Homeboy Sandman, K.A.A.N. , Onyx, Bones, Lil Uzi Vert & Goosebytheway

[music] >> This is Friday to Friday, your weekly rap wrap-up going through our favorite releases in rap and hip-hop from Friday, July 31st to Friday, August 7th. My name is Jacob. I'm a mixing and mastering engineer [music] from California and your host for today and I have with me producer hailing from Detroit, Michigan, Gav aka Lunar G. >> What up? >> As well as producer and artist manager hailing from Montreal, Canada, Matt Carriker. >> Yo, what's good? >> Before we get into our picks for this week, here is the full list of artists that dropped projects. We got OBnJ, Too Short, Homeboy Sandman, Crimeapple, Shaboozey, Kurupt, Khary, Onyx, Crafty 893, Harry Rock, TF and Mike Summers, Bones, Seth Melrose, DB.BouttaBag, Lil Uzi Vert. Yeah, it's been a minute from him. And then a few odd ones that are in their own unique category this week. Juicy J did a spoken word poetry album. Starface is Tyga's alternate ego for his 80s music, dropped a project this week, already being accused of being AI-made. Logic dropped a compilation record that is a compilation of songs from the soundtrack to his comedy movie, I think. Anyways, let's get into our favorites for this week. I want to kick it off with a Homeboy Sandman produced by Jack Splash. The project is called Resonance Frequency. Homeboy Sandman is one of my favorite lyricists. He's so complex, but not in a way that sounds like he's trying. He just sounds like he's having fun. He's also just ridiculously consistent. He really never disappoints me with any of his projects. I don't know if I've ever heard another rapper with such a firm head on their shoulders. He He a lot about like eating healthy, thinking healthy, looking at the right things in life for happiness, like not money and fame. He's like the antithesis of rappers that only care about money and fame. But, my favorite songs from this project were uh uh "World on Fire" featuring CeeLo Green, which makes sense because Jack Splash has a side project with CeeLo Green called The Pink. Also, the songs "Natural Hue", "A1", and then "Gas" had this really smooth funk guitar line that carries the beat. That's a really fun one. Those were just my favorites, but really every song has insane lyricism on it. He always coming with the crazy pen, [music] so that's Homeboy Sandman with "Resonance Frequency". So, next I want to talk about Khary with The Modern Odyssey. This is mostly produced by D Ace. Good name marketing-wise with like all the hype of the Odyssey movie being in theaters right now. I'm not totally sure if that was intentional. I'm assuming it was, but anyways, Khary is a rapper from Maryland. He makes, I would call it, alternative rap. He fits perfectly on a playlist with the guys from TDE and like EarthGang and JID. If you like those guys, this is something to check out. Super sharp sharp pen. He often has a super quick flow, like he knows how to get into these complex triplet pockets, and then he has the lyrics to back it up. He has songs that are really about something, like "Validation", "Narcissism", "Intention". Those are all songs that are really about exactly what the song title is. >> Yeah, definitely um I like this release a lot. I actually saved "Narcissism", "What's Peace", and "Intention". >> Mhm, yeah, "What's Peace" was good, too. >> Yeah, I I like the production a lot. I thought "Scary" was a really cool beat, too. I mean, honestly, like I really liked all of the production. >> Me, too. >> I will say like not in a bad way, but it felt a little repetitive by the end of it. I don't know if it's just kind of like the flow or like what it was to me, but listening like start to finish, I feel like personally I would probably like pick this one apart a little more and like have it in playlists. >> Interesting. Yeah, it's the opposite for me because I actually just decided to playlist the entire album. There's no skips. Like the whole album is great. So that's fine. >> Yeah, that was the thing. I just I Yeah, I don't know what it was. I wouldn't say that there were skips on it by any means, but it's definitely one that I would want to hear like sprinkled throughout personally. And I really thought it was sick though. Yeah. >> What's Peace Man? That was the one for me, definitely. What's Peace was just it's it's the beat like that kind of just like floaty beat, you know, but I had parental advisory too. That one saved. >> Yeah. >> But yeah, this was my my first time listening to a full project of his and pretty good. I'm happy I checked him out. I'm definitely going to put him on my radar for the his next albums. And so have you guys listened to D Ace before? Cuz that was my first time hearing him or seeing him, too. >> Yeah, no, that was a first for me. >> the producer, right? >> Yes, same first for me. He is a main producer, but he's not credited on every single song. >> Huh. >> Cuz I checked him out. He's got like good credits, too. Like he has some he produced for Talib Kweli, Havoc, Corrupt. >> see that. Yeah. I checked him out and I was like I don't know that name and I saw the same thing. I was like, huh. Earned a little little respect for me. It's kind of cool cuz I was like again just hadn't really crossed my radar. It's sweet. >> I saw that like him and Khan had a song that came out 2025 and that's sitting at over 800,000 streams. So I don't know if maybe they did a song together. It did really well and they're like, hey, let's lock in for you know, half an album, but >> That's definitely it. >> Yeah. Man, happy to see it. >> Yeah, I liked it a lot. I added this to the playlist, the Friday to Friday playlist that we all listen from. I added this to that playlist the second the vocals started on the first song. I already knew I wanted to hear the whole project. >> Mhm. >> There's just there's so much passion in his takes. He has so much to say and just sounds like there's so much experience in his voice. >> Mhm. >> I was a big fan of it and also the production on it as well, for sure. So, shout out D Ace. >> Yeah. >> And that is Khan with The Modern Odyssey. Next I want to talk about Onyx with It All Started in Brooklyn. A classic hip-hop group actually started in the late '80s. It was originally four members now performing as a duo after the passing of Big D S and the parting ways with Sonsee. Since 2022, I think they've been releasing stuff as a duo, but Fredro Starr and Sticky Fingaz are putting in work showing they can still do this hip-hop [ __ ] Super classic hip-hop production, true boom bap. I admit I use that term lightly. In this case, this is real boom bap. >> Very aggressive. >> This is classic. >> Oh, yeah. >> That aggressive flow, too, for sure, absolutely. And that that deep vocal tone. >> Yeah. I really like this. I don't know a ton of Onyx. I'm not going to pretend like I do, but I'm aware of them and so it was cool to hear something like recent that came out. >> To me, like it just it did not sound different from the Onyx that I have heard and and knew. A lot of like these OG acts when they they put out these albums, they introduce little like modern aspects in the music, right? But this was like just super Onyx. >> Yeah. This is like a time capsule. >> Absolutely. >> Yeah. But uh I can hear the quality. I can hear, you know, uh the passion. A lot of of these of these guys, you know, that have been doing it for a long time, they kind of get sometimes a little bit lazy with the flow. Not these guys. It was really uh it was good. >> And but by the way, both Fredro Starr and Sticky Fingaz are like pretty successful actors as well, so. >> Yeah, yeah. >> My standout tracks were It's On You, [ __ ] Love, and the title track It All Started in Brooklyn. But yeah, excellent to hear legends still making great hip hop. >> Mhm. >> That's Onyx with It All Started in Brooklyn. All right, next let's talk about Bones as the Blunt Burns Slow. I didn't get a chance to check this out, but tell me about Gav. >> Yeah, no, this one gets very classic Bones. It doesn't sound like he's trying to do like modern sounds or anything. It's like he's sticking back to what his roots kind of were with like Sash Hollow Water Boys and stuff like that. Like it's just it hits heavy. It's super 36 Mafia inspired. I thought it was a sweet project. It start to finish is a fun listen. Had a couple standout tracks on it. I really liked mostly for production. Like that's usually what I hear it like production, vocal tone, and flow. I don't always listen to the lyrics with Bones as much. It's more like sonic for me, but I liked Crime Mob, Dat Mode, The Drought Is Over, VPN, Night Terrors. Like whole album was sick. Yeah, that's my take with Bones. >> Funny ass cover, too, with like the skull hand like smoking a blunt. >> It's very much that style of like 2015 2016 like SoundCloud rap covers and [ __ ] >> It looks like he didn't have any rap features on here. The only feature is Diamond Cafe, who is a pop funk act. So, that's interesting. >> This was cool to just hear. It was like really just a solo album. >> Nice. That is Bones with As the Blunt Burns Slow. All right, let's talk about this Lil Uzi Vert Maverick Almost Forever EP. I was not a fan of this, but caveat, I'm just not the biggest Lil Uzi Vert fan anyway, so I'll hand it over to you guys. >> I'll start it off, Matt. >> The first song the first song I was like, okay. I was like this is this is Uzi, let's go. The second it started I was like, oh, especially with like the was like the the Ken Carson album and like a lot of other guys who were supposed to come out with that sound and didn't quite hit it. >> Yeah. >> For the first track right away I was happy. For me though, the three, four first tracks I really liked and then it kind of like I don't know it it almost just sounded like each track just sounded like it was chasing the previous one if that made sense. >> Yeah, like my first listen I was kind of like hell yeah. Like I got halfway through it and I was like this is [ __ ] dope dude. Like I'm so glad that we got this. I hope whatever he puts out is like this cuz I liked Pink Tape a lot. I didn't really listen to Eternal Atake 2. Like I kind of fell off of him after Pink Tape cuz I was hit or miss on that album and then when I heard that it come out after I was like that. It's not really what I liked. I think he was really chasing like the underground at the time sound which is like the underground now. I just don't think that he should personally. This felt a lot more like Uzi, like original kind of >> That's it, yeah. >> Yeah, not like a imitation of 2015 but like that same kind of energy where it was just a little more amped up. But like 223 in particular I remember I feel like he just kind of gave up on the lyrics. That kind of bothered me. So listening to it twice through, I stopped listening to the lyrics for the second half as much. Dude, it it had me hype. Like the beats, the energy was there, the flows are fire but like it if you listen to the words it's like 223s, 223s, 556, 556. I'm like I dude, what happened? It's like you were saying [ __ ] for the first four songs. What what happened but like gas break the second time I was like okay, this is a little more like I could be at a concert and have fun listening to this. >> Yeah. And see like with like Carti and Carson like I I feel like when you're doing that kind of repetitive rap or like the rapper like it's it's melodic and you're supposed to you sound good with the beat. Already the lyrics kind of go based on like I guess your life and what you're doing, right? So like unfortunately yeah, if you're like depressed and you're doing a you know, a bunch of drugs, unfortunately, sometimes it just happens to make the best lyrical content, you know? >> Yeah. >> And so, I don't know if he's maybe just rich and happy. And if he is, man, you know, shout out to him for being happy. >> is. >> Yeah, he's definitely rich and happy. >> He's past that [ __ ] Like it's just I don't think he's sad anymore, you know? [laughter] I think he's okay now, which is >> Yeah. >> great. But, I get it. >> How [snorts] we were talking about how Onyx has like you can you can hear it, it's almost like they need to get peed on. >> A hunger. >> This really sounds like you know, the the first three songs, the beats were so good that I I don't know if I can necessarily credit him fully. Cuz like that first beat is like that's that's a beat to ride, you know? That's that is that is just open for you to you know, >> The whole first half is fire, if you ask me. Like >> No one ever looked at Uzi for lyrics, but there was >> I'd argue. He had Yeah, he had bars that everyone knew. And >> Like he has memorable stuff, but not like bars as far as like technical stuff. >> Yeah, no, no, no. >> like that, but but stuff you remember. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Like he he had enough to talk about to make it melodic. Like now it seems like he doesn't have enough words to make fully melodic bars, if that makes sense. >> hooks and [ __ ] like that and like >> Yeah. >> Yeah, I got you. >> how how Thug like Young Thug used to he would be able to find I saying used to is sad, but I mean, he would be able to find no matter how many words to make a crazy melody, right? >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> I guess if it's the same 10 words, there's there's only so melodic you can be, right? But man, shout out to the producers. Shout out to the producers. >> Say it again. I I still Uzi is right. Uzi is my favorite ever. 2016, I think that 2017 maybe. The short pink and purple hair. That that was my favorite like musical era of his. I feel like when >> Eternal Atake. >> Yeah. I feel like that album, uh, as long awaited as it was and as much hype as there was around it and like how many [ __ ] years it took to come out and like all the leaks and all this [ __ ] I think that was kind of like the decline for me, personally, on him. Where like I liked it, but then every album and project since then has pretty much [ __ ] been that. And I don't think he'll ever recapture the like moment of that and I feel like that's kind of almost what's being chased, but >> Mhm. >> I did really like the project that he did with Future. I will say Pluto Baby Pluto, that was one of my favorite. >> See, that I didn't like. >> Really? >> Yeah. Like like to me, what I always liked about Uzi is that he always managed every two, three years to put out a song that was just different. Like at that time it was Futsal Shuffle. >> Yeah. >> There was always like a different sounding song and I found that Future tape is when he started sounding like not as unique anymore, if that makes sense. >> Yeah. >> Like more like what other people sound like, you know? >> No, I I wouldn't disagree with that at all. I definitely just think it was like that era of music. It wasn't as played out yet and I was like, oh, I like this one. I don't revisit it now, still. I'll say that. You know, like it's for the time, I really enjoyed that one. >> For sure, yeah. Part of me is a bit scared to hear what he would do on a full album coming out this year. >> We were mentioning in the group chat like maybe this is just B-sides from older projects. >> Second half sounds like that. That's how it felt like. >> The new stuff coming up, hopefully, is a bit newer and different sounding and >> Yeah. >> an evolution more, because this is definitely not an evolution, but it would be cool to see a full album in a different direction. >> Oh, and I just want to say like, what you're saying, by the way, is that is a hit with the the French sample there. Like that to me, I I've had that song, I think I've been listening to it once a day since it came out. >> Wait, is that on this? >> I don't know, it's not on this. It came out right This is a single before this EP. >> Oh, okay. >> It did really well, too, I think on like Tik Tok and stuff like that. >> Interesting. I wonder why that they didn't just throw that on this. >> And it's doing well, too. Like it's even on his Spotify it's it's right now his third biggest song. It's 250 million and that came out 2025 December. >> Oh, okay. >> So it's it's been a minute. And it's different sounding, very different. >> Okay, so hopefully we're going to head in that direction for for a full length. >> Yeah, that's it. >> It'd be really nice. >> That is Lil Uzi Vert with Maverick Almost Forever EP. Couldn't decide on the name there, I think. Kind of double named it. >> [laughter] >> Uh last thing I want to cover this week is Goose by the way with Nature Boy. I have been waiting for this debut project from Goose by the way on Drumwork. This is Conway the Machine's label. He's a Griselda affiliate, so you can kind of expect that type of grimy beat on here. My standout tracks were Pesto Margarita, Selfish, this just stupid dark beat. It's like the quintessential stink face track featuring Jay Skeese. Shout out to Jay Skeese as well. He's the other main artist on Drumwork. Fire feature verse from him. And then Heisenberg featuring Conway. Another great dark ass beat. >> Heisenberg. >> Crazy bars from both of them. This was just a treat. Like I've just haven't gotten enough Like okay, this is kind of funny because Matt was kind of saying the opposite thing last week, but like I haven't gotten enough of this this year yet. >> Well, you can't replicate Griselda. >> Yeah, excellent production. Goose by the way on the come up. I was a big fan. >> I'm going to have to check this one out cuz I like Drumwork. Conway's my personal favorite. I'll just say it. >> Me, too. >> Out of like just who's on Griselda and [ __ ] but I saw him at Saint Andrew's Hall in the basement or whatever, like sick intimate small show. There was like maybe a couple hundred people in there if I'm not mistaken. Like you can fit probably like 500 or so. It's dope. Like stage is floor level, too. So, they're just like performing on the same level. So, there's not like the weird elevation aspect. Conway is one of my favorites. I'm going to have to check this out cuz I see he's pretty featured throughout it and Fuego Base, too, which I feel like he was on something else that we talked about or dropped a project we covered. >> Yeah, he had a collab project with Benny from earlier this year. >> That's what it was. >> Yeah, yeah. >> I was like, "Okay, yeah, he's on the BSF shit." >> Yeah. >> Conway kills it, though. Goose by the way, I'll have to check out. >> Yeah. Goose by the way with Nature Boy and that is everything we're going to cover this week. Before we get into releases for next week, let's do plugs. frequencyoverflow.com to hear our non-exclusive beats there as well as check us out everywhere at frequency overflow on all social media. That's me. Uh what do you want to plug, Matt? >> Yeah, check out my my artist Lucius P. Thundercat. Uh we're going to have some some music coming out soon. Other than that, just been making beats and working on unreleased stuff. More announcements to come soon. >> Yeah, you just showed me a really dope cover art for something coming up soon. >> Sick. I'm excited about it, so. >> But uh yeah, what do you got, Gav? What do you want to plug? >> [ __ ] you can find me on everything. Um proud by Lunar G, Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, BeatStars, everywhere. Go check it out. See what I've got. >> Excellent. That's plugs. Releases coming up next week. We have Inspectah Deck with Dragon's Breath, Q Unique and DJ Redmatic with the QR code, and Shawn Leon with Two Summer. Thank you, listeners. You can check us out on our website at f2fpod.com. You can follow the podcast on Instagram at Friday to Friday podcast. You can save the official Spotify playlist to hear the best releases from each week before the episode comes out. You can find that link in the description. Our intro and outro music by Lunar G. Find him at prod.by.lunar.g. It's the show about Fridays that comes out on a Monday. Join us every Monday to stay in tune with hip-hop releases from Friday to Friday. Peace. >> Peace.