Death & The Magician (studio album) by DJ Muggs & Rome Streetz

the production is exactly how you'd expect a DJ Muggs project to sound like, old-school, dim, gritty boom bap, you know it already. No huge surprises in that department, but that's by no means a criticism, he knows what he's doing and he's extremely good at it, he doesn't feel like pretending or compromising, let alone apologising at any point. Can't say I've been closely following Rome Streetz. His presence behind the mic is surprisingly captivating. Taking into account that for the most part I don't care about his lyrics - just don't take them too seriously and you should be fine - makes his achievement even more impressive, there's a very good chance he is a magician indeed. His rapping isn't groundbreaking either, quite the contrary, it screams "take me back to the 90's please" which explains why this collaboration showcases a high degree of team chemistry. I don't mean to sound blasphemous, but his performance in Stone Cold Soul reminded me of Pharoahe Monch - ok, don't shoot me, or at least give it a try before you decide to do so . Probably I'm overrating it like there's no tomorrow because I've been missing hip hop lately, but right now I'm feeling this is a top-5 or top-10 at the minimum 2021 album.