Tag Archives: reviews

Jul 21 2025
Leave a comment
Uncategorized

Skippa Da Flippa – Red Tag

As the label Quality Control music emerged out of Atlanta with a whole new sound and vibe, introducing the world to the likes of the Migos, Rich Da Kid and Lil Yachty, one of the pioneers of that era is none other than fellow artist Skippa Da Flippa, his choice of production and unique flow, laid the foundations for what they went on to achieve. Unfortunately, as the label focused more so on the meteoric rise of their other acts, Skippa didn’t see the mainstream success that his contribution deserved, however, after parting ways to forge his own Havin’ Entertainment, he’s carved an underground legacy and a core audience. Whilst QC went onto partner with powerhouses Capitol and later Mowtown records, continuing their streak with Lil’ Baby and City Girls, Skippa has pursued the independent grind, consistently dropping a host of projects including the fan favourite Up To Something, $H2 and the 2023 release Havin’ Motion Not Emotions. Last year he dropped a series of singles, kicking off with the ambient For Better Or Worse, continuing to display that original style, witty wordplay and sprinkle of substance, cutting through with tracks like Pay Me and a personal favourite Strategize,

a more introspective, spiritually strong, motivational anthem. Showing no signs of slowing down, he released even more singles, offering a broader range of his abilities, including the captivating Doormat,

leading up to this year’s latest release thus far, Red Tag

Red Tag is classic Flippa, his strong personality expressed through his distinct tone, it follows suit of his ability to effortlessly craft these catchy concepts. Though I initially was going to review Strategize, and was waiting for a full length project before doing so, as he re-establishes himself with these singles, I felt it made sense to focus not only on the more recent drop, but more so, him as an artist, highlighting his creativity and ingenuity, as the creator of the dab, he’s definitely contributed to the culture and as he maintains these quality efforts will undoubtedly reap the rewards, not just as an originator and individual, but a relevant musician, away from the gimmicks and payola praises. As many of his peers attempt catch their moment again through the safety of budgets and industry support, Skippa Da Flippa has inspirationally stood his ground, with his unreplicable ethos, persona and spiritual drive, you can expect more bangers on the way and hopefully a new album sooner than later. Either way, you can expect Flippa to be Havin’.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jun 05 2025
Leave a comment
Uncategorized

Daff – Free ft. Ay Em

As the UK’s current music scene thrives, beyond the pop-centric acceptance, now with a plethora of talent and sounds, sub-genres of Hip-Hop, Grime, Afrobeats and beyond, the country hosts a variety of established acts. More notably, UK Rap finds itself in a great space, with the likes of Giggs, Nines, Pak-Man and Potter Payper (to name a very small few), now household names, credit has to be given to the foundations on which it’s legacy stands, one of the unsung pillars is Ilford’s own, Daff. Responsible for the absolute street classic, Half. Unfortunately, as he broke through towards establishing himself in that early iteration of rap with his 2012 debut Only Just Begun, he found himself sentenced to sixteen years in prison, which whilst halted his progression, equally cemented his sound and style and that absence only grew the demand further. He’s since released a variety of Jail freestyles and actual tracks with the 2021 EP Rap Never Left, including a feature on fellow Illmade artist Potter Payper’s recent album, reigniting the interest. Building on that presence, despite limitations as we anticipate his return, he released the emphatic Free featuring Ay Em.

One of Daff’s qualities aside from storytelling, was the introspect and compassion in his music, the anthem Half hit the way it did because of it’s realism, there’s plenty of get money songs, but rarely has anyone spoke of giving their mother their earnings and that was just too real to be overlooked. With Free, Daff reignites that storytelling, able to vividly share gritty experiences, descriptive events intwined with heavy emotions and personal battles through a motivational lens, holding hope of his imminent return while displaying that empathy which has held him in such high regard, ending his first verse with, “Bout to have the game in a guillotine, before they free Daff, Free Philistine”. It’s this exact selflessness that highlights him as a man, his morals and principles before anything else. Ay Em has lowkey been a cheat-code on hooks and matches the feel of the track with his effort in both substance, tone and delivery. Daff’s second verse continues the theme and ultimately shows his level of faith and strength as he ends his second verse, “All the feelings that I really had to harbour, before you free Daff, free Gaza”.

There’s even a AI-generated visual, though usually might be off-putting, makes sense in the current situation and the opening shot of him walking outside is deep, as we hold hope for that to be a reality soon enough.

The positive is that he’s served the majority of his bid, whilst finding himself able to continue his artistry inside, as fans alike hope and pray to live in a day with a free Daff and Palestine.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Jun 04 2025
Leave a comment
Uncategorized

Key Glock – Glockaveli

The heir to the Memphis throne found himself at the helm through tragic circumstances that tainted his Yellow Tape 2 success (with Ambition For Cash surpassing 500 million streams), effortlessly stepping up to the mantle, contributing to the PRE projects and with the release of Glockoma 2 in 2023, which was considered his (mainstream) breakthrough, with the anthem Let’s Go featured on the deluxe, in heavy rotation, becoming another track to boast over 100 million streams. Amidst the independent success, he took a deserved hiatus, though only a year, with a couple singles and an international tour to feed the fans, however, after handling priorities and as the ink on the paperwork dried, linking with Republic records, he returns as a major act in a major way with his new album, Glockaveli.

18 tracks (21 as part of the deluxe) of classic Mr Glock. Starting with Hallelujah, I never envisioned such a sample but its an adequate intro, before fastening his crown with the Makaveli-inspired title track Glockaveli, a continuation of a style and sound we’ve become accustomed to from him, however there’s definitely some levels raised, justified with one of the standouts, Blue Devil, with it’s popular sample, Willie Hutch – Tell Me Why Has Our Love Turned Cold, more notably recognised from the Three6Mafia smash Stay Fly, with that Memphis connection in full effect as he naturally glides. Whilst tracks like Made A Way and Watch The Throne feel similar to previous efforts, by track 6, Badu, you realise that he’s really stepping it up, there’s a new sense of maturation and determination in these songs, emphasised by the main body of this album, with songs like She’s Ready, No Sweat, Grinch (with it’s Curtis Mayfield sample) and the motivational Sunny Dayz. It’s more varying production and giving greater glimpses into his personality beyond the glamour. The lower half of Glockaveli feels a bit more experimental in sound but matches the previous in feel, that combination of soulful samples with hard-hitting beats, layered with a crisp commanding vocal, an evolution of his artistry, with Papercutz, Kill My Vibe and I’m Gettin It, contained nicely by Again, before the more grimy Cream Soda, mid-tempo Don Dada, World Is Ourz and the mean 3AM In ToKEYo. The deluxe edition gives you three more tracks with Money Habits, Going Hard and the underrated All Dogs Go To Heaven fitting smoothly.

Musically the project isn’t too far out from what fans would expect, I could argue that it could’ve been more concise to really amplify and appreciate the standout tracks, but if you consider the streaming game and the hiatus..I don’t think anyone will be disappointed for overdelivering and as I continue to listen to it more, it only sounds better. Consistent with no features, there is definitely a rise in quality, whilst obvious in the videos, the mini movie for Grinch, the creative and innovating No Sweat and more recently Glockaveli, paying homage to Lil’ Wayne’s A Milli, but more notably the clarity in the mix & master really adds a glossy finish and makes the difference to what is yet another quality offering from the PRE x Cutthroat general.

Although I know there’s more on the way, Key Glock could easily take another break as Glockaveli is more than enough to feed fans for a while, ’til then, it’s All Eyez On Key.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Apr 30 2025
1 Comment
Uncategorized

Ye Ali – WYA? I’m Not Mad Anymore

Having cemented himself in the R&B realm, as an artist (including last year’s Ye Ali & Chill 4)and behind the scenes, writing and producing with newcomers and legends like Chris Brown, Ye Ali has been experimenting with genres, from displaying more raps to now releasing this new dance album, cleverly titled, WYA? I’m Not Mad Anymore.

There have been a few dance album attempts of late, Drake tried and it didn’t transition how he might have liked, Beyonce on the other hand, was able to cut through but more so as her discography has given glimpses, so initially, hearing this was a dance album, I might not have been as keen, preferring his R&B prowess, however, upon actually listening, I was surprised.

Seven tracks of upbeat soul (produced along with JVD) starting with Eyes Wide Shut, a perfect blend of his soulfulness with the club ambience, an insight into what this project is. No More Chances establishes the theme and is the more natural of the blends and maybe even my personal favourite. Party Just Peaked continues that vibe and is one of those classic picturesque songs that could have easily been a Chris Brown hit. Strangers In The Club musically is the more dance sounding, other than the harmonies in the back and he gets to rapping in what felt like a more British twang, it’s something that Pink Pankthress for example could deliver, which just highlights Ye Ali’s ability in constructing these tracks. Track 5, Secrets, the shortest track on the album is also one of the catchiest, though serves as an interlude, at this point I’m surprised that I’m enjoying a dance album as much as I am, nodding along to the uptempo drums. Echoes follows suit, similar style to the fourth track but doesn’t feel as experimental, before Who But Me? the smoother of the dance tracks, that not only is reminiscent to previous Ye Ali efforts, but also closes out the album nicely.

If you said he compiled some of the more upbeat R&B tracks in the vault into this concise project, I might have leaned towards it more, though the A&R part of me feels there are a few songs from this that might have stood out better amongst the more traditional releases, notably No More Chances and Party Just Peaked as the standouts, however, conceptually WYA? I’m Not Mad Anymore works well, as it isn’t too far left for his fanbase and will help him venture further in this direction as a creative.

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,