Two-Bar Reviews
Bars (noun)- a measures of music, specifically when referring to lines of lyrics
As a hip-hop nerd, "bars" are the structure that supports the ideas, memories, and metaphors of an artist's lyrics. I've spent most of my life writing bars, just like the above picture, to reimagine scenes of years past, line-by-line. Writing bars to a song is somewhat complex because the composer has to find the right words at the perfect cadence to adequately describe a scene to an elaborate story. As if that task wasn't challenging enough, the songwriter also has to go through the journey of tapping into their fears, insecurities, and distant memories. Songwriting can be an emotional purge...but it is worth it because the best "bars" live in that space of vulnerability.
"Two-Bar Reviews" is the medium that I use to describe two things that I love: music and literature. These two-bar reviews are a curated list of my favorite artists and authors, all legendary in my eyes, that have composed pieces that have lit a fire deep within the wells of my soul. Though my reviews are brief, my admiration for these composers is not, and I challenge you to take a listen or place your eyes upon their works of art.
These albums are a curated selection of sounds and soul that bring life to my playlist each day.
"Two-Bar Reviews" is the medium that I use to describe two things that I love: music and literature. These two-bar reviews are a curated list of my favorite artists and authors, all legendary in my eyes, that have composed pieces that have lit a fire deep within the wells of my soul. Though my reviews are brief, my admiration for these composers is not, and I challenge you to take a listen or place your eyes upon their works of art.
These albums are a curated selection of sounds and soul that bring life to my playlist each day.
Gabriel Garzon Montano- Jardin (2016)
Stones Throw Records
Two Bar Review:
"An incredible tale of life, love, and lust/woven intricately, beaming like sunlight on us..."
Highlights: Sour Mango, Bombo Fabricka, Fruit Flies
Stones Throw Records
Two Bar Review:
"An incredible tale of life, love, and lust/woven intricately, beaming like sunlight on us..."
Highlights: Sour Mango, Bombo Fabricka, Fruit Flies
August Greene- August Greene (2019)
August Greene LLC
Two Bar Review:
"A breath of, given through ill beats and reflection/seeing the glow in my soul, a poet's prose in each selection..."
Highlights: Meditation, Let Go, Fly Away, Practice
August Greene LLC
Two Bar Review:
"A breath of, given through ill beats and reflection/seeing the glow in my soul, a poet's prose in each selection..."
Highlights: Meditation, Let Go, Fly Away, Practice
Noname- Telefone (2016)
Two Bar Review:
"A poet and a speaker, focused as a leader/composing from the soul from the scroll of Madiba..."
Highlights: Diddy Bop, Yesterday, Forever, Bye Bye Baby
Two Bar Review:
"A poet and a speaker, focused as a leader/composing from the soul from the scroll of Madiba..."
Highlights: Diddy Bop, Yesterday, Forever, Bye Bye Baby
Noname- Room 25 (2018)
Two Bar Review:
"Melo-melodic, self-expressed erotic, time travelin'/to the 25th year, high and lows that the mind's battlin'..
Highlights: Blaxploitation, Window, Montego Bae, No Name
Two Bar Review:
"Melo-melodic, self-expressed erotic, time travelin'/to the 25th year, high and lows that the mind's battlin'..
Highlights: Blaxploitation, Window, Montego Bae, No Name
Rapsody- Eve (2019)
Jamla Records
Two Bar Review:
"An ode to women, beauty in brown skin with crowns/speaking freedom, lift them up, for too long they've held us down..."
Highlights: Nina, Cleo, Afenia, Serena, Maya
Jamla Records
Two Bar Review:
"An ode to women, beauty in brown skin with crowns/speaking freedom, lift them up, for too long they've held us down..."
Highlights: Nina, Cleo, Afenia, Serena, Maya
Mach-Hommy- Pray For Haiti (2021)
Griselda Records
Two Bar Review:
"Supreme rap, told from a king's view, eyes on the block/invest in health, accrue wealth, lead 'em to buyin' their stock..."
Highlights: Mackrel Jackson, The Stellar Ray Theory, Krimnel
Griselda Records
Two Bar Review:
"Supreme rap, told from a king's view, eyes on the block/invest in health, accrue wealth, lead 'em to buyin' their stock..."
Highlights: Mackrel Jackson, The Stellar Ray Theory, Krimnel
Skyzoo- All The Brilliant Things (2021)
Mello Music Group
Two Bar Review:
"Neighborhood point of view, green money, different hues/sippin' brews on new corners where BIG was rippin' with his crew..."
Highlights: Bed-Stuy Is Burning, I Was Supposed To Be A Trap Rapper, Bodega Flowers, St. James Liquors
Mello Music Group
Two Bar Review:
"Neighborhood point of view, green money, different hues/sippin' brews on new corners where BIG was rippin' with his crew..."
Highlights: Bed-Stuy Is Burning, I Was Supposed To Be A Trap Rapper, Bodega Flowers, St. James Liquors
Trek Manifest- I Appreciate Your Patience (2021)
The Magna Media Group
Two Bar Review:
"Memory Lane trippin', a reflection before conception/bare witness to birthed greatness, a confession of imperfections..."
Highlights: BL3$$3D, Maybe, P.I.D., All I Know
The Magna Media Group
Two Bar Review:
"Memory Lane trippin', a reflection before conception/bare witness to birthed greatness, a confession of imperfections..."
Highlights: BL3$$3D, Maybe, P.I.D., All I Know