Loyle Carner Shares Wavy New Album "hugo"

BYGabriel Bras Nevares752 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 staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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