Inkblot 2019 Summer

“MARCY ME” 4:44 BY JAY-Z
IN THE TWO MINUTES AND FIFTY-FOUR SECONDS THIS TRACK,
JAY-Z DISPLAYS BRILLIANT TECHNICAL SKILL AS WELL AS EMO-
TIONAL RETROSPECTION. THE TITLE, WHICH IS A WORDPLAY ON
THE MARCY PROJECTS IN NEW YORK, STRIKES AN APOLOGETIC
TONE, MUCH LIKE THE REST OF THE ALBUM. COMBINING VIVID
CULTURAL REFERENCES OF THE 80S NEW YORK SCENE AND
THE CONTEMPORARY SOUND OF BOUNCY PIANO REVERBS, JAY-
Z BRINGS US BACK TO THE TIME WHEN MICHAEL JORDAN WAS
CEMENTING HIS STATUS AS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME, WHEN
LISA BONET WAS THE “BEYONCÉ OF HER DAY”, AND WHEN JAY-
Z, NOW AN UNSHAKABLE CULTURAL ICON, WAS STILL WONDER-
ING: “LORD, WE KNOW WHO WE ARE/YET WE KNOW NOT WHAT
WE MAY BE/SO MAYBE I’M THE ONE OR MAYBE I’M CRAZY.”
“COCOON” BLOSSOM BY MILKY CHANCE
THIS SONG BRINGS COMFORT TO LISTENERS. AL-
THOUGH IT MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE CLASSIFIED AS A
VERY SLOW OR MELLOW SONG, THE LYRICS EVOKE THE
FEELING OF A LAZY SATURDAY MORNING IN BED. THIS
SONG IS PERFECT FOR RELAXING AND GETTING COZY.
“JUNKY” SATURATION
II BY BROCKHAMPTON
IN “JUNKY”, THE RAP
GROUP BROCKHAMTON’S
CHARISMATIC FRONTMAN
KEVIN ABSTRACT DELIVERS ONE OF THE MOST MEMORA-
BLE VERSES OF ALL 2017 WITH BLUNT FORCE. THE DENSELY
RHYMED AND FIERCELY RAPPED VERSE IS, ABOVE ALL, STRIK-
INGLY POIGNANT. AN OPENLY GAY RAPPER, KEVIN ASKS UR-
GENT QUESTIONS ABOUT THE GAY MEN AROUND HIM THAT
PRETEND TO BE “STRAIGHT” AND “MASCULINE” AND EVEN
QUESTIONS HIS MOTHER, WHO “AIN’T LISTEN” WHEN HE SAID
HE WAS GAY UNTIL HE SIGNED A RECORD DEAL. ALTHOUGH ONE
MIGHT WONDER HOW LISTENERS WOULD RESPOND TO THE EXPLICIT CONTENT IN “JUNKY”,
WE SHOULD REALIZE THAT THIS IS NONE OF KEVIN’S CONCERN: “THEY CAN COME AND CUT
MY HAND OFF/AND, AND MY LEGS OFF AND AND/IMMA STILL BE A BOSS TILL MY HEAD GONE.”
“MAGNOLIA” PLAYBOI CARTI BY PLAYBOI CARTI
DOUBTLESSLY ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR TRACKS OF
2017, PLAYBOI CARTI’S “MAGNOLIA” SHOWS US ANOTHER
SIDE OF LYRICISM COMPARED TO THE RAPPERS ABOVE,
AS HIS REPETITIVE PHRASES AND SPARSE WORDS SEEM
TO RESEMBLE AD-LIBS MORE THAN A CONVENTIONALLY
RAPPED VERSE. WHILE THE LYRICS CONTAIN LITTLE MORE
THAN ROUTINE RAPPER BRAGGADOCIO WITH ONE MEMO-
RABLE GEOGRAPHIC NOD (“IN NEW YORK I MILLY ROCK”),
IT IS CARTI’S DELIVERY AND UNIQUE VOCAL TEXTURE THAT
SETS THIS TRACK APART. HIGH-PITCHED AND ENERGETIC,
CARTI’S VOICE BLENDS WITH THE UNCONVENTIONAL, BASS-
HEAVY, FLUTE-INCLUDING BEAT TO BRING US INTO A STATE
OF TRANCE. FULL OF LOUD COLORS AND BOLD SOUNDS, “MAGNOLIA” IS ONE OF
THE BEST EXAMPLES OF THE BRAND-NEW AESTHETICS OF CONTEMPORARY RAP.
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