Category: Favorite Rapper List

My Favorite Rappers: Vince Staples Pt. 2 (FM!)

On By spaceylifeIn Favorite Rapper List, Hip-HopLeave a comment

This November, Vince Staples released his third studio album, titled “FM!”. This album is one of my most favorite projects I have heard over the last year. It starts with the song “Feels Like Summer” where Staples introduces the sound of the album thanks to a feature of Big Boy and the cast of Big Boy’s Neighborhood.

The album continues the summertime vibe with the song “Outside!”. When I first heard it, I felt it as a song that would hype up the crowd at a concert. At the end of the song, it sounds like the disk slows down to a halt, and transitions to the beat of the next song, “Don’t Get Chipped”. This is one of my favorite songs on the album because of how fast paced he comes rapping out of the gate.

At the end of the next song, “Relay” the disk slow down effect happens again and one of the cast from Big Boy’s Neighborhood comes in with a promotion for winning tickets to a Kehlani Concert. The beat carries to the next track titled, “New earlsweatshirt (Interlude)” but quickly is cut off by a clip saying, “New Earl Sweatshirt on Big Boy’s Neighborhood”. Although the song is 22 seconds, and Earl’s verse is only 19, the interlude adds a connector between “Relay” and the next song, “Run the Bands”.

Earl Sweatshirt (left) and Vince Staples performing

At three minutes eight seconds, it is the longest song on the album. At the end of the song, Big Boy comes on continuing the radio theme of the album, and leads to the next song, “FUN!”. With a very upbeat tempo, “FUN!” talks about the view of most young people today, in the chorus. The song also features a Bay Area legend, E-40.

In the next song, “No Bleedin”, Staples has another feature from the Bay Area, in Kamaiyah. That song is followed by “Brand New Tyga – Interlude” and “(562) 453-9382 – Skit”, with the former being a short verse by Tyga, and the latter being a skit in the form of a contest call to Big Boy’s Neighborhood. The album ends with the song “Tweakin’” where Vince Staples has yet another Bay Area feature, with Kehlani on the chorus.

This album is one of my favorites because you can tell it is made to be listened to all in a row. Although there are a few standouts for catchy songs that can be added to the queue at a party, they are much more fluid as a whole project. I also like how he carried the Big Boy’s Neighborhood sketches throughout the entire album. In a recent interview, Vince hinted at possibly eight more projects from him in the year of 2019 alone. For me, as long as he keeps innovating and being creative, there is no telling how insane some of these projects may be.

My Favorite Rappers: Vince Staples Pt. 1

On By spaceylifeIn Favorite Rapper List, Hip-HopLeave a comment

For my second artist of my list of favorite rappers, I decided to talk about Vince Staples. I first heard Vince Staples when through his song “Norf Norf” off of his first studio album, “Summertime ‘06” released in 2015.

It came out a few weeks after I had graduated from high school in the summer of 2015, when my friends and I had no responsibilities and would mob around all day, every day of summer. Although I couldn’t relate to every part of the song, I spent most of my days rapping along to, “I ain’t never ran from nothing but the police”.

I went back to his first EP titled “Hell Can Wait” from the fall of 2014. Although only around 24 minutes long, the project still received positive reviews from the critics. None of that was much concern to me once I heard “Blue Suede”.

I was in my friend’s car when I was listening to the album and once the deep bass hit in the beginning, the whole car was shaking. I could not help but bounce back and forth to the beat while listening, even to this day. On top of that, he paints a picture with his verses that really pulls the listener in. Wanting to go even deeper into his music, I started asking my friend if he knew of any other Vince Staples songs. He then showed me a song that Staples was featured in back in 2013, off of Earl Sweatshirt’s Debut album “Doris”. The song was called “Hive” and although it had a much different feel than “Norf Norf” and “Blue Suede”, the change in pace made me focus even more on the lyrics and be even more impressed.

Prima Donna Album Cover

In 2016, Vince dropped his second EP titled “Prima Donna”. Although only seven tracks, it showed how much more refined and tuned his skills are becoming. It also shows his ability to be creative visually along with lyrically. A week after the release of the EP, he released a ten minute short film to go along with the project.

Big Fish Theory Album Cover

 

 

His second studio album, “Big Fish Theory”, was released in the summer of 2017, two years after his debut studio album. This album however, was much different than “Summertime ‘06”. It has more of an electronic music feel in the beats, and really pushes the invisible limit of creativity in Hip-Hop. One of my favorite songs on that album is the second song on the track list, “Big Fish”.

In the next installment, I will go into detail on his most recent album “FM!”, which is one of my most favorite projects of 2018.

My Favorite Rappers: Kendrick Lamar Pt. 1

On By spaceylifeIn Favorite Rapper List, Hip-HopLeave a comment

In Hip-Hop today, there are so many new artists hitting the scene every day, that there is such a variety in the different content they release. I wanted to start making a list of my top rappers in the game right now. For the first installation to my list, I am starting with my favorite rapper of any era, Kendrick Lamar.

To start I want to talk about his studio albums. I was first introduced to his music through my older brother in 2012, during my sophomore year of high school. That was when he released his second studio album, first with a major label, “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City”. It received widespread critical acclaim and earned him album of the year at the 2013 BET Hip-Hop awards. One of my favorite songs off the album is “Sing About Me, Dying of Thirst”.

After becoming a fan of his through “Good Kid M.A.A.D. City”, I decided to explore some of his older music. I went back to his first studio album, titled “Section.80”. It was here that I found the song, “Rigamortis” which deserves its own blog post. This song is one of the most technically sound songs I have ever heard, and it is almost impossible to rap along with, due to the fact that his lines constantly take turns that cannot be predicted. To better explain it, one must hear it.

Album Cover for “To Pimp A Butterfly”

Fast forward to 2015, and Lamar released his third studio album, “To Pimp A Butterfly” which featured the single “i” that he had released mid-2014. The album would debut at the number one spot on the Billboard 200 list, and would earn him 5 Grammy’s, including Best Rap Album. This album features two of my favorite songs by Kendrick, “These Walls” and “Complexion”. In this album, he addressed topics such as police brutality and racial tensions in America, and solidified to many his spot as one of the greatest artists in the game right now.

Kendrick Lamar receiving the Pulitzer Prize

In March of 2017, Kendrick released “The Heart Pt. 4” which ended with a tease for a new album to be released the next month. This fourth studio album would be titled “DAMN” and feature the single “Humble”, which would win Best Music Video at the 60th Grammy awards.  This album is unique because it tells two stories. The more well-known story is the one told by playing the album in order from start to finish. However, Lamar confirmed suspicions in an interview that the album can be played backwards to reveal a different story. Eventually he would go on to release a collector’s edition album that had the songs arranged in reverse order. DAMN earned Kendrick five Grammy’s, and the first every Pulitzer Prize for Music awarded to a non-jazz or classical album.

These are all his studio albums to date, but one can assume there is another in the works. In the next installation I will go deeper into his artistic journey from teenage rapper to superstar.