Hey everyone, it's been a while. A lot changed the last time I wrote anything on my site. Quit my job, had a month free to myself and better my health, won some money, and found a job in that timeframe. I could've gotten back into the writing bag but I had to get some priorities straightened out first. I am back though. A ton of albums came out during that time so, might as well bring back Rob's Rapid Fire. Enjoy the read every, it's a long one! (no pictures for the album covers sadly once again.)
Donda 2 V2.22.22 by Kanye West: It's been a month since Ye dropped this version of Donda 2 via his stem player for 200 dollars on his website. I was gonna do a lengthy review of this album but honestly, there isn't much to say. The album came and went, a lot of the songs are still in a rough draft, alpha state as of writing this, and overall Donda 2 isn't a good album. Tracks barely have a verse, hooks, and at times Ye is mumbling his way through tracks. Few songs do have good ideas and production but how long are we gonna wait for this shit to be updated? The biggest praise I could've given here is the stem player itself. If you're wondering, don't own one but it's something looking to get down the line. So, I had other means to find to listen to this. Hope we get an update with this album cause where we stand, this is Ye's worst album in his catalog.
God Don't Make Mistakes by Conway The Machine/Tana Talk 4 by Benny The Butcher: I'm putting these two albums together since they were released a week apart and both of them were on the same label. If you don't know, Conway has left Shady Records and Griselda. In an interview, he said when he signed with his brother's label he had never seen any of the money he made from the label he helped grow with Westside and Benny. He said there's no beef between the family members and rather stick to just making music together and everyone can do their own thing. Conway is a free agent is choose to go whatever he pleases. I'm glad they still gonna be working together, music-wise but sad to hear the reasoning why he left. The old saying "Never work with family".
Conway's best album to date thus far, and also his most personal album too. He gets into detail about the shooting that paralyzed half of his face, depression, drinking problems, and the loss of a child, and things got worst for his mental health. I'll admit I almost broke down and cry listening to this, You can hear and feel the pain in his voice. The production choice is the same old same old but I'm glad they were able to still use these beats under the shady banner. We could've had a Skylar Grey.
Tana Talk 4 by Benny is more of a high-budget sequel minus the risks of the production we got from the Hit-Boy Collabs tapes but it's a solid album. What impresses me the most about this, is we get tracks that have that pop hit feel without sounding like one, which he has crafted and improved since the Hit-Boy tapes. I do wish he got more personal like his cousin's album but does he expand the lore of his backstory and how he grew up. There's nothing groundbreaking but I enjoyed what we got. His own version of the ten crack commandments was dope.
Crash by Charli XCX: I didn't hear most of the singles leading up to the release of this, I also didn't realize how long this rollout was. I liked this album but I do have a few issues. I feel like he played it too safe where she wanted to go with this. Feels like more of a mixtape/b-sides album than an actual album. I knew that is her final album on the deal she signed years ago and she was having issues with them always stepping into delaying/canceling/reworking her albums. I assume she crafted this album this way cause she had to get out of her deal, the rollout had cryptic tweets about selling out and selling your soul to get fame and have that number one hit. Many artists have a history of doing this. I will say I love her tapping into this modern disco sound that's been floating around in the last few years. "Constant Repeat" no pun intended has been on repeat, "Lighting" could blow up on the charts/Tik tok, and I love the song she did with Rina, I want a whole album/EP with them two. I wished I liked it more but left feeling "this is fine" at the end of the day. Let's hope the creative juices get floating with her being independent.
Crest by Bladee and Ecoo2k: Funny to look back on how much I hated the whole drain gang movement/music four years ago and how I switched on em in the last year or so. I think because their music is more accessible and my taste in music has evolved in that timeframe too. They also improved their vocals, production, and writing too over the years. You gotta remember, Lean and everyone in this crew was teens when they came up in the scene. Most of them have matured and grown up in front of our eyes and had seen/dealt with things to convoy in their art now. One of my favorite songs is "5 Star Crest" which is four/five songs in one lengthy track and it is so good, Felt like I was at a rave listening to this song. "Desire is a Trap" has production that reminds blends of a sonic game or those early 00's JRPG's from Sony. Part of me also wishes "Girls just want to have fun" would've been a cover of the original song but the track is still a banger. If you're not familiar with their music, this album is a good start to tap into.
Superghetto by Buddy: Haven't kept up with Buddy in the last couple of years, He had a few guest verses/hooks with other artists, and dropped a few singles but when I saw he dropped a new album, I was curious since the weather is started to warm up and that’s how I would describe his music. I'll say he dropped this record at the perfect time. I like the blend of sounds he was working with on here. Most of the style he was doing here is what I hear from the current underground/mainstream side of Cali with their wave of rap and pop. You get that party beach music, late-night drive music, bump-in-the-whip music, shit to play on the radio, and the guitar ballads. Buddy has improved on his singing, his melodies are more fleshed out, and glad he found a middle ground with it. Rapping front, he's not the best from his state but I think he gets the job done with that. Favorite songs are the songs he did with Blxst who has been making strides and getting more buzz around him and his duet with Ari. He got great chemistry with these two, hope they do more songs. "Not Fair" has these sweet jazz drums on it and he does his own version of The Weeknd's 80 pop with his own twist on "Bad News". This album was very short but refreshing with the styles he dives into and makes with his own genius with its show rather than tell approach.
Planet Piano by Dr. Gabba: I don’t have much information about this artist. I found them on a whim and it was recommended on my Spotify playlist from listening to a lot of house/electronic music as of late. The album cover also intrigued me, seems like one of the obscure Dreamcast games. This shit slaps, the Dreamcast levels vibes are heavy on this one. The strong suits he posted on his website are the drums and synths. Gabba got good ears for the kits he picks, they are so catchy, the drums patterns I’ve been stuck in my head for a minute. I was dancing like the GTA San Andreas/Ballad of Gay tony club dancing mini-games, doing the shoulder shimmy white girl gif too. Jet set radio in space music is what describes this, go listen and support his Bandcamp too.
Melt My Eyez See Your Future by Denzel Curry: When Curry drops I get curious about what he plans to do next with his projects. They always have a concept and theme to them, this new album surprised me a bit. Seeing the production credits had me intrigued, Thundercat, Kenny Beats, JPEGMAFIA, and Robert Glasper. When I hit play on this, it was an experience and a change of pace for him. He’s known for mostly having these hype tracks with trunk-knocking production, hype vocals, and fast vocals, but he gets more personal and vulnerable with this album. Curry has done songs like this in his past album but not in a full-length capacity. Sure, they are a few tracks that get into what he’s known for, it seems he was more focused on the storytelling and writing this time around.
However, they’re moments that feel vague and distant, I wanted him to get into more in-depth about what he was saying. The tracks that stray away from the storytelling feel very cliche and lazy, the track with t-pain sounds dope on paper but with the execution, sounds like he was trying to chase a radio single. The production is nice and calm but some that have the banger feel to it, seem half-baked and couldn’t have more knocked to it.
I think my favorite track is the perfect example of what the theme album sticks to “X Wing”, he raps about rappers' life-ending short, and he even compares to pro wrestlers' life cycle which I have seen growing up watching that sport. He drops a few clever Star Wars references too as well. The Thundercat track is great too, he flows so well. The album is great, it does have a few bumps and flaws in the middle but it was a solid experience on what was going through Denzel’s mind and him getting more personal on this.
I Know NIGO! by Nigo: I thought this was ok. Pusha T's track was the best single during the rollout of this. Tyler's track could've been a leftover from his last album but shit still slaps. Rocky sounded fine on this, the Pop Smoke track didn't sound like a mess, and it was great to hear a Clipse reunion on an album like this. I don't have much to say about this, it's a nice compilation of fun tracks or shit I would hear at the next fashion show.
GABRIEL by keshi: This was recommended to me by a couple of people I follow on Twitter, Damon, and Juno. I think it has to do I have a soft spot for this style of music. The whole lofi, guitar, ballad side of R&B has been around for a minute, while I agree it's become oversaturated, I think they're some diamonds in the rough. I enjoyed this, he has good vocals, when those falsettos hit, they hit. and tracks like "Touch" and "Get It" stood out to me. What I like about this, I don't know much about him personally, he gets very honest and personal with his life inside and out. "Understand" has this dope bridge on the track, I enjoyed the orchestra on it. " Angel" got this production with sad dreamy background music that blends the drum loops and the smooth guitar very well. The whole theme of the song, especially this one and the other two last tracks got him spiraling down into madness and sadness after a bad breakup and saying goodbye to an angel. Album does end with a weird cliffhanger, however, saying goodbye to himself but I thought it was about someone else for a second. That's just a minor gripe, overall the album was a good listen, and would recommend it.
mainstream sellout by Machine Gun Kelly: Alright here's the real review. this album sucks.
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