Quick Hits, Vol. 188 (Pusha T, Kanye West, Nas, The Carters)

I started this one back when ACL postings were in full swing, so it got delayed for a long time.

Also, I read this Ringer article back then, and it stuck in my craw a little bit.  The first thing that has bothered me about the article is that it seems to premise itself on a bedrock fact, that XXXtentacion is good.  So the article discusses how it was a difficult choice for people to decide to like him despite his criminal actions outside of his purportedly great art.  But in actuality, his music SUUUUUCKS.  Nothing redeemable about it.  And the writer goes through a bunch of the other trash popcorn rappers and seems to give them some gravitas as well.  Is this true?  Am I actually blinded by my age and preferences to something that is actually awesome?  Because those guys all sound like idiots with nothing to say but flamboyant personalities to get clicks over tight beats.  

The article further mentions that all of these new albums came out from the dinosaurs of rap and they have been ignored.  Not so fast?

Pusha T - DAYTONA.  Being that this is the Internet age, and a huge controversy must erupt every six seconds, this album was originally released to some fervor because the cover image is a photo from Whitney Houston's drug/paraphernalia-strewn bathroom from the hotel where she died.  Kanye apparently paid $80,000 to license the photo for the cover of this album.
Also notable, and the subject of some teeth gnashing I read on Twitter, is that the album is only 7 songs long.  Personally, I think that rules.  Pushing back against the garbage dump rap albums of the present time, where the artist just releases anything and everything on a 3 hour album, which helps get their streaming numbers up, but dilutes the good songs in favor of the mediocre (or just plain bad).  So I already like the spirit of the album.  21 minutes.  7 songs.  Tight.
Album opener "If You Know You Know" is the most streamed, at 25.4 million, and it has a mighty fine beat.

Which is the good part of these tunes.  I'm a fan of Pusha, loved the old Clipse stuff and have liked his solo albums, but the best part of these tunes is that Kanye brought out the good stuff for the beats.  "The Games We Play" has a cool sample loop that is all sorts of laid back and chilled.  Lyrically, Pusha sticks with the old drug dealing lines and a few disses of Drake (which spawned a whole other line of diss songs back and forth between the two), and overall sounds good.  I could do without the Rick Ross and Kanye guest verses, personally, but over all I like this set.

Kanye West - ye.  Blurg.  Another 7 song album.  23 minutes long.  Which I very much appreciate, because it means I don't have to hear this dreck for a long time.  The opening track "I Thought About Killing You," is just a dive into his purportedly tortured brain, and going on about how much he loves himself and how he's just being super honest because now he thinks he should kill you because of his suicidal thoughts.  Weak beat, worthless lyrics.  
And that carries on through the rest of the album.  Weak beats (which is amazing, that he gave all the good beats to Pusha right before this album came out?  Did he want it to suck?) that end up just making the whole thing boring.  "Ghost Town" is the best one, and its so slight that it feels accidental - actually, hearing it again, it sounds like a beat (or a portion of a beat) that he used before and now just stripped bare and re-used.  And then if you take the time to slog through it and listen to the lyrics, you realize that this is just meandering lyrics that just kind of amount to him talking at you instead of crafting some sort of narrative or theme.  
"All Mine" has the crown for streams, so let's go for it - 151.7 million streams (which, I'll just note with disappointment, is more than all but two songs on Graduation, Late Registration, and College Dropout).

Bad sex puns and horrible lines like "Ayyy, none of us would be here without cum."  And then he makes a poorly worded, clunky swipe at Nike in favor of Adidas (presumably still because they make his overpriced shoes).  It's just jenky.  I mean, his first albums were full of the most clever, carefully woven, triple-meaning word play stuff, and this is just thrown together, lowest-common-denominator stuff about thicc asses and leftover sex metaphors from Sinbad's 1990 comedy special.  Just so disappointing to see someone who appeared to be so talented in the past give up on trying.

Nas - Nasir.  Another in this line of Kanye West produced, seven track albums.  And less filler, more killer, with a nice 26 minute run time.  But, another disappointment.  
The first two songs have super dope beats and interesting lyrics - "Not for Radio" has this cinematic, sweepingly rolling beat that rules, and the sample from Slick Rick in "Cops Shot the Kid" is super cool.  But then the album drops off, especially with the lyrics.  "Everything" somehow clocks in at 7:33, on a short ass album, and is one of those meandering, treacly Kanye West songs where he sings too much, the beat just disappears for minutes in order to allow for said overlong singing, and they get into stupid lyrics about conspiracy theories and whatnot.  "If I could change anything, I would change everything."  SOOO DEEEEEEEP!  
"Adam and Eve" is currently more popular on his list of songs on Spotify, but "Cops Shot the Kid" has more streams at 11.9 million.  However, after jamming "Cops" again just now, I think that my actual take on that song is that it is annoying.  At first, it seems super cool that they used that sample, but then it spikes its way into your brain and you realize that its clever but not actually good and its annoying and you want to die.  On the other hand, the sample in "Adam and Eve" is perfect for Nas to sound classic.  10.7 million streams.

Yeah.  Again, I like the beats in some of these songs, but this whole project just sounds uninspired, like it was thrown together at the last minute and just treads back over well-worn subjects quickly tossed together to get a final 7-song set out the door.  Too bad.  I won't hold on to this.

The Carters - EVERYTHING IS LOVE.  Jay-Z and Beyonce went crazy with this one, releasing NINE songs on an album, which by now seems overly decadent and insane.  Nine whole songs?  On one album?  How can it all fit?  38 minutes, so another tight set of tunes.  Anyway, this was a surprise release this summer, and is actually available on Spotify, so I get the opportunity to hear it (unlike the rest of Queen B's music, that is hidden on Tidal). 

I very much enjoy the first track, the sultry, sexy, groove of "Summer," with very little involvement from Jay and a lovely vocal from Bey.  The big hit of the album, partially in light of the video filmed entirely in a private showing of the Louvre, is "Apeshit."  101.1 million streams, and nothing else even cracks 20 million.

I mean, its kinda cool to hear Beyonce getting all raw with some rap bars and all, but it feels sad and shitty for her to chase the garbage Migos sound and jump into line like that.  Be Bey, yo.  The video is very cool, and the beat/flow is cool like other current popcorn rap, but lyrically?  Feather-lite.  Too bad.  Overall, I like the feel of this album.  As with much of Jay-Z, I find myself nodding my head and grooving to his flow and the thump, but then if I listen to the actual lyrics, I'm disappointed.  "713" is like that, as is "LoveHappy."  And I think these two complement each other well.  Whatever, I like it.