Issue 53
What a summer. Chance The Rapper releases what might be the most boring album to date. A$ap Rocky is still facing charges of assault – in my city here in Sweden to add to that. And a lot of good music. Like YBN Cordae that I hadn’t paid attention to prior to his new album. I honestly grouped him in the same bracket as all the other rappers that start their name with ”YBN”. They don’t perform well otherwise. But! Cordae is the exception to the rule.
YBN Cordae gained momentum and attracted some grade A features such as Anderson .Paak, Meek Mill, Chance The Rapper (ehum), Pusha T (!), Meek Mill and Ty Dolla $ign. Truth be told – I believe some of the bigger names out there would have problem attracting names like this on an album. And it paid off – such a good album! It’s not perfect, but a great start what might be a successful career if he keeps it up and evolves a bit. He is slightly monotone in his style, technique and could add a bit more personality to his lyrics. But great features, great instrumentals and his delivery is good overall and he delivers a really solid start. I’ve actually added two tracks from his album in this newsletter: one where he is alone and raps great by himself, to show off that he’s capable. The second track is great, but would be unjust to only feature that, since the feature from .Paak is so good, one might think Cordae lived off that, if the first solo track isn’t played first.
Then there’s a track from BIG K.R.I.T whom I’ve mentioned multiple times previously. I love the guy. He got screwed by Atlantic Records, had to pull through and wait out til’ the contract ended, and is now on a journey as a solo artist without a major label which is incredibly brave.
This weeks newcomer is Dre’es who released his first album, Swamp 00 this year. The biggest ”hit” (generously described) has 65,000 plays only. Let’s bring those numbers up!
We also have a track from SiR who just signed a dual-record deal, so he’ll get some marketing boost when releasing his next album. Kendrick Lamar joined for this latest release, ”Hair Down”.
Lastly, better late then never, I’ve featured a track from slowthai, a british rapper who released an album earlier this summer which I missed completely unforunately. Because it’s a great album. I’ll definetly keep an eye out for his upcoming releases.
Til’ next time,
Cheers
Have Mercy
YBN Cordae as mentioned in the intro, released his album ”The Lost Boy” in the end of July. Great album cover as a bonus. Great, consistent flow.
T N Biscuits
slowthai
made such an intro with his album Nothing Great About Britain. Great
songs. Great title. Great album cover. Not sure you’ve visited the
council estates around Britain, but it ain’t a pretty sight if it’s in a
rough neighbourhood. And that’s exactly what slowthai raps about and
the overall theme for the album: bashing on the upbringing in one of
them.
We Gone Make It
Meek Mill joined Cordae’s album
with this great hook. It’s catchy, serious and could easily be played
at numerous moods. Meek Mill really bounced back to the main scene after
that whole Drake misery. And no wonder, he keeps working and doing it
really well.
Hair Down
SiR had a great previous album release. He’s got the backup of Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, SZA and more. He can definetly carry an album on his own. His music lives in that wonderful area between R&B and rap and he perfects it.
Tulip Garden
Dre’es has clearly written his own Spotify biography and I love it. It’s just quick links to contact him to work with him and it’s such a nice change from all the bigger rappers who have hired a professional copywriter to write something.
Learned From Texas
BIG K.R.I.T. is one of the FEW southern rappers and you just have to promote that a bit extra. They’re not famous for their rap but it sure damn sounds great sometimes, and the culture and references are hence unique.
The Cave with Kenny Beats
The
most joyful discovery this summer has definetly been Kenny Beats (the
now-famous producer) YouTube channel ”The Cave”. He describes his
channel and series ”The Cave” in his latest video like this:
”As
devastating as it sounds, we have finally come upon the season finale of
The Cave. It was just this past March that we released the first
episode of this show, with the intention of showing people some of the
personalities and antics that take place daily at Kenny’s illustrious
studio. It is meant to serve not only as entertainment, but also as
inspiration for those who want to be creative with their friends. For
that reason, the feel of this show is intentionally DIY, not slick and
over-produced, not over-thought. This was all conceptualized, designed,
produced, and edited in-house by the DOTS family. That is all to say,
you can do it too, using the people you have around you and tools that
are already available.
Capping it all off is Florida’s Denzel
Curry, who for the first time in show history, brought no one with him.
We get an education in the late Ceddy Bu terminology, new instances of
the now recurring theme of Kenny ignoring notifications from rappers
while at the computer, and one of the most monumental-sounding
freestyles we’ve witnessed on the show.”
And boy! Does Denzel deliver. What a great season finale. If you haven’t watched the series already (very short, all-in-all like 1-2 hours watching) – go ahead and check it out:
