NER*D – “NO_ONE EVER REALLY DIES” review

A little over 7 years after their last album Nothing, Virginia funk-rock band N*E*R*D are returning with their 5th full-length album. The opener “Lemon” talks about hate while making a bunch of political references over an hyphy beat & Pharrell’s performance is super catchy, but Rihanna blatantly rips off Cardi B in her rap verse that it’s painfully underwhelming. The next song “Deep Down Body Thrust” tells all the choke artists that they won’t get away over a funk rock instrumental kin to the band’s 2004 sophomore album Fly or Die. The track “Voila” with Wale sees the 2 getting motivational over a funky guitar, but then it transitions into something more tropical during Wale’s verse. However, I’m a little disappointed Gucci Mane only does the hook.

The song “1,000” may have a decent Future verse in the middle of it, Pharrell & Shay Haley make up for it with their energetically delivered braggadocio lyrics. Also, the beat is thumping! Especially the drop a little bit after the 2 minute mark. The track “Don’t Do It” speaks on police brutality over a mellow instrumental & the Kendrick Lamar verse fits in perfectly. The song “ESP” touches down on the 3rd eye over a video-gamey beat & while the track “Lightning Fire Magic Prayer” continues the spirituality theme from the last song over an instrumental that fits the vibe. Especially during the switch up during the second half.

The song “Rollinem 7’s” with André 3000 vents about being black men in the entertainment industry/modern American society over a trippy beat while “Kites” with Kendrick & M.I.A. talks about unity over a bouncy dance beat. The penultimate track “Secret Life of Tigers” gets rebellious over another infectious dance beat & then the album closes with “Lifting You”, which is a positive celebratory weed anthem over a fitting reggae beat.

Honestly, this could very well be my Album of the Year. It’s well produced, the vocals are on point & it’s their most well-written since Fly or Die

Score: 4.5/5

Juicy J – “Rubba Band Business” review

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Just 3 months after the release of his fantastic $uicideboy$ produced Highly Intoxicated mixtape, 3 6 Mafia co-founder Juicy J is finally delivering his 4th full-length album. After the 39 second intro, we get into the first song “Feed the Streets”. Here, J gets with his brother Project Pat alongside A$AP Rocky to talk about doing just that over a sinister trap beat from Metro Boomin’. The next song “A Couple” talks about doing drugs & having sex with hoes over an eerie instrumental from Tarentino while “Buckets” charismatically brags about ballin’ on your bitch at the club over a haunting beat from 808 Mafia co-founder Lex Luger. The song “Dodgin’ the Snakes” jabs at all the haters with a beat from YK fits that the mood perfectly & while I can appreciate the track “Drop a Bag” dissing all the studio gangsters, the G-O-D feature was mediocre to me. The song “Too Many” with Denzel Curry speaks on doing a large amount of drugs over an atmospheric instrumental from Murda Beatz.

The track “Ain’t Nothing” sees J & his TGOD Mafia cohort Wiz Khalifa getting braggadocious over a banging instrumental from Mike WiLL-Made It, but I wasn’t crazy about the Ty$ hook. The song “Flood Watch” talks about the trap life over a piano-trap beat from TM88 & the Offset verse isn’t too bad either. The track “Only One Up” will make you wanna right someone from the abrasive YK beat to Juicy’s energetic performance. The song “Hot as Hell” sees Juicy feeling himself a little too much over a generic trap beat while the penultimate track “No English” talks about getting fucked up over a wild instrumental from Lex Luger & TM88. The Travi$ Scott hook here is pretty decent as well. The closer “On & On” left little to be desired, primarily because it feels more like an leftover from Belly’s latest mixtape Mumble Rap.

Overall, this was well worth the 4 year wait. There are some weak moments, but the production bangs & Juicy sounds energetic as ever for the most part

Tyler, The Creator – “Scum Fuck Flower Boy” review

After dropping the horrendously mixed Cherry Bomb on us back in 2015, Odd Future de facto leader Tyler, The Creator is finally returning with his 4th full-length album. The opener “Foreward” sees Tyler asking a bunch of questions & addressing his fear of potentially falling off over a guitar along with some wavy synthesizers. The Rex Orange County bridge & outro aren’t too bad, either. The next track “Where This Flower Blooms” then reflects on his from being in the center to driving around Cali over some strings that kick it off along with some piano keys & a couple synths sprinkled in, too. As for the Frank Ocean hook, I think I like a lot more than the hook he did for “Caught Their Eyes” off of JAY-Z’s latest album 4:44. After a 36 second Golf Radio skit with “Sometimes…”, we are then treated to the next song on the track listing called “See You Again”. Here, Tyler is singing then later rapping about being in dream state with a lover forever over an instrumental that’s mostly symphonic, but throws in some monstrous bass in once Tyler begins rapping. I also like how the hook from Kali Uchis compliments Tyler’s desires. The track “Who Dat Boy?” by WANG$AP sees both T & A$AP Rocky getting braggadocious over an abrasive beat & it shows perfect chemistry between the 2. Especially during the final verse. The song “Pothole” uses driving as a metaphor for success over a synth funk beat & surprisingly, the Jaden Smith hook doesn’t bother me like I originally thought it was going to. The track “Garden Shed” is basically T coming out as bisexual & I absolutely love the melancholically toned instrumental progresses as the song continues. The Estelle feature on here is beautiful as well. The song “Boredom” with Rex & Anna of the North expresses his desires to find time to do something & being over his friends & the instrumental is mellow as Hell. The track “I Ain’t Got the Time!” straightforwardly tells us that Tyler doesn’t fuck with phonies over an instrumental with a surprising Middle Eastern influence. Also can’t forget to mention the “I’ve been kissing white boys since 2004” line that some media outlets were making a big deal of when the album leaked a couple weeks ago. The song “911 / Mr. Lonely” starts off with Tyler & Frank informing their respective lovers to give them call sometime referencing Tesla CEO, SpaceX founder & Neuralink founder Elon Musk over a funky beat until it perfectly translations to just Tyler venting about being lonely over a more hard hitting yet very spacey beat. The 1-minute “Droppin’ Seeds” is mostly dominated by a short verse from Lil Wayne over with a jazzy yet spacey instrumental & while some may be turned off by that, he does compliment the album by delivering what I think is one of his hardest verses in a long time. The song “November” has a somber beat & it sees Tyler venting about if he’s “hustling backwards” or if his manager Christian Clancy is doing him dirty. He even sends a message to his lover, even though he knows that he or she isn’t gonna answer his calls. The penultimate track “Glitter” then continues where the previous one left off & the way the beat along Tyler’s voice & delivery changes halfway through it was well incorporated. This magnum opus then closes out with “Enjoy Right Now, Today”, which is a 4 minute instrumental track that I guarantee will make you feel good as soon as it starts. There are also some background vocals from T’s musical idol Pharrell during the last couple minutes or so that are just as pleasant to the ears. When I referred to this album as a “magnum opus” right before I started talking about the final track, I really think it is Tyler’s best work yet. It’s mature, it’s honest, it sounds more luscious than ever & it’ll truly amaze you to see how much he’s grown from his Bastard mixtape to this. I know Tyler was known for using homophobic terms early on in his career & he trolls too but if he really is bisexual, then I think we should all embrace him for it. Give this thing a listen as soon as you can, because is truly is the album of the summer in my eyes

Score: 4.5/5