![]() ![]() “Dreamin’ of the Past,” which is built around Donny Hathaway’s recording of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy,” is the sort of song Kanye produced around the turn of the century: maddening at first for the obviousness of its sample flip, and then for its effectiveness. On first listen, the slight, Colonel Bagshot-sampling “Just So You Remember” reminded me of the Daytona finale “Infrared.” It’s actually closer to being a Ka song, so quiet that it’s barely there. (The latter song is perhaps a victim of the hyper-clear mixes the rapper prefers it sounds like a slightly sterile version of the grimier songs it attempts to evoke.) But the best Kanye is enrapturing. The rest of It’s Almost Dry is helmed by Kanye West, along with a few co-producers, most notably the New York veteran 88-Keys on lead single “Diet Coke.” Kanye’s beats are not as uniformly excellent as Pharrell’s: Closer “I Pray for You” is dragged down by pedestrian drums, and “Diet Coke” plays like paint-by-numbers Pusha. In fact, there’s a foreboding quality to all of the Pharrell beats here, from the opening suite of “Brambleton” and “Let the Smokers Shine the Coupes,” where the former’s electronic bounce and latter’s freneticism make each other seem more sinister. It’s a musically varied and vocally impressive effort from an artist who continues to cut extraneous elements out of his songwriting, drilling closer to the core of his style.Ĭlipse LPs were once conduits for the Neptunes’ most experimental rap beats Pharrell’s work on It’s Almost Dry honors that legacy, leading Pusha into narcotized carnivals (“Call My Bluff”) and the climaxes of sci-fi thrillers (the naggingly eerie “Scrape It Off”). Now Pharrell returns to produce more than half of It’s Almost Dry, Pusha’s first new record in nearly four years. After handling the vast majority of Clipse’s studio albums, Pharrell and Chad Hugo were all but absent from Pusha’s solo work. At 11 tracks, including intro, Wrath of Caine is leaner than a prize-fighter, profitably banking on the notion that you'll be slavering for more long before My Name Is My Name comes calling later in 2013.The other thing, aside from leanness, that “Numbers on the Board,” “Nosetalgia,” and “Untouchable” have in common with Daytona is that none of them are produced by the Neptunes. Its grimy Wu-Tang edge represents the mixtape's most breathless two minutes.Įconomy is crucial throughout. In the push for career advancement, though, Thornton hasn't forgotten where he comes from, throwing the mic to crewmate and fellow Virginia rhymer Ab-Liva for his own contribution, Re-Up Gang Motivation. Kevin Gates' standout soulful refrain could almost hail from 808s & Heartbreak, albeit informing ladies that if they're really lucky, they might be privy to Pusha's twin true loves: his drugs and dosh. He goes an autobiographical step further on Only You Can Tell It, semi-ad-libbing: “I wish my imagination was this good / I can't make this s*** up / This is really my life.”Įlsewhere, Kanye's influence dominates Trust You, as close as Wrath of Caine offers to a love song. Revolution, lent a downcast strings-and-horns Neptunes backdrop, traces the tale of Thornton's career to date. The general vibe is, often as not, introspective. Tangible venom and disdain that made him a genuinely menacing MC are diluted a touch and, in moments like soul-searching prayer Road Runner, a seldom-seen softer side bleeds through. Thornton has widened his game from the magma-hot flows of Clipse's crack rap (chief concerns: slinging narcotics and subsequent high-rolling financial gains). Music imprint is on co-releasing duties here, while the label boss and long-time collaborators The Neptunes – notably responsible for soundtracking Clipse's 2006 watermark Hell Hath No Fury – oblige with suitably major-league production cameos. It’s much more than a mere stopgap release. ![]() When Terrence ' Pusha T' Thornton's main vehicle Clipse were ramping up anticipation for 2009 album Til the Casket Drops, the irony was that its preceding promotional mixtape proved more essential than the main event.īack on the pre-LP grind ahead of forthcoming debut solo studio set My Name Is My Name, Thornton posts a similarly high benchmark with Wrath of Caine. ![]()
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