“Been waiting my whole life to drop this,” reads the caption under Lil Berete’s Instagram post announcing his Icebreaker 2 mixtape. “I was signed when I dropped my first 2 projects and now I’m independent, happily 🤞🏿I couldn’t express how I felt on Icebreaker and didn’t get to where I wanted to get to after it dropped.” Though it’s unclear where the Regent Park MC thought he was headed with the original, Icebreaker 2 is fueled by the same Auto-Tuned stories of Toronto street life that made its predecessor such a promising—if underappreciated—debut. On the sequel, Berete sings about how he represents “the trenches” (“Lost It”), how intense things can get in the wake of beef (“Murda”), and how impending success has already affected his life (“Scars”). Despite their titles, songs like “War Ready” and “Painallgo” deliver a funner side of Berete, while guest appearances from rising regional stars like Detroit's Sada Baby, British DJ and producer Unimerce, and Louisville MC 2KBABY signify that Lil Berete's ultimate aim is to be good in any hood.