Detroit emcee Bizarre returning for his 8th solo LP & the 4th installment of the He Got a Gun series in time for the Halloween season. Emerging as an original member of the now defunct D12 led by the late Proof, he was also among the first in the crew to put out solo efforts with his 1998 debut EP Attack of the Weirdos being a hometown classic in my eyes. Fast forward 7 years later, Biz followed it up with a worthy full-length debut Hannicap Circus & has continued to put out music on his own since, with the last time we heard him being his 11th mixtape 18159 Stout during the first quarter or the year. The Foul Mouth-produced He Got a Gun as well as it’s it’s sequel & the predecessor Art Peace revitalized himself for all the doubters, so them coming off “Antichrist” on Eminem’s latest album THE DƎATH OF SLIM SHADY (COUP DE GRÂCE) with He Got a Gun 4 was definitely the best move.
“Jump Out There” starts by aggressively boasting the fact he’s more hood than everyone else going on a Rampage similarly to Busta Rhymes’ cousin whereas “Grew Up a Savage” works in some kicks, snares & a spacious backdrop talking about growing up in the wilder side of the city. “Rufus” gives off a morbid atmosphere instrumentally detailing his lifestyle while “B.M.T.” hooks up a drumless soul sample to smoke weed & chill out after a stressful day.
Moving on with “1 Way”, we have Foul taking it back towards a boom bap direction advising to watch how you speak to him since he’s a boss leading into “Dear Diary” heads for a personal approach lyrically getting all the shit that he’s been going through since we last heard from him earlier this summer off his chest. “Mother’s House” featuring Lokye has this delicately raw vibe to the beat allowing both of them to daydream, but then “King of Detroit” featuring J-Nutty finds the pair reppin’ their city.
“Rat Bitch” featuring Big Jiggs gets the other half of the LP rollin’ breaking down Bizarre’s preference in women & Jiggs solidly portraying the titular role for her verse while “Let’s Go” marks a return of the Peter S. Bizarre alter ego over these infernal piano chords. “Jeeter” is a whole stoner’s anthem with some playful sampling throughout 130 seconds while “Grim Reaper” featuring Speak of the Devil dustily telling us who the drug dealer & crypt-keeper are in debt to.
Bub Rock & Kain Cole both join Bizarre on “God Speed” luxuriously giving y’all what you need instead of what y’all want reassuring slow motion better than no motion while “Flexin’ on Your Hoes” featuring Bruiser Wolf nears the end of the LP slickly getting in their pimp bags. The outro featuring Marv Won & Max Hilli concludes the latest entry of the He Got a Gun saga in the form of this lethal rap rock song looking to body those who wanna battle them.
This & all 3 of it’s predecessors stylistically are very much reminiscent to the final minute of “Antichrist” so if you loved it when shit got scary during Bizarre’s verse on that track, you’re probably gonna enjoy the entire tetralogy that revitalized the Idiotic Kidd’s passion for the game since all 4 installments maintain the classic level Attack of the Weirdos & Hannicap Circus already achieved. 2 & a half years later, Foul Mouth’s boom bap production & Bizzy’s hardcore lyricism excellently compliment each other as they continue to elevate their chemistry.
Score: 9/10