Right here we’ve the sixth studio LP from Detroit, Michigan emcee/producer Ilajide. Previously of the Clear Soul Forces, he’s put out a pair beat tapes together with 5 full-length albums & 7 EPs below his belt. It’s been over 4 years since I coated Code 200 & that was the best solo LP of his total profession, linking up with Seattle producer Def Dee for his greatest EP Tape Delay final summer season. Persevering with the 4/20 custom of releasing music, Pocket Jams 2 introduced on New 12 months’s Day is lastly right here on Evening 2 of WrestleMania XLI merely hours after the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings acquired Lucha Lucha AAA Worldwide (AAA) as a subsidiary of their WWE division in response to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) & Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH) each being concerned with this 12 months’s annual Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), 新日本プロレス (NJPW) & Revolution Professional Wrestling (RPW) co-promoted occasion Fantastica Mania this summer season held at La Catedral de la Lucha Libre Enviornment México.
“Pimp Discuss” units the tone with this funky self-produced instrumental telling us what it’s prefer to be a playa in his footwear whereas the aptly-named “Issa Good Day” retains bringing the funk for a summertime anthem solely 2 months forward of time. “Cease Talkin’” works in some crooning vocals & synthesizers for a retro, carefree membership banger previous to “Impress Me” groovily speaking about ladies having to wow him to get his consideration.
Shifting on from there, “Backhand” goes for a little bit of a psychedelic flare telling his woman to shake somethin’ for him whereas “Don’t Discuss to Me” woozily talks about bossing up & feeling wavy because of this. “Don’t Play” retains the dance vibes going cautioning everybody to not fuck with him simply earlier than the funky “Get together in Her Pants” talks about themes of lust.
“Make Me Unfastened” begins the ultimate leg of Pocket Jams 2 for a playful ode to loosening himself up off the alcohol whereas “Slide” comes by way of with one other funky dance quantity encouraging all of the celebration folks on the place to maneuver their our bodies. “Stallion” that includes & produced by Radio Galaxy finishes the Pocket Jams sequel paying homage to Parliament-Funkadelic so far as affect goes.
Representing a deeper dive into Ilajide’s inventive id, Pocket Jams 2 fuses hip hop & funk music collectively mixing the vibe of the 70s with the sound of 2025. Consider it as a UFO Time Machine from the 70s crash-landing sooner or later. The primary objective he had in thoughts throughout the studio periods is to make folks transfer whereas staying true to himself, the journey he’s been on, progress & lastly self reflection.
Rating: 8/10