Hello everybody! Happy February! I hope your 2021 has been good so far. So since I didn’t do a monthly favorites for December, this month will be a monthly favorites deluxe edition. I will be covering both December and January music. There is a lot of great music to cover so lets just jump into it.
Songs Honorable Mentions:
Quan – Came Back: Earlier this month I scrolling through Instagram when I stumbled across an ad promoting Came Back from Quan. I don’t usually check out the music in promos, but I’m glad I did this time because this is good. It’s not anything groundbreaking, but I’m loving this guy’s energy. He has a lot of charisma. I love his aggressive flow. His angry yet fun delivery reminds me of Denzel Curry. If you are into Denzel’s music then I highly recommend you check out Came Back. Quan has a lot of potential and I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Yung Skrrt – McDonald’s: So this song is kind of stupid, buuuuuuut I love it. It’s exactly what you think it’s about. This song is about McDonald’s. Almost every line ends with Yung Skrrt rhyming Mcdonald’s with McDonald’s. Yung Skrrt is either monotone or he is using a high pitched baby voice. The beat is hard-hitting and distorted. On paper, this song shouldn’t work, but it does. Check out this banger if you dare.
Alice Gas – BALONEY (freestyle): This is for all you Hyperpop fans out there. This is a fucking banger! I like what Alice did with her vocals. I like the robotic vocals during the chorus. I also like the high pitch chipmunk vocals when she gives her verse. It reminds me of 100 gecs. Alice kills it on the vocals, but the beat is even better. It is so bubbly yet it also has an industrial feel to it. I love how the bridge flourishes. The outro is also amazing!
JPEGMAFIA – FIX URSELF!: Peggy blessed us with a ton of singles that turned into an EP last year and it seems like he is going to do it again this year. FIX URSELF! is the second single for Peggy’s upcoming EP. He once again kills it. I love how triumphant the beat is while still sounding like a JPEGMAFIA beat. As always Peggy’s use of autotune sounds amazing. There are several cool vocal passages. Peggy covers a lot of different topics in this one song, but this is by far my favorite line: “I love my baby like Trump loves Putin, in the deepest way”. How can you not love this man?
slowthai – MAZZA (feat. A$AP Rocky): This song was nearly my song of the month. MAZZA is the third single for slowthai’s upcoming album TYRON. It should be released next month and I am excited for it. Especially after the release of this single. MAZZA is a lowkey banger. The beat is perfect for slowthai’s animalistic energy and A$AP Rocky’s smooth feature. I am surprise on how well these two sound together on the same track.
Lice (Aesop Rock & Homeboy Sandman) – Ask Anyone: On New Years Eve the world found out that one of the most legendary underground MC’s, MF DOOM, passed away on Halloween. This is a huge loss in the world of hip hop. DOOM is responsible of some of my favorite albums of all time. DOOM made a huge impact on not only me, but on a lot of people all over the world. This includes Lice AKA Aesop Rock and Homeboy Sandman. After hearing about DOOM’s death they made a tribute song for DOOM. They rapped about how much DOOM meant to them while using a MF DOOM beat called Datura Stramonium. If you are a fan of MF DOOM listen to this tribune track.
BADBADNOTGOOD & MF DOOM – The Chocolate Conquistadors (From Grand Theft Auto Online: The Cayo Perico Heist): Speaking of DOOM, this song was the last song he released when he was “alive”. This song was made for GTA of all things. Most artist would phone in their music if it is for a movie or a video game. DOOM is different. This song is so fucking good! First of all, DOOM rapping in spanish is a treat to listen to. He doesn’t rap entirely in spanish, but he did at the beginning. DOOM’s delivery is smooth and insane as always. Although I am praising DOOM a lot, BADBADNOTGOOD did their thing. What a beautiful instrumental. The live instrumentation gives this song so much life. The second half of the song is all instrumental. It’s a grand and exciting way to end off this 7 minute beast. Even though I have a feeling we might still get more MF DOOM music, this song wouldn’t be a bad way to end off his discography.
EP Honorable Mention:
Kota the Friend – Lyrics to GO, Vol. 2: This is technically an album, but it’s only 15 minutes long so I am going to consider this an EP. If you are a fan of Kota’s music already you’ll enjoy this EP. This EP is just more of what you expect from Kota. Good raps with chill lofi beats. Fun fact! Kota claims that the beats are taken from YouTube. I looked it up and it’s true! He straight up rapped over Kota the Friend type beats. Great vibe music!
Album Honorable Mentions:
Renaissance Mic – The Renaissance Tape: Renaissance Mic deserves to blow up. This album is amazing! I am surprise Renaissance Mic only has 1,000 monthly listeners. This album is a jazz rap album. The instrumentation is phenomenal. Renaissance Mic is rapping about several serious topics. His rapping style reminds me of both Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole. If you like either of these two artists you will definitely enjoy Renaissance Mic’s music.
Moor Mother & billy woods – Brass: When I did my top 50 albums of 2020 list I tried my best to wait till the end of the year to release my list so that I don’t miss anything. Well I ended up missing this amazing album. Brass is an eerie rap album made by billy woods and Moor Mother. This is the type of album I personally need to be in a certain mood before jumping into it because it can be pretty intense. Especially since Moor Mothers performance is amazing, but really creepy. Billy woods did his thing. He sounds very heroic throughout this dark album. Impressive collaborative album. It definitely deserved a spot in my top 50.
R.A.P. Ferreira – Bob’s Son: R.A.P. Ferreira really decided to drop heat on the first day of the new year. Bob’s Son is a very chill layback sounding album. Each song has a lofi beat. There are several beautiful moments. R.A.P. Ferreira is once again rapping poetically. I really like how he raps. The way he emphasize certain words is cool to me. The combination of his rhymes and lofi beats give this album a warm feeling to it.
Navy Blue – Song of Sage: Post Panic!: Am I the only one that didn’t know Navy Blue is a professional skateboarder named Sage Elsesser, he does some modeling, and he is an Odd Future affiliate. How did I miss all of this? Well anyway this album slaps, but in a depressing way. Navy Blue’s lyrics are demoralizing. The beats are dusty and lofi with some cool sampling. Navy Blue has helped artists like Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE with production, so if you enjoy their work you’ll definitely enjoy this Navy Blue album.
Your Old Droog – Dump YOD: Krutoy Edition: I really like what Droog did with his album. Droog is an Ukrainian American and in this album he sprinkles in a little bit of his heritage. He does a great job highlighting his heritage in his raps and beats. Speaking of rapping, man this guy can spit. This album is filled with BARS! He has several quotables. Even though Droog is highlighting his heritage, that New Yorker charm is still there.
Favorite Song of the Month:
Brent Faiyaz & DJ Dahi – Gravity (feat. Tyler, The Creator): Man this is amazing! By far my favorite song of the month. This might be my favorite Brent Faiyaz song. This song sounds like it would fit perfectly in flowerboy. In fact, while listening to the song I forgot DJ Dahi produced this song. I thought Tyler did the production for a second. Speaking of Tyler his verse was short, but great. Brent definitely made a larger impact throughout the entire song. Plus Steve Lacey contributed on this song too. I don’t think this song will do amazing on the charts, but to me it sounds like a hit.
Favorite EP of the Month:
Cosmo Pyke – A Piper For Janet: For only having four tracks this EP was able to make a huge splash. First of all the production here is so good. The live jazzy instrumentation gives this EP so much personality. I would love to hear this EP performed live. Cosmo’s soulful singing is just as wonderful. His voice is so powerful yet soothing. If this is the type of music Cosmo would release on an EP, it makes me wonder how good an album worthy song would be.
Favorite Album of the Month:
Madlib – Sound Ancestors: MADLIB DOES NOT MISS! Everything he touches turns into gold! If you need further evidence on why people consider this man the GOAT hip hop producer look no further. Teaming with Four Tet, Madlib continues to experiment with his sound. What can I say? These beats are amazing! I love the sampling Madlib does on this album. I also love all of the vocal snippets sprinkled throughout the entire album. He does a great job at grabbing the listeners attention. There are several mind-blowing moments throughout the album. If you love Madlibs previous work you will definitely enjoy this album. Beautiful album! Give it a listen if you haven’t already.
These are my monthly favorites! Let me know what you have been listening to!