Tag: hip hop

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QUICKSPINS: Big Sean – Detroit 2

The Motor City rapper’s latest highlights his personal and artistic growth, but suffers from a bloated tracklist.

Over the course of the last decade or so, Big Sean’s inconsistency has become the biggest hindrance to the quality of his projects. Historically, the Motor City rapper’s flashes of greatness have often been overshadowed by an abundance of corny punchlines and weak deliveries. Detroit 2 tries to correct this trend, as Sean is at his most refined — but while it makes for higher highs, it also makes the lows more apparent.

One of this album’s clearest strengths is Sean’s growth. It’s apparent that the man who made juvenile and shallow singles like “IDFWU” and “Dance (A$$)” has left those days behind him. In spending years meditating and reflecting, his newfound clarity and focus has also manifested in him becoming a much better rapper. Detroit 2 sees Sean improving lyrically and sees an exponential boost in his confidence on the mic, making him much more interesting to listen to.

The majority of the album’s tracks are his most mature to date as well, dealing with anxiety, depression, romance and emerging from his darkest period with a newfound sense of purpose. Songs like the Nipsey Hussle-assisted single “Deep Reverence” and “Everything That’s Missing” see Sean discussing his struggles with mental health and his lack of fulfillment despite his fame and accolades. There’s a level of introspection and depth present on this album that we’ve yet to see from Sean up to this point, and they result in some of the best songs in his catalogue.

Unfortunately, while the album does have a lot of quality tracks, a chunk of its songs range from mediocre to bad. “Friday Night Cypher” which features 10 of Detroit’s finest rappers, including Eminem, is a mixed bag, to say the least. With some jarring beat switches and some extremely phoned-in guest contributions, it’s a jumbled mess even with its bright spots. The album’s lowest point though is “Time In” performed by Sean and Jhené Aiko as TWENTY88, a song that sees the pair harmonizing about their relationship over an airy, synth-laced instrumental. It features Sean’s worst performance on the album, as both his rapped verse and vocal harmonies are horrible.

This album could’ve used more quality control, as there is a great album hiding in Detroit 2’s overly-long, 71 minute runtime. There are enough highs here that if the 21-song tracklist was cut down to about 15 or so tracks, including the fantastic guest stories, it could’ve been his undisputed magnum opus. Still, in spite of its flaws, Detroit 2 is Big Sean’s best album in years, maybe his discography, even if it doesn’t quite live up to its potential.

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Music

Dope.Gng, brotherhood, and their latest album, Drogue Maison

The Montreal rap duo details their symbiotic relationship while making their latest full-length project

Dope.Gng is for the ragers. The Montreal-based hip hop duo, made up of rappers Zilla and Yabock, isn’t here to reinvent the rap wheel. What they are here for, however, is to obliterate your speaker system with booming bass and a smorgasbord of creative melodies that’ll stay stuck in your head for days.

Though they haven’t been around for a long time, Dope.Gng understands the importance of identity. They originally started out as Dopamine, a harmless musical project with the intent of just dropping bangers on Soundcloud. The more they continued to drop music, the more they started to take it seriously.

“We wanted to make [Dopamine] serious and a central part of our lives,” Zilla told me over a Zoom call. “We wanted to put our all into it and rebrand.”

With that, Dopamine died and Dope.Gng was born.

In 2019, Dope.Gng unveiled their first mixtape, Fiend, a low-stakes project that would showcase the young duo’s ability to rap, and more importantly, create hits. In that rookie effort, you could hear glimpses of Kanye, Kid Cudi, and Travis Scott, but really, the comparisons are surface level.

After dropping Fiend, Dope.Gng refused to stop. They followed it up with countless singles, videos, and live performances, all of which helped fuel the creation of their second full-length project Drogue Maison.

Zilla and Yabock treat Drogue Maison like their firstborn. While they still love Fiend, they went into it knowing it was just a mixtape. This new project, a much more dense and focused one, sounds like the two young Montrealers know exactly where they’re headed.

Despite a drug-heavy allusion on the album’s title, drugs weren’t actually the central theme to the project itself.

“[Drogue Maison] is actually a reference to our apartment,” Zilla continued. “That’s where everything went down. We have a home studio and everything was actually made in the house.”

With both rappers living together and creating in the same space, it was vital for Zilla and Yabock to not only be coworkers and roommates but to be brothers too. Their duality on Drogue Maison is the driving force behind the album’s cohesiveness and the chemistry they show when rapping back and forth on the album.

“When I’m making music alone, sometimes I think I need [Zilla] to come and complement it with his sauce,” Yabock added. “I make better music when he’s around.”

Dope.Gng’s symbiotic relationship is, on its own, proof that Drogue Maison is the floor and not the ceiling when it comes to their potential. They both repeatedly claim that the quality of their music stems from trust and teamwork.

“If I’m stuck with a verse or if I need a rhyme, I’m gonna ask [Yabock]. We’re a team, we’re not gonna be fighting over intellectual property,” concluded Zilla.

 

Photo Credit: Béatrice Félixe

 

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Aminé – Limbo

Aminé refines his sound and raises the bar for himself on Limbo

Since the 2016 release of his now multi-platinum breakthrough single “Caroline,” Aminé has shown consistent growth and improvement with every release. Limbo continues this trend for the Portland rapper, combining and refining the best aspects of his previous two releases, resulting in his best and most mature work to date.

Aminé’s biggest strength is the individuality that has been present in his music since he first jumped onto the scene. His versatile and bouncy flow mixed with his trademark wit and humour have been staples of his work thus far. On this album, we see him successfully blend these aspects with more pungent, mature and introspective lyrics and topics, giving his music more depth while maintaining its distinct personality.

This personality is present regardless of the sound or content that a given song is going for. As varied as Limbo’s instrumentals are, including everything from bass-heavy bangers to more melodic R&B-leaning tracks, his unique voice and style manage to make these tracks unmistakably Aminé.

That’s not to say that he feels out of place in the modern hip hop landscape, more that he manages to stand out, even when incorporating more trendy, contemporary sounds. Limbo features an extremely diverse guest list that backs this up. The album contains features from Young Thug, Charlie Wilson, Vince Staples and Slowthai, the latter two appearing on “Pressure in My Palms” together, and all of them feel right at home in Aminé’s world.

The only song that feels like it’s out of place on this project is “Easy,” featuring Summer Walker. That’s not to say that the song is inherently bad, it’s actually quite good, it just feels like a standard fare Summer Walker song that Aminé is featuring on. Still, it’s not enough to break up the flow of the album or take away from its highs, which there are plenty of.

The biggest highlight and takeaway from Limbo is Aminé’s growth both as an artist and as a man. On songs like “Mama” and “Fetus,” he manages to showcase more depth and introspection than on previous releases, all while maintaining the humorous charm he’s become known for.

Overall, Aminé shows that he’s improved in nearly every facet on Limbo. He manages to strike a near-perfect balance between the aspects of his music that thrive in their uniqueness and contemporary hip hop conventions. With two solid projects already under his belt, Aminé has delivered once again and has proven to be one of the most exciting young acts in the genre.

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Radamiz – Synonyms of Strength

Radamiz’s new EP is a brief but colourful look into the artist’s aspirations as a rising New York rapper

Radamiz wants more than respect. He wants to live comfortably, he wants to end world hunger and stop the destruction of rainforests. He says all this without skipping a beat on “Brodies, Wodies,” the opening track of his 24-minute EP Synonyms of Strength.

The Brooklyn-born rapper demonstrates across the project just how good he is at rapping. The beats are clearly influenced by the city’s boom-bap history. However, he adds his Dominican twist as he raps the chorus of “Bendiciones” in Spanish, while also denying common Latino stereotypes, like the copying of characters on the Netflix show Narcos, and telling others he doesn’t want them pretending like they sell cocaine.

Synonyms of Strength is a lyrically dense project that focuses on Radamiz’s lyrical ability rather than flashy flows and expensive beats. He raps about peace, acceptance, and the pursuit of happiness, but his messages aren’t preachy to a fault. In fact, they inspire hope rather than make your eyes roll. There’s a positivity that echoes from the 27-year-old rapper’s voice that makes you want to listen over and over to decipher his messages.

At seven songs, Synonyms of Strength also captures the essence of Radamiz’s lyrics by not overcrowding the tracklist with filler and useless features. Instead, he only has two features: AMYRA on “Brodies, Wodies” and Kota the Friend on “Goya.” Their presence doesn’t deter you from Radamiz, but complements his relaxed flows.

Radamiz is on his way to making a masterpiece. The foundation set by Synonyms of Strength proves that the Brooklyn rapper has a high ceiling and could very well spell the future of New York rap, a city that is looking for its claim to the rap throne once again.

Rating: 7.5/10

Trial Track: “Goya”

 

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QUICKSPINS: Childish Gambino – 3.15.20

The final album from Childish Gambino sees the multi-talented artist distance himself even further from rap

Donald Glover doesn’t follow any patterns. Be it in his music, his movies, his TV series, there’s no one-word you can use to describe the Stone Mountain-bred artist. After an abrupt end to his rap albums with the beautifully retro Awaken, My Love! under the Childish Gambino moniker, fans wondered if they’d ever hear him rapping again.

Sure, “This Is America” is technically a rap song, and sure, his feature on 21 Savage’s “Monster” is a rap verse, but those two moments are literally the only times we’ve heard Gambino rap since his 2014 mixtape STN MTN.

Childish Gambino released his newest album 3.15.20 on a Sunday morning at 3 a.m.—on his website. You couldn’t download any tracks, nor could you even know what song was playing as it was just one long stream with no breaks in between tracks. As was expected, there was little-to-no rapping, which is for the best.

Rapping has never been Gambino’s strong suit. He’s been able to scrape by with inventive concepts that show how hard he’s trying to create a unique experience no one else is offering. Because the Internet was a millennial look at life in an internet-filled world and was accompanied by a script that reflected on mortality. Awaken, My Love! echoed the funk-driven sound perfected by Funkadelic, a prominent funk band from the 70s. It was also seemingly dedicated to his then newborn son.

3.15.20 feels like it’s lacking that conceptual drive. Instead of a cohesive storyline, the album feels like a loose collection of tracks that feel more like summer-ready bops than a narrative-driven project. The songs aren’t basic, as Gambino really tries to experiment with instrumentals, vocal effects, and track lengths throughout the 12 tracks.

“Algorythm,” (yes that’s what it’s actually called) is the first real track on the album that sounds like a computer-generated banger. Gambino’s lyrics are simple and uneventful, but the hook is enough to bolster the track from boring to decent. 

“Time” features the stellar Ariana Grande who shows great chemistry with Gambino as they both sing the chorus in an uplifting way (“Maybe all the stars in the night are really dreams/ Maybe this whole world ain’t exactly what it seems/ Maybe the sky will fall down on tomorrow”). Gambino manipulates his vocals to make them seem both robotic and drugged-out.

The hooks shine the most on 3.15.20 because of how sticky they are. “19.10” and “47.48” are breezy guitar-led tracks that sound like they came from the 60s while high on a cocktail of drugs.

The album’s highlights come in the shape of “12.38,” “24.19” and “42.26” (previously released as “Feels Like Summer.” The first of the three tracks features an excellent 21 Savage verse accompanied by a strong instrumental from DJ Dahi and bright vocals from Gambino.

“24.19” is a beautiful track dedicated to a “sweet thing” who moved to southern California and follows her parents’ orders daily. The lyrics are a bit all over the place (“If you wanna be happy, don’t look at my phone), and that somewhat brings it down, but the instrumental and the vocal effects are enough to distract from the few iffy moments. That said, the first verse without any alterations to Gambino’s voice is the most sincere part of the album (You wouldn’t change a hair/ Sometimes I wonder why you love me / But you love me). However, the track runs about four minutes too long and, along with many other tracks, overstays its welcome.

Gambino falters a little after that track as “32.22” and “35.31” are a bit underwhelming. The former track is one of the grimiest beats on the album but comes out of nowhere and seems a bit out of place. “35.21” is a childish attempt at making a country-rap crossover that sounds more like a kids’ song than an experimental island song the album seems to have been preaching up until this point.

Thankfully the album closes out nicely with “42.26,” “47.48” and “53.49” which allow Gambino to stick the landing on a good––but rather quaint––album. 3.15.20 is a step back from Awaken, My Love! but it is still enjoyable to an extent. It feels unfinished and the track titles are just psychopathic.

Glover  has been vocal about 3.15.20 being his final album under the Childish Gambino moniker. It may be time to retire him indeed, but Glover should continue to make music. It’s become evident that he no longer wants to rap, which is what Gambino is primarily known for (if you exclude “Redbone”). But if there’s one thing that 3.15.20 makes apparent, it’s that Glover should have been singing his whole career.

Rating: 7/10

Trial Track: “24.19”

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Megan Thee Stallion – Suga

A hard-hitting playlist of songs to hype you and your girls before a fun night out.

As a vengeful parting gift to her ex-record label 1501 Certified Entertainment, Megan Thee Stallion mic dropped her new nine-track EP Suga.

With plans to release the album on her late mother’s birthday, May 2, being blocked due to her attempt at renegotiating her contract with the record label. Megan took matters into her own hands by filing a lawsuit against the label demanding that she be removed from the contract. After the Houston-born rapper was granted her request, she took the small window she had to drop her unfinished album on March 6 with no strings attached.

Throughout this album, Megan showcases her versatility as a rap sensation whilst touching base with 90s hip hop and R&B. Megan channels 2Pac in her track “B.I.T.C.H” where she samples his hit song “Rather Be Your N****.” She also uses her talent to incorporate a slow and sensual R&B vibe to the album in her track “What I Need.” The artist carries herself as an influential figure in female empowerment as she embraces her sexuality, diversity and her overall love for contemporary rap.

The fan-favourite “Savage” tackles her self-reflection as she repeats, “Classy, bougie, ratchet/sassy, moody, nasty,” delivering the track with force and intent whilst allowing her audience to exude their true identity and fully accept who they are.

As always, Megan Thee Stallion never fails to deliver. The 24-minute EP is well balanced, incorporating Gunna and Kehlani as key features. The album is yet to be finished so this EP can be considered as an entree to her soon-to-come main dish.

Rating: 9/10

Trial track: “Captain Hook”

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Jay Electronica’s debut both amazes and underwhelms

The enigmatic MC manages to reach the extremely high bar he set for himself over a decade ago, but it would mean a lot more if he reached that bar himself.

Jay Electronica has been the hip hop world’s biggest enigma for over a decade. At one point, he seemed destined to go down as one of the genre’s greats, but after years of limited-to-no output, he became its greatest “what if.” While he’s technically been active since 2007, the 43-year-old Louisiana-born MC has released less music in 13 years than some rappers do in 13 months. But somehow, between the one official mixtape, a handful of guest verses and three singles, he’s managed to maintain the interest of fans for this long.

Maybe it’s the Jay-Z co-sign, maybe it’s the air of mystery he built around himself, or maybe in the small sample size fans got, we knew he was just that good. Whatever the case may be, his status as an MC had essentially become mythical, and expectations for his debut reached seemingly insurmountable levels.

That’s to be expected when you’re following up the extravagance of songs like “Exhibit C,” or spending a decade teasing a sequel to a cherished project like 2007’s Act I: Eternal Sunshine (The Pledge). Jay Elec had set the bar so high for himself, through both what he’d done and hadn’t done, that his debut was never going to live up to the hype… but surprisingly, it mostly does.

The thing is, A Written Testimony doesn’t meet these expectations by being exactly what fans have been waiting for—it does it by doing the opposite. This isn’t Act II: Patents of Nobility (The Turn). There are no tracks with the grandeur of “Exhibit C.” This shouldn’t even really count as Jay Electronica’s debut solo album.

Every track on A Written Testimony, minus the intro and “Fruits of the Spirit,” has an unlisted Jay-Z feature. In addition to being on nearly every track, he’s the first person to rap on the record and he is at the top of his game throughout. This is essentially a collaborative project between the two, being marketed as Jay Elec’s long-awaited solo debut.

This is not to say that Jay Elec doesn’t perform at the elite level that was expected of him, he just raps so little that it’s slightly underwhelming. Still, his pen is impeccable, and his verses are dense and wonderfully written reflections on his life, his faith, and often, his fears.

Throughout the project’s 10-track, nearly 40-minute runtime, Jay Elec and Jay-Z come together to deliver exquisitely put-together verses over a soundscape that is completely unique to this project. Boasting instrumentals from The Alchemist, Swizz Beatz, No I.D. and Jay Elec himself, the album’s production strikes a nice balance between eclecticism and cohesion. No two beats sound the same, but they all fit together extremely well.

The majority of this project is absolutely fantastic, with tracks like “The Ghost of Soulja Slim,” “The Neverending Story,” “Universal Soldier” and “The Blinding” being highlights. While “Shiny Suit Theory” is a fantastic song in its own right, including a single from 2014 on an album so highly anticipated feels unnecessary. The only real low point on the album is “Ezekiel’s Wheel,” which features an extremely airy and empty-sounding beat and an awful hook from The-Dream.

This is an overall great album with a soundscape that completely sets it apart from other modern hip hop releases, and a pair of MCs exchanging immaculate verses throughout. Though the synergy between Jay-Z and Jay Elec is what makes this such a fantastic album, it’s also what makes this a slightly underwhelming debut for Jay Elec. As phenomenal as the vast majority of this project is, we’ve yet to see the extent of his abilities as an artist.

While Jay Electronica may have reached the astronomically high bar that he set for himself years ago, he stood on the shoulders of a giant to do so. Having Jay-Z on nearly every song makes for great music, but it takes away from what could’ve been a monumental moment in hip hop.

Though A Written Testimony is a fantastic record, the mythical debut album from Jay Electronica shouldn’t have so few Jay Electronica verses.

 

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QUICKSPINS: Lil Uzi Vert – Eternal Atake

Eternal Atake was worth all the delays

Lil Uzi Vert defied expectations. After numerous album delays, very few singles, and a quiet label feud, it seemed that Eternal Atake was destined to die from the start. Expectations were high, but people were wary. Could the rapper responsible for one of 2017’s biggest hits drop a complete album?

In short, yes. Very much so, actually. There are a lot of things on Lil Uzi Vert’s album that shouldn’t work: a sequel to “XO Tour Llif3,” a Backstreet Boys-sampled track, and a lengthy runtime that is likely to test the listener’s patience. Yet, all these elements work in the album’s favour.

Lil Uzi Vert is at his best on songs like “POP” where his energy is unparalleled and his rapping is immaculate. The hook is catchy and a part of the third verse sees Uzi yelling “Balenci!” multiple times and the results are simply exuberating.

The writing is also one of Eternal Atake’s strengths as shown on songs like “I’m Sorry” and “Bigger Than Life” which showcases Lil Uzi Vert at his most engaging and most thoughtful self.

Eternal Atake is a wonderful album that, despite having been done for a while now, barely shows its age and sounds like it came from the future. Lil Uzi Vert has always been ahead of the curve—we just finally caught up to him.

Rating: 9/10

Trial Track: “POP”

 

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Mac Miller, Circles, and the art of the posthumous release

The late rapper’s estate successfully delivers a carefully crafted and complete posthumous effort.

The posthumous album is one of the most conflicting listening experiences any music fan can have. The motive behind the release isn’t always clear: the music might be unfinished, the quality may be lacking, and you can’t help but think about whether the artist would have wanted it released. Musicians put their life into their work, and in the unfortunate event that they pass, who their music is left to can majorly affect their legacy––either positively or poorly.

In September 2018, Mac Miller tragically passed away at the age of 26, leaving the music world in shock. His impact on hip hop was enormous, as he played a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of the genre through the 2010s. In using his platform to bring light to many up-and-coming artists, Miller played a major part in the budding careers of Vince Staples, Earl Sweatshirt, and many more.

While his platform helped to give these artists exposure, they also helped him find himself musically––throughout his career, Miller showed an astonishing level of growth. With each project released, he moved further and further from being the youthful stoner that was trying to fit into archetypal hip hop traditions laid out by his influences. Towards the end, Miller was working towards creating a sound and style that was entirely his own.

With 2016’s The Divine Feminine he took a chance, releasing a full-length project that relied on his singing as much as his rapping. Infusing neo-soul instrumentation with modern hip hop, the release’s sound was fresh for Miller and showed his desire to evolve as an artist. This was doubled down on with the release of 2018’s Swimming, leaving behind his neo-soul influences for a more varied and eclectic soundscape. These two projects showed Miller heading in a direction less concerned with fitting in, and more concerned with personal and artistic growth.

Circles builds off of the foundation laid out by these two albums and on Miller’s legacy while taking his music in a slightly different direction. Serving as a companion album to the aforementioned Swimming, producer and multi-instrumentalist Jon Brion worked to complete what he and Miller had started. The result is a mesmerizing album, that is extremely melancholic, yet instrumentally lush and gorgeous, and features some of Miller’s most personal writing and best singing.

While Miller isn’t a classically trained vocalist, that had always been a part of his charm. His ability to capture the emotions present in his lyrics through his limited vocal range humanized him as a singer and makes him more relatable. It’s less a spectacle of ability and more about being able to feel what he conveys vocally.

Lyrically, this album sees Miller painting a picture of a man who is not only dealing with his personal struggles but optimistically accepting them as part of his life and trying to move on. The theme of Circles, however, appears to be his acknowledgement of the cyclical nature of his struggles, and how they keep coming back around. At times, despite Miller’s seemingly optimistic view, he speaks on his own personal downfall as an inevitability, which is heartbreaking to hear in the wake of his passing.

It’s apparent that this was an album that was well on its way to completion when Miller passed. There is a clear vision here, a cohesive soundscape throughout, and consistent lyrical themes that bring the project together. The album plays like one last goodbye from an old friend—a long, warm and bittersweet hug from somebody that you’re not quite ready to let go of yet.

This is where this album shines; and where many posthumous albums fall short. In recent years, with the unfortunate passing of several young artists, we’ve seen a lot of posthumous releases that seem like nothing but a cash grab. XXXTentacion’s last project, Bad Vibes Forever, was a colossal mess of a project. At 25 tracks long, it was bloated with features and filled with incomplete song ideas rather than fully fleshed-out tracks. The artist’s vision and fan enjoyment were secondary, with the primary concern being maximizing streaming revenue.

In the case of Circles, Miller’s estate has given an example of how to handle the music and legacy of an artist after they’ve passed. It is an album with very little promotion, it’s free of gimmicks or radio-ready singles, has no big features, and the sound isn’t all that familiar for fans. It’s a complete, concise and focused artistic expression of a man who is seemingly learning to accept his internal struggles and grow from them. The album pulls no punches creatively, and that’s what makes it so special.

Circles feels like the full realization of the sound that Miller had been trending towards for a few years now. It’s brilliant, beautifully arranged and emotionally gripping music that gives us a glimpse into where he was mentally, prior to his passing. It’s very apparent that Jon Brion and Miller’s estate understood his vision, and they’ve clearly worked very carefully to bring it to fruition and carry on his legacy. As hard as it is to say goodbye, this is a superb send-off for one of the most important and impactful rappers of this generation.

Rating: 9/10

Trial Track: “Blue World”

Graphic by @justineprovost.design

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Music Quickspins

QUICKSPINS: Mick Jenkins – The Circus

The Circus is Mick Jenkins’ most accessible project since Wave[s]

When a new Mick Jenkins project drops, it’s always expected to be an incredibly dense thematic experience with thoughtful lyricism and wavy beats—most appropriate for a smoking session. The Circus, the newest EP from the Chicago rapper is nothing if not complex, but its short length makes it entirely more digestible and engaging.

While his 2018 album, Pieces of a Man, was solid, it simply hasn’t stood the test of time and has been all but forgotten by anyone outside of his core fan base. At seven songs and under 20 minutes, The Circus takes everything he did so well on his previous projects and compresses it into a brisk EP that highlights Jenkins’ strong rapping and the best instrumentals he’s rapped on since his Wave[s] EP.

The Circus begins with “Same Ol,” with Jenkins rapping about walking into a room where he’s virtually unknown but maintains his confidence. The beat is tight and aggressive, featuring a single synth cord to drive the track home. It’s simple, yet appealing and fits Jenkins’ flows nicely.

The quality of that track is representative of how good the other six songs are as well. Highlights like “The Light” and “Different Scales” are quintessential Mick Jenkins tracks and encapsulate what made Jenkins a highly touted MC to begin with.

The Circus isn’t a reinvention or an innovation in rap music. It’s a step back from Mick Jenkins that allows him to shine his brightest on a tight EP that has barely any cracks in it.

Rating: 8/10

Trial Track: The Light (feat. Earth Gang)

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Murda Beatz plans for an even bigger 2020

The Canadian hip hop producer discusses his platinum hits and rising the ranks

Seated backstage in the underground lair that is MTELUS’ green room, following A$AP Ferg’s “Floor Seats” tour stop, Murda Beatz reflects on his childhood exposure to music.

“I grew up on classic rock, hard rock, metal – Metallica,” he said. “That’s what I grew up on. That’s what I got a taste for as a kid. That’s why I wanted to play drums. I wanted to make a band and do all that shit because I had a rock background.”

No, Murda Beatz is not the stage name of a drummer for an up-and-coming rock ‘n’ roll band. Instead, Murda Beatz is one of the most successful hip hop producers of our generation, with an extensive catalogue that dates back to the early years of the decade. Most impressive, perhaps, is that the shaggy-haired Canadian from the southern suburbs of Toronto has become a contemporary staple in the Atlanta trap scene and beyond.

“If there’s 20 thousand producers in Toronto and you’re trying to get to Toronto artists, how are you so different than anyone else?” Murda asks. “You have to catch someone’s attention to make you different. So I went to Chicago, got in the drill scene, got my name established in the drill scene – enough to hit up the Migos and be like ‘Yo, I’m Murda Beatz, I work with Chief Keef and these guys’… Until your name holds weight, your credentials are going to hold more weight than your name.”

Murda tells the story of his early days while his thick “MURDA” chain glistens atop his pendant of a chef – a symbol for being the master at cooking beats.

Following his collaborations with Chief Keef, Murda became one of the main producers for Migos, the Atlanta rap trio credited with being some of the early forefathers of the ad lib trap rap that currently dominates the market. The exclusivity and credibility that came from that honour then allowed him to collaborate with other industry chart toppers. In the last two years alone, Murda has been responsible for creating hits like “Butterfly Effect” by Travis Scott, “Nice for What” by Drake, and recently 10x plantinum record “FEFE” by the incarcerated rainbow-haired rapper 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj.

Murda acknowledges that he typically knows when he has a hit on his hands. While that criteria depends on a few factors like the artist and the beat itself, a lot of the magic happens when the song is made live in the studio.

“Most of the Migos stuff is in studio,” he says, “like ‘Pipe It Up,’ ‘Motorsport,’ some new shit we got coming out called ‘GNF (Give No Fucks)’ with Travis and Thug. ‘Butterfly Effect’ was done on FaceTime. ‘FEFE’ was in studio. Most of the special ones come from the studio – most of them. I think it’s just the synergy, you know what I mean? It’s just different. But some stuff, artists might hit me up and like ‘Yo, I got some crazy shit,’ which is not in studio. Then I’m gonna do my own shit, make a call, and say ‘Ey, we got a record.’”

Hip hop producer Murda Beatz discusses his success with the Concordian music editor Jacob Carey following his “Floor Seats” tour stop with A$AP Ferg. Photo by Chris Carpenter (@cb43media).

Murda recalls the time he collaborated with the recently departed Juice WRLD, a Chicago rapper most known for his highly successful track “Lucid Dreams.”

“So me and him, the day before he signed his deal, I hit him up,” Murda says. “I became a fan, you know what I’m saying, me and Cole Bennett, we started talking a few years ago. So I was always on his page, watching his shit, so I saw the ‘All Girls Are the Same’ video, said ‘This kid is fire.’ I was bumping that shit every day. So I found out he was in LA, hit him up, went to the studio, and we made 14 songs in six hours. Crazy. He’s the fastest working man possible on this earth. We made 14 songs in six hours. That shit was crazy. None of them came out, unfortunately, some of them leaked and stuff. Hopefully they might come out in the future, you never know. It’s definitely music that should come out. Everyone would appreciate it, and it’s definitely some of my best music.”

While Murda is in high demand among a wave of both new and already established artists, there are still dream collaborations that he wishes to cross off his bucket list in the near future.

“Definitely like, Rihanna, Beyonce, Bieber, Kanye, [Jay-Z] … Ed Sheeran,” Murda says. “I think me and him in a picture together would break the internet. If we did a music video together – if I was Ed Sheeran and he was Murda Beatz… that’d be crazy. I should definitely hit him up. We’ve talked back and forth. I was supposed to go to his show a few months ago but I just got too busy, but yeah, we got to do some shit. If he was me and I was him in a video, that shit would go crazy.”

Murda Beatz’ success shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.

“New songs coming out in 2020. Album in 2020. The years just keep getting bigger and bigger.”

 

Photos by Chris Carpenter (@cb43media)

Categories
Music

CJ Flemings comes back for more

Photo by Laurence BD.

 An interview with the Montreal rap artist following the release of his second studio album, Mascara Tears

CJ Flemings is growing into the best version of himself.

Since the release of the Montreal rapper’s successful debut album, Forever Wanted More in 2017, there was mostly silence from the artist across streaming platforms.

“I held back from releasing a lot of music,” said Flemings. “I still want to put all that music out. I just haven’t gotten to that yet, but hopefully in the near future I can share that with everybody. I was really just working on my craft though. I feel like I didn’t miss with this last project, it’s better than the last one.”

This “last project” is said in reference to Mascara Tears, the long-anticipated, most recent body of work from Flemings. The album was released on Nov. 22, the same day that Flemings opened up for New York rapper Lil Tjay at Corona Theatre. Despite the successful turn out, Flemings sad that he’s still in the midst of planning something special for his own show to celebrate the album’s launch.

CJ Flemings released his second album, Mascara Tears, on November 22, 2019. Photo by Laurence B.D.

Mascara Tears encompasses themes of honesty, love, betrayal, and heartbreak, showing Flemings at his most vulnerable. His drive to go the extra mile may have come from his pairing with Juno-award winning producer, Michael Lantz, who motivated him in the studio.

“I love challenges,” said Flemings. “When someone challenges me I’m more so like ‘Oh damn, you care about this right now.’ So I’m trying to get this, let’s get it right.”

Flemings did a lot of the work on his debut album, Forever Wanted More, alone. Though he decided to change things up on his latest project.

“On Forever Wanted More, I was picking a lot of the beats and I recorded a lot of it, mixed a lot of it myself, and mastered a lot of it myself. I just felt like when going into Mascara Tears, I met Lantz and he was very disciplined about the production and all that, so I dived into the best versions of myself and tried to correct a lot of the mistakes I made and trusted the whole procedure.”

The first song on the album, “Curtains,” was the first song that Flemings and Lantz recorded together after scrapping a previous, unreleased song. “Curtains” begins with a friend telling Flemings that he doesn’t see him anymore and that he’s acting differently. Flemings said he put in that snippet to remind others that there will be times in one’s career when you have to be selfish.

“I felt like I was going towards a direction where I really needed to care about myself,” said Flemings. “[I needed] to put myself in a vulnerable spot to show that there are times where you might feel like there are people who are distant from you, and it’s a problem, but if you’re focused on a goal and that’s what you’re working on, sometimes you just gotta overcome these challenges.”

Now that CJ Flemings has finally accomplished one of his goals with the release of Mascara Tears, one can hope to see more of the young rap artist in Montreal’s glowing hip hop spotlight. 

Photos by Laurence B.D.

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