In the sticky-sweet sprawl of Atlanta’s summer nights, where fireflies flicker like glitchy studio lights and the air hums with unspoken stories, Black Astronaut Records—Charles Luck’s ever-expanding hip-hop collective of poets, rappers, and soul-stirrers—drops 39 Charles Street (The Renovation) like a mixtape from a parallel universe, yet straight from the heart.
Released last month, the 39 track opus goes deep into the story of how the artist became Charles Luck, the Black Astronaut. Throughout the set influences come from all over the place. We get golden-era boom-bap all the way to cosmic funk all with the classic songs of all genres sneaking in to set the stage for the songs to launch from. It’s Charles Luck’s most ambitious dispatch yet—part Life On Mars sequel, part love letter to the block that birthed the culture—real heart launches the furthest flights.
Opening with “Cosmic Lollipop” we get the feeling this is going to be a fun record. There is a beat that is full of pep and ready for a party. Tino Red lends his flow to fill out the pace and create the cosmic feel we are now ready for. The title track “39 Charles Street” eases us into our chairs to soak up the story with a sample of the Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young classic “Our House.” The lyrics are open and free, willing to give us the full backstory from the beginning.
Black Astronaut has always been strong on the sample game. Using tracks we all have heard before, even if we don’t know exactly where we heard it. Let’s see if you can pick them on out while you listen to “Don’t Wanna Be This Disease”, “Sober”, “InThe City”, and “The Stairway.” (*Those are the easy ones, lol).
It is not all sunshine and rainbows though. There are some dark vibes seeping into some songs. Take a listen to “Gone Off The Rock”, “Demons”, and “Everything.” This group of collaborative efforts holds no punches. The artists are comfortable enough with each other to share some of the demons sitting deep in their souls.
The production is top notch throughout. The beats groove along with the samples without grinding on each other. Vocals slide in without overpowering the solid foundation that the music has laid down. Years of doing it has built Black Astronaut to a true professional.
At its core, 39 Charles Street (The Renovation) isn’t just an album; it’s a dispatch from the diaspora, mapping joy and grit from stoop to stratosphere. Black Astronaut Records carves a lane that’s defiantly human—eclectic, empathetic, eternally orbiting. Just like life, we get both sides of the coin, and sometimes the edges as well.
