Cody Manson Seeing “Double Cups & Demons” (Album Review)
Cleveland, Ohio emcee Cody Manson is back for his 3rd LP. For the last few years now, he’s been on one Hell of a meteoric rise in the underground whether it be him signing to Lyrikal Snuff Productionz or dropping his full-length debut Psychoactive on Christmas Day a few years back to widespread acclaim & the sophomore effort E=MC Skelter proved to be his very own classic. Cody unfortunately fell out with Ouija Macc at the beginning of 2024 which caused some 17%ers to turn their back on him immediately, but I still wanted to give Double Cups & Demons a shot since he remains a standout on the LSP roster.
The title track featuring Keith Stoned starts with chimes & hi-hats to tell us the only 2 things they’ve been seeing as of late whereas “Troublesome” also featuring Keith Stoned offers another trap vibe with a dark atmosphere showing off their disruptive tendencies. “They Love to Hate Me” produced by Stir Crazy stands as a highlight for me personally with it’s trap metal instrumental addressing the hate he’s been getting this year just before “27 Club” featuring Jamie Madrox & Keith Stoned hops over this off-the-wall beat from $crim of the $uicideboy$ referencing the list of celebrities who’ve died at 27 although Jamie out-rapped Keith in my opinion.
“Feel Like Dying” featuring a standout feature for Majik Ninja Entertainment’s head of graphic design Insane E & of course Keith Stoned finds the trio over dull trap production explaining that they themselves feel like they’re on the verge of death even though they kinda enjoy it on top of Insane E providing another high quality guest appearance much like Jamie’s while the solemn “100K” proves to be another standout giving a middle finger to friends preferably tryna touch that exact amount of money instead prior to the sinister trap joint “Shooters” featuring fellow LSP artist Claas showing off their mob ties.
Meanwhile on “Never Too Much”, we have Cody talking about doing too much & never enough giving off this bassy trap approach instrumentally leading into the introspective “All My Life” with it’s blissful musical backdrop that Charlie Beans provides striving when people have hated on him forever. “Limitless” featuring Keith Stoned radiates a dreary trap tone to the beat feeling like both of them are boundless while “Blood Money” featuring Bonez Dubb, Doc Gruesome, Gorilla Pimp & Keith Stoned serves as a decent 5 minute posse cut.
Danny Diablo joins Cody for the Memphis flavored “F.A.B. (Fuck a Bitch)” setting out to set the worlds of their detractors on fire completely while “Born Evil” featuring Keith Stoned clashes these guitars & hi-hats together staying high when they’re alone regardless if it doesn’t help them at all. “Scars” fuses grunge with trap encouraging everyone listening to remember exactly who the fuck you ate & “Sulfur” bombastically ends the LP politicking with the demons in his basement.
I’ve always shown love & support to both Cody Manson & Ouija Macc, so it’s a shame that neither of them are on good terms. Now do I think Double Demons & Demons is the best album that Cody’s ever done? No, I still very much have E=MC Skelter on top of the throne as far as that conversation goes. That said, it’s still not a bad listen. The features are hit or miss, the sounds he’s experimenting with are potently detailed & the Trife Life general’s letting off the steam that’s building up throughout 2024.
Score: 7/10
