Rapsody – “God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops” review

Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina emcee Rapsody is back for her 5th studio LP. Rising to prominence last decade with a handful of mixtapes & EPs, her 2012 debut album The Idea of Beautiful continued to show her potential until the Roc Nation Records-backed Laila’s Wisdom in 2017 truly refined her style & sound almost perfectly. 2 years later, she signed to Def Jam Recordings releasing EVE to similar acclaim, coming off Please Don’t Cry to explain God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops.

After the “Peace, God!” intro, “Free Yo’ Mind” produced by mR. pOrTeR kicks things off on a funky note suggesting maybe she’s too humble or has too much ego & trauma in her search for freedom whereas “No Way” goes for a tropical vibe instrumentally dissing DJ Vlad & No Jumper for being culture vultures. The 2nd & final single “Apple Juice” blends neo-soul & jazz rap for an ode to the late D’Angelo leading into “Never Break” shifts towards a drumless approach showing us an indestructible heart.

We have the lead single “God Gotta Afro” experimenting with industrial hip hop & electro so she can talk about shattering dreams & duckin’ schemes just before “OMG! (Love to Sun Ra)” presents us a psychedelic love letter to none other than the late avant-garde jazz icon himself. “Black Love” featuring No Malice discusses Afrocentrism over some soulful background vocals & finger snaps while “Pick a Side” featuring Amanda Reifer hits the midway point talking about individuals hiding the truth away because they have privileges they ignore.

“Abandoned Me” kicks off the 2nd half on a cavernous synth-driven beat clapping back at a guy who’s angry because she put up boundaries he can no longer get around while “The Peejaays” by MadRaps talks about about the projects on top of this heavenly Madlib instrumental. “You!” proves to the crowd who doesn’t like trap that she can very much kill it over that sound exemplified by the hunger in her cutthroat delivery while “Black is Beautiful” by MadRaps tackles the Afrocentric subject matter once more.

The song “Pretty Bird” preceding the “Way U R” interlude remembering his niece’s girl who passed away asking to capture a picture of what it’s like beyond the light & singing at her wonder of love lost while the upbeat “Joyful” attempts at making the crowds dance, refuting the claim people don’t do it anymore. “Act II: Bloodline / Growing Older” wraps up God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops with a 6 & a half minute 2-parter talking about having the patience of an old timer.

Conceived when she took a vacation to Ghana, it made Rapsody look at the US rewriting history through whitewashing & that eventually resulted in God Gotta Afro & Gold Hoops landing right behind Laila’s Wisdom for my 2nd favorite album in her discography. mR. pOrTeR handling a vast majority of the production other than a few tracks makes me happy as a Detroit native who feels like he can be underappreciated behind the boards, providing the right musical backdrops for Rapsody to preserve African American stories & truths.

Score: 4.5/5

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Rapsody – “Please Don’t Cry” review

This is the long-awaited & highly anticipated 4th full-length studio LP from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina emcee Rapsody. Rising to prominence last decade with a handful of mixtapes & EPs, he 2012 debut album The Idea of Beautiful continued to show her potential until the Roc Nation Records backed Laila’s Wisdom in 2017 truly refined her style & sound almost perfectly. 2 years later, she signed to Def Jam Recordings releasing EVE to similar acclaim, but is returning after 5 years with Please Don’t Cry.

After the “She’s Expecting You” intro, the first song “Marlanna” produced by Sndtrak mixes boom bap & trap together so she can remind everyone exactly who she is whereas “Asteroids” takes a luxurious route instrumentally thanks to Hit-Boy hurling back at everyone that threw rocks at her. “Look What You’ve Done” brings an angelic vibe to the beat giving you what you need & that you can chase the bag just before “DND (It’s Not Personal)” funkily talks having one of those days of being left alone.

“Black Popstar” puts a bigger emphasis on the trap sound charismatically boasting on the lyrical tip leading into Eric G. giving “Stand Tall” some jazzy undertones refusing to let anyone trigger her & being true to bounce back on the days that she eventually does. “That One Time” talks about learning to be okay with your imperfections over some woodwinds & that life is a process every single one of us goes through, but then “3:AM” addresses a lover who makes her feel like a new person on top of S1 & Lonestarrmuzik drawing inspiration from neo-soul behind the boards together.

Meanwhile on “Loose Rocks”, we have Rapsody over a cloudier instrumental asking where her future lies if she doesn’t know the truth already by now prior to the S1 & Wu10 guitar-laced “Diary of a Mad Bitch” portrays an angrier side to as she takes this time to call out an ex who doesn’t deserve her. “Never Enough” featuring Keznamdi brings the pair together over a reggae/trap fusion talking about how everyone has wants & needs as well as being unable to find peace in Babylon while “He Shot Me” returning to the boom bap interpolating “I Shot the Sheriff” by Bob Marley during the hook tackling racially charged gun violence.

“God’s Light” marks a groovier turn within the instrumental talking about forever shining in the eternal light of the High Power himself while “Back in My Bag” hooks up these prominent horns & hi-hats so she can passionately getting back in her zone as if she never took a few years off to begin with. After the Niko Brim interlude showcasing his talents for a whole minute laying a verse on top of a classy beat, “Raw” featuring Lil Wayne fresh off performing for former 10-time WWE tag team champion Jey Uso’s entrance at WrestleMania XL last month against his former 9-time WWE tag team champion brother Jimmy unites both MCs over kicks & snares flexing their lyrical prowesses while “Lonely Woman” psychedelically encourages lonely women to love themselves.

Baby Tate joins Rapsody on “A Ballad for the Homegirls” smoothly talking about becoming more & more like their mothers the older they become & after the titular interlude, “Faith” nears the conclusion of Please Don’t Cry telling everyone to maintain their faith over pianos & a chipmunk soulful hook that is until the closer “Forget Me Not” officially closes up shop by fittingly talking about not wanting to say goodbye & acknowledging that we love too deep to really ever be at peace with the ones that have passed despite the world being so bad.

Rapsody much like Sa-Roc has always been one of the very first people who come to mind when I hear out-of-touch heads bitching & moaning over women in hip hop this day in age severely lacking & Please Don’t Cry proves my point yet again. We get an artist who’s unafraid to draw on lifelong influences to find their true voice & pulling back the curtain on who she is off-stage as a person. She even reconciles with the past to empower her future, exploring the depth of her technical dexterity with more vulnerability than she has been previously.

Score: 4.5/5

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Rapsody – “Eve” review

Rapsody is a 36 year old MC from Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina that rose to prominence this decade with a handful of mixtapes & EPs. Her 2012 debut album The Idea of Beautiful continued to show her potential, but it wouldn’t be until the Roc Nation Records backed Laila’s Wisdom in 2017 that she would truly refine her style & sound almost perfectly. 2 years have passed & she has teamed up with Def Jam Recordings to deliver her highly anticipated 3rd full-length album.

The album kicks off with “Nina”, where Rapsody gets ambitious over a soulful beat. The next song “Cleo” sends a message to the naysayers over a boom bap beat from 9th Wonder sampling Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” while the track “Aaliyah” ponders about that somebody over an Eric G beat with some beautiful background vocals. The song “Oprah” with Leikeli47 sees the 2 talking about being masters over an instrumental with some rubbery bass while the track “Whoopi” gets cocky over a quirky Khrysis beat.

The song “Serena” talks about not stopping over a restful instrumental while the track “Tyra” talking about how fine she is over a woozy beat. The song “Maya” talks about elevation over a soulful yet flute-heavy instrumental from 9th Wonder while the track “Ibtihaj” with GZA is pretty much a modern version of “Liquid Swords” down to the exact same Willie Mitchell sample.

The song “Myrlie” gets conscious over a glitchy vocal sample & after the “Reyna’s Interlude”, the next joint “Michelle” talks about a lady’s party over a funky beat. The track “Inman” with J.I.D sees the 2 paying tribute to black men over a minimalist yet luscious beat while the song “Hatshepsut” with Queen Latifah sees the 2 talking about being the right women for their fellas over a piano-inflicted boom bap beat. The penultimate track “Sojourner” with J. Cole sounds just as witty as it did on Jamla’s the Squad II last winter & then the album finishes with “Afeni”, where Rapsody is talking to abusive men over a grand instrumental.

All that being said, Rapsody gives us another example as to why she’s the best female lyricist in hip hop right now. The production is sweet to the ear & her intelligent bars never fail to amuse me.

Score: 4/5

Rapsody – “Laila’s Wisdom” review

After signing to Roc Nation last year, North Carolina MC Rapsody is delivering her sophomore full-length album & her first in 5 years. The album opens up with the title track, where Rapsody tells you not to worry about anyone tells you along with knowing your worth & the instrumental from Nottz has some great piano chords along with some boom bap drums & even choir vocals. The next song “Power” with Kendrick Lamar gets self-explanatory & their chemistry on here is just as great as it was on “Complex (A Zulu Love)” off of Kendrick’s previous album To Pimp a Butterfly. Also, I really like the Bootsy Collins sample that Rapsody’s mentor 9th Wonder uses for the instrumental. The track “Chrome (Like Ooo)” talks about ending your career if you diss her along with respecting the driver more than the ride & while the production from Ka$h & Khrysis was just ok to me, her ambition really makes up for it. Also, I found the Forest Whitaker line near the end of the first verse to be pretty funny & clever. The song “Pay Up” vividly tells the story of a money hungry woman along with the final verse being about her bum-ass boyfriend who wants to get her pregnant over a funky instrumental. The track “Ridin’” with GQ speaks on finding oneself but with a dark tone to it & the instrumental from 9th & Eric G. starts off with a spacey time, but then it nicely transitions into something more boom bap-esque for the final verse. The song “Sassy” flaunts about success over a vibrant instrumental & the charismatic tone in her voice is absolutely absolutely flawless. The track “Nobody” intelligently talks about how no one really knows anything from Biggie & 2Pac’s murderers to even minding one’s business over a smooth instrumental. Also, I think the one line during the 2nd verse about how you can’t divide hip hop at all despite not everyone liking someone in the vein of Waka Flocka Flame is absolutely true. As for the features, the Anderson .Paak hook is on point & the Black Thought verse is just as flawless as one would expect. The song “Black & Ugly” dives into beauty over a 9th Wonder instrumental with some scent guitar licks as well as some explosive boom bap drums & I really like how she incorporates her personal experiences into it. Also the hook from BJ the Chicago Kid kinda reminds me of D’Angelo for some reason, but not in a bad way at all. The track “You Should Know” sees Rapsody getting braggadocious about her skills over an menacing instrumental from 9th, but then it transitions into something more lush & we are treated with a verse from Busta Rhymes that compliments Rapsody perfectly. The song “A Rollercoaster Jam Called Love” talks about staying with her man no matter what & the way 9th constantly changes the instrumental after each verse is just fantastic. The track “U Used 2 Love Me” is basically Rapsody speaking to her ex-boyfriend & musically, it really gives me some Zapp vibes & 9th did a damn good job at it. The song “Knock on My Door” vividly talks about Rapsody’s desire to have a man over her place over some jazzy piano keys along with a soul sample in the back. The penultimate track “OooWee” was taken from Rapsody’s 3rd EP Crown that came out last November, but it still sounds great from her aggressive delivery & the Anderson .Paak hook to the guitar loop throughout. The album then closes out with “Jesus Coming”, where Rapsody creatively spits about “going home” in 3 different perspectives over a spacey instrumental & the Amber Navran hook is beautiful. If you ask me, this could very well be Rapsody’s best work yet. The production (mostly handled by 9th Wonder) is beautiful, the features fit in perfect, Rapsody’s lyricism is stronger than before & the passion that was put into it is as bright as day. I know a lot of cats are stuck on Cardi B’s latest hit single “Bodak Yellow” but if you want an actual female MC with intelligent lyrics & organic production, PLEASE give this a listen

Score: 4.5/5