When it comes to the West Coast some of Hip Hops biggest legends and best Mc’s come to mind. Names like Ice Cube, Ice -T, Snoop, Xzibit, Ras Kas, Spice-1 , Jurassic -5, Tash, Dr. Dre , Warren G, Dj QuiK, Mc Eiht, Tech N9ne, Cypres Hill, Crooked I. But even with such veterans , legends and a record of proof its always been hard for the West to get proper respect or props. Not since the death row days has the West collectively held the nations attention for a long period of time. A few have tried and done so for a spurts but nothing quite like since that time, ad we can blame a number of reasons, record companies trying to put the west in a box, medias lack of coverage, fans fickle taste, west coast feuds over unity etc, etc, etc
All of these factors have left a void unfilled that a new crop of Mc’s from the west hope to service. In walks a young cat Jay Rock, with his debut serving Follow Me Home to see if he can fill the void and build on the momentum.
Follow me home starts off quite cinematic setting up a scene in Nickerson Garden to allow you to not only know but feel where Jay Rock comes from followed by a perfect intro track “Code Red” . From that moment on Jay Rock shows that he is to be taken serious, the album is traditionally west coast, but not stereotypically west coast. I appreciate the fact that its not pre-crafted to appeal to any specific audience, it just is what it is and wil do what it will do, no short cuts, got to respect a man willing to do what he wants and is willing to grind and hustle it out. Follow me home is full of solid album cuts but the one that will probably have the best chance for radio play is “Westside” featuring Chis Brown. While there isn’t a wack or wasted track on the album there are some that will have to grow on you or that you have to understand the culture to appreciate “Elbows” or “Say Wassup”. The albums strongest serving and best song without a feature is “ All I know”, the most balanced cut is “ Hood Gone Love it “ featuring Kendrick Lamar. The standout cut is “Just Like Me” for its positive messages and reality based message about our community, one could only hope that a song like this would get any type of exposure, it makes you look at and appreciate Jay Rock in a new light and appreciate his versatility. The album ends in similar perfection as it opened, with “ All My Life” featuring Lil Wayne and Will.I.Am, which will have you wanting more.
Final analysis, its a good album worth checking out, its good ride music. Its perfectly balanced , almost to a fault. Its a perfect middle, it has no real complaints but nothing that makes it stand out completely either, the good thing is that it a first offering and leaves room for improvement. Lyrically, sonically, production wise and song making qualities are all good. Has a similar sound to The Game and a Mobb Deep street feel that should be well received.
If Jay is going t capture the nation its going to require that he be a master at something rather than just a jack of all trades. I give Follow me Home 3 stars out of 6
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Cole World : The Sideline Story Review
At random pick todays new rapper, cosigned by random headline artist and signed to any major deal about to make his debut album drop. Now take everything you normally assume about this new artist and throw it out the window, and allow me to introduce you to, no better yet, let him introduce himself as J. Cole.
MC/ Producer from NC, and I do mean Emcee in every sense of the word, who has been blowing up the under ground for a minute, given hip hop fans hope of what could possibly be in store. After 3 critically acclaimed and well received mix tapes ( The Come Up (2007) , The Warm Up (2009) ,Friday Night Lights (2010) ), each consistently better than the previous, two of which could have been albums, both being better than most albums out that year at least one that could have been/ is a classic. Now add in a few stellar feature slots and an ever growing new fan base and you start to see something special happen before our eyes, as people start to expect pressure for a classic album. And finally after much anticipation, delays, and a few EP’s (Any given Sundays) to wet our whistle finally Cole World : The Sideline Story has been delivered.
A number of questions come attached to Cole World though, will he change up his style, will it be reaching for commercial success , how many songs from the mix tapes will be on the album, which ones, can he match that same consistency and drop a classic, etc, etc, etc
Well J. Cole waste no time introducing himself after a quick skit, he jumps right into “Dollar and a Dream III” - a great intro track that quickly sets the stage for the album and sets and raises expectations and assures that aint nothing change for Cole. While not “Too Deep for the Intro” it still serves its purpose and fits perfectly.
From there Cole goes hard with “Can’t get enough” featuring Trey Songz. By no means is this your expected R&B hip hop collabo, its almost as if Trey is not on the track because his expected crooning is no where to be found, and its an upbeat head nod track that Cole absolutely murders, with hot a beat, hot lines and punch lines and the trademark flow that made me a fan. The song is well balanced and delivers the best flow and best song on the album.
But not to worry about the best song being so early in the album, he keeps the fire going with the stellar “Lights Please” the most balanced song on the album delivering perfect beat, rhyme, and flow. the first song off the mix tapes and its compliments perfect
About Midway through the album pretty much every question has been addressed , because the album is consistent from track to track and its typical Cole. However the album does reach a slow point and looses momentum with tracks like “In the morning” featuring Drake, another mix tape selection, “Mr Nice Watch” and “Nobody’s Perfect” feauturing / Missy Elliot. While its good to hear him on tracks with other artist, he’s best alone because the chemistry never really proves and works to optimum form. The collabo with Hov was expected but the song format doesn’t seem like it works for Cole. The song with Drake neither rapper goes very hard and you wonder of all the mixtape selections why that one. The Song with missy while its great to finally hear from Missy again it doesn’t quite deliver the promise we expect.
There isn’t a wack song on the album, its just with so much material to compare it to and with such high expectations, some songs just don’t meet the expected mark, some underperform at the levels we know Cole is capable of.
The best shot at Radio Play are probably “Workout” which may also be a warm up track for parties, and “ Mr Nice Watch”, the rest of the album is hot lyrics, stories, social consciousness and plenty of range especially on tracks like the introspective “ Break Down” , the soulful and heartfelt “ Lost Ones”.
In all Cole World is a breath of fresh air, because its everything that hip hop needs but isn’t currently getting, messages, skills, lyrics, social consciousness, creativity, independence and work ethic. Not sure its gone play heavy in the club or get much radio play,but you’ll listen in your car on the way to and after the club, or at least on your way to and from work. Falls slightly below expectations, could have thrown a few more of the heavy hit songs from the mix tapes on.
But its not overdone or overshadowed by features. Its not overproduced. Its extremely relatable, its not fiction or movie like, its real life, keeping it real at its best. Lyrically superior, sonically great. The production value is good, but if you’re a person that just loves beats, wont be your cup of tea in that department. Some people make types of songs, J. Cole has a sound and he knows its best, so there aren’t a lot of different types of beats on the album , because he handles most of the production, think of a East Coast Dj Quick, but opposite, more lyrical and less musical with all respect to both parties, his song making ability shines bright and is top notch, not simple at all. These aren’t formulated songs with simple singy hooks and dance beats, or stereotypical banter and subjects.
Cole World earns high points for originality, and subject range as he tackles seemingly every subject at some point. The low points however are the albums entertainment value, while not boring, its not going to make you hype, party or dance, unless you’re a true head and are entertained by the creativity, the skill, the flows, and concepts. Theres not a whole lot of versatility from the standpoint of him experimenting with things that aren’t typical Cole or doing what never been done, but its a first album and an introduction for most. While not the classic many were hoping for, it has good replay value, and some songs will grow on you, you’ll most certainly play it back more than once Im not sure if its an album 5+ years from now you’ll still be talking about. I don’t expect it to change the way albums are made, but Im glad someone is putting their heart into their music and look forward to the continued development of J.Cole as an artist. This is music for people with complex musical taste. Real Hip Hop
I give it a strong 4 out of 6 stars.
MC/ Producer from NC, and I do mean Emcee in every sense of the word, who has been blowing up the under ground for a minute, given hip hop fans hope of what could possibly be in store. After 3 critically acclaimed and well received mix tapes ( The Come Up (2007) , The Warm Up (2009) ,Friday Night Lights (2010) ), each consistently better than the previous, two of which could have been albums, both being better than most albums out that year at least one that could have been/ is a classic. Now add in a few stellar feature slots and an ever growing new fan base and you start to see something special happen before our eyes, as people start to expect pressure for a classic album. And finally after much anticipation, delays, and a few EP’s (Any given Sundays) to wet our whistle finally Cole World : The Sideline Story has been delivered.
A number of questions come attached to Cole World though, will he change up his style, will it be reaching for commercial success , how many songs from the mix tapes will be on the album, which ones, can he match that same consistency and drop a classic, etc, etc, etc
Well J. Cole waste no time introducing himself after a quick skit, he jumps right into “Dollar and a Dream III” - a great intro track that quickly sets the stage for the album and sets and raises expectations and assures that aint nothing change for Cole. While not “Too Deep for the Intro” it still serves its purpose and fits perfectly.
From there Cole goes hard with “Can’t get enough” featuring Trey Songz. By no means is this your expected R&B hip hop collabo, its almost as if Trey is not on the track because his expected crooning is no where to be found, and its an upbeat head nod track that Cole absolutely murders, with hot a beat, hot lines and punch lines and the trademark flow that made me a fan. The song is well balanced and delivers the best flow and best song on the album.
But not to worry about the best song being so early in the album, he keeps the fire going with the stellar “Lights Please” the most balanced song on the album delivering perfect beat, rhyme, and flow. the first song off the mix tapes and its compliments perfect
About Midway through the album pretty much every question has been addressed , because the album is consistent from track to track and its typical Cole. However the album does reach a slow point and looses momentum with tracks like “In the morning” featuring Drake, another mix tape selection, “Mr Nice Watch” and “Nobody’s Perfect” feauturing / Missy Elliot. While its good to hear him on tracks with other artist, he’s best alone because the chemistry never really proves and works to optimum form. The collabo with Hov was expected but the song format doesn’t seem like it works for Cole. The song with Drake neither rapper goes very hard and you wonder of all the mixtape selections why that one. The Song with missy while its great to finally hear from Missy again it doesn’t quite deliver the promise we expect.
There isn’t a wack song on the album, its just with so much material to compare it to and with such high expectations, some songs just don’t meet the expected mark, some underperform at the levels we know Cole is capable of.
The best shot at Radio Play are probably “Workout” which may also be a warm up track for parties, and “ Mr Nice Watch”, the rest of the album is hot lyrics, stories, social consciousness and plenty of range especially on tracks like the introspective “ Break Down” , the soulful and heartfelt “ Lost Ones”.
In all Cole World is a breath of fresh air, because its everything that hip hop needs but isn’t currently getting, messages, skills, lyrics, social consciousness, creativity, independence and work ethic. Not sure its gone play heavy in the club or get much radio play,but you’ll listen in your car on the way to and after the club, or at least on your way to and from work. Falls slightly below expectations, could have thrown a few more of the heavy hit songs from the mix tapes on.
But its not overdone or overshadowed by features. Its not overproduced. Its extremely relatable, its not fiction or movie like, its real life, keeping it real at its best. Lyrically superior, sonically great. The production value is good, but if you’re a person that just loves beats, wont be your cup of tea in that department. Some people make types of songs, J. Cole has a sound and he knows its best, so there aren’t a lot of different types of beats on the album , because he handles most of the production, think of a East Coast Dj Quick, but opposite, more lyrical and less musical with all respect to both parties, his song making ability shines bright and is top notch, not simple at all. These aren’t formulated songs with simple singy hooks and dance beats, or stereotypical banter and subjects.
Cole World earns high points for originality, and subject range as he tackles seemingly every subject at some point. The low points however are the albums entertainment value, while not boring, its not going to make you hype, party or dance, unless you’re a true head and are entertained by the creativity, the skill, the flows, and concepts. Theres not a whole lot of versatility from the standpoint of him experimenting with things that aren’t typical Cole or doing what never been done, but its a first album and an introduction for most. While not the classic many were hoping for, it has good replay value, and some songs will grow on you, you’ll most certainly play it back more than once Im not sure if its an album 5+ years from now you’ll still be talking about. I don’t expect it to change the way albums are made, but Im glad someone is putting their heart into their music and look forward to the continued development of J.Cole as an artist. This is music for people with complex musical taste. Real Hip Hop
I give it a strong 4 out of 6 stars.
Friday, September 23, 2011
What happen to our dance culture?
I swear americanized African American’s are a lost tribe of people, I get so frustrated and jealous being around my friends of other cultures and ethnicities, because they are so in tuned with their culture and heritage right down to the music and dancing. For some reason we African Americans, the majority of us at least, could care less. You throw on old school reggae, soca, meringue, bachata, and people will rush the floor. You dare throw on Al Green at party and the floor will clear, suddenly its time to go to the bathroom, visit the bar, complain about the DJ, or its a sign that the party is over, unless by some miracle there's an abundance of older people at the party, or its a theme party. What do we know about old school music other than the few Frankie Beverly and Maze tracks, a few MJ and Jackson 5 tracks and the electric slide. Even then, we don’t know how to dance to the music, and for god sake hope we don’t have to ask a woman to dance,what was the last dance we had, lean with it rock with it, super man, snapping, what was the last real dance, the cha cha slide? The only dance we pass down now is the electric slide. The art of slow dancing has been lost on popping, grinding and bouncing, standing still and letting a girl gyrate on you. When a slow song come on the only people dancing are couples or drunk people. When we get older, late twenties and beyond we still only know how to dance like we at spring break freshman year of college, cant step, do the mash potato, the hustle nothing. We can pretend like we can break dance, don’t act like you’ve never seen two cats in the club doing a horrible job pop locking with a crowd around them, making every breaker in america sick. We don't even know hip hop. I mean we know nothing about dance, nothing that involves actual technique or footwork or anything. Are we trying to break the typecast that we have rhythm by not dancing or something, IJS dancing is a part of culture and we've lost ours. Its a shame, how can we be so proud to be so uncultured, when sitting on a goldmine of culture and history, especially when we have some of the worlds best music and artist, revered all around the world but we aren't proud of it. WTH? We got to do better.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Game - Red Album review
After a summer of highly anticipated and hyped releases, and after a summer of debated and disappointing releases. From the West Coast steps Game to deliver his much hyped and anticipated album in an attempt to raise the bar on the average of this summers releases.
In a reunion we been waiting for we finally here the good doctors voice on an album with Game again, this reunion has been every bit as anticipated as when Dr. Dre and Snoop first reunited, Dre teases listeners by beginning with the album intro which is a narration of the album.
The album then gets right to work, with a very good intro track, “The city” has a very cinematic sounding beat and game comes out with aggressive verses and flows, but its Kendrick Lemar that steals the scene by going hard on both the hook and his verse, way harder than whats expected for an intro track.
The next track we get what we’ve been waiting and anticipating in more ways than one, Dr. dre and Game reunite on a track and Dre raps. “ Drug Test” f/ Dre, Snoop,and Sly is good crew track thats an automatic headbanger guaranteed to make your neck bob. No complaints on the track, as DJ Khalil puts it down on the track and each of the artist deliver on it. But it does make you wonder how much harder the song may have been if Dr. Dre did the beat and if Nate Dogg was alive( RIP) how he could have attacked the track, no disrespect but it does make you wonder.
From that moment on Game goes on to teach a lesson in versatility and the art of the collaboration. RED Album is full of collaboration, but they each work, none of the collabos are forced sounding. Game jumps on a track with people from all walks and at all stages in their career, from all around the country, old new, hot, established , up and coming etc, etc.
“Martians vs Goblin” featuring Lil Wayne and Tyler the Creator is a good example of both versatility and chemistry on collabo, the song has a very weird sounding horror / video game ,sounding beat but Game and Tyler deliver with funny punchlines and Wayne delivers the hook with his voices to make an entertaining cut.
On “Ricky” and “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” Game teaches how to story tell. He uses sound effects and samples to create the scene like a B.I.G track but uses the art of showing not telling in his lyrics like Slick Rick to bring the concepts of the records together and deliver to highly creative tracks. With “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” being in my opinion the one of the best tracks on the album.
Game then gets Socially conscious on the track with Drake called Good Girl Go Bad, in the most gangster way possible and respectful way possible, they tackle a tough issue and talk about the need to respect women and appreciate them. Its done in a gangster way, creatively and not a popish R&B candy way, Big Respect for making the statement, showing growth and taking the risk, and pulling it off.
The album looses steam for minute with a three song set of R&B style tracks and collabos, with Chris Brown, Mario, and LLoyd respectively. None of the songs are not album quality song , its the placement of them, they slow the album down rather continue to build and take the album in an entirely different direction that it never quite recovers from, it would be hard to figure out which if any to take off and it would take away from the versatility displayed if the were not on the album at all, so you take the good with the bad, a catch 22 because game delivers, shows and proves on each.
At the albums end Game continues to show versatility, Jumping on a DJ Premier beat and straight murdering it delivering the albums best cut in my opinion, a Jazzy style beat reminiscent of a Tribe Called Quest beats, with an awkward collabo with Nelly Furtado that he still delivers on and a concept song California Dream allah B.I.G. , to close out.
In total the RED Album is a solid listen from beginning to end, with some replay and rewind ability. Lyrically its good , Sonically above average as Game shows that he be musical also, the production is good , the song making ability gets high notes and is the strongest quality, its entertaining, has originality, loads of versatility, it shows range speaking on different subjects, and has petty decent replay value. You’ll be able to listen to the whole album again, and certain songs are definite and others will grow on you. I’d give it 4 out of 6 stars.
In a reunion we been waiting for we finally here the good doctors voice on an album with Game again, this reunion has been every bit as anticipated as when Dr. Dre and Snoop first reunited, Dre teases listeners by beginning with the album intro which is a narration of the album.
The album then gets right to work, with a very good intro track, “The city” has a very cinematic sounding beat and game comes out with aggressive verses and flows, but its Kendrick Lemar that steals the scene by going hard on both the hook and his verse, way harder than whats expected for an intro track.
The next track we get what we’ve been waiting and anticipating in more ways than one, Dr. dre and Game reunite on a track and Dre raps. “ Drug Test” f/ Dre, Snoop,and Sly is good crew track thats an automatic headbanger guaranteed to make your neck bob. No complaints on the track, as DJ Khalil puts it down on the track and each of the artist deliver on it. But it does make you wonder how much harder the song may have been if Dr. Dre did the beat and if Nate Dogg was alive( RIP) how he could have attacked the track, no disrespect but it does make you wonder.
From that moment on Game goes on to teach a lesson in versatility and the art of the collaboration. RED Album is full of collaboration, but they each work, none of the collabos are forced sounding. Game jumps on a track with people from all walks and at all stages in their career, from all around the country, old new, hot, established , up and coming etc, etc.
“Martians vs Goblin” featuring Lil Wayne and Tyler the Creator is a good example of both versatility and chemistry on collabo, the song has a very weird sounding horror / video game ,sounding beat but Game and Tyler deliver with funny punchlines and Wayne delivers the hook with his voices to make an entertaining cut.
On “Ricky” and “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” Game teaches how to story tell. He uses sound effects and samples to create the scene like a B.I.G track but uses the art of showing not telling in his lyrics like Slick Rick to bring the concepts of the records together and deliver to highly creative tracks. With “The Good, The Bad, The Ugly” being in my opinion the one of the best tracks on the album.
Game then gets Socially conscious on the track with Drake called Good Girl Go Bad, in the most gangster way possible and respectful way possible, they tackle a tough issue and talk about the need to respect women and appreciate them. Its done in a gangster way, creatively and not a popish R&B candy way, Big Respect for making the statement, showing growth and taking the risk, and pulling it off.
The album looses steam for minute with a three song set of R&B style tracks and collabos, with Chris Brown, Mario, and LLoyd respectively. None of the songs are not album quality song , its the placement of them, they slow the album down rather continue to build and take the album in an entirely different direction that it never quite recovers from, it would be hard to figure out which if any to take off and it would take away from the versatility displayed if the were not on the album at all, so you take the good with the bad, a catch 22 because game delivers, shows and proves on each.
At the albums end Game continues to show versatility, Jumping on a DJ Premier beat and straight murdering it delivering the albums best cut in my opinion, a Jazzy style beat reminiscent of a Tribe Called Quest beats, with an awkward collabo with Nelly Furtado that he still delivers on and a concept song California Dream allah B.I.G. , to close out.
In total the RED Album is a solid listen from beginning to end, with some replay and rewind ability. Lyrically its good , Sonically above average as Game shows that he be musical also, the production is good , the song making ability gets high notes and is the strongest quality, its entertaining, has originality, loads of versatility, it shows range speaking on different subjects, and has petty decent replay value. You’ll be able to listen to the whole album again, and certain songs are definite and others will grow on you. I’d give it 4 out of 6 stars.
Lil Wayne - Carter 4 Review
Lil Wayne the name alone is polarizing in hip hop circles, one of the most celebrated, misunderstood, intriguing, and hated all at the same time. Hate or love him you cant deny he’s left a mark on hip hop history. Like him or not you have to respect his following and you definitely have to respect his work ethic. A proverbial lab rat that constantly pumps out music via studio album, mix tapes, and features he constantly has a project in the works and always is highly anticipated to drop new material. No different is one of this years most anticipated albums The Carter IV, and after mentions , fans calling for it and loads of hype its finally here.
The Carter IV kicks off with a typical intro, its a warm up, the beat is pretty straight its sure to get some use in the underground mix tape world and Wayne does a nice job with it. Its a typical intro because Wayne sets the bar at average, he doesn’t come out guns a blazing and doesn’t come out weak, so as typical of a intro you know that the heat is to come later and this is just pace setter, and its a good pace setter.
From their we pick up the pace bit with “Blunt Blowin” where he talks about smoking of course and just getting things off his mind chest to clear his mind via a simple 80’s type synthesizer beat. The lyrics are decent, but it shines based on Waynes ability to create a song and show his knowledge of music, not just hip hop because for the hook he uses the same flow pattern as Everlast - “Black Jesus” and classic Aerosmith - “Dream On” with out directly sampling them. Its a good exercise in knowledge and versatility.
From then on business picks up immediately as we travel into the Albums best lyrical delivery with “ Mega Man”, as wayne goes in, in a cypher type manner, dropping line after line of heat. Reminds you of the mix tape Weezy that gets him so much attention. After that we go directly into 6 foot 7 foot, which is another great lyrical output , but the beat tends to get annoying.
From this point on the album gets very heavy and dependent on features. Some of very expected i.e Drake, T-Pain and Rick Ross and then a few surprises i.e John Legend, Andre 3000, Tech N9ne, Jadakiss, Nas, Busta Ryhmes.
The album continues to flow as we get to “How to Hate” featuring T-Pain, which every man will be able to relate to and will have in rotation for break ups and angry with women situations.
The albums high water mark is the “Interlude” which feature unlikely duo of Tech N9ne and Andre 3000 who both absolutely murder the track and show great chemistry on the record, the problem is Wayne does not rap on the track and he probably should have considering its his album and because theses are two lyrical giants, would have been nice to see him trade with two legends and long time vets.
The Best feature appearance with Wayne on the track ( more on this later) the most chemistry comes on “John” featuring Rick Ross. A go hard track for the streets or your cars.
From the go hard section we get into the experimental section of the album “ So special” featuring John Legend, where Wayne makes a erotic slightly R&B song, possibly t be used in a strip club setting. The theres “How to Love” immediately following in which he sings the whole song using some effects. How to love is a different more positive song for Wayne, that Im glad he released, and if you’ve seen the video it gives it more life and meaning, and it shows range and growth for him. But it may have been better executed by a singer with him just serving as the writer, but other than that no complaints, its a pleasant surprise from him, we applaud the courage to release and make such a song.
Another experimental joint is the very conceptual “President Carter” which is very, very creatively put together and delivered, right down to the samples President Jimmy Carters inauguration being used in the back drop.
As we near the end of the album we creep up on the song with the best production “Its Good” featuring Jadakiss and Drake. Both features are good, with Jada doing what he does best showing why he’s a Mc’s Mc. But the song is something else for Wayne, as we get a lil controversial by taking shots at Jay-Z. Not the first time, probably wont be the last, but its nothing major or a knock out blow, its not a great battle verse, its delivered well but honestly has been over analyzed. And the beat, Jadakiss and the controversy are the stars of this song.
Then its on to the Outro a crew track of heavy weight lyrics and delivery and legends and buzz, featuring Bun B, Nas, Shyne, and Busta Rhymes. Nas and Bust Compete for best verse over the same beat as the intro, but Wayne doesn’t appear. If they are going to be counted as two separate tracks its one of the best, if not the best. Even if the Intro and Outro were put together the verse Wayne delivers on the intro is not strong enough to stand with the output given by the others on the Outro, maybe its why they are separate but once again you would have liked to hear him trade with some of the best.
If you have the deluxe edition you get three bonus songs, but none that put the album way over the top , but the song Mirror with Bruno Mars is noteworthy.
Overall the album is pretty good, but it doesn’t live up to hype surrounding it or meet nor exceed expectations, it falls a good deal short. Its sounds like a mix tape or compilation album more than a Solo album. Its heavy, and somewhat dependent on features, the best parts all have features, and there isn’t a lot of carrying the album by Wayne. Lyrically for the album total for him its below average, sonically it doesn’t have an overall thematic sound, the production is average , there are a few bets that grab your attention but not many, the song making is the greatest strength, the entertainment value is average there are moments ad flashes of brilliant, but most are from features, but wayne does have his moments. Originality gets above average marks, while its not the most original thing ever heard there are some creative things done that were unexpected. The versatility is good, he shows his ability to adapt and flow with different types of beats and gel with different types artist styles. His subject range is good also because he takes on somethings more than whats expected of him. The replay value is below average. Its not an album you’ll listen to over and over again maybe a few times and maybe not even the whole album, while there aren’t really any songs that aren’t album quality, or should be taken off, this collection just doesn’t fit together extremely well, it seems unfocused in direction and Im not sure if there are any songs that we will be still talking about 10 years from now. The fact that the two best tracks don’t have Lil Wayne on them I think something has to be said for that. If you’re a die hard Lil Wayne fan or you don’t really get deep into and require a lot from your music and artist, you’ll probably love it, but for those with complex taste and preference we require a lil more. Its a good album, but not good for his ability, or output for the caliber of artist he is. If you just wanted to hear Lil Wayne its good, but if you wanted to hear stellar product from Wayne, you could have waited a lil longer for a more lyrical, and focused output. In a rush to give the people what they want the carter seems to have been a lil rushed. Expect it to sell well, but success, does not equal or define quality. I give it 3 and a half stars out of 6
The Carter IV kicks off with a typical intro, its a warm up, the beat is pretty straight its sure to get some use in the underground mix tape world and Wayne does a nice job with it. Its a typical intro because Wayne sets the bar at average, he doesn’t come out guns a blazing and doesn’t come out weak, so as typical of a intro you know that the heat is to come later and this is just pace setter, and its a good pace setter.
From their we pick up the pace bit with “Blunt Blowin” where he talks about smoking of course and just getting things off his mind chest to clear his mind via a simple 80’s type synthesizer beat. The lyrics are decent, but it shines based on Waynes ability to create a song and show his knowledge of music, not just hip hop because for the hook he uses the same flow pattern as Everlast - “Black Jesus” and classic Aerosmith - “Dream On” with out directly sampling them. Its a good exercise in knowledge and versatility.
From then on business picks up immediately as we travel into the Albums best lyrical delivery with “ Mega Man”, as wayne goes in, in a cypher type manner, dropping line after line of heat. Reminds you of the mix tape Weezy that gets him so much attention. After that we go directly into 6 foot 7 foot, which is another great lyrical output , but the beat tends to get annoying.
From this point on the album gets very heavy and dependent on features. Some of very expected i.e Drake, T-Pain and Rick Ross and then a few surprises i.e John Legend, Andre 3000, Tech N9ne, Jadakiss, Nas, Busta Ryhmes.
The album continues to flow as we get to “How to Hate” featuring T-Pain, which every man will be able to relate to and will have in rotation for break ups and angry with women situations.
The albums high water mark is the “Interlude” which feature unlikely duo of Tech N9ne and Andre 3000 who both absolutely murder the track and show great chemistry on the record, the problem is Wayne does not rap on the track and he probably should have considering its his album and because theses are two lyrical giants, would have been nice to see him trade with two legends and long time vets.
The Best feature appearance with Wayne on the track ( more on this later) the most chemistry comes on “John” featuring Rick Ross. A go hard track for the streets or your cars.
From the go hard section we get into the experimental section of the album “ So special” featuring John Legend, where Wayne makes a erotic slightly R&B song, possibly t be used in a strip club setting. The theres “How to Love” immediately following in which he sings the whole song using some effects. How to love is a different more positive song for Wayne, that Im glad he released, and if you’ve seen the video it gives it more life and meaning, and it shows range and growth for him. But it may have been better executed by a singer with him just serving as the writer, but other than that no complaints, its a pleasant surprise from him, we applaud the courage to release and make such a song.
Another experimental joint is the very conceptual “President Carter” which is very, very creatively put together and delivered, right down to the samples President Jimmy Carters inauguration being used in the back drop.
As we near the end of the album we creep up on the song with the best production “Its Good” featuring Jadakiss and Drake. Both features are good, with Jada doing what he does best showing why he’s a Mc’s Mc. But the song is something else for Wayne, as we get a lil controversial by taking shots at Jay-Z. Not the first time, probably wont be the last, but its nothing major or a knock out blow, its not a great battle verse, its delivered well but honestly has been over analyzed. And the beat, Jadakiss and the controversy are the stars of this song.
Then its on to the Outro a crew track of heavy weight lyrics and delivery and legends and buzz, featuring Bun B, Nas, Shyne, and Busta Rhymes. Nas and Bust Compete for best verse over the same beat as the intro, but Wayne doesn’t appear. If they are going to be counted as two separate tracks its one of the best, if not the best. Even if the Intro and Outro were put together the verse Wayne delivers on the intro is not strong enough to stand with the output given by the others on the Outro, maybe its why they are separate but once again you would have liked to hear him trade with some of the best.
If you have the deluxe edition you get three bonus songs, but none that put the album way over the top , but the song Mirror with Bruno Mars is noteworthy.
Overall the album is pretty good, but it doesn’t live up to hype surrounding it or meet nor exceed expectations, it falls a good deal short. Its sounds like a mix tape or compilation album more than a Solo album. Its heavy, and somewhat dependent on features, the best parts all have features, and there isn’t a lot of carrying the album by Wayne. Lyrically for the album total for him its below average, sonically it doesn’t have an overall thematic sound, the production is average , there are a few bets that grab your attention but not many, the song making is the greatest strength, the entertainment value is average there are moments ad flashes of brilliant, but most are from features, but wayne does have his moments. Originality gets above average marks, while its not the most original thing ever heard there are some creative things done that were unexpected. The versatility is good, he shows his ability to adapt and flow with different types of beats and gel with different types artist styles. His subject range is good also because he takes on somethings more than whats expected of him. The replay value is below average. Its not an album you’ll listen to over and over again maybe a few times and maybe not even the whole album, while there aren’t really any songs that aren’t album quality, or should be taken off, this collection just doesn’t fit together extremely well, it seems unfocused in direction and Im not sure if there are any songs that we will be still talking about 10 years from now. The fact that the two best tracks don’t have Lil Wayne on them I think something has to be said for that. If you’re a die hard Lil Wayne fan or you don’t really get deep into and require a lot from your music and artist, you’ll probably love it, but for those with complex taste and preference we require a lil more. Its a good album, but not good for his ability, or output for the caliber of artist he is. If you just wanted to hear Lil Wayne its good, but if you wanted to hear stellar product from Wayne, you could have waited a lil longer for a more lyrical, and focused output. In a rush to give the people what they want the carter seems to have been a lil rushed. Expect it to sell well, but success, does not equal or define quality. I give it 3 and a half stars out of 6
Black Rob - Game Tested Street Approved
Black Rob, bet you haven’t heard that name in while, and at a time when hip hop is everything but dead, or at least on life support, everything we think and know about hip hop is being changed, taken for granted and exploited for the worst. No one knows how to rap, its all but pop music, pre-crafted and made specifically for the radio and the youtube generation that knows nothing about hip hop. Clearly , we don’t need another one hit wonder that has never put in dues, another pop record with accompanying dance or any other fad, we just need good solid music for the streets and real hip hop heads. Lyrics and Beats.
In walks who? Black Rob, like an old vet back to prove he still got it with Game Tested, Street Approved. Black wastes no time showing and proving, from the Albums intro track Welcome Back, he gets in his lane and commands it, not going overboard, but sets a tone and expectation that he easily upholds for the rest of the album.
With a bunch of solid album cuts, a few underground bangers, BR shows these young cats about Lyricism, flow, delivery and consistency. He even takes time to teach a lesson in versatility with the surprise cut Celebration, which is one of my favorites, because it fits even though unexpected based on the rest of the album. But Black Rob is at his best, when most rappers are at their worst, on slow and cinematic tracks when every word stands out, as evidenced on tracks like Showin’ Up and Made Me a Man when his story telling and introspection shine.
There are a few misses, a number of the hooks could have been a little stronger and the song Sand to the Beach, could have not been done, sounded stripped down, forced, simple and redundant. It disappointed hugely, because it didn’t go with the rest of the albums flow , but sadly because it talks about getting at women, it’ll probably find its way on radio somehow.
Overall Game Tested Street Approved is a good hip hop album. Street Approved indeed. Good lyrics, good flows, good beats . The production is good. Sonically its Black Rob music, some people make types of songs he makes a brand of music somewhere between Kool G Rap and Slick Rick. Its a very consistent showing for Black Rob it doesn’t really show any growth, new style or technique. There is no experimentation. Its not made with a particular mainstream audience in mind, it doesn’t reach, its just good solid music that speaks for itself.
I give 3 1/2 stars of 6
In walks who? Black Rob, like an old vet back to prove he still got it with Game Tested, Street Approved. Black wastes no time showing and proving, from the Albums intro track Welcome Back, he gets in his lane and commands it, not going overboard, but sets a tone and expectation that he easily upholds for the rest of the album.
With a bunch of solid album cuts, a few underground bangers, BR shows these young cats about Lyricism, flow, delivery and consistency. He even takes time to teach a lesson in versatility with the surprise cut Celebration, which is one of my favorites, because it fits even though unexpected based on the rest of the album. But Black Rob is at his best, when most rappers are at their worst, on slow and cinematic tracks when every word stands out, as evidenced on tracks like Showin’ Up and Made Me a Man when his story telling and introspection shine.
There are a few misses, a number of the hooks could have been a little stronger and the song Sand to the Beach, could have not been done, sounded stripped down, forced, simple and redundant. It disappointed hugely, because it didn’t go with the rest of the albums flow , but sadly because it talks about getting at women, it’ll probably find its way on radio somehow.
Overall Game Tested Street Approved is a good hip hop album. Street Approved indeed. Good lyrics, good flows, good beats . The production is good. Sonically its Black Rob music, some people make types of songs he makes a brand of music somewhere between Kool G Rap and Slick Rick. Its a very consistent showing for Black Rob it doesn’t really show any growth, new style or technique. There is no experimentation. Its not made with a particular mainstream audience in mind, it doesn’t reach, its just good solid music that speaks for itself.
I give 3 1/2 stars of 6
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