July 2024
Monthly Reviews | July 2024
With July drawing to a close, we are coming towards the end of Summer and we have passed the halfway mark for 2024. This month I take a look at three projects that were released and couple of them are sure favourites to be featured for my end of year list. On the 12th July we received a brand new album from one of the biggest rappers of all time, Eminem. The Detroit MC, comes back from his four year hiatus and dropped a concept album about the death of his famous alter ego. More on that below. On the same day, we received a new collaborative project from Blu and Evidence, the California duo released a project after their home city. With this year already showcasing fantastic rapper-producer albums, find out how good Los Angeles is. Lastly, a week later from the two projects mentioned previously, we saw the return of Denzel Curry. The Floridian dropped a brand new mixtape, King Of The Mischievous South Vol. 2, a sequel to the first instalment which was released back in 2012.
Eminem — The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce)
Release Date — 12th July
After a four year hiatus, Eminem came back with a brand new concept album following 2020’s Music To Be Murdered By, and the album’s deluxe edition. This year marks the 25th anniversary of The Slim Shady LP, Eminem’s major label debut album, and his latest album centres around the veteran MC trying to move on from the Slim Shady alter ego— the alter ego that helped propel him to become one of the biggest and most controversial artist of the new millennium. Since The Slim Shady LP, Eminem went on to create two more great albums with The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show closing off a phenomenal three album run. However in the last decade or so, Eminem has had a turbulent time artistically, releasing five albums with 2018’s Kamikaze being the only good one. 2017’s Revival stands as the worst album he has released in his almost thirty year career.
Musically, the intro to the album “Renaissance” sounds great. The production is handled by himself and Luis Resto, Eminem flows really well, and doesn’t use the robotic flow that he has consistently used in his last few albums. Content wise, Eminem seems to reflects on his career and life whilst showing criticism and frustration at music fans for what he believes to be them always hating on music from respected rappers; he name drops the likes of Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and J. Cole. Complaining is what you will hear a lot from this album. On multiple occasions throughout this album, you will essentially hear so many complaints about Gen Z and everything centred around this generation, which makes Eminem sound old and grumpy.
The album is meant to be a concept album, but there is barely a concept to it. It’s clear that the album is centred around Eminem versus Slim Shady, however this is only clearly shown on “Guilty Conscience 2”; a sequel to the first one released on The Slim Shady LP. The original had Dr. Dre arguing, going back and forth with Slim Shady but on the sequel, we see the album’s concept finally come alive with Eminem arguing with Slim Shady. The idea of the song is great, however the issue with the song is the same issue I have with the album at large— the fact that the lines between Slim Shady and Eminem do get blurred a lot. On many occasions it seems that Eminem is saying the things that Slim Shady would say, and it seems as if he’s the one complaining about not being able to make jokes at certain communities, so it brings huge amounts of confusion. It also gives the impression that Slim Shady may not have died, or Eminem hasn’t closed the door on his alter ego.
The album does have its funny moments and humorous lines here and there, however there are many eye rolls with these jokes. With so many references to Christopher Reeve, Caitlyn Jenner and Diddy, Eminem opts to churning out the same individuals and references. It gets really tiring. There are moments where he does go at others, for example Candace Owens, and it would have been better to hear this more. Perhaps it would have been better to go at people with high levels of power in society or others who deserve ridicule like he did with Diddy, rather than the endless jokes about transgenders or ‘small’ people. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, there were certain jokes that were considered funny and those jokes that are on Eminem’s early albums represent that time and are time capsules. However, as time moves on and society becomes more conscious, certain things are just not funny anymore. For example, there was a time where certain comments and jokes towards a particular race were considered humorous, but not in this day and age, so should we complain about this? Now in 2024, certain cheap jokes towards particular communities or a group of people aren’t considered funny… get over it.
The Death Of Slim Shady was an intriguing album title, but in the end it’s not properly confirmed if he’s dead, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he returned on the next album. Sonically, the album is an improvement on Eminem’s last album and tracks such as “Renaissance” and “Houdini” are examples of the album’s best moments musically. However, on the album you will still find the bland pop oriented singles, such as “Habits” with White Gold, who delivers a very basic vocal delivery on the chorus. In terms of the features, the biggest highlight was JID who delivered a phenomenal verse on “Fuel”, and actually steals the show. On the other hand, Bizarre from D12 sadly didn’t sound great with his feature on “Antichrist”. Though an improvement as mentioned, in the end The Death Of Slim Shady is another example as to why Eminem is still struggling to produce great music consistently on an album.
Blu & Evidence — Los Angeles
Release Date — 12th July
2024 has already seen the release of great rapper-producer albums, the previous month we saw Boldy James and Conductor Williams release a fantastic collaborative album with Across The Tracks, and Future and Metro Boomin’s We Don’t Trust You was also a good project, released back in March. Now Blu and Evidence’s first collaborative project, Los Angeles, is also added to that list. Blu has paid homage to his home city throughout this career, and his latest collaborative project is now inspired by it, with multiple tracks named after the city or its initials. On top of that rapper and producer, Evidence, provides Blu with laid-back production reflecting the city's relaxed nature and also aligning with the album's title.
Top to bottom, Los Angeles is a great listen with just a small amount of hiccups along the way. Tracks such as “Live From 54th”, “The Land” and “Three Wheel Motion” with Kokane are the first few tracks on the album and are early standouts. Kokane’s vocal delivery is haunting but fantastic, helping “Three Wheel Motion” to be one of the best songs on the album. Evidence’s work on the production is excellent throughout the album, and particular highlights include “The Land”, the instrumental is so good that it’s inevitable that you will have your head bopping to it. Towards the middle of the album, tracks such as “The Cold” and “Heaven” featuring C.S. Armstrong continues the album’s strong run. On the former Blu uses his lyricism to paint a vivid picture of the harsh realities of life in Los Angeles. Blu juxtaposes the city's outward beauty and warmth with its inner coldness and dangers.
Towards the last few tracks Blu continues to showcase his storytelling abilities, as he pens a heartfelt song to someone in his life who passed and longs for them to still be here. “The LA” is the last track off the album and the production from Evidence is phenomenal. It’s a great way to close the album, and another great track that fits the album and the ode to Los Angeles. Known for his collaborative projects with producers from the likes of Real Bad Man and most notably Exile, Los Angeles should be placed right along with the great albums Blu has made with other producers. Huge amounts of credit should be given to Evidence who laces Blu with fantastic production that matches perfectly with his style. Evidence's production complements the album’s title, it captures the city's known laid-back vibe. His smooth instrumentals provide an ideal backdrop for Blu's lyrics. The connection between the beats and the theme of Los Angeles creates an immersive experience that encapsulates the essence of the city.
Denzel Curry — King Of The Mischievous South Vol. 2
Release Date — 19th July
The new mixtape from Floridian rapper Denzel Curry marks his latest full length project, since 2022’s Melt My Eyez See Your Future. Vol. 2 is the sequel to the first instalment which was released back in 2012, during Denzel’s Raider Klan years and since then the Carol City rapper has grown to become one of the most versatile artists within Hip-Hop. From his more conscious TA13OO LP back in 2018, to 2019’s “ZUU” that was filled with bangers all the way through. This time, Denzel has returned with a brand new mixtape that comes across as an ode to his Southern roots and influence.
Narrated by Memphis legend Kingpin Skinny Pimp, the album’s first track “ULTRA SHXT” might be win the 2024 award for the best first track. A complete influence from Memphis Phonk, everything about this song is pure perfection, from the production to the infectious chorus. From then on you have two great back to back bangers with “SET IT” featuring Houston rapper Maxo Kream, and “HOT ONE” featuring A$AP Ferg and TiaCorrine. However, The Mexican OT might have the best feature on “BLACK FLAG FREESTYLE”, as he glides and flows effortlessly on the song’s instrumental. As the album continues it doesn’t let up with it’s consistency of infectious and head bopping bangers. One of the best ones is “G’Z Up” featuring 2 Chainz and Mike Dimes. The track provides the classic chanting anthem that is synonymous with Southern Hip-Hop, and is clearly influenced from the likes of Three 6 Mafia’s “Tear Da Club”.
Though only his late twenties Denzel has been around since the early-2010s, and has grown to become of the best rappers of his generation and class. Vol. 2 is another project that continues Denzel’s run of phenomenal projects, it genuinely seems that the Florida rapper can’t do no wrong and is developing one of the most impressive discographies of the last ten years. With every project you’re not sure what style or sound he will be provide, however with every project he provides you confidence that his next project will be just as good as his last.