With a lot of major artists releasing these past two months, including Eminem and Travis Scott, see where PerSources puts your fave artists albums in the July and August Music Review for 2018.
Denzel Curry – TA13OO
Denzel Curry, Florida native and 2016 XXL Freshman List recipient, gives us his third studio album with the much hyped up “TA13OO.” The album is split into three different parts: light, grey, and dark. Each expected to garner a specific aspect of Denzel’s mental state. That concept in itself is intriguing enough and is maintained thoroughly by his exaggerated delivery, especially during the second half.
The first half of the album features “Sumo,” a single released before that album that never lets off the gas. Yet on that same section an 80’s synth-disco instrumental highlights a simple chorus and relatively low energy Denzel. Despite the light theme, he doesn’t seem to talk of softer topics, as the subject manner keeps a dark edge. This inconsistency of sound and thought on each section slightly taints the three section concept, yet it still holds up due to Denzel’s adaptive energy.
Every track Denzel delivers a different performance that’s still uniquely his. The light side, for example, has a melodic tone that’s never been used by Curry. Yet, as the album progresses his cadences get faster and delivery becomes unhinged, revealing the Curry many came to know. The deconstructed instrumentals give him a runway to let loose the more aggressive aspects he finds within himself. It’s this ability of his to not only express himself but to do so in a hyperbolic fashion that makes his music both engaging and different. The album never hits a low note, but for how it presents itself, it lacks sonic consistency.
8.5/10
Travis Scott – Astroworld
Mac Miller – Swimming
Mac Miller had a turbulent year. Between the Ariana Grande breakup, which is only accentuated by “Divine Feminine,” and his alcohol abuse, this project comes at a critical point. With this project, he chose to find a key place of self-reflection, a great place to end his great career. Moody and empty sounding, the project is doused with an RnB flair that fits Mac’s whiny vocals. That sound can become tiresome, and the album can suffer from pacing problems due to the use of long interlude-like instrumental breaks.
This album has some utterly amazing moments, though. The violin intro to “2009” is one of those moments, and, boy, does it sound beautiful. His lyrics are fleshed out enough to be impactful consistently. I’d also like to note that he doesn’t directly say alcohol is bad, only giving his reason of use. That choice saves the listener from a cliche “don’t do drugs kids” song, which I appreciate. Reaching his full potential at moments, Mac finally came into stride as his own artist. It’s for this reason that we should appreciate the music he’s given us instead of wonder about what else he could create. We truly admired you as an artist, but, more importantly, as a person. Wherever you are, keep Kicking Incredibly Dope Sh**, Mac.
7.5/10
Pink Siifu – ensley
Pink Siifu was, and still mostly is, a mystery to me. I read a review for this album and figured I’d give it a listen. When googled, I couldn’t find a lot of interviews and was left to interpret the person behind the music with this project alone. This gave this project an interesting hook that many artists lack. In a time where artists express themselves in and out of music, Siifu is able to keep the attention of the listener with the spotlight being on his unheard perspective.
The album is woven together with lo-fi and soulful (similar to Isaiah Rashad) beats that paint a very airy portrait. With its unfinished nature, the tracks have a feasible texture that creates a heaviness. Every flaw in the instrumentation or vocal mixing seems to feel purposeful and artistic rather than cheap. Through constant discussion of wealth, prayer, and “bags” (which is the word he uses to describe peoples flaws) that sound isn’t wasted. Despite repetitive issues, this project feels like an original Odyssey only he could tell.
7/10
Amine – ONEPOINTFIVE
“Good For You” was one of the most underrated projects of 2017. It’s use of abnormal sounds along with Amine’s sassy delivery made an organic listening experience. That organic sound was his best trait, and that’s often lost in this project. It trades personality for bass that muddles the enjoyability I expected.
This isn’t to say that it all lands on that flat note. The intro, “Dr.Whatever” is a fantastic reflection of Amine’s mental state with the recent stardom. The first 20 seconds of “STFU2” is the best laugh I’ve had from a song this year. “Cantu” expresses his frustration with people trying to touch his hair, which is the exuberance that makes his songs special. Yet not enough tracks hit that sound. The “when they let me skip the DMV line, that’s how I knew it was real” bar was enough to get him another quarter of a point, though. I’m nothing, if not generous.
6.5/10
Eminem – Kamikaze
The man that hasn’t needed an intro for 20 years, releases his response to the negative reviews he received after “Revival,” his last studio album. On the first song, he keeps his finger on the metaphorical lyrical trigger, name-dropping multiple artists, and trying to rationalize why people didn’t like “Revival” – which comes across as angry given his explanation is that people are too stupid to understand it.
The second track is Em expressing his frustration with the current state of rap, and exclaiming, in an atrocious chorus, that he’s the best ever to do it. The third track is by far the best due to the chemistry Joyner and Em have together coupled by Slim’s reflective verse on his limited impact on rap today.
After those first tracks, the album takes a severe nose dive, pun intended, into an average project. It’s able to recover to Eminem standards at a couple points like the fantastic Royce Da 5’9” feature or the aggressive verses found on Kamikaze. The rest of the tracks are average to below average filler tracks that don’t add much. Don’t even get me started on the choruses either. It’s an Eminem album through and through.
6/10
Don Toliver – Donny Womack
I had no idea who this guy was until his stellar performance on Astroworld‘s standout track, “Can’t Say,” where he delivered a passionate and vibrant performance. The instrumental embraced his unique voice, and Travis gave him a lot of spotlight to flourish. This made me very excited to check him out, especially after I heard he dropped a solo project – which is great timing on his part. Sadly, I’m here to report that you should just stick to “Can’t Say.”
It’s obvious that he takes after artists like Uzi Vert and Young Thug with his autotune sound. This fact isn’t enough to give him a low score; it’s instead his rather uninteresting choice of vibey, trap beats, which don’t accentuate his strengths. The soul his voice possesses barely has much room to stretch its legs, generating a cramped project stuck in the hope for a hit. “Backend” with its simplistic instrumental is a starting point to see if you’ll like his sound, as it’s one of the few highlights.
5/10