Woy's Album Reviews.

[Woy]

About your points with AKNC, you can't make that a reason why not liking him due to the fact that this is a trilogy, meaning a sequence of albums to make a nice big picture. The first album explored Cudder's dreams, while this one dives right into his reality. With having to set up a trilogy this way, I would wait to hear all three albums together to make a comparison to AKNC.

I never said I didn't like Cudi. I wouldn't put him in my top 10 artists at the moment, but I enjoy his music a lot. I know that this is a trilogy of albums with MOTM3 coming out after this, but I still want to hear at least a little AKNC influence in his music. I think that would make this album, as well as MOTM1, much better.

As for what you said about Curren$y, he's the exact opposite of Cudi. Cudi is an entertainer first, artist second.

But the comparison can still be made because some critics say you have to smoke in order to enjoy their music. I understand they're different in terms of entertainment value, but I feel like I can enjoy Spitta all the time because he actually is rapping while Cudi is doing the singing-rapping thing he does. It all comes down to my perception of AKNC, once again.

Not to hijack Woy's thread, but since I have your ear on the subject, which album would you choose in a fantasy draft between Reasonable Doubt and Illmatic?

I know you asked Dell, but I have Illmatic over Reasonable Doubt, but love both of them. Then again, I'm just a 19-year old white college student with little musical background, so I'm not exactly the best person to ask. :marshmellow:

[dell71]

Not to hijack Woy's thread, but since I have your ear on the subject, which album would you choose in a fantasy draft between Reasonable Doubt and Illmatic?

Illmatic, all day everyday. Love RD but there are some filler tracks. I'd even argue it's not Jay's best (I personally vote for The Blueprint).

[NAHSTE]

Illmatic, all day everyday. Love RD but there are some filler tracks. I'd even argue it's not Jay's best (I personally vote for The Blueprint).

Shit, might have to give Blueprint another listen, I always thought RD and Black Album were the consensus 1-2. Now that I'm in Brooklyn, his music just reverberates with me so much more. I don't know, it's crazy. My roommate works on State street, right down the street from the address that's supposedly his used to be his "stash spot" according to the line from Empire State of Mind. I've walked around some of his old stomping grounds, so I've been a bit partial to Jay lately. Nas hasn't fallen out of favor with me, I still play Illmatic all the time and love it, but RD has always been my favorite, and now that I'm in Brooklyn I hear that shit all the time in cars driving by.

The only filler track is "Ain't No ___" and I still think that's a decent track, if only for the opening verse and the catchy hook.

Both are in my personal top 5 though.

[dell71]

Shit, might have to give Blueprint another listen, I always thought RD and Black Album were the consensus 1-2. Now that I'm in Brooklyn, his music just reverberates with me so much more. I don't know, it's crazy. My roommate works on State street, right down the street from the address that's supposedly his "stash spot" ... I've walked around some of his old stomping grounds, so I've been a bit partial to Jay lately. Nas hasn't fallen out of favor with me, I still play Illmatic all the time and love it, but RD has always been my favorite.

The only filler track is "Ain't No ___" and I still think that's a decent track, if only for the opening verse and the catchy hook.

Both are in my personal top 5 though.

Love The Black Album, too.

For me, The Blueprint is that perfect blend of Jay Z the hitmaker & Jay the emcee.


BTW, thanks for taking me back. It's been a while since I've been in Brooklyn (moved out of NY years ago).

[Woy]

Alright, I'll have my review of Nelly's album up tomorrow (inb4lolnelly), then I'll start on Kanye's album and follow that up with J. Cole's mixtape.

Such a good time for music.

[Cody]

Looking forward to Kayne review.

[chazmaniandevil]

yeah i only disagree with your bashing of GHOST!

it really grew on me

[KNUBB]

Yeah i definitely wanna see what the final score of MBDTF comes out to be

[BigBucs]

Yeah i definitely wanna see what the final score of MBDTF comes out to be

3.5/5

[KNUBB]

3.5/5

Shut up you hatin ass nigga

[BigBucs]

Shut up you hatin ass nigga

>>> That over hyped shit

[KNUBB]

Nigga

[Point Blank]

Fuck Kanye.

[Woy]

5.0 - Nelly

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Before I start this, I would like to say that if you're a first-time reader of my reviews, I suggest not to make this your first impression. I'm not saying this because I think my writing is going to be bad (it's not), but I'm a big "homer" if you want to say when it comes to Nelly. Basically what I am saying is that I doubt you'll have the same opinion about this album that I do.

Enough about that though, let's actually get into reviewing this album. Nelly was probably my first favorite rapper, whenever Country Grammar hit the scene 10 years ago. I think most hip-hop heads will be able to tell you that his first two albums Country Grammar and Nellyville were pretty damn good, while Sweat and Suit in 2004 were disappointments. (I, however, thought Sweat and Suit were really good as well.)

Brass Knuckles was supposed to be Nelly's return to the spotlight in 2008, but it flopped miserably. (This album I actually didn't like.) With three mediocre albums, according to most, in a row under his belt, it wasn't much of a surprise that when Nelly announced his fifth album, 5.0, it didn't receive a huge buzz around the hip-hop community. Obviously, I was excited about it but most others didn't know he had another album coming out.

Immediately I heard DJ Khaled's voice on I'm Number One [1/5] and wanted to change to the next track; his shouting ruins so many songs. Nelly's first verse is okay, but then Baby a.k.a Birdman comes in during the second and just sucks. The only time I'm ever interested in listening to him rap is if it's a Big Tymers reunion with Mannie Fresh.

I honestly can't tell if Nelly's in Long Gone [2/5] because he's doing the half-singing, half-rapping thing with his voice throughout his verses. Chris Brown isn't too noticeable either on the hook. Plies comes in at the end and drops a hilarious (hilarious in the sense that sucks) verse, but I honestly look forward to it every time this song comes up.

She's So Fly [3.5/5] features T.I., but at first I thought it should say it featured Nelly, because I thought T.I. did all three verses. However, the closer I listened to it, the more I realized it was actually Nelly on verse two and three, which is now the second time I couldn't recognize his voice. Anyways, this is just another fun track, which is what you should expect from the king of St. Louis.

Everyone has heard Just a Dream [4.5/5] by now. Nelly shifts to a R&B style and although it's corny, I can't play this enough. When it released, this actually brought my hype level for 5.0 up a few notches, but the next single pushed it down. The music video isn't necessarily random as hell like I thought it was at first, but it's weird.

Making Movies [4/5] is a track that you can tell what it's about by the title. I like the overall feel of the song, kinda reminds me of My Place off of Suit with Jaheim, except it's nowhere near as good. Still a pretty solid track that I wouldn't get tired of.

Move Your Body [2.5/5] was the newest single that came out and is definitely a track for the club. I don't care for the hook or the beat, for that matter, but I can listen to Nelly's verses and T-Pain's "verse" as well.

I really love the Notorious B.I.G. sample on 1000 Stacks [4.5/5]. I love the beat, Nelly's verses are good enough for me but the only thing holding this back from a perfect rating is Diddy's hook. It's not bad, but I think Nelly could have found someone else to make that better.

Kelly and Nelly strike gold again in Gone [5/5]. This is supposed to be Dilemma part two and although it's nowhere as epic as the original Dilemma on Nellyville, this is still a damn good song that gives Nelly his first 5/5 of the album. It doesn't have a flaw in my mind.

Don't It Feel Good [3/5] doesn't stand out in any way to me. Whenever I listen to the album, I go through the tracks and most of the time don't even notice this track already played. Not great, not horrible, just okay.

Broke [2/5] has a really nice beat, but Sophie Green on the hook is so annoying; so annoying that it's funny, like Plies' verse. Yo Gotti is terrible, while Nelly is just there. Another forgettable song pretty much.

Once again, another club track comes forth in Liv Tonight [2.5/5]. I mean seriously, listen to the beat and lyrics and tell me it's not a track made for the clubs. Keri Hilson shows up on the hook.

I am a big sucker for tracks like Nothing Without Her [4.5/5]. The piano at the beginning sets the mood for the rest of the track, as Nelly speaks about a past relationship that he misses and how nothing matters without her in his life. Like I said, I'm a sucker for these types of tracks.

Although I am very biased when it comes to Nelly, I feel like this album is okay [3.25/5] with some nice highlights but numerous meh tracks. It's better than Brass Knuckles, but of course, that's not saying much.

I don't really know where Nelly can go from here. I know in the public's eyes this will be another strike out, so is he done? I think with tracks like Gone and 1000 Stacks, he still has something left in the tank, but I'm not sure if he can create another album that is at least as good as Sweat or Suit. That being said, I would like for him to team up with the Lunatics crew again and see if they can put out some music; I miss some Nelly and Murphy Lee collabs.

[BigBucs]

lol@nelly