Spillage Village – Spilligion
Genre: Hip Hop
Score: 6/10
Spillage Village is a collective formed by Atlanta artists JID, Earthgang, Mereba, 6lack, Jurdan Bryant, producers Hollywood JB and Benji. This is their third record under the name Spillage Village and they all rented out a spot out in Atlanta and recorded this album. This album is released thru Dreamville Records.
Based off of the singles that I heard before from this project, they sound like they are going for a more ambitious project that focuses on more religious and spiritual themes. Given their catalog as a group and as individual artists, I just hope that this album is a great presentation of a distinct southern hip hop sound, with good performances and great songs.
Overall: Overall, I liked this album. It has a nice sense of collectiveness and camaraderie. I wish it dove more into the religious themes of the record beyond finding inner peace and their place in the world. Lyrically, the pen games of each artist were also not at their most memorable. I found myself more times than not gravitating towards the beat and feeling the vibe, rather than zeroing in on what they had to say.
Play by Play:
1. Spill Vill – This intro is a masterclass on how to create and incorporate a skit into a rap album and not have it sound terrible. The characters are hilarious and Big Rube comes in with that classic smoked out spoken word delivery that makes you reevaluate your whole life with every word. Protect Big Rube at all costs.
2. Baptize – The beat is clean. Vocal samples are eerie and set a dark tone. The hook is really catchy. JID’s verse is cool, calm, laid back. He flows like Big Boi on an early Outkast album. JID’s bars are as on point as ever, and generally self-aware of the state of the world. Earthgang’s performances are dynamic and the flows are as sharp as ever. After that we switch to a synth beat switch break. Ant Clemons sounds surreal over the weird beat. I like the ideas presented but execution seemed a bit weird. The outro may grow on me over time, but the main tune is really good.
3. PsalmSing – I love the spiritual vibes pouring through the track. It sounds like a warm summer barbeque with a bit of a spiritual vibe pouring thru in the singing. The religious themes on the track take a much more naturalist and granola tone. Mereba’s performance is great, and Benji’s vocals with Earthgang’s add to the very communal vibe. The outro drags a bit, however.
4. Ea’alah (Family) – JIDs singing voice is lowkey underrated. Yeah, it’s a chill herb anthem, but JID sounds as cool as a cucumber, flowing effortlessly over the steadily swelling instrumentation. I love how warm and inviting the hook sounds. I’m getting very strong Dungeon Family vibes on the track. Even Hollywood JB’s verse is so hopeful and inspiring. I also like Johnny Venus’s third verse of the song at the end. We need more third verses in rap music.
5. Mecca – Cool reggae groove. It also sounds like a trippy Funkadelic jam. I love the loose groove of the drumming, though I personally think less rigid performing and improvisations could be used if it’s going to rock a groove like that the whole song. I love the bass as it switches between fingerpicked and 808 from the hook to the verses. Production wise I’m really liking what I’m hearing on this album so far. But I’m not yet convinced that lyrically this album is as ambitious as the themes and cover and instrumentation are implying.
6. Judas – Footwork beat took a lot longer to adjust to than I think they expected me to adjust. Although the performances in the bass and vocals are rocking one groove, the footwork almost rocks a completely different beat and they sound out of sync. If I ran on the treadmill to this song, I’d definitely trip over myself and fall. It also sounds a lot like a Flying Lotus song with Thundercat playing bass. Chance the Rapper thankfully has a better verse on this record than anything off of the Big Day. The line “Uncle Sam could use a hijab” made me ugly laugh.
7. Oshun – Johnny’s hook is sweet and heartfelt. 6lack’s verses are pretty understated. The line “She makes my soul eclipse” also made me laugh. Outro drags though.
8. Cupid – Love how the beat grooves and grows. Lucky Daye’s hook along with the vocal harmonies are alluring and confident. This screams a 3 stacks ballad off the Love Below. Johnny is missing notes but his performance is hilarious and ballish pimping. 6lack sounds super cool on this groove and works so well for his style. This song really grows into a bop by the end. That jazzy improvised outro is a great change of pace but I also wanted to hear more of it instead of it fading out.
9. Shiva – This song is an introspective cooldown for the album. Doctur Dot’s hook is great. Beat is a classic jazz rap instrumental. Reminds me of the calmer hip hop groups like Souls of Mischief or Black Moon. Every verse runs like a fairly vulnerable and uncertain wellness check in with each rapper. This song also reminds me of one of J Cole’s post 2014 FHD deep cuts. The themes of uncertainty translate pretty well, despite the lyrics not diving too deeply into any particular rapper’s personal hardships.
10. End of Daze – Slow lumbering beat. God, this song reminds me so much of Hootie Hoo, from the descending bassline, to the eerie samples crying out in the background, to the overdubbed vocals. JID is spitting his ass off in this song. This album personally is one of my first real dives into Mereba’s sound, and it makes me want to go back and check out her back catalog. Her voice is very lovely and her delivery is very endearing. The guitar on the bridge is a bit long and not very varying, but Johnny Venus carries the song out with a nice performance.
11. Hapi – Love the piano runs throughout the song. Reminds me of a classic Bowie glam rock song. Mereba’s performance is sweet. Johnny bellows out over a single piano a bassline comes in and does these crazy runs. Claps are a nice addition. The hook came back with a whole choir, sounding like a church choir rehearsal. As Benji sings, the guitar comes in over his verse and sounds very hopeful. I imagine this song along with others sounding like what Jesus is King is supposed to sound like. Once again, Protect Big Rube at all costs.
12. Jupiter – Solo guitar line. I like the production. I appreciate the choral vocals throughout the album. I love the folky communal vibe of the whole album. Lyrically, it’s not as grand as the artistic ideas presented imply, but it captures this collective sense of humanist spirituality really well.
Score: 6/10
Favorite Track in Bold
Just my opinion