November had a ton of great new albums and music videos from the likes of Noel Gallagher, Sam Smith, CyHi the Prynce, and Joyner Lucas; and it also featured some interesting trailers for Avengers: Infinity War, I, TONYA, and Deadpool 2. We've highlighted some of the best drops over the month and now we're ready to crown the best album, movie trailer, and music video.
October had a ton of great new albums and music videos from the likes of Big K.R.I.T., St. Vincent, Thundercat, and King Krule; and it also featured some interesting trailers for My Friend Dahmer, The New Mutants, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. We've highlighted some of the best drops over the month and now we're ready to crown the best album, movie trailer, and music video.
Big Boi tries hard to balance his usual funk filled sound with more modern fare on Boomiverse but it doesn't always work. There aren't many duds here but it often left me feeling like I was listening to anything but a Big Boi album. However, him and Killer Mike together is gold as always.
This week we talk about Big K.R.I.T.'s latest double disc effort, 4eva Is A Mighty Long Time, and whether we think this is his definitive album thus far. Also, we talk about the surprisingly dope SYRE by Jaden Smith and debate whether or not Cyhi's long awaited debut, No Dope On Sundays is a top 5 rap album of the year.
Big Sean may not get the full respect he deserves from people, myself included, but he has proved yet again that he's one of hip-hop's most solid, consistent artists out there today. While I Decided. is more of a half-step forward for Sean than a giant leap ahead, it shows why it's time he gets mentioned among hip-hop's elite.
Old school turns SOUL-school with a gospel groove. This is the style BJ Wilbanks is bringing back, and it’s in line with that of the genre’s greats.
Black Panther The Album's greatest strength is that it can both stand on it's own and work in the context of the movie it's connected to, and much like Black Panther will undoubtedly change the movie scene I expect this to do the same for soundtracks.
What makes so-called 'formulaic' music formulaic in the first place? Is it the artist? The song? Or, is there way more to music than meets the ears? Well I'm going to tell you the formula that has long been discovered in music, with all the power to appeal to the bulk of the human populace and sell out stadiums in rapid succession. It's so simple it's insulting.
Bryson Tiller's follow-up to his massive first project feels like a quarter step forward than a major leap ahead. That's not a bad thing as he still sounds great, just expect more of a remaster of something already stellar instead of something wholly new and exciting.
Funk Wav Bounces Vol. 1 is a short, slight detour from what Calvin Harris is normally known for. It's generally enjoyable but doesn't leave much of a lasting impression or take many risks. Here's to hoping for more from Vol. 2.
After having some in depth conversations with drummers on all levels, we examine the role the drummer has in today's music, how it's changed over the years, and how the drum machine has impacted the field.
We examine the eccentric life of the cult legend, Captain Beefheart. His life was full of stories about his many idiosyncrasies and while many regard him as a musical genius, it was his paintings under his real name, Don Van Vliet that brought him wide success.
October was full of great moments for the culture. From albums from the likes of Bon Iver and Solange, to videos from A$AP Mob and Macklemore, all the way to new trailers for Star Wars and Wolverine. We've highlighted some of the best drops over the month and now we're ready to crown the best album, movie trailer, and music video for the month of October.
September had a ton of great new albums and music videos from the likes of Beck, Sam Smith, Queens of the Stone Age, and Rapsody; and it also featured some interesting trailers for Mudbound, Isle of Dogs, and The Punisher. We've highlighted some of the best drops over the month and now we're ready to crown the best album, movie trailer, and music video.
4eva Is a Mighty Long Time is Big K.R.I.T.'s most ambitious project yet, and while it doesn't answer all of the criticisms people have of him, it is him at his absolute best and it's his most listenable, yet still deep, album yet. If this doesn't prove that he belongs in the conversation with the Kendricks and J. Coles of the world, then nothing will.
Big name collaborations are supposed to elevate each other's craft and this falls well short of doing that. Just another project that'll get lost in the current. I thinks it's time we start rethinking this whole 'collaboration' thing and only reserve it for truly special moments (Kendrick, J. Cole I'm looking at y'all).
We're back and we're talking about all of the recent music and music news that has happened over the past couple of weeks. This week we talk about the iconic Tom Petty's recent passing, XXL turning 20, Big K.R.I.T making his return with an upcoming double album - whether or not we think he's had a definitive album yet, and other notable news like Bill Murray garnering a #1 album on the classical charts. Lastly we discuss whether we believe Chance the Rapper to be for real or a fraud, and our thoughts on UK hip-hop.
I consider Black Milk to be one of the torchbearers of the pure essence of hip-hop and the way he melds in jazz and neo-soul influences is unlike anyone else out there. His use of live instrumentation really makes his sound stand out; there's just a soul and intimacy to his production that a machine could never replicate. He may just be a serviceable lyricist but he's earnest with it and when paired with his strong production, it makes it more than worth a listen or 2 or 3.
22, A Million provides a beautiful soundscape that experiments with electronic sounds, vocal manipulations, and soulful samples. It's a transformative album that transcends any trends or traditions, and will most assuredly bring home a couple more Grammy's for Bon Iver.
24k Magic is pure old school funk/R&B nostalgic gold. Any number of it's songs could strongly stand amongst many of the classics and the way Mars is effortlessly able to fully embody the sound and the spirit of the era he's working in is truly impressive and unparalleled.
"If the cops saw a busker playing music on the street they would make us go away or even beat us. Busking used to be seen as just a kind of begging. It was a low-class, haram thing to do. If you played music on the street people would assume you were very poor, maybe homeless..."
Cam'ron picks up right where he left off years ago, and while The Program doesn't bring anything particularly new to the table, it does show how much the game could do with a little more Cam'ron in it.
Lil Wayne started this outpouring of mixtapes and artists like Future, Young Thug, and Curren$y have since tried to emulate that mythical run, but the purpose and definition of a mixtape has changed drastically since those early days. It's time we stopped applauding this endless wave of mediocre mixtapes and started calling it out for the cop out it is.
Cardi B's debut isn't great by any stretch of the imagination but it's not that bad either. It's a more listenable project than I expected and has more than a few noteworthy moments. I guess what really makes it a decent project is that all of her best songs sound like a more than serviceable approximation of whatever artist she's feeling in that moment. They say the best artists steal, so in that sense she's more than on her way.