Grant JonesLast year, Homeboy Sandman had a track called “Enough” with stalwarts of the scene Kurious and J-Live, where he noted that J-Live should be a household name. He’s not wrong, but I think Sandman himself is approaching that level of respect, as he has taken his brand of affable everyman to new heights with his last few albums. Much more accessible than some of his indie peers, and even his own earlier output, the Queens, New York rapper has always come through with a great single to welcome a new full-length project, and “Home II”, the sequel to last year’s “Home” (perhaps even a nod to Kurious) continues this trend.
Produced by Mono en Stereo, who has previously worked with Your Old Droog, as well as Sandman on 2023’s “Rich”, there’s a nice playful feel to his production that fits perfectly with the vision of this album. There’s something to be said about how Sandman raps, whereby every word feels purposeful, while simultaneously remaining unpredictable. After decades of listening to rap, experienced listeners can quickly get a grasp on where a rapper is taking them, but Homeboy Sandman has always been harder to pin down. This is why he remains a captivating artist, and his concise writing style feels like he is doing more with less. The length of Sandman’s albums has gone down since his debut, on average from 45 minutes to 25 minutes, so if it feels like he’s doing more with less, he literally is because while it feels like we’re getting shorter projects, he’s still packing in plenty of interesting themes.
“Wait a minute, later for the hater and the critic
Playing hot potato with the data analytic”
Sandman himself will probably dismiss throwing numbers at art, and he has a point. He’s not afraid to be opinionated, often refreshingly so, repeatedly aiming barbs at critics and the general stupidity of the general public. Unlike many rappers, his approach doesn’t feel bitter or nasty, and his verses are reinforced with positivity and a likeable sense of humour. “People” is precisely the type of Homeboy Sandman song to sum up his view on society, while maintaining a playful energy.
My favourite track on “Home II” is undoubtedly “Need a Woman”. Sandman is one of the best at rapping about men’s battles with women, and this record is one of the year’s catchiest lists of demands, even if it is perfectly reasonable:
“I don’t need a potty mouth woman
All that vulgarity, messes with my clarity
It’s not about being ladylike
It’s about a rhythm and cadence for creating life
Different worlds and zones
All of which is sensitive to words and tones
We are cells composed
So I need a woman that can keep herself composed“
The perfect irony is that the beat is precisely the type of instrumental a basement-dwelling rap nerd would beat their meat to (no, not you reader). If MF Doom used this, I feel it would be getting lapped up more, but then there’s something to be said about Sandman continuing to operate as one of Hip-Hop’s best-kept secrets.
There’s some solid singing on “Rich II”, with “Everyday” containing the traditional repetition and mundanity you’d expect from a Sandman track, but continues his ongoing battle with everyday problems. The third verse in particular is highly relatable:
“It takes a little extra effort not to lose it
When I walk past young people playing trash music
Somehow I never get used to it
I hear ’em talking to each other and without exception
They say the word n**** fifteen times per sentence
It pains my senses
It hurts my heart
I stay centred, I focus on my art
I focus on the light and not the dark
To keep from going mad and being a man apart
The battle is ongoing
But I’m growing
I remind myself that the first order of business is to find myself
Redefine myself and refine myself”
The back half of the album is more sombre, although “Summertime” is a healthy bop that is physically impossible not to move your body to. When people think of Queens Hip-Hop, the mind naturally drifts toward Nas or Prodigy, perhaps a Kool G Rap, but never to Homeboy Sandman. It’s a shame, because he’s similarly gifted with words, and is far more relatable. As he states on “Summertime”: “this is more important than that coke rap, more important than that coke crap, more important than that joke rap, this is not an act, this is all fact”. Like pretty much every rhyme on this album, I’m nodding in agreement.