Lil’ Herb – Welcome to Fazoland
The two biggest (and usually fair) criticisms of Chicago drill are that it’s most famous rappers have very little technical talent, and that the lyrical content is mostly hollow. With Welcome to Fazoland, Lil’ Herb takes steps away from these two drill downsides. This is probably the most introspective that drill music has ever gotten. “Mamma Im Sorry” is a direct confession and apology to his mother and “Still Fucked Up” confronts the trauma that Chicago has left him with no matter how much rap fame changes his life. (DOWNLOAD)
Sulaiman & Doc Da Mindbenda – Hook, Line & Thinker EP
Sulaiman had a nice verse on Chance The Rapper’s first mixtape, so when I saw him pop up on rap blogs for this tape, I had to hit download. Sulaiman’s greatest strength is probably his range of flows. None of Doc Da Mindbenda’s well-crafted beats get the better of him, and whether he’s laying down double-times on “Better Than Money” or rattling off something slower on “On My Life” he sounds capable and comfortable on the mic. Some of the lyrics are clichéd though, but if his bars can catch up to his delivery, Sulaiman has potential. (DOWNLOAD)
Adrian Lau & Harry Fraud – Projection
With any prolific artist, you have to wonder what would happen if they just slowed down their rate of release, spent more time editing and revising, and only shared premium material. Harry Fraud’s best beats are incredible. His hazy modern reinterpretation of boom-bap has been put to use on combined projects with Curren$y, Action Bronson, Smoke DZA and many others. On this tape, a few of his beats are pleasant without being really remarkable. Adrian Lau provides standard rapper bars about stealing women from his haters, wishing he had more money, and bragging about how good he is a rapping. But the tape his still worth downloading if you’ve enjoyed Harry Fraud’s past work. (DOWNLOAD)
CyHi The Prynce – Black Hystori Project
It has kind of seemed like CyHi has faded out of the spotlight since his My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy guest verses, but the man has stayed busy behind the scenes. When Yeezus dropped, everyone talked about how influential Travi$ Scott was to the sound of the album (he earned production credits on two tracks). However, almost no one has talked about how CyHi was all over the album, getting writing credits for nine out of ten tracks (“Send It Up” was the only one he didn’t contribute to if you’re curious). Now he’s stepping out with an ambitious tape that examines black history, current events, and the rap game. His bars have always suffered from corny punchlines (“I’d go to school to be a lawyer just to court you”) but unlike his last few tapes which were overloaded with big-name guest verses and lacked personality, this tape helps to establish CyHi’s personality and place in the game. (DOWNLOAD)