Matt Martians is a 35 year old producer, illustrator & singer/songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia notable for being a founding member of the now defunct Odd Future collective as well as 1/2 of the production duo The Jet Age of Tomorrow with Pyramid Vritra & the co-founder of The Internet alongside Syd. He also made up 1/3 of The Super D3Shay with Ace Hashimoto on the mic & The Jet Age of Tomorrow behind the boards alongside 1/2 of the MC/producer duo Sweaty Martians with Earl Sweatshirt. Also for almost 7 years, Matt’s been building a solo career for himself beginning with the full-length debut The Drum Chord Theory followed by the sophomore effort The Last Party & not 1 but 3 EPs in 2021. However ahead of The Internet’s upcoming 5th album, Matt’s returning after a few years for a 4th EP.
To start us off, “B Like That” sings over a funky beat for this chick that caught his eye in to get at him & that he’ll see her soon whereas “Rushback” takes a trippier route instrumentally talking about feeling her from across the room. “Perfect Warning” gives off a groovier vibe admitting that he & his significant other could grow old together hoping she feels the same way leading into the soley self-produced “Play” taking the mellower route asking if he can mess around.
“The Reason” despite it’s chilled out atmosphere plays with the idea of stalking a romantic interest that Matt will have love for just before “Bassline” picks things back up with a slick ballad about having to get it running coming with exactly that. “Best Girl” has a summery, funky start to the beat with a switch-up during the 2nd half telling her he wouldn’t know what to do if she left his side while the catchy “Don’t Think About It” talks about wanting her to stay.
“Adjust” starts the encore of the EP by admitting that he’s been having to adapt as of late & this woman being all up in his head until “Sick n’ Tired” rounds out Matt’s Missing by experimenting with funk rock making it clear that he’s at the point now where he’s simply fed up with the lies, the hate, everybody telling him what to do & being down altogether.
Drum Chord Theory has to be my favorite solo LP out of the 2 that Matt has given us thus far but when it comes to his EPs, Matt’s Missing might be my favorite since Going Normal & that includes the 4-track deluxe. He expands his the neo-psychedelic soul sounds of his solo material generally beyond neo-psychedelia altogether, hypnagogic pop, abstract hip hop & funk music.
This is the 3rd full-length LP from Inglewood emcee & songwriter Domo Genesis. Starting in mid-2009 as a member of the now defunct Odd Future collective, he’s gone on to give us 2 studio albums accompanied by 4 mixtapes & 4 EPs within the last dozen years, my personal favorites of which being his debut mixtape Rolling Papers, The Alchemist-produced 3rd mixtape No Idols, the Evidence-produced debut EP Aren’t U Glad You’re U? & even Doms’ last full-length Intros, Outros & Interludes. That being said, hearing Graymatter being brought in behind the boards throughout the duration of What You Don’t Get?! undoubtedly had me interested.
“Adonis” is a drumless flute-tinged opener addressing those who wonder if Domo still got it with the pen whereas “Plank Walk” taking the smoother route instrumentally simply looking to get a gage on it. “Stankwater” gives off a nocturnal flare to the beat explaining there ain’t no other option but to get it done where he’s from leading into the calming title track explaining that everything’s what it seems.
Moving on from there, the bluesy “Details” explains that he’s seen enough not to believe bullshit since he doesn’t listen to a lot of what he hears personally just before “Rick Fox” featuring 3WaySlim finds the 2 over a jazzy beat asking if they ready or not. “This 2 Shall Pass” featuring Remy Banks soulfully keeps the money on the body & the music, but then “I See U Doing U” featuring Fly Anakin chops up another soul sample talking about being out here doing your thug thizzle.
“Gifted Creatures” continues the 2nd leg of the album admitting that he has some stories that he’ll eventually take to his grave in the future while “Halfprice” gives off a kick-back feeling to the beat explaining he always keeps his enemies close only to be certain. The heavenly aural Bend” explaining that y’all must be crazy to him while the 2-part “2 Be Continued / Taking My Time” declaring to be majestic when you see it.
Pushing near the end of the LP, the penultimate track “PrettyUgly” soothingly talks about doing things that he resents even though they could never knock him off his pivot & “Until U Understand” closes out What You Don’t Get!? on a heartfelt note explaining exactly how he finds this shit to be a luxury.
Intros, Outros & Interludes still has to be my favorite LP that Doms has put out yet. That being said: I feel like anyone who enjoyed that previous album as much as I did will also come away from What You Don’t Get?! liking it too. Graymatter continuing to prove himself as a force to be reckoned with in the underground by cooking up tight production & Domo kicking it over them.
This is the 5th full-length album from Santa Monica emcee, producer & singer/songwriter Earl Sweatshirt. Beginning his career in 2008 under the name Sly Tendencies as the son of Cheryl Harris & late poet Keorapetse Kgositsile, he posted a handful of tracks for a mixtape called Kitchen Cutlery on MySpace, but the tape would never be released to this day. Then he formed a rap trio with 2 of his friends called The Backpackerz & planned to release a mixtape together titled World Playground, but they disbanded sometime in 2009. Shortly after, he joined Odd Future & appeared on their 2nd & final mixtape Radical that May. 10 months later, he put out his only mixtape to date Earl with OF’s de facto leader Tyler, The Creator producing a bulk of it. The tape received a lot of buzz, but Earl’s mother would send him to a therapeutic retreat school for at-risk boys in Samoa sometime after until February of 2012. He was then granted his own Columbia Records imprint Tan Cressida Records & released his full-length debut Doris a decade ago to critical acclaim right before I started my junior year of high school for his clever rhyme schemes & the gritty production from The Neptunes to even the RZA. He then formed the duo Hog Slaughta Boyz with OF affiliate Na’kel at the beginning of 2015 & released his sophomore album I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside. a couple months after. Many of which consider to be better than Doris for it’s darker aesthetic. Some Rap Songs not only wound up being my favorite album of 2018, but also the best work of Earl’s career as I look at it as the bastard child of one of my all-time favorites album: Madvillainy. But after dropping a small handful of SRS leftovers in the form of Feet of Clay through a new distribution deal Tan Cressida signed with Warner Records & then his full-length debut on the label Sick! about 2 & a half years ago, Earl’s enlisting one of my top 10 producers of all-time The Alchemist to speak the truth hence the Voir Dire title after a decade of working together. Especially since Earl coined the Uncle Al nickname.
“100 High Street” opens the album with some strings, kicks & snares so Earl can talk about how it wasn’t easy even though he’s a grown man now reaping everything he’s sowed in whereas “Vin Skully” goes for a more sample based groove remembering the cold & shrugging ’til he was sore inside the crib with a better understanding. “Sentry” featuring MIKE works in a crooning loop dropping bars like “Freddie Hubbard sing through the acts, chop another piece off the branch. “Memories careen out the past, halt me to a screech in they tracks” or “You remember I’m feelin’ like Aubrey. There ain’t real n***a higher involved than me, I was there on a small façade. No need actin’ surprised when you call me”, but then “All the Small Things” has a more delicate sound talking about holding your breath.
The mellower vibes of “My Brother, The Wind” from the synths & melodic sample are incredibly soothing dropping wig-flipping bars like “My brother, like Sun Ra, we all need you. Godspeed You! Black Emperor” leading into the bluesy boom bap hybrid “27 Braids” showing off exactly how many brains he’s rocking nowadays & referencing becoming a father himself couple summers ago. “Mac Deuce” gives off a more lusciously shimmery edge instrumentally filling all the vacancies like the brightest star just before blissfully drumless “Sirius Blac” comes out swinging with “Roc Marciano told you it don’t last, get you a snack. Photocopies of my shit hittin’ the net, n****s is ass. I nicked my hand on a backboard glass, shattered it like Shaq” explaining that only big fish surround their pond.
The song “Geb” talks about being the man over a heavenly beat with the standout bar to me personally being “It’s on tuck like Doubtfire, close as a secret. My mouth shut ’til the bag wired then I release” while the penultimate track “Dead Zone” flirts with death to curve em & watch him work bringing in these lavish piano chords starting his verse perfectly with “Have the pull-out like a flatbed, get it cracking like cueballs. Plastered on the wall like a fathead in a pool hall”. “Free the Ruler” couldn’t have been a better choice for a closer from the soulful chops to the lyrics talking about how “it’s not normal, but I swear this shit is regular”.
The streaming version of this LP contains 3 bonus cuts & I’ll go over them right now. “Heat Check” starts things off with heavy synthesizers admitting that he couldn’t cope with the dope fiend shit looking to leave on the highest note, but the remaining 2 both feature Vince Staples interestingly. The first of which “The Caliphate” goes for a cloudier sound getting on their abstract shit lyrically & the other “Mancala” concludes the bonus track portion of the album with pianos as Earl confesses he’d be remiss to try & go at least without a blick ’round him.
Despite the fact that Sick! is widely considered to be the uknowhatimsayin¿ of Earl’s discography, my expectations were already very high going into Voir Dire as someone who’s been listening to him since the Odd Future days & it is without a shadow of a doubt that it’s the best thing he’s done since Some Rap Songs. It will also go down as one of the best albums of his career & the strongest of the 3 projects we’ve gotten from him since the Warner deal. I literally have no complaints about it whatsoever from Al’s drumless jazzy production to the intricately abstract wordplay that Earl is known for.
This is the 2nd EP from Ladera Heights MC, singer/songwriter, producer, actor, visual artist, designer & comedian Tyler, The Creator. Blowing up about 15 years ago as the de facto leader of Odd Future, his evolution both artistically & personally since the collective’s disbandment in 2015 has truly been amongst the most fascinating ones I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime going from the bratty edginess of Bastard & Goblin to the undeniable maturity & versatility shown on Flower Boy & IGOR. Even Tyler’s last album Call Me If You Get Lost happened to be his best lyrically & as he gears up for his next one this summer continuing the 2-year schedule that he started on, he’s giving fans a collection of outtakes from the CMIYLG outtakes in the form of The Estate Sale.
After the “EVERYTHING MUST GO” intro, the first song “STUNTMAN” with Vince Staples is an energetic trap banger to the EP as they pay homage to “Swagger International” by Pharrell essentially whereas “WHAT A DAY” has a more colorful tone to it thanks to Madlib as Tyler talks about being your biggest cheerleader. WANG$AP reunites for the synth-laced “WHARF TALK” discussing getting lost together with their significant others just before “DOGTOOTH” is a jazzy, dirty south/neo-soul hybrid expresses Tyler’s desire for a woman that he can satisfy. The song “HEAVEN TO ME” details what his version of the pearly gates is over a boom bap instrumental while the penultimate track “BOYFRIEND, GIRLFRIEND” with YG is a funky pop rap ode to love. “SORRY NOT SORRY” however ends the EP with a bare sample of “He Made You Mine” by Brighter Side of Darkness wavering between apologizing both sarcastically & genuinely.
Given the ending of the closer’s music video where the authentic Tyler kills off all his past eras, it’s clear that he’s getting ready to drop his 7th album this summer & I think The Estate Sale is an excitingly short offering that’ll keep everyone satisfied until then. Tyler’s production plays into the mix of styles that Call Me If You Get Lost revealed to have sonically & his still bringing his A-game with the pen. Here’s to the new chapter from hip hop’s most beloved unique personalities in just a few months.
Domo Genesis is a 31 year old MC & songwriter from Inglewood, California who got his start in mid-2009 as a member of the now defunct Odd Future collective. He’s gone on to give us a full-length debut accompanied by 4 mixtapes & 4 EPs within the last dozen years, my personal favorites of which being his debut mixtape Rolling Papers as well as his Alchemist-produced 3rd mixtape No Idols & his Evidence-produced debut EP Aren’t U Glad You’re U?. Last we heard from Domo was when he dropped the Just in Case duology with Mike & Keys last summer but now after signing to Bigger Picture Recordings not too long ago, he’s re-emerging in the form of a sophomore album with the label’s founder Ev returning behind the boards.
“Don’t Believe Half” is a drumless, jazzy opener with Domo talking about no realness being left & only him that’s exempt whereas “Skeletons” with Navy Blue finds the 2 over an upbeat instrumental talking about the skeletons in their closets piling up. “Trust the Process” takes a soulful route sampling Freda Payne with the subject matter pretty much speaking for itself, but then “Reverse Card” shoots for a more dejecting aesthetic to talk about turning tables is his favorite part.
Meanwhile on “Stay 1 More Day”, we have Doms over another soul sample hoping to stay optimistic just before Remy Banks tags along for the settle “Campfire” to flex their respective styles. “Running, Running” weaves a crooning vocal loop into the mix to talk about lanes switching as life goes on, but then “Victories & Losses” with Evidence is a piano/boom bap banger talking about all the highs & lows they’ve encountered.
The song “Going Rate” brings back the jazz admitting that he doesn’t cry tears & he’s on a God tier while the penultimate track “December Coming” with Boldy James sees the 2 over a mystic beat to provide introspection for the listeners out there. “Tallulah” on the other end closes out the album with Domo talking about doing it for the love even though the love ain’t there over a dismal instrumental.
It should go without saying that this is Domo’s best solo effort in a while & a much more consistent full-length than GENESiS & that album was just ok in my opinion. Evidence’s production is much more interesting, Domo gets a lot off his chest lyrically & I really enjoy the natural progression of their chemistry although I still love Aren’t U Glad You’re U? as much as I did 3 & a half years back.
Jerry is a 31 year old MC, producer & music video director from Trenton, New Jersey who came up as 1/2 of the duo MellowHype alongside Left Brain in the mid/late 2000s prior to helping I Smell Panties, Casey Veggies & The Jet Age of Tomorrow form the impactful albeit now defunct alternative hip hop collective Odd Future. He was also the first person in the Wolf Gang to put out a solo effort, dropping his debut mixtape The Dena Tape only 9 months after the crew put out their 1st tape as a unit The Odd Future Tape. Jerry would go on to expand his solo discography with 2 more mixtapes & 3 EPs prior to his full-length debut Fireplace: TheNotTheOtherSide a day before my 20th birthday which to this day, I still think it’s possibly the most criminally overlooked offering that we’ve gotten since OF’s disbandment due to how much growth was shown on that album. But after taking 5 & a half years off to focus on his personal life, Jerry is finally returning with his 4th EP.
“Everyday” sets off the EP with Jerry over some crooning boom bap production from Jeff Wootton & Ging talking about always staying on the grind whereas “People Change” is MellowHype reunion taking a more minimal trap route addressing his growth as a person. The song “Into Someone” works in an acoustic guitar to get in his romance bag while the penultimate track “We Never Knew” finds MellowHype reuniting once more accompanied by a cloudy trap beat spitting some braggadocio. “Again” ends the EP with yet another acoustic ballad singing about a bitch who’s crazy.
This dude has been off the radar even longer than Kendrick & it’s not my favorite solo effort that he’s done, but it’s very much respectable. I respect that he’s trying to expand as an artist & not only do I find how he does it to be solid, but I also knew he’d have some shit to get off his chest lyrically about where he’s at now in life given that he’s been gone for a minute & he delivers.
Earl Sweatshirt is a 27 year old MC/producer from Los Angeles, California who began his career in 2008 under the name Sly Tendencies. He posted a handful of tracks for a mixtape called Kitchen Cutlery on MySpace, but the tape would never be released to this day. Then he formed a rap trio with 2 of his friends called The Backpackerz & planned to release a mixtape together by the name of World Playground, but they disbanded sometime in 2009. Shortly after, he joined Odd Future & appeared on their 2nd & final mixtape Radical that May. 10 months later, he put out his only mixtape to date Earl with OF’s de facto leader Tyler, The Creator producing a bulk of it. The tape received a lot of buzz, but Earl’s mother would send him to a therapeutic retreat school for at-risk boys in Samoa sometime after until February of 2012. He was then granted his own Columbia Records imprint Tan Cressida Records & released his full-length debut Doris in 2013 to critical acclaim for his clever rhyme schemes & the gritty production from those such as The Neptunes & even the RZA. He then formed the duo Hog Slaughta Boyz with OF affiliate Na’kel at the beginning of 2015 & released his sophomore album I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside a couple months after. Many of which consider to be better than Doris for it’s darker aesthetic. Some Rap Songs not only wound up being my favorite album of 2018, but also the best work of Earl’s career as I look at it as the bastard child of one of my all-time favorites album: Madvillainy. But after dropping a small handful of average SRS leftovers in the form of Feet of Clay the year after through an ongoing Warner Records distribution deal, he’s returning from the shadows with his 4th full-length.
“Old Friend” kicks off the album with a bare orchestral loop from The Alchemist cryptically addressing someone he’s still cool with whereas “2010” has a cloudy trap vibe with the help of Black Noi$e talking about the days when he was hungry. The title track has a more fuzzier tone produced by Navy Blue saying he won’t let the devil in just before ZeelooperZ tags along for the extravagant “Vision”. Meanwhile on “Tabula Rasa”, we have Armand Hammer joining Earl in discussing the blank slate theory on top of some plinky piano chords & a vocal chop just before “Lyre” talks about making it straight over some horns.
“Lobby” gets on some grim trap shit detailing being a superhuman while the song “God Laughs” has a atmospheric yet drumless feel to it talking about searching for his lost halo. The penultimate track “Titanic” is an abstract trap banger showcasing some clever bars such as “Get ghost like I need a killer”, but then “Fire in the Hole” ends the album by working in a guitar talking about how he needed another go.
Given how mid Feet of Clay was, it didn’t really worry me going into Sick! because I knew he was gonna expand on the experimental sounds of Some Rap Songs & that just so happens to be the case here. Another thing that makes the album highly enjoyable for me is him telling the world how he’s been dealing with the pandemic.
Tyler, The Creator is a 30 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, producer, actor, visual artist, designer & comedian from Ladera Heights, California blowing up a decade ago as the de facto leader of Odd Future. His evolution both artistically & personally since the collective’s disbandment in 2015 has truly been amongst the most fascinating ones I’ve ever witnessed in my lifetime, going from the bratty edginess of Bastard & Goblin to the undeniable maturity & versatility shown on Flower Boy & Igor. I have a lot of fond memories of Tyler’s early work back in middle school/early high school, but I do think his last 2 albums are his best ones yet musically. That being said, I’ve been waiting all year for this day to come & I’m thrilled that it has.
“Sir Baudliere” starts off by introducing us to the Tyler Baudliere character over a sample of “Michael Irvin” by Westside Gunn leaving y’all swollen like the WME Group-owned UFC whereas “Corso” serves as an off-the-wall follow-up “talkin’ that fresh shit”. “Lemonhead” with 42 Dugg of all people has a grimy ass instrumental & the 2 are just flexing, but then “Wusyaname” with YoungBoy Never Broke Again samples “Back Seat (Wit No Sheets)” by H-Town & details falling in love with a woman they just met.
Meanwhile on “Lumberjack”, Tyler takes it back to the “Yonkers” days with it’s boom bap production sampling the Gravediggaz just before he & Lil Wayne jump on a flute heavy beat for “Hot Wind Blows” to talk about landing in Geneva as well as reminiscing on leaving LA for the first time on the spacey “Massa”. Following this is the triumphant spending anthem “Runitup” & after that, Domo Genesis reunites with T on “Manifesto” saying people are fake mad on top of samples of both Jimmy Smith & Nas.
“Sweet” starts off as a neo-soul cut telling this woman how much he loves her with the 2nd half “I Thought You Wanted to Dance” is a duet with Fana Hues that I almost wanna say goes into reggae territory. After the “Momma Talk” skit, DAISY comes in to picture to clap back at their non-believers on the glossy boom bap banger “Rise!” co-produced by Jamie xx leading into the “Blessed” interlude.
The song “Juggernaut” with Lil Uzi Vert & Pharrell is a bombastic homage to the iconic Gucci Mane joint “Lemonade” boasting his last deal was more than Google said his net-worth was while the penultimate track “Wilshire” works in some dusty drums & mellow synths speaking on a failed relationship he had with his homie’s girl for damn near 9 minutes. Finally, the closer “Safari” triumphantly speaks on his influence & impact on music featuring co-production from Jay Versace.
Every album Tyler has ever put out sounds completely different than one another & Call Me If You Get Lost is a fine addition to his discography. He goes back into a more hip hop-based sound in comparison to the poppy vibes of IGOR, but it feels like a throwback to the Gangsta Grillz mixtape days with DJ Drama’s narrations & dude is at his best in terms of the bars on here.
Ace Hashimoto is a 31 year old rapper, producer & singer/songwriter from Chicago, Illinois coming up as a member of the now defunct Odd Future under his birth name brandUn DeShay in 2008. He would eventually depart the collective a couple years later as a result of a falling out with it’s de facto leader Tyler, The Creator but still saw success on his own by producing for the likes of Danny Brown & Chance the Rapper. It should also be noted that brandUn has dropped a small handful of mixtapes since his OF days, my personal favorite of the bunch being All Day DeShay: AM. But with a new moniker & a 5 year hiatus since his previous tape goldUn Child 2, the Chi-Town artist is re-emerging by dropping what he says “might be my first & last” full-length album.
“ZOMBIE: The Entrail-duction is a instrumental piece, but then the first actual song “GIRLS” is a summery duet with ph-1 as the 2 sing about enjoying sweet freedom. The track “O.M.W. (One Man Woman)” is an acoustic cut about being ready for his partner whereas Ace & Taichi Mukai come together to take what’s theirs on the synth-heavy “2NITE”.
Meanwhile on “TRAK STAR”, we get an instrumental that sounds like something The Neptunes would’ve produced in the late 90’s/early 2000’s along with lyrics about wanting his partner to stay the night whereas Sir Michael Rocks & Devin Morrison come together to talk about staying inside on the piano-heavy “Great Indoors”. Ta-Ra tags along for the funky “Bad Habits” helping Ace sing about not being a shitty person while he takes things in a more jazzier direction on the tender “Affection”.
The track “4Everything” has a more boom bap sound to it as he & Kero 1 tell their lovers they “ain’t no Casanova” before pondering why he returned to his ex when their love was no more on the glossy “Nice to Know You”. After the rock-influenced “Etika’s Interlude”, the final song “I Feel Fly” is a peppy duet with Mon’aerie that I wish was longer than 56 seconds & the closer “Ending Theme” is just a skit done in Japanese.
If you’re going into this expecting the hip hop sound Ace Hashimoto came up on, you might be disappointed because Play Make Believe is a full blown R&B album. The features are kinda hit or miss but Ace’s singing has improved, the songwriting is catchy & the production is super crisp. Whatever the future holds for him, I wish him nothing but the best.
This is the new surprise EP from Chicago, Illinois born/Los Angeles, California raised lyricist Earl Sweatshirt, known for being a member of the now defunct Odd Future collective. He made his debut in 2010 with his only mixtape to date Earl which was solid, but Earl’s mother would send him to a therapeutic retreat school for at-risk boys in Samoa sometime after until February of 2012. Earl was then granted his own Columbia Records imprint Tan Cressida Records & released his debut album Doris in 2013 to critical acclaim for improving on Earl. Then came the duo Hog Slaughta Boyz with OF affiliate Na’kel at the beginning of 2015 along with Earl’s sophomore album I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside a couple months after. Many of which consider to be better than Doris for it’s darker aesthetic. Earl laid low until last November with his magnum opus Some Rap Songs & almost a year later, here we are with Feet of Clay.
The opener “74” is pretty much Earl shittalking over a grimy piano sample while the next song “EAST” touches down on alcoholism over an odd accordion sample. The track “M.T.O.B.” talks about the death of his father over a soulful instrumental while the song “OD” venting about loneliness over some horns & background vocals. The track “El Toro Combo Meal” with MAVI sees the 2 getting reflective over a smooth ovrkast. instrumental while the song “Tisktisk / Cookies” vents about depression over a dark instrumental. Then the closer “4N” with Mach-Hommy finds the 2 talking shit just like the opening cut & I really like the clever Michael Henderson sample on here.
This was a nice lil Halloween surprise. It feels more like a small collection of Some Rap Songs leftovers from the lo-fi production as well as the content & the brevity, but I’ll take it. Can’t wait to see where Earl takes things on the next album.
Legends Will Never Die 