Nov 15, 2020

@Ordinary Joel

#61: Charles Hamilton - The Pink Lavalamp [11/10 8.6/10]​

It's that time of the year when the weather gets nippy, there's nothing better to do so you lay back on your couch and pick up your favorite pieces of music and stare at the ceiling as you hit the time travel button. So lemme take you back to the end of 2008, just going through the excitement and angst that comes with early high school, any form of escapism you find in that age leaves a permanent mark on you. In my case, it came with new music from artists that were bubbling, in the case of CH, I felt like I was on the precipice of hearing the next paradigm shifting rapper and everything he rapped about was gospel. The day after this dropped, I left my limewire on to DL this tape, classes were just secondary to me for the rest of my morning, all I could think about was what kind of crazy a--- sample-flip Charles was gonna pull off when I get back home. As if it couldn't be anymore aesthetic, we had some slight snow that day now that I recall, so getting back home I ran straight to my PC and grabbed my iPod and hit play...

This whole album was a pain for CH himself to get into. He was undergoing some label issues along with a host of his own personal demons that were slowly wrestling into his career, if I had know things would spiral down from this album onwards, this first listen would have made it even more impactful. I feel if you didn't follow his journey up to The Pink Lavalamp, all this might sound like some drug-influenced rants and mindless warble, even then, out of context this is still a very tremendous example of creative sampling techniques and it was all done with limited studio resources as CH was under a stretch of homelessness. So taking all this into mind and me being an impressionable teenager, this was one of the most personally moving albums I've ever heard and struck a deep chord that hit even harder now many years later. Staring out the window today and seeing it get dark and chilly outside, immediately took me back to 12 years ago....

I mentioned this about Charles Hamilton before, but he was almost like the prototype to P'ierre Bourne's video game-esqe sound combined with early Kanye soul. This production generates an enticing nostalgic atmosphere that seriously hasn't been replicated since, if you're a particular fan of lo-fi this will sound like the gates of heaven opening. The Pink Lavalamp borders on heavy diaristic venting, CH opens up about everything and anything, it can almost feel uncomfortable but it makes the overall experience all the more heartfelt that you got through it, more so on CH's part. Depression, addiction, mortality...topics that otherwise would belong on another tin-foil theory pondering rap artist are all addressed here with a genuine sincerity that makes me look back and wonder how much maybe we all have changed since our younger days, shedding away the innocence. We take comfort in our pasts, when stress wasn't prevalent and our optimism was maybe at our highest, listening to this took me through a train of emotions that made me honestly miss all of my youth. Much like Charles career, perhaps things went in directions that we didn't anticipate, but the memories we left behind are always there to give us that relief, I'd like to think CH looks back at this album with a fondness for managing to make something out of a difficult situation. It's a totally unique experience, maybe it's the melancholy taking over me, but I highly encourage anyone to tune in to listen to a burdened soul's most concise and riveting effort.

 

Nov 2, 2020

After Dark: A SXN80 Mixtape

 

Sep 26, 2020

Charles Hamilton - The Pink Lavalamp

 

Sep 20, 2020

the greatest album of all time by the greatest band of all time

 

Sep 4, 2020

@The Product

#39: Polo G - Die a Legend [8.4/10]​

I used to think it couldn't possibly get better after Chief Keef, G Herbo, Durk...the list could go on for another paragraph, Chicago was the gift that kept giving. Enter Polo G, another street-hardened golden child with life experiences that could have shattered another more fragile mind. His explosion after this album has been such a treat, while The Goat wasn't as strong as this, I have no doubt his career will continue in an upward trajectory.

But what a start this was. Taking elements of deep trap & drill, Polo uses these gloomy instrumentals and paints vivid pictures of the Chi-town background. It's familiar territory if you've heard his contemporaries like Herbo, but Polo is equally as honest and compelling, with a razor sharp delivery and an ear for melodies that could even rival Durk. These stories still hit just as hard, there's an earnestness that's just so admirable, this is a rapper you seriously want to root for. Luckily there are millions that agree, Polo G is the real deal and this is a classic debut.

#40: Denzel Curry - Zuu [8.6/10]​

f--- man I love this album too! Denzel's astronomical rise from Raider Klan upstart to one of Florida's torch bearers has been an absolute ride, he's been unstoppable for an entire year. He's another complete package; blessed with a breathless super-saiyan flow, a powerful affinity for punches and a capacity for story-telling, it's all been steadily improving like an RPG character with every passing year. It's helped that Denzel has tackled every kind of hip-hop instrumental known to man, there is no environment he won't camouflage in, this is where Zuu bubbled onto the surface.

I'm going to echo what I've said on this site before: this album is one giant love letter to the history of Florida hip-hop. Every imaginable influence and nuance that the Sunshine state has contributed to the genre is amplified with Denzel's surging and invigorating performances, doesn't matter if it's Miami Bass-Ross mafia beats-Ronny J's distortions. Perhaps more than ever, Denzel reached a maturity to craft a well-sequenced album and a salience of his full capabilities behind the mic, this is his best work and I still feel he'll top this sooner than later. Heck this album slaps so f---ing hard, even the clean version that I heard on the airplane to Mexico slapped--funny enough it was listed as "Soothing R&B" sitting next to Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder lmaooo.

 

Aug 30, 2020

Excited for you to get to the album I chose. I’d recommend doing a bit of research first, or at least skimming the Wikipedia, before you listen to understand what you’re listening to. Beautiful music

 

Aug 27, 2020

True masterpiece

Never grow tired of hearing this joint. Truly believe Tribe has a flawless discography and what a legendary group they were

 

Aug 17, 2020

@Grimace

#23: Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill [9/10]
​

I see someone's been going down that rabbit hole of gifted pop songwriters! Thanks for requesting this, I don't think I've ever listened to it in full before. It doesn't matter where you are from, who you are, or where you are now, you have heard of this iconic song before, don't lie to me folks! It was a mold-breaking hit, one of the most perfect singles in recording history.

And that's what makes this whole album all the more relevant, prior to this we didn't have that many Women songwriters blow up to the extent that Alanis did. The amount of topics covered on the album are pretty staggering, it's a genuine feminine perspective on how she tried finding her way in this bohemian world she was thrown in. The amount of women that followed the sonic blueprints of this album (pop-rock, a little bit of alternative) were staggering, an entire paradigm shift happened when Jagged Little Pill dropped. Don't believe me? Just listen to every pop song after 1995 lol. Overall this was such a breeze to get through, every song was an earworm and my never-ending appreciation for 90's pop continues to grow.

 

Aug 14, 2020

@icecube

#17: One Be Lo - S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M [8.3/10]​

Thanks for asking me to cover this, it's been so long since I gave this a spin. I got into Binary Star also during my high school years, I gotta chuckle just reminiscing on how hard I used to love backpack rap. Them, O.C, Little Brother, plus every rapper that was on Definitive Jux, were all part of that funny little phase for me. I think there's nothing wrong to admit that we all at some point fell for the fallacies that come with being part of a conscious collective, doesn't matter whether you're a dusthead or traphead. You can appreciate both sides of the same coin!

I've been vocal about my fandom of Binary Star on here before, Detroit has always flown under the radar as far as their contributions to rap go besides Marshall. One Be Lo is a wizard both behind the mic and the boards, on this album he takes those lush beat breaks and pairs them with his descriptive story-telling to create a lengthy but worthwhile journey. I'm always shocked at the samples him and Senim consistently find, it gives their music this extra musicality that made them so intriguing when you look at the pool of similar acts. Man today has been a trip down memory lane listening to Below The Heavens, Diplomatic Immunity & then this.

 

Aug 11, 2020

@Bourbon Ben

#5: PJ Harvey - Rid of Me [10/10]
​

To give you an idea of how I discovered this one, lemme take you back to simpler times in SXN80 history. From 2015-16, undoubtedly this forum's zenith, a couple of users had this daily Bohemian Groove gathering in a site called Plug.DJ where each of us would queue a song in a set order. People like Ordinary Joel, Threee, Final, Nori, Deadpool, Soldier, Ben, YDB, Mimi, Coco & Myself to name a couple would venture on there and show off our musical tastes. Those sessions broadened my outlook on music more than I could have imagined, then somewhere along the way, I stumbled onto PJ Harvey. I wish I can remember what exact scenario or algorithm led me to it, but boy was I blown away.

That still holds true now that I came back to Rid of Me. Very few records have this visceral, raw energy that palpitates out of it's system in the way this does. This is all down to PJ's unconventional songwriting & dramatic vocal performances; it starts off as something gently building in this well of emotional angst and then erupts once she deems it necessary. The tension that's created by her band only adds to this grungy aura that encompasses this masterpiece, it's meant to make your listen as uncomfortable as possible. I really don't know much more I can say about this album that hasn't already been said, it's one of the seminal alt/indie rock pieces in mankind. If you're brave enough to venture into this dark underworld, you'll be immeasurably rewarded by the performances of this queen.

We seriously gotta do a Plug reunion

 

Feb 16, 2021

tha god doing god's work. take your time brother but come back soon!

 

Nov 22, 2020

don't get this confused with bryter layter. this is akuma no uta from boris

 

Nov 22, 2020

Getting familiar with their disco, but that one a groove, that's what the homies listen to when I'm not around

 

Nov 19, 2020

@Boos

#63: XV - Zero Heroes (Remastered) [8.2/10]​

As if the last Charles Hamilton review wasn't already another trek up Melancholy Hill, you might as well call me Marty McFly at this rate with all this time travel. The Blog Rap era was like the primordial soup of everything that we have become accustomed to: a new level of interaction with our favorite rap stars, grassroots projects from artists at organically building a fanbase followed by record deals, a genuine interest from media sources at labeling these emerging talents as the next firebrand ready to stamp their mark as the new paragon of the genre...not to mention blogs/forums becoming hives for all these buzzing geeks *cough* SXN80 *wheeze*.
It was honestly a blast witnessing it firsthand, I used to frequent Rap Radar & The Smoking Section for the latest updates on the likes of J Cole, Drake, Wiz, Cudi, Meek, Mac--I can almost perfectly recount exactly where I was and what I was doing the first time I heard anything from any of those guys mentioned. Most of those names have been around for over a decade now, one of them we regretfully lost...let that sink in. For most of us this likely cemented our permanent presence within the hip-hop community, I know for me I still harbor a warmth for anything that dropped during this time period, among them, this gem of a tape.

I really thought XV could have been on a Gibbs/Curren$y-esqe level of continuity and fame, where he could comfortably churn out projects at how own pace. XV had a certain nerd charm, something that wasn't overly dramatic like Wale or verbose as Lupe, but accessible and endearing enough to distinguish himself. XV was also one heck of a curator, the sequencing and direction of lo-fi/soulful production is properly holistic as you venture further in. The production value of this tape is so unapologetically early 2010's, what once sounded innovative can be deemed as routine nowadays, but for the sake of context, I still honestly get a kick when I hear this b-----r. Perhaps it's nostalgia blinding me, but these mixtapes still feel so pristine, there are few traces of overproduced mixing that you can evidently hear on retail albums, in the case of Zero Heroes (Remastered) it's mixed to the point where the quality is friendly for your headphones but still retains it's straight-out-the-file Datpiff spirit. This is once again, not a mixtape masterpiece compared to a Da Drought 3 or a Re-Up g---, however it's still an eclectic reworking of backpacker rap and in the grander scheme of things, served as a gateway into the likes of more than just XV's talents, but buying into the whole enthusiasm and culture of what it's like to discover a unique rap project/artist and to watch them grow from there. That was the magic of the Blog Rap era, a bygone time when you look at it now, but those of us that still remember it, still cherish it.

 

Nov 12, 2020

Finally gonna be on vacation, gonna be dusting the cobwebs off and get back into it! Keep throwing albums at me, Imma be on my Future circa 2015 grind

 

Oct 21, 2020

@Jeans

#56: Talking Heads - Speaking in Tongues [9.2/10]​

Aight y'all let's get this s--- back started. Talking Heads, is a big deal when we look back at the bands from the 70's & 80's. Each band member is either one of the best, if not the best in their respective role. They brought international sounds to a Western audience before it became en vogue years later. Brian Eno worked predominantly with them and then went on to do Brian Eno things. David Byrne is a musical mad scientist, to best describe him...think of your talented autistic friend who continuously keeps finding all this obscure music and then pulls up to you "HEY HEY!!! Check this s--- out, NO ONE else has even gotten remotely close to discovering this!!!" I can only imagine him during the Remain In Light sessions when he was fully engrossed in Zimbra music and then coming back to his bandmates Chris, Tina & Jerry "Yo peep this African baseline, we HAVE to make this music!!" and then Tina reluctantly sighs "Lol whatever"

Now I think Remain In Light is their magnum opus, sorry Jeans. By no means however, can I swear by that with my hand in the Bible, that this album doesn't come close to changing my opinion. One listen to Speaking In Tongues will warp your perception on just how freaking groovy can a band of nerdy looking white people be. This was arguably Tina Weymouth's peak as being arguably the greatest bassist in a band, it's impossible to not sit still and move along to these baselines. In true Talking Heads fashion, this album is uncompromising and David Byrne challenges every conceivable notion of conventional songwriting (heck you can almost argue he actually starts rapping on a couple tunes). Ignoring basic song-structure with bridges from out of nowhere, bizarre hook chants and multiple deconstructions of musical tropes, it's an album that keeps you intrigued from top to bottom. Also, it's home to one of the greatest love songs you'll ever hear in your miserable lives, seriously its a seminal record that merits a deep dive in it's labyrinthine lyrics and of course the guitar work. Speaking in Tongues can be a challenging listen, but once you adjust to this jungle of odd sounds, you'll be glad you decided to sit with it.