Rapid Fire Reviews: Listening To Hip Hop While On Vacation

This week was light on content for a reason, I'm on vacay <3. But I have found the time to catch-up on a few records I've been meaning to talk about and I'll be back soon to cover Torres, Billie Eilish and a bunch of other new releases I'm excited about. 

Afro Pessimist - Censored Dialogue

CENSORED Dialogue is a rapper who I first discovered from their absolute tour de force performance on the Backxwash song Terror Packets from her album earlier this year. I was so impressed with the verse and the directly personal approach through which Censored Dialogue handled trans issues that I wanted to know what else they had done. I was surprised to find an album that was much more conventionally hip hop than Backxwash, with production that could easily be slotted into many contemporary rap albums that have a classic instrumental flare. The lyrical subject matter here is also much more commentary on race and racial politics than trans issues. Neither of these things are a complaint by any means, just a difference in what I was expecting based off just one verse and the reality of the full project. The record's 9 tracks add up to just under half an hour of music and across the first two tracks Censored Dialogue proves they their willing to experiment with composition as both the intro track and first full length song have multiple distinct phases. From that point on and most of the way through the album it really becomes about the rapping. The performance have an intensity to them that often comes alongside some technically impressive verses. Lyrically speaking there is more to praise with plenty of opportunities for both fiery political reflection and engaging storytelling. There are a few songs whose lack of any kind of distinct lyrical approach can leave them sounding slightly silly, mainly Hayabusa which is packed full of video game references some of which are surely going over my head. The beats on the album are consistently interesting, even if they all have a similar bedroom feeling. The record has some instrumentals that sound genuinely risky, bold and exciting and Censored Dialogue is never shy about rapping over them. The most personal and raw song Social Death, is also my favorite of the bunch. The opening refrains is a memorable one where CD borrows a memorable Kevin Abstract refrain from the Brockhampton song Junky before giving a well deserved shout-out to Mykki Blanco. This is just the tip of the iceberg for the track's personal nature with discussions of personal image and mental health issues with express details. While the record is on the shorter side, rough around the edges and a bit of an inconsistent listen it has some major highlights. Censored Dialogue is clearly talented and has the cadence and lyrical focus of a veteran rapper. Pair that with their willingness to wear their heart on their sleeve in song and the perspective that is so desperately under-represented in hip hop. What you've got is plenty of reasons to look out for CD to do something really special and I think it'll come sooner rather than later. 7/10

Tempus - Issa Gold

Issa Gold is a New York rapper who is most well known as one half of conscious hip hop duo The Underachievers. I first came upon the pairs music during their incredibly creative high streak from 2015 to 2018, but they've been largely quiet for the past few years save for a single or two. The last time we heard from Issa and AK in full length capacity was alongside Pro Era and Flatbush Zombies on the massive NY collective hip hop project Beast Coast's Escape From New York. While I don't have much familiarity with Issa's previous solo work I went into this record expecting similar things to what he has always delivered on pretty much any projects he appears on. For the most part that is what he delivers. These songs are conscious, narrative strewn commentaries on both personal and social issues performed over a series of reserved, contemplative beats. While that is certainly a tried and true hip hop formula at this point there is no denying Issa Gold's talent and knack for executing this formula with plenty of intrigue. Given the total lack of any features and not many vocal samples to speak of Issa is handling almost all of the verses, hooks, storytelling and vocal charisma of the record which is a tall task for just about anyone. While not all moments on the record are equal for the most part Issa delivers on this difficult feat through thematically focused and versatile songs all over the record. His slick delivery and direct songwriting grants him the opportunity to explore some much deeper concepts through his lyrics and he takes those opportunities frequently. Save for the occasional silly simile Issa is taking these issues very seriously and penning memorable songs one after another, with major highlights in songs like Regrets, Airboy and Patience. I will say that from a tracklist standpoint the first half of the record takes a much more direct approach with one song after another of short, tightly written and sonically focused songs. The second half features a lot more extended sonic intros and outros which I think takes away from the lyrical versatility a little bit and slows down the records momentum. Given that my biggest complaint has to do more with the arrangement of the songs rather than the songs themselves and there are only a few moments I would call forgettable I have to say I really enjoyed this record. I'm surprised it hasn't attracted some more discussion in hip hop circles because it really does put a lot of talent on display and I hope that the next time we hear from The Underachievers or Beast Coast it helps people discover how good this record is. 7.5/10

USEE4YOURSELF - IDK

I have never been the biggest IDK fan in the world even though I was first made aware of his music pretty early on in his career. He clearly has talent but it often gets muddled with weird beat choices, a lack of thematic focus and an increasing dependence on trying to sound as much like Kanye West as possible. I was hoping that this record would be a significant statement for a few reasons. It had a long and very public rollout which included the release of a few singles I enjoyed namely the smooth summer jam Shoot My Shot with Offset. It is also his most fully fleshed out project yet at 17 tracks. That length turns from a potential strength into a major hurdle for enjoying the record because not only is there a lot of completely redundant filler, but also a lack of major highlights. The features on the record are a total mixed bag, with some of the listed features being nothing but short refrains that might as well be samples. While there are some notable contributions they come from unexpected places and occasionally on songs that otherwise don't have much going for them like Young Thug killing it on Pradadabang. There are certainly highlights in the tracklist where a hard-hitting beat pairs with either catchy refrains or some kind of topical focus. But way too many of these tracks are derivative, thematically bankrupt or just instantly forgettable. I could still certainly see IDK coming through with something special in the future if he really dug down into his talent as a story-tellar and got the opportunity to work with some producers who could better match his style. But USEE4YOURSELF seems to have a lot of ambition, though not much of it actually gets delivered on. 5.5/10