Los Angeles, California emcee T.F enlisting MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. Seven to produce his Roc Nation Records debut & his 2nd LP of the year. Initially hearing him on “Tookie Knows, Pt. II” off ScHoolboy Q’s magnum opus Blank Face LP, he subsequently dropped his debut EP No Hooks only 7 months later, which was followed up by his full-length debut ErThangSkanless & then a 2nd EP called OktoberFest. After appearing on Flee Lord’s 8th EP Hand Me My Flowers produced entirely by Buckwild & put out 2 more EPs on his own, T.F eventually signed to Lord Mobb Music & put out Blame Kansas produced by both Mephux & Roc Marciano. Coming off the Khrysis-produced The Green Bottle & the DJ Muggs-produced Don’t Call Me Lucky however, he’s staying hot with Skanless Summers: The Legend of Maniac Blue.
“Maniac Blue” opens up with the funky trap beat introducing us to the main character who’s widely known for being a gangsta whereas “Janky Gold” gives me some heavy Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas vibes instrumentally flexing the rubber bands around his wrist. “South Coast Plaza” featuring Jay Worthy finds the pair over a g-funk beat talking about being big budget prior “Bounce Rocc” featuring Trizz & Zoe Osama bringing the trio together for my least favorite single since Zoe didn’t impress me like Trizz did.
As for “Hollywood Slang’n”, we have T.F maintaining the funk vividly putting us inside the shoes of a dope dealer just before “Cend’n Corners” featuring LilBunko talks about both of them driving around the street carrying pistols in their laps. “A Different Cloth” featuring Dreebo & Fat Meech links up so all 3 of them can decently talk bout being built differently than the rest of these muhfuckas while “Luv Letters” takes a more soulful route getting romantic topically.
“I’m a Dog” featuring pushes closer towards the conclusion of Skanless Summers: The Legend of Maniac Blue discussing the kind of person he is over a g-funk instrumental while “Bebe’s Kids” featuring ICECOLDBISHOP references the Paramount Skydance Corporation adult animated comedy of the same name based off the late Robin Harris’ standup routine. “The Ballads” masterfully sends off the album telling the stories of a dead loc.
Originally announced last month, Skanless Summers: The Legend of Maniac Blue had me expecting it to maintain the level of quality Don’t Call Me Lucky achieved several months earlier & I’m somewhat disappointed with the final results. Which doesn’t have anything to do with MIKE SUMMERS’ production or T.F’s gangsta-infused subject matter, it’s mostly because of the excessive number of guest appearances varying between enjoyable & lackluster.
Score: 6/10