Aside from RAP Ferreira's new album - the Light Emitting Diamond Cutter Scriptures - haven't seen much else out today. What's everyone checking for or catching up on?

Hope everyone had a great holiday.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

hope you had a great holiday too...

Just finished checking out the unreleased "Toy" album on this new Bowie box. I understand why the label wasn't originally excited to release it. *shrugs*

Kizzy Crawford's new album is good. All in Welsh, but the vibe is similar to her TruThoughts album from a few years back. I'll keep it in rotation for a bit.

>Just finished checking out the unreleased "Toy" album on this
>new Bowie box. I understand why the label wasn't originally
>excited to release it. *shrugs*

Been pretty uninterested in this ... I'll check it out someday but not in any rush despite being a big Bowie fan. Certain artists I'm cool with just appreciating what came out while the artist was around and Bowie's that way for me (not sure why), even though I'd love more live shit to come out.

>Kizzy Crawford's new album is good. All in Welsh, but the vibe
>is similar to her TruThoughts album from a few years back.
>I'll keep it in rotation for a bit.

Her name is new to me and have been in a TruThoughts mood so I'll have dig that out -- thanks!

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

came out on tuesday and i've had it on repeat all week...good shit. among the best rap records of the year already for me

the new Career Crooks (Zilla Rocca/Small Pro) album Never At Peace will be getting some play this weekend too. ran through it at work earlier and had my head nodding

still gotta listen to the RAP Ferreira. same with Medhane's album Do The Math that came out a couple weeks ago.

Thanks for these recs. For those looking, the Defcee/Messiah release isn't on Spotify but is on bandcamp: https://defcee.bandcamp.com/

That Career Crooks looks really good, too.

Listened through the new RAP Ferreira a few times and really liked it, feel like it opens up a few tracks in. Also went back to Purple Moonlit Pages from 2020, which is already a favorite of mine, and fell in love with it again. I feel like he's really found a way into this style he's pursuing that feels very individual and very fresh. It took me some time to really sink into PMP so I'm planning on giving this one time, too, but already feel really good about it.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

...are both winners. Droog's had a pretty awesome 2021 and Zilla Rocca has a similarly dope year as well. There's no production credits available yet for the former, but OKP Small Pro puts his whole foot in on the beats for the latter.

Also, word was Mach-Hommy was supposed to drop something on Black Friday, but nothing yet.

-----------------

www.albumism.com

Checkin' Our Style, Return To Zero:

https://www.mixcloud.com/returntozero/

Completely missed that the Droog was a whole release ... nice, pulling it up right now!

Yeah, YOD has had a really really good year: the two releases with Fahim + TIME (which has been a bit overlooked I think, had a great concept behind it even if it wasn't executed quite perfectly) is nothing to sneeze at. Dump YOD was released in December 2020, too, another overlooked gem with a strong but not overbearing concept behind it.

I know he ruffles feathers but to me he's proven himself as one of the best we have doing it right now --- he really distinguishes himself both lyrically and conceptually, and his work ethic is unmatched.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

The last week or two I've been reaching back into a massive 2020 albums playlist and just letting it run on shuffle, then digging into one or two albums that catch my ear. I'll post a few thoughts here since I don't know that they need their own post. Here are a few gems that I'd forgotten about or are new to me.

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Sly5thAve released an lp in 2020, What It Is, that wasn't exceptional as an album but had a number of really nice cuts. Lush and often expansive arrangements, great vocalists. Favorites:

"Boulevards" feat Denitia - https://youtu.be/FKDWzoCGH2A

"The Night" feat Melissa McMillan - https://youtu.be/Sb6CIaBRwvQ - maybe my favorite from the lp?

and the absolute earworm of the album, "Right Here" feat Denitia - https://youtu.be/278xgMJecFA

There have been a few solid remixes and alt-versions of these tracks from the last year, too, including a live ep released earlier this year. Here's a "chamber edit" of another good song from the album, "With You" feat Denitia (live footage, fun video):
https://youtu.be/wnXrL1bRYUg

And the "NYC Edit" of Right Here which I've been playing out this morning:
https://youtu.be/rRR1agrx7uA

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The jazz-ish trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf released a 2.5 hour collection last year of duets that I'd completely spaced on, called "40 melodies." Listened to about half of it this week and am loving it, might finish it today. I first found Maalouf with his 2015 "Kalthoum," a suite written in homage (and based on music by) an Egyptian singer, Oum Kalthoum; a lot of Maalouf's music draws on influences from that region (he's French-Lebanese) but mixes them with somewhat western classical sensibilities and a pretty firm jazz foundation. I find his voice really unique as both trumpeter and composer/arranger and his stuff has an energy that just feels right.

The "duet" refers to playing with just a guitarist; a lot of the duets here are based on Maalouf's prior releases and often include one more instrument featuring prominent names from jazz, pop, and other: Jon Batiste, Marcus Miller, Sting (!), Arturo Sandoval, Kronos Quartet, lots of others). Good as background music but benefit from close listening, too... a few favorites so far:

Kalthoum (Movement I) - https://youtu.be/QWeJfZpea30

Harlem (feat Marcus Miller) - https://youtu.be/WFLuB7vuAzU

Gebrayel (feat Arturo Sandoval) - https://youtu.be/hL6yAD-spKc

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I hadn't forgotten about Oddisee's "Odd Cure" release last year but I *had* forgotten how well-done the skits and everything came together for the first few listens. As we seem to be crawling toward an end to pandemic times (maybe, possibly), it's interesting to reflect on what we've been through over the last two years. This is a good time capsule of that, with phone calls between Oddisee and various family members offering little glimpses of what life has been like, different anxieties, etc. It's got some jams that capture certain COVID-time feelings well, too (and some great drum work!):

"The Cure" - https://youtu.be/N4WTFkEVXcE

"Still Strange" - https://youtu.be/BG8hVclLHtU (this might low-key be the most insightful track on the album from a covid perspective even though on first listen it feels like a basic relationship song with just a slight covid twist; also, looks like the vocalist from the track, Priya Ragu, just released her first full-length)

Can't remember if I watched this previously or not but for anyone interested, here's his Tiny Desk (Home) vid in support of the album and it's super tight, full band and all:

https://youtu.be/HJgyQ47qABI

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~