Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to hip-hop’s Super Tuesday!
Let’s start with J. Cole. After building a serious buzz through mixtapes (what else is new?) the North Carolinian (now that’s new) made a splash with his first official album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. The set surprisingly made a debut at #1 on the charts and continued to sell strongly, even though I thought it was kinda “meh” when compared to his mixtape output. Nevertheless, Cole is part of the new wave of hip-hop purists that includes Kendrick Lamar and extends all the way through Joey Bada$$. His new album, Born Sinner, features a bevy of guest artists (what rap album doesn’t) and based on early buzz, is more solid than his debut. I was on the fence about this one, but I’ll probably end up copping it.
Now, we move on to Mac Miller. The Pittsburgh (shouts to Gonzo and The Packet Man)-area rapper also made a surprise splash on the charts with his debut, Blue Slide Park. I’ll admit to not having paid him very much attention; I kinda figured he was another Asher Roth type. However, he might turn out to be the real deal. He certainly got a who’s who of respected producers to join him on his second album, Watching Movies with the Sound Off. Diplo and the suddenly ubiquitous Pharrell are among the production highlights.
Oh yeah, did we mention Kanye yet? Quite possibly the most polarizing musician in the business right now, Yeezus damn near broke social media when it leaked on Friday. Reactions ranged from “this is awesome” to, of course, “this sucks” with quite a bit of “what was Kanye thinking?” thrown in. Based on the two songs ‘Ye performed on “Saturday Night Live,” it’s safe to say that Yeezus is significantly more experimental than most of today’s hip-hop, and certainly isn’t a traditional “rap” album. Someone on one of the social media networks offered up an interesting comparison to the best work of Stevie Wonder; saying something to the effect of “you won’t be disappointed if you expect Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants and not Innervisions.” Plants, for those who remember, was the highly experimental follow-up to Songs in the Key of Life that bombed upon release. However, time has been kind to it, and Plants is now regarded more as a non-commercial diversion (and not a bad one either) than an out-and-out “has he lost his shit?” kind of album.
Kelly Rowland isn’t hip-hop per se, but Destiny’s Child was one of the biggest of the hip-hop influenced vocal groups that emerged towards the end of the Nineties, and God knows Kelly’s collaborated with damn near every emcee. As likeable and fine as Kelly is, she’s never made an album that’s been…you know, good. That might change with her fourth album, Talk a Good Game. I’m always game to give Kelly another chance, because she’s super talented and doesn’t really get her just due-which I guess is what happens when you’re in Beyonce’s shadow. However, I’d like her to at least once make an album that stands up against the catalogs of both her “big sister” and her “big sister”‘s actual little sister.
Also out this week, new albums by:
Hanson
Rick Moranis (yes, that Rick Moranis)
Primal Scream
Sigur Ros (reviewed here)
3Oh!3
Tiesto
and more, which you can find by heading on over to Pause and Play!
8 comments
Kyle says:
Jun 18, 2013
“Wait, I know who I haven’t compared myself to yet! Stevie Wonder!” – Kanye West
I’m copping his album and YouTubing Mac Miller’s (I’ll buy it if it’s good, but I haven’t heard enough of him to know yet.) I’m going to finally download J. Cole’s mixtapes, not sure about “Born Sinner” cause his debut WAS disappointing…Quasimoto has a new album out too! He’s doing what I wish more rap artists did – put out collection albums of their B-sides and rarities, especially if they don’t often release music.
Greg says:
Jun 18, 2013
I’m still trying to wrap my head around “Yeezus.” A few thoughts:
“Black Skinhead” sounded way better on SNL than it does here.
What the fuck is with the outro to “New Slaves?” Is there a serious demand for Hungarian soft rock in the States?
Am I missing something here, or did Kanye just appropriate a timeless civil rights elegy to talk about his dick?
The four tracks with Daft Punk in the producer’s chair at least have good beats. Everything else sounds like “Dark Fantasy” castaways bound with duct tape and glue. The sampling especially is forced and lazy.
Despite the provocative song titles, this probably the most lyrically featherweight album Kanye has released.
I love that Kanye acknowledges the rising surge of violence in Chicago by…giving Chief Keef the most worthless guest appearance on a Kanye West album since “Barry Bonds.”
Have any of the people calling this a revolutionary new direction for hip-hop actually listened to El-P, Death Grips, Saul Williams, Dälek or the last few Roots albums?
All right, I’m done. At least the new Sigur Rós is good.
Kyle says:
Jun 18, 2013
Greg,
Glad you’re still alive. This guy nailed it when talking about Kanye’s hypocrisy by lamenting Chicago violence and giving Chief Keef a mouthpiece. It’s really fucking sad. I don’t think there have been too many more detestable people in hip-hop than CK.
“Jesus, how the hell do you spell your name wrong? K-E-E-F?”
“Hey man, I’m all about slingin’ mad volume and stackin’ fat benjis, you know? I can’t be all about, you know, spelling and shit.”
http://www.vibe.com/article/opinion-inexplicable-rise-chief-keef-rewarding-ignorance
Trey Stone says:
Jun 18, 2013
Think the album is way better than “Fantasy” but for whatever reason I found that to be his worst one, very hit-miss. I was relistening to “Graduation” recently and was struck that, for all the talk since the beginning about how arrogant he is, this new one is really the first album he’s put out where he’s almost completely unsympathetic. Which is kinda the point I guess but’ll definitely divide certain people’s responses depending on how much “Kanye being Kanye” latitude they give some of the sentiments here.
re: Chief Keef, Kanye’s always done that yeah? Jeezy etc. He’s always been distinct from that kind of rap while still collaborating with ’em. Not meant as a defense of Keef who I don’t listen to, just that it isn’t new.
Big Money says:
Jun 18, 2013
I need to give it a few days. Production-wise, it’s an A. Lyrics wise, it’s not. But that’s the same way I felt about “MBDTF,” which, at the end of the day, I would probably give an “A” to today if asked.
Trey Stone says:
Jun 19, 2013
I like how there’s some really prominent guest spots here, but they’re all credited on “vocals” while the only one who gets a proper feat. credit is…”God.” lol
also that CyHi guy from “So Appalled” gets co-writing credit on 9 tracks, Rhymefest has 4…guess this could mean anything from suggesting a line or two to bigger involvement though, dunno
Kyle says:
Jun 19, 2013
Jeezy’s done some stupid and illegal shit, but he is no WAY on Keef’s level when it comes to stupidity/illegality. Keef should be in prison and I’m not sure how he’s not.
Big Money says:
Jun 19, 2013
Noticed that, too. Lupe Fiasco has writing credits on a couple of tracks as well.