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Make no mistake about it - Wiki’s got bars - but he knows how to scale it back enough to keep the record enjoyable. “I like the 1 train, bagel with lox, crushing the mic/ I like the sunset on the Hudson look at the light,” he raps on “Islander,” over soulful sampled beats that invoke the golden era of New York hip-hop without veering too deeply into “rappity rap” territory. The daily story of New York life - from a morning interaction with the bodega guy, to a visit to Chinatown’s Great New York Noodletown - can seem a bit quotidian to some audiences, but Uptown rapper Wiki, (born Patrick Morales) guides the listener through a romanticized excursion of the city that no visor-wearing tour guide could ever provide. He knows how dreary these times are, and maybe that’s why he’d rather focus on bringing some much needed sunshine. To imply that Aminé’s jovial music trivializes the struggles of Black people would be an unfair oversimplification. Still, the happy bounce of Aminé’s music also recognizes the precarious times we’re living in, by addressing issues of gentrification and the appropriation of Black culture.
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have shown, employing #blackboyjoy is also a powerful force that reveals their full humanity. But as his contemporaries like Lil Yachty and D.R.A.M. Aminé’s gaiety has earned him criticism from other rappers who have interpreted it as a perilously cavalier attitude in dark political moments. “Caroline” put the young rapper on the map, but album tracks like “Spice Girl” and “Wedding Crashers” (featuring Migos member and Cardi B’s fiancé Offset) feature bouncy, fun dance beats. “Light-hearted Portland Trap,” might sound like a hard sell, but Aminé’s debut finds the Portland rapper, born Adam Daniel, delivering contagious cheer on top of infectious 808 beats. With guests like Mala Rodríguez, Chilly Gonzales and Kamasi Washington, "Ash" expands on Ibeyi’s 2015 self-titled debut LP, with just as firm a grasp on pop-music as with their incessant experimentation. The twins navigate police brutality, identity and rampant misogyny while leaning heavily on their Yorùbá faith, both through use of traditional rhythms and in their lyricism (Ibeyi means “twins” in the Yorùbá language). Ibeyi, 'Ash'įrench-Cuban twins Lisa-Kaindé and Naomi Diaz deliver a dazzling amalgamation of genres on their second album with XL Recordings.
This is not just hip-hop, this is the new pop music of America: 15. These 15 albums represent an eclectic offering of the artists leading this new epoch of a class of music once snubbed. The notable shift reveals a vast appetite for the work of mostly black and brown creators who are redefining the genres in which their music exists.Īt an age when so much music feels recycled or heavily repackaged from another era, hip-hop and R&B are arguable the only genres producing something truly innovative with concrete inventions like emo-trap, grime-influenced neo R&B and so-called mumble rap. In 2017, for the first time in history, hip-hop and R&B overtook rock as the most popular and most consumed music in the United States. On "The Family," Jada boasts, "There haven't been nothin' like us since us." Beats from Pete Rock and DJ Premier and guest verses from Mobb Deep only further reinforce the album's dedication to golden age New York.Some of the best hip-hop albums of the year include SZA's "CTRL" and Kendrick Lamar's "DAMN." (Courtesy) This article is more than 4 years old.Ĩ08 drum machines now occupy the coveted cultural space once ruled by guitars - the top of the music charts. On "Don't You Cry," Sheek holds his veteran status above the head of a younger gun. IRL and brags that the streets still love him. On "What Else You Need to Know," Jada reminisces about being cool with B.I.G. Filthy America is a reminder, both in the lyrics and in how damn fun it is to listen to, what The LOX were always and are still capable of. The year's biggest rap comeback album, the Tribe Called Quest album, is a passing-the-torch moment, but The LOX don't sound like they give a fuck about passing the torch to anyone.
It's Beautiful, and these guys sound as ferocious as they did in '98. Now for the first time in 16 years, there's a new LOX album, Filthy America.
Sheek Louch, Styles P and Jadakiss started releasing music together again as The LOX in 2013 (which so far resulted in two EPs), and all of them have been active on their own too (Jadakiss is featured on one of the year's best rap albums).