Category Archives: Music Reviews

Album Review- ¡Mayday!-Believers- I Don’t Believe

by John Robertson

 

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I had never heard of this group before yesterday, so I did some research on them. After I did my homework on them I found out that ¡Mayday! is a hip-hop group from the sunshine state, Miami, Florida. They have been active since 2006 but they were underground until 2011 when they signed to Tech N9ne’s label Strange Music, which explains why I had never heard of them. I do not like the Strange Music label, but that will not affect my review of this group. After listening to this album I could definitely see why Tech decided to sign them, this album has a vibe to it that sounds somewhat similar to Tech N9ne’s style of rapping. With the rapid fire lyrics that slow down into a chorus of vocals.

This has somewhat of a rock feel to it as well with the band strumming chords in the back, I do like rappers who can rap over something other than a rap instrumental. In the track “HighRide” Wrekonize and Bernbiz rap about driving around and smoking some herb, “In the bag got enough for a smile/So we slide when they ain’t lookin’ out/Sneaking out for a drive in the clouds” it is a well known fact that marijuana makes you laugh and giggle, “in the bag got enough for a smile” a drive on the clouds is reference to hotboxing their car with weed smoke. This is a good group and I’m sure that they will make it far, just not with me as a fan.

I am not saying that I hate this album I actually like it somewhat but it is not the type of music that I can really vibe with. I am going to quote Irv da Phenom during the bridge on the track “My Life” when he sings, “We don’t want no problems,All we wanna do is have a real good time” I have no problems with ¡Mayday! they are actually very talented just not the talent that I am interested in. This is an alternative type of hip-hop, one that I have a hard time getting behind. I think that this group fits perfectly with the rest of their Strange Music label mates I think Wrek says it best on the track “On That Jack,” when he says “But I’m not even sure what genre we claim/Too many styles for my own good, got momma to blame/I like rock & roll, hip-hop, soul, funk, and rhythm.” They mix together too many styles of music for me to be content with, that takes some serious skill to be able to do this and have it sound good too. I applaud them, they have earned my respect even though I will never listen to them after this do not take this as a bad thing this just isn’t my thing.

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Album Review – Rich Gang – Too Much Of A Bad Thing

by John Robertson

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A compilation mixtape from the guys at Cash Money and Young Money. While I am not a fan of either label there are some interesting features on this tape, such as Ace Hood, Kendrick Lamar, Busta Rhymes, and Cory Gunz. This is why I like compilation albums so much, they feature such a large group of artists working together. So while some songs have artists that I absolutely cannot stand – Lil Wayne, Birdman, and Nicki Minaj – they might as well fuse together and just become one rapper since they literally all rap about the same thing all the time. There are artists that I actually like listening to like Kendrick and Busta, while unfortunately they aren’t on the same track, hearing them on the same mixtape is good enough for me.

With that being said I’m about five tracks in and I have not found anything that is quote worthy, it is all pretty generic in terms of lyrical cleverness. If you’ve ever listened to anything from the artists at Young Money or Cash Money than you know what to expect. I think that this music is not really centered around lyrics but rather the beats. This is the type of music that I can only see myself listening to in a car with a nice system, or on my way to a party or to motivate myself before a game. The Rich Gang mixtape seems to me to be pump up music, not something that makes me think deeply.

In fact it is the exact opposite. Absolutely no thoughts come into my head while hearing this other than to finish this review as quickly as possible, so that I may stop listening to this mixtape and delete it from my iTunes. It’ll take some time for my head to recover after hearing such ear cancer, I will need to find myself something better to rehabilitate my wounded psyche. I can honestly say that there isn’t a single track on this entire 16 track mixtape that I can see myself listening to, not now or ever in the near to distant future. For a compilation album this is very Birdman heavy, like seriously he is on just about every track. I do not like him, his lyrics are trash and his voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me.

This mixtape is good if you want something to bump while with your friends, but if you’re looking for something to meditate on you have to look elsewhere.

Review – Ill Mind Of Hopsin 6

by ryems

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Hopsin releases his highly anticipated track “Il Mind of Hopsin 6,” and the wait was truly worth it. Right from the beginning I was drawn into the story about his childhood friend he had lost to drugs. The pain of losing his best friend is felt with every line; you can really tell how much he misses him, and wishes that he could have been a part of this road to success.

Hopsin has been on with Funk Volume. The success could have been shared, but it was his friend that made the poor decisions in the end. The line to end each verse “Your momma told you that drugs was bad but you ain’t listen till the fire burned your ass now you understand”. Hopsin, his friends, and family tried to tell “this friend” that this wasn’t the road to go. They told him what drugs would do to him, but drugs were more important to him than their friendship. I’m sure most people can relate to this story seeing as how there are drug addictions across the world that ruin not only friendships, but marriages, and other relationships.

Hopsin brings reality into every track, and that’s what most fans appreciate about him, and the Funk Volume movement. People need a wake up call: music isn’t just glamour and money. Story telling and music that relates to your everyday citizen is still out there and Hopsin gives us that every time. Towards the end of the video the release date for his upcoming album “Knock Madness” was given which will be November 26th. Go congratulate Hopsin on gaining a million plus fans total on Facebook today as well! Oh yeah and tell that fool happy birthday!!!!

Go listen to Ill Mind Of Hopsin 6 and DL it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vuv2mvfO_mg&feature=c4-overview&list=UUvlJkDfgfG3J38pup6lvrPg

Album Review – Bishop Nehru Strictly Flowz – Ushering In The Return Of Real Hip-hop

by John Robertson

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The young up and coming MC from Brooklyn, has been compared to a young Joey Bada$$. He isn’t that well known, which is terrible. Not for Bishop, but for all the supposed “hip-hop heads” that have been sleeping on this hip-hop prodigy. In the first track, “Start,” Nehru clearly states that he is not a rapper, but a hip-hop artist – for those of you who don’t know, there is a clear difference between the two. Rap talks of glamorous things: Money, clothes, and hoes. While hip-hop focuses more on flow, and wordplay; it is more poetic and conscious in the verses. Basically hip-hop is rap minus the lies.

Lately, it seems there is a lot of potential coming from the east coast. This mixtape is appropriately titled, because it strictly flows, showcasing Bishop’s skills as a cunning linguist. He hopes that music will be his meal ticket, “Dreams of living lavish life is still trapped in the savage life/ I grab the padded mic with the old thought to grab the massive life.” This line speaks for itself, I feel like I don’t need to explain anything but I will. Bishop has dreams of being successful but for the time being he is stuck living in a world that is tough, rough, and dangerous; so he will grab his microphone and spit his flows, with the hopes that they will be his ticket out.

For someone so young, Bishop has the talent and potential to be a part of something huge. He has room to grow and improve of course, even his best work can always be better – if he believes that he cannot get any better than he has already fell off before he even got on. As long as he keeps working, I can tell he will be great, so great in fact that people will stop comparing him to Joey Bada$$ – while they do both come from Brooklyn, use the boom bap style, synonymous with the 90s and Brooklyn, and even use the same samples and beats, the similarities end there. At the end of this mixtape, there is a phone call from radio personality Peter Rosenberg, giving praise to Bishop, and telling him that he is bringing back the hip-hop that everyone enjoys, the true hip-hop from the 90s. Bishop Nehru is helping bring back an era that frankly was lost to us for years.

Download it here!

Album Review: Matt Nathanson – Last of the Great Pretenders – He’s Not Pretending

by Christopher Margolin

I once saw a Matt Nathanson show where during the course of his 40 minute set, he played 4 songs because he got so caught up in talking to the crowd, and telling jokes. The crowd didn’t question a thing – no screaming to “shut up and play,” or shouting boos, or throwing anything. Instead, all you could hear was laughter. When Nathanson finally realized he was almost out of time, he played his last song, humbly thanked everyone for being there, and then stood for more than an hour signing autographs, taking pictures, and genuinely giving a shit about his audience. It will always go down as one of my all-time favorite concerts. If Matt Nathanson hadn’t made it as a musician, he would have been a fantastic sitcom actor on HBO, because let’s face it, in person he swears like a sailer, and means every syllable.

All that being said, when it comes down to music, and lyrics, and production, there are few that rival his honesty, and beauty. There have been some different stages over the last handful of his albums. Even in his last couple albums – Some Mad Hope and Modern Love – he went from radio-rock singer/songwriter with every get-stuck-in-your-head melody and lyric in the world, to a much more playful and forceful tone. And with Last of the Great Pretenders, we find the perfect mixture of the two. As Nathanson sings on “Farewell, December,” “I felt alive for the first time in my life,” and listening to this CD, I truly believe that.

This is the absolutely genuine CD that Nathanson has been trying to get to over the last decade. There is not one song where you won’t want to give him a hug or a high-five for all he’s been through. With lines like “I found religion at the record store. I found Heaven on your kitchen floor,” from “Kill the Lights,” and “I made my way to JFK in world record time, hoping I wouldn’t miss the flight…. Sometimes you’re still mine, between the lines of the Sunday New York Times,” it just feels like you been there with him this whole time. He’s your friend, and he’s spilling his guts to you.

Some Mad Hope will always have a very special place in my heart, and ear, but Last of the Great Pretender is the better album. It’s honest, and melodic, and ready for all of us – all of his closest friends.

Grab it on iTunes

Album Review – Ace Hood “Trials & Tribulations” Not Another Statistic

by John Robertson

With the first track off this album I feel that Ace Hood is feeling remorseful for his past actions, he even goes as far as praying to God for forgiveness. “Please forgive me father, all the sinning I done did/ All the dirt I had to do/ All the trouble I’ve been in.” He is not proud of the choices he made when he was younger, but he believes that his actions are justified. “I was only eighteen ain’t no money coming fast/ had no choice. ” Grammatical errors aside, Ace is in pain, and instead of acting irrationally by turning to violence like the stereotype might suggest, he chooses to be more creative, and speak through his music. To be honest, I have never listened to Ace Hood very much before “Trials & Tribulations” because I believed that he was just another swag rapper – I was, for the most part, wrong, and I’m a little upset that I’ve been sleeping on this artist. In the track “Another Statistic” this line just gets to me, ” God bless Trayvon Martin I’m in my hoodie/ Another innocent young brother who met a bully” with the verdict of George Zimmerman becoming a hot topic recently this line will without a doubt be quoted by Twitter users and Ace Hood fans for weeks.

As a black youth living in a vastly white neighborhood, something about his life this really affects me. If I wasn’t constantly looking over my shoulder at night, I definitely am now. This entire disc is about fighting the statistics for the black community. Ace Hood grew up in the hood, but instead of ending up poor, dead, or in jail Ace began working hard and he made it. With three studio albums already released and the upcoming fourth album, “Trials & Tribulations,” officially releasing tomorrow – I think it’s fair to say that Ace Hood broke the statistic, he fought the predictions. Ace Hood stands as a symbol of inspiration for the up and coming youth in the hood, because he was able to accomplish what statistics say isn’t possible.

Album Review – The Piece Maker 3: Return Of The 50 MC’s – Hip-hop Is Alive And Kicking

by John Robertson

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What a compilation! This mixtape is filled with some of the best rappers to ever touch a microphone. This is the tape that takes me back to the height of hip-hop, with plenty of hot freestyles from various MC’s and samples from artists no longer with us. This sounds so underground, from the instrumentals to the lyrics – literally too many for me to quote, I feel like if I quote one artist I have shown disrespect towards somebody else. That being said, “You better show me some respect, bodybuilder flow I only came with flex” from J.Doe off the track “Hold That” I know I said I wouldn’t do that but call me a contradiction of you must but he did ask for respect and I’m the type to do what I’m asked. Tony Touch has made a mixtape that is literally stacked with some of the best lyrically gifted artists, past and present including but not limited to: Busta Rhymes, Wu-Tang Clan members Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and RZA, Twista, Eminem, and Action Bronson rapping alongside his idol Kool G. Rap. This list of course goes on, after all it is “Return Of The 50 MC’s” each and every artist brings their own unique style to the table and they absolutely kill this. Wu-Tang Clan and Slaughterhouse on the same mixtape, that’s almost too much for me to handle. I can’t download this tape to my phone fast enough. To those who say that hip-hop is dead need to hear this mixtape, because hip-hop is alive and kicking this mixtape is evidence of that.

Album Review – Chanel Westcoast “Now You Know” Stick To Your Day Job

by John Robertson

Well let me be the first to say that I’m actually surprised that Chanel Westcoast is actually good at rapping, I know her as a pretty blonde girl who is a bit ditsy and in the shadow of Rob Dyrdek. Now I’m not saying that I like her music, but she is better than I thought she would be. This music is club music where the lyrics do not have to be clever, and the chorus is very repetitive, something that would be fairly easy to follow no matter how drunk you were. How simple are these lyrics you ask? Well let’s just say that she and French Montana probably got lessons from the same teacher, to me they both sound the same lyrically in the track ” I ain’t stopping, but things poppin stuck whips coppin.” I’m sorry Chanel, but this is a child’s line. Like I said it’s club music, so you can’t really expect much from the lyrics.

Allow me to sum up the lyrics from each track on this mixtape; drinking,smoking, spending, sex, all layered by auto tuning so her voice sounds like something from ” Alvin & The Chipmunks.” I want to actually stop listening to this as soon as possible. I’ve suddenly developed a massive migraine. I liked Chanel Westcoast better when she was Rob Dyrdek’s receptionist.

Single Review – Wale & J.Cole Have Something Up Their Sleeves

by John Robertson

Two of the most talked about this summer have teamed up to give us “Winter Schemes” Wale who gave us “The Gifted” album which became number #1 in three charts and the “Born Sinner” J. Cole. I’m loving this beat and Cole and Wale flow on this nicely on it. After the both of these artists coming off a huge success they are incredibly excited and it shows in their words, “Just a classic ass nigga, rapping circles around these squares outta shape and I ain’t trippin.” They deserve to celebrate one of the biggest successes of their young career.

http://www.xclusiveszone.net/2013/07/j-cole-wale-winter-schemes/

Album Review: Ty Dolla $ign – Taylor Gang Taking New Flights

by ryems

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Ty Dolla $ign shows us why he’s the next best thing Taylor Gang has to offer. With his unique combination of Club and R&B music, fans started to beg for more from this artist, so I did a little research to see what all the hype was about on his latest release “Beach House 2″. What I really enjoyed about this mixtape is the originality and how well Ty does what he does. It was definitely a smart move to gain more of those female fans for Taylor Gang.

As far as a message goes within his music it is sadly your typical get money, hoes, club type music. Production Value overtook everything on this tape. Substance isn’t really in Ty’s Category unless it’s something along the lines of a slow jam. With “Float” though he tells a real in-depth message of his appreciation for his girl. In the line “You helped me find my purpose i swear you make you worth it, and after all the searching I think I found the perfect one” he’s saying after all the females Ty could possibly have he’s found the one or so he thinks. Each song in this project is about hooking up with women, grinding on women, or reflecting his love for women. Ty Dolla $ign loves females and is good at rapping about it when it comes to the “club crowd”, so why not keep doing it? It sells and works. That’s what I was thinking the whole way down the track list but once i heard “Never Be The Same” my mind really changed about this individual.
It was because it was a different emotion expressed in this track which was him being serious, and still having that soft side he shows in elsewhere. He really explains that the glitz and glamour wasn’t always him. He started at the bottom like everyone else. He had haters, girls didn’t always used to love him, some even played him, but now he can say that they never mattered anyway. One of the lines says “trying to introduce your fam, taking flicks for Instagram, you more sketchier than drawings,” it explains the fake faces that so many people carried around him and how he sees it now. Now the people who never showed love for his craft are acting like they were with him since day one. This track made a statement and I guess the saying save the best for last can be true sometimes.
The fact that there’s some hope for Ty Dolla $ign to give us an original sound, but also a story that is deep could mean something big for this artist. He’s good at it and I feel he knows it but knows that his unique “club slow jam” sound is what’s making the money and getting him known.

Wiz Khalifa made a smart move having Ty team up with him, Juicy J and Chevy Woods. The combination of artists really make them a solid team now having a more diverse group that can do nothing but gain more fans. Ty Dolla $ign is going to be successful now and there is still potential for him to be better. With patience he could even make Taylor Gang to new heights. Guess that’s all on what everyone else thinks about the tape. So go download it here http://www.hotnewhiphop.com/ty-dolla-sign-beach-house-2-mixtape.87974.html comment what you thought about it. Give me your input and tell me if you got a different message from his track and maybe I just couldn’t relate to a majority of them. I feel Ty Dolla $ign has nothing but a bright future but he could really lose the “dolla $ign” and give us something that actually would “never be the same” when it comes to music.