I am in college now. These are going to get a lot shorter and more concise, but you will still be getting my full thoughts, just less filler.
We are in the golden age of dance rap. No more than two months apart, Tyler, The Creator and JVB dropped two of the greatest hip-house albums serving as my introduction of sorts into the genre. These two LPs combine for some of the greatest beat drops, funniest one-liners, and catchiest choruses in history.
You’ve already seen my Tyler review, but JVB adds so much more and raises the bar for the dance rap landscape even higher. For one, the beats are absolutely undeniable bangers. From the title track “HYPERYOUTH,” you get an almost mystical intro that almost immediately transitions to an infectious bassy beat drop.
But I think the other edge this might have over Tyler’s project is the fact that Tyler openly acknowledges that his album was going from something a lot less serious. That was, in fact, one of his three opening rules—“only speak in glory.” But JVB also sprinkles themes of youth, evolution, and emotion everywhere through this project. It’s effective to differing extents—I think “PARTY’S OVER,” representing the end of childhood fun, is a bit of a miss, but “LIVE RIGHT” and “HAVE TO CRY” are both incredibly touching tracks that tap into a more emotional side.
The project also has some very well-selected features. There are a bunch of artists just a step away from the pop mainstream slotting their way into here—JPEGMAFIA’s verse on “WASSUP” is great, but I think the Rebecca Black-led chorus on “SEE U DANCE” might actually be the single catchiest moment on the project.
The other thing that’s so impressive about the production and song selection on this album is that it mixes in so many different styles of electronic music while still having that banging production be a common thread. We have a more R&B-centric “IS THIS LOVE,” the aforementioned “HYPERYOUTH” that samples and sounds like Skrillex, “SEE U DANCE” that does the same thing with Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous,” and “THE PARTY SONG” which sounds straight off of BRAT.
The lyricism, aside from touching on these themes in a concise yet insightful way, is also really funny at times. There are so many memorable bars here: “you could say I’m amasian,” “Pitchfork don’t like hits anymore,” “I’m a gentleman, I’d never say bitch.” There are so many funny one-liners you can pick from here and they’re all great.
If I had to have one critique of this album, it’s probably that some of the emotional songs get the tone a bit weird. “DISCO FOREVER” is meant to be this intimate outro that takes a look into the growth of JVB, but it’s so torn between introspection and celebration that it doesn’t lean far enough into either direction and it’s just in this weird gray middle area between the two moods.
But aside from one or two misses, the album at large is such a great mix of serious emotional discussions and relentless dance bangers. There hasn’t been an album for a while that can get so hype on one song and immediately become sad and emotional on the next. I didn’t think we would get a better project than Tyler’s this year, but it gets one-upped by another dance rap highlight reel. Looks like I have a favorite genre now.
Rating: 9.1/10
Favorites:
HYPERYOUTH
SEE U DANCE
IS THIS LOVE
Individual Track Ratings:
