09/19 – 09/23:

Jean Grae, Cookies Or Comas mixtape Jean Grae is ready to take over, I think. She stole the show in her guest turns on Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch’s albums, she did it again on the Rapsody mixtape, and now her own mixtape is finally out. Allegedly a warm-up exercise for her upcoming 4th official album Cake or Death, Cookies Or Comas is strong enough to be an official album itself. Jean’s wordplay only gets more and more sophisticated, and she continues to walk the tightropes that make her so engaging, balancing between serious and funny, between classic hip hop braggodocio and personal stories. She does it all admirably, and I’m hoping this is the year she finally gets the credit she deserves for it. Hear for yourself, it’s a free download here. Jean Grae, “I Rock On” Kassa Overall, The Stargate Mixtape Kassa Overall is signed to Das Racist’s Greedhead label, and if he’s any indication of the type of talent they’ll be representing, Greedhead is going to be a label to watch. A unique figure, Kassa is a classically trained drummer who performs with jazz groups, a hip hop producer, and a rapper. This mixtape finds him going in over beats the production team Stargate originally made for various big name artists like Katy Perry and Jennifer Lopez. His songs can be playful, silly, or deadly serious, and his rapping is assured and engaging throughout. I was impressed, and you can be too, as it is a free download. Kassa Overall with Kool AD & Katy Perry, “Firework Remix” Metallica, Ride the Lightning In spite of first making the decision to start making terrible, terrible music, then becoming the enemy of their own fanbase in the Napster thing and then confirming your long-held suspicions that Lars & James are insufferable idiots in the documentary Some Kind of Monster, sometimes... just sometimes... it’s nice go to back and listen to the old stuff. There's a reason they became the biggest band in their genre before going all terrible, after all. They were pretty good. Metallica, "Fight Fire With Fire" TV On the Radio, Nine Types of Light Nine Types of Light continues TVOTR’s fascinating, rewarding evolution. After revealing a new level of complexity and emotional resonance their (quite good) previous material didn’t even hint at on Return To Cookie Mountain, they made about as close to a straight up rock record as their sound will allow with Dear Science, and now Nine Types of Light sort of synthesizes all of those experiences. By turns fragile, haunting, defiant and energetic, Nine Types of Light is a broader album, seemingly less focused on a cohesive atmosphere or mission statement and more on just recording great songs. The sequencing makes the album something of an emotional rollercoaster, giving you pensive, introspective music before hitting you with a banger or two and then receding into the ether again. It’s another homerun from one of the most reliable bands of the 21st century. TV On the Radio, "No Future Shock" Yup. --D