Double Duchess, Promotions Director (In no particular order)
Japanese Breakfast – Soft Sounds From Another Planet
The Front Bottoms – Going Grey
SZA – Ctrl
Perfume Genius – No Shape
Sorority Noise – You’re Not As ____ As You Think
Beach House – B Sides and Rarities
Cherry Glazerr – Apocalipstick
Thelma – Thelma
Cults – Offering
Adult Mom – Soft Spots
The Fuzz
Naked Naps- Year of the Chump
Downtown Boys- Cost of Living
Paramore- After Laughter
Aye Nako- Silver Haze
Soccer Mommy- Collection
Bully- Losing
Astro Cowboy- We Have Astro Cowboy and You’re Never Going to See Them Again
Two Knights- Effing
Jay Som- Everybody Works
Mourn- Over the Wall
DJ GU3
1. Iglooghost – Neo Wax Bloom
2. Forest Swords – Compassion
3. Various Artists – Mono No Aware
4. Rainforest Spiritual Enslavement – Ambient Black Magic
5. Amnesia Scanner – AS Truth
6. Bibio – Phantom Brickworks
7. Gas – Narkopop
8. Brockhampton – Saturation II
9. Ryuichi Sakamoto – async
10. Slowdive – Slowdive
Favorite Songs of 2017
1. Slowdive – Slomo
2. Blanck Mass – Hive Mind
3. Forest Swords – Raw Language
4. Yves Tumor – Limerence
5. Kendrick Lamar – Feel
6. Mount Eerie – Soria Moria
7. Iglooghost – Infinite Mint
8. Brockhampton – Milk
9. Perfume Genius – Alan
10. Xiu Xiu – Get Up
Goldi, Afterhours Music Director
1. DAMN. by Kendrick Lamar
2. Masseduction by St. Vincent
3. Rocket by Alex G
4. Drunk by Thundercat
5. Green Twins by Nick Hakim
6. Ctrl by SZA
7. Phases by Angel Olsen
8. Flower Boy by Tyler, The Creator
9. Boo Boo by Toro y Moi
10. Mister Mellow by Washed Out
DJ Emotionally Unavailables Top 10 Jawns
Lapsang Souchong- Kool A.D.
Sweet- BROCKHAMPTON
Hollywood Dropout- Mackned
Doubt- DJ Lucas
See You Again- Tyler, the Creator ft. Kali Uchis
Butterflies- Samsa
Feel It- Young Thug
Water- Joe Gifter ft. Frontstreet
Doozy- Triple One
I Know You So Well- Xfruge, Shiloh
Jamie Halla, General Manager
Vince Staples- Big Fish Theory
Corbin- Mourn
Incendiary- Thousand Mile Stare
BROCKHAMPTON- Saturation II
Entire Lil Peep Discography
Lil Pump- Lil Pump
SZA, Ctrl
Sampha- The Process
Integrity- Howling, For the Nightmare Shall Consume
Tyler, the Creator- Flower Boy
Dan, my old roommate (jamie)
1. Vince Staples- Big Fish Theory
2. Corbin- Mourn
3. Alvvays- Antisocialites
4. King Krule- The Ooz
5.Candy- Candy Says
6. Power Trip- Nightmare Logic
7. Tyler, the Creator- Flower Boy
8. Phoebe Bridgers- Stranger in the Alps
9. Full of Hell- Trumpeting Ecstasy
10. Playboi Carti- Playboi Carti
Annelise Thorn, Operations Manager
1. Saturation II by BROCKHAMPTON
2. Saturation III by BROCKHAMPTON
3. Ctrl by SZA
4. Peak by Choker
5. Steve Lacy’s Demo by Steve Lacy
6. Split by Current Joys and BOYO
7. Soft Sounds from Another Planet by Japanese Breakfast
8. Crack-Up by Fleet Foxes
9. Powerplant by Girlpool
10. I Used To Spend So Much Time Alone by Chastity Belt
Case Sensitive
1. horse jumper of love – s/t
2. kendrick lamar – damn.
3. vince staples – big fish theory
4. alvvays – antisocialites
5. spencer radcliffe – enjoy the great outdoors
6. joey bada$$ – ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$
7. syd – fin
8. (sandy) alex g – rocket
9. strange ranger – daymoon
10. the xx – i see you
Jules Conlon, Music Director
Blacnk Mass- World Eater
DRAB MAJESTY- THe Demonstration
Michelle Blades- Premature Love songs
Moses Sumney- Aromanticism
Meatbodies- Alice
Miya Folick- Give It To Me
Circuit des Yeux- Reading for Indigo
Institute- Subordination
Charli XCX- Number 1 Angel
Widowspeak- Expect the Best
Thank you for reading, it appears that a lot of our DJs loved Kendrick Lamar and Brockhampton this year, with solid love for Vince Staples, SZA and Japanese Breakfast to possibly round out the definitive WKNC top 5. We hope to have y’all keep listening next year and attend Double Barrel Benefit 15, have a great holiday! -jamie
This past weekend I had the pleasure of attending Day for Night Festival in Houston, Texas from December 15-17th with fellow WKNC staff member Double Duchess and some other various college radio kids. Having never been to either Houston or a music festival that wasn’t multi-venue, I was both very excited and not sure what to expect.
Friday
Tickets for DFN were sold either ‘weekend’ (Saturday and Sunday) or ‘3 day’ which included the so-called Friday Summit, consisting of talks during the afternoon and performances in the evening, The Friday events were all at the indoor blue stage, one out of four used during the festival. Unfortunately, we missed the talks (given by the likes of Laurie Anderson and Chelsea Manning- the latter of whom will be speaking next year at Moogfest) but arrived just in time to see one of my most anticipated acts of the festival, Jenny Hval. I’d seen her several years ago at Hopscotch on a much smaller and lower-tech scale and was blown away again by her performance.
Following Hval were Earl Sweatshirt (at which point I had to leave because the crowd became too packed). Kaytranada closed out the night with a fun, high-energy set that had everyone dancing.
I was very impressed by the venue itself; it was spacious and very industrial-looking, which made sense as it was formerly a post office warehouse.
Saturday
I didn’t bring my camera this day because heavy rain was on the forecast. I’m very glad about this, as I ended up standing in the rain for hours!
I started my afternoon by catching a few minutes of Perfume Genius’s set and then dashing over to a set I was very excited to see- Lil B. The most fun part of Saturday was definitely the Based God bouncing around on stage, forgetting his lyrics, and very earnestly taking his sunglasses off to “show everyone how based he was” before throwing them into the audience and instantly seeming regretful.
My intent was to see a bit of Cardi B next, but I honestly got bored after she stalled with an opener and a DJ and I left after waiting for half an hour to catch some of Forest Swords, who provided an incredible atmosphere inside the hazy abandoned warehouse.
I bought some disgusting $10 wine beverage (legally, thx) and settled in to watch Laurie Anderson. She spent the first portion of her set basically giving a Ted talk- I’m not complaining, she has some great stuff to say. Heed my advice, though, never talk while Laurie Anderson is talking. My friend and I were standing in the back of the crowd whispering to each other and someone demanded he shut up with so much rage in their voice I really thought a fight was going to break out.
Finally, because I love rough transitions, I ended the night by seeing Nine Inch Nails in the absolute pouring rain. I felt like I was in another dimension and it was incredible. Immediately afterwards everyone I rode to the festival with and I high-tailed it to Whataburger.
Sunday
Sunday started with a bang- I got to see Jessy Lanza for the second time this year!! Her set got cut a little bit short unfortunately but I had an excellent time dancing.
Next up was Rabit and House of Kenzo, a show I went into completely unprepared for but was very pleasantly surprised by. There were a thousand things happening at every moment but I loved it and the crowd was definitely getting into it.
I followed that up with a little bit of En Vogue, which was a flawlessly executed set down to the smallest choreography and harmonies.
Babyfather was probably the act that the most people had recommended I catch so I was definitely excited to see them. I’m very glad I did. I’ve only ever listened to Dean Blunt’s solo project but his stage presence is magnetic and there’s no denying that he is a talented musician and performer.
Continuing in the trend of great performances, next up was The Jesus Lizard. David Yow began the set by leaping into the crowd and snatching the beanie off the head of a security guard. He continued to crowd-surf and swagger around the stage, breathlessly shouting quips such as “Good evening, we’re Led Zeppelin!”
Corbin (FKA Spooky Black) was the next artist I caught. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of his album, but I enjoyed his performance- he seemed very genuine whereas his recorded music borders on cheesy to me.
Finally, I closed out my weekend with the beautiful drones of Tim Hecker. I don’t have much to say about this set other than it was a little bit cathartic being in a dark warehouse vibrating with the sheer volume of ambient sound.
What better way to end a brutal 18 credit semester than to blow off some steam at a Converge show, Dec. 13 at Motorco in Durham?
I have now seen Converge in three different decades and they only get better. Staying power like that is rare in hardcore but these guys keep bringing it year after year, album after album. How Jacob Bannon’s voice has survived is beyond me. Converge is touring to promote their new album “The Dusk in Us.” The new album follows their career arc of metal influenced hardcore music. When the band started out no one had defined the word “metalcore” yet, but bands like Converge, Integrity and Hatebreed invented the genre. All three of those bands are still active so there must have been something special going around in the 90’s hardcore scene.
Converge played a set heavy with new material but still pulled from most of the back catalog. I was amazed at how heavy Converge can be with only one guitarist. At some points, the bassist would strap on a guitar and make it even heavier. The songs “The Dusk in Us” and “Worms will Feed/Rats will Feast” show that Converge can slow down, get sludgy and explode with heaviness. Then the band would flip a switch to rip off bangers like “A Single Tear” and “The Broken Vow” and chaos would ensue.
The crowd was pretty active for this show. Stage dives, mic grabs and sing-a-longs happened throughout the night. At one point toward the end of the show, the band asked a guy in the crowd to go to the bathroom and stop the bleeding from his head. Then they proceeded to joke about pathogens and the old hardcore band Bloodlet. Bannon even handed off the mic to various crowd members a few times who did a pretty good job covering his vocal duties. One person was so spot on that Bannon even called them out for being the best thing that had happened that night.
In other words, the show was a blast. There were fewer kids taking selfies and no sea of screens filming for YouTube fame. There were more people having a great time being involved with the music, the band, and the process. It really did feel like old times.
Oak City Move 26: Groove in the Garden and Girls Rock NC
Sara, Jenaye, and Phian chat with Adam and Charles (from The Pour House and Raleigh Little Theatre respectively)who have teamed up to put on Groove in the Garden, a day of local music and family fun held in Raleigh Little Theatre’s rose garden! They also catch up with Mary Alta of Girls Rock NC, an amazing group which Groove in the Garden will benefit this year, as well as with Groove in the Garden performers Kate Rhudy and Marc Kuzio of Ghostt Bllonde.
Oak City Move 25: Manifest Music Festival and Nourish International NCSU
Jenaye interviews Erika, co-founder of Manifest, a yearly feminist music festival in Carrboro! Up later are Zafir and Vishal, who co-founded Nourish International.
It’s that time of year again, where we count down our favorite things of the year while welcoming in the new year! I will be counting down my top 10 favorite songs that I have been listening to all year long. 2017 was a great year for metal, a lot of bangers and heavy hitters were released this year. Did any of your favorites make the list?
IMPORTANT!!!! I play these songs, along with many others, during my set on WKNC!! Come head bang with ya girl on Friday nights from 10pm-midnight! To listen online, go to WKNC’s website and click on “MP3” in the “High Quality” section. Don’t be lame, come hang out with The Saw!
10. Attila – Three 6
I’m back at it with my Attila jams. Okay, so this song came out on Halloween and I was ~~~SHOOK~~~ Attila is that band where party metal is acceptable. I honestly feel like I need to go to a rave or something after seeing them. This song goes back to their “heavy s***” as Fronz likes to put it, and I agree with him. This song is more of a banger because the anthem is so catchy. “If you’re down with the devil say hell yeah, I’m burning down your church like 666.” It reminds me of their song Party With The Devil and I’m vibing with it. The riffs are super chunky and that is a 10/10 in my book. Ever since I heard this song I instantly considered it a bop. Say what you want about Attila, they put out some really catchy music.
They seriously need to tour with BROJOB. I would love to see that, it would be super weird but very entertaining.
9. Make Them Suffer – Vortex (Interdimensional Spiral Hindering Inexplicable Euphoria)
This song is off Make Them Suffer’s newest record, Worlds Apart, and this is my favorite song off that record. It has that metalcore aspect that I like with the clean vocals but with riffs that still make it heavy. You just want to mosh it up and jump around when this song kicks in. The singer also throws in some “BLEIGH” that we all know I go insane for. Honestly how can you not get hyped when they start randomly growling weird things in the mic. Is it just me? Okay, moving on. The vocals are really great, you can hear the highs and lows, along with the harmonizing with the keyboardist. They incorporated a lot of different aspects in this song and they pulled it off. It is such a bop. I love it so much.
8. Code Orange – Forever
Code Orange snuck up on me this year. I’m really digging this band recently. I didn’t get to see them when they came through North Carolina… stupid finals. BUT this song is a banger, the opening riff just makes you want to bang your head. If this song was on a “try not to headbang” challenge… yeah, I would lose immediately. Jesus Christ the riffs in this song are just great, I listen to it almost every day because I love how chunky this song is. Their new record is such a bop 10/10 would check it out if I was you.
7. Volumes – Finite
Now this song is kinda mellow for me, but hey, it’s a bop. It is like my party song because I sing it when I’m in the shower. It’s so groovy and I do some really weird dance moves when I play it. Honestly, Finite is just so catchy and the guitars really make it a bop. I feel like this song would be in some YouTube sorority recruitment video because it just makes me want to run around with my girlfriends and awkwardly smile and do hand symbols at the camera. But that wouldn’t happen because 1) I am not in a sorority and 2) they wouldn’t play this song in one of their videos.
6. Wage War – Stitch
You know I gotta put my boys in Wage War in here! This is the first song I heard off their new record “Deadweight” and if you’re sleeping on this band, you are definitely missing out. This band is going to be BIG; just wait. So again, going along with my theme of literally every song that made this list, the riffs are great. Briton’s voice is amazing and his deep growl that he does on the end makes me want to throw chairs around and mosh. You just want to bounce and headbang when this song comes on. They are literally one of the best metalcore bands that I have ever seen and heard. This entire song is so catchy and really shows how they are developing their sound.
5. Arch Enemy – First Day in Hell
This is literally one of my favorite Arch Enemy songs of all time. Alissa’s voice in this song is really powerful and I love the eerie vibe that I get from the beginning. The reason I like this song so much is because of the chorus and how there is a breakdown after it. It’s a banger and will literally make anyone bang their head. Like I said before, if this song was on a “try not to headbang” challenge, I would totally lose. The guitars’ harmony is really beautiful and really make this song complete.
4. FRCTRD – Negative
This is one of my favorite songs of all time. FRCTRD is a new deathcore band from France and I am so happy that I discovered them. The guitars are really chunky in this song have some type of electronic sound in the background and it sounds so cool. The singers voice is very thick and his pig squeals are a major key. He can pig squeal and then transition to deep growls flawlessly. Now what makes this song so great is the ending. The breakdown at the end has me ~~~SHOOK~~~ it is an offbeat sound with chunky riffs that just make you want to go into total mosh mode. This band is something else, I love them.
3. Thy Art Is Murder – Puppet Master
This song is such a heavy hitter – oh my god. CJ’s voice is incredible and I can always tell when Thy Art is on because he has such a strong, distinctive voice. The drumming technique is amazing and really brings this song together. How this guy drums is awesome, I don’t know how he sits there with a straight face and pounds away. This song has a bouncy vibe to it that you can’t help but jump to. And when the breakdown hits, oh boy, its’s great. I can’t help but start jamming out when the breakdown hits. Puppet Master really sets the vibe of how their whole record goes.
2. Miss May I – Swallow Your Teeth
Obviously, I had to put one of my top favorite bands on this list. This song is a complete anthem and makes me want to bounce. The riff that starts in the first few seconds of the song reminds me of “Hero With No Name.” This is a sing along song that I really enjoy. The chorus is very catchy and has great harmony from Levi and Ryan. Speaking of Ryan, when he sings his clean vocals before the breakdown hits, oh my lord, it is beautiful. Then Levi comes in with an “OHHH” and BAM breakdown begins. I absolutely love it. The song basically talks about the fact that you shouldn’t put up with anyone’s crap and that people just need to learn when to shut up sometimes. It has a mainstream vibe to it that I can see being played on the radio (minus the cussing), but all in all, it’s a banger and you should check it out.
Dying Fetus – Fixated on Devastation
If you listen to my DJ sets on Friday nights, then this song shouldn’t be a surprise (and if you don’t listen to my set, what’s up man? You’re really missing out). This song starts off like a typical death metal song but then it gets groovy. AND I LOVE THE GROOVE TO THIS SONG!! I do some weird dance move with my hands that I can’t really describe but it’s great. They played this live when I saw them at Summer Slaughter and I automatically fell in love with it. If you could dance to death metal, this would be the song. It has components of death metal that are very traditional but then they start jamming with a groovy breakdown that I have never heard another band do. Around the last few minutes of the song, they start to groove again and bring in a slow breakdown that just makes me lose my mind. When the groove starts with the guitars, and the deep growls, it is impossible to stay still. This song is an automatic bop. If you are trying to get into Dying Fetus start off with this jam, you won’t regret it.
2017 may go down as the poopiest year of the ‘10s. Unless of course you’ve spent the whole year with the TV off and your earbuds plugged in your ears, in which case you may think of 2017 as a pretty solid year for Hip Hop & RnB music. Not nearly as good as 2015 or 2016, but 2017 has given us many new faces and many new favorites, while also reminding us just how much some familiar faces have grown. So what better thing to do than to torture myself by only picking out my personal Top 10 albums for this year. I’m not sure if it was harder picking my top 10 or ranking my top 10, but nonetheless I am a fighter so let us move on to the list.
10. Smino – blkswn
The first time I fell in love with Smino’s music was last year on the Monte Booker assisted track “Kolors”. The song was just a teaser of what could happen when Booker’s atmospheric, groovy beats mix with Smino’s eccentric flow and sharp lyricism. That blend of styles is what eventually would become the St. Louis artist’s debut album, blkswn. Running at 18 tracks long, blkswn can best be described as a long, but never boring, ride through space at 2:00 a.m. in a Honda Civic (and yes I am aware that there is no sense of time in space). Producing nearly the entire album, it is hard to ignore what Booker is able to bring to the table as an up and coming producer redefining the genre of hip-hop. Smino raps on various different topics that range from Netflix and chilling with his shawty to speaking on the black experience in America and delivers this with a very fresh and unique flow. Also, the sequencing on the album cannot be ignored. It’s is so good to the point where you don’t know where one song ends and the next one begins, producing a very fluid album listening experience. For sure worthy of a Top 10 position this year.
Goldlink impressed many critics, fans, and myself with his second mixtape And After That, We Didn’t Talk, which was released two years ago. Instead of continuing his career in LA or another major city, Goldlink decided to stay home and create an album all about home. At What Cost is all about, and for, the DMV (a popular nickname for the area surrounded by Washington D.C., Maryland, and Virginia). Goldlink raps about many DMV related topics, such as go-go music and the increased gun violence and death of many black youth in the area. It’s easy for Kendrick Lamar or Drake to rep their hometown because their hometowns are so popular already. The DMV is a city often underlooked as a major hip-hop city and Goldlink wanted to prove that on At What Cost. With features from many popular DMV artists, like Wale, Mya, and Shy Glizzy, and songs that feature go-go production, At What Cost is a fun, dancey, and entertaining album that let’s the world in on the sounds of the DMV. Also, it would be remiss of me not to mention that “Crew”, with its infectious hook sung by Brent Faiyaz, is one of the best songs of this decade. Don’t @ me.
Favorite Tracks: “Have You Seen That Girl?”, “Meditation”, “Crew”, “Kokamoe Freestyle”, and “Some Girl”.
8. SYD – Fin
Despite the name of the album, Syd’s career in music is far from over. Syd (formerly Syd da Kid) has been around making music since 2011 with Odd Future. Her band, The Internet, has put out 3 albums, including the Grammy-nominated Ego Death released in 2015. In 2016, Syd delivered a few features for artists like KAYTRANADA, Isaiah Rashad, and Common. It was 2017, however, where Syd established herself as an independent and confident voice in R&B. Fin is Syd’s first solo project and she sounds as fierce as she has ever been. Leaving the familiar neo-soul sounds of Ego Death behind, Syd goes for a more contemporary, 90’s R&B flavor on Fin. Focusing on topics of success and relationships, Syd delivers a fresh R&B album in a time where R&B is beginning to become stale in lyrics and trap heavy in production. Syd has struggled with stage fright and anxiety for most of her career, but these past two years, and on Fin, Syd has proven that she is here to be a confident, sexy, and bold R&B artist. Syd’s songwriting ability and magical, lush voice make for a stellar debut album.
Favorite Tracks: “Shake em Off”, “All About Me”, “Smile More”, “Body”, and “Dolla Bills”
7. Princess Nokia – 1992 Deluxe
A few things caught my eye when i first saw Princess Nokia’s 1992 Deluxe: it was an album titled after a year (those albums are proven to be better), her bright smile on the cover, and her totally New York tomboy outfit. New York City’s Puerto Rican culture is huge and is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, there haven’t been many representatives of Puerto Rican culture in Hip-hop (Fat Joe is the only one to come to mind). But have no fear, Princess Nokia is here and she is amazing. You may know her from that video of woman throwing soup on a man’s face in a subway after he was screaming racial slurs and two young black males. Yeah, she’s the one who threw the soup. That same attitude is what makes 1992 not just a great, gritty album, but also a very classic New York album. Nokia’s bars and verses are vicious and unapologetic. Nokia raps about her mischievous upbringing (“Bart Simpson”), her tough personality (“Tomboy” & “Mine”), and the beautiful city she grew up in (“Saggy Denim” & “ABCs of New York”). She mixes modern trap production with classic NY boom-bap and clever, illustrious lyrics to create a wonderful peek into the life of Princess Nokia.
If Brent Faiyaz’s name sounds familiar it’s because it should. I mentioned him earlier when I was talking about Goldlink’s explosive hit “Crew” that really made Brent Faiyaz a popular name. He also worked on a project with his group Sonder, which was a very soft and smooth RnB album. But Sonder Son sounds completely different from anything he has released before. Sonder Son is the proper introduction to Brent Faiyaz himself and proof that he is more than just a really good voice. Sonder Son is filled with personal narratives and introspection, which is pretty different from most RnB albums you hear nowadays. It does, of course, come with a few love songs as expected on almost any RnB album. But what makes Sonder Son stick out to me the most, and why it’s on this list, is the throwback 90’s RnB production and 90’s feel it has. Faiyaz was born in 1995, but Sonder Son sounds like it was made in 1999. The 22-year old’s clever and mature songwriting and production with beautiful guitar riffs and slow drums makes for a very solid debut release.
Favorite Tracks: All of them but I want to say that “Talk 2 U” is my absolute favorite.
5. Vince Staples – Big Fish Theory
Vince Staples is young, black, intelligent, and loud and Big Fish Theory will not let you forget that. Vince came out with his strong double-disc debut Summertime ‘06 two years ago and in the last two years, Vince has drop any guest features for a wide range of artists (ScHoolboy Q, Gorillaz, Kali Uchis) and even dropped the Prima Donna EP last year. These last two years highlight how much Vince has grown as an MC and has even strayed away from his usual sound and Big Fish Theory is a good example of that growth and change. Vince is still rapping about topics concerning race and politics, but this time in more curt and direct manner than before. With shorter verses and repetitive hooks, Vince wanted to get straight to the point on this album. Fans of Vince Staples will no doubt the huge difference in production this time around. Giving off Yeezus vibes, the production is very industrial-EDM heavy with maybe only one or two songs that actually sound like a traditional hip-hop beat. With features from artists like Kilo Kish, Ray J, Ty Dolla $ign, and a killer verse from Kendrick Lamar, Big Fish Theory is the backdrop to a dark, apocalyptic future. Kind of imagine if Tron was set in Long Beach, California under a corrupt system and that’s what Big Fish Theory sounds like.
Favorite Tracks: All of them
4. Tyler, The Creator – Scum F*ck Flower Boy
Tyler’s debut studio album came out over six years ago and Mr. Creator has come a long way since his roach eating days. Released two years after the experimental album, Cherry Bomb, Flower Boy is Tyler’s most mature album to date from his writing to his production. The first single “Who Dat Boy” (featuring a verse from his buddy A$AP Rocky) was a very excellent return from his two year hiatus and “911/Mr. Lonely” is one of the best (and most fun) songs to come out this past summer. From the very first track, it is clear that Tyler’s production has been highly influenced by very bright and sunny sounds, which matches perfectly with the sunset and sunflowers on the front cover. You can also tell that, from the very beginning as well, that Tyler is getting more personal on this album than he has on any other album he’s put out. Discussing topics of fame, loneliness, nostalgia and his own sexuality, we get a very good look on what’s really going on inside the mind of Tyler, The Creator. As usual, the entire album was produced by Tyler himself and it is some of his best production. With lush strings and vibrant keys, it is very clear that Tyler has been learning how to incorporate more sophisticated instrumentation into his work. And despite the list of popular names that pop up in the features (Rex Orange County, Frank Ocean, Kali Uchis, Lil Wayne), it still feels like Tyler’s show and he is shining brighter than ever.
Favorite Tracks: “See You Again”, “Who Dat Boy”, “Pothole”, “911/Mr. Lonely”, “Boredom”, “November”, but really all of them
3. Kendrick Lamar – DAMN.
I think I speak for most people who listened to DAMN. that the title is more than appropriate. Once I finished listening to this 55-minute project, all I could say was “damn”. From beginning to end this album slaps. And it slaps hard. The transition from the suspenseful intro “BLOOD.” into the Mike WiLL Made-It produced “DNA.” is rush of bars and beats as we are reintroduced to much angrier Kendrick Lamar that we haven’t heard for a few years now. DAMN. is a pretty good painting of what 2017 turned out to be as far as politics and social issues go. Lamar discusses what’s going on his life (“FEEL.”, “LOVE.”, “FEAR.”) as he is becoming even more of a superstar, while also reflecting and commenting on the current state of the people (“LUST.” and “XXX.”). As expected, Lamar’s pen game is as vicious and intricate as ever and the production on this album has been taken new heights. Sounding nothing like his last two LPs, DAMN. further shows how Lamar has probably grown the most among his peers and is definitely one of the best.
Favorite Tracks: All of them let’s be honest it was pretty fire
2. SZA – Ctrl
Ctrl is one of my favorite albums of the year (it’s my #2 duh), but my sister loves the album even more than me and has her own personal connection to the album. So the following review will be told by sister, Carmen. Enjoy.
“This album is one of the most empowering albums of 2017 for women. Solána Imani Rowe is a badass woman who is not afraid to sing what she really feels. SZA released her debut album this past June, after months of delays, and it debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. The types of things she sings about mainly on this album are the empowerment of women, demanding respect from men, sexual acts and behavior, the intimacy and heat of relationships, and just the grimy truth of how people are in today’s society. The first song on the album is “Supermodel” and it is about how SZA slept with her ex-boyfriend’s friend because her ex did her wrong and left her. This was such a dope way to start an album off because she comes straight out and says basically “yeah I’m leaving and slept with your friend oh well that’s what you get”. Not many women in the industry will say something so straightforward. SZA’s lyrics and the way she sings them so confidently is what makes this album very strong. The following track on the albumis the Travis Scott assisted “Love Galore”. SZA wrote this song to tell the story of a man hitting a girl up saying he’ll be down and how he’s a real one but then after he gets what he wants he leaves. This song is one of the most popular off the album because of the boppy vibe it has. It’s something that as soon as you hear the beat and what she’s talking about you just go “ahhh sookie sookie now” and just dance. My personal favorite off the album is “The Weekend” because she sings about the role of the main chick and the sidepiece in the relationship. Many women, and myself love the vibe that the song gives off because the feeling of having someone trying to play and take advantage of you but then the tables are actually turned and you’re the one who’s playing them is like no other. Also it explores the high people get off of sexual behavior because for SZA to be a woman and to tell that man you are only here to give me what I want to please me sexually and that’s it, incredible.”
— Carmen
Although it is not her first album under Top Dawg Entertainment, Ctrl is the proper introduction to SZA and proves she is ready to be a superstar.
Favorite Tracks: “The Weekend”, “Go Gina”, Drew Barrymore”, “Doves In The Wind”, “Garden(Say it Like Dat”
1. Joey Bada$$ – ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$
Personally, I think Joey Bada$$ is the best MC in the game right now. While some people may give the “Best MC” award to Kendrick Lamar, I think if Joey can make 3 more albums like ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ (ABBA), then he would definitely deserve that title. Joey has put out three solo projects, one of which was his debut album. All three of his previous projects were solid, with clever lyrics and an old school boom-bap aesthetic. However, on his debut album, Joey never really switched things up and basically released another mixtape. I’ve always compared to Joey to Biggie in how he has the ability to sound effortless when rapping and has never really had a bad verse or song in his career. Since we know that Joey is a good rapper, I was really looking forward to ABBA in hopes that he would also be able to construct a good album with a message and a concept. And boy did Mr. Bada$$ deliver. Running 12-tracks long, ABBA is Joey’s most political album yet. Splitting in down the middle, we see in first 6 tracks that Joey takes on a Superman role in addressing racial issues in America and provides lots of hope. The production is rather light and joyful, and Joey has a very calm tone throughout. That is until the last 6 tracks on the album. Starting with “Rockabye Baby”, Joey switches the flavor and starts to release his own personal anger over the issues in America by rapping with a voice that is much more aggressive and production that slaps. Most importantly, though, this album is relevant and could not have come at a better time. Being so young, it is impressive to see an artist like Joey Bada$$ take on political rapping and while also making a good and cohesive project. ALL-AMERIKKKAN BADA$$ is one of Joey’s strongest projects and it was my personal favorite for the year of 2017.
Favorite Tracks: All of em fam
Honorable Mentions:
A$AP Mob – Cozy Tapes Vol. 2
Rapsody – Laila’s Wisdom (honestly have not given this a thorough listen or else it might’ve been top 10)
