There is more great rap music out there than I can possibly cover in full reviews, or even in rapid fire reviews. With many of the years most talked about releases being hip hop crossovers I decided to once again return to some records I didn't get the chance to review in full to make sure I don't fall behind with plenty more great rap music surely coming in 2021
Haram - Armand Hammer & The Alchemist
Armand Hammer is the New York duo of Billy Woods and Elucid who have spent the last decade releasing some of the most abstract and indulgent rap music around with highlights coming in the form of projects like Paraffin and Race Music. The Alchemist is a producer with a resume that rivals just about anyone with a number of great collaborative projects in the past few years, most notably the Freddie Gibbs meetup Alfredo. For fans of The Alchemist you'll find these instrumentals mostly recognizable if not a bit more grimey than usual. There are those classic moments of spacey bliss synonymous with his sound to be found all over but the style of Armand Hammer often demands a big harsher material and Alchemist delivers. The performances are just as lyrical focused and sonically intense as every with billy woods in particular getting straight up lethal on tracks like Indian Summer. The only element of the performances I don't love is the singing, despite the unique vocals put on display I think the slower pace of these tracks doesn't do them any favors. Looking back on my favorite tracks almost none of them feature the drawn out awkward singing refrains that tend to just zap all the momentum out of the tracks they pop up in. My favorite feature on the record is unsurprisingly Earl Sweatshirt who kicks off Falling Out The Sky with a reflective and hard-hitting verse that I can't get enough of. Overall I like it a bit more than Armand Hammer's last album and as a collaboration I think the three main artists at hand pull off something pretty compelling throughout. 7/10
The Plugs I Met 2 - Benny The Butcher & Harry FraudKeeping up with the prolific Griselda crew can be difficult. Conway already dropped a collaborative tape this year and allegedly has another one coming soon. I'm sure Westside is cooking up something of his own and not to be outdone Benny dropped the 2nd in his collaborative series with Harry Fraud. The record is a mostly solid effort that sees Benny dropping some hip hop staple drug talk and confrontational performing. Harry Fraud's beats are definitely recognizable and helps this record stand out from any average Griselda piece, though sometimes its or better and sometimes worse. I will say with the exception of 2 Chainz I was pretty let down by the features on the record. Either they don't fit in with the sound at all or bring in a watered down performance that pales in comparison to Benny. They also tend to pop up on the records weakest tracks structurally and generally had me less excited to approach the back half of this already short album each time. Ultimately while there is plenty of talent on display here I don't see myself coming back to this project frequently especially given just how much material we've heard from Benny and his Griselda partners recently. 6/10
Smiling With No Teeth - Genesis Owusu
Genesis Owusu is a versatile Australian rapper and singer who has blown up this year with a connection to the ever controversial Kirin J Callinan. While I've never necessarily been a big fan of Kirin's music I was interested in Genesis Owusu once I saw how many people were dishing out acclaim in his direction. Versatile really is the best way to describe his sound as you'll hear a number of sonic influences across these 15 tracks. He bounces between songs that sound like Death Grips, Tyler The Creator, Thundercat and more so than anyone else, Childish Gambino. On these tracks he flexes both interesting singing vocals and rapping. Occasionally this results in derivative tracks but there are plenty of highlights too. The Other Black Dog is a bouncy tune with a catchy hook, Don't Need You is a hilariously spiteful hit waiting to happen, and Whip Cracker is a strikingly unique track I can't get enough of. Overall I really enjoyed the project and the instrumental and genre versatility it pulls off. Even with a few duds in the tracklist there is plenty to like here and if Genesis Owusu can hone in on his sound a bit going forward I think he can make something really great. 7.5/10
Check out more rapid fire hip hop reviews
here
