Steve 'Flash' JuonNever judge a book by the cover art. I thought “Mwah! (B Side)” would be some DEMONDICE style rap from an American heavily influenced by Japanese culture. The cover art would be where that idea ends. ISSBROKIE (I’m not typing that exclamation point each time) is 100% a 2020’s rapper from the same tradition as Trippie Redd or Wifisfuneral. There’s a little bit of irony in the latter reference since the only album of theirs I reviewed to date is “Ev3rything Sucks” and that’s how I felt listening to the aptly named “BOREDOM.” People who say “all your music fucking sucks” and rap like this are living in glass houses.
We’re at a “you never loved me mom” level here. Where’s Ahmir Thompson when you need him? I pressed on though and tried to find something more palatable. “QUEEN OF TYPE BEATS!” was slightly better. “Meditating in some orange drip like a Buddhist.” Okay, maybe not. There’s some decent bass and a clear flow, but the instrumental is just a random set of notes looped on repeat, and telling off other rappers with cocky lyrics like “droppin’ shit nobody coppin'” isn’t a good look here. Not one person is copping “Mwah! (B Side)” to own it. You might stream it out of curiosity but you sure as hell ain’t buying it.
I mean look — I could be wrong. On YouTube the artist born Steph Monroe has 47,000 subscribers. That’s not enough for a plaque from Google but it’s a hell of a lot more than nothing. She also apparently uses the aliases shteppi and BROKIE and is part of a collective called KARMAMØB that has achieved some notoriety. If I haven’t already established it on this site I’ll say it again: you can be big in California and unknown everywhere else. I’m struggling to hear what’s special about “VIP!” though. It’s more run-of-the-mill shit talking. I’m the best, I go straight to VIP, everybody loves me, yadda yadda yadda.
If there’s one thing that impressed me about Steph it’s how genderfluid the AutoTune makes this album. I don’t hear a man or a woman here, I hear a computerized simulation of a human being. The fact that this is called “B Side” implies the existence of an “A Side” to go along with it, but I’m keeping it real and saying I’d pass on that. What’s here is a basic level of competence. ISSBROKIE isn’t mindlessly shitting all over the beats, and the sounds would easily fit any random viral TikTok rap artist, but her attitude way exceeds her artistic level. Frankly it’s self-absorbed and narcissistic in a way that’s unpleasant to listen to so I recommend you don’t.