NipplesAndToes23
Member
Since the year of 2007 I had become really disappointed with the state of rap music to the point I said fuck it and never bothered keeping up with anything that was coming out until the Fall of 2012. In that time I had come across Jean Grae's Love Thirst on Youtube and then I had come acquainted with the underground scene. I didn't really started to get really into it until the early part of 2013. Finding her really lead me to crossing over into a bunch of other genres I never had listened to before. I was primarily rap, r&b, and video game music before, now I'm that all the way to Cambodian throat singing. The underground scene has really made me appreciate music on a deeper level. To keep this within the character limit I basically just wanted to share some good music with others and particularly to some who may feel like I used to that the genre has become stagnant. I hope you enjoy and share some experiences you had with hip-hop this year.
Some of these lyrics I'm quoting might not be 100% accurate as a lot of these artists don't put up their lyrics online so I had to listen to the tracks and pick them out from there and that was definitely time consuming. If any of these lyrics of inaccurate please let me know and provide a source.
Here's a list of the albums I considered for this review.
List of Top 10 Music Videos
10.
Cataraps, Lost Time, & Love's Trail Mix
Artists:
Sloane Amelia (left) Sugg Savage (right)
Dates of Album Releases: December 14, 2013 (Cataraps), January 15, 2014 (Lost Time), & April 22, 2014 (Love's Trail Mix)
Number of Tracks and Runtime: 14 tracks & 45 minutes (Cataraps), 13 tracks & 41 minutes (Lost Time), and 8 tracks & 29 minutes (Love's Trail Mix)
Tying for the 10th spot are Cataraps, Lost Time and Love's Trail Mix. Washington DC rap duo Akoko dropped their debut album Cataraps last December, Chi-town artist of the All Natural Inc. collective Rita J, presents us with the Lost Time LP, and West Coast rapper Lyric Jones brings affection in Love's Trail Mix. I've been finding so many artists over the past two years that I can't quite remember how I came upon these three, but I'm glad I did. I found it hard not put these three in this review, so I chose all of them to tie for the third spot. Akoko brings a unique sound to the game. They are a mixture of modern with old, alternative, and electronica. Out of the duo, Sugg Savage is the lyrically superior emcee, beating Sloane Amelia in flow and wordplay. There aren't many features on this album, but one that stands out to me is Sir E.U.'s verse on "Thee Hipokolypse (Yuko)". His flow is straight, but his lyrics are kind of ass to me. "Open a case of whoop-ass like Paula Dean at a fucking coliseum" makes no sense to me. Using The Rock for that reference would have actually made sense. On terms of the other side the lyrics in Lost Time does a suitable job. Rita J delivers substantial rhymes and her flow is always on point, but Doc Brown and GQ Tha Teacha's contributions are forgettable. I would put Rita J's delivery over Akoko's. The strongest point with Lost Time is the production. Most of the tracks are very tranquil, but they are still diverse. The space-like beat of “Perseids (ft. Doc Brown)” is trippy, her sample of Queen's “Princes of the Universe” in “Survival” put me onto the rock band, and The Dough brings the soft chill rhythm from the nineties. "The Dough" also has an intro that I find funny. The production in Cataraps is pretty good as well, but not quite as good as Lost Time's. Lyric Jones' EP seems to be the only one with a theme. She speaks about romantic relationships and the love of music. Her execution of this lyrically is substantial and the production feels more like R&B music, but that is exactly why it fits in the context of her songs. The sample used in "Listen" stands out as the best. Cataraps features a lot of alternative beats, while that doesn't necessarily make it worse, it doesn't appeal to me as much as the classic approach in Rita J's work. I overall found Rita J's first album Artist Workshop better than this, but still... All three of these albums are pretty decent and good in their own way.
Notable Tracks: A++, The Yeah, Nothing Changed ft. Obii Say, and Royal Flush (Cataraps) The Dough, Fallin' ft. Isa Starr, and Tonite (ft Wes Restless) (Lost Time) Listen, C'mon feat. DMT, Music & Love, Tired
Notable Lyrics: Gone on that blind faith act like you know
persuade your mind to grow
left brain half piece analytical, Ms. Knowledgeable
So hurry up and wait in line too, no cutting in line boo
When it's divine it's my time my destiny to shine
You don't know what I've been through
(From “The Dough”
&
Everybody want to fuss about
love thirst and lust it out
love hurts poke and pout
there's always words to shout
play the talent scout
even through a drought you stay devout
like a born again christian reroute your metaphysical perspective
twist lane pivotal, now that you're digital you fancy huh?
You got the answers naw
you take them chances all
starting romances laws of nature creates the dances
simple divine and fact you know you fine and intact
made from the mind in black, space design, like minds attract
soul signs adapt, in time extracts, I prime collapse
my rhymes hijack, my bonds in packs
my bags are packed
the love sacrifice ramshack my paradise, etc.
(The whole verse was good, but it was taking too long to type, so just check out the track Fallin ft. Issa Starr)
From mercury to alcapoco
I can poke your neuro
I ain't making euros but I make a lot of sense though
Searching for some change to by a vagrant complacency
We claim to be
We aim to be
The saviors of the sanity
Folks they stare at me
Not cuz of what I’m wearing
But because my mind, projects the raw, they vexed
Push play, relax
As if they said no words to me
Hip hop was never dead to me
Punk rock hip hop and keds to me
Something like wine and bread for me
Blood and body
Boogie said he’d come for me
Lock that door threw away the key
The absence of the fleet can lay the beast to sleep (by Sugg Savage from "Deadly Venom)
Pulling disappearing acts tryna phase me
No Sanaa Lathan, but yeah, I'm out here chasing Franklins
Bens, just tryna make it
Is it the bitches in ya past that got your mind hazy
I can't take, I can't be a housewife
That's not how momma raised me
Where's your patience?
Better yet, where's your tolerance
Daily picking fights with me still I'm not following
Our comprehend your arguments
Asking me "Who is he"?
You think I'm cheating on you? Now you got trust issues?
I leave for a weekend or two, my mind says forget you
Not sure why I'm with you
I'll have you step like Martin let the door hit you
But then my heart will miss you (by Lyric Jones from "Music & Love")
9.
Party Worker
Artist:
Date of Album Release: October 23, 2014
Number of Tracks and Runtime: 15 tracks & 51 minutes
Political rapper Bambu brings his newest album Party Worker this year. Party Worker touches on the issues of labor and economy in the United States. Bambu I feel is lyrically stronger in this album compared to Sun of a Gun, but I don't necessarily like it more. I haven't decided which one I like more. The featured artists on this album I enjoyed more than the last. “Labor of Girl” with his wife Rocky Rivera I enjoyed and the spoken word track with Faith Santilla I found powerful and they don't overshadow Bambu. The track "Monsters" is the most touching as it is a song about Bambu telling his son about the horrors of the world. The production on this album is pretty good too with some 90's style beats and some modern style tracks thrown in. Party Worker is a worthy addition to Bambu's discography.
Notable Tracks: Minimum Wage, Bread (w/ Faith Santilla), and Monsters
Notable Lyrics: Keep the pork apart from my rice
Immigration ain't an issue for the white
Cause it ain't right to have right to keep the laws in favor of the job creator
When the job creator ship a factory for cheaper labor
Labor low enough to keep the people quiet and complacent
When the money is getting spent right on a soil that's adjacent
To the place that they are staving, so hop a fence
Coffee in my blood will keep the dogs out off my (s)cents
Skin color verse the board of education
If you ain't catch that line then you should study segregation
This is rap mediation
Time to snap you right back in to place
Cause they be begging for some shit from back from before 2008
I'm thinking 1998, 90 crates with 2 turn tables
Around the time when your auntie Merly
Put a tattoo on her ankle
Talking ratchet, when ratchet was escaping all the drama
Back when we could work for honor, working a blue collar (from "Minimum Wage")
8.
The Art of Chill
Artist:
Date of Album Release: May 23, 2014
Number of Tracks and Runtime: 15 tracks & 47 minutes
Nitty Scott MC has become a favorite of mine in the past year. I was introduced to her on Rocky Rivera's “Daydream” track and looked into her Boombox Diaries mixtape. I loved that and when she announced The Art of Chill I quickly got on it. The Art of Chill touches on several subjects making for great diversity in the lyrics of the album. There is a story of personal journey, falling to vice, a weed song, and imbalanced knowledge. A favorite of mine is “U.F.O. (Unfiltered Offering)” in which Nitty makes a twerk space-rap song. All these themes line up to finding one's spiritual balance, nirvana if you will. This is emphasized through intro, interlude, and outro with the Rajib Karmakar on the instrumentals playing the sitar. Speaking of instrumentals, the production of the Art of Chill is pretty good and most of it can be used for chill music. Nitty's delivery of the lyrics is a nice compliment to the production. Her flow is always on point, she is one of the few artists that I think is just as good with their slow paced rap as their fast flows. Nitty also paints vivid pictures with her words. The performances from the featured artists are relatively okay; none of them particularly impressed me enough to check out their work. The Art of Chill is an exemplary entry to this year in underground rap and I'm looking forward to more of her work.
Notable Tracks: Gone Girl, U.F.O. (Unfiltered Offerring), The Unlearning
Notable Lyrics: Now do you know about the tool?
Visual repetition?
Powered on faithfully, your living room religion
Or what about they slavery they stitched into your britches
Blood diamonds in your riches when they glisten
Politicians feeding us articulate nonsense
News commentators cropping the content
Drag it through the mud, tell you that it's pure
And they keep my people sick cause ain't no money in the cure
If the world was mine, I would teach em something new
Like, black is beautiful and you can do it too
And you ain't gotta stand there like you ain't feel the pain
You ain't gotta pretend that you don't feel the change
And your silence much louder than the violence
So don't wait until I die to give me violets
Uh, and keep that virus out your iris
Watching with your ears, listen with your eyelids
Fuck this cheddar and wealth
I gotta better my health
Cause I can't better the world
Before I better myself
Birthmark, making my earth mark
Spiritual rebirth when the verse start
And when I feel it is time to enlighten my mind
I sit back and close my eyes and imagine myself as I'd like to be
I envision myself sitting in the dirt
My body anchored, much like my birth
These roots are the essence that will connect me to the mother earth
The Unlearning.. (from “The Unlearning”
7.
Blasphemy
Artist:
Apollo Brown (left) & Ras Kass(right)
Date of Album Release: October 28, 2014
Number of Tracks and Runtime: 15 tracks & 61 minutes
A deadly combination, producer Apollo Brown and emcee Ras Kass collaborate on the album Blasphemy. Apollo Brown I found through L'Orange and I discovered Ras Kass when trying to find new tracks from Monie Love. Both artists are excellent in their profession. Blasphemy touches on Ras Kass's exploration through religion. On Tuesday a friend presented “How to Kill God” for a discussion. It did stir up an emotion in one of classmates as soon as he said the name. There were a few interpretations of Ras's lyrics. One young lady theorized that Ras Kass was expressing how society can kill people's belief in God with things like slavery, the holocaust, and the Rape of Nanking. Some others brought up how he challenged the practices of Christian faith and others of how hip-hop scrounged the image of religion. I believe that all of these are true and it made for one hell of a discussion. This whole album is powerful, but not all of it is touching on religion, “Giraffe Pussy” being. His lyrics definitely get you thinking on the subject manner and his flow seemed to have gotten better since Barmageddon. As for the other half of this album, Apollo Brown delivers on the production making beats that capture perfectly with the tone of Ras Kass's lyrics. I could listen to all of them without the lyrics; they are solid pieces on their own. They range from tranquil, to hype, and anger inducing. The song "Roses" sounds a lot similar to Vanilla's “Sweet Talk” that dropped earlier this year. I guess they both sampled from the same song. If anyone knows the name of the sampled song, post it. The featured artists also keep up with the album artists. Pharoahe Monch is good and I was surprised that I actually liked Xzibit on a track. Overall this album is excellent and a top contender of the year.
Notable Tracks: How to Kill God & Deliver Us From Evil
Notable Lyrics: They call me iconoclastic
My head on the platter like John the Baptist
Blasphemous, heretic, Conceited Bastard
I just ask the questions the preacher can't answer
Like why Christians end prayers and say "Amen"
When that's the Egyptian Sun God, Amun-Ra
And got a sin to say? And ain't that pagan?
And ain't pagan, meanin' "Satan"?
And if Satan gave mankind liberation
His worship of acknowledge would tip all Revelations
Of free masons, this how to kill God
Holocaust, Crusades, Zionism, Jihad
Ras Kass, God body MC
18th letter, Jay Hova, God's son and me
My freestyles ain't free
Impossible like one divinity divided into three (from “How to Kill God”
6.
Afropolitan Dreams
Artist:
Blitz The Ambassador
Date of Album Release: April 18, 2014
Number of Tracks and Running Time: 12 tracks and 42 minutes
The epitome of Afrocentrism this year, Afropolitan Dreams brings the sounds of Ghana artist emcee Blitz the Ambassador to the world. Afropolitan Dreams is all about feeling good and spreading the love of the continent of Africa. Even the album cover makes me feel good. This album is also about travel. It opens with “ The Arrival” and closes with “The Departure”. We travel with Blitz as he makes his way back home to Ghana and we leave with him as he goes off the continent to spread his music to the world. Blitz the Ambassador's performance is exceptional on this album. He delivers the flow on every track and words to make you pumped up. The hooks and the featured artists do a suitable job and don't take away from Blitz's spotlight. I have to also thank Blitz the Ambassador to introducing me to Nneka, who became a recent favorite artist of mine. The production is just as good. The beats are a treat to the ears filled with flutes, trumpets, guitars, and a bit of traditional African music. It is also one of the few albums that I don't mind listening to the interlude as it adds to the story of the album. “Dollar and a Dream” is the sole track on the album sounds out of place with the rest of the album with its somber tone, but it aligns with the rest of the album thematically so it is not actually out of place. This album was my first real exposure to Blitz the Ambassador as I had only initially heard from him on Ill Poetic's Loosies collection and on Akua Naru's “The Wound,” but what an introduction to him it was. Afropolitan Dreams is definitely an album I would recommend to any rap fan out there.
Notable Tracks: The Arrival, Internationally Known (feat. Sarkodie), Success, Love on the Run (feat. Nneka), One Way Ticket, and Africa Is the Future (feat. Oxmo Puccino, Just A Band & Oum)
Notable Lyrics: Welcome to the future
United States, Africa, we salute ya
A new state of mind I introduce ya
Close your eyes and visualize the rise of a new paradigm
Solar powered skyscrapers it's bound to blow your mind
Just launched a satellite, now we flying into orbit the African space program,
It's so ironic how our currency is worth more than the dollar or the Euro
Without the foreign aid, unemployment near zero.
Which means we never practice capitalism or socialism
We got Africanism and that is how we living (by Blitz The Ambassador from “Africa Is the Future feat. Oxmo Puccino, Just A Band & Oum”
