This is a meeting of two of the most consistent artists in hip hop. Freddie Gibbs has been putting great project after great project over the past decade, culminating last year in what some people say is his best project, Bandana. The Alchemist has produced for everyone from Kendrick Lamar and ScHoolboy Q to Eminem and Nas. Even this year, he has been a part of multiple projects before this one that people consider to be some of the best hip hop this year. They come together to make another one of the best hip hop projects this year with Alfredo. Alchemist’s beats are minimal and more about flipping samples than making something that’s going to bang in the car. The drums are always extremely minimal, which gives Freddie the space to do whatever he wants over them. He comes in like a runaway train with his flows over this driving piano beat on God Is Perfect. Something to Rap About features long verses from both Freddie and Tyler the Creator over this beautiful guitar sample and sounds like something that a different artist could turn into a ballad, not a rap track. If you’re a hip hop fan, you definitely need to check this out. Two artists at the top of their game coming together to make one of the best projects in each of their discographies.
Chloe and Halle are a sister R&B group that’s been making music their entire lives. They’re only 20 and 21 years old, but this is already their 2nd studio album. They have videos on their youtube channel from a decade ago where they would do covers, and they even got the attention of Radio Disney, as they were named Disney’s Next Big Thing in 2012. After their cover of Pretty Hurts by Beyonce went viral and caught Beyonce’s attention, they signed to her label and have opened for her on multiple tours. This album shows their maturing in age and songwriting. While this project isn’t really bringing anything new to the genre, there are still some great songs on here. Forgive Me provides a great first track to the album, with the beat drop and chorus being one of the most memorable on the album. The title track is produced by the electronic duo, Disclosure, and it’s the most bouncy, but also earwormy track on here. The single Do It contains a more generic trap instrumental, but they bring enough presence with their harmonies to make it entertaining. Their falsetto harmonies on the chorus of Don’t Make It Harder On Me are easily some of the best harmonies in 2020. There are quite a few tracks that clearly aren’t up to par with the highlights on here, but this is still a good introduction to them as a duo. But for being 20 and 21 and having one of the biggest artists of this generation mentoring them, this is a great place for them to be in their career.
Flatbush Zombies are one of the last pure rap groups left. Rap groups have started to become extinct. Long gone are the days where groups like N.W.A., Wu-Tang Clan, A Tribe Called Quest, and Public Enemy were among the biggest names in hip hop. While Flatbush Zombies aren’t at the top of the game, they have developed a cult like following with their psychedelic brand of hip hop. They still decided to release this project during the protests, and decided to donate proceeds to their community, raising over $100,000 in the first hour. The project itself isn't much different than what Flatbush normally does. The sonics of the production are still the psychedelic, updated boom bap/New York sound that they’ve always had. Their lyrics are a bit more introspective overall, with Meechy’s father being killed by the police earlier this year. Overall though, this isn’t really essential listening for anyone that isn’t already a fan of Flatbush Zombies. Still some quality hip hop, but not much special that a non hip hop fan is going to love.
RMR went viral out of nowhere earlier this year with his song and video “Rascal”. It’s a parody of the classic Rascal Flatts song, “Bless The Broken Road”. He rewrites the lyrics to instead be about the trap lifestyle, while still keeping the country ballad feel to it. The video also purposely has a big contradiction, with everyone in the video brandishing large guns like it was a drill video, instead of a hip hop/country ballad video. As great as that song is, I’m not sure if this project overall lives up to that song. This is still a really cool project with quite a few great songs, but there’s some glaring shortcomings. The first three songs on the project; "Welfare", "Dealer", and "Nouveau Riche", are all really great mixtures of the two genres and can go toe to toe with Rascal. These help show the potential that RMR has to become a huge artist and to help bridge the gap between these vastly different audiences that hip hop and country have. While a song like I’m Not Over You is catchy, has a good lyrical intention behind it, and has some nice chords; Timbaland’s drums that he overlays feel super weird and inauthentic. The inclusion of the Dealer Remix with Future and Lil Baby is a bit off putting, especially since Dealer is now on the project twice. This is still a must listen in my opinion for people that want a unique combination to some of the most popular genres in music. You could very well be hearing his name a lot more over the next few years.
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