1. Phonte - No News Is Good News
My favorite album of 2018 is one that I didn't even see coming. Phonte announced No News Is Good News (NNIGN) about 2 days before it dropped. As a long time fan of Phonte from Little Brother, Foreign Exchange and Tigallerro (2016 collab w/ Eric Roberson), any new Phonte project would highly anticipated. Phonte is a respected top tier lyricist who all too often doesn't get his just due.
Phonte's talents go beyond being a dope emcee. He is an influential and creative artist who has consistently chosen his own lane as opposed to hopping on trends. NNIGN is an album that builds on elements of Phonte's previous projects, while continuing to move forward and push the envelope. It is unique while still being familiar to everything I've come to know and love about his music & artistry.
Without a physical copy or liner notes I initially had no idea who produced what on this album. This allowed me to truly enjoy the music with no expectations. Marco Polo gave Phonte an absolute banger with So Help Me God and Nottz created a dark and moody soundscape for Expensive Genes. The bulk of the production though is very soulful with many of the tracks having a live instrumentation feel to them. A number of these tracks courtesy of Tall Black Guy, Illingsworth, DJ Cozmos & others could very well fit on an R&B / Soul record, but thankfully it was right in Phonte's wheelhouse.
On the lyrical side of things Phonte is as sharp as ever on this one. So Help Me God (an absolute bar fest with slick wordplay) is Phonte reminding ya'll not only how nice he is on the mic, but also that he'll fucking murder you n****s. What Phonte gives us across the remaining 9 tracks is a grown man album touching on real shit. This is what Phonte is known for, and what he's best at.
On Find That Love Again & the second part of Pastor Tigallo, Phonte opens up about the struggles that come along with his successes in music. Expensive Genes addresses health issues that black men and women are at risk for just on the basis of genetics. Phonte dives deeper on Cry No More where he gets personal about issues within his own family as well as the death of his father. These deeper cuts are balanced out with relationship songs Sweet You & Change of Mind, where Freddie Gibbs raps the albums only guest verse.
Overall, Phonte crafted a very real and relate-able album across a concise 10 tracks. Phonte has a quotable line on the Little Brother album The Minstrel Show, "Dope beats, dope rhymes, what more do ya'll want?". On No News Is Good News Phonte gave his fans much more, and perhaps the Album Of The year.
Favorite Tracks:
So Help Me God
Pastor Tigallo
Expensive Genes
Quotable:
My favorite album of 2018 is one that I didn't even see coming. Phonte announced No News Is Good News (NNIGN) about 2 days before it dropped. As a long time fan of Phonte from Little Brother, Foreign Exchange and Tigallerro (2016 collab w/ Eric Roberson), any new Phonte project would highly anticipated. Phonte is a respected top tier lyricist who all too often doesn't get his just due.
Phonte's talents go beyond being a dope emcee. He is an influential and creative artist who has consistently chosen his own lane as opposed to hopping on trends. NNIGN is an album that builds on elements of Phonte's previous projects, while continuing to move forward and push the envelope. It is unique while still being familiar to everything I've come to know and love about his music & artistry.
Without a physical copy or liner notes I initially had no idea who produced what on this album. This allowed me to truly enjoy the music with no expectations. Marco Polo gave Phonte an absolute banger with So Help Me God and Nottz created a dark and moody soundscape for Expensive Genes. The bulk of the production though is very soulful with many of the tracks having a live instrumentation feel to them. A number of these tracks courtesy of Tall Black Guy, Illingsworth, DJ Cozmos & others could very well fit on an R&B / Soul record, but thankfully it was right in Phonte's wheelhouse.
On the lyrical side of things Phonte is as sharp as ever on this one. So Help Me God (an absolute bar fest with slick wordplay) is Phonte reminding ya'll not only how nice he is on the mic, but also that he'll fucking murder you n****s. What Phonte gives us across the remaining 9 tracks is a grown man album touching on real shit. This is what Phonte is known for, and what he's best at.
On Find That Love Again & the second part of Pastor Tigallo, Phonte opens up about the struggles that come along with his successes in music. Expensive Genes addresses health issues that black men and women are at risk for just on the basis of genetics. Phonte dives deeper on Cry No More where he gets personal about issues within his own family as well as the death of his father. These deeper cuts are balanced out with relationship songs Sweet You & Change of Mind, where Freddie Gibbs raps the albums only guest verse.
Overall, Phonte crafted a very real and relate-able album across a concise 10 tracks. Phonte has a quotable line on the Little Brother album The Minstrel Show, "Dope beats, dope rhymes, what more do ya'll want?". On No News Is Good News Phonte gave his fans much more, and perhaps the Album Of The year.
Favorite Tracks:
So Help Me God
Pastor Tigallo
Expensive Genes
Quotable:
Audioslave with a mastermindPhonte - So Help Me God
Any wall of sound Tigallo vandalize
Dog, I am no tap dancer, tip toein' audio lap dancer
Soundin' like rap cancer metastasized
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