The Punchline Academy is a collective formed by The Bronx, New York producer, videographer, entrepreneur & SiriusXM host Da Inphamus Amadeuz. Exemplifying what it means to be a modern hip hop mogul, he brings together a powerhouse roster featuring iconic names & underground talents to bridge hip hop’s golden era with its evolving modern landscape on the Academy’s first lesson being taught through their full-length debut studio album entirely produced by none other than it’s leader.
Onyx & Ricky Bats get together for a 5 minute freestyle as the intro with Onyx outshining Ricky over a horn-heavy boom bap instrumental whereas “Delay the Drama” by Styles P & Blazin was a great choice of a lead single as they get together telling y’all to come fuck with the real. “It’s Like a Jungle” by Blazin, Kiko Medina, Rah tha Ruler, Shortee Sha, Spittin Image & Tahmell brings the sextet together to showcase their punchline abilities in 3 & a half minutes, but then “Another Day” by Amber Simone & Tahmell heads for a jazzy boom bap direction giving a look at another day in their lives.
“Can’t Do Nothing Right” by G. Dep showcases how much he still has it lyrically even if one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye formerly known as Kanye West is demanding that disgraced Bad Boy Entertainment founder Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy should be freed from federal custody & even going as low as to release Free Puff merch on his Yeezy webstore in a 50/50 collaboration with Diddy’s own fashion-line Sean John when his abuse of women has been well documented at this point just before “ICU” gives Rah tha Ruler a chance to shine on his own.
Kiko Medina & Tahmell link back up with each other on “Dope Spot” refusing to stop until they run the whole block while “Keeping the Culture” by Da Inphamus Amadeus himself reminds the world of his MCing skills coming off The Diam Piece 3: Duo last month. “Character” by Rah tha Ruler, SOS Bishop & Spittin Image addressing those who wanna know if they feel the pressure while “Air Traffic Control” by Canibus & Tahmell flexes how fly they are. “I Don’t Like That” by Blazin, Kiko Medina, Rah tha Ruler & Tahmell ends the colelctive’s debut expressing their dislikes in people.
This guy has proven himself as a driving force both on stage & behind the scenes moving hip hop culture forward, so for him to come together by naming this new collective after his weekly show on SiriusXM’s Shade 45 only makes sense. His production is primarily based in the traditional boom bap sound & all the guests showcasing their punchline abilities. If there’s an ever another lesson in The Punchline Playbook as its title suggests, I think the saga could get even better as it is with time.
Score: 8/10
