Cheat Codes

Day 5 Of @mrk8's May Album Challenge

Theme: An album by a solo artist who is a part of a group/band

Why not two?

A collab between a rap legend and an amazing producer, how could it go wrong? Short answer: it can't!

The Roots' lead member, Black Thought, came back in 2022 for a collab with legendary producer Danger Mouse, who I mostly knew for being the executive producer for A$AP Rocky's AT.LONG.LAST.ASAP, as well as being one half of DANGERDOOM, but his production catalog goes way beyond that. Relistening to this one, it just keeps aging better with time.

Sometimes is highlighted by that beautiful beat and even more beautiful sample, but we also get to hear Thought's high-level rapping very early on in the tracklist.

The title track is one of the weaker songs, taking a more abstract direction compared to the rest of the tracks, but we still hear lots of really solid bars.

The Darkest Part has a nice piano beat, but this is the point where the actual rapping begins to shine. Both Thought and Raekwon kill their verses.

No Gold Teeth is one of the more basic beats, but it fits Thought well enough to still sound good.

Because is easily the song I go back to the most. Whether it Mouse's blues-inspired beat, the great rapping from Thought, Joey, and even Russ, or the heavenly chorus from Cartlidge, the result is a beautiful track that best showcases Mouse and Thought's chemistry.

Belize is beyond beautiful. Danger Mouse once again provides a really beautiful and comforting beat, and hearing MF DOOM on this type of beat brings me back to Born Like This.

My favorite track, though, goes to Aquamarine. Not only does this track has the best beat on the album, that being an incredible, soulful one with amazing instrumentals to go along with Thought's best verses pretty easy. Yet even despite that, Michael Kiwanuka's unbelievable chorus will forever remain my favorite part of this record.

Identical Deaths is probably my only skip from this. The production slaughters the mood the previous song just build.

Next is Strangers an- HOLY SMOKES. This is an incredible posse cut, as we see Thought, Rocky, El-P and Mike going bar for bar with one another, leading to an amazing display of rapping.

Close to Famous is fine, mostly carried by Thought's rapping, once again standing out.

Saltwater is another great one. The eerie beat transposed with the jubilant production after each verse creates and amazing atmosphere. On top of that Conway slaughters his feature.

We finish with Violas and Lupitas, one again an amazing peace of production, this time acting as the last dance. Some of Thought's best verses come on this song alongside that.

All in all, this album is beautiful, perfectly showcased by the the tremendous and high-quality instrumentals, along with the amazing rapping from both the guest features and Thought himself, culminating in one of the best hip-hop albums of the 2020s.

QUESTIONS

Q: Explain why you chose the artist you chose.

A: Simple, really. Thought is a poet and I have wanted to talk about his music a lot more.

Q: Did you enjoy their solo work or their group work more?

A: It's close, but The Roots are a legendary group. I do think this would rank fairly high in their discog, but they've made better albums than this one.

BEST TRACKS: Sometimes, Because, Belize, Aquamarine, Strangers

WORST TRACKS: Cheat Codes, No Gold Teeth, Identical Deaths