It took an especially thorough listen to every hip hop album released this week to decide who would take the top spot on The Hip Hop Speakeasy, but as soon as I finished listening to Plateau Vision by Lushlife, I knew that it was going to be awarded the Hip Hop Album of the Week for the third week of April. You guys are going to need to take your hip hop heads off for a minute and take this new album for a spin – you have never heard an album like this. This album expands the boundaries of hip hop and breaks the spell of customary boom-bap beats and classic rhyming. With a psychedelic/jazzy/eclectic sound of music, Lushlife spills his heart out with his pen on his album Plateau Vision. Lushlife shatters all possibilities of any comparisons by forming his own sound with a “rap my heart out” mentality on his early tracks. The beats are spellbinding. He has such a unique sound, but it is compelling and his lyrical ability is off the charts. This guy has nothing to waste his breath with – every bar has a meaning and he wants the world to hear it. A few songs sound like a production by The Roots, or even Pete Rock, and some go as far as sounding like a FlyLo beat, but regardless, the production is insane and Lushlife has projected himself as not your everyday rapper. With expert lyricism, using ridiculous multis and other crazy rhyming tactics, as well as featuring some great hip hop artists such as Shad and STS, Lushlife is definitely an artist you need to support. I am officially stating that Lushlife is free of all labels – it’s impossible! This guy is too dope to be only hip hop or only electronic or only something else. He’s the best of all worlds! Phenomenal album, phenomenal artist, check it out. So, my rating…
10/10
I recommend this album to any fan of trip-hop, electronic/hip hop, and artists/producers like The Roots, Shad, Flying Lotus and anyone who sounds like these guys.
