Dull & Void

🎵 Track Of The Week Thursday 🎵

Decent album overall and proves that Juice is a unique figure in this era of hip hop and as an artist in general. With rap, nowdays a lot of new artists rely heavily on the beat and even though their were some decent beats on the album, Juice relies on his own craft such as his content, bars and melody.

It is super long-winded because you know, gotta chase that bag, but for an album like this, I don’t see too much of a big issue. Also shouldn’t be surprised it’s this long coming from a rapper who can freestyle for an hour straight. Under the same breath I think Juice can do something better conceptually. It’s a bit too depressing and some lyrics are super questionable in terms of how crazy they sound.

Not a bad project, but it definitely gets draining after a while

6/10

The Favourable: Fast, Robbery, Hear me Calling, Rider

It’s been something we’ve been waiting for for years now. Dave’s debut. Now to foind out it’s something we’ve genuinely needed for the past 2+ years or so; but worth the wait all along.

This is a game changer of an album for the UK rap scene and is something incomparable to, from the young artist. Although I always saw Dave to be the only UK rapper to pull something off like this, I still had doubts in the back of my mind based on his last project Game Over, which was decent at best.

The strong tones leaves a mark for the listener and the album is structurally solid (besides the stale part of the album from Purple Heart to Location). From the quality chemistry between himself and J Hus, to the thoughtfulness of how Dave opens up; this album is a real one.

9/10

The Favourable: Psycho, Streatham, Black, Drama

The 10 songs that make up this minimal project tell various small anecdotes rather than having one soul centred theme to the album and it can definitely keep the listener on the edge of their seat. It takes a lot to express some of the messages on the album, so their my respect is all there. 

Nothing really goes wrong on Grey Area. The mellow production fits with the album title and I truly believe this is an award worthy album. Some relatable poetic words are echo throughout this well thought album which is why this is not one to sleep on.

8/10

The Favourable: Boss, Wounds, Therapy

🎵 Track Of The Week Thursday 🎵

There’s a certain narrative that takes place throughout this album (i.e. Black empowerment, being a responsible person, and fighting a corrupt America) which is nice and all but doesn’t hit the nail on the head like similar albums which take this ride (e.g. Championships, Father of 4, Victory Lap).

As an album it’s structured well but lacks risks and flair. The features, besides Ariana Grande, are that of what is expected on a 2 Chainz album, but this doesn’t hinder the quality of tracks on here as there are still enjoyable songs to listen to.

The contradictions were a bit more obvious (telling his daughter he’s a drug dealer but alluding towards the fact that blacks are more than our stereotypes) and I couldn’t get a sense of real emotion. Overall not terrible, just decent at best.

6/10

The Favourable: Momma I Hit a Lick (feat. Kendrick Lamar), Rule The World (feat. Ariana Grande), I’m Not Crazy, Life is (feat. Chance the Rapper & Kodak Black)

Pretty disappointing album from Giggs. It wasn’t terrible though; it was still pretty entertaining based on the mass variety of features but it was underwhelming and spitting wise, felt super lazy from Giggs. But I did really like the interchange between UK and US beats, it added flair to project.

Understand that Giggs has changed his rapping style over the past 10 years but this new flow he’s rocking gets super irritating super quickly. The long ass pauses do not work on every song and will have you begging Giggs to actually spit something. The tone and the rawness is still there, it’s the delivery that bottles it.

Overall it was well thought out but didn’t execute like Landlord did.

5/10

The Favourable: Nostalgia (feat. Lil Yatchy), GWOP EXPRESS (feat. Wretch 32)

🎵 Track Of The Week Thursday 🎵 

This played out much better than expected which is good news considering Quavo and Takeoff’s stale solo drops. The balance across the album is ideal to the listener, especially if you’re a fan of The Migos. Although you become informed and get a sense of the real life topics behind being a father and an African American growing up in a world where everyone cares about clout, you still do get the hype tracks Offset normally provides on this record.

For an Offset album and in general as a matter of fact; it’s solid. He doesn’t over do it with the number of features, giving himself enough room on the project to speak his piece. Can see the time gone into this, and appreciate the effort. 

7/10

The Favourable: How Did I Get Here (feat. J Cole), North Star (feat. Ceelo Green), On Fleek (feat. Quavo), Clout (feat. Cardi B)

This is an album you’ve probably heard before in the past. There is barely anything new with this album and it’s basically bread and butter. There is only so much of Gunna’s music you can take and by the 3rd track I was bored already.

What makes this unfortunate for Gunna is that he’s always featured on someone else’s album so it feels like you always hear his music; meaning you’ll probably get sick of it quicker.

Drip or Drown 2 is super predictable with not a single track that stands out. Only thing enjoyable are the bassy trap instrumentals.

3/10

The Favourable: Richard Millie Plain

This is a complete waste of a listen to the point where I now feel violated. Even though this isn’t to be taken seriously, it still doesn’t explain the huge features listed (e.g. Kanye, Lil Wayne, Quavo etc.), the pop type production and the big promo behind this release. Lil Pump is virtually a “Lil Puppet”.

Harvered Dropout is essentially a parody album deemed okay by the masses because...fuck it he’s living lavish and basically a meme. Even though Pump’s music career roots began with some Ronny J backed production, we barely got any of that here. What makes matters worse is that the awful lyrics are most likely not even penned by Pump himself! Terrible overall.

2/10

The Favourable: ION (feat. Smokepurpp), Esskeetit

🎵 D&V’s Track Of The Week Thursdays 🎵 (21/02/2018)

* NEW SEGMENT WHERE I REVIEW ALBUMS/MIXTAPES ON THEIR ANNIVERSARY RELEASE (AIM FOR AT LEAST ONE A MONTH). ENJOY *

Released: 13th February 2009 (10 years ago)

Who would have guessed that this mixtape would have been one of the main key factors which would sky rocket Drake to become one of the biggest rappers (and artists) in history.

This mixtape can pass for a debut album without a doubt. The support from Wayne is what really keeps this project on its feet and without Lil Wayne and the immaculate production by 40, this could have easily been a half baked LP.

None the less this mixtape is a real throwback to when times were much more...chill. As far as classics go this is most definitely not it (Nowadays every fan favourite over 5 years old fits that category) but So Far Gone is an iconic piece of work

It’s funny because you only just realise the number of risks taken on this project amongst the generic late 90s hip-hop/R&B sounds heard throughout. From Let’s Call It Off’s odd pop sample to Bria’s Interlude’s eerie/empty sound; Drake really did show some creative balls. It’s a shame how times have changed - fast forward a decade.

Another noticeable difference is Drake rapping about sipping lean on November 18th which so funny listening to right now. I also forgot how bad his singing was, with awful vocals being heard on Houstatlantavegas; luckily he’s improved by large amounts and developed a decent voice today.

Drake’s pen game is very “meh” but this mixtape is an actual vibe. It’s produced thoroughly, and more importantly the effort is there from top to bottom. With some notable singles throughout, So Far Gone is undeniably a solid mixtape.

7/10

The Favourable: Successful, Ignorant Shit, Say What’s Real, Best I Ever Had

🎵 D&V’s Track Of The Week Thursdays 🎵 (14/02/2018)

Wiz and Curren$y’s mixtape is a chill listen and one I’d recommend if you wanna relax for a second. Their subtle tone along with the non-flashy production contributes towards a decent project as a whole.

Curren$y is starting to grow on me and this mixtape is another reason as to why. He didn’t do anything amazing but I’m starting to understand him more as a rapper. Neither of the pair stood out against the other in my opinion, and it was better that way because it fitted with the vibe of the mixtape and just made sense.

The flimsy structure can be seen as a both a good or bad thing, but I don’t have much to complain about that as it didn’t create to much damage towards the project. The two could have also gone with no feature throughout 2009 and it still would have been just as good.

In terms of content, you come across the subtle flexing, the weed bars and the life lessons but you can also make out the responsibilities that both rappers are taking up as human beings. 

This is something I’d slap on whilst I’m keeping myself busy, just to keep ones mind at ease.

6/10

The Favourable: The Life, Eastside, Stoned Gentleman, Plot Twist

After a long series of singles and mixtapes/EPs AJ Tracey has finally released his self-titled debut album. With a mixture of different songs to please many, the project does a solid job and delivers to its listeners.

Like many artists, AJ’s sound has slightly asjusted over the last 3/4 years. He expresses this mainstream sound for the majority of the first half of the album; which isn’t too bad, but it’s not for me.

It’s the type of generic stuff you hear: basic lyrics, slight auto-tune and basic singing. I don’t really blame him for doing it because AJ has been a bit of an outsider in the UK rap scene (even though he strives best in this position) but it degrades his lyrical quality and left me in doubt upon the first listen. 

The second half is where the album really shines (from Prada Me onwards - with a couple tracks in the first half). Thankfully we get those Grime and house tracks, as well as rapping with fire punchlines. 

Giggs’ feature was solid but I’m kinda bored of the whole Whippin’ Excursion flow now. Not3s did his thing too but Jay Critch’s verse ruined the already weak song for me.

This album grew on me the more I listened to it and is most definitely a favourite. Even though it doesn’t have that solid bang and starts of shakey - it doesn’t spoil the fact that it’s a solid debut. It’s one to listen to for sure.

7/10

The Favourable: Doing It, Horror Flick, Triple S

🎵 D&V’s Track Of The Week Thursdays 🎵 (07/02/2018)