MICK JENKINS- THE CIRCUS
Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins kicked off 2020 with a nice 7 track EP titled The Circus.
The Circus is a mix of soothing sounds and 'turn up' tracks and the production is what makes this an enjoyable listening experience... especially the 3 track run of Carefree, The Light and Flaunt.
The content for the most part tends to be quite miscellaneous though I did dig the topic of Carefree
'It just don't look like this If you living carefree then you probably don't look like us' Carefree
The above quote is the opening bars to the standout track which is about Mick trying to enjoy his life in spite of having to endure racial profiling by the police. This is sure to resonate with black people who experience this regularly... mix the content with Black Milk's dope mellow/melancholy instrumental and you have a contender for one of my fave tunes of 2020. Flaunt had some lightweight boasting but as mentioned a lot of the verses would be classified as freestyle topics to me.
Mick's flow and technical ability are sharp though at times there were a few lines that didn't rhyme and his ambiguous content will be a case of either you love it or hate it.
The dope beats and Mick's artistry was enough to keep me entertained so I'm the former. Good project to chill and unwind to. I'll give this an 8.
FAVES
Beat- The Light
Verse- Carefree verse 2
Feature- Johnny Venus
Track- Carefree
EMINEM- MUSIC TO BE MURDERED BY
The legendary Detroit MC unexpectedly dropped his 11th album titled Music To Be Murdered By on January 17th.
After 20 years in the game and millions of records sold, Em's legend/GOAT status has been solidified amongst hip hop purists... as well as a very specific demographic. In recent years though, he's been criticised by some for his 'lyrical miracle spiritual individual criminal, subliminal in your swimming pool' type verses (style over substance basically). Also for his recent material not quite measuring up to his earlier works. Commercially though, none of that stopped MTBMB from becoming his 10th number one album in a row. Critically speaking? Keep reading.
Eminem comes out the gate addressing the disapproval he's received with a fire verse on Premonition ...
'They said I'm lyrically amazing, But I have nothing to say/ But then when I put out Revival and I had something to say/ They said that they hated the awake me
... Instead of us being credited for longevity/ And being able to keep it up for this long at this level, we/ Get told we'll never be, what we were/ Bitch, if I was as half as good as I was, I'm still twice as good as you'll ever be'... on the following Unaccomodating however he reverts to his vintage marmite style. This shows that Eminem ain't gonna stop barring like Eminem anytime ever and to be fair he probably shouldn't.
Despite his 20-year long connections to the likes of Dr Dre and Mr Porter, Marshall Mathers (along with Nasir Jones) has often caught flak for his beat selection. While the beats on this aren't particularly amazing, they're not necessarily horrible either. I do commend the diversity of the MTBMB actually. While I expected to hear Eminem spit over traditional hip hop and them spooky slim-shady-type beats (you know what I'm talking about), I was somewhat impressed to hear him over Trap/R&B (them Bryson Tiller/6lack kinda beats) on the standout No Regrets and even dancehall on Farewell (take that Chet Hanks) which sampled No Games by Serani. Overall though there were a couple misses.
Bar for bar we all know Em is a beast with it and I'm sure he'll retire for good before he ever drops some nursery-rhyme level verses. Some punchlines were dope while some were silly but quite funny (for example 'How you doin? You Straight? No I'm bi'). All of the guest rappers impressed with their verses especially protege/longtime friend Royce as well as the rest of his former Slaughterhouse brethren (not Joe Budden though).
Standout moments on this 20-track offering include the super-speed syllabic slaughter on Godzilla where he rapped a PB of 11.3 syllables per second. Darkness was a brilliant story with multiple meanings and he also addresses people he's been having problems with. This possibly includes Lord Jamar and Joe Budden.
Other than that the content ranges from relationship problems, drug use, the typical slim shady horrorcore stuff (Stepdad is quite similar to the sickening Relapse track Insane) and there were some dope posse cuts too.
In 1999, Eminem was something different to what mainstream music had seen. In 2020, we all know what Em is about so now it's a case of take it or leave it. Though he may have tried to reach out to other audiences with the trap tracks, this is still strictly for his Stans. Funny how that classic which was critical of crazed fans are the same ones keeping him relevant. I'll give this a 7.
FAVES
Beat- No Regrets
Verse- Premonition
Feature- Royce Da 5'9 (You Gon' Learn)
Track- Darkness
MAC MILLER- CIRCLES
Mac Miller achieved a lot in his short life. Despite having a hugely successful indie career (selling over 2 million records with Blue Side Park) and making the Forbes list at just 20, Mac Miller couldn't shake off his dependence on drugs and overdosed at just 26 years of age. Circles was the last album Mac was working on. It was released on January 17th to critical acclaim landing at No.3 on the Billboard Charts.
Though a rapper, Circles is predominantly a non-hip hop album with Mac doing a lot more singing than spittin'. Because of this, I'm going to keep this review relatively brief.
Class A drug use, although illegal, is common and is stereo-typically consumed by those with money to blow. It's been this way for decades. While some use it for recreational purposes, others use it as a tool of escapism and based on the content of Circles, I assume music and drugs were Mac's way of achieving the latter.
A pattern I noticed on Circles, in my view, is the contrast of borderline-feelgood production with gloomy lyrics. For me, the beats allow this album to be an easier listen otherwise it may have been too depressing to listen to. The lyrics below are somewhat eerie given what ended up happening and makes me wonder if suicide was something he was contemplating...
'Some people say they want to live forever
That's way too long, I'll just get through today' Complicated
'There's a whole lot more for me waitin' on the other side
I'm always wonderin' if it feel like summer'
TBF, it's not entirely doom and gloom with lines like this for some level of balance...
'Yeah, why don't you wake up from your bad dreams?
When's the last time you took a little time for yourself?
There's no reason to be so down
Rather fly around like there's no ground' Hands
Whatever the beloved Pittsburgh artist was going through, at least it produced Circles which will no doubt serve as a beautiful parting gift for his fans and loved ones. I'll give this an 8.
FAVES
Beat- I Can See
Verse- Blue World verse 2
Track- Hands
J HUS- BIG CONSPIRACY
Arguably the biggest UK rap star in the game, the king of Afroswing returned with his sophomore album Big Conspiracy in late Janauary. It was both a critical and commercial success landing at No.1 in the UK national charts and it currently has an impressive metacritic score of 87.
Big Conspiracy gets off to a strong start, kickin' off with the smooth title track and Helicopter. The mysterious vocalist icee tgm provided a sweet hook on each.
The first four tracks were pretty dope but I wasn't too sold on Play Play however and I found the excessive use of phallic similes somewhat cringey. The theme didn't stop there though as it continued on the following track, the aptly-titled Cucumber. Though the latter did make for a better listen.
Unlike his debut Common Sense, J-Hus opts to work with artists outside of his genre including rising Jamaican star Koffee (Repeat), the 'African giant' Burna Boy (Play Play) and the platinum-selling RnB star Ella Mai (One And Only). Not gonna lie to you, besides Repeat (where Hus only done the chorus), I was quite indifferent to the other two tracks.
Overall though the good definitely outweighed the not-as-good (I opted for that term as none of the tracks were BAD).
Production is handled mostly by Jae5 (who produced every track on Hus's last album) and the beats are pretty fire overall. The East Londoner's versatility sees him display his talent on a variety of genres including hip hop, afroswing, dancehall, afrobeats and drill. The TSB-produced No Denying without doubt being the standout. If you're into something a bit calmer though you might prefer the title track.
In terms of bars, J has a good level of technical ability. Content-wise, he shows he can get beneath the surface when he's ready as displayed on tracks like Deeper Than Rap but he's well aware of his core audience thus he keeps it palatable to the mainstream.
The selling points of Big Conspiracy are the upbeat radio-friendly vibes (generally), the catchy hooks, the sing-rap flow and the production. This enables him to say whatever (such as Fight For Your Right where he says 'I was a real nigga till I fucked my nigga's girl/ The only way to repay him is to give him the world/ And when I get my own wife, he can fuck her as well') over whatever and his fans will still dance to it paying little attention to how outlandish those bars were.
J Hus's brief stint in prison and his infamous twitter rants haven't done anything to stifle his ability to make bangers. He knows what his fans want and I'm sure they'll be more than satisfied. I'll give this either a 7.5 or an 8.
FAVES
Beat- No Denying
Verse- Deeper Than Rap
Feature- icee tgm
Track- No Denying
LIL WAYNE- FUNERAL
Rewind back to 15 years ago and the pint-sized, dread-headed, lean-sippin' workaholic from New Orleans was the hottest name in rap. Although the baton was later passed on to his YMCMB protege Drake (who still has it now), you could still argue that Weezy's 2005-2009 run was stronger. Given I was one of the few not on the bandwagon, I vividly remember feeling like 2pac due to the 'me against the world' debates I had during this period.
OK now back to the present, things are a little different. Lil Wayne's output hasn't been as consistent. Reasons include but not limited to a highly-publicised feud with former mentor/father figure Birdman, drug-related health issues as well as his supposed retirement plans (possibly hinted by the title of this album). Also while his best-selling album Tha Carter 3 is viewed a classic (NOT BY ME!), the critical response to his following albums haven't been received with the same admiration. His previous album Tha Carter 5 has been viewed by some as his best work since Tha Carter 3 though the former's metacritic score of 72 is quite a way off the latter's 84. Still though, Lil Wayne's rep is enough for this to be his 5th number 1 album. My thoughts? Keep reading.
At 24 tracks, you already know how I feel about lengthy albums. I'm automatically going to presume this is going to be a quantity over quality project. This isn't entirely the case with Funeral however as the production is pretty damn dope. The majority of these beats are gassed and in my view would be a good album to have in the whip or to play at the gym. The ones that differ from the core sound include the RnB-flavoured Harden and Sights And Silencers which are amongst my favourites. The Adam-Levine featured Trust Nobody has more of a rock vibe to it while Bastard and Get Out My Head have a dark, gothic, eerie feel.
As far as bars go, he has his moments I suppose. On Trust Nobody he briefly shows some vulnerability and introspection but it's mostly braggin' and superficial talk (I'm from the hood/ I'm tough/my guys are tough/ I got mad hoes and even more dough etc). I thought he went hard on tracks like Piano Trap, the title track and Darkside but then he had some bars that were mad silly
'Titty-fuck your baby mama
She breastfeed your child while I do it, I'm stupid' Mama Mia
Well... Least he's honest. You'd think I'd have more to say about an album with so many tracks but to be real I don't. The previous two paragraphs pretty much summarised it. It's a real pick-up-and-go offering.
This is a decent release and not as bad as I anticipated but the length is a bit much for me. His fans might love it but there's only so much Lil Wayne I can take in one go. The gassed production is the main pull of this album and is enough of a reason for me to give this a 7.
FAVES
Beat- Mahogany
Verse- Piano Trap verse 2
Feature- Lil Twist
Track- Harden
A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE- ARTIST 2.0
A Boogie, real name Artist definitely lives up to his government name... giving that's what he is for a living. 'A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie' however? I've found several pics of him not wearing a hoodie... Anyways forget that, the NY rapper dropped his third album Artist 2.0 on Valentine's Day landing at No.2 on the billboard charts.
Despite being born in the borough that birthed hip-hop, Boogie (much like Compton's Roddy Ricch) made a name for himself opting for the new-age trap sound instead of the 'boom bap' beats associated with NY. This album is 20 tracks long and you already know what I'm gonna say about that. Anyways keep reading.
I see why this album was released on Valentine's Day given most of the content is about relationships. Not so much romance however as numerous songs (including the opener Thug Love) are about failing or failed relationships. Aside from that, you have the typical superficial content. The closer Streets Don't Love You being one of the only tracks that is about something different. If you're not into trap, getting to track 20 might be a task.
The production was strictly trap. Many of which had an RnB flava to it. The first 2 tracks being pretty good. The following 3 tracks (as well as Hit Em Up, DTB 4 Life, Another Day Gone) had a heavy-guitar influence with Hit Em Up having a wild west-trap feel to it. The beats for me ranged from average to good. Stain, Thug Love, Streets Don't Love You and Calm Down being the standouts.
The BX sing-rapper boasts
I’m that nigga, no cappin', I’m a goat
All these niggas flow jackin' and I know. Stain
I'm not the biggest trap fan to know if this is true but I doubt it is.
Like most new-age trap artists (Young Thug, Lil Baby, Roddy Ricch etc) and even afroswing artists like J-Hus and MoStack, A Boogie has a sing-rap style which he confirms as seen on lyrics below
They call me a singer, I'm rapping with melodies,
nigga, like, na-na-na, na-na (Na). Hit Em Up
I mean they all have the same kinda sound in my view so I don't know...
A Boogie recruited the A-List of this turn-up sub-genre from Young Thug to Gunna to Roddy Ricch to DaBaby. TBH, I feel the guests were important as they helped to make Artist 2.0 more listenable. Lil Uzi Vert stole the show on both of his features.
After a while Artist 2.0 becomes kinda tedious.. I wouldn't say A Boogie can't rap but his verses are nothing special and nothing really stood out for me except maybe the closer. Also quite a few tracks had longer choruses than verses. Being the hip-hop head I am, there's only so much new-age trap I can take.
If you're gonna make an album with the same sound and content, I don't think it should go over 12 tracks as this was the point where I started to get a bit fed up. I would say out of the 20 maybe 7 for me had some level of replay value. The rest is either take-it-or-leave-it or a straight skip. A trap fan might feel this, an A Boogie fan might feel this but a dude like me? I have to give this a 6.
FAVES
Beat- Stain
Verse- Streets Don't Love You
Feature- Da Baby
Track- Stain
ROYCE DA 5'9- THE ALLEGORY
In my view the best lyricist in the game right now, the Detroit veteran Royce Da 5'9 dropped his 8th LP The Allegory on February 21st. Since Layers in 2016, Royce has been consistent with his output dropping a solo project every 2 years. He's been even more reliable with his artistry as his top-tier level of lyricism has been maintained since the late 90s... perhaps even improved.
At 22 tracks, The Allegory adds itself to the list of lengthy projects in the last couple of months. I don't know why there's been so many but given Royce is no joke on the mic, I'm hoping for the best. Keep reading.
Closing off a gripping verse/spoken word on the opener Mr. Grace (where he speaks on the structure and corruption of society), Royce explains the meaning of the album title (also explained on Ice Cream interlude). As shown below, you can guess what Royce might be alluding to...
'I guess it's from the back of the back to back to sittin' with my back to the shadows
With actors standin' behind me with puppets controlling nothing but shapes
But that shapes our fate
This is the Allegory of the cave theory by Plato'
Not surprising for any hip-hop head, the bars are straight fire from start to finish. The content focuses predominantly on the black experience in America and on nickle nine showing the world why he's a ten on the mic. You're spoilt for choice when it comes to dope verses but some of the standout bars were the shots he threw at former labelmate Yelawolf, Donald Trump and fashion brand Gucci to name a few...
'In reaction to slithers from lizards mouth
Yelawolf this is your first and your last pass
I ain't gon' put it on blast, your punk ass know what this about
You think it's 'bout being loud or tryna be hostile
'Til you get found face down on the ground outside of Kid Rock house
Though you a vulture pundit, I hope you get sober from this
Men lie, women lie, so do numbers' Overcomer
'I hate that your Commander In Chief is more demander and thief
And it seems like this boy just can't be impeached
I can't be under the thumb of one who seems to be attracted to his own daughter' Rhinestone Doo Rag
'Only Gucci we acknowledge around this way is Radric Davis
Only thing fly around this way, hollow tips, I dodge that shit
Gave my nigga three to five for marijuana and legalized that shit' My People Free
Even though we're only a few months into 2020, I expect The Allegory to have the guestlist of the year. To name a few, every member of Griselda featured seperately as does former partner-in-rhyme Kxng Crooked and T.I. There were no weak features and the skit by Eminem (where he doesn't rap but does touch on the topic of race and music) is sure to provide food for thought. Some of the standouts for me was the fairly obscure Cyhi The Prince on Black Savage and Ashley Sorrell (who features thrice) on My People Free.
A significant component of The Allegory are the skits. All of which in my view made for good thought-provoking listens. Aside from the impressive Eminem contribution, there's the polarizing anti-vaccination/pan-African Black People In America.
To varying levels (producer or co-producer), Royce is responsible for the album's entire production. Although Royce is abundant in dope lyrics, this album is lacking when it comes to dope beats.
If you asked me to name some dope beats from a Royce album I could.
Rock City? Boom.
Layers? The title track.
Book Of Ryan? Cocaine and Boblo Boat.
The Allegory? ...
I mean the soulful melodic loop and beat switches on Overcomer were pretty dope, I Play Forever was kinda tough and Rhinestone Doo Rag was nice and smooth. The beats aren't wack but overall they're not as good in comparison to his past albums. I feel this LP needed someone like Mr Porter or DJ Premier (both are regular collaborators) to drop some heat on the beats.
I would have given this a way higher score if it wasn't for the production. Super-lyricists need to remember that the fans need dope lyrics AND dope beats. Good project regardless. I'll give this a 7.5.
FAVES
Beat- Rhinestone Doo Rag
Verse- Mr Grace/FUBU
Feature- Benny The Butcher/Ashley Sorrell (My People Free)
Track- Overcomer
LIL BABY- MY TURN
Somewhat ironic but Lil Baby happens to be one of the biggest guys in the trap game right now. The Jamie Foxx doppelganger dropped his sophomore My Turn in late February. Landing at the top of the billboard charts.
Several artists have been dropping albums with 20+ tracks recently and guess what? Yeah you already know so I ain't gotta say it. Anyways keep reading.
The content is pretty much what I would expect from any other trap rapper. Nothing wrong with that either to be fair. So you can expect the drip talk, the playa talk and some hood talk. It is what it is. As far as technical ability goes, he's a better rapper than I expected. He's obviously no Royce Da 5'9 but he can put words together and does use a fair amount of multi-syllabic rhyming with the odd lightweight simile. Were there any tunes where he went a little deeper with the content? I guess you could say Can't Explain where he talks about his troubled past. Sum 2 Prove as well as Chase The Sun were quite introspective as well. Let's be real though, trap ain't never been known for bars. It's known for music to turn up to.
Bringing us on to the production. Just like the title of the album's closer, the beats were most definitely solid. Many of the heavyweights of trap such as Gunna, mentor Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert and Future made an appearance as well as Lil Wayne.
Generally the beats were gassed. There were a few like Chase The Sun, Same Thing and Solid that contrast with the overall feel of the album but there's plenty to turn up to... maybe even too much? The sound is consistent and the beats were quite dope. At 20 tracks though, this could either be exactly what Lil Baby fans want or it could be a little tedious and repetitive. I've made it known that I'm not the biggest trap fan in the world so for me, it's the latter.
'They don't treat me like no rapper 'cause my vibe like I'm in the streets
I'm one of the top five, it ain't too many guys as real as me' Same Thing
Even though I'm no trap enthusiast, My Turn topped the billboard charts and he's holding his own with all of the big names in trap so I guess he has every right to feel that he's amongst the top 5 (in trap, not hip hop overall). Me personally, I think My Turn was a good offering. I would go as far as saying that every tune was good in it's own right but it was just a little too long for me. These 20-track albums have to stop IMO. I'll give this a 7.
FAVES
Beat- Gang Signs
Verse- Sum 2 Prove verse 2
Feature- Lil Uzi Vert
Track- Sum 2 Prove
Anyways, that's January and February done. The reviews for March and April is coming soon.
Peace Out!
