I'll start with Grimes. Claire Boucher is perhaps one of the hardest working people in the industry, especially in the span between the release of Art Angels and now. 3 music videos trickled out between October and May, and these are most representative of Claire's skills as a director. Most of the dead giveaways of her artistic touch include multiple sets with a variety of costumes, well choreographed segments, and some quirky story that is only abstractly presented in the video. Kill V. Maim is the best example of her auteurist ambitions. The video is drenched in neon, and Claire utilizes her keen attention to detail to deck out her various co-stars with costumes that recall cyberpunk and anime especially. The pacing is frenetic, exciting, and endlessly re-watchable. 8 months in it remains this writer's favorite music video of the year. Also included in this more spread out batch of videos is California, which included a reworking of the beat itself, removing some of the more country-tinged sonics.
It's clear how impressive Claire's work is when given time, but it's just as impressive that while she was touring Europe she created 7 more videos. Videos made on tour are nothing new, but most of them are mainly about incorporating live performance footage in a stylized manner. This isn't really the case here. Instead, Claire manages to continue representing a visual language that is a staple of her work. There's no story in any of them, and they are minor works in the grand scheme of the whole Grimes project, but it's still noteworthy that there is a unique feel to all of these. They are undeniably more freeform and less planned out, but maintain the ethereal slow-mo feel and melding of costume design and excellent location scouting. The fact that she did all this while also non-stop touring from the release of her album to now is incredible, especially considering how she persevered when she got sick for a bit and apparently suffered a situation that left her shaken, one most likely personal. It's one month out from Art Angels being out for an entire year and Grimes has still managed to maintain supreme relevancy the entire time. She also managed to fit in a perfume campaign with Stella McCartney, a song on the Suicide Squad soundtrack, and curated the NBA 2k17 soundtrack somehow. Also she has crazy hair game.
I'd also like to talk about Gucci Mane, because he's notorious for his constant grind. It's markedly more impressive, however, considering he was released from jail on May 26th of this year. From then to now, in a span of 4 months, he released one studio album and has another on the way later in October. Gucci Mane found a way to instantly jump back into the rap game in a notable way, fulfilling the same role he did before he was put in jail but with rejuvenated energy. One day after his release, he had already found time to record 1st Day Out Tha Feds, a vivid and sobering description of the thoughts going through his head about being in prison, whether he deserved it, and how he's using freedom as a second chance. The fact that Gucci Mane jumped right into booth and wrote such a focused piece of work is a testament to his skills.
The album Everybody Looking came out on July 22nd, and boasts 8 singles, practically all of which have music videos Gucci Mane filmed while on house arrest. These videos paint a unique picture of his new position in life, more about having fun and relishing in the wealth he accrued whilst in jail. He also pokes fun at the clone narrative that arose once it was revealed that Gucci was way more well-built, healthy, and of clearer mindset post-prison time. Many consider Gucci Mane a relic of Southern Trap, but one thing he's shown is a willingness to stay relevant and connected with the youth. He's said in multiple recent interviews that he practically forces himself to like the music that the young rappers (some directly inspired by him) are creating. He's also amassed over a dozen feature spots since his release.His persistence to stay in the zeitgeist has led to him being at the top of the conversation at a height not reached since probably the release of The State vs. Radric Davis in 2009, and the song Lemonade, probably one of the greatest hip-hop singles of the 2000's.
Trap in general this year isn't the best example of the constant work mindset yielding great results, with one notable exception. Future, for instance, had an outstanding year in 2015, with dropping Beast Mode, 56 Nights, DS2, and the collaborative mixtape What a Time to Be Alive with Drake. All of these projects range from solid to great, and it was without a doubt Future's reigning year. Unfortunately, he kept up the grind without any innovation, which led to Purple Reign, a forgettable mixtape with 1 or 2 Future classics. Then came EVOL, which is a solid project but feels slight for what is supposed to be his 4th studio album. Finally there was Project E.T. Suffice it to say, I don't know anyone who actually even bothered to give it more than one or two listens. After one year of a driving, forward-momentum work ethic, Future is showing that he actually needs to slow his pace or risk stagnation of sound. Lil Uzi Vert is the same way. He's only released 3 projects since late 2015 but his sound isn't going anywhere either at his speedy pace. Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World had some of his biggest songs but The Perfect Luv Tape lessens it's impact when it sounds like they all came from the same sessions. He's not been around long enough for stagnation to come this quickly. However, his positive showings on this year's XXL Freshman Class bode well.
Meanwhile, Young Thug has figured out exactly what will yield excellent results, showing restraint in addition to a never-ending need to grind. If anything, this might be Young Thug's best year. Last year's trilogy of Barter 6, and the first two editions of Slime Season were somewhat drowned out by the emergence of Lil Wayne and Birdman's beef, with Young Thug's involvement. Seeing as he was Birdman's new protege, and Young Thug initially sounds like a Lil Wayne biter to the average listener, it didn't help that both Slime Season mixtapes were both nearly 20 songs long. That's a substantial amount of content to hold someone's attention, and it also didn't help that they were essentially barely curated compilations of unreleased tracks, leaked tracks, and loosies. They were still solid, but not the artful and composed work he would later release. In terms of quantity, Young Thug's output is actually substantially less in amount of songs, but the same number of mixtapes. This is where he shifts his work ethic to where it will gain him the amount of longevity he's held for practically the whole year.
I'm Up is a decent work, with a stone-cold classic song in Fuck Cancer (Boosie), an absolute banger that has very little to do with either cancer or Lil Boosie. Interestingly it only has 9 tracks, running just under 40 minutes. Slime Season 3 is even better, and even shorter, coming in at 28 minutes. Short projects like these lead to strong replayability. It wasn't uncommon to hear any song from these playing whilst just walking around either a college campus or a city. For comparison, only about 5 from all of Future's mixtapes this year met the same level of rotation. Of course, the crowning achievement for Young Thug's reinvention was Jeffery. The build up to this release revealed a subtle artistry not always present in both his personality and his music. His sentiment about not wanting to go by Thug anymore because he doesn't want his kids to have a negative perception of him is touching and vulnerable. In addition, his unflinching dedication to androgynous fashion is boldly progressive for a popular hip-hop artist to put out there. The mixtape itself is positively insane. The versatility and willingness for experimentation Young Thug showcases on the project is unparalleled in trap. The pure uniqueness of his style has permeated the hip-hop landscape, as it is positively captivating to audiences. Hopefully he can keep up the restraint and execution that got him where he is this year, so he can continue to break new ground next year.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Death Grips and their unwavering dedication to a steady stream of art. Though for some reason the major journalism outlets have sort of left Death Grips by the wayside, that hasn't stopped the trio. That sort of attention has never been the goal anyway for them. They're always more than happy with messing with their dedicated fan base, which has a longevity to uphold of it's own. Their persistence in creating new and challenging art isn't always obvious, especially because they exist in their own world, with no intent to market themselves putting up tour posters/announcements and at least making a Facebook post letting people know that something new is out. This kind of work ethic can only work if you have a dedicated fanbase, and Death Grips have one of the most die-hard and obsessive of any underground group I've seen. Their output is substantially more impressive considering they "broke up" in 2014. They've sort of settled into a pattern since last year. It goes like this; instrumental EP of frantic and abrasive Intelligent Dance Music-esque beats, the full-length album furthering their sonic journey, and finally a new record from the Zach Hill-Andy Morin duo The ILYs, who make Bowie-esque garage rock with a lot of the same electronic abrasiveness that Death Grips has. That's 3 releases over 1 year at a steady pace, not to mention any loosies they might drop. The one this year is most surprising, with a feature by Les Claypool.
It might also be said that Death Grips almost try their hardest to make newcomers second guess themselves. For the past 4 albums, the "single" they release is the most wild, freeform, and avant-garde they could have chosen. It's almost like a rite of passage every fan has to go through again, to see if they are still willing to follow the band wherever they go. In addition, they always find new forms by which to challenge their fans. This year, the instrumental EP was released as a video entitled Interview 2016, which is 30 minutes of grainy, piss-green footage of a man in a suit watching their performance and interviewing each member. Death Grips' seclusion and secrecy is very important to them, so they decided to make the video silent and replace all audio with the beats. If there is one thing fans have been dying for, it's something like this: for the band to let their guard down and open they project up for all to understand. There is literally one video-documented case of Stefan, the frontman, talking in a soothing, introverted voice. Knowing the band, they will never release that audio. Any reasonable, sane fan could take any number of things Death Grips has done as the final straw, but it just doesn't happen. They are simply too bewildering. They've also resumed their role of workmanlike live act that they had pre-2013. Clearly their manner of presentation is enough, considering their name popped up on more festival lineups than ever. This more than ensures they remain a staple of music discussion as a whole, with no signs of letting up their productivity.
That about sums up my point. I think it's important that being great at your art wasn't really a prerequisite for this. I mean, people I didn't include are people like Kanye West, Travis Scott, The Avalanches, American Football, and Frank Ocean. There is definitely something to be said about releasing something 15 years after your last project and how crazy it is that anyone cares (because people definitely care), but there's nothing amazing about work ethic if you kept lying about when your album is gonna come out. (Yeah Frank, Blonde is really good but I didn't want to watch that empty room for one more second after that live stream)
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