Major label rap debuts have traditionally been a mixed bag, often being people that had a big single and have big cosigns from rap giants (Back in the day it was people like Diddy, nowadays its people like Jay-Z, Kanye, and (In a lesser degree here in 2014) Lil Wayne). Of course, these days, a label debut doesn’t often feel like a real debut, especially in the world of Hip-Hop. I mean, Kendrick dropped good kid, m.A.A.d. city we had plenty of mixtapes and a digital-only album that kind of showed what we were working with. Sure, we’re excited for label debuts from people like Chance the Rapper and Flatbush Zombies, but their true debuts were the mixtapes they’ve already released. This goes for Haze. As excited as I’ve been for Dirty Gold, I’ve only been excited because of her incredibly solid mixtapes (Specifically, Reservation and Classick). However, with these mixtapes, they still build a form of expectations for what a label debut will consist of. Well, now we have Dirty Gold (Much earlier than initially planned), and…well…what the hell happened?

Haze is an incredibly skilled rapper. She’s probably most notable for her fiery flow, which is most often delivered in a voracious roar. There’s not a whole lot of dynamic with Haze, but she can command attention with her voice alone almost as good as some of the biggest attention grabbers in Hip-Hop (Jeezy and Killer Mike come to mind). Her lyricism, while not entirely clever or innovative, is pretty effective, and she’s proven in the past that she can use lyrics to tell a story as well as similar spitters like Eminem (Even one of her best tracks, Cleaning Out My Closet, borrows a sample from an Eminem track). She even sings a lot of hooks, and she has a pretty solid singing voice…something that is very uncommon among rappers.

So, we have all this talent, and two mixtapes that clearly show some prowess. But Dirty Gold is a monotonous and overlong affair that settles for partially showing Haze’s skill and promise. Haze’s best songs have often been dark tracks, whether they be ominously violent (Like her stellar track New York, the closer here on Dirty Gold) or uncomfortably realistic (Like the previously mentioned Cleaning Out My Closet). Here, the beats sound kind of dark, and Haze sounds kind of angry. But none of the beats really push Haze to the forefront. A Tribe Called Red has a driving beat to it, but it’s very bland throughout, and it kind of drowns Haze out. You can also hear that the beat tries a bit too hard to mesh trap style with a cloud rap style.

In fact, after at least 5 listens, I still couldn’t really tell you which tracks were which. The first 15 tracks just kind of melt together, and they all sound like the same song. A sung hook, an angry couple of verses (And Haze does not calm down entirely at all on this LP), and maybe a couple of spoken word interludes that bookend tracks. She does sound inspired on a lot of these interludes, but she never says anything that truly sticks with you. Deep Sea Diver’s hook just sounds like a more serene version of what they did on A Tribe Called Red, which directly proceeds it. A lot of these songs also stretch beyond 4 minutes, the worst offender being Black Synagogue, which is actually my favorite new track here. It’s inspirational and utilizes some really great 90s R&B style, but it just starts to drag after 5 minutes.

She gets props for trying to inspire people- one thing this LP does pretty well- but a lot of it sounds cliched and contrived. I mean, the hook on A Tribe Called Red just keeps repeating “Don’t give up” over and over again. What she’s going for here is admirable, but the execution is just sloppy. In fact, everything here clearly shows some sort of effort on Haze’s part, which just makes the overarching project even more depressing. After all these tapes and tracks, all of these tracks are excuses for “Hey, I can spit!” verses that don’t allow time for emotion and subtlety.

None of the beats really stick out, either. Which makes things worse, considering Haze constantly sounds like she’s fighting against the beat rather rapping over it. The beat on Angels & Airwaves sounds pretty cool, but it’s ruined by a hazy and rather stunted chorus. Haze sounds great over dark, ominous beats. White Lilies/White Lies has some very cool eastern instrumentation, but it’s ruined by this weird sung verse. The beats just make all of the songs seem even more directionless. On Dirty Gold, even the slightly darkest beats are mismatched with sugary and huge choruses. I’d give examples…but again,a lot of these tracks just kind of melt into one. None of it really matches Haze; it’s a very commercial and radio ready album, but Haze doesn’t have that sound. It’s 15 tracks of listening to Haze struggle through these monotonous beats, and it’s almost depressing.

Haze has had trouble recently with her label regarding release dates for this album, which seems to suggest a dissatisfaction with their work. But Haze has claimed that she put her everything into this project, regardless of speculative label meddling. Which makes Dirty Gold almost a depressing listen. Nothing really sticks out, except for the final track New York (Which was already the big single off of her Reservation tape). Haze is an incredibly talented woman, possibly one of the best straight up rappers out there right now, and I’m still excited to see what she does on future projects. However, that’s not to say this project is unlistenable. It’s largely inoffensive; but with Haze, that prospect is entirely disheartening.  She needs a considerable amount help in the production department, as well as working on album sequencing. The messages she’s trying to convey here are great. The music? Regrettably, not so much.

Summary: Dirty Gold struggles to properly show off Angel Haze’s rap skills, resulting in a monotonous drudge that languishes in bland production and awful hooks, with Haze being unable to truly show herself off.

Choice Cuts: Black Synagogue, New York

Leftovers: A Tribe Called Red

C-

You can stream A Tribe Called Red below. Dirty Gold is out now on Republic.