Hello World! Depthfinder #1
Favorite Music from January 2025 (First Half)
I’ve been excited to start this project for awhile now - my notes app is getting full, and I’ve posted music reviews anonymously online for a few years now, and I figured it would be more fun for me to share some music and my thoughts on it in a new way to start the year. While everything from illness, a panic attack, a broken car, procrastination, and no clue what I’m doing has led this list getting out a bit later than I anticipated, I have constructed a mostly-complete and definitely too long collection of songs and projects for my first list. I wanted the first one to be sort of huge, as its important to me to showcase the sheer amount of material that releases every month. While I learned my lesson (not every track or project here has a blurb, quite frankly I wore myself out) and not every installment of this series will feature this many projects, songs, or words, if you’re here, I hope you find something new that you enjoy that perhaps you wouldn’t have encountered otherwise. This list is quite rap-heavy; in the future, I will diversify genre a bit more, but I do listen to mostly Hip-Hop music, so that will always be a staple of the column. I’ve organized this list in terms of popularity of the artist, using the zones of the oceans as reference. Thank you for reading, its a pleasure to have you here!
Sunlight Zone
03 Greedo & Babyfxce E - Helicopters: “Helicopters” is the gem on 03 Greedo’s latest hour-long SoundCloud dump, featuring lo-fi cinematics from Yunglan to level-up a gruff performance from Greedy and show-stealing feature from Babyfxce E
Bad Bunny - DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS: Benito is one of those rare artists who could go stream-for-stream with literally any artist yet actually make music I love. DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS is probably a top-2 album in his catalog, full of evolving production that laces reggaeton, jibaro, and bomba styles, amongst others, providing Bad Bunny with shapeshifting stationery to write his love letter to Puerto Rico on. While a lot of this album is a lot of fun (“PERFuMITO NUEVO”, “VOY A LLeVARTE PA PR”), there’s a lot of longing, regret, and mourning felt on this project as well - Puerto Rico likely can’t ever be the same place to Benito since becoming one of the most famous artists in the world, but goddamn does he love that place, and he’s going to pour his heart and soul out over sounds inspired by those that he came up on.
Black Kray - Can I Gaal Yu: when I queued up this new Black Kray track I had to double check what it was, but I loved the unexpected experience. Kray floats over the break-oriented production with a vocal effect that makes him sound like a human accordion, giving some biblically accurate angelic qualities to his sometimes underworld-ready sound
Ethel Cain - Perverts: I really appreciate Ethel Cain’s alienation of her most surface-level fans with her newest project; largely abandoning her songwriting-focused approach which made her a beloved artist seems like a bold choice, but Ethel Cain is one of those artists who interacts with her fans on a pretty intimate level, so everything was in place for her to drop a more left field project and in turn heighten the support and intrigue of her dedicated followers. To fully understand what she’s getting at with this project, it requires diving into her influences, philosophy, and taste more than ever before, which I think is a cool way to both connect her art to her mind as well as put on her listeners to a wide range of interesting stuff. My favorite track was “Onanist”, which features a levitation-inducing vocal performance over some pleasureless dark ambient production, climaxing into a crushed wall of noise. Definitely a good reminder that the first dude to ever pull out during sex was killed by God himself for his actions
Lil Baby, Future & Young Thug - Dum, Dumb & Dumber: I don’t agree with the notion that Lil Baby ruined “Dum, Dumb & Dumber” at all - he fits here perfectly and comes through with probably his best performance on WHAM - if Thug and Future weren’t on this track, it would still be the hardest song on the album and feature the hardest beat on the project too. The main story here is the return of Future and Thug as a duo though, and their first offering since Young Thug’s freedom was a smash.
Luis R Conriquez & Peso Pluma - Bandida: I haven’t been listening to copious amounts of Corridos lately as I had been in 2022 and 2023, but there is certainly a time and place for a 2-minute folksong from Corridos Bélicos godfather Luis R Conriquez and now-global superstar Peso Pluma to bask in some questionably obtained massive cash balances.
Nelly Furtado & DJ Arana - Corazón (DJ Arana Remix): DJ Arana was the artist who got me into funk music, so naturally I’m going to devour anything he plates for me. This track sees him take “Corazón”, a fairly forgettable Nelly Furtado cut, and inject it with a cocktail of funk goodness, breathing new life into a track that needed it desperately.
Panchiko - Shanty in the Graveyard: Panchiko has always been a lame band to me mostly because there’s no way of convincing me their lore is authentic and not a dumb marketing ploy, but “Shanty in the Graveyard” is a genuinely great dreamy indie rock track, fit with a proper amount of psychedelia and for some reason a billy woods verse that fits on the track the way a Del the Funky Homosapien verse would fit on a cut off of Plastic Beach. This song shockingly had me interested in Panchiko’s upcoming record, Ginko.
Rio da Yung OG & Subjxct 5 - OFF-RAP (AF1 Remix): After a Friday-after-Thanksgiving concert in 2023, I was lucky enough to crush some beers at Mortimer’s with Subjxct 5 (as well as Papo2oo4, cool guys), and after getting to know him a bit, you really get to know why he as crazy and talented as a producer as he is - this man has a deep respect for the history of Hip-Hop and Jersey Club music and is just genuinely a cool guy who has a lot of passion and is naturally an entertaining personality. Rio da Yung OG’s first project since his release from prison definitely wasn’t his strongest effort but a welcome one - it really just needed something to make it pop more. Thankfully, Subjxct 5 had the taste to identify “OFF-RAP” as one of the strongest cuts on the Rio project and remixed it, adding his personal spice and elite bounce to the track to give it that missing pop.
Other Considerations:
EST Gee, Veeze & Rylo Rodriguez - My Love
Twilight Zone
che - Pose for the Pic: I know I’m 26 years old, so at least three years passed an age where Twitter finds it acceptable to listen to che, and despite some of his lyrics maybe suggesting that they’re onto something, “Pose For The Pic” is not going to be the track that has me turn the page on one of raps most exuberant rising stars.
Skrilla - Big Opp: every time I hear a Skrilla song, I think to myself, “damn, this is the hardest shit I’ve ever heard”. “Big Opp” is no exception; after watching the music video, it makes sense why the top comment is Jesus Loves You - feels like it’ll take a lot more than prayer to exorcize you of Skrilla’s demons.
Orchid Mantis - shelter: The short, lo-fi instrumentals of Atlanta's Orchid Mantis have captivated me for years now, and "shelter" is yet another quick instrumental piece evoking feelings through spiritual connection. There is a profound sense of comfort felt on this cut, which spans just over a minute in length but embodies a feeling of reveling in the anxieties and depressing feelings experienced throughout the day and then finding relief from these simply in the comfort of my own home.
Rx Papi - Takers: Rx Papi has been on an electric singles run lately, but “Takers” has me most amped for what he has coming up next. I know he’s at his best right now because he’s saying like “I get off that shit, start to sip, they like Pap a bug / 1800 for some Louis skates I’m dragging through the mud / G20, big ten mil, look like Elmer Fudd / bitch don’t know if my name real but wanna let me fuck” and “Papi in the kitchen overnight like I’m Mexican / bitch poured her whole heart out but the text was long”
Other Considerations:
Tony shhnow - “DA PROBLEM FREESTYLE”
Midnight Zone
DJ GUILHERME DUARTE & MC Carioca do Sem Terra - Engravidou No Beco Do Iraque - Baile Do Iraque: Sao Paolo's DJ Guilherme Duarte absolutely laces MC Carioca do Sem Terra with an entrancing and enveloping string-laden throwback dancefloor funk beat. Driven by that inescapable string loop, overly splashy percussion, and beautifully off-key singing and MC work, this song feels endless and absurd for a relatively tame Funk track
Fourfive & TisaKorean - Fine Sh*t: Clearly I am not genius enough to conceive an idea like putting TisaKorean’s silliness on a modern Memphis-style trap banger, but against all odds, “Fine Sh*t” is a smash.
LiAngelo Ball - Tweaker: I hope songs like this will make rappers like Sahbabii rethink Liangelophobic bars like “gave her both these balls Lamelo and Lonzo” in the future. In all seriousness, I had a lot of chuckles with this song when it was in its blown out, pre-release stage, prior to it becoming unavoidable, with every brand in the United States wanting a piece of its pie. Now having dropped a grand total of one song, Liangelo Ball currently has one of the most streamed rap hits in the country, seeing people disgrace Hip-Hop mainstays such as Moneybagg Yo for even suggesting he could get on the remix in the process . What a world we live in.
Trapland Pat - Thurl: Former Indiana State cornerback Trapland Pat raps like he's trying to get a second scholarship revoked on "Thurl' - seems like he's keen on applying his deceptive coverage skills on his plug on this track and is very willing to soundtrack the operation to the tune of a loungey saxophone. Tough track.
Other Considerations:
HavinMotion - Pick Up The Pace
Li Rye & NoCap - Take a Ride
SPELLLING - Portrait of my Heart
Yody 4x - BY MYSELF
The Abyss
10cellphones - Out On Bond: 10cellphones has the audacity to drop a 3-pack of tracks called Guilty Before Proven Innocent after hundreds of thousands of people learned about his existence due a video of him blasting a flamethrower in the middle of the street went viral a few weeks ago. While I honestly haven't listened to his music in probably four years, that experience clearly motivated the Charlotte, North Carolia rapper, who goes crazy over the track’s Milwaukee-adjacent beat, detailing how his dealings around the corner dwarf the flamethrower incident and referencing federal-sounding DMs he receives from purported goofies.
Amour Neveah - cookin w kyak2: “cookin w kyak2” may not feature a ridiculous Michael Jackson sample like her first installment, but the Memphis artist holds no punches here, truly an all gas no breaks type of performer that deserves a lot more shine
Big GLTAOW - Risk Taker: While Big GLTAOW has never been the most essential Yellow Tape Boy, he sure came out swinging on Risk Taker, perhaps my favorite tape in his catalog. A great selection of production (“Everyday” , “Dough Boy” (although the slur was unnecessary on this track), “No Practice”) buoys his bellowing raps - this tape really helped me appreciate the fact that his voice is more trademark New York City than his Yellow Tape Boyz peers. As always, the collaborations with the rest of the crew showcase elite chemistry that always elevates the song, but the solo efforts are just as infectious.
Big Steff - Blending Zone Vol. 1: Welcome To My Kitchen: This new EP from Milwaukee’s Big Steff is yet another reminder that he’s one of the city’s most effortless rappers. While this tape is a true 6-for-6 effort, some favorites include “Blending Zone”, which sees Steff slay a beat with synth strings and flows that remind me of Teejayx6’s “Dark Web” and “See Me Broke”, which is an excellent example of that motivational quality that makes Milwaukee rap so energizing.
Bloody! - So Wavy Luciano: When I first sat down to write this list, I really didn’t go into it with a plan and was attempting to bang it out in one sitting. I threw on this Bloody! tape to start, and it straight up sent me to a panic attack. Sure, there were “other factors” that may have triggered that, but I blame Bloody!’s pseudo-angelic disguise on this project, which sheaths him like he’s a hidden djinn waiting for you to improperly cast a summoning spell and turn you into a conduit, for triggering my fight-or flight response. Take “Don Juan Ocho” as an example: an insanely overwhelming melodic typhoon featuring one of the stickiest vocal melodies I’ve heard in this short year, a dark yet glorious beat that hits lie sucker punch from an angel, and a bar with an inaudible comma that results in it sounding like he had sex with David Blaine. This album is putrid vibes, and I loved it.
Durkalini - PYRO WILSON: Roanoake, Alabama's least horny Man of God is Durkalini, who came through with a 27-track, 57-minute tape called FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD. Nobody asked for this, as his 20-30 minute tapes have typically done the trick in the past, but Durkalini is a hitmaking maniac so you know he was going to come through with some hits. "PYRO WILSON" was for sure my favorite track, as the "Charlie, Last Name Wilson"-interpolating homily details Pastor Pyro dishing out some of his trademark, Biblically-informed teachings, such as "with all of that body, girl what you doin' single / sometimes you gotta tell the bitch, go get up and mingle" with infectious Southern swagger. If this shit doesn’t make you cheese a little bit, you might have some soulsearching to do.
DJ Tobzy - Lagos City Unloaded: DJ Tobzy is responsible for probably the most turbocharged fun I’ve had with music in 2025 thusfar. The Lagos-based cruise DJ creates a wild collage of music and samples that crossed trap, dance, R&B, and pop, combining these influences in a freeform cruise beat mix which feels in a way like a meme that belongs in a fine-art museum. It’s truly ridiculous and often hilarious, almost never failing to avoid my expectations. Released under the label Nyege Nyege Tapes, this is yet another piece of evidence suggesting the imprint is among the best on Earth.
Feardorian - Floor Tom: There’s not a lot to say about FearDorian other than his present is so strong and his future is so bright - every time he drops music, I feel like there’s a new reason to be blown away. “Floor Tom” is no different, yet another track that not only showcases his skills as a vocalist and producer but also his elite taste. He’s also found himself potentially a lifelong collaborator in Polo Perks; everything they drop together is ridiculously seamless. I saw a Instagram Reel a few years ago showcasing one of the shittiest songs I’ve ever heard, with the artist involved claiming to have invented 6th Wave Emo - if anyone has truly done this, it has to be FearDorian and Polo Perks.
Hổ &Droppy - Anh Em 2: In no way, shape, or form was I not going to highlight Vietnamese rapper Ho and producer Droppy’s jersey club rap tune “Ahn em 2” in this list - it’s not the most creative track I’ve ever heard, but it’s crazy to hear that club rap sound popping off in Vietnam as opposed to simply stateside.
Hood Tali P - Murda Skool: On New Year’s Eve, Philadelphia’s Hood Tali posted a snippet of the “Murda Skool” music video to Instagram with the caption “I heard ya diss this my response.” While I’m possibly guilty of eating up any tense and unresolving Philly drill beats, Hood Tali comes through with an absolutely vile track, almost definitely his best ever song.
imb kave - In that mode: imb kave is a Milwaukee rapper who was one of my top-20 most streamed artists in 2024. While this surprised me a bit, on further reflection, I find his consistency in dropping quality tracks and projects super enjoyable, and most of his catalog has strong replay value. While he might not have a secret weapon that makes him a standout artist by any particular metric, he sort of operates like Milwaukee’s David Montgomery - does a little bit of everything well and is always reliable.
Lil Lik - Whap Whap Remix: Flint’s Lil Lik gets a shout for an insane graphic in the music video, which pairs a lyric along the lines of “if you ain’t fuck five bitches you ain’t slime” with massive “NOT SLIME” CGI lettering popping up behind him.
Loraine James & ML Buch - December Blues // -_-: In just four late-December days, London’s Loraine James, alongside various collaborators, constructed New Year’s Substitution 3, an EP full of textures so well designed that the brevity of its construction feels impossible to believe. “December Blues // -_-“ was certainly my favorite of these tracks, seeing James and ML Buch fuse their respective styles seamlessly into a pretty homebound guitar-driven piece that really brings that seasonal depression along for the ride.
Mari Montana - DDG: "You know loose lips'll sink a ship / there's a reason I'm still afloat" is a tough bar for a single with art showing Florida's Mari Montana being interrogated by Federal Agents. Rapping with his signature flow, oozing passion over a high-stakes beat, Mari Montana is continuing to show why he's one of Florida's most unskippable hip-hop talents.
Marshall Allen & Neneh Cherry - New Dawn: Sun Ra Arkestra bandleader Marshall Allen may be 100 years young, but that's not going to stop the saxophone maestro from dropping his debut album in 2025, likely in February. This 6-ish minute jazz piece, graced by Neneh Cherry's beautiful voice, is a slow and peaceful soundscape that left me a bit teary - when you listen to the lyrics musing on new beginnings and a welcoming God, the reality behind a 100-year-old building a song about a "New Dawn" really starts to set in. The inner peace felt in this track is comforting and courageous, yet it’s nearly impossible to come away from this track without feeling the heaviness of it.
Old Nick - Where Poison Apples Grow: When most people say "I was born in the wrong era", they're likely referring to a period where Jerry Garcia is still alive, and they could have easy access to Quaaludes. Old Nick would rather be a peasant during the Middle Ages. While some of his other music more egregiously drives this point home, Old Nick at least feels like he clocked out from his shift at Medieval Times, drank a few PBRs, and cooked out a medieval black metal banger with this one. Some goofy mallet percussion and catchy fairground-meets-dungeon synth melodies help distinguish this track from the homogeneity often found within black metal subgenres, while his vocal performance is genuinely catchy and fun, despite the lyrical content depicting a land where, well, the poison apples grow.
OTR Chaz - Bust Down: OTR CHAZ is one of Baltimore’s finest Hip-Hop exports, and he scores with another banger in “Bust Down”, which contrasts his understated, fluttering delivery with a bombastic, marching band-backed drill adjacent beat. Definitely a track that will fall under the radar but deserves to be recognized due to how blissful it feels to listen to.
Panorama Local - Demo: Chile’s emo-tinged alternative rock scene has scored some hits these last for years with albums such as Estoy Bien’s Apoyo Emocional (“El Sueño de Todos” is an absolute ripper) and asia menor’s Enola Gay, and they should have another one with Panorama Local’s Demo, which features some pretty raw but stellar tracks such as the 40% correctly named “Slowcore” and a rare song which uses modern indie rock guitar styling well in “7B”.
Percatric - Frag out: In the future, there will be white couples who blow up off of acoustic Percatric covers and go on to make some of the worst pop music ever conceived à la Karmin with the way the Floridian raps at unclockable rates. After discovering Percatric sometime in 2024, he’s since dropped seemingly hundreds of 45-second to 2-minute long singles, but few have peeled my face back with G-Forces like “Frag out” has.
Polo Youngin - F*CK Polo: I’ve listened to a fair amount of Polo Youngin, and while he’s dropped many excellent singles, mixtape cuts, and feature verses, he hadn’t dropped a complete project that was strong all the way too. The Florida rapper comes through with that here, using sounds from Atlanta and the DMV to add texture to his trench warfare-style raps. The executive producer of this tape, Vmesh, who also produced some cuts on this tape, saw that I’ve listened and reviewed some Zap before and hit me up to listen to this new tape - I’m thankful he did, it’s his best project to date by far.
Skino - 300B: I sort of burnt myself out on DMV rap last year, which in turn made me miss out on Skino, an artist who I was convinced just months ago was nothing special. I’ll admit that I was embarrassingly wrong about this, and his new track “300B” is a watchlist-worthy rap onslaught over a mechagodzilla-type beat that makes me fear the producer just as much as Skino’s raps. “I’m havin motion, your man havin motion, a big ass difference” is a sinister bar, too.
Strugglechildd - Before the 9th: Being a Strugglechildd fan is a thankless task sometimes - he’s never going to stop dropping insane amounts of music and you never really know how good it’s going to be, but lately, the Atlanta rapper has been experimenting with new sounds on almost every release, and he finally came through with a front-to-back great project in Before the 9th. His melodic raps feature emotional outpourings that inspire his hustle, as seen prominently on tracks like “Said Sum”. While sometimes he drowns in his influences (Young Thug, Future, Lil Baby), Before the 9th sees him more often fusing them into a fresh, personalized sound that feels like should be getting more attention than it does.
Other Considerations:
Carvie P - FEDERAL
Champa B & Tim Reaper - Pandemonium
Chuckie CEO - Dreams Lucid
EBK Trey B - Old Shyt
Kaho Matsui - kickball
Laker & Jackzebra -Waiting 长久 (2022)
Lans V - ¿Quién?
Polo Perks <3 <3 <3 - Snoopy Freestyle (prod. Loukeman)
Psymun - ¶¶
The Trenches
AD Huncho - Alladeen: Few albums have made me feel more insane than this 55-minutes of lowend from Chicken Boy AD Huncho, and I mean that with full praise. All of the stops that make Milwaukee Hip-Hop perhaps music’s finest offering are on display here - if you’re going to whine about the mix, this isn’t for you. If you don’t think a 5-minute track that is 45 seconds of rapping and 4:15 of letting the beat ride is wack, this album is not for you. If you can’t find joy in a song that’s mixed way too quietly followed in the tracklist by a song that is mixed way too loud, this tape isn’t for you. However, if you can not even look past these “flaws” but accept them as things that add character to some already lively raps and production, you just might find this project to be a masterpiece as I do.
AZN Tae - Still Trappin 2: Every time I encounter a Milwaukee rapper with like maybe 9 monthly listeners on Spotify, I prepare myself for everything and anything. Usually it results in amazing music in a less traditional sense, but to enjoy what AZN Tae brings to the table on Still Trappin 2, you don’t really even need to be someone who revels in the rawness and ridiculousness that can make the scene so much fun - he’s a legitimately talented guy with a lot of personality, great flair, and melodic sensibilities to make his raps about girls, drugs, and crime pop. Some of my favorite tracks include “Testers”, a high-speed chase of a trap banger with some crunch to it, and “All Fire”, a flex-filled chemical reaction between Tae and Swiper2400 - both tracks are buoyed by the raw genius found in the beats of Montana Jay. Shout out @junkiesRpeople for dropping a tweet about this one, perhaps I wouldn’t have come across this project without it, and it’s an early 2025 favorite out of the city to me
Lil Bo 954 - Now or Later 2: Broward County’s Lil Bo 954 has become one of my favorite artists in the past year, as his sense for groove is undeniable and the way he fuses Midwest influences with the Florida trap sound feels so seamless and organic. This tape feels like a project Chicken P would’ve made if he came up out of Florida - just listen to “Jus for You”, “Like Whatever”, or “Not a Monster” - this is music from a parallel universe where Milwaukee is in South Florida.
Lul Noah - ride wit me: Gretna, Florida’s Lul Noah is still a work in progress but his tense, booming, 2Pac-interpolating track “ride wit me”, featuring icy, slurred verses from KBeeezy and Otm Jodeezy, is a tough track built to bang in the whip.
My Friend My Urn - Song 1: While Phoenix screamo outfit My Friend, My Urn’s debut demo is two tracks, most of the action occurs on “Song 1”, a nearly 8-minute epic that adheres to the blueprint set by genre staples while not sounding like a direct rip of any band’s particular sound - none of the evolution this track goes through feels forced,and their sound is built perfectly for the raw recording quality. If you hate what the kids have done with modern screamo, perhaps this track can reel you back in.
No estas… - maxi vs david vs antu vs anto vs valdivia (inviten a tokatas porfa =c ): Chilean emo/screamo outfit No estas… melts by brain with rawness and noisy guitars on their self-titled LP’s stand out cut “maxi vs david vs antu vs anto vs valdivia (inviten a tokatas porfa =c )”. The sheer amount of vocal styles covered throughout this track really makes those vs’s in the track title feel noisy, spanning objectively bad but emotionally strong balladry, melodramatic emo wails, shouting, shrieking, and slam metal-style pig squeals. A true alien of a screamo/emo track.
Reese turnt - Locked in: I’m appreciative of the character that Milwaukee’s Reese turnt has displayed on a few of his recent tracks. He has some like “How it is” and “Phone fights” that are genuinely smooth hits, but he has others that win in other ways, like “Book after Book”, which sounds like it was recorded on equipment from 1983 and “Thinking bout you”, which sounds like a track designed to give Dr. Andy Hildebrand a stroke. That being said, my favorite track from his 2025 output thus far is “Locked in” featuring Vell Lowe and Lilmarup200k (excellent name), a cut featuring a beat that sounds like that one other beat. Just listen to it and you’ll know what I’m talking about.
RGT Manman - Tweaker Livin: Broward County’s RGT Manman raps with some vibrantly-painted pain over a halo-bearing beat “Tweaker Livin”, a track that surprised me with how expressive it was from a young artist without much traction yet - one to watch for sure, if he keeps it up he will get his shine in due time.
S1ninja - Games: “Games” is an internet-flavored banger from S1Ninja and vasto, who feel like they’re set out on a mission to prove that the future of music lies in Irish raps through heavily digitized vocal presets.
Swords2 - wish: The white boy of the rap underground I am going to champion the hardest is for sure Swords2, who has absolutely captivated me since a listen to 2024’s 2 swords 1 cup prompted a deep dive. At first, I thought the vocal style was just a bit that was only going to last a just for the intro of the first track, but I was quite mistaken. Combining the embellishments of 2000’s mall emo and pop punk and blending it with the vocal flavor of LUCY, Swords2 floats over some pretty lush, plugg-focused underground production, pouring out his emotions in a vocal style that hasn’t hit this hard since 2011. While admittedly this project isn’t as strong as 2 swords 1 cup, largely because the vocal style isn’t as grotesquely emo and the tracks aren’t as insane, it still would be a strong introduction to his music for the uninitiated. Songs like “heard myself” and “still love” showcases that emo flair, “it gets darker, it gets harder” hits like LUCY rapping over a Grimm Doza x Lucki type beat, and “out of the loop” has this hyper quality to it that shows he can get down with the more common underground tropes as well. The whole tape is full of solid tracks, definitely check it out.
two thousand ravens - when the snow is fresh, it covers everything: Just when I thought I'd heard it all, Stevensville, Maryland act two thousand ravens jumps from top rope and slams me with a screamo project dedicated to Lamar Jackson. Blink and you might miss it, this project's 6 tracks only last around 8 minutes (coincidentally or maybe not so coincidentally Jackson's jersey number), but it hits like a truck and features a really cool vocal style that strays away from the more shrill offerings that are trendier within the genre currently - type of project that has me running to DraftKings and betting all of #8's overs versus the Bills this Sunday.
VpTappedIn - UnStoppable : While 2024's Till We Ball tape was a solid project, VpTappedIn leveled up with UnStoppable. 10 tracks of straight Milwaukee trap lullabies, I feel like I’m reliving that baby-in-crib-staring-at-mobile bliss that I haven’t captured since my pre-consciousness days. This tape is non-stop earworms, featuring impish vocal melodies supported by perfectly selected production and a pack of featured artists who complement Vp’s delivery perfectly.
Yl Kenn - Where you Been : Many rappers that thrive in raw states fail to carry that momentum into a cleaner-sounding production, but Yl kenn's butter-smooth delivery and potent swagger shines over a shimmering beat built on lowend claps, plugg-forward Purity-esque oneshots, steel drums, and catchy piano in what sounds like his highest-budget offering.
Other Considerations:
Lulbo - Outside
Pablo turnt & Lilquan500 - Dynamic Duo
Rayylowkeyy - Mi Amor
YDG Breezy - Gardens Prayer
If you made it here, you’re a sicko. Thank you very much <3