J. Cole. Earl Sweatshirt. Don Toliver x Chase B. Chris Brown x Jacquees. Ski Mask.
New Cole? New Earl? New Cactus Jack?
This will probably be my favorite edition of this series.
Also, if you hadn't noticed or skipped last week's edition, EPs and deluxe releases spanning four songs or shorter qualify for Saturday night ratings.
Was this new addition an excuse to write about Joey Bada$$ and Earl Sweatshirt? Yes, but, as to not show favoritism, it will apply to all future editions.
There's one more addition to the series, so check out the tutorial section of the article. Or not, it's pretty self-explanatory.
How it works: Each song will get a short review followed by a Tinder-style rating of swipe right or swipe left. For Tinder context, swipe right means approval, and swipe left means rejection.
The same concept applies to this series, but instead of the swipe deciding sex or no sex, they dictate stream or no stream. Each swipe decision will also be accompanied by a general theme of the swipe.
Ex.) Swipe Right(Regret in Morning)
Disclaimer: If the intro didn't give it away, this series is freer than other articles on SoundSports. Bias will show. Jokes will flow. If you happen to be a recruiter trying to gauge my fit in your company, pick another article.
J. Cole Lewis Street - Single
The Climb Back: Cole is back.
When I say Cole is back, I don't say it from a fanboy stance of one of my favorite rappers being active again. When I say Cole is back, I say it from the stance of someone who has been following him since 2008 and hasn't been this excited from his new music since 2014 Forest Hills Drive.
From the soul-sampled production to the flow switches to the punchlines to the storytelling, this is what 8-year-old me would have predicted prime J. Cole to sound like.
In an article written for The Players' Tribune, Cole details his battle with lacking inspiration at certain points in his career. "The Climb Back" sounds inspired.
Swipe: Right (A 10 Post-Breakup and Back on the Market)
Lion King on Ice: "The Climb Back" has been crowned the one by many music gatekeepers, but "Lion King on Ice" gets my irrelevant vote in this music electoral college system.
Cole reminisces on his past hunger with some of the best bars you'll hear on a single.
"Sound like a whole Lambo' truck in my stomach, bitch, I ain't hungry, this feeling is starving, gotta move mama from out them apartments, gotta put 'Ville on the map, we forgotten, gotta hit hoes you hang up in your locker, gotta get rich, 'cause my granny picked cotton, gotta make hits, 'cause if not, then I'm floppin', gotta stay me in the process," raps Cole.
He goes from the perspective of 2009 Cole to the perspective of 2020 Cole by kicking dirt on Lil Pump's grave, rapping about how he set the "Gucci Gang" rapper down like his father and reminding everyone that Pump's career flamed out as he predicted.
Between this song and "Snow on tha Bluff" it's clear Cole isn't sacrificing his lyrics to avoid smoke. In fact, for the first time in his career, Cole is running straight into the smoke, and he has no fear of choking.
Swipe: Right (Quiet Freak)
Don Toliver x Chase B "Cafeteria" (feat. Gunna)
Let's get the basics out of the way, the lead single off Don Toliver and Chase B's upcoming Escapism project is good.
Now let's get down to what's really important— what Escapism means for Cactus Jack.
The project will be the second major release from Cactus Jack, and after the disappointing effort on JACKBOYS, Escapism can make or break the image of the label as a collaborative unit.
Don Toliver is the number two guy on Cactus Jack, and he has yet to miss in his young career, whether it be a single, feature or project. As the host of .WAV Radio and the right hand to Travis Scott, CHASE B has become a fan favorite off his personality alone, but his production debut "MAYDAY" was mediocre and squandered a top-tier Young Thug feature.
If Escapism succeeds, CHASE B becomes an established talent for Cactus Jack, and Don Toliver, now with three quality projects under his belt, is cemented in the conversation on the future of rap.
If Escapism follows the route of JACKBOYS, CHASE B the producer starts to look forced, and Cactus Jacks' second-most important artist sees his unblemished discography take an unnecessary L.
But, yeah, "Cafeteria" is a good single.
Swipe: Right(Get Tested)
Jacquees x Chris Brown "Put in Work"
Watch the video, and look at the lengths the director goes to in order to hide Jacquees' height. If you couldn't spot them, allow me to point out a few that made me laugh:
1.) A song that is promoted as Jacquees AND Chris Brown shows Jacquees and Chris Brown together in one shot for the entire video. And the shot just so happens to be one where both artists are seated.
2.) There's an awkward on-the-ground shot used throughout the video, and almost as if the editor realized how awkward the shot was and wanted to distract the viewer, it's accompanied by random head blowups throughout.
3.) When Jacquees is shot by himself with a car as his backdrop, he's either positioned several feet in front of the car or awkwardly leaning on the car's hood, as to not give a visual measuring tool.
All of this is irrelevant to the quality of the song, but there's not much to say about the actual track other than it's decent.
The lyrics are painfully watered down, but the production and deliveries are too high-quality to completely ignore the song.
In other words, it's a single.
Swipe: Left (White Forces with Jean Shorts and a Blank Tank Top, Basic)
Earl Sweatshirt Feet of Clay (Deluxe)
GHOST: In a since-deleted tweet, Earl Sweatshirt explained his connection to Navy Blue's verse having to do with its subject matter and the fact it was recorded around the time of his own father's passing.
Navy Blue raps about how he didn't say goodbye to his estranged father and how he came to accept his death. Based on Earl's past bars about his dad, he likely could have added his own perspective on the same subject but chose not to.
It's disappointing that he didn't add a verse highlighting his experience on his song.
Navy Blue's verse is great, but without a second verse from him or any verse from Earl, the song fills unfinished.
Swipe: Left (Only One Picture)
WHOLE WORLD: This is disappointing on a deeper level.
When "WHOLE WORLD" was released months ago as a single, I knew it had to be attached to a project because Earl Sweatshirt doesn't release standalone tracks.
Seeing as how Alchemist produced the track and has already entirely produced two of 2020's best rap albums, Freddie Gibbs' Alfredo and Boldy James' The Price of Tea In China, I was happily waiting for a surprise Earl Sweatshirt & Alchemist album.
That surprise never came.
"WHOLE WORLD" ended up on Feet of Clay, and while it does fit the tone of the EP, it's a letdown that the single ended up on a deluxe rather than a new project.
Swipe: Right (No Match)
Ski Mask The Slump God "Burn The Hoods"
Fuck Donald Trump. A Big Time Rush shoutout. America sucks.
Yeah, no review is needed on this one.
Swipe: Right (Perfect Bio)
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