I fucking love Tuesdays. No, Pos, Dave, and Maseo never dedicated a song to Tuesdays. Nor did Rebecca Black or The Mamas & The Papas. Shit, it’s not even on the good side of Hump Day. But Tuesday is the only day of the week upon which your local record shop the Interents is stocked with the freshest material the game has to offer.
Not so long ago, I would have considered myself a hip-hop traditionalist; I bashed radio records and the artists that created them without really giving a second listen. I longed for The Golden Age records that, I told myself, “really mattered.” Then something happened: I realized I sounded like my pops, coming off truly jaded as he discussed the Good Ol’ Days of music. You know, when bands made records for “the good of the art form,” not just “to make a quick buck.” I hated it, and I was becoming it.
It wasn’t easy, but I embraced the fact that – sorry TwoHands – hip-hop is a young man’s game. Not that the older Gods can’t still get it right: cats like Mr. Lambert are living proof (no Group Home). But by opening my mind to Generation Swag, I’ve been introduced to a whole slew of quality material.
This week alone, we heads will be blessed with no less than seven exciting releases. On Sunday, CTE’s Freddie Gibbs dropped his mixtape Cold Day In Hell, packed with features from the likes of Freeway, Juicy J, and his boss Jezzy. In honor of All Hallow’s Eve, Chicago duo L.E.P. Bogus Boys set free Now of Neva, a mixtape of all original material hosted by none other than The Evil Genius Green Lantern. Today, record stores and iTunes will begin stocking a trio of long-awaited official long-play releases: Little Brother alum Rapper Big Pooh drops his third solo joint, Dirty Pretty Things; Coney Island vet Torae attempts to rekindle thoughts of the aforementioned Golden Age with production from Primo and The Chocolate Boy Wonder on For The Record; and DC’s finest Wale looks to rebound from a disappointing debut on Ambition, his first release since joining forces with Rick Ross’ Maybach Music team.
All that, and we haven’t even arrived at my choices for this week’s hottest drops. Hip-hop is dead? Never that: Maybe you just need a hearing aid.
In this slot each week, I plan to take a look at the most promising and/or hyped new jawn. For this my debut here for The Blast 2.0, I’m gonna get into it with a pair of records that have me hella geeked.
First up is the new and somewhat-unexpected collabo EP from two of Motown’s new guard, Danny Brown and Black Milk’s aptly-titled Black and Brown. Prior to releasing his XXX mixtape this past August, Danny Brown may have been best known for giving up the struggle braids in favor of a highly-questionable Flock of Seagulls hairdo. He’s been on the Pitchfork/hipster radar for a minute now, but this record – particularly Black Milk’s psedo-Dilla production stylings – is sure to introduce The Hybrid to a so-far-untapped audience of traditionalists. As for Black Milk, he seems to have emerged as the torch-bearer for the familiar Detroit sound, and coming off the success of 2010’s Album of the Year and the Random Axe project alongside Sean P and Guilty Simpson earlier this year, is in position to become known as one of hip-hop’s most consistent young producers. Though Milk only steps into the booth for one of the EP’s 10 tracks (the crazy title track), his work with the MPC provides an ideal auditory landscape for Danny’s always-aggressive lyrical bombardment. In short, Detroit stand the fuck up. This is a record Mr. Yancey would certainly be proud of.
Still more? Indeed. And with the ink still drying on a $3 million deal with Sony/RCA, A$AP Rocky has had a whole gang of folks – your humble narrator included – waiting on his official debut LiveLoveA$AP with a nearly-unprecedented level of anticipation. Rocky seemingly emerged from nowhere by releasing a short-but-intriguing video for his street single “Purple Swag” in July. When he followed that up with his summer anthem “Peso” a month later, That Pretty Motherfucker caught more buzz than a vibrator factory: Co-signs from damn near everyone, an upcoming tour alongside Drake and Kendrick Lamar, a feature in the New York Times, and the aforementioned deal with Sony. With hype, of course, comes expectations. In the hours since LiveLoveA$AP touched down early this afternoon, I’ve had a chance to give the tape a couple of spins. The verdict? That shit cray. Backed by top-shelf production his usual team of upstart beatmakers, including Clams Casino, Beautiful Lou, and fellow summer noisemaker Spaceghost Purrp, Rocky skillfully deploys his smoked-out delivery in a variety of innovative ways. Harlem born and raised, Rocky makes no secret of the role Southern music and culture has played in fathering his style, and listening to LiveLoveA$AP, the eclectic influences are obvious: From the screwed up H-Town sounds on “Bass,” to the Bone Thugs-infused double-time cadence of “Palace,” and the clear Outkast imitation on “Get Lit,” it seems as though the only scene that was somehow left out of Rocky’s technical upbringing was his hometown.
Make no mistake about it; the lyrical content of this project isn’t anything revolutionary. Despite his birth certificate bearing the name Rakim, Rocky has very little in common with his city’s God Emcees in terms of bringing any sort of enlightening message to the table. Instead, we get lots of records about Rocky’s ASAP crew, blowing and/or sipping purp, fashions you can’t afford, and various sexual encounters. Still, Rocky’s potential to be influential within the genre doesn’t lie in his message, but rather his widespread acceptance and blending of regional elements used to birth an unquestionably unique microphone command. Rocky is the personification of swag. If you’re looking for inspiration from your hip-hop, I suggest you dig out an old Blackstarr or Common record. If you’re looking for a progressive sonic experience that offers a look at the untapped potential of an ever-expanding genre, peep the link below.
I hope I made your Tuesday a little brighter. Stay wavvy. Until next week, it’s The Blast ya’ll.
DOWNLOAD: ASAP Rocky – LiveLoveA$AP