#cadence is them in infamous as the mc

[ripoffstar]

Phoenix Sonata: Good friends with Blake Winter

Phoenix Cadence: Is going to hit him with a steel chair

[joemuggs]

Pirate Material: Still Original

Saw some discussion of The Streets’s early work, and went to see if this article was still online - it’s not because the Vice brand partnership vertical (I’m sorry) that it was originally written for is gone. So here you go again!

I don't hold with the insidious theory that making brilliant art is a young man's game – or, in the words of Sickboy in Trainspotting, that “you have it, then you lose it”. It's a trope that's been with us since the beginning of rock'n'roll, dammit since the romantic poets, that idea that inspiration is intrinsically tied up with the energy of youth, that great works come like a bolt from the blue and artists are best off dying young1 rather than chasing round in ever-decreasing circles trying to relight your creative fire the rest of your sorry life. But it's clearly rubbish, a denial of craft and labour, put about by fantasists and advertisers and used as justification by those with a vested interest in keeping us emotionally immature and by the worst kind of poseurs for their ghastly Peter Pan antics.

Every so often, though, something I see or hear will make me think again – will make me have a flickering moment of belief in the essential white light of youthful creativity. And 'Original Pirate Material' is one of those things. I mean, have you heard it recently? Really heard it? Played it loud from the beginning, given it your full attention, let that utterly insane opening salvo of 'Turn the Page', 'Has it Come to This' and 'Let's Push Things Forward' work their magic on you? It's arm-hair raising stuff, it really is. The false hierarchies and dreary consensus of best-ever lists is another of those things I don't hold with, but yeah this really, really deserved to be on all those best-of-the-2000s lists, and I will gladly fight its corner against the Arctic Monkeys, Dizzee, Radiohead, Outkast, whatever you care to bring in fact.

Like almost all the best music, I didn't really get it at first. It was tinny-sounding and clattery, where I was used to dance music's oomph; I couldn't work out what Skinner's roaming accent was getting at as he slipped and slid across the rhythms, in and out of ordinary conversational cadence, lurching from sublime to ridiculous within single phrases. It was intriguing right enough, but it was impossible to shake the idea that it was all a bit contrived, an indie-weakened version of soundsystem/MC culture, or even more naggingly the idea that it was a wind-up, that this music was taking the piss out of all of us. Lines nicked from 'Gladiator' and talk about his Reeboks? Be serious. And then I had the epiphany.

The scene couldn't have been set better, really. I was out in Amsterdam for eight days on my first ever magazine feature assignment – to cover a conference on Amazon shamanic practice AND a High Times convention. I'd been hanging out with psychonauts, ravers, witch doctors2 and Dutch farmers, and experienced the best that ancient cultures and modern science had to offer; I was in a terrific mood as I was finally doing the job I'd always wanted to, and had been able to utter the immortal phrase “can I claim my ritual on expenses3, please?” on the phone to the Face magazine office. So when someone mentioned “that new band The Streets are playing the Melkweg” I was pretty much up for it.

The DJ beforehand, a Dutchman called Big Head, was playing what was generally known as “breakstep”, a kind of funky uncle to dubstep, and I liked it so much I bought his mix CD4. The Streets were very late coming on, but the crowd were raving and so was I, so who cared? When they did crash onto the stage, though, Skinner immediately and repeatedly asking the crowd if anyone had any cocaine, it was a glorious disruption of the groove, their sound spiky and awkward, and from the beginning I loved it. I don't remember a lot about the band except there was an ex-member of the Senseless Things5 on bass, and that Skinner and his co-vocalist spent a lot of the set pushing, shoving and trying to trip one another up.

And that's when it clicked into place: yes, this was a piss-take, but it was a deadly serious piss-take. This child-like 24-year-old was not just meandering between voices, themes and levels of seriousness, he was embodying every single one of them. He was a shaman too6. What was chaos and what was control became impossible to discern7. The only time I could remember seeing elemental clowning like this before on a stage was the Happy Mondays back in 1990, but I also recognised the spirit of so many loony rave urchins I'd been bamboozled and bantered at and had lighters stolen by over the years8, the never-ending babble of these Shakespearean monkeys, possessed by the endless power of the English language to spin out shaggy dog stories, to make jokes of the most serious matters and suddenly turn jokes deathly serious. The films that were projected as back stories to each of the tracks matched the quotidian urban subject matter of those songs – but they, like the lyrics and the music, revealed something so much more primal beneath. And still you could dance, laugh, drink and carouse to it.

Which is why, when I listen to 'Original Pirate Material' now, I don't hear “bloke poetry” or grittiness or mundanity or social realism any of those other things that are inevitably reeled out. I hear constant windows in to the most profound and abstracted of human instincts and experiences: vertigo, jealousy, transition, glory, loss, innocence and so much more. Just listen to the sudden swerves from domestic detail to dizzying generality in 'It's Too Late' or the affirmation and melancholy in 'Weak Become Heroes': these are about so, so much more than losing a girl or doing a pill9. They're about being human. Only years later did I start realising that Skinner was writing in a great English language tradition going a millennium back to Beowulf and taking in Sterne, Carroll, Lear, Pound, Spike Milligan, Ivor Cutler, Mark E Smith and Roots Manuva10, gibbering gobshites and bullshit artists, holy fools who could skip wildly into parts of our psyches where angels fear to tread.

He could never top this, could he? None of this is to dismiss Skinner's later work – he has on occasion made some glorious music and told some great tales since, and especially on 'Computers and Blues' when he turned full circle back to some of his early themes and freeform lyricism he showed he was tapped into the same wellspring – but 'Original Pirate Material' had it all. Everything afterwards, whether it's his narratives of modern life and celebrity, or his more philosophical turns, couldn't help but be self-conscious, trying to impose more structure onto what he had already expressed so perfectly in its rants, sketches, jokes and asides. This isn't about drugs, it's not about  “authenticity”11, and it's not really about youth as such – others have tapped into this very British, very mongrel method of accessing the ways of the human mind from very different places and perspectives – but for Skinner it was all tied into a particular openness to everything that comes with being a hungry young man with his eyes (very) wide open.

--

1 See the infamous “27 Club”, much discussed when Amy Winehouse carked it, and so called because it's the number of times anyone who takes it seriously deserves to have their face walloped with a cricket bat.

2 To be precise, a shaman from the Shuar tribe of Ecuador who played the Jew's harp.

3 Yes, bloggers, these were the days when journalists got paid expenses. They were decadent times, the early 00s.

4 In fact it is sitting on my desk right now, and it still sounds good.

5 You think nonsense genre names like “Post Dubstep” or indeed “Breakstep” are silly? Back in the 90s, The Senseless things were lumped, along with Mega City 4 and Silverfish into a genre called Fraggle Rock. Seriously.

6 No Jew's harp though, just a microphone.

7 You want to know how giddy with the brilliance of it all I was feeling at that moment? My brain flashed up the image of Stockard Channing going “chaos... control... chaos... control... you like?” to Will Smith as Donald Sutherland spun a double-sided Kandinsky in 'Six Degress of Separation'. And what? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BjwiachXkjc

8 One routine about fake vs real Nike caps that managed to weave in and out of between-song patter for almost the entire set was such archetypal rave bollocks that you'd swear you'd heard it before from someone who was about to do you out of a tenner at some party on a hillside.

9 They're about those things too, though.

10 Peter Ackroyd's 'Albion: the Origins of the English Imagination' is the book you need on this topic, although admittedly he doesn't get right the way through to Roots Manuva.

11 There's no such thing.

[nathanorenstein-blog]

Pusha T - DAYTONA Review

Pusha T - DAYTONA Review

By Nathan Orenstein 

Release Date: May 25, 2018

Genres: Hardcore Hip Hop

In December of 2015, Pusha T released Darkest Before Dawn, an album that was supposedly a prequel to the upcoming King Push. Nearly three years later, we finally get that sequel, although its name has now been changed to DAYTONA. Clocking in at 21 minutes and composed of only 7 songs, many fans were initially disappointed that they had waited three years for such a short project. However, DAYTONA is an incredibly tight set of songs, produced almost entirely by none other than Kanye West, and it will likely go down as one of the best hip hop albums of the year.

DAYTONA opens with “If You Know You Know”, a song with a beat that hits you like a truck. Pusha T raps about his dominance of the rap game and the trap game, and his detailed imagery reflects his true knowledge of drug pushing, as he was once a crack/cocaine dealer himself. His lyricism is biting and gritty, and the following line embodies the message of the song: “A rapper turned trapper can’t morph into us / But a trapper turned rapper can morph into Puff”. Kanye’s production is reminiscent of his work on Yeezus, but he has shaped the industrial edge into something much more appealing and catchy. “The Games We Play” opens with horns and a piano, both of which are heavily altered to give them a sharp bite. Push continues to flex his wealth and success in both rapping and selling drugs, and his lyrics further illustrate the lifestyle of a drug dealer. He continues to rap with an intensity that’s uncommon in today’s pop and trap leaning mainstream hip hop, and its even reminiscent of the gangster rap of the 90’s. “Hard Piano” is the one track on the album that abandons the hard hitting grit that makes up the rest of the album’s production. Kanye lays down a dark piano base, supported by a simple trap beat. Pusha T and guest MC Rick Ross discuss the ups and downs of success, and they reveal that their lifestyle maybe isn’t as lavish as its made out to be. This is Pusha T at his most mortal on the album, and perfectly matches the bleak piano beat that Kanye’s created. The chorus is sung by The World Famous Tony Williams, and it gives the song an even darker feel.

“Come Back Baby” features some of the most interesting production Kanye has ever created. The song’s intro is a snippet of “The Truth Shall Make You Free” by The Mighty Hannibal, which discusses the incredibly addictive nature of hard drugs. The chorus is a snippet of George Jackson’s “I Can’t Do Without You”, which is about a reliance on these hard drugs, due to the terrible symptoms of withdrawal. This is a stark contrast to the content of Pusha T’s lyrics, which again talks about his life as a drug dealer and his love for the product. The verses are carried along by a very deep electronic bass bump, which is perfectly cut with the samples Kanye uses. It almost sounds like Pusha T is cutting George Jackson off, and this reflects the contrast in the content of the verses and chorus. On “Santeria”, Push laments the murder of his road manager De’Von Pickett. “Santeria” is arguably the darkest song on a very dark album, and this is headlined by the very eerie, Spanish sung chorus. The beat switch up that comes in with a minute left in the song is muddled and dark too, and it matches the cadence of Pusha T’s rapping perfectly. “What Would Meek Do?” sees Push and Kanye addressing their haters. Both provide strong verses, but Kanye’s decision to open his verse with a small bit of the infamous “Lift Yourself” isn’t one that I’m totally on board with. It detracts from the bite of the song a bit and ultimately lessens Kanye’s overall verse. The final track, “Infrared”, reignites the beef between Drake and Pusha T. Pusha T addresses the overall status of rap, and he recognizes that many rappers aren’t “real”. He of course brings up Drake’s use of ghost writers, and he makes subliminal attacks on him throughout the song. Overall, Pusha T’s attack is as biting as the rest of the songs on the album. Unfortunately, the beat is pretty stale and does make the song seem a bit more boring.

Overall, there really aren’t many flaws in Pusha T’s DAYTONA. Pusha T’s lyricism is as dark and forceful as ever and Kanye’s production is arguably the best it’s been since My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Although it’s only 21 minutes long, DAYTONA uses its short runtime to its advantage, and every song is nearly flawless. DAYTONA is probably the best hip hop album of the year so far, and it deserves every bit of praise that it’s been receiving.

My final score: 9.1/10

Favorite Songs: “If You Know You Know”, “The Games We Play”, “Hard Piano”, “Santeria”

Least Favorite Song (if I had to pick): “Infrared”

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 23/01/2021 (Anne-Marie, Juice WRLD, Young Thug)

The site I use for this show has refused to update – which is fine, it’s probably run by one guy and/or their bots – which means I had to go on the UK Singles Chart page from the Official Charts Company for information, and man, I hate that site. Anyway, despite a big #2 debut and a big remix at #3, “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo stays steady at #1 for a second week, which shows us a little sliver of how much longevity this song could have – and it’s good too, so I’m glad. Anyway, time for more apathy. Let’s start REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

I feel like, especially recently, debuts don’t really stick at all. We have many songs gradually falling below the chart this week, and they place into either two categories: songs that I wished would go away already, and songs that debuted last week. Out of the debuts from last week still on the chart, we have three notable gains and four of the opposite, making this actually an okay week for debuts, but it still feels like people have not got time for new music right now, which is honestly understandable. Out of those debuts, “Streets” by Doja Cat surges up to #20, “Notorious” by Bugzy Malone and Chip drops to #39, “Best Friend” by Saweetie featuring Doja Cat is down to #42, “Regardless” by RAYE and Rudimental unfortunately is up to #51, alongside an even more unfortunate gain for “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” by Lana Del Rey at #58 (Please, don’t make this a hit). That’s it for gains for our debuts last week, as “Vibez” by ZAYN couldn’t even gain from an album boost down to #62 and “WW2” by Unknown T makes the expected second-week drill dive to #63. Our other gains aren’t much to discuss either, although I’ll admit I actually kind of like “You’re Mines Still” by Yung Bleu and remixed by Drake up to #47 (I do really want to see this as a hit). I don’t like, however, the two deep house pastiches at #15 and #16, “Goosebumps” by HVME and “The Business” by Tiesto. What’s even worse is that “Goosebumps”, a remix of Travis Scott’s song, now has a Travis Scott remix, so that remix remix could land this in the top 10 next week. What might not be is also a remix: “34+35” by Ariana Grande featuring Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion up to #3. It was doing okay before the remix so it could stay here but I don’t see the remix as a replacement for the original so it could falter from #3. Of course, we do have other notable fallers, mostly pointless to list and a couple weeks too long on the chart, so I’ll split it into two once again: “Go away, please” and “Go away, but maybe later”. In the first category, we have “Whoopty” by CJ at #9, “Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd at #23, “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK at #25, “Mood” by 24kGoldn and iann dior at #28, “positions” by Ariana Grande at #33, “Midnight Sky” by Miley Cyrus at #41, “See Nobody” by Wes Nelson and Hardy Caprio at #48. “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi at #52, “Lonely” by Justin Bieber and benny blanco at #53, “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles at #54, “Looking for Me” by Paul Woodford, Diplo and Kareen Lomax at #55, “Take You Dancing” by Jason Derulo at #64, “Diamonds” by Sam Smith at #67, “Tick Tock” by Clean Bandit, Mabel and 24kGoldn at #72 and “Lasting Lover” by Sigala and James Arthur at #74. I like a fair few of these songs but I’d like some new blood in the charts, like the second category of songs that seem to have started dropping out prematurely: “Therefore I Am” by Billie Eilish at #22, “Loading” by Central Cee at #25, “What You Know Bout Love” by the late Pop Smoke at #45, “Forever Young” by Becky Hill at #57, “Plugged In” by Fumez the Engineer and A92 at #59, “champagne problems” by Taylor Swift at #65, “Body” by Megan Thee Stallion at #68, “pov” by Ariana Grande at #70, “Love is a Compass” by Griff at #71 and, finally, since I only cover the top 75, “Your New Boyfriend” by Wilbur Soot at #73. We have one return here, and that’s for a song that’s a couple years old but from a new star: Olivia Rodrigo’s “All I Want” returning to #32, from the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Soundtrack which I had assumed was new initially but did peak at #72 prior to this. The song’s fine, but I don’t review returning entries, and honestly it’s even more of a Disney teen-pop ballad that “drivers license” is, so I don’t find much point in making exceptions. Note to self to edit the drop-outs in whenever you know what they are.

Edit: The notable drop-outs are “HOLIDAY” by Lil Nas X, “Princess Cuts” by Headie One featuring Young T & Bugsey, “no body, no crime” by Taylor Swift featuring HAIM, “Ain’t it Different” by Headie One featuring AJ Tracey and Stormzy, “Savage Love (Laxed - Siren Beat)” by Jason Derulo and Jawsh 685, “Show Out” by Kid Cudi, Skepta and the late Pop Smoke, and “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac.

NEW ARRIVALS

#60 – “Friday (Dopamine Re-Edit)” – Riton and Nightcrawlers featuring Mufasa & Hypeman

Produced by Riton

“Push the Feeling On” is a song by Scottish collective Nightcrawlers that is known much more commonly for its classic deep house remix by American DJ MK, which would be known now for how much it’s been sampled in pop music: You’ve probably heard the synth riff or vocal chop in “Hotel Room Service” by Pitbull, “Dinner Guest” by AJ Tracey and MoStack, “Wiggle It” by French Montana and City Girls, “House Party” by MIST and Fredo, or even “Nightcore in tha Club” by Viper of all people. So, 20 or so years later, here comes English DJ Riton making another official remix alongside dually-credited Musafa & Hypeman, who I guess are social media influencers from articles I see about them. That would explain why this is charting... but yeah, this is lazy. A female vocalist sings “It’s Friday, Saturday, Sunday again” to the melody of the classic vocal loop, and the rest of the song is a worthless and artless “future house” track made for no-one, with Musafa & Hypeman delivering nothing more than obnoxious skits and faint ad-libs. I’ll admit, the second verse where it suddenly drops into her vocals over the haunting vibration of bass is inspired, but it goes nowhere. It uses the same drop as the original MK remix and if it isn’t, it uses a vocaloid drop that sounds way too similar to blackbear’s “hot girl bummer” for my liking. Once you hear it, you may not unhear it – although I doubt you’d come back to this song for any reason other than clicking the wrong song when looking for the original MK remix, which is still great. This, however, is useless.

#50 – “Skengman” – Ghetts featuring Stormzy

Produced by Ten Billion Dreams

This is actually Ghetts’ first ever track to hit this chart as a lead solo act and that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Whilst Ghetts is very important to grime and his mixtapes are considered classics, he’s not exactly the peak of commercial success – and is somewhat infamous for said squandering as he released a diss track against MTV for not thinking he was that great of an MC – which wasn’t exactly helped by beef with the Boy Better Know collective. It makes a lot of sense for him to ride off the coattails of the new generation of English rappers and make a drill-adjacent track with Stormzy, the track’s namesake. It also makes sense for this to be good: we have some pretty ominous keys and horns that sound great under this cold and minimal trap beat, relying less on percussion than it does the eerie strings. Sure, the chorus is pretty awkward and tired, with Ghetts not selling it nearly as he well as he does the verses, which even then are off-kilter. The second verse – by Stormzy – is where this song really shines, as gorgeous vocal samples combine with the rise of the strings, looming 808s and Stormzy’s deep contrast of a voice before the beat drops and Stormzy lets out his best flows. Honestly, after Stormzy’s verse, not even a beat shift really makes Ghetts’ other two verses worthwhile, as his just seem short and ineffective, even if the beat is going to keep on intensifying with these incredible strings and horns – lest we forget the choir of “Skengmen” behind him on the chorus. I really wish this was a solo Stormzy track, with no disrespect to Ghetts, who just feels out of place if anything. This could have been a lot better.

#49 – “Lumidee” – Chip featuring Young M.A. and Young Adz

Produced by the Fanatix

Most of our new arrivals are hip-hop or hip-hop-related, so of course whenever we see Stormzy, I guess we have to have a Chip song the same day. Is that beef still going on? Regardless, this is a very different song, named after the artist behind the awkward, minimal R&B sample used here. Listen, I like 2000s R&B, but “Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)” is just a fatal misunderstanding of what makes Timbaland’s production good. Surely that would make any reworking an improvement, especially with these subtle strings and guitars under a dancehall beat just as awkward as the original. Oh, and I call the strings subtle because it’s not like Young Adz could ever be, or Chip for that matter, as both of them deliver stiff, ugly performances about how the sex is spectacular... but also how they want this woman to treat them kindly after they cheat on her because they buy her nice things. “They” of course being everyone here, as Chip plays the same role as Adz – who only grabs the chorus – and hell, I think Young M.A., who could deliver a narrative here that criticises Chip’s attitude, just expresses the same ideas. I’ll admit that M.A.’s flow and cadence is a lot smoother, less nasally Auto-Tuned and honestly kind of good, but this honestly, much like “Skengman”, reeks of missed potential. A dancehall back-and-forth about love that means nothing but sex and materialism sounds fun on paper but nothing’s really done with it here, which is what I’d expect from these guys in all honesty. It’s weird and kind of cool to see Young M.A. on the UK Singles Chart again (She appeared on an Eminem track around this time last year too), though, so I’ll give it that.

#44 – “Pinging (6 Figures)” – Central Cee

Produced by ItchyDaProducer

Well, we can now add Central Cee to the drill guys that spark a top 50 hit out of nowhere every couple weeks. I actually quite like “Loading” mostly because of the fusion of hard 808s with those slick horn samples. As an aside, the Genius.com page for “Loading” has a comment saying the beat is “disgusting” that has a ton of downvotes, probably because of some sort of disconnect between cultures and audiences. This new track is a lot less interesting, though, relying on a really cheap guitar loop, but otherwise I do think the drill percussion works here, especially with the sliding 808s and Central Cee’s pretty constant delivery. I can’t really say he’s saying anything of interest other than the fact he supposedly turned down a six-figure record deal to stay independent, which of course is the chorus, so it’s not like this is great, or even good, but it makes the best out of a bad loop, and I can respect that, especially with piano touches, although this apparently sounds like another beat Itchy’s made so I’m not sure if that deserves much praise either. You know, I really thought Central Cee could have been on to something with the jazzier touches, but once again, this is missed potential.

#37 – “Wellerman” – The Longest Johns

Produced by ???

There aren’t any producer credits for this one, though I’m not sure to how much extent you can “produce” a sea shanty. It’s not often for this show that I can say a song that debuted is from the 1800s, but this song dates back to around 1833, where the Weller Brothers and their “Wellerman” ships became the most important merchant traders in New Zealand, operating mostly through their base in Otago. Naturally, sea shanties are sang at sea but it’s seldom seen that said songs surge up as singles on Spotify. Thanks to TikTok, however, this 2018 cover by the Longest Johns, a folk group from Bristol, debuted in the top 40. There’s no instrumentation, so this is just an a-capella cover, with some genuinely great vocal harmonisation, even if these guys aren’t great singers – not that you have to be to sing sea shanties. The end product is a pretty fun track about wishing for a supply ship to come whilst whaling, and that they hope to come home soon – or something like that. Look, I hope this doesn’t stick around even though I have the feeling it will. It’s not a bad song at all and the guys are talented, but come on, guys, it’s a sea shanty from TikTok. As that damn app still runs a lot of the charts, though, I suppose I should embrace this, because it is harmless, and that’s really all there is to it.

#31 – “Bad Boy” – Juice WRLD and Young Thug

Produced by Pi’erre Bourne

Now, I’m usually cynical about posthumous releases from Jarad, and I was initially for this, but it has been in circulation as a leak and it was also completely finished with a music video produced before his death by Cole Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade, who directed a lot of Juice’s earlier videos (including “Lucid Dreams”). It has Young Thug on the second verse and Pi’erre Bourne on production so I can’t be mad at this at all. As long as these posthumous projects from now on don’t have tacked-on features and are surrounded by collaborations from only his genuine friends who cared for him, I have no issue with them going on – even if I’d prefer for all of his demos to be released with proceeds going to charity (which should be done with most if not all artists after their passing unless they have an album on the way). It helps that this song isn’t just respectful, but it’s incredible. The hard trap beat from Pi’erre has this great squealing guitar and noisy synth blend that kicks ass whenever it comes in, especially when at odds with the more casual bleeping in the verses. Juice’s chorus is infectious and fast-paced, exactly how he should be on his “banger” tracks, but his verses are really a genius blend between his melodic and technical skills that I wish I heard more from Juice when he was alive. Oh, and Young Thug has what might be verse of the year, with smooth flow switches as always, unique inflections as always as well as playing with the beat perfectly as he drops the nasal screech of his “skrrt!” ad-libs amidst a more simple, intense flow by the end – with the addition of that squealing guitar. Is the content unique? Maybe not, as this is mostly flexing over an explosive trap beat, but there are enough quotable rhymes and vocal deliveries that make this more than honestly the sum of its parts, as out of context I don’t think this beat, this feature or Juice’s hook could work nearly as well as they do. As is, however, this is one of Juice’s best songs, hell, even one of Thugger’s best – and he has a strong discography – so, yeah, for the part of me that appreciates ignorant, stupid-hard trap-rap, this clicked. I hope it’s a hit and even if it isn’t, this is one of the best send-offs they could have chosen for Juice, and I’m just glad it’s finally met an official release.

#2 – “Don’t Play” – Anne-Marie, KSI and Digital Farm Animals

Produced by Mojam and Digital Farm Animals

“Bad Boy” seems like it should be the big story here, as it’s a massive lead and/or final posthumous single from one of the biggest rappers in history featuring another A-list that is getting a lot of praise and YouTube views... but alas, this is the UK, so here’s KSI and Anne-Marie. Is this KSI-Digital Farm Animals collaboration going anywhere? He had a similar one last year with “Really Love” featuring Craig David and that was kind of big – still is – and I think also debuted at #2 behind a really strong #1. They also had awkward, ugly cartoon cover arts, so maybe this is a collaborative project between KSI and the EDM producers? Well, “producer”, because Digital Farm Animals is actually just one guy. I think I honestly wouldn’t mind that considering how better KSI pulls off rapping over EDM than hip-hop. Anne-Marie is filling Craig David’s role, although this time with a verse and lead billing, so it could be from an upcoming album that may or may not exist. Honestly, who cares? Is the song good? No, the chorus is lazy, the UK garage-adjacent beat is cheap and KSI gets outshined in his verse both performance and mixing-wise by orchestra hits. Is the content interesting? Well, KSI’s lyrics are supposedly subliminal disses towards other YouTubers, which annotators on Genius have “marked as a stretch”, only to be met with downvotes from fans because of course, they would. Is it catchy? I guess so, that is the purpose. Hence, we have an inoffensive pop song from three artists who have made better but mostly through freak accident. Top 10 material? Probably not, but the charts are weak and it’s the UK so you can’t really expect much more. Also, why does this have an extended version?

Conclusion

Whilst I’m writing this conclusion, the site I use still has yet to update, so I’ll actually have to do a Kanye in 2016 and edit this post-release for the top 10 and drop-outs. For now, though, I can pretty solidly give Best of the Week to “Bad Boy” by the late Juice WRLD and Young Thug, with an Honourable Mention to I guess “Wellerman” by the Longest Johns for at least being different, although most of these debuts reek of missed potential. “Wellerman” could have been a lot more jaunty with actual instrumentation, “Don’t Play” could have replaced Anne-Marie with an actual personality, Ghetts could have gone in harder on “Skengman” and the beat in “Pinging (Six Figures)” could have actually existed. Therefore, the songs with the least potential are the victims here, as Dishonourable Mention goes to Chip, Young Adz and Young M.A. for “Lumidee” and Worst of the Week goes to “Friday (Dopamine Re-Edit)” by like, four complete nobodies, honestly, I do not see the purpose in that song existing at all. Well, here’s the top 10 for this week – or at least it will be here in a couple hours:

I can’t make any solid predictions for next week other than Billie Eilish and ROSALIA, maybe Lil Skies? You can follow me @cactusinthebank if you’re vaguely interested in doing so, thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next week.

[930club]

ALBUM REVIEW: GoldLink - At What Cost

GoldLink is unafraid of tackling the popular approaches of contemporary popular music and turning them on their head to put together At What Cost. The hometown star echoes the voice of a city that has a deep history in musical and cultural development, but as of recent has been left in the shadows. He is able to take his unique flow and melodies to a whole new level by running them through different iterations of tonality, cadence, and lyrical content. As Einstein once famously said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Every track is GoldLink expanding his artistic expression by working with artists of many different genres in a calculated fashion. It’s almost as if he’s making a hit for a lover from most, if not all, popular genres of music with the simple motive of getting the listener to groove. Taking a step back from the hip-hop/pop standard of 808 drums, GoldLink pulls influence from the sophisticated syncopation of Go-Go music into the digital era of music production. It is clear how important of an influence Go-Go music was on this record, in a way that GoldLink pushes the sound of the city, as well as brings it back to cultural relevance. My intention for this review is to highlight the important songs that build an ethos through the culture of Washington, D.C. and the current state of the city’s music scene.

The record opens up with a dystopian soundscape reminiscent of the familiar sounds of D.C.’s metro, chopped up samples from what sounds like a Go-Go show, and other eerie industrial tones. It feels like a palate cleanser preparing the listener for something different; a change of pace in the District. Whether it’s politically or culturally, GoldLink is trying to say things are changing and he’s helping us see and embrace that change.

Ciscero - local D.C. rap artist previously featured on hit singles of GoldLink’s – gets the opening words of the record. GoldLink is strategic in who he uses for features, which shows how attentive he is to the local scene and builds his credibility of being a tastemaker for the future artists of the city. This seems to be his intention by having Ciscero open up the record on “Same Clothes As Yesterday.” As much as GoldLink references Go-Go music and other famous D.C. styles, jazz is something he subtly slips in. Get your charts out and get to transcribing these far from modal changes. It is bold to build a melody like GoldLink does with confidence over this track, really laying back into the pocket, but picking just the right notes with which to familiarize the listener to a western melody over some chromatic changes. GoldLink has always been one to develop strong melodies in his songwriting and truly hones in on this skill in the first two proper tracks of this record.  

It’s clear GoldLink spent some time learning from the legends of D.C. to build this record, and first is infamous D.C. Grammy nominated producer Kokayi. This brings the listener back to a dancehall vibe that’s almost irresistible. From the disco strings that are sampled to Kokayi acting as an emcee, it’s clear we’re in the Go-Go. To my surprise, there is no sign of GoldLink on the track, instead standing as just a pure dance track. This adds to the theme of capturing Go-Go culture sonically for the whole world to hear. Kaytranada pushes the sounds of Go-Go into a futuristic context in “Mediation” - one of the big singles to emerge from this record. It’s funny how GoldLink connected with Kaytranada, originally stealing one of his beats from SoundCloud for his own. Of course there was beef, but it turned into a connection for collaboration. Jazmine Sullivan, famous R&B singer who broke out with the single “Need U Bad” produced by the one and only Missy Elliott, is featured on the track as well. GoldLink did his fair share of D.C. R&B research, as he featured D.C. raised, Grammy award-winning singer Mýa, who gained critical acclaim in the early 2000s, on “Roll Call.” I digress, but the club beat is the foundation that GoldLink uses to build an archetype of women in the DMV, from his own perspective, through the lens of a prior lady with whom he was involved. The two meet at the Go-Go, but find out they’re from rival neighborhoods, spurring a fight that breaks out and someone pulls out heat, an oftentimes relatable circumstance for true District locals. More importantly, it paints a picture of the social aspects of D.C.

Track six comes as a trap-influenced surprise, featuring a newly-emerging trio out of Ireland, Hare Squead, who capture the movements of Northern Soul (infamous in Ireland in the ‘60s) and contemporary hip-hop to create their very own sound. “Herside Story” was a breakout single for the trio and was released before GoldLink presented it on this record. It takes the essence of a lot of trap music, but puts a light touch to it as opposed the heavy, hard, and aggressive iteration with which we are familiar. A strong auto-tuned melody carries through the song, weaving together GoldLink’s verse about a love-interest who’s likely from the west coast, as evidenced by the lyric “when the sun don’t shine on the west side.” D.C. isn’t necessarily known for it’s trap music, but GoldLink sees this as an opportunity to create his own take on it, achieving a sound that’s unfamiliar, yet recognizable in the context of popular music.

What is an important hip-hop record from D.C. without a feature from Wale? “Summatime” stands as almost an ode to GoldLink’s time in California, which he references in his single “Rough Soul” as the spot he went to decompress from his international tour. Referencing the Gold Rush, which is both a play on words with the D.C. MC’s stage name and the California Gold Rush, he indicates why he went to California in the first place. The irony is the mutual love for California between Wale and GoldLink, almost as a honeymoon paradise that is “a second home.” It is interesting to think that two of the biggest names out of D.C. in recent years created a hit single that is all about their second home. Personally, I see many artists emerge in the city, then quickly departing to live in larger musical hubs. These artists will always be rooted in D.C. and call it home, but many stray away from uplifting the city with them. I’d like to think this is part of the point that GoldLink is making about D.C., clearly utilizing rising artists as well as D.C. legends to unite the city musically with At What Cost.

GoldLink takes an experimental turn on “The Parable of a Rich Man,” featuring April George, an up-and-coming artist in D.C. best known for her work with mattVISTA in their genre-bending project, April + Vista. This song, arguably his most creative on the record, takes harsh tones and puts a groove to it. GoldLink tells a story of a previous love-interest, whom he portrays as Lucifer (“Lucy”), who has returned to collect what she provided for him when he was struggling. It’s a story of mistrust and blackmail, putting GoldLink in a pickle as far as relationships, stuck in confusion muddled by young love as well as his recent fame and fortune. The song cuts out into an existential anthem, fading out with sounds of the metro arriving:

“In this world mother, no one can love me In this world they do not know how to love me In this world mother, no one can love me In this world they do not know how to love me Where is that pure loving love Where is that truly loving me Where is that pure loving love Where is that truly loving me Their white song longs to me Their white song longs to me”

“Crew,” the standout hit of this record, originally released as a single, ties heavily to R&B as well as trap, which is a stretch, but let me explain. The world loves self-conscious and timid melodies that much of the trap world has created as a genre standard, though much of this song has more of a dance vibe. GoldLink pairs up with two rising D.C. rappers, Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy, to put together this track. XXL commented on the track, saying, “perfectly blend[ing] each artist's’ unique styles into one awesome party record.”

At What Cost is a record for D.C. and for those who have missed out on what is happening in a city experimenting with new sounds and textures. This record is representative of D.C. taking an important step in the right direction of becoming a musically relevant city that is progressing a sound that could one day influence national acts. It has been a long time coming, with punk and Go-Go being the most recent highlighted movements within D.C. We are on the brink of the city getting the attention it deserves, and it’s GoldLink who’s leading the charge.

-Jack Jobst

[ripoffstar]

Made this so I could ramble and reblog stuff about the interactive fiction infamous.

A note about the MC (Phoenix) I'll be talking about: I'm mostly going to end up crying over an AU I made, instead of the specific version of my MC for the game, as the two are wildly different at this point.

In short: Phoenix Cadence refers to just them as an Infamous MC, Phoenix Sonata refers to an AU version of them.

Please don't murk me akdnksbd.