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Updated: December 11, 2018

EDITORIAL: Rich Homie Quan & The Disconnect Between Hip Hop Generations

Originally posted on HipHopDX 6/15/2016

So if you haven’t heard by now, the VH1 Hip Hop Honors are back. And with that also came the trend of hiring today’s rappers to pay homage to a pioneer whose lyrics they don’t know. There’s fumbling through a word or two. There’s the Lupe Fiasco head scratching moment when he forgot ATCQ lyrics. Then there’s Rich Homie Quan. There are few things sacred in Hip Hop: the lyrics to Notorious BIG’s verse on “Get Money” being one of them.

Before you can really address the man who from here forth will now be affectionately known as #RichHomieKaraoke, one has to really wonder who made the call to choose him as the artist to honor Biggie’s verse. Were Lil Kim and Diddy consulted? How did that conversation go?

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Updated: December 12, 2018

ALBUM REVIEW: Rich The Kid & Famous Dex – Rich Forever II

Originally posted on HipHopDX 6/12/2016
Rating: 2.6/5

Queens born, Atlanta raised MC Rich The Kid represents a new generation of rap in 2016. Signed to a collection of labels including Quality Control, the Lyor Cohen led 300 Entertainment, and his own Rich Forever imprint, Rich’s sound comes from the mold of his QC label-mates Migos. Rich Forever II, with his Rich Forever signee and Chicago MC Famous Dex, is Rich’s 15^th mixtape since stepping on the scene in 2013—his 3^rd in the past 4 months alone.

Rich Forever II opens with “Plug Callin,” an ode to Rich and Dex’s non-English connect over deep bass and a simple piano riff. Mixing trap rap with finesse, the two offer nothing of lyrical value other than flossing on record with bars like, “I’m rich forever, rock star chain heavy metal/rings on me, been the champ racks on me nigga limp.” The two follow the trend on the next track with the Wiz Khalfia-assisted “2 Times.” Not to ever be outdone on mediocrity, Wiz Khalifa claps back with humdrum delivery and uninspired bars, “Got a new bitch that I met only let me hit two times, kick a bitch right off the futon/I’m getting that bread like a crouton.”

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Updated: December 11, 2018

ALBUM REVIEW: RiFF RAFF – Peach Panther

Originally posted on 6/5/2016
Rating: 2.4/5

Houston rap spectacle RiFF RAFF has amassed a cult following over the years with his syrupy flow, and bigger than life high roller lifestyle. His fans literally risk death for a chance to jump on stage just to touch the hem of his shirt. However unexplainable the fanfare he has garnered is, RiFF RAFF continues to capitalize on it with his latest album, Peach Panther.

To the uninitiated and sober, RiFF RAFF is unadulterated static. Listening to his music is about as productive as tying string to cups and trying to make a long distance call to your childhood imaginary friend. His nonsensical simplicity is often insulting to a genre of music that was built on wordplay, metaphors, storytelling, and substance. For the record: Peach Panther offers none of those qualities.

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Updated: December 12, 2018

ALBUM REVIEW: Horseshoe Gang – Anti-Trap Music

Originally posted on HipHopDX 5/29/2016
Rating: 3.5/5

The quartet of Demetrius, Julius, Kenny, and Dice represent the last of a dying breed in Hip-Hop right now: the rap group. One listen to the Horseshoe Gang and you can hear why West Coast luminary KXNG Crooked took them under his wing. With their latest album Anti-Trap Music, they’re looking to show the game that there is something to be said for integrity.

Part of the appeal of West Coast Hip Hop is that it’s brash, in your face and to the point. The Crooked I featured intro shows just that as the first verse opens, “This ain’t trappin’, this is rappin’/if you the captain of the ship then we the Kraken”. Throughout proclamations of “We tryna make harder shit than N.W.A.”, the rap troupe hold their own as they bully the dark, pounding bass with their C.O.B. Leader.

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Updated: December 11, 2018

ALBUM REVIEW: M-1 & Bonnot – Between Me And The World

Originally posted on HipHopDX 5/23/2016
Rating: 3.3/5

Inspired by famed black author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates, the dead prez’s most outspoken member M-1 grabs his Italian tag team partner and producer for their second album together Between Me and the World. Sitting down with DX in February, M-1 described his process for the album having recording it in Italy at a time where America was dealing with the outcome of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray, “Soon there’s going to be a solution that was the same as it always was. People aren’t going to accept the same old conclusions about how we’re treated here and what justice really means.”

Built on a platform of black power and edutainment that dates back to 1996, Between Me and the World follows the script he and his group member stic.man created two decades ago. That familiarity serves as both comfort for a loyal fan base and as a hindrance for those who look for their artists to grow their style within the current climate. M-1, while always potent and poignant in his message, doesn’t quite hit the mark with the entertainment appeal.

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Updated: December 11, 2018

ALBUM REVIEW: Sincerely Collins – The Legend Of The Phoenix

Originally posted on HipHopDX 5/17/2016
Rating: 4/5

“Destiny is a guess; a guess of what you know, what it knows about you and what it knows you would do. But then again, I might be wrong and destiny could be totally in control of you” the 9-year-old whiz kid questioned about the future confidently belts between tracks on Phoenix rapper Sincerely Collins’ latest album, The Legend of the Phoenix. For Sincerely, the parallels of destiny and his current trajectory are laid out for us as he wax poetics his autobiography over 16 beautifully produced tracks.

Opening the album is a news bulletin about a woman, Lisa Dianne Jameson, who left work one evening in 1991 and was never seen again. As listeners unpack the following track “Better Different Intro,” you come to find out that woman is Collins’ mother as he emotionally recalls, “I started from the bottom lost my mama at two, I was just a little shorty but that moment I knew/I was different I was different I ain’t one in the same, I was sad and I was lonely I was hoping for change.”

Marcel Friday

Social Media Manager Creative & Social Strategist Journalist

EDITORIAL: Rich Homie Quan & The Disconnect Between Hip Hop Generations

ALBUM REVIEW: Rich The Kid & Famous Dex – Rich Forever II

ALBUM REVIEW: RiFF RAFF – Peach Panther

ALBUM REVIEW: Horseshoe Gang – Anti-Trap Music

ALBUM REVIEW: M-1 & Bonnot – Between Me And The World

ALBUM REVIEW: Sincerely Collins – The Legend Of The Phoenix