Tag: kwase lane

Album Review: Rx Nephews – Crack Dreams 2

By Kwase Lane, Features Editor
[NewBreedTrapperRecords; 2021]
Rating: 7/10
Key tracks: “Who Are They”, “The One”, “Aunty Lip Lock”
Crack Dreams 2, the latest project in Rx Nephew’s endless procession of releases, is a beautiful mishmash of boasts and self-condemnation. If you’re familiar with the New York rapper, you know he has a unique way with words, and if you’ve never heard his work, it doesn’t take long for his inimitable style to register. Rx Nephew’s work is ruled by contradiction. He’ll dedicate several lines to lamenting the tale of Job before irreverently declaring that he wants to “beat the shit out of Eve.” He laments his history of drug use just before criticizing individuals struggling with addiction for not kicking their own habits. Despite the staggering amount of tonal whiplash his pieces share, they are linked by a mutual understanding of pain and a desire to know what it takes to heal that hurt.

Single Serving No. 2

By Kwase Lane, Features Editor
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I mean the last time we chatted the world was on fire; or at least it felt like it was. 

Single Serving No. 1

Hey, hey, wake up. You had a pretty wild night, huh? Well, I mean, as wild as nights can get with *everything* that’s been happening. 

Middle Kids Release New Track “Stacking Chairs”

By Kwase Lane, Features Editor
[Photo courtesy of Imogen Wilson]
Sydney-based alternative indie-rock outfit Middle Kids have released a new single, “Stacking Chairs”. The piece is the fourth song from the group’s upcoming project, Today We’re The Greatest, releasing March 19. “Stacking Chairs” focuses on Middle Kids’ childhood memories and thoughts on love.

Baby Queen Releases single “These Drugs”

Anti-pop artist Baby Queen released her new single, “These Drugs,” via Polydor Records. She also released a music video accompanying the track. Check out “These Drugs” below.

Freddie Gibbs and ScHoolboy Q Release New Track “Gang Signs”

Freddie Gibbs and ScHoolboy Q have released their collaborative single, “Gang Signs”. Additionally, the duo dropped an accompanying animated music video directed by Aaron Hymes and Gabriel Alcala, in which a rabbit and a turtle represent Gibbs and ScHoolboy Q. Check out the video below.

Group Feature: ACRN’s Top 10 Movies of 2020

10. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm [Amazon; 2020]By Kwase Lane, Features Editor Reprising his role as everybody’s favorite bumbling Kazakhstani reporter, Sacha Baron Cohen took a second go at a Borat film, and he stuck the landing even more flawlessly than he did in its predecessor. The first Borat movie does what it sets out to well,…

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Group Feature: ACRN’s Top 10 Disappointing Albums of 2020

10. Machinedrum — A View of U, [Ninja Tune; 2020]By Lane Moore, Reviews Editor Machinedrum’s A View of U is perhaps the greatest illusion of the millennium. It’s pretty tough to catch, but if you peer into the soul of this album––or make it past track three or four––you will find that A View of…

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Album Review: EP!

No one would have blamed JPEGMAFIA for having a misstep in 2020 after his track record of fantastic albums. The man is due for a flop at this point, but it seems like Peggy is incapable of slipping up. Over the past few months, Peggy has released a slew of singles back to back, and now, he’s stitched them all into a beautiful Frankenstein’s monster of a project. EP! proves that Peggy is a master of his craft. Who else could add a few flourishes to previously released tracks and have it stand as one of the most coherent, satisfying projects of the year?

Album Review: clipping. – Visions of Bodies Being Burned

By: Kwase Lane, Features Editor
[Sub Pop Records; 2020]
Rating: 5/10
Key Tracks: “’96 Neve Campbell”, “Looking Like Meat”, “Eaten Alive”
clipping.’s commitment to fictional perspectives could be really interesting if Daveed Diggs bothered to put any energy into his delivery. Visions of Bodies Being Burned is a testament to how flaccid an album can be if the artist sounds terribly bored by the concept of making music. Every featured artist rides the beat far better than Diggs ever allows himself to, much to the album’s detriment. This project’s production is as unique as ever, but I can’t help but find myself wishing anybody else was responsible for rapping over it.