Favorite Music of Q1 2018

# Backstory

The majority of my musical interest is in rap (and the culture of hip-hop). If you aren't particularly interested in the genre, this post may not be for you. I've always wanted to talk about the music I'm finding interesting, now I have a platform to do so!

I've been listening pretty exclusively to rap for the past 6-7 years, this has given me time to explore the genre and go through many phases of interest as I learn and appreciate more. I got into the genre through an appreciation for slam poetry and general clever wordplay. I love puzzles and thus computers and well constructed songs.

# Top 5 Projects

# Pookie Baby || Prof

I first heard of Prof last year in 2017 when Rhymesayers dropped the music video for Time Bomb. This was the first single released off of Pookie Baby and I really enjoyed the song and video. It felt like this artist had a lot to offer.

I quickly went back to trove through his discography and found a beautiful evolution of sound and overall creative focus. Much like Lil Dicky his witty, humorous, but personal music and videos have been consistent for years. If you haven't gotten the chance to look back, videos like Bar Breakers, Gampo, and Animal all came out 2, 5, and 7 years respectively before Time Bomb.

Timb Bomb left quite a break before the Album released with no new single until February 2018 with Andre the Giant. This awesome single also came with an official release date and open pre-orders for the album.

With a brilliant marketing campaign full of Eau de Toilette and Undressing Pookie Baby w/ Prof himself the hype couldn't have been built more perfectly by Rhymesayers. On release, it absolutely did not disappoint.

Prof brings a lot of things to this album in his energy, versatile flows, and clever bars. The production on the album is fresh to my ears, I've never heard anything particularly like most of the beats. Overall outside of the obvious influences from within Rhymesayers and his normal camp I'd say I get a Run The Jewels vibe from many of the beats.

How Prof constructed the album to transition from the first to second half feels effortless. Prof really had an understanding for the emotions he wanted to convey and he melted that into a cohesive piece of work. I really enjoy when an artist is able to do this well. Whether they produce their own music or not, orchestrating songs to come together best for their sound and to communicate the message of the song is an art in its own.

If you have not checked out Pookie Baby, I would heavily recommend a listen or a purchase.

# Vacation In Hell || Flatbush Zombies

Flatbush Zombies come back again here with a variety of sounds, great flows, and much more grand production than ever before. Erick really comes through on this project producing all but two of the tracks.

Meechy had longer, more robust, crazier verses than I'd heard before on songs like U&I while Juice came in with more precise flows than ever. What a great time to be a FBZ fan!

The marketing campaign that lead up to this album was brilliant. With a few short skits and films from the team, as well as headbanging preview tracks released before the album like Headstone.

If you haven't checked out Vacation in Hell, do so and give it a listen or a purchase.

# No News Is Good News || Phonte

Phonte is a true lyrical assassin. He is revered by most in the industry as one of the best. If you haven't heard of him before, or don't believe my word, I think he sums it up best with this quatrain:

I am Hugh Masekela meets Masta Killa
Your OG’s OG, just ask the nigga
Audioslave with a mastermind
Any wall of sound Tigallo vandalize

All of his work with Little Brother was phenomenal, this introductory single-project was no disappointment.

Phonte took from modern trends with the shorter album and songs while still giving it a typical Phonte-flair.

If you've never checked out some of the songs that Phonte has done, I would recommend checking out The Good Fight, The Life of Kings, or any of his Little Brother work!

If you were a fan in the past, you won't be disappointed here. I would recommend giving this album a listen or a purchase if you enjoy it!

# Fine Print || Invisible Inc.

Watsky is one of my all-time favorite artists. His versatility behind the mic is near-unparalleled and he's able to approach topics few other rappers dare. The extensive lexicon he uses can be a bit difficult to understand at first but once you get past that and his quicker flow his music is a joy.

Here, he teamed up with emcee A-1 and other old high school friends to make a band and create some interesting sounds.

Though this won't be for everyone Watsky puts his artistic ability on full display. I would highly recommend giving it a listen or supporting Watsky and crew with a purchase.

# Royalty || EarthGang

EarthGang is a group that was recently picked up by J. Cole's Dreamville label. Them, along with J.I.D, have been releasing some amazing music down in Atlanta for the past few years.

Undeniable an original sound, this duo takes the third mixtape in their trilogy (Rags, Robots, Royalty) to new places. Similar to the earlier pieces there is no cohesive story through the project, but the sounds on each mixtape feel cohesive and flow together well.

The group has some very well done music videos, I really hope they do more for this latest release and all future releases.

I'm extremely excited to see more of what Dreamville has to offer. If you haven't listened to EarthGang or Royalty you should definitely give it a try.