2024 in Music: My Faves
I’m writing this on the coldest Christmas night I can remember in recent years. The day has been uneventful, but I did make yams for the first time and while I’m surprised by how much sugar I needed to furnish those potatoes; they came out great. I wanted to wait as long as possible to write this intro, as anything before this point might not’ve captured how I really feel at the end of the year.
2024, to me, felt like a year of renewal. I’ve spent so much time living in my own head, beating myself up about not committing it to paper, and then not writing. Getting Tekken 8 at the beginning of the year kinda set a tone for how well the year would go. Finally went to a freaking Wrestlemania. I got the chance to write for work, and knocked it out of the park. I felt the love I’d been looking for, and even if it didn’t work out, I feel emboldened that what I’m looking for exists. I spent the year giving love to my friends and family and receiving that love tenfold from every direction.
I endured loss this year. I lost an uncle and a cousin in the last quarter of the year. But because of this loss, I got the chance to spend time with my family in Seattle and that recharged me to finish the year strong. Losing Toriyama, Rich Homie Quan, and Frankie Beverly felt like losing extended family members. God bless them.
I find myself at the twilight of ‘24 feeling immensely grateful for people that push me to be better. I got away from my love for writing and had a discord call where someone said “if you had a site where you talked about all the stuff you watched, I’d check it out.” That hit me like a sack of bricks at the moment, because I’d been bullshitting on a Captain America article that I’d been doing research on for a couple months. Yet, it was the exact push I needed to get back to what I love. In those times where the loss was too much, where the load felt too heavy, when I wanted God to pass the cup to someone else; I picked up my pen. I’m grateful for friends like Wavy and Archie that told me to start with 250 words a day. That was the push that allowed me to be content with small progress everyday. I combined that with consistency and accountability in the gym, and suddenly I felt sane again.
Also, as a longtime Drake hater, seeing him get his just deserts has been exhilarating. I’ve hated him ever since he did that weird shit at the UConn-Kentucky championship in 2014. So on my 10th anniversary as a hater, we finally got his vulture ass up outta here. Watching him lose so thoroughly and publicly will feed me for years to come. J. Cold Sore also making a fool of himself at Dreamville fest and every other verse after is just the sprinkles on top.
I haven’t done a year in review article since 2020, because I’m tired of ranked lists. In my 2020 article, I didn’t mention what would be my favorite rap album of the year, Come Outside We Not Gone Jump You, because it dropped right before I put out the articleEvery year after that, I tried to put together a ranked list, but had a hard time committing to an album of the year, so I didn’t do anything. Well no longer. This is just a list of stuff that I enjoyed this year, in no particular order. Not everything in this article was released in 2024. Think of it more as a Wrapped, than a Release Radar.
The full version of this is about 10K words long, so for everyone’s sake I decided to break it out into a few articles.
So, without further adieu, here’s my 2024 in music. (Playlist is in the works)
The Yussef Dayes Experience (Live from Malibu) x Yussef Dayes - At the very top of the year, Yussef Dayes dropped a gem to warm up the winds of winter. Previously, I’d wrote about him in my 2020 Awards, as his What Kinda Music album with Tom Misch was the first I’d heard of him. This album is a recording of a youtube performance he did in the hills of Malibu. He recreates a few of my favorite songs, Tidal Wave, Portrait of Tracy, Tioga Pass and also gives us a couple of new songs like Mountain Steppa and The Colour Purple. I had the privilege to see him perform some of these songs and some of my favorites from his Black Classical Music (2023) album live in Richmond last summer. There’s nothing like hearing him bang on those drums live, but I’d consider this to be a close second.
Faves: #wholethang
A La Sala x Khruangbin - My favorite band is back and they’ve delivered yet another heater. A La Sala is a much more subdued offer than their usual mixture of boisterous funk and introspective basslines. Still, the music speaks for itself. The gang is back and this time they’re focused on making you see how beautiful the world is around you. I did a hike on a cloudy day to this album and you couldn’t tell me the sun wasn’t actually shining. I went to their show a couple months ago and it was a rousing time. Put this album on when it’s pretty outside, or when it’s not and you’re home, quietly enjoying a cup of coffee.
Faves: Juegos y Nubes, Hold Me Up (Thank You), Ada Jean, A Love International
Alligator Bites Never Heal x Doechii - I’m not gonna lie, Doechii surprised me with this one. Not that I didn’t already know her sound was dope, but she put out one of the best hip hop albums this year. I can really appreciate how much she layered and labored over every song on this project. You know it’s good when you’re replaying 4-5 songs on your first listen. Also, I really appreciated how her cover art was an homage to Minnie Riperton’s Adventures in Paradise album.
Faves: NISSAN ALTIMA, HUH!, BLOOM, SLIDE
Update (12/28): As the year closes, Doechii has done a wonderful job of keeping her album at top of mind for every music head. Her Tiny Desk with a full black woman band and new promo with Brad Pitt have served as conduits to keep her base charged to support her in the new year. She put up tour tickets and they promptly sold out immediately. I don’t know her personally but I am immensely proud of her. She dropped one of the best rap projects this year.
House Music - I know this isn’t a specific album or song, but I scared myself earlier this year. Around the beginning of the NCAA tournaments, I got stuck on Winona by DJ Boring, and it led me to Satisfied by Catching Flies. “I’ve never been, satisfied! I’ve never been, satisfied!” The hook chants on and similar to my UConn Huskie’s coach Dan Hurley, I identified with that. In my original binge, I was stuck on house music for two weeks. At time of writing, I’m currently on another week and a half bender in the middle of November; and there’s no end in sight. I made a playlist of my fave house bangers (Spotify, Apple), give it a listen if you like some good oontz oontz.
Blue Lips x ScHoolboy Q - TDE for sure dominated hip hop this year and the key to dominating anything is getting off to a good start. Q’s effort set the bar for hip hop pretty high, from the jazzy/grittiness of Lost Times (my favorite) to the rambunctious percussion thumps on Pop, Q surely felt like he had something to prove. We hadn’t heard from him in a couple years and he evidently sensed that he was missed. THank god 4 me served as an early anthem to bring us out of seasonal depression and into the bloom of spring. Hearing him affirm himself and his homies put me in the mindspace to truly flourish and find myself in 2024.
Faves: THank god 4 me, Lost Times, oHio, Movie, Foux, Nunu
6:16 in LA x Kendrick Lamar - I know that in the Kendrick and Drake beef, the most notable songs are Not Like Us, Euphoria, and Family Matters, but my heart lies with 6:16 in LA. A few months after the beef was over, I even started a whole article about how much I don’t want it to be lost to the annals of music history. I remember the feeling of waking up that Friday and seeing that Kendrick dropped at 9:19 AM, three days after he’d just launched Euphoria. 6:16 in LA appeals to every hip-hop head that loves laidback raps on soul loops. Getting Taylor Swift’s producer, Jack Antonoff, to create your response to “Taylor Made” using a sample of your opp’s uncles playing the guitar? Genius. I mean, the very first bar of the song is a subtle jab just to kick this thang off. “Off white sunseeker at the marina.” Cmonnnnn man. But by far my favorite set of bars are
“God, ah, my confession is yours, but
Who am I if I don't go to war?
There's opportunity when livin' with loss
I discover myself when I fall short.”
And then continued on to talk about how he “live[s] in circadian rhythms of a shooting star.” All of this was before he asked Drake if he ever thought if OVO was working for him. The sheer pandemonium when this song dropped and then Family Matters, and then Meet the Grahams all within a span of 24 hours was insane. I was asleep when Family Matters and Meet the Grahams dropped but I woke up to a slew of text messages beseeching me to rise.
Speaking of Taylor Made, I understand that Drake was on there telling Kendick he wanted a triple entendre, and that it better be good (I wouldn’t know, I refused to listen to that song because it used AI). So when 6:16 dropped, people went looking for other “616”s that could relate. Here’s a couple of my faves:
->Drake spent a lot of his early career rapping about his estranged father only for him to come back in his life when he blew up. He also was outed for having a child with a pornstar and hiding him. Father’s Day was June 16th.
->June 16th is also Tupac’s birthday.
->Abraham Lincoln gave his infamous “A house divided against itself cannot stand” speech on June 16th, 1858.
->On June 16th 2023, the Recording Academy ruled that songs created with AI are ineligible to win Grammys.
Man, I love hip-hop.
GNX x Kendrick Lamar - At time of writing, I literally wrote the above review about Kendrick’s 6:16 in LA two days ago. I’m in a meeting and suddenly people are texting my phone and telling me Kendrick surprised dropped an ALBUM…today. There’d been whispers about a new Kendrick project dropping and in time, they were revealed to be true. This “album” is fantastic, he heard us when we told him we loved that west coast shit on Not Like Us and turned it up to 450 degrees fahrenheit. From the first song, Kenny jumps off the porch and addresses everyone and how they carried the beef and his Super Bowl announcement. He samples Luther Vandross, SWV, and Debbie Deb and splashes a west coast bounce flair onto each. He invited lesser known LA artists to feature and truly show their skills. He teams up with “MUUUUUUSTTTAAAAAARRRRRRRRDDDDDD” again on tv off to give us a banger for the HBCU bands to play this winter. He even enlisted Jack Antonoff again to executive produce the entire album, furthering the “Taylor Made” rebuttal. I had a really important meeting for my career 42 minutes after the original meeting ended and Zooty told me to listen to man in the garden to prep for the meeting and…man. The affirmative message of “I deserve it all” because of the work put in without seeking validation or aesthetics. It spoke to me for a rapper whose peers thrive off braggadocia to separate himself this way. He’s not the first rapper to be humble, but in this age where big and shiny sells, selling small because it’s honest speaks to me. Notice who I put “album” in quotations earlier in this review, that’s because even with the quality of this project being so high, it feels more like a mixtape somehow. It doesn’t fit in with Kendrick’s normal abstract sound, and isn’t cohesive like I’m used to his albums being. So this is me being delusional and hoping that he drops an album soon. But honestly, even if he doesn’t I will be just fine bumping this tape. As a longtime Kendrick fan and Drake hater, I ate so doggone good this year.
Faves: The whole damn thang (yes I’m biased)
Update (11/27): Two lawsuits later, this is even sweeter.
Dark Times x Vince Staples - Earlier in this article I spoke on how funny Vince Staples is but it’s always interesting to me how sobering his music is. Dark Times joins Vince’s catalogue as a somber reminder that he really is hip hop. Vince’s personal raps over restrained beats make you look inward while observing the world around you. I appreciate Vince’s music because it reminds me of the wise and understanding person he is at a time that type of music isn’t necessarily popular. I tend to enjoy the quieter, introspective songs on rap albums (normally towards the end of the project) and this feels like that all the way through. Dark Times is a rap album I enjoy writing to, or to keep my company while I’m just sitting in my room at 1am. Thanks Vince.
Faves: Etoufee, Black and Blue, Government Cheese, Little Homies, Nothing Matters, “Radio”
Sonido Cosmico x Hermanos Gutierrez - Whenever I find myself having to explain Hermanos Gutierrez, I just say they make working man's music. The type of music I imagine cowboys throw on at the end of the day while they’re giving all the animals their supper. They make sunset splashing across the sky while you smear pellets of sweat across your forehead music. These brothers harmonize their guitars to take you on a cosmic cowboy journey.
Faves: Low Sun, It’s All In Your Mind, Barrio Hustle, El Fantasma
Timeless x Kaytranada - Kaytra’s been on an insane run of production for the past few years. Coming off the heels of collaboration projects with IDK (GREAT) and Amine (meh) he’s been dropping single after single with other artists(#RICHAXXHAITIAN is amazing). More than anything, I was anticipating his follow up to his last solo album, BUBBA. He absolutely landed that plane with this album. The entire project is oontz oontz dior with talented artists as furnishing for each song. I went to a Kaytranada night at Shanklin the night this album dropped and the line was out the door and down the street. When I finally got in, we were packed like sardines but the vibes were immaculate. I couldn’t move my feet but you best believe I was swaying my ass off. It’d been awhile since I went to a party (that wasn’t GHOE) and EVERYONE was dancing. I wish this album got played more when I go out, I feel like it could heal the party scene.
Faves: #wholethang
Saaheem x Sahbabii - Sahbabii has always kinda coasted in my “fun” rap lane, and I am happy to report that he’s back to that. His previous offering, Do It For Demon, was a memorial for his departed friend of the same name. While I enjoyed that album, it carried an ominous feel to it, so it didn’t last long in my rotation. SAHEEM, on the other hand, feels like getting into shenanigans with my scallywags. Something for the goofy goobers out there. While the initial visceral reaction from social media was to hail Viking, I contend that the second half of the album is where it really shines. That run from 1095 Osborne Ave to Bi to Save iT 4 Me Babii makes me feel like I’m on another planet. If he does any remixes, I hope he adds Nudy to Bi, I feel like they’d be a formidable duo on that beat. On the day of writing this, I just did leg day to this album and I feel like a champion. I was doing leg curls to Workin and got a little emotional.
Faves: Viking, 1095 Osborne Ave, Bi, Save iT 4 Me Babii, Anaconda Livin
Update (12/28): It’s been over a month and a half since this project dropped and I still listen to this project every day. This project still isn’t as personal as his last, but he hid parts of himself in between the silly bars, and I really appreciate that about Saaheem. This is probably a top 5 rap project for me this year. Truly something to play on capers with your comrades.
CHROMAKOPIA x Tyler the Creator - Tyler’s done it again. I can’t say his last couple of offerings stayed in my rotation for more than a month or so but I think Chromakopia will break that trend. In hopes of writing this, I recently relistened to the entire album and realized that’s my normal way of listening to it. Tyler’s albums always flow cohesively and sequentially from beginning to end; that’s how they’re supposed to be consumed. While I initially had issues with trying to pick out my favorites, it was definitely easier this time around. Rah Tah Tah as the second song on the album gives us the perfect off kilter reintroduction to Tyler’s sound, and he was rapping his ass off on it. I saw a video of an HBCU band playing Sticky and Tyler was excited because he said he’d arranged it so that bands could play it. The percussion heavy I Killed You surprised me on my latest run through as a standout, but suddenly makes sense when I realize it sounds Neptunes-esque and know he’s a big fan of the VA duo. I wouldn’t mind owning this album on vinyl, I should’ve bought it when he did the presale, tbh.
Faves: #wholethang
The Tonite Show The Sequel & Encore x Curren$y & DJ Fresh - Let me start this off by saying I'm incredibly biased when it comes to Spitta Andretti. As it stands, he’s my favorite rapper (but it swaps every year between him and Kendrick). Nobody in the industry is working as hard and staying out of the way like my guy Shante. That being said, he and DJ Fresh dropped two projects this year and both of them are incredibly hard. I’d like to take the time and say that Etherium is easily one of the best songs I’ve heard from Spitta and one that I’ll be taking with me to 2025 and beyond. If you’ve listened to Spitta, you know what to expect out of these projects, smooth raps over jazzy, relaxed production. Play these in the whip on a sunny day.
Faves: Etherium, Stay the Course, Lay It Down, Anything Goes, Press Reset, Never Get Her Back, The Vapors, Next Ex List, New Devils
MUTT x Leon Thomas - It’s easy to recommend this project to people that love good R&B. I wasn’t much of a Victorious fan, because I’d mostly aged out of Nickelodeon that wasn’t the classics by the time it started airing. Leon has made a name for himself over the years as a prolific songwriter and producer. I originally heard the MUTT remix with Freddie Gibbs and was informed he was dropping an album soon. I have a few controversial opinions on the current state of male R&B (it’s bad) but projects like this give me hope in this subcategory of the genre. ANSWER YOUR PHONE is THE singing in the rain song of the decade so far, music for the #realyearners out there.
Faves: #wholethang
The Future Albums - I personally don’t know too many people that didn’t have Future somewhere in their top five artists for Spotify Wrapped this year. Personally, he was my number 1 Smitty Werbermanjensen for the year. I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t listen to albums at midnight much anymore. If I do, I make it a point to stay off of social media until the next day comes. With music opinions being like assholes, and everyone having one, you get some terrible discourse minutes after an album drops. It’s either a classic or it’s trash. There’s no in between. When I woke up on the Friday We Don’t Trust You dropped, and saw everyone was talking about a Kendrick verse, I got excited. I refused to jump straight to Like That and listened to the album in order. I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t skip a song on that album. Even if I start it in a different place, I run it all the way through. There’s some serious bangers on there that were forgotten when Kendrick’s verse dropped. That run from Type Shit to Magic Don Juan is just magical in the gym. There’s one night I couldn’t sleep so I got up and went to the gym and ran the album. Cinderella took on a new ethereal meaning during those 2:15 A M hammer curls. I gotta give Claustrophobic its flowers cause it feels like it was completely left out of mvp discussions. We all know Like That is the real memorable moment of this album, but it wasn’t a slouch without it. On the other hand, if I could extend my hand and give Like That the song itself a handshake, I’d do it in a heartbeat. As a longtime Drake hater, a song finally getting him and J “Say No to Books” Cole out of the paint brought me so much joy. And Metro gettin’ his lick in with his mixing at the end was hilarious. Even if Future has since backtracked and is acting like the beef never existed, I didn’t expect him to stay mad at Drake for too long. I’m just grateful they gave us this moment.
Before we even got to fully digest that, another album was announced; We Still Don’t Trust You which felt like the HNDRXX to WDTY’s FUTURE. I remember when this one dropped people were claiming it was even better than We Don’t Trust You and while I really like it I don’t think it’s better. I can for sure appreciate an 80’s reminiscent poplocker like Drink N Dance followed by the understated and underrated Out of My Hands. I was shell shocked by the sheer volume of great tunes dropped within a couple weeks.
Months pass and Future announces his third project of the year, Mixtape Pluto. The name, obviously, excited anyone that was there for his ‘14-’15 mixtape run. While I was doubtful it’d live up to its namesakes, I was excited because it meant he was putting even more effort into creating a worthy successor. Funny enough, Mixtape Pluto is my most played Future project this year. It saw me through a tough ending to my year. There was a time I was driving my mom and I for three hours at 6am in pouring rain without working windshield wipers and I just had to throw Ocean and Surfing a Tsunami to focus up. All in all, Future fed us well in 2024. I could write more in depth about this album, but I feel like I’ve already yapped enough. Listen to all three projects, if you haven’t.
Faves: Young Metro, Type Sh*t, Claustrophobic, Like That, Slimed In, Cinderella, Fried (She a Vibe), Drink N Dance, Out of My Hands, Jealous, Luv Bad B*tches, Amazing, Mile High Memories, PLUTOSKI, TOO FAST, OCEAN, PRESS THE BUTTON, SURFING A TSUNAMI, BRAZZIER
Why Lawd? x NxWorries - Yet another “FINALLY” on this list. The duo of Knxwledge and Anderson .Paak have finally released their second collaborative album and we’re all the better for it. I remember how excited I was when they set up a hotline for fans to call and hear a snippet of Daydreaming. I’m not ashamed to say I called that number every day multiple times a day. Yet somehow, that was two years ago. The wait for this one was excruciating, and it absolutely was worth the delay. I saw somebody say online that if YesLawd! was about sewing, then Why Lawd? is absolutely about reaping. The duo lament the debauchery they lauded on their previous collaboration as the train has indeed finished its rotation around the mountain. The hens have come home to roost and n*ggas are not happy about it. I can’t really tell you which songs I like on here the most because its 44 minute runtime always feels like a mere 15 seconds when I play this album front to back and then repeat it.
Faves: #wholethang
Velvets x SwuM - I found SwuM on soundcloud years ago because of their mashups. Their Bad n Boujee x All Star (yes, Migos and Smash Mouth) mix up got me through my last year of college. After doing some digging through my account, I finally decided to look them up on Spotify and was pleasantly surprised to find they had an album out. Their sound has matured wonderfully through the years, moving from funny mashups to jazzy hip hop instrumentals that feel like they should be played on a Sunday afternoon with the windows down. SwuM makes music for people that view life behind tinted sunglasses and a laid back demeanor. For sure music I listened to on the train a couple of times after a night out with the homies.
Faves: Blue Haven, Never Passed, Shining, Aw Mane
Pinball x MIKE & Tony Seltzer - To be completely transparent, I was late to the MIKE train. I’d heard some verses here and there that I liked and now and again Spotify dropped one of him gems on a radio station and I’d tune in. I didn’t fully get on the train until I heard Faith is a Rock with Wiki and Alc. Since then, I was retroactively going thru his catalogue and truly enjoying his sound. Pinball dropped and serves as an antithesis to what I’d understood his range to be. I know Tony Seltzer from a great KEY! album and a….yeah….Wiki album. It seems like the two of them decided to link and just have fun on this project. MIKE delivers some whimsical flows and playful bars throughout while Tony Seltzer contends with some memorable beats and tight production.
Faves: Reminiscing, On God, Skurr, 100 Gecs, Lethal Weapon, Two Door
The Undisputed Truth x Drakeo The Ruler - Personally, I’m a bit double sided when it comes to posthumous albums. On one hand, the music wasn’t released because the artist wasn’t done with it or didn’t want it released before they passed. On the other, I think families should be able to see profits for their loved one’s work after their passing (if that’s what they wanted). Either way, Drakeo’s postmortem release, The Undisputed Truth reminds us all of how brilliant he was on good production. It’s all the silly sh*t talkin and Deebo references we fondly remember him for. With the surge of West Coast music this year, and Kendrick’s GNX project dropping weeks before, I can’t help but wish he’d have been involved with that somehow. This resurgence of West Coast music feels a bit empty without the Ruler.
Faves: Instant Jammer, Vince McMahon, Diss Me Again, Stella Got Her Groove Back, Not The 1
Cruzafied x Cruza - You’ve heard a Cruza song before. If you listen to the radio station made for any type of R&B/alternative music, something from their self-titled album has popped up in your algorithm. I was convinced to give their latest effort a listen, after postponing it for a few weeks.The opening chords of Been Astral served as a beacon that I was indeed in the right place. This album sounds like opening a portal into a different dimensional plane and allowing yourself to just…float. I put this album on when I need peace and quiet. It’s something to throw on when you want to get lost in your own company, or maybe the company of a significant other, even if y’all aren’t in the same physical space. It feels like a love letter to their fans, even ones they haven’t met yet. There’s been many a night where I sat under the neon glow of my bedroom to One Day I’ll Float Away and did exactly that.
Faves: #wholethang
Bird’s Eye x Ravyn Lenae - Ravyn Lenae has been a standout indie R&B artist for me since her debut single, Sticky. She kinda floats in that off space between one song away from blowing up forreal and cult classic R&B song that’s destined to get played in the right places and nowhere else. Bird’s Eye is absolutely an album about getting back with your ex, but it was one that you were possibly good with. Maybe a few communication issues here and there, but not anything that can’t be fixed. I have to apologize to Pilot, as I should’ve spent way more time floating in the clouds with it. She falls into this tempo that reminds me of a slow pendulum, swinging back and forth, but somehow never monotonous. She finds a pocket and serenades you with a sonnet about her shortcomings and anxiety. Her singles Bad Idea and From Scratch are a great way to get familiar with her sound if you’re not sure about committing to the full album. But I’m certain you will.
Take Care x BigXThaPlug - Man first of all, shout out to the return of regionalism in rap. The Texas rap scene has flourished for decades but now we’ve gotten a talent like BigX out of the masses. He may be a big guy but he’s light on his feet when he’s sliding on these beats. The first single I heard off of this was Mmhmm and it’s a positive representation of how hard he went. The album starts with one of my favorite Willie Hutch samples and only takes off from there. If you like the album then you’ve got to be sure you run the Chopped and Screwed version.
Faves: Take Care, Change Me, Mmhmm, Back on my BS, Planting Seeds
DON’T GROW UP TOO SOON x Nascent - Early in 2024’s infancy, this was my rap album of the year. I’d heard a couple Nascent songs (on Spotify radio of course) but hearing his production throughout an entire album let me know he’s the real deal. If you’re a fan of Smino, Saba, Mereba, Ab-Soul, and Orion Sun, I’m happy to report they’re all present and giving stellar performances. My personal fave is Don’t Check 4 Me, I used to listen to it every morning to get my day started. If you remember a clip of Paul Wall rapping in 2024, it’s from the video for Spinnin These Blocks. There’s also a remix for BashfortheWorld’s Plata O Plomo on here, which I’m more than grateful for. I personally feel like he’s up next and hope that more people get hip in the new year.
Faves:Spinnin These Blocks, Don’t Check 4 Me, Take Your Time, Run Me Back My Bread, All To Me
Lahai x Sampha (2023) - Sampha’s been making music that sounds like clean air for over a decade now. You turn on a Sampha album and it feels like being somewhere with a lot of trees and a brook babbling nearby. Jonathan L Seagull is going to go down as an #EClassic. I started listening to it on repeat towards the end of ‘24 and it’s still in rotation here in 2025.
Faves: Jonathan L Seagull, Spirit 2.0, Satellite Business, Time Piece
Hella Greedy x 03Greedo - People have told me Greedo fell off when he got out of prison but I personally just don’t see it. Hella Greedy is probably my favorite post incarceration project he’s released. Devil Offa Me feels like a ghetto spiritual when you’re going through it. While I personally like Move, Move Pt. II is far superior in almost every way. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Kill Me and Still Feel Loaded, originally dropped together as a two-pack of singles. Both of these were easily my most played songs of the summer, at certain points I just put the EP on loop and let it rock.
Faves: Kill Me, Still Feel Loaded, Devil Offa Me, Move Pt. II, Still in Shocc
Glorious x Glorilla - Deacon Gloria Hallelujah Woods prophesized on X the week leading up to her album that she was dropping something with no skips. Friday arrived and she was vindicated. GLORIOUS feels like her rebuttal to people trying to pit her against every other woman rapper out there. Whenever one does something, its used to disparage the others, so she decided to bring gang along with her and make a banger of an album. The Wipe Me Down sample on WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME with Sexyy Red is just way too fitting. I sat on TikTok for ten minutes listening to that edit of her just saying “EUGH EUGH EUGH” over and over again. She leaned into all of the church kid jokes about he rname and got Kirk Franklin and Kierra Sheard for RAIN DOWN ON ME. Sh’s got a bright and glorious future ahead (I’m sorry).
Faves: WHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME, HOW I LOOK, STEP, LET HER COOK
A place between us x Okvsho - 2024 felt like a bit of a slow year for jazz, in my opinion. Not that it wasn’t good, cause jazz is always good to me. Somehow there felt like an emptiness in new jazz that I was getting hip to. Okvsho’s A place between us is an exception to this notion, as this album is just fantastic. I first heard it on a train ride back home to the 757, and I found myself staring out at sprinting trees and allowed it to echo in my head. This is the type of music you take in with a freshly brewed cup of coffee in the morning. Between Us is very easily my favorite new jazz song of 2024.
Faves: Between Us, Soule, C’est pas la chute, Where I’m made of
#RICHAXXHAITIAN x Mach Hommy - Wavy once said that Mos Def expelled all the evil energy in himself and created Mach Hommy like Kami did to create Piccolo. I think this is a perfect and apt comparison. Mach Hommy’s music is the righteous “villain’s” monologue on why the greater powers that be have forsaken Haiti. All the while, he raps about his love for his country and its rich history as well. While I don’t understand half of the French he’s spitting on half of these tracks, but it sounds good.
Faves: POLITickle, #RICHAXXHAITIAN, THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW, COPY COLD, AUX BON PARFUMS, LON LON