★★★☆☆ = Good!
Chilled out r&b indie rock
Lights dim low
Enjoyable but nothing particularly ambitious or new. Easy funk.
https://www.discogs.com/The-Internet-Hive-Mind/release/12269361
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB3gWkhLkxM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xyDg9Tco5s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIqvRzEIqIo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRbYJ66RpHk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIgkFRZV-4k
Spotify
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★★★☆☆ = Good!
electro hip hop with an 80s light funk vibe
Vaporwave sunset
Pretty good for a background listen. Short and sweet with flirtations of vaporwave.
https://www.discogs.com/Fitz-Ambroe-Submerse-Villa-Rosa/release/11979710
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PqePdh9r0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0_4Mqvk9fk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPv4JXG3QWE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrSzoVRPOqQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xKrOIVQsdg
Spotify
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★★★☆☆ = Good!
Hip hop beats with a backbone of 80s gfunk
Cali cool
Modern and slick production with just the right amount of vocals mixed in. Couple notes on tracks:
Left and right being a better track. Goes into a light r&b thing at times.
Hot shit is a bit forced, taking the original and scrubbing it if it's rawness.
Mind control is ok
While the album is uneven and boring at times I like it overall.
https://www.discogs.com/Bluestaeb-Everything-Is-Always-a-Process/release/12135628
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X3kqctM9lQ
Spotify
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★★☆☆☆ = Eh, fine
Experimental middle eastern based electronic music with spoken word raps
Bandcamp experimental
Ring the alarm is damn good. The rest has a militant vibe I couldn't really get into, didn't really fit the Spacey future bass electro production.
https://www.discogs.com/700-Bliss-Spa-700/release/12072616
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCRU9UWGKys
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=De9WWPYy1Wo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3b677kvS0g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvTAmiZY9ZQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhpJ5ILMRzc
Spotify
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★☆☆☆☆ = Bad
Rap edm
Night out, downtown Manhattan or how not to do a rap/electro crossover
https://www.discogs.com/Azealia-Banks-Slay-Z/release/8469877
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXUfBxMbC3A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usDQB21uQ1A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH90-6sCIoc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJskdaNiz6U
Spotify
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★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening
Sounds like?
Rap with an alt pop lean
Moods
Headphones on and taking in nu-NYC
Thoughts
I don’t know why, call it a natural curiosity, but growing-up I loved the radio and would spend hours taking in anything I could hear. I find pleasure discovering sounds and appreciate art that maintains this same dynamism. It’s reflected in a broader cultural awareness with my generation, whose been raised with the internet and the power of having humanity’s entire cultural output instantly available. So what do you do with it? You take your favorite parts and begin creating something new, sampling in other words.
I find this to be a representative album for today’s sample based culture as Banks, a versatile MC, floats effortlessly between pop and rap on this impressive set of alt-electro productions (think sampling today rather than the past). I appreciate rappers who are able to carve distinct sounds for themselves and feel this is a classic in the marriage of rap and electro.
Listening notes on specific time:
* 212 – immediately and undeniably great
* Idlest delilah / soda is glitchy greatness and a personal favorite
* ‘Gimme a chance’ succeeds as an OK pop song before switching into a gripping latin bit (maybe corny but I genuinely like it).
* BBD, ice princess, Yung Rapunxel take a turn into harder boomy beats that sound a little dated after the edm boom.
* Things drift off towards the end, but she soars on miss camaraderie. Not sure I’ve heard someone flow over edm so well.
More Info
https://www.discogs.com/Azealia-Banks-Broke-With-Expensive-Taste/release/6728221
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Spotify
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★★☆☆☆ = Eh, fine
Sounds like?
Golden age queensbridge
Moods
NY State of mind
Thoughts
I consider this a companion piece to early Nas, stylistically it’s cut from the same cloth; when Nas guests on ‘gimme yours’ and ‘homicide’ it’s clear they’ve got history.
Ultimately I find this to be an uneven listen, AZ feels like a bootleg Nas and the creative vision isn’t as clear as Nas’ early classics. Does have it’s quality moments with ‘Sugar Hill’ and the title track featuring a hot and hazy funk.
More Info
https://www.discogs.com/AZ-Doe-Or-Die/release/8887261
Listen!
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2L47XLmdAk
Spotify
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★★☆☆☆ = Eh, fine
Sounds like?
Electro hip hop
Moods
Big Boomy
Thoughts
Meh, nothing very interesting here.
More Info
https://www.discogs.com/High-Klassified-Kanvaz/release/11953128
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Spotify
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★★★★☆ = Quality release and suggested listening
Sounds like?
Modern jazz with a strong hip hop bend
Moods
Evening warehouse jam
Thoughts
A fine example of jazz that successfully incorporates hip hop elements, typically these hybrids are reversed (eg Kendricks backing band). This has a dynamic energy to it, making good use of effects and electronics to keep things fresh. While it plays like a live album this was stitched together in post production which benefits the experience as something that’s just one big highlight. Exploratory playful, energetic, progressive: what jazz is all about.
Recommended tracks: ox tales, repetitive drumline pushes things forward with a soulful keys solo on top, King drive utilizes a James Blake pitched down vocal to extreme effectiveness on a track already utilizing off-time signatures.
More Info
https://www.discogs.com/Makaya-McCraven-Where-We-Come-From-CHICAGOxLONDON-Mixtape/release/12364402
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★★★☆☆ = Good!
Sounds like?
Low-key R&B
Moods
Babe we got this
Thoughts
This EP is not without flaws, and takes a few tracks to get into swing, but I find it to be a charming set of songs. The easy going and intimate productions anchored by simple guitar and percussion fits her limited range perfectly, putting some memorable lyrical adages front and center.
‘Issues’ and ‘Hurry’ are modern r&b gems.
More Info
https://www.discogs.com/Teyana-Taylor-KTSE/release/12173407
Listen!
Youtube
Spotify
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