This is my stress relief. Probably a lot of ramblings about music, but I won't hesitate to dive into politics or news or really anything else. Feel free to contact me and ask me anything; I don't shy away from packed topics.
I
have gone through the first four weeks of 2020 with people harassing
me day in and day out to
look into the debut album of Compton native Roddy Ricch. I had heard
Ricch before on “Racks in the Middle” with Nipsey Hussle back in
2017, but I hadn’t touched any of his solo projects.
Admittedly,
I had high hopes when approaching this album. The project reigned
atop the charts for almost a month, and definitely looking at the
tracklist, looking at the production and the features, looking at the
album cover, Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial gives off
the appearance of a very intelligent and conscious debut album. Meek
Mill is on the project, after all. There’s production by Billboard
Hitmakers and KidWond3r on the project, after all. And I have to say,
from the wording of the title, the look Roddy has on his face on the
album cover, and just knowing that Ricch is from Compton made me feel
some very Kendrick Lamar vibes about him. You would think that by now
I would instinctively not think positive things about an album held
in high esteem; when it clings to the charts like this album does,
that normally doesn’t bode well for the quality of the music.
However, I totally played myself on this one. I came into the project
with high expectations off the hype of the TikTok hit “The Box”
and I expected that hype to be matched throughout the project. I was
wrong.
While
“The Box” itself isn’t exactly a flex of Roddy’s intellectual
capabilities, it is very catchy and sounds great in the car, and
placing it immediately after the intro might be what killed the album
quicker than an album has ever been killed. “Start Wit Me” was
okay, with lines like “my diamonds offset like Cardi,” but Gunna
was on the song and that speaks for itself. 12
of Boogie’s 16 bars on “Tip Toe” end in ‘nigga.’ Lil Durk’s
verse on “Moonwalkin” makes me wish Gunna had more airtime on
this project. And to top it off, Meek Mill’s verse on “Peta” is
so mediocre knowing what kind of potential Meek really has in him.
There’s a lame reference to Pokemon and an extra long verse where
the dude can’t keep on beat. Blueface has more lyrical stamina than
Meek did on this track.
I
was close to throwing in the towel with this album on “Boom Boom
Room.” This track has to be a joke. Roddy flexes his Shakespearean
vernacular on this track, where the hook proclaims:
“Fast
car, make it go vroom vroom
Take
her to the Boom Boom Room”
And
if this isn’t bad enough, the very
next line shows him stroking his own ego like this:
“I’m
a visionary, got these niggas scary…
Been
working on confidence, and respect? I got a lot of it”
I
seriously doubt anyone respects Roddy Ricch or sees him as a
visionary for sounding like a toddler running to the toilet to go
potty. I have heard more children refer to their bowel movements as
“boom-booms” than I have heard grown men refer to sexual
intercourse like this.
The
worst
track is “Perfect Time,” which exhibits another one of this
project’s problems; Roddy’s voice. Here he switches his voice
from high-pitched to low-pitched, from cool and confident to
squirrelly and pubescent almost interchangeably, for no other reason
than to presumably catch the listener’s attention. And
it does catch my attention. People screaming in fear draws attention.
Natural disasters draw attention. Donald Trump’s tweets draw
attention. But you wouldn’t sample the sound of nails on a
chalkboard and think naturally accept this as a way to accent your
musical prose. It sounds bad. Plain and simple. Why?
Final
Thoughts
I
will go insane if I entertain the possibility this album is anything
more than okay, I guess. And the reason I’m this bewildered by this
project crashing and burning in front of my very ears is because
Roddy Ricch has
noticeable potential. He can write. He can perform live. He has a
voice that carries a level of maturity. The issue arises on tracks
like “Boom Boom Room” where he uses the voice more so than he
does the maturity.
With
that being said, I’m anxious to see where Roddy takes it from here.
Is he going to establish himself as a fixture, or is he going to
fade away as “The Box” slowly slides off the charts?
Most
Favorite Song: “The
Box”
Least
Favorite Song: “Perfect
Time”
Huey Lewis and the News is a blues and soul rock group that I feel lack the credit they deserve. They’ve released ten albums, won two Grammy’s, been nominated many times, sold over thirty million records, and most notably had their song “The Power of Love” featured in 1985’s Back to the Future, an instance that is undoubtedly responsible for catapulting them into the mainstream. Yet they don’t appear in conversation as often as Led Zeppelin or Metallica would, despite them more or less ruling blues and soul rock along with Muddy Waters during the 1970s and 80s.
This is now HL+TN's 10th studio album, their first debuting in 1980
Weather was released on Valentine’s Day 2020, and was the first effort the group had made since 2010. An entire decade has passed. On account of their hiatus from production, I expected more than 26 minutes and some seconds of track time; however, after reading some articles on Huey, I understood where the group was coming from. Apparently, Huey Lewis developed Ménière's disease in 2018, a disorder that results in a severe tinnitus, vertigo, and a feeling of fullness in the ear, along with losing his ability to hear, which is arguably pretty important for a musician. While tragic, knowing this made me completely rethink my opinion on many aspects of this album. The project kicks off with “While We’re Young,” which quickly shows that the group is still having fun with music. The song showcases a happy-go-lucky Huey who is embracing the chances he’s been given in life and languishing that he and his significant other must “go out and have fun” while they’re young. This idea becomes increasingly wholesome when you consider that Huey Lewis is 70 years old. This track and truly the whole album makes it clear that Huey has maintained his vitality over the years. It has been 35 years since their hit pop song became emblematic of unapologetically happy-go-lucky music in Back to the Future and the group still retains that beautiful, positive sound. The final track, “One of the Boys” features a very honky-tonk influence as Huey harkens back to his youth and his introduction to music, and mentions that even “though I ain’t getting any younger, I’m a long way from done,” which becomes a more somber point knowing his physical condition.
Additionally, there were multiple points on the album when I heard a song and I felt as if I was watching a really inviting TV show, the kind that always put a smile on everyone’s face like Full House or Friends. Listen to “I Am There for You” and listen to what he’s saying, listen to how it sounds over the chords, and maybe you’ll get The Golden Girls vibes like I did. Listen to Huey’s voice on “Hurry Back Baby” and you might be reminded of Randy Newman singing the Monk theme song.
And though there were points in the album where Huey deals with conflict, the sound of the project is largely unaffected. On “Her Love Is Killin Me,” the delivery speeds up and slows down to supplement this idea that he’s losing control on account of this girl’s influence. He stutters. He mentions taking painkillers to cope and even says that he would nonchalantly jokes that he would “be hanging if I had some rope.” Track 5 is “Remind Me Why I Love You Again,” which featured fun moments like this:
“You don't cook And you won't clean You can't even operate a washing machine Can't stand the spicy food You like modern country, I like rhythm and blues We're nothing in common, should we even be friends? Remind me why I love you again”
Aggressively smooth percussion and horns on Track 5 serve to make the track feel immensely groovy, even though Huey’s message is one that shows a disparity between him and his love interest.
My only real problem with the album is “Pretty Girls Everywhere,” another lighthearted number featuring more carefree songs about women, but I feel like the lyrics carry a somewhat disturbing undertone:
“Everywhere I go (There's a pretty girl there) I see a pretty girl (Pretty, pretty, pretty girl)”
“And if I make it to the beach (There's a pretty girl there) There's a pretty girl there (Pretty, pretty, pretty girl) You know they knock me off my feet (Woo, pretty girl) I see the pretty girls there (Pretty, pretty, pretty girl)”
“And if I make it to the park (There's a pretty girl there)...”
“And if I make it to the show (There's a pretty girl there)...”
“And when I'm at the rodeo (Pretty, pretty, pretty girl) They come on horses (Boogity-boogity, boogity-boogity, boogity-whoopity)”
The whole song features just this very basic phrase being slightly morphed and repeated, with Vaudeville-esque singer filling in the lines in parantheses. And while I know the intention of the song is simply fun music from a fun group in the fun style they’ve always used, I can’t help but feel weirded out. Especially in this crazy era in time where it feels like every other month sees another male celebrity swamped by claims of sexual harassment, the idea of a 70-year-old dude looking at women at the beach and the park and the show and the rodeo and the trail makes stalking sound more probably than Huey Lewis just being a chick magnet, you know? Again, that obviously wasn’t the image that was meant to produced, and this same song two decades ago would not have had this problem, but I fear this is the one issue acts that crave longevity are faced with; by many strides, there isn’t a quota to fill for this music because this music isn’t in particularly high demand.
Final Thoughts
I most definitely enjoyed this project considerably. Huey Lewis and the News have this formula for music making that works every time, and I definitely think the project features the same sort of sound throughout and is benefited by its short runtime, and it’s culmination felt punctual. Positive music like this helps people get through their days, and songs of theirs like “The Power of Love,” “Hip to Be Square”, and for me “Remind Me Why I Love You Again” have been instrumental in infecting people with a beautiful attitude in the long run.
Most Favorite Song: “Remind Me Why I Love You Again”
The
band’s inaugural album Night
Visions
is already an alternative rock classic, undoubtedly. I
heard the band’s music from the second the album hit the
radiowaves, and everything about their style stood out significantly
from anything I had ever heard. So many unnecessary bits of
production made this album stand out, particularly on this song with
a random and intermittent mandolin.
Additionally, Dan
Reynolds’ songwriting is unlike any other musician I have
encountered. Certain rhymes and verses are constructed in a way I
can only describe as backwards; other songwriters would say that “I
see that you are spent/now I know what you have meant”, but Dan
would say “So this is what you meant/When you said that you were
spent”. Those small details in how phrases are worded really aids
the production in making the song feel like this grandiose piece of
composition that feels larger than life.
#9“Fear” by Tech
N9ne
(2014 hip hop ft. Mackenzie Nicole)
Tech N9ne’s
incredibly long career has never been dry in any sense of the word
but perhaps the most meaningful music of his legacy came in 2014
following the death of his mother after a lengthy battle with
cancer. The music video for “Fear” was in the middle of
production when his mother finally passed away, and it’s obvious
that Tech knew his mother was running out of time just from seeing
his expression and hearing his voice waver on this track. Not only
does he struggle with his mom forgetting who he is, but he also
addresses his issues with faith in his God, on account of a lack of
action being taken to preserve the one person in life who he
believes to be pure. He reassures his listeners that he is not
denouncing the deity, as he prays daily for his mother’s
longevity, but ends the song on a contradictory and somber note:
“I
know it's a blessing, that I raised kids 'cause I got skill And
thank God that gangbang thing didn't bring me hot steel Now
my mom's worse and a lot ill My
fear is that this God I'm prayin' to for my mother is not real”
The
track is set to the tune of choir-like vocals and slow
instrumentation in the background, making Tech N9ne’s delivery hit
that much harder in
contrast to his normal breakneck flows and synth driven beats,
solidifying this track as one of the greatest in underground rap
history.
#8 “Die a Happy
Man” by Thomas Rhett
(2015
country)
A country song
might seem out of place in a list of the greatest songs, but there’s
something different about Thomas Rhett’s classic here. There’s
something somber and exciting about the languished guitar strums and
the almost melancholy delivery from Rhett. The track really feels
more like a gussied-up folk song rather than a mainstream country
hit. The message is simple, and the message of the song is a moral
only Ebenezer Scrooge could refute.
“If
I never get to see the Northern lights Or
if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night Oh,
if all I got is your hand in my hand Baby,
I could die a happy man”
Also, the Nelly
cover of this song was pretty amazing as well.
#7 “Midnight
City” by M83
(2010
synth pop)
M83’s largest
hit is easily on the biggest influences on pop, and the ripple wave
of effect is still occurring in 2020. The saxophone on this track
sounds fantastic, the synths make the concept of an electric and
bright city that much more poignant, and while the group definitely
were not the first to implement these ideas into a song, they were
the group whose hit song upped the ante and forced many producers to
implement similar concepts into their songs. I believe this song is
responsible Carly Rae Jepsen’s discography, Sky Ferreira’s sound,
and surely chart toppers like “Closer” by the Chainsmokers, Iggy
Azalea’s only good song “Fancy,” and even Weeknd songs like
“Starboy” have an M83 sound in them. If this song hadn’t came
out when it did, Skrillex and dubstep may not have had the same
effect it ended up having on the EDM scene, and that truly would be
a tragedy.
This song has
never failed to brighten my mood. I’ve never had it overplayed.
I’ve never skipped this song when it comes on through shuffle, and
I am a picky listener. The only shame surrounding M83 is on the
general public for not continuing to embrace the group’s albums;
2019’s DSVII will hopefully be remembered as an electronic classic
years from now.
#6 “House of
Memories” by Panic! at the Disco
(2016
alt rock)
There are a few
tracks from 2016’s Death of a Bachelor
that could have easily made it onto this list; Panic! at the Disco
is leading alt rock this decade, especially after Lady Gaga’s 2017
performance with Metallic and Imagine Dragons’ seamless transition
into generic and meaningless pop music following their debut album.
On one hand, Brendan Urie is an incredibly talented individual but
on the other hand there hasn’t been much competition in his own
genre in the past couple years. Panic! easily could have taken the
same route as Imagine
Dragons and pulled an Origins on usand
made beaucoup
bucks, but I definitely feel as if Urie understands his time spent
on this earth means more than that, it
definiely feels as if he spends his time perfecting his delivery and
production, and that amount of effort is consistent throughout his
projects. “High Hopes” and other songs from Pray for
the Wicked could have made this
list, but we’ve yet to discover if his newer music will end up
feeling as timeless as those
from Death of a Bachelor have.
The
somber and heartfelt lyrics hadn’t communicated their meaning to me
until recently. The phenomenal production served as a distraction
from the message, which in a way is a metaphor for the song’s
message. I’ve always interpreted the moral being to never set
boundaries too early, to never box yourself in preemptively. He
speaks of a relationship built on a temporary passion rather than a
permanent commitment. He proclaims that they have build their house
on memories, as opposed to building it based on trust, loyalty, and
real values. At the end of the day, the meaning is open to
interpretation, but the song’s ability to make a profound
statement regardless of its interpretation is further support for its
placement on this list.
#5 “Dollhouse”
by Melanie Martinez
(2014
art pop)
Melanie Martinez’s
2014 Dollhouse EP served as a
teaser to the album Cry Baby,
a remarkably intelligent art pop concept album that extensively
worked with common idioms and terminology about childhood to
perpetrate such an immense and compacted amount of double entendres
that you might think Eminem had sold out, called it quits, and made a
pop album. The entire project revolves around the character Cry
Baby, a child based off Martinez herself who unfairly was subjected
to more mature things earlier than is healthy for a child. After this
album went platinum, she went on to release an equally clever
project album K-12
that continued the well written story into a classroom setting.
“Dollhouse”
tells the story of a family that seems picturesque on the outside
but, as revealed through Cry Baby’s perspective, the
mother has resorted to alcohol to cope with her son’s increasingly
involvement in the world of substance abuse and her husband’s
rampant infidelity.
"Places,
places
Get in your places
Throw on your dress and put on
your doll faces Everyone
thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through
the curtains Picture,
picture, smile for the picture
Pose with your brother, won't
you be a good sister? Everyone
thinks that we're perfect
Please don't let them look through
the curtains”
The
idea of being in “your place” not only implies that the family
has an obligation to appear likeable to the public, this line
actually serves as a triple entendre, with ‘getting in your
places’ referring to actors preparing for a rehearsed scene and
the idiom being “put in your place” invoking the fear of a
family being humiliated and exposed for the emotionally destitute
condition they live in. This entire album is genius front cover to
back, and I hope to see more of Melanie Martinez this decade. She is
the most intelligent thing that’s happened to popular music since
Madonna and Aaliyah.
#4 “Young Dumb
& Broke” by Khalid
(2017
contemporary R&B)
Khalid burst on
the pop scene out of nowhere in 2017, and he quickly proved himself
to be a versatile artist who insisted on becoming a mainstay on the
Billboard charts. Every track he has released since “Young Dumb &
Broke” and his American Teen album
have been meticulously perfect in regards to melody. The man could
have hummed out this track and it would have been just as catchy.
He actually reminds me a lot of Jason Derulo, if I have ever found
Jason Derulo’s writing to be anything other than unnecessarily
misogynistic or likeable in any regard.
Brevity
suits this tracks defense the best; I believe the reason the track
ranked this high is largely out of a nostalgic connection I have
with this song, as well as how relatable Khalid is to me, even
though many of the album’s themes carried more weight while I was
still in high school. If catchy music is your thing, then Khalid is
your thing… end of story.
#3 “Suicide
Doors” by Spose
(2019
rap ft. P.M.O.)
If there’s any
track this decade I need everyone to listen to, it’s this one.
Spose is a rapper from Maine who had always stuck out to me as a
kinda corny white dude who made YouTube songs… until I found this
track in April of 2019, after the YouTube search algorithm picked it
up following Nipsey Hussle’s death, as the topic of the track is
the relationship between online communities/expectations from fans
and the untimely deaths of celebrities in this decade, especially
those whose fatalities were self inflicted. The track works on a
pretty poignant analogy about suicide doors, lamenting that
everybody wants to be rich and famous and have luxury cars with the
suicide doors, but it’s difficult for us to understand how empty
some celebs might feel in the face of everything they’ve lost and
forfeit in the climb to reach popularity, and it’s additionally
difficult for us to sympathize with the rich when they fall on their
tough times.
“If
you've ever seen the comments section Then
you know why fame comes with depression
‘I
hope you die, slut, thot, fat, ugly, photoshopped’ Every
dick's opinion from inner Finland to Omaha”
Spose
additionally requiems that we believe very deeply in the American
Dream but society as a whole tends to demonizes those that end up
reaching a cultural apex, as he demonstrates at the end of the third
verse:
“If
Kim K snaps and unloads a strap on every Mandy and Randy insulting
her family I
got her back over trolls and jerks Look,
I probably wouldn't last 20 minutes as her If
I couldn't eat dinner in peace And
people expecting me to be a, 10 instead of a 3 And
viewed me competitively to celebrities I
would snap like, chat, I would blast right, back I
would crack, probably end up the same place as Mac [Miller]”
Personally,
I have different reasons for generally disliking the Kardashians, but
the point stands. What hit me the most about this track was its
relevance to this decade. Suicide has become an increasingly
sensational issue, further aided by the rise of substance abuse and
nonchalant online harassment of celebrities. Spose obviously lists
Mac Miller, but legends like Amy Winehouse and Kurt Cobain have
always been limelights of this conversation. The trouble further
deepens with acts like Lil Peep who, regardless of your preference
for the man’s music, died sooner
than a man his age should die at.
The
music video is a must-watch. Small act Spose deserves more views for
being able to put such a wide encompassing topic into perfectly
worded and emotional verses.
#2 “All Time
Low” by Jon Bellion
(2017
contemporary R&B ft. Stormzy)
Jon Bellion is
perhaps one of the most talented pop artists of all time who has
refused to release music. The man has been making music
professionally since 2011, but he actually won a Grammy before ever
even teasing his debut project on a major label. He won the award
with Eminem and Rihanna for co-writing “The Monster” in 2013. In
the seven years since that song’s released, he’s only put out 2
projects and, while they are equally great, it perplexes me to think
he hasn’t pushed more. This man’s tracks shine with the
production quality of U2 and Pink Floyd with the intense delivery of
Michael Jackson.
While both
projects are stellar, the one that had more chart impact was 2016’s
The Human Condition, which
sported “All Time Low” as the lead single that promptly went
platinum three times over. The entire concept of the album is
hyper-relatable, and even though Jon said in an interview with
Idolatry that the track was meant to represent the stages of grief a
person endures following a break-up, it is truly comforting to
experience the song and feel as if it covers a myriad of situations
not specifically pertaining to Bellion. There are so many times when
human nature dictates that you look up and feel as though you are in
an inescapable abyss; Jon
Bellion encapsulates raw and pure emotion. Lines like “I’m a
ghost; I say your name, you look right through me” are so
powerfully poignant that Shakespeare could not write a better-worded
lyric to match the tone of this song.
Also,
for the sake of brevity, Stormzy’s verse was a beautiful addition
to the remix. While none made this list, I am confident that the
magnum opus of UK hip hop and grime will arrive
at some point in the next decade, whether that be due to Stormzy or
acts like Dave that are exponentially piquing my interest.
#1 “i”
by Kendrick Lamar
(2015
hip hop)
Kendrick
Lamar is, as of the time of writing, the greatest mainstream
rapper of all time. The few artists that can tie well-worded
lyricism into perfect, pummeling production like Kendrick Lamar can
fail to do it consistently like Kendrick Lamar has. And no artist
that has a gangsta or hood persona can come from such a disheveled
and economically destitute environment like Compton and make
positive music despite an unapologetically negative upbringing. Even
Dr. Dre’s hit “Forgot about Dre” couldn’t stray from certain
guest features telling stories of random arson and murder. Kendrick
Lamar’s lead single from To
Pimp a Butterfly
is overwhelmingly inspirational, with a chorus acknowledging the
flaws of the world yet implying that a healthy attitude and an eager
mind would effectively stifle any detriment the universe throws at
you.
“I
love myself!
(The world is a ghetto with big guns and picket
signs)
I love myself!
(But it can do what it want
whenever it want, I don't mind)
I love myself!
(He said I
gotta get up, life is more than suicide)
I love my...
self!
(One day at a time, sun gonna shine)”
The energy that Kendrick Lamar carries in his vocals are unmatched by music
professionally released by any other artist this decade. If this
list was a Top 100s list, “HiiiPoWeR” would be on here, “Bitch,
Don’t Kill My Vibe” would be on here, “Now or Never” would
be on here, half of
DAMN.
would be on here,
but
I have to choose this song because it educates all of us on a very
important life lesson: mental health does not come free of charge.
It is something that must
be reaffirmed personally time and time again. Affronts
to mental health in the form of trauma will relentlessly through
themselves at you, as personified by the breakneck third verse,
which again culminates at Kung Fu Kenny screaming his declaration of
self-love.
“I
could never take the lead, I could never bob and weave
From a
negative and letting them annihilate me
And it's evident I'm
moving at a meteor speed
Finna run into a building, lay my body
in the street
Keep my money in the ceiling, let my mama know
I'm free
Give my story to the children and a lesson they can
read
And
the glory to the feeling of the holy unseen
Seen enough, make a
motherfucker scream, ‘I love myself!’”
Everything
about this track is perfect and I honestly prefer the album version
of this song in the context of To
Pimp a Butterfly’s
story, and I could definitely go on and on about every aspect of
this track; I haven’t really even touched the track’s orchestral
production. However, I think this suffices, and I cordially invite
anyone who hasn’t heard this song or any other song on this list
to crawl out from underneath their rock and educate themselves.
------------------------
Conversely,
feel free to educate me in the comment section below or on my social
media. I can’t possibly come across every great track that’s
been released this decade, so give me your top 10 anywhere you
please. Most importantly, I think it’s important to note that
culture builds upon the foundation of culture. Music cannot
fundamentally hit a dry spell. It only goes up from here, and I’m
hopeful for the 2020s. See ya later.
The 37-year-old emcee is signed to both Jamla and Roc Nation
Unfortunately for the culture of hip-hop, true and powerful music rarely gets the limelight. If you know what I mean, then you understand my confusion when I saw that Anthony Fantano listed Rapsody's third album Eve as Number 50 on his list of 2019's Best Albums. Not only am I surprised Fantano actually has any sense of recognizable taste, but I'm also stunned that the album sits so low on his chart.
The Jamla Records emcee's new concept album is sixteen tracks of well-polished and affectionate love letters to women as a whole, with each song titled after a historical or cultural figure Rapsody holds in high esteem, from Whoopi Goldberg to Sojourner Truth, from Nina Simone to Afeni Shakur. It isn't some over-the-top man hating chanting, oh no no no, that stuff stays on Twitter. My initial listen to this album mentally teleported me to a temporary reality where I sorta forgot I was a man entirely and I felt attached to many of the topics Rapsody spoke on.
The second track is named "Cleo", after Queen Latifah's character in the 1996 movie "Set It Off" and the focus is on the hip hop community in its entirety. She asks the community "how a bunch of sheep can have opinions on a G.O.A.T.", stating that those that don't have a stake to share cultured information don't carry validity in the same suitcase they carry their opinions in; ignorance and an unwillingness to learn and experience different music is holding back many talented acts from finding notoriety. In the second verse, she goes deeper and applies this context specifically to women of color in a few lines that speak from themselves:
“Only put us on TV if our titties jiggling
Jay tried to give us Tidals and we giggling at him, damn shame!”
Perhaps the greatest part of this album is the third song, "Aaliyah". She gleans many of Aaliyah's predilections over from her last projects, even going so far to reference More than a Woman, easily one of the greatest R&B songs to exist. The female MC goes to great lengths to ensure that the listener knows that femininity comes in many different forms, and having a tomboy style like Aaliyah does not make you less of a woman, it just makes you more of a person, and that societal standards should not be something you allow to limit your growth as an individual.
The production of this entire album is stellar. I personally know of 9th Wonder from his years and years of work alongside MURS, the amazingly talented underground West Coast rapper. Eric G also helps in the front half of the album, and his production shines through on "Oprah" featuring Leikeli47, another spectacular artist who always brings along a mellow yet poignant khai dreams vibe; a lot of the songs on this project are universal in the sense that they tote an immense meaning while also being reserved enough to allow for room to not focus on that meaning if you're just in it for the production, which is an issue I tend to have with Kendrick Lamar.
However, if you are taking the time to resonate with everything Rapsody says on the album, then there are a few areas that divert off the beaten path and create some issues. It could be I just missed the point of songs like "Tyra" but it really doesn't feel like she's saying anything. Genius annotations will have you believe it's an ode to self love and black beauty, but simply talking about being gorgeous doesn't exactly equate to activism in my mind, in the same sense that talking about politics doesn't make you a politician, or add credibility to your claims just because you are speaking on the subject material. However, "Tyra" could be considered redeemable due to great production and witty double entendres with the word 'model' like:
“Model of success, don't change, be who you are (Yeah)
Don't matter who I'm addressing, it's cut from the same cloth (Real)
I'm here for a different cause, we seldom receive applause (Seldom)
Never receive awards”
The main issue with the album centers around Tracks 11 and 12. "Reyna's Interlude" is an empowering spoken word track. It is so well done that I don't want to talk too much about it, and if there's any song I think you should listen to right now, it is this one. Conversely, the next track is called "Michelle" after our previous First Lady, and it serves as a party anthem that seems oddly out of place from the rest of the project. Off-topic verses and a slow hook culminates to the end of the track:
“I said Katanya got a big ol' butt, oh yeah
Keyana got a big ol' butt, oh yeah
Rema got a big ol' butt, oh yeah
Amanda got a big ol' butt, oh yeah
Nicki got a big ol' butt, oh yeah
Laniece got a big ol' butt, oh yeah
Heather V got a big ol' butt, oh yeah
Rapsody got a big ol' butt, oh yeah
Elle V got a big ol' butt, oh yeah
All my girls got them big ol' butts
All my girls got a big ol' butt (Shake it)
All my girls got a big ol' butt (Drop it)
All my girls got big ol' butts (Yeah)”
There’s just such a large gaping difference between this track and the one before where Rapsody was directly empowering people, and earlier on the album when she posited that Serena Williams is inspiration due to her perseverance in the sport and not because of her body image. It's mind boggling to think Rapsody insisted the track belongs here. As a single? Sure. But on this album? Especially following "Reyna's Interlude". I'm not so sure.
Don't get me wrong. Her overall message is thought provoking. Her tone is crisp and clear and insightful. The features are perfect. Female counterparts match the message Rapsody conveys, from Leikeli47 to Queen Latifah, and Dreamville acts JID and J. Cole make the last few tracks stand out. At the album's culmination, an ode to Afeni Shakur can and should be heard, where the 2Pac sample on the hook asks:
“Now since we all came from a woman
Got our names from a woman and our game from a woman
I wonder why we take from our women
Why we rape our women
Do we hate our women?”
The chorus and the verses concurrently work together to empower black people as a whole, on the idea that our mothers are the ones that put forth the work to allow us to be here. To give us the opportunity to grow as people that exist. Existing is often taken for granted, and it’s art like this that makes it poignantly clear to the listener. Beautiful music.
Final Thoughts
Rapsody’s album was a rollercoaster ride start to finish. Not like the biggest one at Six Flags, but like one of the medium ones there at the theme park. There were many periods of insane force being thrust in your way, giving you no choice but to experience the music being projected your way. There were also many periods where the rollercoaster was stuck on the tracks climbing a hill before the drop. Ideally, you want that climb to be right at the beginning of your album and for the rest of your tracks to carry that aforementioned force until the end of the ride. But on tracks like "Tyra" and "Michelle", the ride lost its force and had to start an oddly long climb again.
Still an amazing album. Music that empowers people is good music regardless of whether or not I like it. Rapsody is definitely an artist that should have won a Grammy this year over Tyler, the Creator’s IGOR, but I digress. She obviously puts time into her rhymes, and this album reflects. I deeply hope to see more from her in the future, and furthermore I hope to see her vision to become a reality. For those that are oppressed to not only become recognized in society, but also for those oppressed to take their throne within our society's hierarchy.
Most Favorite Song: "Iman" f. SiR and J.I.D.
Least Favorite Song: "Michelle" f. Elle Varner
Well, well, well, hello to whoever is bored enough that they have found themselves
here.
My name is Alex
(18m), but most of my friends call me Carter, and I love to write.
I’ve been writing for years, short stories and movie and music
reviews of the like for the most part, but I’ve lately been feeling
this urge to share what I have to say with the world.
I’ve been writing
since middle school, and now I’m in college. Lately I’ve been
bummed out by how little time I have to write. Hence, I’m doing
this. Now I have an obligation to write more.
Few things of note:
I’m pretty
politically average
Genre doesn't affect the music's validity
Much of this is opinionated, so sorry in advance
I really and
truly appreciate any feedback I receive whatsoever. I think as long
as a few people at least see these posts, I’ll be content.
