This is the 8th mixtape from New York lyricist Rome Streetz. Emerging in 2016 off his debut mixtape I Been Thru Mad Shit, this was followed up by a plethora of projects with the most notable being the Noise Kandy tetralogy & Headcrack. These past couple years however we’re probably his biggest ones yet, as he dropped some of the best work of his career from the DJ Muggs-produced Death & the Magician or the Futurewave-produced Razor’s Edge to the Ransom-assisted collab effort Coup de Grâce & the Griselda Records deal that followed. His debut with the Buffalo powerhouse Kiss the Ring came in at the #9 spot on my Best Albums of 2022 list & coming off the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Wasn’t Built in a Day, Rome’s now looking to close out the Noise Kandy series.
“2nd Seizure” starts the finale with a haunting loop boasting that no one’s as slick as him whereas “Hell Backwards” goes into cavernous boom bap territory thanks to Wavy da Ghawd talking about having fire in his eye & the pistol right by him. “Clutchin’” goes for an eerier atmosphere keeping the kicks & snares in tact making it known his lifestyle still illegal, but then “Stunna” featuring Boldy James & Double D finds the trio over a groovy Denny LaFlare beat talking about only recognizing dollar signs.
Meanwhile, “Chrome Magnum” flexed that he’s still eating dinner off the same plate he was bagging over an uncanny Conductor Williams instrumental just before the sample-based “Go Raw” produced by Sovren talks about being a born leader until the death of him. “Accurate” featuring Curren$y returns to the boom bap accompanied by Evidence behind the boards discussing their lives as they know it leading into “Fire At Ya Idle Mind” featuring Joey Bada$$ proves they have no time for lack of progress or engagement backed by more dusty production.
“Pocket Full of Beans” dives into trap turf a bit this time around talking his shit kicking up his flow a bit while Sadhugold brings a drumless, jazzy vibe to “Black Magic” seeking to do motherfuckers as if he never even knew them from the start. “Shake & Bake” continues to pull inspiration from jazz music instrumentally talking about being on the road to gold all gas no brakes while the symphonic “Fastactionvenom” featuring Rigz as they shine the brightest in the dark. The keyboard-driven penultimate track “Heart Break Hotel” talking about selling hoes Molly out the metaphorical location & “Procall” rounds out the Noise Kandy saga by hoping over a shimmery boom bap beat justifiably declaring that the product is potent & popular.
The Noise Kandy series contains amongst Rome’s most prolific cuts like “Hot Pistol Heart Frozen” or “World in My Palm” & “My Destiny”, so it makes sense for him to round out the iconic mixtape series much like Westside Gunn did on Hitler Wears Hermes X last fall. Couldn’t have ended it better. Futurewave’s engineering is remarkable, Rome’s articulate pen-game never fails & almost all the guests match his caliber.
Score: 8/10
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