HELLO TUGGERS!
WARNING: This newsletter may be too long for email! You may need to click into the newsletter to read the entirety of it.
This week has been insane in the underground, so I figured why not drop in and give the play by play? So strap in and lets recap all the recent happenings in the scene!
Lo Key releases Release 4!
If you’re not familiar with Lo Key’s Release series, it’s basically a place for him to collect loosie singles, feature tracks, rarities and all kinds of random material from the recent past into a nice little compilation. For juggalos, you might refer to this as Lo Key’s version of Forgotten Freshness or Cryptic Collection.
Lo Key dropped the first Release album in 2007 and has, if we do the math, released two more volumes over the past 20 or so years. This past Monday, 4/14, Release 4, the latest of these compilations, hit ShadowlandShop as well as Loke’s brand new digital download store, where he is offering his entire catalog in both 320 mp3 and super high quality WAV format for the first time ever!
Honestly, Release 4 might be the best of the Release series yet! The album is a nice mix of digital only singles Lo Key has released in the 2020s like “DXMINATE” and “OMWTKYB” as well as a number of brand new songs, never heard anywhere, like “GIMME A HUG”, which sounds like an outtake from Lo Key’s recent LXVE EP, and “On The Road”, a somber track about constantly living on the road, away from friends and loved ones. “On The Road” features a gorgeous hook from an artist named Crow, who is new to me, but sings like an angel on here. This track would be a stand out on most Lo Key records, so to have it tossed onto this compilation is a nice treat!
Release 4 is absolutely worth your time! There is a little bit of everything Lo Key does on here, emotional rap, horrorcore, rock music, electronic music, you name it! Definitely pick this one up!
FamZ announces his new album, Limbus
This Tuesday, FamZ from The HooliganZ announced his upcoming album, Limbus. As you can tell from the image above, the album is dropping May 26th and features 9 tracks, including guest verses from Doc Gruesome, Stray, Nastie Ink and B.T.G.
What the image doesn’t get into is the production on this record. Limbus will be entirely produced by Inpherno, an up and coming producer who just happens to be FamZ’s 13 year old son! If you’ve heard the Hooliganz track “Deadmanwalkin’” from last October, you’ve gotten a taste of Inpherno’s beats. If that track is any example(or featured here), this is gonna be a dope little album. It’s been a long while since we had a new album from the HooliganZ camp, so this is definitely something to get excited for!
Limbus pre orders are available RIGHT HERE!
Doc Gruesome’s $criptkeeper is available for pre order right now!
Doc Gruesome’s fifth solo album, $criptkeeper, is officially dropping on July 22nd! Doc has said that the album will be a unique blend of aggressive punk rock and trap music. So far, Doc has released two singles from the album. The first single, “BRAIN DED”, dropped back in February and after some streaming delays, the second single, “$OULREAVER”, just dropped this Thursday!
Also on Thursday, Doc dropped the INSANE pre orders for the $criptkeeper album. Pre orders are live on the Cerberus Clique store and feature some of the dopest merch designs I’ve ever seen from Doc.
These colorful but clean designs and graffiti inspired imagery are so up my alley! I had to drop a couple bucks to get a few items from this drop, and you should to! In my opinion, Doc Gruesome continues to grow and get better with every album. The Great Mortality and 2 Late 4 Love Songs were easily two of my favorite records released in the underground last year, and I have no doubt that Doc will one up himself again on Scriptkeeper! Go grab that!
Ouija Macc announces new album, Chlorine!
This past Thursday, Ouija Macc announced his second release of 2025, Chlorine! The album is set to drop on May 23rd and pre orders are live on the Chapter 17 Records site right now!
Along with the pre orders, Ouija dropped the first single from the album today! The single is called “W1CC7T SH17” and it’s available everywhere right now!
Ouija has been on an incredible run over the past year or so. Darcc Planet, Psycho Babble and Temple of Ash have been some of his best records to date, in my opinion, so I’m definitely stoked to see what he has for us on Chlorine.
By the way, if you aren’t a scientist, Chlorine is the 17th element on the periodic table. So Chlorine = 17. Get it?
Alla Xul Elu releases Horns Over Halos single and music video!
As discussed in the last DIFTUG Newsletter, Alla Xul Elu’s Gods of Evil Rise album is FINALLY being released, after literal years of delays, on May 9th!
Xul just released the album’s second single, “Horns Over Halos” digitally, along with a dope lil’ music video for you to watch repeatedly all weekend.
“Horns Over Halos” has been teased for roughly two years now. A.X.E. first played the song on their YouTube show, Tuesday Night Terror in April of 2023! The music video was filmed on October 17, 2023. The same day as S.O.N’s video for “Eclipse”.
Outside of the initial Tuesday Night Terror preview, the boys have since played the song live a handful of times at various events like Camp Xul and Axemas, so I’ve heard this song quite a bit at this point. That being said, I was not prepared for how good the final product would sound! you can hear the Mike E Clark thumb print all over this thing, in the layered sounds, the vocal production, all of it.
Based on the sound of this single, it’s obvious that the wait for this album will be worth it. This feels like our first real taste of what Alla Xul Elu and Mike E Clark are capable of with their powers combined, and if it’s any indicator of the full LP, this thing is gonna be fucking crazy.
The Bastard Son pre orders are touching down nationwide!
After months of waiting, physical pre orders for Somethin Outta Nothin’s The Bastard Son album are finally touching down on porches and mailboxes around the country and they are ABSOLUTELY worth the wait!
The Umbra mask goes fucking crazy but even if you just ordered the CD, this thing is just as impressive.
In an era where artists often sell albums in a slim cardboard cover for up to $20, or, if you’re lucky, a jewel case with a single page insert with nothing but credits, S.O.N went above and beyond here. Without completely spoiling anything for those still awaiting their packages, but this album comes with a slip cover featuring unique artwork(seen above) and the actual CD inside comes with a sizable booklet with written out, thoughtful Thank You notes, instructions on how to commune with Umbra through this album, lore information on Umbra himself and lots of full color, original art you won’t see on streaming. There’s even a “Coming Soon” section featuring albums from artists associated from Legion Realm, none of which have been announced anywhere else yet!
The Bastard Son CDs are currently sold out, but when they go back up, treat yourself. This is an album package worth owning! It makes me feel like I did as a kid, buying a new album and poring over the art and packaging while I listen.
4/20 Weekend drops incoming!
April 20th is this Sunday! If you’re not familiar with April 20th, it just so happens to be weed’s birthday! Happy early birthday, weed!
Since a lot of artists in this scene just ADORE weed, they would not possibly let its birthday come and go without dropping some new music to celebrate! So, what weed music can you expect this weekend?
First, underground up and comers Hell’z Bellz, fresh off the release of their sick new album, Advocate of the Devil, are releasing a brand new 4/20 EP called The Devilz Let Us! The four track EP is dropping on all platforms this Saturday, April 19th at 4:20pm EST. You like the Devil? You like weed? Check this shit out! And in general, give these guys a shot! I have a feeling you’ll be hearing a lot more from them this year.
Then, the very next day, on April 20th itself, weed’s very birthday, this time at 4:20am EST, Stray will be dropping “Where’s The Weed At? (Remix)” exclusively on his YouTube channel.
“Where’s The Weed At? (Remix)” will be a remix/freestyle from Stray over the classic Kottonmouth Kings song from their 2006 Koast II Koast album. If you know Stray, you know this will be an absolute banger and I will be furious with him for putting it on YouTube, where I can’t add it to playlists. Hey, speaking of playlists…
DIFTUG Radio
If you’re not following the DIFTUG Radio playlist, get on that!
I’m doing my best to constantly update this thing with the latest singles and new album tracks from your favorite artists in the underground, plus some up and comers you may not be familiar with yet. Think of it as the underground equivalent to Spotify’s RapCaviar or Today’s Top Hits playlists. I’m doing my best to make it your one stop place to find new music in this scene and to keep it as up to date as possible. The playlist runs about 60 songs, with the newest, biggest drops at the very top. So, if you’re just looking to hear the newest songs of the day, just hit play. If you wanna bounce around to some of the best drops of the past few months, hit shuffle.
I put a lot of work into this thing and I think it’s worth your time. Give it a shot, if it sounds interesting to you. If not, idk, fuck me, I guess.
https://music.apple.com/.../diftug-radio/pl.u-jdpjsD1Pa22
K, bye
This thing is long as fuck. If you read all of it, thanks so much! If not, that’s fine, you don’t even know I’m saying this part.
Have a great weekend, don’t get too crazy on weed’s birthday and I’ll talk to you soon.
New episode of DIFTUG on YouTube dropping 4/30, featuring a preview of a brand new show, brought to you by DIFTUG, which will drop on 5/2. We’re just getting started over here!
Kisses,
Robbie