Fresh new themeless! That sentence’s only vowel is e, nice.

First off, I wanna thank everyone for the good vibes about the last puzzle! Sid and I were blown away with the response, and I’m glad nobody’s day was ruined by that absurdly tricky theme.

I keep listening to ’90s hip hop for some reason (hint: it’s amazing), so this is a puzzle partially inspired by that. It’s got more black squares and three-letter words than your average themeless, but hey, they’re used ~tastefully~, and who’s counting anyway?

With that, catch some vibes and stuff, and enjoy the puzzle!