01. Mirror (feat. Leven Kali) 02. D.I.A.L. 03. Herringbone 04. Black Tame 05. Baba 70S 06. Amphetamines (feat. anaiis) 07. Sourbelts 08. D.O.A. 09. Who? (feat. Maxo & Phonte) 10. Gold (feat. Floyd Fuji) 11. Rich 12. Blue (feat. Gabriel Garzon-Montano) 13. Buggin'
I'm leery of slapping AOTY labels on releases. Especially in May. But this is good. Really good.
I can't even really pinpoint a certain highlight of the album because it all goes together so very well.
I'm horrible at making comparisons on the sound/feel of music, but I feel like DJ Quik would be proud. It has a band feel to it that would make hearing this live a must. This feels like a continuation of Kendrick's "To Pimp A Butterfly". But instead of Thundercat, you have Carrtoons on bass. Phonte once again delivers a great feature.
I'm about to run this back again through the headphones so I can find some more to say about it.
Oh, and to my vinyl folks, you KNOW this album cover is a must have.
8. "what's everyone's favorite tracks?" In response to Reply # 7
Need another listen paying attention to names but off the top my fav *might* be "Buggin" -- I love that it's simultaneously goofy and serious, it's genuinely catchy, and the rhymes are just super solid -- reminds me of Lupe's cut about dinosaurs from his EP last year.
12. "first half wins, for sure" In response to Reply # 11
but the second half is really strong as well. I like the way "Rich" and "Blue" run together and they are really strong but they feel a little out of place there. I could probably drop "Gold" and I wouldn't miss it. But still, I don't feel the urge to skip really anything on the record and keep finding new favorite moments.
Is the opening riff at the start of Baba 70s an actual Stevie Wonder interpolation or does it just sound like a Stevie run? I feel like it's an actual interpolation but can't place it out of context and it doesn't look like it's credited.
The beat change halfway through "Buggin" makes me *really* happy for some reason.
13. "RE: first half wins, for sure" In response to Reply # 12
>Is the opening riff at the start of Baba 70s an actual Stevie >Wonder interpolation or does it just sound like a Stevie run? >I feel like it's an actual interpolation but can't place it >out of context and it doesn't look like it's credited.
Hold up, do you have liner notes for this? The website just lists the writer credits but nothing else. And Discogs hasn't even updated the website with the album. I don't think it's a Stevie interpolation, but definitely Talking Book/Innervisions inspired (maybe?).
Also, Carrtoons work on bass is definitely all over this album, I just don't know which songs specifically.
>The beat change halfway through "Buggin" makes me *really* >happy for some reason.
Ha. This is definitely a case of a song that stands out from the rest, but in a good way.
14. "RickExpress - Not as Blue feat Topaz Jones and Alissia" In response to Reply # 0
Alissia was involved in a lot of the production for the Topaz Jones album, I think (she's a bassist which I'm guessing is her feature credit here). This track fits right into that sound and Topaz's feature is really great, on repeat for me this week.
I've only just heard of anaiis based off someone's recommendation but this song confirms that I want to spend some time with her music. Topaz comes off well again here. (I have no idea wtf this video is though, lol...)
Printer-friendly copy 
Email this topic to a friend
The Lesson
