This album was released on July 26th this year. CRIMEAPPLE is another rapper whose found success in this current wave of gritty New York Hip Hop. I don’t know where all these hardcore New York dudes came from, but I think it’s pretty cool that they’re all starting to blow up. About a year ago I wasn’t really crazy about any of them, but I’m starting to appreciate them more. I still don’t really fuck with guys like Westside Gunn that much, but I obviously love Conway the Machine, and Benny the Butcher is pretty good too. I’m not really that familiar with CRIMEAPPLE, but he was featured on Westside Gunn’s Supreme Blientele, as well as Vinnie Paz’s The Pain Collector. I don’t really remember how I felt about his features on those projects, but I know I like the overall songs on which he appeared. I also heard a couple of the singles for this project around the time it dropped, and I remember thinking they were pretty cool, so I figured I’d give this project a shot. This is actually the second of three projects CRIMEAPPLE dropped in 2019, and I haven’t heard any of them yet. I don’t know if I’ll listen to the first one he dropped, but if I like this one I’ll probably check out the one he dropped in November eventually. In case it isn’t obvious already, every song here is produced by DJ Muggs. Anyway, after listening to this album, I’m pretty goddamn satisfied. I think it’s really great. I’ve been sleeping on CRIMEAPPLE because the dude is fucking awesome. The first real song on this album is called En Vivo Desde Manrique, and it’s dope.

CRIMEAPPLE’s flow on this track reminds me a lot of Roc Marciano, but I can actually fuck with CRIMEAPPLE because his voice is way better to me. I think the production from DJ Muggs is pretty cool on this track; I just wish it wasn’t so repetitive. It is cool that there’s very minimal percussion though. CRIMEAPPLE actually killed this shit. This line in particular was fucking disgusting.

You get hit, left miserably, critically bent; shit, I mean…
if your bitch hadn’t memorized the veins on my dick, then we might’ve been friends
But probably not

He also raps certain lines in Spanish, which I obviously don’t understand. I don’t mind it though because it actually sounds pretty cool. The song is grimy as hell. CRIMEAPPLE’s flow is crazy, and he was rhyming his ass off. It has one of the weakest beats on the album in my opinion, but the production still isn’t particularly bad. The song’s dope. It’s followed by Tiburones, which is one of my favorite songs on the album. First of all, that beat from Muggs is fucking awesome. It sounds so fucking villainous. I love it. CRIMEAPPLE killed this shit too. He switches between Spanish & English, and it sounds really fucking cool. The hook is really good too. The second verse is fantastic. Honestly, there’s really not a single aspect of the song that I don’t like. It’s fucking fire.

Fuck a trash rapper who rappin’ ’bout some shit I been in
I seen more brown spots than senior citizens’ skin
Now I just snatch a shark by the fin rockin’ a Wimbledon fit
Tell me what’s wavy about bein’ envious, talkin’ belligerent shit

The following track is really great too. The production is surprisingly smooth. I really love the piano-driven beat. I don’t think this song had quite as many quotable lines as the preceding track, but CRIMEAPPLE still killed it.

They hijackin’ aesthetics, but never boarded the plane
All that shit up in their rhymes is flowin’ through my veins

He sounds really great, and his flow is dope as hell. The song is dope af. The next song, Prescription, is one of the weaker tracks in my opinion, but I still like it. The production is pretty cool. My main issue is pretty much just the subject matter. The sexual content doesn’t really interest me that much personally; however, I have to admit that the imagery of an orgy with Kali Uchis & Jorja Smith made me sweat. As always, CRIMEAPPLE had a great flow. The Chesapeake Bay line was fire too lol.

To get next to me they be stressin’, I’m even pairin’ ’em
Quick to let me give they chest a peak, and I don’t mean a beach in Maryland

It’s a good song. The following track is a little better in my opinion though. The production is really dreamy and pretty, and, once again, CRIMEAPPLE rapped his ass off.

Used to be where they stick you for a penny
My neighbors all friendly now, thoughts worth a Bentley now
Ate with the .9, gotta shout all the sevens out
Hell is foul, how we knew the priest was a pedophile

The hook is kind of melodic, and I’m not crazy about it personally. It kinda works though. The song doesn’t blow me away, but it’s still really good. I fuck with it. It’s dope. The following track, Crazy Eddie’s, is another one of my favorites.

This beat from DJ Muggs sounds fucking grimy as shit, man. It sounds like the musical equivalent to waking up in a cold, dry, abandoned house in which everything is covered in cocaine. It sounds like getting your fingers sawed off with a serrated knife. CRIMEAPPLE spazzed on this shit too. This shit is fucking insane.

Rest in paradise, I pair the Nikes with Helly shit
And piss on your favorite rapper like son got stung by a jellyfish
No Robert Kelly shit, my Kelly Rowland keep the jelly thicc
Steady bouncin’ on my meatballs until I gotta spaghetti dick
I been equipped with the gift since I would have to make my celly flip
I already mentioned I got the wave that prolly made the levees split

Man, the fact that I almost didn’t check this project out is just… I can’t believe I almost missed this shit. He fucking murdered this track.

I’ll be relaxing by a swimming pool ordering fried tentacles
The competition is non-existent, at best minimal
Cynical, inconsiderate insignificant individuals that’s on my testicles
My loud burning & raising decibels; got accolades ahead of schedule
Several lames felt that pain in they ventricle

It’s one of the best songs on the album. The crazy thing is that the very next track, Just Because, is just as good, if not better.

I don’t love the production quite as much, but CRIMEAPPLE fucking tore this shit apart man. His flow is fucking crazy on this song.

A sacrificial lamb, a capsule made him dance, a raffle in advance
I’m baffled you don’t know you’ll get gaffled in a van for mentioning your plans
Pots & pans, I’m switching around brains in a pyrex when the vibe is correct
To a rapper ego I’m a threat, you prolly die from neglect

His performance on this song is frankly jaw-dropping. It’s fucking insane. The song is without question dope af. The following track, Acetone Wash, is another highlight for me. I was especially looking forward to this track due to the feature from Conway the Machine, but I actually ended up being more impressed by CRIMEAPPLE’s verse. Not that Conway didn’t kill it. I’d actually love to hear a Conway & DJ Muggs album. CRIMEAPPLE obviously made sure he didn’t get outshined on his own song though. He snapped.

I let her know how the medicine feel soon as she mention the pill
I’m throwin’ blue powder in the air like it’s a gender reveal

The song is dope af. It’s not my favorite track on the album, but it’s still fantastic. It’s followed by 22 Blue Twos, which isn’t as great to me, but I do still like it.

This one features a rapper named Primo Profit, who I’m not familiar with personally. I enjoyed his verse though. He did a good job. I like his voice a lot. He sounds angry as hell on this track. I think the production is relatively underwhelming on this song, but I do still like it. It’s just a little repetitive. The second verse from CRIMEAPPLE is great. He killed it. I really like the song, but the beat just sounds simplistic in all honesty. It sounds like Muggs cooked this shit up in like 10 minutes because it’s just the same loop repeating over and over with no variation at all. It’s just a testament to how dope the two MCs on this track are that I still like the song so much. This shit is dope. The following track, No More 2 for 5, might actually be my favorite song on the album. I don’t know yet. I haven’t actually decided which track is my favorite. This shit is amazing though. That beat from Muggs is the most evil, grimy, hardcore shit I’ve heard in a long ass time. It sounds like a nightmare. It’s fucking awesome. You know what? Fuck it. This is my favorite track. This beat is fucking incredible. CRIMEAPPLE annihilated it too. His flow is bananas. The first verse was good enough, but he blacked out on the second verse.

Like Jesus walked on water, I walked on broken needles, came out regal

This is one of the hardest songs I’ve heard all year. I have zero complaints with it. It’s fucking amazing. It’s followed by Aguas Profundas, which is one of the weaker songs on the album in my opinion, but it’s still very good. I actually really like the beat. It’s a relatively downtempo song; it has a more chill, laidback atmosphere. I think the rapping from CRIMEAPPLE is dope, but it’s certainly one of his least exciting performances on the album. The song is still good though. I fuck with it. The penultimate track, Bloodtype, is a big step up in my opinion. The production is hard as hell. I love the sound effects in the background. Honestly, the song is kinda just more of the same, but that’s really not a bad thing. It’s still hard as bricks. CRIMEAPPLE killed it. The song is dope af. Unfortunately, the very last track on the album is the one song that I didn’t care for. It’s kind of a strange way to end the album in my opinion. It just feels really different from all the other songs. I’m not really a fan of the production; it kinda sounds like something Rick Ross would rhyme over. The song is basically about a girl CRIMEAPPLE is fucking with who’s lying to him, hence the title: Tellin’ Me Lies. I don’t think it’s a bad song at all, but I honestly just don’t see myself coming back to it. Nothing about it really appeals to me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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This album is pretty goddamn great. Again, I’m really glad I didn’t sleep on this project because CRIMEAPPLE is a fucking beast. I’m really curious about this dude because he sounds like he’s been spitting for years, yet I didn’t even know he existed until like a year or two ago. I kinda made this comparison early on in the body of this review already, but he reminds me a lot of Roc Marciano. If you know me you know that I really can’t fuck with Roc’s music at all, but for some reason CRIMEAPPLE just sounds awesome to me. I guess the main reason is really his voice. It’s frustrating because when I listen to Roc’s music I can recognize that he’s spitting his ass off, yet it still somehow ends up putting me to sleep because his voice is just way too feathery. I really don’t think I have any consistent issues with this project in particular though. It has some of the best songs I’ve heard in a long time. It’s not a perfect album, but any problem I have with it is specific to a particular song. There aren’t any sweeping criticisms I have of the project as a whole. This shit is really dope. Check it out.

Favorite Song: No More 2 for 5
Least Favorite Song: Tellin’ Me Lies

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