Rapid Fire Reviews: Rap Catch-Up with Erick The Architect, Flo Milli, and ScHoolboy Q

I'm behind on everything so far this year let's face it. But while I try and catchy up on the biggest new records with full reviews I also want to clean up some releases worth getting my thoughts out on. These are three rap records that have turned enough heads so far in 2024. 

I've Never Been Here Before - Erick The Architect

I was interested in this project for a few reasons. The first being that James Blake appears in the production credits. which is always a key to my heart. But more importantly, I've enjoyed Flatbush Zombies for a full decade now. Erick himself impressed me quite a bit as a solo artist with his 2021 Future Proof EP. So even though the singles from this record didn't exactly floor me as a full bunch, I still wanted to give the record a fair shot. 

Unfortunately, I was surprised by just how much of this record either glossed over me entirely or even hit sour notes on repeat listens. While much of Erick's topical focus is intact occasionally it wanders into places that feel out of Erick's depth like the insanely awkward Neue Muse. And even when his topical focus is on point there are plenty of moments on this record that just don't sound all that appealing. Times where he leans into vocal effects or songs that lack even a single memorable refrain throughout aren't uncommon on the record. 

That doesn't necessarily mean they're aren't highlights though. I loved Ezekiel's Wheel with George Clinton when it first dropped as a single and it's easily still my favorite song here. I've also grown on Ambrosia with Channel Tres after not loving it the first few times I heard it. There are compelling deep cuts like the hard-hitting Mandevillain and the impressive Joey Badass-featuring Shook Up. The talent that makes Erick a unique artist is absolutely on display here, but it can only do so much to carry an album whose bells and whistles feel misaligned. 5/10

Fine Ho, Stay - Flo Milli

Flo Milli is an artist whose directness has resulted in short albums and short songs that have an inexplicable appeal over me. I thought that my enjoyment of her first album might have been a fluke built on her unstoppable force of personality and intensity, but it turns out she really does have that much energy. I liked her second album as well and going into this record I had no reason to expect I wouldn't like it. The album was led off by Never Lose Me a song I enjoy which has become one of Flo Milli's biggest hits in years and even got a fun SZA and Cardi B remix, plus the record opens up with the absolutely unflinching banger Understand. 

Some more of those bangers do exist on the record. The back half of the record turns out the one-two punch of Clap Sum and Tell Me What You Want. But much of this record is cut with Flo Milli getting in her feelings more than ever before. She dabbles in quite a bit of romantically tinged trap-flavored R&B. Unfortunately, I don't find her indulgence into this sound nearly as compelling. Tracks like New Me and Can't Stay Mad aren't bad by any means but fail to elevate themselves. Occasionally on songs like the deeply awkward Lay Up the indulgences are outright bad. This is something closer to what I was expecting when I originally turned on both of Flo Milli's first two albums. While she certainly has room to improve within her newfound style or return to what originally made her outright, as of right now I think Fine Ho, Stay is her weakest full-length effort yet. 5.5/10

BLUE LIPS - ScHoolboy Q

If you had told me a year ago that Erick The Architect, Flo Milli, and ScHoolboy Q would all release new albums in 2024 and that Q's would be my favorite of the bunch, I probably would have laughed in your face. While I've always been a fan of the two former artists, ScHoolboy Q is a rapper whose appeal I've struggled to understand throughout his entire career. I wasn't even that big a fan of some of his most acclaimed moments in the mid 2000s. It certainly doesn't help that the only one of his albums I've been able to review on this blog so far is by far his worst, 2019's CrasH Talk. It also doesn't help that this nearly hour-long record features some classic rap album time wasters and songs I already knew I didn't like going into the album. But surprisingly, it wasn't too hard to enjoy most of the material he delivers. 

Sometimes the record is willing to get boldly experimental in a way I wasn't prepared for. Pop with Rico Nasty is a surprisingly out-there experimental banger that I absolutely love. Foux with Ab-Soul is similarly nebulous but with a much eerier approach. That same versatility is present on singles like Blueslides and Yeern 101 which show up back to back. Despite being VERY different-sounding songs I enjoyed both a lot as singles. Versatility really is the name of the game with the album as Q manages to impress with both thumping inventive bangers and more stripped-down lyrical and narrative-focused cuts. 

Are there moments on this album I'm not crazy about, absolutely. I wouldn't say the record has skits but it does have the kind of intro and outro time wasters that are common on 2000s rap albums and boy does it get a bit tiring. You could probably cut nearly a full 10 minutes off this record and make a big improvement, but you can say that about most records. Occasionally ScHoolboy Q returns to some of his painfully juvenile lyrical devices, a complaint I've had about his music since I first heard it well over a decade ago. But for the most part I think this may be one of his most solid outings yet. He shows off both his creative ambition and raw talent on most of the songs here, which is about as much as I can ask for. 7/10