RAP REVIEW 2022 ~ Critiques Corner By 1willthewordsmith

Know I’m not going to be the only one that has Kendrick Lamar’s Mr Morale and The Big Steppers as the undisputed album of the year.

What served as the timely curtain call for King Kenny… his 5th album which would be projected to the world as his final farewell and departure from TDE the imprint, that introduced a young lyricist from Compton called Kendrick under the wings of Dr Dre all them years ago, to the world. And what a stellar submission it was. It adds it’s voice to the hip-hop conversation about his catalogue and content and overall place in the game.

With so much braggadicio, bravado and machismo on the rise in pop culture if not just hip-hop it was beautiful to see an artist triumph through adversity while offering up an album almost as if it was a cathartic critique on the state of the culture and its sometimes negative symbolisms. Through all the perils of recent years where many forums and some audiences questioned the artists silence on social issues affecting all of us… it seems like with this project he answers his critics without question as he perseveres persistently through pain of silence… to finally offer said social commentary.

Hearing him hollering I’m not your saviour… gives a perpective of what it takes to come out on the otherside of this supposed successful situation and gives an understanding of the pressure it requires to attain pleasure we precieve without knowing anyone’s whole truth.

This album to me felt like a therapy session…An artist opening up… letting us into his psyche not just to be performative but to help us gain some self awareness and self discovery… he was definitely in reflective mode… and the fact he allows us into what seemed like a man letting go of ego to display vulnerability over vanity was a beautiful artistic sight to behold.

It was as if he was peeling the layers away from a glass onion…showcasing how we self sabotage despite the sometimes pungent smell or stench… you had to expierence the odour knowing it would end up being the ingredient that gives taste and aroma to an intricate menu.

Kung-fu Kenny killed one of man’s greatest adversaries on this album. This was the death of the ego…And considering what has been going on and highlighted in hip-hop outside of the actual music throughout the year just gone it was a timely intervention!

It’s declarations weren’t sugar coated they were empathic… the euphoria and enthusiasm to express explicitly and eloquently the way ones ego can become an enemy to our progress and decapitate our success is a message we all needed in these troubling times.

Stand Out Tracks

Rich Spirit

N95

I really had hoped after deliberation I’d be awarding the accolade of album of the year to the legend in the game that is Nas… Kings Diease 3, the third and final installment in what has been quite a remarkable trilogy definitely sparked some interesting debate once again about the God’s Son true standing in hip-hop gospel.

Since he came out the gates as the illmatic kid with his chipped toothed smile and street dreams Nasty Nas has given us bars for boom bap beats and basslines, a wonderous word wizardry and worldly street wisdom… so it was utterly uplifting to listen to his culmination of a concept that initially went over contemporaries heads… critics thinking almost immediately after the first drop he’d become a fully fledged business man and brand and he was just using his album to start selling us stocks and shares instead of helping us dechiper or decode the streets, like the streets disciple once did with pride.

But by the third we could see and hear with the clarity and cohesion in his creative process and content of this exceptional trilogy that he never left. This will definitely later serve as a landmark undertaking as I can’t even think of another trilogy being created in the genre’s almost 50th year history.

So much about this album stood out to me and I must say without hesitation KD3 empathically delivers as a worthy conclusion to the magnificent musical musings which delivered us with the grandiose Kings Diease.

With a title like Quincy & Micheal you know Hit Boy and Nasir would have to sprinkle some stardust all over that track to make it standout… and without doubt they did… for an artist that’s always honoured his heroes while on his own legendary ascension it was befitting this track… a homage dropped during the celebrations of MJ’s 40th anniversary of Thriller. And for the connoisseurs that don’t give a hoot about no tributes… you already know that beat switch and seamless transition was bonkers for your head top!

THUN made me smirk the most though… the fact Nas still repping the hardest and stay thorough for his borough Queensbridge bravehearted 3 decades in… it’s a true testament to the legend he has become.

Stand out tracks

Quincy & Michael

THUN

So that means that my bronze 🥉 medal holder is Pusha T with his gloriously Ghetto fabulous It’s Almost Dry. We all know the subject matter Mr T serves up… his bars have always been refreshing in an era of mumble rappers… but like a Diet Coke quenches your thirst while it simultaneously burns down your throat. Pusha T will always give you that raw.

The luxury in between his lines is proof of how he’s levelled up under Ye and learnt how to effortlessly flip his flow so masterfully was both aspirational and alarming.

One of most beautiful synergies of this albums creation is how Push managed to get Yezo/Pharell to split production credits 50/50… what it offers us in return is a futuristic monsterous soundtrack that serves as a backdrop to this epic lyrical ride. Somehow between his cocky flow, cadence and sampled soulful snippets it also has a tremendous amount of old soul. A nostalgic reminder of these types of records in the 90’s era. And to top it all off he got No Malice to pull out the Clipse and ring out sorely missed stray bullets for anyone that questioned if he still had the ability to.

Stand Out Tracks

Diet Coke

Dreaming Of The Past

22’s Hip-Hop Honourable Mentions Top Ten 🔝 🔟

Ab Soul ~ Herbert

Black Star ~ No Fear Of Time

Black Thought & Danger Mouse ~ Cheat Codes

JID ~ Forever Story

Alchemist ~ The Elephant Man’s Bones

Lupe Fiasco ~ Drill Music In Zion

Freddie Gibbs ~ Soul Sold Separately

Benny the Butcher ~ Tana Talk 4

Conway The Machine ~ God Don’t Make Mistakes

Westside Gunn ~10

Afrobeat To The World

Black Sheriff The Villain I Never Was

M.anifest Madina To The Universe

Burna Boy ~ Love Damini

Asake ~ Mr Money With The Vibe

Fireboy DML ~ Playboy

Meteoric Rise Breakout Artist

Black Sheriff

Tems

UK Top Three🔝 3⃣

Kojey Radical ~ Reason To Smile

Stormzy ~ This Is What I Mean

Lil Simz ~ No Thank You

Female top three 🔝 3⃣

Beyonce ~ Renaissance

Ari Lennox ~ age /sex /location

Sza ~ SOS

Her Loss from Drake and 21 Savage was supposed to give us a November to remember but the discussion from 21 as to whether or not Nas still held any relevance ultimately squashed any continued conversation about the creative content before we even made it to December. Nas is ubiquitous in hip-hop circles to suggest anything else is absolutely ludicrous and nonsensical.

Other albums that may likely be mentioned on other lists… All dropped with the necessary fanfare and a hit single with them shiny catchy hooks…

DJ Khalid’s album God Did had the single God Did
Future I Never Liked You had Wait 4 U
And Jack Harlow’s Come Home The Kids Miss You had the Fergie sampled First Class. All bodies of work for me offered very little else in terms of sustenance and substance outside of it’s lead singles.

Soundtrack of the year easily goes to the Black Panther Soundtrack which is a category that in recent years offers no competition. Its popularity has dwindled as a quality musical outlet since its height in the 90’s with Soundtracks like The Dangerous Minds…that introduced Coolio to pop culture.

Song of the Summer
Burna Boy ~ Last Last

Song of the Year
Finesse ~ Pheelz ft BNXN

Panics Poetics 2023 💯

✍️🏿 @1willthewordsmith

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