A must-listen for old-school hip-hop fans

Cheat Codes is the latest album from Black Thought and Danger Mouse. Black Thought, also known as Tariq Luqmaan Trotter, is a well-known rapper for his work in the group The Roots and as a solo mc. Danger Mouse is a skilled producer who rose to prominence in 2004. He has previously collaborated with artists such as MF DOOM and created albums based on Jay-Z and The Beatles. They got together to make their album Cheat Codes which was released on August 12th, 2022. 

The album starts with the track “Sometimes.” This track is a great start to the album, as Danger Mouses’ production is excellent, and the bars are also on the level one would expect from Black Thought. The next highlight on the album is the track “The Darkest Part” which is the first track to have an established chorus. The chorus, sung by Kid Sister, fits nicely on the track, and the verses rapped by Black Thought and Raekwon both deliver justice to the amazing production of the song. “Because” is also one of the best tracks on the album. The track is very well-rounded with its great production, features, and verses. 

Danger Mouse’s production shines on every single track on this album on both the music and the transitions between tracks. On the note of “Belize,” as always, MF DOOM presents listeners with amazing wordplay and rhyme schemes. Fans of MF DOOM will be happy to know that his posthumous verses don’t take much of a dip in quality from previous ones. 

The song “Aquamarine” contains some of the best lyricism displayed on the album in the verses from Black Thought and while its one of the longer tracks on the album, being close to four minutes, it feels so much shorter because of the way Black Thought keeps throwing bar after bar at the listener. The album closes out with the song “Violas and Lupitas” which maintains the same level of production and lyricism as the rest of the album. 

Overall, the album is excellent and a must-listen for old-school hip-hop fans. Danger Mouse’s production is spectacular on every track and the transitions between the tracks especially stand out because it takes a skilled artist to have every song smoothly transition between one another. Black Thought’s lyricism needs no introduction as he is well known for having some of the best lyrics in the game. None of the features stand out as detracting from the album, and ones like MF DOOM, Run The Jewels, and Joey Bada$$ stand out for being amazing. The album is very cohesive as a project and is definitely worth a listen.