Best of 2019

I listened to more new music in 2019 than I did the year before, which was quite a step back from previous years. In 2018 I spent more time digging into back catalogs than I did exploring new music, and was still listening to a lot of talk-y podcasts. This year I moved a tape deck to a permanent place in the kitchen, instituted a 'less TV/more records' policy in the livingroom, and thinned my talk-y podcast queue considerably - down to like, just two - which has resulted in more music-listening space on the bike and at work. It's so nice.

I still kept up with as much new punk and hardcore as ever. Punk in 2019 is better than it's ever been. I streamlined my interest in new rap music to a chunk of bangers from trusted sources, rather than trying to take it all in, which is easy for an old person like me that doesn't give a shit about a trap beat anymore and wants nothing to do with sad boy, cloud, or any of that talentless fake shit. I added in more beat tapes, which, oddly enough, given my lifelong love of hip-hop, was never really my thing. It seems that as I crawl deeper and deeper into jazz music, as any old-timer would, my tolerance and appreciation of instrumental music in general has expanded.

I used to spend an insane amount of time writing out blurbs for these and uploading all the album art. People really liked it, and that was cool. But I don't have the time anymore. Sorry.

Anyway, here it is...

Best of 2019 (A to Z)

Abysmalist - Reflections of Horror CS (Caligari)
Alan Braufman & Cooper-Moore - Live at WKCR May 22, 1972 (Control Group)
Apollo Brown - Sincerely, Detriot (Mello Music Group)
Blu & Damu the Fudgemunk - Ground & Water
Chain Cult - Shallow Grave EP (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk)
Condor - Singles 2017-2018 LP (Beach Impediment)
Crimeapple & DJ Skizz – Wet Dirt (Duape)
Cyberplasm - The Psychic Hologram LP (Iron Lung)
D7Y - Self-Titled LP (Iron Lung)
Dare - Welcome to the O.C. CS
Deafkids - Metaprogamacao LP (Neurot)
Diat - Positive Disintegration LP (Iron Lung)
Disturbers - Infidel Producer CS (I Had an Accident)
DJ Nikoless - Hiss-story, vol. 1 CS (Icy Palms)
DJ Raw B & Luke Sick - Born Illness CD (Clean Cut)
Don't Trust a Soul - Demo '19
Dreadeye - The World Has Left Us Behind LP (Iron Lung)
Eddou XL - No Mistakes in Jazz
Foghorn - Demo
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana (Madlib Invazion / ESGN)
Game - No One Wins LP (Beach Impediment)
Gang Starr - One of the Best Yet CD (Gang Starr Enterprises)
G-Pek & Luke Sick - Dankslob II & III CS (Megakut)
Haircut - Sensation 7" (Beach Impediment)
Heterofobia - Queremos Ver El Mundo Arder LP (Drunken Sailor)
Hexenbrett - Erste Beschworung CS (Caligari)
Ill Bill & Stu Bangas - Cannibal Hulk (Uncle Howie)
Immortal Fate – Demos CD (RFL / Nuclear Ass)
Institute - Readjusting the Locks LP (Sacred Bones)
Irreal - Fi Del Mon LP (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk)
Jarada - Ma'agal Sina'a LP (Doomtown)
Jaimie Branch - Fly or Die II: Bird Dogs of Paradise (International Anthem)
Kokoroko - Self-Titled EP (Brownswood)
L.O.T.I.O.N. - World Wide W.E.B. LP (Toxic State)
Larma - Self-Titled LP (Beach Impediment)
Loose Nukes - Behind the Screen 7" (Beach Impediment)
Lugerlex - Monkey Dust CD (Bloody Monk)
Malcria - El Reino De Lo Falso LP (Iron Lung)
Minima – Self-Titled LP (Static Shock)
Mock Execution - Reality Attack 7" (Lengua Armada)
Muro - Ataque Hardcore Punk LP (Beach Impediment)
Nasti - Live at Nasti CS (Iron Lung)
Nosferatu - Solution A LP (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk)
Nihilith / Tentacle Centipede split EP
Nimzo - The Transformation of Things
Nimzo - Waves, Vibes and Frequiencies CS
Nosferatu - Solution A LP (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk)
Obsessio - Self-Titled LP (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk)
Ohyda - Koszmar LP (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk)
On Tilt - The Tiltalation CS (I Had an Accident)
Physique - The Evolution of Combat LP (Distort Reality)
Physique - The Rhythm of Brutality 10" (Distort Reality)
Protocol - Bloodsport CS (Dynastic Yellow Star)
Rakta - Falha Comum LP (Iron Lung)
Rakta & Deafkids - Forma/Sigilo 7" (Nada Nada Discos)
S-Brothers - Back to the Scene of the Blunts CS (Needle to the Groove)
Schoolboy Q - Crash Talk (TDE)
Slant - Vain Attempt 7" (Iron Lung)
Slauson Malone - A Quiet Farwell, 2016-2018
Soga - Demo LP (Iron Lung)
Subversive Rite - Songs for the End Times LP (Bloody Masters)
Tony Molina - Songs from Mateo County LP (Smoking Room)
Unurnment - Spiritual Penury CS (Maggot Stomp)
Vaaska - Inconcentes Condenados 7" (Beach Impediment)
Veins - Self-Titled 7" (Youth Attack)
Wildstyle - Cause 4 a Riot CS (Icy Palms)
Yeulma - Black Beats Bloc-Note CS (Errata C20 Series)

Best of 2018

Best of 2018 (A to Z)

Acid Attack - Self-Titled LP (Radio Raheem) (reissue)
Against - Self-Titled LP (Radio Raheem) (reissue)
Apollo Brown & Joell Ortiz - Mona Lisa (Mello Music Group)
Awon & Phoniks - The Actual Proof (Don't Sleep)
Blood Pressure - Surrounded LP (Beach Impediment)
C.H.E.W. - Feeding Frenzy LP (Iron Lung)
Cankro - Self-Titled 7" (Nada Nada Discos)
Chain Cult - Demo 2018 (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk)
Convenience - Stop Pretending 7" (Iron Lung)
Crimeapple & Big Ghost - Aguardiente (Daupe)
Da Buze Bruvaz - Niggativity (Grilchy Party)
Daniel Son & Futurewave - Pressure Cooker (Self-Released)
Dare - Self-Titled 7" (Reaper)
Daudyflin – Dauþiflin 7" (Iron Lung)
DJ Muggs & Roc Marciano - Kaos (Soul Assassins)
Evidence - Weather or Not (Rhymesayers Ent)
Geld - Perfect Texture LP (Iron Lung)
Geld - Soft Power 7" (Iron Lung)
Healer / Dank Goblins - split 7" (Warthog Speak)
Hellbent - Self-Titled LP (Radio Raheem) (reissue)
Hirs Collective - Friends.Lovers.Favorites LP (Get Better)
Khrysis & Elzhi - Jericho Jackson (Jamla)
Medacium - Decimating Titans CS (Redefining Darkness)
O.C. & PF Cuttin - Opium (PF Cuttin Music)
On Tilt - Drink Floyd CS (Megakut)
Onyx Collective - Lower East Suite Part Three LP (Big Dada)
Padkarosda - Visszatero Remalom LP (Bat Cave Productions)
Physique - Punk Life is Shit LP (Iron Lung)
Preening - Greastra Frisbee 7" (Ever/Never)
Primal Rite - Dirge of Escapism LP (Revelation)
Roht - Iðnsamfélagið Og Framtíð Þess LP (Iron Lung)
Special Interest - Spiraling 12" EP (Raw Sugar)
Stigmatism - Self-Titled 7" (Beach Impediment)
Summers Sons - Undertones EP (Melting Pot Music)
Tony Molina - Kill the Lights (Slumberland)
Violation Wound / Cliterati -split LP (Tank Crimes)
Warthog - Self-Titled 7" (Toxic State)

Best Punk & Hardcore of 2017

Tweet

Pic stolen from Bandcamp

Alright, we know how this goes. These aren't necessarily all of the best punk and hardcore records of 2017, rather some of the best punk and hardcore records that came out in 2017. It's all stuff that was either sent to me for free (which I am continually grateful for) or that I purchased myself. I mean, it's not like I didn't put any work into compiling this. It's not just a master list of everything I listened to this year. I definitely did not include stuff that sucked, like the Career Suicide record, or stuff that I didn't get a chance to listen to, like the newest HIRS record.

This runs alphabetical by band name because it's easy to sort in an Excel spreadsheet, and also because rankings are bullshit. If you really want to know what I think was the absolute best, I'd say it's a tie between Haram, Limp Wrist, and Barcelona, with Daudyflin, Anxiety, and Una Bestia Incontrolable tied for second.

As far as labels go, La Vida Es Un Mus Discos Punk ran away with it yet again, but Static Shock, and Toxic State are worthy contenders. I guess Beach Impediment is worth a mention too.

Seven to 10 songs on a 12" that plays at 45 RPM is still the best format. I never need to see another 7" that costs over five dollars ever again. Just put that shit on a tape already. Props to those that put out nice looking product even though it's not necessary.

This is still work in progress, as I'll come back and add more words from time to time, so check back if words are a thing you care about. If I missed something, hit me up. I welcome the discourse. You can leave a comment if you want, but comments are like, so 2006. Take it to Twitter homie.

-Nathan G. O'Brien

Anarquia Vertical - Sistem Total De Liberacion (La Vida)
Barcelona, Spain
Raw hardcore indebted to the '80s Spanish and Italian style. B-side contains a darkened electronic remix of all the tracks on the A-side.

Anxiety - Wild Life 7" (La Vida)
Glasgow, Scotland
Dystopian, abstract, industrialized anarcho hardcore.

Barcelona -  Un Ulitmo Ultrasonido Nacio Y Murio En Barcelona LP (La Vida)
Barcleona, Spain
Extreme Nihilism.

Cheetah Chrome Motherfuckers - The Furious Era: 1979-1987 2xLP (Area Pirata)
Pisa, Italy
First official reissue of classic long out-of-print (sans bootlegs) material. Killer punk shit that bounces from psychadelic to straight forward and back again.

Clear Focus - Demo cassette / Self-Inflicting Damage cassette (Self-Released)
Buffalo, NY
SXE hardcore. You probably think you know what this sounds like but you'd only be partially correct. Actually, no, you're probably right.

Concealed Blade - Self-Titled LP (Beach Impediment)
Pittsburgh, PA
I wonder if any of these guys have ever been in a knife fight? I mean, I haven't but I'm not in a band called Concealed Blade.

Daudyflin - Ofbeldi LP (Irong Lung)
Iceland
Thankfully I never got into meth. I did it a few times just to like, have the experience or whatever, but it was pretty dumb and I'll definitely never do it again.

Dream Probe - Demo I cassette / Demo II cassette (Prescience Tapes)
Champagne, IL
My kid was tearing around the house the other day and his nose was running so bad that it was pouring into his mouth. All of a sudden he coughed really hard and puked up a bunch of snot. It was super gross.

Eel - Night Parade of 100 Demons LP (Beach Impediment)
Pittsburgh, PA
"Noise not music" is funny thing that people say because they think it makes them seem cool.

Fence Cutter - Demo cassette (Psychotic Break)
Perth Amboy, NJ
There's never been a better album cover nor will there ever be again.

Facial - Facade LP (Chain Letter)
Los Angeles, CA
Once upon a time there was a thing called the 1990s. It was pretty cool.

Fried Egg - Back and Forth 7" (Beach Impediment)
Richmond, VA
I had one of those “naked egg tacos” from Taco Bell, where they employ innovative techniques like using a fried egg as taco shell. Just kidding, that’s a total lie. I haven’t had anything from Taco Bell since what is commonly referred to by those in attendance as “The Black Tar Incident” back in ‘04.

Full Contact - Demo cassette (Self-Released)
Oakland, CA

FYPM - Dumbed Down LP (Tankcrimes)
Cleveland, OH

Glue - Self-Titled LP (La Vida)
Austin, TX

Gutter Knife -Demo cassette (Self-Released)
Brighton, UK

Haram - When You Have Won, You Have Lost LP (Toxic State)
New York, NY

HVAC - Mentality cassette (Self-Released)
New York, NY
When my kid was a baby I never would have said what I'm about to say. In fact, I'd pray for the exact opposite, yet here I am saying it now: Please don't stop screaming. Please don't ever stop screaming.

Impalers - Cellar Dweller LP (Static Shock)
Austin, TX

Institute - Insubordination LP (Sacred Bones)
Austin, TX

Katastrof - Self-Titled 7" (Beach Impediment)
Sweden
Drop the needle on this one and let the blaze burn through your cranium like a Dinobots clear cutter parting a forest of sequoias for Kang the Conqueror to come eat your babies.

Krimewatch - Self-Titled 7" (Static Shock)
New York, NY
Spelling things wrong is fun. Using a K for a C, clever. I mean, I use a Z for an S, so who am I to complain?

Life's Blood - Hardcore A.D. 1988 LP (Prank)
New York, NY
Legendary short-lived band. Collects 27 songs from their Defiance EP, demo tape, compilation tracks, splits, WFMU and WNYU recordings, and live tracks.

Limp Wrist - Facades LP (La Vida)
Chicago, IL
Don't be surprised if every band next year sounds like side B of this record.

Long Knife - Sewers of Babylon 7" (Beach Impediment)
Portland, OR
Not much new here in terms of growth, but they’ve gotten a little creative. I mean, inasmuch as adding organ to a song can be considered creative. I normally would turn my nose up at this sort of thing, but it’s not as disruptive to the overall sound as it often is when bands think they’re being cool.

Milk Music - Mystic 100s LP (Dom Amercia)
Olympia, WA
Fuzzed-out vibes that work well alongside the morning cup of coffee, the sunny bike ride to work, the happy hour beers, the party in the park, and the bike ride back home down darkened streets. Or ya'know, whatever you do with your day.

Mutual Jerk - Self-Titled 7" (State Laughter)
Atlanta, GA
Do you know how much a plane ticket to Atlanta from Minneapolis is in March? Too much. That's how much.

Nosebleed - Self-Titled 7" (Grave Mistake)
Richmond, VA

Pinkgrip - Demo cassette (Far So Far)
London, UK

Pissed Jeans - Why Love Now LP (Sub Pop)
Allentown, PA
Take it from me, it's weird being a narcissist that also hates himself. Being a Pissed Jeans fan has both helped and made it worse. Thanks for everything/nothing, assholes.

Priests - Nothing Feels Natural LP (Sister Polygon)
Washington, D.C.
Priests somehow manage to offer an escape from this messed-up world by making the listener revel in it. That's called punk, I think.

Pure Mania - Cerebros Punk LP (Sabotage)
Vancouver / Mexico City
Punk walked through miles of broken glass and vomit to get to post-punk.

Rabid Minds - Demo cassette (Layin' Waste)
NYC/Bay Area
At some point demo tapes just became the way a hardcore record should sound. I'm not sure but I might be the one that made this rule up. Rules usually suck, but in this case it's hard to argue the opposite.

Rakta - Oculto Pelos Seres 7" (La Vida)
Brazil
Saw them at What We Like Fest and it was like... I don't know, an experience.

Rash / C.H.E.W. - Split 7" (Slugsalt)
Chicago, IL

Rata Negra - Oido Absoluto LP (La Vida)
Madrid, Spain
If you had told me this was some recently excavated ‘80s gem getting the reissue treatment I’d have no reason not to believe you. It's not though.

Rixe - Bapteme Du Feu 7" (La Vida)
France
“Paris-Est” is a standout track. It starts off with a killer marching-style drum beat, which leads way to a spiking onslaught of hoarse precision. And the sprinkle on top is the cool echo effect on the vocals at the end of the chorus. Whether Rixe have some tricks up the sleeves of their pressed Ben Shermans, remains to be seen. But there’s a strong hint they do.

S.H.I.T. - i7" (La Vida)
Toronto
The aura of leather jacket-clad arrogance that I’ve always appreciated is still intact, but they’ve evolved a bit.Musicality-wise, it’s still that buzzing, noisy crux that we go gaga for but with a little wiggle room for each player to flex their chops.

Sarcasm - Malarial Bog 7" (Static Shock)
London, UK
Angular post punk led by skeletal guitars and a locked in rhythm section.

Sievehead - Worthless Soul LP (Static Shock)
London, UK

Slurm - Self-Titled (Self-Released)

GA, Spain

Straightjacket Nation - Self-Titled LP (La Vida)
Australia
Intimidating and foul, ridden with feedback, lurching and slamming, screeching and boiling over.

Una Bestia Incontrolable - Metaforfosi LP (La Vida)
Barcelona, Spain

Upside - Nati Per Soffrire 7" (No Good)
Italy
Reissue from 1983. Tuff, dark, and tossed with a touch of Oi! and post-punk.

The Best Hip-Hop of 2016

Timeless Truth pic stolen from www.timelesstruthnyc.com

Tweet
When I sat down to write this intro I started thinking about what I was going to say, and I was like, "hold up, haven't I written basically the same thing every year?" The answer is yes. So this year I'm just going to copy and paste last year's intro because aint nothin' changed ya'll...

I'm not going to lie, when it comes to rap music, I'm getting old. Don't get me wrong, I'm not stuck in the past—I keep up on the new shit—but variance-wise, I'm not exactly trying to expand my horizons anymore. I prefer the type of rap that doesn't stray far from the original blueprint; birthed in the late '70s, developed throughout the '80s, and damn-near perfected in the '90s. That is: dope beats, hard rhymes, and cuts. I've said it before and I'll say it again: call me a grumpy curmudgeon if you must, but do so knowing that are very few things that I'm as passionate about as rap music. My approach to hip-hop is the same as that of a big man holding down the lane on a basketball court: Don't Bring That Weak Shit In Here. So, with that, here's my favorite rap music from the past 12 months.

Not a numerical list, rather alphabetical. Rankings are bullshit. Fight with me about it on Twitter.
-Nathan G. O'Brien

A Tribe Called Quest - We Got it From Here… Thank You 4 Your Service (Epic)
Yo, this is so ill I might even go back and listen to The Love Movement again. Ha, naw man, I won't be doing that anytime soon. But holy shit, how great is this record? I like to joke around a lot but on the inside I'm an emotional dude with a lot of feelings, and this one brings tears to my eyes every single time I listen to it. I took my son to the Electric Fetus the day this came out on CD. Nearly everyone in the store—even like, 60-year-old women—had a copy in their hands; a testament to Tribe's legacy as a brand you can trust. We put it on in the car and drove around the whole city listening to it in entirety. And let me tell you, the tears were rollin'. The first track "The Space Program" is classic Tribe, and brings back a ton of memories. (I saw them three times back in the day: on Lollapalooza, at Smokin' Grooves, and opening for the Beasties on the Hello Nasty tour. In addition, they were the background music during some key moments in my history. I've too many Tribe-soundtracked memories to list here.) Even though it's Phife's versus that I love the most on here, I like how obvious it is that Q-Tip orchestrated the whole thing. Word has it he was like, "Yo, if we're going to do this record, you're all coming to my place in Jersey and we're doing it together." So they were all in one place, rather than Dropboxing rhymes to each other as is all to common these days. It's one of the most cohesive rap records to drop in a long while. And, yo, did you catch that Prince-type ish Tip does on "Solid Wall of Sound?" I don't normally fucks with singing in my rap music but that's dope.

Bloody Monk Consortium - The Awakening (Self-Released)
Luke Sick hipped me to these cats. This is monster guerrilla-style rap out of San Jose that's (sort of) shrouded in (a bit of) mystery (for me personally). (Basically, I've held off on learning too much about them because I like vibe I get and I don't want anything ruining that.) Labal-S and Leeroy Destroy are the only two emcees but they rap in way that brings to mind larger crew classics like the Boot Camp Click or Da Lench Mob. Production comes from a handful of dudes, but there's continuity in it in that they all seem dedicated to hard-ass drums. It's on that take-no-prisoners cipher tip. I just wanna rock baggy sweats and bucket hats and drive around in a Jeep, bumping this on cassette, while smoking Dutch Masters like it's '95 up in this bitch.

Czarface - A Fistful of Peril (Silver Age)
When these guys dropped their first album back in 2013 I hadn't really been feeling 7L & Esoteric in a long time, but my curiosity was piqued by the comic book imagery, the promise of pro-wrestling references, and interest in new Inspectah Deck material. Over the course of three raw-as-fuck boom-bap albums they've turned me into a believer. The drums are hard and the sub is deep; a ginormous sound complimented by dexterous emceeing and turntablism.

D.I.T.C. - D.I.T.C. Studios (Self-Released)
When I was a kid Diggin' In The Crates always seemed elusive to me. I mean, yeah, production-wise they were responsible for a ton of the stuff I was listening to. I was always cognizant of the name, but also kind of confused as to who they were. Information just wasn't as available as it is now. We had to rely on magazines like Rap Pages or The Source and catching videos on Yo! MTV Raps. Even then, at least for a kid growing up in the woods, a crew like D.I.T.C. wasn't as readily available for consumption as the bigger names. So I had to catch up on stuff like Word... Life, Funky Technician, Runaway Slave, and Stunts, Blunts, and Hip-Hop after the fact. These days I'm a full-fledged D.I.T.C. nerd, so when this new crew album dropped I was all over it.

D.I.T.C. - Sessions (Self-Released)
See above, except this one is better.

Discourse - Megalomaniac (Crate Cartel)
As a respected rap music opinionator, my inbox is overrun with files of terrible hip-hop that get skimmed and deleted in a matter of minutes. Likewise my mailbox often exists solely as layover station for CD-Rs awaiting their rightful place in the garbage can. (Pro tip: send cassettes if you want to get noticed. Seriously, even if you just dub your CD-R onto cassette and fold the insert enough to fit inside a tape case you're greatly increasing your chances.) But every so often something like this lands on my desk that makes it all worthwhile. Discourse is a producer/deejay from Australia that makes music heavily influenced by the '90s East Coast sound. This is his debut album. As someone who looks back fondly on the days of deejay mixed tapes, I'm a sucker for a good producer album like this. And this one is exceptionally cool due to his eclectic selection of emcees. You'll find Tragedy Khadafi, Starvin B, and AG alongside some international flavor from the likes of Lazy Grey, Ramson Badbonez, and Raven.

DJ Skizz - Cruise Control (Different Worlds)
Skizz is a producer and turntablist known for his work behind the boards of heavyweights like Lil' Fame, Havoc, and Sean Price. Most recently he's been working as Your Old Droog's producer and tour deejay. Even though he's been in the game for nearly 15 years this is only his second album. Ya'll know I go bananas for that grimy shit. Which is why I almost didn't go for this when it came out, because the stupid cover art kept throwing me off. But I eventually went in on it based off the strength of his first album, B.Q.E. Boom-bap is the name of the game here. Evidence, Roc Marciano, Rapper Noyd, and Hus Kingpin take turns on the mic, as do many others.

Gensu Dean & Denmark Vessey - Whole Food (Mello Music Group)
Gensu's production—sometimes simplistic, sometimes soulful—set the mood as Vessey’s lyricism and off-kilter flow keep's you engaged throughout the entire album. I've seen a lot of early morning bike commutes with this one in the earbuds.

Ill Bill - Septagram (Uncle Howie)
Nearly 15 years have passed since The Future Is Now, the debut album by Non Phixion, which featured a grip of hip-hop’s most sought-after producers and some menacing and poignant lyricism, and the vehicle that placed Ill Bill immediately into the annals of underground hip-hop greatness. Ill Bill is back once more with the wallop and the score. Not as interpersonal as 2013's The Grimy Awards, but just as forceful and mean-mugged as ever. And this time Non Phixion compatriot Goretex is back in the fold.

Meyhem Lauren - Piatto D'Oro (mixtape)
This was a free download that preceded an "album" or whatever. I didn't really fuck with Precious Metals because it was was kinda wack, and then because it seemingly vanished. (Perhaps Meyhem realized he already put out his best stuff this year and pulled it back. Or maybe he wanted to rethink those Harry Fraud beats, I don't know.) But that doesn't matter because Piatto D'Oro is the superior product.

Planet Asia & DJ Concept - Seventy Nine (Coalmine)
I haven't checked in with Planet Asia since 2013 when he did the Durag Dynasty album and that dope Abrasions joint with Gensu Dean. So when I saw this was on Coalmine, I knew it would be worth my time 'cause they don't put out wack shit. (Do ya'll fuck with Coalmine records? If not, you should.) Concept's beats remind me of Apollo Brown, who reminds me of Pete Rock, and that's never a bad thing. Yo, there's an audio sample of a police shooting on here that's straight-up heartbreaking though. But if you like rap music that places emphasis on mic prowess rather than personality and marketability you'll love this.

Schoolboy Q - Blank Face (Top Dawg)
Yo, Schoolboy Q is T.D.E. I mean, let's not even fuck around here, Kendrick sucks now (he's at his best when he's guesting on other people's tracks) and like, does anybody know who else is even in the crew? What's weird is one of the things I always hated about 2Pac is the same thing I love about Schoolboy Q: he's a gangster with feelings.

Skepta - Konnichiwa (Boy Better Know)
I don't mess with grime as much as I did back in like, '03. But this Skepta joint is fresh.

Smoke DZA & Pete Rock - Don't Smoke Rock (Babygrande)
I haven't checked for Smoke DZA in a few years but when you put Pete Rock behind the boards you've got my attention.

Timeless Truth - Cold Wave (Different Worlds)
This is on that '90s Polo rugby shirts and goose down jackets tip. Gear up for icy expedition through five boroughs boom-bap nostalgia. One of my favorite rap groups in the last handful of years.

Warpath - Pure Butter (Daily Concept)
One of my favorite things about rap music is discovering new shit that sounds exactly like the old shit.