This man takes the phrase ‘one-man band’ to a whole new level. A new artist discovery for me, and one I’ve been interested in for the last week, and now it’s time to talk about it!
So, this is the latest album by rapper, writer, and producer Phil Gektor, and it features no features at all, with only nine tracks and 27 minutes of heat.
Right off the bat, when talking about production, this thing has a surreal, ambient quality to it that I find charming. It’s not your standard hip-hop album with straightforward beats and breaks, but instead, it features melodic keys and groovy elements soaked into the tracks that give it that extra aura points.
On most of the nine songs, you’ll have either a soft-spoken choir chorus loop or luscious pianos, or light notes and chords, or even subtle bass strings, and these things by themselves may not be much, but when you include them into a quality mixed rap album with masterful technique and production, then you have yourself a recipe for an original and creative release, which was produced by the man himself!
Now switching to the MC role, as impressive as he is behind the board, he’s equally impressive on the mic with a passionate and enthusiastic flow that features fluent flow, sharp wordplay, and precise execution on the lyricism and pen game.
He has a gritty and raw voice that makes each of his words hit like a Mike Tyson punch to the face, and his vibrant, confident cadence makes all his deliveries and puns land that much slicker.
I can’t help but respect the fact he has no features and is just rocking this all himself! Proving to himself and, most importantly, to the audience that he doesn’t need anyone else at all to make this album pop besides himself!
All in all, this close to half an hour project hits all the levels it should:
-Production
-Lyricism
-Quality
And done all by himself makes it even more impressive, definitely worth giving a listen!
I can’t remember if I’ve covered a remix single yet on my page! This could be a new milestone for me and one I’m excited to get into!
So, this is the latest remix track by BLAZEWUN that’s produced by KNG BONDALERO and features RENE DAZE, and this track is two minutes and forty-one seconds in length!
So, starting with that production. This has to be the most beautifully crafted beat I’ve ever heard from KNG. I’ve reviewed a lot of his work this year, and he normally provides the grimy, muddy, and raw cuts of boom bap variety, but on this one, he utilises these melodic keys and notes that give a type of ‘mythological’ atmosphere to it. This is the kind of instrumental you could lay back, close your eyes, and just take a deep breath and enjoy the vibe of the breath-taking/surreal aesthetic this track gives off! Truly remarkable!
The same could be said by the two men in charge of the lyrics. Both BLAZEWUN & RENE share a distinct level of chemistry and synchronicity over this instrumental that is definitely noteworthy. They both have a level of grit and energy to them that is both infectious and powerful. It’s like each word they speak weighs a pound each, and the heaviness of the sentences makes it impossible not to pay attention to the verses they spit.
You can hear the enthusiasm and passion they have in the way they utilise their fluent flows, their dominant pen game, and their strong lyricism. These two are the perfect players to collaborate together for this banging remix!
Definitely worth a listen! As far as remixes go, this one slaps hard. Gorgeous production and absolutely poisonous bars that could rival anyone in the game right now!
Damn, first official release under the group ‘Penlordz’, how fucking exciting! And a surprise drop nonetheless! Talk about early Christmas, let’s get into it!
So, this is the latest EP release by Penlordz Fam Ross, Arsinel, and Audio Messiah. This trio has been the most consistent and frequent acts in the game right now, period. Since discovering them at the very end of last year, they’ve climbed to the top and haven’t come down.
This project has three tracks:
-Whoru
-L-O-R-D
-3pcwtherice
And this short drop is all about spreading bars over bullshit, and that’s an area these three have been perfecting for years now!
The production of this one on all three is just down-to-earth and muddy ambient lethal music that has no fancy additions or unnecessary effects or features. It’s just eight minutes of rough, skeletal, and heavy hip-hop instrumentals that serve the purpose of elevating three legendary MC’s and that’s exactly what it does.
I could probably start a podcast with the sole purpose of praising Penlordz, and there will never be enough episodes I could do to express all my gratitude and respect for them. They have been consistently prioritising real rap over trends or financial decisions. These guys (especially on this one) just focus on rapping. There’s no intro or outro or interludes or skits or anything at all except verses and music.
These three have the best chemistry I’ve ever heard in the underground. The only pair I could compare to are Estee Nack and Al Divino as far as pure synchronicity goes. These three, I’m convinced, could rap for hours and never get tired. They just pass the mic back and forth to each other and just spit some of the dopest bars you’ve ever heard.
The thing is, this isn’t a new thing. Every album they do solo, the features are always just each other, which is wild. They are always together, always sharpening each other’s skills, brotherly competition, and building each other up to be the best they can be, and that’s what I love most about them.
I fucking love this. I love everything they do, and knowing they have drops coming soon and still they surprise drop this bar Fest? It’s just the latest testament to their dedication and commitment to the culture, and no one is at their level in that respect!
I can’t believe I get to review a brand new Vanderslice project only 4 days after he dropped what I considered one of the best albums of the month with UFO Fev ‘Pyramid Schemes’ and now he’s back with another banger proving why he’s one of the most talked about beat makers in the game right now!
So, this is the latest collaboration album between MC Words and producer Vanderslice and together they drop a 20 track project featuring the likes of
-Lukey Cage
-JRoberts
-Halfcut
-Tha Rhyme Animal
-DJ Invasion
-Lu Chin Chen
-Hi-Q
-M.A.V
-B1 The Architect
-Jake Haw
-Dee
And let me make it known that I love his roster. It’s a strong collection of lyricists and writers who have been criminally underrated by the industry but have released some of the best projects this year alone! But I want to mention the production real quick Vanderslice is on a run that’s ridiculous.
Across these songs he has somehow managed to make the various notes, keys and chords elevated and evolved to a more prestige and high caliber quality! This record sounds polished, mastered and crafted to the extent where you can hear every instrument clearly and with absolute precision. Nothing sounds jumbled or overlapped, it’s quite the opposite. You can pin point each and every sound and it’s that degree of attention and technique that makes me impressed with him every single time.
But don’t get it twisted, he hasn’t forgot the addition of the raw, grimy and dirty atmosphere he’s just found a way to enlighten these elements and push them to the forefront in a more precise and direct manner.
The good thing about Vanderslice is he has levels to his raw. Think of a sonic steak! You have tracks like ‘Something Profound’ which features a classical chord progression over a skeletal beat which I would consider ‘well done’ but then you have tracks such as ‘Irish Gas Chambers’ which has those muddy keys with those rough and rugged beat notes which I would consider ‘Raw’ there’s different temperatures to the album
Which gives listeners more variety to enjoy and tracks to prefer! That’s the ability and skill of Vanderslice who can present a different environment depending on the track and who’s involved!
I’ll be honest, this will be my first experience with Words. I Initially wanted to get this album to support Vander but the more I got to speak to Words the more I became hyped to see what he was about and turns out my intuition was correct because he’s the perfect partner in crime for the extraordinary production provided!
He’s smooth on the beat, no matter the beat or the tempo he slides through each track like a knife through butter. He has a tough deep tone which makes him sound raw as fuck on the mic and his no nonsense attitude towards his bars and verses makes his presence undeniable! It’s like when you see an ‘Anti Hero’ on a show and you can’t help but root for the character, he’s the studio equivalent of that!
He also has a unique, dark energy to him when he raps. A rough enthusiasm and aura to the way he executes his pen work and his lyricism. It almost sounds like he’s trying to literally ‘kill’ the instrumental with murderous intent but using a pen to do so. If sounds could kill, he’d be on a murder spree!
Of course he’s not alone and again I love the fact that they’ve recruited the most underrated players in the game right now because they as underdogs get to showcase why they shouldn’t be considered underdogs at all and they combined with Words absolutely massacre the tracks with no apology, it’s definitely a spectacle to witness!
Overall, I highly recommend you hip hop heads go buy this album on Bandcamp it’s $20. That’s around a family meal at McDonalds. Unlike the food you get to support the independent artists and keep this album forever. Trust me it’s worth the $20!
It seems it’s time for another artist discovery! There seems to be an endless supply of new dope people to check out, and this is one of those occasions! So let’s get into it!
This is the collaboration project between MC J Rizi and producer/MC True, and together they drop 12 tracks with a 38-minute time length, featuring the likes of:
-Bendino
-Ty Da Tyrant
-Tone Spliff
-Seis
-P.Riv
The production on this, reckon, makes me reminisce of the early to mid-2010s with the JID and Denzel Curry era. That hype, Florida booming bass, and high energy production mixed with that classic boom bap sound that hits you so hard, you’ll have to check your face for a slap mark!
One of the standout tracks on this record is ‘Essential Audio’, which features my main man and legend in the game, Tone Spliff, which includes his untouchable cuts that turn any track from a 10 to a 1000 with just his presence alone! Also, the fact the beat is inspired by Biggie’s ‘Kick In The Door’ makes it even more dope!
I love how this record features different flavours and inspirations throughout the album with no real structure; it’s (Crazy High Energy Hype Track) one moment, then the very next (Aggressive Raw and Grimy Boom Bap) hell on track 5 ‘Legacy’, they even have an inspiring track! Kind of reminds me of Eminem’s ‘Not Afraid’ in execution, but this song just further proves my point that they are here to present a platter of various sounds and music for the audience, and most often times this style comes across as messy or all over the place, but this time it works and works fantastically!
The MC work is also a piece of art! J Rizi True share a fantastic chemistry and in my option they have a unique style of rapping where they sounds smooth and gritty at the same time, lethal and powerful, slick and raw, and I hear their fluctuating between the two variants over the songs, and it’s honestly impressive!
For example, imagine Snoop or Common suddenly sounding like Xzibit or 2000’s Eminem. High energy suddenly into relaxed flow, and this surreal balance (at least to me) is remarkable because it means they can switch up the sonic stature depending on the groove and production placed in front of them!
Of course, they aren’t alone on this album, and they showcases their ability to rap alongside their peers and keep their composure and edge, creating absolute chemistry and pushing the record that much further into greatness!
I have to say, I was rather impressed with this record, and I hope to hear more from everyone involved in the near future!
You know, while there are plenty of advantages to working solo, like doing my own pace and answering only to me, there are a few disadvantages, such as being only one man and not being able to pick up on all the releases dropped, and so plenty are sure to go through the cracks, but that’s what these revision reviews are for! So let’s get into it!
So, this is the October 2024 release by MC JRoberts, and across these nine tracks, he brings with him MC’s such as:
-AYOO BIGZ
-RJ Payne
-Che Noir
And producer/cuts from the likes of:
-Body Bag Ben
-Machacha
-DJ Goadman
And let me tell you what, for a 24-minute record, this thing goes wild. First of all, the production, which is mostly handled by Body Bag, feels like a homage to the traditional style of ‘Boom Bap’. There’s no fancy stuff added or over-the-top muddy inclusions or extreme instrumental choices; just solid, old-school, in-your-face, tough beats that are sure to leave you winded after each of these sonic punches to the ears!
He (and the rest of the team) does a fantastic job at creating that no-nonsense, raw atmosphere in its most bare and skeletal form, and I feel so often in this generation we expect to always hear the most chaotic, wild, and exciting sounds and ideas (which I fucking love), but at the same time, we are losing appreciation for the ones who have perfected the basics and utilising those foundations to create a solid, enjoyable, and rock-hard LP!
As far as the rapping goes on this, just as well as the music side of things, we have equally dope and riveting mic work by all involved! Especially JRoberts, who really puts his heart and soul out there in trying to create the most structured bars, most consistent verses, and fluent flow imaginable.
He’s rapping his ass off on this project, pairing with the likes of Mickey Diamond, RJ Payne, AYOO BIGZ, and Che Noir— definitely not easy tasks to do! They are at the forefront of the game right now and will swallow anyone up who isn’t meeting their expectations, and he absolutely nails the quality and integrity of his raps to match theirs!
He has such a passion for the game, you can hear it in his cadence, enthusiasm, and energy on the beats, and the way he sounds excited to be here and prove to everyone why he’s one of the dopest out, and that’s why I love this record!
Overall, definitely a gem of last year, and I just wish I got to it sooner!
You know, often times an artist (especially in hip hop) will use the art of ‘Over Exaggeration’ or ‘False Braggadocio’ for entertainment value or hype or pop on the socials, but in this case, and such has been the case for close to a decade now, Estee Nack and Al Divino have been truthfully
THE COLDEST COMBO EVER
And across this 13-track collaboration, they set out to re-establish that very same fact they’ve been preaching since day one, and with Grubby Pawz on the production, this thing has absolutely no way it can fail, and it didn’t!
This album contains the usual cast of suspects
-FEED THE FAMILY (Borirock, Shaykh Hanif, Dun Dealy)
And ??? (The Hidden Character) with just these four names alone, they created the recipe for not only an album of the month but easily an album of the year!
In my opinion, this is Estee & Al’s most polished and refined record together yet. Grubby knew how big of a deal this drop would be, and so I can tell he put in the work mastering, mixing, and building a cinematic masterpiece that is built between the two most unpredictable and chaotic hip hop charisms the industry has seen in the modern era. He’s literally created the sonic equivalent of the ‘big bang,’ used two destructive and powerful forces to collide, and created life.
What’s clear on this record is that Grubby is focused on using organic instrumentation samples and carefully manipulating them to suit the chaotic environment of the duo. So many of these beats have a beautiful combination of smooth & lawless, deranged & angelic, divine & anarchy. It’s these consistent spectrums constantly being utilised that this album thrives.
It provides the listener with not only an engaging listening experience but also something completely original, creative, and interesting. It’s a stimulation on all fronts. You’ve got that seesaw production combined with the eccentric nature of Estee and Al, and you’ve got the ingredients for the perfect hip hop cocktail.
I can’t believe I can even say this after all the past gems released, but I have to admit, this is the best I’ve heard this duo sound on an album. That’s me saying that, knowing albums like ‘Triple Black Diamonds I&II, IMMORTAL KOMBAT, and ABRAKADABRA, ALAKAZAM’ exist, but I’m telling you, as wild as that is for me to admit, on this album, they are on a whole different level.
On this album, they have improved even more on their notoriously rare duo chemistry. I didn’t think that was possible till today, but they did! Their back-and-forths, matching each other’s intensity, both men outdoing the other with clever puns, witty lines, devastatingly street bars, god-tier one-game, and insane flow and lyricism!
On this record, more than ever, they manipulate the production and make it operate on their behalfs! No matter the tempo, rhythm, or style of beat they are on, they don’t change a thing, they don’t slow down on their relentless approach; they just force the beat to work for them, and somehow it comes out perfectly.
It’s become abundantly clear that the perfect choice for features on this album are FEED THE FAMILY and ???
With the roll The Family have been on the past few years and their own levels of success and consistency, not to mention ‘Infinite Wave,’ which was only earlier this year. Or ‘Hooter Hyena,’ or even ‘WAVY BULLET,’ or even ‘ZING LANGUAGE,’ these guys have been destroying the culture and taking no prisoners, and they have earned to be talked about in the same conversation as Estee and Al, and their presence on this album fits better than I could have expected!
??? is someone who has been rocking with the duo since the early years and is their family! Providing a stream of dope verses and memorable tracks for the discography of both Estee and Al, it doesn’t surprise me one bit that he’s featured on here, and honestly, out of all the frequent collaborations, it would be unsettling if he wasn’t on it! Nonetheless, the use of only a handful of features of this magnitude served the record well as a whole!
I knew this album would be good, but I wasn’t expecting it to be THIS GOOD. I know $32 may not be as convenient as streaming or Bandcamp, perhaps, but let me tell you this is worth every dollar! Don’t let it slip past you!
Time for a new artist’s discovery! Sometimes certain albums just pop off on socials, so it intrigues me enough to cover it, and so let’s talk about it!
This is the latest album between VIC ROSE and DVNTBEATS, and boy does it include a powerhouse roster! 22 tracks with the likes of
-500
-Flames Dot Malik
-Starker
-YL
-Papo2004
-RXKNephew
-Borirock
-Wiardon
-El Camino
-Tragedy Khadafi
-The Dutchmaster
-Hunnaloe
-Reed
-DJ Lucas
-Mar Divinci
-Camden Malik
-FLEESKI
-Yo Chill
-Chuck Strangers
-Monday Night
-Snotty
-Vic Spencer
-Big Ouee
-Hunnaloe
-Tha God Fahim
And right off the bat, that production has to be spoken about. Because DVNT does an excellent job at bringing the audience back to that late 90’s to early 2000’s East Coast vibes with those melodic harmonies, those smooth and beautiful strings, notes, and chords. The utilisation of those angelic vocal performances and loops accompanied by the glossy, crisp, and heavenly touches added to make it feel like you’re in a chill environment, no stress, no anxiety, just a dope as fuck album with surreal tunes with elements of
-Rnb
-Soul
-Jazz
-Funk
-New Jack Swing
-Traditional Hip Hop, and more!
The way he blends all these together to create a harmonious set of rhythms and chord progressions is just godly. This sounds like the kind of stuff Babyface would produce in his heyday! It’s irresistibly groovy, infectiously atmospheric, and an all-round fever dream of a record that does the best at combining sounds from all aspects of music into one super album!
As far as the rapping is concerned, there are so many different styles and preferences that it’s insane. Whether it be the off-the-cuff wildness of my main man from BSF, Flame Dot Malik, or the smooth yet lethal bars from Umbrella’s own Snotty. Or even the endlessly charismatic energy of FEED THE FAMILY’s Bori Rock, each member of this insane roster brings with them their own set of MC tools and abilities to crafting the perfect verses for themselves, and it becomes a who’s who very early on of the competition, ‘who has the better verse?’ and honestly, it’s impossible to decide.
Each man, trying their best to outdo the other. Out Witt, out bar the next, and in this spirit of competition, you get sharpened bars that lead to an overall solid album for both the MC’s and the producer!
You honestly would be hard-pressed to find a hip-hop legion as great as the one collected on this record! This album feels like an audio statement, a nod to the artists saying, ‘We can have the most angelic instrumentals, but we can also out-rap anyone in the game at a drop of a hat,’ and that’s the message I received on this one.
With so many big-name feature albums dropping this year, this one is surely a can’t-miss!
Well, this is a pace I wasn’t expecting to hear from Johnny. After all the wild, abrasive, and experimental tunes I’ve heard him on with Lord Mixer, this one is truly a spectacle in the whole other direction! Let’s talk about it.
So, this is a single that dropped a month ago and is 2 minutes and 37 seconds in length. This time it features producer ‘The Rudiest’ and Across this one (for a surprising change), we have a more melodic and harmonious production palette with what sounds like a combination of acoustic guitar or light drum work combined with a classical vocal sample with some light piano work also to make for a rather beautifully crafted instrumental track.
It’s warm, inviting, and refreshing. Three things you don’t normally hear on a record like this, and yet it works all the same! Further proof that regardless of the sound or preference, Johnny can go off just as well!
Speaking of, the man in question has come with his trademark intensity and full-forced play by play in rhythm, wordplay, lyricism, and flow. As I’m reviewing so much of him lately, I’m trying to think of new and innovative ways to express his style, and it’s definitely a task in and of itself! If you’ve read the last seven reviews I’ve done on him in the past week, you’ll know he’s the definition of brash and loud.
The type of MC that speaks first, thinks second, as he gets in your face down and dirty and lets his dominant hand show in the studio and on the production. He’s working on living up to the namesake of Here’s Johnny and makes sure to never forget his iconic sharp, ruthless, and destructive charisma as it’s helped shape the very sound we all know him for!
So, softer touch on the instrumental but just as heavy-handed as ever with Johnny on the case! You could put a child’s lullaby behind him, and he’ll still make it one of the toughest tracks you’ve ever heard!
For an artist I only discovered this year, he’s quickly become one of my most anticipated. With every new drop he releases or album I discover, it makes me appreciate him even more, and with the knowledge of this one dropping in March this year, you know I had to peep it!
So, the latest EP by NOWAAH The Flood features ten tracks and is the third instalment of the ‘FLOODY SERIES’ with production credits of:
-Bombay Da Realest
-BMG Castro
-The Custodian Of Records
-St. Ivan
-Zopeh Belefonte
-The Mali Empire
-Clypto
And I’ll be real, a lot of the time I get concerned with projects with multiple producers to this extent just because of the unity or the possibility of the lack thereof, but this EP proved me wrong in every way possible! This is such a dope record.
First of all, as the production goes. With so many names, each man has added their own unique touch and personality to the tracks themselves. Instead of a bunch of beat makers with conflicted ideas, this feels like a collection of men with various characteristics that come together to express their love for the music but at the same time providing a different and new perspective in genre, influence, and style!
For example, tracks like ‘Science Fair’ have that grimy, muddy boom bap lethal flavour that will force your face to mean mug and bop your head and neck till you need to go see your local chiropractor!
Then there’s tracks like ‘FLOODY UNLTD’ which has that ambient, horn-heavy beat with those luscious keys and notes in the background that makes this song sound like something magical and out-of-this-world!
Or even the track ‘A-1’ which has that beautiful jazz influence with those smooth piano keys with those synth chords in the background to make for a relaxing and soothing listening experience!
My point is, each producer brings something different to the album, but it all works. It all sounds fluent and constructive to the progress of the overall EP! An absolutely fantastic job by everyone involved.
On to the star of the record. NOWAAH, the man who has had a killer few years, once again outdoes himself on this one. What intrigues me about him is his natural charisma, his tough and sturdy delivery on his lines, and his conviction in his own game and lyricism. He ain’t interested in anything but the shit he wants to do! He makes what HE wants, no compromise, no switching lanes for popularity or going ‘viral’, he’s just here to make his brand of dope music, and the fans love him for it.
You can hear it in the way he spits his bars, his level of discipline and drive he puts into each of his lines, let alone his projects. He makes sure each bar, sentence, verse is delivered with the utmost precision, impact, clarity, and consistency. He’s not the type to wish a wack verse on because it will never happen!
Overall, another dope EP. One I’m glad I discovered when I did. The variety of production is surreal, the MC work is flawless, and overall just one of the best EP’s of the year!
The Serpent Tongue Reviews 