Thursday, November 2, 2017

Music Log



Much has been said about rapper Trippie Redd’s similarities to Lil Uzi Vert in sound, not for lack of reason my first time listening to “Love Letter to You” left me repeating said claims of “Uzi clone” when mentioning Trippie Redd. That said there is a lot more to this tape than one would think after first listen. Trippie is definitely talented, throughout the project he displays a great sense of melody and clearly has a talent for coming up with weird yet enticing yelps and screams. Melodies aren’t his only strength, showing versatility with songs like Can You Rap Like Me where Trippie drops bar after bar of that “lyrical content” so many rap fans claim is missing in today’s rap. This is a pretty good project with greats songs and some diversity, I am very interested in seeing what Trippie Redd will do next. 4/5


Not much is known about rapper/producer wintertime, his social media presence is nearly nonexistent. Wintertime’s small internet buzz comes from a few collaborations with self-proclaimed “king of the teens” Lil Yachty, and a twitter discussion with buzzing “ignorant rap” sensations Smokepurpp and Lil Pump over claims of fraudulent biting. Nonetheless Wintertime still is pretty unique yet still fits comfortably in todays “weirdo rappers” (No Troy Ave) environment. There is clearly a great use of melodies here and Wintertime’s rapping style while not technically proficient comes off as simple yet entertaining and catchy, I can already here the word “mumble rapper” stamped into his name if he ever blows up. Also, there are tons of NBA references throughout the project which is something I always need more of in rap. 4/5

Tay- K has been the subject of the rap twitters for a while now with the hit song “The Race”, much of the buzz comes not from the song but from the story attached to it. I don’t care much to go into retelling that story, neither delving into any of the Free TayK talk or the severity of the crimes he’s accused of. Everything that needs to be said has probably been said by now, and frankly all I care about is the music. That said there’s not much to this tape, nothing about it stands out, the beats aren’t anything groundbreaking and Tay-k’s rapping skills don’t really bring anything new or interesting to the table. His buzz currently is growing and I can imagine this tape was rushed to capitalize on said buzz, time will tell if he can actually prepare a solid concise project which can rightfully showcase whether he is good or not. There are maybe 2 or 3 bangers here that’s about it. 3/5


Youngboy’s come-up seems to have happened so fast and it’s a testament to how hard the young rapper works. I’ve lost count as to how many projects he’s released since my initial introduction to him on 38 baby. New Orleans has a long history of great rappers with a long rap sheet, Youngboy is no different. One can only hope these legal problems are mere accusations and don’t deter another promising young rapper career (especially one from the NOLA, RIP BTY Youngn). This tape is great, Youngboy while handling his own as a rapper can also deliver some catchy hooks, and present some pretty emotional tracks which can be surprising coming from a 17-year-old. He shows a lot of promise and his work ethic is unmatched even by today’s standards, I have very little doubt by the time I post this he would have already dropped another project. 3/5


2016 was an interesting and prolific year for Uzi Vert, he became a big name after dropping 4 projects (Luv is Rage 1 dropped in 2015 but its impact was mostly felt throughout 2016) all containing quality bangers. Uzi’s wave coming into 2017 was overwhelming, his mega hit XO Tour Life dominated streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music. Yet unlike his 2016 year, 2017 was not a very prolific year. I’ve been anxiously waiting for this project yet in all honestly the hype was all for nothing, this is not a bad album, its Uzi being Uzi which is what you would want from an Uzi project. Yet nothing here really grabs your attention for long the production is pretty good, yet it never really feels like Uzi is doing anything great with it. The bottom point is not one song comes to being as catchy and undeniable as his other hits like XO Tour Life or You Was Right. 3/5



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