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just-a-sleepy-idiot · 3 years ago

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🖤 Masterlist 🖤

DNI if you are a: MAP, Racist, TERF, Hostile or Exclusionary towards or within the LGBT Community, Anti-Shipper

(Updated 7th August 2024)

REQUESTS: Always Open

REQUESTING RULES

My Tip Jar 🫙

All Reader inserts are written neutral in terms of race, and the majority of them is Gender neutral as well

⭐️ Gender neutral Reader

🌸 Female Reader

🌿 Male Reader

🍋 Smut

I take requests for

Anton Chigurh (No country for cold men)

Brahms Heelshire (The boy)

Billy Loomis & Stu Macher (Scream)

Bo, Vincent & Lester Sinclair (House of Wax)

Dennis (Split)

Dr. Heinrich Volmer (A Cure for Wellness)

Ed Warren (Conjuring)

Grabber (Black Phone)

Hannibal Lecter & Will Graham (NBC Hannibal)

Herbert West (Re-Animator 1985)

Jackson Rippner (Red Eye)

Karl Heisenberg & Lady Dimitrescu (Resident Evil: Village)

Martin (Vivarium)

Pyramid Head (Silent Hill)

Non-Horror Characters

Aaron Hotchner, Spencer Reid & The Silencer (Criminal Minds)

Castiel, Gabriel, Sam, Lucifer, Crowley & Death (Supernatural)

Daryl Dixon & Milton Mamet (The walking dead)

Edward Nashton (The Batman)

Edward Nygma (Gotham)

Eric Coulter (Divergent)

Spencer Reid, Aaron Hotchner & The Silencer (Criminal Minds)

Multifandom Preferences

⭐️ How they cuddle you (Brahms, Anton, Billy&Stu, Hannibal)

⭐️ Finding out that you self harm (Anton, Brahms, Dennis, Billy&Stu)

⭐️ Being petite and very short compared to them (Anton, Brahms, Dennis, Hannibal)

⭐️ Starbucks addict Reader (Billy&Stu, Hannibal, Anton, Brahms)

⭐️ Cuddly Reader (Brahms, Billy&Stu, Bo, Anton)

⭐️ Zombie apocalypse breaks out (Bo, Anton, Brahms, Billy&Stu)

⭐️ Being unable to sleep (Bo, Billy&Stu, Brahms, Pyramid Head)

⭐️ Reader thinking about killing themselves (Dennis, Anton, Billy&Stu, Sinclair Brothers)

⭐️ Chubby Reader (Brahms, Hannibal, Bo, Pyramid Head)

⭐️ Reader being depressed because they're not good at their job and have to pursue another career (Billy&Stu, Anton, Ed warren, Bo)

⭐️ Reader struggling with binge/restrict cycles (Billy&Stu, Dennis, Hannibal, Brahms)

⭐️ Reader being stressed out because they're getting harassed through text (Bo, Anton, Billy&Stu, Hannibal)

Brahms Heelshire (The boy)

⭐️ Headcanons: Finding out you have suicidal thoughts

🌸🍋 Imagine: He reveals himself to you and you freak out

The Grabber (Black Phone)

⭐️ Imagine: Being forced to pretend to be his partner

🌸🍋 Imagine: Being jealous and punishing you

⭐️ Imagine: Him getting arrested and Reader visiting him in prison

🌸🍋 Imagine: Catching you when you nearly escape and punishing you

⭐️ Imagine: Caring for you on your period

⭐️ Drabble: Getting bullied by the townspeople after his arrest and getting comforted by him

⭐️🍋 The Grabber NSFW Alphabet

⭐️ Drabble: Reader with an Eating Disorder

🌸 Drabble: Having a crush on Max's Girlfriend and kidnapping you

🌸 Drabble: Kidnapping kids for you cause you've been denied adoption

⭐️ Drabble: Introducing him to an old classmate as your boyfriend

⭐️ Drabble: Finding out you are su1cidal

Anton Chigurh (No country for old men)

⭐️ Headcanons: S/o comes home after a meltdown

⭐️ Fatherfigure!Headcanons

⭐️ Headcanons: Him being jealous

⭐️ Imagine: Realizing his feelings for future S/O Reader

⭐️ Headcanons: Being his complete opposite

⭐️ Imagine: Reader killing someone for the first time to protect Anton

Kevin (Split)

🌸 Imagine: Finding you after you escaped

Resident Evil Village

Lady Dimitrescu

🌸 Lady Dimitrescu Headcanons:Maid!Reader who secretly sings and dances while cleaning

⭐️ Yandere!Lady Dimitrescu Headcanons

⭐️ Lady Dimitrescu Headcanons: S/o who’s musically talented

⭐️ Lady Dimitrescu Headcanons: Maid!Reader secretly having a locket with her picture in it

🌸 Lady Dimitrescu Headcanons: Maid!Reader who secretly sings and dances while cleaning

🌸 Lady Dimitrescu Imagine: Being her very caring maid

⭐️ Lady Dimitrescu Headcanons: Halloween

Karl Heisenberg

⭐️ Karl Heisenberg Headcanons: Maid!Reader getting him something for his Birthday

⭐️ Karl Heisenberg Headcanons: How he adopted you

🌸 Karl Heisenberg Imagine: Reader applying as a Maid for him

⭐️ Karl Heisenberg Imagine: Becoming his Assistant

🌸 Karl Heisenberg Headcanons: Maid!Reader getting him something for his Birthday

Donna Beneviento

🌸 Donna Beneviento Imagine: Being her very protective Maid

Ghostface (Scream)

⭐️ Stu Macher Imagine: How he begins to like you

Poly!Ghostface

⭐️ Billy & Stu Headcanons: Reader being anorexic

⭐️ Billy & Stu Headcanons: Pre-Relationship Jealousy

⭐️ Billy & Stu Headcanons: Reader recovering from Depression

🌸 Billy & Stu Headcanons: That time of the Month

⭐️ Billy & Stu Headcanons: Readers friends brushing them off all the time

⭐️ Billy & Stu Headcanons: Reader loving Halloween

⭐️ Billy & Stu Imagine: Them making you part of the team after you kill your abuser

⭐️🍋 Billy & Stu NSFW Headcanons

⭐️🍋 Billy & Stu Imagine: Comforting you when you're sad SMUT

The Sinclair Brothers (House of Wax)

⭐️ Sinclair brothers preference: Reader being very short

⭐️ Sinclair brothers preference: Reader on their period

⭐️ Sinclair Brothers preference: Reader doing weight training

⭐️ Bo Sinclair Headcanons: Being soft with you

⭐️🍋 Vincent Sinclair NSFW Headcanons

⭐️ Vincent Sinclair Yandere Headcanons

Dr Heinrich Volmer (A Cure for Wellness)

🌸🍋 Imagine: Him taking a liking in you

Hannibal Lecter (NBC Hannibal)

🌸 Imagine: Fatherfigure!Hannibal lending you his Umbrella

Herbert West (Re-Animator 1985)

⭐️ Imagine: Being your Roommate and slowly starting to care about you

⭐️ Imagine: Reader having that time of the Month

⭐️ Drabble: Being stuck at a Busstation with him while it rains

The Conjuring & The Nun characters

🌸 Valak Imagine: Him seeing you for the first time

⭐️ Husband!Ed Warren Headcanons: Caring for sick Spouse!Reader

Pyramid Head (Silent Hill)

⭐️ Headcanons: Him taking an interest in you

⭐️ Headcanons: Being soft with you

⭐️ Headcanons: Needing a lot of naps

Supernatural

⭐️ Preference: Winchester!Reader loving hugs (Dean, Sam, Castiel, Gabriel, Lucifer)

Castiel

⭐️ Imagine: Having to share a bed

⭐️ Imagine: Winchester!Reader falling asleep on him in the Impala

Death

🌸 Imagine: Winchester!Reader having to choose a Horseman of the Apocalypse to marry (and choosing death)

⭐️ Imagine: Death comforting you when you die and deciding to let you stay a little bit longer

⭐️ Drabble: Comforting the child of Pest because you're worried about your family

Crowley

⭐️ Drabble: Meeting each other for the first time in the Bunkers kitchen

Gabriel

⭐️ Headcanons: Being your Guardian Angel

DC Villains

The Batman (2022)

⭐️ Dano!Riddler Headcanons: Being his roommate

⭐️ (Follow up ⬆️) Imagine: Roommate!Reader snooping around his stuff

⭐️ Drabble: Visiting the same Cafe at night cause you can't sleep

VIVARIUM Martin

⭐️ Drabble: Changing his mind on trapping you

Criminal Minds

⭐️ Imagine: Being a Paramedic to 'The Silencer'

Jackson Rippner (Red Eye)

⭐️ Imagine: Deciding to be gentle with you

#slashers x reader #anton chigurh x reader #brahms heelsire x reader #billy and stu x reader #poly ghostface #Resident evil village #lady dimitrescu x reader #Hannibal lecter x reader #Pyramid head x reader #dano!riddler #edward nashton x reader #black phone the grabber #the grabber x reader #jackson rippner x reader #vivarium martin x reader #herbert west x reader

254 notes · View notes

theteenagetrickster · 6 years ago

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75 Best Hip-Hop and R&B Albums of 2019, Ranked

For the final time of 2019, we’ll see you in the comments.

Before you begin scrolling through our list of the 75 best hip-hop and R&B albums of 2019, likely without reading any of the words we affixed to many of them, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page.

The eligibility period for this list is December 24, 2018, through December 9, 2019.

If an artist and/or their record label labeled a project as an “EP,” it was disqualified. We are publishing that list on Friday.

Our entire editorial team determined the selections (and the order of the albums listed). Please don’t send Donna your nasty emails.

No, we’re not on the payroll of “Insert Popular Artist Here.” But, we’d love an investment. Have them email Z.

This list is our list—not yours. We don’t expect, nor do we want, you to agree with every album selection or our ordering; we do want you to discover a few great albums you probably missed throughout the past 12 months and press play.

Great, let’s begin. Happy Holidays.

75. Radamiz — Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes

“Lately been accepting my mortality, nobody ever told you that your parents goin’ to get older, too,” Radamiz raps on “Shadowboxing,” the intro to his perfectly-titled sophomore album, Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes. It’s one of many lines that will jump out upon every revisit. Radamiz is a rapper who breathes universal truths, who candidly speaks of being a passion-driven and dreaming-chasing millennial fighting against the odds and the clock. Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes is East Coast hip-hop from a student of the game, who gives an honest portrait of his life with fiery rhymes, and head-nodding production that solidifies Radamiz as one of the best new rappers coming from New York. —Yoh

74. Wale — Wow… That’s Crazy

73. Lil Peep — Everybody's Everything

72. MIKE — Tears of Joy

71. Deem Spencer — Pretty face

70. Yung Baby Tate — GIRLS

Do not forget Yung Baby Tate. On the list of newcomers who released projects in 2019 that put on display their world-conquering star power, Yung Baby Tate shines. GIRLS, Tate’s independent debut, is vividly painted with shades of luscious vocals, radio-ready songwriting, and bright-colored, post-Nicki Minaj lyricism. You’ll remember Tate as the charming, Atlanta-born songstress who rapped, sung, wrote, and self-produced all 15 tracks. Tate is every woman, but also every artist, a living compilation of styles and genres. While GIRLS may be her first full-length offering, the album successfully represents her wide-ranging talents, and why Yung Baby Tate is on the road to a takeover. —Yoh

69. Baby Keem — DFMB

68. Medhane — Own Pace

67. YG — 4REAL 4REAL

66. Kaina — Next to the Sun

65. 03 Greedo & Kenny Beats — Netflix & Deal

Ever wonder what a Netflix binging session with your favorite rapper and producer would be like? 03 Greedo and Kenny Beats’ collaborative debut is the closest you’ll get this year. There’s no underlying concept about cinema’s relationship to rap or trying to create a #cinematic experience; Greedo raps about movies he used to watch in his trap house over a sampling of Kenny’s eclectic beats. Netflix & Deal is as brisk and exciting as any John Wick movie. You know bodies will be caught, but the thrill comes from seeing how they will top themselves this time. Movie magic. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

64. Big K.R.I.T. — K.R.I.T. Iz Here

63. Roddy Ricch — Please Excuse Me For Being Antisocial

62. Dreamville — Revenge of The Dreamers III

61. Wiki — OOFIE

60. Malibu Ken — Malibu Ken

Aesop Rock deserves to have a little fun. Teaming up with producer TOBACCO for , he puts his extensive vocabulary to use, describing plants dying from neglect on tour and the inner workings of Bob Ross paintings. TOBACCO’s woozy pre-tech synths whir and click at the speed of rap, matching Rock’s saturated yellows with nauseating greens. Malibu Ken is colorful, silly, and more than just a little morbid, a perfect slice of Magic Eye playtime handspun by two of alt-rap’s most endearing weirdos. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

59. Summer Walker — Over It

58. Jack Harlow — Confetti

57. Jhay Cortez — Famouz

56. Young Dolph & Key Glock — Dum and Dummer

55. Grip — Snubnose

Snubnose, the sophomore project by Atlanta rapper Grip, is a sneaky album. The kind of independent release that sounds major from a newcomer who could be confused as a young veteran. Where there should be kinks, Snubnose appears polished; where most artists fall into a mimicry of trends, Grip leans into original storytelling. He makes 13-tracks about gun violence feel like you’re watching a violent Quentin Tarantino film, with far-less n-words. Meticulous in form, riveting in execution, Snubnose is one rap album that you won’t forget. One of the best surprises of 2019. —Yoh

54. Roc Marciano — Marcielago

53. Young Nudy & Pi'erre Bourne — Sli'merre

52. SiR — Chasing Summer

51. Kano — Hoodies All Summer

50. YBN Cordae — The Lost Boy

YBN Cordae remembers what albums sounded like during the blog era. When Kendrick Lamar made Section.80; when J. Cole made Friday Night Lights; when Chance the Rapper made Acid Rap. Cordae channels that timeframe into , his debut album on Atlantic Records. The North Carolina-born, Maryland-raised rapper weaves through a coming-of-age story with thoughtful self-reflection, pointed storytelling, and soulful nostalgia. It’s a charming, major-label effort by a developing and youthful rapper with an open, old soul. Cordae still lacks a defining identity, but at the very least, The Lost Boy proves he knows how to tell a compelling story. —Yoh

49. Flying Lotus — Flamagra

48. Injury Reserve — Injury Reserve

47. Kevin Abstract — Arizona Baby

46. SAINt JHN — Ghetto Lenny’s Love Songs

45. Griselda — WWCD

Griselda’s debut album, WWCD, does not feel like a traditional debut. The record is wider in scope and sharper in presentation. Between the ferocity of Benny The Butcher, the ear of Westside Gunn, and the mighty snarl of Conway The Machine, Griselda are Buffalo, NY’s unstoppable force. As a group, Griselda have little to prove. Alone and together, the trio have gotten cosigns from some of hip-hop’s greatest writers: Black Thought, Pusha-T, and Raekwon. Respect given is respect earned and studied, in the case of Griselda. Bar for bar, WWCD is the essence of New York street rap for the modern era.—Donna-Claire Chesman

44. Maxo Kream — Brandon Banks

43. Kemba — Gilda

42. Mereba — The Jungle Is The Only Way Out

41. Baby Rose — To Myself

40. Lucky Daye — Painted

Given this was his debut record, Lucky Daye could've played it safe. As anyone who's heard "Roll Some Mo"—Painted's lead single and Lucky's breakout hit—knows, there's a wrenching tenderness to his voice that fits like a glove atop stripped-back production. The risk he took to pepper his album with funkier pop cuts, then, is not one every artist would have taken. Fortunately, Lucky rises to the challenge, proving himself a dynamic enough artist to erase this risk altogether. Plus, when he breaks out those vocals, they're all the more affecting because they've been used sparingly.—Hershal Pandya

39. KOTA The Friend — FOTO

No album warrants a tracklist of 19 songs. Yet, in crafting a worthy spiritual successor to the Rawkus Records era of music that many fondly romanticize, KOTA The Friend comes as close as humanly possible to justifying this run-time on FOTO. The album personifies the term “easy-listening,” maintaining a consistent mood throughout between KOTA’s strikingly unaffected delivery and the delicate, jazzy production on which he raps. No slouch on the mic, KOTA possesses a rare gift for situating bravado alongside vulnerability. He conjures favorable similarities to Phonte at his best, but not so much that FOTO ever suffers for these comparisons. —Hershal Pandya

38. Future — Future Hndrxx Presents: The WIZRD

Women, wealth, and worries are the three Ws found pulsing through the veins of Future’s seventh studio album, . Lyrically, there’s nothing new under WZRD’s promethazine sun, but the magic is in his ability to resurrect old muses as revamped concepts. Future hasn’t radically changed over the years, but here the presentation is altered. WZRD is another installment of melodic confessing, hypnotic anthems, and oil-black trap production that carries the infectious torch passed down from its predecessors. Still, it stands alone as a fresh glimpse into Future’s rockstar world. —Yoh

37. Quelle Chris — Guns

Quelle Chris is self-aware enough to know that everything in this life—emotions, money, ourselves—is weaponized. His sixth studio album Guns isn’t about physical violence as much as it’s a deconstruction of the actions we take in a world slowly devouring itself. Quelle travels the roads of Trump’s America with a twisted sense of humor and animated beats as his only sidearms, jumping between characters, ideas, and planes of existence as only he can. Guns is a polemic on reality itself, a reminder that no weapon formed against a sharp mind shall prosper. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

36. Toro y Moi — Outer Peace

What good is inner peace when the outer world is falling apart? Toro y Moi’s Outer Peace combines a sleek disco sheen with contemporary rap cadences to bring pep to an increasingly passive-aggressive world. The housing market has crashed (“New House”), and sex barely sells like it used to (“Ordinary Pleasure”), but at least James Murphy is spinning records at his house tonight (“Laws of The Universe”). That cynical sense of humor alone will keep your toe tapping throughout Outer Peace, that is,if the gorgeous grooves and crushing low-end don’t. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

35. James Blake — Assume Form

The most accessible of his projects to date, is a triumphant release that marks the evolution of James Blake’s artistry, as he matures past the reductive “sad boy” label he’s famously lamented. An unapologetically romantic album, Blake sheds the claustrophobic production of his previous output in favor of shimmering compositions, genuine hooks, and winning collaborations with the likes of André 3000 and Rosalia. Retaining his lyrical flair, Blake punctuates the album with quintessential lines, like “let's go home and talk shit about everyone,” that reminds you of the artist who first grabbed your attention years ago. —Hershal Pandya

34. Bad Bunny — X 100PRE

I’m in love with the way Bad Bunny says his name. I’m a sucker for a good self-reference, but I’m even more of a sucker for the way Bad Bunny bets on his longevity. With that, X 100PRE, Bunny’s debut album, is about being everlasting in a microwaved music industry. The record covers all adjacent hip-hop genres—which, at this point, means all genres—from pop-punk to trap, to lighter fare, and ballads with fine attention to getting our hips moving. You hear Bad Bunny, and you dance; you sing your heart out; you weep, and you celebrate. In one record, Bad Bunny captured every mode of human living. —Donna-Claire Chesman

33. Kyle Dion — SUGA

There are no words to explain Kyle Dion’s amazing, stunning, arresting, becoming, disarming, endearing, charming, affirming, enchanting, beguiling, mollifying, soothing, blaring, encouraging, surprising, yearning, pining, astounding, breathtaking, stupefying, thrilling, outstanding, exciting, exhilarating, electrifying, intoxicating, moving vocal tone on SUGA. Just press play. —Donna-Claire Chesman

32. Kehlani — While We Wait

While We Wait isn’t the full entrée, it’s just the appetizer. While waiting on the full-length follow-up to 2017’s SweetSexySavage, Kehlani treated fans to a taste of where she’s heading next. Kehlani bares her soul as staunchly as she always has to provide an unfiltered look into her state of mind. On While We Wait, she’s equal parts vulnerable and commanding, struggling to move on from a complicated relationship on “Too Deep” before confidently telling off an old lover on “Nunya.” With a diverse complement of beats, storylines, and moods, there’s plenty to enjoy on this small project. —Kenan Draughorne

31. 2 Chainz — Rap or Go to the League

Twenty-three years after the late, great Notorious B.I.G. rapped, “Either you’re slinging crack rock, or you got a wicked jump shot,” Atlanta hip-hop veteran 2 Chainz stands as an example of a man who had the jump shot and sold the drugs but ultimately chose rap as his escape route from poverty. His fifth studio album, Rap or Go to the League, is an opulent celebration inspired by the city that raised him and the odds he’s overcome. Rap or go to the League is a grown man still progressing as an artist, finding his most introspective voice. —Yoh

30. slowthai — Nothing Great About Britain

An agile storyteller, Northampton’s slowthai expertly mixes elements of UK grime and drill while unpacking the micro and macro of his British upbringing. Carrying no pretensions and seamlessly style-shifting across genres with his frenetic cadence, the singular rapper makes you move and listen simultaneously. In a year that has seen British rap dominate—from DAVE and Little Simz to Skepta and Octavian—slowthai’s versatility and poignant messaging set him apart. He’s funny while commanding attention, hilariously painting stark portraits of British classism, racism, and abuse in an ultimately gripping and focused fashion. —Zach Miller

29. Maxo — LIL BIG MAN

Maxo makes growing up sound incisive and blaring. This album takes place in the crevices of the torment of maturing. is a dusty reclamation of voice, relying on traditional boom bap structures and methodical writing to deliver a solemnly eviscerating experience. The wisdom baked into LIL BIG MAN will at once inspire, surprise, and soothe you. Maxo is Def Jam’s best-kept secret, but not for much longer. —Donna-Claire Chesman

28. Lizzo — Cuz I Love You

Equal parts bold, sexy, and witty, is a commanding listen that features Lizzo at her best. Harnessing her confident mic presence and ear for massive hooks, Lizzo creates a genuinely urgent body of work. A showcase for her eclectic sensibilities, the album jumps effortlessly between the eponymous opener, which recalls the work of The Alabama Shakes, to the infectious pop stylings of “Juice,” without missing a beat. It’s a shame Lizzo infamously fixated on one mixed review because overwhelmingly, the universal response to Cuz I Love You was justifiably glowing. —Hershal Pandya

27. Anderson .Paak — Ventura

A throwback to the beloved soul music of the ’70s, is a return to form for Anderson .Paak after the mixed bag that was . The key takeaway here is Anderson .Paak is fine when he raps, but he is special when he sings. Whether via the glorious, Smokey Robinson-assisted cut, “Make It Better,” or the disarmingly danceable, “Twilight,” Ventura is a breathing testament to this takeaway. The album offers lush canvasses to showcase the stunningly silky tone of .Paak’s voice. Add to this a transcendent André 3000 guest verse, and the case for Ventura becomes undeniable. —Hershal Pandya

26. GoldLink — Diaspora

Subtlety isn’t a characteristic that listeners often encounter on a major label album; the machine believes in a straight line product that doesn’t require further explanation. That’s not GoldLink. The Maryland native is a master of music woven to unveil slowly. With , his RCA “debut,” Link has created his most subtle, yet replayable work of art. Thanks to production warm as spring, Diaspora is a splash of Utopian sunshine, yet in the shadows of his lyrics, the 26-year-old is adding his mysterious life to the lexicon of Black music. It’s the mystery that endures, not the explanation, and GoldLink shapes Diaspora to be an album that lasts. —Yoh

25. Solange — When I Get Home

Solange’s take on Houston hip-hop belongs in a museum. She treats her hometown’s “chopped and screwed” traditions with elevated care throughout When I Get Home, placing it on a golden pedestal to be admired and revered. Dispersing interludes at every turn in the form of fragmented conversations and poems, she creates a linear journey that eternally builds upon itself. When “Almeda” parades into the spotlight with strutting kicks and whooping vocals, it’s impossible not to stand and salute Solange. —Kenan Draughorne

24. Rico Nasty & Kenny Beats — Anger Management

Kenny! Rico! Together! A match perfectly made, is a brisk concept album that captures all the stages of a temper tantrum and boasts some of Rico’s best work (“Big Titties”), and highlights the duo’s impeccable chemistry. Rico made this album from the heat of anger and the thrill of the up-and-down. She imparts boundless energy unto every cut. Kenny’s production is from another plane where music is warped and only made on acid. Their collective thump and vigor make Anger Management the pump-up album of every summer. —Donna-Claire Chesman

23. billy woods — Terror Management

You can’t eat books. You can’t rest easy at night. You can’t trust those closest to you. These are the lessons of billy woods’ second album of 2019, Terror Management. A show of strength from woods, who is writing through the apocalypse, Terror Management feels like being led down a series of jagged alleyways by a dishonest narrator. A narrator who is mistrustful in their own right. The album is knotty and internal. The album is wounded and beside itself. At times, Terror Management serenades fear. Sometimes, it merely quakes in place. Sometimes, woods cracks a joke. Most importantly, Terror Management is fucking good, man. Fucking. Good. —Donna-Claire Chesman

22. Ari Lennox — Shea Butter Baby

Ari Lennox blessed my new apartment during our interview; her soul is kind, and her music is knowing. Her musings on the failures of modern dating sound scrumptious with her silky vocal texture. The beauty of Shea Butter Baby is in the way Ari captures minutiae and makes it sound regal. She does not pull from the abstract, and it’s the rootedness of her art, the humble quality of the content, that makes the album such a triumph. Ari’s professing that this record is for Black women, too, is triumphant. The beauty and love of community permeate the work. —Donna-Claire Chesman

21. Polo G — Die A Legend

Polo G isn’t waiting to receive his flowers. At just 20 years old, the Chicago rapper’s debut album, Die A Legend,reads like a breathless statement of purpose. Life has taken too much from the rapper, born Taurus Bartlett, for him to quit now. Across the album’s 14 tracks, scars created by loved ones lost (“Deep Wounds”) and a corrupt police system (“BST”) compel his meticulous croons. Even a banger like “Pop Out” mixes the spoils of victory and pained reflection with dizzying ease. Die A Legend maintains this balance throughout, finding energy in the melancholic. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

20. Snoh Aalegra — -ugh, those feels again

Often, you'll listen to a modern R&B record, and sandwiched between trap concessions and crossover attempts, will be a bare and emotive track that'll make you wonder, “why isn’t this the album?” On , Snoh Aalegra took this approach and ran with it, constructing an album composed entirely of these deep-cuts. The effect is 14 organic songs, across which Aalegra shows remarkable restraint. Though her vocals are as lush as the production, she's careful never to over-sing or push for the emotion. As she acknowledges via the album's title, the "feels" are more of an inevitability than anything else. —Hershal Pandya

19. DaBaby — Baby On Baby

DaBaby’s Baby On Baby is 32 minutes of exhilarating trap sermons. He builds the church of Baby On Baby upon confidence pure as cocaine, a charisma so contagious it could charm the Halliwell sisters. The lively, dynamic production perfectly fits his distinctive, Southern rap voice. There are few holes to be found in DaBaby’s artistic armor; it’s refreshing to hear a new artist sound so developed. Baby On Baby is one of the most replayable albums of the year, and at this rate, we will remember 2019 as the year that DaBaby broke out and began his hip-hop takeover. —Yoh

18. Burna Boy — African Giant

With African Giant, international Nigerian superstar Burna Boy created more than a masterpiece. He created a social statement and global experience. Burna paints a spiritual picture, one that is uniquely his own, yet still feels like it belongs to all of us. African Giant is undeniably Naija, dipped in history and Yoruba dialect, leaping over language and cultural barriers. Burna’s lyrics are poignant, coasting over production charged with Afrofusion anthems, dancehall riddims, and hymns. The 19-track album is not just a vibe; it’s a victory. —Ronnia Cherry

17. Boogie — Everythings For Sale

On , Boogie accomplishes the rare feat of making an intensely personal album that is simultaneously self-aware and suitably mature enough to avoid veering into the trap of solipsism. A distinctly West Coast album that borrows influences from the Midwest, Boogie brings the specificity of his lyricism to life with pretty production, alliteration-heavy flows, and an effortless knack for melody. All of these come together to create a surprisingly pleasant listening experience, despite the album’s undeniably dense subject matter. —Hershal Pandya

16. Little Brother — May The Lord Watch

That North Carolina duo Little Brother’s exists is a blessing. It was unclear if we’d ever see Little Brother—currently comprised of rappers Phonte and Rapper Big Pooh—on a record together again, but they pulled it off. On their fifth album, they sound like they’re happy to be together again. Phonte and Pooh appear rejuvenated, modernizing The Minstrel Show’saestheticwhile still dropping jewels that rap fans of any age will find relatable. The beats shimmer, and the rhymes are funny and poignant. Let’s be thankful that UBN’s hiatus was only temporary. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

15. EarthGang — Mirrorland

EarthGang’s Dreamville debut, , doesn’t stop moving. The motion of each song is exuberant and dynamic, a result of multi-flavored carnival production paired with WowGr8 and Olu’s animated storytelling. How the creative West Atlanta duo stretch and morph their voices to match a variety of styles and sounds make for an exhilarating debut album. It’s a Crayola box wrapped in dynamite. Mirrorland explodes from start to finish. —Yoh

14. Rapsody — Eve

Rapsody’s life music has evolved. Where 2017’s saw Rap focusing inward and weaving a gorgeous tapestry of the Black woman’s experience, features Rap looking outward in all directions. With her most enlivened performances to date, Rapsody honors the Black women who came before her, all to the point of creating opportunities for the Black women who will come after her to take up space. As an album, Eve is lively and emboldened. As a mission statement, Eve is admirable. Rapsody’s deep love of history and Blackness make this the most excitable album in her deep catalog. —Donna-Claire Chesman

13. Beyoncé — HOMECOMING: THE LIVE ALBUM

I remember falling in love when I first saw the HOMECOMING: THE LIVE ALBUM during a live screening of Coachella. Beyoncé has always been a great performer, but this album is more than just a performance. HOMECOMING: THE LIVE ALBUM pays homage to the Black artists that came before Beyoncé, it acknowledges how her Blackness has shaped her, and how she has shaped her Blackness. When she decided to share this moment of brilliance with the world, there was one word that came to mind: thankful. HOMECOMING is a replica of Beyoncé’s Coachella performance. It doesn’t just take us back to the moment; it fully placed us in it, as if we were there with her witnessing her at her peak. —Simi Moonlight

12. Danny Brown — uknowhatimsayin¿

Even at its darkest, Danny Brown’s music is bunches of fun. He gets immense joy from rhyming words together over the weirdest beats he can find. His traditionalist methods and gonzo music preferences meet halfway like never before on his fifth studio album The conceptual bombast of previous projects is thrown out the studio windows for thoughtful raps over zany beats. Executive produced by Q-Tip, the project is loose and punchy, chock full of vignettes as suitable for an open-mic standup set as they are for a rap album. At 38 years old, Danny has little left to prove. uknowhatimsayin¿ makes every word count. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

11. Megan Thee Stallion — Fever

The rise of Megan Thee Stallion is a blessing to witness. With her formal 300 Entertainment debut, the “1501 Queen” establishes herself as one of the most charismatic forthright rappers working. Her energy is explosive. Her writing is bombastic. Her deliveries are bursting with conviction and swagger. Megan Thee Mack is unchained and unstoppable on , a celebration of her Houston roots and flair for spending another man’s coin. Megan is a dominant force in hip-hop, and considering the sheer strength of Fever, she does not seem to be slowing down. —Donna-Claire Chesman

10. Young Thug — So Much Fun

is a safer work than some of Young Thug’s more elastic, head-spinning offerings. Across 18 songs, the long-awaited debut uses shoulder-shaking trap rhythms and ear-candy melodies to deliver his most accessible work since Rich Gang’s 2014 mixtape, Rich Gang: Tha Tour Pt. 1. It’s still Thug, though. He provides humor and hits, thrilling bravado, and infectious style, all while being the original nucleus that inspires many of his contemporaries today. So Much Fun is the commercial oeuvre for an artist who was always a star but never shined in the mainstream. —Yoh

9. FKA twigs — MAGDALENE

Heartbreak can be oddly beautiful. Rarely do people experience the depths of human emotion as fiercely as when they’re cocooned in its all-consuming agony. If this sounds at all like bad teenage poetry, trust me when I say FKA twigs mines this territory much more gracefully on her transcendent sophomore album, MAGDALENE. Listening to her sing tortured lyrics like, “Were you ever sure? No, no, no, not with me” in her painfully pretty falsetto, it’s hard not to luxuriate in her—and, by extension, your—palpable anguish. Musically, the album conveys the same message more viscerally. It envelops you in asphyxiating production, delivering pockets of euphoric catharsis in the form of cinematic instrumental flourishes and twigs’ gorgeous, boundless vocals. —Hershal Pandya

8. MAVI — Let the Sun Talk

MAVI wants us to understand him on his terms. At just 20 years old, the Charlotte, North Carolina native is capable of bending words to his will, a Sorcerer Supreme in the making coming to grips with his Infinity Stone. On his debut album, , MAVI’s words exist on the borders of Black thought, spirituality, and raw honesty; they are puzzles revealing different configurations with every listen. If you know, you know, and if you don’t, MAVI’s technical skill and ear for beats are enough to pull in weary travelers. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

7. billy woods & Kenny Segal — Hiding Places

billy woods and Kenny Segal are not scared; they are not in hiding. Instead, they are affecting wordsmith and mad scientist banding together to traverse the depths of retread emotions. A record concerned with the past and what it means for an emotional space to become hollow, will challenge and reward you in the same turn. Kenny Segal’s production is quietly cacophonous and cloudy, while woods presents his most direct and open writing to date. The pair belongs together. —Donna-Claire Chesman

6. Denzel Curry — ZUU

Denzel Curry is proof you can always go home. His latest album, ZUU, is a testament to home as the ultimate battery charger. Curry sheds the conceptual bombast of his last album, TA13OO, in favor of a non-stop thrill ride through the streets of his native Carol City, Florida. The sun-drenched comforts and drawbacks of home, along with clanging production from longtime collaborators FnZ, help him paint some of the most vivid images of his career. These are top-down bangers baked in the 98-degree sun. With ZUU, Denzel Curry found freedom in his backyard. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

5. Little Simz — GREY Area

Little Simz wants you to stop fucking with her heart. She says as much two tracks into , her boldly cathartic third studio album. At 25, Simz is approaching the threshold of adulthood with more questions than answers, armed with bars that cut to the bone. She’s been one of the UK’s best rappers for years, but her songs have never been so focused, the beats—cooked up by longtime producer Inflo—never so varied and explosive. GREY Area is her masterwork, a panoramic view of a future star fighting back a quarter-life crisis. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

4. Dave — Psychodrama

Plenty of reviews have regarded Dave’s as an album of a generation, a landmark of UK hip-hop, and we have to agree. Dave burrows into the depths of his psyche, and bravely reports his findings in an accessible and banging format. He makes the intimate aggressive and touching all at once. Psychodrama reveals Dave to be a master writer and rapper, an artist’s artist, and an artist to watch for years to come. —Donna-Claire Chesman

3. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib — Bandana

Good rap sequels are hard to come by. Thankfully, Freddie Gibbs and Madlib aren’t your average rapper-producer duo. Their debut album, 2014’s , recontextualized their respective sounds while cross-pollinating with each other’s audiences. This year’s is more holistic in form, its creators in sync for the first time. Their camaraderie strengthens Gibbs’ elastic flows (“Situations”) and storytelling (“Fake Names”) as much as it pushes Madlib to embellish his trademark samples with trap hi-hats (“Half Manne Half Cocaine”) and crisp kick drums (“Gat Damn”). Trust and freedom embolden this latest chapter in the MadGibbs Cinematic Universe. —Dylan "CineMasai" Green

2. Jamila Woods — Legacy! Legacy!

Jamila Woods makes eternal music. Her runs, her inflections, and her writing are all meant to stand the test of time. On Legacy! Legacy!,Jamila performs a time-bending act, bringing her literary heroes back to life and keeping them squarely in our thoughts as she carries their poetics into her classic album. Legacy!’s success is rooted in a fullness of life and self-love. There is so much agony in the world, but there is still so much love to share. Jamila Woods is in the business of spreading love. Plus, the record also doubles as a great reading list. —Donna-Claire Chesman

1. Tyler, the Creator — IGOR

was a new dawn for Tyler, The Creator. A heartbroken and deluxe dawn. A funky and riveting one. IGOR covered the whole spectrum of heartache. From urgency and helplessness to naming, to pining, to grieving, to coming into yourself. Every step of nursing our lost souls was found on IGOR. The operative question of this epic album is: Who do we become when the rug is pulled out from under us, and our hearts break? The answer is multiple, and each thread of reply makes up the fabric of IGOR. We became angry. We become obsessive. We become deranged. We become desperate, at first for the past, and finally, for peace.

We’ve lived with IGOR for seven months. In those seven months, new meanings have continued to reveal themselves as the album gets uninterrupted play. I heard IGOR at a taco spot in Philly. I hear IGOR in my sleep. The ubiquity of its themes makes it an easy record to latch onto, sure. But the sparkle of its static, the grandiosity of its arrangement, and the needling melodies and vocal performances make IGOR a sonic marvel, too. Let’s also not forget this album is a queer triumph.

IGOR is the album of the year because it was the most ambitious and wrenching record of 2019. IGOR is an album you hold tight and play deep into the night and then play again when the sun comes up, and your eyes are crusted. It’s the album you remember during your last fight, and the album you play when you’ve achieved apathy in the face of pain. It’s the album for when you care too much, and for when you sincerely hope they’re happy. IGOR is as spectacular as the heartbreak itself.

In a world committed to making us all feel like tiny performers on tiny stages, dancing for imaginary currency, IGOR expands our universes. Suddenly, our every move feels precious, purposeful. Our feelings become valid; our hopes and dreams become imperative. Who we are is imperative. Tyler may be wearing a pressed suit and wig, but he is unmasked. Thanks to IGOR, we follow suit.—Donna-Claire Chesman

This content was originally published here.

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amazingbananabread · 4 months ago

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Y'all okay with self insert here?????

The brush is not right but idrc :PP (I'm legit so obsessed with Kevin,,,,,I need him)

#melissa ^^#fan character #fc #fanart #ks #kevin spencer #kevin spencer self insert #kevin spencer show #ks sona #kevin spencer sona #???????#idk how to tag #selfship

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ayearofpike · 7 years ago

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The Midnight Club

Pocket Books, 1994 211 pages, 9 chapters + epilogue ISBN 0-671-87263-X LOC: PZ7.P626 Mi 1994 OCLC: 28710742 Released February 1, 1994 (per B&N)

Orphaned, riddled with tumors, and unresponsive to treatment, Ilonka Pawluk has no place to go but a hospice run by a wealthy philanthropist. She refuses to give up hope, though, and in that vein she, along with a few others, found a late-night storytelling society. It helps (or maybe it just hurts more) that she is attracted to one of the other members, by a sensation that she has known him before and for longer than either could think possible. And he feels it too. WIth him, even as they race toward death, Ilonka gains new appreciation and understanding for life.

That sounded so corny, I know. But this one is not like anything else Pike has ever written. Well, there’s the connection to Eastern mysticism through a wise elder and the concept of reincarnation. But: no monsters, no villains, no aliens, no time traveling, and no murderers (unless you count cancer or suppressed immune systems). In fact, there’s not a lot of plot going on at all. It’s just a slice-of-life narrative, even as it comes at the end of one.

I have to wonder whether Pike wrote this out of obligation to somebody he knew or met. He’s mentioned being inspired by a Pike book club in a terminal ward, but I feel like it goes deeper than that. After all, the book is dedicated to “Ilonka,” and the story kind of goes out of its way to make sure we know she’s Polish by birth, even though Ilonka moved to the US as a baby and is wholly Americanized. Unless I’m misremembering, this is only the second character Pike has written who isn’t born in America or England, and he hasn’t even gone outside the country for a new person since 1988. Why all of a sudden does origin matter so much, if he’s not making a direct nod to someone he knew? Since Pike started answering questions on Facebook, he’s talked a lot about his process, but whenever this book comes up he says it’s a longer story that needs its own post. Which I have not yet seen. So I just have to speculate.

There’s nothing really wrong with the book itself. It maybe doesn’t devote enough time to thinking about mortality, but it’s also kind of more about exploring reincarnation and what lies beyond where we are and what we know. Still, if you jumped into this expecting space vampires or murderous vengeance, you might be disappointed. It certainly isn’t anything we’ve come to expect from this dude. Basically, five characters with terminal illnesses sit around a table and tell stories until nobody is left. In order of disappearance, we’ve got:

Anya Zimmerman, who battles bone cancer and has already lost a leg to it. She tells one story here, about a girl who makes a deal with the devil to split her into two bodies so that one can drink and party and bone and be irresponsible while the other stays in school. Of course, it doesn’t work out the way she hoped — in fact, both halves spiral down and out of control — and the only way out is to kill her selves.

Sandra Cross, who has Hodgkin’s disease but otherwise doesn’t belong. Ilonka says that the others were already friends, and they let Sandra “come along for the ride” (28) when they started meeting separately. It’s revealed that she has never told a story at The Midnight Club, and she still doesn’t until one night they get drunk and her entire story is about boning a dude she just met in a park.

Kevin, the object of Ilonka’s affection, dying of leukemia. Hey, I forgot to put his last name in there — but that’s because Pike never mentions it. Another shameless self-insert? Certainly another reason for me to suspect that he’s writing a more personal story. Kevin’s ongoing story is about an angel muse who is confined to the Louvre, but leaves it and gives up his immortality when he falls in love with a human woman. Of course they don’t know how to be with each other, and they fall apart, but fate brings them back together at the end of her life, where they remember the love that they shared.

Spencer Haywood, who tells everyone he has a brain tumor. Spence’s stories are a lot more rage-against-the-machiney, with one about a disfigured war vet who snipes civilians off the Eiffel Tower and one about a young magician manipulated into murdering his school by locking the gym during a big basketball game and setting it on fire.

And finally, Ilonka, whose cancer is never specified but it’s somewhere in her abdomen. She doesn’t make up stories, she says; instead, she tells tales of her past lives. One is about a woman in Egypt whose best friend’s daughter is murdered and how they comfort each other, and the other is a girl in caste-heavy India who insists upon marrying below her grade and endures ostracism for true love. Both times, she has a strong feeling that Kevin represents the partner of her personage, but she doesn’t tell him that.

Ilonka’s story at the first session includes a bit about one character packing the dead girl’s overnight bag, which gives the other hope that her spirit came back for her things. This gets them thinking about whether there is anything after death. They make a pact that the first one who goes will try to send the others a sign, though they’re not going to specify what just in case someone pulls a trick. Ilonka actually feels a little guilty, because she’s feeling better. She’s avoiding medication and focusing on natural remedies and thinks that she’s healing, enough that she asks the hospice director to schedule an MRI. It’s kind of against the hospice rules to seek treatment beyond just pain management, but he plays along.

Her conviction that she’s not dying isn’t enough to try to get Kevin’s girlfriend to leave him alone. She basically scares the girl off with talk of his death, and then confides in Anya that she’s worried about her motives. Anya, in turn, tells Ilonka about the only time she was in love, and the stupid mistake she made in cheating on the dude, upon which he broke a statue she was sculpting for him and walked out forever. Anya still has the statue, and she shows it to Ilonka. Spookily, the only thing that he broke was the girl’s leg — the one Anya is now missing.

The story session that night is the one with the wine, and Ilonka doesn’t enjoy drinking at all. In fact, she barely makes it back to her room before blacking out, and when she wakes Anya is dead in her bed. There are a lot of signs that she planned to die, but no way that she or the hospice director can determine she might have done it. So Ilonka goes to pack up Anya’s bathroom stuff — but it’s already gone, just like the girl in Ilonka’s story.

Ilonka doesn’t have a lot of time to worry about this, because all of a sudden this rumor starts flying around that someone was misdiagnosed and is not terminal. Since she’s the only one who’s seen a doctor recently, she knows who the lucky person has to be. She goes to tell Kevin, and then Sandra — only Sandra is packing a suitcase and singing. I told you she didn’t belong here. In fact, Ilonka’s tumors have gotten bigger and spread to other organs. So she freaks out and has to be sedated, and wakes up in her room around midnight.

And Kevin is there. He finishes telling her his story, and she confesses her love to him. And I guess part of him knows, as he’s always felt at home and relatable when Ilonka tells her stories, like it’s stirring some deep-seated memory. He says he loves her back and that they should make love right there and then. Of course neither one of them is in actual physical shape to do the dirty deed, but there’s lots of kissing and holding and sleeping (mostly implied) and then they wake up in each other’s arms and then Kevin dies.

Nothing to do now but get worse. So she does, and Spence does, and he wants to see her one more time. Which is where he confesses that he’s gay and is actually dying of AIDS and not a tumor. He talks about his lover, who has already died of the disease, which ... how old is Spence? I’m running into Pike’s timeline inconsistencies again. If he and Carl met when Spence was 15, but Carl is already dead and Spence needs a fake ID to buy wine, then this shit progressed quickly. Given the sequence of events, I’m not sure Spence should blame himself for Carl’s death, but he does — and it’s that blood on his hands that allowed him to smother Anya when she asked him to. He flat-out denies taking Anya’s stuff, though, and figures it must have been Kevin, because he’s pretty sure that Kevin saw the parallels in Ilonka’s stories before she said anything. So, not a sign, just a dude doing what he thought was right because of a literary allegory.

But then Anya’s ex shows up. Ilonka directs him to the packed box of her things, and the first thing he pulls out is the statue. Which is suddenly and mysteriously whole, like it was never broken in the first place. That’s got to be the sign, only Ilonka’s the only one alive and conscious to think so. (Spence has fallen into a coma and dies within a day.) In fact, she’s the only one Anya ever told about this guy and her regrets. Would anyone actually believe her anyway? We never find out, because Ilonka shortly follows her friends into that world beyond life.

Our epilogue shows a young space traveler named Eisokna and her new husband Karlen, off to colonize a planet in the Sirius system. She confides in him that though she loves Earth, she feels that everything is good with her and the planet and she is ready to leave. Does she know about the past lives? Who gives a shit?

I’m not sure how deeply or fully The Midnight Club really gets into the end of life actually being a rebirth. It feels like there wants to be a little bit more, only there was no way the publisher was going to let sexy-lizard-teens guy stretch out on existential metaphysics. If this really was a personal story, I can only imagine how hard Pike must have pushed to get it out, considering how different it is from everything else. Maybe he’ll actually talk more specifically about it in the not-too-distant future, like he’s been promising for six years.

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