Lav's Music Corner

About once a month it is time to quickly clean up a series of EPs that come out and I don't have the time to specifically write full reviews of them, or they're so short that this format works better anyway. These are that, and they're also actually pretty good.  All In  - Skepta Since Skepta released his mixed reviewed 2019 record Ignorance Is Bliss  he has shown up on a few features, dropped a collaborative album last year that rolled up on the short side and then released this EP. It actually gets off to a pretty good start with the hard-hitting Bellator  but most of the talk surrounding the record were on the next two tracks which sport features from Kid Cudi and J Balvin respectively. Unfortunately Peace Of Mind  is an ugly mess with Cudi and Skepta competing for who can deliver the worst sung vocal and they're somehow both winning. The overbearing beat is the final ingredient of the annoying cocktail that spins into something absolutely rotten. Even though...

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...

Kid Cudi aka Scott Mescudi is an Ohio born R&B and hip hop artist who first made a name for himself on the druggy and psychedelic Man On The Moon  records in 2009 and 2010. Since then Kid Cudi has released some material that received widespread backlash from critics with 2012's WZRD  and 2013's Indicud  but reached a new peak of critical ire in 2015 when he released Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven an album that many consider to be one of the worst of the entire 2010's. After releasing a better received record in 2016 then collaborating with Kanye West as Kids See Ghosts  Cudi seems to have recouped some of his reputation as hype for Man On The Moon 3  was incredibly high despite it's lack of any singles.  Review By Lav: I certainly wouldn't consider myself a Kid Cudi fan. Speedin Bullet 2 Heaven  is mostly deserving of its reputation but I'm even more willing to pick a fight with one of my least favorite albums of the entire decade Indicud . The first...

Skepta Is a british Grime rapper who has established himself as one of the most well respected and veteran MCs of this decade. His 2016 album Konichiwa was a huge critical and commercial success and through his association with the A$AP Mob as well as a crossover hit with A$AP Rocky in Praise Da Lord he has also become one of the most well known grime rappers internationally. Review By Lavender: I will be the first to admit I was a late comer to Skepta as I am to far too many grime rappers being an American, and as I am trying to remedy with Slowthai. But by the time Konichiwa came around I was more than comfortable with Skepta's back catalog and that album blew me away. Leading up to this record I had heard Skepta drop some great verses on various A$AP Mob tracks as well as drop a decent EP in 2017 I was excited for this release. After hearing it I certainly am not head over heels but it is still a solid outing. The lead single for this thing was an excellent track that I...

Slowthai is an up and coming UK rapper who has gained a high profile in the early months of 2019 by delivering a standout feature on Flume's  This Is Flume  mixtape followed by an uncredited vocal feature on the recent Tyler The Creator album that hit #1 on the hot 200 and ending with the release of this albums fifth single featuring grime legend Skepta. Nothing Great About Britain  is his highly anticipated debut full length album.  Review By Lavender: Unlike so many of the albums and project I review for this blog I had the opportunity to go into Nothing Great About Britain mostly blind. Since most of the singles for the project were released before I was aware of his growing presence and times have been busy since his standout moment on that Flume mixtape I hadn't heard any of the singles from this album before going into it. So going into Nothing Great  I had no expectations or anticipation to get in the way and I came out on the other end decentl...