Short Live, Struggle Man

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.

Updated Top 5 Favorite

I mean 4 me....

I know it's been a minute since I've posted anything, and that it's been even longer since I gave you my top 5 favorite rappers. To get right to the point, the list has changed. Not very significantly at all thought.

#1 is still Kanye West. Jay-Z is still #2. But Lupe Fiasco is barely hanging on to his #3 spot. He might regain the grip he lost with "Lasers" once his new album "Food and Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album" drops.  And lastly, J. Cole as taken full control of the #5 spot. Yes I still like Big Sean, but J. Cole is just that much better. So basically, Lil Wayne fell off my list, and really fell off with his skill to be honest.

So my new #4, and Lupe Fiasco's competition for my #3 spot is...........................................

KENDRICK LAMAR!

I first heard about Kendrick last year (2011) from different Hip-Hop websites but didn't really pay attention to him until my lil sis Nikia mentioned him a couple of times and asked me to put his song "A.D.H.D." as her ring tone. I Youtubed a couple of songs by him and downloaded his Overly Dedicated mixtape, but I still really wasn't listening to him...I was just hearing him. I didn't begin actually listening to him until I had a conversation with a homeboy named Darius. His opinions about music and artists in previous debates and talks let me know that he knew what he was talking about. So the recommendations from him and Nikia were a big enough push for me to search for his album "Section .80". Now I had heard about his album a few times but didn't care enough to...care haha. But I found it, got it, and one night while I was in my room playin Madden I decided to play Section .80 as well as Overly Dedicated in a playlist. Honestly I was only hearing him until I actually listened to this line:

I used to want to see the penitentiary way after elementary. Thought it was cool to look the judge in his face when he sentenced me. Since my uncles were institutionalized, my intuition had said I was suited for family ties.

Like really? That was the first line of the song! And if that went over your head or isn't really enough to grasp your attention, try this line from the same song:

...I know some rappers using big words to make their similes curve; my simplest sh*t be more pivotal.

I mean c'mon! I remember when I heard that I paused the game, rewound the track and listened to it again. It was even better the next time. The song is called "Poe Mans Dreams" off Section .80

From that line, and that song on, I've been a fan. I listened to the entire album and mixtape. And because of that, I mistakenly made a false, or rather an inaccurate statement in my Blog about J. Cole's album. I said that Cole World: The Sideline Story was the second best Hip-Hop album of 2011. I found out that Section .80 came out last year as well, so I take back my previous statement and replace it by saying that Section .80 by Kendrick Lamar is the second best Hip-Hop album of 2011, very closely behind Watch The Throne.

Kendrick Lamar is a lyrical beast. I mean that's really all I can say. I honestly would put him in the same lyrical category as Eminem and Lupe. Not saying he's better or as good, but he's close.  Listen to tracks like Rigamortis,  Poe Mans Dreams, Faith, ADHD, Ignorance is Bliss, Micheal Jordan, Kendrick Lamar and especially HiiiPower. There are so many songs. I won't sit here and say that I've heard every Kendrick Lamar song. I won't claim to be his biggest fan or that I know everything about him. But I will say that he's dope! If you don't believe me check out is Section .80 album..PLEASE! For your sake! And if you like that, which you will, then go back and check his Overly Dedicated mixtape, and his Compton State of Mind mixtape, and a lot of his others as well.

He's dropping his first album under a label this fall "good kid, m.A.A.d. city". I'm going to buy it just off of reputation alone.

OHHHHH and before I go, if you listened or heard Drake's Take Care album, Kendrick has the best verse on the album, hands down. Unless you listened to the entire album version of Drake's "Marvin's Room" then you might have missed it because he wasn't listed on the album. There's a song at the end of Marvin's Room called "Buried Alive"..that epic, vivid, masterpiece of a lyrical story in a verse was all Kendrick Lamar. Yeah, exactly. That's why he's #4

Take Care

I mean, 4 me...

Ok first, let me start off by saying that the production was very predictable (outside of Look What You've Done). It was no surprise that it was slow paced and monotone...low key depressing. Yes the creativity of the production did create a lighter mood for the album than Thank Me Later, but that's not saying a lot. However, it still didn't give me enough tempo, and or emotional dynamics. Like I said, the album Cole World: the Sideline Story (http://imean4me.blogspot.com/2011/11/cole-world-sideline-story.html) gave a perfect blend of fast, slow, happy, sad production. Take Care was more "sad, sad, kind of sad, I sound happy but I'm actually sad, I sound sad but I'm really happy, then sad again" type of production.

The sad part is actually that the production accurately portrayed the subject matter. I've been saying for a long time that Drake needs a good relationship. I want him to make happier music. For me, he's who I think of to listen to if things between me and my girl aren't really vibin. I suppose it's a good thing that the production doesn't clash with what he's singing about though. And personally I don't like his singing that much. I'm not sayin' that It's bad, BUT I just get tired of hearing the same ol' thing. Plus he's not that great of a singer anyway. I mean his singin', and depressing stuff is ok sometimes, just not all or even most of the time...for me. I like Drizzy Drake or the rapping Drake better than Heartbreak Drake...unless he's trying to be a thug. He might be, but it's just hard to believe haha. He doesn't give off that type of vibe. But who knows, he might not be a killer, but don't push em..

Having said all of that, the album is good. It's not great, but it is better than his first album and it is better than the other albums that have come out this year besides Watch The Throne & Cole World: the Sideline Story. I wasn't expecting too much from the album, and what I expected was fulfilled. It's still good though. I can't say the production was the most creative I've heard. Can't say the lyrical content was the best. What I can say is that he makes songs that you can connect to. And the songs you can't really connect to personally, you just like...sometimes. Don't really know how to explain it, but his music has this appeal to it. Even though you might get tired of it, don't like his singing, or annoyed by the fake thuggery, you still find yourself listening to it. There's a certain honesty that he put's into his music. He seemingly gets extremely personal about his real life. Whether it's true or not, it comes off as real. So if he's not telling the truth, he's a good liar.

So overall, I'd give the album a 7.8/10. As of right now, my personal opinion, and from the opinion from a couple other people I know, the best song on the album is Look What You've Done. Just listen to it and then watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5F5xP6cwRg.

I will say this though... I usually don't get leaked albums unless I wasn't planning on buying the album anyway. I was on the fence about getting this album because his first one disappointed me. When I found out it leaked, I got it so I could determine if I should buy it. Unless the artist proved to me with their previous albums that I should go and buy their next one, I won't without a recommendation from someone who's musical preference is close to mine OR I preview or hear the album and feel like it'll be at least an 8...that being said, most people either loved or hated the album. If you are a Drake fan, you should definately go and BUY the album. If you don't like Drake, don't get the album. If you're one of those on the fence Drake fans where you know he's good but sometimes you just don't like his songs, then I feel like you should listen to it from one of your friends' ipods, and if you like it, go and get it. Simple as that.

PS....it's still Watch The Throne >>>>>>>>> Everything else