Lav's Music Corner

Every year there are literally dozens and dozens, maybe even hundreds of trap records that either get reccomended to me or hyped up somewhere significant online. While I do cover major releases or records I anticipate being particularly good I wanted to take some time to play catch up with contemporary raps predominate sound, and it probably won't be the last time this year I do.  Trip At Knight  - Trippie Redd Even though I have reviewed Trippie a few times in the past I decided to skip out on his two most recent major releases. Last years Pegasus  was a bloated and very boring project that I didn't review because I didn't really have anything to say about it. He followed it up with the Travis Barker collaboration Neon Shark  which I was hesitant of because of just how often Travis pops up on terrible trap music these days, but I actually thought it turned out decent. Given that it was really just a deluxe release of Pegasus  I never got around to it but Trip A...

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...

YNW Melly is a Florida based rapper who blew up last year off of his sleeper hit single Murder On My Mind  and received even more attention when he released his second commercial mixtape which also featured Kanye West on his next big hit Mixed Personalities . Melly is probably most well known now for his arrest in the double murder case of two other members of his YNW gang two years ago, and is currently still awaiting his trial at the time of Melly vs. Melvin 's release. Review By Lavender: I have never really considered YNW Melly an essential piece of the modern rap game, even thought I am willing to admit to thinking Murder On My Mind  was a pretty catchy tune and spending some of my spare time enjoying it. When his mixtape dropped last year I listened to it but it felt so painfully average that I just put it on the back burner and never really got around to properly reviewing it. This is why I had no real expectations going into  Melly vs. Melvin , but the reco...

Trippie Redd is an Ohio rapper who has become one of the most recognizable stars of the SoundCloud trap era of rap music. His Love Letter To You series of mixtapes helped tremendously to put him on the map and he has returned one every year since 2017. Review By Lavender: Trippie Redd has always been an artist that can be tough to pin down. I enjoyed him when he was first breaking out with his hugely popular feature on XXXTENTACION's Fuck Love  and his 6ix9ine diss track Dark Knight Dummo. Despite my enjoyment of them I wasn't a huge fan of his ojnly mixtape at the time, the first A Love Letter To You . But later in 2017 he made a big improvement on the second edition of the series and I thought he was going in the right direction. 2018 was surprisingly identical as he started off with the disappointing studio album Life's A Trip , but later in the year turned out his best project yet with A Love Letter To You 3 . While many reacted quite negatively to his second stu...