REVIEW: Wifisfuneral - Ethernet

Ethernet is the fourth full-length project from South Florida rapper Wifisfuneral.  Unlike his other Floridian peers like Kodak Black, XXXTentacion, and Ski Mask The Slump God, Wifisfuneral has always been more low-key.  Hell, I didn't even know he dropped something until yesterday.  It wasn't even on Spotify's New Releases page.  I personally think he is better lyrically than a good portion of the rappers I enjoy and I've been wanting him to blow up since I first heard his 2017 mixtape Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Positives

I think Ethernet is a very appropriate title for a project by Wifisfuneral.  Since people hail ethernet as the death of wifi and Wifisfuneral's name implies that wifi is dead, it makes for a clever title.  His bars, flow, and beat selection are very solid on this project.  I liked most of the hooks on this project, too.  It felt very cohesive and consistent throughout and was a concise 12 songs and 32 minutes.  I also thought the first half was especially solid.

Negatives

While there was little room for filler, there also wasn't much room for new material.  5 of the 12 songs in the tracklisting had been released as singles throughout 2018, which only leaves 7 new songs.  And even though the music on this album is consistent, it also blends together too well.  Most of these songs sound the same and make for some forgettable moments, such as most of the second half.

Features

Ethernet had the most high-profile features on any Wifi project.  5 other artists were featured throughout.

1) UnoTheActivist (Every Fucking Pill In the World) - I'd like to point out that UnoTheActivist also dropped a 3-song EP yesterday and it's pretty good.  I can say the same for his feature on this project.  He comes in with a very dark tone.  It sounds a bit whispery but I liked it.

Verdict: Liked

2) KEY (Don't Touch Me) - His feature was easily the worst part of this project.  His hook and background vocals sounded awful and his verse wasn't much better.

Verdict: Disliked

3) Jay Critch (Knots) - His verse was pretty solid.  He brought some energy to the track.

Verdict: Liked

4) Lil Skies (LilSkiesFuneral) - Just another generic Lil Skies verse.  Nothing to see here.

Verdict: Ehhhh

5) YBN Nahmir (Juveniles) - It's a decent verse, but it's nothing we haven't heard before.  It doesn't really affect the track in any way.

Verdict: Ehhhh

Singles

5 singles were released before the project.

1) 25 Lighters - It's a pretty good song.  I liked the production from Smash David.  The hook's pretty catchy and there were some pretty nice verses.

Verdict: Liked

2) Genesis - I've always wanted to hear Wifisfuneral over Ronny J production and we finally got it in 2018 with "Snakes" form Ronny's album and on this song.  Ronny J kills it as usual and Wifi did his thing.

Verdict: Liked

3) Knots (feat. Jay Critch) - Smash David is back on production for this song and it sounds pretty good.  I thought the use of triplet flows throughout was pretty interesting.  The hook is a bit repetitive but it's okay and I liked Jay Critch's contribution.

Verdict: Liked

4) LilSkiesFuneral (feat. Lil Skies) - This song sounded like a leftover from Boy Who Cried Wolf.  It includes pretty standard Cris Dinero production and a generic Lil Skies feature.  It's not a bad song, but I don't think it's good either.

Verdict: Ehhhh

5) Juveniles (feat. YBN Nahmir) - I saw this song as something different for Wifisfuneral.  I've always heard him over standard trap production but never heard him over West Coast G-Funk.  The song samples "Back That Azz Up" by Juvenile and it makes a pretty good use of it and I thought YBN Nahmir's verse was okay.

Verdict: Liked

Best Tracks

1) IMVU - The song features production from TheLabCook, the producer behind Rich The Kid's "Plug Walk."  I like that Wifi switches his flow for the second verse and I liked his hook here too.

2) Every Fucking Pill In the World (feat. UnoTheActivist) - This was my favorite song on the entire project based on the instrumental alone.  Uno absolutely killed his feature here.

3) Loading Withdrawals - This song had one of my favorite hooks on here and I liked Cris Dinero's production.  He knows how to make beats that give off a chill vibe.

4) Connection - This was my favorite song in the back half of the album.  I think Wifi's flows shine best on this song and I thought the beat from Cris Dinero was especially solid.

Worst Track

Don't Touch Me (feat. KEY) - This was the only song that I thought was genuinely terrible.  KEY's contribution was awful and it didn't help that he took up a bulk of the track.  The instrumental for this song was also the weakest.

Conclusion

I liked this album but didn't love it.  There were many enjoyable aspects but I felt that Wifisfuneral played it a bit too safe on this project.  If I were to describe this in one word, it would be the word that I kept repeating throughout this review: solid.

Score: 6/10
Sadly, this probably won't be the project that propels Wifisfuneral into the mainstream.  I can't decide whether I liked this project or Boy Who Cried Wolf better.  This project was more consistent, but also didn't have as many hard-hitting songs like "Grim Part 2" or "Lil Jeff Hardy."

This concludes my eleventh review.  I will be posting another review later today (it will be of Future's Superfly Soundtrack) and my review for Kids See Ghosts will be up by tomorrow.