iheardasongtoday vol 2: KeepItOnTheDiel “Trust More Valuable Than Love”

iheardasongtoday is about really living with a project before talking about it. Playing it in the car, in the house, running it back on good days and bad ones, and then being honest about what sticks and what does not. This time around, we are not just sitting with an artist, we are sitting with a producer and the world he built.

Trust More Valuable Than Love is a compilation in name, but it feels more like a small universe built around one idea. KeepItOnTheDiel is at the center, pulling in his go-to collaborators and letting them work through different angles of love, loyalty, ego, and the gap between what people say and what they actually do. It is short, it is focused, and it is clearly coming from someone who knows the people he is working with.

The intro, “Guarded,” caught me off balance in a way I did not expect. With a title like Trust More Valuable Than Love, I was bracing for something more aggressive or at least more tense to start the tape off. Instead, we get a smoother, almost lovey dovey record. It is a good song on its own: melodic, well put together, and easy on the ears. But as an opener, it feels a little too soft for where I thought we were headed. I probably would have saved this for another project or at least moved it deeper into the tracklist. It is a strong vibe, it just does not have the grit I want from the first record and it makes the project ease in when I kind of wanted it to punch in.

“High Demand” is where things start to feel more in line with the title. The energy picks up, the beat moves, and Beezyvelli really starts to separate himself as a standout on this EP. He brings high-energy flows, excitement, and the kind of provocative lines that give the project the edge it needs. This is the rawness I was looking for. At the same time, there is a moment in MACHINEMOOK’s section that makes me pause. When he sings “I’m trying to be more than a fan,” follows it with “I brought the bands,” and then immediately asks “is it love or the way you move?” it feels like three different intentions stacked on top of each other. Are we talking about admiration, money, or emotion here It is not a dealbreaker, but it does make the narrative feel a little scrambled if you are really listening. Overall though, the song works, they mesh well, and it definitely made me wonder what a full collab project between these guys would sound like.

“Off The Liq” keeps Beezy’s momentum going. Once again, he feels believable, like someone actually living what he is saying instead of just performing it. His tone and delivery help make MACHINEMOOK’s autotune pop a bit more by contrast, which is a smart pairing. This one feels tailor-made for the women, and it locks in on the emotional side of the project without losing replay value. When Mook opens up on the second verse, that is one of the high points of the song. It feels like we finally get a clearer look at the story behind all this drinking, flexing, and half-guarded emotion.

“Lead You On” might be the most conflicted track for me. I really like the hook by FrshWho. It is catchy, it is something the ladies are going to gravitate toward, and it has just enough bounce for people to twerk to. The core idea is there. But the back-and-forth verse structure does not land for me. The way the verses are split makes the song feel uneven, like the energy is being yanked back and forth instead of building. A love song with two guys trading lines about the same woman can work, but here it just feels off. I honestly think both artists would have shined more with full verses to themselves. Not a bad track at all, just one where I would have preferred a different execution.

Then there is “Haunted,” which is my favorite record on the project. The production is instantly engaging, easily my favorite beat here, and Beezy absolutely snaps on this one. He shows his diversity in a way that proves he is not stuck in one lane. The record has top 40 and crossover potential written all over it, the kind of song that could live on multiple playlists without losing the core of who he is. This is the one I wish came much earlier in the tracklist to really set the tone. The only real issue with “Haunted” is the same one that shows up across the EP: it is too short. It feels like we are only getting a snippet of what the full song could be, and on a record this strong, that is frustrating. I know it is trendy to make shorter songs and cater to the algorithm, but the people who really suffer from that approach are the listeners. This song deserves room to breathe.

“Closure” brings together Diel’s top three collaborators and is absolutely the right way to end the project. It feels like the finale, not just another track tacked on the end. FrshWho and Beezy drop quotable after quotable, stacking punchlines in a way that makes the record feel bigger than the EP’s runtime. This is the kind of writing people want: relatable lines and metaphors they can actually grasp and feel. When Beezy says, “it’s hard as hell to be all as well, ’cause even when I win, you point out all my fails,” I. FELT. THAT. IN. MY. SOUL. A lot of men know exactly what that feels like, trying to level up while someone close to you keeps an updated scoreboard of everything you did wrong. That line alone embodies the tension between trust, love, and emotional exhaustion that the title hints at.

Overall, I like this project. The songs are short, but they get to the point, and there is not a “bad” song on the EP. There are moments where I would rearrange the tracklist, extend records, or rethink structure, but nothing here feels lazy or thrown together. I would personally tone down some of the autotune and the more robotic moments in the mix, but to be fair, it is in line with where the industry is and it does not lack in technical quality.

Trust More Valuable Than Love feels like a strong snapshot of where KeepItOnTheDiel and his circle are right now. There is chemistry, there is emotion, and there is clearly more potential if they decide to stretch these ideas further. This tape might not give you everything, but it gives you enough to know the trust is real, and that alone makes it worth running back.

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Written by Will

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