on the pulse - 2022 - #28 - ab-soul, little simz, glorilla, smino, $ilkmoney, arlo mckinley
Arlo McKinley - This Mess We’re In - I’m kicking myself that I didn’t get to Arlo McKinley in 2020 - his breakthrough that year was legit fantastic, could have easily made my year-end list for textured, emotive, singer-songwriter / indie country and I just missed it, but now we’re here for the follow-up… which is still legit great but isn’t quite as strong. Some of this is the production going for a more weather-beaten, bluesy live sound which texturally can feel a bit overplayed, and McKinley’s haggard but spare-on-details writing style and extended track lengths makes the album feel longer and not as distinctive thematically in stories of love and loss as it should be. But when he knows his way around a killer southern rock hook with phenomenally well-balanced production like this, it’s an incredibly comfortable and likable album. At least I’m not as late as I was last time, y’all should hear this!
Smino - Luv 4 Rent - I’ve wanted to talk about Smino for a while - his involvement in the Chicago scene, his offkilter flows and production dabbling in alternative R&B, funk and soul, his material doesn’t always click for me but there’s enough winding flair to have me intrigued about his first proper album in four years. And… I’ll admit I’ve struggled with this one. On one hand, the loose, playful, and horny psychedelia is genuinely fun with some deceptively clever punchlines - it’s a colourful, vibrant, frequently lovesick listen. But putting aside how it can feel a bit lightweight on content, the shadow of his influences along with some iffy bass mixing and high-pitched sampling can make a freewheeling album have some momentum snags, and I keep feeling the underlying compositions should hit harder. It’s certainly damn good… I’d just struggle to call it as great or sticky as I’d like.
$ilkmoney - I Don’t Give a Fuck About This Rap Shit, Imma Just Drop Until I Don’t Feel Like It Anymore - okay… put the abstract paranoia of billy woods, the radical provocation of JPEGMAFIA, the smoked-out hedonism of Flatbush Zombies, into the gruff, fast flows and weirdness of Busta Rhymes and you have $ilkmoney, which leads to a dense, kaleidoscopic, frequently flagrant and funny but often insightful nightmare, full of venomous takedowns of white power structures that devour Black lives and neuter Black art. I’m not always sure the blur of samples and fractured production is as weird or potent as his content, and there are transgressive dead ends where self-awareness of bad habits isn’t quite the exit he think it is, but when this album burns into potent, emotional moments, $ilkmoney strikes gold. Don’t just know him for TikTok virality, $ilkmoney dropped some casual, mind-bending greatness - check it out!
GloRilla - Anyways, Life’s Great… - I’ve been less than impressed by GloRilla as a rapper in her breakout hits this year - I get her lane, and attitude and production can go a long way, but I was a little dubious about this EP. And… well, the husky drawl and swagger gives GloRilla personality even if her flow feels clunkier than her peers, but it works opposite the brittle percussion and spare keys that recall a lot of Three 6 Mafia and Yo Gotti. And she’s actually shows more emotive complexity - referencing getting an abortion, a clash between elevating her friends and community and getting used by folks in her circle adds relatable weight as an up-and-comer street girl. But she’s riding more on gangsta posturing than wordplay for the more traditional ‘bad bitch’ material that’s pretty derivative, and the mixing is really inconsistent song to song. So… I’m not wowed by this, but there’s some potential, not bad either.
Little Simz - NO THANK YOU - I had mixed emotions going in - I didn’t love Sometimes I Might Be Introvert like everyone else, but Little Simz is an excellent rapper, it could work…. and why does it feel like muted b-sides of the last album, with less energy and more bitterness? Now it’s not bad - it fits jaded industry disillusionment and a lonely hustle, losing friends amidst mental health struggles and generational trauma, and the minimal grooves set a vibe - but juxtaposing relentless flows with grand strings and gospel vocals, it feels too clean, prim and respectable to drive promises of revolution - except some out-of-place rough mixing choices - issues I also have with producer Inflo’s project Sault, even on Stormzy’s last album! It doesn’t help that keeping the bangers in the vault it's less catchy - and the pop attempts just don’t work - but a high floor that’s uniformly solid keeps this in quality, worth hearing.
Ab-Soul - Herbert - It’s been six years since Do What Thou Wilt, and while the buzz was suggesting this new Ab-Soul album was more personal and grounded, he’s always thrown curveballs, and I know how sky high his potential is. And yet with this album… I’m not against production sliding towards more old-school, sample-backed boom-bap and brittle trap, and Ab-Soul is as clever in stringing together punchlines as ever - and boy, he wants you to know it, it’s very battle rap in that. But minus deeper conceptual explorations, over more traditional production over an extended runtime, you can’t ignore cornier punchlines or the Russ guest verse or how Ab-Soul struggles to deliver more unique punch - outside of ‘Gotta Rap’, I can argue Big Sean and Jhene Aiko eclipse the entire album - even if I appreciated the haunted moments of survivor’s guilt. I dunno, it’s got potent cuts, but after six years, I expected more.