Richmond, CA Emcee Juganot da Beast is back almost 2 years after his sophomore effort Lovelly's Baby Boy for his 3rd full-length studio LP. It appears in the fall of 2019 from the debut EP POME (Product of My Environment), followed a year later with the debut album Pennsylvania Ave As well as Love is pain mixtape & the aforementioned Lovelly's Baby Boy. I had the pleasure of meeting Juganot at Astronomicon 7 a few months ago and was really flattered by him telling me how happy he was that we connected, so I decided to give Purgatory a hearing
“Guillotine” is a trunk-rattling opener explaining that they don't quite understand how different he is out here, while “Hold Me Down” kind of gives me a sad trap vibe by organically admitting that he's been going through it for a while. “U Ain't Mobbin” gives off a somber vibe that chases away all the fakes that aren't really into that gang life, but then “Not My Problem” featuring Swanky Rich blurts out that bitches ain't for which they should worry about.
We get some pianos and hats knitted together for “Where Jug At?” addressing those who've been looking for him for a minute, just before the standout 'None of Y'all' featuring G-Mo Skee gets the boom bap tip courtesy of Eminem's current hypeman mR. PORTOS of D12's past fame makes it clear that they are not laughing at any of these scumbags out here. “Old School 50” keeps the kicks and traps together, declaring that his pedigree is as much of a beast as 14-time WWE World Champion and CCO Triple H of the Endeavor-owned TKO Group Holdings division, leading to the smooth “Holla at You” to be romanced locally.
“You Can Be Touched” lets out a little burst of annoyance over the beat telling you that he's not thinking about how many bodies you've dropped and that he was an epic fail trying to kill Da Beast. start with the guitar “Letter to My Younger Self” sends a message to the Juganot of the past. “OG” futuristically refuses to rest with his mind on the money, while the Nobe-produced violin “I'm Him” discusses being on a new level. “Everybody's a Killer” combines g-funk and horror as the pussies started rapping, and the jazzy “Letter to Heaven” ends by promising to keep to itself.
G-Mo has been my favorite rich MC for over a decade now from his lyrics on “Lunchtime Cypher” & “Innermost Hate” and Purgatory if anything it turns out to be the strongest body of work Juganot da Beast has ever put his heart and soul into, so I hope he doesn't stop making music after this. The production ranges from trap to boom bap, g-funk, horrorcore, jazz rap, mob music and cloud rap supporting Juganot's most passionate lyricism to date.
Rating: 8/10
