Weekly Fix #36 ('20)
Welcome to the Weekly Fix, where I go over everything that I’ve listened to that has come out within the past week. I’ll give a little blurb about the project/single with my feelings on it thrown in there, throw some descriptors and other artists names to give you an idea what the project/single is like, and link to all applicable streaming services where you can find the music. The bottom section will be devoted to projects that have Bandcamp or online webstore links, to give a greater highlight to those artists who you can support directly. Click here to see a list of previous Fixes.
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Hip-Hop is crazy man… the poetry and cinema of it, the variety of styles and popularities, and the enduring character who have build this grand genre-wide mythos that people in future generations will study like it was legit history, is something that no other genre or style of music can offer. Anyone who has gotten to the point that I have, taking in music from so many different scenes and areas, would have a hard time not to feel blessed at the fortune. Basically what I’m saying is that Hip-Hop keeps me going, and I’m here to share this shit with you because I want Y’ALL to keep going. Big thanks to everyone who reads my stuff here, who have found new artists that they fuck with, and to all of those artists and supporters who big me up out there. From the deepest part of my heart: Thank You.
So this week was another week where we got a few quality projects rather than a waterfall of releases. I’ve been waiting for new Big Sean for a while, so I was a happy camper right off the jump, but those albums from Pro Zay, Ty Farris, and Pounds really pushed Week #36 (’20) into some legendary shit. Another crop of great Singles came along this week as well; get into all of this stuff down below with my Playlists.
Next week is another doozy, maybe even more so. FIRST THINGS’S FIRST: Conway the goddamn Machine is releasing his From a King to a God project, setting off a line of Griselda releases that will hop from the delayed Armani Caesar, Benny the Butcher, and Westside Gunn LPs with a week’s gap in-between. Mephux has another album, this time with G4 JAG, on the way, YoungBoy NBA is dropping like… his 15th project this year probably, and M.A.V. has *another* album on the way, this time with grimy producer Raticus. Keep your eyes peeled, and see everything that’s coming, both tomorrow and in the future, over on my Upcoming Heat page.
Here’s a link to the Week #36 (’20) Playlists
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Here’s a link to the Week #36 (‘20) Singles
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Here’s a link to the Week #36 (’20) Art Appreciation post
-----STREAMING PROJECTS-----
Big Sean – Detroit 2
Cover Artist(s): Mike Carson
Detroit, stand up. Ever since his I Decided album back in 2016, I’ve been waiting for Big Sean to drop a project that really set him up there with one of the best that pop-rap had to offer. The man has flow, skill, lyrics, and, more than anything, Big Sean has heart, which goes a long way towards excusing some of the more corny and silly bars he can come with every now and then. Sean isn’t perfect, neither as a rapper or as a human being, but he uses these flaws to create music that is both vulnerable and relatable; even though the man is a superstar with millions of dollars, you feel connected to his struggles as a man. Detroit 2 can be described in a lot of the same ways, but where the album has shortcomings in terms of lackluster tracks and a runtime that is entirely too long, we have it offset by a bulked-up sense of graciousness and love towards the city that he calls home. There are more bars on here about his family, friends, fame, and childhood than I’ve ever heard from him, and he has gotten to a point in his career where he can even get on his Jay-Z shit and it feels right; his inspirational bars, financial and spiritual literacy, and relationship bars (loooots of these) all feel organic, and all feel like there are lessons to be learned from the mistakes that Sean has made in his life and career. I Decided was an album built around this, but was distracted from with the half-baked concept, but Detroit 2 is Sean out here trying to make music that he loves while also giving out game for those willing to listen. The beats are consistent and varied, from the trap cuts on up to the more instrumentally soulful tracks, and feature a decent number of beat switches (especially on the Friday Night Cypher). Speaking of features: holy shit. EVERYONE is on this album, from Travis Scott and Young Thug, to Anderson .Paak and Wale, and a massive 10 minute posse cut with everyone worth their salt from the Motor City: Kash Doll, Sada Baby, 42 Dugg, Royce da 5’9”, and, of course, Eminem himself all appear on the track with great (if not a bit disjointed) verses. I think I can run through I Decided easier, but Detroit 2 is a better project from a maturity and growth perspective. Give this a shot if you love modern rap trends backing a great rapper (who occasionally has some shitty bars), but more importantly listen if you want to hear a rapper who has given everything to make sure his product is up to par. Detroit, you may be seated.
Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music
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-------SOUP’S HOT DEALS-------
Pro Zay – ALLEY MUZIK
Investment: $15.00
Cover Artist(s): Elvia Lozada
Texas breeds some of the best emcees, that is certain, but it also seems to breed some of the most unique. Pro Zay has had a prolific run over the last year or so, gaining rank in the underground quickly through collaborations with people like Camoflauge Monk, NCL, and Chris Crnza, and this time he’s thrown his lot with Australian producer TimePiece to create his most grounded and fully-fleshed project to date. While I liked the previous collaborations he’s done, Zay is such a scuzzy and energetic soul that the lethargic and slow instrumentals found on those projects made it hard for me to stick with them into the future. TimePiece is a totally different story, utilizing samples that feel fully realized and sequenced, cinematic even, with bold basslines and brash horn samples really trying to keep Zay in check throughout the project. That’s the thing: Slump 2 and Foil saw beatmakers letting Pro Zay run wild over their low-key instrumentals, but TimePiece is creating tracks that matches and at times combats the emcee, demanding your attention and giving you this distinct sense of fun. As for Pro Zay himself, the voice he comes with can still be one that requires some acclimation: imagine DMX’s violence and Westside Gunn’s unique bite-sized quips and pacing coming together. If a blunt started rapping, it would sound like this dude. Maybe I haven’t been paying attention enough, but there is also a lot more content on here speaking on personal experiences and obstacles that Pro Zay has had to overcome, a welcome input from someone who may seem like a psycho maniac if you had just started listening to him. This is my favorite Pro Zay release ever, it’s put this guy TimePiece high in my producers to watch, and it’s given me one of my favorite album covers of 2020. Keep this guy on your radar folks.
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Ty Farris & Royalz – The Road of a Warrior
Investment: $11.68
Cover Artist(s): Lily Robynne & Royalz
Detroit, stand up again for another of the best rappers out today. In an odd turn of events, my two favorite projects this week were produced by Aussies, the farthest thing possible from a complaint given that there is some seriously talented individuals that deserve shine from the continent. If Pro Zay was chosen for his unique sound and delivery, Ty Farris is here because he is a supremely talented lyricist, with punchlines and bars for days being spit aggressively and assertively, not so much a shout as it is a menacing “talking to”. Every track contains gems in the writing, reflecting the skills that seemingly being *born* in Detroit allows one to tap into, with Ty taking a lot of pointers from cats like Royce and Elzhi in regards to his pen game. The features on here even match the energy, with Bub Rock and Rim Da Villin keeping up pace with their own brands of rapping (especially Bub, I love his disjointed and shifting flows). Royalz on the beats can be both murky and sunny, utilizing samples in the “less is more” fashion that a lot of underground producers have been on these past few years. Everything feels very straightforward and hip-hop, with great basslines and punchy drums keeping Ty in cadence, throwing in a sample loop or two to give it that extra umph. The producer and emcee mesh very well here, and they should both get equal credit for coming with one of the better hip-hop EPs this year. Listen to this shit if you can appreciate people like The Alchemist as a beatmaker, and real bars-oriented rappers like Fred the Godson. Alright Detroit you can sit down again.
Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music
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Napoleon Da Legend & Ro Data – The Stuff of Legend
Investment: $20.00
Cover Artist(s): Jordan Commandeur
Both Napoleon and Ro Data were cats that I first heard on the self-titled debut of the Big Turks, a rap outfit that Ro produces everything for. Napoleon has since become an emcee I check for often, with his Charles de Gaulle project (which was rapped IN FRENCH) being one of my favorites this year, and Ro impressed me so deeply with his work on Big Turks that I will never not check for this man. When I heard that the two were getting together for an album, my expectations were set to the highest ceiling, and what we get here on The Stuff of Legend comes pretty close to meeting those expectations. Ro Data isn’t going off of the same motifs that he was on that Turks album, so his production on here takes more of a traditional hip-hop form: boom-bap drums, vintage samples of instruments like horns and pianos, and samples of what sounds like a discovery channel show about mythological creatures. Basically what I’m saying is that Big Turks is a high bar to overcome, and while it doesn’t reach those heights, the production still shows a deep understanding of the DNA of hip-hop, and is still distinctly high-quality. Napoleon pretty much does what he does best on here: thought-provoking bars about the state of the world and society, throwing in clever wordplay and references to pop culture/spirituality for good measure. He always sounds like he has a plan of attack on these tracks; he doesn’t go into the songs to “do the Napoleon” thing, but rather making each song unique in it’s own ways, whether that be through the lyrics or flow. I also need to give a shout to the features on here with Juga-Naut and Chazz killing their appearances, Chong Wizard coming with great scratching on the last track, and the monster posse cut track Legend of the Nian, which features killer verses from such names as G4 JAG, Jamal Gasol (of Big Turks fame), and Sage-Infinite in it’s 6 minute runtime. Get onto this album if you want solid boom-bap that will make you think a little.
Cover Artist(s): djtambe
Pounds, Rochester street legend, comes with another album less than a year after his last, and what I considered his best, album with Buckwild, Trafficante. There aren’t too many changes between that last project and his new one here: his voice is still as gravelly and sandpapery as ever, he still has terrifyingly solid beats, and his subject matter still revolves around organized crime. But I feel like all of these elements are elevated to the next level on this album, getting a truly crazy spread of beats that can be unsettling and paranoid, rolling and bumpy, and reflective depending on the moment, and leaning even harder into the “life of crime” aspect of his character. It is just that, the “life” of crime, that really allows some depth on this project: the project gets into both the stereotypical stories of a mob boss (like Tony Soprano) and the personal details of Pounds’ life. The last track on here, Options, is the best song I’ve ever heard from him, bar-none, with the things he reveals about his childhood and the relationship with his Mother being heart-wrenchingly potent. This guy has a very tight and devoted fanbase, and we always get quality whenever he drops something like this. Tap in if you always wanted to know what it is *really* like in the mafia.
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ANKHLEJOHN – Drill Scott-Heron (Pieces Hittin)
Investment: $15.00
Cover Artist(s): lordnmf
You know why I love this project so much? Not because it’s the best Drill record to have ever been, but because it is so far outside of ANKH’s comfort zone that the fact that this project even came out as a serviceable NY Drill album is amazing in it’s own right. ANKHLEJOHN has historically been fond of the rawness that has been coming out of Richmond in the past few years: sample-based abstract hip-hop and boom-bap, putting a lot of eggs in his “unstable psychopath” basket for a long time. But all of that (with a little bit of that crazy still in there) is put to the side to create an honest-to-God Drill record, complete with the whizzing and wooing beats that go hard with the sub-bass, as well as a complete reworking of ANKH’s traditional flow to match that of some of the genre’s most recognizable figures: Sleepy Hallow, Sheff G, and Pop Smoke. The project is surprisingly good given the circumstances, having taken a considerable amount of effort on ANKH’s part to create something that is totally out of his wheelhouse. I almost feel like this whole project came out of the name: I can see ANKH having come up with Drill Scott-Heron as a name and being like “shit now I *have* to make a Drill album or someone else will use this name”. The whole albums, warts and all, is a testament to the abundant creativity of ANKHLEJOHN, a character in hip-hop that is poised to be around for a long, long time.
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