Nipsey Hu$$le – “Victory Lap” review

Nipsey Hu$$le is a rapper from Slauson, California & this is his long-awaited full-length debut. The album starts off with the title track, where Nipsey talks about where he is now & the Stacy Barthe feature is beautiful. The next song “Rap Niggas” telling us that he’s nothing like these dudes out right now over a gritty instrumental while the track “Last Time I Checc’d” with YG sees the 2 talking about how they’re self made over a g-funk/trap infused beat. The song “Young Nigga” gets braggadocious over a trap beat with some rattling bass & the track “Dedication” with Kendrick Lamar sees the 2 talking about their come ups from the ghettos to the rap game over a bass heavy atmospheric instrumental.

The song “Blue Laces 2” is a welcoming sequel to “Blue Laces” off of Nipsey’s 2010 mixtape The Marathon while the track “Hu$$le & Motivate” pretty speaks for itself over some decent keys. The song “Status Symbol 3” with Buddy is a fun close to the titular trilogy & the track “Succa Proof” is a menacing, unapologetic shot at all the lames out there. The song “Keyz 2 the City 2” isn’t a bad sequel to the original “Keyz 2 the City”, but the TeeFlii feature is probably the weakest one on the entire album.

The track “Grinding All My Life” talks about his work ethic & I like the eerie vibes of the instrumental. The song “Million While You Young” gets luxurious over kick-back beat from Mike & Keys and Jake One while the track “Loaded Bases” is basically about living for the moment over a soulful instrumental. The song “Real Big” talks about his success over an ambitious beat & then the penultimate track “Double Up” with Belly & Dom Kennedy talks about drug dealing over a spacey beat. The album then finishes off with “Right Hand 2 God” reflects on from where he was to where is now & I absolutely love the horns that come around during the hook.

As a whole, this may be Nipsey’s best work yet. The beats bang & it displays where he is right now very well while delivering a few sequels to some of his older songs from his mixtape days. I really hope this gives him the shine he deserves, because it was well worth the long wait

Score: 4/5

Tyga – “Kyoto” review

Tyga is a 29 year old rapper, singer/songwriter, actor & television personality from Compton, California who dropped 4 mixtapes & a full-length debut prior to Young Money Entertainment alongside Cash Money Records & Republic Records signing him. He would go on top drop 11 more tapes & couple LPs through the major labels except Careless World: Rise of the Last King was the only one of the bunch that stood out. The Gold Album: 18th Dynasty through his own imprint Last Kings Records quickly became the worst thing he’s ever made & his 5th album was promising to be as bad.

The opener “Temperature” sings presumably about his ex-girlfriend Kylie Jenner when she was underage at the time over a tropical beat & the auto-tune on Tyga’s voice makes it even worse. The next song “Leather in the Rain” with Kyndall is a shitty sex duet with a generic club beat & the track “Come & Ball Wit Me” is basically Tyga whining about Kylie over a spacey trap beat. The song “Boss Up” sings about how he loves that his current chick is calling the shots over a moody beat & the track “U Cry” is another Kylie breakup pity party over a somber beat.

“King of the Jungle” sees T-Raw admitting that he was unfaithful to Kylie over an atmospheric instrumental while “Hard2Look” is an honest to God diss track towards her new boyfriend Travis Scott that comes off REALLY corny. The song “I Need a Girl 3” produced by CashMoneyAP is an unnecessary follow-up to the 2 Puff Daddy songs that came out in 2002 while the track “Train 4 This” has some corny references to WWE Hall of Famer Mike Tyson over a trap beat with a decent “Dilemma” sample buried in the mix.

The song “Hot Soup” sings about how his chick will make him feel better over a bland beat while the track “Sip a Lil” featuring Gucci Mane is of course about drinking & rambling about missing Kylie over a mediocre trap beat. “Faithful” featuring Tory Lanez sees the 2 telling their ladies to have faith in them over another tropical beat & the penultimate track “Ja Rule & Ashanti” is filled with corny references to both artists over a nondescript beat. The torture finally ends with “Holdin’ On’”, where he gets sexual with his current woman over a decent Hitmaka instrumental.

Now I know a lot of people including myself went at the artwork when Tyga originally posted it on Instagram last month but musically, this is truly the worst thing he’s ever done. I can commended him for trying to step out of his comfort zone, but there is not a single song worth sitting through from beginning to end. His singing is absolutely God awful, the auto-tune he throws on top of it doesn’t mask it either, the lyrics are trite & the contemporary/alternative R&B production containing lesser influences of trap & pop n is dime a dozen.

Score: 0/5

L.A.R.S. – L.A.R.S. (Last American Rock Stars) review

After signing to Majik Ninja Entertainment in August of 2016 & dropping a free prelude mixtape called Foul World on Devils Night of that same year, Detroit horrorcore duo L.A.R.S is now dropping their full-length debut. After a 1 minute intro, we then get into the first song “Stomp”. Here, King Gordy & Bizarre both talk about fucking people up over an eerie beat. The track “Just Got Out the County” with Fury talks about them getting arrested for doing wild shit over a menacing beat, but the hook is kinda annoying. The song “Cocaine in Miami” talks about partying in Miami over a smooth beat with some synths & the “LARS Spangled Banner” interlude sees Gordy doing his own rendition of the United States National Anthem, but it’s just so mediocre.

The track “Lit” is a club banger with a trippy trap beat & the song “California” talks about going to Cali to ease their minds over a rap rock beat. The track “Rock n Roll” with Majik Ninja founders Twiztid talks about how wild they are over a grimy beat from L.A.R.S.’ DJ & honorary 3rd member Foul Mouth. The song “Suicide” has an eerie soul sample all over it & Gordy has some funny ass lines during his verse near the end, but the first verse from Bizarre didn’t really do much.The “Moshitup” interpolation during the hook wasn’t too surprising, but I liked it generally. The track “Ganja Man” is a reggae inflicted weed song, but it’s just ok. The song “No Lights” talks about their early life in the ghetto over some smooth bass & some keys. While endearing, the reference to The Pharcyde’s “Passin’ Me By” during the hook is just ok. The penultimate track “Start a War” with G-Mo Skee, Trizz & Twista gets confrontational over an explosive trap beat & the closer “I Believe I Can Fly” gets motivational over a beautiful piano instrumental from mR. pOrTeR.

As a whole, this is one of the best releases in both King Gordy & Bizarre’s catalogues. Sure there are some weak moments, but it’s more refined than the prelude tape from the production to the duo’s performances & their ever so natural chemistry. I’ll say it here like I did in my Foul World review, but here’s to hopefully some solo albums from both members because they fit with Majik Ninja very very well

Score: 3.5/5

Lonzo Ball – “Born 2 Ball” review

Lonzo Ball is a 20 year old rookie for the Los Angeles Lakers & this is his very 1st mixtape. The opener “Grind Mode” with DC the Don talks about working hard over an Atari-trap beat & the next track “Get Off” is filled with lame braggadocious lyrics over a piano-trap beat. The song “Z02” is basically him promoting his sneakers over an airy trap beat & the track “Puttin’ in Work” with Kenneth Paige & DC the Don brags about their alleged rapping prowesses over an eerie piano with rattling hi-hats. The song “Better” talks about the lavish life over an organ-trap beat & “L.A.M.L. (Look At My Life)” with Kenneth Paige is basically about success with a bass heavy instrumental.

The song “Super Saiyan” compares himself to the titular Dragon Ball Z transformation albeit in a corny fashion over a trap beat with some eerie keyboards. The track “Bring It Home” with Kenneth talks about doing it for their families & the production isn’t really anything special either. Both “Money Talks” & “Check” redundantly talk about making money, but the production on the latter is more describable with it’s keyboards & monstrous bass. The song “Day 1s” is a dedication to everyone who’ve stuck with him up to this point over an eerie keyboard trap-beat while the track “Livin’ Lavish” is basically another “Better” but with a spacey beat. The 2 & half minute freestyle is basically Lonzo & Kenneth Paige going back & forth about how big they are & while there is chemistry, it’s not good. The synth-trap production is pretty mediocre as well.

The track “Gotta Get It” is another boring money making anthem with a beat that knocks off something Dr. Dre would’ve produced in the Early 2000s & the song “What Is You Doin’?” touches down on how he’s doing his own thing over a bland instrumental. The penultimate track “BBB” is basically a promotional song for his dad Lavar’s Big Ball Brand over some grimy down-tuned synthesizers & the closer is a tribute to his dad over a spacey beat.

I don’t have a problem with basketball players trying to rap (case in point Shaquille O’Neal or even Damian Lillard), but this is a serious contender for Worst Release of 2018. The production is generic, it’s monotonous & the content gets super stale after a while. Just stick to basketball. Please

Score: 0/5

Various Artists – “Black Panther: The Album” review

With the Black Panther coming out a week from today, Top Dawg Entertainment is giving us the soundtrack alongside Aftermath Entertainment & Interscope Records. The opener “Black Panther” by Kendrick Lamar (who curated the whole soundtrack) talks about being a king over a gloomy piano instrumental. However, there’s one point where it gets abrasive. The song “All the Stars” is a spacey love duet with Kendrick & SZA that’s just ok. The track “X” by ScHoolboy Q, 2 Chainz & Saudi gets celebratory over a decent trap beat while the song “The Ways” by Khalid & Swae Lee is a duet about this attractive woman over a moody trap beat. The track “Opps” by Kendrick, Vince Staples & Yugen Blakrok gets into the mind of criminals over a hip house beat while the song “I Am” by Jorja Smith gets insightful about change & how we aren’t meant to be free over a funk rock beat.

The track “Parademic!” by SOB x RBE is an eerie gangsta rap tune while the song “Bloody Waters” by Ab-Soul vividly talks from the point of view from an organized criminal over a kick-back beat. The track “King’s Dead” starts off with a eerie beat & while Jay Rock’s flow is absolutely deadly, but the Future bridge is so hilariously bad. However, they make up for it during the 2nd half when the beat switches into something more hard hitting & Kendrick comes in with an angry verse filled with references to the film’s antagonist Erik Killmonger.

After the “Redemption Interlude”, we then go into the actual song “Redemption” by Zacari & Babes Wudomo. Here, they get sexual albeit in an underwritten & generic fashion. The following song “Seasons Change” by Mozzy, Sjava & Reason talks about escape the ghetto over a somber yet reggae-infused instrumental. The penultimate track “Big Shot” by Kendrick & Travi$ Scott talks about the celebrity lifestyle & the flute sample that Cardo uses on here is absolutely beautiful. Also, I love how Kendrick reuses the first couple lines from his “New Freezer” verse for the hook. The soundtrack then finishes off with “Pray for Me, where The Weeknd & Kendrick talk about heroes burden over an electropop beat.

While I wouldn’t call this a future classic by any means, this is still a solid soundtrack album. It’s not too overproduced like many soundtrack albums nowadays, it’s well written & most of the performers do their thing

Score: 3.5/5

Justin Timberlake – “Man of the Woods” review

With his 37th birthday passing this Wednesday, former *NSYNC member Justin Timberlake is celebrating with his 5th full-length album. The opener “Filthy” is a sex tune over a messy, techno-pop instrumental from Timbaland & Danja. The next song “Midnight Summer Jam” gets celebratory over a funky instrumental from The Neptunes (who produced a bulk of the album surprisingly) with an acoustic guitar & some fiddles.

The track “Sauce” gets playful over a funk rock instrumental from Timbo & Danja while the title track is a dedication to his wife Jessica Biel over a Neptunes best with some rubbery bass along with a twangy guitar at the beginning that later progresses into something more funky. The song “Higher, Higher” talks about Jessica yet again over a guitar & the keyboards on here are vintage Neptunes. The track “Wave” sees JT basically telling Jessica to come away to an island with him over some acoustic guitars while the song “Supplies” talks about how they’ll be living like The Walking Dead over a sitar.

The track “Morning Light” is a duet with Alicia Keys about how they wanna spend 1 more night with each other over a smooth yet funky instrumental while the song “Say Something” is a decent country-rock duet with Chris Stapleton about being caught up in the music. After the “Hers” interlude, we then go into the next song “Flannel. However, it’s pretty much JT impersonating what sounds like if R. Kelly made a country ballad. The track “Montana” gets romantical over a vintage Neptunes beat with an acoustic guitar & the song “Breeze Off the Pond” uses nature similes over an instrumental that kinda reminds me of Pharrell’s last solo album G I R L.

The track “Livin’ Off the Land” talks about being a man doing his best over some predominant bass & twangy guitars. The strings near the end are nice touch as well. The penultimate track “The Hard Stuff” pretty much tells Jessica how much he loves her over a laidback country instrumental while the closer “Young Man” pays tribute to JT’s son Silas over a Timbo instrumental with mostly guitars & organs.

While it’s not even close to a Justified sequel or anything like that, I think this is big improvement over the 2nd disc of Justin’s last album The 20/20 Experience. The lyrics are mostly endearing & the production is funky as ever, but I should point out the fact that Justin incorporates more country elements on here & it actually works out pretty well given that he’s from Memphis. Sure it isn’t reinventing the wheel, but I really love hearing JT’s maturity on here

Score: 3.5/5

Dr. Syntax – “Let’s Talk” review

This is the 7th studio LP from Banbury, North Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom emcee Dr. Syntax notable for co-fronting The Mouse Outfit. Making his solo debut in 2003 with Self Taught, he would go on top follow it up with 4 more full-lengths along with a mixtape & 3 extended plays. Personal favorites include the Pitch 92-produced Evidence as well as Killer Combo! & Elaborate Anoraks. The latter of 2 where both solely produced by Pete Cannon, who’s looking to go for a 3-peat with Let’s Talk.

“Nuggets” sets up shop with a boom bap intro explaining that he gets a kick outta what Pete can do behind the boards whereas “Pearls of Wisdom” throws it back to the days of the early 90s hip hop instrumentally spitting wise lyricism. “Baby Talk” explains that people will always have an animal instinct of sorts inside them no matter how older we get leading into “Lose My Shirt” treads the jazzy boom bap waters talking about trying to stay levelheaded.

Gardna pops out for “Sock It to ‘Em” combining a horn & some hi-hats encouraging people to find out why they need to be penalized just before “Limitless” embraces a summery sound stating the ridiculousness of people considering his music to lack any ambition. “Growing Pains” returns to the boom bap tackling the concept of aging until the title track properly reaches the midway point of Let’s Talk explaining that our lives could become much simpler if we all set ourselves free.

“My Living” featuring Illaman marks the final & strongest guest appearance of the 2 talking about how neither of them can slow down at this point while “Lies Upon Lies” dustily observes the difficulty of making sense of what you know when it’s all being spoonfed to you. “One of the Illest” spends a few minutes confidently talking about ranking amongst the greats over intense drumming while “Ice Cold” jazzily admitting to be at this age in his lifetime.

As for “Part of the Journey”, we get more jazz influences from the saxophones to the pianos getting in his grown man bag lyrically while “Come Around” gets optimistic when things aren’t necessarily going the way he hopes. “Love Thing” distinctly breaks down all the different types of love over a sample-woven boom bap instrumental but after the “Toxic Love” skit, “Just 1 More” spends the remaining 103 seconds of Let’s Talk talking about being the only one to call shots.

Killer Combo! to me was when Dr. Syntax began to deliver his strongest material individually which Evidence & Elaborate Anoraks further cemented, so I didn’t have any concerns regarding Let’s Talk although I’d think most who were divided towards The Tonic in 2016 will likely enjoy the successor more. Pete Cannon diversifying his production feels refreshing compared to the last couple albums, making more room for Syntax to lay out sharp bars.

Score: 4/5

Mike Shinoda – “Post Traumatic” review

Mike Shinoda is a rapper from Agoura Hills, California best known for his work with LINKIN PARK. He put out a solo album called The Rising Tied under the name Fort Minor back in Late 2005, but the first project of his to be officially credited to his birth name comes in the form of a 3-track EP. The EP starts off with “Place to Start”, where he vents about being tired of fear & hopelessness over a settle instrumental. The next song “Over Again” sees Mike on the verge of tears paying tribute to his longtime LINKIN PARK co-vocalist Chester Bennington, who committed suicide in Late July of last year, over an electronic-esque instrumental. The closer “Watching As I Fall” talks about how distraught he is of Chester’s suicide over a dubstep-ish instrumental with some guitars thrown in. Going into this, I got EXACTLY what I was expecting. The production’s a lot darker than LINKIN PARK’s latest album 1 More Light (which I still consider to be the band’s worst album by the way) & it fits perfectly with Mike’s passionate delivered eulogy to Chester

Score: 4/5

Migos – “C U L T U R E II” review

26187085_1352473704856493_8975040446594023424_n

Atlanta, Georgia trap trio Migos celebrates the 1 year anniversary of their sophomore album C U L T U R E a day early by putting out the long-awaited sequel. The album starts off pretty well with “Higher We Go”, which sees the trio talking about their staying power over a wavy trap beat from Metro Boomin’. The next song The next song “Supastars” talks about their lives now over a futuristic trap beat from Honorable C.N.O.T.E. & while the track “Narcos” does reflect on their drug dealing days, the production is so mediocre. The song “B.B.O. (Bad Bitches Only)” pretty much speaks for itself & the jazzy horns on here were a pretty nice touch.

The track “Auto Pilot (Huncho on the Beat)” brags about the lavish life over a video gamey trap beat from the trio’s standout member Quavo & while the song “Walk It Talk It” with Drake sends a message to all of their haters, the hook is super lazy. The track “Emoji a Chain” talks about being all decked out over a decent Metro Boomin’ beat & while the song “CC” with Gucci Mane is a futuristic sex tune, it deadass sounds like an unreleased Travi$ Scott song down to Quavo’s auto-tuned delivery. The song “Stir Fry” touch down on about their success over an infectious funk/trap fused instrumental from Pharrell & despite “Too Much Jewelry” having a nice verse from Takeoff & the Zaytoven production is pretty atmospheric, it’s not structured all that well. We should’ve gotten verses from Offset & Quavo right after because when Takeoff’s sole verse ends, we’re then lead into the hook alongside a robotic bridge from Quavo that’s hilariously bad & then a short interlude before going back to the hook to end the track.

The song “Gang Gang” is an ode to themselves with a settle trap beat from Murda Beatz while the track “White Sand” with Big Sean & Ty$ talks about the celebrity life over a mediocre video gamey beat from Wheezy. The song “Crown the Kings” talks about how they’re living the dream, but the only distinct characteristics about the instrumental is the faint “ Get Up, Stand Up” sample that’s buried in the mix along with piano that comes in around the second half. The track “Flooded” sounds like a murkier, better structured version of “Too Much Jewelry” & the song “Beast” is pretty much a better version of “CC”.

The Cardo produced “Open It Up” is a sinister-sounding banger about their drug dealing past & despite “Motor Sport” being a pretty decent tune to cruise around to from all 3 members’ flows to the laidback beat from Murda Beatz & Cubeatz, the guest verses from Cardi B & Nicki Minaj ruin it for me. The track “Movin’ Too Fast” talks about their drug dealing lives over a gloomy Quavo instrumental isn’t too bad & the song “Work Hard” talks about their work ethics over a moody beat.

The track “Notice Me” talks about their new lives yet again over a laidback beat & the song “Too Playa” with 2 Chainz is a boastful look into the celebrity lifestyle over a somewhat jazzy trap beat. The song “Made Men” talks about their success over a mellow instrumental & the penultimate track “Top Down on da NAWF” reflects on their younger days in Northside Atlanta over an atmospheric beat. The album then closes with “Culture National Anthem”, which surprisingly gets conscious over a piano-trap beat.

To be quite honest, I’m pretty disappointed in this. There are definitely highlights on here but the final product here is so bloated, that the album becomes an inconsistent listen from start to finish. It’s definitely more listenable than the new Chris Brown album Heartbreak on a Full Moon or even the Control the Streets compilation that Quality Control Music (to which Migos are signed to) dropped last month but if they kept 12 tracks for the album & saved the other 12 in the vault, then I’d enjoy it a lot more than what we really got

Score: 2/5

Evidence – “Weather or Not” review

A little over 4 years since his magnum opus Cats & Dogs, Dilated Peoples member Evidence finally delivering his 3rd full-length solo album & his 2nd with Rhymesayers Entertainment. The album starts off with “The Factory”, where he tells you that you’re rocking with the west over an eerie boom bap beat. The next song “Throw It All Away” gets inspirational over a somber beat from The Alchemist while the track “Powder Cocaine” sees him & Slug talking about internal conflict over a mellow vocal sample. The song “Jim Dean” vents about a slew of things to the listener over a boom bap beat from Nottz while the title track brags about his rapping prowess over a DJ Babu instrumental with some strings & explosive drums.

After the “Moving Too Fast” interlude, we then go into the next track “Runners”. Here, Ev & Defari go back & forth in battle rap mode over an explosive beat with a nice soul sample. The song “Bad Publicity” is another humble brag with some semi-dinky keys & hard hitting drums while the track “Rain Drops” gets insightful over a meditative instrumental. The song “Sell Me This Pen” sees the Step Brothers & Mach-Hommy talking about their talents over an eerie beat while the track “Love’s a Funny Thing” is Ev linking up with Rapsody & Styles P to talk about love over a boom bap beat with twinkling piano keys .

The song “10,000 Hours” touches down on his come up in the game over a gritty beat from none other than DJ Premier while the track “What I Need” gets reflective yet ambitious along with wanting to be remembered over a laidback beat. The song “To Make a Long Story Longer” continues talking his about his come-up over an explosive boom bap beat & the Jonwayne verse was just as much of an intriguing story. The penultimate track “Wonderful World” sees Ev & Rakaa getting on the motivational tip over an organ-laced boom bap beat & then the closer “By My Side Too” is an endearing soulful ode to his son & his breast cancer surviving wife.

So with the first month of 2018 drawing to close, Evidence does it justice by providing a serious contender for Best Album of the Year. It stays just as consistent as the predecessor throughout it’s 56 minute runtime, the production is organic of course & Evidence staying as equally focused along with pouring his heart out on just about every single track

Score: 4/5