Written by Fola Esho
EVOL – Future
In 2015, everyone in the world became heavy Future fans (myself included). The nonchalance and consistency in which he dropped quality music had not been seen since Wayne had the rock during the 2006 to 2009 period. From October 2014 to February 2016 Future dropped an unprecedented 7 projects, and I love them all. I was prepared not to like the EVOL album for a number of reasons. Top of the list was the fact that the album dropped 3 weeks after he blessed us with a “5 flame emojis” mixtape. It made absolutely no sense to drop another project so quickly afterwards. Another reason was the hype especially on social media that came with the project. But I was going to listen to it and be as unbiased as I possibly could when making my verdict.
EVOL is a solid body of work from start to finish; it has everything we have come to love and expect from a Future tape. There’s a nice little jab at you-know-who, “You want an R&B chick, shawty it ain’t nothing to get her”. The features are kept to the bare minimum with only The Weeknd making an appearance on the radio hit Low Life. Lie to Me is the standout track and on Seven Rings, he compares his last 7 projects to the 7 NBA Championship rings retired NBA star Robert Horry won in his career. Future is clearly going through a purple patch and can do no wrong as far as hip-hop is concerned. He’s mainstream now but is still playing by the underground rules.
I’m Up – Young Thug
I’m Up is Young Thug’s 4th project in 10 months and some would say is the weakest of the four. That conclusion has more to do with the brilliance of his previous efforts than the mediocrity of this project. I struggled to listen to this initially and left it alone after my first listen. Coming back to it after a couple weeks, I was able to appreciate it a bit more. It is a fun 9 – track teaser that shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
Newer Young Thug fans would probably enjoy this mixtape more than the older heads (who perhaps expected more). Regardless of the category you fall in, F Cancer, Hercules and Ridin are bangers everyone can enjoy. On Family, he features 2 of his 10 siblings (Dora and Dolly) and they trade bars back and forth. It is still a Young Thug project; it has the recklessness & creativity we’ve gotten used to over the past months, but there’s the feeling that this is not the best we are going to hear from Thugga Thugga this year.
The Life of Pablo – Kanye West
The whole world was waiting to see what type of album Kanye would follow up 2013’s Yeezus with. Probably the most anticipated of all the albums recently released, The Life of Pablo came with a tad more controversy than was necessary. There were last minute changes to the name and tracklist of the album with rumors that it was to be a gospel album. There was also the case of “Kanye Kardashian” on Twitter.
Whatever category you want to put it in, The Life of Pablo is an excellent album. Regardless of your reservations of the man, you cannot fault his music. Kanye West is arguably the greatest “album rapper” and after this album, his title remains intact. TLOP is like a combination of Kanye songs from different eras. I Love Kanye & Real Friends could easily seam into The College Dropout and Wolves & FML are reminiscent of 808s & Heartbreak. 30 Hours & Father Stretch my Hands Pt. 1 are clearly Graduation-like tracks and there are also hints of Yeezus scattered across the album.
TLOP brings out a range of emotions from its listeners. The first thing I do when I wake up these days is to check my phone, then play Low Lights. TLOP introduces us to new GOOD Music signee Desiigner, gives us the best Chance the Rapper verse of all time, Chris Brown’s best vocal performance in recent memory and the closest we’re going to get to new Frank Ocean music.
99 Cents – Santigold
I had the most fun listening to this album. Santigold has 3 studio albums with 4 – year intervals between their release dates. This is just enough time for her new music to have that nostalgic effect on its listeners and take them back to the first time they heard her music. Personally, I feel this is the best music she has released since her debut album back in 2008.
You can tell she had fun making this project. It is easy to listen to from top to bottom and has this fun electronic pop feel to it. The production is my favourite part of the album and her distinct voice and lyrics bring everything together. After a number of listens my standout tracks are Banshee, Rendezvous Girl, Chasing Shadows and Who Be Lovin Me featuring iLoveMakonnen.
I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful and yet so unaware of it – The 1975
The 1975 have carved out a genre for themselves and run with it. Their sound is evocative of the punk rock movement that started in the United Kingdom around the mid-seventies. They are a pop band no doubt, but there is depth and meaning in their lyrics. They are a boy band but their style is more Sex Pistols, less One Direction. Whatever box you choose to put them in, they make beautiful, beautiful music.
Following their successful self-titled debut in 2013, the electropop, alternative rock band delivered a just as impressive (if not better) sophomore album. It has all the attributes that made me fall in love with their music but you can also hear growth and more confidence on this album. The production is excellent and the writing is inimitable. If you ask ten people their favourite songs off the album, you are likely to get ten different answers. She’s American, If I believe You, A Change of Heart and The Ballad of Me and My Brain are mine. This is sure to be on heavy rotation in the coming months.