This compilation was released on October 22nd this year. It was curated by a record store owner in Ohio named Z. Younk, who I became acquainted with through his contributions to albumoftheyear.org. The name of his record store is Fat Hippy Records and I think it’s located in Brookfield, Ohio. All of the proceeds from this compilation are going to The National Endowment for the Arts to keep arts education in schools, which is dope as hell. There are a lot of artists involved in this album that I fuck with, as well as a few that I was completely unfamiliar with prior to listening, so I was looking forward to checking this out. I kind of expected it to be a mixed bag in terms of quality, but I knew there would be a decent amount of material that I fucked with.

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The album starts with a skit in which MC Homeless leaves a voicemail for Fat Hippy Records, asking for specific records from 2 Live Crew & Too $hort. I think it works really well as a straightforward intro to the album. The first actual song is by SINAI., which is Sleep Sinatra‘s production moniker. It’s called Myriad, and it’s one of my favorite songs on the project. The beat has some banging drums and a really nice melodic loop. I’ve listened to a couple of SINAI.’s beat tapes, and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve heard. However, this track here is definitely one of my favorite instrumentals I’ve heard from him. It’s really dope. The following track is another instrumental called Slow Down, and it’s produced by mofonghosst, a.k.a. Bloodmoney Perez. This one’s just okay to me. It’s kind of a bizarre instrumental. I think the drums sound really good, but the weird horn loop that comes in and out just sounds really discordant to me. It’s not a bad beat at all, and I might like it more if there was someone rapping over it. However, on its own, it’s not something I’d return to. Track 4 is called Crystal Blue, and it’s performed by 2 Dolla Will over an Iceberg Theory beat. I really like the instrumental on this track, but I sadly feel like 2 Dolla’s flow sounds a bit awkward over it. It’s unfortunate because I really love the lyrics.

None of my cougars are playing nice
They like to scratch and scrape when they ride
I tell her "make me bleed," I find that pain sweet
That's why I mainly sleep with cheating married wives
That I wish would have a place in my life

Aside from VEGA!, I don’t think there’s a rapper who can make me crack a smile as easily as 2 Dolla Will, which is something that I really appreciate. The beat is really cheerful sounding, and it reminds me of Christmas. This track definitely grew on me with repeated listens, but it’s still not something I’d return to casually. It’s decent though. Track 5 is called Kurdish Kitchen Tile, and it’s performed by Big Flowers & Rhys Langston. Big Flowers is an artist I’ve been following for a couple years at this point, but I’ve still only really heard them on features. I’m less familiar with Rhys Langston, although I’ve seen their name floating around on social media before. Anyway, I really love the instrumental on this track. It’s kind of bizarre, yet melodic and somehow accessible at the same time. That’s definitely my favorite aspect of the song, but that’s not to say that I didn’t also really enjoy the rapping. The first verse is great, and I like how Big Flowers had a completely different flow than Rhys Langston. I usually don’t care for rappers who don’t rhyme that much, but I enjoyed this song a lot, and it only grew on me with repeat listens. It’s definitely one of my favorite songs on the album. I think it’s dope. Track 6 is another instrumental from SINAI. called Chandelier Grill. It’s really good. For whatever reason I feel like the sleepingdogs would sound great over this beat. It’s kind of a repetitive instrumental, so you pretty much know what the entire track sounds like after the first fifteen seconds. The loop is so good that I don’t even mind though. It’s a good song. The following track is called No Longer Seeking Reassurance, and it’s performed by Sankofa over a Chef Mike beat. This is another one of the best songs on the album in my opinion. I love the melodic, kind of somber instrumental, and Sankofa’s melodic vocal delivery sounds really good. I love the hook on this one.

Who I was, I'm tryna be the better version of that
Inspiration from my life and then returning the path
No longer seeking reassurance on my personal path
Who I am, I'm tryna be the better version of that

As always, Sankofa’s writing is very technical. The rhymes are on point, and his flow sounds great. The song’s really dope. The next song is an instrumental called 7 222 LORA AVE 1ST FLOOR, and it’s produced by an artist with whom I was previously unfamiliar named Grimey L. I really like the kind of Electronic-sounding beat here. It is a bit repetitive, but the song ends before I have a chance to really get tired of the loop, so it’s still an enjoyable track for me. I think it’s pretty good. Track 9 is called The Push, and it’s performed by Jimmy Split, who is another artist I had never listened to prior to checking out this compilation. I don’t really love the repetitive instrumental here, but thankfully Jimmy’s rapping is good enough to keep this song entertaining to me.

Don't like this? You must be bitchmade
Smokin' in the park mid-day, laughin' at what your kid's named
Probably some shit like "Gunther" or "Zachariah"
Spelled with five I's, three Z's, and the ancient Incan symbol for fire

His flow and rhymes sound really good. There are two verses on this song as well as a hook, and it’s all good. I definitely would’ve enjoyed this song more if the beat was better, but, like I said, Jimmy Split’s rapping is good enough to make this song worth returning to for me. I think it’s really good. Track 10 is called HOL UP, and it’s performed by junclassic, who I was really surprised to see featured on this album. A lot of what I said about the preceding track also applies to this one. Once again, I’m not crazy about the repetitive production from Sir Kapital. However, junclassic fucking killed this track. This is definitely some of the best rapping on the album.

Can't forget 96 off the head, O.E.
Lowkey, in a cypher beatboxing fo' deep
Won't speak, go 'head, go, B
Oh no he won't flow though, yo, old me
Since then my penwork became OG
So deep, it'll make the soul weak
I get no sleep, just OD'd off dope beats

His flow sounds dope as hell, and he rhymed his ass off. The song’s really good. The 11th track is called Monumental, and it’s performed by Wesley Rocco. This one’s okay to me. I like the beat a lot, and Wesley’s flow sounds good. I just don’t care for his voice sadly. It’s a bit too nasally for me. However, like I said, his flow was nice, so people who don’t mind his voice might be able to enjoy this more than I did. I mean, I definitely enjoyed it to some extent. Just not enough to return to this in the future. I feel like this song could’ve been developed a bit further. A second verse probably would’ve elevated things a lot. It feels a bit too short. It’s not a bad track though. I think it’s decent. The following track is an instrumental from Steel Tipped Dove called Spoon the Mail. I was really underwhelmed by this instrumental on my first listen of the album, but it grew on me slightly with repeated listens. I just think there’s not enough going on here. It sounds a bit too skeletal to me for me to want to revisit it. Maybe if there was a dope MC spitting over it I would enjoy it more. It’s a decent track, but it’s not something I’m gonna be listening to again in the future. The following track is better to me. It’s called King of the Zoo, Pt. 2, and it’s performed by Darko the Super over another Steel Tipped Dove beat. I definitely like this beat way more than that of the preceding track. The loop in the background is pretty unorthodox-sounding, but the drum pattern makes it easy to get into for me. The beat is definitely my favorite aspect of the song, but Darko’s performance isn’t bad. If you’ve never been a fan of him in the past then this song certainly won’t change your opinion of him, but for fans like me this is pretty good. I fuck with it. Track 14 is another instrumental from SINAI. called Speechless. This is definitely another one of my favorite tracks on the album. The drum pattern is great, the loop sounds really good, and the vocal sample that comes in and out is awesome. It’s a great beat. I think it’s dope. The following track is called Unorthodox. It’s performed by TBased over a cashew beat. I was completely unfamiliar with both of them before listening to this album, but I really enjoyed this one. It definitely grew on me with repeated listens. I was kind of indifferent to it at first, but I think it’s because I wasn’t really paying attention and I just had it on in the background. Once I actually gave it a focused listen I enjoyed it a lot though. TBased killed the verse on this song, and I really enjoyed the production.

Different flows, different shows, different hoes, different clothes
Different weed, different high, different eyes, different lows
It's gunpowder all over my clothes
On some street sweeper shit when I pull out the pole
Blow your face from your skull, there's no coming back
I'm scraping each and every inch to put this city on the map
Is it working? Voices tellin' me to stay on track
Can't look back, I remember me 'cause only I had my back
Catch you backpedaling, it's a wrap
Run the play after you set the trap
I'm a wizard in fact, watch how shorty get zapped
I'm on the run, back to the future with the pack

It’s a pretty good track. The following song is performed by WHOBEJAZZZ, and it’s called Double Edges. This song stands out a lot because it’s the only R&B track on the album. I enjoyed WHOBEJAZZZ’s background vocals on Bloodblixing‘s NBA Streetz: Gangsta Edition album, but this track has her more at the forefront. I think this is one of the best songs on the album, and it’s probably because the production from Black Intelligence is so good. The melody of the hook is excellent. This might be my favorite song on the album honestly. It’s dope as hell. It’s followed by another one of the best songs on the album, Edgar Allan Lo, which is performed by MANSDEM. MANSDEM is another artist whose name I’ve seen floating around social media a lot, but I wasn’t too familiar with their work prior to hearing this project. They killed this song though. I think this is another contender for some of the best rapping on the album. Their flow is exceptional, and the production from J4K is really great too. This definitely made me wanna check out more of MANSDEM’s work, so I’m gonna keep my eye on their future releases. The song is dope. Track 18 is called END LAYER, and it’s performed by LUNAR. I really like the kind of dreamy, mystical-sounding production. I’ve always really loved LUNAR’s rapping voice, and this song is no different. I love the bars here too. He probably had my favorite line on the whole album.

Your mom threw me the stank

Bruh. That’s fucking hilarious. Goddamn. I’ve never heard anyone say that before. That’s crazy. I love it. The song’s really good. Track 19 is called Here’s Johnny, and it was one of my most anticipated songs on the album because it’s performed by Lync Lone over a Rice Master Yen beat. I feel like it’s been a long time since Lync Lone dropped music, so it was nice to hear him again here. I love Rice Master Yen’s production here too. This beat is awesome. It’s probably my favorite instrumental on the whole album. This song really didn’t disappoint at all. Lync’s flow is as smooth as ever, and he rhymed really well.

Never trust what the enemy says
You end up dead in a barrel full of liquid cement
The wrist bent, they all clenched 'cause of the stench
But all the henchmen gon' do what I said 'til the death

It’s a really short track, and I think it probably could’ve been even better if it was extended a bit, but I still love it as it is. I think it’s dope as hell. The 20th track is an instrumental from an artist named Tropico Beats called Beats 4 Peace. Out of all the instrumental tracks on this album, this one might be my favorite. It sounds like the most detailed, layered one here. The woodwinds sound excellent, and the vocal sample is nice too. It’s a really dope track. Track 21 is called Kratom, and it’s performed by Yung Regis & 2 Dolla Will. I like this one way more than the first 2 Dolla Will track on this album. The beat from jdmasters is fantastic, and Yung Regis killed the first verse.

A lot of pot smoked, but still a couple strains of excellence
Sometimes my notebooks, they just suffer from the negligence
Got the Blicky supporters like a bunch of protagonists
Talkin' all that shit, have you phonin' up the ambulance

2 Dolla Will’s verse was also really great. I can’t decide who had the better verse. They both did a really nice job here. The song’s dope. Track 22 is called Spinnin’, and it’s performed by YL over a klwn cat beat. I’ve had mixed feelings about the production I’ve heard from klwn cat in the past, but this beat here is really nice. The sample sounds really great. YL is an artist whose music has never really been that impressive to me, although I do think he’s a solid MC. Something about the way he raps just doesn’t hold my attention, and this song is sadly no different. It’s far from a bad track, and I can enjoy it while it’s on, but it’s probably not something that I’m gonna be returning to. I think it’s okay though. Track 23 is called Pieces Perplexed, and it was another one of my most anticipated tracks because it’s by Illogic, who I’m a big fan of. At first I was a little disappointed because I was expecting him to rap, but this is just an instrumental. However, once I got over the initial shock of it not having any bars, I was able to really enjoy it. I think the production here is pretty great. It’s a really light, jazzy instrumental. I like it a lot. The penultimate track is called Sonya, and it’s performed by a rap group called EMS. I wasn’t familiar with them prior to checking out this record, but they impressed me. The group is comprised of four MCs named M-Dot, Benefit, Revalation, and Kore. The beat on this track from Mekkanic is the one aspect of the song that I’m not crazy about. It kinda sounds like something an AOTP rapper would spit over. I’m a huge AOTP fan, but I’m definitely more into them for their actual rapping than their beat selections. That’s pretty much how i feel about this song. The rapping is excellent. The beat isn’t bad at all though. It definitely grew on me a little bit with repeated listens, but I still don’t love it. Again, I’d never heard of these guys prior to checking out this album, so I don’t know which verses are performed by whom, but whoever that is on the hook kinda sounded like Big Pun a little bit to me. He doesn’t flow like Pun, but his voice and vocal delivery reminded me of him. I don’t really care about the subject matter of this song, but it’s very well executed. I fuck with this track. It’s really good. The closing track, Souza Outro, is a skit in which someone named Souza leaves a voicemail to Fat Hippy Records. The way he was begging for the hidden records actually made me laugh. I liked this track. It’s a good outro.

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^{This is a pretty good project. There really aren’t any songs that I would say are bad. At best, this album is dope as hell, and at worst it’s just okay. I definitely consider this album a success, and I’m looking forward to volume 2, which I believe is dropping in October of 2024. This project grew on me slightly with repeated listens. I think it’s a really good showcase of some of the most exciting artists in the underground right now. Usually with albums like this artists tend to half-ass their contributions, but I didn’t feel like that was the case here at all. Everyone showed up to perform well. I’m glad I checked this shit out. Again, all the proceeds go to a good cause, so check it out. I think it’s a good album.}

Favorite Song: Here’s Johnny
Least Favorite Song: Monumental

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