Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar
Regarded as Lamar’s most confessional body of work, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers is a concept album that analyzes and reflects on his life experiences during his therapy journey. Its lyrics touches on a variety of personal themes, including childhood and generational trauma, infidelity, and celebrity worship. Primarily a conscious hip hop record, the album experiments with minimalist production while incorporating elements of jazz, R&B, trap, and soul.
Renaissance by Beyonce
Renaissance is inherently about bodies undulating in the dark, under strobes; sexual agency; and the Black queer and trans women who are both politicized and the most endangered people among us. As physical movement was necessarily constrained during pandemic isolation, the dissociative effects of being unseen became both detrimental and liberating. Renaissance is a commanding prescription to be perceived again, without judgment. Listening to the album, you can feel the synapses coming back together one by one, basking in the unfamiliar sensation of feeling good, if only for its hour-long duration.
<COPINGMECHANISM> by Willow
On Coping Mechanism, Willow’s idiosyncratic songwriting is paired with arena-headliner production, and the results often add up to a thrill ride, with the high drama of her lyrics and vocal performances equivalent to the tumultuous music surrounding her. Willow’s wail sounds disarmingly sturdy on first listen, revealing vulnerability around its fraying edges with each listen; her fifth album shows not only that the wild oscillations of her voice correspond to the turbulent emotions she sings about but also that her voice can hold its own amidst thundering drums and squalling riffs.
Component System With The Auto Reverse by Open Mike Eagle
Component System is the messiest and least theme-driven release of Eagle’s in some time. There’s no overarching concept or narrative gluing these tracks together like his last two. Instead, Eagle’s looser approach here results in a stouter contrast to those heavyweights, but loses none of his potency. Without the constraints Eagle inflicted upon himself, he’s freely able to bounce from rap to rap, bar to bar, with seamless professionalism, and it’s all the better for it. In short, Component System is possibly the strongest Eagle has sounded in years.
The Family by Brockhampton
Like a final episode from a beloved sitcom, Brockhampton’s final album The Family does its best to tie up deep, loose ends while taking both new and old fans alike on a somber yet fun ride. And despite the internal and professional turmoil that the band has gone through over the years, as laid out on the album, The Family is a brutally honest high-point to cap an amazing body of work. When you hear Wu-Tang Clan founder/producer RZA pay homage to them on “RZA,” it feels like a torch is being passed, from one extremely populous group of rap innovators to another. Brockhampton ended up not being able to carry the burden. But judging by Abstract’s own standout performance throughout the LP, there are signs of new beginnings here, too.
