Cheat Codes
by Danger Mouse & Black Thought

It's kind of crazy that it's taken until the 2020s for Black Thought to have an almost unanimously praised album under his own name. It's less crazy that it's produced by Danger Mouse who has the similar profile of having greatest success in the 2000s before having a quieter influence through the 2010s. Cheat Codes is a front to back great rap album that somewhat harks to the decade that each artist is best known for without being a retread of that era, the production is a little more in the background and a number of features bring a more modern flow. For me the biggest strength is that every track almost immediately hits its stride, there's basically no down time between tracks so you get this really focussed and engaging 40 minutes or so of music. The dynamic tracklist also manages a few changes of pace, Aquamarine and Identical Deaths bring a more soulful and then a jazzier sound than the boom bap that dominates the first half of the record. It takes real sleight of hand to pull this off, just listen to how Belize transitions into Aquamarine. Fantastic to see an artist of Black Thought's stature putting out music this good, when so many hip hop artists who came up in the 90s have struggled for quite some time now. Nas' excellent recent collaborations with Hit-Boy are the only similar thing that comes close to this, Cheat Codes is maybe more focussed than any of them.

Album Rating: 80.00
(960/12)

1.Sometimes. 88
2.Cheat Codes. 83
3.The Darkest Part (Feat. Raekwon & Kid Sister). 89
4.No Gold Teeth. 78
5.Because (Feat. Joey Bada$$, Russ & Dylan Cartlidge). 78
6.Belize (Feat. MF DOOM). 81
7.Aquamarine (Feat. Michael Kiwanuka). 89
8.Identical Deaths. 77
9.Strangers (Feat. A$AP Rocky & Run The Jewels). 74
10.Close To Famous. 76
11.Saltwater (Feat. Conway The Machine). 75
12.Violas And Lupitas. 72

The best solo album from Black Thought imo great production from Danger Mouse. Belize was great.

From Arthurknight 08/27/2022 12:31 | #288961

This is insanely good, revelatory even. Black Thought at his best since early Roots, Danger Mouse providing a very clean and modern take on classic beats, and a star studded list of features, each proving why they need to be included rather than being shoved in with nothing to do. Aquamarine is the key outstanding track, but Belize with the late MF Doom and Strangers with A$AP Rocky and Run the Jewels could just as easily hold that title.

From HoldenM 08/24/2022 06:19 | #288883

Uniformly good if not quite transcendent.

There's been a really strong offering of old school style rap albums this year such as 'Aethiopes' by Billy Woods and Conway The Machine's 'God Don't Make Mistakes' and this is one to add to that list.