Erick The Architect - I've Never Been Here Before (2024) Hi Res

Brooklyn crew Flatbush Zombies were one of the archetypal semi-outsider cult hip-hop squads of the 2010s, riding off a vision that simultaneously represented classic East Coast tradition while leaning hard into the trippier, gloomier vibes of the era's psychedelic horrorcore-adjacent outliers. Now, after a decade spent honing his group's eccentric sound at the expense of wider mainstream acceptance, rapper and primary Zombies producer Erick Arc Elliott has embarked on a solo outing that greatly expands how many kinds of idiosyncrasy he's capable of translating into relatability. I've Never Been Here Before is the culmination of a shift both geographically (he relocated to Los Angeles in 2019) and thematically. The latter transformation comes through a maturing reflection that confronts his vulnerability and his need for a greater legacy head-on. The eclectic production shows off this adventurous stock-taking: there's Laurel Canyon-inspired country rock soaring through "Breaking Point," surrealist ambient Kimbra-laced gospel driving "Leukemia / AM," and some of James Blake's most intensely pretty beats ("Beef Patty"; "Too Much Talkin") to join the wheelhouse of distorted psychedelic soul that brings out the unsettled intensity in his dozen-flows voice ("Mandevillain"; George Clinton feature "Ezekiel's Wheel"). In an album where he seems intent on figuring out where he stands by confronting familiar truths (self-big-up "Parkour") with the ambitions he needs to face the unknown to fulfill ("Instincts"), Erick sounds visionary even when he's fighting his own ambivalence.