Release Date: 1 January 2026
Song Count: 20
Rating: 5.8/10
Description:
A sequel to the record that started it all for this entire project?! That is correct - ISSBROKIE has released another 20-song album right on the day the year began, after releasing one single, "NYOTAIMORI!", in between, and being mostly found on collaborative songs and projects of other artists and friends in the scene of modern trap and digital hip-hop! Monumentally marking the very first album to be tagged with the shiny new year and acting as a reflection to see how far we've come so far up to this point with the whole blog, with record number 100 just around the corner, I immediately knew I simply had to review this one as fast as I could once I was made aware of its release.
Aptly titled as the alternate side to Brokie's previous album, SWAGGOT! (B SIDE) follows directly in the footsteps of its predecessor in terms of sound, style and lyrical themes. Even with the "evil new producer" narrative rightly not being followed upon due to it concluding by the end of the original record, a lot of the regular tracks revolve around similar things across both albums, and the new kid on the block offers an 11-minute long introduction as a sort of replacement of the comedic segments - albeit an introduction that really doesn't connect on any front to the album itself, and is moreso simply a fun recording of three friends chatting and arguing over what food they want to order for the evening with no other context. A bit amusing, yet seems a bit random compared to the original's intro, interlude and outro, and also lasts far longer than all of those, when it could have potentially been chopped up and scattered within the album instead.
The tracks also appear to be relatively similar in quality, with both the strengths and especially the drawbacks being carried through - aside from the odd diamond in the rough, a majority of the songs - of which there are many once more - either don't have enough keeping them afloat as particularly interesting, or have the one or other element to them that tank any sort of potential they could have had. The most common of these that was noticeable was the messy volume mixing making some of the instrumentals far louder than they should have been, and more importantly, the boosted bass practically drowning out Brokie's otherwise very good rap flow and everything else that could positively stick out about some of the songs. It overall lead to very few songs actually being enjoyable enough to be worth more than a singular listen for me.
Just like the "A-Side" of SWAGGOT!, this side also naturally doesn't just go without its notabilities that are worth a mention: the first actual song in the record, "Y'ALL DON'T KNOW MY BODY!", is legitimately great, with the rapper's snappy and satisfying rap style coming into full display atop an ear-catching sample, with some other tracks finding themselves being amongst the best the album has to offer, such as "RUNNIN, GUNNIN, GONE!" with its comparatively less conventional speed, rhythm and energy, "BINGO!" with its pure hyper energy and commitment to use the trusty boosted bass to its advantage by matching everything else in the song to it and go full-on barging, and "TRISHY!" with its use of the jersey beat halfway through.
In spite of landing on a similar overall level of quality to its original for mostly different reasons, in a way, the B-Side album directly parallels what came before it, achieving some truly high peaks and yet sinking down whenever things don't go its way. This could once again be a far more worthwhile listen for someone with more passion for the hip-hop genre, and there is certainly bits of quality music to find in this monstrously large sea of rap tracks, but as a whole album, it ultimately doesn't stand much on its ground due to the foundations simply being overly rocky - a shame, given how highly I personally think of ISSBROKIE's best music.