As soon as calendars annually flip to December, the countdown is on and you know what time it is: commerce the end of the year lists!
So it’s with (much? some? any?) anticipation I drop the Forces Of Obvious Luck Top Ten Albums of 2018.
In looking back, 2018 was a much more fulfilling, vibrant and tasty year in Underground Hip-Hop and Soul music than the preceding 2017. This year’s honorable mentions could have cracked last year’s top 5 had those albums hit the market twelve months prior. Whatever was in the water in 2018, I’ll take a tall glass and hope singers, emcees and bands keep serving these flavors in 2019 and beyond.
Let’s jump right into this retrospective review of the top releases that personally had me grooving all year.
(In no particular order - unless you count the alphabet as a particular order.)
Alma Cook - Hearsay [single] (Hear Alma)
Delivering the year’s most moving sermon, Madison, Wisconsin vocalist (and sometimes ukulele player) Alma Cook [probably] inadvertently channeled Chuck D in this boat-rocking – yet calming and mellow – assured effort to stir up action in an otherwise apathetic public quelled by bread and circuses. Here’s to hoping this melodic rally rouses our collective spirits to bust out of the spell from empty rhetoric and make a real difference!
Epic Beard Men - Season 1 (Strange Famous Records) >Read my full EBM feature.
A collaboration years in the making finally conceived in a Scottish hotel during a month long festival, B. Dolan and Sage Francis verified no topic is off limits for these prolific lyricists. With blunt cleverness brazenly on full display, the Rhode Islanders tackle video game mentalities, gentrification, fashion, independent entrepreneurialism, relationships goals and demo CDs - all with an upbeat, tongue-in-cheek candor.
Standout track: DIYMFS
Flex Mathews & Damu The Fudgemunk – Dreams & Vibrations (ReDefinition Records)
With a title like ‘Dreams and Vibrations’, one might assume this to be a chillaxed beat tape for studying or drowsy lo-fi rap. But Flex and Damu’s version of visions and sensations is a forceful b-boy dancing right in yo face! With a tsunami of turntablism and aggressively funky beats and rhymes, this South Dakota-meets-Washington DC alliance is high energy, full-service Hip-Hop leaving scorched notebooks and chopped loops in its trail.
Standout track: Bare Witness
Henry Canyons - Cool Side of the Pillow (Backwoodz Studioz)
A Southern Cali kid who recently spent a residency in the French countryside, Henry Canyons is one cool customer with a flow that’s somehow meticulously mechanical yet spontaneously loose simultaneously. Such syncopation fits perfectly atop the syrupy jazz landscape provided by producer Matt ‘Bones’ Bowen. But these aren’t bedtime lullabies, Canyons’ soothsaying poetically touches topics from rise and shine to down and out.
Standout track: To the Dreamers
Ivy Sole - Overgrown (Ivy Sole self-released)
Love is the single message this North Carolinian full-length debut. Love for a future child, spiritual growth, her hometown, lost loved ones and up-and-down relationships. With lyrics that may have come straight from a diary (plus Usher and OutKast phrases artfully interpolated to suit her account), this rapper and singer flawlessly demonstrates her toughness and tenderness. Musically, the pairing of a jazz guitar and experimental and/or sparse beats on many tracks feels down homey yet far out – like a beautifully familiar daydream.
Standout track: Les Fleurs
Lyrics Born - Quite a Life (Mobile Home)
Lyrics Born is James Brown 2.0. Better yet, he is – and has been for the 25 years he’s been in the business – a lively, funkin’ tower of DIY power. Celebrating his tenth official album (not counting all his mixtapes and group releases), ‘Quite a Life’ is full of phat bass, lush horns and catchy hooks. This is no victory lap for the Berkley, CA rep though; LB has plenty left in the tank.
Standout track: When I Get My Check ($, $, $) (feat. Joyo Velarde, The Gift of Gab, Chali 2na)
Open Mike Eagle - What Happens When I Try to Relax (Auto Reverse Records)
In between making his pro wrestling debut (and retirement), Open Mike Eagle dropped a project that landed him on my list for a second consecutive year. The off-kilter imagery and quirky wit that made him a 2017 (and years past) favorite hasn’t gone anywhere, but OME’s latest tales are more tangibly personal, and weirdly, more accessible to someone discovering Eagle for the first time.
Standout track: Every Single Thing
Phonte - No News Is Good News (Foreign Exchange Music)
The Foreign Exchange frontman confronts numerous heavy, grown man issues in a dead serious, but sophisticatedly smooth manner on his first proper solo album in seven years. Even in facing his own mortality, the North Carolina emcee/singer’s charisma bubbles over into a soulfully satisfying, heartfelt narrative drenched in piano and overflowing with adept wordplay.
Standout track: Such Is Life
SUM - S U M (SUM Music)
SUM (pronounced ‘soom’) is a Latin word for “to be”. But SUM, the band, sounds like the liberating rejoice from the inner human spirit, aided by buttery, jazz rhythms. An appropriate name for sure. Singer Patryce Williams stars as the empowering voice amid a brightly shining ensemble. Lead by composer and drummer Steve Belvilus, this New York City collective’s introduction is nothing but upbeat anthems and snappy Soul at its best.
Standout track: It's Alright To Be Me
The Off Daze - Couple's Skate (The Off Daze self-released)
Progressing though a spottieottiedopalicious night of psychedelically chunky funk under colorful lights, rapper Sheisty Khrist and members of the Cunninlynguists (Deacon the Villain and Natti) live in the downtempo texture that hit 2018’s events perfectly. The Off Daze is a side project you can call to score an Afrofuturist film set in post-Blaxploitation times. Had 1970 Funkadelic played George Clinton’s Computer Games in the ‘80s, this would be the experience.
Standout track: Ascension II
~~~
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Del the Funkee Homosapien & Amp Live - Gate 13 (Gate 13 Records)
deM AtlaS - Bad Actress (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
Dessa - Chime (Doomtree Records)
Guante & Big Cats - War Balloons (Guante & Big Cats self-released)
Imperial - Layers (Illect Recordings) >Read my full album review.
Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer (Wondaland / Bad Boy Records)
Lena Jackson - Darkness Brim (Lena Jackson self-released)
Odd Mojo - Channel Yo Mojo (Odd Mojo self-released)
~~~
OUTSIDE THE GENRE HONORABLE MENTION*
skameleon - Ska Makes Everything Better (RecordJet)
*Not a Hip-Hop/Soul release (and thus, got no play on my radio show), but deserves attention and high praise nonetheless!
~~~
MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH HONORABLE MENTIONS**
Deca - The Way Through (Beulah Records)
So it’s with (much? some? any?) anticipation I drop the Forces Of Obvious Luck Top Ten Albums of 2018.
In looking back, 2018 was a much more fulfilling, vibrant and tasty year in Underground Hip-Hop and Soul music than the preceding 2017. This year’s honorable mentions could have cracked last year’s top 5 had those albums hit the market twelve months prior. Whatever was in the water in 2018, I’ll take a tall glass and hope singers, emcees and bands keep serving these flavors in 2019 and beyond.
Let’s jump right into this retrospective review of the top releases that personally had me grooving all year.
(In no particular order - unless you count the alphabet as a particular order.)
Alma Cook - Hearsay [single] (Hear Alma)
Delivering the year’s most moving sermon, Madison, Wisconsin vocalist (and sometimes ukulele player) Alma Cook [probably] inadvertently channeled Chuck D in this boat-rocking – yet calming and mellow – assured effort to stir up action in an otherwise apathetic public quelled by bread and circuses. Here’s to hoping this melodic rally rouses our collective spirits to bust out of the spell from empty rhetoric and make a real difference!
Epic Beard Men - Season 1 (Strange Famous Records) >Read my full EBM feature.
A collaboration years in the making finally conceived in a Scottish hotel during a month long festival, B. Dolan and Sage Francis verified no topic is off limits for these prolific lyricists. With blunt cleverness brazenly on full display, the Rhode Islanders tackle video game mentalities, gentrification, fashion, independent entrepreneurialism, relationships goals and demo CDs - all with an upbeat, tongue-in-cheek candor.
Standout track: DIYMFS
Flex Mathews & Damu The Fudgemunk – Dreams & Vibrations (ReDefinition Records)
With a title like ‘Dreams and Vibrations’, one might assume this to be a chillaxed beat tape for studying or drowsy lo-fi rap. But Flex and Damu’s version of visions and sensations is a forceful b-boy dancing right in yo face! With a tsunami of turntablism and aggressively funky beats and rhymes, this South Dakota-meets-Washington DC alliance is high energy, full-service Hip-Hop leaving scorched notebooks and chopped loops in its trail.
Standout track: Bare Witness
Henry Canyons - Cool Side of the Pillow (Backwoodz Studioz)
A Southern Cali kid who recently spent a residency in the French countryside, Henry Canyons is one cool customer with a flow that’s somehow meticulously mechanical yet spontaneously loose simultaneously. Such syncopation fits perfectly atop the syrupy jazz landscape provided by producer Matt ‘Bones’ Bowen. But these aren’t bedtime lullabies, Canyons’ soothsaying poetically touches topics from rise and shine to down and out.
Standout track: To the Dreamers
Ivy Sole - Overgrown (Ivy Sole self-released)
Love is the single message this North Carolinian full-length debut. Love for a future child, spiritual growth, her hometown, lost loved ones and up-and-down relationships. With lyrics that may have come straight from a diary (plus Usher and OutKast phrases artfully interpolated to suit her account), this rapper and singer flawlessly demonstrates her toughness and tenderness. Musically, the pairing of a jazz guitar and experimental and/or sparse beats on many tracks feels down homey yet far out – like a beautifully familiar daydream.
Standout track: Les Fleurs
Lyrics Born - Quite a Life (Mobile Home)
Lyrics Born is James Brown 2.0. Better yet, he is – and has been for the 25 years he’s been in the business – a lively, funkin’ tower of DIY power. Celebrating his tenth official album (not counting all his mixtapes and group releases), ‘Quite a Life’ is full of phat bass, lush horns and catchy hooks. This is no victory lap for the Berkley, CA rep though; LB has plenty left in the tank.
Standout track: When I Get My Check ($, $, $) (feat. Joyo Velarde, The Gift of Gab, Chali 2na)
Open Mike Eagle - What Happens When I Try to Relax (Auto Reverse Records)
In between making his pro wrestling debut (and retirement), Open Mike Eagle dropped a project that landed him on my list for a second consecutive year. The off-kilter imagery and quirky wit that made him a 2017 (and years past) favorite hasn’t gone anywhere, but OME’s latest tales are more tangibly personal, and weirdly, more accessible to someone discovering Eagle for the first time.
Standout track: Every Single Thing
Phonte - No News Is Good News (Foreign Exchange Music)
The Foreign Exchange frontman confronts numerous heavy, grown man issues in a dead serious, but sophisticatedly smooth manner on his first proper solo album in seven years. Even in facing his own mortality, the North Carolina emcee/singer’s charisma bubbles over into a soulfully satisfying, heartfelt narrative drenched in piano and overflowing with adept wordplay.
Standout track: Such Is Life
SUM - S U M (SUM Music)
SUM (pronounced ‘soom’) is a Latin word for “to be”. But SUM, the band, sounds like the liberating rejoice from the inner human spirit, aided by buttery, jazz rhythms. An appropriate name for sure. Singer Patryce Williams stars as the empowering voice amid a brightly shining ensemble. Lead by composer and drummer Steve Belvilus, this New York City collective’s introduction is nothing but upbeat anthems and snappy Soul at its best.
Standout track: It's Alright To Be Me
The Off Daze - Couple's Skate (The Off Daze self-released)
Progressing though a spottieottiedopalicious night of psychedelically chunky funk under colorful lights, rapper Sheisty Khrist and members of the Cunninlynguists (Deacon the Villain and Natti) live in the downtempo texture that hit 2018’s events perfectly. The Off Daze is a side project you can call to score an Afrofuturist film set in post-Blaxploitation times. Had 1970 Funkadelic played George Clinton’s Computer Games in the ‘80s, this would be the experience.
Standout track: Ascension II
~~~
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Del the Funkee Homosapien & Amp Live - Gate 13 (Gate 13 Records)
deM AtlaS - Bad Actress (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
Dessa - Chime (Doomtree Records)
Guante & Big Cats - War Balloons (Guante & Big Cats self-released)
Imperial - Layers (Illect Recordings) >Read my full album review.
Janelle Monae - Dirty Computer (Wondaland / Bad Boy Records)
Lena Jackson - Darkness Brim (Lena Jackson self-released)
Odd Mojo - Channel Yo Mojo (Odd Mojo self-released)
~~~
OUTSIDE THE GENRE HONORABLE MENTION*
skameleon - Ska Makes Everything Better (RecordJet)
*Not a Hip-Hop/Soul release (and thus, got no play on my radio show), but deserves attention and high praise nonetheless!
~~~
MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH HONORABLE MENTIONS**
Deca - The Way Through (Beulah Records)
Lonesome George - Burt Bachapack (Lonesome George self-released)
**Albums released in late 2017, but I didn't discover/listen to until 2018.
###
If you enjoy any of these artists, tune into my radio program - Forces Of Obvious Luck Radio - live from KRBX Radio Boise every Thursday from 4:00 - 6:00 AM MST and every other Monday from 6:00 – 8:00 AM MST for more powerfully positive Jazzy Hip-Hop Soul just like this.
Follow me on Twitter, @RoinDig, as I actually count down my favorites in order.
And in case you missed it, check out my 2017 Top Ten feature.
Final note: All of my personal friends' albums were disqualified from consideration. Personal bias and whatnot.
**Albums released in late 2017, but I didn't discover/listen to until 2018.
###
If you enjoy any of these artists, tune into my radio program - Forces Of Obvious Luck Radio - live from KRBX Radio Boise every Thursday from 4:00 - 6:00 AM MST and every other Monday from 6:00 – 8:00 AM MST for more powerfully positive Jazzy Hip-Hop Soul just like this.
Follow me on Twitter, @RoinDig, as I actually count down my favorites in order.
And in case you missed it, check out my 2017 Top Ten feature.
Final note: All of my personal friends' albums were disqualified from consideration. Personal bias and whatnot.
