Square Root Of A Kilo - RJ Payne

Who the F&$K is RJ Payne? Nah...seriously who is dude? Word had got to ear to me about this cat Benny signed to BSF but I had no idea who he was but I figured if Benny signed him, then he had to not only be nice but dude had to be a problem. Fast forward to Benny's "The Plugs I Met" album and I finally got to hear Payne set off "Dirty Harry." "More bananas than the zoo Gorilla and all my hammers got that panoramic view/you niggas gamble with life 'til that cannon blam at you, small minded blow out your brain and expand a nigga view/raw specimen pure medicine Benny said clean niggas up I'm George Jefferson/Black Sopranos we workin', three quarters Mexican, bars hit you like finding out your daughter a lesbian!" Maaaaaaaaan listen, that verse was I needed to hear to KNOW dude was a problem! And after hearing that verse I went diggin & got my hands on his "Leatherface" album which  stayed in my rotation til his newest album "Square Root of A Kilo" dropped. Now let's see if  "Square Root..." has that same street ish I LOVE enough to stay in my rotation cause 2019 has been a hell of a year for hip hop!

"Square Root..." sets off with "The Payne" and it's the PERFECT precursor of what's gonna be coming from Payne for the next 46 minutes, "I seen my mother buried and my brother after, all I know is pain, ain't no fuckin' laughter/ finally got myself a name, now this another chapter, see Benny let me in this game, that's all that fuckin' matters/my golden triumph behold a giant, Dre ain't even put no samples into this beat nigga my soul is crying." "A New Day" featuring 38 Spesh is STUPID with Payne killing it, "I'm on a whole 'nother level of skill, yeah, we heard the dirty hate but that .38 Special for real/fuck ya medical bills Carlton Banks both arm swinging, these bullets gon' land wherever they will, it's Payne/Fresh Prince bars the God back again, I been great since he got chased by Charlie Mack and them" while the Daringer produced "Purge Night" is NASTY as hell and just keeps the party going with Payne going in "I let the blue steel blow, they ask me, would I die for my Rolex, never but you will though/nasty Philly shit schuylkill flow, spark steel these bitches doing cartwheels like it's a Dru Hill show."

The DJ Shay produced "Cocaine Symphony", the SLNC produced "Philly Soul" featuring OT the Real and "My Dreams" are all DISGUSTING and" just has Payne literally barring mofos to death and "The Love" was PA Dre using the Allen Toussaint's "Go Back Home" made famous by Primo for Jay Z's "D'Evils" and has Payne asking where's the love? "See I'm not the one to get shady but most people base they love on what I done for them lately/some'll come at me crazy, some of 'em want my lady, my homie wanted a Bentley, my cousin want a Mercedes/this is real nigga, you wasn't shootin' in the gym, then gettin ya own rebound to shoot the shit again/you sat on the bench watchin' me ya stupid to pretend, now die from this lead poison I'm producing through my pen." "Never Give In" has Payne going bar for bar with Detroit's finest Elzhi and "Square Root..." ends with the posse cut "Rebirth of the Roc" featuring Da Fever and Sunnie Blac which is dope but I won't hold you, I wish they would've used an OG beat and not Jay's "You, Me, Him & Her" beat but I get it, they were going for the rebirth of the Roc feel but my fave BANGER on "Square Root..." is the Stan Da Man produced "Drumline" featuring Dark Lo cause Payne goes the F&$K off  & Stan ANNIHILATES the beat! So ya'll remember that question I asked about how long "Square Roots..." will stay in my rotation? Let's put it like this, if this was back in the day when you had the 5 CD changer in the trunk of the whip, one of those CD slots would be strictly dedicated for Payne...EASY!

4 outta 5 mics