Reviewer strays from usual listening habits, draws inspiration from rap

Normally, I listen to a lot of rock music because I understand it. I can play all the rock-and-roll instruments, and I can write rock songs. It’s fun to listen to something if you know how it was made. However, I saw Joji in an interview the other day, and he said you shouldn’t listen to the same kind of music you’re trying to write, lest you risk sounding too much like your influences. That’s a good idea, so it’s what I’ve been trying to do for the last few weeks. I’ve just been listening to a ton of different rap albums during my brief period of abstaining from the world of rock and roll. I decided to do a bunch of short reviews of some of the highlights.

**“STOLEKEY” by Ski Mask the Slump God**

I didn’t listen to a ton of rap back in high school, but when I did it was mostly old-head stuff. Ski Mask and Vince Staples were two of the only modern rappers I really liked. I wanted to see if this album still holds up, and I’d say it does. I think Ski Mask could be a lot bigger if he released more music and his projects were a bit more consistent—“Stolekey” falls a bit short compared to a lot of the other records on here, and it has yet to receive a true follow up. Ski Mask has put out a new nine-song mix tape but no new albums, so this is sort of the highlight of his discography, at least for now.

**“Vince Staples” by Vince Staples**

This isn’t my favorite Vince Staples project, but I still think it’s good. It’s pretty short, and there’s nothing that really stood out to me. Normally people save self-titled albums for a debut or for when they want to make a big, “special” album, like Blink-182’s self-titled album where they completely switch genres. Vince Staples’ self-titled album is just a pretty solid collection of his typical work, which is fine by me.

**“A Love Letter To You 3” by Trippie Redd**

I heard about this album a lot back when it came out but never listened to it. My verdict? It’s not half-bad. There’s filler here and that’s a disappointment, but Trippie’s got decent enough songwriting to make this worth checking out. Word on the street was Trippie put this out in order to quell some of the backlash from “LIFE’S A TRIP,” which I also didn’t listen to at the time. If that’s the case that may be why this album sounds a bit safe. If you wanna compare the “Love Letter” series to, say, Lil Wayne’s “Carter” albums, then the main difference between the two is that Wayne’s “Tha Carter” albums tend to be more exciting and more interesting to listen to. But while it can’t reach the high of a classic album, I’d still give this a positive score.

**“ATLiens” by Outkast**

The line, “cooler than a polar bear’s toenails,” from this record’s title track isn’t just a killer line—it’s a pretty great summary of the album as a whole. Out of all of Outkast’s classics, this is the smoothest and most laid back overall. There’s no track like “Rosa Parks” or “B.O.B” here—nothing that’ll really get people moving. But if you want an Outkast album for kicking back to, I’d recommend this one.

**“Fantastic Damage” by El-P**

I think most people know of El-P through his band Run the Jewels, but he’s been in the game for a long time. He’s known more for his collaborative projects and production work for other artists but he’s got some records of his own. “Fantastic Damage” is a pretty inaccessible album. There’s not a lot of hooks. What you have instead is really dense, noisy, abrasive production combined with some rather unorthodox lyrics. The title track has one reference to Reaganomics, another to Ritalin and zero choruses. Then you have “Stepfather Factory,” a suddenly tearjerking song out of nowhere. I don’t think I can recommend this to everyone, but it’s one of the seminal releases of the avant-garde hip-hop world worth exploring for the more adventurous out there. If you want people to leave a party fast, this could also work for that purpose too.

**“We Can’t Be Stopped” by Geto Boys**

The first time I bought Everclear, I was introduced to the song “Everclear” by Buschwick Bill. That particular song isn’t on this album, but Bushwick Bill himself is, alongside Scarface and Willie D. And gee, what an album this is. A lot of modern rappers want to try and adopt the punk rock aesthetic, but it’s usually not done to great success. Geto Boys managed to master the ethos of punk without even really trying. This is a bold, in-your-face kind of album. “Mind Playing Tricks On Me” is an undisputed classic rap song, but the rest of the album is just as good.

**“93 to Infinity” by Souls of Mischief**

The thing about this album is that most of what makes it special is the word play. The production and melodies aren’t super interesting, which is probably the biggest weak point here. The redeeming factor is that the Souls are all very clever rappers. Lots of near-rhymes, multisyllabic rhymes and that type of thing. The actual subject matter is mostly about typical rap topics, too, for the record, so you get these songs about girls and partying that are secretly super nerdy underneath. You won’t enjoy this album as much if you’re not willing to listen to it intently, but if you do, there’s good stuff to be found.

**“Strictly Business” by EPMD**

This is the oldest album on the list. It’s incredibly fun to listen to. The samples are all over the place. There’s a part from “Fly Like an Eagle” by the Steve Miller Band, and another song that samples “I Shot the Sheriff.” The consistency comes from the group’s two MCs. Eric and Parish both have great flows and a lot of charisma which, when combined with some killer beats, makes for a great listening experience. If you’re wondering, the acronym “EPMD” stands for “Eric and Parish Making Dollars”—a great name and a great album. EPMD gets an A+ from me.