At What Cost

DC rapper GoldLink continues the forward momentum that turned heads on his 2015 mixtape And After That, We Didn’t Talk. At What Cost unspools like a film, transitioning seamlessly from late night to early morning. “Crew” pictures GoldLink stunting hard with Brent Faiyaz and Shy Glizzy. He can body a club track (“Meditation”) and shock listeners with a surprise ending. The fatalism that marked “When I Die” is back on “Pray Everyday (Survivor’s Guilt),” the realest song about self-medication since Kendrick Lamar’s “Swimming Pools.” At What Cost connects soul with noir, inward-facing narratives, chopped, off-kilter beats, and nocturnal moods.