The Bobby Fishscale Interview: Signing to Roc Nation, Getting the Key's to his City, & his Artistic Evolution

December 23, 2021 by Spencer Lobdell in Read

“There’s a lot I’ve learned about myself, making music, and life. this project puts it all together. I’ve dealt with a lot growing up and now, to have a project where I get to collab with artists like Juicy J and Quavo is a big deal.”

If you’re tapped into Florida hip-hop, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Bobby Fishscale. The Quincy native has been making waves since he released “Hov Flow” in 2019 which sampled JAY-Z’s “Renegade” and boasted Bobby’s elevated artistry. A year later the rapper would sign to JAY-Z’s Roc Nation and watch as everything he mused over on his 2019 mixtape Big Fish began to manifest into reality.

This November, Bobby released an extremely polished 7-track EP titled The Evolution which showcases a wide array of star-studded features from Juicy J, Quavo, Zaytoven, Mozzy, and Kalan.FrFr. The project is Bobby’s second full EP release following his 2020 EP The Last Re-Up and mixtapes, Super Fishy, and Da Relapse, marking the artist’s continued journey in elevating both his sound and growth in his musical career - which first blossomed with a street hustle handing his tapes out of the trunk of his car in local Florida neighborhoods.

The project starts off hot with the addicting “Make It Snow” where Bobby flexes his innate knack for finding pockets in instrumentals and weaving perfect flows into the song’s fabric resulting in a bouncy track with high replay value.

The second track features Quavo and was accompanied by a great video directed by Ben Marc. In the video, Bobby and Quavo are seen running a fish market where they are hustling to maintain a business that provides for their families. The video switches swiftly from scenes in the market’s snowy freezer as both artists show off their ice, to sleek evening shots of Bobbyin front of one of his many custom classic cars. The music video gives fans a glimpse into life from the streets and tells the story of Bobby and Quavo’s long-held hustle holding it down for their family above all.

“When we created “Huncho Fishscale” it came naturally to both of us. He’s one of the coldest coming out of Florida right now, then we took it to the A to shoot the video. We kept it street. Salute Bobby.”

— Quavo

On the track, Bobby titles himself a certified trapper and it’s impossible not to believe him (“I could get em for Ja Morant and sell em for 24”). When I asked him what his favorite song on his new project was, Bobby pointed to the 6th track. “It’s gotta be Selling The Shit because of how close to that lifestyle I was.” The EP is a quick listen that I highly recommend for anyone who is interested in southern trap.

Bobby was also recently awarded the BMI R&B and Hip Hop Social Star Award just last year, joining previous winners such as the late Mac Miller, Machine Gun Kelly, Zendaya, Joey Bada$$, NLE Choppa, and more. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to ask Bobby a couple of questions about The Evolution and where he’ll go next in his young career. Our conversation, lightly edited for clarity, follows below:

Spencer Lobdell, StereoVision (SL): What did it feel like to get the keys to your city?

Bobby Fishscale (BF): Surreal. Where I grew up has had a huge impact on me as an artist you know. I grew up in the projects and saw a lot but it’s given me experience that got me to where I am today. I wouldn’t trade it for nothing. To be recognized by my hometown means a lot. I believe in remembering where you come from as you come up so to feel that same love back from my city was dope.

SL: Besides Bobby Fishscale, who’s next up out of Florida?

BF: Lil Quezz, Bamm, Boston Richey PPurg, Trap Sosa, 3Jeezy, Jimbo, Bossman JD, Goldenboy, Tafia, Wigi World, Mookboy, KolyP… everybody.

SL: How did the deal with Roc Nation come about?

BF: My dad was a DJ that would hit up and play all the clubs here in Florida, so I grew up around music and always played around with it. A few years ago I sampled JAY-Z and Eminem’s “Renegade” and it just blew up. Hip hop blogs vibed with it and I told myself like, alright let’s cook up some more. I ended up putting together my first tape, Big Fish, a little later and then I started getting calls from all these labels. I wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction to my tape and it moved so fast. That was a real moment for me like, yo I really can take this music thing to the next level. Next thing you know, I’m signed with Roc.

SL: Who are some artists you’d really like to collaborate with in the next two years?

BF: Rod Wave, Kodak Black & Jay-Z.

SL: What does “The Evolution” mean to you?

BF: The Evolution is important to me. It’s a symbol of my growth and hustle so far as an artist. There’s a lot I’ve learned about myself, making music, and life since I first started making music and this project puts it all together. I’ve dealt with a lot growing up and now, to have a project where I get to collab with artists like Juicy J and Quavo is a big deal. It made me think of how far I’ve come and where I’m going - from my music just being a way to tell my story to now creating records that I know are going to be the next hit.

SL: Does The Evolution feel any different to you in comparison to your last three projects? If so, how?

BF: Yeah. This project I think is the most advanced in terms of sound and flow compared to my previous projects. Artists naturally grow in their own individual style as they continue to make music and so far, I feel like I’ve been able to experiment more on this EP. There’s some switch-up sonically that almost blends with another genre in “Rock Session” and we lean into Ink’s vocals a lot in “Own Eyes” to make an emotional track. It’s a pretty diverse range of sounds on The Evolution.

SL: Is there anything else you want people to know about this project?

BF: It’s out now on ALL PLATFORMS!

Thanks so much for reading! Make sure to tap in with Bobby Fishscale and follow us on Instagram to stay up on the hottest new music:

Thanks for making the last six years a little easier 💎

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

October 25, 2021 by Guest User in Read

By Luke Modugno

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.

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

September 21, 2021 by Luke Modugno in Read

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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With both Kanye West and Drake dropping albums in the next four months, their long running beef seems to be climaxing. Check out the brief history of their feud and let us know whose side you’re on in the comments ⬇️

With the release of Trippie’s new album ‘Trip At Knight’ we finally got an official release for “Matt Hardy” but a lot of fans were upset about some of the changes made. What version do you like better?? ⬇️

YNW Melly’s new album “Just a Matter of Slime” is out now!! 🐍🤮

Let us know what you think of the new album in the comments ⬇️

New album review on the site now! Spoiler alert: Isaiah Rashad’s new album ‘The House is Burning’ is undoubtedly one of our favorite release of the year. Hit the link in our bio to read the full piece 💎

Go run up that new Zay! #thehouseisburning

Recently, StereoVision writer Kaila Cherry caught up with Small, a musician, graphic designer, and photographer from Oakland California. Over the course of the interview the two talked about gender expression, Kanye West, building a universe, and so

Theophilus London Announces New Album 'Musa' After Show in LA: StereoVision Concert Vlogs

September 21, 2021 by Spencer Lobdell in Read

By Spencer Lobdell

Theophilus London Live at the 1720 Warehouse in LA // Photo by Jeff Yumi

On Wednesday, September 15th, I stood with fellow StereoVision co-founder Miles Hagan and our photographer Jeff Yumi behind 1720 Warehouse, a hidden treasure in the LA nightlife scene. Theophilus London had just concluded an electric performance and the three of us were still riding the live music high that we had been removed from for so long. We were waiting to talk to London, excited to pick the brain of someone who has been a part of so many great records, but he was nowhere to be found. After ten more minutes, we began to slowly accept the fact that he had cut early and wandered out to the venue’s floor. That’s where we found Theo, hiding in plain sight, making sure that every fan had a chance to talk to him before leaving the venue. This simple act of appreciation embodied the palpable connection that Theo builds with his fans, a connection that fueled his performance and made his show in LA one I won’t forget.

Theophilus London, prolific tastemaker, producer, songwriter, and performing artist is surrounded by extreme “if you know you know” energy. While the average music fan might not be familiar with his work, his name is mentioned in the same breath as Pharrell Williams, Devonte Hynes, and Kanye West amongst music heads everywhere due to his impressive songwriting catalog and unique sound that he’s pioneered in his own solo music. While waiting for the show to start we talked with people in the crowd about when they first started listening to London and their favorite tracks of his. To no surprise, the majority of those we talked to have been supporting Theo for seven or more years (2014 marked the release of his sophomore album Vibes) and nearly every person had different favorite songs - a trait that speaks volumes about the depth of his catalog and the overall quality of his work.

The show started around 9:30 with Parks, a multi-faceted creative with a smooth style kicking off the night with some hypnotizing bass solos and silky vocal accompaniment. Next to the stage came Annahstasia, a Nigerian-American singer-songwriter who captivated the audience for her entire set with just her beautiful voice and simple guitar strums. Her extremely powerful voice was only outdone by her songwriting which communicated complex and confusing emotions through easy-to-follow stories and intuitive realizations. We caught up with Annahstasia after her performance to ask her where she drew inspiration from for her impactful songwriting:

“Lately, I’ve been inspired by watching the outside from inside. Having a moment to step back and observe human behavior and (ask myself) why we do things. Everything’s just a big why right now.”

— Annahstasia

We were also happy to hear Annahstasia say that she’ll be dropping more music very soon, make sure to be on the lookout for that as it’s sure to be special.

Theophilus London arrived on stage just before 11PM walking out to his smash hit “Can’t Stop” which features Kanye West. From the moment he stepped on stage in his striking cowboy hat, he had the audience in the palm of his hand through his strong singing, infectious dancing, and brief stints where he managed to do both while DJing. After starting the show with a couple of his older fan favorites, London got into his excellent 2020 album Bebey with the fun, new-wave Caribbean sounds of “Only You,” “Marchin,” & “Cuba.” It was clear to me that old and new fans alike loved the new album as the entire crowd sang along in unison to most of the songs performed.

Around midnight Theo seemed to finish his setlist, but with everyone in the room having such a good time (including himself) he decided to continue playing and began taking crowd requests. Wedged in between these fan picks, London played some unreleased songs that have us extremely excited for the artist’s next release, a project titled Musa that we can expect in May.

All-in-all Theophilus London’s show in LA was the perfect reintroduction to live music - an inspiring performance in a spacious venue. While speaking with Theo after the show, he related the concert to a basketball player’s first game back after an injury saying that while he felt a little rusty, there’s no comparable feeling to getting to do what you love especially when it’s been taken away from you for so long.

Thanks for reading! Make sure to watch our vlog from the concert linked above and check out photos from the event below. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram to stay up on the hottest new music.

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Music as Utility: Donda Album Review

September 07, 2021 by Guest User in Read

By Luke Modugno

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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Finding Solace in a House Ablaze: “The House Is Burning” Album Review

August 10, 2021 by Luke Modugno in Read

By Luke Modugno

Staring into a fire is an unequivocally human experience. Watching idly by as the heat of the flames melt away the old to give way to something new seems almost therapeutic, that is when those flames aren’t engulfing your own sanctuary.

Isaiah Rashad’s The House Is Burning, presents the pressing duality of this very scenario. “God’s not going to save you. I mean, he can. Because I believe in God. But God alone is not going to save you,” Rashad said in an interview with FADER Magazine. “When your house is on fire, are you going to go into that bitch to get the personal possessions, or are you just going to trust in yourself and in God that you’re going to be able to bounce back?”

Following up his debut masterpiece Cilvia Demo with an LP as intricate as his 2016 effort The Sun’s Tirade, had most rap enthusiasts pinning Zay as the crown prince of the game.

However, Zay was dealing with his own struggles at the time. From essentially giving up rapping and becoming dead broke to battling drug addiction and eventually entering rehab, putting out a new album was the least of Zay’s concerns over the past five years. “I was doing whatever I could to escape,” said Rashad. “Being out in L.A. without anything anchoring me down fucked me up. You can float off out here. You can get lost in this bitch.”

Since our first introduction to his music, Isaiah Rashad has proven time and time again his mastery of presenting profoundly existential concepts with a potent joviality. The House Is Burning is really no different, as Zay recounts his struggles over his music hiatus over energetic yet psychedelic trip-hop production.

Perhaps the most definitive example of the dichotomy that is The House Is Burning is its two opening tracks, “Darkseid” and “From the Garden.” On the album opener, Zay speaks of attempting to stay out of trouble and the perils of the music industry, comparing them to DC Comics’ infamous villain Darkseid. On the ladder, Zay absolutely lays loose with braggadocious bars over an 808 ridden beat featuring Lil Uzi Vert.

The project has plenty of sonic diversity, while mostly focusing on the theme of recovery and what Zay has been up to these past five years. Tracks like “RIP Young,” “Wat U Sed,” and “Chad” have a head-bopping energy, as well as unmistakable Tennessee trap influence. Zay’s skill and versatility as an R&B singer shine through as he slows things down on “Claymore,” “Headshots (4r Da Locals),” and “Score.”

As usual with Zay projects, the guest list on this project is stacked to the brim with talent. SZA, Smino, 6LACK, Amindi, and Iamdoechii provide beautiful vocals on their respective tracks, allowing Zay to handle the rapping. Jay Rock, Duke Deuce, Jay Worthy, YGTUT, and Uzi lend compelling guest verses (especially Jay Rock, wow).

“Score” is a clear standout from the tracklist. Over silky Kenny Beats production, Zay harmonizes about a lost lover. SZA and 6LACK accompany him on the chorus and their own verses, giving the song a velvety smoothness.

But perhaps the best song on the record, and one of Zay’s most honest songs is the closer of The House Is Burning titled “HB2U.” Opening with a conversation, Zay immediately establishes the stakes of the predicament that the title of the album implies. “Is there a heaven?” a child asks, a voice replies with affirmation. The child asks “How do you know that?” prompting the stale voice to reply “You don’t.” The first half of the record is triumphant, a declaration of victory for Zay who has been to hell and back, or rather into the burning house and back. Zay asks “If you don’t ever get yourself straight, who the fuck is you gon’ help mane?” “HB2U’s” first half is a recollection of the lessons Zay has learned: trusting in oneself to pull through even when it seems your life is collapsing around you. A tear-jerking celebration of a life renewed, “HB2U” takes a darker turn after a beat switch.

After a brief pause, a hallucinogenic melody cuts in with Zay harmonizing “You are now a human being.” This chorus possibly refers to the fact that most of Zay’s previous work was recorded under the influence of alcohol. The House Is Burning was recorded without the tempting escapism of being drunk, again hammering home the theme of the project. “This ain’t as hard as it gets, but I'm still on drugs,” sings Zay in the closing seconds of the project. “HB2U’s” second half acts as an intimidating warning to Zay himself, to continue his progress in life, or lose it all again and succumb to his old ways. “Am I cheating myself, I'm imploding.” As a whole, the song is haunting, victorious, revealing, sobering, a masterpiece.

“The House Is Burning” is a concept executed with razor-edge precision. A passionate, soulful project with the healing power of 100 hours of therapy, Isaiah Rashad has blessed his fans with something truly sentimental.

Favorite tracks:

RIP Young

Wat U Sed (feat. Iamdoechii & Kal Banx)

HB2U

Listen to The House Is Burning here:

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The Small Interview: Gender Expression, Kanye West, and the Journey to Building a Universe

July 11, 2021 by Kaila Cherry in Read

Jamahl Edwards, better known under the moniker Small, is a musician, graphic designer, and photographer from Oakland, California. He released his debut single “SMALL world” in September of 2020 (You can read my review of the single here). Since then, Small has continuously released music over the past nine months. On Valentine’s Day of this year, Small came out with their first album entitled Please Cry 4 Me. It is on Please Cry 4 Me where Small truly introduces the many faucets of their artistry to the audience. An emotional, introspective and genre bending project, Please Cry 4 Me is only the start for what Small wants to do with his music. I had the pleasure to have a conversation with Small about the what and the why behind their artistry.

Kaila Cherry, StereoVision (KC) : Tell us a bit about yourself.

SMALL: My name is Jamahl. I would also like to say that my pronouns are he/they. I’ve been moving in this direction for a while, but I’m ready to solidify this for myself and be more comfortable in understanding my existence as a Black person to be not identified within these white hetreonormative ideas of expression. As I move through this world and try to do these performances of gender, I have tried to move away from the performance of male. Our perceptions of gender roles are fundamentally engrained in white supremacy. The reason why I started there is because I feel like that truly explains me as a person. The first thing I like to say to people that really hits home the point is “I’m a former imperial export turned current colonized subject.” This explains both the conditions of my existence and the context of my art. Because, y’know, art is all about existing and people perceiving existence and expressing existence.

KC: You have previously dabbled in photography, filmmaking, and graphic design. What inspired you to focus on music as your primary art form?

SMALL: The way I want to answer that is to first talk about my influences because they are the reason I got into music. I am a Kanye stan at heart. His influence on my music is outstanding. Growing up listening to Kanye, it’s not just music, it’s like time periods. That’s how strong of an emotional connection I feel to his music.

Another artist who I think is the reason I make music is of course Earl Sweatshirt. I get compared to him all the time. At first a part of me was like “I’m not Earl Sweatshirt, I’m different, I’m Small!” But also it’s like, Earl Sweatshirt is tight as fuck bro, I love it. If you’re applying the same lens you’re using when you listen to Earl as when you listen to me, that’s exactly why I make music. There’s also MF Doom, James Blake, and Justin Vernon from Bon Iver.

I make music because it’s one of those feelings where you hear a song and think, “Fuck, I gotta make something like that!” or you see something and think, “Fuck, I gotta make something like that!” As you mentioned earlier, I’m a person who tries to do a little bit of everything. Or a lot of everything, I don’t feel as if I do a little, I feel like I do a lot. They’ll be niggas who don’t even know I make music that’ll approach me with the graphic design tip and I haven’t designed a poster or anything in over a year. Or they’ll be niggas who only know me from photography. It’s very funny the different worlds I build within whatever medium I’m working in.

I think I’ve worked in so many different mediums because there are so many ways to tell a story. And one day I was like, “Man, I gotta make some music.” I’ve been playing music for a long time, but of course playing and making music are two different things. I took guitar and piano lessons when I was a kid but I always hated it. I felt like a nerd and was like “I’m off this!” when I was like 12. But music has always been a part of my life. I’ve always been engaging with it in a sense.

KC: One thing that I noticed while listening to your music is all the ways in which you manipulate your vocals. On some songs, your voice is heavily layered and distorted almost to the point where you can barely hear what you’re saying, like a depressed Playboi Carti. Then there are tracks that are extremely melodic with a pitched up, almost cartoony sound. What inspires you to use voice modulation throughout your work?

SMALL: When I’m vulnerable but I want a sort of shield around me, that’s when I bring in my layers, my modulation, my distortion. Yeah, I’m vulnerable, but there are so many me’s within these layers. There’s power in numbers. It feels like something I have to do, in terms of the modulation. I also think about Tyler and how he modulates his voice for different projects. I remember as a kid reading r/tyler/golfwang and being like “Oh my god! That’s what that means?” and being blown away by the amount of storytelling that pitching a voice can do.

When I pitch up my voice, it takes on its own character and that’s what that means for me. It’s more than just pitching my voice, too. It’s how I say certain things, the tone I have when I rap on certain songs. Different stories are going to be told in different ways. I want people to feel more connected and I want to be more vulnerable, so I utilize different tools to reach that goal.

KC: I admire how your music morphs over time to express different emotions and experiences. What do you mainly want to express through your music? What messages do you want people to take away from your work?

SMALL: My music is my Notes app. It’s like a time capsule, a memento. It’s an expression of “Here’s what I’m on right now.” My music is a part of me, it’s my world. And that’s what it is. I’m building a universe.

An artist I’d like to shout out is Anna Kamp, also known as August Kamp (@guskamp). She is a musician who has helped me and been there with me through my growth process as an artist. We make music together in a band called Nor There. We approach music like an anthology. She used the word first. It’s an MCU but for songs. My favorite thing for artists to do is to easter egg drop a reference to an older track or project. It reminds me of the days when I used to look things up on random Reddit threads or read Genius lyrics to “get it.” I want to build something immersive like that. I want to build a universe of Small.

KC: Let’s talk about what you’re working on now. You have a single coming out on July 2nd. Tell me a bit about that.

SMALL: The single is called “Past Me (Keep My Notes).” I’m working on this album with a lot of people. There are about ten artists working on this project with me in terms of production, being a featured artist, or even just their voice being on the album. But for the most part, this album and “Past Me” was an accident. I recently got access to a good piano to record music on and I was just fucking around on it until eventually, I was like “Damn, I should get people to sing on this.” So I invited my friends over to record and sent them tracks to lay vocals on until I had so many songs that I thought “This is a project. These songs are so good, I can’t just sit on these!” The tracks clearly had a story to them.

The process of putting this album together has allowed me to feel more comfortable as a musician. I’m trying to prove myself as a musician as a whole using different tools in music to make a song. This is the first project where the majority of the songs are just my production and instrumentation, just my musicianship.

The way I think about it is like this: Please Cry 4 Me is me presenting to you my world in a sense of “Hey, this my first project, and this a world that I’m building.” And there are rough patches, and of course that album isn’t as refined as my next one, but it’s still my world. It’s still my presentation of me to you. With my next project, I’m showing you the first celestial object within the universe that the world resides in. But there is so much more to explore.

With “Past Me,” first known as “Keep My Notes,” it’s a song that’s taken around two months to make. A lot of drafts, a lot of sending back and forth, a lot of rerecording, and a lot of time to feel comfortable with how it was developing. I’m proud of “Past Me.” I couldn’t have that song be the last song on my hard drive, so I had to release it. It started with me just recording piano one day. I got a melody and I wrote some lyrics down. With this single and my upcoming album Lunar Touches, like I said, it’s just me being a musician and not feeling like I have to overstate things. I want to let my music speak for me. I want you to feel every note I play, I want you to feel everything that I do. That’s how “Past Me” came about.

The actual song is about losing someone in your life. They have a part of you, and the song is saying, “You can keep that part of me.” Keep my notes, keep the little things I’ve left around you where I’ve made my impact on you in a way. Like my lyrics say, “You can keep my notes/ I left them there on purpose.” It’s insignificant to me, but you can have them. I’m past you, I’m past this, I’m past whatever that was and I’m moving on. Like I said, I’m leaving the atmosphere of my world. “Past Me” can be about a person, or a thing, or a specific experience, but it’s just that feeling of being past certain things while also understanding that there’s a piece of you still there.

KC: You come back to referencing “your world” and “your universe” to describe the space in which you exist in. My last question for you is this: What is your world and what is it like for you to live in it?

SMALL: My world is Small. It’s like a fly-on-the-wall observation perspective. That’s how I rap. I’m observing it all and telling you what I see. For myself, most importantly, and for others secondly. I feel like I have this ability when I become Small to be very attentive and conscious of my surroundings. It’s like that meme from last fall where everyone else is partying and the dude is in the back sipping juice and thinking “They don’t know…” That’s exactly my world. Here are these things that I’m noticing. Here are these things in my orbit. Here are these musicians, artists, and beautiful people who make up my world. It’s hard for me to very distinctly define my world, but it’s Small. That’s my world. It’s also constantly being built. Things are always added, never taken away.

If you would like to join Small’s orbit, you can find their music on Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify and Soundcloud. “Past Me (Keep My Notes)” is out now across all streaming platforms. You can further keep up with Small via his Instagram @onlysmallworks. His Twitter, another variation of his Notes app, is a treat you’ll just have to find for yourself. Thanks for reading! Make sure to follow us on Instagram to stay up on the hottest new music:

Tyler The Creator: Call Me If You Get Lost Review

July 05, 2021 by Guest User in Read

By Luke Modugno

In many ways, Tyler, The Creator has come so far as an artist, without actually going anywhere at all. Perhaps the best example of this artistic dichotomy is the presence of his newest masterpiece record CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST.

The LA rapper is back with his sixth studio album, continuing his consistent musical output of dropping new projects every odd year. Spanning 16 tracks and 52 minutes, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST is one of Tyler’s longer projects. While the project is longer and features no central narrative, Tyler keeps the listener captivated with near flawless production, intriguing flows, bombastic bars regarding traveling the world, and unexpected featured artists.

From the opening seconds of the intro track “SIR BAUDELAIRE,” Tyler is taking a major pivot from the artistic direction he pursued with IGOR. Scrapping the lo-fi, synth jazz, neo-soul littered production that defined his last project, Tyler uses “SIR BAUDELAIRE” to ensure the listener understands that CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST is heading back to Tyler’s roots. Co-written by Westside Gunn and produced by Conductor Williams, Tyler clearly wants to prove himself as a bonafide rapper, which he does successfully here and across the record.

Along with the opening track, the first three on CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST reinforce the idea that Tyler is locked in as a rapper for the duration of the project. From the hard baselines of “CORSO” and “LUMBERJACK,” to visceral head nodders “MASSA” and “MANIFESTO” featuring Odd Future standout Domo Genesis, many of the soundscapes favored by Tyler harken back to the early days of his sonic progression that appear on Wolf, and even Goblin.

While Tyler makes sure to remind us that he is one of the quintessential rappers in the game currently, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST still features melodic, neo-soul strokes that keep newer fans of Tyler’s music satiated. “RISE!” is a clear highlight of the record, with Tyler taking subliminal shots at A$AP NAST while flowing flawlessly behind a hook aided by DAISY WORLD. “WUSYANAME” is a harmonious love song pushed along by beautiful background vocals from Ty Dolla $ign and a gorgeous feature by NBA Youngboy. But the clear centerpiece of CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST comes from the tenth track, “SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE.” Tyler again favors the sounds that characterized portions of IGOR and Flower Boy, flexing his singing voice while serenading a lover. Tyler recruits the help of the angel-voiced Brent Faiyaz for “SWEET,” who completely steals the limelight with a verse and vocals that simply melt in your ears. The track only gets better when it transitions to “I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE.” The song emits the same energy as the title, with reggae and samba production that makes for one of the best songs released this year. Fana Hues turns in a stunning feature on this track as well, fitting the sonic vision of the track entirely.

There is an endless amount of things to praise CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST about. From DJ Drama’s valuable contributions on various tracks to the eight-minute catharsis that is “WILSHIRE,” this project is unquestionably flawless. CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST is a summation of everything Tyler does well musically. He revisits and refines the edgy, rap-heavy days of his early career and the Wolf era while building on the ingenious innovation he’s displayed with Flower Boy and IGOR. CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST checks all the boxes, it’s by far and away the best album that has dropped this year and debatably the best work he’s released.

Favorite Tracks

SWEET / I THOUGHT YOU WANTED TO DANCE (feat. Brent Faiyaz & Fana Hues)

RISE! (feat. DAISY WORLD)

HOT WIND BLOWS (feat. Lil Wayne)

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Mach-Hommy: Pray For Haiti Review

June 30, 2021 by Luke Modugno in Read

By Luke Modugno

In hip-hop, it’s said an ear-piercing and definitive voice is worth its weight in gold. If that’s true, New Jersey’s underground rap purist Mach-Hommy’s intonation is worth millions. Since his departure from rap super label Griselda, Mach has been unequivocally discreet, dropping independent mixtapes from the shadows. However, Mach and Griselda boss Westside Gunn have had their reunion with Mach’s latest project “Pray For Haiti,” executively produced and curated by Westside Gunn.

Pray For Haiti, is easily Mach-Hommy’s most ambitious project to date, featuring relentless and refined bars over dusty, yet lavish Griselda drumless loops and chops.

Mach is one of the most unique acts in rap at the moment. He wears his influences on his sleeve shamelessly, yet carves out his own soundscape and style that is ruggedly exclusive to the Haitian emcee. With strokes of MF DOOM and Jay-Z, Mach blends his idols’ characteristics with those of contemporary avant-garde hip-hop. Pray For Haiti, puts his artistic versatility center stage. Whether he’s rapping over minimalistic, dreary beats (“Murder Czn,” “The 26th Letter”) or far more eccentric, in-your-face production (“Makrel Jaxon,” “Kriminel”), Mach is a master of almost every stylistic facet of hip-hop. “Pray For Haiti,” is Mach realizing and acting on his natural talent as a rapper and he makes sure the listener is aware of that on highlight “Makrel Jaxon,” “Next tape you might hear me sliding on flamenco or calypso, maybe you should tip-toe.”

Westside Gunn’s curation of this project benefits Pray For Haiti incredibly. Almost every project released by Griselda is a masterclass in production. Because of their consistency behind the boards, the quality of Griselda albums is best determined by how compelling their rappers can illustrate flipping packs and living lavishly. Hearing a rapper beside Conway The Machine or Benny The Butcher over beats from the distinguished and frequent Griselda collaborators Conductor Williams and Camoflauge Monk was certainly a treat. From the exquisite clarinet sample on “The Stellar Ray Theory,” to the soulful “Kriminel,” there's something for every hip-hop fan on this record.

Throughout the record, Mach allows the listener glimpses into his native Haitian culture, particularly with an enthralling interlude appearing in the second half of the record titled “Kreyol (Skit).” The album is a layer peeled away from one of hip-hop’s most reclusive acts, unveiling an emcee with deep cultural roots and influence. Mach gets fairly personal on Pray For Haiti, speaking on his own struggles in life on tracks like “Kriminel.” Usually unapologetically braggadocious, Mach reveals a thoughtful rapper with many of the same issues as the listener. While he isn’t the most talented vocalist, Mach uses singing on Pray For Haiti, as a vehicle for the pain he feels, harmonizing in creole throughout the album transmitting feelings of longing and anguish.

Mach isn’t the only artist who impresses on this album. Westside Gunn appears as a featured artist on three occasions, as well as providing his legendary ad-libs for unmitigated effect. He brings a needed diversity to the record, trading bars with Mach. Pray For Haiti also recruits singer Melaine Charles to assist Mach with his own weakness and add melodies on “Au Revoir.” Perhaps my only gripe with the project comes with the absence of other Griselda members Benny and Conway. Seeing Mach, Gunn, Benny and Conway on one track together would’ve been something special.

Pray For Haiti is easily one of the best offerings in hip-hop this year. It’s Mach’s most outstanding project to date that flexes his range of artistry, while also displaying what he does best.

Favorite tracks:

Blockchain

Makrel Jaxon

The 26th Letter

Rating: 8.5

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MF DOOM x Czarface: SuperWhat? Review

June 29, 2021 by Guest User in Read

By Luke Modugno

The hip-hop world came to a standstill on New Year’s Eve of 2020 with the bombshell news of the passing of legendary New York rapper MF DOOM. During DOOM’s illustrious career in hip-hop, he crafted a legacy of mystery and boundary-pushing musical innovation, leaving behind a catalog littered with classic records. Known as a chronic collaborator, one of DOOM’s final projects before his passing came in the form of a joint project with the rap super-collective CZARFACE (consisting of producer 7L, Esoteric and Inspectah Deck), on their 2018 effort “Czarface Meets Metal Face.” Although DOOM has since passed, the combination of the two hip-hop giants has returned, with the release of the first official posthumous DOOM project coming in the form of Super What? the follow-up to their 2018 collab project.

Originally slated to drop before the pandemic and the passing of DOOM, Super What? is a sharp 10 track project spanning 28 minutes and doesn’t overstay its welcome. The project does exactly what it sets out to do: build on the chemistry formed between DOOM and CZARFACE with comic-book inspired production and raps.

The project opens with quite the attention-grabber in “The King and Eye,” featuring Darryl McDaniels, best known as the founding member of collective Run-D.M.C. The track is a peek into the rest of what's to come from the rest of Super What?; a masterclass from Esoteric that simply carries the song and project.

The track that made me fall in love with this project had to be “Mando Calrissian.” Over a main menu-esque beat, Inspectah Deck opens the track with a triumphant, braggadocious verse followed by a stunning yet brief DOOM verse, perhaps his best in years. The track concludes with Esoteric spiting arguably the best verse on the project, with countless Mandalorian and Star Wars references.

On prior CZARFACE projects, Inspectah Deck and Esoteric usually go hand-in-hand, trading bars and verses that formed a chemistry between the two emcees that made the supergroup so intriguing. However, with Super What? Esoteric carries the weight of the project, along with DOOM. Inspectah Deck’s verses are shorter and less attention-grabbing, almost as if he put less effort into the project than the rest of the collective.

Similar to CZARFACE Meets Metal Face, DOOM’s involvement on the project is a bit passive at times. One of DOOM’s strong suits as an artist is his inventive production. However, DOOM has zero production credits on the album, leaving 7L to shoulder the entire load. While the production certainly isn’t stale, the unutilized presence of a monolithic producer in hip-hop history is disappointing. Additionally, DOOM has short verses on this record, none exceeding a minute or so. At times, DOOM’s presence on the record is thin and calling this project a comprehensive collaboration could be seen as a stretch.

Overall, Super What? is a fun and light-hearted project. Although it’s a noticeable step down in quality from their former collaboration, when artists as talented as MF DOOM and CZARFACE get together, there are sure to be fireworks, ill beats and rhymes, and plenty of comic book references. Rest in peace MF DOOM.

Favorite Tracks:

Mando Calrissian

Break in the Action

Czarwyn’s Theory of People Getting Loose

Rating: 6

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Pi’erre Bourne: The Life of Pi’erre 5 Review

June 18, 2021 by Kaila Cherry in Read

By Kaila Cherry

Photos by Cara Robbins — *Photos by* *Cara Robbins*

Within the landscape of rap music over the last four years, few names are more prolific in their influence on the culture than Pi’erre Bourne. After the young art school graduate broke out in 2017 with producer credits on the massively popular tracks “Magnolia” by Playboi Carti and “Gummo” by Tekahsi 6ix9ine, Bourne has gone on to produce tracks featuring artists such as Young Nudy, Lil Uzi Vert and Kanye West. Although he was known at the start of his career for his dreamy beats with spacey melodies over straightforward and satisfying trap beats, Pi’erre Bourne knew that he wanted to traverse production and expand into rapping as well.

Inspired by artists such as his own uncle and Kanye West, he released his first solo studio album, Life of Pi’erre 4 in June of 2019. On this project, Pi’erre introduces himself as a collection of dualities. He is humble yet prideful, a player yet a hopeless romantic. Sex and love is a strong theme throughout The Life of Pi’erre 4 with songs such as “Poof, “Guillotine,” and “Ballad” being the most played tracks on the album. He blurs the lines between singing and rapping for most of the album, his mellow voice accentuated by autotune. The production is light and airy in order to give the spotlight to Pi’erre’s bars and vocals. Here, we are introduced to Pi’erre Bourne’s love of similes and copious pop culture references in his writing. Some were clever and others were unhinged. No matter what came out of his mouth, however, there was no denying that Pi’erre Bourne was a talent with major potential to succeed as a solo artist and not just a producer. He had the beats, he had the voice, and he had a strong following that only grew after The Life of Pi’erre 4.

Almost two years exactly to the release of his first album, Pi’erre Bourne released his second project The Life of Pi’erre 5 on June 11th. The release of this album was teased with the release of the single “4U” some months prior with a music video attached as well. Despite Bourne’s rollout of the single being arguably overshadowed by Playboi Carti’s release of his music video for “Sky’ off of his album Whole Lotta Red, “4U'' was still able to reach many fans who enjoyed the bouncy sexy summer track and were eager to hear more from him. With The Life of Pi’erre 5, that is exactly what they got. TLOP5 has the familiar production that made Bourne famous, the entrancing rap cadence, and the creative lyrics fans have come to love even if they sound like they were written by someone in the middle of watching Hulu’s WuTang: An American Saga while hotboxing their room. However, what sets The Life of Pi’erre 5 apart from its predecessor is the inclusion of features from Playboi Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, and Sharc, higher intensity production, and a more diverse range of themes communicated over the course of the album.

Pi’erre knew we needed music for vaxxed summer 2021 and he delivered. The tracks are vibrant and exciting, filled with the energy and fun we are hoping to embody as the world finally opens back up to us.

The Life of Pi’erre 5 opens with a phone call with Bourne and his grandmother, who he made mentions of in his first album. She asks him when he is going to come visit her in South Carolina and asks him to help her get a car. “Not no new car” she says, “Something that costs maybe twenty-five, twenty-seven hundred dollars.” She then says that she just needs something to ride. Throughout their conversation, Pi’erre (aka Jordan as his grandmother calls him) talks about where he’s traveling, when he’s going to come see her, and then tells her he has to go but promises he’ll call her back. Although this intro is short and doesn’t feature any rapping, it works tremendously as a tool to establish the major theme of this album: The effects of fame on his relationships with others and his perception of himself. The tension between his nomadic life as a musician and his ties to his home, and in turn his past, are prevalent throughout the album.

Tracks that especially work to communicate Pi’erre Bourne reconciling with where he is now versus where he was are “YNS” and “Amen.“YNS” displays Pi’erre Bourne’s capacity for empathy as he raps about his life growing up in the hood and his formative experiences. He calls for the freedom of his friends who got caught up in the hustle and are now incarcerated. Bourne also takes a candid moment for self-reflection on the track as he talks of his success in comparison with his emotional pain and trauma from his upbringing. This self-reflection continues near the end of the album on the track “Amen.” On the somber track, Pierre raps about the pitfalls of his lifestyle. He raps that he is living “too fast and furious.” Although his money affords him many luxuries, it does not offer him peace of mind. Bourne describes stacks of money like a weight on his shoulders and hopes that no one hits his Achilles as he “runs up his bag.” It is clear that Bourne is afraid of losing what he has. This is emphasized by the usage of samples from his uncle’s own music on the track, a massive influence on Bourne’s artistry who passed away just weeks before TLOP5’s release. “Amen” is the most vulnerable track on what is otherwise a very “no thoughts just vibes” sort of project.

On the production side of things, Pi’erre Bourne experiments with a more intense and brooding sound than he did on the Life of Pi’erre 4. With TLOP4, the production was very formulaic: trap drums, distorted guitar or piano melody, and Pierre Bourne sing-rapping with moderate autotune. Although it was predictable, Bourne was able to captivate audiences by varying the style just enough with each track to make the album land as seamless instead of mind-numbing. On The Life of Pi’erre 5, however, Bourne allowed himself to expand on his sound with the inclusion of heavier bass and synths. The standout example of this “new sound” is found halfway through the album on track 8 “Sossboy 2.” The track opens with cacophonous bass under quick modulating electric drums and a Nosferatu-esque keyboard melody. The intro features Bourne’s uncle, his voice deep and heavily reverbed. Once the chorus hits, Bourne layers on one more sound: a spacey synth melody. This is the perfect lead-in to the verse of rap’s favorite extraterrestrial: Lil Uzi Vert. They are a truly dynamic pairing on this track. Pi’erre Bourne raps exclusively on this track in order to match the energy of Uzi. Even though Uzi does in fact wash Bourne rap-wise, the duo still created a track that I need to hear at a party as soon as possible.

Ladies, don’t worry, Pi’erre Bourne still wants to have sex with us. He makes sure to tell us with the tracks “Retroville'' and “Drunk and Nasty.” They follow each other in order on the album, which is fitting because they are both extremely horny, which is what the girls who loved TLOP4 came for. Although they both incorporate some of the heavier production aspects indicative of the midpoint of the album, they are airy enough to remind us of his work from 2019 that helped us girls romanticize then get over our toxic partners. “Retroville” is the more upbeat of the two, with the vampy keyboard on full display. Lyrically, the content of the chorus gives very much “Wet Dreamz” by J Cole energy but instead of going into detail about his lover from high school Pi’erre Bourne repeats the sound “Skrt” for sixteen bars before, in a moment of poignant wordplay, changing it to “Skirt” as indicated by the lyrics “Panties, bra/She takes it off.” “Drunk and Nasty” is a track that has been circulating the internet in its incomplete form for a year or two. As it was made around the same time as TLOP4, it sounds the most like a song that could have been on that project. However, he varies the final product from the draft by adding more verses, overlaid vocals, a feature from Sharc, and not one, but two pauses throughout the song. “Retroville” and “Drunk and Nasty” are just two examples of how Pi’erre Bourne was able to successfully merge the old with the new on TLOP5 in order to both appease current fans and help bring in new ones.

The Life of Pi’erre 5 is the first album to truly excite me this year. Pi’erre Bourne always produces hit after hit, whether he is doing it for himself or for someone else. Instead of backsliding after his first album like some rappers tend to do, Bourne was able to successfully grow his musical style and come back with a project that is undoubtedly better than the first. I believe that Pi’erre Bourne is often not afforded his flowers because his collaborators are more often than not more famous than he is, causing him to get outshined by the spotlight of others. However, I am certain that sooner rather than later, Pi’erre Bourne will get the acclaim he deserves. The Life of Pi’erre 5 is going to be my album for the summer, and if you like Trippie Redd, Young Nudy, or Playboi Carti, it should be yours, too.

Favorite Tracks

Sossboy 2 (feat. Lil Uzi Vert)

40 Clip

Drunk and Nasty (feat. Sharc)

Rating: 8

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Worry Club Captures the Nostalgia Associated with a Fleeting Childhood on New Track “Bleach”

June 17, 2021 by Spencer Lobdell in Read

By Spencer Lobdell

There are few human emotions as conflicting and relatable as those associated with growing up. The inevitable depression of watching a simple life turn complex is met by a hope that we can somehow extract greatness from the complexity and build a life worth living. Worry Club, a rising bedroom pop duo from Chicago, has not only experienced this specific melancholy but is able to perfectly wrap the feeling up and put a bow on it on their new track "Bleach”. On the track, front-man Chase Walsh reflects on transforming one’s identity while battling addiction. When asked about the track, Chase touched on how this period of growth was not only a sign that his youth was coming to an end but also an attempt to hold on to it in any way possible: “I really wanted to capture the nostalgia associated with a fleeting childhood. The idea of growing up has always scared the shit out of me.”

Worry Club is the Chicago-bred duo composed of Chase Walsh (Singer/Songwriter) and Zack Zagula (Media, Graphic Design, etc). The collective was formed in January of 2020 and in a little over one year they have released an impressive collection of songs and grown their fan base through memorable music and an important message. Every Wednesday, Walsh, the face of the collective, engages fans for a weekly Instagram Live series aptly dubbed “Worry Club Wednesdays.” The series has been a communal experience, and Worry's staunch advocacy for mental health awareness--and eager willingness to lend an ear to anyone struggling--has made the streams a welcome environment for anyone watching. Show support and stream Bleach!

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Kodak Black's "Feelin Peachy" Is One of the Best Music Videos of 2021

June 13, 2021 by Spencer Lobdell in Read

By Spencer Lobdell

Kodak Black has been on one since being released from prison in January with his run hitting a new high this week with the release of his new four-song EP Happy Birthday Kodak. Alongside the project, Yak released this colorful video for standout track “Feelin Peachy” and it features everything we love about Kodak. From the exuberant fashion to the rapper’s addicting drawled delivery, everything hits like it needs to in the new video resulting in some of Kodak’s best work.

Although Kodak is certainly no stranger to scandal and scrutiny, he seems to be making a resurgence due to consistent pressure and an enhanced focus. Are you rocking with Kodak Black in 2021?

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Cordae & Young Thug Drop "Wassup" Music Video

June 13, 2021 by Spencer Lobdell in Read

By Spencer Lobdell

Young Thug and Cordae is certainly a pairing we didn't know we needed in 2021. Check out their new music video where the two trade bars in a dark fight club-esque setting. With the release of this new music video, Cordae announced that it would be the last thing he put out that wasn't going to be on his upcoming album. Do you think he can top 'The Lost Boy' with his sophomore project?

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Larry June Drops Fire New Music Video "Still Cookin"

June 13, 2021 by Spencer Lobdell in Read

By Spencer Lobdell

Good job Larry! This week, bay rapper Larry June released his new album 'Orange Print' accompanied by this music video for "Still Cookin" the 8th song on the album. The video shows Larry cruising around the bay and enjoying beautiful NorCal wine country while delivering laid-back motivational bars in classic LJ fashion.

June’s new album Orange Print came out yesterday and is without a doubt one of the most polished projects the rap vet has released. The 13-track album runs for 36 minutes but feels more like 15 due to Larry’s uniquely mature subject matter and addicting spoken delivery.

June is one of the most consistent artists in hip-hop with "Orange Print" being the 15th project he's released since 2018. Is this the year that Larry sees mainstream success?

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The Alchemist: This Thing of Ours Review

May 16, 2021 by Guest User in Read

Super-producer The Alchemist Links up with Earl Sweatshirt, Boldy James, Maxo, and Others to Continue his Impressive Run

By Luke Modugno

The Alchemist is setting the rap game ablaze over the last 12 months. Since 2020, the legendary producer has dropped a slew of impressive projects, including the Grammy-nominated Freddie Gibbs collaboration tape “Alfredo.” 2021 has simply been a continuation of the success he found last year, with The Alchemist’s latest project “This Thing Of Ours” showcasing exactly why he’s one of the most respected producers within the genre.

Across a brief four tracks, The Alchemist recruits familiar faces to accompany his experimental, dusty, drum-looped production. Frequent collaborators Earl Sweatshirt and Boldy James impress on tracks “Nobles,” “TV Dinners,” and “Loose Change,” while upcoming underground rappers Pink Stiifu and Maxo slow things down on “Holy Hell.”

However, the clear standout track is the lead single and the opening track “Nobles.” Earl and Navy Blue have formed a compelling duo with substantial chemistry, as they trade bar for bar on this track. The sample is immaculate, consisting of looped strings and horns that give the track a euphoric and triumphant feel. Considering both Navy Blue and Earl tend to favor darker, rougher production in their own discographies, hearing them on upbeat, higher-tempo beats provided by The Alchemist displays their artistic versatility.

Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist in the Studio

The only valid criticism of such a well-done project such as “This Thing Of Ours” is its obvious brevity. At the end of the project, the listener is simply left wanting more. However, considering Al has already dropped two projects this year prior to the release of “This Thing Of Ours,” criticizing his musical yield isn’t valid.

“This Thing Of Ours” is a microcosm of what makes The Alchemist successful. Each beat is wildly unique and intriguing, although simple in construction with mesmerizing, harmonious loops. Despite the project being four tracks long, any output from The Alchemist is a blessing, especially considering his unmitigated consistency in the past year. Overall, “This Thing Of Ours” is a great offering from the veteran producer and easily one of his best solo projects to date.

Favorite Tracks

Nobles (feat. Navy Blue & Earl Sweatshirt)

TV Dinners (feat. Boldly James & Sideshow)

Loose Change (feat. Earl Sweatshirt)

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A Written Testimony: A One Year Retrospective

May 12, 2021 by Carter Fife in Read

By Carter Fife

Last year Stereovision published a piece titled “Jay Electronica: Man or Myth?”, in which I delved into the creation and meaning behind one of the most celebrated hip-hop releases of 2020 - A Written Testimony. The article served to contextualize everything from the record’s samples and composition, to the cryptic backstory surrounding its release. Both the article and the album it covered would go on to be nominated for national awards, and almost a year later A Written Testimony continues to find its way to new audiences and earn new accolades.

When December came around and writers were tasked to provide their top records of the year, I easily wrote in A Written Testimony as my number one choice - though 9 months had passed since its release. Having listened to over 200 records alone that year, I couldn’t help but wonder: what is it about this record that continues to resonate after all this time? Why did this album stay in rotation while many other commercial releases gradually waned in relevance? The answer was not as simple as I initially thought, but given that it has been over a year since fans were treated to Jay Electronica’s debut studio record, it may be time to look back.

Among the many subjects of Jay Electronica’s A Written Testimony, none stand out more than religion - a theme that touches everything from his writing to the number of days he spent working on the record. Though I remember critics deeming Jay Electronica’s use of religion and prophetic tone as ‘eye-rolling,’ I found this judgment to be a strange exhibition of gatekeeping something that literally nobody can be an expert on. Jay Electronica’s self-perceived relationship with God is something that cannot be invalidated even by the most uptight of skeptics, and because Jay Electronica realizes that, A Written Testimony becomes authentic, unique, and unlike any other release fans saw that year.

The narrative of A Written Testimony is structured almost like a murder mystery film - we see Jay Electronica and Jay-Z celebrating their present blessings before any sort of reflection takes place. While Jay-Z’s approach to writing sees him delivering both a proud look back on his success and a pointed critique at the forces that tried to hold him back, Jay Electronica’s methodology takes a left-turn. On tracks like “The Neverending Story”, he reveals that religion is one of the main factors that he attributes to his status and skill. While dwelling on his humble beginnings of faith and “squalor”, Jay Electronica writes:

“Though I tarry through the valley of death, my Lord give me pasture.

If you want to be a master in life, you must submit to a master.

I was born to lock horns with the Devil at the brink of the hereafter -

Me, the socket, the plug, and universal adapter.”

Whether or not you subscribe to the concept of organized religion, there is something to be said about Jay Electronica’s steadfast beliefs in God. A registered member of the nation of Islam, Jay Electronica has devoted his life to his religious beliefs and stands here today as one of hip-hop’s most celebrated figures. This background gives Jay Electronica’s music a refreshing dose of originality, for he is a character who few other cultural figures could even hope to emulate. Though it is not uncommon for artists to allow their religious beliefs to bleed into their music, Jay Electronica’s unique relationship with God manifests into A Written Testimony in an entirely new way. His goal is not to convert listeners or thank the creator for the money and fame - his only goal is to spread the wisdom that he has gained through his devotion to religion.

Though religion is the guiding theme that shepherds everything else on A Written Testimony, what makes the album truly unique is how Jay Electronica presents the listener with wisdom not as a voice of sage authority, but as one who has made mistakes in the past. Embedded within A Written Testimony is a vulnerability that transcends the music it’s written into - as if Jay Electronica is revealing his innermost thoughts to both his peers, his audience, and even his god himself. With lyrics like “My mathematical theology of rhyming will touch the soul / I spent many nights bent off Woodford, clutching the bowl, stuffing my nose / Some of the cons I suffered for prose”, it should be no surprise that Jay Electronica portrays his art as a form of cathartic therapy on “Shiny Suit Theory”. Religion is the force that saved Jay Electronica in a past life, and wisdom was his parting favor.

I still find myself returning to A Written Testimony a year later, because I find that the album is full of moments that simply bear repeating. Jay Electronica’s ruminations on his self-doubt and anxiety on “The Blinding” helped humanize himself from a near mythological figure into a real human being. His meditations on death and rememory on “A.P.I.D.T.A” is an incredibly touching moment that continually makes me realize that I am not alone in my suffering - with respect to both those lost during the pandemic and those close to me that have passed since leaving high school.

A year later, A Written Testimony is still just as refreshing as it was back in the early days of the pandemic. The record is still bursting at the seams with intentional and cleverly written tracks that are sure to strike a chord with any listener. If you didn’t get a chance to listen during the chaos of 2020, do yourself a favor and check it out now. With overarching themes that branch into the political, ethical, social, economic, and religious realms, this will be a record that we will likely continue to talk about for years to come.

Listen to A Written Testimony here:

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J. Cole Announces New Album, "The Off-Season"

May 04, 2021 by Spencer Lobdell in Read

Dreamville’s Head Honcho shares the cover art and release date for the follow-up to his 2018 album, “KOD”

By Spencer Lobdell

Dreamville’s Head Honcho shares the cover art and release date for the follow-up to his 2018 album, “KOD”

Early today, J. Cole took to Instagram and Twitter to announce that his upcoming album “The Off-Season” will be released next week on May 14th. The announcement was prefaced by a playful tweet which read “Is this thing on?” which marked Cole’s first Twitter activity since January.

Fans have been expecting “The Off-Season” since the end of last December when Cole posted a picture laying out his career plan for “The Fall Off Era.” The map starts with his legendary feature run that took place in 2018 and then led into 2019’s “Revenge of the Dreamers III”. “The Off-Season” is the third project on his list followed by “It’s a Boy” and “The Fall Off”.

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Last year, when Cole dropped “Lewis Street EP” he stated that “The Climb Back” and “Lion King on Ice” would be the first two songs on “The Fall Off” making their placement on “The Off-Season” unlikely but possible. Regardless of the status of those singles, everytime Cole drops there’s the chance it could be a massive cultural moment in music and the release of “The Off-Season” will be no different

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Music Videos and Their Increasingly Complex Role in Pop Culture

May 04, 2021 by StereoVision Staff in Read

By Cori Carpenter

Music videos were at their peak in the late 80s and into the 90s as MTV had a tight grip on pop culture. But the millennial age has seen that wave come and go in the last decade as the height of music videos has declined. Although there are still very memorable music videos that have been produced in recent years, some millennials would even regard them as their favorites, it seems as though memorable music videos have become scarce. Certain artists like Beyoncé, Amine, Ariana Grande, and Childish Gambino have made big splashes with their music videos but many other artist’s projects have fallen flat in what many would regard as a lack of creativity.

The shift in the way music is consumed can be tied to the ways in which music videos have fallen off. The consumption of music has shifted from MTV and most recently, YouTube, into streaming services such as Apple Music, Spotify, etc. Popular shows like 106 & Park, which showcased all the new and exciting music videos have become nearly extinct.

Before today, music videos and the song itself were consumed simultaneously but now that is not the case and music videos often come following song releases. Unlike the 2010s and before, the visuals of a music video are not what will make a song more valuable because music is a lot more accessible than it used to be. After Beyoncé’s game-changing digital album release in 2013, streaming services became the new wave of music consumption and plenty of artists alike decided to hop on the same trend. In the years to follow, streaming services reached new heights in competition to lure in artists to release exclusively on their platforms which would intentionally lure in artists’ fanbases. In this era, music videos were put on a back burner and artists switched their focuses to album releases in order to maximize their streams, the new payout for artists aside from music sales. Now that the competition between streaming services has slowed from previous years, music videos are beginning to pick back up with more splashes of creativity.

Mainstream female artists have been carrying the music video industry these past few years, with their seductive cinematography and heavy sex appeal all while creating controversy while doing so. Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B’s single WAP had already created quite a commotion because of its explicit lyrics but the hot visual is what really sent us into a media frenzy. Childish Gambino’s “This is America” visual brought about the connection of the music industry and social issues in a new way that sent his video to viral status and left chills amongst those who watched. The attention and conversations being had on music videos again is exciting for those like myself who are ready for them to have the same impact they did on pop culture as in the 80s and 90s.

My Top 10 Favorite Music Videos

10. Childish Gambino - Feels Like Summer

9. Ari Lennox - BMO

8. Masego - Tadow

7. Ariana Grande - Thank U Next 

6. Rihanna - Bitch Better Have My Money 

5. Beyonce - Already

4. The Internet - Roll (Burbank Funk)

3. Amine - Compensating

2. Doja Cat - Say So

1. Beyonce - Mood4Eva

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Young Stoner Life Drops New Album “Slime Language 2”

April 16, 2021 by Luke Modugno in Read

By Luke Modugno

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SLIME LANGUAGE HAS RETURNED. Young Thug and YSL have finally dropped the sequel to their 2018 tape, as they dropped “SLIME LANGUAGE 2” on Thursday night. The project features an absolutely stacked roster of guest performances from Drake, Travis Scott, Future, Kid Cudi, Lil Uzi Vert, Meek Mill, Gunna and Lil Baby.

Thug has been relatively quiet since dropping his hailed 2019 project “So Much Fun.” Since then, Thugger dropped a collaboration with Chris Brown titled “Slime & B.” At this point, we already know what to expect from Thug. Ear-catching, boundary-pushing, head-bopping trap music chalk full of exciting features that keep listeners coming back for more. “SLIME LANGUAGE 2” sees Thug teaming up with the top talent from his label YSL, as well as headliner names like Travis and Drake.

Thug has been teasing this project for a minute now, the album is sure to make some noise. Almost halfway through the year, is this your album of 2021 so far?

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