National News
Another month of 2015 has come and gone quicker than I could have ever imagined, one that included plenty of gallivanting with my woes. A ton happened in and around a hip-hop world that is in dire need of a double take to process it all. I wasn’t quite sure that March could keep up with the massive amount of activity from heavy hitters, but I stand corrected, as it saw nearly as much surprise and quality music as the previous month as well as some interesting news throughout March. For one, that awesome feeling you get when you know a new album comes out on Tuesday and you can’t wait to get it will have to wait a few extra days, as Friday has now been adopted by the recording industry as the official release day for new albums globally. This is so other countries will no longer get upset for not being able to get their music at the same time as everyone else. Our dominant reign of being the first to listen to an album and call it a classic or trash with 10 think pieces up in the first two hours of being released may have officially come to an end. How the hypebeasts react and survive remains to be seen.
Kanye West and Drake dominated February, and that translated over to the charts as Drake’s entire mixtape If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late made it into the Billboard Hot 100 chart. I’m sorry, but you don’t have to like Drake in even the slightest to respect what that man has done. I don’t necessarily think he’s the greatest at all time on the mic, but I’ll be damned if he’s not doing something that is rather unprecedented in an age where overconsumption is the norm. Kanye still was doing surprise performances of brand new tracks all over the world, particularly in London. An interesting tidbit on Kanye circles around the pricing of his new clothing line. He’s shouted from the mountaintops (literally, his tour set) that he wants his new line to be accessible and worn by anyone and everyone. Sounds great. I’m down. How much?
— Hoodies and sweatshirts: $420
— Knitwear: $870 with some over $1500
— Outerwear will start at $1700 and reach $3800
— Yeezy boost: $350; Duck boot: $490; low-top easy 350 boost: $206
— Backpack: $490; leather backpack: $706; leather bag: $870
Oh. Never mind.
However, it was just revealed that Kanye and Dame Dash are linking up to buy Karmaloop, which was rumored to have gone bankrupt. Pharrell Williams used to be involved with Karmaloop, but hopefully Kanye can breathe some new life into the brand, and Dame can apply his Dame-nomics business approach and see some prosperity. Oh, and that Pharrell guy? He and Robin Thicke just got hit for a $7 million tab from Marvin Gaye’s family for their song “Blurred Lines” and its resemblance to a Marvin Gaye track. No one deserves it more than Thicke, but it sets a scary precedent in the industry and is something to keep an eye on. Jermaine Dupri has already been inspired to take action.
But what about the music that dropped this month? Please believe there was plenty to chew on, with some taking a little longer to digest properly — namely, Kendrick Lamar’s new album, To Pimp a Butterfly. A lot of great words and thoughtfulness were put into covering this album by Beau Blackstock, and I encourage you the read it here. I will say this: This is an album that is not only necessary in today’s social climate, but it is also crucial for the development of young minds and artists to realize that chasing the flavor/sound of the week and only worrying about turn-up or trap music is not the only path to prosperity in the rap game. Having a voice matters, and using that voice intelligently, thoughtfully and actively is a vital cog in a movement of progression and understanding in our society. The instrumentation on the album is A1, and Kendrick’s concepts, lyrical prowess, and unique delivery all shine on TPAB. It may take a listen or two to appreciate it fully, but there is so much overwhelmingly solid content there to digest that it’s well worth taking your time.
King Kendrick was the dominant force in March, but that wasn’t the only album to drop of significant quality and stature. Two names that have been on the precipice of mainstream attention for some time now, Earl Sweatshirt and Action Bronson, dropped their albums this month as well. Earl’s I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside serves as his follow up to Doris and is a truly enjoyable listen, as we’re once again reminded that his technical skill set as a rapper and storyteller is supreme. It was supposed to drop out of nowhere, Beyonce-style, but his label mishandled it, and he expressed some frustrations with that:
“Brah, I was devastated. I was so mad cause it was like — especially because I feel like this is my first album. This is the first thing that I’ve said that I fully stand behind, like the good and the bad of it. I’ve never been behind myself this much. So for them to not treat as importantly as I was treating it was just like — I couldn’t help but to feel a little disrespected, you know?”
That’s infuriating for an artist with a specific plan for how they want their music received. Aside from that, I just enjoyed listening to Earl after having all the pressure of his debut album off of him and being fully acclimated back into mainstream society for an adequate amount of time now. One underrated aspect of Earl — and a lot of Odd Future, for that matter — is the cohesiveness of all of their projects. IDLS,IDGO is a perfect example of it and a solid listen from top to bottom. Also, the guest-verse from Ratking’s Wiki is pretty fantastic.
For me, though, you’d be hard pressed to find another album (outside of Kendrick’s) dropped in the month of March worthy of your iTunes gift cards and Spotify streams as good as Action Bronson’s Mr. Wonderful. He is about as close to a hybrid of a real life WWE character, cartoon superhero and folk legend that you will find in music today. His persona and honesty is utterly refreshing and it’s reflected so clearly in his music that it’s unmistakably Bronson. Many people can make music that’s good enough to be appealing to a large amount of people; not as many people can have their personality shine through so brightly that all you want to do is hang out with that person because you feel like you know exactly who they are. Action Bronson is that guy. After listening to his obscure sports references with food metaphors that will leave you salivating, I’d bet good money that grabbing a meal or a baseball game with Bronsolini would be high on your to do list. He is impossible not to root for and his videos always stand out in a genre that tends to get redundant with visuals. Just check out his video for “Actin’ Crazy” and tell me I’m wrong. Also, if you dig the album, check out his breakdown of every song on it right here.
Read on for a recap of local and underground hip-hop
