A sentiment I've seen crop up a couple times as year-end lists are published is that the year 2021 had such a consistent stream of great music, it was difficult to really sit with and connect to the best material like in years past before the next great thing came along. It's a strangely agreeable … Continue reading BensBeat Top 50 Songs of 2021
Playboi Carti
Kanye West – Donda
After over a year of delays, three stadium-sized listening parties, back-and-forth online arguments about which versions of the many songs were the best, and a reignition of a longstanding feud with Drake, Kanye West’s 10th studio album finally dropped unceremoniously – or perhaps, appropriately – last Sunday morning. Long regarded as one of the most … Continue reading Kanye West – Donda
Trippie Redd – Trip At Knight
Returning once again with what is now his seventh project to hit the top 5 on Billboard’s albums chart since summer of 2018, emo-trap and cloud rap superstar Trippie Redd drops his second project of the year with Trip at Knight. Although promoted as a sequel to his 2018 debut album, Life’s A Trip, Redd … Continue reading Trippie Redd – Trip At Knight
Playboi Carti – Whole Lotta Red
I thought I was done with 2020 album releases, but one of the most highly anticipated albums in years dropped on Christmas Day, so here we are. Wildly experimental and highly polarizing hip-hop upstart Playboi Carti’s Whole Lotta Red has been teased for over two years now, leaving fans in a frenzy after his past … Continue reading Playboi Carti – Whole Lotta Red
Drake – Dark Lane Demo Tapes
After taking what has surprisingly been one of the longest ever gaps without new Drake music at just under two years since his mega-album Scorpion, the world’s biggest artist has seen fit to drop a preview of his upcoming full-length due this summer compiled of leaks and B-sides that mostly showcase his laid-back storytelling side, … Continue reading Drake – Dark Lane Demo Tapes
Rapid Fire Reviews (Gesaffelstein, Flume, Solange)
Gesaffelstein - Hyperion Endlessly experimental electronic producer Gesaffelstein tones down the weirdness a little with some more accessible instrumentals and big-name pop collabs for his second full-length project, Hyperion. Gesaffelstein was a major contributor to Kanye West’s Yeezus, the minimalist and industrial sound of which is currently everywhere you look in the world of pop … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (Gesaffelstein, Flume, Solange)
Rapid Fire Reviews (Rae Sremmurd, Charlie Puth, Playboi Carti)
Rae Sremmurd - SR3MM/Swaecation/Jxmtro Brotherly hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd embrace their inner OutKast on the third in their Sremmlife album series, branching out and turning into a sprawling triple disc edition that allows a full album for each member to shine individually. Rae Sremmurd’s youthful, jubilant cloud-rap sound is often a joy to listen to, … Continue reading Rapid Fire Reviews (Rae Sremmurd, Charlie Puth, Playboi Carti)
Ben's Beat - Music Reviews 