Album Reviews

Since there's allot of new albums being released and I'm an opinionated bastard I thought it only fitting I did an album review post. If you're familiar with my previous posts you know how I grade music. If you're unfamiliar here's the scoop. I rate in a five star system 5 being the highest 1 the lowest.  

The elements of a good album are production, dope rhymes, delivery, and overall message. That's four points and the last is a combination of the minor details. For example, If the album has to many interludes, to many features and not enough solo tracks, or if the artists image and music aren't congruent then the album loses value. With that said lets get it in. 

Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy **** (4.5)

Say what you want about Kanye and his ridiculously tight jeans, but that is one talented dude. His 5th album shows artistic range mixing elements of Hip-Hop, funk, soul, and jazz with industry heavyweights like Jay-Z, RZA, Rick Ross, Pusha -T, and many others. I've been listening to Kanye's albums since the "College Dropout" and I gotta say this is one of his best.  

Nicki Minaj - Pink Friday *** (3.5)

There's been allot of hype over Nicki Minaj and anticipation for this album release. After a thorough listen I feel some of the tracks like Roman's Revenge" ft. Eminem and "Massive Attack." While others are heavily dance music influenced with allot of synthesizer,  auto-tune and not my taste. 

For a first album this is definitely a worthy offering and if you're a Nicky fan support your artist and buy a copy. While you're at it go buy a copy of Home Street Home by Misstrezz. She's coming from Europe but I would put her in the ring with any MC.

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon vol:2 Mr. Rager ** (2)

The first song I heard from  Kid Cudi was his single smash "Day 'n' Nite" which reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts. Since then he has moved away from his Hip-Hop roots to the hard rock genre. The majority of the album is rock and dance influenced, which is nothing like the first Man on the Moon. 

I can't say if the album is good or bad cuz this is just MY opinion. What I can say is Kid Cudi doesn't display enough of his rhyme skills on this album. If you're looking for Hip-Hop this isn't it, if you want to hear Kid Cudi as a rocker go buy a copy. 

Hardcore Hip-Hop

I've been listening to mixtapes lately cuz i'm not feeling allot of peoples albums. There's always five or six dope tracks and the rest are just fillers. I miss the days of Hardcore Hip-Hop! When I use the term "hardcore," I mean a hard beat, hard rhymes and hard delivery like classic tunes "Ante-Up," by M.O.P. or "Slam,"by Onyx.

Below are songs "60 second Assassins" DJ Kay Slay ft. Busta Rhymes, Layzie Bone, Jaz-O, and Twista. "Uncommon Valor" by Jedi Mind Tricks ft. RA The Rugged Man, "Ego Trippin," from Tech N9ne, and "Perception" by my homie NLZ. A MC and producer whose been making hardcore tracks for a minute. He produced the song "Young and Hungry" off my last album Sinister Ambitionz.  

Check out the tunes below and if you want to know more about the artists, click on their name. 

Mix of Flavors

This post is a mix of flavors, first it's the return of Sir Mix a Lot. A old school rapper / producer from Seattle, Washington who reached iconic status with his 1992 hit single "baby got back." In 1986, Sir Mix-a-Lot and his DJ, Nasty Nes founded the Nastymix record label. His first hit released in 1987, was the single "Posse on Broadway," whose title referred to a street in Seattle's Capitol Hill district. 

Over the years he's released 6 albums the two most notable were Seminar and Mack Daddy. Sir Mix-a-lot has new tunes in 2010, he just released a new single titled "Cars" which I posted below. Along with a few of his older hits and new music from artists, Statik Selektah & Termanology featuring Xzibit and Cassidy.

Birth Control Lotion

For you people in the often considered fabled monogamous relationship. There's a new medical breakthrough that's going to make the need for condoms obsolete. 

Birth control lotion – contraception for women that’s not a pill, patch, but a gel. Women apply a small amount daily, rubbed anywhere on the body, like arms, legs, shoulders or abdomen. Similar to the contraceptive patch, the birth control "lotion" is said to release hormones directly into the skin. 

It has shown equal effectiveness as both patch and pill without the side effects of sickness, weight gain, or a muted sense of sexual desire. This is from a statement made by the manufacturer. If you want to know more check out the video below.

Gone but not forgotten

This post is a tribute to some of the many talented artists the industry has lost through the years. Gone but not forgotten O.D.B. (Old Dirty Bastard), J-Dilla, Big Pun, Jam Master Jay, Big L, Stack Bundles, Party Artie (aka P80), all lost talents who went before there time. Their legacy is immortalized by the memories of those left behind, and in the music below.

The New Breed

There's a whole New Breed of MC's hungry for recognition. The industry goes through phases every couple of years like fashion trends. There was the DMX, 50 Cent hardcore Hip-Hop era then it went to the Kanye West, Mickey Facts  pink clothes, tight jean wearing, stuff animal on the backpack phase. Now the winds of change are blowing it back towards the hardcore. 

Below are rappers Vado, Skyzoo, Black Milk, Q-Unique, and Ras Kass. They each have a different sound and style but the one thing the have in common is they're all spittin gangsta sh*t.

Artistic Vision

There are few photographers who make pictures like David La Chapelle. He has won numerous awards and is the Hollywood go to guy when it comes to taking unique shots covering themes of life. He likes to use bizarre imagery to show death, lust, love, hate and every emotion in between. 

LaChapelle has four published books of his photographs, including LaChapelle Land, Hotel LaChapelle, Heaven to Hell, and Artists and Prostitutes. All four books contain vivid portraits of celebrities such as Marilyn Manson, Michael Jackson Naomi Campbell,  David Bowie,  Björk, Shakira,  Courtney Love, Lil' Kim,  Cher, Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Hugh Hefner, Madonna, P!nk, Rihanna,  and recently Lady Gaga. I posted some of the photos I found entertaining below.

Madd Science

I can't discredit or validate the information in this clip. I posted it cuz it caught my attention like watching an accident on the highway. 

Allow me to introduce Dr. Robert Gallo, the man accredited by the Dept. of Defense as being the creator of the AIDS virus. The video is done (Micheal Moore) documentary style, presented by researcher and scientist Dr.Leonard Horowitz. He has more clips detailing the actual creation process on his youtube page.  Check out the compelling video clip below.

3rd Coast Rappers

Most people talk about the East and West Coast and don't acknowledge the 3rd Coast...the South. I've spent some time in Texas and lived in Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina. At the bottom of Texas is the gulf of Mexico and they throw some wild parties there during the summer. In Galveston, Texas (The Bay Area) the have a annual Mardi Gras festival similar to New Orleans, where girls strip for beads.

I'm not a big fan of southern Hip-Hop but there are some artists out there who can spit. Below are a few 3rd Coast (southern artists) Ludacris, Chamillionaire, Outkast, Bun B, and Scarface who all have tunes on my MP3 player.

New Muzik

There's allot of new music out right now...most of its garbage, lets be real. In between the piles of audio trash I found a few joints that had the key components of what I call "New Muzik." The song has a strong beat, good lyrics, catchy chorus and most importantly. The artists image and appearance is congruent to whatever he's relaying in the song. 

In simple terms, making the subject matter believable. An example is, if you got a rapper saying he's pushing mad weight and did three felony bids in the song. BUT when you see them in clips or in magazines there image and demeanor is that of a school kid with no record. The music isn't believable and usually you can hear it.

With that said here is some new music from new and established artists worth checking out. Wiz Khalifa, Redman, Global, Mysonne, and Hopsin.