Editorial Review: Blank Face LP - @ScHoolBoyQ

Since Oxymoron, the announcement of Blank Face LP, and an amazing trailer I've been excited about this release. ScHoolBoy Q has grown and polished his sound. The trailer sets up like for a short film or movie. Question, did he entertain us in the theater? Is the follow up to Oxymoron going to hold enough water? Let's get to it.

The story begins with TorcH. Although not on the tracklist, it features recent XXL Freshman, Anderson .Paak. We'll hear more about him later. Lord Have Mercy is as it sounds. It's a prayer asking for forgiveness sharing his soul in being a rapper, gangster, father, son, and everything that makes Quincy himself. Swizz Beatz adds his signature sound and vocals throughout. Although an amazing producer, I've never liked his sound. It always sounds like there's way too much going on and I could say the same with this track as well. The lead single, THat Part grew on me like I predicted. I still don't like Kanye's verse. I don't know what it is but he's really been struggling recently with his flow. His first bar is trash, flat out. "Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay, OKAY!" Sounds like my silly attempts at rapping in forth grade. I'm curious on why the Black Hippy Remix didn't make the final cut, but oh well. It's not all bad & I really like the beat. It's West Coast G-Funk meets modernity. The beat changes like how it does in Mercy and a lot of other G.O.O.D Music productions. Then Kanye freestyles again in the end and it sounds silly, if anyone else recorded that they'd consider it an outtake and never leave it in. Maybe it's arrogance, maybe it's art but I'm not feeling it.

Hip-Hop is unique because the rappers are the reporters of their time and era. Groovy Tony is Q's journalistic report of the hood sh*t goes through on a daily. Jadakiss takes it from the 323 to Yonkers and tells his New York tale. This track is a two part combined with Eddie Kane. Same BPM but different beat makes for an awesome audio crossfade. Ali mixed the hell out of this project and it shows. I also love the choral vocals in the back of the second verse.

Know Ya Wrong features TDE's most recent signee, Lance Skiiiwalker whom we heard a lot from on Jay Rock's last project. Most of the tracks on the project do duel sided sounds and production. This is the same. Ride Out is one of my favorites. It really speaks to the crip in all of us and even features Vince Staples. Gritty, gangsta, everything you'd expect from this song just reading the tracklist cuz.

WHatever You Want with Candice Pillay takes an unusual dance, EDM feel. It's definitely the most pop sounding song on the project. Not really much cup of tea but someone will drink it. By Any Means changes back to a darker mood. Although not listed in the tracklist or producer credits it sounds like Isaiah Rashaad and Kendrick lent their talents to sing background. I really like the bounce in this. Q gonna do what he needs to do by any means. 

"Get yours, get yours get yours, by any means. you can f*ck my b*tch you can have my heaux."  

Dope Dealer features west coast OG E-40 and is produced by Metro Boomin. Doesn't sound like anything he's ever made before. It's as if he left Atlanta trap to west coast funk and it's clearly catered and crafted for the Cali duo. JoHn Muir and Big Body with Tha Dogg Pound gives ScHoolboy a chance to show off his emcee flows on a more core hip-hop sound. Big Body was produced by Tyler the Creator and has the quirky sound you'd expect from him. Neva CHange is another fan favorite for me. SZA comes in assisting with vocals on the hook and DJ Dahi flatters us with simplicity over the beat and mix.

Str8 Ballin pays homage to 2Pac's THug life and All Eyez on Me. This is the climactic part of the album where we really really see the most of Q. Black THougHts is where Quincy addresses the black community in what's wrong. This song has the most content and holds the most sentimental value to me. That's to be expected when Kendrick, Q, George Clinton and Terrace Martin get together. I would have loved to hear a verse from Ab-Soul here. I think he would have something awesome to say here, even if it's a wild conspiracy theory. I side-eyed the "All Lives Matter" line until I realized he was talking about the unity of Bloods and Crips. Anderson .Paak returns like he never left in the self-titled track. It almost serves as a remix to TorcH. Miguel and Justine Skye join forces with Q on Overtime. The mood is slow and calm and I recommend the thugs to compromise and add this to their playlist for their shorty, she'll appreciate it. Overtime is to Blank Face as Studio with BJ the Chicago Kid is to Oxymoron. Blank Face concludes with piano keys and 16's from Traffic, TF, and Q on Tookie Knows II. 

Blank Face is one of the more musical rap albums I've heard recently. The production uses a lot of instruments over artificial synthesizers and other electronically produced sounds. I think this will make his live sets awesome. It will sound like a more intimate experience than a studio crafted listen. I don't know if this was the plan but it seems like every member of Black Hippy is dropping albums kind of telling their Day in the Life or Coming of Age kind of story. Good Kid Maad City, 90059, These Days and now Blank Face are all their perspective Californication Chronicle from different parts of the Los Angeles county area. Ride Out, By Any Means,Neva CHange, Black THoughts, and Overtime will be in rotation for a long time for me. Blank Face LP gets a 4.25 of 5 Stars on the Ramsey Rating Scale. Listen to Blank Face after the break.

Staff Picks AOTY 2015 - @Maryyy_UK

It seems like we are getting hip hop back. We must be because it was actually difficult to pick my top five albums for this year. There were a lot of albums with a lot of different sounds. Sometimes I think music can blend so much that they're aren't specific genres any more. This can be a positive thing, because it enhances the community of the music world, but it can also make artists not stand out. The albums in my top five were able to find a way to stand out among the crowd, especially for their quality.

 #5 The Album About Nothing - Wale 

Wale’s Album About Nothing received some criticism when it first came out. it sold pretty well, but some people thought the piece was boring. I disagree. While it’s not trap music, and it doesn't have many club beats in it, is was very well-crafted. I love the way that even though it’s a album about nothing in particular, it has the common Seinfeld theme (which is a show about nothing, for non-Seinfeld watchers out there). His single, The Matrimony featuring Usher, was well received by audiences. He also had J. Cole in The Pessimist. This track was the realest sh*t he ever wrote to be honest. He and Cole list the reasons why our people are feeling hopeless, and most of them are pretty relevant to now. “If a nigga kill a nigga he another statistic, but if his skins a little different they gonna say it was self defense, a nigga feeling hopeless.” Sza, and Stokley Williams are also featured on the album. It’s definitely not the album that listen to before you go out Friday night, but like the show Seinfeld, it has classic moments that we can all relate too, and sometimes laugh about.
4.0 out of 5.0


 #4 If You're Reading This It’s Too Late. - Drake 

 WITH MY WOES! sorry, I had to do it.

Just when we thought Drake was getting too soft, he gives us this album. I’m not going to pretend that I wasn't a fan of his emotional pop stuff; Take Care was my album, but not everyone was on board with that. He gave the people who say, Drake doesn’t rap a reason to shut up. In No Tellin’ he says “Please do not speak to me like I'm that Drake from four years ago, I’m at a higher place/ Thinking they lions and tigers and bears, I go hunting/ Put heads on my fireplace." Yup its clear that Drake is in a different place now. He’s not all hard, but this more aggressive side he is showing is waking people up. This isn't the new Drake, this is the real Drake, and he is taking control of his own sound.
4.25 out of 5.0


 #3 Tetsuo and Youth - Lupe Fiasco 

As a Lupe fan, I was satisfied with this album. It was about a three year wait between this and his previous album, Food and Liquor II, but it was well worth the wait. His second track, Mural, is what had everyone talking. Eight minutes of rap; no chorus, bridge, or even another person featuring. It was just Lupe and the beat. Even if you hated what he said in the track, anyone would respect the ability to actually flow for that long. But I loved it. It was what a mural would sound like: different images that are seemingly independent, but in the end create a masterpiece. But that wasn't the only song that was great. There is this amazing religious imagery in songs like Madonna, Adoration of the Magi, and They.Resurrect.Over.New, that connect to faces you see in your neighborhood. Dots & Lines probably has the most intelligent and well crafted lines in a rap. This is a treat for you who like math and rap. I’m not even a numbers person, but I respected the hell out of it. Lupe also incorporated the youth in the seasons interludes, showing how kids would see each one. This was an intricate construction of an album, no wonder it took him three years.
4.4 out of 5.0


 #2 Summertime '06 - Vince Staples 

The up-and-coming Vince Staples surprised me with this album. “Man the sea’s been polluted baptism for the shooter." Damn. This guy has bars, I want to compare him to my number one spot holder (scroll down to see.) He just has a gift with words, building a distorted image in your mind like a twisted dream; somehow he makes the strangest comparisons make sense. He has a two disc album, and while all the songs are hearty in content, most of them are 3 minutes or less. These short vignettes aren’t scene of a warm and happy California, this album is picture of the Long Beach that most people don’t see. Lift Me Up and was a favorite of mine, other good ones were Dopeman, featuring his old group member Joey Fatts and Kilo Kish and Might Be Wrong featuring Haneef Taleb and eeeeeee. On this track Staples doesn't even rap. Its a speech followed by a phone recording. Rolling Stone called Staples “the most exciting rapper” this past summer. But this isn’t his first rodeo. This was technically his debut album, but he caught our attention with his EP Hell Can Wait. This album is just another stepping stone for him. I have a feeling he’s the type of artists that gets better with age.
4.5 out of 5


 #1 To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar 

I don’t know how there can be any dispute on this one to be honest. This album is what hip hop needed at the right time. I've been a Kendrick fan for a while and I think this is his best work yet. From the beat to the arrangement and of course the lyrics, Kendrick makes an album that is a perfect mix of rap, poetry, and ultimately art. The song that haunts me is How Much A Dollar Cost. The development of the story peeks inside the mind of every person who has walked by a homeless person who asks for money. This was President Obama’s favorite song in 2015 and the man has good taste in music. Even if you can’t relate to the content that he raps about, you can appreciate the way he conveys a message to his audience. The reoccurring character Lucy, short for Lucifer, comes and tempts Kendrick throughout the album with glitters that ultimately kill us all in the end. In “u” we get into K.Dot's mind. It is a dark track, where he battles with his own thoughts of despair and depression. However In “i” he combats that saying “I love myself.”  However this isn't just a celebration of him escaping the prison of self hate. This is a version where he breaks up a fight in the middle of a concert, reprimanding kids who say “fuck niggas” telling them to have respect of themselves and each other. And his interview with Tupac in Mortal Man was the icing on the cake, the greatest of our generation talking to his mentor is genius. The whole thing is raw. Good raw.
4.65 out of 5

This year showed me that we have real rap. One honorable mention was Big Sean’s Dark Sky Paradise, his third studio album. He is the one of the top MCs in the game, but he leans more to a commercial audience and hasn't reached his full potential yet as a lyricist. I always come in contact with people who always try to downplay rap. They tell me it’s disrespectful, mysogynistic, and violent. Before I would have to go far back in the crevices of my mind and find the most obscure rappers to prove that they were wrong, with this years productions I don’t have to do that. These rappers are making art and yes while the lyrics can include all of the aforementioned things, they are creatively and intelligently making beauty of the environment that surrounds us. Yeah it can be grotesque sometimes, but they have made it a true reflection of this world. Artists this year have held up the mirror to their audience and are basically saying just what Tupac said in Mortal Man “We aren't even really rapping. We are letting our dead homies tell stories for us.” In short, they're letting their lives and experiences motivate the message in their art.

Watch: Fire - @VinceStaples

Whoa...

It's not very often I mind myself speechless. I'm a writer I always have something to talk (or write) about. After watching the newest visual by way of Vince Staples, I'm silent in a coffee shop writing this review. Fire is the name of the track which opens up the Cali Native's Hell Can Wait EP. This is also the Def Jam artist's debut commercial project. "Prolly finna go to hell anyway" is a bold statement to say inside a confessional with a troubled priest chanting his Hail Mary's on the other side. Just watch for yourself after the break.

Common - "Nobody's Smiling" album review by Niles Cavanaugh

Chicago has been in the public conscious heavy in the last few years. The murder rate has been the subject of many a think piece and news reports. On the hip-hop front, Kanye West has been Kanye but Drill Music has emerged as a sub genre. Slurring violent lyrics over dark synths and an ever prevalent snare roll, MCs such as Chief Keef, King Louie, Katie Got Bandz, and like eighty million kids with the prefix "Lil" has prospered, albeit by bring the "Chiraq" lifestyle national. Throughout all of this, Chi-Town could use a savior and finds one in its native son and best MC. Common's tenth LP Nobody's Smiling is the guidance that his city needs from an OG. Originally a concept album, it serves as a "State of the Chi" if you will. It's jarring, informative, and dark; however it avoids being preachy. Additionally, it sees Common working with longtime collaborator No I.D. who produced the entire album.

The first track The Neighborhood features Cocaine 80s (James Fauntleroy in particular) and Lil Herb. Using a Curtis Mayfield sample, Common hits the track running and paints a picture of back-in-his-day Chicago. Herb, who is usually brash and full of misguided bravado like his peers, comes through with a quality verse under the tutelage of his elder statesmen. Fauntleroy keeps his contribution brief (more on this later). It's a quality introduction and the momentum carries through the next song. No Fear sees Common interpolate a Biggie line into a song about misplaced youthful bravado. This is how you start an album.

Unfortunately, the next three don't ride the same wave of quality. Diamonds features a wonderfully crafted beat and good lyricism but also includes Big Sean, who to me is as out of place as the weird kid that wandered into a party he wasn't invited to. Likewise, Black Majik suffers the same pitfall of an ill advised guest appearance in one trick pony of the Jhene Aiko. Both of these songs had potential but got ruined by that extra unncessary guest appearance. On Speak My Piece, Common seems to completely step away from the album's theme thusfar. He raps over a distorted Biggie vocal sample. It seems like it's supposed to be the prototypical rap braggadocio single but Com sounded bored to me.

Order is restored on Hustle Harder where Common and newcomers Snoh Aalegra and Dreezy paint a picture of a hardrock chick living around the way. It's an excellent song and story of women around the way; this is a tale that is usually under-reported. Nobody's Smiling utilizes a minimalist beat and shows Chicago as the modern daydystopia that it has seemingly become in recent years. Spoken word artist Malik Yusef makes an appearance and adds to the proceeding with a poetical touch. The Self-title is potentially the best song on the album and captures the theme wonderfully, even if it's darker than a Christopher Nolan Batman film.

Real breaks the storm of urban nihilism and includes a more soulful sound that Common usually uses. It's much more upbeat and crooner Elijah Blake lends his voice on the hook. Kingdom is the first single from the album and still holds up after repeated listens. Both a choir and Vince Staples assist in this sprawling track. This song bridges the gap between soulful Common and the dark sounds showcased on this album. Rewind That closes the regular version of the album as Common first tells a story about his early career with No I.D. and their subsequent falling out and reunion. The second verse is an incredibly moving piece about late producer J Dilla's introduction to Common and battle with Lupus. This song is a tour de force.

Since it's 2014, no album would be complete without a deluxe version with a handful of bonus tracks. Out on Bond once again features Vince Staples and tells a story of being out of jail on bond. 7 Deadly Sins mixes soul with street and talks about the seven deadly sins and how they relate to the streets. Young Hearts Run Free is assisted by Cocaine 80s/James Fauntleroy. Lyrically it's a decent performance but the beat is boring and James is only good in small voices. Dude's voice fit like an audio version of an Instagram filter. I think the album could have ended after 7 Deadly Sins and it would have been fine.

If you're looking for the heavily soulful Common heard on previous albums, this isn't him. Nobody's Smiling is easily his darkest album, but it needs to be. He's telling the story of a deeply troubled Chi City that once created him and is now in a crisis of sorts. Thus, it's necessary to match the tone of the current events in order to be relevant and relatable. He proves to be an elder statesmen for Chicago, both in hip-hop and otherwisse. the album is solid through and through. The only criticisms I have are some of the unneeded guest appearances, along with the sequencing of the album. The three weakest tracks come in a row. Also, I would have liked to see previously released songs War or Made in Black America with Ab-Soul as bonus tracks on the deluxe version. If you're going to release a gaggle of songs before the release, that would be the best place for them. Still Nobody's Smiling is social commentary at its finest. Common's career longevity proves you can make it out of Chicago and have a long career so long as you grow as an artist and a person. Chiraq Chi-Town's new breed of MCs have been put on notice by their franchise player and living legend.

Rating 4.5 of 5.