Welcome to a new monthly series where I display most of the albums that have been released in the last month and explain just a bit about some more notable ones. October 2019 was an alright month for the music industry. We saw some major names like Summer Walker, Mike Posner, Becky G., Cigarettes After Sex and the now infamous Kanye West. Going through these albums I am only going to mention the more popular ones and leave a description on the more important ones; I obviously cannot credit every album to come out this month, have enough time to listen to them and then review them all afterward.
10/4
Akon- El Negreeto
“El Negreeto” is a very interesting look into the now slightly washed-up Akon. On every track he sings in Spanish and even is accompanied by Spanish singers as well. It is intriguing to see how versatile Akon is after his numerous years in the industry and it is exciting to see what else he will be able to accomplish considering he is also pioneering technological advances for Africa.
Bülow- The Contender
Chris Brown- Indigo (extended)
Danny Brown- uknowwhatimsayin¿
Danny Brown has been an interesting character in the hip hop scene and only recently has been picking up more steam. Releasing his breakout album at the age of 30, he nears 40 with this one counting as his fifth album. With this album he demands you to meet him on his emotional plane and see what he’s seeing or already saw.
DIIV- Deceiver
Jez Dior- Handle With Care
Michael Christmas- Baggy Eyes 2
Summer Walker- Over It
Summer Walker had a bit of an unexpected blow from her debut full-length album. The sultry lyrics and telenovela-like stories play out through your mind as she smoothly delivers them over hypnotic R&B beats. Although it gets a bit played out through the lengthy 18 track album, you cannot deny that Summer is expressing herself and her feelings towards these phony men on every piece of these songs.
Supa Bwe- Jaguar
10/9
Father- Hu$band
Lil Raven- Tornado
Mike Posner- Keep Going
During an extraordinary 2,500 mile walk across America, Mike Posner returns to the music scene with what seems to be an auditory diary from his journeys and experiences. Only a month after he was bitten by a rattlesnake, he released it but honestly, he probably should’ve kept it for a bit longer. Most tracks seem underdone or not even finalized in some cases; maybe he should’ve continued walking instead of recording? All I know is that “Cooler Than Me” will be playing at my funeral.
10/11
88rising- Head in the Clouds II
This is quite an interesting release from the Asian-American independent label “88rising.” The label is led by Joji and consisting of the Higher Brothers, Keith Ape, Rich Brian and many other eastern stars that have been blowing up in America. The second installment in the series isn’t something you’d expect if you listened to them prior, and even if you didn’t, it was still slightly bizarre coming from them. The trap and pop sounds they had in the first album does not follow up with the second as they went for a more electronic and trance-like sound for the majority of the album. This leaves fans confused and disappointed.
JayDaYoungan- Misunderstood
Jordyn Jones- Self Titled
Lil Tjay- True 2 Myself
Lil Tjay quickly became rap’s next big superstar with his breakout hits “Brothers,” “F.N” and the now platinum song “Pop Out” featuring Polo G. With this debut album, a lot was expected from him. While he delivered with his melodic flow and hard-hitting piano beats, there were still some things missing. He is only 18 so he has a lot of time to spend working on his maturity and perfecting his craft. While this album was good, his progression and future releases will definitely be something to watch.
Simple Creatures- Everything Opposite
Throttle- Where U Are EP
Wale- Wow… That’s Crazy
NBA YoungBoy- AI Youngboy 2
YK Osiris- The Golden Child
10/17
Becky G- Mala Santa
Becky G has been an interesting development from the music scene, recently landing a bunch of acting positions and finally releasing her Spanish debut album, she continues to awe the Latinx community and definitely delivers with this album.
10/18
24hrs- World On Fire
Autumn!- 4
Berhana- HAN
Berhana has been someone I specifically have been watching ever since he won me over with his song “Grey Luh.” He has taken an interesting approach to modern day R&B and is very versatile on most of the tracks in “HAN.” With this release, he brings more rock and roll elements and leads toward songs that even remind me of early Frank Ocean. This album left a little something to be desired especially if you’ve been listening to him for a while. It leaves you reminiscing towards his earlier releases, and hopefully, he solves the issue soon because his potential is impossible to not notice.
CDot Honcho- Kingpin
Chris Janson- Real Friends
Eli Sostre- EROS
G-Eazy- Scary Nights
Gucci Mane- Woptober 2
James Arther- YOU
Sylar Gray- Angel With Tattoos
10/24
6 dogs- Hi-Hats & Heartaches
D Smoke- Inglewood High
Coming straight off of the new Netflix original “Rhythm and Flow” hosted by Cardi B, T.I and Chance the Rapper, D Smoke started on fire and never stopped as he cruised through the competition. He also eventually won the hip hop American Idol and earning $250,000 to put towards whatever he pleased. It seems he invested a lot of it towards his craft and it reflects well in this nostalgic South Compton album. Being closely related to SiR, the musical prowess translated through the family quite well as he delves into his story as a bilingual teacher at Inglewood High and his struggles as a grown man in Compton. He brings a perspective that hopefully can be accompanied by Kendrick Lamar in the near future.
10/25
10k.Caash- Scary Swajjur Stories
10k is a very animated and vibrant artist that has introduced a whole new sound towards hip hop. With his biggest success being “Aloha” racking up 2 million views and his viral dance move “The Woah” there is simply no denying that this man has been something the rap genre has been missing. His spastic flow and heavy 808 tuned beats influenced some of the biggest songs in hip hop right now. 10k isn’t for everyone, but doesn’t necessarily try to be. He knows his niche and sticks to that with this short release as well
Cigarettes After Sex- Cry
Guapdad 400- Dior Deposits
Hemlock Ernst & Kenny Segal- Back At The House
Jungleboi- Riding on a Light Beam
Lucki- Days B4 III
Wynne- iF i MAY
Walk off the Earth- HERE WE GO!
Kanye West- Jesus is King
Definitely, the album everyone was looking out for and the one everyone gave at least a skim through even (if you aren’t the biggest Kanye West fan). He used his usual release date delay strategy to build up anticipation and hype for the album… that did not go over well with the majority of listeners that stayed up late the night before to listen immediately when it dropped. His usual gospel raps you could find on his earlier albums like “Late Registration” or “College Dropout” have been revisited and changed for what seems like the worst because I have yet to meet anyone who actually enjoys the album.
10/28
MONSTA X- FOLLOW:FIND YOU
Coming from one of the biggest K-POP groups in Asia and America right now is an 8 track bouncy but immersive collection of songs. While there isn’t any English on any of the songs the bridge to America is still built solely through the instrumentation and pure energy itself. While K-POP is still a smaller genre in America, albums like this help us look through the hourglass and expand our cultural integrity.