Marlon D – “Shadows 3” review

Marlon D is an underground MC based in Oxnard, California & this is his 9th full-length album. The album opens up with the intro, where Marlon is talking about speaking to the lost generation & putting you in a hearse by the time the song’s sole verse ends over a hard boom bap beat. The next song “Fine Wine” talks about making his story count & the soul sample on here is beautiful yet very fitting. The track “Crack That Whip” discusses several things such as his past work as well as life being complicated over an expected yet solid sample of the classic Devo song “Whip It”. The song “Wake Up” discusses getting rid of negative energy & still keeping his third eye open over an instrumental that enhances the uplifting vibe perfectly. The track “Raw Shit” talks about thanking God for maintaining his skills & wanting to get busy on the mic over a beautiful soul sample. The song “Top of the Morning” ambitiously talks about not wanting to dream about getting money & actually getting it over a piano as well as some hard hitting boom bap drums. The track “DUI” may have very vivid storytelling, but I was kinda indifferent towards the beat for it. The song “The Cypher” lives up to it’s title, as Marlon brings on Nasty Nelo as well as Rufio Spenz & Crow Flocks on to aggressively go in (in their own rights too) over an abrasive beat. The track “T-Shirts” with Know Big Deal may be the shortest track on the entire album, but both MCs absolutely rip the horns & hard hitting drums to shreds. The song “Wrong or Right” is both reflective & emotional, but it reminds me of the classic JAY-Z track “This Can’t Be Life”. Not just because of the reference to it during the hook, but he even uses the exact same Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes sample that Kanye used on that original song throughout it’s 6 minute runtime. The track “Stand for Something” discusses unity & the soul sample during the hook enhances Marlon’s sincereness very well. The song “Don’t You Worry” is a message to all the people who’re currently struggling in life & I like how he rides the smooth instrumental on here as well. The track “Cry” vents about a breakup over a perfectly incorporated soul sample along with some hard boom bap drums. The song “Leave Me Alone” basically tells the listener that you can either support him or back off over a somber instrumental & he’s pouring his heart out on here. The track “I Wonder What’s Real” expresses his desire of being a better man as well as reflecting on a shitty boss he had over a somber instrumental that starts off with some great piano keys. The song “Flying Locusts” has a conscious tone to it lyrically & it was really cool for me to hear that they sampled the instrumental break that pops in during the last minute of “Between Friends” by Captain Murphy from beginning to end. The penultimate track “A Dream Deffered” with News may brag about their rhyming skills & the beat is gritty as well, but the execution of the hook was really awkward to me. The album then closes out with the outro, where Marlon is getting thankful over a beautifully symphonic instrumental. Personally, this final installment of the Shadows trilogy might be Marlon D’s best work yet. Not just because of the beats being a healthy mix of both boom bap & soul, but also because I really think Marlon D himself sounds as focused & ambitious as ever. If any of you are looking for an underground album in 2017 that’s well produced & full of charisma, then I’d personally say this is the album for you

Score: 4/5

2 CHΛINZ – “Pretty Girls 👍 TRΛP MUSIC” review

Just a little over a year after dropping the ColleGrove self-titled album with Lil Wayne, Playaz Circle member 2 Chainz is now delivering his 3rd full-length album. The opener “Saturday Night” sees Tity Boi talking about treating every day like it’s a Saturday & the production from Mike WiLL Made-It has these ominous piano keys as well as a KILLER electric guitar throughout. The next song “Riverdale Rd” talks discusses going from grams to Grammys & the beat is eerie, yet very abrasive. The track “Good Drank” with Gucci Mane originally appeared on 2 Chainz’ 3rd EP Hibachi for Lunch back from last October & it’s still as much of a spacey club banger as it was when it first came out then. The Quavo hook doesn’t really bother me at all either, especially with the hilarious Dr. Dre/André 3000 line that pops up near the end of it. The song “4 AM” talks about selling drugs at the titular time & while I do like the murky production that fits the vibe, I was disappointed that Travis Scott only did the hook & a couple adlibs on here. The track “Door Swangin'” goes in about hustlin’ & the atmospheric production isn’t too bad, either. The song “Realize” sees 2 Chainz talking about partying as well as Nicki Minaj dissing Remy Ma over a cloudy-ish beat & I gotta say, Nicki actually went in on this song. Oh, & the “fuck mumble rap” line that 2 Chainz spits at the end of his verse surprised me as well. The track “Poor Fool” has an ambitious tone lyrically & I really love the wind chimes throughout the beat. I’m also happy that Swae Lee only does the hook on this track & he definitely did a decent job at that here. The song “Big Amount” with Drake originally appeared on Tity Boi’s 9th mixtape Daniel Son; Necklace Don from last August & it still sounds as much of a chill braggadocious tune as it originally was then. However, the Drake verse is still average. The track “It’s a Vibe” with Ty$ as well as Trey Songz & Jhené Aiko is a sex banger that really does live up to the title. Especially with the funky guitar on here. The song “Rolls Royce Bitch” talks about believing in yourself & the really smooth guitar passages on here actually make it my 2nd favorite track on the entire album. The track “Sleep When U Die” samples “All I Need” by Lee Fields referencing 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair. The song “Trap Check” talks about cashing in checks & buying shit with the money over a sinister beat with some rattling hi-hats. The track “Blue Cheese” has a wavy beat, but the Migos feature is what REALLY kills the vibe for me on here & the 2 Chainz verse at the beginning does it little justice. The song “OG Kush Diet” talks about getting high since his friend passed as well as saying your favorite rapper has no talent (presumably another shot at mumble rap) & I absolutely love the beat change halfway through. The penultimate track “Bailan” is actually my favorite track on the entire album. Not just because of Pharrell’s relaxing production, but also how charismatic Tity Boi sounds on here too. The album then closes out with “Burglar Bars”, where it gets motivational to the listener over an instrumental that compliments the vibe perfectly! Even though I’ve never been a big fan of this guy, this new album of his took me by surprise. The production’s hard as Hell as one would expect, but what got me the most was how 2 Chainz was sounding a lot more interesting me over them this time around. If any of you are like me & didn’t care for his last 2 albums B.O.A.T.S. (Based On A T.R.U. Story) or it’s sequel Me Time all that much, then I HIGHLY recommend checking this new album out because it truly is like night & day

Score: 3.5/5

JL – “D.I.B.K.I.S. (Do It Big, Keep It Strange)” review

After being affiliated with Strange Music for several years, Kansas City emcee JL finally signed with the independent hip hop powerhouse in 2015 & is now releasing his first album with them. The opener “Strange the World” has a killer rap rock beat & given the title of the track, JL does not disappoint. The next song “2 Up” with Strange founder Tech N9ne talks about being 2 brackets above everyone else & while I do enjoy verses as well as the heavy bass in the production, the execution of the hook could’ve been much better. The track “Own Thang” originally appeared on Tech’s last non-Collabos album The Storm back when it first came out back in December & it’s just as great as it was then from the stereotype topic to MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7’s hard hitting production. The song “Hate Nature” addresses all the haters out there & 7’s production fits JL’s aggressive delivery like a glove. The track “Out Da Hood” is basically about going from rags to riches over a hyphy beat & the guest verse from Nef the Pharaoh isn’t too bad either. The song “Saturday” with Tech as well as The Popper & Marlon Young is a club banger, but it just feels redundant to me. The track “Risky” talks about sex over a spacey beat & while he does it cleverly, the hook from Navé Monjo is just ok. The song “Catch a Wave” with Joey Cool talks about grinding & I absolutely love how it starts off with some ominous strings. The keyboards on here are pretty nice, too. The track “Password” is yet another club banger just like the previously mentioned “Saturday”, but this one goes WAY harder. Not just because of ¡MAYDAY!’s production, but JL changes his flow near the end of both verses very cohesively. The song “Technology” with Tech N9ne talks about sexual activity via technology (hence the title) & both of them do it very creatively. Especially with the reference to the classic Zapp track “Computer Love” right before Tech’s verse. The perfectly titled “Fuck Everything” is pretty much JL angrily going at every single thing from clubs to excuses & while one may complain about the excessive use of the word “fuck”, I personally think it’s an abrasive track. The track “Done to Me” vents about a breakup & I like how the guitar matches the sincere vibe that’s being given off. The song “Propaganda” sees JL getting conscious & there are some really cool DJ scratches going on in the background throughout the duration of the track. The penultimate track “Elevation” talks about being stressed then eventually making it & between the guest verses from Joey Cool along with Emilio Rojas & Krizz Kaliko, I felt that Krizz had the best flow of the 3 despite the mediocre PlayStation simile that pops in a little bit after his verse starts. The album then closes out with “This Time”, where JL’s passionately spitting about how thankful he is that his time isn’t up yet as well as how he feels right at home with Strange Music over a beat from 7 that has an fittingly ambitious vibe to it. There’s also a pre-order track to this thing called “Everywhere”, which pretty much brags about success & the production from The Dead Beatz is just THUNDEROUS! If you ask me, this could very well be JL’s best work yet. His lyricism & delivery are on point like it’s always been & the production is probably the hardest set of beats he’s ever had. I’ve always felt that this cat is very underappreciated & the fact that Tech N9ne is giving him proper exposure with this album makes me very happy for both parties, because this dude really is gonna be Strange’s next big artist

TLC – Self-titled review

Almost 15 years after the death of Left Eye as well as the release of their 4th album 3D, renown Atlanta, Georgia girl group TLC have decided to give their fans 1 last album. The fittingly-titled opener “No Introduction”, talks about how Left Eye’s still with them & that they’ve already paved the way, but the production is pretty nondescript. The next track “Way Back” talks about getting back with an ex & not only does the guest verse from WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg compliment TLC, but the beat SLAPS too! The song “It’s Sunny” talks about brighter days being here, but the club beat was just average. The track “Haters” addresses just that & while that’s fine, the modern production does not suit them at all. The song “Perfect Girls” has an acoustic vibe to it & lyrically, it seems like a sequel to “Unpretty”. We are then treated to a 1 minute interlude where Left Eye is posthumous talking over a funky instrumental. Sad thing is though: this is the only Left Eye appearance on the entire album. We then get back on track with the song “Start a Fire”, which is basically the other 2 remaining members of TLC saying that they’re hiding in men’s dreams. The instrumental starts off with an acoustic tone, but then it changes up into something more during the last minute or so. The track “American Gold” talks about no one being safe & always pulling through over a somber instrumental enhanced by some piano keys. The song “Scandalous” has a sexual tone in the lyrics over an futuristic sounding instrumental that actually doesn’t sound too bad, but I’d much rather listen to “Red Light Special”. The penultimate track “Aye Muthafucka” disgustingly goes in about being fed up with their man’s shit & the beat is somewhat catchy. Then the album fittingly closes out with “Joy Ride”, where they’re thanking us for supporting them over a funky guitar & some piano keys. Even though this was crowd-funded, I walked away from the final product thinking it was just ok. I mean I knew T-Boz & Chilli were gonna try to make it work without Left Eye & I’m fine with the songwriting on most of the tracks, but the production’s not up to snuff. I have a lot of respect for TLC but with a group of their caliber, I think they could’ve gone out with a bigger bang

Score: 3/5

JAY-Z – “4:44” review

Almost 4 years after the disappointingly mediocre Magna Carta…Holy Grail, renown Brooklyn rapper & businessman JAY-Z is finally delivering his 13th album & he has enlisted No I.D. to produce it in it’s entirety. The opener “Kill JAY-Z” talks about killing his ego over a soulful instrumental & it even addresses his Throne cohort Kanye West’s stage rants from last November. Despite calling him insane, he does assure Ye that he does feel bad for him. The next song “The Story of O.J.” sees JAY getting conscious over some piano keys & a sample of “4 Women” by Nina Simone. Matter of fact, Jigga actually makes a PERFECT reference to the original Nina Simone song during the hook. The track “Smile” talks about pushing through the pain & while I don’t care for the drums at all, the Stevie Wonder sample is nice & I love the background vocals too. Also, the outro from his mother Gloria (whom JAY publicly announces & supports for being a lesbian near the end of the first verse) was endearing. The song “Caught Their Eyes” talks about watching your surroundings over an instrumental with a tropical vibe to it & the Frank Ocean hook isn’t as great as his hook on “Oceans” was, I still liked it. The title track is a sincerely delivered apology to Jigga’s wife Beyoncé & the soul sample on here enhances the remorse that JAY is letting out. Despite the song “Family Feud” being said to be about the recent beef between older & younger hip hop artists, it could possibly refer more to his wife almost leaving him for cheating on her (especially with the line at the beginning of the 3rd verse about telling Becky to let him alone). Also, Beyoncé’s background vocals that can be heard throughout the entire track are just beautiful. The track “Bam” has a braggadocious tone to it lyrically & while I do enjoy the horns as well as the hook from Damian Marley, that one line Rae Sremmurd & Bobby Shmurda at the beginning of the 2nd verse is really corny. However, he does make an interesting reference to “30 Hours” off of Kanye’s latest album The Life of Pablo shortly after. Plus, there’s no denying that the IG pictures line during the first verse couldn’t be any more true The song “Moonlight” is a message to all the new rappers & I absolutely LOVE the “Fu-Gee-La” sample on here. The penultimate track “Marcy Me” is a dedication to the streets delivered over a soothing instrumental, but I thought the reference to “Unbelievable” by Biggie during the intro was just ok. Same goes with the outro from The-Dream. The album then closes out with “Legacy”, where his daughter Blue Ivy asks him what a will is & he responds by talking about his family’s workmanship over some jazzy horns. If any of you were disappointed with Magna Carta…Holy Grail as much as I was, then I can tell right now that this is A LOT better. No I.D.’s production is soul sample galore & lyrically, it could very well be his most personal effort yet. It’s pretty much the male equivalent to Beyoncé’s latest album Lemonade, except I’ll go as far to say that it’s better

Score: 4/5

Vince Staples – “Big Fish Theory” review

Almost 10 months after the release of his Prima Donna EP, Cutthroat Boyz member & Odd Future affiliate Vince Staples is now finally delivering his sophomore full-length album. The album opens up with “Crabs in a Bucket”, where Vince is talking about how he hasn’t let go a lot of problems he’s had as well as comparing the black man to Jesus over a atmospheric & trippy instrumental. Especially with the vocal samples. The next track “Big Fish” sees Vince reflecting on how far he’s come in the rap game over a hyphy beat & the Juicy J hook is fitting as well. The “Alyssa Interlude” has a clip from an Amy Winehouse interview for the first half, but then we hear a verse with Vince reminiscing about a girl who’s most likely died & then it finishes with a perfect Temptations sample. The song “Love Can Be…” with Kilo Kish talks about how Kilo’s done with her ex along with the hoes that want a taste of Vince’s fame over an instrumental that’s PERFECT for the clubs. I also like Vince’s homage to both Alright & For Free? by Kendrick Lamar at the beginning & the end of the final verse respectively. The track “745” has some thunderous yet funky bass throughout & he’s talking about picking up his girl at 7:45 in his BMW 745 along with how love’s really hard for him because all the pretty women he’s gotten with his whole life have lied to him. Also, the Adam & Eve metaphor for all the snakes out there during the bridge hit me. After wondering if people in New York would even know if he existed if he were to be murdered today during the 1 minute “Ramona Park’s Yankee Stadium” interlude, we then get into the next song Yeah Right”. On this song, Vince is asking a bunch of questions & talking about what pretty woman want over a distorted yet abrasive instrumental & the guest verse from Kendrick Lamar doesn’t disappoint either. The track “Homage” talks about how no one can hold him back now that he’s a successful rapper over a high-tempo techno beat. The song “SAMO” talks about how nothing has changed & the production is very eerie. The track “Party People” asks how can Vince enjoy the party when all he see is death & destruction as well as him talking about needing good vibes over a beat that once again is perfect for the clubs. The penultimate track “BagBak” pretty much tells the phonies to back off of him because they don’t know him over a hard hitting hip house beat. The closer “Rain Come Down” talks about some gangsta shit was well as metaphorically comparing a stripper to Etta James over a gritty UK Garage-influenced beat. Even though this album is only 36 minutes long, this could very well be better than his debut Summertime ’06. His takes on love are just as nihilistic as he’s always been (especially with the line on “Yeah Right” about a pretty woman slitting her wrist) & the electronic dance music influenced production brings a fitting atmosphere to the lyrics. To anyone who still hates Vince or even refuses to give him a chance because he said the 90’s were overrated a few months after his debut album came out: I don’t think you can deny that this is his most experimental work yet

Score: 4.5/5

Jehst – “Billy Green’s Dead” review

Here is the 4th studio LP from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom graffiti writer, MC & producer Jehst. Introducing himself by releasing an extended play called Premonitions through his own label YNR Productions based out of London. He would go on to drop High Plains Drifter along with his debut album The Return of the Drifter & the sophomore effort Falling Down under the Leeds imprint Low Life Records, following the latter up with the Mengi Bus mixtape & the Nuke Proof Suit EP. Coming off The Dragon of an Ordinary Family, he’s declaring Billy Green’s Dead.

The self-produced “Billy Green’s Theme” intro opens up with our main character desiring to be like the late Notorious B.I.G. & 2Pac in terms of a successful rap career prior to “So Far to Go” brings Paul White behind the boards experimentally talking about life being what happens when you’re making other plans. “Good Robot” puts us inside the shoes of a humanoid machine serving the economy worshipping money like it’s God while “Kennedy” featuring Confucius MC finds the pair getting conspiratorial.

Jyager appears on “Household Name” produced by Beat Butcha asking themselves whether or not they’ll be remembered for their music when it’s time to hang it up just before “44th Floor” hops over a Dr. Zygote instrumental to talk about a man on the verge of taking his own life. “City Streets” continues the 2nd half getting in the zone over a sample echoing behind him while “Set in Stone” talks about explaining himself to an individual unwilling to listen.

“Smoke Screen” featuring Mr. Thing discusses hiding themselves from the world as it is while “Jonestown” by the Kingdom of Fear featuring Eric Biddines intelligently talks about cult leaders. “Eulogy” has a psychedelic groove to it addressing his loved ones from beyond the grave & after the “Remembrance” interlude filled with spoken word voicemails, the closing track “Billy Green is Alive!” featuring Confucius MC & Jyager properly concludes the full-length talking about eternal life.

Some would say Billy Green’s Dead rivals The Return of the Drifter in becoming Jehst’s magnum opus & I might not agree with that necessarily because Falling Down’s a close 2nd, but there’s no denying the YNR founder’s place amongst the most impactful UK hip hop artists of all-time containing a short yet sweet catalog. The boom bap production’s a tad bit more experimental than his earlier output, conceptually following our everyman protagonist on his solitary journey across an individualistically uncaring world.

Score: 3.5/5

BROCKHAMPTON – “SATURATION” review

BROCKHAMPTON is a San Marcos, Texas based hip hop collective & this is their breakout full-length debut. The tape opens up with the song “HEAT”, where we get 4 aggressive verses about things such as robbing your crib along with depression & the ominous instrumental from Romil Hemnani actually reminds me of Odd Future. The 2nd track “GOLD” is a braggadocious tune & Q3’s production on here sounds a lot more mellow than it did on the opener. The song “STAR” making tons of pop culture references including the A24 Films coming-of-age drama Moonlight over a menacing tuba from Jabari Manwa & out of all of them, my personal favorite was the one near the end of the first verse where Dom McLennon’s talking about the collective “going ’04 Pistons on ’em”. The track “BOYS” talks about feeling like southern hip hop’s answer to 1 Direction & the vocal effects that happen during the hook actually took me a minute to fully appreciate. Also while I presume that a lot of people will automatically dismiss Dom’s verse on here because it has auto-tune on it, the auto-tune on it, it actually doesn’t bother me at all. The song “2PAC” is a 1-minute Ameer Vaan solo track & he pretty much talks about his internal conflicts over a smooth piano from Kiko Merley that enhances the emotion of the track. The track “FAKE” talks about hitting them up on their phones over a spacey instrumental & while it was interesting to hear that the voices on all 3 verses are all high-pitched, I feel like Dom didn’t have to throw Auto-Tune on top of his. The song “BANK” sees Dom & Ameer respectively talking about not slippin’ anymore & reminiscing about selling weed until moving to California over an instrumental that starts off with a tropical vibe, but then transitions into a more murky beat during Ameer’s short verse. The track “TRIP” talks about being who you want, but all 3 verses are so heavily Auto-Tuned that it sounds too robotic for me. The song “SWIM” discusses love & I absolutely love how it starts off with just an acoustic guitar, but then they throw in some drums & a couple blaring synths. The verses are auto-tuned again but here, they’re not throwing an excessive amount on it like they did on the previously mentioned track. The track “BUMP” energetically goes in about ridin’ down to Mexico & drug dealing over a beat that mostly sounds dubstep-influenced, but briefly transitions into a sole guitar passage every single time the hook from the collective’s de facto leader Kevin Abstract hook comes around. The lyrical content on the song “CASH” is self-explanatory & Kevin’s extremely short verse sounds buried in the mix, but the next 3 verses sound way more passionately delivered & I like the guitar licks throughout the song. The song “MILK” talks about self-improvement & the instrumental has this really cool psychedelic vibe to it. The penultimate track “FACE” talks about how upset they are now that their significant others have left & the somber-tuned instrumental fits perfectly with the tone of the track. The closer “WASTE” is a 2 & a half minute bearface. solo track where he’s singing about losing his way albeit being alright over some killer electric guitars & his voice to me is reminiscent to Frank Ocean’s. This thing has gotten A LOT of hype since it dropped a few days ago & it actually does live up to it. The content is on point, both the passion & energy are there, it sounds more creative & well put together than their previous mixtape All-American Trash did, the auto-tune only gets to me at certain points, & it’ll all make make you anticipate seeing what they’re gonna do next

Score: 4.5/5

Cult Mountain – “The 616sons” review

Cult Mountain is a quartet from England, United Kingdom consisting of London producer Sumgii, Sheffield emcee Trellion, London emcee Milkavelli & finally Runcorn, Cheshire, emcee/producer Lee Scott. Dropping an eponymous debut EP & a sequel, the latter would form the duo HAPPYPPL with Trellion a few months ago & introduced themselves providing a list of Things to Do in Happy Land When Ur Dead. However, the other half are joining them for the 3rd extended play from the Mountain preluding 2.5 ahead of the trilogy chapter.

“Yugen Pie” gets the ball rollin’ over a slow boom bap instrumental asking where the wisdom goes whenever they drop knowledge whereas “Mzungu Poa” finds everyone getting on some hater shit dabbling with trap a bit. “Life’s So Hard” reaches the halfway point spitting some arrogant pimp shit while “Cult Sweg” comes through with a cloudy Cult of the Damned anthem. “Brink” talks about those who think they give a fuck being sorely mistaken & “Spell It Out” ends with them turning their arrogance up.

The HAPPYPPL’s introductory EP a few months earlier Things to Do in Happy Land When Ur Dead was an experimentally dark prelude to The 616sons, but Milkavelli continues rockin’ mics beside Lee Scott & Trellion with none other than Sumgii behind the boards recapturing every aspect of the last couple entries in Cult Mountain’s discography whilst homaging the Fox Corporation’s longest-running animated series The Simpsons.

Score: 4/5

SZA – “CTRL” review

After a series of countless delays following the release of her fantastic Z EP back in 2014, Top Dawg Entertainment’s 1st lady SZA is finally releasing her full-length debut. The album kicks off with the track “Supermodel”, where basically SZA telling her ex that she cheated on him on Valentine’s Day to understandably get back at him for going out to Vegas that day & the instrumental has a wavy guitar along with some bass & some organic drums. The next song “Love Galore” with Travis Scott seems to follow that opening track up, as it talks about her ex wanting to get back with her when she doesn’t over some wailing synths. The track “Doves in the Wind” is a dedication to pussy with a spacey instrumental & the guest verse from Kendrick Lamar fits into the song perfectly. The song “Drew Barrymore” reflects on a low self-esteem version of SZA herself & not only does the instrumental on here enhance the emotion of the song, but it’s also infectiously catchy. Especially with the strings near the end of the track. The track “Prom” is pretty much SZA promising herself to get better as she gets older & the instrumental will make you wanna throw a party. The song “The Weekend” talks about being this guy’s side chick during the weekends (hence the title) & while I love the spacey synths at the beginning along with how the smooth keys throughout, the cliché snares just sound meh to me. The track “Go Gina” talks about this guy bringing her out of her character when he’s around her & the production from Ging primarily has these winking chimes & some drums throughout most of it, but the tension building strings during the last 20 seconds of it are beautiful. The song “Garden (Say It Like Dat)” is pretty much SZA telling this guy that she loves her & even though I appreciate, the trappy production on this track sounds so painfully generic. The track “Broken Clocks” talks about how SZA’s moved on from her ex for the better, despite him still talking about her & while I do enjoy the trophy vocal sample on here, the hi-hats are just average for me. The song “Anything” sees SZA asking her ex if he knows she’s alive & the instrumental on here has this fantastically galactic tone to it. The short but sweet “Wavy” sees SZA singing about how bad as Hell she is as well as looking for a way out over a dreamy instrumental & while James Fauntleroy’s voice does sound muffled during his hook, I still enjoyed it. The song “Normal Girl” is pretty self-explanatory, as it talks about wanting to live the life of a normal girl over a spacey instrumental. The penultimate track “Pretty Little Birds” with Isaiah Rashad is basically the 2 talking about wanting to be together for the rest of their lives & the instrumental is very smooth. Especially with the jazzy trumpets that pop in right before Zaywop’s verse. The album then closes out with the track “20 Something”, where SZA is passionately hoping that she doesn’t lose all of her friends & doesn’t die while she’s in her 20s over nothing but an acoustic guitar that enhances the beauty of this closer. When it seemed like TDE was never gonna release this album, it was well worth the 3 year wait. The production is luscious for the most part, it’s well-written & SZA’s vocals sound both very focused & passionate. If you enjoyed SZA’s early mixtapes & Z as much as I did, then I don’t see why you wouldn’t like this. She’s been one of my favorite R&B singers of this current generation & walking away from this seeing her improving herself just makes me really happy

Score: 4/5