New Jersey emcee BARS Murre returns from a 4-year hiatus for the 5th full-length studio album on his discography. He signed with Black Soprano Family Records a decade ago for his debut Chicken & Cakewould continue to watch it Dead Nasty as Whimsical & Black Tanita respectively. Still, almost 3.5 years since the last LP Husky Marinara including the fact that B$F has been growing as a label in recent years, Murre returns for some Jewelry Store Shootouts.
The title track has a funky boom bap flare to the instrumental talking about going to Philly for a new track until it all goes wrong, while the Rick Hyde-featuring Johnny Slash-produced “Guess Who” keeps it dirty asking to a guess as to those who have just served. “Like That” featuring Loveboat Luciano works on a flute with kicks and snares that look” to shake things up as it's more than just rap, just before the symphonic/boom-bomb crossover “Beat Bleed” seems to make a boy who wants to approach him.
'Gremlin' likens himself to that mischievous sprite of the title and after the interlude of 'Stupid Motherfuckus', 'Ralph Cifaretto' feat. Benny the Butcher finds the 2 making cruel references to the eponymous Sopranos character, whom Tony eventually kills. “Uranus” featuring Elcamino brings a much cooler vibe to the table, organically speaking of being the new Patrick Swayze, but then “D'Lo Brown” pays homage to the former WWE Superstar from the Attitude Era.
BARS jumps over sinister piano chords clashing with kicks and snares for the all-talking “Boomin'” as a heater, while “Cooker X3” features Fuego Base and even Lil' Fame brings the trio nearby aggressively reminding that they have arrived. by a shady crew. “Yes Sir” with Heem gets together to talk tough about getting together, and after the “Big GM” break, “Paranoid” gives me a mobster/boom bam vibe admitting that I'm changing as a result of paranoia. Armani Caesar jumps in on the “Pumper” remix that serves as the penultimate track for a Bonnie & Clyde anthem done in signature GxF fashion, and “The Coolest” ends the album with a badass power to rule the Earth.
Shootings at the jewelry store it's been quite a while since then when you look at 10 of the 17 songs released as singles over a 2.5 year span, but it's definitely a step up from anything BARS Murre has done before. You can hear how much he's grown as a lyricist over a decade of being in the game, it's better production and even the guests all add their own flavor for the latest member of the Black Soprano family introducing himself to a wider underground audience.
Rating: 8/10
