Best Tracks: B.B Butcher, The Middle of Next Month, Got Flicked (Rebirth)
Genre: Jazz Rap, Post Jazz
Year: 2020

Manger on McNichols is timeless. I don’t mean this in the sense that it will never sound dated (even though I bet it won’t), but instead that the narrative being told here is nonlinear. Boldly’s lyrics come off as prophetic, telling us the story of his life before it has even happened. In “The Middle of Next Month”, for instance, Boldy describes what will happen in his near future, as if it has already happened. In this hypothetical future, he will go to jail for murder, and in past-tense, he tells us who specifically sent him letters while he was there. In “Mommy Dearest” too, we hear a reporter inquiring about the very song we are listening to, and we get to hear Boldy’s answers about its songwriting process.

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Best Tracks: Smith and Cross, Asylum
Genre: Experimental Hip Hop
Year: 2022

Up until this album, I never considered myself a fan of Billy Woods. He has always been a really good rapper, and I like the dirty, introspective, harsh hip hop sound he does. Even still, most of his previous work didn’t really captivate me. It wasn’t until Brass in 2020 that I felt Billy Woods had become someone special. That was the first of his albums I bought. Then his contributions to Call me When You’re Outside by Steel Tipped Dove sustained my interest in his discography. So now, Aethiopes is the third. Billy Woods has cemented himself as one of the most creative rappers making music today.

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Best Tracks: Title Sequence
Genre: Alternative Hip Hop
Year: 2014

200 Tree Rings is ambitious, concise, and has some fantastic features and creative production. Going into this record, I was immediately blown away by “Title Sequence”: a gorgeous, drumless intro. It works as an incredible tone-setter, and leads perfectly into the next track.

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