When Brother Ali first told me back in November that his 6th full-length album was coming in 2017, I was pretty excited given that it would be his first album since Mourning in America & Dreaming in Color just 5 years ago. However when he later said it would be entirely produced by Ant of Atmosphere (who hasn’t produced an album for Ali since Us in 2009), I was even more excited. The album opens up with “Pen to Paper”, where Ali’s talking about going from started writing at 8 & meeting KRS-One at 13 to being profiled by the US government over some ambitious keys & horns. The next song “Own Light (What Hearts Are For)” is about using his heart for love & while the beat does start off kinda spacey, the electric guitar that starts to pop in after the first 20 seconds was a nice touch. The track “Special Effects” talks about Ali wanting to communicate without technology over a jazzy beat & the deM atlaS hook on here is just beautiful. The song “Can’t Take That Away” is a dedication to that special someone in Ali’s life & the beauty of it is enhanced by the harp & keys throughout. The next track “Dear Black Son” is basically Ali sending a message to his son Faheem about all the current racism in America today over a jazzy piano. The song “We Got This” with Sa-Roc talking positivity & the chemistry between the 2 MCs is actually greater than I actually though it would be. The song “Uncle Usi Taught Me” recalls performing “Uncle Sam Goddamn” in Iran over a funky beat & the way he describes it is so vivid & sincere. The track “Pray for Me” talks about his albinism over a piano as well as a pumping bassline. The song “It Ain’t Easy” talking his desire of real love over a churchy instrumental. The track “Never Learn” has some nice brass throughout & I also love the eerie background vocals behind the beat. Also, the hook is beautiful & his flow is so on point. The song “Tremble” talks about how he’s “a human, not a brand” over an electric guitar & he sounds so sincere about it too. The track “Before They Called You White” talks about the Europeans’ land being seized & I like how they incorporated the vocal sample at the end. The song “The Bitten Apple” talks about self-hate over a somber beat & the gloomy hook from Idris Phillips fits in perfectly with the whole tone. The penultimate track “Out of Here”, where Ali is talking about the suicide of both his dad & grandfather & the instrumental fits in like a glove. Especially with the piano during the first verse. The album then closes out with the title track, where Ali is talking about God over a relaxing beat. To me, this is a near perfect return for Brother Ali. The instrumentals are beautiful, the content is on point & the passion is clear as day
Score: 4.5/5
Tag: album review
The R.O.C. – “Digital Voodoo” review
One of Detroit, Michigan’s most underappreciated horrorcore emcees/producers The R.O.C. finally making his Majik Ninja Entertainment debut. Originally a member of the House of Krazees with Jamie Madrox & Monoxide, he later hooked up with Skrapz to put out 1 last album under the HOK name before starting a duo of their own called HaLFBrEEd when the Insane Clown Posse signed Twiztid to Psychopathic Records. Although they would only release 1 full-length under the HaLFBrEEd name titled Kontamination, it would go on to become a horrorcore classic. Welcome to the Darkside came out under Psychopathic’s now defunct Hatchet House sub-label & dropped Digital Voodoo.
The album starts off with the title track, where The R.O.C.’s talking about his return & the effects that’re done on his voice throughout the song are fitting. The next track with “Let Me Out” talks about how you’re worst nightmares will come true if their minds are let out over a dark, electro-tinged beat & the G-Mo Skee verse about how he became fucked up because of his cousin dropping him on a glass table isn’t bad either.
“Tear It Up” by Zodiac MPrint featuring Boondox has a murderous tone throughout even if it has one of the weakest instrumentals here & the track “The Chalmer” originally appeared on The R.O.C.’s Fucking Preylewd EP that came out at the 2016 Gathering of the Juggalos & it’s just as in your face as it was then.
The song “Dr. No” is basically him saying no to a number of thing such as letting you rock the stage with him & taking bullshit. There are some heavy guitars at some points on here & I certainly didn’t mind them at all. The song “Hecklers” featuring Kuniva & Trick-Trick is a lyrical jab at all the haters out there & if that’s not enough to get you in a pissed off mood (in a good way), the beat enhances the feeling of you wanting to start a brawl.
“Clouds Black Out the Sun” has a gloomy, ominous vibe to it but I’m indifferent towards the hook. The song “Still Running” has a decent beat from Strange Music in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7, but The R.O.C.’s delivery is on point & I can hear the sincere passion in his voice. The song “Disgusted” by the House of Krazees has a surrealist tone lyrically & the somber production fits in with it pretty well too. The track “Sleeper Cell” has some solid strings that’ll pop up every now & then & out of all the 3 guest verses on here, I really liked the militant tone of Whitney Peyton’s & I found R.A. the Rugged Man’s to be pretty humorous.
Both of Natas’ surviving members Esham & Mastamind appear on “What is Hell?” individually answering the titular question & the production is just thunderously sinister. The track “When They Hear It” talks about “zombies” being snapped out of their trance & the guest verses from Kung Fu Vampire as well as Prozak are just as hard as The R.O.C.’s opening verse.
“Zombies in the Apocalypse” is once again on some murderous shit & while but the verse from (həd) p.e. frontman Jahred Gomes isn’t bad, at times it kinda seems like he’s just yelling at the listener. The final track “Revels in the Dark” talks about still traveling from the hate over some ominous piano keys & the verse from Lex the Hex Master is rawly confrontative!
Digital Voodoo has been teased for a long time since his brief “retirement” & enhances what I’ve previously heard on The Fucking Preylewd last summer by surpassing both X-Posed & Oh Hell No! to become The R.O.C.’s greatest achievement as a solo artist in addition to one of the finest full-lengths in MNE’s catalog only a couple years since it’s foundation. He’s always been an outstanding producer & that’s no different here, but the amount of guests actually work out in the long run considering a lot of them are either his labelmates or some of the finest in all of the underground.
Score: 4/5
Kendrick Lamar – “DAMN.” review
With his magnum opus To Pimp a Butterfly celebrating it’s 2 year anniversary last month, Black Hippy member Kendrick Lamar has now delivered his 4th full-length album with the whole world watching. The opening track “BLOOD.” starts off with some harmonious choir vocals, but then we hear some dramatic strings & Kendrick recalling a story of a blind woman shooting him after trying to help her. The second track “DNA.” talks about his heritage & while the Mike WiLL Made-It beat starts off with some heavy bass & a guitar that’s somewhat buried in the mix, it then changes to some hard hitting drums & a vocal sample. Seriously, hearing this will make you get wild.
The track “YAH.” has a mellow instrumental from Sounwave & DJ Dahi seeing Kendrick melodically talking about following his intuition. The blatant jab at FOX News reporter Geraldo Rivera at the beginning of the 2nd & final verse of the song was well deserved, too. The song “ELEMENT.” is basically about how he’ll always stand strong at what he does & the vocal sample on here is haunting as Hell. The track “FEEL.” vents about a number of different emotions over a wavy vocal sample & some keyboards. The song “LOYALTY.” is a duet with Rihanna about just that & the reversed, sped-up Bruno Mars sample that can be heard from start to finish was really cool. The track “PRIDE.” is Kendrick talking about what he would probably be like in a perfect world over a psychedelic instrumental from Internet guitarist Steve Lacy. We get some constant voice pitch changing during the first verse, but then second verse is just monotoned. The album’s lead single “HUMBLE.” sees Kendrick telling everyone to be humble to him over some ominous keys & even though I wasn’t all too crazy about it when it first came out a couple weeks ago like quite a few people were, I will admit that it has grown on me.
The song “LUST.” has a melancholy beat from DJ Dahi, Sounwave & BADBADNOTGOOD and while it starts off by going into the mind of a woman living in the hood, Kendrick then gets introspective about post-fame life as well as how Americans protested & eventually went back to living their regular lives as a result of Donald Trump being elected our current president back in November. I can absolutely appreciate Kendrick dedicating the track “LOVE.” to his fiancé Whitney Alford, but the hook from Zacari sounds exactly like The Weeknd & it just comes off as very annoying.
The song “XXX.” with U2 (albeit minus The Edge) starts off Kendrick aggressively going in while on the phone with a friend coming to him after his son died, but then he somberly talks about never doubting Barack ever again now that we have Donald Trump as our current president. I also really love how the beat during the first verse has some explosive bass as well as police sirens, but then it transitions into some drumming provided by Larry Mullen Jr. as well as some relaxing piano keys. Also, can’t forget about the beautiful Bono hook on here either. I’m not gonna lie, this song really makes me want U2 to drop Songs of Experience later this year.
The track “FEAR.” vividly recalls 3 fearful moments when Kendrick was 3, 17 & 27 over a gloomy beat from The Alchemist enhanced by a soul sample. The penultimate track “GOD.” is basically Kendrick saying he feels like God with all the success he has seen over the years over some spacey Cardo production, but the delivery during the hook & the first verse was just alright. The album closes out with “DUCKWORTH.”, where Kendrick tells a story about Top Dawg Entertainment founder Anthony Tiffith almost killed Kendrick’s father over a soulful instrumental from 9th Wonder & the beat change about halfway through the track is NASTY!
While I’ve been hearing some people saying they were expecting this to better or worse than To Pimp a Butterfly, all I wanted from him was to put out a good album & that’s EXACTLY what I got on here. The Kid Capri intros that you’ll hear on a few tracks give me a nice throwback feeling & while I’m not gonna deny that it’s more commercial than his last 2 albums, but there are only a few moments on the album where it actually bugs me. Despite these few weak moments, Kendrick has shown once again why he’s my favorite MC in this current generation
Score: 4/5
Leaf Dog – “Dyslexic Disciple” review
This is the sophomore effort from Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom producer/emcee Leaf Dog. Known for being amongst the best UK hip hop groups in recent memory The 4 Owls as well as the 3 Amigos & Brothers of the Stone, he branched out on his own in the summer of 2011 by dropping the solo debut From a Scarecrow’s Perspective under High Focus Records to moderate reception although I enjoyed what he was going for with it. Fast forward almost 6 years later, the Dyslexic Disciple has returned a month after Zack Sabre Jr. became a 2-time RPW British Heavyweight Champion.
After the intro, “The Rain” begins with a self-produced boom bap opener talking about fulfilling prophecies with the words he’s rhyming never playing the fool until he made himself one whereas “Big Egos” basically takes jabs at artists who become full of themselves due to success. “Know Myself” gets on some introspective vibes lyrically admitting that there are times where he doesn’t even know who he is just before “Today” talks about living right from this very moment forward.
“It’s on You” works in some grungy sampling chops asking what one would do when they start to feel like this music shit was never meant for them leading into “Glass Eye” produced by Illinformed talking about things seeming to be better when he looks back at it. “All in 1” ends the 1st half of Dyslexic Disciple reminding the UK hip hop movement that his squad carved a new lane in the underground while “Pro Cultivation” featuring Smellington Piff comes together to talk about weed for the stoners including myself.
Meanwhile on “My Scene”, we have Leaf Dog welcoming everyone to the part of his native country where he’s trying to build a career for himself from the bottom up & saving pennies to get by a new day prior to “Window” jazzily catching an individual who was watching the Leigh Brothers again since he made it clear that this wasn’t the 1st time it happened. “Linguistics” hooks up a classy sample shouting out all the misfits listening while “Good Times” featuring Dabbla joins forces for a soulful anthem to play during celebratory occasions.
“Last Laugh” featuring BVA finds the Real Life Drama Records founders still giving the system’s many faces middle fingers while “The Reminder” featuring BVA & Kool Keith unites the trio so they can talk about owning hip hop to this day. “The Legacy” by The 4 Owls featuring Bill Shakes, Cracker Jon, Dirty Dike, Eric the Red, Jack Jetson, the Kingdom of Fear, Klashnekoff, MysDiggi, Phi-Life Cypher, Remus, Smellington Piff, Sonnyjim & the Task Force sends it all off with a 7 & a half minute High Focus posse cut.
Noticeably more expansive than From a Scarecrow’s Perspective was when I had finished middle school, Dyslexic Disciple marks Leaf Dog’s return to the mic for the duration of an entire full-length & one that surpasses it’s predecessor on all fronts. He only handles a little over half of the production here than he did last time, but it feels more sonically expansive than the previous LP was & Leaf’s pen has gotten sharper since focusing on producing for other artists amassing a stacked list of local collaborators & veterans to be right beside him.
Score: 4.5/5
Joey Bada$$ – “A.A.B.A. (All-AmeriKKKan Bada$$)” review
After releasing his full-length debut B4.DA.$$ on his 20th birthday just a couple years ago, Pro Era member Joey Bada$$ is returning with his sophomore album. The intro track “Good Morning AmeriKKKa” is basically a minute & a half taste of what is to come. The song is basically Joey saying he wants to “free your mind” over a smooth instrumental from DJ Khalil. The next song “For My People” is a dedication to those who want a peaceful life & the saxes on here are just beautiful. The track after that “Temptation” talks about racism & the way he talks about it very personal. Especially when he starts asking for God’s help.
The track “Land of the Free” came out on Joey’s 22nd birthday as well as the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration & the content of how AmeriKKKa is full of free loaders is still relevant now. The production is has a somber kinda funky vibe to it, too. The track “Devastated” sees Joey reminiscing about his pre-fame days & how patience was the key to his success over a spacey beat.
“Y U Don’t Love Me? (Miss AmeriKKKa)” sees Joey basically asking why the government hates minorities & the gloomy beat goes PERFECTLY with what he’s saying. The song “Rockabye Baby” talks about how the system can’t control them over some ominous keys & I actually think ScHoolboy Q out-rapped Joey on here.
The track “Ring the Alarm” talks about the “resurrection of real” hip hop & while the bridge from Meechy Darko was executed decently, I really love how Joey’s fellow Pro Era members Nyck @ Knight are trading lines with each other in the final verse. The song “Super Predator” with Styles P is basically a retaliation to the term with the same name, but the hook was kind of a turn off for me.
“Babylon” talks about Joey’s desires to move far away from AmeriKKKa as possible over some militant drums as well as some saddening saxes. The Chronixx bridge fits in well, also. The penultimate track “Legendary” with J. Cole talks about how legends only multiply & the beat from Statik Selektah is jazzy as Hell. I also love how Joey inadvertently shouts me out during the hook too, lol!
The album then closes out with “AmeriKKKan Idol”, where Joey’s simply saying “fuck you” to white supremacy & how the government’s trying to start a racial civil war over a somber guitar as well as some EXPLOSIVE drums. I also really love how the hook interpolates the classic Nas track “The World is Yours”.
While I like the production on Joey’s last album a lot more, I’d say the content on here is WAY more superior than B4.DA.$$‘. Not only is it Joey’s most political work to date, but I think it’s much needed for us right now (especially with the very recent Syria missile strikes that occurred just the day before the album came out)
Score: 4/5
MURS – “Captain California” review
After dropping his last solo album (but his debut with Missouri based independent powerhouse Strange Music) Have a Nice Life as well as reuniting with 9th Wonder to drop Brighter Daze in 2015, former Living Legends member MURS would spend 2016 doing a couple features & he even won a Guinness World Record for the Longest Rap Marathon back in September. However, he’s now returning with his 10th solo album but his sophomore effort with Strange. The album kicks off with the track “Lemon Juice”, where MURS & Curtiss King are battling back & forth with each other over this chick & the production from MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 on here is pretty smooth. The next track “Shakespeare on the Low” is a hood version of the timeless Shakespeare play Romeo & Juliet & honestly, it’s just ok. The track “G.B.K.W. (God Bless Kanye West)” isn’t really about Kanye himself, but rather about a man who’s under stress over an upbeat instrumental enhanced with these twinkling keys. The next track “Colossus” originally appeared on the bonus disc of Strange Music founder Tech N9ne’s latest album The Storm & it sounds just as great as it did when I first heard it on that album 3 months ago. The song “Another Round” talks about sex, but the way he describes it isn’t excessively raunchy at all & the pre-hook from Krizz Kaliko as well as 7’s production on here are all on point as well. The song “1,000 Suns” is a dedication to his wife Kate & you can just tell that he wrote/delivered it from the heart. Not only that, but 7’s electro-tinged production isn’t a bad touch either. The song “1 Uh Those Days” with Reverie discuss their individually shitty days & the production from former Company Flow member Mr. Len has these string passages as well as some hard ass boom bap drums too. The penultimate track “Ay Carumba” is about getting another woman pregnant & the way he describes the situation isn’t bad at all, I’m indifferent towards the production on here. Not only do I consider this to be an improvement over Have a Nice Life, but I also think that this is the best thing MURS has done with Strange Music thus far. While I feel like the production could’ve been better on some tracks, the storytelling throughout is fantastic.
Score: 3.5/5
Thundercat – “Drunk” review
Thundercat is a 32 year old musician, singer/songwriter & producer from Los Angeles, California who emerged 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 Apocalypse a couple summers later & his debut extended play The Beyond / Where the Giants Grow a month succeeding my graduation due to the inclusion of his most lauded single “Them Changes”. His 3rd album however has been shaping up to be the most special entry in his entire catalog & some of the names involved further proved my point.
“Rabbit Ho” properly kicks things off singing about being bored & wanting to getting drunk out of boredom over a gloomy bassline as well as some somber keys whereas “Captain Stupido” co-produced by Flying Lotus describes monotony. “Uh Uh” comes through with a compositionally high-tempo jazz-funk interlude that seems taken from a Mario Kart game soundtrack while the lead single “Bus in These Streets” sings about technology in a very intriguing way fusing neo-soul, psychedelic soul & hypnagogic pop.
A sequel to “Tron Song” off Apocalypse called “A Fan’s Mail (Tron Song II)” & although the songwriting is just as repetitive as it was on the predecessor, I’d say the instrumental on this one’s a lot more funky. The next couple tracks “Lava Lamp” & “Jethro” both explore the concept death, except the latter has more lively beat in contrast to “Lava Lamp”‘ having a dreamier instrumental courtesy of Sounwave, but then “Show You the Way” featuring Kenny Loggins & Michael McDonald after the “Day & Night” interlude combines neo-soul, smooth soul funktronica & yacht rock to sing about making the most out of life.
“Walk on By” featuring Kendrick Lamar finds the 2 individually addressing the topic of loneliness & trying to right one’s wrongs while “Blackkk” tropically sings about walking into the light & the instrumental on here sounds pretty tropical. “Tokyo” reaches the halfway point with a fast-paced ode to the capital of Japan while “Jameel’s Space Ride” talks about being free over an uplifting beat gets the 2nd leg going by comparing his younger brother to 大江 錦太郎 from the comedic ゴールデンボーイanime series.
“Friend Zone” depicts himself as a gamer who doesn’t get laid making numerous reference blending neo-soul, syth-funk & funktronica for the 3rd & final single while “Them Changes” reappears with no complaints since it’s easily the best song he’s ever made. “Where I’m Going” embraces the funktronica influences a bit heavier singing about doing fine even if he’s getting weak while “Drink Dat” lets Wiz Khalifa handle the verses, spaciously rapping about this party girl.
As for “Inferno”, we have Thundercat over a funky psychedelic soul beat singing about going insane while “3AM” after the 26 second “I’m Crazy” intermission ends the trilogy split into it’s own individual portions by singing about the streets calling him. The title track intoxicatingly describes getting wasted while “The Turn Down” featuring Pharrell takes a more conscious approach lyrically. “DUI” reprises the same melody “Rabbit Ho” used starting his drinking anew while “Hi” by Mac Miller talks about several events possibly occurring in our lifetime.
The Beyond / Where the Giants Roam was said to be a prelude to Drunk & considering how much he artistically stepped up throughout that EP, it had me hoping he’d surpass both The Golden Age of Apocalypse & Apocalypse as much as I enjoyed those LPs during my adolescence. Lo & behold: He gives us the most cohesive offering in his career & an essential within the Brainfeeder catalog. FlyLo helps him expand the neo-soul direction it’s predecessor went for sprinkling elements of psychedelic soul, progressive soul, funk, funktronica, acid jazz, jazz fusion, neo-psychedelia, alternative R&B & yacht rock along the way for a trip inside of the former Suicidal Tendencies bassist’s humorous yet dark mind.
Score: 4.5/5
Smoke DZA – “Don’t Smoke Rock” review
After dropping an EP with Harry Fraud back in March along with a much needed sequel to his George Kush da Button mixtape back in Late May, Smoke DZA is now hitting us with his 4th full-length album & he has enlisted the legendary Pete Rock to produce it in it’s entirety. The album starts off with the track “Limitless”, where DZA’s basically talking about living it up over a triumphant beat. The track “Black Superhero Car” sees DZA getting together with Maybach Music Group founder Rick Ross to deliver some boss-like bars & the strings throughout this thing are beautiful. Including the reference to WWE Hall of Famer, former 2-time WWE Tag Team Champion & WCW World Television Champion Larry Zbyszko. The track “Hold the Drums” has no drums whatsoever (hence the title), a beautiful piano sample throughout & a killer guest verse from Royce da 5’9″. On the track “Wild 100s”, DZA’s spitting some mafioso shit over some ominous sounding strings. The track “Last Name” has a mellow beat & DZA’s basically rapping about proving his strengths & putting suckas in their places. There’s also a hilarious line near the end of the 2nd verse about clown dudes marrying clown bitches & starting a circus together by having clown kids. The track “1 of 1” is about how there’ll never be another like DZA & I really like how he got Pete to spit a few lines on here. The track “Milestone” sees DZA, Jadakiss & Styles P looking back at their personal milestones over a relaxing piano sample. On the track “Show Off”, DZA gets together with Wale to get braggadocious & the beat on here sounds like some really cool futuristic boom bap. The track “I Ain’t Scared” has some war-starting horns & you can just tell in DZA’s voice that he’s giving no fucks whatsoever. We even get a short but sweet verse from Pete near the end. The album’s closes out strongly with the track “Until Then”, where DZA hooks up with Mac Miller over an electro-ish beat with some hard boom bap drums in it. It kinda reminds me of something I’d hear from J Dilla, even though Pete Rock was Dilla’s biggest musical idol. In all honesty, I’ll argue that this is Smoke DZA’s best work. Not only is Pete Rock’s production on point, but the way DZA sounds over each & every beat Pete provides overall is almost perfect
Score: 4.5/5
Childish Gambino – “Awaken, My Love!” review
After seeing a bunch of success with his new FX comedy-drama Atlanta (which is actually one of my favorite shows on TV right now), it’s not too surprising for me to see Lancaster rapper/singer Childish Gambino dropping his 3rd full-length album just a month after the first season of his new show finished airing. In contrast to his last 2 albums which were primarily hip hop, this album sees Gambino experimenting with psychedelic soul throughout a vast majority of it. The album kicks off with it’s lead single “Me & Your Mama”, where Gambino’s singing to this girl he’s in love with over a funk rock beat. The track “Have Some Love” sounds VERY Parliament-Funkadelic inspired from top to bottom & lyrically, Gambino’s sending a sincere message to those who’re going through hard times & basically telling them that they should show love to one another. The track “Boogieman” has yet another funk rock sounding production but this time, he’s venting about the very recent violence towards police & African Americans. Might sound cliché to some since there’s been a lot of political music being made recently in light of Donald Trump being elected as our next president, but I personally find Childish Gambino’s hauntingly delivered vocals on here to enhance this track’s overall vibe. The track “Zombies” basically calls out the type of people who’re after him for his fame & the way this song’s sonically executed makes it this song makes it sound like a scary story being told. The track “Riot” lives up to it’s title in every aspect from it’s rock production to Gambino’s wild vocal delivery. The track “Redbone” has a smooth beat & lyrically, Gambino’s venting about how upset he is that his girlfriend cheated on him with another man & telling her that it’s too late for an apology. Might sound corny to some, but his vocal delivery on this song makes it more beautiful to me. The next track “California” talks about life in his home state & that this girl he’s seeing is trying to live her life like a Vine post. The production on here’s fittingly tropical sounding too & personally, I can absolutely understand where he’s going at lyrically on here especially since there are people these days who left social media control their every day life instead of living real life. The next track “Terrified” is kind of a sequel to “California” but in contrast to the previous track having a more party vibe to it, this one has a trippy beat & it lyrically sees him having a serious conversation with the same woman from the previous song. I really like the fast food wordplay on here, because I feel like it ties in with the song’s theme really well. The following track “Baby Boy” has a pretty funky/joyous beat & it’s dedicated to Gambino’s first born child, who was actually born just a couple months ago. The track “The Night Me & Your Mama Met” is a 3 & a half minute instrumental with romantic guitars, but the choir makes it sound spiritual to me as well. The album’s closer “Stand Tall” sees Gambino telling his son to stay strong no matter what & the lush production on here makes it feel like as if you’re actually listening to Childish Gambino singing this song to his son as he’s sleeping. Personally, I consider this to be Gambino’s most creative & ambitious work to date. I absolutely love the P-Funk influences he incorporates on here & while I do enjoy him as a rapper, I thought it was a nice change of pace to hear him primarily singing throughout because I’ve always found him to be a beautiful singer as well & he showcases it fantastically on here. I kinda wanna hear him spitting rhymes on his next project but on the other hand, I wouldn’t mind if he continues to make this style of music in the future at all
Score: 4/5
Tech N9ne – “Dominion” review
Only 4 months after releasing his last album The Storm, Kansas City indie hip hop icon Tech N9ne is now returning with the first of 2 new Collabos albums that’re set to be released this year. Much like the last 2 Collabos albums Strangeulation & Strangeulation 2, Tech N9ne has the entire roster of his Strange Music record label solely featured on here & he has enlisted his label’s in-house producer MIKE SUMMERS a.k.a. 7 to produce it in it’s entirety. The album’s first song “Drama” is a response to Missouri passing a bill that allows anyone to carry a handgun over a heavily sinister beat. The lyrics on the next song “Casket Music” with the CES Cru are definitely hardcore & the Wrekonize hook is on point, but the beat holds me back from fully enjoying it. The track “Put ‘Em On” with Stevie Stone & Darrein Safron is a bit self explanatory, as it talks about how they started out broke putting the listener onto their label over an eerie beat. The track “Wheels Like Hill” sees Tech solely talking about getting away from all the gold diggers out there & the production is just THUNDEROUS! The song “Some Good” with JL is a weed track & unsurprisingly, the instrumental has a relaxing tone to it. However, the finger snaps were unexpected & I actually didn’t mind them at all. The song “Salute”‘ with ¡MURSDAY! is basically telling the haters not to fuck with Strange over some catchy horns & a funky bassline. Even though Tech himself has said there are no plans for a 2nd ¡MURSDAY! album, this song actually gives me hope for it. While I really like how the next song “Fish in a Pita” sonically sounds like something from the 70’s, the content about vaginal odor is just really lame to me. The following track “Mo’Ammo” with MURS & Rittz has this decent guitar loop, but all 3 of them flow really well over it. I also really love the hilarious “gag reel” line during Rittz’ verse. The track “Jesus & a Pill” with Prozak & Krizz Kaliko talks about seeking inner peace & while the rap metal instrumental is mainly a down-tuned guitar with some drums, it predictably gets heavier during the hook. I understand that Tech N9ne wants to showcase every single person on his label & I think he achieved that with his last 3 Collabos albums (especially on my personal favorite Collabos album Welcome to Strangeland), but I would REALLY love it if he got a lot more non-Strange artists on the next Collabos album that he’s dropping later on in the year. Don’t get me wrong I like everyone that’s signed onto Strange, but solely hearing every signee being featured on there for the 3rd Collabos album in a row is actually getting tiring for me
Score: 3/5
Legends Will Never Die 
