Lav's Music Corner

These are reviews of 5 records that I was pretty sure weren't going to top my albums of the year list, but I nonetheless wanted to talk about because of the significance of the artists behind them.  AM I THE DRAMA?  - Cardi B Cardi B's story is something I've always been very interested in. After years of teasing the release of a sophomore record, I really thought she might have waited too long to capitalize on any of the meteoric hype she generated from 2017 to 2020. Now that the record is out and being digested by fans, the verdict is very much still out. One person who thinks about Cardi's place in popular culture even more than I do is Cardi herself. Her debatably triumphant return is the subject of the first two tracks on the record, the pretty good "Dead" and the mediocre "Hello." While Cardi does a lot of flexing on the record, the results are pretty inconsistent, and the best victory lap she takes on the song "Check Please" outclass...

JID is an Atlanta rapper who first rose to prominence as a member of the Spillage Village collective and a signee on J. Cole's Dreamville label imprint. His previous studio album DiCaprio 2  came out in 2018 and drastically rose his profile as both a commercial artist and a critical darling. Review by Lav: While I wasn't the earliest to come around to JID I have been able to watch his rise over the past 6 years where he's not only drastically increased his profile but also his talent. I did get some flak from hip-hop heads on twitter for not completely fawning over DiCaprio 2  but with this new record, I feel pretty validated. Not only has JID improved his talent on just about every level, but also his scope and ambition with it. The results are one of the best hip hop records I've heard in 2022.  I'm really glad the lead single to this record still managed to land on the record. Surround Sound  is a track I've been enjoying all year with one of the best hooks I...

All of a sudden there's quite a few EPs to be covered and we're pretty light on new records this week. So let's handle some recent short-form projects from the world of hip hop. RED & WHITE EP - Lil Uzi Vert It's no secret that I've been a pretty big critic of some of Uzi's music in the past but at the very least I can say that one of their most enjoyable projects to date was technically the most recent one not counting his collaboration with Future.  Lil Uzi Vert vs. the World 2  remedied many of the big problems I had with Eternal Atake , namely much stickier hooks and many features that helped make up for some of Uzi's shortcomings as both a rapper and singer. So I was a little suspicious going into this nearly 30 minute EP once I saw that Uzi is handling the entirety of vocal duties by themself. Thankfully both the production and songwriting here are better than on EA and while I think there is still some distance between Uzi and their biggest contem...

Latto is an Atlanta rapper who has broken out in recent years with tracks like Big Energy  and Bitch From Da Souf  as well as being named to the 2020 XXL Freshman Class. 777  is her sophomore album and follows 2020's Queen Of Da Souf . Review By Lav: While I don't think Latto has a particularly impressive back catalog thus far, I have always seen the appeal of her music, in particular her uncompromising personality. On tracks where she's lean into her confidence and demeanor she has been just as good as some of her best and most popular contemporaries, so it was no surprise to me to see her developing some more acclaim and commercial success. I wouldn't say that had me anticipating that 777  would be some kind of major breakout record, I was just hoping she would lean into that personality. Turns out she does, and the results are pretty solid.  A lot of discussion surrounding this record starts with one song, Big Energy . It has sort of become Latto's true comme...

Conway The Machine is one of the principle members of Buffalo hip hop collective Griselda who has bee prolifically releasing material for nearly a decade. Conway had a breakout past two years, releasing his debut studio album in 2020 and following it up with the acclaimed La Maquina  mixtape in 2021. God Don't Make Mistakes  is officially Conway's 2nd studio album and it's his first being released by Eminem's Shady Records. Review By Lav: Conway The Machine doesn't know who I am and doesn't give a shit what I think about anything. BUT, I'm fully content on pretending that I sparked a fire in him in 2020. When I reviewed all the Griselda albums from that year his debut was my least favorite of the bunch and I specifically mentioned that I was still waiting on Conway to release something that was on the same level as the best work from his contemporaries Westside Gunn and Benny The Butcher. Well last year he did just that with the impressive La Maquina  mixtap...

The Weeknd has spent the last few years transitioning from an influential voice in commercial R&B to a full blown pop superstar. The massive success of his After Hours  album and its resulting singles in 2020 turned him into one of the biggest stars in the music industry and he looks to continue the upward momentum on this new album which was dropped with only one pre-release single and a week of promotion. Review By Lav: I've loved The Weeknd for a long time. For years the narrative surrounding his music was that of a singles artist, who had hit after hit but his albums never quite lived up to the quality standard of his original trio of mixtapes. He bucked those trends on After Hours  dropping a genuinely fantastic pop record with commercial high points and a deep selection of compelling album tracks. This combined with his excellent single last year Take My Breath  had me incredibly excited for what he would do in 2021. Turns out I didn't have to wait long because ...

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...

Tyler, The Creator is a California rapper and multi-medium superstar. After first emerging as the main brain behind the Odd Future hip hop collective Tyler cultivated a brand for himself that included numerous solo albums, TV shows and an imprint into the fashion industry and that's just a start. Since first breaking out Tyler has drastically changed the sound of his music, transitioning from his edgy lo-fi brand of provocative hip hop into the sounds of pop, R&B and soul music starting with 2017's Flower Boy  and expanding even further on 2019's Igor . Review By Lav: Hello! If you're a Tyler, The Creator fan reading this it's probably the first time you've seen one of my reviews since I covered IGOR  in 2019. You most likely bookmarked a tweet about it or followed my account with a burner so that you could periodically send me provocative DMs because I made the unforgivable mistake of calling out the album for the elements of it that failed to translate wit...

Features are a part of the backbone of collaborative spirit and personality upon which hip hop is sustained. While every year high profile collaborations make their way more and more into other areas of the musical landscape there's nothing like two electric MC's meeting up on a song a dishing out their respective fire one after another. Each year I like to highlight some of the best guests of the year who build and improve upon the songs they're brought onto. Like every year there was an extensive list of great features I heard throughout 2020 and it wasn't easy to assemble into just 10. I even briefly considered extending it to 15 to fit solid contributions from Joey Badass and A$AP Rocky onto the list but ultimately making it into the top 10 is an achievement not worth souring.  10. Conway The Machine on Babies & Fools  by Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist Conway The Machine may not have had the loudest or most acclaimed record among his Griselda contemporaries i...