Rapid Fire Reviews: How Smart Is Hip Hop

Every year it just seems like there are WAY more rap albums than I can listen to and review. I've had rapid fire reviews for rap collaborations, trap albums, conscious rap, abstract hip hop and even one that was just for Griselda. Yet there are still mountains of rap albums I want to cover. I'm taking on these four in an attempt to make a dent in that pile with some of the most pressing of the available choices. 

The Color Blu(e) - Blu

After having not heard much about Blu in quite a while he has entered an incredibly prolific and acclaimed stretch across the past few years. His last two collaborative records have both been fan favorites and the latter, last year's Miles was one of my favorite rap records of the year and one of the smartest rap albums I've ever heard. So I was excited going into this concept album because it's clear how talented Blu is and if anybody could stretch a concept album about a single color to nearly 45 minutes it's him. While I do hear Blu running over some of the same ground in terms of samples and lyrical double entendres that he's covered on previous projects for the most part he not only makes the concept work throughout, but does it really well. Blu simply has a command of flow that is totally unrivaled and you could break down half of his verses on the record to find the half-rhymes, quarter rhymes and dizzying syllable repetition. The only reason I didn't do a full review of this record is that it's just a little inconsistent. I was surprised to hear some of these tracks make really weird choices with their samples whether their mixed way too high and crush the verses or just don't come together cohesively in a way that can be effectively rapped over. There are also some attempts at hooks here that don't go over very well and while the best verses here are almost indescribably clever there are some moments that do feel below Blu's pen game. I actually think that the versatile array of blue themed samples could have been one of the best things about the record but it is occasionally presented in really annoying and overbearing ways that come off as gimmicky rather than actually serving the record. Overall I can still reccomend this to pretty much any serious hip hop fans because some of what Blu is able to achieve is so technically impressive, even if I wouldn't say it comes together to be as good as the best albums of his career so far. 7/10

Half God - Wiki

For somebody who has made appearances on so many different albums that I enjoy, I haven't paid enough attention to Wiki's own work. I heard his feature rich 2019 album OOFIE but never got around to reviewing it since I didn't really have that much to say. While I knew going into this record that the rapping was going to be pretty low key, you really need to be prepared for just how little Wiki is going to be emoting across this nearly hour long record. The record does have 6 featured vocalists who for the most part do a really good job on their songs but for the most part you're getting Wiki's extremely reserved and nasally vocals nonstop. Wiki's flow and cadence is certainly similar to some of his frequent collaborators most notably Your Old Droog but honestly I just don't find Wiki's performances here that interesting. While he is a bit standard lyrically I think he manages to stand out with some occasionally funny or just ridiculous bars that a lot of other extremely self-serious rappers in his lane would never write. But his vocals just don't make the same impression on me and listening to them for the records full 60 minutes can get pretty draining. The production comes largely courtesy of Navy Blue which is what first attracted a lot of people to the record and while it's pretty good it's almost impossibly standard for this style of hip hop. While there is obviously talent on display I wish Wiki would do something from a songwriting and song substance standpoint to further separate himself from his contemporaries, as well as dial his next album back to just the best tracks. 5.5/10

Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Sincerely Adolf - Westside Gunn

I feel like the moment I catch up on new Griselda releases I blink and they've collectively dropped 5 new projects. I thought at first I would only have to catch up with one new Westside project until he surprise dropped an entire side B. I'll be reviewing that one right after this since most people have agreed that it's an even better and more memorable project in the Griselda sea. Because Westside Gunn's unique style allows him to reach a higher potential than most of his contemporaries, it also allows him to fall victim to some weird choices that accentuate that style in really poor ways. This tape reminds me a lot of last years WHO MADE THE SUNSHINE as it just delivers a mix of bold ideas that go over well and hit hard in between some of the most awkward and dissonant stuff I've ever heard from the Griselda collective. While I admire Westside Gunn for taking risks Sincerely Adolf gets a bad shake with a number of his most awkward tracks I think I've ever heard. The records low points come complete with bad features, obnoxious sampling and extremely unprofessional sounding beats, not even lo-fi just poorly assembled. Thankfully the tape isn't a total waste because there are a few really solid tracks that show off Westside and collaborators like Mach-Hommy and Lil Wayne at their best. Highlights aside with this record relying so much on inconsistent features and with a far better sequel following it up so quickly this is one piece of the Griselda universe I don't see myself coming back to anytime soon. 5/10

Hitler Wears Hermes 8: Side B - Westside Gunn

So here we are, lets skip the pleasantries assuming you read the last review and get right into the record because it's an improvement on pretty much every front. Given that this thing is 20 tracks and over an hour long it should be no surprise that not every moment is a hit, in fact there are a couple extremely tedious wastes of time in the tracklist. But generally speaking this is quite a solid collection of raw and hard-hitting songs from Westside, not my favorite group of tracks he's ever dropped but one that averages out to a pretty good mix with a number of hits. The beats deliver on the full array of hard hitting hip hop and Westside isn't afraid to sing a kooky and surprisingly catchy hook here and there that adds some much appreciated variety to the record. Features from the rest of the Griselda crew, Jay Electronica, Mach-Hommy and Armani Caesar round out the tracklist with further compelling versatility though they are occasionally counterbalanced by a few truly awful featured verses. This certainly won't show you a whole new side of Westside Gunn as an artist but it does seem like he put more effort in than usual to assemble a collection of tracks that really go well together and have far more hits than misses. 7/10