Aug 21, 2020

No problem my man, and a great review yet again. Here’s a couple more albums for you to check out when you’re ready... Wiley godfather 2, Skepta Konnichiwa (spelling could be wrong lol).

 

Aug 20, 2020

@BIGFOOT

#25: Wiley - Godfather [8.2/10]​

As I mentioned previously, I'm relatively unfamiliar with the UK Rap scene barring a few notable singles. Heading into this I was pretty anxious to see if this would be the album that finally converts me into a fan overnight. I gotta admit it, this was the one...

This production is absolutely bonkers, the few times I've heard people mention Grime I thought it was just some lowly electro pop fusion of hip-hop. But never had I considered just how awesome the two components go together, that's just one part of the equation, Wiley more than holds his own behind the mic here. This is just b-----r after b-----r, makes me wonder how a US artist could fare over something like this, but as Wiley demonstrates, it would be a very tall task to replicate the ferocious energy this album packs. I gotta hear more of it, but huge thank you for possibly indoctrinating me to Grime rap, this was a brief ray of sunshine in these tough times on a personal note!

 

Aug 18, 2020

Sampha - Process

Pls and thanks brudda

 

Aug 18, 2020

@Michael Myers

#24: Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia [8.4/10]​

There was legitimate reason to be excited for the release when it dropped this year. The singles leading up to this were promising, plus I'm a sucker for any shenanigans that sound like 80/90's pop. Dua Lipa has a ton of stiff competition in her realm of young pop stars, most of them leaning towards the anti-bubblegum pop route by eschewing the typical formulas of song-writing and overproduced edm-influenced songs. While Dua Lipa did the latter route quite well, the question leading into this was can she make her own niche for herself?

Luckily the album itself delivered on that promise. This isn't something that will make you question your spirituality and challenge your existential beliefs, but that's the point. It's the epitome of a feel-good album with head-boppers from start to finish, with very little, if at all, dry spots in every song. Dua Lipa is a very good vocalist as well, she finds the right tempo and cadences for whatever the song demands of her, she wouldn't have sounded out of place in any decade this album paid homage to. Overall this is one of this years stronger releases, please check it out guys!

 

Aug 17, 2020

def one of the greatest first listen experiences ever

 

Aug 16, 2020

This is a monumental album from my high school days. The first 3 Onyx albums got constant spins back then when we smoked philly and green Garcia vega blunts all day long.

Although shut em down is their most commercial album, I’ve always felt like it was their best album. It doesn't have songs quite as good as throw ya gunz, slam, last dayz etc. but it has the most songs that you don’t wanna skip. It has gutter songs (raze it up, street niggaz, face down), storytelling (Rob and Vic, Veronica), party songs (react, ghetto starz), and NY anthems (shut em down, shut em down remix).

Plus this album has a prime DMX verse and a 50 cent verse before anyone ever knew who he was. This was like a year before How To Rob came out. 50 wasn’t even listed as a feature on the official track listing lol.

My close friend from high school had 2 12” subwoofers in the trunk of his car. This dusty timbs, 90s grimey NY hip hop just hits differently when you have subwoofers. So many of those classic NY albums are bass heavy and sound way different with a system to exploit that. These onyx albums, DMX’s it’s dark, ODB’s return to 36 chambers, the first 2 GZA albums, m---’s first 2 albums especially Tical, etc were all made for systems with subs. Chronic and doggystyle too. Talking about these albums remind me how much I miss obnoxious car stereo systems .

 

Aug 16, 2020

The Low end theory - a tribe called quest

 

Aug 15, 2020

@joeyp363 I'm gonna do two reviews since you asked me to look at these:

Spoiler

#19: Tech N9ne - Everready [6.7/10]​

There's often a bad rep when it came to Tech N9ne much later, at least in certain circles of fandoms depending on how you look at it. Back then, his indie grind was pretty applauded by most people I knew, you gotta give him credit for putting on for an entire region that prior hand had zero aptitude for hip-hop. This was apparently his 5th studio album, most of the singles on here even blew up many years after this dropped (Caribou Lou comes to mind). The only thing I've ever heard in full from him was All 6's & 7's when he looked like a Mortal Combat character in the cover.

From the most basic viewpoint, Tech raps really well, you can't find any faults in his technique or angles that he's coming from. There's a similar Slipknot/Korn vibe I get from the record, almost like a dark metal band but in hip-hop form. My biggest complaint comes from the length as this does clock over past an hour, and that's not including the intended double-disc that it comes with. Most of the time I was waiting on something to jump out and impress me, but it kinda slogs it's way through until the end. What made that other album All 6's & 7's all the more interesting to me was that the industry bended to his sound, creating this cool dystopian dynamic of indie-rap resonance that could have possibly worked in the mainstream.

#20: Czarface & MF DOOM - [7.3/10]​

d--- man I wanted this one to work out. The idea of Inspectah Deck, the two dudes from Army of the Pharaohs AND MF DOOM on one project seemed like the best g.d. thing to possibly happen. When the two forces first met on Czarface's 2nd album, there was a legitimate reason to be excited to what this collaboration could bring. On top of that, this was like the g.d. Justice League of underground heroes when you also look at who was going to be featured on the tracklist.

This actually aged a lot better than I last recalled, I remember my initial impression was a lot worse. DOOM is another guy who I wish sort of finds that spark again, but considered what's happened to the poor dude in recent years I can't blame him for losing that inspiration. Czarface was the first time I had hope the great Rebel INS finally got an album worth his talent, which did happen in their first two projects, but I feel by this point they had run their course. It's sort of an album you'd expect by veteran presences where you can see the flashes of brilliance that made us fans in the first place, followed by dips in quality and dated references that subsequently grow stale quickly. It's still a worthwhile listen as a hardcore fan, but I did wish it was a lot better.

​

 

Aug 14, 2020

I miss Pato

Hope our Argentinian Logic stan is doing well, but he really fell off the grid

 

Aug 14, 2020

Exactly the review I wanted, knew your perspective on this classic would be historic

 

Aug 14, 2020

Will forever be envious that I never got to experience this. Reminds me of being in Florida in 2007 at the time T-Pain, Rick Ross, Plies, etc were blowing up. Obviously not comparable, but still, its not the same when you're not there to experience it first hand. At least I've got drill in London now lol.

 

Aug 14, 2020

@Fire Squad you are a brave man taking on requests from the mob but you are absolutely killing it. I love your description of Below the Heavns, I've been revisiting a lot recently since the new B&E album. Plus you've convinced me I need to dig into Andre Nickatina's discography, I've been meaning to for a while. keep it up man.

 

Aug 14, 2020

@damoi

#15: Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy and the Poor Boys [10/10]​

Aside from PJ Harvey's masterpiece I looked back on, this is the easiest perfect score I've handed out. This was another one from my college era that I discovered, I believe it might have also been my 2nd year of my undergrad studies when I heard this band. Woodstock was a magnanimous moment for all the boomers who tell us our tastes in music are trash & misguided, but ignoring that for a second it had a remarkable (and not so remarkable at times) line-up of gifted, revolutionary musicians giving the world their manifestos. Among those acts were the legendary CCR, led by the inimitable Fogerty brothers.

Compared to the psych-rock that The Beatles, Beach Boys & co were popularizing, this record is dipped entirely in a pool of roots/blues, giving Willy and the Poor Boys a rugged, bombastic tone. Whether they're singing about the distrust they have of the Nixon administration, or about aliens, very few pieces of music capture the frustrated essence of the tail-end of the 60s like this band. There is an explicit reason every motherfucking Vietnam War movie has played Fortunate Son in it, I even have to look outside my window just to make sure I wasn't hearing US helicopters coming to burn my house and s---. To put it bluntly, this is a seminal rock album, I still can't play either of the 2 instrumentals even if I tried, and I cried when Bubba died in Forrest Gump.

 

Aug 12, 2020

@awhellno

#13: BJ the Chicago Kid: 1123 (Deluxe) [7.5/10]​

Honestly the rating doesn't really do justice with how I honestly enjoyed listening to this again. I mentioned this when I was listening to the Lianne La Havas record from earlier, when it comes to making Soul music, you seriously just can't go wrong. BJ for sometime has quietly been making b-----r after b-----r; whether he's killing it on a rap hook or he's summoning the Holy Spirit on us. The question has been, why isn't he mentioned with the likes of the other classic R&B kings like Miguel/Ty$/Jeremih?

BJ is one h--- of a vocalist, at times he's hitting them John Legend/D'Angelo notes. His pen game is pretty good too, it's when he's at his best when BJ gets experimental and conceptual with love songs. Plus he has the awareness of getting the right guest feature everytime, 1123 got off to a trailblazing start with that Paak collab! The problem lies wherein he unintentionally makes his albums where the sum of it's parts are greater than the whole. These songs themselves are fantastic sitting alone, rather than with each other, it almost feels like a playlist which isn't necessarily a bad thing either. But that's where he falls just shy of the likes of those R&B Kings I mentioned, but lowkey his best songs are some of the best the genre has to offer.

 

Aug 12, 2020

Can I get a review for Ric Wilson/Terrace Martin's They Call Me Disco pls

Thank you in advance Firethony Squadtano

 

Aug 11, 2020

Solid review. Also, arguably one of the greatest album covers of all time.

 

Aug 11, 2020

@Ordinary Joel

#9: Lianne La Havas - Liane La Havas [8.2/10]​

Guys, Ordinary Joel's ear for Neo-Soul & Jazz is second to none! Prior hand to this recommendation, I haven't heard any of her music before so this was one h--- of an introduction. It's dawned on me at this point that, there really is no way of failing when you make any form of soul music. Every...single...one has either been great or at worst decent. I guess we're just soulful guys like Hov would say.

This self-titled journey immediately reminded me of an even more mellowed out version of what Ari Lennox did on her last album. There was definitely more emphasis on the instrumentation rather than her lyrics, which is where I drew the same Ari comparisons from as I saw a lot of similar narratives they're conveying. Whereas Ari dived deeper into her psyche, I liked that Lianne sort of just laid back and kicker her feet up and let the music magic carpet her away. She killed the In Rainbows track cover, I had flashbacks of Sade at times and overall this was a pleasant experience, so once again thanks for sliding this in my direction old friend!

 

Aug 11, 2020

One Be Lo - S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M

 

Aug 11, 2020

Couldn't have put it any better myself. I f---ing love this album with my entire being.

 

Aug 11, 2020