FUTURE- HIGH OFF LIFE
Nayvadius Wilburn aka the supplier of legendary memes like 'she belongs to the streets' and 'it's an evil world we live in' aka that rapper dude with 6 baby mothers aka the top dog of toxicity aka the 2012-2013 chorus king aka the guy that's been elevated to messiah-level by the lost souls on social media dropped what seems like his 100th album on May 15th. It's actually his eighth studio album (excluding all the collab projects and EPs) and it landed at No 1 in the Billboard charts. Arguably the face of trap, Future is well within his rights to feel high off life... along with the lean, aderall, molly and percocets.
Like many of the trap albums I've reviewed, HOL is a lengthy album with 21 tracks and is over a hour long. The main pull of any trap album is never the lyrics but the beats. Some of the tracks make for a good listen such as the Young Thug-assisted Harlem Shake and Ridin Strikers while there's others I know I won't listen to again once I've finished this review... which to be real is quite a lot of this.
Future stays true to his 'toxic masuclinity' brand for the most part with tracks like Comfortable and Last Name though he does show a softer side of himself on Accepting My Flaws which is an ode to his girlfriend Lori Harvey. The typical topics are covered. Drip, hood, gangsta, playa. All that talk is there. Songs like Up The River and, to an extent, Last Name did however provide a more introspective side to Future with the former being about his struggles.
This review might seem a bit vague but TBH I ain't got much else to add to this. Me personally, I've never seen the hype with Future due to my indifference to trap music. This project won't be the one to change my view on either the self-styled Hendrix or the immensely popular, autotune-heavy sub-genre. Given his popularity though, Future is clearly doing something right and won't be the past anytime soon. I'll give this a 6.5.
FAVES
Beat- Harlem Shake
Verse- Up The River verse 1
Feature- Lil Durk
Track- Ridin Strikers
KOTA THE FRIEND- EVERYTHING
A year after droppin' FOTO (one of my favourite albums of 2019), Brooklyn spitter Kota The Friend returns with EVERYTHING. Extremely underrated and somewhat of an unknown, his third LP (based on the info I've gathered from Spotify) dropped on May 22nd to glowing reviews and was also his first album to break the billboard 200.
'What means everything to me is love
Everywhere I go, everything I do, everywhere I am
There has to be love, there has to be positive vibes
Life is too short for anything negative
And anything that you don't love, so for me love is number one
It means everything' Outro to Summerhouse
The first tune I ever heard from Kota The Friend was Alkaline and he caught my attention as his lyrics were so genuine and pure. Kota's bars remain as real and as optimist as ever as he encourages listeners to strive to be the best versions of themselves. He also tells us everything that makes him happy and everything he hopes to achieve. The above quote basically summarises EVERYTHING in a nutshell. While the below quote shows why Kota stands out from the average rapper. Most rappers place value on wraiths and roleys, Kota now...
'Tryna go fishin' 'cause that's somethin' I always wanted to do
Sit by the river with all of my sisters and fuck with the view
Crazy how somethin' so special to me, don't mean nothin' to you
I came from nothin' to here, I don't got nothin' to prove' Mi Casa
As expected from a NY rapper, his technical ability is dope and delivered in a relaxed and reserved style. Ideal for those that like easy listening.
Entirely produced by Kota himself; the beats are warm, breezy and perfect for these forthcoming Summer months. Even if it was dreary outside, this 12 track LP can brighten someone's day.
Perhaps indicative of his growing profile, EVERYTHING has a lot more notable features in comparison to his earlier projects. This includes fellow New Yorkers Joey Bada$$ and Bas who both drop a nice verse on one of the album's standouts BQE. There was also interesting interludes from A-list actors Lupita Nyongo'o and Lakeith Stanfield who give their interpretations of the word 'everything'.
I wouldn't say that this album is better than FOTO but I do think with 2020 and the rap game in general being polluted with so much toxicity, Kota is a much-needed breath of fresh air. This is the musical equivalent of the phrase 'positive vibes only'. I'll give this a 7.5.
FAVES
Beat- Long Beach
Verse- Summerhouse verse 2
Feature- Bas
Track- BQE
GUNNA- WUNNA
Trap A-lister Gunna dropped his sophomore LP Wunna on May 22nd. His second solo album in as many years, it went straight to Number 1 in the Billboard charts amassing over 140 million streams in it's first week.
Best known for his affiliation with Lil Baby and Young Thug, Gunna definitely sounds like the smoother and arguably the most lyrical out of the three based on my limited knowledge. Although Gunna's content for the most part was limited to the typical drip, playa and balla talk, he did display some nice internal rhyming at times. His smooth, laid-back delivery also makes him stand out from other trap artists.
The production was obviously trap but there was also a decent level of variation. Examples include the rock-influenced Rockstar Bikers & Chains, the EDM-ish Skybox, there was Feigning for the streets, Met Gala for the ladies and I imagine Nasty Girl would get spins in a stripclub. The beats were cool in parts but for me it wasn't as dope as Lil Baby's My Turn.
There's not much for me to add tbh, some of the tracks were OK but this was another lengthy trap album that can get tedious if you're not into this type of music. To summarise this on a positive note, I like his laid-back flows and it's a decent album overall. I give this a 6.5.
FAVES
Beat- Dollaz On My Head/I'm On Some
Verse- Don't Play Around
Feature- Roddy Ricch
Track- Dollaz On My Head
FREDDIE GIBBS X ALCHEMIST- ALFREDO
Currently Indiana's most famous son, Freddie Gibbs linked up with one of the best producers in the game to make Alfredo. It dropped on May 29th to critical acclaim.
Freddie Gibbs has been one of the most consistent rappers in recent years. His fourth release since 2018, you would be forgiven for thinking he wouldn't be able to surpass the dopeness of Bandana (arguably the best rap album of 2019) but I think he has with Alfredo. Significantly shorter at 10 tracks, this is a classic case of 'less is more'.
'God made me sell crack so I'd have somethin' to rap about' Something To Rap About
'Plus I got a show, the promoters ain't got the dough for that
These losses set me back, man, I'm literally sellin' dope to rap' Skinny Suge
Kinda goes without saying what Freddie's fave topic to rap about is but if you've never heard of him, the above quotes say it all. Other than that, the regular playa talk and hood talk; he does speak on his plans to live a better life, his run-ins with the law as well as his struggles in transitioning from a trapper to a rapper. Freddie's fast-tempo raps, his technical ability and visual storytelling coupled with some of Alchemist's dopest production makes Alfredo a compelling listen. If there's one thing I can't imagine being true though, it's Freddie Gibbs claiming he hit Doja Cat from the back back. We all know he's not her type.
Alchemist is one of hip hop's greatest producers and he shows why on Alfredo. Known for his gutter beats as well as his soulful production, it feels like some of his best work is on this album. Especially the soul-drenched instrumentals.
To top it off, some of my favourite musicians make the guestlist. Namely Griselda's Conway The Machine and Benny The Butcher on separate tracks as well as grammy winner Tyler, The Creator. Rick Ross also makes an appearance. I thought Tyler would be the only artist to offer something different but everyone did their thing. Especially Conway who laments over his role as a father, a side to him he rarely shows.
After dropping numerous quality projects and posting madness on his instagram account non-stop, there's no denying Freddie's work-rate. At the very least, he should be in the discussion for most under-rated rapper. Alfredo has dope beats and dope bars (in more ways than one) and as it stands, is the album of the year. I give this a 9.
FAVES
Beat- Babies & Fools
Verse- Scottie Beam
Feature- Conway The Machine
Track- Scottie Beam
That's it for this month's reviews. Took almost a year but I'm more or less up to date with my album reviews. Hope you enjoyed reading and keep your head up during lockdown.
Peace Out!
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