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[RATE ANNOUNCEMENT] The ‘Lost to Macklemore at the Grammys’ Rate: good kid, m.A.A.d city vs Magna Carta… Holy Grail vs Nothing Was The Same vs Yeezus - HipHop

[RATE ANNOUNCEMENT] The ‘Lost to Macklemore at the Grammys’ Rate: good kid, m.A.A.d city vs Magna Carta… Holy Grail vs Nothing Was The Same vs Yeezus - HipHop

[RATE ANNOUNCEMENT] The ‘Lost to Macklemore at the Grammys’ Rate: good kid, m.A.A.d city vs Magna Carta… Holy Grail vs Nothing Was The Same vs Yeezus

Posted: 07 Jan 2022 09:01 AM PST

Happy 2022 /r/hiphopheads! Hope you all enjoyed your holidays and are ready to get back into it with our third official rate.

We're kicking off the new year with a best of losers rate, to see which of the four albums we have here can reach the closest to the highs of The Heist. Whether you had wanted Kendrick to win the first HHH rate or maybe you just hate the Grammy's in general, I hope to see you all participate as we revisit some well-loved, critically acclaimed albums from 2012-2013 and Magna Carta.

If you're new to rates, welcome! A rate is essentially an event where we pit a few albums with a common theme against each other (try to guess this one's). Everyone listens to them, scores every song out of 10, and sends those numbers to myself. In about a month, I'll tally everyone's scores and host a reveal where we'll see how each song stacks against each other, from the lowest to the highest averaged scores. Rate reveals are a fun time all around, we joke, we roast, but we also talk pretty passionately about the music we're into. Check out the past two reveal threads for a feel. And if you have any more questions, the Rate 101 tab on this Google Doc is a great resource, although feel free to ask in the thread as well.

Now let's get into the albums we'll be rating over the next few weeks.

Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city

I live inside the belly of the rough, Compton, USA, made me an angel on angel dust

Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal | Youtube

For his second studio album and major label debut, Kendrick Lamar wanted to a sound that was different from his prior project, Section.80. So he looked back to roots of growing up in Compton. What led was an album that not only influenced by his hometown sonically, but also thematically. good kid, m.A.A.d city was billed as an autobiographical short film; just a glance at the album cover will tell you so, note the censorship of everyone's eyes except a young Kendrick. Lyrically it's a dense and at times a dark narrative, following the rapper through his adolescence in his city, as he deals with issues of lust, family, and gang violence. It's an album that manages to combine the intense, unfiltered storytelling in songs like "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" with the more atmospheric, catchier tracks like "Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe" into one cohesive, concept album. GKMC has been universally applauded since its release, it's been taught academically, and dubbed a classic; many fans, including myself, will call it their favorite Kendrick album still.

Jay-Z - Magna Carta... Holy Grail

You in the presence of a king, scratch that, you in the presence of a god

Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal | Youtube

With the longest time between his last solo project and the one being rated, Jay-Z had a lot of expectations to meet with his twelfth studio album. And did he meet them? Well commercially, Magna Carta... Holy Grail was a roaring success. A release deal with Samsung allowed their users to receive the album for free; it also smashed expected debut numbers and broke Spotify streaming records at the time. All fitting for an album full of Jay's braggadocious lyricism over Timbaland's luxurious production. But the album doesn't fill its runtime with just mentions of fame and fortune. There's quite a lot of mention of the significance of family, especially fatherhood since Jay's first daughter was born quite recently. More so than the other albums included in the rate, Magna Carta features an all-star list of guest spots— artists like Justin Timberlake and Frank Ocean shine on tracks "Holy Grail" and "Oceans" respectively. Despite all this, the album left a lot to be desired from both critics and fans, so we'll see if time has changed this perspective.

Drake - Nothing Was The Same

Who else making rap albums, doing numbers like it's pop?

Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal | Youtube

While Nothing Was The Same couldn't win a Grammy for Best Rap Album as its predecessor Take Care did, the third studio album by Drake did solidify his imperial status in not just the hip-hop sphere, but beyond. Met with critical praise and remarked by fans as one of his most consistent works, this album is classic confessional Drake and all his inner musings on heartache, family, and the complications of fame. But don't box this as just a rap album. The title is an allusion to his musical evolution, moving away from solely rapping to incorporating R&B and synthpop such as on songs like "From Time" and "Hold On, We're Going Home". The whole project feels sincere, nostalgic, and essential; there's definitely a NWTS track for every listener out there.

Kanye West - Yeezus

Yeezy season approachin', fuck whatever y'all been hearin'

Spotify | Apple Music | Tidal | Youtube

What do you create after you've released your magnum opus? If you're Kanye West, well then... Yeezus. West's sixth solo studio album was born under a vision of creating something more freeform and minimalist, no doubt a reaction to his grandiose attempts at perfection with My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and the creative restraints he was facing in his fashion endeavors. The result is a project that melds the aesthetics and sounds of his hometown of Chicago with his current lodging in Paris, touching on genres like drill, acid-house, and industrial music. It's abrasive yet sparse, but not too unfamiliar. With tracks like "Blood on the Leaves" or "On Sight", we see it's the same Kanye just dialed up, continuing his audacious sample work, but with unmatched levels of megalomania and lewd punchlines really only he can get away with. While Yeezus had near universal critical acclaim on release, between its unconventional release strategy and drastic departure from sound, it's still polarizing to the general public so it'll be interesting to see its performance here.

Rules

READ ALL OF THESE BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR SCORES

  1. Listen to every song from the standard versions of all four of these albums and assign a score to them between 1 and 10. If you're feeling specific, decimals are okay to one place. Do not use any more than that since they'll break the program used to generate results. So a 6.5 is okay, but a 8.25 is not.

  2. You have to listen and score each song on the ballot! If you miss a score, it'll again break the program and your ballot will not be counted, but I will most likely reach out to you if this is the case.

  3. Your scores are not a secret, feel free to discuss them wherever you feel like, whether that's in the thread or in Daily Discussions. I've seen people comment to try to rally people behind their 11s, which I should also explain…

  4. You may give ONE song an 11 and ONE song a 0. Note one 11 and/or 0 in TOTAL, not for each album. Please reserve these for your most favorite and least favorite tracks, excessive sabotage ruins rate results and generally makes things less fun.

  5. You can change you scores at any time— feel free to PM me at any point after submission and before the deadline and I'll update those for you.

  6. As mentioned, the program used to calculate results uses a specific format, so everything needs to written a specific way. Please use the submission link below to send your scores (there's also a pastebin copy if needed), it's already formatted for you. If you need to work on the ballot over multiple days, you can copy it and save it on a notepad app, but please just make sure to keep the formatting intact, it'll make it easy for both you and me.

  7. You are encouraged to leave comments on as as many songs as you like. If you would like to include comments with your scores, just make sure they are formatted the proper way.

This is correct:

I Am A God: 10 I can't wait for this to be the least controversial song

These are incorrect:

I Am A God: 10: I can't wait for this to be the least controversial song

I Am A God:10 I can't wait for this to be the least controversial song

I Am A God: I can't wait for this to be the least controversial song 10

I Am A God - 10 I can't wait for this to be the least controversial song

I Am A God - 10 - I can't wait for this to be the least controversial song

I Am A God: 10 (I can't wait for this to be the least controversial song)

You can also leave comments on complete albums by adding a colon after the album name and then your comment (without a score), like so:

Nothing Was The Same: and not in a good way

That's all from me! I can't wait to get your ballots, which you should

SUBMIT HERE

(Pastebin of Empty Ballot in case submission link is down)

Scores are due February 26. The reveal will be March 3-5.

submitted by /u/cremeebrulee
[link] [comments]

Album of the Year #36: GoldLink - HARAM!

Posted: 01 Feb 2022 08:06 AM PST

Artist: GoldLink

Album: HARAM!

Label: RCA Records/Squaaash Club

Release Date: June 18, 2021

Listen:

Spotify
Youtube

Background

The DMV area (Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia) has always boasted a rich background in arts while being one of the most known metro areas in the U.S., especially with Go-go style. Although one could say the music scene, in particular, has been disrespected and underrated for a long time, it has never been without its lack of talent, whether it be Clipse, Missy Elliott, the Neptunes, or in the most recent decade rappers like Wale, Shy Glizzy, Fat Trel, Logic, Q Da Fool, and many more. In this scene, GoldLink was also able to rise out with his extremely unique and interesting take on a blend of house music and hip hop. /u/TheRoyalGodfrey wrote an excellent post on how Azealia Banks arguably pioneered this movement that would come to light with GoldLink's rise. Per Goldlink's own words in a 2014 Complex interview, here is how he described the sound

​​ The Soulection-released single perfectly embody a concoction of funk and soul smoothness, classic hip-hop vibes, and a bass-heavy low-slung groove, that all together make up the ever-evolving future bounce sound. "Future bounce is still yet undefined, but I like to look at it as an uptempo bouncy sound with a very nostalgic feeling backed behind it. Imagine Montell Jordan's 'This is how we do it' on crack"

…

It's very different, yet there's still a "hip-hop" bounce and element to the sound. So I use my voice as an instrument to fully complete a track to make the electronic styled music, music.

This sound was in most display with the release of his critically acclaimed 2014 debut mixtape "The God Complex".

Planet Paradise (Prod. by Louie Lastic)
Bedtime Story (Prod. by Louie Lastic)
Sober Thoughts (Prod. by KAYTRANADA)

Despite ending on several best of 2014 lists, Goldlink kept an anonymous persona for most of the year, spending most of the year wearing masks to not reveal his look and barely doing interviews. His hype was strong enough during this period that Andre 3000 decided to show up to GoldLink's first London show ever (which also featured another up-and-coming rapper by the name of Little Simz). During this time, GoldLink was also heavily affiliated with the rise of Soulection (an independent music label/collective), along with other producers like KAYTRANADA, Mr. Carmack, Sango, Sam Gellaitry, TEK.LUN, and more. After being named on the 2015 XXL Freshman List, GoldLink released "...And After That, We Didn't Talk" through Soulection to majorly positive acclaim, again displaying more of his future bounce sound, although also distancing away from it and focusing on more slow, melodic production and songs. This album also featured numerous up-and-coming artists such as Anderson Paak, Masego, Louie Lastic (a staple in GoldLink's projects since the start of his career), Galimatias, and more. For the next year, GoldLink's career was mostly quiet other than the release of two loosies, Fall In Love featuring fellow DMV artist Ciscero and produced by Canadian producers KAYTRANADA and BADBADNOTGOOD, and Untitled with Isaiah Rashad. However, in 2017 GoldLink released what would become one of the national summer and DMV anthems: Crew. Featuring fellow DMV artists Shy Glizzy and Brent Faiyaz (in what would arguably become the backbone to the start of another incredible artist's career), the single was eventually nominated for a Grammy and peaked at #45 on the Billboard Hot 100 (the only charting song in GoldLink's career). Stereogum has a great article here on why the song was such a hit for the DMV artist if anyone is interested. This single was followed up by the release of his 3rd album, At What Cost, which also featured artists such as KAYTRANADA, Louie Lastic, Lil Dude, Steve Lacy, Matt Martians, and more. Usually regarded as his best project with The God Complex, this album was able to capture the essence of go-go music, Washington D.C., life and death, and more. Per this DJ Booth article,

Obii Say, a fellow DC rapper, collaborator, and executive producer on At What Cost, explained all the intricate transitions that play a part in the album's pacing. "The transitions capture the spontaneity, the unpredictable pattern of DC," he points out. "Go-go is one aspect, significant because it's spontaneous. We wanted to translate that energy, capture the city's elements. Different aspects, different parts for people who are from here and for people who aren't. DC is best understood through experience, but the next best thing is to relate." The abrupt, impromptu shifts happen swiftly and suddenly. The gunshots that happen on "Meditation," the stuttering self-destruction that plays out at the end of "Have You Seen That Girl," a vigorously vicious freestyle is interrupted by a soulful choir singing of heartless triggers―each of these moments are like lightning striking on a cloudless day, but each one is meant to evoke how calm can turn to chaos in the blink of an eye. The first listen is like boarding a roller coaster blindfolded, you don't see the loops coming but you feel each one―the thrill of not knowing when your world will be turned upside down.
Tone and atmosphere were a huge focus in making At What Cost feel alive. The album's meant to transport listeners into a storyline that's more broad than linear, but which can easily be followed. The "Opening Credits" sound like a sample from a movie clip, a haunting premonition of what's to come. Every song has significance, but one of the most notable to the story is the KAYTRANADA-produced "Hands On Your Knees." The beat is mesmerizing but there's no rapping, GoldLink is only mentioned in the narration of Kokayi, an OG DC sage who emulates the lead mic at a go-go show. Kokayi playing the lead mic and interacting with the crowd is reminiscent of stepping into any club, but his is a DC club.

Needless to say, I could write up a lot more on this album but for now, I recommend anyone interested to read /u/Pasalacquanian's AOTY writeup he did on this in 2017. Finally, GoldLink released Diaspora, his 2nd official studio album in 2019. Making the album title proud, the rapper was able to blend several different sounds which included Afrobeats, Reggae Fusion, R&B, Dancehall, and as always included many interesting collaborators hailing from Ghana, London, Kenya, and Los Angeles. Although many considered this his weakest project to date, the rapper was still able to step outside his comfort zone and blend in these foreign sounds. However, something in GoldLink's career at this point was very clear, and that was the fact he had pretty much separated himself from the Future Bounce sound and settled for a much more "lazy", slowish and melodic flow (to the tune of someone like Smino or Duckwrth). In each project to this point of his career, you were able to tell the sound and production's direction was categorically different and saw GoldLink step outside his normal zone and try to challenge himself.

Mac Miller Post and Lead Up to HARAM!

The next 2 and a half years were turbulent, to say the least. On November 26, 2019. GoldLink posted "that" Mac Miller post on his Instagram. This post has effectively ruined GoldLink's reputation for good (if you still search his name on Twitter or Reddit these days 9 times out of 10 it'll be "fuck GoldLink" because of the post). I've posted before about my thoughts on this but to quickly summarize it's 2 things. 1: GoldLink tried conveying in quite possibly the worst way about his thoughts on The Divine Feminine being slightly influenced by And After That We Didn't Talk and 2: It is a fact that Mac and Link were pretty close friends (he was one of the last people Mac hung out with before his death + being his opener for the GOOD AM tour). Either way, the matter of fact is this post took a huge hit on GoldLink's reputation and he probably won't ever be looked at the same no matter what.
For the next year, GoldLink was almost completely silent other than being part of Tyler, The Creator's IGOR tour, as well as this feature on KAYTRANADA's album BUBBA, in what was his only collaboration for the next 1 and a half years. On November 20, 2020, GoldLink finally broke his silence by releasing what is undoubtedly the most strange collaboration with KAYTRANADA to date, Best Rapper in the Fuckin World. The first and most noticeable aspect of this track is the muffled effect on his voice, which is something that plays a major role in HARAM! as I'll explain later on. In this song, he includes some very strange and unorthodox flow/lyrics (including a line about Mac), and it could be argued this style was heavily influenced by fellow underground DMV artists NAPPYNAPPA and Sir E.U. His next loosie, Dunya, continued this voice effect and featured underground U.K. artist LukeyWorld who would go on to be featured on HARAM!. Produced by Rascal, the production again seems to be GoldLink starting to go in a different direction from anything he had done to that point in his career. Coupled with this was Leak.mp4, a quickly-deleted loosie he posted on his Instagram. This served as the best preview for what was about to come with his next project, as GoldLink spits over an unorthodox beat with the muzzled voice effect and uncommon flows. There's also this snippet featuring fellow DMV artist Ciscero (who has collaborated with him numerous times) in what seems to feature a full music video that will likely never be released at this point. Something important to note is that the entirety of the album was made in Europe, and GoldLink himself has been living in London since 2019. This serves as a huge reason behind what was about to come with HARAM!, his sound, and the featured artists.
On June 9, seemingly out of nowhere GoldLink released White Walls, a dark, grimy atmosphere song with a kind of haunting hook that sees GoldLink continue to utilize the muzzled voice filter. Along with the single, he announced HARAM! and released the tracklist paired with the very strange but interesting cover art. When asked about the cover, GoldLink explained he was heavily influenced by Metallica's Black Album cover, which was a super minimalistic cover in a time when most metal album covers tended to be on the maximalist side. The rapper also went on a strange tweet rant that included another Sheck Wes diss and an Azealia Banks shoutout.
With little to no promotion by RCA, no one knew what to expect or what was to come with this album. Looking at the features listed in the tracklist announcement, the first thing one could see was the inclusion of several underground U.K. artists that most likely no one in North America would be familiar or ever heard of (including Rizloski, Rax, LukeyWorld, Fire!, Dan Diggerz and more). You also had what remains PinkPantheress' only ever feature to date, who at the time was amid an incredible start to her career off TikTok hype. GoldLink's projects have always included extremely unique and interesting collaborators and producers that normally aren't seen on most hip hop projects and with HARAM! we would see this trend continue. Joe Perez, a creative director who'd previously worked with artists like Kanye West, A$AP Rocky, Beyonce, Billie Eilish and more served as the executive creative director for this album. GoldLink explained that when speaking to Joe about the album's direction and concept, he wanted to have a sort of "dystopian vibe combined with U.K. pirate radio". Grime legend Dizzee Rascal also heavily advised GoldLink during the creation of the album.

Release and Review

Nevertheless, GoldLink officially released HARAM! on June 18, 2021. As mentioned before, straight off the bat the first noticeable aspect of the album will be GoldLink's use of this muzzled, static, unapologetic-like voice effect throughout much of the project. When asked about this, the artist has mentioned a few reasons as to why he decided to go in this risky direction. Knowing he has a great and unique voice, GoldLink felt like it would be challenging to the listeners if he added a filter to his voice and distorted it to change it. Per his own words on the use of it:
https://streamable.com/4w7gdo

GoldLink also posted a quickly-deleted IG post a few weeks after the album's release which I believe can add a lot of background for what went into the album's direction:

I made "HARAM" with the sole intent of being disruptive and unpopular to the masses. A huge fuck you to the ideology of capitalist western fame and industry elitism. The idea of conforming your art to be a "bigger", more profitable artist to an establishment and group of people that don't give a fuck about you. To making a decision against selling your soul for cheap trinkets, bullshit bitches, finite friendships, and brand deals…only in order to sell your right of opinion and passage of humanity. Constantly trying to fit into a box that you will never fit into. And seemingly get replaced by whatever/whoever "next" is. And nobody ever tells you when that time is yours to cherish or when that time is up. Regardless of what the narrative is about it or about me, "HARAM" is for the future. Not for people on IG who still read posts. But for the children that have to grow up in a dystopian, dysfunctional, post covid world of mediocrity, safety, and misinformation. Where an artist is too concerned about not losing the little they have, instead of trying to create the change we need to actually move this culture forward. "HARAM" was for you. Not me.

Keeping this in mind, listening to the album will make considerably more sense. With HARAM!, GoldLink is able to create a sound that borrows from club music, grime, R&B, and more in what ultimately proceeds to be an eclectic listen. With the muzzled, distorted voice effect, GoldLink can add value to a lot of these tracks by making them more unnerving and causing some sort of reaction. In addition to this, you have GoldLink working with a multitude of U.K. artists, as well as creating the album in London, Paris, and Amsterdam. What I believe makes this project such an intriguing and interesting listen is how in parts it could be seen as incohesive, disjointed, bizarre, yet for some odd reasons, it works. One of my favorite parts about listening to his projects is usually paying attention to who was involved with each track and so on. Terrordome was co-produced and co-written with Tyler Johnson), who in recent years produced and co-wrote the entirety of Harry Styles' last 2 albums, as well as helping produce in Sam Smith's last album. This might make sense why (as is the case in a lot of these songs), this track can be seen as out of place, with GoldLink's muzzled and distorted voice clashing against this futuristic, upbeat production and culminating with this catchy hook that could be probably heard in the next Harry Styles album (per his own words, "Tyler Johnson wanted to do a session. He'd been making the Harry Styles album, and I thought, 'Right, he's going to fucking hate this.' He didn't. We ended up making 'Terrordome', which is, to me, a pop record that stands the test of time"). 202 (produced by RIO of Nez & Rio, who are responsible for some HHH favorites like Man of The Year, LPFJ2, Druggys With Hoes Again, Gangstas, etc.) shows up as the second track in the project and is something you wouldn't be surprised if Isaiah Rashad spit on, almost sounding like a futuristic sequel to their previous Untitled collab I mentioned earlier. In the first two tracks, you're able to hear hints of strange but large normalcy, with a prime example being NLE Choppa's feature in which he spits his usual bars with interesting pseudoscience beliefs, contrasted with GoldLink just sort of popping up for a bit at the beginning with the muzzled voice effects. For this track, GoldLink mentioned

The first song we made, in Paris during the riots. I turned up the distortion filter as much as you possibly can and it just kind of just screeched. You can hear rumbling in the background and I started yelling. It was really just a track of our emotion. And I didn't want to finish it. I didn't want to add words to it. I thought that the feeling was enough. Overall, is this the absolute best execution of the direction GoldLink was aiming for and experimenting with? Probably not, but as with each of GoldLink's first 3 projects, it works well enough to have you intrigued by the extreme variety and nuances in each song's production, feature choice, lyrics, and most of all the DMV's rapper voice.

With the aforementioned 202, you get the same feeling again except with an even murkier beat, where the distorted filter effect is on and Link's voice is even higher. Overall, you get the feeling that you're close to normalcy but still have more prominent hints. By the time you get to White Walls, the album's first single, the project finally starts to vaguely come into its own, with the murky lilting beat clashing against the vocal effects to the point they show up fully with his voice in an even lower register, making it more prominent. Even with the different flows throughout this song, you can hear the DMV artist carrying those high, almost nasally e's and then working it into a unique flow around the 1:00 minute mark of the song, in which we can see him fully stretching the song out and getting the concept going in full. Here you're able to experience "HARAM!", with its nasally dragging flows, murky lifting production, almost offbeat vocal samples, etc. After this song, the album pretty much completely opens up in terms of production and sounds. You've got the distorted voice effects, flows and tones, diverse song selection, all being sincerely executed, from the lilting/abnormal White Walls, to GoldLink taking a shot at synthwave with Terrordome, to the up and about euphoria on Wild and Lethal Trash! GoldLink is simply doing what he wants, not even necessarily off-putting but just made to be free, in turn, the final product being off-putting. You have the artist selecting mixed reception features from Rich the Kid and NLE, and then for everybody else? U.K. MC's/artists, and then the one state just about no rapper comes from, Alabama. We are seeing Haram selections all over the place, but yet for some reason they work. It's only Haram because American Hip-Hop- can be so locked in/predictable, and that's what this album largely is commenting on through its different sounds and directions, and largely executing it well.
When I first saw the feature list announced for this project, what interested me the most (other than PinkPantheress which I'll touch on later) was who this Rizloski guy was and how that connection even happens. Pretty much the only thing I could find on this guy was this 50 second YouTube snippet, a 10-minute Boiler Room set (in what feels like a perfect setting for an album like HARAM!), and Shackles. Delving deeper into this guy's sound, half of it sounds like it would fit perfectly on a Frank Ocean or Sonder project with the other half being more straightforward UK rap. Hearing his alternate outro for Spit on Me, as well this other outro that was supposed to make the album is still some of the most beautiful singing and music moments I heard last year. It's discovering artists like this, Kali Uchis in God Complex, Masego/Smino in And After That We Didn't Talk that partly makes hearing these GoldLink projects such a cool experience. The rapper mentioned a few times this album has to be experienced at full volume in a closed space at least once for the full experience, which makes sense considering the sort of vibe the album gives at times as if it was made in an abandoned warehouse with no rules. To further prove this point, here's a quick video of Fire! and Link performing Culture Clash at a small party. As always, one of the biggest weaknesses GoldLink has in this project is his tendency to kind of get outshined by the features, as well as weak songwriting. At this point in his career, however, it's something that you just kind of come to expect since it ultimately ends up working for the best, properly using each artist to their best ability and use (as is the case with Bibi Bourelli in the closing track, Cindy's Daughter). Throughout my relistening experience for this album, I often found myself wishing GoldLink was able to expand on what he was aiming for with a song in terms of sound and direction, but by the time I was doing I was already fully captivated by the next song.
To finish off this particular review, I want to highlight and talk more in-depth about a few specific songs:

Wild and Lethal Trash! (feat. Santigold & Fire!) [Prod. by Sam Gellaitry]

This song (which I consider the arguable best track of last year) holds a special spot in my heart for me as it sort of culminates and odes back to the Soulection movement, with Sam Gellaitry (an incredible and talented Scottish producer) and GoldLink having been 2 of the most important artists behind the rise of Soulection, in what is a collaboration that should've happened at least twenty times by now. Nevertheless, it serves as the first time (from what I can tell) that Sam Gellaitry somehow officially produced a song for a rapper and it only makes sense GoldLink would be the person to do this. Sammy G absolutely killed it with this production, which ends up being something that sounds as if it was sampling an old Sonic the Hedgehog game, slowly but surely building up towards the peak of the song when U.K. legend Santigold lends her voice for the bridge, for then all 3 artists to spit back and forths in the final verse of what perfectly fits this luscious and grandiose beat (per GoldLink, he told Sammy G "I just want it to sound expensive. I wanted the palette to be grand. Whatever you think Watch the Throne sounds like, that's the way I want it to sound"). Originally, GoldLink had recorded the song 15 times before deciding he wanted Fire on it as he felt he wanted a rougher voice to go against his smoother voice, and this was a more than welcome decision as the British rapper absolutely kills his feature and adds a much needed polar opposite feel to it.

Evian (feat. PinkPantheress, Rizloski & Rax)

Fun fact about this song, GoldLink said he premiered and tested this song out at different gay clubs in London since it was partly made for the gay community. Produced by Kintaro (Thundercat's brother and former member of the band The Internet), this song sees GoldLink and company hop on a production that uses the clap & synth palette in a way that leads to more house elements than it does Drum n Bass. Being the former keyboardist for The Internet (and currently part of Thundercat's tour band), it might make sense why this song is much more keyboard-heavy. GoldLink specified that during the making of this song, he told all 3 features where he wanted them to go on during the song and let them do their thing, which is evidenced by PinkPantheress flawlessly messing around throughout the background of the song with Rizloski coming in while GoldLink is mumbling. At points, this song just makes you feel as if you were in a crowded, small boiler room set with all of these talented artists coming in and out for what turns out to be one of the coolest songs of the year. If you don't believe me, here's a video of GoldLink/PinkPantheress/Rizloski performing the song last week at a house party
https://streamable.com/3sv9ek
Whether it's the production going from relatively slow to very quick, everyone switching in & out, and just the lack of a proper song structure formality (a theme throughout the entirety of HARAM!) that sees GoldLink again choose to use the muzzled/distorted voice effect, this song epitomizes what a cool and fun song should be. Another notable thing is to note that this song sounds perfect for what a peak Azealia Banks song would've sounded like back in 2012-14, and it's a shame she didn't get to have a part in it. When asked about how the collaboration came to be, PinkPantheress responded:

He messaged me on Instagram about a session and it goes without saying that I simply had to go. It was my first time at a recording studio as well, so I was nervous enough that I had to bring two friends to join me. It was amazing to be part of that track, the producer Kintaro killed that beat and I'm generally a huge fan of that kind of house style of music so I was eager to sing the hook." And GoldLink A friend of mine had sent me a record from PinkPantheress on SoundCloud and I said, 'Who the fuck is this girl?' We got in a session and I'm just cutting a bunch of records and testing out different sounds. From there, I kind of Quincy Jones-ed the whole thing where I wanted her here. I really wanted to recreate this kind of UK garage sound that we've been missing for years now, but modernise it.

Girl Pacino

In the only other song produced by Kintaro, we again see the producer create a very dreamy, ethereal, unorthodox just cute beat in which GoldLink effortlessly flows while singing and rapping about his known past relationship with Justine Skye (who Raindrops was also originally about and actually featured). At the end of the song, we get an uncredited brief cameo from yet another underground U.K. artist Deji Okeze (who currently has 120 monthly listeners but does have this collab with Lancey Foux) in what finishes off this excellent track. When asked about the song, GolldLink said:

I'm a fan of Kintaro [Jameel Bruner, former member of The Internet]. We've been friends for about six years. He's so weird, in the best way possible. I heard the song on his SoundCloud and hit him up. He's like, 'Do you like it? You can have it, I just don't have the stems.' I was like, 'Whatever, man, just send it.' And every time I hear it, I think of him saying, 'This is going to go diamond!

Favorite Lyrics

Hate all the bullshit raps
I don't wanna name no names, but everybody know I'm back, back
I don't give a fuck 'bout a bitch
Look how I walk like this
How many niggas this young, this good, can even fuckin' talk like this?
How many niggas you know like this?
Wrist so froze, frostbite my wrist
I'm top one in a top ten list
HARAM! all year, I'm back, I'm back, bitch

"Wild and Lethal Trash!"

Ghetto church music for my yutes
My partner growin' up said, "When you flash it, better shoot"
My shooter always told me, "Don't you worry 'bout the truth'
The truth is the music business fucked up since "Crew"
I went from not having it all to having it all in a day
Then I got everything, then my soul started fading away
Nigga so famous, my whole city start feeling a way
Nigga so famous, that when he post the world feeling a way
Remember Soulection me? Remember 2014?
Remember them double XL niggas who hotter than me?
Now the hood love me, the Blackest women, they riot for me
Grammy's on Grammy's, Grammy's on Grammy's like niggas OD'd

"Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk"

Star with the David's, cook up the pies
Rollin' with the mandem, had to throw a tantrum
Hit her with the dance moves, she said, "How could you?"
Woop-woop-woop, feds on my ass
Runnin' from my past, pants fall off my ass

"Wayne Perry"

I was sixteen when I bust my case
When I start rapping, had to hide my face
I was movin' packs right up out my place
Had to bust moves so I leave no trace

"Culture Clash"

Lil' boy swim, lil' boy drown if that nigga ain't used to water
Crack cocaine, yeah, a young nigga tryna get it like Coach Carter
Dah-dah-dah-dah, they know Pressa, she need runnin' down, John Connor
Fifteen shots like I'm Vince Carter, told her partner she from Dower
Campin' out, camp for hours, CD look like CN Tower
Got a grave and a flower, young nigga, he came from powder
Got finesse, got jugg, Novocain and super sour

Pressa on "Culture Clash"

It's something 'bout how you never round when there's no one around
Your heads in the clouds
I'm never tryna bring you down
'Cause I need you up there, stay up there
Oh, I love it when you look back at me like
What the fuck do you want?
What you lookin' at? Uh-huh
And my lovin' doesn't come with receipt
'Cause I don't give a fuck? Here you go
I don't want it back, no-oh
If you are ready to see (If you are ready to see)
Might come back here next time
Too much anxiety (That's just too much anxiety)
This time I'll be with you, it's only new (Ahh)

Rizloski on "Spit On Me"

Yeah, you know that we be wrappin' niggas up just like a mummy (Just like a mummy)
He get shot, it execute him, so I hit him like a zombie (Brrra)
They askin' will I kill again, I'll do it for some money (For the cash)
Whole team steady ballin', bitch, we comin' like the Sonics (Like the Sonics)
Ten-piece, some five to the face, five to the chest, I gave him Crumpy's (Chicken wings)
Thirty shots up in this Drac', he keep on runnin', I keep dumpin'
They tellin' me to stop shootin', but them bullets keep on comin' (They keep on comin')
Bitch, you know how we be comin', we turn brains into salami (Into salami)

NLE Choppa on "Extra Clip"

Discussion

  • How did you feel about the distorted voice effect? Do you feel as if it had any use at all (even with his explanation)?

  • Did you find the project too feature-heavy or was it just right as is the norm with his projects?

  • How do you feel about the extremely heavy U.K/European influence throughout the album (whether it's DnB, house, grime, etc)?

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

  • What's your favorite song on the album? Favorite feature? Favorite beat?

  • What significance do you think the title has?

  • What direction do you want to see GoldLink go next? Do you think him being an independent artist again will be a good or bad step for his career?

  • Do you think GoldLink will ever be able to recover reputation-wise from the Mac Miller post?

Additional Links:

Dead End Hip Hop Review
RNGLDR Review
Podcast Episode Interview with GoldLink on HARAM!

If you've actually gotten to this point and bothered reading any of this thank you lmao, hopefully some of you found it interesting enough to revisit the album or just give it some thoughts (whether good or bad). Definitely let me know in the comments how you guys felt about the album
Also special shoutout to /u/Originally_Odd for helping write this as well

submitted by /u/RafiakaMacakaDirk
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Top verses of all time?

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Which verses do you consider top tier or better than most

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Daily Discussion Thread 02/01/2022

Posted: 01 Feb 2022 09:12 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

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.

Weekly/Monthly Threads

Other ways to interact

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

Check these out:

This Week (2/2 to 2/4)

2nd: Ivy Sole - CANDID [Philadelphia Hip Hop, Indie Rap, Les Fleurs]

4th:

  • 2 Chainz - Dope Don't Sell Itself (featuring Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Roddy Ricch, NBA Youngboy, Moneybagg Yo, Swae Lee, 42 Dugg, Stove God Cooks, Sleepy Rose, Jacquees + more) [Trap, ATL, Gamebread / Def Jam]
  • Korn - Requiem [Nu-Metal, Loma Vista / Concord]
  • Yo Gotti - CM10 (featuring DaBaby + more) [Memphis Trap, CMG / Inevitable II]
  • Yung Gravy & Dillion Francis - Cake and Cognac (featuring T-Pain & Tommy Cash) [Pop Rap]
  • Saba - Few Good Things (featuring Krayzie Bone, G Herbo, Eryn Allen Kane, 6LACK, Smino, Mereba, Pivot Gang, Benjamin Earl Turner, Fousheé, Black Thought + more) [Chicago Rap, Conscious Rap, Pivot Gang]
  • Adekunle Gold - Catch Me If You Can (featuring Lucky Daye, Davido + more) [Afrobeats, Afro Urban Records]
  • Tank - R&B MONEY [R&B, Atlantic]
  • Sam Tompkins - ​who do you pray to? [R&B, UK, Island / UMG]
  • Yung Kayo - DOWN FOR THE KOUNT (featuring Yeat & Eartheater) [Plugg, Young Stoner Life / sevensevenseven]
  • EBK Jaaybo - Rrari Forever [Stockton Trap, Thizzler on the Roof]
  • FMB DZ - Back On Track (featuring Sada Baby, RMC Mike, Louie Ray, G.T. + more) [Michigan Trap, Fast Money Boyz / EMPIRE]
  • Myles Bullen - Mourning Travels (featuring billy woods + more) [Alt-Rap, Fake Four]
  • Bossmann - Discussion's (featuring Rucci + more) [LA Gangsta Rap, Mackk & Company]

Full Calendar

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at

Album of the Year #35: Aesop Rock & Blockhead - Garbology - HipHop

Album of the Year #35: Aesop Rock & Blockhead - Garbology - HipHop

Album of the Year #35: Aesop Rock & Blockhead - Garbology

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 06:31 AM PST

​

https://preview.redd.it/6cn8ij4zk2f81.jpg?width=288&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d61951cd4ab116f8434fd1472c1a66bc1e7dc169

Artist: Aesop Rock and Blockhead

Album: Garbology

Released: November 12th, 2021

Label: Rhymesayers Entertainment

Listen:

Apple Music

Spotify

Youtube

Tidal

Garbology: Who's that Drunk Mall Santa Rooting Through my Trash?

Rock'em Block'em Robots

Garbology is a project of existential scope on both a personal and global level. When I accepted this writeup assignment I experienced a bit of my own existential dread, fully aware that dissecting Aesop Rock's raps is a daunting task at best. So I sit here, three days before my writeup is due, cramming like a masochistic Physics major.

Trying to pin down Aesop Rock's verbal necromancy is like trying to trap an angry cat in a paper bag. At this point, most people are fairly sure he's an alien, robot, or robot-alien. Never one to disappoint, Aesop stays elusive yet impactful as ever, poking and prodding through life's detritus to find meaning before careening into the next expert rendering, his flows reliably composed of an unflinching, dream-like intensity.

This project's concept conjures the scavenger junk-men of my youth who came around before every garbage day, their rusted, pockmarked pick-up trucks stacked with broken chairs, chain-link fences, and childrens' playsets of mildewed plastic, all strapped down with frayed bungee cords. They would spend hours every Sunday driving street to street, hoping to salvage something valuable from another man's trash. Aesop stacks his raps masterfully as a ragpicker in a truck bed, extracting precious metals from everyday refuse and proving everything has a use, even when its function is thought to be long gone.

Born of a brotherhood forged between hip hop-obsessed Boston University students, Aesop Rock and Blockhead's Garbology is a study of all things forgotten, repurposed, or recycled. It investigates not only what we forget, but the things we refuse to leave behind. In an ever collapsing world, this project finds comfort in the warmth of lost nostalgia and the fire of justified rebellion, all while projecting optimistic anxiety for the future.

Though they have a long history of fruitful collaboration, they never created a full joint project together, with this latest offering seeming a long overdue dream project for their respective fanbases. Embarking on a rap career with his first offering Music for Earthworms, Ian Bavitz is many things: a Long Island native, current Portland resident, diehard skate rat, and disillusioned art student. As Aesop Rock, he's been weaving his nihilistic verbosity over beats equal parts dirty and melodic for decades.

As noted by Aesop super-fan Lupe Fiasco, Aes is a rare artist that continuously improves with age, in a way that's mystifying and frustrating to creative contemporaries. Lupe went so far as to memorize and rap Aesop's Supercell verse, posting with the caption "take time to memorize the unbridled excellence of others." Aes's sinuous flows are like fine ambrosia plundered from the catacombs of graffitied subway tunnels. Often, Aesop juxtaposes the natural with the digital and artificial. It's like if the Cask of Amontillado was wrapped in scratched grip tape and brimming with rabbit blood.

Meanwhile, Blockhead long ago cemented himself as one of the more inventive and prolific producers working today. Aside from his memed-out social media feed of beautiful shit posts, he met early acclaim with instrumental projects like Music by Cavelight and Uncle Tony's Coloring Book. His career spans a plethora of lauded projects up to his recent Space Werewolves Will Be The End of Us All and the 2019 underground super-compilation Free Sweatpants. Ever self-effacing, his Twitter bio asserts he "makes music for rappers and high people".

On this album, skateboard references abound, which should surprise nobody who's been following Aesop's Instagram stories, his album promo often amounting to clips of his friends skating curb spots in downtown Portland. An 80s skate rat at heart, these reference points make even more sense of the context of this project's genesis. Over the past few years, Aesop went through a rare creative drought following the sudden passing of close friend and Portland skate filmer Kurt Hayashi.

Garbology was born from that personal tragedy and resulting creative block. Sequestered indoors under a fresh pandemic, Blockhead supplied production via email for Aes to play on like a rusted jungle gym of grim synths, nimble basslines, and melancholy piano melodies. From there, things worked themselves out with minimal communication. Aesop claimed on an Instagram story "usually Block will send me a beat and I'm like bruuuuhhhh then I send him back the verse and he's like, bruuuuh, sick".

About the album's concept, Aesop said, "Garbology is defined as the study of the material discarded by society to learn what it reveals about social or cultural patterns. I find a lot of parallels between that and the idea of picking up the pieces after a loss or period of intense unrest, and seeing what's really there. It's information that speaks to who I am, who we are, and how we move forward. Furthermore – the idea of digging through old, often neglected music from another time with an ear tuned for taking in that data in a different way than your average listener would is exactly what Blockhead does. Go through the information and see what you find."

Drawing Molotov Cocktails

Jazz Hands, the lead single from the album, concerns Aesop's past few years and the adjoining anxiety of personal and societal flux. Much of the song is from the viewpoint of a fervent protestor. It feels like a roiling statement of seclusion amid a world in turmoil, juxtaposed with the speaker's newfound sense of community as he rebels against an oppressive system.

The song begins with symbols and personal statements on isolation, paranoia, and a longing for familial connection. The first segment includes a reference to famed escape artist Harry Houdini, showing Aesop's internal struggles to be closer to picking lock tumblers underwater than a simple pulling of scarves from a tophat.

Love note to the whole fuck show

Postmarked from a lighthouse in the blunt smoke

Dear motherfuckers, I'm teetering, if you must know

…

Niece on the phone saying, "Ian, you should visit more"

We could build forts while the pigs court civil war

….

I'm not here to pull scarves out

Here to pick tumblers underwater with his arms bound

Later lines build the theme of art as an essential, even violent catharsis, or weapon against an unjust world. Aes enacts a failed William Tell shot, imagining himself shooting an arrow, maybe figuratively in the form of art, maybe literally at the forehead of a corrupt cop or system, asserting he will not be aiming for the apple. He goes on to depict the results of civil unrest, mixing these images with his own artistic prowess, "New superpower that I picked up in a frenzy/I can draw a roof on fire from memory."

The verse transitions into more direct references to the protests "Down to spray piss on a cop car, it's rage in the form of Renaissance art". Aesop then raps more lines dealing with frustration at the impermanence of life, himself, and those he loves most,

Lately, I treat every interaction as a living wake

Thanking people close to me before the photo pixelate

The song ends with eponymous bars that reference Gil-Scott Heron's The Revolution Will Not Be Televised as Aesop affirms real systemic change will not be pretty, peaceful, or able to be sugar-coated.

Get your whole roadmap Pac Man'd

Black mask, snack on whatever's in the dashcam

It's not an ad, hashtag, or a tap dance

Patsy, the revolution will not have jazz hands

The spacey, deceptively simple production is a nod to the drumless loop trend first popularized by Roc Marciano, becoming so popular even Drake adopted the style for Champagne Poetry. By the end of the verse, Blockhead's drums thump into earshot, symbolizing a release or resolution, or even the morning after a protest, the sun rising above the Portland skyline amidst the scent of smoke and tear-gas.

The Portland George Floyd protests were significant for their duration, where demonstrators engaged in a near persistent stretch of year-long protests, at times erupting into clashes between left-wing protestors demanding police accountability and right-wing counter-protesters waving Trump flags. Portland was also one of the cities where members of the National Guard were deployed, meeting later criticism after it was shown that officers did not clearly identify themselves and seized protestors who were not on or near government property.

The Portland Police Bureau even met criticism from the US Department of Justice via a scathing letter condemning their use of undue force and violence towards protestors. This is the physical setting for Jazz Hands, with its undercurrent of resolute revolt. This all hums below Block's loops, where the soundscape feels like wandering through cosmic decay, its deceptive calm contrasting Aesop's fiery subject matter.

Ledgerdemain is defined as an adroit skillfulness defying normal human expectations or abilities. Mixing in more spooky magical bars, Aesop again employs his spoken sleight of hand with a sharpness befitting Houdini, narrating a story within the hook while describing his own characteristics and nighttime activities in the verses, mostly centering around skateboarding while depicting skating as the gateway drug for rebellion. Tying into the theme of garbage and recycling, Aes shows how skateboarders, like graffiti writers who make markers from empty shoe polish bottles, reclaim the mundane structures of a city into skate spots, turning forgotten places into sources of inspiration and joy.

To me, it sounds like the hook might be about finding a hidden skate spot in the woods or finding a hidden subculture in the unknown, then the verses intersperse skate talk with protest talk. He begins the song visualizing his outfit and demeanor, characterizing himself as a haggard vagabond draped in thrifted clothes and supernatural implements, like some kind of Samurai Jack of Long Island's back alleys.

Chicken noodle thermos, parka marching out the army surplus

Over thermals over thermals over thermals over thermals, look

Owl on my shoulder, initials on the katana

Whispering something wicked through a moisture-wicking balaclava

Again, the themes of rebellion and police criticism show, as Aesop highlights the uselessness of oppressive policing and depicts police burning technology ritualistically, perhaps to destroy data and communication lines.

​​Caught 'em fudging the numbers and hiding birds in they coat

Burning phones and computers inside a circle of stones

When policing the people is, "Please return to your homes"

You get a people determined to take a turn in the strobe

He describes his fellow protestors further in the second verse, highlighting the similar scorn skaters and protesters have for tyrannical authority figures, occupying the "umbra" of shadows nobody goes. The plaza and thermometer lines could be referencing skating plazas in freezing temperatures, or protesting in plazas during COVID and taking temperatures to make sure nobody has a fever.

Plaza to plaza, thermometer going nuh-uh

My posse out of pocket on some occupy the umbra

If it's under freezing, I don't even wanna know a number

Just show me to the rolling thunder, wubba, wubba, wubba

Today a mall cop told me I should get a life

He then finishes the verse with some skateboard folklore, one of those "no way, he did that trick over that curb and wearing Timberland boots on a board that wasn't even his!?" stories skateboarders pass between themselves like baseball cards, each detail adding to the mystique and difficulty of whatever trick it was.

I guess in '97, so and so did such and such

In Timbs on someone else's board

Tell the story, spread the lore

It's epic to a people who would rather push than teleport

Aesop begins the last verse with more sartorial references, showing himself wearing a wolf's carcass like an Arcteryx jacket, in search of late-night junk food. He describes how he and his friends are able to turn a skatable curb into an evening of recreation, boardsliding so intensely they manage to "sweat a boiling ocean in early Feb' " To the very end, Aesop mixes the images in this song between protestors and skaters, moving or skating so fast through the night that they're indistinguishable on surveillance footage.

My coaches told me don't come home without the serpent's head

I told 'em hold my turkey leg, point me at a pitchfork

Brought the trophy home and took the poultry back still warm

Out to flirt with hypothermia

It's CCTV's blurriest insurgents in your area

People are Disappointing

Difficult is a song built on Aesop's tongue-in-cheek insistence he isn't that complicated. This is one of the more obviously braggadocious songs on the album where Aes weaves dismissive assertions into a cascade of brilliant, quasi self-effacing boasts. Bavitz even brings in a compelling family reference, the war stories of grandparents we were all so horrified and impressed by as children around the rocking chair. The "I storm off, forged from my gramp's war stories/short sword swinging like a dance floor in the 40s" is one of my favorite bars on the album, from the impeccably smooth assonance to the wordplay between the horrors of an era's wars versus that era's cultural recreation, with a subtle nod to the discontented traits inherited from earlier generations.

Pulled pork sliders

Headed for satori in jorts and horse blinders

I'm more for the sordid, got nan for the normies

Cornered, my storm got plans for the Dorothies

I storm off, forged from my gramp's war stories

Short sword swinging like a dance floor in the forties

Further bars include an allusion to a bizarre scene featuring decapitation via bladed frisbee from the 1987 B-movie Hard Ticket to Hawaii a film about two drug enforcement agents overthrowing an island cartel. Aesop conveys his fascination with the stranger strains of "fringe science" aka left-of-center references he often incorporates in his writing. Ever the unreliable narrator, Aes confesses he'll probably steal your lighter if you hand it to him, a fitting treasure trove for the absurdist character he often raps through.

My oars both row in an ocean of fringe science

The low road's owner of the most pinched lighters

I maybe got a thousand

My crane kick plays like a train through a mountain

My neck chop plays like blades on a frisbee

Then, he goes on to portray himself as the black sheep of his family, a loose apple who couldn't adhere to any family tree precedent. Aes claims to be a tide destroying childrens' sandcastles then references a Dolly Parton song, describing himself as murdering his adversaries and rolling them in an area rug. Aesop Rock, for all his seemingly obscure, profound flourishes, is a child of bad 80s movies and nickel arcades. He's the king of these light-hearted, deep-cut 80s references that border on incredibly well-worded cartoonish scenes. Plus, who else has ever rhymed "hair in the sun" with "area rug"? This is another example of Aesop's exhaustive originality.

I'm an apple with no tree

I'm ground swell crashing every castle at Jones Beach

It's beautiful as Jolene hair in the sun

Or any adversary wrapped up in an area rug, oh, Jesus

In the final verse, Bavitz opines his weariness of our endlessly artificial, social media-obsessed world while admitting he's as much a victim as anyone to the easy dopamine distractions of cellphones or "houses of mirrors". Nobody is truly immune to an algorithm that reflects your own self-image back to you via content relevant to your own interests. We're all hopeless narcissists in our special human way, even the inimitable Aesop Rock.

Every time an influencer offers advice,

I feel years coming off of my life I feel

blood shooting out of my ears

Still, I'm apparently a sucker for these houses of mirrors

Flamingo Pink, with chorus assistance from Hail Mary Mallon associate and frequent collaborator Rob Sonic, depicts the hazards of propping false idols on shoddy pedestals, exposing the menacing energies lurking below a pretty facade. Over thumping drums muddled as kerosene puddles, Aesop begins the song picturing himself as some kind of bandit, holding a stethoscope to the locks of a bank vault before absconding down castle walls with search dogs in hot pursuit. The tension of the chase is reflected in the production, with an everpresent synth pluck pulsating in the background.

Aesop is unflinching towards death, positing that no pharmaceutical panacea can contend with the crushing existential weight of the inevitable end. Instead of dread, he adopts a carelessness to the universal imminence of death, whistling the grim inevitability away with the wave of a hand.

The rope goes over the wall

For the controller born to hold a stethoscope to a vault

Wooly willy, peel off in a barrel over the falls

And down river by the time they radio for the dogs

I crossed heart, can't tell a bad day from a death wish

Detour through the graveyard with a chef's kiss

They don't make a pill for that, it's too advanced

All you can do is lick your wounds and whistle past the boogie mans

Standout bars on the album follow, rendering carnival decorations reminiscent of the Coney Island boardwalk. Aesop shows death can be hiding ominously behind the most innocuous objects, uncovering the looming doom beneath a bright image of conventional fun.

Wicked forces in the wings descending on the simple things

Like taffy at the boardwalk under ribbons of flamingo pink

Which mutates into ovеrcrowded Plinko on a laser grid

Bavitz then continues to build his self-characterization as a misanthrope. This stretch includes more references to wolves, adept internal rhymes, and social justice imagery. Aesop asserts that the system cannot tame ardent activists, portraying his own grim unreliability before shifting into another skateboard reference.

Don't do it, social cues bouncing off his open wounds

Folk are on some, "Oh, hello," I'm on some hocus pocus, poof

Holy moly, motion blur from bloke to Canis Lupus

…

You can not domesticate the modern vigilante

Who increasingly identifies as energy expanding

My pat on the back is a little Edward Scissorshands-y

Come and send it with the cleverest to never stick the landing

He then raps about Plinko machines, a manmade object that itself is outdated in our hyper-digitized world, seeming more a forgotten piece of nature than civilization. Sonic's refrain kicks in after each verse, his world-weary timbre mirroring Aesop's own Marlboro-tinted baritone.

Good goddamn, good goddamn

Every idol I ever met is a con-man.

Gotta hopscotch hot pan to hot pan

Rob ties into the bleak realism of the overall album, showing that when it comes to promises and persona versus reality, humans tend to underdeliver. Never meet your heroes, they're only people, flaws and all.

Secret Sponsor-Me Tapes

In the TV-themed That is Not a Wizard, Aesop demystifies himself through vulnerability then addresses the negative facets of humanity at large. Featuring the best hook and one of the best beats on the album, Aes proclaims his affection for anything that can knock an arrogant person down a peg, showing how he uses obscure information to catch the high falutin off-guard. In the same bars, he asserts his respect for work ethic and creative excellence over materialistic success. Blockhead supplies some elegant piano samples whose delicate, ethereal keys float over an unrelenting drum break as harsh guitar hits play at intervals.

Aesop explains that he resents how the most outspoken people, regardless of the substance of their words, seem to find it easiest to achieve acclaim. Another bar laments the societal tendencies to laud false idols before following them to certain emptiness. Aesop would rather be seen as out to lunch in the context of the entertainment industry if it means he can maintain artistic integrity.

True crime, fantasy, action-adventure, game show

It's all sci-fi, I'm all Play-Doh

I like data that turn brains to egg yolk

It turn royals to regular John or Jane Does

I hate praising net worth over legwork

I hate ceding all power to the extroverts

I find the current social architecture hell on earth

We make shepherds and shadow 'em to the netherworld

I move reticent, never really an open book

I'm gone fishin' at thе risk of being overlooked

The hook encapsulates the themes of the song. Aes ultimately paints himself in vulnerable terms, showing his artistry wasn't discovered easily. He depicts himself in a fugue state "learning how to walk from leaving the TV on", a possible reference to his debilitating clinical depression, explored previously in One of Four. He then links this image of a TV flickering in a dark room with each set of beginning bars in the song's verses, listing TV genres before expanding into introspection.

I was on the floor in a fugue state

Tripping over old flicks

Picking out a new name

I was on the couch feeling real gone

Learning how to walk from leaving the TV on

Abandoned Malls, a concept I'm surprised Aesop is only now exploring, finishes out the record. As gloomy synths tumble over the palpitations of Blockhead's drum patterns, Aes investigates American deindustrialization. The production itself evokes Big Retail's carcass flatlining in real-time, like a threnody for the Toy-R-Us's of yesteryear. It features a pulsing throb that sounds like an EKG machine, an image reflected in Aesop's hook. Still, despite this stark rendering of commercial desolation, there's a strange nostalgia for the brighter days of Blockbuster and cassette tapes. It feels like a fitting soundtrack to popping switch rocket airs over a decommissioned escalator (Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 anyone?).

Aesop begins the verse with references to natural elements and their ability to reclaim manmade landscapes then draws parallels between these natural elements and adolescent mischief, a theme he builds throughout the song. Blockhead maintains a thrumming paranoia throughout the production, reflecting the melancholy of Bavitz's skate-park Mark Twain bars. Aesop explores how isolation leads to self-discovery, while again referencing negative experiences with people that contribute to his introversion.

I was staring off into the water

Looking for some undiscovered colors

Like a blue that really wasn't, but it wasn't any others

The synesthetic cousin to the hum of his discomfort

I been a punching bag for some truly deluded garbage

Now his handshake is a unicorn, his hug a moving target

He begins the last verse painting the overgrown back alleys of adolescence that are America's modern ruins. He shows them as a refuge from the mundane trappings of adult society, where kids could really be alone playing amidst the spiderwebbed cement of manmade places that nature reclaimed.

The same alleys we used to imagine Babylon

Feel like abandoned malls overgrown with Spanish moss

Commotion froze in time with no sign of your lamb of god

It's a land of the lost, scrambling for canned applause

These places are depicted as mischievous portals to another world, where teenage imagination sanctifies forgotten parking lots through a strange kind of elemental freedom.

I freak an Archeology that reek of repercussion

If you need to pick some pieces up come dig a hole to jump in

Light sleeper, I'm a fighter, I'm a feeder

Earth, wind, fire, water, ether

Redeeming Empty Cans

Garbology, an album decades in the making, summons the memories and ghosts trapped in thrift store trinkets and discarded artifacts. Aes and Block mine their long history for fresh gems, re-contextualizing their partnership with the new tricks they've learned over the years. Turns out, you can teach an old dog how to return from the dead after all.

This is a project that picks through the detritus, harvesting art from the rubble of everyday tragedies. Whether that's justified social unrest, a personal loss, or just digging through crates of records, it is yet another entry in the expansive catalogs of Aesop and Blockhead and cements them as the most inventive artists in their field. Despite the present's catastrophes, it's a project that refuses to numb itself to turbulence and instead embraces the pain of loss as a vehicle for future reinvention. Garbology ultimately depicts the process of uncovering as a means of coping and the first step towards a second step forward.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think of the project's concept? What does Garbology mean to you?
  2. How does this stack up in Aesop and Blockhead's respective discographies?
  3. Favorite bar and favorite production moments?
  4. What's the craziest thing you've ever found in the trash or a thrift store?
submitted by /u/GhostofRimbaud
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Rihanna, A$AP Rocky Pregnant With First Child

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 07:19 AM PST

Marilyn Manson Working With Kanye West 'Every Day' on 'Donda 2'

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 11:01 AM PST

50 Cent Speaks on His Next Album, Says It May Be His Last

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 04:39 AM PST

A Luda Look Back: At age 44, with IMDB credits lengthier than his streamable discography, Chris Bridges has transcended his delineation as Ludacris the Rapper, but he had an incredible run. | Passion of the Weiss

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 07:46 AM PST

[DISCUSSION] Lupe Fiasco - Fahrenheit 1/15 Part III: A Rhyming Ape (15 Years Later)

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 11:09 AM PST

DatPiff

Came out in 2006. Lupe raps over instrumentals from Gorillaz's Demon Days album for fun on his third mixtape.

  1. Lupe the Gorilla [Demon Days Intro]
  2. FNF Army Invades [Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head]
  3. Happy Industries [Feel Good Inc]
  4. I Don't Feel So Good (feat. Matthew Santos) [Every Planet We Reach Is Dead]
  5. Heat Under the Baby Seat [Kids With Guns]
  6. A Bathing Harry
  7. Make Sure U Getta Shirt!!! [Last Living Souls]
  8. Credits Rollin' on 24s [Don't Get Lost in Heaven]
submitted by /u/HHHRobot
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lil peep x lil tracy - witchblades (Official Video)

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 02:16 PM PST

Daily Discussion Thread 01/31/2022

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 11:05 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

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.

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 these out:

This Week (2/1 to 2/4)

2nd: Ivy Sole - CANDID [Philadelphia Hip Hop, Indie Rap, Les Fleurs]

4th:

  • 2 Chainz - Dope Don't Sell Itself (featuring Lil Baby, Lil Durk, Roddy Ricch, NBA Youngboy, Moneybagg Yo, Swae Lee, 42 Dugg, Stove God Cooks, Sleepy Rose, Jacquees + more) [Trap, ATL, Gamebread / Def Jam]
  • Korn - Requiem [Nu-Metal, Loma Vista / Concord]
  • Yo Gotti - CM10 (featuring DaBaby + more) [Memphis Trap, CMG / Inevitable II]
  • Yung Gravy & Dillion Francis - Cake and Cognac (featuring T-Pain & Tommy Cash) [Pop Rap]
  • Saba - Few Good Things (featuring Krayzie Bone, G Herbo, Eryn Allen Kane, 6LACK, Smino, Mereba, Pivot Gang, Benjamin Earl Turner, Fousheé, Black Thought + more) [Chicago Rap, Conscious Rap, Pivot Gang]
  • Adekunle Gold - Catch Me If You Can (featuring Lucky Daye, Davido + more) [Afrobeats, Afro Urban Records]
  • Tank - R&B MONEY [R&B, Atlantic]
  • Sam Tompkins - ​who do you pray to? [R&B, UK, Island / UMG]
  • Yung Kayo - DOWN FOR THE KOUNT (featuring Yeat & Eartheater) [Plugg, Young Stoner Life / sevensevenseven]
  • EBK Jaaybo - Rrari Forever [Stockton Trap, Thizzler on the Roof]
  • FMB DZ - Back On Track (featuring Sada Baby, RMC Mike, Louie Ray, G.T. + more) [Michigan Trap, Fast Money Boyz / EMPIRE]
  • Myles Bullen - Mourning Travels (featuring billy woods + more) [Alt-Rap, Fake Four]
  • Bossmann - Discussion's (featuring Rucci + more) [LA Gangsta Rap, Mackk & Company]

Full Calendar

submitted by /u/HHHRobot
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[FRESH] Joseph Chilliams (Pivot Gang) - Rick James (feat. MIA GLADSTONE)

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 09:18 AM PST

[DISCUSSION] Sean Price - Jesus Price Superstar (15 Years Later)

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 09:10 AM PST

Cover

Spotify

Apple Music

Jesus Price Supastar is the second solo studio album by American rapper Sean Price of Heltah Skeltah and Boot Camp Clik. Originally planned to be released on September 19, 2006, it was pushed back to October 31, and then was pushed back for the third time, to a final release date on January 30, 2007. Duck Down Music CEO Drew "Dru-Ha" Friedman stated, "We all just decided together that the extra time would do us right for promotions and raising awareness".

Production was handled by 9th Wonder, Khrysis, 10 for the Triad, Illmind, Masse, MoSS, P.F. Cuttin' and Tommy Tee. It features guest appearances from Rock, Buckshot, Block McCloud, Chaundon, Flood, Phonte, Ruste Juxx, Sadat X, Skyzoo, Steele and the Loudmouf Choir.

The album peaked at number 196 on the Billboard 200 and number 60 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States.

  1. Intro (Jesus Price)
  2. Like You
  3. P-Body (feat. Rock)
  4. Cardiac (feat. Buckshot, Ruste Juxx & Flood)
  5. Stop
  6. Violent
  7. Da God (feat. Sadat X & Buckshot)
  8. Oops Upside Your Head (feat. Steele)
  9. Church (feat. Rock & the Loudmouf Choir)
  10. King Kong (feat. Rock)
  11. One
  12. You Already Know (feat. Skyzoo)
  13. Directors Cut
  14. Let It Be Known (feat. Phonte)
  15. Hearing Aid (feat. Chaundon)
  16. Mess You Made (feat. Block McCloud)
submitted by /u/HHHRobot
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Three 6 Mafia - Late Nite Tip

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 04:24 PM PST

[FRESH ALBUM] Matt OX - Year of the Ox

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 09:36 PM PST

Bobby Thibs - Houdini

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 08:42 AM PST

[FIRST IMPRESSIONS] NLE Choppa - Me Vs Me

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 10:45 AM PST

[FRESH VIDEO] Doja Cat - Get Into It (Yuh)

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 10:32 PM PST

Slim Thug - Thug

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 12:23 PM PST

[FRESH] Sada Baby - Sada Wada

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 09:20 AM PST

[FRESH VIDEO] Matt OX - COMPLEX

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 04:05 PM PST

Lil Elt - Get the Gat

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 12:23 PM PST

Brother Ali - Pen to Paper

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 01:03 PM PST

Kryptonyte - Swang Lo

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 11:29 AM PST

EXCLUSIVE: Jaz-O on Why He Never Signed Jay-Z or Co-Owned Roc-a-Fella Records

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 04:48 AM PST

Fat Tony & Whitmer Thomas - Man Overboard (Blink-182 Cover)

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 02:28 PM PST

Devilish Trio - The Ville

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 07:59 AM PST

Valentine's Verzuz: Anthony Hamilton vs Musiq Soulchild on Feb 15

Posted: 31 Jan 2022 12:04 PM PST
at

Adonis threatens Drake with death - HipHop

Adonis threatens Drake with death - HipHop

Adonis threatens Drake with death

Posted: 29 Jan 2022 05:00 PM PST

[FRESH] Babytron - King of the Galaxy

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 06:05 AM PST

ECD - ミスターWICKED (Old School J-HipHop)

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 05:45 AM PST

Nas - Made Nas Proud (Let Nas Down Rebuttal)

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 02:41 AM PST

Future - Spaz On Yall

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 07:04 AM PST

Eminem - She Loves Me (Prod by Dr. Dre)

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 07:28 AM PST

Drake - Chicago Freestyle (feat. Giveon)

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 07:13 AM PST

J. Cole - Sideline Story

Posted: 29 Jan 2022 05:36 PM PST

Wiz Khalifa - House in the Hills (ft. Curren$y)

Posted: 29 Jan 2022 07:19 PM PST

Young Thug - Danny Glover

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 08:15 AM PST

How do you like the music of Legends of Russian battle rap? Can you recommend a similar style?

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 08:02 AM PST

Rap songs performed with diffrent styles/flows

Posted: 30 Jan 2022 07:26 AM PST

Im looking for examples of rappers performing same songs/verses in diffrent style/with diffrent flows just to show the display of rap skill and how lyrics can be approached from diffrent angles when it comes to rapping.
I cant find any examples, it can be same rapper performing same song couple of times of multiple rappers performing same song in a diffrent way.
I know theres tons of hip-hop covers by they are usually performed in the same style.

submitted by /u/ShadyTalezz
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at

Chief Keef - Superheroes (feat. A$AP Rocky) - HipHop

Chief Keef - Superheroes (feat. A$AP Rocky) - HipHop

Chief Keef - Superheroes (feat. A$AP Rocky)

Posted: 29 Jan 2022 02:15 PM PST

Dijon - Talk Down

Posted: 29 Jan 2022 01:20 PM PST

Gucci mane feat. Waka Flocka Flame and Soulja Boy - BINGO

Posted: 29 Jan 2022 01:55 PM PST

Lil B - Tom Brady

Posted: 29 Jan 2022 02:38 PM PST
at
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