[Why do I like it] This album was definitely a grower. I was very "meh" on the first few listens. However, I acknowledged its potential and that's why I kept playing it. After some listens I ended up enjoying it quite a bit. It has a very "surreal" feeling which I totally love and the cover does a great job at capturing this. Now, A$AP Rocky, honestly, isn't a very skilled rapper, however he's like a darker Kid Cudi, meaning he can still create good songs thanks to his delivery and flow. Even the production grew on me. I enjoyed the "hazy", space-ish and noisy beats. Fuck, even Skrillex killed it on the song he produced. One problem that his album does have it's the content and themes of the songs; they are basically all the same shit. Still a very enjoyable album.
The must hears: 1Train & Hell
[Why do I like it] I liked Radioactive, however, that was most definitely not the direction I wanted to see Yela going. Why I became a fan of him is because he sounded like nothing else, and I didn't want him to go to that casual friendly shit. Luckily, he went back to his Catfish Billy shit and boy it was awesome. I particularly enjoyed just how short and sweet the whole thing is: 45 minutes of no bullshit but just good music. The features were good, the SupaHotBeats were great, specially because it made of TMR a very cohesive project that had its own identity. Yelawolf killed in pretty much every song: the intro was very catchy, the flows in songs like Catfish Billy and Hustle were insane, and the Tennessee Love chorus was sublime. I loved the album from the first listen, and I still bump it almost daily.
The must hears: Tennessee Love & Catfish Billy
[Why do I like it] I have already talked a lot on how much this dude rocks. Here's the thing with KRIT's albums: the balance of them is absolutely perfect. You have 16 songs, all of them a perfect combination of set-your-speakers-on-fire bangers, slow, chill down songs, introspective songs that take you deep into his mind and interesting concept songs. Add to that memorable, catchy hooks, immaculate production (again, the whole thing was produced by him except for one song), and you have a complete package that puts to shame what other artists put out there. I think Big K.R.I.T. has been getting better and better since the first album he put out, and his latest keeps this tradition, making it my favorite of his releases so far, a clear contender for album of the year, and it's gonna take something incredible to dethrone it by the end of 2013.
The must hears: Multi Till The Sun Die & Life is A Gamble
What about you my brothas, what has impressed you this year?
