Part two of my final blog post of the year. These are, in my opinion, the five best albums of the hip-hop genre. These albums are responsible for expanding my variety in the genre and shaping my taste. Here we go.
5. Jay-Z -- The Blueprint I think Jay-Z is the greatest rapper of all time, and part of it is the fact he has three albums you could argue as his best. If somebody said Reasonable Doubt or The Black Album is his best, I won't fault them for it. However, my pick is The Blueprint. The album takes the hustler elements present in Doubt and adds a more authentic element to it. Lots of the production has soul samples from Kanye West and Just Blaze, while a few varying beats such as the darker "Renegade" and more confident "The Ruler's Back" break up the monotony. This was Kanye's breakthrough as an artist, so I will always appreciate this album. Musically, the album had two audiences: in addition to his general fanbase, he was under the pressure of disses from noticeable artists like Nas and Mobb Deep and looked to respond on this album. The way he's able to balance his autobiographical raps with hard responses to fellow New York MCs makes for a great album. It's more optimistic than Doubt, the soul samples giving a more easy listen, metaphorical of the easier life he has now. One of the reasons why Jay-Z is considered the greatest by some people is his flow, and it's on great display here. The way he is able to string words together and perfectly hit the beat with his delivery gives the track life even if it is dragged down by a simply okay beat or some average bars. The first five tracks are solid and definitely aim more for the radio: "Girls, Girls, Girls" is absolutely hilarious and just a touch offensive, "Izzo" is a great single, and "Takeover" delivers hard blows to Mobb Deep, Nas, and others. But the album flips a switch as "U Don't Know". Exploring his drug dealing past and his success to where he is now, it oozes with confidence and has a tremendous instrumental that makes it a highlight of the album. "Heart of the City" might be the best use of a sample on the album, Kanye flipping some Bobby "Blue" Bland. The whole song is about how people want Jay to fail, and how he doesn't feel the love. Doesn't seem like the stuff of a top ten album ever, but when you're as smooth as Jay, and the samples are as good as they are, it's ultimately less about the lyrical content and how it is pulled off. Thankfully, Hov saves the best for last. "Song Cry" and "Renegade" are the culmination of the album. On one hand, "Song Cry" is so great for taking all the recurring elements of the album -- soul samples, reflecting on his past, smooth flows -- combined with emotional storytelling of a relationship that ended because he couldn't make time for the girl. It's such a powerful song, and it is one of my favorites of all time. On the other hand, "Renegade" is different from the majority of the album, with an Eminem feature and a darker beat produced by Eminem himself. The two MCs take turns discussing the media perceptions of them, with great lyricism and chemistry between the two. Bottom line, the production and rapping set Jay-Z in a position to become the most successful rap artist of the 2000s not named Eminem and really set a "blueprint" for other New York rappers to follow. Jay-Z, can we get a Blueprint 4 before your career is over? 4. OutKast -- Aquemini Southern rap wasn't really taken seriously before OutKast. Their debut Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik put them on the map, they bettered it with ATLiens, and perfected it with Aquemini. The project is a lot unlike typical Southern rap (which is still very enjoyable) and that creativity makes the record excel. Andre 3000 and Big Boi are both very talented lyricists and are able to show it on tracks like the title one. The personal standout of the album in my opinion, the song is about how good things must end but until then OutKast will continue to work together. Andre's final verse -- with the same three-syllable rhyme scheme for the whole verse and a switch-up in flow -- is one of the greatest verses I have ever heard. We also get a Raekwon feature on "Skew It On The Bar-B", and while it's another verse above crime, he uses a multi-syllable rhyme scheme for his verse, and he fits the whole concept of the track, since OutKast is basically saying "We're here to change rap", and the blending of Southern and East Coast rap solidifies that. That's not all for great rapping. The two "Da Art of Storytellin'" tracks present on the album both do a great job of... well, you guessed it. In part 1, Big Boi tells about a girl he engaged in sex with, while Andre tells about a girl who dies of a drug overduse while pregnant from an abusive boyfriend. In part 2, they take a story and somehow connect them to an apocalyptic scene out of the Bible. The way Andre is able to use women getting raped and make a metaphor with how some men "rape" Earth by taking advantage of it is simply genius. And Big Boi's verse about the apocalypse delivered so nonchalantly is ironic and great all at the same time. However, like stated earlier, the parts where it isn't just great rapping really make it unique and stand out in time. "SpottieOttieDopaliscious" isn't even rapping. It's seven minutes of spoken word over a jazz instrumental. Andre talks about a crazy scene in an urban night club, and then Big Boi talks about some really hot "smokin'" girl he met. It is so bold and has great storytelling and great horns; it's something that only OutKast could pull off (maybe Kendrick Lamar). And the track "Liberation" features no chorus, just five verses: Andre, Big Boi, Cee-Lo Green, Erykah Badu, and Big Rube in order. Each verse has a different style and the whole song is just about the desire of being free, with each person wanting to be free from a slightly different thing. The album is for any hip hop fan: whether they love lyrics, interesting production, spoken word, storytelling, you name it. The only reason it isn't higher is that "Mamacita" has a very dud chorus. Tough, but these top four albums are so neck and neck that I had to draw straws. 3. Kendrick Lamar -- To Pimp A Butterfly I already did an extensive review of this album, so I'll try to keep this one relatively short. This album is one of the most creative pieces of mainstream music I have ever heard. The whole project is about Kendrick telling what it means to be black, embracing his heritage while also being upset about oppression currently faced by them in the country. It also taps into his depression and mental state on the contrasting tracks "I" and "U". "U" might be the best song on an album of amazing ones; the second half of the song where Kendrick has a delivery with his voice cracking is the most emotional moment on the album. The sound of the production helps set it apart with inspirations from the soul, funk, and jazz genres. In a time where incidents like the Trayvon Martin case were still fresh in people's minds, the community needed a voice, somebody they could rally behind. With tracks like "Alright" and "King Kunta", the album managed to be socially relevant when black America needed it most. The album has so many different sounds, and they all manage to connect together into one overlying theme. The project is able to do this while having this artistic freedom of taking risks, which ultimately is extremely beneficial for Kendrick. However, this is a best rap albums list. Butterfly is a masterpiece. However, I feel the actual rapping and lyricism on this project, while good, is not really up to par with the top two. Still an incredible album. 2. Notorious BIG -- Ready to Die Crazy to think that this and Illmatic both came out in the same year (1994). Both are arguably the greatest rap album ever, but I think Ready to Die is the slightly better album. Concept albums are so hard to pull off, and the fact that Biggie Smalls manages to do this with his debut is even more impressive. The album depicts a life from birth to death, with him being born in the intro and committing suicide in the outro. The project has a dark and depressing tone to it for the majority of it, really fitting the title of the album. There are a lot of similarities in the styles of Biggie and Jay-Z: both legends from New York, both used to sell drugs, both have a smooth flow that allow them to lay rhymes on top of each other. While I have Jay-Z over Biggie on my all time list due to consistency, he never topped this project. Its dark tones and lyrical content, while not uncommon in rap, are done with a different approach that makes it stand out. An example of this is "Gimme The Loot", a track about a bank robbery. That is something that has been rapped about a few times. However, the way Biggie uses two different voices to explain how the whole thing goes down is creative. Also, Biggie just knows how to rap: his storytelling is vivid and almost sinister, he is never off beat with his sharp flow, and he never sounds uncomfortable. This storytelling is on full display on the title track, where Biggie and his crew are about to murder somebody. After "One More Chance" and a very sexual interlude, the album starts to get more light-hearted for a bit. "The What" is just some very solid battle rap between Biggie and the only other guest on the album, Method Man. "Juicy" is the most iconic track on the album, being the brightest spot in such a depressing piece of work. Biggie reflects on where he was and where he is now and how he was able to make it through hard situations. It's a relatable, feel-good track that every true hip hop fan should know. The album ends with arguably the two best tracks: "Unbelievable" features a beat from the greatest producer of all time in DJ Premier with Biggie able to squeeze multiple rhymes into one line. And the final track, "Suicidal Thoughts", is him on the phone with Puff Daddy where he shoots himself at the end. It's a fitting end to a dark album, one that doesn't glorify the life of a crime lord but rather shows the anguish of it. The rapping is nothing short of exceptional, every track has a purpose, and it's one of the most timeless rap albums of all time. And yet, there is one more I would put above it. Before we get to #1, here are a few honorable mentions: Take Care (Drake), Ridin' Dirty (UGK), Tha Carter III (Lil Wayne), 36 Chambers (Wu-Tang Clan), Man on the Moon (Kid Cudi), Supreme Clientele (Ghostface Killah), Pinata (Freddie Gibbs and Madlib), Be (Common), Food and Liquor (Lupe Fiasco), Get Rich or Die Tryin' (50 Cent), The Documentary (The Game), Capital Punishment (Big Pun), The Infamous (Mobb Deep), and The Eminem Show (Eminem). Now here we go with #1. 1. Kanye West -- My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Ever since Kanye emerged into mainstream rap in 2004, he's always been an artistic genius able to make music that is ahead of its time. And each of his first four albums, while great, each had a flaw to them. College Dropout he was still trying to become more than a producer rapper, and things like his lyricism and flow were a little under par. Late Registration had a few filler tracks like "Celebration" and "My Way Home". Graduation was way too focused on radio success and lacked the hunger and passion of his first two projects. 808s and Heartbreak was a little barren lyrically, and it doesn't help that Kanye doesn't have the best singing voice. But he took his time with this project, and it shows. The background of this album adds to the legend right away. Everybody had counted out Kanye before this album -- following the polarization of 808s, the death of his mom, and the Taylor Swift stuff, everybody thought he was either washed musically or just going crazy. And sure, he still might be a little bit of the second part, but he was far from the first one. And for him to not just make a great album, but his best album ever, after all that madness, is simply insane. It's like Paul George having his best season ever this year, after a catastrophic injury just a few years ago. The project as a whole delves into the excessive lifestyle of a celebrity, and explores the gritty and the messed up a lot of people don't love to look at. The production on this project is the best produced rap album of the decade, with so many grand and luxurious beats combined with some of the most interesting samples and interpolations in recent memory. Each song transitions well into the next, combining into this grand finale of how Kanye is lost in it all -- the drugs, the sorrow, the women. Like a point guard running the floor in basketball, Kanye gets the best out of everyone on this album. Well, except for Hov on Monster. Nicki Minaj, Rick Ross, and arguably Pusha T all give the verses of their career on this album. Bon Iver, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, and John Legend all deliver great choruses. And that's not even including the great verses from veterans Jay-Z (on "So Appalled", that is) and Raekwon. Kanye's rapping is arguably at its peak right here. It's his best lyrically and he displays a ton of charisma on tracks like "So Appalled", an ode to how much they hate critics and sometimes the fame, and "Monster", where he and the other artists embrace how rude they are. "POWER" and "Gorgeous" feature arguably his best verses ever. And "POWER" being the lead single for this thing was the perfect, brash way for Kanye to say "I'm back" as loudly as possible. This album is nothing short of an absolute masterpiece. It's an incredibly deep look into the corners of his messed up psyche, but this messed up psyche is what pushed him so much to make this project. Things that shouldn't work -- the vocoder ending of Runaway, a King Crimson sample on POWER, rhyming "esophagus" and "sarcophagus" -- do. Nobody halfway sane could've made this album. But thankfully, any sane person can understand the genius and unfiltered brilliance of this album. It's a great album if you look at just the rapping. But looking at how each track has a grand and luscious beat, at how each track beautifully transitions into the next, how he finds a way to pull interesting samples and use unique sound techniques, it's more than a rap album. It's so amazingly honest and manages to tap into both the beautiful and dark aspects of Kanye's soul. He pushed himself to the limit, and it shows. I cannot express enough the love that I have for this album. It is the greatest rap album of all time. Thank you for a great year, journalism. Mamba out.
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Well, this is it. My final blog post of the year. To the four of you that read this, thank you. Now, here we go with my last and most difficult post. I couldn't do just a normal review for the last one, but it is Rogan Music Reviews after all. So I'll do some miniature reviews, as part of a list. These are what I think are the top ten greatest rap albums of all time. The one rule is I am only putting one album per artist on here. Let the countdown begin.
10. A Tribe Called Quest -- Midnight Marauders I've never been the biggest fan of Tribe as much as I like a lot of their music, as their fanbase loves to call them the best rap group ever and elevate their music to a level of fake woken political bull. But this project is a masterpiece, as much as I hate to say it. Q-Tip's production is the spark to the album, using jazz similar to Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly, but this one uses it to create more mellow and funky instrumentals. One thing noticeable about this production is that Q-Tip manages to use vocal samples and put them as part of the instrumentals, which is a trend used on later rap albums. In some ways, Midnight Marauders was a trendsetter. But lyrically, how the album is able to do different things makes it special. Some songs focus on boastful and charismatic verses while others reflect on what it's like to be black in New York City, and more broadly in America. A unique experience is created between Q-Tip's more casual and laid back delivery and Phife Dawg being a little more aggressive with how he raps. And it's this really good balance of confident and clever rapping on hits like "Award Tour", and other songs that manage to be both great sonically and politically. From a whole song addressing the use of the N-word and the controversy of it ("Sucka N---"), to a song about the dangerous lifestyle of the city ("Midnight"), the project managed to be an embodiment of many things: of the funk sounds that Tribe started to introduce with their sophomore project The Low End Theory, of political rap started by NWA and Public Enemy and later continued on by people like Ice Cube and Tupac, and the clever lyricism and storytelling of Phife Dawg and Q-Tip. While no song on here would be in my say top 25 favorite songs ever, all the songs on here are very solid at the minimum and this is one of the most consistent rap albums ever and a milestone in jazz and conscious rap. 9. Tupac -- Me Against The World This is easily the best album we ever got from Tupac. It takes the element of street rap from his first two albums and makes them more sophisticated, adding a personal and more complex element to it. The thoughts are deeper, the lyricism is improved, and it's more focused all around. The difference between this and All Eyez On Me is that Me Against The World has a purpose for each song. This was written while he was prison and was a reflection on his troubles with the law, his upbringing, and other troubles black youth face. They say Tupac is not an elite lyricist or technical rapper, and while that may be true, he certainly was no slouch in that department. Some songs like "If I Die 2Nite" (which almost eerily predicted his shooting at Quad Studios) feature the use of heavy alliteration, while he uses great rhyme schemes in songs like the title track (the last verse has a rhyme scheme of: stressin', oppression, questions, possessions, lessons, questions, blessings, essence, address). And even on tracks where he is not so technical, most of the song features great and vivid storytelling. Shakur accurately creates depictions of what it is like growing up in a poor neighborhood, and these graphic images of people dying young. It's these elements that were present in his first albums, polished up, and mixed with the more personal side to it that makes it stand out. "Lord Knows" is almost a gut-punching song how it takes you into Tupac's world of depression, and how depression brings up all sorts of feelings, from regret to remorse. And the culmination of this album and probably the culmination of Tupac's music is the ninth track on the album, "Dear Mama". One of the most heartfelt and honest songs (any genre) of all time, reflecting on the highs and lows of his relationship with his mother and how he still loves her through everything. It's one of the few songs that has ever made me cry. It's this emotional growth from Tupac, the honesty in his lyrics, the blues-inspired production, that while even though the actual rapping itself leaves something to be desired at occasions on the album, this is still one of the best and most important rap albums of all time. 8. DMX -- It's Dark And Hell Is Hot People mention Tupac and Biggie for hip hop "what if"'s. But DMX is also in that discussion, as he dropped three very good albums before going to jail, this one being his personal best. This is nothing held back, simply one of the darkest albums I have ever heard, from the production, lyrics, delivery, album cover, etc. Hardcore gangsta rap was being replaced right about this time, but DMX with his uber aggression brought it back. After the intro skit, the album starts off in the most appropriate way possible with "Ruff Ryder's Anthem", a confrontational warning for what's ahead that still is one of the hardest songs ever released even twenty years later. It is the ultimate song for jamming out, working out, and basically any moment you want to feel like you cannot be messed with. The gruff tone to DMX's voice almost makes him sound like one of his "dogs" he makes several references to throughout the album, perfectly fitting his brutally honest and harsh lyrics. Like Tupac, it's not any sort of fantasy, it's stuff he has been through. Unlike Tupac, there aren't some deeper messages behind the songs. For the most part, it's just DMX explaining how angry or pissed off he is. But it works for what it is supposed to be. "Damien" is one of the greatest storytelling songs of all time where DMX does these evil deeds for a man named Damien in exchange for fortune and fame, but Damien turns out to be the devil. And while obviously people aren't dealing with the devil themselves in real life, this whole relatable theme through the album of being in dark places and how people react to it is most present in this song. The track "Look Thru My Eyes" is another standout, where this laundry list of things DMX has had to do is listed off, and he explains he does what he has to do in order to survive and put himself in the best situation. Similar to Me Against The World, the lyricism is not the greatest. But the brutal honesty and emotion portrayed in the lyrics, with no holds barred, leads to one of the most charismatic albums. DMX's first three albums are all great, and he could've kept it up if not for going to jail. Still one of the greatest. 7. Raekwon -- Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Raekwon, a member of the legendary Wu-Tang, actually upped their 1993 debut 36 Chambers in my opinion with his 1995 solo debut. There are mixing issues with 36 Chambers, and also it is diluted being a group album as there are weaker members that thus give some weaker performances. But Raekwon is almost unanimously top three for Wu-Tang, and so with this project he is very rarely being held back by somebody not as competent of a lyricist as he is. The best rappers tell about what they have been through, and Raekwon continues the theme of previous entries DMX and Tupac with stories about what he has been through using street rap about crime, drugs, etc. This project is responsible for bringing back mafioso rap, a subvariant of gangsta rap in which references to the mob and crime are prominent. Raekwon said this project is supposed to play like a movie, with fellow Wu-Tang rapper Ghostface as the supporting actor and another Wu-Tang member and producer RZA as the director. RZA does a fantastic job producing this album, making various beats from the piano-driven "Knuckleheads" to the violin-assisted "Rainy Dayz", he finds way to use nice soul samples and catchy melodies and drum loops easy for Raekwon to flow over. One complaint from a few colleagues of mine is this album is unoriginal, but context has to be taken into consideration here. This seems unoriginal now, but look back twenty years to when this came out. Only other person who was this in depth about their crime life was Kool G Rap. This album indirectly inspired the more mafioso direction of Life After Death, and mafioso rappers like Jay-Z, AZ, Rick Ross, and more. The album is gritty and colorful like Wu-Tang's group stuff. What Raekwon manages to do so well is say a lot without saying a lot. In verse 2 of "Knowledge God", he manages to tell a story of a man he met named Mike Lavogna, give him a personality, and end the story in only twenty bars. And despite how hard Raekwon tries to seem like he is stone cold, it's the moments with a little bit more soul that might be the best. "Rainy Dayz" features the great use of the violin as mentioned earlier, with soulful and absolutely beautiful vocals from Blue Raspberry, with Ghostface on the first verse and Raekwon on the second reflecting on what they want and how the ways they try to get it can be dangerous, but it is their best option. The storm sounds in the background mixed with the eerie sounds of the strings and brutal lyrics of Rae and Ghost make for the standout of the album. Nas even has a verse on here, being the first non Wu-Tang member to have a verse on a Wu-Tang album. This project uses everybody to their fullest, and despite being a tad bit repetitive remains an absolute classic. 6. Nas -- Illmatic This is often considered the greatest rap album of all time. And while I would not go that far, there are many things outstanding about this album. Rakim was the first rapper to introduce things like internal rhyming, rhyming within lines and not just at the end, as well as multisyllabic rapping. Nas took these things and built on them, delivering these verbose snapshots of street life in Queensbridge. And unlike some other artists, like Tupac's earlier work, this seemed a lot more intelligent: no misogyny, no overreactions, just the truth. It is so hard to believe that Nas wrote the majority of this album when he was 19 years old. This album was so influential in many ways for hip hop. For starters, it brought back traditional lyricism in the New York area in a time when alternative work by people like the aforementioned A Tribe Called Quest was popular. And it shifted the matra in hip-hop from a focus on the flow/speed to a focus on the lyricism, which rubbed off on people like Mobb Deep, Ghostface Killah, Jay-Z, Raekwon, and others had this project's laser-sharp lyricism rub off on them. This is not just a lyrics dream, though. DJ Premier is sometimes considered the greatest producer of all time, and largely because of what he did on this album. The samples he is able to use create great beats using heavy drums and genres of different genres, including jazz and soul. And I give more credit to Nas, as there are hardly any guest features on this album. The two that are there are a mixed bag: AZ delivers arguably the greatest feature verse ever on "Life's A B----", while Q-Tip makes a good beat on "One Love" but his chorus is only one line and feels disappointing. Some of the beats sound like a time machine into the 1990s, and that is not a good thing. The drum patterns and mixing on some of the songs do sound old, even compared to some other 1990s music. And the track "One Love" in general is a weak point, I just find it to be the weakest lyrically and the weak chorus doesn't help either. But with those small blemishes aside, Illmatic is arguably the most influential rap album of all time. And even if it's not the absolute greatest rap album, it may be the one I respect most. Every time a classic album is brought up, usually the first thing it gets compared to is Illmatic. And if that doesn't speak wonders about its quality... I don't know what does. I was perplexed on what to post on my blog this week, when the people in a hip hop group chat I am in were ranking Kanye West's albums from worst to best. While I will not do that, as I could review his albums more in depth in further posts, Kanye has a lot of exceptional songs. His great beats, raw emotion, and interesting samples create for great songs, even if he isn't the best technical rapper. So here are my ten personal favorite Kanye West songs. But first, some very honorable mentions: Through The Wire, Last Call, Hey Mama, Good Morning, Heartless, Street Lights, All of the Lights, So Appalled, Gorgeous, Monster, Blood on the Leaves, Guilt Trip, Saint Pablo, and Famous. 10. Can't Tell Me Nothing West has a lot of confidence, almost to the point of cockiness, and this track is his best demonstration of it. Right away, one of the most iconic openers of his careers, "Wait till I get my money right." That line sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the song, mixing catchiness and inspiration. With lines like "You can live through anything if Magic made it" equal parts inspirational and depressing, the song creates this paradox of emotions that makes it so unique. It's a shout out to haters and critics, an ode to proving people wrong, which is something I'm sure many people can relate to. The song doesn't have to choose between being a good radio single and a relatable song, it can be both. With a chorus that is instantly recognizable, it's one of those songs that can come on and make a majority of the room stop. I don't really have anything bad to say about this song; maybe the outro lasts a little too long if I'm being nitpicky. But it's easily one of his best party songs, and one of his best songs, period. And it brings up an excellent question: How do you parallel double park a car sideways? 9. New Slaves When it comes to Kanye's albums, Yeezus might be his most polarizing. Many people love the stark, brash sound of the album and the experimental sounds it uses. Others find it way too different from his previous work and has basic, egotistical lyricism. But Kanye has always been one to innovate, and this new sound of his was an example of him being ahead of the pack. However, the best song off the project is "New Slaves". Premiered on Saturday Night Live after a much more "lit" performance of the banger "Black Skinhead", the song is a brutal representation of the commercial slavery African-Americans still face today. The first verse addresses the desire of unattainable goods and it just gets more controversial and in your face from there. The second verse is pure frustration and aggression, with Kanye venting about everything: from oppression minorities still face today, the way corporations control, how blacks are still stereotyped, with some anti-paparazzi bars and a sprinkle of braggadocio. It's not a song that is listenable in any mood. But when I'm in that mood, it just hits. The ominous bass line in the background and Kanye's unfiltered lyrics set the tone for the IDGAF attitude of Yeezus. We are all somewhat slaves today -- to the money, to the girl, to bigotry (if you're Donald Trump), to whatever. The song is arguably his most provoking ever, with an incredible outro assisted by Frank Ocean vocals. What makes Kanye so brilliant is when he does the things that nobody else will do, or say the things nobody else will. And this song is a perfect example of that. 8. Diamonds from Sierra Leone This whole song was essentially written because he was upset about not winning an award, which is peak Kanye. Kanye's lyrical abilities aren't his strongest suit, but this song shows those skills at their best. Kanye finding great samples is as much of a certainty as the Catholic church touching young men inappropriately, and the Shirly Bassey intro is no exception. She sings "Diamonds are forever", and throughout the song, Kanye tells this tale of how he wants to be immortalized. The first verse is good, not great, although it still has classic Kanye lines, including this one about two strippers nicknamed "Porsche" and "Minivan" that's so out there only Kanye could pull it off. Why this song finds it way on the list is the second verse. This verse can be considered his magna opus, this culmination of frustration over everything that had happened over the past year. He acknowledges being that mad about an award is petty, but at least he has true passion. He paved his own way in the rap game, and can't even get the recognition of correct spelling on an awards plaque. He keeps upgrading and changing his musical repertoire even after continually getting written off. It's forty bars of passion from one of the most passionate people to ever do it. It was a gushing display of his desire to be remembered. To be engraved in the books, like a diamond. And with that passion, it's no wonder how he just got bigger, and bigger, and is now a rap legend. 7. Jesus Walks A mainstream song about Jesus? Wow, there's really nothing Kanye cannot do. This song could be the peak of his early gospel samples, with fluttery John Legend Auto-Tune falsetto, a march beat, children vocals, and Curtis Mayfield. The song is deeply depressing with its graphic first verse of the struggles a young black man may face, yet the song is optimistic by Kanye saying that God is with these people and more. The song doesn't try to push a belief; this is even stated with the line "I ain't here to argue about his facial features, or here to convert atheists into believers." But this song is still very effective at what it does: call out how afraid rap is of religion. That was something holding rap back in the 90s and early 00s; so much of the rap was rap about what happened on the streets: brutality, sex, drugs, even murder. While those things are real and do make for great songs, he makes a valid point: why is God so taboo? The College Dropout didn't really have a successful single, and the fact this one became its most well-known song and one of his most critically acclaimed ever is pretty ironic. He was willing to take away from his spins to do something nobody else had the guts to do. This recurring theme of doing the bold things has made Kanye the artist he is now. Honestly, probably the only reason why this isn't higher is because the first verse was written by somebody else. I don't have anything legitimately bad to say about this song. 6. Gone The final track to his sophomore album Late Registration, this track doesn't have a real direction. The verses are all pretty different, but all are great and it's an awesome way to end the album. It's great storytelling with a beat almost as complex as a whole symphony, each verse getting better and better. After Cam'Ron contributes, we get a verse from Consequence. A graphic verse about losing everything, from money to a loved one to part of his life. And just when you think the song can't get better from there, all the parts of the beat get stripped back until it's just the strings, and another incredible verse. Hey, that's a recurring theme -- Late Registration might have his best verses. "Gone" serves to represent a few different things -- his desire to be gone from the limelight, the album concluded and being "gone" (as this is the final track), and how maybe Kanye won't get his appreciation until he's gone. Any song that features arguably the best verse from three artists deserves to be this high, a beautiful combination of lyricism and instrumentation. 5. No More Parties in L.A. This is probably bound to be the most controversial selection of the list, but when you put Kanye West with one of the best rappers of all time in Kendrick Lamar (yes, he is one of the best already) and one of the best producers in Madlib, it's like combining LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. It's just a plethora of talent, and even if it doesn't quite live up to its absolute potential, it sure comes close. The whole song is about their satisfaction (or rather, a lack of it) with the fake lifestyles in Hollywood. The beat gives off a very old-school sample with a nice sample of Ghostface Killah, arguably the best member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Kendrick is the first person to rap, and he does have a couple cringe worthy lines. Specifically, some of the very first ones: "Well cutie, I like your bougie booty/Come Erykah Badu me, well, let's make a movie." It's bad, but at least it's bad enough where it's laugh inducing. The rest of his verse is a good storytelling verse about a girl who is leaving her old, less fortunate man for him. There are some great rhyme schemes and a very clever math wordplay in the middle of the verse. Yet, Kanye outshines Kendrick here. He reflects on the struggles he went to before he blew up, the various mental issues and other problems he faces as a celebrity, attacks women who chase rich men for child support, and more. It also features one of his most quotable lines of recent memory: "I feel like Pablo when I'm working on my shoes, I feel like Pablo when they see me in the news, I feel like Pablo when I'm working on my house." There is not a single bad bar in his verse, and further proves that Kanye is maybe at his best when he is at his angriest. It's non stop energy for nearly six minutes, Kanye and Kendrick bouncing off the walls with vivid lines all over the place and creating a barrage of entertainment as a result. 4. Otis Despite the relative disappointment of Watch The Throne, "Otis" showed us the full potential of the project. Kanye's ability to flip a sample and make a beat out of it is arguably at its best here, the beat heavily relying on an Otis Redding sample of "Try A Little Tenderness"; Kanye apparently made it in twenty minutes. Jay-Z's verses are a little bit slower flow to compliment the faster delivery of Kanye West. This isn't the most lyrical song, or the most creative. But it's one of the most fun songs, regardless of artist, I've ever heard. Two black men who had to make something for themselves out of nothing, flexing for three minutes. Lots of charisma and the soul from the sample in the background makes for one of Kanye's most replayable tracks. Drake and Lil Wayne were challenging their spot in rap at the time, and for the two of them to come out with this braggadocio response, and to drop a music video where they drive around in a partially destroyed Maybach with models in the backseat... it's one of the biggest flexes I've ever seen. It's so cocky, yet so entertaining and lovable. And if I had to describe Kanye in a few words, I don't think I could do it better than that. 3. We Major Crazy out of all the parts in this song, Kanye might be my least favorite. The song is essentialy "Feel Good 101", everything about the song being sonically amazing to the ears. For starters, the chorus from Really Doe is amongst the best ever. His delivery and the way he plays with the vocal inflections on the verse creates for an incredibly catchy earworm, followed by a Kanye chorus that repeats the line "We major? Come on homie, we major." While repetitive, it does its job. Kanye's verse has good lines but is all over the place in terms of lyrical content that it's a little bit head scratching. But Nas comes through with a fantastic verse. It's worth noting that Nas still had a beef with Kanye's Roc-A-Fella label owner Jay-Z at the time, and that this song helped squash the beef. His verse was essentially him stating his majority/dominance over the game, while also trying to figure out the next direction to go in his career. The verse also controversially compares himself to Jesse Jackson, saying hip hop is getting killed right in front of him. While maybe a little bit bold, Nas has always been a person to speak his mind, just like Kanye. And I respect that. The last half of the song doesn't have any rapping. But that might be for the better. Tony William's singing adds a soul to the already lush, extravagant, maximal orchestra style beat. And Kanye has an entertaining ad-lib portion near the end of the song, the standout line being "Why you call it Late Registration, Ye? Cause we takin' these motherf-----s back to school!" The chorus is repeated a few times but does not get old, and it's like a musical drug trip. You're entranced in this mystical world, so many things put together. It's really a "major" accomplishment for this song to be this high. 2. Runaway This song is the best apology note ever. I'm pretty sure it was inspired heavily after the Taylor Swift VMA incident. The song is Kanye basically telling the world he's an insensitive asshole... and yet there's nothing he can do about it. Also, this song deserves credit for being able to make a whole arena go crazy with one piano note. The chorus isn't the best singing, but the fact it's not perfect honestly helps it. I take it as a metaphor of Kanye's personality being far from perfect, and like the chorus, you have to take it or leave it. He doesn't rap much in this line, just an eight bar verse. The line "And I just blame everything on you, at least you know that's what I'm good at" is so brutally honest. He's not telling the girl to change for him or giving her fake promises. He's saying he can't change, so if she can't deal with that, she can go. Pusha T comes through with a contrasting verse after another chorus, his mean guy style contrasting with Kanye's apologetic nature. It's like an alternate side of his, filled with the charisma and punchlines we expect from Pusha. However, I also interpret this as potentially being in a world where the girl actually goes, and it's Kanye hiding behind fake confidence. Either way, such a bold and entertaining verse. The last half of the song is the most confusing part, and maybe the best part. It's mostly unintelligible Auto-Tuned vocoder. A lot of people don't understand the point of it, but it's Kanye showing how the media interprets him. How the world interprets him. He says things that may seem dumb out of context, (ex. "Slavery was a choice", "George Bush doesn't care about black people") but it sounded different to him. He tries to explain himself, and address issues people won't, but people just look the other way and misconstrue his words. You can't make out anything intelligible until near the end of it, and yet it says so much at the same time. It's his most emotionally powerful song, and the emotional climax to his best album. And yet, there's one better. 1. Devil in a New Dress There has been a lot said about this song. This post has been long enough, so I'll try to say as much with as little as I can. The song uses religious imagery to describe the things Kanye wishes to do this girl. It checks off everything Kanye does great. Like a lot of his best songs, there are hillarious and borderline cocky lyrics like "The LeBron of rhyme, hard to be humble when you stuntin' on a Jumbotron" and "I ordered the jerk, she said you are what you eat." It uses a sample to great effect, a Smokey Robinson sample of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" slowed and raised in pitch until it reaches this euphoria, sounding like musical wine being poured out of a bottle and into the cup that is your speaker. Kanye does great, and the song would be great with just him. But what completes the song is the guitar interlude by Mike Dean leading into Rick Ross's verse. Arguably the best verse on the album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Ross takes his traditional coke raps and upgrades them. They are elegant, descriptive, and even more charismatic than before. It isn't what you say, but how you say it. And with lines like "When it come to tools fool I'm a Pep Boy/When it came to dope I was quick to export/Never tired of ballin' so it's on to the next sport", you can't get mad at him for rapping about drug dealing if he does it with that much creativity. The verse doesn't really fit the theme of a relationship with this bad girl, but the perspective of Ross could be from the perspective of someone who got poisoned by the fame, like how the women Kanye is talking about in his verse was poisoned. And good Lord, the ending. "I'm making love to the angel of death/Catching feelings never stumble, retracing my steps" -- one of the absolute hardest closers ever. Kanye is like the Chris Paul of the rap game: orchestrating and involving everybody, making guys better than we knew they were ever capable of. The song's themes connect perfectly to the next track on the album, which happens to be "Runaway" ironically, and the other last few tracks on the album. Confident, funny lyrics. An amazing sample. Kanye using his features to the best of their ability. Oozing with creativity. Everything you could want in a Kanye song is present on "Devil in a New Dress". Truly a musical masterpiece. Thanks for reading! I am a bit late on the topic, but considering how many shock waves this incident sent through the hip hop community, I wanted to take some time and talk about the death of Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle. He was shot in the parking lot of Marathon Clothing, the store he owned, on March 31st. He was shot five times in the torso and once in the head, and was pronounced dead about half an hour later. In a world where it seems all the good ones go too early, this is another tragic example of someone who was so valuable to the world. The first thing I wanted to discuss is the few toxic people who are annoyed when an artist gets attention after they die. There are always those people, the ones who will say things like "You weren't a fan of [X artist] when they were alive!" or "Did you even listen to [X artist] before they were murdered?" However, that's just ignorance right there. For starters, people are allowed to expand their taste in music. Music conversations would be insignificant and boring if people could only discuss their absolute favorite artists. Even if a person would not have listened to Nipsey's music otherwise, it should be a good thing that they decide to support him and expand their taste. If a TV show becomes popular, are the only people allowed to watch it the ones who were fans of the show from the pilot? No; that wouldn't make sense. That's the great thing about the Internet and entertainment: it's easier than ever for people to get fully caught up on something they've never experienced before. Whether a music artist's discography, or that one TV show you've never watched but know you want to, people can and should experience different things. And those people, that seem to thankfully be the majority, that ask if you're "allowed to feel bad" about the incident. It is human nature to feel bad when a great person passes away tragically and at a relatively young age to boot (he was 33 years old). You don't have to be someone's biggest fan to show some empathy for the situation. Even looking past him, his family is effected, as well as the people he works with, his fans, his friends... showing your sympathy for Nipsey is showing sympathy for all those people. I don't want to live in a world where we somehow have to "earn" the right to show sympathy. Secondly, Nipsey was not just a rapper, and more people need to be made aware of this. People are griefing his loss, not just because of the music that so many love, but also what he has done outside of music. Growing up in Los Angeles, he experienced a lot of gang violence and was even involved with the Rollin' 60 Crips as a teen. He said, "None of my peers survived prison... Everybody got bullet wounds and felonies and strikes. So to make it out mentally stable and not in prison and not on drugs, that’s a win." And rather than simply tell about his experience in his music, Nipsey has done plenty of activism for better streets and beyond. He founded a STEM center under the name of Vector 90 for underprivileged youth, helped develop poor neighborhoods, denounced gun violence... he was doing as much as he could to ensure Los Angeles would be a better place. Someone who was given a pretty bad hand and was able to make this much out of it, how he's been able to transcend rap and turn into a respected figure just in general, half rapper and half activist... it isn't a crazy stretch to say he is the Tupac of this generation. While he does not have the cultural impact or popularity, both these people used rap as a platform, and didn't speak of empty promises. That's why the small bit of hate that exists for Nipsey is infuriating. Most of it comes from the LGBTQ community, which denounced some homophobic comments he made last year that had the general idea of gay black men not being "strong". That wasn't a good thing for him to say, but why is that the one thing they have to focus on? The LGBTQ community is this black hole of hatred, which is ironic, but I don't want to get too political here. The point is, if that is the one thing people choose to focus on, that's ignorance. This isn't like XXXTentacion, where there were multiple instances of scummy behavior. People love to pick and choose what they see, and it's disgusting that they would use their platform to hate on a dead man. If people disagree with what he said, that's fine. But don't belittle everything he's done. Let him rest in peace. Lastly, I wanted to touch upon his music. His debut album Victory Lap came out last year, although he did have some mixtapes before that. The aforementioned debut is the only project of his that I have heard so far. While I will save my thoughts on it for a future review, it was very authentic and had that West Coast sound to it of artists like The Game, Tupac, and Ice Cube. I can understand why it was nominated for a Grammy award. Well, that's about all I have on the issue. Sad that XXXTentacion and Mac Miller also passed away in the last 365 days. In the words of the Black Eyed Peas, "Where is the love?" Hopefully we can find it soon. Hopefully Nipsey gets to take as many victory laps in heaven as his heart desires. Streaming services have changed music and how we listen to it, and for the better too. No longer do you need a CD player to listen to your favorite music. Now millions of songs are available on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music, allowing you to listen to as many songs by as many different artists as your heart desires. However, this has impacted how albums chart on the Billboard 200, and for the worse. There are three things the Billboard 200 calculates and adds together to determine a total number of copies sold for album X in a particular week: 1. The physical copies sold 2. The amount of legal digital downloads sold 3. If a song is streamed 1,500 times on an album, that counts as one album sale. That last rule has been a key component in the bloated length of rap albums nowadays. It seems so many albums are 20 songs or longer in an attempt to increase their sales numbers. But the listeners are being robbed, and maybe this is hurting the artists. Some examples of very bloated albums in the past year or so: Queen by Nicki Minaj had 19 tracks. Death Race For Love by Juice WRLD had 22. Culture II by Migos had 24. Scorpion by Drake had 25. The thing about these artists is their music is not that versatile, with the exception of Drake. The vast majority of Juice WRLD's music is about some sort of heartbreak or relationship* and Migos do not usually stray from their formula of rapping about all the finer things in life (drugs, women, clothes, jewelry) over a typical trap beat with some energetic ad-libs. These artists are not bad, and can make enjoyable songs. I actually enjoyed many of Migos's mixtapes and their Culture album. But it is like if a movie uses the same joke over and over again; does a listener really want to listen to the same song repeated 20 times? *Yes, I know Drake has some music about this. But real Drake fans know he has a lot more diversity in his music than singing or rapping about how some girl hurt his feelings. For Juice WRLD, this seems to be his go-to topic the vast majority of the time. Additionally, this so-called "boost in sales" is really only going to apply to the first week. If an artist releases an album with about 21 tracks, their fans will more likely than not listen to the whole thing. However, they will more likely than not end up being disappointed in it and may lose some faith in the artist. They will listen to it in the first week, but will more likely than not listen to it in the next couple of weeks outside of a few songs that they enjoyed. The saying "It's better to have a few close friends than many acquaintances" applies here: It's better to have ten or eleven good songs as opposed to 20+ average or below average songs. Those average and below average songs will not leave a lasting impression. Looking back at 2018, my four favorite albums of the year -- Daytona, Astroworld, KOD, and Some Rap Songs -- had 7, 17, 13, and 15 songs respectively, for an average of 13 songs per album. They didn't overstay their welcome, and even if Astroworld's number of tracks seems a little bit large, it had enough diversity to justify that length. I understand trying to go for that big first week sales number and trying to reel in as much dough is entertaining for this artist. But being truly remembered, making your fans (and critics) happier, and having more chart consistency -- that seems like the real prize. Hopefully albums start going away from this trend of throwing stuff at the wall until it sticks. Boogie is in good hands, being signed to Eminem's Shady Records in 2017. Boogie, being from Detroit like Eminem, has not certainly made as much noise as other Detroit artists like Big Sean or even Danny Brown, but with this first project sets a solid foundation for the future. Eminem and other artists on his label have grown this trend of only being able to have long rhyme schemes and say a lot of words, but ultimately not say much of significance. These type of rappers are called "spiritual miracle" rappers, derived from an Internet meme a while ago of a YouTuber repeating the words "spiritual miracle lyrical individual". Artists like the former group Slaughterhouse, consisting of artists like Joe Budden and Royce Da 5'9", and even some of Eminem's newer content fall into this category. But Boogie is a break from that, as his style is very laid back and sounds similar to some of Kendrick Lamar's earlier stuff, Isaiah Rashad, etc. His delivery is very mellow and easy to listen to. When he sings, it's a little bit nasaly and has a little rasp to it; he kind of sounds like Chance the Rapper. It's funny the last album I reviewed was To Pimp A Butterfly, which had some jazz instrumentation on it. A lot of the tracks on Everythings For Sale have laid-back trap beats, with minimal bass and lush instrumentation over it. But there are some jazzy elements to it, like on the "Lolsmh" interlude and some trumpet at the end of "Whose Fault" by Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah. And a lot like that record, there's a lot of dark subject matter on here: reflecting on his troubled relationship, how people can often stereotype him as a black artist, being criticized or teased for being emotional, and just trying to be a good dad. (Man, I need to listen to some more positive music.) I like how when he sticks with a topic, he can really go in depth about it and paint a good story. Like on the track "Whose Fault", where Boogie is arguing with an ex-girlfriend that he has a kid with. He goes into the perspective of both people and how some of their actions are a little stereotypical. Like in the verse from his perspective, he has an opportunity to see the kid at his sporting event, but he makes a sarcastic remark and tells her new man to go see him. So even though he wants to see the kid, due to spite, he's turning into the stereotype of a deadbeat dad. And the song ends with him suggesting they share the blame and just try to work through it. It's surprisingly vivid storytelling. The project isn't all positives, though. Some of the songs are barely two minutes, or two and a half minutes. I feel like extra length would give him time to go more in depth, especially on tracks like "Silent Ride" and "No Warning". The features are really hit or miss; 6LACK is one of the better new R&B artists and his delivery fits very well over the acoustic of the track. JID's verse has a good start and spits some truth, but it ended before it barely even started. And Eminem's verse on "Rainy Days" made the Internet going crazy with his line "I left my legacy hurt? F---in' absurd / Like a shepherd having sex with his sheep, f--- what you herd." I know he's not really saying he has sex with sheep, and it's a play on "herd" and "heard", but I feel like you don't have to resort to bestiality punchlines in 2019. The rest of the verse is solid, though, addressing people who apparently want him to start using drugs again, responding to getting knocked down, and concerning people who get offended by what he says. Also, his singing is not bad, but he doesn't have a wide range and his delivery is very mellow. There are a couple songs where he is mainly singing, and it can get boring. I think he should focus a little more on his rapping. But this isn't a bad place to build from. He shows some emotion, an ability to really paint these pictures, and a capacity (albeit somewhat limited) to expand his music a little bit into the R&B genre. If he finds a way to build on the good ideas he has going here, he could make a name for himself. Final score: 6 Since we're still not getting any major releases, I might as well rant, because that's fun! The 61st Annual Grammys took place on February 10th, honoring the best in music for the recording period of 10/1/2017 to 9/30/2018. While most of the awards I actually agreed with or at least understood, there were the winners of three awards in particular that really grinded my gears.
Two of the four major awards at the Grammys are the Song of the Year and Record of the Year. The song category is awarded to the people who wrote the lyrics and melodies, while the record category is awarded to the other people like producers, mixers, and engineers. This year, the same song won both awards: "This Is America" by Childish Gambino. The song became the first hip-hop song to be awarded either category, and while I'm happy for the genre to conquer that milestone, the fact of the matter is "This Is America" is not an award-winning caliber song. The song has great things going for it, but also things that hold it back. I love the gospel sections of the song that add a lot of life to the song, but the perceived message of the song that it depicts the oppression African-Americans face doesn't even come from the song itself for the most part. What I mean by that is the verses themselves don't really go into depth too much, besides a few lines mentioning how the police might pull him over and how black youth are often exposed to dangerous things like drugs and guns. You have to watch the music video to understand the full meaning of the song. The music video is impressive visually and has an incredible message; it's one of the best music videos I've ever seen. But this is not the Record (Song) and Music Video collaboration award. I'd say this would be similar to giving the award for Best Picture to a movie based off of a fifteen minute scene, say, the introduction of Up. The committee seems interested in giving awards to the most mainstream music possible, and until it really starts to take contemporary music seriously and give the awards to the songs that truly deserve it, I can't be happy at the committee even if they start recognizing rap. I'm not saying you have to give it to an obscure album that sold 50,000 copies in the US. But there's more to rap than Kanye West, Drake, Eminem, and whatever makes it to the Billboard Top 100. But more importantly, I am so upset that Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy won Best Rap Album. I'm not a "sexist" like I've heard Cardi fans say anytime anybody attacks their "queen". But the fact of the matter is her record simply wasn't that good. Cardi B's rapping style is pretty much the exact same thing Nicki Minaj started doing when she was becoming huge. She at least has some confidence and some good and unique production, but she's essentially the K-Mart version of Minaj. I've noticed critics often praise it for how triumphant it is, how Cardi B manages to turn the whole thing into a "celebration tour" and exceeds this confidence like she's managed to turn herself from nothing. But, a thing about that. For starters, she was in a state of semi-poverty, but it could have been worse. She was a stripper and she often rapped about how she's in a much better place, but that was able to provide her with money she needed to get out of her old situation. So she couldn't be where she is now without having that job. And also, it's not like she was a complete nobody before "Bodak Yellow", as she had a prominent role on the TV series Love & Hip-Hop and got popularity from videos on social media. An artist like Kanye West dropped out of college and nearly lost his dream of rapping when his mouth had to be wired shut after a car accident. Eminem grew up in a trailer park in Detroit with a mother who did drugs and was mentally unstable, and he had to try and raise a daughter on a minimum wage job in the late 90s. Jay-Z sold crack in high school and shot his own brother when he (Jay) was twelve years old. The point being, many rap artists faced a difficult past. While it was definitely something that shaped their identity, it would've almost been gimmicky to write a whole album about how they overcame the odds. It makes for repetitive tracks about how much more she has now and what she had to work for to get to where she is. She isn't a great rapper -- for God's sake, this is an album that had the line "pop that p---- on the stove" and it won Best Rap Album. Something just isn't quite adding up. It's terrible, because I knew she was going to win it, and I'm still mad. She won because it appealed to the mainstream, and she was going to make history by being the first woman to win the award. People, myself included, often say the Grammys don't matter because of decisions like this. Grammy supporters often reply with "Well, then it shouldn't matter to you." But the thing is, we want to trust the Grammys. They're the biggest award show in music, and they should mean something. But they won't mean anything until they change their system. It doesn't feel like they award what's the best rap music, they just award what's the most popular. I mean, this is a committee that has given Will Smith four Grammys and Nas/Tupac/Notorious B.I.G./DMX/Ice Cube/J. Cole a combined zero. If the committee wants to earn the respect of people and not be mocked year-after-year, simply giving major awards to mainstream rap isn't going to cut it. Expand the diversity in the panel; are middle aged white men and women REALLY expected to be the supreme judges of a primarily black genre of music? Take a group of 100 people who consider themselves true rap fans, and I would bet that much money Cardi wouldn't get more votes than an Astroworld, Daytona, or KOD. Truly make this an honoring of the best in music, not just the "best" in mainstream music. Finally, anytime someone calls attention to the breaking of gender roles, it ultimately undermines the concept of gender equality by implying that this is an exception and not the status quo. Good night, America. Since we haven't gotten much for hip hop this year outside of an incredibly mediocre and boring performance from Future, I thought I would rewind the clock to 2015, arguably the best year of music in recent memory. Widely considered to be Kendrick Lamar's magna opus, is To Pimp A Butterfly as great as everybody makes it to be? The project goes in a much different direction from his previous effort, good kid, m.a.a.d. city. That project was more based on storytelling and depicting his life in Compton, with skits before and/or after many of the songs to tie the story together. It was much more of a traditional rap album. This project is really about Kendrick embracing and celebrating his black culture, while also acknowledging the problems they face. "Wesley's Theory" is maybe the best way Kendrick could have started this album, with this very funky instrumental that may be the best on the album. It's a bold move to start the album, and it lets you know to expect something totally different. Verse 1 is a young Kendrick's perspective, eager after getting signed and wanting the glory and the riches that comes from being a big artist. Then verse 2, we see a shift in perspective from Uncle Sam, whose verse represents the government and how it treats black people regarding money. The lines "So you better cop everything two times/Two coupes, two chains, two C-notes/Too much ain't enough, both we know/Christmas, tell 'em what's on your wish list/Get 'em all, you deserve it, Kendrick" is a representation of how the government sometimes only sees African-Americans as a source of money and income. This could also be stretched to how labels view their artists. One of the main themes of the project is Kendrick really embracing and celebrating his black culture, while also acknowledging the problems they face. The song "Alright" with lines like "And we hate po-po, wanna kill us dead in the streets for sure" became a battling cry during this time, as this was around the peak of Black Lives Matter. There's a lot of that black empowerment and celebration throughout this record. The track "i", which was a little more pop and won Kendrick a couple Grammys, could be interpreted as Kendrick proud to be himself: his successful, black self. On an interesting note, the version used on this album is a live version rather than a perfect quality studio version. I don't prefer this version by itself, as I don't want to sit through all 5:36 of it when about 1:30 of it is Kendrick talking, but it actually fits better in the album context. By using the lower quality version, it adds to that feeling of loving yourself even when it can be difficult. The song "Complexion" features the only other rap verse on the album aside from Kendrick, with female rapper Rapsody stopping by for a verse. The song is about loving everybody no matter their complexion, which is an important message in today's world when society's standard for a beautiful black woman is most often a lighter-skinned one. Colorism has been present in society for a long time, and the song does a great job addressing it. Rapsody's guest verse might actually be the best verse on the entire album. Proceeding this extremely positive song is one of the darkest songs on the entire album, "The Blacker The Berry." This is Kendrick at his most political and frustrated. Written after the Trayvon Martin incident, Kendrick is incredibly frustrated at the way African-American are treated in multiple way: the material "enslavement" they face, the way their culture is appropriated, blatant racism, etc. The song ends on a couplet of lines that mark a huge plot twist: "So why did I weep when Trayvon Martin was in the street/When gang banging make me kill a n-gga blacker than me?" The song makes you go back and have to relisten to it, and it brings up the question: How can Kendrick condone this black violence when he's guilty of the same thing? It can also be interpreted into a broader picture, making African-Americans wonder how they can be mad at white-on-black violence when black-on-black violence such as the Bloods vs Crips, Zulu vs Xhosa, and the Trayvon Martin case (all mentioned in the song). It's arguably the most insightful and thought-provoking song Kendrick has ever made. More than reflecting on the struggles black people face, Kendrick has a few tracks on here where he addresses his own mental state. The track "U" delves into the state of depression Kendrick had at one point. There is a skit in the middle where Kendrick is locked in a hotel room and housekeeping is banging on the door, begging him to open up (in Spanish). There is a sample going on at the same time that flickers in and out, reflecting the broken and dysfunctional state Kendrick has. Then the second and third verses show Kendrick devastated: he's slurring, probably as a result of heavy drinking, and his voice is cracking, sounding almost on the edge of crying. The song slowly shifts from an angry and pissed perspective into a guilt-ridden perspective; it might be the most emotional track on the album and is my personal favorite. "How Much A Dollar Cost" has the story-telling elements from good kid, m.a.a.d. city while also having many of the similar lyrical and production themes present within this album. Kendrick tells a story about how he sees a homeless man at a gas station, asking for "ten rand" (which is about one US dollar). Kendrick says no, assuming he's going to spend it on alcohol or drugs. The man stares back at him in verse two, slowly turning Kendrick agitated. The agitation and anger shifts to guilt in verse three, before the man turns out to be God. God then tells him that for his act of selfishness, he is denied a spot in heaven. He then repents in the outro through the voice of Ron Isley, asking for forgiveness. He had to be humbled to become humble. The song brings up a question: how much does a dollar really cost? More specifically, how much does chasing the American Dream, or dollar(s), change people for better or worse? From the perspective of Kendrick, it's made him more greedy and conceited, not giving to a man who Kendrick could once relate to; Kendrick was never quite homeless, but he struggled as a black youth in Compton exposed to violence and drugs. This could be a way of Kendrick saying for us to make a difference in the world, we must start by making little differences. We must treat our fellow men and women the way God intended: with love and care. What really separates this project from so much of what I've heard is the production. It sounds so different from everything else. Many of the tracks have these funk and jazz elements to the instrumental, rather than the more laid-back West Coast beats we got from Kendrick on his earlier stuff, or the trap beats that were starting to dominate hip-hop around this time. People like Thundercat, Flying Lotus, Ronald Isley and George Clinton give the track this blend of so many different sounds that it's almost hard to classify it as just a rap album. It's almost half rap and half funk/soul in the way Logic is half black and half white. In fact, a "We want the funk!" riff appears repeatedly near the end of "King Kunta", one of my personal favorites on the album. The track is essentially a flex track, Kendrick reminiscing on how people used to laugh at him and now he's right near the top. The chorus is very catchy, and the confidence on the track is just refreshing and bad-ass. Also, the beat is arguably the most funky of the album asides from "Wesley's Theory", creating an interesting contrast that allows for it to be re-playable for many listens after. The album ends in a powerful way with "Mortal Man". The track is Kendrick Lamar reflecting on if his fans will still be there when "sh-t hits the fan", which means when situations get bad. He then explains in the last verse how many great people have been betrayed -- from Jesus to JFK to Martin Luther King -- and how he doesn't want that to happen to him. The whole track reflects on this desire of truth. But the rapping isn't the most significant part of the outro. There is a poem throughout "To Pimp A Butterfly" that Kendrick says bits and pieces of at the end of several songs. As the album progresses, he starts to say more and more of it. He speaks the poem in his entirety, reflecting on how he got in some dark places but how he has grown from it and how he wants to teach his brothers back home how to unify and love another. It's then revealed how he is telling the poem... to Tupac. They then go on to do an interview, with Kendrick asking him questions about today's state and Tupac answering. The last part of the album involves Kendrick reading a poem about the world to Tupac written by his friend. It classifies people as two types: the caterpillar, and the butterfly. Kendrick has shifted into a butterfly from his recent success and is praised, and the caterpillar wants to benefit off the butterfly and consume it. The caterpillar then exploits the butterfly for personal benefit, which traps the butterflies in the system. But the poem ends by saying if the caterpillar, or the common people, found a way to change the system, we would finally be on equal footing. He asks Tupac for his thoughts on the issue, but doesn't hear anything; the last words of the album are a simple scream of "Pac?" repeated three times, begging for an answer. It requires the listener to think about whether they are a caterpillar or butterfly. But more importantly, the lack of an answer implies a hard-to-swallow truth: we can't look to the past (Tupac) for answers. We have to put things into our own hands, such as changing the system. It connects all of the themes about the album, does more thought-provoking, and is a great conclusion. The album is well-deserving of all the praise it gets. A majestic exploration into Kendrick's mental state and the state of African-Americans in America, Kendrick Lamar delivers one of the truly great albums of all time with this one. There's great rapping, creative production, storytelling, emotion; I don't think one could have asked for any more. Favorite tracks: Pretty much the whole thing Absolute favorite tracks: U, How Much A Dollar Cost, King Kunta, The Blacker The Berry, Wesley's Theory, Mortal Man Least favorite track: If I had to pick... You Ain't Gotta Lie (Momma Said) Final score: 10 2018 was a great year for music, so it will be hard to top. However, if it wants a chance to top last year, here are two things I would like to see in 2019, as well as three things I hope I don't see. I'll start with the three "don't"'s and end on a positive note.
DON'T want to see -- #1: A new Drake album This may seem weird, considering I'm a Drake fan. In fact, Drake is my favorite artist. However, Drake has come out with a lot of music recently. Many fans, myself included, believe his last great project was his 2015 surprise mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late. It was something we hadn't heard from Drake before; it was this brash, confident mix of in-your-face bangers over mostly trap beats, proving that those types of beats weren't just viable for use by Southern artists. He sounded motivated, which is simply something Drake has not sounded like since. What A Time To Be Alive was a collaboration mixtape with Future, and while it mostly sounded like some throwaway singles, it was made in six days and I'm sure they could do better if they actually took time. Views was very disappointing however, as the hype of IYRTITL and the win in the Meek Mill beef gave this album tremendous hype. While not a bad album, the project reeked of repetitive content and Drake refusing to evolve in his music. Instead of building on one of his three great albums (Take Care, Nothing Was The Same, or IYRTITL), it was mostly uninspired trap and bland dancehall. There were a few great songs, which was arguably more frustrating than anything, as it proved Drake can still make great music. His 2017 "playlist" More Life was slightly better, as even though it was too long at 22 tracks, calling it a "playlist" allowed Drake to give different artists the spotlight at times and try some different things with his music. In fact, I think "Do Not Disturb" is the best track Drake has dropped in the past five years. The project had 10-12 pretty good songs but the other half or so was mostly bland. Scorpion was another step up and Drake sounded pretty confident on the first twelve songs in an attempt to prove himself after the Kanye/Pusha feud. Again, the tracklist was a concern, as well as the songs not really having a common theme or anything tying them together. Even on these mediocre projects, Drake always manages to have several great songs that show everything he can do as an artist. We have enough Drake music to last us for a long time. I think Drake should take 2019 off, maybe drop a single or two, and make an album in 2020 that is condense (15 songs maximum) and maybe seems him go back to his old days where he was more vulnerable and emotional. One more great album would put Drake in the same conversation as Kendrick Lamar. DON'T want to see -- #2: A Mac Miller posthumous album I wish I could have appreciated Mac Miller's music more when he was alive. I was never an active hater of him by any means, but I never found anything special in his music. But in an age where seemingly every Caucasian rapper strives to be like Eminem, Mac Miller did his own thing, which I give him endless props for. He could make upbeat and positive music while also make music that took you into his messed-up world of depression and substance abuse. Swimming, his final album released during his lifetime, sent mixed emotions. While having a very serious and mellow overtone to it and being incredibly introspective, it also sounded a little bit optimistic and showed how he was healing and growing from previous experiences. Unfortunately, he overdosed on September 7th of last year and passed away. Many artists have died and had content of theirs released after death. In particular, XXXXTentacion's posthumous album from last year (SKINS) was unfinished, had no overlying theme or concept, and just sounded like a cheap cashgrab and a slap to the face of everybody close to him. I don't want Miller's reputation tarnished in any way with the release of additional music. He has enough music for his fans to remember (5 albums and 12 mixtapes) and the optimism of Swimming is a good way for his career to end and be remembered why. Sure, money is nice. But you can't buy respect. Labels, please keep your hands off of anything Mac Miller-related. DON'T want to see -- #3: A Kendrick Lamar album "Wait, Rogan doesn't want an album by either of the two best rappers alive?" Chill, let me explain. Again, Kendrick Lamar is an incredibly talented artist. Good Kid, M.a.a.D. City is almost like a movie with how all the skits and the themes of the songs are able to tie together into one mini-documentary into Kendrick's life as a teen in Compton. To Pimp A Butterfly touches on so many themes and experiments with many different genres, like jazz, soul, and funk. It's widely considered the best rap album of the decade, and I can easily see why. One of the reasons why both these projects are so good was because Kendrick dropped them three calendar years apart (GKMC was 2012, TPAB was 2015.) DAMN was only released two years after TPAB. I like the album for the most part, as Kendrick is able to show many different emotions he's felt in the rap game and also show his versatility by singing and rapping on trap beats: "I can be you, but you can't be me!" However, some of it felt overly pop and it sounded like Kendrick was trying to appeal to the radio. While we didn't get a true Kendrick album last year, he still gave us some new music by his contributions to the Black Panther soundtrack. Math almost never fails, and the math says when Kendrick takes three years, the results are quite fabulous. Not only would it be good for Kendrick's music if he delayed his project by a year, it would help the people on his label. Kendrick is a part of Top Dawg Entertainment, a label that has several quality artists asides from Kendrick who have simply been hiding in his gigantic shadow (not by choice). If Kendrick isn't taking up the spotlight, then it would open up an opportunity for one (or multiple) of his artists to potentially have a more successful roll-out. They would be their own artist, and not simply Kendrick's sidekick. Speaking of someone on Kendrick's label... DO want to see #1 -- an Isaiah Rashad album Isaiah Rashad is one of my favorite new school rappers. His music is very mellow and explores themes like depression and loneliness in a very concise manner. His previous two projects, Cilvia Demo and The Sun's Tirade, were both met with critical acclaim but didn't do great on the charts. It's now been over two years since Tirade came out in 2016. Every year sees a few artists break out from being known by mainly just hip-hop fans into the mainstream music world; in 2018, Travis Scott emerged into a superstar while Lil Baby also made himself known. Rashad is signed to Kendrick Lamar's Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) label, and his music sounds sonically similar to Lamar's. I am not saying Rashad is going to be the next Kendrick, as Kendrick has always been someone with better songwriting skills and easier for him to make a hit. But with proper advertising and a few guest features, that could generate enough buzz for Rashad to sell about 75,000-80,000 copies first week and put himself in the company of rappers that aren't superstars, but are well known enough. People like Tyler The Creator, Earl Sweatshirt, and Big KRIT, who have sold well but not at the level of people like Drake and Nicki Minaj, could be people Rashad could find himself in the company of. With many huge artists releasing music in 2018, there are less anticipated albums for 2019 and Rashad could capitalize on that and use the scarce releases to have a better chance of succeeding. His music is very open and biographical, and more people need to hear it. Rashad dropping an album this year would definitely help him become more mainstream. DO want to see #2 -- a Kid Cudi album Kid Cudi was someone very important for the late 2000s/early 2010s landscape of hip hop. His view of the world through a stoner's perspective and his ear for a catchy tune allowed him to blend rapping and singing and depict these internal struggles that he manages to face. Man on the Moon is one of my favorite albums ever, and its sequel is also pretty good. Unfortunately, after that was when Cudi started to not be quite as good. Indicud was a very drastic and disappointing turn from his older music, and Speedin' Bullet 2 Heaven was his attempt at rock and it was flat out a miserable failure. But Cudi sounded his best in almost a decade on his collaboration project with Kanye West, titled Kids See Ghosts. He wasn't trying to experiment with all these different genres; he got back to the old version of himself that people grew to love. He had introspective rhymes about his demons and how he has overcome them, including depression and substance abuse. Also, he had better flows and some witty wordplay, showing he has improved as an MC. Hopefully Cudi can take the musical route he took on KSG and build on it with a solo album that comes out this year. He's had over two years off to try and pitch ideas together for one cohesive record; he is the opposite of worked out. We don't need him to try and be experimental or different, but just hearing 14 or so songs similar to his 2009 and 2010 music (a mix of alternative rap and pop) while continuing to use those spacey and hypnotic beats and show the growth regarding his skill as a rapper, it could be a pleasant ending to the comeback story that he's been working on the past couple years. Part 2 of the best songs of 2018. Make sure to catch part 1 if you haven't already: https://roganmusicreviews.weebly.com/posts/top-10-best-songs-of-2018-10-6
5. Kids See Ghosts - Cudi Montage The final track on the debut collaboration album between Kanye West and Kid Cudi is by far the most memorable. The song samples the guitar riff from the song "Burn The Rain" by the late Kurt Cobain. Kid Cudi starts off the song with his signature mix of rapping and singing, and part way through his verse, some heavy bass kicks in. I wouldn't expect the bass and the guitar to sound so good next to each other, but they do. A lot of the common lyrical themes on Kids See Ghosts include how West and Cudi have been able to overcome obstacles and struggles, like on the track "Reborn" where Cudi claims he "keeps moving forward" even though he's "had some issues", and Kanye says "I was off the chain, I was often drained / I was off the meds, I was called insane." This song in particular is about looking to God during times of struggles. Cudi's verse details some of the complexities of a mental disorder of some kind, presumably depression as Cudi has battled it before, as he has lines like "See 'em all strapped / And they can't move and I'm sinkin' lower" and "If I'm goin' alone, I've been gone for so long / Ain't nobody, you can't hear a word." The chorus features vocals from Mr. Hudson, as he and Cudi cry out to "stay strong" and "save me, Lord." After that continues for a while, Kanye comes in with one of his best verses ever. The verse is very political and addresses violence in black communities in just sixteen bars. Kanye faced a lot of controversy for his political statements earlier in 2018, and I think mainly it's because of how out there he was. He sounded incoherent and couldn't back up his opinion most of the time, but this verse is very well-articulated and organized, something most of his political statements aren't. The verse also starts off with one of the most powerful opening lines in a while with "Everybody want world peace / 'Til your niece get shot in the dome-piece." The second chorus features all three artists contribution vocals: West sings "Lord, shine your light on me, save me please", Cudi delivers some heartfelt "Whoa"'s on top of it, and Mr. Hudson alternates between a cry of "Save strong" and "Save me, Lord". The song is simply incredible with how much is managed to fit in simply a three-minute stretch and how passionate the two sound on the record. Kids See Ghosts as a whole was slightly inconsistent, but if the whole tape sounded like this? Good Lord. 4. Pusha T -- If You Know You Know The loud, clever, in-your-face introduction to Daytona doesn't disappoint at all. Some people criticize Pusha because "all he raps about is drug-dealing", but it's not what you rap about, it's how you rap about it. The unorthodox sample used on the Kanye West-produced beat keeps the track fresh throughout, and Pusha's entertaining punchlines and comparisons keep the subject matter fresh. I still laugh every time I hear "throwin' that D like Rich Boy". But that's far from the only great line. Here's a few more: "I predict snow, Al Roker" "You all get a bird, this n-gga Oprah" "I was busy earning stripes like a tiger's skin" The song is a first class tour into all the glamour of Pusha T's life: the drugs, the extravagant possessions, and yes, the women. The song isn't anything deep or profound, but it's not trying to be. The repeated riff of "If you know, you know" serves almost as a reminder to the listener: the only people who can really judge Pusha are the ones who have also dealt coke. He doesn't have time for your BS otherwise. Pusha and Kanye manage to make a song with great lyrics a banger as well, something that is very hard to accomplish. Daytona is his best project since his Clipse days, and this brash intro is a big reason why. 3. Drake -- Nice For What Despite Pusha T telling the world Drake was hiding a child, that didn't stop Drake from having a fantastic 2018. Scorpion dominated the charts, and he had a slew of successful singles, including his best single in quite some time, "Nice For What". The song samples New Orleans bounce legend Big Freedia and the New Jersey singer/rapper Lauryn Hill for this tribute to independent women. The song is refreshing in a world of hip-hop where misogyny can be prevalent, as Drake compliments women who pay their bills ("Workin' hard, girl, everything paid for / First, last, phone bill, car, no cable"), don't need a man ("I know Shawty, and she doesn't want no slow song / Had a man last year, life goes on"), and just want to have a good time ("And you showin' off, but it's alright"). It's a much different tone than the pessimistic "Started wearing less and going out more" that was on his 2015 hit "Hotline Bling". The sample from Lauryn Hill's song "X-Factor" ("Care for me, care for me/I know you care for me/There for me, there for me/Said you'd be there for me/Cry for me, cry for me/You said you'd die for me/Give to me, give to me/Why won't you live for me?") repeated throughout the song under a bass heavy beat produced by Murda Beatz is perfect for the club setting this song was meant for. A breakdown section after Drake's second verse is probably the only true complaint I have about the song, as it just doesn't feel like it fits the overall tone of the song. Drake's my favorite artist, which is how I've noticed over the past few years one of the reasons his music has suffered a dip in quality is because he's just going through the motions. But he doesn't just go through the motions here. His lyrics sound passionate, the beat is different, and the song is just a shining ray of positivity, something we needed more of in 2018. 2. J. Cole -- Window Pain Speaking of a "shining ray of positivity", this is probably the opposite of that. The song starts on a very morbid note with child vocals reflecting on a time when her cousin got shot while she was sleeping. Cole's actual lyrics on the song are arguably just as dark as how the song starts, as the chorus repeats twice one of the most depressing lines of 2018, "All I wanna do is kill the man that made my momma cry." J. Cole isn't someone usually considered a pop rapper, but his singing in the initial part of the chorus is somber and actually has a pretty nice tone, allowing it to set the mood for what's to follow. The song is almost five minutes and yet features just one verse from Cole, but he makes sure to pack it full. He begins his verse by wondering if he's changed at all ever since he made it big in the rap game, and how he wishes he could change the lives of his friends that grew up in the hood, but he can't. The line "It go in one ear and out the other like a bullet out the muzzle of a pistol shot" is some clever and dark imagery that adds to the song. J. Cole proceeds to go further into this demon of black-on-black violence, specifically in poverty-ridden situations, and also make you contemplate with these lines: "N-ggas will rep any gang, n-ggas will bust any head/N-ggas will risk everything, point him out and then he dead." To load up the content of his verse even further, he raps about how the violent man in question is "on Henny and Xanned up", a substance abuse-shaming line quite common throughout this album. The verse also addresses the dangers of bringing a child into this world prematurely -- "Just because yo' d-ck can spray semen, it don't mean that you ready to let go of yo' childish ways/The results are deadly/Because that child will suffer and that's what can most affect me" -- something he touched on partially in his 2011 song "Lost Ones". The one verse ends with a dark yet optimistic line in "I know I'm blessed because yo' stress is realer than anything I done been through." The song then ends with the return of the child vocals, insisting bad things happen as a warning sign from God that he's coming back and will restart the world. The song is Cole at simply his most passionate, his most emotional, and most concerned. No other song this year made me feel as much emotion as this one, although if I had some complaints, I feel the song does stretch its runtime out a little bit and also the lyrics within the verse are relatively straight-forward and don't leave much room for interpretation. Nevertheless, this song will forever be remembered as one of Cole's best. 1. Travis Scott -- SICKO MODE The best song of the best album of 2018. I know people will be quick to say "Isn't this a list of the best songs of 2018, not the biggest?" Well, SICKO MODE manages to do both of these. The song takes so many things about what makes Astroworld great and combines them into one five-minute, three-part trap odyssey. The song starts off with these lush synthesizers and a lead into Drake's sing-rap style to start the verse. Travis didn't list the features when he dropped the album, making the features a total surprise. Considering how big of a Drake fan I am, I was thrilled to hear two of my favorites team up. Drake's singing can be hit or miss, but I like it on this track, as it sounds ballsy and confident and is in a comfortable range for him. Then a beat breakdown starts to happen, and it sounds like Drake is about to give some hard-hitting bars, when the beat switches up out of nowhere! Then it proceeds to the second part of the song with Travis Scott's verses. Usually Travis doesn't put much of an emphasis on his bars, but the flow is very smooth within the verses and Travis has some clever lines like "Was off the Remy, had to Papoose" and "Stacey Dash, most of these girls ain't got a clue". He even manages to squeeze in samples from Notorious B.I.G. and Uncle Luke! The chorus for this second part is another example of juxtaposition like I've mentioned earlier on this countdown with tracks like "a lot". The floaty vocals from Swae Lee come in and the listener thinks they're going to hear an R&B chorus when a deepened vocal sample from former Houston legend Big Hawk immediately proceeds it. The amount of creativity within this song is something unseen in a lot of mainstream rap music. Then after the second chorus, the beat switches again! The third part of the song is the best part of the song, and not just because it's predominantly Drake. The chorus of the third part, "I did half a Xan, 13 hours till I land/Had me out like a light", is a little bit dorky, as I find it funny to brag about using prescription drugs as intended. (PSA: That's better than rapping about using prescription drugs in unprescribed doses. Don't take prescription drugs that aren't prescribed to you, they will mess your life up.) Asides from that, the rest of his contribution on this part is great. Some entertaining ad-libs in the background from both Drake and Sheck Wes add to the tone as Drake gives the impression that he is a total badass, talking about settling a score with a foe. Hearing Drake take some subliminal shots at Kanye was pretty entertaining, as "I crept down the block, made a right / Cut the lights, paid the price" references the fact he lives two blocks from Kanye in the Calabasas region of Los Angeles. A normal complaint of Drake is his voice can be monotone, but it actually works here because he's trying to give the impression of a cutthroat, similar to 21 Savage. After Drake's verse, we get another chorus, but this time Travis and Drake exchange saying "Like a light" in one of the most entertaining, hype, and magical moments of 2018. Then Travis ends the song with another crisp verse involving some more bragging and hyping up his girlfriend Instagram model Kylie Jenner: "Baby momma cover Forbes, got these other b-tches shook." Astroworld Six Flags was an amusement park that closed in 2005 and was the namesake for Astroworld. "SICKO MODE" is the song on this album most like a roller coaster. The first part is like the anxious build up, the second part has the most stuff going on, and the third part is the climatic and fast conclusion. No part wears out its welcome for too long, yet all three parts leave an impression on the listener. The beat switches keep you on your toes, there's various Houston slang and samples to tie back to his hometown, and it takes RISKS! I love certain trap music; artists like Young Thug, Playboi Carti, and Future have dropped great projects. However, a lot of trap music is starting to sound stale and similar, with the same type of beats and same type of lyrics and ad-libs. Risks taken here like sudden beat switches, 90s rap samples, different flows -- the song is just so different from so much of mainstream radio. And I'm glad the song got all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Hopefully this will inspire more artists to take risks just like this throughout 2018. But best believe down the line, when somebody asks me about 2018, the first thing I'll tell them about is how Travis Scott and Drake were gone on you with the pick and roll for the entire second portion of the year. |
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