Angel Haze
Dirty Gold (Island/Republic Records?)
It’s been raining awesome surprise LPs recently, and this one just might be the pick of the bunch. Being pegged as the next great female MC has been a bit of a poisoned chalice, as demonstrated by the disappointing Nicki Minaj and the now mostly-irrelevant Azealia Banks, but the 22 year-old is made of sterner stuff. To be honest, I’m still working my way through Dirty Gold, but holy hell, it’s impressive. She’s always been a thought-provoking lyricist with a ravenous flow and a fascinating perspective, but she’s never done something this cohesive and melodic before. The real queen is here.
NOTE: It looks like the record has just been pulled, but here’s the record’s outstanding lead single, “A Tribe Called Red.”
