Kanye West: Dope Artist But Not That GOOD Of A RAPPER.

Hear me out here. Kanye West came in the game amazing us with his songs. They were genuine, down to earth, and they actually had subject matter. Meaningful subject matter that a lot people connected with. We all loved his music so much that we saw no flaws in his rapping ability. Some of us even proclaimed him as a lyricist. Now that we've heard him rap some meaningless verses I think it's very obvious that he isn't what we thought as far as being a rapper goes. On certain songs you can hear him run out of breath at the end of lines. It sounds very bad. Listen to Monster to understand what I'm talking about. He also has some very corny lines like "remember she had that bad hip like a fanny pack".

Kanye is still a great artist I just think he's too much of a Lil Wayne fan for his own good. Don't look at your computer like "How the hell do you know he's a huge Wayne fan?" because he's said it in numerous interviews. You can tell that he likes the freedom Wayne has to jump from subject to subject in his verses. He is also using punchlines more often and has been changing up his flow. That's fine for mixtapes and certain features but please don't do it on your album. That's where Wayne fucks up and that is the exact reason he has yet to make a good album.

Do yourself a favor. Listen to Kanye's first four albums then listen to his most recent. You will hear a huge drop off in the quality of the songs. Not the sound quality but the quality of the songs themselves. The actual lyrics, hooks, and subject matter of the songs. It is in these songs and a few recent features where you realize that Kanye isn't that great of a rapper. It is his artistry and emotion that make up for that but if those aren't present what exactly are we left with?

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.

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.

Jay Electronica: The Part-Time Rap Star

Like any other rapper some people were already on to Jay Electronica's music before he dropped Exhibit C in 2009. Although he was known by a nice amount of people Exhibit C is the record that blew his name up to the "masses". I put masses in quotation marks because no one outside those of us who spend countless hours on the internet every week knows who he is. He is the newest act on Roc Nation and he even has a Mountain Dew commercial. He seems to have a lot going for himself right now except music.

This character who once fronted on his own city and upbringing to be accepted in northern cities delivers 3 songs a year, MAXIMUM and they aren't even really songs because they rarely have hooks. Yes, he can rap but his raps are just backpack with a twist of religion. He's the one man version of Jedi Mind Tricks except he doesn't yell like Vinnie Paz LOL. I'm 100% sure if Just Blaze never gave him a beat no one else would have given a fuck. He's just another rapper that was hyped up by the internet. He has a, seemingly, terrible work ethic and has not released a full project (not even a mixtape) since he has started gaining notoriety.

It looks like Roc Nation is the new label for rappers who have no mainstream appeal. Jay Electronica raps for hood niggas who read a book or two on philosophy and think they're scholars. The lost Wu-Tang member if you will. What do you think?

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.

Kanye West Feat. Pete Rock, Jay-z, Charlie Wilson, Curtis Mayfield, and Kid Cudi - The Joy (Prod. Pete Rock)

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My Thoughts

I know what you're thinking... something like "Pete Rock x Kanye x Jay?! EEK WOW" but this track is so lackluster its stupid. The beat is boring as shit. I mean BORING like a J Cole song. Maybe there's a reason this sound isn't popular anymore. Honestly I'm not tryin to hear it. The verses were on point but the beat and hook part are so wack its pointless. Not to mention u have Pete Rock doin ad libs soundin like he in a coma. This is one of those tracks Kanye just made cuz he can. Yall gone love it cuz yall love whatever he does... Stans.