This is the 5th studio LP from Long Beach, California emcee, producer & audio engineer Solo tha Secret. Making his full-length debut Intellectual Property at the beginning of 2013, he would go on to follow it up with a sophomore effort called Tha Next Chapters & later Matteruhtime. His previous album The Secret Collection came out in the summer of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic taking a backseat vocally & for Secret Affiliates over 6 years later, he’s doing the same thing aside from the outro.
After the BK intro, “The Return” by Jmac kicks things off spitting hardcore lyricism on top of this soulful boom bap instrumental whereas “Won’t Lose” by Koncept ruggedly talks about his refusal to take any Ls going forward. “Lift Off” by Lyrics of Caine has an eerier boom bap vibe to it down to the keys giving the world a look at his hunger just before “Beat Selection” by Chuck Taylor talks about his authenticity & having no competition whatsoever over a piano-driven beat.
“No Sleep” by the late Willie Mammuth maintains the traditional boom bap sound so he can discuss dreaming of chasing $1M prior to Jmac rockin’ the mic once again during “Yes Sir No Problem” for what feels like a brief yet commanding freestyle. “Foundation” by 733 wraps up the 1st half of Secret Affiliates hopping over another boom bap instrumental talking about having one’s back in every situation while “The Prey” by Koncept demands respect unless slitting throats for anything less.
Lyrics by Caine’s “interlude” was another moment where he’s going off the top for 95 seconds preceding 733 homaging Method Man’s verse off “Visionz” by the Wu-Tang Clan preparing to air muhfuckas out whilst the “Wheel of Torture” spins. “The Block” by Phillie Blunts talks about never being at peace unless he’s 6 feet below the ground until Fade Lucci, Tuda Loc & Willie Mammuth comes to the realization that the only intention behind people hating them being because of their loyalty to one another.
“Slide Up” by Mafia Loc & TG nears closer to the backend of the album with this wavy gangsta rap cut talking about those who keep fucking around with them eventually finding out although I felt like “Flow Gang” by Jawz of Def, Mafia Loc & TG could’ve been stretched out a little longer than a minute & a half. “Sink On” by Solo tha Secret himself featuring Marco concludes Secret Affiliates giving some proper advice to those needing to learn the way they do shit.
Originally announced back in November of 2024, I can respect what Solo tha Secret was trying do with Secret Affiliates amassing a list of up-&-coming artists dead or alive who all hail from the same city that made WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg. Kinda like what Kendrick Lamar did with local nervous artists throughout GNX around that same time period, except that Solo saves his sole verse for last & he lets the cast of LBC rappers who represent that area 3 decades after it was put on the map.
Score: 7/10