Lav's Music Corner

Was on vacation this week but I'm cooking up plenty of good stuff for the next week, let's do it. 5.  Vanessa  - Midwife If you're familiar with the brooding cloudy slowcore Midwife typically serves up then you basically know what you're getting with Vanessa . Across a full 6-and-a-half minutes Midwife makes use of swaying repetition to slowly weave together an impressively spellbinding cut that will swallow you whole if you give yourself to it.  Listen 4.  Garmonbozia  - Flying Lotus  I think everyone was anticipating a return from Flying Lotus, but I bet most people weren't expecting something like this. He returns by taking over lead vocal duties on a reserved and murky jazz number backed by his usual fluttering electronics. The slow pace and dark demeanor of the song actually plays to his strengths as a vocalist, even if its plodding pace feels a tad dry by FloLo standards.  Listen 3.  Shake It Like A  - Frost Children (feat. Danny Brown)...

Danny Brown is a Detroit rapper who broke through with a confrontational and cartoonish style more than a decade ago. In the years since, he's become an experimental rap staple releasing numerous highly acclaimed albums, most notably his experimental rap opus Atrocity Exhibition  in 2016. Earlier this year he teamed up with fellow beloved underground rapper JPEGMAFIA for a fan-favorite collab album called Scaring The Hoes .  Review by Lav:  If Scaring The Hoes  sees Danny Brown following some of his most bombastic and experimental sonic instincts, then Quaranta  all about his most introspective and self-reflective thematic ambitions. On this album Danny is not only embracing the role of experimental rap mainstay, but also the role of experimental rap veteran. Across the album he doesn't just meditate on lessons he's learned, but share that wisdom and perspective with anybody that chooses to listen.  That didn't really seem like the case with the lead single...

JPEGMAFIA & Danny Brown are two of the most acclaimed and unique artists in the modern underground hip-hop scene. Danny broke out in the early 2010s before building up to one of the decade's most acclaimed rap albums Atrocity Exhibition  in 2016. Peggy on the other hand crashed into the music world with his 2018 album Veteran  which received massive acclaim for its unique compositional style and energetic performances. Now the pair are linking up for a project that has already become one of the most anticipated in all of rap this year despite just being announced a few weeks ago.  Review by Lav: So here we are. After years of rumors and speculation, the long-awaited Danny and Peggy collab has finally arrived and it's themed specifically around the pair leaning into what so many of their biggest fans love about them. Given how talented both artists are I was expecting nothing less than fireworks and ultimately, that's what we got. Before I get to the elements of the re...

5.  Fatal Attraction  - 6LACK After I was split on the first two singles from this new album more of my hopes than I'd like to admit rested on this song and I kind of came down in the middle. 6LACK is still a very compelling performer and I like the wavy spaced-out production on this song quite a bit. The problem is almost everything here from the lyrical content, to the piano refrain, and even the hook itself feels really standard and arguably overdone. It's a track that fails to excite me like a single should but would make a fine deep cut. Listen 4.  Lean Beef Patty  - Danny Brown & Jpegmafia The first offering from one of the most highly anticipated rap crossovers in years is a short offering that feels MUCH more like Peggy than Danny with it's blown out bass and chaotic changes in style. Even if it feels more like a 2-minute bar fest than an actual song these two are still undeniably compelling performers and it shows in the intensity they can put behind eve...

Hey Besties, it's time for the list that's usually the most popular among the shorter bunch, almost entirely due to how much buzz anything hip hop related can attract online. Features are still a pretty big deal and they are normally one of the first pieces of promotional material leading to a new album or single. The shortlist this year wasn't as long as in years past but make no mistake, there were literally thousands of featured verses that people out there may consider when making a list like this. I certainly don't claim to have heard every single rap record released this year but I heard a LOT of them, and these were my favorite featured artists who gave memorable performances on someone else's song.  10. 21 Savage on J. Cole's my life A few years ago J. Cole jumped on 21 Savage's song a lot  for a standout feature on what became one of his most acclaimed and well known songs to date. So when it came time for Cole's newest album the pair linked up ...

As a wise woman once said on her EP's of the year list last year, "EPs are fun little guys full of fun little songs" and while they are so often overlooked sometimes when it rains it pours and a number of short form projects that I want to talk about all drop around the same time. so lets get caught up in the world of extended plays.  This Thing Of Ours 2 EP - The Alchemist Earlier this year legendary underground hip hop producer The Alchemist released an enjoyable if slightly inconsistent EP featuring a number of high profile rap collaborations and this is the highly anticipated sequel. This time MAVI, MIKE, Vince Staples, Zlooperz and Danny Brown's Bruiser Brigade serve as the five vocals heard across these five tracks which add up to just under 12 minutes.  Instrumentally speaking the EP is full of exactly what you'd expect, low key and lo-fi jazz rap beats rich with samples of classic brass instrumentation, drums and obscure vocal samples. The issue I have wit...

Brockhampton are a California via Texas rap group/boy band whose youthful fusion of rap, pop and R&B has become sort of a trademark in the years since their Saturation  trilogy first caught fire in 2017. The last time we heard from the group in 2019 they were exploring a much more somber approach to their sound, but from the singles to this record they projected a return to their idiosyncratic brand of hip hop.  Review By Lav: I've had pretty positive reception to most of what Brockhampton have done. They kicked off their career with Saturation 1 and 2  which scored a 9 and 10 respectively in my reviews and the acclaim returned when Ginger  turned out to be one of my favorite albums of 2019. I was excited to see what the band was going to do next even before I heard the incredible lead single from this album. Now that it's been released in its entirety I'm impressed by both the versatility of the execution on the record, as well as its consistency.  BUZZCUT ...

Clipping is a Los Angeles based hip hop trio consisting of experimental noise and jump producers William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes, as well as multi-talented MC Daveed Diggs. The group independently released a debut mixtape Midcity  back in 2013 and after garnering some attention from it they were signed to sub pop records and released the massively critically acclaimed CLPPNG . Two years later the band got even more experimental on the highly conceptual Splendor & Misery  and now three years later after a number of remixes, singles and EPs helped manage the gap between releases, the trio is back with a new horror and Halloween themed record released off the back of a few critically acclaimed singles. Review By Lavender: It's no secret I have been a massive fan of Clipping this decade, the brilliance of Daveed Diggs lyrically and the experimental genre bending instrumentals he raps over on Clipping tracks has made them one of the standout artists in experimental hi...

Danny Brown is a Detroit rapper who made a name for himself in the world of experimental hip hop in 2011 with his breakout mixtape XXX . After releasing the conceptual Old  in 2013 he received some criticism for dialing back on what made his style so unique but found more critical success despite this. After taking an extended break Danny Brown returned in 2016 with one of the most critically acclaimed records of the year, and one of the most acclaimed experimental hip hop records of the entire decade with his magnum opus  Atrocity Exhibition . The record turned Danny into an overnight superstar in experimental hip hop and the anticipation for this new record was very high. Review By Lavender: Danny Brown's Atrocity   Exhibition  is one of the best albums I've heard all decade and his 2011 record XXX  isn't that far behind it. Danny Brown has shown off consistent ability to deliver on both genre bending and boundary pushing instrumentals and pairing ...

1. Travis Scott - Highest In The Room The long awaited Highest In The Room  is finally here and more than well deserving of Travis Scott's first #1 of 2019 after dropping one of the best contemporary raps albums of the last few years with Astroworld 2. Danny Brown - 3 Tearz  (Feat. Run The Jewels) Typically singles that release the same week as albums don't tend to perform as well on the charts but seeing Danny link up with RTJ is just too much starpower to hold the track back even after Danny has had two number ones in the last month. 3. Clipping - Blood Of The Fang Clipping may have one of my most anticipated albums of this entire year but I will say their last two singles have come out in busy weeks by hip hop standards, Clipping debuts its third song in the top three yet only one has been a number one. 4. Poppy - I Disagree After dropping the best EP of the year so far and following it up with another great single in Concrete  there should be no debate whats...

1. Danny Brown - Best Life Danny Brown steals a slow week for his second #1 of the year just two weeks removed from his first, and with a highly anticipated new album right around the corner. 2. Have A Nice Life - Lords Of Transmission After a lead single that some saw as a misstep the legendary experimental rock band has seen fit to release a second track from their long awaited third record ahead of its release. 3. DIIV - Blankenship After scoring a #1 earlier this year DIIV continues to place strongly as they continue to deliver shoegaze tinged indie rock that sounds as refreshing as their style always has. 4. Gang Starr - Family and Loyalty  (Feat. J. Cole) Almost ten years after MC Guru's death Gang Starr producer DJ Premier is releasing new material under the moniker and recruited J. Cole for a guest verse on the track. 5. Wilco - Everyone Hides Wilco's new era is upon us and with the indie groups legendary pedigree they continue to be in the rotAfter releasi...

1. Danny Brown - Dirty Laundry Danny Brown returns three years after dropping one of the most amazing and experimental rap records of this decade and his highly anticipated follow-up now has a release date and lead single which jumps to the top of this weeks chart, the first to have 15 new entries in nearly 2 months. 2. Grimes - Violence  (Feat. i_o) Grimes follows up last years standout single We Appreciate Power  with an announcement of new music and a collaboration and new music video hoping to finally kick her first new era since 2015's Art Angels  off strong. 3. Camila Cabello - Liar   Camila is kicking off a new turn after her self-titled debut found success early last year and dropped a pair of singles in promotion along with a new visual aesthetic. 4. M83 - Temple Of Sorrow M83 is following up their classic Digital Shades  album after only ten years and this song is the first taste we're hearing from the record and the first new material from t...

Every year this list gets closer and closer to being the "Top 10 Guests SPOTS", as the mainstream catches up with the feature trend that's been in rap as long as there's been rap. Lana Del Rey/The Weeknd, Iglooghost/Mr. Yote and Charli XCX/Carly Rae Jepsen all made solid cases but for likely the last year ever the "Guest" list is limited to rap features. And in a time when there's more rap than ever before it was exciting to know that any day there could be a 200th Young Thug/Travis Scott song or exactly as likely something wildly new like DRAM/Neil Young. This year's list isn't quite as full of surprises as years prior but it's no doubt full of just as good performances. 10. J. Cole - "Legendary" by Joey Bada$$ Who'd have thought that in 2017 J. Cole would be less corny, what a time to be alive. Joey's VERY low key approach made it easy for Cole to hop in and ride along a jazzy, smooth beat and deliver his trad...