Friday was a brilliant day if you love hip hop, we had turn up albums, we had conscious albums, we had insightful albums, we have nonsense albums, we had underrated albums, we had very overrated ones, and with all the time I had this weekend I couldn’t get all the listening done. But here’s the ones I did get around to listening to.
Post Malone – Stoney
I entered this album expecting to hate it, I know you should enter every experience with an open mind but sometimes you can’t help but keep on your hater goggles. Post Malone however, proved me wrong as he seamlessly mixed country influences with trap and RnB to create one of the more stylistically interesting albums of 2016. If you’re looking for lyrics you’re not necessarily going to find them here, but if you’re looking for some fun hip hop/ RnB/ country music to listen, White Iverson has your back.
Ab-Soul – DWTW
Better than J Cole’s project in my opinion. Gonna start with that because the J Cole stans seem to be overlooking the fact that Solo is back with a much better project than Jermaine in my opinion. D.W.T.W has flows, lyrics, grittier beats, more entertaining hooks, wittier lines and in general is a more gripping album. However, it is unfair to compare the two as they are very different. I’ll be reviewing this project later in the month so look out for that.
J Cole – 4 Your Eyez Only
Mr “I reload the clip and I hit more rappers” really misled me with the two singles he dropped before this body of work. Once again with no features J Cole brings a quality album to his eager fanbase, however, this project comes in the form of a story, similar to Kendrick Lamar’s GKMC, as an ode to one of J Cole’s late friends who died at 22 years old due to criminal activity. The story is heartbreaking, the storytelling is cinematic and the music is brilliant, definitely worth the listen. Did I mention there are no features? Read the full review here.
Cj Fly – FlyTrap
Behind Capital Steez (R.I.P.) and Joey Bada$$ I’ve always believed CJ Fly was the best MC in Pro Era and definitely the flyest. However, I’m not completely in love with this tape. I’d still advise you to go listen to it and form your own opinion as it took a while for the single ‘Now You Know’ to grow on me, which is now one of my favourite songs. Hopefully like the single, this one is a grower.
Hodgy – Fireplace: TheNotTheOtherSide
Hodgy has really cleaned up his sound since the Odd Future days and swapped ‘intentionally’ poor mixing for some quality beats and industry standard mastering. Formerly known as Hodgy Beats, the shortening of the name seems to have indicated some sort of maturity from the rapper as he seems reflective and appreciative on this project. I’m not sure how long-term Hodgy fans will feel about this album but it definitely has some replay value for me.
Joshua Ogunmokun
Image courtesy of Eddy “4Oz” Rissling via Flickr.
Follow Impact Music on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Spotify.
