Well, this is what I get for underestimating SAULT. It seemed like they were going to take a year to not do much besides their classical project from April called AIR. It wouldn’t have been surprising if they did take it easy this year. The mastermind behind SAULT, Inflo, just had a kid and produced multiple full albums for other artists last year, but I guess he still found time to mastermind five albums worth of material that they dropped at the beginning of November with no warning. These albums were only available through a download link on their website for 10 days, but they are now all on streaming. They all give more of the classic soul and R&B that they are well known for, but also dive into other genres they’ve never touched before. The group is still anonymous, and seems to have more rotating members than ever, but SAULT still managed to produce some incredible music with these releases. So the first five reviews here are for all of their projects, but there are plenty of other reviews after these.
SAULT - 11
Genre: Soul; R&B
Quick Review
11 is the newest follow up in their album series of odd-numbered albums, following 5, 7, and Nine. I don’t want to jinx it, because anything is possible while trying to digest five surprise albums from a group this amazing, but 11 might be my favorite of these projects! It’s the most traditional SAULT project out of the five surprises, but that’s not a bad thing. The first half is full of some of the danciest SAULT songs yet, especially the disco-infused “Together”. Cleo Sol gives what honestly might be her best vocal performance ever on the highlight, “Higher”. Her voice almost has a Beyonce-esque quality to it, especially when her voice gets gruff with power. They were also able to interchange vocalists effortlessly, with most of them having different lead singers, and only Cleo Sol taking the lead on multiple tracks. The ballads are still beautiful on here as well, as usual. It’s just shocking that people this talented can make music as soul-affirming as this, and not be considered worldwide stars.
Favorite Tracks: “Together”, “Higher”, “Fight For Love”
If You Like: Soul-affirming music; classic soul
SAULT - AIIR
Genre: Modern classical
Quick Review
AIIR is a follow-up to their other classical project from earlier in 2022, AIR. Because it’s a modern classical album, you know what you’re going to get with this one. The orchestra and choirs dominate this project, and at 25 minutes, it’s arguably more digestible than the original. “Hiding Moon” has a more recognizable melody than any song from the original, and the melody passes around from a violin, to a bass, to a harp, and even to the orchestra as a whole. It’s hard to really talk about this project as someone who is not educated enough to talk about classical material, but it does sound really beautiful. There’s not much more that I can say about this project besides that it sounds pretty and might be useful for studying.
Favorite Tracks: “Hiding Moon”, “Gods Will”, “5am”
If You Like: Modern classical; film scores
SAULT - Earth
Genre: Soul; choral; world music
Quick Review
SAULT’s drumming has always been one of my favorite aspects of their music, and this project dials it up to another level! Most of this album consists of African, almost tribal, drums,and polyrhythms that lay the basis for the vocals. Cleo Sol sounds like she’s the primary vocalist, but there is a different lead singer on almost every track on here. This album might have been my favorite out of the new SAULT projects, if it weren’t for “Fields”. The repetition of the same bass loop with nothing added or changed gets very monotonous, and the changes take too long to happen. There is just this feeling of, for lack of a better word, Earthiness that this album gives off. All of SAULT’s music has this feel of authenticity, but this album feels pure humanity. It sounds like the type of album that could come out 50 years ago, or 50 years into the future.
Favorite Tracks: “Valley of the Ocean”, “God Is In Control”, “Stronger”
If You Like: Those people that are in drum circles in cities; spiritually healing music
SAULT - Today & Tomorrow
Genre: Psych-rock; funk
Quick Review
Today & Tomorrow is the first time SAULT have had an actual graphic on an album cover, and it sounds completely different than their previous material. Instead of a soulful sound, this album heavily revolves around 70s-psychedelic rock riffs. Of course, SAULT can’t completely get rid of the soulful elements, but fuzzy guitar riffs are the most important parts of each track. Some of the songs can feel a bit too jam-oriented, especially with the songwriting being very abstract, but when they do write actual songs, it works beautifully! The three-song stretch from “The Jungle” to “Money” is incredible! The fact that they can make a good to great album in a completely different genre shows yet again why they’re regarded so highly. It’s not my favorite out of the five albums, but I will definitely go back to it from time to time because some of these tracks are fantastic.
Favorite Tracks: “The Jungle”, “Money”, “Heal the World”
If You Like: 70s psych-rock; Grateful Dead
SAULT - Untitled (God)
Genre: Gospel; R&B; soul
Quick Review
Lastly, this is a follow up to SAULT’s two albums from 2020, which were Untitled (God Is) and Untitled (Rise). When it came downloaded from their website, this album was actually tagged as a gospel album, and rightfully so. The entire album is about God, and it even fits in sonically as a gospel album with the large choirs on a plethora of songs. This is likely the most spiritual album of the bunch because of those elements, but it’s also easily the most messy. At 21 songs and 73 minutes, this project is more than 30 minutes longer than any of the other albums they released this month. I do enjoy the vast majority of the tracks here, but they also wash in and out of each other a lot easier here than on the more concise projects. “Love Is All I Know” is an uptempo-gospel banger, while “I Surrender” shows Cleo Sol’s beautiful vocals yet again. Little Simz even shows up for yet another incredible verse on “Free”. The highs on Untitled (God) definitely rival the highs of the other new SAULT albums, but there is also a lot that I’m not yet sure I’ll come back to often.
Favorite Tracks: “I Surrender”, “Free”, “Faith”
If You Like: Gospel music; soul
Smino - Luv 4 Rent
Genre: Hip-hop; R&B; neo-soul
Quick Review
Smino is a unique artist. No one else can make music that fits quite the same vibe that he has, and Luv 4 Rent is yet another example of that. He will rap extremely well over an R&B beat, and then sing on the chorus so differently that you would hardly believe that it was the same person. His amalgamation of genres is something that is completely unique to him. Not many people can get Lil Uzi Vert, J. Cole, Cory Henry, Ravyn Lenae, and Reggie on the same album and have it make sense, but Smino can. Some people could argue that this is his best album, and I think he makes it hard to tell since all of them are so unique, but Luv 4 Rent can hold its own with his previous projects. I’m super curious to see how this album comes to life at his show with J.I.D in March.
If You Like: Unique hip-hop; fun sounding music
Westside Gunn - 10
Genre: Hip-hop
Quick Review
This is the 10th and last installment of Westside Gunn’s most famous project series, and he ended it with a really great project! Of course, the classic Westside Gunn-isms are here. AA Rashid speaks a bunch of nonsense on the intro track that somehow sounds profound, Westside’s elementary school aged daughter makes fun of how broke we are, and there are lots of his classic “BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM” adlibs. This project is just bigger than his other ones, especially with the features. There is a song on here with Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Stove God Cooks that is produced by Swizz Beatz. That alone should be enough to show anyone that Westside Gunn can pull big names. But even outside of that, there are features from A$AP Rocky, Black Star, Run The Jewels, and a 10-minute long posse cut with almost everyone from Griselda on it that ends this project. This was originally supposed to be his release date for his upcoming album Michelle Records, so the fact that he also had a project this good ready for release shows that he’s coming with something special with his next release. But for now, this is easily one of my favorite Westside Gunn projects and one of Griselda’s best this year!
Favorite Tracks: “BPD” (Feat. Rome Streetz & Stove God Cooks), “Science Class” (Feat. Busta Rhymes, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, & Stove God Cooks), “Shootouts in Soho” (Feat. A$AP Rocky & Stove God Cooks)
If You Like: Griselda; grimey hip-hop; old-school hip-hop
Drake & 21 Savage - Her Loss
Genre: Hip-hop; trap; R&B
Quick Review
It’s only been a few months, but Drake is back with a full, hour-long collab album with 21 Savage. People have been heads-over-heels in love with this album, and I do agree that this is easily the best Drake has sounded in years, but I don’t truly love this album yet. The first six songs on the album is definitely the best stretch on the album, as it’s just aggressive hip-hop/trap beats with quality rapping. Drake and 21 both sound really good on it, especially when they go back and forth like on the song, “On BS”. But after these six songs, the project ends up turning into a Drake album that happens to have 21 Savage features on most of the songs. There’s even an almost 10-minute long stretch where 21 Savage is nowhere to be seen on the album. When Drake and 21 sound like they were together in the studio and having a lot of fun, that’s when this album works the best. But when it starts to get too Drake heavy, the results become more middling.
Favorite Tracks: “On BS”, “Spin Bout U”, “Middle of the Ocean”
If You Like: Drake’s previous music; mindless pop-rap
Nas - King’s Disease III
Genre: Hip-Hop
Quick Review
This is Nas’s fourth album since 2020, all of which have been collaboration with Hit-Boy on production. King’s Disease III is the most explicit victory lap yet! There’s not much to it besides two extremely talented people coming together to create great music. Nas goes completely featureless on here for the first time in his career, and even though I was slightly concerned about it before listening, it totally works now. Nas is still one of the best rappers today, which is wild considering he’s been making music for three decades! It’s unheard of to have someone this long into their career, and still constantly pushing out undeniably great material! This would be like The Beatles still making incredible albums in the early 90s, Guns N’ Roses dropping four great albums in the late 2010s, or Adele dropping four amazing albums from 2035 to 2040. These seem unimaginable for a plethora of different reasons, but this is what Nas is currently doing for hip-hop. Give Nas his flowers while he’s still here.
Favorite Tracks: “Beef”, “Michael & Quincy”, “First Time”
If You Like: Any hip-hop at all
Weyes Blood - And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow
Genre: Baroque-pop; chamber-pop
Quick Review
Weyes Blood is currently in the middle of releasing a trilogy of records that are shaping up to be incredible. This record is the second of the trilogy, behind the momentous Titanic Rising. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow is just as beautiful as its predecessor! The songs on here stretch into the five and six minute mark almost every time, but they never feel long-winded. They seem to morph into these wondrous experiences that the audience can just live in for the time being, like the single “God Turn Me Into A Flower,” where there is a three-minute long outro of just ambient nature sounds. Even though I’ve only heard this album a few times, I’m sure it’ll continue to grow on me even more. Weyes Blood once again made one of the most beautiful albums of the year.
Favorite Tracks: “God Turn Me Into A Flower”, “It’s Not Just Me, It’s Everybody”, “Hearts Aglow”
If You Like: Fiona Apple; The Velvet Underground; non religious church-sounding music
Quadeca - I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You
Genre: Folktronica; indie; hip-hop
Quick Review
I mainly knew Quadeca from his Youtube persona, but it’s now been years since his cringe content and since this album was getting plenty of praise online, I decided to check it out. It’s easy to see why this is getting so much attention; there is nothing that sounds quite like this album. Sure, the influences can be pretty apparent at points, but he melds them together in a way that is completely unique. It’s ambient, but also experimental; hard-hitting, but also beautiful; haunting, but also spirit-affirming. The production here really is the star of the show. The fact that he is 22 years old and produced this entire project is nothing short of incredible! This isn’t great for someone who was a Youtuber, this is great for anyone. Heck, he brought on features from hip-hop’s legendary weirdo Danny Brown, the Sunday Service Choir, and former member of the iconic post-rock group Swans, Thor Harris. Having all of these people on one album is a combination that should not work, but it does. There are some problems with it though, as the first half is considerably weaker than the second half. Quadeca’s vocals are also far from perfect, whether he’s singing or rapping. What this album does show is his potential to create something truly incredible. To have production as layered and unique as this at 22 years old is nothing short of amazing, and even though I am not in love with this album, it shows that he can make something legitimately boundary pushing.
Favorite Tracks: “tell me a joke”, “born yesterday”, “fantasyworld”
If You Like: Bon Iver; emo-music
Brockhampton - The Family
Genre: Hip-hop; pop; indie
Quick Review
This was billed as the final Brockhampton album, and it thematically feels like it. The main argument against this is that only Kevin Abstract provides vocals on the album, but thematically and subject matter wise, this shows what Brockhampton has come to. Kevin is always uncomfortably honest in his music, and this might be his most vulnerable project yet. He talks about feuds that he’s had with the group members, what he thinks the demise of the group is, his own faults when it comes to being the face of the group, substance abuse to numb his emotional pain, and so much more. The production behind this project is significantly different from their other projects, especially with all the soul samples. The real meat and bones to the project are the lyrics though. Kevin’s honesty is something to be in awe of, no matter if you consider it a good thing or not. The Family is the thematic end to one of my most nostalgic groups ever, and I’m totally content with it.
Favorite Tracks: “Brockhampton”, “All That”, “My American Life”
If You Like: Honesty in music; 2000s Kanye
Brockhampton - TM
Genre: Hip-hop; pop
Quick Review
If The Family is the final album from Brockhampton, TM is the epilogue. These songs don’t lead to any finality, but instead, are just eleven more tracks from the group that have all members contributing. There are some quality bangers on here with some weird production, and some of their most cathartic ballads as well. Some of these songs are pretty great, even if they are throwaways. Heck, “Man on the Moon” might be their most danceable song ever! This album does have some misses though, like how “Listerine” just sounds like a middling Travis Scott or Don Toliver song. Even over the few listens that I currently have of this album, it’s grown on me each time. It was nice to have one final album of the group with everyone on it. Now, it’s time for solo music.
Favorite Tracks: “Better Things”, “FMG”, “Crucify Me”
If You Like: Previous Brockhampton albums, Tyler, the Creator
Omeretta the Great - Emotional Gangsta
Genre: Hip-hop; trap; R&B
Quick Review
Omeretta has had a great 2022. Her single “Sorry Not Sorry” went extremely viral early in the year and she’s gotten cosigns from popular rappers, one being JID mentioning her in his hit single, “Dance Now” when he says, “Got a couple family members in Atlanta, not Atlanta, we let Omeretta decide.” The most unique thing about her is clearly her accent, as it’s extremely southern, even in her raps. It makes her easily recognizable, even when the production might be generic at points. This is her first complete project after the fame, and it’s a good start. There are still some cuts on here that show need for improvement, especially the slower songs, but the bangers on here are crazy. Her ability to flow on an aggressive trap beat is up there with the best newcomers of the past couple years! She proves that she can get personal really well on the final track, “God’s Child”. I’m sure she could release something better than Emotional Gangsta in the future, but this is a quality introduction to a wider public.
Favorite Tracks: “Stand On It”, “God’s Child”, “My Way” (Feat. Key Glock)
If You Like: Atlanta trap music; hard-hitting hip-hop
Nick Hakim - Cometa
Genre: R&B; Soul; jazz-fusion
Quick Review
I haven’t really loved the latest two Nick Hakim projects, but I’ve been holding out hope that he’ll release something great again, and here it is! The songs here are much more normally written, but still have unique and intimate vocal performances that are unique to him as an artist. His harmonies on here are absolutely beautiful, especially over the watery guitar’s that soundtrack most of this album. He proves he can do somewhat upbeat songs well, like on “Feeling Myself”, but he’s easily the best on the ballads. The subject matter of this album is him falling in love, which even though it isn’t the most relatable thing, the sonics of this album are insane enough to overcome that! This is definitely a good jumping in point for people that want this lofi-R&B sound that Nick Hakim is great at.
Favorite Tracks: “Feeling Myself”, “Vertigo”, “Only One”
If You Like: Kadhja Bonet; Hiatus Kaiyote; weird R&B
Baby Keem - The Melodic Blue (Deluxe)
Genre: Hip-hop; trap
Quick Review
This is a deluxe for Baby Keem’s fantastic project he released last year, and even though most of the new songs here are good, I’m not sure any of them are better than what we got on the original album. These songs actually feel like bonus tracks, for the most part. Which is a good thing, but it doesn’t make for an easy jumping in point for new fans. Having Don Toliver and PinkPantheress on a Baby Keem song was definitely unexpected, but it also ended up being the best song on here! The weirder Baby Keem gets, the better his music becomes. This does make me wonder where he plans on going with his next project. Maybe he’ll take it super left-field, or maybe we’ll just get more of the same on his next album. Either way, I’ll enjoy these deluxe songs, and recommend fans of his will enjoy it as well, but don’t start with these new songs if you don’t know Baby Keem.
Favorite Tracks: “a life of pain”, “killstreaks” (Feat. Don Toliver & PinkPantheress), “highway 95”
If You Like: The original album; Playboi Carti-type of weird bangers
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