Loyle Carner Shares Wavy New Album "hugo"

BYGabriel Bras Nevares1487 Views
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For those of you looking for some boom-bap inspired UK rap with introspective bars, look no further.

South London-Guyanese rapper Loyle Carner has graced fans with a new album, hugo, filled with the throwback beats and reflective lyrics that have garnered him much acclaim in hip-hop circles. He's been nominated for BRIT Awards in the past, and while he might not have made the same splash across the pond from England, his talent and carefully crafted stories are sure to please rap fans worldwide.

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 18: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Loyle Carner attends the Mercury Prize: Albums of the Year 2022 at St Paul's Church on October 18, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Luke Walker/Getty Images)

What sticks out the most on this album's production is the bombast of the percussion, often marked just as much by deep bass as it is by vibrant live drum kits. They give these tracks an added sense of drama, grandeur, but also a palpable sense of heartache when paired with Carner's lyrics. Many of these beats are sample-heavy, forming a kindred spirit with top-tier spitters of today like Black Thought, Freddie Gibbs, or more recognized UK rappers like Dave or Stormzy. It's not revolutionary, but rather refined in terms of a classic craft. It has some legitimate funk to it, some really jazzy passages, and the recording and instruments all sound even more lush and crisp as the soulful tunes they sample.

When it comes to Carner's pen, these songs delve deep into identity, race, parental relationships, and his mental conditions. These themes are often tackled sloppily by rappers with less skill, but Carner's ever-present personal perspective give these heavy topics a core narrator to take us along. His writing style is not as concerned with one-liners or double entendres. Rather, it's a more honest portrait of him as an artist and human, as each bar weaves human experience together with diction too impressive to disrespect with a short descriptor or summary.

He might not be the most buzzed about UK artist today, but if you're a fan of rap at all, you'd be doing yourself a disservice by dismissing this project. It's already garnered rave reviews from The Guardian and other publications, and we're sure that if you're a rap fan, you will find something to love about these tracks. You can check out the tracklist for hugo below, and find the newest album from Loyle Carner on your preferred streaming service.

Tracklist

  1. Hate
  2. Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)
  3. Georgetown (feat. John Agard)
  4. Speed of Plight
  5. Homerton (feat. JNR WILLIAMS & Olivia Dean)
  6. Blood On My Nikes (feat. Wesley Joseph & Athian Akec)
  7. Plastic
  8. A Lasting Place
  9. Polyfilla
  10. HGU

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a music and pop culture news writer for HotNewHipHop. He started in 2022 as a weekend writer and, since joining the team full-time, has developed a strong knowledge in hip-hop news and releases. Whether it’s regular coverage or occasional interviews and album reviews, he continues to search for the most relevant news for his audience and find the best new releases in the genre. What excites him the most is finding pop culture stories of interest, as well as a deeper passion for the art form of hip-hop and its contemporary output. Specifically, Gabriel enjoys the fringes of rap music: the experimental, boundary-pushing, and raw alternatives to the mainstream sound. As a proud native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, he also stays up-to-date with the archipelago’s local scene and its biggest musical exponents in reggaetón, salsa, indie, and beyond. Before working at HotNewHipHop, Gabriel produced multiple short documentaries, artist interviews, venue spotlights, and audio podcasts on a variety of genres and musical figures. Hardcore punk and Go-go music defined much of his coverage during his time at the George Washington University in D.C. His favorite hip-hop artists working today are Tyler, The Creator, Boldy James, JPEGMAFIA, and Earl Sweatshirt.
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