Rico Nasty - Las Ruinas
Genre: Hip-hop; trap; alternative
Quick Review
Rico Nasty has always been a unique and extremely talented artist, but her projects haven’t always come together the best. Las Ruinas is easily Rico’s most complete project so far! The production here takes on a lot of dance influences, most obviously by the Marshmello and Fred Again collaborations, but there are also plenty of Rico’s traditional “rage” hip hop and some of her newer hyperpop influences as well. The biggest change on this project is the inclusion of the guitar ballads at the end of the project, and even though one could argue that they don’t hit as well, her emotional lyrics bleed through enough to make them connect with me. I do hope that she continues to try this more guitar-driven style on her future projects, because it helps separate her even more from her contemporaries. Las Ruinas is Rico at her best, but also shows that she has room to grow.
Favorite Tracks: “Easy”, “Gotsta Get Paid”, “Intrusive”
If You Like: Dance hip-hop; Doja Cat; high energy hip hop
Steve Lacy - Gemini Rights
Genre: R&B; neo-soul
Quick Review
Steve Lacy has been producing hits off his iPhone for people like J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar since he was 18, and Gemini Rights might be his most complete body of work yet. The album is still heavily reliant on his producing and feeling that it gives off, but his songwriting and vocals have improved a fair amount since his previous album. There are now more immediate highlights that fans can take away. This is a bad word to use in a more formal review, but this album is the definition of vibes. He’s always been a better producer than solo artist, but Gemini Rights shows that he’s going the right direction with his solo music.
If You Like: Smooth neo soul; Impeccable basslines
DJ Premier - Hip Hop 50, Vol. 1
Genre: Hip hop
Quick Review
This is the first of ten EPs that are going to be released over the next year or so in honor of the 50th anniversary of hip hop. Each one will have a producer and five tracks they produce exclusively for this project, and this is a fantastic way to start! DJ Premier’s production here is excellent, and he brings top tier rappers from every era to step up to the mic. Newbies like Rapsody and Joey Bada$$ fit right in with the icons like Slick Rick and Nas on these songs, while hearing Lil Wayne over a Premier beat makes me need a project with them two instantly. At 14 minutes, definitely don’t less this project slide past if you like hip hop.
Favorite Tracks: “Remy Rap” feat. Remy Ma and Rapsody, “The Root of All” feat. Slick Rick and Lil Wayne
If You Like: Old school hip-hop; classic hip-hop
Earthgang - Ghetto Gods (Deluxe)
Genre: Southern hip-hop
Quick Review
Ghetto Gods is still a personal favorite album from this year, so getting a deluxe was something I was highly anticipating! There are only two new songs on here, and both of them were played at their listening party in Chicago, but it was still really nice to hear them in studio quality! There are also a couple original versions of songs on here, the biggest difference being the original version of “Black Pearls”, which is a soulful banger instead of a trap anthem. I still recommend listening to the original first, but this was nice for fans who already love the original!
If You Like: Southern hip-hop; Atlanta-rap; soulful hip-hop
Brent Faiyaz - Wasteland
Genre: R&B
Quick Review
Brent Faiyaz is one of R&B’s new stars, but I still feel like I’m missing something when it comes to his full projects. His voice is extremely smooth, and each project has lots of highlights, but there’s just some disconnect between me and his projects. It’s not that they’re bad, they’re not, I just don’t know what it is. There are still a lot of highlights on the project though, especially when the bigger names get involved, but it’s not going to be one of my favorite R&B projects of the year.
Favorite Tracks: “Gravity” feat. Tyler the Creator and DJ Dahi, “Price of Fame”, “Ghetto Gatsby” feat. Alicia Keys
If You Like: Extremely smooth R&B; Dark R&B
Westside Gunn - Peace “Fly” God
Genre: Hip-hop
Quick Review
This project was made by Westside Gunn in 48 hours as something to put out before his next big project, Michelle Records. For something that was made in 48 hours, it’s another pretty solid project. This could almost be considered a collaboration project with Stove God Cooks and Estee Nack, as they’re both all over these 10 songs. Even though Stove God especially ends up coming out on top, Westside Gunn still clearly has his fingerprints on it the most. I do hope for a full project from Westside Gunn and Stove God Cooks at some point, but this one is still entertaining enough for the time being.
Favorite Tracks: “Horses on Sunset”, “Danhausen”, “Derrick Boleman”
If You Like: Grimey hip-hop; Griselda; 90s New York hip-hop
Quinn - quinn
Genre: Experimental
Quick Review
“Y'all ain't ever in your life heard some shit like this,” is repeated throughout the album, and it’s true. Nothing sounds quite like this album, and it’s almost above description, but it gives me a feeling that not much else does. It’s hard to describe, but this project feels like quinn is inside my brain. The songs vary from emotional ballads, to depressive hip hop songs that sound straight out of Earl’s Some Rap Songs, to upbeat funk-inspired tracks. The project is seemingly nonsense, but also emotional and intentional all at once. I want to acknowledge, I fully understand that this comparison likely won’t make sense to anyone else, but this is the only way I can possibly think to describe this album. I don’t think many people will love this, but it’s easily apparent how she’s developed this rabid fanbase.
Favorite Tracks: “I’ve heard that song before”, “oh”, “please don’t waste my time”
If You Like: JPEGMAFIA, Dijon, Earl Sweatshirt
Flo - The Lead
Genre: R&B; pop
Quick Review
This is the debut EP from the new girl group of R&B that people are starting to love, and they clearly are influenced by the iconic girl groups of the past couple decades. They’re obviously not on that level of quality yet, but this is a pretty solid EP. The songs are straightforward and accessible enough to be played on the radio. I’m missing the extra something special that makes them stand out in the R&B realm, besides the fact that they’re a girl group. But if you miss the R&B girl groups from back in the day, don’t miss this little project.
Favorite Tracks: “Cardboard Box”, “Immature”
Superorganism - World Wide Pop
Genre: Indie pop
Quick Review
Superorganism’s debut album was a perfect amalgamation of the power of the Internet. It took more than four years to get this follow up album, and even though this one is more technically solid, it’s missing that charm of the original release. It could be just that they’ve now been around for a while, or that the songs themselves sound a bit more similar to each other, but I don’t know if I’ll come back to this album, especially compared to the debut. This feels similar to the newer Brockhampton albums, where even though they were really good, it’s still missing the extra something that made the original albums special.
Favorite Tracks: “On & On”, “Flying”, “Oh Come On”
If You Like: Indie pop; lighthearted; random subject matters
Black Midi - Hellfire
Genre: Experimental rock; progressive rock
Quick Review
This album sounds in the same way that the album cover looks. The songs change seemingly at random, sometimes going from pure chaos to a ballad effortlessly. There are also moments that feel like that pink background, beautiful and calm, but the majority of the album exists in the chaos realm. The production is fast and ever-changing, while the vocalist sometimes sounds more like an angry British person doing spoken word over these crazed instrumentals. When he does sing though, his voice is really beautiful and emotional, in a similar way to the former Black Country, New Road singer, Isaac. This is not an album for everybody, but people that like experimental rock will love this.
Favorite Tracks: “Still”, “Welcome to Hell”, “The Defence”
If You Like: Black Country, New Road; Soul Glo; chaos
Rowdy Rebel - Rebel vs Rowdy
Genre: Hip hop; drill
Quick Review
Rowdy Rebel has been around for a while, but after his feature on Pop Smoke and YSL’s newest albums, I had to check out his next project, and he came through with something solid. He does both old school drill and current drill, but also mixes in some more traditional trap sounds. Even though this is split up into two separate discs, they both sound relatively the same. Even though he does have some big features on here, the best songs are the ones by himself. Just like the majority of drill albums, the subject matter on here is extremely dark. This isn’t reinventing or claiming the crown of the genre, but it’s still another quality drill project.
Favorite Tracks: “Understand Me”, “Free Cueno”, “Paid Off” feat. Fivio Foreign
If You Like: Pop Smoke; older Chief Keef or Bobby Shmurda; Fivio Foreign
Jack White - Entering Heaven Alive
Genre: Alternative rock; folk; singer-songwriter
Quick Review
I wasn’t looking forward to this album like I was his first album of 2022, but this album exceeded my low expectations. The production especially is a lot fuller than I was expecting; the pianos and strings especially were really beautiful on the majority of this album. Jack’s songwriting is a bit plain here, but some of the riffs that he comes up with are bluesier than one would think for a folk album. This album easily pales in comparison when it comes to his previous album this year, but looking at it without any comparison, it’s a solid release from Jack.
Favorite Tracks: “A Tip From Me To You”, “All Along The Way”, “Queen of the Bees”
If You Like: Previous Jack White ballads; quiet and mature folk albums
Joey Bada$$ - 2000
Genre: Hip hop
Quick Review
2000 is a sequel to Joey’s iconic debut mixtape, 1999. It obviously doesn’t live up to its predecessor, but this is a great album that shows he is near the top of the current boom bap sound. A song like “Survivors Guilt” has Joey reflecting on his friend Capital Steez, who committed suicide, and it comes across beautiful and heartfelt. It even ends with an Ab-Soul voicemail, who was also friends with Steez. Besides that song, the rest of the tracks feel very stream-of-consciousness style, but it works. In a way, it feels like a better version of the new Logic album, as both of them are boom bap heavy on the production, are a return to the artist’s old style, and are lacking an overarching theme besides just rapping. Hopefully we won’t have to wait 5 years for the next Joey Bada$$ project.
Favorite Tracks: “Survivors Guilt”, “Brand New 911” feat. Westside Gunn, “Wanna Be Loved” feat. JID
If You Like: Classic boom-bap records; old school hip hop; 90s NYC
Flo Milli - You Still Here, Ho?
Genre: Hip hop; trap
Quick Review
This is Flo Milli’s official debut album, and even though it feels like the hype around her has died down significantly, this is still a pretty solid debut album. Her subject matter is still fairly plain, but her flows and ability to be easily understandable is still extremely impressive! The production is also fairly entertaining, especially when she does something different, like the 2000s throwback beat on “Bed Time”. This isn’t the type of album that will likely attract a plethora of new people to her music, but it’s still a solid album for people that already like her music.
Favorite Tracks: “Do It Better”, “Bed Time”, “Pay Day” feat. Rico Nasty
If You Like: Rico Nasty, TikTok songs, easily entertaining hip hop
India Shawn - Before We Go (Deeper)
Genre: R&B
Quick Review
This is India’s debut album, but it also follows up the EP she released at the end of last year. That entire EP is also on this project, but there are just as many new songs and features on here. She continues her trend of making great, timeless R&B songs in every different style. A big reason for this is that D’Mile is producing the vast majority of these songs, and he also produced all the Silk Sonic material. There are quality slow jams, disco-inspired tracks, upbeat R&B bops, and everything in-between. Her voice isn’t one that instantly blows you away, but it fits perfectly with every style she goes for on here. This will likely be one of the best R&B projects of the year, so don’t miss it if you’re an R&B fan!
Favorite Tracks: “Caught In The Middle”, “Don’t Play With My Heart”, “Movin’ On” feat. Anderson .Paak
If You Like: Classic R&B; Free Nationals
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