Rome Streetz & DJ Muggs – “Death & the Magician” (Album Review)
Rome Streetz is a 34 year old MC from New York who broke out in 2016 off his debut mixtape I Been Thru Mad Shit. This was followed up by a plethora of projects, most notably the Noise Kandy tetralogy & Headcrack. He just dropped a dope project with Farma Beats on his birthday a few months back called Kontraband but as we close out the 2nd month of 2021, Rome is dropping his 5th full-length album produced entirely by DJ Muggs.
After the “6 of Cups” intro, the first song “Prayers Over Packages” talks about never slacking off over an otherworldly beat whereas the next track “Ace of Swords” talks about getting pieces to the puzzle over a gully instrumental. “The Manuscript” talks about his mind being focused on the money over a glum beat while the song “High Explosive” compares himself to a bomb over some horns.
The track “Zig Zag Zig” with Knowledge the Pirate finds the 2 talking about putting bitches in their place over a violin-tinged beat while the song “Stone Cold Soul” talks about clapping shit over a macabre instrumental. “The Devil’s Chord” talks about how the nights where he had nothing we’re eating him up inside over some ghoulish keyboard melodies & the sound of winds gusting by while the track “Shooting at the Dance Hall” gets on some disrespectful shit lyrically on top of a native-flavored beat for lack of a better term.
The song “Wheel of Fortune” talks about moving in silence over a Bollywood style instrumental while the track “Horn & Halo” with Rigz sees the duo talking about being conflicted since birth over a guitar & some eerie background vocals. The closer “Fly Obnoxious” talks about going all out for his rep over an malevolent boom bap beat & then the bonus cut “Fuck You Know About Me?” talks about preferring fetti over fame over some jazzy horns.
I’ve always said that Headcrack is Rome’s magnum opus, but Death & the Magician is even better. The way he continues to put words together (especially multi-syllable rhyme patterns) is like no other & it’s really cool to hear Muggs providing a wide range of sounds for him.
Score: 9/10
