Panfan's Music Reviews

Panfan · 10-22-2011, 01:00 PM

So in case you haven't noticed I really like music. And sometimes I have feelings on music that I like to share. So I figured I would post reviews and feelings about music that I've been listening to lately on here. I'll probably post stuff for anywhere between two and four albums at a time, on a weekly or biweekly basis. There may even be theme weeks.

I want to keep readers interested, so I'll also be taking requests for albums/songs to review. Anything is fair game, even the worst music you can possibly think of. I won't be able to listen to requests unless on weekends because I won't have access to Spotify except then, so I apologize in advance if it takes me awhile to answer a review request.

Without further ado, I'm gonna start this review blog thread thing with four different widely anticipated hip hop albums that have come out in the past few months. Reviews will be posted over the course of today.

Let's start it out with probably the biggest hip hop album to be released this year.

Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter IV (Young Money Records, 2011)

Like him or not, from 2004-2008, Lil' Wayne owned hip hop music. He was untouchable. In '04, he released Tha Carter, the first album that really set his rise to stardom in motion. It had one of the best mainstream rap singles of the decade with "Go DJ" and some utterly fantastic production. He followed that up with Tha Carter II in 2005, arguably his magnum opus. He combined his trademark punchline lyrical style with tons of great production. The album was quotables and is arguably a Southern classic by now. In 2008, he released Tha Carter III, which went into a much more mainstream direction but still kept the likability of Weezy's earlier material at its core. During this period he released a string of seemingly endless mixtapes filled with enough great songs to probably warrant at least two more great albums. It was also during this time where Wayne was featured on what seemed like every mainstream hip hop single and remix out there.

But oh how the mighty have fallen. Wayne followed Tha Carter III with his extremely misguided, laughably bad Rebirth. On this record Weezy attempted to make a rock album, and failed miserably. Critics tore it apart, and not even his biggest fans could defend it. Then he went to prison for a while, making every douchebag you know make a "Free Weezy" Facebook status for a good year. He released I Am Not a Human Being during his sentence, which was an album filled with throwaway material. After his release, he returned to the mixtape world with Sorry 4 the Wait, which was a preview of things to come with Tha Carter IV, his widely anticipated, true return to making music.

Yet the rapper on Tha Carter IV is only a shell of the guy who made "A Milli" and "Hustler Musik". The once extremely witty lyricist barely seems to be trying. He's still quotable, but because of how laughable his lines are. I lost count of how many times the words "I'M WEEZY F BABY AND THE F IS FOR..." are uttered. When he's not doing that, he's spouting such clever puns as "When it Waynes it pours". (For some more examples of his lyricism on this album, see this list). His flow also has gotten much slower, and during songs like "Blunt Blowin'" and "President Carter" just plod along, making the tracks seem much longer than they actually are.

But Wayne's famous for his excellent taste in production! The biggest names in hip hop should be submitting beats for him on this album, right? Wrong. While there's some decent production from the likes of veterans such as Cool & Dre, Polow da Don, Bangladesh, and T-Minus, most of the production comes from relative unknowns (who hopefully stay that way) like Snizzy, Drum Up, Noel "Detail" Fisher, and Young Fyre.

Wayne relies on his guests to carry him throughout the album. While he can produce some listenable verses on songs like "6 Foot 7 Foot" and "Megaman", he's constantly outshined on this album by featured artists on the tracks. "She Will" would be only a generic R&B-hip hop hybrid single without the help of Young Money labelmate Drake, and "John" wouldn't be a memorable track at all unless Rick Ross was there to make it delightfully over-the-top. The two best songs on the album don't even have Wayne on them. On the album's interlude and outro, he passes the mic to some of the best rappers to ever grace the music scene. On those two tracks, Andre 3000, Nas, Tech N9ne, Busta Rhymes, and Bun B give the best five verses on the album and make you want to listen to their much better albums instead of this mess. Drake and Jadakiss can't even do anything to save "It's Good", neither can a John Legend hook make "So Special" more listenable.

Even with Wayne's step down from his previous works and the mediocre production, this album had a chance to be listenable because of those great guest features. It might have been above average, even! But then there are two tracks that change that opinion. There's "How to Love", which is an acoustic ballad with Wayne warbling with autotune assistance. It's what the average 14 year-old girl will think is "sooo deep" lyrically and quote constantly on their Facebook status for the next three months (so basically it's a spiritual successor to B.o.B's "Airplanes" from last year). Then there's "How to Hate" which is another auto-tune heavy song with a T-Pain feature that sounds like Weezy took a track from Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak, took a giant **** on it, and stuck it in a blender. I can't really describe how the song sounds besides "ear-piercingly vomit-enducing". I've never actually made it past two and a half minutes of the song because it's that hideous sounding. I've heard songs on Merzbox that are easier on the ears.

In conclusion, Tha Carter IV is a sad attempt by a washed up artist to match his consistently good-to-great material from a few years back. I don't like to see a once almost untouchable rapper fall so far down in quality of material. But on this album, he's Weezy F. Baby, and the "F" is for "failure".

Best Track: "Interlude", performed by Tech N9ne and Andre 3000
Worst Track: "How to Hate", featuring T-Pain
Overall Score: 3.5/10

***Cosmonautical*** · 10-23-2011, 02:14 AM

I really have a hard time following recent "Hip Hop" artists, probably in large part to how I'd always taken interest in the actual music more than the emcees. Big Beat happened in the acid/breakbeat scene, though, and that really managed to replace Hip Hop as a genre for me - a lot of it felt like a natural progression without the Gangsta rap celebration of surviving poverty and violence. The abstracts that the Prodigy brought into the mix really took over, IMO, and I've rarely looked back since Fat of the Land. It's almost funny how much current Dubstep synth trends are imitating past vocalizer trends in Hip Hop.

The Beastie Boys stuff really does it for me, though, so I suppose there's that. They still do what I always liked about Hip Hop, and a lot of that has to do with experimental instrumentation mixed in with actual Hip Hop rhythms.

Any chance you can cover some Indie Folk/Alt-"Country" stuff with an edge for prose? I like the genre but it's really spread out and I can't seem to find one group that pleases me most of the time beside Laura Marling.

Panfan · 10-29-2011, 02:53 PM

^ Did you ever check out more Okkervil River? Because I remember you asking me about them a few years ago.

So I had a new review today but the entire thing got lost in a sudden shutdown of the computer that I was using, so I'm just gonna share my list of all the hip hop/r&b albums I've heard this year. #35 is really where I would start recommending stuff though, before that is awful to mediocre

44. Lil B - Illusions of Grandeur
43. Lupe Fiasco - Lasers
42. Wiz Khalifa - Rolling Papers
41. Big Sean - Finally Famous
40. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter IV
39. Death Grips - Exmilitary
38. Bad Meets Evil - Hell: The Sequel
37. The Game - The R.E.D. Album
36. 9th Wonder - The Wonder Years
35. Action Bronson - Dr. Lecter
34. Saigon - The Greatest Story Never Told
33. Schoolboy Q - Setbacks
32. Jay Rock - Follow Me Home
31. G-Side - The One... Cohesive
30. The Lonely Island - Turtleneck and Chain
29. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch the Throne
28. Danny Brown - XXX
27. Main Attrakionz - 808s and Dark Grapes II
26. Curren$y - Covert Coupe
25. Pac Div - Mania!
24. Killer Mike - Pl3dge
23. Lil B- I'm Gay (I'm Happy)
22. Tyler, the Creator - Goblin
21. Childish Gambino - EP
20. The Weeknd - Thursday
19. Chip tha Ripper - Gift Raps
18. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra
17. Curren$y - Weekend at Burnie's
16. Reks - R.E.K.S. (Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme)
15. The Cool Kids - When Fish Ride Bicycles
14. The Weeknd - House of Balloons
13. Raekwon - Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang
12. Curren$y - Verde Terrace
11. Random Axe - Random Axe
10. Stalley - Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music)
9. Das Racist - Relax
8. J. Cole - Cole World: The Sideline Story
7. Big K.R.I.T. - Return of 4eva
6. Evidence - Cats & Dogs
5. Kendrick Lamar - Section 80
4. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up
3. CunninLynguists - Oneirology
2. Elzhi - Elmatic
1. Phonte - Charity Starts at Home

Panfan · 02-07-2012, 03:02 PM

So I've noticed that I've kinda been sleeping on this whole reviewing process and promise to change that. So here's my review of one of the most-hyped releases of this year

Artist: Lana del Rey
Album: Born to Die
Year: 2012
Label: Interscope
Genres: Pop, Indie, Baroque Pop, Trip Hop

I've always been skeptical to hype bands. There have been way too many times where I've checked out a band on recommendation of blogs and review sites only to find myself finding the album mediocre or even downright awful (I'm looking at you, Wavves.) One of the biggest downfalls of music so readily available on the internet is that an artist can get hyped to hell and back with only a few songs. Lana del Rey is a perfect example of this. In 2011, Ms. Del Rey released two songs: "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans". Both are interesting takes on the tried-and-true subgenre of modern baroque pop. Her voice is somewhat raspy and almost baritone, and many people found Lana as a breath of fresh air in the tired world of pop music. "Video Games" dominated year-end best song lists. Personally, I found the lyrics in her songs somewhat lacking, but agreed with the general consensus that the production on her tracks was absolutely beautiful.

So after this giant hypewave (and of course, the wave of backlash from those who find the Lana del Rey persona too fake), we have Lana Del Rey's debut album, Born to Die. And at the end of it, it seems that the hype was all for nothing. There are some good tracks on here, for sure. "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans" still deliver, as do new tracks like "Radio". The title track is perhaps my favorite, with some absolutely killer production with some amazing strings. If the album was filled with "Born to Die"-calibur songs, this might be a pretty decent debut.

However, there are many low points on Born to Die. One of the prominent ideas on this album are the fusing of indie pop music with hip hop beats. In some cases, the elements from both genres work well. Other cases go way overboard though. On the song "National Anthem", Lana is basically rapping. Poorly. Lana's team of publicists and her fans who gave rise to the Del Rey Hypetrain of '11 claimed that one of the best things about her music is how it's in an altogether different direction from mainstream pop music. Lyrics such as "I'm your national anthem/God, you're so handsome/Take me to the Hamptons/Bugatti Veyron" beg to differ. "This is What Makes Us Girls" is also a laughably bad track where Ms. Del Rey tries to put on her "bad girl" costume in suit of obvious inspiration Nancy Sinatra, but fails miserably at it. "Diet Mountain Dew" is lacks as much flavor as the drink it's named after.

All in all, Born to Die might very well be the poster child for an ultra-hyped album coming up with lukewarm results. The lyrics are misguided, the music gets bland, and some of its more ambitious attempts fall flat. It's not all bad, though. Lana's voice sounds fantastic on some tracks and frequent Kanye collaborator Emile brings some great string arrangements on his production. Those elements bring what had potential to be a trainwreck of a debut to the level of "slightly below average".

Final Rating: 4/10
Best Track: "Born to Die"
Worst Track: "National Anthem"

Panfan · 02-17-2012, 11:12 PM

Artist: fun.
Album: Some Nights
Year: 2012
Label: Fueled by Ramen
Genres: Indie Pop, Power Pop, Arena Rock

There's really no band name that so describes the music that they make as "fun." Everything about the band oozes joy. Whenever I listen, I can't help but smile. The music is fun, period. I'm a big fan of fun.'s first album Aim and Ignite, as well as lead singer Nate Ruess' work with The Format. On this album, Ruess and friends try to expand their established style into stranger territories.

The biggest thing that grabbed me about this album was that it was produced by Jeff Bhasker. Jeff Bhasker is known for his work with hip hop and pop artists such as Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Kid Cudi. His best-known work is probably on Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak, notable for its heavy use of vocoders. On some nights, Bhasker helps take fun.'s established style and combine it with some of that Kanye/Cudi style production. This could very well end up sounding messy, awkward, and unintentionally hilarious. Yet on this album, it works.

The music and lyrics are typical fun. Huge melodies, huge hooks, huge everything. To say that the album is influenced by the work of Queen would be a huge understatement. The electronics act as merely layers that add onto the power pop hugeness that fun. has made themselves famous for. While most of the album is characterized by strong songwriting and catchy tunes on tracks like "We Are Young," "It Gets Better," and "All Alone", the album takes a step in the wrong direction with "One Foot" which almost sounds like a failed attempt to make a song in the style of Sleigh Bells, another band notable for huge, loud, anthemic songs.

Some Nights might not be the best release that 2012 has seen so far, but it does produce some of the best, catchiest pop tunes I've heard in a while. Plus it sounds like Queen combined with Kanye West, and that concept alone is ****ing awesome.

Final Rating: 8/10
Best Track: "All Alone"
Worst Track: "One Foot"

***Marilink*** · 02-18-2012, 01:18 AM

Hey panfan I'm going to a fun. concert in Minneapolis on April 13th what's up

Panfan · 02-18-2012, 08:13 AM

holy **** dude really? WHY DO ALL MY BEST FRIENDS HAVE TO GO SEE FUN. SHOWS WHEN I CAN'T

***Marilink*** · 02-18-2012, 10:53 AM

Why can't you go to that one in Lansing?

Panfan · 02-18-2012, 01:20 PM

They don't go to Lansing on this tour. They're in Grand Rapids and Detroit, both of which will interfere with school.

***Marilink*** · 02-18-2012, 06:04 PM

Grand Rapids, that's what I meant.

Panfan · 04-04-2012, 09:57 PM

Here's part one of my two-part review of the first quarter of 2012 music. For this part I'm gonna start off with what I thought of the hip-hop albums I've heard this year, then move on to everything else (I've never been able to really put hip hop albums on the same lists as other albums for some reason). Albums are ranked.

16. WZRD - WZRD
WZRD is Kid Cudi and producer Dot da Genius. These guys have collaborated before to much success (Dot da Genius produced Cudi's breakout hit "Day N Nite", which is one of my personal favorite Cudi songs). However, these guys don't really strike on this album. The overall package seems misguided and sloppy. This is Cudi's attempt at a psychedelic rock album, but I think therein lies the problem, since Cudi's "psychedelic rock" (it really doesn't sound like that though) album is also his first album sober. There are some highlights, like lead single "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie" and "The Dream Time Machine", but the rest falls flat. Notably horrendous is a cover of the classic blues song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", made famous by Lead Belly and then further immortalized in Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance. 4/10

15. T.I. - **** Da City Up
I really like T.I. He's been one of my favorite rappers since I got into rap. After a mediocre last album and some stints in prison, the King of the South is back with a mixtape. T.I. proves that he can still rap really well, and there's some nice production, but some pretty bad guest performances really bring this tape down. Hopefully T.I.'s just saving his best material for the upcoming album. Notable exception to the mediocrity is "Popped Off", which is probably the best thing Dr. Dre's been associated with in the past five years. 5/10

14. Tyga - Careless World
I'm not a fan of the Young Money label at all. Lil Wayne makes the occasional good song, and I really like Drake, but that's it. The most recent artist to release off of this beast of mediocrity is Tyga. I wasn't gonna check this out, but I was really interested by the features (Nas! J. Cole! Busta Rhymes! Wale) and production (Pharrell! Boi-1da! Cool & Dre!). Both of those things are nice, but they don't help Tyga get any less mediocre as a rapper. And really, putting Nas, who is one of the best rappers alive and is on a hot streak as of late, with a 22 year-old upcoming rapper is just a bad idea. 5/10

13. Wiz Khalifa - Taylor Allerdice
I'm one of the first ones to say that I really don't like Wiz Khalifa. His early mixtapes are nice and his production selection is impeccable, but overall he's just a very meh rapper. Curren$y has the exact same subject matter and goes about it much better than Khalifa could ever dream of. That being said, I was really impressed by this mixtape. Khalifa's flow is decent enough to keep you going through it, and the production is fantastic as expected (my personal favorite song, "Never Been Part II", samples Chrono Trigger). This is Wiz's best release in years, and he's surrounding himself with some interesting people (Spaceghostpurrp and Juicy J? Yes please). If he keeps up in this direction there may be hope for Wiz yet. 6/10

12. Blu - ucla
I don't even know if this album is still around. Blu released this on his bandcamp a few months ago, saying it was a collaboration with producer Madlib. A few days later Madlib claimed he had nothing to do with it and took it down. When Blu's on point (like albums such as Below the Heavens and NoYork!), he's really on point. This album was much more hit-and-miss. The lo-fi style that Blu had going on NoYork! is taken to the extreme. However, done by Madlib or not, the beats are nice and there are a few decent verses. 6/10

11. Curren$y - Here
Don't have much to say about this. Curren$y just seems to have an EP or so of new material every month. This new EP is another good edition to the always-consistent catalog of Curren$y. If you're a fan of stoner-rap, especially Spitta's previous work, I recommend checking this out. It's free online and a good listen while you wait for his inevitable next 30 mixtapes, EPs, and albums that he'll release this year. 6/10

10. Curren$y & Styles P - #The1st28
Another Curren$y release, this time with L.O.X. rapper Styles P. I enjoy both rappers and this is a nice little collaborative EP. If you're a fan of either guy I'd recommend checking it out. 6/10

9. Action Bronson - Blue Chips
Action Bronson is one of my favorite up-and-coming rappers. He's been described as a "white Ghostface Killah", which I'm perfectly fine with as Ghostface is one of my favorite rappers. This is another guy who's really consistent and fast with the new releases. Bronson is rapping really well on this, but some weak production from Party Supplies really weakens the total package. 6.5/10

8. Himanshu - Nehru Jackets
Himanshu, more commonly referred to as "Heems", is a member of New York rap group Das Racist, who has churned out some of my favorite mixtapes and albums of the past few years and helped bring about a new wave of "hipster hop" that's really shining nowadays. This mixtape is chock-full of Heem's trademark humor with some really nice tracks and some nice features from the likes of Danny Brown, Mr. Mutha****in' eXquire, Action Bronson and Childish Gambino. I highly recommend this release if you're a rap fan who likes to have a little bit of fun with their releases. 7/10

7. OFWGKTA - The OF Tape, Vol. 2
I admit I was part of the Odd Future hype train that dominated online hip hop websites last year. However, after Tyler the Creator's Goblin got mixed reviews, the group slowed down releasing a bunch of albums and tapes far inferior to their first wave of releases. I was a little worried about how this collaborative release would turn out. I was pleasantly surprised. The OF-related group The Internet has a really weak track here, Mellowhype isn't as good as they are on basically any of their other songs, and there's not nearly enough Mike G or Frank Ocean (especially compared to Tyler, Domo Genesis, and Hodgy Beats who dominate the album). On the other hand, the OF crew seems to be improving. Frank Ocean is proving to be one of the best singers in the hip hop/R&B world. Hodgy Beats has some absolutely killer verses. Domo Genesis goes from being the group's token stoner rapper and comes into his own. Then there's what may be the collective's best track to date, "Oldie", a 10-minute epic that showcases every rapper in the group, finishing with the triumphant return of Earl Sweatshirt. It's not the first thing I'd recommend to those getting into the group, but it's a decent addition to their growing catalog. 7/10

6. Gangrene - Vodka & Ayahuasca
I don't have much to say about this album except that it's a nice little release from two of the best producers out there (Oh No and The Alchemist). They're not the best rappers but they do the beats justice and there are some nice guest features on here. Pretty solid release. 7/10

5. Rick Ross - Rich Forever
I might get flack for this, but I love Rick Ross. Sure, his music is about being a gangster and a drug dealer even though he was a correctional officer. I think that fact allows Rick to go absolutely overboard with his character and make for some extremely entertaining music. In true Rick Ross fashion, the production is glorious and the admittedly weak rapper that Rick Ross is manages to keep up with both established greats like Nas and Styles P, as well as newcomers like Stalley, Wale, and Drake. 7/10

4. Hodgy Beats - Untitled EP
Hodgy Beats is a pretty weak rapper when he's not surrounded by his fellow Odd Future members, but he really impressed me on this EP, which features production from Juicy J, The Alchemist, and Flying ****ing Lotus. This EP really showcases how far Hodgy has come since his debut The Dena Tape a few years back. 7/10

3. Curren$y - Muscle Car Chronicles
Yet another Curren$y release from this year, Muscle Car Chronicles took about a year to finally be released. I've seen this get some flak because Curren$y switches his established sound, but I really like this. It's not as strong as his releases from the last few years, but it's still pretty song and as a whole sounds more complete than his other releases from this year. 7.5/10

2. Schoolboy Q - Habits & Contradictions
Schoolboy Q is another rapper that isn't the strongest by himself, but has some great chemistry with other rappers. Q isn't as strong lyrically as fellow Black Hippy members like Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul, and he's not as good as making straight up bangers like Jay Rock, but he doesn't try to pass them. That's no shot and Schoolboy either, those three are some of the best rappers making music right now (especially Kendrick Lamar, the current best rapper out there). This is a really consistent album and some of the weaker tracks are balanced with absolutely fantastic collaborations. "Hands on the Wheel", featuring ASAP Rocky may be the hip hop song of 2012 right now. 8/10

1. Big K.R.I.T. - 4eva N a Day
I love Big K.R.I.T. He's one of the hardest working artists out there. In the past three years he's made three absolutely fantastic mixtapes, producing every single track on them. He's produced for other artists like Wiz Khalifa, Ludacris, and Chris Brown. He's also appeared on, and pretty much dominated, multiple others' tracks. I don't know if I've ever heard a weak K.R.I.T. verse. He combines perfectly both the bass-banging production style characterized by the South, as well as combining some insightful lyrics. Dude can be the life of the party, but still make you think. 4eva N a Day is no different. K.R.I.T. raps the whole thing, no features. He produces the whole thing, with jazz influence both in samples as well as studio musicians. Hands down this is the best hip hop album I've heard all year, and I cannot wait for K.R.I.T.'s upcoming debut album. 9/10

Some stuff I missed, but probably wouldn't have made it that high.

Mac Miller - Macadelica
Miller's in the same camp as Khalifa. I'm not really ever impressed with his rapping, but his production choices are on point. I'm basically just gonna nab this for some background music.

Chip tha Ripper - Tell Ya Friends
This Cleveland-based rapper has made some pretty good tapes in the past few years, but overall he's pretty low on my radar. Might check this tape out if I'm out of other music to listen to.

**Galefore** · 04-04-2012, 10:29 PM

I get the feeling you enjoy rap, Panfan

I am having a hard time substantiating this but I am on to you

1-up Salesman · 04-04-2012, 10:41 PM

So are you only reviewing new releases? If not, I have a few requests.

Panfan · 04-05-2012, 10:10 AM

^^ I don't understand where you got that idea from.

^ Nope. Most of what I review is new releases because that's just what's new and exciting out there. I'll review whatever.

Panfan · 04-10-2012, 09:50 PM

Artist: Nicki Minaj
Album: Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded
Year: 2012
Label: Young Money
Genres: Pop Rap, Dance Pop

Today I have listened to one of the biggest wrecks of an album that I've ever heard. It's an album filled with so many failed concepts that it makes Metallica and Lou Reed's infamously bad Lulu from last year look like ****ing Ziggy Stardust. It's an album that sounds so bad that it insults your other four senses. Ladies and gentlemen, this album is Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded.

I admit that back in 2010 I was kinda hyped for Nicki Minaj. The young, ignorant me was obsessed with Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy just like every other hip hop fan at the time. When I heard Nicki at the end of "Monster", I was excited, as many others were. She wasn't the best lyrically, but her flow and delivery just absolutely wrecked the track and it became one of the most memorable moments on an extremely memorable album. Naturally, I checked out her solo material. It was a little poppy for my taste and her shtick with her multiple-personalities was more annoying than endearing, but I definitely saw potential in her. She wasn't the best female rapper ever like some people were already claiming at the time, but she might one day be able to put her name into consideration. Later on, tracks like the incredibly catchy "Super Bass" (shut up, it's a guilty pleasure) and some nice guest features gave me hope for the future.

Boy, was I wrong. On Roman Reloaded, Nicki Minaj drops all expectations anyone has ever had regarding her. All she does on this album is show how much of an absolute waste of talent she is.

What really makes this album a mess is how half of it is "hip hop Nicki", where she raps over hip hop beats. The other half is pure bubblegum pop Nicki, mostly singing with the occasional rap verse thrown in. The transition (or lack thereof) from these two almost polar-opposite styles is perhaps its biggest flaw. About 9 tracks of her rapping and trying to be "hard", followed by a bunch of bubblegum. Then all of a sudden, after about 8-9 tracks of bubblegum pop, Ms. Minaj suddenly goes back to "hip hop Nicki" for the final track "Stupid Hoe". The tracks have absolutely no flow and it seems like this is more of a compilation of recent Nicki Minaj tracks than it is an actual album.

But the problems don't just lie in the flow of the album. Neither hip hop Nicki nor bubblegum Nicki work well at all. Usually a bad rap album can warrant at least one listen if it has some nice beats (see: Mac Miller's Blue Slide Park, Wiz Khalifa's Rolling Papers, etc.), but on some of these songs, the beats are actually worse than Nicki's lyrics. The first track, "Roman Holiday", involves Nicki Minaj doing a British accent during the hook and a bridge with a rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithful". The second track involves Nicki repeatedly threatening to "put my dick in yo face", which... yeah. Nicki might flow nice on her verses, but no amount of nice flows and nice delivery can save songs with such miserable concepts as those. On other tracks Nicki completely drops that flow to sound more like a member of the white girl mob. There are some nice features sprinkled through this half of the album (why does the legendary Nas keep showing up on these ****ty Young Money releases?) but they can't come close to making the songs any less painful.

There's much less to say about the second half of the album. It's primarily produced by RedOne, the producer who helped Lady Gaga escalate to stardom. This makes sense, because all Nicki does on the second half of the album is try to emulate other female pop stars such as Gaga and Rihanna. Lead single "Starships" sounds pretty much like "Super Bass" did, only not as catchy and with more unnecessary electronic music-influenced bridges. Overall, the second half is just incredibly unmemorable in its blatant imitation of other, better pop artists.

Usually on albums like these I can find at least one redeeming track or something that I liked at least somewhat, but I just couldn't. There were multiple moments where I was tempted to simply turn the album off and completely disregard doing a review. Unfortunately, curiosity killed this cat, who can safely say that there is a #1 contender for worst album of 2012.

Final Rating: 1/10
Best Track: (if I absolutely had to pick) "Champion", featuring Nas, Drake and Young Jeezy (all of whom could do much better than this)
Worst Track: "Roman Holiday" (but "Come on a Cone" is REALLY REALLY close)

04-10-2012, 09:50 PM	#15
Panfan AND HE PRAYS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grayskull Gender: Posts: 18,806 Thanks: 1,405 Thanked 2,247 Times in 1,337 Posts Blog Entries: 15	** My Life. Artist: Nicki Minaj Album:** Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Year: 2012 Label: Young Money Genres: Pop Rap, Dance Pop Today I have listened to one of the biggest wrecks of an album that I've ever heard. It's an album filled with so many failed concepts that it makes Metallica and Lou Reed's infamously bad Lulu from last year look like ***ing Ziggy Stardust. It's an album that sounds so bad that it insults your other four senses. Ladies and gentlemen, this album is Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded. I admit that back in 2010 I was kinda hyped for Nicki Minaj. The young, ignorant me was obsessed with Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy* just like every other hip hop fan at the time. When I heard Nicki at the end of "Monster", I was excited, as many others were. She wasn't the best lyrically, but her flow and delivery just absolutely wrecked the track and it became one of the most memorable moments on an extremely memorable album. Naturally, I checked out her solo material. It was a little poppy for my taste and her shtick with her multiple-personalities was more annoying than endearing, but I definitely saw potential in her. She wasn't the best female rapper ever like some people were already claiming at the time, but she might one day be able to put her name into consideration. Later on, tracks like the incredibly catchy "Super Bass" (shut up, it's a guilty pleasure) and some nice guest features gave me hope for the future. Boy, was I wrong. On Roman Reloaded, Nicki Minaj drops all expectations anyone has ever had regarding her. All she does on this album is show how much of an absolute waste of talent she is. What really makes this album a mess is how half of it is "hip hop Nicki", where she raps over hip hop beats. The other half is pure bubblegum pop Nicki, mostly singing with the occasional rap verse thrown in. The transition (or lack thereof) from these two almost polar-opposite styles is perhaps its biggest flaw. About 9 tracks of her rapping and trying to be "hard", followed by a bunch of bubblegum. Then all of a sudden, after about 8-9 tracks of bubblegum pop, Ms. Minaj suddenly goes back to "hip hop Nicki" for the final track "Stupid Hoe". The tracks have absolutely no flow and it seems like this is more of a compilation of recent Nicki Minaj tracks than it is an actual album. But the problems don't just lie in the flow of the album. Neither hip hop Nicki nor bubblegum Nicki work well at all. Usually a bad rap album can warrant at least one listen if it has some nice beats (see: Mac Miller's Blue Slide Park, Wiz Khalifa's Rolling Papers, etc.), but on some of these songs, the beats are actually worse than Nicki's lyrics. The first track, "Roman Holiday", involves Nicki Minaj doing a British accent during the hook and a bridge with a rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithful". The second track involves Nicki repeatedly threatening to "put my dick in yo face", which... yeah. Nicki might flow nice on her verses, but no amount of nice flows and nice delivery can save songs with such miserable concepts as those. On other tracks Nicki completely drops that flow to sound more like a member of the white girl mob. There are some nice features sprinkled through this half of the album (why does the legendary Nas keep showing up on these **ty Young Money releases?) but they can't come close to making the songs any less painful. There's much less to say about the second half of the album. It's primarily produced by RedOne, the producer who helped Lady Gaga escalate to stardom. This makes sense, because all Nicki does on the second half of the album is try to emulate other female pop stars such as Gaga and Rihanna. Lead single "Starships" sounds pretty much like "Super Bass" did, only not as catchy and with more unnecessary electronic music-influenced bridges. Overall, the second half is just incredibly unmemorable in its blatant imitation of other, better pop artists. Usually on albums like these I can find at least one redeeming track or something that I liked at least somewhat, but I just couldn't. There were multiple moments where I was tempted to simply turn the album off and completely disregard doing a review. Unfortunately, curiosity killed this cat, who can safely say that there is a #1 contender for worst album of 2012. Final Rating: 1/10 Best Track: (if I absolutely had to pick) "Champion", featuring Nas, Drake and Young Jeezy (all of whom could do much better than this) Worst Track:** "Roman Holiday" (but "Come on a Cone" is REALLY REALLY close)

10-22-2011, 01:00 PM	#1
Panfan AND HE PRAYS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grayskull Gender: Posts: 18,806 Thanks: 1,405 Thanked 2,247 Times in 1,337 Posts Blog Entries: 15	Panfan's Music Reviews So in case you haven't noticed I really like music. And sometimes I have feelings on music that I like to share. So I figured I would post reviews and feelings about music that I've been listening to lately on here. I'll probably post stuff for anywhere between two and four albums at a time, on a weekly or biweekly basis. There may even be theme weeks. I want to keep readers interested, so I'll also be taking requests for albums/songs to review. Anything is fair game, even the worst music you can possibly think of. I won't be able to listen to requests unless on weekends because I won't have access to Spotify except then, so I apologize in advance if it takes me awhile to answer a review request. Without further ado, I'm gonna start this review blog thread thing with four different widely anticipated hip hop albums that have come out in the past few months. Reviews will be posted over the course of today. Let's start it out with probably the biggest hip hop album to be released this year. Lil' Wayne - Tha Carter IV (Young Money Records, 2011) Like him or not, from 2004-2008, Lil' Wayne owned hip hop music. He was untouchable. In '04, he released Tha Carter, the first album that really set his rise to stardom in motion. It had one of the best mainstream rap singles of the decade with "Go DJ" and some utterly fantastic production. He followed that up with Tha Carter II in 2005, arguably his magnum opus. He combined his trademark punchline lyrical style with tons of great production. The album was quotables and is arguably a Southern classic by now. In 2008, he released Tha Carter III, which went into a much more mainstream direction but still kept the likability of Weezy's earlier material at its core. During this period he released a string of seemingly endless mixtapes filled with enough great songs to probably warrant at least two more great albums. It was also during this time where Wayne was featured on what seemed like every mainstream hip hop single and remix out there. But oh how the mighty have fallen. Wayne followed Tha Carter III with his extremely misguided, laughably bad Rebirth. On this record Weezy attempted to make a rock album, and failed miserably. Critics tore it apart, and not even his biggest fans could defend it. Then he went to prison for a while, making every douchebag you know make a "Free Weezy" Facebook status for a good year. He released I Am Not a Human Being during his sentence, which was an album filled with throwaway material. After his release, he returned to the mixtape world with Sorry 4 the Wait, which was a preview of things to come with Tha Carter IV, his widely anticipated, true return to making music. Yet the rapper on Tha Carter IV is only a shell of the guy who made "A Milli" and "Hustler Musik". The once extremely witty lyricist barely seems to be trying. He's still quotable, but because of how laughable his lines are. I lost count of how many times the words "I'M WEEZY F BABY AND THE F IS FOR..." are uttered. When he's not doing that, he's spouting such clever puns as "When it Waynes it pours". (For some more examples of his lyricism on this album, see this list). His flow also has gotten much slower, and during songs like "Blunt Blowin'" and "President Carter" just plod along, making the tracks seem much longer than they actually are. But Wayne's famous for his excellent taste in production! The biggest names in hip hop should be submitting beats for him on this album, right? Wrong. While there's some decent production from the likes of veterans such as Cool & Dre, Polow da Don, Bangladesh, and T-Minus, most of the production comes from relative unknowns (who hopefully stay that way) like Snizzy, Drum Up, Noel "Detail" Fisher, and Young Fyre. Wayne relies on his guests to carry him throughout the album. While he can produce some listenable verses on songs like "6 Foot 7 Foot" and "Megaman", he's constantly outshined on this album by featured artists on the tracks. "She Will" would be only a generic R&B-hip hop hybrid single without the help of Young Money labelmate Drake, and "John" wouldn't be a memorable track at all unless Rick Ross was there to make it delightfully over-the-top. The two best songs on the album don't even have Wayne on them. On the album's interlude and outro, he passes the mic to some of the best rappers to ever grace the music scene. On those two tracks, Andre 3000, Nas, Tech N9ne, Busta Rhymes, and Bun B give the best five verses on the album and make you want to listen to their much better albums instead of this mess. Drake and Jadakiss can't even do anything to save "It's Good", neither can a John Legend hook make "So Special" more listenable. Even with Wayne's step down from his previous works and the mediocre production, this album had a chance to be listenable because of those great guest features. It might have been above average, even! But then there are two tracks that change that opinion. There's "How to Love", which is an acoustic ballad with Wayne warbling with autotune assistance. It's what the average 14 year-old girl will think is "sooo deep" lyrically and quote constantly on their Facebook status for the next three months (so basically it's a spiritual successor to B.o.B's "Airplanes" from last year). Then there's "How to Hate" which is another auto-tune heavy song with a T-Pain feature that sounds like Weezy took a track from Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak, took a giant **** on it, and stuck it in a blender. I can't really describe how the song sounds besides "ear-piercingly vomit-enducing". I've never actually made it past two and a half minutes of the song because it's that hideous sounding. I've heard songs on Merzbox that are easier on the ears. In conclusion, Tha Carter IV is a sad attempt by a washed up artist to match his consistently good-to-great material from a few years back. I don't like to see a once almost untouchable rapper fall so far down in quality of material. But on this album, he's Weezy F. Baby, and the "F" is for "failure". Best Track: "Interlude", performed by Tech N9ne and Andre 3000 Worst Track: "How to Hate", featuring T-Pain Overall Score: 3.5/10

10-23-2011, 02:14 AM	#2
*Cosmonautical* Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I rub my tilde all over your asterisk Gender: Posts: 28,100 Thanks: 2,151 Thanked 5,338 Times in 2,433 Posts	I really have a hard time following recent "Hip Hop" artists, probably in large part to how I'd always taken interest in the actual music more than the emcees. Big Beat happened in the acid/breakbeat scene, though, and that really managed to replace Hip Hop as a genre for me - a lot of it felt like a natural progression without the Gangsta rap celebration of surviving poverty and violence. The abstracts that the Prodigy brought into the mix really took over, IMO, and I've rarely looked back since Fat of the Land. It's almost funny how much current Dubstep synth trends are imitating past vocalizer trends in Hip Hop. The Beastie Boys stuff really does it for me, though, so I suppose there's that. They still do what I always liked about Hip Hop, and a lot of that has to do with experimental instrumentation mixed in with actual Hip Hop rhythms. Any chance you can cover some Indie Folk/Alt-"Country" stuff with an edge for prose? I like the genre but it's really spread out and I can't seem to find one group that pleases me most of the time beside Laura Marling.

10-29-2011, 02:53 PM	#3
Panfan AND HE PRAYS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grayskull Gender: Posts: 18,806 Thanks: 1,405 Thanked 2,247 Times in 1,337 Posts Blog Entries: 15	^ Did you ever check out more Okkervil River? Because I remember you asking me about them a few years ago. So I had a new review today but the entire thing got lost in a sudden shutdown of the computer that I was using, so I'm just gonna share my list of all the hip hop/r&b albums I've heard this year. #35 is really where I would start recommending stuff though, before that is awful to mediocre 44. Lil B - Illusions of Grandeur 43. Lupe Fiasco - Lasers 42. Wiz Khalifa - Rolling Papers 41. Big Sean - Finally Famous 40. Lil Wayne - Tha Carter IV 39. Death Grips - Exmilitary 38. Bad Meets Evil - Hell: The Sequel 37. The Game - The R.E.D. Album 36. 9th Wonder - The Wonder Years 35. Action Bronson - Dr. Lecter 34. Saigon - The Greatest Story Never Told 33. Schoolboy Q - Setbacks 32. Jay Rock - Follow Me Home 31. G-Side - The One... Cohesive 30. The Lonely Island - Turtleneck and Chain 29. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Watch the Throne 28. Danny Brown - XXX 27. Main Attrakionz - 808s and Dark Grapes II 26. Curren$y - Covert Coupe 25. Pac Div - Mania! 24. Killer Mike - Pl3dge 23. Lil B- I'm Gay (I'm Happy) 22. Tyler, the Creator - Goblin 21. Childish Gambino - EP 20. The Weeknd - Thursday 19. Chip tha Ripper - Gift Raps 18. Frank Ocean - Nostalgia, Ultra 17. Curren$y - Weekend at Burnie's 16. Reks - R.E.K.S. (Rhythmatic Eternal King Supreme) 15. The Cool Kids - When Fish Ride Bicycles 14. The Weeknd - House of Balloons 13. Raekwon - Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang 12. Curren$y - Verde Terrace 11. Random Axe - Random Axe 10. Stalley - Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music) 9. Das Racist - Relax 8. J. Cole - Cole World: The Sideline Story 7. Big K.R.I.T. - Return of 4eva 6. Evidence - Cats & Dogs 5. Kendrick Lamar - Section 80 4. Shabazz Palaces - Black Up 3. CunninLynguists - Oneirology 2. Elzhi - Elmatic 1. Phonte - Charity Starts at Home

02-07-2012, 03:02 PM	#4
Panfan AND HE PRAYS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grayskull Gender: Posts: 18,806 Thanks: 1,405 Thanked 2,247 Times in 1,337 Posts Blog Entries: 15	So I've noticed that I've kinda been sleeping on this whole reviewing process and promise to change that. So here's my review of one of the most-hyped releases of this year Artist: Lana del Rey Album: Born to Die Year: 2012 Label: Interscope Genres: Pop, Indie, Baroque Pop, Trip Hop I've always been skeptical to hype bands. There have been way too many times where I've checked out a band on recommendation of blogs and review sites only to find myself finding the album mediocre or even downright awful (I'm looking at you, Wavves.) One of the biggest downfalls of music so readily available on the internet is that an artist can get hyped to hell and back with only a few songs. Lana del Rey is a perfect example of this. In 2011, Ms. Del Rey released two songs: "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans". Both are interesting takes on the tried-and-true subgenre of modern baroque pop. Her voice is somewhat raspy and almost baritone, and many people found Lana as a breath of fresh air in the tired world of pop music. "Video Games" dominated year-end best song lists. Personally, I found the lyrics in her songs somewhat lacking, but agreed with the general consensus that the production on her tracks was absolutely beautiful. So after this giant hypewave (and of course, the wave of backlash from those who find the Lana del Rey persona too fake), we have Lana Del Rey's debut album, Born to Die. And at the end of it, it seems that the hype was all for nothing. There are some good tracks on here, for sure. "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans" still deliver, as do new tracks like "Radio". The title track is perhaps my favorite, with some absolutely killer production with some amazing strings. If the album was filled with "Born to Die"-calibur songs, this might be a pretty decent debut. However, there are many low points on Born to Die. One of the prominent ideas on this album are the fusing of indie pop music with hip hop beats. In some cases, the elements from both genres work well. Other cases go way overboard though. On the song "National Anthem", Lana is basically rapping. Poorly. Lana's team of publicists and her fans who gave rise to the Del Rey Hypetrain of '11 claimed that one of the best things about her music is how it's in an altogether different direction from mainstream pop music. Lyrics such as "I'm your national anthem/God, you're so handsome/Take me to the Hamptons/Bugatti Veyron" beg to differ. "This is What Makes Us Girls" is also a laughably bad track where Ms. Del Rey tries to put on her "bad girl" costume in suit of obvious inspiration Nancy Sinatra, but fails miserably at it. "Diet Mountain Dew" is lacks as much flavor as the drink it's named after. All in all, Born to Die might very well be the poster child for an ultra-hyped album coming up with lukewarm results. The lyrics are misguided, the music gets bland, and some of its more ambitious attempts fall flat. It's not all bad, though. Lana's voice sounds fantastic on some tracks and frequent Kanye collaborator Emile brings some great string arrangements on his production. Those elements bring what had potential to be a trainwreck of a debut to the level of "slightly below average". Final Rating: 4/10 Best Track: "Born to Die" Worst Track: "National Anthem"

02-17-2012, 11:12 PM	#5
Panfan AND HE PRAYS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grayskull Gender: Posts: 18,806 Thanks: 1,405 Thanked 2,247 Times in 1,337 Posts Blog Entries: 15	Artist: fun. Album: Some Nights Year: 2012 Label: Fueled by Ramen Genres: Indie Pop, Power Pop, Arena Rock There's really no band name that so describes the music that they make as "fun." Everything about the band oozes joy. Whenever I listen, I can't help but smile. The music is fun, period. I'm a big fan of fun.'s first album Aim and Ignite, as well as lead singer Nate Ruess' work with The Format. On this album, Ruess and friends try to expand their established style into stranger territories. The biggest thing that grabbed me about this album was that it was produced by Jeff Bhasker. Jeff Bhasker is known for his work with hip hop and pop artists such as Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Kid Cudi. His best-known work is probably on Kanye West's 808s and Heartbreak, notable for its heavy use of vocoders. On some nights, Bhasker helps take fun.'s established style and combine it with some of that Kanye/Cudi style production. This could very well end up sounding messy, awkward, and unintentionally hilarious. Yet on this album, it works. The music and lyrics are typical fun. Huge melodies, huge hooks, huge everything. To say that the album is influenced by the work of Queen would be a huge understatement. The electronics act as merely layers that add onto the power pop hugeness that fun. has made themselves famous for. While most of the album is characterized by strong songwriting and catchy tunes on tracks like "We Are Young," "It Gets Better," and "All Alone", the album takes a step in the wrong direction with "One Foot" which almost sounds like a failed attempt to make a song in the style of Sleigh Bells, another band notable for huge, loud, anthemic songs. Some Nights might not be the best release that 2012 has seen so far, but it does produce some of the best, catchiest pop tunes I've heard in a while. Plus it sounds like Queen combined with Kanye West, and that concept alone is **ing awesome. Final Rating: 8/10 Best Track: "All Alone" Worst Track:** "One Foot"

02-18-2012, 01:18 AM	#6
*Marilink* Gotta catch 'em all! Supermod! Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Location, Location. Gender: Posts: 29,118 Thanks: 2,535 Thanked 1,822 Times in 1,007 Posts	Hey panfan I'm going to a fun. concert in Minneapolis on April 13th what's up

02-18-2012, 08:13 AM	#7
Panfan AND HE PRAYS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grayskull Gender: Posts: 18,806 Thanks: 1,405 Thanked 2,247 Times in 1,337 Posts Blog Entries: 15	holy **** dude really? WHY DO ALL MY BEST FRIENDS HAVE TO GO SEE FUN. SHOWS WHEN I CAN'T

02-18-2012, 10:53 AM	#8
*Marilink* Gotta catch 'em all! Supermod! Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Location, Location. Gender: Posts: 29,118 Thanks: 2,535 Thanked 1,822 Times in 1,007 Posts	Why can't you go to that one in Lansing?

02-18-2012, 01:20 PM	#9
Panfan AND HE PRAYS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grayskull Gender: Posts: 18,806 Thanks: 1,405 Thanked 2,247 Times in 1,337 Posts Blog Entries: 15	They don't go to Lansing on this tour. They're in Grand Rapids and Detroit, both of which will interfere with school.

02-18-2012, 06:04 PM	#10
*Marilink* Gotta catch 'em all! Supermod! Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Location, Location. Gender: Posts: 29,118 Thanks: 2,535 Thanked 1,822 Times in 1,007 Posts	Grand Rapids, that's what I meant.

04-04-2012, 09:57 PM	#11
Panfan AND HE PRAYS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grayskull Gender: Posts: 18,806 Thanks: 1,405 Thanked 2,247 Times in 1,337 Posts Blog Entries: 15	Here's part one of my two-part review of the first quarter of 2012 music. For this part I'm gonna start off with what I thought of the hip-hop albums I've heard this year, then move on to everything else (I've never been able to really put hip hop albums on the same lists as other albums for some reason). Albums are ranked. 16. WZRD - WZRD WZRD is Kid Cudi and producer Dot da Genius. These guys have collaborated before to much success (Dot da Genius produced Cudi's breakout hit "Day N Nite", which is one of my personal favorite Cudi songs). However, these guys don't really strike on this album. The overall package seems misguided and sloppy. This is Cudi's attempt at a psychedelic rock album, but I think therein lies the problem, since Cudi's "psychedelic rock" (it really doesn't sound like that though) album is also his first album sober. There are some highlights, like lead single "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie" and "The Dream Time Machine", but the rest falls flat. Notably horrendous is a cover of the classic blues song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night", made famous by Lead Belly and then further immortalized in Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance. 4/10 15. T.I. - ** Da City Up I really like T.I. He's been one of my favorite rappers since I got into rap. After a mediocre last album and some stints in prison, the King of the South is back with a mixtape. T.I. proves that he can still rap really well, and there's some nice production, but some pretty bad guest performances really bring this tape down. Hopefully T.I.'s just saving his best material for the upcoming album. Notable exception to the mediocrity is "Popped Off", which is probably the best thing Dr. Dre's been associated with in the past five years. 5/10** 14. Tyga - Careless World I'm not a fan of the Young Money label at all. Lil Wayne makes the occasional good song, and I really like Drake, but that's it. The most recent artist to release off of this beast of mediocrity is Tyga. I wasn't gonna check this out, but I was really interested by the features (Nas! J. Cole! Busta Rhymes! Wale) and production (Pharrell! Boi-1da! Cool & Dre!). Both of those things are nice, but they don't help Tyga get any less mediocre as a rapper. And really, putting Nas, who is one of the best rappers alive and is on a hot streak as of late, with a 22 year-old upcoming rapper is just a bad idea. 5/10 13. Wiz Khalifa - Taylor Allerdice I'm one of the first ones to say that I really don't like Wiz Khalifa. His early mixtapes are nice and his production selection is impeccable, but overall he's just a very meh rapper. Curren$y has the exact same subject matter and goes about it much better than Khalifa could ever dream of. That being said, I was really impressed by this mixtape. Khalifa's flow is decent enough to keep you going through it, and the production is fantastic as expected (my personal favorite song, "Never Been Part II", samples Chrono Trigger). This is Wiz's best release in years, and he's surrounding himself with some interesting people (Spaceghostpurrp and Juicy J? Yes please). If he keeps up in this direction there may be hope for Wiz yet. 6/10 12. Blu - ucla I don't even know if this album is still around. Blu released this on his bandcamp a few months ago, saying it was a collaboration with producer Madlib. A few days later Madlib claimed he had nothing to do with it and took it down. When Blu's on point (like albums such as Below the Heavens and NoYork!), he's really on point. This album was much more hit-and-miss. The lo-fi style that Blu had going on NoYork! is taken to the extreme. However, done by Madlib or not, the beats are nice and there are a few decent verses. 6/10 11. Curren$y - Here Don't have much to say about this. Curren$y just seems to have an EP or so of new material every month. This new EP is another good edition to the always-consistent catalog of Curren$y. If you're a fan of stoner-rap, especially Spitta's previous work, I recommend checking this out. It's free online and a good listen while you wait for his inevitable next 30 mixtapes, EPs, and albums that he'll release this year. 6/10 10. Curren$y & Styles P - #The1st28 Another Curren$y release, this time with L.O.X. rapper Styles P. I enjoy both rappers and this is a nice little collaborative EP. If you're a fan of either guy I'd recommend checking it out. 6/10 9. Action Bronson - Blue Chips Action Bronson is one of my favorite up-and-coming rappers. He's been described as a "white Ghostface Killah", which I'm perfectly fine with as Ghostface is one of my favorite rappers. This is another guy who's really consistent and fast with the new releases. Bronson is rapping really well on this, but some weak production from Party Supplies really weakens the total package. 6.5/10 8. Himanshu - Nehru Jackets Himanshu, more commonly referred to as "Heems", is a member of New York rap group Das Racist, who has churned out some of my favorite mixtapes and albums of the past few years and helped bring about a new wave of "hipster hop" that's really shining nowadays. This mixtape is chock-full of Heem's trademark humor with some really nice tracks and some nice features from the likes of Danny Brown, Mr. Mutha**in' eXquire, Action Bronson and Childish Gambino. I highly recommend this release if you're a rap fan who likes to have a little bit of fun with their releases. 7/10** 7. OFWGKTA - The OF Tape, Vol. 2 I admit I was part of the Odd Future hype train that dominated online hip hop websites last year. However, after Tyler the Creator's Goblin got mixed reviews, the group slowed down releasing a bunch of albums and tapes far inferior to their first wave of releases. I was a little worried about how this collaborative release would turn out. I was pleasantly surprised. The OF-related group The Internet has a really weak track here, Mellowhype isn't as good as they are on basically any of their other songs, and there's not nearly enough Mike G or Frank Ocean (especially compared to Tyler, Domo Genesis, and Hodgy Beats who dominate the album). On the other hand, the OF crew seems to be improving. Frank Ocean is proving to be one of the best singers in the hip hop/R&B world. Hodgy Beats has some absolutely killer verses. Domo Genesis goes from being the group's token stoner rapper and comes into his own. Then there's what may be the collective's best track to date, "Oldie", a 10-minute epic that showcases every rapper in the group, finishing with the triumphant return of Earl Sweatshirt. It's not the first thing I'd recommend to those getting into the group, but it's a decent addition to their growing catalog. 7/10 6. Gangrene - Vodka & Ayahuasca I don't have much to say about this album except that it's a nice little release from two of the best producers out there (Oh No and The Alchemist). They're not the best rappers but they do the beats justice and there are some nice guest features on here. Pretty solid release. 7/10 5. Rick Ross - Rich Forever I might get flack for this, but I love Rick Ross. Sure, his music is about being a gangster and a drug dealer even though he was a correctional officer. I think that fact allows Rick to go absolutely overboard with his character and make for some extremely entertaining music. In true Rick Ross fashion, the production is glorious and the admittedly weak rapper that Rick Ross is manages to keep up with both established greats like Nas and Styles P, as well as newcomers like Stalley, Wale, and Drake. 7/10 4. Hodgy Beats - Untitled EP Hodgy Beats is a pretty weak rapper when he's not surrounded by his fellow Odd Future members, but he really impressed me on this EP, which features production from Juicy J, The Alchemist, and Flying ***ing Lotus. This EP really showcases how far Hodgy has come since his debut The Dena Tape* a few years back. 7/10 3. Curren$y - Muscle Car Chronicles Yet another Curren$y release from this year, Muscle Car Chronicles took about a year to finally be released. I've seen this get some flak because Curren$y switches his established sound, but I really like this. It's not as strong as his releases from the last few years, but it's still pretty song and as a whole sounds more complete than his other releases from this year. 7.5/10 2. Schoolboy Q - Habits & Contradictions Schoolboy Q is another rapper that isn't the strongest by himself, but has some great chemistry with other rappers. Q isn't as strong lyrically as fellow Black Hippy members like Kendrick Lamar and Ab-Soul, and he's not as good as making straight up bangers like Jay Rock, but he doesn't try to pass them. That's no shot and Schoolboy either, those three are some of the best rappers making music right now (especially Kendrick Lamar, the current best rapper out there). This is a really consistent album and some of the weaker tracks are balanced with absolutely fantastic collaborations. "Hands on the Wheel", featuring ASAP Rocky may be the hip hop song of 2012 right now. 8/10 1. Big K.R.I.T. - 4eva N a Day I love Big K.R.I.T. He's one of the hardest working artists out there. In the past three years he's made three absolutely fantastic mixtapes, producing every single track on them. He's produced for other artists like Wiz Khalifa, Ludacris, and Chris Brown. He's also appeared on, and pretty much dominated, multiple others' tracks. I don't know if I've ever heard a weak K.R.I.T. verse. He combines perfectly both the bass-banging production style characterized by the South, as well as combining some insightful lyrics. Dude can be the life of the party, but still make you think. 4eva N a Day is no different. K.R.I.T. raps the whole thing, no features. He produces the whole thing, with jazz influence both in samples as well as studio musicians. Hands down this is the best hip hop album I've heard all year, and I cannot wait for K.R.I.T.'s upcoming debut album. 9/10 Some stuff I missed, but probably wouldn't have made it that high. Mac Miller - Macadelica Miller's in the same camp as Khalifa. I'm not really ever impressed with his rapping, but his production choices are on point. I'm basically just gonna nab this for some background music. Chip tha Ripper - Tell Ya Friends This Cleveland-based rapper has made some pretty good tapes in the past few years, but overall he's pretty low on my radar. Might check this tape out if I'm out of other music to listen to.

04-04-2012, 10:29 PM	#12
Galefore EXPLOSION GOD OF MUSIC Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Some studio somewhere Gender: Posts: 8,275 Thanks: 1,361 Thanked 826 Times in 535 Posts Blog Entries: 5	I get the feeling you enjoy rap, Panfan I am having a hard time substantiating this but I am on to you

04-04-2012, 10:41 PM	#13
1-up Salesman Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Letting you guys know that I'm planning on continuing Attack of the Spammers soon. Gender: Posts: 4,095 Thanks: 2,162 Thanked 250 Times in 194 Posts Blog Entries: 9	So are you only reviewing new releases? If not, I have a few requests.

04-05-2012, 10:10 AM	#14
Panfan AND HE PRAYS Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grayskull Gender: Posts: 18,806 Thanks: 1,405 Thanked 2,247 Times in 1,337 Posts Blog Entries: 15	^^ I don't understand where you got that idea from. ^ Nope. Most of what I review is new releases because that's just what's new and exciting out there. I'll review whatever.