ALBUM RATINGS (3/5/2023): Young Nudy, The Weeknd & Masego

These albums from this past weekend caught my attention.

Young Nudy – Gumbo

Young Nudy has one of the most impressive cult followings in hip-hop. Whenever he drops a project, folks flock to it like Waka. To be completely honest with you, I am not the biggest fan of his sluggish style of rapping. Throughout Gumbo, the Atlanta artist’s new album, he sounds like someone who does filthy street s**t as a boring 9-5. With that being said, I like how the album flows, how authentic Nudy’s lyrics sound, and most importantly, how tasty the song titles are (Negroes is hungry out here).

OVERALL RATING

(C+)

The Weeknd – After Hours (Live At SoFi Stadium)

The Weeknd is officially the most-streamed artist on Spotify. To me, that is a bigger accomplishment than getting a number-one record on Billboard or winning a Grammy. But, is The Weeknd one of the greatest artists of all time? For those of y’all that forgot how great he has been for all of these years, please press play on his new After Hours (Live At SoFi Stadium) project.

One of my biggest takeaways from listening to this project is how great the After Hours tracks sound live. The energy The Weeknd performs those songs with is impeccable. I also enjoyed hearing classic tracks such as “Crew Love,” “Often,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and more. The Weeknd is that guy!

OVERALL RATING

(N/A)

Masego – Masego

Cuffing season is over; we’re now living in ‘get-your-ass-in-shape’ season. However, I’m still down to listen to some velvety R&B tunes here and there. This past weekend, Masego dropped perhaps the smoothest album of the year.

What I love about Masego’s self-titled project is how a bunch of songs on it are both soft and upbeat; you really don’t get somber vibes at all. Content-wise, you do get a bunch of tracks about love, but nothing that is too sappy or overly romantic. All in all, Masego is a fifteen-track neo-soul project that is cooler than the other side of the pillow.