Nasaan is a 25 year old MC/producer from Atltanta, Georgia by way of Detroit, Michigan notable for being the son of the late D12 de facto leader & in my opinion the greatest Detroit emcee of all-time Proof. Some of you may remember him for releasing the Def Jam-backed debut EP Kiss of Karma in July of 2019, which gave listeners a taste of what was to come from the promising Motor City up-&-comer. Now that he’s been signed to Atlantic Records since last summer, Nasaan’s further establishing himself by returning with a 2nd EP.
After the “ERROR” intro, the first song “Goated” featuring Royce da 5’9” on the intro is this off the wall trap banger talking about his greatness whereas “Devil to Atlanta” takes the futuristically bassy route instrumentally talking about bringing Satan himself to the ATL. “Top N****r” featuring Daniel Hex starts off melodically until aggressively transitioning & boasting his top dog status, but then the dynamic “It’s Giving…Leo” produced with mR. pOrTeR encouraging a bitch to tell him about himself.
“Key Up!” gives off a cloudy trap vibe thanks to Turbo & Pooh Beatz lifting the seat in his Maybach up prior to “Stepping on Shit” featuring SWAVAY taking a vibrant approach generally spitting braggadocio. “Lunchroom Freestyle” featuring Babytron shows off their charisma for a couple minutes while the atmospheric “Land of Cap” dedicates itself to his father. “Cullinan Gang” featuring Icewear Vezzo ends the EP smoothly exclaiming they don’t believe in relaxation.
On his Atlantic debut, Nasaan returns after 5 years telling listeners what it was like to grow up & live in Atlanta with every track stemming from an experience of his & bring it back home. He even invites guests from Detroit to this world in a successful attempt to blend the 2 worlds, continuing to build upon the trap sounds of Kiss of Karma & establishing an indentity of his own detailing the personal growth he’s gone through since.
This is a brand new collaborative EP between Glokk40Spaz & OsamaSon. Both of whom have collaborated with one another in the past on the track “Codeine Dreamz”, but have individually made a name for themselves as 2 of the biggest up-&-comers that trap music has to offer with projects like Took the Biggest Risk or Flex Musix. However, they are linking up to surprise-drop 3vil Reflection on SoundCloud.
To start the EP, “2X” finds the 2 vividly portraying the gangsta lifestyles they live backed by an atmospheric trap instrumental whereas “Movie” works in some rage beats talking about having sticks on them & throwing their Dracos up in the air. “Blame Dem Drugz” might be my favorite track on 3vil Reflection diving into pluggnb territory going dummy that is until “Bankroll” brings back the hypertrap influences turning the bass up to 11 & counting their pesos.
“No Rules” has a straight up plugg vibe to it instrumentally taking out everyone who tries to get in their way just before the synthesizer-heavy “ADHD” talks about going to hit that kid since they actually have ADHD itself. The rage-inducing “Jungle” boasts that they just spent about $10K & “Wicked” shoots for a dark plugg sound popping out with the potato barrels on their glizzys, but then “Vixen” finishes the EP with 1 last hypertrap cut not giving a fuck no more.
Both of these guys have been dominating the plugg/rage scenes in their own distinctive fashions, so hearing them coming together on 3vil Reflection is a momentous occasion considering each artists’ rightfully increasing popularity & they give us the tightest collaborative effort in their discographies. Its production mostly has a hypertrap tone throughout with additional elements of dark plugg & pluggnb as 2 of their hottest artists in that field match their intensities.
Maryland recording artist Rico Nasty teaming up with Boyz Noize for her 3rd EP. Turning heads in 2018 off her 6th mixtape Nasty, I was still very much impressed by her unique personality & her eclecticism although it was just ok. However the next spring, she got Kenny Beats to produce her debut EP Anger Management in it’s entirety & that ended up being my favorite body of work of hers even to this day. Nightmare Vacation was a bit of a step down from Anger Management even though it has a good share of bangers like “iPhone” & “10Fo”, but Las Ruinas showed a more experimental side to her & A Nasty Summer was kinda mediocre truthfully. That said: HVRDC0RE DR3AMZ had to be more properly conceived going into it.
“Arintintin” begins the 3-piece offering with a hip house opener talking about feeling a little cheeky & that she finna cause a scene that is until the next joint “Vvgina” asks why would she cry when she can just get high instead continuing the hip hop/EDM crossovers instrumentally. Finally, “H.O.T.” is this dubstep/rap hybrid to close out the EP as Rico makes it known that no one can fuck with her & that’s facts.
All I wanted was for HVRDC0RE DR3AMZ to be better than A Nasty Summer almost a year ago already & although it’s what we got only by a slight margin, I’ll still take it over the predecessor. It’s more focused, Boyz Noize’s production delves into electro house, UK hard house, electro, electroclash and Miami bass & Rico’s performances are a step above also. Whenever she’s ready to put out the sophomore effort, I’ll be here.
This is a brand new collaborative mixtape between B.G. & Gucci Mane, one of whom hails from New Orleans, Louisiana starting as 1/4 of the Hot Boy$ & the other coming straight outta Atlanta, Georgia becoming one of what I like to call the big 3 trap pioneers. The only time we’ve ever really heard them together previously was in 2015 on the track “Try It Out” & with B.G. being released from prison this past fall, he & Wop are joining forces throughout the duration of Choppers & Bricks thus making the collab tape the first body of work from the Baby Gangsta ever since he came home.
“Talk” is a chilling trap opener produced by DJ Paul cautioning that shit’s gonna start getting real here pretty quickly whereas “Guwop & Gizzle” gives off a more suspenseful atmosphere instrumentally so they can both break down the significance of both their nicknames. The title track boasts that they got plenty of sticks & weight on them accompanied by a bouncy beat, but then “Cold” gives off a vibrant approach with the help of Mike WiLL Made-It reflecting on the days where they were both incarcerated.
The Atari-synths that Honorable C.N.O.T.E. hooks up throughout “My Bitch” aren’t too bad breaking down how much they spoil the special women in their lives leading into the spacious “Run a Bag Up” that ATL Jacob cooked up talking about making that paper. “Paperwork” makes it clear what they’re standing on over a solemn beat with co-production from 30 Roc, but then d.a. got that dope radiates a chilling atmosphere during “Idiot’s Worst Nightmare” declaring themselves to be exactly what these bitches fear.
“At This Point” has one of the weaker features on the tape from Lil Jairmy despite the bell-infused trap instrumental making it known that there ain’t no stopping for any of them while “Rewanksta” pretty much recreates “Wanksta” by 50 Cent down to Bandplay heavily sampling it. The song “Project Baby” featuring C-Murder finds the trio breaking down what it was like in the PJs for them while KLC gives “She Say She Love Me” more a dirty south feeling telling the baddies to let them see ‘em bend over. “Beautiful Life” happens to be a profound closer expressing gratitude that both of them are home.
I know B.G. said he wrote 7 or 8 albums worth of material during his time behind bars & stand by that we could be in for the best music that he’s released post-Cash Money if he gets the right producers & features. If anything, Choppers & Bricks could very much be the beginning of that. My favorite thing Gucci has done within the last few years & a consistently solid way for B-Geezy to reintroduce himself to everyone. The production’s better than Breath of Fresh Air & it’s fun hearing these 2 different worlds of southern hip hop colliding.
Charleston, South Carolina up-&-comer OsamaSon is back with a sophomore full-length album. Starting a couple years ago, he would then start to pump out 3 EPs shortly after I’m da Man as well as Vengeance & Carnival respectively. He returned at the beginning of 2023 by dropping osamavrt, following it up this past spring in the form of slime & Bad Habits. Osama’s debut Osama Season earlier this summer was some of the best dark plugg I’ve heard in a while, so it made sense for him to follow-up on that previous LP couple weeks after being delayed of it’s original Black Friday release.
“Blonde” is a rage-inducing opener booling on the East side with his fucking twin whereas “Baghdad” comparing his foreign bitch & his sticks to the capital of Iraq guaranteeing that your crew can’t fuck with whilst Ok mixes elements of electronic music with trap. “All Star” shifts back into the hypertrap sound to ball like an MVP with a bunch of checks all in his head just before “For da Flex” produced by gyro talks about giving no fucks as he & his slime go for the win over more rage beats.
Things take a turn into bombastic territory on “Worst Part” promising that you don’t want smoke with him at all leading into the bassy “Trenches” kicking shit with his manager Stef like it’s the NFL asking when Young Thug’s gonna be free & shopping at Lenox in Atlanta. “Nothing” returns to giving off a bit of a hypertrap edge instrumentally talking about running out of love & still having mud, but then “3x” saying all he needs is 3 percs over an explosive rage beat.
“Boss Up” talks about looking the best & making this far in the rap game already over these dense, buzzing synths with repetitive chord progressions on top of melodic synthesizer leads & hi-hats while “Kills” talks about falling in love & buying more drugs with more hypertrap production accompanying him. “Kome Thru” declares himself as the one turning the bass up high as Hell once more while the synth-heavy “Me When” talks about taking the trap to Los Angeles & that his bag got hella checks.
Meanwhile, I feel like “Uno” almost has this industrial trap vibe to it admitting all he does his flex while “Str8 Flexin’” continues to drop braggadocio over this chaotic ass instrumental. The song “Congrats” keeps things atmospheric talking about being congratulated on winning his shit while the penultimate track “Pop” admits that he’ll post up just to flex & to tell slime that he got bags on top of hi-hats woven into this “yeah” vocal sample. “Talking 2 a Ghost” ends the album by confessing over guitars from thr6x that he doesn’t know where he’s going, but that he’s gonna make it today.
“Cartel” is the first of 6 bonus tracks by flexing his mob ties over rage beats while “Rehhab” switches into a a slower flow & a more melodical approach although it’s still grounded into that hypertrap sound instrumentally. “Need It” has these icy synths & skittering hi-hats talking about being in the streets fuckin’ that shit up while “Alot” continues clashing dense, buzzing synthesizers with repetitive chord progressions melodic synth leads likening his whip to a GoKart. “Flxr” has a heavier sound using a different vocal delivery than Osama normally does looking to stack his chips & the rubbery “Freestyle” ends the deluxe by giving 1 last flex.
OsamaSeason quickly cemented OsamaSon as a fresh new face in the dark plugg scene for me, but he completely departs from that style & even plugg music in general on a sophomore effort that results in being a cut above the debut that we got from him earlier this summer. The rage undertones of the predecessor are being showcased more than they were last time, his confidence is off the charts & he sounds like he’s having fun with it.
Gucci Mane is a 43 year old rapper, record executive & entrepreneur from Atlanta, Georgia emerging in the mid-2000s becoming one of the Big 3 pioneers in trap music alongside T.I. & Jeezy as well as having one of if not the largest discography throughout the entire subgenre that continues to grow today. He spent a good bulk of this decade signing acts to 1017 Global putting out a number of showcase compilations that successfully gave these newer cats more exposure. Wop’s last solo effort Ice Daddy in 2021 was a solid commemoration to fatherhood & he’s looking to return in the form of his 16th album following former 5-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion, former PWG World Champion & WWE’s Director of Live Events Adam Pearce’s first night as the GM of the Monday Night RAW brand on USA Network.
“Must Be Me” is a soulful, jazzy trap opener talking about how he’s seeing something that everyone else doesn’t whereas “Bluffin’” featuring Lil Baby hooks up these synthesizers & hi-hats together so both of them can call for some of these people out here to throw their hand in & stop all that cap. “Thank Me” featuring the late Young Dolph gives off a manic atmosphere musically boasting they got blue cheese in their pockets leading into “Trap Money” with underwhelming features from Li Rye & Sett hopping over a classy sample & more hi-hats flexing that they still got paper from their hustling days.
Dolph returns for the rubbery “Pretty Girls” produced by Mike WiLL Made-It showing off all the baddies that they have surrounding them just before “Glizock & Wizop” featuring Key Glock happens to be a decent introduction to the titular trio of the same name from the synth-woven trap beat to the boastfully icy lyrics. “Internet Chatter” makes it known that he isn’t phased by all the things they say about him online accompanied by a minimal trap sound that Dez Wright & Murda Beatz cooked up just before the shimmery “Talkin to the Streets” featuring Mac Critter drops off decent braggadocio.
“There I Go” featuring J. Cole has these cavernous undertones to the beat that Mike WiLL brings to the table here knowing that the hoes jump out the gym for both of them while “Mr. & Ms. Perfect” feels like a spiritual successor to a highlight off Wop’s 8th mixtape Mr. Perfect over 15 years ago. “I Know” vigorously produced by Tay Keith declares his awareness off how much it hurts people knowing he’s doing well while the piano-driven “Stomach Grumbling” ends the first half of the LP explaining that they want to be him despite the difficulty of doing so.
To start the 2nd leg, “Business Not Personal” gives off a theatrical edge instrumentally advising not to get emotional over any business matters as it has nothing to do with you personally while the cloudy “King Snipe”featuring Kodak Black & Richie Souf talks about being real from the jump. “06 Gucci” featuring DaBaby & 21 Savage finds the trio paying homage to Chicken Talk/Hard to Kill-era Gucci delving into the gangsta lifestyle accompanied by strings & hi-hats while the spacious “Pissy” featuring Nardo Wick & Roddy Ricch shows off their yellow gold.
The organ/trap hybrid that Zaytoven gives “Say No Mo” is interestingly distinct talking about not wanting to hear another word from anyone that doesn’t want to talk money while the fittingly lavish “Married with Millions” details the life of having a family as a millionaire. “Woppenheimer” goes for a suspenseful vibe pointing out that people like bringin’ up the past talkin’ recently while “Now It’s Real” talks about life being as beautiful as Pharrell & WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg over keys & hi-hats.
“Broken Hearted” airily asks if anyone can cure the heartbreak that he’s experiencing while “Hurt People” remains in trillwave turf once more uniquely examining why everyone likes to cause harm to one another in our daily lives. “By the Water” sees Zaytoven lacing Wop with a synth-trap beat expressing for his desire to cop a house that has an ocean view & the closer “Big Boy Diamonds” is taken from WOPTOBER II. Better than “King Snipe” but much like “Mr. & Mrs. Perfect”, it’s an older cut that has no purpose of reappearing here.
I was interested in hearing that Breath of Fresh Air was going to be a double-disc LP considering the World War 3 mixtape that celebrated it’s 10-year anniversary over the summer happens to be one of my favorite projects from the trap pioneer. With that said: It’s not as solid as Ice Daddy was over 2 & a half years ago. Although I like that he took a different direction with it after the deaths & incarcerations of some of his friends, the production is a mixed bag & a few features punch under their weight other than a couple older tracks being rehashed.
This is the 3rd full-length album from Philadelphia rapper & singer Lil Uzi Vert. Becoming a household name in the trap scene with their 2015 mixtape LUV is Rage & then Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World the following year, Uzi has been entangled with a nasty legal battle with Generation Now Entertainment/Atlantic Records from their debut LUV is Rage 2 until the sophomore effort Eternal Atake came out in March of 2020 to moderate reception to which they admitted themselves didn’t live up to their expectations & followed it up a week later with the far superior Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World 2 that spawned the deluxe version trend where artists would drop a “deluxe version” of their newest project that’s basically an entirely new album. Red & White last summer was a solid prelude in it’s own right, but is ending the first half of 2023 by finally unloading The Pink Tape.
“Flooded the Face” is a cloudy trap opener produced by Don Cannon calling back to the intros of both LUV is Rage projects refusing to pump the brakes along with clapping back at those questioning their sexuality whereas “Suicide Doors” is a trap metal banger that Brandon Finessin’ cooks up talking about feeling like The Crow & it’s a shame that Playboi Carti isn’t featured on it because I can definitely imagine him over this instrumental, but it’s still hard as fuck nonetheless! “Aye” featuring Travis Scott finds the 2 looking to go harder over some strings & hi-hats from BNYX of Working on Dying just before “Crush ‘Em” talks about smashing like road rage & being a player over an airy trap beat with co-production from Cubeatz & WondaGurl.
Moving on from there, “Amped” wants everyone to witness them go “amped” as Bugz Ronin fuses trap with rock once more leading into “x2” becoming an early favorite for me from Uzi’s infectiously pop rap performances about this shit being cray to the futuristically wobbly beat from both Cliffshayne & Ken Carson. “Died & Came Back” on the other hand has more glistening trap vibe feeling as if they’ve been resurrected, but then “Spin Again” talks about spinning bitches works in some synthesizers & booming sub-bass from Brandon Finessin’. Also note worth noting the Ice Spice reference during the verse that caused JT of the City Girls to flip on Uzi not too long ago.
“That Fiya” points out the .44 Magnum that they have on them accompanied by these electro synths & hi-hats while “I Gotta” gives off a more triumphant approach thanks to Outtatown talking about their ridiculous new whip. “Endless Fashion” featuring Nicki Minaj finds the 2 joining forces for an official song excluding the remix to “The Way Life Goes” (O.G.’s better). But in all seriousness, the actual music isn’t all great as they pretty much butcher Eiffel 65’s best song “Blue (Da Ba Dee)” almost as bad as Bebe Rexha & David Guetta did on “I’m Good (Blue)” last summer. However, the Republican doctor bar was funny even though both wings are on the same bird personally. “Mama, I’m Sorry” though is an improvement with it’s tropical trap beat & lyrics apologizing to their mother.
Meanwhile, “All Alone” vents about relationship struggles with a shoutout during the 2nd verse & Don Cannon bringing back that old playful Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World/The Perfect LUV Tape sound while “Nakamura” named after former 3-time IWGPヘビー級王座, 5-time IWGPインターコンチネンタル王座, IWGPタッグ王座, 2-time NXT Champion, 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion & 2-time WWE United States Champion 中邑 真輔 talks about becoming too focused when it comes to the cash flow sampling the titular performer’s theme. It’s also worth noting that Uzi themself have said that this will be their entrance theme for their in-ring performance at WrestleMania XL next spring.
The only single released up to this point “Jus Wanna Rock” lets Internet Money Records in-house producer Synthetic fuse Philly & Jersey Club together in a tasteful manner that will get everyone to do exactly that as they got everyone to do the first night of WrestleMania XXXIX during former 8-time WWE tag team champions The Usos’ entrance against former 2-time PWG World Tag Team Champions & ROH World Tag Team Champions Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn although the latter team walked away as 2-time WWE tag team champions that night while “Fire Alarm” delves further fusing EDM & trap talking about taking percocets.
“CS” is a cover of my all-time favorite System of a Down! song “Chop Suey” that I’ll never listen to again even though I appreciate the homage to the days of where alternative & nu metal were in their prime that is until “Werewolf” featuring Bring Me the Horizon roots itself into the band’s signature metalcore sound with Oliver Sykes assisting Uzi in talking about going deeper underground with an angelically sung hook attached to it. “Pluto to Mars” points out the fact that they could never be mistaken for a lame over a feel good trap beat while “Patience” featuring Don Toliver goes for the melodic/synth direction singing about seroquel which ironically enough I actually take to help with my insomnia.
“Days Come & Go” returns to that victorious groove declaring that their love won’t stay as time goes on while “Rehab” gives off an otherworldly vibe instrumentally talking about making sure he don’t feel no drama. “The End” featuring ベビーメタルtends to favor towards the Tokyo trio’s kawaii metal sound courtesy of コバメタル with co-production from Maaly Raw to discuss being from outer space as the secret that they’re not from this Earth was revealed on “Glock in My Purse” last summer. The song “Zoom” is a cavernous trap banger produced by Wheezy telling y’all not to call their phone while the penultimate track “Of Course” sonically has a happier mood that Oogie Mane gives off drippin’ & swaggin’. “Shardai” though sends the album off warmly staying with the bag.
We’ve waited 3 years for this day to come & I will give credit to Uzi for making Pink Tape better than Eternal Atake as a full-length album, but there are some moments that I don’t see myself going back to at all either. They take some artistic risks that come from a genuine place expanding beyond trap & pop rap in favor of rage, cloud rap, trap metal, rap rock & alt-metal with an overloaded track-listing at 86 minutes as well as 26 cuts that has more hits than misses.
Young Thug is a 31 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia who’s proven himself to have impacted the modern sound of trap music whether some heads like him or not whether it be dropping classic mixtapes like Barter 6 & JEFFERY or starting up his 300 Entertainment imprint YSL Records & even the clothing line SP5DER. He finally dropped his full-length debut So Much Fun a few summers back executive produced by J. Cole & was one of the best trap projects of that year, but the 2021 sophomore effort P*nk received mixed reviews although I thought it was still solid although not as good as the debut. He was then arrested on R.I.C.O. charges last spring & hasn’t really been around much since then aside from a few features until announcing his 3rd album the previous weekend.
“Paradise on Cleveland” by Metro Thuggin’ featuring Drake is legitimately one of the best openers to an album in this subgenre that I’ve heard all year with it’s cloudy trap instrumental from Metro Boomin’ combined with Big Slime & the 6 God’s lyrics about business being exactly that appropriately nodding to the album title along with the Paramount Skydance Corporation-owned Nickelodeon reference whereas “Money on the Dresser” works in some organs & hi-hats detailing his luxuries. “Gucci Grocery Bag” is a playful trap ode to his own personal grocery bag made from the Italian high-end luxury fashion house Gucci just before “Cars Bring Me Out” featuring Future blends these acoustics & hi-hats thanks to Wheezy once again exploring the lifestyle of the rich & famous.
Cactus Slatt links up with Yak Gotti & 21 Savage for the spacey trap banger “Wit da Racks” obviously flexing their wealth in their own distinctive fashion leading into “Uncle M” reuniting Metro Thuggin’ once more with the bell-infused trap beat talkin’ comparing himself to Uncle Murda for nearly 2 & a half minutes. “Abracadabra” gives off a more drearier vibe featuring co-production from Young Thug’s longtime collaborator London on da Track so Cactus Slatt can join forces 1 last time to drop some braggadocio, but then Dr. Luke’s angelic trap instrumental on “Went Thru It” surprisingly caught my interest as did the line during the hook about saving the world in a dress referencing the artwork of his classic Jeffery mixtape.
Drake returns 1 last time on “Oh U Went” by Metro Thuggin’ co-produced by G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer BoogzDaBeast & the Australian production duo FNZ going for a more sample-based vibe with some hi-hats of course discussing playing how it is along with the fact that they’ve been players for years now while “Want Me Dead” featuring 21 Savage starts off sampling a couplet of lines from the outro from 2Pac’s 4th posthumous album albeit 8th overall Better Dayz which I think might surprise some heads prior to Metro, Dre Moon & Allen Ritter all cooking up a gorgeously shimmery trap beat going in to detail of being up yet coming from the struggle.
“Hellcat Kenny” dives into more upbeat territory courtesy of F1LTHY from Working on Dying so Thug & Lil Uzi Vert can both boast together while “Mad Dog” by Metro Thuggin’ shifts gears with it’s atmospheric trap instrumental talking about his top dog status once again. Also, the way he started the song by saying the Metro Thuggin’ album is long overdue is 110% facts & that gives me hope we’ll get it down the line. The crooning sample throughout “Jonesboro” is something I absolutely can’t get enough of & the idiots theorizing that the “N***a told & he was my homie. I can’t miss him, ain’t nobody feel him” line being about Gunna is hilarious especially since he himself shared the tracklist & QR code of this very album on his Instagram. I’d say it’s more towards YSL Woody & anybody else in the YSL/R.I.C.O. case that also took plea deals since Gunna wasn’t the only one at all.
The penultimate track “Hoodie” featuring BSlime & Lil Gotit also happens to be a So Icey Boyz reunion with Metro & the 808 Mafia co-founder Southside whipping up a piano trap ballad that talks durag business except BSlime’s verse in the middle of it is underwhelming compared to Young Thug’s at the start & even Lil Gotit’s verse at the end although his music overall generally tends to be more hit or miss compared to his older brother Lil Keed who unfortunately passed away of eosinophilia last spring. “Global Access” wraps things up with Metro Thuggin’ going in a mellow trap direction nodding the “Bought a crib for my mama off that mumblin’ shit” bar on “R.I.P.” off Playboi Carti’s groundbreaking debut Die Lit.
However, there are 2 bonus cuts that’ve been added onto the album as part of the official deluxe version that I felt like were most certainly with mentioning. The first of them being “Money” featuring the late Juice WRLD & Nicki Minaj over a sample of the “Momey Song” by Monty Python flipped by another G.O.O.D. Music in-house producer Charlie Heat redeeming himself after wasting 3 of his beats on DaBaby’s latest EP Call da Fireman almost a couple months back so Thugger, Juice & Nicki can showboat exactly how fresh all 3 of them are. The 2nd & final bonus track “Sake of My Kids” has a more tropical trap vibe from Wheezy calling himself a king like Bad Boy Entertainment, Sean John & REVOLT TV founder Puff Daddy a.k.a. P. Diddy & Diddy or to Roc like JAY-Z.
I stand by P*nk being a solid sophomore effort despite it not being on par with the debut which has quickly become a top 5 Thug project for me, but Business is Business has already revealed itself to be his best since So Much Fun. Easily better than A Gift & A Curse on top of that. The production’s stronger due to Metro overseeing & producing 60% of it as well as the outside producers mostly matching his caliber, the features are more toned down rarely missing the mark & Young Thug himself gets a lot off his chest about what he’s been going through. And 1 last thing: Lyrics should never be used against artists in court regardless of whether you like them or not. Free Sex!
This is the 4th full-length album from Kansas born albeit Atlanta, Georgia based singer/songwriter, rapper & actress Janelle Monáe. Emerging as a member of the Dungeon Family collective signing to Bad Boy Entertainment in 2006, she would properly introduce herself the following the year with her debut EP Metropolis & formed her own Epic Records imprint Wondaland Records shortly after even though. Her classic big commercial debut The ArchAndroid acted as the 2nd & 3rd suites in a 7-part series that Metropolis began, with her sophomore effort The Electric Lady serving as the 4th & 5th suites. Janelle’s last album however Dirty Computer departed from the Cindi Mayweather Metropolis narrative & departed from the psychedelic sounds in favor of pulling from pop, funk, hip hop, R&B & neo soul although there are also some minor elements of electropop, space rock, pop rock, Minneapolis soul, trap, futurepop, new wave, synthpop & Latin music. But 6 years later, she’s looking to reinvent herself once more on The Age of Pleasure.
“Float” is a pop rap/contemporary R&B opener produced by Nate “Rocket Wonder with elements of both trap & dub music celebrating liberation & confidence whereas “Champagne Shit” triumphantly talks about moving your hips. After the repetitively written “Black Sugar Beach” dancehall interlude, Doechii comes into the picture for “Phenomenal” switches gears into afrobeats turf as they discuss feeling exceptional just before “Haute” talks about looking pretty & sexy over some horns.
After the French spoken word “Oooh La La” interlude performed by Grace Jones, “Lipstick Lover” fuses pop reggae & contemporary R&B with some lover’s rock & dancehall undertones admitting that she likes lipstick on her neck leading into “The Rush” featuring Amaarae takes a more atmospheric route with the instrumental talking about their types wanting to feel their legs against their thighs. “Water Slide” following the “French 75” interlude on the other hand is a catchily groovy ballad saying it’s time for her to backstroke.
Meanwhile, “Know Better” featuring CKay brings back the afrobeats discussing that no one does it better than them while the song “Paid in Pleasure” returns to a pop reggae sound talking about keeping it coming if you pay her in happiness. The penultimate track “Only Have 42 Eyes” tackles the fact that she only has eyes for 2” embracing the lover’s rock completely that is until “A Dry End” ends the album with a 2-minute stripped back acoustic joint telling her significant other to whine for her.
Now I wouldn’t put The Age of Pleasure on the same pedestal as her previous albums or her debut EP personally, but that’s not to say I enjoyed the stylistic change of pace that she brings to the table on here. She ditches the art pop influences of the predecessor in favor of pulling from afrobeats, pop reggae, dancehall, pop rap & lover’s rock as she takes on a more Afrofuturist persona celebrating her new era of liberation.
This is the 2nd EP from Maryland recording artist Rico Nasty. Garnering my attention in 2018 of her 6th mixtape Nasty, I was still very much impressed by her unique personality & her eclecticism although it was just ok. However the next spring, she got Kenny Beats to produce her debut EP Anger Management in it’s entirety & that ended up being my favorite body of work of hers even to this day. Nightmare Vacation was a bit of a step down from Anger Managementeven though it has a good share of bangers like “iPhone” & “10Fo”, but Las Ruinas showed a more experimental side to her & is preluding her sophomore effort in the form of A Nasty Summer.
“Turn It Up” is an aggressive trap opener produced by 100 gecs about never paying attention to a hatin’ ass hoe while the sped-up version of “Pussy Poppin’ (I Don’t Really Talk Like This)” is completely pointless & that’s coming from someone who considers the original to be another Nightmare Vacation highlight. The song “Dirty” gives off a more dissonant vibe talking about how her man likes everything while the penultimate track “Countin’ Up” finds Kenny Beats drawing inspiration from The Neptunes with the instrumental airing out bitches on her dick. “Big Titties” featuring EARTHGANG though closes the EP by rambunctiously talking about seeing their dreams vividly with co-production from Baauer.
Although not as good as Anger Management, I will say that A Nasty Summer is definitely still worth the listen for anyone who enjoys Rico’s music as much as I do. Only a couple redundant cuts throughout the 11 minute run, but the other 3 are more than enough to make up for it considering that 100 gecs & Kenny both bring the best out of her in their own uniquely distinctive ways. It’s really enough to make me keep my fingers crossed that we’re in for her strongest full-length.
Legends Will Never Die 