Album of the Year 2017 #02: GoldLink - At What Cost - HipHop | HipHop Channel

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Album of the Year 2017 #02: GoldLink - At What Cost - HipHop

Album of the Year 2017 #02: GoldLink - At What Cost - HipHop

Album of the Year 2017 #02: GoldLink - At What Cost

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 07:39 AM PST

Artist: GoldLink

Album: At What Cost

Label: RCA Records

Release Date: March 24, 2017

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Background

Despite being among the most populous metro areas in the United States, Washington D.C. has yet to make a name for itself within the hip hop genre. While it has seen its share of homegrown rappers make it big, the DMV area is still a young and growing region in the hip hop community.

Enter GoldLink, né D'Anthony Carlos, a rapper/singer/songwriter from the aforementioned DMV area who, on March 24th, released his third full length project and his first under a major record label titled At What Cost. GoldLink released his 2014 mixtape The God Complex under a shadow of anonymity, not revealing his real name or face. This project then went on become excellently received by critics and fans alike, earning him a spot on the 2015 XXL Freshman List. Using his position as a freshman as momentum, in November 2015 GoldLink released his 2nd mixtape titled ...And After That, We Didn't Talk. This spur of releases was followed by a little bit of radio silence by GoldLink throughout the better part of 2016, which was broken by the release of a single featuring Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy titled Crew, which peaked at 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. After the release of another single titled Meditation in March, it was announced that GoldLink's debut studio album At What Cost would be released later that month.

GoldLink's artistic direction seemed to almost be up in the air for this album. The God Complex was this fast, energetic upbeat project from a new artist that displayed rays of potential. This was followed by a more romance-centric And After That, We Didn't Talk that seemed to tap into more R&B sounds as we saw the once-exciting rapper take a more chill turn, so the expectations for At What Cost were almost non-existent. After all, it would be only his 3rd full length project, and with so much left to explore in terms of artistry, the possibilities were endless. At What Cost became GoldLink's coming of age, his realization of where he should be as an artist, and it was an appealing location indeed.

Review

I would like the preface this write up by saying that upon the release of this album, I had never listened to any work of GoldLink's. I had never heard his previous projects, I hadn't heard any praise or criticisms of him on any platform, I hadn't even heard his XXL Freshman Cypher. So, coming into this album I was subjected to no personal or exterior biases, and my choice to listen to this album was solely due to the fact that the cover looked cool. Yep, that's how I came to meet my album of the year. Whether or not my clean slate of pure lack of prejudice upon first listen of this album affected my reception of this project positively or negatively could be a topic of debate, however I feel my open mindedness towards this, or any album for that matter, allows for a more honest and pure consumption of a musical project. Perhaps my expectations, or lack thereof, were skewed by GoldLink's professional name which may have subconsciously led me to believe that the album I was about to indulge in was more towards the subcategory of gangster rap, a conception that the album art would have supported. However, despite my blind entry into an unfamiliar artist's album, I was without a doubt pleasantly surprised by the content with which I was met.

What stood out to me most after my first listen was how quickly I fell in love with the project. Usually projects take ample time for me to truly appreciate them in any aspect, yet after first listen I found myself desiring to return to the album again and again, which I would argue is largely thanks to the production on the project. While GoldLink himself obviously isn't doing the production, in reference to the project as a whole, the production was thoroughly enjoyable, consistent, and most importantly: fun. When I say fun I'm not referring to Lil Yachty "just having fun", I mean it's the kind of production that makes an album fun to listen to. It's what provides immense replay value, it's what gets you moving, and instrumentation is a huge part of music so it really plays a big role into the creation of a good album. GoldLink seemed to take a somewhat unconventional, risky approach to the production on this project and it paid off. The choice of production was perfect for pairing with the nature of the album and I felt perfectly helped emphasize the theme GoldLink was trying to convey on this album. GoldLink brings in an elite array of producers for this album, such as Kaytranada, Matt Martians of the Internet and Odd Future, Steve Lacy, and Syk Sense. This collection of well-established producers became the architects of this D.C. album GoldLink had envisioned and incorporated aspects of 70s disco and funk music (Kaytranada especially) that were essential to GoldLink's attempt to bring the listener to the District of Columbia through the power of his music.

Perhaps my favorite example of the production on this album is that of Meditation featuring Philadelphia's Jazmine Sullivan as well as the aforementioned Kaytranada on production. This track catapults off from the vibrant 70s-esque interlude that is Hands On Your Knees as Kaytranada samples his own track off his 99.9% mixtape and creates what was the second single off of the album. I am absolutely infatuated by how amazing the production from Kaytra was on this track. It starts off with light and airy synth chords which sets itself up for the distinctive bassline of the track. This track is the most perfect embodiment of the production of the album. The funky, light, happy, upbeat, beat on this song is really what helps GoldLink pack a punch with his music. I feel like the best word to describe it would be groovy, but I know that sounds sort of cliché when speaking about hip hop. Potentially my favorite thing about this style of production is that the possibilities are endless, and GoldLink definitely exploits this trait on this project. The ability to create a cohesive album where every song is clearly distinguishable is something hip hop artists strive for, and on At What Cost it was almost seamless for GoldLink. Even on the song Herside Story, originally a Hare Squead song where GoldLink had merely added rapping, it blends unsuspectingly into the album like it was there in the first place and GoldLink manages to improve an already great song with his additional verses. This is just a general description of the sensory feel of the album if no thought was given to any particular aspect, despite my numerous praises of the production. Overall, I felt the album was very well constructed and felt very fluid throughout. These aspects seem to be underappreciated or seldomly mentioned when referencing hip hop music yet play a massive role in the overall enjoyment of a given project.

I haven't even touched on GoldLink himself yet, and to the unfamiliar reader this write-up could almost be interpreted as an in depth review of a beat tape. But bear with me here, there does happen to be rap on this rap album. One striking thing to me about GoldLink's rap style (on this project at the very least) is that GoldLink raps exactly like you'd think he raps if you were to just look at him. Maybe I'm grasping at straws here, but GoldLink's rapping is similar to his appearance in the sense that they're both mellow-yet-confident. Surprisingly enough, GoldLink isn't even the first person rapping on his own album. That title belongs to fellow D.C. rapper Ciscero on the track Same Clothes As Yesterday. However, GoldLink's entrance to this album feels almost cinematic. In fact, there's something about how this entire album is constructed that makes it feel cinematic. GoldLink manages to build anticipation for his big debut on At What Cost, with the Opening Credit intro followed by the transition into Same Clothes as well as Ciscero's verse. And without a doubt, GoldLink capitalizes on the anticipation, while spitting these amusing bars after he performs the hook:

Ridin' 'round and my car's low, nigga, what you waitin' for?

Big dick in her tonsils, yeah, I got a big ego, hoe

Ridin' 'round and my bitch high and grip her thighs, I might fuck that right

Wildin' out, I might make her mine, might fuck around, I might blow her high

-GoldLink on Same Clothes As Yesterday

Going back to my cinematic point, this entrance and first lines by GoldLink really makes you feel like you're at a concert. That's how good of a job he does at building anticipation and then making that big arrival like the main act does at a big show. This is the kind of sentiment you want to receive when you're listening to an album, you want that grand feeling when listening to music, after all in my opinion I don't think music is very good if it doesn't provoke some sort of emotion from you, the emotion here being the resulting excitement from an energy crescendo. This aspect isn't exclusive to GoldLink of course, it's a pretty common practice in hip hop to give an album a somewhat movie-like delivery, and in good reason. It's very effective at creating an album that is truly fun and interesting to listen to front to back. It's this cinema-effect that GoldLink uses to transport you to Washington D.C. through his music. This was demonstrated very tastefully with the ending to Meditation and the transition to Herside Story - that being the "oh shit!" followed by the gunshots and ensuite the light intro to the dreamlike Herside Story. The concluding track Pray Everyday really captures this concept in what almost seems like the roll credits of the album, and even with the transformation to the light and happy Have You Seen That Girl? at the beginning of the album to the more hopelessly romantic Some Girl near the conclusion. This allows GoldLink to create the illusion that, despite there being no underlying theme or story, it almost feels as if there is.

Going back to the the mellow-yet-confident rapping style, GoldLink's flow and delivery on this project are really what pulls everything all together. After all, there is absolutely nothing on At What Cost that could at all salvage its album of the year status if GoldLink's performance fell short. There's something so satisfying and melodic about the flows used on this project, it almost gives the feeling of comfort and relaxation. GoldLink has a deep, smooth voice that he uses to his advantage when accompanying his cloudy intoxicating production and every line on this album seems effortless (in the good sense). GoldLink flows in this cohesive stream of words that provides an easy listen while simultaneously bringing personality and charisma to every track. Probably the best analogy I can come up with to GoldLink's rap style is that he raps as if he's gonna smoke the whole squad out on blunts but will still kick your ass if you don't puff-puff-pass. He contrasts these two elements pretty clearly if you were to compare the tracks Have You Seen That Girl? and Kokamoe Freestyle.

We shot a nigga at the go-go last week

We don't really care who got shot last week

Ridin' up the meter, plug 'ya village bumpin' Migos

I'm past shit, you don't want no problems with a GED

Peep G, I'm the king of the streets

I never had to struggle with the gangs in a beef

Always ten toes so it's hard to defeat

And trust me nigga, I been lookin' hard for a beat, huh

-GoldLink on Kokamoe Freestyle

God I really want to avoid the word 'versatile' just because of the negative connotations associated with it now and how it's almost a buzzword for bad artists, and, in complete honesty, GoldLink really isn't that versatile with his rapping style, but I'm gonna make an exception here. It's not exactly a standout trait on this album, however I did find it important that to some degree he did diversify the thematic topics of his songs and the general mood of them without straying too far from the overall sound of the album. Which allows me to transition into my next topic which is the featured artists. This is actually an aspect of the album I really enjoyed, since GoldLink almost took an unconventional approach to featured artists. I feel like I've used the word unconventional a lot without really explaining myself so allow me to; the features were reminiscent of the To Pimp a Butterfly features. I.e. features for the sake of the art and not for the sake of the money, which, unfortunately, happens to be unconventional in popular hip hop nowadays. There aren't any out of place features on this project (although some may argue Shy Glizzy). It's quite evident that GoldLink was really focused on maintaining the integrity of this album as he didn't bring in any features that, while they might've increased sales, generally didn't fit onto the album (see: Crew Remix). In total, there are 11 artists who have guest vocals on this album, 9 of which are from the DMV area (Jazmine Sullivan & Steve Lacy being the exceptions). Not only is GoldLink putting local artists on the radar despite being big enough to outsource nationally, but he's selecting artists that suit his music style. Not only that, but a lot of his features are featured on the hook so as to save us from GoldLink's unfortunately atrocious singing that he subjected us to on ...And After That, We Didn't Talk. He features everyone from the necessary (Wale) to the who-the-fuck? (Lil Dude). Sometimes albums can definitely be oversaturated with features, take Coloring Book by Chance for an example. Sometimes I feel albums can be undersaturated with features, such as Issa Album by 21 Savage. So, artists often need to evaluate what they are capable of doing solo, and what necessitates the need for guest artists. GoldLink (hopefully) learned from the missteps on his past project and brought in a tasteful amount of features, some for the purpose of performing the hook, some for the purpose of providing some verses that differ from that of GoldLink's. Wale spits an entertaining flow on Summatime, Steve Lacy provides a fitting hook on Some Girl, Shy Glizzy brings character to Crew. I felt this album in general was an excellent portrayal of the perfect amount of features, so that we hear a very good amount of GoldLink and what he has to say while also being introduced to new DMV artists and being given a nice contrast to GoldLink's own rapping. It all ties back to the general theme of having the album truly feel like a D.C. album.

Throughout the course of the write up, I've gone on about how At What Cost brings you to D.C. or sounds like a D.C. album without really elaborating on it. In order to form a more complete comprehension of the sound GoldLink is borrowing from and taking inspiration from, I need to give a brief overview of the D.C. music scene from the 60s to the 90s, where the majority of GoldLink's influences on this project would've came from. Perhaps the earliest direct influence on this project is that of the Go-go music scene in Washington D.C., a fusion of funk, R&B, and old school hip-hop, which was popular within the African American population of the DMV area and likely would've been the music GoldLink's parents grew up on. This influence is probably the most obvious on the Hands On Your Knees interlude where Washington MC Kokayi is featured on a heavily funk & go-go inspired beat giving GoldLink an intro before the start of Meditation. This go-go influence (which is also prevalent on tracks like Summatime, Kokamoe Freestyle, and Roll Call) combined with the funk and R&B aspects on the album are essentially to achieving the goal of creating this hip hop album that brings you to D.C. sonically. I honestly wish I could go into more detail about this influence but to be honest I'm not too knowledgeable on that topic and nothing has really been written about it, so I'm going to stop this section here before I start spewing nonsense.

I believe I've sufficiently covered the macros of this album and explained why the album is so appealing to me, so I would now like to go into the micros and look at specific parts of the album I particularly enjoyed.

The most obvious and most popular part of the album: Crew. Crew is the first single from At What Cost and the only song from the project to chart, reaching all the way up to 45. Despite being one of the songs that fits less into the theme of the album, it is without a doubt one of the best. Brent Faiyaz, DMV R&B singer (whose project Sonder Son is excellent) kills it on one of the best hooks of 2017 and GoldLink delivers an effortless and smooth verse. Shy Glizzy, fellow D.C. native, comes through with an eccentric and exciting verse to lead back into the hook and outro. Another personal favorite of mine is Roll Call featuring legendary D.C. singer Mya. This song has one of the heaviest go-go influences with the bouncy bassline and the almost nostalgic symphonic post-hook breakdown. Mya delivers an excellent hook, singing "so no matter where I go around the world it's back to D.C." as GoldLink nails down the consistent sound on this project. GoldLink goes solo on Kokamoe Freestyle where he gets to put his bars and flow on display, not stopping throughout his one, long, hookless verse. This song contains probably some of my favorite bars of the entire album. Finally, we have the Steve Lacy produced Some Girl, which is my favorite track on the entire album. Steve Lacy killed the production on this song that paired with GoldLink's mellow bars perfectly. Lacy delivers an excellent, softly-sung hook to contrast GoldLink's energetic rapping. I literally cannot find anywhere who the girl on this track is (even Genius has her as 'female'), but she comes in near the end of the song to join GoldLink in a sung "I don't know why I care about ya, care about ya / I don't wanna motherfucking care about ya, care about ya," a duo of lines we can all relate to. Lacy switches up the beat at the end to provide a perfect intro to the outro track, Pray Everyday.

I've truly loved this project straight from first listen. Somehow, despite repeated and repeated listens, it just doesn't get old. GoldLink has shot from someone I didn't even know existed to one of my favorite hip hop artists. To me, this album has very few flaws. It's such a smooth and thorough listen with a unique and captivating theme combined with the swagger that oozes from GoldLink's rapping, and the light and groovy production, combined with a stellar array of features handpicked from the DMV. From the classic braggadocious lines to more reflective bars, GoldLink delivers an excellent performance on this project and will keep me interested in everything he does from this point forward. I hope that everyone can come to love this album as much as I do and appreciate the very subtle theme incorporated into it, and if not, just appreciate some of the smooth and relaxing tracks. If anything, acknowledge GoldLink's different take on hip hop and taking the path less traveled in order to create an album that is unique and individual, because that is how GoldLink succeeded at making At What Cost my album of the year.

Favorite Lyrics

Ridin' 'round and my car's low, nigga, what you waitin' for?

Big dick in her tonsils, yeah, I got a big ego, hoe

Ridin' 'round and my bitch high and grip her thighs, I might fuck that right

Wildin' out, I might make her mine, might fuck around, I might blow her high

"Same Clothes as Yesterday"

I was out Clay Terrace, feelin' better than all the guys

Bad white joined, fat ass hips and thighs

Talkin' 'bout kill moe, all you do is lie

I ain't lyin' when I tell you that you fine as wine

Lemme get a lil' sip, lemme get a lil' bit

Lemme grab on your ass, I mean grab you the gas

Talkin' 'bout goddamn

Have you seen that girl?

"Have You Seen That Girl"

I got a light-skinned bitch who look like Beige Loaf

And she fight and fuck me in the same clothes

But when I put that daddy, baby daddy, papa stroke

She curl her toes and close her eyes

I finish up, she adios

"Meditation"

Aye, she call me on her early, she yearnin' for it from California

I don't got no girlfriend, but got some workers in California

I be in that Rover with cannabis, California

And I be the prince of my city, bitch, where my Apollonia?

Wale on "Summatime"

She see money all around me

I look like I'm the man, yeah

But I was down and out like last week

Tell me where have you been?

You came out of hiding, girl

Don't act like I'm your man

You just a fan, you don't hold rank

Don't hold no rank

Brent Faiyaz on "Crew"

DMV nigga, hunnid niggas under ya

Leggin', leggin', leggin', third leggin' with my peers

Rappin' ass nigga, but I'm quiet when I'm here

I'm always plottin' on a bitch, pretend I'm plottin' on my fears

"Kokamoe Freestyle"

Met her in the summer, started with a kiss

And she fucked so good that I had to flood her wrist

Two days in and I wanna have her kid

Then she told me she belong to the city and her boy

"Some Girl"

Discussion

  • How did you feel about the production on this project? Should GoldLink stay with some variation of it on his next project or change it up?

  • Did you find the project too feature heavy or was it just right?

  • Where do you rank this album in GoldLink's discography?

  • What's your favorite song on the album?

  • What significance do you think the title has?

  • What direction do you want to see GoldLink go next?

  • Is this newfound fame from "Crew" sustainable? Can GoldLink make himself a household name in the rap community?

Thanks for reading! If you haven't already, please check out this album!

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HELP*** Lil Peep Fans! *** I'm kryptik (producer of Star Shopping, The Way I see Things, etc.)

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 01:51 PM PST

hey guys Peep's manager has contacted me about getting some of his older music onto spotify recently. The beats i made for him were made on a laptop that was stolen. i dont have the files or all the tracks that i sampled. I need to find ONE in particular, The Way I See Things. If you know the guitar sample i used in that track PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE contact me. thank you.

link to track: https://soundcloud.com/kryptik_official/i-had-a-feeling-1

submitted by /u/cabebrown
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Lil Wayne's Dedication 6 Cover Art Revealed

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 07:11 AM PST

Earl Sweatshirt - High 6am rambling at the 5th [Rare]

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 04:23 PM PST

Isaiah Rashad performing live @ .paak House today

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[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] Roy Woods - Say Less

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 03:34 PM PST

Been more than 24hrs what do you y'all think?

Personally I thought it was alright, definitely not as good as his last album Waking at Dawn though.

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Chance The Rapper and Young Thug - Big B's

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 06:47 PM PST

[DISCUSSION] Childish Gambino - "Awaken, My Love!" (1 year later)

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 03:08 AM PST

Dave - Wanna Know Remix (feat. Drake)

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 07:53 AM PST

[First Impressions] Miguel- War and Leisure

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 12:07 PM PST

Listened through about 5 times since Thursday night, and find this album incredible. Love the rock influences, and feel he's having a lot more fun with this album then Wildheart.

Favorite tracks- Pineapple Skies, Banana Clips, War, Caramelo Duro

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Guy impersonates Lil Pump in front of his concert venue and tricks the crowd!

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 01:55 PM PST

Daily Discussion Thread 12/02/2017

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 11:13 AM PST

Welcome to the /r/hiphopheads daily discussion thread!

This thread is for:

  • objective questions with right/wrong answers (e.g. "Does anyone know what is happening with MIXTAPE?", "What is the sample in SONG?")
  • general hip-hop discussion
  • meta posts...e.g. ideas for the sub

Thread Guidelines

  • Do not create a separate self post for these types of discussions outside of this thread - if you do, your post will be removed.

  • Please be helpful and friendly.

  • If a question has been asked many times before, provide a link to a thread that contains the answer.

Other ways to interact

There are a number of other ways to interact with other members of HHH:

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MF DOOM - Books of War feat. RZA

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 02:45 PM PST

The phone call that led to the witness tampering charges

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 09:55 AM PST

Travis Scott - Drive ft. James Fauntleroy

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 01:25 PM PST

The similarities between 'HUMBLE.' by Kendrick Lamar and 'I'm so Humble' by The Lonely Island

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 02:55 PM PST

Compare HUMBLE. by Kendrick Lamar to I'm So Humble by The Lonely Island

It's undeniable that these tracks share similarities, even the piano notes on I'm So Humble are reminiscent of HUMBLE. The tracks share a thematic similarity, they're both braggadocios anthems where bragging about being humble leads to ironic juxtaposition.

So, why would Kendrick Lamar take inspiration from The Lonely Island? Well, they did collab together on the track YOLO, so it's quite likely that Kendrick is a fan of them. He may have liked the idea behind I'm So Humble, and decided to turn it into a serious rap track. Still, I'm a bit surprised Kendrick has never mentioned it since he's usually pretty open about where he gets his inspiration.

I've thought about it extensively, and my best theory is this. Kendrick saw Popstar (movie with I'm So Humble in it) and the idea for the track got embedded in his subconscious. Hearing the piano chords on the beat that would become HUMBLE. dislodged the idea and caused Kendrick to write the track.

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Kardinal Offishall ft. Akon - Dangerous

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 09:23 AM PST

Future - POA

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Travis Scott - Maria I'm Drunk (Lost Verses/O.G. Version)

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 06:53 PM PST

Biggie Smalls - The Ugliest ft. Busta Rhymes (prod. J Dilla)

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 08:32 AM PST

[FRESH VIDEO] Chief Keef - Text

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Eminem Ft. Trick Trick - Welcome to Detroit city.

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 11:41 AM PST

I'm a Rapper from Virginia who travelled down to Atlanta and did a Rap Battle! The Battle just came out on Youtube, check it out!!

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Tupac - Keep Ya Head Up (Music Video)

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 11:46 AM PST

[DISCUSSION] Pete Rock & Smoke DZA - Don't Smoke Rock (1 Year Later)

Posted: 02 Dec 2017 05:27 PM PST

This was definitely one of my favorites from the very end of 2016. Smoke DZA's raps were usually nothing super special (although solid) but Pete Rock's production was marvelous. My favorite track was definitely Milestone, Styles and Jada bodied that beat (especially Jada) and BJ The Chicago Kid's hook was crazy smooth as usual. I'd say it was one of the best rap songs from the 4th quarter of the year.

What did you all think?

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