The partnership between legendary rapper Nas and producer Hit-Boy just keeps on giving. Now with their fourth collaborative project since dropping the original, Grammy-winning instalment of King’s Disease back in August 2020, Nas’ career resurgence has been astonishing to behold as he firmly cements his legacy as one of the all-time greats. Still, after King’s … Continue reading Nas – King’s Disease III
Louis Tomlinson – Faith In The Future
While one of his former bandmates becomes one of the world’s biggest artists, another gears up to drop his third album after some consistently moderate success and two more dramatically nosedive after scoring top 10 hits, the most unique post-OneDirection career trajectory yet has been Louis Tomlinson’s, who started out slow and has been steadily … Continue reading Louis Tomlinson – Faith In The Future
Joji – SMITHEREENS
Now on his third album since reinventing himself with a new persona, the king of lo-fi balladry has returned with his briefest project yet. The follow-up to 2020’s solid Nectar, which saw Joji fleshing out his sparse sounds and astute songwriting instincts with production that was slightly more involved and less disjointed, things have swung … Continue reading Joji – SMITHEREENS
Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss
After a lukewarm reception to the dance-oriented Honestly, Nevermind – save for the 21 Savage-featuring closing track, of course – Canada’s biggest hip-hop star decided to double down and release a full collaboration project with the Atlanta trap titan. Make no mistake though, this feels like a Drake album, and it’s his best one since … Continue reading Drake & 21 Savage – Her Loss
Yung Gravy – Marvelous
Just like his brother in memes bbno$ before him, Minnesota rapper Yung Gravy has managed to translate his outlandish public persona and steady stream of trendy and tongue-in-cheek lyrical moments into genuine chart success. Capitalizing off of – what else – a sample flip of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” and a public … Continue reading Yung Gravy – Marvelous
Smino – Luv 4 Rent
A longtime associate of quite a few beloved indie rappers like JID, Saba and Noname, St. Louis artist Smino’s steady critical acclaim has been building him a wider audience as time goes on. Now on his third studio album, Luv 4 Rent has elevated his streaming numbers to a new level as he continues to … Continue reading Smino – Luv 4 Rent
Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time
Six albums in and almost exactly 10 years since the release of her commercial breakout with Kiss, Carly Rae Jepsen’s status as a pop music cult figure of sorts is still going strong. But when you have albums like 2015’s E•MO•TION, which appeared on countless year-end lists and arguably played a big part in today’s … Continue reading Carly Rae Jepsen – The Loneliest Time
Taylor Swift – Midnights
16 years after the arrival of her debut and returning with her fifth major release in just over two years, it’s truly impressive that Taylor Swift is still shattering records. It seemed like it was out of reach that any album would ever sell over a million in its first week ever again, but this … Continue reading Taylor Swift – Midnights
The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language
After one of the most polarizing, provocative and sometimes pretentious bands somehow released a couple of its greatest works back-to-back after expanding the tracklist and letting frontman Matt Healy’s cluttered mind roam wherever it wanted to, it seems The 1975 have reversed course with their latest. Standing at only 11 tracks in length, that mind … Continue reading The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language
Lil Baby – It’s Only Me
There are always online debates raging about which four faces belong on the hip-hop Mount Rushmore for any given genre or era. The cover art of Lil Baby’s latest depicts himself occupying all four slots. With just how meteoric his rise has been over the last couple years, from a popularity standpoint, it’s hard to … Continue reading Lil Baby – It’s Only Me
Ben's Beat - Music Reviews 