Silk Sonic & Our Favorite Collaborative Albums
This week, the boys talk about Kids See Ghosts, March on Washington and Better Oblivion Community Center.
Welcome back,
This week, we talked to two people who went to the Astroworld Festival. They detailed their experiences at the concert and reflected on the tragedy.
Find that interview and our analysis of the latest reporting around the festival below.
We also want to say rest in peace to Memphis-based rapper, Young Dolph
Now, on to the music.
After nearly 8 months of pure anticipation, Silk Sonic *finally* released their debut album “An Evening with Silk Sonic.” Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars’ collaborative effort inspired the theme of this week’s newsletter. Each of us wrote about our favorite collaborations — the team projects that we always go back to.
Nnamdi highlighted Kanye x Kid Cudi’s collab album Kids See Ghosts.
Noah wrote about Diamond District's album March on Washington.
Avery reflected on Phoebe Bridgers x Conor Oberst’s collab Better Oblivion Community Center.
Talking to Astroworld festival attendees:
Kids See Ghosts - Kanye West and Kid Cudi
Nnamdi, @NnamEgwuon
What does a “10” sound like? The *perfect* album. For me, it has to be original — in its lyrics and production, authentic in its style and feel, and both thematic and cohesive in its presentation — all while still sounding good enough to warrant a repeat listen.
That’s a tough challenge, hence why only few 10s exist in my mental catalog.
One is Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
The other is his collaborative effort with protege Kid Cudi, Kids See Ghosts. For Cudi, the album reclaimed him the flowers that wilted in the years following the success of his Man on the Moon trilogy. For West, it was a return to form — his creative prowess and sharp lyricism fully on display for the first time in nearly a decade.
This album is the perfect encapsulation of Kanye’s influence. Kanye introduced a style of music-making that pushed the boundaries of rap. It made it cool to be weird and bizarre and promoted experimentation. Kid Cudi took that and ran with it, most evident on 2016’s Passion Pain and Demon Slaying. Kids See Ghosts feels like a byproduct of that creative push.
You're immediately reminded of the (musical) genius of Kanye West on “Feel the Love,” most apparent by his ability to body a song without saying a single word.
Fans of Man on the Moon will love “Reborn,” in which his signature hum competes with his echoing order to “keep moving forward.”
My personal favorite is the title track “Kids See Ghosts” — West and Cudi’s hypnotizing, psychedelic production is elevated by the wispy voice of legendary rapper Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def.
“Cudi Montage” delivers a send off that makes clear Mescudi’s growth as a rapper, while reestablishing the sonic origins that earned him a cult following.
As far as collaborative albums go, Kids See Ghost is in a realm of its own. It delivers an experiential sound that fully envelopes you and makes you *transcend.* And yes, I’m fully aware of how ridiculous that sentence sounds, but it’s just *that* good.
Y’all hear about this?
The Travis Scott shoe is postponed by Nike after the Astroworld deaths
Watch Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi in the Trailer for New Netflix Movie Don’t Look Up
March on Washington - Diamond District
Noah, @noahamcgee
Yeah, I know, another underground rap album. What can I say? I wouldn’t write about them if they weren’t good. And this album is REALLY good.
March On Washington is a 2014 album by the hip-hop trio Diamond District, which consists of rappers Uptown XO, yU and rapper/producer Oddisee. All of these talented MCs hail from the DMV, hence the name of the album and also the content of it. There are a lot of politically and socially conscious lyrics and messages throughout this album, but it does not sound like it.
This album is like the hip-hop version of Hiatus Kaiyote, whom I wrote about a month and a half ago. Except for Oddisee, the lone producer of the album, the band and all three rappers are like Nai Palm, the lead singer.
This album does an incredible job blending hip-hop sounds in ways you might not expect. The songs “The Back Up” and “Working Weekends” feature production that is laced starts kind of kooky — sounds that you could probably make with random objects in your room or apartment. Then Oddisee adds the 808s and what you have is an incredible assortment of sounds that blend so well together.
But Oddisee doesn’t get away from the soul-sampling that made him one of the most prolific producers of the last 16 years. On the song “Ain’t Over” Oddisee takes a risky move by sampling Marvin Gaye. Boy does it pay off because what came out of it is a MasterClass on sampling and layering. While all three MCs had great verses, the production stole the show on the second half of the track. The way he layered the Gaye sample over the drums is nothing short of perfection.
But what about the lyrics? Trust me, these fellas did not slouch at all. yU’s unique voice and wordplay are a joy to listen to. Uptown XO is the most aggressive in the trio and has hard-hitting and direct lyrics that hit you immediately. Oddisee didn’t slouch on the mic at all, who is just as slick and stylistic as yU, but based on the content can be just as direct as Uptown XO.
If that confuses you, just listen to “Lost Cause” and you’ll get what I’m saying. The songs not only display their ability to flow as rappers but their talent as lyricists. This song is a claim that they are not a lost cause and are still able to thrive in music, despite racism toward the black community being upheld by many today, who are not willing to give diverse cultures a chance. Which is a reflection of how conscious and aware they are of the world they live in.
Now, the regional lingo is something that I had to learn about from someone who was raised in the DMV. The song “These Bammas” is the most braggadocious and cocky song on the album. “Bammas” is DMV slang for someone who has no style, taste, or class.
No two tracks on this album sound the same. The MCs don’t feel redundant. And the production throughout the album is varied. These three underground MCs came together to create a behemoth of a rap album that brings all the elements of music that makes me and you love it.
Now on the 97 Demo Mix:
Songs from: Terrace Martin, NxG, Latto and Charli XCX
Better Oblivion Community Center - Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst
Avery, @AveryDalal
Better Oblivion Community Center is a collaborative project between Phoebe Bridgers and Conor Oberst that was released in January of 2019.
It’s an indie-rock album that kinda bridges the gap between two different generations of the genre. At the time, Conor Oberst was easily the most established of the two artists, as he is the lead singer of the band Bright Eyes, and also a friend to Bridgers, who was not yet the star she has become.
Bridgers in 2019 was two years removed from her first album, Stranger in the Alps, and one year removed from her collaborative album with Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus, boygenius.
Better Oblivion was my introduction to Bridgers. I forget how I had first heard one of their songs, but I know that when I listened, I was hooked.
If you are familiar with both of their individual works, then you would probably expect a collaboration album between them to be quite emotional throughout and focus on sadness. However, the result is an album that definitely contains sadness, but also varies a lot, with nostalgia being a central theme and the many emotions that can come out of that.
The project contains lyrics that have stuck with me since its release, like “Since you went underground / I’ve wanted to dig you out” from “Forest Lawn,” which is named after a real cemetery.
There are songs like “Dylan Thomas” which is a jam, “Didn’t Know What I Was In For” which is a slower acoustic ballad, and everything in between. Throughout the project’s 10 songs, it runs the folk-rock gamut. There are genuine moments of rock and roll on the album, which is really fun to hear both Bridgers and Oberst flex those muscles.
Most of the record sees Bridgers and Oberst singing in harmony with one another rather than trading verses or choruses. The layering of their vocals sounds so good, with Oberst having a much lower and grizzled register in comparison to Bridger's softer and higher voice. Both come off as quite powerful and exciting throughout the record.
Even two years later, I think that this album really stands out among both artists’ discography. It’s pretty unlike anything Bridgers has released up until this point, although as she becomes a bigger star, I can see her exploring some more of these folk-rock sounds a little more, especially songs that sound more like “Dylan Thomas” or “Big Black Heart.”
If you are new to Phoebe Bridgers and Bright Eyes, I would definitely recommend giving this album a listen, as it contains some of the best elements of both of their styles, namely their songwriting really shining through.
I think that anyone can really come away from this record feeling pretty uplifted and reminiscing on times that have long passed. For me, songs on this record have moments attached to them that may have even happened before the album came out. It’s just one of those albums that’s pretty timeless to me and one that I have not stopped coming back to since its release.
Edited by Hope Davis :)
Ep. 68: The Astroworld Tragedy
Tweet of the week:
Coming up on The 97 Demo podcast:
Reviewing An Evening With Silk Sonic by Silk Sonic