I’ve had Jay’s Rock’s latest project, 90059 playing on a daily basis.
I don’t have enough words to describe how masterfully Rock captured the essence of a late 80’s gangster rap album while transporting that sound into the Hip Hop of 2015. Nowadays it’s pretty easy to make what most would consider a “street” album. However, what separates most of those projects that are released today, from original gangster rap is an aspect of narrative. One that is present within individual tracks, while simultaneously reaching over across the whole project.
When an emcee just talks about “having bricks” or “pushing whips” it lacks personality, and not because of the content, rather due to the absence of foundation behind those statements. When someone like Spice 1 or Mc Eiht tells you about staying strapped just to make it through the day, you actually respect and care about their accomplishments when they do move on to bars flaunting their success.
So it’s really impressive to watch an artist like Jay Rock blend narrative, street stuff, and wisdom into an album without losing balance. The track “Easy Bake” was a great example of focusing an overall narrative into a singe song, breaking up Jay and Kendrick’s boasting with SZA’s serenading chops. The second half was something I had originally wanted to hear extended and I’m glad kendrick had the same idea, because adding another verse on this record is the icing on the cake out the easy bake.
art by your homie, Arthur Banach
check out more on instagram @wildhxir
