Before he became Stoic‚ and Doechii’s Alligator Bites Never Heal brought his production to an awards show‚ Matthew Moleta was a kid on Staten Island spent his nights recreating Earl Sweatshirt’s Doris and Joey Badass’s 1999 by ear on a laptop‚ learning how other producers thought as he built their drums and their sample chops one element at a time․ As kid playing a guitar‚ he grew up listening to classic rock and bossa nova and The Strokes․ He learned beatmaking during a GarageBand session at an Apple Store summer camp‚ and bought a pad controller at age seventeen to upload beats to his YouTube channel so he could listen to them in his car․ He was in nursing school when his type-beat income exceeded his salary‚ telling New Wave Magazine he loved making beats and hated nursing‚ so it was almost a no-brainer․ Three collab albums and placements with Mick Jenkins and JID followed‚ plus “Bullfrog” for Doechii‚ that got him a Grammy certificate for Best Rap Album in 2025․
His first solo project PAELLA! mainly consists of other artists questioning․ MAVI asks who he goes to for advice that’s still alive on “FREEFALL,” and where’s his escape from elevation‚ who can he trust for sight still unblinded since the lights and the fans? His father’s run at his race and his mother’s on the same tip․ He can’t face either of them․ “I made way too much money to believe you just in love with me/Love is steep‚ money cheap‚ trust a leap funny thing․” As Stoic and amarah provide hard drums, guitar and vocal samples, MAVI says he’s lonely‚ that he sabotages before he knows it․ Ovrkast․ picks up from that cut with the opposite register‚ freefalling through space with nothing to catch him and then immediately pivoting to telling his cousins how to get on‚ ransacking racks‚ saying his soul was never sold․
Stoic said in the same interview that he’s in a very lucky position‚ that he gets to work with some of the most talented artists in music right now and also call them friends‚ and that ninety percent of them were on board with no convincing․ Stoic describes the paella as being a dish made with whatever ingredients you can find to make the best thing․ What he found‚ mostly‚ were people willing to say uncomfortable things over his guitar loops․ Along with BIG LUKE, Q THA HERO on the bossa nova “GANG SAMBA” starts his verse on Cartier buffs and a bust-down wrist‚ then turns․ He’s seventeen with a dream and in a couple weeks he’s going to college to get more knowledge․ But he doubts his own ability․ His people are in cells and neither of them has a permit․ Q strips the bravado away completely: “How can I dance/While my niggas in trouble/My brothers been locked in the cage/For so many days/They ready to rumble.” He says it’s okay to tell people you love them․ He’s giving them their flowers today․ Any moment they’re problems doubled over․
Some come from fame‚ some come from incarceration‚ some come from ambition‚ medication‚ exhaustion․ Some‚ like Nina Taylor‚ wonder why even try․ Through this line of questioning‚ Deante’ Hitchcock wonders where the line is drawn between the divine and obsession․ In “LOSING TIME,” faith is belief when nobody else shows interest․ The only difference between you and your peers is consistency․ In the midst of irony‚ it’s like: “Tell me if our talent is how we talk to the heavens/Then I question where’s the line/Between divine and obsession․” I think if you’re completely defined by your job‚ all those ‘blessings’ are just getting in the way․ Nina sings the hook around him with the groovy backdrop: overthinking‚ seeking answers she can’t find‚ stressing‚ losing time․
Across both tracks‚ starting on “PAY NO MIND,” jev․ is asking God for forgiveness and saying God watches like the feds do․ In and out of his mind‚ that’s what the meds do․ He’s drinking out of bottles and watering his bad habits․ Who the fuck am I? “A fashion nigga outrapping niggas/I’m the feeling you get after pulling the trigger/I’m the healing you get analyzing on Twitter․” Confidence is a drug to the average․ A wicked world with no affection and no direction‚ and someone trying to go platinum in a comment section․ On a different song, he names the same crisis from behind a layer of bravado‚ describing a friend who crashed out on Instagram with nobody coming to the shows‚ praying the coin flips‚ homeless and begging for a promotion‚ and then says the friend is him․
Not everyone showed up lost‚ though․ Wynne on the laidback “HAIRCUT” came to end a relationship‚ and her verse lays down such total control․ She’ll take the finder’s fee on whoever gets you next‚ saying this shouldn’t be a rivalry and why does he see a scoreboard‚ tells him the only time they click is when he’s laying wood like a floorboard․ “I’m the mac and cheese with brisket/Cream of spinach‚ cornbread biscuit․” Touching lips with her is probably the closest distance to heaven he’ll have‚ she says․ Enjoy the visit․ “You couldn’t pull out a rock/So here I am with the scissors․” Trevor Spitta rapping on the chopped-up “COULD NEVER BE ME,” going from Mr․ Speech Impediment to Mr․ Get Drunk Text an Ex Again to Mr․ Best Friends with Benjamin‚ and Italian leather in his closet and skeletons in yours (also spits this gem, “I chat hoes‚ you ChatGPT ‘em․”)․
On “UP & AWAY!,” as Kaicrewsade provides a verse and a rapid-fire hook with a jazzy composition, Mick Jenkins is more down to earth too‚ calling out people chasing chicken with blurred vision‚ running a Ruth Chris comparison‚ landing on a QP in the air․ But with the solo outing “HEAT UP,” the jokes fall off․ The pharmacy is going to keep you sick‚ he says‚ and he needs it farm to table․ “This honesty ain’t for no bitch/You can’t just say you joking․” He’s seen the same ones choking who couldn’t swallow their pride, while Stoic gave him the electric guitar boom-bap goodness․ All he sees is vultures‚ optical illusions․
Nyck Caution’s and CJ Fly’s verses on the posse-cut “HUNTING SEASON” could have been written any day‚ over any beat‚ for any album‚ in any year: sick of people acting like they’ve got it‚ set the stage‚ limits are limits‚ stay in your field․ CJ Fly says he rapped his verse off the dome‚ and it sounds like it․ Meanwhile‚ LIFEOFTHOM’s “BY MY SIDE” over a ‘80s soulful sample circles through the same relationship questions for the full song: How you love me when it’s showing that you don’t care․ Why we fuss‚ why we cry․ You by my side‚ you by my side․ Blvck Svm opens the album with “PEGAO,” a different kind of verse‚ an extended sea-monster conceit‚ kraken under the surface‚ a vessel losing inertia‚ tentacles reaching for the hull‚ entropy discouraged‚ a cast-iron levee against villainous swells‚ that brings him and Stoic to the same place․ “Me and Stoski in remote location talking paella/Hushed inflections regarding a bossa nova collusion․” He calls a prior collaboration a prototype and this one level three of the fusion․ Stoic described his process as humming a melody stuck in his head that day rather than following a formula or a template․
Great (★★★★☆)
Favorite Track(s): “FREEFALL,” “HAIRCUT,” “GANG SAMBA”