Ethan Barrilleaux

Ethan Barrilleaux is a student at the University of Georgia studying Marketing and Music Business. He listens to primarily Hip-hop, specifically alternative and experimental rap. But, you can also find him listening to other genres such as Indie Rock and Bedroom Pop.

Year in Review: Our Favorite Albums of 2023—Staff Picks

Posted on by Vinyl Mag, Ethan Barrilleaux, Haley Gilbert, Buket Urgen and Adeboye Adeoye

From one fellow music lover to another, Vinyl Mag staff shares the albums they loved all year long. Take a look below to see what records made us feel, dance, and reflect in 2023. Maybe you’ll find a new favorite.

Adeboye Adeoye, Staff Writer

  1. McKinley Dixon, Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?
  2. Sampha, Lahai
  3. Lord Apex, The Good Fight
  4. Kara Jackson, Why Does the Earth Give Us People to Love?
  5. Leith Ross, To Learn
  6. Noname, Sundial
  7. Jordan Ward, FORWARD
  8. Khamari, A Brief Nirvana
  9. MARCO PLUS, JOINTS
  10. Jamila Woods, Water Made Us

The albums that stick with me most this year tell very personal stories. McKinley Dixon evoked the written works of master author Toni Morrison over jazzy instrumentation to tell the story of contemporary Black life and his place in it. The title track stands out to me because of how simple it can be with repetition yet how layered its lyrics and themes are. Seeing Sampha return to the stage and release a new solo album was a moment of profound joy for me. Now a father and husband, I can hear how the years have aged him for the better, how he worked to overcome pain and grief, and it gives me hope for a brighter future in my own life. On a similar note, Kara Jackson’s record is an especially poignant project. The former National Youth Poet Laureate is bringing a whole new generation’s ears to the Blues while personally using her music as a vessel to navigate a sea of grief. I hope 2024 is filled with stories as personal as these, but I also hope that I don’t limit my ears to a small subsection of the near-boundless collection of stories and perspectives that is modern music.

Ethan Barrilleaux, Staff Writer

  1. Westside Gunn, And Then You Pray For Me
  2. Travis Scott, Utopia
  3. Earl Sweatshirt, The Alchemist, Voir Dire
  4. Zach Bryan, Zach Bryan 
  5. Logic, College Park 
  6. Lil Yachty, Let’s Start Here.
  7. JPEGMAFIA, Danny Brown, SCARING THE HOES
  8. Drake, For All The Dogs Scary Hours Edition
  9. Larry June, The Alchemist, The Great Escape
  10. Tyler, The Creator, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale 

Reflecting on the music released this year, I am reminded that hip-hop is alive and well. However this year, I reached out of my comfort zone with records like Zach Bryan’s self-titled and Lil Yachty’s indie/psychedelic rock Let’s Start Here. Bryan gave me the best I could ask for in an introduction to country music, a soft record with insightful lyrics. And when I first heard about Yachty’s indie album, I was skeptical, but, the intro track “the BLACK seminole” immediately drew me into the great record. However, this year gave me plenty of new favorite hip-hop records too. We got a classic boombap-style record by Westside Gunn. This record was all I could ask for with its grimy drums over eerie instrumentals. The track “KITCHEN LIGHTS” is beautiful and it’s where we get what Griselda Records do best. Since July, Travis Scott’s Utopia has grown on me. The intro track “HYAENA” is already an iconic track during his live shows, and I still cannot stop listening to “MODERN JAM” and “TIL FURTHER NOTICE”. Earl Sweatshirt delivered on his brief yet beautifully produced record Voir Dire with The Alchemist, who had an incredible year. The Alchemist was also featured on Larry June’s The Great Escape and Drake’s For All The Dogs Scary Hours Edition, where Drake went 6 for 6 on the additional tracks. It was an experimental yet gratifying year for hip-hop production largely thanks to The Alchemist and Conductor Williams. However, I cannot talk about experimental production without highlighting JPEGMAFIA and Danny Brown’s SCARING THE HOES. Tracks like “Garbage Pale Kids” and “Lean Beef Patty” gave such unique productions that I keep coming back to them. Then there was Logic’s College Park, a highly anticipated album for me, and while it did not meet all my expectations, tracks like “Lightsabers” and “Village Slum” made it one of my favorites of the year. Lastly, we did not get an entirely new Tyler, The Creator project this year, but CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST: The Estate Sale contained enough notable and well-produced tracks such as “WHAT A DAY” and “HEAVEN TO ME” that I had to include it.  

Haley Gilbert, Staff Writer

  1. Liza Anne, Utopian
  2. Chappell Roan, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
  3. Heffner, Super Bowl LXIX
  4. Olivia Rodrigo, GUTS
  5. Zach Bryan, Zach Bryan
  6. Boygenius, the record
  7. Indigo De Souza, All of This Will End
  8. Hozier, Unreal Unearth
  9. Gregory Alan Isakov, Appaloosa Bones
  10. Briston Maroney, Ultrapure

This year marked the end of my college career and the beginning of whatever happens next. Naturally, things did not play out in the way I had planned, but that does not mean that they did not play out in the way they were supposed to. During this in-between phase of life, I have found myself surrounded by lots of music, which tends to be a good sign about how things are going. While listening to Utopian by Liza Anne, I realized how special of a gift it is to be able to listen to them describe change as a beautiful and necessary thing while I am currently terrified at the prospect of restructuring my life; I was able to find comfort where I wasn’t necessarily expecting or looking for it. After finding myself at lots of shows in Athens this past year, there was no way Heffner’s Super Bowl LXIX was not going to make this list; their sound has become interwoven in many of the memories I made during my time in the Classic City. Between boygenius’s the record, Briston Maroney’s Ultrapure, Chappell Roan’s The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Indigo De Souza’s All of This Will End, and Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS, there was no such thing as a boring car ride this year. The songs on these bodies of work were raw, powerful, and such an experience to listen to. On the late-afternoon-coffeehouse-playlist side of the spectrum, Zach Bryan, Hozier, and Gregory Alan Isakov served as my company on many of the days when I turned to music for a sense of peace and comfort with their respective releases Zach Bryan, Unreal Unearth, and Appaloosa Bones. Isakov’s Appaloosa Bones, an album with themes that largely focus on the importance of leaning on those around you for love and support during times of hardship and struggle, felt like a message I so desperately needed to hear, even if I was initially reluctant to accept it, and Zach Bryan’s self-titled album felt like an important step in his mission with Noah Kahan to assemble the Folk Avengers. As the end of the year is approaching, I genuinely do not know what is next for me, but the artists on this list have helped me not only come to terms with this fact but begin to embrace it. 

Buket Urgen, Editor-in-Chief

  1. Janelle Monáe, The Age of Pleasure
  2. Olivia Rodrigo, GUTS
  3. Victoria Monet, Jaguar II
  4. Troye Sivan, Something to Give Each Other
  5. boygenius, the record
  6. Hozier, Unreal Unearth
  7. Caroline Polacheck, Desire, I Want To Turn Into You
  8. Portugal. The Man, Chris Black Changed My Life
  9. Allison Russell, The Returner
  10. Olivia Dean, Messy

Honorable Mention: Amaarae, Fountain Baby

Per usual, my favorite records of the year lean female-artist-heavy. With a mission to throw myself into more music, this year, I made a point of listening to an album from beginning to end, and repeatedly, until it sank in. (I’ve always had a particularly bad habit of zoning out on listens one through three and not genuinely hearing a record until the fourth or fifth time.) I listened to 55 new albums that came out in 2023, which is much less than I would’ve liked. So, here are the albums that were in heavier rotation than the rest. Without a doubt, 2023 was a great year for sexy club bangers from Janelle Monáe’s and Amaarae’s Afrobeats-inspired progressive R&B to Victoria Monet’s more classic R&B and hip-hop influences to Troye Sivan’s electro-pop and house. Meanwhile, supergroup boygenius found massive success following their first full-length record, growing their cult-like following with an indie rock triumph. The record is a slow burn and I find myself finding something new to appreciate in each listen. Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS was a compelling instant classic, with Rodrigo’s edgy girlhood-core aesthetic brilliantly shining through to reach the repressed teen girl in all of us (or was that just me?). And in moments when I needed to let go and just be, I found myself returning to Caroline Polacheck’s Desire, I Want To Turn Into You or Allison Russell’s The Returner, both soothing in different ways for any rough sailing days in life. This year lacked the blockbuster records of the previous one (see: RENAISSANCE, Midnights, SOS), but it was instead defined by breakthrough moments for long underrated artists or the ones coming into their own with their second full-length project. For anyone out there trying, there was plenty of good music to be found in 2023.

Photo of Quadeca

Artist to Watch: Quadeca

Posted on by Ethan Barrilleaux

Rapper, producer, singer-songwriter, and YouTuber Benjamin Lasky, professionally known as Quadeca, has quickly become one of my favorite artists due to his unique come-up story. Quadeca—or as fans call him, Quad—has crafted an enticing album that places you right in between life and death. His third studio album, I Didn’t Mean to Haunt You, changed the way I think about a concept album. It’s written from the perspective of a ghost in the afterlife, viewing his family living without him; the record is a truly emotional experience. I’d dare to say that I have moshed with Quad in between heaven and hell, as I saw him perform on his Quadeca | Quickly, Quickly tour in Purgatory at the Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia.

"I never thought I would mosh with one of my favorite artists to a Death Grips-like track from an album about being a ghost in the afterlife."

Quad opened up the night with “knots”, accompanied by a full band. When Quad split the crowd in half preparing for the first mosh of the night, everyone chanting “I’m an open book in a closed casket” and “I don’t fade to black I cut to static”. These lines allude to the final minutes of the album being static, representing the fade into the afterlife.

Taking the show from a near-metal experimental hip-hop track into the entrancing “tell me a joke” is far from an easy feat as the track begins with soft ambient sounds. Yet, the booming moments hit just as hard as they did in “knots”. The live drums on this track were especially astonishing. During his set, Quad reminded us that these songs would never sound like this again, with the accompaniment of his live band and our voices meshing together.

Quad teased unreleased tracks with acoustic sets throughout the show. After performing what he said may be his hardest work yet, “born yesterday”, Quad took us back to his first studio album, Voice Memos. With the introspective “Man on My Left Shoulder” and the soul-sampled “These Days”, day-one fans got what they were hoping for.

Naturally, Quadeca performed his critically acclaimed “Sisyphus” off of his second studio album From Me To You. Quadeca’s high-pitched vocals at the beginning of the track pulled at our heartstrings before he started snappily rapping about the tough, never-ending climb of life.

Quadeca encored with his banger single “BEAMIN”. He fell into the crowd and moshed with his die-hard fans—I helped the man himself up off the ground as the night ended. I can easily say this was my favorite show I have attended to date. I never thought I would mosh with one of my favorite artists to a Death Grips-like track from an album about being a ghost in the afterlife.

When we thought Quadeca couldn’t get any more mysterious, he took to Twitter (now X) to tease his fans again. Changing his profile picture and banner to a wrinkled piece of blank white paper, Quadeca tweeted: “new era approaching”. Will the paper gradually get filled with sketches of his new concept album ideas? Or is this all to throw us off? Only time will tell.

Logic College Park Album Cover

Review: Logic: ‘College Park’

Posted on by Ethan Barrilleaux

Maryland-based multi-platinum rapper Logic, AKA Bobby Hall, was not lying when he rapped “Egon’s finest, Peanuts after like I was Linus / Followed by that College Park next, that’s the lineup” on the final track of his previous album Vinyl Days. Sprinkled with various skits, College Park tells the story of the original Rattpack’s (Logic’s close squad and later, the name for his fans) trip to Washington D.C. as Logic prepares to perform a show. With features from the entire Rattpack (and more), College Park brings Logic back to his roots.

The album begins with guitar strumming and psychedelic vocals from Logic on the track “Cruisin’ Through the Universe” featuring RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. Logic’s vocals get both pitched up and down to indicate that this is a dream of Logic’s as he sleeps on longtime friend Big Lenbo’s couch. Logic wakes up and recalls his dream of being on a song with RZA. Lenny states “You know what would be really crazy? / If you got the whole Clan on a song one day” alluding to Logic’s “Wu Tang Forever” off his album YSIV. This track features every member of the Wu-Tang Clan except the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. Logic’s producer 6ix is, of course, present throughout the entire album, and he does not let us down.

Next is “Wake Up” featuring Lucy Rose, the first single off College Park. While Rose does not have a chorus on the track as she did on the track “Innermission” off Logic’s sophomore album The Incredible True Story, she helps with the social commentary the track was made to create. Repeating lines “every day I wake up” displays Logic’s previous cyclical life of drugs and violence. Logic raps over punchy drums and a pulsing horn-like lead, stating “Dropped out of school then he picked up a spatula / ‘Cause he never had a good role model just a hood role model” displaying the importance of a proper education and environment to lead you through your adolescence.

The next single “Lightsabers” featuring C Dot Castro has the most grandiose production on the entire project. Elevated by the fun Star Wars-referenced title, Logic and Castro come out with a feel-good anthem. I particularly enjoy the several beat switches on the track. We are greeted with iconic “Logic” ad-lib and brassy trumpets as Logic raps simply “Today’s a good day”. After the first verse, the track introduces some light keys over which Logic lyrically highlights his love for producing. The message of this track is to not be creative not for fame or money, but for the love of the game. The third verse introduces more pulsing horns and vibrating synth leads. Recently released from prison, C Dot Castro, previously known as Shy Grey, finishes off the track rapping about his aspirations to make it in the industry one day. Since then, Castro and Logic have created a rap duo known as halfBREED and recently released their first EP, entitled 3P.

Still sprinkled with skits throughout, Logic does what we know him for best on the next three tracks. “Clone Wars III” exemplifies itself as a classic boom-bap beat produced by PoST and Logic himself. Logic reminds us that he is just one of us, a music and pop-culture nerd. The track “Redpill VII” is one of Logic’s most introspective in a while and is one of my personal favorite beats on the record. Beginning with an enchanting yet mysterious soundscape, Logic raps “the drugs all in they system got ‘em adamant they fine / but in they mind they know they not”. Logic is no stranger to struggling with or advocating for mental health, such as on his platinum-certified suicide prevention track “1-800-273-8255”. The track “Playwright” featuring Andy Hull can be summarized by one line “Logic known for tellin’ stories like a playwright”. The track is fun and light-hearted, nothing serious. Yet, the catchy chorus from Hull keeps me coming back. The track ends with a skit of Rattpack in the car, ready to head to Bobby’s show. Castro brings beat CDs, and then we go into “Gaithersburg Freestyle” feat. C Dot Castro, Big Lenbo, Fat Trel, and ADÉ.

Logic’s energy and delivery on the track keep me coming back to this freestyle. Plus, the seamless transition into the next track, “Insipio”, satisfies me every time. Logic released part of this track on his YouTube channel, featuring fun spinning visuals and agile spitting. Next, we get to the TikTok phenomenon “Self Medication” featuring Seth Macfarlane, Redman, and Statik Selektah. MacFarlane’s Sinatra-esque vocals are stellar. Logic and Redman put you in their shoes with their lyrics. I see why this track became a TikTok favorite.

“Shimmy”, featuring Joey Bada$$, is a tribute to Wu Tang’s late Ol’ Dirty Bastard. The track flies by, clocking in at just over two minutes. We get verses from Logic and Joey about overcoming their need for welfare benefits. 6ix and Soundtrakk lay down repetitive keys over simple hats. The production is straightforward, yet catchy, which is what 6ix does best. 

“Paradise II” was the third and final single from College Park. Featuring Norah Jones, we get melodic and swelling vocals in between Logic’s raps. Bobby drops some nerd and music references before Norah closes out the track, singing “Take me into paradise / Gotta keep our heads tonight / Even if it makes a fight / Take me into paradise”. This track is of course a sequel to the original “Paradise” off of Logic’s second studio album. Paradise II is a fun track, but I enjoy the first far more. This one ultimately feels like a filler.

Despite being a Logic fanboy, I must admit that things get a bit rough at this point in the album for me. Out of the next three tracks, the only one I really come back to is “Village Slum”, mostly due to the instrumental similar to Madlib’s “Road of the Lonely Ones”. “Come on Down” featuring Jordan Harris sounds a bit like a gym banger without any lyrical depth. We all know what the track “Highlife” is about, so I won’t waste anyone’s time explaining it here. 

Here we are, in the concluding few tracks of the album. Said to be the title track by fans, “38.9897 °N, 76.9378 °W” featuring C Dot Castro and Big Lenbo feels like another filler track. Nothing interesting is lyrically presented, but 6ix kills it with the simple yet catchy production once again. In the album’s story, Logic has now arrived at his show in D.C., accompanied by DJ Boss Player. Logic is nervous, but hype for the show. Then, we are introduced to the track “Ayo” featuring Bun B and Lil Keke. This is probably the most absurd turn in the project for me. I believe Logic could have placed another boom-bap-heavy freestyle-type track here, yet he just raps the word “ayo” over and over. I enjoyed the features, but again, nothing innovative here. 

Last but not least, “Lightyear” is the track I had been waiting for on this entire record. Produced by 6ix, PoST, Kal Banx, and Logic himself, the track contains several iconic beat switches and insanely enjoyable lyricism. Some of my favorite lyrics on the track are “Why you think I went pop? So my family could eat / But now that the fridge is full, it’s just a pen and this beat” and “I’m God-level, here to locust I’m so pissed like a P.O. / Rollie gold like C3PO, and I’m busting off like R2 / That’s COD-level”. We get introspective bars, alongside Call of Duty and Star Wars references—it’s purely awesome. Logic rapping over Kendrick Lamar’s “Rigamortus” came as a surprise to the entire Rattpack, and I could not wipe the smile off my face when I heard it.

“Lightyear” is interrupted by a skit, where the squad goes their separate ways and the only ones left are Logic and Big Lenbo. Lenbo tells Logic he’s going to make it big in the game someday, but Logic is hesitant. He states he wants to sing and play guitar, not putting himself into one box. Here, Logic shows us who he really is, singing “Now I’m here, Lightyears from where I was before”. Die-hard Rattpack members like me were shedding tears at this moment, proud of who Logic has become and what he will do in the future. While known for his snappy raps and witty punchlines, it only took a “Lightyear” for fans and the industry alike to respect and love Sir Robert Bryson Hall II.