Travi$ Scott - Days Before Rodeo - best rap release of 2014 so far?

And it's free? Skyfall,Quintana2, title track, mamacita, in fact all of them are blowing me away right now.

i dunno, sounds like a lot of other artists when he's not just letting guests steal the songs directly. has he ever spit a great verse or displayed any kind of discernible personality at all?

Hilarious thread title

I haven't seen one person articulate for me what he's doing that is worthy of the enthusiasm

Yeah this is going to be hilariously overlooked by people like this. The sound on this release is completely new and progressive to anything I've seen before. Looking for "a great verse"? Ha.

The sound on this release is completely new and progressive to anything I've seen before.

have you heard anything kanye west or kid cudi has released in the last 5 years?

"Hilarious thread title" - go on then, give me a better rap album this year?

"Haven't seen one person articulate for me what he's doing that is worthy of the enthusiasm" - ?? Is that how you assess music, other people's opinions? How about listen to it yourself then come back with your own?

"have you heard anything kanye west or kid cudi has released in the last 5 years?"

Have you missed that Travis was a major influence on Kanye's recent releases? Travis mark all over his last album, from raps to production.

Kid Cudi, lol.

Have you missed that Travis was a major influence on Kanye's recent releases? Travis mark all over his last album, from raps to production.

― Raccoon Tanuki, Wednesday, August 27, 2014 6:58 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark

he didn't appear on MBDTF which is the album travis scott most blatantly rips off in his music

and kid cudi too

i feel like the least compelling argument in travis scott's favor is that his sound is "new" and "progressive" when he's just cannibalizing five years of GOOD music albums.

i guess you could make the argument that he imitates them well but i'm personally not very sympathetic to that argument

Sloppy Toppy may be the song of the century

but this Skyfall is ..... lush

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chifuZQVwJs

The vocals are unheard of before, and completely on the crest of the new southern wave right. Possibly ahead of it. His influence are so full, from DJ Screw, Rap A Lot, to Kanye, to Atlanta trap, to weeded out west coast bounce. Really I'm blown away after so long being done with Hip Hop.

The thing that excites me about T.S is his range of artistry is way ahead of most rap acts today. Guy can produce, rap, sing, and does incredible videos. And it all feels ahead of its time.

Lol

Yung Should Stick To Producing

guys it's kinda cool that Travi$ Scott posts here, don't be so mean to him

At least we know he's great at hyperbole.

Is this some street team shit?

is this guy better than big k.r.i.t.?

Seems alright. Auto tune sounds hella sloppy on this. this sounds like Kid Cudi its true.

I liked "Bad Mood Shit on You" from the Owl Pharoah thing, that was cool

"Upper Echelon" worked for me too

Street team is turning me off instead of turning me on.

I haven't heard this yet but based on the thread I'm going to assume that the terrible spoken-word interlude in that horrifying new Taylor Swift song is better

Funny to me that no one here yet knows that T.S was the muse and influence for the sound of Yeezus album. Thought it was common naledge around music nerds?

album was inspired by le corbusier lamps iirc

i keep accidentally thinking "T.S." means taylor swift and nodding approvingly while i stroke my chin

Must be the reason I don't like Yeezus then.

TBH an album full of GOOD Music retreads sounds more appealing to me than another DJ Mustard cut

Chris Richards in Washington Post liked Travis Scott at a fest live sorta:

The line-up wasn’t as starry as your typical Yardfest, but this year’s Trillectro did a better job of capturing contemporary hip-hop’s riotous spirit. And it culminated with a surprise performance from Travis Scott, an irrepressible Houston rapper who obliterated the demarcation line between artist and audience, inviting front-row fans to leap over the barricades while flinging his body out toward the masses.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/trillectro-music-festival-proves-it-can-keep-up-with-the-big-boys/2014/08/24/59f9b4f8-2bb6-11e4-9b98-848790384093_story.html

Guess nothing changes with Houston hip hop, years and years of brilliance ignored and unknown and looked down on by the white hipsters who make up this board and most of hip hop fanship. Still crazy to me that during mid 90s the somehow that dross coming from stale NY hip hop was seen as better than what was happening in the South.

didn't get a sense of him as a captivating live performer when he stared at his shoes and mumbled through the BET Awards cypher:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRYZgeSRR2w

When I first heard of this, I honestly though it was bold to pick a title that sounded like Brad Paisley record. Then realized it was more about shopping.

x-post---I dunno...Here's Jon Caramanica in the NY Times:

There was the rapper Travis Scott, wiry and pulsing with energy,

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/arts/music/a-producer-and-his-pulsating-rhythmic-ways.html

haha "A Producer and His Pulsating, Rhythmic Ways" may be one of the worst headlines ever written

But for a general NY Times audience it is probably fine

White hipsters such as myself, DJP, Murgatroid, and Dayo.

Houston hiphop historically very maligned on this board.

now im convinced raccoon tanuki is a sock

eh feel bad about saying anything, should have let this ride out

loved his drumming in blink 182

Also his song "Make It Rain"

and his film where they look for the holy grail. "she's a witch!"

Tanuki had worthwhile posts in the Outkast poll and some other threads, not gonna write him off cause of this thread

in all seriousness i have been trying to put together some kind of generous argument for travis scott as an artist just so i could enjoy thinking about his music instead of writing it off as a middling grayscale soup of contemporary ATL influences

best i can come up w/ is some kind of anti-rockist / anti-authenticity thing, like we're in an environment absent A&Rs so maybe people who can package and ~curate~ other ppl's ideas is the future

i do think if he was white he'd be given way more leeway, obv, in the "progressive" department—people who do white forms of black music seen as an 'evolution' of the sound off rip but ... that's bullshit whether it's led zeppelin or travis scott, right? Right? idk.

i dont like any of his songs, though, like his sound isn't radical enough—at least I 'got' The Weeknd even if I thought making a coherent hypermasculine R&B form was pretty retrograde and not worth selling, at least it was marketing a fresh sound, but this still feels like a soupy version of already-popular southern rap

and he's also not writing great pop songs, these are all faux-dramatic dirges ... not a new sound, not great pop, not original, what am i missing?

(not that he's even responsible for his own sound but im saying)

FKi's beat for "sloppy toppy" is pretty cool

could give this more leeway if it was diddy. he doesn't have diddy's personality, though

Yeah this is one of those artists who does everything pretty well, but not one single thing well enough for me to care or find it interesting.

hilarious thread.

album was inspired by le corbusier lamps iirc

ha !

a middling grayscale soup of contemporary ATL influences

yep.

NEXT.

Still crazy to me that during mid 90s the somehow that dross coming from stale NY hip hop was seen as better than what was happening in the South.

― Raccoon Tanuki, Thursday, August 28, 2014 12:31 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

someone tell me this doesn't seem sockpuppetish

Raccoon Tanuki had some good stuff to say in the Outkast artist poll thread

Which is why I checked out this album

I've only listened to like three rap albums front to back all year

So by default this makes my top 5

It's okay

Still crazy to me that during mid 90s the somehow that dross coming from stale NY hip hop was seen as better than what was happening in the South.

― Raccoon Tanuki, Thursday, August 28, 2014 12:31 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

someone tell me this doesn't seem sockpuppetish
--rap steve gadd (D-40)

i caught a whiff and backed away from the thread

thanks for the support guys.

stick travis scott in with Scarface/Geto Boys, UGK, Z-Ro, Big Mello etc of Houston rappers no one cares about until after the fact

lol

yeah no fans of any of those guys around here, nope not a one

I imagine I've been listening to Houston rap longer than you've been alive sonny body

body? wtf me

stick travis scott in with Scarface/Geto Boys, UGK, Z-Ro, Big Mello etc of Houston rappers no one cares about until after the fact

― Raccoon Tanuki, Friday, August 29, 2014 11:52 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark

this sentence is legitimately a disgrace to the legacy of all these artists

y'know nobody cared about scarface but after the fact

http://s3.amazonaws.com/nk_wp_media/uploads/2012/04/bloggerhousenet-620x830.jpg

http://i58.tinypic.com/2hx1x.jpg

Yeah because south wasn't ignored at all you're right

calm down, hip-hop Napoleon

geto boys were really popular in my school, right up there w/NWA. grip it (on that otha level) came out and gangster of love and all those were big songs.

they got a lot of play in the source as well, scarface is generally considered top 10 canonical MC for most ppl i'd say.

UGK did pretty well right off too, as well as 8ball & MJG (memphis but obv very southern)....

i didn't know about screw stuff until later

you know what IS underrated? South Circle, their first album owns

& then obv mind playin tricks on me got played every week on yo mtv raps after that came out

also the south has dominated hip hop for like the last 15 years anyway so wutchu sayin

TBH an album full of GOOD Music retreads sounds more appealing to me than another DJ Mustard cut

― 龜, Thursday, August 28, 2014 12:41 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

tbh a thread full of goon music retards sounds less appealing to me than another DJP cult

& then obv mind playin tricks on me got played every week on yo mtv raps after that came out

yeah I remember this too, my last year of high school. "We Can't Be Stopped" was huge.

Ghetto Boys (when it still had the h) grip it got 5 mics, as did the diary

Source loved the Big Mike album too

To cut RT the benefit of a doubt here

I think he's too used to posting on trad hip hop forums where his assertions might make more sense

Too bad for him he ended up on the one forum on the Internet that Only focused on Houston rap to the exclusion of everything else

Well at least people here have the same opinion on this album as the needle drop.....*

*cough

Tell your street team leader that the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" tactic usually doesn't work in getting people interested either

i think it's interesting that a lot of people really do seem to like this

im afraid that i'm coming around on 'sloppy toppy' which sounds really gross and im sorry

"Too bad for him he ended up on the one forum on the Internet that Only focused on Houston rap to the exclusion of everything else"

know this is not srs but seems dated, it's all about Atlanta now right

Yet this place goes wild for Nicki Minaj. No surprise the opinions here are similar to Brian Fantano. The internet hipster general music is very predictable. Make sure you don't hate on the pop artists, show lack of respect to underground music as a sign of your discern. There's nothing underground here, really.

XD

http://uturncrossfit.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/brian-fantana-quotes.jpg

Raccoon Tanuki definitely NOT a hipster

dled this out of curiosity, not to judge off one track but regardless of how much an influence dude was on "Kanye's recent releases" already seems like the influencee surpassed the influencer. Not sure if even true but just hypothetically.

wow this is super-drab, why throw Quan and Young Thug over a track like that especially man, talk 'bout not playing to either's strengths

in addition to the criticisms that've already been made I'd say a few songs on here just seem like a way to listen to popular ATL rappers in a "hipper" context, tho maybe reading too much into things

That's the general consensus on this in the real world

Can't help but feel like he's gonna get pushed over the hump anyway

i kinda doubt Grand Hustle will be able to do that much with him, they haven't had success with anything but T.I. and B.o.B records for about a million years now. Meek and Iggy both had to leave the label to become stars.

speaking of T.I. dude's career is just depressing to me now cuz I remember when he was one of my favorite rappers. I mean I like "About the Money" but that might as well be a Young Thug feat. him song. & "No Mediocre" is just blah, miss when dude could craft hits that weren't trend-chasing or compromised

he still spits some hot verses sometimes but still

did she leave grand hustle? he told me she's still a part of it

maybe that's just figurative cosign or something idk

'about the money' is one of his best songs is ages, obv helps that thugger is on it

I didn't initially realize that "Lifestyle," that and "Hookah" were all London on da Track, I don't like all equally but dude's dope

she's still vaguely affiliated with Grand Hustle but they don't have their logo or anything on her album/singles and are not involved with her deal with Virgin/Island

london on the track should really be getting the praise ppl are giving to travis scott

i mean he's an actual producer not a 'curator' but still

he's great, he's been killing it on rich kidz mixtapes for years

agree w/ nova about T.I. but he's spitting real vintage raps on "all about the money"

i don't mind "no mediocre" either i'm actually kinda optimistic about his album

travis scott's music isn't commercial imo but i feel like there's prob a lot of push behind him in the industry and i don't think it would take a huge leap for him to start charting some singles if he aimed to sound a little bit more commercial, he has all the right co-signs at least

Thug and Migos are getting to the point where they could be the next Future type guys radio loves that get used to get other artists a hit, definitely feels like what's being deliberately courted on this tape

and rich homie

Young Thug really makes 'Low' imo

When I heard 'War Ready' first I thought it was Young Thug on the chorus but it turns out they just got a soundalike

i think what's bad is that he likes good kinds of music but doesnt get what is good about it

man I hope Thug doesn't get Future'd on the hooks, not that dude's hooks aren't good but he can really spit

"Low" is very confusing because Thug is on the hook talking about what he charges for a verse but he doesn't have a verse on the song

How the hate on this tape when its got Thug, and Migos on 3 really good tracks. Throw in drugs you should try it and quintana 2, the hate on this cannot be explained. I'm guessing a little too much feel for you guys?

how about because thug has three better songs on the radio every day? And migos have two.

it gives me no 'feel'

I haven't listened to this tape but I could barely make it through Owl Pharoah, which just sounded like cut-rate Yeezus as performed by a cypher.

I'm guessing a little too much feel for you guys?

― Raccoon Tanuki, Monday, September 1, 2014 3:53 AM (3 hours ago) Bookmark

Bruh have you even read any of the Future threads

I love how Raccoon Tanuki keeps getting his straw man arguments shot down one after the other than promptly moves on to the next one

OK, stop. So I can see where we're at. Those without love for this release, tell me your rap albums of the year so far. If you were going to say run the jewels please step off and reevaluate your listening habits.

Raccoon Taunki who is your most favorite Anticon rapper

The fact that it has been a meagre year for rap albums unfortunately does not help TS one bit, lol.

This thread is the most beautiful gift.

yeah this is Internet performance art at its finest

I'm guessing a little too much feel for you guys?

:)

I think it's actually been a strong year for rap overall though. Some of my favs:

Vince Staples – Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2
Future – Honest
Young Scooter – Street Lottery 2
Ace Hood – Starvation 3
Isaiah Rashad – Cilvia Demo
Bliss & Alice – The Shit Talker Tape
Lil Herb – Welcome to Fazoland
Ola Playa – Slime Season
Peewee Longway – The Blue M&M
Gucci Mane & Peewee Longway – The White Album
YG – My Krazy Life
Travis Porter – Music Money Magnums 2
Casino – Frank Matthews
Low Pros – Low Pros

what a strong year that includes an Ace Hood mixtape, and the dregs of cobbled together Gucci loosies while he's in jail, and MAKIN MONEY WITH CASIIIINOOOOOOOO

The fact that it has been a meagre year for rap albums unfortunately does not help TS one bit, lol.

― longneck, Monday, September 1, 2014 10:23 AM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It's probably the worst year for rap albums since the pre-1986 days when there were only like 20 albums coming coming out TOTAL, and some of them were by Mr. T

banner year for mixtapedia though. the blue M&M!

So no one can name a single album better than DBR?

Vince Staples – Shyne Coldchain Vol. 2
Future – Honest
Young Scooter – Street Lottery 2
Ace Hood – Starvation 3
Isaiah Rashad – Cilvia Demo
Bliss & Alice – The Shit Talker Tape
Lil Herb – Welcome to Fazoland
Ola Playa – Slime Season
Peewee Longway – The Blue M&M
Gucci Mane & Peewee Longway – The White Album
YG – My Krazy Life
Travis Porter – Music Money Magnums 2
Casino – Frank Matthews
Low Pros – Low Pros

^^^LOL.

Sloppy Toppy = a gift from god.

http://www.geekinheels.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/mario_tanooki_suit.png

Please go into detail on each one of those "^^^LOL"s. Pleeeease do. Pleeeeeeease.

"Please go into detail on each one of those "^^^LOL"s. Pleeeease do. Pleeeeeeease."

In that they're not very good? Find it hilarious throwaway cheap trash like most of that list (I haven't heard of half of them) is cool yet t.s OBVIOULSLY isn't. I like Future, I like Honest, but I probably like Pluto more.

Isn't it that kind of 'throwaway cheap trash' that he pillages for his style?

If I want to listen to Lil Herb I'll listen to Styles P, if I can't find any ghost ill put on Saigon's return of the yardfather.

"Isn't it that kind of 'throwaway cheap trash' that he pillages for his style?"

True or not as if anything is truly original, lacking influence.

No way you mentioned that Pee Way Longway m/t as something superior to DBR. No way anyone here is actually listening to Pee Way Longway m/ts.

True or not as if anything is truly original, lacking influence.

― Raccoon Tanuki, 1. september 2014 18:55 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Well, upthread, you did write: 'The sound on this release is completely new and progressive to anything I've seen before.' But I guess that was only true until it made more sense to mean the exact opposite.

If I don't care about this will dude's previous mixtape do anything to change my mind? Guessing the answer's no

No way you mentioned that Pee Way Longway m/t as something superior to DBR. No way anyone here is actually listening to Pee Way Longway m/ts.

― Raccoon Tanuki, Monday, September 1, 2014 9:56 AM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what about Travi$ Scott I mean he put him on a track man

Isn't run the jewels like 2 yrs old?

God times like this I wish Ethan was still around so he could take your lunch money & stuff you in a locker

Aw cmon this thread is bringin the lolz

Looking for "a great verse"? Ha.

how foolish for me to look for such things in rap music

"Please man. It's 2014. We've moved beyond such banalities in our rap music. We've progressed beyond 'verses'"

God times like this I wish Ethan was still around so he could take your lunch money & stuff you in a locker

― ra's al goole (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Monday, September 1, 2014 12:35 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I was thinking it was Ethan, nicely nuanced troll

Could be DK but I'm not sure who he's parodying if so

how is it not totally plausible that some KTT forum type found his way here and is digging in his heels. sock puppet theory seems very unnecessary here.

At any rate BeatKing's gangsta stripper music 2 >

Oh it's plausible I guess by Occam's razor, just sayin

I mean, let's not act like sock puppetry of this kind is unprecedented here

kinda feels like the peak sock era of ilx is ancient history

So I asked for better albums, no one came with any. Apart from some Gucci mane and pee wee long way etc cheap mix tapes. Lol.

there's a pretty strong consensus around the YG album, nobody cares if you don't like it

Damn, can't believe Travi$ cott is ILM's album of the year...

No need to do a year-end poll we already know the winner

Congratulation to Travi $cott for winning album of the year

So I asked for better albums, no one came with any. Apart from some Gucci mane and pee wee long way etc cheap mix tapes. Lol.

― Raccoon Tanuki, Monday, September 1, 2014 2:56 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

cheap or not they cost the same as travis scott's tape

::hands bouquet of flowers to Trevor's A$cot::

this mess over the YG album?

http://gph.is/XMS9Hh

dammit

well, picture the popular comedian Jerry Seinfeld seated in a theater...

So I asked for better albums, no one came with any. Apart from some Gucci mane and pee wee long way etc cheap mix tapes. Lol.

― Raccoon Tanuki, Monday, September 1, 2014 2:56 PM (11 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

also i think you've gotten enough listening recommendations in this thread

I don't even like "Anaconda" but for some reason I want to spend like 40 posts in this thread making up reasons as to why it has saved music in 2014.

need to step your 'nuki game up

the ability to fell short mixtapes with a single LOL

I don't like this tape but I also am not a Nicki Minaj fan, non-hipster cred clearly intact

Still no albums posted....

because no one actually cares

RT, the fact that nobody cares about you except for making fun at your incoherent rambling and speculating about whether or not you're a sockpuppet, does not mean you're right.

Guys he just wants to tell you what you like sucks, why cant you play along

Ty Dolla $ign is a dude with a $ in his name that dropped a better tape than this, there ya go

hearing "It's a BIG E beat!" on one Owl Pharaoh track just reminds me of Wayne rapping "This is a Big E beat/And I'ma cook this bitch like piggy meat yeeeeaaahh" on Dedication 3. Underrated Wayne couplet

"this a," w/e

I just figured Tanukherb was gonna tell us what our fav albs were anyway

dude's STRAIGHT UP! adlibs just make me wanna listen to Future "Straight Up"

Still no albums posted....

― Raccoon Tanuki, Monday, September 1, 2014 4:47 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

evan posted an entire list. i dont like all of it per se but YG, Vince Staples, & Herb are definitely better ...

dude's STRAIGHT UP! adlibs just make me wanna listen to Future "Straight Up"

― nova, Monday, September 1, 2014 6:47 PM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

his whole schtick is stolen. 'laflame' is gucci's 'laflare' except stupider. laflare is clearly a play on lefleur whereas laflame is just a bite

I listened to a new Toddy Tee album the other day! It wasn't that good but I'm glad Toddy is still out there doing it.

10 albums better than TS (I'm sure there's plenty more...) :

YG - My Krazy Life
A-Wax - Pullin' Strings
Beatking - GSM 2
Shy Glizzy - Young Jefe
Vince Staples - Shyne Coldchain Vol.2
Migos - No Label II
Travis Porter - Music Money Magnums 2
Mouse On Tha Track - Air Time
Common - Nobodys Smiling
Doughboyz Cashout - We Run The City 4

Shabazz Palaces, guys. Shabazz Palaces.

King Louie's "Tony," Lil Herb, HD's "Bad Habits," Kevin Gates "By Any Means Necessary," L'A Capone's "Separate Myself," Mick Jenkins' "The Waters"

this has turned into a pretty good thread. challops still have a place on ilx in 2014

hurt that ANU isnt repping for the new king l album

Isaiah Rashad – Cilvia Demo

haven't listened to a whole lot of rap albums this year but this would be my fav so far

It was a slow grower for me, but eventually I stopped thinking of it as a TDE release and it really started revealing itself

I don't think anybody would say this is a new golden age or anything, but there have been several lasting albums/mixtapes this year along with volumes of super lively mixtapes to bid the time between the real head turners. All in all a great time to be a rap fan; every week I feel spoiled

Excited to check out some of those sisilafami recs that I missed. Also gotta revisit the King L, I guess. The Future-ness of it really threw me off (which is odd, since that's not usually a deal breaker for me)

I don't think it's very Future-y at all.

thought the Travis Porter was a little boring give or take "Dope Boi"

Thug and Migos are getting to the point where they could be the next Future type guys radio loves that get used to get other artists a hit, definitely feels like what's being deliberately courted on this tape

― some dude, Sunday, August 31, 2014 3:24 PM Bookmark

Feels like this is true of Thug but not Migos. Have Migos even been on any hits other than their own shit?

Gibbs + Madlib
Step Brothers
Sweetz P mixtape
Saba mixtape

jeez rev does the phrase "getting to the point where they could be the next" need annotated evidence, i wasn't exactly making a bold definitive statement

i guess sleaford mods - divide & exit might be my fav rap album this year depending on how you define it

gene the southern child is good, not like super "impressive" or new but it dug into me a bit

best rap album this year is witch by gangsta boo & la chat

you just heard it yesterday

cmon he didn't actually have to hear it

tru

well do you actually want to talk about the album or...

hey i'm going to listen to gangsta boo

goth so far!

what's the name of the Gene the Southern Child tape/album?

gene the southern child/parallel thought - southern meridian :)

http://www.mariowiki.com/images/thumb/9/96/TanookiMario_SMB3.jpg/210px-TanookiMario_SMB3.jpg

lol bbcode

thanks dude

hey i'm going to listen to gangsta boo

― ra's al goole (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, September 2, 2014 10:42 AM (38 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

goth so far!

― ra's al goole (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, September 2, 2014 10:43 AM (37 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

m@tt being very much in character is never not hilarious

lol it starts with an english chick singsonging about about "hail mary quite contrary how does your haaaytred grow/with skin of snake and rabbbit bait (??)" over minor key keyboards

"classic" lil' wyte guest verse on one song

"I rock out with my cock out/they jam out with they clam out"

haha

This is pretty fun, not super different thanlots if stuff tho

I am curious what you think of BeatKing

can we do a m@tt listening thread a la Dylannn's west coast one

haha "hip hop senior citizens react to trap music" :)
i'll listen to anything

overall lex this gangsta boo/la chat is pretty cool, couldn't really see it being album of the year in anything other than a super dry year but who knows?

deej - vikings qb teddy bridgewater was watching the LSU game and said a player did the shmurda dance and i thought of you

last boo/la chat song is "thelma & louise", as it should be :)

probably my fav

oh yeah i liked the king louie tape, don't know why didn't think about it.

also Pyramid Vritra's Palace ep on Stones Throw is really good.

Took days for 1 person to even mention the Gibbs/Lib album.

But this stuff:

"YG - My Krazy Life
A-Wax - Pullin' Strings
Beatking - GSM 2
Shy Glizzy - Young Jefe
Vince Staples - Shyne Coldchain Vol.2
Migos - No Label II
Travis Porter - Music Money Magnums 2
Mouse On Tha Track - Air Time
Common - Nobodys Smiling
Doughboyz Cashout - We Run The City 4"

I got the howling fantods thinking ppl are listening to these albums , are above the age of 20, and look down on T.S album. It's so much better produced that any of this stuff (other than Madlib/gibbs).

And YG? Why would you listen to YG?

OK David Foster Wallace reference is seetting off sock puppet meter

Tanuki what is your opinion of DJ MUSTARD

I got the howling fantods thinking ppl are listening to these albums , are above the age of 20, and look down on T.S album. It's so much better produced that any of this stuff (other than Madlib/gibbs).

― Raccoon Tanuki, Tuesday, September 2, 2014 11:17 AM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

dog all the producers on the travis scott record literally came from producing these other albums, listed here

No. Title Producer(s) Length
1. "Days Before Rodeo: The Prayer" WondaGurl[8] 3:22
2. "Mamacita" (featuring Rich Homie Quan & Young Thug) Metro Boomin, DJ Dahi,[9] Travis Scott (co.) 5:18
3. "Quintana, Pt. 2" Mike Dean, Southside, Lil' C, AudioKlique[10] 4:59
4. "Drugs You Should Try It" FKi, Charlie Handsom[11] 3:29
5. "Don't Play" (featuring The 1975 & Big Sean) Vinylz, Allen Ritter, Travis Scott (co.) 4:46
6. "Skyfall" (featuring Young Thug) Metro Boomin, Travis Scott (co.)[12] 5:18
7. "Zombies" Lex Luger[13] 4:20
8. "Sloppy Toppy" (featuring Migos & Peewee Longway) FKi[14] 4:34
9. "Basement Freestyle" Lex Luger[15] 4:07
10. "Backyard" O.Z, SykSense[16] 4:31
11. "Grey" J Hill, Tane Runo[17] 3:48
12. "BACC***" Metro Boomin[18] 2:13

why can't any of these cheap southern rap tapes by travis porter and migos get production from metro boomin and fki!

ha

Travis co pro on 3 tracks, probably uncredited on more. Mike Dean I bet on more than one two by the sounds. The wundagurl tracks def has Travis on it. At the same time, you're proving my point in that case - how are you hating on this album when you seem to like everythign about it?

tell me any of those albums listed have anything like -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaP2mS13QgI

those albums listed don't have anything like that 'cause i don't like to listen to kanye/drake/future cut'n'paste. Those albums listed don't sound like anyone else's music.

"Those albums listed don't sound like anyone else's music."

O_0...........-_-

iii don't wannaa buuuuuuuuuyyy no more, youre shit ant getting me higggggghhhhh no mo

also this is hot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5gdM2qgjrs

Re: the travis scott track you just posted ... that record sucks ass bro. if it was derivative but at least had some decent songwriting i wouldn't mind, but its shapeless/formless meandering solipsism in song form ... makes kid cudi seem like a mercenary hitmaker in comparison

Lol so racoon Tanuki was a deej sock all along

Nicely played

the kanye keef cosign has created some very strange alliances

"drugs you can buy it" isn't bad but it just sounds like kid cudi, maybe kid cudi doing witchouse if we're being generous. not entirely sure how that is appealing.

D40 i respect your hate game

Racoon Tanuki is Mr Que

D40 rap steve called Skyfall track "boring" then posted the boring Hot BOyz intro with Gucci as a representative "good" young thug tracks. Ehhhh

"i respect your hate game" = new board description

Haha who/what is a 'rap steve'

"folks were steving for that wackassed shit"

maybe because his voice isn't buried in reverb and it doesn't take three minutes of autotuned groaning to get to his verse on 'hot boyz intro'

but actually his verse on 'hot boyz' is better in basically every way ... lyrics, energy, the phrasing he uses, the opening

i agree that "hot boyz" into is kinda boring

...

that verse is awesome you're trippin

tbh i find it hard to get excited about any song gucci mane is on in 2014 he sounds so lifeless :(

i mostly love the opening of thugger's verse

Drop top baby...

listening to the youtube raccoon tanuki posted...not feeling this new interpol album :/

Damn

lolllll

i want to believe that Racoon Tanuki is and_what

yo is it true D-40 got steved by a Tanuki after a ilx rap beef??????

How can you not love the gucci mane?

just listened to my first ever Travis Scott song and there are *at least* 10 songs on My Krazy Life better, no discussion

i like the title "Days Before Rodeo" sounds like a Mazzy Star song or something

Soundtrack to Cowboy Bebop reboot

lmao m@tt

Some other releases (that havent been mentioned) I like better than T$

100s - IVRY
Laroo & Jacka - Never Be The Same: No Mercy
Twista - Back To The Basic
Rick Ross - Mastermind
Joe Blow - True Story
ST Spittin - The Morning Show
Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron
Clyde Carson - Playboy
Ray West & OC - Rays Cafe
Roach Gigz - Roachy Balboa 4

I'd also way rather listen to old head releases by Onyx, Mobb Deep and Cormega as well, despite their imperfections.

Onyx surprisingly good!

Brad Paisley's iPhone "album titles" memo pad hacked.

i mostly love the opening of thugger's verse

Drop top baby...

― rap steve gadd (D-40), Tuesday, 2 September 2014 17:30 (Yesterday) Permalink

with the BIRDman I know you HEARD man

RT srs or not confirming my theory that Trav Dolla $cott is a way for "cooler" (however defined but mean this negatively obv) rap fans to listen to currently buzzing rappers/producers without really listening to their own stuff. I mean don't get me wrong Kanye's thrown some guests on his albums & made it work even some times where I haven't been a fan of 'em otherwise, but this guy? Nah

Yes

Throwing in Iamsu!'s,Sage The Gemini's and G-Side's albums on the ever-growing list of 2014 rap albums that are better than Scott's. And probably Zilla Shit 3 too, although I haven't listened to it yet.

Also, 10 Summers.

yeah i love the IamSu! album

Schoolboy Q, really?

Raccoon this is a serious question but are you hip-hop's version of Jeff Gilbert

Like your one word dismissals are cuet

look what he brings to the table

Thanks for the recs, Spottie. Excited to dig into those this week. Also thanks for the reminder to revisit Mastermind; that's an underrated little record.

*questions raccoon tanuki's trendsetting*

Gonna give you a second chance after the Schoolboy Q and Rick Ross slip up. But some reactions to Travis otherworldly delivery recalls to mind the reaction for years to Kanye rapping (not same, but same reactions), then all of a sudden everyone started biting his style. Even further back, people used to say 2pac couldn't rap (though I'm getting doubtful any one here goes that far back, looking at the stuff you listen to), yet now the opinion is enitrely different. Look at how much fans of East Coast rap hated on Bone Thugs? Those dudes would not get any credit, simply because they were wildly different in style (even after Notorious Thugs). T.S is versatile, has a different style on each track on Days Before Rodeo. Honestly think he's too creative for you if you prefer prosaic shit like Schoolboy and Rick Ross.

Past rappers have been underrated and dismissed, ergo Travis Scott is underrated and dismissed.

Also there are few rappers who've been as critically beloved from the start as Kanye

this thread was funnier when racoon kept demanding someone show him a better 2014 album and everyone ignored him imho

yeah, this evolved into a good rap year-in-review thread, sorry I took the bait

yes critically, not internetly. same style of reaction. guy does something diff, gets hate. yet, dross gets love.

i read one youtube comment saying people aren't ready for t.s production yet

"Travis otherworldly delivery"

"guy does something diff, gets hate."

lol this guy bites more famous rappers' style, i would probably love him if he did something diff but he doesn't. He takes a bit of the strange things one can hear one kanye's last 2 albums, some ATL beats + i guess some cudi and wow this is so different you guys are not ready for his genius.

I'm not crazy about makonnen but at least that's someone doing something different.

raccoon name your next ten fav releases this year and also your top 50 all time please.

Thanks for the recs, Spottie. Excited to dig into those this week. Also thanks for the reminder to revisit Mastermind; that's an underrated little record.

― Evan R, Wednesday, September 3, 2014 9:09 AM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, i havent really loved a ross release before but I've kinda fallen for this one a bit

pretty weird to refer to any Ross album as a "little record"

has he gone unplugged?

thread is A+ for evan, sisilafami & spottie's recommendations

deej had some too! that HD is good, listened yesterday.

http://i.imgur.com/3MM38O8.png

hm

Mastermind is still a Ross album, but it trims a lot of the red-velvet bloat of God Forgives in favor of more of a straight hip-hop feel that really suits him. Kind of feels like his take on a NY rap album

Part of the problem here is that "better than Travis Scott" is a low bar, IMO the schoolboy record is p boring

yeah it is low! i don't even rank any of those albums that high tbf, outside of maybe 100s.

people used to say 2pac couldn't rap (though I'm getting doubtful any one here goes that far back, looking at the stuff you listen to)

can I get a lol

Travis Scott is the new 2pac. You heard it here first.

Mastermind is still a Ross album, but it trims a lot of the red-velvet bloat of God Forgives in favor of more of a straight hip-hop feel that really suits him. Kind of feels like his take on a NY rap album

― Evan R, Wednesday, September 3, 2014 11:13 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I like this description, OTM. Actually I wasn't feeling Teflon Don either cuz both aggro Ross/smoove Ross a lot of times doesn't do much for me though I liked a couple songs on it. I didn't pay tons of attention to GFID but Mastermind's the first from dude I've really enjoyed, though I've come to accept that I'll never dig him as a rapper, unless the new-and-improved Ross becomes even newer-and-more improved, but honestly I think it's partially the voice. He doesn't ruin any of those tracks though, if they fail it's cuz I don't like the beat, or I don't like The Weeknd Weeknding

Iamsu! album is tight but it may just be the Drakiest album I've enjoyed thus far

I don't like this tape, any of the Nicki songs OR My Krazy Life besides "My Nigga"/the remix, I'm so not a hipster. Wait RT are you into Run the Jewels tho cuz that's hipster central, how do I know cuz I saw white bearded dude with "I'm glad Reagan dead" shirt at Iamsu in-store. I do like some of the Wayne C5 tracks so far tho so maybe mini-hipster

BTW Iamsu! not gonna be on Carter V you heard it here first I got the inside knowledge

idk Wayne throws lesser-known rappers on his albums sometimes, figured it might be a possibility. Or maybe I'm just thinking of Tech N9ne

The Iamsu album had a few nice tracks but way too lightweight and r&b influenced for my taste. a lot of the new bay stuff i hear at the moment is middling rappers (at best) over homogeneous ratchet beats, it's been like this for about 2 years now. HD - stuck in my old ways was good but he's released better before, jacka and laroo was surprisingly alright, clyde carson was poor imo, joe blow was a bit of a letdown considering how good his other releases have been the last few years...

There's def. songs that're a cut below but I would not call Iamsu album homogeneous ratchet beats

a couple the R&B-ish tracks are what I like about it, the intro is great, "Ascension" is dope minus the spoken bit, "Martina" is cool. I still need to get that "Hipster Girls" bonus track

"Only That Real" and "What You 'Bout" (another bullshit guest verse Wiz's dropped this year tho) are my go-to's though. And "Stop Signs"

I would not call Iamsu album homogeneous ratchet beats

Yeah, you're right, it's just me I think, I'm burned out on that whole aesthetic and the rappers that come with it. Too short and E40 sound good on that one track :D

even though I like Short (well casual fan but when I hear him I like him) I was sorta surprised that he out-rapped E-40 on that track. Not the greatest 40 verse tho, but yeah track is dope

kool john's shmoplife tape is dope

ohyeah 4got about that one

"Stop Signs" off the Iamsu has one of my favorite beats this year. Intro is v dope too.

The "Stop Signs" beat sounds a lot like "Drank in My Cup," and other Houston type things.

hmmm my go-to point of comparison was "What's It Gonna Be"

So 2014 is shaping up to be the first year in quite a while without a big, mass-consensus great rap album. Obviously that could change if Kanye or Kendrick (or maybe Chance?) dropped a full length before the end of the year, but right now I don't think there's any one rap LP that's going to dominant EOY lists.

The closest thing to a widely acclaimed rap album has been YG, but I think a little of the buzz about the album has cooled, and I think it's too contemporary/"non-lyrical" to really unite the masses (it sits at 80 at Metacritic); I don't think it's going to be remembered as the masterpiece some critics greeted it as. The highest rated 2014 rap album at Metacritic is Isaiah Rashad (82), which is really good but nobody feels passionate about.

Anyway, kind of a wonky conversation, but I think it's interesting, since so many casual listeners only pay attention to rap when a widely heralded release demands their attention. I've enjoyed how decentralized the conversation around rap is this year, but I think a lot of good music is falling through the cracks because of it.

Rich Gang tape is the rap album of the year so far.

Yeah it's fantastic. It might not even be the top rated Young Thug release of the year, though. I think months ago writers over zealously coronated Black Portland as the YT 2014 release people are supposed to care about, mostly because it was the closest thing to an official new YT mixtapes. Rich Gang is obv way better though

Black Portland will be forgotten by 2015 lol. It was all we had at the time.

my krazy life isn't a "masterpiece" sort of album and it's better for it imo. i probably listen to the best bits of it more than any masterpiece.

i really hated the young thug tape i gave my time to this year, unsurprisingly (1017 thug 2) and i hate the rich gang single so i presume you wouldn't recommend that tape to me?

schoolboy q and sage the gemini both made decent albums that just ended up being alright, i guess my rap albums of the year are yg, dj mustard, GANGSTA BOO & LA CHAT omg i have been caning that album this month. YEAH HO

did anyone else like the freeway/the jacka one?

I think you should check out the tape, Lex. It's different. You like RHQ, right? The chemistry between the two of them makes the tape work. It also kind of makes YT relax a bit - he's less high strung on this one than on most of the other stuff he has released this year. On the other hand, if you don't like Lifestyle I really don't know what to say to you. That's just obviously one of the year's few and far between classic singles.

I actually would recommend you try the Rich Gang tape. The songs are way solid and as a whole it addresses some of your problems with YT, including the formlessness that dogged his loosie releases this year. I doubt you'll love it, but it gives a sense of how Thug fits in as a commercial everyday player, and shows how well he can adapt to that role.

Just realized a lot of pubs probably will fall back on that schoolboy album as their token rap pick, which is really sad. It's an OK album but man, we should really be expecting more shouldn't we?

i don't really like rhq :(

only young thug performance i really properly love is on "try me" and kinda "about the money"

Schoolboy Q sucks.

How can a man not love Rich Homie Quan?

well, i'm not a fan of sing-song autotune, so

I'd start by sampling "Flava," the obvious standout. If you can't get with this one you you can probably save your time and skip the tape

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hz8oU9zubc

with Nicki, Kanye and Kendrick all possibly dropping before the end of the year I do think it's possible that the critical consensus will end up gathering around a 4th quarter release. would not be the first time that's happened.

Yeah, Good Kid came out in late October, so it can happen. It won't be Nicki, though. Pinkprint's target release date is Nov. 24, which is after the buzzer for many major publications, plus I think "Assaconda" sapped some of her critical standing

Rich Gang would be if it was released as an EP with 6 songs. But Dayss Before Rodeo is the best release of year hands down no comp.

Rich gang tape is great lex. Enthusiastic endorsement

lex you probably won't like it but you should still listen to it

YG remains easily the best rap album of the year though

what's weirdest about the paucity of galvanizing rap albums is that i feel like it's been *such* a strong year for rap singles

i feel like rap songs have done well on the charts this year too & yet no one has really been able to mobilize that into a good album, though i guess you could argue rich gang did.

t.i.'s album might end up being half good.

Yeah I agree about rap singles, though few of those singles were by artists you'd necessarily expect a great album from right now

Tbh last year was the world's most annoying in terms of "the discussion," all of those event albums resulted in some of the most obnoxious rap conversations and what albums got notice couldn't have felt further from what music was worth hearing

Except beyonce

travi$ scott's single "upper echelon" is better by far than anything on days before rodeo. the production on DBR (and owl pharoah, which is better overall imo) is interesting but not enough to make up for how uninteresting - not trash, just unspectacular - his flow and lyrics are. and i'm by no means a lyrics-over-everything person. also it allots a guest verse to big sean, which, just no.

as far as this year in rap goes it's definitely trended toward singles rather than albums. vince staples' hell can wait and shyne coldchain pt. 2, the YG album, gibbs/madlib, schoolboy and future all have their merits, gibbs prob most of all. for pure dumb fun, coke boys 4 was solid.

also for all the young thug talk i dont see any mentions of "old english" and that's slanderous

i am still kinda mystified by the gibbs thing, it reminds me of how lamp (i think) described whiney as having every characteristic of being a hipster except something is missing, except freddie gibbs is like that w 'classic gangster rap artist' for me

kevin gates is better than all of them fwiw

kevin gates is awesome. haven't been disappointed by anything of his.

The highest rated 2014 rap album at Metacritic is Isaiah Rashad (82), which is really good but nobody feels passionate about.

hi dere, best release of the yr, that or future

Music in general is lacking in quality and diversity right now though

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y109/fez_/vporly-sm.gif

well, i'm not a fan of sing-song autotune, so

― lex pretend, Tuesday, October 7, 2014 9:57 AM Bookmark

RHQ is definitely singsong but I can't recall him ever using autotune?

yeah don't think he has

plus a lot of the Rich Gang stuff he doesn't even do hooks, my favorite thing about "Lifestyle" is really his verse

lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVhKub975yg

this song is gonna be an anthem for basics up in the club if it isn't already, though i must say i like the production leading up to the obligatory and entirely cookie-cutter drop.

real groundbreaking reverbed/pitch-corrected vocals and otherwordly delivery amirite

Year-end list making time is almost here, so I'm trying to catch up with anything I missed. Anybody else have any rap recommendations? Dej Loaf has been my go-to for the last few weeks, but I haven't heard much else that's blown me away.

JUNGLEPUSSY

i was way late on it but it's such a good album

i don't get dej loaf really

freddie gibbs & madlib's "pinata" is prob overall the best end to end rap album, followed closely by RTJ2 and the YG debut record, all 3 of which have prob

other than that - both gangsta boo releases (witch and underground cassette tape music), kevin gates' by any means, both vince staples releases...

those cam'ron 1st of tha month EPs have also been really solid & not generating that much discussion

*have prob been mentioned already

Lex, is it her voice/delivery you're not feeling or her lyrics? I think her messaging is on point, and just love her overall presence. She's got that whole Rakim "I don't need to raise my voice" thing going, and her inflections are deceptively precise. There's a lot going on underneath what seems like a static delivery.

and yeah that RTJ album is godly. Gangsta Boo might have the most essential guest appearance of the year on that

i like her lyrics, you know my feelings on that kind of delivery by now

haha, yeah, no surprises there. And I could see a lesser rapper doing the same thing coming across like a rapping Jhene Aiko or something, but I think Dej pulls it off and makes the contrast between hard words and soft rhymes work for her without leaning on it as a shtick

anyway, junglepussy: https://soundcloud.com/vice/sets/junglepussys-satisfaction-guaranteed

so much presence and charisma

my fave '14 release not mentioned by slothroprhymes up there is Sweetz P's "#Liferrrs Guide To Watching Porn Without Headphones"

http://www.datpiff.com/Sweetz-P-liferrrs-Guide-To-Watching-Porn-Without-Headphone-mixtape.570016.html

NehruvianDOOM pushing DBR close now. Listening to the new Migos with peaked interest. RTJ2 is dated masculinity trope

xxpost have never heard of junglepussy before, enjoying it thus far

NehruvianDOOM pushing DBR close now. Listening to the new Migos with peaked interest. RTJ2 is dated masculinity trope

― Raccoon Tanuki, Wednesday, November 12, 2014 1:07 PM (59 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

trolling is one thing, incorrect spelling is quite another, my god don't you have standards

That Migos is so good

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/travis-scott-is-worse-than-iggy-azalea-1682870003?utm_campaign=socialflow_deadspin_facebook&utm_source=deadspin_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

haha just came here to post this

tbh Noz should have written this a year ago (and kind of did on twitter) but at least someone put it together

That is one misleading headline there.

is it? I think it's pretty appropriate considering his argument

& the arguments everyone has been having about 'appropriation'

Sure, the headline works once the reader connects the dots and yes, we technically SHOULD be doing that when reading anything but otoh, there's gotta be a more appropriate headline considering he mentions Iggy once and briefly at that but I guess he's gotta chase the clicks

ppl say 'gotta chase the clicks' like it's a new thing & folks haven't been complaining about headlines forever

If I change "clicks" to, I dunno, "eyeballs", it doesn't change a thing about what I said.

idk i think he's a talented producer. his vocal work always verges on the boundary between biting/originality that creates a really alienating level of animosity for some people

i'm cool with travis

'boundary'

and you must mean 'talented co-producer'

Mike Dean being down w Kanye & this guy & J. Prince being down w Drake is so weird

v good article

it's a stretch to call scott's ripoff-o-rama "offensive," but it's definitely lame. in a vacuum, it's pretty laughable given the obviousness of his antecedents that any label would try and tout him as some kinda gamechanger, but that's where shit has fallen to I spose

I will say "upper echelon" is a pretty good song but mostly for the beat and its guest verses (esp. the T.I. one)

actually who the fuck am I kidding thinking that a label wouldn't in the past have pushed a third-rate cudi/drake/kanye clone (replace with any past equivalent), lol

so he's the Candlebox of rap

exactly!

lol

rodeo is an incredibly mediocre album, not that that's surprising, although it's not quite the complete garbage fire I expected

I like "Antidote"

I have a visceral reaction against his flow on that track

yeah his rapping is miserable in a Wiz Khalifa, grin and bear it sort of way. But I like the hook a lot

antidote is a good hook

i might not mind how much the hook is a "no type"/"drinks on us" bite if he didn't go so far as to reference "no type" on a verse

idk man keeping ur guard up even for dumb hooks seems a p equal gift/curse split at the end of the day

if i knew what a "night show" was referring to i'd probably dismiss antidote w/o qualms too but instead i mildly enjoy the innocent suggestion of 1950s drive ins and planetaria and whatnot

lol i have 'white iverson' in the enjoyably abysmal category too tho so never mind me

all the "night show" talk just makes me wonder if he's also doing rap concert matinees on his tour

antidote is such a nothing blah hook imo, not feeling it all

Looking for "a great verse"? Ha.

the new wiz song is such a hilariously blatant "antidote" rip off https://soundcloud.com/wizkhalifa/bake-sale-ft-travis-scott

don't you open up that bake sale

Lex Luger is the third of five credited producers on that, sad

theres some stuff on sings mcnight or w/e that i dont mind

ive heard good things about "goosebumps"

"pick up the phone" is prob my fav song of the year but i don't consider it a travis scott song really

hmm goosebumps sounds pretty shitty... what are the decent ones j crunch

i just listened to sdp interlude and first take (lol) which weren't bad... i guess maybe this is like views where this is pretty decent if you delete all the songs that aren't r&b

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP93Mo7GpS8

prefer the uk version ~ and i don't even knooow why ~

'Pick up the phone' recently coalesced for me as song of the year, too. closest thing to the 'yrn' beat he's been on since?

yrn really up there with faust arp and caucasiti (demo) huh

dont like pick up the phone really

idk thought way back, biebs, coordinate & the wkend song all sounded p good

xp- can u translate

https://twitter.com/Scott_CEOofSUH/status/787753792347385857

This funny thread...

more hip-hop albums should sample Gentle Giant is what I'm getting from this

trevor jackson tweeted that the opening track lists andy votel as part of the credits for the opening track.
that's a swerve i'd never expect.

yeah wow this starts right off with that gentle giant sample haha