UPPER ECHELON.

We're basically half way through 2017 now and there's been so much new music released this year - a lot of trash tbh but some good tracks too! Albums from Drake, Kendrick, Joey Bada$$ to name a couple. Buuut with so many tracks released I thought I'd make a quick top 10 tracks of the year so far, remember this is only my top 10 so obviously there's gonna be some pretty big names that are gonna miss out. SO DON'T KILL ME JUST BECAUSE YOUR FAVOURITE TRACKS AREN'T IN THERE, choosing just 10 ain't easy you know. I'll leave the link to my choices down below so you can check em out too but tell me what you think should be on there too!

6lack - That Far
Bryson Tiller - Run Me Dry
Nav - Nav
French Montana + Swae Lee - Unforgettable
Lil Durk + Young Thug - No Love
Future - Mask Off
Logic + Alessia Cara + Khalid - 1-800-273-8255
Lil Uzi Vert - XO Tour Life
Childish Gambino - Redbone
Calvin Harris + Frank Ocean + Migos - Slide

(Before you say it, yes I know there's no Drake or Kendrick on there!)

https://open.spotify.com/user/sikanderhu/playlist/2tgBKgbKYaQWGAKg3Er9iv

Starboy

Going from the underground’s worst kept secret to the pop game’s biggest name – The Weeknd’s come up has been astronomical. 5 years ago I was being called a fan boy for shouting and raving about an unknown EP called Echoes of Silence, cut forward to 2017 and there’s not a music fan in the world that hasn’t heard a track from Starboy. The thing which always appealed to me about The Weeknd through listening to Echoes of Silence and the amazing Trilogy album was the unapologetic darkness and malice in his music. There was no attempt at accommodating to a broad audience, the jaunting beats and haunting melodies seemed pure and untouched. However, in recent times The Weeknd’s sound has changed and almost become too pop and has lost a lot of its impact for me. Sadly, Starboy follows this trend.

There’s a couple of tracks that do stand out and are worth listening to again, notably Starboy and False Alarm as they had a real unique sound which if had continued throughout the album would have made this a great listen. However, there’s so much of this album which just sounds samey and really this album could have been condensed and a lot of these tracks could have been left lout because they’re simply regurgitating a pattern again and again. I think the bit that really hurts me about this album is the fact that the music sounds watered down and the content censored – Ii feel if anything the label has taken a brilliant unique artist and squashed him into a pop shaped hole and made him into something weaker and less than he actually is. It’s like hiring Slipknot to do carol singing – it just feels wrong.

As an artist I have a lot of respect for The Weeknd as I truly believe he has one of the best voices and original sounds in music right now. However, the current trend in his music is not something I particularly enjoy. I really hope The Weeknd quickly ends this phase in his music and goes back to the darker malevolent side I enjoyed so much.

The Weeknd – Starboy – 2/10

4 Your Eyez Only

Anyone who knows me will tell you that my favourite album of all time is J Cole 2014 Forest Hills Drive. So being a big J Cole fan, from Power Trip to Work Out, you can imagine how excited I was for 4 Your Eyez Only. This album came out of nowhere, it really did. 2016 was meandering to dull close when J Cole released a “documentary” on YouTube where he released two songs where he appeared to take shots at Kanye and Wale. Thank God J Cole released that when he did – he breathed some much needed life into what was a disappointing end to hip hop in 2016.

The album itself has a clear message and idea behind it. If his last album was a turn up, then this is definitely a sit and remember album. Cole brings some deep messages in this album and covers a wide range of issues. He speaks of lost love in She’s Mine, covers gun crime and inequality later in the album. Although the album is definitely thought provoking, moving and pretty chilled – I have to say I am a little disappointed. This is because I like the hard hitting J Cole with the jagged beats like A Tale of 2 Citiez, Fire Squad and Power Trip. As much as this album brings some deep messages and chill vibes, it’s just not the J Cole I prefer. Having said that I have to say Immortal is an absolute banger and a must listen, also the sample of Bryson Tiller’s exchange is really clever. So if you’re in the right mood this album could appeal to you, however, as much as I love J Cole I know this album is going to divide opinion.

This album may not be what I was hoping for but it still has a lot to offer if you enjoy deep and clever lyrics with powerful messages behind them with a hella chill vibe.

J Cole – 4 Your Eyez Only – 7.5/10

Me and your Mama

Utter crap. Childish Gambino used to be about crazy, weird, fire lyrics and unique instrumentals but this new Gambino with his new track Me and your Mama is fully dead. Like seriously, why do rappers do this?! There always comes a point in rappers career nowadays where they suddenly decide to let out their “artistic” side and out comes some half baked attempt at being “unique”. This track was a massive let down. Bring back the real Gambino.

Childish Gambino – Me and you Mama – 1/10

DC4

L after L after L. Being exposed as a “rat” by The Game, then becoming enemies with Beanie Siegel whilst being “bodied by a singing n***a”. Meek Mill’s had a rough year to say the least. The dream chasing boy from Philly who always has an iced out “Rollie on the wrist”, has seen his star lose its shine in recent times. Meek Mill has gone from being the real G spitting flames to the butt of everyone’s jokes – hell even Kanye West and Philadelphia’s very own Fresh Prince Will Smith were filmed laughing at Meek. But even with all the stuff going on Meek has kept us patiently waiting on his long awaited DC4. We’ve heard rumours about this project for so long it’s embarrassing, fans of Meek have had to deal with fake release dates, unforeseen issues with record labels and a host of other excuses. But just before Halloween Meek finally dropped DC4 and I’ll admit at first I couldn’t even listen all the way through and had to give up out of pure disappointment. Having waited so long I was expecting so much, this album needed to be the greatest piece of music I have ever heard for it to live up to all the hype around this project. But having gone away for a few days and heard the album all the way through I changed my mind a bit.

This album does have its moments. As a whole this album is as quintessentially Meek Mill as they come. The standard heavy beats with all the added gunshots and grandiose sirens are apparent as usual. The standard lyrical content is there again – guns, drugs, money, girls (and pretty much anything else stereotypically gangster). But therein lies the main problem with this whole project. It’s not original. At all. You want to see evolution from an artist – sonically and personally. And with Dreams Are Worth More Than Money I loved how Meek finally changed up his style and showed levels to his work. But with DC4 it feels like a backwards step, it’s so generic it hurts. Literally if you had told me this was just a collection of old Meek tracks from back in the day I would have believed you. There’s about 4 tracks out of the 14 which for me are standout enough for a second listen and even then it’s mostly because I enjoyed the features on the tracks. In particular, you have to HAVE TO go out and listen to Litty purely to hear Tory Lanez going off! Having said this I would say that there is one caveat to the negativity and that is; had I not heard any previous Meek Mill work I would be sitting here rating this a straight 8 or 9. This is because I imagine the tracks would be quite turnt for someone hearing Meek for the first time. But for those of us who have enjoyed some of his previous work, this project just seems too formulaic and unoriginal.

DC4 was supposed to be the pinnacle of Meek Mill’s career so far. The last instalment in the Dream Chasers saga, the last project where he spoke of violence and illustration of his refined abilities as part of raps elite. But, to me, what I see is nothing more than a regurgitation of old music with a couple of fancy features thrown in to make it seem fresh. I’ve always thought that Meek can spit and this project will not change that opinion. However, after the year he’s had Meek needed to come with something hard and fresh to remind people that he isn’t just a walking joke but still a credible artist. Unfortunately, DC4 does little to help. Looks like he should have just stuck to catching L’s.

Meek Mill – DC4 - 3/10

Sneakin'

The founder of OVO, the pioneer of the sensitive rap phenomena and the King of the indirect sneak diss, Drake, finally dropped some new material. Drizzy announced this week that he will be releasing a playlist in December. A playlist? Not an album, not a mixtape but a playlist - I’m not even sure what the fuck that’s going to be but I’m hyped nevertheless. Along with the announcement, Drake dropped four tracks on us as a teaser. The one that’s currently making the most noise out there is the track Sneakin’ featuring 21 Savage (21 21 21).

The track starts with a jaunty chopped up beat before Drake goes off. As someone who didn’t particularly enjoy Views, it’s good to hear Drake back to his menacing darker flow. With this flow and beat Drizzy’s words actually carry some weight and pack a certain punch which they didn’t on Views, in my opinion. We’re back to the good old Drake where he seems to be taking shots at the industry and other rappers in his track with some great lines. To be fair you knew this track was going to be lit just from the first 5 seconds of the beat and the first bar – “This is all God’s doing man you can’t plan it, But if the Devil’s in the detail then I’m Satanic”. The 21 Savage feature is going to divide opinion – I know a lot of you don’t think he can even rap. But for me 21 work on this track and to be fair he does come through with some decent bars – “Baby I’m a savage I ain’t romantic, when I come around rappers start to panic, and their pockets going under like the Titanic”, a lot of people will call the bars overly simplistic and hate on the flow but I’m fucking with it heavy (21 21 21).

All in all this is a pretty tight track, not going to go down as one of the classics like Started From The Bottom but still tight. The beat is simple but effective and track has some decent bars too. I’m probably more excited by this “playlist” than I was by Views purely because Drake has a tendency to go harder and darker on his mixtapes like If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late as oppose to his more radio friendly albums like Take Care. We’ve heard a lot of Drake’s sensitive side in his music for the last year or so but now it’s time to get back to savage mode (21 21 21).

Drake – Sneakin’ (feat. 21 Savage) – 7.5/10

Goats, Rope Beds and Bad Mornings

Being awoken by the sound of singing birds, opening your eyes to see your partner lying beside you or awakening to the smell of fresh pancakes are all traditionally great ways to start the day. Waking up on a rope bed with an angry goat gnawing on your trousers is a far less pleasant way to start the day I assure you. Nevertheless, in the summer of 2007, this was the situation I found myself in.

Confused, hot and restless, from a sleep interrupted by the sound of gunfire and screams, I slowly awoke in the middle of the vast Pakistani countryside in a small town within the region of Gujrat. My head lulled back on to the edge of the bed and I gazed up towards the sky – I say bed but in reality it was no more than a broken old wooden frame held together by a series of pieces of rope bound together, although the patterns on the rope may have had some aesthetic value, the notion of comfort had clearly not been considered in the design. With no mattress, sheets or pillows, I lay with my head tilted back gazing at the sky above. Blue. Just blue. With a big yellow circle in the middle of it. Not a cloud in sight. Just a big boring sea of fucking blue. Bleary eyed and confused as to why someone had decided to throw a blanket over me during the night, even though the temperature in Pakistan during the summer rarely drops below 32 degrees Celsius, I attempted to kick the half ripped piece of tat off my “bed” but felt a strange pull on my right leg. Naturally, sharing the residence with about 10 other children I knew one of the kids was playing some stupid game. “Ah not now” I mumbled in Urdu whilst closing my eyes. I tried to roll over but again felt the same yank on my trouser leg as I did before – “I’m not in the mood” I grunted slightly more forcefully this time. Once more I pulled my leg away, once more I felt the yank on my trouser leg. I snapped. I jumped straight up and sat bolt upright so I could confront the little shit face to face. As I opened my eyes I roared “I SAID I’M NOT IN THE FU-”. Silence. My eyes were certainly wide open now. There was no cousin at the end of my wood-rope contraption but rather a grey old goat, with a mouth full of my trousers. I find often in moments like this time has a tendency to slow down, the relentless march of the clock slows to a gentle trudge, as if to give you the opportunity to realise how fucked up this moment really is. Shocked, confused and utterly silent I stared blankly into the goat’s eyes, it stared back (whilst still chewing on a mouthful of my trouser leg might I add). My head lolled slightly to the right and then back again whilst maintaining perfect eye contact. I had just woken up in the middle of the remote Pakistani countryside on a bed made of rope with an old grey goat chewing on my trousers. There was only one thing to do in this situation “MUUUUUUUUM HELP A GOATS TRYING TO KILL MEEEE!” admittedly a slight exaggeration but then again I do like a sense of theatre. The goat rather than being frightened by the scream, seemed tired of the old chewing the trouser routine and decided to meander off to find its next garment to ruin. So there I was left in the courtyard of a broken old house in a derelict area of Gujrat. I gazed around my surroundings trying to find some semblance of Western normality in this strange menagerie, around me I saw children chasing chickens around a withered tree, old women sat cleaning clothes over large plastic tubs bickering over village gossip, grizzled men sat smoking on white plastic garden chairs and in the distance I could see a broken toilet with no door and flies circling above.

“I think this is yours” a young cousin stammered as he passed me a torn shoe – clearly my trouser leg was just the entrée before the main course of a black converse boot. Not even pancakes and bird songs could have saved this morning.