I’m a little late to the party, but you’ve got to excuse me as C***D boosters ain’t no whore.

DMV artist PHZ-Sicks hit my line with his latest, “Scorpion Scales,” last week and I’ve been sitting on it since I first got it. Not because it’s bad or anything, though. Hell no. “Scorpion Scales” is lyrical as hell and for those stuck-in-the-90s dudes, beat-wise, while being for who still accept new-school hip-hop and the classics. This one’s strength lies in its lyricism, as the brother gives us bars while walking that fine line between consciousness and “I’ll still bash your face in if you fuck with me the wrong way.” It’s good stuff, truly.

Produced by KDaGreat, who handled co-production duties on Tech N9ne’s 2020 track “Specter,” we’re given gritty boombap that sounds like a mix between Griselda and DMV hip-hop. If 2022 is the year of the comeback, PHZ-Sicks seems poised for a great one. Check out the track below, via Bandcamp, and support dope music in all its forms.