AKTHESAVIOR and Issa Gold (The Underachievers) have a cadence for language when delivering their verses that paint pictures warped by a psychedelic mind; it’s why I’ve been fans for years. In the 2010s, the East Coast was riding the waves of the zeitgeist, even creating an extensive collection that would get called Beast Coast (Pro-Era, Flatbush Zombies, and The Underachievers) and release a Beast Coast album. Though Joey Bada$$ would become the more noteworthy artist to continue his presence beyond this group’s core hip-hop audience, the others have delivered quality records since then, too. Issa Gold, Erick Tha Architect, Meechy Darko, Nyck Caution, and Zombie Juice would do so over the last two years—I’ve enjoyed them. That trend continues with another album by AKTHESAVIOR. His new album, u r not alone, with producer Sagun, is nothing short of mildly compelling introspections that still feel slightly empty. The flows are more rooted in conscious boom-bap, consenting to the production that bolsters vocals with its Lo-fi core, making the verses more attenable to the listener as they intake what AK wants to say, even when the content is stonery-preachy-like.
AKTHESAVIOR opens u r not alone conceptually, and it’s an intriguing turn as we hear him compose the beginnings of a letter to the world, as he uses introspective lyrics to speak about the socio-political climate, amongst other things, as he connects to his listeners. The writing is good, but it feels too honed in about being a message that it lacks the juice when trying to expand more because it rarely does. AK finds ways to set up perspectives toward the direction taken, like the profoundly introspective “Johnnie Talkin’,” which plays off the notion of truth-telling whendrunk. It reminds me a lot of Issa Gold’s 2021 and 2022 albums, Tempus, where AK does similar and reflects on the years in the game, humbling himself through his successes and consistency with the standards set for himself as he connects that with a bridge to let fans know he isn’t blind to the world. The vibes are more intimate, which puts more focus on the lyrics, and though rhymes don’t get too lazy, you can sense the difference between a track like “Johnnie Talkin’” and “Self Worth,” with the latter being more preachy.
Sagun’s production is a definitive co-lead, and it happens to have a solid throughline. It blends unique synths with the drum patterns, creating moody lo-fi beats that give weight to AK’s rapping without feeling like it’s running out of ideas, like the electric “Humble.” It isn’t retreading familiarity within this realm of the rap ecosphere; it’s reflections just done differently. Meechy Darko had a whole gothic affair; Joey Bada$$ went back to his roots; CJ Fly is riding a solid wave of consistency; Erick the Architect still maintains his cadence for eccentricity, and when it comes to AK, it’s his flows that shine above as he laments on issues and showing his hand with a connection to what’s going on in the world. On these beats, when AK begins to tread into singing instead of full-on rapping the choruses, I find it dope as it feels more like getting out of a comfort zone. Matched with the lo-fi beats, one can’t help but feel the energy with “Issues,” where AK digs deep in his singing bag. Other times, it is a blend of hazy or hardened flows, showcasing ranging emotions and offering a reflective step back. It makes the feel worth the time.
Accompanying AKTHESAVIOR are some features that hold their own over some quality beats, especially on “Enough is Enough,” another rallying cry of a song that isn’t all that creative. It treads familiarity, but it doesn’t flop around, giving a half-assed approach, but it extends the album with something minor that takes away from the character that he speaks to the world as; the same goes for “Self Worth.” Fortunately, A$AP Twelvvy and Erick The Architect come through with their meticulously crafted penmanship. When AK is fully zoned in, the music has renewed flow; specifically, it comes in the middle of the album, where the flow and writing shine exponentially. From “Issues” to “Humble,” a consistency kept me fluttering with the need to replay these songs. “Tetsuo’s Way,” with Mick Jenkins, plays to having no trust and remaining vigilant as you never know who could be an OPP, especially since they come from unique grounds to get where they are. “No Scars” speaks about his modus operandi about keeping the peace—no need for beef when the music can remedy the bridge. “Mind Body Soul” is a spiritual soul-rap track that focuses on mediation within one’s self. There are highlights, even if the conceptual approach isn’t the strongest. There is something to it that brings some intrigue and consistency, even if it isn’t anything that new.
As AK notes about the album, “‘u r not alone’ is a message of solidarity. As humans, we’re all unique individuals, yet we all go through similar experiences and can help each other by spreading love and being more open and united,” and that gets heard throughout the album, even if it isn’t always strong. There was enough here for me to enjoy, but as it rounds the bases, it doesn’t leave much luster like previous releases. However, you can’t feel it was a waste of time as there is some quality here, even if it didn’t all land for me.
When Tierra Whack dropped Whack World in 2018, she showcased what her potential could reach while slowly matriculating a name for herself through features and some EPs in 2021. Those EPs reflected different genre conventions heard through a decadent array of focused tracks compared to the one-minute songs on Whack World. She takes both and morphs it into something unique and expansive on her debut album, World Wide Whack, where her talents don’t feel wasted, and you’re getting a tinge of what is to come the more Whack grows as an artist. She’s blunt—not one for mincing words as her music reflects her understanding of her self-worth, and the confidence emanating from it makes it refreshing as it doesn’t rely on overt metaphorical complexities, instead giving it to you straight while still having some death like the brilliant “Two Night.” World Wide Whack is a swift ride that tries to suck the juice from each song till there isn’t any left, but Whack has something to say, and introducing herself further is done magnificently, despite leaving you wanting more. It means I loved it as a debut despite some minor wavering issues.
Unlike Whack World, World Wide Whack is fuller as songs are more constructed to have definitive starts and ends. She isn’t necessarily giving us something homogenized in one direction, instead (nearly seamlessly) finding ways to balance songs that may not interconnect even if reflecting the same genre sounds. It shows from the colorful and fun “Channel Pit” to the more bashful and nuanced rap on “Numb,” where sentiments from the title’s dictionary definition are reflected in her voice as she flows on the track. With Hip-Hop being a cornerstone area that is fluid to Tierra Whack, courage gets shown with more comfortability expressed in her singing. After a more percussion-laced heater in “X,” we get that with the beautifully designed “Moovies,” where R&B-Pop textures intertwine and showcase a tender side to Whack as she sings about the intricacies of movie dates. From the hook to the verses, it’s one of the definitive highlights, specifically as it keeps it straight and on track, leaving the percussion simple by comparison, which allows Whack to shine in a new light, different from the brain-fried singing complementary to “Brain Burning,” it’s one helluva debut.
Like the album’s title, World Wide Whack, the world is vast for Tierra Whack, and she knows it. It’s why the album doesn’t feel constrained to one linear direction and allows this myriad of sounds to interconnect with a sense of ease. Many songs have the casings of a smooth, modernistic boom-bap percussion base as others incorporate Jazz, Funk, and R&B through unique factions like the funkadelic “Shower Song,” which sees Whack rapping and singing with the confidence one shows singing in the shower, as all shame and nervousness subsides because it’s just you and the water, and reflects that to a worldview. These interconnecting sounds give her album more character than the limited Whack World, almost as if you’re getting a surprise with each transition, like as she goes from the confident “Ms Behave” to the quirky but oh-so catchy “Channel Pit” or more hardened reflection about the people who have supported her from the start of her career with “Snake Eyes,” interplaying with notions of luck with brilliance.
The music has a specific flow that allows for the meat of the content to maneuver through the middle of the album, as with tracks like “Accessible,” “Numb,” “X,” “Difficult,” and “Invitation,” where some of her most profound works shine, despite it being an overall delight to go through. The highs show through the intricate and courageously colorful production, even if mostly centered on Hip-Hop. Equally as courageous is Tierra Whack going through without a feature. It allows for a lavish picture of her person without sidestepping for a verse that takes away from her story. It’s a testament to her craft because the singing shines more than the rapping, and that’s one aspect that I will lament on, as it offers proper synergy. Unfortunately, this journey with Tierra Whack isn’t all perfect. Tierra Whack’s bluntness is a positive and a negative, where sometimes you don’t get enough around the edges to expand further, but there is a consistency to not leaving you bewildered with what it wants to say. It’s what separates the fun but minimally efficacious “Shower Song” from the more profound “Two Night.”
Tierra Whack delivers a fantastic album that showcases her talent expeditiously, even during the downer moments. Her ear for production flows beautifully with weaving her vocals through raps or singing graciously, elevating what one expected, especially as the album comes six years later than expected. But if Whack World showed us anything, it was worth the wait because World Wide Whack delivers and then some. There’s no denying I loved the album, even with the minor issues I couldn’t look over, but seeing and hearing Whack and understanding who she is and what she wants to deliver makes it all worthwhile. I know it’s one album I will loop all year, and I hope the same latches on to you, the reader, and (or) fans of her work.
Though Schoolboy Q hasn’t been quiet, it’s safe to say there may have been reasons to be after the mediocrity of Crash Talk. Though it wasn’t some albatross of an album, it left little to the imagination, as if there was some fear of losing relevancy despite how much fans and critics loved Blank Face. Fortunately, he travels back and taps into what made him Q to offer something new and refreshing that fans have been most likely waiting for, quietly, with Blue Lips. Blue Lips is a return to form, as Q focuses more on the cadence and flow of what he sets up to deliver, a tour de force, giving way to re-establishing his prose and flows. Ab-Soul did so with his album last year, Herbert, bringing back a sense of familiarity as a means to sidestep away from what wasn’t fully working—the experimentations within Crash Talk didn’t feel all-natural, trying to push through sounds that didn’t all ruminate. Blue Lips is a triumphant upgrade that sees Q feeling at home as he reminds us who he is, and that’s the artist we got with Blank Face while also letting us hear him heal.
With Blue Lips, there is bravado, sadness, and the sheer will to deliver at peak condition without any sense of distractions through predominately tight-knit constructions. Q opens the album somberly and speaks loudly within its lyrics, all before coming through with a “skrrt” from the corner and toppling tracks with seriously bombastic work that makes you come back for more and more. When Q meshes mellower, more melancholic productions/songs within the fray, adding dimensions to the lyrics to give us something more to latch as we hear his words phonetically. As a fan, I couldn’t let go, keeping it on loop without hesitation, even when it’s not all perfect. Like Crash Talk, not every feature hits, and some feel mildly unnecessary towards making the song any different. It’s mainly the case with “Pop,” where Rico Nasty does little to move the needle, and her verse at the end doesn’t leave a memorable stamp. It isn’t like the Freddie Gibbs or Ab-Soul feature, who have an established chemistry with Q, which makes their presence more aligned and smooth. They, in turn, help deliver some definitive highlights, but the absolute highlights are from Q himself.
That isn’t to discredit Rico Nasty, who has delivered phenomenal work previously and whose vocals in the chorus have more of a stamp than her verse. Her verse is swift and doesn’t add much, especially as a final marker to the song, which is a disappointment because they could have concocted something more lavish, and instead, you get this abrupt verse before Blue Lips starts to churn. It’s the opposite with other artists, who have more of a trade-off, matching verses and having some ingenuity, like how Freddie Gibbs matches Q’s luxurious arrogance on “Ohio,” which is a testament to his successes while not caring about ever coming off as tone-deaf. It has three parts, and each tackles it differently with burgeoning and differentiating productions that add weight to the song opposed to the more homogenized work of “Pop.” The same for “Ohio” can go for “Foux,” “Love Birds,” and ‘Pig Feet,” where the featured artists make themselves stand as much as Q—despite the amount of time their presence radiates—not “Movie” though, where Az Chike feels like a minimal presence due to his sound levels, slightly becoming forgettable despite being the focal point of the track, like an interlude-esque that helps transition between two different tempos.
Bolstering it too is its production; though filled with a plethora of producers (30), it has a consistent streak that makes most of what he raps resonate, especially as he maneuvers through the apropos and the in-depth reflections, one of which could make any Mac Miller fan tear up. “Blueslides” is an ode to Mac Miller, a friendship Q has held close to his heart that we’ve seen his vulnerability show when talking about it. It’s a sentiment that stays close to Q as he balances the two subjects, and more so because of the production’s fluidity. There is a lingering synergy that rarely feels lost, even when the production isn’t always on par with the intricacies of Blank Face. It’s a commodification of understanding Q’s musical roots and pushing it forth significantly, taking unique turns we wouldn’t hear otherwise. That may be a smidge hyperbolic, considering the West Coast sound is very refined, and it’s more just one element that bolsters it. However, having that kind of equilibrium bolsters everything one should love about a new Q album, especially as it gets to the tail end. It makes circling back better as the penultimate full-track, “Pig Feet,” which is this hypnotic banger that drives home what it means to ascend as a closer.
Blue Lips is fantastic, and that may come from an internalized bias that rings from standards shifting from what was the more comparatively abysmal Crash Talk. It’s another sentence that may sound more hyperbolic because it wasn’t all bad, just more of a disappointing downward spiral with little juice. It was too much of a 180 from Blank Face that you couldn’t help but get turned off. It’s like seeing the fluidity between coming from Q rapping with legendary West Coast rappers to pushing forth relevancy with Kid Cudi or 21 Savage felt oft, but as Blue Lips showed us, artists can have their moments to flounder because they will eventually come back stronger than ever. Listen to Blue Lips; it’s fantastic.
It’s been seven years since Residente of Calle 13 released his aptly self-titled album, which saw Residente tackling unique concepts flowing beautifully and linearly; since we’ve gotten loosies, featured verses, etc., but the music has never left him. That becomes evident with his follow-up Las Letras Ya No Importan, which reflects an absence of poignancy of words to make a difference as opposed to what we see now, the violence—a reason Residene has delayed the album since the end of 2023. This notion speaks broader, especially as Residente makes a case for the opposite and allows himself to be as, if not more, vulnerable than before and express some sense of humanity while being political while also reminding fans what Hip-Hop is. He sees it as a transition between the music he once made and a future with more naturalism, pain, gravitas, and a proper understanding of what it is to have this talent and voice. At 94 minutes long, the length has little purpose except to dump a bunch of tracks, creating some pacing issues as he maneuvers through different content. It’s modestly bloated, but as he establishes a concept and direction, there is much to love, even through the apparent misses.
Residente’s perspective isn’t narrow, but what gets constructed amongst the fray is an album that wants to go in varying directions. He establishes a concept, but there are a few times where the music feels tacked on because it’s an embodiment of who he was in between albums; it’s why you have him eclipsing the finale with the inclusion of his 7minute magnum-opus “René.” Las Letras Ya No Importan opens to a voicemail from one of Residente’s closest friends, the violinist Valentina Gasparini, who has collaborated heavily with him and one of the last messages he received from her was around 3:13 PM, and it helps establish a sentiment that speaks powerfully through the song “313.” As Residente would say in an interview with Rolling Stone, “I think this album is a transition into what I want to start doing — and keep doing — with my music…I have songs that are from three or four years ago that I put on here because I feel like they’re part of the process. But some of those aren’t the ones I’m the most connected to at the moment.” It is true since some loosies aren’t in, but what comes about are some heavily memorable bangers.
“313” is a powerful intro to follow-up the voicemail by Valentina Gasparini (that opens the album) as Residente’s sadness starts to speak powerfully. He’s at a loss and missing what Valentina’s presence means to him. To counteract the sadness, he gets Spanish Actress Penelope Cruz to deliver a poem about hope and life, making it known that despite her passing, they are connected by a thread; a thread connected to the hope that won’t dissipate with the moving of time as their presence forever remains. From here, Las Letras Ya No Importan fluctuates, offering music that carries multiple dimensions that speak to how Residente sees the culture and Hip-Hop today while lamenting and reflecting on his upbringing and career to be where he is today, but also not. With songs like “Cerebro,” “Problema C****n,” “Estilo Libre,” and “Ron En El Piso,” Residente exhumes veracity and a reflection of his being and person to encapsulate the kind of sentimentality and emotions running throughout the album. Unfortunately, the concept isn’t so high-strung and tight around the edges, leaving you with some moments, though grand, lacking full feeling and drive within the motions of the album—these tracks being “Pólvora de Ayer,” “Sin Lú,” “Que Fluya,” “Jerga Planeteria.” The former is too ingrained in content that contrasts much of the content, becoming less than stellar, while the latter carries an underwhelming featured verse by Nino Freestyle.
Though it is a concept that works beautifully and effectively for more than 75% of the album, especially when you grasp the fact that Residente is bombarding you with dated journal entries that feel like they got carved on his body and soul, you get significant moments that keep you focused and wanting to listen with zeal. “El Malestar En La Cultura” speaks to his discontent with Hip-Hop, further continuing in later songs about his disillusion with what Hip-Hop is and how he sees it today. With it, he delivers tangential tracks that remind you what real hip-hop is to Residente, and none more amazing than “Estilo Libre,” which features Big Daddy Kane and reggaeton great Vico C at their peak. It flips flops content and establishes more of a personable rapport despite a language barrier. So trust me when I say Google Translate will become your best friend here, mainly because his words carry immense gravitas you’d want to get from some tracks like “313,” or “This Is Not América,” which harkens to Los Macheteros, a Socialist movement from the Boricuas. There’s depth and an abundance of stories held together by his bravado to deliver immensely personal and vigorous works.
Las Letras Ya No Importan carries with it political, old-school, reflective raps, amongst others— Residente constructs a predominantly bloated behemoth that could have easily been trimmed, especially as it tries to remind you that all of this is under the guise of a concept that focuses on one’s push to leap after feeling drained. It can leave some reasoning on how each song fits within the ecosphere here, like the lavish apropos moments where the two featured New York rappers come trumpeting at full force, which fit slightly. Busta Rhymes and Big Daddy Kane bring this vigorous energy that encompasses the varying elements around them, specifically in the music, as they both come with their pure lyrical A game. Similar are some other features, which here are in abundance, and many bring a hardnose parallel to Residente’s talent, especially for someone like myself, with some artists being new to me despite their presence in Latin music. It’s the case for SDFK, Nino Freestyle, WOS, and Al2 El Aldeano, most of which mesh and give a further standing to the Hip-Hop cadences getting delivered; the same goes for most of the singers featured, even when the song doesn’t truly fit—i.e., “Sin Lù” and “Pólvora de Ayer.”
The production of Las Letras Ya No Importan is clear cut, offering a sense of identity and prestige throughout the 23 tracks you get, and much of it is what keeps the flow afloat, especially in some of the lesser tracks, like “Sin Lù” and “Pólvora de Ayer.” The musings of one-dimensional urbano flair speak lowly to the concept surrounding it, especially when you have these others, which push the music further. Notable producers that helped mold the album are Acción Sánchez, Evlay, Leo Genovese, Rafael Arcaute, Trooko & Vinylz, some of which have a history within the mold of the Spanish-speaking side of Hip-Hop, and the growth of Urbano music. Vinyz and Leo Genovese are two producers that stood out, but more so the latter as we hear Leo Genovese work with others, especially Residente, who has a dominant hand in much of the production. Here, Genovese establishes these unique and concrete sounds that help put together some of the more emotionally heavy tracks as a producer and Hip-Hop ones as a performance arranger, becoming a definitive highlight behind the scenes.
Like the other producers, we have this wonderful and all-encompassing piece that delivers as good as it does. I was mesmerized on many occasions, but it isn’t hard to overlook some of the misses; they are right there. These misses made reviewing this album a little more disappointing because I wanted to be more glowing, but it’s hard to when you have an album as long as Residente’s. It made me wish he was more meticulous in the construction, offering something meaningful to reflect on as it continues through the motions. I did love a lot of the album, but there is only so much one can love; here, there was a positive imbalance, so that’s always a plus. Give it a few listens, and let me know what you think in the comments below. I promise you there are some rewarding aspects to get from it, especially his nods to Hip-Hop and personable/political reflections.
Manifesting himself into someone more refreshed and new, Benny the Butcher strives ignorantly through his new album Everybody Can’t Go. After doubling down on his status and reminding us of his roots with his last album, the fourth installment in his Tana Talk series, Benny is taking it all in and giving us music where he takes us back to the beginning, where he spits the same diatribe, with some fantastic lyricism and excellent beats. Though the idea is a familiar retread of Benny rapping about the drug trade and his lavish lifestyle via braggadocio lyrics, Benny the Butcher still focuses on keeping the cohesion and flow of music at a high peak. Still, it suffers from mild pacing issues, three nonmemorable songs, and a few features that dilute the impact because of its placement or result within the bigger picture. Benefiting him is having a direct line of producers with a fluidity that can sometimes get lost within an amassed collection of producers on an album; here, it’s only three: Hit-Boy, Corbett, and The Alchemist. The synergy is natural, never deflating to aim for more of a universal appeal and keeping it 100 from beginning to end, despite specific skips.
Everybody Can’t Go opens with a declaration from Benny the Butcher about his character in the song “Jermaine’s Graduation,” with the Butch rapping, “There’s a story behind that name when they call me the Pyrex Man/Like them two bricks from Doug and papis from Kazakhstan;” that declaration immediately leads to explanations and ideas that come with the status built as a rapper from the ground up. So when Drake rapped, “Started from the bottom, Now we here,” Benny came through, said, “Hold my beer,” and starts firing on varying cylinders. Unfortunately, not all cylinders are clean, as some of the concoctions that get infused within make what comes out a slight disappointment, and more so after Benny comes with a fantastic three-track run to begin the album. From “Jermaine’s Graduation” to “Big Dog,” Benny the Butcher delivers an immersive flow of characterizations that personify who he is, eclipsing with “Big Dog,” which continues that formative potency that we heard last year on their collaboration in ColleGrove 2. After such, the music fluctuates, sometimes retreading familiarity that has been heard better on past albums. Benny the Butcher delivers on what he sets out to do, but it starts stumbling with “Everybody Can’t Go,” the title track.
Wobbling due to a basic and predictable chorus on the title track, “Everybody Can’t Go,” you get how it misses modestly upon getting hit with the great, rustic, gritty bap track that flips beats twice to tell a story in “TMVTL,” we get some mild disappointment with tracks “Back Again,” “One Foot In,” and “Buffalo Kitchen Club.” The former has Snoop Dogg in as a glorified guide without giving much of an effort to have his presence known, and as it has been more constant than not, is the lack of him giving a proper verse; the song has those solid elements from the beat and Benny’s rapping, it has little to offer like the two songs that follow, which retreads the simple formulaic back and forth on raps about the drug trade and or being braggadocio with how they proceed in their astuteness. Though these tracks aren’t bad comparatively, they don’t have the potency from previous collaborations like “Hunnit Dolla Hiccup” off Armani Caesar’s last album or one of the many Benny the Butcher / Stove God Cooks collaborations. It makes the middle of the album more of a disappointment, despite not being overall bad.
None of the features I’ve mentioned prior are bad, more so unmemorable, like Babyface Ray on “Pillow Talk & Slander,” where his flow lacks the standout appeal to match the intensity of Benny the Butcher and the slow, grim flow of Jadakiss, who’s continuing a consistent streak of delivering great verses. The same goes for the Black Sopranos Family posse cut “Griselda Express,” where the synergy and verses push it to an all-time memorable high from the main three WSG, Conway and Benny, alongside member Rick Hyde. It all ends on a significant high with “Big Tymers,” where Peezy shines, becoming one of my favorite features on the album. As is with the quality of features, the production by Hit-Boy and Alchemist keeps the album flowing strong, especially with some of the percussion-heavy tracks like “TMVTL,” “Bron,” and “One Foot In,” for example, where each brings something unique to the table with the subtle adages from other instrumentations and sounds, allowing for a differentiating cadence to the tones. “Bron” has more of a lavish flair that helps Benny correlate with the namesake of its title, while the latter has more tonal grit, adding to the buoying bravado behind Benny’s flows.
As it closes, it all culminates in another solid Benny the Butcher album, where the product shines with the consistency of the past. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, retreading familiarity without much oomph, but Benny the Butcher stands on his laurels, and the quality remains modestly high. I was a fan of this album, though maybe not to the extent of his short collab tapes, but enough to make it a repeatable spin before 2024 starts kicking. Everybody Can’t Go is worth the listen, especially as a Hip-Hop fan, as those reservations don’t get met here that you’d be glad you heard Benny spit more authenticity through the aforementioned cylinders.
It’s hard being a fan of an artist and then witnessing what could be a promising career dwindle into niche inconsistencies. It’s been so over the past decade as Kid Cudi has seemed to push boundaries and become too ambitious with his work instead of elevating an already exciting sound. Though sometimes he has hit with some releases, like Satellite Flight and Passion, Pain, & Demon Slayin’, it’s through the modest bright spots that the inconsistency was more internal. Unfortunately, his career continues to culminate in more mediocrity and forgetfulness. It was so with his soundtrack album to his Netflix special, Entergalactic back in 2022, and now with the delayed Insano, where, after listening to it a few times, it could have stayed delayed indefinitely as Kid Cudi isn’t really developing new ideas or sounds and is just middling through the vast known and trying to keep interests afloat. That isn’t to say Insano is putrid and lacking at least a few decent tracks—it has some good songs—but as it turns the bend through an album that has more producers than there are winners of The Voice, there isn’t much to lament on save for fleeting moments where the connectivity clicks.
Opening with a DJ Drama intro that evokes sentiments of a Gangsta Grillz tape, it’s evident something I was excited to see a return to the mainstream become more of a gimmick that gets used to hype work that isn’t so good. Like so, “OFTEN, I HAVE THESE DREAMZ” isn’t as loud, more so relatively hazy and drab, making the hype of DJ Drama feel more unwarranted, making much of the music that follows not feel the hype and making listening more of a chore than needed, especially when the content isn’t so gripping, making you slightly yearn for more of a contemplative Kid Cudi that had more to says, as he did so with his two albums and the collaborative Kids See Ghosts album, alongside Kanye West. Many tracks tack on too much ambition and not enough charisma, like opting for more and more autotune like on “MR. COOLA” and “TORTURED,” which retreads familiar choral melodies Cudi is known for. It’s a lot of meandering pieces stitched together that you’d openly tell these tracks to keep bouncin’ away from your ears.
Fortunately, those songs that hit are some diamonds in the rough—the diamonds are when Cudi connects with producers like Bynx and his usual collaborator Dot Da Genius—with songs like “ElectroWaveBaby,” co-produced by Bynx, which taps into more of the synth-pop wave that bolsters Cudi’s singing and making it something to enjoy fully. Adjacently, Cudi knows how to connect with many of the featured artists to deliver some great songs, and these hit significantly when most of the album is already a monotonous wash that’s repetitive. It makes its length a grueling task, further making these fleeting moments of solid music go by the wayside as you try to figure out what works for you and what doesn’t. It becomes a composite of this vaster element that falls heavily on the listener because most of these songs aren’t objectively poor via construction and writing, but at the same time, there is rarely anything to say except creating more of a lavish and modern take on that party-vibing styles of his character. Take away much of this, and you’d probably get a tighter, more popping EP or short album, but as much as I harp on how mediocre Insano is, I’d be remiss if I didn’t highlight some other good stuff within the album.
Like “ElectroWaveBaby,” there are some great tracks to hit play and replay, like “AT THE PARTY,” “FUNKY WIZARD SMOKE,” “MOST AIN’T DENNIS,” “RAGER BOYZ,” and “TOO DAMN HIGH.” Though most of these contain features, there is something to like when Cudi elevates his craft by finding ways to deliver over particular beats. Another that emboldens these notions is “Blue Sky,” which gives you a lamenting Cudi making use of his amplified singing through autotune that there is something to love without a grating effect ruining it. It’s a shift from hip-hop, mixing some synth-rock to evolve further than what we got leading to it. It becomes a disappointment that it’s one long trek before getting much of the good stuff. One feature that doesn’t hit like others is that of Lil Wayne—with the amount that hit, it’s a disappointment because it succumbs to the abundance of autotune Kid Cudi adds to his rapping, making the track nearly inaudible and Wayne more of an afterthought. It happens when Cudi doesn’t try to get overly creative and retread elements that haven’t worked since the beginning.
Most of what one receives with Insano is Kid Cudi elevating the playing field and forgetting who he once was, and trying to bring more of an ornate and party-like vibe where his no fucks given attitude isn’t the most creative. He’s retreading similar lyrical connections to get that rager sense flowing. Sometimes, it works when Cudi connects with some features or gets a solid production to explore. Additionally, it has a solid five-track run at the end that pieces together elements from past conceptions Cudi has made and delivers them at a tepid level that never gets offensively drab, and more so the last five tracks, which include “Blue Sky” and “HIT THE STREETZ IN MY NIKES,” offering a reminder of what good to great Kid Cudi music sounds like. Unfortunately, Insano was a significant disappointment, and well, I guess Kid Cudi can’t go lower, especially after making Speedin’ Bullet to Heaven.
Though it’s been four years since 21 Savage delivered an album where he was the solo-credited vocal lead—Savage Mode II—it’s been six since 21 has had more focus on concepts with I Am > I Was. Still, as he maneuvers through this new album, American Dream, it’s encapsulating a story about 21 Savage’s ascension to success without completely placating who he is lyrically and thematically. Yet, it treads familiar territory, despite some freshness to it; unfortunately, it is unbalanced, sometimes becoming too of a bore as 21 Savage brings little juice to some introspections. I was a fan of I Am > I Was; American Dream, slightly less as it establishes a plot progression within his life via a concept album that isn’t all cohesive, with the occasional jumps in narratives and loose pivots to characteristics that carry little weight (love). American Dream succeeds when the focus is on his life, his influences, and the musical outcome from growing up around the music and scarce corners for slangin’, etc; when he escapes this focus, the album loses traction, delivering something mildly memorable.
Opening with an intro via 21 Savage’s mother, she establishes a starting point for listeners/fans to begin this journey with 21 Savage, but through it, it becomes mildly forgettable as what works in for many tracks early on falters after. It’s why tracks like “n.h.i.e” and “should’ve wore a bonnet” rarely move the needle as the delivery for its concepts causes a bore that makes you slightly yearn for a less conceptual 21 Savage, and more so someone with the grit, grime, alla the Savage Mode tapes without relegating to rapping about being blindsided in a relationship—or the unexpected—yet, it doesn’t offer much to build off from, instead a mini stop-gap for 21 Savage to deliver something relative to his personality without emphasizing its importance. You hear that detachment through the apropos style in his lyrics when flexing or rapping about certain aspects of life, like crime and death, and his aspirations to succeed. The consistency tapers, but sometimes the mild detachments speak more to 21 Savage’s persona in rap louder than introspective works—not all, but there is a difference heard when “neé-nah” has more fizzle than “prove it.”
American Dream isn’t messy, though contextually inconsistent, as the narratives are looser and seem to jumble what context we get here and there. It doesn’t have a direct path, instead offering an intro that sets the table for different variations of 21 Savage’s personality to take shape with whatever he wants to deliver—most of the time, the lyrics offer some refreshing notes through rhyme schemes and flows—it can waver however, as when the music treads familiarity, the creativity can start lacking. It’s especially so when he manipulates meaning with his reflections on content involving violence, monetary riches, more bragging, etc., like “Red Sky” and “Just Like Me,” which isn’t the reflective social commentary one would expect based on the title. The content treads content about love and relationships; however, its ethos within the concept behind 21 Savage’s “American Dream” feels like a wasted opportunity. I’m not harping on these types as much as some of the other redundancies, but there is an imbalance that tips more favorably to the first eight of nine tracks.
After the promising intro by 21 Savage’s mother, 21 Savage delivers a quick onslaught of fantastic, lightly standard 21 Savage tracks that go modestly above the fray to give us some unique production to elevate the cadences of 21 Savage’s lyrics. Some of the loud notables come from “redrum,” which incorporates a lavish orchestration, sampling the Brazilian song “Serenata do Adeus” and amplified to give a sense of gritty class with its incorporation in the production’s percussion. The production can take unique directions, like the use of these wicked strings on the beat for “pop your shit,” adding to its atmospheric textures or the amplified percussion on the hard-hitting and encapsulating “Dangerous,” where 21 Savage and Lil Durk match verses with harsh candor, giving us one of the best collabs on the album. The same can be said about the toned-down and fresh Travis Scott verse that uses little autotune, giving us what feels like more wall-breaking than anything. It’s one of the more unique features that has something to say, and gives more credence to its flow within its construction, thematically.
In this tremendous run of tracks, there is a solid Young Thug verse, and an underwhelming Doja Cat feature, where she delivers the same dribble as her album without creativity, similarly matching the output 21 has on it. It’s a blemish in a run that is otherwise forgetful, but as it starts to a downward spiral near the end where even some of the milder production can save from its mediocrity. Tracks like “Sneaky” and “Dangerous” don’t necessarily move the needle like others, but the delivery of 21 Savage and Lil Durk in the latter elevate it more. As it comes to an end, American Dream isn’t up to par with some of 21 Savage’s best work, but there is enough to recommend eight of the nine tracks that start the album, as they come with such virtuosity that it’s close to captivating. It isn’t so from front to back, but at least 21 Savage came in with a different approach and nothing left to do but commend the effort and hope it gets better from here on, as he has a lot left in the tank, and the excitement for more releases remains.
It’s past that time of year when publications feel like December is a month filled with nothingness, and end-of-year lists appear like Christmas ornaments at your local store in August. But sometimes gems appear, and they round out what made 2023 a powerful and wonderful year for music. This year didn’t see that much, but as it goes: here’s my list for 2023.
25. THE ACES – I’VE LOVED YOU FOR SO LONG
“The Aces don’t forget who they are and what makes them so distinct beyond treading genre lines of Synth-Pop. Throughout their career, they have been tackling varying dimensions of pop, whether internal or external, as they establish a base without gender being a tag and becoming something unique on their own. They’ve built a base with intricate sonic layering, bolstering the contextual identity of the production, allowing them to separate from some of its simplistic percussion and string patterns, which becomes slightly less apparent on their new album, I’ve Loved You For So Long.” Link to Review
24. SKYZOO & THE OTHER PEOPLE – THE MIND OF A SAINT
“Like Black Trash: The Autobiography of Kirk Jones, Skyzoo keeps the narrative in constant motion, keeping the aesthetic realized from production to the verses, and never breaking character, keeping the swagger intact. The Mind Of A Saint is effusive and personal, at times expressing that sly coldness that comes with one’s own comfortability flexing this kind of success at the expense of the common folk and their addictions. It’s raw and honest, making you zero in on the nuances of his bars, and it starts to hit you in the middle as Skyzoo brings Franklin Saint to life, and keeping it real – the tracks, “Straight Drop,” “100 To One,” and “Bodies!” It doesn’t stop there as it continues toward a strong ending. Unfortunately, not all tracks are dense, as some allusions to interactions in the show can leave you with questions; it’s a positive that it’s significant enough to possibly influence one to watch it as it did with me.” Link to Review
23. ANIMAL COLLECTIVE – ISN’T IT NOW?
“Isn’t It Now? delivers balanced musical sensitivities between orchestrations without walking down the road mostly traveled on occasion. Much of it comes in the first half, where the quality is at an all-time peak; it gives the writing and vocals the free range to work around their creative avenues. It becomes a resounding comfort as you sit back, unwind, and let them paint these beautiful paintings within the moment. Some of it is oblique and interpersonal with its allusions to certain moods and feelings, and others are modestly more direct, like “Magicians In Baltimore,” where they focus on actualizing this sense of homeis where the heart is. In it – like “Soul Catcher” – the creativity flows through with these unique conceptions and reference points to bridge meaning.” Link to Review
22. JEEZY – I MIGHT FORGIVE… BUT I DON’T FORGET
“Unlike previous albums, Jeezy’s coming with high ferocity in a double album with no features (take that J.Cole). At 29 tracks and 87 minutes, Jeezy offers a more focused project that sees more reflections than flexes, further allowing us to get deep inside Jeezy’s person and mind to understand the trials and tribulations up to this point and the rewards from the positives. It isn’t perfect, especially with its slight bloatedness coming from tracks that modestly parallel, making the length feel overcooked. Unfortunately, it can be so with double albums, yet one inherent plus is the construction, “one for the fans, and one for me,” with the latter having the most significant impact.” Link to Review
21. JESSY LANZA – LOVE HALLUCINATION
“Continuing the course of techno-pop and electronica, Jessy Lanza showcases a hold of her style in essence through these whimsical vocal performances and lovely productions on her latest album, Love Hallucination. When speaking on her sound, it’s hard not to find yourself captivated by the melancholic bliss guiding you from beginning to end. Its central fuse is its percussion acting like it’s open to the world, becoming expressive while retaining this charming timidness, where the softspoken vocals weave complex yet relaxing depth. It almost leaves you calmed as some songs begin to sync and feel slightly homogenized between synths, and you get lost in a zone. ” Link to Review
20. BOYGENIUS – THE RECORD
“At 12 tracks, and 43 minutes, the record flows with a crisp and smooth pace that your first few listens will feel insightful and rewarding. This sentiment goes tenfold for fans that get these artists’ styles, especially as you hear about their growth since their self-titled debut in 2018. It doesn’t matter who you are when approaching the music because it speaks for itself in quality and through poignant and resounding poeticism. Whereas they construct these narratives with clear prose, the way it bridges together allows it to have these defining moments within the vocal performances, especially in the choruses, which balances the performers on the production and lets them feel enriched as they deliver it to you. But as you sit there, reflecting through all of it, you see the brilliance within the music as Boygenius produces a fantastic debut.” Link to Review
19. TAINY – DATA
“Tainy was one of the first significant producers I started to follow within Reggaeton. Since then, he has had a consistent pouring of production and has easily transitioned through eras with evergrowing musical ambitions that have shown us Tainy can do more than we know, which is precisely so on his album Data. We hear him shifting away from what his usual artists aim form – though sometimes sonically overlapping with past beats – and has them fine-tune and work with the artistic direction he goes with here. Tainy is finally letting the chains loose and producing something more experimental, elevating the predominant Latin sounds to new heights. He’s taking what one thinks about when they hear Reggaeton and shifts the conventions, whether through a beat switch or his direction of the music, like how he opens on a low note before hitting you with a wave of fantastic synths, drum patterns, and remarkable performances.” Link to Review
18. BLINK-182 – ONE MORE TIME…
“I’m guilty of succumbing to the nostalgia and instantly hyping myself up to get disappointed with the outcome; that was the case with last year’s Swedish House Mafia album, where sometimes you miss something formidable, and then you’re left picking up the pieces. That continues with the new Blink-182 album, One More Time…, which does more than remind us of the three talented goofballs who contributed to redefining pop-punk for the 2000s era and establishing themselves as a powerhouse – granted, it came to an end when Tom DeLonge left, came back made Neighborhoods and left again; they didn’t change their identity much since, but Tom’s return made this comeback have a broader appeal to nostalgic sensitivities. Fortunately, they return without missing a beat, delivering something that will have people of varying generations reminiscing and losing themselves to the music, even when it’s of teetering quality.” Link to Review
17. LARRY JUNE & THE ALCHEMIST – THE GREAT ESCAPE
“ Within Rap music, we have artists with the viscosity to deliver many projects throughout a 12-month span. There’s Curren$y, Boldly James, Papoose, Termanology, and G Perico, to name a few, but on the opposite end of the LA coast where G Perico hails from, there’s Larry June from the Bay area of California. Entrenched within soulful vibes, it becomes a guiding principle that boasts the production’s eventual turns as we get hints of refined melancholic sounds, which places a board for June to deliver visceral lyricism akin to his world. That’s what we get with the resoundingly beautiful The Great Escape, an album collaboration with famed Hip-Hop producer The Alchemist. Considering the hype behind both artists, it’s safe to say that the album delivers and then some; it keeps a smooth vocal cadence throughout, immersing the listener within the transparent sounds that push the writing to the front. ” Link to Review
16. THE FRONT BOTTOMS – YOU ARE WHO YOU HANG OUT WITH
“The Front Bottoms have a constant tangent of songwriting that travels varying avenues that feel more grounded than most rock and pop songs that value love and relationships as this emotionally gripping fairytale-like compound that needs to get expressed in various ways. Best described as a blend of folk rock, indie pop, and alternative rock, The Front Bottoms have kept their presence afloat with songwriting and tracklist construction; throughout the years of listening, ever rarely did I feel an album’s transition felt stagnated, despite not every song gliding seamlessly through the air with greatness. Their newest album, You Are Who You Hang With, brings introspection through unique narratives that focus more on being and understanding instead of lamenting over oversaturated themes like love or partying. Here, The Front Bottoms are letting themselves feel as free as ever, weaving together genres and creating this outlandishly grand venture that feels slightly philosophical without intention but packs a punch when it’s all said and done.” Link to Review
15. THE BLAZE – JUNGLE
“Like their first album, Dancehall, it doesn’t take long before the production puts you in a zone without shifting toward something more obtuse beyond a consistent breadth developing through the percussion and synths. You get this quick whiff instantly as Jungle opens to a track resembling something from an early 2010s Bon Iver or STRFCKR album; however, its production shifts the parallel further from it. The vocals are airy and coated behind this screen of atmospheric electronic textures, which creates a nuanced take on pop and French House, almost taking it as a guiding principle and establishing sounds that accentuate with cadence. Whether it’s on the opening track “Lullaby” or the subsequent “Dreamer” and “Lonely,” it separates itself from the production, becoming its own thing where the landscape shifts between being more percussion or synth-focused. While it establishes its core direction, one can easily get lost in its vibe, but as you swim through the ten-track album, it’s like exploring new avenues of rich sounds.” Link to Review
14. FOO FIGHTERS – BUT HERE WE ARE
“For many, the notion of loss is difficult to tackle when facing it head-on. Foo Fighters know this, and through the meticulous crafting created since the passing of their drummer Taylor Hawkins, and lead singer, Dave Grohl’s mother, nothing will stop them. It transfixes you with how they come together and tightens the familial bond as the music gets crafted. Despite the darker subject matter and instrumental subtexts, the Foo Fighter’s new album, But Here We Are, grips you with the sheer emotional force of the vocals detailing these stressors, these emotions that linger after the passing of a loved one. Its title comes off as defeated like they don’t want to be around the drum set since the reminder of Hawkins will be everlasting. ” Link To Review
13. KILLER MIKE – MICHAEL
“Aptly titled Michael, the album contains music pertinent to Killer Mike’s upbringing, the visualizations of the truth – where he takes note and relays the bias-racial divide – and flexing without regressing to the means of typicality. It’s awe-inducing – keeping me on my toes. There aren’t genuine moments where I found myself detached from the music, though minor inconsistencies have left me yearning for a tighter album, like its pacing, which begins to teeter slightly after the mid-way point. Yet, as I kept it looping, there weren’t moments I disliked, despite being a little flawed. Michael sees Killer Mike triumphantly returning as he rounds the bases with some illustrative music that you can overlook the minor missteps.” Link To Review
12. CAROLINE POLACHEK – DESIRE, I WANT TO TURN INTO YOU
“From “Welcome To My World” to “Sunset,” there is a burgeoning desire to let it all loose as Polachek builds upon pop traditionalism like the Trip-Hop controlled “Pretty Is Possible” and the summery “Sunset,” which incorporates more Spanish, Italian, and Romani melodies. Polachek, along with co-producers Danny L. Harle, Sega Bodega, Dan Nigro, Jim-E Stack, and Ariel Rechtshaid, keeps it consistent with steady tones to keep its themes focused on its impact when a track closes. Harle and Polacheck produce a bulk of the album collectively; however, what others bring, is this vibrant sense of direction, no matter what gets set up at the base.” Link To Review
11. BLONDSHELL – BLONDSHELL
“Much of the album’s greatness comes from a consistent balance between vocal performances and production, especially when the leading artist is more of the singer-songwriter as someone else produces. Though Sabrina Teitelbaum’s input into the composition is here and pivotal, producer Yves Rothman brings it to life, allowing us to hear these multi-dimensional songs carrying viscerally raw emotions. Whether it’s dreary and dark like “Salad,” where Teitelbaum sings about contemplating murderous revenge on a friend’s abusive partner, or somberly speaking on sobriety and relapse on “Sober Together,” the way these tracks’ production contrast each other shows depth between styles. Though these have their own sense of being and flow, keeping in tow a consistency of sound, the more rockified pivots with “Veronica Mars,” “Sepsis,” and “Joiner” boast the angst within, letting feel entrenched with her emotions, allowing us to feel the kinetic synergy between the two as you fall in love with captivating aesthetic and melodies that are occasionally more deadpan than vibrant, but fits her true sense of self.” Link To Review
TOP 10 OF 2023
10. OVERMONO – GOOD LIES
“Overmono’s debut album Good Lies is full of rich textures, encapsulating breakbeats and some fluid songwriting as they continue to showcase the range and potency of their music. Like most dance/electronic music, there’s usually a bridge between tones, allowing sonorous self-reflections to exist within a zone of dance fever. The synchronistic connectivity the two have comes from this notion of dancing your problems away, and it does so without being so black and white. There’s depth and nuance within the productions that you’re inhabiting a new sphere of music where vibes are there to get you elevated, but at the same time, intaking these rich layers of sounds that make the whole electronic genre more than just something to dance to.” Link To Review
9. AVALON EMERSON – & THE CHARM
“Going into & the Charm, I knew little, having only heard Avalon Emerson’s DJ-Kicks album, but as I kept digging and exploring the caverns of these nine songs, there wasn’t a moment I was bored. It’s captivatingly consistent in vibe and tone, circumventing genre exploration for a direct flow. It’s nontangential, but that isn’t to say it lacks depth. There is a lot moving with greatness, from the lyrics to the performance; it opens the door for it to become realized with a sense of personable relativity. I couldn’t recommend this more than the score I give. It was a significant surprise for me, one where I didn’t want to press pause, so there is no denying this is staying in my rotation.” Link To Review
8. DANNY BROWN – QUARANTA
“Throughout Quaranta, Danny Brown brings some nuance to it. It’s a well-rounded flow of greatness that seems to continue feeling like a given for Danny Brown’s solo work in album form. I was a major fan of the album, though it may not be one return to because of the subject matter, but that isn’t a detriment as it just means the album is more centered on a mood and can’t just be something played casually like “Detroit vs Everybody.” Give Quaranta a shot; it has some juice that delivers while letting you hear his identity beautifully.” Link To Review
7. RAYE – MY 21ST CENTURY BLUES
“Raye is a reminder that music is starting to transcend beyond getting defined by a monochromatic-core genre. We’ll still see artists releasing genre-specific albums, but Raye delivers an impactful review that is off in varying lanes on her debut, My 21st Century Blues. It goes through various avenues of styles, and often, you’ll get caught by surprise. One minute you’ll hear Raye rap – the next, she’s delivering a stellar dance-pop – then some trip-hop or house, it’s a treasure trove of limitless possibilities, and it gets boasted by a poignant personal narrative she takes us through. She sets up this intimate setting – we hear her get up on an old club stage, speaking to an audience before embarking on a significant musical journey that makes us dance, feel, and witness harmonious brilliance in effect. Creating this visual allows the shifting sounds to come with a positive punch, further making you love how fantastic this album is from front to back.” Link To Review
6. PARIS TEXAS – MID AIR
“When I first wrote about Paris Texas (Louis Pastell & Felix), the LA Hip-Hop duo, I was left in awe by their aesthetic and approach to rapping, building, and boasting a successful hybrid between Rap and Punk-Rock music. It buoyed this unique aesthetic that has become reminiscent of individual methods reflective of some others – think JPEGMAFIA, Gorillaz, or Rage Against The Machine – you get something special with their debut album Mid Air. It’s an album with focus, steering towards more of an alternative approach, elevating the range between the organic instrumental synergy with the strings and drums and ones that bring hardened elements that bolsters the manic energy ferociously. Burgeoning through fantastic songwriting and a keen ear when co-producing tracks with other producers, my fondness for Mid Air exceeds expectations, especially when songs don’t blare with similar notes heard on their mixtape Boy Anonymous.” Link To Review
5. JAYDA G – GUY
“Guy is magnificent. It’s leveled with a sense of triumph as Jayda G constructs with her co-producers; this extraordinary and entrenching journey into what she compartmentalized while watching and reading her father’s diary entries. It left me looping it constantly without being dissuaded from continuing through to the end. The stuff that didn’t work for me is so minimal that I can’t really take a lot of markings from what I feel, and I feel this is one of the three best albums of the year so far! With a sonic construct built around the lyrics, you get more focused on what Jayda G wants to say instead of how she wants you to groove, and despite having some equilibrium between the two, I found myself contemplating more than dancing.” Link To Review
4. JULIE BYRNE – THE GREATER WINGS
“Predominately written by Byrne, except for “Flare,” where she got collaborations from songwriter Em Fontaine; she writes about her grief after losing Eric Littman mid-production of The Greater Wings. I noted it in the opening paragraph, but it isn’t all low and sad, as she’s looking back on the positives and how his presence won’t ever leave her. Byrne writes through different paths that help us understand the lingering sadness, but the clarity of the next day where she can continue knowing everything they shared never got forgotten. This notion is heard beautifully in “Portrait Of A Clear Day” and “Moonless” – where the former speaks more about acceptance, the latter has us visiting this tender moment they shared in a hotel. It’s an encompassing mood, like writing as if she wants to feel the sun on her skin on “Summer Glass” – a sense she got from listening to the arrangements of the synths. Acceptance runs deep within this album, and it ends with a triumphant mark where she sings about his essence staying with her and this understanding that their connected story speaks more prevalent than theirs, individually. It honestly left me teary-eyed.” Link To Review
3. ROMY – MID AIR
“I won’t front; I love Mid Air by Romy, but it’s because it’s more than just a dance/electronica/pop album; it balances two contrasting ideas and grounds them between different aesthetics while still keeping depth in its writing and vocal performances as the latter becomes an angelic motif throughout. I’m fond of electronic music of all varieties, and albums fluctuate in style, as not all get personal or in-depth with the writing and performances; some are subtle and nuanced since the sonic molds surrounding them are the energy one relishes at the nightclub. Mid Air is more of what I had mainly steered towards; the singer-songwriters who do it both because they have much to say and use this medium to get it across since, after all, it has the space to expand the mold of your sound while staying tangential. That isn’t to say I dislike more straightforward DJs, but there is something to these artists who add definition and more direct personality. Jayda G did so with her album Guy this year, and Mid Air does so with more potency and memorability; Romy’s singles set that mentality, and it delivers.” Link To Review
2. SOFIA KOURTESIS – MADRES
“Madres is that one album this year, within its genre, to keep me engaged and surprised at every corner. It isn’t some perfect album where all its tangibles get delivered at this high degree of conscientious fortitude, where you get left guided by the vocally emotional and sonically tonal dimensions that offer something more than its surface. It has some instrumental tracks that sway from internalized vocals that make sense of what one should feel, and instead, opening up the floor for an entrenching time that leaves you juggling these fleeting moments with more attention. Listening to these instrumentals offered this distinguishable break that helps you bridge between soundscapes, like that of “Cecilia,” which smooths over some lavish synths and drum patterns—reminiscent of classic house music—before hitting you with something more lucid and commandeering.” Link To Review
1. DAUGHTER – STEREO MIND GAMES
“It’s been seven years since the last time Indie Folk/Rock UK trio Daughter released an album, and that absence has been felt; exponentially so, as I went through listening to Stereo Mind Game. They have returned, bringing visceral orchestrations and vocal performances centered on atmospheric tendencies without diluting the lyrical depth driving its poignancy. Thematically focused on directional emotions deriving from moments you reflect on loved ones you miss or separation of self when balancing who you are, for example, taking you on a smooth and respective retrospective journey of enriching sounds. In some ways, the album covers niche grounds where it blends aspects of alternative rock, shoegaze, and dream pop into a lyrically heavy concoction while leaving out catchy pop conventions so you’re engaged through other avenues. It delivers these profound moments where you can stop but keep it playing on repeat as you get entrenched within the confines of its fantastic production and relatable songwriting that will have you returning again and again through that connectivity.” Link To Review
I was once one with the people of Whoville, then I became a slight Grinch, but as I’ve become a modestly more cynical adult, I share my indifferences; however, the music reigns supreme in my head—from the various pop megahits to the enormous array of orchestral piano ballads and jazz wonders that have kept the spirit alive throughout December. I love Christmas music—aside from the recent pop hits ingrained so egregiously in the zeitgeist. Unfortunately, Hip-Hop and Christmas haven’t seen much pop crossover, with the iconic track still being Run DMC’s “Christmas In Hollis.” We’ve had “Christmas In Harlem” by Kanye West, Cyhi Da Prince, and Teyana Taylor, a random Christmas song by Lil Jon and the Kool-Aid Man, and most notably within the Hip-Hop community, Gucci Mane’s varying Xmas theme album The Return of East Atlanta Santa, a follow up to an iconic mixtape, East Atlanta Santa. However, there is more than meets the eye within the world of Hip-Hop and Christmas, like Snoop Dogg’s “Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto” and Eazy-E’s “Merry Muthafuckin’ Xmas,” Ludacris’s “Ludachristmas,” and so forth, but for me, my go-to has always been the work of Cookin’ Soul.
Cookin’ Soul is a production duo from Spain, two DJs who go by Big Size and Zock, and one thing they have done so excellently throughout the years has been making remixes and mashups of songs from revered Hip-Hop artists. They have an exquisite grind, delivering so much work, so it’s no surprise that their tapes are some of my most replayed, especially around the holiday season. They have Merry Little Xmas, Ready for Xmas (A Biggie Mash Up), Stockin Stuffers Hood Xmas (an album with Smif-N-Wesson), Wu Xmas, A Tribe Called Xmas, and Doom Xmas, and to be frank, these mash-ups are incredible, or rather, that’s is what I believe. Cookin’ Soul repurposes the beats and interconnects some distinct Christmasy overtones to bring forth that feeling. With A Tribe Called Xmas, they rework the “Butter” beat from The Low End Theory and bring some sonic influence like the twinkly bells and subtle orchestral notes akin to the elements we hear in older and modern pop Christmas songs. It’s a fantastic mix that gives the best of both worlds and gets done effervescently. It’s been the case since the first mash-up I discovered, and still love, Ready For Xmas, the Biggie collab.
One of the first songs on Ready For Xmas is “WHAT did I Want,” which incorporates a lot of original notes to boast an atmosphere equivocal to that of sitting in warmth in front of a fire as it snows outside over a base percussion taken from “The What” off Ready To Die. It tip-toes more toward originality than merely repurposing, but it does so as you notice the flows align with what gets added, making them feel like their own thing. It’s about quality, and they deliver such, making them such fantastic listens. Cookin’ Soul is more than just these tapes, as they have produced and retained semblance in Hip-Hop producing for many artists. They bring a much-needed balance for these many songs made throughout the years that haven’t had much of a presence since, like “Ghostface Xmas” by Ghostface Killah and “Jingle Bellz” by Jim Jones, two artists I love, but these songs have nothing compared to the beautiful mixes/mash-ups Cookin’ Soul makes. It may sound overly glowing, but I remember how seminal the Biggie mash-up was for me in 2012 when Xmas traditions changed, and everything felt new.
I’m writing about this because I just want to spread the glee this music gives me, and I hope it does so for you. The mash-ups are whimsically snowy, and the rhymes stay fresh as ever. I can replay the Biggie and Wu-Tang one for eons, and hopefully, that same love reflects on you. Give their Christmas Mash-Ups a spin and see how dope it really is. You can get all of them on their YouTube and wherever they have uploaded for download, which can get found on their site or YouTube descriptions.
When Collegrove first released in 2016—as any hip-hop fan would be (at the time)—the hype was considerably high because these rappers float within their peak, so you know more than half the songs would be bangers. They delivered, and as they return with a follow-up to it with Welcome 2 Collegrove, that expectancy stays the same; the outcome is the same, but it gets done differently. Welcome 2 Collegrove is more of a concept album that envelops itself in narrating the journey through interludes, balancing between tracks that offer little as it’s oddly constructed and lacks real presence. Though It’s an engaging ride with slick metaphors and overall verses, the quality of the production shines. It’s a prototypical rappity rap album that takes different directions that are apropos to 2 Chainz and Lil Wayne—fortunately, at least they keep it interesting with how they deliver the content. One example of this is “Crazy Thick,” but as it progresses from beginning to end, you notice there is a good album here; unfortunately, it has some fat that could get trimmed.
Welcome 2 Collegrove starts as expected—2 Chainz and Lil Wayne flexing and bolstering their dominance in rap through slick rhyme schemes and flows—from there, it starts to waver as they remain loose in content despite having scenes to steer the concept. The concept here is about creating an establishment of their duo where they talk about their lavish excess and more, all while trying to bring contrasting ideas to add dimensions. Unfortunately, it doesn’t truly let loose, and the vocal interludes set up the wave for a thematic perception you just heard and will hear after, and it becomes more of an afterthought you’d wish wasn’t there to let the music come and go with ease. I say this because these vocals regurgitate the content that is very apropos for them, especially as they flex so effervescently throughout the album; it’s unfortunate, as it isn’t as inventive as these artists have forged an identity throughout their 30+ collective years in the music industry. It feels panderish and unnecessary because it’s something that doesn’t need a concept for it to have meaning and semblance. More so, not every track within each subsection retains a connection to it, almost forgetting the focus and trying too hard to be something they are not.
Now, that isn’t a significant detriment as it’s something one can easily remove and then just listen through all 16 songs in succession with gusto, feeling every bit of confidence and swagger they imbue from the start to near the end as they balance a bunch of unique flexes and raunchiness, like on “Crazy Thick,” where Lil Wayne raps about the varying sizes he’d have sex with, pushing away the superficiality of rappers and playing coy with this notion of them not pulling out(do so depending on how you feel first hand as the album got constructed as such, I feel one should listen to it as such the first time or two.) Similarly, “P.P.A” with Fabolous plays around with the risque and provocativeness of the music getting delivered. Provocativeness breathes through Hip-Hop, and this elevates it further, allowing fans to get a grasp of what is being said. As it flows through these variations, you get sucked into what they say because of the connectivity in themes. After a while, you start to understand how it’s constructed and how it easily whiffs on it. These scenes I’ve been talking about get intercut between sequences of songs that have some relation to each other, and it starts to feel like a try-hard attempt to be different when the expectancy isn’t as high.
Welcome 2 Collegrove excels primarily from the production, which blends sounds from a varied collection that would infatuate old heads as much, if not more, than what modern twists they bring into the fray, like the trap cadences of “Crown Snatcher” from Murda Beatz and Jordan Fox. Though this example isn’t one of the strongest, compared to “Transparency,” which oozes the influence of early 2000s Hip-Hop/R&B hybrids where the focus on the crooning hook is exponentially high compared to the sobering tone the rappers flow with. In contrast to these beats, there are wide-ranging ones that build character to have some semblance of identity beyond the fray. Some notables include Havoc, Mike Dean, DJ Toomp, Bangladesh, and Mannie Fresh, bringing some fire to round out what is getting delivered to you with tracks like “Presha” (Bangladesh), “Shame” (Havoc),” or “Gayle & Oprah” (DJ Toomp), it’s an explosive remedy to keep the music bumping. It benefits them since it creates room to flesh out their thoughts and gives us the uniqueness that comes packaged here. In particular, it allows the transitions between segments or songs to feel more fluid. Though one could do without the scene-setting interludes, there is to enjoy here.
Welcome 2 Collegrove is your “ordinary” rap album that deals with and checks off much of the thematic content you get per usual, like the flexing, the contrasting sentiments between love and going ham just f***in bitches, introspections on life, etc, but when it comes to the former two, they get very creative. I’ve noted the raunchiness of the two songs, which stand out due to the quality in “PPY” and the zaniness that exhumes all levels of oomph in “Crazy Thick,” I’m left in awe of what they can accomplish. I’m a big fan of what we got, even if I had some words to say about the construction, but hey, everything isn’t perfect. I’d say do give the album a few spins, and let me know your thoughts below.
The Weekly Coos 