JOBA – “Russell Boring” review

JOBA is a 31 year old rapper, producer, singer/songwriter & audio engineer from Houston, Texas notable for being a founding member of the now defunct BROCKHAMPTON collective. The debut single “Sad Saturdays” back in 2015 should also be noted as really the only time we’ve heard what he’s capable of musically doing on his own & coming off a production credit on Ski Mask the Slump God’s sophomore effort 11th Dimension this summer, we’re getting a better look as to who he is on his full-length solo debut.

“Ghost” starts us off by singing about a ghost he saw & asked what the problem was over bare pianos whereas “Embryo” takes the exuberantly futuristic route instrumentally further employing a melodic delivery expressing his desire of wanting to be with his romantic interest. “American Fever” pulls from progressive pop, piano rock & art pop to sing about every single one of us being born to be wild in some way, but then the magical “Emerald Eyes” tells us of his amazement over this individual.

As for “Lonestar”, we have JOBA hopping over more colorful production singing his heart out that he’s standing his own ground even after BROCKHAMPTON’s dissolvement leading into the guitar-driven “Doormat” knowing everything will work out in the end & wanting his partner’s love. “New Beginnings” cheerfully talks about starting anew at this point in his career while “People Need People” mixes baroque pop, piano rock & psychedelic pop longing to be his lover’s soulmate. “Gospel of the Moon” closes the LP by singing that all he feels is concrete tears.

Matt Champion’s solo debut Mika’s Laundry from earlier in the year was a fantastic representation of his artistic versatility & Russell Boring takes that to different heights except it’s much more personal conceptually. His production culminates in the styles of art pop, art rock, piano rock, progressive pop & baroque pop spending the 9 song offering spanning a tad bit over a half hour in his personal life.

Score: 4/5

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BROCKHAMPTON – “T.M. (The Mountain)” review

BROCKHAMPTON was a hip hop “boy band” that originated in San Marcos, Texas in 2010 via the “KanyeToTheForum under the original name AliveSinceForever. But when things started to look good for them after they released the SATURATION trilogy to universal acclaim in 2017, one of their founding members Ameer Vann was kicked out midway through the following year due to sexual misconduct resulting in the boys’ next 2 albums following iridescence & GINGER were both released to moderate reception. ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE however became their best post-Ameer album a year & a half ago at this point but after announcing their disbandment following their Coachella performances this past April & only a day after their de facto leader Kevin Abstract dropped his new solo effort The Family, the boys are getting back together one last time for their 7th & final album.

“F.M.G. (Fuck My Gang)” is an aggressive trap opener produced by Kiko Merley & JOBA with Dom McLennon & Matt Champion accompanying Kevin to quit being humble whereas “Animal” finds Jabari Manwa, Kevin & Matt talking about turning into beasts over a cloudy Romil Hemnani instrumental. “Listerine” though returns to trap territory as Dom & Jabari addressing a bitch that’s tripping ’cause it’s less on them prior to the playful sounding “New Shoes” with Kevin, Dom, Matt & Merlyn Wood assuring everyone that the group is still on good terms with one another even though they’re disbanding & Matt wanting a house in 大阪 or the home prefecture of former 3-time WWE women’s world champion 3-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion 明日華.

However on “Keep It Southern”, we have Kevin & Merlyn over a trap beat with some synths paying tribute to their Texas roots just before “Man on the Moon” dives into more melancholic territory with a cool dance break at the end for Kevin & Matt to talk about wanting to make out with their lover on the actual moon itself & the hook is probably the catchiest on the album. “Better Things” is pretty much a moody Kevin Abstract solo cut with Matt on the hook & an outro from JOBA to speak on the next chapter of their lives just before “Crucify Me” works in some live drums & pianos for Kevin & Matt express their desire to rewind & pretend that they knew what they were in for with a crazy instrumental outro pulling from jazz music.

The song “Duct Tape” has a more booming quality to the instrumental as Jabari, Matt & Kevin admitting that they don’t have anything to talk about anymore as a unit while the penultimate track “Always Something” shoots for a more melodic approach as Dom, JOBA & Kevin sing about letting motherfuckers in something they should know. But then, “GOODBYE” serves as a bittersweet EDM-influenced coda with JOBA & Matt talking about not the “best time of our lives” for granted.

I’ll never forget seeing the SATURATION artwork everywhere when that album was first released when I was 20 & it prompting me to check out their music because it was good enough to make me to stick around for the whole ride, to which I’m happy I did because this was great swan song from them. I like how they fuse elements of trap, alternative R&B, cloud rap & even neo-psychedelia with their west coast pop rap style as everyone braces themselves for the next chapter. And before I end this review, I just wanna thank BROCKHAMPTON for all the dope music they’ve given us in the last 5 years & I wish them all nothing but the best going forward.

Score: 4/5

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BROCKHAMPTON – “ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE (PLUS PACK)” review

This is the surprise 2nd EP from San Marcos, Texas hip hop boyband BROCKHAMPTON. Originally emerging under the name AliveSinceForever in 2010, they put out a self-titled EP in 2013 under the radar before catching some attention off their debut mixtape ALL-AMERICAN TRASH back in 2016. However, it wouldn’t be until the following year that we saw them completely reinventing themselves by dropping the near-perfectly creative SATURATION trilogy. Then there’s the infamous sexual misconduct scandal revolving around the boyband’s most popular lyricist at the time Ameer Vann halfway through 2018, which resulted in him being kicked out of BROCKHAMPTON. A decision that to this very day resulted in many people to fall off with the boys. Their next 2 albums iridescence & GINGER were both released to moderate reception, but they eventually took 2020 off & returned to form a couple months back off ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE. However after being initially released with the box set as CD exclusive bonus tracks, Kevin Abstract & company have finally decided to make them available for streaming.

“PRESSURE” is pretty much Merlyn Wood & Dom McLennon on top of a generic trap beat showing off, but then the 2nd half “BOW WOW” is pretty much a brief ssgkobe solo cut with a summery instrumental & Kevin Abstract on the hook taking it back to the fashion style of the early 2000’s.

The next song “SEX” finds the whole gang together on top of some hi-hats & synthesizers to rap about fucking, but then the EP finishes off with the remix & original version of “JEREMIAH”. The lyrics on both versions are the same proclaiming themselves as profits, but the difference between them is that the remix has a guitar intro, the vocals are pitched up & there’s a shorter beat outro. The original is the other away around.

I’ve said before that ROADRUNNER is the most consistent BROCKHAMPTON album I’ve heard since SATURATION III & that still stands. However, I’m kinda torn on this EP. None of these joints are necessarily amazing or horrible, they just feel like mediocre throwaways to me.

Score: 2.5/5

BROCKHAMPTON – “ROADRUNNER: NEW LIGHT, NEW MACHINE” review

BROCKHAMPTON is a hip hop boy band that originated in San Marcos, Texas in 2010 via the “KanyeToTheForum under the original name AliveSinceForever. But when things started to look good for them after they released the SATURATION trilogy to universal acclaim in 2017, one of their founding members Ameer Vann was kicked out midway through the following year due to sexual misconduct. The boys’ next 2 albums following iridescence & GINGER were both released to moderate reception & after taking 2020 off, Kevin Abstract & the gang are returning from the shadows by dropping their 6th & allegedly penultimate album.

“BUZZCUT” is a off-the-wall opener as Kevin & Danny Brown come through with some conscious undertones through their lyrics backed by a psychedelic instrumental from Jabari Manwa. The next song “Chain On” goes into a more cloud rap direction as Kevin connects with JPEGMAFIA to speak out against police brutality whereas “Count on Me” is a summery anthem about how everything will be ok regardless of what they say & even though I think Matt Champion & A$AP Rocky both kill their verses, I can’t say the same for SoGoneSoFlexy.

The track “Bankroll” is a hazy trap banger with Merlyn Wood, Jabari & A$AP Ferg to show off their wealth while “The Light” is pretty much JOBA & Kevin venting about something being missing deep inside them over an ominous boom bap instrumental. The song “Windows” everyone reuniting with SoGoneSoFlexy to talk about how crazy they are with an icier instrumental than the previous cut & then “I’ll Take You On” finds Charlie Wilson joining Matt & bearface to cook up an gorgeous alternative R&B joint.

The instrumental on “Old News” kinda reminds me of Baby Bash’s “Suga Suga” for some odd reason as the boys tap in Baird to address the games their lovers put them through, but then Matt & JOBA get together on “What’s the Occasion?” to vent about how “a million little pieces all add up to nothing lately” on top of an acoustic/boom bap instrumental with some occasional synths. Chad Hugo laces the piano ballad “When I Ball” that sees Matt & Dom McLennon looking back on their younger days whereas the chaotically-produced “Don’t Shoot Up the Party” finds Kevin & Matt speaking against the bigotry in America. The track “Dear Lord” is a short, a capella bearface solo cut about his brother needing help & then “The Light, Pt. II” is an optimistic, almost gospel-flavored closer from Kevin & JOBA.

If anyone’s been turned off by these guys given the moderate reception of their last 2 albums, then I highly recommend giving this a shot because this is their most consistent effort since SATURATION III. I really dig how they started to incorporate more outside collaborators even though not all of them stick the landing & the boys do a great job at showing listeners what’s been going on in their world ever since GINGER came out.

Score: 4/5

BROCKHAMPTON – “GINGER” review

This is the 5th full-length album from San Marcos, Texas hip hop boyband BROCKHAMPTON. They first came together with an average debut mixtape in 2016 called ALL-AMERICAN TRASH, but it wouldn’t be until the following year that we saw them completely reinventing themselves by dropping the near-perfectly creative SATURATION trilogy. Then there’s the infamous sexual misconduct scandal revolving around the boyband’s most popular lyricist Ameer Vann last May, which resulted in him being kicked out of BROCKHAMPTON. A decision that to this very day is still polarizing by many. However, I think they managed to pull through shortly after with their last full-length album iridescence. Fast forward 11 months later, here we are with GINGER.

The album kicks off with “NO HALO”, where the boys sans de facto leader Kevin Abstract venting about personal issues over an acoustic instrumental from Jabari Manwa. The next song “SUGAR” gets romantic over another acoustic instrumental while the track “BOY BYE” talks about each member’s highs & lows over a quirky beat from Romil Hemnani & Q3. The short “HEAVEN BELONGS TO YOU” is a completely random slowthai song while the track “ST. PERCY” finds the boys charismatically bragging over a bassy instrumental & I absolutely love the Missy Elliott/Timbaland vibes during the hook. The track “IF YOU PRAY RIGHT” gets spiritual over a prominent tuba with Dom McLennon starting it off in a charming fashion while the song “DEARLY DEPARTED” addresses Ameer Vann’s dismissal over a cavernously melodic beat.

The track “I BEEN BORN AGAIN” talk about their newfound fame over a minimalist beat while the titular song finds Kevin teaming with Matt Champion & bearface to get a bit darker on the topical end over an inebriating beat. The track “BIG BOY” sees Kevin, bearface & JOBA recalling their childhood experiences over a dream-like instrumental while the penultimate song “LOVE ME FOR LIFE” finds everyone from then previous joint getting with Merlyn Wood over a lively yet subdued instrumental referencing SpaceX founded by Tesla CEO & Neuralink founder Elon Musk. The album then finishes with “VICTOR ROBERTS”, which is an introduction to a rapper with the same name over a bare piano instrumental.

This is the boys’ weakest album so far, but it’s still solid. Of course each song stands out in it’s own way, but it kinda lacks in catchiness both rapping-wise & instrumentally. Hopefully, they’ll step it up on the next effort.

Score: 3.5/5

BROCKHAMPTON – “iridescence” review

BROCKHAMPTON is a hip hop “boyband” that originated in San Marcos, Texas in 2015. They dropped a flawed yet decent mixtape in 2016 called ALL-AMERICAN TRASH but in 2017, they completely reinvented themselves by dropping 3 near-perfectly creative albums with the SATURATION trilogy. However, things this year looked bleak for them in part of Ameer Vann (who was featured on the cover of all 3 SATURATION albums) was kicked out in May due to sexual misconduct. They then dropped 3 solid singles over the summer but now, they’re finally returning with their 4th full-length album.

Things start off with “NEW ORLEANS”, where they talk about how they’re calling their own shots over a gritty beat. The next track “THUG LIFE” sees the boyband’s de facto leader Kevin Abstract linking up with his older brother Dom McLennon alongside bearface to talk about depression over a beautiful piano instrumental while the song “BERLIN” sees Dom getting with Matt Champion & JOBA to talk shit over an abrasive beat. The “SOMETHING ABOUT HIM” interlude is an endearing tribute to Kevin’s husband Jaden Walker with a smooth instrumental from Romil Hemnani & Q3, but it sounds unfinished.

The track “WHERE THE CASH AT” sees Merlyn Wood & Matt Champion talks about their new rich life over a bouncy beat while the song “WEIGHT” is a heartfelt look into the boyband’s inner demons over some strings, but then it constantly switches from drum & bass with a piano to just simply punchy drums. The track “DISTRICT” is a club banger over a video gamey beat & after the “LOOPHOLE” interlude, we go into the song “TAPE”. Here, the boyband talks about their insecurities over a gloomy beat with skittering drums. The track “J’OUVERT” talks about success over a chaotic beat & while everyone’s performance on here was great, JOBA’s angry verse stood out to me the most.

The song “HONEY” gets braggadocious over an electro-funk beat while the track “VIVID” talks about how they’re making money now over an eerie electronic beat. The song “SAN MARCOS” is a guitar ballad about wanting more out of life while the penultimate track “TONYA” talks about unstable stardom over a prominent piano. The short switch up during Kevin’s verse & JOBA’s bridge was just ok, though. The album then finishes with “FABRIC”, where the boyband talks about still being depressed despite their newfound success & I absolutely love how the beat constantly switches throughout.

Being one of my most anticipated albums of the year, this did not disappoint. BROCKHAMPTON continues to be the most unique group in today’s hip hop landscape as their sound on here is refreshingly different than that of the SATURATION trilogy & I’ve also noticed that the chemistry between every member has improved.

Score: 4/5

BROCKHAMPTON – “SATURATION III” review

With 2017 drawing to a close, California based hip hop boyband BROCKHAMPTON is giving us their 3rd full-length album & the final installment of their highly acclaimed SATURATION trilogy. The album starts off with “BOOGIE”, where they’re talking about how they’re taking over the game & the instrumental from Romil Hemnani & Jabari Manwa will make you wanna throw a party. The next track “ZIPPER” talks about their continuing rise to fame & the beat is infectious as Hell. The song “JOHNNY” is basically the group going back & forth reflecting about them during their adolescence up until now & the jazzy horn sample is super dope. The track “LIQUID” talks about their individual rags to riches stories & the beat is super murky.

After the “CINEMA 1” skit, we then go into the next song “STUPID”. Here, they talk about not wanting boys to see what’s in their phones & the last 2 verses from Dom McLennon along with his brother & BROCKHAMPTON de facto leader Kevin Abstract fits it perfectly. The track “BLEACH” talks about their demons over a druggy instrumental (with the deepest verse coming from Ameer Vann) & then the song “ALASKA” talks about feelin’ brand new over some strings referencing Facebook founder & Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The synths during the hook are great as well. The track “HOTTIE” sees the group talking their consciouses & I absolutely love how JOBA goes back & forth with both Merlyn Wood & Matt Champion on here.

After the “CINEMA 2” skit, we then get into the next song “SISTER / NATION”. Where they talk about finding themselves & their days are coming to rubble over a beat that starts off abrasive yet noisy, but then transitions into something spacey. The track “RENTAL” essentially tackles the idea of the collective losing it all & the beat from Romil alongside Q3 is pretty spacey. The penultimate song “STAINS” expresses their gratefulness of where they are now over a Neptunes-esque instrumental. After the “CINEMA 3” skit, we then go into the closer “TEAM”. It starts off with bearface. singing over a guitar, but then it changes into something more funky as the other members go back & forth with each other as they get semi-political.

As expected, BROCKHAMPTON finished the SATURATION trilogy the way they started it: near perfectly. The production is more experimental & it’s a bit more introspective. Can’t wait to see what they’re gonna do on their 4th album Team Effort in 2018

Score: 4.5/5

BROCKHAMPTON – “SATURATION II” review

Almost 3 months after their breakout debut SATURATION, San Marcos hip hop boyband BROCKHAMPTON is now delivering a follow-up. The opener “GUMMY” addresses their haters along with how they’ll ride with each other until the end over an amazingly eerie g-funk instrumental from in-house producers Romil Hemnani & Q3. The next song “QUEER” starts off even more abrasive both sonically & with the first 2 verses that’re delivered by Matt Champion & Merlyn Wood, but then it sounds more relaxing & the way they express & transition into each mood are just flawless. The track “JELLO” talks about their newfound success over an suspicious sounding instrumental & while the hook from the collective’s de facto leader Kevin Abstract is high-pitched, it is catchy. The short Ameer Vann solo cut “TEETH” vents about going from getting in trouble all his life to tanning on an island over some beautiful female soul vocals in the background. The track “SWAMP” talks about them going from rags to riches & while Jabari Manwa’s production does sound Neptunes inspired, it doesn’t come off as generic whatsoever. After a 40-second skit of Robert Ontenient sending a message to a lover, things then transition into the next song “TOKYO” where the group vents about internal conflict along with finding yourself over a jazzy instrumental. However, the Trick Daddy inspired hook from Kevin is just meh to me. The track “JESUS” solely has these somber keys throughout & it sees Kevin Abstract rapping a verse directed towards his ex-lover for the first half, but then we get a beautifully sung outro from bearface. on the other half. The track “CHICK” pretty much tells the internet gangsters to relax & that they’re only gonna become more popular over an ominous yet galactic-sounding instrumental. The song “JUNKY” has a hardcore beat & the way that they vent about their individual problems was very passionate. Especially with the first verse, where Kevin Abstract fires back at all the people who criticize him for being bisexual. After a skit where Robert’s praying in Spanish, we are then treated to the next song “FIGHT”. Here, Ameer & Dom McLennon talking about being bigger than just a target & not letting their worlds be attempted over an instrumental with a creepy Middle Eastern vibe to it. Funny enough, Kiko Merley’s production on the next track “SWEET” sounds kinda reminiscent to Madlib’s Beat Konducta in India album & out of all the verses, the last one from JOBA really stood out to me. Mainly because of the way he continuously changes the pitch of his voice throughout the duration of it à la Kendrick Lamar. The song “GAMBA” sees the group singing about being happy with their lovers over a spacey instrumental that sounds just as beautiful & mood-enlightening. The penultimate track “SUNNY” talks about not wanting to see bad days along with smoking after talking to Ameer’s parole officer over a twangy guitar with a Southern tone to it. The closer “SUMMER” is pretty much bearface. singing about how his male crush should be his over some somber piano keys, but then comes in a guitar that sounds reminiscent to the psychedelic rock era from the 60’s & you can’t help but just slowly groove along to it. Not a lot of sequel albums live up to the hype of their predecessors, but this is one of those rare occasions where it actually does. It’s similar to the first one in a few ways (i.e. the letters of the song titles along with the Ameer solo cut & the bearface. closer) but it sounds so much different & it’s just as consistent, creative & passionate than before. This definitely makes me anticipate SATURATION III to drop by the end of the year, because they’re really continuing to be a breath of fresh air in today’s hip hop scene

Score: 4.5/5

BROCKHAMPTON – “SATURATION” review

BROCKHAMPTON is a San Marcos, Texas based hip hop collective & this is their breakout full-length debut. The tape opens up with the song “HEAT”, where we get 4 aggressive verses about things such as robbing your crib along with depression & the ominous instrumental from Romil Hemnani actually reminds me of Odd Future. The 2nd track “GOLD” is a braggadocious tune & Q3’s production on here sounds a lot more mellow than it did on the opener. The song “STAR” making tons of pop culture references including the A24 Films coming-of-age drama Moonlight over a menacing tuba from Jabari Manwa & out of all of them, my personal favorite was the one near the end of the first verse where Dom McLennon’s talking about the collective “going ’04 Pistons on ’em”. The track “BOYS” talks about feeling like southern hip hop’s answer to 1 Direction & the vocal effects that happen during the hook actually took me a minute to fully appreciate. Also while I presume that a lot of people will automatically dismiss Dom’s verse on here because it has auto-tune on it, the auto-tune on it, it actually doesn’t bother me at all. The song “2PAC” is a 1-minute Ameer Vaan solo track & he pretty much talks about his internal conflicts over a smooth piano from Kiko Merley that enhances the emotion of the track. The track “FAKE” talks about hitting them up on their phones over a spacey instrumental & while it was interesting to hear that the voices on all 3 verses are all high-pitched, I feel like Dom didn’t have to throw Auto-Tune on top of his. The song “BANK” sees Dom & Ameer respectively talking about not slippin’ anymore & reminiscing about selling weed until moving to California over an instrumental that starts off with a tropical vibe, but then transitions into a more murky beat during Ameer’s short verse. The track “TRIP” talks about being who you want, but all 3 verses are so heavily Auto-Tuned that it sounds too robotic for me. The song “SWIM” discusses love & I absolutely love how it starts off with just an acoustic guitar, but then they throw in some drums & a couple blaring synths. The verses are auto-tuned again but here, they’re not throwing an excessive amount on it like they did on the previously mentioned track. The track “BUMP” energetically goes in about ridin’ down to Mexico & drug dealing over a beat that mostly sounds dubstep-influenced, but briefly transitions into a sole guitar passage every single time the hook from the collective’s de facto leader Kevin Abstract hook comes around. The lyrical content on the song “CASH” is self-explanatory & Kevin’s extremely short verse sounds buried in the mix, but the next 3 verses sound way more passionately delivered & I like the guitar licks throughout the song. The song “MILK” talks about self-improvement & the instrumental has this really cool psychedelic vibe to it. The penultimate track “FACE” talks about how upset they are now that their significant others have left & the somber-tuned instrumental fits perfectly with the tone of the track. The closer “WASTE” is a 2 & a half minute bearface. solo track where he’s singing about losing his way albeit being alright over some killer electric guitars & his voice to me is reminiscent to Frank Ocean’s. This thing has gotten A LOT of hype since it dropped a few days ago & it actually does live up to it. The content is on point, both the passion & energy are there, it sounds more creative & well put together than their previous mixtape All-American Trash did, the auto-tune only gets to me at certain points, & it’ll all make make you anticipate seeing what they’re gonna do next

Score: 4.5/5