DIGITAL ALBUM / TRACK REVIEW: C.W. Franz ft. Maya Miko – Sears Photo Booth

In this digital album/track review, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on “Sears Photo Booth”, the first single off an upcoming hip-hop project from singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist C.W. Franz. Having covered multiple, genre-crossing projects from the Chicago native for a year now, it was only a matter of time before he started experimenting with MY top favorite genre: hip-hop. And with the assistance of British rapper Maya Miko, C.W., who also goes by the producer moniker Peloponnesian Grove (the title of his recent instrumental project) on this digital album, adds his idiosyncratic, memory-fueled, vibe-constructing brand of songwriting, vocalizing and production to this single.

Prior to listening to “Sears Photo Booth”, I introduced myself to Maya Miko’s music through his YouTube channel, and I found myself quite impressed by his rapping capabilities and occasional willingness to rap over radio-friendly, R&B and pop-fused instrumentals. But the songs/ videos that really caught my attention were his HIGHLY-ENTERTAINING “3 Homies One Vibe” series where, over a recorded online video chat, Maya raps over a particular beat alongside two of his friends, who either provide sung or rapped vocals.

And I could imagine Maya and C.W.’s collaboration on this track being executed in a similar fashion, or at least the fleshing out of ideas and lyrics before they recorded their individual vocals. C.W. presents a smooth instrumental consisting of a warm piano melody with subtle, accompanying synths and an upright bass solo from guest performer Bruno De La Rosa which creates this relaxed, jazzy vibe throughout the song. Both artists sound great over this beat, especially C.W. who proves himself quite capable of integrating rap cadences and flows into his lyrics and delivery.

Thematically, this song touches on nostalgia in relation to one’s self-reflection. As C.W. states on the intro, both artists take a “trip down memory lane” (which, by the way, was the overarching theme of the abovementioned “Peloponnesian Grove” project), each recounting the carefreeness of their individual childhood and how it slowly dissolves into the doubts and responsibilities we all face in our adolescence and adulthood. Over two verses, C.W. raps about his decision-making over the years, from wanting to be a teacher in the fourth and fifth grade to switching to law in the seventh and eighth, and how it forced him to take the good with the bad in his life. Maya delivers a lengthy third verse as he reminisces on numerous childhood and adolescent memories, like going over to a friend’s house to play ‘Mortal Kombat’ simply because he didn’t own a Sega or Nintendo (which, as a non-console owner, I can definitely relate to), watching his mother try “to stretch the paycheck”, getting drunk at house parties and feeling guilty that he didn’t cry over the passing of his uncle.

Overall, I really enjoyed “Sears Photo Booth”. I appreciated the sentimental tone, contemplative lyrics, laid-back instrumental and heartfelt performances from both C.W. Franz and Maya Miko. I am curious and excited to hear C.W.’s upcoming hip-hop project, and though I don’t expect to hear any bangers from it, I’m certainly looking forward to solid production, more collaborations (especially with Maya) and of course, MORE RAPPING from C.W.  On a side note, a chopped and screwed version of this project NEEDS to happen! On the B-side of this digital album, we’re treated to – much to my surprise – a chopped and screwed version of that song handled by Cole AKA_flatpat. And as a C&S connoisseur myself, I must say, it SLAPS!!  In short, “Sears Photo Booth” is definitely worth checking out!

LISTEN TO THE SONG HERE:

https://cwfranz.bandcamp.com/album/sears-photo-booth

CHECK OUT MAYA MIKO’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/MayaMiko

BBB RADIO S01E14 – Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby Doo meets Courage the Cowardly Dog, Star Wars: Visions, Dear White People (Season 4), Netflix TUDUM highlights, Prisoners of the Ghostland, Free Guy

For episode 14 of BBB Radio, I review Nicolas Cage’s latest foray into the midnight movie scene with the post-apocalyptic action film “Prisoners of the Ghostland”, and we discuss the new Scooby Doo direct-to-video feature “Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby Doo meets Courage the Cowardly Dog”, the first season of Disney Plus/Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Visions”, the fourth and final season of Netflix’s “Dear White People”, highlights from the recently-held Netflix global fan event “TUDUM” and the video-game themed comedy “Free Guy”, starring Ryan Reynolds. 

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE

BBB RADIO S01E13 – Ted Lasso Emmy Wins, Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Final Season), Y: The Last Man (First 4 Episodes), Old (MATTHEW’S REVIEW), Candyman, Malignant, Cry Macho

For episode 13 of BBB Radio, Ricardo talks about the recent Emmy wins by the Apple TV+ comedy-drama series “Ted Lasso” and the first four episodes of the post-apocalyptic drama “Y: The Last Man”, I talk about the eighth and final season of the beloved police procedural comedy series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old” (which I finally checked out), the highly-anticipated horror sequel “Candyman” and the Clint Eastwood drama “Cry Macho”, and we share our honest opinions on the new James Wan-directed horror flick “Malignant”.

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE

BBB RADIO SO1E12 – RETROSPECT REVIEWS – Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor

For my third hip hop-based Retrospect Review of 2021, I, along with guest rapper Randerson “Crash” Beckett, celebrate the 15th anniversary of Lupe Fiasco’s critically-acclaimed debut album “Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor”. 

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE

BBB RADIO SO1E11 – RETROSPECT REVIEWS – Reasonable Doubt & The Blueprint

For my second hip hop-based Retrospect Review of 2021 (and first on BBB RADIO), rappers/producers Micwsie and Doe Boi, Ricardo and I celebrate the 25th and 20th anniversary respectively of two of Jay-Z’s greatest albums “Reasonable Doubt” and “The Blueprint”, and decide individually which is the better of the two. 

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE

BBB RADIO S01E10 – RIP Michael K. Williams, Black Land: Aftermath (Episode 3), Rick & Morty (Season 5), Donda & Certified Lover Boy, Don’t Breathe 2, Mortal Kombat Legends: Battle of The Realms

For episode 10 of BBB Radio, Ricardo and I pay tribute to the late, great actor Michael K. Williams and discuss the fifth season of Adult Swim’s “Rick & Morty” (SPOILERS INCLUDED) and the latest “Mortal Kombat Legends” animated feature “Battle of the Realms”, while I review the third episode of the post-apocalyptic web series “Black Land: Aftermath”, the horror thriller “Don’t Breathe 2” and the newly-released studio albums from current rivals Kanye West and Drake respectively: “Donda” and “Certified Lover Boy”. 

LISTEN TO THE FULL EPISODE HERE

TRACK REVIEW: iLUMiNATiVE – “Born Again” (Extended Version)

For my fourth track review of 2021, I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the extended version of “Born Again”, the first single off the upcoming album from ILUMINATIVE (stylized as iLUMiNATiVE) called “The Spectrum”. ILUMINATIVE is an independent rapper hailing from Mullumbimby, Australia and an advocate of human rights, freedom of speech, neurodiversity and spirituality amongst other socially beneficial beliefs and movements. His previous projects – the 2017 EP “The Awakening” and 2019 debut album “Kundalini Rising” – reflected his advocacy in those social causes through his passionate lyrics and vocal delivery, backed by a collection of ornate, dramatic and oftentimes cinematic-sounding hip hop and rap rock production.  

With “Born Again”, ILUMINATIVE treats us to a lengthy yet superbly-performed, emotionally-captivating lyrical meditation on life, death, rebirth and love. Over a bittersweet piano melody supported by a slow, hard-hitting drumbeat and some GORGEOUS, heavenly strings on the hook, ILUMINATIVE compares and contrasts the passage from physical life to physical death to spiritual rebirth to that of his personal life struggles, lessons learnt from them and preparation for fatherhood.

With regards to the mood and sound of “Born Again”, U.S. producer Hollywood Legend maintains an even level with his instrumental, without subduing it for ILUMINATIVE’s vocals to stick out in the mix or amplifying it for emotional effect. Speaking of ‘shine’, ILUMINATIVE is the shining star of this track, delivering a number of sharp, well-written verses (six to be exact) and a fantastic chorus and post-chorus.

I will admit that I did feel a bit intimidated by the track’s roughly 8 ½ minute runtime (its upcoming radio edit should be relatively shorter). And upon my first listen, the aforementioned six verses – the last one being the shortest – did feel like a lot to digest. However, with the more listens I gave this track, I found its runtime to fly by rather quickly, largely due to how engaging its verses were and how enthusiastic ILUMINATIVE sounds throughout its entirety.

What truly impressed me about “Born Again” was its song composition. Over the establishing piano keys of the instrumental, we hear some faint crying in the background. ILUMINATIVE’s opening bars “We all live, we all die / We all survive, and then are reborn” suggests that the crying stems from something joyous like the birth of a child, overcoming an obstacle or achieving a goal or painful like the death of a loved one, loneliness or enduring through some sort of burden.

The first half of the song highlights the personal turbulence ILUMINATIVE experienced prior to his entry into fatherhood whilst informing the listener that the pain and loss we all endure eventually leads to a cyclic rebirth, whether it’s through the lives of our loved ones or those we’ve impacted positively in our lives, or through our children, their loved ones and those whose lives have changed for the better thanks to them. The song’s second half illustrates how ILUMINATIVE’s responsibilities as a father taught him the power of self-forgiveness and love, the latter of which is beautifully summed up in the song’s final moments as THE connective tissue between birth, life, death and rebirth.  

Overall, I was thoroughly moved by “Born Again”.  It certainly packs an emotional punch but its endearing, hopeful messages, along with ILUMINATIVE’s impassioned performance and Hollywood Legend’s powerful instrumental, are guaranteed to stay with you long after it ends. Not only is it a great starting point for getting into ILUMINATIVE’s music but it’s also an effective and promising indication of what to expect from “The Spectrum”.  

LISTEN TO THE SONG HERE:

https://soundcloud.com/iluminative/born-again

“The Spectrum” will be released on 11/11/2021

ALBUM REVIEW: LJak – Self-Esteem

“Self-Esteem” is the debut album from rapper, singer, poet and author LJak (short for Linwood Jackson Jr.). Prior to the album’s release, LJak made a name for himself in the literary world with eight non-fiction books – his latest being “Justification” – centered mainly on living a mentally and spiritually holistic life.

LJak also released three songs between 2018 and 2021, which eventually became the album singles “Chance”, “2lovers” and “Bullets”. On the moody, trap hop beat for “Chance”, LJak encourages listeners to express what they know deep down is truthful regardless of the fear and/or reality of being misunderstood. “2lovers” finds LJak examining the insecurities felt within a fractured relationship over a relaxed, R&B-esque instrumental and a pretty solid hook (one of a number of memorable ones on the album). “Bullets”, however, is a textbook example of LJak’s STUNNINGLY IMPRESSIVE wordplay, as he delivers his bars with dexterity and ease over a vibrant, piano-driven trap beat.

With this album, he fuses his skills in both the spoken and written word, while articulating his thoughts and beliefs on life, spiritual growth, mental health and finding one’s purpose, over a series of mostly trendy hip-hop and fusion-based instrumentals. And for the most part, he succeeds, handling lyrical duties entirely on his own. And if I have a couple of minor gripes with the album, it’s the 21-track, 72-minute runtime which is made more noticeable with the lack of guest vocals. Thankfully, LJak makes up for those gripes with a keen ear for versatile production (handled by PescicBeats and Eduard Vladtu) and emphasis on intelligent and technically proficient lyricism.

The album starts off strong with the track “Reform”, where LJak raps about holding firm to his religious beliefs over this particularly late-90s rap metal-style instrumental with a soothing flute melody in the background. The flute is used a couple more times on the tracklist as the central instrument: the first on the bouncy, trap-flavored instrumental for the song “Chills” with its catchy hook and passionate lyrics, and the second on the beat for “Your Mistake”, which not only boasts one of the best instrumentals on “Self-Esteem” (the beat switch near the end of the track is an absolute HIGHLIGHT on the album) but exhibits some of LJak’s most memorable bars (“Can you say that it is legacy? / ‘Cuz I can’t say that it’s better, see / If you won’t let us defend your reach, then I can say, you won’t ever be ready”).

But it’s not all flutes and bouncy trap beats on this record. LJak shows his ability to lyrically navigate his way through different sonic styles and moods, like on the playful, synth-assisted “Sayin’” where, flow-wise, you can tell he’s having a blast maneuvering through its beat as if he’s the main character of an 8-bit RPG. There’s also the tropical house sounds of “Spiraling” (a song destined to have its own music video thanks in part to its RIDICULOUSLY infectious hook) where LJak raps and sings about the disillusionment he feels in a relationship.

On the subject of singing, LJak does his fair share of crooning on “Self-Esteem”. Though the track “Capable” underwhelms with a song structure that sounds more like an extended chorus than a chorus-verse-chorus, the auto-tuned refrain backed by a trap-based instrumental leaves quite an impression. The single “Legend” is better, with its spacious beat, catchy hook and captivating verse (admittedly, one more verse would’ve made this song feel complete). But where he truly shines as a singer is on the FANTASTIC, guitar-driven, pop-rock breakup song “Back with You”, one of a few songs on the album – like the aforementioned “2lovers” – focused on love and relationships.

But what really impressed me with “Self-Esteem” was the clarity and meaning behind LJak’s lyrics. While it’s easy to get lost in the denseness of his wordplay, especially when it’s paired with conventional rap production, the lyrics and themes become clearer with every listen given to the overall album. Throughout the record, LJak uses his experiences and challenges as a God-fearing creative as impetus to hold a steady course along a righteous, truth-seeking path, and encourages others to do the same whilst using their God-given talents to express themselves. It’s a bold and brave artistic direction for an album, and fortunately, this one sticks the landing.

As a whole, “Self-Esteem” is a cohesive, intelligent, insightful and truly impressive debut album. It’ll definitely appeal to fans of conscious hip hop, and its mainstream sounds and razor-sharp lyricism should keep casual listeners entertained throughout. As far as music goes, LJak certainly has a bright future ahead of him, and I can’t wait to hear what he brings to the table with his sophomore record.

OVERALL RATING: 8 out of 10

Now available on Spotify, Apple Music and Deezer