(Burial Plots & Pyramid Schemes)

Looks like it’s time to go back in time to 2022 based on a request, and thank goodness I did because this thing is absolutely monstrous! Let’s talk about it!

So this is a 2022 album by producer ‘Imperetiv’ and features a ridiculous roster including: 

-Josiah The Gift

-G4 Jag 

-Starz Coleman 

-Rick Hyde

-Benny The Butcher

-Pro Dillinger

-Asun Eastwood

-SLNC

-Dystrakted

-El Camino

-Chayna Ashley

-Plex Diamonds

-Jacobi The Giant

-Alcatraz

-Falcon Outlaw

-L-Biz

-Junk

-Y.N.X.716

-RU$H

-Neako

-Daniel Son

-A.M. Early Morning

-Flamo

-Obe G

And if that roster doesn’t impress you, it’s because you have no idea how the underground works. This record features the heavy hitters of the heavy hitters, the ones who run the shit then and now! When you put them across this level of production, then you can say goodbye to the rest of the competition!

Across these 12 tracks, you have some of the most diabolical, savage, and downright muddy productions you’ve ever heard. Monstrous sounds, killer sharp strings, and notes that come tumbling down on the ears of the listeners every second of the tracks. 

The scratching and cuts are done so well and add a level of traditional and technical touch to an otherwise purely depraved and twisted album that showcases how down and dirty the atmosphere can get in one album, and Imperetiv was pushing for the high score. When you feature the roster that this album provides, it would be a disappointment to create anything but the most sinister aura that you possibly can!

Speaking of Aura. The names on this list have that in SPADES, and we’re just talking individually! As a collective, the ambience is pure lethal and poisonous grit that only the very best could provide.

Each song has multiple names, each giving their chance to destroy the other on the track. Yes, I’m sure there’s plenty of brotherly love and respect, but I have no doubt in my mind when it’s ’studio time’, each man and woman on this list is gunning to out-perform the other, creating the perfect environment for crafting perfection and sharpening the lethal skills they’ve spent years developing and building the strength off! Every person on this list is on request replay for me, so to hear them all at once is truly a blessing of an experience for me and for other listeners alike. 

You will never find a wack verse from anyone on this list, not here or ever. These are the powerhouses of the culture! The ones who pushed the boundaries and made the underground what it is now, and they ain’t ready to ever show an L until they die! 

What else can I say? This thing fucking goes HARD! Everything from the production to the verses is as perfect as perfect can be! Don’t believe me? Give it a listen!

https://open.spotify.com/album/73yxJChGyPbkCZjpPPlciN?si=v1t9f4LfR2-jSBuANfH9lA

( SKIPPTANE)

In the area of grimy, muddy, and hardcore hip hop, it is good to sometimes take a step back and listen to a project that highlights the beautiful and tranquil elements of hip hop, those kinds of records you play when you’re not in the mood for aggressively charged adrenaline or mean mugging. An album to just sit back, relax, and ride the vibe to the end. 

This is the 2024 collaboration album between MC ‘Skipp Whitman’ and producer ‘Tane’, and together they make ‘SKIPPANE’, and they feature eight tracks with a 22-minute run length, featuring such artists as: 

-Jarred Benton

-Laylo Holmes

-Jeremy Jones

-La Bell

And I have to start with the production because this thing is absolutely unbelievable! The level of smoothness, breathtaking instrumentals, and calming sounds and samples make the whole body just lose tension and stress the moment the album starts.

If I had to describe the sounds of this album, it would have to be three x albums rolled into one: 

– Tyler, The Creator ‘IGOR’

-Blu X Exile ‘MILES’

-A Tribe Called Quest ‘The Low End Theory’

I can hear influences of all three in this album. The creative/modern-day R&B/Synth Pop vibes of ‘IGOR’, the purity and good vibes of ‘MILES’, and the jazz, fantastical, and groundbreaking instrumentals of ‘The Low End Theory’, and this album utilises the best of the trio! 

It’s like each song is a capsule or retreat of relaxation and happiness. Actually, it’s hard to focus on anything when listening to it as it takes over your mind and body, forces you into a state of temporary calmness where all you’re doing is focusing on the sounds and artists at hand.

I can guarantee you one thing, while listening to this album, no matter what you’re going through! It will be impossible to worry or feel feelings of concern. Take my advice and see for yourself! The sonic and legal form of marijuana.

Now onto the MC work, just as excellent as the production is, so is the rapping. We have a man who glides through these beats like a knife through butter and spreads seemingly effortless flow, a naturally zen demeanour, and a soothing cadence that amplifies his every word. 

While he has these qualities, he also possesses high levels of confidence, positive energy, enthusiasm, and infectious passion for every bar he spits that it’s impossible not to appreciate him when he’s laying the verses down! His pen game is so divine that he makes any word delivered a thing of wonder due to his sharpened skills and abilities!

Even working with some of the hottest artists in the game right now as features, he maintains his stature and doesn’t become overwhelmed or underestimated. He knows he’s a dope MC, and he helps the audience realise that too!

I can’t say enough good things about this album! Incredible from start to finish, and I know you’ll love it too! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/1CrGVAuTHhJPfmhRrN8z1X?si=va9kUOmrSeOqktSGx8zyWQ

(HAVE A BAD DAY)

Al Divino. This man really is from the future; there’s no other way to explain the impact he has on every album he’s on. He doesn’t simply make albums; he creates experiences! I say that because no other artist is on the wave he’s on. This is what I expect the ‘future’ to sound like, and he’s never once dropped a mid-project, and this one is definitely not the exception!

So, this is the February 24th, 2024 release by Al Divino, and it features 13 tracks with production from the likes of 

-poi$un

-shawn penn

-sonnyjim

-al divino

-abbotjackson

-wino Willy

And features verses from

-borirock 

-???

-top list

-datkidbravo

And this production is the definition of out of this world. It feels like whenever Al is on the case, he inspires and blesses the artists he’s with with his level of creative magnificence, controlled chaos, and utmost intensity and muddy energy that makes your average boom Bap sound like child’s play in comparison.

This album, just like all the rest, features elements of distorted and manipulated experimental, soul, hardcore, grimy, jazz, and ambient qualities. Try to envision a sonic sadist keeping all these genres hostage and torturing them to get the most gruesome and violent reactions out of them, and that’s exactly what this sounds like.

Also, considering each track ranges from 2:50 -0:49, which means they are capitalising on the short spurs of adrenaline per track to maximise attention span and engagement from the audience. A genius idea that, when combined with the original sounds above, you get a memorable project that won’t be passed by anytime soon! 

The MC capabilities of Al are something severely underrated in my opinion. The world associates him with the role of producer (which he is god-tier in), but often forgetting he’s on par with and provided an equally compelling MC experience alongside Estee in those groundbreaking albums from the mid to late 2010s, and he brings it just as intense on this one.

His trademark explosive vocal performance is on full display here; he always sounds like a man without a filter. He just goes off and says whatever he’s feeling at the time, similar in free form as Estee but in a more violent and aggressive manner. His lyricism is witty and sharp, his flow is uniquely all over the place as he’s the type to manipulate the beat to work for him and not the other way around! Plus, his natural chaotic charisma is always infectious to hear!

Of course, he’s with regular names on this project to the point they’ve already developed a perfect chemistry and synchronous harmony that they could never make a bad song together, even if they tried! 

Another home run album for Al Divino and company! Whether it’s the artwork, production, bars, or features, Al is always on point and 100 years above the competition!! 

https://aldotdivino.bandcamp.com/album/have-a-bad-day

(laydownlikethechiefs)

I’m going to go on record and say that Lord Mixer is my favourite producer when it comes to Here’s Johnny singles. He has an unpredictable and experimental nature to his work that just suits Johnny’s level of aggression, and that’s exactly why this track goes hard as well!

Two minutes and twenty-five seconds of pure, unadulterated energy. We have that eerie instrumental that sounds like a singing male sample that has been distorted and twisted to sound lower in register and possibly slowed down a bit to give it that extra creepy vibe. That, across a bass-heavy traditional boom Bap, and you have the recipe for an extraordinary beat with plenty of dark and haunting melodies to fit!

Now comes his partner in crime, whose name is inspired by horror itself. If you don’t get that reference, pause reading this and go watch The Shining. (Yes, it’s a mandatory part of life) And you’ll see why his name is so iconic. Considering he goes off on every beat he’s presented when he’s on an extra devilish track of this calibre, you know it’s going to be a banger! So much so, it was featured on Paka The Plug!

As expected, he comes in brash and heavy. His confrontational nature springs into full effect with his punchlines, razor-sharp lyricism, and destructive flow like C-4 on the instrumental! We ain’t talking AEW when I say Dynamite is coming!

If you’re looking for a savage track with equal parts chilling production and off-the-rails MC work, then look no further than this track! If it’s solid enough to be featured on Paka, then best believe it’s something you gotta hear!

https://youtu.be/8JrnBDw2Ijw?si=jQhC_VnAVCbVwRo2

(From Below)

It’s been a while since I’ve been this excited over a new metal EP. But this is a band I’ve been in contact with for a while now, and knowing just how good their music is, plus how fantastic their lead single to this album was ‘Rectification’, I had my hopes up high for this one, and I’m proud to say not only did it live up to my expectations but blew it out of the water! Let’s talk about it!

So, this EP contains 5 tracks: 

-Rectification 

-Then You Die

-From Below

-Guardian

-Edge of Sanity

And this EP sounds like a time machine back to the golden 80’s era of metal. This feels like a love letter to bands such as: 

-Anthrax

-White Snake

-Judas Priest

-Iron Maiden, and more. What they seem to accomplish in just 5 songs is just astonishing to me as they not only encapsulate the aura of the metal forefathers but put their own original modern spin on it to truly make it their own version and sound.

Across these tracks, you can expect fast-paced anthem tracks like track 1 and 3 but also harmonious slow burners such as track 2 and 4. If you know your metal, you know the bands I mentioned above all sound different from one another with their own unique tempos and styles, and yet this EP seems to capture each part perfectly!

The guitar work is shredding and technical; the drums are hard-pressed and rhythmic in motion; it almost makes me think of Led Zeppelin’s ‘John Bonham’ would sound like in the modern day, and I would assume like this!

The vocal excellence across this project is unmatched. It’s one thing to instrumentally sound like the 80’s but to capture the vocals as well? It’s rare and definitely not easy to pull off, yet this band even does that right. From where I first discovered them to now, they have evolved 10x fold, and it makes me so happy to know they are where they are!

This EP could very well be the metal EP of 2025. It’s infectious, head-banging worthy, and beautifully crafted. This band, in this short spur of momentum, shows bands and fans alike why they aren’t the band to sleep on anymore! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/1nQPsck7qj0a3MRke2J3WS?si=GsGBfZbgRie-H4C84C58Pg

(Hell Of A Life)

2WO OFFISHALL is back! I last covered his single ‘Realest Ever’ featuring Cyphersick and Vic Spencer, but now he’s returned with a past collaborator and one new for what could easily be a single of May!

So, this new track features returning Cyphersick and now Brother Tom Sos! And with this new duo, we have three minutes and 12 seconds of dope music you guys have to try out!

This beat, similar to the former single, features these luscious chord progressions with heavy bass over a traditional hip-hop beat! The type you could easily play on the radios, clubs, and streaming playlists! This is the kind of beat you could play on repeat and never get sick of it! It’s vibrant, rich, larger than life, and infectious in execution! 

As far as the rhyming goes. Both men involved have introspective and original verses filled with sharp/personal lyricism, strong pen game, and smooth and fluent flow. They both feature different levels of gears, one more methodical, the other a bit faster-paced, but in turn, they both fill the others’ gaps and act as each other’s yin and yang or being different sides of the same coin! 

I love the chemistry they have together; they both understood the assignment of turning this wonderful instrumental into a killer overall track, and their two verses plus that catchy/memorable chorus make this a track I’m sure will be on everyone’s mind for months to come!

Make sure you don’t miss this new single! 2WO OFFISHALL doesn’t know how to miss! 

https://open.spotify.com/track/3kkeOJuAZOyR9Gw2M24EQm?si=HJHKOk2nTs-WlpaAIMNhVw

(BYAKUGAN)

First of all, what a dope concept to rap about! For those who don’t watch anime, it’s regarding a power from the anime ‘Naruto’, the ‘BYAKUGAN’, and I never would have picked Estee as an anime fan, but it just makes this record that much better!

We have another dope collaboration between legendary underground MC Estee Nack and his regular producer in crime, ‘Mr Rose’. Together, they have shifted the phase of underground hip hop and what it should sound like! Along with Al, these three men have done more for the culture than anyone could possibly know, and now Estee and Rose are back to dominate the game for what feels like the 100th time! 

The features include: 

-Starker

-El Seven

-Ice Lord

And just like a lot of his other albums, this one has that smooth, jazzy, and light tone that other producers Estee worked with, and that’s what makes his signature style so memorable.

He makes surreal and beautiful-sounding instrumentals that give off a colourful and engaging experience (similar to what you might hear on a Tribe Called Quest) album in how vibrant and electrifying the production was and how it went through your whole body and made you feel a certain way!

Mr Rose has this effect with everything he drops! His work is often methodical in pacing yet expressive and explosive in the final product. The strings, chords, and notes feel richer, they feel heavier, and more saturated in love and passion to the point you can feel the emotions that went into making these beats. Although Estee is more commonly known for his extreme musical ventures and sounds, you best believe he can just as well pop on a record of this influence!

Speaking of the man in question, I’m genuinely curious if we will ever hear a wack verse from him because the world hasn’t heard one yet, and it didn’t start here! 

What we have here is Estee using his creative genius and his natural charisma to glide over these beats and provide social, ghetto, and personal commentary in his own unique free-form rap style that makes each verse from him more memorable than 10x other MC’s combined. I loved how towards the end of the album he does sample an episode of ‘Naruto’, which I loved, plus the use of voice samples about ‘Elijah Muhammad’ definitely hit hard and gave this record a level of substance it may have lacked before!

Only three features to work with, these four men help elevate the project to a higher level with ruthless execution, tough bars, and excellent flows! Estee always knows how to pick the best features for his records, and this record is no different!

Another unsurprisingly dope release by Estee and Mr. Rose. They were the ones who changed the landscape, and they are the ones continuing the quality of the culture! 

https://esteenack.bandcamp.com/album/byakugan

(SideA)

Looks like we have Here’s Johnny going muddy on this track! With so many experimental productions I’ve experienced with this flood of singles, this one has to be the grimiest I’ve heard yet! 

We have the latest single by Here’s Johnny back with frequent collaborator ‘LordMixer’, and with a track that’s once again under two minutes, we have a quick yet fire track to give you that shot of adrenaline through the day!

So, as mentioned above, this track features the most trademark Boom Bap Grime/Muddy track we’ve heard from him (at least as these new singles are concerned), and it sounds fantastically hard!

You’ve got those long screeching note loops across that head-bumping boom beat that acts as its skeleton for this ruthless track! This is the kind of song you’d listen to in your headphones right before you go to rob someone! When you have hate in your heart and ready to fuck someone up! That Griselda type shit! As someone who loves these kinds of beats, this is right up my alley!

And you already know if a beat is already this grimy, then best believe Johnny will amplify that 10x fold and use his loud, brash, and powerful vocal tones to turn the beat from loud to gargantuan! And he does exactly that as usual; there’s no pause in his style, no break in his rhythm, just straight bars, sharp and lethal lyricism with that signature infectious punchlines and poisonous wordplay, and across this beat, he proves why he should never be left out of the conversation in the underground!

One of my more favourite singles of his, and glad to see him on that grimy shit! 

https://youtu.be/dI17i6iK4lk?si=A7xHKoIWaOrXqyam

(The River Styx)

I’ll keep it real with you all, compilation albums with tons of features and different producers aren’t really my bag. I’ve reviewed some in the past and there are some exceptions to this done well such as Dr Dre’s 2001. But for the most part, I feel for albums like these to succeed, you need a few key factors.

-Absolute Quality 

-Synchronicity between all artists involved

-Fluency from track to track.

If these three factors can be established, then this kind of album can be an enjoyable listen! Thankfully, we have such an album!

So this is the latest album by Equinox/Crooked Halo featuring the likes of 

-FERKDOE

-CHIEF KAMACHI 

-K3VOH

-PROTOTYPE 

-JACK, THE RAPPER

-REKS

-DJ TMB

-TRAGEDY KHADAFI

-RELLIK

-BEEF THE LOST CAUZE

-SUSPECT

-SABAC RED

-SCANDALIST

-CAPPADONNA

-ONYX

-DOMEZ

-LIZLEO

-ILL BILL

-C. RAE

-RAEKWON

-BLOCK MCCLOUD

-PAST ONE

-DOAP NIXON

And on the production, we have 

-SKINNY BONEZ THA GODFATHA

-VINT MENTALZ

-FLOUN

-K3VOH

-FICHE NESS

-VHERBAL

With cuts from -DJ R & DUB L

Man, it’s always a handful to write all these features down, but it’s always worth it because what you come across in this project is a harmonious combination of artists and producers that provides an engaging experience that will make any hip-hop fan happy regardless of the country or region you prefer to listen to!

This project, compared to his other one, is very mysterious and fantastical in nature. With the theme being ‘The River Styx’, they try their best to incorporate those mythological, supernatural sounds and samples to set the scene. Of course, provided with a hip-hop flavour, but I love how the tracks have stuff like ‘Choir Vocals’ or ‘Big horns, grand strings’ and an overall cinematic quality to it to try best to represent the theme at hand.

If I had to guess their reasoning for the large roster, it is to make the sounds attributed to it done as much justice as possible, and maybe doing that with one or two men would be an impossible task? Whether that’s true or not, and if that’s even their reasoning at all, I understand it. This project definitely benefits from the sizeable team, and they make shit pop!

Speaking of said roster, I gotta say this first. They have a guy on cunt on the roster (Australian term for guy, not a diss) who sounds just like Slim Shady LP Eminem! High pitch with witty flows. Whichever one he is, he’s dope.

For the rest of them, we have your usual suspects come together under the ‘Equinox’ banner, but we also have some new acts appear, such as my main man ‘Skinny Bonez Tha Godfatha’ and even some celebrity names! Such as Raekwon, Onyx, Capadonna, and so forth.

As I mentioned above, a MUST HAVE for albums like these is perfect chemistry and synchronicity, and this album provides both. You can feel their passion and enthusiasm across each verse, bar, and word spoken! You can feel them giving their all and not wanting a single lacklustre performance, trying their best to lock in their flows, outdo the one that came before with their lyricism and delivery, and just be the best that they can be, and I feel that!

You can feel the energy in the room, the competitive atmosphere and spirit, and all of that fuses into the music itself to create a memorable and hard-hitting display of hip-hop music!

Overall, another solid drop from the boys! They may be huge in numbers, but they are equally huge in passion and talent, which makes it all worth it!

https://open.spotify.com/album/6bH6sqnU34nd4QpvJqj2Ao?si=4CGePOM0SaWlYuc2Xqt7GQ

(Pyramid Skeemz)

Ironically, this will be the second time I review an album of this name in the same month, hell, within 24 hours of each other. Different spelling but the same name, and so with that phenomenon taking place, let’s talk about it!

This is the latest collaboration project between MC J Shxnobi and producer Omar Glomar and features 10 tracks and 23 minutes of content featuring the likes of 

-Hoody Santana

-YOUNG STADIX 

And I have to say the album is a completely different sound than the other one of the same name, but this record features hypnotic, powerful, and eccentric sounds that make you think and your mind wonder while also experiencing stimulating feelings throughout your body as they provide numerous masterful production, techniques, and loops to create the ultimate atmosphere of surrealist music that plants its originality into this year’s ever-growing pool of quality music that is trademarked with Omar Glomar!

As far as J Shxnobi is concerned, he’s someone who impressed me with his sharp wit, his lethal lyricism, and his awe-inspiring enthusiasm and natural charisma across the 10 tracks. With only 23 minutes of time to kill, he doesn’t waste any time in delivering precise strikes to the instrumentals and leaves a lasting impression that no doubt the audience will feel for days to come.

He has a great chemistry with the features mentioned above, and his natural synchronicity with Omar proves evident as his bars, verses feel exactly what each track needed and complement the production perfectly as if they shared the same mind!

A very impressive showing by these two men. Although not socially the same as the other album of the same name, the quality is definitely there, and I’m sure hip-hop fans far and wide will find enjoyment from this album! 

https://open.spotify.com/album/4vc82a5YLvCyhnBz2gN5Gd?si=s-4KDF7kRtuNvCqhC2yxtA