Category: hip-hop
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yaya bey – remember your north star
On a hugely satisfying LP, Yaya dances precisely between a lo-fi mixtape and shoomping R&B. The light vocals and delicate production might sink into one another were it not for a sharpness to the writing; especially in its explicit moments, Bey’s lyrics split through the seamless beats with a bite. ‘RYNS’ is not content with […]
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aint afraid – heavy guarded heart
This Baltimore-born, twin sister band have been singing together since the age of two. There’s an unblemished coating on ‘Heavy Guarded Heart’ that speaks to a well-planned record and their unbreakable, sisterly chemistry. The twins sprinkle baby-making R&B over trap hi-hats and their own religious sentiments; the sheer earnestness and shimmering positivity of the record […]
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E L U C I D – i told bessie
E L U C I D is what I believe the kids are calling ‘slept on’. On one of the year’s best abstract hip-hop records, the lesser known half of Armand Hammer takes a significant step forward in exploring the centre of his sound. If 2016’s ‘Save Yourself’ marked an aptitude for neat, lo-fi hip-hop, […]
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juvenile – 400 degreez (1998)
The cover was prototypical; the music became an authoritative success model. ‘400 Degreez’ relates Juvenile’s perceptiveness with buffeting beats that do everything from cruise to smack to bounce. In an unforgettable year for hip-hop, ‘Ha’ persists as one of its most profound statements. On the track, Juvenile flicks through characters from housing projects like a […]
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kendrick lamar – mr. morale & the big steppers
Pt.1 MM&TBS is an ambitious, driven record from the premier hip-hop artist of this decade and last. ‘The Heart pt. 5’ was its aperitif—a Marvin Gaye-sampled disco track that belittled ‘gang culture’ from the liminal plane in between Kendrick’s history, self, and fame. It showcased an incorrigibly theatrical performer wielding his vocal fuel. The ground-trembling […]
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