Quick Hits, Vol. 236 (Freddie Gibbs with Madlib, Rick Ross, Chance the Rapper, NF)

Freddy Gibbs & Madlib - Bandana.  Dude.  I like this guy.  I already knew I liked Madlib's production, but Freddie Gibbs is legit.  The beats are strong, the flow is nice, the lyrics are good.  Huh.  The track with Killer Mike (from Run the Jewels) and Pusha T is very cool.  The one with Anderson.Paak bangs too.  I'm a little surprised that I don't know more about this guy - he seems legit (although maybe just going by boring name Freddie Gibbs instead of making up a Lil' name is hurting the guy).  He also has a few good skits in here - the guy who might go to death row cracks me up (which sounds weird, but trust me).  The top track is "Crime Pays" with 7.2 million streams.

Good video - not the best song on the album.  The beats are cool because they seem more like samples - tasting of old school soul vibes (with the exception of the trap-ish first half of "Half Manne Half Cocaine").  And Gibbs just fires all over them - his delivery is fast and brash and powerful and lithe.  I dig the overall vibe of the album.

Rick Ross - Port of Miami 2.  Why do I keep trying out his albums?  What do I think is going to happen?  I'm always chasing the pleasures of "Blowing Money Fast" and "Hustlin'," and while these songs share the same general DNA and corny lyrics, there's just nothing here.  Loads of collaborations on here, and the runaway top track on Spotify is the one with Drake - "Gold Roses" with 42 million streams.

Yawwwwnnnn.  I am so pleased to remove this album from my new music queue.

Chance the Rapper - Big Day.  I get annoyed with myself when I listen to Chance.  I want to really like it.  I know people who think I am really going to like it.  I know a lot of people who really like it.  And then I feel conflicted as I listen to it in ways that I don't normally feel with music.  Some pieces sound kind of cool, but then other pieces sound cheesy, and it's hard to separate them into individual pieces and say which piece could be removed to make it good or which piece makes it classic.  Does that make any sense?  I've listened to this album so many times and I just can't figure it out.  I actually dig the track with Death Cab For Cutie involved that has a great nostalgia thing (even though its rapping about stuff from 2 years ago as though that is "back in the day").  I dig the feel and flavor of "Hot Shower."  And sometimes he gets into a lyrical flow that is very cool - the riff in "We Go High" is great (even if the beat/song is boring as hell).  But when you put the whole thing together, do I want to listen to it more?  I don't think I do.  "Hot Shower," which features the presently hot DaBaby on it, is the most streamed at 78.3 million streams.

The Chance verse is the best one, the MadeInTYO verse is kind of OK, and the DaBaby verse has zero at all to do with anything - its not bad, it just sounds like he didn't listen to the rest of the song, he just spit whatever he wanted to and then wandered out of the studio.  That probably is the best song on the album.  The disc is also freaking LOOOOONNNGGG at 22 songs and 1:17.  I mean, come on man.  An hour and seventeen minutes?  And then the En Vogue tracks hits and I kind of dig it.  Also, the skit with Pops from Friday (who recently passed away) is awesome.  And the lyrics about his wedding in "Sun Come Down" are great.   But then the one with Shawn Mendes is not great, same with the Nicki Minaj one.  I don't know man.  I think I need like a listener's guide to this or something.  For now, I'm just going to let it be.

NF - The Search.  Speaking of long!  What is it with rap albums right now?  Feels like one stream through these two albums took me a full day.  Twenty songs and an hour and sixteen minutes.  Just cut some of this stuff out!  Make a tight 45 minute album and then drop another in six months with the rest!  I guess the streaming world just makes it so easy to include everything you have ready, and your stream count will go up with the extra tracks, so why not bloat the shit out of it?
Anyway, NF is a dude who came through ACL a few years ago, and I kind of liked him.  He's got a lightning fast flow, sounds kind of like Eminem at times and kind of like Logic at other times, and as I recall was a Christian rapper back then.  I don't catch a heavy Jesus vibe on these tracks here.  Instead, most of these tracks seem freaking dark and depressing, rapping about his depression and mental illness.  Which sinks the album for me.  If it was just the technical prowess of his nimble raps, I'd dig it, but the theme is just a big fat bummer all the time.  His last album had a big pop crossover hit that my kids even listen to - "Let You Down" - but this time nothing on here seems to have caught on all that much (I say that, but many millions of streams for Christian rap by a white dude is kind of impressive anyway).  Top track on this one is "WHY" with 88 million streams.

Like the rest of these - I like the flow, I like the beat, but it also feels like he's just yelling at me about his emotions.  I wish he'd write a rhyme about a story or something interesting to spit.  I'll let it go.