The Critic - Welcome To My World (Move On)

The Critic - Welcome To My World

If you didn't know already I'm TIME. Yep, this whole Critic character was created as promotion for Overgrind 2 (releases tomorrow). I been trolling the fuck out of NT and Twitter. Did it work against me or for me? I guess I'll see this weekend.

Most of these posts were strictly to piss people off and get views. Some were real breakdowns of how I felt shit went for certain artists Either way, don't let my opinions deter you from listening to my music because it's really fucking great (yes ego). I'm going to make one last post, tomorrow, and that will be Overgrind 2 with a full overview.

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.

Pusha T - Fear Of God (Mixtape Download & Review)

Listen

Download

My God - We've heard this. I don't see the hype in the track. He's not saying anything amazing and the beat is rather annoying. Repeating "my god" a few times doesn't constitute a chorus.

Money On My Mind - Will this guy ever change his flow? If you're going to just rap simple punchlines you have to at least have a creative flow to keep people entertained. How do you think Wayne is so successful?

I Still Wanna - This is pretty dope. I like the beat. Still the same ol' shit from Pusha. This chorus is horrible and why does it sound so funny? Ross saved the song but it seems like his vocals are way louder than Pusha's. Ab Liva had a nice verse. It's a solid track.

Feeling Myself - This sounds like that "I'm Still Fly" song Drake had with Belly. No love for the ripped off hook melody. The beat is cool, though. Get shot like a freethrow? I know some people who said lines like that when I was 16. I won't be revisiting this one.

Blow/Funk - I like the feel of this one from the beat to his flow. I just wish he could find some better subject matter. The coke talk is getting REALLY old now. Good track if you can tolerate the drug mentions. 

Cook It Down - LOL. This is sad. Not the rapping but the hook. If the hook is going to sound that bad just don't use one. This guy isn't creative at all.

Open Your Eyes - This is just boring. I think he's trying to be deep. Same flow, same lack of soul, and the same forced coke raps. I can't stomach this shit.

Can I Live - This nigga better not ruin this beat. This guy goes in the overrated rapper category along with Jadakiss and Busta Rhymes. I wonder how Jay-Z feels about this.

Raid - This beat sucks. The hook sucks. Oh, AND it features 50 cent. I'm going to skip to the next track now.

Touch It - How are you on GOOD music and still cant get good production? This beat is wack as fuck. I'm going to skip this garbage as well.

Speakers Goin Hammer - He's actually spitting on here. About time. 

Alone In Vegas - If you're going to be a shallow drug rapper be a shallow drug rapper. Don't try to randomly get deep because people, like me, wont respect it at all. It's an okay track. I just feel like nothing he says is genuine.

Overview

With all the hype I figured this mixtape would at least be decent but honestly it sucks. I've heard better projects from no name rappers on the internet. This seems like it was rushed and it seems like he didn't have much to say in the first place. I'm sure I'll see my whole timeline (twitter) praising it and what not but I don't see whats good about this at all.

The Original Dom Kennedy (MIXTAPE Review & Download)

01 INTRO

02 PLAYAS PUNCH

03 GOODBYE

04 THE HOMIES

05 TURN ME OUT

06 BET YOU WANT ME (NOW)

07 DESIGNER SH_T

08 CAN'T LET GO

09 CDC feat. Casey Veggies & cARTer

10 N_GGA 4 LIFE

11 ON THE WAY HOME

12 [BONUS] WHEN YOU SEE LOVE

Intro - The intro is a just some talking. A story.

Playas Punch - This is the definition of west coast production. Smooth with a funky bassline and some smooth synths. This was a short track. Just a verse but it was pretty dope.

Goodbye - On here he's spitting some real shit. Talking about the grind and how you have to start from nothing to get to where you want to be. I don't really care for the hook but it's not bad. Overall a solid song.

The Homies - The production on here is definitely west coast. I like the shot at Funk Flex because him taking a shot at Pac after his death was a bitch move. He's talking about his homies. This is a cool track but would be better with a real hook.

Turn Me Out - This is a cut for the females. It has a cool vibe and I like the beat. I like the verses but, again, I don't really care for the hook. By the end of the song the hook grew on me. Dope track.

Bet You Want Me (Now) - This reminds me of some Drake shit for some reason (not a bad thing). It's the beat and tempo of the flow. I really like this one. This is dope as hell. My favorite track so far.

Designer Shit - This beat is too dope. I like this a lot too. This just took over as my favorite track. I don't even have much to say. It's just a dope ass song.

Can't Let Go - OK Dom. No singing for you. This is wack. You sound like Diddy, bro.

CDC feat. Casey Veggies & cARTer - I think this is supposed to be some "A Milli" shit. It's cool. This guy Casey Veggies sucks. cARTer sucks too. I don't even know which is which but everybody except Dom was pretty wack on this one.

Nigga 4 Life - This is dope. He's spitting some real shit on here. Pac talking on the hook. I like this track too. Kind of inspirational.

On The Way Home - This sounds like Kid Cudi if it was his first time behind the mic. I'm not feeling this at all. He's rapping too old school or something. I don't know what the hell this is supposed to be.

When You See Love - This is cool. Smooth track. I like it. The hook is dope.

Conclusion

Dom is nice on the mic and he proves that on this tape. It's not Lupe level lyricism but it's good. He's just spitting everyday shit that people can feel. My main gripe is the lack of hooks but I can't be too mad because he mentioned it himself in one of the verses, stating that his focus was on "rhymes". It's definitely a nice project. It doesn't seem incomplete or anything. I just hope he has a full fledged album in the works because I want to hear him on some different shit. You can tell he didn't really have a particular aim for this tape as the subject matter stays the same on most tracks but it is good for what it is. Worth a spin so check it out at www.DopeItsDom.com

Thou Shall Know When The Fuck To Retire. Is Your Favorite Rapper Listed?

Bored so I compiled a list of rappers who currently need to hang it up.  This is no particular order.

It's the king of your local state cell block.

"AH-HAA" sums up your career perfectly.

You got Geico nigga. Fuck music.

We're lasers. You're a fucking loser.

You should have stuck to the battles, bro.

Hypocrite.

No rapping and no more making the same beat over and over.

Calm down.

Take your ass to Africa so you can stop rapping about it.

Anybody ever affiliated with Wu Tang needs to sit THE FUCK down.

Hope you're praying for a hit.

Yep.

It's Slim Thugga mothafucka always rappin' the same.

Please do. If you can't tell that is Game.

GOOD riddance.

Just stop. Please.

Cool peoples. Terrible rapper.

Matter of fact, the entire state of Cali should just stop making that trash they call music . Just enjoy the weather and whatnot.

I should "roll up" to Pittsburgh and kick your ass for making that gay ass song. 

Get this gimmick away from my speakers NOW!

Someone let me know when he runs out of coke to rap about.

Curren$y Vs. Wiz Khalifa: Friendly Competition

Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y, everyone's favorite rapping stoners. That is in the new era. We can't forget about Snoop, Red, and Meth. I'm not really talking about who's better in this, it's more of a comparison of their strengths and weaknesses and how they compliment each other on tracks.

Curren$y is more of a rapper than Wiz. He focuses on always having some nice lines and wordplay in his verses. He also has a more unpredictable flow, which is a good thing. He's sort of like Wayne how he can effortlessly switch up his flow mid verse and not lose you. He raps with a little more aggression than Wiz too. He attacks the beat. Curren$y has a lot of songs that are one verse and may or may not contain a hook but somehow they still feel like complete songs.

Wiz is more of an artist. He focuses on hooks and concepts but by no means is he weak as a rapper. He has a very versatile flow and can go from singing to laid back rapping to a more aggressive flow similar to Curren$y's. He usually raps with a more laid back approach, though.  The one area where Wiz and Curren$y are miles apart is hook writing. Curren$y isn't bad but he isn't nearly as consistent or as versatile as Wiz when it comes to hooks.

It seems that Wiz has the bigger fan base and he is now on a major label but listening to Curren$y you can tell he's right where he wants to be career-wise. I heard that Atlantic wouldn't allow Wiz to be on Pilot Talk 2 and I sincerely hope that's not true. It would be terrible if there could be no more Wiz x Curren$y collaborations. I really need How Fly 2 right about now. Hopefully Atlantic let Wiz put Curren$y on his album which is due out in March. Spitta has a few different projects in the works and Wiz needs to appear on at least one if not all of them.

Jay-Z - Blueprint 2: The Perfect Tracklist

We've all heard the album which may contain some of Jay's best work lyrically.  Here is my list of the songs that would have made the album perfect. They are in no particular order.

Blueprint 2 - The final battle in his war with Nas. Perfect execution. The beat fit the lyrics and subject matter so well.

Diamond Is Forever - Jay went in on this. Representing his team and speaking some real shit.

A Dream - I love this song. That is all. Jay flipped the whole shit perfectly. The beat is insane.

Excuse Me Miss - Perfect chick cut for a 30 something year old rapper. Dope beat and hook. Verses on point.

Guns & Roses - Who the hell knew Heavy D could make a beat like this? LOL. Lenny Kravitz murdered the hook. Jay murdered the verses. Enough said.

Hovi Baby - This may be Jay's best work, lyrically, on a song. Just Blaze absolutely destroyed the beat. Jay went IN! The second verse is pure genius. Listen closely.

I Did It My Way - This song is just some real shit. The whole setup of the song is dope. Ill production.

Meet The Parents - Maybe the best story in Hip-Hop. The actual story telling is vivid as hell and there's also a really important message that goes with the whole song. Just Blaze on the beat again.

Poppin Tags - An All-Star line up, crazy beat, and a dope hook. Everyone went in but on the low I think Killer Mike took it on this one. This is that original kanye soul bounce shit.

Show You How - We all loved this song since we first heard it about a year before the album dropped. It's still dope to this day.

Some People Hate - One of my favorite Kanye beats ever. Jay went in as he did so often on this album.

03 Bonnie & Clyde - Yeah yeah yeah, it was a commercial single but it was still a good song. It didn't take away from the album at all.

Honorable Mentions___________________________________________________

All Around The World - This beat always annoyed the shit out of me. I never really cared for the hook either.

Bitches & Sisters - It's dope to listen to a few times but once you know the lyrics there's no need to listen anymore. The beat isn't all that and there's no hook really.

The Bounce - Not a bad song at all but it's nothing lyrically. It shouldn't have been on the album.

Nigga Please - This is basically the same as The Bounce. Cool song but it's not worthy of being on the album.

Some How Some Way - Dope song but it's so damn sad that it doesn't really fit the feel of the album.

U Don't Know (Remix) - Jay went in but let's be serious this could've been a mixtape track since its basically the same exact beat. Besides, MOP is pure garbage.

Any songs I didn't mention had no business being recorded AT ALL!

That is all.

Lil Wayne: The Carter Catch 22

 Vs 

Depending on your age you may or may not be familiar with the old (young) Lil Wayne. The Lil Wayne who couldn't curse. If you aren't familiar the Wayne of today and the Wayne of the mid to late 90s are two entirely different rappers.  As a youngster Wayne was more of a story teller. He stayed on topic and painted pictures with the words. Now he's basically a punchline rapper who just so happens to make hit singles from time to time. 

The Carter 3 is his best album to date and, to me, it still sucks. It has a few nice singles but aside from those it sounds like another Wayne mixtape except it has original beats. They could have left that "You Ain't Got Nuthin" in the past where it originally was. Songs like "Let The Beat Build" don't move me at all. It's like he's just looking for an excuse to rap about nothing. I want to hear Wayne spit more stuff from the heart. Lyrics with actual meaning like he did on this.

That is the Wayne I want to hear. I know he used the verse on the album but it's not the same. He just threw some shit together. 

We all love mixtape Wayne but when is enough, enough? Everything cannot be a random number of bars being spit with simple punchlines about nothing. I believe Wayne knows that but he continues to just rap because his fans are so pleased with it. The same fans that quote his most simple lines like they're golden. I don't get it. You can see other rappers like Kanye West following this trend. Wayne needs to find a balance between who he is currently and his old self. I think that would give us the best possible music out of him. 

I'm anticipating The Carter 4 but if 6 Foot 7 Foot is any indication of what's to come then I am not pleased. It's like they said "Hey, let's try to remake A Milli without actually recreating the same song." I honestly doubt it will make the album, though. I'm sure Birdman just wanted to put something out and get some money. It was also a good look for Wayne's newest artist, Cory Gunz. Can't judge too much since it's his first track since his release but I'm hoping it was just a warm up.

Eminem ft. Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, & Cashis - Syllables

This song is terrible. I don't even get it. Eminem is complaining about bad rapping and bragging then Jay-Z brags before Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, and Cashis rap horrible verses. The beat sounds like an NES video game soundtrack. It's just overall bad. Listen if you want but I wouldn't advise it.

Lupe Does 180 On 360 Deal. The Show Goes On

You may want to watch this video to help you better understand the situation.

Shit is real. Labels are losing money because artists aren't selling as much as they used to. Instead of trying to increase sales by putting out quality product they try to enslave artists into what are known as 360 deals. In 360 deals your label receives a percentage of EVERYTHING you do. If you land a movie role they're getting some of that money. They're getting some of your tour money. They basically own you. They don't even have to set something up to get a percentage. You could go land a movie role without help from anyone. When it comes time for you to get paid your record label will be getting a cut.

Lupe's last album The Cool went Gold. Apparently that is not enough for Atlantic so they told Lupe that his album would not release if he did not sign a 360 deal. He refused to sign the deal. He said that he would build a buzz for his album independently but Atlantic said they would sabotage any attempts to do so. He lashed out against Atlantic and once his fans caught wind of what was going on they started to take action. They first started an online petition that received over 28,000 signatures. Then the fans got together for a protest outside of the Atlantic Records office building on October 15th, 2010. After this the label had a meeting with Lupe and they came to the agreement of no 360 deal. They also announced a release date of March 8th, 2011 for his album Lasers. They have released a single produced by Kane Beatz entitled "The Show Goes On".

Lupe's fans may have saved his career from going into limbo but there are many other artists facing this same issue. Artists have to understand that they are the ones with the real power. Don't sign the first deal thrown on the table. Your best bet is ALWAYS to have multiple options. The more in demand you are as an artist the more leverage you have when negotiating your contract. Artists have to refuse 360 deals no matter what. It will never be worth it. If they don't refuse them the labels will just keep offering them and the industry will eventually self destruct. Artists and fans have to take the power back from the labels. DEATH TO 360 DEALS!

Drake: So Far On

Fast forward past the beginning and we have Drake arriving on the scene in 2009 with a hit single (Double Platinum) in "Best I Ever Had" which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Top 100. The song, which was originally featured on a free mixtape, became so popular that they decided to release the original songs from the mixtape as an EP. The So Far Gone EP went on to achieve Gold status with the RIAA, bringing in over 500,000 sales.

From there Drake began to pop up on hooks for everyone from Birdman to Jay-Z. He quickly made it known that he a commodity when it came to song writing. Along with Alicia Keys and his producer Noah "40" Shebib, Drake wrote what would become one of his biggest songs to date. Un-thinkable was a hit and stayed at #1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip Hop chart for 12 consecutive weeks. The song helped push Alicia's  The Element Of Freedom to Platinum status.

In March of 2010 Drake released the first single from his debut album. The song "Over" peaked at 14 on the Hot 100. It was a cool song but got old pretty fast. I haven't listened to it since April. The 2nd single was the Kanye West produced "Find Your Love". I never really felt the song. It sounded like a throwaway track from 808s & Heartbreak. It received higher recognition than "Over" and the Billboard charts prove it. It was actually his biggest song since "Best I Ever Had". The album Thank Me Later released on June 15th, 2010 and didn't take long to achieve Platinum status. They went on to release two more singles from the album with "Miss Me" and "Fancy".

A lot of people seem to hate Drake and his music. Some of them are early fans who say he sold out. Others say he isn't good enough as a rapper. I have seen countless people compare him to J. Cole which baffles me. Their music isn't close to being similar. J. Cole's singing isn't comparable to Drake's singing. I have never heard him sing a full song. J. Cole may have a little more depth with his lyrics and subject matter but his music is boring. Drake is entertaining and that's exactly what music is supposed to be. Drake isn't the greatest rapper but he touches on topics most people can relate to and he understands what a song is.

People say he's going to have a short career but I'm going to have to disagree with that. He understands music. He understands how to structure songs and how to convey emotion. The only thing he doesn't understand is that you can't use the same flow on every song. He also needs to understand that he looks silly doing those little dances and hand waves. All in all I hope Drake is around for awhile. He does him and he doesn't rap about selling drugs, which is always a plus. He just has to continue to grow as an artist and he'll be alright.

On a completely unrelated note. I need to hear a collaboration between these two. IT MUST HAPPEN!