Week 17

27/12/22

Nas - King's Disease III

The man is nearly 50 and still putting out music at this standard. It's honestly unfair to the rest of the game. This is the third installment of the series and possibly the best. The album starts off with a statement from Nas that perfectly got me in the mood for the record, that being: "They argue KD 1, KD 2, or Magic was harder when...KD 3 go harder then all of them". There is a debate, but the level of hunger and tenacity Nas shows here just gets you hyped up and anticipating another quality record. This is what we get. Nas is spitting pure wisdom on this project. Advising the youth of today on how to survive in the streets, to how to maintain a level of quality deep in to a rap career, and everything in between. Everything Nas says, you just believe. This guy has been down these roads and knows what he is talking about. It's all sincere and honest. He hasn't lost his storytelling or rhyming ability, either. Rapping from the perspective of beef (like 'I Gave You Power' part 2) to trying out a staccato Eminem-flow, respectively, he really does it all. This is all done over more excellent Hit-Boy production. Ranging from glossy soul samples to grimy boom-bap scratches, there is a wide range of beats for Nas to spit over. I cannot fault Hit-Boy at all on this project. Some of the instrumentals are just gorgeous. I love how there are no features on this (potentially) final installment as it really does just feel like Nas and Hit-Boy expressing their rare and wildly impressive chemistry without interference. I do feel like there are some tracks that don't add that much to the album. The bonus track is a strange addition, for one. I love the first few tracks of the album, the middle is up and down (with no definitively bad tracks, I might add), and the end has a couple of the best tracks on the whole thing. The album could benefit from a bit of cutting back and refinement, but in terms of what Nas and Hit-Boy are doing, it's ecstasy for any hip-hop fan.

Favourite songs: Ghetto Reporter, Legit, Thun, Michael & Quincy, Recession Proof, Reminisce, Get Light, Beef 

Score: 8.5/10

Metro Boomin - HEROES & VILLAINS

METROOOOO...what a job he's done here. Trap is not one of my favourite genres of rap, whilst I do enjoy a fair amount. Saying that, I'm not sure I have ever enjoyed a full trap album more than this one. Disclaimer: I'm not saying this is the best, but there may not be one I have actively enjoyed more. It feels like all the best elements of trap music rolled in to one album. The production is A1. In general, Metro uses low bpm beats to create an emphatic night-time atmosphere that the features can just glide over. It's his album, and the production is the main attraction. I love how he molds the beat around the feature whilst also not allowing the beat to be overshined (except if your name is The Weeknd). For example, 21 Savage gets a typical dark, moody piano beat on 'Umbrella' and, as usual, kills his feature and has one of the hardest hooks on the album. Conversely, Travis Scott operates over more spacey and transcendent beats that we are used to hearing him on. 'Raindrops (Insane)' is a perfect example of this slower, entrancing beat that no one else fits on as well as Travis does. For me, Travis Scott and Don Toliver were the standout features on this album. They sound great any chance they get given. Don gets his own moment to shine on 'Around Me'. Picture your ideal spacey-trap song to go on a late night drive to. That's this song. This is THE late-night driving or winding-down social gathering song, also late at night. It's just a late-night album. Metro establishes this theme and runs with it, executing it perfectly. A complete switch up of style to a gleaming soul-sample is in play on the last song, which I think works really well to pay respect to Takeoff, who delivers a fantastic feature. However, the range that the same handful of artists can cover is limited. Metro has his guys, which is fine as most of them deliver. However, not all of the cuts stand out as the artists rapping don't really change. The instrumentals are consistently good, but more variation in the features would really elevate this project to complete avoid any filler tracks. I will say, just to end, that the run from 'Raindrops (Insane)' to 'Creepin' is one of the best song runs of the year. 7 tracks, all fire. 

Favourite songs: Superhero, Raindrops (Insane), Umbrella, Trance, Around Me, Metro Spider, Creepin', Feel The Fiyaaaah

Score: 8.5/10

Little Simz - NO THANK YOU

Following up her previous album was always a difficult task, but Simz gives it a decent go with this short project. I say short, this thing is nearly 50 minutes long because the tracks are so long. The main attraction of this album are its lyrics and subject matters. Topics ranging from record labels to self-worth to relationships and love are all explored masterfully. Most of the songs have a clear subject matter of one of these candidates, with Simz imposing a supreme amount of wisdom on each topic. 'Maturity' is the word I would use to describe this album. She has so much information on each of these topics and expresses them clearly and poetically. You can tell that she has been through these experiences as the writing is so precise. Even still, it is layered with metaphors and imagery that only help to amplify these themes. There are a couple of songs on here that took my breath away. 'Broken' being a prime example of this. Using the symbol of the 'CEO' to represent taboos surrounding mental health and feelings of depression is genius. Some of the lines in here are gut-wrenching due to their truth and hurt behind them. The switch up in to uplifting messages and telling the listeners that we are 'enough' is beautiful. Anyone struggling with mental health: listen to this song, trust me. The array of feelings from different perspectives she covers within one general theme is, again, genius. Simz's lyrics are the focus of the album. This means that the instrumentals are mere accommodations to the rapping. Only a few of the beats really stand out on the album, which is the main downfall compared to SIMBI, where there was huge variety in the production. I understand that was not the point on this album as the focus was on the message, but there was still room for the production to pack a bigger punch the whole way, like on 'Gorilla' and 'Heart on Fire'. Also, shoutout to Cleo Sol for killing the few moments she has to shine on this album. Cleo and Simz is a combination that hasn't failed to produce quality. 

Favourite songs: Angel, Gorilla, Silhouette, X, Heart on Fire, Broken

Score: 8/10

SZA - SOS

She's back! And with 23 songs...that's a lot. I was worried with that many R&B songs back-to-back to listen to. But, unexpectedly, there is massive variation in this project. To try and cover the scope, let me pick out a few songs. 'Blind' is a classic SZA cut. Stripped back with a whole lot of character. Loads of quotables about hating her ex (and also loving him - a repeated theme in the project) backed with a smooth beat and SZA's 'easy on the ears' singing. Then, completely contrast this with 'F2F', which is an altpop-punk song. Yes, you read that right. SZA doing her best Avril Lavigne impression on this one. I think it's decent. It has all the qualities you would expect. A big electric guitar chorus and acoustic guitar based verses with some extremely toxic lyrics for good measure. It's entertaining and fun, for sure. I like it more than I'm willing to admit. Now, don't get too used to this, because we have SZA rapping alongside Ol' Dirty Bastard, of course. And it goes hardddd. A classic boom bap beat with SZA bringing so much of her own character and swagger to the table. She raps a few times on this project, but this is her showcase. The beat is hard, especially when the piano comes in, and SZA slides. Each song has a slightly different style and I cannot cover them all in one review, but I will say that I greatly respect the ambition.  Obviously, they don't all hit. It's very hit or miss. Some songs are great, others are quite average. But, even with this and the range of styles, every song is still SZA doing her thing. She makes every style her own. She manages to keep it, somewhat, cohesive. The subject matter stays pretty consistent (she loves but also hates her ex), hence she is able to tackle all these styles whilst still being herself. She is vulnerable and guarded - presented in the lyrics and style of song. Unless you're a once-in-a-generation talent, it's hard to execute all of these styles to a perfect standard, but I think SZA does a decent job on the whole. More hits than misses, for sure. Also, Good Days is still one of her best songs of all time. Classic. 

Favourite songs: Blind, Used, Snooze, Gone Girl, Ghost in the Machine, F2F, Open Arms, I Hate U, Good Days, Forgiveless

Score: 7.5/10

Drake, 21 Savage - Her Loss

Before even reviewing this album I just want to say: it's so cool that we even got this. Collab albums between big artists are rare these days. The fact that these two work so well on eachother's songs gave rise to huge anticipation with this project. I don't think it's as good as it could be, but I am still very happy that we got it. It starts of strong and ends strong. But the main middle bulk of the album (bar a couple exceptions) is pretty mid. Focusing on the positives, the first three tracks give us three hard beats and tough rapping from both Drake and 21. Their chemistry is great with tons of witty bars and smooth flows that fit the beats really well. 'Rich Flex' is a huge, grandiose introduction which sets this hard rapping tone at the start. The beat drop is made for a highlight reel. I even like Drake's weird singing bridge that he does. This is a pretty effective formula for the first few songs. But, then it just dissipates. It seems like Drake pushes 21 Savage to one side and does his own thing for a bit. The beats are all over the place with a lot of generic hi-hat beats that don't sound that impactful. The sonic value of the songs improve with 'Hours In Silence'. Apart from the insanely long outro, I like the beat and the way Drake and 21 sound on the song. But, my god, some of the lyrics are horrible. Drake is horny on this album, as usual. But this song takes it to another level. Some of the lines just have no business being in any serious song. It distracts from the fact that it's a good sounding song. The Daft Punk sample on 'Circo Loco' had huge potential, but it doesn't really sound great. Drake trying to sing his own version of the hook is extra cringe, as well. Amongst all this mid, out of nowhere, we get a classic Drake cut! 'Middle of the Ocean' is Drake flowing like he used to over a smooth, glistening, vocal-sampled, well-mixed beat. Tons of quotables. Luxury rap. This is what every Drake fan wants to hear more of. Mix this style with the hard-hitting bangers that 21 suits so well and we have a classic on our hands. Speaking of 21 Savage, he actually gets some shine on a couple songs towards the end of the project. Unsurprisingly, these are amongst the best songs on the project. If this album was the grimy 21 Savage songs mixed with classic Drake rapping (which we get a taste of!) then we have an amazing collab album. Unfortunately, the (really strong) highlights are mixed with a fair amount of basic beats and uninspired rapping. Fortunately, the highlights do just enough to make this an enjoyable listen for me, to the point that when thinking about this album, I almost don't remember the mid and focus on the good tunes. Very fluctuating quality, but just enough high quality to produce a solid album. Also, Travis Scott, as the only feature, has one of the best verses on the album. Make of that a you will.

Favourite songs: Rich Flex, Major Distribution, On BS, Pussy & Millions, Middle of the Ocean, More M's, 3AM on Glenwood

Score: 7/10