By KEVIN JACOB
Staff Writer
Hello all, and welcome to another edition of Kickin’ it with KJ. I hope all of you readers had a good break. Mine was solid, but I did get my wisdom teeth out, which was pretty rough.
But enough about me; we’ve got a bit of reviewing to do in the first edition to kick off the ’14. I, of course, had to throw in my top mixtapes and albums that came out in 2013. Overall, 2013 was a great year for music. You had the usual dominant names releasing albums, such as Jay-Z and Drake, and we even had a lot of quality releases from newcomers, such as Chance The Rapper and A$AP Rocky.
Now, without further ado, let’s get into the lists of the top albums of 2013:
10. Earl Sweatshirt, Doris – Many people know that this is Earl’s first official album since returning from Samoa, and the hype ceiling was pretty high. To sum it all up, Earl delivers. His flow has really improved and his raps are getting more complicated as ever, but he keeps it gutter. You can tell that the MF Doom and Dipset influences are clearly here, and Earl’s ability with story telling has gotten better as well. My favorite tracks change every time after I listen to it. Sometimes it’s “Sunday” with Frank Ocean, which is about his heavy drug use and how it messes with his personal life. Other days I love “Sasquatch,” a track that’s as absurd as it is grimy. And although Earl, and the album as a whole, are great, the album is appreciated even more in that, in a way, it’s a coming-out party for Vince Staples, who not only kills the two tracks that he’s featured on, but delivers one of the best verses OF THE YEAR in “Hive.” Earl is said to already be working on his second solo, Gnossos, so let’s hope he continues to grow and get even better with that release. It is definitely going to be hard to top Doris.
9. Jay-Z, Magna Carta Holy Grail – I’m not going to lie; many people have said this is nowhere near Hov’s best. In retrospect, it’s probably one of his worst. But Hov’s worst is what other rappers wish they could’ve made. Even though it isn’t his best effort, there are some great tracks on this one. The title track, “Holy Grail,” dominated the airwaves. “Tom Ford” is catchy as sh*t, and my co-workers and I sang it consistently at my summer job. “Somewhere In America” is a straight New Orleans jazz-inspired banger. I literally heard “f*ckwithmeyouknowigotit” everywhere I went, even when school started up again in August. The content isn’t great, but it’s MEMORABLE. And that is why Magna Carta Holy Grail makes this list. P.S. Hov is still the best rapper alive. Maybe the best ever.
8. A$AP Rocky, Long. Live. A$AP – Technically, Rocky’s record leaked back in December of 2012, but it’s official release date was January 2013, so it gets a pass. First off, it’s pretty much what I expected. A dope album with crazy rhymes, banging beats, and killer features as well. I don’t know if it’s as good as Live. Love. A$AP, but it’s pretty damn close if it’s not. It has debatably one of the hottest singles of the year with “f*ckin problems,” while “Wild for the Night” is a decent single as well. “1 Train” is phenomenal and could be another possible song of the year due to an insane beat by Hit Boy and every rapper featured on the song doing their thing and murdering their verses. I like that certain songs on the album, like “Phoenix,” and especially “Suddenly,” show A$AP’s storytelling talent and that there’s more to him than meets the eye. “Angels” and “Ghetto Symphony” might be the best songs on this project, and they are bonus songs! The former also, in my opinion, absolutely DESTROYS Spaceghostpurrps career. This album has something for everybody and is a great album. Made this list with ease. Interested to see where Rocky will go from here.
7. Kid Cudi, Indicud – This is probably the one I’ll get the most sh*t for. And I’ll admit, at first listen I really didn’t like this album. But like many things that we don’t like at first in life, such as growing up or girls, we eventually find the good things that are associated with them and we find out that we love it (maybe not growing up, but loving girls is a definite). Well, that’s what happened with Indicud. It came out in the spring, and I found myself bumping it a lot around finals time. Even toward the end of the fall semester, Indicud just seemed to click for me. “Unf***witable,” in an odd sense, can seem pretty uplifting. And other songs, such as “Immortal,” “Girls,” and “Brothers,” all really hit their respected marks as well. “Just What I Am” is the perfect stoners’ anthem, and “Burn Baby Burn” might be the best Cudi track I’ve heard since anything on Man on the Moon II. Or “Dose of Dopeness,” which comes a little bit later. Point is, even though it’s really different, to me at least, this difference brings a lot of good out of Scott Mescudi. The only thing I ask is that he bring more outside production for Man on the Moon III. Other than that, Cudder is back and he’s sounding hungrier than ever.
6. J. Cole, Born Sinner – Although I didn’t give Born Sinner the greatest review the first go round, I’ve listened to it enough to know that it is one of the better albums to come out this year. “Villuminati” still one of the hardest intro tracks to an album I’ve heard in a long time. “Crooked Smile” was on the radio so much that eventually, I started minorly feeling that, too. “Forbidden Fruit” was one of my favorite songs this year. That and “New York Times” never left rotation. Throw in “Rich Ni&&az,” “Chaining Day,” and “Let Nas Down,” and you come out with a hard album from Jermaine Cole. Jermaine avoids the dreaded sophomore slump with this one. Cole World, No Blanket.
5. Mac Miller, Watching Movies with the Sound Off – It’s funny to see Mac Miller make this album. I’ve been a Mac fan since my senior year of high school and I remember when K.I.D.S. dropped and it was fire. Then Best Day Ever came out and that was heavy in rotation. Then he didn’t drop Blue Slide Park in a minute and when it did come out, I absolutely hated it. It was hot garbage. Macadelic came out and that was a’ight. Since then, he’s been expanding his sound, going for a more underground hip-hop approach, which in my mind is the right move for the kid Mac Miller, as he released WMWTHSO, his best and most consistent project to date. Describing what WMWTSO sounds like is hard. It’s a psychedelic rap drug trip, full of screwy instrumentals with painful and funny lyrics interspersed between songs. The intro, “The Star Room,” is wild, and it continues with other crazy tracks such as the FlyLo-produced “S.D.S,” “Watching Movies,” “Gees” with Schoolboy Q, and a hidden gem in “Claymation.” The best track on this one, though? Without a doubt, it’s “Red Dot Music,” with Action Bronson and production being handled by The Alchemist. Heavy contender as song of the year. Overall, great and surprising album overall from Eazy Mac with the cheesy raps. He’s said to have four more projects in 2014, so it looks like Mac isn’t slowing down at all, which to me, at least, is a good thing.
4. Tyler The Creator, WOLF – WOLF is everything that Odd Future fans wanted it to be. Tyler The Creator broadened his sound a bit and got more instrumental and, in a sense, probably went a little bit hippie with some of the tracks. But they play out perfectly in his ongoing story that he’s told in his third album (second official album). “Cowboy” reminded me a lot of the old OF sound, and other tracks, such as “Jamba,” “Rusty,” and “Bimmer,” were all really great, in my opinion. The album doesn’t have filler on it, which is rare these days. Every song serves its purpose. The best songs on here, for me, were near the end, as “Tamale” is one of the better party/turn-up songs of the year due to its insane bass. “Lone” takes the cake though, as it’s where Tyler gets personal over details of his then-dying grandmother. “Lone” really sums up the album and shows that there’s more than meets the eye to the Odd Future Ringleader.
3. Toro y Moi, Anything in Return – To put it lightly, this album is incredible. Point blank. Toro y Moi released Anything in Return at the very top of the calendar year back in January. The album is chill as hell and shows that there’s still real music being created. This serves as Toro’s third album, and it didn’t disappoint. First off, he starts the album with “Harm in Charge,” which is one of the best songs this year. Then, other great sounds fill the rest of the album, such as “Rose Quartz,” “Studies,” and “How’s It Wrong.” It’s laid back, funky, soulful, and, at times, just downright bizarre. But it works. Toro y Moi is like the king of the “chillwave” genre. And if you think that album is bad, then go play “So Many Details” more than once. If you hate that, then not only do you have awful taste in music, but you’re a terrible person. The album is fresh.
2. Drake, Nothing Was the Same – It was pretty tough between picking between the top two albums on this list. I listened to these two the most, and it was really hard to pinpoint which one should take the top spot, but Nothing Was the Same ultimately became my number two. With each album that Drizzy drops, it becomes more and more evident that the guy is at the forefront of rap superstars right now. I don’t know if it tops Take Care, because that album is really great. But if it’s not better, it’s close. It takes what Take Care is and builds off it; strips off the fat as Drake bares his soul, which fans have become accustomed to with his music. “Tuscan Leather” instrumentally sounds like an old dipset track. “Furthest Thing,” especially the end of it, is flames. “Started From The Bottom” was one of the biggest tracks of ‘13. This sounds blasphemous, but on “Pound Cake,” Drake may have even gotten the one-up on one of the best rappers to have ever done it: Jay-Z. For me, “Too Much” and “Practice” got the most play overall. “Practice” has that down south throwed sound that has shaped a lot of Drake’s songs, and “Too Much” is just straight- up real. You’ve got to be a hater to not like that track. Drake’s been on a tear lately and it’ll be very interesting to see the type of album he makes after this one. Bravo, Wheelchair Jimmy.
1. Kanye West, Yeezus – A lot of people didn’t like Yeezus. Some people hated Yeezus. Many people loved Yeezus. I am one of the latter. Before first hearing Yeezus, I didn’t know what to expect. I had looked at a lot of festival footage, trying to get a clue of what new songs would sound like, and I knew that they would be pretty house influenced, so I was prepared for it. Once I listened to it for the first time, though, I had no idea what the hell I had just listened to. It was angry. Yeezy was really pissed off. And as most of the people my age, we’re pissed off, too. It was a perfect match. “On Sight” sounds like it could give you a seizure. “Send It Up” sounds like hell. “Bound 2” sounds like heaven. “Guilt Trip” is great, too. A lot of people have hated on Yeezus, but I just can’t see how. It gets you hyped up, angry, sometimes sad, but most of all, Yeezus keeps you thinking. Not a lot of albums can do that these days. This isn’t a happy album. But maybe that’s what we all need: something to just lash out at, party, and break things to. Yeezus delivers on that perfectly. And that is why it was the best album of 2013.
Top 10 Mixtapes of 2013 – Since I was kind of late on this, I thought I would just say a quick thing about each mixtape and keep it moving. Great year for mixtapes, though. Excited for what 2014 has in store.
10. Action Bronson & Party Supplies, Blue Chips 2 – Better than the original. Bronson is definitely one of the most entertaining, if not one of the best, rappers out there today.
9. Young Thug, 1017 Thug – Thug’s first mixtape off of Gucci’s Brick Squad label. Interesting and inventive, to say the least. With his recent singles “Danny Glover” and “Stoner” both getting significant airplay, Thugger could be next up.
8. Gucci Mane, World War 3 (Gas, Molly, Lean) – Guwop released three mixtapes in one day in August and had top production on all three. Classic Gucci on these ones. Lean is the best of the three.
7. Rich Homie Quan, I Promise I Will Never Stop Going In – Rich Homie’s first mixtape after “Type Of Way” hit it big. May have another hit with “Man Of The Year.” Can’t stop playing it. Definitely showing he’s more than a one trick pony.
6. Joey Bada$$, Summer Knights – Bada$$ released his sophomore mixtape back in July, and it’s a banger. Kid is consistent. He’s definitely got next. Tribute to Capital Steez is amazing, yet sad.
5. Flatbush Zombies, Better Off Dead – The Zombies’ second effort was miles better than the first. “Club Soda” is a heat rock. Think there was maybe only one song I didn’t like on it. Consistent project.
4. Underachievers, Indigoism – The first release from the up-and-coming beast coast spitters impressed heavily. “Herb Shuttles” is still fire. “Philanthropist” as well.
3. Migos, YRN – You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing “Versace.” To be honest, this tape is fun and entertaining as hell, albeit a little bit generic. “Pronto” got me through my long drive to work. Perfect summer turn-up music. Best trap mixtape all year, without a doubt.
2. Retch, Polo Sporting Goods – This one just snuck in at the end of the year, but showed why Retch should be a force to be reckoned with. This project didn’t have one bad song. “Marmalade Sky” is real-life perfect. Haven’t heard rap storytelling this good since Roc Marciano’s Reloaded.
1. Chance The Rapper, Acid Rap – To put it blankly, this thing is an album. Chance really stepped it up with his second official release and is now one of the hottest, if not THE hottest, up-and-coming rapper in the game. Everything from “Chain Smoker,” to “Smoke Again,” and the perfect “Everything’s Good (Outro)” was incredible. And that is why it was the best mixtape of 2013.
Well, that is all for another edition of Kickin’ It with KJ. I should be writing more this semester, although January might be a bit slow on releases. Regardless, if I find something good or something terrible, you will read it here first. Good luck on the upcoming semester, everybody.
