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Showing posts from November, 2020

Miley Cyrus - Plastic Hearts ALBUM REVIEW

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Miley Cyrus has always had a spotty track record since her time at Disney came to a close. Her first album since then, Bangerz , was okay at best, with some massive hits like “Wrecking Ball” coming from it. After that comes with a very hot take from me: Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz is not a bad album. It was actually quite adventurous and risk-taking for her career, and while I see that it has its flaws, I can commend it for the big risk that this album took. Then, she moved back to her country roots with Younger Now , which just went under my radar and I actually never listened to it. Now, her newest studio album, Plastic Hearts , has a bit of a rock-edge with features from rock legends Joan Jett and Billy Idol, along with pop starlet Dua Lipa. Let’s get right into it! Plastic Hearts is a pop album with rock and dance influences. Well, let me get some of the positives out of the way. The switch-up in sound is pretty nice, moving towards that revivalism approach that permeated Dua...

Russ - Chomp EP REVIEW

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Russ is an artist I never got into. I simply just haven’t listened to his stuff yet, and it’s not that I have anything against him. It’s just that he’s never crossed my mind. I know that he’s notoriously hated for some reason. I don’t know this reason, and quite frankly, I don’t care that much, but this EP right here really caught my attention. After nearly 12 years of recording music, Russ is back with his second EP, Chomp . What really caught my eye is the features. KXNG Crooked, Ab-Soul, Busta Rhymes, Benny the Butcher, and Black Thought all guest verses, and one of the tracks has production from DJ Premier. This five-track EP was a quick listen, so I decided to give it a shot. Let’s get right into Chomp . Chomp is a hip-hop EP. Right off the bat, I can say that the cover art is definitely one of the more eerie covers I’ve seen this year. It definitely fits the more stripped-back sound of the project, and the sample-heavy beats act as a sucker punch to me because I gravitate toward...

$NOT - Beautiful Havoc ALBUM REVIEW

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I’ve been trying to get into the underground scene lately, and the name $NOT popped up a lot. I gave his mixtape from earlier this year, -TRAGEDY+ , a listen and I watched some of his music videos from Lyrical Lemonade too. Both of these were interesting to me, but I guess I wanted them to stand out more. I see the potential, but I didn’t feel like it was realized on -TRAGEDY+ . Now, his new debut album, Beautiful Havoc , is here, and hopefully, this potential I saw on his mixtape and videos are realized here. Let’s get into it! Beautiful Havoc is a hip-hop album with trap influences. Unlike -TRAGEDY+ , this album takes more of an emo-rap direction like Lil Peep or Juice WRLD. This isn’t my favorite kind of rap in general, but it never stops me from listening to a project by any means. First, let’s talk about the production. The beats on here are pretty good, and most of them are from producers that I’m hearing for the first time like Donny Katana, Woodpecker, and Level, among others....

Anna McClellan - I saw first light ALBUM REVIEW

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In the state of the economy and overall country at this point, indie artists have been struggling to make money to essentially live off of. So, I decided to take a dive down Bandcamp and see what was new. Anna McClellan’s name kept popping up, and her name also appeared on my Twitter timeline a couple of days earlier. So, I decided to check out her newest record, I saw first light , and see what all this rage was about. Let’s get right into it! I saw first light is an indie album with rock, folk, singer-songwriter, and alternative undertones. While I do like considering albums as a whole piece of art, this album is a bit of an enigma. Each of these songs feel like little stories more than an overall story, but also make up this big, indie film adjacent experience that’s very unique. The track “Raisin” has a playful instrumental that has a sense of freedom and “Gone” has these beautiful violin passages that remind me of some classic Loretta Lynn. Those are my two favorite tracks on her...

SAINt JHN - While The World Was Burning ALBUM REVIEW

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I’ve spoken about how the music industry has benefited from the existence of Tik Tok, and SAINt JHN is one of the bigger examples of becoming a household name. Imanbek’s ‘illegal’ remix of his hit track “Roses,” which just got nominated for a Grammy, burst onto the scene and elevated JHN’s career to a new level. This right here, While The World Was Burning , is his debut album, and even has cosigns from big artists like Kanye West, Future, and Lil Uzi Vert. Either way, I’m kind of excited to listen to this, so let’s get into it! While The World Was Burning is an R&B album with pop and hip-hop influences. Now, I went into this expecting this to not be the greatest thing in the world, but this was still kind of a rough listen to me. Two remixes of “Roses” appear on here, the famous Imanbek remix and an additional remix from Future. Both have been released and are okay, but not personally for me. Now, the other songs are a bit of a mixed bag. The songs on here remind me of something ...

The 2021 Grammy Awards: What The Hell...?

Well, what a roller coaster today has been. The nominations for the 2021 Grammy Awards have been announced today, and I’m pretty much going to give my thoughts on what the Grammys have deemed the best in music from the past year (almost). Let’s just get into it. In this section, I’ll be talking about the nominees. I’ll be saving my opinions on them for the next section. Leading the pack with 9 nominations is Beyoncé, with her single “Black Parade” being nominated for Song and Record of the Year. She also was nominated for Best Music Film for her Disney+ film BLACK IS KING . Her other source of nominations was from her remix of Megan Thee Stallion’s breakout “Savage.” The choices for Album of the Year were pretty eclectic this year. Those belong to Jhené Aiko’s third album Chilombo , the deluxe edition of soul outfit Black Pumas’ self-titled debut, Coldplay’s reunion album Everyday Life , British musician Jacob Collier’s third volume of his Djesse quartet, indie trio HAIM’s Women in M...

DaBaby - My Brother’s Keeper (Long Live G) EP REVIEW

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(Author’s Note: If you or someone you know are having suicidal thoughts, please call 1-800-273-8255. You have to know that there’s someone in your life that cares about you.) This is a bit more somber review this time around. DaBaby’s older brother, Glenn Johnson, recently took his own life. It was a tragic moment that shook the hip-hop community to its core. DaBaby stayed relatively quiet on the situation other than tweeting out a brief message honoring him, and it was understandable. A few weeks later, he announced that he made a song honoring his brother, and that it would release that Friday. Instead, a whole EP dropped, titled My Brother’s Keeper (Long Live G) . This was made to honor Johnson and act as a final goodbye from his younger brother. Let’s get into it. My Brother’s Keeper (Long Live G) is a hip-hop EP with trap undertones. Other than past projects, this EP has a sadder atmosphere, and rightfully so. Songs like the title track and “Shanyah” are so heartfelt and you can ...

King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard - K.G. ALBUM REVIEW

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King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard is quite a memorable name. Funny enough, I’ve never actually taken the time to listen to their music except for one album, Nonagon Infinity. They’ve been around since 2010, and each of their projects has been radically different, but they all fall under the ‘rock’ genre. This right here, K.G. , is their SIXTEENTH studio album in ten years, and quite frankly, I’m pretty excited to get into it! So, without further ado, let me talk to you about K.G. ! K.G. is a rock album with experimental and psychedelic undertones. A good way to describe this record is eerie. That tone cements itself with the opening track “K.G.L.W.,” with its odd instrumentation setting a vibe that I was ready to dive into. What I love about this album is just how varied it is. “Automaton” fits the same bill as the opening track with the dark energy it lets out, but “Intrasport” sounds like something that comes from the WarioWare series, and I absolutely love that too. The track “The...

Megan Thee Stallion - Good News ALBUM REVIEW

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Megan Thee Stallion is one of the biggest breakout stars of 2020. With “Savage” and its remix from Beyoncé to the cultural watermark of “WAP” with Cardi B, Meg has been on a roll this year. This right here, Good News , is her debut album. After putting out mixtapes Tina Snow and Fever , this is the bow on top of a record year. There’s honestly no introduction needed for Meg, so let’s just get right into it! Good News is a hip-hop album with trap and R&B influences. Now, I should mention Meg’s technical prowess first. There’s no doubting her talent as a rapper. On many songs, she has memorable flows mixed with witty writing to boot. Combined with explosive confidence and charisma, it’s a killer combo for success. This brought her to the mainstream media in a huge way. On Good News in particular, she reminds me of Missy Elliot more than her peers like Nicki Minaj or Cardi B, and that shows a lot on the tracks “Circles” and the City Girls team-up “Do It On The Tip.” But after the b...

BTS - BE ALBUM REVIEW

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It goes without saying that there’s a new rising force in the music industry. K-pop has been slowly rising in popularity in America since 2012, and without PSY’s “Gangnam Style,” we most likely wouldn’t be hearing about groups like BTS. The septet has been gaining up popularity since their 2014 EP Skool Luv Affair , and it really came to a peak six years later with “Dynamite,” the lead single from this new album BE that was the first track by a K-pop act to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart’s history. BTS’s fan base, the ARMY, are some of the most dedicated fans in recent memory, sometimes to a fault, but I digress. BE acts as BTS’s ‘comeback’ album, which in the K-pop world, means that this is all new songs. This isn’t past material recorded in a new language, this is brand new content for their fans to dive into with a fine comb, but also a new way for new fans to enter. I really liked “Dynamite” when it released, and since there were no other singles to thi...

Kali Uchis - Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞ ALBUM REVIEW

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Kali Uchis is pretty sick. I’m new to Latin music in general, and when I found out that Kali Uchis’s next project will be mainly in Spanish, I was all for it. Her debut album, Isolation, was one of my favorite R&B albums in recent memory, but her most recent EP TO FEEL ALIVE wasn’t that great to me. That EP and her second album, Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞ , are leaning more on the Latin side, and quite frankly, the singles leading up to this have been pretty great. Since this came out earlier in the week, I decided to save Friday’s spot for Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞ , so let’s just get right into it! Sin Miedo (del Amor y Otros Demonios) ∞ is a Latin album with pop, R&B, alternative, and reggaeton vibes. Kali has really gone back to her Latin roots with this project, and it feels like somewhat of a rebirth for her. Uchis rocks the reggaeton style very well to me. The lead singles, “¡aquí yo mando!” with Rico Nasty and “la luz(Fín)” with Jhay Cortez,...

Aesop Rock - Spirit World Field Guide ALBUM REVIEW

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The dictionary can be both a blessing and a curse. While it has helped nearly everyone in their early education, it’s also quite a lot to learn. Artists, rappers in particular, also have quite a say in what their musical dictionary is. The best example coming to mind about one of my favorite lyrical rappers is right now is Daveed Diggs, the vocalist for clipping. Many different artists come to mind for different people, and I think Aesop Rock should be mentioned a lot more often. His last solo album, The Impossible Kid , was pretty great, although I was a little late to the party on that record. So, this is his newest album, Spirit World Field Guide . Let’s just get right into it, enough talk! Spirit World Field Guide is a hip-hop album with experimental influences. First off, I’m not familiar with a lot of Rock’s work, so please bear with me if I don’t get every single part! I gotta admit, this is a new tier of lyrical ability. His choice of words and his flows are all some of the mo...

2 Chainz - So Help Me God! ALBUM REVIEW

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I’ve always been a passive 2 Chainz fan. His last two albums, Pretty Girls Like Trap Music and Rap or Go to the League , were pretty fun listens, but they weren’t masterpieces by any means. Ever since then, he’s been a little off of my radar because he just doesn’t stand out to me. It’s really sad for me to say that because I think he’s a fun and entertaining rapper. When I had first heard about his announcement about his next album So Help Me God! , I was kind of excited. A new 2 Chainz album isn’t an event, but it’s always pretty fun. The single “Quarantine Thick” with Mulatto wasn’t that great, and that kind of dampened the hype, but that wasn’t gonna stop me from listening to it. Anyways, let’s get into So Help Me God! . So Help Me God! is a hip-hop album with trap influences. First off, these features are ambitious as hell. Ty Dolla $ign, Kanye West, Brent Faiyaz, Chief Keef, and more all give pretty good performances. The others on there are fine, but there’s one feature in par...

Future & Lil Uzi Vert - Pluto x Baby Pluto ALBUM REVIEW

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(Author’s Note: At the time of this writing, this is apparently the only registered written review of Pluto x Baby Pluto . If you search ‘ Pluto x Baby Pluto review,’ I could be one of the first results. It’s a strange honor, but I’ll take it!) Both Future and Lil Uzi Vert have had stellar years across the board. While I didn’t prefer Uzi’s one-two punch of Eternal Atake and LUV vs. The World 2 to his other projects, the amount of praise they’ve gotten for these projects are great, and it’s amazing to see him back in his bag to his fans. I was a much bigger fan of Future’s recent project, High Off Life , which is a celebration of what makes Future great and so influential to the trap genre. Now, after a couple of meh singles over the summer, Future and Uzi have teamed up for a whole album, titled after their respective nicknames Pluto x Baby Pluto . Let’s get into it! Pluto x Baby Pluto is a hip-hop album with trap influences. Now, Uzi was featured on a track on Future’s last album...

BENEE - Hey u x ALBUM REVIEW

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Tik Tok has been one of the biggest platforms on the planet, and I’ve really warmed up to it over the months I’ve been on it. The amount of music discovery, or rediscovery, that’s on the platform is on a whole new level and it’s pretty great. While songs from Jason Derulo and Roddy Ricch on Tik Tok, some breakout stars are found on there, BENEE being one of the bigger examples. Her song with Gus Dapperton, “Supalonely,” was a big hit and since then, she’s had a major appearance on arguably the best pop album so far this year, Joji’s Nectar . This right here, Hey u x , is her debut album and I’ve been pretty excited to hear this. Let’s just get right into it. Hey u x is an indie album with pop and R&B influences. I can get right to the point on this: BENEE feels like a brighter, more funky Clairo. This may be just me, but they have very similar styles to me. While that isn’t a bad thing by any means, it still has a very strong Clairo vibe. Now that’s out of the way, let’s get into ...

HEALTH - DISCO4 :: PART I ALBUM REVIEW

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I hadn’t really cared about HEALTH’s music until recently. Actually, I didn’t really think of HEALTH’s music until the release of this album, DISCO4 :: PART I . Like the title says, this is apparently the first part of a collaborative series of mini-albums, and the guest list on this is pretty nuts. Experimental duo 100 gecs, rap warrior JPEGMAFIA, and indie darling Soccer Mommy all feature on this, among many others. This definitely caught my eye when looking through it, and I decided to give it a go. Let’s get right into DISCO4 :: PART I . DISCO4 :: PART I is an alternative album with experimental, metal, electronic, rock, indie, and hip-hop influences. Collaborative projects have always been hit or miss to me. Rap albums tend to be the first things that come to mind. Drake and Future had surprisingly strong chemistry on What a Time to be Alive five years ago, and Kanye West and Kid Cudi’s KIDS SEE GHOSTS is one of my favorite Kanye-adjacent projects in recent memory. What both thes...

Ólafur Arnalds - some kind of peace ALBUM REVIEW

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Ólafur Arnalds has been one of my favorite composers lately. I’ve been doing a little dive into his music, and I’ve been having a good time. He’s also composed scores for the shows Broadchurch and Defending Jacob , and I enjoyed these as well. With 2020 in the home stretch and everyone being stressed out, I’ve also been diving into ambient music, which Arnalds is also known for. While I was listening to this, I saw that he recently put out a new album, titled some kind of peace . After I listened to it, I decided to write about how I felt about it, which is what happens here, after all. Let’s just get right into some kind of peace . some kind of peace is an ambient album with electronic and even some classical vibes. A good interpretation of this album is to bring peace to a world where there’s no peace at all, and I think that’s a beautiful way of describing it to me. The opening track “Loom” has additional production from Bonobo, and it’s probably the most electronic-sounding song ...

Kylie Minogue - Disco ALBUM REVIEW

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2020 has been the year of the disco revival. Artists like Dua Lipa ( Future Nostalgia ), Jessie Ware ( What’s Your Pleasure? ), Róisín Murphy ( Róisín Machine ), and even Tame Impala ( The Slow Rush ) have been able to bring back the disco sound to mostly positive results. Now, over thirty years into her career, Kylie Minogue has decided to jump into this revival with the self-aware title of  Disco . This is the Australian pop legend’s fifteenth studio album, and with the old-is-new run of albums that have permeated 2020, I can’t wait to take another dive into the sound again. Not a giant intro, so let’s just get into Disco . Disco is, you guessed it, a disco album with dance and pop vibes. Damn, this is a cool album. If this album came out in the 70s, it’d be dominating the charts. Out of the disco revival albums that came out this year, Kylie’s take on it sounds the most authentic. This is a fancy, luxurious experience that’s really fun. The production is the highlight for me, r...

Little Mix - Confetti ALBUM REVIEW

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Genuine question here: Is this a Simon Cowell product? Like, this has to be something from Simon’s making. Little Mix is a British pop group that gained traction after winning The X Factor. Actually, that gives me my Simon answer. They’ve been going strong over the year, and I’m kind of surprised that they lasted longer than Fifth Harmony. Either way, they never really hit it big in America to my knowledge, but I’ve heard some of their songs, and they’re cute. They haven’t blown me away, but it’s pop music doing pop music, I guess. This is their sixth album as a group, Confetti , and for a pop group, male or female, it’s an impressive milestone that not a lot of modern groups hit. Because of this occasion, I decided to give Confetti a shot. Let’s just get into it. Confetti is a pop album with R&B and dance influences. A good sign of a successful pop band is chemistry, and quite frankly, Little Mix have that in spades. Each member’s performances are fine, honestly. Nothing truly b...

NLE Choppa - From Dark to Light ALBUM REVIEW

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Surprise drops have been gaining more popularity, and for some artists, they can be out of character, especially for rappers these days. NLE Choppa just did this with his new mixtape From Dark to Light , which I’ll be talking about here, but first, we’re gonna need a little context. When he dropped his debut album Top Shotta in August, I didn't cover it, but I was very surprised about it. It didn’t have to be 20 tracks, but Choppa was a very entertaining performer on there, and his voice canceled out the generic beats. Between then and now, he changed up his personality a bit. He’s preaching positivity and his so-called ‘spiritual awakening’ has really affected his image, even creating a separate YouTube channel that acts as an outlet for his new preachings. He also promised a ‘woke’ project, and From Dark to Light is that project. That’s enough context for you, so let’s just get right into it! From Dark to Light is a hip-hop album with trap influences. Now, I can commend him fo...

Bree Runway - 2000AND4EVA ALBUM REVIEW

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I honestly don’t have a lot to say about Bree Runway. Her debut album/mixtape 2000AND4EVA was a surprise drop, and I had enjoyed some of her features she’s done in the past. I saw some press releases about her debut project, and I decided that I’ll go check it out! I know that this is a smaller intro, but it’s simply a new project that I’m excited to listen to! To note some things about Runway as an artist, I think that the songs I’ve heard her featured on have been very charismatic and animated, which I can also attribute to the memorable cover art. With that, I’m pretty stoked to listen to this. Let’s get into 2000AND4EVA . 2000AND4EVA is a hip-hop album with R&B, pop, and electronic influences. I’ve noticed a theme throughout 2020 where there are short and sweet rap EPs and short projects, and to my knowledge, this is the third one that’s come out. After hearing the entirety of this project, I’m really surprised Bree Runway isn’t one of the biggest stars on the planet. This is...

Nav & Wheezy - Emergency Tsunami ALBUM REVIEW

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Whenever I write reviews, I try to find positive aspects of music. That’s one of the main reasons why there aren’t a lot of negative reviews on here. For some albums, though, the bad tends to outweigh the good. That statement hits home to Nav in particular. Signed to The Weeknd’s XO label, one could say that Nav has been one of the most consistent rappers right now. This new album, Emergency Tsunami , marks Nav’s seventh major project, and the six projects before this have been incredibly bland, boring, and overall bad on any standards. It’s not just his projects, though. Every appearance Nav has ever had on a song is the weakest link. It’s pretty sad, actually. I just do not understand why Nav has a record contract, let alone with The Weeknd. Now, this could change at any moment, though. Emergency Tsunami is entirely produced by Wheezy, and that brought a little hype to the table on this one, if I’m being totally honest. So, let’s just ride this large wave (pun intended) to Emergency...

Isaac Zale & Cherry Blu - None of the Keys Fit ALBUM REVIEW

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I was scrolling Twitter one day, and I follow some accounts on there like Team Dreamville, Shrek Knows Rap, and DJ Pickle Juice, and all of them were talking about this guy named Isaac Zale. He’s an upcoming Canadian rapper who has this rap-R&B fusion that’s pretty enjoyable. The song highlighted was “Seeds” with Mick Jenkins, the latest single from his debut album with producer Cherry Blu, None of the Keys Fit . I was really impressed with “Seeds,” and like one does, I decided to do a little dive into Zale’s music, specifically his newest album, None of the Keys Fit . Why am I still talking about it? Let’s just get into it. None of the Keys Fit is a hip-hop album with R&B influences. Now, if I had to pick an artist that reminds me of Zale’s music the most, I’d actually pick two: Drake and Logic. The Drake-ish charm shows on “Hannah’s Ballad,” with Zale’s singing sounding a lot better than I thought it would be. The Logic influences are shown most on “F a Friend” with Eric Rep...

Have Any Of My Scores Changed? (2020 So Far Edition)

Opinions change. It always happens, especially when it comes to music. So, I’ve decided to start a little series about if any of my past reviews have become outdated. I’ll be choosing four past reviews since starting this page and revealing if I had seen it in a different way, both positive and negative. Let’s get right into it. Childish Gambino - 3.15.20 When I first reviewed this back in May, I felt very indifferent about it, eventually giving it a 5/10. I backed this up with thinking that while there are some pretty nice highlights like “Algorhythm” and “12.38” with 21 Savage, not much else hits these highs, mainly because of rough production that just simply turned me off of the overall sound. As I’ve re-listened to the album, I’ve warmed up to it, with “24.19” being one of my favorite tracks on the project, or maybe even of the year so far. Along with looking at the lyrics, there’s also a lot more political topics covered than I remember, and it really makes 3.15.20 a very depres...

NazLace - Dopest Youngin ALBUM REVIEW

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Before the age of social media, many smaller artists have just gotten around and have gotten fame off of word of mouth. NazLace is an anomaly, in this case. During this pandemic that the country is in, many people have gone into a deep dive of up and coming artists. Over the past couple days, some friends of mine have posted things about NazLace, hyping up his debut album Dopest Youngin . So, after hearing the single “Pain,” which revealed a voice that sounded like a hybrid of Roddy Ricch and even a little J. Cole, that got me convinced to cover this album (along with a request from NazLace himself, but I digress). Let’s get right into Dopest Youngin . Dopest Youngin is a hip-hop album with trap influences. Now, each artist needs inspiration or a reference point to go off of. Whether this was intentional or not, I feel like there’s a lot of Lil Baby in NazLace, or at least that’s what comes to mind. On the standout track “Street Credit,” there’s themes of being there for your friends ...

Busta Rhymes - Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God ALBUM REVIEW

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Busta Rhymes has been a staple of rap for the duration of his career, but the 2010s had a bit of a lull in his career. His last album, 2012’s Year of the Dragon , was a massive disappointment and nearly derailed his career. Now, nearly six years after its announcement, the anticipated sequel to his iconic album Extinction Level Event , titled The Wrath of God , is here. With some high profile features and a couple catchy singles, it was already better than Year of the Dragon . We just have to see how much better it is, so let’s do that right now. Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath of God is a hip-hop album. Not much to it, I guess. I can say right now that Busta is back in his bag when it comes to his performances. No matter how good or bad the lyrics are, his delivery and overall flow is consistently good, and that’s very impressive to me. Now, when it comes to the songs, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. There are 22 tracks on this thing, and it becomes a bit of a slog to listen to it. Ye...

Adrianne Lenker - songs ALBUM REVIEW

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As I’ve stated before, I’ve been wanting to get more into folk and singer-songwriter music. After hearing the music of Big Thief because of a friend, I was hooked to the band. Last week, their vocalist Adrianne Lenker dropped a duo of solo albums titled songs and instrumentals . Today, I’ll be focusing on songs , a release that wasn’t really on my radar until I saw the reviews for it. Plus, 4AD Records is a pretty good label, so it was definitely worth a listen anyway. Alright, that’s a small intro, but let’s get right into songs . songs is an alternative album with folk, singer-songwriter, and ambient undertones. Now, if you’re expecting a singer-songwriter album with lush production akin to Taylor Swift’s folklore, you’re wrong. Most of the record is just Lenker’s voice, a guitar, and the occasional sounds of nature. Lenker’s voice is quiet and reserved, but somehow emotional and powerful at the same time. It’s like taking a bite into something sweet, but it’s actually sour. Anothe...

Trippie Redd's Pegasus AIN'T IT, CHIEF

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Hear me out for a second. I like Trippie Redd. I personally think that Life’s A Trip is pretty great and shows off his versatility very well. Since then, he’s been on a bit of a decline. His following project, ! , has some decent tracks, but there’s so much filler on there that it nearly cancels out all the good things about it. I can give some points to ! , though, for creating a decent vibe and it at least sounded good. The production was nice, even if his lyrics were a little on the basic side. The quality kind of came up on last year’s A Love Letter To You 4 , but that really wasn’t anything special, either. Now, we’ve come to Pegasus , his often teased project that was preceded with the masterpiece of an EP, Spooky Sounds . It’s quite literal, believe it or not. Now, just in time for Halloween, we have his newest project. Let’s dive right into Pegasus . Pegasus is a hip-hop album with trap, pop, and R&B influences. Alright, here comes the barrage. WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO BE 26...

Oneohtrix Point Never - Magic Oneohtrix Point Never ALBUM REVIEW

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Daniel Lopatin has gone by many names throughout his career. Chuck Person, Dania Sharpes, KGB Man, and his most famous persona, Oneohtrix Point Never. The last time he put out music under the 0PN name was in 2018, with his James Blake-assisted Age Of. Between then and now, he’s produced multiple tracks on The Weeknd’s latest project After Hours and wrote the original score for the Adam Sandler film Uncut Gems under his real name. Back under the Oneohtrix Point Never name, he’s back to studio album capacity in Magic Oneohtrix Point Never . He’s going back to his more sampled-based roots, and taking his new friends Caroline Polachek and The Weeknd with him. I was pretty excited for this project, so let’s not waste any more time and talk about Magic Oneohtrix Point Never . Magic Oneohtrix Point Never is an electronic album with synthpop, plunderphonics, and vaporwave vibes. For those that didn’t know, the ‘Oneohtrix Point Never’ came from Lopatin mishearing the FM station 106.7, which ...

How Do I Review Albums?

As of October 31st, 2020, I’ve written 118 reviews and I also have a little piece on awards. This would be my 121st post, and I wanted to take a different direction today. I always get recommendations on what I should listen to, and I also keep a list of older albums that I’d want to review, new or old. Along with that, some of my reviews have gained some criticism because, well, I have opinions and some might differ from others. The most recent example of this is my thoughts on the new Ariana Grande album, positions . Lil Uzi Vert’s Eternal Atake is also an example of this. So, instead of writing a review on this incredibly drab November morning, I’ve decided to write about what I do while listening to albums specifically for reviewing purposes. I know how other people and more relevant names in the music scene have done it, and it might be the same as me, but I think it’s a pretty good thing to talk about it. Let’s just get right into it. First, there’s usually a discovery period. ...