Providence based artists and Coventry natives Mike Jencks and Dan Pomfret have been making music together in some shape or form for nearly a decade. Together, they’re both part of the acclaimed hip hop band Toad & The Stooligans as co-rappers and co-vocalists with Pomfret also unleashing riffs on guitar. Jencks has his own prolific solo hip hop project that’s known as ToadStool while Pomfret has an array of stellar tunes that he’s released under his own name along with extraordinary social media content. At the turn of the 2020s, these two artistic forces collaborated once again to start the project Ronald Raygun, which spawned a self-titled debut album back in February 2021. Following that release, they recently self-released “Ronald Raygun II: This Time It’s Personable” on October 22.

Going into the songwriting and recording process, both Jencks and Pomfret wanted to take everything to a new level. This ranged from the election-themed marketing and promotion to involving various collaborators and to an increased emphasis on the structures and arrangements of the songs.

“We wanted to top every single aspect of the first outing with better beats, better mixing, bringing in important features, and just really honing in on the campaigning of it,” Jencks says about the making of the album. “Dan & I have both come such a long way from ‘Gun 1’ that we felt we not only had new tricks to show, but something to prove. Like ‘Oh, y’all liked that first one? Here’s something that upgrades that on every single level.’”

“‘Ronald Raygun II’ is the culmination of four years of musical inspiration,” Pomfret adds. “When we released the first album, I was surprised at how much people seemed to like it. It was impulsive, rough cut, sewn together, and quintessentially us. This time, I was not surprised that people liked it. I like it a lot, I think it’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever done and for every hour of work I put into it, Mike put in 10. The mixtape-esque edits, the goofiness, the attention deficit nature of it, it’s exactly what I like.”

With Strange Famous Records hip hop artist Jesse The Tree in the fold, “Duck Liver” has these wicked cool saxophone samples and excellent beats. They got Mike Slap, who folks might know from his time as part of the hip hop band Symmetry, his work with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and/or as one half of current genre-bending project Caek and Minko, involved in the soulful “Half Of It”, which is another example of how great the samples are. Other collaborations people need to check out are the low-key “Grandeur” with Chachi Carvalho and “Shepherd’s Pie”, which has NAHReally, Esh & The Isolations and Rose Image joining in on a total rhymefest. For folks who are looking to hear Jencks and Pomfret’s lyrical exchange, they should dive into “Spirit Gun”, “Pain! // One Dollar”, “Bus Stops” and “Worked All Day”. Regardless of what my opinions are, whoever gives this incredible album a listen should do so from start to finish for the full experience.

To do exactly that, give “Ronald Raygun II: This Time It’s Personable” a stream and perhaps even make a purchase on Bandcamp at ronaldraygun4president.bandcamp.com. It’s also available on various streaming platforms, which include Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes and Deezer. When you’re ready to give this full-length release a listen, make sure to do so while immersing your senses in a modern day example of real and genuine hip-hop.