Bang Belushi – “Rudy” (Album Review)
This is the sophomore album from Detroit emcee Bang Belushi. Coming up as 1/4 of the world famous Fat Killahz, it wouldn’t be until 2011 when the veteran branched out solo by releasing his debut EP The Bridgecard as well as the help yourself. EP in 2017. But it wouldn’t be until the following year when Bango signed to Middle Finger Music & dropped his full-length debut The Adventures of Bang Belushi, which in my opinion was a near-flawless showcasing of his lyrical abilities over some of the grimiest production Foul Mouth has ever cooked up. However, the pair is reuniting for Belushi’s long-awaited sophomore album.
“The Opening” that starts the album off gives listeners the blueprint to being great over an entrancing loop whereas the title track talks about how amazing he is over an unhinged boom bap beat. The song right after “It’s Going Down” talks about how they get it poppin’ over an instrumental kin to the late J Dilla while the track “Bar 4 Bar” with 2 Door Coupé finds the 3 talking about Middle Finger Music taking over the game over some horns & a bass-line.
The song “Dumb” talks about how disrespectful he is over a noisy instrumental while the track “N****z Like You” with Bub Rock sees the duo talking about those who’ll do anything for respect over some drums & piano arpeggios. The song “Red Bottlez” talks about being drunk as fuck over some keys & snares while the track “Murder” with J-Classic & Xtra Overdoze finds the 3 getting on the horrorcore side of things over a trap beat.
The song “Smoking Section” with Boom2G, Bub Rock, Pahlavi & Roc Danielz sees the quintet talking about getting money & staying low over a dingy loop while the track “Mark, Set, Go” with Isaac Castor finds the 2 talking about their skills over a wistful boom bap beat. The song “B is for Bang” breaks down the meaning of the moniker Bang over a flute sample while the track “Feeling Like Biggie” is a rugged sequel to “I Think I’m ODB” off The Adventures of Bang Belushi on all fronts.
The song “Such & Such” talks about a bitch he used to know over an amiable instrumental while the track “Nobody” talks about how there isn’t anyone else like him over a boom bap beat with a glossy piano loop. The song “Watermelon Red Bull” talks about how he refers to his AK as “Big Daddy Kane” over some prominent organs while the outro talks about feeling like they won’t recognize his skills until he’s gone over a beat kin to College Dropout-era Kanye West.
The Adventures of Bang Belushi is one of my favorite albums that Middle Finger Music has ever put out & this is almost as great of a follow-up. The lyrics on here are much more personal than they were last time & the sounds that Foul Mouth bring to the table are bit more diverse.
Score: 8/10
