Jordan Walker

Wow wow wow wow wow! Yeah that's a damn good album. He absolutely killed it. It's definitely different from his albums in the past though, but his identity is still very present if that makes sense. It's pretty apparent that his ear and musical palette has expanded too though, and he's showing it by having his more recent influences plastered throughout the album, which I'm a big fan of. Plus he does it while still having it feel pretty cohesive. Like the song ROBBERY with Doechii on it, AMAZING! They painted such an vivid picture with this song. It deadass felt like I was watching a Bonnie & Clyde esque movie that was backed with a jazz soundtrack. Plus most of the intro's are pretty heavily inspired from the 90s and early 2000s Memphis sound. He even started getting a little political in some of these songs which I was definitely not expecting from A$AP Rocky, but love that he did. At the same time it seems like he's always been quite political and has just become more open to sharing his thoughts. Like one of the best lines on STFU has to be, "Pretty boy ish, grew up with the pimps and socialists," I fucking love that. It's also quite nice that it's kind of sprinkled in here and there, not like every song, front to back, is preaching, which I think is smart cause just based off his old sound that might have thrown some people off if he did that. All in all it seems like he's growing as a person and he's allowing himself to express it through the music which I'm a big fan of because if there's anything I hate, it's when artist put out music that sounds exactly the same over and over and over again. My favorite tracks off the first listen definitely gotta be: THE END, ROBBERY, STOLE YA FLOW, STFU, and probably WHISKEY The more I listen I'm sure it'll change a bit though

Ever since Earl first popped onto the scene as the edgy rap genius of Odd Future, I've been a huge fan and it's been so amazing to see how his development as a person, over the years, translates into his music through so many different avenues. "Live Laugh Love", is no different in that regard. Playing on the popular motto, "live laugh love", that is often found plastered across household decor and associated with that of a "basic" family home, Earl speaks on the struggles he faces while entering into a new phase of his life, one of fatherhood and trying to build a family of his own, while trying to provide that family with a safe environment to grow. And while many of Earl's previous albums have been pretty dark, dreadful, and pessimistic, this album is the complete opposite. While you can feel some anxiety in relation to Earl trying to create a nurturing environment for his kids, this album leans more towards a uplifting and hopeful tone. But best believe it's still Earl, and he delivers some of the most exciting bars that are not only packed full of depth, but are also just as refreshing. Definitely one of my favorite albums of the year!

So I had never listened to or heard of Deftones until this year, but with their sudden explosion back into the mainstream late last year and early this year I decided to check them out. The first album I ended up checking out was their most recent album, "private music", but to my surprise I didn't really understand the hype. So after a few days I figured I'd dive into their back catalog and found that this album was one of their most popular so I threw it on...and BAM!!!! This is what I was expecting. An album and sound easily worthy of all the hype they were receiving. Loved it all the way through, front to back, beginning to end. Such a great listen.