At the beginning of this year, Kid Ink dropped his major label debut My Own Lane. It was an album where at best showed that Kid Ink knew his way around a melodic pop hook when he felt like it, but at worst he failed to present himself as a fully capable MC. Now Kid Ink has brought along his gang of fellow rappers known as Batgang for 4B’s. After giving him a second chance after said mediocre debut however, he fails to bring much to consider to the point of weighing down the whole mixtape. 4B’s is a good example of that when you lower the bar so far down to the ground, everyone else surrounding you doesn’t feel the need to try much.
Jhené Aiko surprised us all as she released her debut album Souled Out a week early as a free stream on iTunes Radio to tide us over until we can download or buy a physical copy on September 9th for its official release. While the free stream was certainly unexpected, Jhené’s debut LP is far from unexpected as pop, R&B, and hip-hop fans alike have been patiently waiting its release. Jhené already has a great catalog of features, working previously with some of music’s biggest rappers (Drake, Big Sean, Kendrick Lamar, Childish Gambino), but with Souled Out (which follows her 2013 debut EP Sail Out) she gives us our first full-length taste of what we can expect from Jhené Aiko as an artist.
“What’s in it for someone with nothing to do? What’s in it for me?” In 2010 Avi Zahner-Isenberg, front man of psychedelic indie rock group Avi Buffalo, asked this question with more earnest than his typical slacker self. Returning to true form with At Best Cuckold‘s lead single, he seems to have received an answer to that question. His response? “So What?” Four years after the Long Beach natives’ self titled debut, Avi Buffalo has emerged out of obscurity once again. Avi’s apathetic chant on “So What” seems to indicate that the crass twenty-something guitarist hasn’t grown much since we last saw him, but in fact At Best Cuckold proves to be a coy, vague portrait of a man who cared too much.
Once in a blue moon, there comes a point where a generational talent comes along that can’t help but be recognized and establishes themselves as it’s own powerful, musical entity. With a promising debut project, Indigo Child, young Atlanta-based artist Raury might embody just that.
Following the recent trend of surprise releases, soon after the MTV’s Video Music Awards (often one of the biggest days in music), the legendary rap group G-Unit (comprised of 50 Cent, Tony Yayo, Young Buck, Kidd Kidd and Lloyd Banks) released a surprise 6-track EP. The Beauty of Independence gives us another taste of early 2000s rap nostalgia from G-Unit, and even sprinkles in a 50 Cent shot aimed at Jay-Z.
Despite his original hype building from his YouTube video ‘Pale Kid Raps Fast’, please do not sleep on Watsky. From his unique self promotion to his spoken word rap flows, Watsky’s paleness is not the only thing that separates him from most rappers today.
Sometimes the line between romanticism and desperation is decided by mere perception, this is likely the case with Robin Thicke’s Paula. The album is much more than just a record with a number of good song, it is an attempt to win back his estranged wife of the same name and is quite possibly the most personal record of the year, along with Sam Smith’s In The Lonely Hour.
The Early Registration 