S. Dot, Tuk da Gat, MelodicScience Recordings, and Stormshadow

S. Dot and Tuk da Gat

MelodicScience Recordings

Stormshadow

With anticipation building for the May 7 release of the League of Extraordinary G'z Concealed Weapons 2 mixtape and the summer releases from the South Austin conglomerate of COD and Southbound and Dred Skott's self-titled debut, COD duo S. Dot and Tuk da Gat prove their mettle on the streetwise cipher of their decidedly casual White Boy Mixtape. Nothing phenomenal, WBM hits "More Barz" of wordplay and rhythmic mix-ups ("Go Get It") that prove how lyrically deep LOEG'z runs. Marquee contributions from Reggie Coby ("Ladies") and COD poppa doc Mr. Greezo ("Last Call") keep things fresh. Out of the 2-3, Mirage and his MelodicScience crew brush the dust off their Formula 512 franchise seven years after Mirage's Soul Odyssey kicked off the movement. Vol. 2's a different makeup, with Formula 512 co-founder Arson Optics only putting down his Houston hitmaker flavor on two tracks, "On That Shit" and "Another Day Another Dollar." Instead, it's Mirage's Guud folk – Young Nick, Trashman, Blacc Goliath – who keep Vol. 2 as funky as it's blunted ("Orijinal"). The country-fried "Keep It Pimpin'," featuring Countrifried and Blacc Goliath and a spot feature of ATL's Killer Mike going for broke on "Goin to Ghana," should keep Vol. 2 bumping around barbecues all summer. The newcomer in the mix is Stormshadow, whose The Sleeper Must Awaken flips and twists and is over before you even have time to run for cover. At 35 minutes, a fifth of which is dedicated to the wildly diverse lead track "The Hunger," Stormshadow dishes out serious bang for your buck with the microphone assault of "Pouring Out My Heart" and "Seven Seas." Sleeper's lasting impression comes via "It's You (Uni-Vac Remixx)," in which Stormshadow gets downright nasty trading lines with the Superlover Shania D. It's chaos and then it's gone, like a true Texas Storm.