Review: 88Rising - Head in the Clouds
Release Date: July 20th
Label: 88Rising
Album Link:
The moods of my listening patterns change when I hear a song I really like for the first time, I will end up searching for more like what I just heard. This patterns increases in intensity until after a certain point I will end up hating a song because I have listened to it so much...
Thankfully, this has not been the case with "Midsummer Madness" the centerpiece song to this label compilation debut album for 88Rising. The label in question are a media brand focusing on celebrating contemporary Asian artists, sporting such names as Joji(formerly Pink Guy/FilthyFrankTV), Rich Brian: a talented Indonesian Rapper out of Jakarta, Keith Ape: a South Korean rapper who comes off as much nicer than his music would have you believe and can effortlessly switch between Korean and English mid verse. And finally, Higher Brothers: an extremely charismatic and exciting foursome Rap group out of Chengdu, China and my favourites in this group of artists. What is charming about the Higher Brothers is that they all knew no English before they started as a Rap group and now each of the four members have their own journeyman knowledge of English, evidenced in their music and their interviews, not to mention their clear sense of humility. They're just great, but I should really get talking about this album now.
For clarity, I will do a quick overview of the remaining roster of 88Rising that populate the tracklist here besides the features: NIKI, an Indonesian singer and the only female artist featured on the album, though 88Rising have several others signed or co-signed currently. And then August 08, an American singer whose presence on this album cannot be overstated. This album ends up covering a very wide variety of sounds through mostly Hip-Hop and Pop music and because of this, it can really feel unfocused at times. I will not have time or energy to mention every one of the tracks here, because there are a LOT of them and in modern Hip-Hop can be part of the over saturation problem sometimes. I will instead mention the ones I think truly stand out and leave a footnote as to why I chose not to mention certain ones in the closing paragraphs.
The mentioned lack of focus does not harm the album in any true way, the collected 17 songs from the various represented artists are all pleasing to the ear and based on real talent. The unfortunate thing about some of these songs however is that the diverse range of sounds, though usually experimental for the artists performing them, can feel half-finished or like something the artist in question might end up scrapping for their own album. Sometimes it works though, two of the best cuts on the album find the leading artists in typically uncomfortable territory: "History", Rich Brian's solo track on the album is a very sunny and light song which is quite uncommon to hear from him. Much of his music has a sort of funny, non-serious quality about it and he doesn't hide that but it is usually masked in very grimy and aggressive production. The beat for "History" however sounds like a brought to life version of a Pokemon Center theme, and it works beautifully.
The second of the very standout songs here is the magnificent "Midsummer Madness", a summer anthem that I have been cautiously waiting for: Joji leads hook duties here and he not only has his singing improved by miles, but he sounds happy! A hallmark of his sound is the drab and depressing atmosphere dealing with themes of self-pity, disconnect, and heartbreak. Though the lyrics of this song are actually quite depressing, dealing with the consequences of making a mistake in a relationship, the atmosphere is warm and bright. Rich Brian, August 08, and Higher Brothers' DZKnow(or Chinese Biggie) feature here, and the most surprising contribution is DZKnow's singing voice. Delivering a hybrid mix of Mandarin and English, he performs very well. It almost sounds like he has been singing well for a long time, but decided for whatever reason not to feature that in amidst his powerful rapping delivery throughout Higher Brothers previous material.
August 08 and NIKI end up collaborating more on Head In The Clouds more than any other pairing here, and its easily understood why. "Poolside Manor" is the strongest of their collaborations, a relatively simple, slow pop song. What is notable here is the pure synchronicity their voices have with each other, harmonizing so powerfully off of one another. There is not one moment on the song where their vocals are not overlapped and working in tandem. It is a romantic song which is just a joy to listen to, and surely one of my favourites on the album.
Now that the generally good songs are out of the way, I will get into why this album excited me so much. HIGHER BROTHERS. I have not heard a rap group with such energy since Odd Future's first albums, and this group of four Chinese 20 somethings have a truly bright future ahead of them, I guarantee it. Each of the four of them are very easily distinguishable from the other through only hearing their voices, even when you can't relate to or understand the lyrics. DZKnow and MasiWei bring the hooks, and both share fronting duties for the group, whereas Melo and Psy.P(best rapper in the group IMO) have a croakier, grimier delivery. Both "Let it Go", and "Disrespectin" do an amazing job of showing just how much potential these boys have, and how effortlessly they flow and work off of each other; the latter also houses in it's midsection one of the best Rich Brian verse on the album. "Swimming Pool" features an okay verse from the hazy and smoked out 03 Greedo, but once again the Higher Brothers move through their hooks, ad-libs, and verses so cohesively they sound like one person with four voices and it is honestly very exciting to hear a rap group that has such a tight energy with each other, not even Migos truly have that.
Now I'll get to the reason that this album didn't land entirely on target for me, though surely it's high points are truly high. Some of the less exciting tracks here, "Beam", "Warpaint", and "Head in the Clouds" have a common problem. They are all solo tracks, with only "Beam" sporting a feature with Playboi Carti. Heads In The Clouds works best when a larger group of 88Rising collaborators appear on a song together. This album was purportedly recorded in six weeks, with all of the participating artists (aside from features) practically living in the studio together. In live performances and interviews, it becomes clear that these are people who enjoy each other's company and that shared energy can be heard most on songs like "Midsummer Madness", "Disrespectin" and though unmentioned here: "Red Rubies" a Rich Brian track featuring Higher Brothers and several other rappers. With such great synergy on group songs, it becomes expected that solo songs may not deliver as much.
Finally, because of the almost too multifaceted nature of much of the album it really does just feel like a label playlist, which to be fair, a label compilation should be. Normally, I would leave the score I would give an album at the end but for explanation purposes I'm going to leave it here. I give this a 6/10, and that is still a favorable score. To me, for a label compilation album to have as many high points as Head In The Clouds has is a mark of pure quality and that is very exciting. With time, 88Rising will surely become a recognized label within Hip-Hop culture, if it is not already.
8 is considered a good luck and prosperity charm in Asian countries, and the label motto stands proud: "88 means double happiness".
Favourite Tracks: Let it Go, Midsummer Madness, History, Poolside Manor, Peach Jam
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