flowzus - very, very good.

clocking in at around 30 minutes and featuring some unconventional beats, this tape is akin to another major hip hop release this year, but this one's much better. stylistically, things run similar gamuts; laid back flow, tricky wordplay, broken and distorted beats. the thing that sets this tape apart from the other release and many other this year is its self-awareness. this isn't a high profile project, aside from the dj premier beat. flowzus knows this, and doesn't try to speak about things that he's not (even though he may not be msu president). the tape is short and sweet because he knows that people's attention spans are just as short these days and for an unknown to command 45+ minutes would be a waste on his part. a lot of thought went into this project and a lot of quality came out. the title doesn't lie.

top 3 + bottom one: minibus, chocolate philly anthem, social justice flowzus, garbage rap

five quick takes:

  • this tape takes what i liked about odd future and does it in a way that's not cringeworthy
  • the features are solid, however not as entertaining as flowzus
  • i was immensely skeptical going into this. to beat that, you know it's good
  • i'll probably go back and listen to my favorites more often but maybe not the entire project at once
  • i'm hoping for more diverse beats in future projects, flowzus has the flows to tackle them

score: 79

please support flowzus by downloading this free mixtape.

five for five: vol. 1

welcome to five for five.
five quick takes, five charts, five albums.
for the first volume, i've decided to embrace diversity.

chunk! no, captain chunk! - get lost find yourself

  1. sometimes the french accent gets in the way, sometimes it makes it unique
  2. the lyrical themes are simple and not in a good way
  3. instrumentally sound for an easycore band
  4. i'd rather listen to this than stuff like tigers jaw or man overboard
  5. there's no real reason to hate on them for what they do when they're pretty #positive about it

score: 47

cncc chart.jpg

ludacris - ludaversal

  1. he's hella funny but hella stale
  2. that jason aldean song didn't need to happen but it's cool that he tried
  3. none of the features really did anything to improve the album
  4. he still needed more features though
  5. ludacris might as well retire from albums and just do features for people

score: 55

skrillex & diplo - skrillex & diplo present jack ü

  1. these guys work really well together to create a great atmosphere
  2. there are times all over this album where i wished the beats would hit harder
  3. the justin bieber feature is fantastic and while i am elated to see missy back in action, her part was very straight-forward
  4. a lot of cheesy vocals lyrically but i don't think they're supposed to be that deep
  5. skrillex > diplo

score: 68

snoop dogg - bush

  1. pharrell is the mvp of this project, charlie wilson a very close second
  2. snoop really shouldn't be singing but at least he doesn't sound nearly as bad as a$ap rocky
  3. of course the song he raps on is the best by far
  4. great pacing, doesn't overstay its welcome
  5. i want kendrick lamar on every funk release from here on out

score: 71

veil of maya - matriarch

  1. the addition of clean vocals is not welcomed, but i got used to it
  2. it seems like they went for a more accessible sound and that's upsetting
  3. they're better at playing that accessible sound than most other bands, though
  4. the song titles all being prominent female names makes me value this project more, three-fifty being absolutely hilarious
  5. y'all probably don't care about the hot takes for this album or the chunk! album and for that you're lame, expand your musical palette with me

score: 66

donnie trumpet & the social experiment - surf

“it ain’t so easy / but it’s not so hard / to stand up / but it’s just too easy / to sit back down”
— slip slide

surf is not a chance the rapper album. surf is not an album by the rapper named chance. chance the rapper has not released an album, but him and his buddies have put together a collaborative project to cleanse your palettes. the sounds bring no chaos, no anger, no discomfort. even though these emotions are not present, there's still a sense of urgency in the music; it urges for positivity, for brighter times instead of the current darker ones, it aims to inspire.

it'd be a mistake to deny immense credit to the talents of donnie trumpet as a musician who can hold it down behind the vocals and in front of them. his tones create great accents and lead great solos. the combination of band instruments and synthetic rap production is always a welcome combination, even if it's not always perfect. going along with that, the lyrics didn't always hit so well, but it seems like it's more about the good vibes than the introspectiveness.

the project has peaks and valleys; when you're riding the top of a wave, it's great, but when you're in those lows, it relaxes a bit too much. still, there's always another peak not too far away.

top 3 + bottom one: slip slide, warm enough, familiar, nothing came to me

five hot takes:

  1. this isn't a chance the rapper album and you're wrong for thinking that
  2. the "50 minute interlude" thing is more or less right, it's a very light album
  3. just because i enjoyed this j. cole verse a lot doesn't make him good
  4. erykah badu is the best feature on the album
  5. i probably won't listen to this in full ever again

score: 57

a$ap rocky - at.long.last.a$ap

“i went to france and almost got deported / the fans is screaming when i hit the border / i visit nice like it’s my sisters daughter”
— wavybone

rocky succeeds the most at being the opposite of his name, his style is anything but rocky. whether it's the beats or the way he flows over them, everything is smooth. however, just because it's smooth doesn't mean that it's easy to glide through, most of his songs feel thick with bass and other effects. he uses this aura to his advantage more often than not, and this murky sound is where he shines brightest.

he has skills and no one should ever be able to take that away from him, it just seems that his skill set is limited. singing does not work for him in the slightest, but yet it is a reoccurring element in a few of these tracks. the name joe fox appears on multiple tracks, more than most would normally vibe with but with his performances being solid to good, it's upsetting that he didn't just do all of the singing on the hooks. the sludge of a.l.l.a also drags on for far too long, 18 tracks is really daunting for something with a lack of climax within songs and within the whole project. within that limited skill set is maximum flow, he handles every single beat he choose to rap over, handling the mild diversity well. his delivery is strong, and believable. this charisma is what keeps people interested but he can only keep the same theme for so long. lastly, a$ap yams' feature felt nice. his impact is apparent and having him close the album was very fitting.

top 3 + bottom one: wavybone, everyday, M$, L$D

five hot takes:

  1. lil wayne's verse is easily the best on the album
  2. mia and future saved fine whine from being hot garbage
  3. better things sounds like a thank me later b-side
  4. jukebox joints' kanye verse doesn't make him washed, idk where y'all get off thinking that mess
  5. any calls for this being hailed as album of the year will be met with this.

score: 61

the pharcyde - labcabincalifornia

vocal slickness with beats to match, the pharcyde on labcabincalifornia bring a sense of cool that is unmatched by many rappers to this day. rhymes are all over place, often multiple times within a bar. this combined with a very light yet punchy delivery makes for a song that you can lose yourself to. if you choose to listen to what they're saying, you'll find a lot of good in that, and on the flipside, if you want to, you can just relax to the sound of the words. simple hooks connect these verses and offer you a release from your trance in their bars. 

there's not a whole lot of diversity here, but you really can't knock that too hard when what's being given to you is a well crafted set of beats, scratches, verses and hooks.

score: 68

tyler, the creator - cherry bomb

tyler creates a lot of things that people enjoy, a lot of things that weird people out and a lot of things that people flat out hate. cherry bomb does all of this. simply put, there are songs on this album that are very enjoyable whether that be to how surprisingly innocent the vibe is or for how raucous and aggressive him and his features can be. there's a lot of weird to take in as well, the explosive nature of many songs (it's not really as death grips as people want to make it out to be) can be a bit off putting, as well as the song blow my load in its entirety.

there's some things to hate though; his juvenile subject matter and lyrics can get pretty annoying and the production choices are horrendous for the majority of the album. the production on the front half is so atrocious that it makes the back half look much better than it actually is. yes, smuckers is a great song but is it really that good, or did the weakness of the front half make you think it's that good? either way, the back half saves this album entirely with a more focused feel. cherry bomb is very explosive in its variety but the highs don't always make up for the lows.

score: 57

typical cats - typical cats

“catch a hi-fi to your eye might as much to mush me / calling battle cats bitches and all your dogs pussies”
— reinventing the wheel

typical cats are far from typical when it comes to wordplay. their speech patterns are literally poetry in verbal motion, every line is intertwined with rhyme. each member has a level of intensity that pervades just being hype or angry, all emotions they evoke just feel strong. since they're backed with typical 90's boom bap, their words resonate more than the average cat. what they're saying means just as much as how they say it, but i find myself getting lost in the flow moreso than the message they spit. it's great mood music.

it holds up incredibly well even though much of the techniques employed are "out of date". the use of turntablism is something that goes completely overlooked in modern hip hop but hearing it here feels like it never left. the sampling styling is also interesting, beats are not made up of a vocal sample but these samples are used to create hooks or breaks. everything happens on top of the beats, no word gets too far embedded.

score: 76

rae sremmurd - sremmlife

unlock the swag, the swag unlock - unlock the swag

at face value, this album is ridiculous, but when you look a bit deeper, it's still ridiculous. it's very efficient at being reckless, varying deliveries keep each song interesting while being simple enough that it is entrancing. unlock the swag is a prime example of this; the hook is nothing more than the title repeated forwards and backwards but each pause creates such tension in energy that it can't help but break free when it tops out. 

every beat is crisp, punches very well and doesn't overpower what is easily the most important part, the vocal delivery + back and forth of swae lee and slim jimmy. there's a sense of arrogance yet innocence in the pseudo-sing-rap passages while there is a great deal of intensity and "no chill" from the near shouting (almost scream like on lit like bic) rapping. lyrically we're not getting anything profound but it really doesn't matter here.

top 3 + bottom one: lit like bic, unlock the swag, safe sex paychecks, yno

score: 86

the rare jacra - transparent ep

make sure you're happy with you when the day is through - transparent intro

transparency is the best way to attack making music. letting listeners truly know what you're about is always welcomed and that authenticity can usually strengthen the music. it does so in full force with this ep. the intentions are pure and evident. the simplicity is easy to discern and identify with and the atmosphere created by the instrumentals only accentuates that it's okay to feel. however, if you're not in the same mindset as where the ep is going or what it's talking about, it's just going to be opaque.

score: 46

please check out the rare jacra's (@jakethedog) new song with @__beamin:
livefromthemoon

death grips - jenny death

my shit's been retarded since beginning of time - pss pss

death grips create an intensity not known in most hip hop because it's not just hip hop. gritty guitars, hyperactive bleep bloops and all things loud rupture any concept of convention one might have. there's some sort of order in the chaos; the pacing of each song is rather normal (especially compared to niggas on the moon) and the pacing of the entire album is sensible.

mc ride is still very unnerving for a number of reasons: his intensity is always on high, his vulgarity is as outrageous as it is intriguing and his lyrical honesty on certain tracks (specifically On GP) is much more obvious than previous albums. flatliner's grasp of sound texture is near top notch and zach hill's drumming skills have never been more exhilarating. it's the right amount of energy, the right amount of catchy and the right length. each listen there's something new to attach yourself to and that replayability factor is what keeps death grips relevant.

score: 90