It’s been another great week in hip-hop.
Busdriver blessed us with a zany new track, Homeboy Sandman announced a new album on Stones Throw and tossed out a single, Dark Time Sunshine re-emerged from the woodwork with “No Worries” and announced a tour, and Shabazz Palaces gave us the first taste of his sophomore album “Lese Majesty,” which comes out Tuesday.
Overall, a kickass week for folks who dig the breaks. Still, it was R&B crooner Jeremih (of “Birthday Sex” fame) and his dude behind the dials Shlohmo who set the hip-hop world aflame this week with their long-awaited “No More” EP. The project, which was released on Jeremih’s birthday last week, has been brewing since Shlohmo re-worked Jeremih’s “Fuck You All the Time” back in 2012.
The two teased the short-run recording back in February, but it took another five months to gestate into a full six-song EP that makes good on the investment. “No More” includes an extended cut of the “Fuck You All the Time” that whirs and pulses for a satisfying five minutes. It also includes “Bo Peep (Do U Right),” the duo’s first collaborative song, which was stitched up back in 2013, setting the stage for the a mixtape-length collaboration. The rest of the record’s run features never-before-heard songs that feature the Chicago singer’s delicate, silky babymaker voice laid gracefully over the twisty board work by Shlohmo.
Shlohmo’s signature is what drives the album. Stuttering keys trade jabs with morose, deep bass lines and snaps as the producer retreats int echoey droplets of sound to let Jeremih breathe. It’s a mesmerizing riff on R&B and trap-rap standards that flushes the speakers with texture. Aboard this canvas, Jeremih can do no wrong – and he keeps it correct, lending each track a ribbon of voice to build around. A guest verse from Chance the Rapper ties together what is sure to go down as one of the best R&B efforts of 2014 – free or otherwise.
You can download the “No More” EP here. Be on the lookout for “Not on My Album,” Jeremih’s solo mixtape due out next month.
