Before school ended, I wrote a list of all the upcoming albums that would release this summer. I listened to them, indulged in them and now the time has come. Time for the best music review of 2018.
YE–
On July 1st, Kanye blessed us with his self-titled album, YE. On Twitter, Yeezy posted screenshots of a potential album cover and title. The cover revealed a picture of the doctor who killed his mother in surgery. The original title, LOVE EVERYONE, expressed his journey in loving and seeing life in a new light. 8/10.
Recommended tracks:
I thought About Killing You
Yikes
No Mistakes
Ghost Town
KIDS SEE GHOSTS–
Kid Cudi: the man who creates new sounds and cures depression with hums. He single-handedly paved the way for indie hip-hop artists such as XXXtentacion, JUICEWRLD and Jaden Smith. In this record, Cudi and Kanye collab to create straight up VIBES. The uncles of hip-hop snapped on this one. THIS ALBUM IS WAVVYYYYYY. 7/10.
Recommended tracks:
4th Dimension
Freeee (Ghost Town Pt. 2)
Reborn
SWEETENER–
Thank you to everyone who continued to love Ariana even after her Victorious days. Without her, where would the classic bop, “Break Free” be? What about that time when she shot our hearts with “Bang Bang”? Sonically, she gives us familiar sounds such as R&B, but she also experiments with new euphoric sounds. If you see yourself as a conventional pop lover, this album may not be for you. 10/10. No skips.
Recommended tracks:
R.E.M
Sweetener
Successful
Blazed
ASTROWORLD–
Like Frank Ocean fans, Trav lovers have waited a while for him to release this album. Personally, I have never listened to Travis’s music intently, but I will say that ASTROWORLD will age well. This project appeals to everyone: the indie heads, trap lovers, jazz heads, all of it. 9/10.
Recommended tracks:
SKELETONS
CAROUSEL
R.I.P. SCREW
EVERYTHING IS LOVE–
All hail the Carters. Before school got out, rumors circulated around the dark web (just kidding) about a song, photoshoot or SOMETHING that would release from the couple. The joint album jumped out of nowhere. Along with the release of their music, they released their music video, “APE****”. They shot their video in the louver. You heard me right. They RENTED out the louvre. 6/10.
Recommended tracks:
SUMMER
BLACK EFFECT
NICE
SCORPION–
Everyone loves Drake. Like, it scares me how much people love him. His fans overhype his music and give him praise for absolutely nothing. Personally, I think his albums, “More Life” and “Nothing was the Same”, will remain classic. This album in particular, reminds of a diary. In each song, he spits facts and gets a little more vulnerable with us in Emotionless, where he tells us about his son, Adonis, that he hid from the limelight. 7/10.
Recommended tracks:
Blue Tint
Im Upset
nonstop
KEEP THAT SAME ENERGY–
Whew. I did not expect Kanye to snap so hard on the production of this album. Apparently, the project kept changing, so the overall structure seemed unorganized. I expected everything to come out wack, but surprisingly, it didn’t. This album contained flaws, but it sounded decent and I love Teyana’s testimony and raw truth that showed throughout each record. 5/10
Recommended tracks:
Rose in Harlem
Hurry
WTP
INVASION OF PRIVACY–
Cardi. Cardi. Cardi. Say it with me. Cardi. Cardi. Cardi. *demonic chant rises from Legacy High School*. Cardi B entered into 2017 with a bang. With her hit song, Bodak Yellow, she became a household name overnight. Since June of last year, we, the Cult of Cardi, expected her album to be straight flames. Wanna know something? It was. In everything she does, she never shies away from the truth. Each song talks about her current situation as she tries to adapt to living life in the public eye. 6/10.
Recommended tracks:
Best Life
I do
Be Careful
Diary 001–
The self- made artist, Clairo, blessed us with another piece of art. This time, she gave us an exclusive look into her mind and life as a teenager. Each song sounds whimsical and fabricated, projecting a life that most of us teens could never live. But who doesn’t love a good fantasy? 5/10.
