The wait is over. Shoreline Mafia’s debut studio album is finally here. Within these last three years the city of Los Angeles has witnessed the group’s career in its entirety. From their early success in 2017 with the group’s standout tracks such as “Musty” and “Bottle Service” that were played by every DJ at a West-Coast function. To see the group’s music exceed the California border, connecting with artists from all across the country, and having their music into the hands of the mainstream audience. The group brought a new sound and style as an alternative to the typical LA hip-hop we were used to in prior years. This album has been in the works since right after the group released the mixtape ‘ShorelineDoThatShit’ back in 2018, so after two long years ‘Mafia Bidness’ is here.
The album is a total of 21 tracks long. The entire project is executive produced by Ron-Ron The Producer, and rightfully so because the producer has been with the group since the very beginning, as the man behind most of Shoreline’s biggest records. Throughout the summer, the group released five singles prior to the release of their debut album. With the lead single being “Gangstas & Sippas” featuring Q Da Fool, and then later remixed with a verse from West Coast staple, YG. That was followed by Lil Yachty featuring “Ride Out”, “Change Ya Life”, “Perc Popper”, and “How We Do It” featuring Wiz Khalifa that samples Montell’s Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It”.
After the introduction, the first track is “Run It Back” featuring 03 Greedo. It samples Juvenile’s hit song “Back That Azz Up”. This song needs to be kept neatly on ice until outside safely opens back up so we can see its full potential. The track consists of verses from all four Shoreline members which is a rare feat nowadays. The very next song, “All The Time”, OhGeesy takes on the song solo. On “F**k It Up”, Anticoch, CA native Mike Sherm and Fenix display great chemistry.
One of the biggest features you could land today, regardless of genre, is Future. The Atlanta legend is featured on “Poe the Drop”, and he shines as usual. Fenix spazzes for the first minute of “Do the Most” to go along with a solid verse from Duke Deuce. A definite highlight is ‘Hold On/ Musty Freestyle” as Drakeo The Ruler’s freestyle is reprised on the album to pay homage and bring awareness. 1TakeJay & OhGeesy rap about what women they prefer on the Cypress Moreno produced track, “Bitches”. Kodak Black is another artist most wouldn’t expect on Shoreline Mafia’s debut album, but he raps the hook for “On the Low ”, which is one of the better songs on the entire album. On “Fully Loaded” it features LA’s Nfant & Detroit rapper GT, who previously worked with Shoreline on the track “Swear To God”. The final track is “Bands” added as a bonus, which is the group’s biggest commercial hit to date, released back in 2018, might have been intended for the album initially, but will undoubtably boost album sales in 2020.
‘Mafia Bidness’ was long overdue. Some of the tracks with larger features felt strongly suggested by the label, while the tracks with the West-Coast artists felt more organic. Fenix Flexin’ & Rob Vicious shined on this album, and with Fenix leaving the group after this release, we can definitely look forward to Fenix Flexin’s solo career. With OhGeesy & Fenix Flexin both set to release upcoming solo projects, the future of Shoreline Mafia is in doubt. This is the end of an era, and Mafia Bidness was the exclamation point on Shoreline Mafia’s time together. Mafia Bidness is out now on all streaming platforms.
