Drake – “Scorpion” review

It’ll soon be a decade since Toronto, Ontario, Canada rapper, singer/songwriter, actor & entrepreneur Drake introduced me to him with his breakout mixtape So Far Gone in middle school. The success of this groundbreaking project resulted in a contract with both Young Money Entertainment & Cash Money Records, who put out the man’s full-length debut Thank Me Later the following year. His sophomore effort Take Care the year after would be even better & I enjoyed Nothing Was the Same too but after If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late & then What a Time to Be Alive with Future (both of which came out in 2015), that’s when the quality in Drake’s music really began to take a nosedive. VIEWS was a terrible foray into dancehall & More Life was mediocre despite being stylistically eclectic, dividing his 5th album fresh off his beef with Pusha T into 2 discs comprised of hip hop & R&B respectively.

The opener “Survival” is a reflection of his career over a killer Lil B sample from No I.D. & 40 while the next song “Nonstop” talks about his grind over some prominent bass. The track “Elevate” talks about becoming famous & making life better for him & his loved ones over some atmospheric background vocals while the song “Emotionless” is a response to Pusha T’s nasty “Story of Adidon” diss track from last month. He’s not dissing him, but he does confirm that he has a son named Adonis over this trap beat with a beautiful soul sample. However the one line where he says “I wasn’t hidin’ my kid from the world, I was hidin’ the world from my kid” made me chuckle a little bit. I mean it’s no question that the media would’ve been all over the baby if his birth was announced prior, but I kinda laughed because of the fact that the mother Sophie Brussaux went on Twitter last fall & dissed him. The track “God’s Plan” is just as fun as it was on his Scary Hours EP from earlier this year while “I’m Upset” is one of his worst singles & I don’t blame Oogie Mane of Working on Dying for that.

The track “8/10” talks about where he’s at now referencing the current UFC Featherweight Champion Max Holloway over an uplifting boom bap beat from Boi-1da while the song “Mob Ties” talks about cutting people off over a bouncy beat. The track “Can’t Take a Joke” is about hanging out with the titular people in Hidden Hills & Italy over a murky beat. The song “Sandra’s Rose” talks about how his life has changed since being in the music industry over a beautiful DJ Premier beat & the track “Take Up” sees him talking about childhood over a grimy DJ Paul beat with JAY-Z’s verse kinda reminds me of his mafioso days. I also love how he ends the song by saying “I got your president tweetin’, I won’t even meet with him. Y’all killed XXXTENTACION & let George Zimmerman live, streets is done”. The first disc then finishes off with fittingly with “Is There More?”, where Drake is asking questions about life over a moody beat conf.

The next disc starts off with “Peak”, where he sings to an unnamed love interest over a settle beat. The next track “Summer Games” talks about a breakup over a spacey instrumental that to me sounds like it would pop up on any KiD CuDi album while the song “Jaded” is a dedication to Jorja Smith over an atmospheric beat. The track “Nice for What” is an empowering women’s anthem over a Murda Beatz instrumental with a beautiful sample of Lauryn Hill’s “Ex-Factor”, but it feels like it should’ve been on the previous disc. The song “Finesse” is a message to his current significant other over another settle instrumental, but then “Ratchet Happy Birthday” might be the worst Drizzy track I’ve ever heard. I get that he wants this girl to have a good time on her birthday, but it’s just really corny. The instrumental is buttery as Hell, too.

The song “That’s How You Feel” talks about spending time with an unknown girl over another moody beat while the track “Blue Tint” is a response to all his haters but just like “Nice for What”, it sounds like it was made for the first disc. The song “In My Feelings” asks the City Girls if they love him, but it seems desperate & sappy. The track “Don’t Matter to Me” talks about his ex doing drugs & alcohol as a result of breaking up with him, but it actually works well thanks to the unreleased Michael Jackson vocals that’re evenly balanced.

The song “After Dark” with Ty$ sees the 2 talking about hooking up with women in the late night hours over a laidback instrumental from none other than Static Major & while the penultimate track “Final Fantasy” is probably the freakiest I’ve ever heard Aubrey get, but it’s the 3rd track on this R&B side feels like it should’ve been on the first disc. The album then finishes with “March 14”, which is a 4th misplaced rap song on the entire album. However it’s not bad, because I like how he goes more in-depth about Adonis over this moody boom bap beat

While this is definitely better than VIEWS & More Life, it’s still a mixed bag. He sounds a lot more passionate on here than he did on the last 2 projects I mentioned & I can definitely appreciate the A Side/B Side concept, but there are 4 tracks on the 2nd disc that really should’ve been on the first one & A LOT of filler. If you evenly took the best tracks from both discs & put them onto just 1, then it would’ve been pretty great.

Score: 2.5/5

Gorillaz – “The Now Now” review

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Just a little over a year after their painfully bloated comeback Humanz, legendary British virtual band Gorillaz is now giving us their 5th full-length album. Things start off with “Humility”, where Damon Albarn sings about isolation over an smooth tropical instrumental. The next track “Tranz” is pretty much Damon talking to his lover an electronic instrumental while the song “Hollywood” by Jamie Principle & WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg sees the 2 talking about the famous life over an electro-funk instrumental. The track “Kansas” vents about finding another dream over a funky beat with some rubbery bass while the song “Sorcererz” advises everyone to hold onto their inner-visions over a synth-heavy instrumental.

The track “Idaho” recalls a time where he stayed at Bruce Willis’ ski lodge over an atmospheric instrumental that gets more layered as it progresses while the song “Lake Zurich” is mostly a fun synth-funk instrumental. The track “Magic City” refers to being higher over a synthpop instrumental while the song “Fireflies” talks to an ex over a gloomy instrumental that suits the vibe fantastically. The last 2 tracks “1%” & “Souk Eyes” get romantic, but the latter is actually fully written.

I never expected this coming around the corner given the gap between the last album & the album prior The Fall, but it is a solid album. Of course it’s well produced, but I also really love the fact that the lyrics are written in Damon’s perspective as opposed to 2D’s. Also, there’s A LOT less filler on here than there was on Humanz.

Score: 3.5/5

Teyana Taylor – “K.T.S.E. (Keep That Same Energy)” review

With the release of her average debut VII in 2014 & the birth of her daughter the year after, Harlem recording artist Teyana Taylor is returning with her sophomore album & she has enlisted GOOD Music founder Kanye West to produce it in it’s entirety.

The album starts off with “No Manners”, where she sings about her husband Iman Shumpert over some strings & piano chords. The next song “Gonna Love Me” gets romantic over an acoustic instrumental & a beautiful soul sample during the hook while the track “Issues / Hold On”. vents about fighting to keep Iman with her over a mellow guitar. The song “Hurry” with Kanye sees the 2 getting playful over a funky beat with my favorite hook on the entire album while the track “3Way” is about Teyana bringing in another woman for Iman so they can have a threesome over a moody instrumental & the Ty$ verse compliments it so perfectly. The song “Rose in Harlem” talks about being betrayed over some horns & a fitting soul sample while the track “Never Would’ve Made It” is a heartwarming tribute to her daughter over some stuttering drums & piano keys. Unfortunately, the worst song on the entire album would pop up with the closer: W.T.P. (Work This Pussy). The house production is ok, but it’s structured poorly & the vocal sample is annoying as fuck.

Other than that, this is the album that I’ve been waiting Teyana to make (even back in her Star Trak days). It’s passionate, the vocals are a lot stronger as is the songwriting & it’s WAY better produced than her debut. If she & Kanye are gonna work with each other in the future, than I’m all for it

Score: 4/5

Death Grips – “Year of the Snitch” review

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After having a quiet 2017 with the exception of their Steroids EP, renown Sacramento, California experimental hip hop trio Death Grips are returning with their 6th full-length album.

The album begins with “Death Grips is Online”, where The I.L.Y’s provide an instrumental with a futuristic atmosphere to it as MC Ride calmly delivers his cryptic verses. I also love the scratches from DJ Swamp as well as the moments where Ride tells “BREAK IT, BREAK IT DOWN!”. The next track “Flies” talks about severing all ties over a glitch hop instrumental while the song “Black Paint” talks about requiring privacy & finally thinking over a noise rock instrumental. The track “Linda’s in Custody” has a nice electronic beat & the depressed tone in Ride’s voice suits it very well. After the short drill & bass interlude “Horn Section“, we go into the song “Ha Ha Ha”. Here, Ride gets sexual & the way the trio samples their past songs “Lock Your Doors”, “Up My Sleeves”, “Black Dice”, “Inanimate Sensation”, “I Want It I Need It (Death Heated)” & “Lord of the Game” was very creative.

The track “Shitshow” is a wild 2-minute sequel to “Hot Head” off their last album Bottomless Pit down to Ride’s aggressive delivery & the digital hardcore instrumental while the track “Streaky” talks about the hustler life over an instrumental with their signature industrial hip hop sound. The track “Dilemma” talks about Ride’s lifestyle over a synth-punk instrumental while the song “Little Richard” has a nice EDM instrumental, Ride’s robotic delivery is just ok. “The Fear” sees Ride venting being afraid to die & I absolutely love the sinister synths that Andy Morin brings to the table. Also, the way Ride famously screams his brains out during the hook never fails to amuse me. After the heavy guitar “outro”, we get into the actual closer “Disappointed” which is anything but. Zach Hill’s rattling drums in the instrumental are insane & the call/shout delivery that Ride employs will make you wanna fight someone. Especially when he yells “WHHHYYY ME?” throughout the hook.

To be honest, this is one of Death Grips’ best albums. As expected, MC Ride’s lyrics are cryptic & there are strong elements of both industrial hip hop & punk music. However, they also fuse elements of noise rock & IDM near-perfectly. My only real complaint about this (aside from Ride’s delivery on “Little Richard”) is that I feel like the last 2 tracks should’ve been switched around. Other than that, Death Grips yet again prove why I consider them the greatest experimental hip hop act of all-time

Score: 4.5/5

Westside Gunn – “Supreme Blientele” review

Just a couple months after his FLYGOD is Good…All the Time EP, Buffalo MC Westside Gunn is delivering his highly anticipated sophomore album. After a spoken word intro from WWE Hall of Famer & 7-time tag team champion Arn Anderson, we go into the first song “GOD$ Don’t Bleed”. Here, the FLYGOD hooks up with Benny the Butcher & Jadakiss get confrontational towards their competition over a haunting soul sample from Daringer. The next track “Dean Malenko” named after the former アイアンマンヘビーメタル級チャンピオン, ECW World Television Champion, ECW World Tag Team Champion, 4-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion, WWE United States Champion & WCW World Tag Team Champion is about drug dealing over a boom bap beat with some beautiful piano chords while the song “Brutus” is a bloody Griselda Records posse cut over an epic Pete Rock instrumental named after former WWE Tag Team Champion Brutus Beefcake. The track “Amherst Station” vividly tells the story of the hustler life over a soulful beat while the song “RVD” named after the former 2-time WWE champion, ECW World Television Champion, 6-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5-time WWE Tag Team Champion, the 4-time & final WWE Hardcore Champion, TNA World Champion & TNA X Division Champion Rob Van Dam gets braggadocious over a boom bap beat with some somber keys. I also like the spoken word passage from Keisha Plum during the second half.

Then we get into my favorite song on the album “Elizabeth” named after the late WWE/WCW manager Ms. Elizabeth where he talks about his street knowledge over a jazzy Alchemist beat. Then it transitions into “Mean Gene” perfectly, where he spits his signature “flyshit” paying homage to WWE Hall of Famer Gene Okerlund over a soulful beat. However, the next 2 tracks “Stefflon Don & “Sabu” are easily the weakest on the entire album. Even if the latter is named after former 2-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion, FTW Champion, ECW World Television Champion, 3-time ECW World Tag Team Champion, JCW World Juggalo Heavyweight Champion, NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン & the longest reigning XPW World Heavyweight Champion Sabu. They’re not bad, but they definitely sounded unfinished to me. If he added another verse on both tracks, that would’ve been perfect. The song “Brossface Brippler” with Benny & Busta Rhymes sees the 3 getting murderous over an eerie soul sample from Alchemist that fits the vibe perfectly while the track “Spanish Jesus” with Crimeapple sees the 2 returning to the drug dealer themes over a rap rock beat from Harry Fraud.

“The Steiners” with eLZhi is filled with battle bars named after the 10-time WWE Tag Team Champions, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champions & 2-time IWGPタッグチャンピオン over a joyous boom bap beat from Pete Rock & then “Ric Martiel” with Roc Marciano go back to the drug dealer days over a soulful Roc beat. The track “WESTSIDE” gets braggadocious once again over a sinister Statik Selektah beat & before a spoken word outro from A.A. Rashid, it ends with the epic “WrestleMania 20”. Here, Westside tells us that he’s not playing games over a 9th Wonder instrumental with a prominent acoustic guitar & a smooth Anderson .Paak hook.

As expected, this is Westside’s best work yet. There are a couple tracks that could’ve been fully fleshed out but other than that, the hardcore boom bap production & Westside’s signature street bars is a lot more refined than it was on his 2016 debut FLYGOD

Score: 4.5/5

Jedi Mind Tricks – “The Bridge & The Abyss” review

After triumphantly returning to form in 2015 with The Thief & The Fallen, Philadelphia underground legends Jedi Mind Tricks are now coming out of the blue with their 9th full-length album. After a 96 second intro, we go into the first song “San La Muerte”. Here, MC Vinnie Paz talks about how he isn’t fucking with anyone over a sinister Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind instrumental. The track “Rashindun Caliphate” sees Vinnie talking to his haters over an instrumental with an eerie atmosphere to it while the song “Freshco & Miz” talks about their longevity over a boom bap beat with some jazzy horns.

The track “When the Body Goes Cold” gets confrontational over a gloomy boom bap beat while the song “What She Left Behind” vividly describes an abusive relationship over an alluring soul sample & the drums are going off like Desert Eagles. Honestly, I think it’s the most disturbing JMT song I’ve ever listened to. The track “Death Toll Rising” talks about ghetto life over a boom bap beat with a pretty Latin vocal sample & after the “Shed the Skin to Receive the World” interlude, we go into the song “Certified Dope”. Here, Pazzy spits that gun-talk over an instrumental that doesn’t really suit the vibe to me.

The track “Hell’s Henchman” talks about snakes over an instrumental with some intense strings while the song “God Forsaken” is filled with murder bars over an instrumental that perfectly fits into a final battle. The track “Legacy of the Prophet” with Sean Price talks about their place in hip hop & while it is hard, I feel like we’ve heard Sean on so many JMT tracks at this point.

After the “Void Ritual” interlude, we go into the song “You Have 1 Devil but 5 Angels”. Here, Paz spits some battle bars including a reference to WWE Hall of Famers The Fabulous Freebirds over some bass & keyboards while DJ Kwestion’s scratch hook suits the vibe fantastically. The track “Marciano’s Reign” intellectually talks about overcoming the negatives over an orchestral instrumental while the song “Torture Chamber” with CZARFACE goes back to the battle bar tip over a rap rock beat.

The track “The Letter Concerning the Intellect” references Matt Hardy of the current World Team Champions The Deleters of Worlds over a gloomy guitar & a soul sample on the hook while the final song “Making a Killing” talks about the meat industry a beautiful piano instrumental before the album finishes with a 1-minute instrumental.

While I prefer their last album a lot more, this is still great. Vinnie Paz’s lyricism has gotten sharper with age & Stoupe’s production compliments him just as much, but there were too many interludes for me

Score: 3.5/5

The Carters – “EVERYTHING IS LOVE” review

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The Carters are a musical duo & power couple consisting of legendary Brooklyn, New York emcee JAY-Z & his wife, former Destiny’s Child member & Houston, Texas popstar Beyoncé. Their latest albums Lemonade & 4:44 saw them at their most personal, but now they’re closing out the trilogy with a collaborative effort.

The album starts off with “SUMMER”, which is a sex song over a Cool & Dre instrumental that suits the mood fantastically. The next track “APESHIT” is an energetic club banger with an infectious Pharrell beat & Bey’s rapping was a very nice touch. The song “BOSS” talks about success over a triumphant trap beat from D’Mile & Mike Dean while the track “NICE” with Pharrell sees the 3 getting braggadocious over some beautiful keys & rattling hi-hats. The song “713” is a dedication to Beyoncé’s hometown over an instrumental with heavy bass with even some Scott Storch-like keyboards. It makes even more sense that Bey interpolates the classic Dr. Dre tune “Still D.R.E.” in the hook, but that’s really the only part of the song that I’m realistically not crazy about.

The track “FRIENDS” sees the 2 individually dedicating the time to song crew over a gloomy trap beat from Boi-1da & for some reason NAV while the song “HEARD ABOUT US” tells their critics to watch their mouths over a funky beat. The penultimate track “BLACK EFFECT” sees the 2 intelligently talking about being African American over a soulful trap beat & then it finishes perfectly with “LOVEHAPPY”, where the ‘03 Bonnie & Clyde go back & forth with each other about professing their love for each other as well as moving on from the whole Becky incident over a beautiful Eddie & Ernie sample.

I’m well aware that Jigga intentionally gave us this just the day after the new Nas album NASIR & while that is definitely superior, I still thought this was a lovely way to end the trilogy. Given what they’ve been through, the impeccable chemistry between JAY-Z & Beyoncé is a lot more stronger than it’s been in the past. Most of the instrumentals are luscious too & while I do enjoy a handful of trap music, I feel like a few of the beats on here sounded like they were forced to throw in hi-hats when they really didn’t need to

Score: 4/5

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