In Revue- Surf (Chance the Rapper, Donnie Trumpet and the Social Experiment)

I owe my current music writing to Chance the Rapper. That sounds weird to say, but it's true. I was in a bad way before I heard his squawking juke cut "Good Ass Intro" from Acid Rap in May 2013. Depression was gripping me because I had real doubts about continuing to write. I was convinced that I had nothing creative left to say, the worst problem any writer could have. Of course that sort of fear only worsens depression because your future seems to fall apart. Chance's track pieced things back together. I won't soon forget mashing my laptop keyboard during a chemistry lecture, the words flowing as quickly as he does on the song. It wasn't a great review by any means, but dammit it got me to believe again.

I share that personal anecdote to show the inspirational effect a 22-year-old kid from Chicago's music has on people. I say "has," indicating the here and now, because Surf, his brilliant follow-up to the equally brilliant Acid Rap, will inspire people. It's too bright, warm, soulful and unapologetically upbeat not to motivate. You'll want to call and thank your grandma after hearing "Sunday Candy," the de jure closer which details Christmas dinners and rent payments made by an impossibly good-natured human. Hell it makes communion sound both lovely and sensual, which isn't easy considering it involves stale wafers (at least in my experience).

In the material world, KYLE's verse on the hybrid electro-jazz/stuttering barbershop quartet number "Wanna Be Cool" pushes me to go buyout a Payless. "Nobody f****ng cares, so why don't you just be the you that you know you are?" he asks us. Don't worry about the label, all that matters is if it's comfortable. Chance and his collaborators Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment hammer home the "be you" idea on follow-up "Windows," though it's in a minor key. "Don't you look up to me; don't trust a word I say," Chance warbles in his most sobering voice since he sang about Chicago murder rates on "Paranoia." Synthesizers gently fade up, horns shimmer, drums patter like morning rain, guitars are delicately plucked and organs pipe in from a desert island. Between the music and Chance's weary tone, you realize how important finding your own path is.

The music of Surf consistently inspires through its warmth. I don't know how much direct input Chance had in Donnie Trumpet & the Social Experiment's playing, but I feel like he at least said "I want to feel like I’m swaddled in wool blankets with the Sun beaming down on me." All of the album’s components fit into that aesthetic. The kitchen percussion of "Slip Slide." "Warm Enough"'s tweeting birds. Every palm-muted guitar chord in "Rememory." Migos member Quavo's pitch-shifting vocals on King Louie team-up "Familiar." They all tickle your innards enough to move you off the couch (Side note: Quavo needs to use more Autotune; he has a weird bluesman quality with it.)

Some listening to Surf will be tempted to say this album needs less guests and more Chance, but we get the Goldilocks amount of Mr. Bennett. Just when his voice might risk grating you, he disappears into brass ether. He’s perfectly comfortable with having entire tracks be instrumentals and he's doesn't seem to bat an eye when guest rappers go for his jugular. I echo Stereogum's resident music scholar Tom Breihan in saying I've never heard Big Sean or B.o.B spit the way they do on "Wanna Be Cool" and "Slip Slide." Big Sean cuts the s*** with his corny jokes long enough to illuminate the legal struggles of a younger brother, while B.o.B remembers when his roof used to leak. Had he been so candid on 2010’s The Adventures of Bobby Ray, I can imagine he would have a lot more critical cache. It's almost frightening the singular focuses he displays.

Without question that is Surf's greatest strength: Chance's ability to get others to see his vision. It's akin to what Beyoncé did on her self-titled LP. His name doesn't appear anywhere in iTunes credits, but you know it's him. No one working in rap, not even King Kendrick, could create something so endearingly goofy and seriously reflective at the same time. Whatever is inspiring Chance is inspiring anyone who is listening. 

 

Top 20 Songs of 2013 (So Far) Part I

We're now more than halfway through the calendar, as the July heat begins to impose it's sweltering and unforgiving will throughout the country, so what better time than now to cool out, turn back the clocks a little bit, and revisit some of the top tracks from the year so far. Some of the tracks here are choice album cuts, powerful enough to stand alone but vital enough to be heard in their original context. Others are from burgeoning artists bubbling up from the underground. Still others are bonafide hits from artists who need no introduction. The one thing they are all have in common? They're some of the best songs to drop in 2013 and deserve to be heard. 

#20. "Young & Beautiful"- Lana Del Rey (The Great Gatsby OST)

Lana Del Rey and Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann are kindred spirits. Two artists with identifiable talent obscured by accusations of being too opulent and flashy for their own good. That said it's hard to imagine any Luhrmann film attracting the sort of vitriol LDR's 2012 SNL performance attracted, outlets like EW  wondering out-loud if it was "the worst performance ever." When debut Born to Die received reviews of "shallow and overwrought," and sounding like "a fake orgasm," Del Rey doubled down on the divisive material with Paradise, an EP that took her coy seductress personae and amplified it to deafening proportions. "Young & Beautiful" continues that sound, a thunderous bass threatening to shake the roof off the elegiac orchestra. Lyrically, Del Rey is as uncertain as ever, hopelessly wondering "will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful?" On the page, you can dismiss the sentiment as shallowness of the worst kind, but Del Rey's breathless cooing assures sincerity. As much as we'd like to pretend that looks can't trump genuine love, in the minds of many they do. "Young & Beautiful" then is Del Rey's bracing for the day when heart & soul start to matter more than sight. 

#19. "Living Room"- Grouper (The Man Who Died in His Boat)

A good friend of mine once referred to Grouper's music as "quiet cries for attention that go unnoticed," as apt a summation of Grouper's hazy ambient drone as has ever been presented. These aren't cries for attention in a needy or narcissistic way, but genuine cries for help that waft up through your floorboards and float throughout the room. Grouper's music can be lovelorn, panic stricken, restless, and soul-searching. When you hear Liz Harris' wounded vocals crawling through the fog, you're hearing heartbreak on record. Closer "Living Room" is all-about restlessness and the aforementioned heartbreak that follows when you can't find a place to call your own. Harris' soft-strumming and reverb-heavy vocals are all you hear on the track, desperately searching for a place where "the spirit meets the skin," trying her best to "relate," to fit in and find a home. Before it's all over, Harris is forced to admit the charade of normalcy and sense of belonging are "getting harder and harder to fake." Cries for attention can often fall of deaf ears and few musicians capture those silent cries quiet like Grouper.

18. "Domo 23"- Tyler, the Creator (Wolf)

Any indications of Odd Future being relegated to also-ran status are obliterated the moment the first bass thud of "Domo 23" hits and induces heart palpitations in every living thing in its vicinity. "Yonkers" could be seen as the high-water mark, the Wolf Gang's antics at their most menacing and reprehensible. 2011 was far from the group's zenith, with 2012 yielding amongst other things a solid collabo tape and the runaway success of big brother Frankie's Channel Orange. All of that history ceases to exist when "Domo 23" struts out. You could be forgiven for thinking this song is the work of someone fresh out the gate, its brazen chorus evincing a youngblood with something to prove. No one would make the mistake though of thinking those churlish keyboards and nauseating synths, and that chorus of "f**k that Golf Wang," could belong to anyone not named Tyler. Here he's not courting controversy, but actively detailing it; referencing his "controversial" 2011 Pitchfork performance and remembering the roach-eating video that made him famous "b***h I ate one roach and I made a lot of money." And then there's the mentions of "midgets" and "it going down like Rodney King swimming lessons." OF didn't get here by playing nice or by the books, and "Domo 23" makes it known they don't plan on starting now.

#17. "Power Trip" ft. Miguel- J. Cole (Born Sinner)

J. Cole's proclivity is to place s**t-talking, chest-pumping songs alongside plaintive numbers where the last drop of Cole's charisma has been rung out. For every "Blow Up," or "Mr. Nice Watch," there's a track like "Too Deep For The Intro," or "Lost Ones," just around the corner, hanging its head in introspection. He's been accused of "overthinking" it at times, never content to let things exist as they are. The runaway success of Born Sinner's lead single "Power Trip" currently sitting at #20 on the Billboard charts acutely blends the former with latter, bringing in an understated Miguel vocal for the late-night ride. Just underneath that trunk-rattling bass beat, is a breezy little jazz number gently scratching the surface. Cole goes from being the one who's "totally bossed out," to breaking down and admitting, "she's got me where she want a n***a." The same hand he's holding a drink in, quivered in fear as he dropped off anonymous flowers to this "longest crush ever." When he's equating love with a drug, it's debilitating, he's hooked and can't quit cold turkey. Hearing that tremble in Cole's voice as he sings "I'm on one," you know why it is he's "up all night."

#16. "Where Are We Now?"- David Bowie (The Next Day)

Nothing about David Bowie's career has been easy. When he saw success with the folk-rock leaning Hunky Dory, he tossed it aside and adopted the pansexual personae of an Alien rockstar named Ziggy Stardust. Tiring of he being a glam rock god (or goddess), he dabbled in soul with Young Americans, before booking it to Berlin and crafting the monumental "Berlin Trilogy," with Brian Eno in tow. And that entire history, from Brixton to Potsdamer Platz is remembered in the pensive "Where Are We Now." Moving at a staid pace with late-night lounge music backing, Bowie doesn't go the aging rockstar route and question his own mortality, only the path that lead him to this point in his life. "Where are we now, where are we now? The moment you know, you know, you know," he promises with a shaky certainty in the chorus. As the drums grow bolder, Bowie becomes more resolute, "As long as there's sun, as long as there's sun. As long as there's rain, as long as there's rain. As long as there's fire, as long as there's fire. As long as there's me. as long as there's you." Life is riddled with uncertainty, but when you've been around as long as Bowie has; you find an answer or two along the way. 

 

#15. "Blood on the Leaves"- Kanye West (Yeezus)

When the beat finally drops on Yeezus centerpiece "Blood on the Leaves," it's instantly the most arresting moment on an album overrun with them. All the blood, guts, venom, and vitriol spill out through the speakers with the unholy horn section. "So let's get on with it," are the last words Kanye West summons up before that beat obliterates the haunting "Strange Fruit" sample West resurrected for a sordid tale of love and loss. The soulful Nina Simone cover of the Billie Holiday classic is the lingering remnant of "backpacking Kanye," rapping and "making soul beats just like you." The emotive robotics present on the track call back to the 808s phase and the christening of "unholy matrimony," recalls the hedonistic heights of MBDTF's "Hell of a Life." West over a near decade long career has proven incapable of running in place, and for all the talk of "look-backing" this track plows forward. So let's get on with it.

#14. "Perfect Form" ft. Shy Girls- Cyril Hahn (Single)

Up to this point Vancouver based producer Cyril Hahn had staked a claim on remixing cuts by pop royalty, in the case of "Touch My Body" he slowed them down and conversely turned up the sexual tense. Every coo, oh, and ah was rendered as a cloud of warm air to fog up a window on a cold winter night. That's not the case on "Perfect Form," his debut single which will drop September 9 via the PMR label. "Perfect Form" is utter euphoria for 4 straight minutes. Calculated slinking has been shed for a freewheeling dance-floor cut. Portland-artist Shy Girls (responsible for one of the great Indie R&B cuts of 2013 so far) provides the alluring vocals "she's got perfect form, I love it when she moves like that," with siren-like aptitude. On either side of the song, it's the only line he can muster, admitting "I'm so tongue-tied I don't even know my lines." Being this caught up in the now, who really has time to think?

#13. "Good Ass Intro"- Chance the Rapper (Acid Rap)

If a better suited title has been affixed to a track this year, I haven't seen it and doubt I will. The track pulls the double-duty of introducing the endlessly creative and innovative world of Chance's Acid Rap album and absolutely grooving. "Good Ass Intro" has more forward momentum than Chris Johnson in full-sprint, Chance only breaking for the enrapturing gospel breaks courtesy of BJ the Chicago Kid. The song's glowing horn section is soulful without ever sounding "dated," occasionally elevating Chance to the status of nouveau motivational speaker or perhaps preacher, "balancing on sporadicity and f***ing pure joy." He's not just celebrating, he's doing "motherf***ing money dances," and gleefully "kicking dirt on the shirts of lames." The first admission from Chance on the track is that "raps just makes me anxious," with something this confident it's hard to believe.  

#12. "The King"- Tree (Sunday School II: When Church Lets Out)

It doesn't take much to get lost in the novelty of "The King" once that chipmunk Elvis sample comes darting into the room. It's not everyday you hear a track from The King flipped for a rap-track, let alone one as tender and delicate as "Can't Help Falling In Love." Once the novelty of hearing the gravelly-voiced Tree (Chicago native and self-professed king of the soultrap movement) wears off, the move starts to make sense. Elvis' dark-blue croon on the original conveyed a sincerity with few peers in his discography, and Tree manages the same on this cut from his stunningly cohesive Sunday School II record. Where Elvis was begging for the object of his affection to grasp his hand, Tree's "telling my son I love him," wishing to "see my momma age," and detailing picturesque scenes of sitting in a church-pew singing. "I know who I am, and I ain't tryin' to find me," he proclaims in his signature rasp over booming drums in the first verse. Baring your soul's easier when you know yourself as well as Tree does.

#11. "I Miss You"- The xx (Live Cover)

The first time I heard the xx's cover of Beyoncé's "I Miss You" I froze in my tracks. I've grown accustomed to hearing the band's hushed odes to love and loss, but this was something else entirely. The original from the excellent 2011 record 4 was already simplistic, a metronomic drum ticking and slow rolling wave of synth all that existed to keep Beyoncé company. Here Romy Madley Croft's gentle guitar runs and Oliver Sim's rumbling bass accompany the silent sighs of desperation their lyrics convey. The starkness of Coexist highlights like "Angels" is bombastic in comparison to what's presented here. In a concert review of the band, I wrote that "their music plays out like a series of private conversations, and in a live venue it's almost voyeuristic to be hearing what they have to say." That rings true of "I Miss You," where Croft and Sim are seated directly across from one another, staring intensely into one another's eyes; nothing breaking their focus. They're seated only a few feet apart, but with the profound incredible cover of "I Miss You," they might as well be worlds away.

Like what you're seeing so far? Already sensing a snub or two? Think you have an idea of what will claim the number one spot? Then drop a comment below or tweet at @allfreshsounds to let your voice be heard. And look for the rest of the list to be unveiled on Friday.     

Top 30 Albums of 2011 (Pt. II)

With the year coming to an end, I've decided to roll-out my Top 30 Albums of 2011 list. Yesterday, I gave you pt. 1, so today here's pt. 2. Before the jump here's a recap of what there's been so far.

30. 4- Beyonce

29. The Dreamer, The Believer- Common

28. Just Once EP- How to Dress Well

#27 Alien Observer- Grouper

Imagine if you will for a second that you’re drowning in the midst of a great ocean in the dark. The waves slowly roll over you and you start to sink, just before you do a soothing hum enters your ear. A smile comes to your face and you are at ease, your impending doom no longer seeming to matter. This is the imagery I conjure up when listening to Grouper.

On one half of a double-album that serves as her sixth official LP, Grouper has recorded six tracks of mind-numbing austerity. Opener “Moon is Sharp,” comes in heavy with mountains of reverb and Liz Harris’ voice rises up out of the ether. Her shy voice is the alluring eye of the hurricane. After the six-minute drone has ended, you’re left thinking you’ve spent hours floating on that same listless sea.

In what I argue is the album’s strongest spot, Grouper’s vocals ride a trembling keyboard line to a dark distant planet. “Look into the night sky, looking towards the big lights, looking out to be free,” she sings on “Alien Observer.” That longing soon becomes despondence as Harris realizes she’s an “alien observer,” in a world that isn’t hers.

Grouper’s has often been lauded for her ability to draw up the sublime from the sorrowful and this work is no different. It’s a record that can make you cry tears of joy one minute and bitterly weep the next, the severity of the reverb-heavy music often dulled by that serene voice. It’s a faint voice that calls in the dark night, calling you to a home you’ve never known.

"Alien Observer"

#26 Step Brothers- Don Trip & Starlito 

 So much of this mixtape is the kind of dumb-fun you rarely hear in rap anymore, where two rappers spit as if their lives depended on it. Some of these lines are Lil Wayne levels of absurdity, with ‘Lito stating at one point that “I don’t get as high as I used to… Vince Carter!” “Money talks and mine will never go hoarse,” Don Trip declares with a snarl on opener “Boats and Ho’s.” For more than an hour, the duo talks and rarely do they “go hoarse.”

 

Part of the dumb-fun of this mixtape comes with the inclusion of samples from the Will Ferrell “classic” Step Brothers. Rather than bend to the will of such an oddball inclusion, Trip and ‘Lito zig-zag at a stupefying-pace, dropping a touching track just when you expected another knucklehead banger. Over a hypnotic vocal loop and clacking drum machine, Don Trip becomes a dealer cognizant of the damage his career is doing to his community. “She’ll get high no matter what; I might as well be the man. Might as well take the dope and hit the trap with a plan. Had to get my ass in and provide for my fam,” he raps on “5th Song.” His consciousness gets the best of him and he reminds himself “that’s somebody’s girl.” ‘Lito seals the deal on the emotional cut, remembering a fallen friend “in a box.”

For two guys who had reportedly only known each for a year or so before, this mixtape is marvelous. The Tennessee MCs make it sound too easy, trading bars as if they known each other since birth. That camaraderie carries this regional work to impressive heights. Though it may be cut from the cloth of Southern trap-rap, the Step Brothers mixtape transcends its locale, “making something out of nothing, like pottery.”

"5th Song"

#25 Cole World: The Sideline Story- J. Cole

 

The title of this album masterfully encapsulates J. Cole’s own rap career. Late last year as his brilliant Friday Night Light mixtape was about to drop, Jay-Z announced New Orleans-rapper Jay Electronica’s signing to his Roc Nation imprint. The slight was practically foreseen by Cole who bitterly protested “it was supposed to be your moment,” on the intro. For Cole, the signing was just another case of him being “sidelined.”

Cole’s coming into the game now, to continue that sport’s metaphor and throughout this album, he rarely drops the ball. Track after track, Cole spits some of the most inspired verses of his career over his jazzy-piano and drum-heavy production sound. I’ve long respected Cole for keeping away outside producers, honing his soulful snark in a musical vacuum. It’s a move that pays off-well for the most part, though the dubstep-driven “Mr. Nice Watch,” and hit-single “Work Out,” represent two marked whiffs.

Any mistake Cole makes on the album is forgotten the moment “Lost Ones,” comes on. The track is the most personally intense rap song I’ve heard all year and should become Cole’s calling card. This abortion narrative details that personal decision from both sides, Cole himself giving voice to the man and the woman. “You’ve got some nerve to come up to me talkin’ ‘bout abortion,” he fiercely says as the woman, his voice nearly giving out under the weight of the emotion. The track represents everything Cole has come to be known for, heartbreaking-introspection, emotional-honesty, and clever turns of phrase. “I run the town, they tried to call me underground,” Cole raps on “Dollar and a Dream III.” Cole’s days of laboring in the underground are long since passed. He’s come into the game and isn’t giving up his spot anytime soon.

"Lost Ones"

THE SHOW GOES ON, TOMORROW.   

"I Cry Sometimes About It"

 Rapper J Cole

Cole's debut #1 album Cole World now has a new accompanying clip.

During a concert in NYC, rapper J. Cole took to debuting the clip for the stunning song "Lost Ones" off of his debut album. The song, which heavily focuses on the ever controversial topic of abortion is in my opinion one of the greatest tracks of the year thus far, predominantly due to Cole's incredibly moving narrative, with personal lyrics many rappers would shun altogether. The video for the clip is equally as affecting and deserves to be seen.

This is Your Moment

J. Cole

So it's now official, J. Cole has the number one album in the country. According to Billboard, the still-rising rapper's first release Cole World: The Sideline Story debuted at the top spot with more than 200,000 copies sold. When Cole found out the news, he took to his Twitter account to thank his fans, specifically for supporting all of his mixtapes which he views as the hard-work that got him to his point. "So many people to stunt on, fighting the urge to be spiteful. This moment is too important for that. Just want to say THANK YOU," said Cole.

Jay-Z reacting to the news of Cole's Billboard success.
Jay-Z is the head of Roc Nation, which is Cole's label.

Jay-Z, the man who signed Cole to his label has often seemed at odds with Cole, but none of that was on display once he received the news. In fact, he had nothing but love for the Fayetteville rapper and had this to say, "J. Cole’s success is testament to amazing artist development and Cole’s hard work. I want to congratulate him on a #1 album and more importantly a great body of work.”

For now Cole isn't resting on his laurels, he's working touring the country with upcoming stops in Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago.

"In the Morning" ft. Drake- Cole World: The Sideline Story

NSFW