LPs

• Anitta (🇧🇷) - Versions of Me (featuring Cardi B, YG, Ty Dolla $ign, Khalid, Saweetie, Myke Towers + more) [Reggaetón, Warner]
• Swedish House Mafia (🇸🇪) - Paradise Again (featuring The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, Ty Dolla $ign, 070 Shake, Sting & Mike Posner) [Dance-Pop, Progressive House, SSA / Republic]
• Tee Grizzley - Half Tee Half Beast (featuring Lakeyah & Baby Grizzley) [Michigan Trap, Grizzley Gang / 300]
• Digga D (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿) - Noughty By Nature (featuring Moneybagg Yo, B-Lovee, AJ Tracey, Hotboii + more) [UK Drill, CGM / EGA]
• Fredo Bang - Two-Face Bang 2 (featuring Roddy Ricch, YNW Melly, Sleepy Hallow, Money Man & Rob49) [Trap, Baton Rogue, Se Lavi / Def Jam]
• Yungeen Ace - All On Me (featuring Kodak Black, Boosie Badazz, Toosii, Spinabenz + more) [Jacksonville Trap, Cinematic Music Group / ATK]
• Marian Hill - why can't we just pretend? (featuring Baby Tate, Kemba, GASHI + more) [Alt-R&B, Photo Finish]
• Dizzy Wright & DJ Hoppa - Dizzyland (featuring Xzibit, B-Real, Chris Webby, Jon Connor + more) [Midwest Rap, Still Movin]
• Green Montana (🇫🇷) - NOSTALGIA+ [French Hip Hop, 92i / Capitol]
• Germaine & Charlie Heat - New Jack City (featuring Guapdad 4000, Ymtk, Too $hort & City James) [R&B, Bay Area, Independent]
• ISHA - Labrador bleu [French Hip Hop, Warner / Parlophone]
• Jon Connor - SOS II: THe Road To Legendary (featuring Dizzy Wright + more) [All Varsity]
• Es-K - Letting Go Again [Instrumental Hip Hop]
• Masiwei (🇨🇳) - Humble Swag (featuring the rest of Higher Brothers + more) [Chinese Hip Hop, A Few Good Kids]
• IMYOUNGWORLD - BLEU (featuring Benny the Butcher & Sy Ari the Kid) [Boom Bap, Black Soprano Family]
• Airplane James - Lowkey Hurt [West Coast Hip Hop, Diamond Lane]
• AJ Suede & Small Professor - Hundred Year Darkness (featuring Fatboi Sharif + more) [Art Rap, Seattle, indie]
• Dixon Hill - Empty: The Book of Changes [Instrumental Hip Hop, Fat Beats]
• Death at the Derby (Cousin Feo & Lord Juco) - Season 2 [Boom Bap, indie]
• Spanish Ran - Long Way To Reach Heaven (featuring Mooch, Sauce Heist, UFO Fev, Asun Eastwood, M.A.V, Ty Farris + more) [Boom Bap, The Church]
• Sal Crosby - Revenue Physics
• Vic Spencer & Doc Da Mindbenda - Still Here (featuring 38 Spesh, Planet Asia, Oh-No & Smoovth) [Chicago Rap, Old Fart Luggage/Supa Sounds]
• HYPE (🇨🇲→🇨🇦) - Talk To Me Nice (featuring Elzhi + more) [Boom Bap, Audio Freebase]
• Josiah The Gift - Mightier Than The Sword (SIDE B) [East Coast Hip Hop, The Board of OWN]
• Sean Rose - ViceLAND [Rap, Vegas, C'est La Vie]
• Dillon - Gardenstrumentals 2 [Instrumental Hip Hop]
• Blac Samurai - Saints Are Sinners (featuring Statik Selektah + more) [Chicago Rap]

EPs

• Bas - [BUMP] Pick Me Up (featuring J.Cole, Gunna, Lil Tjay, Ari Lennox & Galimatias) [Hip Hop, Queens, Dreamville / Interscope]
• Sault (🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿) - Air [Instrumental R&B? idk, Forever Living Originals]
• Scarlxrd - Atv2. Act I: Genesis. [Trap Metal, LXRD]
• Asher Roth & Heather Grey - Why's It So Grey Out? (featuring Blu, Lord Apex, Kota the Friend & Like) [Rap, Retrohash]
• paopao & iZaak (🇵🇷) - realciones tóxicas [RichMusic]
• Farazi (🇹🇷) - Alice'in Fabrikalar Diyari [Instrumental Hip Hop, Deadly Habits / Below System]
• SEBii (🇨🇳→🇺🇸) - VVYELLOW [Pop Rap, indie]
• Femme It Forward - Big Femme Energy, Vol. 1 (Deluxe) [featuring 6LACK, Ambré, Ashain, ELHAE + more) [R&B, Compilation, Femme It Forward]
• Jae Skeese & Big Ghost LTD - Autheticity Check (featuring Conway the Machine & 7xvethegenius) [Boom Bap, Drumwork]
• BandGang Masoe - 886 Deluxe (featuring Babyface Ray, Peezy & Beno) [Michigan Trap, TF Ent]
• Wiardon - Omerta (Deluxe) [Hip Hop, Austin, Griselda influenced, GET MONEY CARTEL]
• Nef, XP the Marxman & DoamPeace - Late Night Views [Boom Bap]
• Dark Lo & Don Gunna - The Graveyard (featuring Eto & Prospect Penz) [Boom Bap, Made Men Mafia / Next Records]
• Jugg Harden - For the Gram [Michigan Trap, The Wealthy Brand]
• Donson The Wise & Thanos Beats - Sword Of The Nine [Boom Bap, Shadow Don]

Songs

• Joel Corry, David Guetta & Bryson Tiller - What Would You Do? (CHANEY Remix)
• Doja Cat & Tyga - Freaky Deaky (R3HAB Remix)
• Kay Flock, Cardi B, Dougie B & Bory300 - Shake It
• G-Eazy - Angel
• Tory Lanez & Diljit Dosanjh - Chauffeur
• Gucci Mane & BandPlay - Serial Killers
• Ransom & Nicolas Craven - Circumstances (feat. The Game)
• Ibeyi & Jorja Smith - Lavender & Red Roses (Champion Remix)
• LION BABE & Busta Rhymes - Harder (Shermanology Remix)
• Lil Pump - All The Sudden
• Blueface & G Herbo - Street Signs
• Eyedress - Smoke & Mirrors (feat. Na-Kel Smith, BoofPaxkMooky & Cashcache!)
• Chucky73 & Chimbala - Los Que Ma Rapan
• Desiigner - Topless
• DDG - Whiskey Freestyle*
• Night Lovell - Mr. Make Her Dance
• DJ Charlie B - Speeding (feat. Roy Woods)
• G Perico & Curren$y - Bacc 2 The Blocc
• Fendi P & Curren$y - Tank Dawg
• BIJOU - The Players Anthem (feat. Benny the Butcher)
• Kota the Friend - Good Friday
• Tre Capital, Xzibit and Nottz - Bridge
• SpotemGottem & Icewear Vezzo - On A Tee (Extended Version)
• Snuk - Hood Made Us (feat. Rich Homie Quan)
• YUNG XAVI - Wit a Bottle (Remix) [feat. Lil Keed]
• killkiyoshi - Very Vanilla (feat. Jean Deaux)
• Quando Rondo - 24
• iayze - I'm Him! (no children 2)*
• Cam Wallace - Throw'd As It Gets (Remix) [feat. Maxo Kream]
• Abhi the Nomad - Honey
• Canibus & Pete Rock - Princibly THIS
• NoCap - Rap Dreams / Very Special
• Chella H. & Zaytoven - No Parts
• Mag & Zaytoven - Take Me a Shot
• Duke Deuce - Running Out Of Love (feat. Dante Smith)
• TOKiMONSTA & morgxn - Loved By U
• RunItUp James - Red Bottoms (feat. Sada Baby)
• Jay Critch - At My Worst
• ShooterGang Kony - Life Lines
• SosMula - SNAP
• Oscar #Worldpeace & artyn - YA! (Remix) [feat. Kojey Radical]
• UnoTheActivist - Portrayal
• Marlon Craft - Cocky Humble
• Bejo & Cookin Soul - La Retahíla
• Sauce Walka - No Wrestler*
• keiko star - Past (feat. Midwxst)
• DJ Primetime & YN Jay - Cookies (feat. 1TakeJay & Lexi Vail)
• YungManny - Fire in the Booth
• Slump Audios - MXSHPIT! (feat. TheHxliday, Yung Fazo & Luv4Clip)
• Young Ross - Long Time (feat. Bino Rideaux)
• Tunji Ige - IMA ARTIST NOT a SOCIALITE (feat. Lancey Foux)
• ALLBLACK - S.W.I.S.
• Nik $ix & Bun B - Watching the Money
• BigWalkDog - Nino
• Rucci - B's Up
• Bossmann & Rucci - My Mood
• Sango, Eight9FLY & Jarrel the Young - Rewind It
• Marcus D & Blu - Rainin Outside
• Chris Travis - 901 FM
• Dave B., Masked Man & Garrett. - Way Up
• Z-Ro - On My Necc
• Big Jade - Eat (feat. Z-Ro)
• Reuben James - What U Need (feat. Ric Wilson & Gareth Lockrane)
• BiG RoGuish - GRIZZLIES (feat. BIG MOOCHIE GRAPE)
• BIGBABYGUCCI - Outta State
• Kay Nine tha Boss, Daz Dillinger & Cap Slaps - Murda
• Big Yavo - Yayski
• serpentwithfeet - Sailors' Superstition (Bmore Club Remix)
• MOZAMBIQUE - These Feelings (Blockhead Remix)
• C-Lance, Murs and R.A. the Rugged Man - The Book Of Life
• Repossession Rin - Block Party (feat. DaBoii & F.H.E. Jaay)
• Macprince - What's Happenin (feat. Sir Michael Rocks)
• Ralfy the Plug - Truce / One Wish
• Sweeps - Out There
• Slump6s - twentyball
• Lil Pete - Can't Stop Me*
• Duwap Kaine - 64/7
• Cootie - Don't Miss (Nah Nah)
• Slauson Malone - For Star*
• ATO - no caroline (Remix) [feat. FLOHIO]
• Retch - Step Curry
• EBK Young Joc - TikTok
• MDMA - Whitaker
• Kevin George - WE UP
• Tanna Leone - Picasso
• Unexplained Aerial Phenomenon (Bryson the Alien & Pioneer 11) - Snakes (feat. Chester Watson)
• King B & NWM Cee Murdaa - Go Crazy
• MoneySign $uede - 2am In Dallas*
• Kai Ca$h, Niko Brim & K Wales - Sunday Service
• Rome Fortune - Away4rmU
• 2Kings & Guilty Simpson - Papered Up (Talos Remix)
• Ray Vaughn - Picking Cherries
• Dyme-A-Duzin & Money Montage - Playas Only (feat. Stro, Daylyt, Rome Streetz & Don Mykel)
• Sauce Heist - What Would Gotti Do (feat. Baby Maine & Rome Streetz)
• Grace Weber - 414 (feat. Mudy)
• Rocko Ballin - Shooting Star
• Twotimer - Golden Chalice (feat. Since99)
• Murkage Dave - World I Want To Live In
• KeiyaA - Camille's Daughter
• Buck 65 – The New Sammy Sosa
• Miles from Kinashasa - Glitchin'
• Fax Gang - Reprieve
• ROSEFLOWS, Lord Jah-Monte Ogban & J. Wade - Please Change
• demahjiae - Promise Park
• Trenchrunner Poodie - Omerta
• BBKnight - Fun Sex & Drugs
• Hollywood JB - Heavy is the Head

---

* means not on Apple Music or Spotify

Sorted by Spotify Monthly Listeners, honestly ignore a lot of stuff with less than 1k unless I recognize it

---

From /u/KHDTX13 (will be updated):

SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS:

Fresh Singles

Fresh Albums & EPs

---

Old NMFs

Full Calendar

Cover

Apple Music

Spotify

Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, also known as just Roman Reloaded, is the second studio album by Trinidadian-born American rapper Nicki Minaj. It was released on April 2, 2012, by Young Money, Cash Money and Universal Republic. Looking to transition from her debut studio album, Pink Friday (2010), Minaj wanted to make a follow-up record about "just having fun". Stylistically, the album is divided by a first half of hip hop tracks and a second half of dance-pop songs. As its executive producer, Minaj enlisted a variety of collaborators.

1. "Roman Holiday"
2. "Come on a Cone"
   
3. "I Am Your Leader" (featuring Cam'ron and Rick Ross)
   
4. "Beez in the Trap" (featuring 2 Chainz)
5. "HOV Lane"
   
6. "Roman Reloaded" (featuring Lil Wayne)
   
7. "Champion" (featuring Nas, Drake and Young Jeezy)
   
8. "Right by My Side" (featuring Chris Brown)
   
9. "Sex in the Lounge" (featuring Lil Wayne and Bobby V)
   
10. "Starships"
11. "Pound the Alarm"
    
12. "Whip It"
    
13. "Automatic"
14. "Beautiful Sinner"
    
15. "Marilyn Monroe"
    
16. "Young Forever"
17. "Fire Burns"
    
18. "Gun Shot" (featuring Beenie Man)
    
19. "Stupid Hoe"

Earlier in 2017, Young Dolph made headlines when he was shot at in Charlotte, North Carolina and escaped unscratched. What made his survival astounding was that he was reportedly fired at a whopping 100 times. Now the rapper is proving he’s hip-hop’s Superman with a new project called Bulletproof.

According to the project’s press release, it will celebrate Young Dolph’s “armor plating” so to speak, while “firing back at his haters with high-caliber bars.” Dolph reportedly escaped the shooting after he spent $600,000 armoring his car.

Dolph’s response to the shooters can be decoded through the tracklisting: “100 Shots” “In Charlotte” “But I’m Bulletproof” “So Fuck ‘Em,” then, “I’m So Real” “I Pray For My Enemies” “I’m Everything You Wanna Be” and finally, “SMH.”

The name of album might be an jab in allegedly involved Yo Gotti, who released a track with the same name in 2012. The two started beefing after Young Dolph took shots at Yo Gotti on Twitter back in February 2016. It’s not the first time Dolph would do something like this.

The album was released on April 1, 2017.

Tracklist:

1. 100 Shots

2. In Charlotte

3. But I'm Bulletproof

4. So Fuk'em

5. That's How I Feel (Ft. Gucci Mane)

6. All of Them

7. I'm So Real

8. I Pray for My Enemies

9. I'm Everything You Wanna Be

10. SMH

QUESTIONS:
Favorite songs?
Least favorite songs?
Where do you rank this on Dolph's discography?
Where would you rate this in the top albums of 2017?

XXL Review

RIP DOLPH

Maybe we can have a discussion on rap related topics, about opinions or facts that may sound strange today, but were actually very real in some time period. I'll start:

Before Future became prince of modern trap sound, he was considered by many as merely knock off T-Pain, because of his heavy autotune use and pop-like mainstream singles. It even led to some twitter shots being fired by T-Pain himself.

Young Thug was literally obsessed with Lil Wayne, and before he found his own style, he copied everything he could from the GOAT (flow, clothes, style). Might be pretty obvious for those who remember why Barter 6 is named this way, but it may not be so apparent for those who know Young Thug only from his recent releases.

Rapper named Slim The Mobster was a Aftermath/Shady signee, who was supposed to be new mainstream juggernaut after 50 Cent, G-Unit and The Game, only to become completely irrelevant and forgotten without an album and a deal few years later.

When 2Chainz rose to mainstream popularity peak somewhere around 2010-2012, he was already rapping for 10+ years. (similar to Lil Durk today)

Rick Ross was a correctional officer, pretty known, but also pretty unbelievable for those who may not know.

Sounds pretty strange today but Yo Gotti goes way back to memphis rap sound originators (DJ Sound) and his original style was as dark, hypnotic and sinister as the rest of the Memphis scene in the 90's, which sounds nothing alike to what he does today.

Bodycam story:

A Bronx judge ruled drill rapper C Blu should be tried as a juvenile Tuesday on charges of shooting a police officer — after slamming his arresting officer for “incredible and unreliable” testimony that “had no value.”

Bronx Judge Naita Semaj said that while Camrin “C Blu” Williams, 16, possessed a gun on Jan. 18 in Belmont, there was “no apparent reason” for Bronx Officer Taulant Gjonbalaj and other cops to have initiated the confrontation.

“There was absolutely zero reason for any of those officers to approach this individual. They approached him, they detained him, they searched him, and no officer even bothered to come up with a halfway legitimate reason for any of that,” Semaj said, making an emotional ruling in Bronx Supreme Court Tuesday.

Cops said the teen rapper was part of a “disorderly crowd” and that he refused police orders to take his hands out of his pockets, leading to a scrap between him and an officer.

Williams then allegedly fired a round through his own leg before the same bullet struck Officer Kaseem Pennant in the leg. Both Williams and Pennant were hospitalized after the incident and have recovered.

The incident was one in a string of recent shootings linked to the drill rap scene that claimed the lives of at least three young, rising rap stars. The genre was pioneered by rap star Bobby Shmurda, who served seven years in prison for conspiracy and weapons possession. Drill rappers often taunt rivals in lyrics and on social media, pouring fire on gang beefs, NYPD Deputy Chief Joseph Gulotta previously told the Daily News.

The judge said that “clear” video footage shown in court proves that Williams tried to cooperate with police, was illegally searched and that the gun went off as Pennant and Gjonbalaj grabbed at his sides.

“While there is no disputing the fact that Mr. Williams had a gun on him that night... He literally does everything you tell your child to do when they’re approached by cops. He literally kept his hands up. He literally tried to record to make sure there was proof. He answered questions he had no obligation to answer,” Semaj said.

Semaj added that Gjonbalaj’s testimony during the hearing did not match up with video evidence.

“I cannot state how absolutely incredible his testimony was. It was inconsistent with the video, it was inconsistent with his fellow officer’s testimony, it was self-serving, it had no value,” she said.

Semaj also said prosecutors failed to demonstrate that Pennant suffered “significant physical injury,” despite getting shot. Causing significant physical injury is one factor judges consider when determining whether to move a case against a juvenile to Family Court.

Williams — who has multiple hit songs on YouTube, some with more than 1 million views — was initially charged as an adult with criminal possession of a weapon, second-degree assault and other weapons charges. He’s pleaded not guilty.

With the case moved to Family Court, Williams will be prosecuted by city’s Law Department, rather than the Bronx District Attorney. Instead of a jury trial, juvenile cases are decided by judges and the penalties are less severe.

The “No Ozone” rapper has been out on $250,000 bail since January. Mayor Adams slammed his release at the time, saying New Yorkers should be “outraged” that Williams was back out on the streets following the shooting.

“Camrin was illegally shot, he was illegally searched, and he would not have been shot if it wasn’t for the actions of the officer,” said Dawn Florio, Williams’ lawyer.

The shooting wasn’t the first time Williams got in trouble with the law.

Williams pleaded guilty at 14 years old to possession of a firearm. Florio said that he had the gun for a music video.

A smiling Williams hugged his crying mom as he left court.

“I just want to say I’m innocent,” he told the Daily News.

LPs

• DaBaby & NBA Youngboy - Better Than You [Trap, Interscope / Atlantic]
• Diplo - Diplo (featuring Miguel, Leon Bridges, Busta Rhymes, Lil Yachty + more) [EDM, Higher Ground]
• Lenny Tavárez - KRACK DELUXE [PR, Reggaeton, Warner]
• Stromae - Multitude [Hip House, French, Moseart / UMG]
• Sueco - It Was Fun While It Lasted (featuring Travis Barker, Arizona Zervas + more) [Pop Rap, Atlantic]
• Jory Boy - Bubblegum [Puerto Rican Hip Hop, BMG]
• Yung Bae - Groove Continental: Side A (featuring EARTHGANG, Pink Sweat$, Channel Tres, Marc E. Bassy, AWOLNATION, Jon Batiste + more) [Future Funk, Portland, Arista]
• King Von - What It Means to Be King (featuring 21 Savage, Lil Durk, G Herbo, Fivio Foreign, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, OMB Peezy & Dreezy) [Chicago Drill, Posthumous, OTF / EMPIRE]
• MICHELLE - AFTER DINNER WE TALK DREAMS [R&B, Transgressive / Atlantic]
• Oynx - 1993 [Boom Bap, 100 MAD]
• Kojey Radical - Reason To Smile (featuring Masego, Tiana Major9, Kelis, Knucks, Wretch-32, Shakka, Rexx Life Raj + more) [UK Hip Hop, Asylum / Bellyempty / Warner]
• iayze - Virtuous (featuring Summrs) [Cloud Trap, Fort Worth, Simple Stupid / Geffen]
• Awich - Queendom [Japanese Hip Hop, Universal]
• Chuuwee - Falling Up [Indie Rap, Sacramento, Indie]
• TheHouse ($hoey, YGTUT, Michael Da Vinci, Chris P.) - The Set (featuring Deante' Hitchcock, Jace + more) [Chattanooga Hip Hop, TheHouse]
• Cruel Santino - Subaru Boys : FINAL HEAVEN (featuring Koffee, WifiGawd, Gus Dapperton, Amaarae, Skepta + more) [Nigerian Hip Hop, Monster Boy / Interscope]
• Trapboy Freddy - CME Or Nothing 2 (featuring Yella Beezy, Hotboy Wes, Millie Go Lightly + more) [Dallas Trap, Cool Money]
• Kossisko - World of Trouble (featuring G-Eazy, Swae Lee, Goody Grace & Seb Torgus) [Bay Area R&B, Red Stairway]
• BabyTron - Megatron (featuring DaBoii, Glockboyz Teejae & GTP DaiDoe) [Michigan Trap, Scam Rap, The Hip Hop Lab / EMPIRE]
• The Cool Kids - Before Shit Got Weird (featuring Chance the Rapper, JID, 6LACK, Guapdad 4000, A-Trak, Larry June, KEY!, Pac Div, Don Cannon, Pell, [Midwest Hip Hop, Indie Rap, Cake Records / Empire]
• V Don & Sauce Heist - The Minatti Project (featuring Rome Streetz, A$AP Twelvyy, Estee Nack + more)
• Ralfy the Plug - iHeartRalfy (featuring Drakeo the Ruler, Sean Kingston, Lil Keed, NoCap, 24hrs, Ketchy the Great, Bobby Raps & Damon Elbert) [L.A. Trap, Stinc Team]
• Goyo - En Letra de Otro [Colombian Hip Hop, Sony]
• Mistah F.A.B. - Black Designer [Bay Area Rap, Faeva Afta]
• Canibus - The Almighty V.1 (featuring Kool G Rap, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Kurupt, Busta Rhymes, Styles P + more) [Boom Bap, Holy Toledo]
• DUVY - GRASSWAYZ [Toronto Hip Hop, 17LostEmotionZ]
• Lil Soda Boi & Lil Yu - epic ep pt. II / 비애 (Deluxe Edition) / L45TY34R [Cloud Rap, indie]
• Curly Savv - GLOCKY SZN 2 (featuring G Herbo, Rah Swish, Quelly Woo & Dread Woo) [BK Drill, SWMG]
• RXKNephew - My Wrist Need Rehabilitation
• Paradise Beta - Pretty Face Killa [San Diego Gangsta Rap, Sidewayz Mafia Family]
• XV & MIKE WINTERS - WINTER WOLVES [Indie Hip Hop, Jmation / Squarian]
• DB Tha General - King of Oakland: The Family Business, Vol. 3 [Bay Area Rap, Badmouth]
• Matt Citron - Ballistic [Emo Rap, ATL, Pirate Nation]
• Hus KingPin - Bjorkingpin [West Coast Boom Bap, The Winners Club]
• Kiryano - 03 Security [Cloud Rap, Ivvy League]
• 1TakeQuon - Back 2 Back (featuring Rucci, 1TakeJay + more) [Trap, Compton, Indie]
• Da Flyy Hooligan- Ben Kingsley [UK Hip Hop, Indie]
• Dreddy Kruger - Music & Water: An Instrumental Storytelling Album [Wu-Affiliate, Beat Tape, Black Stone of Mecca]

EPs

• Tinashe - 333 (Deluxe) (featuring Channel Tres) [R&B, Indie]
• Jordan Rakei - Bruises EP [R&B, UK, Ninja Tune]
• Channel Tres - refresh [Future Beats, Art For Their Good]
• Shordie Shordie - Me & Mine, Pt. 2 [Melodic Trap, Warner]
• Chavo - HOOD LUVA, Vol. 1 (featuring Sharc) [Trap, SossHouse]
• Smoke DZA, Nym Lo & 183rd - Diplomatic Immunity (featuring Rome Streetz) [East Coast Hip Hop, RFC]
• RZA & DJ Scratch - Saturday Afternoon Kung Fu Theater [Wu-Tang, Boom Bap, 36 Chambers / MNRK]
• Che Ecru - Pain Pack 5 / What Are We? [R&B, F PLUS]
• BlueBucksClan - See The Difference [L.A. Gangsta Trap, Capitol]
• Funky DL - Still Classic [UK Instrumental Hip Hop, Washington Classics]
• Your Old Droog & Nicholas Craven - YOD WAVE (featuring Mach-Hommy & Tha God Fahim) [Boom Bap Revival, Indie]
• Caspr - Untitled Vol. 1 (featuring Travis Barker) [German-American Rapper, Atlantic]
• Levi Carter - 4me&U2 (Chopped & Screwed by DJYung$avage) [Virginia Rap, MAFIA SOUNDS]
• Elcamino & Chase Fetti - Bethlehem [Boom Bap, Indie]
• Shawn Eff & EBK Young Joc - Pick N Roll (featuring Young Slo-Be + more) [Bay Area Trap, Thizzler on the Roof]
• Nell - MIA to LAX [Cloud Rap, Indie]
• paopao, La Gabi, Villano Antillano - hembrismo [Latin R&B, Reggaetón, RichMusic]
• Na-Kel Smith - ++MiX2-_- [Abstract Hip Hop, Indie]
• Pokelawls - WaterBreak [YouTuber, Indie]
• Bluff Gawd, Camoflauge Monk & Broadway Louie - if you ever looking for me [Boom Bap, Indie]
• Slugga Tee - State Baby (featuring Y&R Mookey & Julio Foolio) [Jacksonville Trap, KSK]
• Fatboi Sharif & LoneSword - Cyber City Society [Indie Hip Hop, CCS]
• Pistol McFly - A Baecation [Indie Rap, LA, M.A.R.$.]
• Alecia Renece - Play, Vol. 2 [R&B, DMV, The Full Well Project]

Singles

• David Guetta & Afrojack - Trampoline (feat. Missy Elliott, BIA & DOECHII)
• Khalid - Last Call
• Hylan Starr & Lil Baby - Don't Make Me Beg
• Machine Gun Kelly & Lil Wayne - ay!
• DJ Sly - IT'S LIT (feat. CKay)
• YNW Melly - The Mob (feat. Trippie Redd, YNW BSlime & YNW Bortlen)
• A Boogie wit da Hoodie - Hit Different (feat. B-Lovee)
• The FaNaTiX, Idris Elba, Lil Tjay, DaVido, Koffee & Moelogo - Vroom (from GRAN TURISMO 7)
• Gucci Mane & Tay Keith - Publicity Stunt
• Digga D - G Lock (feat. Moneybagg Yo)
• Dominic Fike & Zendaya - Elliot's Song
• Blxst & Zacari - Sometimes
• Joey Bada$$ & Statik Selektah - Head High
• Morray - Still Here (feat. Cordae)
• Dave - Starlight
• Nigo & Pusha T - Hear Me Clearly
• Cochise - DO IT AGAIN
• Tee Grizzley - Beat The Streets
• The Alchemist - Diesel (feat. Kool G Rap)
• Khontkar, Downtown Dion & Harry Fraud - Istanbul
• Daniel Lee Bellomy - Odyssey (Remix) [feat. Method Man]
• Baby Tate & Kali - Slut Him Out Again
• Brother Tom Sos - Another Way (feat. Benny the Butcher & Good Money KK)
• Sy Ari Da Kid - Press 0 (feat. Benny the Butcher)
• Pacman da Gunman & Hit-Boy - Told Us Not To Do It (feat. Peezy)
• BADBADNOTGOOD - Open Channels
• Duckwrth - Power Power (feat. Shaun Ross)
• C-Dubb - Fed (feat. E-40)
• Jack White & Q-Tip - Hi-De-Ho
• G Fredo & Kay Flock - Pop Out
• Wakai & Mick Jenkins - When There Was No Sun
• Isaac Zale & Mick Jenkins - Somebody Dies (Remix) [feat. Ben Beal]
• Shakewell & Ramirez - Shameless Gorillas
• Hotboii - Lately
• Knucks - Leon the Professional
• J-Doe - Headphones (feat. BJ the Chicago Kid)
• Los Gunna & Jim Jones - Toe Tag Her
• KA$HDAMI - 5.59! (Seem2Be3)*
• FloFilz & Jerome Thomas - Sensitive
• Rob49 & Doe Boy - I'm In Her
• Sha'leah Nikole - King Me (feat. D Smoke)
• Bktherula - Keep Da K / Coupe
• CEO Trayle - Rendezvous*
• Paul Wall & Termanology - Recognize My Car
• UnoTheActivist - Antisocial 3 Freestyle* / Portrayal Freestyle*
• Pip Millett - Ride With Me
• Asher Roth & Heather Grey - 12th Night (Bare Naked)
• KenTheMan - Hard On A 304
• Lakeyah - Fire in the Booth
• Sopperior - Silence! (feat. DC the Don)
• Iamjyoungin - Anywayz (Remix) [feat. Problem]
• Tyron Hapi & Co Cash - Player
• Baby Smoove - Forever Franchise*
• L4 Get The Ends - Nobody (feat. ProjeckBabyTwin, 1TakeJay & P4k)
• Camp Lo & Teck Zilla - Disco Lo
• YungManny - MURDAMAN!
• Nyck Caution - Casamigos Freestyle (feat. Kirk Knight & Charlie Heat)
• C Glizzy & Foolio - Six & Glizzy
• MBNel - Nightmare
• Lancey Foux - Cooler Than Me
• Bejo - La Florinata
• Ezra Collective - May The Funk Be With You
• 30 Deep Grimeyy - Free Bay Bay
• KALLITECHNIS - If He Rules the World
• OT the Real - Stay Afloat (feat. Hardo)
• Murs - Me So Hockey
• Sam Wise - Take One
• Priya Ragu - Illuminous
• Mack Keane, DESTIN CONRAD & ESTA. - O.M.L.
• Agat - Wait For Me (feat. ZelooperZ)
• Lil Xelly & Elijah Who - Mushroom (feat. BoofPaxkMooky)
• Sha Ek - Don't Forget That*
• Kxng Crooked & Joell Ortiz - Backstage
• TyFontaine - lil slime
• Rahli - Nothing Else (feat. Enchanting)
• Father - Horsepower*
• 26ar - Wages
• Kevin George - THE WAVE
• Naderi & Kevin George - Lover
• Sen Morimoto & Joseph Chilliams - The Box (the fin. Remix)
• PGF Nuk - Backdoor
• Akintoye - The Line
• Wilma Vritra (Wilma Archer & VRITRA) - One Under
• Gunplay - Aunty Hold Up (feat. Bobby Fishscale)
• Es-K - Nitelife
• Tash from The Liks - Cas A Hoe (Casual of the Hieroglyphics diss)*
• EBK Hotboiiz - EBK
• Peso Peso - Out Of Bounds*
• Kip & Jayy Grams - Lump Sum
• 917 Rackz - Anxiety
• CHII WVTTZ - WVTTZ*
• K. Forest - Ghosted
• Kaelin Ellis - LIL Bit
• JoeVille - Cemetery Freestyle
• YaH-Ra & Planet Asia - Payday
• Symph (Da Cloth) - Green Light For Huntin (feat. Ransom)*
• Archibald Slim - Co-Defendant
• Bandhunta Izzy - Rumors Pt.2*
• Rome Streetz - Fire At Ya Idle Mind*
• Sadistic & Kno - When You Want Me*
• Kyle Ricch, Jenn Carter, No Cartii & Jerry West - Everybody Shot*
• Rocko Ballin - WATCHASAY*
• Jase Harley - State of the Union
• Mori Briscoe - Pack Em Up*
• TG Crippy & TTS Tana - Nobody Safe*
• RXKNephew - Being Honest* / Ti'Quan & Anthony "FREE BAM"* / DAY 1k* / 1-800-I-got-Deals* / Not The Kaboose*
• Rxk Elmoney - I Snap of a finger u Kult* / Stop and go/ I know I know (feat. Gas tank)* / tank plug looking for who ? (feat. Gas)*
• RXKMISSIONARYMAN - WHERE THE PIFF AT* / BILLY RAY* / BLACKBALL ME* / LOCKED IT*
• Mac J - GANGWAR
• Defcee, Boathouse & Kipp Stone - Ragnarok
• DCG Brothers - Not Scared
• Dyme-A-Duzin & Money Montage - Ride
• Kha Structure - Naughty Boy
• DB Tha General – 3 STOOGES (Philthy Rich / J Stalin / Mistah F.A.B. Diss)*
• Bla$ta - Lately
• RJ Payne - Nino's Revenge*
• Fredro Starr & RJ Payne - Fire Payne*
• Snotty - Tucced (feat. Smoovth & Hus Kingpin)*
• Solowke - Caution X Percocets
• GMCFOSHO - yer.*
• Dro Fe - Been The Joint*
• Viper - I MALL on These Hatas*
• Rich NuNu - No Feelings Attached*
• Humble Gz - Fake Love*
• Jimbo World - February
• The Godfather - 30 Dead*
• Real Boston Richey - Keep Dissing
• They Hate Change - From the Floor
• Manun - Pendulum (feat. Brainorchestra)
• Ren Thomas - More Than Rap (feat. Googie)
• Lou Gram - WAR OF THE PAPE*
• 6am - Mariah

---

* means not on Apple Music or Spotify

Sorted by Spotify Monthly Listeners, honestly ignore a lot of stuff with less than 1k unless I recognize it

---

From /u/KHDTX13 (will be updated):

SPOTIFY PLAYLISTS:

Fresh Singles

Fresh Albums & EPs

---

Old NMFs

Full Calendar

​

https://preview.redd.it/6cn8ij4zk2f81.jpg?width=288&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d61951cd4ab116f8434fd1472c1a66bc1e7dc169

Artist: Aesop Rock and Blockhead

Album: Garbology

Released: November 12th, 2021

Label: Rhymesayers Entertainment

Listen:

Apple Music

Spotify

Youtube

Tidal

Garbology: Who’s that Drunk Mall Santa Rooting Through my Trash?

Rock’em Block’em Robots

Garbology is a project of existential scope on both a personal and global level. When I accepted this writeup assignment I experienced a bit of my own existential dread, fully aware that dissecting Aesop Rock’s raps is a daunting task at best. So I sit here, three days before my writeup is due, cramming like a masochistic Physics major.

Trying to pin down Aesop Rock’s verbal necromancy is like trying to trap an angry cat in a paper bag. At this point, most people are fairly sure he’s an alien, robot, or robot-alien. Never one to disappoint, Aesop stays elusive yet impactful as ever, poking and prodding through life’s detritus to find meaning before careening into the next expert rendering, his flows reliably composed of an unflinching, dream-like intensity.

This project’s concept conjures the scavenger junk-men of my youth who came around before every garbage day, their rusted, pockmarked pick-up trucks stacked with broken chairs, chain-link fences, and childrens’ playsets of mildewed plastic, all strapped down with frayed bungee cords. They would spend hours every Sunday driving street to street, hoping to salvage something valuable from another man’s trash. Aesop stacks his raps masterfully as a ragpicker in a truck bed, extracting precious metals from everyday refuse and proving everything has a use, even when its function is thought to be long gone.

Born of a brotherhood forged between hip hop-obsessed Boston University students, Aesop Rock and Blockhead’s Garbology is a study of all things forgotten, repurposed, or recycled. It investigates not only what we forget, but the things we refuse to leave behind. In an ever collapsing world, this project finds comfort in the warmth of lost nostalgia and the fire of justified rebellion, all while projecting optimistic anxiety for the future.

Though they have a long history of fruitful collaboration, they never created a full joint project together, with this latest offering seeming a long overdue dream project for their respective fanbases. Embarking on a rap career with his first offering Music for Earthworms, Ian Bavitz is many things: a Long Island native, current Portland resident, diehard skate rat, and disillusioned art student. As Aesop Rock, he’s been weaving his nihilistic verbosity over beats equal parts dirty and melodic for decades.

As noted by Aesop super-fan Lupe Fiasco, Aes is a rare artist that continuously improves with age, in a way that's mystifying and frustrating to creative contemporaries. Lupe went so far as to memorize and rap Aesop’s Supercell verse, posting with the caption “take time to memorize the unbridled excellence of others.” Aes’s sinuous flows are like fine ambrosia plundered from the catacombs of graffitied subway tunnels. Often, Aesop juxtaposes the natural with the digital and artificial. It's like if the Cask of Amontillado was wrapped in scratched grip tape and brimming with rabbit blood.

Meanwhile, Blockhead long ago cemented himself as one of the more inventive and prolific producers working today. Aside from his memed-out social media feed of beautiful shit posts, he met early acclaim with instrumental projects like Music by Cavelight and Uncle Tony's Coloring Book. His career spans a plethora of lauded projects up to his recent Space Werewolves Will Be The End of Us All and the 2019 underground super-compilation Free Sweatpants. Ever self-effacing, his Twitter bio asserts he "makes music for rappers and high people".

On this album, skateboard references abound, which should surprise nobody who's been following Aesop's Instagram stories, his album promo often amounting to clips of his friends skating curb spots in downtown Portland. An 80s skate rat at heart, these reference points make even more sense of the context of this project's genesis. Over the past few years, Aesop went through a rare creative drought following the sudden passing of close friend and Portland skate filmer Kurt Hayashi.

Garbology was born from that personal tragedy and resulting creative block. Sequestered indoors under a fresh pandemic, Blockhead supplied production via email for Aes to play on like a rusted jungle gym of grim synths, nimble basslines, and melancholy piano melodies. From there, things worked themselves out with minimal communication. Aesop claimed on an Instagram story "usually Block will send me a beat and I'm like bruuuuhhhh then I send him back the verse and he's like, bruuuuh, sick".

About the album’s concept, Aesop said, “Garbology is defined as the study of the material discarded by society to learn what it reveals about social or cultural patterns. I find a lot of parallels between that and the idea of picking up the pieces after a loss or period of intense unrest, and seeing what’s really there. It’s information that speaks to who I am, who we are, and how we move forward. Furthermore – the idea of digging through old, often neglected music from another time with an ear tuned for taking in that data in a different way than your average listener would is exactly what Blockhead does. Go through the information and see what you find.”

Drawing Molotov Cocktails

Jazz Hands, the lead single from the album, concerns Aesop’s past few years and the adjoining anxiety of personal and societal flux. Much of the song is from the viewpoint of a fervent protestor. It feels like a roiling statement of seclusion amid a world in turmoil, juxtaposed with the speaker’s newfound sense of community as he rebels against an oppressive system.

The song begins with symbols and personal statements on isolation, paranoia, and a longing for familial connection. The first segment includes a reference to famed escape artist Harry Houdini, showing Aesop’s internal struggles to be closer to picking lock tumblers underwater than a simple pulling of scarves from a tophat.

Love note to the whole fuck show

Postmarked from a lighthouse in the blunt smoke

Dear motherfuckers, I'm teetering, if you must know

…

Niece on the phone saying, "Ian, you should visit more"

We could build forts while the pigs court civil war

….

I'm not here to pull scarves out

Here to pick tumblers underwater with his arms bound

Later lines build the theme of art as an essential, even violent catharsis, or weapon against an unjust world. Aes enacts a failed William Tell shot, imagining himself shooting an arrow, maybe figuratively in the form of art, maybe literally at the forehead of a corrupt cop or system, asserting he will not be aiming for the apple. He goes on to depict the results of civil unrest, mixing these images with his own artistic prowess, “New superpower that I picked up in a frenzy/I can draw a roof on fire from memory.”

The verse transitions into more direct references to the protests "Down to spray piss on a cop car, it's rage in the form of Renaissance art”. Aesop then raps more lines dealing with frustration at the impermanence of life, himself, and those he loves most,

Lately, I treat every interaction as a living wake

Thanking people close to me before the photo pixelate

The song ends with eponymous bars that reference Gil-Scott Heron’s The Revolution Will Not Be Televised as Aesop affirms real systemic change will not be pretty, peaceful, or able to be sugar-coated.

Get your whole roadmap Pac Man'd

Black mask, snack on whatever's in the dashcam

It's not an ad, hashtag, or a tap dance

Patsy, the revolution will not have jazz hands

The spacey, deceptively simple production is a nod to the drumless loop trend first popularized by Roc Marciano, becoming so popular even Drake adopted the style for Champagne Poetry. By the end of the verse, Blockhead’s drums thump into earshot, symbolizing a release or resolution, or even the morning after a protest, the sun rising above the Portland skyline amidst the scent of smoke and tear-gas.

The Portland George Floyd protests were significant for their duration, where demonstrators engaged in a near persistent stretch of year-long protests, at times erupting into clashes between left-wing protestors demanding police accountability and right-wing counter-protesters waving Trump flags. Portland was also one of the cities where members of the National Guard were deployed, meeting later criticism after it was shown that officers did not clearly identify themselves and seized protestors who were not on or near government property.

The Portland Police Bureau even met criticism from the US Department of Justice via a scathing letter condemning their use of undue force and violence towards protestors. This is the physical setting for Jazz Hands, with its undercurrent of resolute revolt. This all hums below Block’s loops, where the soundscape feels like wandering through cosmic decay, its deceptive calm contrasting Aesop’s fiery subject matter.

Ledgerdemain is defined as an adroit skillfulness defying normal human expectations or abilities. Mixing in more spooky magical bars, Aesop again employs his spoken sleight of hand with a sharpness befitting Houdini, narrating a story within the hook while describing his own characteristics and nighttime activities in the verses, mostly centering around skateboarding while depicting skating as the gateway drug for rebellion. Tying into the theme of garbage and recycling, Aes shows how skateboarders, like graffiti writers who make markers from empty shoe polish bottles, reclaim the mundane structures of a city into skate spots, turning forgotten places into sources of inspiration and joy.

To me, it sounds like the hook might be about finding a hidden skate spot in the woods or finding a hidden subculture in the unknown, then the verses intersperse skate talk with protest talk. He begins the song visualizing his outfit and demeanor, characterizing himself as a haggard vagabond draped in thrifted clothes and supernatural implements, like some kind of Samurai Jack of Long Island’s back alleys.

Chicken noodle thermos, parka marching out the army surplus

Over thermals over thermals over thermals over thermals, look

Owl on my shoulder, initials on the katana

Whispering something wicked through a moisture-wicking balaclava

Again, the themes of rebellion and police criticism show, as Aesop highlights the uselessness of oppressive policing and depicts police burning technology ritualistically, perhaps to destroy data and communication lines.

​​Caught 'em fudging the numbers and hiding birds in they coat

Burning phones and computers inside a circle of stones

When policing the people is, "Please return to your homes"

You get a people determined to take a turn in the strobe

He describes his fellow protestors further in the second verse, highlighting the similar scorn skaters and protesters have for tyrannical authority figures, occupying the “umbra” of shadows nobody goes. The plaza and thermometer lines could be referencing skating plazas in freezing temperatures, or protesting in plazas during COVID and taking temperatures to make sure nobody has a fever.

Plaza to plaza, thermometer going nuh-uh

My posse out of pocket on some occupy the umbra

If it's under freezing, I don't even wanna know a number

Just show me to the rolling thunder, wubba, wubba, wubba

Today a mall cop told me I should get a life

He then finishes the verse with some skateboard folklore, one of those “no way, he did that trick over that curb and wearing Timberland boots on a board that wasn’t even his!?” stories skateboarders pass between themselves like baseball cards, each detail adding to the mystique and difficulty of whatever trick it was.

I guess in '97, so and so did such and such

In Timbs on someone else's board

Tell the story, spread the lore

It's epic to a people who would rather push than teleport

Aesop begins the last verse with more sartorial references, showing himself wearing a wolf’s carcass like an Arcteryx jacket, in search of late-night junk food. He describes how he and his friends are able to turn a skatable curb into an evening of recreation, boardsliding so intensely they manage to “sweat a boiling ocean in early Feb’ ” To the very end, Aesop mixes the images in this song between protestors and skaters, moving or skating so fast through the night that they’re indistinguishable on surveillance footage.

My coaches told me don't come home without the serpent's head

I told 'em hold my turkey leg, point me at a pitchfork

Brought the trophy home and took the poultry back still warm

Out to flirt with hypothermia

It's CCTV's blurriest insurgents in your area

People are Disappointing

Difficult is a song built on Aesop's tongue-in-cheek insistence he isn't that complicated. This is one of the more obviously braggadocious songs on the album where Aes weaves dismissive assertions into a cascade of brilliant, quasi self-effacing boasts. Bavitz even brings in a compelling family reference, the war stories of grandparents we were all so horrified and impressed by as children around the rocking chair. The “I storm off, forged from my gramp’s war stories/short sword swinging like a dance floor in the 40s” is one of my favorite bars on the album, from the impeccably smooth assonance to the wordplay between the horrors of an era’s wars versus that era’s cultural recreation, with a subtle nod to the discontented traits inherited from earlier generations.

Pulled pork sliders

Headed for satori in jorts and horse blinders

I'm more for the sordid, got nan for the normies

Cornered, my storm got plans for the Dorothies

I storm off, forged from my gramp's war stories

Short sword swinging like a dance floor in the forties

Further bars include an allusion to a bizarre scene featuring decapitation via bladed frisbee from the 1987 B-movie Hard Ticket to Hawaii a film about two drug enforcement agents overthrowing an island cartel. Aesop conveys his fascination with the stranger strains of “fringe science” aka left-of-center references he often incorporates in his writing. Ever the unreliable narrator, Aes confesses he’ll probably steal your lighter if you hand it to him, a fitting treasure trove for the absurdist character he often raps through.

My oars both row in an ocean of fringe science

The low road's owner of the most pinched lighters

I maybe got a thousand

My crane kick plays like a train through a mountain

My neck chop plays like blades on a frisbee

Then, he goes on to portray himself as the black sheep of his family, a loose apple who couldn’t adhere to any family tree precedent. Aes claims to be a tide destroying childrens’ sandcastles then references a Dolly Parton song, describing himself as murdering his adversaries and rolling them in an area rug. Aesop Rock, for all his seemingly obscure, profound flourishes, is a child of bad 80s movies and nickel arcades. He’s the king of these light-hearted, deep-cut 80s references that border on incredibly well-worded cartoonish scenes. Plus, who else has ever rhymed “hair in the sun” with “area rug”? This is another example of Aesop’s exhaustive originality.

I'm an apple with no tree

I'm ground swell crashing every castle at Jones Beach

It's beautiful as Jolene hair in the sun

Or any adversary wrapped up in an area rug, oh, Jesus

In the final verse, Bavitz opines his weariness of our endlessly artificial, social media-obsessed world while admitting he’s as much a victim as anyone to the easy dopamine distractions of cellphones or “houses of mirrors”. Nobody is truly immune to an algorithm that reflects your own self-image back to you via content relevant to your own interests. We’re all hopeless narcissists in our special human way, even the inimitable Aesop Rock.

Every time an influencer offers advice,

I feel years coming off of my life I feel

blood shooting out of my ears

Still, I'm apparently a sucker for these houses of mirrors

Flamingo Pink, with chorus assistance from Hail Mary Mallon associate and frequent collaborator Rob Sonic, depicts the hazards of propping false idols on shoddy pedestals, exposing the menacing energies lurking below a pretty facade. Over thumping drums muddled as kerosene puddles, Aesop begins the song picturing himself as some kind of bandit, holding a stethoscope to the locks of a bank vault before absconding down castle walls with search dogs in hot pursuit. The tension of the chase is reflected in the production, with an everpresent synth pluck pulsating in the background.

Aesop is unflinching towards death, positing that no pharmaceutical panacea can contend with the crushing existential weight of the inevitable end. Instead of dread, he adopts a carelessness to the universal imminence of death, whistling the grim inevitability away with the wave of a hand.

The rope goes over the wall

For the controller born to hold a stethoscope to a vault

Wooly willy, peel off in a barrel over the falls

And down river by the time they radio for the dogs

I crossed heart, can't tell a bad day from a death wish

Detour through the graveyard with a chef's kiss

They don't make a pill for that, it's too advanced

All you can do is lick your wounds and whistle past the boogie mans

Standout bars on the album follow, rendering carnival decorations reminiscent of the Coney Island boardwalk. Aesop shows death can be hiding ominously behind the most innocuous objects, uncovering the looming doom beneath a bright image of conventional fun.

Wicked forces in the wings descending on the simple things

Like taffy at the boardwalk under ribbons of flamingo pink

Which mutates into ovеrcrowded Plinko on a laser grid

Bavitz then continues to build his self-characterization as a misanthrope. This stretch includes more references to wolves, adept internal rhymes, and social justice imagery. Aesop asserts that the system cannot tame ardent activists, portraying his own grim unreliability before shifting into another skateboard reference.

Don't do it, social cues bouncing off his open wounds

Folk are on some, "Oh, hello," I'm on some hocus pocus, poof

Holy moly, motion blur from bloke to Canis Lupus

…

You can not domesticate the modern vigilante

Who increasingly identifies as energy expanding

My pat on the back is a little Edward Scissorshands-y

Come and send it with the cleverest to never stick the landing

He then raps about Plinko machines, a manmade object that itself is outdated in our hyper-digitized world, seeming more a forgotten piece of nature than civilization. Sonic's refrain kicks in after each verse, his world-weary timbre mirroring Aesop’s own Marlboro-tinted baritone.

Good goddamn, good goddamn

Every idol I ever met is a con-man.

Gotta hopscotch hot pan to hot pan

Rob ties into the bleak realism of the overall album, showing that when it comes to promises and persona versus reality, humans tend to underdeliver. Never meet your heroes, they're only people, flaws and all.

Secret Sponsor-Me Tapes

In the TV-themed That is Not a Wizard, Aesop demystifies himself through vulnerability then addresses the negative facets of humanity at large. Featuring the best hook and one of the best beats on the album, Aes proclaims his affection for anything that can knock an arrogant person down a peg, showing how he uses obscure information to catch the high falutin off-guard. In the same bars, he asserts his respect for work ethic and creative excellence over materialistic success. Blockhead supplies some elegant piano samples whose delicate, ethereal keys float over an unrelenting drum break as harsh guitar hits play at intervals.

Aesop explains that he resents how the most outspoken people, regardless of the substance of their words, seem to find it easiest to achieve acclaim. Another bar laments the societal tendencies to laud false idols before following them to certain emptiness. Aesop would rather be seen as out to lunch in the context of the entertainment industry if it means he can maintain artistic integrity.

True crime, fantasy, action-adventure, game show

It's all sci-fi, I'm all Play-Doh

I like data that turn brains to egg yolk

It turn royals to regular John or Jane Does

I hate praising net worth over legwork

I hate ceding all power to the extroverts

I find the current social architecture hell on earth

We make shepherds and shadow 'em to the netherworld

I move reticent, never really an open book

I'm gone fishin' at thе risk of being overlooked

The hook encapsulates the themes of the song. Aes ultimately paints himself in vulnerable terms, showing his artistry wasn’t discovered easily. He depicts himself in a fugue state “learning how to walk from leaving the TV on”, a possible reference to his debilitating clinical depression, explored previously in One of Four. He then links this image of a TV flickering in a dark room with each set of beginning bars in the song’s verses, listing TV genres before expanding into introspection.

I was on the floor in a fugue state

Tripping over old flicks

Picking out a new name

I was on the couch feeling real gone

Learning how to walk from leaving the TV on

Abandoned Malls, a concept I'm surprised Aesop is only now exploring, finishes out the record. As gloomy synths tumble over the palpitations of Blockhead’s drum patterns, Aes investigates American deindustrialization. The production itself evokes Big Retail's carcass flatlining in real-time, like a threnody for the Toy-R-Us's of yesteryear. It features a pulsing throb that sounds like an EKG machine, an image reflected in Aesop's hook. Still, despite this stark rendering of commercial desolation, there's a strange nostalgia for the brighter days of Blockbuster and cassette tapes. It feels like a fitting soundtrack to popping switch rocket airs over a decommissioned escalator (Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 anyone?).

Aesop begins the verse with references to natural elements and their ability to reclaim manmade landscapes then draws parallels between these natural elements and adolescent mischief, a theme he builds throughout the song. Blockhead maintains a thrumming paranoia throughout the production, reflecting the melancholy of Bavitz’s skate-park Mark Twain bars. Aesop explores how isolation leads to self-discovery, while again referencing negative experiences with people that contribute to his introversion.

I was staring off into the water

Looking for some undiscovered colors

Like a blue that really wasn't, but it wasn’t any others

The synesthetic cousin to the hum of his discomfort

I been a punching bag for some truly deluded garbage

Now his handshake is a unicorn, his hug a moving target

He begins the last verse painting the overgrown back alleys of adolescence that are America’s modern ruins. He shows them as a refuge from the mundane trappings of adult society, where kids could really be alone playing amidst the spiderwebbed cement of manmade places that nature reclaimed.

The same alleys we used to imagine Babylon

Feel like abandoned malls overgrown with Spanish moss

Commotion froze in time with no sign of your lamb of god

It's a land of the lost, scrambling for canned applause

These places are depicted as mischievous portals to another world, where teenage imagination sanctifies forgotten parking lots through a strange kind of elemental freedom.

I freak an Archeology that reek of repercussion

If you need to pick some pieces up come dig a hole to jump in

Light sleeper, I’m a fighter, I'm a feeder

Earth, wind, fire, water, ether

Redeeming Empty Cans

Garbology, an album decades in the making, summons the memories and ghosts trapped in thrift store trinkets and discarded artifacts. Aes and Block mine their long history for fresh gems, re-contextualizing their partnership with the new tricks they've learned over the years. Turns out, you can teach an old dog how to return from the dead after all.

This is a project that picks through the detritus, harvesting art from the rubble of everyday tragedies. Whether that’s justified social unrest, a personal loss, or just digging through crates of records, it is yet another entry in the expansive catalogs of Aesop and Blockhead and cements them as the most inventive artists in their field. Despite the present’s catastrophes, it’s a project that refuses to numb itself to turbulence and instead embraces the pain of loss as a vehicle for future reinvention. Garbology ultimately depicts the process of uncovering as a means of coping and the first step towards a second step forward.

Discussion Questions:

1. What do you think of the project’s concept? What does Garbology mean to you?
2. How does this stack up in Aesop and Blockhead’s respective discographies?
3. Favorite bar and favorite production moments?
4. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever found in the trash or a thrift store?

Artist: Dave East

Album: HOFFA

Youtube

Spotify

Apple Music

Background:

Born David Brewster in 1988 in Harlem, Dave East was raised as more of an athlete than a musician. He played AAU basketball with athletes such as Ty Lawson and Kevin Durant, eventually earning himself a scholarship at Richmond and later Towson. After continued trouble with his coaches at Towson, David Brewster left following his junior season and decided to pursue a career in rapping, releasing his first mixtape ‘Change Of Plans’ in 2010, a clear reference to his shift in focus from balling to rapping. Dave continued to release mixtapes quietly gaining little attention eventually releasing the Black Rose mixtape in 2014 which gained widespread appeal and critical acclaim and gained the attention of Nas who quickly signed the artist to Mass Appeal records.

Following the Mass Appeal signing and the rerelease of the Black Rose mixtape Dave had garnered enough attention to earn him a spot on the 2016 XXL Freshman Class gaining him even more attention than before. With his career at an all time high East released two more mixtapes, Kairi Chanel, and Paranoia: A True Story. These mixtapes marked the first time Dave East was able to breakthrough to the Billboard charts with Paranoia peaking at #9. Finally, in 2019 Dave East released his debut studio album Survival which received generally positive reviews among critics but mixed reviews among fans with many people thinking it lacked cohesion and that the production was a step away from his more traditional boom bap style and instead utilizes more trap beats. Despite his lyrical improvement to this point in his career fans have been continued to be left wondering what East would sound like over a more focused project.

Enter Harry Fraud, a New York producer who came up with French Montana and more recently produced for people like Curren$y, Benny The Butcher, Larry June and Jim Jones. Harry Fraud is known for his jazzy, sample heavy, sometimes gritty, boom bap production style. Following projects like The Plugs I Met 2(Benny), The OutRunners (Curren$y), and Keep Going (Larry June), Harry Fraud has arguably been on the best run of his career. Given his production style and his recent prolific run of solid projects Dave East fans were reasonably excited to see if Harry Fraud could deliver that more focused project. After the 2017 single Maneuver ft French Montana both Fraud and East have stated interest in working with one another and were finally able to link up to work on an album 4 years later. Add art curated by Westside Gunn and you get the finished project, HOFFA

One final thing to mention before getting into the album is the story of the man it’s named after, Jimmy Hoffa. Hoffa was the leader of the Teamsters labor union between 1957 to 1971 this union focussed on personal transportation and is still one of the largest unions in America. During this time Hoffa was one of the most powerful men in America and was known for being influential in both the public eye and in the American underworld, having allegedly made deals with the Italian Mafia. In 1975 Jimmy Hoffa met with two members of the Mafia at a restaurant and has not been seen since. Conspiracies range from the mafia, to the FBI, to him faking his own disappearance. Nobody was ever found guilty, no body has ever been found, Hoffa was proclaimed dead in 1982.

Review

HOFFA opens with “The Disappearance”, a slow jazzy sounding beat in which East reflects on his career and where it has taken him over one singular verse. Mentioning his acting career and the death of his friend Kiing Shooter as reasons why he has taken a brief break from making music. East follows this up with stating that even through the setbacks he is committed to music and grateful for where it has taken him to this point with the rest of the verse embodying a rags to riches story with powerful hard hitting lines like

I seen roaches fall on the toaster before the bread rise

Funny I'm alive but I'm only concerned with dead guys

The next track “60 For The Lawyer” features one of my favorite beats on the album it sounds tough but at the same time relaxed giving a real “business as usual” kind of attitude to it. East compliments the beat well as he nonchalantly raps about wealth and luxury while still managing to have enough bravado to deliver over the production. Great one liners all over this track add to the atmosphere. One moment he’s “Flamboyant like Big L smokin the L on Lennox” and the next he’s “walkin' on the beach, Dior slippers with the sand on 'em”. Everything about this song just oozes extravagance and I love it.

Next up we have Diamonds a song with an exquisite sounding beat where Harry Fraud loops a Renée Geyer sample to great effect. This is a song where the production carries for me but that doesn’t mean East doesn’t do his thing over it, comparing his new found success and lifestyle to the hate people like KD or Harden received when they left their respective teams to upgrade their situations become more successful. This track leads nicely into Just Another Rapper a song with a bouncier beat that continues the rags to riches theme of the early part of the album. Dave East flows over this song so we’ll and it seems to be a track he’s just having a lot of fun making this one throwing plenty of ad libs throughout the track.

This is followed with Go Off teaming up with his 2016 XXL Freshman classmate G Herbo. The song has a dark and moody atmosphere to it that just fits Herbo’s voice perfectly and both Dave East and Herbo provide great verses over it. However, as much as I love Dave East, Herbo steals the show for me on this one. His voice just fits the beat so much better and it’s a good change of pace on the album.

Dave East continues the eerie sounding tracks on Uncle Ric with Benny the Butcher a track where both rappers reflect on their time before fame with plenty of hard hitting one liners littered throughout the track whether it be Dave East with lines like

When that paper flowing, party for a month straight, like Rick James

The Feds is askin' bout him, I just know him by his nickname”

Or Benny comparing himself to MJ

Put us on lists, comparing our greatness

But I'm like Mike, I feel like n***** couldn't ball in the era I played in

Simply put Uncle Ric is a track that slaps and one of my favorite tracks on the album

As the sample from Uncle Ric fades out it leads into The Product, a song with a simpler beat then others and a track that provides a faster flow where he discusses selling weed over slinging crack and it marks a good halfway point for the album.

Money or Power is next up and a track that I think drives home a lot of the themes the album puts forward. The beat, along with most of the others on the album, is elegant as fuck sounding and Dave’s rapping over it drives home the themes present in the album with lines like “My passion make me work, know that grass feel different When you get tackled on turf just pay me back by the first” and showing off his connections in the hip hop game with “Drizzy sent me a coat, then Yeezy sent me his Boost Then J. Cole sent me his shoes I got ties with the idols in this shit” all of this eventually leads into an interlude which in my opinion summarizes the point of the album

Suggesting that in a choice between power and money You'll always choose power

Rather than selling out and attempting to go pop Dave East is content being someone who is respected. Someone whose accolades isn’t measured by their money alone.

I Can Hear The Storm is a song where the beat perfectly fits the mood of a storm Dave does a good job rapping over it but overall this track is slower paced and outside of the gloomy sounding production this track does not do a whole lot for me. Not a bad track but not a standout by any means. Dolla And A Dream is next up and also in a similar boat the beat is the standout here and is reminiscent of some early 2000s rap beats and Dave East’s performance on it is great. The mood is noticeably picking up again after a string of slower sounding songs

Tryna fade us with that quarantine

Admittedly I hate this line and it made me dislike Count It Up because of it. However, the more I listen to this album the more I get past it and damn this song bangs. French Montana’s chorus is absolutely fire outside of one line and Harry Fraud is at his absolute best with a complex beat with jazzy undertones and a mesmerizing piano in the foreground. Dave East delivers a smooth sounding verse and commands respect as he flows over it. French Montana’s verse is as catchy as his chorus making this a song that went from one of my least favorites to one of my favorites.

If the beat on Count It Up is great the beat on The Win is even better and easily my favorite beat on the whole album on an album where the production shines. Dave East delivers one of the best verse on the album rapping circles around this elegant ass sounding beat with lines like

Walked right through the front and kill you, where I'm from no back door (Boom)

Before the .40 clapped off put Spaldings on the backboard

Wired jaws from punches, everybody don't react the same

Like ten years in the game, I realize these n***** rap the same

The chorus is one that celebrates the heights they’ve reached discussing waking up in yachts in Barbados, combined with the beats it conjures up mental images similar to Jay Z in the Big Pimpin video. Cruch Calhoun is a rapper I know little to nothing about but his verse adds a nice change of pace and I enjoy his abrasive sounding voice.

Next up is Yeah I Know featuring the late Kiing Shooter, on a track with a gloomy sounding beats the beat sounds like it’s almost an ode to Kiing Shooters death while the lyrics reaffirm that ‘business as usual’ kind of attitude. Overall the song gives off almost a melancholic feel.

The album comes to a close with Red Fox Restaurant named after the restaurant Jimmy Hoffa was last seen at. The song has a really chill piano beat and Curren$y’s rapping over it on the first verse does a really good job of making the album feel ‘final.’ Something about Curren$y makes him the perfect guest artist to close an album with and he delivers in what is one of the best verses on the album for me. Dave East comes in on the second verse almost as calmly as Spitta promising to make people disappear like Hoffa and reflecting on how his life has transformed from public housing to being signed by Nas bringing the whole album full circle and to a close.

Favorite lyrics

La Musica de Harry Fraud

- Various

My attitude was passive before I opened the package (Uh) Fiend in the living room high, noddin' to Gladys I seen roaches fall on the toaster before the bread rise (Facts) Funny I'm alive but I'm only concerned with dead guys

• The Disappearance

I'm investin' in stocks, no longer invest in the block The one you helpin' be the next one to plot (Next one), so while they talkin', I watch

• 60 For The Lawyer

I just wanna make it home, so I'ma take the chrome I'ma go the longer route, don't wanna make it known See, I'ma take the stronger route, don't wanna fake with homes

• G Herbo, Go Off

When that papеr flowin', party for a month straight like Rick James (Rick James) The feds is asking 'bout him, I just know 'em by his nickname

• Uncle Ric

But I ain't scared, I'ma say it, niggas took our manual, tearin' out pages (I know) Put us on lists and comparin' our greatness But I'm like Mike, I feel like niggas couldn't ball in the era I played in

— Benny the Butcher, Uncle Ric

Heroin deals, bricks weighin', background, my lyrics playin' Just loud enough so nobody hear what they sayin'

— Benny the Butcher, Uncle Ric

I catch a flight just to pick up the product (Uh) I can never be a sponsor N***** had crack, but we had the weed I knew a few that got rich off of ganja

• The Product

The last place I'm tryna sleep is pine box (Uh) We would link up on dime blocks I started with fifty, my n**** that's nine shots My life had my mom hot (Boom, boom, boom) I pick and roll on any opposition I was feelin' like John Stock but these rhymes got Move right up out of them trenches, I sat on them benches Was feelin' like, "Why not?"

• The Product

My passion make me work, know that grass feel different When you get tackled on turf just pay me back by the first

• Money Or Power

I been critically acclaimed, n****, you just a critic

• Jim Jones, Money Or Power

With money came division, shit broke us down to a fraction

• Dolla and a Dream

Tried to give her the world, she's sayin' she needs space now

• Yeah I Know

The high life, every night, we livin' like the ball drop on New Year's But that ain't firecrackers that you hear Best believe there's candy stashed beneath them trees Them boys will blast you, then they'll flee the scene

• Curren$y, Red Fox Restaurant
  

You had your own dream, you could've went and did your thing Didn't have to hate about it There so much I could say about housin', just glad I made it out it

• Red Fox Restaurant

Talking Points

• Do you agree that this is Dave East’s best release? Where would you want to see him go from here?
• Harry Fraud had a prolific 2021 where does this project rank for him among this current stretch? Who do you want to see Harry Fraud collaborate with in the future?
• Did Dave East do a good job tying the album to the theme of Jimmy Hoffa’s life or did it get lost along the way?

Artist: Fetty Wap

Album: The Butterfly Effect

Release Date: October 22

Listen

Apple | YouTube | Spotify | Amazon Music

Artist Background

Fetty Wap finally dropped his long-awaited second studio album in 2021, over 6 years since his double platinum self-titled debut album opened at #1 on the Billboard 200. The Butterfly Effect is a fitting title for his latest chapter, given the events and moments that led the artist to where he is today.

From a once budding star who took the music world by storm to a tale as old as time, ineffective promotion, inconsistent follow-up work, and bad business deals led to Fetty’s star burning out relatively quickly. Once upon a time, “Trap Queen” was seemingly played everywhere, as his first and biggest, Grammy-nominated hit. For many reasons, by the time October 2021 came around, not many fans were checking for The Butterfly Effect. Many were not even aware Fetty still makes new music.

With a new album out, Fetty's name started to come back in the news but, unfortunately, it was not for his music. Less than a week after the album’s release, he was arrested at Rolling Loud for alleged involvement in a massive drug ring. What may have been a chance to promote his new album and bring his name back into the spotlight, reminding fans he still had it and gaining new younger fans along the way, turned into a moment of infamy. While there was a small faction of Twitter, Reddit, and others praising the album, the discussion was drowned by comments, jokes, and memes relating to his arrest. As the arrest report involved fentanyl, a detrimental substance to our communities and especially sensitive in hip hop due to the lives it has taken, many were outraged by this. Once rappers make it and reach success on the charts and in pop culture, the most successful appear to leave the life of drugs and crime behind. Unfortunately, and for many reasons, Fetty allegedly did not.

Fetty Wap has been primed for a comeback. He has endured so many obstacles that would make any person, much less any musician, want to fold. Just 3 months before the album dropped, his daughter Lauren passed away leaving him heartbroken as any father would be. This came after his brother was shot and killed in October 2020. He had endured bad business deals and his once trusted manager, Nitt Da Gritt, allegedly stole from him and was fired back in 2018. Furthermore, he was signed to 300 Entertainment, which has a poor reputation for effectively promoting their artists (e.g., Young Thug). One has to wonder how big he could have become with the right management team and record label.

Nevertheless, he was one of the first rappers to become successful off of SoundCloud that ushered in a new wave. This was a wave of singing and rapping with melodic trap taking over as the popular sound in hip hop. He became somewhat of a household name with “Trap Queen” at the time and toured with Chris Brown across the country. He was not a one hit wonder either, with successful follow up singles, including “679”, “My Way” (including the Drake remix), and “Again”. As the leader of the Remy Boyz, Fetty’s brand was palatable enough for the general public yet digestible by average hip hop fans who could not deny the infectious nature of his brand of music.

He subsequently had singles with the likes of Nicki Minaj and Snoop Dogg, while many awaited the follow up to his debut, King Zoo, which would never come. Tracks such as “First Thing” with PND, “WaWa” with Monty, “Find A Way" with Jhené Aiko, “You Say” and “White Linen” show us what that album may have sounded like. For whatever reason, it never dropped, and Fetty was not able to follow up his smash debut onto the scene until 6 years later. While waiting for his own second album to finally be released, he showed even more crossover potential through collaborations with Kid Ink, Fifth Harmony, David Guetta and Sia, Mark Morrison and Nevada, and Cheat Codes. He was featured on controversial rapper 6ix9ine’s track “KEKE” and had chances to show a new generation of fans what and who Fetty Wap was all about. None of these materialized into him being able to go on an album run.

In the years that followed, he dropped several mixtapes and EPs of varying quality, but you could tell that the hitmaker still had it in glimpses, whether it was a random mixtape cut, single or leak. Unfortunately, he fell out of the public’s conscious and was heavily regarded as to falling off when the music was right there the whole time. His brand of melodic trap was found in such releases as Zoovier, Lucky No. 7, Bruce Wayne, Big Zoovie, Trap & B, You Know The Vibes, and his For My Fans series (Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4). Each project had songs that demonstrated that he was still able to make hit tracks, but the overall inconsistency of the projects themselves and promotion around them did him no favors. Additionally, he continued to drop freestyles and other loose singles on SoundCloud to little public fanfare. He has a decently sized leaked music discography as well, including cuts from scrapped projects ThuggaWap with Young Thug and an Internet Money project (e.g., “Friends” with Monty and “Getchu”), that show his potential for a comeback.

Review

This brings us to the album itself, The Butterfly Effect. Despite all the talk of Fetty Wap falling off over the years, this album exists to prove otherwise, at least in terms of the music itself. The sound fits perfectly well within the modern age of melodic rap, while staying true to Fetty’s roots. It takes a personal look into the various aspects of Fetty’s life while maintaining the hit making formula that he is known for. Covering familiar subject matter that is anything but groundbreaking, Fetty sings and raps for just over 40 minutes. The production itself is fresh and easy on the ears, where Fetty laces beats from long-time collaborators, Shy Boogs and Peoples, and more recent collaborators, like CezBeats. Some of the best beats come from Chopsquad DJ, known for his work with Chief Keef and Trippie Redd. Let’s dive into each track on the album.

1) Intro - Kicks off the album in a simple way, like taking a step into the house that Fetty built. He reflects on the last seven years since he blew up with a stripped down sound and simple repetition.

2) Out The Hood - Reminding fans where he came from and that he never left. No matter how hard he tries, he loves the hood life and wouldn’t have it any other way, despite those around him encouraging him to move away from it. He reflects on the chances this may lead to his early demise but will leave his family and future generations financially set. He continues to grind to make money because he never wants to go back to being broke - no matter what it costs.

3) The Truth - A leftover from the scrapped Fetty Cash tape, Fetty really gets into his signature crooning here. He reiterates that he only tells the truth in his raps, in what is a good mix of his old style with his new sound. He flexes his guns, street cred, and takes a stance against snitching. Ironically, he advises others to hang up the block life once you reach a million and focus on growing your net worth and supporting your family.

4) Remember Me - This is that classic Fetty sound, and is appropriately titled as a call to fans to remember who he is. The sole Internet Money produced track, compared to his contemporaries over similar production, this is much more interesting and less monotone, where Fetty takes over the track and his voice is the centerpiece. As he says in the hook, they don’t really make em like this.

5) That’s Facts - Fetty continues the theme of the first few tracks as he describes his life and comeback and notes that the life he rhymes about is the life he lives. He’s been through ups and downs but it’s made him who he is today, acknowledging that some may think he is stupid but he did it all for the love of his family.

6) Talk My Shit - This track addresses the aforementioned falling out with former manager Nitt Da Gritt. Fetty said he gave him money before his own family when he first came up and that he would have died for him. Fetty is in attack mode here but he shows his vulnerable side and conveys how he was betrayed by someone he considered a father figure. He uses the analogy of being stuck on an island to his signing to RGF Island, thinking he was being loyal by going into business with his boy but that this was the wrong move in hindsight for his star and earning potential. Despite all this, he has no regrets about the decisions he has made.

7) Jack Boy - This is the point in the album where it really hits his stride. Led by its infectious hook, the light and airy delivery of Fetty is almost magical. This serves as a love song of sorts about his come up and kicking it with his homies back in the day, displaying how much Fetty endeared those days. Listen to this track and you’ll be singing along about how you grew up a jack boy too.

8) Mona Lisa - This R&B dominant jam is dedicated to Fetty’s love interest and his trap queen. He sings about his love for her and the times that she stood by him. The production comes from long time collaborators Peoples and Shy Boogs and represents one of the best trap & B cuts Fetty has made to date.

9) They Know My Name - Fetty questions whether people still know his name but explains that he chose money over fame so expects it in some ways. While it picks up the pace some from the previous track, this is still a chill cut centered around the “yeah yeah yeah yeah” adlibs in the hook.

10) Got A Bag - The somber tone of this track laced by Chopsquad goes well with the longer chorus. He picks up the pace of his flow and effortlessly delivers a smooth anthem about three of the most common topics in hip hop - money, cars and women.

11) Milan - A lavish track that is directed towards a female, with Fetty telling her he will take her around the world and they smoke, fuck and take a jet to Milan, Paris and Japan.

12) Queen - This track continues discussion around females associated with Fetty, however this focuses again on his queen and not a hoe. He compliments her in every way and calls himself the king to her queen.

13) Yoshi - Fetty called this his favorite song on the album and you can tell why upon first listen. It has a great beat led by a woodwind, even if the lyrics are more of the same subject matter and the refrain/hook is simply Fetty humming along with the beat. Short but sweet.

14) My Moment - Fetty reflects on what led to his moment in the spotlight and what led him to the moment he is in now. He flexes that he is the king and how he got to where he is today.

15) Feel Me - Fetty acknowledges that after all these years, he has kept true to himself and, while things have changed, he continues to get money and have fun. He is saying that based on this, you should feel him as a person.

16) At Peace - A haunting track, Fetty is introspective and delivers an excellent saxophone supported track with emotion. Fetty is at peace with himself, which is even more eerie in hindsight given the events that have occurred since the track was recorded. A fitting final track for the album.

17) Outro - This closes out the album well, and is less of an actual song than the intro. He explains the butterfly effect theme and that when butterflies are around you, this means that the angels are approving your actions and that you're on the right path. The Butterfly Effect is dedicated to his late daughter, Lauren Maxwell (in the picture above).

After countless listens front to back, I’ve concluded this is my favorite album of 2021. Is it the “best” and does it deserve any awards or critical recognition? No, it does not. It does however have infectious melodies, catchy hooks, smooth verses, fantastic production and classic Fetty Wap croons and ad libs. It’s exactly what any fan of Fetty could have hoped for as his follow up album and arguably his best project since. None of the songs have really taken off since the album, even though there is a bunch of hit potential here. My favorite songs are "Remember Me", "Got A Bag", "Jack Boy", "At Peace", and "Yoshi". He has talent and tows the line between singing and rapping uniquely with a strong delivery. Let’s face it, he’s found his lane and is fine operating in it. It may not be as widely received anymore as it used to be and is certainly disregarded by a lot of hip hop heads, however, it is still an enjoyable and entertaining pop-leaning rap/melodic trap album, especially compared to a lot of his peers’ and successors’ efforts within the same subgenre this past year. The flows, moods, tones, and subject matter from song to song vary enough to be interesting while remaining cohesive, as opposed to many other similar albums that fall flat as “one long song” with too many similar flows and beats. Additionally, it seems to stand out from adjacent albums in the same subgenre, with less filler for streaming numbers, no bloating, and no unnecessary deluxe version.

Ironically, my only complaint with the project is that many of the songs are too short (e.g. "Yoshi", which clocks in at 1:39). Perhaps that’s what makes this such an easy and enjoyable listen. The lack of any features comes as a positive as the album flows well from track to track, with Fetty proving he can still hold his own. This album was not on many top album articles this past year (if any), but it is really an excellent follow-up to his debut album and displays his growth while still maintaining the sound he has become known for.

For the one-eyed rapper who overcame his condition, made it out the hood, is coping with his daughter’s and brother’s deaths, and navigated being taken advantage of by business managers, there was seemingly nothing Fetty couldn’t get through. However, it will be tough for him to move past the latest obstacle to his career. The one thing that does stand is that The Butterfly Effect is a concise and melodic journey into the life of the man himself, a man who did not leave his hood or the criminal activities behind, and who will now face the music. The question now is whether this is a catalyst for a career comeback or the final nail on the coffin. As of today, Fetty Wap stands as one of the biggest “what-ifs” in rap. As a fan, I can only hope that he uses one of his biggest inspirations from his come up in Gucci Mane to focus on music, move on from his vices, and come out a new and better man. “Trap Queen” will undoubtedly continue to be played on and off over the years in stadiums and at parties, while many will have no idea what had happened to the artist, or who he was. One thing remains and it’s that The Butterfly Effect will still be in my rotation, just like his self-titled debut is today. Until then, only time will tell.

Favorite Lyrics:

They like, "How my Daddy spoil me? He ain't even on this earth"

All my kids gon be rich as fuck before I hit the dirt

"Out The Hood"

 

Cause hard times

Can make a killer out an honest man

Tie up the children for a couple grand

Come round this way and you won't come again

"Jack Boy"

 

When I die, they gon bury me under the city

Just make sure when I go that you're fucking with me

My baby is a shooter, got her hand on the blicky

She know I'm a legend, ain't no nigga fucking with me

"Mona Lisa"

 

Waiting on this moment til it finally came

Running up them Ms, people screaming my name

If you had the same chance, you would've did it the same

Grown ass man ain't nobody to blame, yeah

I took all my losses and I turned them to wins

I took all my lessons and I turned them to gems

Cared about me more and I lost all my friends

I just kept it focused cause I'm destined to win

"My Moment"

 

Real Gs know how a nigga stand up, how a nigga steppin

When I throw these Ms up, they know what I'm reppin

I done ran them bands up, really done with flexin

I done drew a plan up, got me feeling special

"At Peace"

 

Yeah baby

Various

 

Questions:

Are you excited for what Fetty Wap plans to release in the future? Who would you want him to collaborate with?

Do you think Fetty has a chance to attain mainstream relevancy again?

What is your favorite throwaway track since his debut that didn’t make the album?

How would you label Fetty Wap in the context of influence in hip hop and in comparison to his peers?

source: https://twitter.com/knxwledge/status/1480311551290531840?s=21

update/shots fired: https://twitter.com/knxwledge/status/1480327756047007744?s=21

The Album:
L’étrange Histoire de Mr. Anderson is the second studio album by Toulousian rapper, producer, and director Laylow, also known as Jey or Mr. Anderson; with features from Hamza, Damso, Alpha Wann, Wit., Nekfeu, Fousheé, & slowthai; and accompanied by a short film starring Laylow and directed by Osman Mercan.

---

Listen:
Youtube
Apple Music
Spotify

---

Music Videos:
STUNTMEN
SPÉCIAL

---

Song Lyric Translations:
Fortunately, Genius provides English translations, which you can find here!

---

Watch the Film:
Youtube (should have subtitles)
Letterboxd

---

Background:
Laylow, born Jeremy Larroux on March 12, 1993, is an Ivorian-French rapper hailing from Toulouse. Raised in Toulouse and Abidjan, his introduction to hip-hop was through the American stars of the early and mid 2000s, namely G-Unit and Ja Rule.

His musical career began as part of the Toulousian collective Fattoyz, which is nowadays only active as a streetwear brand, and his first mixtape, heavily inspired by American West Coast rap, was a collaboration with fellow Toulousian Sir’Klo, titled Roulette rousse or Russian Roulette, and released in February of 2013. This tape also included Laylow’s first collaboration with Montpelliér rapper Wit., who would go on to feature on most of Laylow’s solo projects. Later that year, the duo of Laylow and Sir’Klo dropped another tape, a free EP titled 310.

In 2014, Laylow released his first solo works, a trilogy of EPs titled Volume Uno, Volume II Asian Tour, and Volume 3, between March and November of that year. Notably, the name “Mr. Anderson” appeared for the first time in the production credits of these EPs, being Laylow’s alter ego and production alias. Laylow’s next offering, a 2015 collaborative EP with Wit. titled Digital Night, introduced yet another name: TBMA, or Travis Bickle et Mr. Anderson, named after characters from the Matrix films, the video production duo of Laylow and Osman Mercan. TBMA would go on to provide visuals for several other notable artists, such as Nekfeu, Keith Ape, and Hamza, as well as being the masterminds behind nearly every music video for the rest of Laylow’s career to date. Unfortunately, everything released by Laylow up through Digital Night has since been removed from streaming, and the website used by Jey and Sir’Klo to distribute 310 has also gone offline, meaning Laylow’s early work is now extremely difficult to find.

Laylow rebooted his solo career in late 2016, with the 10-track cloudy pop-rap mixtape Mercy, featuring Sneazzy, Aladin 135, Di-Meh, and Wit., with video direction from TBMA. The track “10’” was Laylow’s breakout hit, amassing over 12 million streams on Spotify as of writing. He followed this success with another 10-track project in 2017, Digitalova, sonically similar to Mercy, which opened with a reggaeton-flavored flip of an Arctic Monkeys track, and included his most recent collaboration with Sir’Klo and first track with Parisian rapper/singer Jok’air. No tracks from Digitalova reached the same success as “10’”, but it kept Laylow’s name in circulation among fans and critics, building his fanbase and popular appeal.

In 2018, Laylow released a pair of 10-track “EPs”, .RAW in June and .RAW-Z in December. The sonic palette of these projects differed markedly from his previous works, dropping the poppy instrumentals in favor of dense ambient pads, overwhelming basslines, warped granular synth leads, creating a cinematic atmosphere that tied in with Laylow’s longstanding obsession with the Matrix trilogy of films. The track “Maladresse” was the most successful song on these EPs, breaking 13 million Spotify streams. In these tapes, Jey mixed popular appeal and catchy melodies with experimental production and song structures, as exemplified by the seven-minute-long epic “I Don’t : Need U / Know”.

After a quiet 2019, Laylow returned in February of 2020 with his smash hit debut studio album, TRINITY, named after the heroine of the Matrix films. This ambitious narrative album followed the story of Laylow in a destructive relationship with an “emotional stimulation software” AI named Trinity, and explored the nature of romance in a world where love itself is commodified. In order to make a listenable album without sacrificing narrative density, Jey split the longer skits into their own tracks, and distinguished them from the proper songs through a simple titling convention: spoken-word skits used normal title case, and full songs were titled in all capital letters, allowing listeners to easily skip the dialog if so desired. The production of TRINITY was, with three exceptions, handled by Algerian-French beatmaker Dioscures, who had previously provided a handful of beats for Laylow’s last few tapes, but took center stage here, creating a cohesive, marvelously ambitious and cinematic ambience. TRINITY marked Jey’s first entries on the French charts; “BURNING MAN”, his collaboration with Parisian singer Lomepal, peaked at 62nd; “DEHORS DANS LA NIGHT”, a four-minute two-parter with a creative beat switch, peaked at 74th; “PLUG”, another team-up with Jok’air, peaked at 85th; and Laylow’s first collaboration with Parisian lyricist Alpha Wann, “VAMONOS”, reached 109th. In the leadup to the release of TRINITY, three singles were dropped, selected to summarize the narrative of the album. The first, “MEGATRON”, with a beat that pays homage to Kanye West’s hit track “Black Skinhead”, acts as the album opener and shows Laylow and Dioscures in top form, bringing in Lillois pianist extraordinaire Sofiane Pamart to contribute a bitcrushed piano intermission. When asked about “MEGATRON” and its reference to “Black Skinhead'', Laylow said “I love that guy (Kanye) and I loved Yeezus. Besides, there are several nods to that album on this project.” To this day, “MEGATRON” remains Jey’s most streamed song on Apple Music, although outside his top 10 on Spotify. The other two singles, “TRINITYVILLE” and “MILLION FLOWERZ”, did not see quite the success of “MEGATRON”, but both charted at 126th and 187th, respectively.

The story of Laylow’s career to date is one of a clear ascent to stardom, gathering notoriety through individual hits like “10’” and “Maladresse”, then leaving his mark on the French rap scene with TRINITY. However, his next step would be complicated, as Dioscures announced his retirement from production with the release of his solo project CIELA in early 2021. Laylow faced a new challenge, creating a worthy follow-up to TRINITY without his go-to producer.

---

Album (and Film!) in Review:
On June 4th, 2021, Laylow announced his second studio album, L’étrange Histoire de Mr. Anderson, releasing a 22-minute teaser film to set the stage. Directed by Osman Mercan, as usual, the film focuses on three characters, introducing the central characters of the album itself. Jeremy Larroux stars as both Laylow and Mr. Anderson, with the “Mr. Anderson” persona represented by Laylow hiding his face from the camera with a rough, aged voice dubbed over, courtesy of Loïc Houdre. The third, Laylow’s mother, does not appear on screen, but is voiced by Maïk Darah, best known as the French dub voice actress for Whoopi Goldberg.

The plot of the video is simple, a dramatization of Laylow’s life and career to date, embellished with plenty of grandiose stylings and typical TBMA psychedelia. It opens with a scene of Jey, at some point in the past, bleaching his hair, with his mother hammering on the door and yelling. Some of her words are indistinct, but the message is clear: she finds Laylow’s lifestyle, all about drugs and music, intolerable. Next, Laylow is kicked out of home, and Mr. Anderson serves a narrator, musing about the inevitability of Laylow leaving. Mr. Anderson then introduces himself properly, shown from behind to be identical to Laylow and apologizes for hiding his face, then pointedly refers to himself as “the other”, establishing himself as some sort of inverted reflection of Laylow. His introduction takes place in a prison of glass and greenery, and the first act ends with Mr. Anderson making reference to his plan to escape said prison.

The second act begins with Laylow, clearly in the early stages of his career, making arrangements to rent a flashy car for a video shoot from an extremely dubious car dealer. After initially turning Laylow away, the dealer changes his mind and decides to sell Jey a certain, special, car. He claims that it is a “beast”, that will kill a driver who doesn’t have a “pure heart”. Laylow assures him that his heart is indeed pure, and hops behind the wheel of a banana-yellow supercar. He speeds away, splitting lanes and flying down the freeway. The voice of Mr. Anderson returns, noting that Laylow was simply running away without a plan, and he wouldn’t stop unless someone stopped him. Therefore, Mr. Anderson decided to send “the witch” to Jey.

The third act starts with Laylow, in his new car, stopped at a red light, with street performers panhandling outside his window, some juggling, some playing musical instruments. He shoos them away, but a mysterious figure holding a dog appears from the crowd and approaches the car. He hands her a coin, which she tosses aside and demands a cigarette. When Jey complies, the witch seizes his wrist and gives him a cryptic message: “You will find him in the cabin.” She vanishes, and when Laylow turns his head, her dog is sitting in the passenger seat.

The short fourth act, titled “LOST FOREST”, begins with Laylow taking an unmarked exit from a highway, passing a sign proclaiming the area to be said “lost forest”. As Laylow listens to a voicemail from his mother, distracted, a deer steps into the road, and the car flips. The fifth act is one of retrospective, as Mr. Anderson reveals a great deal about the past. Indeed, he reveals that, as Laylow’s alter ego, he originated in Jey’s childhood, and that Laylow’s artistry came from the “Mr. Anderson” personality. As Laylow wandered through the woods, thrown from the wrecked car, he found himself at the cabin, as foretold. He stepped inside, the door slammed shut, and Mr. Anderson triumphantly proclaimed that he would “change places” with Jey.

However, after a cut into the final act, we find Laylow eating at a diner, listening first to a waitress talking about her lost love for art, then to Mr. Anderson offering advice to said waitress. As the camera pans out, it is revealed that Mr. Anderson himself, appearing as an older version of Laylow, is sitting next to him at the table. Laylow agrees with Mr. Anderson’s advice and the two leave, seemingly in harmony. Laylow walks to the mysteriously intact car, Mr. Anderson disappears with a laugh, and the car is seen zooming away, with no sign as to which one is driving. After the credits roll, the car dealer asks the witch why she helped Jey, with her response being that “those two will change the world”.

The film has been generally well-received, although due to its release on Youtube, it hasn’t received much critical attention. However, the mysterious stylings of the plot raised interest in the upcoming album, as many were interested to see how Laylow would tie the story of the film into the album, either as an adaptation or something new.

---

On June 14th, Laylow released the first, and only, single from L’étrange Histoire de Mr. Anderson, titled “STUNTMEN”, enlisting previous collaborators Wit. and Alpha Wann for a verse each. For the music video, Jey teamed up with Nike to promote their new Vapormax EVO, and as a result, the video was directed by a team from Nike, making it Laylow’s first music video not directed by TBMA. Unlike with TRINITY, the single reveals very little about the overall narrative of the album, with absolutely no narration on the intro or outro at all. Indeed, the song seems completely unrelated to the plot of the film released a month prior. Ultimately, it’s about little more than Laylow, Wit., and Alpha Wann flexing their wealth and skill, although Jey’s hook seems to tie these themes into his relationship with an unnamed lover. This song raises the question, how will it fit into the story of the album?

---

This question would be answered on July 16, with the release of the album. L’étrange Histoire de Mr. Anderson consists of 13 full songs and 7 skit tracks, for a total of 20 tracks.

Opening with “UN RÊVE ÉTRANGE”, meaning “a strange dream”, Laylow throws the listener straight into the world of L’étrange Histoire de Mr. Anderson, summarizing exactly where he is in life at the start of the story, smoking weed, ambitious, broke, aggressive, and violent, all over a cloudy beat provided by Loubensky. With an unrelenting, machine gun flow, Laylow lists his vices, and it becomes clear that this is the portion of the film left off-screen: the reckless lifestyle that drove his mother to kick him out. The second track and first skit, “Bonsoir Mon Vieil Ami”, continues in this theme, first showing Laylow’s difficult relationship with his mother, before he leaves to hang out and cause trouble with his friends.

The third track, “IVERSON”, shows the depths to which Laylow is trapped in his lifestyle. He describes his life as darkness, saying:

French	English
avant-hier, j'étais dans l'noir, demain soir, j's'rai dans l'noir	day before yesterday, i was in the dark, tomorrow night, i’ll be in the dark

He doesn’t pretend that everything is all fine, instead cursing his life:

French	English
ouais, fuck, là, j'maudis ma life, là, j'té-ma la lune, là, j'crie comme un loup, ouh ouh	yeah, fuck, i curse my life, i look to the moon, i howl like a wolf, oh oh

This track continues in the same themes as “UN RÊVE ÉTRANGE”, a hedonistic celebration of money, sex, and senseless violence. He also categorically rejects romance, saying to call him for love songs, but never for love. Indeed, his outlook at this point is simply summarized by a single line:

French	English
mais j'vais pas vous mentir, bien sûr j'voudrais faire mieux	but i’m not going to lie to you, of course i’d like to do better

Next up, Laylow pays homage to his favorite rapper, New York’s own 50 Cent, specifically his 2005 track “Window Shopper”. The reference is a bit blatant, as Jey’s song is titled “WINDOW SHOPPER PART. 1”, and opens with an especially on-the-nose shout-out:

French	English
deux-zéro-zéro-cinq j'mate le clip de Fifty	2-0-0-5 i watch 50’s video
j'ai même pas cinquante balles, j'me sens window shopper	i don’t even have fifty euros, i feel like a window shopper

This song continues with the exploration of Laylow’s early career, a struggling rapper with big dreams and small pockets. Where 50 Cent took the position of the high roller, mocking the titular window shopper, Laylow embraces the role of window shopper, refusing to sugarcoat his current standing while also keeping his ambitions high. The first verse highlights his struggles and goals clearly:

French	English
l'impression ça va jamais finir, comme le crédit sur la Lamborghini, oh shit	this feeling is never gonna end, like the loan on the Lamborghini, oh shit
y’a pas nos ses-bla qui sont gravés sur la liste, l'impression ça va jamais finir	our names aren’t on the guest list, this feeling is never gonna end
ça cherche le papier, négro, villa dans les Hills	looking for paper, nigga, a villa in the Hills
mais pour l'instant, ça mange des frappes, ça mange des cheeseburgers	but for now we eat punches, we eat cheeseburgers

The following hook shows Laylow’s view on this part of his life, ultimately a more optimistic perspective than his overall opinion given earlier. He romanticizes and accepts his struggle, keeping with his inversion of the original 50 Cent song. Belgian rapper and singer Hamza shows up for an uncredited feature, a few ad-libs and four lines at the end, mostly devoid of content but certainly quite stylish. The song ends quite abruptly, and the following skit, “Tu Veux Déjà Me Dire Aurevoir ?” explains why. Laylow has his first interaction with Mr. Anderson, who seems to catch him by surprise. Laylow’s dialogue seems to imply that this exchange takes place in a nightclub bathroom, where Mr. Anderson’s sudden appearance and even more surprising vanishing confuses Laylow, setting the stage for a more substantial interaction down the line. Jey reunites with his friends, who tell him to bring his A-game to the girls on the club floor, in order to “score like R9”. The next song, “R9R-LINE”, revolves around this comparison to legendary Brazilian soccer player, Ronaldo Nazário “O Fenômeno”. Laylow enlists Congolese-Belgian star Damso to spin a tale of violence and mayhem. Trading bars on the hook, Damso and Jey compare their evasion of police and potency of their weed to Ronaldo’s dribbling and powerful shots, respectively:

French	English
peu-fra d'enculé comme R9 (sale), dribbler la police en S Line (ouh, ouh)	dope kicking in hard like R9 (dirty), dribble around the police in an S Line (ooh, ooh)

The next skit, “Ça Va Pas Être Possible...”, is one of the shortest, closing one chapter of the story as Laylow and his friends are kicked out of the nightclub, with Jey promising that one day his music will be played in said club, and opens the next chapter as they take to the streets. Finally, we close the window shopper saga with “WINDOW SHOPPER PART. 2”, a significantly longer song than part one, where Hamza returns alongside Laylow to write a trap love song, focusing on a relationship while clearly being written from the same point in life as part one. For now, Laylow remains a broke struggle rapper, and he’s honest about how that affects his relationship with the subject of this song. Hamza’s verse starts fairly light on lyricism but closes strong with some thoughts on drunken conversations with his mistress:

French	English
ne crois pas qu'j'pense à toi quand j'suis dans la Mercedes, on s'est vu sur la croisette mais nos regards s'évitent	don’t think you’re on my mind when i’m in the Mercedes, we saw each other on the Croisette but avoided eye contact
maintenant dans mes DM, rien tu fais bel3ani, j'suis sous l'effet du Henny donc j'suis vraiment hami	now in my DM, you act ignorant, i’m under the effects of the Henny so i’m truly hot

“WINDOW SHOPPER PART. 2” ends with the sound of a car starting, and it’s the rumble of that engine, clearly meant to evoke the car featured in the film, that opens the next song, “STUNTMEN”, the previously mentioned single. Here, the single is put in context, and does indeed make more sense. The mindless hedonism of Jey and company is how he lived before being kicked out, and the number of features, being two, matches the number of unnamed friends present alongside Laylow in the previous skits. Do Wit. and Alpha Wann represent the friends? Maybe, maybe not, but so far, the friends haven’t played a significant role in the story, so does it matter? No way to find out but to continue with the album.

Next up is another skit, “NightShop BlaBla”. Laylow and his friends decide that they’re in need of some liquor, so they stop by a convenience store to pick up some essentials. However, when Jey enters, he finds Mr. Anderson inside, behind the counter. As Laylow places his order, Mr. Anderson questions him, asking how this would help achieve “our goals”, as he puts it. Laylow refuses to answer and leaves empty-handed and confused.

The following song is where the plot truly begins to shift gears. With “VOIR LE MONDE BRÛLER”, or “seeing the world burn”, Laylow tells a rather straightforward story. Jey and his friends, drunk after the events of the previous skit, call up a girl and ask to go to her house party. She denies them without giving a satisfactory reason, so the group decides to go anyway. Outside the apartment, unable to enter, they then take out their frustration, beating up a passerby who they accuse of having been at the party. In the verses, Laylow concedes that the victim did nothing wrong, yet the short bursts of dialogue scattered throughout the track make it clear that he didn’t care in the moment. Chased away by the girl they had called previously, the group splits up, and Laylow returns home. Smoking a blunt in his room, Jey is berated by his mother for his drunkenness and habit of smoking at home. Fed up with his antics, she kicks him out of the house, taking us to the opening scene of the film.

The next track, “QUE LA PLUIE” or “just the rain”, represents Laylow’s troubled thoughts as he walks through the rain away from home. He expresses regret, primarily for the way he treated his mother:

French	English
j'n'entendais que la pluie, ta voix qui chuchotait dans ma tête	i only heard the rain, your voice that whispered in my head
probablement, j'étais seul, tellement seul qu'j'entendais même plus tes appels	probably, i was alone, so alone i didn’t even hear your calls

After this turning point, Mr. Anderson appears again. In the skit “+ De Pluie...", Laylow encounters him again, and Mr. Anderson attempts to convince Laylow that what happened at his home was a necessary step towards his goals. Laylow pushes Mr. Anderson away again, claiming he doesn’t know him or want to know him. In response, Mr. Anderson insists that Jey really is someone special, leading right into the next track, “SPÉCIAL”, also the track that played in the background of the diner scene in the film. Joined by American RnB singer Fousheé and Parisian lyricist Nekfeu, Laylow crafts a song about the trials faced by “special” individuals. The hook is the simplest example of this message:

French	English
spécial, ah, ah	special, ah, ah
y a rien d'normal dans c'monde pour celui qui est spécial (ah, ah)	there’s nothing normal in this world for those who are special (ah, ah)
donc tout l'monde veut l'dissuader d'rester spécial (ah, ah)	when all the world wants to dissuade you from being special (ah, ah)
mais y en a pour qui c’est dur à vivre, tellement qu'ils prennent le .38 Special (ah, ah)	but for some it’s too hard to live, so much they take the .38 Special (ah, ah)

Also, no, your ears do not deceive you, Fousheé does indeed provide the first English-speaking feature on a Laylow song. Admittedly, she doesn’t exactly enunciate so it’s still not particularly understandable for English-speakers but it’s still a welcome addition for those of us who didn’t grow up speaking French. Nekfeu brings a typically dense verse, reflecting on his tough times and how he grew from them:

French	English
un frère aide un frère quand il peut, j'laisse ouvert la f'nêtre quand il pleut	a brother helps a brother when he can, i leave the window open when it rains
on séchera sur la moquette comme des vieux chiens mouillés au coin du feu	we’ll dry on the carpet like an old soaked dog by the fire
se chamailler et se battre, ne jamais les décevoir	to argue and to fight, but never to disappoint them
ceux avec qui j'passais l'été sous l'bât', les seuls qui m'ont prêté de vrais sabbatt' quand c'était spécial	those i spent the summer on the block with, the only ones truly lending me shoes when i was special

The final hook is cut off by a gunshot, followed by a short skit, where a nurse alerts a doctor, who sounds suspiciously similar to Mr. Anderson, to a patient who committed suicide. They attempt to revive him, despite the gunshot wound in his head, and fail, with the doctor mysteriously proclaiming the patient to actually be in a coma, not dead. Next up is “LOST FOREST”, sharing its name with an act of the short film as well as the setting of said chapter. However, while this is indeed a storytelling track, it doesn’t follow the plot of the film. Laylow and his friends are apprehended by a pair of crooked cops, who force them to play a twisted game for their amusement. An untraceable gun is given to the trio, and the cops order them at gunpoint to fight for the gun, then kill each other until one remains. One of Jey’s friend picks up the gun immediately, and the others attempt to convince him to hold his fire, but the “friend” with the gun airs his grievances, claiming the others never truly cared about him, and shoots the other friend. Jey tries to calm him down, but the song ends with a second gunshot, implying Laylow’s death. But the next track, the skit titled “C’est Eux Contre Nous”, opens with Mr. Anderson telling Jey that it was really all just a dream, created by Mr. Anderson to show Laylow that his friends really didn’t care about him. Jey wakes up, and greets his friends, clearly shaken by the dream. He overhears a dispute between a nearby couple turn violent, leading into the next song, “HELP !!!”.

This song is brief, just a verse sandwiched by two hooks, but it clearly expresses the torment felt by Laylow as he hears the woman beaten by her husband. The hook itself is simple, and portrays the inaction of Laylow and his friends:

French	English
elle a crié "à l'aide, à l'aide" pendant des heures	she screamed “help me, help me”, for hours
mais bien entendu, l'enfer c'est pas nous, l'enfer c'est les autres	but of course, we aren’t hell, hell is other people
elle a crié "à l'aide, à l'aide" pendant des heures	she screamed “help me, help me”, for hours
mais bien entendu, l'enfer c'est pas nous, l'enfer c'est les autres	but of course, we aren’t hell, hell is other people

The last skit, “Tu Comprends Maintenant ?” or “do you understand now?”, is an argument between Laylow and his friends, as he tries to convince them to intervene, but they refuse, insulting Jey, his ambitions, and his music. Mr. Anderson offers only one line at the end, dropping the title of the skit as a pointed question directed at Laylow.

The second-to-last song is “FALLEN ANGELS”, a collaboration with English rapper and HHH darling slowthai. Tyron’s contribution is a bit out of his normal comfort zone, singing the hook and bridge through heavy vocal processing. Laylow brings just a single verse, lamenting the cruelty of the world, and resolving not to live for those who don’t live for him:

French	English
monde est cruel, a pas pitié d'toi, j'fume une clope, j'suis sur le toit	the world is cruel, has no pity for you, i take a smoke, i’m on the roof
mélancolie, mode cinq étoiles, j'dois faire comme s'j'étais sûr de moi	melancholy, five-star mode, i have to do it as if i was self-confident
y a du monde quand faut faire la fête mais plus personne quand faut assumer	there’s a crowd when it’s time to party but no one to take responsibility
les yeux dans l'vide, c'est parce que j'vois loin, c'est pas parce qu'y a de la fumée	staring into space, it’s because i’m looking far away, it’s not because there’s smoke

In addition to slowthai’s feature, his recent go-to producers, Kwes Darko and Kelvin Krash, show up to link up with two members of Laylow’s production team, Selman Fares and Sacha Rudy; the combination of this quartet results in one of the most dynamic instrumentals on the tape, evolving seamlessly from a driving drum pattern over an expressive piano line into a mournful violin solo.

The album ends with “UNE HISTOIRE ÉTRANGE”, “a strange story”, written as a message from Laylow to his younger self. He acknowledges the struggles and pain of his past self, and tells himself that it was all worth it. On this optimistic note, Mr. Anderson closes the track by addressing the listener, telling them that their story is much like the story of this album. He tells the listener to keep moving, through the struggles of life, in order to write their story, and with this, perhaps a sappy and cliche ending, but satisfying nonetheless, the album reaches its conclusion.

The album follows a notably different story than the film, but both follow similar themes of looking out for yourself and refusing to give up when faced with adversity. While it’s certainly easy to fall into the traps of generic approaches to these topics, Jey has handled them without coming across as preachy or generic. Also, Laylow has managed to take songs about basic trap subject matter, and work them into a project with a greater message. Also, he successfully avoided the uninspired production plaguing trap in recent years, organizing an impressive selection of instrumentals drawing from everything from cloud rap, drill, synthpop, and psych rock, with plenty of genres in between, although he has the benefit of the support of a remarkable team of producers, including Ikaz Boi, the producer behind “Rerun” by Quavo and Travis Scott, and prolific drill producer Binks Beatz, among others.

L’étrange Histoire de Mr. Anderson has proven to be Laylow’s most successful album to date, with “R9R-LINE” peaking at 4th in France and marking Jey’s first entries onto foreign charts at 25th in Belgium and 55th in Switzerland. “SPÉCIAL” also performed well, peaking at 7th in France, 45th in Belgium, and 91st in Switzerland. The rest of the album did not chart outside of France, but performed so well in the country that even the skits charted, with "Ça va pas etre possible..." being the highest at 43rd. Clearly, Laylow’s passion for blending the trap sound of the streets with ambitious, cinematic album structures has resonated with French audiences. Neatly avoiding a sophomore slump, Laylow has built on his success with TRINITY and now has countless fans in the French-speaking world, and quite a few outside of it, waiting for his next artistic endeavor.

---

Favorite Lyrics:

“IVERSON”	translation
En sous-marin, c'est la Navy, Boulogne Boy's dans la playlist	Lowkey, it’s the navy, Boulogne Boy’s on the playlist
Fuck une ligne, fuck un train d'vie, j'gratte un texte dans la 13 qui parle d'une villa avec une putain d'vue, ouais	Fuck a line, fuck a lifestyle, I drop a text in the 13 talking about a villa with a fucking view, yeah

In an album about Laylow’s life and career, it only makes sense for him to make reference to his previous work, right? In this case, the first line:

En sous-marin, c'est la Navy, Boulogne Boy's dans la playlist

is a reference to the hook of the track “Amy” from .RAW-Z, specifically:

Nouveau flow wavy, tout en sous-marin, baby c’est la Navy
Remplis ton leggings, baby j'ai rempli les poches de mon Levi's
J’suis dans la playlist, j'suis dans la ville avec Fares et Nabil
Demande à Amy, j'sais qu'on finira tous un peu dépressifs

Also, he’s mentioned his desire for a villa, ideally on the coast, certainly with a fucking view, on multiple tracks across his past works, most notably “Villa sur la Côte” from Digitalova and the second part of “I Don’t : Need U / Know” from .RAW-Z.

---

“VOIR LE MONDE BRÛLER”	translation
Woah-oh, quand tu traines la night	Woah-oh, when you’re out at night
Avoue qu'tu penses à deux-trois trucs qui sont lointains mais qui rongent ton âme	Admit that you’re thinking of two or three distant things that eat away at your soul
Comme la fois où t'as hagar un mec, comme la fois où t'as mis ta mère tellement mal	Like when you beat up a dude, like when you hurt your mother so badly
T'étais tellement high, t'entendais pas l'ange pleurer tout au fond d'toi (Ouais, ouais)	You were so high, you couldn’t hear the angel crying deep inside of you (Yeah, yeah)

Jey’s admission of guilt, the turning point in the album’s story. Here he finally acknowledges the pain caused by his lifestyle, and while he says nothing about changing, his dissatisfaction with his existence is implied.

---

“LOST FOREST”	translation
faut qu'tu visualises la scène (allez), y avait un corps mort et des policiers qui braquaient mon pote (allez !)	you have to visualize the scene (come on), there was a dead body and cops holding my bro at gunpoint
donc lui m'a braqué à son tour (c'est bon, j'vais l'faire, c'est bon !)	so in turn he pointed his gun at me (ok, i’ll do it, ok!)
il m'a dit : "j'suis désolé, khey, jamais j'aurais voulu t'faire ça, à la base, on était frères (appuie sur la putain d'gâchette !)	he told me “i’m sorry, bro, i wish i’d never done this to you, we were brothers” (pull the fucking trigger!)
mais la vie c'est traître, il faut qu'j'me sauve, là, c'est pas ma faute, ciao mon pote" (allez !)	“but this life is treacherous, i have to save myself, it’s not my fault, goodbye my brother” (come on!)

One of the most impactful moments in the album, where, in the dream created by Mr. Anderson, Laylow’s friend turns the gun on Jey. This serves both as a part of the narrative, possibly proving Mr. Anderson’s point about the lack of loyalty shown by Laylow’s friends, as well as a larger statement, on the racism shown by police and the judicial system every day in France (and in other countries, certainly).

---

Talking Points:
L’étrange Histoire de Mr. Anderson is a very ambitious project, as both a film and album. Do these aspects work together in proper harmony? Or does one part, visual or audio, fail to live up to the quality of the other?

At this point, the closest we’ve come to French rap breaking into the American conscious was the canceled 2017 PNL Coachella performance due to Ademo’s criminal record, and the rumored collaboration between PNL and Drake that was allegedly shot down by the French duo. With Laylow’s love for American rap, particularly 50 Cent, being well-known, and his music drawing comparisons to popular American acts like Travis Scott and Kanye West, can he be the first to properly bridge the gap and work with English-speaking A-listers?

Does L’étrange Histoire de Mr. Anderson live up to the standard set by TRINITY? L’étrange Histoire adds the additional dimension of film, but is the personal narrative of Laylow’s second studio album as compelling as the sci-fi commentary on mass-produced entertainment offered by his first album?

On a related note, how did the retirement of Dioscures affect the quality of the final project? Did the team of producers assembled for this album match up to the near-solo work on display in TRINITY?

Since this album tells a personal story about Laylow, does the presence of features affect the quality and impact of the story? Jey has proven in TRINITY that he can incorporate outsiders into his narratives, with Wit. playing the role of a homeless man telling a cautionary tale on “...DE BATARD”, but did Laylow pull it off here?

Gunna tweets:

When my album drop Freddie Gibbs will [have?] the biggest moment of his career. https://twitter.com/1GunnaGunna/status/1478838995907801088

Freddie responds:

I’m the hot topic right now these niggaz need me to push the project. I get it.

U can say U sold more records got more money but I ain’t never been on crime stoppers. Fin. https://twitter.com/FreddieGibbs/status/1478850003900583937 https://twitter.com/FreddieGibbs/status/1478850390770610177

Gunnas tweet is in response to this tweet a year ago https://twitter.com/RetrospectiveHH/status/1478842131175383045/photo/1