Monolith Cocktail Blog

MATT OLIVER’S HIP-HOP REVUE OF 2023: A RUN-THROUGH IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER OF ALL THE CHOICE RAP ALBUMS FROM LAST YEAR

Apollo Brown & Planet Asia
‘Sardines’ (Mello Music Group)

You can always vouch for the richness and warmth of an Apollo Brown production across countless albums and collaborations. But whether it’s the re-pairing with a seasoned loaded gun like the permanently grizzled Planet Asia, a foremost argument starter in an empty room daring you to ignore his recommendation that you should “make your next move your best move” – or just the changing of the seasons out in Michigan, Sardines contains a palpable trace of trepidation. The autumn soul standards remain, now up there with the ability to rip the comfort blanket from your grasp, whether through kick-less means or cutting through tracks with a semi-supernatural synth line slash haunted choir – and this is before the decidedly unambiguous lyrics. Of course it remains an absolutely classy follow-up to the pair’s Anchovies LP from 2017 – “the greatest invention since the Air Fryer” – with ‘Peas & Onions’ doing the classic rhyme-around-a-sample a la ‘Oh Boy’ and ‘Hold You Down’.

BlackLiq x Mopes
‘Choice is a Chance’ (Strange Famous)

BlackLiq
‘The Lie’ (Man Bites Dog)

A sneering, old skool gangster rap flow out of Virginia with the revs of a getaway car, two sides of the BlackLiq coin bear teeth and soul. Examining familial relationships and anecdotes, fronted by the surprisingly poignant ‘The Tooth’, Choice is a Chance follows BlackLiq & Mopes’ Time is the Price from 2021. The emcee’s emotions run high, but respect the beats rolling under mostly sunny skies by telling relatable, cogent tales; there’s a threat of a danger as he works on himself (‘Therapy’) but he’s never anything but himself, and doesn’t deflect when love calls (‘In The Beginning’). That sneer shows its fangs on the DEJECT-produced ‘The Lie’, listing industry machinations that don’t sit right but kind of needs must, with a cult leader persuasion concluding that modern life is rubbish, and people are the worst. Perfect for the trap tempos, metal riffs and low end ruptures, the nihilist comes to the fore – “being this successful really isn’t healthy” is countered with “I just figured out that not being rich is not broke” – and the shock value is the internal monologue burrowing out from the brain and blasting through a megaphone from the top floor.

Black Star
‘No Fear of Time’ (self-released)

What with the age of ‘dad rap’ reaching the broadsheets – the temerity of having something worthwhile to say with your 50s approaching – the timing of Black Star’s Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) and Talib Kweli to reconvene is ideal when testing upstarts’ deaf ears. With Madlib on production, No Fear of Time would once have sent message boards foaming at the mouth as seen as a protection of the art, but appears to have slipped under 2023’s radar. Only nine tracks long, it’s a time and space odyssey with Bey and Kweli as weathered, Brooklyn-to the-fullest gods with a crumple to their brow – “life is beautiful, even when the world is wack” says Bey not entirely convincingly – and Madlib taking interplanetary routes with added adventures in chopped up soul and whodunnits. Not quite the once-in-a-lifetime event it might have been, but Black Star are still superheroes of the cipher.

Blockhead
‘The Aux’ (Backwoodz Studioz)

Housing a superlative list of underground misfits, misunderstoods and masters of their own destiny – Quelle Chris, Koreatown Oddity, Open Mike Eagle, Armand Hammer, Fatboi Sharif – NYC producer and consistent album stacker Blockhead pushes the dark through a prism. The mood of bespoke craftsmanship rarely repeats the jovial wordery of Aesop Rock on ‘Mississippi’, and the hot-tin-roof flows of Bruiser Wolf and RXK Nephew are notable exceptions. The creeping ‘Lighthouse’ sets in motion dusky, twitchy, dirges in the deep – music by cavelight if you will, causing the ultimate appreciation of hooded heads nodding solemnly. Overall The Aux defies what you’re perhaps expecting from a Blockhead album – maybe because here the Midas touch of billy woods’ Backwoodz Studioz is involved. Such is the classic blueprint for a single producer-multiple emcee album that it closes with a track called ‘Now That’s What I Call A Posse Cut Vol 56’.

Cappo
‘Canon’ (Noel & Poland)

At his most introspective, a wounded Cappo is an impossibly potent proposition as he invites you to his therapy circle. Off the back of a PHD study into hip-hop’s methods of pain management, you know this isn’t gonna be chest-beating, fuck the world discourse – “spraying syllables to aid me with my self esteem” is both the psychiatrist and case study adjusting the focus of his previous abstracts. These recalibrated rhymes of Nottingham’s finest, filing personal problems and goals with stunning intimacy and detail alongside stock cultural references – ‘Anger’ wonderfully phrases how life “ain’t no bed of roses when it’s filled with cobras”, ‘Firstborn’ readies the torch – creates a tome to learn and live by, crowing over the competition (“I dot and dash the track like a pointillist”) when old habits die hard. Kong The Artisan reads the room with solemn piano pieces, beats to attempt breakthroughs by and warnings on-the-low, on a genuinely fascinating listen.

Chino XL & Stu Bangas
‘God’s Carpenter’ (Brutal Music)

Veteran punch line supplier Chino XL, an underrated NYC-NJ exponent of barging in, hitting the target at a lick, respawning and repeating, links with Brutal Music’s boom-bap swashbuckler – Stu Bangas has been as Stu Bangas does for years now. Running off the page from the off, XL’s indignant flow is ripe for rewinds, both for its humour and composition (“your prayers are like emails to God, but He’s sending them straight to spam”) and namedrops (Pete Davidson, Alec Baldwin, Travis Scott alone all snared on ‘Who Told You’). Bangas oils up the muscle, red mist descending on ‘Murder Rhyme Kill’ (inevitably featuring Vinnie Paz), and with the right amount of hammer horror schlock that’ll deck you if Chino somehow doesn’t. There’s room for ‘Remind You’ expressing human compassion, without interruption to the all-encompassing carnage.

Daniel Son & Wino Willy
‘Gris-Gris’ (FXCK RXP)

“No interruptions when the cash speak” is an opening statement declaring that Gris-Gris does business with no rehearsals and no do-overs. Toronto’s Daniel Son is unequivocal, a superhero-sized avenger hiding in plain sight, probably wearing a brick-thick link round its neck. Personally affronted by the mic he steps to, his words hold heat throughout, of vivid imagery out of conventional set pieces, and a compelling presence treating Wino Willy’s production like a punchbag. Viz-style name aside, Willy, who also released 2023’s Wino From Another Planet and Today’s The Day with Black Josh, does dejection as a blues and funk soundtrack catching moments in the wrong place at the wrong time, psychedelically tinged so that chalk outlines form like crop circles (‘CAMH’ speculates that “Wino made this shit out in Roswell”). Gris-Gris enjoys nothing more than unsheathing when faced with tension.

Danny Brown
‘Quaranta’ (Warp)

Danny Brown begins Quaranta with the unexpectedly muted title track, ruing missed opportunities, asking if there’s too much of a good thing and confirming that when artists dip behind the mask (especially certified Detroit livewires), the spectacle has every chance of becoming not’s what’s advertised, especially when in the throes of 40dom. Within one track that ner-nicky-ner-ner flow is alight and salacious on the car chase of ‘Tantor’, beats start getting flung around like they’re in a wrestling ring, and so the rest of the show goes. These dominant moments of introspection (relationship breakdowns on ‘Down Wit It’, the need to keep moving on ‘Hanami’) really make you understand the man and where he’s been/at/going in the aftershock of his back catalogue. Maybe there’s an inevitability that Brown got to this point, but it’ll be talked about as much as the classic madman persona overpowering ‘Dark Sword Angel’.

Elzhi & Oh No
‘Heavy Vibrato’ (Nature Sounds)

“Welcome to my mental torture chamber” announces Elzhi, confirming the weight of Heavy Vibrato – while this is not an invitation to an underground lair of ill repute, the thickness of this heckle-raising album is perhaps surprising given past associations with drowsier endeavours. Oh No is funky throughout with a chip resolutely strapped to his shoulder, keen to push into the red: on another day ‘In Your Feelings’ is your average neo-soul twizzle but for the bass blowing the house down. Elzhi issues sizeable, unrepentant lumps on ‘Radio International Programming’ and gives off vibes that you wouldn’t wanna feel his dark side in spite of the street reportage of ‘Bishop’ and ‘Last Nerve’ airing grievances. Heavy Vibrato doesn’t need to ramble – it’s a concerted 12-track brick shithouse that goes in, administers its terms, and leaves long-lingering smoke once it exits.

Fliptrix
‘Mantra No.9’ (High Focus)

Verb T & Vic Grimes
‘The Tower Where The Phantom Lives’ (High Focus)

No surprise that these two are on the list given their amazing consistency. Fliptrix still gives the impression of a hopeful taking road trips at the back of the night bus, headphones blazing and perfecting every word until its tattooed onto his brain, continuing to manifest smoke-infused enlightenment with pushing against everyday perils. It’s possible to both chill to ‘Mantra’ and let it wash over you, and get knee deep into it on a badboy’s quest for fire (“I say no to the new normal, cos done know that my soul be immortal”) – plus its 18-track length is almost quaint. Verb T’s successful means of negotiating the dangers of turning 40 (with Romesh Ranganathan adding his two penneth worth on the ‘Four Oh!’ remix), meant forgoing the mid-life crisis of a sports car and releasing both this and Found in the Fog with Illinformed. Spinning his yarns where as always, the smallest wins are the most significant, that easiness of flow hunkering down in the corner of the pub, enhances everyday characters as a mild-mannered superhero slash agony uncle until everything’s folklore. Still the king of his castle.

Forest DLG
‘Echo of the Hidden Spruce’ (High Focus)

Koralle
‘Insomnia’ (Melting Pot Music)

SadhuGold
‘Golden Joe Season 3’ (Nature Sounds)

Three contrasting instrumental LPs, starting with Forest DLG’s version of tiptoeing through the tulips. The storied Telemachus/Chemo collects and connects lightness of melody with a heavy gait (‘Teeth Marks’ getting caught in the trap) and seepage of psychedelia, creating autumnal reflections worth winding the windows down for. Insomnia by the Italian Koralle is the sort of, jazz-perfect, pinpoint instrumentalism that to the wrong ears can sound too wispy for its own good, but at the right temperature does after hours drifts to a tee, a handful of vocal contributions in tune with transporting you to the land of (head) nod. On vinyl for the first time, SadhuGold’s third Golden Joe installment plays the MPC like a Whack-A-Mole, offering 11 chokers for the neck (alien ray-gun always present and correct). With mob-affiliated sounds awash with colour, loops as sticky as summer in the city and ‘Fear Of A Black Yeti’ rolling malevolently, sagas and drama are guaranteed from SG’s finger-on-the-button intuition.

Kurious & Cut Beetlez
‘Monkeyman’ (Weaponize Records)

Some of the choicest neck snapping beats of the year come from Finnish deck mashers the Cut Beetlez – the drum breaks shaking with crate dust, the melodies street corner-certified and the jazz grooves jumbled up and reassembled into absolute ear wormery. With Kurious of NYC collective Constipated Monkeys riding the beats with enough stress in his voice to let you know he’s a threat, there’s a tangible appreciation for the spectacle unfolding, giving the drummer some while playing narrator to what can only be described as capers reincarnating the thrill of tagging the subway before the fuzz intervene. Always backing himself to steal the show with a DOOM-like cadence – the likes of the slow rolling hullabaloo of ‘Monkeyman Theme’ -, and with the Beetlez taking centre stage with two ‘Monkey Scratch’ intervals, if PG Tips did hip-hop albums…

Lukah
‘Raw Extractions’ (FXCK RXP)

Given a 2023 bump a year after its initial release, Raw Extractions is exactly like a rough ride in the dentist’s chair. Memphis emcee Lukah, whose profile on ‘Flying Low’ forensically details what’s in store, absolutely smokes every beat (druggy synths, Mafioso quiet storms, jazz flutters, cipher slaps), whose attitude is to knock down the door – ‘Thoughts Made Divine’ is his ‘here’s Johnny!’ moment – and then keep on pushing until the ink runs dry. Though he’s ready to fly off the handle, the way his words link lifts his presence to send suckers scrambling – ‘Dead Horses’ speaks a whole bunch of inspirational sense, and ‘Black Belt Jones’ reaches peak Canibus-levels of technical agility. No need for anaesthesia when “ain’t no telling what’s in my brainbox/so if you can’t grasp what I’m kickin’, let me brainwash” becomes your mantra, doing exactly the same on the autumn LP Permanently Blackface.

Masai Bey & BMS
‘C87’ (Uncommon Records)

A fifteenth anniversary reissue, C87 is the classic sound of the concrete jungle converging and pushing its protagonists closer to the edge, helmed by Masai Bey, responsible for one of Definitive Jux’s most savage, overlooked back cat moments from the 00s indie/alt-rap heyday, and BMS, another warrior from an earlier scene embryo. Claustrophobic, where the only solution is to fight fire with fire via Herculean lyrical pushbacks, Bey & BMS are always within touching distance of a dystopia no longer thought improbable. The highly flammable ‘IAA’ asks for a moment of silence without irony, while the fanfares of ‘Bring My Shit’ are charred with inevitability, its orators plowing on with flows pulling grenade pins with their teeth. The drums-first intensity of C87 clamps headphones over ears while the world slips down a sinkhole, and is far too volatile for your average backpack.

Odd Holiday
‘LISA’ (ÕFFKILTR)

Funky, fresh and fun, Odd Holiday‘s melting pot of sounds reflects the come ups of Trugoy-ish emcee Mattic and producer Daylight Robbery!, both members of the Monolith Cocktail-rated Clouds In A Headlock crew. Take Odd to mean offbeat and interesting – wide eyed, wide eared and quietly wired, LISA is packed with ideas and samples (bygone radio jingles, chopped and screwed Sheldon Cooper, cartoon sci-fi. drug PSAs); smooth penmanship whose musing always makes ends meet and probably fills notepads while hanging onto a daydream; and jazzy boom bap mosaics reaching the utmost luxury on ‘Free Folk’ and steadily pulling rabbits from hats. They’re also a confident bunch, given that ‘Adam West High School’ appears twice within its half hour running time. Get the object of their affection on your next getaway playlist.

Raw Poetic feat. Damu the Fudgemunk
‘Away Back In’ (Def Pressé)

Lovely live vibes from the reliable connect making the hip-hop underground a nicer, safer place, Away Back In is here for you whether you’ve got urges to pop the top, get some late night liquor in your system or shake off some New Year’s blues. Damu The Fudgemunk’s patient drums, P-Fritz’ bluesy guitar licks ungloving occasional scuzz and feedback, and the breezy Jason Moore still knowing MC means move the crowd – a figurehead to follow (‘Sometime After Midnight’) and a fan you feel you can rub shoulders with – relieve the pressure from the first bar, even when ‘Rehab’ stars running red lights. Once the tone is set and the tempos start going back and forth, Away Back In essentially becomes a 37-minute gig inviting everyone from the front to the back to join in. Put this up with there with the elite of your favourite hip-hoppers converting the stage experience onto wax.

Tha God Fahim
‘Iron Bull’ (Nature Sounds)

On the opening track ‘Man of Steel’, Tha God Fahim, the man with the “championship rap addiction”, picks up his bindle, begins his latest route head-first into the maddening crowd and unpicks the gangster/survivor’s mindset with arguably one of the purest, most unadorned flows going. Without needing hooks to hang tracks on, Iron Bull – “play to win or don’t play at all” – is less a rampage through the streets from the Cormega-esque Atlanta emcee, more an assertive strut knowing he’ll catch the coattails of his foes in his own time. With Your Old Droog guesting and beats from Camouflage Monk, Nicholas Craven and TGF himself mining a buried sensitivity beyond being engrossed in the can’t-stop-won’t-stop bubble, it’s all over and done with in 23 minutes – as per his relentless, onto-the-next-one workload – but still leaves an indelible footprint.

The Difference Machine
‘Alien Nation and The Black Adolescent’ (Full Plate)

After the excellent Unmasking the Spirit Fakers, messages to the madness, pen-sword balancing (“I’m a pacifist, ‘til I pass a fist”) and mastering of the (un)reality are again in sharp supply from Atlanta’s psychedelic braves. As per their predecessor, emcee Day Tripper quantum leaps from film set to film set framed by produced Dr Conspiracy – fever dreams, Wu sagas, last stands – with an intricacy of verse that should be cited in textbooks, educative and dismissive at once and sometimes not even owning all the answers (“we lack prophetic vision/so I just close my eyes and try and make the best decision”), Geared up as an epic of marathon proportions worthy of a DVD commentary and director’s cut, the short listening time adds rewind value as well as advancing their enigma, upon realising the history lessons offered are being played out in real time.

Uber Magnetic
‘Uber Magnetic’ (Plague)

The contrasting baritones of underground dissidents Roughneck Jihad (“endothermic with pterodactyl feathers”) and Junior Disprol (“still the best British emcee, no exaggeration”) is selling point enough for Uber Magnetic, their Cali-to-Wales tones blurring the relationship of ragtag tag-team duo and colleagues keeping matters strictly business. A funky, bullish clutter of music from Cool Edit Chud, stuffing the sampler and getting cut up by Krash Slaughta, Jaffa and Sir Beans on the ones, is just the canvas for beats and rhymes to tease, flirt with and challenge one another. Kooky maybe, but in fact Uber Magnetic give the impression of knowing too much (“reputation built upon cadavers that I left about”) – gatekeepers whose starting points don’t have to be clear, pulling bars together from a particularly haphazard word cloud; but unstoppable once their theories start scatting, scattering and splitting atoms.

Hi, my name is Dominic Valvona and I’m the Founder of the music/culture blog monolithcocktail.com For the last ten years I’ve featured and supported music, musicians and labels we love across genres from around the world that we think you’ll want to know about. No content on the site is paid for or sponsored and we only feature artists we have genuine respect for /love. If you enjoy our reviews (and we often write long, thoughtful ones), found a new artist you admire or if we have featured you or artists you represent and would like to buy us a coffee at https://ko-fi.com/monolithcocktail to say cheers for spreading the word, then that would be much appreciated.