It goes without saying that 2014 was another damn good year in music terms - then again, pretty much every year is - and as is customary for blogs, we're poppin' off a few lists of our favourite bits and bobs from the past year. First up, here's 100 tracks we really liked, in something of a rank order. Our choosing of the number one pick was pretty much the easiest decision in //APEX history, and there's plenty of other goodness elsewhere on the list, whatever your tastes may be, from smash hit singles to mixtape deep cuts. No write-ups here; we reckon these songs speak for themselves.
Where does time go? 2014 is already half-way through, and having honoured the best albums of (roughly) January-March, we're back to honour the best albums of (roughly) April-June - this time, however, we decided to actually quantify why we like these albums so damn much rather than just straight up list them. As ever, expect a nice grab-bag of styles and sounds, from alien grime to dusty jazz-hop with a gangster rap edge; terrifying doom metal to shimmering psych-folk, and so on.
Shout-out time; many great releases from Q1 slipped through the cracks initially, along with the sleeper hits we didn't realise we liked so much until after the list was finalised. These include Isaiah Rashad's Cilvia Demo, New Balance's Formes De Viure, Kassem Mosse's Workshop 19, Sun Araw's Belomancie, Ana Caprix's For Seven Nights This Island Is Ours, Ekoplekz's Unfidelity, Migos' No Label 2,Magic Eye's Babylon and Kevin Gates' By Any Means.
More shout-out time; the past three months have been particularly kind to us, so here are a load of releases that barely missed the cut from Q2: BADBADNOTGOOD's III, Foodman's DRUM DESU, Valerio Tricoli's Miseri Lares, Traxman's Da Mind of Traxman Vol. 2, Life Sim's This Life, Gobby's Wakng Thrst For Seeping Banhee, Fear of Men's Loom, Dynooo's These Flaws Are Mine To War With, GFOTY's Secret Mix, Lil B's Hoop Life, Klara Lewis' Ett, Fushitsusha's Nothing Changes..., Mac DeMarco's Salad Days. Every single album mentioned above is worth checking out along with our top 20, and who knows, maybe they'll grow on us in the coming months.
C L E A N E R S Real Raga Shit Vol. 1 (Bootleg Tapes, 2014)
A triumph of style and substance. Despite making it into our favourite albums of 2014's first quarter list a few days ago, I don't think either of us has really managed to attest to the brilliance of Real Raga Shit Vol. 1. It's an interesting proposition from the outset, with what its release on Bootleg Tapes (quite possibly my favourite label around right now), two intriguingly named side-long tracks, and some fancy artwork to boot, but the music contained within is the real star attraction here. In a similar vein to much of Bootleg's catalogue, the C L E A N E R S tape is a haphazard meeting of samples from entirely disparate sources, from Coltrane's "I Love You" to the most obvious Casablanca quote, with an undercurrent of tape hiss and analogue noise throughout. This approach to sound really shouldn't work, but by sheer dexterity and intuition, C L E A N E R S pulls it off with a very large degree of panache, connecting the dots between the least likely of entities and making it sound fantastic in the process.
EQ Why ChiTokyo Mixtape (Orange Milk, 2014)
Footworking is resolutely a location-centric genre, with many of its finest practitioners hailing from Chicago, but outsider contributions to the movement are not only preventing footwork from falling into an easily- replicable template, but they are also providing some of the most worthwhile contributions to it. This calendar year has already seen a few shining examples, such as Thug Entrancer's Death After Life and Foodman's hamakko EP, but one of the best "outsider" efforts thus far comes from an actual Chicagoan. EQ Why - a cheeky dig at RP Boo? - merges the malleable styling of Chi-town footwork/juke with the weird and wonderful Japanese take on the scene, and appropriately calls it the ChiTokyo Mixtape. Essentially, the tape is an hour of primo footworking, which bridges the gap between two rather different modi operandi, and thankfully never takes itself too seriously. If you've ever found yourself enjoying the likes of DJ Rashad or DJ Spinn, as well as the warped worlds of Paisley Parks and Foodman, then ChiTokyo Mixtape might just be your calling.
Magic Eye Babylon (Not Not Fun, 2014)
Reverb and distortion have been getting a bad press as of late, and it's totally understandable; it's the go-to method of distraction to mask lazy songwriting, or to obscure lyricists who have nothing worthwhile to say (I'm looking squarely at YOU, Perfect Pussy). Thankfully, Magic Eye utilise these effects to a particularly artful degree on their latest release, Babylon. The album came about after a distasteful experience at an "overly pro studio", which left the resulting recording "grit-less and dried out"; mercifully, upon hearing the opener "Japan" it would appear that the grit and earthiness has been well-and-truly reinstated, and the tape retains this beautifully lo-fi aesthetic throughout. It amounts to an exploration of the limits and boundaries of the humble cassette tape, in all of its noisy, scorched glory.
We're just about 3 months into 2014, and the year is already shaping up tremendously well. As such, myself and Joe have decided to offload our favourites of this first quarter (as well as a couple of last-ditch efforts from December), with the second and third to follow before the overall year-end list. It's never easy to mash each of our respective tastes into one comprehensive guide, but at least it makes for an interesting list; it's actually quite heartening to see the likes of C L E A N E R S slot alongside Real Estate, or for Sicko Mobb to cosy up next to Have a Nice Life. As ever, there are a few honorable mentions to be made: Live at the Cairo High Cinema Institute (EEK), 37 Minute Workout (Russell Haswell), What's The Story? Brixton Glory (Big Narstie), Divine Ecstasy (Supreme Cuts), Beyoncé (Beyoncé), Lay-By Lullaby (Janek Schaefer) and Oxymoron (ScHoolboy Q). So, in no particular order, here is a rough idea of where we're at with 2014...
As Joe Sherwood said on his own 'Favourite Tracks of 2013' list, although one may be led to believe that an end of year tracks list should primarily consist of tracks produced by those on the same person's albums list, there is far more to the process than that. An album is usually written with all of the tracks on it in mind, and so the finished product gives off a vibe that is similar at the start of the album to the end of the album; it is a continual piece of art. A single, however, is usually produced for mainstream entertainment purposes in order for an artist to get out their piece of work and showcase it to the world as a glimpse of their abilities as a musician. This, therefore, made choosing the greatest tracks exceedingly difficult as 2013 has been such a brilliantly diverse year, and although they have been ordered, I feel that any track could slide into my top 10 depending on what mood I'm in. Anyway, here's the list.
I like keeping my forenotices short and sweet, and so all I really have to say is that 2013 has been an absolutely fucking insane year in the world of music. Thank you to everyone that has made the year such a good one for //APEX, we promise to supply you with many more great features in 2014. But yeah, here's my long-awaited AOTY list. Enjoy.
You'd think that a favourite tracks/singles list would converge mainly around one's favourite albums, but to my mind a good album is one that retains a degree of uniformity quality-wise, making it rather difficult to dissect and split up the overall experience. That said, I've done precisely that for a number of tracks here, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that my favourite albums list isn't particularly reflected in this list of my favourite tracks of the past year. It contains plenty of singles, non-album tracks, mixtape cuts, and even stuff from albums I didn't really care for - my number one pick here confirms this sentiment rather nicely. Ultimately, I prefer the full album experience, but my enjoyment of single tracks this year has certainly been expanded over the past twelve months, and a large selection of 75 seems to suggest that. So, having reveled in the long players of 2013, here's to the musical short form.
P.S. Yes, Miley Cyrus has indeed made the list, even cracking the top 50. Sometimes, it's just too difficult to deny some pretty good pop music.
When it comes to making these year-end lists, I always try to pick out trends in my listening habits, and I always come up with nothing. I'm not trying to say I have an amazingly diverse taste in music, because I don't particularly; only a few rock albums have made it onto my top 50, and unbelievably there are no representatives for metal. The lack of any real dominant focus in my music listening most likely owes to the increasingly fragmented state of music. We live in the age of information, and pretty much any record of one's choosing is available to stream, purchase or (perhaps) download for nothing within a few clicks. Moreover, a lot of the best records this year are available for free at the artist's choice, and it's telling that 3 of my top 10 albums can be downloaded legally without charge. And, the definition of what exactly an "album" is has become hazy of late, with mixtapes and EPs slotting alongside commercially available, full-length releases. The point I'm trying to make here is that this top 50 isn't some sort of vanity exercise to show how unique my tastes are, nor is it an overblown advertisement for independent labels. It's simply a showcase of my personal favourites from the past year, and any diversity is most likely down to the prominence of the internet rather than a conscious decision on my part to appear on trend.
As ever, there was some unpleasant culling that had to be done to keep this list at 50 records, and some really rather good albums are missing from this list. I would honor them here, but there are far too many to reel off, so I may make a separate post for the honorable mentions. I'll also include a Spotify playlist at the foot of this post with some of my favourite tracks from each album (provided the album is actually on Spotify, of course). Please, don't dwell on the rankings too much, because every single one of these 50 records is absolutely worth checking out.
Thanks for reading //APEX this year, and I hope you can find something you enjoy from this list.
2013 has unquestionably been a landmark year in music; with comebacks and breakthroughs, debuts and swan songs, Sky Ferreira and Miley Cyrus, it has been more than an eventful 12 months. However, here at //APEX we're a little more easily amused by the little things in life, so welcome to our 30 finest album covers of the year.
P.S. big up to the artists at DONDA that have actually managed to squeeze 2 Chainz onto an end of year list. Joe Gilbey
Never judge a book by its cover, or so the old adage goes. We're not ones to do that, but instead we'll opt to judge a cover by its cover for our favourite pieces of album artwork from the past 12 months. These picks fall under numerous criteria: conceptual statements, imagery related to the music, or on a more basic level the simple aesthetic value of the art. Here are 30 of our favourite covers, in no particular order, for you to feast your eyes on before the real business of year-end lists commences (ie albums and tracks). Enjoy. Joe Sherwood
Considering that we've each done a list of the best albums of 2013 (so far), Joe Sherwood and I decided to also do a bumper list of our 20 favourite tracks of the year. However, neither of us were allowed to have tracks that the other person has, so take our lists with a pinch of salt. They're un-ordered because we change our minds about 5 times every hour as to which is THE best song. We also have a special guest this time due to the fact that our good friend, Jack Morgan, is a music enthusiast and would like to start up his own site in a few weeks time, so stay tuned.
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST:
(If the track isn't on Spotify, it'll be linked via SoundCloud or YouTube instead)
Joe Gilbey: Chance The Rapper Cocoa Butter Kisses (ft. Vic Mensa & Twista)(Acid Rap) Acid Rap is one of the most easy-going rap albums that I've listened to in a very long time for two reasons; the punchy upbeat basslines and Chance The Rapper's effortlessly comedic rapping style. "Cocoa Butter Kisses" epitomises this in my eyes, and due the addition of the legendary Twista and new-kid-on-the-block Vic Mensa, it is probably the most fun-filled rap track of 2013 so far.
Action Bronson Seven Series Triplets (ft. Prodigy & Raekwon)(Saab Stories)
Kanye West Black Skinhead(Yeezus)
So much power. Learn the lyrics and scream the chorus. That is all.
Sigur Ros Brennisteinn (Kveikur)
A$AP Rocky Wild For The Night (ft. Skrillex)(Long.Live.A$AP)
I feel like I should say a little something about the album considering it marginally missed out on my top 5 albums of the year so far and therefore didn't quite find itself on the reviewing podium, so here I go. Despite the fact that A$AP Rocky's debut release was a little disappointing, he has undoubtedly more than redeemed himself with his latest LP Long.Live.A$AP. The album showcases many different artists such as 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar, A$AP Ferg and a surprising appearance from Florence Welch of Florence + The Machine, and this contrasting variety of acts seemed to work brilliantly for Rakim Mayers. Although Skrillex doesn't seem to be a great match for Rocky's rap background at first glance, the partnership was definitely a successful one. The synthetic horns and refined rhythms on the track complimented the MCs style brilliantly, so I have a feeling that we'll hear more tracks like this in the future from both artists. (If you're going to Reading/Leeds then SEE THEM!)
James Blake Overgrown (Overgrown)
Daft Punk Doin' It Right (ft. Panda Bear)(Random Access Memories)
The comeback is here. Daft Punk's iconic jovial sound has made a timely return, and although we've had to wait a fair few years, I think we can safely say that Random Access Memories brings back what the band is all about; bouncy, upbeat music. Much like the formidable summer anthem of 2013, "Get Lucky", "Doin' It Right" is a perfect example of Daft Punk's transcendent presence in the musical world, and alongside Animal Collective's Panda Bear, they seem simply unstoppable right now.
Disclosure White Noise (ft. AlunaGeorge) (Settle)
Pusha T Numbers on the Boards (My Name Is My Name)
Even though there was a surprising lack of Pusha T on Kanye West's latest release, Yeezus, it appears that Mr West and his rapping prodigy are still as close as ever. "Numbers on the Boards" combines Pusha's pleasantly raspy voice and Kanye's incredibly cultured beat production in a seemingly minimalistic manner, much like a less harsh version of Yeezus. If you're into modern rap with cutthroat beats then this is definitely one to listen to.
Jagwar Ma The Throw (Howlin)
Woodkid I Love You (The Golden Age)
'Woodkid (Yoann Lemione) has burst onto the experimental scene this year with tracks such as "Iron" and "Run Boy Run" which truly define the word epic. However, with his newest single "I Love You", he brings things back to a more comforting level. He takes fun from throwing a wide array of orchestral and industrial sounds into one big cooking pot and this time he has hit the perfect balance. The workman-like beat and the signature Woodkid violins come together beautifully which is then topped off by Lemione's deep but soothing voice. "I Love You" is certainly the track that will give Lemione the credit he deserves.' - Jack Morgan
ScHoolboy Q Collard Greens ft. Kendrick Lamar (Single)
Just Blaze x Baauer Higher(Single)
Yes, Baauer is the bloke that created the infamous "Harlem Shake", but I promise that this is an absolute banger. There aren't any words that I could use to make you believe me, so I think I'll leave it there for this one (please listen to it though, your opinion of him will be changed).
Laurel Halo Throw(Behind The Green Door EP)
Tyler The Creator Rusty ft. Domo Genesis & Earl Sweatshirt(WOLF)
There's not really a lot that I haven't said about the father of Odd Future's latest album, WOLF, but I figured that I'd give Rusty some recognition considering that it's probably one of my favourite tracks that he's ever released. Tyler's verse is 141 seconds of pure lyrical greatness which is impressive in itself, but you can't help but love it even more after hearing the tongue-in-cheek punts at Adele's weight, 2 Chainz' age and everybody that uses Tumblr... it's nice to know that he is sticking to his controversial roots.
Tyler's performance of Rusty on Late Night With David Letterman with Domo Genesis and Earl Sweatshirt. DJ Rashad Rollin(Rollin EP)
Marina and The Diamonds & Charli XCX Just Desserts (Single)
A tenebrous song that's a clever blend between Charli's preferred spoken-word style of singing and Marina's eerie vocals, driven by the duo's sweet longing for revenge. It's rare for me to like many songs of this genre, but there's just something about these two that gives me hope about the current state of the pop industry, let's just hope that they continue in this way.
Jessie Ware Sweet Talk (Devotion)
Koreless Ivana(Yugen) I only heard of Koreless about a year ago through Spotify's recommendations, and due to his relatively small discography I didn't really have a lot to compare his latest release, Yugen, to. However, after listening to the 5 songs on the extended play I was absolutely mesmerised as to why this man has received such a little amount of coverage.
It's difficult to describe the project as it's comparatively unique, but if I was to sum it up in 3 words, those words would be relaxing, psychedelic and dubsteppy (I know that's not a real word, but I did say it's difficult to describe). The Knife A Tooth For An Eye(Shaking The Habitual)
Joe Sherwood: Ace Hood Bugatti (ft. Future and Rick Ross) (Trials and Tribulations) Ace Hood is hardly my favourite rapper, but I absolutely cannot deny "Bugatti". Production from Mike WiLL Made It, the hottest beat-maker in the game right now, makes "Bugatti" one of the finest bangers of 2013 thus far, and features from the ever-impressive Future and Rick Ross ensure the track is lyrically serviceable as well; the AutoTune-assisted hook is possibly the catchiest you'll hear all year. Ciara Body Party (Ciara)
The Knife Raging Lung (Shaking the Habitual)
The Knife's latest album, Shaking the Habitual, has many pop gems sitting alongside droning, ambient tracks. "Raging Lung" is one of them, complete with tribal drumming and a chilling synths. Lyrically it tackles the schism between the rich and the poor; "Western standards" lead to the profitability of poverty, and Karin Dreijer Andersson asks, "where's your troubled mind?" in what is an attack on the wealthy people who exploit the poor for monetary gain. Melt Yourself Down Fix My Life (Melt Yourself Down)
DJ Rashad Drums Please (ft. DJ Manny)(Rollin EP)
DJ Rashad is a man at the forefront of the footwork invasion, and it's easy to see why; four full-lengths and many stellar short-form releases in a matter of years have resulted in his signing to Hyperdub, and his first EP for the London-based label contains four shining examples of his stylish, bass-induced brand of footwork. The most impressive of these is "Drums Please", a collaboration with TEKLIFE affiliate DJ Manny, which screws a drumroll sample into a dizzying juke track that's as experimental as it is danceable. Rocko U.E.O.N.O. (ft. Future and Rick Ross) (Mixtape)
Nosaj Thing x Chance the Rapper Paranoia (Hidden Track) (Acid Rap) Acid Rap is a laid-back tape for sure - as the name implies, it's intended to be heard in conjunction with an acid trip. However, there is a sense of unease in some of Chance's lyrics throughout the tape, and no track captures this better than the hidden track that follows "Pusha Man". Referencing the 'murder season' in his hometown of Chicago, Chance talks of his fear when it's "warm out", and having to ride around with his "gun on his hip" to keep himself safe, because "everybody dies in the summer". Combined with the chilling glitch-hop beat from producer Nosaj Thing, "Paranoia" proves to be one of the more haunting tracks this year.
Machinedrum Clissold VIP(Single)
Mariah Carey #Beautiful (ft. Miguel) (The Art of Letting Go)
The hashtag appears to be a part of Western culture now, although it understandably has trashy and shallow connotations. On that basis, you wouldn't expect "#Beautiful" to be one of the most wholesome pop songs of the year, but it truly is, featuring a lovely, simple guitar riff, and gorgeous vocals from Carey and Miguel, whose stock has no doubt increased since last year's Kaleidoscope Dream. It's a wonderful summer jam, and far less gimmicky than the title suggests. Tessela Hackney Parrot (Single)
Haroon Mizra vs Factory Floor /o/o/o/o/ (NVC Remix) (12")
The multimedia artist Haroon Mizra gave Factory Floor and Django Django (who operated under the Jellyman moniker) source material with which to create a remix, as part of a wider project for his /o/o/o/o/ exhibition. While the Django Django interpretation is an interesting, almost clubby track, the Factory Floor version is a stark, minimal and rather tense experience. Flushes of static, pounding drums, swathes of guitar and a prominent beeping sound are all present and correct here in what is easily the most impressive rework of the two.
Justin Timberlake Suit and Tie (ft. Jay-Z) (The 20/20 Experience)
Danny Brown Kush Coma (Non-album track)
I may be telling a little lie with the italics above - Kush Coma will be featured on Danny Brown's upcoming album Old, albeit with a feature from A$AP Rocky and the snare drums higher in the mix. Personally, I prefer the original version released earlier in the year, mainly because I feel a track as wacky as "Kush Coma" works better as a shorter blast. Obviously, this is stoner-rap fare, wherein Brown is smoking "back-to-back" blunts, and although it's very silly lyrically, the production from Skywalkr works well to keep the track somewhat grounded in reality.
Autre Ne Veut Play by Play (Anxiety)
Daft Punk Get Lucky (ft. Pharrell and Nile Rodgers) (Random Access Memories)
In years to come, people will talk about "Get Lucky" in the same way they talk about "One More Time" or "Harder Better Faster Stronger"; a reminder of halcyon days in summers past, of simpler times. Although Random Access Memories turned out to be a little disappointing, there is no denying that "Get Lucky" is the song of the summer, an endlessly enjoyable track with an irresistible riff and sumptuous vocals. Kanye West New Slaves (Yeezus)
Dean Blunt Felony (Non-album track)
Dean Blunt's The Redeemer is one of my favourite albums so far this year, but picking a choice track is fairly difficult since they are all part of an ongoing story arc; all of the tracks are indispensable in the grand scheme of the album. Thankfully, a non-album track titled "Felony" was released on the pollyjacobsen YouTube channel not too long ago, and it's riveting stuff - Dean's heartbroken croon accompanies a clear-cut sample and MIDI strings in a similar vein to the full-length. Also, the video is something to behold, with Dean gazing out to sea in a Lil B-esque introspection.
Sophie Bipp (Single)
Vektroid Enemy (Single)
The mastermind behind the enigmatic New Dreams Ltd. artists (Macintosh Plus, Laserdisc Visions, 情報デスクVIRTUAL) has had a troubled 2013, but under the Vektroid alias she released "Enemy", something of a vaporwave epic. Clocking in at nearly 10 minutes, the slow-moving track is a blissful experience, as samples weave in and out of the programmed drums and synths in true vapor fashion.
First of all, I apologise again for the scarcity of posts over the last couple of months. However, Joe Sherwood and I are treating you all dearly this half term with our 'Best of 2013 So Far' lists, so I do hope that you forgive us. I feel that two albums need a special mention though considering that they would be on this list if I'd released it a month later, so keep your eyes and ears peeled for Yeezus by Kanye West and Untitled EP 2 by Hodgy Beats, I'm pretty excited about those.
2013 has been dominated by rap and experimental hip-hop so far which is something that I always like to see, and I think that shows through in this list a fair bit so sorry if you feel that there is a lack of variety. Every man to his own, right?
Tweet me or Joe Sherwood if you have any suggestions for albums that we may have missed out on!
@JoeGilbey
@SoeJherwood
20) Dean Blunt The Redeemer (Hippos in Tanks)
19) Iceage You're Nothing (Matador Records)
18) Frank Turner Tape Deck Heart (Interscope)
17) David Bowie The Next Day (ISO Records)
16) Mikill Pane The Lucky Strike EP (Self-released)
15) Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds Push The Sky Away (Bad Seeds Ltd.)
14) Slim Guerilla & DJ Smokey Guerilla Warfare (Self-released)
13) Le1f Fly Zone (Greedhead Entertainment)
12) Vampire Weekend Modern Vampires of the City (XL Recordings)
11) Ghostface Killah & Adrian Younge Twelve Reasons To Die (Soul Temple Records)
10) Koreless Yugen (Young Turks)
9) A$AP Rocky Long.Live.A$AP (Polo Grounds/RCA)
8) Ghostpoet Some Say I So I Say Light (Play It Again Sam)
7) Tree Sunday School II: When Church Lets Out (Creative Control)
6) Daft Punk Random Access Memories (Daft Life/Columbia)
5) Chance The Rapper Acid Rap (Self-released)
Don't expect too much depth from Acid Rap, that's all.
"Na na na na na, na na na na na!"
4) James Blake Overgrown (Republic)
Overgrown contains some of this unsung British hero's greatest work to date. He has stepped up since James Blake and his various extended plays when it comes to both producing and songwriting, which resulted in him creating one of the most soulful and artistic albums of the year so far. There is almost definitely a lot more to come from this man, and considering that he's been noticed by artists such as RZA, I think that we can expect more hip-hop/R&B artists to collaborate with him in the future.
3) The Child of Lov The Child of Lov (Double Six)
Whatever Damon Albarn touches turns to gold, so after learning that Blur's musically cultured front man would be both producing and appearing on The Child of Lov's self-titled debut album, it was pretty evident that this Dutch artist was off to an impressively good start. The album itself portrays the artist's personal social viewpoint (his identity is currently unknown as he hasn't released much information about himself) in a bouncy and convivial way that gives a very similar 'multi-genre' vibe to that of Demon Days by Gorillaz or a late OutKast album, which shows that The Child of Lov definitely has much potential for the future.
2) The Knife Shaking The Habitual (Brille/Rabid)
Most bands wouldn't dare attempting to take such a risk in creating an experimental album like Shaking The Habitual, but dear lord has this paid off.
I was fairly anxious about listening to an album of such a monstrous nature at first, but after it had been recommended to me for the third time I just had to but my mind at ease and give it a spin, which turned out one of the best decisions I have made for a long time. It is a relatively slow-moving and spacious album but is undoubtedly rewarding if given its due listen, so if you're easily dissuaded by long tracks then sit on your hands and face your fears; you'll thank me later.
1) Tyler, The Creator Wolf (Odd Future Records)
Wolf is most definitely a large landmark in Tyler's musical life. Not only has he learned to channel his hatred for our monotonous society, he's also combined his trademark versatile beats and lyrical dexterity in a way that only offends a small minority of social groups, as opposed to half of the globe. Of course, he continues to rant about his father, uncultivated fans and women in general, but what more could you expect from a member of Odd Future?
The album features many impressive guests such as the infamous OFWGKTA crew (Domo Genesis, Hodgy Beats, Frank Ocean etc.) and also a few of the most successful hip-hop artists of the past decade, including Erykah Badu, Nas and Pharell. This unquestionably reflects well on Tyler's huge jump in maturity, as it shows that he's conscious of his influence on his ever-growing fan base, and therefore has an inherent duty to inspire future generations with legendary music.
Although Tyler's lost some of the zaniness that made Goblin such a compelling listen, he's technically improved in just about every way, which makes Wolf a near impossible album to top this year.
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