Observations From Kyle's Light Of Mine

It seems as if Kyle's burst onto the scene has been quite sudden, but the Ventura, California artist's comeuppance has been far from sudden, to those paying attention at least. After Rolling Stone named him as "one of the ten artists you need to know" in 2015, that same year Kyle released his second mixtape Smyle to some mild success, although he didn't achieve widespread recognition until the release of his single "iSpy" featuring Lil Yatchy in December of 2016, which peaked at #4 on The U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Though widely known for his abilities to make catchy hits seemingly tailored for the Hot 100 and girls around the world alike, Kyle can easily bar down your favorite rapper over goofy, yet melodic production that highlights his angelic vocals, which can be misleading as Kyle has a speech impediment, which at this point in his career seems to have added more to his amiable personality and rap style. Because Kyle is so known for his "hip pop" style, it was widely expected that his debut album Light Of Mine was going to consist of the qualities that he is best known for; feel good, sing-along songs that you can both sing like Usher and rap like Busta along to (though neither example used is anywhere near the personality on record I'd use to describe him); so did Kyle's light shine brightly or burn out into the dark?  That's what we're here to discuss; check out some key observations from Kyle's debut Light Of Mine.


Light Hearted Hits That Make You Groove


Hits aren't usually something that catch my attention since I'm usually one for more personal/harder hip hop album cuts, but Kyle brings that light hearted R&B heat all throughout Light Of Mine. The opening track "Ups & Downs" starts off with a very high pitched and tweaked voice that discusses what sounds like the party plans of a depressed introvert, but once it gets into the song, it sounds like the complete opposite of depressed with the essence of an early 2000's dance hit, and the swag of Lil Uzi Vert in a dress on steroids. The absolute best song on the album "Babies" featuring the lovely Alessia Cara sounds like that dumb, catchy pop hit you can't get out of your head, yet you love it and can't help but replay it for the 5th time in a row on your aux chord. "Babies" is one of those songs that if ever featured on an edition of "Tiny Desk Concert" or somehow MTV brought Unplugged back, you would swear it'd be the best version of any song to hit the web that week (get Thundercat on the bassline for that one, and you have yourself a performance).



Kid Cudi Influence Is Evident, But Kyle's Far From A Knock Off


Kyle can't pull off the legendary hums the way Cudi can (I swear those things could summon Phoenix's and magical creatures out of secret realms of the universe), but he gives his best impersonation on "To The Moon" (another way he pays homage to Cudi, especially knowing Cudi's discography), and it's still a pretty damn fair one at that. Despite that lisp he was made fun of for in school, Kyle has some pretty amazing abilities when it comes to throwing and forming his voice to fit different musical styles; the hook on "To The Moon" (unless it's vocal effects) sounds almost exactly like a Cudi hum, and in the beginning of "Zoom" he gives a nice little mumble hum that sounds very reminiscent of an early 2010's MOTM Cudi. The sound, theme, and writing approach in the album's final track "Clouds" is almost a direct inspiration draw to Cudi's talks and writing about self loathing, depression, and using the so-called 'Clouds" to feel better... and besides, who couldn't use a few clouds to bring them back to the top of the world anyways?  Kyle isn't impersonating his idol, he's doing something even cooler and more creative; finding ways to pay homage in his music without biting styles.


(*I do not own any of the audio or images posted, or the rights to them*)

Kyle falls just short in the rapping and emceeing aspect of things that I liked so much about Smyle, but he makes up for it in areas that require expert melody-making and song craftsmanship. The features throughout Light Of Mine add just enough to still keep it Kyle's album with a few nice surprises (plus Kehlani is super hot and is a queen of the melody game, as well as Alessia Cara), and each one adds their own perfect bit of DNA to each song, respectively. The album is not for the hardcore rap fans by definition, but if you're looking for a fun and much more positive listen, Light Of Mine could maybe bring some light to your life too with it's exciting musicality, above average guest features, and glowing personality.             








             












              

So... It's Kind Of Been A CRAZY Week In Hip Hop So Far (News, Thoughts, Speculation, And More)

In case you've some how been living under a rock for the last 3 or 4 days, this week has been absolutely crazy concerning hip hop, and some of the biggest names involved in it today. And because there is so much to tackle in so little time, I'll save y'all the introduction and get right to the good stuff. First thing's first (rest in peace Uncle Phil... just kidding, but we'll get to that guy in a sec)...

Kendrick Lamar Wins Hip Hop's First Ever Pulitzer

                             (Photo credited via The Pulitzer Prizes Twitter [@PulitzerPrizes])

Where's a Ron Burgundy meme when you need one?  Because this is kind of a big fucking deal. This last Monday (April 16th), Kendrick Lamar was announced as the first EVER hip hop act to win the acclaimed and highly coveted Pulitzer Prize Award, which if you don't know, Huffington Post describes/defines as an award "for distinguished musical composition by an American that has had its first performance or recording in the United States during the year."  Kendrick is recognized as the first "non-classical or jazz artist" to win the award, but lets not beat around the bush here; Kendrick is the first HIP HOP artist to win the prestigious award EVER. Period. Although some would argue that TPAB is far more deserving of the award (like me) because of it's outstanding concept as an overall body of work and the important reoccurring themes, some (like me as well) are exuberant in the fact that Kendrick Lamar is the first ever hip hop artist to win an award of such importance. When Kendrick wins, hip hop wins.

Kyle Supposedly Dropping "Debut" Album?

                         (The supposed cover for Kyle's debut album, titled Light Of Mine)

In more exciting hip hop news, goofy Ventura, California rapper Kyle announced that his debut album, Light Of Mine, will be dropping on his 25th birthday, May 18th of this year. The first two singles ('To The Moon" and "Playinwitme" featuring the wonderful Kehlani) have been pretty well received from fans so far, but knowing Kyle and his ever-changing style, the first 2 singles give no inclination or evidence as to what the album will sound like as a whole. It's too hard to tell what the album's title could mean, and based on Kyle's ability to out bar your favorite rapper on one song then sing them to sleep on the next, it's too early to tell what kind of sound we'll be receiving from him.

Drake Dropping New Album Scorpion In June

After the release of the Scary Hours EP which included the wildly successful hit "God's Plan", Drake followed it up with an even bigger smash hit anthem for the ladies, "Nice For What", which many have said is Drake's best song in years (it was me... I said it). "God's Plan" spent a staggering record 11 weeks atop Billboard's number 1 spot, but that's not even the craziest part; with the number 1 debut of 'Nice For What" on Billboard, Drake actually became the first hip hop artist in history to REPLACE HIMSELF for the number 1 spot with another song. So leads us into the anticipation for Drake's new album, which in case you missed, is called Scorpion and will be arriving in June, though no official date has been given just yet. Knowing Drake's history of pre-released songs right before albums, "God's Plan", "Diplomatic Immunity", and "Nice For What" will give us absolutely no idea of what the album will sound like as a whole, so what are your expectations for Scorpion?  Do we think Drake keeps with his R&B roots and drops more ballads for the women?  Or do we think Drake attacks again with more aggressive bars aimed at everybody who even mentions his name?  Personally, I believe a name like Scorpion doesn't exactly call for cute filtered Snap Chats and Instagram captions, and am really hoping Drake is coming for people's throats in the rapping aspect again (how amazing would it be to get another "A.M" song added to the list?)  No, scorpion's do not take Snap Chat selfies or Instagram pictures of themselves for likes... They sting. It's in their nature.

J. Cole Drops KOD Out Of Nowhere And It's The Album Old Heads Have Been Waiting For

In case you somehow missed Twitter trending topics and the Internet absolutely blowing up over the last 18 hours or so, J. Cole released his surprise album KOD at midnight last night, and boy does it not disappoint. In case you have yet to listen to it, I won't give too many details away, although I have to say that this extra voice that Cole is adding certainly makes for an interesting concept, and almost makes for "hip hop parody" if you will (no Weird Al, not THAT kind of parody). Be sure to check that out if you haven't already, it's very good, but you guys already know I don't need to vouch for Cole. Also, regular viewers, expect an "Observations" review article coming from me with a week or so!

Kanye Tweets/Album Rumors?

Kanye has also been going H.A.M. on Twitter as of late. Over the last week or so, Kanye has been tweeting inspirational messages to his followers, but the inspirational messages are not what people are choosing to direct their attention at (though the tweets have hundreds of thousands of retweets and likes). The most noticeable tweets are the ones above; not only did Kanye announce that his album would be coming on June 1st, he also announced that a mere week later (June 8th) he would be dropping a collaborative project with Kid Cudi, titled after him and Cudi's supposed collaborative group name, Kids See Ghosts (everybody just STAY CALM!). But that's not even the last of it; Kanye also went on to tweet release dates for G.O.O.D. Music label mates Pusha T and Teyana Taylor's albums!  Now it's too early to tell if Kanye is for real or if he's just blowing smoke, so until anything comes out, I wouldn't get your hopes up, 'Ye fans, although the tweeting is a start. If it continues, maybe it starts a huge promo run for G.O.O.D Music?


I shouldn't say that's ALL for this week (because holy overwhelming that's a lot to take in), but it's almost safe to say that this week in hip hop can't get much bigger... knock on wood.