TranscendNoise

Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron Schoolboy Q is a charismatic dude – this is what makes Oxymoron a great record. But if you actually look behind, maybe lack in depth can also be attested. Oxymoron was widely discussed before it was released, by the media as well as Q himself. What stuck to me was his statement that he didn´t want to create an answer to Good Kid and stopped pursing a more storytelling way of writing songs. A statement paired with him saying he is the new Puffy, pretty much sums up Oxymoron . This is gangsta and rap about drugs with much swagger and highly enjoyable without much narrative and meat to it. The album starts off with the old school alluding “Gangsta”, a murky piano line, simple drums and chorus. Intriguing however, and what shows up again and again is Q´s really energetic delivery. For a man who almost every time looks high and talks chill, his rapping is steadily approving and the mash of ad-libs, we all know the catchy “YAWK! YAWK! YAWK!” and...

Pharrell - Girl When first starting, I never expected to really write about releases I didn´t like, or at least be gentle on those which I didn´t like, but then Girl happened. Don´t get me wrong, I´m a great admirer of Pharrell. Even before knowing what a producer in music was, I adored every song he was on and still really dig his approach on culture and art (even though it can be seen as a very consumerist and not well thought out approach on being different). I even own a fake pair of Ice Creams, a Bape and BBC hoodie, great stuff if you didn´t pay 300 Bucks on any of them. His first solo music endeavor was very much to my liking too: Numbers might say what they want, but In My Mind was a solid rap / r´n´b record, with great beats, lyrics, moods and especially a record showing why Pharrell was at the forefront of creating the sounds of his genre, for him and especially for others.  When I first heard “ Happy ” on Despicable Me 2, it was fresh in a way: A ...