So many songs and albums were released this week, and though I may not have listened to them all, I listened to A LOT. Ozzy Osbourne released an album at 71, Grimes released an album that’s just as crazy as she is, and though I’m not the biggest fan of K-Pop, I’d be damned if I didn’t listen to BTS’s new album to try and find the best of the best in new music to listen to this week. Through my listening I found songs I loved, songs I hated, and even songs that made me question my feelings on some of my favorite artists. Though I’m usually not one to preach objectivity in music, there were definitely songs that especially stuck out to me this week, making it easier than normal for me to say I have a definitive favorite and even a definitive least favorite for the week.
My least favorite song I heard this week is “Fubu” by Royce da 5’9’’ featuring Conway the Machine off his new album The Allegory. This album has a ton of fantastic insight on some of the struggles faced by him and African Americans in current-day America with great lyrics such as the hard hitting, “But this is America, where credit is for the privileged and profit is not my amenity,” on the introductory song “Mr. Grace.” Lyrically, this really is a pretty great album, but unfortunately it does suffer a bit in terms of a somewhat flat one-man production… oh, and also the anti-vax propaganda. “Fubu” is the 12th track on Royce’s album and is one of the least interesting songs on the album with no real theme beyond giving a few opinions of other current rappers and showing off a bit of clout, but overall this is one of the songs I turned my brain off and let play on my first listen. This was fine up until I heard a line that had me scrambling for my phone to make sure I heard right: “My son got autism from injection by syringes.” The absolute confidence behind this line made sure everyone knows this is not satire, and just in case that wasn’t enough he also brings this back up again in his 16th track “Tricked,” which actually has a great message behind it before Royce decides to become a paranoid 40-year-old mother with a Facebook account. Though this theme only comes up twice, it really does take me out of the moment and very much detracts from the important messages he raps about for the rest of the album. Overall, the album is definitely not his best, but it does have some great lyrics and themes if you can block out the fact that the man who is preaching for equality is the same man preaching to bring back measles.
My favorite song of the week is “BALD!” by JPEGMAFIA. Peggy has been killing it lately and, production wise, he has some of the most unique and interesting songs amongst any rappers today. Though this definitely isn’t Peggy’s best song, I am very biased and will use any form possible to get more people to listen to this man. The deep and insightful meaning behind the making of this song can be summed up by JPEGMAFIA’s tweet on release of the song announcing, “IF U GOT A FUCKED UP HAIRLINE THIS FOR U.” On a more serious note, like many of Peggy’s other songs, the reason I would recommend them is not for the lyrics or the meaning, but rather for his excellent self-production. The synth-filled beat sounds like something you would hear out of a ’90s video game and feels like something you would hear off his sophomore album, Veteran. To add to the 1990s video game vibe, Peggy released a music video along with this song which I can only describe as if you took the music video for “EAST” by Earl Sweatshirt and threw him in a PlayStation sweater, put it on a VHS, and shaved his head. Overall, describing this song in one word is easy: “fun.” Whether you want to listen to it for the great drum beat that plays throughout, the insanity of Peggy’s lyrics, or the top-tier production value you’re going to hear in any of his other songs, you’re going to have a great time. As for me, this song will easily be making it into “Brandon’s Excellent Party Playlist that Definitely Exists and is Not Just a Way for Me to Write an Easy Ending to this Article.”
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