Week 13

29/07/2022

DJ Premier - Hip Hop 50: Vol.1 

What a treat this EP is. 5 songs of pure class. The legendary producer DJ Premier collaborates with a whole host of equally legendary rappers to commemorate 50 years of hip hop, and he delivers on the pressure that this ensues. The beats sound like they are plucked straight from the 90s but with a slight modern twinge to avoid sounding dated. Some parts are even Alchemist-esque, which if you can execute it, is a fantastic choice. With the production being this good, the rapping needs to be on par or else it may as well just be a beat tape. Well, Preemo ensures that the quality remains high by picking some of the hardest MCs past and present to feature on this tape. Joey Bada$$ kicks things off with his own solo track, a real testament to his abilities whilst among so many legends. He employs this luxurious flow over a similarly soothing beat. And it has never been in doubt that Joey has bars. He delivers. Speaking of bars, the only other solo track on this tape belongs to Nas (decent company). Preemo samples N.Y. State of Mind for a second in the 'hook' area, rather the break between the verses. The beat sounds so emphatic and it is like Nas is putting on his crown whilst rapping over it. They fit perfectly together. Nas sounds as hungry as ever and it is honestly a pleasure to hear these two collaborate again. The song that caught me off guard was the Remy Ma and Rapsody track, cleverly named 'Remp Rap. The beat has a grimy bass line that immediately hooks in the listener. Both of them deliver, especially Remy who completely blew me away. Bars, flow and fit were all perfect. But the best feature on this tape comfortably belongs to Lil Wayne. Wayne and Slick Rick each have a verse to talk about the effects of money over an ironically lavish and expensive-sounding beat. Slick Rick's verse is smooth as all hell; the premiere of flow and rapping. Then Wayne is like he hears all the smoothness and decides to shred it to pieces. His flow is mind-bending. It's like a constant combination of jabs and hooks. It left me speechless. Also, the money-magneto-root of all evil bar is probably the best on the project. Exquisite all round and a fitting tribute to 50 years of hip-hop.

Score: 9.5/10

Favourite songs: All 

Joey Bada$$ - 2000

Joey is back after 5 years with the sequel to his critically-acclaimed mixtape '1999'. And yes, the boom bap is back. It's so refreshing to hear a rarely used style of rap (these days) employed in such a fresh and successful way. The beats, some infused with samples, all sound amazing. Cleverly, the beats sound like they are produced around the subject matter or the feature. For example, the beat on 'Brand New 911' with Westside Gunn sounds like something straight out of a Griselda record. Yet, Joey makes it his own even with Gunn ad-libbing all over the track in his typical fashion. It's ironically funny but unironically really cool. The first of the album is vastly different in subject matter to the second half. The first half employs a lot of braggadocio lyrics with Joey reflecting on how far he has come to be at the pinnacle of the rap game with this new release. He speaks on his luxuries, rapping quality, comparison to other MCs and just generally talking his shit. I don't have a problem with this as his rapping sounded great and it was laced with tons of clever and witty bars. I would say the turning point of this album arrives with 'Welcome Back', featuring Chris Brown and Capella Grey. This is my least favourite on the album. I'm not a huge Chris Brown fan, but I still feel that this song would have benefitted with him being on the chorus. Joey is wayyyy too horny as well on here. But the next track 'Show Me': oh my. The 'Men I Trust' sample is perfect for a proper love song from Joey, here. The first few lines of both verses are genius, setting a tone for their respective verses. He speaks on a specific relationship and how he deals with love. It's so clearly put and relatable, plus it just sounds gorgeous. The album does not let up from here. 'Head High' is an uplifting banger that aims to inspire the listener. Joey also speaks on his unlikely friendship with XXXTENTACION which is almost heartbreaking to hear. But this is nothing compared to the homage to Capital Steez, Joey's best friend, on 'Survivor's Guilt'. Joey lets it all out on this song; all of his feelings surrounded Steez and his death. It's beautiful, brave, and heart-wrenching. This is a near-complete body of work with a few lulls but a huge breath of fresh air for the rap game.

Score: 8.5/10

Favourite songs: Make Me Feel, Brand New 911, Cruise Control, Eulogy, Zipcodes, Show Me, Head High, Survivor's Guilt, Written in the Stars

Mac Miller - I Love Life, Thank You

Another old mixtape of Mac's has been released, this one being from 2011. This era of Mac is so fun to listen to. As shown on this tape, he seems like he is really enjoying making music and just playing around with what sounds good. There isn't much in the way of cohesion on this tap; but this can be excused as it a mixtape by-definition. A collection of fun songs, rather than a sequenced album. Saying that, this project is really strong. Mac showcases his rapping ability, similar to that of K.I.D.S. which was released just the year before this. His flow sounds polished and refined, which is very impressive considered how varied and fluctuating his cadences are. Lyrically, a lot of it alludes to his indulgent lifestyle and what he can now afford to do as his success grows. However, there are a couple of instances where reveals a more serious and reflective side. Listening to 'A Scoop From Heaven' is tough now as Mac spends the length of this song speculating on what heaven consists of and his aim of reaching it. The positivity surrounding quite a sombre topic is admirable and really reflects Mac as a person at this stage of his career. I hope he saw everything that he hoped for in this song when he finally got there. Straight after this song is 'Love Lost', which was wildly successful upon this tape's original release. I can see why. It sounds nothing like any of the other songs. The Temper Trap sample on the chorus with Mac singing over it is beautiful. The rhythm of this song is really fun and he switches up the flow to accommodate this. It's a really complete and accessible song. Not all of the songs are up to this standard, but as an old-Mac mixtape, it exemplifies him to a tee and is a really enjoyable listen. Also, how he got Talib Kweli and Bun B on this project at this stage of a career says a lot.

Score: 7.5/10

Favourite songs: Title track, People Under The Stairs, The Scoop On Heaven, Love Lost, Boom Bap Rap, Just a Kid. All That, All This

NAV, Travis Scott, Lil Baby - Never Sleep

NAV aka THE GOAT aka Our Lord and Savior has dropped a new single before releasing his new album. And holy smokes I need a new phone because this set my old one ON FIRE. Nah but for real, this song is very average. It's not bad, but it's not that good either. The beat sounds hard at the start but gets really annoying not long after. It sounds like a broken train horn after a while. Maybe that's the intended effect, I don't know. Travis has a couple of cool bars, but that's about all that caught my attention lyrics-wise. I will admit that these three do complement each other and the song sounds quite good with them on it. This is most likely the intended effect and it executes this fairly well. If the beat was different I would have no issue listening to this song casually. But actually listening to it a bit closer reveals that a sub-par Travis Scott washed the other two. Lil Baby did nothing to me bar about 10 seconds of a cool flow switch that he should have maintained for longer. I don't think NAV put in a bad performance, it just didn't really do anything for me. It wasn't enough to sway my opinion of him that he is a very below-average rapper. Look, it sounded alright. I would be cool if someone else put it on the speaker, but I would never choose it myself. It's not hype or chill or vibey or lyrical or hard enough. Very middle-ground. Saying that, NAV is still the GOAT. 

Central Cee - Doja

This song is a meme.