By Sandy Jiang
Staff Writer
Drake’s latest hip-hop/R&B album, “For All the Dogs,” dropped on Oct. 6, and it left me with very mixed emotions. I definitely admire Drake’s use of lyrical comedy like “how can you keep it a buck if you ain’t got no bucks?” and “20,000 pounds on your rent… I coulda spent that on the guys.”
In all honesty, the album has only five standout songs: “Slime You Out”, “Away From Home”, “Amen”, “8 AM in Charlotte” and “Fear of Heights.” The rest of the songs were boring skips.
While listening, I didn’t feel the authenticity that was a hallmark to his previous work. It felt like he was following current trends rather than staying to his true identity.
It’s safe to say that old Drake was in a league of its own and this album just doesn’t measure up. 6.5/10
Bad Bunny ‘s new rap album, “nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mañana,” released on Oct. 13, and it left me in absolute awe. The flow strayed from his previous work and the production was cooked to absolute perfection—marinated, seasoned and grilled on an iron skillet.
The hard kicks, basses and catchy melodies made every song pop and distinct from each other, earning a gold star from me.
He keeps it a hundred in his lyrics about feeling lost and paranoid as a celebrity— who’s really on his side and who’s just stringing him along for something in return? Artists being absolutely honest about their feelings is a rare commodity in this new era of hip hop music and Bad Bunny deserves more recognition for it.
It was extremely hard choosing my top five songs from this album: “WHERE SHE GOES”, “HIBIKI”, “NADIE SABE”, “PERRO NEGRO” and “BATICANO.”
Even though he faces all these struggles from being a lone celebrity, he’s still on top in my heart. 10/10
Troye Sivan’s new pop/R&B album, “Something To Give Each Other”, launched Oct. 13 and completely lit me up. I’m a sucker for some synth-pop music so the first song alone made me fall in love with his other work too.
The production was dazzling— I could only describe it as a melancholic but healing breath of air. I listened to the entire track without disappointment.
Out of the ten songs, my top three had to be “In My Room”, “Still Got It” and “Honey.”
He encapsulates the heartache and grief of a shattered relationship but transforms those emotions into a magical, musical dance floor to heal. The bright melodies are so intoxicating and I might drop dead from the perfection this album radiates.
This album spoke to me and is truly something unique and shouldn’t be slept on. 10/10