Nas is Back

Fall is usually when big artists begin to drop new projects. While we have releases from Big K.R.I.T., Eminem, and Rick Ross, artists like Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, and Frank Ocean have all promised new albums soon, but seem to be failing to follow through after months of teasing. But thankfully, we have one release to look forward to: Nas.

Arguably one of the best rappers of all time, Nas just celebrated the 20th anniversary of his standout debut album Illmatic by releasing a remastered version of the album and a documentary. Nas also jumped on the remix of Schoolboy Q's "Studio", and rapped that he has "Finished up my new album, single 'bout to be dropping". And yesterday, Nas followed through on this lyric. After showcasing his new single with a private audience at the Run The Jewels show, Nas officially released his first single, entitled "The Season". The new track is produced by the late-and-great J Dilla, and these two hip hop gods on the same record leaves fan wanting more. It looks like Nas Season is upon us.

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Review: "Run the Jewels 2" is a Savage, Chaotic Masterpiece

Killer Mike and El-P first joint project was Mike's album R.A.P. Music, which was entirely produced by El-P. Last year, the duo released the free album Run The Jewels under the moniker of the same name. The album featured rapid flows, political and social issues, ferocious rhymes, and was met with immense praise. Well a few days ago, the duo released the sequel Run The Jewels 2 and it's amazing.

After signing to Mass Appeal Records earlier this year, Run The Jewels announced the release date of Run the Jewels 2 to be October 27, but they surprisingly released it on October 24 instead. The album can be purchased online and in CD format, but is also available for free download on their website, but the iTunes version contains the track "Blockbuster Night Pt. II".

Run The Jewels 2 blends elements of humor, anger, political commentary, and threats through an archaic delivery over bombastic beats courtesy of El-P. There is, and probably will be nothing like Run The Jewels. The sequel takes all of the great elements of Run The Jewels and elevates them. Killer Mike and El-P are open with how they would be more than happy to beat the living hell out every "fuck boy" in existence, with smiles on their faces. The album opens up with Killer Mike shouting that he "FINNA BANG THIS BITCH THE FUCK OUT". This album is chock-full of incredible lyrics, from "Jeopardy" where Mike spits "Fuck you fuckboys forever, I hope I said it politely/ and that's about the psyche of Jamie and Mickey" to "Oh My Darling, Don't Cry", where El-P tells his critics that they "can all run backwards through a field of dicks", or on "All Due Respect", where El-P tells you that your parent's separation is all your fault, and then Killer Mike jumps in to say that he's "gotta go bang out mom and auntie". What's so splendid about Run The Jewels 2 is that while the duo spit out insanely aggressive lyrics, they deliver them in a way that show that they are just having fun on this album.

The album isn't just savage lyricism. On the track "Love Again (Akinyele Back)", Killer Mike and El-P craft a sexually explicit song so raunchy it rivals "I Will" for the Nastiest Song Ever Made, with the help of former Three-Six-Mafia member Gangsta Boo. On "Early" (featuring Boots, the guy who produced almost all of Beyonce)  Killer Mike portrays a scenario where overzealous police officers arrest Mike over a little weed in front of his entire family, and all hell breaks loose. And on "Crown", Mike again details a story about how he used to sell crack to a pregnant woman. This poignant storytelling, in addition to the fierce rhymes, create an album that will make you want to destroy your annoying neighbor's car, and then volunteer at a soup kitchen for the rest of the day. Run The Jewels 2 is undoubtedly in the running for the best album of the year.  

Review: Logic's "Under Pressure" is Another Solid Release

On October 21, Logic released his debut album Under Pressure. This album was one of my most anticipated albums of the year. Logic has done a great job teasing the release, with slow trickles of information throughout the year, new singles, and a tour. And last week, the album was finally released to eager fans nationwide.

The album features production mainly from Logic and his in-house producer 6ix, along with production from S1, Dj Dahi, No I.D., among others. The production contains fast,layered instrumentals, and many rapid vocal loops. This speedy producing approach matches well with the fast-paced lyricism that Logic is known for. And this lyricism is a staple on this album. Logic's wordplay and pace has been one of his strongest attributes, and arguably some of the best in the industry. Similarly to his previous mixtapes, Logic spends the majority of the album rapping about his come-up and what he's currently going through. Logic constantly said that the album would be much darker than his previous efforts, and somewhat similar to Nas's Illmatic. While it certainly is different, it's not too dark. Songs like "Gang Related" and "Growing Pains III" feature darker lyrics the portray his childhood in Section 8 housing in Maryland. Darker lyrics are woven throughout the album, but this album doesn't feel like a street album, and more like an album about a new artist enjoying and struggling with new success. There are many standout songs on this album. "Buried Alive", one of the singles off the album, is a radio friendly song with a nice, flowing production created entirely by Logic. "Nikki" is a fabulous concept song, where Logic speaks on his nicotine addiction by personifying the addiction as a woman Logic is in love with. The outro, "Till The End" is my favorite song on Under Pressure. The production is extremely catchy, and the song features some of the best wordplay on the album, with lyrics such as "Won't speak on my bank account/so many commas I'd have to pause/and I can't afford to just waste the bars". The deluxe version of the album features the songs "Driving Miss Daisy", "Now", and "Alright", which have all been released previously, and are all great songs. Under Pressure is definitely a contender for album of the year.

While this album is great, it still has its weaknesses. Some of the aesthetic elements seem unneeded, like a narrator named Thalia who gives information about the album. Logic tries to portray his childhood through the eyes of a character named "Bobby" in the album, but "Bobby" is used sparsely throughout the album, and there seems to be absolutely no difference between "Bobby" and Logic himself. Also, while the gritty, dark aspects of the album are a nice addition, they aren't extremely concentrated. I would love to hear vivid anecdotes about Logic finding out about his sister's rape, or seeing his father cooking crack, or his brother selling crack, or his mother's mistreatment of her children. Knowing Logic's amazing lyrical finesse, this storytelling would be a superb addition. Parts of the album seem a bit repetitive, with many lyrics repeated, many from his previous mixtapes. And while I really like the song "Under Pressure", it seems like a knock-off of Kendrick Lamar's "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst", even with an extremely similar drum hook. Nonetheless, this is an incredible debut album. My main constructive criticism I can give to Logic would have a more focused sound and direction on your next album.

The Social Experiment Will Be Releasing New Albums Soon

Remember that time I said Chance the Rapper will be releasing a new project soon? I was right! Around a week ago (no Bobby Schmurda jokes), Chance the Rapper had a very revealing interview with Billboard. In the exclusive interview, he talked about his new song "No Better Blues", working with J. Cole and Frank Ocean, and his new project(s). He revealed that he has been working with his band the Social Experiment extensively, and will be releasing a variety of free albums with the band. Chance stated that the first album will be released before the year's end, and it will mainly feature work by bandmate Nico Segal. But Chance said that each bandmate would have the spotlight on one of the albums, so we might be getting a pure Chance album featuring his bandmates pretty soon. Along with the new projects, Chance said in the interview that the Social Experiment is working on a Lion King-esque live concert series. All of the announcements are good news to Chance fans, and also show a completely new and strange artistic direction, Keep a look out for more news on the projects (but only look on this blog because this blog rocks).

Review: Daniel Caesar's "Praise Break" is Beautiful

The Toronto music scene has been buzzing recently. Spearheaded by Drake and his OVO crew, the Canadian city has birthed the "No New Friends" rapper, along with crooners PARTYNEXTDOOR and The Weeknd. As Drake said on the "Tuesday" remix, he's "put the world on a sound"; the sound of Toronto. But there's a new singer from the city who seems to have broken away from this mold of the Toronto sound. His name is Daniel Caesar, and his new EP is immaculate.

Daniel Caesar is relatively unknown, bolstering around 1,600 followers on SoundCloud and a little over 1,000 on Twitter. His EP, entitled Praise Break was released a few days ago fro free via SoundCloud. The 7-track EP showcases Caesar singing his heart out over slow instrumentals of pianos and electric guitars. Caesar croons about his first love and religion mostly on Praise Break, but don't let that discourage you. Caesar's new soul sound is absolutely gorgeous, and anyone can relate to it. The religion in the EP is not overbearing at all, and is most subtle, with samples from gospel songs and a gorgeous prayer in the middle of the song "Pseudo". Caesar sings with ease over the simple piano production on "Chevalier" to the haunting guitar riffs on the 6 minute epic of "We'll Always Have Paris". Praise Break is one of the most stunning projects I've heard all year, and I would recommend it to anyone.

On another note, I would like to dedicate this blog post to my grandmother, Ann Kirk. She had been battling Alzheimer's disease for the past five years, and passed early this morning. Similarly to Caesar, she was a devoted Christian, and I've related a lot of what he's been singing about back to her. When my grandmother was near the end, and her mind was nearly gone, she would still pray. She was a loving, kind, selfless woman who left behind a family that misses her dearly. This is a music blog, but I want to pay respect to the memory of a very special woman in my life. My grandmother is in a much better place now, but I still love and miss her profoundly.

Chief Keef is Unsurprisingly Dropped From Interscope

Oh Chief Keef. The epitome of what people who don't listen to rap music think rap music is has done it again. After countless scandals, run-ins with the law, and sub-par music releases, Keef has been dropped by Interscope. According to HotNewHipHop, Keef was dropped due to differences in musical direction and over the release of Back from the Dead 2. It's surprising he's been on the label for over two years, considering his piss-poor mixtapes Bang 2 and Almighty So, and his various legal issues, from his first arrest for heroin production to not appearing at a benefit concert. Keef is still signed to 1017 Brick Squad Records and Glory Boyz Entertainment, which Keef started himself.

Keef seems to be following in the footsteps of other trap artists, but with less success. Epitomized by Gucci Mane (who Keef reportedly has a mixtape with, entitled BigGucciSosa), many new artists refuse to release proper solo albums, and instead release a multitude of collaborative, or Internet-only projects. While some artists like Migos have projects that are can be purchased online, most can also be downloaded for free. Young Thug, Migos, Gucci Mane, Chief Keef, Trinidad Jame$, and countless others are straying away from the standard "drop a few mixtapes, maybe an EP, get signed then a debut album" way of releasing music, and instead are dropping projects that meet somewhere between an album and a mixtape in quick succession. In the fight for quality over quantity, quantity seems to be winning for many artists. This is a shame, since many new artists are taking this route and never really get out from the underground, nor make huge sums of money.

In other label news, Mac Miller just signed to Warner Bros Records following his leaving of Rostrum Records. Warner Bros signed Miller, along with Miller's own label REMember Music for a whopping $10 million. Miller will still run REMember Music, signing and creating music with artists in the label, but all music released will be released through Warner Bros/REMember.

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Listen to Chance the Rapper's New Song "No Better Blues"

Chance the Rapper has been blowing up recently. Without ever releasing any for purchase-projects, and only two mixtapes, Chance has garnered a huge worldwide following. Following the success from his breakout mixtape Acid Rap, Chance has been touring constantly and featured on songs with various artists, such as SZA, James Blake, Skrillex, and Justin Bieber. Additionally, he has created a band called the Social Experiment, which is made up of Chance and musicians Nate Fox and Peter Cottontale, among others. Most of the songs the Social Experiment has released so far feature stripped-down producings, and soulful rapping by Chance. Yesterday, Chance and the Social Experiment released a new song, entitled "No Better Blues". The song is a satire of pessimism and criticism, and features Chance singing/rapping over a slow piano and drum production. Chance lists everything he hates for the entirety of the song, but most of them are paradoxical, such as "I hate to love and I love to hate" and "I hate racists, I hate white people". There's no word yet when Chance will be dropping a new project, or what the project will be, but judging by his rising popularity and then new songs he's released, there will probably be a new project fairly soon.