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.

good kid, m.A.A.d city

I mean 4 me....

       This was probably the most anticipated debut album, or actually the most anticipated Hip-Hop album this year period.  And honestly it's arguably the most waited on debut album since Nas' Illmatic...in some opinions.  So with all the excitement that has surrounded this album and all the hype or (depending who you ask) expectation encircling Kendrick Lamar's name, the pressure to create a masterful work of Hip-Hop art was seemingly unmatchable.  However...Kendrick Lamar is the truth.

    For those who still don't know who he is or believe that it's just hype, this is the same guy that just earlier this month beat out J. Cole, Kanye West, Nas AND Jay-Z for lyricist of the year. I mean really? Who does that or could do that besides Lupe Fiasco, Eminem or Andre 3000? Kendrick Lamar could and did, that's who!  If you feel that it was a fluke or that someone was cheated go listen to Section .80 which might be the most overlooked album of 2011. 

...Ok so I thought I would be able to articulate how masterfully Kendrick Lamar lyrically wrote this "good kid, m.A.A.d city" story. I can't. I can't verbally, whether it be written or orally, explain to you how incredibly vivid, cohesive, well put together and simply amazing this album is lyrically, conceptually and production-wise.  The best way to describe it is to say that it's the closest thing my generation (90s babies) will get to experiencing first hand what it was like when Nas' Illmatic dropped. Or when Jay-Z debuted with Reasonable doubt and Notorious B.I.G. took over the game with Ready To Die.  I was between the ages of 4-6 when any of those albums came out so I wasn't able to feel the buzz that what are now considered classic albums created. I wouldn't be able to talk to someone 10-15 years older than me about what it's like to go to the store and buy Illmatic, unwrap it, and put the tape or disc in the car and just listen to it all the way through. I could only say how I feel now after I've downloaded it and listened to it's greatness.  However, because of this Kendrick Lamar album, I know that feeling. I can now converse with someone about buying that "classic" album before it's officially crowned. I can say I knew, before it is known.  

I don't know what to tell you. I don't want to describe any of the songs cause I would surely understate them.  All I know to say is go out and buy the album. If you've never gone out to buy an album, this is the one to get. Trust me. Mark my words, good kid, m.A.A.d city will be a classic album. It will be mentioned with albums like The Chronic, The Blueprint, Only Built For Cubin Links, Illmatic, Radio, The Low End Theory and or Paid in Full. There's honestly nothing negative about the album outside of the Bonus Tracks..and those are Bonus Tracks so I never really hold those against an artist who had enough wisdom to set them aside as bonus tracks.

Get the album. Kendrick Lamar is Hip-Hop's future. Will you let it die?

Rating... 9/10 <---- I boldly stand by that rating.

Cole World: The Sideline Story

I mean for me...

J. Cole's debut album "Cole World: The Sideline Story" is the second best Hip-Hop album of 2011 (and there haven't been a lot of HIP-HOP albums put out lately...some urban/rap albums, but not Hip-Hop). The best album of course was Watch The Throne.

Listening to the album, you would never know that this was Cole's debut album. I don't know to explain it, but newer rappers sometimes sound bright-eyed and excited when they rap. It's like they're trying too hard to sound good. For example, listen to DJ Unk's Walk It Out Remix. When Unk started rapping, you could tell that he was happy and excited about the success of the song (which isn't a bad thing), but when Andre 3000 spit his verse, it sounded like we was just chillin' and vibin' out cause it's nothin' to him. A lot of veteran rappers have that, "I've been doin' this for a minute so what I gotta prove? I can just relax on the track" type sound when they rap. You notice it more when they're featured on a new artists' song, which contrasts the rookie rapper's over zealous flow.

I said all of that just to say that J. Cole sounds almost like a veteran rapper. The choices he made for his album showed a different level of maturity than most new rappers. And I mean new as in having only one album.

One decision he made was to only have 4 features on the album. Generally, rappers like to have a lot of guest features on their album. Depending on the artist, it's to add desire for the record because of who's on the album, or because the artist isn't good enough to do an entire song or album themselves...at least that's how I feel. On the other side of things, sometimes newer artists can't get a lot of features either because they can't afford the guests or they're not drawing enough credibility to their work for another artist to get on.

However in this case, J. Cole had a big enough following to get "big name" features. And I wouldn't be surprised if he could afford a couple artists here or there, especially through the label. But he chose not to. Cole did the album basically himself. Every verse on the album was spat by him except the verse by Jay-Z on Mr. Nice Watch & Drake on In The Morning. We first heard In The Morning on Cole's award winning mixtape Friday Night Lights. It was easily the most popular song on the mixtape with the masses so there's no surprise that it made it to the album. And the verse by Jay was almost a given. I mean Jay-Z is J. Cole's boss, mentor, and he's just Jay-Z. I mean NOBODY in their right mind turns down a Jay-Z verse. I'm just sayin', whether you ask Jay or especially if the offers, you don't turn it down. So I feel like those two verse features were totally acceptable, weren't overkill, and didn't take away from his talent. He also featured Trey Songz on the hook of his lead single Can't Get Enough. I feel like this was a smart choice because he needed a radio single that wouldn't detract from his style of music and Trey Songz has enough mainstream appeal to draw more fans in without being too cliche or seeming desperate by bringing someone in like a Chris Brown or Justin Beiber. The only other feature was Missy Elliot on his song Nobody's Perfect. She sang the hook perfectly. Their chemistry was perfect. It's true that Nobody's Perfect, but that song almost is.

Another genius decision that J. Cole made, and possibly the best choice he made was to basically produce the album himself, with No I.D. It just gives the album a connected and congealed feel. It made every song seem together while still being it's own song. The sign of a great, or classic album is the ability to listen to the album straight through without skipping any songs. You can do that with this album. Sometimes using only one or two producers can hinder the album by giving it a monotone feel (Thank Me Later). At the same time, using a different producer for every other song makes the album disjointed. It might give you seven or eight good songs, but it also can give you a cluttered album. The combination of J. Cole & No I.D. is just awesome. Although production isn't as epic or complex as Watch the Throne's, it gives a more classic hip-hop type vibe. They did an excellent job of giving each song it's own identity without giving any polar opposite dynamics in the beats like other albums do sometimes.

And just in case you didn't know, J. Cole is a lyrical BEAST! Subject matter, he's comparable to Nas. Wordplay, he's comparable to Lupe Fiasco. This guy is just good. I honestly don't know how to describe or explain to you that Cole is gonna be a problem for these other rappers in a couple years. I've been tryin' to tell people he's like the LeBron James of the rap game because of the potential that he has. He possibly could be mentioned with the greats in the future if he progresses.

That's basically all I can say right now about the album. I know the review is kind of late...but better late than never. The album is awesome. Easily a 4/5...to me.