Eminem - "Kamikaze" Technically an August release, but I'm putting it in this recap for simplicity's sake. Eminem's career arc post-Revival seems to be aimed towards damage control, as the crowds continue to demean his 2017 album and question his continued ability to create good, enjoyable music. This particular fan wasn't nearly as offended by Revival as the majority, so the concept of Kamikaze - the "reply" album that's supposed to give the Revival haters the music that they actually want - is already lost on me. I'm glad it exists, however, as Eminem's reputation has improved slightly since, and there are certainly a few highlights on the short album. Opener 'The Ringer' is great, with a great backing track as Eminem rhymes like he used to and name-drops about half of the rap industry for over five minutes straight, while 'Fall' has a similar concept, with an even better instrumental and a fantastic chorus sung by Bon Iver, of all people. However, this is about where the album ends for me, as the final three tracks are almost unlistenable, and other tracks like 'Greatest' & 'Lucky You' with Joyner Lucas aren't outstanding by any means, simply being agreeable rap songs. 60/100 Brockhampton - "Iridescence" I was very excited to hear the music Brockhampton would produce post-Saturation, and I was sure that they would still manage to create great music without Ameer Vann, following his expulsion from the group. Iridescence is a solid project, where the group maintain their output of sticky, catchy melodies for their songs, interesting production, and a ranging style of vocalists all to add flavor to every track. JOBA easily takes the "most improved" trophy on this album, as he steps forward as perhaps the most captivating lead vocalist of the project - which is a pleasant surprise, considering his limited role as a rapper on the Saturation trilogy. He are furious & animated verses, like on the opening track 'NEW ORLEANS' and also has calm, calculated and witty lines such as on 'BERLIN'. Merlyn has also regained his zany flair that made him so compelling on the first installment of Saturation - I felt that on II & III, his style had been overused, making it feel like a gimmick, and it lost it's appeal. But on Iridescence, he is absolutely back on form, leading the fantastic track 'WHERE THE CASH AT' with little help from other group members, and it's one of the album's best cuts. 'SAN MARCOS' has a wonderful feature from the London Community Gospel Choir Children, who sing a heart-wrenching outro for the song, and othe tracks like 'DISTRICT' have a frightening experimental sound that make you want to smash your face into a brick wall, and 'WEIGHT' features Kevin Abstract's most personal and poignant verse to date. But for all of these positives, the album is failing to stick with me the way the Saturation albums did. I can't put my finger on it directly, but there is nothing sticking out to me that makes me want to play the album any more times than I already have. Its certainly a decent project, the group has performed admirably - especially considering the strenuous 2018 they have experienced - but it just isn't clicking with me. For all it's great melodies, interesting production and lively rap performances, there's just something missing, and it isn't Ameer Vann - his flow was already noticeably ageing by the end of Saturation III, and I feel it would have done the group no favours if he was still there to drop more lethargic verses. 69/100 Logic - "YSIV" Logic's YSIV is one of my favourite albums this year. After a sketchy 2017, where he released his most polarising album, Everybody - which was panned by fans & critics alike - he has found his feet again and resumed where he paused after releasing The Incredible True Story. Sure, he doesn't stick every landing - including over four minutes of fan-sourced phone calls right at the start of the album where people from around the globe confess their admiration for Logic is very, very self-serving (and something I usually skip) and his love for pop-rap sometimes bleeds through into his supposed "boom-bap" album, but for every failure on YSIV there are countless victories. Tracks like 'Everybody Dies' & 'The Return' are fantastic, no-bullshit rap songs where Logic uses his greatest asset - his incredible technical ability - to fantastic results, dropping lines like "I had a lot of dark knights, but bitch I been Bane!" and flows effortlessly and satisfyingly on every verse he drops. Highlights include 'Wu-Tang Forever' an 8-minute posse cut that spits directly in the phase of the 2-minute rap song generation, featuring every surviving member of the famous Wu-Tang Clan where most rap better than they have in a long time. RZA shines the brightest on this track, sneering in his savage voice "I got a light beam gun / I blast a whole in your chest, that you can't bleed from" and Logic withholds from embarrassing himself in front of one of rap's most legendary groups, matching them lyrically on his verse (although he doesn't say much other than that the Wu-Tang Clan is legendary, and he throws a shot at mumble rap). The only other stumble this album has past this point is 'Ordinary Day'; a perplexing cut where Logic sings a stretched out chorus in tandem with Hailee Steinfeld. His singing is usually surprisingly good, as demonstrated on tracks like 'City Of Stars', '1-800-273-8255' and the 'Intro' track from Under Pressure, so his flat vocals on this track have no real explanation. But the album begins a flawless 30-minute streak directly after this hiccup, and every track from the self-titled 'YSIV' to his Kanye & J. Cole inspired 'Last Call' miss no punches. 'Street Dreams II' is a great storytelling track, 'Legacy' is deeply thought provoking with a moody beat to match, while 'ICONIC'... if you don't turn your volume to dangerous levels when the beat switches, you're doing something wrong. I'm personally in love with the album, and I hope he continues this level of near-perfect consistency going forward. 91/100 Reason - "There You Have It"
Reason is Top Dawg Entertainment's newest signee, and when Top Dawg signs someone, you are immediately obligated to check them out. They're the modern-day version of the late-90's Rawkus Records - all acts they sign drop great rap music, and somehow make unmarketable, underground rap music a commercial success. Reason is a young rapper who released There You Have It independantly in 2017, and TDE have now re-released it with a few songs removed and an updated album cover - but otherwise with no other changes. I'd like to thank Top for choosing this album to push on your label, because it's good - and I don't think a lot of us would have heard it otherwise. Reason claims to have started rapping only four years ago, and for someone who started as mumble rap was beginning to take over the mainstream, his ability as a raw MC is more than impressive. His wordplay is perhaps his greatest strength, dropping some of the best similes and metaphors this year - "these waiters like haters, boy they come when you eat", or "Not Denzel, but I've been watchin' tons of n***as since my Training Days" are just a few examples. His solid writing is some of the best I've heard this year, and even though he claims his production was literally sourced from YouTube beats, the sonic palette of the album is admirable. I damn near cried after hearing 'Colored Dreams' - it's the most emotionally raw display on any rap song of 2018, and the quiet piano in the background makes it even more wrenching. 'Better Dayz' & 'Kurupt' are some of the best tracks on the album, and he also uses Kanye's 'Drive Slow' beat (well, a remake of it) to great effect on the double track 'Drive Slow / Taste Like Heaven." It's a cautionary tale about the dangers of lust in the hood; "You text, you wanna see her, she like, “I know stupid” / Instantly you think about how loud she be screamin' when you diggin’ her out / You in the hood, you could've been plottin' how to get out / But you text your address, now her n***a in route". Reason is perhaps the artist I'm most excited to hear from in 2019 - he's had all year since his appearance on the Black Panther soundtrack to create his next album. if managed to create There You Have It independently, I have a feeling that the music he can create with TDE's budget and access to other artists will be some of the label's best so far. He has that much talent - if he improves as much as Kendrick did from Section.80 to good kid, m.A.A.d city, we might have this decade's final classic on our hands. My fingers are crossed - the potential this guy is unlimited. 88/100
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Albums I missedReviewing even one album per week with a full-time job isn't easy, so once a month I briefly comment on albums I'd have liked to review, but didn't get the time to. |