"If something works, stick to it until the chemistry or the spark is no longer there anymore—that's the approach that Baltimore emcee UllNevaNo ("you'll never know") and Norfolk, Virginia producer illien Rosewell decided to go with Confidence Is Everything 2 (CIE2). Consider it new chapter to last year's first release, which was well-received by Hip-Hop heads and critics alike, to the point where Indie label Already Dead Tapes pressed up limited edition gold tape cassettes," read a pseudo-press release sent by the sharp-tongued emcee himself, UllNevaNo. " CIE2 finds Neva finding his mojo, [comfortably] over illien's production and it shows over joints like the graveyard-digging "they all die" where it finds the emcees murdering household names and local emcees, to the groovy haunting chills of "12's over the wire," which he got inspired by Skyzoo & Apollo Brown's The Easy Truth cover artwork. On "use to," the Baltimore emcee very briefly speaks on the social injustice that still goes on in modern day America," Confidence Is Everything 2's press release continues. "Yo, random instrumentals... playin' it simple," UllNevaNo boasts within the opening bars of aptly-titled "the beginning," which is a very fitting description of Confidence Is Everything 2.


Not entirely unlike its predecessor, [Confidence Is Everything] (2015), clocks in at an all-too-brief 15-minutes total for eight illien Rosewell-produced tracks. I first got in touch with UllNevaNo through Baltimore high school engineering teacher, beatsmith, and Soft Peaks drummer John "Jumbled" Bachman. UllNevaNo laced up Jumbled's critically-acclaimed Bmore Club-inflected [I wish it was longer] opener, "Hampden Session;" wherein he ferociously rhymes "ayo, Jumbled. UllNevaNo; yo, my flow supplies water for Mars, it's right here... algorithm application, I rap without reservations... clutch powers rappin' in rush hour traffic. I need that "Green Light" like Jonwayne" amidst spliced up guitar solos. " Neva Rhymes Eloquently Over illien Rosewell's Superior Production Bringing A Champion Hoodie Vibe Right On Time For The Fall/Winter Season," Magnetik Moments (MGNTK) wrote within their on-site blog. Confidence Is Everything 2 is currently available to Buy Now for $5 USD or more at UllNevaNo & illien Rosewell's shared "brand collective," MGNTK Bandcamp and for good measure, I've included their CamCamTV-directed "Touch Some Luck" from last year's [Confidence Is Everything].