Here are the latest studio LPs and the 11th lyricist from London-born, Brooklyn-raised Rome Streetz. He emerged from his debut mixtape I Been Thru Mad Shit a decade ago and has since released numerous projects, most notably Noise Kandy tetralogy and Headcrack. However, this decade was his most important, as he dropped some of the best work of his career, from the DJ Muggs-produced “Death & the Magician” or the Futurewave-produced “Razor’s Edge” to the subsequent Ransom-assisted collaboration “Coup de Grâce” and the Griselda Records deal. His debut album, Buffalo Big Production, Kiss the Ring, and the Big Ghost Ltd.-produced Wasn’t Built in a Day have both made the top 10 of my recent greatest hits lists, while the Daringer-produced Hatton Garden Holdup is a perfect fit for my 2024 top 5 list. “Trainspotter”, which was fully produced by Conductor Williams, premiered on Mass Appeal Records equally well, and I hope “Sock It 2 My Pocket” can maintain this level of musical quality.
“Yellow Brick Road” opens with a soul sample from Graymatter, welcoming everyone to a real sound, while the Pete Rock-produced “Son of a Gun” talks about so much energy because he’s naturally good at this stuff. “’95 Mega on Shrooms” featuring Styles P spits gangsta shit over this bloodthirsty boom bap instrumental from Denny LaFlare, until “Belt 2 Ass” single-handedly puts the beat on Command Williams.
Havoc goes backstage on “.22,” recalling the types of guns he owned when he first got more involved in the streets, just as “Prada in the Polaroid,” starring Lloyd Banks, maintains a booming vibe about envious assholes watching them succeed behind the bench. “Cocaine Coltrane” hit us with a single that delivered hip-hop to the devil and refuted cheap imitators, while “Marathon or Race” starring Westside Gunn demanded to know how the game was perceived.
“Dreamcatcher” continues the second half of “Sock It 2 My Pocket”, embracing a more soulful vibe and talking about the road to wealth, while IDK’s “Time & Place” leans into a tropical sound, talking about the present and sticking your finger out for who’s next. My favorite singles are “High Speed,” which breaks down his New York mentality from 9th Wonder’s sizzling BAP instrumental to Roman’s lyrics, while “Shoot Your Trophies” celebrates The Alchemist’s well-prepared ensemble beat.
The song “I Don’t Know” near the end of the album is about a hoe he can’t remember ever seeing and falling in love with, while “Taylor Made Wave” featuring Ox Omni joins forces with V Don instrumentals to explain that there’s nothing new under the sun. I should also mention that I was delighted to hear Soffren’s involvement on closer “Elevate,” where he flows a brutal bar over a soul sample to close out the full length.
In my opinion, Trainspotting has a greater consistency as there are only a handful of tracks on Sock It 2 My Pocket that I could live without, but nonetheless, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that Rome Streetz, the second full-length release via Mass Appeal Records, doesn’t contain some of the most important tracks of his career, due to the brilliant production or killer penmanship that he and all the guests individually laid out to owe it to its replay value.
Score: 8/10
