Amoeba Music

Choice Track: Heat Check

NF's Hope is the sort of good-natured hip-hop album the world needs now. NF is a real one: his lyrics are as focused on self-doubt and painful memories as they are on working toward a better future and believing in your dreams. His flow and his goofy sense of humor call to mind Eminem and NF displays his fellow Michigan rapper's penchant for balancing grit and good humor. With plinking piano, self-deprecating vocal interludes, and rhythmic strings, Hope stands out from the crowd.

Trugoy the Dove has passed on from this world, but the timeless hip-hop of De La Soul lives on! De La silenced the naysayers on their sophomore album, De La Soul Is Dead, shedding their hippie shroud and delivering a knockout punch. This crucial classic from Long Island’s finest finally gets the long-awaited reissue that it deserves.

Florida’s hottest has returned with his most reflective and ambitious effort yet. Waxing nostalgic with nods to classic cinema and Star Wars, Denzel Curry has recruited a solid guest list that includes T-Pain and Robert Glasper, while Thundercat, JPEGMafia and more handle the beats and production.

Gothic Luxury is the striking new debut from Meechy Darko of Flatbush Zombies. Working with Dot Da Genius (Lil Nas X, Kid Cudi, Jhené Aiko), the production is ice cold, the lyrics incisive, the overall vibe cathartic. It’s a powerful, hard-hitting album, written in the aftermath of Meechy’s father’s killing by the Miami police in 2020. Gothic Luxury is compelling from beginning to end, filled with nuance, emotion, and impact.

This Must Be the Place is Apollo Brown's first instrumental album since 2014's Thirty Eight. It's a warm, summery collection of songs with a nostalgic sheen, imbued with beauty, love, and hope for a brighter tomorrow. Brown crafted these songs from compositions solicited from his colleagues, chopping, looping, and deconstructing their original work to create yearning jazz-funk numbers and hazy, dreamy soul pieces. This Must Be the Place is cinematic and striking, the soundtrack to a place and a mood you'll want to revisit again and again.

Oddisee's 2013 release The Beauty in All deserves another spin. Out now on white vinyl and opaque purple vinyl, this instrumental LP's title sums it up: you could easily soundtrack your day with any of these selections and get a 200% boost in your mood. The tracks radiate old-school soulfulness, whether Oddisee is trafficking in retro-futurism or taking it back to the eternally cool era of classic funk. The Beauty in All is cinematic, gorgeous, and brilliantly alive.

The Beastie Boys’ multiplatinum 1992 album Check Your Head is noted for being less sample-heavy and bringing back live instruments, with Mike D on drums, Ad-Rock on guitar, and the late MCA on bass. Also significant for featuring Money Mark’s first appearance on keyboard with the group, the album reincorporated the Beastie Boys’ early punk influences into their sound and heightened their popularity in the ‘90s alternative scene. This year, Check Your Head celebrates its 30th anniversary with a grand slam of a reissue: A limited edition 4LP box set that includes the 2009 double LP remaster and two discs of B-sides, live tracks, and remixes. Time to dig in and enjoy!