Lav's Music Corner

This was a ROUGH week for new singles, jesus. 5.  Starburned And Unkissed  - Caroline Polachek Leave it to this, an all time bad week for new singles, for a soundtrack cut from Caroline Polachek to make the cut. While everyone probably should rush out and see I Saw The TV Glow  immediately this song is also worth a crack even if the grinding distortion A.G. Cook laces into the chorus can occasionally be a tad overbearing. Caroline has always been interesting in her sonic experiments and this is no different.  Listen 4.  Buried Alive  - Chance The Rapper This is closer to a two-minute freestyle or cypher verse than a full song but I can't deny I appreciate the mission statement. Chance's 2019 album The Big Day  seemingly erased every bit of momentum he had off of his first the, largely quite solid mixtapes. So him taking a few minutes to remind fans he can still spit some bars and work to start defending himself is something I'll take.  Listen 3....

While this may not have felt like a big week for singles Thursday night, when you take the entire weeks trickle down of anticipated new songs and album announcements into consideration it is actually pretty significant, so lets try and work through it. Enjoy <3 5.  RAP JASM  - Moor Mother (feat. AKAI Solo & justmadenice) moor mother just continues being one of the most unique, creative and innovative voices in all of hip hop and all of music in general. While this new song plays it a little bit straighter than her typical outing if anything it only makes her credentials as a hip hop renaissance woman even stronger.  Listen 4.  Ricochet  - Preoccupations One of the most acclaimed post-punk acts of the 2010's is back after a four-year absence and what they've brought with them is one of the most lively songs of their entire career. With clearer vocals and drums that punch through the blurry guitars in the mix this certainly isn't the Preoccupations you reme...

Once again I'm clearing my to do list of EPs. While they have absolutely nothing to do with each other aside from their format they did each manage to grab my interest despite their short tracklists. Enjoy! I Tape  - Vic Mensa Vic Mensa has had a bit of a tumultuous time in the years since my personal favorite of his records, The Autobiography  came out in 2017. This includes the largely panned 93PUNX  experiment into the world of rock and punk music. I never got around to listening to his EP last year but a single I heard from Vic earlier this year got me curious to dive back into his work. Shelter  saw him teaming up with Wyclef and Chance for probably the best Vic Mensa song since OMG . That serves as the closing track to this EP and after seeing the impressive roster of producers and features working on this thing I was sold. And for the most part Vic delivers a sort of return to form featuring a blend of hard-hitting hip hop with a more introspective and conscio...

Justin Bieber is an obviously high profile artist whose contributions have been hard to miss over the last 15 years of the music industry. After an extended absence from studio albums during which he released a number of incredibly successful singles he returned with last years critically maligned but commercially successful Changes . After a trio of singles managed to once again be hits earlier this year Justin is now gearing up for another record barely a year later that represents a sonic and thematic change of pace for him.  Review By Lav: I like Justin Bieber and I think that he's probably a cooler and more genuine person that people often give him credit for. That being said I've never been a huge fan of his music with a couple of singles standing out as highlights but not many of what I would consider to be worthwhile albums. I was particularly let down by last years Changes  which felt like Bieber making more generic and less interesting music than ever before, but I w...

Kanye West is the legendary Chicago rapper producer responsible for some of the most loved hip hop records of the last 20 years. His transition from a jazz rap pioneer in the 2000's into a creative force of genre crossovers and stylistic transitions in the 2010's. After a number of release dates came and went for his project Yandhi  last year Kanye ultimately dropped the project and announced a second record Jesus Is King . Even as two more release dates past Kanye ultimately dropped the record Friday at noon and then updated the tracks with some better production the next day. Review By Lavender: No matter what you think about Kanye West as a person or as a cultural figure his music has been massively influential to hip hop culture, yet opinions on it vary greatly. Everyone has wildly different opinions about which Kanye records are deserving of praise for being groundbreaking beacons of creativity and which are misfires of outsider trash. I got a TON of heat last year ...

DaBaby is a Charlotte based rapper who has blown up in 2019, scoring a top 10 single on the hot 100 with Suge  a number of high profile features, and an impressive spot on the XXL 2019 Freshman list. Baby dropped a record earlier this year Baby On Baby  that was commercially successful and turned around quickly to transition into Kirk . Review By Lavender: I've wanted to like DaBaby since he first showed up on the hip hop scene, he's from my home town of Charlotte after all and I have to represent. However I have been pretty mixed by what DaBaby has brought so far. I'm not in love with his breakout hit Suge  and I ended up choosing to skip reviewing his first record Baby On Baby  because it didn't do nearly enough to stand out from the sea of trap records that come out seemingly every day now. I have enjoyed a few of his tracks and a handful of his features this year though so now that he is more popular than ever I figured I would give this album a fair shot,...

YBN Cordae is a Maryland raised rapper and member of the YBN Collective trio with YBN Nahmir and YBN Almighty Jay. Last year YBN Nahmir was selected as a XXL freshman and his solid performance brought more attention to the trio and at the end of the year they released their YBN: The Mixtape . On top of this YBN Cordae drew attention to himself with his response track to J. Cole's 1985  track from his KOD album and after being named a XXL Freshman in 2019 and releasing a number of well received singles expectations and hopes were high for his debut record. Review By Lavender: Ever since I first heard the sharply written argument Cordae made to J. Cole in his response track to 1985  I was anticipating what he would do next at every point for over a year. While I was very disappointed by the YBN Mixtape  Cordae has been pretty much undefeated in 2019 thus far. He killed his XXL freshman cover opportunity delivering an excellent freestyle and an even better cypher perf...

Chance The Rapper is a Chicago based rapper who blew up earlier this decade with his gospel inspired style and youthful energy on his 10 Day  mixtape. The very next year after this debut mixtape Chance dropped his second tape Acid Rap  to universal critical acclaim and it became his breakout project. With numerous marquee features and an unmistakable style the mixtape turned Chance into an overnight sensation and is considered by many to be one of the best rap records of the entire decade. Chance took his time crafting a follow-up record, ultimately dropping "Chance 3" Coloring Book  in 2016. The album featured a historic list of features from acclaimed and popular artists across the board and was met pretty positively from critics. After another three year wait Chance spent most of 2019 teasing his upcoming "debut album". He dropped the single Groceries  earlier this year but the track doesn't land on the record and ultimately the album was released with...

1. Nicki Minaj - Megatron Nicki takes a storming #1 with the highly anticipated MEGATRON  that arrives after a huge viral marketing campaign and a quick turnaround from last years Queen  era. 2. Spoon - No Bullets Spent Spoon returns after a two year absence likely to continue their reign as indie's most consistent band with more sharp riffs and catchy tunes. 3. Poppy - Choke Poppy is playing the genre bender game once again and by dropping the title track to her upcoming EP she asks the question what do you EXPECT her music to sound like? 4. Lupe Fiasco - Run Game Out of nowhere Lupe Fiasco returns with a new single looking to build off of a solid release last year and potentially building to a third album in the Drogas  series. 5. YBN Cordae - Bad Idea  (Feat. Chance The Rapper) Cordae scores his highest chart spot since last years J. Cole response song, by recruiting in demand feature Chance The Rapper and ramping up for his big debut solo release. ...

1. Chance The Rapper - Groceries (Feat. Tisa Korean and Murda Beatz) Chance recruits Murda Beatz and Tisa for the lead single that's starting off his new era and a shift towards his debut album, he runs away with #1 this week.  2. Amine - Places + Faces Amine drops his first new solo single of 2019 and as the young rapper continues to make great collaborations and fun, contemporary music he has ironed himself out a spot in raps canon.  3. Charli XCX - Blame It On Your Love (Feat. Lizzo) Charli always has hype behind her singles and this time around she grabbed up and comer Lizzo to join her for a dynamic pop connection.  4. The Black Keys - Go The Black Keys try to drop a third straight solid single to promote their return album, their first in 5 years.  5. Baroness - Throw Me An Anchor Baroness continues to drum up support in the alternative metal community for their highly anticipated upcoming new record.  6. The Raconteurs - Help Me Str...

2 Chainz aka Tity Boi, aka Tauheed Epps is an Atlanta rapper who blew up in 2012 on the back of his hilarious and timely debut album Based On A T.R.U Story . Finding large scale commercial success with the project led him to release a quick follow-up the next year which became the less successful B.O.A.T.S II Me Time . After some very notable features and a huge gain in name recognition in the industry it all finally led 2 Chainz to release his best album since his debut, 2017's Pretty Girls Like Trap Music . With a sharper and effectively trendy sound 2 Chainz was thrust back into the spotlight and has been there ever sense as a short release cycle and some notable celebrity endorsements helped Rap Or Go To The League become one of the most anticipated releases of 2019 so far. Review By Lavender: 2 Chainz 2012 debut album Based On A T.R.U Story is a flawed album but one of the most hilarious and charming hip hop releases of this entire decade. His personality, hilarious lyr...