Takes by the Ocean: Barbie-Hating Boys and Fresh Nostalgia

Also: the hierarchy of rage rap, $$$$ vs. runtime, and the redemption of St. Vincent

Victoria Monét (Photo by Dalvin Adams)

YES

Victoria Monét, Jaguar II

Like her homonym Mx. Monáe, this apparent Ariana Grande whisperer (credits all over the great Thank U, Next) queered 2023 R&B by bringing regal horns to the forefront and an interesting sense of time. The explosive closer “Good Bye” would’ve been the best thing on the Silk Sonic album just like it’s the best thing here, dallying with luxurious ‘80s sparkle just as “How Does It Make You Feel” conjures Quiet Storm. Except the hit is starkly contemporary (if extraordinarily layered like the rest) and the guests plummet through all kinds of time and genre warps: Kaytranada, Buju Banton, Earth, Wind & Fire. Fresh nostalgia, there’s nothing like it even when the falsehoods of memory tell us there is.

Ken Carson, A Great Chaos

Rage rap is too unfocused to live up to whatever it’s supposed to be, with Playboi Carti’s especially wayward Whole Lotta Red as the movement’s 808s and Heartbreak trickling down extra-dull Drakes like Yeat, and a rare talent like Bktherula’s stan hive insufficiently sizable (couldn’t have anything to do with how Carti’s overripe base treats women). But a dutiful listen to this Auto-Tuneful knucklehead sprinted to an indispensable six-track finish at the end that prompted me to let the rest do their thing. For once the gelatinous game beats will mesmerize you away from whatever dumb shit he’s saying about women. Hook from one special favorite:  “The way she move / The way she move / The way she move.”