Lav's Music Corner

I love R&B and I've already covered a few releases in the genre this year. But I wanted to catch up with some of the records that fell through the cracks, especially those from artists I've enjoyed in the past.  u made me a st4r  - 4batz Earlier this year a TikTok about videos that don't match the energy of the song they're for launched R&B singer 4batz to virality. While that was built around the smash hit date @ 8 , which I admittedly love, it resulted in some major cosigns for the singer from artists like Drake and Kanye West. He capitalized on the rise to fame with this short project and going into it I was mostly just curious if he would be able to break the mold of his single hit so far. date @ 8  is great with its earworm refrains and pitched-up vocals, but that wasn't going to work for a full 8 songs broken up by a few sparse interludes.  The third single from the album actually served up a potentially interesting scenario. on god?  is a decent t...

Sometimes the best song of the week is very predictable, but there are still four more slots to fill behind it. Enjoy <3 5.  Gonna Go - serpentwithfeet While I'm not particularly impressed by this song in a weak week (ha ha) for new songs it slipped onto the list. I mostly just think it's a great idea for a song and I particularly love the recurring idea of "going back to your friends" as a mantra for turning someone down. With that in their pocket as well as the talent serpentwithfeet possesses the bassline for how good this could be was high.  Listen 4.  That Girl  - El Michaels Affair & Black Thought This track surprised me quite a bit and while I wish it was longer and I have some issues with the mixing I mostly just enjoy Black Thought really putting his all into just pouring his heart out for a woman. His creativity alongside that level of topical focus works perfectly.  Listen 3.  Pahrump  - Xiu Xiu This is a minimal and spacey but still ...

While the connection between these records may be loose, they are pretty loose.  This is honestly just a couple of albums I want to talk about before the year is out and there doesn't seem to be any better time than now.  HARAM!  - Goldlink Goldlink is a DC area rapper who has immense talent and has shown it off more than a few times in his career so far. Unfortunately it hasn't translated into many great records as he consistently provides inconsistency as a singer rapper and songwriter. It's been 2 years since we last heard from him and in my review of his last album I mentioned that when he and his features are operating at their best the highlights are excellent. But just like is often the case those tracks were mixed in with underwritten and underperformed cuts. HARAM!  seemed to come out of nowhere shortly following Goldlink's return to Twitter and features a pretty busy and impressive selection of features among its tracklist. It also features a mixtape like c...