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2016 is delivering. Heavy hitters Kanye, Beyonce and Rihanna all dropped much-heralded, ultra-hyped discs in the first few months of the year, while the indies truly broke through in the shape of Anderson .Paak and Kaytranada. Meanwhile on the other side of the globe, grime is continuing to gain momentum as the music world’s next juggernaut.
Complex AU took some time to argue amongst ourselves, as we put together our personal top five lists for the first half of 2016. Use this as fuel to argue amongst your friends – or just tell us our opinion is trash.
Dan Pardalis
1. Kanye West – The Life Of Pablo
Pablo seemed to be an exercise in triggering the most comforting sense of déjà vu – the places Ye took us all looked shiny and new, but we were all sure we'd been there before. As Beats 1’s Ebro discussed when he previewed the project before its release, this album is an at-times messy and chaotic pastiche of every era of Kanye that we’ve loved. It’s very possibly the best look into how rapid-firing and scattered Mr. West’s mind is until we get a complete virtual reality simulation of his exact thought processes.
While “Famous” and “Highlights” flash us right back to the grandiose stadium-shaking rap of Graduation, “Ultralight Beam” refracts the light that turned atheists into believers on College Dropout. Flashes of revelatory introspection on songs like “30 Hours” would sit comfortably next to the dirty laundry aired out on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, whereas “Freestyle 4” is reminiscent of the overt, leering dissonance of Yeezus.
While Ye isn’t as lyrically dexterous as he was on the former album, nor as innovative as he was on the latter, the product is still unequivocally dope. Sure, it’s not the strongest effort in his catalogue, but to simply borrow a line from big brother; their best shit ain’t better than his worst shit.
2. Skepta - Konnichiwa
3. Chance The Rapper - Coloring Book
4. ZAYN - Mind Of Mine
5. Kaytranada - 99.9%
Steve Duck
1. Anderson .Paak – Malibu
We could talk about Anderson .Paak’s voice; a throwback to soul's glory days, when a singer’s cadence could communicate pain and loss far better than lyrics could. We could talk about the sprawling, compelling soundscape, or how compiling a team of collaborators including Kaytranada, Robert Glasper and Hiatus Kaiyote created the perfect snapshot of contemporary soul in 2016. Or I could just throw back to the first time I showed Zac Hayse Malibu; he nodded his head for a while and said ‘this is low rider music.’ That’s pretty much it. Sunshine, chrome, paint and Malibu. That’s the wave.
2. Chance The Rapper – Coloring Book
3. DJ Quik / Problem – Rosecrans EP
4. LE$ – E36 (Techno Violet)
5. Beyonce – Lemonade
Zac Hayse
1. Gold Panda – Good Luck And Do Your Best
Gold Panda’s Good Luck And Do Your Best is one of the only a handful of albums in recent years that I can say, with all confidence, I can listen to top to bottom, front to back & am willing to spend money on – which is a statement in itself when you think of the way music is accessed & consumed in this current era. I would definitely buy this album instead of lunch, & I find lunch to be a great part of my day. Especially if it is ramen. Yes I would buy this album instead of ramen, but only once. But buying the album would imply “only once," of course.
The album could easily be played amongst the most basic of basics without disturbing their need for that simple cookie-cutter cloned-by-clones basic taste that most basics posses, while also catering to the most non-conformist closet hypebeasts without disturbing their need for that simple, cookie-cutter cloned-by-clones non-conformist closet hypebeast taste that most non conformist closet hype beasts posses. Major win feels for everyone. The type of major win feels I get after a healthy portion of that fiya Shunjinko Special ramen at 1AM. But a healthy portion of that fiya Shunjinko Special ramen at 1AM would imply those major win type of feels, of course.
The standouts to my ear are "Chiba Nights" & "Time Eater". Both are well layered without sounding busy & cluttered but are still highly open & give ample space. This is Gold Panda's style & is reflected through the whole album, where he provides his own brand of ambience while keeping it technical. This album is chill but not simple, it's a Wes Anderson pan shot rather than a Rocky IV Vince Dicola training montage. If your vibe leans towards Four Tet & Jamie xx this album is for you. The whole 44 minutes is a feast of samples chopped & delivered in a broth of subtle euphoria, spiced with an adept technical confidence. Good Luck And Do Your Best leaves me satisfied, like when I eat ramen. But comparing Good Luck And Do Your Best to ramen would imply my satisfaction, of course.
And that's why I would buy this album instead of lunch, even if it was ramen.
Five noodle bowl emojis.
2. Kaytranada – 99.9%
3. James Blake – The Colour In Anything
4. SBTRKT – Save Yourself
5. Pacific Heights – The Stillness
Andrew Nguyen
1. Le$ – E36 (Techno Violet)
One of the great things about being terrible at time management is that sometimes something magical happens while you're in the middle of procrastinating. Sure enough, only last week, New Orleans rapper LE$ releases a mixtape that takes his well-established love for the vehicular lifestyle to the next level. Showing us why he is one of the most criminally underrated rappers out there as he rides soulful Nujabes-style beats with stream-of-consciousness raps that float from relatable to aspirational, this is another prestige release from LE$.
2. Kaytranada – 99.9%
3. Flatbush Zombies – 3001: A Laced Odyssey
4. Meyhem Lauren – Piatto D’oro
5. Terrace Marin – Velvet Portraits