Saturday 7/21: Single Reviews
Sunday 7/22: [REVIEW] 88rising - Head In the Clouds
Monday 7/23: Playlist Additions
Tuesday 7/24: Murda Beatz (Best Beats #3)
Wednesday 7/25: The Summer of Fetty Wap (Story Time #3)
Thursday 7/26: Revisit Possibilities - Birds In the Trap Sing McKnight by Travis Scott, JEFFERY by Young Thug, Coloring Book by Chance the Rapper, Acid Rap by Chance the Rapper
Friday 7/27: Single Reviews and Other Stuff
I meant to post this yesterday but I was too busy to do it. This week was not the week I expected. Many were speculating that we could be getting new albums from Travis Scott, Young Thug, Lil Uzi Vert, or all three (Astroworld, Slime Language, Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World 2 respectively). None of those dropped. Here are my thoughts on 12 new songs, including 4 from Chance the Rapper.
Let's start with 2 new singles from PnB Rock:
1) PnB Rock - ABCD (Friend Zone)
PnB Rock announced that his next album will be half rap and half pop, like Drake's Scorpion. The album will be called TrapStar Turnt PopStar and this week featured 2 singles, one representing each side. The first one I listened to was the first single for the Pop Star side. I thought that I would hate this song just looking at the title. "Oh look, some douche made a song about being in the friend zone and is mad that he can't fuck this girl." Needless to say, this song barely mentions the friend zone, as its only appearance is in the chorus when PnB sings "Miss me with the friend zone." This song is really about a one night stand. In fact, this girl in the song isn't even trying to put him in the friend zone. He mentions in the chorus that she does want the D. Why is he worried about getting in the friend zone when this girl clearly wants to have sex with him? Aside from PnB Rock's inability to stay on topic, this song is alright. The production is nice, the verses are okay even though the second is a bit mumbly, and it's easily the better of the two singles.
Verdict: Is okay.
2) PnB Rock - Nowadays
This was the first single for the Trap Star side. It's pretty ironic since "ABCD (Friend Zone)" had better trap-style production than this song. This is one of the most generic "I used to be broke and live in the hood but now I rap and make lots of money" songs I've ever heard. The production is mediocre, the lyrics are nothing I haven't heard before, and this song was boring.
Verdict: The weaker of the two PnB Rock singles.
Chance the Rapper put his fans on an emotional rollercoaster this week. He announced he was dropping an album "just in time for the Special Olympics." Then he went on twitter and said that there's no album but he's "been in the stu tho." And then he dropped 4 new songs, each with a cover with minimalist concept art.
3) Chance the Rapper - 65th & Ingleside
This song is about his relationship with Kirsten Corley. On July 4th of this year, Chance announced their engagement. It sounds like a really nice topic for a song, but this was poorly executed in terms of vocal delivery. The refrain was sung by Peter Cottontale and it has these chipmunk-sounding vocal effects that gave me traumatic Alvin & The Chipmunks flashbacks. To make matters worse, Chance's vocal delivery in the verses was annoying as all hell, especially in the pre-chorus where he starts singing "65th & Ingleside" in such a goofy voice that it's really hard to take seriously. There's also this out of place Fortnite reference in the third verse:
"And skrrt, skrrt, skrrt, skrrt, skrrt, grab the gold scar."
Verdict: The worst of the four singles.
4) Chance the Rapper feat. Supa Bwe x Forever Band - Wala Cam
This song was named after a Chicago program called Wala Cam TV and is an ode to Chicago Juke Music. The hook is a bit too repetitive for my liking since it's just the song title a bunch of times. I wouldn't even mind that if it was a little shorter. Aside from the hook, this song is pretty good. Chance's rapping and the production sounds way better on this track. It's a very fun song, and Chano specializes in making fun, light-hearted music. Supa Bwe's verse was okay.
Verdict: It's pretty good but the hook seriously brings the quality down.
5) Chance the Rapper - Work Out
In "Work Out," Chance talks about how he misses his old life but would never leave his current one. The cover of this song is minimalist concept art of a blue mailbox. I have no idea what it's supposed to represent but it looks kinda cool, I guess. The hook on here is actually great and is the highlight of this track. Chane's verses were decent and had some nice sounding flows. I liked the production, especially when the beat picks up in the second verse.
Verdict: Good song.
6) Chance the Rapper - I Might Need Security
The cover of this song is minimalist concept art of the Arthur Fist meme that was really big in 2015. This track is much more political than the other three. He mentions Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, the death of Verne Troyer, requests investigations into police murders, and announces that he bought the Chicagoist blog. The instrumental samples "I Might Need Security" by Jamie Foxx as the vocals that constantly sing "fuck you" are present throughout the track. One thing that bothered me was that Chance was still getting hate online for his music or "corny" personality despite all the good he's done for his community. He touches on that in this song and even talks shit about the people who troll him online:
"My enemy lives in his mother's basement."
Verdict: The best and most interesting of the four singles.
Also, you people need to stop crying about Chance not making music like Acid Rap. It was his best project, sure, but he's not at the point in his life where he can or wants to make music like that. He's changed and developed into a different artist and person and you need to accept that, no matter how much Coloring Book "wasn't Acid Rap."
7) Young Nudy - Sherbert
For some reason, Genius didn't have the lyrics to this song. Genius is basically where I get my material for reviews, so forgive me if I don't write enough since I had to improvise. The production on this song sounds nice, although it's louder than Nudy's vocals. The title of this song references weed. The hook is nice and the lyrics are typical and basic subject matter.
Verdict: It's a decent song and you could eat some sherbert to it.
8) 070 Shake - Accusations
070 Shake has been getting a lot of buzz thanks to her work on the G.O.O.D. Music albums. I really think she's talented and I'll be rooting for her to gain more success. I don't know who produced this track but the instrumental sounds pretty good. This song is about being wrongfully accused of being a bad partner by an ex. The hook is a little weak but it isn't too bad. While there isn't much substance to it, Shake makes it sounds interesting with really good vocal delivery. She uses a bunch of different pitches throughout this track. I don't really like her high pitch but she doesn't sound irritating.
Verdict: I don't know if 070 Shake will blow up from this track, but I'm hoping it's a start.
9) BROCKHAMPTON - 1998 TRUMAN
This is the second official single for their upcoming album THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. The titles of these tracks reference a movie that came out that year. This one references the 1998 Jim Carrey film The Truman Show. The production is a lot more aggressive than on "1999 WILDFIRE," which I didn't mind even though I loved that song. Merlyn Wood's hook is on point and I really liked Kevin Abstract's bridge. Joba's verse uses the same fast-paced flow as on Wildfire. I liked him on Wildfire but I was expecting something better or at least different on this song. Matt Champion continues to kill it as he delivers another great verse. I liked that Dom McLennon started his verse by referencing Eminem's hook on "Forgot About Dre." The only thing I didn't like about the song is the transition into bearface's verse. It's so abrupt and has no buildup whatsoever. I like bearface's singing a lot on Wildfire since he fit the vibe of the track very well, but not here.
Verdict: Despite a couple of flaws, this is a great song.
10) Ski Mask The Slump God feat. Method - Nationwide
Apparently, this song isn't on Spotify anymore. I have no idea why it was even released since it was taken away so quickly but I heard it and took notes on it so here it goes. "Nationwide" was actually a song that I was looking forward to since it was being teased for a while. This was one of the tracks on the leaked version of Beware the Book of Eli that didn't make the final tracklist. The title for this song on the leaked version was "Worldwide" but was still the same song with the same instrumental. The beat from Timbaland is really cool and sounds like something Ski Mask would rap over. Ski continues to kill it with awesome flows. And then there was one major change made to the song: the Method feature. I have not heard a single song from this guy but according to his Spotify page, which has also been deleted, he is 14 years old and has collaborated with many famous modern rappers. His feature was the hook of the track, which sounds really weird. Method's voice is pretty low-pitched for a 14-year-old, but it didn't sound real. It sounded like a text to speech device. The hook isn't bad but it's hard to take seriously.
Verdict: I still fuck with it since it's Ski Mask, but this song could have been way better, and now I'm never gonna listen to it again thanks to it being taken off Spotify.
11) G Herbo feat. 21 Savage - That's How I Grew Up
So this is a remix to a song from G Herbo's mixtape that was something to tide his fans over before he released Humble Beast. This version also appears on the deluxe edition of the SUPERFLY soundtrack, which includes 8 more songs. As you would expect from the title, this is a song about G Herbo growing up in the ghetto. The production from 808 Mafia is hard. 21 Savage was a nice addition to this track as he provides some amusing ad-libs in the hook and delivers a nice verse.
Verdict: It's a banger and nothing more.
12) Comethazine - Oowee
I think Comethazine is a very hit or miss artist who is basically just a carbon copy of every SoundCloud rapper who's popping right now. He sounds like a mix between Smokepurpp and MadeinTYO and like Playboi Carti, is basically a walking ad-lib. He has a couple songs that I enjoy like "Bands" and "Let It Eat" so I decided to check this song out. It's bad. Those synths are annoying and the production from Trillogy couldn't carry Comethazine at all. The lyrics to this song are basically the same stuff about flexing, diamonds, and expensive clothing brands. The verse is much shorter than the hook, which appears twice during its one minute and 42-second runtime.
Verdict: It's not good.
Best Single of the Week: Chance the Rapper - I Might Need Security
Honorable Mention: BROCKHAMPTON - 1998 TRUMAN
Worst Single of the Week: Comethazine - Oowee
Dishonorable Mention: Chance the Rapper - 65th & Ingleside
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