This week, west coast rappers Mozzy and Berner dropped their 10-track collab album, Slimy Individualz. This is the first release of the year from both of the prolific MCs but almost certainly won’t be the last. Last year Berner dropped 3 major solo releases to go along with 2 separate joint albums. Mozzy had a good 2018 due to his highly-anticipated, feature-packed, solo album, Gangland Landlord. The Sacramento native also released two joint albums last year. While new music may occur frequently from these two, it in no way takes away from this collaboration. The two California artists trade quantity for quality and deliver with 10 content-rich songs featuring a slew of A-list MCs.

The album bounces back and forth between introspective cuts about existing in the hood and fast-paced bangers with a heavy G-Funk influence. While both MCs do their thing on this tape, it’s Berner who ultimately steals the spotlight. Throughout the tape he experiments with new flows and stops listeners in their tracks with vivid bars like his opening lines on “Family 1st:”

“I’ll never understand dry snitchin’ on the ‘Gram
Killers move in silence, then why do killers hit the stand?
Everybody tellin’, we threw his body in the lake
And kept his thumb ‘cause his fingerprints opened up his safe”

— Berner "Family 1st"

While Berner might demand a little more attention, Mozzy holds his ground and shows us why he’s had such longevity in the industry. He is the backbone of this tape giving it the proper support necessary to work the way it does. Mozzy delivers the albums best hooks and every time he goes in for a verse we are reminded why we put Slimy Individualz on in the first place.

The album starts with a scene from the movie Donnie Brasco. Once the dialogue commences we are thrown into the overtly honest evaluation of street life on the slower “Noddin’.” YG and Logic aid the duo on the smooth and catchy “Ayy” where we are all instructed to admire YG’s two-tone Rolls Royce. The best song on this album is “Thug In Me” where the two MCs recruit Godholly and rap over One Drop Scott’s groovy SoCal instrumental. This song is infectious and sounds like it could be the perfect soundtrack to anything from dancing in the club to committing a felony. On the hook, Mozzy taps into an iconic Tupac sound and flow which works so perfectly over the Death Row inspired instrumental. Check out the music video to the standout track here:

While I may have been intrigued when the OG duo began this albums rollout, it would be a stretch to say I was excited to listen to this tape. I was pleasantly surprised after my first listen and the album continues to grow on me after every play-through giving me hope that it will age well. This project is polished, insightful, and easy to listen to. Slimy Individualz knows exactly what it wants to be and executes accordingly.