If there was any concern that the red-bearded Queens emcee had abandoned his lyrical signature in favor of oceanography, Only for Dolphins opener “Capoeira” quashes that notion quickly. Here, the always entertaining Action Bronson clobbers his way through all of his favorite topics like a pro wrestling gauntlet match. The whistles and clicks made by its titular aquatic mammal play like hip-hop producer drops throughout, but apart from that the album recalls much of his canon and its easygoing greatness. A psychotropic joyride, “C12H16N2” trips through a Lincoln Center screening of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman and its similarly ritzy after-party. From the reggae blasts of “Cliff Hanger” and “Golden Eye” to the lounge dirge of closer “Hard Target,” no matter what type of beat comes his way, Bronsolino mightily molds it to his whim.
- Westside Gunn
- Boldy James & The Alchemist
- Earl Sweatshirt
- Curren$y & Harry Fraud
- Statik Selektah