1001 Albums Summary

Here's the thing: I stopped listening at the track "Black". And this track is everything I dislike about the album so far and I couldn't listen further because of how uninteresting and unappealing this experience was. I appreciate every artist who doesn't just make music for the masses and just for the grooves, but with greater meaning and passion for an important theme, on this album its black identity, black empowerment, black pride etc. But if you want to spark some thoughts or have a listener feel something, you need to show some emotion - be angry, be sad, be happy, be eccentric or powerful or raw. I didn't hear anything of this at all on this album. Just one track after another being as unappealing and repetitive as can be with bland messages and no clear statement at all. What is the point being made on this album? "Black." "I'm black." "We all know black is beautiful, you know? Well now you do." What are these lyrics? The instrumentation on this thing also is as minimal as can be. Either there's just one instrument looping around some chords or it's just a beat that every time goes on way longer than it needs to be. There are some beats on here that I liked, but the repetition and length of it took the patience off me every single track. In the last two years I digged deeply in the Hip Hop culture and found some great artists which by now count as some of my most favourite artists ever, some of theme are often making music on or around this topic as well like Kendrick Lamar on good kid, maad city or especially on To Pimp a Butterfly. I watched the fantastic Beyoncé live concert from a couple of years ago and saw some great power and determination. It wasn't exactly my type of music but I loved how full of expression one can be when you are passionate about something. I'm sure SAULT didn't do it for nothing and I am a bit curious if the other records pull it off better because I heard it on some other reviews, but this record just doesn't do it for me and renders a honorable concept extremely bland and boring. And that's a shame.

Masterful production, technical, visceral, cohesive. Takes a few listens to fully grasp, but once you're hooked and listening between the lines and notes, it's a masterpiece.