Jay Rock – “Redemption” review

With Top Dawg Entertainment’s ongoing Championship Tour wrapping up this weekend, it’s only right for Black Hippy member Jay Rock to deliver his highly anticipated 3rd full-length album.

The album begins with “The Bloodiest,” where he reflects about growing up in Watts an eerie beat from Boi-1da, Allen Ritter & Jake One. The next track “For What It’s Worth” talks about murdering someone as well as having sex with this woman even though he knows that she ain’t right over a smooth beat from Sounwave while the song “Knock It Off” is a warning to everyone who’s trying to be him over a laidback trap beat. However, the flow doesn’t really do anything for me on this one. The track “ES Tales” talks about going back to the projects over a sinister beat while the song “Rotation 112th” grittily talks about gang life & the trap beat on here suits it pretty while. The track “Tap Out” is of course a sex tune with a generic beat & a decent Jeremih hook while the song “OSOM” with J. Cole & SiR tells the listeners that they’re living life like he’s runnin’ out of time over a gloomy trap beat.

The track “King’s Dead” originally appeared in the Black Panther soundtrack earlier this year & I’m actually upset they kept Future’s verse on there & removed Kendrick Lamar’s. On the other hand: the song “Troopers” brags about his crew, but the Cardo production sounds vaguely similar to his instrumental on “THat Part” off of ScHoolboy Q’s last album Blank Face LP. The track “Broke+-“ is of course about money over a somber instrumental while the song “Wow” makes up for “King’s Dead” by flawlessly displaying the chemistry between Jay & Kendrick over a bouncy woodwind-infused trap beat from Hit-Boy. The title track lyrically reminds me of “Start from Scratch” by The Game over a beautiful piano instrumental & the SZA hook is very pretty. The closer “WIN” has a triumphant trap beat & I do like the delivery, but it sounds half-written & the hook is very tedious. Also as much as I love Kendrick, his constant adlibs on this joint are too much.

I already knew going into this that it was pretty much gonna be Jay Rock’s DAMN. & while it’s not bad, it could’ve been much better. He sounds a lot more energetic on here than he was on his last 2 albums & the content is mostly on par as well, but a lot of these trappy instrumentals are hit or miss with me to be quite honest.

Score: 3/5

Nas – “NASIR” review

Despite saying it was done when DJ Khaled gave us a Major 🔑 in the Summer of 2016, the legendary Queensbridge MC Nas is finally coming through with his 11th album & he has enlisted Kanye West to produce it in it’s entirety.

The album begins with “Not for Radio”, where he vents about how he feels like the world is afraid of African American people over some haunting choir vocals. The next track “Cops Shot the Kid” with Kanye sees the 2 talking about police brutality over a perfect sample of the classic Slick Rick tune “Children’s Story” while the song “White Label” is pretty much a humble brag with a beautiful sample. The track “Bonjour” gets romantic over a soulful beat with some strings while the song “Everything” does talk about the current state of the world over some marching drums & a funky bass guitar, the first 2 minutes could’ve been cut off easily. The penultimate track track “Adam & Eve” lyrically reminds me of his Escobar days over some piano keys & then the closer “Simple Things” pretty much speaks for itself over a soulful beat.

As expected, this is tied with Pusha T’s latest album DAYTONA for being my favorite of the 5 albums that Kanye has dropped within the past month. I’m not surprised by the fact that it’s 7 tracks long given the other 3 albums are also in that length & it’s well produced, but Nas’ performances are a bit underwhelming to where hearing him offbeat is distracting.

Score: 3/5

KIDS SEE GHOSTS – Self-titled review

KIDS SEE GHOSTS is a midwest hip hop duo consisting of the renown yet polarizing Chicago, Illinois legend Kanye West & Cleveland, Ohio recording artist KiD CuDi. The 2 have worked with each other numerous times dating back to when Yeezy signed CuDi to his G.O.O.D. Music record label in 2008 & let him co-write 4 songs on 808s & Heartbreak later that same year. KiD CuDi has contributed to every Kanye album since then. More recently the song “Ghost Town” on his latest album ye, which is a prelude track to this album over here. CuDi even released his first 3 albums with G.O.O.D. Music before he left on amicable terms in 2013 to form his Republic Records imprint Wicked Awesome Records. The duo would later have a brief falling out in the fall of 2016, but they would eventually reconcile after the St. Pablo Tour was cancelled due to Kanye‘s hospitalization for stress & exhaustion.

The album opens with “Feel the Love”, which is pretty much being dominated by Pusha T. He definitely goes in, but the gunshot adlibs from Kanye were annoying on first listen as it grew on me over time. I also like the spacey keyboards & the later added drums that come through in the instrumental. The next track “Fire” actually sees the 2 getting together & responding to everyone who criticize them for their failures in the past over some militant drums & an eerie guitar in the background. The song “4th Dimension” has a prominent Louis Prima sample tackling sex in addition to 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 either. The track “Freee (Ghost Town, Pt. 2)” with a brief Ty$ appearance tells the audience that that’s exactly how they feel right now over a killer guitar, but the way the say the titular word does get old after a while.

The song “Reborn” is easily my favorite one on the entire album. The lyrics are all about moving forward from their pasts & the uplifting instrumental is a serious throwback to CuDi’s 2009 debut album Man on the Moon: The End of Day. The self-produced title track has a surprising yet solid Yasiin Bey hook & the instrumental has an intergalactic atmosphere to it that’s very pretty. Lyrically, KiD CuDi‘s verse about how he can’t be stopped & that he’ll be finding heaven in a matter of time while Kanye’s talks about fame. The album then finishes with “CuDi Montage”, where CuDi tells God to save him & Kanye gets insightfully conscious over a fitting sample of “Burn the Rain” by the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.

As a whole, I think it’s on the same enjoyability level as ye. The pop rap production is a lot more refined & given the recent hospitalizations of both members, the chemistry between KiD CuDi & Kanye West is stronger than it ever was before.

Score: 4/5

Kanye West – “ye” review

After going A.W.O.L. ever since his hospitalization in late 2016, the ever so polarizing Kanye West is finally coming out of the shadows to release his 8th full-length album. The opener “I Thought About Killing You” has a beautiful spoken word piece at the beginning about depression & then we get a confident verse over a moody beat, but then it switches into a more trap-like sound as he responds to his haters near the end. The next track “Yikes” talks about drugs over a hard hitting beat Ye made with Mike Dean, Pi’erre Bourne & Apex Martin with a humorous outro about being a bipolar superhero while the song “All Mine” talks about a supermodel thick woman over a bouncy beat. Also, I found the hook on here to be somewhat hilarious.

The track “Wouldn’t Leave” talks about his sensitivity over a beautiful gospel-like beat from ¥$ & I love how he starts it off by responding to his infamous TMZ appearance a couple months ago. The song “No Mistakes” is a response to Drake’s Duppy freestyle with a beautiful sample of the classic Slick Rick jam “Hey Young World” & while the penultimate track “Ghost Town” talks about being loved over a rap rock beat, I wish it was structured better. Then we have the closer “Violent Crimes”, where he talks about his kids over an atmospheric beat. Also, the I like the references to Nicki Minaj & “Monster” halfway through the verse. It makes even more sense that Nicki pops up at the end via cell phone saying the line & that she wants everyone to hear it, but I don’t know about ending the album that way.

Regardless, this is still a fantastic. While he did say it would be only 7 tracks, it’s mostly focused & consistent with vibrant production & honest lyrics

Score: 4/5

Pusha T – “DAYTONA” review

With the release of Darkest Before Dawn at the tail-end of 2015, former Clipse member & current G.O.O.D. Music president Pusha T has been laying on the down low outside of a few features. However, he has finally returned with his 3rd full-length album with a new title & he has enlisted the G.O.O.D. Music founder Kanye West to produce it in it’s entirety. The album opens with “If You Know You Know”, where Push spits his signature mafioso bars over a fun beat with a faint sample in the background. The next track “The Games We Play” continues to spit drug bars albeit in more braggadocious manner over a twangy guitar & some jazzy horns while the song “Hard Piano” with Rick Ross sees the 2 talking about living in Santo Domingo over an atmospheric with some BEAUTIFUL keyboards throughout.

The track “Come Back Baby” charismatically talks about the lavish life some monstrous bass & the soul sample hook is gorgeous. The song “Santeria” gets spiritual over a beat that starts off with abrasive, but then switches into a more boom bap vibe. Also I don’t know who the female singer on the hook is, but her singing is alluring. The penultimate track “What Would Meek Do?” with Kanye sees the 2 responding to that everybody that has talked badly about them up until this point over an eerie beat & then the closer “Infrared” talks about the current state of hip hop along with reigniting his beef with Drake over a murky beat.

While it’s been a long wait, I think Push came through with his magnum opus. Despite being only 7 tracks & 22 minutes long, it sounds focused & Pusha’s lyricism is just as sharper & grittier than ever. Also, we‘re getting some of the darkest Kanye instrumentals I’ve ever heard on a handful of tracks

Score: 4.5/5

A$AP Rocky – “TESTING” review

While he’s been dropping a project every 2 years since 2011, A$AP Mob member A$AP Rocky had a noticeably quiet 2017. However, he’s been trolling the public eye with his 3rd full-length album up until this point with some awful “dummy” singles & alas here we are.

The album starts off with “Distorted Records”, where Rocky brags about his place in the current hip hop landscape over a glitchy yet bass heavy instrumental. The “A$AP Forever” remix sees Rocky paying homage to the Mob while KiD CuDi’s verse talks about overcoming his depression over some symphonic strings with thunderous drums while the next song “Tony Tone” is a humble brag over a psychedelic guitar that FNZ hooked up while the track “Fukk Sleep” with FKA twigs sees the 2 talking about going from being poor to being successful over a murky electronic beat while the track “Praise the Lord (Da Shine)” with Skepta vividly talks about criminal activity over a bouncy woodwind beat.

The song “Calldrop” does have a beautiful acoustic guitar, I just wish it was structured better. Also, I found the Kodak Black feature to be pretty redundant. The song “Buck Shots” gets confrontational over a synth-heavy trap beat & while I do like the Playboi Carti’s verse as much as Rocky’s, the Smooky MarGielaa verse doesn’t really do much for me. while the track “Gunz N Butta” talks about wealth over a cloudy trap beat with a prominent chopped & screwed sample of “Ridin’ Clean” by Juicy J throughout. The song “Brotha Man” with Frank Ocean sees the 2 talking about fighting for something over a beautiful instrumental with prominent keyboards & occasional strings while the song “OG Beeper” reflects on his drug dealing past over a dinky yet bouncy beat.

The song “Kid$ Turned Out Fine” tells the world just that over an laidback electric guitar & hi-hats while the track “Hun43rd” talks about hustling over a cloudy synthesizers. The song “Changes” talks about an ex over an acoustic guitar that gets more layered as it progresses. There’s also a point where it switches up into something more atmospheric for about a minute & it’s not too bad either. The penultimate track “Black Tux, White Collar” talks about shining through it all over a cloudy trap beat from none other than Clams Casino & then the album finishes off with “Purity”, where he & Frank Ocean talk about finding a peace of mind over an acoustic guitar.

Like most people, I was pretty worried about this album based on a vast majority of the singles Rocky dropped leading up to this but at the end of the day, I think he came through. It’s definitely more experimental than his past efforts & yet, it’s just as equally fun as his last 2 albums

Score: 3.5/5

Bumpy Knuckles – “Pop Duke” review

After dropping the Statik Selektah produced Lyrical Workout in 2011 & the DJ Premier produced KoleXXXion in 2012, Long Island underground veteran Bumpy Knuckles is returning with his 8th full-length album & he has enlisted Nottz to produce it in it’s entirety. Things start off with the title track, where Freddie talks about his longevity over a triumphant beat. The next song “Flow Temperament” brags about his skills over a boom bap beat with some bass guitar while the track “Head Count” with Kool G Rap & Lil’ Fame gets confrontational over some horns. The song “In Love with the Game” is about the current state of hip hop, but the features don’t really do anything for me. Especially the hook.

The track “Grumpy Ol’ Man” continues the theme of a previous track albeit in a more intriguing way over a funky beat & the song “Check It Out Y’all” with Biz Markie talk about how they’re in their prime over an eerie boom bap beat. The track “Motivation” gets conscious a tropical beat while the song “Ol Morning” talks about his skills over a somber beat. The track “New Enemy” is about shady people mixed with some battle bars over a keyboard boom bap beat & the closer “Legends” recalls first getting into hip hop over a flute.

Despite it’s short length, this is still a very solid return for Bumpy. The production is just as hard hitting as his last 2 as is his ever so gritty lyricism. I assume we’re getting a follow-up anytime soon given that this is labeled as “Vol. 1” & whether Nottz will be back for it or not, I’ll definitely be anticipating it

Score: 4/5

Playboi Carti – “Die Lit” review

Playboi Carti is a 21 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & model from Atlanta, Georgia who released out 3 mixtapes & an EP under the original Sir Cartier moniker until becoming an affiliate of the A$AP Mob & signing to Interscope Records for an eponymous 4th mixtape to high acclaim although it took a while to click for me personally. Either way, his full-length debut studio album almost entirely produced by Pi’erre Bourne had my anticipation & wanted to give it a fair listen.

Things start off with “Long Time”, where Carti talks about how he hasn’t had shit in forever & that it took that long to get where he’s at now over a chilled out video gamey beat from Art Dealer. The next song “R.I.P.” is about sex over a bass-heavy instrumental from Pi’erre (who produced all but 5 tracks on here) but interestingly, he brushes off the mumble rap wave several times during the final verse. The track “Lean 4 Real” with Skepta talks about the titular drug over an eerie instrumental & the song “Old Money” gets braggadocious over a bouncy yet atmospheric Pi’erre beat.

The track “++* love hurts **+” with Travi$ Scott sees the 2 comparing themselves to rockstars over a down-tuned instrumental while the song “Shoota” does have an upbeat trap instrumental from Maaly Raw & the Lil Uzi Vert feature is just ok, Carti’s verse was way too short. The track “Right Now” featuring a verse from Pi’erre Bourne near the end is a spacey strip club anthem & the song “Poke It Out” with Nicki Minaj gets back on the braggadocious tip over an Atari-esque beat.

The track “Home (KOD)” is about a loyal bitch over a wavy beat while the song “Fell in Luv” with Bryson Tiller is a moody love tune. The track “Foreign” gets braggadocious over some crazy synths & the song “Pull Up” gets confrontational over a murky yet bouncy beat. The track “Mileage” with Chief Keef gets sexually playful over a dreamy bass-heavy beat, but the hook is annoying.

“FlatBed” is pretty decent 3-minute freestyle over some rubbery bass & keyboards while the song “No Time” with Gunna is about how they can’t vibe with lames over a cloudy Don Cannon beat. “Middle of the Summer” feels more like a Red Coldhearted song since he takes up most of it & “Choppa Won’t Miss” with Young Thug talks about killing everyone over a bouncy accordion beat. The penultimate track “R.I.P. Fredo (Notice Me)” featuring Young Nudy is a dedication to Fredo Santana & the closer “Top” is pretty fun, but it doesn’t sound fully fleshed out.

Aside from a couple redundant tracks, this is a serious contender for best trap album of the year. The cloudy trap production is vibrant (especially Pi’erre’s contributions) & surprisingly more experimental in a sense. Also I will say that Playboi Carti isn’t one of the most lyrical rappers out right now, but he’s always been a very energetic & he has progressed as a performer.

Score: 4/5

Royce da 5’9” – “Book of Ryan” review

With PRhyme 2 being released just a month & a half ago, renown Detroit underground MC Royce da 5’9” has now delivered his long-awaited 7th full-length album. The first song “Woke” after the intro references WWE Hall of Famer, the shortest reigning WWE Champion & former WWE Tag Team Champion André the Giant over a Key Wane instrumental with some eerie choir vocals in the back. After the “My Parallel” skit, we go into the song “Caterpillar”. Here, Bad Meets Ǝvil reunites to tell the audience pretty much what Mark Jackson told Steve Kerr a few years ago over a hard hitting vibraphone instrumental from S1.

The track “God Speed” talks about making it of the hood over a smooth mR. pOrTeR instrumental while the song “Dumb” with Shady Records’ latest signee Boogie sees the 2 talking about the current state of the music industry over an S1 instrumental that sounds like something Dr. Dre & Scott Storch would’ve made together in the Early 2000s. After the “Who Are You” skit, we go into the song “Cocaine”. Here, Royce reflects on his dad’s issues with the drug over a murky DJ Khalil beat. The track “Life is Fair” talks about an ungrateful woman from his childhood over a heavy piano-Fuse instrumental while the song “Boblo Boat” sees Royce reminiscing about family trips to amusement parks & J. Cole reflecting on growing up in North Carolina over a soulful Cool & Dre instrumental.

The song “Legendary” talks about his status in the game over a bass-heavy electro instrumental from mR. pOrTeR while the track “Summer on Lock” with Fabolous & Jadakiss is filled with braggadocious bars over an eerie beat. The song “Amazing” reflects on his old neighborhood over a blissful beat while the track “Outside” vents about his fears over an atmospheric DJ Khalil instrumental. The song “Power” talks about his family’s alcoholism over a piano/bass heavy instrumental from Boi-1da & after recalling an childhood incident at a basketball court during the “Protecting Ryan” skit, we go into the track “Strong Friend”. Here, Royce reflects on his past alcoholism with some dramatic strings & funky bass.

The song “Anything/Everything” gets conscious over some jazzy piano chords while the penultimate track “Stay Woke” thanks his Bad Meets Ǝvil cohort Eminem for his sobriety while also reminding us how dope he is during the 2nd half of it over an orchestral Ging & !llmind instrumental. The album then finishes with “1st of the Month”, where Royce gets with T-Pain recalls how happy they would be when they used to get welfare checks during the 1st day of the month over a luscious piano instrumental. Overall, this is tied with Street Hop as Royce’s magnum opus. It sounds focused & passionate, the production is organic & we are truly getting Royce at his most personal point blank period with each track

Score: 4.5/5

Joey Cool – Self-titled review

After being affiliated with Strange Music for several years, Kansas City MC Joey Cool finally signed to the label in October of last year. Now, he’s releasing his first full-length album with them. The album opens perfectly with “The Rhythm Lounge”, where Joey gets hungry for success over a tuba-heavy lounge music-inspired instrumental from Info Gates. The next song “Hard” with JL & Tech N9ne sees the 3 getting braggadocious over a decent trap beat while the track “I’m the Plug” has a nice bass heavy instrumental & the concept isn’t bad either, but the hook is kinda annoying.

The song “Change Your Life” is basically Joey’s success story over an eerie MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 instrumental while the track “Under Pressure” is about how he’ll never fold over some horns. The song “Handle of Jack” is an ode to alcohol over a relaxing beat and the track “Fall” is about Joey staying up when people try to bring him down over an atmospheric trap beat from Seven with some rubbery bass. The song “Divine” is a smooth sex jam while the cleverly titled “Stranger Things” with Ubiquitous gets conscious over a somber beat.

The song “Life Lessons” talks about never taking Ls again and I love the synthesizers on here. The track “One, Two” with the CES Cru sees the 3 talking about they have things they need to do over a gritty instrumental and the song “Secure the Bag” intelligently touches down on the subject of money over an abrasive beat. The track “Bottom Bitch” with Breaking Bad News talks about grinding over a settle beat & the closer “Family” tells intriguing stories his relatives over a gloomy trap beat.

As expected, this is Joey Cool’s best work to date. He sounds more passionate, hungrier, his lyricism is sharper and the instrumentals are some of the best he’s ever been given. A truly exciting new member of the Strange family and I’ll definitely be looking forward to more of him in the future.

Score: 3.5/5