Hip Hop Album Reviews, Week Ending April 28, 2017

The weeks keep rolling along but we’re back at it with some more music news to tell you fine folks about. We have Bliss N Eso, DJ Quik & Problem and Wale on the radar. The theme this time seems to be fun, as each artist gives his take and spin on the good times, though some do better (or worse) at it than the others.

Off The Grid by Bliss N Eso (Illusive Sounds)

At least there is one project of the week that deserves some considerable respect. The new and sixth LP by Sydney, Australian trio Bliss N Eso, entitled Off The Grid is a fine addition to the renowned crew’s expanding catalogue. A hip-hop band conscientious and observant of the true elements of the culture and music, Bliss N Eso (MC Bliss, MC Eso and DJ Izm) make a strong upright showing on Off The Grid, which is packed full of motivation, inspiration and friendly anthemic cuts for fans. Their tone at the top is to turn lemons into lemonade with hopes to raise the youth with “love, compassion and empathy.” They emit positive energy obviously but also firm strength, going off with clever interesting braggadocio in “Tear The Roof Off” and remembering to go off the clock from their jobs for some cool-out in the herbalised “Coolin’” and especially “Birds in the Sky.” Of particular note, the gang give an ode to turntablism, live producer accompaniment on stage, scratching and all that good stuff on “Whatever Happened to the DJ,” and in “Moments,” they honorably rap, “f*ck the money, cars and accessories ‘cause the only thing we take to our grave is our memories.” For sure a lively, peppy roundup of skilled men, Bliss N Eso may seem to some a little too sweet and happy with predominately PG-rated ballads of nice warm cozy notes, but you cannot knock their fine wordplay and lyricism and their concentrated focus on going on, living life, working hard and spreading goodness of word to the people. (3 out of 5 stars)

Rosecrans by DJ Quik & Problem (Diamond Lane Music Group/Blake Enterprises)

Legendary Compton musician/emcee DJ Quik (David Blake) has turned his 2016 joint EP Rosecrans (with rapper Problem, also from Compton) into a full length album. It certainly brings more to the table yet not in ways much different from the songs on the original extended play. Right off the bat, Quik’s artistic production-signatures (whiny funk, talk-boxing, nice keys) are heard and felt, and Problem is honestly dope and excitable with some solid wordplay and confidently delivered flows. The LP is thoroughly satisfying from a hip-hop music composition standpoint but less so in its topics and subject matter, which consist of typical rap chatter on the traditional street/hood essence – sexing with floozies, visiting the jeweler and the dealer, laying back and chillin’ and other similar preoccupations and pastimes. The boys are wild, profane and superficial unfortunately and while this is an independent release (off Diamond Lane Music Group and Blake Enterprises), it’s championed by the mainstream because of its formulaic, run of the mill attitudes and sensibilities. It’s sadly a real shame they are regressive, destructive and immature to boot. Quik and Problem’s homies, even two Quik’s reconciled with in the past (AMG and MC Eiht), make a full fledged showing but they are the stereotypical players of the game here. Expect little else from them. Chill out and relax with some fine music pieces in Rosecrans but do not put significant trust in the words laid upon said music pieces. (2 out of 5 stars)

Shine by Wale (Atlantic Records/Maybach Music Group)

The jig is up for Wale in his Atlantic/MMG-released fifth studio album Shine. The D.C. native may have star-studded guests like Lil Wayne, Major Lazer, G-Eazy, Travis Scott and Chris Brown on the week early arriving project but there are dangerous ulterior motives being played out behind the scenes and its superficiality is not an accident by its makers. The gang and Wale most notably are coarse, materialistic, misogynistic and hedonistic over trend-settling production from the hands of the typical lineup of beat-makers. Talk on bands, rims, cars and designer brands metastasizes Shine’s entirety, and Wale and company’s attitude toward women by carelessly dropping words “b*tch” and “h*e” like they’re nothing renders intended romance cuts like “My Love” and “Fine Girl” completely powerless and ineffective. The last joint “Smile” of course lightly discusses some politics by way of police on black violence but it is only here to fill a quota, to make us think Wale is some sort of conscious emcee. He really is not, never has been one. In fact when he insinuates in the song that Trump is a bigot/misogynist, it’s pure hypocrisy because he himself sounds like one in several other spots on the album. This is an Atlantic release and secondarily one by Wale, who has been molested by the former into degrading himself on record and to put his name across the cover like he is the only one responsible for its flagrant issues. (1 out of 5 stars)

Joey Bada$$ – “All-Amerikkkan Bada$$” (Album Review)

Really, Pro Era de jure headman Joey Badass’s sophomore album, All-Amerikkkan Bada$$, is pretty good, quite solid, despite a few recurring flaws so not everything from the mainstream is wack after all. Coming two years after his B4.DA.$$ debut, A.A.B.A. finds Joey taking much more of a political stance now. American ways are the subjects for the most part and critical is very much the tone. Still Joey shows strength, wisdom and optimism to just about make up for what the project lacks or leaves out. If he and his crew point out the problems with the U.S. of A, it’s because they want a better one, not because they want to extinguish it.

Joey is the great motivator in tracks like “For My People,” singles “Land of the Free” and “Devastated,” and “Legendary” (feat. J. Cole) shining forth with raps on changing ourselves for the better, striving, overcoming a dangerous challenging environment and remaining positive. It’s only right to make that clear right off the bat. As far as his nation-protestations are concerned, Joey does some good but also some one-sided arguing. His best unveilings include such revelations as that penitentiary and record label owners are sort of like one and the same and that the media tell “lies” (take the latter with a small grain of salt). Jo’s wording could have been expanded and framed better in that last case but he’s largely right.

The biggest issue in his political schtick here though is the government bashing without mentioning those integral things known as corporations and capitalism. For Joey it’s like the ladder up stops at the corrupt government level. Actually, there is a level above it that is much wealthier working ferociously to control anything and everything below it. Five of the twelve tracks bring up something wrong with the government but almost none analyze the overarching capitalist economy.

Otherwise, only one or two less major points might be misconstrued. Joey goes after Obama (once) and Trump (twice), not surprising, and yes there is a purpose for gov heads but remember there is also a school of thought that thinks only the deficient need leaders (the answer is inside) and also, shouldn’t we spend more time upholding good instead of beating down the bad? Why give Obama, especially Trump more of a sense of importance by calling them out at all at this stage in the game? The other thing is Joey says “f--- white supremacy” in last cut “Amerikkkan Idol” when it should be: f--- any form or idea of one race supremacy completely, period.

The sincere, system-conscious Joey Badass has more or less succeeded overall though. He’s invited fine new guests for this round, including a few of his Pro Era boys, and he’s right at home over groovy soul and jazz, rock/pop and hard piano and drums at various turns in the production. Further growth as a rhyme lyricist/wordsmith could be desired of Joey (based off an infrequently-occurring, basic flow-pattern or two) but with this album the skilled one does satisfy expectations well. Compared to Bada$$ album one, AABA is a firm step forward and Joey does good by regularly hitting on meaningful subject matter.

3 out of 5 stars 

Locksmith – “Olive Branch” (Album Review)

True enough, Richmond, California emcee Locksmith (Davood Asgari, formerly of Frontline duo) has come through on his promise to release his third studio album Olive Branch, and in timely fashion at that. Olive Branch was promoted briefly on Lock’s masterful 2016 mixtape The Lock Sessions but what’s better is that the LP is every bit as outstanding as fans had hoped it would be. Everywhere here the fierce, respected lyricist has an extraordinary sense of manhood and social responsibility and strong-willed moral character. His messages alone blow out at least three quarters of the mainstream rap field easily and when you add his top notch rhyme flow to the equation, he automatically moves to the upper echelon of hip-hop music. Also, new and returning guest artists and variably textured beats are in store for listeners old and new in what should prove to be Locksmith’s greatest album yet.

The whole idea of the project is to impart critical words of wisdom. There are few breaks from it, but it’s also impossible to tire from it. Spoken word advice atop leads to thoughts on arriving plus toughness in the Kato-produced “Nobody,” which opens for some softer focused lessons-to-carry via “No Way” before Lock’s beast-slaying “Agenda” wakes us up like a bucket of ice cold water to a fast asleep face. Make note of the Tribe “Kick It” quote there and especially the line “’til we see ourselves as one we can never progress.” Next we have “The Margin,” Lock’s special attention to hurting people drowning in a decadent society and a call to think about how we are all connected in this world. Similarly yet some four tracks down, in “Helpless,” Locksmith again touches on our disconnectedness as people. “Home,” with returning Lock music-mate Rebecca Nobel, in her second of three appearances, tells us to be ourselves in the face of resistance, focuses on individual strengths over weaknesses and helps to shed our fears of being perceived poorly by others.

Still, great feelings of love pervade the entire LP and in a few tracks most particularly. In “The One” Locksmith is concerned about struggling to make it work in a relationship enough to voice it (with fine eloquence), and later reconnects with his love in a spell of passion through “Neck Pillow,” which flips the melody and chorus of the Aaliyah tribute song “Miss You” (2002). Much as how “Go There” from Lock Sessions uplifted his and all mothers in general, this set’s “One More Time” immortalizes Lock’s passed mom with so much heart but mournfully this round, dropping the upbeat clip of “Go There” for a slower more soulful style.

The title tracks ends the project here, save for the live version of “Home,” which is just as welcomed and really drives home (pun intended) its many valuable points even further. “Olive Branch” the song sees Lock comment with humble conviction on holding onto his integrity and dignity, and that’s basically what the whole of the album does in one way or another. This is not the same Locksmith of two or three years ago. This is a better Locksmith. The work he’s put in since has delivered him great credibility and proven his confidence in spreading sense, intelligence and reason through his bars. For all those “tough” guys and girls listening out there, know this – the Olive Branch LP is mellifluously inspirational at times but it is incredibly powerful and heavy in subject matter, enough to instantly knock down the cold hardened persona of anyone willing to look at it.

5 out of 5 stars

Raekwon - "The Wild" (Album Review)

All brown-nosing aside, it’s about time Chef Raekwon step out of the mafia-rap box he willingly occupied for the last twenty plus years, since the Wu-Tang burst onto the scene in 1993 opening the door for his legendary “Purple Tape” of ’95 (a.k.a. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx). He’s been in that niche since the beginning and he’s rarely left. And it’s not like he can’t go back. He just doesn’t go to other artistic spaces enough lately. For his seventh solo LP, The Wild (Ice H2O Records/Empire), Rae’s retreated back to the jungle for yet another gangsta rap album very lightly peppered with intelligence and original substance.

Rae lets us know almost immediately that he’s not gonna change his stance in the hip-hop area of underworld mystique. The first four tracks offer only standard gangsterism over hard beats, but at least there is the short bio of and tribute to Marvin Gaye with guest Cee-Lo Green (“Marvin”) right after. The highlights continue to arrive in intermittent blips. In the next two songs (“Can’t You See” and “My Corner”), some nice advice from Rae and a tight Wayne verse emerge but only around more tough guy street talk and romanticism of rising within the established hood hierarchy. Some fine rhyme interplay between Shallah and P.U.R.E comes via “M&N,” and that’s pretty much the end of Wild’s act one.

Raekwon actually has a great attitude in a few spots on this project, taking turns being hopeful, resilient, wise, firm and persistent, but there is a lack of unique concepts to display these traits and Rae’s moneyed vanity just hides them from sight too often. Fly rhymes are activated in service of capo wealth status, brand names and uninventive aggression-raps, and Rae has let it all happen without trying much that is new or fresh.

If it helps, the bang of the beats and the soul of the samples restore some value to the album though with not a lot of musical breadth. That’s pretty much all there is to say about The Wild. Rae is still ensconced in the thick of his brambly mafioso origins and only starts to claw himself free here. He hasn’t gotten very far in that pursuit at this point. Frankly, he’s philosophically and intellectually lazy at times in these jungly whereabouts, more concerned with his flashy image and adherence to the status quo than his inner integrity, and caring more about looking rich than being mentally rich. Raekwon needs to reevaluate.

2 out of 5 stars

Hip Hop Album Reviews, Week Ending Mar. 10, 2017

Want an eloquent rhymestress’s perspective on love and the everyday struggle? A saucy sauntering Brit’s flippant mockeries about anything and everything? Or maybe even a quote/unquote living legend’s exposition of the dangers found in the ghetto? Ill Camille, Jam Baxter and MURS have you covered. We’ve narrowed down the list of this week’s new releases, and the best are below.

Heirloom by Ill Camille (Illustrated Sounds/Frontroom Entertainment)

Los Angeles emcee Ill Camille spreads out more food for thought and invites everyone over on her third album, Heirloom. The author of LPs Illustrated (2011) and The Pre Write before it (2012) is back with her questioning reflective mind frame to share on love, sex, dreams, hopes and optimism in a sweet escape style format. Strong with wisdom and insight, the smooth Ill Camille learns from her hardworking, blue collar elders in “Spider’s Jam,” expresses disappointment that people let love (and the possibility of) fall by the wayside due to trivial fixable matters in “Slip Away,” and slowly sadly mourns the souls lost to gun violence in the streets on “Lighters.”

After her teaching job has been accomplished, Camille admits the major reason behind the album in “Few Days.” Because problems have been building up, she decides to just get away from them all for a bit, and the calm uninterrupted “Renewed” follows through with the plan, allowing Camille to get still more pests out of her psyche and cleanse. Heirloom is a little up in the clouds with its almost dream-state feel in the semi-soft music and Camille’s casual flows, not extremely rich or intricate in any one way, but through the soulfully extended slow burners and despite her knowing of all the foulness around us, Ill Camille is committed to grinding on in life.

3 out of 5 stars

Mansion 38 by Jam Baxter (High Focus Records)

London emcee of posses Contact Play and Dead Players, Jam Baxter, is on solo album number four and shows no signs of weariness or halt in his step. Out on High Focus Records (like each of his three previous LPs), Mansion 38 is yet another wild ride from the weirded out rapper, packed with bizarre lyrical revelries and a message or two here and there. The critique of manipulative marketing schemes and gullible consumer culture in “For A Limited Time Only” is right on but an exception in the album’s dreary malaise of hokeyness and horseplay.

Baxter purges his cluttered mind of all his pent up frustration, angst, irreverence and goofiness to tracks of dismal art-house music that is impossible to dance to but perfect for Jam to jam awkwardly to. For the most part, this is a showcase of Baxter describing abnormal far-out circumstances in involved left field wordplay and random wacky prepared freestyles.

Mansion 38 is perfectly content basking in strange wonderment, which is one reason why it lacks a great amount of useful messages. The young man Jam Baxter is only occasionally intriguing in an intellectual sense, and he comes across depressive and hopeless with his dark sometimes morbid humor, but his textured metaphorical rhyming deserves attention, some study even, and although the feel in and out is largely low and despondent, Baxter is dedicated to getting back up to rub uptight people the wrong way for his and our amusement.

3 out of 5 stars

Captain California by MURS (Strange Music, Inc.)

The MURS man himself is here again, two years after his breakout hit-album Have A Nice Life for Captain California, his tenth solo LP overall and second on Strange Music Inc. With his prominent, unmistakeable mic-presence, the “Maker of Underground Raw Sh*t” surely brings the raw topics, around fewer of great social responsibility, for a mostly standard project in the current hip-hop landscape, and not exactly underground anymore at that.

MURS has some significant things to say here no doubt; however, they are in just a few songs or looked at through dicey seedy tales from the hood. MURS playfully squabbling with rapper Curtiss King over a girl (which of course helps to give her all the power of choice in the dating arena, like it or not) in the opener “Lemon Juice” clears the lane for stories of tragic love, hustling, gang-banging, cheating and just people behaving badly all throughout the project, and the foulmouthed in-studio jibber jabber of final track “Wanna Be High” makes matters that much more unrefined and uncouth.

The glimmers of light exist in how MURS describes scenarios of urban violence in “GBKW” (though the Kanye-mention is misplaced and too much praise already for the super famous mogul), in the advancement of love and family-rearing in “1000 Suns,” and in how MURS shows the differences across socioeconomic lines in “G is for Gentrify.” Except for MURS’ fine storytelling, he hasn’t changed or challenged himself lyrically, and all the themes and tones follow mainstream establishment rules, rarely encouraging people to question, think deeply and get to the root causes of our madness. It’s decent but simply doesn’t dare decry the most major underlying evils in society, like wildly out of control, government-sponsored capitalism and the divisive, inhumane, materialistic media.

2 out of 5 stars

Hip Hop Album Reviews, Week Ending Feb. 24, 2017

Choose your muse. But choose wisely. Know what you’re getting yourself into ahead of time. The best thing about February’s final roundup of new albums is that topping the list are two newcomers, C4 The Explosive and Cise, followed by more experienced career artists Oddisee and Wise Intelligent among others. Let’s take a gander.

The Potential LP by C4 The Explosive (Four Seas Stories)

The life of rapper and beat constructor C4 The Explosive is so very ordinary, and it’s pretty much all he raps about in his debut album The Potential LP, but his interesting, one of a kind craft, his sense of humor, relatable messages and dynamic idiosyncratic beats launch the project into the stratosphere. C4 The Explosive, or C4 the everyman as you might be tempted to call him, raps about being a dad and husband and how his personal life seems to constantly be at odds with his work life, as he tries ferociously to find time for all of his hobbies, his work and his family obligations.

There are several different shades and dimensions to C4 on Potential. He’s nerdy, cool, funny and focused, as his work here involves a lot of self-reflection. He doesn’t overstep his vocal abilities but he’s got bunches of nice rhymes still. After answering his daughter’s clavicle question in “Intro (Clavicle Song),” there comes the title track, “Potential,” in which C4 champions having the right mindset and work ethic to reach goals. With a double layering of stacked vocals, “Dungeon Boss” is a luminous display of firsthand video game stories and scenery mixed with C4’s thoughts on his own addiction to gaming as he sees it. Plus his game music productions are nicely established and pronounced there and a bit more elsewhere.

“Contempt” finds an outlet for C4’s hilarious self-deprecation, perhaps the album’s best exhibition of it in fact, but also some general neutral pensiveness. All of the concluding songs, except for “Dust in the Wind,” the album’s wiley wind-down of beat-boxing and fresh freestyle rhymes, are dedicated to possibly the project’s most serious subject matter. In “Pallets (Warehouse Song),” C4 discusses his woes and truly mixed feelings regarding his menial, modest wage warehouse-work and how it is less than fulfilling, less than enriching for his soul. “Dish It Out” handles putting food on the table, or dishes on the table when C’s little girl and love of his life breaks one too many of them.

Despite being very humorous and tongue-in-cheek, The Potential LP is multidimensional and introspective not only for C4 but for people who are dealing with a lot of the same issues he’s grappling with. He’s fully self-aware of his situation and his weaknesses but brave enough to admit to them and work to fix them. It’s brilliant. C4 The Explosive is being modest and jokey in referring to this set as a “potential LP,” but in all seriousness, the depth of examination within earns it the status of a real bonafide LP, no less, and the driven emcee/producer has in reality explored and reached his full potential through its creation, especially considering all the other duties he’s had on top of making it. Like the nature of his rap name, C4 sets off a big bang here no doubt. He very nicely captures the modern ethos and struggle of the responsible, hardworking family man (or woman) who has passions and dreams on the side.

4 out of 5 stars

Good Enough by Cise (One Nine Eight Seven Music)

His mind size is extra large and with his voluble rap skills he can be either generous or concise. Los Angeles emcee Cise is helping to bring real hip-hop to the forefront in a big way. He even says so not long into his debut Good Enough. Plus he’s got the balls to call out wack rappers and their retarded material, and the vehicle that transports his messages – his solid flow – backs up the quote/unquote smack that he smacks these fraud-emcees with. Cise moves on though. He names his kids as his motivation to go out, bring home the bacon and be a real provider for him and his, and his lovely supportive lady gets appreciation in “Gates Open.”

Dressing fresh to impress, the exhibition of his flirty tendencies and his general Rico Suave-ness are topics within the few spots of filler, but from a much broader scope, Cise is conscious, progressive, kind and helpful. “The Pressure” song is pro-ambition but warns that hard work often turns into stress and also that the government and the wealthy are playing a significant part in our despair. Pulling up on those lame rappers again, he proceeds to pressure them to have a positive impact on the youth, and he ends the LP with cool inspiration in “Dreamchasers” and “Good Enough.” Cise rocks and he is a real jazzy cat who’s soulful too – just like his beats. The album may not be a standout masterpiece in terms of innovation, but in it, Cise is more than just “good enough.” He’s great.

3 out of 5 stars

The Iceberg by Oddisee (Mello Music Group)

Oddisee of Mello MG and the DMV area can always be relied upon for real substantive hip-hop. Now deep in a sizable catalogue of solo and group works, instrumental and vocal/instrumental, he is again intriguing and musically luminescent in his latest, The Iceberg. Within his patchwork of stylish flows and sophisticated disco grooves are several weighty topics and stories on meager beginnings and the want for more, Islamophobia, the income gap between the sexes, infatuations, the immigrant experience and racist politics, all discussed either extensively or somewhat thoroughly.

Most of Oddisee’s vocal efforts are spent in solid blocks of rap, but once in a while he’ll throw us a memorable refrain or two as in “Like Really” with its incredulous look at ridiculous state policies. Slim on guest features but fat with talking points, The Iceberg is another quality project from the intellectually mellow emcee/beatmaker if a little samey in relation to his other albums.

3 out of 5 stars

The BlueKluxKlan by Wise Intelligent (self-released)

In light of all the incidences of police brutality reported in the last few years, legendary veteran-emcee Wise Intelligent (Timothy Grimes), of golden era group Poor Righteous Teachers, has issued a vitriolic indictment of all police in his new album The BlueKluxKlan. Verging on scary exploitation, the LP is no doubt influenced by real trends of abuse in impoverished sectors going back centuries wherein the meek and vulnerable (black folks for the most part in the case of the United States) are harassed, tormented, tortured and all too often killed by the people who are supposed to protect the public – law enforcement officers.

More than once, Grimes gets carried away with his words, at one point (in “One Good Cop”) elucidating that there are simply NO good cops and in later sections encouraging ghetto inhabitants to take up arms and form grassroots militias sort of like the Black Panthers to combat police violence. The latter recommendation has some logic to it; however, it could also be seen as fighting fire with fire, meeting aggression with further aggression. Still, Grimes understands that the subject of his new project is at its core a rich versus poor problem, in which the rich have always had an upper hand.

He remembers to state that the out-of-hand police brutality in poor and black neighborhoods is a product of social engineering and the corporately backed drug war set in motion to fill prisons to build an uncompensated jail workforce at little to no cost to the business community. Sound a bit like slavery? If you answered yes, you would be right. It and minimum wage employment are by and large the present day forms of slavery.

Unfortunately, a little too much of BlueKluxKlan runs off negative energy. Anger and hatred fuel a number tracks, most notably “F*ck U,” where Grimes explicitly attacks specific cultural figures and demagogues instead of faulty institutional thinking. His major claim that many cops are direct members of the KKK is, contrary to Wise Intelligent’s most sound sensibilities, an alignment with media-generated fear mongering, shock-talk and even more fuel to the fire of mass confusion. Following stellar Wise albums El Negro Guerrero (2013) and Stevie Bonneville Wallace (2016), The BlueKluxKlan is much less all encompassing when it comes to criticizing the corrupt social, political and economic system because it zones in on and crucifies only one agent of the system – police – though quite depraved some of them truly are. Most of the time, the problem is not that people or groups of people are bad but rather that some ideas and proposals are bad, and are implemented and reproduced at the behest of the powerful.

2 out of 5 stars

Primitive Tomorrow by Adlib (Faction Entertainment)

Underground Philadelphia rapper Adlib is proudly rugged and rough around the edges with his macho tones but at least he is aware of it because he manages to work some insight into his fourth project, Primitive Tomorrow. Following albums Teenagers From Marz, Bad Newz and The Highway, this new set showcases the East Coast aggressor’s hard and soft sides and the former much more so than the latter. His tough, sort of unrefined bravado and the by-the-book beats make the album hard to admire but the messages in the second half deserve some respect.

Adlib fosters a questioning mind frame and by extension freedom of mind and self but also persistence and dedication in “All I Ever Had,” and in “PEACE,” he harnesses “positive energy” for “constant elevation.” Guests Demrick, Tabs, Res Thomas and Jessica Lamb add a little something extra, but while it has its wise bits here and there, Primitive Tomorrow is wanting in lyrical complexity and it is too abrasive and to-the-extreme in most sections.

2 out of 5 stars

Open 24 by YL (self-released)

NYC casual-rhymer YL is consistent and predictable, and with the likewise ambling Roper Williams, who produced the entirety of YL’s new album Open 24, the resultant product is the ultimate experience in cool laid back smooth sh*t. YL and Williams may know how to set the mood in a very soothing way, and YL may know how to take turns speaking on herb, his romantic attachments, the streets and sex, but Open 24, though easily accessible, is quite the generic experience, very prototypical and hardly remarkable.

There are few explicitly stated ambitions from its author. In very small parts he raps on racism, how mean his urban haunts are and how other rappers don’t stack up, without proving that he’s better through topic or technique. YL is no flagrant hood criminal in drug-peddling or violent assault; however, his project is too chill and stands for few pursuits besides big dough and taking it easy.

1 out of 5 stars

Rosebudd’s Revenge by Roc Marciano (Marci Enterprises)

It took Roc Marciano three years and two months to come up with some more creative rhymes, not many but some, and unfortunately, the time did nothing for the guy’s maturity level, and it’s pretty pathetic because he’s thirty-nine years old now. Rosebudd’s Revenge, the Hempstead rapper and UN member’s fourth LP, is a slog of gangstafied jock-speak over uninspiring, lo-fi boom-bap productions that stand back from the main procession the whole time.

The best this thing can possibly do is convince Roc Marciano to rethink his style and his dangerous, childish, materialistic persona, but maybe this is his innate personality, in which case he needs religion, and not the street type. He’s got too much of that already. In the past, Roc Marciano was intriguing with his quiet sneaky mobster lyrics that showed and still show some elevated writing craft, but thematically this album is just Marciano scraping the bottom of the barrel, a gun barrel in this case.

1 out of 5 stars

Hip Hop Album Reviews, Week Ending Feb. 17, 2017

This week, recognized rap icons Fat Joe and Remy Ma released their joint album, to once again profit off feeding the industry’s appetite for pulp formula (shamefully enough), but aside from that and best of all, there is a bundle of better projects from more respectable, art-minded producers and emcees, artists like Jonwayne, beatmaker Superior, SkyBlew, AllttA (Mr. J. Medeiros + 20syl) and others. Those are the works that should be given the most attention.

Rap Album Two by Jonwayne (Authors Recording Company/The Order Label)

Apparently La Habra, CA rapper/producer Jonwayne never retired back in 2015 after his Jonwayne Is Retired EP, or did he? The artist formerly on Stones Throw Records purportedly had some drinking problems which he has supposedly moved on from since then, thanks to his work on Rap Album Two, the big man’s new rap-plus-beats LP. Via casual rhymes and gentle production, Jonwayne is very poignant on the project, discussing the vagaries of human pain in “Human Condition” and other bohemian styled philosophies in “Out of Sight” to take one example. Still, he now and again brings it back to his lighter side – him messing up his recording takes in “The Single” is impossible to not smile at.

Through the happy and sad, Jon strikes a chord with his thoughts and feelings. He’s at turns  regretful for disappointing friends and himself for his recent behavior but also hopeful for the future, with dreams of a getting sober, growing up and starting a family. Jon reserves a very loaded track in particular to close everything up. In “These Words Are Everything,” he knows that his current label and artistic choices won’t get him the most money or followers, but he is focused on doing it his way and not selling out, the greatest choice of all. Guests on the album are Shango, Danny Watts, Zeroh and Low Leaf. Rap Album Two doesn’t jump out at you but rather lays back in the cut; nevertheless, it’s a nice setup from the reliably solid Jonwayne.

3 out of 5 stars

The Journey by Superior (Below System Records)

When it comes to boom-bap, Spanish-German producer Superior (Marcos Oviedo) is steadily becoming one of the best in the business. His brand of the East Coast American style of beats is on the smoother end of the spectrum, lovely and almost romantic in its gentle sway of samples, yet firm on the drum end. His new LP The Journey, the followup to Scenes from 2015, is a pro-compilation of some of Superior’s best stuff of late married to great guest verses from emcee-names big and small so you’ll learn about some new artists in the process.

Street themes are present in several spots, but worth mentioning specifically and besides the typical urban tales are Lyric Jones’ wise perspective on “Open Letter,” Rocdwell’s love for lady in “I Got You,” and the excited power coupling of M-Dot and Revalation in “Earn It.” The “bigger” boys worth shouting out include REKS, Verbal Kent, Termanology, Lil Fame of MOP and Spnda. Superior doesn’t show many angles of his producing style, even within boom-bap, but his sample selection, his mixing and the silky finish of the final audio-product are truly from a trained, skilled technician and artist of hip-hop music.

3 out of 5 stars

Dreams, Toonami & Jazzier Days by SkyBlew & Pabzzz (The Jazz Hop Café)

Chapel Hill rapper, proactive project-maker and prolific collaborator SkyBlew (Mario Farrow) has come a long way since being Young Millionaire from Auburn, Alabama back in the day when heads were eating up Jay’s Black Album and Ye’s College Dropout as the then biggest crave-crazes in hip-hop. Now, the conscious emcee has ten albums to his name, including Dreams, Toonami & Jazzier Days, his new EP with French producer Pabzzz released by UK internet radio channel Jazz Hop Café.

Pabzzz plays us warm welcoming piano in the intro “This About Dreams,” but with life SkyBlew doesn’t play around. He holds onto his sanity and remains committed and persistent to the EP’s midpoint commenting, “I refuse to snooze, I turn off the news” in “Always on Call.” The whole EP is about cool chill vibes, on music and musings. SkyBlew’s focused vocal delivery is of a prepared freestyle type, but he’s all about love and good attitude all the time. Pabzzz is more than a match for the man with beautiful easy listening, serene spa sounds, tasteful jazz of course and more.

Dreams, Toonami & Jazzier Days is a gift of random notes from the young, smart, and open-minded. SkyBlew is technically not the most complex rhymer nor the most renegade in subject matter, meaning he likely won’t turn your casual listening into deep intense concentration but still, he remains a very good guy in and for hip-hop who stands for all the right things.

5 out of 5 stars

Price of Freedom by Prince of the City (Freedom Records)

Prince of the City, Tariq Ali Muhammad, hasn’t developed his emcee-craft into a whirlwind of complex lyrical rhymes, but since being reborn as a pious Muslim in the Nation of Islam some time back, deep moral teachings have been his strong suit. The teacher and rapper from Stockton, California and Norfolk, Virginia has a lot of perspective needless to say. In his debut album Price of Freedom, Tariq leaves out none of his concerns or values so he’s completely sincere with his integral outlook on life.

Muhammad’s heartache stems from the ghettos’ problems with drugs, gun violence, arrests and lockup, and his solutions include love and self-improvement, though there’s scantly any mention of the greater economic and political system acting upon communities, poor, affluent or otherwise. Still, his messages are a great start. His “M.O.B.” is not money over b*tches but rather “my other brother,” he’s not for selling one’s soul for a check, he’s seen a nine-to-five turn into a “lifelong prison” and he states simply that you can’t take wealth into the afterlife.

Muhammad’s been converted to good but it’s always been in him. He says, “my body left the trap, but my heart always stayed in.” He rarely brings up his own flaws, which hurts some chance of connecting with listeners, but his words of dedication and discipline to principles of integrity and dignity are no doubt refreshing amidst new rap music that glamorizes street crime. Prince Muhammad is also technically plain with his basic rhyme schemes and standard production but through his words he can surely help many onto safe paths of healthy thinking.

3 out of 5 stars

The Upper Hand by AllttA (On And On Records)

The new duo of L.A. rapper Mr. J. Medeiros (pronounced Muh-deer-us) and French producer 20syl called AllttA release their heavy debut LP The Upper Hand through On And On Records, and despite its lyrical complexities and loaded subject matter, it sort of feels like a heartbeat away from being a pop rap crossover, mostly because of 20syl’s groovy, electro dance club beats, nu-disco music if that makes more sense. Medeiros shoots his quick flash rhymes on love, fame, celebrity-worship, race, religion, injustice and childbirth with more than an air of awareness.

The issue arises in that Medeiros brings forth all these sad and intriguing truths but doesn’t slow down to discuss what we can do and how we should respond to them. It’s interesting but also troubling that on “The Woods,” the chorus states that “who controls the past controls the future.” That’s obviously not a reassuring prospect in light of who and what has been controlling the world. For the most part though, The Upper Hand may not have a leg up on the best rap ever, but it’s a pristine, finely mastered hip-hop project that does explore some of those less than comfortable topics and areas with which we need to get acquainted.

3 out of 5 stars

Golden Crown by SK Invitational (Kopfhörer Recordings)

Acoustic live hip-hop band SK Invitational from Austria may not be Europe’s version of The Roots crew, but they definitely have ambitions to become it or something close to, as they routinely have something around sixteen member-instrumentalists on board and work with several talented artists, especially on their new third album Golden Crown. Firm, strong, hard-driving and invigorating tones break open the start, and appearances from MOP, John Robinson, Homeboy Sandman, Sadat X and Edo G only sweeten the pot.

The striking whole music sounds of hot jazz, funk and soul in concert with positive rap and lush singing are top notch and no less than par for the course; however, on the whole, Golden Crowndoesn’t test the system in those natural, controversial hip-hop ways, and there is generally not a great deal of emceeing, certainly not enough from the original group members, instead depending on the guests to spit the greatest heat so to speak. This is a nice music experience, albeit with a tamed and limited rap element.

2 out of 5 stars

Molotov by Saga & Thelonious Martin (Saga 718/Empire Distribution)

One could argue that Brooklyn rapper Saga on his new album, Molotov (with Chicago producer Thelonious Martin), is brash, openly and grossly sexual, materialistic to an extent, moderately lyrical and basically unoriginal but there are a few things to learn from him here, even if he is largely a less than venerable personality on his records. Saga’s lyrics on the new album unveil the face of a rapper looking more to vent, brag, and self-counsel than spread positive progressive messages. He feels as if he’s a tough savvy urbanite though he doesn’t often come down to our level (or our part of town).

He’ll one moment put cocky ones in their place when he can be pretty arrogant himself then warn fellas who chase skirts that the girls very well might scam them in the end – just two examples of where he’s coming from mentally. “Where We Live,” the crowning achievement in this set, makes us aware of warring, whoring, pimping, poverty, ghetto violence, low standards of dress and physical impropriety among young girls and so forth, all around the parts he comes from in BK, NYC, but it applies nationally really, even globally. Taking smooth twinkly samples and applying lowkey drum rhythms, Thelonious Martin loops his cuts with rigid precision but has a cozy bed of productions for us still. Saga is caught between two worlds in Molotov but avoids the worst of both with his common sense and support from new-age music mate T. Martin.

2 out of 5 stars

Plata O Plomo by Fat Joe & Remy Ma (RNG/Empire Distribution)

It’s been a long time since Fat Joe and Remy Ma dropped LPs. Joe’s last was 2010’s The Darkside Vol. 1 and Remy has been without a new studio album since 2006 when she released her debut There’s Something About Remy. In their Plata O Plomo (“silver or lead,” i.e. “money or bullets”) collaboration, they literally pick up right where they left off, going commercial, superficial and gangster to the fullest and pretending as if character and responsibility in the music are not important to observe. It’s funny but also sad how Fat Joe’s beginning statements give allowance to coke, minks, Gucci flip flops and beating cases and rats, among other demons and misdemeanors.

It’s not rare that the two are flagrantly confrontational, romantically unfaithful or obsessed with extravagant wealth. Final cut “Dreamin” attempts to regain some respect lost but just skims the surface. Put another way, if you were looking for Fat Joe and Remy Ma to confound our expectations of them here, you’re gonna be disappointed. Plata O Plomo is totally detached from intelligent hip-hop and worldly consciousness as it’s nothing more than a glitzy mobster fashion show gone much too wild.

1 out of 5 stars