Z Money • Rich Before Rap 2

In the midst of the drill craze that took the country by storm in 2012 and continued into the years following, one name was able to rise to the forefront by unloading a treasure trove of music at once. That man was Z-Money and his simultaneous release of two mixtapes at once acted as a sort of prelude to the haphazard release schedules of the scene today. Away for the last couple years dealing with some auxiliary issues, it appears that Z Money is finally back, with a full-length project, the follow up to his 2013 project Rich Before Rap hitting the streets over the weekend.

The twelve-song mixtape is the first full-length we've gotten from the Westside rapper since he was picked up for a parole violation around SXSW 2014. The last two years have certainly been a little different without the distinct leftfield aesthetic of the artist famous for tracks like "Want My Money", "Ferragamo" and "Cocky". One obvious change from the first installment of RBR is the absence of longtime collaborator Bandman Kevo, who's seen some issues of his own arise in the last couple of years. Regardless of anything that's gone on in the years since Z Money burst onto the scene, it's great to have him back making music and this one appropriately ends with "Westside" an thinly-veiled ode to the part of Chicago he calls home. 

Check out the full project streaming below and catch a video interview Bryan Allen Lamb and I did with Z at his soul food restaurant on the west side just before he went away for further insight on how he got to this point.