Blaque Alex – “This Ain’t My Album Vol. 2: The Stew”
Alex “Blaque Alex” Turner is back to bless your ears with a phenomenal project. Throughout 2020, Alex has been dropping nothing but heat. The dude put out three quality EPs in a matter of months. That’s unheard of nowadays! If you thought those were great, just wait until you hear the newest mixtape from Blaque Alex: “This Ain’t My Album Vol. 2: The Stew”.
“The Stew” is a powerful Hip Hop mixtape that Long Island desperately needs. What impresses me the most about Blaque Alex is the talent and range he displays on each of his projects. This new mixtape is a perfect example of this.
“The Stew” starts off the mixtape with “F_ck you, I’m Alex Turner”. Blaque Alex immediately comes out swinging with a strong opening line; “so I told the guy, ‘fuck you I’m Alex Turner. I ain’t never had to go to college, I’m a fast learner.” I fucking love this as the opening line on the project. Alex tells it exactly how it is. He has reached a point in his life where the opinions of others isn’t what he’s focused on. Alex is here to make great music and spread it to the masses and he doesn’t care what you think! The mixtape continues on with “Father, Father Remix”. I didn’t think I would enjoy this remix more than the original version but I was happily mistaken. Alex recruited fellow musician, Teena, to hop on the track. Her vocals add a level of elegance to the track that will surely resonate with the listeners!
The project continues on with one of my favorite tracks, “El. Eye. ’95”. Produced by Sketch Artist, this track is exactly what Hip Hop fans are dying for. This song screams true and classic Hip Hop! The boom bap style is reminiscent of that 90’s flow that we all know and love so well. Blaque Alex got some of Long Island’s strongest MCs to hop on the track with him. Oogee Lee, Mistamorgz, FAME, and Nikki Silva fucking KILL their verses. Ever listen to any of Funk Master Flex’s extremely popular mixtapes that he released back in the 90’s of a bunch of different cyphers from the industry’s biggest stars? This song belongs on one of those albums. Every single Hip Hop fan needs to sit down and listen to this track. My favorite line of the song comes from Alex himself; “and I make a n**** sick, call me Wuhan boy. If you’re tryna get infected, here’s a Groupon boy.” God damn, the lyrical word play on this album is something else!
Blaque Alex follows up with another classic track, “Iconic”, featuring ASH (August Harris), Oogee Lee & Aaronya. This is another favorite track of mine. I’ve heard Alex, Oogee Lee and ASH spit verses plenty of times and knew they were going to kill their features, but this was my first introduction to Aaronya. His verse instantly caught my attention with “the champ is here” audio clip leading him in. Aaronya proved that he is the champ. The change of cadence throughout his verse is impressive. You’re not going to be able to stop from nodding your head and rocking along!
There are a few songs on “This Ain’t My Album Vol. 2: The Stew” that caught me by surprise. “They” is the first song that I heard that caught me off guard. The song leads in with the tapping of drum sticks together that segues into a full band instrumental. My first thought was that it reminded me of a song from that Lil’ Wayne album where he spit over guitar and drum instrumentals. I love when artists aren’t afraid to step out of their typical style and demonstrate their vast musical abilities. Alex did this flawlessly! The following song, “Mars Bars” featuring Aaronya, is another track that I had a surprising reaction to. This is my favorite song of the mixtape. “Mars Bars” starts off with old school Super Mario music that will instantly bring you back to the glory days of your childhood. How can that fit on a Hip Hop album you might ask? Trust me, listen to the song and you’ll thank me later. Need more convincing? You ever see that video of Jay-Z and Timbaland where Jay hears the “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” beat for the first time? If not, check that video out because that was my immediate reaction. God damn, Blaque Alex is a beast on the track.
Two more songs that I think are worth mentioning are “For Your Love” featuring Nick Diamond, and “Corona Grab”. “For Your Love” is another song that demonstrates Alex’s musical talents. Nick Diamond’s singing in the introduction of the song is captivating. Fans are going to be singing along when these two perform the track. I love that Alex can spit on a hard hitting track like “Iconic” and then turn around and create a smooth, soulful track like “For Your Love”. “Corona Grab” is another example of the various musical talents that Blaque Alex possesses. The beat made me fall in love with this track. It reminds me of songs that can be heard on Mac Miller’s “The Divine Feminine” and “Swimming” albums. The funky flow takes over and has you moving and grooving instantly.
Blaque Alex dropped some gold for us today. Each release that Alex hits us with impresses me more and more, so I knew it was going to be a banger. To my pleasant surprise, “The Stew” by far exceeded my expectations. Alex wanted to bring together some of the best musicians from Long Island to create a classic mixtape, and that is exactly what he did! Be sure to follow Blaque Alex on all social media platforms and stream “This Ain’t My Album Vol. 2: The Stew”!