Continuation of Excellence or Lack of Innovation? “It’s Almost Dry” Review

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by Asher Ali

Pusha T’s status as one of the most preeminent figures in “cocaine rap” has been in the work since he went under the moniker of Terrar as one half of the duo Clipse. Layered over beats almost exclusively produced by none other than Pharrell Williams, Terrance Thorton and his brother Gene slang bars like they were on a street corner.  

Push then caught the eye of Kanye West, and after signing with GOOD Music label in 2010, Thorton was promoted to company president two years later, and has been guided by Ye’s production and industry insight to a fruitful solo career. Push’s “DAYTONA” in 2018 was an elaborate composition arranged by West that took Push’s sound to new heights far and above what other coke rappers were doing then.  

Now, the duality of Push’s past career has conjoined on his newest project “It’s Almost Dry,” featuring six songs produced by Pharrell and six songs produced by West. The two hip hop maestros go toe to toe bringing some of the most solid beats heard this year, but outside of a few of tracks, this album doesn’t advance Push’s sound, much less the sound of contemporary coke rap.  

Pharrell immediately kicks it back to the Clipse days with “It’s Almost Dry’s” first track “Brambleton.” A smooth kick drum driven beat comes with Push’s malfeasance bars that cover his young life in Brambleton, Virginia where his mother worked and his adverse feelings toward ex-Clipse manager Anthony Gonzalez, who aired some dirty laundry with Push in a recent interview Gonzalez did with VladTV.   

Push immediately jumps onto another, more bombastic Pharrell beat with “Let The Smokers Shine The Coupes” where Push paints himself as the “coke game’s Dr. Seuss.” 

The first Ye backed track is introduced third on the track list with “Dreamin Of The Past” which is both lifted and brought down by Kanye. The track soars thanks to a well-pulled sample from Donny Hathaway’s “Jealous Guy” that lifts Push’s fluid drug-laced bars to a euphoric plane. As Push’s final verse fades, listeners are bombarded with an unwelcome verse from West, an awkwardly mixed 30 second feature the West rounds out with an uncomfortable line about how his family is currently unsafe.

Ye once again manages to be the greatest advocate and detriment for Push on “Rock N Roll” the alleged final song with Kid Cudi and West. Once again, a beautifully assembled beat on Ye’s end comes with a heinous guest verse from him, this one sounding more like the nonsensical bars that Kanye gave on the first rendition of DONDA 2. Cudi’s hook sounds muffled and over-produced as well, while Push delivers some strong verses about his premiere status at the top of the rap and the drug-dealing game.  

At his best on this album, Pusha T is elaborating on the narrative of authenticity, or lack thereof, in a world of glamor and fame. The two singles on the project, “Neck & Wrist” and “Diet Coke” address the lengths that people will go to fabricate a glamorous drug lifestyle in order to avoid actual hardships.  

“Neck & Wrist” sees Push and feature Jay-Z spitting over a whining synth and sharp piano key beat while they boast about a lifestyle they live but others pretend to have. HOV’s cutthroat line, “y’all spend real money on fake watches shockingly,” getting to the core of the absurd lengths people will go to construct facades.  

“Diet Coke” then expands on why people aspire to have a certain kind of life but aren’t willing to assume the risks.  

It seems on the latter portion of this project that Thorton lost motivation to push any boundaries however, which is disappointing when listeners come to expect that from him and his pen constantly. Not only did Push lose interest, but it appears Pharrell did too on “Call My Bluff” which is completely dry of energy and motivation.  

“Scrape It Off” is definitely this album’s attempt at a top charting club banger, featuring Don Toliver on the hook and Lil Uzi Vert. Toliver is as reliable as ever giving an ethereal hook, but Uzi phones in his verse and Push doesn’t bring an interesting flow to spice up the track on its back end.  

The final three songs on the albums are decent in their own right, but all come off as watered-down versions of more innovative cuts Push had earlier on the album. Even the final track “I Pray For You” doesn’t do much despite a beautiful intro and a Malice feature to rekindle a Clipse cut.  

“It’s Almost Dry” comes out strong to show that Push is still among the one of the most elite in the game, but a weak back half of the project doesn’t propel him to the new heights that people wanted to see. 

Favorite tracks: 

Just So You Remember 

Neck & Wrist (feat. JAY-Z & Pharrell Williams)

Dreamin Of The Past (feat. Kanye West)

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Asher Ali is a staff writer. Follow him on Twitter.

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DJ Khaled, Jay-Z, & Nas Drop New Video "SORRY NOT SORRY"

A reunion like no other.

By Luke Modugno

“Sorry, that’s another B.
Haters still ain’t recover from the other B.
Mm, that’s a double B.
Nah that’s a triple B, can’t forget ‘bout the other Bey. (Hey)”

— Jay-Z

JAY-Z and Nas hopped on DJ Khaled’s track “SORRY NOT SORRY,” off his latest record “KHALED KHALED.” The two rappers haven’t linked since their notorious beef in the early 00’s, so seeing two rap legends on a track is an undeniable blessing. The track also features James Fauntleroy, who provides a heavenly hook for the two rappers to boast about their success in the rap game. 

Khaled really assembled the Avengers for these features. Which track is the best off “KHALED KHALED?”

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Jay Electronica: Man or Myth? “A Written Testimony” Album Review

By Carter Fife

If you were to try and name the most anticipated hip-hop record you could think of, one with the most mythology or secrecy surrounding it, what records would come to mind? Some may be quick to talk about Kanye West’s rocky release of 2016’s The Life of Pablo, or maybe his 2018 opus YANDHI. Others may mention Dr. Dre’s record Detox, where after years of changes it was inevitably scrapped for his 2015 release Compton. Most would likely regale you with tales of waiting for Lil Wayne’s The Carter V, an album that was withheld by labels and rap figures, and even at one point owned by big pharma mogul Martin Shkreli before eventually hitting streaming platforms in 2018. What most of these records have in common - save for a select few - is that they were eventually released. For about a decade, fans awaited the release of Louisiana rapper Jay Electronica’s debut album, only to be met with year after year of frustrating silence. This all changed earlier this month, where previously solemn and reluctant acceptance turned into overjoyed optimism and fulfillment when Jay Electronica finally released A Written Testimony, his official debut album.

While A Written Testimony has not been in production since 2008 like one might expect, it was actually recorded over a 40 day and 40 night interval. The religious symbolism does not end there, as on the record itself Jay weaves religious references from Islam to Christianity into his writing in order to address topics of life, death, white supremacy, and the relationship between celebrity and public. When you have a background as illustrated as Jay Electronica, it seems only natural that your debut album serves more as an induction into the hip-hop stratosphere. Therefore, it is fitting that Jay Electronica is not alone on many of these tracks, accompanied by the legendary Jay-Z as they trade bars effortlessly over masterful mixes and prodigal production. 

The album begins with “The Overwhelming Event”, a track featuring Louis Farrakhan delivering a passionate speech over tragically beautiful strings. As his words of racial uplift and deliverance fade into the instrumental, pounding kicks begin to lay the foundation on which Jay and Jay begin the record. “The Ghost of Soulja Slim” immediately constructs a few different narratives that serve as lenses through which this record was created. Jay-Z naturally recounts his experience with gang activity, with bars like “From the era of police stretcher, no cameras catch it / Drop you off in a rival hood, you rather be arrested” and “[Soul music is] the blood that goes through me, so you assuming / I could never sell my soul, they sold they soul to me”. Faced with oppression from all sides, Jay-Z establishes an emotional register of this album that is painful and celebratory at the same time. It is from his struggle that he became the icon he is today, a simultaneously dejected and inspiring sentiment. Jay Electronica then comes in and delivers a verse equally invested in spiritual Arabic and poetic verse. He raps "Verily, verily, I tread through life merrily / Giving all thanks to God for this universal therapy” as the track comes to a close. It is the type of beautiful and cinematic moment that occurs so infrequently in life, and somehow the two manage to prevent instances like these from being so few and bar-between by bringing their best consistently on A Written Testimony. 

Every track on the record stands out both sonically and thematically. On the following track, “The Blinding”, which features a brief three-line hook from Travis Scott, the song is divided into two halves. The first is a bass and vocal-sample dominated soundscape over which Electronica and Jay-Z embellish on their status, using Jay-Z’s son Sir as a metaphor for the nobility that they both carry. The latter half is features bass but in a much less abrasive and more low-frequency kind of way. Piano keys decorate the minimal instrumental while Electronica reflects on the time spent not releasing music. He masterfully writes “Extra, extra, it's Mr. Headlines / Who signed every contract and missed the deadlines / 40 days, 40 nights, tryna live up to the hype / It's the road less traveled, it's the one who missed the flights / Hov hit me up like, "What, you scared of heights? / Know your sister tired of workin', gotta do her something nice" / When I look inside the mirror all I see is flaws / When I look inside the mirror all I see is Mars / In the wee hours of night, tryna squeeze out bars /Bismillah, just so y'all could pick me apart?”. This meditation on self-doubt and fame partly stands in opposition to the confident first half of the track. In pairing such a vulnerable verse alongside one so braggadocious, the mythology of Electronica is partly dismantled, but in a way it is also further enforced. His status and almost divine providence is a result of struggle, as his 30 seconds of rapping on this track reflects over a decade of unreleased writing. For someone who spent 12 years perpetually about to release one album, Electronica seems to be very carefully arranging his words here. It ends up working in his favor, however, as each intentional verse is delivered with a candor equally casual and confident.

There are too many high points on A Written Testimony to count. In one moment, a track featuring R&B mainstay The-Dream is constructed against a wall of classic instrumentals arranged by producer The Alchemist and Electronica himself. In the next moment, a victorious and spacious track features Jay and Jay celebrating their shared successes while James Blake and Travis Scott sing in the background, uncredited (which may itself be a testament to their success, and perhaps the biggest bragging point of this record). Even the song “Shiny Suit Theory”, the one track that predates the entire album by several years, feels fresh as if it has finally found a home in this ten track composition. Jay Electronica was not kidding about his versatility and power when he rapped "I was born to lock horns with the Devil at the brink of the hereafter / Me, the socket, the plug, and universal adapter” on “The Neverending Story”. He and Jay-Z manage to exceed all expectations and nail every performance from the intense and rattling behemoth “Flux Capacitor”, to the laid back and tropical “Fruits of the Spirit” that immediately follows it. 

A Written Testimony comes to its untimely ending with the two tracks “Ezekiel’s Wheel” and “A.P.I.D.T.A”. The former features a beautifully dreamlike mix of off-kilter vintage synths and clicking percussion. Before The-Dream begins singing his chorus, Electronica raps “ ‘’Some ask me ‘Jay, man, why come for so many years you been exempt?’ / Cause familiarity don't breed gratitude, just contempt / And the price of sanity is too damn high, just like the rent  /…/ Sometimes I was held down by the gravity of my pen / Sometimes I was held down by the gravity of my sin / Sometimes, like Santiago, at crucial points of my novel / My only logical option was to transform into the wind”. His lyrics reflect a comfortable confidence that is surrounded in anxiety, in the knowledge of how artists can be manipulated into tools for record labels to exploit or into products for the masses to consume. Electronica’s absence is explained as an easily understandable moral issue, where he grapples with furthering his career and craft and the potential expense of his soul. James Fauntleroy, another industry heavyweight, appears on the track to lend some guest vocals before the next track begins. 

“A.P.I.D.T.A”, or “All Praise Is Due To Allah” features some light percussion over a beautiful Khruangbin guitar arrangement. The track deals with death and the misery that can be accompanied when a person leaves but so much of them is left behind. Jay-Z softly raps about about screenshooting numbers and phone numbers, fragments of a relationship that he doesn’t want to lose. Jay Electronica raps "My eyelids is like levees but my tear ducts is like glaciers / As I contemplate creation, the salt that heals my wounds pour out my eyes just like libations / I can't stop my mind from racing, I got numbers on my phone / Pictures on my phone / The day my mama died, I scrolled her texts all day long/ The physical returns but the connection still stay strong”. I broke down listening to this track because I’ve lost people close to me and done the exact same thing. I remember the day a close friend of mine died a few years ago, I stayed in bed and scrolled through our old conversations the whole day. It was so easy to feel alone in that moment but tracks like these help me continue to realize that the rememory of a loved one can impact you long after the person leaves your life. The instrumental is beautiful, tragic, and almost magical in a sense. Without using words, it reflects the feeling of walking outside into the sunshine after a rainstorm. There is a silent somberness in the air as the track comes to a close, ending an album that many have been waiting for since 2008. Every theme on the record had a thematically tragic component to it, and this track somehow indulged the sadness into a moment at peace with its own tormented narrative. An incredible moment of closure both to this album’s narrative and A Written Testimony itself. 

Is it possible to say a record like this was worth the wait? Can an album really make 12 years of waiting worth it? Surely there has to be something to critique about it, right? Well sure, some may be disappointed with how frequently Jay-Z appears at a time that should be devoted to Jay-Electronica, but I think that Jay-Z’s presence works well as a voice that helps integrate this relatively rare voice into hip-hop’s mainstream. In addition to this some have criticized Electronica’s use of Islamic themes as vapid. While I agree that neither Jay nor Jay are lyrically reinventing the wheel, Electronica’s use of Arabic does at a spiritual sense to many of his poetic introspections. In short: the record is phenomenal. Electronica’s writing and production was artfully done, and all the guests (from AraabMuzik to Swizz Beatz to James Blake etc.) lended to Electronica’s special moment. Jay-Z’s raps can come off as overly cocky and exhaustive sometimes but he managed to deliver his bet on this record, aiding his friend flourish in the process. I will definitely be keeping this record in my daily rotation for the upcoming future, or at least until Electronica decides to drop a new project 12 years from now.

Favorite Tracks

The Blinding (Ft. Travis Scott)

Fruits of the Spirit

A.P.I.D.T.A

Rating: 10

Listen to A Written Testimony here:

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Major Key Alert: Dj Khaled Drops 11th Studio Album, “Father of Asahd,” as a Tribute to His 2-year-old Son

By Katie Kocher

Fans have been long-awaiting the drop of Father of Asahd since the title of the album was announced in March 2019 along with the single “Top Off.” Fast forward to this March, he announced the exact release date while promoting the album throughout various social media platforms, along with a trailer for the album. As expected, it serves as a sort of dinner party for distinguished artists to show case their unique sound and talent as opposed to a complete body of work. Khaled likes to make unpredictable pairings as evidenced by songs like “Celebrate,” featuring Travis Scott and Post Malone, “No Brainer” with Justin Bieber, Chance the Rapper, and Quavo, and “Higher” featuring Nipsey Hussle and John Legend. The music video for “Higher” was shot just before the rapper’s tragic death at the end of March. Khaled’s ability to connect various artists smoothly on a single track is unmatched, which serves as the foundation of his music industry success. 

Khaled is the son of Palestinian immigrants, and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He started to learn how to Dj in his garage at the age of 13, meanwhile working in small record stores. He met Lil Wayne and Birdman in the beginning stages of their careers, and was able to network and promote himself, eventually getting a portion of a time slot on the local radio station Mixx 93. Finally he was brought on as a regular DJ and given his very own time slot and production credits. 

Some favorites on the album include “Just Us” featuring SZA, on which Khaled once again shows his love for sampling by grabbing Andre 3000’s hook from “Ms. Jackson” by Outkast. 

“Higher” gets quite a bit of attention because of it’s feature of the late rapper Nipsey Hussle and the melancholy that it is bound to evoke in its listeners. The late king of LA delivers two excellent verses in his first release since his passing. His first verse is uplifting and motivating as he raps about his grandparents and how he came to be in America. For the second verse, Khaled switches the beat to something less grand and more mischievous. Nipsey matches this instrumental perfectly and reflects on the harder parts of his life living in South Central. This verse is harder to listen to now that we know Nipsey’s tragic fate. Lines like, “Emptied out the clip, it was broad day/Fuck niggas always gotta learn the hard way” hit different when you’ve seen videos of the late rapper getting shot in the middle of the day. John Legend jumps in for the chorus, giving the track a sentimental touch. 

“Freak N You” combines the raw talent of a rap veteran Lil Wayne with Atlanta native Gunna, who made it big in 2016 from a feature on Young Thug’s track “Floyd Mayweather” and has since become a very sought after voice in the rap game. The track is infectious, catchy, and holds all the qualities of a hit.

“Top off” features the the holy trinity of Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Future and was one of the singles released last year as a prelude to the album. Although this record has gotten mixed reviews, it’s hard to deny that those three can deliver hard hitting lyrics and top notch vocals. 

Lastly, “Thank You” with Big Sean presents a classic mellow beat and smooth flow. It references Sean’s ex and one of the world’s leading artists, Ariana Grande, with the lyric “Plus I gotta thank my exes on some ‘thank u, next shit,’” stirring some questions about their relationship. 

Father of Asahd delivers a handful of radio hits (“No Brainer”), following in the footsteps of his previous albums, yet also throws in a few distinct  tracks that cut deep and are more personalized to certain audiences (“Higher”). As expected, it includes top artists across the hip-hop/rap genre, making it easy for listeners to enjoy at least one if not several tracks from this album. While the album lacks any kind of cohesion, unity, or themes, that should be expected with a DJ Khaled record and listeners should be able to take the collaborative album at face value and have fun with it.

Favorite Tracks:

Just Us (Feat. SZA)

Higher (Feat. Nipsey Hussle & John Legend)

Freak N You (Feat. Lil Wayne & Gunna)

Rating: 6

Listen to Father Of Asahd here:

Father Of Asahd, an album by DJ Khaled on Spotify

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