Watson & Holmes are an East Coast hip hop duo consisting of Stu Bangas on production & Blacastan on the mic. They made their debut together in 2014 with a fantastic self-titled album, which was followed up with The Uncanny Adventures of Watson & Holmes in 2017. been another 3 years, the duo are reuniting for what would unfortunately by their 3rd & final full-length studio album.
After “After Intro”, we get into the first song “Bull’s Eye”. Where Blacastan talks about how skilled he is about over an eerie instrumental. The track “Crumpets” is a continuation of where “Bull’s Eye” left off despite only being a minute & a half then the song “Don’t Judge Me” with SmooVth sees the 2 talking about growing up in the 90’s over a boom bap beat with a cumbersome guitar in the background.
The track “Sincere” lyrically is probably the most introspective cut on the entire album & the beat is pretty calming too whereas the song “Crawl Space” with Goretex sees the 2 getting murderous & the instrumental fits the vibe like a glove. The track “Behold” talks about his longevity over a suspenseful beat while the song “23 x 1” talks about how sharp his lyricism is over a daunting instrumental.
The track “Bookies” with Nowaah the Flood has a mobster feel to it down to the Italian-flavored beat while the song “Styles” talks about how original Blacastan is over a cutthroat instrumental. The track “Hair Pins” finds the duo linking back up with SmooVth to go at their competition over a buzzing instrumental with 80’s-like synths & then before the outro, the final song “Grand Imperial” with Marvalyss is just a decent riot starter.
If you wanna get into Watson & Holmes, I’d recommend their first 2 albums. However, what they do on this new one is still dope. The chemistry between Blacastan & Stu Bangas is still there without a bit of doubt but the features are hit or miss & it’s too short, only running at 27 minutes.
This is the 4th full-length album from Los Angeles, California musician, singer/songwriter & producer Thundercat. Emerging in the 2000s as the bassist for Suicidal Tendencies, he would subsequently sign to Brainfeeder Records & make his full-length debut The Golden Age of Apocalypse nearly a week before I started high school. He would follow it up with the sophomore effort Apocalypsea couple summers later & his debut extended play The Beyond / Where the Giants Grow a month succeeding my graduation became popular due to the inclusion of his most lauded single “Them Changes”. It would eventually be included on his previous LP Drunk, which is his most cohesive musical statement & an essential within the Brainfeeder discography. 3 years later, he’s accepting that It Is What It Is.
The 5th & final single “Interstellar Love” co-produced by Flying Lotus after the “Lost in Space / Great Scott / 22-26” intro embraces a heavy nu jazz fusion sound with elements of psychedelic neo-soul singing about us decaying over time whereas “I Love Louis Cole” featuring the real Louis Cole himself finds the 2 describing their friendship. The 2nd single “Black Qualls” featuring Childish Gambino & Steve Arrington goes for a funky psychedelic soul vibe singing about the state of no longer living in fear leading into “Miguel’s Happy Dance” going synth-funk offering a tune to dance your pain away too.
After the “How Sway?” interlude, “Funny Thing” takes it back to the Drunk era conceptually describing himself at a part that’s on the verge of reaching it’s peak just before the funky “Overseas” reaches the halfway point singing about a chick who blows his mind. The 3rd single “Dragonball Durag” ranks amongst his greatest blending neo-soul, psychedelic soul, nu jazz, funk, alternative R&B & acid jazz looking to be accepted by a woman no matter what it takes while the lead single “King of the Hill” after the “How I Feel” interlude samples “Girl Dinner.” by THABANG! thanks to BADBADNOTGOOD wondering how different things would be if they focused on the more important things.
“Unrequited Love” details the actual experience of romance from what some would call “the one that got away” to different shades of what people would think love is while the 4th single “Fair Chance” lets Lil B & Ty$ handle the verses over a funky alternative R&B/psychedelic neo-soul instrumental Sounwave helped cooked up remembering the late Mac Miller. After the 51 second “Existential Dread” interlude, the title track written after learning of Mac’s passing spans the last 5 minutes saying goodbye to their late friend while “Bye for Now” featuring Michael McDonald technically ends with the pair singing about the struggles of moving on.
Mac Miller was a very close friend & collaborator of Thundercat’s, so it was a guarantee that It Is What It Is was going to be dedicated to his memory & I wouldn’t say it’s better than Drunkalthough it lands close to The Beyond / Where the Giants Grow amongst his top 3 projects. The production between him & Flying Lotus feels like a continuation of sorts to the neo-soul & psychedelic soul sounds that made Drunk additionally taking inspiration from jazz fusion, nu jazz, alternative R&B & synth-funk to lesser extents & he retains his signature sense of humor in the midst of grieving Mac’s death.
This is the full-length debut from Worcester, Massachusetts rapper & singer/songwriter Joyner Lucas. A man who first came to my attention in late 2016 with an incredible verse on “Sriracha” off of Tech N9ne’s 17th album The Storm. His exposure would increase the following year with the single “I’m Not Racist” along with a verse on “Lucky You” off of Eminem’s 10th album KAMIKAZƎ the year after that. But after spending 2019 dropping singles, he’s now giving fans the main course with ADHD.
After the “Screening Evaluation” intro, we get into the first song “I Lied”. Where Joyner admits that money has changed him over a demented instrumental. The next track “ISIS” with Logic sees the 2 getting into a contest to see who‘s cornier while “The War” with Young Thug sees the 2 talking about hoes over an instrumental kin to Beautiful Thugger Girls.
After a cringey Chris Rock skit, the song “I Love” talks about his passion for hip hop over an airy trap beat & an annoying ass hook. The track “Devil’s Work” is probably the best off the entire album as he pays tribute to famous celebrities that’ve lost their lives over a psychedelic rock beat & while the song “Lotto” insipidly boasts over a bland beat.
After the Kevin Hart skit which isn’t any better than Chris Rock’s, the track “Gold Mine” finds Joyner doing a shockingly dead on impression of Gunna on the hook & the acoustic trap beat adds to that while the song “Finally” with Chris Brown is a gross & pillowy expression about freedom. The track “10 Bands” gets materialistic over the worst Timbaland beat I’ve ever heard while the track “Revenge” talks about getting back over a decently hypnotic trap beat.
After the “Comprehensive Evaluation” skit, the title track tries to hop on the emo rap bandwagon over some piano chords that later transitions into a generically cloudy beat while the song “Still Can’t Love” whines about being single alongside King OSF & Fabolous over an instrumental that could’ve landed on any Lil Uzi Vert project. The penultimate track “Will” is a redundant tribute to Will Smith as much as I & everyone else loves him over a flute & some punchy ass drums whereas the closer “Broke & Stupid” is a fake woke reiteration or a Jim Rohn speech over a very classy Weldon Irvine sample.
For waiting a little over 3 years, it’s really sad for me to see him squandering his potential like this. The man certainly has lyrical talent don’t get me wrong at all, but the topics he chose to touch base on really doesn’t resonate with me & it’s sound as a whole is so directionless.
This is the surprise 4th full-length album from California actor, writer, rapper, comedian, singer, DJ, director, producer & former FX hit series Atlanta creator Childish Gambino a.k.a. Donald Glover. His 2011 debut album Camp was pretty mediocre, but he would show his artistic growth on his next 2 projects R O Y A L T Y & Because of the Internet. Last time we heard from Donald in a full-length capacity was in 2016 with “Awaken, My Love!”, which was an awesome throwback to the days of Parliament-Funkadelic. But after leaking Atavista as 3.15.20 on his website in its entirety just a week ago, he’s now officially putting it out on all streaming services.
After the “0.00” intro, the self-produced title track gives off a bit of a Weeknd vibe singing that the high is low if the drug is faint whereas “Algorythm” finds Donald talks about partying over an enticing instrumental. The track “Time” with Ariana Grande sees the 2 talking about how life is moving fast over a synth-heavy beat from Jai Paul, Donald himself, Ludwig Göransson, DJ Dahi just before the 6 & a half minute “Psilocybae (Millennial Love)” featuring 21 Savage inspired by The Neptunes instrumentally gets romantic.
“To Be Hunter” industrially talks about what it is to be beautiful leading into the shimmery “Sweet Thang” getting flirtatious. The country-inspired “Little Foot Big Foot” featuring Young Nudy tells the story of a young drug dealer, but then “Why Go to the Party” is just Donald harmoniously singing a capella. “The Violence” funkily talks about how cruel the world can be & “Final Church” euphorically ends Atavista with Donald talking about finding love.
Starting the deluxe run, “32.22” finds Donald whispering & then singing in auto-tune over an instrumental kin to Kanye West’s 6th album Yeezus & the final bonus track “Feels Like Summer” fuses contemporary R&B, neo-psychedelia, smooth soul, alternative R&B, chillwave, neo-psychedelia, psychedelic soul, bossa nova & downtempo covering various issues facing our world today.
If this is truly the 2nd to last Gambino album like he’s been saying over the past few years, then I’m not mad because it’s his most esoteric body of work to date. I can see why some other people may not like it because of how weird it can be but I like that the production draws from neo-soul, contemporary R&B, psychedelic soul, experimental hip hop, art pop, funk music, alternative R&B, neo-psychedelia, synth-funk & his vocals have continued to get better over time.
This is the 3rd full-length album from Lynn, Massachusetts emcee Estee Nack. A member of Tragic Allies, his 2015 solo debut 14 Forms: The Book of Estee Nack would reveal himself as the group’s breakout member & he has released a plethora of projects since then including Surfinongold.wav & Papitas. But after starting off his 2020 with #MiniMansion4, he’s now teaming up with Superior for Baladas.
The album kicks off with “Sammy Sosa Clean Coca”, where Estee gives some brief street knowledge over some strings & a vocal sample. The next song “Tell the Truth & Shame the Devil” talks about being a God over an instrumental with a prominent organ lead while the track “A Rock & a Hard Place” with Eto sees the 2 getting murderous over a cool saxophone sample. The song “Pop Rock Classics” with Daniel Son sees the 2 getting mafioso over an atmospheric instrumental while the track “Infinite Black Mind” gets in the faces of his competition over a psychedelic beat. The song “Ballads for the Brilliant” with Ice Lord sees the 3 getting on the five-percenter tip over a symphonic instrumental.
The track “Mango Marmalade” continues to belittle those who try to oppose him over a pretty woodwind instrumental while the song “Launch the Boat Off a Key West” over a boom bap beat. The track “Wisdom” definitely lives up to it’s name lyrically & the dream-like instrumental is great, but the Codenine feature is just ok. The song “Plegaria a un Sicario” with Ice Lord is straight up homicidal & the orchestral sample in the instrumental is a nice touch also. The album then finishes with “Yola”, where Estee talks about cocaine & the guitar instrumental on here is killer!
Dude’s discography is nothing short of consistent & this is a fine addition to it. Couple of the features were a bit spotty, but Estee’s lyricism has continuously progressed over time & Superior’s production fits him in pretty nicely.
The Weeknd is a 30 year old singer/songwriter from Toronto, Ontario, Canada that rose to stardom in the early 2010s with a trilogy of highly acclaimed mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday & Echoes of Silence. He then made his full-length debut in 2013 with Kiss Land, which was followed up in 2015 with Beauty Behind the Madness & then Starboy the year after. Last we heard from Abel was in 2018 with his debut EP My Dear Melancholy, & almost 2 years later now, he’s back with his 4th full-length album following a cameo in the A24 Films crime thriller Uncut Gems.
The opener “Alone Again” finds Abel sings about substance abuse over a glimmering instrumental from Ging & Illangelo, but then the drums kick in around the 2nd half & just hit you hard. The next track “Too Late” talks about how he & Bella Hadid are on their own now over a cool UK garage instrumental while the song “Hardest to Love” talks about how it isn’t easy for his past lovers to let him go over a liquid drum & bass instrumental.
“Scared to Live” is basically an apology to his exes over a gorgeous synth lead & some punchy drums while the song “Snowchild” talks about wanting to be famous at 16 & now he doesn’t want the fame anymore over a futuristic instrumental. The track “Escape from LA” talks about how Los Angeles will be the end of him over a melancholic beat from Metro Boomin’ while the song “Heartless” talks about being just that over a decent trap instrumental.
The track “Faith” talks about relapsing after being sober for a year over a hypnotic beat while the WWE WrestleMania XXXVII theme song “Blinding Lights” talks about how he can’t see clearly without Bella over a synthpop instrumental. The track “In Your Eyes” talks about how he sees something burning inside of this woman over a synthwave instrumental while the WWE WrestleMania XXXVIII theme song “Save Your Tears” pretty much tells Bella to cry another day over an 80s throwback instrumental.
“Repeat After Me” finds Abel telling her ex that he knows she really doesn’t love her new man over a euphoric instrumental from Tame Impala mastermind Kevin Parker alongside Oneohtrix Point Never while the title track is an open apology to all the women he’s hurt over an instrumental with some elements of future garage & progressive pop.
The closer “Until I Bleed Out” officially ends After Hours talks about not needing love or drugs anymore over an ambient pop instrumental while “Nothing Compares” complexly starts the deluxe run coming to terms with his feelings for his lover. “Missed You” realizes he still has feelings for a past love in his life & the final bonus track “Final Lullaby” sings to his lover helping them try to fall asleep.
When it comes to all 4 of The Weekend’s full-length albums, this is EASILY the best & I’d honestly put it on par with Trilogy. He artistically reinvents himself by expanding his alternative R&B sound in favor of synthpop, synthwave, future garage, ambient pop, trap soul, new wave & dream pop projecting the themes of loneliness, self-loathing & escapism.
King Iso is a 30 year old rapper & producer from Omaha, Nebraska that came up as a protege of San Diego chopper Twisted Insane, dropping his first 2 albums & The Insanity Plea & Autophobia under Brainsick Muzik. Shortly after, they had an unfortunate falling out & it prompted Iso to put out his next album DeMenTia independently in 2018. However, I was thrilled to see him sign with Strange Music last spring & couldn’t wait to see what would happen on his debut with the biggest independent hip hop label in the world.
The album kicks off with “Requiem”, where King Iso links up with Tech N9ne to deliver some vicious battle bars over a dark piano trap instrumental. The next song “Chopped Liver” talks about being on the rise over an ominous beat while the track “My 1st Body” talks about the first time he killed someone metaphorically over a funereal instrumental. The titular song vents about his inner demons over a bloodcurdling instrumental & after the “Pride” skit, the track “G.I.’so” compares himself to that of a soldier over a vibrant instrumental.
The song “T.F.B. (Training For Battle)” is a really cool gym anthem with a trap beat backed by a chilling choir sample while the track “I Declare War” talks about being at war with himself over a bassy yet supernatural sounding instrumental. After the “Gluttony/Greed” skit, the song “Manic” talks about being insane over a solemn instrumental while the track “Tally Bandz” talks about making paper over a nightly instrumental.
The song “War Zone” talks about surviving through anything over a buoyant instrumental while the track “AWOL” talks about being better off dead. The song “Dog Tags” is a cool take on DMX’s “Where My Dogs At?” over a trap beat with a luxurious piano lead while the track “Weakened Dad” talks about how he never really knew his father growing up over a cloudy instrumental.
The song “Apparent Absence” talks about children in the hood without parents over a grim instrumental while the track “Trippy Love” is a decent, intoxicating lust anthem. The song “Euthanamerica” is a insightful message to the youth in our country over an spacious beat while the track “Jealous” talks about the feeling of envy over an pretty acoustic instrumental. The penultimate song “Folded Flags” provides the listener with some knowledge over an instrumental with a godly atmosphere to it & then after the “Thank You” skit, the closer “Edicius” talks about ending a part of himself over a dreary trap beat.
As expected, this is King Iso’s best work to date & it shows why he’s a brilliant fit for Strange Music. His production skills are refined as is his pen-game & flows, but what I really love about the album most is that he provides a unique take on struggling with mental health & the lack of features truly cements that.
Don Toliver is a 25 year old rapper from Houston, Texas that gained national exposure for signing to Cactus Jack Records as well as his debut mixtape Donny Womack & his verse on “CAN’T STAND” off his mentor Travis Scott’s 3rd album ASTROWORLD, all of my which offering in August 2018. As much as I loved that track, I personally found Don’s nasally voice on there to be tedious on first listen. But after more listens, it eventually grew on me. The hype for Don was expanded just this past winter with the song “Had Enough”, which was one of the few highlights that the Cactus Jack showcase EP JACKBOYS had to offer. However with his full-length debut over here, my morbid curiosity got the best of me & I decided to give it a shot.
The album kicks off with the title track, where Don sums up his life up until this point over a cloudy instrumental from WondaGurl & Mike Dean. The next song “Euphoria” with Kaash Paige & Travis Scott finds the 3 getting romantic over a settle instrumental while the track “Cardigan” talks about his significant other over a trippy yet bouncy instrumental from Ging & Sonny Digital. The song “After Party” talks about wildin’ out over a woozy beat while the track “Wasted” is a hard hitting anthem about not throwing your time away.
The song “Can’t Feel My Legs” talks about this woman making him nervous over a dreary beat & despite the track “Candy” having peaceful instrumental, it’s so annoying lyrically. The song “Company” vents about missing this woman over a cavernous instrumental & “HAD ENOUGH” still sounds as great as it did on JACKBOYS. The song “Spaceship” with Sheck Wes is a psychedelic late night cruiser while the penultimate track “No Photos” talks about how he doesn’t allow pictures at the trap over a mesmerizing beat. The album then finishes with “No Idea”, where Don expresses his feelings towards this woman over a smooth instrumental.
I’m pretty impressed with what I heard on here for the most part & to me, it’s even better than Mudboy. It has it’s redundant moments, but Don shows us that he’s a refreshing new voice/face to take on this psychedelic trap sound & we get a closer look into his personality as well.
This is the 6th & final full-length album from Detroit quartet the Clear Soul Forces, who blew up at the beginning of 2012 with the viral sensation of their viral “Get No Better” music video. They put out their magnum opus Still just a little over a year ago but with 313 Day being this weekend, they’re celebrating with one last hurrah.
The album starts with “Gimmie the Mic”, where the group spit some charismatic battle bars with each other for 2 minutes over a funky beat from Ilajide. The next song “Bussaflow” finds everybody going back & forth with each other over a dystopian instrumental while the track “Chinese Funk” sees the 4 showing off their skills over a flute-tinged boom bap beat. The song “Funky Enough” is a slick crowd mover while the track “Like That” shows you how they do things over a punchy instrumental.
The song “95” is them saying they’d rather be rapping instead of working a day job over an instrumental with an infectious groove while the track “Watch Your Mouth” is a warming to those talking down on them over a synthy boom bap beat. The song “We Gets Busy” talks about their hustle over a trunk-knocking beat while the penultimate track “SS2” is a lethal sequel to “Suspect Spiterzzz” over an electro-boom bap beat. The album then finishes with “Chip$”, where the group talk about making money over a hypnotic beat.
This is a damn near perfect way for the group to go out. It’s a little too short only running at a half hour but in that short amount of time, they remind us all why they are one of the greatest groups to come out of Detroit in recent memory from the evolving sound to the tight lyricism. Best of luck to E-Fav, Ilajide, L.A.Z. & Noveliss on their future endeavors.
It’s actually here; The full-length debut studio album from New Orleans, Louisiana emcee/producer Jay Electronica. Ever since his breakout mixtape Act 1: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge) in 2007, this has become one of the most anticipated hip hop albums within the past decade. 13 long years have passed, but the day has finally arrived & he’s enlisting Roc Nation Records founder JAY-Z to provide verses throughout a large amount of it.
After the “Overwhelming Event” intro, we get into the first song “Ghost of Soulja Slim”. Where both Jays make references to death as well as racism & Islam over a grand instrumental from Electronica himself. “The Blinding” talks about Electronica’s return over an instrumental from araabMUZIK alongside Hit-Boy & Swizz Beatz that starts off with a grim atmosphere until transitioning into something more calming. “The Neverending Story” talks about the noblest of gentlemen over an alluring instrumental from The Alchemist while the song “Shiny Suit Theory” is pretty much an adviseful conversation on wax backed by a jazzy beat.
“Universal Soldier” talks about wanting to be saved from themselves over a heavenly boom bap beat while the song “Flux Capacitor” finds both rappers being off beat to the point where it’s distracting. The track “Fruits of the Spirit” is solely Electronica comparing himself to Thanos over a soulful instrumental from No I.D. while the song “Ezekiel’s Wheel” addresses those who ever doubted this day ever come & it’s so long that the Brian Eno sample starts to become annoying before it’s even over. The album finishes off with “A.P.I.D.T.A.”, which pays tribute to those in Jay’s life that’re no longer here over a guitar instrumental that fits the tone fantastically.
Starting the deluxe run, we’re treated to a Conductor Williams remix of “Abracadabra” from the What the Fuck’s a Jay Electronica? mixtape while “Who Killed Michael Jackson??????” featuring Quinten Miller after the “Real Life Alchemy” interlude talks about collecting profits until the prophecy’s fulfilled over synthesizers. “Is It Possible That the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is Still Physically Alive???” featuring D.R.A.M. takes inspiration from the Jabril Muhammad book of the same name on top of an Evidence beat while “Japan Airline 1628” references the 1986 UFO sighting in Alaska.
“4,400,000,000 (The Worst is Yet to Come)” takes on an experimentally drumless sound talking about being a denier of climate change & suggesting he’s more of a “Smooth Criminal” than Michael Jackson because used to live with Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy or Diddy when he was still with Cassie, although he was never issued an affidavit when the disgraced Bad Boy Entertainment founder was on trial for sex crimes & “Highlander” produced by Feardorian is more of an interlude than anything.
After the “Civilian Life is Nothing“ interlude, “Ashes to Ashes” drumlessly exercising his demons both internally & externally while “Best Wishes” featuring Westside Gunn keeps the drums out of the equation hoping y’all have a blessed life. “Blood Libel. Who’s That Lying on God?” takes it a step further to defend Diddy much like Ye or formerly known as Kanye West did & “Big Baby Jesus” feels like another interlude.
“Letter to Mars” after the “Dear Mr. Blaine, I Won.” interlude gets the ball rolling on the Mars, The Inhabited Planet portion by talks about not making it where he is now & after the “1,000mph to the Border” interlude, “Candace Owens…Tell Us More!” pens an open letter to the far-right conspiracy theorist. “CNN & BBC are Liars” by PYT Joce after the “if you won’t do it for you…shine for me” R&B interlude performed by Harley both any Jay Electronica presence with PYT Joce dissing both news networks & after the “Remember That 1 Time Trump Tweaked on Zelensky in the White House?” interlude, the final bonus track “Anybody Else Know How to Work Ruby Slippers???????????????????” finishes with a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Does شهادةمكتوبة deliver after such a long wait? I’d personally say it’s a worthy conscious/abstract hip hop LP with secondary influences of hardcore hip hop, drumless, boom bap & experimental. The mixing could’ve been better at some parts but Jay Electronica’s intellectually Islamic lyricism remains intact, JAY-Z compliments him like Ghostface Killah did with Raekwon on Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… & the production is incredibly creative.
Legends Will Never Die 