September 19, 2012

My Gut Reaction: Kanye West Presents G.O.O.D. Music - Cruel Summer (September 18, 2012)

Earlier this year, Kanye West took a break from his Paris fashion shows and midnight Twitter rants to announce a group effort from the acts signed to his G.O.O.D. Music collective, a crew that he had been steadily making additions to for the past few years and now boasts the likes of Pusha T, Big Sean, Mos Def, Common, KiD CuDi, John Legend, Malik Yusef, and many others.  The Interweb quickly deemed it to be the first great release of 2012, regardless of the fact that Kanye had merely mentioned the project as an aside and had yet to even name it, let alone decide who or what was going to appear on it.



Eventually, he put down his hand lotion and his autographed DVD copy of Kim Kardashian's sex tape to announce the name of G.O.O.D. Music's group effort.  He titled it Cruel Summer, evoking memories of Bananarama songs while explaining that it tied in sort-of closely to his film project of the same name, a film that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival as a multimedia eight-screen experience, because that's just how Kanye West rolls this week.  He also spent more time signing acts to his vanity label than actually recording music, it seems, latching on to the artist formerly known as Ludacris's weed carrier Tity Boi (the popular 2 Chainz, who proves that all you need to do to become a success in this rap shit is not have a shitty nickname), Nigerian singer-songwriter D'banj, and A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip.

Although the excitement for Cruel Summer never ceased, even though the project suffered numerous delays, thereby pushing the album to damn near autumn, I questioned the logic of releasing what is essentially a label sampler featuring artists who have, for the most part, released their own shit in the past.  Everyone already knows most of these guys and what they're capable of, both together and apart.  'Ye's biggest acts at the moment are Big Sean, Pusha T, and the aforementioned Tity Boi, all of whom have made noise in our chosen genre over the past twelve months; Common, John Legend, and KiD CuDi haven't released solo projects in 2012 (yet), but they've all been on the winning side of critical acclaim in the past.  And don't even get me started on the whole Mos Def and Q-Tip thing (although neither one of those guys made the final cut, which provokes even more questions).  The only guy I can see on this project that hasn't yet seen the benefits of the G.O.O.D. Music machine would be Cyhi The Prince, a dude whose breakthrough on 'Ye's "So Appalled" didn't even translate into anyone remotely interested in his mixtape shit.  As usual, I question the man's taste in rap music.

One thing's for sure, though: Cruel Summer is going to be huge; all of the pushbacks only stirred up more interest in the project, as have the five singles released prior to now.  In that way, Cruel Summer shares the same fate as Kanye's last solo effort, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy: thanks to the man's overly generous G.O.O.D. Fridays series of freebies, half of the tracks from the album were made available before the album ever saw its release.  

However, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy didn't include anything called a Chief Keef, so...


1. TO THE WORLD (KANYE WEST & R. KELLY)
Rather than apologizing to the audience for pushing Cruel Summer back so many times that its debut now marks the end of the summer season in the northern hemisphere, Kanye West and fellow Chicago hometown hero R. Kelly elect to give middle fingers “To The World” instead over this Andrew Wansel / 'Ye-produced introductory track. The mood is deliberately antagonistic for no apparent reason, not unlike the bully in elementary school who picked fights with the smaller kids because he was getting ignored at home by his whore mother and a series of increasingly abusive “uncles”. Kells even sings at one point, “The whole world is a couch / Bitch, I'm Rick James”. I can't make this shit up. Although that last line I wrote implies that some may find this song amusing, it really isn't, and it kicks Cruel Summer off on the worst possible note. Good job, Yeezy, alienating the fans right off the bat.

2. CLIQUE (KANYE WEST, JAY-Z, & BIG SEAN)
For me, “Big” Sean Anderson has made only two worthwhile contributions to the art form: his reading of the word “swerve” during the hook on “Mercy” (which is, coincidentally, the very next track on Cruel Summer), and his insistence on remixing his own “Dance (A$$)” with Nicki Minaj and convincing her to appear in the video for it, thereby giving GIF creators the world over the gift that keeps on giving, because, while most of you two don't care for Onika's rhymes, flow, or general sense of self-worth, I have yet to hear anyone complain about her ass. So I am pleased to report that I actually liked Sean's verse over this low-key and dope-as-shit Hit-Boy production. Sure, he's lyrically murdered by both an impressive Kanye West and “G.O.O.D. Music's drug-dealing cousin” Jay-Z, and his hook borders on annoying, but I still found this enjoyable as hell. Expect to hear this single on the radio for much longer than absolutely necessary.

3. MERCY (KANYE WEST, BIG SEAN, PUSHA T, & 2 CHAINZ)
I feel like I've been aware of this song for the past seven fucking years, it's been out so goddamn long. I know you two have been waiting impatiently for my thoughts on one of the first actual singles released from this project (as it dropped around the same time as “Cold”), so here's Max's official opinion: I like it overall, but there are elements to the song that are questionable. For example, why did Kanye West feel the need to perform his verse over an entirely different beat (other than the fact that he's Kanye West)? How the hell did Big Sean score the opening verse (his second of Cruel Summer thus far)? What's with the sampled chanting during the hook? And why is 2 Chainz receiving so much acclaim for a verse where he uses the word “horsepower” three times within the span of a single bar? And yet, I still really like this song for what it is: a celebration of excess, an exercise in shit-talking, and proof positive that repeated exposure can cause you to look at some songs with positive intent rather than wanting to rip it apart every chance you get. Contradiction? Perhaps, but it is what it is. Also, I liked Pusha T's verse.

4. NEW GOD FLOW (KANYE WEST, PUSHA T, & GHOSTFACE KILLAH)
This was easily my favorite of the singles released from Cruel Summer, and I still have my issues with it. Four specific issues, to be exact: (1) 'Ye's beat is cool, but in no way is it fucking with Ghostface Killah's “Mighty Healthy” (sampled on here), which took the Melvin Bliss “Synthetic Substitution” inspiration to an entirely new level twelve years ago (fuck, I feel old); (2) Pusha T sounds great with his two verses, which explain just why he signed with G.O.O.D. Music in the first place, but this song is pretty far removed from what the coke rapper is accustomed to; and (3) Kanye's verse is awesome, but that militant chanting bullshit at the end killed the entire track. I don't even think I've listened to the song all the way through because of that shit, it's really that bad. My fourth issue was more wishful thinking: I always hoped that Ghostface Killah would swipe the beat for a mixtape verse or something. So I'm fucking thrilled to report that, for the album version of “New God Flow”, Kanye has sort-of listened to my specific wishes, as his bullshit outro has been replaced with, lo and behold, a brand-new Pretty motherfucking Toney verse (after a grand entrance) that sounds fucking excellent, and it's so good that the rest of the track is elevated to the status of an instant classic. Yeah, I said it. Classic. Even with 'Ye sneaking back in at the very end; I can tolerate that horseplay when the rest of the song is this fucking great.

5. THE MORNING (RAEKWON, COMMON, PUSHA T, 2 CHAINZ, CYHI THE PRINCE, KID CUDI, & D'BANJ)
The other Wu sighting of the evening takes place on the Kanye West / Illmind-produced “The Morning” (which may as well have been labeled “Mercy 2: The Secret Of The Ooze”), as Chef Raekwon provides the opening verse (after an overlong intro), making a valid case for both his and Ghost's probable and eventual signings to G.O.O.D. Music. (I'm calling it right here and now, and I'm not joking: this needs to happen, if only to expand both of their respective fanbases. They of course would still be able to retain their Wu-Tang Clan day jobs; hell, Pusha T is still a member of the Clipse, after all.) The singing, from a My Fair Lady-aping D'banj, isn't all that impressive, but it keeps the ball rolling, and the actual rhymes are pretty fun, if only because of the unorthodox pairing of Raekwon with Common with Pusha T with 2 fucking Chainz (let alone everyone else on here). The beat is fairly hypnotic, too. Not bad, even though an uncredited 'Ye evokes his own work on “New God Flow” far too soon after “New God Flow” ended for it to make much sense.

6. THERAFLU WAY TOO COLD COLD (FEAT. DJ KHALED & DJ PHARRIS)
True fact: I'm not a fan of this song. “Cold”, which has undergone two separate name changes since its official debut practically alongside “Mercy”, never impressed me all that much. I thought the Hit-Boy beat sounded a bit too similar to that of “Mercy”, the hook was appalling (because 'Ye felt the need to lift lines verbatim from his hero Ma$e's “Lookin' At Me”, and some of his punchlines were ridiculous (especially the bit about threatening to get Jay-Z to drop his fuck buddy Kim Kardashian's ex-husband Kris Humphries dropped from the New Jersey Nets) and downright malicious. The two separate deejays (Khaled and Pharris, respectively) bookending the track always annoyed the shit out of me, too, since without them helping stretch “Cold” to a proper length, this would have been a glorified freestyle, doomed to spend eternity on a mixtape that nobody would give two fucks about after a few days, and even 'Ye seems to get really bored with himself, cutting himself off toward the end with all of that bullshit coughing and schilling for Theraflu. I will say that, when placed within the context of Cruel Summer, the beat actually resembles that of “The Morning” more than it does “Mercy”, but I've really got nothing else.

7. HIGHER (THE-DREAM, PUSHA T, MA$E, & COCAINE '80S)
Having the first verse you hear on “Higher” (not really the most original song title in hip hop, guys) be one made up of R&B vocals will pretty much turn off approximately ninety-nine percent of the audience. Here's the thing: that is exactly the correct reaction you should have to this shit. Yes, Pusha-Ton and Pastor Ma$e both spit actual verses, but neither of them are great, good, or even passable enough to warrant trying to plow your way through this shit. (2 Chainz also makes a brief appearance during the hook, but thankfully never gets around to doing anything else.) You'll have to be “higher than a motherfucker” to even pretend to enjoy this weak-as-shit Hit-Boy production. Meh.

8. SIN CITY (JOHN LEGEND, TRAVI$ SCOTT, TEYANA TAYLOR, CYHI THE PRINCE, & MALIK YUSEF)
A song entitled “Sin City” should veer into one of two extremes: either it comes across as a flashy fantasy, like Las Vegas in its prime, or noir-ish and dank, like the Frank Miller series of the same name. But it certainly should not sound like whatever the hell this shit was supposed to be. “Sin City” is mostly notable for proving that Kanye West hasn;t forgotten about poet Malik Yusef, who was one of the earliest signees to his G.O.O.D. Music imprint but hasn't been heard from as of late (speaking of which, I know he's off doing his own thing, but how much cooler would Cruel Summer have been if GLC has made a quick cameo?), but Cyhi The Prince, who actually impressed me during his verse from 'Ye's “So Appalled” (from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy), is on here too, so...

9. THE ONE (KANYE WEST, BIG SEAN, 2 CHAINZ, & MARSHA AMBROSIUS)
This was pretty goddamn awful. The most surprising aspect of this radio-ready piffle (coupled with a Marsha Ambrosius on the hook that is apparently trying to dirty up her image a bit) is that former Cash Money Records in-house producer Mannie Fresh apparently had something to do with the beat. Oh, and Tity Boi doesn't introduce himself before he starts rapping this time around. So that's two surprising aspects. Two. How the fuck did this shit make it to the final product? This is like some weak sauce that the likes of Nas or Fabolous might try to pass off as entertainment.

10. CREEPERS (KID CUDI)
The only two artists on this label sampler to receive solo showcases are Kanye West and KiD CuDi, which says a lot regarding Scott's place in popular culture. (Once having your own show on HBO can do that for your career.) On “Creepers”, obviously a leftover from the not-yet-released Man On The Moon III: The Further Adventures Of The Dish & The Spoon (since the liner notes indicate that the song is "licensed" for use on Cruel Summer by CuDi's record label), Scott is back to his navel-gazing default mode, trying to hit on random chicks while never quite understanding that he spends too much time in his mind to ever truly relate to them (or anyone else, really). So, yeah, this sucked. The Dan Black beat was actually pretty interesting, though, for what it's worth.

11. BLISS (JOHN LEGEND & TEYANA TAYLOR)
Although 'Ye felt it necessary to ignore the likes of Mos Def Yasiin Bey, Q-Tip, and Mr. Hudson while putting this compilation together, he had to acknowledge the R&B acts on his roster, especially when one of them is motherfucking John Legend, practically the first person signed to the label in the first place. Hudson Mohawke's musical backing sounds 1980's-level cheesy, which may deter most listeners, but the vocals from Legend and Teyana Taylor (best known for her chorus on 'Ye's “Christmas In Harlem”) both transcend the material. A bit too heavy on the queso factor for me to partake of on a regular basis, but when playing the album straight through, I'd probably leave it running.

12. DON'T LIKE (KANYE WEST, CHIEF KEEF, PUSHA T, BIG SEAN, & JADAKISS)
I wasn't really excited for much beyond the guest list when this G.O.O.D. Music-dominated remix to Chicago-based teen rapper Chief Keef's song was announced. And the fact that it made the final cut of Cruel Summer when there fucking had to have been other, better efforts to pursue actively explains what's wrong with hip hop in 2012. Young Chop's beat, which I understand is the same as the original version (I don't care enough to look it up) isn't the worst I've ever heard, but all of the lyrics push an agenda of ignorance onto the audience; every artist who isn't named Chief Keef is above this kind of material, but here they are, slumming it for a quick buck. As for Keef, the teenager lucked the fuck out by catching 'Ye's ear, parlaying a violent, self-indulgent, and rather misinformed lifestyle hating “bitch n----z”, “snitch n----z”, and the like into a rap career that is thisclose to imploding if it turns out that he really did have something to do with the murder of a rival artist in Chicago. This shit sucked when it first came out (even when Pusha's extended verse dropped, I still wasn't that thrilled), and it still fucking blows today. By the way, how hilarious was it to see other hip hop blogs suddenly acknowledging Keef as though they had been following his short career since day one? At least I have the balls to admit this: I had no fucking clue who the dude was when this remix was announced, and I still don't give much of a damn about him. And I'm sure more than a few of you feel the exact same way.

THE LAST WORD:  There's a four-song tear on Cruel Summer, kicking off with "Clique" and ending with "The Morning", which fucking rocks.  Those four songs (especially the new version of "New God Flow") are among the best hip hop songs released in 2012.  I will not be accepting any arguments to the contrary: if you disagree, you need to get the fuck over yourself.  However, the rest of Cruel Summer is pure horseshit.  Kanye West, as expected, goes overboard with excess, mistaking "artistry" with "noise", and throwing so many guest artists at the listener that you won't even realize you're bored out of your mind before someone new picks up the microphone.  With this glorified label sampler, Kanye tries to bring all of his artists into his world, which, again, only works during that four-song tear before everything falls to pieces; most of the artists involved sound uncomfortable, awkward, untrusting of the musical backing (this happens a lot on Cruel Summer), or are Chief Keef.  Now I've enjoyed every single one of Kanye West's albums (even 808's & Heartbreak, which everyone seems to have come around on but I enjoyed first, and you can check the tape); hell, even Watch The Throne has grown on me a bit since its initial release.  But Cruel Summer should go down in history as Kanye's first real misfire, as his insistence on having his fingerprints all over the final product leaves his artists in the dust, which sucks, since this compilation was ostensibly about them.  However, none of this matters, because 'Ye and company will sell a bazillion copies of this shit.  In the meantime, I'll just listen to my "Clique", "Mercy", "New God Flow", and "The Morning" and pretend the rest of this never happened.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
There's a dash of Kanye here, a sprinkle of Pusha there, two fingers of CuDi, and a bucketful of Common here, all at your disposal whenever you get bored at work.

42 comments:

  1. Could not agree more with your assessment of New God Flow. That song is gonna be on repeat for me for a while.

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  2. Me thinks Mos Def, Q-Tip, and Common (only has one verse) wanted to be on this until they realized what direction Kanye was going in, then said fuck it, or maybe Kanye just took all their shit off, making me believe he has FINALLY become lost in his own ass, as this really was first disappointing release.

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    1. I'm hoping that's what really happened, but knowing how much of a perfectionist Kanye is (he even remastered the entire album before letting it loose on iTunes), he probably just cut all of their verses off the project.

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    2. Actually, you may not be that far off. http://potholesinmyblog.com/why-were-q-tip-and-yasiin-bey-mos-def-left-off-cruel-summer/

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    3. Hmmm, guess so. Kinda ironic that Kanye became associated with these guys after the College Dropout, and now he's allowing the likes of Big Sean and 2Chainz to overshadow them.

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  3. Hm, I think The Morning is awful. I actually dont like New God Flow either because all it makes me want to do is listen to Mighty Healthy (one of the best hip-hop songs ever made). I also think Kanye is trying too hard to appeal to the "trap" audience and has fallen into a bizarro alternate universe where he cant find his footing.

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    1. No arguments here: "Mighty Healthy" is far superior. But "New God Flow" is easily the most enjoyable song on the entire album. And perhaps my liking of "The Morning" is due more to Raekwon's appearance and the random collaborative nature of it all, but I still enjoyed it. It was the worst of the four songs I mentioned in the review that I liked, though.

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  4. This smacks of Kanye having fun for the hell of it, and releasing an album that he knows full well everyone will buy. How else could you explain Big Sean? What is he?!

    The lyrics are kinda malicious, but the running into the ground of 'haterz' and its variants is the new 'reports from the streets', unfortunately. This new type of hip-hop is the black TMZ. Or something.

    The potential signing of the RAGU twins just made me think of the endless examples of good rappers rotting away on major labels. Sign them and give Big Sean the boot, there's a thought.

    Next up? An album entirely comprised of featuring (crap) DJs who don't do anything. There's an idea.

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  5. great review, totally agree with you max...

    but: how often will ye rhyme gucci with louis? i'd bet anyone that you'll find the exact same rhyme on his next project...

    this sampler also contains some quotes that will definitely belong into the best of 2012 category:
    - the one already mentioned by r. kelly had me laughing out loud!
    - "i came aboard for more than just to rhyme with him, think '99 when puff had shyne with him" followed by gunshots is unbelievably gangster (nhjic)
    - "asians get it from behind while they're cleaning their woks" LOL
    - also mase's line claiming that he's about his bacon was fucking gold, especially considering his past

    also the whole story about keef and his rival is hilariously described in several posts on byron crawfords blog, it's worth to check it out for pure entertainment...
    too bad some major label will now be fooled into signing this teenager trying to make some money out of this appearance here

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    1. Chief Keef signed with Interscope a little bit after that "Don't Like" remix was released, so, yeah. I also loved that Ghostface line; it's wrong, but it's funny.

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  6. Ghost. Murdered. It.

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  7. This album is a total crap that will be deleted from my computer right after sharing my brief thoughts about it here. The only song that is kind of OK is New God Flow, but hearing Ghostface's segment from Mighty Healthy and Kanye's annoying sounds that accompany his rapping ruined the fine parts of it (also shouting ''good music'' at the end of the song didn't magically turn a shit into a golden egg). I also totally disagree that anything in this album has sth to do with one of the best songs from 2012. To me that would be half the songs from O.C. and Apollo Brown's "Trophies", "Locomotive" from Nasir's "Life is Good" , a 2-3 tracks from Large Professor's "Professor @ Large" and a good coming back from Public Enemy's "Most of my heroes still don't appear on no stamp" ("I shall not be moved" outshines the whole fuckin album here). Cruel summer was far from "Good music"

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    1. i dont wanna be a dick - i agree that this album is complete trash - but u know that GOOD Music is the name of kanye's record label right?

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    2. Yes, Michael, I know that.

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    3. I think he does know that. He's just saying the music's not good. Pretty ironic huh?

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    4. lol alright. now i feel stupid.
      btw i'm surprised this review hasn't attracted more comments. i thought kanye releases were always big deals on the internet.

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  8. BTW, I don't think Raekwon will sign with Kanye's label. He's been caking something serious with his own label Ice H2O. Buying a Maybach and all that.

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    1. I'll believe "buying" when he releases his receipts and bank statements. Until then, assume it's a lease.

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  9. "makes believe he has bad taste in rap music" Thats how i feel about you the majority of the time. we dont need to "get the fuck over ourselves" thats something you need to conquer as you seem to type with a self entitlement that credits your opinion, but hey at then end of the day its just an opinion, i read your blog now to find out how wack and far off you are. You also need to realize that bias makes for a shitty review. Now don't get me wrong the albums probaly terrible, i mean its commerial garbage aimed at a cash grab, no substance, no meaning nothing to do with hip hop really all that much, but you lable four songs as great and even one a classic? are you fucked? Please tho, honestly, make a list of all the hip hop classic tracks and see if new gods flow even fuckin comes close in comparrison...A classic? Like your a huge wu tang fan, (thats what ive gathered) so how the fuck does this even get a review, this isn't hip hop its mainstream rap music, raekwons verse was so so on that morning track, ghost murdered it straight up but not even ghost can make a track a classic with one verse.... Do like you said you were gonna do and finish that libraries of the artist on the side and not review garbage like this and try to tell us a tracks a classic. If your an actuall hip hop head, being a wu fan id expect you to be, then how do you even classify this hip hop? If "hip hop isn't dead" reviews like this are doing a bad job of proving it. So before your pompous ass tells the readers to go fuck them selves, you might want step your hip hop game up. Then reading your final thought i just realize that your on kabnye's nuts, you like 808 and heartbreak? you fucking hyprocrit, how can you name your blog hip hop isn't dead when your a fan of an album that was made with instrument that help to kill hip hop in the first place? So before telling your reader off, you might want to get your opinions in order and wuestion wether or not you like hip hop, or just catchy bullshit

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    1. Lol at this guy. He hasn't been here long has he.. Max you said you were going to review some more mixtapes so how about Wu Tang Clan Vs MF Doom - Enter The 36 Chambers Of Doom? The vocals are slightly off to the instrumentals but this tape deserves at least 1 listen. - peace

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    2. I'd say the last anonymous doesn't know the definition of hiphop. Soulja Boy is as much hiphop as Rakim. It is just that Soulja boy sucks, but that doesn't make him not a rapper or anything. So that leaves "Cruel Summer", except for perhaps the John Legend-Teyana Taylor song, a hiphop album. Apparently the antithesis of hiphop according to this person is "mainstream music". So hiphop can not exist in the mainstream? Does he or she happen to live in 1978?

      That said I'm not planning on checking any of this out.

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    3. Haha the rage
      1) u mad bro?
      2) as your piece wasn't constructive then you are i believe the term is a "hater"
      3) u still mad bro?
      4) you can't say you looked at the blog to see how wack it was and ten say he's bias, that makes you a hypocrite and shows your a delinquent
      5) u really are mad aren't you?
      6) new god flow is a classic if you don't like it then you can go fuck yourself
      7) go fuck yourself some more, if you can be bothered to write a review condemning someone over their taste in music then you have far too much time on your hands so fuck yourself some more
      8) as you gave away in your piece, you haven't actually heard the album so how can you have an opinion on something you haven't heard
      "I only know of my ignorance" said a very wise man called Socrates and if you haven't heard if him I suggest when u have to catch

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    4. Lol im glad max's nut huggers gave me some shit to reply about. for the first retard, yes hip hop can exist in the mainstream, however it hasn't been in the mainstream for a long time, garbage like this has. Hip hop and Rap are two different things, you clearly don't no the definition of hip hop. hip hop is a culture made of four elements, emceeing, djing, b boying and graffiti..Rap is simply the rhyming of words with no meaning, like this garbage...Also to be an emcee you have to have lyrical skill, and no lyricisim is not just rhyming words together, it consists of many different componnents...Soulja boy is just as hip hop as rakim? Dude who said that go kill yourself, Rakim is a legend Soulja boy is a talentless hack who is very smart and can target teenage girls to sell millions, he is rap not hip hop. Mainstream doesnt mean your not hip hop, big pac wu all the legends were mainstream thats how we new about it, because there music was availible to the mass public...and all the shit in the mainstream today is watered down club banging garbage, and any true hip hop head will agree. Like max has given songs shitty reviews cause the content was "braggadocio" and yet gives four of the same style songs good reviews...He reviews with a bias point blank period.

      "you can't say you looked at the blog to see how wack it was and ten say he's bias, that makes you a hypocrite and shows your a delinquent" LOL no that statement shows your IQ is probaly rediculously low....I said, i now look at your blog to see how wack it is and how wrong your opinion is....its wack and wrong because he's bias...you do no the definition of hypocrite right? dumb ass, and i didnt write a review i commented on his review, wow your a smart one ay? It shows me the time that you have to read max's comments and then defend him with no facts or points that make sense and alot of jersy shore quoting which makes me realize your probally a douche bag anyway. "new gos flow is a classic so go fuck yourself" lol good argument there junior
      My piece was constructive i broke down exactly what i was saying, its just because your father raped his sister in which concieved you so i guess its not your fault that your a complete retard....Go listen to lil wayne or i guess more fitting this cruel summer album with the restof the teenagers and females....peace

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    5. your right aswell i havent heard the album and i never will, i enjoy hip hop not top 40 bullshit. However i checked out the rae and ghost collabos, thats how i no new gods flow is not a fucking "Hip Hop Classic" fuck outta here with that shit

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    6. I like how you've written almost as many words as I did about an album that you have not yet listened to. Great work boosting the page count.

      Thanks for reading!

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    7. no problem! glad i could help! My posts have little to do with the album, more to help people who actually like real hip hop realize this album and any project like this is killing hip hop...ive listend to a little over half and cannot stomach any more..call it rap, entertainment, pop for all i care but when the shit gets called a classic, i got lots to say, thanks for providing a place to do so!

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    8. Ah, sarcasm. I approve this message.

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  10. Wow. Good review max, I agree wholeheartedly. Any chance you plan on Freddie Gibbs recently released Baby Face Killa?

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    1. props to this guy for suggesting Baby Faced Killa, i would also love to see a review of it, but i'm not expecting it

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  11. Cigarette Boats.

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  12. I really enjoy reading your reviews Max, I mostly agree with them and they are a good way to get know more artists, and to not even try with some that suck.
    A review of Edo G's My Own Worst Enemy would be appreciated.

    Marcos. (sorry for my poor english, I'm from Argentina)

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  13. I'm not sure how you feel about Cash Moneys mid to late nineties output, but some reviews would be rather refreshing. Even my self as a Cash Money stan can understand peoples negative opinions of the label and their output, especially considering that most peoples opinions of them are formed form listenig to Nicki Minaj and late era Lil Wayne, but some reviews on the earlier stuff with The Hot Boyz and the Big Tymers albums, BG's albums, and Juveniles classic 400 Degreez would make for a rather enjoyable read. and no matter what your opinion of Cash Money and its artist are, no one can have any doubt that Mannie Fresh is one of the greatest music producers of all times.

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    1. Although I'm not sure I would rank him quite as highly as you did, I've admitted to enjoying several of Mannie Fresh's beats on the site. I'm just not sure that any Cash Money Records projects will be able to squeeze their way into my ongoing project at this time. Might be a good avenue for a Reader Review, though, if anyone is willing to pick up the ball.

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  14. Rap and Hip Hop are two different things? Rap is rhyming words together with no meaning?

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    1. Correct.... rapping is the rhyming of words, hat bat fat cat so on and so fourth, anyone can be a rapper..An emcee hass structue, lyricisim, a message....Example of an emcee
      Talib Kwali, Slug and many more, exmple of a rapper, Lil wayne, young jeezy and many more....Also a rapper tend to rap over beats that are catchy and poppy and not boombap or just solid hip hop production...Now i realize why you have so many fans max, there not hip hop heads

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    2. Um...I'm not convinced that you understood the question.

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    3. @ Anonymous: Rap is only one aspect of the whole Hip Hop thing. The term "Rap" is different to you because you have a different point of view, because you like to define it the way you want it to be.

      Don't be such a fanatic of terms, especially if they are given by others. Because the rappers who had (and still have) lyrics and messages did not wear bullshit clothes and hats. Just jeans (not even baggy), sportswear, jacket and maybe a cap... and of course the mic. All of them did not become legendary through the internet. Their lyrics and style made them famous. I'm talking about late '80s rappers who set the standards of what an MC really is.

      To ME, a good rapper is an MC.

      A rapper who is not shy to perform in front of hundreds or more and who has the ability to do a show, is an MC.

      A rapper who can handle his crowd and is able to bring his message through, is an MC.

      Of course it takes many more other aspects to be an MC.

      I don't want to give my own definition of Hip Hop here, because it still will be through my own eyes. But: djing, graffiti and mceeing are missing today. Not to mention knowledge...

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    4. Nah im pretty sure i did, it was more of a sarcastic question.. questioning my reasoning for the statement, i figured i'd play along...If anyone thinks rap and hip hop are the exact same thing then your retared. Yes ofcourse rapping is a part of hip hop, taylor swift made a rap, she hip hop now? get a clue ya'll

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  15. lol @ kay em dee, your not understanding what i am saying and thats cool, to each their own...Not really concerned on what a good rapper is to you, im not a term fanatic i just call things what they are because it's fact, not opinion. The way someone dresses has absolutely nothing to do with wether or not their a true emcee. Your right the other elemnts of hip hop are non existent, and thats because shitty catchy poppy 'rappers' target clubs and 16 yr old girls...Im done with this tho, its like beating my head off a brick wall, stick to your garbage guys, and whenever i feel ambitious or bored ill come by an drop some knowledge on ya's

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    1. For undefined to me reasons, I can't come through to you and therefore you make erroneous conclusions, while you don't know me.

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  16. "late 80's set the standard for what an mc was" correct...Krs 1, big daddy kane so on and so fourth, MC's.....Lil Wayne, two chainz, Rappers..... point blank period

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  17. How can you not love Ye's verse on The One??

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