So I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong about June; there was actually quite a bit of music to dig into, and several quality projects to enjoy. I have a couple more projects than usual to highlight, so I’ll just get right into it.
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Benny the Butcher – The Plugs I Met
Griselda is gearing up in a big way to make the most of signing to Shady Records, having dropped a couple records so far, and plans for a couple more, before a group album with both Conway the Machine and Westside Gunn. The Plugs I Met, the new EP from the third member Benny the Butcher, succeeds in building the hype towards the new album; not necessarily reinventing the wheel, but executing magnificently in all aspects of rapping.
Benny, who is the most street-oriented of Griselda, is a real poet when it comes to bars about drug dealing, comparable to Pusha T but with more of a ultra-violent slant. His flow and rhyme schemes can be relentless, and his wordplay is some of the best Ive seen in the genre. I’ve loved most of his projects, but felt his last, Tana Talk 3 at the end of last year, was a bit overlong, with a few duds in the tracklist. Benny really tightens up on this one with 6 new tracks (plus an intro) sitting at a brisk 25 minutes, which flies by as you listen and unpack all of these street metaphors he is unloading on you in nearly every bar. The tracks operate in mid/low tempo, generally uncluttered beats, giving the most attention to the emcees on the track. There aren’t nearly as many mixing issues on this projects as there have been on previous Griselda releases, with the beats often swallowing the rapping. Atmospheres range from triumphant in Crowns for Kings, to mysterious and hazy in Took the Money to the Plug’s House and 5 to 50, and brutal assaults of Dirty Harry and 18 Wheeler. Despite being so short, this album has no shortage of features, making the listening experience varied and littered with very capable emcees. Fittingly, Pusha T waxes on 18 Wheeler in a combo that was destiny. 38 Spesh and Jadakiss contribute to make Sunday School slightly too long (hook needs trimming), but Spesh’s bars had me stopping in amazement several times. And Black Thought on Crowns for Kings is a goddamn unstoppable monster, going in for over two minutes; the man is a rapping machine I’m not sure if he’s even human.
Here's the Spotify/YouTube Link(s) for The Plugs I Met:
https://open.spotify.com/album/5So31JibrTO74WvuCozsAb
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkJYekLeQ3c
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Polo G – Die a Legend
Chicago native Polo G really hit gold with his debut album, Die a Legend. Operating in the sphere of melodic trap, which can be hit or miss these days in this oversaturated market, Polo brings an earnestness, venerability, and straight-talking that many of his contemporaries cannot. People like NBA Youngboy, Quando Rondo, and even Kodak Black these days, fail to connect with me because of their almost comical use of auto-tune and ultimately repetitive subject material; but you can tell that Polo G really invests himself into his work personally, and that added connection really pays off in making highly engaging material. His talent in songwriting is readily apparent in his hooks, most of which succeed at grabbing your attention with either a strong phrase or melody. Songs like Lost Files, Dyin Breed, Last Strike, and A King’s Nightmare hit you with aggression and vivid street imagery, elements you would see more from Chicago’s Drill scene, from which Polo G channels much influence. Deep Wounds, Battle Cry, and in particular Through the Storm, gets at the emotion center of Polo, with some reflection on family bonds which is quite moving. Besides violence, the most common theme here is the come up: starting from the dirt, building oneself, and the journey to get there. Staying true to this has given Polo G something that a lot of rappers have trouble fostering, and that is credibility. I’m looking forward to where he goes from here.
Here's the Spotify/YouTube Link(s) for Die A Legend:
https://open.spotify.com/album/26ztFK3E69j5THJQdyxC5w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT7nP2gUEBI&list=OLAK5uy_nON9daBBvzRgQEUcpwFWMZ6pd-A1ZFy9Y
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Mach-Hommy – Wap Konn Joj!
I realize this next project, Wap Konn Jòj! by Mach-Hommy, may not be for everyone. Mach’s delivery while rapping is fluid and wordy, often incorporating French words and phrases, and utilizing irregular rhyme schemes. If I’m being honest, the first time I heard him I thought he was garbage, but the more exposure I got to him the more he entranced me. I think the best word I can use for Mach-Hommy is hypnotizing, because he can really lull you in with his voice, which is sharp and piercing no matter what effect is layered on it; it’s a very unique and identifiable voice once you’ve heard it. Paired with the instrumental selection on this album, especially the first track, Chiney Brush with Quelle Chris (who is someone that I imagine was a big influence to Mach’s style) and the title track, you can find yourself just sitting hypnotized like listening to a jazz band playing in slow motion. The title track and Simbi contain more melodic elements which lean even heavier into his Caribbean roots, albeit with a hazy, low-fi, and wonky twist. Mittrom with Earl Sweatshirt is simply too short to make anything of, other than maybe it seems like a Some Rap Songs leftover; kind of disappointing. The tracks Mozambique Drill and Eedeot Bwoy, both of which feature Tha God Fahim and the latter of which also features Your Old Droog, are more in line with traditional hip-hop, with the former being made up of a hopeful soul-flip and the later being a minimal boom-bap cut. Eedeot Bwoy is the more adventurous one out of the two, building up through Fahim and Droog’s verses with almost no instrumentation other than a couple high-hats and horn samples. This album was a grower for sure, one that I would feel a strange urge to listen to even though I thought I wasn’t really liking it. The best advice I can give is to pay attention not to necessarily what Mach is saying but rather the atmosphere he’s trying to create, a psychedelic and topsy-turvy world. Unfortunately, his usual release strategy up till this point did not include as wide of a reach as Spotify, usually sticking to Bandcamp (and charging an ungodly amount of money, over a hundred dollars sometimes) or as a one-off download on some random blog, so if you do like this I’m sorry to say there probably isn’t much more to find without some heavy digging (or me ).
Here's the Spotify/YouTube Link(s) for Wan Konn Joj!:
https://open.spotify.com/album/16rqYJnDBbUmv9ZApafev2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogetT8nYkfo&list=OLAK5uy_nTNfYOwNhSKiHYZjQMI8LhnyYS6DSVDSg
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Your Old Droog – Transportation
Releasing mere months after It Wasn’t Even Close, Transportation serves as a return to Droog’s comfort zone sonically, largely ditching the ominous and unhappy vibes his last album presented. In some ways I see this as a step backwards for Droog; I was surprised by how Droog was able to take sounds of his contemporaries on It Wasn’t Even Close and give it a spin that only he could with his trademark humor. But with this new album, which is much more akin to PACKS than It Wasn’t Even Close, I realize how much of an impact Mach-Hommy had in the production and direction of his last project. All of that being said, Transportation is far from a bad album, and has tons to love about it, especially for older YOD fans. This project is lighthearted in attitude, and utilizes jazzier, zanier samples, as opposed to It Wasn’t Even Close’s abstract and esoteric clips. And whereas IWEC was made up of mostly tight beat-loops, more use of organic instrumentation is found here, with many bass-grooves, piano samples, and horn sections. Stillwell Baby, Head Over Wheels II, and 207 really hammer home the quality of the bass-work and are three of the smoothest tracks here. While most tracks have a distinct vintage feel, two of my favorite tracks, Taxi with Quelle Chris (who was also on Wap Konn Joj! If you remember) and Head Over Wheels II, having more forward-thinking production with strange synths and, in the case of the latter, a futurist vibe. Most of what can be said about Droog himself as a rapper was said in my It Wasn’t Even Close writeup: his pace is slow and methodical, his wordplay can be difficult to follow and sometimes suddenly shift, his humor is sharp, and his voice is smoky and mysterious. However, a very big difference between the two albums is that Transportation sticks to a loose theme of… well of transportation. Trains, taxis planes, rockets, and boats are brought up often, and are used to provide a nice connection between the listener and his city, especially when referencing trains. Train Love in particular is a great story track that uses the theme perfectly to tell a tale of wasted opportunity. I will say that there is one minor and one major problem with this record: the minor being the last track, Vigilantes, which is a remix to a track on the collaborative EP with Wiki What Happened to Fire, is infinitely worse than the original, and leaves me scratching my head as to why this was even included. The major problem here are some of the skits, which range from utterly unnecessary to downright cringy. The two standalone skits, Loosey Spot on Wheels and Bikes, Bleeps, & Busses, don’t really add much to the album to warrant their placement, and the ending skit on Monthly is so bad that I had to cut that off. Be warned, if you listen to this track you will hear some dude tell you a story that you do not want to hear, I promise you.
Here's the Spotify/YouTube Link(s) for Transportation:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1i5ySNYoO3K5gJFvcY3dkR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIXbdV7skRI
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Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Bandana
Piñata is one of my top 5 albums of all time. I remember Austin Bain let me borrow the CD and I gave it back thinking it was just some dusty old shit, not getting much from listening. But, it was one of the first albums that I had listened to and, for some reason, kept thinking about. After dozens, and maybe hundreds, of listens I can tell you that Piñata is a flawless album from front to back. So, the question has been for damn near five years now: can a sequel to this album even come close to reaching the artistic heights of its predecessor? The answer, in short, is yes. Yes, Bandana *comes close* to reaching the same heights, but I think it’s important to note that Bandana is a fundamentally different experience than Piñata on almost every level; not to say it isn’t a sample based bars-fest from MadGibbs, but that the way they go about doing this is different is many ways from Piñata. The first and probably most significant difference is that artistic dichotomy between Freddie and Madlib has changed drastically: whereas Piñata was more focused on highlighting the MC by creating tight beat-loops with clearly defined pockets and tried and true song structures, Bandana is much more of a balanced, if not a more sonically challenging experience. Because the album was made in a much more collaborative environment as opposed to just sending off a beat pack to Gibbs, each beat is tailored specifically to be rapped over by him, and each serves as a sort of challenge for him to overcome in the most spectacular way he can. Madlib really runs the gamut of production styles, BPM, and sample-sources, forcing Freddie to switch it up many different times, and several times mid-song. Half Manne Half Cocaine, Fake Names, Cataracts, and Flat Tummy Tea all feature beat switches to vastly different instrumentals, all of which Gibbs takes in stride and doesn’t miss a beat (Fake Names in particular is impressive, completely switching flow on a dime). Crime Pays, Cataracts, and Practice are smooth cuts, heavily reliant upon the soulful samples to drive the song forward. Flat Tummy Tea and Giannis are two of the more aggressive cuts, with the former containing electrifying guitar drives with a killer flow from Gibbs, and the latter being a darker and punchy funk tune. Freestyle Shit and Gat Damn provide some melodic breaks between the bars, something new for Gibbs and Madlib. Speaking of new, Half Manne Half Cocaine and Situations contain something I never thought I’d hear from Madlib: trap instrumentals. Personally, I think they fall a little flat, particularly Situations, but that doesn’t stop Freddie from annihilating the beats. In terms of forward thinking, classic abstract Quas production, the second half of Half Manne Half Cocaine and Massage Seats are true challenges for an MC, but Freddie has no trouble finding a pocket. There are two tracks that stand above all the others in quality: Education and Palmolive. Education drops some heavy wisdom on us from both Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and Black Thought, backdropped by what I think is a childrens choir (same sample that Kanye used last year on Nas’ Bonjour), which is appropriate given the topic of education. Both the guests kill it through and through, but Freddie comes through and damn near lays the verse of the album on here, with a crazy flow and some amazing flexes. If Education was a more subdued cut, then Palmolive is the high peak of this album. With soaring vocals ever-present in the back of the mix, the largely drumless beat is driven by an unbelievably soulful bassgroove and guitar licks. The sonic icing on this cake is the vinyl scratching and that warm fuzziness that Madlib lays on the mix, creating a slice of vintage 70’s soul heaven. And the verses on this thing are phenomenal, with Freddie coming with an outstanding flow and some incredible bars, Pusha T going bar for bar with some grade A coke rap, and Killer Mike really out here educating the kids with his financial wisdom. Palmolive is already my #1 most listened to song of all time, and I’m still not tired of it. Besides not really feeling Gat Damn, I think my only complaint with this album is that I was expecting a few more features, especially considering the amount of them we got on Piñata. Still, this album has met my very high expectations, and in some cases surpassed them, and is required listening for 2019 for anyone looking for the highest of high quality Hip-Hop.
Here's the Spotify/YouTube Link(s) for Bandana:
https://open.spotify.com/album/31KbO7WnDp2AjPdmRTJzdf
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mFm9YeVwJhmfKfrJRLdK0eZ_WJnpPxG1c
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And that’s all folks. Sorry for writing War and Peace this time but I had to give these albums the shine they needed. On Thursday I’m going to be posting my top albums for 2019 so far; I haven’t decided if it will be ranked or just a list of amazing projects but be on the lookout for it. As always, I would love to hear what you guys have loved so far this year.