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ALLEY BOY - Purgatory

The best time in Alley Boy's career was 2011. Taking place between his first steps as a rapper in Gucci Mane's shadow – he had featured on Chicken Talk 2 in 2008 – and The Gift of Discernment in 2012 – his most exposed […]

Chief Keef still releases strong projects, but since he was fired from Interscope, the individual representing the best the dirtiest side of Chicago's street rap, in 2014, is King Louie, the very pioneer of the drill movement. He did it in the early summer with Tony, a release many acknowledge as his very best to date. And actually, it is one of his most consistent; one of his most monochromatic as well, since, as alluded with the cover art, it uses one single color only: the black one.

GUCCI MANE - Mr. Zone 6

I don't know about you, but as far as I am concerned, I am done. I lost track. I can't follow anymore. Too many mixtapes. And with the most recent ones, those from 2013 and 2014, too many fillers. The gems are still there, but you need lots of energy and dedication to find them. When you are a fan of Gucci Mane, you're left with two alternatives: waiting for others, the most committed, to do the job, and separate the wheat from the chaff; or go back to basics, for example that one, Mr. Zone 6, he released in 2010 – not to be confused with The Return Mr. Zone 6, his album from the same year – one of the most recent, among Guwop's classics.

100s - IVRY

100s, the Californian rapper, didn't release many materials in 2013. Nonetheless, he didn't lose time. After his first mixtape, Ice Cold Perm, was praised by many, he joined Fool's Gold, A-Track's label, and the best entry point to the hipster side of hip-hop. He also delivered a track, "Life of a Mack", for the 5th edition of Grand Theft Auto. Consequently, it is not too much of a surprise if he is coming back today, with a better exposure and even more critical acclaim. Actually, listening to IVRY, his new eight-track release, his music itself reached an upper dimension.

KEVIN GATES - By Any Means

By Any Means was released in early 2014. It is the third mixtape in twelve months for Kevin Gates, and it is once again an outstanding one. The Baton Rouge rapper persists with the style that made The Luca Brasi Story […]

VINCE STAPLES - Shyne Coldchain Vol 2

The latest mixtape from Vince Staples is not what you would expect from an Odd Future affiliate. While the Californian collective is infamous for its nihilism, provocations, and jackass attitude, the Long Beach rapper […]

CHIEF KEEF - Back From The Dead

It is no coincidence if, in February this year, Chief Keef announced the release of a mixtape called Back From The Dead 2. While titling it as the release that revealed him, the figurehead of Chicago's drill music scene […]

SHY GLIZZY - Fxck Rap

Quite often, when a mixtape starts buzzing, like Shy Glizzy's Law 2 in 2013, it means that another one had paved the way beforehand. Actually, what put the young Washington D.C. rapper on the map, in addition to his beef with Fat Trel, was the first instalment of the Law series one year earlier, in 2012, and the even stronger Fxck Rap, he released in December the same year, on his 20th birthday.

A-WAX - Jesus Malverde

Originally, Jesus Malverde was a Mexican bandit killed by the country's authorities, in 1909, just before the revolution. It is not sure he really existed, but whatever: progressively, he became a legend. Once dead, he […]

ALLEY BOY - War Cry

Nowadays, Alley Boy has a proper contract with Atlantic Records, but he still cares about his mixtapes. According to what he said about his very latest, War Cry, he considers them like normal albums. He approaches them with the same level of care and professionalism as regular records, selecting the best materials from his prolific production. To be honest, it is a bit hard to believe, judging by the 22 tracks of his gargantuan latest release, a perfect complement to both editions of Definition of Fuck Shit, and to Purgatory, Nigganati, and The Gift of Discernment, the free projects which, over the last three years, helped building his reputation.

THE UNDERACHIEVERS - Indigoism

Based in Brooklyn, The Underachievers are presented as affiliates to the Beast Coast movement, a band of rappers somehow associated with A$AP Rocky and his A$AP Mob collective, and whose most prominent member is Joey […]

ALLEY BOY - Definition of F#ck Sh*t 2

Rap music is still going well in Atlanta, judging by the output of a Gucci Mane, the advent of new stars like Waka Flocka Flame and Future, and the hype around newcomers like, for example, Trinidad James. The good […]

GUNPLAY - Bogota Rich: The Prequel

The endless bursts of a machine gun. The horrific screams of a panicking women. Crescendos built with the help of booming synthesizers. Martial choruses. All of these played very loudly. And also, most importantly, the raspy and enraged voice of Gunplay himself, rapping in a breathless way, as if today was his last day. Those who assumed that nothing could be more extreme than the brutal Inglorious Bastard, he released in 2011, were completely wrong. The song "Jump Out" is insane, it is just utter madness. It goes beyond anything heard before.

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