REVIEW - LL Cool J: THE FORCE

 Ayo, what’s happenin', party people! It’s ya boy Dondi White, comin’ through with a hot review, real big vibes this time. Like Kwame said, “The man we all know and love,” LL Cool J just dropped a new joint, y’all! We been waitin’ on this one, "The Force", ever since them lil’ whispers back in January. Yo, I grew up on LL. Man, I remember being a youngin', like 13, blastin' "Momma Said Knock You Out" and "I Can’t Live Without My Radio" nonstop. Had it bumpin’ right next to Kool Moe Dee's "Death Blow" and "Let’s Go." I was rockin’ both sides, no cap. Now, back to LL—this dude may have started off caterin’ to the ladies, but now? He straight-up legendary. Let’s see if this album delivers all that hype.

Spirit of Cyrus ft. Snoop Dogg
Aight, this beat hittin' just right from jump. The bars got mad depth, real conscious vibes. I’m feelin’ this, no doubt. The samples? ON POINT. Snoop slid in, but lowkey, he ain’t doin’ much, just repeatin’ the same thing. LL came back strong on that second verse though. Then Snoop finally found his lane on the hook. At first, he felt outta place, but overall, this joint still knocks.

Beats: 8/10  
Lyrics: 8/10  
Score: 16/20

The Force
Yo, with a name like that, this track better slap. And guess what? It’s fire! LL switched up his flow mid-verse, smooth as butter. The samples hit perfect. OOOH, that beat switch though—straight heat! Lyrics got that mix of consciousness and flexin’. Yo, this might be the first track all year where beat and bars hit like this. This one’s SICK.

Beats: 10/10  
Lyrics: 8/10  
Score: 18/20

Saturday Night Special ft. Rick Ross & Fat Joe
This one starts a lil soft, jazzy vibe to it. LL layin’ out mad details on different folks. Ross comes in, it’s aight but nothin’ crazy. Fat Joe pulls up next—he spit decent, but it ain’t hittin’ like his old Terror Squad days. Tame, but the lyrics still got some thought to 'em. It's aight.

Beats: 7/10
Lyrics: 7/10  
Score: 14/20

Black Code Suite ft. Sona Jobarteh
Man, this beat is wavy! LL’s flow? Off the chain. This joint is a heater, talkin’ bout gun violence and all that, with the beat and samples meshin’ perfectly. Bars are FIRE. There’s some kinda weird singin' at the end in some foreign language—might put folks to sleep though, but still dope. I vibe with this ish.

Beats: 8/10  
Lyrics: 9/10  
Score: 17/20

Passion
Ayy, the samples? Clean. The rhymes? LL went bananas! Took a simple love track and turned it into straight-up bars. This is smooth like butter.

Beats: 7/10  
Lyrics: 10/10  
Score: 17/20

Proclivities ft. Saweetie
Everyone been buzzin’ about this track. It’s another love joint, kinda mid on the subject matter, but the singin’ on the hook is fire. Saweetie hops on—she aight, but this joint too soft for me. Got that love/lust vibe. Then boom—funky beat switch towards the end. Nice touch.

Beats: 6/10  
Lyrics: 8/10  
Score: 14/20

Post Modern
Ayy, this one’s heat! LL bringin’ that old school energy. Is that Q-Tip on the sample?! Yo, this joint straight fire, no cap. LL just goin’ off, wildin’ on the mic.

Beats: 8/10  
Lyrics: 10/10  
Score: 18/20

30 Decembers
Whew, after that last track, this one’s different. Beat switch-up feels kinda menacing. LL talkin’ bout his come-up and his career now. Light beat, but them bars? Still sharp.

Beats: 6/10  
Lyrics: 8/10  
Score: 14/20

Runnit Back
Ayo, Q-Tip’s voice in the background again, and it’s smooth as hell. The verses, the hook, everything's dope. A few weak rhymes in there, but still, this track is lava fam.

Beats: 8/10  
Lyrics: 6/10  
Score: 14/20

Huey in the Chair ft. Busta Rhymes
This title had me thinkin' this could be a diss track, but nah, it’s more introspective. LL's rapping kinda scattered, then Busta comes through after the weird hook, and honestly? He fell off. This track ain’t hittin', fam.

Beats: 7/10  
Lyrics: 5/10  
Score: 12/20

Basquiat Energy
LL’s rhymes and flow are crazy on this one. Straight fire! There’s a lil love vibe, but that hook? Can’t front, it’s a banger. LL spittin’ flames on this.

Beats: 9/10  
Lyrics: 8/10  
Score: 17/20

Praise Him ft. Nas
Conscious rap vibes all day here. The beat? It got a lil Afrobeats flavor, still solid. Nas hops on and just bodies the whole thing—reminds me of when he stole the show back in the 90s on that Raekwon "Only Built For Cuban Linx" tape. True classic by the way, cop that joint if you ain't already.

Beats: 7/10  
Lyrics: 10/10  
Score: 17/20

Murdergram Deux ft. Eminem
The beat starts off crazy, and this joint is pure heat! Eminem comes in, but lowkey he sound washed compared to LL. LL just keeps elevatin’. This might be the hottest track of the year so far. Eminem stepped up a lil, but LL was untouchable.

Beats: 10/10  
Lyrics: 9/10  
Score: 19/20

The Vow ft. A whole bunch of kids
Posse cut vibes here. LL kicks it off smooth, bars tight like steel. Dude rhymin' with words like telekinesis and Croesus—crazy clever, like son just straight up went and got a dictionary to write. Mad Squalbz follows up, and it’s dope, no clear flow, but it’s good. Then J SAND goes in—mad creative verse, this dude’s voice is butter! Don Pablito wraps it up—fire verse. This posse cut got heat.

Beats: 7/10  
Lyrics: 8/10  
Score: 15/20

This album? Straight lava, fam. Only one track I ain’t feelin', everything else is fire fire fire, volcano type vibes. Even the Eminem track was dope. LL came back, and he ain’t miss a beat. Final score?

222/280 - 79%

Go cop this ASAP. It’s a banger, for real!

REVIEW - Curren$y and DJ Fresh: The Tonite Show; The Sequel

 Yo, yo, yo, what’s crackin', fam? It’s ya boy Dondi White comin' back at y’all with another drop. Hope all my peeps out here in the States had a lit Labor Day, kickin' it with the squad and fam, you know the vibes (written on 3rd Sept.)

So I wasn’t even tryna peep this tape at first, wasn't even on my radar, but then I scoped the album art on Reddit and yo, that art goes hard, word! Straight jackin' the OG cover from Kool G Rap and DJ Polo’s Road to Riches. Now, last time someone bit a cover like this, it was that 21 Savage joint with the Illmatic swipe on American Dream, and word is bond y'all, that was straight rubbish. Had me tight tryna review that weak fake gangsta mess. So this joint better pull up or it’s curtains. Road to Riches? That's a certified 10/10, word. And yo, if you ain't bumped that Kool G classic yet, stop playin' and go cop that joint. Don’t even come at me talkin’ 'bout you gonna get that ish on streaming, it ain’t on Spotify. Get up, hit the block, and cop that tape. That’s orders, homie.

Aight, let’s slide into this review.

Turn It Up Tonite – Aight, this joint’s comin’ in real light. Got some dude and a chick singing on the intro, but it’s mad soft. Ain’t feelin’ like the Road to Riches joint. Just that Jergens lotion music, nahmean? Not even worth a rating.

Ultra Violet – Okay, the beat hit, finally. It’s clean, I ain’t mad. The lyrics? Decent, but they throwin' out lines like, “Niggas fake drugs and that’s not dope.” C’mon, fam. Corny vibes. Then this dude T.F hops on, soundin' like Curren$y. Whole thing movin' slow though, mad mid. Step it up.

Beats – 6/10
Lyrics – 6/10
12/20

Next One – Aight, this beat slaps a bit. Son's rappin' about comin’ up from the mud. Larry June poppin' in, but feels like he’s on a whole different vibe from Curren$y. Still, his bars hit better. The hook’s cool, this one’s aight.

Beats – 6/10
Lyrics – 7/10
13/20

Stay the Course – Paul Wall slid through but the openin' bars? Straight weak, b. No rhymes, just talkin'. But it picks up a lil’ as it goes. Paul Wall came correct though. Decent track, but that hook is lowkey gettin’ stuck in my head, and not in a good way.

Beats – 7/10
Lyrics – 7/10
14/20

Neighborhood Superstar – Yo, this beat feels like it came straight out the 80s, maybe jackin' that “Cars” vibe. The lyrics? Aight, finally step up a bit. Curren$y’s flowin' smooth, ridin' the beat. Payroll Giovanni? Eh, forgettable. Same rhyme scheme on loop, had me snoozin'.

Beats – 6/10
Lyrics – 8/10
14/20

New Orleans Where I'm From Interlude – Skit vibes here, DJ Fresh scratchin’ up a storm. Dope on the turntables but it’s just an interlude. No rating.

Etherium – Starts with some wild old school sample, kinda vibes with it. But hold up, dude soundin’ like he bit Pusha T’s whole flow. Lyrics are decent but c’mon, bruh, this ain’t Push, it’s like Pusha K, or maybe, yo, maybe this Pusha F. Word, son's up in here sounding like Pusha T on a bad day. Whole thing is just bootleg vibes.

Beats – 6/10
Lyrics – 5/10
11/20

1st and 15th – Sleepy. Like for real, this tape ain’t hittin'. The features straight eat Curren$y alive on his own track. The last dude? He can spit, no doubt, ate that brother Curren$y like son was chicken an' waffles.

Beats – 6/10
Lyrics – 6/10
12/20

Lay it Down – This one’s solid. Beat’s aight, lyrics got a lil’ more depth. But yo, every hook on this tape sounds like it’s cut from the same cloth. Kinda blendin' together.

Beats – 6/10
Lyrics – 8/10
14/20

She Can't Be – Hold up! Finally a beat with some knock. Bassline strong, Curren$y woke up on this one, spittin’ fire. DJ Fresh must’ve hit him with a double shot of espresso or somethin’. This track bangs.

Beats – 8/10
Lyrics – 7/10
15/20

Anything Goes – Starts soft, like lullaby type vibes. Then boom, beat switch saves the day. Curren$y doin' okay, nothin' special, but the second verse? Dude singin' with that vocoder, he killed it. That verse alone makes this one slap.

Beats – 7/10
Lyrics – 5/10
12/20

I Just Stepped In – Yo, now we talkin’. Lyrics off the chain, finally what I been waitin’ for. Endin' kinda weak though. Could’ve kept the energy up.

Beats – 6/10
Lyrics – 9/10
15/20

Press Reset – This one’s aight but feels all over the place. Stick to the topic, homie! Ain’t nobody tryna hear random freestyles mid-track.

Beats – 5/10
Lyrics – 7/10
12/20

Out of it Outro – Yo, 11 minutes for an outro? Better be worth it. Starts cool, lyrics decent, but feels like it should’ve been earlier in the tape. Now they talkin’ encoring this whole tape? Man, I might fall asleep if this drags on. Another track kicks in, it’s okay, nothin' crazy. That corny autopilot line though? Nah, miss me with that son. DJ Fresh doin' his thing with the samples though, shoutout to Biz Markie’s “Vapours,” classic. Curren$y’s homage to that track is cool, but overall, this outro overstayed its welcome.

Beats – 6/10
Lyrics – 5/10
11/20

 

Final Score: 154/240 

 61%

All in all, this whole tape is big z’s, word. Most of it’s wack trash with a couple bright spots and them bright spot's the only reason this joint ain't got something lower than 61%. Curren$y soundin' like he’s in a weed coma half the time. Kool G Rap could eat this dude for breakfast on the mic and still spit circles around him. Somebody gotta call out this weak cover bite if the OG Kool G don't speak up.

A LETTER - Different Sort of Post Word

Ayo, to the fool who thought it was cool to break up in my crib and jack my whole tape stash:

Listen up. This here’s an open letter from yours truly, Dondi White, to whoever had the nerve to roll up in my spot while me and my girl was out, and swipe my entire tape and CD collection. First off, I don’t even know why you left my De La Soul "3 Feet High And Rising" CD behind. Yo, that’s a classic. I mean, thanks for that, but you must be slippin’ ‘cause you left some funky heat on the table nahmean. That’s disrespect to De La, and to me.

Now lemme tell you straight – when I catch you, it’s gonna be a bad day for you, homie. Cutesy time’s over, ya feel me? You wanna know what’s comin'? Pop in that "Geto Boys" tape you snagged and take notes – that’s your future right there. But listen, if by some miracle you decide to return my tapes, cool. But don’t stress about it too much, ‘cause when we find you – and trust, we will find you – you ain’t gonna like what happens next. Ain’t no fronting in this, either. We keep the heat at the crib, and you lucky you ain’t walk in on that. Plus, my girl? She keeps blades on her. Hate to see you stackin’ CDs and tapes but can’t hit the "Play" button ‘cause you missin' fingers, know what I’m sayin’?

You about to get dealt with in ways that make Ice Cube’s beef with Dre look like a friendly game of checkers, or like Kendrick puttin’ Drake six feet under. Believe that. Word.

REVIEW - Doechii: Alligator Bites Never Heal

 Yo, what’s poppin’ everybody, it’s ya boy Dondi White back in the mix. We about to chop it up on Doechii’s new joint, "Alligator Bites Never Heal". Now this sister roll with Kendrick and TDE, even though homie just bounced from the squad. Word on the street was this album was gettin’ mad hype. Cats out here worried Drake might try to sabotage the drop by puttin' out his own heat. But y’all already know how we do it at “Real Reviews” – we take that Public Enemy advice - don’t believe the hype, nahmean? Let’s get into this joint and see what’s really good…

Stanka Pooh – Aight, this joint comes in mad smooth. Got a nice lil’ vibe to it, no doubt. Her flow is crazy different. You can peep the Kendrick influence for sure. Lyrics though? Eh, they aight. Some of it kinda weak, like, “runnin’ back to you like a fat kid at luncheon.” But what really hits is her flow and her voice. She got that down pat.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 6/10  
12/20

Bullfrog – Okay, we ridin’ on the same flow with a similar beat. But now the lyrics got more sauce to ‘em. That “Twitter fingers get your whole life logged out” bar? Fire. She snapped on that one.

Beats – 7/10  
Lyrics – 8/10  
15/20

Boiled Peanuts – Yo, there’s a lil’ skit, then boom, we right into the track. This got that old Snoop Dogg feel, real West Coast vibes. The hook got some dope vocal effects, and yeah, this one slaps. She goin’ hard, like Yoyo from back in the day. This one hittin’ different.

Beats – 9/10  
Lyrics – 8/10  
17/20

Denial is a River – Another skit on a crazy beat. She spittin’ straight flames on this one. It’s like a chick ventin’ on some 90s drama tip, but still keepin’ it 100 without fallin’ into that over-the-top sex talk. Respect.

Yo, the track just finished, and that whole voice mod thing where she sound like two different heads? Wild creative. This one a banger, no cap.

Beats – 8/10  
Lyrics – 8/10  
16/20

Catfish – Dope vibes here, too. She really flexin’ on this album. Not feelin’ the voice throw on the hook, but still, it’s solid.

Beats – 7/10  
Lyrics – 6/10  
13/20

Skipp – This intro got me intrigued. She singin’ a bit, then switches to rappin’. But nah, this ain’t hittin’ like it should. The flow feel forced, not vibin’ right. Ain’t trash, but it’s a lil’ off. Maybe it’ll grow on me though.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 6/10  
12/20

Hide N' Seek – Yo, this tape feel like a rollercoaster. Everything so short, barely over a minute. Messin’ with my attention, no lie. Singing on this joint pretty tight though.

Now she back to rappin’. Definitely feelin’ like some Kendrick vibes again. Son probably ghostwrote it or at least gave her the blueprint. Still a good track though.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 8/10  
14/20

Bloom – The skit at the top? Smooth. She droppin’ some religious bars in here, almost like "The Diary" vibes. The singin’ now… yo, if she really sing like this, mad props. It’s nice, but might have me noddin’ off – that good-good singing will do that. No rap, just feels like a skit. Guess we roll with it.

Wait – She back singin’ again, lyrics solid, beat too. Then she switchin’ to rap, and the flow tight. Second verse even better.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 7/10  
13/20

Death Roll – This one’s hittin’. Beat aight, lyrics got me thinkin’. She switchin’ her flow up, which I dig. Solid.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 7/10  
13/20

Profit – Dope raps on this one, but she talkin’ ‘bout goin’ pop. Eh, not somethin’ to flex about, but the track overall still bangs.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 7/10  
13/20

Boom Bap – Aight, this got a piano vibe, even though the name threw me off. Lyrics solid, scratches on point. But wait, is she talkin’ gibberish? That was wild. Got some Kendrick influence, but I don’t think he wrote this.

Beats – 7/10  
Lyrics – 7/10  
14/20

Nissan Ultima – Yo, this one go stupid hard. That flow is straight killer, beat bangin’. Lyrics and flow especially at the end of the first verse? Straight up flames.

Beats – 8/10  
Lyrics – 9/10  
17/20

GTFO – She sample Ludacris’s “Move Bitch” on this? Yo, that’s clever how she flipped it. Lyrics decent, and she just flexin’ skills on this one.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 7/10  
13/20

Huh! – Light track, sing-songy type rap. Aight for what it is.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 6/10  
12/20

Slide – More sing-rap action. This tape might catch that "Take Care" syndrome, where Drake couldn’t figure out if he wanna go full R&B or rap. Feelin’ a lil’ confused, but I digress.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 7/10  
13/20

Fireflies – Same vibe as before, but now we in pop territory. Rappin’ seem like it’s done.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 8/10  
14/20

Beverly Hills – I ain't like wildin' out anymore, but yo, I'm feeling these tracks, word. Perfect for chillin’ or doin’ some dishes, but it ain’t serious rap. We’ll see though.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 8/10  
14/20

Alligator Bites Never Heal – Got a guitar vibe on this one, so you know it’s gon’ be some pop. It’s cool though, not bad for what it is.

Beats – 6/10  
Lyrics – 7/10  
13/20

Final Score: 218/360

69%

This album was a vibe – chill at times, but exciting too. Real refreshing to hear a female MC who ain’t on that one-track mind ‘bout sex, sex, sex. That “ratchet girl rap” ish? Nah, she waaaayyyyy beyond that. She lowkey got that Lauryn Hill steez – can spit and sing. Only thing I ain’t feelin’ was the half rap, half pop split. I’d rather she pick one lane, but sister talented enough to pull it off regardless.