- E&J – If you know anything about the Los Angeles indie scene, then you know Exhile. The beatmaker has provided some of the rawest hip-hop tracks for sure-shot West Coast rhymers Blu (who appears on “Don’t Stop”, simply cause the prolific dood can’t) and Fashawn (the brilliant Boy Meets World thus pops up on the smooth stacatto’s of “Cali Dreamin”). That statement alone should get you hooked for the full-length debut of Dag Savage, a project from Ex’ and San Diego spitta Johaz. With all the jazzy skills of Exhile in tow, my only issue with the album is Jo’s striking vocal resemblance — and oftentimes flow — with fellow Cali rapper Planet Asia. It’s scary. That aside, E&J is actually the right album to kick back and draw perspective to, with everything covered from the Zimmerman fallback to personal journeys to boastful warnings to industry cats, such as “F.U.P.M.” — featuring the lyrical blessings of Med & Ras Kass. “Milk Box (Remix)” showcases Exhile’s most interesting production on the LP, soaring of hymns and a hypnotic blend of horn loops and vaudevillesque vocal samples. The following cuts, “LL Cool J”, “Wine & Cheese”, and “The Hurt” are plain out dope. The Monsignor hasn’t heard hip-hop production this jazzy since the height of J. Rawls. To think, the taste of this album could only go down smoother with an appearance from Aloe Blacc, and that’s exactly what happens on “When It Rains.” For warm weather or worst, happy relaxing to some sips of E&J. 3.75/5.
- THE DRIVE-IN THEATRE – A man of a million and one mixtapes, New Orleans’ Curren$y blasts off 2K14 with a proper hip-hop soundtrack to Anything Godfather. By now, you know what you’re getting with Spitta Andretti: one of the most chill, relaxing flows in the game over smooth as silk production. At least that’s what you hope. By no means is Curren$y a lyrical beast in the sense of, say, an Action Bronson (who appears on the familiar march of “GFIV”), but one thing you can always count on with Spitta is consistency. When it comes to beats, he knows how to pick ’em, even if they come from a range of different beatmakers (Thelonious Martin covers half the tape). In his own world of Boardwalk Empire, Curren$y envelopes his pursuit of paper over soothing sax (“Stove Top” and “Fo”), compares his own sticky situation to Don Corleone’s critical moment (“Vintage Vineyard”), and even exchanges barbs with B-Real over a bubbling soundscape that would have fit snug right alongside the rest of Soul On Ice (“E.T.”). With repeated listens, there’s brilliance underneath all of that easy-going monotone (repeat: “M.P.R.”, “High Top Whites” / skip: “Grew Up in This”, “10 G’s”). Still, Curren$y’s too busy enjoying a mafia double-feat to hear of any careless outside criticism, anywho. 3.5/5.