L’Orange and Stik Figa – The City Under The City album review
For most, The City Under The City will be unfamiliar territory. L’Orange is making his Mello Music Group debut with his conceptual production for Stik Figa, a little-known rapper from Kansas. Think cynical, speakeasy lyricism and tortured, gin-soaked beats. The City Under The City plunges the listener into an underground world of harlequin-tinged abandon and disillusionment. Every guest feature on this album is stunning and haunting. With 3 guest verses, “Decorated Silence,” is not your typical posse track. Cutting-edge MCs […]
Read more →Earl Sweatshirt – Doris album review
Earl Sweatshirt, hip-hop newest prodigal son, returns to the public in a major way with this second studio album, Doris. He considered by many to be the best rhymer of the expansive team that is OFWGKTA and for good reason. Starting at the young age of 15, Earl made a name for himself personifying a crude and violent sociopath with a disturbing, distorted voice. Fast forwarding to the present, he lightens up from the rape talk but keeps his subject […]
Read more →Deltron 3030 Announces Fall Tour Dates
Image Credit: Robin Ha Deltron 3030 is excited to announce a fall tour in support of their upcoming album Deltron 3030: Event II, out October 1st via Bulk Recordings. The tour will feature a sixteen-piece orchestra — dubbed the 3030 Orchestra — on select dates, noted below, in addition to the three-piece touring band. Following performances at both the Los Angeles and San Francisco Rock The Bells, the tour will begin on October 8th in Boston at Paradise and end […]
Read more →ethemadassasin – Soul on Fire album review
Coming live from North Carolina is rapper ethemadassassin. Although he has been active since the ‘80s, E has spent a majority of the time in the underground circuit. He offers Soul on Fire as his 3rd solo album and as another step in his long career. His experience shows in his raps as he speaks on his rocky past and lessons learned from his successes and failures. He has been with music and the streets for a long time and […]
Read more →Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines album review
Robin Thicke is no longer just your mom’s favorite singer. Clearly tired of being pigeonholed into contemporary R&B limbo, he produces some A-list collaborations for his 6th studio album (with the likes of 2 Chainz, Pharrell and will.i.am), Blurred Lines, but his attempt to intellectualize the album’s concept of living between the lines of a world we only know to be black and white went right over our heads. Instead what we get are the lascivious thoughts of an oversexed […]
Read more →Ghostface Killah & Apollo Brown – 12 Reasons to Die: The Brown Tape album review
12 Reasons to Die: The Brown Tape is advertised as an “alternate version” of the original album produced by Adrian Younge. At this point, Apollo Brown already deserves a ton of credit for even thinking of remixing 12 Reasons to Die, one of the most impressive underground releases in recent memory. It’s a daunting project if you think about it. First of all, the source material is a concept album, so any good remix will have to retain the story […]
Read more →Rich Gang – Rich Gang album review
If the hedonistic, hood-rich lifestyle needs a soundtrack, Rich Gang, both a compilation and showcase of the Young Money/Cash Money label’s talents, is that disc. The recurring production motifs of whizzing synths, trap drums and thunderous bass provides the ideal backdrop for images of glistening jewels, designer duds, flashy rides that cost more than most American’s yearly salaries, pool parties with racially ambiguous hotties with video vixen curves and gold-plated grills. In other words, if all the clichés of the […]
Read more →Kelly Rowland – Talk A Good Game album review
Talk A Good Game is Kelly Rowland’s coming of age album. And this one is all about self-rule. This time around, she allows our minds to finally move past the undying elephant in the room: who is Kelly Rowland outside of the shadow of Destiny’s Child’s most successful member? She shows us with this new album as she unabashedly establishes her self-awareness, sexual identity, and individualism. In a way that’s slightly odd, the verses on this album are very conversational. […]
Read more →U-God – The Keynote Speaker album review
So much of the beauty of the Wu Tang Clan is in the versatility of the unit. 9 members (and countless affiliates) offer 9 fresh perspectives at any given time, and the 36 chambers contain deep, labyrinthic sonic experiences. From GZA’s scientific lyrical forensics, to Raekwon’s vivid, sinister cocaina narratives to the flavorful lyricist lounge musings of Tical, there is something for everyone, and the most popular members all have a distinct role. When it comes to U-God though, there’s […]
Read more →Kevin Gates – Stranger Than Fiction album review
Louisiana rapper Kevin Gates has always been about the mixtapes, releasing one almost every year since 2007. He’s changing the formula with his first studio album release, Stranger Than Fiction. The album is a fast listen despite most of the fourteen songs being around three minutes. The speed can be attributed Gates’ driving delivery of words and energetic beats of the music. The instrumentals are the best of trap and work well to compliment the gritty subjects and harsh delivery […]
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