Albums to Ride Out Quarantine 2

By StereoVision Staff

Last year, the Stereovision Staff compiled a list of some of our favorite records for our readers to enjoy while indoors safely riding out Covid-19 (also known by its government name, Coronavirus). Since then, it seems like this Covid business has only gotten worse, with the emergence of an anti-mask brigade, negligent partygoers willing to risk their lives to see The Chainsmokers, and more new strains than a PDX dispo. Here we are, a whole year since the world shut down, and we’re still stuck inside. We at Stereovision commend those that have spent the past year living responsibly - either by social distancing and/or simply maintaining a sacred love and respect for their fellow neighbor. Let this article deliver you a handful of records for you to revisit - or potentially discover - as we all wait patiently for life to go back to normal. With multiple vaccines in production, let’s all hope this is the last article of its kind. -Carter Fife

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What’s Going On (1971) - Marvin Gaye

On what is probably my favorite record of all time, Marvin Gaye takes his confusion and frustration with the current state of the world and focuses it into 40 minutes of the best R&B/Soul music you’ll ever hear. At the time of its release, America didn’t look quite so different to how it appears today - multiple wars were being fought overseas, racial discrimination was plaguing the sociopolitical realm like a moral rot, and barely 3-weeks prior a massive march on Washington D.C. took place condemning the Vietnam War. In what can only be described as musical catharsis, the next month Marvin Gaye released a collection of ethereal and sentimental tracks that would forever alter the lives of many - including himself. Though What’s Going On did not end a war on its own, or achieve universal racial equity and justice, what it did do was offer a lifeline of hope to those struggling, letting people know that things would get better and that they were not alone. While stuck inside in the midst of a deadly pandemic, we could all use another album like this one. -Carter Fife

Favorite Tracks: Flyin’ High, What’s Going On, Mercy Mercy Me

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Madvillainy (2004) - Madvillain (RIP)

Being back home has its perks, but for the most part, it is hard not to feel like you’re stagnating. Sleeping in my childhood bed has actually made me feel as if I had been reverting into my past self, filled with existential terror that 7 years have passed since I was 16. This has led me to revisit some of my high-school favorites while safely-nestled in the protective cotton of my old comforter and low thread count sheets. I should probably start talking about the record though - we’ve all heard it, we know it’s a classic. Already-nostalgic samples paired with some of the oddest and most infectious rapping heard on a record to this day, DOOM and Madlib did not have to snap like this. Hearing of DOOM’s passing was one of the lowest points of the past year, but it was a healthy and sobering reminder to appreciate the legends around us while they’re still here. Even though DOOM may be gone, his influence will never be forgotten. -Carter Fife

Favorite Tracks: Curls, Accordion, Eye

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Honest (2014) - Future

Because of the intense listening fatigue that is inevitable when you’re a music junkie in a global pandemic, going back and combing through the catalogs of your favorite artists is an absolute COVID essential. Very few deep dives were as enjoyable as that of Future Hendrix and while listening I was reminded of all the amazing drugged-out atmospheres I hadn’t explored since high school. If there’s one obvious observation I made during these sessions though it was that Future’s 2014 sophomore studio album Honest was the peak of the first act of his career and is without a doubt the most underrated thing in his discography. From the moment you press play on the intro and hear Pluto preach over the infectiously epic “Look Ahead” instrumental you can tell you’re in for a wild ride. Honest is so special because it’s the moment that Future evolved from a gifted young trap-rapper to one of the most influential artists of our generation. He takes countless risks over the course of the 66-minute run time and every single one results in an exciting moment that plays its part in moving the genre forward and cementing Fu as a true visionary. All this goes without even mentioning the legendary list of features that includes the likes of Kanye West, Drake, Andre 3000, Pharrell Williams, Lil Wayne, and many more. Honest is an absolutely essential piece of Future’s legacy and is home to some of his most prolific songs ever. -Spencer Lobdell

Favorite Tracks: Look Ahead, Special, Benz Friendz

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Some Rap Songs (2018) - Earl Sweatshirt

An album with endless layers, Odd Future alumni Earl Sweatshirt’s sophomore record Some Rap Songs is best listened to with an attentive ear. With stripped-back, minimalist, and oftentimes rugged production, the beat palette allows Earl to be cathartic, grieve, and mourn across an extremely tight 24 min runtime. Frankly, the raw emotion displayed on Some Rap Songs is something that millions are going through during a time like this. It’s nice to know that you aren’t alone in misery at times, and Earl does just that. -Luke Modugno

Favorite Tracks: Nowhere2go, Eclipse, Riot!

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Donuts (2006) - J Dilla

School, exercise, sleep, repeat. For many people, quarantine has been a constant cycle of repeating the same day over and over. If you want an easy way to break that, give J Dilla's classic beat tape Donuts a spin. Donuts keeps you on your toes, relentlessly throwing extravagant, intricate beats at the listener through the project. Besides being a quintessential classic in hip hop, with no lyrics, it’s the perfect background music for any quarantine activity. -Luke Modugno

Favorite Tracks: Workinonit, Time: The Donut of the Heart, Gobstopper

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Control System (2012) - Ab-Soul

For many people (including me) quarantine is accompanied by a perpetual boredom and lingering anxiety that we frequently evade but is always there. For these moments I found myself grasping for a record that could capture me entirely and allow me to escape my reality through vivid storytelling and profound ideas for my mind to explore. Over the past year, no album has been able to consistently hold my attention like Control System by Ab-Soul. Over the course of the record, Ab-Soul is strikingly honest which results in him finding something he had yet to discover prior to the 2012 release: His sound. This psychedelic sound he’s able to pull on sounds nearly biblical and his unique perspective on these emotions as someone with a foot in the streets makes his music powerful. Well tracks like “Terrorist Threats” and “Pineal Gland” showcase Ab-Soul’s cryptic mind, he doesn’t forget to have fun on his sophomore project, and songs like “Mixed Emotions” and “Illuminate” allow him to flex his ability as a generational rapper and can be added to playlists intended for lighter listening sessions. The prophetic project is Solo’s best work and should definitely be included in the conversation about the best TDE releases of all-time. -Spencer Lobdell

Favorite Tracks: Mixed Emotions, Illuminate, The Book of Soul

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Is It Selfish If We Talk About Me Again? (2020) - Kacy Hill

To be honest, I don’t have a long-winded explanation for why I’ve listened to this record so much since its release last July, or even why I recommend it to those struggling in quarantine. Kacy Hill’s sophomore record is a beautifully written and performed meditation on romance, growing up, and becoming the person that you are - and though I can only speak for myself, quarantine has really fucked my shit up. Let's be real, staying inside in your early 20’s can not be a good start to some of your most formative adult years. Perhaps it is for this reason that I find myself circling back to this record so frequently, for it offers me a rare dose of perspective and serenity that other albums lack. Yeah, things are borderline terrible right now, and I know that things will get better, but in the meantime, I want to be able to feel the reality of it all - all in hopes of avoiding age’s jaded numbness that quarantine seems to be catalyzing. Anyway - listen to this record. Cashmere Cat produced one of the tracks and it is god-tier music. Maybe I did have a long-winded explanation after all. -Carter Fife

Favorite Tracks: Palladium, Everybody’s Mother, Unkind.

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Hell Hath No Fury (2006) - Clipse

Although the majority of modern listeners seem more ready to talk about Clipse’s classic debut Lord Willin’ due to its energy and bite, it’s really the darker tone of their 2006 sophomore album Hell Hath No Fury that’s been pushing me forward through quarantine. With palpable chemistry that could only exist between brothers, Pusha T and No Malice craft a cocaine classic jam-packed with punch-lines like daggers and dazzling wordplay. That goes without even mentioning the emotional depth that the duo explores across the entire project - something that Push credits to Pharrell’s consistent encouragement to push boundaries and go deeper well recording the album. Speaking of Pharrell, Hell Hath No Fury (which was executively produced by The Neptunes) contains production which was so unique and electric that it would inspire an entire generation of hip-hop producers. The true beauty of Clipse’s second classic is that it isn’t even about coke, but rather everything that surrounds life in the dope game, from shinning highs to sobering lows. -Spencer Lobdell

Favorite Tracks: We Got It For Cheap, Hello New World, Nightmares

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Finally, when writing this article I reached out to some people on Instagram to hear what they had to say about their favorite records to listen to in quarantine. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the albums were either extremely low-tempo or the exact opposite. Selections like Tame Impala, Solange’s When I Come Home, and Raveena’s Moonstone EP were juxtaposed against Ken Car$on’s TeenX, redveil’s Niagara, and Kanye West’s Yeezus. There were also a lot of guilty pleasure records like Nothing But Love by Just Friends and Bath’s Ocean Death EP, but above all, I saw a lot of artists responding with their newly-created records. Even Nashville Rapper $avvy took the liberty of recommending his own record - which actually warmed my heart for a moment. It was a nice reminder that despite all the shit that has plagued the past year, there has still been an inspiring amount of resilience, strength, and creativity from the artistic realm. Without artists - especially now - quarantine would have been somehow worse than it already has been, so for that Stereovision wants to shout out every artist that has not let Covid-19 fuck with your creative spirit. Keep doing your thing, as long as it involves staying indoors, and hopefully, we’ll see you all at a music festival safely later this year (fingers crossed). 

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Kanye West’s Powerful Sunday Service at The Forum in Los Angeles

By Carter Fife

Last Sunday Kanye West provided Los Angeles with its very own Sunday Service event, the first since the release of his ninth solo studio album Jesus Is King. Hosted by The Forum, the faded gloss of the vermillion floors was obstructed by a multitude of different flora and in its center: a large grassy circular platform surrounded by lush and colorful flowers, all directly underneath a rounded screen. Astounding scenery aside, it was as if the diverse crowd of hypebeasts and older LA natives had accidentally come upon a secret oasis in the middle of Inglewood. 

This event was the first time West had performed many of the tracks off Jesus Is King live, and after following the rocky release schedule over the past year, there seemed to be an air of relief in the venue. Since West announced the release date for his latest project (then called YANDHI) in September 2018, the album went through multiple delays and transformations, many of which were attributed to West not feeling satisfied with the sound or progress of the record. As the year ended, many fans speculated that YANDHI had been scrapped, but feelings of hope began to rise when in January 2019 West began to privately host “Sunday Service” events, where he and a choir would dress in similar white garb and perform soulful gospel tracks for a select audience of the industry’s elite. Many of these tracks were softer and more religious interpolations of West’s previous work, which made these private events a joy for fans to track. After bringing his Sunday Service to Coachella, and a summer full of YANDHI leaks trickling out of the G.O.O.D music camp, West would later announce a tentative release date and tracklist for his new album Jesus Is King in the fall of 2019. 

Despite having Sunday Service / listening session hybrid events in Detroit, Salt Lake City, New York, Chicago, and even Kingston Jamaica, the album failed to arrive when West promised, and fans’ hopes were dashed again. At these events West also premiered portions of Jesus Is King: A Kanye West Film, an IMAX film created at the Roden Crater featuring performances from the Sunday Service choir, which received mixed reviews from attendees. A month later, ticket sales for the IMAX film appeared seemingly out of nowhere, West tweeted a new tracklist and release date for the record along with its new cover art, and as quickly as the promotion started, it ended Friday morning when Jesus is King released on streaming services. 

Sunday’s event was in part a spiritual successor to the events that preceded it: Sunday Service at the forum was part sermon, part Sunday Service choir performance, and part Kanye West show. Merchandise was available for purchase, including a garment that was designed in collaboration with AWGE, and a multitude of expensive garments that made some cry sacrilege. What set this event apart, however, was the sheer cinematic power that West’s performance had on its attendees. This was not a private gathering of Hollywood’s elite witnessing a shotty mess of hardware and plastic chairs, this was a public multimedia event that was West’s first show of the JIK era, complete with elaborate costuming, sound and stage design, guest artists and a setlist that had a little bit for everyone.

To put it lightly: the event did not disappoint.

Surrounded by around 50 performers including vocalists, percussionists, keyboard and brass players, West performed powerful renditions of his newest material, including beginning the event with an incredible performance of ‘Closed On Sunday’. Since Jesus is King’s release, this track has been under a large amount of scrutiny from critics and fans alike for the seemingly vapid hooks about Chick Fil-A and lemonade. While lyrically the humor in the song may be at odds with its other layers, there is no denying that this song has some powerful melodies that are accentuated heavily by the presence of a choir. The harmonic conversations created by West’s impassioned singing juxtaposed against the choir’s haunting aural register made my jaw drop, as before then I had given little attention to this song. 

This was not the only moment that West’s coordination of choir, instruments, and song choice captivated the crowd, as over the course of the two hour performance fans were treated to rare performances of church classics like “How Excellent”, improvised beat sampling by Kanye West, and even a religious themed rendition of Damian Marley’s legendary reggae anthem “Welcome to Jamrock”. This Sunday Service also featured the first live performance of “Saint Pablo”, guest appearances from Francis and the Lights (performing “Take Me To The Light”), and perhaps most notably, an unforgettable reunion of Clipse on “Use This Gospel” which also featured two solos from the legendary Kenny G on his soprano saxophone. 

Clipse and Kenny G join Kanye on stage for an awe-inspiring performance of “Use This Gospel”

Sunday Service at the Forum was visually striking as well, with each member of the choir being draped in bone-colored garments that featured the occasional splash of faded pastel coloring. Women danced in unison with long and beautifully decorated braids underneath a circular screen that projected different colored lights, and even a cloudy sky at various moments in the show. It was refreshing to see a stage that was in many ways an inverse of Kanye West’s stage design on 2016’s Saint Pablo tour. Before, West stood alone on the panopticon stage, hovering above his fans performing to them. On Sunday, West was under his fans performing for them, and aside from his performances of the tracks, there were many moments in the production where West was far from the focal point. Jason White, the service’s choir director, took the spotlight for the majority of the show while West would simply blend in with the performers. 

Whether or not one believes Kanye West to be a ‘true christian’, or a real supporter of the conservative party, or whether or not one boxes West to a caricature of a misguided celebrity plagued by mental illness and a growing distance between himself and reality, there is no denying that this event was powerful. Though the merchandise was expensive (LA Apparel / Yeezy Blanks cost far more to produce than Gildan Tees), entry to the event was only 15$ a person, as it was clearly designed to be a spectacle for the public to not only consume, but to be a part of as well. Audience participation was encouraged and never before have I been to a show where there had been such a tangible sense of elation both social and spiritual. Between seeing Kanye’s daughter playfully sing while on Kanye’s shoulders, and witnessing the reunion of one of hip-hop’s most powerful duos, Sunday Service at The Forum was an event I will not soon forget.

Listen to Kanye West’s new album Jesus Is King here:

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