East Orange, New Jersey rapper, singer/songwriter & producer Chris Patrick making his major label debut with his 3rd full-length studio LP. Introducing himself off his debut EP From the Heart along with it’s sequel & X-Files, it wasn’t until his last couple EPs Lost Files & most notably The Calm caught the interest of Def Jam Recordings last fall. He’s additionally caught my attention via some of his most recent guest appearances asking everyone to Pray 4 Me almost 13 months since getting signed.
“Audra’s Prayer” comes out the gate with a militantly hungry intro & removing the drums during the 2nd to speaking of his friends passing away whereas “Ramen Noodles” angrily talks about muhfuckas not lasting a day in his shoes “Frankenstein” featuring Marco+ links up over a boom bap instrumental from Conductor Williams boasting their prophetic statuses while “The Mayor” featuring Swavay dabbles with trap to promise that they won’t ever walk back on their word.
Reaching the halfway point, “Doremi” gets in his R&B bag on top of a summery beat singing about themes of love leading into “100x” featuring Amindi heading further down that trajectory for a tightly spacey duet. “Patience” brings back the hip hop vibes feeling like God’s testing his forbearance while “Screaming at the Sky” talks about a loved one who passed blending a soul sample & hi-hats. “Huncho’s Prayer” produced by Reuben Vincent finishes the album with a 9 minute closer pouring his heart out, including beat-switch at the backend of it.
Familiarizing myself with him through his features on projects like Reuben Vincent’s 2nd EP General Admission or Reason’s 5th mixtape I Love You Again & most recently WowGr8’s solo debut Howl at the Moon, I’m just as equally happy as Chris Patrick is that he didn’t wind up quitting music 3 months earlier since Pray 4 Me wouldn’t have happened had he done so. He’s honing in on his artistic range pulling from conscious hip hop, boom bap, drumless, R&B & neo-soul for a love letter to surviving all of his sleepless nights.
Wale is a 41 year old rapper & songwriter from Washington, D.C. breaking out in 2008 after signing to Interscope Records & releasing his 4th mixtape The Mixtape About Nothing. He would go on to have 9th Wonder produce Back to the Feature as a prelude to his full-length debut Attention Deficit, signing to Maybach Music Group in 2011 & making debut for the label 9 months later with his sophomore effort Ambition to moderate reception. Folarin, The Gifted, The Album About Nothing, SHiNE (Still Here Ignoring Negative Energy), Wow…That’s Crazy & Folarin II all ranged from mediocre at best to some of his most tepid material at worst. Now that he’s signed to Def Jam Recordings, I was more optimistic heading towards his 8th studio album only a month away from the current WWE Intercontinental Champion John Cena’s retirement match at Saturday Night’s Main Event XLII.
“Conundrum” hops over a chipmunk soul instrumental from STREETRUNNER asking this woman if she really loves him whereas the final single “Belly” samples “Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)” by Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler to potently talk about heading deep into a dangerous situation. The 2nd single “Where to Start”flips “I’m So Into You” by SWV so he can reflect over the past to pave way for the future while the lead single “Blanco” talks about him starting to drink again.
After the “Michael Fredo” prelude, the actual “Michael Fredo” song itself works in a triumphantly boastful trap beat so he can count paper as opposed to everyone else counting favors despite the flow sounding reminiscent of Rick Ross’ at times just before “Power & Problems” talks about never being conquered. “Mirroronnabenz” produced by BNYX of Working on Dying was easily my favorite single of the 5 tackling themes of self-affirmation prior to “Watching Us” featuring Leon Thomas III sampling Goapele for a smooth pop rap ballad.
Seyi Vibez & Teni join Wale on “YSF” starting the 2nd half of his Def Jam debut experimenting with Afrobeats & it doing a lot better than he did almost a decade ago with SHiNE (Still Here Ignoring Negative Energy) considering that’s the weakest thing Wale has ever done personally, but “Tomorrow Today” continues by taking a smoother approach for a pop rap track that’s more average not wanting to bother the woman he’s seeing so late in the evening. “Big Head” featuring Odumodubvck finds the 2 talking about egotism while “City on Fire” soulfully advises to not become a casualty.
One of my all-time favorite Maxwell songs “Pretty Wings” decently gets sampled throughout the trap soul/hip hop fusion “Fly Away” talking about wanting to escape with the woman of his life while “Corner Bottles” incorporates some synthesizers confessing to not being able to sleep at night because that’s how the love goes. “Like I” luxuriously asks a female who’s caught his eye if he can be her scripture & her script due to the infinite amount of potential they could have as a couple while “Survive” featuring Nino Paid talks about the difficulty of being faithful can be at times with Pooh Beatz behind the boards.
“Lonely” featuring Shabooezy concludes Wale’s return with them over a rock guitar comfortingly singing of loneliness while “Ghetto Speak” starts the deluxe run with him assuring that his wraith had only begun, warning that it’s these muhfuckas’ last chance to show him the way they be moving out here. “Mission Statement” could be the best of the 3 bonus tracks from the T-Minus instrumental to the hungry 58 second verse that references Def Jam: Vendetta while “What’s the Play?” featuring Chaz French ends the extra 5 & a half minutes of material with both artists trying to figure out the move for when it gets dark outside.
With all due respect to Wale because the guy’s been on my radar ever since he was a part of the All City Chess Club during my adolescence: I always felt that Maybach Music was a weird fit for him & his output post-The Gift pretty much says it all. However, I can say that Everything’s a Lot is easily the most I’ve enjoyed Wale’s music in a while although I’m still on the fence with it a little. It’s easily the most passionate that he sounded in a minute, although some of sample choices within the production don’t do it for me as much as I enjoy all of the original source materials that’re being repurposed.
PARTYOF2 is a pop rap & alternative R&B/trap duo from Los Angeles, California consisting of Jadagrace & SWIM. Initially founded as a quartet with TJOnline & Rhea under the name Grouptherapy., the latter would depart after their debut EP This Isn’t the Album although TJOnline stuck around for their debut mixtape There Goes the Neighborhood as well as their 2nd EP Truth Be Told & the full-length debut I Was Mature for My Age, But I Was Still a Child. Signing to Def Jam Recordings earlier this spring, they’re ready to make their major label debut with a sophomore effort hot off a few viral singles.
“Survivor’s Remorse” starts with SWIM calling Jada being his saving grace since they fixed up a burnt down home & made it safe again whereas the 3rd & final single “Out of Body” blends rap rock, experimental hip hop, nu metal & pop rap talking about their hearts being on fire. “Just Dance 2” was actually the lead single crossing over Miami bass, hip house, electro diva house & pop rap looking to turn the function up leading into “Friendly Fire” playfully dissing one another.
As for “Vanessa Williams”, we have PARTYOF2 over an orchestral beat talking about wanting their partners to be legitimate & for their friends to become rich while “Feel Love” produced by KAYTRANADA taps into the latter’s signature deep house sound feeling like their hearts are ready to run & looking to keep up with one another. “Poser” has one of the catchiest hooks on the entire LP clapping back at those who’re posing over a tuba until advising to “Save Yourself” with heavy pianos.
“High” starts the final leg of Amerika’s Next Top Party! with a bit of a cloudier vibe looking to get some shit off their minds by smoking some good weed while “Big” instrumentally throws it back to when The Neptunes dominated the airwaves in the early 2000s talking about wanting big game in this large world. “Heaven on Earth” ends the LP with another one of their most essential tracks while “Mad Love” starts the deluxe run talking about being in love with their haters. Both “All 4 the Best” & the final bonus track “We Owe You an Explanation” however address TJ’s departure a year & a half ago.
Taking inspiration from SWIM’s parents getting divorced & the death of Jadagrace’s father, PARTYOF2’s inaugural release for Def Jam Recordings celebrates this new incarnation of Grouptherapy. by getting more creative on the production side of things expanding their pop rap & alternative R&B styles in favor of experimental hip hop, trap, contemporary R&B, rap rock, nu metal, hip house, Miami bass, electro diva house & deep house maintaining a chemistry kin to The Carters or will.i.am & Fergie when she was still a member of The Black Eyed Peas. The prominent theme of growing up can also be likened to Joey Valence & Brae’s major label debut Hyperyouth this past summer.
London, Ontario, Canada singer/songwriter Justin Bieber returning for his 8th LP. Signing to Island Records during my time in middle school to put out My Worlds & Under the Mistletoe only to fulfill his obligations with them on Believe & Journals. He has since been on Def Jam Recordings for the past decade & Purpose marked a divisive debut for the label, although Changes & Justice was equally as bad as a great deal of his Island output.Swag coincided with Clipse’s comeback Let God Sort ‘Em Out couple months ago & a sequel has surprisingly arrived over 2 weeks away from former 7-time WWE tag team champions Adam Copeland & Christian Cage taking on former 2-time AEW World Tag Team Champions, 6-time WWE tag team champions, ROH World Tag Team Champions & IWGPタッグ王座 FTR at All Out V.
“Speed Demon” was an upbeat pop intro singing about him feeling as if he’s only getting better with each album & “checking these chickens” whereas “Better Man” goes for an alternative R&B vibe promising his wife Hailey no bitterness when he holds her hand. “Love Song” produced by Mk.gee colorfully sings about time only getting prettier with his soulmate leading into “I Do” venting over these feelings that won’t wash away.
Meanwhile on “I Think You’re Special”, we have JB atmospherically singing about breaking all the rules with Hailey & their love being unlike any other just before “Mother in You” observes that his son Jack looks a lot like his mom over a bedroom pop instrumental. “Witchya” vents about the feeling of being stuck in place staying by his wife if she needs him while “Eye Candy” encourages his partner to enjoy the moment with him.
“Don’t Wanna” featuring Bakar has a bit of a funkier direction to the beat from Mike WiLL Made-It singing about not wanting to give any fucks while “Bad Honey” expressed Biebs’ desire of wanting to dance with Hailey & making a scene out of it simultaneously. “Need It” moodily sings about wanting his wife to let him know if she’s feeling emotional likening her to cinnamon sugar while “Oh Man” opens up regarding him & the love of his life igniting one another.
Hurricane Chris appears for a bulk of “Poppin’ My Shit” blending pop rap & trap talking about their lil’ mamas wanting to be right beside them acting exactly the way they do while “All the Way” taps in with DJ Camper to promise Justin’s wife that he won’t ever let go of her. “Petting Zoo” finds himself drunk not wanting to fight with Hailey by any means asking why they’re arguing when he never said he was wrong or right while the indie folk-influenced “Moving Fast” sings about slowing down the ride & rollin’ the windows down for her.
“Safe Space” professes JB’s desire to take all of Hailey’s pain away from her & protect her from anything while “Lyin’” kicks the funk back in a little to sing about him telling the truth when he said he loved his wife. “Dotted Line” puts a lo-fi aesthetic on the bedroom pop style taking it slow & going back to basics while “Open Up Your Heart” featuring Eddie Benjamin pleads for their partners to tell them the way they really feel.
The song “When It’s Over” pushes towards the end of Swag II getting in over his head every time they go blow for blow, which results in his words ricocheting & cutting straight through him while “Everything Hallelujah” prior to the 8 minute spoken word outro “Story of God” praises God for everything from the Sun being out to the affection he’s consistently showering Hailee with.
Swag was one of the more admirable offerings in Justin Bieber’s discography even if I still didn’t care for it & the follow-up was as equally uninteresting than the predecessor earlier this summer. The musical palette’s similar to last time from contemporary R&B to bedroom pop, pop, pop soul, alternative R&B & alt-pop expanding on the original themes of marriage & fatherhood that still doesn’t grab me the same way as Earl Sweatshirt’s new albumLive Laugh Love or Dominic Fike’s recent mixtapeRocket did.
Teyana Taylor is a 34 year old actress, singer/songwriter, rapper, dancer, model, music video director & choreographer from New York City who briefly signed to Star Trak Entertainment in the mid-2000s until going over to G.O.O.D. Music & Def Jam Recordings at the start of the previous decade. Her full-length debut VII during my senior year of high school & K.T.S.E. (Keep That Same Energy) produced by Ye or the Nazi formerly known as Kanye West stands as the most underrated offering of the Wyoming sessions. Fulfilling her G.O.O.D. Music contract with The Album during the COVID-19 pandemic, she’s returning to Def Jam for her 5th LP.
After the Taraj P. Henson intro, the first song “Fire Girl” opens with a delicately drumless instrumental singing about the impossibility of her soul being burned whereas “Long Time” after the Sarah Paulson interlude fuses afrobeats & R&B addressing her ex-husband Iman Shumpert. “Hard Part” featuring Lucky Daye follows 2 back-to-back interludes with a duet asking if their partners want a relationship or not leading into “Back to Life” singing about her dissolving marriage.
“All of Your Heart” after the Jodie Turner Smith interlude expresses her desire to be loved & trusted while “Shut Up” ends the 1st leg of Escape Room pleading for her limits to be pushed & likening sex to a weapon. “Pum Pum Jump” featuring Tyla links up for a duet singing about getting too crazy with their lovers whenever they get lit while what could possibly be my personal favorite track here “Open Invite” produced by KAYTRANADA gives her partner a chance to come inside & get this right.
After the Issa Rae interlude, “In Your Head” sings for her new man to drown in her love waiting for him in his bed while “Final Destination” explains that it’ll always be love no matter where they take it. After another Issa Rae interlude, “Bed of Roses” embraces a contemporary R&B direction singing about wanting to be close to someone & “In Your Skin” after the Kerry Washington interlude lusts to be pressed up against her lover all the time. “Always” after the Regina King interlude finishes up with a heartwarming tribute to her children.
Exploring themes of heartbreak as well as healing & finding freedom, Escape Room makes for a solid comeback to music for Teyana Taylor excluding her feature on Will Smith’s 5th album Based on a True Story earlier this spring. The narration interludes can be a little excessive at times personally, but the production is a step up from The Album & it’s gratifying to hear her breaking free from the mental prison she was in.
Justin Bieber is a 31 year old singer/songwriter from London, Ontario, Canada signing to Island Records during my time in middle school to put out My Worlds & Under the Mistletoe only to fulfill his obligations with them on Believe & Journals. He has since been on Def Jam Recordings for the past decade & Purposemarked a divisive debut for the label, although Changes & Justice was equally as bad as a great deal of his Island output. Coinciding with Clipse’s comeback Let God Sort ‘Em Out, his 7th album has arrived after receiving an 8 hour notice.
“All I Can Say” made for a decent synthpop intro singing about the inner turmoil in his life at the moment & trying to find some sort of solace whereas “Daisies” fuses bedroom pop & sophisti-pop courtesy of Mk.gee to count down the days he has left for him & his wife Hailey to reunite. The stripped-back “Yukon” tries to figure out what his soulmate would do if he didn’t love her including corny lines like “get a move on like U-Haul” until the atmospheric “Go Baby” sings about creating an emotional space without any sort of judgment.
Haile gets brought up again during “Things You Do” throwing out more weak bars such as “Sunday to Sunday, I’m here whеn you’re weak” leading into “Butterflies” responding to paparazzi gangin’ on him at Coachella this spring. “Way It Is” featuring Gunna was an underwhelming pop rap/synthpop crossover talking about wanting to settle down with their respective partners just before “First Place” sings about wanting to see his spouse in 1st place like “it’s a birthday”.
After the first of 3 questionable Druski skits, “Walking Away” breaks down a few different chapters in the story of his decade-long relationship with Haile while “Glory Voice” sings over a bare guitar for a minute to show off a religious side of himself. “Devotion” featuring Dijon co-produced by Daniel Caesar finds the 2 teaming up for a tribute to Justin’s son Jack stripping the sound back even further while “Dad’z Love” continues to expand on the themes of fatherhood.
“Sweet Spot” featuring Sexyy Red after another Druski skit gets together to bang out a decently sexual synthpop & pop rap duet while “405” after the final Druski skit makes a weak reference to Tom Holland’s portrayal of Spider-Man in The Walt Disney Company-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe. The title track feels like a Cash Cobain song since Justin’s only handling the chorus & it does very little for me since I prefer Cash Cobain as a producer than a rapper.
The song “Zuma House” counts down towards the last 5 minutes of the LP singing over an acoustic guitar for a mere 83 seconds asking Hailey if she would catch him if he happened to fall backwards & “Too Long” ahead of the “Forgiveness” outro feels reminiscent to those luscious new wave pop songs you would’ve heard back in the 80s letting off some steam regarding the length of time he’s had away from Haile.
Didn’t even have a review for Swag in mind for the majority of the weekend but when Biebs joined Travis Scott & Jim Jones in dissing Clipse because they “make music for bitter grown men who collect KAWS dolls & still shop at KITH & Union”, it gave me some inspiration & I’ll argue that I liked Swag less than I did Jackboys II & At the Church Steps combined. Mainly because it feels like his attempt at Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers for casuals except it stylistically focuses around contemporary R&B, pop, pop soul, alternative R&B, bedroom pop, sophisti-pop, neo-psychedelia, synthpop, pop rap & gospel
Chuck D is a 64 year old MC, songwriter & producer from Hempstead, New York notable for being the frontman of the seminal political hip hop outfit Public Enemy. In addition to that & his brief time as a co-frontman of the Prophets of Rage, he also has 5 solo efforts under his belt with my favorite being his 1996 debut Autobiography of Mistachuck under Mercury Records. Nearly 3 decades later, he’s signing to Def Jam Recordings for his 6th studio LP under his own name with very high potential considering the buildup towards it.
After the titular intro, the first song “What Rock Is” breaks the door down with a boom bap opener produced by C-Doc talking about making the needle in the ghetto stacks bleed from the left to the right whereas “Black Don’t Dead” talks about the fact black doesn’t crack even though they can surely die. “New Gens” featuring Daddy-O finally addresses hip hop’s generational gap that has been a giant elephant in the room for the past decade or so that is until we get tested to a quick “Station Break”.
“Rogue Runnin’” featuring Phill Most Chill moves forward with a chaotic 2-parter talking about ridin’ dirty for over 3 decades already just before “Is God She?” featuring 1/2 Pint & Miranda Writes ponders around the idea of our Lord & Savior being a woman mixing funk music with boom bap. After the “Station Identification” interlude, “Here We Are Heard” by The Impossebulls makes the relatable call to Make Racists Afraid Again while “Superbagg” featuring Blak Madeen talks about being stuck in their ways.
UltraMag7 joins the rhyme animal himself on “Carry On” for a hardcore rap rock banger cursing in your metaverse out of spite for anyone dumbass listening to this thinking he’s woke while “What Are We to You?” mixes politically conscious bars with some aggressive drums & more guitars thrown in the fold. “Slight Story Style Sound” featuring Donald D finds the 2 showing everyone how all 4 elements of hip hop get down & “Signing Off” featuring gangsta rap pioneer Schoolly D feels more like an outro.
Marking the return of the voice that never left, Chuck D unites both hip hop’s pioneers & newer acts who represent the current generation of the culture alike in a fearless soundtrack for the times delivering a seismic broadcast of truth, rhythm & resistance. C-Doc’s production here surpasses The Rhyme Animal’s last couple solo efforts Celebration of Ignorance & We Wreck Stadiums, bridging the gap that has been a blatantly obvious stain for quite some time to make the revolution on wax.
Yonkers, New York icon DMX posthumously releasing a brand new EP of unreleased material. Originally started off as a beatboxer for Ready Ron as a teenager in the mid-80s, it wasn’t until 1998 when X saved Def Jam Recordings from bankruptcy by dropping 2 of the most critically acclaimed hip hop albums of that decade back to back: It’s Dark & Hell’s Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. The follow-up …And Then There Was X at the tail-end of the next year was just as great in my opinion but from there, the next 4 albums from Ruff Ryders Entertainment’s flagship artist would range from average at best or hideous at worst. Exodus 1:7 was posthumously released a couple months after his death to mixed reception although I can definitely tell it was completed before his passing & wanted to give Let Us Pray: Chapter X a chance since I have nothing but respect from the greatest to ever come from the hometown of the inaugural AEW Continental Classic winner, former CZW World Heavyweight Champion, 2-time CZW World Tag Team Champion, アイアンマンヘビーメタル級王座, Evolve Tag Team Champion, 新日本プロレス強無差別級チャンピオン & ROH World Champion Eddie Kingston.
“Favor” produced by Warryn Campbell is this orchestrally drumless intro talking about being God’s favorite child & thanking Him for making X as righteous of a person as he was while “Bear with Me” featuring Lecrae works in some pianos hi-hats to get on the spoken word tip for 3 & a half minutes. “1 Life to Do It” featuring MC Lyte continues the spoken word delivery over drumless strings & “Until I’m Gone” featuring WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg ends with a bare jazz instrumental speaking on a unique kind of love.
What a lot of people including myself initially thought was gonna be 4 gospel rap tracks that DMX had left in the vaults for an unspecified amount of time turned out to be a disappointing cash-grab from Def Jam that I like even less than Exodus 1:7. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with Warryn Campbell’s production whatsoever, but the spoken word performances from the guests & even DMX himself seems like a significant letdown reminiscent to The Rose That Grew from Concrete that 2Pac’s estate put out 24 years back.
070 Shake is a 27 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from North Bergen, New Jersey who started out as a member of the 070 collective. She later caught the attention of one of my top 10 producers of all-time Ye formerly known as Kanye West, who signed her to a joint deal with G.O.O.D. Music & Def Jam Recordings in 2016. Her debut EP Glitter saw a release in the spring of 2018 a couple months ahead of her mentor’s historic Wyoming sessions & it showed her artistic potential, which the full-length debut Modus Vivendi & the sophomore effort You Can’t Kill Me both expanded on. Def Jam would sever all ties with G.O.O.D. Music a few months after the latter due to Ye’s antisemitic meltdown forever altering his public appearance after calling himself a Nazi & later starting YZY SND, resulting in people questioning G.O.O.D. Music’s future. Over 2 years later, Shake’s returning for her 3rd album & presumably the last under the G.O.O.D./Def Jam tandem.
“Sin” works in some pianos & guitars to get us started singing about being awake & in a dream state simultaneously whereas “Elephant” keeps the guitars in tact addressing an individual that she doesn’t even recognize anymore & vice versa. “Pieces of You” brings the pianos back in the fold swapping out the guitars for strings asking what to do with the pieces of this person in her head, but then the standout “Vagabond” was originally conceived during the Vultures 2 sessions never loving anyone else than Johnny Depp & Vanessa Paradis’ daughter Lily-Rose Depp.
Moving on from there, the minute long “Lungs” wants to know if Lily-Rose would come with her to go find another one when the sun explodes & there’s nowhere to run kinda giving me a Yeezus vibe instrumentally just before “Into Your Garden” featuring JT brings the pair together over more keys being under the impression that all good things come to an end. “Battlefield” has these prominent organs throughout asking to come & give it up on top of restoring her faith, but then “Winter Baby / New Jersey Blues” is a drumless 2-parter paying her dues & doing her time.
“Song to the Siren” featuring Courtney Love asks if they should stand amid the breakers or lie with death while the synth-driven “What’s Wrong with Me?” sings about feeling as if a virus took control of her body with a new host. The crescendoing “Blood on Your Hands” finds her being unable to begin untangling herself from Lily-Rose while the song “Never Let Us Fade” repetitively sings about if she had her way. “Love” ties up Petrichor professing her love for her partner.
Taking it’s name from a term used to describe the smell of rain on arid soil after a long period of dry weather, what’s likely the end of G.O.O.D. Music’s partnership with Def Jam gives 1 final look at 070 Shake’s genre-bending style & a glimpse into her fatal vision of desire. The musical palate consists of acoustic guitars, ornate piano passages, ominous synths, dembow & hip-hop rhythms with a dash of psychedelia leveling up her maturity.
Queens, New York emcee, songwriter, actor, pioneer and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer LL Cool J or Ladies Love Cool James returning to Def Jam Recordings a decade after the independently released Authentic to have Q-Tip from one of my all-time favorite groups A Tribe Called Quest produce his 14th full-length studio album. Signing to Def Jam since Rick Rubin & Russell Simmons started it, his hardcore mid-school debut Radio fully produced by Rick & the sophomore effort B.A.D. (Bigger And Deffer) both established him as being a flagship artist for the label. Walking with a Panther was a good follow-up too since “Jingling Baby”’s one of my favorite songs of LL’s & Mama Said Knock You Out produced by Juice Crew co-founder Marley Marl is the best in his discography. 14 Shots to the Dome, Mr. Smith, Phenomenon, G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All-Time which helped coin the titular acronym, 10& The DEFinition primarily produced by Timbaland all had their individual highlights except I didn’t enjoy them as much as the first 2 albums & Mama Said Knock You Out combined. Said standouts include “Pink Cookies in a Plastic Bag Getting Crushed by Buildings”, “Loungin’”, “4, 3, 2, 1″ which because of the line “L is that a mic on your arm? Let me borrow that” ignited his beef with Canibus that lasted the last 3 years of the 20th century, “Zoom”, “Imagine That”, “Luv U Better” & “Headsprung”. Todd Smith was a step-down from The DEFinition & even fulfilled his Def Jam contract by releasing Exit 13 to mixed responses. Some consider Authentic as his weakest & I on the contrary always found myself enjoying the half that the Trackmasters produced & “Remember Me”. He alongside the late DMX both returned to Def Jam in 2019 & got with Dr. Dre who produced “Zoom” for what eventually became a journey through The F.O.R.C.E. (Frequencies Of Real Creative Energy) in an exclusive joint deal between Def Jam & Virgin Music.
“Spirit of Cyrus” featuring additional vocals from WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg is a synth-driven opener talking about stitching fuckers up & leaving the murder seamless whereas the title track works in a blaring boom bap instrumental flexing that he’s part of the realest crew chillin’ on a yacht listening to Pop Smoke & they got all the plugs. The lead single “Saturday Night Special” featuring Fat Joe & Rick Ross samples “Bobbing Wide” by Caravan talking about always keeping your word & paying back while “Black Code Suite” serves as this slick pro-black anthem.
The way Tip flips “Sun Touch” by Herbie Hancock on the 2nd single “Passion” was highly enjoyable talking about these muhfuckas needing a new team & “Proclivities” featuring Saweetie is actually the only love song on the entire LP hooking the synths back up asking their partners what they gonna do with it. “Post Modern” soulfully expresses LL’s desire to raise the bar, but then “30 Decembers” hops over a morbid beat to tell us his experiences of living in New York during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Runnit Back” brings a funkier flare to the table talking about having to make moves out here if you really want it just before “Huey in the Chair” featuring Busta Rhymes continues the themes of Afrocentrism likening themselves to the iconic picture of Black Panthers founder Huey P. Newton posted up. “Basquiat Energy” pulls inspiration from funk music once again talking about keeping the aura of Jean-Michel Basquiat in the air leading into the groovy “Praise Him” featuring Nas finding the 2 giving thanks to the higher power.
Eminem who actually became God like James Todd joins Uncle L for the 4th & final single “Murdergram 2”, which is a sequel to a highlight off Mama Said Knock You Out that lives up to the hype of it’s predecessor boasting about their raw unapologetic style & credibility in the rap game whether it be LL’s nostalgic bravado or Eminem’s signature speedy flow & subtle wordplay. “The Vow” featuring Don Pablito, J-S.A.N.D. & Mad Squablz finishes our exploration of The F.O.R.C.E. (Frequencies Of Real Creative Energy) by showcasing 3 up-&-coming artists paying it forward to them.
I can’t call it a comeback because he’s been here for years but as I expected based on the singles, The F.O.R.C.E. (Frequencies Of Real Creative Energy) serves as a testament of Def Jam’s dominance in the musical landscape for 4 decades & lands a spot in my personal top 3 LL albums with Radio & Mama Said Knock You Out. He relearns how to rap again not doing anything trendy or trying to recapture anything he did in the past & works out beautifully addressing themes racial injustice, law enforcement abuses, isolation mixed with observations brought on by the pandemic, his overall legacy & musings on his place in the canon. I can’t forget to mention that Q-Tip’s production here is equivalent to Pete Rock’s on Common’s newest album The Auditorium & that much like The F.O.R.C.E. (Frequencies Of Real Creative Energy) further proves that hip hop culture’s veterans are still thriving as the music industry evolves with time adapting to further establish their legacies & longevities.
Legends Will Never Die 