Album Mode

Album Mode is joined by its first ever guest, Kyle Parkinson! (@sheeloveskp) It's the end of the year so we've decided to breakdown our favourite music moments of the year and how the landscape has changed. Also Kyle gives us his top 5 albums of the year and exlpains how the UMG pulling its music from TikTok affected him. Strap in for a first ever and maybe first of many!

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Finally the episode you've all been waiting for, Album Mode's top 10 albums of 2024! Adriel and Démar list their best albums of the year and hand out some honourable metions to cap off 2024. There's some surprises in both lists so strap in for our year-ender.

TIMECODES:

1:25 - 5 Top 10 albums of this year
5:18 - Album from this year that people will remember
6:40 - Lucky Daye
10:40 - We don’t trust you  
11:45 - Listening to the album in full is a different experience
12:02 - Born in the wild
14:14 - Previous #9 Fat Dog - Woof
15:03 - Rema – Heis
18:06 - Charli XCX
18:47 - BRAT influencing politics  
19:30 - Flo Milli
22:42 - Doechii alligator bites never heal  
24:20 - Sometimes, she resembles other people
25:56 - Zach Bryan
29:07 - Might Delete Later
31:19 - Can’t listen to Lucky Daye because he’s not paying child support   
32:18 - J Cole hater
33:00 - GNX 
36:33 - Never been this West Coast
37:30 - Leon Thomas Mutt
39:18 - BRAT / Victory lap by Demar
42:59 - Charli XCX is the queen of pop this year
43:56 - The last dinner party
47:55 - Yeat  
51:46 - Blue Lips
54:10 - If Kendrick did the things Schoolboy Q did musically
55:15 - Yeat 2093
58:16 - I Thought we valued creativity in music
58:42 - Different is good
1:01:02 - Honourable mentions 


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Démar’s Top 10:

1. Yeat – 2093
2. Last Dinner Party – Prelude to Ecstasy 
3. Yeat – Lyfestyle 
4. Charli XCX – Brat 
5. Kendrick Lamar – GNX 
6. Lucky Daye – Algorithm 
7. Zach Bryan – Great American Bar Scene 
8. Flo Mili Fine Ho, Stay 
9. Fat Dog – Woof
10. Metro & Future – We Don’t Trust You

Adriel's Top 10:

1. Schoolboy Q - Blue Lips
2. Last Dinner Party - Prelude to Ecstasy 
3. Leon Thomas - Mutt 
4. Kendrick Lamar - GNX 
5. J Cole - Might Delete Later 
6. Doechii - Alligator Bites Never Heal 
7. Charli XCX - Brat 
8. Metro & Future - We Don't Trust You 
9. Tems - Born in the Wild 
10. Lucky Daye – Algorithm

This week Démar and Adriel discuss the re-release of J Cole's third mixtape 'Friday Night Lights' on Apple Music and Spotfy. The also talk about J Cole being the intial foil to Drake and how underrated J Cole is a producer.


Démar’s rating: 8.5 / 10
Adriel's rating: 9 / 10

The Love List: Back to the Topic, Villematic, In The Morning, See World, Too Deep for the Intro

TIMECODES:

3:20 - Hip-hop fans have been holding onto these two mixtapes
4:52 - Era where it was Cole vs Drake
5:28 - Mixtapes poppin' online and outside
7:16 - How different hip-hop sounded at that time  
9:46 - Workout as the single
11:50 - Drake and Cole collaboration
13:17 - Looking for trouble
15:23 - When Twitter was Twitter
22:05 - Negative space
23:56 - Must be love
24:22 - Flipping popular R&B samples
25:41 - Taking the production and just rapping over it
29:57 - In the morning
33:26 - When was the last time we heard Drake rapping like this
37:43 - These songs are a walk
42:15 - So many quotables from a mixtape
44:08 - No one talks like that in hip-hop
49:50 - Made him more relatable
52:27 - Too deep for the intro
1:00:56 - What it means for his career
1:04:00 - the cover
1:12:14 - Adriel hot take 


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J Cole - Friday Night Lights / 2024 / hip hop, rap

This week Démar and Adriel discuss Kendrick Lamar's sixth studio album 'GNX', Kendrick Lamar allowing himself to make music without an overacrching concept and Kendrick taking his LA centric sound to an international audience.

Démar’s rating: 8.5 / 10
Adriel's rating: 7 / 10

The Love List: wacced out murals, squabble up, peekabo, hey now, luther, gloria

TIMECODES:

2:17 Jack Antonoff
5:00 At a place where we don’t have to make any myths
5:21 2 years removed from Morale
5:46 N95
11:49 Biggest surprised drop since _____
14:09 Best feature
16:29 GNX
18:50 The intro
19:58 Spanish influence
25:39 Very drake like
26:30 Kendrick, being the anti-Drake
28:28 Framing everything through Drake
33:54 How do you feel about reincarnation
37:09 Kendrick is an honest artist
37:34 Peekaboo
40:44 TV off
42:22 DJ Mustard's new producer tag
43:16 Ruins the beat switch
47:31 Violent hyphy music
58:33 Under estimating / overestimating how much people like Kendrick Lamar
1:03:04 Humble at a party is crazy
1:04:37 The Cover
1:08:22 The Scores



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Kendrick Lamar - / 2024 / hip hop, rap, trap, hyphy

This week Démar and Adriel discuss Cordae's third studio album 'The Crossroads', why what he raps about hasn't changed since his debut and his features being the stars of his album.

Démar’s rating: 6 / 10
Adriel's rating: 6.5 / 10

The Love List: No Bad News, Syrup Sandwiches, Summer Drops, Saturday Mornings


TIMECODES:

4:01 - How many Cordae songs do you have liked
7:00 - Young Nudy vs. Denzel Curry vs Cordae
10:44 - The intro/artist that doesn’t exist in hip-hop anymore
11:31 - What is the budget for this album?   
14:45 - Being autobiographical sets him apart
15:20 - Best feature
17:41 - Sharknado comparison
18:03 - Vocal vulnerability
18:54 - Juicy J feature
29:44 - Syrup sandwiches / thought that was Frank Ocean
31:58 - Song about his kid before she was born
34:13 - Rare artist; when you hear it sounds good, but when read, it still has some value
34:49 - He Needs to stop talking about his family 
39:41 - Don’t know where he’s headed with the future of his lyrics
30:24 - Hasn’t compromised his sound for a hit song
41:56 - Breakup songs in hip-hip are corny
43:02 - The cover  
45:00 - The Score


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Cordae - The Crossroads / 2024 / hip hop, rap, boom bap

The latest Grammys nominations just dropped so you know we had to make some predicitions. Since Adriel and Demar have lost all hope in the Grammys ever getting it right, we predict who we think is going to win in the most cynical fashion.

TIMECODES:

2:10 - Who was the Grammy’s fav white woman?
2:40 - Context going into the Grammy’s where race does matter
3:08 - Album of the Year always feels like a popularity contest
3:30 - Adriel is guessing Cowboy Carter wins 
4:22 - Demar takes a victory lap with BRAT
4:55 - André 3000 getting on this list is dubious  
5:38 - live show gave the energy that this whole thing is a joke (Andre 3000)
7:33 - Not like us winning
9:06 - I’m one of the birds
11:10 - Best new artist
12:28 - Everyone on the list has made music for years but this is when they made it in their eyes
13:44 - Demar controversial pick
14:49 - Rap album of the year
15:21 - Death of Slim Shady 
19:00 - Espresso is going to win it 
20:05 - New Edition of the white women rankings  

===================================

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This week Démar and Adriel discuss SahBabii's fourth studio album 'Saaheem ', how amazing the prodcution is and his influences have become an unbearing weight around his music.

Démar’s rating: 6.5 / 10
Adriel’s rating: 4 / 10

P.S. Belt Boyz, Belt Boyz, Belt Boyz, Belt Boyz

The Love List: Belt Boyz, Viking, Mirror Picz, Sylvan Rd Ridin Down Dill

TIMECODES:
2:56 - Confused to how we got here
4:42 - Diehard fans
5:46 - artificially pushed to album mode
8:08 - The lyrics are not why we’re here
8:54 - Expected loops
9:32 - What is a belt boy
10:48 - Young Nudy comparison
11:29 - 2009-2013 Lex Luger production mashed with Cardo Got Wings
13:45 - Vocal delivery falls flat
15:55 - What about just songwriting
16:17 - Technically, the texture is there
17:24 - Stop talking you’re ruining it
18:38 - Giving more of a Young Thug experience  
21:09 - We can skip his lyrics
24:59 - One of the more playlist albums
28:40 - No Skips
29:18 - the cover
30:10 - Adriel is bewildered about this album review
31:33 - Score 


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SahBabii - Saaheem/ 2024 / hip hop, melodic trap, trap

This week Démar and Adriel discuss Lil Uzi Vert's fourth studio album 'Eternal Atake 2', how the rest of rage (and hip hop in general) has passed them by and if they can ever recover from being Kid Cudi'd .

Démar’s rating: 3 / 10
Adriel’s rating: 3.5 / 10

P.S. Meteor Man has gotta be Uzi's worst song ever... Right?

The Love List: We Good, Chips and Dip, Space High

TIMECODES:

1:06 - Demar not looking forward to EA2
1:48 - Lil Uzi’s best album?
5:25 - Debut album numbers
6:50 - Lil Uzi being left behind
10:45 - Liked Songs on Spotify
11:53 - Past Lil Uzi Reviews
13:01 - Big Time Rush
16:55 - We Good
18:16 - Lil Uzi Vert is behind Rage music
21:00 - Black Hole
24:41 - Lil Uzi Vert being sober
26:38 - Yeat vs. Uzi
27:38 - The Fall Off
31:48 - Demar is a little sad
32:31 - Playboi Carti & Lil Uzi Vert are lyricists
37:21 - Demar is a self-proclaimed ‘Outlier’
39:27 - Used to be a prime-time hook-maker
42:10 - Lyft Em Up
43:50 - Meteor Man is their worst song ever
46:14 - 2016 Hip-Hop Mount Rushmore
50:35 - What is the future for Lil Uzi Vert?
53:47 - Production-based artists
57:45 - The Cover
1:00 - The Scores


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Lil Uzi Vert - Eternal Atake 2 / 2024 / hip hop, rage, elecrtonic, trap

Somehow we've made it to 200 album reviews on Album mode! Shoutout to everyone who's been following us since the days of only video and shoutout to everyone who's subscribed since we've made the jump to YouTube. Here's to 200 more!

TIMECODES:

3:14 - Taylor Swift is one of the more interesting ones
4:11 - Cleo Sol/biggest regrets
7:18 - Leaders on the Nas resurgence
8:05 - Separating the narrative from the artist
10:48 - Kawhi Leonard’s album
11:34 - NewJeans
12:49 - Démar congratulates himself
13:22 - Vince Staples  
13:57 - High on Gunna
14:57  - Post Malone
15:52 - Adriel takes credit for Brent Faiyaz
17:25 - SoundBytes
19:00 - Diddy in the SB Hall of Shame
21:41 - Retro reviews 
===================================


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This week Démar and Adriel discuss Tyler, the Creator's eighth studio album 'CHROMAKOPIA ', how his production has had a slight regression and how Tyler, the Creator has reached a point where we care enough to release such a personal album.

Démar’s rating: 7 / 10
Adriel’s rating: 7.5 / 10

The Love List: St. Chroma, Sticky, I Killed You, Balloon, Hey Jane, Darling, I, Thought I Was Dead

TIMECODES:

3:26 - Fans that have to be like Tyler
5:49 - Difference from Goblin to Cherry Bomb / Childish & Cudi
7:26 - NOID / NO ID
10:05 - Tyler is their Kanye / what Kanye used to do
13:23 - Test case for how you hear an album
14:00 - Quote from Tyler
16:40 - Knows how to make intro’s  
17:37 - Making them blend
17:51 - St Chroma
20:08  - Sticky is simplistic
23:35 - Mashup of all his sounds on this project “Rah Tah Tah”   
25:44 - Darling I
27:10 - Grabbing from all his sounds  
31:26 - Dark and sad guitar on sad a
35:14 - Lil Wayne and Tyler don’t miss
35:44 - Doechii
37:40 - Glo best feature / distinct voice     
41:15 - Hey Jane / pregnancy scare
48:30 - Going through a fear on inadequacy
52:26 - Better lyrically dance albums
53:02 - Tried to escape being funny
56:27 - Part of the new big
58:44 - Being left of center
59:57 - Looks different every time a project comes out
1:02:00 - Almost a throw back
1:09:36 - The cover
1:12:30 - Move the goal post of what’s good
1:13:45 - Scores 



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Tyler, The Creator - CHROMAKOPIA / 2024 / hip hop, soul, pop,