Right in line and fine formation with Chicago’s growing renaissance of young flourishing hip-hop artists like Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa, Noname, G Herbo, Kembe X, Lance Skiiiwalker and many more, Joey Purp (Joey Davis) of the Savemoney and Leather Corduroy crews is in like fashion making a way for himself with his creative well written rhyme lines focusing on his environment and the conditions of his residence over music made by his similarly talented friends and producers de la Chi. His second mixtape, iiiDrops (released independently on May 27), follows his 2012 debut The Purple Tape and is a firm potent mix of fun jams and joints displaying his societal sociopolitical awareness and consciousness that reveal the uneven keel he, his family and mates experience everyday in their city. Purp’s attention to authentic rapping on smart brilliant topics to beats of a new unique nature makes iiiDrops one of the most urgent Chicago hip-hop projects to come out so far this year.
A serious emcee in all respects, Purp gets his points across without wasting time or added unnecessary filler but keeps his tone light in songs like the bouncy flirty “Girls” featuring Chance The Rapper, “Photobooth,” and the hazy blurry “Kids” narco-ballad. To set the overall emotional framework of the project initially though, he admits he has firsthand eyewitness knowledge of Chiraq violence yet hopes for the best in “Morning Sex,” he raps about the status quo and speaks on ways the poor and disadvantaged are kept down in “Money & Bitches” featuring Mick Jenkins (another great Chicago rapper), and states in the Teddy Jackson-assisted “When I’m Gone” that “the system just make[s] a victim out of innocent people, set[s] us up for failure and tells us that we [are] not an equal.”
In “Cornerstore,” with Saba and theMIND, Purp touches on some of his touching childhood memories from when he was a more impressionable, vulnerable youngster, and in “Say You Do,” he confronts his girl who he suspects is feigning affection for him. From there on out, it’s nothing but good vibes. “Godbody” is an exhibition of Purp’s ability to transmit tight flows in perfect music time and to close everything out, “Winners Circle” (ft. Vic Mensa) and “Escape” march forward into the horizon with persistence, determination, ambition and commitment, ignoring all distractions at every step. All along the way, Joey is aided by eleven all new, original, unrecycled beats from maestros of record-making like Knox Fortune, Peter Cottontale, Thelonious Martin and Donnie Trumpet. Obviously the Social Experiment influence on the music is effulgent and unescapable though altered a bit for an overall coarser, more overcast shade and essence, tailored to Purp's personality. Joey Purp may not do anything much more progressive besides diagnosis the problems evident in his hometown here (some solutions and a possible prognosis would have been helpful), but without question, iiiDrops is another big one-up for Chicagoland and a fab add-on to hip-hop history for a city that really needs it at the moment.
Buzzing Bronzeville, Chicago rapper Noname (Fatimah Warner) has finally made it to that special milestone of sharing with the world her very first project, a "mixtape" titled Telefone, released July 31 on SoundCloud. The cool young rhymer keeps it very kind and lovely on the issue, rapping on her desires, hopes and concerns and recalling un-erasable childhood memories and other mental snapshots from her past. She is very chill and soft and sends well wishes to her fam and friends in “Bye Bye Baby” and reveals her prayers for peace amidst the violence in her city in “Casket Pretty.”
All of the soul-soothing crooning and rhyming fit the warm, quiet, twinkly background music like a glove, and besides herself, the eleven guests, including theMIND, Raury, Cam O’bi, Saba and Smino, astonishingly don’t overcrowd the project and on the flip side help generate enthusiasm for the calm, gentle and tranquil feel of the proceedings. Noname is a welcome contrast to the brash harsh femcees of other areas and eras, and she is wise to reject over-sexualization and sassy booshy tendencies. It’s quite unique and original of her. Kudos to Noname.
Now for the part all artists dread, the blunt criticism. Noname is almost a singer at times so in the mixtape’s thirty-three minutes, she hasn’t given us enough of a show of her rapping/rhyming skills. She has them, but it would have been nice to hear more than we actually get here. And except for her thoughts on the rampant problem of Chicago violence, there is not much unconventional protesting or wowing going on that is so commonplace in rebel, renegade rap, but Noname seems to be no shock artist so she gets a pass (also considering this is her first album-effort). Otherwise, she does very well for hip-hop and Chicago overall in Telefone. The cuddly cozy productions are reminiscent of the general tone of Kanye’s College Dropout beats for example and blend nicely with the comforting Chancellor Bennett-style sounds and sentiments. It’s a real win by most accounts.
The state of Connecticut is in a state of undersupply when it comes to claiming famous rappers born or living within its borders, yet the ones it does have, like Apathy and Fake Four's Ceschi, are definitely worth their weight in gold. A bit younger but no less gifted, maybe more so if time will tell, Norwalk native Chris Webby (Christian Webster), who has been paving a lane for himself since the start of the decade with sharp complex lyrics on typically fun light subject matter, is quickly and brilliantly proving everyone who doubted him a few years back wrong, thanks to his commitment to the craft of rapping and the spark that set afire his newfound interest in social issues, norms and public policy. His latest 2016 offering, Webster’s Laboratory 2 (released June 1st by Homegrown Music), a mixtape of high album-like quality, features the spry East Coast flame-hurler in his most mature mind state to date rapping so creatively and so personally on issues affecting people the world over, to incredible beats made all the more unique by their handpicked samples from Webby and his producers’ playlist of favorite songs from their youth, time-honoring their early influences but especially Webby’s special character and personality. Once again, Webby shows here that he is a plowing steamroller of a emcee to be reckoned with in the industry and a true rapper by the strictest, most original definition of the word (something that's getting harder and harder to come by these days), handling subject matter relevant to all, not just some people.
At a time when superficial trap rappers and money obsessed copy-cat artists flood the hip-hop music scene, Webby adds intelligence, insight and messages severely lacking in the genre. Even his fun-oriented songs are infused with modern day social commentary and a fresh spin on how their pastimes should be approached. “Knocked Down,” taking from the Chumbawamba smash hit single is very creative for being essentially a drinking song made without sacrificing good lyrics, and “Ignition” featuring Dave East is mindful of that not-too-far-off R. Kelly catchword/metaphor in its title and draws influence and inspiration from Hot Boy Juvenile by way of Webby’s delivery and technique for part of the song. “Sativa” featuring Demrick, B-Real and Zacari and “High By The Beach” both have the courage to not be ashamed of enjoying some weed. All the other songs display Chris Webby’s rapidly progressing growth as an artist, man and adult. Each serves a noble purpose with heavy meaning and usefulness for any and all listeners.
“Webby’s Lab 2,” the intro, features a charged energetic Chris Webby flaunting entertainingly stacked backpacker’s lyrics. He is anti-stuff and anti-things and admits he could no doubt use that good hip-hop dough but recognizes that his lack of proper paper does help to fuel his immense creativity and artistry. Similarly, in “Dat Piff (Freeverse),” a fantastic traditional freestyle, he is anti-materialism and will not pipe down until he’s made it clear that he’s been working tremendously hard in the game for quite some time now. “On My Way” is brightened by its motivational aspect and its advancement of reaching for far-off goals, and “Full Steam Ahead,” assisted by Tempe, Arizona-based rapper Futuristic, likewise champions the pursuit of goals and achievements. “Can’t Complain” (ft. Anoyd) and “Jurassic Park” (complete with sound edits from the movie) proceed in a comparable vein. In the first, Webby is grateful in life for what he has and where he is, and in the latter, he is confident in his vocal communicative abilities and aware of his greatness since too few seem to acknowledge it at the adequate level and degree.
The pièce de résistance, “Questionnaire,” is just a wonderful crystal clear rap song in which Chris Webby holds a candle to the status quo with his mind boggled about how people allow greed, deviance, destruction and evil to shape world affairs, revealing his awareness of all the injustice and wrongdoing going on right in front of us. With help from Jaye Michelle, “Imperfect” discusses mental problems like insecurity and anxiety and how substances simply do not cure them. Webby does have an adult point of view on the matter of recreational drugs however, testifying in “Inebriated” that some types under the right conditions and in the right amounts are simply not as bad as they’re talked up to be, but from experience, he also knows just what drugs will get people in trouble. In the last track “Chemical Romance,” he raps about breaking up as it were with Molly (MDMA), Lindsay (cocaine) and Sandra (Xanax), in perfect analogical form so he’s surely no outsider looking in. He’s dabbled in these things, and he knows just what to avoid and what is safe. Very quickly, two other noteworthy gems are “Outside The Box” with another Arizonan, Sincerely Collins, and “Cali Dreamin’” showcasing guest Jitta on the Track. The first exudes optimism with the message being to think critically, independently and for yourself, and the second expresses Webby’s joy of making it big out West where dreams are born to a rerecorded sample of The Mamas & The Papas’ original “California Dreamin’” (1965).
Chris Webby and his guests and producers have positively worked their butts off overtime in the lab to bring us this very deserving, very worthy sequel to Webby’s 2011 Webster’s Laboratory mixtape. The extent to which Webby forwards the art and integrity of emceeing is beyond measure here. He’s very serious about taking hip-hop to greater peaks and heights, plus he’s gone from being seen as a fly-by-night sensation in rap to a down-for-the-cause, in-it-for-the-long-haul practitioner of moving, musically driven rhyme-poetics with both a hard edge and likable sensibilities. He’s grown-up, lyrically amazing, and majestic side by side with his productions and so much more than a party boy here, something that some folks thought he might be confined to since his 2014 debut LP Chemically Imbalanced. That project had glimmers of hope, but it wasn’t until now that they’ve come to full fruition via Webster’s Laboratory 2, an intensely pleasurable, insanely creative and respectful mixtape of grand album-proportions. Give it up for the genius mad scientist of rhyme himself, Chris Webby! 5 out of 5 stars
