Sep 9, 2020

@Rick James

#43: Flavor Flav - Hollywood [3/10]​

"My momma always told me, never be like Flavor Flav, be like Chuck D" - Jay Electronica

That was the first thought that came to mind when I regretfully accepted this challenge. Looking at the date, this came out roughly at the time when he had his stupid reality series on VH1 Flavor of Love, so this was when the Flavor machine was in full throttle. His descent into obscurity coincided with a failed chain of Fried chicken restaurants collapse alongside a cameo on a notorious late-night show which resulted in him getting kicked in the f---ing face. Life hasn't been easy for the former Public Enemy hype man, but neither was it easy for my ears when I sat down next to this abomination.

This record is one colossal hot mess for starters. The production process of this album went on for close to a decade, meaning there are some blatantly dated songs and references scattered throughout the project. His rapping, for lack of a better word, sucks, multiple times I wish Chuck D interrupted the studio session and slammed Flav's clock over his g.d. head. It's mercilessly long too, packaged as a double-LP just in case you couldn't get enough of this musty loser. Please stay away from this folks, it's an exercise in masochism trying to endure this project.

 

Sep 9, 2020

Good looking out bro! I respect that you actually took an hour of your day to listen to this s--- lol.

And btw. Flavor is back with PE.

 

Sep 9, 2020

@Sign Language

#44: HUM - You'd Prefer an Astronaut [8.8/10]​

Now THIS is what I'm talmbout! It's been awhile since I went through this one, it was another gem that I uncovered (albeit, with some deep digging) thanks to your old Rock music discussion thread on here! Looking at the date, this also came out the same year as another personal favorite of ours, a lot of that Chicago alt-rock definitely had some overlap with similar guitar techniques and riffs. HUM however, explores their influences much more profoundly and what we get, is no short of a masterpiece.

Right off the bat we get a Shoegaze-heavy song where that distorted guitar feedback is giving zero f---s whatsoever, that whole outer space aesthetic echoes throughout the album. But calling this space-rock would be lazy, the drum work is almost metal-like actually, it's shoegaze but with a sledgehammer strapped on it's back like Thor. Much like other 90's alternative, the themes are melancholic and foreboding, which only adds onto the already powerful aesthetic the instruments produce, you can't help but get suddenly nostalgic listening to music like this & the Pumpkins. I mean for Christ's sake, just listen to this tune, it's perfect windows-rolled down cruising through your old neighborhood music. Fantastic album, you can clearly hear a lot of the Deftones being inspired from this band the more you comb through their catalog.

 

Sep 9, 2020

It wasn't fun haha, but I appreciate you recommending me to look at this

Made me miss old reality tv for some reason, his show was absolute trash but you just couldn't get enough of it.

 

Sep 9, 2020

Early 2000s reality TV were goat lmao, tv is way different nowadays

 

Sep 9, 2020

Wanna read more Tribe thoughts from you after the Low End Theory review, so gonna throw Q-Tip’s Kamaal/The Abstract in since I never hear anyone talk about that album

 

Sep 9, 2020

@King V

#45: Ratking - So It Goes [8.4/10]​

It's sort of weird these two never got the same push as the likes of Flatbush Zombies and other NY contemporaries during their short-lived run. I was still starting college when I stumbled onto Ratking's 1993 tape, couldn't help but feel excited that the 90's dusty sound was experiencing a resurgence of newer rappers, before Joey's aptly named 1999 came in and redefined Neo boom-bap. Wiki was always a pretty decent rapper, wouldn't have sounded too out of place next to Wu-Tang or the Fugees, meanwhile Sporting Life was honestly one of the most overlooked producers of this decade with a DITC-like penchant for reconstructing samples for a break loop. This was their *debut* album and I honestly forgot how this even sounded.

Feel like I'm a lot more impressed this time around compared to when this actually dropped 6 years ago. The production was by far the highlight of this; it's more than just the typical formula of NY boom-bap as there are hints of electronic & psychedelic rock scattered on the record, even in a couple of instances Sporting abandons the formula and opts for hi-hats and faster drums. The samples are cleverly reworked, I still get a kick when I hear Dipset Anthem looped into a jittery electronic beat. It's a project that takes immense pride in its indie identity--King Krule, way before I even got into HIS music, showed up on here for hook duty. While Wiki's raps aren't reinventing the wheel or even closely matching up to the lofty heights of his NYC predecessors, it's still good enough to warrant your attention and the record itself is cohesive and dense with ingenuity, a brilliant take on the classic NY sound without it becoming steeped in redundancy.

 

Sep 10, 2020

Still absolutely loving this thread!

 

Sep 10, 2020

Huge thank you brother, I’m honestly shocked at far it’s come!

Yesssss!!!! Love this album, can’t wait to get there. Always appreciate the kind words my brudda, your thread been a blessing to me too, let’s keep carrying MusicSXN!

 

Sep 10, 2020

I'm gonna think about what I want you to review next. You're write ups are always spot on so I'll give you something that really comes from the heart next time.

 

Sep 10, 2020

@Sav Stanfield

#46: Rio Da Yung OG - City On My Back [7.7/10]​

Finally got around to this, by my own admission I've been thoroughly impressed by the collection of songs he's accumulated. Detroit's new stylistic wave for some reason has me drawing parallels to Cash Money's New Orleans bounce, I can hear a bit of Juve & B.G's flows whenever I hear the likes of Teejay & Rio float over a beat. There's also a similar rapid BPM that these hectic piano-heavy productions share with Manny Fresh's fast drums & snares, overall it gives this intriguing dynamic of trap themes over something that could have banged in Detroit's infamous house music era from the 90s.

Rio is no exception to the rule of "you can never rap enough about outlandish s---". His stories are on some serious Tony Montana adventures of treachery, megalomania and machismo, it's very easy to get engrossed into his raps. He still needs to work on his song-writing chops as it's clear he can write some mean 16s, but everything else is still very raw and he can be a bit one-note. This ends up making the tape a tad bit linear, but the production and rapping is too strong to be ignored. It's a wild ride into a wildly entertaining life, with Rio acting as one h--- of tour guide, if he can continue developing I don't see how the likes of him, 42 Dugg, Teejay & Kasher could be denied any longer as legitimate gatekeepers of a new decade of street bangers.

 

Sep 10, 2020

@awhellno

#47: GASHI - 1984 [8.1/10]​

Now this, THIS...is culture. I had to change my wardrobe while I bumped this, had to rock a powerful vintage suit with a cuban linx on while I daydreamed my living room turned into a raunchy 80's South Beach clubhouse with cocaine spilled all over the floor and some fly chick with a tiger-striped mink just walked by me and winked as she headed to the dance floor. Granted, this was one heck of a direction change from GASHI, he always had aptness for pop-rap, but this completely floored me. He went from being a quietly good tastemaker of hazy Drake-ish Rap/R&B fusions to slowly showing signs of being an adaptable hitmaker, so theoretically I should have seen the signs coming for 1984.

This recent influx of 80's pop music has honestly been satisfying, Abel's made very good use of it and Dua Lipa dabbled into it in a few instances with her monumental Future Nostalgia. GASHI goes even deeper into the synth-heavy/New Wave cues with every song sounding like something that could have inhabited a Hall & Oates or New Order album. Even freaking Sting showed up out of obscurity to bless this album, it's admirable how true to its core 1984 ends up being. GASHI does end up being a passenger on the project in a few instances, blending into the background of the aesthetic rather than commanding it. But it's not necessarily a crippling gripe that takes away from the awesome consistency and flexibly that GASHI emanates, it's a seriously fun and accessible album.

 

Sep 11, 2020

Impeccable writeup as usual! Fully agreed, he's not exactly an album artist just yet (or even a song artist lol), but his rhymes are so ridiculous and outlandish that you can't help but be captivated. Glad you gave this a listen

 

Sep 13, 2020

@Chazi

#48: Compton's Most Wanted - Music To Drive By [8.4/10]​

This is some vintage west coast vibes like Michael Myers would say. That's where the jokes end since this record is mean-mugging personified in music, I can't even remember the last time I heard it actually. In fact when I finished listening, I looked down and noticed a pair of Cortez on my feet, I was covered head to toe in Dickies, looked in the mirror and suddenly I'm rocking curls like Cube. If you're not listening to this in an old school Lac or Chevy, you're not doing this right.

Hyperbole and imagery to the side, this album is an hour long cruise around one of the most notorious hoods of the United States. The production is exactly as you'd imagine, replete with Funk samples and slow-burning drums to give it that classic, breezy Californian soundscape. MC Eiht's voice is tailor-made for gangster rap, there's a sort of evilness and grit in his vocals that serves as the perfect narrator for these tales of crime & nihilism. It can be a bit repetitive especially with the themes as the album does drag on towards the end, but overall it's a landmark album for the West Coast, it planted the seeds between the legendary beef of Eiht vs Quik and it's hard not to nod along to this classic.

 

Sep 13, 2020

@Genysis

#49: Cypress Hill - Black Sunday [9/10]​

We've all had our encounters with bud at some point in our lives. College were both the best years of my life, and by far the most challenging with the loaded schedule that I had back then. Weed was one h--- of a calming presence when I needed it, even if it also put me on knife's edge anytime NCAA doping tests came around. Cypress Hill has nothing to do with that anecdote other than the correlations between their our shared advocation of marijuana for medical purposes. Actually, I do remember this one time I visited my friends at their dorm, they had Mario Kart Double Dash on deck with pounds of loud alongside this album in the background, looked like a scene out of How High. Before we got stoned out of our minds, I do recall my buddy suddenly slow down to a halt on his screen and when I looked over the couch I saw my guy just passed out lmao.

Now this album, is still shockingly impressive even with all the time that has passed by. DJ Muggs doesn't get enough credit for how left-field his production was, only RZA is the other contemporary I can think of that also was able to combine these dusty break loops with samples that they chopped up to be as spooky as humanly possible. Black Sunday makes you feel like it's Halloween night outside, no matter the time or weather, both the screechy instrumentals and B-Real & Sen Dog's cartoonish presences generate that sort of murky, smoke-filled atmosphere that encapsulated why this album is still a seminal record in the genre. It's unabashedly 90s, the sort of rap that could sit comfortably next to punk rock on MTV, which is exactly why they did two songs on the classic Judgement Night OST. Shoutout to B-Real & co as their work earned inner city-raised Mexicans like me hood passes to everywhere.

 

Sep 16, 2020

good s---