Hip Hop Monthly

31/08/2022 JID - The Forever Story Damn, this album is so good. The highly anticipated album from rapper, singer (?) and flow-extraordinaire: JID is finally here and what a rollercoaster it is. I feel like I need to start with the obvious, and that's JID's ridiculous rapping ability. I don't think anyone in this generation of hip hop can flow and rhyme like JID can. The guy finds pockets in beats that weren't designed to have that many pockets. His multi-syllabic schemes stretching across multiple bars are a joy to listen to and dissect. Stank faces all round. This was something I expected a lot of coming in to this album. What I did not expect was the amount of vulnerability and openness from JID in the subject matter. He touches on his upbringing, playing football in college and relationships with family and women. I learnt so much about JID's life and him as a person through listening to this album. I love when an album has multiple layers, and that's what JI...

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 s...

01/07/22  WESTSIDE BOOGIE - MORE BLACK SUPERHEROES  This was my first introduction to a complete body of work by Westside Boogie. I knew his style was similar to that of Saba, Lute, Mick Jenkins, etc. Naturally, I had high hopes. And predictably, I loved this. There is an interesting dichotomy between Boogie's tougher, braggadocio side and introspective side. His rapping and instrumental choices back both of these themes and are split fairly evenly in the album. However, I do think that within the harder-hitting songs there is a deeper level of meaning that lends itself more towards the other themes of the album. Both styles of song are enjoyable. The instrumentals in the introspective songs like 'NONCHALANT' and 'PRIDEFUL II' are rich and soulful. Very 'Lute-esque'. Personally, this is my preferred lane for Boogie as he uses these beats as good as any other rapper in the game. He talks of loneliness and self-worth a fair amount on this album, creating a qui...

26/05/22 Kendrick Lamar - Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers Without a doubt the most anticipated release this year, especially for me as I was sure that Kendrick had retired, this was a huge moment for hip-hop. Kendrick releasing a double album this year was definitely not on my radar. With almost no album rollout, I was not sure what to expect. But what we got was an interesting, versatile, and deeply personal project from Kendrick. Probably his most personal project to date, as the whole album feels like we are witnessing Kendrick in a therapy session. He spills his views on grief, regret, pressure and (of course) societal issues. Sonically, I don't think there are too many boundary-breaking moments. It, overall, sounds like quite a standard modern album from a big rapper (if that makes any sense), yet is done at the highest quality. There was nothing that really surprised me in the production, but it still did not feel out of place and Kendrick utilised it really well. There are...

27/04/22 Pusha T - It's Almost Dry I've never been able to listen to a Pusha T album at the time of its release, and my anticipation for this one was through the roof. It certainly did not disappoint. Pusha brings his usual 'coke-rap' lyricism backed with excellent production from Pharrell and Kanye. I mean, how can you go wrong. Both of their signature sounds work perfectly with Pusha sliding over them with ease. He often gets criticized due to him only staying in one lane, but he talks about it so well that it always just seems to work. It's a real testament to someone's rapping when Kanye and Pharrell production does not take centre stage on an album. His cadence and diction is on another level on this project, and he switches up the flow a fair amount. Like on 'Neck and Wrist', Push adopts a very unusual flow with his voice climbing up the scale at the end of his rhyme. It took me a few listens to adapt to this style, but I respect the ambition that ...

  24/02/22 Hello all, I am aware that it has been a while. There has not been a ton of new releases, but I have listened to a few albums (old and new) over the last few weeks in the hip-hop/R&B genre. More regular updates will come, but for now... SiR - Chasing Summer I had been meaning to check out this album for so long, and I am very glad that it finally happened. I will admit that I had heard 'Hair Down' and 'You Can't Save Me' long before I listened to this project in full. But these two songs set a high precedent for the album, with the former being a great chill summery track, constituting of a strong Kendrick verse. And the latter is genuinely one of my favourite songs of all time, so we had a decent start even before tapping in. I will say this, the album lives up to its title perfectly. I listened to this on a train in midwinter, and I was definitely left 'chasing summer' as that is precisely the vibe that it exerts. It feels like walking down ...

10/02/22 Saba - Few Good Things Pretty much everything Saba has released in his catalogue thus far has been of the highest standard. Care For Me was a masterpiece and is not an easy album to follow. However, Saba delivers a very valiant effort with this project. The instrumentals, for the most part, match the calming and laid-back vibe that Saba has always executed to perfection. It really feels like this should have been released in the summer. Relaxing outside in the sunshine would have been a perfect setting for listening to this album. But, the fact that all these feelings can be created in the depth of winter is really a credit to Saba and the rest of Pivot Gang. There are also a couple of songs ('Survivor's Guilt' and 'Stop That') that have a more hard-hitting, 'banger' style. These songs are still great, whilst not necessarily fitting within the vibe of the album. Saba's rapping is still maintained at his usual, very high, level throughout this re...