In 2002, the Clipse released their breakout hit “Grindin'” instantly gaining everyone’s attention as the duo ripped the Neptunes classic instrumental. Following up their debut hit, they released the club anthem “When’s the Last Time” showing their persistence with singles. Their Neptune-produced album Lord Willin’ featured both tracks, and many more bangers about lying females, their differences from other rappers, and more raps about crack than all of Jeezy’s albums combined. Their following album Hell Hath No Fury was fully produced by the Neptunes as well, but didn’t have the mainstream success as their debut, yet and still was well received by critics. Three years later, they strike back with their current album Til The Casket Drops, slightly switching up their subject matter and swapping out a couple of Neptunes beats with Sean C. & LV, and upcoming producer DJ Khalil. Will the Clipse’s changes to their content and production affect their reliable strategy, or will Til The Casket Drops prove their consistency?
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Album Review: Clipse – Til The Casket Drops
8 12 2009Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: Clipse
Categories : Hip Hop, Reviews
Album Review: 50 Cent – Before I Self Destruct
19 11 2009
Throughout 50 Cent’s career, he’s proved himself to be a rap superstar and a tyrant in the industry. His first two albums sold impressively and his previous LP, Curtis didn’t sell as well as expected but still managed to go Platinum. Fif was so confident in Curtis‘ success that he even bet his rap career that he would outsell Kanye West’s Graduation which was going to be released the same day. Eventhough 50 lost the bet and received average reviews, he’s back with his newest album Before I Self Destruct. After being pushed back several times, will Before I Self Destruct put 50 back on his Get Rich or Die Tryin’ status or be another Curtis?
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Tags: 50 Cent
Categories : Hip Hop, Reviews
Album Review: Wale – Attention Deficit
12 11 2009Wale – Attention Deficit
2009 was the year of new MC’s; Drake gained a mainstream buzz with his So Far Gone mixtape, Charles Hamilton dropped his digital release, and Asher Roth and KiD CuDi released their debuts. Then there’s Interscope’s newest signee Wale, the first rapper representing D.C.. After heating up the mixtape circuit with projects like The Mixtape About Nothing and Back to the Feature and being managed by Jay’s Roc Nation label; listeners wondered if Wale was ready to take on the mainstream Hip Hop scene. After a couple of push backs, his debut album Attention Deficit is here; the real question is, does Attention Deficit hold your attention?
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Tags: Wale
Categories : Hip Hop, Reviews
Album Review: Ghostface Killah – Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City
30 09 2009
Out of all 9 members of the Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah is arguably the most successful and consistent as a solo artist. He’s dropped a total of 8 albums and are typically filled with street joints, imaginative story telling, and unforgettable soul samples. Occasionally throughout Ghost Dini’s discography, you’ll find the songs for the ladies; on Bulletproof Wallets he had “Never Be the Same Again” with Carl Thomas, Pretty Toney featured Missy on “Tush” and Fishscale had “Back Like That” with Ne-Yo. Ghost’s past tracks for the ladies and an R&B vibe helped him take a new direction with his eighth LP Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City.
Will the album continue Ghostface’s consistency, or will it be a cliche record for the ladies?
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Tags: Ghostface Killah
Categories : Hip Hop, Reviews
Album Review: KiD CuDi – Man on the Moon: The End of Day
16 09 2009
Last year a new Hip Hop artist emerged with his breakthrough single “Day N Nite”. The sound of the track was innovative and unique, and it eventually got swagger jacked by the likes of Jim Jones and Jermaine Dupri. Listeners wanted to hear more of what Cudi has to offer besides his debut single. Then we were hit with his first mixtape, A Kid Named Cudi (click here to check it out). In traditional mixtape fashion, Cudi provided original material, and of course his rendition of popular songs like Gnarls Barkley’s “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul”, and “Spaz” by N.E.R.D.. The mixtape showed Cudi’s various musical aspects and summed up his lyrical style with this line “All I do is try to make it simple, the ones that make it complicated/Never get congratulated”
The mixtape caught the ear of Kanye West, which landed Cudi a deal on Ye’s GOOD Music imprint, and Universal/Motown Records. After working on album’s like 808’s & Heartbreak, acheiving popularity with his single “Day N Nite”, and being featured on many publications, Kid Cudi releases his debut album; Man on the Moon: The End of Day
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Tags: KiD CuDi
Categories : Hip Hop, Reviews
Album Review: Raekwon – Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II
9 09 2009
In the 90’s the Wu-Tang Clan were an elite rap group from Staten Island made up of nine unique, hard body MC’s. Throughout their reign, they released group albums and a long list of solo albums. Some of the most known solo albums from Wu-Tang members are Method Man’s Tical, Ghostface Killah’s Ironman, and Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. Any fan of Hip Hop can easily identify Only Built 4 Cuban Linx as arguably the best album from a Wu-Tang member and it still receives positive recognition from Hip Hop fans till this day. OB4CL pioneered the “Mafioso” rap style in ’95, and since then Raekwon has released solo albums and group albums which didn’t come near the caliber of his debut album. Ten years later, it was announced that Raekwon was going to make a sequel to the classic album, but after a number of changes and push backs, it didn’t hit the stores until 2009. Does Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 live up to it’s predecessor, or is it another Immobilarity?
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Tags: Raekwon
Categories : Hip Hop, Reviews
Album Review: Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3
8 09 2009
It’s been eight years since Jay-z released his classic Blueprint album. The album featured some of Jay’s best verses, limited guest appearances, and unforgettable soulful production. The following year the sequel was released, and instead of being a thirteen (fifteen if you include the bonus tracks) track LP, Jay decided to make the second album of the series his first double album. The album featured numerous tracks which helped it live up to it’s title “The Gift and the Curse”. Fans agreed it didn’t live up to it’s predecessor, but still managed to enjoy songs spread out through both disks. Jay decided not to add on to the Blueprint series with his next few albums but in 2009, he revisits the Blueprint series to drop his most anticipated album since The Black Album.
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Tags: Jay-z
Categories : Hip Hop, Reviews
Album Review: Fabolous – Loso’s Way
6 08 2009
In 2001 Fabolous dropped his debut album Ghetto Fabolous, branding himself as a Brooklyn MC, with a smooth delivery and witty punch lines. Ghetto Fabolous is arguably Fab’s best album to date, with his current album Loso’s Way as the runner up. Throughout Fabolous’ discography, he released chart topping singles, radio friendly music, and still remained relevant to hip hop. With his latest LP, he decided to make it more appealing to the streets with a theme of a gangster movie. The album title alone is inspired by Carlito’s Way, hence the title Loso’s Way.
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Tags: Fabolous
Categories : Hip Hop, Reviews
Album Review: Method Man & Redman – Blackout! 2
21 05 2009
One of the rare occurrences in Hip Hop today is collaboration albums. Numerous solo albums filled with guest appearances have been released over the decade, but rarely do you see collaborative albums. Breaking this rare trend is the dynamic duo Method Man and Redman with their sequel to their platinum album Blackout! During their ten year hiatus, the two made a cult classic comedy, released two albums separately, and even had a short sitcom on Fox. The duo’s solo albums were both received as average, excluding Method Man’s commercial attempt Tical 0 which received bad reviews. Now with Hip Hop’s Cheech & Chong reunited, will the album spark more than the solo efforts, or will the album be another “Method & Red”?
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Tags: Method Man, Redman
Categories : Reviews
Album Review: Busta Rhymes – Back on My B.S.
19 05 2009
In the early 90’s Busta Rhymes emerged onto the rap scene with his groundbreaking hit “Woo Hah (Got You All in Check)”. Busta brought outstanding energy and excitement to hip hop and maintained the momentum throughout his career specializing in party friendly music. Many LP’s later, Busta tries add more of an edge to his content with his Aftermath debut The Big Bang. Despite branding himself the “Godfather of the Club Banger”, Busta switched his style up a bit to break away from the “animated” stereotype he was receiving and balancing both club songs and street music. His eighth album Back on My B.S. (cleverly abbreviated as BOMBS) is Bussa Bus’ attempt to revert back to his charismatic style of music and have less of the street feel that The Big Bang provided.
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Tags: Busta Rhymes
Categories : Reviews
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