Lushlife's “Ritualize“ already is a rather unexpected contender for one of the strongest hip-hop albums of 2016, and it's finally out on February 19 via Western Vinyl. Here's what our man RNK had to say about it:

“Lushlife’s third full-length is really something we didn’t expect: it doesn’t really feel retro, and yet it has the nineties and terms like “boom bap” (note the q. marks) written all over it, in terms of vibe and spirit. Still carrying that backpack, it nevertheless surprises with features such as Ariel Pink, Marissa Nadler, RJD2, and even your favorite rapper Killer Mike. Produced by CSLSX – which reads: Casual Sex –, the pace is constantly up, even when the vibe is all cinematic and ambient-like (e.g. the Basinski-based “Integration Loop” feat. M. Nadler), and stand-outs such as “Hong Kong (Lady of Love)” feat. Ariel Pink feature the Philly MC’s rhymes over a backdrop that some wouldn’t even recognize as or call a hip-hop production. Eventually leaving our hip-hop infested planet altogether, “Toynbee Suite” is an amazing 10-minute journey recorded with a full chamber orchestra and various other guests including former Def Jux producer RJD2, Nightlands, and Yikes the Zero: Here, Lush investigates the Toynbee Tile phenomenon that has led to various conspiracy theories in Philadelphia and elsewhere since the 1980s, and the 4-part epic is really Lush at his lushest, the kind of track that turns this one into one of the stand-out rap albums of this year already.“