the most anticipated albums of 2009 in my opinion have actually impressed me to say the least, which surprising because i haven't really been much of a mainstream hip hop listener until recently, since music in that genre is showing a little bit more promise these days. there is good stuff out there, you just have to look past the trends and material hype of the media and all th
at. we will never have another hip hop era like the 80s and early 90s, but instead we have a whole plethora of other things. i think that's what we've been failing to see. some music of our time, yes, is complete garbage. but it depends on who you ask. these artists wouldn't make it anywhere if everyone thought their music sucked, right? but obviously people like me will never be a part of the vast majority all the time.
So I've downloaded some albums, simply because I don't buy albums...I have other things to spend my money on, and I'd much rather have everything on my hard drive so i can bluetooth them to other computers and my phone without having to rip anything.
So I'm going to write these reviews. Hear what I have to say, and maybe at the end if I'm not sick of writing, I'll say a little bit more.
First up: Jay-Z's The Blueprint 3
This album when it came out didn't really excite
me because I thought it was another one of those albums that everyone wants just because of the artist and his associations. I was helping one of my friends out with his math stuff one day, and he was asking if he could come over and download it, since he lives in a dorm, and torrents and file sharing will cost you a hefty fine. So he asked me if I've heard it yet, and i said no, I haven't. I had intentions on listening to some 30 second clips, but never downloading the entire thing. So he said, it's good stuff, and I should give it a shot. This person has an interesting taste in hip hop, so I was like, well it can't be that bad. So I downloaded it, and listened to it. It's not like any
thing that Jay-Z has put out before, the beats are more captivating, and I've always kind of liked his rapping style. Actually, I like a lot of northern rappers because of the way they rap. and he had collaborations with a lot of other artists like Kid Cudi, Alicia Keys, and Kanye West...and there was a new guy named J. Cole I liked a lot. So overall, I think it was a good album considering the state that music is in. I give it a B+.
Next Album: Kid Cudi: Man on the Moon: The End of the Day (i hope i remembered it correctly)
Great Album, I don't think anyone was expecting any of the stuff on it. Kid Cudi gave everyone a rap impression with "Make Her Say" featuring Common and Kanye West, which is one of my favorites on the album. Most of this album, though, is a rap-sung style. a lot of his verses are sung which is some different stuff in the game these days. Which is pretty cool. I like his whole surreal, out-
of-this-world theme that he has going on. His music videos also reflect that. I think his music is good for listening, and just that. Some of them are foot-tappers, but not really a get-up-and-move album. I still really like it though. "Man on the Moon" and "Enter Galactic" are also some good ones to hear. I also liked his mixtape that was released earlier (A Kid Named Cudi), two songs called "Embrace the Martian" and "50 Ways to Make a Record". 50 Ways is a sample of a song called "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon, recorded in 1975.
Overall, GREAT ALBUM.
And...Wale, Attention:Deficit
I love this album. I heard better lyricists as far as the cadences and syncopation in their raps, but Wale has a way with words. There are some artists that you can tell whether or not they know how to use the English languages and the words in it, or if they're just trying to make their bars rhyme. He has a nice flow though, and it's good stuff for a debut album. Wale has been around for a while, but this is his first real thing, and I think it's pretty good. The only song on there I change when it comes on is called "Pretty Girls" featuring Gucci Mane. And you probably know why. I really like"Diary" and "TV in the Radio" featuring K'Naan. The first time I've heard K'Naan rap was when he had a freestyle at the Hip Hop Awards or something last year. I liked his freestyle, and his verse on "TV in the Radio" is also a real nice one. Wale's album in my opinion was pretty impressive, and i know a lot of people who like "Chillin" featuring Lady Gaga. She kinda reminds me of M.I.A. in that song, but whatever, it's cool, I like it. I also think it's cool that DC and PG county are kinda on the map now, and Wale is also a Nigerian who happens to be from the same tribe as I am, which really didn't influence my opinion before. Just interesting to know.
GOOD album, I give it two thumbs up.
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as far as the whole industry is concerned, I really want to hear more of J. Cole, K'Naan and there are some others I can't think of.
Oldies? LAURYN HILL. hands down. she is one of best female vocalists ever. I still listen to eminem's Slim Shady EP and the Marshall Mathers LP. Curtain Call is good too, eminem is VERY talented, i don't understand that garbage he put out this year. but it's different, so I respect it. Bizzare and some other D-12 artists are also pretty good, listen to a song called "No One's Iller", it's on Slim Shady EP, and there's a song called "What's the Difference" on Dr. Dre's 2001 album.
Hope you liked my review! you know, despite all the typos i probably had in there... hahahahaasjdhajshdas=]
