Surprise Albums, SchoolBoy Short Films, And Other Words That Start With S

We’re only getting started but July is shaping up to be a crazy month for music. At first my eyes were only set on July 8th the day SchoolBoy Q and BadBadNotGood’s highly anticipated albums drop. However, it seems like so far artists have decided to just say fuck it and drop projects with no warning or just flat out early, not to mention artists like Kid Cudi and Travis Scott who have promised new albums very soon, and hell even Frank Ocean is hinting that he might drop his album this month, Oh and who could forget Gucci Mane’s new album is due July 22nd. You see what I”m saying here there’s a lot, so lets talk about it.

First up we have Logic, who has perfectly navigated the limelight it seems. You never hear about any drama, you don’t hear him overplayed on the radio, no outrageous Complex Magazine articles, and yet his last album sold 135,000 units in the first week. It’s things like that that make it hard to understand why he might have any haters. Like what else do people want from him. He has clever bars like, “I’m angrier than Kanye when he’s talking about clothes, that’s a fashion line.” his production is always on point thanks to the help of 6IX and now Def Jam’s in house producers like No I.D, plus he’s also a nice guy that’s into dope nerdy shit. So somebody please tell me what’s not to like? Well to only add to the reasons why he’s so great, Logic has just dropped a surprise mixtape titled Bobby Tarantino so that Logic fans wont be twiddling their thumbs all summer waiting for him to finish his tour and head back to the studio, and don’t sleep because this isn’t just a few throwaway tracks with a new titled slapped on it, THIS IS CERTIFIED FIRE. Check out the mixtape here and get ready to bump it all summer

Next is self proclaimed best rapper in the world Kool A.D who perhaps less surprisingly dropped two new albums without warning this month, “one with no rapping, and one with hella rapping on it.” The first is an album called Kool A.D is Dead. This album takes everything you think you know about Kool A.D and well…kills it. It’s not a rap album at all but rather a trippy experimental rock album. There’s a little bit of everything on this project. There’s psychedelic, chill, drone, punk and stuff I cant even quailfy as a genre. Since this album came out first and with a title like Kool A.D is Dead, you can’t help but wonder if this was Kool A.D putting an end to the hip hop persona. Nah chill fam don’t worry because cause the second album Gods of Tomorrow is back to dope bars. Although don’t get it twisted this album is weird too. The second half of the album features a lot of Kool A.D pitched down rapping with an echo as well as a 15 minute remix to the Busdriver bonus track Party Til Ur Pregnant with an 9 minute freestyle from a guy named Sharkula that really everyone needs to experience at least once. Ultimately both projects are just classic Kool A.D being Kool A.D so if your a fan you should definitely check them out here and here

Next we have the early release of The Avalanches new album Wildflower. Now I know I know I’ve been hyping up this album a bunch so here is my final opinion after listening to the album. It’s probably no surprise but I love it. I think its really a perfect summer album. There’s plenty of tracks on here that feel like they would be perfect to bump by the beach. There’s also a fair amount of nods to 90’s hip hop from the appearance of Camp Lo, the duo responsible for the mid 90’s classic Luchini aka This is It, plus an appearance from MF Doom, and a classic day in the life rap from Biz Markie. The only thing I’m iffy about is there’s this 4 track break from the summer sound that gets so trippy and psychedelic that I can’t actually tell if I enjoy it or not, but then the last two tracks go ahead and end the album on a high note. So overall it’s a wild ride that if your a fan of The Avalanches will not leave you disappointed so go cop that shit.

I was perfectly content with waiting 4 more days but Badbadnotgood in their infinite kindness decided to just say what the hell and drop their new album IV just a few days early and I couldn’t be happier. The album is one of their most amazing and consistent albums to date. With this album it seems as though Badbadnotgood wanted to stick with a chill 70’s influenced sound and its works perfectly. Each song is a magical journey that will take you on a ride and each of the features feel like they were born to be together. Basically stop what you doing right now and go listen to it.

The hype was real for Schoolboy Q’s album and now the wait is over. The Blank Face LP is here and it doesn't disappoint. Schoolboy Q has clearly grown since his last release moving away from turn up tracks like Man of the Year and Collard Greens, and moving towards a more Conscious rap. As Schoolboy Q puts it, this album isn’t necessarily about him speaking on the issues that black people are facing, but simply him rapping about what he’s been through and what he has learned as he has matured. What’s especially crazy about the album is the realization that most of the tracks were recorded in December, because this album feels like its directly speaking on the turmoil black people have been going through in the past two weeks with the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile. This is easily one of Schoolboy’s most mature and cohesive albums and the despite the production surprisingly taking some odd directions is definitely an album you need in your life. Plus there has been two amazing must see short films featuring tracks from the album. Check them out here and here….yeeeeeeeeeerndamean

When I started writing this update the month of July seemed so exciting. I had just moved to my new home in LA, Frank ocean returned to toy with my emotions once again, and Pokemon go made a bunch of people go outside. However, unfortunately we have had some very grime reminders that America has not changed and the forces of oppression are still at work causing me and those who look like me to feel unsafe. Sometimes I feel like music is the only thing that gives me hope. Peace and Love Y’all take care of each other.