Listening to Octava reminds me of Kind of Blue. Right off the opening “Invocation,” the vibe is laid-back, relaxed, yet commanding attention. “Green Dreams” is meditative yet uplifting. It is a soothing album to kick back to after a long, stressful day. A few glasses of wine will also help.

Kaliii has a sexy voice with a laid-back flow. She got hoes in different area codes—a play off on Ludacris’s infamous “Area Codes.” As a female rapper, she turns the toxic, misogynist raps, which dominated by alpha male rappers, on their head. In “Eat It Up,” she boasts, “I’m a classy bitch, never trashy sis’ / Never had a broke nigga on my mattress.” Then she throws in a little political punchline, “If I had a gold digger with a matching wrist / I’d be up a billy’ if they didn’t tax the rich.” Her delivery is a bit monotonous, but the bouncy beats help.

Kevin Sun is a virtuosic saxophonist and a fine composer. As a leader, he leaves plenty of space for his accomplishments and only plays when he finds the right time. “Internal Choruses” is an example of his saxophone blazing in and improvising. His pianist shines on “From the Unseen Center (1) & (2).” From All This Stillness is a captivating modern jazz album. I will spend more time with it for a while.

Females rappers exploit sex as well. Hood Hottest Princess is Sexyy Red’s soundtrack to PornHub videos. Back up by pounding productions, Red gets freaky and filthy as fuck on “Mad At Me,” “Strictly for the Strippers,” and “Pound Town 2” with Nicki Minaj. No crime in that, I suppose. Most of her lyrics are too explicit to be quoted, but I find her some of punchlines hilarious. On “I’m The Shit,” she talks shit, “Bitch, you ain’t tough, I’ll slap you in the head / How you sleepin’ on me? You ain’t even got a bed.”

Mr. George Freeman is obviously living The Good Life. At 96, he still swings “Up and Down” on his guitar with his band. His low notes are airy and hypnotizing. Even he plays the blues on “Lowe Groovin’,” he never used feedback or vibrato. He just keeps it cool. “Sister Tankersley” is another blues beauty. On the title track, which closes out the album, Mr. Freeman showcases his intoxicating fusion chops. I love every track on this album.

Coi takes it back to the old school with a new twist. “My Body” is Leray’s reinterpretation of Lesley Gore’ “It’s My Party” with the chorus changed to: “It’s my body, I could fuck who I want to.” “Players” is a rejuvenating sample of Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s “The Message.” Leray has filthy-ass lyrics to go with her dope-ass flow: “If you ain’t gettin’ money, I ain’t fuckin’ with you / Go and grab your calculator / Go and pop that pussy like a percolator.” I can bop with that.

The downbeats give Gunna the space to rhyme. His deliveries are laid back—even when he flows fast—and his lyrics are personal. He had many issues he needed to address, especially to his haters. On “Go Crazy,” he declares: “It’s deeper than rap and this life can get crazy.” Without any guest spots, Gunna takes control of his narrative throughout the album.

With Counterclock, Clark Gibson and his band take listeners back to the bebop era. Gibson’s naked saxophone solo on “Embraceable You” brings back nostalgia. His duet with trumpeter Sean Jones on “Boptude” brings back the good old days of Bird & Diz. The trio solo (with Michael Dease on baritone saxophone) is just striking. With contribution of Pat Bianchi (b3 organ), Lewis Nash (drums) and Nick Mancini (vibraphone), this album lifts up my spirit for a long, rainy day at work.

Laila Biali has an angelic voice and fine piano chops. Her rendition of “Autumn Leaves” is a quiet beauty. Her low-key singing leaves room for Kelly Jefferson to soar on his soprano saxophone. On “But Not For Me,” she maneuvers her way around the Brazilian rhythm with effortlessness. Her duet with Kurt Elling on “My Funny Valentine” is beautifully romantic. Your Requests is a lovely reinterpretation of jazz standards.

Monaleo’s debut kicks off with “Sober Mind” showing her motivational lyrics: “Life is like a book, you gotta read through it / And if at first you don’t succeed then you can re-do it.” Then she went hard on “Beating Down Yo Block,” “Ass Kickin,” and “Return of the P.” She has nice flows and she can ride big beats. Then she softened up with ballad singing, including “Miss Understood,” “Cologne Song,” and “Cosmic Love.” The album lost its cohesiveness in between the two opposite directions.