T.I. - Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head

 

Unless you’ve been under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard somehow that T.I. has a new album coming. On his reality show he’s been hyping it, and he’s dropped quite a few lead singles of various types trying to drum up excitement for the album, but nothing so far has really solidified excitement. Nonetheless Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head is here.

Best song without a doubt is Sorry ft. Andre 3000, its probably the best I’ve ever heard TI rap, unfortunately it has Andre on it, because its not even Dre best verse but it so far out shines TI that it seem s as if he doesn’t belong on a song with Andre. The Andre verse will get several rewinds; you may or may not listen to the TI verses again, and ill repeat it’s probably the best of his career.   All of the best songs seem to be tracks with other artist, even despite a few not so great team ups. The Strongest songs and brightest spots on the album are G Season ft. Meek Mill, Wildside ft. A$AP Rocky, Can you Learn ft. R. Kelly, and a possible crossover single Guns and Roses ft. Pink.  Then there is Addresses a heavy diss track that will garner some attention, no names are said, but plenty of subliminals and there is controversy over who’s actually being talked about, we’ll let it all wash out though. It’s a better than average diss track, focused on the lyrics, rather than being a good beat and wack words.  It doesn’t overcompensate by going way over the line, I’m sure the person that it’s about feels some type of way, trust me.

Lacks a true single, although several have been released. Sounds like he’ s attempting to recapture or hold onto his past success by reusing the formulas that worked before, rather than innovating and growing. Right now TI seems stagnant. His music reflects no growth, maturity, or updating. Its as if he’s no longer working at his craft and taking the if it aint broke don’t fix it approach, because his skills, delivery, musicianship, song making ability have not gotten sharper, and some would say have regressed.  It’s a lot of ok punch lines, but not many eyebrow raisers or unexpected ones, expected “ I’m real, I got a lot of money, insert name brand here” braggadocios rhetoric. Based on the skits/ interludes it seems as if the album is supposed to be a concept album, but it lacks the focus to tie it all together and build a central theme throughout.  TI’s strength as always is his, flow and personality, which make the songs listenable, but if you’re a person that focuses heavily on lyrics don’t expect a whole lot.

There is not a lot of excitement or replay value. For this point in his career and for all of the hype and anticipation that was drummed up for this album, more was expected.  The Production is so so, not the quality that was expected for the most part, there are a few head scratcher’s.  I give Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head 3 ½ out of 6 stars

Do we really want an Andre 3000 solo album ?

So the other day I was reading an excellent article about Andre 3000, and how we as hip hop heads want and hope desperately for a solo album, and why we probably wont get it in 2013; and various reasons why he hardly records and or wants to record anymore. But after reading it made me think, as much as we say we want the Andre 3000 solo album, do we really want a solo album or do we really want and prefer an Outkast album? I may stand alone in this, but I’m afraid a Dre solo album will not live up to the hype and extremely high standards we’ve set for it. Think about it, we’ve set an impossible standard that if he delivers anything less than a classic album, we’ll be disappointed. Also think about this, what will be the format of the album? Do we want another Love Below?  Although it was creative and a good album, its not what most of us think of when we think of an Andre solo. It’s not as though we want to just hear his voice. Most of us want to put Andre in a box, and not let him have creative freedom and control of his project, and that’s restrictive for an artist like him. We’re going to want the raw, but not preachy Andre and he may not be in that space creatively for a whole album. And lets be honest its going to be somewhat disappointing, if we don’t get a decent dose of Big Boi on the album, they balance each other out and fit together so well.

Think of other people who have gone solo and how it worked out. Other than Scarface and Ice Cube, who got into solo ventures early in their careers before they could be pigeonholed into a group sound or type of music, who else that is known for being in a group, has it worked out for? Prodigy dropped a gem with HNIC, but most of us honestly loved P’s lyrics and Havocs production so it’s a little different.

As much as we may love individuals in the Wu – Tang Clan, we still always want the group album.  

EPMD – Erick and Parish did solo work but it was never as well received or wanted as much as an EPMD album, their solo stuff never had that extra something an EPMD album had.

Gang Starr – even though  it was one emcee, one dj/producer, when ever Guru did his Jazzmatazz or Bald Head slick projects, they were excellently crafted but they didn’t have the magic of a Gang Starr album.

Little Brother – Phonte, Big Pooh and 9^th have all done their own thing, but we always wanted the group project. Phonte did his thing on the Foreign Exchange, but it wasn’t Little Brother, he dropped a damn near perfect album with Charity Starts at Home and it still wasn’t enough, we wanted the Little Brother sound. We’d have taken a 3 ½ mic Little Brother rather than a probably even better rated Phonte album. IJS

A Tribe Called Quest - If anyone were going to drop a solo album in Tribe, we definitely wanted it to be Q-Tip, I think most would agree with that statement. How’d that work out for him? How’d it work out for us?

If any one was gone drop a solo in Goodie Mob, most would have hoped for Cee-Lo, I personally hoped for Big Gipp, but different issue.  I can say how’d it work for him, but more so how’d it work out for us, the hip hop fans? Cee-Lo has gone a different way, and has crossover success now, but most of his Goodie Mob fans are not his current fans, he has a brand new fan base now.

If ever anyone in The Roots would do a solo we hope its Black Though, but if no Roots track is there it’s gone be a problem.
The List goes on and on was Rakim the same without Eric B? What about C.L. Smooth without Pete Rock?
IJS what we really and truly want is another an Outkast album. Maybe a few songs where Dre gives us two verses or more than 16 bars on a verse. I recently listened to Big Boi’s second solo and it was just missing something, Dre. Even though it had the quirky weird beats and crazy subject matter, it didn’t have Dre in any form. And it almost seemed as if with the crazy quirkiness, Big Boi was trying to compensate for both of them. Its his new album that made me appreciate Outkast so much more than ever, because Big Boi brought the soul, funk, pimptatsic style and shined in that role and Dre brings the outside the box stuff and shines at that, and when put together, perfection. So no more solos, ok you can do solos, but work together and please give us the group album. Sincerely, the fans.

Game - Jesus Piece / Big Boi - Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors

 

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Game Jesus Piece is consistently Game. While it doesn’t wow, it’s not classic, but it’s good. In fact there are a lot of things that can be said about the album some that may sound like complaints. For instance, Jesus Piece is heavy on collaborations, so much to the fact that it sounds like a compilation album or a mix tape, more so than a solo album. Game seems to feed off the energy and be influenced by others in the studio this time around. In all honesty, he gets out rapped and delivered a few times.  He plays around with a few different deliveries and makes a few different types of songs, but that’s the depth of his experimentation and self challenge, lyrically and musically there is no real growth. It also has a few moments that will be considered sacrilegious. 

Its still a good album though, the production team and the song making ability are the sellers on this album. The producers (Black Metaphor, Cool & Dre, Boi -1da, Jake One, etc.)  do a great and absolute wonderful job of giving Game the perfect beats for him to do his thing on.  Although there are a lot of collaborations, their aren’t any forced or out of the ordinary ones, the chemistry is key. There are at least two songs that if they don’t get heavy radio play it should be criminal, “Celebration “ ft. Chris Brown, Tyga, Lil Wayne & Wiz Khalifa, which takes the Bone Thugs-N- Harmony classic 1^st of the Month, and flips it and gives it new life, its begging for a remix.  Then there is “All That (Lady)" featuring Lil Wayne, Big Sean, Fabolous & Jeremih, which flips the classic song Lady by D’Angelo. Both are straight fire. And then there are other hitters Scared Now ft. Meek Mill,  “Ali Bomaye” ft. 2 Chainz & Rick Ross,  “Jesus Piece” ft. Kanye & Common. He also has stand out tracks with J.Cole, Kendrick Lamar and Pusha T. 

For all of the complaints about the album, it still is a very good album, one of if not his best. While it wont be a classic or in the discussion for best of the year, it has the potential to be a great seller and get plenty radio play, entertainment value is high, and replay value is high. I give The Game. Jesus Piece a strong 4 ½ out of 6 stars

After listening to Big Boi’s second solo album Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors   there was something noticeably missing, Dre. Even though it had the quirky weird beats and crazy subject matter, it didn’t have Dre, or his influence in any form. And it almost seemed as if with the crazy quirkiness, Big Boi was trying to compensate for both of them. Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors has its moments but its not Big Boi at his best, the chemistry and creativeness we’re accustomed to, is just no where to be found, his personality shines through tho. Everything that we know and love about Big Boi can be said about this album, he gives us a variety of flows, creativity, and under appreciated lyricism and style.

The problem is the high level and expectations that we’re accustomed to are never met. Stand out tracks are “Apple of My Eye”, “Objectum Sexuality” ft. Phantogram,  “In The A” ft. T.I & Ludacris, which is decent but nobody lays a stellar verse or even a standout verse, all three rappers have delivered way better verses, and we’re left wanting way better quality from artist of this skill level and magnitude. “Raspberries” ft. Mouche & Scar is cool but its not a song to be taken serious, its basically a long interlude for them to cut up over a beat.  Another one of the better tracks is “Gossip” ft. UGK & Big K.R.I.T.  Probably the song on the album a song for sure that will get strip club play, because its too vulgar for anywhere else is “She Said Ok”. Its pimped out soulful, its fits Big Boi.  Unfortunately the rest of the album is blah, the songs are honestly, emotionally neutral, they don’t elicit a response from me when listening to them, They aren’t good, they aren’t bad, I don’t like them, I don’t hate them. When I hear them they are kind of just on in the background. If Big Boi is going to continue to make solo joints, he’s going to have to develop a sound or cater to the sound that best fits him.

This new album that made me appreciate Outkast so much more than ever, because Big Boi brought the soul, funk, pimptatsic style and shined in that role and Dre brings the outside the box stuff and shines at that, and when put together, perfection. So no more solos, ok you can do solos, but work together and please give us the group album. Sincerely the fans.  The first Solo Big Boi album was better than expected, but this one is just ok by our standards for Big Boi, Dungeon family, Outkast, etc. I give the Big Boi Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors    a weak 3-½ out of 6 stars rating. It’s kind of a disappointment.

Chino XL, Kendrick Lamar, MGK

 

Chino XL has been around since the early 90’s and sad to say that his name, face, music are mostly unknown to the general public and average. And even for a lot underground music fans his music seems to be a niche market.  After being quiet for a while, away doing some acting, Chino XL returns to the music scene with an AMAZING double cd,  “ Ricanstuction: The Black Rosary (disc 1the scalpel and disc2 the chapel). This will easily be one of the most slept on albums of the year, and one of the best albums of the year at the same damn time.  As to be expected with a double album, it’s a little lengthy, but this one is well put together and every song fits. None of the song seems like just filler. Lyrically it’s a very technical album; the writing style is complex and intricate, with plenty of similes, metaphors, puns and word play galore.  All of the features are on point and none seemed forced or out of place, he matches their level of skill and intensity and they match his, some of hip hops most respected the like of Tech9ne, Bun –B, Rakka of Dilated Peoples, B-real, Thirstin Howl III, to name a few, even a track with Big Pun.  Amazingly for a double disc there is not a lot of features, that holds major weight. The Production solid all the way through, the concepts are well thought out and executed, its versatile and has something for everyone. There are pure lyrical exercises where he just spazzes and goes in, there are stories, and dark introspective. I’m not sure it has a radio single, but that’s their loss, this is real hip hop it don’t fit radio’s watered down format and doesn’t try to. I recommend everyone check for it, I give Ricanstruction : The Black Rosary 5 out of 6 stars. 

Kendrick Lamar

It’s been a long long time coming, and one of this years most anticipated albums has finally been delivered. Kendrick Lamar has long been bubbling and tearing up the scene, first in the underground and then he made then the mainstream started paying attention. He’s been grabbing accolades and honors all over the place. XXL Freshman class, ripping the cypher two years in a row at the BET awards, tracks with a who’s who in Hip hop, and crowned the next big thing out of the West, praised by Snoop and Dre. Then the ultimate cosign, signed by Dr. Dre to Aftermath, which amped up the hope and anticipation 10 fold. Then as we got closer to the album, Kendrick Started promising a classic and game changer, and in the house of Dr. Dre you can never rule out the possibility. Finally the album has dropped, good kid, m.A.A.d city.  There are a few shockers about the album, probably first and foremost it’s a concept album, basically a day in the life of Kendrick through Compton. Very creative very unexpected.  Second, considering its Aftermath and backed by Interscope, there is no intentionally made for radio for mat single, staying true to his roots and attempting to do things his way and the way he’s been doing them, creative concepts focus on the lyrics. 3^rd No Dr. Dre beat, he appears on the album but for most it was fully expected that Dre would be all over the album, instead Kendrick chooses to work with the producers he’s been working with, staying true to his formula and the chemistry he has already developed, while there are big name producers, Hit Boy, Pharell, Just Blaze, Scoop DeVille, etc. its not your stereotypical list of expected producers for a major release.  And last it’s not packed with big name features, a proverbial bragging list of who I’m down with.  Jay Rock, Drake, Mc Eiht  (surprise), Dr. Dre on two tracks and Mary J Blige.

            Lyrically you know its beast, delivering the type of thought provoking and deep insight and creativeness we’ve come to expect from him. The song making ability and delivery are what headline the show, unfazed by the star quality and veterans he featured with on the album, he was definitely creatively in control of each song, because he seems every bit as professional as they are and never overwhelmed or influenced by someone else’s style on his song.  While its not the classic promised, not one of the best albums in the last 10 yrs. or anything, it’s a very good album, solid form beginning to end it doesn’t leave a lot to be desired, shows what he’s capable of, and leaves room for growth. I give, good kid, m.A.A.d city 4 ½ stars out of 6.  The future for young Kendrick is bright.

MGK

The young spitter from Cleveland, with a serious work ethic has been killing the scene and constantly building a name for himself, especially in the last year or so. MTV crowned him Hottest Breakthrough Mc of 2011; he ripped the cypher at the BET Hiphop Awards, signed to Bad Boy Records, and released the Half Naked &Almost Famous Ep. Now to capitalize on that success he finally delivers the album Lace Up. Lace up is largely hip hop bounce and mosh pit music, its definitely for the ruckus and high energy crowd environments, It a combo crunk, trap and rock music. His rapid-fire delivery and flows are what stand out, but lyrically it’s not very complex or deep. It’s simple and somewhat predictive, and repetitive because he keeps using the same format of, insert line end with muthafucka. The album is of heavy on features, Lil John, Tech9ne, Twista, Bun B, DMX, etc. .Not a lot of songs where he by himself sets the standard and tone. I’m not sure he has fully developed, his sound yet, because on the features it seems as if the feature artist adjust to him but he feeds off of them. He does show some promise on “Edge of Destruction” ft./ Tech N9ne and Twista and What I do ft. Bun B and Dubo. I’m not sure if there is a true radio single, especially with the format and lack of diversity of urban radio these days. It may find some play in other markets. It’ll play in some clubs for sure. You got to respect MGK work ethic he constantly pumps out music, but considering he’s one of Diddy’s artist you kind of expect more from him in the realm of versatility and skill, but there is room for growth. I give MGK Lace Up 3 stars out of 6

Lupe Fiasco - Food and Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album

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Lupe Fiasco is the pure definition of the struggle of the purist emcee vs. modern day record company, media, and fickle hip-hop fans. Lyrical and creative genius, classic mc, full of integrity that wants to give the world his heart, yet the record company wants him to compromise his art.  Media, fans, and record company like him and recognize that he could be one of the big artists if he toned it down a little or in his own words “dumb it down”. But when you’re determined to do it your way, with integrity, and respect for the culture, and you’re sick of the messages and lack of creativity that plagues society, the industry, and the hip hop culture. When you’re sick of the gimmicks and bullshit, and politics, and you long for days when the music just spoke for itself and artist were forced to show and prove, Food and Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album is born.  Black Cover, no words, pictures, symbols nothing.

            No stranger to controversy, for his music, opinions on; other artist, criticism of the industry and culture, the all black everything cover is no surprise really, it makes a bold statement.  Not even a track listing or producer credits.

In different fashion we don’t even jump into the music, it starts with a piece of poetry that sets the tone of the experience of the messages you are about to receive. Without doubt the Lyrics are some of the best in the business, as to be expected and proven time and time again. Sonically, its top notch also, because Lupe definitely makes a type of music, which is unpredictably predictable, because he can rap and make a song over any beat. The Production is most serviceable, with not many over the top beats, but good enough to head nod, or get your attention. Not even the production is being used as a gimmick, so no Dre’s, Kanye’s, insert your favorite celebrity producer here and no features that don’t fit or over shine the primary purpose.

What makes this album special is the technique, the attention to detail. This is a master at work still honing his craft. Besides being lyrical, Lupe has a huge subject range, seeming to leave no relevant and important subject untouched. His flows are the star of the show on this album, with him rocking multiple flows on certain tracks. The other big shining star is the song making ability, total song production, not just beat making. The songs and stories come alive and put you in them they’re not just being delivered.  The entertainment value is high numerous songs that jam and a number which have the possibility to be on radio.

 All of the songs deserve to be checked out, but “Bitch Bad” is a classic, and it’s the type of storytelling and stitching scenarios together that he does better than anyone else.  “Around My Way (Freedom Aint Free)” puts up a hell of a fight for best song on the album.  but also check “Lamborghini Angels”,  “ITAL”, “Putt Em UP” “ Battle Scars” which may get non urban radio play, “Cold War ft. Jane” , “Form Follows Function”.   For all its ups positive the only thing negative about the album is that it seems a lil preachy, not in a horrible way though. Meaning that, it seems that Lupe was so focused on getting positive messages out , that he put undue pressure on himself to have some in every song, and he doesn’t seem to be having fun. I’m all for positive messages in music, especially with the lack of substance in music these days, but it seems like Lupe is trying to balance the industry all by himself. A few more songs where he just got in and just let his creativity take control and just rip emcees a new lyrical ass hole would have created more balance. Most importantly just hearing him sounding like it was fun and not just a job or labor of love. Never the less, I give Food and Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album Pt.1, 4 out of 6 stars.  It will contend for album of the year, cant wait for Pt.2

                                                                               

GOOD Music - Cruel Summer / DMX - Undisputed

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Every since its been leaked that Good Music would be doing a compilation album the expectations of what could possibly come from the house that Kanye built have been crazy, making it one of the most anticipated albums of the year. And considering the Good Music roster, and all of the people that have been assembled and affiliated with GOOD and Kanye we pretty much expected if not a classic, an album that would rival for one of the best albums of the year.  Well hold up on the high expectations, because as with most compilations it’s a different product than an album. I think many of us expected an album that sounded and felt like collaborative album rather than just a mixtape or features of GOOD music artist. Its like any other compilation album really, no real focus, direction or theme. I don’t even think it represents the label as a whole. Yasin Bey aka Mos Def is nowhere to be found, Common and Cyhi only appears once, John Legend, Kid Cuddi twice. The album doesn’t really seem like a unified team effort, to make people aware of everyone on the label and the firepower they should be looking out for in the future. Honestly it doesn’t even seem like fresh material or material not rushed for the album, it doesn’t seem like everyone was working on the album together in a truly collaborative effort, or they just don’t work well together, which is possible with strong minded creative artist used to being in control. All of the songs that stand out have already been heard and played to death; “ The One” is probably the only other song worth checking for. The production, originality and creativity is especially disappointing and doesn’t live up to expectation of anything Kanye West is associated. Cruel summer is average, and not even Kanye average just average. I give it 3 stars

 

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DMX  - Undisputed – Its been a long time since DMX has blessed the Mic, after being away doing other project, and dealing with things in his personal life the Dark Man returns to the scene with a brand new album, his first in 6 years Undisputed.  DMX is the same as we last remember, which is both a gift and a curse.  He has never been a lyrical heavy weight or gymnast, so don’t expect any of that from him on Undisputed, its simple straightforward heartfelt passionate, emotional, and hype music as always.  The song making ability is average, the versatility of flows is low but the subject range is vast.  The production is average, a few samples that were unexpected no great standout beats. The replay value and entertainment value are kind of low. Honestly this album is out of its time, there has been no growth in DMX style musically since the last time we heard him. It’s a flat consistent line, no growth or decline. It would have been a good album in the late 90’s or early 2000’s but it doesn’t compete well with what’s out. I’m not sure there’s a radio single and its average. It’s not what we expect from DMX, but its what we expect from DMX at the same time, he just hasn’t changed with the times. Many of the songs sound remind you of songs he has already made. I give the DMX Undisputed album  a weak 3 stars due to the lack of a stand out track.

Slaughterhouse Welcome to: Our House

Slaughterhouse, four of the illest Mcs in the game that have consistently put in work year after year through good times and broken promises, when you talk about dedication not many people define it better than these four. So when it was announced that they would be getting signed to Shady after their stellar first album and EP, the expectations went sky high. Because at Shady they’d have the creative freedom, possible push, and necessary support that real Mcs making real hip hop need and most importantly the budget and understanding, they’d be a priority. Since forming the group they’ve been dropping a high volume of great consistent material and constantly garnering attention for the group and each individual. And after the BET Hiphop awards cypher, those that didn’t know them before were definitely put on notice as Slaughterhouse along with Eminem and Yelawolf did one of the most memorable cypher in Award show history.  Its still memorable say it with me “ Hi Rihana”, if you haven’t seen it you tube it.  We heard that the album was to be expected soon, but then delays and setbacks begin.  Then slowly but surely we got closer and closer to a release date and the excitement built, and the attention became more and more, and then surprisingly Slaughterhouse dropped a mixtape, with Dj Drama.

The mixtape, On the House, good enough to be the album, and once again the expectations shot through the roof. But after a bunch setbacks, delays, and much anticipation, Slaughterhouse delivers the their first major label release, with Shady Records, and they more than live up to the hype and expectations. Four artists accustomed to setback and delays that constantly put in work and deliver, they more than answer the call and hit the mark on Welcome to our house.  We know without a doubt that they would deliver a lyrical clinic, A class, no questions to even be asked.  But it’s the whole album approach that makes Welcome To Our House special.  It would have been easy to take the expected road for them to get pure hip hop beats, Get Dj Premier on production and Just Spazz out, and spit lyrical fire, which we know they can all do with ease. But, they took a route that will surprise a few people and went another route, the Radio Friendly route, but not regular radio friendly, The Eminem or B.oB. radio friendly, so still highly creative.

They say the key to be a great Mc is staying relevant, and transitioning with the culture, and in today’s culture, in order to sell records, you need to fit the format that video and radio will play. Well every single track on this album is radio friendly, but delivered with so much skill.  We knew that each one of the members of Slaughterhouse could rap, but could they gel, and could they song make. The Answer, Hell Yeah!!! 

The deliver an album with everything you want, and album needs. Sonically its eclectic, the beat styles are different from track to track, and they never get stuck in one form or type, they continuously keep it moving, with beat selections that challenge each artist because its not their normal selection of beats. And with that change in beats each is artist is allowed to show their full repertoire of skills, some rarely shown and some we didn’t know they had.  The subject range and versatility is incredible, each artist has their shine moment and an equal number of shine moments. Once again everything you want, need and expect from an album is delivered, making the album one big hip hop lesson.  You need something for a concert or to get you hype Check for “Coffin” ft./ Busta Rhymes.  For the strip club check for “Throw That” . You want that spazz out and just get to the lyrical thrashing; we know they can do that check for “Die”, a song that will have you head bobbing hard while you riding out. But of course it cant be all bounce, hard hitting and go wild music, if you really want to know how good a rapper is, put him on a slow track where you can hear them clearly and the beat is not distracting, got that too check,  “Goodbye” and  “The Other side” give you that soulful introspective vibe, with the latter easily being able to be a single.  But beyond those there are great performance tracks, that the mainstream should definitely pay attention to, “My Life” ft. Ceelo Green, if cleaned up can easily be a single, but it also begs to be performed at something major like an award show, because it’s a big beat with pop crossover potential. Expect to hear “Walk of Shame” in the background at somebody’s stadium or performed in a rap and rock collabo,  “Get Up” I expect to hear somewhere on an ESPN highlight segment, on none urban radio, or possibly in a stadium. Need that rap pop collabo, got that covered too, check for “Rescue Me” ft. up and coming Skylar Grey.  You need some get hype music, party music beginning of a concert or major performance music “Throw it Away” with Swizz Beatz, fits the bill and it can easily crossover and get radio play also.  Concept story telling, check  “Asylum”.  You need some rawkus music, check for “Hammer Dance” and “ Frat House” and if you need a good all purpose joint check for “Park it Sideways” which will end up being the background to a commercial or slide show or something, especially the clean version.  And last but not least the addictive “ Place to Be” ft./ B.o.B., is a live performance with a live band waiting to happen.

If radio and video outlets don’t find a way to get this album in rotation there’s a conspiracy and people need to be fired, the label has to give this album a push a major push in every market, because the potential is there. The replay value high, if you have the On the House mixtape, you’ll be listening to both of them back to back on heavy repeat. Its highly entertaining, every time you listen you’ll catch something different, because there are so many layers to the songs, from the lyrics, to the beats, the adlibs, interactions, sound effects you name it.  It’s got Star Power that will should introduce them to some new audiences, the Production team is first class (Eminem, Boy Wonder, Boi-1da, Kane Beatz, Justice League, No I.D.).

   I give the Slaughterhouse Welcome to: Our House album a classic rating 6 out of 6 stars. A classic album changes something; it changes the rules of hip hop, the way we listen to hip hop, what we expect and/or how albums are made. This album is not only complete, but it will change the way lyrical artist approach making an album and getting radio play, because if you cant get radio play you cant get sales or recognition in this current climate of hip hop. This album will force the lyrical artist to take a holistic approach to recording an album and should be studied, because although the beats are radio friendly, Slaughterhouse manages to stay true to hip hop, challenge themselves and show growth, be lyrical and make their type of music without compromising their integrity. This album will still be jamming 5-10 yrs from now, it will influence the way we listen to music, now lets hope and pray it sells, for the good of hip and putting lyrics back on top of the charts.

2 Chainz - Based on a T.R.U. Story

Unless you been under a rock for the last few months, I’m sure you’ve heard of and heard some 2 Chainz. Just the mention of the name alone makes you instantly think of his adlib say it with me “2 Chainz !!!!” Numerous mixtape appearances,  features,  and numerous feature mixtapes most notably , Codeine Cowboy and T.R.U. Realigion . The man has been everywhere, you definitely have to respect his hustle and his grind. He’s extremely polarizing people either love him or hate him, not since Soldier Boy and Waka Flocka has any rappers verses been so scrutinized over the internet, but after a huge Cosign from Kanye, and rumors of signing with G.O.O.D Music, people suddenly wanted to see could he deliver on the promise and live up to the street hype on Based On a T.R.U. Story.

 

Based on a T.R.U. Story promises to be a polarizing , scrutinized album loved by his fans and mixed reviews by everyone else.  Lyrically the album is very simple with extremely elementary, rhyme schemes with a simple flow in the same vain as artist like Future, Tony Yayo or Flavor Flav. There are some very significant problems with the lyrical components of the album, its very one dimensional with lots of repetitive subject matter. Subject range is very limited, usually covering all of the stereotypical trap rapper subjects.  On this offering , 2 Chainz lacks versatility ,  it’s the same subjects constantly over different beats,  the same flow , no challenge, experiments, no new ground broken. He doesn’t go out side of his self and give us anything he hasn’t already done, he doesn’t even step it up and do it better.  A lot of the criticisms about 2 Chainz music are going to continue to hold true as the album lacks creativity or originality, because its stereotypically southern and trap music,  and a lot of the verses don’t make sense, they tend to lack organization, be random, unfocused,  and unorganized bars.  The biggest drawback is that most of the production is just average, sonically most of the songs are cool if you in a seedy  smoky strip club, a hood house party or club, definitely not for every club or even concert music,   basically any environment where lyrics, and the technical aspects of  hip hop and song making just don’t matter. The Best verses and song saving verses are by the features, the album chock full of features, everybody hot on the scene,  it almost doesn’t seem he can hold it down by himself, and ends up using features as a crutch, relying on other artist cosigns to boost his cred. Many times he seems out of place on the tracks with other artist when he can’t deliver.  However standout tracks on the album to check for are “Yuck!” ft./  Lil Wayne, which has one of the better verses and deliveries from Chainz,  “ No Lie” ft./ Drake, probably the best song on the album, Birthday song ft./ Kanye West and Ghetto Dream ft./ Scarface & John Legend.

While 2Chainz is hot in the streets, on his grind and full of hustle ,  he needs to work on his craft, use the hustle and focus it into perfecting his craft. Step his lyrics and song making skills way up , see the bigger picture because at this rate its not even music you would want to see performed, neither is it performance music. The entertainment value is marginal , and replay value low. It doesn’t seem as if 2 Chainz is ready to be a primary artist, but is better as a featured artist.

While you can’t hate on him for doing something legal, and attempting to be creative, it’s just not of high quality at the moment. I rate Based on a T.R.U. Story 2 stars out of 6 , it could  needs work, could be better a and it doesn’t live up to expectations.

 Slin_k

@slin_k_polymath on twitter

Rick Ross - God Forgives I Don't

Five albums deep in the game are you a clear veteran, at this point in their career artist are usually trying to solidify their place in hip hop history, define their style and refine their skills and make albums that are sonically better each time out. This is where Rick Ross stands as he gears up for another highly anticipated album.

He has made huge improvements since his first album, he has stepped it up majorly on the lyric side.

Consistency is Rick Ross strength and weakness. He’s good but has made not made continued improvements, nothing new, nothing undone, nothing creatively different to set him apart from just being an above average trap rapper. He’s been living by if it aint broke don’t fix it by giving more of the same, in both quantity and quality.

Consistently however he’s popular, anticipated, in the public eye and relevant, and his album sales have been consistent.

I don’t like to box artist in, Rozay may have boxed himself in creatively however. He’s spent so much time building the mob boss, drug king pin persona that you don’t expect anything else from him, and he doesn’t sound as confident, skilled or comfortable delivering a diverse array of songs or subjects. Give him respect for trying to use a diverse array of beats and subjects and be versatile in his types of songs, but when he’s not doing typical stereotypical Rick Ross songs, he sounds clearly out of his lane.

God Forgives I Don’t is heavy on collaborations, which can be a gift or a curse depending on the artist. On this album the collaborations sound forced though, rather than him making his type of song and using a track that best suits him, he seems as if he’s trying to make the guest artist type of song and adjust to them, rather than let them adjust to him.  Most of the collabos should have been highlights but end up being the holes in the album in stead.  3 Kings ft. Jay-z and Dr. Dre, instead of being a possible classic, features below average bars form all 3 artist. An Awkward verse from Jay, and a verse from Dre that sounds just like Ross in flow, style and delivery. It comes out sounding and looking like a power move just to show his industry connections.  

The woes continue for Ross, though not as bad on Sixteen ft. Andre 3000. Sixteen sound like an Andre 3000 song that Ross invades and sounds out of place on. The same can be said for Diced Pineapples ft. Wale and Drake, the track and concept is perfect for Wale and Drake, but its not Ross’ lane.  All tracks that should have been highlights but fall slightly short; if it weren’t for the features they’d be complete failures.

Although he has made a successful R&B/ Hiphop songs, (Aston Martin Music, Here I am) he fails to come close to matching those, or even seeming to have much needed chemistry on songs with Neyo, Usher or Omarion. "On Touch ‘N You" it sounds awkward to hear Ross attempt to be gangsta and borderline erotic at the same time. He gets close to form on a bonus track Rich Forever with John Legend.

The strong parts of the album are when Ross operates in his normal territory, with movie scen sounding beats, check Pirates, Amsterdam, and Triple Beam Dreams ft Nas

Overall it’s a solid album; it just didn’t live up to hype surrounding but worth checking. Lyrically its average for Rick Ross, he doesn’t show anything new, make any improvements, he just maintains current level. The production is good, just at times it’s too musical, experimental and complex for Rick Ross’ lane, comfort and success.  Originality, and subject range get low marks, as its standard operating procedure, and expected. No new ground broke. Versatility is medium, mostly due to feature performances, no new techniques or different flows from Ross himself, and diversity he doesn’t quite excel at. Replay value med, while far from classic, or best of the year you’ll find a few songs you’ll like and few others depending on your mood worth listening too. I give God Forgives, I Don’t 3 ½ stars out of 6 .

 Slin_K

@slin_k_polymath