Tag: Review

JACKBOYS Vibes

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*I couldn’t get the Spotify sharing, so we are Sans HITR remix and Gatti

I’ve always been a fan of Travis Scott. Early on, I was hesitant to admit it, because for some weird reason you couldn’t be an A$AP Rocky fan AND a Travis Scott fan. They had some weird beef and people claimed Travis jacked his sound and rode away with it. Nonetheless, I would be lying if I said Travis Scott was not in my top 5 artists. I feel as though he kind of filled the void of A$AP Rocky music when he was quiet from 2013 to 2018. With Days Before Rodeo in 2014, Rodeo in 2015, and Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight in 2016, there was a lot of music to unpack in those times. Both of them have a similar sound, and really tend to go outside the box as far as beat selection and melodies. Plenty of artists passed on the Goosebumps beat, but Travis took it and ran. Recently, as we are gearing up for a new Travis album following his grammy nominated Astrowolrd, Travis teased a new “pack” featuring artists he has been putting on and have signed to his label cactus Jack. It is himself, his DJ Chase B, Sheck Wes, Don Toliver. It happened to drop over the Holiday weekend, and I was listening to it in the headphones and while driving. Here goes a song-by-song breakdown of the 7-song pack.

Highest in the Room Remix (feat. Rosalia and Lil Baby)

I’m going to keep it a buck: I probably won’t be bumping this remix more than the original. I really liked the second verse from Travis on the original. And as much as I love Lil Baby, he really didn’t fit the song. Having someone a little more vibey (this is a cringe worthy adjective) like a Cudi or Quavo or even keeping it in the label with Don Toliver would be a better fit in my eyes. The Rosalia feature also does not do much for me. We all have heard this song so I won’t beat a dead horse.

Jack Boys (Intro/Instrumental)

It’s an instrumental. I don’t want to dive too deep into something so short and simple. But it does provide a ~vibe~ that is felt throughout the project. Kind of ominous and anxious. Definitely a little bit of a bummer though, since this is one of the 7 songs on the tape. It is really a 6-song pack. It does blend well into Gang Gang.

Gang Gang (The Posse Cut)

I am not the biggest fan of Sheck Wes. Something tells me I’m not the only one that feels this way, so a song in which he sings the chorus could be a little painful to get through. However, this posse-cut-esque song that features all the JACKBOYS jumping in and is really the core of this project. Just some guys vibing off each other and sound excited to be apart of the same team. Going back in forth with no warning and going off each others flows.

Had Enough (feat. Quavo and Offset)

Don Toliver is definitely my standout on the whole pack. He was first really thrown into the scene with his feature on CAN’T SAY off of Astroworld. Sounding reminiscent of a new age T-Pain, he can sing with the best of them and also bar out. We hear him deliver the chorus on this song, and then spit some lines to flex the versatility. The beat is a nice touch, just as bit casual as catchy. Quavo and Offset come in and offer their star-studded features to give the song a nice twist. Both are similar to the flow of Don, and all 3 compliment each other, auto-tune and all.

Out West (feat. Young Thug)

This is for sure the standout track on the tape. And if it wasn’t we would for sure have a problem on hands. Travis and Thug together don’t really miss. Think of Pick Up the Phone or even more recently the HOT Remix just for evidence. The beat has a heavy bass and features Thugger on the hook. Add in a verse from Travis and Thug and it’s a hit. No more than 3 minutes long, it is the high point of the tape but goes by quite quickly.

What To Do (feat. Don Toliver)

Don comes in again on this song, with Travis as company. Travis sings the first part of the chorus, offering a drug-induced cry for help, while Don piggybacks off of this. This beat is similar to Had Enough, and compliments Don nicely. Travis can do it all, as he offers a slower paced verse similar to Stop Trying to be God or Skeletons. These two mesh together well with their tones and flows throughout this song in conjunction with the beat. This song much like CAN’T SAY is one people will surely enjoy and come back to.

Gatti (feat. Pop Smoke)

I am a big fan of Pop Smoke at the moment. From his hit Dior to his whole album Meet the Woo, I really like his voice and bars. They are very gritty and gruesome, much like his delivery on his songs. This song features a hard-hitting beat that you typically find Pop Smoke delivering verses over. We then get a Travis verse over this style of beat, and it sounds great. To me this was definitely more of a Pop Smoke song with a Travis feature. I am stoked he is getting some recognition, and surely will gain a couple more fans from this track.

 

 

 

 

Post Malone is Pop (but I’m not complaining)

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Rewind a couple years ago to White Iverson ringing on the radio, inside our house at pregames, and pretty much all over the place. In the era of Internet raps, this was Post’s song that would change his life. Now fast forward to 2019, and White Iverson is almost completely irrelevant in posts discography. Running 3 albums deep and plenty of singles and features in between, post has become a household name.

Much like the evolution of Post’s sound, his appearance and mannerism has matured and changed liked the songs. From slightly tattooed and a little reckless to fully face tatted and soft-spoken, Post has flipped the script on his career and his life since his Soundcloud-White-Iverson days. Highlights include playing Coachella, having chart topping singles, and his sophomore album Beerbongs and Bentleys consistently slapping in my friend circle as well as in my headphones.

Last week, we would receive posts 3rd album, dubbed Hollywood’s Bleeding, a 17 song album that boasts features like Meek Mill, Future, Travis Scott, and Ozzy Osborne just to name a few. The tracks we were teased with leading up to this feature could have maybe given us a clue as to the sound and scheme of his Junior album. The chart-topping track Sunflower had Swae Lee on the first verse and chorus, with Post following up with a sing-songy half rap but not really rap cadence. This song would crush the Hot 100, and probably will turn Hollywood’s Bleeding platinum after the first week. Next, we had Circles, another sing-songy track with Post belting his vocals rather than flexing his rap chops. The third singles is Goodbyes, which again features Post singing but is donned with a classic Thugger feature. With these three tracks, you could have predicted into the future what this album would sound like.

At it’s core, Post Malone’s 3rd album would be deemed pop. In the above photo thanks to @hiphopnumbers , we can clearly see Post has changed his direction and has taken on more of a pop approach to his sound. One of the best arguments against this theory, however, is the illustrious list of A-list rap features that are sprinkled on the album. Rap game veterans like Meek Mill and Future surely certify the tracks as rap/hip-hop, correct?

While Post collects features from raps elitist, he still continues his pop sound. Post maybe spits bars on a handful of tracks, and there are plenty with just him singing to a rap-sounding beat. On top of the pop sound and delivery, this album also sees Post in the middle of a major heartbreak. Most of the lyrics inside curse a woman or muse, and often talk about his heart scarring over from a girl only looking at him for his success and status.

With all this said, I still am really enjoying Hollywood’s Breathing as a breath of fresh air from an artist I have enjoyed listening to for quite some time. Definitely an album that would help someone get through a rough patch of their love life, there are plenty of fun tracks in between with a little bit more upbeat sound and vibe. Standout tracks that I find myself running back the replay button on are Hollywood’s Bleeding, Saint Tropez, Die For Me, Take What You Want, and Goodbyes. With a nice sound to accompany the end of summer and beginning of fall, going all the way into cuffing season and the cold drowsy months of winter. What’s your opinion on the new post project? Yay or nay? Drop a comment or hit my DM with your view!