If You're Reading This is up for the Polaris prize, isn't it?

It's an album. It's not hosted, or sponsored by a ton of backdoor distribution companies. It's got a physical release, which topped the Billboard album charts. It will probably be up for a Grammy. And it's really really fucking good and consistent, while most mixtapes have more of a "grabbag" feel to them.

But yeah, I agree it's one of the year's best. I think you're right that it's the original scrapped version of Views From The 6. I mean that explains a lot. I'll bet we'd have a final VFT6 album by now if the "mixtape" hadn't been so successful.

Hey, how do you guys feel about BLU?

I was hesitant about him for a long fucking time, especially with all the weird stylistic changes that marked his early career. But lately I've been listening to his recent albums (2011-2013/4) and finding a lot of interesting shit, especially on NoYork!

I think I'm gonna dive into his whole discography. I don't expect it all to be as experimental and challenging as NoYork!, but I have high hopes. His work with Exile reminds me of Black Milk, who I kinda see as the Kanye of underground rap. So that's a good sign.

I'm playing DS2 a lot, and a few of the tracks are really growing on me, but the rest of it still feels like a giant creative step backward from Honest.

Louder: I asked for your top five Future tracks in some other thread, because I didn't want to be a hater and DS2 was feeling pretty mediocre to me.

I'm still interested in hearing your choices, because I really want to like him more than i presently do :)

I heard this. I like it.

Is he planning on dropping another album this year?

Oh hey, anyone heard KOOL KEITH's new album Time? Astonishing! produced by L'Orange?

Feel free to reply to any/all of these random thoughts I've been tossing out lately.

It's GREAT. Am I the only one apart from Severian who's heard it?

YG has a new album dropping this year, yeah

Yeah its pretty different from my krazy life and even shit on blame it on the streets. Straight party music.

Hahaha

New Kool Keith too? Im with that

This might be the best Keith project in 2 decades. Seriously.

I haven't been so thoroughly entranced by a Keith album since the over-referenced Dr. Octagonecologyst.

You guys gotta hear this. Shit is solid!

Dont need to tell me twice im a head yo

I will give it a listen.

Btw first come first served is better than octo.

First Come First Served is a horror rap masterpiece.. and those beats??

Yeah that album is straight amazing. "You're fans are mad/your performance was garbage bag"

I also love Thee Undertakerz.

I've never even thought of this before. I think hip-hop actually has a pretty positive effect on my mood and behavior, compared to other genres. When I was younger, and I made the jump from punk to independent '90s college rock, I used to listen to songs that made me sad and heartsick, and I'd kinda thrive on that. Oh, how I relate to the world weary loneliness of Perfect From Now On!! *I'm* special in ways *my* mother appreciates! Yo La Tengo, Pavement and Sebadoh + Thinking about relationships and getting sad and nostalgic = loving music truly and deeply!

You know... That kind of self indulgent bullshit. I killed a bunch of relationships when I was getting my cues from Bob Pollard and Jeff Tweedy. I still love Yo La Tengo and Wilco and so on, but I think indie rock drove me crazy... Hip-hop, unsentimental experimental music, noise and techno/electronic shit just blisses me out. Rap is a complete joy for me to listen to. No baggage. (Ok, I have a little emotional baggage with some Kanye material, and sometimes "Runaway" or "Bound 2" can make me feel like a 16 year old moping over a ruined love affair with The Cure playing in the background) But for the most part, rap and hip hop are fun as hell, and take me out of my head.

As for what makes me tick... I was once on my way to being a cognitive neuroscientist. Made some bad decisions, left my graduate studies. Psychology is my main interest, and I hope to return to academia. I'm also a former musician, and yes I played a lot of math rock.

And yeah, I guess I'm a hip-hop nerd. But I don't ONLY listen to hip hop. It's just that there's a thread devoted to the genre here, so I always have a reason to mention what I'm listening to by way of new hip-hop music. But I promise, I go through books as fast as I go through rap albums, and I go through punk tinged rock, techno and countless other genres at the same insane pace. So I guess I'm a literature nerd. And a punk/hardcore/no-wave/noise nerd. And I've become quite an electronic music nerd. Oh, and I'm pretty into graphic novels, technology, science news and sports as well. So... pretty much just a huge nerd.

I don't commit real crimes, and I gave up on illicit substances long ago, but I sometimes go over the speed limit and I admit that I do on occasion enjoy the feeling I get from Rx medications I take for chronic pain and insomnia. Also I can talk about myself for a reeeeeally long time without interruption.

But why the hell am I the "critic" in this group you've envisioned. That's not even an actual role! What bands do you know that have a rapper, a beat-maker and .... a guy who writes down overlong observations about Taxi Driver?

Also, Gentile Deth would not be in our group.

Musically, sev... you and i would be great drinking friends haha.

I love ...First Served, and Black Elvis and Dooom 2 and plenty of other Keith gems, but Dr. Oc has a special place in my heart like 36 Chambers and Ready to Die and Midnight Marauders and all the other hip hop that got me through the mid '90s. It will always be one of my favorite records ever made, but that's just me and I've got nothing but respect for your different and equally valid opinion.

But seriously this new album is very very good. I didn't think I was going to be surprised. I thought it would be good enough, but probably not great. But listen, I do this thing where whenever I put an album on for the first time, I rate the tracks that stand out immediately, giving them between 3-5 stars (I'm usually listening on one of my iPod Classics, which makes this easy). Anyway, I usually only rate one or two songs with a 5 on my first listen, but I have more than half the tracks on Time? Astonishing! 5 stars the first time they spun.

That's a long nerdy way of saying I liked it a lot, and it so surpassed my expectations that, statistically, it's edging out my favorite records of the year!!

That doesn't mean shit of course, and things change. But right now, this album is blowing me away.

so um, Cube says Dre is dropping a new album... this week.

I will post a picture of me wearing a gold spandex suit whilst sporting a boner if he releases the album.