Russ – “ZOO” review

Russ is a 25 year old rapper, producer & singer/songwriter from Secaucus, New Jersey. He’s released a total of 11 mixtapes on SoundCloud from 2011 up to 2014, eventually landing a contract with Columbia Records in 2016. He made his full-length debut last year with There’s Really a Wolf & within the past 16 months since that release, he has become one of hip hop’s most polarizing figures in recent memory. Primarily because of being a “fake activist” against drugs & then there’s an unignorable interview resurfaced from 2016 where he literally said “we need to blame producers for all the wack music today”. All of that aside, I‘ve decided to give this sophomore album of his a fair chance.

Things actually start off with “The Flute Song”, where Russ talks about doing whatever he wants when he wants over a flute-tinged trap beat from Scott Storch. It’s actually not bad at all, but I really just don’t understand why an immensely talented keyboardist & producer like Scott has been collaborating with Russ so much lately. The next track “Outlaw” compares himself to just that over a soulful boom bap beat from Russ himself (who of course produces the rest of the album solely) while the song “Kill Them All” is essentially a temper tantrum in response to the backlash he has received with a generically gritty trap beat & a WWE reference.

“Missing You” is a painful breakup anthem with an acoustic trap beat while the song “Voicemail” is basically him begging this girl to get back to him over an acoustic boom bap beat. The track “Parkstone Drive” is about never giving up over a laidback instrumental while the song “Begging You” is basically Russ telling himself to staying strong over a somber yet punchy beat. The hook is hilarious bad, too.

The track “Serious” is a simp anthem with a moody instrumental while the song “Keep My Wits” egotistically talks about his success over a nondescript beat. The track “Our Time” talks about a long distance relationship over some plinky keys & hard hitting drums while the song “From a Distance” tells this woman to look for someone who has more free time over something Drake would’ve sung over on VIEWS.

“Last Forever” is about longevity over some rich keys & faint hi-hats, but the only things that give it credit are the verses from Snoop Dogg & Rick Ross. The song “Keep It Pushin’” is a sappy description of a teenage relationship with a moody beat & the closer “Fuck That” is another temper tantrum over a beat that generically sounds like something Dr. Dre would’ve produced in the early 2000s.

This is slightly better than anything he’s done before, but that’s not saying much. The production is basic & when Russ isn’t telling melodramatic relationship stories, he’s either being self-centered or lashing out in a fit of bitter rage.

Score: 1/5

The Internet – “Hive Mind” review

It’s been 3 years since their magnum opus Ego Death & with 4 of it’s 5 members making their solo debuts within the past year, Odd Future subgroup The Internet is returning with their 4th full-length album.

Things begin with “Come Together”, where multiple band members beautifully sing in unison & the instrumental takes me back to Jamiroquai’s first 2 albums Emergency on Planet Earth & The Return of the Space Cowboy. The next song “Roll (Burbank Funk)” is taken over by guitarist Steve Lacy & it talks about listening to your heart over a psychedelic instrumental while the track “Come Over” sees Syd singing to this girl she loves over a funky instrumental. The song “La Di Da” sings about dancing with the instrumental suiting the content perfectly while the track “Stay the Night” is a laidback ballad about Syd not wanting this girl she’s with to go home for the evening. The song “Bravo” sees Syd singing to an ex over some prominent drums while the track “Mood” tells the story about a date over some pounding drums & some synth chords.

The song “Next Time / Humble Pie” talks about a woman she’ll never see again over a Neptunes inspired instrumental that’s pretty cool, but then it transitions into the second half pretty well about needing a real love over a more spacey beat. The track “It Gets Better (With Time)” sees Syd telling this woman just that over some dreamy synthesizers while the song “Look What U Started” tells this ex that she’s gonna pay over a funky instrumental. The song “Wanna Be” is a mellow guitar ballad asking this woman to become her girlfriend while the penultimate track “Beat Goes On” sees Matt Martians singing about moving forward & I like how the instrumental transitions from being funky to going into a more high-tempo drum & bass direction. The album then finishes with “Hold On”, where Syd singing to her girl about their love for each other over a dreamy yet settle beat.

I’ve been waiting on this for quite some time after the wait, it definitely lives up to my expectations. Not only is it almost as well written & vibrantly produced as the last album was, but you can just tell that everyone sounds happy to be back.

Score: 4/5

The Carters – “EVERYTHING IS LOVE” review

7033509

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

Lil Xan – “TOTAL XANXIETY” review

6913201

Lil Xan is a 21 year old rapper from Redlands, California & this is his full-length debut. The opener “Who I Am” has a bass-heavy trap instrumental, but his whiny lyrics & boring delivery don’t do it any justice. The next song “Wake Up” gets repetitive lyrically over another bass heavy instrumental while the track “Tick Tock” with 2 Chainz sees the 2 getting braggadocious over an eerie rattling instrumental from Ronny J.

The song “Diamonds” talks about the obvious over a monstrous trap beat while the track “The Man” with $teven Cannon talks about how cool they supposedly are over some heavy bass. The song “Saved by the Bell” is filled with corny school references over a cloudy beat while the track “Moonlight” is about him & his girl getting fucked up over some more bass heavy trap percussion. The song “Shine Hard” with Rae Sremmurd gets braggadocious over an airy beat while the track “Round Here” sees him repeating the same lines for 2 short verses over an explosive beat & the YG feature is the only saving grace on here.

The song “Basically” talks about people he fell out with over a mediocre trap beat while the track “Deceived” continues this theme over an atmospheric trap beat. The track “Betrayed” is about his former xanax addiction & I actually find his story pretty compelling. The song “Slingshot” is about doing lean & narco over a gritty trap beat while the track “Far” is another compelling story: This time about his come up in the rap game. The track “Color Blind” is taken from Diplo’s new EP California & then the closer is a remix of “Betrayal”, both of which I felt like didn’t need to be on here.

Honestly, this thing was awful. The features were cool for the most part, some of the beats I liked & there are very few times were Xan says anything profound. My issue with it is that a lot of the songs sounded samey from the monstrous percussion to Xan repeating himself with no charisma whatsoever.

Score: 1/5

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

Pk-jltZwSY0

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