Devilish Trio

the take

When I first got into DEVILISH TRIO some years ago, I instantly got hooked on their take on modern Phonk music that's clearly inspired by Memphis rap, which is understandable due to the group being based in Nashville. I enjoyed the music, but I didn't actually LISTEN in depth like I did recently. Fast forward to today and I appreciate the group's debut effort more than before. Tenngage, the producer of the group, crafted beats that are a fresh modern take of the Phonk sound while citing his influence and inspiration by paying homage. The two MC's, Baker Ya Maker and Hydra, come through with the bars that perfectly fit the mold with horrorcore lyrics that double as life lessons through their points of view. The album starts off strong with "FEAR THE BEAST", as well as the first half having nothing but bangers. Things start to cool down for me starting with "KRYPTIC STYLES", and even though the second half of the album isn't as strong as the first (thanks to the somewhat out of place "IM A PERVERT"), there's still some solid songs here. Plus, it has the best song (to me) on the entire album, "LOCCED OUT", so it's a worthwhile trade-off. Phonk as a subgenre is pretty niche as it is. Add the horrorcore lyrics with that may make a listener uninterested in checking this out. If you're a fan of the kind of music, this may be for you. (And if not this album, then maybe some of the other projects by DEVILISH TRIO.