(Black Boy Magic)

Man, what a wonderful day for the Hip Hop community! A new Aaqil Ali album is out. He, along with his Dusty Souls partner YNX716, has been in the forefront of cinematic and sonically compelling records the past few years, and this time around, he seems to be outdoing himself! Let’s talk about it!

So, this is the latest collaboration album between rapper Aaqil Ali and producer SPGBaMM, who I first discovered on the album ‘Garden Hate’ and who has been on my radar since! With 8 new tracks and the features of 

-Cheena Black

-Spoda

-Genacist 

-Skoob 

-Silas Zephania 

-Tahj Malik

-Y.N.X.716

And together, they create yet another surreal and beautifully crafted record with luscious and elegant instrumentation and loops that make every track feel larger than life!

Starting with SPGB, the man who has already shown through other albums that he has a way with variety, a man who can work with what the MC wants and create the perfect sound, and that’s exactly how it sounds on this one.

The different sounds I hear are

-Soul

-RnB

-Jazz

-Traditional Hip Hop

-Neo Soul

-Ambient

-Funk 

And these are all incorporated tastefully with no genre overpowering the other, just all working in perfect harmony with the rest!  

Talking about the opening track, for example, I love how towards the middle and the end they just let ‘Cheena’ cook and sing her heart out without any interference or beat switch-up, just pure harmony and melody for a good minute or so, which I found absolutely beautiful and such a great way to start an album! It’s little decisions like these that make any Aaqil record stand out.

Even on her second appearance, ‘Round Me,’ she’s given a strong freelance performance presence in the chorus and even notes throughout the song, and I just love the direction! 

Across the whole album, it’s just breezy, blissful, and breathtakingly gorgeous in execution. SP really impressed me on this one, and I hope to see his name appearing on many more records this year!

Aaqi Ali, what can I say about him that I haven’t already said 3-4x over? He’s a lyrical visionary who puts artists over everything. Also, I noticed on every album I cover of his, there are always new names I’ve never heard before, which leads me to believe he’s very generous and open about inviting people regardless of status on his albums to either help them get some attention, work, or just always finding new people he loves to vibe with.

Regardless, when it comes to his MC skills, he always has that introspective mind, always the one telling his truths and sharing his perspective with the listeners.

He’s not the type to worry about bragging about money, women, guns, or drugs or anything superficial. Although for entertainment value, that stuff has its own lane that’s obviously popular in hip hop, but he’s not that and never pretends to be.

He’s just a man with years of experience trying to get his thoughts and opinions onto a song, and that’s why I love his music. It’s pure, honest, and genuine, and he knows how to deliver these moments with such ease in his flow, crisp pen work, and phenomenal delivery! 

Overall, another gem in the discography of Aaqil. I can’t imagine him ever taking an L because he’s not worried about these petty things or opinions of others, just worried about him, and as long as he keeps doing that, he can’t lose!

https://aaqilali.bandcamp.com/album/black-boy-magic-2