The Smarks Hip Hop Album of the Week Club

[Hosferatu]

I think you just made me realize why I liked it so much more at the time. I thought it was a trippy psychedelic album but really that's just what a kid from a rural town would think when it's pretty plain lol also it was the first thing I'd heard from them too so I didn't have any previous work to compare to

It's definitely like a beginner level psychedelic sound I knew a few stoners who were bumping this album and never got it. I was getting pretty fucked up back in these days and I was really underwhelmed by its supposed trippiness.

 

[Hosferatu]

Kind of a 90s NYC rap crew vibe to them So far. I thought one of the dudes was from Onyx for a minute

Yeah the members are, as the intro track states: Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice and Erick The Architect. They're pretty easy to distinguish because their voices match their names Meechy is the gruff sounding one, Juice is the raspy higher pitched one, and Erick just sounds like a pretty normal NY rapper, and he also does the production on most songs.

 

[Professor Booty]

Yeah I read that when I double checked the dude but this has fallen off a ton since the first few tracks for me

 

[Chris]

It's definitely like a beginner level psychedelic sound I knew a few stoners who were bumping this album and never got it. I was getting pretty fucked up back in these days and I was really underwhelmed by its supposed trippiness.

Yeah I think i had only just started smoking and only socially when someone would pass a blunt, didn't know how to roll or use a bong lmao

 

[Professor Booty]

Explains a lot why I didn’t vibe with me. I’m not much into the psychedelic slowish wrapping stuff. Just didn’t feel like the beats and the flow matched very well. The beginning it felt more like an old school group, but that was only after a couple tracks and then the bears just didn’t resonate with me. And the wrapping style definitely is not my preferred but all in all it was worth a listen somebody I never heard before so there is that I guess I just really don’t mess with a lot of the hip-hop from this era and I’m not exactly sure why maybe it’s because I’m just so used to being raised on the old school style and flow of 90s early 2000 hip-hop

 

[Hosferatu]

Explains a lot why I didn’t vibe with me. I’m not much into the psychedelic slowish wrapping stuff. Just didn’t feel like the beats and the flow matched very well. The beginning it felt more like an old school group, but that was only after a couple tracks and then the bears just didn’t resonate with me. And the wrapping style definitely is not my preferred but all in all it was worth a listen somebody I never heard before so there is that I guess I just really don’t mess with a lot of the hip-hop from this era and I’m not exactly sure why maybe it’s because I’m just so used to being raised on the old school style and flow of 90s early 2000 hip-hop

I still see a decent likelihood of a rapper coming up that more thoroughly matches that 90s and 2000s style that you may enjoy. A few come to mind for me, but there's no predicting for sure what anyone will like, so I guess we'll see as this continues to unfold.

I'll drop a few pre-3001 FBZ songs that I really like, just to bow on this for myself.

 

[Professor Booty]

I listen while driving so a Spotify playlist of those 5 would be appreciated so i can give them a listen

 

[Hosferatu]

I listen while driving so a Spotify playlist of those 5 would be appreciated so i can give them a listen

One of the ones posted wasn't on Spotify but I made a quick list with a little extra stuff from them, frontloaded with the songs I initially shared so that you can feel free to peace out whenever you're ready.

 

[Professor Booty]

Actually it’s not the dude from Onyx he reminds me of it’s

 

[Hosferatu]

Actually it’s not the dude from Onyx he reminds me of it’s

Makes sense. I think the group they get compared to a lot is Gravediggaz but idk, I'm no Gravediggaz expert but I don't think they're that similar

 

[Professor Booty]

Makes sense. I think the group they get compared to a lot is Gravediggaz but idk, I'm no Gravediggaz expert but I don't think they're that similar

Not at all

 

[Jimmy King]

At first glance I thought it was BROCKHAMPTON for some reason but then realized it’s Flatbush Zombies. I remember listening to them before, I think this album and thought it was fine at the time but it didn’t hit for me. I had heard of them because of Big E talking about them and wearing their t shirts.

 

[Professor Booty]

@Hosferatu you wanna put us on something big dawg?

 

[Hosferatu]

Here we go, my latest choice. @Professor Booty @Jimmy King @Chris @Just Juice @Brett etc. just tagging for good measure, no pressure.

I don't have too much to lay out about this album, it just dropped a month or two ago. The highly anticipated sequel to the original Alfredo which may be the pandemic era GOAT rap album in my book. Every song performed by Freddie Gibbs with production from the gawd Alchemist, who old school hip hop fans might recognize from the The Whooliganz of the Soul Assassins collective (unintentionally linking him to Booty's Cypress Hill pick), or from his many production credits for artists like Mobb Deep, Dilated Peoples and Terror Squad, among many many others. Gibbs is acclaimed for his ability to flow on any beat, his crisp annunciation and his blend of criminal grime and humor. Alchemist meanwhile is probably the most highly regarded "boom bap" producer of the modern era (if that's how you wanna categorize it), one of the most highly regarded producers in general going today. Works a ton with guys like Boldy James, Prodigy, Action Bronson, Earl Sweatshirt, etc. and has many collab albums and solo projects which he produces entirely himself. Also notably recently produced "Meet The Grahams" by Kendrick Lamar. This is definitely an album in contention for my album of the year, but we'll see what everyone else thinks.