Brandon Varner – Managing Editor
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I know how hard it can be to find new music that isn’t terrible.
I’ll try to make it easier by bringing you two albums that I’ve been listening to a lot. A mixtape for the rap fans, and an album that will appeal to fans of everything that’s…well…not rap.
Atlanta trio Migos released their album “Yung Rich Nation” on July 31, 2015.
The origins of gangsta rap were in the late 80’s as a new form of gonzo journalism that would shine a light on the problems of inner-city African-Americans by transforming the artist into a Black Superman, always one step ahead of their pursuers.
In keeping with this outlaw spirit, their newest album feels like a throwback to the days of lo-fi criminal tales like those of Spice 1 and Master P. My favorite track on the entire album is “Highway 85,” a track that borrows the legendary sine-wave lead from Young Bleed’s “How Ya Do Dat” and moves Eazy E’s opening bars of “Boyz N Da Hood” from Compton to Atlanta. I think one of the reasons I appreciated this track was because of its references to old school hip hop.
I contend that Migos’ new album shows that hip hop’s journalistic element is still alive and well, especially in the haunting track “Cocaina.” A key line of the hook is “I don’t want to serve my people,” referring to selling drugs to the community, a central element of the gangsta rap ethos. The message never left the music, and it colors the album in a much more desperate and regretful tone on a second listen.
Overall, it’s standard Migos fare. As usual for the mixtape section, if you like trap music then this will be no different.
FKA Twigs Album Cover. (Photo courtesy of FKA Twigs)FKA twigs’ new EP “M3LL155X” (or Melissa, for those keeping score at home) was released on Aug. 13, 2015. The album begins with the sparse rhythm of “Figure 8,” which also hosts some incredible tempo tweaking on the vocals. My favorite track on the EP is probably “I’m Your Doll,” in which twigs stabs with some of her most lonely and haunting vocals on a song that is certainly a far cry from “Barbie Girl.”
The next tune sees our heroine at her most triumphant, repeating a Rihanna-esque sing/rap like a mantra throughout the tune’s winding synthesizers. “Glass & Patron” is a hyper yet cold
electro-hop number that makes dancing imperative. There’s a great command for a faceless companion to “hold her purse” that jumps up to bite and is sure to stick with you.
The rhythm of the vocals is a tool employed to exceptional effect by twigs. Many times on this record, the beat will drop all the way out but you’ll find your head still bobbing to what isn’t there. Maybe it’s supposed to give you the feeling that you can go on even when the rug gets pulled out from under you and your support is nowhere to be found. Or maybe it just sounds cool.
Fans of Bjork, Tricky and Martina Topley-Bird will appreciate this angular yet soulful industrial R&B artist.
