Category: New Music

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New Music

Steve Lacy – Apollo XXI

The Internet’s Steve Lacy has released a soul-filled and groovy second project under the title Apollo XXI.  The second track on the album is a nine-minute musical journey with the catchy refrain “how many out there just like me”, full of panning ambient vocals and a mellow guitar solo halfway through. The track appears to be over at both the five-minute and eight-minute mark but transitions into something worthy of entirely separate tracks, the first with spacey pads and a dark Moog-style bass, and the second featuring a lo-fi drum beat and more mellow guitar chords. Basement Jack is a high energy track with bouncy drums and more catchy vocal delivery from Lacy. This is followed by Guide, which features one of the funkiest basslines on the entire album, over a soprano vocal performance. Love 2 Fast has a different sound than most tracks on the album, and sounds like it belongs on a Beatles b-side record, with a fuzzy guitar solo that would make Jimi Hendrix proud. The album ends with a track featuring a relaxed-delivery rap verse from Lacy that fades into a soulful slow jam titled 4ever, a fitting end to the project. 

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New Music

Rosie Lowe – YU

British songwriter Rosie Lowe releases her album YU, an ethereal journey into her mind and emotions. The first track, Lifeline, flows perfectly into The Way, a vibrant and happy jam that makes you want to dance around the room your listening in, with a poetic feature from Jay Electronica. The next track, by far the standout, is titled Birdsong. A slow and seductive bassline and catchy synth melody compliment the heavily processed vocals from Rosie to make a head-bobbing tune worth listening to. A guitar solo intro fades into a smooth beat full of stabs and one-shots on the track Pharaoh, where Rosie talks about the power she wields as a woman. Mango features a beautiful chorus of horns during the refrain, and transitions perfectly once again into ITILY, a slow jam dedicated to her lover. Another standout track, UEMM features a pounding kick, well-placed synth stabs, and beautiful vocal chops after the chorus. The album ends with an emotional piano ballad that finishes with a lo-fi beat breakdown, a perfect resolution for the project. This album wasn’t anything special and doesn’t have much replay value, but it definitely had its moments and I enjoyed most tracks.

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New Music

Injury Reserve – Injury Reserve

The experimental rap trio Injury Reserve returns with the release of their highly anticipated self-titled debut album. The album starts out incredibly strong with Koruna & Lime and Jawbreaker, which is hands down one of the most unique rap songs in modern history, with well-placed features from Rico Nasty and Pro Teens. Aminé’s verse on Jailbreak the Tesla marks another fantastic feature, on a standout track on the album nonetheless. Rap Song Tutorial hilariously lives up to its name and comes together to form a punchy track likely to get any crowd going. Best Spot in the House brings a new sound to the album, with a guitar-oriented beat and mellow deliveries from Stepa and Ritchie. One of my favorite pieces of the album comes from New Hawaii, with a Chromeo-style vocoder solo halfway through, followed by a soulful DRAM feature. The album ends on a jazzy high note with Three Man Weave. Parker Corey holds nothing back and shows his production chops on this project with some of the most creative and impressive beats I’ve ever heard. Literally my only complaint is that QWERTY Interlude is just that, an interlude, when it would be fantastic as a full track.

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New Music

Tyler, The Creator – Igor

The multi-talented Tyler, The Creator follows up his critically acclaimed Flower Boy album with a self-produced project titled IGOR. The album begins with a surprising vocal performance from Lil Uzi on IGOR’S THEME, and it’s all uphill from there. While the vocal mixing on EARFQUAKE leaves much to be desired, I THINK makes up for whatever the previous song lacks, as Tyler raps with a Kanye-esque flow over a bouncy trap beat with intermittent R&B vocals and beautiful, synth-filled bridge. Additionally, the beat breakdown halfway through RUNNING OUT OF TIME is god-tier and reminds us of Tyler’s growing production ability.  NEW MAGIC WAND is a standout track, with a dark, distorted bassline driving the song. WHAT’S GOOD, another standout track, kicks the energy up to 10 with a fast-paced beat and fiery line delivery. This is followed by the vastly different GONE,GONE/THANK YOU with a catchy refrain reminiscent of 70’s soul. The track switches up twice, first to a vibey slow jam with a verse delivered in Tyler’s signature style, and then to a harmonic, arpeggio-filled outro. This project is significantly different than anything the Odd Future alum has released before and speaks to how diverse Tyler can be.

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New Music

Rico Nasty & Kenny Beats – Anger Management

The dynamic duo of Rico Nasty and Kenny Beats have released their collaborative and appropriately titled project, Anger Management. This album is incredibly high energy, with equal parts attributed to Rico’s enthusiastic delivery and Kenny’s hard trap beats. The LOUDPVCK alum pulls out all the stops with incredibly unique production, especially on Cheat Code and Big T*****s in collaboration with Baauer, as well as on the track Mood. Things takes a surprising turn on Hatin’ with a surprisingly calm beat sampled from Jay-Z’s Dirt Off Your Shoulder. The album includes fantastic features from rap duo EarthGang and rapper Splurge, who all complement Rico incredibly well and make for bouncy hip-hop tracks that might be the standouts of the album. Rico takes a more serious tone on Sell Out, discussing her built-up anger, everything that comes with fame and, fittingly, being viewed as a sellout. Rico closes the album with a track titled Again, where she surprises fans by singing melodically over a classic trap beat. This project was nothing special, but not disappointing in the slightest. It was a testament to Kenny Beat’s exceptional production ability and Rico’s undeniable energy, and I look forward to more collaborations between these two.

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New Music

Kevin Abstract – Arizona Baby

Brockhampton mastermind Kevin Abstract returns to the spotlight after a nearly three-year hiatus. The album starts out strong with two standout tracks. Big Wheels features elements of modern trap with pounding 808’s and ticking hi-hats, but also includes a jazzy interlude straight out a 90’s hip-hop instrumental. In Joyride, Abstract flows well over a drum-and-bass breakbeat, and utilizes autotune, likely in the hands of producer Romil Hemnani.

The album features a number of more introspective tracks like Georgia, Corpus Christi, and Peach where Abstract takes time to discuss his childhood, touring, and ex-Brockhampton member Ameer who was ousted after controversy last year. Abstract cements his legacy as a masterful hook writer with catchy choruses and refrains on Joyride, Georgia, Baby Boy, and Boyer, the hard-hitting outro to the album. He also uses the project as a chance to introduce Dominic Fike to the world, featuring him on Peach and Crumble over mellow guitar riffs. The Florida artist was co-signed by Abstract recently after started bidding wars over his music following a handful of releases.

This project is a fantastic return for the ever-elusive Abstract, and paints a promising picture for the futures of both his solo work and Brockhampton.