Tag: The Hillbillies

Kendrick Lamar – “GNX” review

Compton emcee, songwriter & actor Kendrick Lamar surprise-releasing his 6th studio LP outta nowhere ahead of his Super Bowl LIX halftime show in a few months. Coming up in ‘04 off his debut mixtape Y.H.N.I.C. (Youngest Head N***a in Charge): Hub City Threat (Minor of the Year), he would go on to follow-up with 2 more tapes as well as an eponymous debut EP before breaking out in the fall of 2010 off his 4th mixtape O(verly) D(edicated) & then Section.80 that next summer. Then came him signing to Dr. Dre’s very own Interscope Records imprint Aftermath Entertainment, where Kendrick made himself home at for a decade. Especially given that good kid, m.A.A.d city & To Pimp a Butterfly have quickly become some of the most beloved hip hop albums ever made in their own rights for good reason whether it be gkmc coming off as a hood movie on wax or TPaB delivering relevant social commentary on top of jazzy, funky production. DAMN. however was definitely his most commercial one yet & I don’t listen to it as much as his other work, but it’s still a great listen nonetheless with its phenomenal duality concept. Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers fulfilled his Top Dawg Entertainment/Aftermath contract with a mature 2-disc effort, resulting in pgLang signing with Interscope for distribution. His beef with Drake this year has been absolutely prolific on his side from “euphoria” to my favorite “meet the grahams” & of course “Not Like Us”, returning a week ahead of Thanksgiving by pulling up in a GNX.

“wacced out murals” is this trap intro talking about Drake fans fucking up a mural of his in Compton a couple months ago additionally refusing to squash it with Drake himself, WWE Hall of Famer Snoop Dogg reposting “Taylor Made”, feeling like his hard work let Lil Wayne down & Nas being the only person to congratulate him for the Super Bowl LIX halftime show whereas “squabble up” takes the hyphy route instrumentally to talk about walking in & later walking out both sides. “luther” samples “If This World Were Mine” by Cheryl Lynn & Luther Vandross thanks to Jack Antonoff, Kamasi Washington & Sounwave envisioning a world where pain & conflict are eradicated prior to the calming “man at the garden” talking about deserving it all when he absolutely does.

Meanwhile on “hey now”, we have Kendrick & Dody6 over a ratchet instrumental from none other than DJ Mustard boasting that they’re way too important just before my 2nd favorite track “reincarnated” flips “Made N****z” by 2Pac letting off concentrated thoughts on who he used to be & putting 100 hoods on 1 stage at the Pop Out show this summer. “tv off” serves as this 2-parter with the 2nd half standing out the most explaining that someone gotta do something about these muhfuckas actin’ bad out here with only a few real ones left, but then the atmospherically funky “dodger blue” with co-production from Terrace Martin talks about the westside getting the money.

“peekaboo” featuring AzChike & Dody6 nears the end of GNX by getting back on the nervous tip dissin’ everyone for talkin’ a whole lotta nothing while my personal favorite track “The Heart VI” serves as the real 6th installment of his famous “Heart” series disregarding that awful diss Drake put out this spring, sampling my favorite SWV song “Use Your Heart” to take ownership in a Black Hippy album never materializing & explaining why he left TDE. The title track by Hitta J3, Peysoh & YoungThreat gets together over some keys to talk about being the ones while “gloria” tropically finishes by addressing a fear of forever.

“Not Like Us” was a firm reminder that Kendrick is absolutely more than capable of making fun music rather than certain individual having him pigeonholed as a conscious artist & GNX being his first body of work after leaving TDE/Aftermath if anything expands on that. The production showcases his versatility with a decent list of lesser-known local guests prominently going for a west coast trap vibe with additional elements of ratchet music, nervous music, conscious hip hop, hardcore hip hop & pop rap.

Score: 4.5/5

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Baby Keem – “The Melodic Blue” review

Baby Keem is a 20 year old rapper, singer/songwriter & producer from Carson, California who actually happens to be Kendrick Lamar’s younger cousin. He’s gone on to drop 4 EPs & 2 mixtapes in the last few years, with his sophomore tape Die for My Bitch being the one that helped boost him to the point where he rightfully earned a spot on the 2020 XXL Freshman Class. However now that he’s signed to K. Dot’s newly formed pgLang with distribution from Columbia Records, we’re finally being treated to a full-length debut from the promising West Coast up-&-comer.

“trademark usa” starts off the album with a 2-parter produced with Ging & Rogét Chahayed shouting out the dead & being the same dude in 48 states whereas the self-produced “pink panties” embraces a funkier vibe singing about lust. “scapegoats” takes a more soulful turn thanks to DJ Dahi & FNZ telling us he thought there was redemption in the 4 ethers while “range brothers” by The Hillbillies boisterously divides itself in 3 portions thanks to both 30 Roc & Dez Wright, although the “top of the mornin’” hook during the final part has since become a meme.

As for “issues”, we have Keem taking a more minimalistic sound opening up about the memories of certain people in his life leading into “gorgeous” telling his bitch that she’s a dime on top of a synth-heavy instrumental. “south africa” hooks up some pianos talking about him & his girl both having the money while “lost souls” featuring Brent Faiyaz on the remix moodily declares all these hoes as such with an equally catchy outro telling his woman that he’s on her side.

“cocoa” featuring Don Toliver finds the 2 teaming up for a playful club banger & I love how “family ties” by The Hillbillies begins with Cardo & Outtatown bringing in these horns for Keem’s verse & later taking a grimier turn for Kendrick to smoke your top 5. “scars” climatically asks God why life is so hard & once “durag activity” obviously takes a psychedelic route as Travis Scott comes into the picture flexing their wealth, “booman” has a jazzier vibe talking about being a barbarian.

The song “first order of business” has a bit of a more ambient sound talking about loyalty & gratitude while “vent” brings Kendrick back 1 last time even if it’s only for a chorus, viciously ask if you’ve ever been punched dead in the face & letting his cousin channel his anger through a singular verse. “16” ends asking Keem’s girl won’t she think about them while “hooligan” starts the deluxe run by having Oogie Mane of Working on Dying combining trap & pop rap so Keem can talk about his reckless lifestyle.

“no sense” fuses pop rap, trap & cloud rap sidestepping all the bullshit that comes around him while “a life of pain instrumentally gives off a Halloween type mood spitting a whole verse flexing of doing his dance in areas & not feeing strange about it. “killstreaks” featuring Don Toliver reunites the pair so they can hypnotically talk about their partners having them running around the country while the “patience” interlude slathers his vocals in auto-tune & takes a more repetitive approach to his songwriting.

Cardo flips “Everlasting Bass” by Rodney O & Joe Cooley on “naked” admitting he’s too impatient hence why he missed the possibility of the hoes at the function getting undressed while “fine china” samples “Real Recognize Real” by Doe Boy & Roddy Ricch expressing his desire of caring for the woman he bags. Tae Beast samples “Killing Me Softly with His Song” by the Fugees during “highway 95’” detailing why they call him 2 Phone Keem & the final bonus track “bank account” featuring Lil Uzi Vert boasts their riches.

I’ve always suggested to check out Die for My Bitch for those who’ve never heard of Keem, but now I have to recommend The Melodic Blue because he really outdid himself on here & has already proven himself to be the most talented pgLang signing of the label’s only 2 artists. His lyrical skills have increased as did his production & his versatility from the energetic trap, hardcore hip hop & pop rap joints to the infectious alternative R&B cuts is really admirable.

Score: 3.5/5