SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER ALBUM REVIEWS

Yo. If you checked my last post it's the same deal as before. Still playing catch-up. Enjoy the read.


SKYZOO & PETE ROCK- RETROPOLITAN


One of the dopest indie rappers in the game, Skyzoo and legendary producer Pete Rock joined forces to drop Retropolitan in late September. Both hailing from New York, the album title clearly suggests that they're here to bring back that vintage, east-coast, boom-bap sound for the hip hop purist and for those 'trapped in the 90s'.
A mixture of the traditional 'verse-chorus-verse-chorus...' structure and 'no-hook/straight spittin', the content tends to focus on Skyzoo's younger years that moulded him into the man he is today. I believe Penny Jersey's is the best example of this and it's all done over some nice Pete Rock instrumentals. Dope bars from start to finish.
Behind classics like The World Is Yours and T.R.O.Y. , Pete Rock is one of the greatest producers in hip hop history and he sustains this reputation with Retropolitan. Soul Brother No.1 is best-known for his soulful beats and while Retropolitan has this in abundance, this is balanced out by more gutta tunes like Carry The Tradition and 10 Days. 
I said previously that Eve by Rapsody had the best guestlist this year but Retropolitan is definitely up there in terms of features. There's verses from Styles P, Pete Rock, Elzhi and Griselda Records as well as vocals from Raheem Davaughn and they all brought their A-Game. ECAS is probably the best posse cut I've heard all year.
Album was tight from the beats, the bars to the features and perfectly captured that vintage East Coast period that produced so much classic material.
I'm not gonna go overboard and say this is a classic but I will say that dope beats and dope rhymes equal a dope album and I'll give this an 8.5.

FAVES
Beat- Carry The Tradition
Verse- Penny Jersey's
Feature- TBC
Track- Richie
  


D BLOCK EUROPE- PTSD

The men of the moment Young Adz and Dirtbike LB aka D-Block Europe returned with their 3rd mixtape and second of the year titled PTSD. Landing at No.4 in the UK national charts and having one of the biggest fanbases in the UK right now, their commercial success is currently as high as... well them! 
  Critically though, this is a 28-track mixtape and you know I have my quantity-over-quality suspicions about lengthy projects but keep reading.
  I've noticed that DBE have a huge female fanbase and I think I know why. Based on the overall content of this mixtape, I have to wonder whether PTSD stands for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or if it actually means Pussy Tasting, Sucking and Devouring as there's more songs about the latter than there is in a whole discography of certain rappers. The funny thing is there's a tune titled Thoughts which is primarily about trappin' yet Young Adz still manages to squeeze in the line 'I ate the pussy good from the back' even though it was clearly out of place LOL. Besides that, the duo mostly spit about lean, drip and a bit about trappin'. Nothing too deep. Skill-wise they're not crap... they can rap... though it seemed like they went on autopilot in some tracks.
  The beats overall were pretty good, predominantly trap with either a turn-up or 'cruise in the whip' kinda vibe. There were a sprinkle of 'hip hop' beats but this is definitely for trap fans.
  Solid feature-list with notable artists from the UK and USA such as Lil' Baby, Dave, AJ Tracey and regular collaborator Yung Bxne.
  At 28 tracks, this is a quantity-over-quality project as I assumed and it's difficult to fully digest unless you're a DBE or trap stan... and of course a chick that wants to hear a ton of tongue-twister talk. I'll give this a 6.5. 

FAVES
Beat- Cartier Frames
Verse- Outside Verse 1
Feature- AJ Tracey
Track- Cartier Frames


WALE- WOW... THAT'S CRAZY

DMV rapper Wale returned with his sixth album Wow... That's Crazy in early October. Viewed as the poet of MMG records, some may feel that he's overshadowed by Philly labelmate Meek Mill as well as the bearded face of the label Rick Ross. In spite of this, he has still managed to achieve 2 number 1 albums as well as 2 top 10 albums (including this) since signing with the label.
  WTC focuses mainly on relationships and girl trouble. While Wale may be enjoying a successful career, the content suggests that the life of a rapper isn't as glamorous as his labelmates may suggest. Speaking of which, he does have a solitary song with Meek and Rozay about ballin' but that's an anomaly amongst all the angst that Wale vents about. Aside from the topic that wasn't part of Jay's 99 problems, Wale also speaks on image gang and mental health as well as using alcohol as a coping mechanism. It's not all doom and gloom however as he also made room to write an ode to black women and declared that he's going to support everything black *insert black power fist emoji*.
  The production is very RnB-flavoured for the most part with sprinklings of a 'hype' track (as already mentioned with his MMG brethren), an afrobeats track and two tracks which I would describe as... 'groovy'. Beats are nice and I personally think you'll love this album if you're more into RnB/ female-friendly rappers. 
  Skills? Wale can rap. He has good wordplay, capable of a good punchline (kicked it in DC United, now I bid her adieu (reference to former DC Utd footballer Freddy Adu)), he's versatile and clearly has more depth than the average rapper but... One thing I've realised for a long time with Wale is that some of his bars don't rhyme. Throughout this album and previous releases he will go a good couple bars not rhyming nothing and being the hip hop head that I am, I can't get past that. Unless it's Phonte's verse on Whatever You Say, I expect your bars to rhyme, all the time lol.
  Aside from that, it's a solid release by the underrated Wale. Despite the overall dark theme, the production and the few light-hearted tracks made it an enjoyable listen. I'll give this an 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- On Chill
Verse- Expectations verse 3
Feature- Boogie
Track- Love Me Nina/Semiautomatic


WRETCH 32- UPON REFLECTION

Tottenham's finest returned with his fifth (fourth on a major label) LP in mid-October. It was his first project in two years and unfortunately the first to land outside of the Top 20 in the album charts.
  Given that Wretch has topped the charts in the past and has seen two of his albums reach the Top 5, he may find this disappointing from a commercial POV. From a critical standpoint however, the feedback has been considerably better in contrast.
  Wretch 32 is one of the best artists to come out of the UK and he displays why throughout this 12 track project. The North London MC has always been introspective and as hinted in the album title, Upon Reflection offers more of that. He speaks on life's ups and downs, expresses appreciation to the females in his life and also discusses his own career. Wretch 32, as most rappers do, wasn't going to drop a rap album without doing a bit of good old-fashioned bragging however as shown on Winning and 10/10. The main letdown on this album for me were the more female-friendly tracks towards the end which for me, weren't as good as the rest of the album. I'm kinda disappointed he never spoke on the Scorcher rumours either.
  Although a hip hop artist, he shows his vocal versatility on the reggae-flavoured Visiting Hours and the afroswing-ish Spin Around. To be real though, Wretch's main attribute has always been his dope pen game. So here's a few lines that stood out to me.

'I'm the father of the group/ That means that daddy gotta steer the ship through, gotta harbor for the youths' Winning 
'My little nigga showed me two nines/ Said he bought them both for one eight/ Bang bang bang at your Landrover/ I don't know, call that a gun range/ Bang bang bang, you're in theatre/I don't know, call that gun play' Insurance
'You think you've had your heyday (haye) and they feel they'll Tony Bell-ew' Upon Reflection

The production was good for the most part. It covered several genres such as reggae, afroswing, trap, rnb and of course hip hop but nothing particularly stood out to me.  
   Wretch has a song called 10/10 on UR and while I wouldn't give it this score, we can all see that Upon Reflection was a solid release by one of the scene's veterans. Over 10 years in the game, Wretch 32 has every right to see himself as one of the best. I'll give this a 7.5. 

FAVES
Beat- Mummy's Boy
Verse- Upon Reflection verse 1
Feature- Avelino
Track- Upon Reflection

KANYE WEST- JESUS IS KING

Kanye's ascension from college dropout to Roc-A-Fella's in-house producer to one of the world's most famous figures is thoroughly impressive. No ascension however will ever match that of the lord Jesus Christ's and the guy from Chicago knows that himself hence his 9th studio album being titled Jesus Is King. 
  Released in late October, due to Kanye's massive stanbase, JIK landed at No.1 in multiple countries. The commercial success however was in stark contrast to it's critical reception with the 'gospel'-influenced album being his lowest rated album to date.
  To be droppin' an 'gospel' album after years of secular behaviour (and even once stating he sold his soul to the devil) may seem odd... but we're all humans and no-one's perfect. There are numerous Christianity-related references and tunes like Water, Hands On and God Is had good content if you can take it at face value. Skill-wise, the bars weren't particularly bad but he's a long way away from his College Dropout days and you may be interested to know that CyHi The Prince and Clipse have writing credits on songs they did not feature on.
  Described as a gospel album, there are indeed elements of gospel music present throughout. JIK also covers other genres such as RnB, trap, EDM, hip hop of course as well as jazz. A good move in my view and one of the better points of this album. 
  The standout moment was without doubt the surprise return of the much-loved DMV duo Clipse with No Malice FKA Malice, who left mainstream rap for religious reasons, droppin the best verse of the project. 
  Just under half an hour, the album is short but sweet? Not so much. I don't think it's as bad as people made it out to be but this would not be in the top end of Kanye's lengthy discography. I'll give this a 6.5.

FAVES
Beat- Follow God
Verse- Follow God
Feature- Pusha T
Song- Selah


That concludes this post. The final set of 2019 reviews be on the next post. Thanks for reading.

Peace Out! 

JULY/AUGUST ALBUM REVIEWS

Yo! I've fallen so far behind with my album reviews that I've now decided to do some quick reviews month by month. Not ideal for me but not even the likes of Usain Bolt or Christian Coleman could catch up with my previous method so I'm gonna try be as quick and as detailed as possible...



CHANCE THE RAPPER- THE BIG DAY
After 3 mixtapes and 3 years of absence, Chicago's Chance The Rapper returned in July with his 'debut album' titled The Big Day. 
   As the hook on the opening All Day Long goes, 'We can't be out here pleasing everybody.' This is fitting.
   Though it landed at number 2 on the Billboard charts and received positive reviews from some publications, it received quite a roasting on social media. Most popular examples being this ... and this. What do I think though?... Keep reading.
   Now when I see an album in this day and age has a lengthy tracklist that tends to be a red flag. This leads me to think the artist went down the quantity-over-quality route. All his previous mixtapes from 10 Days To Colouring Book had 14 tracks and received positive reviews but this one has 22 and was poorly received by many. There's no denying the correlation in this case.
   The guestlist was star-studded (impressively includes the legendary SWV and En Vogue), the bars weren't bad generally speaking, the sound was diverse (that's a pro and a con, more so the latter if you're strictly hip-hop) and though the album as hinted by the title focusses mostly on his marriage, the content was fairly varied...
... but Chance keeps singing mid-verse throughout TBD and it's very annoying. There's a severe lack of replay value in my view and getting halfway to this album really felt like a chore. The beats were simply not to my taste and a lot of the content was delivered in a corny, sesame-street style. Also for all the praise for God, he does rap with some of the most secular rappers around but hey we're all humans.
  It did receive some positive reviews so this album is for someone but that someone ain't me. I'll give this a 5.

FAVES
Beat- Roo
Verse- We Go High verse 1
Feature- Nicki Minaj
Track- N/A

YBN CORDAE- THE LOST BOY


The DMV-based YBN Cordae dropped his debut album The Lost Boy in late-July and it is definitely one of the better albums of 2019. As the album title suggests, Cordae is a 20 year old (at the time) trying to navigate his way through life.
   Throughout the 45 minute long project, his introspective bars allow the listener to discover his perspectives on numerous topics from personal struggles, family problems to social media pressure (Thousand Words). The pain he reveals on tunes like Family Matters and Wintertime (to name a few) is somewhat balanced out by more upbeat tracks such as the gospel skits as well as Have Mercy and Lost And Found. 
   Lyrically, Cordae drops fire on pretty much every verse. Also Meek and Pusha dropped by to deliver some nice verses. 
   The beats for the most part are quite laid-back and soulful which I believe reflects Cordae's character and upbringing. 
   While the youngster declares he's lost, Cordae's on the path to great things and may find his name in many people's fave rappers lists if he maintains this level of artistry. I'll give this an 8. 

FAVES
Beat- Lost And Found
Verse- Wintertime verse 1
Feature- Meek Mill
Track- Family Matters

RICK ROSS- PORT OF MIAMI 2


Miami rapper Rick Ross returns after a 2 year absence with his 10th studio album and the sequel to his 2006 debut, Port Of Miami 2. After 13 years you should already know what to expect from the beardgang pioneer. The M-M-M-Maybach Music soundbites? Check; The trademark ad-libs like huh! and woo!? Check; The drug talk? Check; That trademark luxury rap sound? Absolutely check; The DJ Khaled-esque wafflin' between verses? 'mAKe LovE tO mE lIKe An EMpoRER'... yeah check unfortunately.
  Most of the content is braggadocio though he does drop a few lines on a few serious issues such as his car getting shot up by BMF, his seizures as well as losing friends either to prison, death or disloyalty. As always he recruits a lengthy list of guest features such as Drake, Meek Mill, Nipsey Hussle and Lil Wayne as well as singers John Legend and the newest RnB sensation Summer Walker. Many of the guests impressed with their contributions. Many people claim that Rick Ross is the best beat picker in the game and the production on POM2 is good supporting evidence for this opinion. The gassed, gutter beats are there; the RnB beats for the ladies are there and of course the luxury rap. Standout tracks for me include BIG TYME and Vegas Residency.
   Rick Ross knows what the addicts of his music want and he delivers a package that will keep them satisfied until the next fix. I'll give this a 7.5.   

FAVE
Beat- BIG TYME
Feature- Meek Mill/Nipsey Hussle
Verse- Bogus Charms verse 1
Track- BIG TYME

BLADE BROWN- BAGS AND BOXES 4

The UK's premier trap rapper Blade Brown returns with the 4th re-up of his number 1 product, Bags And Boxes 4.
  'niggas saying i don't rap enough, i just tell them you don't trap enough' Progression.
His first release in 5 years, the bar above pretty much summarises not only BxB4 but Blade Brown himself. The bars? Trappin'. The beats? Trap. The features? Trap. Blade for sure knows what his fiends want. 
The question is... is there anything for those that are not trap fanatics? I would say Intro had more of a traditional hip-hop feel to it so naturally that was my fave track on the mixtape. The Knucks-featured Harrod's was a little different from your average trap tune. The horns on the boasty hook added a jazzy dimension. The RnB-flavoured 6AM was obviously for chicks who fantasise riding shotgun in a badman's whip.
   Bars? Blade Brown can spit. No denying the South Londoner's skills. If you asked me who the best trap rapper in the UK was, I'm no trap guru but I'm saying Blade Brown all day. Content? Boasty AF (if you can't make a 100k in a 100 days, kill yourself, Littest Niggas). Trapper talk, balla talk and playa talk from start to finish but I didn't expect anything less tbh. You're not gonna go into KFC asking for vegan food are you? Standouts for me as far as content goes though is The Pattern and the 3-man tag on Triple Threat was a dope listen.
  Armed with 10 features (both mainstream and underground); trap beats galore; boasty bars and that funny laughing ad-lib every time he says something cocky, I expect Blade fiends to be feelin this. I'll give this a 7.

FAVES
Beat- Intro
Verse- The Pattern verse 2
Feature- Triple Threat
Track- Intro


LITTLE BROTHER- MAY THE LORD WATCH

To the joy of many hip hop heads, the beloved North Carolina trio-turned-duo made a surprise return to the rap game after nearly a decade out.
  Like their last album The Leftback, Phonte (the most underrated rapper in my opinion) and Rapper Big Pooh were not joined by former in-house producer 9th Wonder. Though he played a key role in their first two critically-acclaimed albums, the dope soulful production that 9th was known for is still there. As is the meaningful content, the lyrical skill as well as the hilarious skits and bars that made Little Brother one of the most beloved underground acts during the 2000's.
  In the absence of 9th, Khrysis handles most of the album's production as well as Focus and Nottz. The beats, as expected, has either that soulful or 'real hip hop' sound and I wasn't disappointed at all.
   Skill-wise, those that know about Phonte already know how dope his mic skills are and Rapper Big Pooh is far from what his stage name may suggest as they flaunt their technical ability from start to finish. Differing from the average mainstream rapper, the bluesome twosome are far from boastful and are prone to having the odd moan or two. Depending on the type of mood you're in, you might appreciate the honesty at times and wanna skip some other times. They cover subjects such as their struggle to success on Right On Time, their ambitions on What I Came For and even the club scene at their age (Rapper Big Pooh and Phonte are 39 and 40 respectively) on Sittin Alone. I definitely respect the fact they rap like the everyday grown man as that's rarely a perspective you get to hear.
  The 15-track album has 5 skits and though that's normally excessive, it can be certainly forgiven and forgotten due to how hilarious they are. LB fans will love the blasts from the pasts such as Roy Lee, Joe Scudda and Mad Black Daddy. Standouts include Dyana Changed My Life which is based on Iyanla Vanzant.
   All in all as a LB fan, I'm happy Little Brother managed to put their sibling rivalry to one side to drop this album. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- What I Came For
Verse- Phonte- Sittin Alone. Rapper Big Pooh- Right On Time
Feature- N/A
Song- Goodmorning Sunshine 

RAPSODY- EVE

Now 9th Wonder may not have dropped any beats on May The Lord Watch but that doesn't mean he's been inactive.
  If you were wondering where 9th was, he's been with another North Carolina rapper by the name of Rapsody. The Roc Nation spitter returned in late August with her 3rd LP Eve and it's her most critically-acclaimed album yet.
  Each song title is named after a famous black woman that has inspired Rapsody and they come from different walks of life be it entertainment, activism or even royalty from ancient times. As you can tell from the titles, the album concentrates primarily on black women. Content includes her struggles as a black woman in the industry; encouraging self-love and pride as well as some thought-provoking bars concerning black men. Eve serves as a tool of empowerment for black women.
  Production-wise, Rapsody needed 9th a lot more than Little Brother did as all the best beats came from either him or Nottz. In my view, the beats are better towards the end of Eve and that's when they took over all the production.
  The features on Eve were brilliant and probably the best guest-list I've seen on an album this year. Ranging from old school legends like GZA and Queen Latifah to 'newer' acts like SiR and J Cole, everyone made a dope contribution.
  The main-selling point of Eve was Rapsody's lyricism. Aside from the pro-black content, she displayed some nice wordplay (similes, schemes and juxtapositions) throughout and was a refreshing contrast from the ratchet City Girls talk. I do find it disturbing and also deliberate that rappers like Rapsody don't get the same level of promotion.
  To summarise, I feel Eve might be the closest we have to a Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill although I personally feel there were a couple flaws. I'm undecided on the score but it's either a 7.5 or an 8. 

FAVES
Beat- Michelle
Verse- Afeni verse 1
Feature- J Cole
Song- Afeni

HEADIE ONE- MUSIC X ROAD

Tottenham rapper Headie One is one of the biggest names in the UK Drill scene right now and in late August, he dropped his mixtape Music X Road.
'Now it's just music on road, man's doing up both' Music x Road 
Looking at the above lyrics, the album title describes his life right now. From a musical viewpoint though it's possible he could also be referring to the sound of this project. I'm not a drill enthusiast so I could be incorrect but I think Headie One's sound is normally the traditional raw, gutter sound but there were a couple of tracks with 'commercial' appeal. Examples include Both which samples the dance classic Free by Ultra Nate (it peaked at number 13 in the UK charts. His 2nd most successful single), Home which samples RnB classic Soon As I Get Home by Faith Evans and I can imagine Rubbery Bandz going off at a couple raves. Headie also did a bit of singing on the 100 Bottles interlude which I wouldn't expect from any drill artist.
  Headie knows where his bread is buttered though and he doesn't stray far away from the drill sound. At 15 tracks, I actually commend the versatility as it prevents MXR from becoming repetitive to those who aren't drill connoisseurs. 
  The content is what's to be expected from a drill rapper. So the hood talk and the trapper talk is there. He left some room to spit about drip and the ladies as well as some introspective content about his time on the illegal path. As far as wordplay, he had the odd bit of multi-syllabic rhyming but he kept it simple for the most part. I also noticed that the choruses tend to be quite long and nearly the same amount of bars as his verses. This appears to be a theme with the new breed of UK artists.
  Landing at No.5 in the UK national charts, MXR is a commercial success for this highly criticised but thriving sub-genre. Critically, I would say this was a solid release overall. I'll give this a 7.5.

FAVES
Beat- All Day
Verse- Ball In Peace verse 1
Feature- Dave
Song- 18Hunna

KANO- HOODIES ALL SUMMER

Better known to some (those not from the UK) as Sully from the critically-acclaimed show Top Boy, one of the original grime kings returned at the end of August with his sixth studio album Hoodies All Summer. 
  His first release in three years, it's a short album at 10 tracks but the East London MC definitely has a lot to say. A versatile project in both content and sound; it covers both serious and light-hearted topics such as gun crime, legal issues, racism and broken relationships but also rising above your circumstances, enjoying life and revisiting his underground grime roots. 
  Although viewed as a grime MC for the most part, Kano doesn't limit himself and dabbles in dancehall, house, hip hop, garage and of course grime. He also recruits the right feature depending on the sound. For example, Popcaan on Can't Hold We Down.
  Kano, who in my view is one of the dopest lyricists from the UK, hasn't lost a step at all and effortlessly shows everyone why he's one of the best like a true veteran.
  With dope bars, content that goes beyond the typical and a versatile sound; This is up there as one of Kano's best and one of 2019's best. I'll give this an 8.

FAVES
Beat- Class Of Deja
Verse- Trouble Verse 2
Feature- Ghetts
Track- Class Of Deja

Thanks for reading. September and October reviews soon come.

Peace Out!