What is a modern Hip-Hop classic? In a mainstream

market focused on

money over quality,

where have all the

albums gone?

By Dean Berrios

1

Why are we in this predicament…Where did

all the albums go?

It’s quite simple really.

Mainstream Hip Hop has moved away from an art form, focused on expression, valuing

respect from peers over money, to a disgusting struggle between artists and suits, over money

and air time. This struggle has created the modern-day “Rapper,” a braggadocios, egotistical and

unoriginal front-man, being the face of a team of

writers, producers, executives, managers; the list of

“contributors” goes on. These rappers are the ones

with hit singles, created by a team, top to bottom,

and the record company pays outlets like radio and

television to advertise, promote, and play their

“music”. The effect is the same every time: when

album time comes, it is nothing more than a

compilation of hit singles, songs that sound

exactly like the hit singles, and occasionally an

out of place attempt at real artistry, too “different”

to be absorbed by mainstream fans, and just

another bad song to those who enjoy the real

artistry of the genre. These are rappers who are

cooked quick, eaten quicker, and left on the table

to rot, never to be looked at again. Tyga, Rick

Ross, Fetty Wap, Cali Swag District, Rich Homie

Quan, French Montana, Kid Ink, YG; the list can go on forever. Tyga, after releasing almost half

a dozen hit singles, and still churning out single after single, generating millions of views on

social media, only has 3.4K units sold of his latest album, released in July. Not first week. Sold

to date. But the label; the suits, have kept him alive, for now. Sooner or later, his fate will be the

same as those like Ross, or Cali Swag District, famous for their hit single in 2010, Teach Me

How To Dougie, and not much else. Not anything else actually. I might be the only one in the

world who actually still remembers that Cali Swag District made the damn song.

Anyway. Back to the golden question for those like me, in which music is an intimate

experience, made by those who love their craft.

Rick Ross, a prime example of this “modern day

rapper.” After numerous hit singles and two successful

“albums,” Ross has released two albums in the last

two years. As a testament to the success and “hype” of

the last two albums, Ross is now battling an assault

case, in which he is accused of repeatedly punching a

journalist during an interview, after the journalist

asked Ross why he hadn’t released any music in the

last two years.

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Where have all the albums gone?

Well, there are many ideas. To those who focus on mainstream hip-hop, the albums have

just become quality over quantity. Instead of 4 or 5 great albums a year, mainstream hip-hop

listeners experience 1, maybe 2 “albums” a year. Before we start to leave mainstream hip-hop for

“underground” artists, releasing albums that are intimate, thrilling journeys, let’s set some

guidelines for what we consider

an “album”, so we can really

understand why they are all gone

from hip-hop.

An album must be cohesive.

Even if it isn’t a concept album,

with a clear concept and

message, ideas about the album

must arise, and the songs must

come together to form one

experience

A perfect album does not

have out of place songs. For

example, a cohesive, intimate

concept album can be ruined by

the inclusion of some hit single

from 2 years before.

A real album is an intimate,

personal, and relatable experience. It brings up emotions, ideas, and challenges the

listener sonologically and well as intellectually.

An album deals with some sort of idea, whether it is large scale, like Things Fall Apart, a

Roots album, addressing racial issues in the country, or an album like Summertime ’06,

from West Coast rapper Vince Staples, addressing violence and problems in his home of

Long Beach. No album can be an intriguing experience if there is no subject matter.

An album is enjoyable! Music is meant to be enjoyed, meant to be loved and studied. An

album could be cohesive, dealing with huge issues, etc, but still not be sonologically

strong. The album must be enjoyable to the listener.

An album must challenge the listener with original and exciting work, but not to the point

where it is overpowering. Nobody likes something unoriginal and boring, but nobody

wants to listen to something they completely cannot comprehend.

An album must be well produce, well mixed, and well mastered. This is a trickier task, as

some albums are mixed and mastered in certain ways, a recent example being Tyler, The

Creator’s new album, Cherry Bomb, mixed in a way that make the vocals hard to

Jay-Z’s The Blueprint, widely

considered one of the most

meticulously made, intimate,

and well-rounded hip-hop

albums ever

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comprehend and sets a moody, grunge-like

atmosphere. More examples of this are Earl

Sweatshirt’s I Don’t Like (explicit), I Don’t Go

Outside, produced with low-fi, scrappy beats that

challenge the listener, as their pitch contrasts their

placement and loops to create a gritty but

sonologically genius album.

The album’s features add to the atmosphere,

idea, concept, and experience of the album, and at

the very least, do not take away from it.

The album maintains a mystique in the

lyrical content, meaning, though there is substance

in the lyrical content, it isn’t flat out in the

meaning behind the lyrics.

3 out of the 5 Covers for Cherry

Bomb, Tyler, The Creator’s

2015 album. Famous for

challenging the musical and

social status quo in hip-hop,

Tyler takes the musical

challenges to a whole other level

with Cherry Bomb, purposefully

mixing the vocals in a way that

can be only described as poor

and amateur. The atmosphere

created is loved by some, and

hated by others, a trait Tyler has

been accustom to in his fans,

assembling a cult-like following

of his group, Odd Future.

So now, our task arises. Well, my task arises.

What are some of these great albums? Why are

they great? Do they even still exist?

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It is a difficult process, that is, deciding on an album

that I think is a classic album. One that represents

everything an album should be; from the content, to

the flow, to the sound. Many albums crossed my

mind. To Pimp a Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar’s 2015

effort, some calling it the best rap album ever, is a

deep and dark story through the musician’s life.

Kendrick makes it a point to tackle ideas like racial violence, corruption, and poverty, while

maintaining a mystique in the lyrical meaning. Each song took us through a journey, with many

songs inside of one track, incorporating poetry and skits into the already beautiful album.

Challenging the “rules” of how “hip hop should sound”, with jazzy, brooding instrumentation

and un-orthodoxed flow, To Pimp a Butterfly was

definitely in consideration.

Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly

Our first album is Kendrick Lamar’s 2015

effort, an insightful, thoughtful, and extremely

original album 2 and a half years in the making,

deemed an instant classic.

Isaiah Rashad – Cilvia Demo

Rashad’s first project, from early 2014, is an intimate

experience for those who understand the life Rashad is

living, but disappoints with two out of place songs

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Cilvia Demo, Isaiah Rashad’s first project after singing with Kendrick Lamar’s label, Top Dawg

Entertainment, like To Pimp a Butterfly, is a journey through the mind of Rashad, a young adult

hailing from Chattanooga. Unlike To Pimp a Butterfly, Cilvia Demo focuses much more on the

inner struggles Rashad deals with then the struggles of the world, something that To Pimp a

Butterfly creates a balance of. This tends to show itself in a much more intimate experience for

those who can really relate to the personal struggles Rashad talks about in Cilvia Demo, while

creating a rather dark and repetitive sob-story for those who cannot relate to it.

Though Cilvia Demo is more dynamic and diverse sonologically,

and, for me, a more intimate and personal experience, Cilvia

Demo is the type of album that won’t be loved by a wide array of

audiences, the way To Pimp a Butterfly is respected throughout all

different kinds of rap. The cohesiveness of Cilvia Demo is extraordinary, from the first track,

“Hereditary,” a 90 second ode to Rashad’s father, exclaiming how, “my daddy taught me how to

drink my pain away,” and, “my daddy taught me you don’t need nobody.” The track that

SHOULD be the final track, in my opinion, is the 12th track, titled, “Banana,” a hard hitting song

describing Rashad’s frustration with hip hop, drugs, thugs, and his father, a beautiful compliment

to a darkly sung, uncredited chorus, sung by SZA. This should be the end of the album, as

Rashad, on the set for his

second music video off Cilvia

Demo, a touching ode to the

people surrounding him, titled

“Ronnie Drake”

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Banana closes out the concept and feelings from the previous track, “Heavenly Father,” a four

and a half minute song asking God where he might be. With another uncredited SZA chorus,

Rashad compliments SZA’s dark, muffled singing with verses like, “See I don’t wanna think of

suicide, so please don’t take the lock key off my door, ‘cuz I been tired of (explicit) all these

girls, and I been tired of spending all my dough, so if I tell my story to the world, I wonder if

they’ll book me for a show.”

This span of tracks 11 and 12, the final tracks in my opinion, are beautiful, as SZA

compliments Rashad very well, and this adds to the 5th and 6th tracks, “Ronnie Drake” and

“West Savannah,” respectively. These two tracks, where SZA has two credited features, and on

West Savannah, the same title as an old Outkast song, citing the album in an early verse, “Now

can we fall in love with SouthernPlayaListik banging through the night,” is actually singing with

Rashad for the entire song, creating a beautiful span of two songs that are my two favorites off

the album.

The biggest reason though, why Cilvia Demo is not the album I will say is the best,

however, is because the REAL last two tracks, 13th and 14th, titled, “Brad Jordan” and “Shot

You Down.” Two singles, released prior to the album being released, disrupt the cohesive vibe

the album has created thus far, Brad Jordan being a, quote on quote, “song for women,” with a

not terrible feature from Michael Da Vinci, but is rather out of context and adds nothing to the

vibe, while potentially for some listeners, taking away from the album as a whole. Shot You

Down is an, again, out of context, but not terrible stab at southern gangsta rap, with two good,

but rather random features from fellow Top Dawg Entertainment members Jay Rock and

Schoolboy Q. The last two songs being completely unrelated to the project, as well as the album

being very personal for some listeners, while potentially being rather boring and repetitive for

others, are the main reasons this project isn’t the ideal album

for me.

Frank Ocean – Channel

Orange

Ocean’s only full length album to

date, released in 2012, is a sad,

seductive, and relatable journey

through the life of an insane, but

insanely talented, drug addicted

person. The story is made even more

fantastic because Ocean does not

specify who this person is, but speaks

from their point of view, making it a

very relatable but mysterious concept.

7

The final album in my top three runner-ups was Channel Orange. Channel Orange is the first and

only album from California musician Frank Ocean. It is a seductive, enticing, and dark trip

through someone’s life, though it is not always clear if Frank is referring to this person when he

says Me or I, and is developing more of an idea of a

person that he is singing from the perspective of then

the actual person. The album is a dark, sexual, and

sometimes humorous journey through drugs, money,

dreams, women, and fame, maintaining a very bad

connotation with all of these things throughout the

album. Ocean challenges you with beautifully sung

verses like, “Why see the world, when you’ve got the

beach” (Sweet Life), “Too many bottles of this wine

we can’t pronounce, too many bowls of that green, no

lucky charms, the maids come around too much,

parents ain’t around enough” (Super Rich Kids), “You

don’t know how little you matter, until you’re all

alone, in the middle of Arkansas, little bit of rock left

in that glass (explicit)” (Crack Rock), and, “Since you

replied, what is your woman, is she just a container for the child….that soft pink matter, cotton

candy, Majin Buu, close my eyes and fall into you” (Pink Matter).

Frank Ocean’s lyrical ability keeps you entertained, and sonologically, the entire album is easy to

listen to and enjoy, but challenging and extremely creative as well. There are 3 features on the

entire 17 song project, from Earl Sweatshirt, on Super Rich Kids, where Earl gives a monotoned,

reflective speech on, well, being a Super Rich Kid, with clever lines that make it a lighter, more

humorous cut on the project. The second, on White, a 75 second guitar piece by John Mayer, a

beautiful interlude that maintains the aesthetic and idea the album has developed thus far. The

last feature, on the 15th track, titled Pink Matter, in my opinion, is the highlight of the album; a

four and a half minute psychological masterpiece, debating the concept of pleasure over matter,

discussing a woman, and his relationship with the world, featuring two minutes of Andre 3000,

in what many people consider his best verse ever. Channel Orange is an intimate, seductive

experience that creates an aesthetic unlike any album I have ever heard. The only real downsides

are that some may become bored or tired of the album before the end because the album is so

easy on the ears, but so challenging for the listener who listens to all aspects of the music. The

album also could be considered cliche at some points, but more because of the content than the

music.

8

The only not Hip-Hop album in this article, A

Sea of Split Peas is a cohesive double EP, and

is the first album from Australian

guitarist/vocalist Courtney Barnett and her

band. She deals with her problems and demons

in a dark but humorous way, evident in lines

like, “You know you’re no good at listening,

but you’re great at saying everything on your

mind,” (Out of the woodwork), “I got drunk and

fell asleep atop the sheets but luckily I left the

heater on….You said I guarantee we’ll have

some fun, drink ‘till the moon becomes the sun,

and in the taxi home, I’ll sing you a twippits

song,” (History Eraser), and, from my favorite song on the album, ‘Anonymous club’, “Leave

your shoes at the door, along with your troubles.” A Sea of Split Peas is a fun, depressing,

youthful and original project that fits together extremely well. Downsides are that the musical

content may not suit everybody’s tastes, and may get too sonologically soft at some points to

keep some people entertained.

A Sea Of Split Peas, A

Double EP – Courtney

Barnett

A Sea Of Split Peas is a humorous,

dark project that set the stage for

Courtney Barnett, who is now

working with the likes of legends,

and has just finished a double A-

side with Jack White. It is a

brooding, mellow project,

cohesive and enjoyable

throughout.

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Travis Scott’s ‘Rodeo’ is an exhilarating 16-song debut album from the rapper from Houston,

who is challenging “what rap should sound like” with a mesh of experimental production, auto-

tune, lyrics, and overall sonological structure, in a way that is reminiscent of Kid Cudi and

Kanye West. Rodeo is a trip through Travis’s creative mind, reflecting on everything that has

happened to him. In comparison to the other albums listed, this album makes up for it’s low

lyrical value with extreme creativity, the concept of this new, rebellious generation of creative

adolescents, and sonologically pleasing songs with an enjoyable yet challenging aesthetic.

Features make the album even more cohesive, as Scott has features on 10 of the 16 songs, though

it is important to note that many of the tracks have two songs on them, reminiscent of Green

Rodeo – Travi$ $cott

Rodeo is a psychedelic adventure through

Scott’s past, present, and future. It challenges

what hip-hop is and creates a universe unique to

the generation Scott connects the most with.

Experimenting with auto-tune, production, and

song structure, Rodeo is, well, a Rodeo.

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Day’s ‘American Idiot.” Some the

transitions between tracks are

perfect, like the 5th track, “90210”,

and some are not performed well,

such as the 4th track, “Wasted”,

also not helped by a subpar feature

by Juicy J. Downsides are that the

music is definitely not for everyone,

and will sound extremely arrogant

to someone who, “doesn’t

understand” the concept, as well as

a few bad cuts on the album,

namely, track 8, the Kanye West x

John McCartney collaboration the

internet has been searching for for

over a year, the second part of

“Wasted”, the 4th track, and “Flying

High”, featuring Toro y Moi, Top

Dawg Entertainment’s in house producers (aka in house geniuses). Though a good song, it does

not fit the aesthetic of the album at all, a rather pop-influenced track with more un-autotuned

singing than rapping, coming right in between the banging two-part 11th track, “Maria, I’m

Drunk”, and “I Can Tell”. Justin Bieber’s feature on I’m Drunk, though extremely out of context

at first glance, is mediocre at worst, and can be forgiven, mostly because there are far worse cuts

on the album. The banging, dark, brooding 13th track, “I Can Tell”, features an uncredited

feature from Young Thug, who also features on “I’m Drunk”. Bad cuts, as well as the music and

concept not being everyone’s taste keeps this album from the top.

And now, finally, the moment of truth. Which album will I pick? Will it be Graduation, Kanye

West’s famous second album? Or will it be Nevermind, the album that redefined punk rock

forever. Which album, to me, fully represents everything an album should be?

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Honorable Mentions

12

Who?

Mick Jenkins. That’s who.

Mick Jenkins, Chicago rapper, originally hailing from Alabama, is the leader of a new,

intellectual hip hop movement, referred to by those familiar with the movement as Free Nation.

Jenkins, being from rural Alabama, and then moving to the South Side of Chicago as an

adolescent, was accustomed to the life of gangsters, and fell in with crowds consisting of current

Chicago gangster rap (often referred to as the Drill Movement), like Chief Keef, Montana of 300,

Lil Durk, and many more. But, as Mick excelled in school, he started spending more and more

time in the North Side of Chicago as a result of his increasing interest and skill at poetry. There,

while Drill music was encompassing Chicago, a poetic, intellectual revolution of the arts was

happening, leaders of the movement, such as Mick, Chance The Rapper, NoName Gypsy, Vic

Mensa, Saba, and Jean Deaux, began to break off from the masses and start leading the Free

Nation movement. You take the experiences that Mick talks about in his music, much like the

experiences that have produced the gangster, ignorance riddled songs that have come out of the

drill movement, and you mix it with the intelligent, informed, creative, and almost enlightened

ideas of this poetic movement that Mick took part in creating, and you get an extremely unique

Mick Jenkins – The Water[s]

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sound that is described by

Mick as “Cold Music.” The

album’s concept, which Mick

purposefully does not ever give

a direct answer for when asked

about it, only stating the

obvious, and saying that the

rest is left to the perception of

the listener, is a 15 song,

intelligent yet depressing, and

beautiful, yet disgustingly ugly

truth of the world concept

album, where Mick uses the

concept of water being this

pure, beautiful element, and

things like champagne or

ginger ale bring these sweet,

seductive vices. Mick goes

even further by using the ideas

of “water” and “ginger ale” as

analogies for everything pure in the world, and everything that is un-pure, a vice of sorts, using

water as analogies for education, for life, truth, and love, while ginger ale is associated with

things Mick considers enticing vices, like women, alcohol, and money, constantly referring back

to the line, “Ginger Ale for the hoes”.

Starting from the very first track, Shipwrecked, featuring The Mind, a Chicago based

singer, the concept of water is introduced, with waves crashing against the shore in the

background, seagulls flying, while The Mind sings over a soothing, jazz influenced beat. Mick

then comes in, on a beat change that remains subtle in it’s simplicity, telling a story about a

Christmas Eve in Chicago, only to be tracked back to The Mind’s singing, Mick ending his verse

with the line, “But we can’t kill the habit, Holding on to this boat ‘till we shipwrecked.” The

Mind procees to come in with a powerful transition, singing lines like, “They said the waves

would wash our sins away, that we were black because our skin.” Shipwrecked ends with a

smooth, but hard-hitting beat change, where Mick approaches his lyrics aggressively, giving us a

great introduction to the album, referring back to the waters, while introducing us to the ideas we

hear throughout the album; poverty, the struggle, violence, and everything wrong with the world,

and how the people around Mick are only blinding themselves with this “ginger ale”, rather then

bettering themselves.

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“Before the show, I just need to be alone…to think

about the set, think about the stage, think about the

people…no part of my art is planned, it’s all in the

moment…doing shows is a chance to see everyone

face to face, to see them live and really connect with

the audience…I just like to be alone to think about

the city, and the people, and love and how I’m going

to permeate the ideas I want to convey through the

music throughout the room.” – Mick Jenkins

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The next track, THC, standing for [T]he [H]ealing [C]omponent, the original title for the

album, and the title for Mick’s upcoming 2016 album, is an almost 2 minute conversation Mick

is having with someone, starting it by telling them to “Drink more water.” Mick then goes on to

try and convince this person that he’s going to “get them high”, but making subtle hints that he

isn’t referring to drugs, such as the line, “And you aint even gotta cop blunts, nigga brought

food, for thought, so, you dont even gotta cop blunts,” and a short speech on how water is the

“healing component.” THC is a transitional track that, paired with Shipwrecked, provides a

soothing and insightful start to the album.

The third, fourth, and fifth tracks, titled “The Waters”, “Healer” (feat. Jean Deaux), and

“Comfortable” (feat. NoName Gypsy), respectively, are three tracks that flow together because

of instrumentation, features, and form (they are all 4 minutes and 15 seconds) and really start to

set the tone for the project. On “The Waters”, Mick starts by describing struggles that he and his

peers go through, referencing ginger ale, before transitioning to the chorus, where he says,

“Water more important than the gold, people for the gold, everybody do it for the gold, people

sell your soul,” and moving into the bridge, where he repeats, “thank god for the waters,” and

this is continued for the rest of this insightful track. “Healer”, featuring singer Jean Deaux, starts

with a soft instrumental featuring a picked guitar and piano, with Mick describing his current

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relationship with water and his current struggles, detailing a conversation with a woman. Deaux

then comes into the chorus to describe how, “You feel like water baby…you heal my body

baby.” Mick continues to describe the “quality of life”, going into detail about smoking, and

ending the verse with, “Just a sip of the holiest water he had,” finishing the song with a quickly

sung verse by Deaux. While Deaux isn’t on the same lyrical level as Mick, she adds a lot to the

song in terms of aesthetic, something that really pushes this album to the next level, after you

take in the amazing production and lyrical content. Next is “Comfortable”, featuring NoName

Gypsy, considered by her peers, “the most lyrical female to ever live”, though she considers

herself more poet then musician. Mick approaches “Comfortable” by singing the chorus with

NoName, then transitioning to rather upbeat rapping, talking about the drugs in his city, music,

and, of course, bringing everything back to water, also producing one of the more memorable

lines of the album, “you know you can’t live through a song, quote.” After the chorus, well,

NoName Gypsy come through with a verse that you need to hear to believe. These three tracks

come together extremely well, in a way that reminds me of Jesus of Suburbia, the 12 minute

second track on Green Day’s American Idiot, consisting of 3 songs inside of the one track. These

three tracks are also often compared with each other because, though they set a positive, upbeat,

and rather pretty mood for the project, the project starts to turn into the “Cold Music” Mick often

refers to his music as, beautifully making the transition, sonologically, in a way that is extremely

pleasing and intriguing to the ears and

mind, with the 6th and 7th tracks, “Vibe”

and “Jazz”, respectively, before jumping

into a boom-bap influenced, but dark 8th

track titled, “Black Sheep.

“Vibe”, a jazz influenced track, featuring a

piano and jazz drum kit, describes a

situation in which Mick is, “Vibing” with

a person, describing the habits of vibing,

particularly drug use, and moving into

music and expression, one of the more

memorable lines being, “For the art form and never the hand clap, when that’s clear you could

call it saran wrap, remember when you getting all this green that it better be sand traps, derails

don’t only happen to Amtrack.” “Vibe” is all about Mick trying to convince someone to “vibe”

to his music, to his ideologies, to everything he is preaching, promising them that it’s worth it,

but not demanding it, showing his compassionate and understanding side through many of the

cold lines in this song, in the line, “But feel the vibe, I got some Sade we could snap to,

knowledge got some rap tapes I know that we could rap too, I’m gon’ roll this joint and probably

light it, you could hit it if you want it but know you don’t really have to, I’m at you, open with

my intentions I’ll never be condescending, We’ll do all the things I mentioned.”

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Moving into “Jazz”, the 7th track, which is even more jazz influenced than Vibe, but

features a more booming bass, and Mick bringing his voice lower than we have heard thus far,

and continues as the album goes on. Starting the song by saying, “Drink more water…..Or you

might die,” Mick goes into a lyrical, enticing story about, “self-medication, ginger ale in the

champagne flute but I ain’t celebrating,” and so lyrically tying together all of these vices that

thus far in the album, Mick hasn’t really delved too far into, going into the chorus by describing

how he keeps, “talking all that jazz.” “Jazz” is the first song on The Water[s] that Mick really

displays this extremely rare and unique lyricism that is indescribable, that you really have to hear

to understand how, not only talented he is, but how powerful the concept he has created is.

“Black Sheep”, the 8th song on the album, is a beautifully produced, boom-bap

influenced song, produced by legendary New York producer Statik Selektah, while Mick goes

into depth about experiences he went through in Chicago more than he has thus far through the

album, citing how ignorant the people around him were, and how he’s, “On this water now.”

“Drink More Water”, the 9th track, is a well-produced track, featuring Mick, lyrically,

very similar to how he approaches Jazz. He dazzles with outstanding lyricism, while keeping true

to his concept and what

he wants to show people

through his music,

evident in lines like,

“What you want the gold

and the hoes and the

lights? Cars and the

clothes what a life, ‘Till

your bars get low and

your heart get froze and

you dull as a (explicit)

butter knife,” and

preaching the concept in

the chorus, featuring

Chicago singer Ebony,

where they both sing, “Drink more water, take a lil sip, just a sip will make a (explicit) feel like

gold.” Mick closes out this 2 verse, 2 chorus song with intense lyricism that dazzles you with its

content and intrigues you with its meaning and message. “Drink More Water” can be viewed as a

rather transitional track, as the next 6 songs are dark, cold, and bass heavy songs where Mick

uses his outstanding lyricism to beautifully show things that are so ugly to see.

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“Canada Dry”, the 10th track, and my second favorite on the album, features Mick

rapping over the first beat on the album that really is bass booming, and has dark

instrumentation. Mick starts by saying how he’s “Riding round, all this ginger ale, peep the

herbal essence in the papers, vapors, no chrome ride couldn’t tell, but trust me, I ain’t checking

for no dressy heels or Delilahs.” Immediately, Mick starts hitting us with extremely lyrical, dark

ideas about these vices, this, “Ginger Ale”, and really focusing on the past, the things that were

happening in Chicago and what he was out doing, saying, “Riding round off this Ginger Ale,

Momma wouldn’t like the way I smell right now.” This, lyrically, sonologically, is the highlight

of the album so far, as everything conceptually and content-wise is coming together to paint this

vivid, creative, so ugly that it is a beautiful picture, and Mick is really bringing us on a journey

that gets more intense with each song, to the point where you have to hear the entire album to

really understand the emotions he is conveying.

“Who Else”, the 11th track, a booming track, where Mick takes many bible references

and weaves them into his water concept, mixing in racial problems in Chicago, with his

trademark lyricism, for a loud, but soothing track, that is a nice break from the challenging ideas

we encounter in the rest of the project, but is far from a meaningless song.

“Dehydration”, featuring The Mind, comes in for a less booming but still extremely

powerful track, where Mick shies away from impressive lyricism, instead focusing on powerful

lyrics that rhyme sometimes, but always flow. Mick comes through with memorable moments all

over this song, from the opening, “I been drinking all this water, (explicit) ain’t never been so

clear I’ll be a martyr, right in front your face, make no mistake I rolled the trees and took the

truth right to the face, this ginger ale is for your daughter….or your shawty or whatever,” to the

second verse, after a

Sting-esce chorus from

The Mind, more

aesthetically pleasing

than lyrically pleasing,

though the latter wouldn’t

have benefitted the song

in the same way, where

Mick says, “I was on the

back porch getting

faded...cup of ginger ale

with my peanut butter

loafers, swear this

lifestyle so contagious, swear I told myself that i’d never be a smoker.” The production, snare

heavy, with a touch of a dreamy synth and a vocal loop creates an almost epic aesthetic, made

even more epic from the chorus sung by The Mind, and Mick’s incredibly powerful verses.

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The 13th track, “514”, is Mick’s ode to one of his favorite stomping grounds, Montreal. Mixing

in references to back in Chicago, as well as focusing on his experiences throughout his newfound

fame, this is the first track that we see Mick shy away from this selfless, profit-like individual

and start to describe his life as it has become. This starts rather lavish and ignorant, then turning

into another subtle, yet powerful statement by Mick, with lines like, “I’m screaming South Side

in this (explicit), but with the presence of a house fly.” A Conga based instrumental creates an

island like vibe for “514”, Mick not only citing Montreal, but also his time in his native

Barbados as a sonological influence for the track. “514” serves as a sort of final interlude, as the

next two tracks are considered two of the most powerful songs on the album, and usually

resonate in the listener’s minds as a sort of synopsis of the entire album.

The 14th song is titled “Martyrs”. Before I start to talk about the song, I would like to

point out that it is the 14th track for a reason: The song is extremely challenging to the listener,

bringing in concepts that people do not always understand. It is very easy for someone who is

challenged by having to really think about and absorb what Mick is saying to throw it out as

pathetic ignorance. That said, “Martyrs” is understood much better when it is listened to after

listening to the first 13 tracks, and arguably makes the track even more powerful. “Martyrs”,

“Dehydration”, and “Jazz” are the only songs that have music videos, and I recommend not

watching any of them until their time in the tracklisting, but to watch the videos when listening

to the song, as they add a tremendous amount of emotion and understanding to the content of the

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songs. That said, “Martyrs” is the most bass heavy, darkly-produced track on the album. Mick

comes onto the track darker and voice deeper than we have heard the entire album so far, and it

is clear in his lines that he is fed up, and completely giving up on the world, using dark humor to

have the listener wondering where the world went wrong. Now here is the catch; Mick is not

rapping from his perspective in the chorus. I will not write the chorus or analyze the chorus and

hook, but I will point out two lines that make or break the song for a listener. First, before Mick

goes into the chorus, he says, quickly, as the last bar, “Ashamed this the game in these young

niggas minds,” and then goes on to describe “the game” in the chorus. Second, after the hook,

which makes it clear that Mick is “Hanging,” the bridge uses the word hanging, but in a much

different context. Another subtle yet powerful statement is to recognize the title of the song after

listening to it and understanding what Mick really means by a “Martyr”. This song is the epitome

of Mick’s idea that every listener will walk away from the album with something different, a

different meaning for water then another person, and a different idea of what Mick is trying to

say with “Martyrs”, obviously the climax of the project.

The project ends with the 15th track, Jerome. This track is special because it contains the

only feature from a male rapper, Brooklyn’s very own, Joey Bada$$. The track begins with a

noisy, loud, boom bap beat, produced by Joey Bada$$’s peer, Brooklyn producer/rapper Kirk

Knight, sampling his own voice, as well as an old Notorious BIG song. Mick comes onto the

track loud and harsh, lacing profanities into his always lyrical flow. Joey comes in and

thoroughly compliments Mick’s 1 and a half verses with a large, rough verse about Brooklyn,

complimenting Mick’s verses about Chicago. Though rough, loud, and rather braggadocios in

comparison to the rest of the album, “Jerome” serves as a rather mellow ending to an album that

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challenges the listener with jazz influenced instrumentation, creative flows, and a message and

concept that is equally insightful as it is powerful

The Water[s] is above the rest of the albums in my top three; To Pimp a Butterfly, Cilvia

Demo, and Channel Orange, for one simple reason. Looking at all of the albums together, it

becomes obvious that Channel Orange is the most intimate of the albums, followed by TPaB,

and then Cilvia Demo and The Water[s] fighting for the last spot. All four are extremely lyrical,

extremely creative, have excellent features and instrumentation, and all of them could be the

album that represents “the perfect album,” but there is one reason that The Water[s] stands alone:

Concept. Though Channel Orange, To Pimp a Butterfly, and Cilvia Demo are all extremely

intimate experiences to listen to, and can become extremely personal experiences for some

people, Mick creates an entirely new kind of intimacy with the concept of The Water[s], because

each person comes up with their own meaning for water, and can have their own intimate

relationship with the album, concept, and message in a way that Channel Orange, To Pimp a

Butterfly, and Cilvia Demo creates, but in a different way, that gives The Water[s] an edge above

the rest. The album flows through each song, never really having a dull moment, and

transitioning from light to dark, taking the listener through a real musical journey with the

concept. Mick’s deep voice never fails to strike a chord, whether he is harshly rapping on

“Martyrs” or singing on “Comfortable”, and the instrumentation is an entire journey in itself. For

these reasons, The Water[s] represents the perfect album for me. Ω

Dean Berrios