Jay Rock - 90059
Jay Rock truly embraces his California roots in this album from the zip code title,“90059,” to the production, and the features. Black Hippy, the West Coast rap group that consists of Jay Rock himself, Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, and Ab-Soul, appears on “Vice City” and in my opinion, that’s one of the most notable tracks on the album. “Vice City” along with the six other features, led me to believe that Jay Rock is better solo. When he’s accompanied by other artists, he can seem a little overshadowed. But other than that, I think he executed a solid album with quite a few tracks that go hard.
Fav Songs- Vice City, The Message
Juicy J- 100% Juice
“100% Juice” is an easy listen production and flow wise. There’s a lot of base in the tracks and overall, they’re upbeat, but in terms of the lyrics, the songs are pretty simplistic. But as usual, Juicy J made the simplest things sound like something. He gave us a chill mixtape with a motto of rolling up and forgetting life’s problems. Because of that, I see a lot of people rocking with this tape. This project reiterated the fact that even though he’s an OG, he can still turn up with the new generation. This mixtape features Wiz Khalifa, Future, August Alsina, Lil Wayne, Lil Boosie, Project Pat, and more.
Fav songs- You Knew, Film Remix, Mrs. Mary Mack
Roman GianArthur- Ok Lady
If you can’t tell by now, intros are very important to me, and this EP had me at the first stroke of the guitar strings. At that moment, I knew Roman was sampling D’Angelo’s “Lady” and that was an exciting and phenomenal starting point for me. From beginning to end, each track gave me a sense of serenity and a feel of the magical chemistry between the vocals and instrumentations of the tracks. Knowing the history of Wondaland records and its members Janelle Monae, Jidenna, Deep Cotton, and St. Beauty, I expected Roman to execute wonderful soul records and that’s what I got with this project. I absolutely love it. I think as black people, it’s our responsibility to provide the world with samples of our innate rhythm and soul, and projects like this make me proud. Keeping our music alive is extremely important and in light of that, I’m going to continue to make good on my word, and support future Wondaland projects.
Fav song- All:Need
Hit Boy - Zoomin EP
Renowned producer and rapper, Hit Boy, recently released his EP "Zoomin" and the project is full of features. You've got Geeezy P., Pusha T, Quentin Miller, Gizzle, Diddy, and the legendary Biggie. As expected, the beats are great, but there was still something missing for me. The project just didn't stand out to me other than the pleasant surprise of a verse from Biggie's "Sky's The Limit." It strikes me as a fun but chill project without anything too hard hitting.
Fav Song- Bussin Moves