hip hop

Daylight Savings Time (G-Eazy When It’s Dark Out review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Every year most North Americans set our clocks back an hour in the fall to get more daylight during the winter months, and as a result, that first day of daylight savings time really feels nice. But then it really hurts in the summer when you lose an hour.

What a stupid practice. It doesn’t benefit everyone, and we all know it isn’t real. For centuries, we would just accept that when it got dark out it was time to go to bed and when it was lighter for longer periods, we would work and play for longer.

Which leads me to this week’s album review.

 

 

G-Eazy – When It’s Dark Out
released December 4, 2015
***** 5/10

geasy

Gerald Earl Gillum, known professionally as G-Eazy, is an American hip hop artist and producer. Signed to RCA records since 2014, he has now released two studio albums for that label.

I’ll start the review off with this anecdote. I was not expecting to review another white indie rapper so soon off the heels of MGK. But that is one of the perks of writing reviews on music I am either less familiar with or have no background on.

I haven’t listen to his debut album, but judging from the reviews and feedback out there, this is an improvement over his first effort.

Because hip-hop is founded in heavy cultural roots of south bronx african american youth, it always comes down to honesty and earnestness. Personal stories of whatever kind whether it’s hardship or success. This is something which I think we sometimes forget now that hip hop has exploded and now become the most listened-to genre of music globally.

Does G-Eazy prove he understands this on When It’s Dark Out?

I think so.

But I’m a little hesitant with that statement.

I think he really is telling us how hard it has been for him to become successful, and I think he has faced challenges with relationships, and I think he wants to have fun.

But I don’t know how compelling it is.

Don’t get me wrong, it can be fun to listen to, because the lyrics can be interesting at times, and the production value is super high. Which is a testament to the costs spent on making this album happen. But as G-Eazy says so himself

“The sophomore album is one of the most treacherous obstacles for any rapper… I dug as deep as I could until I was literally drained of inspiration.”

I just don’t think that inspiration he exerted makes this album one that we are going to remember. Because his stories are not meaningful enough. He looks confident and has an interesting wardrobe, but this is one of those cases where fake it till you make it might have worked more in his favour.

Some of the more interesting tracks are Random, One of Them, Sad Boy, and Everything Will Be OK.

There are a couple of music video for Me, Myself & I and You Got Me which I think will visually help demonstrate the confidence, image, and where the music doesn’t quite say anything.

At the end of the day, this one wasn’t really for me, but who knows, he may improve even more on his next record and start implementing thoughtful lyrics. When that happens, watch out.

 

 

 

When It’s Dark Out reminds me of daylights saving time, we are trying to simulate music now that is very specific and culturally significant. Sure you can move the clocks forward and backward and the daytime still exists, but we know better. This is just retailers dream.

Tim!

 

Desert or Dessert? (Machine Gun Kelly, General Admission review)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Sometimes I will buy an album and have no idea what I am getting myself into. And it usually ends up either one of two ways, either I really like what I bought or I unfortunately have to shake my head at the reality of $15 wasted on my part and $100s of thousands of dollars down the drain for whoever produced that particular noise garbage.

Luckily my purchase last week was nothing like that.

I bought a sophomore effort from the eclectic Machine Gun Kelly (MGK). Which is very evident the more time you spend with the record.

 

 

Machine Gun Kelly – General Admission
released October 16, 2015
******* 7/10

1500x1500sr MGK General Admisison

 

Did you know that Machine Gun Kelly (MGK) is only 25 years old? It definitely surprised me because I was expecting him to be at least 30 years old, based on some of the lyrics he spits on this LP. Also that he is representing Bad Boy/Interscope Records and even has a guest appearance track with the infamous Kid Rock featured.

But that surprise isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

I also learned that some of his early influencers were the heavyweights Ludacris and DMX. In particular he got really into the genre after listening to the track We Right Here, from DMX’s The Great Depression! Which was one of the first hip hop CDs I ever bought too! And he loves NOFX, the Casualties and other awesome punk groups.

Check out the interview he had with the ever-weird Nardwuar for some evidence!

So how would I describe MGK in terms of the hip hop scene? I think he represents the parts of it which are working to be inclusive of everybody and everything. He wants to work with all kinds of artists and his music is about positive identities and finding yourself.

I’m going to quote directly from the liner notes –

I needed it to feel authentic, i needed to push the limits of my sanity and capture something real. Legend has it that you have to lose yourself our there in order to find yourself inside. That’s exactly what we did  and that’s exactly what this album represents: Finding yourself

…

This album is a ticket into the journey of finding one’s self. A ticket into our every day trials and tribulations. This album is a self-realization that underneath it all we’re just the same. This is general admission. Enjoy the show. Lace up.

The price of admission for this show of course, is realizing that pretty much anything and everything is open territory for MGK. He’s been through drug addiction, has a young daughter, and has even been homeless before.

Those pieces alone might be enough to put together some powerful tracks, but there is so much more going on in this record.

For instance – he’s from Cleveland, Ohio and he raps about it A LOT. The track Till I Die is a perfect vehicle for this concept and the music video encapsulates this even better. He raps about the trials and triumphs of living there and in the  music video features people from the city and shots of the city itself.

Bad Mother****er is an anthem for who MGK is and where he is at. He knows what he’s been through already and the dark stuff he’s let into his life, self-imposed or not, but that’s not gonna stop him from being a bad mother, and he’s OKAY with it.

But those aren’t the only songs he puts together. The song A Little More is about the stresses of life, and not being silent about pain, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Being mindful of others and extending love wherever you can.

General Admission is ambitious in a lot of fun ways, and reminds me of his influencers in a lot of little ways. Some of the reviews on this album have been negative, but I think that’s the price of admission. You don’t always get a perfect experience out of it, but if you’re willing to give something different a try, you might just be surprised enough to enjoy yourself in the desert.

 

 

Happy Monday dear readers! I hope your week is a good one, but don’t worry, I’ll be back tomorrow night for a movie review. And I’ll be hard at work behind the scenes because this week is a vacation for me, and I’m putting together some fun theories for you.

Tim!