I'm quite late on a lot of CD pickups (my last post was more than a month ago lol) so here are 5 that I've gotten.
The Roots, Illadelph Halflife: An extremely solid record from one of the greatest groups in hip-hop history. Every song is well-produced featuring the amazing percussion of Questlove, and the rapping is intelligent, poignant, and packed with catchy rhyme schemes. My only critique is that the tracklist of 20 songs makes the record feel bloated and some songs... shine less than others, we'll say. Favorite tracks: "Respond / React", "Section", "What They Do". 8.5/10.
King Geedorah (MF DOOM), Take Me To Your Leader: This would be a career highlight for nearly anyone aside from DOOM. As always, he has a witty concept and character and fills this record with fun more than anything else. Everything---the production, bars, features, etc.---are all of the familiar DOOM quality. However, among his other projects, it doesn't stand out as much as complete masterpieces like Madvillainy or Vaudeville Villain. Favorite tracks: "Fazers", "Fast Lane", "Anti-Matter". 9/10.
Vienna Vienna, Entertain Me: I'll be real and just say that this isn't the style of music I'm used to or typically enjoy. I wasn't particularly fond of their other project Wonderland. But this impressed me more. It's catchy, energetic, and has some really good moments. I don't have much more to say about it. Favorite tracks: "Idle Hands", "Molly", "Company Hunting". 7.5/10.
Amy Winehouse, Frank: Amy's first full album. This was a showcase of her incredibly high ceiling---three years before the undeniable masterpiece which was Back to Black, it was already clear that her potential had no bounds. This project showed her ability to blend hip-hop and classic styles with her incredibly smooth and addicting vocals. It feels like a prelude to her magnum opus, but still holds water as an amazing project. It's hard to pick favorites from this, but favorite tracks: "In My Bed", "Mr Magic (Through the Smoke)", "Stronger Than Me". 9/10.
Vince Staples, Cry Baby: I already wrote a review of this project when it first came out. It hasn't exactly grown on me, but I still find it to be very enjoyable and extremely poignant. 8.5/10.







