April 2024 Roundups: The Best Albums of the Month
Featuring Brother Ali, Seafood Sam, and Apathy, here are the best albums that came out in April of 2024.
The year 2024 marks the advent of Spring, a time standout not just for blossoming flowers but also for the blossom of fresh music. A plethora of album announcements and releases have splashed like a torrential rain, transforming the landscape of the music scene. This month’s musical harvest was abundantly rich, so much so that I painstakingly distilled my selection to the top ten standout albums. Sit back and relish the resonance.
Brother Ali & unJUST: Love & Service
Brother Ali’s latest release, Love & Service, sets itself apart through its unique sound, crafted by producer unJUST using a method that involves chopping and flipping samples from educational children’s films of the 70s and 80s on the classic ASR-10 sampler. The result is a gritty yet opulent auditory experience that perfectly complements Ali’s reflective and moving commentary on divinity, mortality, societal structures, and aesthetics. The album’s production style features a warm, unquantized sound, forming an ideal foundation for Ali’s lyrically dense reflections. Over 40 minutes, Love & Service conveys a rich narrative without sacrificing depth or clarity.
Seafood Sam: Standing On Giant Shoulders
Imagine Seafood Sam as an artifact from the future, a phrase that might appear paradoxical initially, perfectly captures the striking uniqueness this artist embodies. This gentleman hailing from the LBC transcends traditional boundaries and resists easy comparisons. He pairs his smooth rapping with Symphony-like production skills. With Standing On Giant Shoulders, Sam elucidates a forward-thinking aura steeped in age-old soulful rhythms. He crafts spiritual anthems for the urban realms, touching on universal tenets and an irresistible groove. In a time where expediency often trumps quality, Sam’s work mirrors broad ambitions, revealing a profound understanding of historical music themes coupled with an obsessive eye for the minutiae. The tracks in this record weave narratives of vintage automobiles and eternal hopes for a brighter tomorrow, tributes to stunning women of cinnamon hue, and the vital significance of heeding elder wisdom. Prepared to stand alongside the greats, he emerges as a disciple of the classics.
Apathy: Connecticut Casual: Chapter 2
Connecticut underground rapper and producer Apathy has released his ninth album and sequel, Connecticut Casual. Apathy became prominent two decades ago as a member of Demigodz and Army of the Pharaohs, founded by Open Mic and Vinnie Paz, respectively. The sequel fundamentally changed the outlook for Apathy’s entire career going forward, and “Where the River Meets the Sea” held cathartic importance for him even though he still hadn’t captured the sound he wanted to make. And the production of Playa Haze achieves this goal.
Cavalier: Different Type Time
Originating from Brooklyn yet finding his musical home in New Orleans, Cavalier is a rapper and songwriter who commands the kind of esteem in certain NYC hip-hop circles that is rarely seen. His talent is profound, resonating with a sharpness that cuts through the noise of the industry, and his name carries weight, stirring up conversations amongst hip-hop elitists throughout the scene. There’s no debating the credibility of Cavalier, yet with his latest release, Different Type Time, he adroitly constructs a sonorous continuity linking his illustrious past and the evolving future of hip-hop. The roster of producers comprising Quelle Chris, Messiah Musik, Wino Willy, Ohbliv, Ahwlee, Child Actor, Fushou, among others, contributes to the album’s expansively soulful tenor. At the eye of these multifaceted sonic transmutations resides Cavalier, skillfully weaving through rhythmical structures, akin to a participant in a spirited city sidewalk game of jumprope.
Sinéad Harnett: Boundaries
Over a decade has passed since Sinéad Harnett first graced the music scene, and it has been three years since her album Ready Is Always Too Late was released. Her latest offering, Boundaries, reflects deep personal growth and introspection. This album is an intimate examination of how past traumas continue to shape present experiences, revealing Harnett’s journey toward authenticity and healing. Through this careful articulation, Harnett communicates the establishment of her limits. The album signifies her arrival at a place where she feels more genuinely herself and more healed than at any previous point in her life.
Gangrene (The Alchemist & Oh No): Heads I Win, Tails You Lose
With a duo made up of the Alchemist and Oh No, Gangrene has evolved significantly over the years. Initially perceived as a gimmick focused on themes of decay and filth—used metaphorically to represent their unique style of beats and rhymes—the project has matured into a distinct artistic philosophy. Their work challenges conventional tastes, particularly evident in their latest release, Heads I Win, Tails You Lose. This album delves deep into the aesthetics of hip-hop’s more rugged elements: breakbeats, jarringly arranged samples, and continuous lyrical threats aimed at hypothetical adversaries.
Marv Won: I’m Fine, Thanks for Asking
Marv Won is a Detroit musical alchemist—a street poet of honor, deeply embedded in the battle rap scene, and a cinematic, world-class producer. His first Mello Music Group album, I’m Fine, Thanks for Asking, is a soul-baring endeavor, weaving stories of struggle and triumph, drawing inspiration from his storied life in the Motor City. The album, which featured collaborations with Quelle Chris, eLZhi, Freeway, Little Brother’s rapper Big Pooh, and others, solidified Marv Won’s status in the rap world. Marv Won’s narrative goes beyond simple verse to paint a vivid picture of life in Detroit. Across ten self-produced tracks, Marv showcases his abilities behind the scenes with tracks that incorporate epic music.
Alice Russell: I Am
Universally hailed as a premier contemporary soul vocalist, Alice Russell’s pure talent and magnetism cannot go unnoticed or unappreciated. The esteemed British melody-weaver returns triumphantly with her most personal record to date, I Am. It is an exploration into vulnerability and audacity, a heartfelt dialogue addressing our inner personal journeys towards healing. We are impelled to take on this rider in order to engender deeper, more genuine bonds with others and the comprehensive world we inhabit. Co-penned and co-produced with her enduring collaborator TM Juke, I Am represents the first wave of fresh music from the veteran vocalist in more than ten years. This release heralds a fresh epoch in the extraordinary journey of this humble yet formidable songstress.
Shabaka: Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace
A low-key and deadly wave hit, mixed with the beauty and calmness of the music, Shabaka put down his homely saxophone and brought the first full album under his name. Extending from the meditative 2022 EP Afrikan Culture, his new work Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace is a collection of profound and moving theme songs focusing on instrumental music. The listening journey is like a reflection and contemplation. The musical concepts are connected, leading to in-depth listening, and the coherent theme and tone of feedback to the listener are constantly present throughout the record. Shabaka plays flute on this album and invites essential artists such as André 3000, Lianne La Havas, Moses Sumney, and Floating Points to create this all-encompassing auditory landscape.
Fabiana Palladino: Fabiana Palladino
After the end of a long relationship, it means a new beginning. Fabiana Palladino’s album is like an extensive letter, turning the emotional whirlpool and introspective profound dialogue into a musical exploration. The album blends personal monologues and deep reflections on universal emotions as she confronts complex issues about love, loneliness, and the normatively of relationships through her music. The ten-track self-titled full-length debut is not only about its varied sound but also inspired by the R&B, soul, pop, and disco large-scale studio productions of the 80s and 90s and recreated through modern techniques. The album features superb performances by family members and close friends, including Paul Institute co-founder Jai Paul, her father, renowned bassist Pino Palladino, brother and Yussef Daye’s band bassist Rocco Palladino, as well as renowned drummers Steve Ferrone and String performance by violinist Rob Moose.