Was put onto this album by Hip Hop Lifers Anthony L’Italien and I gotta give those props, because I hadn’t heard of Wolffy before and this join wasn’t on the radar, but I’m glad it made it into my headphones. It’s the debut album from Wolffy, and he is my kind of emcee. He attacks the mic with relentless vigour and aggression and picks beats that are really heavy and hard – so it’s right in my pocket and I have to acknowledge that bias! But, aside from all that, the album itself is really good hip hop. Wolffy has good substance and pen game so it’s more than just the delivery and style of the album – he actually has some quality bars and stories to tell.
The Salem, Mass emcee took his time to drop this debut album, working tirelessly over a period of about three years (and ditching 10+ tracks in the process) in the careful curation of ‘Betrayal’. The attention to quality can be felt throughout the album, because from the jump it pulls you in and never releases your focus. It’s cohesive, coherent and varied throughout which is important because this has huge replay value and each spin uncovers another bar or angle you hadn’t caught the first time.
Without putting it in a pigeon hole, this is authentic, hardcore hip hop. The dusty, boom bap beats are there courtesy of DJ Slipwax, Mello Dee, Silly Grinn etc and it has that dark, edgy sound captured in both beats and bars. The features are very limited too, only Block McCloud gets a nod, but when the album is 13 tracks, 33 minutes and is your debut, that is fantastic because it gives us nothing but an introduction to Wolffy as an artist. And it’s safe to say he’s hit that ‘must check for’ list after this kick ass album that slaps harder than Will Smith.
Bangers: When I Die, D.E.A.D, BADDEAL, Intro
Score: 9 / 10. A high quality hip hop album that stands out already in a strong field of 2022. Wolffy can spit bars and does so with venom and an attitude that can’t be f’d with. His ability to paint some darker pictures and capture them on track, has the listener immersed, and he has an ear for beats because the production is top notch and creates a really strong soundscape for the more brutal bars and delivery that Wolffy brings. This is a must-play, and fans of grimey, heavy hitting hip hop, will love this.
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