Gucci Mane - Everybody Looking

    

Overview
Gucci Mane is a rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He is an icon among trap artists. Although a lot of his music is a bit empty in lyrical stye and message, this album lives up to his post-prison hype. Gucci's back. Gucci is so deep into his trapping lifestyle that he's comically out of touch with reality. That doesn't sound like a compliment but that's what's so magnetic about his music, he has an up-beat very off-beat statement about everything.
Defining Track
There's a collab with Drake called "Back on Road." The song is very polished and not surprisingly, Drake adds a quality hook. What the song is about is a little unclear but it's refreshing to hear Drake step outside of correct grammer.
Final Thoughts
Gucci Mane has never had so much star power. The current simplicity seeking trend and his recent prison release has just sent his career into over-drive. Everybody Looking is a lot better then his previous albums and couldn't have been released at a better time.

Written by Lance Cardinal Posted on July 22, 2016

Album reviews starting at $250.00 USD

School Boy Q - Blank Face

Overview
School Boy Q is a rapper from South Central Los Angeles. His style has a nice flow pace and interesting delivery, but it's not the most dynamic presentation. What he does right is associate with the right clique of artists and target the right audiences stylistically. Somehow he's able to do that while staying standard hip hop.
Defining Track
That Part is the single off of the drop and it's fairly simple. The production is very spacy but well put together. The collaboration with Kanye adds a lot of excitement to what could have been a mediocre song.
Final Thoughts
School Boy Q has a lot of personality. If he wasn't so rhythmically spot on, or so varied delivery wise, the songs would be very bland.

Rap Independent
School Boy Q - Blank Face
7.8/10

Riff Raff - Peach Panther

Overview
Riff Raff is a rapper from Houston, Texas. Although he presents himself in a humor focused way, his music is 100% trap music from the instrumentals to most of the lyrics. Peach Panther is a nice sentiment. Riff Raff has respect for standard hip hop culture and he shamelessly adds his music to it. The Peach Panther title probably won't leave a lasting impact, and there are several heavier trap artists you could listen to, but the novelty of Riff Raff's humility is good for the genre overall.
Defining Track
4 Million is a good representation of Riff Raff's style. The beat is good and his lyrics are humor focused. However, it's only funny enough to be mildly entertaining. It's not handled well enough to stand on it's own as a serious song.
Final Thoughts
Trap music is usually a lot more sinister, however his presentation is so comedic, it's a little difficult to figure out who this album was written for; ...Suburban trappers? Hood rappers that want a laugh while they trap? Upstanding citizens that are trying to avoid supporting trap music completely? This album is decent, the presentation just makes very little sense.

Rap Independent
Riff Raff - Peach Panther
6.6/10

Cat Pop - Cat Popular

Overview

Cat Pop is a rapper from Out The Cage LLC. His voice is like Childish Gambino but his delivery is like an early Hodgy Beats. Cat Popular is simple but it stands out. His style is in this small area between conscious rap and standard hood rap. The problem is his presentation is a lot more polished than his skills as a rapper.
Defining Track
"Have a Heart" is the intro track and it's arguably one of the best on the mixtape. It has an interesting angle about being driven and cold. However, it expresses it like it's a serious issue.
Final Thoughts
Cat Pop is a decent rapper but his topic choices are his selling point. Cat Popular is a fun concept, but it could have been done a lot better.

Rap Independent
Cat Pop - Cat Popular
6/10

Kodak Black - Lil B.I.G. Pac

    

Overview
Kodak Black is a rapper from Pompano Beach, Florida. Although his style is simple, he has a lot of personality. His presentation has a little more finesse than his competition. The album isn't full of empty trap music. He talks about struggling in the hood in a non boastful way. It isn't really christianity focused but God is brought up in a respectful way. Kodak Black is doing old fashioned hip hop with the energy and vibrance of the young more abstract rappers.
Defining Track
There's a song called "Young Prodigy" He begins slightly off beat, but for some reason it works. He has a very conscious approach to his hood descriptive music and it's a nice mix.
Final Thoughts
Kodak Black is a good rapper but has more persona depth than his competition. His longevity will probably be decided by how impressive his sophomore release is but this is a good start.

Rap Independent
Kodak Black - Lil B.I.G. Pac
7.6/10

Joey Purp - iiiDrops

Overview
Joey Purp is a conscious rapper from Chicago. He's part of Chance the Rapper's "Savemoney"camp. His voice sounds a little like French Montana, his flow is like Joey Badass, and his content is like Casey Veggies. The instrumentals are nice and filled with live instruments. The pacing of the album is a little slow but his presentation makes up for it. It's very current, it's just a little irrelevant compared to some of the other cross-cultural albums. However, there are a lot of good features on it.
Defining Track
"When I'm Gone" is a good song. The hook is soulful, the beat is montage ready, and the lyrics are charged. The issue is, the topic is somewhat basic.
Final Thoughts
Joey Purp has some good songs and it's nice to see an artist slip through the cracks created by politics. If he finds some less bland subject matters, or exaggerates his style a little more, he could be very successful by his next release.

Rap Independent
Joey Purp - iiiDrops
7.5/10

Dipla Beta - Ninth Life

Overview

Dipla Beta is a rapper from "Goonville." Ninth Life is his third mixtape. Although his lines are solid, there's a lack of comfort that comes across a little novice. That's not to take anything away from the mixtape's overall quality.

Defining Track
"Paint" is a song that showcases the high points of his style. There's some pitch-lowering and a feature on it but it is extremely straight forward.
Final Thoughts
The mixtape is very simplistic and casual.

Rap Independent
Dipla Beta- Ninth Life
6.6/10

Childish Gambino - Because the Internet (R.I. Review)

Overview Childish Gambino or Donald Glover, is a pretty consistent rapper. His transition from comedy makes humorous punchlines his comfort zone. Although the "Because the internet" album has good production, none of the instrumentals really stand out from other hip hop releases. His lyrics are political but trail off after nuance. The album is good but it isn't as melodic or complex as his earlier releases.

Drake - Nothing Was The Same (R.I. Review)

Overview Drake is a rapper who after an acting career, and a long span of underground rapping, teamed up with Lil Wayne and began a highly well-received rap career. After a lot of music exploration, there was a moment where Drake found a niche half-rap/half-sung style that changed hip hop ever since. However, nothing has been the same. The biggest change is that the instrumentals are a lot heavier. Instead of serenading, most of the tracks are venting and bragging. There are some interesting subject matters, but it's a straight forward hip hop album. Drake's flow patterns and deliveries are entertaining, but the songs just don't have the same energy and lasting appeal OVO's known for. Defining Track Started from the Bottom was the first single off of the album. It's a trap instrumental with a more positive message. Drake's left Headline's pre-chorus's behind and started using chants. The Song is up-beat and arguably simple. However, each line states an idea and then explains it in the next line. Towards the end of the song he says, "We don't like to do too much explaining, stories stay the same through the money and the fame." Final Thoughts This album seems more like a contribution to his image than his discography. Drake's a talented rapper but he seemed to be in character on a lot of these songs. Sincerity is what gave Take Care its long term impact. Also, there was too much indifference through out. Nothing was the same.

Big Sean - Hall of Fame (R.I. Review)

Overview Big Sean is a hip hop artist from Detroit, Michigan who through a serious of Finally Famous mix-tapes and extensive help from Mr. West, finally became famous. Naturally, the title plays in the same progression Big Sean has made musically. The first, most prominent change is that the production is abstract and engaging enough to give straight forward messages a slightly more interesting angle. The flow pattern is mixed in with contemporary breakdowns and echoed lyrics. There's a colorful array of collaborations. "You don't know" even features a sample from Ellie Goulding. Defining Track "Fire" is the most prominent single and features a very full instrumental carried by heavy samples. Big Sean's lyrics are once again explaining the fact that he's a successful rapper. However, the energy of his lyricism complements the beat well enough to make up for it's simplicity. Final Thoughts Big Sean aims for relate-ability over depth. There is a liveliness to the entire album that completely drives it. Big Sean is somewhat limited artistically and needs to diversify his subject matter and lyricism. The album is carried by production value and personality.

Tyler, the Creator - Wolf (R.I. Review)

Overview Tyler, the Creator is a rapper from Ladera Heights who after a massive new-age horror-core discography began to gain unbelievable hype despite creating obscenely politically incorrect music. His previous Goblin album was released at a time when conscious rap was a considerably new innovation and the ground he covered in indie hip hop had been nearly uncharted territory. With that said, "Wolf" had a lot to live up to. Unfortunately, due to legality issues and changes in trends, this album feels like a poor attempt at re-kindling former glory. Odd Future's previously disturbing image has been replaced by a hip hop version of "Jackass". This album has very little cohesive message. Tyler's had problems, Tyler's made money, Tyler's loosing fans... Wolf's saving attribute is a very natural, live instrumentation sound.  Other than that, it's more of the same with much less of the overall experience Odd Future was made famous for. Another interesting note about this album is that Tyler spends a large portion of it trying to abandon a lot of his previously established image for the sake of preserving his personal life and reputation. What happened to Golf Wang? Defining Track Even the single, "Domo 23" seems a little off. It's not that it's bad, it's just completely misleading to the rest of the album. There is very little appeal to this song besides the rhythmic flow pattern, and once again he tries to repair his image by explaining that he isn't homophobic. Other than that, the song has the staple Odd Future rebellion but it's sloppier than Tyler's previous releases and seems to be targeted to a very young demographic. Final Thoughts The album seems like a cry for help and an appeal to emotion from a fan-base that supported him merely because he aligned with trends in indie music. The lack of dependence on mindless disrespect is a step forward in someways, but the release feels hollow because so much of Tyler's image has been built around it. This is by no means a bad album, but it's the first attempt he's made to succeed based on artistry rather than shock value, and he's still got to work out the kinks. Tyler's fallen into the common trap of abandoning an image before creating a new one.

Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

Overview
Frank Ocean is an R&b artist from Long Beach California who gained notoriety in the wake of Odd Future's ascent to stardom. Although their style as a collective focuses heavily on attention grabbing content, Frank Ocean's Channel Orange is anything but attention seeking. That isn't to say that it's non-eventful. It is merely to say that the tracks on this release are meant to have a Jazz vibe instead of the rebellious heavy energy of some of the Odd Future releases. Channel Orange begins with a sample from a video game console and this sheds light on one of the nicest aspects of this album. It's free from influence. In addition to being self-released prior to record label involvement, Frank Ocean goes out of his way to reference anime, drugs, and several other highly venturous themes. This is by far one of the deepest sung releases to emerge in a long time.
Defining Track
"Thinkin Bout You" is the most noteworthy track and tells a lot of the story behind this album. He talks about his first romantic experience as he's showing off his room. Additionally, there is a nice transition from reminiscing the past to wondering about the future. This only solidifies the point of the song which is, the person he's talking to will hopefully be in his future as well as past. There are a few Prince reflective notes being hit during the chorus, but the majority of the song is done in his typically low octave.
Final Thoughts
It takes a song writer with a collective filled with internet celebrities to pull of releasing an album with this much freedom. Frank Ocean understands that his audience wants something innovative and that his current position allows him to provide it. Hopefully this album will open doors for record labels to be more experimental with their singing artists. Whether or not they do, this is still a phenomenal example of how expressive music should be.

Rap Independent
Frank Ocean - Channel Orange
9/10