21 Savage – “i am > i was” review

21 Savage is a 26 year old rapper & producer born in London, England, United Kingdom & raised in Atlanta, Georgia who I first caught wind of on the 2016 XXL Freshman Class. Shortly after, he dropped his 2nd EP Savage Mode with Metro Boomin’ producing it in it’s entirety. I wasn’t a fan of the project at first admittedly because I thought it was boring, but it has grown on me overtime. He dropped a solid full-length debut with Issa Album last summer & then last Halloween, he teamed up with Offset & Metro to put out one of the best collab projects of the decade: Without Warning. Now after spending a bulk of 2018 killing it with features, he’s dropping his highly anticipated sophomore album.

Things kick off with “a lot”, where Savage & surprisingly teams up with J. Cole to talk about what they’re thankful for over a soulful trap beat from DJ Dahi. The next song “break da law” pretty much speaks for itself over an eerie beat from the So Icey Boyz while the track “a&t (ass & titties)” with Yung Miami is a strip club anthem that interpolates the Hypnotize Camp Posse song of the same name & it goes over very well. The song “out for the night” is an ode to his lady over an airy beat while the track “gun smoke” talks about being a 1-man army over a dreary trap beat. The song “1.5” with Offset sees the 2 getting charismatically boastful over a Wheezy instrumental that actually has kind of a mafioso vibe to it while the track “all my friends” with Post Malone sees the 2 talking about how their fame has resulted in falling outs with their homies over a druggy beat.

The song “can’t leave without it” feels like a mediocre leftover from Gunna & Lil Baby’s recent collab tape Drip Harder down to the dime a dozen Wheezy production while the track “asmr” if you couldn’t tell serves as an equally whisper-delivered, cold blooded sequel to “Don’t Come Out the House” off of Metro Boomin’s latest album NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES. The song “ball w/o you” is a breakup tune with a piano-laced trap beat from TM88 & even though the Cardo & 30 Roc produced “good day” is gritty on all fronts, it sounds out of place as 21 only handles the hook while ScHoolboy Q & Project Pat handle the verses. The track “pad lock” recalls life before a deal with a dope reference to former 3-time WWE world champion Rey Mysterio over a spacey trap beat while the song “monster” with Childish Gambino discuss how fame has changed them over a luscious piano instrumental. The penultimate track “letter 2 my momma” is a heartwarming dedication to 21’s mother Heather Abraham-Joseph & then the closer “4L” with Young Nudy see the 2 getting murderous over an Old Western/trap fusion.

Honestly, this was a pretty solid way for 21 Savage to end his year. There are some lowpoints on here but for the most part, the album truly lives up to it’s title as it lyrically sounds like that 21’s been maturing quite a bit.

Score: 3.5/5

Swizz Beatz – “POISON” review

Swizz Beatz is a legendary 40 year old producer, DJ & “rapper” (that is if you wanna call him one) who blew up in 1998 as the in-house producer for Ruff Ryders Entertainment. He later started his now defunct Full Surface Records in 2001 & dropped a decent compilation called G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories the following year. It wouldn’t until 2007 that he would try to officially go solo with 1 Man Band Man, a solidly produced album that was unfortunately weighed down by the lack of features & of course Swizz’ horrendous rapping on every song. He has since spent the last decade teasing a sophomore album that never came to fruition up until now with J. Cole as a co-executive producer, interestingly enough.

After a spoken word intro, the first song “P.O.M.S. (Pistol On My Side)” by Lil Wayne kicks things off fantastically as Weezy gets in your face over some militant drums along with a set of eerie piano chords provided by Swizz’ ever so stunning wife Alicia Keys. The track “Come Again” by Giggs awkwardly talks about how crazy he is over a chaotic beat while the song “Something Dirty (Pic Got Us) sees Jadakiss & Styles P trading bars back & forth with each other like old tomes over an araabMUZIK instrumental with some triumphant horns. The track “Preach” by Jim Jones vividly goes into the mind of a drug dealer over a minimalist instrumental while the song “Echo” by Nas is recalls growing up in Queens over a soul sample from DJ Scratch.

The track “Cold Blooded” by Pusha T is an eerie tale about growing up in the hood that plays out fantastically & while the song “25 Soldiers” by Young Thug is honestly very gritty & adrenaline inducing from the araabMUZIK production down to Thugger’s flow. The penultimate track “Stunt” by 2 Chainz is of course a braggadocious anthem over a trap beat from Bink! with an alluring vocal sample & the closer “SWIZZMONTANA” is French Montana bragging about his wealth better than I thought he would over an instrumental that screams classic Swizz.

For a 10 year wait, this was totally worth it. I wish Swizz Beatz & J. Cole added a few more tracks & I really don’t get why the ones Swizz didn’t produce at all were included but other than that, I love how he took a huge step back from “rapping” & focused more on production. The guest MCs mostly do their thing as well with the instrumentals suiting them fantastically.

Score: 3.5/5

T.I. – “DIME TRAP” review

T.I. is a 38 year old rapper from Atlanta, Georgia who started out as the founding member of P$C in 1997. He then went solo in 2001 with his debut album I’m Serious, but it didn’t do well commercially & he was dropped from Arista Records as a result. He then formed his own label Grand Hustle Records & dropped his sophomore album Trap Muzik in 2003, which had a huge hand in popularizing the titular hip hop subgenre. He then continued the success of that album with Urban Legend & King, but then his next album T.I. vs. T.I.P. would be a disappointing longwinded mixed bag with a pretty great concept. He redeemed himself with Paper Trail in 2008, but dropped another mixed bag with No Mercy in 2010. Both of which came out during back to back prison sentences. He then returned to the scene at the end of 2012 with the flawed yet solid Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head in 2012 as well as the Pharrell executive produced Paperwork in 2014. He then took a more political tone at 2016 with his double EP Us or Else: Letter to the System but now, he’s returning with his highly anticipated 10th full-length album.

Things kick off with “Seasons”, where TIP talks about his desire to succeed over an organ. The next track “Laugh at ‘Em” is a middle finger to his haters over a triumphant Just Blaze beat while the song “Big Ol’ Drip” vividly talks about the drug dealing lifestyle over a trap beat with some nice horns in the mix. The track “Wraith” with Yo Gotti sees the 2 getting braggadocious over a gloomy Scott Storch instrumental while the song “The Weekend” with Young Thug talks about partying over a boom bappy Swizz Beatz instrumental with a prominently twangy guitar.

The track “The Amazing Mr. Fuck Up” endearingly addresses his current relationship with his wife Tiny over a laidback boom bap beat with Victoria Monet providing some background vocals while the song “At Least I Know” continues the theme of the previous joint with a moody beat. The track “What Can I Say?” reflects on how he got to where he is today over a druggy trap beat while the song “Jefe” with Meek Mill sees the 2 charismatically calling themselves bosses over a Latin-infused trap beat from Bangladesh. The track “More & More” with Jeezy sees the 2 talking about making money over a gritty trap beat with an organ while the song “Pray for Me” does talk about backstabbers, the YFN Lucci verse at the start is probably the weakest feature on the entire album.

The track “Looking Back” sees TIP getting retrospective on his life over a somber David Banner instrumental while the song “Light Day” is a message to those who wanna live the life that T.I. lived in the past with what could very well be the best flow on the entire album. The penultimate track “You” talks about judgmental people over an instrumental with a somber atmosphere to it & the closer “Be There” is all about being by someone’s side when feeling down over an eerie instrumental with a guitar that kicks in later.

For the 4 year wait, this was well worth it. The production’s on point, Dave Chappelle’s narrations are intelligent & T.I. gets a lot off his chest lyrically. If you wanna hear a trap legend sounding more mature than ever, then give this a listen.

Score: 4/5

Travis Scott – “AstroWorld” review

Almost 2 years after his underappreciated sophomore album Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight & with the solid debut album from Huncho Jack at the tail-end of last year, Houston trap mastermind Travis Scott is finally delivering his long-awaited 3rd full-length album.

Things start off with “STARGAZING”, where Travis recalls a drug trip over a Sonny Digital instrumental that starts off atmospheric, but then switches into an eerie trap instrumental. The next song “CAROUSEL” talks about how fly he is over a gritty Hit-Boy instrumental & the Frank Ocean hook is very pretty. The track “SICKO MODE” with Drake sees the 2 talking shit & I like how the Rogét Chahayed, Hit-Boy, Cubeatz, Tay Keith & Mike Dean instrumental constantly switches up while maintaining a dark sound. The song “R.I.P. SCREW” is an atmospheric tribute to the legendary Screwed Up Click leader DJ Screw while the track “STOP TRYING TO BE GOD” advises the listener to stay true to yourself over a cloudy trap beat & the James Blake/KiD CuDi hook is phenomenal. I also love the Stevie Wonder harmonica that pops up occasionally.

The song “NO BYSTANDERS” is a club banger with a psychedelic trap beat & the Waka Flocka sample for the hook is amazing. The track “SKELETONS” is a slow love ballad with a mellow Tame Impala instrumental along with some harmonious background vocals from Pharrell & The Weeknd. The song “WAKE UP” is a tribute to both Kylie Jenner & Bella Hadid over a Ging instrumental with rattling hi-hats & some unexpected acoustic guitar passages. I also love the cloudy instrumental outro during the last 40 seconds. The track “5% TINT” gets braggadocious over some bass & ominous keyboards while the perfectly “NC-17” with 21 Savage gets raunchy over a trap beat from Boi-1da with some prominent chimes. The track “ASTROTHUNDER” vents about needing distance over a spacey beat from Travis himself with co-production from John Mayer, Thundercat & Ging and while the song “YOSEMITE” does about the lavish things in life over a nice acoustic trap beat & the Gunna hook is pretty, but the very short ΠΔV verse at the end is totally redundant.

The track “CAN’T SAY” has an amazing Trae tha Truth sample in the WondaGurl instrumental, but I feel like Don Toliver takes up most of it & his nasal tone does absolutely nothing for me. The song “WHO? WHAT!” feels like an leftover from Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho down to the disappointingly generic instrumental from Cardo, but the song “BUTTERFLY EFFECT” makes up for it as he talks about the famous life over a druggy Murda Beatz instrumental. The penultimate track “HOUSTONFORNICATION” is a tribute to Travis’ hometown of Houston over a murky trap beat & then “COFFEE BEAN” finishes it off with fireworks as Travis reflects on his career up until this point over an unexpected boom bap beat from 1985. The prominently twangy guitar throughout is a nice touch, but the heavy guitar & the string sections that pop up during the last minute are just beautiful.

I’ve been waiting 3 years for this & overall, it’s on the same caliber as Rodeo. The production returns to the experimental sound that was displayed on that album & I love how Travis is rapping a lot more than ever on here. There are a couple lackluster moments but outside of that, it’s just another example of why Travis is the greatest trap rapper of this generation.

Score: 4.5/5

Future – “BEAST MODE 2” review

Aside from the soundtrack for the recent Superfly remake as well as dominating the recent DJ Esco album KOLORBLIND & a ton of features (most notably: his God awful bridge on “King’s Dead” off the Black Panther soundtrack), Atlanta, Georgia trap superstar Future hasn’t dropped a project in over a year. He spent 2017 dropping 2 albums back to back, the bloated self-titled album & the more pop/R&B inspired HNDRXX. Now, he is coming out of the blue with his 13th mixtape & it is a sequel to one of his most critically acclaimed tapes Beast Mode. Of course, Zaytoven is returning on the boards for it as well.

The opener “WIFI LIT” talks about being on “rich nigga shit” over an instrumental with a nice woodwind sample & it’s no “Mask Off”, but it is a solid way to start off the tape. The next track “CUDDLE MY WRIST” vents about having a monkey on his back over a laidback beat while the song “RACKS BLUE” of course about wealth over a trap beat with some gorgeous piano keys. The track “31 DAYS” talks about sex, but nothing about it sets the mood for me at all. It literally sounds like a bad leftover from HNDRXX.

The song “RED LIGHT” talks about going from sleeping on the floor at night to making millions over some somber piano chords & rubbery bass while the track “DOH DOH” with Young Scooter sees the 2 talking about counting up money over an eerie beat. “WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT” is a freestyle to “WEAK” by Larry League that is a lot better than the original song while the penultimate track “SOME MORE” is a mediocre ripoff of “Mo Reala”, which appeared on Zaytoven’s latest album Trap HoliZay. The tape finishes with “HATE THE REAL ME”, where he gets high & reminisces about the good times he had with Ciara over a cloudy beat.

I was a little concerned about this given the “King’s Dead” feature, but it went beyond my expectations. It’s not perfect at all, but I do believe’s this is just as fun as the first Beast Mode from Zaytoven’s production to Future’s delivery

Score: 3.5/5

Camila Cabello – “Camila” review

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Camila Cabello is 20 year old singer/songwriter from Eastern Havana, Cuba who has been receiving quite a bit of attention in the pop scene for the past couple years now. She broke off from 5th Harmony in late 2016 & I first caught wind of her when she did a duet with MGK on his latest album bloom calmed “Bad Things”. But I personally found it to be diabetically lovey dovey & given that, I at first wasn’t really looking forward to hearing her solo debut right here. That was until I heard the singles off this thing & saw that Ging produced almost every track.

The album starts off with “Never Be the Same”, where Camila singing about being addicted to this man like a drug addict & the druggy yet tension building instrumental isn’t too bad either. The next track “All These Years” reflects on a breakup over a pretty acoustic instrumental while the song “She Loves Control” talks about a woman who wants things her way over a tropical instrumental.

“Havana” is a dedication to her hometown with some piano chords & thumping drums. Also, the Young Thug verse on here is a nice touch as well. The song “Inside Out” has a seductive tone to it lyrically, but it is catchy. Also, the sunny production from Cashmere Cat enhances this catchy vibe. The track “Consequences” talks about the results of breaking up with someone while the song “Real Friends” expresses Camila’s desire to find just that over a pretty piano passage.

“Something’s Gotta Give” is another breakup song & while the instrumental does have a nice build up as it progresses, but I don’t find it as intriguing as “Consequences”. The penultimate track “In the Dark” recalls an encounter she had with a famous John Doe & then the closer “Into It”, she sings about sex. Both of which contain wavy electro-esque instrumentals.

As a whole, I’m floored. I didn’t like her duets with Shawn Mendes or MGK at all, but this was a great listen. More than I expected it to be. Camila Cabello’s vocals have stepped up majorly, it sounds focused & actually very well-put together from the colorful, vibrant production to the solid songwriting. I was wrong about you, Camila. This is just the beginning of a very successful solo career & I can’t wait to see what you’re gonna do next

Score: 4/5

Huncho Jack – “Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho” review

Huncho Jack is a southern hip hop superduo consisting of Migos’ standout member Quavo & the KiD CuDi of trap music, Travis Scott. Both members coming from Atlanta, Georgia & Houston, Texas respectively have shown quite a bit of chemistry with songs like “Oh My Dis Side”, “pick up the phone” & “Portland”. And alas, here we are with their full-length debut merely days away from Christmas.

The album starts off with “Modern Slavery”, where they’re going back & forth about the lavish life & the Otis Redding sample Buddah Bless hooks up is surprising yet cool. The next track “Black & Chinese” talks about their favorite types of women over an abrasive Southside beat & the track “Eye 2 Eye” gets with Takeoff gets celebratory over a druggy instrumental from Murda Beatz.

“Motorcycle Patches” talks about acid with TM88, Supah Mario & Ging making it work as someone who’s not a fan of acid. The track “Huncho Jack” is a prime example of their chemistry over this semi-spacey beat Quavo helped Mike Dean & !llmind make while the song “Saint” flaunts about their success & the bass on here is explosive! The track “Go” talks about the life of a hustler & the flute sample on here is killer!

The song “Dubai Shit” talks about partying in Dubai (obviously) over a druggy beat & I love how Offset is incorporated as he goes back & forth with Quavo during the final verse. The track “St. Laurent Mask” gets into them as dealers & I absolutely love the keys on here. The song “Moon Rock” is an ode to the titular strain of weed & the beat from Vinylz is sinister, yet bass heavy.

“How U Feel” talks about getting fucked up on lean & the sample on here is absolutely beautiful while the penultimate track “Where U From?” vents about living life in the fast lane on top of Cardo & Cubeatz fantastically sampling my favorite Mac DeMarco song: “Chamber of Reflection”. Then album then closes with “Best Man”, where they both get appreciative of their success over another spacey beat from Wheezy. Personally, this was WELL worth the wait. The production slaps & the chemistry between Quavo & Travis is stronger than before.

Score: 3.5/5

Future & Young Thug – “SUPER SLIMEY” review

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If it wasn’t enough that Future dropped his self-titled album & HNDRXX earlier this year along with Young Thug dropping Beautiful Thugger Girls mixtape back in June, the 2 Atlanta, Georgia trap superstars are now coming together with a surprise collaborative mixtape. The opener “No Cap” sees Future & Thugger getting braggadocious over an eerie beat from 808 Mafia co-founder Southside & then on the next track “3”, they channel their inner pimp over a futuristic-ish (no pun intended) trap instrumental from DY. The song “All da Smoke” is a party anthem with a fitting cloudy trap instrumental & the track “200” is yet another braggadocious tune, but this time with more of an atmospheric trap instrumental from Tre Pounds & Wheezy. The track “Cruise Ship” is a Thugger solo cut & I love how insanely energetic he sounds over this dreamy trap instrumental.

The song “Patek Water” is basically Young Thug & Offset rapping about not wanting to go back to being broke & not only was I disappointed that Future only did the hook on here, but Offset’s line near the end about “her sucking on semen” made me cringe a little bit. However, Future makes up for it by having the track “Feed Me Dope” to himself as he raps over a sinister instrumental. The song “Drip on Me” sees Future & Thugger linking back up once more to get mafioso over a wavy instrumental & then the track “Real Love” is an spacey sex tune with Future sounding more slick to set the vibe in contrast to Thugger sounding hype. The track “4 da Gang” is another Future solo cut, but with him talking about how nothing’s changed & repping his Freebandz crew over another cloudy beat from Fuse.

The song “Killed Before” is another Thugger solo cut & despite the verses being decent, I really love how he got London on da Track to bring back that country rap vibe from Beautiful Thugger Girls. The penultimate track “Mink Flow” gets back to the braggadocio bars over a hard beat from Mike WiLL Made-It & with the closer “Group Home” venting about their break-ups, Future’s verse is more sad & Thugger’s is more fittingly hostile considering the fact that he broke off his engagement with his ex-fiancée Karlae recently.

Modern trap fans would dream of someone as unique as Future doing a collab project with someone as versatile as Young Thug & in the end, I think this is better than the Drake & Future collab mixtape What a Time to Be Alive that they did back in 2015. Sure it’s not super lyrical, but I see that Future has a more natural chemistry with Thugger then he did with Drake. On top of that, the production is almost as lively & the deliveries are just wild

Score: 3.5/5

Travis Scott – “Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight” review

Just literally 2 days before the 1 year anniversary of his surprisingly solid debut Rodeo, Travis Scott has finally dropped his highly anticipated sophomore album. The album’s opener “the ends” has a grimy beat & while I do enjoy Travi$’ verse at the beginning about how this sole verse might make his label Epic Records drop him, what really makes this track stick out is the vividly told albeit very surprising guest verse from OutKast member André 3000. On the next track “way back”, Travis is reflecting on his pre-fame days & not only do I really love how dreamy the production sounds on here, but I also love how catchy Travis’ vocals are too. On the track “through the late night”, Travi$ hooks up with his idol KiD CuDi to talk about partying & I personally find the chemistry between the 2 on here to be purely AMAZING! The track “outside” is an ode to all of Travis’ ride or die homies & while that’s definitely cool, the non-distinctive production throughout & the boring ass verse from 21 Savage near the end makes this possibly the worst track on the entire album. However, the next track “goosebumps” makes up for it. The song is basically Travis’ & Black Hippy member Kendrick Lamar expressing their love for this woman & while the production has a dark atmosphere to it, it’s without a bit of doubt my favorite track off the entire album. The track “pick up the phone” is about a woman who isn’t showing any loyalty to either Travis’ or Young Thug & Quavo of Migos. While I can totally appreciate the concept of this song & the hard trap beat on this thing, it just comes off really corny to me. The track “lose” is pretty relaxing from the production to even Travis’ singing. However, my only issue with this song is that I feel like he used WAY too much auto-tune on the hook. Personally, I don’t enjoy a whole lot of trap music but I’m not gonna sit here & deny that Travis Scott has been slowly but surely impressing me more & more within the past year or so. Honestly, I was a little worried about how this album would turn out but I was pleasantly surprised to hear that it could very well be better than Rodeo. I definitely can’t wait to hear what this cat has in store in the future

Score: 3.5/5