A trend that I have been noticing a lot in Hip Hop a lot lately is when artists come together to form some sort of Super Group, or when all of the artists from a particular label come together and make a full album together. This is not a practice that is rare; throughout the years, we have seen the members of Dipset doing this, the members of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D music making an album together, and the four of the members of the TDE label(Kendrick Lamar Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock) making music together as well. Recently, Travis Scott’s JackBoys, the members of Quality Control Music, and all of the artists apart of J Cole’s Dreamville outfit make full albums with their label. I usually think of these records more compilation projects rather than actual storytelling albums, as most of the time these kinds of records are just meant to showcase respective skills from its artists. The latest Super Group whose new album I am super into is the group called Spillage Village, which is made up of Jurdan Bryant, HollywoodJB, Mereba, Benji, J.I.D., 6lack, and Earthgang. Three of these artists, J.I.D., 6lack, and Earthgang, have become some of my favorite artists over the past couple of years. That fact is pretty evident from this blog, as I have definitely written about all of them in a very positive light at least once since the start of East Side Vibes. Spillage Village has been making music as a collective since all the way back in 2010, and they have continued to drop the occasional single and project together as they have all started to become big artists in their own right. Spillage Village has decided to bring some brightness to the dreary year that is 2020 with their latest project, Spilligion. Since this is a compilation record and does not really focus on one main artist, I am going to write about my favorite songs from the record instead of properly reviewing it. In the comments below, please let me know if you agree with my choices for the best songs from this record, and let me know how you feel about Spillage Village in general down there as well!

BAPTIZE(WITH J.I.D. & EARTHGANG FEAT. ANT CLEMONS)

One thing that is very obvious about this record is that Earthgang has a very heavy influence on every song from it. Even the songs that do not actually have Earthgang singing or rapping in them sound like they were at least in part crafted and developed by Earthgang. If you know their music, you should be able to figure out what I am saying by this. ‘Baptize,’ similarly to the rest of the songs from this project, has a heavy Southern Jazz, Funk, and Gospel sound to the instrumental and the background vocals it possesses. The instrumental and singing vocals on this track sound like a mixture of Outkast’s weirdest Gospel-tinted tracks and some slow 1970s Smooth Funk Rock. My favorite thing about this track has got to be J.I.D.’s verse. He is known for his extremely witty wordplay and crazy flows, and this song is no different in that regard. I really love his use of alliteration, especially in these lines: Friendship, missionary, Beulah Hill Baptist. Norfolk county doin’ peyotes from a cactus. Alabaster flows, out in Cali with some Calabasas hoes… J.I.D. really is able to make any topic he raps about sound elegant because of his huge vocabulary and ability to change tempos while rapping.

MECCA(WITH J.I.D. & EARTHGANG FEAT. HOLLYWOODJB)

‘Mecca’ is a song that turns the dial on the “Funk Meter” all the way up to 25/10. There are not too many artists in the Hip Hop game that make music like this. The harmonies on this song sound like they come from a choir. Right at the beginning of the song, as J.I.D. is telling everyone to spread the love around the word, Earthgang harmonizes the phrase Over the Moon in a way that makes me want to just throw my hands in the air and sing with them. The level of funk that these artists bring on this song is on such a high level. When Johnny Venus of Earthgang starts singing the first verse, he commands the microphone like he is James Brown. There is no way that this song wouldn’t make you move your feet or hips when you listen to it; it is literally just so groovy and fun to listen to. If you are a big fan of the Funk, this is a song for you.

JUDAS(WITH J.I.D. & ARI LENNOX FEAT. CHANCE THE RAPPER, BUDDY, AND MASEGO)

‘Judas’ is probably one of the more unique songs on the record in regards to how its sound compares to the rest of the album. This song is definitely very Funky and very old school, but it does not really have the Gospel/Choir music element that a lot of the other songs on the project do have. One of the things that makes this song sound different from the rest of the record is the fact that it has Ari Lennox on it. Arisings the chorus, which uses a sample from the legendary song ‘Hit the Road, Jack’ by Ray Charles. She brings a very smooth and more modern R&B element to the song that the rest of the record really does not have. I also really like Chance the Rapper’s verse on this track as well. Chance’s voice and flow bring a freshness and level of optimism that most other rappers can not bring, and his sound goes perfectly with this track.

CUPID(WITH EARTHGANG & 6LACK FEAT. LUCKY DAYE)

One would probably expect a song with the name ‘Cupid’ to have a bit of a lovey-dovey element to the sound of it, and ‘Cupid’ fits that bill pretty perfectly. This track has an old school upbeat, romantic Jazz sound to it that is so groovy and will get anyone and everyone to start dancing. The melody of this track is super sultry, and it also has a bit of a sexy element to it as well. All of the vocals on this song have a very sexy and seductive feeling to them as well. Like every other song on this record(but especially this one), the vocalists that were picked to sing on it are perfect for the instrumental and the type of song that it is. I especially love Lucky Daye’s performance on the chorus of this song. His voice is absolutely perfect for the tempo, melody, and overall style of this song, and he really does tie the song together. If you are a fan of upbeat and Jazzy Hip Hop, this is a song you need to listen to.

SHIVA(WITH J.I.D. AND EARTHGANG FEAT. BENJI AND JURDAN BRYANT)

There are a lot of songs on this record that are so big and bold that they almost have a heaviness when you listen to them. These songs are still enjoyable, and the songs very good when you listen to them in the context of the rest of the record, but they may not be the best for casual listening because they are just so large. ‘Shiva’ is a song that does not have that feeling to it at all. It is very light and easy to listen to, and it feels like the perfect song to play at a Summer kickback or a Sunday cookout. ‘Shiva’ is a sweet and Funky Soft Rock sound to it that is just so groovy and fun to listen to. On this track, Earthgang and J.I.D. are rapping about how they know they are tough to love, and they are telling their significant other that they will just have to deal with issues that they present in a relationship if the girls want to be with them. There isn’t anything from any particular artist that really stands out too much about this track, but it is just super easy going and fun to listen to and deserves to be any and all chill party playlists.

END OF DAZE(WITH EARTHGANG & J.I.D. FEAT. JURDAN BRYANT, HOLLYWOODJB, AND MEREBA)

One thing that is very evident about this record from the start is the fact this album is very complex. Every instrumental is very intricate, and the way all of the vocals are arranged obviously took a ton of time to put together because the way they are arranged is so complicated. ‘End of Daze’ is probably one of the least sophisticated songs in regards to the vocal and instrumental arrangement, and honestly, I think it is a bit refreshing. Don’t get me wrong, I love how deep and intense the songs on this record are, but this track gives the listener a bit of a break. ‘End of Daze’ does have a Gospel sound to it similar to a lot of the rest of the album, and the background harmonies drive the melody of the song. I also like that this song has more of an old school and a super low key drum beat to it. As I said, it is nice that this song just does not go as hard as all of the rest of the songs on the record. If the rest of the tracks on the album are a bit too heavy for you to listen to all of the time, ‘End of Daze’ is a really nice buffer.