Post Malone – Beerbongs and Bentleys
With recent hits like “Rockstar” and “Psycho,” Post Malone’s latest project was bound to receive mass amounts of hype. Hype the album couldn’t possibly live up, but Post doesn’t seem to try and meet this hype. He stays in his lane and does what he does best throughout the entire album. The combination of simple, bass-heavy beats and his melodic, auto-tune ridden voice laid over can be found all over the album. Even when he leaves this approach you can still tell that it’s a Post song. For example, “Over Now” sounds like a better-done Nickelback song.
His use of quick triplet flows, that seem to be taken right out of reggae, give enough flare to keep the listener engaged and bobbing along. His lyrical content doesn’t explore territory rarely explored, yet it will still find people needing to hear what he’s saying. He doesn’t attempt to bridge gaps between genres or try to give us groundbreaking tracks. If you aren’t a Post fan it’ll leave you wanting more. If you’re a Post fan than you’re bound to fall in love with it.
6.5/10
Flatbush Zombies – Vacation in Hell
Flatbush Zombies is an East Coast rap collective that’s known for their grimy, old-school sound. On this album, they complete an awkward transition from their first much darker album “3001: A Laced Odyssey.” This new, more modern (though still dark) sound makes the album sound separate from anything they’ve released before. Yet different doesn’t mean better, as the album suffers from a fatal flaw. It’s a very long listen and every minute is felt. Almost every cut is four minutes or longer and the beats are stagnant. Lyrical acuteness keeps the songs interesting to listen to, but the album isn’t one you listen to front to back to get an experience.
It’s like that of an A$AP Mob project, pull a couple songs and add it to the playlist. In this respect, which is how I’ll judge it, it succeeds to give a couple bangers that’ll look nice in a gym playlist. The intro “HELL-O” is one of the shortest on the album, and it’s no shock that it’s the favorite of many. “Headstone” features a prominent snare over a bass-heavy instrumental, a combination that is bound to feel energetic.
7/10
J Cole – KOD
J Cole has received both acclaim and criticism throughout his career. No artist is so arguably ambiguous their whole career, both loved by his fans and laughed at by others. That doesn’t change for his most recent project, KOD. Completely about addiction and the effects of it, it’s Cole’s most streamlined album. Simply 12 tracks it runs by smoothly and didn’t leave me constantly looking at my phone for the time. Productionally, J Cole goes for dark, trap beats that aim to leave a euphoric sensation behind the vocals. He displays his ability to flow over a track and write fantastic storytelling verses, exemplified by “BRACKETS.” Yet, J Cole is swallowed by his mistakes. The hooks and bridges lack almost everything and feel bare-bones. Often the hook is the constant chirping of the same word/phrase over and over.
Also, the album doesn’t rap up well. It gives no true help-barring telling the audience to meditate – or words of wisdom from a man obviously affected heavily by the topic. The album doesn’t seem to have depth, and when talking about a theme featured constantly in music you have to provide something more than a slightly different perspective. His lack of awareness for his self-righteous nature seem to hold him from making any real change in anyone who listens to the project not looking for anything.
6.5/10
Saba – CARE FOR ME
Saba, a Chicago rapper, released the best rap project of the year so far. His passionate deliveries, similar to Isaiah Rashad, and eloquent verses help paint a picture that only he can paint. His heavy influences by both jazz and other Chicago rappers bleed through his work, yet it’s something completely his own. The album is a diaristic and therapeutic release to an artist who lost his close cousin, Walter Long Jr. His anxiety and pain shine through no matter what, but the project is awe-inspiring due to its embracement of it. Saba is willing to not only release but show his emotions openly. He does it all over jazz instrumentals that leave Saba sounding raw, sensitive to the touch. Every flicker in his voice is audible and it seems to be untouched by vocal editing.
On tracks like “Grey”, he lets out frustration for the music industry and why he feels it isn’t about the music itself. On “Prom/King” he reflects on his late cousin by using an experience in high school for the first verse, and on the second ripping into stories he has of gun violence and frustrations with it all. Listening to the album can’t help but make you feel vulnerable and emotional. The only reason this album isn’t perfect is the very uninteresting track, “BROKEN GIRLS.”
9/10
Cardi B – Invasion of Privacy
Rap sensation Cardi B finally released her debut album coming off of the slam hit that was “Bodak Yellow,” and she doesn’t disappoint. The album delivers much of the appeal people find in her, a ghetto, grimy delivery with mass amounts of charisma. This charisma is infectious to the highest degree. Even the most mediocre of bars she spits can make you bob along. This often fills in the large gap left by the lack of true depth to the project. It’s a fun album that should be taken with very little, if any, seriousness.
The biggest problem this album runs into is the separation from what makes Cardi fun. From warning the men in her life that she’s indeed a bad girl in “Be Careful,” to singing about her “Best Life” with good guy Chance the Rapper. It feels Atlantic forced the addition of a track like this to get hits from the Chance fans that are bound to support their favorite artist instead of giving us another Cardi experience that we all love.
The intro also feels like a Cardi B “Dreams and Nightmares” with its slow crescendo and flow, which isn’t a bad thing but still needs to be pointed out if one is looking for originality. Granted you don’t go to Cardi for originality, especially when her biggest hit is a copy of Kodak’s “No Flockin”, and she doesn’t write her own music. The album is still fun enough to entertain you throughout.
7/10
MF Doom/Czarface-Czarface Meets Metal Face
The inspired meets the inspiration in this intriguing collision. MF Doom is an underground legend that has created a following off of his incredible lyricism and storytelling. His whole career has been dedicated to creating and adding to the storyline of the villain Doom. Czarface is a rap trio consisting of former Wu Tang member Inspectah Deck, 7L, and Esoteric. They have done the same but created the image of a hero. On this project the two opposing forces of hero and villain clash and the ideas were limitless. The lyrical battles that were prophesied by those excited for the project were enough to excite all involved. Yet the project never truly meets these demands.
They provide a great project that has fantastic flow and great lyricism in a relatively nice package, but it still feels like it had more to give. It never delivers and exploits the hero vs. villain storyline like it had the potential to. Judging a project on what it isn’t instead of what it is may seem unfair. When the artists involved have legendary discographies and lyrical abilities, however, it’s bound to happen. The song “Phantom” provides a fantastically dark beat and great verses from all involved. “Stun Gun” probably has the best Trump bar we’ll see all year, which is a big compliment when you consider how many we have.
7/10
Kali Uchis – Isolation
Kali Uchis, a Colombian singer that has been featured on many projects (including Daniel Cesar’s fantastic last outing) releases her second studio album. Not an overwhelming vocalist, she captures the audience with smooth vocals over dynamic beats, which is really what makes the album so listenable. The all-star list of features both vocally and productionally gives her the flexibility to display fantastic control over her fluttery voice. This creates variety. A need in any album that doesn’t have a strong concept, which this album doesn’t have.
The Achilles heal of Kali is seen in the lower octave notes. Her weaker voice tends to lose any power on these notes. She doesn’t use this to her advantage when she could use these breaks to show emotion. The project still provides multiple noteworthy cuts including “Just a Stranger,” “Your Teeth In My Neck,” and “After The Storm (featuring Tyler, the Creator).”
7.5/10
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