SEPTEMBER 2020
Welcome to the Monthly post, where I lay out everything you may have missed over the past 30 or so days, name an Album of the Month, a Song of the Month, and give a little “state of the union”. Come look at some other Monthly Posts to catch up on previous months. Thank all of you for reading, and happy listening!
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What a crazy month guys, in pretty much every way possible.
This virus is still going crazy world-wide, and obviously everyone else is doing as good of a job as they can to try and fight this shit, but here in America shit is getting really fucking bad. You want to know how bad it is over here? Our fucking PRESIDENT got the ‘rona, arguably the most protected man in the world who has access to the most modern medicines. There is a solid portion of this country that still don’t believe that this is a real thing, or that it’s anything to worry about… to those of you who live in a place where these people are concentrated (I live in Oklahoma… yeah.) I hope y’all are staying safe. Those of you in parts of the world that have been particularly affected by this virus, I hope you all are doing better. Unlike what a lot of uninformed politicians worldwide have been saying, this is not going away any time soon, so buckle up.
My time this last month has been divided between new responsibilities at my job and this website, and there really hasn’t been time for much else if I’m telling you the truth. If I was ever doing anything else, you bet that stress started kicking in, and that’s not the way I want things around here to work. I want my content to be quality and comprehensive, and to get the detail I would like I have to put a lot of listening-time in, and on those weeks that give us 6, 7, 8 hours of new music, it can be a real challenge to get everything squared away. I’m not trying to tell you guys I’m giving up or any shit like that, just don’t expect a write-up to come out anytime soon… I’m really sorry guys.
There was some music too by the way, and by some I mean HOLY SHIT. In terms of big-label mainstream releases, you pretty much have Big Sean dominating the month; there were some others like Moneybagg Yo and Lil Tecca, but that Sean album was a huge W for Detroit, got to give it props. The real winners continue to be the underground scenes right now, with dozens of albums coming out within the past month that have stopped me in my tracks. Pro Zay, G4 JAG, Jamil Honesty, Napoleon Da Legend, Monday Night, M.A.V (and another tape with all of DA Cloth), Hus Kingpin, Grafh, and the list goes on an on, all quality albums that deserve those ears (and wallets, support these motherfuckers).
I’ve got to give the crown this month to Griselda, and if you know me you know the GxFR stan in me would have it no other way. Not only did we get a stellar debut LP from Armani Caesar, which shows her staying power for years to come if she continues the same quality of output, but we have what is probably Conway the Machine’s best album. The depth that Con goes into on this project, the variety of sounds, the importance and weight of his bars, and the amazing features he brings along for the ride, all propel Griselda into a whole new league. Westside Gunn barely missed the September mark or else I would be lavishing even more praise on the Buffalo boys (and girl), but suffice it to say off of the strength of those two releases alone that Griselda owned September.
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Pounds (Feat. Blass 89)
Options
Spotify/YouTube/Apple Music
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WEEKLY FIXES
Weekly Fix #36 ('20) & Week #36 ('20) Playlists (with Pro Zay & TimePieceTracks’ ALLEY CATZ and Big Sean’s Detroit 2)
Weekly Fix #37 ('20) & Week #37 ('20) Playlists (with Conway the Machine’s From a King to a God and Monday Night’s S.Block Carter)
Weekly Fix #38 ('20) & Week #38 ('20) Playlists (with Armani Caesar’s THE LIZ and Jamil Honesty & Hobgoblin’s Martyr Muzik 2 The Kingdom)
Weekly Fix #39 ('20) & Week #39 ('20) Playlists (with Action Bronson’s Only For Dolphins and Ill Conscious & Aloeight’s The Epic of Gilgamesh)
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SINGLES
Week #36 ('20) Singles (with Frisco’s Red Card and JPEGMAFIA’s LAST DANCE!)
Week #37 ('20) Singles (with Tha God Fahim and Your Old Droog’s Brrt Simpson and $tupid Young’s Wit A Sticc)
Week #38 ('20) Singles (with Papoose’s Kickback and Willie The Kid’s Brewster’s Millions)
Week #39 ('20) Singles (with Travis Scott’s FRANCHISE and Polo G’s Epidemic)
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ART APPRECIATIONS
Week #36 ('20) Art Appreciation (Featuring work from Elvia Lozada and lordnmf)
Week #37 ('20) Art Appreciation (Featuring work from Bernard Rollins and Huey P.)
Week #38 ('20) Art Appreciation (Featuring work from Bureau Omega and Harry G Ward)
Week #39 ('20) Art Appreciation (Featuring work from Action Bronson and George Condo)
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And so passes another month. October is full of some great albums to look forward to, so let’s go through a couple here. The first drop of the month has already passed, and I’m looking at this new Westside Gunn album in awe, as well as the surprise drop Metro Boomin and 21 Savage blessed us with. Looking beyond there we have a lot more in store for us: TDE’s Reason is finally dropping something, BBK’s Frisco has another project on the way, SAINt JHN is finally going to capitalize on his hype with an album, and the Gorillaz are probably going to come out with their best project in years of the singles are anything to go off of. But it’s those underground releases that have me fiending for another hit, with projects from Ill Bill, Elcamino & 38 Spesh, Papoose, Napoleon Da Legend, Planet Asia, Homeboy Sandman & Quelle Chris, and Saipher Soze (with Futurewave and Finn on production) that have me the most excited. Go on over and check out my Upcoming Heat page for all of this information and more, laid out in both list and calendar form. For everyone who’s been looking for a great way to keep up with releases coming out, this is a great tool to use; hell, I use the shit all the time myself.
Let’s get these social plugs over with (promise me y’all will follow me on something pleeeeeaaassse), starting with my Instagram, @thasoupdude, which is currently my most trafficked form of social media. I post updates to my story whenever I come out with some new content, and I try make a weekly post detailing all of the things that came out on TSDK those past 7 days. Next is my Twitter, @tha_soup_dude, which I still use for my memes but I don’t engage on there as much anymore (the whole “feeling like I’m wasting my time” thing again). Anything I post comes up there, so follow me for quick notifications on my work. Then we have my Facebook group, @ThaSoupDude, where I have a few followers, but most people have moved on to other forms of social media at this point. I do have a cool little group on there attached to TSDK called Drake’s Hidden Children, which is what I used to post on back in the day before I started all of this grand shit here. Follow one, join the other, get in on the action. Finally, and this isn’t a form of social but it’s still important to me, is my RateYourMusic page, where you can make an account and rate thousands of albums, mixtapes, and singles, and build a catalogue of your library for everyone to see, ratings and all. Check out my account and see everything I’ve ever listened to, and what I think of it.
The attention Tha Soup Dude’s Kitchen has been getting these past few months has been slightly overwhelming, and things seem to be getting bigger as the months roll by. I have a decent number of readers that tap in every week, but recently it’s really boomed; these first three days of October, I’ve had more traffic than the entire month of March. That’s a huge jump, and I want to be sure everyone is getting a quality info and recommendations here on TSDK. I’m really hoping to get some kind of vacation down here soon; if I could get a week off I could get some long overdue work done here on the website, get a write-up under my belt again, maybe even get the podcast running again (if I can get the studio rebuilt).
And that’s all she wrote. A big thank you to everyone who checks in on me here, gives me praise, criticizes my work, shouts me out, shares my work, and, most importantly, listens to what I have to share here. It’s been an immensely rewarding experience to bring this music into the lives of more people, and it’s something I’m looking at continuing for a long time. Shoutout to all of my new readers, thank you for giving me a shot. To all of you oldies, thank you sticking around. To all of the artists who have found their work featured here, you are the reason why we’re all here in the first place so bless all of you. I’ve never said this one before but a huge thanks to my boy Casey, who told me just over a year ago about the website he created, and inspired me to do the same. Just a big thank you to everyone; stay safe, and I’ll see you all very soon (or next month, no pressure).
Peace
