A Meditation on Space with King Krule: “Space Heavy” Reviewed

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by Luke Modugno

We have a peculiar relationship with the concept of space. As vague in definition as it is in reality, space can signal overwhelming novelty. Novelty of location, people, community and circumstance. In the same vein, space can separate, destroy and alienate.

Since the 2010’s rolled around and, by consequence, rolled past, few individuals in music have matched the sheer despondence harnessed by Archy Marshall’s artistry, better known as King Krule. Meticulously crafting a discography that sits on a foundation of despair, heartbreak, romantic failures and the cruelty of the universe, Marshall illuminates the drab, dismal and visceral aspects of the human condition. If his earlier work like 2013’s 6 Feet Beneath the Moon and 2020’s Man Alive! are reductions of Marshall’s outlook on the negative aspects of his life, his latest masterpiece Space Heavy is fixation on the metaphysical hands that pull our lives apart from one another.

Archy Marshall, aka King Krule. Shot by Billboard.

Written between 2020 and 2022, Space Heavy follows Marshall’s psyche through a period of frequent migration for the British native. Constantly travelling between his homes in Liverpool and London, Marshall became obsessed with the concept of physical space. During his commutes, he became fascinated by the space between, which often coincides with grappling with change, forced or natural. Coupled with the dread of “losing people and situations to the guillotine of the universe,” Space Heavy’s sonic landscape is as desolate and crushingly lonesome as Marshall’s mind at the time.

The duality of space is mirrored by Space Heavy, as it snaps in-and-out of focus with the plethora of negatives and positives distance has brought about in his life. Atmospherically jazzy throughout, sound acts as Marshall’s transistor for conveying the raw emotions attached to his disjointed lyrics. Assigning genre to Space Heavy is tricky, it can be best summed up as a quintessential King Krule experience. Marshall’s screams and shrieks layer harmoniously with the jarring guitar sections, wailing saxophone solos and harrowing violin on tracks like “Hamburgerphobia,” “Pink Shell,” and most notably, the title track.

Marshall’s songwriting on Space Heavy is brilliantly dense. Inventive and alluring at every turn, the spiritual gateway between Archy’s soul and his pen is unbarred. From reflecting on the fickle beauty of cities we pass through while travelling on “Seaforth” to enduring the tortuous splitting seams of a relationship on “Tortoise of Independency,” Marshall’s delivery in tone and chosen verbiage throughout Space Heavy exhibit one of the most coveted traits an artist can possess: humanity.

Whether he’s releasing a blood-curdling groan over a guitar solo or utilizing his penmanship to emulate heartbreak in a mind-splitting manner, a microcosm of the record’s success comes on its title track. Albeit a brief reflection on a failed relationship, Marshall’s writing and sonic capabilities come together here, creating a clear standout. Without trying, Archy’s mind wanders back to his lost flame, “I had no thought about it, she appears from nothing, out the blue.”

“I sink in full armor, the lake is oil of misery, get ready slurp it up,” harmonizes Marshall. The decaying state of their relationship forces Marshall to engage his own defense mechanisms, putting up his armor. He knows this will inevitably end the relationship, sinking him deeper into a depressive pit. He won’t perish from separation, he knows that (oil to water), but the overbearing weight of his psyche will surely try. Marshall continues “I refused to be saved, my plastic straw.” Belting out, akin to nails on a chalk board, “my plastic straw” over a growing guitar and drum, Marshall is consumed by misery in his effort to trudge on minus his lover. Considering its designation as the title track, the space between him and his ex is weighing heavily.

King Krule has always had an inherent ability to connect to the essence of human experience. Space Heavy represents an obvious persistence of that talent, except on this effort, it’s focused, contained and a bit more poignant. Space shapes our lives in immense ways that are often indelibly defining. Music of the utmost quality such as Space Heavy does the same.

favorite tracks:

From The Swamp

Space Heavy

If Only It Was Warmth

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Luke Modugno is the editor-in-chief.

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Controlled Chaos: JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown Split Heads on "SCARING THE HOES"

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by Luke Modugno

What makes both Danny Brown and JPEGMAFIA’s artistry durable is their unrivaled devotion to the bumps and bruises of their own music. The two have mastered the art of employed imperfection, giving their records an unmistakably rugged finish. Within that artistic direction, Peggy and Danny have cultivated distinguishable styles, Peggy’s driven by beyond obscure production and Danny’s by off-kilter rhymes and delivery. The marriage of these two uncontrollable minds could be a considered a dream by some, and nightmarish by others (the hoes).

A collection of 14 volatile and abrasive tracks, SCARING THE HOES represents a caustic combination of rap’s most audacious forward-thinkers.

Jaggedly stitching together soul and gospel samples, iPhone text notifications, Lady Gaga and Ski Mask the Slump God cameos, Peggy’s work behind the boards on this record is best described as an unmitigated commitment to contrariness. As with the rest of Peggy’s work, SCARING THE HOES has distinct punk undertones, both in attitude and sonic style. Simply put, a lot of the things Peggy is trying here shouldn’t work. But they do, and they fit Danny’s unnatural tonality and rhyming superbly. Whether he’s fusing a somber jazz piano loop with hyperactive drums on “Jack Harlow Combo Meal,” borrowing a melody from a K-Pop song to blend with bouncy trap bass for “Kingdom Hearts Key,” or crafting a fidgety union of hyperpop and hip-hop on “Fentanyl Tester,” SCARING THE HOES’ uncompromisingly avant-garde nature is nothing short of incredible.

While the production is remarkable, SCARING THE HOES really comes into its own when it’s met with the duo’s clever and witty pens. Perhaps the most fitting example of the sheer power of their team-up comes in the form of “Burfict!” Draped with triumphant horns and thumping 808s, Danny’s cagey rhyme scheme and catchy hook emit pure electricity. Paired with Peggy’s raucous adlibs and closing verse, not only is “Burfict!” one of the standout songs on SCARING THE HOES, but additionally an undisputed song of the year candidate.

Neither Peggy or Danny are flooring listeners with their technical rapping ability on this tape, rather their one-liners steal the spotlight and more than a few laughs. “I feel like Papa John (insane),” raps Peggy on “Lean Beef Patty.” On the biblical “God Loves You,” Danny raps “Her with my dick like David and Goliath.” True to its humorous title, Peggy and Danny keep things lighthearted and comical throughout. Even though Peggy and Danny aren’t sharing any “Otis”-esque moments of bar trading on SCARING THE HOES, their rapping techniques are ideal foils to each other, something that is visible from one end to the other.

While this record represents a victory lap for the pair, SCARING THE HOES presents its own challenges and shortcomings. The LP sees Peggy is pushing genre boundaries while simultaneously pushing his own ability to mix the record properly. While Danny Brown mocked the criticisms of the album’s mix on Twitter, it is an entirely fair critique of the album. Danny’s verse on the opener “Lean Beef Patty” is practically unlistenable as the sidechaining essentially mutes Danny’s verse on every kick hit. Similarly, “Steppa Pig’s” brutal percussion and jumpy electronic elements nearly overpower both emcees. Conversely, looking at the mix as a stylistic choice also makes sense as well. With the title track having a similar mixing problems, the issue is certainly tangible.

But what are critiques if not perceptions? Sure, you can choose to perceive the mix as a flaw, or another calculated imperfection. Does either matter to Danny Brown or JPEGMAFIA? Do any perceptions of their music matter to them? Not in the slightest, and that’s what has allowed both to blossom into an artistic space where making such a staggeringly bold record is possible.  When collaborative records match the gravity and talent their duos command individually, the outcome is a substantial, as is the case with this album. A continuation of two brilliant careers, SCARING THE HOES is a record we’ll be talking about for quite a while.

Favorite Tracks:

Burfict!

God Loves You

HOE (Heaven on Earth)

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Luke Modugno is the editor-in-chief.

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An Indomitable Spirit and Hunger: “Beware of the Monkey” by MIKE Reviewed

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by Luke Modugno

Art will always be a haven for the ambiguous and the obscure. No matter the medium, art provides grounds for creatives to test the status quo, borrow from the past and amalgamate it with a progressive future. From the onset of his career, Brooklyn’s resident underground hip-hop vanguard MIKE has found himself at home within his experimental niche.

Bursting onto the underground scene with the elusive New York collective sLUms, MIKE’s undisputable mic presence fused with a uniquely warped production style has turned heads since day one. Augmenting his pen, wordplay, introspection and skill as a producer with each release, MIKE has silently become one of the most talented acts in rap’s avant-garde sector. Beware of the Monkey, his latest project, only solidifies the emcee as one of his generation’s most powerfully forward thinkers.

Courtesy of HYPEBEAST

Preluding the release with a slew of notable singles and a three-track EP with Wiki and The Alchemist, those who were paying attention to MIKE’s trajectory could see what lens Beware of the Monkey was peering through before its arrival. A continuation of so many of the idiosyncrasies that made 2021’s Disco! a dense and head-swirling composition, Beware of the Monkey picks up the pieces of MIKE’s despair and refigures them, recontextualizes them, harbors them in his pen and hands them off to the listener in the form of 13 comprehensive tracks.

While usually borrowing a page of Some Rap Songs’ burned and tattered blueprint of confessionary, gut-wrenching writing focusing on crumbling, crushing depressive states, MIKE has a unmistakable hunger for more on this record. Sure, his drab tonality and lyrical content are here, but there’s an ambition and boldness to Beware of the Monkey. If MIKE was asking questions on projects like MAY GOD BLESS YOUR HUSTLE and War in my Pen, he’s moving significantly closer to the answers on Beware of the Monkey. The result of astute solitary observation and theorization, MIKE’s growing up with his music. “Live like it’s my all, gotta give a bunch/Sit tight through the fog it be bigger floods” he spits on the stunning opener “nuthin I can do is wrng.” MIKE’s moved past allowing the vapid dystopia he occasionally inhabits affect his outlook on life, a sentiment that’s backed by the follow-up track “As 4 Me.”

Stating his intention to showcase why he should be consider amongst the greatest rappers in the world, MIKE lays down a viscous flow over a intoxicating beat. This craving is demonstrated by his clever one liners, existential psychology and technical ability throughout Beware of the Monkey. Perhaps the most potent illustration of MIKE’s intricate commentary comes in the form of “Tapestry.” Struggling to make a distinction between complacency, success and converting his passionate hobby into a lucrative business, MIKE’s mind state leads him right back to his greatest asset as a writer: asking alluringly pertinent questions about himself and the world around him. “We in the crib making classics/It be hard making a living in catastrophe/At our darkest this shit be hidden in fallacies,” MIKE raps. “Tapestry” and the commentary it makes regarding MIKE’s past, present and future as a rapper is an absorbing example of his maturation as a writer and human being.

Sonically, Beware of the Monkey is utilizes a decisively brighter palette. Sticking to the use of distorted vocalizations as the backbone of his production, MIKE’s skill behind the board is boundless. MIKE uses this inherent skill to convey a broad range of feelings and moods. Utilizing his features in the same vain as a sample, “Stop Worry!” is pushed along by a head bopping chorus from dancehall legend Sister Nancy. From the determined and nearly motivational horns of “No Curse Lifted (rivers of love)” to “Ipari Park’s” haunting piano loop, MIKE has continually proven that the some of the most inventive production from this batch of avant-garde rap producer emits from his discography.

With Beware of the Monkey, MIKE has proven that he has all he needs. He has the raw feel of a contemplative writer. He has the ear and mind of a producer capable of baroque sonic tapestries. And he certainly has the ability to merge it all into a sweeping hip-hop masterpiece. At this point, all he needs is your attention, and more importantly, your respect.

favorite tracks:

nuthin i can do is wrng

As 4 Me

Ipari Park (feat. Klein)

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Luke Modugno is the editor-in-chief.

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An Exhibition in Consistency: Freddie Gibbs’ “SSS” meets expectations

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by Luke Modugno

Artistic complacency is a term that has an unjustly poor connotation. When you’re as consistent and dependable as Freddie Gibbs, being smug and content about the prestige of your career is, really, quite easy.

Such is the story of Freddie Gibbs’ latest record $oul $old $eparately, as Gibbs revamps his signature blend of typically transcendent coke raps over avant-garde trap and alternate hip-hop production. However, the “Alfredo” follow-up is relatively unsurprising in both positive and negative aspects.

Few artists can match the album run Gibbs has produced in the time frame of 2014 through 2022. Crafting two classic records with help from hip-hop’s most fabled producer Madlib, receiving a Grammy nomination for his brilliant collaboration project with The Alchemist, Alfredo and delivering a steady supply of high-quality music in between, Gibbs is a well-oiled machine at the art of album curation.

While this record is a revisitation of the chemistry constructed between Gibbs, The Alchemist and Madlib, $oul $old $eparately opens the door behind-the-boards to some intriguing producers. James Blake, KAYTRANDA and DJ Dahi all bring their incredibly diverse sounds to this record, allowing Gibbs to tinker with the experimentation of his usual formula.

While Gibbs wanders outside his comfort zone for a portion of the record on tracks like “Dark Hearted,” Gibbs is simply a master of his craft and he utilizes that to generate the clear standouts of the track list.

“Blackest in the Room” is pushed along by a silky and luxurious Alchemist loop and accompanied by a beat switch that display Gibbs’ versatility as an emcee. Switching flows multiple times throughout the track, it seems almost too easy for Gibbs to craft intriguing and memorable verses. “Space Rabbit” and “PYS” featuring DJ Paul are aggressive trap bangers showcasing his dizzying flow and clever word play. Madlib provides an angelic horn loop for the closer “CIA,” recalling the same brilliance produced on “Gat Damn” off of 2019’s Bandana. All-in-all, $oul $old $eparately’s bright spots are a quality union of the works that have propelled Gibbs to rap prestige.

Following suit of the elite producer credits on this album, Gibbs’ recruits for $oul $old $eparately’s feature list don’t disappoint. Anderson .Paak’s suave graces “Feel No Pain” in his catchy hook joined by a Raekwon verse that harkens back to the excellence of his early Wu-Tang days. Pusha T adds to his catalogue of flawless features on Gold Rings, and Rick Ross easily blends with the opulence emitted from the production on “Lobster Omelette.”

While Gibbs’ usual subject matter, sonic aesthetic and technical superiority are all in attendance on $oul $old $eperately, it’s hard to overlook the fact that the record produces a mere iota of the grandness we’ve become accustomed to with new releases from Gibbs. In Layman’s terms, $oul $old $eperately is watered-down in some ways.

It’s not unfair to call $oul $old $eperately unambitious. We’ve grown accustomed to Gibbs dropping boundary-pushing art consistently. Records like Alfredo, Pinata and Bandana have placed the bar extraordinarily high for new releases from Gibbs, a bar that simply isn’t surpassed on $oul $old $eperately. Gibbs isn’t getting any more creative with his pen here, he isn’t flexing his vocal range as much as anticipated, and the beat selection, while admirable, isn’t unique to his catalog.

Instead, $oul $old $eparately is a victory lap for an artist who deserves all the flowery praise he receives. Speckled with intriguing and ear-catching tracks, this record is a microcosm of the successes Gibbs has enjoyed throughout his tenured career. Freddie Gibbs has nothing to prove, and still raps his weight in bricks on $oul $old $eparately.

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Luke Modugno is the editor-in-chief.

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Back and Better than Ever: "Intros Outros & Interludes" reviewed

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by Luke Modugno

Domo Genesis has always occupied an evocative lane of the Odd Future assemblage. Since their split and subsequent pursuit of solo work back in 2015, each member of the former collective has journeyed deeper into their experimental absorptions, morphing their artistry into something that hardly resembles their original work. However, Domo’s latest record Intros, Outros & Interludes is more of the same from the 31-year-old emcee, in the best way possible.

Clocking in at 11 tracks spanning 25 minutes, the concision and precise identity lyrically, sonically and aesthetically of Intros, Outros & Interludes is what propel this to be Domo’s most outstanding individual work to date.

Executively produced by Evidence, a sapling stemming from The Alchemist’s tree of influence, the record is a product of contemporary alternative hip-hop: soul vocal loops, antique drums, stumbling horns, pianos and other instrumentation splattered and dragged through the dusty, brilliant producer’s mind of Evidence. The direction behind-the-boards pairs smoothly with Domo’s delivery, which retains its intrigue via his unique intonation. 

As the record static cuts in on the opener “Don’t Believe Half” and the accompanying horn loop joins, Domo’s pen and delivery makes it blatantly obvious that he’s been working on perfecting his craft during his nearly five year absence from music. “I'm probably out the way, but I’m exactly where to be at/the energy where we at/and the home where my feet at/the road is what I drive on, the chrome where the seat at” shows Domo’s retention of his witty pen from his Odd Future days. Mixed with his especially nasally inflection on this track and across the record, Intros, Outros & Interludes properly displays Domo’s full potential as a solo rap artist. 

The ever promising Navy Blue joins Domo on track two, “Skeletons,” with a beat tailor-made for Navy’s obscure braggadocio and clever word play. Remy Banks, Griselda’s-own Boldy James and Evidence join Domo as featured artists, all with exceptional verses in their own right. Beside Intros, Outros & Interludes representing Domo’s most complete and remarkable body of writing, this record is easily his most distinguished sonically. 

Every beat on Intros, Outros & Interludes emits its own exclusive aura, affording Domo a diverse palette of experimental flavors to work with on this project. The heading nodding vocal chop on “Trust the Process” is simply filthy. A clever soul sample paired with a skilled emcee has rarely failed, and “Stay One More Day” and “Running, Running” are no exception to that trend. The luxurious piano and grimy drums on “Victories & Losses” provide a lush backdrop for Domo and Evidence to trade bars. Boldy and Domo’s relaxed deliveries pair well with the lo fi production on “December Coming.” All-in-all, Intros, Outros & Interludes is in the conversation of being the best produced hip-hop record of the year.

With next to zero skips, drastic improvements lyrically, artistically and directionally from Domo Genesis, Intros, Outros & Interludes is a premier release in hip-hop during 2022. A glorious return to form, Domo has proven here that he is definitively back and here to stay.

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Luke Modugno is the editor-in-chief.

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A Glamorous Return to Form: “2000” by Joey Bada$$ reviewed

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by Giovanni Recinos

It’s crazy to think that ten years ago much of the world was first exposed to the witty wordplay of Joey Bada$$ and the Pro Era crew through his cult-classic debut project, 1999. It is even more wild to think that it has been five years since we saw Joey drop an album with 2017’s All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$. All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$ introduced us to Joey’s venture into more radio-friendly singles and his stray away from much of his boom-bap inspired rhymes. While Joey’s fascination for catchier tracks initially made me fear his artistic direction for the future, 2000 is in no way a miss. 2000 is in many ways a mixture of these two projects, with it being a return to his 1999 form, while also acknowledging the major changes of Joey’s lifestyle, sound and the changes in the genre over those years.

If 1999 is Joey’s Ready to Die, then 2000 is his Life After Death, in the sense that Joey’s hunger really shines on 1999, whereas on 2000 Joey loses a lot of that hunger and instead recognizes a much more comfortable rap space that he can call his own. Songs such as “Make Me Feel” and “Zipcodes” really showcase the strengths of most of the project, as the individual songs often stand on their own as aux-cord friendly with its fly style and smooth instrumentation. Many of the songs include co-signs from artists like Nas, and Diddy that at first felt a bit forced, but I have grown to appreciate them. Considering Joey was only 17 when he dropped 1999, it gives the album a nice coming-of-age feel.

Another highlight on the album for me was the song “Brand New 911”. After hearing Joey’s contributions on Westside Gunn’s, “327” I had hoped Joey would nod more to the new Griselda style as it suits him well. This song definitely recognizes some of those changes in the New York style and the two do the song justice.

While the project sounds great, beyond that surface level it can feel a bit disappointing. The album may strive in Joey's captivating style, but its greatest weakness in my eyes is its noticeable feel of lacking true heart in its lyricism. What made 1999 a repeat listen to many fans was its complex lyricism with layers of double and triple entendres, whereas with this project the lack of substance (or even character) makes me less compelled to do a deep dive into Joey’s lyrics.

Ironically, a new “era” has definitely arrived for Joey with the project noticeably lacking any of the Beast Coast or Pro Era crew (outside of production) and that also swipes a lot of my personal interest. A new era may not be a bad thing, but Joey has lost a lot of his brand personality with the loss of the Beast Coast momentum, and friendly competition brought in the past by peers like Meechy Darko, Nyck Caution or Kirk Knight. “Survivors Guilt” is a definite highlight and exception, being the one song that really compels me to follow its lyricism. Other than that most of the album just feels like a collection of songs of braggadocio and glamour. While this is not necessarily a negative in its own, when compared to the level of lyricism on the predecessor, 1999, it could definitely disappoint some of Joey’s fanbase.

Overall the project is super solid, especially when hearing it in pieces. But the real disappointment is Joey taking too long to drop new music. In the future, hopefully Joey will drop music more consistently even if it means less wordplay or depth involved in the projects. Joey’s bold claim, “who the best emcees? Kenny, Joey and Cole” may not be wrong, but he hasn’t dropped enough music to the public to prove that claim. Considering the relationship between Westside Gunn and Joey Bada$$, I have high hopes that Joey could drop more projects. Maybe even a Westside Gunn curated, Joey Bada$$ album at some point. I definitely would recommend this project, but it would be hard to call it my favorite of his.

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Giovanni Recinos is a staff writer.

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Prophetic and Intricate, Lupe Fiasco’s “DRILL MUSIC IN ZION” Incites Reflection

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by Asher Ali

Chicago is musical ground zero for how it has innovated sound through time, with key figures giving new meanings to music that matches the city’s eclectic nature. Muddy Waters created “Chicago blues” giving the southern-based music a more industrial sound, DJ Frankie Knuckles started house at Chi-town establishment The Warehouse, and drill could stand as its own personality for how it popularized a whole city’s rap scene in the early 2010s.

Drill gave birth to some of modern rap’s most generational talents like Lil Durk, Fredo Santana, and perhaps the genre’s most prolific figure in Chief Keef. Popular rappers up to that point promoted dangerous behavior with a sort of contemplation that demonstrated the duality of these actions, while Sosa and his peers in drill enthusiastically gloated about their indulgence in illicit behavior over high-flying drill beats. 

Wasalu Muhammed Jaco, known worldwide as Lupe Fiasco, comes from Chicago’s Westside, and rose to prominence in the late-20002/early 2010s for a very different sounding version of rap than what Chief Keef helped cultivate. Around the time of Sosa’s first hit, Fiasco had just ascended to a No. 1 Billboard 200 album spot with Lasers, an album that pandered to radio plays for its oversaturated electronic sound with up-tempo pop bars thrown on top. 

Instead of remaining in this unimaginative state which afforded him the limelight, the Chicago native innovated his sound greatly starting with 2015’s Tetsuo & Youth. From the systemic effects of slavery on Black people to the peculiarities of religion, Fiasco became unafraid to take on complex issues that he felt a deep connection with.

And on Fiasco’s latest project, Drill Music in Zion, the hip-hop veteran brings his most sonically and thematically centered piece of art yet, with poignant messages coming hand in hand with serene beats and rhythms. As the title alludes to, the album is a philosophical analysis of the dual effects that drill, and the dangerous lifestyle of the modern-day trapper have had on Chicago’s youth. 

In Drill Music in Zion, Fiasco’s voice is meant to be mentoring and critical toward up-and-coming rappers. The seasoned veteran’s sagacity and intellect widely allows him to do this as his bars often ring true and well thought out, and he only comes off as excessively didactic a handful of times on the album.  

Fiasco sets his narrative to the backdrop of benevolent synth jazz rhythms, creating a juxtaposition between his sound and the very genre of music he’s addressing. 

Wasting no time, the album begins with “The Lion’s Deen”, a two and half minute spoken word piece delivered by Fiasco’s sister, Ayesha Jaco. The opening stanza from Ayesha echoes, “Drill music, pop that pill music, kill music, desecrating the temples and the ghettos, funeral processionals increase their frequency because we can’t break the spell of Geppetto.”

The poetic verse decries the glamorization of the dangerous lives that drill artists and their associates lead, stating that its popularity has only fed into a false narrative about this livelihood’s perceived grandiose. It clearly paints contemporary rap as an issue that has kept up a cycle of instability in some communities as younger musicians became infatuated with becoming a rapper who poses as a trapper, instead of a true artist. 

This twisted cycle is something Fiasco takes aim at on back-to-back tracks “Precious Things” and “Kiosk” — two tracks that address how material obsession has changed rap for the worse. Led by an angelic chorus from Nayirah, “Precious Things” candidly describes how the pursuit of a faux nefarious lifestyle can create more problems than opportunities for rappers. “Kiosk” meanwhile is a metaphorical story set in a mall, where the jewelry bought by rappers and trappers are fraught with perils that outweigh the image of affluence that the customers are trying to chase. 

Quickly, Fiasco is keen to back up his philosophy on those two songs with his philosophy behind the message on “Ms. Mural”. This five-and-a-half-minute diatribe addresses a myriad of closely related topics that revolve around what Fiasco clearly sees as the degeneration of rap.

The song is adept in its ability to fluidly transition from one topic to another, tying them together to paint a complete picture of why Fiasco is so morose about the state of rap. He expresses that nobody in today’s game dares to be too different, where instead of trying to be more creative than one another, the competition is driven by who has more clout, stating that “the velocity of trends is what referees the pace.”  

With a track that contains so much verbiage over an extended period, Fiasco does throw out some head-scratching misses in his bars such as “it’s not really a beat but conceptually at stake, like genitals and gender roles, they successfully conflate.” The song also leaves very little breathing room which would allow listeners to chew on the material for long enough to get a full picture, which ultimately makes some of the lines that stick out more seem perplexing.

“Naomi” by contrast is a smooth jazz riff that Fiasco is a much lighter presence on. While the bars aren’t as hard hitting as before, Fiasco is still able to get his religious perspective off his chest here as he finds modern culture in general, not just the rap world, to be trending toward more devilish habits. 

The album’s title track keeps up with the jazzy flow where Fiasco’s bars pop with vibrant rhythm behind it. Even in his rhythmic tuning, Fiasco delivers arguably his most deep concept of the entire project, delivering the idea that rap used to be a celebration of the Black conscience, but has now been weaponized for the sake of capitalism. He even calls it “copper Ebonics” relating how like the raw material, Black verse has become a tool, co-opted for profit.

Finally, after painting around the direness of a clout-chasing rap lifestyle, Fiasco opens the closer on Drill Music in Zion with the deadpan, but hard-hitting verse, “rappers die too much, that’s the verse.” As euphoric synths hum in the background of “On Faux Nem”, Fiasco proceeds to go all in on the egregiously monetized structure of drill, rap, hip-hop and everything in between.

He calls out the greediness of the streaming area while denouncing the overuse of posthumous music for the sake of squeezing every last drop of money out of artists. His analysis is all laid out in verse that is elaborate, sensible and digestible for listeners. 

The angelic and infectious sounds of Drill Music in Zion are overall an asset that will allow listeners to return to the album with ease for multiple listens. Even with the subject matter, which while prophetic and wise, can be so philosophical at times that it’s hard to chew, the harmonies of jazz wrapped around Fiasco’s rhymes create a project well worth a listen and a larger discussion about where rap stands in the modern zeitgeist. 

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Asher Ali is a staff writer.

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Letting Go Of Love With Steve Lacy: “Gemini Rights” Album Review

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by Luke Modugno

Duality is a quality that seems to plague the entirety of humanity. In a reality constructed on subjective truths, an immeasurable amount of perspectives and an incalculable abundance of contexts, perceiving with consistency has been an ageless challenge to our species. That challenge is clearly amplified for people like Steve Lacy. 

The Compton native has returned from a two-year hiatus, bringing with him his second studio album Gemini Rights. Lacy isn’t embracing the role of an activist for a specific astrological sign on this record, as the title may suggest. In fact, he’s precisely and loudly presenting the stereotypical, infamous vice of a Gemini: indecision. 

We’ve seen rap megastars (and fellow Gemini) Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar illustrate their own internal strife as it relates to social issues, their world views and ego’s. However, Lacy’s chronic issue with irresolution has put him in an unfavorable spot on Gemini Rights. 

From track-to-track, Lacy is decidedly over his ex-lover. Then, in a whiplash of an instant, he’s head-over-heels for them. Because of Lacy’s flawless and skilled songwriting, Gemini Rights conveys a flurry of romantic feelings. With regret, sorrow, passion, lust and anger snapping into focus across the record, Lacy gives listener’s emotional motion sickness in a way only a bonafide poet could. While Lacy has never struggled to touch on romantic subjects throughout his discography, Gemini Rights approaches the subject with unprecedented nuance and thoroughness. 

“Static,” the opening track, sets the table for Gemini Rights, as Lacy serenades his ex with such elegance that it’s almost as if he isn’t vilifying them and their transgressions against their shared love. “If you ever had to stunt your shining for your lover, dump that fucker” is sung with a particularly intense vitriol that makes it seem that Lacy is finally over them. 

The funky distraction from post breakup depression that is “Helmet” sews the seeds of doubt in the listeners head that Lacy may be an unreliable narrator. Although trying his best to seem unphased and unbothered by their split, when Lacy feels down, his instinctual reaction is still to lean on this person. The cheery guitar plucks paired with cleverly foreboding writing makes “Helmet” a clear standout of the tracklist of Gemini Rights.   

Both “Mercury” and “Bad Habit” stand to support the thesis of Lacy’s lingering love for his ex. As he stares blankly at his ceiling while “writing an ‘i’m sorry’ text” and asks his ex-lover “you think i’m two-faced? I can name 23,” Gemini Rights exudes the crushing anxiety that comes with feeling stuck, inactionable and alone. 

The record culminates with its penultimate track “Sunshine,” featuring the silky-smooth Foushee who plays the part of Steve’s ex in a conversation between the two. Steve let’s us know that it’s been a couple months since their split. Hastily engaging a defense mechanism, Lacy becomes combative, adding “safe to say after me you peaked.” Foushee enters on a high-horse, telling Lacy that she’s taken the highroad despite his criticisms, imploring him to stop attempting to fabricate the intensity of their love with other people. Mutually agreeing to drop the hostility, Foushee asks “why can’t we just get along? Or at least get it on?”

Ending with the two harmonizing in unity “I still love you,” “Sunshine” is just one of many backtracks, reconsiderations and flip-flops on Gemini Rights. Although presenting the complication with this breakup through the lens of the ever-conflicted Gemini mind, Lacy knows his listeners are empathetic to the struggle.

If you were to reorder the tracklist of Gemini Rights, you would likely be able to formulate what a traditional grieving process of a romantic split is supposed to look like. But what Gemini Rights presents is a more authentic illustration of the unpredictability of human emotion, especially an emotion as potent as love. Feelings aren’t linear and they’re fickle. While Steve may not think so, the Gemini’s uncertainty isn’t to blame here.

Sonically, Gemini Rights is a soulful blend of the experimentation of Lacy’s 2020 effort The Lo-Fis, the groovy chord progressions of Apollo XXI and the early knack for engaging songwriting displayed on Steve Lacy’s Demo. In other words, Lacy brings together the whole of his assets as an artist to deliver his highest quality production on Gemini Rights. Additionally, Lacy’s pen is on an entirely different level here. Crafting hooks, progressions and vocal harmonies that stick in your brain like plaster (“Bad Habit,” “Mercury,” “Helmet”), Gemini Rights is the best R&B record to release this year. 

In a year filled with smash records like Dawn FM and WASTELAND by The Weeknd and Brent Faiyaz respectively, Gemini Rights simply outclasses it’s R&B contemporaries. Despite the conflicted nature of man, the superbness of Gemini Rights will ensure discussion of this record and its deserved inclusion in the album of the year conversation. 

Favorite tracks: 

Helmet

Bad Habit 

Sunshine (feat. Foushee)

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Luke Modugno is the editor-in-chief.

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Curating Consistently Remarkable Raps: “Peace ‘Fly’ God” by Westside Gunn reviewed

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by Luke Modugno

The role of a curator is that of immense importance. They are tasked with manifesting a feeling, manufacturing a profound message and fashioning a space, project or exhibition to radiate a specific cognitive sensation. 

Westside Gunn embodies what it means to be a distinguished curator of rap music, something that was made palpably clear on his latest record Peace “Fly” God. 

The Griselda boss’ rapid output has slowed to halt in 2022, with the majority of his focus likely on his forthcoming studio album Michelle Records, set to be released at some point this year. Before the arrival of Michelle Records, Gunn has decided to bless fans by digging into the vault to unleash some loosies. 

Peace “Fly” God is a classic Westside Gunn experience. A star-studded lineup of producers assisting him in locating his signature grimey, rugged sonic palette, grandiose raps that are personified by esoteric luxury and streetwear brand flexes, and who can forget the famed Westside Gunn adlibs?

Juxtaposing flipping packs on the corner with now “looking like a Margiela model at the Guggenheim,” perhaps the track “Big Ass Bracelet” is the quintessential model of a flawless Gunn record. Pushed along by a dusty 70’s soul sample that suits his eccentric delivery, wordplay and adlibs swimmingly, “Big Ass Bracelet” is a clear standout on Peace “Fly” God. The song is also vastly benefited by its guests, Keisha Plum and Griselda newcomer Stove God Cooks. 

Appearing on four of the ten tracks, Stove God continually shows throughout Peace “Fly” God that he is undoubtedly destined for underground stardom. On the Madlib-produced “Horses on Sunset,” Stove God’s menacing, drably delivered hook drapes smoothly over the gloomy piano and drum loop. His tone injects energy on “Derrick Boleman,” sprucing up Madlib’s drumless, contorted violin loop. Stove and Gunn have evidently formed a chemistry, as their pairing across this record produces excellence. In some instances, Stove God completely steals the show (“Horses on Sunset”). Along with Peace “Fly” God being a thrilling preview for Michelle Records, it simultaneously acts as yet another reason to keep your eye on Stove God Cooks. 

With Peace “Fly” God, it seems that Gunn has found a fortuitous balance of experimentation and consistency. While he’s keeping his foot on the pedal, moving the needle in terms of molding the sound of the underground on tracks like “Danhausen,” Gunn also understands and plays to his strong suits on songs like “Big Ass Bracelet.” 

Perhaps the only two reasons to be a detractor of Peace “Fly” God comes with the project’s opening tracks. “Jesus Crack” is a bloated mess made worse by a subpar feature from Estee Nack that spans three minutes. “Ritz Barlton’s” stumbling piano sample paired with Nack’s off-beat delivery fits like a square peg in a round hole, creating a nearly unlistenable song.

Additionally, in favor of fast-tracking the release of the project, Gunn elected to forgo mixing and mastering Peace “Fly” God. While this is abundantly clear during the forever-humorous Cussing Pastor’s outro on “Derrick Boleman'' and “Flip V. Phil,”  Gunn doesn’t sacrifice much here by skipping that part of the process. After all, Griselda has built an empire on that same trademarked jagged-edged sound. 

For now, Westside Gunn has presented yet another quality body of opulent coke rap music with Peace “Fly” God. Defined by its peaks and valleys that ultimately restrain it from being considered among elite Gunn projects, if Peace “Fly” God, is constructed of the throw-aways of Michelle Records, we are in for a treat when Gunn chooses to drop it.

favorite tracks:

Big Ass Bracelet (feat. Keisha Plum & Stove God Cooks)

Horses on Sunset (feat. Stove God Cooks)

Derrick Boleman (feat. Stove God Cooks)

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Luke Modugno is the editor-in-chief.

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Despite Notable Cast, The “Minions” Soundtrack is GRUesomely Underwhelming

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by Sydney Fluker

For the past 12 years, Gru and his minions have had a chokehold on nearly all aspects of American media. Starting with “Despicable Me,” a movie centered around the protagonist-villain, Gru, and his relationship with three foster children while they attempt to steal the moon, the minions have slowly but surely stolen the show for themselves. From memes to clothing items, the minions have created a brand name for themselves, becoming more popular than Gru himself.

Prior to the release of “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” pop culture had a field day with hundreds of minion-themed memes. Jokes about attending the premiere in full suits as “gentleminions” led to teens actually doing so, disrupting the movie targeted at children ages 11 or younger and their parents by yelling Minion gibberish at the screen throughout the film. 

With a children’s movie centering around the quest for villain hood amid bright and happy cinematography, there are a lot of themes that require attending to on behalf of the creators to pull off such a film. As with every movie, the soundtrack plays a key role in holding all of this unexpected chaos together. 

This time around, Illumination Entertainment brought in Jack Antonoff to handle the album’s production, creating a soundtrack that acts more as a pop hits cover album than an original. 

This album is so similar to the previous soundtracks that it would be hard to distinguish if not for the names who litter the track. From Thundercat to St. Vincent, it’s the way these big names remake the tracks that makes this album special. 

Produced almost exclusively by Antonoff with help from RZA, Heitor Pereira, St. Vincent, and Ex Reyes, the soundtrack covers 70s era funk, pop, and soul hits in a fresh manner. In an exclusive interview with Billboard, Antonoff explained that the idea was “to take modern artists that are really in some way in the tradition of the great music of that time and then record them with this half modern technique, half super analog technique. Animation in kids’ movies is pretty trippy, so you can f–king get away with a lot.”’

You can hear it in the soundtrack — this album is a psychedelic trip. Every song sounds like an acid-dipped version of its original, invoking visuals of bright flowers and roller rinks and ringing 70s imagery loud through the mind, even for someone who hasn’t yet seen the movie (me). 

It’s no surprise Antonoff could tackle such a project. With his history of working with Lana Del Rey (with whom he created “Norman F—cking Rockwell”), Taylor Swift, P!nk, Lorde, and more, Antonoff has what it takes to recreate older hits of the same genre he does so well. According to Billboard, his goal is that the soundtrack introduces these songs to the new generation, but feels their place in history is solid enough to last on their own. 

“I think there’s certain songs that live in the moment and then certain songs that kind of live forever,” he says. “I think the songs that I chose, regardless of this project, live forever. So this can just be another point in the long story of all the songs which are going to go way into the future of mankind.”

“Turn Up The Sunshine” is the lone original on the album, bringing disco to the modern era with deep bass from Tame Impala and Diana Ross’s iconic voice. The song broke onto Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart, landing at No. 21 and making it Ross’s first hit on any Billboard chart since 2006. “Turn Up The Sunshine” is the exact song I would expect to come from the Minions soundtrack — interpret that however you like. 

Brittany Howard’s “Shining Star” and BROCKHAMPTON’s “Hollywood Swinging” both handled the original versions with respect, balancing their own artistic styles with the original. Unfortunately, the track they sandwich, “Funky Town” by St. Vincent, is horrible. The autotune takes away from the vocals that make the original so iconic and instead hurts the ears, making this song the lone instant-skip on the soundtrack. 

Kali Uchis beautifully remakes João Gilberto’s “Desafinado”, but the translation of the song to English makes it harder to find the resemblance. The 70s-eque remix of a bossa nova classic doesn’t translate too well in terms of instrumentals, but Uchis’s voice carries the song in a beautiful way.

Polachek’s cover of “Bang Bang” is hauntingly beautiful, using the western theme to her advantage and vocally bodying the track. Thundercat’s “Fly Like An Eagle” puts his skills as a bassist at the helm, using his trippy vocals to make it feel like a Thundercat original. 

Phoebe Bridgers’s cover of “Goodbye To Love” and Weyes Blood’s “You’re No Good” show their power as vocalists. “Vehicle” nails the Despicable Me vibe, with Gary Clark Jr. doing an excellent job of holding his voice above the instrumentals without overpowering them, giving the whole song a balance that lacks throughout the album. 

The second half of the album doesn’t stand out like the first half does. Tierra Whack’s “Black Woman Magic” was something I never thought I’d hear but have always unknowingly wanted, but the autotune felt strange over Santana’s guitar. “Cecilia” is a celebratory Minion song, making it quite annoying as the Minions are bad vocalists. However, the jazz solo is surprisingly enjoyable and I found myself tapping along throughout. 

While the soundtrack can feel like it is trying too hard to do something it can’t, every single song is easily identifiable as a Minions-esque song, which is really all that a soundtrack is meant to have. The “Minions: The Rise of Gru” soundtrack will carry these songs into the new generation, for better or for worse. I can only hope they find the originals.  

favorite tracks:

Bang Bang - Caroline Polacheck

You’re No Good - Weyes Blood

Vehicle - Gary Clark Jr.

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Sydney Fluker is a staff writer.

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Boldy James is strictly business on new album “Killing Nothing”

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by Sydney Fluker

Boldy James does not waste time. 

Six months after dropping “Super Tecmo Bo” with frequent producer The Alchemist, James is back with the full length project “Killing Nothing.” Produced entirely by Los Angeles clothing and production collective Real Bad Man, “Killing Nothing” shows that even after over a decade in the underground game, James is still continuing to rise. 

While James’s most notable works come from The Alchemist, “Killing Nothing” is his second project with Real Bad Man after finishing out his four-project run in 2020 with “Real Bad Boldy.”

“Lyrically, a lot of rappers are so caught up in what everything thinks they’re supposed to be doing, that they don’t kill records anymore,” James said on his new record. “I feel like even though I don’t make the biggest energy records, or club records, for girls to shake their ass too, I feel like I got the most consistent flow in the game… There are others who try their hardest, but they ain’t killing nothing or letting nothing die.”

Everything he said can be felt through the record.

Echoing D.J. Premier’s production on “N.Y. State of Mind” on opening track “Water Under the Bridge,” James wastes no time setting up the album for what he’s known for — tight, almost punch-like bars about drug trade. Despite lacking the vocal range found in rappers like Childish Gambino and Drake, James’s monotonous vocals are still notable. 

No time is wasted throughout the album  — James keeps it short and sweet, ending songs early when the story is told and relying on lyrical flow to deliver his message. Staying true to himself, there are no overly flashy choruses or background beats, making his music feel personal to him and with each song taking the listener on a journey through various successful drug trade experiences.  

While there are no outright earworms, some tracks are catchier than what one would expect from a previous James album. “All the Way Out,” one of the two singles from the project, feels more upbeat than a normal Boldy beat, but he holds it down with bars like “Airing shit out only way I know how to vent.” On “Ain’t No Bon Jovi,” James tackles it alone, spitting over the soulful Madlib-esque beat with a smooth flow that’s riddled with hip hop references. 

“Medellin” features an unexpectedly catchy chorus and jazzy background instrumentals, with CRIMEAPPLE almost outshining James with his Spanglish feature. “We the Medellín, while these n***** just be medellin,’” will probably get stuck in your head for hours, but the subtle reference to the Medellín Cartel led by famous drug lord Pablo Escobar is a true Boldy move.  

On “Cash Transactions,” the chorus is catchy but simple and just about sums up James’s entire discography — “I’ll probably never love this rap shit more than these cash transactions/I got a passion for sellin’ drugs.” James leaves no room for confusion about what he does, owning the good, bad and ugly that comes with drug trade. 

The second half of the album brings it back to Boldy, where he goes solo for the final six tracks. Real Bad Man’s diverse production keeps it lively, providing steady beats for Boldy to body alone. Despite not having a ton of records out, Real Bad Man and Boldy James have apparent chemistry that will hopefully return in the future. The mysterious beat on “Sig Sauer” is the perfect background for James to deliver sharp bars about his version of success, with “Amiri denim with the clip hanging/See the strap pokin’ in my Chrome Heart.”

“Killing Nothing” shows the beauty of Boldy James — despite the rate at which he releases mixtapes and albums, nothing ever feels repetitive or reused. Throughout his discography, he holds his own against impressive features and notable producers, building a name for himself as an active rapper addicted to the game. Forever original, James will continue to surprise and thrive in the underground. 

favorite tracks:

Medellin (feat. CRIMEAPPLE)

Cash Transactions (feat. Knowledge The Pirate)

Sig Sauer

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Sydney Fluker is a staff writer.

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A Closer Look in the Mirror: “Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers” Reviewed

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by Luke Modugno

Kendrick Lamar is a natural born leader. When he speaks, people listen, and for good reason. Since the release of his 2015 magnum-opus To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar has positioned himself to be the quintessential voice of insightful social commentary in contemporary rap. Focusing on attacking systems of institutional racism in America and across the globe, Kdot seldom used his Pulitzer Prize-winning pen to explore the complexities of himself. That is, until the recent release of the Compton rappers fifth studio album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers.

After a grueling 1,855 day hiatus, Lamar has finally made his return with a 18 track collection of reflective ballads focusing on his childhood, identity formation, insecurities and the vastly broad spectrum of the human experience. 

From the first seconds of the record's cinematic opener “United in Grief,” it’s clear that Lamar is ready to take yet another step off of the preacher's soap box and shift his musical focus to himself, a journey of inward meditation that began with DAMN. Lamar's dizzying flow accompanied by frantic drums allow Kdot to divulge about his struggles with mental health, the pitfalls of fame and his reliance on religion to get him through a turbulent five years of solidarity. “I went and got me a therapist I can debate all my theories and sharing it, consolidate all my comparisons, Humblin’ up because time is imperative, I’m starting to feel like there’s only one answer to everything,” Lamar raps on the track.

Over the course of his career, Lamar’s discography has been used as an educational reference point in the rap community. Whether he was analyzing African American life and culture on To Pimp a Butterfly, or allowing listeners a glimpse into life in Compton on records like good kid, m.A.A.d city, Lamar’s music sparked meaningful dialogue on topics other than himself. The mirror has been decidedly turned toward Lamar on Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, allowing the record to be by far his most vulnerable, brave and well-written. 

Instead of anointing himself as the leader of a generation as seen on To Pimp a Butterfly, Lamar makes it clear that his flaws, blemishes and vices simply make him a representation of “all of us,” a message plastered across his recent standout single “The Heart Part V” and even his alias for this record: oklama. In the Native American dialect of the Choctaw, “Okla” means people, while the definition of “ma” in the language is utilized when addressing someone, such as “my lord,” leaving the combination of the two to mean “my people.” Tying this motif together is the cover art of the record, showing Lamar sporting an iced-out crown of thorns, a biblical reference to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In Christian dogma, Jesus was sent by God as a holy mediator between the heavens and humanity. Christ was both human and God, allowing him to relate to human experiences and identify with all of us. Kendrick is using his God-given ability as an artist to represent humans, their perspectives, insecurities, flaws, and relating to the human condition in a similar vein to Christ. It’s a level of writing, attention to detail and nuanced insight we’ve never seen from the emcee.

Across the rest of the record, Lamar dives deeper into what it means to be of flesh and blood. From his brilliant reframing of childhood trauma and “daddy issues” on tracks like “Father Time” and “Mother | Sober,” poignant and brutally honest representation of the duality love on “We Cry Together” and “Purple Hearts,” to his attack on virtue signaling and idolization of celebrities on “Savior,” Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers is Lamar’s most universally relatable album to date. 

Sonically, this record is a deeper exploration of the visceral trap aesthetic that dominated much of DAMN. It’s clear Lamar’s cousin, Baby Keem’s ascension and carved-out experimental trap niche has influenced Lamar’s artistic direction here, producing brilliant moments as well as derivative ones. The guest list on Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers assists Kdot in his trap ventures effectively, as appearances from Kodak Black, Baby Keem, Sampha, Summer Walker, Blxst and Amanda Reifer enhance their respective songs. With production credits belonging to The Alchemist, Pharrell Williams, Keem and Sounwave, experimentalism is dabbled in but never fully produced behind the boards, leaving something to be desired.

Kendrick Lamar’s artistry has progressed past the point of a one week, 800 word review. Over the coming weeks, months and years is when we will truly be able to unpack the complex piece of art that is Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers for its deeper themes. For now, it’s safe to say that Lamar has delivered yet another distinguished body of rap music that will be cherished, studied and held in high regard. 

favorite tracks:

United in Grief

Father Time (feat. Sampha)

Purple Hearts (feat. Summer Walker & Ghostface Killah)

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Luke Modugno is the editor-in-chief.

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Diving Into the Swamp of El “Cocodrillo Turbo” with Action Bronson

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by Sydney Fluker

Crocodiles, squealing pigs, wrestlers and an out-of-this-world protagonist — what else should we expect from the creative mind of Mr. Baklava?

Action Bronson has established himself as one of the greatest creators of this time, tying together the worlds of food, fragrances, acting, writing and self-improvement. Hailing from Flushing, Queens, the city’s influence on Bronson rings clear through his music as he stays unafraid to take risks and live his truth. Cocodrillo Turbo is the result of Bronson being in a place where he can be himself creatively, bringing to life an action-filled album that still features his classic allusions to all sorts of athletes and New York sports teams.

Summoning a range of producers to execute the mission, Bronson’s experimental Cocodrillo Turbo plays out like a psychedelic cowboy film in audio form. While the background noises set the scene, Bronson’s absurd characters live the story with an unapologetic style that dares to be skipped.

“I love to get experimental,” Bronson said in an interview with Complex. “I feel like I’m known for that. One of my attributes is beat selection and off-kilter rhythms, and being able to flow and fucking finesse anything to make it sound crazy.”

Cocodrillo Turbo is proof that Bronson is a master of his craft, as he makes and then glides over gaudy beats that don’t seem much like beats at all.

Bronson welcomes more features onto this album than its predecessor Only for Dolphins, bringing back Mayhem Lauren and Hologram and welcoming Conway the Machine and Roc Marciano. Yung Mehico of Bronson’s live band “The Special Victims Unit” lends him another killer saxophone piece, helping Bronson sign off the album with “Storm Of The Century.”

The movie-like album starts with a bang as “Hound Dog” focuses on setting the scene for the psychedelic Indiana Jones character Bronson emulates. With more crocodile screams and high-pitched crashes than words, producer Daringer helps set the vibe for what’s to come: a roller coaster of action underscored by a mix of beats ranging from traditional country to Arabian instrumentals.

Cocodrillo Turbo weaves in and out of action, moving from gloriously chaotic “Tongpo” to the more reflective “Estaciones.” Bronson’s experimentalism screams through “Tongpo,” one of the two Bronson-produced tracks, as monstrous growls and a whining saxophone highlight Bronson and Conway’s laid back delivery. The two tracks also feature conversational riffs that give “Cocodrillo Turbo” a cinematic feel. Conway matches Bronson’s notorious wittiness in “Tongpo” when he delivers “I feel like Cuomo, I see titties, I'm like, "Let me grab it" (Come here)/Then I said I'm not a pervert, I'm just half Italian (Hahaha)/Aye, why y’all laughin?” before Bronson goes on to interrupt Hologram’s initial delivery in “Estaciones.”

As what feels like the mirror for “C12H16N2” of Cocodrillo Turbo, The Alchemist’s production on “Estaciones” gives a sense of maturity to the album while staying true to the absurdity of the theme. “Estaciones” is the reflective portion before the protagonist begins his true journey, as Bronson opens in third person with “and now coming down the aisle/Accompanied by no-motherfuckin'-body, it's young Bronny.”

El Cocodrillo’s adventure kicks off after “Estaciones”, dropping bars in “Jaws” and “Subzero” over Alchemist beats that feel like video game background music for country and aquatic themed mini-games, respectively. Despite the funkier background, Bronson’s lyrics are more reflective and progressive than previous albums, rapping on Jaws “All my family immigrants/Mixed with cinnamon and allspice” and on Subzero “Easily triggered by old trauma (true), motherfucker/And you know I voted for Obama.”

In “Zambezi,” Bronson and Roc Marciano glide over Stephen Gray’s “Bulldozer,” making use of its heavy percussion and Santana-like guitar to nudge the album to a close. Followed by the upbeat piano of Eddie Floyd’s “Lay Your Loving On Me,” “Ninety One” brings the fun adventures to a close before “Storm Of The Century” wraps up the album with a beautifully tied shiny gold bow. Produced by Daringer and Yung Mehico, El Cocodrillo’s journey comes to an end here, as Bronson delivers confessional-style bars accompanied by Yung Mehico’s incredible saxophone solo.

El Cocodrilo stays consistent throughout the album, maintaining flow and theme over a cacophony of sounds that sometimes shouldn’t work, but does. Cocodrillo Turbo is Bronson at his rawest self — ingenious and electric, holding nothing back in the name of ultimate artistic exploration.

favorite tracks:

Estaciones (feat. Hologram)

Zambezi (feat. Roc Marciano)

Storm Of The Century (feat. Yung Mehico)

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Sydney Fluker is a staff writer.

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A Chemistry Unbound by Temporal Constraints: “No Fear of Time” Reviewed

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by Giovanni Recinos

After 24 years, the famous rap duo Black Star returns with their new project, No Fear of Time, which is exclusively on the Luminary Podcasts Platform. The duo consists of Brooklyn’s Yasiin Bey (previously known as Mos Def) and Talib Kweli, but this time around they are joined by the legendary producer, Madlib. The two are recognized legends for their contributions as both a group and as solo artists. With Mos Def’s Black on Both Sides, being a great highlight that introduced a lot of experimentation into the hip-hop realm that would have an obvious influence on experimental artists such as JPEGMAFIA and Mach-Hommy. Both Talib Kweli and Yasiin Bey have remained fairly relevant in the industry, venturing into other forms of entertainment over the years such as: podcasts, and acting. The project is a great example of reinvention over recreation, with the two venturing into much different territories of sound when compared to their self-titled last effort.

As always, the duo delivers quality in all realms, whether it be in their lyricism, in their complex flows or in their creativity. No Fear of Time is vastly different from their other effort, avoiding a lot of the issues that can be associated with trying to reach a new height with a sequel or follow-up project. The project as a whole feels lost in time, in ways that work in their favor and in others that don’t necessarily. At times, they make recognition of both their ancestry and the continuous movement of space and time, even beyond our livelihood. As the duo would say, the project delivers that, “time is relative and the truth is everlasting.” Playing on this, the album feels spacious, yet isolated, as if you're floating through time and space.

The two as usual cover topics with unique vocabulary and an obvious thirst to teach the truth with their often stream-of-conscious style of rapping on the project. This is represented in lines such as, “atrocities committed in the name of owning property, monopolies.” Though gems of this knowledge are spread throughout the entire album, they are delivered in a somewhat messy fashion, with most songs feeling like the two are just freestyling great verses without a set destination or vision in mind. This feels like underutilized potential considering the massive growth of the two artists since their debut project.

The duo contrasts well both sonically and topically, with Yasiin Bey being great at abstract performance and often switching from singing to rapping seamlessly. Talib Kweli on the other hand, provides a more traditional balance to this chemistry, as he’s still rapping to the same standards of other New York legends such as your Jay-Z’s, your Prodigy’s and your Nas’. This quality remains relatively consistent throughout the album, with “Yonders” being a particularly standout and chilling performance from the two with lines like “Scarface chainsaw Miami got drapes drawn. Halloween, egg yolk, mustard gassing their face off.” Though this chemistry remains true, the limits of the duo seemed to not be pushed and kept in a very safe spot. Especially when considering the amount of experimentation, we’ve heard from Yasiin Bey over the years. 

The project also recognizes some of those vast changes in their artistry and in the industry over those twenty-four years. Similar to Madlib’s last collaborative effort, Bandana, the project often feels stylistically bare and simple in its production, with an often heavy and raw vocal delivery. To add onto this, Black Star’s sound this time around seems closer in relation to artists such as Mach-Hommy, Earl Sweatshirt, and Westside Gunn. This comparison is especially relevant when considering the track “My favorite band” is actually the same beat used for Westside Gunn’s “Ferragamo Funeral.” Though these are not bad comparisons, in many ways Black Star lacks a lot of its own self-identity when venturing into these new sounds. 

Though this project still has the high-quality production, sequencing, and use of samples, it lacks a lot of Black Stars’ own unique charm and complimentary with Madlib’s production. It almost feels like the beats were pre-made, and not made specifically with the Black Star brand and themes in mind. This separates the level of the project from that of other Madlib produced classics such as Madvillainy or Piñata. I would still say that this is still a very strong project for Black Star fans, Madlib stans, or those who may follow experimental artists such as Mach-Hommy.

Favorite Tracks:

Sweetheart. Sweethard. Sweetodd.

Yonders

No Fear of Time (feat. Yummy Bingham)

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Giovanni Recinos is a staff writer.

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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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Where Astrology Meets Artistry: FKA Twigs ‘CAPRISONGS’ Review

By Kaila Cherry

FKA Twigs is and has been that girl to many within her dedicated fan base since she released her debut studio album LP1 in 2014. With her dramatic twriled baby hairs, long black braids, and tiny gold nose piercing, FKA Twigs easily became a Tumblr darling with photos of her to be found on every fashion and music blog imaginable. One could not log onto the platform without seeing the tracks “Two Weeks” and “Video Girl” at least once on their timeline. FKA Twigs soon became known for her brooding electronic sound and striking falsetto voice as she sang about love, lust, and insecurity over avant-garde distorted instrumentals. The music of FKA Twigs is undeniably ethereal. It has the ability to capture the listener’s ear as well as their heart simultaneously and with ease. This is why Twigs’ fan base stuck by her, even during her four-year-long hiatus from music. 

In 2019, fans' need for the otherworldly sounds of FKA Twigs was satisfied with the release of her second studio album Magdalene. A deeply emotional allegory of the breakdown of her own relationship through the story of biblical figure Mary Magdalene, the project was generally well-received. Some saw Magdalene as a dreary diversion from her eclectic mid-2010’s sound, while others saw it as the maturation of both her music and her storytelling ability as an artist. Regardless, the question on every FKA Twigs listener’s mind after Magdalene was this: Will Twigs go on another hiatus? When is the next time we’ll hear from her? Luckily, fans did not have to wait as long as before for new music. On January 14th, FKA Twigs released her second mixtape (the first being  M3LL155X in 2015) entitled Caprisongs. In an Instagram post describing the project in the lead-up to its release, Twigs describes Caprisongs as “...my journey back to myself through my amazing collaborators and friends.” The title, as well as the flow and themes of the project, are inspired by astrology. She is a Capricorn Sun and plays on the closeness of the words “sun” and “song” to create Caprisongs. 

Although the sound of the album is much more grounded than her previous works, Caprisongs can be argued to be her most eclectic piece of work to date. With instrumentals ranging from commercial pop to reggaeton to electronic ballad, Caprisongs truly explores the vastness of FKA Twigs’ self. The project gives us a glimpse into the unpredictable nature of the album with the intro track “ride the dragon.” The track opens with a soft slow piano melody as FKA Twigs whispers to the listener, “Hey, I made you a mixtape.” Then, a deep distorted voice comes into the fray. Throughout the intro to the track, the regular and distorted voices play off of each other, each expressing forms of desire. Carried by Twigs’ voice as she sings the lyric, “So if you…” the beat drops, the rhythm picks up, the melody becomes plucky, and the line finishes with “Really wanna kiss me, kiss me (Do it quickly).” After the chorus, Twigs goes into a verse where she, in her regular voice, sings the nearly indistinguishable lyrics the distorted voice sang in the intro. She says, “You wanna get a bit of my mystique? / Ooh Play ooh-là-là, très chic (Get you a ticket)/ Get lonely in a studio week.” This lyric aligns with the three aspects of her astrology that she explores throughout the project. Her Capricorn sun, as she described it, tells her to “...just go to the studio and create.” Her Sagittarius moon is “the enigmatic [or “mystique”] temptress craving the club,” and her Pisces venus “...hot mess disastrous heart falling in love all over again.” 

As the album progresses, certain songs correlate with one of the three facets of her astrology. The fifth track on the album entitled “oh my love” speaks to her Pisces venus. The planet Venus describes how one interacts with love. The sign of Pisces is known for being emotional, aloof, and deeply introspective. In “oh my love” Twigs about her desire for her lover to love her the way she loves him. The track opens and closes with spoken word segments from two different women. The first woman describes how she had a relationship with a man but he thinks they are just “hanging out.” On a smooth classic R&B style track, FKA Twigs sings and raps about the games her lover is playing and how they affect her. In the end, another woman speaks on the importance of self-love. She urges Twigs to “see in herself what she sees in her.” As both a Pisces sun and a Pisces venus, these sentiments on love, in addition to the old school style of the track, resonated with my sensibilities. 

Outside of the astrological aspects of the Caprisongs, the EP also has a variety of genres jam-packed within it. “meta angels” is a ballad in the purest sense of the word, with Twigs’ voice immediately capturing the ear with a haunting melody of “oohhs” before she launches into a moving account of her insecurities. It is an incredibly vulnerable track that also weaves in the electronic aspects of her music she is known for, alla M3LL155X era. On the other end of the spectrum, Twigs experiments with dancehall on the track “papi bones” featuring Shygirl. The EP was recorded in several cities and countries around the world, including Jamaica. This Caribbean sound also finds itself elsewhere on the album such as on “honda” featuring Pa Salieu and “jealousy” featuring Rema. Lastly, FKA Twigs with a more commercial sound on the tracks “tears in the club” featuring The Weekend, and “darjeeling” featuring Jorja Smith and Unknown T. “Tears in the club” is Twigs’ foray into radio pop/R&B and “darjeeling” is like if grime was made angelic. Both are successful dips into different genres and are both refreshing and satisfying for longtime FKA Twigs fans. 

Caprisongs overall is another great album from FKA Twigs. Although some tracks in the last third of the project leave much more to be desired (Not even FKA Twigs could uncancel Daniel Caesar), the experimental singer’s second EP and 4th studio release is just the start to 2022 that many of us needed. Just as I had when I was fourteen years old, I’ll be eagerly watching to see what else FKA Twigs may have in store in the near future. Until then, I will be listening to Caprisongs as a constant reminder to have fun, love deeply, reflect, and strive towards growth as opposed to stagnancy. 

Favorite Tracks:

jealousy (Feat. Rema)

oh my love

ride the dragon

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A Journey Into the Beyond with The Weeknd: “Dawn FM” Reviewed

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By Luke Modugno 

World building through music is a difficult, yet incredible feat. When an artist is able to enthrall audiences by encapsulating a concept with vivid storytelling and sonic scene-setting, that is a unique mark of brilliance. Following the release of his latest album, Dawn FM, The Weeknd should be considered a true master of the art of concept albums.

The pop megastar is back with his fifth studio album after a one-year hiatus. Following perhaps his most critically acclaimed record to date, After Hours, expectations were sky high for this record. 

Continuing to lean into the 80’s synth-pop sonic landscape established on After Hours, Dawn FM picks up the pace a bit, with more upbeat production and lyrical content than its predecessor. Throughout the record, The Weeknd experiments within the synth-pop genre, dabbling in some soulful tones with tracks like “Out of Time,” and embracing disco-dance aesthetics on “Sacrifice” and “Is There Someone Else?” Considering the diversity of moods and directions this record takes within its overarching sonic concept, Dawn FM represents The Weeknd’s best-produced record, surpassing After Hours substantially. Abel has production credits on every song on the record, continuing to show his knack for conceptual execution behind the boards. 

Canonically, Dawn FM picks up right where After Hours left off. In the music video for “Until I Bleed Out,” the final track from After Hours, Abel sees himself inside a room filled with balloons and people, surely a reference to his outstanding mixtape “House of Balloons.” As he stares into the room, Abel sees himself get mobbed and killed by this group of people (likely representing succumbing to his addictions). His escape from the house of balloons symbolizes his efforts to escape his old life, during the climax of the video, Abel passes out from blood loss and dies on the Las Vegas strip, where After Hours takes place. Fittingly, Dawn FM takes place in purgatory, with the Jim Carrey narrated radio station creating a soundtrack for the listeners’ journey toward the light at the end of the tunnel. Sonically and conceptually, Dawn FM is an ethereal pitstop on a journey that began with After Hours. 

As Carrey’s fuzzy narration cuts in to conclude the project, he reminds the listener that in order to reach heaven, you have to let go of the regret and pain from your physical life. With Abel providing angelic background vocals to Carrey’s final message, the record ends with the heavenly sound of birds chirping. As he alluded to on Twitter, Abel will conclude this storyline in his next record, completing yet another trilogy of incredibly refined and distinguished pop/R&B records. 

Although Dawn FM is mostly spotless, some tracks simply do not present the same quality as others on the tracklist, unnecessarily bloating the record. “Best Friends” is repetitive and indistinguishable from countless other Abel songs and “Here We Go…Again” is dragged on far too long and contains a surprisingly disappointing Tyler, The Creator feature.  

However, overall, Dawn FM is an inherently intriguing concept album executed with exactitude and mastery. Abel seems to get more experimental and ambitious with each project, locking our gaze on what he decides to do next. 

Favorite Tracks:

Out of Time 

Take My Breath

Is There Someone Else?

Listen to Dawn FM here:

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“Faces” a Head First Dive Into the Deep End of Mac Miller’s Creative, Splitting Mind

By Luke Modugno

Photo via Brick Stowell

Sometimes, the necessary elements required for a noteworthy album go far beyond musicality. The headspace, circumstances, and career trajectory of an artist often define chunks of time for artists. Oftentimes, these hard-to-reach creative pockets provide the foundations for a career-defining moment. 

This is the case with the creation of the late Mac Miller’s stellar 2014 mixtape Faces, which was added to streaming services on Friday. 

“It was just freedom,” said lead sound engineer Josh Berg in “Making Faces (A Short Film).” “He’d just wanted to make music and the schedule was so jammed up for the previous year. Did a whole US tour for three months, festivals tours for a month, a two-month tour across Europe with Lil Wayne, playing arenas, literally doing shows at every moment. And then, there was nothing, no shows, no anything, just studio.”

After bursting onto the early 2010’s rap scene, Miller had garnered immediate success due to the infectiously carefree nature of his work. Affectionately referred to by many as the poster child of frat rap, Mac’s debut projects Blue Side Park and K.I.D.S afforded the Pittsburgh native a healthy, potent dose of fame. 

Prior to the release of 2012’s Macadelic, Miller moved to Los Angeles. As just a 20-year-old living on his own, the immensity of life under the spotlight paved the way for the creation of something new for Miller. 

“It felt like it was my own world. I felt like I could really grow into my own creatively,” Miller said in the short film. “It felt like I could find myself through the music I was making.” 

In a discography littered with stunning musicality, the project that best portrays Mac’s personality, artistry, and sonic evolution has to be Faces.

As the elegant saxophone and trippy drums cut in on the grandiose opener “Inside Outside,” and with lines like “All my homies philosophers,” and “On the inside, I’m outside all the time,” Miller establishes a motif that presents itself through a variety of artistic decisions throughout the album: psychedelia. From the production and lyrical content to the cover art, something about Miller dabbling in hallucinatory rap simply fits his artistic aurora. However, this creative direction was triggered by more than just music. 

“To have all that space was a pro and a con,” said Miller in an interview with FADER Magazine. "It started with me sitting inside all day. Then I’d get bored, and I’d say to myself ‘Well I can just be high and have a whole adventure right here in this room.’’’ 

It’s an issue that comes to a head on the elegantly dark “Funeral.” 

“Doing drugs is just a war with boredom but they sure to get me/I heard that legends never die, oh this lonely hell of mine,” harmonizes Miller over the track's kaleidoscopic production. 

“Funeral” represents the end of a trilogy of songs in the middle of “Faces” meant to represent the three most significant days of a man’s life: the day he’s born (track 10 is titled “Happy Birthday”), the day he gets married (track 11 titled “Wedding”) and the day he dies. With “Funeral,” Mac comes to the revelation that every second he lives could be his last. This recognition of fragility is amplified by the fact that at this point, Miller had already developed a crippling drug addiction that saw him have plenty of close encounters with death. “Funeral” and the trilogy it belongs to is a monumental step forward for Mac in terms of his development into one of the most skilled confessionary songwriters in hip hop. 

Art by Brandon Spahn

Another strong suit of “Faces” is its considerably strong guest list. As Miller and Berg describe in the short film, Mac’s home studio acted as a collaboratory. 

“I think one of the coolest things about being down there was that different people would always come through,” Berg said as images of Earl Sweatshirt, Vince Staples, ScHoolboy Q, Thundercat, and more collaborators flashed across the screen. “He was eager to learn from others, eager to make people feel comfortable and welcome.” 

Tracks like “New Faces v2,” featuring Earl Sweatshirt and Da$h exemplify exactly how integral collaboration was in Miller’s artistic process. Earl delivers what easily could be argued as one of his most impressive verses, while Da$h puts in a solid feature. The exceptional performances by both feature artists had to have compelled Miller to perform at his peak on this track, as that’s exactly what he did. Delivering thought-provoking, yet unfortunate bars like “All my life I’ve been afraid of powder, all my life I’ve been afraid of power, where did all that go,” Miller’s verse is a microcosm of everything Faces does well. 

“Faces” was a springboard of an album for Miller. Going on to create classic records like GO:OD AM, Swimming, and Circles following its release, Faces afforded Mac the artistic confidence necessary to fully realize his untapped potential as a boundary-pushing artist. Ultimately, Faces is a mixtape that pushed Mac’s artistry forward in so many ways while staying true to himself. Rest in peace Mac.

“That’s like Mac’s personality,” Berg said. “That’s what Faces is, that’s the most Malcolm album you’ll get.”

Favorite tracks:

Funeral

Friends (feat. ScHoolboy Q)

Rain (feat. Vince Staples)

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One Step Toward Artistic Reinvention: The Melodic Blue Reviewed

By Luke Modugno

Contradictory to what most people think, trap music is a wildly diverse landscape of artistic direction and vision. While the genre has its doppelgangers and clones, it boasts boundary-pushers and innovators like Young Thug, Playboi Carti, and Travis Scott. The list of trap visionaries might have to make room for one more: Baby Keem. 

The Las Vegas rapper’s most recent project The Melodic Blue shows the most potent boldness of Keem’s artistry at work, as the 20-year-old takes a detour away from the sounds he cultivated in prior records. 

Keem has been silently building a blue-ribbon catalog of trap albums. 2019’s DIE FOR MY BITCH was contagiously aggressive, focused, and energetic. Keem’s first project, The Sound of Bad Habit, executively produced by Cardo is pure potential on full display. 

Keem’s consistency hasn’t slowed whatsoever in 2021. Besides the release of The Melodic Blue, Keem dropped two standout singles, “no sense” and “durag activity” featuring Houston’s own Travis Scott. Additionally, Keem found himself featured with Scott on Kanye West’s latest classic record “Donda” on the exceptional “Praise God.”

The Melodic Blue is a continuation of so many artistic strokes found in various of his previous works.

The abrasive opener “trademark usa” is as assertive and grand as “STATS” from Keem’s last album.

“issues’’ toned-down production and delivery from Keem harkens back to the sonic palette utilized on “HONEST.”

While Keem builds on what he’s established in the past, he pushes his creative direction forward in a plethora of ways with The Melodic Blue. The most ear-catching and compelling track on the record comes with the foreshadowing “scapegoats.” The soulful pitched-up looped sample accompanies Keem as, of course, he boasts about “how fast these Porsches get” and how he’s “borderline more than rich.” However, “scapegoats” requires a closer examination, as Keem lets us see a more vulnerable and confessionary side, “One day I’ll tell you how my life was unfortunate/Who I made this tape for? I’ll tell the story two years later, for now the case closed.” In its closing seconds, the looped production gives way to an alluring piano and intimate guitar. The remarkable production on “scapegoats” sounds as if a veteran and established producer constructed it. However, Keem is credited with production on this track. “scapegoats” is a culmination and exhibition of Keem’s full potential behind the boards as well as a storyteller. It’s a one-minute track that impresses from start to finish. 

Immediately following “scapegoats” on the tracklist is the grandiose “range brothers,” featuring Keem’s cousin, the elusive genius Kendrick Lamar. Keem’s production on “range brothers” is inherently intriguing. Defined by stumbling and fluid kicks, high hats and 808’s, Keem’s flows fit perfectly. When Kdot cuts in after the first beat transition, “range brothers” is rejuvenated by his urgent delivery. Keem and Kendrick trade bar for bar, making for one of the best moments in rap this year. Of course, we get a classic Kendrick Lamar moment on the cusp of the third beat of “range brothers,” spitting some of the most hilarious adlibs in rap history. “range brothers” is a microcosm of what Keem does so well as an artist. He demands respect simply due to his raw talent as an emcee and producer, but prioritizes keeping his art purely fun and light in nature. 

Lamar also appears on the lead single of the record, “family ties,” which happens to be my personal pick for song of the year. Keem displays his full skillset as a rapper on this track, as his wordplay, flow, and rhyme schemes were intricate enough to draw praise from both Tyler, The Creator and Vince Staples on Twitter. After a second beat switch, Lamar enters attack mode, crafting his best verse since the release of “DAMN.”  “family ties” is a brilliant union of exceptional rappers destined to cross paths many more times in the future. 

Considering this is an experimental effort from Keem, not everything here is worth pursuing artistically. “pink panties” is a bit scattered (although Keems flows stay impressive ) as the hook derails the song. “cocoa” with Don Toliver is high energy, yet lacking substance. 

All in all, The Melodic Blue is a slow burn of a project. After your first listen, you may not totally understand what makes this project stand out, that’s because it’s a wildly unique and peculiar listen. While Keem’s experimentation with trap doesn’t always stick here, it’s surely the start of artistic evolution that will define rap for years to come. 

Favorite Tracks:

family ties (feat. Kendrick Lamar)

scapegoats 

lost souls 

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Music as Utility: Donda Album Review

By Luke Modugno

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

While most view music as a form of artistic expression, others use it as a means to an end.  Kanye West’s latest studio album “Donda” is perhaps the most potent example of music as utility. Ye finds himself again at a low-point in his life with 27 beautifully cathartic, solace-seeking songs which see the 44-year-old confronting the death of his mother and a failed marriage with Kim Kardashian. 

Since the death of his mother in 2007, Kanye has hardly had time to cope with her passing. Around the same time, Ye and his fiance Alexis Phifer split dramatically. About a year later, Kanye was thrusted into what was one of the most infamous periods in his career after interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the VMA’s. For the next several years, Ye fought an uphill battle to stay in the good graces of the public. Later entering into the fashion industry, meticulously building a multi-billion dollar business and returning to religion, Kanye’s life has been running at nothing short of lighting speed since his ascent to stardom. 

Perhaps the fact that the pandemic forced everyone (yes, even Kanye West) to slow their lives to a staggering halt is why 2021 is the year we receive a cathartic tribute to Donda West, nearly 14 years after her passing. 

Coming off what was widely considered Kanye’s weakest project, JESUS IS KING, Ye takes many of the gospel-inspired elements and fuses them with avant-garde trap-soul sound he honed in projects like “The Life of Pablo” and “Yeezus.” However, the project has influence from nearly every other album in Ye’s discography. 

“New Again” sounds as celebratory and futuristic as something scraped off of 2007’s “Graduation.” 

The guest appearance of Kid Cudi on the alluringly spacial “Moon” sounds like the sonic brother of “KIDS SEE GHOSTS.”

The visceral soundscapes employed on “God Breathed” are akin to many that can be found on both “The Life of Pablo” and “Yeezus.” 

​The track “Junya” with Playboi Carti represents a creative and somewhat stunning trap gospel fusion, a sonic direction that seems to guide much of “Donda.”

Duality has been a continual motif in Kanye’s music and “Donda” is no exception to the rule. During the first half of the project, Ye seems to be basking in sin. “I’ll be honest, we all liars/guess who’s going to jail tonight?” Ye sings on the second track featuring Jay-Z titled “Jail.” Donda's first twelve songs are reactionary, they paint a picture of a broken man who gave way to sin in the face of grief and despair. “I was out for self, I was up for sale but I couldn’t tell/Made the best tracks and still went off the rail” harmonizes Ye on “Hurricane.” 

Sonically, the first twelve tracks on “Donda” are uptempo, energetic and boast some of the most notable guest appearances on the record. “Off the Grid” and “Junya” see Ye recruit Playboi Carti’s infectious trap intensity, while Baby Keem and Travis Scott deliver aggressive features on the trunk-rattling “Praise God.” 

“Donda” noticeably pivots starting with track 11 titled “24.” The ever-impressive Sunday Service Choir joins Kanye as he mourns the passing of a close friend, Kobe Byrant. Kanye opened up about the shock of his sudden passing in an interview with GQ Magazine, “He was the basketball version of me, and I was the rap version of him,” West said. “We came up at the same time, together. Kobe was one of my best friends.” The grandiose organ requires a high-level signing performance which Kanye delivers. The track represents a paradigm shift of how Ye approaches the rest of “Donda.”

Instead of numbing his pain through sinful deeds, Kanye surrenders to Christ in order to heal himself following the string of traumatic events that have left an indelible scar on his soul. The shift in perspective also comes with a shift in the musicality, as gospel influence seeps into tracks like “Lord I Need You,” “Keep My Spirit Alive,” and the angelic closer “No Child Left Behind.” 

Although the tracklist is littered with what will become timeless Kanye West songs, the definitive penultimate track “Come to Life” encapsulates the “Donda” era both sonically and philosophically.  

With a spine-tingling piano and roaring synth played by Tyler, The Creator gracing the background of the record, Kanye expresses his regret and sorrow in the face of losing his ex-wife Kim Kardashian, asking “Ever wish you had another life? I’ve been feelin’ low for so long.” Singing about how he wished he had listened closer to her dreams, aspirations, wants, and needs, Kanye feels empty in her absence. “I'm free,” Ye sings repetitively in the closing seconds of the song. It's an expression we’ve heard from him before (“Ghost Town”). However, this time feels decidedly different. Kanye has overcome the death of his mother, best friend, and the loss of his family. Somehow, someway, he has continually found peace in religion despite how low life tends to bring him. He’s willing to put his ego and pride aside for his family, a realization clearly years in the making. “Come to Life'' is vulnerable, despondent, telling, gorgeous. 

While mostly polished, Donda is not free of criticism. Ye’s latest project is by far his longest, clocking in at one hour and 48 minutes. At times, the album is bloated, insisting upon itself on multiple occasions. The outro of “God Breathed,” is dragged on far too long, while the remix versions of four of the tracks don’t offer much, simply extending Donda’s runtime. Additionally, the mix on plenty of songs sounds incomplete, including “Tell the Vision,” “Pure Souls,” and Kanye’s verse on “Hurricane.” 

Donda is the acceptance of duality for Kanye. The conflicted Gemini, Kanye is willing to move past his former life, leaving behind the pain, hurt, and struggle of it in order to preserve the peace he has found through his family. “New me over the old me,” sings Ye on “24.” Somewhat unsurprisingly, Kanye West has produced brilliance yet again.

Favorite Songs:

Junya pt. 2 (feat. Playboi Carti & Ty Dolla $ign)

Lord I Need You 

Come to Life

Rating: 8.5

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