I simply don't understand how anyone could insist that Pitchfork's score for GNX was not generous enough - it is uninteresting music, as with most of the years pop hip-hop releases. It's gym bro pump up rap that fails to deliver at all on the promise of the Kendrick Lamar who made Good Kid, replacing the emancipatory messaging of his prior albums with money grubbing braggadocio and repetitive choruses that simply sound horrible. Beats are trash, all the flows are stolen from DJ Quik and Drakeo the Ruler (RIP). There's a reason why people think it sounds bad - it sounds really, really bad, about as bad Vultures 2, and much worse than Eternal Atake 2, continuing a run of awful populist music that started with "Not Like Us", a desperate ploy for attention that worked.
Anyway, all of these lists are perfectly indicative of what I've been talking about for ages now - there is no variety in the taste of music critics who listen to their music on streaming services. They are beholden to the whims of corporate brainwashing, as is the public. If you don't pirate music, they have a path for everyone. They'll show you exactly what you want to hear and things don't develop.
I'd struggle to get past a top 5 for this year to be honest, in spite of listening to more or less everything everyone else told me was good. Hermeto Pascoal had the best album of the year by far. Top ten worst would be very, very easy, however, as many artists completely phoned it in with vapid consumerist albums full of generic dated production remiscent of past moments in musical history. Beyonce released by far the worst album of her entire career this year, don't forget. The Taylor Swift album was fine compared to that one.
I simply don't understand how anyone could insist that Pitchfork's score for GNX was not generous enough - it is uninteresting music, as with most of the years pop hip-hop releases. It's gym bro pump up rap that fails to deliver at all on the promise of the Kendrick Lamar who made Good Kid, replacing the emancipatory messaging of his prior albums with money grubbing braggadocio and repetitive choruses that simply sound horrible. Beats are trash, all the flows are stolen from DJ Quik and Drakeo the Ruler (RIP). There's a reason why people think it sounds bad - it sounds really, really bad, about as bad Vultures 2, and much worse than Eternal Atake 2, continuing a run of awful populist music that started with "Not Like Us", a desperate ploy for attention that worked.
Anyway, all of these lists are perfectly indicative of what I've been talking about for ages now - there is no variety in the taste of music critics who listen to their music on streaming services. They are beholden to the whims of corporate brainwashing, as is the public. If you don't pirate music, they have a path for everyone. They'll show you exactly what you want to hear and things don't develop.
I would very much like to see your top 10 :)
Are you willing to share?
I'd struggle to get past a top 5 for this year to be honest, in spite of listening to more or less everything everyone else told me was good. Hermeto Pascoal had the best album of the year by far. Top ten worst would be very, very easy, however, as many artists completely phoned it in with vapid consumerist albums full of generic dated production remiscent of past moments in musical history. Beyonce released by far the worst album of her entire career this year, don't forget. The Taylor Swift album was fine compared to that one.