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Decided

Decided was by far my favorite album of the year. Anyone who understands what I look for in music will realize that I enjoy wordy bars and melodies. NBA Young Boy for that reason has been one of my favorite for some time now because of the authenticity and confidence he expresses in his music. Beyond that he is open to displaying moments of his vulnerability in losing his friends to the streets and his hardships with trust and love. There are two reoccuring themes with YoungBoy can be simplified as “fuck the opps”, “fuck that bitch”, and “i love her, but she hurt me”

1. Sky Cry - Album starts off with the best song. The song starts off with a hook that is incredibly soulful and vulnerable. The light piano keys in the background make for a nice touch with YoungBoy.

2. Demon Seed - Interesting song with a narrative of a killer and the ruthless things he endures, but ambiguous to whether or not he is referring to himself, or the lifestyle of the people who grew up in his neighborhood. Either way the sort of emotion YoungBoy puts into the songs in this album really carry the songs.

3. No Love - A song about heartbreak, the things he’d give up for the one he loves, however he understands she might not do the same for him. The song really screams the loneliness and dependency issues YoungBoy really suffers through.

4.  Black Cloud - a pleasant song to listen to, however it did feel like one of the more ‘filler’ songs of the album. The hook was a bit corny to listen to for me, however the verses are filled with his per usual, raw unfiltered emotion.

5. Murder - Hard for me to give my opinions about this song. I couldn’t stand Trippie’s verse on this song, and YoungBoy’s hook was about average for me. 

6.  Top Down - meh

7. Anomaly - Meh

8. Big 38 - the most hype song on the album, where he just hits you with ruthless bars one after another. The tempo of this song is a refreshing and has minimal crooning/singing YoungBoy. 

9. No Mentions - The hook is painfully catchy.  Has one of the best flow switches on the album around the middle of the song YoungBoy goes off and you’re further reminded of his versatility with his flows. It’s not easy being able to make sensible, wordy and melodic verses. One of the best fusions of “pain” and “thuggin” 

10. 338 - Each one of his what I can only describe as heartbreak songs gives you a sneak peek of the trials and tribulations YoungBoy has been going through. Definitely his most relatable for alot of listeners is his ability to portray the betrayal one feels when dealing with someone you love and trust.

 11. Deceived Emotions - As hinted, one of the most emotional lyrically songs on the album. In this song, he takes a more rational, and realistic expectation of how relationships tend to go. “ If she feel that nigga better then he better than that nigga raw” was one of the most powerful lines I’ve heard from YoungBoy. As typical, YoungBoy makes it clear the extent of his love, but understands at the end of the day we die alone. With that being said, if she loves someone else then men have to come to terms with the fact that she did whats best for her, and that you must respect their decisions.

Overall, this album has amazing sounds that aren’t prevalent in contemporary rap. The album doesn’t use household producers, has a pleasantly melodic, southern style that makes sense of YoungBoy’s perspective on love combined with his thuggish, rough mentality.

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Might revisit / edit, or include more in this, however I am bored for now.

Molly World, one of my most anticipated albums of 2018 was very unfulfilling. Compared to his more recent EP Cloverfield 2.0 which I loved in its entirety and in my opinion had aggression, melody, and some slick punchlines, was very lackluster. For an album to be a success, in my opinion half of the songs on the album must be enjoyable/replayable, or at least have a few hit bangers. Molly World has its moments, however there are many songs I could be okay without ever having listen to again. 

1. 225 - okay

2. Ride Wit Me - lackluster. Chief Keef’s verse was awful. This is a recurring problem, verses that larger artists are providing Robb with are absolutely terrible. Famous Dex’s verse on ILYSM was awful. I feel that Keef has the ability to provide an amazing adlib to compliment Robb’s or even spit more aggresive lines, but it sounded very boring, and a lack of effort. Robb needs to stop getting horrible verses from these artists.

3. Bring it Bak - not very enjoyable at all. nothing worth mentioning and really filled like filler. 

4. SLS Freestyle - although I’m not a big fan of Robb’s usage of autotune, I do feel like this was a decent song. Admittedly there is a leniency for being a “freestyle”, but the production was okay enjoyable, and his lines have a strange catchyness, where he’ll say a line, and do a sort of back-up line to it (Ex. “ these niggas bleeding red, and i’m bleeding green, yeah i’m bleeding green.”) This “overlap flow” is unique to Robb and really makes alot of his songs feel very smooth, and melodic. song ends at 1:40, however another extra minute of just production????

5. ILYSM - already on Cloverfield 2.0 so not including this song. 

6. Lie 2 Me - one of the most anticipated song for me on the album (heard snippets on IG), this sort of unique, smoothly, sort of synthy, video game sound is extemely captivating. Definitely having the most catchy hook of the album. Listening to Robb, I appreciate him for his unique melodys and witty, charismatic lyrics. I definitely appreciate his confidence on this track (”don’t talk to the help, i’m a snob”... hilarious)

7. Smoke - Auto tune Robb strikes and it sort of feels like T-Pain’s over-usage of it in his songs. Hook is okay, although not as catchy as his other songs. Overall below average. The over aggressive ad-libs sound silly juxtaposed with some of the softer, auto tune sounds he uses in this song. Production wasn’t that great either.

8. I need a 2nd - okay song. Don’t really have a real problem with it. Robb definitely nailed another catchy hook, conveyed some charismatic bars. don’t mind listening to this time and time again.

9. Griffith Did Nothing Wrong - Very enjoyable track. Robb definitely write his best songs when he embraces his persona as Femto, an overly charismatic leader, whose actions are always justified. There are at least three different flows in this song, and all of them are pleasant, and are refreshing to listen to. As a berserk fan, this song is definitely something that you can truly appreciate if you know. Most of the rap demographic would definitely be hesitant to consistently reference niche animes in raps and this contributes to Robb’s uniqueness and appeals to his niche audience. 

10. Official - mundane, horribly repetitive. nothing special in his bars. Production was definitely the worst of the project.

11. I’m that Nigga - Feature was horrible. Production was better then Official, but song was terribly repetitive. Robb’s verse was actually nice however besides that the song was unlistenable to.

12. Over Here - pleasant song. Intro is hilarious and when Robb wants to get more emotional in his songs he definitely can. Although I do hope he went more in-depth with his vulnerability in this song. Over Here is also a clear example of Robb’s content, his ability to produce content and the route Robb chose. Compared to Tha City and Calenders, Robb no longer has any narrative in his songs. Instead of choosing to express his relationship problems he randomly inserts anime references, drug usage, and “i’ll fuck yo bitch” mentality. Whatever he chooses to rap about is his choice, however a couple songs with his old style would be appreciated, and definitely help listeners better identify with him in an age where everyone is seeking to form a cult following of people who can easily identify with them.

13. Green Hearted - song was okay, however no replay-ability considering Birdman’s little introduction is annoying to have to listen to more then once. 

14. Let da beat build - okay song. production was neat. Robb’s flow was smooth, although the lyrics weren’t hard hitting, or witty as they could be, however they weren’t horrible. 

Favorite songs in order: Griffith Did Nothing Wrong, Lie 2 Me, Over Here

Worst songs: Official, I’m that Nigga, Songs with a feature.

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In anticipation of Mollyworld, I wanted to do a quick review of Robb Bank$ EP, 2: Pillz. Robb Bank$ is by far my favorite artist thematically and sonically. I’d like to draw a comparison between MF Doom and Robb Bank$ in the sense that they both adopt their respective personas which are both villains and this is reflected in their lyric. Both have unique production and are amazing lyricist. Robb Bank$ is one of the few modern rappers that I believe to be heavily underrated. The City, Calenders, and Calenders 2 were all great projects. The City displayed Bank$ ability as a punchline rapper; in this album we really saw his ability to storytell, write complicated bars, and creativity referencing different T.V shows, anime and other things from popculture. Calenders we In Calenders 2 we really began to see him developing his music melodically and consolidated my belief that his ability to ride a beat’s rhythm surpasses many of his peers. To be continued on the next post.

Speciality: Robb Bank$ is one of the few drug endorsing “i’ll fuck your girl cause i’m the best rapper” who can rap fast, create complicated, suave punchlines, contrasted with catchy, captivating choruses while creating an overall dark atmosphere.

Lyrically: I can’t think of too many rappers that can replicate the complexity of Bank$ verses, however admittedly 2: Pillz  was quite lacking in complexity. There wasn’t much to digest content wise relative to his other work, and although were great bangers made me feel like Bank$ is oversaturating his music with themes of drug-use, women, and jewelry. There were also some basic, slightly cringy lines that can be overlooked, because that is simply the nature of punchlines. 

Production: Bank’s usage of adlibs, charismatic wordplay and catchy hooks are further complimented by his consistently unique production that uses smooth melodies and a heavy, impactful bass. I heavily credit his success to his producers, for example consistent collaboraters like Indigochildrick, Natra Average, and Crisdinero. SkinnyxMoose also was amazing on this EP, and I hope to see him featured on MollyWorld. 

TLDR; Great bangers, I can always get lit to some hard production and rap that makes me feel like “i’m the shit, you lame as fuck”. My favorite songs were Playz, 2ensational / Pink Toes, and No Sleep. I disliked Die4Me.

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Rex Orange County, to my surprise did not originate from Orange County, but from the UK! First gave Rex a listen when he was featured on Tyler the Creator’s Flower Boy album and gave him no further thought. Recently being introduced to the Lo-fi genre and listening to Sunflower, I was pleasantly surprised. Rex has an extremely pleasant voice, despite being incredibly monotone on very high tempo, upbeat production. He is obviously incredibly influenced by Tyler the Creator sonically, and even "Uno” has him speaking with a voice-modified alter-ego  that made me reminisce of Tyler the Creator’s early days where he would have little skits with his “therapist”

Specialty: Excellent production. Very “kid from the suburbs” themes in his music.

Lyrically: Repetive topics of heartbreak, love, loneliness, and sadness (but not depression) and this is also because of how pleasant and playful his voice and production comes together. His word choice and sound makes light of the topic and presents a very quick loneliness that will come and go. 

Production: The use of trumpets, guitar strums and the “bedroom-electronic” production (and even whistling!) would normally come off as very fun and facetious but is toned down when put together with his monotone execution. Love the unique collection of production that can vary from a guitar serenade to jazzy upbeat that speaks ‘i’m taking control of the situation’. This production comes together with the themes in his music and has really amazing synergy.

Favorite songs: Bestfriend, Uno, Corduroy Dreams, Sunflower

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Admittedly, although upon first listen was not a very big Lil Peep fan. In light of the recent tragedy, he has been a huge topic hearing various artists speak out on his behalf even hearing a tribute at a local rave. Giving him a second try, I must admit he has some nice tracks. I had always thought Lil Tracy made more interesting music with catchy hits like Pictures and This Year , however Save that Shit and Beamer Boy have earned my interest with his nice, unique melody.

Specialty: I like Lil Peep’s melodic, emo vibe. Although the new rapper wave is a gothic rockstar vibe, none other really do it as emo or dark as Peep does.

Lyrically: Peep has very relatable sad, dark lyrics especially when it pertains to relationships and drug usage. Definitely illustrates his depression, his need to take care of his friends, family and the girl he loves, and his rise from nothing to stardom. Nothing special with the punchlines, double entendres or anything.

Production: Definitely a very unique choice of production. I really enjoy the use of guitars and dark-graveyard vibes. Production definitely did make or break Peep, but he definitely deserves credit for being the only rapper to effectively use these unique beats.

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Brooklyn rapper Jay Critch is known for being part of the dynamic trio Rich Forever. I’ve heard of him from time to time on the Rich Forever 3 album, but never really paid any attention to Critch. Jay is constantly supported by Famous Dex and Rich the Kid who proved consistently to be average rappers. As such I didn’t expect very much from this individual, and have recently found out he doesn’t even have his own mix tape. However his singles have been quite promising. Fashion was an extremely catchy and slick single that really paints Jay as a charismatic individual with potential to reach a mainstream audience. Jay Critch reminds me a lot of D savage with his usage of auto tune. I think his appeal lies in his swaggy, suave, aloof sound. Conclusion, Jay Critch shows extremely potential in his flow and content-wise definitely belongs on Rich Forever. I’ve only listened to a few singles like: Fashion, Speak Up, Rockets, and Driving me Brazy. I hope he doesn’t fall into the Rich Forever trap of reusing lines into oblivion, or throwing up unnecessary ad-lib all over a song.