2020 FUCKING SUCKS! but at the least, we got some great music this year. COVID 19 really fucked us over, Movies delayed, shows delayed, Animes delayed, Sports have been on a hiatus (even though UFC and Pro Wrestling have been still going this whole time, which they shouldn't have), people are losing jobs, the protests and a whole bunch of others shit that's too long to list. Thank god for music this year to least keep my sanity intact so far this year. I have mainly been a hip-hop head for most of my time on this earth and I do dabble in R&B and pop from time to time but I managed to dive into other genres and subgenres this year thanks to my mutuals on Twitter and discord rooms. Now I'm not gonna sit here and name 50 albums that I've enjoyed so far, you can't wait for that by the end of the year unless we all die, I'm just gonna talk about ten albums here. Before I start this I wanna shout out albums that are mainly honorable mentions but still gonna a shoutout.
Honorable Mentions: Future Nostalgia by Dua Lipa, The GOAT by Polo G, Angelic Hoodrat by Kenny Mason, Descendants of Cain by Ka, Petals For Armor by Hayley Williams, SAWYAMA by Rina Sawyama, Son Of A Gun by Key Glock, Beyond Bulletproof by Mozzy, Anyways by Young Nudy, Eastern Medicine, Western Illness by Preservation, Shrines by Armand Hammer, and Grae by Moses Sumney.
Alright, that's that, let us dive right into this!
Thanks For Using GTL by Drakeo The Ruler
FUCK THE DA! FREE THE RULER! LA County has been doing Drakeo dirty for the last three years, charged with multiple things including a murder charge which he was later acquitted of and was supposed to come home but they want him to stay in jail and they reopened a case for conspiracy charges and has been remained in custody without bail awaiting for trial. I would suggest following @Passionweiss on Twitter which he has been keeping up to date with Drakeo's current situation. This album has a very interesting concept with Drakeo using the GTL service and rapping over the phone and producer Joogszn handling the rest. Usually, when rappers "release" albums while locked up, their team just goes through the back catalog and puts together demos or just old verses and just makes it work but I love what these two did here. I also found out this ain't a new concept at all, the late Mac Dre had a project like this, and also there's an artist who their whole catalog is basically this but I can't remember the name right now. There's nothing "groundbreaking" here but if have enjoyed this resurgence of these new California rappers bringing back the G Funk sound with a modern twist then you will love this, It just impresses me through all the shit he's been dealing it, Drakeo still rapping with a smile of his face and is still in top form. FREE DRAEKO.
Eternal Aktake by Lil Uzi Vert
I did a review for this album early this year which you should check out and ill will link it. I'll admit though, I'm cheating here cause there three other albums I did a review for that will be on this list too but oh well. As the year progressed, I enjoyed this a lot more than I did back then, I know prefer this deluxe version of this album but there were songs on that one that I wasn't feeling so I prefer this version. My main grip was I felt the second act hurts the album but it has slightly grown on me but not that by much. Uzi while not the most lyrical rapper ever, his flows and melodies are in top form and also his most catchy too as well, I will be catching myself rapping some songs at work or the beats will be stuck in my head too like "Prices" or "P2". I'm not sure where this gonna be ranked at the end of the year but this album does have replayable value and Uzi despite all the label drama was able to drop this finally.
Dark Lane Demo Tapes by Drake
Yeah Yeah, I enjoyed this mixtape, demo tape thing quite a lot, deal with it. Yes, I agree with some of you guys this project did kind of came and went really quick I'll admit that ok but come on, this is Drake's best work in YEARS. Drake should just continue with dropping loosies and whatever he has sat in the vault in a mixtape format like this or 2015's "If You're Reading This, It's Too Late". From dipping his toes into the whole TikTok dance craze and making up his dance, rapping on the New York drill production with some of the rising rappers out of that scene, and Drake rapping over soulful sampled heavy tracks rapping about his personal life which I really enjoy. I also did a review of this project too which the link will be down below. Not sure what Drake does next but let us hope he uses more B-Sides and leaks for the next project.
Link to review: https://mexicanmamba.blogspot.com/2020/05/dark-lane-demo-tapes-by-drake.html
Alfredo by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist
Pray for Paris by Westside Gunn
2017-2019 by Against All Logic
I thought I will never see a day where I enjoy this type of music but yet, here we are. Life is strange like that sometimes. Against All Logic is the alter ego of composer Nicolas Jaar, who I have been a little familiar with his work through a couple of old Facebook friends and a friend on Twitter by the name of Adam, whos really into this scene of music which I gotta thank him for the most here. I think Nicolas's alter ego here is the most accessible for anyone whos new to this genre like I am, Album kicks off with all this super crispy noise, and all of sudden, a random Beyonce appears and the man works his magic here with this mix. The major highlight of the album is the track "If You Can't Do It Good, Do It Hard" featuring Lydia Lunch, the distortion loops are a major trip and it builds and builds and she comes in saying the title of the track and the beat drop, shits get funky with even more distortion with her vocals echoes for the rest of the song, its a trip man I love it. This album is really great for a good workout, a run/jog, or when I am reading some manga cause we are stuck inside. Overall a wonderful and different experience for me and something you should all check out.
Fuck The World by Brent Faiyaz
The subgenre that Brent's categorized in I am not usually that into, mostly cause it's way too sleepy, not really that interesting, background noise pretty much. Brent however with his songwriting and his vocals makes you go "wait! hold up here!" and I am tuned in and focused. See Brent here, he's a giant scumbag and cold-blooded, like Future in a sense minus the memes and lack self-awareness and just more pain and scumminess over this neo-soul style production. Some of these tracks are pretty funny in context, the song "Rehab (Winter in Paris)" is him basically he loves his girl but he admits he has been sleeping around with other girls cause they're not her and she should be ok with it it it that. Like what the fuck. "Bluffin" I like the theme of this track where Brent is basically confused if this girl is really playing games to get his attention or she doesn't give a fuck about him like he thinks he does and deals with a lot of prideful people in relationships struggle with. He does a great job here with the songwriting and tells a great story added with him being a "baby father" which I hardly ever hear that often, It kinda funny, to be honest. This album did help me a lot in a weird way everything going on, there are tons of quotable lines here but overall Brent is probably in the top tier of the songwriting game right now and his music is telling a story of his crazy but complicated love life and that's all I want my R&B music, be interesting.
Man Alive! by King Krule
It is such a trip how much Krule's sound has evolved and changed over the past few years. His last album "The OOZ" and a mixtape he released under his real name had moments but I felt like with both of those records he was lacking/missing something to grab my attention and felt indifferent but here, it more tuneful and dark that kept me in tuned in. The themes of the album dive into being alone with your thoughts, distancing yourself from the outside world and loved ones, and also fatherhood. What I love about this record the most is Krule diving into different types of rock and jazz in this minimal and dark moody production, I feel like I am in a humid room alone with just my thoughts and empty. One of the standout tracks is "Stoned Again" where Krule compares his weed to his honey and he is dependent on her even though it's not good for him. He details memories of his weed addiction as a youth and he hated the smell and always felt gross smoking but he was only vice to cope with the struggles he was dealing with. I am not much of a weed smoker but I relate this cause alcohol was my vice this year with everything and it got to the point where I hated the taste and just felt gross after a while but I kept drinking cause she was "lemon honey", I love how he says it, shits catchy. Overall one of my favorite non-hip-hop/pop albums of this year so far and I can this album helped me out a ton.
Link to Review https://mexicanmamba.blogspot.com/2020/03/after-hours-by-weeknd.html
After Hours by The Weeknd
Another album I reviewed this year and man this album still great. I'll try to keep this one brief If you took the lyrics and themes of Abel's early work and mixed the current sounds of his newer stuff, you get this album here. Sure he's not doing anything groundbreaking or new but it gets the job done and it delivers. Weeknd did release a deluxe version and a "remix" ep which has become a new trend in music to get those numbers up, 2 of the 3 new tracks he added were good and the remix ep is whatever in my opinion. if you wanna read more on what I thought about this album the link will be down below. Great album and I am always gonna look forward to what this man does next.
Alfredo by Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist
Ok, we seriously need to have a dialogue that Gibbs is top five right now, he has been killing it in the last five-six years. I'm not sure how is Gibbs gonna continued to rap but his next albums from now are just produced by Madlib and The Alchemist. Speaking of The Alchemist, man this dude has been killing on the boards the entire year. This tape, "Lulu" with Conway and "The Price of Tea in China" with Boldy James, AL is having an MVP season thus far. If you're looking for drug dealing raps over some jazzy and soul production this album and with features from Conway, Benny, Rick Ross?! this album is for you, man it was so awesome to hear Rozay over some Alchemist production and with Maybach Music tag too? *chef kiss*. If I had to pick one track that I enjoyed the most was "Something to Rap About", it's very relaxing and switches things up and Gibbs details and raps about the dark side of the drug game and crime awhile we have a guest verse from Tyler, The Creator where he talks about reaching stardom and the path he took to get here, Tyler has been killing his features and I am wondering if and when he drops another album next year he's gonna start rapping again. "God made me sell crack, so I'd have something to rap about" perfectly describes this album, he's self-aware too huh? *laughs*
Pray for Paris by Westside Gunn
In a recent interview with Nardwaur, Westside talked about contracting COVID-19 during the last leg of "Pray For Paris" and promo run, He was more motivated and put his heart and soul into this project awhile still dealing with the effects of the virus. He did deliver and I can feel and hear the passion in this one. I never talked much about Griselda on here that much, I heard about the collective name in the past but I got really familiar with the group when Conway and Westside signed to Shady Records, which I was like whoa ok, this is serious but I was worried cause Em does have a terrible history not promoting his artist but these guys have done great for themselves with a cult-like following and even caught the attention of Jay-Z and even gave two of them a management deal. Now if you are accustomed to Griselda sound, you know what you are gonna get. Grimey New York raps over soulful production. Westside I'll admit, wouldn't say the "weakness" member but he's like a distant third in the rankings with everyone involved but he is at best thus far on "Pray for Paris" when it comes to bars. "$500 Ounces" with Gibbs and underground legend Roc Marciano is my favorite track, each MC one-up the other here and it is the perfect trio track also the perfect trio to have on a track like this. I also gotta praise "Versace", mainly the person who made the beat. AYO JAY VERSACE! good job man, what a great arc, from Viner to music producer. Keep at it.
Circles by Mac Miller
Man. I still miss this human. Losing an artist at a young age is always gonna be tragic but when it's someone like Mac Miller, who respected the art and helped a lot of upcoming rappers and artists to evolve or put them on to more fans, it hurts worst. This man has helped me a lot in my high school days and early 20's, Him and I were only a year apart in age, so his death was like losing a friend or a mutual you knew for years and also helped you out whenever you felt down. Album is still eerie listen to cause you can tell he was still to figure questions of his life and maybe find some peace within himself before his untimely passing. In his final days and interviews, he kept saying he was okay and fine but when in reality he wasn't and his vices were catching up to him and were trying to defeat that addiction but it caught up to him. I cried when I ran this through my first listen and still get teary eye afterward when I put this record on with the depressing lyrics, vocals, and production. "Circles" is a theme of taking things day by day slowly and be hopeful to reach a point of having a good day where everything is going right for once, This album helped me and tons of others who still feel lost. This album is perfect and a closing chapter to his life and career of a short but storybook life of Mac Miller. Wherever you at Mac, hope you found peace. '92 till Infinity.
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