ALBUM REVIEWS
We’re back.
After eight years, Griselda’s tag team duo Westside Gunn and Conway The Machine unearth the second installment of the duo’s Hall & Nash series produced by The Alchemist.
Locked in at 9 tracks, Hall & Nash 2: The Original Version begins with the “Introduction” followed by “Ray Mysterio”, and the lone collaboration “Fork In The Pot” featuring ScHoolboy Q. The long-awaited sequel continues on with “Michelangelo, “94 Ghost Shit”, “Pete VS. Andre”, “Fuck & Get High”, “Judas”, and finally the closing and title-track, “Hall & Nash 2”.
The Alchemist says, “When I first linked with @westsidegunn & @whoisconway the original plan was to do a Hall & Nash 2 tape. From the first day in the lab, I knew I needed these guys on my beats more than they needed my beats. The shit was coming out crazy, they linked with @groovyq one day at my spot and made one, we knew we had something good.”
He continues, “While we were finishing the project, they signed their deal with Shady. We ended up changing the plan to drop H&N2, & over time used some of the songs for different things, but a handful of songs never came out, & the original version of the album was never released.” The Alchemist also mentions an official version is in the horizon. “Next year me @daringer_ Wes & Conway already cooking an official HALL & NASH 2 .
ALBUM REVIEWS
Grandeur sits at the heart of ‘This Music May Contain Hope’, RAYE’s second album, and the result feels nothing short of breathtaking. On this record, the singer born Rachel Keen explores a wide spectrum of sounds across its 73 minute length, moving from emotional ballads to lively funk moments and the jazz pop style she has become closely associated with. It can feel overwhelming at first, yet the magic that comes from RAYE fully committing to her vision makes the experience rewarding from start to finish.
‘This Music May Contain Hope’, a conceptual project about pushing through insecurity and heartbreak, unfolds like a lavish stage production. RAYE takes on the dual role of main character and guiding voice throughout the story. “Allow me to set the scene. Our story begins at 2:27am on a rainy night in Paris. Cue the thunder,” she says during the opening track ‘Girl Under The Grey Cloud’, which arrives with sweeping orchestral strings. Spoken passages appear across the album, helping shape the narrative and giving the project a sense of direction, almost like hearing the official recording of a Broadway show.
With this framework in place, the South London artist allows herself to fully explore the album’s diverse musical palette, and most of the time it works in her favor. Sometimes she fully embraces the theatrical side of the concept, especially during the closing section of the smooth R&B track ‘The WhatsApp Shakespeare’. Other moments are delivered more straightforwardly, such as the emotional slow building ballad ‘I Know You’re Hurting’. She also revisits her earlier dance influences with the impressive house track ‘Life Boat’.
Across the entire album, two things stand out clearly. RAYE’s flexible vocals sound better than ever, and her songwriting feels sharper than it has before. Take the playful highlight ‘I Hate The Way I Look Today’, a swing jazz inspired track reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald, where she admits “I’m okay to be lonely / If I’m lonely and skinny / I have such silly self-loathing thoughts, it seems”. Then there is the emotional storytelling in ‘Nightingale Lane’: “It was right there, early June / Next to Old Park Avenue / Standing in the rain, I watched him walk away”.
Despite all the vulnerability and emotional struggles explored throughout the record, RAYE ultimately reaches a place of optimism, staying true to the album’s title. She gathers her close friends on ‘Click Clack Symphony’ with support from Hans Zimmer, finds closure with guidance from Al Green on the smooth seventies soul inspired ‘Goodbye Henry’, and reaches toward something greater alongside her sisters Amma and Absolutely on the uplifting ‘Joy’ as she searches to be “free of all the pain and every fear”. After the stormy opening imagery of that “rainy night” and “thunder”, RAYE eventually realizes that “the sun exists behind the clouds”, as she shares on ‘Happier Times Ahead’.
‘This Music May Contain Hope’ shows RAYE performing at her absolute peak. The album feels huge in scale and emotionally powerful, yet it remains rooted in honest experiences and real feelings. Yes, it asks a lot from the listener, but that is also what makes it so special. Every dramatic moment and musical shift feels like RAYE claiming her independence and finally creating music entirely on her own terms.
