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Recommended If You Like Thread - January 12, 2019 - HipHop

Recommended If You Like Thread - January 12, 2019 - HipHop

Recommended If You Like Thread - January 12, 2019

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 10:04 AM PST

If you're looking for a recommendation give a description/music link/artist so that other people will know what you want.

Example: I want to hear an artist that sounds like old Kanye (you can get more specific but that's enough imo). And then someone will respond with X, Y, and Z

You can also recommend an artist/project/scene

Example: You guys should check out DJ Mustard's mixtape Ketchup RIYL (recommended if you like) post-hyphy and minimalistic west coast beats.

Remember, the point of this thread is to share music, try not to post stuff that's already really popular unless it answers someone's question.

Also the more descriptive you guys are with your posts the easier it is to help you find what you want, just stating an artists name isn't that helpful since you might only like one specific aspect of that artist's music.

Look through past posts here

ALSO please check out this thread for a list of some of the most popular recommendation requests and the suggestions provided

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Album of the Year 2018 #39: Earl Sweatshirt - Some Rap Songs

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 02:18 PM PST

Hello everyone and welcome to another day of Album of the Year 2018, the daily write-up series where users from /r/hiphopheads talk their favorite albums of the year. Up today, I'm writing about the long-anticipated third studio album from Thebe Kgositsile, the artist professionally known as Earl Sweatshirt, Some Rap Songs.

Artist: Earl Sweatshirt

Album: Some Rap Songs

Listen:

YouTube

Spotify

Apple Music

Background by /u/ReconEG

The Earl Sweatshirt story is well-known and well covered, but in case you don't know, here's the quick recap: Born Thebe Neruda Kgositsile to Cheryl Harris, a law professor at University of California, Los Angeles, and Keorapetse Kgositsile, a South African poet and political activist. Earl's father left his mother and him when he was 8 years old and returned to his home country. After getting his start in Tyler the Creator's Odd Future collective with the release of mixtapes like Earl and features on Tyler's Bastard and Odd Future's Radical, Earl's mother sent him to Samoa to attend Coral Reef Academy, a therapeutic retreat school for at-risk boys.

While Tyler and his fellow Odd Future members insisted that Earl's music was what got him sent to Samoa, he himself clarified that his music played a minimum role in his excursion, as getting into various kinds of trouble with his friends was what sent him away. While he was gone though, Odd Future blew up. When he returned to the United States in early 2012, it was safe to say that he received a massive culture shock. It was this culture shock that defined him for a very long time, as his debut album Doris and follow-up I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside heavily dealt with his sudden rise to fame at an extremely young age and his ways of coping.

Now, while those two albums are still important to what led to Some Rap Songs, his long-awaited third LP and the album we're talking today, it was a 10-minute EP/song he released shortly after IDLS that I feel is the most important stepping stone to SRS. Released to little fanfare, "solace" was a project Earl intended for his mother. To let the review bleed in a little bit here, "solace" is one of the most depressing projects I've ever heard. With a defeated Thebe on the mic and grimy samples serving as his background, this little EP served as his best release yet and kept myself and many other starved for what he'd do next.

With some singles and features here and there throughout the years, the project that'd become known as Some Rap Songs would be recorded throughout 2015, 2016, and 2017 and was basically finished by the end of 2017. Then, tragedy struck. Keorapetse Kgositsile passed away at the age of 79 on January 3, 2018. Thebe then spent the first few months of 2018 in South Africa with his family, returning home in mid-February with a thought-to-be-finished album. After adding on the tracks "Peanut" and "Riot" after his father's passing, the album was finally completed last year and was released on November 30th via Columbia and his Tan Cressida imprint featuring production from Earl/Thebe, Sixpress, Denmark Vessey, Navy Blue and Shamel of Standing on the Corner.

Review by /u/ReconEG

Well time waits for no man and death waits with cold hands

I'm the youngest old man that you know

If ya soul intact, let me know

If we're not counting features and random singles but full-on projects, this is the last we heard from Earl/Thebe. "solace" saw him at his worst state, but ended with a slight ray of hope in the lines above. His position as the youngest old man hasn't changed much. If anything, it's been more set in stone with Some Rap Songs, his best project yet and the album I've been wanting to hear from Earl Sweatshirt since his return from Samoa in 2012. While both albums had their highlights, I left Doris and I Don't Like Shit with a lot to be desired. The lurking shadow of Odd Future still encompassed Earl on these projects, as even he himself realized that he was in a bit of a purgatory where he couldn't quite be Earl, nor Thebe. With "solace," it was the first time that I truly felt like I was hearing Thebe.

We'll return to "solace" throughout this review, but you're all here to talk about Some Rap Songs, so I'll get to it. This is a fucking great album, full stop. It is the best thing Earl/Thebe has put out yet and is the project I've been wanting from him for years. Right off the bat with "Shattered Dreams," we hear the new sound he has developed for himself. No longer rapping behind the dark and DAW-based soundscapes that defined Odd Future for years, he's instead rapping behind hypnotic, looping samples, usually from obscure soul and funk songs from the 1970s & 80s.

Taking an initial sample from a James Baldwin speech, and then another from The Endeavors that serves as the song's main backbone, Thebe sets the stone for what this album is about: him. Obviously, but more specifically, his headspace. Ending the first chorus (which serves as the album's first set of bars) with the lines "Blast off, buckshot into my ceilin' / Why ain't nobody tell me I was bleedin'? / Please, nobody pinch me out this dream." The depression we saw him fighting through on "solace" and throughout his entire discography is very much alive, but he's seemingly been working on himself a lot since the last time we've heard him.

This self-progress seeps through the entire record, as Thebe sounds the most confident we've ever heard him on this album, fully aware of all his abilities and working within a sound that truly fits him best. Part of it is some of the weight of depression being lifted off his soul, as both "Shattered Dreams" and the next track, "Red Water", mention Thebe wondering to himself why he didn't try to fix himself sooner, as he spits "Yeah, I know I'm a king / Stock on my shoulder, I was sinkin' / I ain't know that I could leave."

Also on "Red Water", Thebe introduces the album's concept of brevity with the line "Gotta keep it brief", as Some Rap Songs only clocks in at 24 minutes with most tracks only lasting less than two minutes. This has been the album's biggest point of contention among fans so I will say this: anyone who thinks this album is too short is a fool and deserves to only be able to listen to bloated-ass mainstream rap albums for the rest of their life. Some Rap Songs doesn't waste a single minute of its runtime and rarely do I ever feel like the album needs more tracks, or needs longer tracks. Everything is damn near perfect where it is, as one of the biggest problems of previous Earl Sweatshirt albums was that some of the songs (like "DNA" and "Mantra" from IDLS or "Hive" and "Guild" from Doris) went on for much longer than necessary.

This sense of brevity really kicks in with "Cold Summers" which gets in and out in a minute before you even know it. But despite its short length, even for this album, Thebe gets in plenty of wisdom that shows you how he's grown over the years, with the line "Of course my old lover was scorned, we grow from it" always getting me, as one of my keys to getting out a depressive funk I found myself in over a year ago was taking a step outside myself, and not having so much anger for those who "wronged" me in the past. Thebe knows and I knows that not only does this scorn heal over time, it's healing that can only be done with growth.

And growth is the album's strongest theme, as in the "few summers too long" he spent away, a lot has changed. On a slightly superficial level, he's grown as a rapper. His rhymes and flows are tighter, his voice has added some more timber with age as lines like "Nigga it's on, chest thump, his head thump on the floor / We pressed up on the boy, no more bluffin'" feel much more genuine and assured than "I'll fuck the freckles off your face, bitch." I don't want to spend this review putting down his old music so much but it really is amazing to see how much he's grown into himself with this album. On a recent Indieheads Podcast, I discussed with my co-host Jackson about what makes this album feel so different than his previous work, and that it's because he's no longer in a limbo between the person he was before he left for Samoa and the person he was meant to become upon coming back. He's truly found himself as a person, and Some Rap Songs is the artistic expression of that.

It was very clear this was going to be the case right away when I first heard "Nowhere2go," the album's lead single and one that, in retrospect, wasn't so much an indicator of the album's sound. The song's glitchy production, done by Booliemane and Ade Hakim (FKA Sixpress), feels similar to the work of Shabazz Palaces, in that wait how the fuck is he rapping on this? The percussion is all over the place, the vocals heard throughout feel like one of those "pop song but 800% slower" videos, and other little flourishes that can only be discovered on repeated listens. The content itself though? It was a proper re-introduction of Earl/Thebe, giving you an idea of what he's been up to, how he's feeling, and where he's going from here. Despite the somber tone that bars like "Yeah, I think I spent most of my life depressed (Most of my) / Only thing on my mind was death (On my) / Didn't know if my time was next (Next, yeah, yeah)" imply, the use of past tense here is really important, as it's clear he's doing a hell of a lot better.

I be with Mike and Med (Mike, Med)

Nowadays I be with Sage and with Six-press, ya dig? (Press)

I'm in L.A. with Glen, please come and claim ya kid

I cannot play with them (Yeah, yeah, uh, whoa)

Above is the shoutout on the track to the friends he's made or he's gotten closer to since the last time we heard him, as depression is rarely a beast you can fight alone. He gives a shout out to his fans, but there's an asterisk there, as despite the fact that "You went and gave me a cape (Cape)," "that never gave me no hope (Hope, yeah, hope, hope)." And as I said before, I still can't believe that Thebe is rapping on this song. I had a similar reaction to "Ain't It Funny" by Danny Brown when that came out, although my reaction here was a bit more muted considering the difference in sound/content these songs have. Nevertheless, both songs left me in a flustered state to figure out how their brains are operating like this. Oh and Thebe's got himself a lowkey Carti flow on this that I like a lot but that's neither here nor there.

Speaking about brevity earlier, I should probably get back to the rest of the songs, huh? December 24th is one of the album's most straightforward, living up to the title of the album for just a fucking rap song. The first recorded for the album, Earl/Thebe is just going off an incredible beat with bars like "Allen with the picked 'fro, answer in the outlet / Alley-oopin' all the shit home / Powered-up, out for the assist / Don't panic when it get cold, we go at it, ho" and "Don't think he said he pro-violence / But it's gon' be your problem if he did, though." However in the midst of these of bars towards the end, Earl/Thebe raps "Bad apple, daily clashin' with my kinfolk / Bad acid did damage to my mental," with both these lines indicating major themes on this album, issues with his family and drug addiction.

And conveniently enough, these themes pop up on the next track but it's clear some time has passed, as Thebe's had some peace and acceptance, and even regret for how he's treated his family, specifically his mother, with the bar "Momma say don't play with them scabs / It's safe to say I see the reason I'm bleeding out," obviously a double entendre for both the literal scabs that develop on your body and the more symbolic scabs, the bad influences on your life that eventually drain you for everything you're worth. He gets into more of these societal scabs the bar before: "Don't play with us, I revisit the past / Port wine and pages of pads," referencing South Africa's history of Apartheid with the references to Port wine and the Pages of Pass, calling back to his South African father who lived in exile in the United States for various periods of his life.

A specific line in "The Bends" hurts even more knowing it was recorded before his father's death, when Thebe raps early on "Peace to my mans, gotta go be with your fam more (For real)." However despite this bittersweet beginning, the song overall is a song of inspiration, seeing how far he and his peers have come "a long way from the Dickies and dirty JanSports." The line "Bend, we don't break, we not the bank" reoccurs throughout the verse, repeating both because this is a song and repetition is an extremely popular element used in songwriting, but also as a constant reminder for Thebe and his peers to not let them win and destroy you.

This inspiration keeps ahold on the track "Azucar", featuring some truly great production from Navy Blue. Bars like "My cushion was a bosom on bad days / There's not a black woman I can't thank" and "I only get better with time / That's what my mom say to dodge Satan" show a positive outlook, but Thebe knows he's not 100% there yet. There's still some "sugar in my gas tank" as he says, but there's still a lot of growth here. I think the songs most powerful line once again is in his reference to his family: "Mama said she used to see my father in me / Said I was not offended." Having spent most of his early career bad mouthing his father, it's almost shocking to hear that at one point in his youth Thebe loved his father and didn't mind being compared to him. It seems now that's come full circle once again in his adulthood.

This sense of hope moves to the shadows on the intensely paced "Eclipse", as even on an album filled with blink and you'll miss it moments and songs, "Eclipse" says a lot in very little time with a hypnotic and psychedelic beat, locking in a tough to achieve loop as Earl/Thebe's vocals seemed to have aged backwards almost (not shocking considering the album was recorded throughout a three-years span). I consider this a flashback of sorts into a darker time in his life, as after the chorus he opens the song with "Say goodbye to my openness, total eclipse / Of my shine that I've grown to miss when holding shit in / Open my lids, my eyes said my soul is amiss (Soul is) / The signs say we close to the end (Close)"

While obviously not every song has a clear date of when it was recorded (except for "December 24th"), it's a bit easier to figure out the timeline when considering how much fame weighs on Earl/Thebe's conscious. "Facts, it's rugged on the peak / Don't stumble, serve culinary treats, bro (Please) / The herd hungry, gotta eat (Woah)" calls back somewhat to Vince Staples' intro on "Burgandy":

What's up, nigga? Why you so depressed and sad all the time like a little bitch? What's the problem, man? Niggas want to hear you rap. Don't nobody care about how you feel, we want raps, nigga. Raps.

Obviously the most ironic thing about Some Rap Songs is that a good majority of the album is about how Thebe feels. However, he's been able tangle his personal life into the stellar wordplay he's known for with less and less effort, as unlike some of his early inspirations like Eminem who developed what I'll call "technical rap brain worms," Thebe is able to spin his life into poetry naturally. Thus, we get to "Veins," which was initially the album's last rap song in the original version.

"Veins" in general is a callback to the album we heard and the albums and songs we heard before it. With the Billy Jones sample and Earl's tone, it definitely feels like it was intended to be the outro of sorts in sound too, not only content. There's just so many good lines and bars here so I'll just list it down to a top 5:

  1. "Stuck in Trump Land, watching subtlety decayin'"

  2. "When it's time to put my burnt body in a case / Tell my momma I said thank you"

  3. "Since birth mama raised and burped me, I ain't changed / I'm a man, I'm just saying that I stayed imperfect"

  4. "It's been a minute since I heard applause / It's been a minute since you seen or heard from me, I've been swerving calls"

  5. "I've been eating good you can see it in my tummy / But I'm buggin', I've been spending more money than I'm making"

"Veins" and the following "Playing Possum" should have been seen as a victory lap. I mean just look at the night and day difference between the lines above from "Veins" and then this line from "solace":

I spent days faded and anemic

You could see it in my face, I ain't been eatin', I'm just wastin' away

Having the end of your album be a tribute to your parents with their voices going back and forth on a track showcasing their love and passion for their family and their work? It's wholesome as hell. Or was. Still is? I'm not exactly sure, as right after we hear the applause play upon the end of Keorapetse Kgositsile reading his poem "Anguish Longer Than Sorrow," the album turns rotten, more foul than anything we've heard before.

It's a taste more bitter for how familiar it is. On an album dedicated to his growth as a person and his wins in the battle against depression, his efforts are deemed futile by the sudden death of his father. Over a distorted sample and rusted piano chords, Thebe bears his soul. Trying to recreate the sounds and flows of "Nowhere2go" almost, he finds himself lost. Any ad-lib of "ayy" feels like one of denial. Lines like "Family saw you on that stage, left it not amazed" and "Flushin' through the pain, depression, this is not a phase, ayy / Picking out his grave, couldn't help but feel out of place" are brutal. Similar to "solace," this song feels like the sonic embodiment of depression.

The cut and dry nature of some of these lines feels similar to the recent works of Mount Eerie, the singer-songwriter project of Phil Elverum, whose last two albums were largely about the death of his wife Geneviève to cancer. Thebe rapping "Bless my pops, we sent him off and not an hour late / Still in shock and now my heart out somewhere on the range / Outta range, picked the lock and now we elevate / We box 'em out, my shit a million miles away." just hurts. But upon writing this review the line that's really getting to me is this:

Like we making food, father's face but I'm not afraid

And it's relation to these lines from "solace":

I got my grandmama's hands, I start to cry when I see 'em 'Cause they remind me of seein' her

Thebe's family means a lot to him. Even those that were absentee for most of his life, if you're of his blood, he cares for you. It's what makes "Riot!" a triumphant but still tragic outro, as the track largely samples a track of the same name from Hugh Masekela, a jazz musician and close friend of Thebe's father, as he's the Uncle Hugh that he references on "Peanut." It's a lovely way to end the album and give you plenty of time to reflect on what you just heard.

If ya soul intact, let me know

Favorite Lyrics

Why ain't nobody tell me I was bleedin'?

Please, nobody pinch me out this dream

  • "Shattered Dreams"

Yeah, I think I spent most of my life depressed (Most of my)

Only thing on my mind was death (On my)

Didn't know if my time was next (Next, yeah, yeah)

Tryna refine this shit, I redefined myself

First I had to find it (Uh)

  • "Nowhere2go"

I heard you got your sauce at the Enterprise

Evidently, it was rented but it's mine

  • "The Mint"

In the blistering cold, watching Harder They Come

Harder they fall, I figured niggas was bold

They proved me wrong quick

Long trip, sifting through memories over dumb spliffs

Young man, flung soliloquy off the tongue-tip, uh

  • "Loosie"

Going through it like prayers in the night sky

You look like a chair when you folding up

Hands on like a goalie with the puck, don't need any luck

See the ghost of where I was, lonesome as I was

  • "Azucar"

Earl is not my name, the world is my domain, kid

  • "Veins"

Talking Points

  • Where does this album rank for you in Earl's discography?

  • Would you consider this an album by Earl Sweatshirt or by Thebe Kgositsile?

  • What are your thoughts on the album's production? Do you prefer these locked in loops or the soundscapes of older Odd Future material?

  • How do you believe the content of Earl/Thebe's music has changed?

  • If you suffer from depression/anxiety, has Earl/Thebe's music helped you?

  • And finally, where does this album rank in your 2018 lists?

Thanks to the mods of /r/hiphopheads for letting me write this! I'm a moderator on /r/indieheads and run our own Album of the Year series (which this one is based on) there. You can check out today's write-up on Anna von Hausswolff's Dead Magic and a link containing every write-up from the past 43 days here!

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Missy Elliott becomes first female hip-hop artist (and third hip hop artist) inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 06:03 AM PST

A$AP ANT leaves the A$AP Mob

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 07:44 PM PST

R. Kelly was hospitalized with panic attacks after "Surviving R. Kelly" aired

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 07:24 AM PST

Rae Sremmurd possibly splitting up

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 09:10 AM PST

https://twitter.com/Jxmmi/status/1084134895390085120 "I'm not Rae Sremmurd I'm slim jxmmi and ima sink or swim by myself."

https://twitter.com/Jxmmi/status/1084134639503994880 "I bought my mamma a million dollar crib off MY work"

https://twitter.com/Jxmmi/status/1084134987232727040 "Not SremmLife"

https://twitter.com/Jxmmi/status/1084135719772114944 "Y'all won it's a wrap"

https://twitter.com/Jxmmi/status/1084135760670875648 - Replying to a fan saying SremmLife for life "Naw it ain't"

https://twitter.com/Jxmmi/status/1084138028157657088 "Y'all still got ya mans swae y'all a be skraight"

https://twitter.com/Jxmmi/status/1084142690122387456 replying to "When Swae Lee leaves you off on yet another hit"

"A little deeper than that but you trolls gone troll...get back to work."

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsiv35qBtgx/ Announces second solo project 2K19

https://imgur.com/a/TbWRjYj

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Illinois Refuses Permit for Concert to Be Hosted by R. Kelly

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 09:36 AM PST

MF DOOM Discusses Origins of His Mask, Changing His Name To DOOM And More In Resurfaced Interview

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 12:54 PM PST

[FRESH] Na-Kel Smith - Twothousand Nakteen

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 06:08 PM PST

LUCKI confirms his next project, Freewave 3, is coming in February

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 11:48 AM PST

Daily Discussion Thread 01/12/2019

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 05:09 PM 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, as stated in the guidelines.

  • Please be helpful and friendly.

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

Weekly/Monthly Threads

Other ways to interact

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

New to /r/hiphopheads or hip-hop in general?

Check out these:

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Chance the Rapper - The Man Who Has Everything

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 05:58 PM PST

The Weeknd - Reminder

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 05:07 PM PST

$UICIDEBOY$ - CLYDE (I HOPE AT LEAST ONE OF MY EX GIRLFRIENDS HEARS THIS)

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 09:23 AM PST

Jay Z - Poppin Tags ft. Big Boi, Killer Mike, Sleepy Brown, Twista prod. Kanye West

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 06:19 PM PST

$UICIDEBOY$ - Sold My Soul To Satan Waiting In Line At The Mall

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 04:07 PM PST

Phonte - The Life of Kings (feat. Evidence, Big K.R.I.T)

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 11:05 AM PST

50 Cent on The Late Show with Colbert - Jan 11, 2019

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 10:47 AM PST

Eminem - Stimulate

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 01:40 PM PST

Childish Gambino - Silk Pillow (feat. Beck)

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 07:28 AM PST

“Freek-A-Leek” — Petey Pablo

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 11:55 AM PST

[LEAK] Smokepurpp - I Put My Red Bottoms On Her Thousand Dollar Furniture (DS2)

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 04:04 PM PST

Aesop Rock - Shrunk

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 10:55 AM PST

NxWorries - Wngs

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 08:36 AM PST

The Story Behind 2pac Running Into Nas At LL Cool J House Of Blues Show In L.A.

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 10:17 AM PST

The Story Behind 2pac Running Into Nas At LL Cool J House Of Blues Show In L.A.

​

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WPGaqoTeks

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Damian Marley & Nas - Patience

Posted: 12 Jan 2019 11:43 AM PST
at

New Music Friday: January 11th, 2018 - HipHop

New Music Friday: January 11th, 2018 - HipHop

New Music Friday: January 11th, 2018

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 08:39 AM PST

I skipped last week bc there wasn't much new stuff so I'll include some of that

Albums

COMETHAZINE - BAWSKEE 2

wifisfuneral & Robb Bank$ - Conn3ct3d

Watsky - Complaint

Chester Watson- Guru, Vol. 2-4 (Old projects now on streaming)

Big KRIT - TDT (comp of his 2018 EPs)

Taboo - Yearbook 2018

Justo the MC & maticulous - Mind Of A Man

Retch - Richer Than Opps

new Strick album/mixtape thing

EPs

MmmCherry - Lost EP

The God Fahim - Shogun's Odyssey: The Preamble EP

Knxwledge- MEEK.VOL4_ (not on streaming)

HiDoorah & Dolly White - Slimestas EP

Singles

NoName - Song 31 (feat. Phoelix)

Gesaffelstein & The Weeknd - Lost In The Fire

Future - Crushed Up / Jumpin on a Jet

D'Angelo- Unshaken

Boogie - Silent Ride

iLoveMakonnen - Spendin' (feat. Gucci Mane)

Halsey - Without Me (feat. Juice WLRD)

Kemba - Deadass

Bhad Bhabie - Babyface Savage (feat. Tory Lanez)

Kxng Crooked - 96 GS

YGTUT - Mind Ya Business

CupcakKe - Squidward Nose

K$upreme - 16' (feat. Soulja Boy)

Fithgod- Transgression (feat. Radamiz, Da$h & Ab-Soul)

Jacquees - You (Remix) (feat. Blueface)

Loosies

Aminé - hunnybee remix

GoldLink - Justine's Interlude

Ugly God - Butterfly Doors Freestyle

Blockhead - Kiss The Cook (feat. Aesop Rock)

YelaWolf - Gangsta Walk (Get Buck Freestyle)

Casey Veggies & Rockie Fresh - Demeanor (feat. Curren$y)

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Album of the Year #38: Bladee - Red Light

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 02:28 PM PST

Artist: Bladee

Album Cover: Red Light

Listen:

YouTube

Spotify

Apple Music

Background

Perhaps one of the most exciting artists out there right now, Bladee is a genre defying Swedish rapper and singer hailing from Sweden known for his highly emotional lyrics and unique style of autotune usage. As part of the group "Drain Gang", along with members Ecco2k, Thaiboy Digital, and Whitearmor, in addition to the heavy affiliated "Sad Boys" with Yung Lean, they have consistently carved out such a unique corner of internet music with their own style of drowsy experimental hip hop for the past six years, putting out tons of music, reinventing themselves non stop. They don't appear to be slowing down any time soon, as they continue to put out some of the best and most innovative music in the world. These guys are the forefront on the underground music, spanning not only hip hop but across different genres of electronic, dance, club, alternative, indie, and much more, in addition to being pioneers in fashion. Their influence knows no bounds; the modern day music scene would be completely different without them.

It's no surprise that Bladee and have such an enormous cult fanbase of fiends and kids who spend all their time on Internet forums that copy everything they do and wear and would die for them. They have managed to craft such a distinct aura around them as artists, there is a flicker of mystique and sorcery surrounding the air they breathe and the life they exhibit both on and off social media with the pictures they post and the graphic art they show and the clothes they wear. It's not just the music these people fall for, it's the image too, and the incredible drained aesthetic. It would not be a stretch to call Drain Gang one of most forward thinking groups out there.

By looking through his career, you can pinpoint exactly how he has evolved to the current state of trash star and observe how natural it has been. Bladee got put on the map by releasing cutting edge singles as he blew up with Yung Lean in 2013. Solidifying his position as a true artiste, his debut mixtape dropped in early 2014 to amazing reception, as we got the first authentic look into him. In 2016, Bladee released one of the best albums of all time, an absolute masterpiece, Eversince. Eversince was the birth of Drain Gang and drain aesthetics, marking a significant shift in the shape of his career. After cooling down a bit, they released the collaborative ethereal D&G, a compilation album of Drain Gang marked by similar sounding, depressive bouts of drain. Slowly, Bladee started building the world of Red Light. The first song on his 2017 mixtape "Working On Dying" with Philadelphia producers Working on Dying features the name of Redlight Moments, in which he talks about eating the night and the world being made of silicone. Even by just looking at the cover of the mixtape, you can tell how the feeling of trash oozes off it. Other songs on the tape feature the same themes expressed on Red Light, though not nearly as complex.

And now we're here at Red Light, the moment Bladee's been building up to, executive produced by Whitearmor. It is filled with existential grooves marked by both ballads and bangers alike, an exploration deep into the mind of insanity. I'm sure many of you are aware of the one Anthony Fantano gave Red Light, though I would not let that steer you away from what is perhaps one of the most extraordinary albums of 2018.

Review

Red Light is the pure embodiment what it means to live a life of trash filled with decay, rotting away, indulgence, drugs, and big malls. When I think of something fulfilling the image of the modern day consumerism driven mentality, the aesthetics of this album immediately come to mind.

While many people seem to think that Bladee concocts only shallow, surface level content in his music, I feel that Red Light is a coherent, strong exploration of the utter waste damaged people feel. If you aren't a devout fan of Bladee, are just simply listening to this project for the first time, or just can't relate to the drained out lifestyle, it might be hard to understand. What does Red Light mean? What is this heavy autotuned shit that doesn't even sound like proper singing?

When Bladee alludes to the red light, he is referring to the forces in life that impede him from achieving and doing. It's a pretty strong metaphor for the standstill that the mental blockage of depression puts your mindset in. As you settle into your early adulthood after adolescence, a sense of plateauing is what follows: you feel the dread edging as you slowly slip into away, and what happens is that you eventually give yourself to the Red Light. We see Bladee transform into a completely different person as he can't even recognize himself, until he finally succumbs to this corruption, allowing it to take over him. At this stage, this harsh disillusionment, nothing feels real anymore; there is no sense of meaning, no purpose - what is most preferable is to simply rot away, coping with short highs by smoking and indulging in materialism that will eventually leave you displaced with even less energy and feeling. Throughout Red Light Bladee searches for what is real, as he explores visions of dreams left squandered, untapped potential, and aspirations and skills that were once but are now lost.

Bladee builds his own little made up trash world with repeated themes and motifs of eating the night, taking out the trash, draining, along with submissive imagery and allusions to dogs and some other things I can't recall right now. These repeated topics serve to create a single coherent, connected thematic piece of work. Listening to Red Light while paying attention to the lyrics makes you feel like you are actually in his world. Perhaps Bladee is implying that this artificial world is something he delves into to shelter himself from the outside, escapism to hide his loss of general feeling? Getting lost into the imaginary is something many do. He's built himself as the character of the trashstar, a trashman - the waster, the one who slowly wastes his life away.

Some find Bladee's vocals to be absolutely abhorrent. They are an acquired taste for sure, and may not immediately seem pleasing, but to me, Bladee's singing is the pure essence of bliss. The processing and layering going on here is an insane feat. I have never seen another artist utilize autotune in such a striking way, breaking the barriers of what can be achieved vocally. Bladee has an amazing ear for melodies, and, while it is an often overused term, uses his voice as the perfect instrument. His beautiful harmonies are striking; Bladee fills the background atmosphere of songs with it, creating such perfect moments when his vocals play off each other, or add to one another until the multiple layers of autotune crooning become one, single insurmountable cloud of autotune that makes you just wallow in its strange beauty, contemplating your own existence. The robotic nature of the cold, lifeless tone of his voice expresses the artificial feeling all too prevalent in Bladee's life and our own, showing how we as a whole have become numb to the polluting nature of society; how today we shroud ourselves in complacency and simple pleasures to hide what's real. Is he real? Are any of us real? This is what capitalism has made us.

To compliment and shape Bladee's empty, faux world of synthetic machinery, whitearmor delivers a bubbly climate of instrumentals devoid of any oxygen, revolving around deep icy, airy synths that almost pierce the ear but at a gentle stride. His repeated playful melodies add to the damaged but fairy like aesthetic. I find the pulsating piano lead of Decay constantly stuck in my mind; though not overtly complex, Whitearmor knows how to create exactly the perfect feelings of melancholy drenched apparitions in his work, leaving the listener impressed with lasting convictions. The dark, brooding pads create a foreboding atmosphere in For You. Some songs seem to have almost a glossy like texture to them, as if they were a mask concealing the real in the futuristic age of the now. To listen to Whitearmor is to feel emotion.

There is trap influence, but it'd be a huge disservice to the album to just simply label it trap and nothing more, as it cannot be described as even remotely derivative or uninspired as the vast majority of trap can be. There is actual effort and creative thought put into this production. Rattling hi hats are abundant, but by paying close attention to just the drums, picking out little details to them, you start to realize how incredibly varied and complex Whitearmor's rhythmic patterns are. He also takes very good advantage of the stereo field to create a proper sense of space and breath.

Whitearmor is far more elaborate than the average rap producer. Song structure is experimented with a lot here; the usual verse - hook verse - hook - verse format is not found. Instead, we find varied, lengthy instrumental intros and outros, songs with Many times, he will build on a single concept or motif then will just keep adding and adding layers, bringing thing them in and out of the mix until finally, at usually the last hook, they all come back in, leaving you with a bombastic impact. The glissful harmonies building on top of each other at the end of Westfield is a highlight; another being the shimmering feel of Nike Just Do It. Fellow producers Yung Sherman and Gud bring a nice flair to Golden Boy and College Boy, respectively.

There are only two featured artists, but they manage to bring memorable and important contributions to the album. Ecco2k delivers probably the best and most memorable verse of 2018 on the song Obedient, where he channels his inner angel to portray a haunting picture of the daringness of pure youth and ecstasy. On For You, he goes back and forth with Bladee, trading bars characterized by illustrations of betrayal, darkness, and yearning. The chemistry the two have together is just impeccable, and you can feel the bond they have for each other as it extends through their music. There is a slight punk rock feel on That Thing You Do as Uli K's raw, harsh slurring of his British accented vocals bring about the bloody pain dealt by relationships, while Bladee croons softly in the back, his inflection bringing upon enlightenment.

The height of the album, Puppet Master, is opened with an obscure japanese ASMR sample along with a hauntingly simple guitar lead. The track is a heartbreaking journey of overcoming - I was almost brought to tears - as we learn that it is actually the drain that has saved Bladee from ruin. Drain is a lifestyle. As said by Bladee himself, it can be a good or bad thing: "#Drain is about loss and gain; you could be drained of energy or you could drain something to gain energy. Basically, if I'm talking about 'eating the night' that means I drain it for its essence. Everything me and my bros do is connected to that concept -- we might drain some blood for good fortune." When the whistling comes in after the emotionally wrought climax brought upon by booming bass, the sense of utter euphoria floods the listener.

To top the project off, Bladee closes the album with the simply triumphant I'm Goofy.

Embracing what it means to live like trash, Bladee is truly the trash man. On Red Light, he lets you into his outsider world of waste and decadence defined by decay. Some may get and like it. Most won't.

Favorite Lyrics

Still in the night, I should be knighted

You pay the member fee but you're still not invited

I get the feeling that you're brain dead

They said I should've stayed dead, but the spotlight, I crave it

You only like me cause I'm famous

Turn up to the drainers, wake up all your neighbours

Had a sickness since the cradle

Leave in the fall like I'm a dead leaf

I lost my memory, but it came back and drenched me

I have a feeling that I'm crazy

I know that they hate me, but they wanna be me

1D

Heard you say you wanna die, so do I

Just do it like Nike, eat the night

Heard you said you wanna play, then it's Fisher Price

Your shoes faker than my smile, not surprised

Nike Just Do It

Slowly lose to decay, lost my hope

Drain Gang and you can't hang with us, need a rope

Blood moon forge a contract when it's signed

Blood pact I wrote you, baby, with a knife

Trash Star, I eat the night, I do it twice

Backstab you out of nowhere, you're surprised

Backstab you, I don't know why you're surprised

God damn, you ain't on shit, why you so hyped?

God damn, I wonder why am I alive

I give myself up to the Red Light

I give myself up to the Red Light

Decay

Broken glass in my hands, you could sell me anything

I walk a mile for your smile, it's embarrassing

I put bleach in my drink, acid in my eyes and shit

I'm feeling paranoid, like the walls is closing in

I can be your skeleton, you can be my vitamin

Hex

You make me feel so blue

I know I'm not perfect but what about you

I know I do wrong but I know you do too

But I feel so worthless standing next to you

Fake News

Do it for you, Amen, never will I love again

I make you fly, raven, lay them to rest again

I call on you fake friend, I been knew that something was strange

I pop a blue, stay sane, I cop a juice, blood red

Ecco2k:

Camboy, keep it softcore

Drinking screwdrivers at the hardware store

Blowtorch on the lock to the back door

Black and Decker force sound like Nightcore

For You

Can't even talk to myself 'cause I'm wrong now

White gate calling me, won't be long now

I can't even put those words in my songs now

Big strong compounds, life force get crossed out

Siren calling, ambulance sound

Drain Gang track you down like a Bloodhound

I can't even trust myself when the night comes

Four doors, red or blue, pick the right one

It's some writing on the wall, it said "die scum"

No heart, but I do wish I had one

And my baby wanna know what I'm scared of

Don't worry, it's been taken care of

Blade, I'm coming for the trash like a trashman

Hell Gang, put that back in the trash can

I can't even trust myself when the night comes

Step on my head twice like a cockroach

Ecco2k:

Every time I close my eyes, I stop existing

Every now and again, I can tell the difference

Woke up falling, I'm still falling off of buildings

Want a new addiction, want to fall victim

Something, you might crush my heart but I'ma risk it

And I'm still sinking, need a curse lifted

Blacklisted at all the clubs, but I can fix this

Think I need stitches, play me three sixes

I wanna see heads roll, execute, past life

Hundred white birds, ninety-nine fall out the sky

Fast life, race against time, it will outrun you

Rains return to the earth, sunlight to the underworld

Maybe in another life we could be lovers

Ever since we met, these thoughts keep getting worse

Iron will, ironed shirt, now I want a Fendi purse

I don't talk with empty words, what is any of it worth

Every time I close my eyes, I go to prison

Every now and again, I can feel the distance

Woke up running, I'm still running through the system

Want a new sickness, want to fall victim

Somewhere, someone broke your heart but I'ma fix it

And I'm still wishing for that first kiss

Get blacklisted at all the clubs in seven sisters

Industry children play with three sixes

Obedient

Can't hang with a peon, things you do to me, making me wrong

I'm bleeding heavily, you're my injury

Execution, get on my knees

Give me something, please, give me what I need

Show me something real

That Thing You Do

I'm the winner but I feel like a victim

Graduated from the situation, found a solution

I had ups and downs but it's falling into place

Like the love from God when you look me in my face

I had dreams of life that were lost in empty space

I had almost drowned if I didn't fuck with that drain

I had four, five strikes, at the sixth I lost my ways

I'm the puppeteer, put my puppets into play

Wanted to be real, wanted to be real

Wanted to be real

Puppetmaster

Put a pill in a McFlurry, I'm goofy

Shoot me, I can feel the cameras it's a movie

I'ma take a moment for my mind, we used to be tight

I go even deeper in the night, I'ma read my rights

I don't wanna open what you write, in another life

I get in my feelings like a knife, my heart's bleeding out

I have tears inside and I don't even know how to cry

But it's giving me a drive, I just go on with my life

Tell me why you do me like you do, you don't need to lie

I'ma paint a smile, it's a disguise, I finesse you twice

I'm Goofy

Conclusion

What are your thoughts on Bladee?

Did you enjoy the album, or did it at least make you think something even if you hated it?

How do you feel about Bladee's singing and autotune usage?

How much of a literal angel is Bladee? Is he one of the best and most innovative artists out right now?

What are your feelings towards Whitearmor's production style?

How how much of an influence has Bladee and co. had on the rap game?

How do you feel about the about album overall?

submitted by /u/ElloJelloMellow
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Lil Uzi Vert says he’s done with music

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 04:02 PM PST

It's on his Instagram story, I got a screenshot uploading to imgur real quick hold on

UPDATE: lmao sorry imgur banned my last account for some reason here's the screenshot

submitted by /u/RainingBranden
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Lil Wayne Tells a Story About a Groupie Who Tried to Move In His House(3:42 min video)

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 05:54 AM PST

Childish Gambino - Toxic (feat. Danny Brown)

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 07:55 AM PST

ZChronik goes to prison after slashing a mans face, then releasing a song titled "Slash Yo Face"

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 08:17 PM PST

[FRESH ALBUM] Retch - Richer Than the Opps

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 11:29 AM PST

[FRESH VIDEO] Nas - Everything

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 09:08 AM PST

Openly gay Puerto Rican rapper Kevin Fret shot dead aged 24

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 12:19 AM PST

milo - A Day Trip to the Nightosphere (feat. Anderson .Paak)

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 02:40 PM PST

THEY. - U-RITE

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 12:16 PM PST

Big K.R.I.T - Country Niggas Anonymous (Freestyle)

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 02:51 PM PST

Choker announces three new projects

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 08:30 PM PST

The whole thing is called Filling Space

Part 1: January 25

Part 2: February 1st

Part 3: February 8th

link to announcement

submitted by /u/Matt8910
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A Tribe Called Quest - Scenario (Music Video)

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 08:33 PM PST

[FRESH] KXNG CROOKED - Halfway Me

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 02:27 PM PST

ASAP ROCKY - Full Video of Babushka Live From Toronto

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 10:26 PM PST

(it won't let me link it or post as vid so here's the link to the youtube video)

https://youtu.be/5f-n-iO7xh8

submitted by /u/billyjoe1738
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Daily Discussion Thread 01/11/2019

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 09:54 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, as stated in the guidelines.

  • Please be helpful and friendly.

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

Weekly/Monthly Threads

Other ways to interact

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

New to /r/hiphopheads or hip-hop in general?

Check out these:

submitted by /u/ModsLittleHelper
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Experiencing Dreamville's Rap Camp Through the Lens of Chase Fade

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 10:22 AM PST

Joe Budden Scrutinized Over Statements About His Domestic Violence Allegations

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 07:47 AM PST

$uicideboy$ - Now I’m Up To My Neck With Offers

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 08:26 PM PST

[LEAK] Masta Ace feat. Evidence - Eat (prod. by Dj Premier)

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 01:54 PM PST

Leakaveli - Let The White Kids Say Nigga

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 10:03 PM PST

Lil Durk - Decline Ft. Chief Keef (Prod. By Young Chop)

Posted: 11 Jan 2019 09:39 PM PST
at
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