Lav's Music Corner

Clipse is the hip-hop duo of brothers Pusha T and Malice. The pair first broke through with a pair of killer albums in the early 2000s, but called it quits when Malice retired from hip-hop for almost a decade while Pusha T pursued a critically acclaimed solo career. Now the duo has re-formed with Malice fully coming out of retirement for their first new album in 16 years. Also along for the ride is Pharrell, a longtime collaborator of Clipse, who dishes out some of his best production in years throughout the record. All parties involved are amazingly still operating at their peak, and with a combination of new ambitions and timeless techniques, the pair crafted a comeback album that most artists can only ever hope for.  We will talk about the album's lead single later, but I want to start off with its stunning second single, "So Be It." It has this eerie beat that is some of the best production work Pharrell does across the entire album. It also has a hook that has been a...

Late again, sorry I was on vacation, take some deep breaths and enjoy. 5.  Weedkiller  - Ashnikko I think Ashnikko might have out-Dorian Electra'd Dorian themselves this week. In what is easily my favorite single from this new Ashnikko era so far they're getting cutthroat and living up to the song's aggressive title. While it's mostly the strong hook that wins me over I also have to say some of the clever vocalizations and stretching of their range as a singer pay off big time.  Listen 4.  Fallin'  - Joey Bada$$ If you had Joey trying his R&B side out on your 2023 bingo card, you're probably well on your way to winning. You'd be in even better shape if you correctly predicted that the results would actually be kind of good. As is often the case with crossovers like these, the hook suffers with singing that is sufficient but needs a bit more to help sell it.  Ultimately, I'm kind of surprised the sound and sentiment of the song are pulled off so well ...

As the pendulum does swing, last week was a bit dry by singles standards but this week featured a flood of new tracks to choose from. Enjoy <3 5.  Because  - Danger Mouse & Black Thought (Feat. Joey Bada$$, Russ & Dylan Cartridge) Before I broke down every single element of this posse cut I will just say that yes the contributions are inconsistent among the various rappers as to be expected. But the song still has so many great facets starting with another killer retro instrumental from Danger Mouse that Black Thought and Joey in particular sound excellent over.  Listen 4.  Skin Of My Teeth  - Demi Lovato I never thought I'd say it but this Demi Lovato punk song actually has some grit to it. While it never fully leaves the realm of pop flavored punk compared to many of their contemporaries Demi proved they can really up the ante. The song is not only unafraid to touch on some of her past controversies and traumas but it does so with a vengeful venom t...

Pusha T is a Virginia Beach rapper with a history in the genre that rivals almost anyone. He broke out as a member of Clipse alongside his brother and was a frequent Pharrell collaborator throughout this era. His solo career took on a new life alongside his association with Kanye West and his G.O.O.D Music label and this is where some of his most acclaimed records show up, including his most recent in 2018, Daytona . Review By Lav: If you know me, read this blog often, or follow me on any social media you know how much I love Pusha T. That admiration comes first and foremost from a long running and extremely consistent creative output across his entire career. While I've only gotten to review Pusha T once so far it was a hell of an album and perfectly representative of his consistent execution and unmatched lethal delivery. So I was obviously very excited for what was coming next and after two singles I really enjoyed, wall to wall production from Pharrell and Kanye and some positi...

Pop Smoke was a New York drill rapper who was tragically murdered last year, and has since proven to be a force of commercial music. Faith  is Pop Smoke's 2nd posthumous album and likely to be his 2nd #1 album, following last years Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon . Just a few days before the record the tracklist and production credits for the album were revealed, showing off a myriad of talented features.  Review By Lav: It's always difficult to review a posthumous record, since it can often have so little creative input from the artist whose name it's released under. In the recent years, hip hop in particular has frequently been criticized for it's posthumous records which either release recordings that are clearly unfinished and shouldn't be heard by the masses, or packing the songs full of trendy features that the original artist would have never worked with. This record does both, but it isn't quite as bad as it seems like at the outset. The biggest pr...

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...

Run The Jewels is the pairing of Atlanta rapper and Southern hip-hop legend Killer Mike alongside producer/rapper and experimental rap veteran El-P. The pair first linked up on Killer Mike's R.A.P Music  album in 2012 before pairing up under the RTJ moniker the next year. The duo went on to release 3 critically acclaimed hip hop records over the next 4 years highlighted by the transcendent hardcore hip-hop modern classic Run The Jewels 2  in 2014. Review By Lavender: Just like everybody on earth I love Run The Jewels. Killer Mike and EL-P came from very different places but the sound they have crafted together is unique, hard-hitting and politically charged. From some of the most hilarious vile lyrics to the most witty and revolutionary there is no shortage of creativity between the pairing and they have been amazing on one record after another. Even with expectations as high as they are on RTJ4  the duo still manages to go above and beyond as they crafted one of the best...

Beck is a legendary American singer-songwriter who blew up in the 90's when his lonely stoner anthem Loser  became a mega hit. Since then he has been a masterful blender of genres reaching all across the musical spectrum for two decades worth of critically acclaimed records leading up to just a few years ago. In 2014 he released his 12th studio album Morning Phase  and was met with critical acclaim and ultimately an Album Of The Year Grammy for his dreamy take on folk music. In 2017 he released Colours  one of his most pop inspired records in year to lukewarm reviews from critics, and is taking a more throwback pop approach here on Hyperspace . Review By Lavender: You'd be hard pressed to find a bigger fan of Beck's back catalog than me. Odelay  is one of the premiere records of the 90's but even beyond that projects like Midnite Vultures , One Foot In The Grave , Sea Change  and Guero  all sound so drastically different, yet are so consistently sati...

Gessaffelstein is a French music producer who blew up after doing production work om Kanye West's Yeezus  in 2013. Since then he has collaborated with the likes of Phoenix, The Weeknd and A$AP Rocky and released two studio album, the 2nd of which Hyperion  was teased with 3 singles of varying quality in late 2018 into 2019. Review By Lavender: Gessaffelstein is talented, nobody is denying that, Black Skinhead  alone is a testament to his talent. But after releasing a debut album that didn't thrill me and doing some very average work in The Weeknd's My Dear, Melancholy  EP last year I was hesitant for this album. It's lead single Reset  at the tail end of last year grabbed me and brought me back into the excitement of a new project and its follow-up Lost In The Fire  with The Weeknd was a better collaboration then their tracks on his EP and really got me ready to hear Hyperion. This hype was dragged just a touch by the release of the very mediocre P...