With the release of Jay Rock ‘s project 90059 we now have a full body of work from the T.D.E. collective. Top Dawg Entertainment (Aka T.D.E.) is arguably one of the better hip-hop labels in the game. During T.D.E’s December 2013 announcement there was a tentative expectation for 6 high-end albums. In February, Isaiah Rashad released his debut project, Cilvia Demo. He had features from fellow T.D.E. members S.Z.A., Jay Rock, and Schoolboy Q. The album paid homage to Scarface with the song Brad Jordan (His legal name) and P. Miller brother Kevin Miller with the self-titled song. Schoolboy Q also released Oxymoron that same month too. Oxymoron was all over the place that visited various aspects of Q’s life. My favorite track had to have been the intro track that was gritty and was worthy of the title “ Gangsta”. It seemed like T.D.E. was off to a good start to the 2014 year. Next up was Sza continuing her series of projects named Z. With her previous project being named S it is apparent that she is going to continue the name based series. Z was a very smooth album that with features from Chance the rapper and Kendrick Lamar. After April, we saw 3 of the promised 6 albums. Later that June we saw Ab-Soul release These Days. This album was no Control System, but a solid release with one of my favorite songs of the year in Stigmata. The album visited a troubling time in Soul’s life when he lost the love of his life in Alori Joh. Sadly this was the last release of the 2014 Calendar year. All that was missing was Kendrick and Jay Rock. After a long layoff we were blessed with the release of Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp A Butterfly in March of 2015. The groundbreaking album received nothing but love from music experts earning the rare 10 from the Needledrop. Many will say it was worth the wait. This album compiled all the elements of a perfect album. The best part of this album was the song u and Alright. In u Kendrick told us he almost committed suicide. In the very next track he tells us that amidst all the animosity “but if God got us then we gon to be alright.” Let’s not forget that he interviews Tupac, not only bringing together the album but also ties up some loose ends to his previous album Good Kid MAAD City. Fast forward to the present and we have the new Jay Rock album 90059, which contains a Black Hippy (a combination of Kdot, Schoolboy Q, Soulo and Jay Rock) track. One unique feature about this album is that it is the first album to include all six members of the T.D.E. crew. Now that all six albums are here rap fans are asking what’s next. The only thing that is left is what one might say is a super tour. The T.D.E. collective takes there show on the road. They have all performed together on the same stage in LA before why not take their talents across the world. Imagine the electricity in the arena’s as each artist performs hit after hit. Sza would kick it off with her good vibes and positive energy. Isaiah Rashad would be up next bringing his southern influence to the stage. Next would be Jay Rock adding a certain grittiness to the audience. Then we will have Ab-Soul educate us with his intellectual wordplay. Q will definitely be a sight to see what type of bucket hat he spots that night. Lastly, we will be blessed by Kendrick putting on a show that no one will be ready for. All in all, as a collective nobody could come close to the energy, lyrics, bars and just straight musical talents that the T.D.E. crew presents. So Top Dawg, please give us rap fans a tour that will leave us wanting more.
rebelseason 