December 26, 2014

My Gut Reaction: PRhyme (Royce da 5'9" + DJ Premier) - PRhyme (December 9, 2014)

This final album review of 2014 is devoted to a collaborative project that I was convinced would never actually happen.  The pairing of Detroit smart-ass Royce da 5'9" and legendary producer DJ Premier has paid off multiple times before, with various album tracks and the occasional single, but a full-length album featuring Ryan Montgomery's bars over Primo's boom-bap?  Could our chosen genre contain themselves for one goddamned moment so that we can realize the importance of what is happening here?  

That last sentence is probably one of the reactions Royce and Primo were hoping for when PRhyme was announced earlier this year, and let's be honest, that's pretty much what they got.  It's Royce and Premier.  Come on.  Even I gave a shit, and I haven't cared about much in the way of new hip hop albums this year.

Primo and Royce made their partnership official by forming a duo, called PRhyme, and released their self-titled debut on December 9, where it was destined to be lost in the sea of rap releases, since they were competing directly with Ghostface Killah, Termanology, and that week's winner, J. Cole.  But if my Twitter feed is any indication, PRhyme had an impact on a very specific type of hip hop fan: rap nerds, like myself, who appreciate well-thought-out lyrical wordplay and beats that fucking bang.

PRhyme makes for the second duo Royce has found himself a part of, the other being his Bad Meets Evil partnership alongside fellow Detroit native (and label boss) Eminem.  (Obviously, he's also a part of the barbershop quartet Slaughterhouse, along with Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, and Joe Budden, but that isn't a duo, is it?)  Teaming up with Primo, though, was a tiny bit controversial at first, since DJ Premier was the producer of a different legendary duo, Gang Starr, along with the late Guru.  Ryan found himself playing defense to ensure that hip hop heads didn't actually think he was stupid enough to try to replace Guru.  Which was a really foolish thing for people to complain about in the first place: it's not like Primo re-formed Gang Starr with Royce at the helm or anything.  PRhyme is entirely separate.  But hey, some people are fucking stupid.

PRhyme is a short album consisting of only nine tracks and a handful of guest features from acts outside of Royce's typical trajectory (and also Slaughterhouse, because duh).  But Premier realized that he needed to do something a little bit different to make this project stand out in his crowded discography, so he challenged himself to use only samples drawn from different Adrian Younge projects.  Younge specializes in soulful works with influences coming from many different sources, such as blaxploitation films (see: his work on the soundtrack for the funny-as-shit film Black Dynamite) and Italian horror flicks (see: Ghostface Killah's Twelve Reasons To Die, which Younge produced in its entirety), so his relatively small back catalog still offers Primo many different directions to take this album's sound.

So.

1.  PHRYME
At least Royce and Primo understand that rap album intros aren't necessarily, um, necessary.  The self-imposed restriction to using cribbing from only the music of Adrian Younge informs this title track, a surprisingly subdued affair with an interesting beat, if minimal intrusion from Primo, while Nickel Nine uses his bars to...well, he talks about being in his "PRhyme", which was to be expected, but he then burns an awful lot of his time in misogynist mode.  Which I realize is nothing new: any guy who spends as much time as Royce does talking about his dick is bound to talk shit about how he uses it.  But he sounds especially bitter on this title track, almost as though he has spent too much time reading through Eminem's notebooks.  So this song was okay, but it left a bad taste in my mouth.  (Again, this is hip hop, and misogyny is, sadly, par for the course, as we've all discussed and debated before, but I think we can all agree that it would have made much more sense for Ryan to merely talk shit and promote both himself and DJ Premier, as opposed to what he actually ends up doing, on this title track, right?)

2.  DAT SOUND GOOD (FEAT. AB-SOUL & MAC MILLER)
Not the first two rappers I would consider if trying to fill the guest spots on PRhyme myself, but I'm sure Ryan and Primo had their reasons for choosing Black Hippy's Ab-Soul and MTV2's Mac Miller to spit alongside our host over a pretty good, not-flashy-at-all instrumental. (Primo's self-imposed restriction appears to be leading to more focused beats.  I can't be mad at that.)  Royce sounds alright as usual (but not quite as angry: I guess he bought himself something nice with his Bad Meets Evil royalties), and Mac Miller doesn't embarrass himself, but the surprise for me was Ab-Soul, a guy I don't usually give a fuck about, and his excellent performance...that he kind of screws up with his last line, which doesn't rhyme with anything, is delivered with so much apathy, and isn't as deep as he wants it to sound.  But overall, "Dat Sound Good" sounded good.  Thank fuck, because that title could have easily become the joke of the project.

3.  U LOOZ
Short enough to have been the intro (and originally earmarked as such, according to early interviews with our two hosts from around the time PRhyme was announced), but who am I to criticize how albums are sequenced?  Oh yeah; I'm Max.  Anyway, "U Looz", as short as it is, bangs in a matter-of-fact manner, as Ryan spits a single verse full of the skillful bullshit he's best known for.  Hell, his verse is even pretty goddamn funny.  Primo's instrumental is a welcome oasis in the desert better known as all of those copycat sample-on-sample-on-sample loops the man has produced over the past decade: it's good to hear the man actually trying again.  Primo's bars, which are real and actually do happen, are more of a quick gag than anything else, as they happen right after Ryan pays his respects to Guru (R.I.P.).  Not bad, though.

4.  YOU SHOULD KNOW (FEAT. DWELE)
Subtle, low-key, and focused: who knew that was the formula DJ Premier should have been following all this time?  "You Should Know" is pleasant enough to listen to with your grandmother (although she'll have to look past all of Royce's comments about his dick) and to bang in your car (your vehicle probably won't be quite as offended by all of the phallic talk).  The verses are all on point, and fellow Detroit resident Dwele's crooned chorus, made up only of the titular phrase and sometimes an ad-libbed "Yeah", is pretty good: it fits the mood perfectly.  But the beat is the real winner tonight.

5.  COURTESY
The first single, which didn't really do anything for me when it first dropped.  Ryan is as boastful as ever, and Primo's organ-heavy instrumental certainly isn't bad (although it veers from the boom-bap you two were most certainly hoping for).  But the whole of "Courtesy" is less than the sum of its parts.  Royce tries to boost his energy level toward the end of his second verse, but it's too little, too late: "Courtesy" is the audio equivalent of a shrug from two artists who don't believe that they have to prove shit to you, and the lack of effort and passion shines through.  Sigh.

6.  WISHIN' (FEAT. COMMON)
And we're back, folks.  Primo's nice-as-fuck instrumental during the intro, altered throughout "Wishin'", first appeared in the video for "U Looz": adding Royce lyrics only brings the goddamn house down.  Primo fucks with the beat just enough to keep things fascinating, while Royce alludes to previous DJ Premier-produced favorites at the beginning of his verses.  Ryan's shit-talking reaches its zenith on "Wishin'", which would have ended up being the best track on PRhyme even without the guest verse from Hell On Wheels' Common, who fucking kills it on his cameo.  Lonnie's performance is so good that it made me remember that he dropped an album of his own earlier this year that I've all but ignored entirely.  This shit knocks.

7.  TO ME, TO YOU (FEAT. JAY ELECTRONICA)
Jay Electronica's album may never come out (that's almost guaranteed at this point, but then again, we finally got a D'Angelo follow-up, so...), but the man himself still manages to build up enough of a buzz to keep a roof over his head.  His verse on "To Me, To You" isn't "it would have been considered great had Kendrick Lamar not overshadowed everyone and their goddamned mother on 'Control'"-levels of good, but he does well with it.  This is the Ryan and Primo show, though, and our hosts deliver on their promise to entertain the listeners who are willing to look at this project in a different way than they might have, had the duo dropped it shortly after their first collaboration, 1999's "Boom".  Age and (slight) maturity complements this duo well.

8.  UNDERGROUND KINGS (FEAT. SCHOOLBOY Q & KILLER MIKE)
It was a goddamn brilliant move for Ryan to bring in all of these random surprise guests.  Ab-Soul, Jay Electronica, and now ScHoolboy Q and Killer Mike (currently riding a high of critical praise thanks to Run The Jewels 2) must have all been thrilled to spit over a DJ Premier instrumental, especially one that is such a non-Primo-esque banger such as the one found on "Underground Kings", which probably should have thrown in a Bun B cameo for good measure, but whatever.  Quincy turns in a decent effort, although the beat is much more demanding that what he usually chooses to spit over, but both Ryan and Michael deliver hot verses, Mike in particular proving that he's still capable of ripping shit even if El-P didn't produce the track.

9.  MICROPHONE PREEM (FEAT. SLAUGHTERHOUSE)
The second Primo/Slaughterhouse track to drop this fall (the other being the ridiculously-titled but still pretty good "Y'all Ready Know", which makes no grammatical sense and should have been called "You Already Know", but whatever, from the recent Shady XV compilation, which I have no plans on writing about so you should probably get your thoughts out in the comments below), and the slightly more successful of the two, thanks to the conceit that "Microphone Preem" (I realize even DJ Premier refers to himself as "Preemo", but I personally hate that spelling and will stick with "Primo", thank you very much) is actually a direct sequel to their self-titled debut's Alchemist-produced "Microphone", itself a goddamn banger to this today.  Crooked I, Joell Ortiz, and the U-God of the crew, Joe Budden, join both halves of PRhyme to unleash bars of fury to help close out this project, with each artist helping to jog the listener's memory of the song's predecessor during their respective hooks.  The beat is subdued if you ignore the banging old-school drums, and Primo keeps his deejaying in check (read: no random sound bites taken from other songs scratched in all over the beat, just in the designated spots).  A nice way to leave things.

About a week after dropping the album, Royce and Primo debuted a video for a b-side, "PRhyme Time", that they shot in conjunction with the Fila brand.   It's alright, but the curiosity factor (why would they choose to shoot a video for something that they left on the cutting-room floor?) ultimately trumps the song's quality.  Still, more Royce punchlines are always appreciated, so while I can't recommend that you track it down, it's still alright enough.

THE LAST WORD:  As long as you two aren't expecting an album full of "Boom" or "Shake That" and their ilk, PRhyme will entertain the shit out of you, as it is one of the best hip hop releases of the year (a really shitty year, but still).  DJ Premier's challenge to himself pays off in a huge way, as Adrian Younge's source material draws more focus and empathy out of the man, as his instrumentals explore boom-bap avenues that he hasn't really attempted ever since Gang Starr moved away from jazz.  Royce da 5'9" also showcases a level of maturity and self-awareness that he's never really revealed before, although his bars are still full of the hilarious boasts and dick jokes that made him a blogger favorite in the first place.  They bring the best out of one another, as all of the best duos tend to, and I, for one, am glad that PRhyme exists in the first goddamn place: some of the best Royce solo songs have been produced by Primo, and I'm happy to report that their first collaborative project doesn't disappoint.  Not every track is perfect (I could stand to ditch a couple of them outright), and the mileage on some of the random (and inspired) guest stars will vary depending on how much you like, say, Mac Miller, but overall, I enjoyed this short album and hope for a sequel.  Ryan and Primo aren't as incendiary as El-P and Killer Mike are in Run The Jewels, but they don't have to be: they travel in their own lane within our chosen genre.  And it's nice to see Primo getting back to producing entire albums, with that Bumpy Knuckles project (well, he produced the majority of that, anyway) and now this.  Still, I can't help but wonder what PRhyme would have sounded like had Nas taken Royce's place.  Can you imagine Nas on "Wishin'"?  Come the fuck on. Speaking of which, what's the spread on Primo and Esco finally connecting for a full-length?  Hey, we just got a brand-new D'Angelo album after fourteen years of promises: I'm now convinced anything can happen.  Except for Detox.  That's never coming out.  Sorry.

-Max

RELATED POSTS:
There's more Royce da 5'9" to be found here, and as for DJ Premier, this link will assist.




73 comments:

  1. You keep talking about how shitty this year has been for hip hop. I disagree, and I notice that you have yet to review Cocaine Piñata, which was one of the best, if not the best, in quite a while. There were other good ones too.

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    1. It's been shitty a lot. Not many decent releases came out

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    2. 2014 will go down as the shittiest year in hip hop history. Pinata sucked. Boring Gibbs over left-over Madlib beats? no thanks.

      oh, and this album sucked. and that's coming from a Premo mega-fan. I didn't like a single song on this thing.

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    3. I gotta agree with Tochi. Gibbs definitely isn't the great rapper people are claiming him to be. I would've liked to see Scarface swipe those beats for himself though because he was the shit on Broken.

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    4. *becomes unglued from Gibbs' nutsack* i'll just say i feel Pinata was the best album of the year and leave it at that

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    5. I'm a fan of Madlib but FUCK Freddie Gibbs. And PRhyme fucking bangs.

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    6. Gibbs over rated madlib should of gave them beats to Roc marciano

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  2. the beat for Slaughterhouse Preem sounds like some old school Gang Starr shit. Can't complain.

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  3. I liked this a lot, though its not my favorite of the year. Speaking of, 2014 was generally pretty shitty, but I thought there were 5 or 6 excellent albums, which is more than enough for me.

    Anyway, I like Courtesy more than you do due to Royce's 2nd verse, but I agree on most of the other songs. Also, Nas on Wishin would be awesome. I was really hoping he would get at least a guest verse on here.

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  4. I know it's a big deal D'angelo released a new album but you mentioned it twice. Are you a fan of his max?

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    1. I mention a lot of things all the time though.

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  5. I haven't heard this yet.
    Then again, I liked this year's A Better Tomorrow, so you probably won't like what I have to say about this shit.

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    1. Heard it now. I definitely approve. Even though I hate Mac Miller's braggadocio shit. He's capable of much more interesting stuff when he's introspective.

      Still like A Better Tomorrow, just in case anyone's wondering.

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  6. Royce and Primo's first collaboration is actually 'My Friend' and not 'Boom'

    This album is good though, Jay Electronica isn't the best person for a Primo beat, Common does his thang. Premier's beat on 'Ya'll Ready Know' is weak as fuck

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    1. The 12-inch for "Boom" came out in 2000. "My Friend" was never an official single, just an album track on Rock City, which dropped two years later. I don't know which was recorded first, though.

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    2. It was 'My Friend', Royce said so himself on Hot 97. Also, to be extra awkwardly picky, 'Boom' came out in December 1999

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    3. Eh, what's this blog if we're not being picky? I stand corrected. "My Friend" had nowhere near the impact of "Boom" though.

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    4. Word. I mean these are two different MILLENIUMS we're talking, here.

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  7. I think you should review the D'Angelo album, like I know this is a Hip Hop blog but maybe you could make this an annual thing, like review Just One album thats not of our chosen genre then promptly return to hip hop for a full year then do it again...Idk its just a thought though, what do u think?

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    1. I already do review the occasional non-hip hop album - look for the "Something Different" tag in the sidebar. But no, I have no plans to write about D'Angelo.

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  8. This album is awful what are you talking about Max?

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  9. I agree Anon. Weak ass album. mostly because the beats were underwhelming.

    which brings me to an important point: Detox will come out before the Nas/Premo album AND will sound better

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    Replies
    1. Nah, they'll both suck, let's be real here.

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  10. A few tunes on here, but overall underwhelming, given how folks are hyping it up. Dude is still capable of coming out with a few nice beats a year, but I think the days of premier being able to make an album full of hot beats are long gone. Good review though... -Melquan Shabazz

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  11. Everybody saying that 2014 sucked in hip hop needs to shut the fuck up. It is your own fault if you listen to that plastic ass radio garbage instead of the fucking great albums from Apollo Brown & Ras Kass, Pharoahe Monch, Black Milk, Ghostface, L' Orange, Cormega, Freddie Gibbs & Madlib, Cunninlynguists, Souls of Mischief, The Audible Doctor et fucking cetera. There was even more I had on heavy rotation, I m sure I forgot some. PRhyme is dope as fuck too, love how Primo did something new and tried to shake up his formula.

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    1. My sentiments exactly.

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    2. all those albums were weak as fuck. has it occurred to you that a hip hop fan can not like radio and also not like mediocre underground releases?

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    3. I bet you're one of those trolls who says that an album like Run The Jewels 2 or Mega Philosophy is too preachy.

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  12. i think freddie gibbs and madlib was album of the year even better than rtj2

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  13. Melquan ShabazzDecember 29, 2014

    All those albums were wack as fuck.. Monch is great but his album had about two tunes that i still listen to. Adrian Young makes great shit for me to fall asleep to. L'Orange? No thanks.. i don't like french rappers. And Peter fucking Cetera? Are you kidding me? Dude ain't had a hot tune since the Karate Kid part II soundtrack.

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    1. Hey Melquan I gotta disagree. Black Milk's album was huge. And if you didn't like Freddie Gibb's and Madlib's album, I'd just be very surprised. Makes me wonder what you do like to listen to

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    2. Dude.
      You are listen to the wrong fucking genre if you think that an album like Mega Philosophy is anything but a fucking monster of an album. Ghostface dropped another gem of an album, though not quite as high as last year's Twelve Reasons To Die. And ESPECIALLY not as good as its accompanying Brown Tape, a remix of the entire album by Apollo fucking Brown. Speaking of which, he is hands down the best new school producer in the fucking market, and Blasphemy is damning proof. So, bottom line, I respect the fact that you're allowed to have an opinion. My opinion, however, is that your opinion is absolutely crazy.

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    3. Melquan ShabazzDecember 30, 2014

      I like what I like. Actually, even though I'm not a big fan of either Madlib or Freddie Gibbs, that album was pretty good. I take that one back.
      I haven't heard that ghostface remix album. It was made by Apollo Brown? I listened to that Gas Mask album by The Left that he produced a few years ago and couldn't understand why everyone was hyping it up. Wack. Does his recent stuff sound like that? If so, then no thanks. Has he improved a lot since that album? Like how premier's beats on the first Gangstarr mostly sucked and then he became awesome but now he's making beats like this? If so then maybe I'll check for him before he starts sampling soporific Adrian Yong beats. If not, then I'll have to pass.
      Adrian Younge did a damn good job on that black dynamite soundtrack, but I don't dig his hip hop beats at all. Wack. Dude should stick to soundtracks. Haven't listened to the new ghostface yet, but everyone says that its' not as good as the previous one which is just meh to me.

      No, sorry, Mega Philosophy isn't exactly what I'd call monster of an album. That said, I just went back to give it a listen. Some of those beats bang. I actually like Large Pro beats even when they're just average. Good stuff to listen to while I comment on album reviews. I'm not so big on Cormega. I've always found him a servicable rapper but nothing special. A bit too preachy for my tastes. A few of those tunes get ruined by horrible choruses. Some dope beats on there for sure though... too bad Large Professor didn't just use them for himself. He's not as rippidy rappin as Cormega, but I enjoy his lyrics. I just realized there is an instrumental version of that album, so I will actually listen to that. Thanks.

      What do i like recently? Off the top of my head, Your old Droog album is nice. Michael Christmas album is cool. "Rap" by Shirt, is not a bad album. Run the Jewels is enjoyable in small doses. Good for working out but not exactly something to throw on when teaching the young ladies how to fry up some asparagus. There's probably some other stuff that I liked. Notice I don't claim any of these albums are banger monsters or monster bangers. I'm too old to listen to every damn album that comes out but that's some pretty good stuff. And Karate Kid part I soundtrack was way better than Karate Kid Part II soundtrack. You're the Best? Cruel Summer? Classic. Peace.

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    4. If I feel that a certain product is awesome, I'm calling it that. I don't give a fuck what anyone thinks. And MY benchmark for Apollo Brown work was the Trophies album with OC. Product was some of the best shit I've heard in recent years. So based on that fact along with his recent output, dude remains the best hip-hop producer from the new school in my eyes, regardless of crazy-ass opinions. Speaking of which, I can't imagine for one single moment how anyone can even stomach Michael Christmas, let alone like him. Droog on the other hand spits like a motherfucker but is constantly failed by his beats, which are mostly good, but they're not a good fit for him. SHIRT?? Really?? His is some retarded shit right there, although at least he is better than fucking Michael Christmas.

      Warning.

      Incoming tantrum.

      Stop reading.

      Please.

      Knowledge of self is one of the five basic elements of the Hip-Hop art-form, and if you think that a certain hip-hop product is too fucking preachy, then you're contradicting a basic and inseparable aspect of the culture. Compare any of the artists you've mentioned to an album like Dah Shinin', Lifestylez Ov Da Poor & Dangerous, The Infamous, Temples Of Boom, All We Got Iz Us, etc... While an album like Mega Philosophy can stand toe to toe with albums like Return of the Boom Bap & Muse Sick-n-Hour Mess Age.

      Bottom line, your opinion remains absolutely crazy, in my humble opinion.

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    5. "L'Orange? No thanks.. i don't like french rappers." You either need to shut the fuck up if you dont know what you taking about or stop trolling. Dude is neither french, nor a rapper.

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  14. Max you should definitely check out Ab Soul, he has made a lot of good tracks in his relatively short career thus far.

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  15. Melquan ShabazzJanuary 02, 2015

    Anonymous #1. No one said that music can't be preachy. I just said most preachy rappers aren't for me. I only referred to those albums that I mentioned as "cool" or "not bad" so I'm not going to go deep into defending them. Those older albums you mentioned are all dope (not sure about the latter day PE album but hey we all like what we like. I mentioned a fucking bananarama song that like and i'll defend that shit over michael christmas any day!) Overall though, that was awesome. You've got some strong opinions. I love it- You'd probably be a fun dude to talk shit with.

    Anonymous #2. Upon reading your statement, I looked up a youtube video of him. Dude was wearing sunglasses, talking about how he grew up on poetry and smoking a cigarette. Seems pretty damn french to me. You're right though, he's not a rapper.

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    1. Anonymous #1 is Shoe-in

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    2. Sure he is.

      Anonymous #1, I think you're missing out on quite the few producers with your opinion on Apollo Brown. I mean, sure he's dope but to single him out as the absolute best seems pretty damn farfetched to me. And for the record, I agree with you on Michael Christmas.

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    3. Anonymous #1 is probably Cormega

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    4. @Shoe-in

      Name one.

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    5. Quick to respond eh? If you don't believe me...
      He's the only person who thinks Mega Philosophy is a MONSTER, and he wrote the review!
      Now. Check. The.

      COMMENTS SECTION

      for CZARFACE

      And.

      He mentions Dah Shinin above ^, check the comment sections for THAT too

      And then tell me it's not the same style of writing.

      -Anonymous

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    6. It would be kind of amazing if this thread really was shoe-in arguing with himself.

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    7. Also, @Melquan, thanks for making HHID the only rap blog to mention Bananarama. The streak continues.

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    8. Melquan Shabazz-

      No doubt, Max. I know you know that tune is the shit.. how did that beat never get sampled during the bad boy era?

      This thread has become hilarious.. random dudes on the internet really get angry when other random dudes on the internet don't like the same albums that they like.

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    9. -Melquan Shabazz

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    10. -Melquan Shabazz

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    11. @ Melquan - http://youtu.be/0pqO1Gt0SFI

      From Foxy Brown's cancelled 2003 album Ill Na Na 2: The Fever, which was to be executive-produced by Puff and apparently distributed by both Def Jam and Bad Boy, so it kind of counts. Never popped off because the album was cancelled and, well, you can hear the rest for yourself.

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    12. Melquan ShabazzJanuary 08, 2015

      Oh wow- your rap nerdery is strong, Max! Yeah, I can see why that one never popped off. I guess some beats were just never meant to be...

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  16. My fucking pleasure, Melquan

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  17. Max, you just gotta believe that Detox will come out.

    BELIEVE #FreeDetox

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    1. Dr. Dre is a billionaire off of horseshit headphone technology. Dude never has to lift another finger. Which is why Detox will never come out: Dre has nothing left to prove. What's he going to pay ghostwriters to write about, how hard it is to spend ten million in an hour?

      It's more likely that Dr. Dre will buy Once Upon A Time In Shaolin and release THAT shit instead at this point.

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    2. (whimpering voice): But Dr. Dre loves hip-hop!

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  18. @The Shoe-In obsessed anon, I personally wouldn't waste one goddamn minute researching what another guy commented on two years ago. To which I ask: why all the trouble? Is there something you're trying to prove?

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    1. Can mice eat cheese with its friends?

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    2. Mice don't even prefer cheese. Science fact.

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  19. Im always skeptical that those people who constantly complain about the state of rap are really even fans of the genre.2014 was not a shit year. So much dope shit came out, the problem is people would rather fucking complain than actually search for it. Just say you're a fan of certain rappers because if you didnt like any album released in 2014 that says alot. Or better yet just say you're a 90s rap fan.The REAL fans can ALWAYS ignore the weak shit and find the good music. The funny thing is I seen Max hype some weak ass albums (Wu, Jay, Em) but downplay political rap on this blog Lol. Gotta love that bias! Lets be real. Max and (most) of his readers are those people who love when rappers talk about murdering each other but call it corny or preachy when they wanna empower or inspire one another. Look at that positive rap on the sidebar, oops my bad it doesnt exist. Shoutout to true fans of the genre!

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    1. So rap is either political or about murdering people? This is a blatant false dichotomy. I'm sure you'll find that there is tons of rap that is neither. Also, while being positive is clearly an admirable trait , that unfortunately doesn't necessarily equate to quality music. Probably my favorite album of the past few years is Killer Mike's RAP, which is highly political and yet not preachy at all, yet there are other rappers who try to be political or "conscious" but their music simply isn't enjoyable to me. There is no battle between REAL fans and FAKE fans. People just listen to the music that they enjoy. Peace.

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  20. i like the beats, but the same problem plagues this album that has followed Premier his whole career-weak MCs. Royce is okay, but I can think of a lot of guys that would benefit from a whole albums of beats other than this guy.

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    1. Royce is much more than an OK MC, bro.

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    2. hey BRO, he is fine but i do not consider him anything special. he has some good tracks, but like i said, there are a lot of other guys i would rather see team up with primo to make a whole album. his rapping on this record didn't impress me that much. i'd throw him in with guy like cormega who gets tons of praise, but i don't see what everyone else does.

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    3. I guess it goes back to what are you exactly looking for in a rapper, bro.

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    4. i'm looking for talent.

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    5. Define talent, bro.

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    6. you know it when you hear it.

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    7. Such a cop out, bro.

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  21. I only heard one song off RTJ2, Close Your Eyes, and if the rest of the album sounded like that, then RTJ2 is no AOTY. For sure.

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    1. if i heard you stubbed your toe, i'd be happy

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    2. I appreciate the subject matter very much.
      I just can't stand trap rap.

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    3. ....i dont even know what that means

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    4. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trap_music

      Trap music, or trap rap. Hope this helps.

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    5. I wholeheartedly second that. I despise trap rap, too.

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  22. Truth hurts, don't it?

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