So, I think I'm about to tackle two albums at once. Long Live A$AP by A$AP Rocky, and T.I.'s Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head. I'm doing it like this basically because neither one of the albums was good or bad enough to deserve an individual review.
...I'll start off with Rocky's album.
I mean for me,
I haven't liked A$AP Rocky to begin with. It's not that he's such a horrible rapper, if you compare him to rappers like Future, Chief Keef or Trinidad Jame$. But he's honestly not that good either, especially in comparison to the rappers he's usually mentioned with like Drake, Kendrick Lamar or Danny Brown or some of the other newer generation rappers. So my opinion might seem or even be slightly slanted, but it's how I honestly feel.
I'll start by saying that if I like A$AP Rocky's music, Long Live A$AP would probably be a pretty good album. So if you're an A$AP Rocky fan this album might be something you want to check out. One thing I do like about A$AP Rocky's music is his production. He has a unique beat style and it suits him well. Personally, I like his beats more than the verses he puts over them. Rocky is not that lyrical at all. Just because of the lack of bars he really spits, or that I've heard him spit, I might consider him more of a back pack rapper along with people like Wiz Khalifa or Dom Kennedy with a hint of Kid Cudi's...umm...for lack of better word, weirdness ha. Basically, if there was an instrumental version of his album, I'd probably give it a higher rating than I would this official version of Long Live A$AP.
He did have a couple songs on the album that were iPod worthy. Goldie is one. I really didn't pay attention to that song until I kept hearing it played by friends, and actually seeing the reaction of the crowd at the Kendrick Lamar concert when it played. Another pair of songs that made it to the iPod were the title track (Long Live A$AP) and Wild for the Night ft. Skrillex. It was probably the beat, or maybe it was because he was rapping like Dom Kennedy, but Long Live A$AP caught my attention in a good way. And Wild for the Night surprised me. It was a great combination of the dubstep sound over a Hip-Hop beat. And then again, maybe I just enjoyed it more because it was after my least favorite song on the album which I'll speak on further down. PMW was pretty dope...but mainly because ScHoolboy Q was on it. However the best song on the album is 1 Train ft. Kendrick Lamar, Joey Bada$$, Yelawolf, Danny Brown, Action Bronson, and Big K.R.I.T.
Why do I feel this is the best track on the album? Well, I don't like the album because of the lack of lyrics. This song gives you lyrics and bars galore. A$AP Rocky starts it off...eh. But then Kendrick comes in and hits the reset button and takes off..hands it to Joey Bada$$ who KILLS his verse while throwing out that he might be signing to Roc Nation! (Jay-Z's label) After Joey kills it, he hands the remains to Yelawolf who puts a sleeper hold on the dead beat just to reiterate and make sure the track remains what it is....however Danny Brown..was Danny Brown. Nice verse, but basically said a whole lot of nothing..nicely though. Action Bronson...could've done without his verse. But out of no where, Big K.R.I.T. came through and Hulk "Smash"ed the song. You know how in the end of the movie The Avengers the Hulk came through and just was beasting on all those alien things...that's basically what K.R.I.T. got on the song and did. He's in that Lupe Fiasco lane when it comes to being overlooked and underrated.
But my least favorite song is F*ckin Problems ft. 2 Chainz, Drake, & Kendrick Lamar. I hate the beat. It's as simple as that. Concept is cool, verses are straight, especially Kendrick's (only reason why it has 2 stars instead of 1 in my iTunes), but the beat is trash.
So overall, I'd give Long Live A$AP 5.9/10.
Now to Struggle...oops, I mean Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head.
I'm gonna try to keep it short and sweet. I give this album a 6.5/10. Why so low? T.I.'s had better albums. I consider or considered T.I. to be one of the best rappers in the game. A King. There was a point, back around '06 and '07 when T.I. was running the rap game, hands down. His album King is awesome. And when you compare this album to albums like King or even Paper Trail, it's just not that good. It's not that the songs are horrible or that the lyrics are trash or anything like that. But the issue is that the songs, are just middle of the road. On Urban Legend he had songs like ASAP, Bring Em Out, Get Loose. Songs like You Know What it is, Raw, and We Do This were on T.I. vs T.I.P. There's a difference when a "regular" artist has middle of the road songs on their album, and when a King has middle of the road songs. Usually those average songs on a King's album are still better than most, but that's not the case. There was too much conflict in whether T.I. should be T.I. or TIP on this album. And it showed. Outside of Trap Back Jumpin, The Way We Ride, and Who Want Some, the other "TIP" songs were still watered down. Just go a listen to King, that's the TIP I want. And if TI has to make an album, listen to Paper Trails. This confused T.I. aint cuttin it...I mean for me.
