Favorite albums of 2024: i think i might be happy pt. 1 & 2
Entry #1
This year I’m discussing my favorite albums of 2024 in brief, quick blog entries. None of the entries are in any particular order. First up are a couple of albums I haven’t been able to stop playing in the whip.
Robb Bank$ has always been in a lane of his own, even if the lane is a Frankenstein’s monster crafted from Lil’ Wayne mixtape verses, anime protagonist power, Jamaican ancestry, the still limping corpse of Cash Money and a long history with the RVIDXR KLVN. The Floridian underground rap icon is unarguably one of the only KLVN members left to keep the sound going, still collaborating with SpaceGhostPurrp and keeping his lyrics gritty and production distorted. Bank$ manages to keep the hardcore feeling of the 2010s Soundcloud-era while curating a crisper, more focused world of his own.
“i think i might be happy,” parts 1 and 2, are somewhat of a rebirth for the artist, coming after the long anticipated “Falconia” tape based on Berserk and its main antagonist Femto. The overly dark and demonic tone is brought down to earth from its fantastical peak. ITIMBH has more reflection from Robb without the abstraction, offering instead a clear path toward self-realization. In the intro he says he “really want to get back to (himself),” which is evident in the first part literally including the cover to his debut tape, “Calendars.” Robb talks of the women discarded for attempting to plunder his riches by faking love, the rappers who are too afraid to approach him due to his image and the crew that he still represents and bleeds for, despite some of them being on shaky ground relationship-wise. It’s part flexing, part soul bearing with a tough beat behind it. He’s isolated, sometimes by choice and other times he’s left alone for his actions.
Besides the theming, the tapes are just fun. Each sample (God knows how expensive a Sade sample is) is picked specifically to honor the artist chosen, whether it be Lil’ Wayne, Wu-Tang, Sade and SpaceGhostPurrp. “Back on My Grizzy” is an ode to Da Drought 3 in the best way, with Robb’s delivery being just as punchy and evil as Wayne’s from back in the day. The Evil Empire DJ tag is legendary and drapes the tape in nostalgia while the songs songs morph into one another. Robb’s charisma and ease of delivery show his time in the game, bouncing on upgraded beats from the 2000s. It’s gross, with Diddy part mentions and your girl kidney swallowing stones, while also being poignant as Robb memorializes XXXTentacion and other friends lost in recent years on “RIP Montana.”
These tapes are tough. No beat is a throwaway and each run through reveals a new punchline for mean mugging or cracking up. Robb Bank$ has built his brand brick-by-brick and these tapes are him at his most focused and satisfied. He’s still not ready to show us who he really is, with bravado and machismo always at the forefront. But, he’s trying.
Favorite Tracks:
Hate Crime
Baby Tunechi
Koffing
Girl Vlone
In My Sleep
PB&J