This was an album that, for whatever reason, I kept putting off listening to last year.  I finally got around to it after seeing how many “Best Of 2012″ lists included Mike and it now tops my “Best of 2012 that I didn’t listen to until 2013″ list.

This is an aggressive album both musically and lyrically.  The production is tackled by El-P who is known for his dark, tense beats, mixing synths, grime and classic samples; they are a soundtrack to a dystopian urban future.  His soundscapes are detailed and crafted with Mike’s delivery and content in mind.  A less skilled rapper would be swallowed by these sounds but Mike’s swagger and righteous anger fit hand and glove with El’s beats.

Lyrically this album is message-heavy with nods to classic hip hop (Eazy-E and Public Enemy are referenced) as well as R&B/Soul/Jazz/Blues legends that infused politics into their art (Nina Simone/Miles Davis).  His song “Reagan” details government and political lies (“We invaded sovereign soil going after oil, taking countries is a hobby paid for by the oil lobby”), “Don’t Die” is a story of running from dirty cops (“Cause if I get caught it’s my life they terminate, or stick me in a cell at Guantanamo Bay … I’ll be an outlaw before I ever behave, I’ll die a free man before I live like a slave, and nothing changes if they catch me today, f*#k the police is still all I gotta say.”).

For me, Mike is probably at his best when he’s rapping about the difficulties of growing up poor in a racist society and the impact family and music can have.  He ends the album with two inspiring tracks “Willie Burke Sherwood” and the title track: “What I say might save a life, what I speak might save the street, I ain’t got no instruments but I got my hands and feet … And the words that I put in the wind, coming back like a boomerang, when I take this microphone, point it at the crowd they start to sing.”

Be sure to check out Killer Mike live at the Blue Moose on April 6th as part of the Mission Creek Music Festival!

I first discovered Frank Ocean through his 2011 free online mixtape “Nostalgia, Ultra” which had some original R&B tracks and others that were sampled music put to original lyrics.  If you follow music news then you might remember the mixtape’s problems relating to his remake of “Hotel California” (bless those ever-litigious Eagles). I wasn’t sure what he’d be capable of with his own material but have found that I’m pleasantly surprised with the final album, “Channel Orange.”

In terms of song styles and themes it’s a bit all over the park but because of the quality of each track, the album works it out.  Lyrically he blends modern playboy swagger talk with sweetly naïve introspective emo poetry. These songs are chock full of hooks that you’ll be singing under your breath all day long, or, if you’re like some of the teens in our Computer Lab, you’ll proudly sing them loudly and off-key.

There are a few throw-aways that you might skip on subsequent listens but I think even these have their moments.  At his best he channels the funky “Songs in the Key of Life” Stevie Wonder hooks and vocals, the falsetto soul bedroom-voice of D’Angelo, and the brash modern arrogance of big R&B artists tempered with indie-emo sensibilities.

Standout tracks are the ballad “Thinking Bout You”, fun ’70s soul/funk throwback “Sweet Life”, the summer-mellow melody and rapping on “Super Rich Kids”, and epic prog-funk “Pyramids.”  I can also see a lot of broken-hearted teens and twenty-somethings singing “Bad Religion” to themselves in the dark thinking about their own unrequited love.

So far Channel Orange is my favorite album of the year, even after a solid month of it on repeat.

This is an album of hushed, chill R&B/soul vocals over danceable electronic and drum-kit beats all wrapped in outer space synths.  Singer Yukimi Nagano’s jazzy vocals are the obvious draw for first-time listeners; her notes are clear with a bit of swagger and she refrains from the obnoxious diva runs that I get tired of hearing.  I usually tend to focus on lyrics but with Ritual Union I don’t think I could recite a line, instead it’s more about the song’s attitude.  It is an album that requires low lights and the trendiest cocktail you can afford, but feel free to keep your Chucks on.

I’ve definitely been wearing this album out all summer and I’m ashamed I missed the group at Mission Creek 2010.  You can also look for Yukimi and company on the 2011 dubstep album by SBTRKT on the track, “Wildfire”. Hear the title track to Ritual Union below :

Ritual Union by Little Dragon