Tyler, The Creator – “Chromakopia” review

Ladera Heights emcee, singer/songwriter, producer, actor, visual artist, designer & comedian Tyler, The Creator releasing his 7th full-length studio LP on a Monday to start off the Halloween 2024 week. 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. T’s last album Call Me If You Get Lost happened to be his best lyrically and a year & a half after The Estate Sale EP, we’re now entering Chromakopia.

“St. Chroma” produced with Inflo introduces us to the titular character representing where Tyler’s at personally & artistically pulling from experimental hip hop, west coast hip hop, industrial hip hop, neo-soul & neo-psychedelia whereas “Rah Tah Tah” throws it back to the Cherry Bomb era instrumentally talking about how she ain’t ever meet anyone like him. “Noid” mixes experimental hip hop, psychedelic rock, west coast hip hop, zamrock, rap rock, neo-soul, hardcore hip hop, psychedelic soul & neo-psychedelia tackling themes of paranoia prior to “Darling, I” sampling “Vivrant Thing” by Q-Tip to talk about him continuing to fall in love.

As for “Hey Jane”, we have T over this calming beat imagining what it would be like if his romantic partner Jane got pregnant even though neither of them were anticipating the pregnancy just before the colorful “I Killed You” breaks free from external pressures, toxic relationships, or outdated versions of himself. “Judge Judy” breaks down the story of a fleeting relationship with a woman named Judy bringing a nostalgic summer atmosphere to the table just before “Sticky” featuring Glorilla, Lil Wayne & Sexyy Red flips “Get Buck” by Young Buck explaining how shit’s getting out here.

“Take Your Mask Off” hooks up these prominent synthesizers & pianos hoping listeners find themselves while “Tomorrow” goes for a minimal sound altogether addressing his fear of aging. “Thought I Was Dead” featuring ScHoolboy Q & additional mixing from Romil Hemnani fuses hardcore hip hop, west coast hip hop, experimental hip hop, industrial hip hop, aquacrunk, fanfare & grime for a boisterous manifesto of his mentality later addressing people criticizing him for what he said about Columbia Records labelmate Ian during his SpringHill interview although the mixed reception of Goodbye Horses proved his point.

The pianos that start “Like Him” ahead of the psychedelic influences kicking in during the other half are stunning feeling like he’s chasing a ghost & wanting to know if he looks like his father while “Balloon” featuring Doechii samples “I Wanna Rock (Boo Boo)” by 2 Live Crew leader Uncle Luke so they can air this bitch out since both of them are at the top of the room. “I Hope You Find Your Way Home” finishes Tyler’s 4th consecutive classic by talking about vulnerability, self-awareness & personal growth over more synths & pianos while the deluxe run’s sole bonus track “Mother” recalls stories of his mom.

Breaking his traditional 2-year cycle of releasing music, Chromakopia to me is pretty much a mature refinement of Cherry Bomb. The experimentation within his production ventures beyond west coast hip hop in favor of neo-soul, hardcore hip hop, synth-funk, neo-psychedelia, progressive soul, rap rock, zamrock, industrial hip hop, aquacrunk, fanfare & grime so he can battle with the shades of maturity as the once colorful glee of ambition & youth withers away with his maturity. His mother Bonita Smith’s advice throughout keeps Tyler’s “light” alive, guiding him through the greatest hurdles in adulthood.

Score: 4.5/5

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Jerry – “No Receipt” review

New Jersey emcee, singer/songwriter, producer & music video director Jerry following up his stylistic departure of a sophomore effort lovemesooner by releasing his 4th mixtape 6 months later. You may know him for coming up as 1/2 of the duo MellowHype alongside Left Brain in the mid/late 2000s under the original moniker Hodgy Beats 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. Higashi Miyagi 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. Entitled was a solid comeback EP a couple years ago experimenting with contemporary R&B on top of a predominant west coast trap sound, lovemesooner was ok aside from moments that felt like a Frank Ocean bite & remained optimistic ahead of No Receipt.

I found the acoustic instrumental throughout “Resist Facts” to be pretty rapping about a woman who is so focused on him that he needs the analytics & “Of the Feeling” keeps things stripped-back instrumentally expressing his desire for wealth. The acoustics get blended with synthesizers for “Logic Lacks” asking if you feel like it ain’t yours to keep or it not being the time to speak just before the briefly minimal “What Truth’s Revealing” starts singing about a woman who called him a bad influence.

“Perform in Pattern” keeps the bare guitars rapping that he ain’t gonna be begging please if he gets down on 1 knee referencing marriage proposal leading into “Mars Saturn” hopping on a boat in the evening maintaining hope that he stays on & being the vehicle that drives his girl nuts. “Jupiter Returns” acoustically keeps it rolling telling his lover he loves her smile & the time they spend, but then once again stripped back “2 the Tavern” sings about wanting to party & bullshit.

Moving on from there, “You’d Rather” hops over summery guitar passages to rap that he’s having the dream of his dreams while the acoustic “Hype Die Down” sings about mixing addiction & obsession in a bowl of emptiness. “Nervous System” maintains the stripped-back vibes discussing a vampire while “Lie Down” acoustically asks his lover to give him what he can’t give to her in return.

“Wind Down” minimally pushes towards the final moments of No Receipt to talk about feeling colossally great hoping to teach all the lessons he ain’t even learned while the song “Like You’re” acoustically sings about being treated as if he’s garbage. The final track & subsequently closer “Tied Down” rounds out the 31 minute listening experience having an epiphany that he’s a fool for love.

lovemesooner was a decent attempt at singer/songwriter & indie folk with additional elements of west coast hip hop, emo rap & contemporary folk as is No Receipt although to a lesser extent. I respect that Jerry’s matured so much since the Odd Future era & I don’t have that many issues with his songwriting. The biggest problems I have with this tape are the repetitive production & most importantly, the Frank Ocean pastiche from last time carrying over.

Score: 2.5/5

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Casey Veggies – “Nostalgia” review

Casey Veggies is a 30 year old rapper from Los Angeles, California notable for being a founding member of the now defunct Odd Future collective. He’s also built a tight solo discography for himself including a couple full-lengths, a couple EPs & 8 mixtapes in nearly 2 decades. Standouts include the Customized Greatly series, Sleeping in Class, Life Changes and Live & Grow. That said: I was highly interested in hearing Casey’s 9th mixtape after learning that South Carolina plugg producer Dylvinci was fully on board with it.

The 90 second “Another Lane” sets the tone of the tape from the cloudy trap instrumental to the lyricism boasting that he’s in a different lane compared to these other motherfuckers whereas “Prada Tags” brings that plug sound full circle talking about being young & coming from the bottom. The title track works in more sparse, minimalistic drum & hi-hat patterns, subby 808s & heavy low end, piano samples, airy pads & icy synths discussing the things that make him nostalgic, but then “Won’t She” featuring IAMSU was an ok single despite the mellow beat & subject matter of refusing to go out sad.

“Put the City On” keeps the plugg beats coming representing his hometown of L.A. leading into “Boss Talk” featuring D Smoke takes the cloudy boom bap detailing the boss statuses that both of them have maintained. “Cut Different” goes plugg once more talking about how you ain’t dealing with no scrub & that he ain’t like the rest just before the synth-funk “Phillip Lim” featuring King Chip encourages the shorties to fuck with them.

Dylvinci mixes elements of g-funk, boom bap & trap on “Heavyweight” looking to put a woman who don’t have a man in designer while “No Flaggin’” refuses to stop grindin’ as it instrumentally kinda throws it back to the 80s’ a bit. “Savage” goes for a pluggier vibe talking about what money has done to him while the serenely produced “Either Way” discusses catching Ws regardless although Sean Ev & TTM Dawg’s verses don’t do much for me. “Curtains Closed” ends the tape by glamorously asking what’s up with y’all not getting money.

Even I’ll tell you that it’s been quite some time since I’ve enjoyed a Young Veggies project as somebody who’s been down with him since the OF days & with Nostalgia, it’s the best that he’s sounded in nearly 10 years. It sounds like he’s having fun eagerly seeking to evolve artistically & Dylvinci’s production is better than a lot of Casey’s recent material tightly expanding his sound by dabbling with plugg, trap, boom bap, g-funk & even synth-funk.

Score: 3.5/5

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Vritra – “Amber” review

Vritra is a 32 year old rapper, producer & visual artist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana known for formerly being 1/2 of The Jet Age of Tomorrow, 1/3 of The Super D3Shay & a member of the influential Odd Future collective before focusing on his own crew that he’s the de facto leader of NKR. He’s also released 7 LPs, 19 EPs & 4 mixtapes as a solo artist with the best ones being Pyramid & the Stones Throw Records-backed Indra. Matt Martians put out his latest solo EP Matt’s Missing a month ago & that was the best thing he’s done by himself in a while, so Vritra releasing his 20th EP over the weekend had me wondering how it was going to hold up.

Things start off with a trip hop instrumental sequel to “Wool Glasses” off the Jet Age of Tomorrow’s only album God’s Poop or Clouds? whereas the self-produced “Walking” gives an experimentally glitchy approach continuing to venturing out of his department. “Tether Me” featuring Jay Cue brings these synths into the fold talkin’ about being down for the block like it’s Tetris prior to jazz/soul fusion “Silverado” stripping the drums advising to let it burn similarly to the way the doobie is.

After the “Non Fiction” interlude, “Proximity” by Wilma Vritra begins the 2nd half of the EP by bringing a psychedelic flare to the beat acknowledging that people around his vicinity are getting bold while “Grey Matter“ sonically feels like a breezy, summer day admitting he didn’t know how to approach the situation initially. “Insomnia” draws inspiration from industrial music addressing a woman he goes insane thinking of & lastly, “Running” featuring Eyedress is a jazzy closer talking about stacking cheese & counting proceeds in the back.

Hal said himself on Twitter shortly after Amber was released that it would the last body of work of his to be put out under the Vritra moniker & however he reinvents himself artistically going forward, I can tell you that he gave us the strongest EP in his discography since Palace a decade ago already. He sounds recharged after taking a year off & his experimentally cloudy, west coast sound has additional undertones of drumless, jazz, soul, glitch hop & trip hop.

Score: 3.5/5

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Jerry – “lovemesooner” review

Trenton, New Jersey emcee, singer, producer & music video director Jerry celebrating Valentine’s Day by releasing his 2nd full-length studio LP. You may know him for coming up as 1/2 of the duo MellowHype alongside Left Brain in the mid/late 2000s under the original moniker Hodgy Beats & later simply Hodgy 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. 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. Entitled was a solid comeback EP a couple years ago experimenting with contemporary R&B on top of a predominant west coast trap sound, but Higashi Miyagi reinventing himself once again going by Jerry & is looking to make lovemesooner a broader reintroduction.

“the letter I wanted to write” is a head-on acoustic opener produced by Benja finding Jerry singing about finding time whereas “i’ll say it here” tackles the idea of empty vices & asking if you want to sip cough syrup on top of both Chester Hansen & Leland Whitty of the production trio BADBADNOTGOOD help Benja maintain a stripped-back sound. “an obsessed woman” sings about a woman who’s tired of his games over more acoustics leading into “i became her” confessing that he lost a best friend & isolation blending these melodic background vocals with elements of folk music.

Meanwhile, “to you” has a bit of this acoustic R&B/pop rap tone directing it towards someone who picked their poison destroying what they had together & even their own heart just before the boom bap-inflicted “when you willingly” tell the flight attendant to come with him inside his head cautioning it’s in fact a scary place. “showed your hand” continues to strip things back sonically once more reflecting on a story he had read with no solution in the midst of driving around Hollywood that is until the downtuned “i placed my brain inside it” sings about being all over the place.

“kept my heart for myself” makes it known that he’d rather have her look him in the eyes & kill him slowly or tell him that they simply weren’t meant to be together while the folky “you chose to leave” is an open letter to London asking how they’re doing. “facing the worst fears” instrumentally continues to expand on the folk music influences melodically confessing to having suicidal thoughts while the acoustic “known to man” sings about being the star near the sun you worship.

I love the passionate vocals on “care is given to show” about remaining undefeated & tomorrow being a day repeated although the production remains stripped-back while “us how fucked we are” brings some woodwinds into the fold sings that distance makes the heart getting on some bitter ex-boyfriend shit. “time is measured” tells y’all to save the fuckin’ drama for yourself over a piano-driven boom bap until “to tell us 2” returns to the acoustic ballad callin’ out someone who went behind his back.

The penultimate song “move along” begins the encore of the LP by singing over acoustics yet again that you can take everything from him but his dreams & finally to round out Jerry’s sophomore full-length body of work, the title track hooks this jangly guitar & melodic vocal performances about fighting like a Jedi along with trophies/awards weighing less on his mind with all his might.

I respect that Jerry stepped out of his comfort zone on Entitled by showing off his singing voice more & even making a predominant showcasing of it on this new album over here but as someone who’s been following him since the OF days, it’s just ok. Some of the acoustic cuts can feel a bit samey at times & he still shows his hip hop roots although in a diminished capacity, it’s that some of his sung vocals can sound eerily reminiscent to that of alternative R&B pioneer & fellow Odd Future member Frank Ocean.

Score: 3/5

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Matt Martians – “Matt’s Missing” review

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.

Score: 3.5/5

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Domo Genesis – “What You Don’t Get?!” review

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.

Score: 4/5

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Earl Sweatshirt – “Voir Dire” review

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.

Score: 5/5

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Tyler, The Creator – “The Estate Sale” review

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.

Score: 4/5

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Domo Genesis – “Intros, Outros & Interludes” review

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.

Score: 4/5