Nov 2, 2024 Ludacris - Theater of the Mind review Theater of the Mind is not a bad album, but there are a few too many uninteresting cuts here. Ludacris is a good rapper, which ends up being his main asset as the most part of his material is quite average, and the general style of this album is too limited to stay interesting for long, to the point where it is quite difficult to listen to Theater of the Mind all the way through. The album has a slick but enjoyable production to it that is done well, but at times it did feel like he was playing it safe. Safe to say that this album can feel and sound a bit like a relic because of the way mid 2000s hiphop has been aging. Due to this, some of the bars and sonical choices on this album sound a bit cheesy; they teleport you back to 2008, a weird transitional period for hiphop when the genre’s mainstream was torn between huge artists making generic popsongs and their counterparts spitting about g--- life and somehow having the songs come out with the sonical signatures of an intro track in a random Dan Schneider-created kids’ show. The good and bad tracks are spread throughout the album fairly evenly, and tracks like "Undisputed", "Call Up the Homies", "Everybody Hates Chris", and "MVP" make up for duller efforts like "Wish You Would", "Southern Gangsta", "What Them Girls Like", "Contagious" and "Last of a Dying Breed". The album doesn't work as a flowing full-length, but is fun enough in short bursts. None of the guest spots besides Wayne make any real impression, I love Jay Z but he got me pissed with his part of I Do It For Hip Hop Lyrically, Ludacris seems to be at odds with himself, alternating between bragging about how rich and successful he is ("Everybody Hates Chris"), and assuring the audience that he's "real" and doing this for the love of hip-hop ("I Do It for Hip-Hop) rather than for the love of money. Along with these themes comes the typical sex/love raps ("Nasty Girls") and gangsta storytelling ("Call Up the Homies"). Overall, this is an above-average album with some good and some bad tracks to be found. Theater of the Mind, I'm guessing, will be definitely worth the time of Ludacris fans, and other people might get a kick out of it as well 6/10 @AOTWClub @Justin Trudeau
Nov 3, 2024 @AOTWClub @Justin Trudeau Not gonna talk too much about this one, I got hit at the right mood for this Luda album so I'm gonna be more positive about it than others. I didn't get a chance to listen to this until the last couple days which was the exact time I was wanting some slightly corny albeit entertaining 2000s music, when I first saw I tracklist I thought the celebrity appearances were going to be much more gimmicky so I walked into the album expecting to hate it but that wasn't the case. Ludas rapping was fun even if it's a bit ridiculous, most the features did what they had to (i was disappointed in Wayne tho, he sounded unwell genuinely lol, Jay also didn't do great imo) I see the complaints for the slower songs, and for the ones that are more serious I wholeheartedly agree with the criticism but the songs like "One More Drink" and "Let's Stay Together are so stupid that it wraps back around to being charming for me. Favorite songs: Undisputed, Wish You Would, MVP RATING: 6.5/10
Nov 3, 2024 Had dozens of different albums and genres in mind but I went with my guts and am picking a record that I’ve been enjoying for almost a decade. My pick for this week is: Action Bronson & The Alchemist - Rare Chandeliers I don’t really listen to Action Bronson at all, besides this project that is. It is his 2012 collaborative effort with Alchemist, a producer who needs no introduction whatsoever. In my opinion, Bronson and Alchemist really did capture something on this record. With its 40 minute runtime, Rare Chandeliers sees Alchemist laying down one insane instrumental after another, while Bronson slides on these underground NYC beats with his charismatic and humorous rapping style. Hopefully it will not be a problem that the album is NOT available on any major streaming services, so datpiff or youtube will have to suffice. I attach the youtube link below. Hope y’all enjoy this one! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsX-xBXzu8gsh_CsHX07gPEL0Xdglejbf&si=W4dUb4-NHm2PlgVT
Nov 3, 2024 Super Hyped for this pick. I do wanna mention that Datpiff has been down for a few months (or at least it was, most of their stuff got added to the internet archive and they’re having their own sets of problems) but there’s still some good alternatives. MixtapeMonkey had it i’m pretty sure
Nov 3, 2024 Sad to hear, datpiff gave all of us so much good music throughout the years. torrenting or soulseek are always options too, though.
Nov 3, 2024 @AOTWClub @stepdad enjoyer has Chosen Action Bronson- Rare Chandeliers Album is not on streaming so here is the link https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsX-xBXzu8gsh_CsHX07gPEL0Xdglejbf&si=W4dUb4-NHm2PlgVT Ripperroo:6/10 Yeez: 7/10 Justin Trudeau: 6.5 Jankland: 7/10 DiggleDogg69: 8.5/10 Wreckless: 6.5/10 41.5/60 = 6.9 will tally up Ludacris on Wednesday
Nov 3, 2024 Okay either I'm losing it or did a mod edit the main page and put @stepdad enjoyer's album up? Cause I sure didn't @Michael Myers ? Lol
Nov 4, 2024 He edited my Snoop thread, so it wouldn't be surprising if he took the liberty to edit your content too.
Nov 4, 2024 Ludacris - theatre of mind. @Justin Trudeau Fun project. Definitely adding a few songs to my playlist ludas rapping is solid. He has a great flow but there weren't many stand out lyrics. Was fun seeing T.I and 2 chains on here. It was more like a collection of songs than a proper cohesive album though. The production was its biggest weakness. The late 2000s was the worst era for hip hop beats for me personally. 5 / 10
Nov 4, 2024 Can't do their music because it peaks right here, there would be no point of AOTWClub anymore
Nov 6, 2024 Action Bronson - Rare Chandeliers Tracks that stuck out the most to me: Blood of the Goat, Gateway To Wizardry, Eggs On The Third Floor, Demolition Man, The Symbol OVERALL RATING: 6/10 Alchemist went off on this project, the beats really carry it for me. Action Bronson is entertaining enough to not completely fade into the background, but he just doesn’t do much for me personally. He has some memorable lines though. There are some standout features like Schoolboy Q, and the back and forths on “Blood of the Goat” were interesting. I don’t have much to say about this tbh. I don’t see myself listening to this again, but it’s an above average project. @AOTWClub
Nov 6, 2024 My Luda review will be in later on tonight, if it is after the scores are tallied I apologize in advance.
Nov 6, 2024 Theater Of The Mind - Ludacris QUICK REVIEW Score: 6.5 Review: Quick review because it is Wednesday night (again). Entertaining listen, but it went back and forth in quality a lot. Some cool songs, but the slow songs were meh. One More Drink and Nasty Girl were dope though. I trust when y'all say that Luda has better albums. Thanks for the pick @Michael Myers ! @AOTWClub @Justin Trudeau My Rankings: Low - 9.0 Sling - 9.0 Cilvia Demo - 8.5 House Of Balloons - 8.5 Melodrama - 8.5 Orpheus vs. the Sirens - 8.5 Seventh Son of a Seventh Son - 8.5 The Death Of Slim Shady - 8.5 Laugh Now, Cry Later - 8.0 Miles - 8.0 When the Smoke Clears: Sixty 6, Sixty 1 - 8.0 All My Heroes Are Cornballs - 7.5 Americana - 7.5 Indestructible - 7.5 Big Conspiracy - 7.0 Kings Of Crunk - 6.5 MID AIR - 6.5 POST HUMAN: SURVIVAL HORROR - 6.5 Theater Of The Mind - 6.5 EAT ME, DRINK ME - 6.0 LIFTED or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground - 5.5 When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That s--- Gold - 5.0 DiggleDogg's Rating Average: 7.5
Nov 7, 2024 @AOTWClub will post Ludacris review today Had a f---ing s--- day at work yesterday and forgot to tally!
Nov 7, 2024 @AOTWClub Ludacris- Theater of the Mind has scored a 5.7 Somehow tied for last with that god awful Jpegmafia album lol Get your reviews in for Action Bronson (link attached to the YouTube version) for this week
