” Negros say, “let’s stick together” then make funny moves / Black is beautiful brother, but it ain’t super glue”. The emcee effortlessly moves from crucifixions and classic hip-hop references to his version of “all skinfolk ain’t kinfolk”. Billy Woods twists grim biblical imagery into one of the greatest verses of his career on “The Eucharist”. The lyricism throughout Shrines is sharp. The features are all fantastic, and their mostly brief nature never takes the focus off of Woods and Elucid, who both rap with the craft of veterans and the hunger of new-jacks. Of all the guests, AKAI SOLO is given the most time on “Parables” and makes good use of it with a passionate verse that captures the essence of his local scene (“Heart imbued matters more to me than a chart spot”). Ferreira provides a bridge-length verse over a jazzy transition in the Kenny Segal-produced “Dead Cars” and Moor Mother opens up “Ramesses II” with an interesting, uncharacteristically smooth delivery. Curly Castro and Pink Siifu drop in to provide fine hooks on “Bitter Cassava” and “Pommelhorse”. Shrines is packed with features and each one is used tastefully. Shrines is not anywhere close to as post-apocalyptic as the darker moments of 2018’s Paraffin and is definitely not the burning world of 2017’s ROME. KeiyaA‘s gorgeous voice graces the hook of “Charms”, a song that sounds like an ethereal journey through a mystic forest.Įach of the aforementioned tracks is extremely different, but would all sound out of place on Armand Hammer’s last two albums. Surrounded by the colorful strings of “Solarium”, Elucid’s empowering and humorous lyrical flexing sounds joyous (“Power people, not computers, black futures / Nudging flat earthers off the block like Q*bert”). “Bitter Cassava” starts the album off on a light note with an infectious loop of strings and keys and a hilarious Billy Woods bar (“Lord help me I feel like the RZA / Like this what I get for helping you niggas”). The duo has become associated with dark soundscapes, and while that’s present here, there’s much more brightness. The sound of Shrines is easily their biggest stylistic shift yet.

With beats from producers such as Navy Blue, Andrew Broder, and Messiah Muzik, among others, Armand Hammer is at their most eclectic and progressive. Shrines takes their sound to even more striking experimental territory. The production of previous Armand Hammer records has never been held by the shackles of tradition, but These differences in tone and poetic nuance create a fascinating juxtaposition that has reached its greatest point thus far on Woods is more likely to employ the inflection of a narrator, while Elucid raps as if he’s battling in the trenches. Elucid’s guttural cadence is more visceral than Woods’, whose raps can be aggressive but are relatively more aloof than impulsive. Both Woods and Elucid are extraordinary writers with distinct styles. It’s music that rewards time and analysis–the opposite of rap the average listener can fully digest in one listen.Īrmand Hammer’s lyrics are often cryptic, non-linear, and peppered with a myriad of references. In the last decade, they have steadily amassed fans by releasing unapologetically exploratory albums. Armand Hammer, a duo composed of rappers Billy Woods and Elucid, are at the vanguard of left-field rap music.

Armand hammer