#and one of his lil performance art pieces was just. him walking down the street and bumping into people.

[handgiven]

🤙bump into my muse

come bother em in the askbox i beg you i dare you i kiss you / @thcmcnstcr

the angel was distracted at best, walking down the street, trying to balance a bag of potting soil and a bag of peat and one more with a bit of pine bark. he was running low on some, and decided to stock up on more. and seeing as the flowershop was only a couple blocks away from his flat, he decided to walk the distance, enjoy the sights, though once again he was not exactly looking where he was going as he struggled to make up his mind on how to best carry the three big bags which obviously did not agree on being in his singular hold.

he quite severely wasn't watching where he was going, that he did in fact bump into somebody. the contact went down through him like a bit of lightning through a copper rod, and the pine bark and soil fell to the ground in their respective bags. "oh-oh sorry. so sorry." he apologises before even making eye contact, which only seems to make him more apologetic. he gets a sense from her that he's not sure he is to speak, so he doesn't, but he does trail off with his voice for a second when he slips a gaze upon her soul. "sorry. again. i. i was distracted. are you quite alright?"

[omegawolverine]

Plesse tell me about queerness in the get down!!

okay okay queerness in the get down let's fuckn goooo

disclaimer: I havent watched this show in full for like 5 months at least, probably gonna get something wrong and/or forget some more important bits. also this wasnt proof read I just word vomited

tws: period typical homophobia, abuse mention, f slur use, bury your gays trope, overdose mention, mention of a creepy possible age gap (the age gap hasnt been confirmed so that's why its possible), cops

going from least to most prominent queer characters, let's start with mylene cruz!

so, from the beginning of this show she has an established romantic relationship with ezekiel (although the status of their actual relationship changes frequently throughout the show) and though this was a relationship she was hesitant to pursue, it is clear that she does have romantic feelings for him and if not for them both having growing careers in very different music genres (zeke specifically working in a genre that she repeatedly labels as bad because she thinks they're ruining records + that it isnt real music because they're using someone elses piece and rapping over it, that's not really important here tho lol) they probably wouldve had a much healthier, smooth sailing romance. that being said theres a few things that happen in the show that, while not explicitly clear, or even really good coding at that—to the point where you wont catch if you really arent looking for it (and trust me, I always look for coding, hers was just so little that it flew over my head until I saw someone else mention it)—are still cool to think about!

so, for starters, I wanna mention the toy box performance, which was performed by mylene and regina, who are best friends. that's all cool and shit, and you dont really think much about it...until you hear about the fact that the show runners purposely colored a lot of the scenes in that performance with the bi colors. like. the writers after the show ended basically said "oh yeah there was plans to make her coding more explicit, but our shit got cancelled soooo" and then dropped the fact that she was gonna be bi (or at least implies bi) in the series, which puts a new twist on a few things.

now, besides the bi coloring in the background of the toy box performance (which was mostly on scenes with her and regina, which involved a lot of uh,, lowkey lewd dancing. with each other. in very revealing outfits. wooooo), there's her music! I dont tend to read too much into this one bc, like I said before, her coding is fucking light and the writers themselves said they didnt really get to do much with it, but I think some stuff with her music is interesting. specifically how her, yolanda and regina's song set me free blew up because dizzee, resident (lowkey enby coded) bicon, got their song played in a queer club. also that the song was majorly important to dizzee and started playing literally right as he kissed a boy for the first time and realized "oh shit I like boys that's bonkers". also that the song can be taken in a gay way since literally the entire thing is about becoming your true self, fully and unapologetically, which is what both dizzee and mylene's entire character arcs are about. dizzee (and a lot of other queer people, apparently), heard this song about being set free and it resonated with them so much that they got that shit most of its popularity.

speaking of dizzee and mylene, they parallel each other a lot in the way that their arcs are about them realizing who they are, coming into themselves and no longer just letting people treat them like shit in a sense (dizzee starting to tell people essentially that they can call him weird all they want, they can make fun of how he acts, what he likes, how he dresses, etc. but he likes how he is and quite literally saying "it's okay to be an alien" as he has consistently compared himself to one throughout the show vs mylene learning that if she wants to be a disco singer she needs to put her foot down, not let anyone, not even the love of her life, not even her abusive father, stop her from achieving her dreams, etc. and continuing to pursue her career with or without their support). one more little parallel that I think is interesting is during I think s2 towards the end of the show is when dizzee and thor are shown together having fun with each other, painting all over the building and each other and are basically just being happy and in love together and then they have these clips of them being interspersed with clips of mylene at a party where she is starting to realize that if she wants to get anywhere she needs to be her own main priority and that she needs to put her career and her dream, which is what makes her the happiest, above all else if she wants to succeed. idk I just think how the show made these two into a weird parallel, accidental or not, is neat. maybe not an explicitly queer parallel, but I think at least how her music and whatnot helped dizzee, the main queer character in this show, blossom, is important.

moving on we got shaolin fantastic also known as "oh no your internalized homophobia is showing-"

so, heres a quick list of...interesting shao facts:

Consistently referred to as fag/faggot (shaolin fanfaggot is my personal favorite); he gets really defensive about this despite nobody actually thinking he's queer, it's just people being assholes to be assholes, and he is the only character consistently referred to using a slur, especially a homophobic one, especially for a "straight" character. dizzee, a canonically queer character, is called a fag less than shaolin is even though dizzee actively goes to gay clubs, has a not so secret dude he "hangs out with" and wont let anyone properly meet, paints his nails, wears less than straight clothes even by the 70s standards and is just all around the definition of fucking queer (and I mean like in the weird way, not the gay way). in fact theres only like once I can remember him being called a fag and it had nothing to do with him actually being gay it was literally just like thrown out there the same way you would call someone a bitch.

Has only shown sexual interest in women, yet refuses to have deeper relationships with women in general (possibly because of trauma but who knows) but takes his relationships with his "brothers", specifically zeke, very seriously

Tells zeke and zeke ONLY his real name when zeke was planning to stop being his friend bc shao more or less got boo boo, a like 14 year old black kid, arrested for selling hard drugs; he was clearly scared and trying to do anything to keep zeke around, literally chasing him down the street and hounding him until he got zeke to stop and argue with him

Kept threatening to beat up zeke in the end but couldn't actually bring himself to do so, instead saying that zeke is "fucking lucky" before walking away

Let's zeke get away with things that nobody else can, in general just has a weird soft spot for ezekiel that he shows with nobody else

when shao found dizzee with thor in a vaguely compromising situation (like they were just shirtless covered in paint sleeping next to each other but shao had also seen everything they painted on the walls ((which some of it was sus)), it was clear they had painted on each others bodies and dizzee had been routinely disappearing with this guy for weeks now yet not producing nearly as much art, at least, as far as we audience members know) he didnt judge him but instead, waited for him to get cleaned up and then told him something along the lines of "theres a reason why im so secretive blah blah blah [not everyone needs to know everything about me]", which, in context, kinda implies that he might be a lil. a lil homiesexual. jus a lil.

whenever even the possibility of zeke leaving him comes up he absolutely loses it. he has literally cost ezekiel life changing opportunities because he thought zeke would just up and leave him for them. this could be abandonment issues bc he's a severely traumatized character, and that probably does contribute to it, but it also is just not a reaction he has to any of their other friends just randomly dipping in and out of his life soooooo

generally speaking, this mfer has got either bisexual with a big hard on for zeke coding or homosexual with terrible internalized homophobia and still a hard on for zeke coding. either fucking way, that nigga gay. he gay as hell. gay as fuck man. there wasn't really much to analyze here tbh bc the coding is just so fucking obvious if you look for it or you are/have been a gay person who's dealt with at least a little bit of internalized homophobia.

also, just a sidenote, idk how fucking old shao, but I'm praying hes like at max 19 bc I'm pretty sure zeke is a minor in this show and shao definetly is not so the whole him being heavily implied to have a crush on ezekiel thing is kinda. oof. not oof if zeke is like 17 but any younger than that? OOF.

edit: apparently the characters are only supposed to be a year apart in age but i had no clue about that before writing this post and since shaos age was never actually stated in the show i naturally assumed he was an adult since his actor Looks Like An Adult. this is definetly on me to a certain extent, but i also never saw anything about this when trying to find our their ages so 🤷‍♀️ maybe i just didnt look deep enough, sorry!

now moving on to the main event...marcus dizzee kipling :]

so, first things first, let's talk enby coding bc him being bisexual was already confirmed!

um, to start off, I just wanna say I dont think this enby coding was intentional or even really coding, it's just moreso me being a dizzee kin on main and knowing as a transmasc enby he has very transmasc enby vibes. for example:

cool, gender neutral nickname that everyone calls him

paints nails various different colors

the whole wardrobe is just a transmasc enby heaven...fishnet shirts, jean overalls, jackets and cuffed pants galore, the big colorful pins, etc

gender neutral hairstyle (when I had my fro it was very sexy and made it easy to transition between hyper masc and vaguely fem, which is pog)

comparing himself to/representing himself consistently with an alien character (though this is meant to represent his sexuality, it could also double as a gender thing too, not neccesarily bc of the whole nonbinary alien trope but bc an enby who likes aliens might heavily identify or compare themselves to whatever their idea of an alien is, whether that just be a genderless entity or a motherfucker with fly style and no need to be perceived as anything other Wacky As Hell)

moving on from there, let's talk about how his queerness is presented to us and how, while it may be a really good piece of representation, especially coming from netflix, it still lacks in A Lot of places.

so, let's start with good things!

i personally really like the get down's queer rep with dizzee bc it's (for the most part) nonsexualized and very very soft, about dizzee figuring himself out and realizing there is a place where he fits in, and about two teenagers in the 70s falling in love over their shared passion for street art. it also features an interracial couple where both boys challenge stereotypes both about queer men and men of color, which is epic poggers and very sexy. this piece of rep specifically is very important to me bc I am a queer black person and even tho interracial relationships are mostly normalized now, I've still had people give me shit for primarily dating white people in a town that is...primarily white lol

mm anyways, I can also appreciate how in the get down, dizzee being represented by rumi the alien is not a thing specifically related to gender (as it often is) and instead is about his sexuality and just in general weirdness and how it has led to him being alienated amongst his peers, poc or otherwise. him seeing himself as an alien is not about just his queerness, which is important, it is about him being a queer black man who talks different, acts different, dresses different and is "soft"—he isnt a walking black male stereotype and he wouldnt have been seen as masculine back in the 70s by any stretch of the imagination. this can be relatable to a wide spectrum of queer poc, from queer black men currently who still have to deal with this shit or to people like myself who are afab neurodivergent mixed race enbies that have always been signaled out as weird and alienated for it. dizzee is god rep bc while he has a small part in this show, his parts are very impactful, hard hitting and show queer poc of all ages that they arent alone and that it's okay to "weird", you just need to embrace it because somebody will love you for you, as thor did for dizzee.

that being said theres um. some minor problemas here,,,

namely:

dizzee and thors first kiss

the lack of development this pairing got

the way dizzee was confirmed bisexual off screen, he never said the words himself, just showed interest in both genders

the way dizzee and thor were never even confirmed boyfriends or just fwb so most of the fandom just calls them boyfriends bc Why Not

dizzee was implied fucking DEAD??? AT THE END OF THE SERIES?????? AND THOR WAS IMPLIED ARRESTED?????????????

now, these might have been things that wouldve been fine had the show been given it's full run but it wasnt which is why we are now left with probelms.

so, from the top, let's go over these: dizzee and thor's first (and only "on screen") kiss was one that was shown in a montage of other queer people making over and doing other vaguely romantic/sexual things, one of those things being a whole ass naked titty being mouthed at, but the actual kiss...was just not shown? like they really did just say "yes they kissed <3 you know this from the context clues of it being in a montage with kissing, hickey giving and titty sucking <3 but no we will not show it <3" LIKE HELLO? I SAW A NAKED BOOBIE BUT NOT TWO MEN KISS??? HUH????????

also, dizzee and thor were both fucking high as hell during this bit like this isnt a terrible thing but it's also like sometimes you do shit when you're high that you wouldnt do sober and they just never kissed again on screen so like?? like idk that's not that bad but it does kinda irk me since they deadass got no other on screen intimacy after that unless you including painting on eacher other or sleeping next to each other on a shitty mattress but not touching at all during it bc they were both at opposite ends of the mattress like half way off it

so yeah, that was trash. then we got lack of development, which kinda goes with the "dizzee being a bisexual but he never says it in canon" thing cause like...okay dizzee was already sort of a side character from the get go like he wasnt the mc by any means, but he became way more of a background character as things continued until we basically only saw him for performances or when he was with thor, yet they got no fucking development as a pairing other than "dizzee realize he gay, he like thor, he and thor spend time together and ig probably do some gay stuff but we dont really know bc we only ever see them do graffiti together now" like?? tf am I supposed to do with that shit. answer. quickly. and then theres dizzee not being confirmed bisexual, which is just a running problem with shows literally doing everything to say a character is bi except for having the character just...say they're bi? which would be so easy? like a good way dizzee and thor couldve had some development is by thor teaching dizzee things about the queer community that he didnt even know existed, thor couldve helped him understand what being bi meant and helped him label himself and whatnot but instead we got an off screen confirmation that the writers had bisexual in mind when writing him. which is garbagé.

the whole thor and dizzee never having a confirmed relationship status is also a development problem cause like literally nobody knows if they were just friends who made out, maybe fucked, who knows, or if they were dating bc dizzee does give a love confession but a love confession doesn't mean there is a relationship, especially since thor didn't say he was in love either (as far as I remember, I could be wrong, plus whether or not that really happened or was apart of dizzee literally overdosing during a performance is unclear so 🤪)

and now for the biggest issue...bury your gays trope.

during the season 2 finale, dizzee and thor are chased by cops after they are found doing graffiti, one of the cops is able to catch thor while the other chases dizzee into a train tunnel and there is a train seen headed straight for him before the show cuts to black on a train horn. the show writers claim that if they had gotten another season, dizzee wouldve been alive but since they didnt and since that's essentially super fan trivia knowledge, most people dont fucking know that and instead had to watch a black queer teenager chose death over being fucking arrested by a white cop. on top of that, thor didnt see any of that shit because he was caught and the cop started hauling him off while dizzee was still being chased so thor literally has no clue where his friend/possible boyfriend fucking is or that he's likely dead in a goddamn tunnel all alone, unless you count the fucking pig that chased him in there who wouldve died too. this shows rep was so fucking good as far as most shows go on not having major fucking problems, on not being toxic and over sexualized, etc, etc. and then they just. killed a black queer teenager for no fucking reason. like it was literally the last episode ever, it would add nothing to the plot, it would just devastate fans and devastate it fucking did. I dont cry easy but seeing a character I identified with, who I had hyperfixated on, die because he'd rather that than be arrested is terrible. it fucking sucked.

so yeah. that's my all too extensive thoughts/analysis on the get down's queerness. theres definitely stuff I missed, or misinterpreted, or looked too much into, etc, etc., but this was a fun thing to spend time writing sooo yeah!! thanks for the ask anon, sorry this was just a big rambley info dump, but hopefully you get some enjoyment out of it since it took like 3 hours at least 😭😭 feel free to ask clarifying questions lol

[alexandriteobscuraarchive]

(( @guardianofyesod​ you get a lil thing because ilu and I want you to come back to nice stuff!))

The door is thrown open mid knock and the white haired male is suddenly thrown under the perilous? scrutiny of Nellie standing in the doorway. Her appraising glance is brief---no more than an up and down of her eyes as her mouth thins into a short-lived frown. He was almost painful to look at, best keep it quick.

“Did you get dressed in the dark or what?! Between you and my brother I don’t know who’s worse!” Her tone holds no real CRUELTY and the hand that takes hold of the other to lead him inside is just as warm as the smile now forming across her lips. “Thankfully I’m here! You two would be so lost without me!”

Nellie was clearly excited and nothing---absolutely nothing---was going to ruin it. The tickets had been hard to get after all, nevermind how expensive it was for all three of them to go. “Meeelllll!! Gab is here!! Are you decent my dearest brother~?”

Nellie’s yell directed up a small flight of stairs is immediately answered in the form of Mell poking his head briefly out of the bathroom door, his hand mid brush through damp hair.

“I can hear you without you yelling, Nellie. And hi Gabriel! Please don’t let Nellie push you around too much, okay...?”

“I don’t push anyone around! I’m HELPING! Gab needs a new outfit before the play tonight and I’m the best person for the job!” Cue the young girl turning to Gabriel and giving him an even brighter smile. “Right? Right! We won’t be at the store long so make sure you’re ready by the time we get back! I want you in your nicest clothes----and no, not the ones you wore earlier today!”

“Okay mom. You act like we’re going to the actual Globe theater to see a Shakespeare play rather than a place in town.” Her enthusiasm was quite adorable. Would Mell tell her that though? Not a chance. “Should we wear appropriate dress? I’m afraid I don’t have the proper attire to look like I’m from the 17th Century.”

“Yeah yeah, laugh it up in there Mr ‘I have the ugliest pajamas in the history of the world’. We need to look our best! We need to look CLASSY! If I have to custom sew you some pantaloons I’ll do it!!” She’s kidding of course, and this ‘argument’ was as comfortable as anything. A testing of previous tumultuous and confusing waters. “And who knows! One day I’ll be able to go to the real Globe theater...”

“Well if that opportunity comes up I’ll take you myself....if only to fall asleep inside a building rooted within history.” This last part was wholly playful; even with Mell’s penchant for falling asleep during long plays he’d still appreciate and marvel at the history of his surroundings. It was a special interest for him, after all, just as theater was for Nellie.

“Bahhh! My brother is a heathen, isn’t he Gab?! So uncultured!!” Now Nellie turns the other away as if they were both offended, her slender hands winding around one of his arms and propelling him back towards the front door. “Come on, let’s go pick you out a nice outfit! We’ve still got some time before we need to start heading towards the theater!” Her directive chatter turns idle as she leads the male outside into the faintly snowy night and down the street, her hands still wrapped around his arm as if he were escorting her like a proper gentleman.

“Have you seen much of Shakespeare, Gabriel? I’ve read all of his work!! Romeo and Juliet is my favorite although that’s not what we’re going to see tonight. We’ll be watching a recital of some of his sonnets---I hope I don’t cry!---and then a performance of The Winter’s Tale! I hear the acting company doing the performing is really impressive but I’ve never heard of them before so I hope it’s a good performance---”

And on and on, her voice filling the steadily encroaching evening between them with a brightness as if it were no latter than early morning. Even the shop lights lining the streets paled in comparison and Nellie seemed perfectly content in leading her friend along past said shops until, rather suddenly, her steps slowed with a telltale precision.

It wasn’t the tailor but an antique shop that Nellie stopped in front of. Her hands unwind themselves from around Gabriel’s person and she walks around him to peer in through the large window. She executed this motion in absolute silence and with an almost worried tread---as if she’d stopped in front of this very shop window many, many times. She had, in fact. Gone was her smile as she peered through the lightly frosted window, her honey colored eyes moving with precision as a faint tinge of worry began to suffuse both her expression and movements.

Had someone bought it? Surely not! It had to be there, it had to--

“Ah!..Aha...thank goodness...” Her softened tone is framed with a sigh of relief as she visibly relaxes. Nellie stood so that the lights from the shop framed her perfectly and if one were to gaze through the window while standing behind her they could perhaps imagine the art she was looking at being worn upon her person. Inside the window was a small case and inside said case was a perfectly crafted ROSE. It was an accessory that could be worn in multiple ways; be it as a choker, hair accessory, a brooch, and so forth. The item had a small stand set up next to it with important information, such as it being made of forged silver, actual gemstones and other such precious things, as well as the year of its forging: 1603. So not only was the piece EXQUISITELY BEAUTIFUL it was also HISTORICAL. It belonged in a museum rather than an antique store---as evident by the hefty price tag.

Nellie stood in front of the handcrafted accessory with a look of unabashed wonder, as if she were mesmerized by her daydreams concerning it. She was---she had been for days now. Her hands moved with a dreamy slowness only to clasp together and press against her breastbone just underneath her throat. That rose should be there, at her throat. It was made for her, it just had to be!

“One day I’ll buy it....somehow.....” She spoke in a mere whisper---perhaps thinking that if she spoke at a normal volume both the glass surrounding it and the piece itself would break. It took her a few moments to remember just what she was doing, not to mention the fact that she wasn’t alone. Crap. Nellie turns back to Gab almost reluctantly, her genteel reverie being dispelled with a noticeable effort. “Uhm--sorry Gab! I--it’s cold, right? Let’s keep going, the tailor is just down this way!” Her hands reach for him again as she resumes leading the way.

“So...Gab do you like Sh---oh wait no I asked you that, uh...” Now she sounded like Mell! The thought ought to bring her some COMFORT given their closeness but it only seemed to fluster her more. “Ah--...what...what colors are you favorite? I think you’d look nice in darker colors! The tailor has lots of nice dress shirts....”

[jaeminlore]

share the street » minghao

- prompt: maybe like a lil scenario where the reader is a spray paint artist and Minghao is a street performer, and they both work on the same street and become interested in the other's work (and also each other). words: 1014 category: fluff, blurb a/n: here you go darling, sorry it's short

- You made sure the respirator mask was secure over your nose and mouth before you began to paint. The purple spray paint quickly covered the blank white canvas. Onlookers watched in fascination as you created a piece to sell to them. You continued tracing the petals on your flower mural, no care in the world for anything save you and your art. Usually you simply wrote encouraging phrases in bright colors and beautiful fonts. Other days, when you didn't really feel up for encouragement, you liked to draw pictures. It seemed to be one of those days, for all you could bring yourself to paint were random flowers and butterflies. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a voice startled you into dropping your nearly empty can.

You spun around, wondering if it was some rude passerby who wanted to insult your art. Instead, it was just a boy. He wasn't that much taller than you, but the thinness of his limbs gave the illusion that he was. His eyes were narrowed in a curious fashion and his eyebrows were raised with expectation. He wore skinny jeans and a white muscle shirt. You thought the flannel shirt around his waist was a bit much, but you weren't going to tell him that. You wondered why he was looking at you so strangely "Who are you?" "I'm Minghao," he smirked, "and you're in my spot." The walkway you had taken refuge on today was indeed different from your previous painting spot. However, competition had gotten rough over there and you hadn't been up to fighting people over your art. After bending down to grab another can of spray paint, you shook it and glared at him. "Maybe I am. What's it to you?" "Nothing," he shrugged, "Just . . . this is where I dance. People come here to watch me perform." Your eyes trailed down his figure, to the small boom box he held firmly in his hands. "Then perform. There's plenty of room here for the both of us." It wasn't a bluff; the walkway was wide and long. Here, you were closer to the intercity, where many high class people never visited. Because of this, the walkways were fairly empty save the occasional homeless person or street seller. Other people besides passerbys and tourists included performers and artists like yourself. Here, you could set up a small shop and let people see your airbrushed designs on a canvas. They could even purchase the piece for a low price, if they liked it enough.

Your words appeased the so-called Minghao, and he walked to the other side of you. As he stretched his limbs, the group of people who had been so diligently watching you, were now trying to figure out what he was doing. Once the music started and the boy began to dance, more than half of your clientele turned to watched him dance. As much as you felt like you shouldn't have, you stopped and watched him as well. The two of you shared a street now; it was vital you knew how good of a competitor he was. And he was good. Even you felt compelled to toss a couple of dollars into his hat as he moved this way and that. You couldn't place the song, but you felt the emotion of it through the way he moved his body. It was beautiful. When the next song started, it was a struggle to turn back to your work. - You finished painting what looked to be the moon lowering behind a clear blue lake. Most of the people had left since the day was almost over. Only a few stranglers came by, and they were more interested in the fortune teller across the street than a simple spray paint artist like yourself. Once the painting was finished and you felt satisfied, you pulled the mask down and let it rest against your neck as you tucked a few flyaway strands of hair behind your ear. You glanced over at Minghao. He had diligently danced all day, save the occasional bathroom or snack break. A crowd had always seemed to be around his talented figure. He was stretching now. He moved lazily, as if all his strength had left him for the day. At one point you were almost convinced that he was going to fall over. Suddenly, he looked up from his toe-touch and locked eyes with you. His lips broke into a smile, "Have you ever had Korean tacos?" You twisted your mouth in confusion. "What are Korean tacos?" "I don't know," Minghao admitted, "but they're delicious. My friend Mingyu makes them just a few blocks down from here, if you want to come with me." With an offer too good to resist, and a boy too friendly to reject, you agreed. That's how you found yourself sitting at a small counter, eating Korean tacos and laughing with Minghao and his chef friend, Mingyu. "You'll never guess what I overheard this woman ask Y/n today, Mingyu," Minghao chattered on, his hands too busy explaining his story to aid him in eating. "She asked if Y/n could paint her as a mermaid." Mingyu chuckled and turned to you, his eyes shining, "People really do that?" "Only all the time," you said, taking a sip of your water. "It's okay, though. I mean, I'm getting paid for it." "So are you and Minghao on the same street?" Mingyu asked. "For now," you said, "I tend to follow the customers, so I'll probably head upstate to the boardwalk by the time summer comes around." "That's a good idea," Minghao said. The two of you finished your tacos. The always looming threat of falling asleep itched it's way up your back and you found yourself yawning into your elbow. "This was lovely guys, but I need to leave now if I'm gonna get a full night's sleep. Minghao blinked innocently, "You'll come back tomorrow, won't you? To my street?" "Of course I will. After all, it's my street now too." »the end«

[cursedcandyroses]

CURSED CANDY ROSES PRESENTS: THE 50 BEST PROJECTS OF 2017

The most jam packed year of the decade has came and went with a crater of emotion left behind. The ever expanding Pandora’s Box that the internet has become has only seemed to scratch the surface of iit’s potential in the field of music. Every year the music world becomes smaller and smaller while albums become more grandiose. Streaming has lead to numbers being juiced extravagantly, allowing acts to sell minimal physical copies but still go Gold & Platinum. The Streaming Boom has also lead to acts we may have never heard of 20 years ago exploding into the limelight, and acts of yesterday having their 15 minutes expanded. In all honesty I could have made a list of 100 albums and it still wouldn’t have felt like enough. But 50 (plus some) will have to do. 

BEFORE WE GET STARTED: THE NEXT 9 

N*E*R*D - No One Ever Really Dies

Giraffage - Too Real

Moses Sumney - Aromanticism

Rex Orange County - Apricot Princess

Lil Peep - Come Over When You’re Sober

Bill Woods & Blockhead - Known Unknowns

RJ - Mr. LA

Joji - In Tongues

Amine - Good For You

Now to the real list

50: Overdoz. - 2008

Genre: Hip-Hop 

4 years since their last release, Overdoz sounds like they never took a day off. Party jams mixed in with two step love anthems and sprinkles of consciousness are the ingredients to one of the most energetic and top to bottom enjoyable west coast albums in recent memory. These elements mixed with a murders row of top tier producers (Hit-Boy, THC, Pharrell, Organized Noize) meld together for a kaleidoscope of sound and texture, the perfect kind to start and end a night out with.

Best Tracks: “Last Kiss” & “House Party″

49: Syd Tha Kyd - Fin

Genre: R&B / Pop

The family tree that the Odd Future collective has spawned is like none other in music. Within the collective sat The Internet, a duo that has expanded into a full 5 man band, and within that crew is lead singer Syd. On her first solo effort, the songstress dips her toes into the sound of today’s sound with R&B and Rap infused production, with hook as infectious as the best Pop songs on the other side of the dial. Branching out from the jazz and neo-soul stylings of The Internet has given music fans a new artist to reinvent and evolve the mainstream sound of the day. 

Best Tracks: “Know” & “Nothin’ To Somethin’”

Sounds Like: Kehlani’s “You Should Be Here″

48: A$AP Mob - Cozy Tapes Vol. 2: Too Cozy

Genre: Hip-Hop

When the winter brings snow to your ankles and winds that’ll chap your lips, you know it’s time to layer up and get cozy. A$AP Mob has been the go-to New York rap crew over the past few years, but with this newest compilation they take a turn. With heavy contributions from their newest adoptee Playboi Carti, the Mob turns to sonic's that lean more Soundcloud then sample heavy. Tunes with Big Sean, Key!, Chief Keef and Quavo are balanced out by posse jams with Flatbush Zombies and Pro Era members, bringing everyone into a new space that the Mob keeps curating and molding as they go along. 

Best Tracks: “What Happens” & “Walk On Water”

47: Your Old Droog - Packs

Genre: East Coast Hip-Hop

The balance of keeping the grit and feeling of classic New York hip-hop and wanting to mix in a modern day playfulness and enginuity is type of duality New Yorkers have been reaching for since 50 Cent. Unlike 50, Droog has no want to be a mainstream star, but instead focuses on being the best at what he does. Storytelling, obscure references and punchlines that’ll bring chest pains (from either laughter or how hard they hit) are the specialties of one of hip-hops most talented underground stars.

Best Tracks: “Grandma Hips” & “White Rappers (A Good Guest)”

46: Ty Dolla $ign - Beach House 3

Genre: R&B / Hip-Hop

Every artist strives to find their sound exceed within it. For an artist like Ty Dolla $ign he is with every project experimenting and proving that he is one of the most talented and skilled artist in hip-hop. Though Ty has always been criticized for repetitive content of parties and drug use, like each “Beach House” instalment before this junior effort, Ty expands and dabbles into many forms of contemporary urban music. A sonic experience like no other crossover artist has been able to do, Ty again flexes a perfect duality of being a singles driven artist while still holding true artistic integrity. 

Best Tracks: “Don’t Judge Me” & “Message In A Bottle”

45: Dizzee Rascal - Raskit

Genre: Grime

With razor sharp precision, the veteran UK rapper has brought with him the best Grime record of the year. Over the past few years artists like Skepta and Stormzy have come from across the pond into our lives, but these artists would be nowhere without one of the godfathers of the genre. Nearly 15 years after his world-renowned “Boy In Da Corner” record, Dizzee improves upon that sound infusing modern production styles and a more palatable rapping style to restate his claim as the greatest Grime artist walking the earth

Best Tracks: “Ghost” & “Dummy (16 For The Juice)”

44: Freddie Gibbs - You Only Live 2wice

Genre: Hip-Hop

After being freed from an European prison on false rape charges Indiana’s finest gave the people signs of life. Saying that this project is just a little something to hold fans over until the release of his next Madlib collab, Gibbs held nothing back. Speaking on everything from the incarceration, street tales and the fears that come with fame and fatherhood. Everything from introspective, to car knocking anthems, Freddie reminds us that he is one of hip-hops ever morphing figures, unleashing his art over any beat he can get his hands on.

Best Tracks: “20 Karat Jesus” & “Crushed Glass”

43: Belly & Boi-1da - Mumble Rap

Genre: Hip-Hop

Boi-1da has been behind some of the biggest and best records of the past decade from Drake and Kendrick, to Lana Del Rey and Rihanna, and he has for the first time taken over the boards for a full album. This newest project Belly has put forth in his short career as a lead act, and not just a songwriter, shows the XO signee never taking a line off and making a statement that he is here to stay as a solo artist.

Best Tracks: “Lullaby” & “The Come Down Is Real”

42: Sonder - Into

Genre: R&B

Brent Faiyaz, the crooner responsible for vocals on Goldlink’s chart topping hit “Crew”, began his year off with an EP that catches the soul of the nighttime that ensues after the party's over. From the layered and airy production to his remorseful and woeful lyrics that cover the length of the project, Brent and the rest of Sonder create a realm of shadowy emotion that words can never properly describe, but a feeling all to real to everyone.

Best Track: “Lovely”

Sounds Like: JMSN’s “JMSN”

41: JMSN - Whatever Makes U Happy

Genre: Jazz / Soul

JMSN has steadily created one of the best discographies in music today, and that is due to his willingness to experiment and branch into different genres. With a vocal range and tone like no one working today, JMSN can try different production styles and never feel out of place. His latest offer catches the soul of jazz and R&B by mostly being recorded in one take, with an empty room, outside of him and an assortment of talented musicians. His woeful longings and poems dealing with the many levels of relationships is a further step in the direction of the type of artistry that JMSN aims to be a part of.

Best Tracks: “Drinkin’” & “Slowly”

Sounds Like: D’angelo’s “Voodoo”

40: Talib Kweli - Radio Silence

Genre: Hip-Hop

Talib Kweli has never missed a step lyrically. No one has been as consistent since the turn of the century as the Brooklyn native, and now 17 years into his solo career Kweli adds another gem to his discography. Speaking on the struggles of the African-American community in America has always been a strong suit of Kweli, but he has done it this time around with inclusion of artists that are far from his comfort zone with rappers like Rick Ross and Waka Flocka Flame. Whether accompanying their styles or his own, Talib always finds a way to shine and bring a crucial message to lovers of hip-hop.

Best Tracks: “All Of Us” & “She’s My Hero”

39: Migos - Culture

Genre: Hip-Hop

Time and time again the world has counted out the Migos. When the entered the consciousness with “Versace” they were a one-hit wonder. When they continued they were “just rapping fast about nothing”. Now, nearly 5 years later they are the biggest group in all of hip-hop, and most popular hip-hop group in over a decade. This newest project is a dive into the sound they helped create with production from artists like Metro Boomin and Zaytoven who helped create this modern trap sound. Quavo’s club ready hooks, Offset’s energy and aggression, and Takeoff’s killer verses all fall like puzzle pieces right into the ethereal and world renowned sound of modern day rap music. 

Best Tracks: “T-Shirt” & “Get Right Witcha”

38: Jay Worthy & The Alchemist - Fantasy Island

Genre: Hip-Hop

Jay Worthy is a name everyone should get more familiar with. Adopting the West Coast as a transient from Canada, Worthy has been apart of underground rap circles for years, and has reeled in colleagues such as Conway and $ha Hef for his latest endeavour. One of many group projects Worthy has been a piece of this year, none fit his blunted and laid back rapping style as well as this fully-Alchemist produced EP.

Best Track: “Miss You”

Sounds Like: Domo Genesis & The Alchemist’s “No Idols”

37: Mac DeMarco - This Old Dog

Genre: Indie Rock / Lo-Fi

Mac Demarco’s yacht rock, even folk-esk at times, guitar strummings and singing push the vision of a scenic view from a boat in the middle of a lake to your mind. The breeze in your face, the smell of cold beer and new winter coats. For years Mac has created the aesthetic of the lovable slacker, but on his newest record something has changed. Instead of performing from the boat for the crowd to watch, these sounds feel closer and more intimate, becoming less of someone to marvel from afar, and more of someone you feel like a friend of.

Best Tracks: “Sister” & “On The Level”

36: J.I.D. - The Never Story

Genre: Hip-Hop

From the Atlanta collective known as Spillage Village to an artist under J. Cole’s Dreamville label, JID has been a part of some wonderful company. Being around great MC’s along with an energy and skill set that separate him from the bunch of traditional Atlanta artists, JID has pushed his name into the front of the pack of the new artists who ruled in 2017. Bars for days and an ear for production that’s as outlandish as he is makes for a perfect storm of an artist who still isn’t in his final form, but is a scary sight as is.

Best Tracks: “General” & “Hereditary”

Sounds Like: Vince Staples’ “Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2″

35: Majid Jordan - The Space Between

Genre: R&B / Synthpop

The Canadian duo has taken everything they have ever done and tinkered it and improved it into what is the perfect mission statement for the OVO Label outside of Drake. Everything from sleek late night two step anthems, to 80′s revival jams that beg to be screamed in your car. The duo brings in labelmates dvsn and PARTYNEXTDOOR, with the later playing a part in one of the most underrated grooves of the past year. Majid Jordan finds ways to improve and level up in ways no other R&B duo has done in years.

Best Tracks: “One I Want” & “Gave Your Love Away”

34: CyHi The Prynce - No Dope On Sundays

Genre: Hip-Hop

CyHi is one of the many artists who as a fan feared would be trapped by label politics into releasing astounding mixtapes and never putting together a true debut album. With “No Dope On Sundays” CyHi breaks through the paperwork and his drug dealing past into being able to look back on these times and give gems that everyone can appreciate. From black empowerment, advice to hustlers the world over, and becoming comfortable and accepting of religion in his life the G.O.O.D. Music signee puts together the sum of his mixtapes into a cohesive body of work that can be studied like scripture.

Best Tracks: “Nu Africa” & “Get Yo Money”

33: PeeWee Longway - The Blue M&M 3

Genre: Hip-Hop

Atlanta’s hip-hop scene has been around for over 2 decades, and has been at the forefront of the rap world for over half that time. The mainstream acts like Migos and Future are intertwined within the small city with lesser known acts like PeeWee Longway due to Atlanta truly being the biggest small town in the south. PeeWee has been apart of the rap scene for years rising alongside the Patron Saint of Georgia himself Gucci Mane. Years of sharpening his lightning fast flow and street themed lyrics have come to fruition on what is arguably the best project in his deep discography.

Best Tracks: “Creep” & “Rerocc”

32: Lorde - Melodrama

Genre: Pop

Pop music over time has become more and more formulaic. Sing like A, about B, over a beat a C BPM and a hit is born. Pop music hasn’t always been this disposable form of music, and at it’s root it’s about catchy songwriting that plays off as simple, but is secretly layered. This is the type of pop music Lorde has created yet again on her newest LP. She doesn't sing about anything out of the norm (love, parties, loneliness, etc) but it’s the way she sings about it. Her songwriting is as good as anyone in modern music, and far outpaces her pop counterparts.

Best Tracks: “Green Light” & “Supercut”

31: Brother Ali - All The Beauty In This Whole Life

Genre: Hip-Hop

Brother Ali has made a career on crafting stories straight from a diary, and would just as quickly tell you rap about the evils the world holds. For this project Ali leans on piano driven production by underground legend Ant, and with these beats digs into his softer side by gushing comfort and telling playfully cruel stories bookended together by hooks that play in your head for hours. Ali’s finest work to date would not be complete without the occasional flip into his famous sermons about the struggles of the minorities in a country that wishes nothing more than for you to fail, and how they set such a system of failure up.

Best Tracks: “Pray For Me” & “Out Of Here” 

30: Kelela - Take Me Apart

Genre: R&B / Electronic

Sounds of a living breathing world, clashing with synthetic bangs and swells that can be created by none other than an all-star cast of renowned artists create together a pocket for Kelela, an R&B songstress in the making. In her voice you hear to subtle hints of Solange and Janet Jackson, and like Jackson, at any moment Kelela can send out a rush of sound from her body that will make your heart stop and make you want to wail long. Subtle and powerful, heart ache and self-discovery, these dualities are attributes the singer seems to master to early in a career that is just beginning.

Best Tracks: “Frontline” & “Waitin’” 

29: FKJ - French Kiwi Juice

Genre: Fusion Jazz

Of all the albums that were released this year, none are more enjoyable than this electro-tropical project by the French multi-instrumentalist. Every beat takes you into a different garden of sounds and color, yet they all tie together as beautifully as a tropical paradise. Creating an album as pleasant and replayable as this with little vocals is a gift on it’s own, and this is a gift FKJ posses wholeheartedly.

Best Tracks: “Lying Together” & “Skyline”

28: Vince Staples - Big Fish Theory

Genre: Experimental Hip-Hop / Electronic

Vince Staples is the king of nihilism. His newest electronic based LP gives insight to a world we haven't reached yet, but will be at soon. Yet as observant of the negativity festering in the world as this project it is, it doubles as the background music at a house party only our great-grandkids will be able to speak about. Hip-Hop music at it’s core is electronic music with rhymes over top of it, and Vince stretches what we view as hip-hop into a world not as aggressive as Grime music, but more relaxed then electro-rap album like those made by Death Grips and Kanye West. Vince has shown he has no intent on slowing down his creative pushes whether it be gritty street tales or electronic tales of the drawbacks fame gives.

Best Tracks: “Big Fish” & “Love Can Be…”

Sounds Like: Outkast’s “Stankonia”

27: Dirty Projectors - Dirty Projectors

Genre: Indie Pop / Electronic

Experimentation is a trait of one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the 21st century, and Dirty Projectors has enough of that to spare. Oozing with melodic vocal layerings, to the point you can’t tell if a computer program or a real person is singing, that glide seamlessly over pianos and electronic production, David Longstreth shows out yet again as a leading vocalist and main man behind a band that digs so deep that it seems outlandish.

Best Tracks: “Up In Hudson” & “Winner Take Nothing”

Sounds Like: Bon Iver’s “22, A Million”

26: Cosmo Pyke - Just Cosmo

Genre: Indie Rock / Anti-Pop

A teen and his guitar has been the starting tools of revolutions in music since the dawn of recorded music. And like those who came before him Cosmo Pyke brings with him a sound and style all his own. Acts from his home country of England have created music like his before and since the release of this debut EP, but Cosmo’s songwriting is bounds above the rest. Cherry tales of young love and typical slacker appeal meld into a pile of beautiful tunes showing a raw skill within the a star in the making.

Best Track: “Chronic Sunshine”

25: Rapsody - Laila’s Wisdom

Genre: Hip-Hop

From the intro with a flurry of choirs and keys into the outro with a haunting sample loop, Rapsody issues out a flurry of bars that challenge any active rapper. The leader of 9th Wonder's Jamla record label has been hard at work leveling up her skills to stand toe to toe with any and anyone that comes her way. Rapsody separates herself from the lip gloss and leathered up mold that most of today’s biggest female rappers tend to lean towards, and in that separation she fits in with the true emcees of the world rather than those on the quest for pop success. Even though bar for bar she is a problem, Rapsody took tracks like “Sassy” to speak on topics a male artist may not be able to properly deliver, another advantage for one of the Carolina’s finest artists.

Best Tracks: “Nobody” & “You Should Know”

24: Brockhampton - The Saturation Trilogy

Genre: Alternative Hip-Hop

This year rap was heralded as the new go-to genre for what makes up pop music. Streaming has revealed what we within the culture have already known, and with this new claim that rap is the new pop a boy band has come to the forefront of the genre. 2017 saw Brockhampton release 3 astounding albums with a loose concept surrounding the group’s dive into illegal crime and eventual imprisonment that is also loosely followed in their videos. Playing from the first instalment through to the third Ameer Vann, Kevin Abstract and Dom McLennon take the lead with the most time on record, but still making room for Matt Champion, Merlyn Wood, Joba and Bearface to shine and come into their own in front of eyes. Brockhampton took over the year with experimental production styles and an overload of witty auto-tuned soaked verses, giving a new view into what it means to be a hip-hop group.

Best Tracks: “GOLD”, “QUEER” & “BLEACH”

23: Wiki - No Mountains In Manhattan

Genre: East Coast Hip-Hop

New York City has done it’s best over the past decade to reclaim hip-hop music from it’s Southern counterpart, Atlanta. The City’s newest artists have tried their best to copy the sound, but most have failed. In the grimiest parts of the city though, is where artists like Wiki were born. Playing like a love letter to the city here the Ratking leader was born and raised, with at every turn and twist comes a yurp and freshly opened 40. A 16 track dive into the beauty of New York City gives a perspective that has been missing from hip-hop. No bitterness, no pleas for mainstream success, just the sonic version of Wiki’s toothless smile gleaming in the middle of Washington Square Park.

Best Tracks: “Mayor” and “Litt 15”

22: Sinjin Hawke: First Opus

Genre: Electronic 

A one time go to Kanye collaborator, Sinjin Hawke used reject beats and his futuristic vision to create a soundtrack of everyday life 200 years from now in an LP that could double as a score for a Ridley Scott film. Electronic music is the final frontier of music as an artform, and with one of the most ambitious and original compositions over the past decade Sinjin sets himself alongside other visionaries like Flying Lotus, Aphex Twin and Burial.

Best Tracks: “Shimmer” & “Flood Gates”

Sounds Like: Flying Lotus’ “Los Angeles”

21: Kamasi Washington - Harmony Of Difference

Genre: Jazz

Jazz music has been bastardized over decades into elevator music with little more then the occasional true jazz album to pierce the mold. Thanks to Flying Lotus and his Brainfeeder label jazz has been able to be reborn and re-envisioned thanks to the likes of the saxophonist Kamasi Washington. Constant intricate changes allow Washington to expand upon previous ideas revealed and hashed out in his groundbreak album “The Epic”. As each day passes Kamasi becomes more and more skilled along with each member of his ever expanding band. As long as time passes, Kamasi’s skill will grow, and so will his ambition to bring jazz back to greatness,

Best Track: “Truth”

Sounds Like: John Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”

20: Milo - Who Told You To Think??!!?!?!?!

Genre: Underground Hip-Hop

Entering into the dreamlike escapade crafted and materialized by the philosophy loving Milo can push away the casual fan. Milo has reared his head yet again coming off and tweaking the formula that crafted his acclaimed sophomore LP “So The Flies Don’t Come”. The beautiful instrumentals and hooks that play more as drunken chants real in a fan of hip-hop music, but the deeper you read into the verses the references and vocabulary are so obscure you wonder if you truly love it. The nose-to-the-sky feeling given off is one that can be to much for most, but pushing back against this can lead into loving a project that is one of a kind.

Best Tracks: “Sorcerer” & “Landscaping”

19: St. Vincent - MASSEDUCTION

Genre: Alternative Pop 

St. Vincent’s newest endeavor takes a dive into the power of seduction in different facets of life. The seduction that power can cause in the eyes of other, to the seduction ability one has with someone they know so well. Coupled with her astounding mastery of guitar and different production styles allows a backdrop to the world of seduction within the coastal bubbles Clark resides. Nothing this year sounds like what has been crafted on this tight knit LP, mostly because no one can do what St. Vincent does.

Best Tracks: “Masseduction” & “Sugarboy”

Sounds Like: Prince’s “Under The Cherry Moon”

18: Drake - More Life

Genre: Hip-Hop / R&B

Drake has done his best to try and destroy being labeled anything more specific than an artist. Actor, singer, rapper, producer and tastemaker are all titles that can’t sum up Drake and his creativity. Labeling his newest endeavor a “playlist” and refusing to submit it to the Grammy’s is just another chapter in Drake pushing and bending what labels are. Featuring some of the best records in Drake’s catalog while putting on personal friends and musical inspirations like Sampha, Skepta, Kanye West, Jorja Smith and Giggs all in one verbose package is something that if someone proposed the idea a year ago no one would believe. The Canadian artist has once again melded R&B and Hip-Hop like only he can, while throwing in sprinkles of everything else that makes the 6 God who he is.

Best Tracks: “Free Smoke” & “Teenage Fever”

17: SZA - CTRL

Genre: R&B

Love lost and relationships broken will always be a topic in music. Beaten to death at times, but the greats can find ways to originally tell their story. Though speculation of who the album is about has pointed into some interesting places to raise the profile of the songs, the music speaks for itself. Each and every track is filled with cries of a woman trying to discover herself, and what she is worth.  A album wrapped in equal parts whimsical warmth and modern day R&B sound sets SZA on path to be another TDE powerhouse in mainstream and critical circles.

Best Tracks: “Garden” & “Broken Clocks”

16: Oddisee - The Iceberg

Genre: Hip-Hop

As far as underground hip-hop goes in 2017, and to the sub-genre as a whole, rarely will you come across a talent who values songwriting and hooks as much as they care about being a master of lyrics and experimentation. That is where Oddisee comes in. He has made conscious decisions to avoid crossing into the mainstream, mainly because he doesn't have the want to be famous. “The Iceberg” tells a message the world needs to hear, a message of acceptance and growing up in a damaged world. No other artist has checked off as many boxes as Oddisee, and all his talents are shown to a new level across this newest LP.  

Best Tracks: “Built By Pictures” & “Want To Be”

15: Sampha - Process

Genre: Soul / Electronic 

There is beauty in the simple things. A breezy morning, rain as you go to bed. The beautiful simple things. After a hiatus in the wake of the death of his mother Sampha returned with tear welling songs and ballads that remind you how beautiful minimalism and simplicity can be. One of the most gut wrenching tracks somes in the form a piano ballad dedicated to the love his late mother had given him, and as his pain wells out the gorgeous voice that sounds like none other begs to be repeated again and again.

Best Tracks: “Blood On Me” & “Kora Sings”

Sounds Like: James Blake’s “Overgrown”

14: Thundercat - Drunk

Genre: Psychedelic Jazz

An entry into the mind of the world renowned bassist, “Drunk” plays like a jazzed out Frank Zappa project, with themes varying from a love song about his cat to his love of anime and the city of Tokyo. A sonic expansion from his previous album “Apocalypse”  Thundercat tag teams through the album with his label head and close friend Flying Lotus weaving deeper and deeper into the trenches of this jazz filled paradise. As the album turns from waking up joyously hungover, into returning to the same bottle again, the album title resonates hard into the closing tracks. Drunken journeys into one’s own mind along with a meddling ADHD odyssey is challenging his previous album as some of the most important work in modern jazz, and slowly grows into the victour.

Best Tracks: “Uh Uh” & “Show You The Way”

13: Kendrick Lamar - DAMN.

Genre: Hip-Hop

The best active rapper out right now is the Compton-bred MC, and though this album cemented a portion of Kendrick’s attributes that he’s always lacked in (album sales & streams) it is still a questionable project by Lamar’s standards. Thought “FEAR” and “DUCKWORTH” are some of the best tracks Kendrick has ever released, the project will not live on through the overall make-up. The concept of the record and the conspiracy theories that circled around it along with astronomical sales will keep this album in West Coast loar. Don’t be confused, this is a very good project with everything you could ever ask from a single artist to meld into one body of work, yet by Kendricks standard, it is a dip in the wrong direction.

Best Tracks: “FEAR.” & “XXX.”

12: The Alchemist & Budgie - The Good Book Vol. 2

Genre: Instrumental Hip-Hop / Underground Hip-Hop

As music evolves more technologically and in structure, gospel music becomes more and more interesting in today’s world. Religion is a tongue and cheek topic for most, but the music when done right is astounding regardless of message. Give these records to the legendary producer Alchemist and the equally exciting and underrated Budgie, along with their Rolodex of super skilled friends, the ceiling is non-existent. A two disc 96 minute odyssey into underground hip-hop weaved together by samples from a lost time in musical history is one of (if not the) best producer lead albums of the past decade.

Best Tracks: “No Mystery God” & “In-N-Out”

Sounds Like: The Avalanches “Wildflower”

11: Tennyson - Uh Oh!

Genre: Electronic

The brother / sister duo has returned with another EP highlighted by the sounds of a futuristic city like nothing you can see in film. A dream world filled with bird chirps, high paced drums, and the clanging together of whatever you can find in the depths of your production software. Limited singing gives way for one to long for the calming voice to return to give another layer of beauty to an already overloaded roster of sound and audio color that is a part of a spearheaded movement of dense and upbeat electronic compositions.

Best Track: “Pegasus.exe”

10: Lil Uzi Vert - Luv Is Rage 2

Genre: Alternative Hip-Hop

You will not find a more fun album to blast at full volume then the newest edition to Lil Uzi Vert’s newest venture. “Luv Is Rage 2” was in purgatory for months by Don Cannon, DJ Drama, and Altantic Records due to the success of the smash lead single “XO Tour Llif3”, and once released the hundred of thousands within the internet community that birthed Uzi went wild, sending the album straight to #1. A sonic carnival, lead by the shoulder rolling ringmaster himself with lyrics of love lost, youthful energy and a dangerous amount of drug use, is a project that will be looked back as a seminal release from this generation of SoundCloud birthed artists, and possibly this era of music in general. 

Best Tracks: “Neon Guts” & “The Way Life Goes”

9: Big K.R.I.T. - 4Eva Is A Mighty Long Time

Genre: Southern Hip-Hop

The great return of Big K.R.I.T. years in the making. A double disc dive into the duality of K.R.I.T’s musical ventures exemplifies his versatility in a way the major label system never properly handled. The first side shows the mainstream crossover ability that always had shown glimpses over his career, while also showing an aggressive and hungry delivery to be considered one of the generation's greats. On the flip side of the album, we are shown into Justin Scott’s (K.R.I.T.’s real name) way of thinking. An inclusion of live instruments and a deeper message accompanied with a dive into the psyche of K.R.I.T. as a man in his past and today. The return of the Southern star show’s a rebirth of a career that belongs to be put next to today's and all of history's greats.

Best Tracks: “The Light” & “Mixed Messages”

Sounds Like: Outkast’s “ATLiens”

8: Open Mike Eagle - Brick Body Kids Still Daydream

Genre: Underground Hip-Hop

Chicago is never out of the news for long, whether it be tales of murder and destruction, or the flip side featuring political change and community outreach. Somewhere in the middle Open Mike Eagle sits doodling a satiristic world to describe it all. An ode to the Robert Taylor projects where Eagle grew up in, along with over 20,000 other people, Mike speaks of himself in many mythical ways whether it be a hero within the building, or the homes themselves. The two features Eagle allowed into his brick and mortar universe were standouts, especially the early verse from the show stealing Sammus. Conceptually it is one of a kind, proving again Open Mike Eagle and the underground which he meddles in, is a land of opportunity.

Best Tracks: “Legendary Iron Hood” & “Happy Wasteland Day”

Sounds Like: Aesop Rock’s “Labor Days”

7: Future - HNDRXX

Genre: Hip-Hop / R&B 

Future has reached the point in his career where he can sit back and watch the world spin around him. Every new artist has a piece of Future in their DNA, and Future could live of his major records and the occasional feature for life. Yet he took the creative risk of making a full R&B album, a project that does have rapping but to a minimal amount in the same vein as early Drake. The soul splitting auto tune melodies speaking possibly of his ex relationships with Ciara and the wife of Scottie Pippen, and the drugs to mellow the pain of lost love and past memories. “Dirty Sprite 2” was an angry and hungry Future, attacking the world, while “HNDRXX” comes off as the yang to DS2’s ying, and shows range but a living legend.  

Best Tracks: “My Collection” & “Solo” 

Sounds Like: Drake’s “Take Care”

6: Jay-Z - 4:44

Genre: Hip-Hop

The President of Hip-Hop himself, Jay-Z shows a further evolution in an already storied discography. Jay has been personal in the past, but never in such an intimate setting. Done in the span of a few weeks with the legendary No ID, these sessions gave us the final product of the most personal a mainstream artist, especially of Jay’s stature. Bringing to light secrets and public questions of Hov’s relationships with his wife Beyonce, tips on building a fortune, his parents, and on-again-off-again little brother Kanye, to finally give his side of each story. The persona of the corner boy turned CEO has almost never shown any vulnerability, and all these decades later these internal feelings finally see the light in the form of a golden standard in late career work.

Best Tracks: “Marcy Me” & “Family Feud”

Sounds Like: Nas’ “Life Is Good”

5: King Krule - The OOZ

Genre: Alternative

King Krule has revealed himself from his self-induced seclusion and has gone back into his most popular musical identity, taking a break from the dubstep and hip-hop laced corners of the internet he took shelter in. On his 70 minute plunge into the mucky bowels of London, Archy brings with him equal parts angst, longing and hazy production to tell tales of relationships and isolation, but mostly focusing on painting a Greek tragedy with words and guitars. Feeling and emotion personified via a hissing and empty void in between each vocal wail, reminding us how raw uncut emotion is the underlying factor in all great art, and Archy Marshall slops and gushes emotion in layers like no other act can.

Best Tracks: “Dum Surfer” & “Biscuit Town”

4: Run The Jewels - Run The Jewels 3

Genere: Alternative Hip-Hop

Killer Mike and El-P are the best hip-hop duo since Outkast. With their third project the best group in rap music solidifies themselves yet again as the inventive and aggressive showboaters they are, with a more intense dive into El-P’s synth filled world. El and Mike touch on the capitalistic and ever changing world we are in, playing into the dystopian sci-fi tropes the group has separately gone into many times before. Their first project was an introduction, the second project was the group talking more of the world around them, and with this third time around, the tag team becomes more aggressive than ever while mixing in the best parts of everything they have ever done across thier individually storied careers. 

Best Tracks: “Call Ticketron” & “Everybody Stay Calm”

3: Tyler The Creator - Scum Fuck Flower Boy

Genre: Alternative Hip-Hop

With his 5th full length solo project Tyler has solidified himself as one of, if not the, most influential artist of this generation. In a class with the Kendricks, Coles, K.R.I.T.’s, and Drakes of the world, Tyler has found a way to stand alone. This self produced masterpiece is Tyler's musical dreams and ambitions personified and laced with beautiful guest features that fit in ways that bring to mind more of a band then a solo album with features. Yet as beautiful as the music sounds, the lyrics are focused on loneliness, acceptance, paranoia and depression. Since the beginning Ty has had albums based in an original narrative about a boy speaking with his therapist and the events surrounding it, and to break the mold a whole new layer of vulnerability was added. 2018 was a year that showed Tyler gaining a TV show, a new shoe line, a store in Los Angeles, another sold out self-produced festival, and this 14 track artwork shows us again how important originality is. Nothing can, or will stop Tyler.

Best Tracks: “See You Again” & “Pothole”

2: Daniel Caesar - Freudian

Genre: Soul

Production can be replicated. Lyrics can be replicated. A voice though,  can almost never be replicated. The range Caesar flexes across the 10 track debut LP is breathtaking in ways words cannot describe. Daniels music puts you in a state of mind, a flashback into the worst part of any relationship, but with a sprinkle of hope at the end. From sensual duets, to songs of longing a lyrical range to complement his vocal range is apparent and beautiful. Caesars gospel background comes as no surprise with the amount of soul and pain he can easily place into each run. Leading a pack of young soul and R&B artists, Caesar has a future ahead like none we have ever seen. 

Best Tracks: “We Find Love” & “Get You”

1: Smino - Blkswn

Genre: Alternative Hip-Hop

40 years since hip-hop was founded in New York City the genre has expanded musically from scratched up James Brown records into inclusion of every instrument and production style under the sun. And yet evolution is still eternally coming. Monte Booker, who produced on 16 of the 18 tracks has sculpted an ever tweaking and twitching paradise for Smino to fit his elastic flow and wordplay into every crevice of the intricate electronic based beats. Vocal layering and ad-libs used in ways rare to find in any genre add depth to records instead of being used as corny catch phrases like most utilize them for. Tales of drunken nights and lost lives spoken with Smino’s unique drawl and vocal tone recieve a kind of depth and playfulness combined that gives way to comparisons to Chicago MC’s Saba and Chance The Rapper .The St. Louis scene hasn’t seen much talent since the early aughts when Nelly ruled the world with a platinum fist, but now the city (along with new home Chicago) can claim the innovative minds Smino and Monte Booker.  

Best Tracks: “Father Son, Holy Smoke” & “B Role”

[militiapax]

I Was There(Great)...Again

Trumpur(i)nations to us All! We’re all bout to get pissed on!

Washington DC resembled that of a (I’m told) harry potter fog/ whitey? people game of thrones dystopian nightmare. But mostly Dark Knight. I don’t know if it was Trump jacking Bane’s speech with grim, hitler-esque tones of totalitarian madness or the bird flocks looming feverishly around the white house like a wild pack of bats, but it was a spot on parallel to everyone’s worst knightmares rolled into a huge piece of frightful blockbuster entertainment. And the reality show rolls on.

The sky looked like dark knighttime and blinding day white at the same time (and not just the fact that trump’s fan club was almost exclusively white).

Insane amount of security, took 45 minutes to walk through a checkpoint. These did not exist at Obama’s inauguration, where there was WAY MORE PEOPLE, who was gloriously happy, singing Bob Dylan, and being vaguely observed by like 14 snipers. That brilliant day eight years ago, people flooded the mall, search-free, and though it was far colder, everyone was warm. It was a great day. This, this was something entirely different. Took almost an hour to get through the ridiculous line, but not after security dramatically broke the stick that was supporting my NODAPL sign, with white priv trump bros taunting me with “just like your broken dreams”. Once inside, it was clear no one was there, just a hitler-esque speech about carnage and a war on muslimism. It was bleak to say the last. This is what the end of America sounds like.

Had to get away from the terrible sounds of hatred and racism and found far more people protesting nearby. Saw a busted up limo, though no evidence of who did it, and it was claimed later the vehicle was set on fire. So the chants got louder and then the masses came out, still peaceful, but heated. They used the limo thing to justify pepper spraying everyone ever, including elder women who were just singing. Then they  started dropping bombs like WW7 and people were running down the streets for their lives. The blockbuster movie again. Retreating in the park nearby, hearing the bombs dropping, there was talk of a soldier who was experiencing PTSD by being there; chaos was everywhere. I heard everyone smoked at 4:20 into trump’s speech, which I distantly smelled, but mine was a smoke cloud of terror. When it was all said and not done, peoples’ eyes were burning, horrid smells of berning encompassed city blocks, chemicals were taste-able in the air, 200 arrests of people rounded up in the area that did nothing now facing insane felony charges; the city was on fire….not a strong start.

The Awokening

The following day was like a waking of a dead collective unconscious. There were so many people flooding the streets. Just maybe there are some good people left. It was reassuring, yet heartbreaking to think what they and their children will have to endure. On the way out, saw a Muslim man being arrested outside an apartment building in VA. Probable coincidence but weird sight nonetheless, chilling past future reminders of the madness ahead and behind.

Walking with all the people, the women, the children, so many clever signs, it was a breathtaking image. The celebrity scene was tight too. Lil’ bigg Mikey Moore was there again, inspiring us to action through his humor, his confessed crippling social anxiety, and the beginning of an anti-trump satire movement. Scarlett Johansen seemed to get it, and Ashley Judd’s words chilled to the very core. Madonna was a little questionable, particularly her performance, but the indigo girls soothed with a once popular uplifting 90s vibe, we have to bring that sound with us into this uncertain future. There’s something about the wonder of the unknown that seemed exciting, not frightening, on the capitol that day. That if there are enough good people still left in this country, we really might use this horror show to create something amazing. The revolutionary shift is truly upon us now, people are getting woke AF, etc. Uplifting, inspiring, and lots of chanting. “Show me what democracy looks like “ “This is what Democracy looks like. “ “Whose streets?” “our streets!” (not wall street), we even threw a couple “Bernie would have wons” into the mix; it was not difficult to get that one going quick et loud. Flooding through the streets with the largest crowd I’ve ever marched with, full of so many passionate, compassionate women and human beings, was truly glorious expression of an engaged political process that works of the people, for the people, and by the people.

Non-Alternative Facts

To be clear, There were WAY MORE PEOPLE at the womens’ march than the Inauguration

The women’s march was a reassuring, hopeful bucket of sunshine compared to the apocolypto ****show I had witnessed the day before. And there were a ton more people there. I repeat : There were way, way MORE PEOPLE AT THE MARCH ON SATURDAY, no matter how much the fake media actual photos tries to lie to us with facts. And for the record, way more of those who actually showed up Friday were there to protest Donny, and everyone there Saturday was protesting him except twelve embarrassed/angry trumpets, so the numbers are not in his favor. FAUX FACTcheck

There was a point with an engaged discussion between trumpets and non-trumpets that was uplifting, hopeful, and something different to see. Most of the exchanges between us were heckles.

One month Down…so far Down to go

My journey was wrapping up in DC, but only beginning to unwrap for life after Donny. As long as maniacs roam free in that tainted house I kept staring at in wonder and disgust, the fight will continue. As long as injustice and inhumanity occurs, WE the people will be here.

I walk past the massive sign displays lining a fence, greatly resembling a certain future Mexican wall, only these were expressing messages of hope and peace, not division and hatred. I left a couple of the signs I had been carrying around all day against the fence. I hope this incredible art piece stays here until Trump is impeached, but I am told they were all burned later that night by Trump’s thug brigade fan boys. Ew L Though this week has been a shakey start (understatement of the century), the marches and protests come to confirm what we knew all along: this country is great because of those who stay involved, not those who stay in charge.

 REVELATION NATION

It’s more than kinda crazy we rejected a qualified woman running for prez for the most sexist, sexual assaulting, and least qualified man to ever run for prez. Double Slap in the face for women, and now trumps tryin to close planned parenthood and ban abortion so it as a reaction to all those things and much more. nobody there cared that hill dawg didnt get a divorce. i know i dont.

This man can shove his way into our heads and twitterings and blood and infect us with the new old fascists amerika that was always there but you tried not to talk about til that black dude left the room.

What has happened here today leaves many stunned, punched, and wanting to move to Europe. But there’s no escape from tyranny, there’s no escape from dictatorship or racism or the few with so much wanting to keep it at the expense of their fellow people. (well maybe Sweden?) When there is enough for us all but some want more and that’s ok because “I worked for it” but don’t see how it’s the rich we should blame. The working poor felt the sadness, the women felt it--

Do you believe us now, do you feel how fragile your life really was and the floor slipping out from under the poor. “I wont be affected” you will, plus that kinda makes you sound like a dick bag, big time.

We are each other, one people. If there is injustice , it must be made right, and especially by those more so in the position to do and not suffering the same as those oppressed most, our Fellow Humans.

And we’ve lost Ourselves, only to find Ourselves

We have much to fight for now, don’t you see?  

This is the point in the world… this is it.

No exaggerating, no whammy—just WHAM

 I saw it but I still don’t believe it.

The sinking feeling that swept the crowd under a fog that was darkness but blinding white

Is it snowing

Are there bombs going off

YES, and you will have nightmares for weeks, but that’s nothing compared to four years, four more minutes

and the city burns, and not in the good berning way, the way that makes you see that the inherent flaws within capitalism and this great experiment of democracy that has truly succumbed to the inescapable corruptions of man. THAT kinda way

 8 years ago it was all different. Funny to think. Makes you laugh that painful cringe that turns a stomach

In the way that Ashley judd could catapult southern words into our shivering goosebumped souls-

It wasn’t even cold, not raining like the yesterdays of inaugurations-

How long ago that must have been

 We are Fighting for what we are Living for

Why bother? Everyone has their reasons—the families gathered here are fueled by love

Why did people vote for trump? Everyone has their reasons

Mostly action comes from places pushed to walls, bumps of dissatisfaction

we’ve grown too irritated to keep scratching, maybe we’re just tired

Meryl Lynch Streep

And even when the most beloved women who the public idolized like a star in the sky, defended the cripples and those who were different, and even those who weren’t. she herself was not defended, instead the public began to question even her trusted voice of wisdom, they questioned very facts as presented by a corporate fueled source-well I guess that part did make a little more sense-but they weren’t asking the right questions

Who made the choice---when we think we���re doing something on own , hand tied to its pupeteer.

“You’re a puppet. “no YOU’RE the puppet”

We’re ALL PUPPETS, getting played by the puppeteer, and now it’s gotten worse,

How do we get out of this nowwwww ---sinkink sinking sink holes earthquakes?

You did technically want it this way. depravity enforced, we can all speak our filthy little minds now

But it pushes you somewhere when things got lost so lost

We can cry and be babies and we are but we need to get out there now

Put bodies in ideas, action in passive, standing but sitting (in)

Just to clarify in a time where Nothing is Clear:

man-hating feminists? they been calling women who stand up for womens' rights that forever-don’t let it get to us now !! and not on our big day !

the trumpers sc(r)ewed perspective is less credible than Trump thinks CNN is. yeah no, i was there, the women were standing up for themselves, with a bunch of men with them in solidarity. if anything they might have been angry at specific white dudes taking away their rights...makes sense. This blind love of trump twists reality, and reasoning has mostly gone out of open close-minded windows.  1) they weren't specifically anti-pro life, whatever that is, they spoke to maintaining planned parenthood and affordable womens' healthcare. 2) there were tons and tons of organizers who've worked on a variety of campaigns, so it's possible one has questionable ties. this should in no sense discredit the event. 3) i saw no volugarity, just an inspirational crowd of men and women who care about the future for them and their children. im sure some would be offended by some things throughout the march, but that will happen in a ginormous crowd of passionate people, made up of families, women, and men all coming together peacefully. thought it was super non-vulgar

Inspiration Nation

honestly, there is something very wrong and darkly twisted within this current ray of disarray, trump, all his cabinet picks, all of it. Examine the true direction of this country, the true nature of the people living here. Stop allowing misinformed, destruction to keep circulating as news. This will not stand but know there are many to resist on all sides, that’s why we need to all join the same team. There are 99% of us getting wrecked and everything else is a distraction, keep us fighting, keep it us vs. us, when everyone knows it has and will always be (until we unite) US vs THEM. In the past, people waking up to it, those who are hip to it and get others on board, well we know what happens to them. That’s why this many of us getting pissed off, standing up to corrupt leaders across the world, we will finally reach the ultimate level of our strength in numbers (plus there’s more people on the planet now than there’s ever been, and that’s a hard fact to be faux).

Is it possible we can actually win now, again, yet for the first time? We have no other choice. The tipping point is upon us, environmentally, there is no choice. Socially, religiously, economically, there is no choice. Make or break, do or die, stay WOKE but get WOKER, and much, much quicker. People have been fighting for this for years , they’ve laid the groundwork, now for the berners and youthers and lovers and thinkers and dreamers-- to bring it home. You’ve been informed (shout out to Bernard on this one),  you can no longer keep your heads sandy and your hearts wavering. Join us, the militia pax, the war of peace, THE fight-it must be fought, has been fought, will be fought. No choice left but to WIN.  

            ���o�Z���