Back In Bidness

the take

When Shoreline Mafia reunited as a duo some time back, I'll admit I was a bit skeptical in seeing how that'd play out without the other half of the group. Then I saw them perform during Mustard's set and they helped restore faith in their return. With "Back in Bidness", it's like OHGEESY and Fenix Flexin haven't missed a beat in the time they were away. It's not a deep, introspective album by any means. It's one of those West Coast rap party albums that definitely sets the mood for having a great time. The majority of the production on here may come off as repetitive after a while, but they all have that knock to them that makes me want to get hype and dance no matter where I'm at. "Back in Bidness" is pretty surface level music, but it's still pretty damn consistent. The first half is the strongest of the two, with the title track and "Back 2 Back" being the definitive highlights for me. It started to falter a bit on the second half, but I applaud Shoreline Mafia for experimenting with some new sounds on songs like "Shoreline Twins" and "Top Notch" (the former being a miss and the latter is a W in my opinion). Ratchet music for the semi-occasional ratchet mood I get in, and I'm here for it.