Lav's Music Corner

5.  Have Nots - The Underachievers Welcome back Underachievers. For the record this isn't the first thing they've dropped in ages or anything they had a new single just last month. The point is that I haven't even been doing this segment long enough to have talked about them before and I've been doing it for YEARS. In what sounds like a Griselda song of all things AK and Issa split chilling and calculating verses that remind me of how much I liked them both in the first place.  Listen 4.  DINORWIC  - Bibio Bibio is back with a sequel to his surprisingly beloved turn for ambient music Phantom Brickworks . This bulky lead single is a perfect introduction to the record delivering a serenity that feels in line with the naturalistic sounds and styles his music has always dabbled in. It's a song that creeps along but never feels eerie or ominous, instead more than welcoming you to engage in the nuance and details of its delicate core.  Listen 3.  A Fragile Thing ...

King's Disease III  - Nas Unlike the bar on the opening track where Nas says he "doesn't drop often", this is the third album in the KD series in as many years. The combination of Nas and Hit-Boy has been pumping out songs recently and while I thought the first King's Disease  was just okay, the second one really did impress me . So if Nas took another step forward on the third edition it has the potential to be one of his best albums since Illmatic . At the very least Nas pulls off the level of lyrical proficiency you'd expect, as does Hit-Boy with the beats. Even when this record isn't operating at its best it does at least sound good. One of the primary issues I have with the album gets back to the recent over-exposure of Nas as this record sounds extremely familiar. From the beats to the hooks to the subject matter Nas is rapping about there's just a lot here that feels closer to routine. Thankfully, I still find the music here pretty exciting, and...

Powers Pleasant is a New York hip hop producer and DJ and one of the founding members of New York's own Pro Era. He has been producing music for years for various members of Pro Era including Joey Badass and Kirk Knight as well as fellow New York artists like The Underachievers. After dropping some beat tapes on his SoundCloud over the years but geared up for a new album with three singles featuring high profile hip hop artists. Review By Lavender: I have been an admirer of Powers Pleasant for a long time, particularly alongside Joey Bada$$ over the years. While I respect him a lot as a beat crafter my perception of him as a curator of talent was in dire straights after hearing the first thee singles from this record and my expectations of the album turned out dead on. There are plenty of great beats and verses across this record, but they are bogged down with rappers missing the mark on almost every song. The lead single is one of the best songs on the album and the only ...

Beast Coast is a New York hip hop super group made up of Issa Gold and AKTHESAVIOR better known as The Underachievers, Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice and Erick The Architect better known as Flatbush Zombies, as well as Joey Badass, Nyck Caution, Kirk Knight, CJ FLY and Powers Pleasant all of whom come from the New York hip hop collective Pro Era. After collaborating with each other for years the super group has finally collected to release this album and go on a tour this summer in support of it.  Review By Lavender: While I am a fan of the many artists involved in this grand collaboration I must admit that just a few years ago I would have been way more excited for this project. Joey Badass has always been sharp and even though it has been two years since his last album it was one of my favorite hip hop albums of 2017 and I am still excited for anything he does. Nyck Caution and Kirk Knight however both missed on their most recent solo albums and while I thought their colla...