Anyone Else Notice The Odd Sense of Joy Around Trashing Eminem's New Album?
In 2008, Frank Thomas hit .240 with 8 home runs split between the Oakland A's and Toronto Bluejays. During his final season in 2001-2002, Mitch Richmond averaged 4.1 points per game for the LA Lakers. Cal Ripken's last year as a baseball player saw him hit just .239, while Shaq (the almighty Aristotle) logged 37 games in his last season in the NBA while averaging 9.2 points per game for the Boston Celtics.
So, what is my point? My point is that farewell campaigns don't often feature a massive demonstration of excellence. Very few athletes go out like Peyton Manning or Michael Jordan (the second time he retired after leading the Bulls to their second 3-peat). The same can be said for many professions.
During my lifetime, I've been in the final class for a handful of teachers. While I am the son of a CPS teacher, taught in CPS for a few years, and currently teach at Columbia College, I must say that it was apparent in every case that it was time for that teacher to retire. I can only assume that the same can go for plumbers and there's not a plumber somewhere on the edge of retirement who would view his or her last toilet installation as their best work... No diss to teachers or plumbers. My point being that the last of something always is the last of something for a reason.
So still, where am I going with this? Over the last month or so, Eminem has been campaigning around the release of his 8th studio album, Revival. If you've seen anything about it, you've undoubtedly seen the poor reviews and reactions on social media more often than not slamming the project. I'm not here to defend Eminem's music or new album (which I know is not for sure his last). To keep it fully open, I made the mistake of thinking Eminem would be a one-hit-wonder style rapper after his first album dropped when I was a junior in high school. I was very fucking wrong.
About his new album, I streamed it on the day of its release and haven't revisited it since, nor had the burning desire to put it on. When I listened, I felt next to nothing. I thought some songs had promise, others were not very good. For every good bar or concept, there was another one that missed the mark or was just silly. That's Eminem right now. I think his recent interview with Complex was great because he was fully open about where he's at in his career. He's about rhyming. The skill of putting words together is his main skill and this is a guy who has gotten so good at it, he can't even figure out how to stop rhyming words together. He said in the interview,
"I think that there's still a lot of people that don't understand compound syllable rhyming and being able to take entire sentences and make them rhyme and stuff like that. They might not hear that, so they're not gonna be able to appreciate that, because they hear what they hear and then, "Ah, man. That shit is wack." Okay, but maybe you don't understand what I'm doing.
I feel like one of the things that's happened to me over the years is rapping getting harder, but rhyming gets easier, if that makes any sense. One of my drawbacks I feel like that I did on the last album, The Marshall Mathers LP 2, was long verses, because I couldn't get the rhyme to end. In other words, when I think of a couple phrases or whatever it is, I think of so much shit that rhymes with it and connecting the syllables and doing all that, but by the time it's all said and done, is this different than anything I've done before? I've done a song like this, so now I don't like it because it may not be talking about anything. It may be just connecting words together and just to get a reaction, but it's not really that good. I don't know."
The interview was really open, and it made me think a bit more about all the criticism I'm reading online, about Em and his new album. What kind of struck, and drove me to write this article about something that in all honesty is not very important, is that a lot of the reviews seem to take pleasure in Eminem's new album not being very good. It is as if critics were hoping the album was bad so that they had something to write about. Before the album even dropped, I'd say the general pulse was that it was not going to be good, Eminem is no longer good, and now, there is the narrative that Eminem was never even that good.
As I said before, I'm not a big Eminem fan. I don't own the majority of his albums, and I'm sure you can find posts on this very site that I've written slamming some of his music. But this album really isn't that bad, and this album's performance shouldn't go back and change the impact he's had on music and how for a moment in time, the dude was fucking killing it. Em is also one of the few white artists actively going after Donald Trump and pushing his fans to recognize the institutional racism that Trump represents, benefits from, spreads, and is currently trying to make stronger. Does that earn him a cookie, no, cause that's what he should be doing, but in the reviews I've read, the actual subject matter of his music is an afterthought.
No one mentions Frank Thomas' final season or how bad Mitch Richmond was before he retired. Shit, the Beastie Boys' last album was their worst (that's even hard for me to type). In all those cases the work was reviewed but there was no joy in extreme pointing out the mistakes. The album's not that good, fantastic. But how much more attention should be paid to how bad it is, rather than finding and celebrating the next artist? Why make Em the butt of recurring jokes, where there is so much more to write about?
Even as I write this article, I am laughing at myself for spending time on something so trivial.
NDPNDNT - "Rock With You"
About a month ago, my students at Columbia College hosted their annual AEMMPSGiving event. NDPNDNT, himself a student at Columbia College, was one of the featured performers and delivered an impassioned set. The emcee has a lot on his mind, and I the few times I've seen him live or encountered him through my AEMMP class, I get the sense of a young man that is a deep thinker and optimist. Someone with many goals bursting at the seams to get things done.
On the night of AEMMPSGiving his performed this song, "Rock With You". And though the crowd was light, he performed as the room was full, getting everyone involved in a call and response of the song's chorus. The song is now available for the world to hear. Give it a listen and get to know an aspiring new emcee from the windy city.
Malcolm London's "Smokescreens & Magic" is a request that won't be granted
"How much of your soul gonna cost you a mansion?"
The unexamined life is not worth living, and the examined life is pain - that was the first thing that ran through my mind after listening to Malcolm London's newest song, "Smokescreens and Magic". Set to piano and handclaps produced by BAD CXMPANY, Malcolm examines present day with an eye towards how he got here.
Sleepless nights is a theme running through both verses - in terms of Malcolm losing sleep, as well as having nightmares that trouble him by blending Freddy Krueger and Fred Hampton. Those names don't just make for good poetry, but draw a very specific parallel between fictitious nightmares of Freddy Krueger, to the very real-world horrifics experienced by Hampton who was murdered by Chicago police while he slept.
London also mentions Malcolm X in both verses, also in different ways as he fluctuates between his own internal issues (drug addiction, finding a solid team, moving away) and the external circumstances that have taken their toll and perhaps led to the internal.
At the end, London has no real solutions here, and doesn't seem to be searching for those in this song. There is a plea to go back to a simpler time, when we are young, before life has been "examined" and we realize how bullshit everything truly is. London delivers this plea knowing full-well it is an impossible ask.
The song is from his forthcoming #RightAwaySeries, which is releasing on 1/19/18. I personally can't wait.
Kweku Collins - Home.
It's 5pm on a temperate Saturday night in Evanston, the relatively quiet sister city, lying directly north of Chicago. Red Bull Sound Select Presents: 30 Days In Chicago has put together 30 shows in 30 nights to celebrate the Chicago music scene. So why did the 25th night not actually take place in Chicago? The answer would be one Kweku Collins.
On April 1, 2015, Kweku, a senior in highschool at the time, signed to a small up and coming Chicago record label called Closed Sessions. Two years later I'm back in the same room that he used to write his first songs in, his father excitedly telling Kweku that he would be wearing Kweku's leather pants tonight, in order to honor his son's first headliner back in his hometown. Kweku coyly smiles and casually brushes off his dad's exuberance with a memory: "The last time I wore those pants it was at my high school prom." He grins, knowing how much has changed since then.
It all started making songs with Garageband. He wrote slam poetry growing up; his mother encouraged him to join the school's team. He learned basic music principles from his Father, who was a percussionist. In his boyhood room he was able to create his critically acclaimed album Nat Love, which would go on to springboard his music into the national spotlight. This past year his sophomore EP, Grey continued to heighten the altitude on Kweku's rise. He toured the nation with the band Whitney and went oversees to Europe to tour. All of this by 21.
When asked how high school him would respond to knowing he was headlining the premier venue in his city, he pauses for a second, then with a half serious expression he says: "don't fuck it up."
[iframe id="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZJTYMVbH6uk"]
At 1245 Chicago avenue, off the Dempster Purple Line stop, lies SPACE. A concert venue “where music fanatics can get closer to their favorite music and have a uniquely intimate and memorable experience," according to the venue's website. SPACE offers to let the performers have tables or seats at their leisure, creating an experience that is best suited for the music. During sound check Kweku balks at how much bigger the venue looked than the last time he was there. Tables had been set up at the side of the stage previously, this time it was an open ended room leaving little to no separation from the audience and the performer. This was hours before the doors were scheduled to open and the illusion of all that open space seemed daunting. A lot can change in an artist's life, but that fear of not being heard will always remain.
As Kweku takes us around his block after soundcheck he alludes to just how surreal this experience already is: "I just watched Alex and Mike (his management team) walk down the same street that I used to always skateboard on." In his Ford he is quite literally taking a drive down memory lane. As we pull up to his house he recounts a boyhood story of how the rich neighbors across the street tried to put him in his place. Kweku had been hiding in a tree during the summertime making noises and scaring a young boy who lived in the mansion directly across from Kweku's apartment building. His older brother came out telling Kweku to shut up, only for Kweku to confidently jump down from the tree and cause the boys to retreat in fear. Even at a young age he was bold and unwavering.
Once Kweku has grabbed some comfortable clothes and gone for a calming drive, he returns back to the venue with a half hour to doors opening. After putting his stuff down in his luxurious green room stocked with his pick of Guiness, Modelo, Topo Chico and Red Bull, he opts to grab his favorite beer from the back of his car instead and fill the cooler with that. This is his night after-all. After eating some Buffalo Joes Wings he goes out to see what's brewing in front of the venue, dozens of people are already lined up and excited to get a pre-show look at the hometown hero. Kweku runs into two old teachers from his highschool who ask him for a picture, "bless you" one of them exclaims after he obliges. Kweku finds his niece who he is eager to show backstage, she tells me how proud she is of him, how he was more like a brother to her growing up. "We used to spend time skating and making videos together, I'm from Evanston, so (of course) I've been to SPACE a few times," she says with delight. Knowing her own family is joining a long list of great artists who've shared the stage.
While the opening DJ set begins, Kweku floats around; his mind no doubt running a mile a minute. He comes back to the green room with a nervous smile stating "it's already getting hella stressful out there," meaning that the venue is already filling up with eager fans. After being there since 3:30pm, it felt like the show would never start, once the first act began though time seemingly sped up. All of a sudden 11pm is only 5 minutes away, and the crowd is ready. Anytime Kweku's name was so much as mentioned by the previous acts the crowd thunderously cheered.
At 11pm Kweku came out to a deafening ovation. He begins his set with “Lucky Ones”, the crowd singing along to every word. Halfway through the performance Kweku pauses the set to tell the crowd "So... I went to high school with half of you. This is pretty crazy," at which point the crowd roars, old friends and acquaintances all sharing in a mutual moment in time. Kweku shouts out his friend by name who he spots, a few rows back from center stage, the crowd all packed in as close as they can possibly fit, loves it. He returns to his set only to pause once again after the next song, even more overwhelmed with emotion all he can say is "this is crazy, this is really, really crazy," feeling the weight of the moment in every emotional pause.
Once the performance ends he is mobbed by people, he escapes back to the green room and asks for a moment alone. His mother guards the door making sure no one ruins her son’s brief reflection. "Kweku is a beautiful soul," she says. "He just needs to gather himself, this has all meant so much to him." As he exits, fans anxiously await to get their special edition Red Bull Sound Select Kweku Collins skateboard decks; signed by the local skateboarder turned hometown hero.
Could this all have been imagined two years ago? No one can be sure but regardless, under the circumstances of today, Kweku Collins is one of the Lucky Ones.
Chance The Rapper & Jeremih - Merry Christmas Lil' Mama Rewrapped
[iframe id="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/401935544&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"]
Last Christmas fans were gifted a Hip-Hop Holiday album courtesy of Chicago's own Chance The Rapper & Jeremih in the form of "Merry Christmas Lil' Mama". For 2017 we get a new addition to this series with Hannibal Buress pulling up for the festivities, he jests that these two musicians love Christmas maybe a little too much, all in good fun though as this project is purely about good intentions and joy. Tracks like "Big Kid Again" embody this sentiment, Chances energetic second verse details all the struggle he's seen, opting to use that experience to make a positive difference in the world.
The lasting themes of peace, love, and civic pride are something that have always made Chance such an easy character to root for. He deserves to be applauded for sending positive messages not just through his actions but through the actual medium he uses, music, to reach mass audiences. "Held It Down" is a beautiful sentiment reasoning that if one can take care of their mother in every sense, then they have done what needed to be done.
"Merry Christmas Lil' Mama" will really get you in the true holiday spirit, ideally this project and its themes can be enjoyed year long though.
Joz - Blue Line EP
[iframe id="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/playlists/401282858&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"]
A RH favorite, Joz is a young singer from Minnesota, her EP "Blue Line" has finally released after a lot of anticipation following her outstanding single "Parties". Needless to say the EP is fantastic, completely self produced and written, Joz has established herself as someone who is self reliant in her output. As a result, a unified vision of chill personal music washes over you like a tidal wave on "Blue Line".
My personal favorites include: "Goat" which has a heavenly bass line and chords that match the tone of Joz's voice perfectly. "For The Better", is a more uptempo track led by an engaging hi hat line and cathedral like vocals that feel larger than life with fantastic harmonization that sends the song off. And finally "Parties", a very introspective song that has a unique vantage point of how the socially anxious feel at gatherings of extroverts.
As far as debut projects go this is one of the better offerings I can remember. Joz is certainly an artist to watch for 2017. Stream Above.
Morocco Brown - Mania (Prod. cbbeatz)
[iframe id="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/370938143&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"]
In a hyperactive flow Morocco Brown shows a renewed passion for his bars on "Mania". Produced by ccbeatz, the minimalistic melody gives Morocco space to talk his shit. Covering topics like the rest of the industry, searching for relevance, and his own journey Morocco's words are earnest. Singing over the chorus he croons in a hushed tone, a soft message to someone, most likely himself.
"you say I know I need you..."
Listen for yourself above.
Monte Booker - TWIRL
[iframe id="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/370862114&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"]
Zero Fatigue super producer Monte Booker returns with new production on "TWIRL". The track is an instrumental piece featuring a vocal sample used to keep the listeners attention that develops into a full on tripped out experience. The arrangement develops eclectically, Monte makes use of percussion in a very Timbaland-esque manner, the hi hat leads the rhythm section keeping the ears entranced.
As usual Monte drops a slapper. Listen above.