Wiz Khalifa - Rolling Papers (Album Review)

1. When I’m Gone

2. On My Level (Feat. Too $Hort)

3. Black And Yellow

4. Roll Up

5. Hopes & Dreams

6. Wake Up

7. The Race

8. Star Of The Show (Feat. Chevy Woods)

9. No Sleep

10. Get Your S**T

11. Top Floor

12. Fly Solo

13. Rooftops (Feat. Curren$Y)

14. Cameras

When I'm Gone - This is cool. The beat is nice. I don't like the hook at all. I think this may be the first time I ever cringed when hearing a Wiz hook. It doesn't really feel like an intro. It's not bad but it's not really good either.

Get On My Level - I know this song is old but I never bothered to listen to it because it features Too Short (Can you blame me?). This has a cool little vibe. I love the synths Jim Jonsin uses. The hook is nothing special but it works. The verses aren't anything special. I can listen to this one, though. Right after I remove Too Short's verse.

Black & Yellow - Double Platinum.

Roll Up - I take back what I said about the intro. THIS is the first Wiz hook that made me cringe. I understand why the song exists but, damn, this shit is corny. It will probably sell just as much as Black & Yellow.

Hopes & Dreams - This beat is dope! I don't really care for the hook but it's not trash. I like everything else about the song. Smooth vibe. 

Wake Up - Another StarGate beat. I'm going to go cry in the corner now. What the fuck is this? I guess they had him make a pop album. He has used the same flow on every song thus far. Yeah, this pretty corny.

The Race - I heard this before the album and is the only song from the album that I like so far. Smooth track. Great production and a dope hook. Definitely a stand out.

Star Of The Show - Let me start by saying Chevy Woods is pure garbage. This sounds like a 40 (Drake's producer) beat. The hook is okay. Honestly, it sounds like he's trying too hard on this one. Either that or he's not comfortable with the music. It's lacking emotion.

No Sleep - This is garbage. I knew he was going to make some pop shit but not a pop album. I am highly disappointed. 

Get Your Shit - This beat sounds dope but it's ruined by another cheesy, pop, hook. Again, he's using the same flow. This beat is nice, though.

Top Floor - I can't stomach this shit anymore. I literally feel sick. This guy has so much talent but he chose to sell out.

Fly Solo - LOL. "Same song to a different beat." He knows he's making bullshit. This is one of those generic pop rock songs. 

Rooftops - This track features Curren$y so hopefully it won't be pop. This hook sucks too. Curren$y delivers a solid verse which, besides "The Race", may be the highlight of the album.

Cameras - You know this is going to be pop as soon as it comes on. This is SUPER pop. This is garbage as fuck. 

Overview

I can't believe it. I knew his sound was going to change but I don't think the change in any artist's sound has ever been THIS drastic when going from underground to mainstream. This shit is absurd. He went from a weed rapper to a pothead pop singer. This album has NO soul whatsoever. None of this is real. Like he says on "Fly Solo", "Same song to a different beat." That's all this album is. You can argue that his old shit was the same way but at least they were rap beats. At least the hooks were good. This is watered down GARBAGE. The highlight of the album is "The Race" and by highlight I mean the only song worth listening to. The album has great (pop) production and that's where the positive things to say about the album run out.

T.I. - No Mercy - Album Review & Download

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Welcome To The World Ft. Kanye West & Kid Cudi - This beat is dope as hell. I like the hook as well. Tip's rapping isn't bad but it isnt anything we've never heard before. His first verse is cool but I don't think this song is intro worthy at all. It's not bad but intros have to be epic. I wasn't expecting Kanye to have a verse. This is, afterall, the intro to T.I.'s album. I like his verse but Clifford should have rocked both verses himself. Again, this song isn't bad, just not intro worthy.

How Life Changed Ft. Mitchelle'L And Scarface - I like this beat but I wish it would've been used by someone else. T.I. has entirely too many songs with this same emo dope boy subject matter. You haven't sold dope in years nigga. We honestly don't care anymore. This is one of those tracks with a hook your label comes to you with when you're struggling to fill your album out. It's not bad but it's that same ol' shit. I probably won't listen to this one again.

Get Back Up Ft. Chris Brown - I think this is his single. This shit is beyond cheesy. Everything about this song sounds recycled. I'm going to skip this one riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight........ wait for it............... NOW!

I Can't Help It Ft. Rocko - This beat is cool. I like the drums. For some reason it feels like Tip has rapped on all of these melodies before. None of this sounds new. It's all so "soft" sounding I guess. I really don't know how to explain it but none of this is really catching my ear. Just like the others, the song isn't bad, but it isn't good either. I enjoyed Rocko's verse more than Tip's. 

That's All She Wrote Ft. Eminem - I like the melody of the hook but I don't care for the lyrics. This is another one of them soft ass beats that I was talking about. No knock to Dr. Luke I just feel like Tip shouldn't be on stuff like this. Honestly Eminem and Tip have no business doing songs together. Remember Touchdown? Exactly. Eminem's flow on this literally gave me a headache. He's trying ENTIRELY too hard for these lines. That "buy-polar" line? Let's be serious. Here's Tip's second verse and here's where I skip to the next track.

No Mercy Ft. The-Dream - This sounds like an Eminem beat. This hook is atrocious. Well, I do like the "let me go" part. Now that the verse came on it doesn't sound like an Eminem beat anymore. It sounds like "Dial M For Murda" (google it). This subject matter is tired especially coming from T.I. This nigga is not even trying.

Big Picture - This hook is TERRIBLE. WOW! I don't care for the beat either. DJ Toomp you are on with plenty of resources. Get those Fantom guitars out of here. Skip.

Strip Ft. Young Dro And Trey Songz - This is okay. So far it's what I would go with for the next single. It still sounds like a generic rehash of one of his old songs but whatever. You can tell that his mind was somewhere else when he was making this shit. Either that or he doesn't have it anymore. Young Dro you're going to have to change your flow one day. 

Salute - This is pretty wack too. The beat is cool but that hook and just the whole concept of the song are terrible. This nigga don't have left to talk about. 

Amazing Ft. Pharrell - WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! I know Tip said he was addicted to pills but I didn't think he was getting high enough to where shit like this would sound dope to him. This shit is terrible. It's like they tried to remake "Grindin" but ended up just making noise.

Everything On Me - The production on this album started off good but it's been falling fast since the first few tracks. This is terrible. I give up on this nigga and I honestly want to cut the album off now but I have to finish my review. I'll just skip this trash so I can get through it faster.

Poppin' Bottles Ft. Drake - You got a Drake feature and didn't get him on the hook? Tip you are failing right now. You aren't even close enough to pull your grade up to a D-. The beat is dope but that's about it. Drake's verse was cool. The song overall is VERY forgettable. Tip should have bought some hooks instead of doing them himself because they're terrible.

Lay Me Down Ft. Rico Love - I guess stupid sounding beats are cool now. I see where they were trying to go with it but I don't know how the clubs are going to react to this. This one has a 50/50 chance of doing well.

Castle Walls Ft. Christina Aguilera - This sounds like an Eminem song. It's not bad I just don't think it fits Tip. I like his subject matter on this but I won't be listening again.

Overall this album is some generic bullshit that Tip/Atlantic rushed to try and make some money real quick. If T.I. doesn't find some inspiration when he gets out his rap career is going to be over. Albums like this won't cut it AT ALL. This is WORSE than T.I. Vs. T.I.P and is easily his worst album. I hope he gets it together but I won't be holding my breath. 

T.I. - Rise And Fall Of The King

In 2001 TI came on the scene with his debut single "I'm Serious" (which was also the name of his debut album). It featured Beenie Man on the hook and production by The Neptunes. We all remember the song but I honestly don't remember anyone liking it. I'm Serious was basically TI trying to find himself as an artist and create his own sound. If you compare it to his other albums the subject matter is basically the same except on I'm Serious he rapped about being a good rapper more often than he does now.

Let's fast forward two years to Trap Muzik. The new and improved TI came back with a HIT single produced by Jazze Pha called "24s". It was a high energy club/street BANGER that took over airwaves almost instantly. When the album dropped TI had officially solidified his spot at as heavyweight out of Atlanta. He had created a lane for himself and others for years to come.

We thought TI's career was going to come to a sudden stop in March of 2004 when he was sentenced to 3 years in County Jail. A month later, by what seems to be the grace of God, he was released from jail on a work release program. He quickly began working on his third album Urban Legend. The album, although not as good as Trap Muzik, went on to sell more units than its predecessor.

Between Urban Legend and King TI had began to beef with rapper Lil Flip from Houston. This was not a 50 Cent type of beef as the rappers eventually came to blows over the situation. In 2006 King released alongside TI's first movie ATL. They had a genius marketing plan in not releasing an official soundtrack for the movie. Instead they promoted King as the soundtrack. The lead single "What U Know" is still one TI's biggest hits to this day. He also received a Grammy for it.

While riding the wave of his recent success TI was involved in an altercation that would change his life and the way he looked at music forever. During one of his concerts in Cincinnati a fight broke out between 2 concert goers and TI's crew. The fight spilled outside the club and turned deadly for his longtime friend Philant Johnson after the crew's SUVs were followed and shot at. After this incident TI withdrew himself from music and the public eye for awhile.

In July of 2007 TI released TI Vs TIP which, in my opinion, was a horrible concept. This album is looked at as pretty bad by most of his fans but they don't blame him because of what he had been through before working on the album. He said himself that he didn't know if he wanted to create music anymore. Despite the bad reviews the album still achieved platinum status.

Four months after the release of TI Vs TIP the king was caught with some HEAVY firearms by the Federal Government. He was set up by his bodyguard who had recently been caught buying guns illegally. This arrest took place just four hours before he was to blaze the stage of the BET Hip Hop Awards in his home town. TI was on house arrest for a little over a year pending trial. He released Paper Trail in September of 2008 which received great commercial success spawning multiple multi platinum singles including his biggest hit "Live Ur Life" featuring Rihanna. The album itself went on to go double platinum after selling gold in it's first week.

On May 26th, 2009 TI began serving his, one year and a day, prison sentence. On December 22nd, 2009 he was moved to a halfway house in Atlanta where he would finish out the remainder of his sentence and be released on March 26th, 2010. He came back and released a couple luke warm songs then dropped a mixtape full of old throwaway songs that never made albums called "Fuck A Mixtape". While most of his fans say they loved it the mixtape felt like an insult to me. You've been gone for a year. Your fans aren't worth a few new songs? But hey, I guess he knew what he was doing because all of his new songs are just as bad as those.

I don't know if he's out of touch with music from being in prison or if he just doesn't care anymore. His newer songs lack emotion and creativity. They just come off as generic and he is showing no type of progression. In fact, it sounds like he has regressed. With song titles such as "Pledge Allegiance To The Swag" and "Mr. Kodak" you know he's lost. The fact that the whole trap sound is dying isn't really helping him either. Now he can't go back to his roots and he doesn't know how to move forward.

On top of that he's BACK in jail as of November 1st for a drug possession which is a direct violation of his probation. He was caught on September 1st after his Maybach was pulled over for making an illegal u-turn. The police smelled marijuana, searched the vehicle, and found other drugs.

Going to jail THAT many times can't be anything but detrimental to your career no matter who you are. TIP I hope you get your act together musically and legally. I'm still going to give No Mercy a fair chance but I honestly don't have any expectations for it at all. TI is going the Cam'Ron route except Cam didn't have to go to jail to fall off. It is sad but you have to know when to let go.

J. Cole : The Write Up (My Thoughts On His Career)

*DISCLAIMER*

This is just my review of J. Cole as an artist. It is very detailed thus it is not a short read.

The new General of the Internet Soldiers (as cosigned by Joe Budden) seems to have some of the most annoying fans in the world. Yes, J. Cole can rap. A lot of people can rap. This guy makes some of the most boring music I've ever heard. His topics range from rap to north carolina, to his weak ass struggles, to the hood, to college, and finally to the degree that we ALL know that he received from college (because he mentions it in EVERY song). 

He's been signed since 2007. He still has no buzz outside of the internet. He's basically the non emo, less lyrical version of Joe Budden. He's already getting the same treatment that Joe did except his album got to drop and it went gold. If you pay attention you would see that Jay mentions Drake more than he does his own artist. J. Cole is the perfect proof that rap ability is damn near meaningless when it comes to making good music. Even some of his fans say he needs a lot of work with making songs. A label is not going to be able to sell records based off of your lyrical ability. It just doesn't work like that. What? You thought it was still the 90s? 

Let's break down his sound. It's simple. J. Cole is a poor man's Kanye West (College Dropout era) with watered down subject matter/beats/hooks and VERY minimal songwriting ability. From the beats to the rhyme patterns it's all old 'Ye. I don't see how you can just look past the blatant style biting and from an unworthy artist nonetheless. The first thing you have to do Mr. Cole is stop doing those 24 and 32 bar verses on every song (they're fine in moderation). You're not that nice, sir (no one is). Next, you have to actually finish your beats. Third, you need to buy some hooks until you learn how to write them.

People like to compare him to Drake which is honestly a joke in my opinion. Drake was signed 2 years after J. Cole and already has a platinum debut album while Cole is wondering if his album will ever receive a release date. People will say "He's a better rapper." but is he really? Punchlines are not the only way to be lyrical. Drake may not be the most lyrical but he definitely gets his point across is a manner that isn't hazardous while operating heavy machinery. Cole seems as if he's trying so hard to impress the listener that he's actually not saying much at all. It's the exact same thing he said in his last verse and the one before it. Let's just say he is the better rapper. Who is making the better music? 

I'm all for lyricism but what happened to being complete? Jay-Z is a complete artist. Nas is/was a complete artist. Lupe is a complete artist. Even Joe (Budden), when he's not on those weak ass J Cardim beats, is a complete artist. They're all lyrical yet they know how to construct songs that don't serve as audible Ambien. At the end of the day music is music. A lot of music doesn't even have lyrics so you can't say something is good just because of "good" lyrics. If all you care about is lyrics you should hit up some local poetry readings. Leave music to the musicians. 

Don't worry, all hope is not lost. He just needs guidance but that innocent college boy rap isn't going to get him anywhere. He might want to get the fuck away from Jay too. Jay is that nigga musically but he isn't the best judge of talent (Bleek) or character (Beans). Besides I think if Cole were to go independent he could have a nice little career on some underground shit. Being on a major isn't doing anything but hindering him.

Full Kanye West Interview With Funkmaster Flex (No Commercials/Music Breaks)

Download (MP3)

Breakdown of subject matter by time.

5:20 -Taylor Swift
8:12 -Award shows
14:00 -Nude pics
17:19 -Album artwork
28:00 -Kim Kardashian
29:21 -Selita Ebanks
30:48 -Amber Rose
40:00 -Jay Z

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy...

First things first. I just want yall to know that I'm a huge Kanye fan (I even like 808s) but this nigga is losing his fucking mind. GOOD Friday songs were a GOOD idea until some of them showed up on the final tracklisting of the album. Aside from "Don't Look Down" and the 2 singles he released on those days they've all sucked for the most part. A handful of them had great potential but were ruined with SUPER WACK features. Why the FUCK does Ryan Leslie have a verse on ANY song?! Swizz?! RZA?! They gave nigga RZA like 4 bars... WTF was the point? Just stick to doing songs with people who know what the fuck they're doing OR u could do what we all want you to do and make some damn solo songs. Fuck these ridiculous collabs and all that.

Aight thats most of the anger aired out up there lmao. There's a bright side to all of this. The Runway video was kinda dope but ONLY because the music fit the subject matter and everything and vice versa. The music only makes sense with the video. I feel like "Don't Look Down" should be on the album and should have been the last song in The Runway video. It would have been that much better.

So yea basically I'm not anticipating this shit AT ALL (at least he took "See Me Now" off). Thank God this man signed Kid Cudi.