Cordavision Music Reviews

Woah, a new review? After this long? Yeah, sure. Why not? I got some plans in the works to keep this active in some form, and I’ll show off some more details in the post after this! What timing for an album to end up bringing this little site back, even if it’s just for a little bit of time. The last post on here was last June, and a lot has happened in my life since then, whether it’s in music or my personal life. Arguably, the biggest moment in music of the year was the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar, which exploded just before this summer with “Like That,” a song off of the first of two Future and Metro Boomin’ albums from this year, WE DON’T TRUST YOU . I don’t need to go into just how massive this beef was (and in still is in some ways), but if you need one major takeaway, I’ll say this: One of the biggest hits of the year, regardless of genre, essentially boiled down to Kendrick calling Drake a pedophile for four-and-a-half minutes. “Not Like Us,” a song where one of the m...

Loving the Pink Floyd homage, not gonna lie. I think it’s a safe bet to say that Metro Boomin’ is a modern legend. I’ve always liked him and his contributions to rap and trap specifically, and he’s also had a huge hand in some of my favorite albums in trap. His collab albums with 21 Savage, mainly Without Warning with Offset and Savage Mode II , have been the standouts to me. Also, while writing this, I also found out he produced the entirety (sans one track) of Future’s DS2 , one of my favorite Future projects. It may also be a little bit of bias, but he’s also done a good amount with The Weeknd as well, who appears on this album. However, I think his last solo album, NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES , is just fine. I don’t really remember a bunch of it, but I still got pretty excited for this when it got announced. Let’s just cut to the bullshit and see how I felt about HEROES & VILLAINS . I’m just gonna say that I don’t know how he connected with Morgan Freeman, but he always sounds s...

He mentions the best character in Super Smash Bros. on this album. It’s getting a little ridiculous over here. Starting this decade, Nas has been on an insane run. The first two King’s Disease albums are pretty good, with the second one being great, but his last release, Magic , is one of my personal favorites of his since its drop a little less than a year ago. The gel between all of these projects is Hit-Boy, producing every one of the aforementioned albums. Now, they’ve brought King’s Disease III to the table. Not really a lot to make an intro for, so let’s get into it. I definitely don’t agree with this, but apparently there are some people out there that aren’t fans of the Nas/Hit-Boy pairing. So, I’ll counter that with this: I think that this is some of the best beats Nas has ever been over. The funniest thing is that Nas even has said on tracks that you buy my stuff for the lyrics, not the beats. I think that’s a good case for a lot of the middle section of his career, but ev...

The moment I found out that this guy has a song called “I Personally Wouldn’t Revive Queen Elizabeth (Pack Watch)” was when I knew I’d like this guy. Most of this new set of reviews is gonna consist of two things: Whatever I heard in my backlog or a newly-released project that I’m excited about. This one lands as more of a backlog entry, but this dropped this past summer and I only found about it last month. I’m a little ashamed to admit it, but Anthony Fantano’s pretty positive review of this gave me the motivation to finally give this a shot. I pretty much have no idea who Ghais Guevara is, and both the title and cover of this already show something unique with the project. Let’s talk about There Will Be No Super-Slave . Right off the bat, I adore the production on this. It’s grimy and tinged with industrial undertones that really began to stand out as I was hearing the project. Even the wild, frantic samples on the intro track introduce Guevara as a producer in an interesting way. S...

 

Yes, we know what the color pink is made of, Uzi. I think it’s safe to say that we’re past the peak popularity of SoundCloud rap, and I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty fun. Now, I’m just curious to see who will try to break free of the mold and find out how much longevity their careers have. Rappers like Playboi Carti and even Denzel Curry to some extent have shown in their own ways how they can stay relevant and even innovative, but one of the bigger names that still has some way to prove himself, at least in my opinion, is Lil Uzi Vert. Their breakout track, “XO Tour Llif3,” is arguably the best song to come from this wave, but it’s been many ups and downs since then. Now, as a prelude to the long-teased PINK TAPE , we have the RED & WHITE EP. How does this little taster sound? Let’s get into it. I’m just gonna cut right to the chase here: This is the best Uzi has sounded since LUV is Rage 2 . Having viewed his last project Eternal Atake as a massive disappointment, I feel like ...

This cover just reminds me of Vespertine . Rico Nasty has been an artist I’ve been keeping my eye on for a while. The mixtape she released with Kenny Beats was really the first time I had even heard of her, and it was great. Her debut album from a couple years back, Nightmare Vacation , was also very enjoyable, and it even got her that mainstream appeal that I think she’s been deserving for a while now. After Nightmare Vacation , I was wondering if she’d stick with the more mainstream sound or not. After announcing her next mixtape Las Ruinas and some of the singles, it seemed like it was going to get much more experimental, which really excited me. So, let’s not waste any time and get into Las Ruinas . I’d say that the biggest change when it comes to Rico herself is her lyrics. They’re much more vulnerable than the other stuff I’ve heard, and this gives the mixtape a whole new layer that I like to hear. Alongside that, the turn to a more experimental sound helps make Las Ruinas a pr...

If you wanna know my thoughts on the movie itself, click here ! If you anything about director Baz Luhrmann, he’s always used music in his movies in relatively weird ways, whether you like it or not. A prominent example is his adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby , which has heavy involvement from Jay-Z, serving as an executive producer for the film and its soundtrack. Oddly enough, one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in a movie recently is Tobey Maguire narrating over “No Church in the Wild” from Watch the Throne . We now have a similar soundtrack for Luhrmann’s latest film, a biopic of music icon Elvis Presley. The movie’s fantastic, but since the music is so tied to it, it’s gotta be judged on its own. Let’s see how the ELVIS soundtrack does. There are a few distinct categories for the tracks: 1. Recordings of Elvis repurposed for the movie, 2. Austin Butler actually singing Elvis songs taken from the movie, and 3. Existing Elvis tracks being remixed by artist...

I’m just glad that Eminem is promoting at least one of the artists he signed. WESTSIDE BOOGIE has been a rapper I’ve had my eye on for a while now. I’m really just glad that he’s finally dropped an album since it’s been three years since his debut album, EVERYTHING’S FOR SALE . A co-sign from Eminem would be huge for any rapper, but with how haphazardly he treats his label, I was afraid that WESTSIDE BOOGIE would just slip through the cracks. Now, we have his second album, More Black Superheroes . Did it live up to the hype? Let’s get into my thoughts on it. Honestly, I really admire the growth that WESTSIDE BOOGIE’s has had between the two projects he’s released. Both his lyrics and his flow have improved quite a bit and he’s just a joy to hear rap now. His unique voice boosts this as well. Hell, even the features were pretty good too. He got a great feature out of Soulja Boy. Yes, Soulja Boy has one of his best features ever on this project. I even like the idea of using what you hav...

The Apple Music animated cover goes hard, not gonna lie. One of the biggest bands in the world, BTS, with adoring fans around the world, and I guess the music I’ve heard of theirs is okay for the most part. I’m relatively newer to the scene, joining in with 2019’s Map of the Soul: Persona EP, which is honestly pretty good. I haven’t heard most of their earlier works, which goes back to Wings. Personally, I think the best project I’ve heard from them is BE , but that’s just me. PROOF is a compilation album. I know, I know, but I honestly figured that this should be a good way to get more into their discography, alongside three new tracks. Let’s get into it. Since it’s a compilation album, this is a two-and-a-half-hour project we have here. Then again, I’m not complaining because I enjoyed what I heard for the most part. It was nice to hear a solo version of “Boy With Luv” that I didn’t know existed since the Halsey-featuring version was one of their first big radio hits in the U.S.. I...

Every musician’s gotta have that butterfly on the cover moment, yeah? It’s no mistake that Post Malone’s one of the more recognizable voices in mainstream music right now. If I’m being honest, he’s been on a pretty decent streak recently. His last two albums, beerbongs & bentleys and Hollywood’s Bleeding , are some of the best pop-rap albums of the 2010s and most of his hits have aged pretty well over the past couple of years. Even if it’s been oddly silent on the marketing front, we now have his new album Twelve Carat Toothache , a first-world problem if I’ve ever heard one. Because of his track record, I’m actually pretty excited about this, so let’s just get into it. Let me just get the cat out of the bag: This is pretty easily Posty’s worst project, in my opinion. A lot of the songs in here just felt very uninspired and borderline lazy in some cases. However, I won’t say that Posty doesn’t have the range to pull off the pop and rap songs on here because he’s done it in the pas...

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...

I mean, an album titled A SUMMER WITHOUT YOU should be a great, if somber, summer album. It’s no secret that Bad Bunny is one of the biggest names not just in Latin music, but in music right now. Not to bring up the same comparison from my review of Jack Harlow’s recent album, he’s slowly becoming a Drake-esque figure, and that comes with everything. I actually do prefer Bad Bunny over Drake because I think he’s more creative with his music. I enjoyed his last project, EL ÚLTIMO TOUR DEL MUNDO , quite a bit and I still have it in rotation. We now have UN VERANO SIN TI (an already record-breaking album), which admittedly is very long. Bad Bunny has stated this about being a summer playlist of sorts, so framing it like a collection of songs, it’ll be interesting to see how this project shapes up. Let’s get into it. I’ll say that this is Bad Bunny’s most risky project yet. There are a lot more genres at play here like trap, afrobeat, bossa nova, reggae, synthpop, and dancehall, among ma...

He made a reference to Mavi and his album Let The Sun Talk on this. That’s just badass. Is it too much to call Jack Harlow a star at this point? Even if he isn’t my cup of tea, I can totally understand why he’s popular. He’s got the charisma that some rappers don’t have. For lack of a better term, he’s Drake at home. I don’t think Harlow’s proven that he’s a hit-making machine, but his feature on Lil Nas X’s “INDUSTRY BABY” really impressed me. Unfortunately, his last album, That’s What They All Say , ended up coming and going in a flash to me. I’m hoping that with this new album, Come Home The Kids Miss You , he tries a little more to set himself apart. The declaration he’s made about only having legends as features rang true, with Drake, Lil Wayne, Pharrell, and Justin Timberlake being legends in their own right. It seems like Harlow is using this project to prove he can hold his own. Does he do this? Let’s get into it. It’s weird that I can think of two routes a white rapper can go...

Honestly, if the album doesn’t get a good reception, this cover’s totally gonna backfire. Is it weird that I’ve been this excited for a Future album? It’s also coming full circle because one of my first reviews on this site ever was his last album, High Off Life . While I did enjoy that album, I never really went back to it outside of one song. Even after that very disappointing joint album with Lil Uzi Vert, I was still interested in whatever Future would put out, and we now have that in the form of I NEVER LIKED YOU . He typically drops at least one project a year, so taking a year off is very out of character for him. Let’s see if I liked this, even if Future never did. You know, I’ve realized something. These are some of the hardest reviews for me to write. It’s generally the same thing across this album. Future’s a trap legend at this point, and we’re not exactly asking for anything new from him. In a weird way, Future isn’t as toxic here as he normally is. I’m not saying he’s lea...

Just saw a comment that Macklemore runs the coke game. Going off Twitter for a while. Pusha T has been a part of rap for a long time now, and he’s shown no signs of slowing down. After his near-perfect album DAYTONA , there was no telling what he’d do next. From a savage Drake diss to a McDonald’s diss track for Arby’s, he’s been coasting on the waves recently. His latest album, It’s Almost Dry , has been highly anticipated by me for the past couple of years now. With one half being produced by Kanye West and the other half by Pharrell Williams, it’s gonna be a wild ride. Does it live up to the hype? Let’s get into it. Right off the bat, I feel like I have to say which beats I prefer on this album, and it’s an interesting case here. When it comes to consistency, I think Pharrell’s beats are the best here. His futuristic style has been something new for Push and that’s the perfect new sound for him to rap over. Speaking of his rapping, Push is once again in top form with his rapping. Ho...

Ramona Flowers Broke My Heart. I’ve always liked Vince Staples in some capacity. Hell Can Wait and Summertime 06 are good albums for me to go back to every now and then, Big Fish Theory and FM! are boundary-pushing projects that are some of my favorites of the years they dropped, but the first time he kind of disappointed me was his Kenny Beats-produced self-titled album from last year. Admittedly, it did grow on me a little as time went on, but it’s still the project I revisit the least from him. That didn’t stop me from being hyped for Ramona Park Broke My Heart to the point where I didn’t even listen to the singles when they dropped. Let’s get into Ramona Park Broke My Heart and see what I thought about it. There’s still a part of me that really wants another Big Fish Theory -esque album with more electronic production, but it seems like that was for one album. I do think that there’s been a little bit of a trade-off in Vince as a performer, with the more bombastic deliveries go...

“Graphic design is my passion.” You wanna know something? I love a surprise album release in general. This was announced the day before it dropped, and it honestly got me pretty hyped. The Dreamville label has been on a roll recently, especially with pretty good albums from J. Cole and EARTHGANG very recently (Where’s that album, J.I.D?). I honestly think now’s a great time for the label to prove that they should be watched by everyone. Does D-Day reaffirm their place in rap? Let’s get into it. Honestly, there aren’t many things I have to say about this. That being said, this project really didn’t do much for me, but the artists I focus on from Dreamville proved why I like them so much. J. Cole, J.I.D, and EARTHGANG all did their thing, and I’ve been warming up to Ari Lennox recently, but everything else on this project wasn’t it for me. It really only seemed like this was put out to keep the Dreamville name relevant, which I do think the label needs, but the artists could put much mo...

Dog. So, I know what you’re thinking. Who the hell is Nigo? Nigo’s actually a producer and entrepreneur. He founded the BAPE brand and he’s also a member of the Teriyaki Boyz, who made "Tokyo Drift (Fast & Furious).” I’m pretty sure it’s one of the most recognizable songs in pop culture at this point. Either way, Nigo has teamed up with Pharrell to make this DJ-curated album I Know Nigo! which has features from Tyler, the Creator, A$AP Rocky, Clipse, Pusha T, Gunna, A$AP Ferg, the late Pop Smoke, and Lil Uzi Vert. Let’s get into what I thought about it. Right out of the gate, this is what a good DJ Khaled album should be. Some good curated songs while teaming up with a talented producer to pick beats that they’d sound good over. I think the massive highlight on this is Tyler’s “Come On, Let’s Go,” which is pretty easily the best song on this album to me. The tracks with Rocky and Pusha T are also pretty good, but the rest of the tracks simply didn’t do much for me. I think “P...

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...