Friday Afternoon Rap Roundup: Bloo Azul & Good Food

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New Release Highlight of the Week:

Bloo Azul & Good Food, Cordon Bloo (buy it / stream it)

20 years ago this month, MF DOOM dropped Mm..Food–but you probably already knew that. (Given the much publicized anniversary campaign surrounding the album's deluxe reissue and corresponding merch drop, how could you not?!) While Operation: Doomsday gets righteous props as the formal introduction to the erstwhile Zev Love X's post-KMD form, a plurality of fans assuredly consider this culinarily themed 2004 sophomore full-length his best work under that most villainous of hip-hop monikers. One of those folks is likely Bloo Azul, a mad gifted Bronx rapper who broke through the algorithmic noise with 2020's flavorful DOOM homage MF BLOO. Rather than snatch beats from the already plunderphonic Special Herbs series, he teamed with fellow outer-boro head Spanish Ran, who seasoned a sumptuous set to go with the emcee's toothsome bars. People who care about this thing of ours began to notice, and pretty soon the pair were reliably dropping projects a couple times per year, up to and including this past winter's 83, Too with Passport Rav.

Somewhat recently, Bloo added a few other beatmakers to his recipe book of rhymes, including producer Good Food on this year's francophile-facing offering Bloo Appetit. The follow-up Cordon Bloo reunites that duo for a celebration of the craft, the fiendishly cocksure and street-literate lyricism jibing well with instrumentals adjacent to jazz and soul. "Chef's Kiss" offers insight into the artist's worldview as seen from the blocks he's travailed, while "Doo Wop" sends a tough love message to those hating from the rear view. Even beyond the sampled movie and television snippets, an eclectic selection too delightful to go and snitch on, the album often presents a cinematic perspective through titles like "Cast Away" and the song contents themselves. Named for the fictitious festival in Wayne's World 2, "Waynestock" conjures Family Matters and Ninja Turtles within breath of each other over a breezy fusion guitar loop and Marcus Pinn's deft scratches. On "Cyberpunk," Bloo professes his lifelong lust for Pamela Anderson in the bonkers comic book movie adaptation Barb Wire before leaning into a Matrix-referencing refrain.

Here are some other new albums, EPs, and mixtapes from independent hip-hop/rap artists and labels worth your time this weekend:

Boldy James & Harry Fraud, The Bricktionary (buy it / stream it)

Blockhead, Mortality Is Lit! (buy it / stream it)

Made Men Mafia, Tribe (buy it / stream it)

Damu The Fudgemunk, Peace Of Action (buy it / stream it)

John Morrison, Community Flips (buy it / stream it)

Dizzy Wright & Demrick, Blaze With Us 3 (buy it / stream it)

Nym Lo & 183rd, Money Ink Millionaires (buy it / stream it)

Chicken P, Chick James, Vol. 1 (buy it / stream it)

Freddy Dredd, Cease & Disintegrate (buy it / stream it)