these two work together amazingly! Both similar but different at the same time. Both have an incredible pen game, soothing flow, and enlightened bars and verses that go against the common ‘trendy’ narrative of extreme boom bap!

The features on this album are some of my favourite MC’s so to see them on a record with them is awesome! Primo Jab and Unorthodocks specifically, my guys!

Happy one-year anniversary to this modern-day classic! Happiness in a jar, relaxation trapped inside a WAV file. Listen to this one once, and I guarantee you, stress gone!!

https://open.spotify.com/album/7MtvIdw3so0twjnE0CMPYY?si=eCNp_I9-RNONhGlLlK-JPQ

(Journey Into Mystery)

Holy shit, a new New Villain album? It was only a few months ago we got ‘Mysterioso’ which I remember covering and loving, and now we have this! He’s on a classic run, and who’s going to be the one to stop him? Definitely not me! Let’s talk about it!

This is the latest album by MC New Villain and Producer FROwNS, and together they drop 13 tracks with 34 minutes featuring the likes of 

-Paarleh

-Indigo Phoenyx

-TONE KELLY

-Sphere47

Once again, 99% of the artists on here I’ve never heard of, but that doesn’t stop this being one of the dopest albums of the year! For so many reasons, this thing is ridiculous. 

We can start with that larger-than-life production. Anytime Villain brings a producer into the situation, they always end up being cinematic, animated, and visually compelling in their beats! The same can be said here!

While listening to this, I felt like I was listening to a comic book come to life! From those film snippets to those elements such as

-Ambient

-Lo-Fi

-Synth Pop 

-Rock

-Jazz

-Soul

And I can’t put my finger on how, but every sound and instrument is elevated to an 20/10 in its grand execution, its mastering, and the methodical way they are inserted into the beat sounds absolutely incredible! These are the kinds of beats from those luscious keys, subtle bass lines, and crisp notes that make you feel like you’ve stepped into a movie and your experience every word heard! 

Every beat runs through the body, gives you goosebumps, and makes you excited for what track will come next! 

This is the king of albums. I’d love to just sit back after a hard day’s work, relax, and let this producer take me on a sonic trip that only a New Villain album can provide! 

What can I say about Villain that the culture hasn’t already said for me? Often hailed as one of the strongest lyricists and storytellers in the game right now! One with an unlimited vocabulary bank with a distinctive flow that makes his tracks and verses spot-on on any track! He really is ‘that guy’ and on this album it feels more like a flex than a record.

The flex saying ‘I can do this classic shit, as many times as I want and you can’t do shit about it!’ And his confidence makes this record that much sweeter!

As usual, we get his trademark diverse flows and cutthroat lyricism that makes you feel like you’re in an infinite jackpot slots just spitting out different words at a time. He could probably rap for an hour straight and never run out of words or concepts!

His flow is impactful and precise! Always landing on the beats whenever he’s supposed to and he’s never one to take a step backwards! Always powerful in his approach to the beats, spitting more one-liners, references, puns and bars than most do per album. A relentless wordsmith with an infinite arsenal to draw from!

His chemistry with FROwNS is exceptional as he can match the animated and colourful production with his own brand of exciting, fresh and creative verses that provide the same energy!

Man, I had so much fun with this one! Everything about this speaks ‘CLASSIC’. It’s the latest volume in the long-running comic ‘Underground Hip Hop’. Have you got your issue? 

https://open.spotify.com/album/0Z9EAjbypE3fmN0UpxcV25?si=wJUhe1SMRA65eeebrO8OeQ

(I Heard You Paint Houses)

Right off the bat, from this title alone I knew I’d fuck with it. An Irishman reference? Someone who appreciates my favourite director Martin Scorsese? Yeah, I knew this one was going to be gold! Let’s talk about it!

This is the latest drop by MC Bucket Top Boogz who also works as a producer and the artwork is handled by him as well! He does it all in an effort to showcase his abilities as a one-man band and across these ten tracks and just under 27 minutes features the likes of

-Nyeusi Loe

-HYROGLYPHX

-Wst. Taylor

-SMELLO

-RSNZ

For me, from the MC to the features I’m dealing with 99% of never-before-heard talent so considering I’m going in blind, my initial reaction is.

This is one groovy album!

To expand, this album consists of that minimansion, early Al Divino EP vibes! We’ve got those manipulated soul loop samples, across the minimal instrumentals with experimental undertones and short bursts of content with tracks around the 2-minute or less mark to fully capture the attention span of the audience at maximum capacity!

This is the kind of album that would be perfect to play while you’re walking your dog on a nice sunny day while smoking a fat one! It has that surreal, outer-wordy vibe to it. That level of atmosphere that you don’t really get from anyone else in the game except for that band of people associated with minimansion or 23Incredible are making and for that fact alone, I fuck with it!

I love those elements of jazz, soul, funk, and synth. The mastery it takes to take these sounds and create a project that not only is fluent and works well with the other nine tracks after it but also has its own individual personality and charisma is not easy and yet Boogz made it look easy! 

As far as the MC work goes, he’s just as good with that as he is with the beats! I’d describe his style as a ‘relaxed extravert’. For the most part, his flow and cadence are borderline monotone, but we do get small glimpses of his energetic style when he delivers certain phrases and bars, which is an interesting contrast to experience!

I’d describe his relationship with the beats on this album as that of a father and son working together. Boogz doesn’t exactly control or manipulate the beats but rather finds his best opportunities to spit his best bars at the best timing he can find! Like a son making sure he does everything within the dad’s field of play! 

His work with the features is also dope! Each track has amazing chemistry, and they help maintain the solid energy of the record! Memorable and passionate performances!

Overall, a fantastic record with a lot of cool snippets of the film ‘The Irishman’, which I loved. The production was fantastic, and the verses even more so! Definitely worth checking out! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/2SSQTtIZgiD3cxcRIAvty5?si=065-A0hERKeAnJMaipsCHQ