Jan 10, 2018 new album coming up tomorrow. what dusty s--- is he gonna pull out of the itunes library this time? stay tuned.
Jan 10, 2018 I'll do a small double review for both albums posted itt: Things Fall Apart - I still think this is the band's magnum opus and the beginning of their more abstract and risky follow-ups. It flows perfectly from start to finish and feels like a fully realized album as far as it's concept by the time you reach You Got Me. It's one of the times where Black Thought isn't so much the star of this album but really it's narrator as the themes of restlessness and awareness, the standard fruit-bearers of Soulquarian-era music, unravel with each song. It also marked the debut of a young Beanie Sigel which besides the track with Common, were my favorites of this classic; 9/10 Maxo 187 - Talk about menacing, this tape was one of the most compelling takes of grim street life in recent times. The production has it's Houston roots but feels distinctly modern, nonetheless it's really Maxo's show as that distinctive Texan drawl and sharp flow take you through 15 tracks of ghastly g--- activity and survival. It did sound like Maxo however was still figuring out what artist exactly he was trying to be, it's sound sorta takes the ASAP Mob direction rather than being distinct like Maxo wanted it. Thirteen & Cell Boomin were my favorites of this; 7.5/10
Jan 11, 2018 see this is what im talking about. i've heard this and a few other songs, he's talented af. whats the best project to start with?
Jan 11, 2018 couldn't agree more with these, Things Fall Apart is definitley The Roots at their peak. I'm glad you enjoyed Maxo 187, he's actually dropping his debut tomorrow and I'm hoping he can come into his own sound, guess we'll see. Speaking of Beanie Siegel, thats another one I've nver really heard much of. Any recommendations of full projects?
Jan 11, 2018 I figured since we have one album from the 90's and one from the 10's we need a 00's album to things out. Jay-Z's The Blueprint was the first rap album I ever owned (along with Stillmatic). Even though the sequel, 2002's The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse is generally considered a letdown by fans and critics, I still bumped the living s--- out of it when and came out and still return to it occasionally. Like almost all double albums, condensing it down into a single disc makes would have made it a much better listen. He actually landed up doing just that when he released Blueprint 2.1 a little while later but that version is missing a few standouts. This album is loaded with guest features and most of them are on point. It also features (if I'm not mistaken) the first rapping collab between Hov and Kanye on The Bounce. Honestly, overall I feel this project is unfairly hated on. Perhaps not Jay's best but it does provide an interesting glimpse into a time when he ruled the game with an iron fist. Thoughts? Spoiler: best songs Pretty much this entire album besides these 2 songs have been removed from youtube. definitely not the best songs, those in my opinion would go to: The Watcher II ft. Dr. Dre, Rakim Meet the Parents Diamond Is Forever A Dream ft. The Notorious BIG & Faith Evans if you havent already, check 'em out. Spoiler: mention list @Big Dangerous @Fire Squad @Buddha @Ordinary Joel @Mraczewsky @Rick James @Bourbon Ben
Jan 11, 2018 @SHUDEYE we got another one homie to start though i usually reccomend people look up loosies off youtube. look up stuff like; fresh air/get used to me/i dont know if you know/never change. @SHUDEYE probs has a better idea for new listeners what album to start on. ill mention you in the kerser thread we got sav, cause theres a couple songs already posted in there
Jan 11, 2018 Blueprint 2, my least favorite Jay Z album. Highs are incredibly high (watcher 2) but has so so many fillers and boring moments it's ridiculous. I'm the type of person who listens to full album's only, I don't like playlists, but I had to make one for this album. It has like 10 songs if I'm not mistaken, I'd have to look it up. I don't know the reasoning behind putting out double disc,maybe he wanted to be like BIG? I don't know, but Biggie certainly could do it, It didn't work with Jay z imo. But it is a proof how goat he was, blueprint 2 has many extra strong songs, he just wanted to do too much on 1 album. Could be top3 of his career easily Tldr: way too long
Jan 11, 2018 yeah it is full of filler. But you can make a really good ± 12 song album out of the good material. worse than Kingdom Come and MCHG though?
Jan 11, 2018 He did it pretty much because he felt obligated to. Most of the rappers held in the highest regard (Pac, Big, Wu-Tang) had put out double albums and he felt like he also had to drop one to be on that level. He’s acknowledged on a few occasions that he recorded a bunch of filler tracks purely to pad the album out to two discs.
Jan 11, 2018 Oh yeah, never heard kingdom come, I don't want to tbh. I liked mchg, not his best but enjoyable, Im barely coming back to blueprint 2
Jan 11, 2018 I haven't listened to BP2 in full since probably high school! I'll come back to post my blurb but to go back to this I'd say listen to his first 3 Rocafella albums in chronological; The Truth is a solid debut that showcases his strengths as a storytelling genius and then The Reason was basically The Blueprint's prototype (heavily submerged in Just Blaze & Kanye West soul sampling) and finally the cream of the crop is The B. Coming which is a full realization of all his capabilities as a rapper along with a diverse soundplate to keep you entertained. His stuff on the State Property compilations are also stellar to check out after.
Jan 11, 2018 I'm one of the very few people who actually likes a good chunk of Kingdom Come. I like probably half of it. For the songs I like, I thoroughly enjoy most of them, but there are a few songs I absolutely love. But the songs I don't like are f---ing TERRIBLE. Actually, I know no one cares, but f--- it, here are the songs I like. The asterisks indicate songs I love a lot. The Prelude Oh My God Kingdom Come* Lost One* Do U Wanna Ride 30 Something* Trouble* Minority Report
Jan 11, 2018 I'd say No Rest For The Sickest is a good one to start. It's his second album and arguably his best, or the last two. Engraved In The Game and Tradition.
Jan 12, 2018 officially making these my next listen. beyond time i jumped on the Beanie train. I'm with you on this. obviously its no Blueprint or Black album but its not as awful as its made out to be. i remember the first time hitting play on Oh My God and thinking 'this is what everyones pissed about?' also Minority Report is incredible. thanks man im gonna check this out
Jan 18, 2018 Double throwback this week. After Jay Rock dropped his new single featuring Kendrick and Hendrix off the Black Panther soundtrack/his new upcoming solo album, I found myself listening to his past 2 projects - his debut album Follow Me Home and its' follow-up 90059. If I'm not mistaken, Follow Me Home was the first TDE project I ever heard - I remember hearing Rock on the 2011 XXL freshmen mixtape and being impressed. It was a pretty solid debut, with a handful of really good songs but probably could have been better. 4 years later after Kendrick and TDE exploded (and that renegade on Money Trees), the hype for 90059 was through the roof. The album starts off very strongly but kinda falters towards the end, not really going anywhere. Again, its a decent project but one cant help but feel he's capable of more. Is Rock the last TDE signee without a classic to his name? Will his next album be the one? Even though he's never made a project as good as Control System or Cilvia Demo, I still think he might be the most talented TDE member, after Kendrick. Or maybe he's doomed to just a features rapper. Thoughts? Spoiler: Best songs Spoiler: Best songs Spoiler: Mention List @Big Dangerous @Ordinary Joel @Fire Squad @Buddha @Rick James @Bourbon Ben @Mraczewsky
Jan 18, 2018 Jay Rock fails to keep me interested throughout the whole project. But I've never heard 90059, got to catch up. I'm pretty sure his next album is going to be a classic, he was awesome on Kings dead
Feb 2, 2018 Im necromancing this thread from the dead. Missed last week and yesterday but we back with another throwback. This week is 50 Cent's, widely panned 3rd album, Curtis, which dropped in 2007. To be honest, I really believe this album is unfairly hated on. Sure, it's no GRODT. The Massacre, although too long, is still much better. Also Graduation is better, of course and rightly deserved to win the sales battle. But barring all the comparisons, this album finds 50 in a transitional period - trying his utmost to ride the wave that his debut created just 4 years prior but somehow not managing to cling on. The first handful of songs on this album seem to indicate that we're in for something interesting. There's the brash, aggressive gunplay (My Gun Go Off), there are 2 massive club bangers right up front (I Get Money and Ayo Technology, Straight to the Bank was also a minor hit if i remember right), there's relentless stabs at his enemies (Fully Loaded Clip). Once you get to the middle, the album begins to flounder around, not really going anywhere, but Curtis really dies in its' last act (except for the brilliant Curtis 187), which, to put it bluntly is just plain bad (Peep Show, Fire). It may just be nostalgia (I bumped the s--- out of this when it dropped), but I think there's some good and interesting music to be found on here. Thoughts? Spoiler: Best songs Spoiler: Mention List @Big Dangerous @Ordinary Joel @Fire Squad @Buddha @Rick James @Bourbon Ben @Mraczewsky
Feb 2, 2018 By the way, I've been getting into Beanie (and the entire early 00's Roc discography) a lot recently, The Truth might be my favorite of his so far, but B. Coming is definitley up there also. Surprised at how good Freeway's first 2 albums were as well