Released: January 11, 2024

Genre: Hip-hop

From: UK / US

Label: Broken Ear

Why you should listen: One of my favourite producers working today has teamed up with a hip-hop legend and I’m all here for it! Kiina has been responsible for some of my favourite hip-hop beats as of recent, especially his extensive work with Goya Gumbani. Declaime aka Dudley Perkins has worked with legends like Madlib and Georgia Anne Muldrow, creating some of the funkiest and most soulful hip-hop I’ve listened to. This collaboration makes perfect sense, and their album The Bottom Line exceeds my expectations. Starting off with the light, key-driven melody of “Intro”, the album delves into incredibly groovy and reflective energy with “Taxman”, where Declaime goes off about the capitalist injustice of lower-income people needing to pay a lot of tax and not being able to afford to live. The beat on this is dynamic, but has gentle guitar and synth leads that add a soulful touch to an otherwise thematically heavy track. The looped sample on “Time Afta Time” is incredible, the beat exquisite, and Declaime floating over it with ease. “No More” has a moodier, more reflective tone, with an eerie synth lead and Declaime speaking candidly about his mental health and state of mind. “Imagination” sees Declaime cover the Gene Wilder classic from the Wonka film, but with an off-kilter, playful energy to it. “Solo Dolo” contains more Declaime stories, talking about his upbringing and experiences that have led him to this point in his life. On “Bonus Beat”, Kiina composes this beautiful, melodic and atmospheric beat, while on “The Bottom Line” has these light atmospheric synths that are met with hard-hitting beats, and Declaime’s introspective and triumphant verse about just going for it and speaking your own truth. “Steam” has this cool colourful synth-melody and a laid back vibe to it, while the urgency of “Sunny”, both with its colourful looped beat and introspective lyricism, makes it one of my favourites on the album, and makes way for Kiina to close the album out with “Dreams”, a beautiful and reflective closer with a soundscape that is dreamy and atmospheric. Kiina and Declaime have created a gorgeous and stunning new album titledThe Bottom Line, an introspective and soulful body of work that will be played on repeat this year.

The album: