Hey, it’s Kash again. I didn’t think I’d be shooting out a review after 3 months but here we are… It’s obviously been a good while since I’ve posted a review and since then I started listening to music. I listened to more and more as I got sucked into my own world of the medium. I started out listening to hip-hop and rap exclusively. It was what I grew up listening to which made it even more exciting to explore unknown sectors of my favorite genre. Some of my first rap albums were To Pimp A Butterfly – Kendrick Lamar, Illmatic – Nas and g.o.o.d. kid m.a.a.d. City – Kendrick Lamar. These albums were just the start of my own journey of discovery along with the help of my friend informing me on essential albums and the music community I was about to jump into. Afterwards, I started listening to prog rock, which is probably one of my favorite genres, when I first tried it I thought it was plain ol’ not good, and I was extremely ignorant – I wasn’t used to the genre and I transitioned cold turkey by listening to 5 prog rock albums in a row. These occurrences are probably some of the best moments you could have in music – proving yourself wrong.

Let’s elaborate. The first 2 prog rock albums I listened to were King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King and The Velvet Underground & Nico (Self Titled). If you know anything about music, you know that these albums are agreed upon amongst different music nerds to be a couple of the best albums ever made. I re-listened to argue against these albums, but I realized how wrong I was. I was missing the point of the whole aesthetic. The movements added a sense of differentiation to the pieces of music and the persistently higher tone was simply a different style that I should accept.

I feel like I should talk about hip-hop/rap now since it’s probably one of the reasons I wake up in the morning. I’ve listened to many different subgenres; modern hip-hop is the most popular genre these days. Even artists like Kanye West have left their own style to fit in with the new. This genre can have some great bangers but I feel like the majority of this genre gives hip-hop a negative reputation. Most of what I hear from this genre have the same lyrical themes; drugs, money and women, recycled over and over again. Modern hip-hop can be done really well. There’s proof in this when you listen to albums like Imperial by Denzel Curry and Rodeo by Travis Scott. Yes, those themes are still pursued but there’s still a sense of creativity embedded in the projects and great production is always appreciated. When listening to Modern hip-hop I usually look for a defining style like Travis Scott’s “Yeah!”s and Lil Yachty’s nasally voice. I recently looked at the XXL freshman polls and I was so dissapointed. Every artist I saw was the same as the next.

The next subgenre of rap that I’d like to discuss is conscious hip-hop. A lot of hip-hop and rap can be described as conscious as long as it’s politically aware of its message. This could be pretty general too, because even talking about the hood could be considered conscious hip-hop. For example: Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Vince Staples, Wu-Tang, and many more. I could honestly fill up a page of conscious hip-hop artists. This remains to be my favorite subgenre of rap. I appreciate the artists’ effort to talk about relevant topics that are obviously difficult to talk about especially when talking about hardships as a kid growing up around gangs and danger being constantly awaiting you.



Another subgenre and the final one I’d like to go in depth with is boom bap. Boom bap has great style. The name may sound a bit funny, but it’s an onomatopoeia for the heavy use of percussion sounds found within the genre. You’ll find boom bap associated with East Coast hip-hop. Boom bap is one of my favorite genres with its authentic sound that embodies the culture and heritage of my favorite city, New York City. I spent most of my early childhood there and everytime I come back to the city I always want to explore the interesting people that inhabit the 5 boroughs. Everytime I listen to Boom bap I’m transported there and it’s bliss.

Enough genre talk, now it’s time to talk about my favorite album. This album has remained my favorite album since the 6th grade. To Pimp A Butterfly is one of the most thought out and beautiful pieces of music ever conceived by man, in my humble opinion. I first listened to this album in middle school when it just came out and I listened to whatever was new. It’s been more than 5 years and I still haven’t gotten tired of the album. Maybe it’s nostalgia, but I’d rather just say that it’s the best thing ever made. Some of my favorite tracks are Wesley’s Theory, King Kunta, You Ain’t Gotta Lie, Complexion, Alright, and Complexion. Kendrick Lamar made this album to talk about how the music industry evolved him. The best way to describe the message to average music listeners is The Dark Side of the Moon of rap – Basically, talking against the music industry because of the bad that it brings. He retells the message of the album in the final song, a 10 minute long track, called Mortal Man. He uses titles of some of the songs that are supposed to represent major turning points and it really helps you understand and appreciate the album more.

I have recently learned that despite me having listened to just over 100 albums I’m still just scratching the surface when it comes to what music can bring to my life. I’ve yet to dig into bandcamp and other indie/underground artists along with countless other genres to get into. When I started listening to music my main goal was to expand my tastes. I think it’s time to take another big step. It’s time for me to to expand my knowledge even more and I’m so eager to do so.