official liveblog rap album review thread

Albums only or mixtapes too? My friend gave me this over the weekend.

im gonna liveblog the 2 pistols album tonight

Nas - Untitled, n word, whatever you wanna call it
don't know if this is what you have in mind for this thread, all in one post or cut up into individual posts, but i thought i'd try and get the ball rolling

1. Queens Get The Money
Nice tinkly piano intro, this one apparently produced by that dude Jay Electronica that the URB type mags keep talking about that I haven't checked out because of the awful name, Baduizm, etc. Cool dramatic way to start the album. Are any drums gonna ever come in? No? That's cool. "I'm the shaky hand that touched George Foreman"?

2. Can't Stop Us Now
Big lolz @ "Aunt Jemima hoes, historic horseshit." The only Salaam Remi beat on the album, and kinda disappointing. Fuck anyone who says latter day Nas albums all have bad production and blames that on the lack of big name producers, SR did some incredible beats on those records. This one really felt short and anticlimactic, shouldn't have been second after a relatively low key first track.

3. Breathe
Big spangly cheeseball beat, this coulda been on Stillmatic or somethin'. Writing stream of consciousness about Nas is giving me dylannn flashbacks. I wonder what he thinks of this album. I don't even know what he thought of Hip Hop Is Dead. I liked it at the time, but I haven't had any desire to listen to it since then (and fwiw, I still bump some of Street's Disciple).

4. Make The World Go Round
If you asked me to name my least favorite popular rapper, R&B singer and production team in 2008, there's a good chance I'd say The Game, Chris Brown, and Cool & Dre. And here they are all in one song! Good job, Nas, let's get them in one place and then set the building on fire. Nah this is actually OK, all things considered. More cheeseball late 90s/early 00s vibe that I'm not necessarily complainin' about. Game's verse is even decent! Ugh Khaled just showed up out of nowhere and yelled WE THE BEST! Chris Brown again things it's OK for him to kick a verse like on that garbage David Banner song, stfu.

5. Hero
I think this leaked when I was out of the country a few weeks ago, kept hearing that Nas had a dope single but didn't really get around to hearing it until a little while ago. Not super nuts about it, but I might be getting there. Possibly the first non-disappointing Polow Da Don beat in forever, I'm trying to remember the last track he did that I really really liked, besides "Party People," which noone else seems to like. Chorus kinda reminds of the "When I See U" remix (the last great Polow track?), but not in a recycling/biting way, like he took that idea and did something new with it. Shame Nas has been dropping flop singles for so long that radio will ignore this like everything else he's dropped since "I Can." Fuck, that was SIX YEARS AGO.

6. America
Harder drums than I ever would've expected from Stargate. Still kinda zzzz, though. The choppy mutes on the synths in the last verse are pretty awesome and grab my attention again. I dunno who does the hook but surely Stargate could've found someone better, famous or not, to sing this shit.

7. Sly Fox
Chunky clunky guitar beat, sounds like it's gonna turn into one of those awful interpolations of some classic roc shit. Nas goes at O'Reilly but I dunno if he even does it as well as Luda. After that greuling last track on Tha Carter III it's almost refreshing to hear Nas do his pretentious faux-political babble: "Comcast digital Satan, the Fox has a Bush-y tail."

8. Testify
Cheesy skit opening, but song isn't as conceptual as I feared/anticipated. He sounds all scattered, like he's drunk or going off the dome in that way that you know Nas would be terrible at. WTF is this shit.

9. N.I.G.G.E.R. (The Slave and the Master)
Man, ever since Toomp hooked up with Kanye it feels like he's just following his old formula, hooking a different generic soul sample to the same damn drums every time. I hate the way that cymbal hit on this (and on "Can't Tell Me Nothing," and on "Say Hello" etc) is almost as loud as the snare. For all the controversy-bailting same ol' bullshit like w/ Hip Hop Is Dead, at least this time he actually stuck to the topic/title for more than one song and to at least some vague degree has something to say this time.

10. Louis Farrakhan
The syllable patterns on the first verse here are sick, now and then he does something like this that reminds me why people went so nuts about Nas in the first place, considering I've first heard Nas in the Esco era and have only really known him as the guy whose new shit people always complain about it, always the disappointment and unrealized potential. On my copy this is called "Untitled," I guess the label squashed this title too!?

11. Fried Chicken
Perhaps the biggest reason I wish this album kept its original title (besides that Nas lost Nas lost Nas lost) is that it'd be hilarious if it had that title with a Mark Ronson track on it. Goddammit I actually kind of like the douchebag's beat on this, though. Why is Busta even on this song.

12. Project Roach
I like this. I think? Another really short song that just goes away too fast to leave a major impression. Nas is one of those guys that really needs to go in on a 3rd verse most of the time.

13. Y'All My Niggas
More semi-cheeseball jazz fusion shit for me to dig on. Might be lyrically one of the best on the album. Really bad vocal mixing on the chorus kinda fucks up the whole song, though.

14. We're Not Alone
The THIRD beat on the album by dude from Dead Prez, definitely the one of the three that shouldn't have made the cut. It is one of those songs that gets better on the last verse, though. Are those crickets in the background?

15. Black President
Another one that got leaked early and talked about a lot that I kinda missed when it was making the rounds. Not bad. It's nuts that as many great beats as Green Lantern has made, I can't remember any others that made it onto a major label album.

OH SHIT I GOT THE BONUS TRACKS, LET'S LIVEBLOG THEM TOO

Nigger Hatred
More rappin over piano with no drums. Paul Mooney sample > the actual song.

Be A Nigger Too
I think I remember this dropping as supposedly the single back when he still thought he'd get to keep the title? Didn't like it then, don't like it now. Verses woulda sounded harder without that stupid ass hook.

Association
Yet another song with stic,man! Is that Will Smith sampled on the intro? Shoulda been a Fresh Prince duet. Another one where for some reason I don't really pay attention to Nas's words until the 2nd or 3rd verse.

Esco Let's Go
Are these actual bonus tracks or just stuff from the mixtape that someone tacked onto this version I downloaded. I dunno. Anyway. Any reference to Esco-era Nas cracks me up. This beat is weird as shit, I like it.

those are on the mixtape - dunno if they are being released as bonuses

good review - im w/ you on most of it, i think game actually kinda kills the song hes on and it might be the sleeper-best track of the record

i totally agree about him sticking to the concept - its probably the best part about this record is its consistency in its almost Pac-ish politicization

altho again yeah lots of lol/wince lines thruout

i hate the chorus on 'hero,' but the beat is bangin

yeah, me calling a Game verse decent generally means it's probably actually fire.

okay --- T.I., Paper Trail --- we are go

"What Up, What's Happenin'" is a good opening, pretty intense. I can't help think of what Al said about the reverse perverse psychology of "hater" songs, though. T.I. seems on-point, the last verse where he argues back and forth with himself is great, and probably works the split personality than anything on T.I. vs. T.I.P. did.

Kinda like the half-assed, off-key singing on "Life of the Party". It works better than his somewhat more effortful singing on "Whatever You Like". Beat is laid-back with flutes, which is pretty much a guarenteed win in my book and oh shit it's R. Kelly. Kells is pretty much playing the exact same role Tip had on "I'm a Flirt", the second layer of smooth on top of the first.

Still kind of ambivalent about "Whatever You Like". Sounds like "What You Know" mixed with "Why You Wanna", diluted by half and then by half again. The choruses and verses barely distinguish themselves from each other and, not that I expect T.I. to go off on any vocal pyrotechnics, the song barely goes anywhere. Meh.

Hold up, liking the coda, even though it doesn't really do anything different.

"No Matter What" has grown on me quite a bit. At first I assumed it was another flop a la the "Big Shit Poppin'" and "You Know What It Is". Yeah, it probably wasn't a great pick as a single, but it's much better than the first two singles from his last album. The synth/organ sounds are great and T.I.-as-platitudinous-survivor isn't as bad as it sounds. The part towards the end, where it strips down to just strings and vocals is great.

"A Better Way" at first seems like a slightly inferior version of the "No Matter What". The verses are more concrete and the hook more universalized, though. The ghostly vocals? synths? are pretty cool. Glass bottle solo? Go for it.

I was hoping "Swing Your Rag" would be more of an uptempo club banger like "Bring 'Em Out", but this more of a street track with big synth-horn riffs. T.I. sounds like Shawty Lo for a second somewhere in there. This really isn't that great.

"King On Set" has more energy than anything since the opener. T.I. sounds pretty fierce here. B.G. is the wrong guest for this song. While his verse is fine, all the momentum dies when he comes on. His bridge later on works better, though.

Okay, "Done It Now" has an incredible, Godzilla stomping around, knocking down buildings, beat. What the fuck is that sample? I may just be thinking of this cause their thread got bumped, but it kinda sounds like an M.O.P. track.

Weird sudden shift in feel here. "Message to the Government" is deceptively largic, but a bit twitchy underneath. Tip is especially lucid, justifying his thug by appeal.

Despite how easily taken down "Swagga Like Us" is on the basis of most of the rapping and the lol sample, it still sounds pretty damn incredible, woozy yet triumphant, nimble and monolithic at once. And no one fronts on T.I.'s verse.

Instead of talking about "Live Your Life", I'm going to talk about how hot Rihanna looked at the VMAs in her little mini-jacket with nothing else underneath. Damn.

Okay, anyway, I feel so ass-backward because this song introduced me to the "Numa Numa" dance. I feel so oblivious. What? "The swagger of a college kid"? This is a better pop move than "Whatever You Like", as far as I'm concerned.

And "Like I Do" might be an even weirder pop move. The trance synths are much bouncier than most of those invading the hiphop airwaves, but the beat is otherwise pretty laconic. Tip is pretty laconic, too. The-Dream isn't really playing down any of his oddities. Pretty damn good.

And "My Life, Your Entertainment" might be where the crossover attempts run out of steam, Usher sounds as generic as he ever has singing the weak-ass hook. T.I. carries this off much better, though. The song is really hindered by the hook, and would easily be better off without. Usher justifies his presence on his bridge/verse at the end, where he sounds like he's actually able to be himself a bit. Damn that ugly hook.

Holy shit. "Let My Beat Pound" sounds like a Newcleus song played at half-speed. Second chorus in a row that doesn't work. Tip's verses are kinda undistinguished BS about how big his speakers are. Meh. He totally squanders the promise of the sonics.

hahahaha just realized this isn't the official tracklist at all

official liveblog fake leak review thread

sucks that some of the better songs here aren't on the actual release

liveblogging dedication 3 here

Stoked for the madness

dedication 3

i guess anyone can sound good over the art of storytelling pt 4 beat but all the no names here (mack maine, jae millz) sound real grimey. good look. meanwhile wayne's rapping in a total drugged up way with a lil bit of autotune in his voice and spitting some real C+ rhymes ("so hip-hop like two bunnies)"

dick pleaser

this one is awesome. don't recognize the beat (clown me here) but it's really spare and low-key which allows wayne to go off in these two word tangents in the really skittish way like he does on weezyana. on drought 3 i always liked him going over snap songs that let him just play around with flow ("all my guns knee high/m-o-n-e-y/that's what i rely/on, i'm gone"

always thought Jae Millz was one of the best out of that whole last generation of NYC never-gonna-bes, good to see he's getting a lot of shine off this.

ain't i

looking forward the most to this one but once the beat starts playing i just want to hear the young dro verse. jae millz is only an aight rapper dunno why he's on here. i guess jadakiss or whoever hasn't putting out enough mixtapes lately. wtf @ millz: "this is the dedication 3/ you can't replace we/ that's like asking a group of muslims where the bacon be". classic fecal matter wayne w/ in the first two rhymes. yeah this is retarded. wayne's not even rapping or singing. he could've killed this beat imo :/. raps too much about eating pussy.

the other side

la the darkman is not a good rapper. who is he anyway? none of these other guys can rap at all really but by virtue of showing up next to tweaked out wayne they at least sound pretty good until you start listening to tired ass punchlines about cheese. every wayne punchline here is "y like x". we must demand more in a post-obama era.

or in an obama era

just looked up the dick pleaser joint on youtube & the beat is off

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4uuyy_too-short-ft-lil-john-couldn-t-be-a_music

Like 4th-string Wu-Tang La the Darkman?

x-post

so madd la the darkman reinvented his former wu tang killa b-teamer ass as a dj drama aphilliate in atl - i sold dudes album back to the cd store back in 2000 for like 3 bucks and now its on ebay for 80 bucks

this was the joint offa that

he used to hang around ear wax records like every damn day back in 05 with these bootleg cd-rs but i guess dude is makin $$$$$ now

my weezy

the beat selection on here is totally on point but besides doing some cool things with his voice wayne is pointless. shanell sings but sounds like a ghost. im not sure if lil twist is a chick or 13 year old boy but either way this is hilarious. i think he just threatened to kill ppl who threaten his friend, lil wayne's daughter, who i think is 7. as for tyga, today i woke up really hoping to hear a bunch of verses by a second-rate yung berg.

she's a ryder

wayne on here is like "can't believe it" verse but more weeded if that's even possible. i thought it was funny when dj drama said "obviously there is more singing on here but wayne is in that zone". the palpable disgust in that statement alone was lol. gudda gudda is like mack maine with less personality and even less brain cells. can't wait to hear more.

still i rise (nikki minaj solo song)

over the no matter what beat. nikki minaj can really spit and even though she's not saying shit on here she's still way better than maine or millz or whoever. her verse on drought is classic. she sings the hook and it's really good actually. singing about nostalgia. this song actually hits but it just might be the verse.

La The Darkman is Willie Da Kid's older brother so that's how he started showing up on every other DJ Drama project

wow i had no idea that la the darkman had made down south comeback! crazy.

sunz of man on the next young dro album!

just might be the beat*

magic

more autotune raps. "i wanna fuck your head off and then fuck your ankles loose/the drink the juice". this vibe is kinda cool and wayne doing necro goth rap would be kinda cool given his drugginess if he hadn't been on this formless, sleepy tip for like a year or whatever.

whoever you like

excited about wayne going over this one in a world eating itself kinda way. more "cant believe it" style stretching words over like 5 seconds. "you could fuck whoever you like". jae millz talking about letting you fuck tyga. every hoodrat's dream im sure. fast forward through this bullshit

get bizzy

a tape of wayne going over snap beats would be murder imo. not so great on this one due to more autotune raps but i'm still down with anything that lets him follow his flow wherever. "im not talkin about fleas when i say im ticked off". it's come to this. more gudda gudda. this guy has a future if mack maine ever becomes the dictator of cuba and needs a body double

i got that gangsta (LA the darkman solo)

my version has it tagged "i goth that gangster" which is probably the most interesting thing about this one. you dudes will like this one. willie the kid shows up. i like this dude. interesting flow w/ that really bratty voice that young skinny dudes from NY have. "i know yung la/ the real young la" i lol'd

dick pleaser

feat. baby ?

jae millz talking about letting you fuck tyga. every hoodrat's dream im sure. fast forward through this bullshit

more gudda gudda. this guy has a future if mack maine ever becomes the dictator of cuba and needs a body double

lol

stuntin

over the banner/chris brown beat. our very own david drake shows up on here. not a very good rapper. wayne finally starts rapping over this one at the end. 40 mins or some shit.

dedicated (skit)

wayne basically says that every artist on young money is never dropping an album, and that we should check them out elsewhere, where they are assuredly doing their thing. then he implies that he's gotten head from dudes and then goes "i'm looking for straight beautiful women- nah im lyin"

put on

dj drama should be jailed for allowing tyga to rap over this beat. there's kind of a nice suspense built up to wayne rapping over this beat but if kanye straddled the line between using autotune as an emotive device and using it to ruin a good rap verse wayne certainly doesn't straddle that line.

wayne basically says that every artist on young money is never dropping an album, and that we should check them out elsewhere, where they are assuredly doing their thing. then he implies that he's gotten head from dudes and then goes "i'm looking for straight beautiful women- nah im lyin"

ok can you transcribe this in full

why is that not surprising at all?

outro

"for the future i'm on this rock shit". a little ways in gudda gudda starts banging out a beat on a table. wayne: "dream of fucking ms sarah palin/ don't mccain's heart look like it about to fail him". ok 4 mins of silence. then wayne starts rapping a la dedication 2 except he actually killed the ambitionz aa a ridah beat on that tape. nothing of note here.

it's not surprising, but it is somewhat surprising for Wayne to actually admit as much

hay guyz what cd should i liveblog when i get home today

ok can you transcribe this in full

― she ain't shy no more she changed her username to some dude's bitch (some dude), Friday, November 14, 2008 2:58 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

"i wanna make it clear that every artist you hear on young money is most likely to be doing their own thing somewhere else. so what i would love for you to do... is to actually get into them over there. if they're good over here then most likely they are great there. pay attention to them, they are making moves. and if you wanna be down with us it's easy, give a nigga some head or something [everyone in the studio laughs]. no homo not to the niggas though i'm not looking for no mo rap [unintelligible-- i think he says "lame" or something]. i'm straight. i'm lookin for some straight, beautiful women - nah i'm lyin"

hahaha thanks

goddamn it just dl'd this and the zip was bad : (

this fuckin guy

lollll

n/h gettin a workout there

wtf

I GOT OTHER MEN PUTTING THEIR LIPS ON MY DICK... no homo

[everyone in the studio shakes their damn head]

*rolling my damn eyes*

ok it worked, listening to the "intro"

dick pleaser

this one is awesome. don't recognize the beat (clown me here) but it's really spare and low-key which allows wayne to go off in these two word tangents in the really skittish way like he does on weezyana. on drought 3 i always liked him going over snap songs that let him just play around with flow ("all my guns knee high/m-o-n-e-y/that's what i rely/on, i'm gone"

lol on the version i got this song is named "Thingy Pleaser"

hahaha mine was too

Chingy Pleaser

First dick to please meh

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~usgenweb/ok/cimarron/tombstone/garrett/judkinsralphwaynejr2ndstone.jpg

I pray Thee Lord my dick to please

best thing so far is his imitation of sarah palin playing the flute

wayne just somebody to wipe his ass

"black on chrome like darren mcfadden" was a good line

ya tru

but wayne always has the best sports punchlines

actually yeah he does..you can tell he actually watches sports a lot, doesn't just drop in random names like kobe and jordan

he has an espn blog right??

yeah

on dedication 2 he has a skit where he talks about only watching sports and sports-nerd shows on espn

jae millz is so average and boring

somebody should do new tpain

why the fuck is jae millz on this

he now makes decisions like the way he raps

i like "I goth the gangsta"...but it's weird...like they just dropped some random track from a 97 dj clue mixtape in to dedication 3.

now i'm weezy f fuckin fuckin fuckin fuckin baby.

the end.

i don't think i'll end up listening to this very much.

jae millz is so average and boring

― any major some dude will tell you (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 14 November 2008 22:52 (43 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Nah, dude was always the best of the New New York buzz.

^^^all-time banger

okay that song is great.

i will always like songs that use a repetitive soul singing hook like that. best production gimmick ever.

Who = underrated Jae Millz jam from before Ron Browz started making cheesy AutoTune club shit

oh shit props to Drama for shouting "rest in peace K-Swift" on track 11

jae millz is most notable for agreeing to lose to ness in an episode of making the band

in a freestyle battle

what it do
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31bz60e89yL._SS400_.jpg

"say you will"

b/w the line on here, "when i grab your neck/i can feel your soul" (or something) and his couplet on t-pain's "therapy", kanye's been rapping a lot about choking a bitch. this one is a weird opener, the outro is all echos and blips and bleeps for about 3 mins (no vocals) so it almost feels like the album closer. the echos build up in the background nicely while kanye im presuming presses a casio key every so often. nice to zone out to

"welcome to heartbreak"

more of the "love lockdown" drums. big tribal thump, kanye singing about emptiness and not having a fulfilling life (paraphrase: "a friend's kid showed him his report card/ all i got wa a new sports car"). more synths pushed way in the background and i'm not feelin the autotune on this one cuz it makes it sound like he's singing thru an answering machine or something (kinda strokes-y treatment). another outro with swelling strings with an ascending piano and kanye sounding like a lil kid wailing "and i won't stop". good not great. this whole thing sounds like the lost 300 soundtrack or something

"heartless"

i think this is the weakest joint that i've heard off here even though the kiddie "next episode" keyboards are awesome. heavier bass on this one, def going at his ex on this one. idk nothing else too memorable. in the chorus he filters off some background vocals in diff directions and when they finally come together w/ the main vocal it sounds pretty good.

"amazing" (ft. young jeezy)

mournful piano with these clicky drums. lots of these sounds start out sounding real ugly before they move into another part. this chorus awesome, kanye repeating "it's amazing" over big drums and more backing vocals. this one is totally goth and foreboding, i think he pitches jeezy's ad libs way way low in this one so he sounds like a drill sergeant. poppiest hook on here so far. jeezy sounds like the god on this one after kanye drops the track out. jeezy can't do shit wrong right now and his emo raps are the shit esp. after the hook kicks back in after his verse

"love lockdown"

dunno what else to say about this one except that i think it's really great, esp the outro which if kanye actually arranged them then he's got more in him than i thought. the drums throughout this whole song are just huge imo esp after "amazing" which has these grasshopper drums that are aight i guess.

love lockdown outro (((d-_-b)))

"paranoid" (ft. mr. hudson)

haha this is totally shameless 80s. overtly dance vibe is weird and kind out of place esp this chorus which sounds like a disco chorus kind of. this synth sounds cheap and ugly, i think this is the first song where the cheap production worries are actually held up. melody in the verses here is cool, catchy repetition like "amazing". another hilarious outro on this that sounds like chromeo kinda.

"robocop"

i'm concerned about this one. this song is the first time i've had a problem with kanye's singing. the verses have these great violins and they need some delicate singing or something and ye + autotune sounds a little too raw for them. this one has an aiight chorus but it's too long. ok lol @ the glockenspiel on here. the orchestration on here is really nice. i was about too type that this one is too long but the second half has kanye really trying to sing and it's sweet.

"street lights"

song has the best verse to chorus build + release out of any of the songs on here i think. the synths scratching out here in the background sound kinda like animal collective or something. more choral backing vocals. really nice look but maybe im just a sucker. do these sound like snow patrol or something? that would be cool with me. for some reason i liked the demo better. this is the song that needs a huge outro but there really isn't one.

"bad news"

most autotuned out vocals here. "i just heard some real bad neeeewwws". this one sounds like the weakest so far. kinda just patters out. i started reading about keyshia cole's mom.

"see you in my knightmares" (ft. lil wayne)

weird synths here (the songs have more elegant pianos and some string compositions i think). kanye doing his alien voice here but it actually works i think here cuz this voldemort dungeon music fits it here more. he drops the autotune to drop about trina or superhead i guess. kind of a good verse. wayne hits on his weird sort of psychosis imo actually. kind of a dirge of a song though.

"coldest winter"

more huge drums a la "love lockdown". synths are good too. this could be fleshed out into an m83 song i think. i like this one but i wish it went out with a big outro instead of peeling its layers and fading out.

dunno if i accomplished anything here but i like this record a lot though im not sure how much

is anything not autotuned yet? xp oh damn that's the whole thing?

it's all autotune except it doesn't sound like "put on" autotune or even love lockdown autotune. motly it just makes his voice rougher.

its kinda funny kanye jumping all over autotune now when he considers himself such a tastemaker

robocop is hilarious

ya it is

i'm not feelin the autotune on this one cuz it makes it sound like he's singing thru an answering machine or something (kinda strokes-y treatment).

haven't heard the song you're referring to but that seems like a pretty apt description of all the vox i've heard on this record

man...this totally going to get a critical blowjob, isn't it?

you think? it seems like it's going to be pretty divisive as far as reviews go, and definitely not as well reviewed as his other albums.

Ultramagnetic MCs's Critical Blowjob

yeah i dunno...just like a "adventurous" non-rap-album-by-a-rap-artist-that-most-rock-critics-know-by-now...seems like it would be in that "love below" zone

a lot of this album is on some u cant be serious shit

yeah I've seen people operate on that assumption..."oh he's singing and making stuff-white-people-like indie/techno, critics are gonna go nuts," but really compared to the critical reception of his first 3 albums there's nowhere to go but down, and I think it's gonna go way way down with this album, aside from pockets of apologists here and there.

yeah you might be right.

based on the songs i've heard so far i think i like chinese democracy better than this.

haha that's been a Taking Sides going on in my head ever since those 2 albums ended up on the same release date.

i suspect there is an equal amount of autotune on each album, some of axl's high notes sound pretty suspect

I pretty much decided that I'm going to end up listening to both and hating myself for it, but I will only contribute to Axl's ego by actually purchasing his CD.

xpost

"paranoid" (ft. mr. hudson)

when i saw this i was like oh word, he did another song w/ Eric Hudson from "Flashing Lights" and actually gave him a feature credit for the beat? but then it's some British douchebag signed to Kanye's label, i guess.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/9f/Theater_of_the_Mind.jpg

what up, sunday posters, won't you come and join me for my liveblog of the new luda album?

1. Undisputed "co-starring" Floyd Mayweather

I never realized how stupid that cover was til I saw it up close and all the people in the background were also Luda in different poses. This had some annoying British accent guy yelling over the first had but once it got going there was a good fast flow.

oh wait i already fucked that up, track 1 was "intro," that I was describing.

2. Undisputed

d-_-b Don Cannon beatz

I already heard it. Decent Luda rhymes. Shit beats.

that intro is so groan-inducing

chris brown joint is aight. Skip to that

3. Wish You Would "co-starring" T.I.

I like this better than "On Top Of The World" already. Not that Luda or T.I. were ever in the same lane or had a lot of potential for dope collabs, but this one works for me. Feeling this beat more than probably anything Toomp has made in the past 2 years, you hating on this one, Whiney? The "whuuut"s at the end of a few lines in the first verse cracking me up. It might be kind of corny that Luda says "I wish a muthafucka would" at the end of the previous song and then the beat transitions seamlessly into this song, but I'm a sucker for that kind of shit, it sounded great.

4. One More Drink "co-starring" T-Pain

Yeah I'm gonna say "co-starring" every time because I still can't believe how dumb the concept is on this album, "every song is a movie," stfu luda. Even though he's like the billionth rapper to jump on the T-Pain bandwagon I'm not mad at him because unlike most of those other cats, Luda actually sounds like he has the same vibe and sense of humor as T-Pain. "Chopped 'N Skrewed" is way way better than this, though, so every time I hear it I wish I was listening to that.

5. Call Up The Homies "co-starring" The Game and Willy Northpole

I was gonna say he's never done a song with Game before but I guess there was that phone commercial with Kanye before Motorola swapped them out for Mickey Avalon. Worst radio personality ever Clinton Sparks comes with some heat on the track.

I should have stayed with the movie theme and wrote: spoiler alert: disappointing album

6. Southern Gangsta "co-starring" Rick Ross, Playaz Circle and Ving Rhames

lol ving rhames intro. my least favorite track so far, even before Officer Ross showed up and made a Public Enemy quote sound lame. Tity Boi's dope, though, that Playaz Circle album was a decent little inconsequential record. Another thought about the cover: why does every different Luda in the theater seem to be watching a different kind of movie or different scene? Some are laughing, some look scared, wtf is going on.

is it possible to be disappointed by a Ludacris album at this late date?

I mean I thought we'd been in this holding pattern for like 4 albums now of Luda going "this album's going to be the classic that puts me in everyone's top 10" and then it being some lame uneven shit, at this point I'm just like whatever, I'll check it out and there'll at least be some decent songs.

7. Everybody Hates Chris "co-starring" Chris Rock

is he sampling the theme song of the show on this? I can't remember what it sounds like. this gimmick of having non-singers/rappers talk on the beat is gonna get pretty old by the time Spike Lee shows up, ain't it. Don Cannon is still the 2008 champ of southern soul beats, though.

8. What Them Girls Like "co-starring" Chris Brown and Sean Garrett

OK seriously you think this is the best track? wtf

9. Nasty Girl "co-starring" Plies

v. disappointed in Swizz for this shit, it still has some of his cool "different random drum sound every other bar" style but the synth line is so loud and cheesy. Luda should never do sleazy sex songs that aren't as fast as "What's Your Fantasy" or faster. even Plies is kinda boring on this, I was hoping he'd at least say something ridiculous or disgusting like he does on all his radio singles.

10. Contagious "co-starring" Jamie Foxx

"Unpredictable" was my jam so I gave this the benefit of the doubt but man this stretch really is a no man's land of terrible R&B songs, isn't it. I like how Jamie pronounces "simply" with three syllables, though.

11. Last Of A Dying Breed "co-starring" Lil Wayne

Ooh a film projector sound effect! Real fancy, Luda. This sample's really been done way too many times for it to work here. I don't think I've ever heard an album where a rapper mentions how many albums he has this many times. lol @ him playing up the O'Reilly/Oprah/Obama controversies like he's some kind of scary outlaw rapper. Wayne sounds kinda heated on this, almost like this could've been recorded in 2007 or something.

12. MVP "co-starring" nobody, finally

Primo's dropped some nice beats lately but I'm not really into this one. You'd think he'd be able to piece together a dope collage chorus of Luda quotes but he probably doesn't actually listen to Ludacris records.

13. I Do It For Hip Hop "co-starring" Nas and Jay-Z

Before Joe Budden, before The Game, Luda was the first MC to constantly whine about how Jay won't give him his respect or do a song with him, so I guess congrats to him for finally getting to the point where Jay will throw him a stupid guest verse. Who is this Wyldflyer guy who keeps getting to do boring beats for big event songs like this and "Black Republican"?

14. Do The Right Thang "co-starring" Common and Spike Lee

OK I kind of like that goofy "wake up" intro. This is a pretty big yawn until the OK last Luda verse, though.

15. Let's Stay Together

Since I bought this on iTunes I might as well post about the bonus track. I remember hearing this when it leaked way before the album and liking it, probably would've been one of the best tracks on the proper album if it was included. I like that he fantasizes about all these rap reunions and says "Crunchy with Three 6" when it's a Paul and Juicy track. I like that he mentions a couple DTP breakups in here but I mean he just cut loose half the label's roster last year, that's kinda weird.

wtf @ front row luda vest

this dude is totally a singles/guest rapper artist -- he's really talented but i dont get why everyone thinks hes a minute from dropping a classic at this point

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1c/Ludaback4firsttime-2000.jpghttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a5/Ludacris-WordOfMouf-music-album.jpg

even Plies is kinda boring on this, I was hoping he'd at least say something ridiculous or disgusting like he does on all his radio singles.

^^lol this needs to go on the Rap in 2008 headstone

ya i was gonna say - back for the first time is a classic and word of mouf is pretty damn close

id pick those over the other options but neither of them get me rewinding over and over or something -- they dont have anything on a guy like redman who has such a similar schtick but way more solid records

tbh im kind of challopsing out of boredom here

luda is really too intense to sit though an entire album of

back for the first time has distinctly early 2000s southern beats and knockout punchlines - idk what's not to love

joe you may be right but i think that statement applies to latter day luda when he felt he had things to "prove" - i think on his earlier albums esp. word of mouf when he was already a superstar he's just doing stand-up comedy basically

word of mouf is dope tho

xactly

the other day i was gonna do a bangladesh + luda poll but i forgot also i dont think anyone would vote

stick em up is probably the best in any event

well probably what's your fantasy

this dude is totally a singles/guest rapper artist -- he's really talented but i dont get why everyone thinks hes a minute from dropping a classic at this point

― deej, Monday, December 1, 2008 5:12 PM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

'everyone'? like I was saying earlier, Luda says every album is going to be the classic that cements his status, and of course it never is and I don't think anyone ever expects him to deliver either. nobody thinks he's a minute from dropping a classic.

eh i hear people say that shit about him all the time -- "hes such a great rapper!!!" + he has inconsistent albums or whatever.

yeah, but i mean, i think people treat that as the status quo...he's always going to be good, his albums are never going to be great, that's how it will always be, etc.

this is a completely hollow comparison i realize but it's kinda like bob pollard to an extent, no (moreso in the 90s)? uneven albums (save for a couple classics imo) with great songs every few tracks or so. i love bob pollard btw

people really stop need to stop trying so hard to come up with variations on "i'm white btw"

hahahahahahahahahahaha

the actual joke is that i think that was unintentional

im pretty sure the soulja boy album is dope but im gonna liveblog it anyway
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61DHV5-3eTL._SS500_.jpg

Stoked for the madness

i'm about the stax

beat soundin a little like "shootout". my life might be too gucci mane centered right now but i think he rubbed off on soulja boy. he doesn't have gucci's flow yet but he's kinda picked up this knack for punchlines that are simple in their brilliance

bird walk

i like the keyboard on this one - drip droppy with these huge drum thwacks like "grindin" or something -- they actually are just bursts of noise kind of like something from justice. WHATTCCHH ME DOO IT YOOOUU. pretty good single i think

soulja boy for the kids like disney

turn my swag on

this is like a rip-off of "whats up whats haapenin" except better. chorus is all whiny and wheezing like t.i. haha he actually says "whaaaats up". at least he's transparent. can't even tell when the chorus stops and the verses start. this sing-song is a pretty new look for him but i like it. pretty catchy

gucci bandana ft. gucci mane and shawty lo

i've written about gucci/soulja boy collabos too much for my own health and this one is pretty dope. i think the chorus is him sampling himself from his "marco polo" verse. soulja boy's verse is wack on this but the beat has this nice elastic bass that would probably rattle a car. anytime gucci mane enters a song it's immediately my favorite part of the song. his flow is a little too stunted on this one but the ad-libs are on point. dunno i can't hate anything gucci does. except not doing his community service. please someone stop shawty lo. please let him be implicated in trying to buy obama's senate seat or something. does he want to sound like he has emphysema? i dont get it

eazy

beat here has these whiny synths and muted horns. good look, way less fruity loops than his other stuff. sounds like a toomp beat (btw im assuming that soulja boy did all these beats). employs good beat drops during the chorus. verses are okay but it's hard to hate on this one since the whole thing has a pretty nice bounce

my life might be too gucci mane centered right now but

caveat of the year

kiss me thru the phone (ft. sammie)

beat is a rip-off of "whatever you like" w/ has those keyboard bleeps but it's pretty good. synths are orchestral but this hook is pretty wack. i guess sammie is a dude who sings. not much to say about this one. not skippable but not good really. synths sound like m83 or something

i like "gucci bandana," they been playin' that on the radio here a lot but i didn't know what it was (like if it was on SB's record or just something he did for someone else).

it's been around for a while. it was on his 'teen of the south' mixtape from this summer and then ended up on the album

Sammie was a kiddie R&B singer in the 90s, he came back a couple years ago with a snap & B song w/ Jazze Pha

BOOTY GOT SWAG (DONK PT. 2)

i have to say, i'm pretty excited about this one. "her booty so big i can hang my chain from it". this song is like big bass hits + rolling snare parts like mannie fresh style + "her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag her booty got swag"

i just heard it on a gucci mixtape i had - one of the 30 he dropped this year

cherish them because there will be ZERO in 09

BOOTY GOT SWAG (DONK PT. 2) is like some kind of palin-esque combination of random buzzwords

"rubber bands"

i think this one is an adaption of the mixtape track "bands" which is way better. beat on this one is a little messy, weird twinkling keyboards. "shout out to the mona lisa hanging on my wall". not a necessary track. wish this was just "bands" it is pretty cool when he goes "look at my rubber... BANDS" tho

haha otm xp

"hey you there"

classic soulja boy impersonating a white person intro here. haha i think is supposed to be "yahh pt. 2". this one isn't as flat-out as hilarious but im loling right now. chorus is like... soulja boy whispering a double-dutch chant and then taking on some italian accent (?). he might be impersonating mario or something. this is truly bizarre but kind of awesome. maybe he's being a frenchman idk

^^i have literally no idea what is going on in this song

listen to it http://www.zshare.net/audio/525094815dc23112/

yamaha mama ft. sean kingston

loverman jam feat sean kingston = SKIIIIIPPP. well this is kind of good actually on the verses at least. beat is way more layered than a typical soulja boy production and soulja boy is pretty good at these looping sing-song verses that are pretty enjoyable to listen to

wit my yums on

ok this is those big synth hits from the "get silly" beat looped for a commercial for soulja boy's shoe line. lol @ "your shoes are old like an artifact/ all i can say is 'wow'". this song is like soulja boy 4 dummies. chants, catchphrases that he invented, beat sounds like every other. superfluous

go head ft. juney boondata <----lol wtf

haha he opens the first verse by singing the chorus of "turn my swag on". this one is kinda ugly tho the chorus is nice in a mindfuck way. i guess this guy juney boondata sounds like an alien and then soulja boy chops his voice up.

totally cracking up at "Hey You There"

my life might be too gucci mane centered right now

shoppin spree ft. gucci mane and yo gotti

one of my fav rap songs of the year. soulja boy really goes in on this one. "SOULJA BOY TELL EM AKA THE ASSASSIN/ PRINCESS CUTS IN MY WATCH LIKE I THREW SOME GLASS IN" (<-- syllable pacing is nasty). gucci sacrifices to the gods on this track. "cutlass to my chevy/chevy to my lamborghini/ you cant be me or see me unless you see me on tv/shiny and greasy i wonder if stevie wonder could see me/necklace a jungle of vee-ves [?] check my selection of pieces"

i highly recommend this song, also this video has footage of gucci recording his verse @ soulja boy's studio

souja boy tell em

this one is surprising - meandering bass, doo-wop kind of pianos. it's like if soulja boy did "beautiful girls" so it's still pretty menacing and clattering.

whoop rico ft. show stoppas

i think these dudes are signed to SOD but when this single didn't jump off soulja boy juts stuck it at the end of his album. it was meant to be a viral dance hit im sure but the beat is just way too... stuffed to come close. has those creepy xylophone pings like "knuck if you buck" + a screwed-up chorus + random dj scratches and crowd chants. recommend checking this one out just to listen to the beat which is pretty all over the place and kind cool

i pray (outro)

chorus in his totally accurate but blatant whiny t.i. singing voice: "dear god/i pray/for all my/haters". verses talking about how his life as a celeb is hard. mom calls crying about rumors. raps about growing up. nice step out of the soulja boy image. beat has these like hair metal guitar scratches buried real deep. i appreciate this one objectively but it's not very interesting to listen to

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ca/The_Ball_Street_Journal.jpg

here goes...

1. "The Ambassador"

Okay... the album starts with another Digable Planets sample. XD The beat is kinda sparse with just claps, the sample, and a big synth riff every couple beats. Pretty much a state-of-affairs type dealy. E-40 still has his way with words. Not that I thought he might have lost it.

2. "I'm on One"

Ridiculous beat here, clattering drums and distended synths all over the place. Lots of shifts in direction, too. 1st verse has 40 on absolute fire. "Yola-ology, yayo-cologist". 2nd verse he tries this slower flow that doesn't work as well. Then he does this awesome nursery rhyme thing.

3. "Break Ya Ankles"

Tired-ass Lil Jon snap beat. Shawty Lo. Not looking good. I guess this is the token dancefloor track, but there's no energy. Shawty Lo's verse kinda ruins the song even worse than it was. E-40's last verse where he more or less ignores the concept of the song is good, tho.

4. "Got Rich Twice"

I already know this shit is dope. 40 Water sounds as hungry as ever. "You can check my track record/ I don't like to feud, but if I must, I'll have your head severed." Rubbery syn-bass and big synth swells. "In the heart of the soil, where we think Buicks is Bentleys". The album could consist completely of tracks like this and I'd be happy as hell.

5. "Pain No More"

I know there are about a million exceptions to what I'm about to say, and I'm probably challoping, but r&b hooks on non-pop-oriented rap tracks are almost always detrimental. Basically, this is the hard-times anthem. E-40's verse is alright. Game's is better, but still not great. Snoop says "Big fish in the pond/ Runnin' my triathalon", which is mildly o_O. The g-funk whine, well past the point of empty signifier, appears at the end.

6. "Tell It Like It Is"

Big rock drums. 40 totally going in. Hook consists of E ranting, out of rhythm, about how things just ain't the same for gangstas, which kinda kills the momentum from the verse. But I don't really mind cause shit is entertaining.

7. "Give Her the Keys"

T-Pain collabo. Light and breezy acoustic guitar jam. Wouldn't have stood out as bad on Pain's album. E-40 talking about how great his girl is. Way better than the Akon track as far as chick songs go. "You my backbone, you my rib, you my chick." UH.

8. "Hustle"

Who the fuck are these R. City dudes? I keep hearing them here and there. Total pop hacks. 40 is good on this, but Turf Talk is horrible, and this is otherwise a wack pop joint.

I know there are about a million exceptions to what I'm about to say, and I'm probably challoping, but r&b hooks on non-pop-oriented rap tracks are almost always detrimental.

yeah I dunno, I'm trying to think of good counterexamples, because it seems like there are some good serious/tough guy rap songs w/ singers on the hook, but you might have a point.

yeah Rock City are awful, and all the songs they do have that annoying squawky yell thing

but to answer your question of who the fuck they are, they're more Konvict Music flunkies

9. "Wake It Up"

Akon is borderline unbearable on this. I like him better when he's using autotune more subtly. The synths sound warm in a good way. E-40 isn't really saying anything notable. This ain't terrible, but mostly zzzzzz, and I'm not surprised this never took off.

can't believe I want to go listen to a solja boy album REALLY bad now

10. "40 Water"

Hyphy banger time. Beat prominently features a loud drip and giant kicks. Hook: "I wish I was...FORTY!...I wish I was...WATER!". First verse revolves all around the word "40". Second verse all around "Water". Doesn't bang as much as it threatened to at the beginning, but pretty dope. Turf Talk (40 needs a less annoying hypeman) says "Aquefina on your asses!", which is pretty lol.

11. "Poor Man's Hydraulics"

This is awesome/demented. All about gassing and breaking and dipping. Hook has some dude going "bum-bum-bum bum-bum" in a weird low voice and odd croaking sounds during the verse. 40 is doing a whisper-rap and sounds surprisingly good.

12. "The Recipe"

Oh yay, a crack-making tutorial that samples the Cooking Channel. Ehhhhhhhh. E-40 goes hard tho. "Before you dicide to elect yourself in the game of dope/ Better know that it is cutthroat." Still not quite sold on Gucci Mane. Bun B is on top form. The damned hook takes up way too much of this song.

13. "Hood Boy"

Smooth r&b joint. Would probably work better as a more fullfledged r&b song with 40 just dropping in for a guest verse or something, cause he only really has one good verse here and mostly mucks up the rest of the song.

14. "Earl"

Dramatic piano beat. I kinda hate dramatic piano beats. And the g-funk whine, too. Eh. Feezy makes the most of it tho. What the hell is Ice-T even doing here? All he does is say the word "Earl" a couple times during the hook. Highlight: 40 calls all the newjacks "marshmallows". Okay, that's what the Iceberg is doing here. Bigging up 40 all over the outro. Damn, I could listen to him do that for way longer than he does.

Hook has some dude going "bum-bum-bum bum-bum" in a weird low voice

like the "dumb-dumb-dumb" on "Tell Me When To Go" or something completely different?

15. "Sliding Down the Pole"

Strip club joint, obv. Not sure it really works to that end tho, seems like more of a bay hood joint. 40 is pretty hilarious tho, and Too Short knows what he's doing, of course. Damn does Short sound good on this.

completely different

16. "I Can Sell It"

Woozy synth action. 40 and this other dude Cousin Fik borrowing Jay's "I sell ice in the winter/ water to a well" riff. "I could sell stripes to a zebra/ spots to a cheetah", etc., etc., etc. for the whole track and it is awesome. "I could sell grapes to a vineyard, chicken to the Colonel." The whole auctioneer skit at the end is totally unnecessary and goes on forever.

17. "Big Time"

The hook is way too long. 40 is great tho. "A lot of these rappers don't even sound like they're believable/ But you can ask your daddy and uncles about E-Feezable" XD Beat is kinda uplifting and "gates of heaven opening"-sounding, I guess. Way too much singing on this joint.

18. "Alcoholism"

Beat: ridiculous. Warped metalic sounds, goofy horror synths, old sample of someone saying the title. 40 does his thing alright. B-Legit, too.

19. "Pray For Me"

The srs track at the end of the record. A bit gospel-y, as appropriate. Kinda middle-of-the-scale as far as these things go. Mortality is a bummer. I already knew that. Damn, the part about the 9-yo girl with diabetes is kinda heartbreaking. And then Suga-T goes all heavy-autotune at the end WTF. It works, though. I just didn't see that coming.

b-legit is underrated

'earl' is an awesome song, its got a vid too

Shawty Lo's verse kinda ruins the song even worse than it was.

^would like to nominate this as defining statement about rap in 2008

along with the leader in the clubhouse:

even Plies is kinda boring on this, I was hoping he'd at least say something ridiculous or disgusting like he does on all his radio singles.

huh i like turf talk, at least that one album the west coast vaccine

j0rdan shawty lo is not that bad -- chillax

also turf talk is not terrible

ok i know i spent my hater points the other day on Webbie, who is not nearly as bad, but c'mon...Shawty Lo is the worst.

in '09 i'ma be on my alex in nyc RAISE YOUR STANDARDS shit

shawty lo really is the worst. although, he doesn't even try to stay on beat because he knows he can't and i find that mildly laudable

non-rappin' CEOs used to at least be affiliated with someone decent in the first place in order to get famous, deej i know you <3 D4L but c'mon we do not need to be hearing the weakest MC out of that whole crew on the radio every day.

i dont think you guys 'get' shawty lo -- hes obv not a lyricist but hes got way more character than like, generic-ass rick ross

'dey know' and 'foolish' were great songs bcuz of him not despite him -- his album was decent, esp when he was paired with other rappers -- he makes great hooks like '2 sides' by killer mike

"Foolish" is dope but I'll even rep for Rick Ross over him.

why

Rick Ross can appear on a good Khaled posse cut without stopping it in its tracks. Shawty Lo can barely even phone in 16 bars when asked (seriously, listen to track 9 on We Global). It'd be mean to say he sounds like a sickly midget because he is a sickly midget, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna listen to him to be nice.

ftr, I like Turf Talk occasionally, in small doses. his verse on "Hustle" does suck tho

actually, same could apply to Shawty Lo

sounding like Jeezy with pneumonia = not the worst schtick in the world

I think comparing Shawty Lo guest verses to Shawty Lo songs is unfair because, yeah he's not a great rapper, he barely even raps. he's got a really different style that works way better on his own tracks (and hooks) where he can slather the whole thing with his crazy overdubbed singsong voice. he uses voice more like an instrument than to just spit 16 bars. consequently no one gives a shit what he has to say, but whatever, if you like his voice then he can be good

^^^otm

It'd be mean to say he sounds like a sickly midget because he is a sickly midget, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna listen to him to be nice.

lmao

anyway, the only nice thing anyone can say about shawty lo is that he's good at hooks, "foolish" being a really great one. but he truly can't rap for shit, and more often than not he literally ruins a song (soulja boy's "bands" that i posted on sms w/ the caveat of ignoring shawty lo). "dey know" was made completely irrelevant by the remix and all the verses on the "foolish" remix are better than anything on the original.

as for lo vs. the officer, for one ross album is better because def jam buys him better beats, but even that ross has a little bit of dexterity when it comes to rapping. he sounds pretty decent over fast beats sometimes and isn't always bad, NOT TO MENTION that shawty lo stole his rapping but not really rapping steez from ross.

he's got a really different style that works way better on his own tracks (and hooks) where he can slather the whole thing with his crazy overdubbed singsong voice. he uses voice more like an instrument than to just spit 16 bars.

ok what i don't understand is: why if this "style" of him rapping at a sloth's pace is unbearable in a 16 bar guest verse why it works for him over the course of a song and/or over the course of an album. (let's not forget here that you said the shawty lo album is better than king.)

deej is confusing not knowing how to rap and not caring with "character"

i disagree about the "Foolish" remix, his verse on that wasn't nearly as good as what he did on the original and the guest list was pretty weak.

im saying, autotuned birdman bringin lols>jones>ross>shawty lo

jim jones is someone who can't rap and doesn't really care but makes pretty good songs cuz he's got tons of personality

deej is confusing not knowing how to rap and not caring with "character"

not at all

ok, big lols at you saying

deej is confusing not knowing how to rap and not caring with "character"

Suggest Ban Permalink
― you brought me home to this funky house (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, December 10, 2008 2:21 PM Bookmark

and then

jim jones is someone who can't rap and doesn't really care but makes pretty good songs cuz he's got tons of personality

Suggest Ban Permalink
― you brought me home to this funky house (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, December 10, 2008 2:25 PM Bookmark

shawty lo >>> jim jones

Also, Lo's album has better beats than Ross'

im not about to play captain save a third-rate dipset rapper but his contributions to "we fly high" & "pop champagne" > shawty lo

jim jones ad-libs>shawty lo rapping -- their best songs are comparable but im not giving either tons of credit

Jones is probably a better rapper qua rapper than Shawty Lo, but Lo knows how to put dope songs together

poll thread

im not about to play captain save a third-rate dipset rapper but his contributions to "we fly high" & "pop champagne" > shawty lo

― you brought me home to this funky house (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, December 10, 2008 5:51 PM (28 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

bad examples, dude. Jones was involved in a pretty decent run of solo tracks & dipset posse cuts before the desperation of the post-"We Fly High" quest for the next big hit began, Lo literally has like 2 notable songs and a few guest verses on songs that would be undoubtedly better w/o him.

Yeah, "Crunk Muzik" and "Certified Gangsters" >>>>>>> anything Jones has done is the past 2-3 years

actually, now that I think of it Jones' verse on "Crunk Muzik" was pretty dope

it's that up top funk
when the truck stops, dump
this where the buck stops, chump

remember when his schtick was that he'd get really quiet for a second, then go back to normal

uh......yeah

is that jim, m@tt? it reads like it was ghostwritten by juelz

it's Jim... could be ghostwritten, but I wouldn't assume that

have u not heard "Crunk Musik," j0rdan???

yeah i have but i dont remember jim jones' verses verbatim

verse

oh weird. i have like every lyric on that song memorized, not on purpose

haha, I think I did at one time, but I haven't heard it in a couple years

if it's crime
lets have fun
lets have fun
it's that old tricky one
triple oh woah woah
if you scared
get your gun

i don't even know wtf that means but i love that song so much

high like space
4-5 on waist

imo the juelz verse on crunk muzik is better on this knuck if you buck remix

waynes verse is great on that too

even by LOLCAMWTF standards this one off crunk muzik is giggleworthy

So tell Lu-cy
that her boo-bie's
loco
Coo-kie
monster
who he?

Jim Jones has as little to do with "Crunk Muzik" being as great as it is as he did making any of their music notable...the only thing he ever actually made much better was Cam'ron's Nas diss over Hate me now, and he didnt rap on it...

but other than this i kinda lost track of what's going on. not gonna defend shawty lo any further cuz yeah he's a clown

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517OOqRyldL._SS500_.jpg

uptown gorilla ft jc

pretty standard track even by zoe's standards, farting horn beep, budget trey songz hook, snooze button. btw why do rappers insist on having bad r&b singers do hooks, it's not all that hard to say some shit on a chorus with out it being by some nasally voiced no one's ever heard of. chop and screw an old pimp c line at least

to reiterate from upthread:

I know there are about a million exceptions to what I'm about to say, and I'm probably challoping, but r&b hooks on non-pop-oriented rap tracks are almost always detrimental.

― A REAL GOON (The Reverend), Wednesday, December 10, 2008 8:11 AM Bookmark

what it is ft. rick ross & kollosus

more synthetic horns, from my dude zaytoven tho. can't tell if there's some slight autotune on this but zoe has a sing songy flow on his verse. chorus is pretty good, always thought zoe had a knack for good choruses. didn't pay attention to what he said in his verse tho. officer rawse is good on this beat but it sounds like a bad dj blend in a way cuz the beats on his own songs are always so hi-fi and monolithic and this is just a tinny southern beat. kind of a missed opportunity imo. kollosus is who? zoe had a sick verse on a remix of his single later last year or something and he's completely unremarkable here. song is pretty good tho, pretty standard but it's got a good hook

dope boy

autotune hook, like this one though, it's got a nice laconic stoned thing going on, problem is that he never stops singing. it's almost like "turn my swag on" insomuch as the verses and hook are almost indistinguishable. this one gets kinda boring sadly, had potential. i wonder if zoe's gonna listen back to this album in 10 years and become horrified when he realizes how dated it's gonna sound, kind of a perfect album for 2009 though. only good southern rapper leans hard on autotune and tinny drumma boy beats and knockoff drumma boy beats and comes up with some oddly listenable songs

only good southern rapper

this is like "he's only good" not "gorilla zoe is the only good rapper in the south" obv

challop prevention

kollosus is who?

he kinda killed this song though. I disagree.

sorry had to run an errand

"lost"

i'm really into this song. the lyrics are kind of retarded but it's a nice slice of post-wayne paranoid autotune detached rap. production from drumma boy is on point here, esp. the synth part that synthy string thing that comes in every few bars. also like the line here about smoking cigarettes, a part of life forgotten by rap songs

i'm dumb

i already know this song is #1 banger on the album, has been my shit since it leaked like over the summer. if yall aren't familiar lemme type out this hook again: I'M DUMB/I'M A DODO/STILL IN THE HOOD/I GOT WORK FOR THE LOW LOW. nice big stomp here from mixtape mainstay fatboi. this is kind of the best gorilla zoe song, a playful beat like "hood nigga" that let's him swagger a bit in the silly way that he does. scraggle voice sounds great here. if yall listen to anything of this album youtube this one

actually dunno if i'm dumb needs to be 5 mins long but ill take what i can get

btw lemme note that i'm really feelin this album right now but basically the only rap i listen to nowadays is southern swagger rap over cheap synth beats and if gucci isn't putting out an album i'll take this until his next official mixtape drops

whatever happened to "Walk Wit A Waddle" with Gucci??

this album is good but I might delete four r five of the tracks because they are unlistenable. like "Echo"

shit on em

holy shit i'm fucking dying at this song. chorus: "i poo poo/i poo poo/i shit on em/i shit on em". "pepperoni extra cheese/i gotta shit, i need a pamper" "diarrhea on you niggas like niagra falls, cuz i know how to ball, i buy out the mall" this is all w/ autotune btw. im gonna choose to believe that zoe is doing a send up of wayne/kanye style punchlines in which case this is like the best song ever

walk wit a waddle had a video, not sure xactly why they left it off the album

wasnt very good tho

alright he just started in on a double time verse about shitting on ppl

"shit on your whip man shit on your bitch"

hood clap

produced by someone called "dee jay dana". "if youre hood and you know it clap your hands". "fuck george bush, his daddy and his momma/im smokin this obama while im countin up these hunneds". nice beat here tho, twinkling bells and handclaps all the way thru. weird bridge that's mixed too loudly. this is pretty good even tho it sounds like all the rest of them

helluvalife ft. gucci mane and oj da juiceman

this song is kinda boring so i'm just gonna post a blog post i already wrote about this song

Haven't heard the whole Zoe album yet (do I want to?) but I was naturally HIGHLY INTRIGUED by the Gucci/OJ collaboration. It's about the fifth best Zoe/Gucci song that exists in the world (and about the 1,800th best Zaytoven beat), and it's really only notable for OJ's verse, made possible by the fact that Gucci appears to not be trying and Gorilla Zoe is now apparently incapable of not singing. OJ's verse packs the vitality that all his verses seem to have, and it's almost the quintessential OJ verse in a way because he rides along shouting as he does (actually starts off the verse biting Gucci's Michael Jackson diamonds line from "Light Show") not saying much but commanding attention, but he hits this line where it's almost like he should be taking a breath except he goes "YOUNG JUICE MAN/ GODDAMN I'M A HUSTLA" and it's an almost unexplainable "aahh" moment, like all the gears in his verse finally locked into place. It's the kind of thing that seems tossed off until it's chopped and screwed on an "anthemic chorus", except with OJ the anthemic part is completely instant.

i got it ft. big block

im running out of things to say about gorilla zoe songs except that they are all exactly the same and like basically most of them. this is like "whatever you like" except he sounds like a poltergeist w/ autotune and the beat is this creepy piano thing. stuck this one in the middle for a reason i assume

watch me ft. young chris

what a random feature. drumma boy got it w/ this beat, swirling trance synths. zoe singing nonsense. it's good

man i

this is apparently a piano ballad from the atlanta rapper gorilla zoe. hi hats on this are kinda nuts but i wonder if zoe has any idea what's going on in this album. singing about wanting to fuck j lo. some guitar part that sounds like marnie stern just came in. this song is kind of weird and pretty good tbh. zoe is a weird dude

talkback ft ebony love and roxy reynolds

apparently these chicks are porn stars. pretty disgusting song so i fast-forwarded to the roxy reynolds part. she's pretty worthless except for the orgasming ad-libs.

im being lulled to sleep by this album - it's tinny sameness is hypnotizing me

so sick

another space ballad from zoe. this song is kinda sweet, and the beat is pretty great. zaytoven always gets these synth bleeps that sound like burbling lava and he's surprisingly got a good ear for different percussion sounds. zoe just said something about a soft taco

echo

this song is... in a way i admire zoe's yearning to make a roller rink jam w/o the help of t-pain

lollll the hook to "shit on em" is so retarded awesome

i'm still not sure after reading all that if i have any interest in hearing this album. i like Zoe and his first album was alright but i can't see it + AutoTune being too appealing to me.

just listening to this now - half these tracks were on zoe's mixtape last year. which i really enjoyed, dude has a real knack for a hook. they seem to have been tightened up a bit, lil details added here and there like that weird sproingy spiral sound on 'lost', and guest verses added/taken away (like lil' wayne's on 'lost', wtf, that was really good).

i loved the roxy reynolds guest verse last year ("betta eat something, this ain't ramadan"!), looking fwd v much to ebonylove

ok i don't think i'm going to be listening to 'shit on em' again :/

Was "Shit On Em" on a mixtape from last year at some point? I swear my neighbor was blasting a track back last August with a chorus very, very similar to that... but it didn't sound like Zoe to me.

bah, ebonylove didn't do a separate verse, just double-tracked roxy's

ok, enjoyed that album! absolutely no surprises but it's hooky ear candy, there's not much to it but it's something i'll go back to a lot.

^^cosign

southern swagger rap over cheap synth beats

always need more of this

coals to newcastle get wiped out, totally

half this album is like zoe is trying to make the b.o.b album

southern swagger rap over cheap synth beats

always need more of this

― preview& potmXII& chinchillas& surfboar (surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally), Tuesday, March 17, 2009 2:28 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

smh

half this album is like zoe is trying to make the b.o.b album

― dude n ned (J0rdan S.), Tuesday, March 17, 2009 3:53 PM (32 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

that sounds awful

a lot of it is pretty good, really hooky

zoe's got a sort of playful, jocular presence when he's rapping imo so he makes weeded autotuning that is still interesting. the str8 rap trax on here ("helluvalife" and "i got it" etc — "i'm dumb" excepted) are the most boring songs on the album

i would do Pray IV Reign but no one gives a shit and it's kinda boring

do it

i would do Pray IV Reign but no one gives a shit and it's kinda boring

― preview& potmXII& chinchillas& surfboar (surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally), Friday, March 20, 2009 7:24 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

^^ officially Jim Jones's "If we lose Cronkite, we lose America" moment

hahahahaha

real talk though i am really happy about the fact that the FOLLOW-UP TO THE ALBUM WITH 'BALLIN' ON IT is finally coming out so the world can begin to move on and stop pretending jim jones is a 'star'

yeah even by nyc-centric internet standards that one was always a reach to me

the funniest thing was the ?uestlove 'endorsement' like 3 months ago of Jones's next album being huge...like who does he feel the need to bullshit here and why is he even bothering?

for real. the Intro on the album is fucking epic No I.D. 70s soul funkiness that gets you all Holy Shit could Jim Jones actually drop a dope Harlem gangster music album?

liveblog it then dude

http://www.netweed.com/prohiphop/graf/jimjonesprayivreign.jpg

im goin in

"Intro" ft. Starr

So the intro sets the tone of the album pretty much right away, if not sonically then thematically. This album is about Jim Jones and the fact (read: made up bs) that he is a Gangster and a Hustler with both a capital G and H and especially one of the Harlem-specific variety. The name Nicky Barnes comes up within a matter of seconds into this song. Like I said, the beat is gorgeous, 70s soul guitar, wailing horns, live percussion (prob sampled). The cool thing about this song is that throughout the whole thing there's always a bunch of other voices going on beside Jimmy, there's a guy with a dope falsetto singing about being a hustler and a chick kind of just moaning throughout. Also dude's constantly having a conversation with his own raps in the background. No idea who the fuck Starr is but he might be this dude who Jimmy kind of like has a convo with on this song in between verses about rappers being fake and not hustling as hard as Jim Jones etc etc etc. Bu really the big thing here is the No I.D. beat, honestly nothing on American Gangster sounded as good as this. Jimmy raps about fiends, Lexuses, mentions the Roc, really no story just floss.

"Pulling Me back" ft. Chink Santana

Sirens. Clinking, Dramatic piano. Uh Oh here comes a serious one. Then Chink comes in with a weak hook about coming so far, having a nice house and big cars (LOLLLL) but how some other people are always trying to take it away from him. This dude sucks by the way. The beat is big and clunky, huge bass drum in a kind of "We Will Rock You" pattern with hand claps and little clinky piano notes. I think Jimmy is trying to tell a story about his life (he says in he watched his Mom cook base) but it's barely coherent because literally 25 secs later he claims he can make the coke spin on its back like Krush Groove and talks about being in a dealership. It's pretty much "a gangster finally made it" if there is in fact a point to this song. Not one of the better ones on the album. Too much drama and not enough meat to it.

two dope beats are enough for me to dl this at least

"Let It Out"

Ok this one's kinda dope. Everything builds up in a way that suggests someone actually Produced this album (not just sprayed adlibs over a CDR). Interesting beat that starts with an acoustic guitar and then adds some almost military drums all while Jimmy actually says some interesting shit even though I'm pretty sure the first thing he says is "See, they actin like us comin up so dormented" which is not a even word. But he goes on to say that to the media we look like savages and that it started with sneakers, then went much deeper and that money is an infection and as he's talking it slowly turns into a verse as the beat congeals into a pretty nice groove with a cool synth line, the type of synth that might be on a Yes record from the 80s. Then some chicks come in with a Chorus and dudes in the background going EyyyyyyAyyy! So this song was about money and kinda of a soulful confessional but the second verse is less comprehensible. The streets can call Jimmy back into The Life and he's all wrapped up in it yadda yadda yadda. Basically an almost wasted chance to get a little gospelly o here as he's known to do frequently if anyone's ever listened to his other albums. At the end he shouts out two guys named Hot Dog and Wacko and gives harlem a nice big pat on the back. I think this guy likes to talk WAYYYYY more than he likes to rap.

"How To Be A Boss" ft. NOE and Ludacris

Aright here we go this song is kind of a monster. Ron Browz behind the boards, big fucking thumbs up to him for this one, sounds like something LOX or DMX might have torn to pieces in 2000. I love the beat, it's got a sort of nervous sound that gets broken up every 8 measures (this could be wrong fuck it) by some really Major string that come in and just swoop the whole thing up into a big smile. The drums are like big as fuck like "Money Cash Hoes" which kind of gets alluded right off the bat - "Murder, Cash, Cars, Hoes, Fast life as usual is all that we know" is the first sounds you hear with pounding drums beneath em. The drums are crazy, besides the huge bass under everything there are some real subtle fills and the sounds are very live and not Trackmasters cheap and thin. So Jimmy's first and kind of brings some heat. The good thing about this song is that the subject matter actually doesn't detract cuz this is that song where you talk about money and bitches and your chain. His adlibs are unbelievable ("Where's my lawyer!?"). I like a bunch of the lines he dropped on this track but you'll all listen to it cuz Luda is on it so not gona repeat. NOE. What is there to say about NOE besides the fact that HE SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE JAY-Z AND JIM JONES ARE YOU FUCING DEAF OR RETARDED. But his hook is kinda really fresh on this track I love it. Like for real, his hook is dope right here. Then Luda raps and he's Luda and I love him. NOE gets a third verse and doesn't ruin this song despite the fact that he says is girl had to pee pee. Might be the best song on the album.

"Medicine" ft. NOE and Chink Santana

Ughhhh. Every album Jim has new goonies that he puts on 45% of the songs, last time it was Max B and now it's CHink Sanatana I guess, I honestly don't even know who the fuck dude is. He produced this song and it's woozy and spacey and a little unnerving, kind of a throwback to like Timbo/Missy style stuttering drums but not in a good way. This song is about pussy and there's a big metaphor going on in which pussy is medicine. Chink raps in a really annoying accent and draws out all his lines and he's fucking annoying. This song is kinda bad but it's intersting soncially, like if it comes on and you're not paying attention and it's on low volume it will sound cool as long as you don't hear the Jim Jones hook that's really fucking vulgar and brings up images of that man doing sexual things which is disgusting. I think NOE is actually kind of a good rapper but no one will ever know because he sounds exactly like Jay-Z did I mention that.

thanking you.

"Frenemies"

OK this is a big important song on this album and I don't really think it merits a word for word analysis because it's pretty fucking clear what's going on here and if you're interested in this little corner of rap (let's call it XXL-hop) then you will listen to it. It is a song about Cam'ron. Period the end. It's also kind of lame.

"Precious" ft. Ryan Leslie

I've been repping for this song on here for months perhaps and I really think it's a great song. it sounds out of place here though, right after "Frenemies" is such a stupid place for this song. I guess Ryan Leslie produced it, he cooked something really dope for this, the verses are sticky and dark and head-bobbing and, like, rap music for rap fans, and then the hook comes in and everything changes to this lilting grand piano swoon and romantic vibe. I think Ryan Leslie might be the first person to ever really figure out how to make a great Jim Jones song, literally giving him his verses and takin the chorus for himself and turning both into two different sonic landscapes. Ryan gets a little mini verse that takes the static-y synths out of the verse part but leaves the fantastic guitar muted electric guitar and shakers that have been there al along but you never noticed, and he just totally evaporates this track in a few seconds. This guy is a talented motherfucker I will listen to more of him. Jim actually has a pretty engaging thing going on for this song, flow is better than usual, adlibs are A+, cute little anecdotes about chicks texting and he says "smh lol with a smiley face" which makes the whole album worth it. he does say "every Obama needs a Michelle" though. this is just two dudes talkin about broads, i'm in.

"Blow The Bank" ft. Oshy and Starr

"Talkin about that Splash Life" is the thematic tone here. Here's Oshy! Yayyyyy who the fuck are you welcome to the album dude. This song has that Miami sound that Jimmy kind of thrives in (see "Summer With Miami" which remains his greatest contribution to recorded music). It's basically about spending money on women, a big topic for '09. The drums are weirdly pounding which kinda doesn't mesh well with the summery synths and major chords and splashy singing that's going on by two people named Oshy and Starr one is female and one is male and I don't now which is which.

"This is For My Bitches" ft. Oshy

I guess Oshy is the dude in which case I should make an editorial note that in my "Intro" post I wrongly identified Starr as the dude that Jimmy was conversing with when in fact she is the chick singing in the background. Whatever who gives a shit. This song is literally the same exact thing as "Blow The Bank" and could there ever be a more hilarious "song for the ladies" track title. More synths but this time they're kinda vamping and Oshy is crooning all over the place about how sexy women are those sexy things and then calls them bitches and tells them to put their hands up high. Jimmy lives quite a life like Las vegas and cars and certain designer stores he could buy you some shit from them if you hop in his car, I imagine, I'm not really even listening to what he's saying right now.

"Girlfriend" ft. Juelz Santana and Oshy

Whoa, first thing I think of here is old Dipset sound with these sinister strings-preset synth stabs. Jimmy sees thick girls in the room that he's in and then another Jimmy responds to that with "Ray Charles can see that" and this is before the song even starts. Literally we got multiple Jimmys talking to each other and ordering models from a waitress. Ok beat starts and the Dipset vibe is out with a stuttering sparse percussive production with just a hint of a synth accent during the verses. This is a club track apparently, couldn't really tell until Jimmy's first verse is over and Oshy (what's up dude!) comes in with some yodelling (not kidding) and Jimmy has a little shake yer booty hook. Man Juelz sounds like he took 3 xanax bars on every verse he's dropped since "Nothin On Me". QUite literally a forgettable verse from my boy here, I have nothing to say about it. This song is not going to be getting your local discotheque into a frenzy any time soon.

"This is the Life" ft. Starr

Most people dream of it, this is what we lvie for, they want to take it from us, etc etc. Rick Ross called and said you kinda suck at this and also it's almost Lights Out time. Starr is so useless she sounds those female voices that don't usually get credited with a feature but obviously Jimmy has big plans for this one or something. Steel drum-ish synth notes in a kinda dreamy gentle pattern and boring strings behind them. this song is fuckin wack.

"My My My" ft. Rowanna

What. The. Fuck. Didn't I just listen to this. Who the fuck is Rowanna. This beat is making my head hurt and Jimmy has literally said the same exact thing for a while now and is this a joke this girl sounds exactly like the last one. "I hope there's a Harlem in heaven." <-------- this song in a nutshell. Crying, you smell me?

"Pop Off" ft. NOE and Mel Matrix

Ok glad we're done with that little excursion into romance (four songs) and remorse (two songs) cuz this what we come to Jim Jones albums for, fuckin rap about killing people and robbing people and shit like that. The beat is unremarkable but this is kind of good because believe it or not some people like myself wanna hear what Mel Matrix can do (Byrdgang). This is the type of track that makes you realize what Stack Bundles meant to Jimmy and his plan for Byrdgang cuz dude would have bodied this and it would be fun (if you've never heard Stack Bundles go dl a mixtape he was a good rapper). Anyway, Mel Matrix is competent in a NYC gun talk context, good addition here and his chorus is sufficiently violent and angry and he def. killed this track. This is goon music in the original Byrdgang sense not in your stupid Plies-ironic way. Byrdgang doesn't really come off like a rap force to reckoned with from this track though. They aren't. Jim Jones is better at talking shit than rapping which is a fact that was made famously and unquestionable tryue for all ages in Cam'ron's classic "Hate Me Now" Nas diss track and he talks some shit here too.

"Pop Champagne" ft. Ron Browz and Juelz Santana

What is there to say about this that hasn't been said. A masterpiece of minimal autotune club music that was pilfered by Jim Jones in a most blatant way. I still can't believe that people let this go down but alas "Pop Champagne" will go down in the history books as a Jim Jones song. If he hadn't jacked it we wouldn't have been blessed with the bizarelly laconic yet engaging and weirdly awesome Juelz mini-verse. The whole club knows those first few words of his verse and when the beat drops out then comes back in with him shit gets picked up another level every time. Juelz definitely found his flow for this one and even though he says absolutely nothing (it actually sounds like it was produced by a Juelz machine with the "Club Song" switch turned on") he just sounds so right on this. It's mostly his voice but I think he's one of those rappers who, even though he's never had a huge hit or even a crossover, is sort of club signifier. Like when people hear Juelz voice on a good club song they dig it. I can't explain it, there are other rappers like this but I think it might stem from "Run It," anyway he sounds totally in the pocket on this song. If you don't love this song you probably play World of Warcraft.

"Rain" ft. Rell, NOE and Starr

Ugh we're back to this remorseful gangsterizing. I guess there's some genuine emotional stuff in this song but really, who gives a shit. We get it. That's jsut me, I don't know, if you need your spiritual moments provided by Byrdgang you are totally failing. Rell has been on every fucking Jim Jones and post-DI 2 Dipset release and no one knows who the fuck he is. Ron Browz is a GREAT producer, this track is gorgeous, huge and full and almost Tricky Stewart style snaps and "eyys" and really tasteful synths that sound like they might actually be from a synthesizer and not from a Casio in someone's bedroom. Unfortunately it's like totally shitted all over by Jimmy's molasses-thick melodrama. It's worth hearing fro Ron Browz' production, though.

"Na Na NaNa Na Na" ft. Bree-Beauty

LOL. this whole thing is just so hilarious. First of all, the hook is an un-ironic schoolyard taunt thing about haters and money and whatever. Second, Bree-Beauty. hahahhhh. wtf is up with this guy Jim Jones and his ridiculous stable of talent. Also she was paid and received credit for singing the words, "Na nana na na lookin at my ass wish you had a camera." Wow. Third, it's produced by and entity known as "ILLFONICS." I remember when I first heard this song I was in a cab and me two other kids we're really wasted and it was probably 11 pm and we had made the driver put on Hot 97 a few mins before that and the dj (Mr. C?? idk) was like NEW JIM JONES and we just fucking lost it. First, the song bumps pretty hard and is kinda dope in that perfect on the way to the club way, not for the stupid hook but just cuz it's big and pumped up and booming. So one of us reached over and turned dude's radio all the way up and this was before the hook even happened. then we heard the hook and it got really silly in that cab. This song is the ostensible follow-up to "Ballin" except it does not do what it is intended to, mostly ecause of the totally misguided hail mary of a hook. It should be a very big lightning rod for Jim Jones hate, rightfully so.

"Swagga From Us" ft. NOE, Twista and Lil Wayne

old blog leftovers, bonus track. i honestly don't understand anything about this song. It's a diss to Jay-Z but Lil Wayne is on both songs? Twista is a good rapper and he's on it so that's a plus. And we learn that Chink Santana can actually make a pretty good beat.

not as good as Hustler's POME, doesn't really show that much growth as an artist although there are some good choices on it, really boring in the middle but redeemable for

"Precious"
"How To Be A Boss"
"Let It Out"
"Pulling Me Back"
"Pop Off"

and borderline:
"Blow The Bank"
"Girlfriend"
"Frenemies"

oh and definitely not fulfilling Dame Dash's dreams

oh and add "Intro" to the xpost because that's BY FAR the best song on this album, forgot about that.

and subtract "pulling me back" i seem to have completely contradicted myself there. lol

dope dude

im gonna read this l8r

"Echo" seems to be blowing up here and I fuck with it. Shit is a jam.

wait really?

Yeah, seems as tho it isn't one of the actual singles tho?

i lol'd heartily at that liveblog, good shit

i would like to put together a documentary about a bunch of people's reactions the first time they heard "na na nanana na". mine was at my house with my roommate and we both just became paralyzed as if the 30 second itunes sample was actually a virus that turned your computer into medusa

dont like jim jones at all but the r les track was alright, and yeah the intro was kind of cool

can't decide what my favorite couplet on "Man I" is

We can make a porno
When we all done we can play a game of uno

or

Back in the day I used to wanna fuck Jada
2008 I still wanna fuck Jada

this album is good but I might delete four r five of the tracks because they are unlistenable. like "Echo"

Suggest Ban Permalink
― preview& potmXII& chinchillas& surfboar (surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally), Monday, March 16, 2009 3:45 PM Bookmark

now ready to say "Echo" is like top 5 jams this year. surfboard dudes get wiped out, 51

went to sleep in michigan and woke up in miami
south beach sleepin with a bitch in my pajamies

no idea what 51 refers to but "Echo" sucks so fuckng hard. It's kind of an embarrasment no matter how many ptwittytv tweets remind me of it's existance. I guess GZ is past embarrasment at this point cuz this shit is like somethng timbaland would put at the end of his album ft. some random no ones ever heard of but then again that shit works who knows could be the next one republic good look for a dude who used to be in Boyz n Da Hood and made "Bite Down" and "Hood Nigga."

N
A
G
L

do u zoe listen to diddy etc

haha "Echo" does sound like some Shock Value Timbaland bullshit. 51 me, whatever.

It sounds more like an Akon ballad imo. A really good one.

I could give one less of a fuck if it or anything else isn't "real rap". It works for what it is. It's well-written, well-produced, and Zoe sounds like a badass on it. I don't see what's embarrassing about it at all.

I mean, does the criticism run any deeper than "rappers be singin'"?

i just thought it was kinda weak sauce even as an R&B song or whatever you wanna judge it by.

Fair enough

it would sound much better if it were an Akon song actually. I just think GZ's growly ass voice is better for "Lost" style dark shit, he's not really a guy I need to hear singing about a jilted lover. It has nothing to do with rappers be singing really cuz he pretty much proved that he can do it real well on "Lost"

or as a jilted lover, rather.

I think NOE is actually kind of a good rapper but no one will ever know because he sounds exactly like Jay-Z did I mention that.

― preview& potmXII& chinchillas& surfboar (surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally), Saturday, March 21, 2009 4:59 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha i've written a couple things about NOE because he's from Baltimore and yeah, that's kinda what I always come back to. him appearing on the "swagga from us" song was really the epic fail underlining his whole situation, i think.

al i nver bought a nas cd after fuckin.... whatever the 2cd is called

echo is ridiculous. it'd sound good with taylord swift on it.

haa

echo is awful

yall are on some other shit

hahaha omg sry rev but echo is sooo bad. feeling most of the first ten songs or so tho

"lol i have an idea, lets tack a nickelback homage on the end of our rap record!"

"i'm dumb" is a jaaaaam

at least saying it sounded like timbaland made any sense at all

ha, the way it's autotuned reminded me of that godawful "photograph". i'd go back to listen again to make sure, but nah ;)

"echo" is pretty good— i think it's hilarious that's it at the end of the record, like he has this album that's peppered w/ autotune sellout jams and at the end he finally goes in all the way

btw why was diddy tweeting about being on the song, is it a single version or something? diddy would be pretty awesome on this potentially

no he just hyped it like "go get Don' Feed The ANimals in stores now!!! ft 'Echo!!!'", suggesting that there will soon be a big push for it to be a hit (i dont think anyone here really needs me to do more of an accurate diddy tweeting impression than that)

Loso's Way tonight? <3 <3 <3

and now for our feature presentation

1. The Way (Intro)
Fabo walks onto the red carpet angry, "I woulda been your friend until the end, bitch." Synth brass is arresting for the first 30 seconds but then it starts to feel like a boring loop. Song doesn't really go anywhere interesting, Fabo's rhymes don't really build or anything, he's just consistently decent from 0:00 to 4:10. We learn that he's into Rosetta Stone, but he doesn't like swag. He claims he's going to start a new trend. I can't wait to find out what that is...

2. My Time (w/ Jeremih)
Oooh, we found the new trend: an autotune chorus. This is a big beat and a dope hook, actually very anthemic, i bet it's jammed in locker rooms all over the country. It shoulda been Jeremih's second single. I mean, 30 seconds later, I don't actually remember Mr. Loso appearing in the song? I think he had a verse near the beginning.

3. Imma Do It (feat. Kobe)
Fuck yes, this is more like it. Fabo announces that he feels like JFK in a city that lets you fly out of JFK. Ummmmm....Regardless, I really dig this track because this Kobe guy sings 500 registers deeper than most R&B hook guys and so it sounds, um, fresh. Also the verses get much better and, like "Knock You Down," the synths stutter in this really fun and exciting way.

you stopped

i live w/ my parents, sorry

here i go again

4 Feel Like I'm Back
Oh, look, the synth horns are back, but this time they're a lot fuller and the drums are exciting! Fabo once again asserts his newfound confidence (thanks man!). Not a very exciting hook, but good news: Fabo's verses are finally starting to improve, "I ain't losing step/i ain't missed a beat/thugs have emotions/we miss the streets"

5 Everything, Everyday, Everywhere (feat. Keri Hilson)
Nice! A fresh Leslie beat, not to mention a woman on the hook! Sadly, said hook isn't all that, it's nice but small, there's a lot of unrealized potential in the 'every every every' chant at the end. Unfortunately, I feel like the beat has way more character than Loso's verses? I think i'm going to start scoring, 7/10?

6 Throw It In The Bag (feat. The-Dream)
This one bounces like "Shawty Is Da Shit," i wouldn't be surprised if the hook was a l/h leftover, but i'm not going to complain about a leftover from the best album of 2008. Fabolous and -dream sound fresh here, not exactly next-level, but this is pretty awesome, thanks terius. 8/10

7 Money Goes, Honey Stay (When the Money Goes) (feat. Jay-Z)
This is some James Bond shit here, you know the tone: James finds hot girl on the beach and then they make love but you know there's a dangerous dwarf hiding in the closet? danger on the seemingly perfect island. This is very nicely done but there better be danger on the next track...

8 Salute [feat. Lil Wayne]
OH FUCK YES! This is even more James Bond, but james bond as he kills all the bad guys with his dope gadgets. "Shoot the motherfucker down!" A fierce marching band beat, totally banging--the first time the synth brass totally works. And both Fabolous and Lil Wayne are on fire, best track on the album so far!

9. There He Go [feat. Paul Cain, Red Cafe & Freck Billionaire]
Damnnnnn, I think this is actually my new favorite. I've listened to it three times in a row now. This beat is next-level, it really...flies? I mean, during the chorus it just very smoothly, seemlessly becomes HUGE. This girl plays a huge role in that, but the beat is just so big that it's not like "omg funky guitar/whirring synths coming in," instead those huge elements just feel natural and right. I want to blare this out of a car tonight

10. Fabolous Life [feat. Ryan Leslie]
I mean, this is pleasant, but tbh, I'd rather watch Leslie playing around in the studio during the making-of? This is a problem I have w/ a lot of Leslie stuff

11. Makin' Love [feat. Ne-Yo]
Everything about this is v alive, especially the beat. refreshing, but the hook isn't mindblowing or anything, just competent. subject matter, hmm...as usual, my homo friend ne-yo shows a fine understanding of 'love,' fabo not so much, even admitting at the end, "love, what the fuck is that?!" Isn't there a gay rapper out there?

12. Last Time [feat. Trey Songz]
Ohhh, so this is one of those pointless rap songz Sargent was always bitching about. i, um, agree :( Hate the way Trey sayz "baby," otherwise this is just nice and...there?

13. Pachanga
Oh wow, the James Bond vibe is back. This is smoooooooth, with rich ooohs and confident drums and verses, very good. I think we're reaching near the end, starting to feel tired, time for a...

14. Lullaby
A messy beat that works? La la la laaaaaaa, la la laaaaaa. Nice scratches, but Fabo is starting to bore me now, even though he's probably about as solid as he's been the rest of the album? This should be a 13 track album?

15. Stay [feat. Marsha Ambrosius]
This should be one of those 13 tracks. Loso is getting all personal, talking about his dad running way, this is emotional, i'm actually kinda sad now, awww :/ V v good job, Fabo. Nice beat, too, very beautiful. Marsha sings what Fabo is too "man" to actually speak. "Daddy, why did you leave me?" Really feeling this, even if people make fun of it, I like it because it's probably the most genuine track on the album.

16. I Miss My Love
Feels like a closing track, interesting beat that goes nowhere, Fabo talking for too long, unnecessary, not a v good way to end the album

And that's the end.

http://i6.tinypic.com/54ofy8k.jpg
I WANT YOU TO
GO EXTREMELY HARD

intro ft diddy & busta rhymes

a khaled cold open here. "in life there are people that hustle -- in life there are people who grind -- and then there is we the best music, who make history." "i have overcome the evilest hate ever that mankind has ever witnessed." "this album contains my pain, my blessing. the songs on this album is my voice, the drums on this album is my heart." "out here grinding. i go hard. i am the streets. when they say kahled they say warrior." "it's always the people closest to you who dont' want you to grow." is he talking about being legally a midget? is rick ross a hater? i missed where busta rhymes was involved in this intro, prob for the best

oh he just yells "where my niggas is at? where my bitches is at?" for no reason

all i do is win ft t-pain/luda/snoop/ross

yeah this is the worst chorus t-pain has ever written besides that maino song? it sounds like he's saying "and i can never get it up" but i assume he's not. luda flows really well on this song but lyrically he's such a geriatric. he makes reference to the "i'm so hood" rmx. OH HOW I YEARN FOR THE GLORY DAYS. this song actually picks up with ross's verse. big stadium thump drums, ross sounds a bit thin on the track and decidedly unbossy. i predict that snoop dogg's verse will suck major ass. *waits for awful chorus to pass*. yeah snoop's slithery pimp whisper doesn't really work on runners beats does it now?

after two songs, i would say that rick ross has gone the most hard -- i will update

interrupted by a phone call

put your hands up ft jeezy/rick ross/plies (thank god)/schife (who?)

between this chorus and "all i do is win" there is lots of hands being put up for indefinite periods of time. this beat sounds like the runners fell asleep on a keyboard. jeezy on the hook here sounds super constipated and we haven't even hit plies's verse yet. oh well, plies' verse was super disappointing. lots of clenched screaming. ross up now, really the only person who still sounds okay over these crap overheated runners beats. this song is really stagnant and really sucks balls, but i guess schife is coming up at least. oh shcife was the dude on the hook i guess. sounds a lot like jeezy.

rick ross again went the most hard and on that song

fed up ft usher/jeezy/rick ross/drake/wayne

i love the concept of this song -- like khaled just realizing one day how fed up he is. jeezy's opening line on this joint -- "i am absolutely, positively on my grizzy" -- annoys me to no end. usher sounds pretty terrible on this song, his voice is way too thin for runners beats. i already know that usher has the best rap verse on this. haha god damn, some epic fake drake DEEP THOUGHTS on this one -- JUST PLEASE DON'T DIE ON EEMMMM -- yeah good point i guess. "i go hard like a.c. slater" is the worst wayne line ever that isn't about defecation. i'm sure people who dig his three years too late "catalina wine mixer" punchline are digging his a.c. slater refs. this song is garbage but has the best chorus.

usher went the hardest on this song. he might have even have gone in.

victory ft john legend & nas

nas being on every dj khaled album is such a weird phenomenon to me. this is just nas spitting over a stadium piano beat and by default is by far the best joint on here so far. not really paying attention to the lyrics but the couplets are stacking up nicely syllabicly (?) here. i will retain this song for my hard drive actually. nas spits for like two & a half mins straight which is good cuz john legend is an annoying hook presence.

nas went extremely hard & he went in on this song

ball ft jim jones & schife

holy shit this is gonna be three verses of jim jones isn't it??????????? oh my god, his speaking-not-rapping flow is gonna make this song feel like it's 9 mins long. remember when we were arguing over who was better, jim jones or shawty lo? we all lost that argument. this chorus is this guy schife going "ball UH/ball UH/ball UH/ball UH/". whatever. i'm not listening to the rest of this.

no went hard on this song, and no one went in

rockin all my chains on ft birdman/bun b/soulja boy

i have high expectations for this one. totally anticipating this birdman verse. aw man... bun b phoning in a verse for this album is just the epitome of lazy. "i got yams like thanksgiving dinner/trap goin ham like thanksgiving dinner." good heavens. i hope he bought his loved ones nice things with the $20 grand or whatever he got for this feature. oh boy birdman just rhymed chicken/chicken/chicken/kitchen. soulja boy really has the opportunity to redeem this song or take it to depths yet unseen. hahaha wtf this song starts off with soulja singing "la la la" for a few bars. south beach & mouthpiece is probably the best rap on here. "i'm a dog, motherfuck a damn leash." fair enough.

i would have to say that soulja boy went hardest on this song, but he did not go in

killing me ft/ buju banton, busta rhymes & bounty killer

this beat is this percolating keyboard thing that sounds like a clock ticking. buju banton has a verse. it sounds like a buju banton verse idk. this chorus is terrible. busta: "swag undeniabububle/shawty's beauty undescribububle" -- if anyone else listened to this album i would make a poll for "most phoned in verse on dj khaled's 'victory'" because every song brings something lazier than the song before it. bounty killer verse is alright i guess.

bounty killer went hardest on this song, but he did not go in

bringing real rap back ft rum

is this song a fucking joke? who the hell is rum? what kind of name is this? THERE IS ALREADY A GUY NAMED GUNPLAY, GUY. jesus this guy terrible. this is like if a sewer rat could rap. I AM BRINGING MY SKIP BUTTON BACK, RUM.

so i feel like i know what going hard is, but what is the distinction wherein one begins to go in?

bring the money out ft nelly/jeezy/ace hood/boosie

this is a hilarious group. nelly is using a weird cadence here. most uptempo beat here -- triumphant keyboards that would be strings if anyone cared about this album. nice hook from jeezy. boosie totally phoned his verse in here but it's nice to hear his voice & energy here amongst this general world's fair of mediocrity. this beat is pretty nice. second best song on here easily after the nas joint. oooh some nice grocery bag lines from ace hood -- "i'm the shit, period... GOTEX/ fuck a hater in his thoughts... SAFE SEX" & "mr. hood stretch money... BOWFLEX" -- well nice to know that ace hood is making culturally relevant references, here in the year of our lord, 2002.

going in is a feeling -- you just know it when you see it

on that last song, i would say that boosie went the hardest, and he went... halfway in. just the tip of in.

http://pleasedress.me/img/2845.gif

on my way ft kevin cossum/ace hood/gunplay/ball greezy/desloc piccalo/rum/ice berg

this has to be the most incomprehensible posse cut ever to appear on a major label album? btw that list is not one of those test questions like "WHICH OF THESE PEOPLE DOES NOT EXIST" -- i think ace hood & gunplay just rapped? i literally have no idea what any of these guys voices sound like. ball greezy had that really amazing song a few years back, funny to see him show up here. he said his name in his verse here and he can actually flow. i believe that i am listening to desloc piccalo right now? i'm in college, i'm 21, and i'm sitting here on my bed drinking beer in my room alone, listening to desloc piccalo rap, and posting about it on a message board. i'm sorry mom.

ball greezy went the hardest here, but he did not go in

i am drinking dos equis right now & can confirm that i am not the most interesting person in the world tonight

i can't think of a more uninteresting 6 minute song than that one

interrupted by another phone call

MUSTA BEEN A GOOD PHONE CALL

rep my city ft pitbull/jarvis

not only does this album have the most phone in verses and choruses and beats in recent memory, but it also has the most phoned in rapper names. iceberg, rum, jarvis. pitbull is on this song rapping spanish. i won't hate. this beat is alright, some cool drum programming in the context of this album. and you can actually here the bass. i'm not gonna listen to this whole thing though.

this album was garbage, only a few verses went hard and i think only nas truly went in. OH WELL.

haha -- talking about baseball

i am now going to cleanse my spirit by listening to "holla at me"

loooool jordan u killin it

ur goin xtremely hard

that's wot she said

can we just reflect on what a desloc piccolo is

i can't believe we went 7 months w/o a liveblog -- one of my fav goon pastimes

^^^ jordan you are a saint and in the next life you will come back as something awesome like a tiger

:-D

hahahah <3 u boo yoga flame 4 all time

submit that bitch to da capo '10

yeah jordan you killed it

haha, you guys

DA BLAPPO BEST LIVEBLOGS 2010

man you went in so far you might as well just spend the night in it and find your way back tomorrow

bringing real rap liveblogs back

this thread = i have overcome the evilest hate ever that mankind has ever witnessed

i think i can say with confidence that gunplay will never be involved in anything nearly as awesome as "gunplay ft. gunplay"

loll

yeah obv

damn, this is one of those moments when I really wish I could know what l0u1s jagg3r might think about gunplay ft. gunplay

i have a lot of those

damn Lamp postin all properlike itt

stuntin

over the banner/chris brown beat. our very own david drake shows up on here. not a very good rapper. wayne finally starts rapping over this one at the end. 40 mins or some shit.

― t-t-totally some dude (J0rdan S.), Friday, November 14, 2008 3:51 PM (1 year ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha is this the first ilx mention of drake

my beautiful dark twisted liveblog

btw i think i have the first ilx mentions of drake & waka

"dark fantasy"

this starts off w/ minaj's awful british accent -- i really dig this beat & flow -- rapping on the firs verse goes, second verse gets a little off the rails w/ the kings of leon crap -- bridge where he rhymes seance/parents/heroines is predictably, uh, kind of a mess -- but this is very much the "good morning" of the album, probably the best actual rap song on here

"gorgeous" ft kid cudi & raekwon

as everyone knows i hate kid cudi more than the nazis so we'll see how this goes -- well he has the chorus here, very droney & sounds like a kid cudi album -- well actually i'm not sure if this is a chorus or a singy verse cuz we're :55 in -- alright so this is the verse that kanye rapped on funk flex last week -- good verse imo, rapping through an intercom effect, maybe he's been listening to the strokes -- beat is a cool looped electric guitar sample kinda thing -- "choke a south park writer with a fishstick" -- waiting out for rae's verse now -- the "fucking roach/fucking coach" line is dope -- god damn raekwon is such a fucking good rapper

dark fantasy - umm does that mean its good or

i don't think kanye got the south park joek

the beat switch up during rae's verse is cool -- guitar expands out into a solo kind of thing, more pronounced pianos

i don't cop tims it's lived in lenses kid armani suits fresh fruits bally boots and benzes

"power"

this one felt hella minor to me but once it started getting radio play it started to sound pretty massive -- the rapping here is patchy as all fuck but i'll just vibe out to the production for 5 minutes def

"all of the lights (interlude)"

strings & piano echoing the melody of the hook in the actual "all of the lights" -- this is pretty

"all of the lights" ft the clive davis grammy's after party guest list

i really dig this song -- feels like this if anything delivers on the promise of kanye being able to be an 'adventurous' pop star, not to mention i think the hook is just great -- folding 20 artists into it works w/in the theme of the song too so it doesn't feel like a "thing"

that song sounded totally horrible the one time i listened to it

really i was almost hoping that at the last minute this would end up being a double album just so it wouldn't be all the songs that i already heard and wasn't thrilled with + like 3 'new' songs

"monster"

this beat on this is really dope, it's too bad about this guest list -- they should've let ross go for more than 4 bars or w/e he gets cuz he's legit the best rapper in 2010 on this joint (bon iver excepted of course) -- jay's verse on here is prob one of the worst things of the year -- refresher course: everyone wanna know what my achilles heal is/ LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVV" -- fuck man back in 2004 this would've had freeway & beanie on it -- nicki really does massacre everyone on here -- the edited version of this is hella lol -- there's an extended outro on this w/ bon iver singing i think, or maybe i never listened to the leaked version all the way thru -- in any event, "monster"

that song sounded totally horrible the one time i listened to it

― deej otm (some dude), Tuesday, November 9, 2010 2:28 PM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark

lol i knew you'd hate this -- rihanna hook!

fuck man back in 2004 this would've had freeway & beanie on it -

kind of puts some things in perspective

"i'm so appalled"

more dope production on this -- b/w "monster" & this song & "devil in a new dress" the middle of this album has a really dark, brooding but still sort of swaggering feel, but there's just a bunch of superfluous bad rap verses which kind of ruin how dope this stuff could really be -- it's kind of fucked up to hear jay on two straight tracks, but surrounded by nicki minaj, cyhi da prynce and bon iver -- this song kind of really drags coming after "monster"

you think i kneejerk hate Rihanna's voice?

i don't get the bfd about the "Monster" beat, it's kinda threadbare and simple without knocking very hard, sounds good when Nicki or some good mixtape rapper's on it but for the most part it's just there.

the original leaked "Monster" had a pretty long Bon Iver outro, but yeah pretty much every DJ cuts it after Nicki or maybe after a couple lines of the outro.

"devil in a new dress" ft. rick ross

i guess they tacked a ross verse on here? color me excited -- this was probably the best leak, bink really killed the sample on this -- damn this gets really good in the middle -- electric guitars come in & start echoing the melody of the sample leading into RAWSE -- def the best moment of this album so far -- this is like "late registration" gone more extra and it's super dope -- this sounds like a ross album, opulent live instrumentation but the sample still going beneath it -- ((((d-_-b))))

^^really delivers

re "monster" beat

idk it just seems like a good cypher sort of beat to me -- it's not like O_O production or anything but for a threadbare beat i think it gathers good momentum -- just good head nodding shit

ross' verse on that is really good "had ciphers with yeezy before his mouth wire /before his jaw shattered,climbing up the lord's ladder".. love the added instrumentation as well

kind of wish the beat would ride out like a minute longer (!!!) after ross tho

yeah that's the first real O_O moment on this

otm xxxp

it's more "this is a good beat for rapping on" than "this is an amazing beat itself"

bink outshined kanye on his own album

THE NINE MINUTE VERSION OF RUNAWAY

there's no extended intro or anything, just starts off as the single version of the song -- i dig this song on some 808s shit but it's not SINGLE OF THE YEAR or w/e -- i think maybe kanye threw a new verse on here after pusha's verse? idk i never really listened to this song that intently -- man i hope these last four minutes are not some spoken word nonsense, but here we go -- it would be lol if he just played the whole song back, he should do that on his next album -- the piano plinks from the intro come in, strings, intelligible harmonizing thru the intercom deal here, sounds like a broken radio tbh -- so this doesn't really live up to its potential at all, kinda just mumbly for no reason

WHO'S GONNA DO CUDI!?!?!?

am i the only one who thinks the "devil in a new dress" beat is just kinda whatever on some "oh yeah...i heard this shit is '02" shit?

"hell of a life"

first song w/o a guest since the first song - more brooding distortion shit -- beat here is kinda nine inch nails or something, or at least what i imagine nine inch nails to sound like -- kanye sings on the chorus w/ no autotune, it's not bad -- i stopped paying attention for a bit cuz i can't find my phone -- i think he raps about wanting to get fucked in the ass? this is getting kinda dope here in the second verse -- re ass fucking "she wanna role play/ till i roll over" -- idk how to read that necessarily -- some wanky keyboard play on here in the outro leading into some choir -- this song is all about marrying a porn star btw

well it's very 02 but it's dope 02 shit imo

"Runaway" is just a serious piece of shit imo -- like it almost could be good but he decided not to work on the chorus anymore after one half-assed try, and the 'vamping' bridge is so painful it makes me miss the autotune

haha do we need to have a Madonna-style inquiry on exactly how much Nine Inch Nails j0rdan has or hasn't heard

this whole album & "hell of a life" esp pretty much is like kanye has some really awesome & interesting ideas as a musician and maybe even a "composer" or w/e but he's kind of letting himself down w/ the rapping

i have not heard very much nine inch nails at all

I love the last minute of "hell of a life" w/ the breathing

btw "hell of a life" ends w/ what i think is a "do me, baby" style post-orgasm heavy breathing kinda deal

j0rdan has heard prince! color me surprised.

loool

"blame game" ft john legend

alright the eight minute song w/ john legend, strap me in -- this song is kind of not very good -- OH HERE'S THE SPOKEN WORD -- i knew it was inevitable w/ all these long ass track lengths -- alright i'm not gonna listen to this whole thing cuz i need to go eat lunch or something -- i skipped forward and i think he's cutting up a chris rock stand up bit and answering his questions w/ "yeezy taught me" -- this is kind of funny the first time

"lost in the world"

i guess this is the one that samples the bon iver autotone song -- i know this leaked but i never listened to it -- alright this doesn't sound very good either, i want to listen to the ross part again before i search for my phone & eat

i think i'm more curious about j0rdan's phone than the album at this point

"kanye raps about being lost in the world, much like my phone is right now"

i think i just left it downstairs when i went to go eat cereal last night tbh

phew

lol

1000TimesYes
Clean version leak! Can't wait to run home and hear "let's have a toast for the _______shbags, let's have a toast to the __________sooooles"

both rae & ross's verses on this are really awesome fwiw

i could see this album sneaking into my top 10 cuz i never can really pinpoint how i end up feeling about ye albums over time -- there's def some really good shit -- the real issue here is whether "monster"/"so appalled" actually become more than tolerable over time & if the final two tracks actually suck

"dark fantasy", "gorgeous", "all of the lights", "devil in a new dress" (yes yes yes), "hell of a life" are all great tho

wasn't there a really old pre-college dropout kanye song called "gorgeous"

i used to love that song. "one look and muuuurder she wrote"

here's my 1000timesyes review of this album

Kanye West/My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: Late Registration post-30 Seconds to Mars phase & with no pop songs.#7

Adding that chick on "Dark Fantasy" is bad, bad, bad fucking move. The sampled vocals were enough, damnit.

btw i think i have the first ilx mentions of drake & waka

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, November 9, 2010 2:04 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark

very 'deej' post

j0rdan has heard prince! color me surprised.

― sister soulja boy (The Reverend), Tuesday, November 9, 2010 3:00 PM (27 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

hes a the-dream stan -- needed the-dream context

wasn't there a really old pre-college dropout kanye song called "gorgeous"

i used to love that song. "one look and muuuurder she wrote"

― surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally, Tuesday, November 9, 2010 4:15 PM (14 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

oh yeah, "Drop Dead Gorgeous". RIP Murphy Lee's career!

what the hook 'gon be >>>> every song on this album

murphy lee was awesome

btw here's the first mention of waka from what i can tell

butthurt (deej) wrote this on thread letz talk abt gucci mane on board I Love Music on Jul 23, 2009

wocka is awful

acutally no, it was me

swag serf (J0rdan S.) wrote this on thread letz talk abt gucci mane on board I Love Music on Jun 16, 2009

the guy can rap \(o_O)/ - and believe me i have nothing invested in wacka flocka flame

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ_rXp6nYKQ

^^and the young dude done paid young dude dues, dude

oh how times change

butthurt (deej) wrote this on thread letz talk abt gucci mane on board I Love Music on Jul 25, 2009

i actually think this first guest verse is kinda hard ... not all these weed carrier verses are bad at all ... but fuck LA the Darkman & Wocka Flocka

i'm only up to "runaway" and am getting pretty sick of kanye's voice tbh, also lol @ clean versions

this isn't a very exciting album! well, i guess it follows a series of not very exciting trailers.

I think "All of the Lights" is pretty fucking epic, though. Not saying it's actually good, tho?

kanye is the master of epic-but-not-actually-good

The mastered, fully mixed version, at least.

I think he's nailed epic-and-good a few times tho: "We Major", "Gone," in a weird way.

oh how times change

butthurt (deej) wrote this on thread letz talk abt gucci mane on board I Love Music on Jul 25, 2009

i actually think this first guest verse is kinda hard ... not all these weed carrier verses are bad at all ... but fuck LA the Darkman & Wocka Flocka

― J0rdan S., Tuesday, November 9, 2010 3:34 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

hey no one was more surprised than me bud

i think i could kind of love "runaway" if it was really different. shorter, for one thing.

xp yeah i love "we major" and "gone" ("jesus walks" and "never let me down" too) - was talking about kanye 2010

Rob Sheffield gives it five stars at Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/reviews/album/45342/232350

Really?!

i was really expecting "runaway" to build into something great after how awesome "devil in a new dress" became, but nope

it's a review in rolling stone xp

there is literally no reason for "runaway" to be NINE MINUTES LONG

all of these songs are too long

quite enjoying "hell of a life" tho

sheffield's whole thing for rolling stone is writing about how a pop artist's new album is better than their last album -- green day, taylor, kanye etc

"the erotic gloss of disco"

huh?

actually, it's whenever i manage to tune kanye out that this album approaches enjoyability most often

this part at least is right

Nobody halfway sane could have made this album.

i hereby refuse to read a single word that any rock critic writes about this, i just can't

Ya but of course they're too long, this is 'Ye's prog rap album.

And yeah, I mean Rolling Stone is shit, I'm just saying.

Ok, Rick Ross really suits this opulence of "Devil in a New Dress." More than Kanye, almost.

rick ross suits nothing

You were one of the hold-outs that didn't like Teflon Don, I presume, Lex?

that's gotta be a sad world to live in, not enjoying rick ross

"hold-outs"?!

it was as average as everything else ross ever does, i guess

i don't find asthma particularly opulent tbh

i don't find asthma particularly opulent tbh

― lex lex lex lex lex on the track BOW (lex pretend),

LMAO

lol I mean the beats, not Ross's huff-and-puff flow.

I'm not saying it's a classic or anything.

he drags the beats down mostly - the best ones are the big monster lex luger ones and WAKA rendered those redundant

Fair play. I think he's reached a point he doesn't bring 'em down anymore, but I can see the other perspective too.

ross doesnt drop non-classics, except for port of miami

Back to 'Ye, tho.

Ok, Rick Ross really suits this opulence of "Devil in a New Dress." More than Kanye, almost.

― altered boners (rennavate), Tuesday, November 9, 2010 3:58 PM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark

this is because the song turns literally into a rick ross song

Which is why it's awesome!

well duh, but that's what i'm saying

I still like "Lost in the World".

But when Kanye starts rapping, it gets much worse.

so many cars, dmv thought it was mail fraud
different traps i was getting mail from
polk county, jacksonville, raped melbourne

gettin tupac money twice over
still a real n*gga, red coogi sweater dice roller

What track's that from?

that's the ross verse

oh yeah i never listened to "who will survive in america" lol

Lame that he chopped Lost in the World in half.

So this is Kanye's first miss album-wise, amirite?

the worst songs on here are still better than "homecoming" and "big brother" and "i wonder" and "drunk and hot girls"

wait fatass raped australia?!

it certainly continues the steady downward trajectory

xps

Except Big Brother, I Wonder, and ESPECIALLY Drunk and Hot Girls are great.

word

even if this isn't going tobe anywhere near his best, i can't imagine this being half as terrible as 808s

can we just dump every new iteration of the neverending Graduation debate here: ***RANKING KANYE***

This is much, much worse than 808s.

is there anything better than 'golddigger' on this

pretend im not 'deej' asking this but a 'person who really likes golddigger'

aint messing with no broke broke!

not a fair question imo. "gold digger" is his best song.

i mean, neither college dropout or graduation have a song as good as "gold digger"!

So this is Kanye's first miss album-wise, amirite?

― altered boners (rennavate), Tuesday, 9 November 2010 22:55 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol, you not hear the previous two or blueprint 3?

How is BP3 Kanye's failure? BP3 is good, btw.

And I'll keep it in the RANK KANYE thread, but you know my opinion on his previous two.

BP3 is good, btw

smh

SB

not really doing the "graduation is the best kanye album" camp any good w/ that opinion

anyone got production credits for this?

def. feeling some of the production but yeah kanye doesn't seem to have enough of his normally 'snappy' raps to fill these long songs so it just kinda drags

i like this album a lot tbh

i skip "all the lights" though

i think that i like it a lot too -- gotta get into the final tracks tho

'hell of a life' is pretty crazy

like:

dark fantasy - hilarious beat imo
gorgeous - amazing rae verse + like this beat
all of the lights - epic
monster - 3:30-5.00
devil in a new dress - love this retro kanye sound but this isn't produced by him right?
runaway - i was expecting the album to be more along these lines
hell of a life - this beat is rawwwwwwwww

couldn't make it through the last 3 songs - painful

"all of the lights" sounds like a jumbled mess to me, I get that that's what he was going for but... yeah. also, don't like the chorus

it is a bit of a mess but still one of the best constructed songs of this album

i feel like everything people say about "all of the lights" is refracted through the lol guest list. like if it was just billed as f/ rihanna and maybe one or two of the more audible other people i don't know if people would be calling it "epic" or "jumbled," it's just kind of a weakass song.

i can't even hear any of the guests i think the horns are what make it sound "epic"

who else is on "All of the Lights"??

how to make a classic 'ye album = just get rhymefest and bink/just blaze/no i.d. together and to dress up like nerds, forget to invite 'ye to the sessions.

yeah, just blaze and rhymefest. what inspired dudes in 2010. maybe just could lay down some beats as good as "all the above".

i've downloaded the new dj khaled album

http://cache.dealbreaker.com/uploads/2010/06/animated-siren-gif-animated-siren-gif-animated-siren-gif-drudge-report.gif

drake/ross/wayne - "i'm on one"

i think this is one of the best beats of the year, but the song still leaves me cold. even the beat tho could be better than it is, there's some cool guitar sounding stuff lurking underneath that i wish were fleshed out a bit. anyway, i'll stand my ground that wayne's verse on this is an abomination, regardless of whether or not he was aiming for trying to sound super stoned. he sounds lazy & bored to me. the most interesting development on this song is further confirmation that ross has lapped wayne two times over as a rapper and that drake has really gone full asshole recently, it's like he's already entered his 'my beautiful dark twisted fantasy' phase while bypassing the years in between that. but honestly i think it's a good look for him, cuz i never really bought him as conflicted and contemplative. for the biggest rap single of the year, we could have had worse, i guess.

ross/wayne/plies/t-pain - "welcome to my hood"

we already know that this one is really boring. i still confuse this song with "all i do is win", which brings me to a theory that no one else could care about. "all i do is win" emerged during the nba playoffs as a near ubiquitous stadium song, and i think unfortunately that it's end up being khaled's most enduring single ever. the real heads know the deal pick is "holla at me", "we takin over" is the critics pick, but "all i do is win" is gonna be played ten years from now. as for "welcome to my hood", plies should be on every song on this album. wayne's flow on this is so lazy too, sheesh.

jeezy/ludacris - money

this is produced by lex luger, which i guess was a really predictable development for this album. he's kind of the new runners now that i think of it, tho w/ a bigger bag of tricks and a wider rolodex. it really sucks that jeezy is jumping on the luger train, he's a better fit on drumma boy & shawty redd beats. when luger songs are good they really hit, but when they're bad they're really bad. this song is like a trotting elephant or something. suffice to say that the jeezy/luda collab off whichever luda album that was is much better than this. truly i have nothing to say about this song, it's rap wallpaper. ha, the bridge (?) on this has khaled going all dj drama.

waka/ace hood - i'm thuggin

another luger one, but this is total 'flockaveli' territory. and just like flockaveli, there's a totally underwhelming & unnecessary guest. ace hood's new luger produced single is so similar to "hustle hard" that it's squarely "kinda lol mostly sad". the thing i said about this being flockaveli territory? that was before i realized that waka doesn't have a verse. the first thirty seconds of this is gonna be the best part of this album, isn't it?

fab/jada/mary j - it ain't over till it's over

heard this one the radio & thought it was really terrible, but the beat is actually a bit cooler than i originally realized. if anything it breaks up the epic banger monotony. fab & jada really phoned the verses on this. this could actually be a pretty solid mary j solo single in another universe, but the rappers treat this like a contractual obligation. just noticed that there's no nas on this tracklist. end of an era, really. "it ain't over till it's over" is such a perfect empty cliche for a khaled album. moving on.

chris brown/keyshia cole/ne-yo - legendary

produced by cool & dre, holy hell. anyway, i think this might be the first ever all r&b posse cut on a khaled album. this really has a melodramatic soundtrack feel to it... man, cool & dre are boring ass producers. nice to see someone giving them work though? quite hilariously, 95% of their 2011 production credits according to wikipedia is shit for the aborted the game album that's never ever coming out. ne-yo on the bridge for this... he really doesn't sound good trying to wail over this beat. this shit is really boring.

cee lo/the game/busta - sleep when i'm gone

produced by DANJA, but unfortunately he's in full "this is a dj khaled album" mode, all minor piano keys & big, loping drums. this is a bizarre pairing, but cee-lo sounds really good. the game brags very seriously about fucking basketball wives, which i guess is all he's got left at this point. yeah this cee-lo hook is really good. no fast rapping from busta but he does call himself god multiple times and drops a funny line about "wilin like it's hatians and jamaicans on labor day". VERY slim pickings here, obviously. another game verse... this is the only way he's gonna be in best buy this year. this is the best song on here after "i'm on one"

birdman/t-pain - can't stop

BIRDMAN SOLO... i was not looking forward to this one. oh btw we've entered the boi-1da portion of the album. this beat and the last one are indecipherable... these albums are so fascinating to me because everyone involved seems so obviously bored by having to be involved, and then you have these producers turning in these formulaic & generic stadium beats... i like to think that they trade emails behind the scenes laughing this stuff off. thankfully this isn't even three minutes long.

ace hood/meek mill/big sean/wale/vado - future

"THIS IS THE FUTURE", proclaims khaled. also he says "meek mills" which is poised to turn into the "joe buddens" of this decade. ace hood is so boring... the fact that he has two legit awesome singles imo is a minor miracle. i have no idea how khaled basically staked his whole a&r career on this clown. i know there are ppl that fuck heavy w/ meek mill but i have no feelings about this dude. he has a bit of a boosie thing to him but he seems so regular to me. ha, big sean name drops trick trick on this which is funny to me cuz i feel like trick trick is just waiting to snatch this fools chain. haha big sean just unwittingly copped based god's flow for a second here, which is the most interesting thing to happen on this joint. wale's turn... i guess i'm happy for this guy since he seems decent enough but i've never heard a verse from him where i felt like my life was bettered by having heard it. that's on some final debate in billy madison shit. vado... you can tell that a lot these guys have no idea how to flow on these loping ass beats, but vado's verse is kinda dope. "drop tops like release dates" qualifies as the new best punchline on this album.

akon/b.o.b. - my life

ha, this is like a mix of porch swing reggae & big wailing khaled inspirational choruses and big drums. just on account of including an acoustic guitar, this is the song on the album to most please meh. some of the songs on this album have weird ass structures... like ne-yo doing just a bridge, or akon doing everything on this song but the first verse. and this one has come and gone, had some potential tho.

kevin rudolf/tyga/mack maine/jae millz/cory gunz - a million lights

wow this roster is scaring the shit out of me... a cash money posse cut that doesn't involve wayne, drake or nicki. i'd love for complex to run an INVESTIGATIVE REPORT on where gudda gudda was when this was recorded. i'd like to think that he was at the grocery store or something idk. is "a million lights" more than "all of the lights"?? i guess not right. they should've called this "infinity lights" imo. the beat on this is kinda cool actually, it's at least in a different tempo. mack maine legit has one of the five best verse on this album. he just made a call back to wayne's "every girl" verse. jae millz... i wonder if meek mill is gonna see this dude at a party one day and lose his cool and beat the shit out of him for inadvertently being the root of why everyone gets his name wrong. cory gunz closing the door here... i kinda really hate this fucking guy. on account of being able to flow he lands in the top 10% percentile here. idk.

alright this album is already over. it was really too mediocre for me to even be able to make jokes, honestly. like i said tho, how this collective starpower and (relative) skill can come together for such a massive hurricane of blandness is really fascinating to me. inspirational rap stadium anthems suck tho.

i trust everyone understands why i didn't listen to the mega "welcome to my hood" remix

lmao @ all of that last one

i cannot bring myself to listen to this

haha i got so excited when i saw that this thread was revived, knew exactly what it meant, great job j0rdan

good call on not listening to the "Welcome To My Hood" remix -- i believe i once referred to it as 'Miami water torture'

yes that was a very enjoyable liveblog, props

thx guyz

"i'm the most slept on/& the most hated"

-the game

the game brags very seriously about fucking basketball wives, which i guess is all he's got left at this point.

lol/sad

yeah the line was basically "i fuck basketball wives / no really, i fuck basketball wives"

drake/ross/wayne - "i'm on one"

i think this is one of the best beats of the year, but the song still leaves me cold. even the beat tho could be better than it is, there's some cool guitar sounding stuff lurking underneath that i wish were fleshed out a bit. anyway, i'll stand my ground that wayne's verse on this is an abomination, regardless of whether or not he was aiming for trying to sound super stoned. he sounds lazy & bored to me. the most interesting development on this song is further confirmation that ross has lapped wayne two times over as a rapper and that drake has really gone full asshole recently, it's like he's already entered his 'my beautiful dark twisted fantasy' phase while bypassing the years in between that. but honestly i think it's a good look for him, cuz i never really bought him as conflicted and contemplative. for the biggest rap single of the year, we could have had worse, i guess.

― J0rdan S., Friday, July 15, 2011 11:19 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

it's hilarious that even in asshole mode Drake still says things like "apologize if I say anything I don't mean"

yeah the line was basically "i fuck basketball wives / no really, i fuck basketball wives"

― J0rdan S., Saturday, July 16, 2011 10:32 PM (5 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

omg i just listened to this and you aren't even exaggerating!

spotify is definitely about following your worst musical impulses as evidenced by the fact that i am going to listen to this entire album this afternoon.

yeah, think i might liveblog the big sean album tonight

all thanks to spotify

so i actually kind of like the beat on "future"--when the full drum track is in there it actually has some good forward momentum and i like the moody horns.

of course then they start cutting the drums out and it sort of grinds to a halt.

watch the liveblog

the version of this i downloaded was labeled as "flockaveli.zip" -- i'm gonna guess that halfway thru this i wish i was listening to flockaveli

or the lloyd album

itunes should set something up where anyone who chooses "get album artwork" for anything titled 'watch the throne' from 12 am est to 6 am est automatically gets arrested for piracy

no church in the wild ft frank ocean (prod by kanye & 88 keys)

i was thinking that frank ocean's voice might be a bit too thin to work as a hook singer on these songs, but this one sounds alright. someone doing some super bon iver ass warbling on the bridge here. ah, kanye made a "jungle fever" joke in his first verse. sounds about right i guess. when kanye jumps on this it pretty much turns into MBDTF, questionable lyrics about women included. this one is kinda whatever, beat is cool but feels like it could've been way bigger. not that that would've been better, but this still sorta feels MOR in terms of what i'm expecting this to sound like

lift off ft beyone (prod by kanye)

seal has a writing credit on this, which is lol. this beat sounds a lot like the last one... the bass on this is pretty ugly. as an 808s stan forever i'll say that i dig kanye's autotuned out warbling on this. this is kinda clunky, this beat is really ugly imo. idk maybe it sounds better on russell crowe's speakers. they made it one song w/o a metaphor about lifting off into space.

hold on i got a phone call

lol

niggas in paris (prod by hit-boy & kanye)

will ferrell sample! first beat that's really a head nodder, a minimal (by this album's standards) keyboard little thing. jay sounds kinda locked in, then kinda chops his flow up. oh man kanye's flow is really awful on this, elongating the last vowel in his lines in what whiny obnoxious voice. this beat has a music box quality to it that kinda gets old after a bit. there's no way that jay likes "blades of glory" and i bet he's secretly really embarrassed to have that shit breaking into his song. OH SHIT DUBSTEP BREAKDOWN. oh well, maybe not, tho i'm sure one is coming up. i can't really be bothered to pay attention to what ye is rapping on this whole thing, sorry you guys.

otis ft otis redding (lol) (prod by kanye)

this sounds even better in the context of the album so far. just a sample & some drums, two dudes spitting back & forth, no 'is this it' vocal affectations or autotune. not like i need to hear this. i do let it play out on the radio tho, feels good in the sunshine. shouts to my 99 accord w/ peeling tints.

gotta have it (prod by the neptunes & kanye)

i feel like kanye really strong-armed a lot of ppl to get his name on damn near every prod credit. kanye: "lol lol lol oh white america / tryna assassinate my character". jay & ye going back forth, just compared themselves to lebron & wade. chris bosh once again the third wheel. oh man, this one has some clunkers. kanye: "racks on racks on racks / maybachs on bachs on bachs". jay: "i'm planking on a million" <------- s.m.d.h. this one is okay.

^best song imo

new day (prod by the rza & kanye)

oh this is the one about their future kids. this is a pretty cool beat, they sorta bon iver'd up this simone sample, but the whole thing is really kinda meditative & pretty. really nice horns on this. idk i'm not paying attention what either of these guys are saying anymore. i'm sure jay was gonna make me feel something about his son that will be born into elaborate wealth. would've dug this as an instrumental tho.

^ this one is my favorite so far

"that's my bitch" (prod by q tip & kanye)

did they just not credit la roux or did they re-record the hook? good hook tho. grimy lil keyboard on this, drums rattling a bit. justin vernon has a writing credit on this, maybe he wrote the hook. this one is dope. oh maybe he's singing write now. would've liked to hear this as a r&b song.

welcome to the jungle (prod by swizz beatz)

it's been funny watching swizz play catch up to these two & pharrell for who can be the most worldly name dropping all types of fashion labels & shit. he can't really pull it off. man, i love swizz and all, but ppl really need to ask him to stop chanting all over every track he produces. this beat sucks actually.

jay on new day is genuinely good emotional stuff which is what i like rare glimpses of

but wouldn't sound quite as good if it wasn't... you know the jay-z talking points weirdo crooked billionaire villain 。。。 always knew he never cut up anyone (as himself skinny nigga on the boat or as rap music lyrical persona) but appreciated the line, unreliable narrator vibe. like all those beans/sieg/face or variations songs. jay comes off as sadder than sigel or face just because of the gleaming sheen of his charm being almost fully intact.

love that nina simone warble thing

who gon stop me (prod by kanye & sham "shake pas" joseph [huh?])

btw in case anyone cares mike dean has a prod credit on like every song here but i don't feel like listing him. oh man this is sooooooooooooooo dubstep. holy. "this is something like the holocaust" says kanye. this really bangs, well it would've if kanye wasn't rapping. kinda the big, stadium dubstep that a lot of stoners i knew listened to. oh the beat switch up on this is really ugly. idk, i'm bored of this now.

love that nina simone warble thing

― dylannn, Monday, August 8, 2011 1:59 AM (9 seconds ago) Bookmark

yeah this is great

that last song would be an amazing instrumental, doesn't really work as rap tho

jay just rapped "MOMA" & "corner", inevitable really