YG’s greatest attribute as a pure artist is his innate ability to be forthright with his listeners without ever coming off trite. He makes supercharged political proclamations that are honestly organic, all while maintaining a classic west coast flow that…
Hip Hop Roundup: A Savage Land and a Boomin’ Metropolis
Project of the week: 21 Savage & Metro Boomin’ – Savage Mode II At one point on Savage Mode II, cinema legend Morgan Freeman asks the unresolved question “are things better or worse the second time around?” This totally depends…
Album Review: Machine Gun Kelly switches from hip-hop to pop-punk on “Tickets To My Downfall”
In my eyes, Machine Gun Kelly’s music has always felt non-essential. He’s clearly talented, but his inability to find a niche as a mainstream entity continues to bog even his biggest hits down. His most popular tracks are pandering at…
Hip Hop Roundup: Ricky Felix, “Oakland Nights,” and more
Album of the Week: Ricky Felix – High End Theory An overlooked theme of Eastern Massachusetts rap in 2020 is the amount of producer-led collaboration featured all along the coast. From ALFii’s re-imagination of the Final Fantasy soundtrack, to RLouie’s…
Album Review: Conway the Machine ponders mortality on “From King To a GOD”
Out of all the Griselda heavy hitters, Conway the Machine is easily my favorite artist from the bunch. His rugged delivery, which is somewhere between a slight tremor and a wobbled quake, carries perturbed weight from circumstances that seem to…
Hip Hop Roundup: Unpacking the XXL Freshman List
The XXL Freshman List is an interesting entity for many different reasons, There’s a lot of subplots embedded inside the main narrative of predicting who’s going to experience longevity in the future. Oftentimes, these subplots are much more interesting than…
Boldy James Makes Impressive Debut with Griselda on “The Versace Tape”
When Boldy James officially signed to Griselda Records earlier this year, it immediately felt like the perfect marriage. Westside Gunn, the sharp-spoken label president, provides historical luxury and gritty euphuisms. Boldy meanwhile implements a healthy dose of dead-eye authenticity in…
