Vaudeville

"Ray Charles looking for a star/ But wishing on a plane again"

I have to tell you, I stumbled on a big ol' chunk of gold with this album.  As always, I'm really hesitant about new hip-hop.  Bad hip-hop is very bad, so I try not to branch out too much with hip-hop unless I have a recommendation or a review or something of the sort.  Well, D-Sisive had none of that: he's an independent hip-hop artists, has no reviews for his album whatsoever, and hasn't been on the scene very long.  I have to say though, I could not have been happier with picking up D-Sisive.  He is easily, without question, one of the best new rappers I have come across since Lupe Fiasco.  His style is incredibly interesting, mixing a flow like that of Slug from Atmosphere, but at the same time he has a sort of quirkiness like Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes.  In addition to that, D-Sisive manages to have a sort of uncertainty behind his music; several of his songs have an eerie undertone which really sets him apart.

"Vaudeville" is the newest album in a surge of creativity from the Canadian artist.  After his mother died, D-Sisive had a bout with depression and didn't make anything for six years.  Surprisingly enough, after listening to The Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice," he was inspired.  Since then, he's signed with URBNET Records and has released one EP and three LPs.  Suffice to say, he's had an explosion of creative juices.  While D-Sisive's sound may not cater to the pop culture hip-hop listener, he will definitely appeal to any hip-hop listeners who sway in the direction of independent or underground artists.

"Vaudeville" starts off incredibly light hearted with an almost fairy tale like beginning which consists of a little girl reciting a little poem.  D-Sisive then continues to sing a short melody and then transitions into his rap.  What makes "Vaudeville" so eerie is that it doesn't stray toward hard or soft rap in any particular way.  What he does a good job of is maintaining a steady tightrope act between comforting, heart-felt songs and raw, aggressive, almost angry songs.  At the same time, D-Sisive could easily emerge onto a pop culture scene with some of his more upbeat songs, "Ray Charles" and "West Coast" among them.  Now thinking about it further, there's no way I can really pin any sort of mood to "Vaudeville;" "Ray Charles" really gets you tappin' your toe, where as "Riot" is most definitely a fight song; "The Night My Baby Died" is an expressive, angry lamentation where as "I Love a Girl" is uplifting and love inspired.  D-Sisive is a master of expressing emotion and his flow is definitely the beginnings of greatness.   He carries himself with confidence and while not every song is gold, he's confident in what he brings to the tavle and his lyrics never suffer.  Each and every song has great content and the entirety of the album is a joy to listen to.  I know I won't be able to put him down for months and will definitely be a frequent visitor to "Vaudeville."  If you were to consider any of the recommendations I've made so far, consider this one.  D-Sisive is easily the best independent rapper I have ever stumbled upon and is an artist every hip-hop listener should have in their library.  Take a listen here.

King of Hearts

"It's the ind of the worl, baby, so let's have fun"

Alright, once I crank this one out, I'll be half way to being caught up.  While KVCU has been giving me new albums every week, I haven't gotten any hip-hop until last week when I picked up Camu Tao's "King of Hearts."  I was skeptical because I'm pretty picky about my hip-hop and am very critical of what is and isn't good hip-hop.  When I played "King of Hearts," it was definitely something different, not exactly what I was used to.  While some tracks do have that typical hip-hop feel, other songs definitely seemed to stray towards a more punk-pop feel.  "Be a Big Girl," the albums opening track, in particular has Tao singing rather than rapping and has a very bubbly, upbeat, synthesized beat.  Since this is the overwhelming feel for a majority of the album I started to get worried that I wasn't going to get a genuine hip-hop album.  Just as I was thinking that, along came "Ind of the Worl," a track that not only has a powerful bass line, but also has some impressive rapping skills as well as lyrics.  Now while these tracks are seemingly sparse on the album as a whole, when they do pop up they're impressive.  "Major Team" manages to carry a bit of grunge into the album to balance out the pop feel with some quickly spit lyrics and a very swanky beat which really helps to round out the album.

Right as I was about to finish "King of Hearts" I ran into the last track on the album "Kill Me."  Now, up until this point I had a feeling that something was bit off about the album as a whole;  something about it felt unfinished.  With "Kill Me" my suspicions were nothing but proven.  The track consists of a capella rapping and singing, all of which sounds really disorganized and mindless.  Certain parts sound like a jam session of voices, most of which have little to no harmonizing abilities and are incredibly off key; I was prepared to tare this song a new one.  However, had I not been a part of KVCU and was forced to do my research for their reviews, I would not have found out one crucial fact about this album.  After two years of battling lung cancer, Camu Tao passed away on May 25th, 2008.  The album was originally supposed to be released last year, but was postponed until August 17, 2010.  After Tao's death, several collaborators and friends made an attempt at finishing the album, but without Tao's insight, didn't want to change anything they were uncertain about.  Collaborator and friend El-P says that while some “songs are bare… a lot of them are just what he wanted.”  This respect for Tao by his collaborators is what produced "Kill Me."  With this knowledge and listening to the track again, there's a certain rawness that really draws you in; its almost as if you're listening to a ghost, unable to really know what the track was originally meant to be, only exposed to the nakedness of the song. 

"King of Hearts" will definitely take new listeners a few times through to get used to Camu Tao's style.  The way he merges pop-punk with hip-hop is interesting to say the least.  However, in taking this direction he creates a multitude of unique and interesting sounds.  After having read up on his death, it is clear that Camu Tao inspired and touched several other people in the music industry.  He certainly will not be forgotten in the music world and with a track like "Kill Me" really heightens the awareness of our own mortality, but also that of the artists we listen to on a day-to-day basis.  Take a listen here.

The Odd Couple

"Got some bad news this morning/  Which in turn made my day"

Much like the Arctic Monkeys, I've been on a bit of a Gnarls Barkley binge as of lately.  For some reason, I just can't stop listening to them.  This is good because it gives me something to write about.  Now, while Gnarls Barkley's first album, "St. Elsewhere" (2006), received higher reviews than "The Odd Couple" (2008), I find myself enjoying the latter more.  Some may disagree, but I'll give you a few reasons why I like it so much.

First off, I want to start by saying that I do enjoy "St. Elsewhere;"  in fact, I enjoy it a lot.  However, something that makes "The Odd Couple" so great is that it has a much more seamless and encompassing mood throughout the album.  "St. Elsewhere" tends to be a bit all over the place and "The Odd Couple" flows much more smoothly from song to song.  I will agree that in terms of individual songs, "St. Elsewhere" is stronger: songs like "Crazy," "St. Elsewhere," and "The Boogie Monster" really show Barkley's creativity and versatility.  However, "The Odd Couple" definitely has the same juice.  More upbeat songs like "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" hearken back to "Go-Go Gadget Gospel," while "Would Be Killer" reminds listeners of "The Boogie Monster," solely because of its creepy factor.  

While Gnarls Barkley was praised for their experimentation in their first album, their second album is a bit more tame and down to earth.  Some might see this as a set back, I see it as a positive, only saying that the duo has found a bit of direction.  However, don't take that to mean there isn't any diversity within the album; "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" definitely strays from the common sound of "The Odd Couple."  Gnarls Barkley also manages to pull their funk roots back into "The Odd Couple" with "Neighbors" and "A Little Better."

Cee-lo's lyrics are inspired as ever, especially in "A Little Better" (Also, check out this cool video of "A Little Better" for MTV) which consists of rhyming triplets and really rounds the album out on a pleasant, ambient note.  While Cee-lo's range isn't as drastic as on "St. Elsewhere," he is much smoother and consistent, adding to the sound that branches through "The Odd Couple."  Dangermouse's beats are just as creative, some of the most impressive coming from the song "Charity Case," where he not only plays with the synthesizer and a running base line, but also manipulates Cee-lo's vocals in an impressively melodic way using several layered samples, as well as complimenting his voice with an almost omnipresent female vocalist.  Both Cee-Lo and Dangermouse successfully combine to take the smooth, yet some times heavy atmosphere from start to finish of "The Odd Couple."  

While there aren't as many stand out favorites as in "St. Elsewhere" and experimentation both vocally and instrumentally isn't as strong, "The Odd Couple" is a worthy successor to Gnarls Barkley's critically acclaimed debut album.  Cee-lo carries a passion and emotion in his vocals that is seldom seen in the music world and Dangermouse never ceases to amaze with his creativity and inspiration.  "The Odd Couple" successfully shows that Gnarls Barkley cannot only produce one great album, but two, and hopefully several more to come.  Take a listen here.  Also, I'd be lying if I didn't half write this review to put this picture of me and Cee-lo up:

"The Odd Couple": 84/100

Streets of Gold

For this review, I decided to take a look at something I didn't think I would like.  3Oh!3's (I will be abbreviating it as 303 for simplicity sake) has received incredibly low reviews getting comments such as "Streets of Gold is about as pleasant as a case of genital herpes" (Rolling Stone) and "Streets of Gold [is packed] with mindless, completely clustered romps through nothingness" (Absolute Punk).  Now, in all honesty, I have a bit of a soft spot for 303: they're from Boulder, they went to CU, and I enjoyed their first two albums, "3OH!3" and "Want."  Unfortunately, these comments from other reviews aren't very far from the truth.  303's "Streets of Gold" is easily the worst album the duo has released so far.

303 struck fame at first with their song "Holler 'Til You Pass Out" among native audiences, but gained national attention with their song "Don't Trust Me."  A comparison of these two songs really shows what has happened to the band over time.  "Holler 'Til You Pass Out," coming from their album "3OH!3," epitomizes what I liked about the band: they're an awkward looking, lanky white-boy hardcore rap group from Boulder, CO.  The vocals are harsh, complimented by the heavily synthesized and electronic sounding background music.  From this song comes the famous line "You'z a punk bitch if you don't know 'bout Boulda" which has to be one of my favorite lines 303 has ever come up with, just for the simple fact that I find it HI-larious.  "Don't Trust Me" on the other hand has a much different feel from that of the previously mentioned song.  While there's still a bit of edginess in the lyrics, the overall feel of the song isn't the same.  Its much more poppy and upbeat with little to no hardcore rapping, replaced by a vast amount of sub-par singing.  Unfortunately for 303, "Streets of Gold" seems to follow the trend that garnered national attention rather than that that accumulated native love.

While "Streets of Gold" isn't poppy entirely vocally, it is poppy almost entirely in instrumentals and content.  Every other song has some sort of connection to their fan base which largely consists of college students and those who which they were college students (namely guidos and high school students).  "My First Kiss" guest stars Ke$ha, who, in my opinion, makes me want to throw up all over the place, take a nap, and then throw up again.  As much as I hate Ke$ha, she seems to compliment 303's vocals fairly well and this song will undoubtedly be a hit, if not the single 303 decides to release for the album.  "House Party" is most likely 303's most ingenious song lyrically, starting off by saying: "GONNA HAVE A HOUSE PARTY IN MY HOUSE/ Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, PARTY/ Thursday, Friday, Saturday, PARTY/ Sunday better find somebody else/ So for one day i don't have to clean up after myself/ Everybody say FUCK THE CLUBS (FUCK THE CLUBS)/ FUCK THE CLUBS (FUCK THE CLUBS)/ Say FUCK THE CLUBS (FUCK THE CLUBS)."  This song alone drastically lowers the scores "Streets of Gold" has been receiving and is by far one of the worst songs I have heard in a long time.  I can understand writing stupid songs for an audience, but this song eludes stupid with something that stupid even thinks is stupid.  I hope that not even a drunk frat boy smashing Keystone Light in his face would enjoy this song.

*Note: After looking for links to "House Party" I found that they've already made a music video for it... this is upsetting*

One song manages to stand out among the rest on the album, however, and that song is "I Know How To Say."  This might be because the instrumentals are fairly reminiscent of an old song by The Offspring (a band that has always been a guilty pleasure of mine), but with that aside, the instrumentals aren't terrible, the lyrics are fairly creative, and 303 doesn't sound poppy but rather rock-like, which is closer to their roots.  However, as the song proceeds, it gets worse.  The chorus really takes away from the verses, but doesn't ruin the song entirely.  What really ruins it is around two minutes and fifteen seconds when 303 begins chanting "Aishiteru/ Te amo!/ I love you!/ Je t'aime!/ Everywhere I go I always say the same thing/ In Russia, Japan, Brazil, Spain/ Everywhere I go they seem to scream the same thing."  Now, this wouldn't be so bad, but they butcher the pronunciation of "Je t'aime" (French for "I love you" if you couldn't guess).  Its bad enough when the content of your song, rather, your album as a whole is stupid, but to actually get things wrong and sound stupid on top of that doesn't help.  Sure, your main audience won't care, much less notice, but its things like this that make me appreciate the fact that I don't listen to main stream music.  Lyrics should be creative and inspired and 303 is fresh out of inspiration.

3Oh!3's "Streets of Gold" caters to a particular audience, an audience that snagged them fame on a national level.  They've strayed from their hardcore rap roots so much that the 3Oh!3 of the past and the present could likely be considered two different groups entirely.  Furthermore, they insult their fan base by both lowering the quality of their instrumentals and the content of their lyrics, showing that, for now, the creativity they were once adored for has disappeared entirely.  Beyond that, 3Oh!3 decides to tack on two tracks at the end of the album which were already previously released: "Don't Trust Me" and "Starstrukk."  "Strarstrukk" makes a bit of sense because this version is featuring Katy Perry, a version that was only previously available through the duo's music video of the song.  "Don't Trust Me," however, doesn't make any sense; nothing in this version of the song has been changed, remixed, or even changed in the slightest from  the version that was on "Want."  In my eyes, its just another low ball attempt for the duo to entice fans to buy their album by placing their first hit on it just for the hell of it.  "Streets of Gold" will likely be popular among the national 3Oh!3 fan base, but native Coloradians that discovered them before they hit it big will likely be disappointed.  The duo has found success straying from their roots and it is incredibly unlikely that they will return.

Take a listen here. 

"Streets of Gold": 22/100

Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty

"Damn, and that wasn't nothin' but the intro.  Here we go."

Four years since the release of Outkast's "Idlewild" Big Boi has blown critics away with his debut solo album, "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty."  Averaging a Metacritic score of 90 thanks to rave reviews from Pitchfork (92), NOW Magazine (100), and the L.A. Times (88) it seems as though Big Boi hasn't fallen far from the tree of Outkast's record success.  "Idlewild" aside (receiving an average score of 72), Outkast is no stranger to high reviews with "Stankonia" receiving an average of 95 and "Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below" receiving an average of 91; In fact, "Stankonia" was the highest rated album of 2000 and Outkast was the highest rated hip-hop artist of the past decade.  Even after a label dispute regarding Andre 3000's appearance on the album causing Big Boi to completely change his track listing, he still managed to pull through and blow everyone out of the water.  Thankfully, Andre 3000 still manages to make an appearance as a producer on "You Ain't No DJ" and, although removed from the final track list, on "Lookin' For Ya," which can be found on YouTube thanks to Big Boi.

Listeners, undoubtedly, will still feel like they're listening to Outkast even with the absence of Andre 3000.  However, even so, Big Boi's sound is a little different from what can be heard in his half of "Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below."  Big Boi has always had a harder more gangster sound between the two members of Outkast, but has always managed to successfully pull off a very smooth, jazz type feel as well.  Songs such as "The Way You Move" and "Church" from "Speakerboxx" definitely have a softer, smoother sound to them when compared to his more gangster rap songs like "Ghetto Musick" and "Last Call."  These sorts of songs, while not entirely absent, are definitely overshadowed in Big Boi's solo debut.  "Be Still" featuring Janelle Monae definitely calls back to Big Boi's softer roots, but overall the song is unimpressive.  For people who have followed my blog you'll know that when I reviewed Janelle Monae's "The ArchAndroid" I raved about her creativity and range vocally.  However, in "Be Still," while she sounds incredibly smooth and has a beautiful voice, nothing about this song shows off how much talent she has; This song, to say the least, is boring.  

"Sir Lucious Left Foot" definitely has more strength in its faster, potential club hits such as "Shutterbug" and "Shine Blockas," as well as its harder, more gangster songs such as "Tangerine" and "Night Night."  "Shutterbug," which by far will be the song the album is remembered for, shows that Big Boi still has the same impressive flow in 2010 that he had in "Humble Mumble" from "Stankonia" in 2000.  While "Shutterbug" will definitely be the most well known song from "Sir Lucious Left Foot," "Tangerine" is without doubt Big Boi's most impressive song.  The steady guitar, the slow but heavy bass drum, and the clapping meld together to make an incredibly sensual and seductive back beat.  Big Boi and T.I.'s flow create the same sort of atmosphere that can be seen in songs such as "The Next Episode" by Dr. Dre.  What's that atmosphere you say?  A strip club.  You can't argue me on this one, Tangerine is a strippers name and I won't hear anything saying otherwise.  "Tangerine" just has the feel of a completed song; nothing is missing and it seems to accomplish exactly what its striving for.  Big Boi and T.I. create an impressive tandem and the overall feel of the song is just awesome.

Big Boi, however, does fall short in one aspect with "Sir Lucious Left Foot" and that's with his guest appearances.  He has a stellar cast of featuring artists such as Janelle Monae, B.O.B., T.I., Jamie Foxx, and George Clinton, but with several of these artists Big Boi fails to utilize them as well as he could have or should.  I've already mentioned how Janelle Monae's vocals are boring and lackluster, but the most disappointing of these guest appearances has to be George Clinton's.  "Fo Yo Sorrows" is an incredible song that really shows of Big Boi's talent lyrically and his incredible flow.  He addresses Hurricane Katrina quickly by saying "'member when the levee scream, made the folks evacua-ezz/ Yeah, I'm still speakin about it 'cause New Orleans ain't clean/ When we shout "Dirty South", I don't think that is what we mean/ I mean, it means the rough, the tough, the dangerous, we reign supreme."  However, although George Clinton is on this track, his appearance is very brief.   He chimes in during the songs intro as well as the bridge and outro.  In both instances he talks about how much he likes smoking weed, something that is far from news to anyone who know George Clinton (I mean, just look at the picture of him, come on).  Unfortunately, it seems as though Big Boi only really makes use of the lesser known guest appearances on his album such as Gucci Mane, Too Short, and Cutty.  While these artists make a solid contribution to the album, they're not nearly as exciting as some of the other names that grace the album.  Even Sleepy Brown, who had an incredible appearance on Big Boi's "The Way You Move," while appearing on a track seems to go unnoticed in "Turns Me On."

Outside of the unfortunate misuse of his guest appearances, Big Boi sounds incredible on this album and is definitely at the top of his game.  He still has the flare and spark that made him so intimidating in "Stankonia," yet seems more polished and refined both as a rapper and a creative artist.  Even with several road blocks in the midst of the albums creation, Big Boi manages to turn out a fresh sounding and beyond impressive solo debut.  "Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty" is an album that should be in every hip-hop listener's collection.  With a solo debut album coming up potentially this year, the ball is in Andre 3000's court.  Hopefully he'll be able to produce a solo album of the same caliber as Big Boi.  Take a listen to the album here.

"Sir Lurcious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty": 89/100

Recovery

After over a week of sitting in a wedding, reading the seventh Harry Potter, getting sun burnt, and eating cheese curds I'm finally back from Wisconsin.  Its nice to be home.  On to the review, and its gonna be a long one, its Eminem:

"Cinderella Man"

I was really anticipating the release of Eminem's new album "Recovery," and had been for a long time.  Anyone who reads my blog might have read a post I wrote about Eminem talking about why I hold him in such high esteem as a rapper.  After listening to his 2009 release "Relapse" and being severely disappointed, I was expecting a lot from this album.  When I first listened to it I was pleasantly surprised.  Where on "Relapse" Eminem took a dramatic turn towards his more comedic rapping style, in "Recovery" he definitely tries to return to the edgy, angsty, angry sound that made him so popular on his "Slim Shady LP" and "The Eminem Show."  At first, I thought the album was great.  After talking to a friend of mine, however, I realized that even though he is trying to dig back down to his roots, it isn't possible; there is absolutely no way Eminem can be the Eminem that Dr. Dre originally discovered.  He's changed drastically and he just isn't the same.  After listening to the album a few more times, I realized that this is even more true in terms of his rapping and lyrics.  The best way I can describe it is through this analogy:  Say you have a friend who you go out drinking with a lot; you have fun, get drunk, get schwasted, whatever.  Say later they become an alcoholic and are crazy out of control.  They check into rehab and afterward, you're glad they're sober, but they're just not as much fun as they used to be.  Well, that's Eminem.

Eminem has always been the epitome of edgy rap.  Certain rappers like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, 2-Pac, and the Notorious B.I.G. pushed what was typically acceptable to rap about by (as Steve Berman puts it in "The Marshall Mathers LP") "rappin' about big-screen TVs, blunts, 40's and bitches."  Eminem, however, took it to an entirely different level, as Steve Berman again puts it, "rappin' about homosexuals and Vicadin."  Its without question that Eminem is the edgiest most controversial rapper out there.  In fact that's what attracted me to him; he is entirely different from any other rapper that has ever picked up a mic.  In his 2009 release "Relapse" Eminem was almost entirely devoid of his typical edge.  "Relapse" focused more on his comedic side and although it did have some disturbing content, such as his song "3 AM," even those songs were rapped in his more joking style of rap seen in hits such as "My Name Is" and the "The Real Slim Shady" (save for the stand alone harder song "Underground/Ken Kaniff" at the end of the album).  In "Recovery" Eminem really does try to turn back to his harder edgier style, but, unfortunately, with little success. 

His single from the album "Not Afraid" conveys feelings of regret for his last album, confessing that he knew it was a disaster, saying "Let’s be honest, that last Relapse CD was 'ehhhh.'" He also addresses his absence from his fans right before by rapping "And to the fans, I’ll never let you down again, I’m back/ I promise to never go back on that promise."  Eminem really does stand out on this track and does sound a bit like his old self.  Its nice to hear him own up to his mistakes and actually apologize to his fans.  While this is all well and good on "Not Afraid," Eminem wears his apology a little too thin, the same subject matter appears in several other songs such as "Cinderella Man."  He exhausts several other themes such as how he hates "the fame" but loves "the game;"  how hip-hop can't be the same without him and he's not going away; and how he has been constantly doubted as a rapper.

To get the rest of the negativity out really quick, the only other serious downfall on this album is that Eminem doesn't make the most of his guest appearances.  In "Won't Back Down" and "Love the Way You Lie" he has P!nk and Rihanna as guest appearances respectively.  However, all they do is sing the chorus and nothing more than that.  Having two hot, popular female artists on a hip-hop album is huge and to not use their vocals to your advantage is a huge mistake.  The only guest appearance Eminem makes use of is Lil Wayne in "No Love;" however, even then, this song doesn't seem to compliment Lil Wayne very well and one would expect a duo of Eminem and Lil Wayne to make a hilarious rap song if used correctly.  Unfortunately, the end product is an almost cheesy, heart-broken ballad with Haddaway's "What is Love" as a back track.

Onto what makes this album good, namely three tracks: "Cold Wind Blows," "Almost Famous," and "Cinderella Man." While at first I didn't really enjoy "Cold Wind Blows," after listening to it a few times I liked it more.  Eminem has comedic rapping in it (my favorite line is "Yeah I laugh when I call you a slut, its funny!") while still having a sort of tough back beat.  I was unsure about the chorus at first because its Eminem singing which is never pretty.  However, after listening to Mariah Carey's "Obsessed" it is clear that this song is a little stab at her.  Although Eminem already DESTROYED Mariah and her husband, regrettably, Nick Cannon in his single "The Warning," everyone knows that Eminem tends to hold onto grudges for quite some time.  His flow overall is really solid and his content is decent making an overall standout song.  "Almost Famous" has an eerie, almost creepy sound that borders on a hybrid of "Amityville" from "The Marshall Mathers LP" and "3 AM" from "Relapse."  A female vocalist sings the chorus which really provides for the eerie atmosphere.  The lyrics in the song back track through how Eminem started out and made it famous.  Although this is a subject Eminem has touched upon several times in the past, the lyrics are strong, dynamic, and manage to paint an impressive pictures with lines such as "Now there he goes in Dre's studio cuppin' his balls/ Screaming the wood off the panel/ And cussing the paint off the walls."

"Cinderella Man"  in my opinion, is the best track on the entire album.  It starts with Eminem talking over a stomping and clapping beat, closely followed by a male choir singing.  The male vocalists also later sings the hook "Cinderella man, Cinderella man, Cinderella man" mingled in between Eminem's verses which really compliments the harshness of his flow.  The chorus on top of that, while being somewhat cheesy, is incredibly well constructed and really works as possibly one of the best he's ever created: "Now guess who who (hey)/ Here's a clue (hey)/ He came to a ball in a wife beater/ Lost his Nike shoe/ It's in ya ass (hey)/ He's in ya ass, he's all up in ya psyche too/ Now what's his name?" followed by the choir repeating "Cinderella Man."  The overall feel of the song really juxtaposes a calm, relaxing feeling with one of anger and triumph creating an epic song that really shows that Eminem still has his spark. 

While its not his best album ever, Eminem does have some shining moments in "Recovery," which ended up with an overall Metacritic score of 61, which is a huge success, considering that he started his release out with as low of a score as 30.  Thankfully he had high reviews from Entertainment Weekly (83) and Rolling Stone (80).  Where "The Marshall Mathers LP" (arguably his best album) has all good songs with stand out great songs, "Recovery" has some decent songs, some good songs, and one great song, "Cinderella Man."  Eminem will never be the edgy rapper he used to be.  He's not struggling as much as he once was and although I'm glad his life is almost entirely turned around, that in turn turns around his rap as well; his torment and anger is what originally fueled his fire.  Fortunately, "Cinderella Man" shows listeners that Eminem doesn't need to be at the bottom of the barrel in order to create something great.  Take a listen to it here.

"Recovery": 79/100

Check out Mariah Carey's "Obsessed" and Eminem's rebuke, "The Warning" and you be the judge as to who won the battle.

Why Shock Value II Isn't as Good as the First

"Oh, Timbaland, where you gon' run to?"

I cannot tell you how disappointed I was once "Shock Value II" (2009) by Timbaland came out.  Now, as far as ratings go, "Timbaland Presents Shock Value" (2007) didn't do much better, it had an overall score of 54 whereas "Shock Value II" only dropped four points to a 50.  However, there are three reasons in particular why Timbaland's second round of Shock Value isn't as good as his first.

1. Beats

To start off light, Timba's beats aren't nearly as catchy as in his first album.  He had fun playful beats in songs like "The Way I Are" and "Give It To Me," he had heavier beats in songs like "Bounce" and "Apologize," not to mention his incredibly unique beats in songs like "Oh, Timbaland" and "Bombay."  His second album however really is lacking in this department outside of a select few songs ("Carry Out" and "If We Ever Meet Again" among them). 

2. "Oh my goodness, [Timbaland has] built in auto-tune!" (Name the song and you win forever)

This second point bothered me a lot.  Timbaland had a few different songs in his first album where he used auto-tune, but it was relatively limited.  For the most part he rapped and was pretty good at it.  To put it in perspective for you, in his first album he uses it a few times, maybe three times, the only stand out song being his hit "The Way I Are;" even then, its very subtle and adds more of a vibrato if anything.  In his second album, Timbaland uses auto-tune heavily in eight different songs, not to mention lightly in several others; the album only has 17 tracks in total, you do the math.  Why is Timbaland using auto-tune so heavily?  Well, as far as I can gather from listening to the album its because he wants to sing.  His first album only had a few instances where he really relied on singing, whether it be verses or choruses.  In his second album, in nearly every song, either a verse or chorus has Timbaland singing with the help of auto-tune.  You're not T-Pain, Timba, there's a reason why people respect you more than him, but you're tarnishing you're reputation.

3. Guest Appearances

This, in my opinion, is what hurt Timbaland's second album the most.  In Timbaland's first album, you could tell right away that he knew EVERYONE.  He had collaborators that were familiar faces, such as Justin Timberlake, Kari Hilson, and Nelly Furtado, to ones that were completely out of left field, like Elton John, The Hives, and M.I.A.  Now, while some of these people return in his second album (namely the familiar faces), Timba has a completely different list of guest appearances.  Let me name a few for you: Jojo, Drake, Chad Kroeger (lead singer of Nickelback), Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, The Fray, Daughtry, Jet.  Do you notice a patern?  Each of these artists has had some sort of break in the MTV mainstream culture.  Jojo was a teen sensation a few years ago, Katy Perry broke out onto MTV last year, Daughtry originated from American Idol, and we don't need to mention Miley Cyrus.  Timbaland has taken a drastic turn towards the pop scene and left his creative sound in the dust.  Where on his first album he used Elton John's piano styling and The Hives abrasive yet unique sound to create new and exciting tracks, in his second he tries to appeal to what is "now."  Drake is a new pop hip-hop artists that is "now" (How do I know this?  He was on a Sprite commercial) and Miley Cyrus is currently, and regrettably, the face of teenage girls across America.  

Now, in all fairness, after listening to "Shock Value II" over the past couple of days, its not nearly as bad as what I had first thought and that's probably because I had really, REALLY high expectations.  I thought "Carry Out" was a stupid track, but after comparing it to "Bounce" from his first album, I realized they were counterparts.  I can't help but laugh when Timbaland compares a woman to an IHOP.  Secondly, although I don't approve of his turning towards more "now" guest appearances, some don't do a terrible job, namely Katy Perry and, as much as I hate to say it, Miley Cyrus (her song is set-up much better for her than are the songs for Chad Kroeger and Daughtry, which are unimpressive to say the least).  Overall, Timbaland really needs to go back to finding a unique sound rather than what's "now."  His first album was so unique and creative that it deserves more credit than it originally received.  Also, I cannot stress this enough, LAY OFF THE AUTO-TUNE!  Its fun sometimes, yes, but not for nearly every single song.  Remember where you came from Timba: You're an excellent producer and not a half bad rapper, however, singing is not in the cards for you.  I hope Shock Value III is better than II.  With that being said, I would highly recommend listening to "Timbaland Presents: Shock Value."  Take a listen here and if you really want to, "Shock Value II" is here.

"Timbaland Presents: Shock Value": 87/100

"Shock Value II": 58/100

The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book

The Rock is the shining moment of this album.  That's right, The Rock.

Surprisingly enough, this is the first hip-hop album I've ever reviewed.  Being someone who listens to a larger amount of hip-hop than anything else, I found this surprising.  Here we go though, my first hip-hop review.  I've been seeing Wyclef Jean everywhere and I was curious as to what his music sounded like so I downloaded one of his more popular albums "The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book" (2000). Although its not his highest rated album (that would be "Carnival II: Memoirs of an Immigrant" (2007) scoring a 72 overall), scoring mixed reviews ranging from 91 as the high and 20 as a low with an average of 67, it still seems to be Wyclef's first major album that brought him attention after his split from The Fugees in 1997.  

Overall, the first thing you notice when looking at the album is that Wyclef definitely knows people.  He has several different people (not artists) featuring on his album, including Mary J. Blige, Earth, Wind, & Fire, Whitney Houston, Kenny Rogers (yes, that Kenny Rogers), and, the reason I said people, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson;  Yes, Wyclef Jean has a track with The Rock on it.  Surprisingly enough, the song that The Rock features on, titled "It Doesn't Matter," is actually really catchy and The Rock is limited enough on the track that it doesn't seem like some sort of gimmick.  

A lot of Wyclef's songs are very hit or miss.  Most of his songs in which he raps are very solid and even on the track "However You Want It," his flow sounds a lot like that of Mos Def from his track "New World Water" from the album "Black on Both Sides."  Where Wyclef has a fairly good flow with decent subject matter (although his line "Wake up, wake up, I'm in a nightmare dream" makes me want to throw up), the same cannot be said for his singing.  His vocals are rough and although he does sound passionate, its not very good.  Singing is something Wyclef should definitely keep to a minimum on this album, however, the tracks are almost split 50/50 with rapping and singing (He should take a hint from Eminem who tried to sing on his album "The Eminem Show," but kept the singing to one track, "Hailie's Song").  The worst among these tracks has to be "911" which features Mary J. Blige.  This track is especially disappointing because, although I'm not a huge fan of Mary J. Blige, she does an incredible job on this track.  However, with each verse, Wyclef and Blige switch off singing.  Wyclef attempts to sing within the same vocal ranges as Blige and all that comes out are flat, sharp, and off key notes.  Had this been a song that alternated between Blige's vocals and Wyclef's rapping it would have been a significantly more enjoyable track.

The entire first half of "The Ecleftic: 2 Sides II a Book"  is pretty good.  The rapping is consistent and even the track with Kenny Rogers isn't half bad.  However, once the album hits the track "Perfect Gentleman," the album takes a dive bomb.  "Perfect Gentleman" is close to the worst song I have ever heard in my life;  Its at least a lot less than what I expected from Wyclef Jean.  The beat is terrible, combining a subtle symphony with a drum machine beat on top and it easily has the worst chorus in the world: "Just 'cuz she dances go-go/ It don't make her a ho, no/ Maxine, put your red shoes on, hon/ We going to the disco/ We gonna eeeeelope to Meeeexico/ Called up my mama, said I'm in love with this strippah, yo."  Really?  "Just 'cuz she dances go-go/ It don't make her a ho, no" as a hook?  Terrible, terrible.  Not to mention the way its sung makes it even worse.  

Overall, Wyclef does a good job on this album, but only insofar as his rapping goes.  His singing is warm and heartfelt, but its so rough that its incredibly hard to listen to.  "It Doesn't Matter" featuring The Rock and "However You Want It" really save this album.  These two tracks should be a guideline for how all of Wyclef's albums should be.  He needs to stay away from singing unless he takes lessons and learns what pitch is.  That being said, this album is good, but only half of it.  I give it a 60/100.  Take a listen here.

The ArchAndroid

"Tip on the tightrope"

Janelle Monae comes to the stage with an incredibly successful album release in 2010 with "The ArchAndroid," which is a continuation of her 2007 EP "Metropolis Street I of IV: The Chase," which follows the story of Cindi Mayweather, an android she introduces in the EP.  With Big Boi from Outkast mentoring and collaborating with her on this album, she has a solid rap background, but even so, she manages to jump to a pop/gospel/funk sound with seamless effort.  I can easily say that I did not expect much at all from this album.  I feel like female singers pop up every so often that have these great voices, but don't do anything incredibly special with them.  The last female vocalist I was really impressed by in terms of creativity was Regina Spektor.  Now, Monae is no Spektor, not to say Spektor is better, but they're in completely different fields entirely.  Where Spektor is unique because of her quirkiness, Monae is unique because of her intense vocal and instrumental experimentation.

Monae's single for the album is titled "Tightrope" which features a rap from Big Boi.  The music video for this song is what made me give Monae a chance.  In watching the video, she's incredibly different looking, but very entertaining.  Her sound is unique and although she seems like she would be one of those knockout singers who would just stand in front of you in a pretty dress and belt her lungs out, she presents an entirely different persona.  She seems fun and energetic and this song emulates that perfectly.  "Tightrope" is a very fun song and I'm sure it is the standout favorite among listeners.

What is most surprising about Monae is her versatility in sound, which can best be seen in comparing her songs "Cold War" and "Oh, Maker."  In the former, Monae has very gospel like singing, with long held notes and an intense chorus.  In "Cold War" Monae sounds very reminiscent of Cee-lo from Gnarls Barkley, calling to mind most "Transformer" and "Storm Coming" from Barkley's hit debut album "St. Elsewhere."  Only three songs later, however, Monae sings "Oh, Maker," which starts out with a very soft beat, with an almost indie sound.  Then, a steady bass line drops in with some simple percussion and backup singing while Monae starts to belt a little more.  Suddenly the indie feel (sounding very similar to Panic at the Disco's most recent release) turns into an rhythm and blues sort of feel.  Monae's ability to transform her sound on a dime and, furthermore, be able to pull it off without sounding awkward or wrong is incredible.  As Metacritic put it, "Monáe playfully leaps from cabaret to gospel to rap with a versatility that would make mentor/collaborator Big Boi’s head spin," a statement that could not be more true.

Another song to mention would have to be "Come Alive (War of the Roses)," which is Monae's most experimental song vocally.  The harshness of her voice and almost anger and despair she presents puts the listener on the edge of their seat.  The funky baseline, however, keeps the listener interested and even though the vocals are somewhat cacophonous, the funky instrumentals help to make a perfect synthesis of sound.  Although Monae has this radical experimentation in her album, she manages to keep some of her songs more mainstream to draw in a more traditional audience with songs such as "Faster" (a very poppy song) and "Dance or Die" (a more traditional hip-hop song).

Monae's versatility is incredibly impressive and there's more on her album I could go on and on about such as the quirky "Wodnaland" (something I personally think should have been on the "Alice in Wonderland OST" in place of some of the bullshit that was on there *cough* Avril Lavigne *cough*).  Monae, throughout the entire album only lost me at one point, which was with the last two songs of the album; both are roughly eight and six minutes long respectively, but sound so similar that they merge into one fourteen minute epic.  Its the only time I looked at my iPod confused as to whether or not the song had changed; with so much versatility in her album, I didn't expect the same sound for more than four or five minutes.

Monae received high reviews from Chicago Tribune (100), Entertainment Weekly (91), and Pitchfork (85) with an overall Metacritic score of 90, the highest rated album of 2010 so far.  I would highly, highly recommend "The ArchAndroid" to anyone who enjoys music.  Every song may not appeal to you, but with how experimental Monae is, its almost impossible that she won't have at least one or two songs you won't enjoy.  Overall, I have to give "The ArchAndroid" a 94.  Take a listen to it here.

"Tightrope" video

Just some thoughts

I haven't gotten around to writing a whole lot lately and I really want to start back up again.  I'll probably do another music review around the corner at some point here, but for now I just want to talk about... stuff.  I wanted to note an artist in particular I've been thinking about a lot lately: Eminem.  A whole lot of controversy swirls around Eminem, but regardless, I think he's an incredible rapper.  Yeah, he's losing a bit of his flair and originality, but he's still a lot of fun to listen too.  An album that's grown on me a lot is "The Marshall Mathers LP" mainly because its when he was at his prime.  He was still the angsty, angry white rapper that he stepped into the spotlight as in "The Slim Shady LP" and is just starting to realize his potential which was most clearly seen at the height of his career in his 2002 release "The Eminem Show." 

The first time I heard Eminem was at Sam Goody,  an old music chain that was shut down a few years ago.  They played music videos in the store a lot, most of them didn't catch my attention at a whopping ten-years-old, but Eminem's video for his first hit single "My Name Is" is an animated cartoon.  Automatically I remembered Eminem.  The next time I experienced Eminem was through his appearance on Dr. Dre's song "Forgot About Dre."  This was actually the first rap verse that I learned and I learned it in 6th grade.  "Now days everybody wanna talk/ But they got nothin' to say/ 'Cause nothin' comes out when they move their lips/ Just a bunch of gibberish/ Well, mother fuckers that's because the forgot about Dre."  Even now I still remember it. 

After this I payed attention to him a little bit, but not a whole lot.  It wasn't really until about the release of "The Eminem Show" that I really started to listen to Eminem.  I memorized all the words to "The Real Slim Shady"  and I knew at least the chorus to several other songs.  After his "Encore" release in 2004, however, I started to get a little annoyed with Eminem.  He had started moving towards the pop scene; his songs didn't have that same edgy and angry feel that I loved; I started to really get annoyed with him.  "8 Mile" didn't really help either, seeing as how he had blown up into this mainstream artist.  Everyone was asking me if I had heard of Eminem and I was getting sick of it because I had started listening to him about 5 years earlier.  I stopped listening to Eminem for a long time

It wasn't until last year, my freshman year in college, that I remembered him.  He hadn't done anything in a long time and part of me was happy about that.  I went home the same day I thought about him and I got a few of his older albums, "The Marshall Mathers LP" among them.  Not until I actually listened to this album all the way through did I realize that I had actually already listened to it a long time ago.  At one point in time, a friend of mine bought it, listening to it over and over again, the song "Criminal" in particular.

I've started listening to Eminem again more recently and "The Marshall Mathers LP" has really impressed me.  Lyrically, Eminem has always been great.  His controversial subject matter has always pushed the envelope, Eminem even goes as far to add recorded phone messages from his producer on his album saying how he doesn't know how he's going to sell the album.  Eminem has always had a knack for being a comedian, but its really his hard, edgy approach to rap that makes him great. He not only pushes the social boundaries for rap content, but he pushes it personally.  He talks about killing his ex-wife, Kim, and bringing his daughter Hallie along while he does it.  On another note though, in "Stan," he acknowledges the sort of effect that his music can have on people and tries to tell  them that its just him messing around.

I don't think that Eminem is the best rapper of all time, but he's definitely in my top 5 personal favorite rappers.  He's a lot of fun to listen to and if his angry and often disturbing lyrical content doesn't bother you, I would definitely recommend listening to him.  He's not like many other artists and in all honesty, there haven't been any other white rappers have even come close to Eminem's success.  His newer stuff isn't great, but some of it is still worth a listen.  Out of all of his albums, I would recommend "The Marshall Mathers LP" and "The Eminem Show" because that is the true Eminem that originally rose to fame out of Amityville.