lil kim - lil kim season

mortal kombat font?

i'll be honest with y'all, i've never listened to a lil kim project in full before now. i barely even know lil kim songs and i definitely don't know any verse of hers in full. i probably should rectify that, but i probably won't.

i did listen to this tape and found myself enjoying it. from what i've heard about her recently, she sort of "fell off" and is trying to get back on? if this is true, i'd say she's on the right path for sure. if it's not, then we as listeners don't have much to worry about. she's got a commanding flow and nice lines here and there. her "beemix" choices are good ones, each one sounds like she could've been the original artist outside of the panda one, i think i'm just too used to desiigner on it.

all in all, it's a mixtape in the right direction. quick listen, keeps me interested. not a whole lot of replay value for me, but a lil kim fan would enjoy it.

top tracks: fountain bleu, summer sixteen (beemix), i'm dat bitch

score: 55

future - evol

desiigner should call his album love

i'm going to be blunt this time around. this will be my fourth future review since i started doing these and quite frankly, that's two too many. being prolific is great in some instances and bad in others. on the one hand, this album is full of great beats and future does his job over them in future fashion. on the other, this album is full of great beats and future just does his job over them in future fashion.

what i'm saying here is "did we really need this project?" most of you all will say "of course, are you stupid?", in which i'd respond with a sound "no". i'm glad we have evol, maybach is a great song. however, i'm still playing march madness whenever i need an automatic turn up. where ya at still gets major hype when i'm out at the bar. hell, even move that dope is more relevant than half the tracks on here.

we got a lot of future doing future and that's great. but we also got a lot of tracks that aren't really pushing any new ground. i'm getting bored.

top tracks: maybach, seven rings, lie to me

score: 58

kendrick lamar - untitled unmastered.

pimp pimp

i've seen people discuss these tracks as throwaways and i don't agree with that. to me, throwaways implies that these weren't meant for general consumption, but it's obvious that they are. i've seen people say that these are b-sides and i think that's pretty much it (kendrick's said that they are himself) but still slightly off. basically what i'm saying is that i don't think that the songs are directly connected to to pimp a butterfly's narrative, but are other songs existing in its environment. people were saying that they could easily trade in tracks from this project and put them on the album and that's ridiculous simply due to how the poem/spoken word piece is; it would have to be re-written for it to work. (now, these people may be thinking the same thing as me but not elaborating on their ideas but who knows.)

but on to the actual music of this collection of songs: we're getting straight artistry. there's more jazz and hip hop fusion, more catchphrases, more flows. the features he brings in are in sync with his mood, cee-lo being the standout one for me. i love how a simple chant of pimp pimp, hooray can unite otherwise distant tracks.

even in it's unmastered form, it's still more quality than most rappers' finished products. kendrick makes me excited when he speaks.

best tracks: 5, 6, 7, 8

score: 91

kanye west - the life of pablo

i could spend ages explaining to you why this album is important and how long it took to bring this thing to light, but that wouldn't be my style. i think everyone's speculated and gossiped enough about this thing, so let me come to you as real as i know how.

what we get on this album is kanye west. introspective, soul samples, punchlines, sex, industrial moods, danceable beats, uplifting passages, brooding lows, real talk, boastful talk, family talk. all of it is unadulterated kanye west. but as a listener, you are most definitely not kanye west. so how do you parse all of this? so far, i honestly am not sure. i'm sure this conclusion isn't what you expected.

i've listened to this album in its various states about 5 times now, and every time i feel something new with the progression of the story of pablo's life, so to speak. sometimes i feel like this album is immensely chaotic and doesn't even know where it's going. other times i look at the tracklist and see the focus; i can understand the ebbs and flows. it's a very spiritual journey that i believe "ends" after wolves, but the 4 tracks after the intermission are very important side quests.

i don't really get it yet, but i like it a lot.

best tracks: ultralight beam, highlights, 30 hours, fade, feedback, no more parties in la, i love kanye

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update: with this 1.2 patched version of the album, i've gotta say, he improved on so much. i'm in agreement with every change except for the ad-lib outro on 30 hours. i have no idea why it now falls off the beat. i'm not going to change the score or anything, but man is this album enriching. it's hilarious how i totally didn't care about father stretch my hands on my first few listens/in my first review. my credibility is trash.

i get it now and i still like it a lot.

also best tracks: father stretch my hands pt. 1, pt. 2, famous

score: 94

anderson .paak - malibu

going into this album, i didn't know what to expect. i knew .paak by way of tokimonsta first; he captivated me with his feature on her song realla. however, even though i fully enjoy that song, i never sought out any of his own music. that was back in 2014, but fast forward to late 2015 and his name emerges again as a primary contributor to dr. dre's comback album compton. every song he featured on was one of the highlights of the project and i'd go as far to say that without him, the album would be awfully bland. continue forward to the present day and malibu keeps the energy he brought forth with dre and mixes it with textures that would fit well on kendrick lamar's to pimp a butterfly as well as flying lotus' you're dead! albums.

.paak is great at switching up his flows, the most obvious being his ability to sing and rap well. his vocabulary is also something to be noted, i really enjoyed how he said things even if i wasn't feeling the subject matter with the same passion. it's a very mellow vibed project, a bit too long though. when you look at each individual song, there's really nothing wrong with any of them, but as a whole, some of it runs together. nevertheless, this is a strong mainstream debut and i do hope to hear more from him in the future.

favorite tracks: am i wrong, parking lot, room in here, light weight

score: 81

future - purple reign

to be perfectly honest, i don't know if i needed another future project so quickly after his last, i still feel like i don't fully appreciate ds2 for what it is, even though i really enjoy many of the tracks on it. and with that in mind seeing "executive produced by dj esco and metro boomin" on the cover art, i'm left with a feeling of joy and uncertainty. prior to listening, i was certain that i was going to hear some beats that would knock. i was also mildly upset that this would turn out to be a re-hash of territory already dominated.

purple reign is more of the same, there's no ifs, ands or buts about it. depending on the mood, i'm entirely okay with this. he puts on a couple new flows and feelings here and there; perkys calling brings out some turmoil that climaxes on the title track and he even does a great fetty wap impression on the hook for drippin (how u luv dat). these things are different but they're not really pushing any new boundaries; inside the mattress feels like a march madness clone. despite that, it's one of the best tracks here.

on the other hand, esco and boomin, they got it on smash, so why change what isn't really broken?

score: 71

fetty wap - fetty wap

fetty wap's debut is entirely charismatic and sincere. he's not beating around the bush, he straight up talks about what he knows and what he likes, even if that scope is limited. the redeeming factor is his tonality and the texture of his music. switching between crooning and rapping overlaid over constant faint ad libbing provides a squad-like atmosphere even when he's doing the track alone. this helps create an energy that is nothing but driving, you really don't get a chance to relax because there's another voice when the main one stops. combine this with very infectious production and you get great songs - trap queen, 679, my way, etc. why change it up? he knows this works well, the three songs i mention here being singles prior to the album's release. and that's why you get an album entirely of bangers (a couple slower ones here and there) because it just works.

the shortcomings are clear; the aforementioned similarities from track to track, the sometimes garbled lyrics, the lyrical repetition. but they're only really bad if you let them be bad. if it all sounds like one track, you can think of it as such, but it's one hell of a track. if the lyrics become garbled, fall victim to how they sound (i learned this from future). if you're looking for lyrical prowess, turn of the album, grab your jansport and leave because we don't want you around when we play this. 

i say "we" because this album is all about the group, the squad, the gang. 1738 references  litter the album along with monty features. this album is for the boys (and girls). let's all hit the bando.

top 3 + bottom none: trap queen, 679, again

score: 86

drake and future - what a time to be alive

you can tell a lot about a person through their nicknames sometimes. drake's frequently referred to himself as the 6 God, and the name has stuck. it's a very literal name, implying that he is the highest being of toronto and its surrounding area. future has got a few names outside of his obvious stage name as well, one being the appendage of hendrix to his name. no doubt a reference to jimi hendrix, one of the guitar gods (there's that word again) of yesteryear, a man known for pushing the boundaries of music. two titans in their own right, decided to belittle their competition by joining forces, but too much of a good thing isn't always what we need.

what a time to be alive is nothing but truth, and by that i mean that it is a great thing that two hip hop artists of such caliber can link up so easily and make music that would be desired by fans of both artists. what a time to be alive where a joint project between these artists can be outshined by both of their previous efforts in the year — and no one even cares.

this tape is solid, you really can't say otherwise. however, it's obviously what no one really expected. the chemistry is there but it really hasn't propagated yet. the effort to jive on an artist level is about as thought out as the stock photo that covers the album. still, the songs are infectious, big rings' enormously stupid hook really does get hooked in my mind, the 6/8 timing on plastic bag is phenomenal, and really, i'm the plug. i am. me. i'm the plug.

top 3 + bottom one: plastic bag, i'm the plug, diamonds dancing, jersey

score: 74

five for five: vol. 3

death grips - fashion week

1. surprisingly catchy, no mc ride still works
2. some beats are replay worthy, others not at all
3. the erratic behavior and mysterious atmosphere still reigns supreme
4. i would love to hear mc ride over these beats
5. it's a nice respite in their discography

score: 64

dr. dre - compton

1. overblown, larger than life sound but it's not really that hype
2. anderson .paak is the best thing about this album, kendrick being a close second
3. dr. dress crisp production is still impressive, but needs better verses on it
4. i really don't need to listen to this project in full ever again
5. i might not even listen to most of these songs again

score: 62

future - 56 nights

1. MARCH MADNESS
2. very concise tape, this is most appreciated
3. production is nice, future is locked in
4. never cared about future before this tape at all
5. still think he's overhyped, but he is very interesting

score: 66

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future - ds2

1. the deluxe version tracks should replace the mid section of this album
2. once again, production is crucial to future's success
3. i could've embraced more features with an album this long, drake was welcomed
4. lot of good bumpin tracks, wasn't feeling most of the slow songs
5. it's surprising how replayable these songs are

score: 81

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b.o.b - psycadelik thoughtz

1. pretentious name for a pretentious project, it's not that deep fam
2. plain jane has got to be the worst rap song i've heard in a minute
3. some decent tracks/ideas interspersed here and there
4. very boring psych rock blends though
5. glad he pushed back towards his older sound, but this is still a miss

score: 42

meek mill - dreams are worth more than money

i did a guest feature for dirtyjointz, a blog ran by my homies chance and fred.
if you want to see how i felt about this album, check it out by clicking below.
be sure to give them a follow as well.