Lav's Music Corner

Lil Baby Lil Baby is an Atlanta rapper whose music I've never particularly cared for. I have stuck my neck out twice to at least pay him a little bit of love on a pair of collaborative projects. That included his breakthrough Drip Harder  alongside Gunna in 2018 and his album The Voice Of The Heroes  alongside Lil Durk a few years later. But as far as his own studio albums go I can't say I've enjoyed any of them a bit. Hit completely flavorless style and AI-generated lyricism almost do enough to mask just how unpleasant his voice is to listen to, almost. But on WHAM  he takes a risk or two that pays off, not enough to make the album good but enough to make it marginally more enjoyable than some of his others.  This is gonna be a quick review, because if you've ever heard any Lil Baby music before you already know exactly what most of this album sounds like. Let me bring up some of the highlights though. "Dum, Dumb, And Dumber" has been one of the breakthrough ...

Vince Staples is a California rapper who first emerged more than a decade ago and has bounced between being a critical darling and cult like rap artist in the years since. Ramona Park  is Vince's 4th or 5th album depending on who you ask, though some of the EP's in his discography are just as acclaimed and popular releases. Ramona Park Broke My Heart  is a sister album of sorts matching Vince's self-titled project last year.  Review By Lav: I've been a Vince Staples fan for quite a long time, but that doesn't always manifest itself with unanimous praise. I absolutely loved his debut album Summertime 06'  but as we work through his discography to the most experimental but inconsistent Big Fish Theory , then the short and simple summer tape FM!  and finally to last years kind of forgettable Vince Staples , it feels like there's a downward trend. While I wasn't crazy about these singles I was still anticipating them to forecast a step in the right direction...

No heady observations this week. Given just how much great music came out on albums and EPs this week I'm sort of in full length review mode at the moment but that didn't stop me from engaging with some of the better singles I heard this week as well. 5.  C'mon Baby, Cry  - Orville Peck While I'm not sure this is the BEST song anyone's ever written it's hard to ignore the fact that Orville delivered a sadboy country anthem for what must be a pretty narrow group. His characteristically deep vocals and instantly recognizable voice sounds great flying over these jangly acoustic guitars and the whole song oozes a level of authenticity that most contemporary country falls drastically short of. Listen 4.  Bussin  - Nicki Minaj & Lil Baby After a HUGE whiff on a collaborative single last week Nicki and Lil baby didn't wait long to deliver the track that many had originally hoped they would. This is a confident and uncompromising banger that genuinely does see t...

Gunna is an Atlanta rapper signed to Young Thug's YSL Records label. He broke out a few years ago on a string of features alongside Young Thug and a successful collaborative album between himself and fellow 2018 up and comer Lil Baby. DS4EVER  is his 3rd proper studio album and comes two years after his first #1 album Wunna  in 2020. Review By Lav: I was late to Gunna. When I first heard him on the back of his affiliation with Young Thug I was so sure that his prescence would be a passing fad that I passed on reviewing some of his early mixtapes. It wasn't until his Lil Baby collab Drip Harder  which spawned the first big hit of his career that I realized I couldn't ignore him forever. The first highlight of my interaction with Gunna's music and his fans was when an intern from his record label called me "an LGBT" on Twitter and used that as an explanation for why I didn't enjoy Drip or Drown 2  which honestly still makes me laugh to this day. Believe it o...

Drake is the biggest artist on earth, and frankly it really isn't even close. From his streaming dominance, to his radio dominance to his chart dominance across numerous genres Drake has been an absolutely unstoppable force of commercial music for years. After setting numerous Billboard and streaming records with his 2018 record Scorpion  Drake has already started tearing down his previous accomplishments with Certified Lover Boy  in just the records first few days.  Review By Lav: Compared to the general public I've never been one of the massive Drake fans that you most likely know and interact with on Twitter occasionally. But compared to most music critics I've been far more positive on Drake's output, particularly in recent years, than many major outlets. While Views  and Scorpion  are both undeniably bloated there is also no denying the highlights that run throughout. Drake overcame this on his More Life  playlist which featured contributions from a nu...

Every year there are literally dozens and dozens, maybe even hundreds of trap records that either get reccomended to me or hyped up somewhere significant online. While I do cover major releases or records I anticipate being particularly good I wanted to take some time to play catch up with contemporary raps predominate sound, and it probably won't be the last time this year I do.  Trip At Knight  - Trippie Redd Even though I have reviewed Trippie a few times in the past I decided to skip out on his two most recent major releases. Last years Pegasus  was a bloated and very boring project that I didn't review because I didn't really have anything to say about it. He followed it up with the Travis Barker collaboration Neon Shark  which I was hesitant of because of just how often Travis pops up on terrible trap music these days, but I actually thought it turned out decent. Given that it was really just a deluxe release of Pegasus  I never got around to it but Trip A...

J. Cole is a North Carolina based rapper who is now over a decade into his career. He has had a bit of an interesting relationship with the reception of his albums. While each of his projects have been major commercial successes he hasn't necessarily won over critics with the exception of his 2014 Forrest Hills Drive  project. Though he is consistently cited as a lyrically strong and socially conscious rapper, he has never achieved the level of acclaim as some of his contemporaries.  Review By Lav: I think I stand in a pretty similar place to most people, particularly other critics, when it comes to J. Cole. While he reps my home state that still doesn't make up for plenty of his projects being padded out with incredibly mediocre additions and mislead lyrical themes. This sort of came to a head last year when J. Cole was publicly called out for his lack of political awareness by Noname and made a track and statement essentially denying that he was ever trying to be socially co...

Slime Language 2 is the second compilation album from Young Thug's Young Stoner Life Records. It features contributions from many artists on the label, most notably Thug himself and Gunna, while spotlighting a number of young talents and bringing on many high profile guests. The 23 track 75 minute record is an extension well beyond the first Slime Language  and has been one of the most talked about moments in popular rap music this year.  Review By Lav: I've always been known to dish out praise in Young Thug's direction as one of the more unique MC's in the world of trap music. Despite that he isn't without his misses and he tends to release a lot of material, not all of which is great. Slime Language 2  takes that element of Thugger's output as a mission statement rather than a word of warning. This thing is incredibly bloated and even more inconsistent with the quality of songs varying drastically depending on the talent level of the artists involved. One thin...

Pop Smoke was an up and coming rapper from New York who became one of the most prominent voices of the cities drill scene off of his hit song Welcome To The Party last year. Pop Smoke was tragically murdered in February of this year, a crime for which arrests were just made this week. Shoot For The Stars  is his posthumous debut album which was unfinished at the time of his death and was completed under the guise of executive producer 50 Cent. The record also attracted some controversy directed at designer Virgil Abloh for his original album cover design, which was changed before the records release.  Review By Lavender: Just typing the words posthumous debut album is something I find difficult, especially in the case of an artist like Pop Smoke who had so much creative and artistic potential ahead of him. While I have never outright loved any of his music he was carving out a unique lane for himself with unmistakable vocals and a thirst to push further beyond the mundane soun...

City Girls is a Florida based hip hop duo that consists of MC's Yung Miami and JT. The pairs single Act Up caught fire in 2018 and after they got a Cardi B cosign on their debut record and a spot on Drake's mega-hit In My Feelings they have gained a very high profile in hip hop over the last year.  Review By Lavender: City Girls entered the world of hip hop which is so universally dominated by strong attitudes and showed how stellar their personalities are while putting the industry on notice. While I loved some of their early singles I thought their debut record was just okay as the production ran pretty standard for mainstream trap and it felt like they overlapped the same territory a few times. On City On Lock  the pair improve on a few things and make a pretty good record although the shortcomings can be obvious.  The highlights on this record typically do the same things right. Raunchy lyrics with a TON of personality and great bars throughout, usually placed over a ...

Gunna is an Atlanta trap artist who has emerged as a Young Thug protege and is signed to his YSL label. This is Gunna's 2nd official album but he is much more known for his collaborative project with Lil Baby Drip Harder  back in 2018. Lil Baby released his big sophomore record earlier this year to commercial success and Wunna  sees Gunna attempting to do the same.  Review By Lavender: I skipped out on reviewing Gunna up to this point for one key reason, I had nothing to say. You could describe his solo debut Drip Or Drown 2  as well as his slightly better collaborative project with Lil Baby Drip Harder  as nearly comatose generic trap records with inconsistent vibes and underwritten songs. It was clear that nobody in the process was really trying as they made music so I didn't try when it came to reviewing it. But Wunna  felt like a more significant statement from an artist who has proven to have some more commercial staying power than I anticipated given ...

Future is an Atlanta trap rapper who really needs no introduction at this point. He has been around for almost a decade now and has frequently released commercially successful projects that have heavily influenced the popular psychedelic trap sound. High On Life  is technically Future's 8th album but with a dense catalog of mixtapes and EPs we have had no shortage of music from the man and at 70 minutes long this record is no different.  Review By Lavender: For somebody that has been popular and influential for nearly a decade now it can be kind of difficult to narrow down Future's music to just the good stuff. While there is certainly enough Future tracks for a greatest hits album or two that is just a drop in the ocean of content he has released and with the exception of DS2  those tracks rarely align into a cohesively great record. Just last year Future wowed me with a handful of tracks on his The WZRD  album and even more on his Save Me  EP yet I consider th...

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,...

Post Malone is a Texas based hit-maker who has ridden fame off of his breakout single White Iverson  into a complete dominance of popular music. With a number of high profile collaborations across his discography Post has certainly been one of the most influential figures in popular music the past few years and with two #1 singles and a potential mega hit collaboration with Young Thug all being released before this record dropped in full it is certain to be one of the years most commercially significant releases. Review By Lavender: Post Malone is an artist I am more than comfortable saying that I have never really enjoyed. His breakout tune still does nothing for me to this day and through his Stoney  era he spawned some of the weakest and most uninspired singles and features of any mainstream artist around. He began a slight upswing on the bloated but bearable Beerbongs & Bentleys  when he traded out flat out annoying for blissful background pop and tr...