Thoughts On: Cherry Bomb

Recommended Listening: Find your wings, 2seater, Smuckers

Welcome back to Thoughts On, I just survived one of the busiest weeks of my junior year and now have ample time to waste writing a review that no one will read. This week I will be reviewing the controversial album 'Cherry Bomb' by the equally controversial head of the Odd Future rap collective, Tyler, The Creator. Announced just about two weeks and released on the 13^th this album came out of nowhere, much like the sudden release of follow OF member Earl Sweatshirt's album. Upon release this album was immediately met with people arguing the difference between artistic integrity and stupid experimentation. For context the way that this album is mixed is...in a positive light interesting, and in a negative light just downright terrible. The vocals are often mixed so that they lie under the instrumentals, making them hard to decipher in the worst cases but also emphasizing the musical aspect of this album. I will get more into this when I talk about the actual songs but this highlights an excellent dilemma in being a Hip-Hop fan, or really a music fan in general. How far to you follow your favorite artists as they evolve and change their styles. When you have rappers like Childish Gambino and Kendrick Lamar who try and experiment and make sure their albums sound very different compared to maybe a Drake who more or less stays the same, which do you prefer? Do you stick with your artists through and through or does a change in style throw you off if done in a way you don't like? I believe Tyler was trying to establish a new persona through this LP and in the process stirred up the game once again.

So who is Tyler, The Creator? Well this now 24-year old man started out 6 years ago with the release of the mixtape 'Bastard'. In this mixtape the then teenage Tyler gave us dark fictional stories involving rape, being fatherless, depression, and murder all to wavy production and unique chord usage. While most of his hype came from the later release of his debut album 'Goblin' which contained the hit song 'Yonkers', It was his first mixtape that drew me in. While simultaneously founding a Hip-Hop group and marketing youth not just as state of mind but as a lifestyle, Tyler became the flagship of a weird rapper. Never really fitting into one category his music always contained layered messages often told through alternative personas he created for himself (Wolf Haley, Sam, Tron Cat, etc.), and despite the backlash he often got for using homophobic slurs or talking about killing Bruno Mars (actually a thing that happens in 'Goblin') he always made it known that he likes to use fiction in his music and should not be taken to seriously. In terms of his more violent music he often gets compared to Eminem, even though in terms of rap style and ability the two are not comparable. So after the release of first first mixtape which was followed up by his debut album that dove deeper into his alternative personalities (having entire songs dedicated to them and citing how they influence Tyler to do things he doesn't want to do) and the effect of fame on his young self, he released the album 'Wolf' to much success. Here he completes what become know as his own personal trilogy of musical projects, of which Wolf may actually be a prequel in the story that the trilogy forms (for more read HERE). With three major projects under his belt Tyler carved out his own niche of violent storytelling and depressing revelations, securing his place as one of the most unique voices in Hip-Hop.

So what does the album sound like? Well in an interview the was circulating before the release of the album Tyler stated that he was finally getting a chance to make music that he wanted to make, stating the influence of Death Grips (a hardcore experimental Hip-Hop group) and N.E.R.D. This is apparent from the jump with the powerhouse opening of 'Deathcamp', where he specifically cites that the album 'In Search Of...' by N.E.R.D inspires him more than 'Illmatic' by Nas (an album widely considered to be one of the best Hip-Hop albums ever made). On this track we get a rebellious Tyler spitting over distorted guitar riffs and high pitched piano chords. This already creates a stark contrast between this album and all of Tyler's previous works. Usually he starts of with and intro that is musically simple or smooth and gradually builds either lyrically or in terms of what more is added to the instrumental. For this intro he hits the ground running to make a statement about where he is going and what he plans to do. The track 'Buffalo' is bass driven and boom bap driven song where Tyler vents pretty much all of his frustrations from the past few years, including the pressure he feels due to this album and the time he was arrested in Austin for having a show so wild it apparently caused a riot. Eventually the track become is interrupted with chords from a synthesizer that carry a dark tone while Tyler is told by a man to “not f*ck” this up” because of all the kids he now has influence over. From tracks like 'Colossus' on his previous album we can already see that having such a large fan base weighs on Tyler in someway and he on this track he seems to liken himself to a buffalo, a dying breed. He asks if all the leaders in the room could stand up before remarking that there are never any hands in the air. In the next track 'Pilot' Tyler starts to really show off his skills as a producer, as this song starts off simple with tom-tom drum and cowbell beat before more dark and heavy chords come in to distort the sound and blow out the vocals. Again we can here the synth chords coming in (as they are part of Tyler's signature style) in a frantic 16^th note pattern before resolving to a more pleasant sound. Lyrically this song is about Tyler's desire to fly away and be the pilot of his own destiny. The hook of this song is actually quite beautiful with Tyler stating that he lives in first class but feels like coach, like no matter how much he does he may be stuck in a box that he has created for himself through his previous music.

'Findyour wings', one of the best cuts on the album, is a straight jazz song. With wavy chords and a lounge like vibraphone playing in the background we get to here Tyler experimenting with music in an honest way. With trumpet flourish and bass riffs that evolve into a basic Hip-Hop drum pattern that comes in this song reminds of music I used to hear on KBLX as a kid. Smooth Jazz and R&B inspired music that carries the message of finding what makes you special. This song goes into what is both my least favorite and also best executed song on the album which also happens to be the title track, 'Cherry Bomb'. This song starts with a guitar simple lick before erupting into a much of static noise covering up Tyler's lyrics and chords playing in the background. It actually sounds like he had a complete song, picked one part of the instrumental, and just cranked it up to eleven. The distortion on this track is so immense that you cannot even make out what Tyler is saying most of the sound. On Twitter the rapper told the world that this is exactly what he wanted, and the hook of “Tie the knot, kick the chair, strangled in the air, cherry bomb” was the only part he really wanted to be heard. In this array of noise and talk of death it seems like Tyler is making a song that represents every aspect of his artistry at the same time, which results in this cluster of terrible noise and beautiful music for the last minute or so of the song. Following that experience comes the much smoother 'Blowmyload', which is the most Tyler-like track that has been on the album thus far, with the 80's synth chords and melodic backing vocals playing over Tyler's slow and deliberate rapping style that is lyrically about a girl. We get a change in pace halfway through before a voice announces that what we just heard was a new song from an upcoming film whose name is censored during the song. The voice is a DJ on Golf radio (a name and idea commonly associated with Tyler and Odd Future). This transitions perfectly into the relaxed jam '2Seater', a simple song with an instrumental made up of 2 chords and drums with blaring sythns, bass riffs, and even a saxophone solo that setup up the pace for Tyler's lyrical content involve his car and a girl he wants in it. About halfway the song changes to Tyler (whose voice is pitched higher) sings about how he loves the way a certain girls hair blows in the wind. This song is a great look into what this man is capable of as a song maker, creating a dreamy yet relatable track that after a funny interlude, goes into what is the only banger on this album. In 'The Brownstains' Tyler opens up with the statement that all common bling-era rap tropes don't really fly with him and as the beat drops and the song becomes infused with sirens and distorted drums we get to hear Tyler spit more than he does anywhere else on this album. We even get a feature from ScHoolboy Q in a manner that reminds me of this pairs collaboration on Q's 2014 album 'Oxymoron'.

The next track 'FuckingYoung/Perfect' continues the trend of the 10^th track on a Tyler album being a double song. This beautiful R&B ballad about Tyler falling in love with a girl that is 6-years younger than him, complete with a hook about police arresting him for going after an underage girl and his conflicting feelings between his morals and desires. In the second half the beautiful voice of Kali Uchis comes in and this ballad turns into a duet with the musical accompaniment similar to a Mary J. Blige song. While Kali tries to convince Tyler they are meant to be Tyler just proclaims she is still too young. In the most high profile track 'Smuckers' which surprisingly has features from Kanye and Lil Wanye, we get an anthem about black excellence set a soulful instrumental sampled from the 70's song 'Metropolis Notte'. This song reminds me of the intro to an old superhero show with three of the biggest names in rap laying bars on a cold beat. The album ends on another smooth track about escape titled 'Okaga, CA', we get wavy guitars and bass riffs layered with slow moving sythn chords as Tyler tells the tale of a girl he is with and great lifestyle he has going on. He wants to escape with this girl and continue to stay in the high that they are currently in. When Female vocalist Alice Smith comes and proclaims she wants to be taken away the album seems to be coming to an end. However in the last few seconds you hear Tyler telling someone to shush as a movie is about to start. A gorgeous ending that ties together the conceptual theme of escape.

This album is an experiment in freedom, through this album there were no mentions of the characters that Tyler has become famous for portraying, and new songs themed around therapy or his missing father. It seems that Tyler wanted to escape his past and make something that he enjoyed making, much to the dismay of a lot of people. Die hard fans of Hip-Hop may be thrown off by the intentionally bad mixing, which actually gets better after the title track, while Tyler fans will praise his genius and willingness to take risks. I respect Tyler's decision to branch out and through his actions he has created what is probable one of my favorite projects of the year so far, an album about finding confidence and not letting your past tie you down. Even to those who may be put off by Tyler's reputation, I urge you to listen to this album and judge for yourself if this rapper is a genius or just crazy. If you can: LISTEN SOON to this album a traverse the minds of one of the oddest minds in rap.

Guest Thoughts On: Kintsugi

                                               

Death Cab for Cutie’s eighth album Kintsugi is largely characterized by one period in front man Ben Gibbard’s life: life after his divorce. Their last project, Codes and Keys, released in spring 2011, was very much reflective of Gibbard’s marriage to Zooey Deschanel and was really the first remotely positive album to come from this otherwise somber indie band. The album also marked a time that, for all of the band members, family became a very significant locus and inspiration. Gibbard explained in an interview with NPR that his process of writing an album’s lyrical content echoes the life happening around him, stating, with regard to Keys specifically, “I would be remiss if I tried to continue writing in a solely melancholic voice, given the fact that now I’m a married man.” With that in mind, it becomes fairly easy to place this new body of work in context. After two years of marriage and two on his own following the couple’s 2012 split, Gibbard is once again back to delivering the melancholic ballads that Death Cab listeners have come to expect from the group’s previous work.

Without even getting into the music, we’re given a couple stylistic nods as to what this album is covering. The title of the album comes from the Japanese art form of repairing broken pottery with a kind of sealing wax to fill in the cracks. The lacquer is ordinarily mixed with powdered gold or silver and, much like Gibbard is attempting to convey with this album, is meant to display the breakage as a point of pride, rather than trying to act as if the damage had never been done to begin with; the cracks are representative of an object’s history and what it has had to endure in the course of its life. This concept is even mirrored in the album’s artwork: a distorted black and white-gray zigzag pattern surrounded by a simple white border and the name of the album in small, gold font. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that the distortion is the effect of separating a photograph into six distinct rectangular segments with the distorted streaks being composed of the corresponding shade of gray or black that stitch the photo together, like a lacquer holding together shards of pottery.

Although there is certainly a gloominess to Kintsugi, it isn’t entirely lacking in its positivity. The album opens with the start of Ben’s journey since losing love. “No Room in Frame” serves as the first reflective track and seems to be written from the perspective of a Ben who has had time to find closure. The song opens with the sounds of some slight synth in the background which leads into the light plucks of a rhythm guitar and the first two lines:

“I don’t know where to begin

There’s too many things that I cannot remember.”

As he looks back on his collapsed love, Ben realizes it’s difficult at this time because he has managed to distance himself from the pain. The slow plucking gradually builds to a strum with a soft drum backing. Once the song reaches its second chorus, it really kicks into gear with a heavier emphasis on the rhythm and bass and proceeds as such until Ben reaches his closing couplet:

“And I guess it’s not a failure we could help

And we’ll both go on to get lonely with someone else.”

“No Room in Frame” has the sound of a classic Death Cab album in the best possible way. It serves to remind returning listeners that the group hasn't lost their sense of self, even after seventeen years, while also introducing new listeners to the best of what Death Cab has, can, and continues to offer.

“Black Sun” follows “No Room in Frame” and is more in the style one would expect from a painful break-up ballad. Sonically, “Black Sun” is reminiscent of the style of tracks from the 2008 album Narrow Stairs. The song uses a smooth bassline and harsh electric guitar over a light snare and kick that may remind Death Cab fans of tracks like “Bixby Canyon Bridge”, the massively popular “I Will Possess Your Heart”, and even “Pity and Fear.” It feels safe to say that once “No Room in Frame” ends and “Black Sun” begins, the listener is experiencing Ben’s thoughts during or shortly following his divorce.

The next three songs, “The Ghosts of Beverly Drive”, “Little Wanderer”, and “You’ve Haunted Me All My Life”, are our first real glimpses of something tonally different in Kintsugi. This isn’t to say that these songs are revolutionary by any means, but Death Cab takes elements from their previous work and reconfigures them to make something that sounds fairly new for the group. Death Cab has covered feeling lost and uncertain about the future, but ordinarily these ideas are tackled with stronger feelings of melancholy and morose lyricism. Instead, what we get is a contemplative approach on such negative feelings. Even “You’ve Haunted Me All My Life”, although clearly a lament, carries some vague sense of Ben acknowledging and accepting his situation. Instead of decaying in the face of an emotionally trying time, Gibbard’s positive reflections shine through, despite these songs being riddled with thoughts of personal insecurity, possibly unrequited love, and obvious feelings of being haunted by someone lost to him.

The middle of the album takes a confusing turn for the strange. “Hold No Guns” bears an air of defeatism, even more so than “Black Sun”. After three captivating tracks of relative positive vibes, we get a track of Ben almost pleading for peace. He asks “My love, why do you run? My hands hold no guns.” as if the previous tracks, in which he accepts that his love has gone, hadn’t taken place at all and he is back in the mires of his love-born depression. Whether this is simply a lapse in his optimism and a resurgence of negativity is unclear; it could also just be that there is no narrative track to this album at all. Additionally, “Hold No Guns” is followed by “Everything’s a Ceiling”, which only serves to emphasize his confusion about moving on with life with continued wails of “What am I supposed to do?” These two songs really divide the album and the transition from one segment to another is a little jarring, honestly.

After this weird wedge of wallowing, we get back on track with Ben’s emotional recovery and are presented with some refreshing pop positivity. Musically, these tracks are less interesting than their predecessors, but lyrically they they revert to something unexpected at this stage in the album. “Good Help (Is So Hard to Find)” carries a bit of a haughty feeling, with the lyrics implying that Ben feels as if he won’t be so easily replaced. “El Dorado” extends this feeling of superiority with spacey, hollow-sounding chants about wanting to feel excited for his lover’s achievements but ultimately being unable to do so. With “Ingénue”, we once again have Ben actively talking down to someone, accusing them of only being a “framed like a cartoon” when really they want to be taken more seriously, but not garnering the respect they crave; he has clearly managed to distance himself from this person by realizing that their two-dimensional personality just doesn’t cut it for him. These three tracks are the rebound that we’ve been waiting to see that lead us to the Ben that speaks to us from “No Room in Frame”.

The album concludes with “Binary Sea” and brings back, what is in my opinion, the best kind of Death Cab sound. It’s the kind of song you can lie in the dark listening to and melt away into the silence; the kind of song you put on a playlist of late night driving music if you’re not quite tired and have some lingering thoughts you just want to get away from. “Binary Sea” brings us back to the present Ben Gibbard from the beginning of the album as he looks back on his journey toward recovery and self-reclamation. Like a broken urn given a second chance by becoming greater than the sum of its cracks and deformations, Ben narrativises his struggles through Kintsugi and proves that heartbreak only brings out some of the best in Death Cab for Cutie’s songwriting and performance. While Kintsugi isn’t my favorite album of theirs, I do feel like the crisp production and alterations to traditional arrangements allowed the band to simultaneously return to form and show off some of the great things a group can do with almost two decades of experience and evolution under their belts.

And in keeping with Zeke’s album review style, I’m going to suggest you either Listen Soon or Save It. If you’re already (a) an established Death Cab fan (in which case, why the hell are reading this, just go listen to it) or (b) generally a fan of acoustic, indie rock, then refer to the former. If this would be your first time listening to Death Cab for Cutie and are a little less unsure of your opinion on this particular genre, refer to the latter because I definitely feel like this album deserves a fair shake and a thorough listen, whatever that may mean to you. Big thanks to Zeke for giving me a chance to speak my mind by reviewing one of my favorite bands. Happy listening.

Trying not to give up

I am writing this more as letter to myself than as an actual blog post. It is only Wednesday and yet somehow this has been one of the worst weeks of college so far. It is not so much that something so irreversible has happened but rather I have just been reminded of my own inability to feel productive or useful. I remember sophomore year I thought about dropping out, the rules and restrictions of college no longer appealed to me and I was ready to just give up. Dominoes kept knocking more and more dominoes and eventually I just end up sprawled out on the floor dazed and confused by the world around me. I have a lot of ambition, but that does not really account to much when you can't get out of bed or muster the energy to write a poet or make a dance. Three years I have been doing this routine and I just cannot see myself making it thorough a fourth. But of course that is why I am writing this. My heart on a page I really want to make it in life, I want to see and do and be something. In these times when I hate myself and the world most the only way I know how to cope is to be honest. I mean I also cope by shaking and holing up in my room until hunger forces me to leave but that doesn't translate very well to a blog post.

I had lunch with my friend Shakti today. She remains of one the realest people I know and despite the fact that we are both really too busy to hang out our conversations are always interesting. To put it simply I made a huge mistake in one of my classes and my fail as a result, keep in mind that I don't fail classes, and she was giving me advice on how to proceed. After about 20 min she realized that I was too stubborn to drop the class and upon asking me about things related to the future I just looked at her with glazed over eyes and replied, “it's fine”. Keep in mind I was not trying to be rude to one of my closest friends its just that lately I have been on a sort of mission to rebuild myself. I want to become stronger and more capable, but to do this I have been deluding myself into thinking that everything will work out in the end. Basing my future around my own confidence is a terrible idea. I might fail a class here, I am probably not going to get into any grad school I apply to, my scattered course load consisting of psychology, dance, music, and religion may very well lead to my downfall. All this time I have simply been doing what I want and not really paying attention to what I may need in the real world. I don't map out classes in advance or care about credits, I just do what interests me, and now I am starting to second guess myself. My only saving grace to combat that train of thought is to go back to my original line of thinking that what I do HAS to work out for me. My future is entirely dependent on making something people care about consistently and would be willing to pay to see (music, dance ,poetry, whatever) and that is the only path I know how to walk. I don't care enough about careers to major in one, and if I crash and burn it will be because I failed. Simple as that.

In addition to my insane future choices I also cannot afford this school. Semester in and semester out I see my mom breaking her back to keep my here and every time it makes me question why I am here. Yes yes college is the golden age of opportunity yada yada but is it worth the stress I put on my family? The older I get the more I see my mother as a person and less as just my mother, she is only human. She is a fantastic human and one of my favorite humans, but that does not change the fact that she is one person. I want to tell her to stop, stop paying so much for a son who could not ever hope to repay you in the future. Stop fueling this crazy desire that I could somehow be relevant as a creator or as an inspiration. Stop giving away pieces of your life so that my life benefits. If I were a good son I would drop out, or transfer to a school that cost less, but I am not that. I attend this school day after day knowing the in's and out's of my family's situations and still have yet to muster the courage to say, “I will be fine with or without this school, so keep your money mom”. I see these people more well of than I flaunting things I know they did not buy themselves and just wish that I could do the opposite. I want to give back to my mom, to buy the house we live in so she can just relax. I want her to know that everything she has ever done for me will be paid back tenfold and that as I write these poems and perfect the art of movement I am constantly thinking of how she inspires me. My grandma got sick over winter break, so my mom's mom is now in a less than ideal place, which hurts me even more. My mom never asked for a depressed child or a child who picks art over practicality and as hard as I work it never feels like enough.

I want to give up more than I care to admit, I want to stop trying and curl up in a ball and just stay there. The world is scary, the world is cruel, the world is uncertain. In the same vein, however, the world is art, and Shakti, and my mom. All these things I cherish don't just inspire me but they literally keep me afloat. On some wall for some event here at the UR that was meant to push school love I wrote the phrase “The dance program here literally saved my life”. At the time the wall was full of all the I love my school because generic blank reasons that you could think of and I just wanted to be honest. I don't love this school because of its food or its location or reputation. I don't try hard because I want to get a job or have a family one day. This school has yet to let me give up, no matter how hard I have fallen or how sad I get I can never bring myself to stop. Something always comes up to stop my from jumping off the cliff and that is worth everything. I am lucky to even be where I am now, because given certain circumstances I know that I may not have even made it this far (interpret that as you will). I do not try and live in some fantasy world, I know that I need more than just a good work ethic to survive; I will need a bit or luck and a lot of support. I don't care about changing the world anymore, I want to make through this year and start planning for the next. I do not want to give up. Even when my depression hits the max or I can't stand people or when I can hear the exhaustion in my mothers voice I need to stay on my game...because honestly this dream and this work ethic are all I have.

Thoughts On: Mr. Wonderful

Recommended Listing: Terry, Baby Blue, Easy Rider

Welcome back to Thoughts On, your look behind the curtain at my degrading sanity. This week I will be talking about Action Bronson's latest album 'Mr. Wonderful', a fun musical project the demonstrates the flexibility of Hip-Hop without necessarily changing the game. I actually got into Bronson because I stumbled upon an interview with him on Hot 97 due to a friend and I found him hilarious. Fast forward to me listening to all his major cuts and I think Bronson is one of the best rap personalities in the game right now. He isn't flashy and gaudy like a lot of artists stuck in the bling era of rap,but rather he has a personality that suits his fantasy style lyrics and make for great entertainment in music. Bronson had a rough time because his album was scheduled to drop the same day as Kendrick Lamars as well as Earl Sweatshirt, but even competing with some rap favorites he was still about to peak at #7 on the Billboard 200 and hold his own with his first major album in years.

So who is this Action Bronson? Well Arian Arslani is a 300lb rapper from Queens, New York who made a splash in the game after the release of his first album 'Dr.Lecter' that came out after he injured his leg and could no longer hold his position as a gourmet chef. Yes you read right, before becoming one of the underdogs of Hip-Hop Bronson was a well respected chef in New York City. Word soon spread of this large ginger rapper who had as good taste in food as he does in music. However it was not just his appearance that got him the spotlight, it was also his rapping ability and taste in music. Bronson's lyrics often involve a combination of food metaphors, sexual encounters, and fantastic tall tales told though the lens of a the most interesting man in the world. He is clearly a product of his city because his voices and delivery sounds similar to Ghostface Killah, which goes surprisingly well with his personality.After the release of follow up mixtapes and hies critically acclaimed 'Rare Chandeliers' collaboration with producer The Alchemist (an in-house producer for Eminem), Bronson became a larger than life figure in rap. This is not to say that he is one of best in the game or now suddenly world famous, but rather through his music and through interviews he gives off the aura of a hilarious man who has genuinely seen it all and raps about all he has seen. No matter what the situation Bronson always manages to entertain, like a wrestling character that finally gets his shot at the world title this man is packing a personality that music world needs. So of course after discovering this marvel I could only be optimistic for his album, the singles were solid and his character only becomes more and more interesting as time goes on.

So what does the album sound like though? Bronson has gone on record saying that Hip-Hop makes you stupid and to compensate for this he listens to classical music. This is reflected pretty much all over this album and I think proves to show what makes Bronson so special. When he says this he doesn't mean that Hip-Hop music is a bad genre of music (he is a rapper after all) rather he just hates that too many people are caught up in one genre or one style and never venture outside their comfort zones. In the opening of the album 'Brand New Car' we get a rapid succession of piano chords the give off a bright tone while Bronson references 'Zanzibar' by one of his favorite artists Billy Joel. Two times during the song he stops to catch his breath or because he messes up a line and the music slows before starting up again. This album immediately takes on the tone of a musical or live performance. Bronson doesn't try to hide his faults as he speaks of the highs he feels and how he is adjusting to the spotlight. Not new lyrical territory but the musical accompaniment of drum and guitars really helps give this a human element. At the end of the song Bronson proclaims he is ashamed of himself before a rain storm is heard and the album goes into 'The Rising'. This song has a great soulful feel, with organs and choir vocals and a really grimy drum sound that it is meant to signal an entrance. Bronson has stated that he wants this song to you remind you of the Terminator, a ball of lighting that reveals a naked man ready to wreck havoc. This song makes a statement, with Big Body Bes (a good friend of Bronson) coming with a spoken verse that is just meant to insult you. It is a great throwback to the spirited days of Hip-Hop without getting stuck in the past. This man fears nothing and over the course of this slow paced song he holds nothing back. In the Next song 'Terry' dives into the funk of the struggling artist and goes into Bronson's mythical life aspirations. He has stated that this is his favorite song on the album, a vibe session between him and The Alchemist that turned into a venting session. He was about to just spit what made him feel good over a beautiful combination of guitar chords, trumpets, and a smooth boom bap pattern. Musically this album is a gem, far above the standard and has an abundance of jazz and blues influence. After this song ends it goes into a psychedelic breakdown where the haunting lyrics “what are you waiting for?” plays in the background. This gives the the listener time to reflect and think before 'Actin Crazy', which basically is the anthem of Bronson's life. Here he proclaims to his mom that he is still her baby (he expresses a lot of love for his mom publicly) and goes on to describe why he acts the way he does. Set to a beat that fuses electric pulses with horns and a heavy bass he talks about how all his life he was a misfit and now stands as a trendsetter in a lot of Hip-Hop circles. He does what he does to protect his mother and make a living. Simple enough but as always the specialty lives in his unique delivery. Skipping a track we get to 'Thug Love Story 2017', an interlude that was recorded outside of a deli by a friend of Bronson. It sounds like a homeless man who is extremely talented and tells the story of a woman choosing the street life over love. This track demonstrates Bronson's willingness to let anyone rip on a track and tell their story as long as they can do it well.

After the interlude we get the powerful blues track 'City Boy Blues'. This song tells the story of a woman coming after Bronson, or the character in this song. This song brings back the organs from earlier in the album and deviates from the rap genre completely to fit the story that Bronson wants to tell. From here on out the album gets more musical and hops from style to style to show off his diverse sense of musical aspiration. This begins a little story within the story as the next couple of songs focus on Bronson and this mystery person. 'Alight in the Addict' is one of the best sounding songs on the album just in terms of music along, with a jazzy piano and base rifts it sounds almost like a BBNG cut with Bronson soulfully rapping about his confusion that he may feel because of this person. He is an addict hooked on the feeling of belonging. The majority of this song is actually the music and the hook of “ I nearly lost my brain, dealing with this pain”, with haunting vocals slowly rising by melodic steps in the background. The last of this small story we have 'Baby Blue', one of my favorite songs of this year so far featuring Chance the Rapper and Donnie trumpet. Here over raw piano and kick snares Bronson proclaims himself done with this person and comes to term with his desire to be separate. Chance comes in with a funny but thoughtful verse cursing a girl for leaving but ultimately wishing her happiness in the future. A relatable jam hat resonates with you on personal level this song solidifies Bronson's ability to channel not just good rap, but good music. This song was performed live on David Letterman and this rendition just brings out the full potential of this piece. 'Galactic Love' features a smooth bassline and Bronson's mom. A love letter to his mother this short but meaningful serves as a landing point for the closing of his album, we have traveled through Bronson's mind and shared some of his heartache and now we are again reminded of where the man comes from. Finally we get a rock ballad inspired 'Easy Rider', concluding the album with a tale about Bronson's spirit quest as he “rides the harley into the sunset”. This song sounds like the final shot of a 70's movie, complete with a soulful bass rift and wavy vocals that glide over the instrumental. Later in we hear a chopper taking off as a guitar solo kicks in. We are left knowing this story is over and Bronson is moving on to bigger and better things.

To put it simply, rap needs characters like Action Bronson. In an industry filled with fake artists and commercial sales taking priority over artistic integrity this man stands for himself. You can tell he loves the music and getting the chance to be around him. Reading up on him he gives off this jolly attitude that you might expect based on how he looks, but he also has this blunt streetwise vulgarity to him that just screams of real. Hip-Hop to me has never been about turf wars or material possession, but culture and bringing something new to the table because that is how you thrive as an artist. If you want something different that builds of the rap roots you love then I recommend you: LISTEN SOON to this album. Bronson packs a widespread appeal, so much so that even this album which is a tad dark by his standards comes off as a theatrical performance that is perfectly executed. I am not saying that Bronson is one of the best rappers out right now, but he certainly has the best persona. I respect a person who does what he does to do it and this mythic figure knows exactly who he wants to be.

Thank you all for reading, next week I will be review Ibeyis self titled debut album and diving into a new world of cultural fusion.