BM5's July 2022 Favorites

Favorite Album Breakdown

Nobody's Rapping like Lupe Fiasco - The Company Man

The return of The Company Man's breakdowns is all thanks to Lupe Fiasco. I'm so pleased. His insight into hip hop is so fascinating and I love it. Then when it comes to Lupe, I've been head over heels for his creative wordplay and themes. Here we get to see it broken down a bit for each track and I enjoy the analysis so much. I feel it helped me get even more out of the following listens of the album, Drill Music in Zion. If you had a tough time getting into the project, I suggest giving this a watch for a quick breakdown of the purpose of each track and then replaying it for added effect.

Favorite Music Essay

Kendrick Lamar: Deconstructing a Culture of Trauma - Quality Culture

With the release of Kendrick Lamar's Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers, there has been many of think pieces on the album and his career in totality. I believe this video essay is one of the strongest I've seen put together. We get to see a look into how throughout Kendrick's entire tenure as a rapper has affected his mindset and goals to leave a legacy. It all boils down to the shift in demeanor presented in the latest album and this video shows us how that all makes sense. Quite the intriguing watch, if you so wish to give it a chance.

Favorite Debut

Attention - NewJeans

Now technically the official debut of the group with the release of the EP is August 1st. Yet, I must say that the promotional methods, starting in July, made this quite the interesting month. Attention was the start of this journey as they appeared out of thin air, as it seems, with fantastic reception. The throwback 90's/00's feel of it all was extremely refreshing in the midst of so many girl crush concepts 4th generation girl groups are tending to take on. Soon after a schedule was released detailing that a music video would accompany every track leading to the official release of the mini album. I was simply enthralled due to the quality of Attention and I haven't been let down since. Hype Boy, Hurt, and Cookie all made me an early stan of these girls. I only hope that some of the controversy with their young ages don't bog them down too much as they bring some of the greatest vibes to ever debut with.

Full July 2022 Favorites Playlist: click here