by Dan O

Now your in for the whole ride.

7xvethegenius-Self 7xve 2

Reason I missed it:
The last project by Buffalo MC 7xvethegenius longer than seven songs was 2019. None of it is really on Bandcamp and I don’t love the website. 7xvethegenius is one of those artists dropping projects at random times without a lot of publicity plunking them into the deep abyss of our streaming services. While I’ve always known the talent is dead real, the overall experience of being a fan hasn’t been one of constant joy.

What I missed:
The balance. Female mc’s in the spotlight get pushed in extreme directions (sex goddess, scholar, crime boss) on Self 7xve 2 she mourns who she lost “I can’t get Tae and Deandre out of my head(Affluence)”, flexes in a mean way that would make Conway chuckle. Trae The Truth doesn’t just guest star for anybody I’ll tell you that. He gives her a very good verse over thick drippy piano(Always Thank God). The production is good but its not the star, her flow is something you must attend. It’s so reliable she keeps fitting it into different tempos seamlessly. Some artists make good work and it feels like enough, not on Self 7xve 2. The best moments on this will have you wondering what she could do with a full album of DJ Muggs production. I hope this ep acts as the bridge to get to a new level that can not just showcase but challenge.

Teddy Faley-Teddy Brown Brown

Reason I missed it:
After years and years of reviewing music I’ve been worn down. The first submissions I ever received were wordy emo NYU mixtapes from well to do kids who wanted to spit hot fire. The emotionally damaged white rapper is such a large market it’s a monster and when I first heard Teddy Brown Brown I must have been flashing back through years of worse versions of this experience.

What I missed:

THE INTENSITY. I’m not against white rappers I’m not against emotionally damaged rappers. What made that scene insufferable was the misery posing for clout. The half-crafted artifice when its done wrong. Teddy goes hard! On Vic he spits “Cats be all ‘Teddy how the F_ have you been?!’ I’m like great ‘my friends dead and I’m wearing his Tims.’” This is someone who loves this music with every fiber, on the same song he says “I ain’t stop making music I just stopped giving you it.” Throughout the album Teddy eviscerates himself from all angles. This isn’t a toe dipped in the water it’s a nosedive off a very high diving board. Luckily the production by ALXNDRBRWN and Tom Delay is a clear crisp clean knock that keeps the heat of the spotlight creating beads of sweat on our narrator. On The Bad News he revels in having sex with your lady friend without loving her in ways uniquely his own(what a chorus?!). It’s an impressive album I’m learning more about every time I press play. The first five songs are a near unmatched experience in 2022 music where VHS kicks down the door and A Song About Cigarettes but It’s About My Dead Mom Too guts you “If irony is dead I’ve been living in its coffin” only for the speaker smashing beat and cheeky chorus on Meddlin’ Kids to help you breath again. Now your in for the whole ride.