Cordavision Music Reviews

I gotta keep holding to my promises about reviewing. I always love it when an artist takes a risk with their material. Whether or not it works out, I usually admire the risk and appreciate the fact that any artist can do something out of their comfort zone. Either way, the artist in question today is Lil Yachty, a rapper that has basically become a joke the longer his career’s gone on. However, going into a new genre out of left field isn’t totally new to rap. Childish Gambino jumping into the world of neo-soul with Awaken, My Love! , along with later projects from Mac Miller and Tyler, the Creator having more jazz influences, have proven that turning to a new genre for new ideas has worked out pretty well. Yachty, however, has turned to psychedelic rock in the vein of Tame Impala for this new album, Let’s Start Here. to mark the new chapter of his career. Let’s get into it. Having stuck around with Yachty during the rough patches, I can easily say that Let’s Start Here. is his best ...

I have a poster of this cover in my room, yet I have no idea why I have this over IGOR . Tyler, The Creator is arguably a superstar now. For the past few months, he’s been on a wildly successful tour, been doing features on some great projects since his last album, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST , and he’s actually legally allowed to enter some parts of the world now. Personally, I think he’s one of the best artists working today. I definitely wouldn’t have thought that over a decade ago, mainly because I was a kid, but it’s mainly because he was known for Goblin , an album that I think had great ideas [especially that opening track, holy shit] yet is now plagued with material that hasn’t aged well in many different ways. I thought about reviewing Goblin , its better follow-up Wolf, or even give his first project Bastard a second shot. However, I chose this project, 2015’s Cherry Bomb , which I could safely say is Tyler’s most divisive project as of now. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and...

Ther's a great Hulk Hogan bit on here. Quite frankly, I have no idea who The Koreatown Oddity is. I’ve heard his music, especially one of the best albums of 2020, Little Dominique’s Nosebleed , and that certainly grabbed my attention for his career. To put it in perspective, I think Nosebleed is one of the best releases on the Stones Throw label, which includes classic albums like Madvillainy , J Dilla’s Donuts , and Yes Lawd! from Knxwledge and Anderson .Paak. It’s in very good company, and now, we have an official follow-up to it titled ISTHISFORREAL? , so let’s not waste any time and get into it. I should most likely state that I’m not looking for this project to top Nosebleed in any way, mainly because I think that project’s the closest thing we have to that lightning-in-a-bottle feeling in rap this decade. That being said, I still really fuck with this album. No matter if it’s an entire album or a feature, you can tell that a lot of passion has been put into this and cares ...

CAPRISONGS vs. Gemini Rights . Fight. I’ve always enjoyed Steve Lacy’s work with a catch. Oddly enough, his first solo album Apollo XXI really didn’t do anything for me at all, but his work with Odd Future-adjacent R&B group The Internet has always stood out to me more than his solo work. I am a sucker for some good neo-soul though, so why Apollo XXI didn’t click for me is beyond me. Either way, I’ve been pretty excited about his next release, Gemini Rights . How does it sound? Let’s get into it. In a weird way, there was an immediate comparison that I made a little bit after my first listen of this, and it was André 3000’s The Love Below , the second half of Outkast’s iconic double album. There’s no deep comparison on it like a similar theme or Lacy sounding like 3 Stacks at all, that’s just the vibe I felt while listening to this. Another thing about this is that this is beautifully produced across the board. Lacy’s voice, the beats, everything just comes together so smoothly. H...

I certainly hope this album isn’t a wasteland. I really don’t know much about Brent Faiyaz, and I was pretty late to the party when it comes to him too. The first time I heard him was as a feature on Tyler, the Creator’s CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST , and he sounded great. I gave a listen to his Sonder Son album not long after that and liked it too, and it ended up being the same with Fuck The World . It may not have been as long for me as the fans who’ve been with him for years, but we now have WASTELAND , a brand new project from him. How does it sound? Let’s get into it. First off, the production is rich and full of life here. It feels very cinematic, and that’s helped by the surprisingly great skits that are placed throughout the album. It’s not often where the skits can be that engaging, but what about the actual songs? A great throughline is Brent’s voice, which is always mesmerizing enough to keep your attention on the music. Something that I think has improved here is his songwriti...

Is it bad to say that I want Moor of this? I’ll see myself out... I’ve spoken about Moor Mother on here before, and I think she’s one of the most important artists working right now. Her last album, Black Encyclopedia of the Air , was one of last year’s best albums and I continue to go back to it every now and then. Now, we have Jazz Codes , which could be seen as a love letter to jazz, and every section of it is written by one of the mystifying artists of this decade so far. Let’s get into what I thought about Jazz Codes . Let me just say right off the bat that, like most of Moor Mother’s records, this isn’t that much of an easy listen. While it’s still very much an abstract rap album to its core, there are many more genres of music at hand here. Multiple subgenres of jazz like spiritual jazz, free jazz, and avant-garde jazz are just as prevalent as abstract and jazz rap. Even the ambient undertones here add more and more layers to this project. Many tracks on here feel uncanny and et...

I’m just curious to know how this cover was made. Honestly, this is another scenario where I don’t know a single thing about this artist. However, I do know that UMI has a very good cover of Frank Ocean’s “Self Control,” which I’ll link here . Another thing I noticed from this album, Forest in the City , is that she wrote every song on this project. I’ll have to look and see if this is true for the rest of her projects, but I do like a good R&B album when I find one. So, let’s just get into Forest in the City . I’ll start off with this: I enjoy UMI’s writing the most on this project, mainly because it seems very genuine, and that’s a big piece of getting into R&B when it comes to my taste in the genre. I also think that shows when she sings in Japanese and seamlessly transitions to English, and that’s where the creativity in this shines. I can hear the influences here like Brandy and Erykah Badu, but it doesn’t feel like she’s wearing them on her sleeve and is carving her own p...

Honestly, I just can’t believe we made it five years. Do I really need an introduction to this? I’m sure if you’re even in tune with the music world, you know who Kendrick Lamar is. You know how long it’s been since his last album DAMN. , and if you’re curious, that dropped back on April 14, 2017. I was a sophomore in high school and the day this dropped, I finished my sophomore year of college. A lot of my life happened in between the two albums, and among many other rap albums, DAMN. was very instrumental in my music taste today. Actually, Kendrick’s discography in general really helped me get into music the way I am today, so to say that this is a big deal to me is an understatement. You know how much expectations fans have for Kendrick when it comes to his projects. To put it simply, he hasn’t missed for a very long time, there’s little reason to doubt him. The one thing that always fluctuates with him is the sound of the album, and we haven’t gotten anything on that before its re...

Okay, I melted my eyes, what’s next? Denzel Curry has been one of the most exciting rappers working right now, mainly because of how consistent he is. His last official album, 2018’s Ta13oo , is one of the best and most complex albums of that year in all of music, and his projects ZUU and UNLOCKED with Kenny Beats showed off more of his creativity. I’ve been very excited about what he’s been cooking, and now we finally have Melt My Eyez See Your Future , the album that Curry himself has described as his true next project after Ta13oo . Let’s not waste any more time and get into it. I just have to say for the sound of this album, I really enjoy the more boom bap approach to the production on most of these songs. It fits Denzel’s voice very well to me, along with the lyrical content he has on this project. I also think that this is his best-produced album out of everything he’s released. The songs flow well within the tracklist, but the true highlight here is Denzel himself. His writin...

Oh no, he’s hot. I’ve never really heard of Lucky Daye before this album. Even if I’ve heard the name before, I haven’t heard any of his music before. This is a classic example of only listening to an album because of the cover art, because admittedly, this cover’s scratching an itch in my mind. I know he’s a neo-soul/R&B singer, and that’s really all I know. I don’t know how to properly segway into the review, so let’s just get into what I thought about Candydrip . Right off the bat, my favorite aspect of this album is Lucky Daye himself. His vocals are rich and they fit the experimentation in the production. When it comes to the production, it’s a mix of digital modern production and live instrumentation, and it’s some of the best R&B production I’ve heard in a while. The slower R&B tracks really do fit Lucky Daye’s sound and with the mix of new and old production, it makes for a pretty unique sound. Overall, that’s pretty much all of my thoughts on Candydrip . Lucky Daye...

Since I like these guys and I am on Earth, am I an EARTHGANG member? I’ve always thought that EARTHGANG have stood out among J. Cole’s Dreamville label. The duo consisting of Olu and WowGr8 have always shown massive talent, and along with their features on other Dreamville artists’ songs and albums, their debut album Mirrorland began to show their potential. Now, after a tiny delay, their second album Ghetto Gods is here for the masses. Does their potential as album artists finally become realized? Let’s get into my thoughts on Ghetto Gods . In comparison to Mirrorland , I do appreciate more experimentation in the production when it comes to creating a soundscape for this album. The entire concept of finding yourself in God and vice versa is executed very well here, and it shows that the duo’s writing and lyrics are improving as well. The one thing I’d think would hamper this album is that there are a good amount of five-minute songs and that they’d slow down the album, but they actu...

I’m not even gonna bother with an NFT joke. Big K.R.I.T. is a rapper that I’ve liked a few songs of, but I really only like one of his entire projects, and that’s 4eva Is a Mighty Long Time from 2017. Quite frankly, I didn’t even know that he dropped another album in 2019 until I researched some details for this new album here. Either way, like most albums these days for me, I went into Digital Roses Don’t Die without hearing any of the singles and completely going in blind. Let’s just get into it. Right off the bat, I think the production is pretty good across the board. It’s done entirely by K.R.I.T., and it luckily fits his voice and sounds pretty well when paired with the sound. Along with that, the ‘dirty South’ sound that was all over the other albums I’ve heard from his catalog isn't really present here. K.R.I.T. goes for a more melodic angle for most of the album, and if I may be honest, he’s just okay in this lane. The whole romance concept of this album seems alright to...

Flowers are pretty cool, just saying. Let me be honest with you, I know nothing about Saba. I know he’s in a group, PivotGang, and I know that people are very excited about his return, Few Good Things . I took a listen to Care For Me , his last album from nearly four years ago, and while I know people that LOVE that project, I thought it was just okay to me. However, it did get me curious enough to check out this new album here, so let’s not waste any more time and get into Few Good Things . I’ll just say that right off the bat, this isn’t as conceptual as Care For Me . I know that there are some people that go into albums for that, but it really didn’t affect my listening experience. What I think stands out here is his heartbreaking lyrics on here. It’s refreshing to hear Saba like this because I don’t think we’ve ever heard this side of him in his music before, and it’s really compelling to me to hear it. There are a lot of features on here too, but I think most of them do a good job...

Cache Saturday is a new series of unranked reviews where I’m gonna catch up on albums I’ve listened to, whether it’s for the first time or not. I’ll also cover new albums I’ve missed from earlier or were cut from my schedule. Also, they’ll all be done in one paragraph. Here’s the first entry, Jon Batiste’s Grammy-nominated WE ARE . Woooow, how have I not heard his solo work yet? I know he’s also nominated and won for his work on the score for Pixar’s Soul, but this is just great. I’m pretty sure Batiste has a degree as a jazz pianist and it shows here. I love all the influences here like funk, soul, hip-hop, and gospel, yet it doesn’t feel like any of them. I could also tell Batiste is from New Orleans, mainly because the sound just feels born from it. Most of all, it just feels genuine. It feels like there’s a talented man at work here and it shows across the board. No wonder Batiste is the most nominated artist at this year’s Grammys. Listen here YouTube Music WE ARE is a Verve rele...

This may not be true, but I saw that 500,000 copies of vinyl of this are being made just for the U.S. alone for this week. Good god. Okay, Adele doesn’t need any type of introduction whatsoever. Honestly, just look at the sentence above. That many copies sold on a dying format is gonna be nuts and this album will easily have the biggest opening week of the year and at least since HER LAST ALBUM, 2015’s 25 . Either way, it’s a pretty huge deal that Adele is back. We know she has a great reputation for dropping great albums since she’s been on a great run, so let’s not waste any more time and get into 30 . I’d actually like to state something about the lyrics and writing here, but it’s worth noting. Adele went through a pretty rough divorce with her husband and it really affected the content of this album. I say that because I think the lyrics could’ve been written a little better, but that’s just a little personal preference. Outside of that, Adele sounds incredible, as always. Her voca...

Holy shit, it’s finally here. You know, I could safely say that this is my most anticipated album of 2021. Who the hell would ever imagine Bruno Mars, an industry titan and hit-making machine, and Anderson .Paak, one of the most underrated yet most respected artists working now (who also happens to be one of my favorite musicians ever), to team up for an entire album under a new name, Silk Sonic? I know a couple of people that doubted this, but right when I heard the news of them working together, I knew this was gonna be an absolute treasure. The three singles released for this album, the chart-topping “Leave The Door Open,” the bubbly “Skate,” and my personal favorite “Smokin Out the Window,” were all damn near perfect. There was a level of chemistry between Mars and .Paak that’s rarely captured in music. I may not agree with this notion, but people I’ve asked have said that this is the closest we’ll ever get to having Michael Jackson and Prince working together. Either way, Silk Son...

Hearing that this is already one of the most successful R&B albums of all time on Apple Music is absolutely insane. I’m gonna be honest, I know absolutely nothing about Summer Walker outside of her drama with producer London On Da Track. I don’t even think I’ve heard a song of hers prior to listening to this album. What really got this album on my radar was the stat above, and it really piqued my interest in this album. Still Over It is the title of the project, and there’s really not much else to say about an intro on my end. Let’s just get into it. I’ll say that I do like the vibe that this gives off. It feels like an unreleased 90s neo-soul/R&B album that was finally unearthed for the public to hear. Of course, it doesn't all feel like that because of the occasional trap beats laden throughout, but I still like the feeling of it. I really don’t think Walker is that much of a powerhouse like Tinashe or Jazmine Sullivan or SZA (who has a great feature on this), but I thin...

I literally went four months thinking that this album was called Sometimes I Might Be An Introvert only to find out there’s no ‘an.’ Little Simz is an artist that has been praised quite a bit over in the U.K., and I know quite a few American fans too. Her last full-length album, GREY Area , is one of the most praised albums of 2019 and ever since I’ve heard it, I totally understand why. Announced back in the spring, her newest album, Sometimes I Might Be Introvert is highly anticipated by her fans and it’s been highly anticipated by me as well. Unlike most albums that are anticipated by me, I went into this without hearing any singles. It was pretty painful to go four months without listening to it, but I feel like it’s gonna be worth it. So, let’s not waste any more time and get into Sometimes I Might Be Introvert . Um, how do I start this? To my knowledge, I have never started a review like that before. Okay, I’m just gonna go through the basics. The production here is absolutely g...

Just gotta say that Rate Your Music is scared of hi-hats. Welcome to another round of ‘Artist I Haven’t Researched Thoroughly Before Reviewing.’ So, I first heard of Pink Siifu from his feature on The Avalanches comeback album We Will Always Love You and since then, I’ve heard his two projects with Fly Anakin, FlySiifu’s and $mokebreak . I’ve liked both of those projects, but I have yet to hear a full album from Siifu. I’m about to change that with GUMBO’! , which I had just found about this past weekend. So, you know, might as well review it, right? Let’s get into it. I can say for a fact that this is unlike anything I’ve heard this year, maybe even ever in the modern rap landscape. It’s pretty mellow and gloomy, and with that, it’s a pretty good experimental trap album, if one even exists. I think “Wayans Bros.” with Peso Gordon and “Roscoe’!” are heavy contenders for some of the hardest songs of the year with their bass-heavy trap beats and wild performances from Siifu on both tra...

This art reminds me so much of Halo and I love it so much. Alright, I don’t have that much of an intro for this one. Tkay Maidza happens to be one of my favorite up-and-coming artists, and the past two entries in the Last Year Was Weird trilogy are honestly pretty great. I’ve heard some loose singles that she’s dropped, and they were pretty good, but I was patiently waiting for the final installment in her beloved series. Now, since Last Year Was Weird, Vol. 3 is here, let’s get into it and see if it has worked. I do think the sound of this EP fits the summer sound, with the industrial sounds of the other EPs in the series being replaced by a more breezy pop/R&B sound that’s similar to Tyler, the Creator post- Cherry Bomb stuff. And like some of Tyler’s work, Maidza’s work on this project is somewhat experimental but smooth as well. It’s the complete opposite of her past projects, and it’s pretty refreshing. Every single song on here stands on their own, especially the track “H...