Westside Gunn is “Still Praying” (Album Review)

Here we have the 8th studio LP from Buffalo, New York emcee, songwriter, entrepreneur & curator Westside Gunn. Proving his legend status & that he’s to be a force to be reckoned with all in nearly a decade whether it be running one of the hottest hip hop labels in recent memory to his first 2 full-lengths FLYGOD & Supreme Blientele. He just put out the 11th installment of his infamous Halloween mixtape series Hitler Wears Hermes yesterday & is now following up And Then You Pray for Me with Still Praying.

After the “Waly Fay” intro & the “Justin Roberts” skit, the first song “Beef Bar” produced by Denny LaFlare & Statik Selektah is a lavish boom bap opener welcoming everyone to the lifestyles of the rich & famous whereas “Max Caster” named after the former AEW World Tag Team Champion & AEW World Trios Champion dustily worries about the almighty dollar. “Dr. Britt Baker” featuring Brother Tom Sos named after the former AEW Women’s World Champion keeps it in the basement thanks to DJ Muggs introducing y’all to the dentist who gave them multi-million dollar smiles & “I Know Verdy” maintains a boom bap edge refusing to show pity.

“Speedy 40” hopped over this slow, morbid instrumental from long-time Griselda in-house producer Daringer talking about being too greedy while the cutthroat “Duran Duran” that JR Swiftz laced explaining that living godly is all part of the plan. “Runway Pieces at the Last Supper” works in a mellow backdrop mixed with kicks & snares reflecting on the war, they used to have but after the “Bike Air” interlude, “Free Shots” by Hall ‘N Nash pays homage to incarcerated Drumwork Music Group artist Shots over a Conductor Williams beat.

The title track featuring Benny the ButcherBoldy JamesConway the Machine & Stove God Cook$ pushes towards the final moments of Still Praying with this insane 7-minute Griselda posse cut while the song “Underground King” featuring Rome Streetz returns to the boom bap talking about how both of them are the greatest of all shit talkers. “LeSalle Station” properly finishes the album by reflecting on all the people that he’s lost back to back.

Coming off the most personal project that West has ever made Hitler Wears Hermes XI only 24 hours ago, he’s continuing the hot streak with a follow-up to And Then You Pray for Me that I think people are gonna like a lot more than the predecessor. The production is rooted in the traditional boom bap sound Griselda is known for in contrast to the trap heavy influences of last time & the guests all maintain his level on the mic.

Score: 8/10

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com

Spread the love
             
 
   

Bishop Nehru Has Found “Solace in Shadows” (Album Review)

New York emcee/producer Bishop Nehru self-producing his 3rd LP. Starting out dropping a couple beat tapes before emerging in the underground off the solid debut mixtape Nehruvia, he profile would only begin to increase in 2014 by signing to Mass Appeal Records & form the duo NehruvianDOOM alongside the late MF DOOM & putting out an overlooked self-titled effort together that same fall. Bishy would leave Mass Appeal a couple years later to drop 2 full-lengths Elevators & My Disregarded Thoughts on his own, both of which I look at as some of the best shit he’s ever done. He would also drop 7 EPs & 5 more mixtapes, the most recent being Kult Life: From Pain to Paintings. To start November though, Nehru’s finding Solace in Shadows.

“Seeking Solace” is a heavy sample-driven opener talking about Bishy Chulo searching for comfort whereas “I Don’t Know” soulfully promises to make everything all his despite if he doesn’t know if the vision’s seen. “Been So Cold” takes the boom bap route instrumentally flexing how long he’s been in the game killing shit leading into “Defying Odds” keeping the kicks & snares in tact making it to the stages after days in the hallways.

Meanwhile on “Vanilla Frosting”, we have Nehru sampling a woodwind taking a break from the mic for 135 seconds so he demonstrate his sampling skills flipping a prominent woodwind prior to the “Breaking the Rules” talking about tryna take it to the next level over a bagpipe & later the hardcore “Rap Leonardo da Vinci (So Please)” flexing his artistry. “I Don’t Care” boasts him taking the unclear road, but then the crooning “Good Thing I Know” promises you won’t come back if you cross him.

“Mr. Pessimistic” starts the encore of Solace in Shadows admitting that life’s been crazier than a Tesla in the fast lane while the orchestral boom bap hybrid “Look Within” telling you how you can change outside. “Mind over Matters” takes it further down the basement explaining the only thing that really matters while “All in the Plan” soulfully reassures that this God’s plan. “The Best Me” ends by talking about giving y’all the best version of himself.

I did enjoy the first entry of the Kult Life series of EP & several months later, Bishop has outdone himself by putting out an album that lives up to both of it’s predecessors. The production that he cooked up all by himself is a step above the previously mentioned EP that we got from him early into 2024 & conceptually, he’s taking us through the experiences of him finding comfort within the shadows.

Score: 8/10

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com

Spread the love
             
 
   

“The World is Cooked” as Far as Craig G’s Concerned (Album Review)

Craig G is a 51 year old MC from Queens, New York who started out as a member of the Juice Crewcollective. His full-length debut The Kingpin produced by Marley Marl & the sophomore effort Now, That’s More Like It came out in the late 80s/early 90s through Atlantic Records & returned over a decade later with This is Now!!! like he never left. Marley Marl went on to produce Operation: Take Back Hip Hop, which resulted in Craig signing to Soulspazm Records for his last couple albums Ramblings of an Angry Old Man and I Rap & Go Home. 8 years later, he’s back for his 7th full-length LP.

After the “Few Words from tha Teacha” intro, the first song “The Okey Doke” fuses rap rock & boom bap telling everyone to hold themselves accountable for what they fell for whereas the sample-driven “Dumb Down” featuring B-Real talks about this era that we’re entering. “America’s Dumbest Criminals” vividly tells the story of a couple criminals who later got arrested the same night just before the chipmunk soul title track discusses the current state of the world.

“Fortitude” flips an organ representing hard work & after the Chuck D interlude, “Gossip Sites” disses everyone who posts online for attention. “Expand Ya Mind” featuring Chubb Rock sets out to exactly that over a boom bap instrumental while “Reconsidered” tells a sad tale for 3-minutes. “Smartest 1 in the Room” featuring Freeway takes us back in the basement tryna inspire & making the community legitimate while “Wise Words” ends by telling everyone to go for theirs.

Craig has always been a bit underappreciated when it comes to members of the Juice Crew & although I don’t think it’s one of the best albums that he’s ever done per se, I did enjoy the half hour listening experience. The production is prominently based around the traditional east coast boom bap sound & Craig observes the cons of our world today.

Score: 7/10

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com

Spread the love
             
 
   

Crossworm & Samson Samson are “Bodies Below Sea Level” (Album Review)

Bodies Below Sea Level are a duo consisting of Grand Rapids, Michigan emcee, singer/songwriter, producer & Dirtcore Music founder Crossworm alongside Hampton, Virginia recording artist Samson Samson. Both of whom have already collaborated with each other on a handful of songs over the years up to this point like “Killmode” or “Open Up Your Mind” & of course most notably “Bodies Below Sea Level”, but are finally taking it to a new level by coming off Hallowicked to release an official eponymous full-length debut studio album.

After the “Respawn” intro, the first song “The Devil’s Own” is this industrial hip hop/rap rock mixture talking about being heathens right down to the bone whereas “Laughter (Bang, Bang, Bang)” industrially raps about being guaranteed to stop your momentum. “Evil” works in some dark synthesizers to talk about being wicked people & “Sever” embraces the rap rock influences further on top of the horrorcore lyricism.

“Loser” officially reaches the halfway point of the LP on the rap rock tip letting off some angst for almost 3 minutes just before “Infinite” hooks up some hi-hats & a blobby bassline to talk about the wicked shit always being inside of them to this very day. “Trouble in the Library of Corpses” happens to be another well-crafted industrial/horrorcore blend leading into “Unrepenting” pulling inspiration from Depeche Mode.

Meanwhile on “Eat Myself Alive”, we have Grounds joining over a trap beat admitting that’s the way they feel sometimes & the official closing track “We’re the Dead” proceeding the “Summoning” interlude ends the way they started from the industrial hip hop/rap rock influences to the lyrics talking about them traveling beyond the grave.

Assuming this is only the beginning for them, Bodies Below Sea Level’s self-titled debut gets November going by taking 36 minutes to properly introduce themselves as a unit. The production balancing industrial hip hop & rap rock proves to be a refreshing change of pace within the underground wicket shit scene, building most of the lyrical themes around horror.

Score: 8/10

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com

Spread the love
             
 
   

Fresh Trap Metal Horrorcore Vibes Bloom Out of Darby O’Trill’s “GARDeN” (Album Review)

What better way to come off Hallowicked than Key Largo, Floridian emcee Darby O’Trill releasing his 7th LP? Emerging in the fall of 2018 off his full-length debut Blood, Guts & a Whole Lotta Love, would go on to follow it with Fester almost a year later & has extensively been working with Chapter 17/Psychopathic Records in-house producer Devereaux by bringing him into the cut to fully produce his 3rd album Piecemeal to critical acclaim during the COVID-19 pandemic. Darby’s eventually signed a 1-album deal with Lyrikal Snuff Productionz & fulfilled it over a year ago with Gully, which is a modern day wicked shit classic. Amputate was a solid prelude to The Tomb, the latter was even better. Darby’s official C17 debut Creek became his best since Gully & had a feeling GARDeN could join them in the ranks.

“Diet Root Beer Shampoo” is a 100 second demonic trap opener that Devereaux of course laced talking about the portal to Hell’s Pit in the basement of his apartment whereas “The Sound of Suffering Trapped Skin” works in some hi-hats & guitars feeling murderous. “Quit Lookin At Me, You’re Making My Shadow Nervous” wants to know what the fuck you want over another trap metal beat while “Hell Been Callin’ featuring Shaggytheairhead & produced by Mythic Mindz recaptures the aura of 10 Bandz from this spring.

As for “Dick Down in a Bucket Fulla Beans”, we have Darby delving further down the trap metal rabbit hole feeling the fire burn around him just before “Crooked Pastor Blaster” serves as a sequel to “C.P.K. (Crooked Preacher Killas)” by the Insane Clown Posse & one that does the original justice. The bassy “Fiery Fish Pizza TMDWU” has some cool Memphis undertones throughout feelin’ like something’s talking in his head, but then “The Omen of the Body Bag” is another trap metal head-smasher.

“Multicolored Mood Ring” keeps the heavy guitars & hi-hats in the fold reminding us all that life & death is alchemy while “Blistered Hands Wipe the Sweat From My Brow” maintains a trap metal flare paralleling “My Axe” by ICP except he refers to a shovel instead of an axe. Shaggytheairhead’s only singular production credit lands on Skull Bone Soccer” giving a standard trap vibe so Darby can caution his disgustingness while the lively “A Man Made of Scabs & Guilt” asks why he even tries

Ouija Macc appears for “Baptized in a Vat Acid” aggressively leaving their opposition in the dirt while “Smokeless Tobacco Spit is Gross, Just Like You” goes trap metal again to spit the wicked shit. “Curse of the Ancient Skin Tags” infernally suggests a sign towards the end being close while “The Burden of Being” remarkably mixes trap metal & emo rap. “Close the Gate, Don’t Let the World In” heinously finishes his C17 sophomore effort by talking about being dead.

Being familiar with Darby since Piecemeal, he’s come a very long way in these past 4 years & GARDeN a lot like that introductory body of work alongside Creek & of Gully further proves further in addition to Chapter 17 embodying a new generation of juggalos. It’s more trap metal sounding than his previous material aside than the emo rap undertones, colliding that style with horrorcore in a tasteful manner.

Score: 9/10

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com

Spread the love
             
 
   

Quaesar Drops new Single/Visual – MURDEROUS MOMENTUM

Halloween is here, and Project Blowed’s own Quaesar just dropped their latest single, Murderous Momentum, alongside producer Chop Loui. Known for rapid-fire flows, Quaesar goes all out in this new track, delivering hardcore, gory lyricism—perfectly timed for the spooky season.

Catch the Video on youtube.

Source: UndergroundHipHopBlog.com

Spread the love