Some first impressions:
Hudson Mohawke's Lantern
It's cool, kind of overproduced on a few songs, just extra sounds everywhere. I like most of the songs, but nothing really memorably here outside of Ryderz, which sounds nothing like the rest of the album lol. Some of the bigger higlights are probably Scud Books, Shadows, Kettles and Very First Breath. Jhene Aiko showing some range too was nice. I don't really know what to expect since these kinds of songs just feel like DJs throw a bunch of shit out there to see what sticks and gets remixed, so I'll just say it's cool.
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The Alchemist's Israeli Salad
Not much to say about this, solid beats front to back, you can't really expect Alc to make a wack beat, it's just not part of his style. More beats on this I feel that are apt for rappers to rap over than with Russian Roulette. Some of the beats are more typical and uninspired (usually oversued drum patterns bring things down), but others are exceptional, like Arrival, Collage Pt.2, Bone Thugs N' Haifa, Chetzi, Za'atar Smoke, Yala Yala, etc. Beat tapes are kind of whatever to me in general, especially when some of these are prime for someone to bless the track with verses, but I guess this is okay for what it is since those rappers would probably be wack or the same group Alc works with anyways.
tl;dr:
Donny Trumpet & The Social Experiment's Surf
The instrumentation and production is definitely the highlight here, and what gets you through the album and some of the crummy MCs. It's just a happy, goofy pop vibe all throughout, doesn't seem serious from the onset so I won't take it that serious. I'm reluctantly bobbing my head to some pretty asstastic and struggle verses from Chance, Quavo, and fucking KYLE. I mean when King Louie drops the best verse on your song you know some shit isn't right. Wouldn't say there are really standouts, but I like Slip Slide, Nothing Came To Me, Windows, Go, Questions, Something Came To Me, Sunday Candy & Pass The Vibe.
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