The group cut “Blowout” is a throwback as well-it sounds like it should be track 17 on a Gucci Mane tape from 2007. “Sky Is the Limit” is my personal favorite, as the prolific Taxfree and column favorite MarijuanaXO rattle off tales of cracking cards and cooking dope over synthesizers that sound like they haven’t been used since the original Karate Kid.
Judging by the beats on This One for My Brothers, you might think Milwaukee’s SME Taxfree was born in another era.
This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from. He mentions how much Boosie he’s listened to and you can tell-you can’t help but latch on to every word of his stories.
On “ Free Speech,” a sweaty Hotboy Wes takes on the timeless Rashad Smith and Trackmasters beat for Nas’ “If I Ruled the World.” The 1017 signee’s verse is heavy and full of stories about being haunted by the past, but his energy never dissipates. He throws shade at former NBA player Carlos Boozer just a couple lines before saying, “Since 8-tracks my momma was breakin’ tricks for eight racks/Seen so many muscle-head niggas shot in the eight-pack.” Rapping in front of a Benz with hydraulics in the video, Sauce’s energy level is at 100 as he playfully mixes funny-as-hell bars with real introspection. On “Dangerous Daringer,” Sauce does Griselda better than Griselda as he has an out-of-body experience over a hypnotic loop from that Buffalo crew’s go-to beatmaker, Daringer. Houston’s Sauce Walka and Waco’s Hotboy Wes don’t need soul samples to make good rap songs, but it is exciting to hear them put their spin on mid-’90s New York-centric beats. Texas rappers put their spin on East Coast tradition It might be the rare broadly appealing drill track that I won’t mind hearing spun over and over and over again this summer. Her punchlines are fine (“Put a tag in yo’ head like a bio”) but it has always been more about her charisma than what she’s saying I’m sure there are tons of New York drill rappers who have said some variation of, “I’m not a steppa’ bitch I’m stomper/All of my opps get mixed with the grabba,” but none sell it like Cardi. Unsurprisingly, the real highlight is Cardi, who dials into a harsh flow that feels inspired by Kay. The brief contributions by Dougie and Bor圓00 are whatever. This choice alone could have killed the track from the jump, but Kay Flock quickly bum-rushes the beat, sounding like he has a hairball stuck in his throat. The production falls into the sample-driven drill-trap trend as it chops up Akon’s 2004 hit “Bananza (Belly Dancer),” likely because it recently had a moment on TikTok and not because it’s a great song. On “Shake It,” Cardi circles back to that foundation, for a song that’s fun, if a bit slight.