Lav's Music Corner

Backxwash is a Canadian rapper who has become a critical darling over the past few years for her fusion of industrial and metal aesthetics with religious themes and of course, hip hop. HIS HAPPINESS  is the conclusion to a trio of records released over the last three years that see Backxwash reflecting on her own personal history and identity.  Review by Lav: Since I first heard Backxwash's 2020 album God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It  I've been enamored with her deeply self-reflective lyricism, intoxicating vocal intensity, and entirely unique combination of sounds and influences. Last years I Lie Here Buried With My Rings And My Dresses  absolutely blew me away as she dialed up the intensity even further and I had no reason to expect this record wouldn't do the same. Despite some minor slip-ups here and there the record absolutely lives up to my expectations, both on its own merit and as a conclusion to the wonderful trilogy.  The record didn...

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 ...

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 c...

Backxwash is an experimental rap artist who broke out last year with her God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It  album which saw her fusing hip hop with industrial and metal music and would eventually go on to win the Polaris Prize. Backxwash is capitalizing quickly on the records success with a sequel that projected a noisier and even more chaotic direction for her music.  Review By Lav: Backxwash was introduced to me last year as a trans artist who had connections to fellow 2020 breakout act Black Dresses, and in my pursuit of consuming all the great trans art I could I engaged with and enjoyed her last project quite a bit. While it would be reductive to try and collectivize the artistic accomplishments of trans creators in recent years, we can highlight the ethos of the work. When we think of trans peoples contributions to music these days we probably go to hyperpop or niche electronica genres, painting futuristic escapism in digital bangers with experimental f...