Rapid Review – 2/19/21

The British rapper and songwriter Slowthai releases his sophomore record Tyron as a two-disc, 35-minute project. He begins the album off with a few hard-hitters in his intro 45 Smoke, his collaboration with Skepta CANCELLED, and his collaboration with A$AP Rocky MAZZA, which all showcase his rap skill and hook creation. I enjoyed the Rocky feature as it emanated vibes from his Testing album. The organization of the record is clearly portraying a dichotomy in mood as the names of the seven songs on the first disc are uppercased and the names on the second disc are lowercased. I wish I could extrapolate on the lyrical content, but all I can say is listen to disc 2 for yourself. The distinct, chill atmosphere is executed phenomenally with amazing production and mixing along with impeccable features from Denzel Curry and Deb Never (who is a great up-and-coming singer from the 88rising label). {8-8.5}

JPEGMAFIA drops a short extended-play EP2! that spans 18 minutes and is labeled “Unknown Genre” on Apple Music. Honestly, my first impression of the EP was that it was just a short collection of cuts that feel unfinished with Peggy’s signature style of rapping and production. Nothing exciting is here in my opinion. Underwhelming for Peggy. {~6}

Black Dresses releases a surprise fifth full-length project Forever In Your Heart, coming off their former critically acclaimed Peaceful as Hell and the hiatus after that release. I say surprise because they originally disbanded after incidents with Tiktok users using their song in disrespectful ways. Much like most of their fans right now, I love this album. It’s essentially a more industrial version of their last album, incorporating more dark messages in their wholesome concepts (making something beautiful and the world better without hope). Perhaps their stop from releasing music on streaming platforms allowed them to be freer with what they say and create. The album video is also super silly, which I appreciate. {8.5-9.5}

In the Weezer album, they keep up with the quality of their best albums and focus on what they do best: weird lyrics, awkward relatability, and catchy hooks.