[baystateoftheart]

Seed #32A:

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Directors Cut: Scene Three by Ransom &a...las Craven

Nominated by: kokkinos
Genres [RYM]: East Coast Hip Hop

Seed #32B:

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108 Dimensions Of Green by Wa Wu We

Nominated by: guzguzgarbit
Genres [RYM]: Ambient Techno

Instructions:

If you have not already, please listen to both albums in full before voting. Share your thoughts and/or your vote in this thread. This poll will be tallied in no fewer than fourteen days. See Tournament Spreadsheet for the full bracket.
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[Luigii]

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So the journey of the 2020 tournament starts with the last seed. And begins with guzguzgarbit's pick. My feelings on this album is that it is quite excellent. A very moody, intricate and somewhat meditative ambient techno album. If you like to analyze certain sounds and textures, do give this a listen. Hell there was a part of me that was contemplating that this could have been a top ten for 2020. Mainly for that first track. Had not only a new age slant but also those synths are to die for. And if you know me, I love me some dreamy synth tones. While the rest never hit that particular high of the first track, it stayed quite consistent. But I might come back to this later since I listen to the 6 track version of this. Quite curious about the extended version since that has more tracks but takes a hour long album to an almost 2 and a half hours type of album. Plus, do need to listen to that Cult 48 record with electronic music in the play offs.

Grade wise:90

The review for kokkinos record will come later. More likely to edit this comment.

[Luigii]

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Well that didn't take that long. Now on to the other side from kokkinos. And for a pretty obscure hip hop album from an artist I didn't know about till today, this was great. Instrumentally, this was fine as hell. Very soulful, very welcoming. At times somewhat dreamlike. But oddly enough, it ends up being the albums double edge sword where while love the sound I wished the horror aesthetic was more of a vocal point for the album. Though that would mean the album would need a shake up. And maybe those instrumentals would have hit as nicely. Also lyrically and flow wise this was really solid. I think my favorite moment lyrically that really hit me was that switch up on American Hustle and explaining the walls trap the damage of the individual. Though and this might have been just me but I don't know if there was any double entredes within the album, so that could be a bit of an issue for some hip hop listeners that want to dig deeper in lyrics and themes. But again a great album.

Grade:85

So my pick will be for Wa Wu We. But this was a nice find. And maybe Ransom could get more points in the near future, but what ever happens this was a fine matchup.

[baystateoftheart]

I started off with the Ransom & Nicholas Craven album. The production is great and uses soul samples very well. It's not varied, but I think the consistency is the point, as it makes the project's atmosphere more immersive. I am wondering though, what is that repeating sound that sounds like a fly buzzing through your head if you have headphones on? Is that a producer tag? In terms of the rapping, it's almost as consistent as the production. Ransom is a very skilled emcee whom I had never heard before, so it was cool to be introduced to him. He's got good bars and a good flow, though nothing is groundbreaking. It's refreshing to have a compact project from an east coast rapper that goes hard from start to finish.

The only duds here are lyrics-driven. The extended metaphor song about karma the bitch is very corny, and I Am Legend has several lines that misfire. I had to copy-paste this clunker from the lyrics: "What if they killed George Floyd just to incite the riots? And then in turn we protest to invite the virus? What if they want vaccination to put the eye inside us? I got this vision today, and that’s when I decided." Sometimes Ransom is simply too woke, and I mean that in the original third eye, conspiratorial sense of the word as Erykah Badu coined it, not whatever the hell the right wing is trying to redefine it as.

Overall, a very good project, a nice discovery, and one that will likely stick around in my music library for years to come. However, there are definitely clear flaws that hold it back from being a great record. 3.5/5.
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[Hayden]

[guzguzgarbit]

I really wanted to make some long write up about how I found 108 Dimensions Of Green brilliant, but I really can't, I'll let the music speak for itself.

Also, the extended version is great if you're into this kind of sound, as Luigii said, it's 2h20 long, but it's absolutely worth it.

[baystateoftheart]

[EyeKanFly]

I went with Wa Wu We.

Unfortunately I wasn't really a fan of either of these albums but I think 108 Dimensions of Green was slightly better.
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51 Washington, D.C. albums!

[RoundTheBend]

[kokkinos]

Well, this is the last matchup of the play-in mini tournament.
I'm obviously voting for my pick, though I have to admit the result is somewhat expected. As I said when I nominated it, there were other 2020 albums I found preferable to this, but all of them did receive some attention. So, I thought that this deserved its 15 minutes of fame as well, considering how entertaining it has been for me.
I did give a listen to 108 Dimensions of Green. Sadly, I don't have anything constructive to add, saying it's not my cup of tea would be quite an understatement.
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