Woy's Album Reviews.

[Rivers17ncsu]

did you ever review Free Agent by Ortiz? I know its leaked for awhile now, but didn't officially come out til a week ago

[Woy]

Not yet. I gave it a listen when it first leaked and I still have it on my iTunes, but I need to start bumping it more before I give it ratings and such.

[Rivers17ncsu]

oh alright. I just got it today and was planning on listening to it. was wondering what you thought

[Woy]

I think I liked it when I first listened to it, but it wasn't incredible/classic/etc. But like I said, I need to give in a few more spins soon.

[Woy]

Woy's Word: LASERS review.

Before I dive into this review, let me state something. I am not, nor have ever been a Lupe Fiasco fan. I enjoy a few songs of his and respect his actual skills as a rapper, but to me he just doesn't make very enjoyable music. I've listened to both his albums before copping his third release, LASERS, and although I was impressed with the rhymes and lyrics throughout those CDs, I could always point out a flaw or two in the actual song which severely affected by enjoyability.

With all of that being said, I did make the decision to review this album a few months ago while the drama between Lupe and Atlantic Records was a major headline in hip-hop. I blocked out my bias and went into this album with a clear mind, in hopes of finally enjoying Lupe, not only as a rapper, but as an overall artist.

What I got in return was an abortion of a product. Garbage hooks, extremely weak production; most of this album was just a worse version of what I've heard from Lupe over the last few years. There were exceptions and I will get to them, but you can tell that Atlantic Records did have their hands in the creation of the final project.

However, not everything should be blamed on the record label; Lupe definitely deserves part of the backlash. An album I want to use in comparison is one that was delayed five years before its release last month; The Greatest Story Never Told by Saigon. Although I haven't officially did a track-by-track review of it yet, it's second on my list of hip-hop/R&B albums this year so far behind Frank Ocean's Nostalgia, ULTRA.

In Saigon's case, his former record label (which ironically was Atlantic Records) didn't want to release his debut major release because not enough of the songs were commercial. Instead of giving into the masses at the label, Saigon eventually got his release, found a different label that would release his album and it has gained plenty of praise throughout the hip-hop community. Obviously the circumstances are different in regards to Lupe's fanbase and the demand of LASERS, but there's no saying he could have held out for a release so he could release the album in its own way.

The problem with Lupe is that he should have known what he was going into when signing with a major record label. With his old label, 1st and 15th Entertainment, he had the freedom to do whatever because not only was he the co-founder, but he was the main attraction. On Atlantic, he wasn't going to be the top dog ever, which would allow the leniency he wanted for his music. He's the one who put himself in this position, especially with all the speaking out against the label that he did. I'm happy he stood up for himself, but you know with all the negative comments he made towards the label would end up affecting his music in the end. The victim card he's pulling in every article now is pretty annoying though.

Anyways, this is an album review and not a rant about Lupe Fiasco, so let's get to reviewing LASERS, shall we?

"Letting Go" leads off the adventure and it's a decent song, but what knocks it down is the distortion effect in his verses. Lupe said in an interview that the label wanted him to be Kanye, but he couldn't and it showed because this is nothing like Kanye's distortion effect on "Gorgeous". It's actually pretty tough to hear at times, even with good headphones. Sarah Green should have gotten the hook duties, not Lupe.

"Words I Never Said" has a clear message and good hook, making it one of the best songs from the album. The production by Alex Da Kid is mediocre at best and he continues to show me his deficiencies as a producer, but luckily the verses make up for it, especially the shorter third one. I am a fan of Skylar Gray's hooks, but not to the point where I would willingly check out her albums.

"Till I Get There" is simply just okay. The simple beat just doesn't work for me in terms to Lupe's rapping but for an other artist, I think it would be better suited. The lyrics are nothing special though. "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now" is an absolute abortion and is coming to a Jersey Shore soundtrack near you. Everything just sucks about it.

"Out Of My Head" is a song that Lupe actually wanted for the album, as he teams up with record labelmate Trey Songz. This, like "Till I Get There", is simply just okay, but gets a notch up because of Trey Songz's hook. The lyrics aren't special and frankly I find it weird hearing Lupe rapping about women. "The Show Goes On" was the first single and I hated it at first, but it has slightly grown on me. The "Float On" sample is an okay touch, I guess.

"Beautiful Lasers (2Ways)" would be the best song on the album, if it weren't for another horrendous hook. I like the lyrics to the actual hook, but the group or person MDMA just sounds terrible and makes it tough to listen closely to the actual words. This song documents Lupe's suicidal thoughts while going through the process of making this album, which I actually didn't know about before listening.

"Coming Up" is catchy, has a good MDMA hook for once and is a decent song overall. What I want to briefly touch on after listening to all of MDMA's hooks is that I really miss Matthew Santos in these spots. One of my favorite Lupe songs, "Shining Down" (which is a bonus track on the album, but I don't review bonus tracks), is brought to a higher pinnacle because of Santos' hook. "State Run Radio" has another horrible hook and is more bashing of the media and the government.

I'm feeling Lupe's verses on "Break The Chain" even though they're not the most lyrical, but the hook is just...I shouldn't even have to say it. And who is this Sway character; the guy from MTV? "All Black Everything" has some good production and even a good hook, but honestly by now I'm tired of the government bashing and history lessons. It seems like he's doing this on every other song and frankly (not trying to be racist), the subject matter isn't going to hit me like it would an African-American listener. I completely respect their heritage and everything they've gone through, but in a song it's just not an enjoyable listen.

Atlantic Records does something right in the last song, "Never Forget You", a somber closing track dedicated to his father. Lupe reminisces on his time growing up, while John Legend delivers a powerful hook and wins the irrelevant award for best guest spot on the album. The production is again shaky, but the rest of the song makes up for it.

LASERS is not a good album and it definitely doesn't live up to the hype it was getting, but like a lot of mediocre projects you can find some gems here and there. Songs like "Letting Go", "Words I Never Said", "Out Of My Head", "Beautiful Lasers (2Ways)" and "Never Forget You" are going to be played by me a bit in the near future, but the overall LP itself is just very forgettable.

1.) Letting Go (ft. Sarah Green) | 3 - 3.75
2.) Words I Never Said (ft. Skylar Grey) | 4
3.) Till I Get There | 3 - 3.25
4.) I Don't Wanna Care Right Now (ft. MDMA) | .25 - 1
5.) Out Of My Head (ft. Trey Songz) | 3 - 3.75
6.) The Show Goes On | 2 - 2.5
7.) Beautiful Lasers (2Ways) (ft. MDMA) | 4 - 4.75
8.) Coming Up (ft. MDMA) | 3 - 3.5
9.) State Run Radio (ft. Matt Mahaffey) | 1.5 - 2
10.) Break The Chain (ft. Eric Turner & Sway) | 2 - 2.25
11.) All Black Everything | 2.25 - 3
12.) Never Forget You (ft. John Legend) | 4.5 - 5

Overall: 2.97/5

---

RYM Review (updated 3/24/2011):

1.) Letting Go (ft. Sarah Green) | 2.25 - 3
2.) Words I Never Said (ft. Skylar Grey) | 3.5 - 4
- Third verse is awesome.
3.) Till I Get There | 2 - 2.25
4.) I Don't Wanna Care Right Now (ft. MDMA) | .25 - 1
5.) Out Of My Head (ft. Trey Songz) | 3
- Probably a little biased here because Trey's on the track. Sounds more of a Trey song though than a Lupe one.
6.) The Show Goes On | 1.75 - 2
- Hated this song when it first came out, but it has grew on me a little bit.
7.) Beautiful Lasers (2Ways) (ft. MDMA) | 4
- Great song that suffers from another meh hook.
8.) Coming Up (ft. MDMA) | 2 - 2.5
9.) State Run Radio (ft. Matt Mahaffey) | .75 - 1
10.) Break The Chain (ft. Eric Turner & Sway) | 1 - 1.25
11.) All Black Everything | 2 - 2.25
- A rare good hook, but this sounds more like a history lesson or political ad than a rap song.
12.) Never Forget You (ft. John Legend) | 4 - 4.5

Overall: 2.39/5 [previous rating 2.97/5]

Brief Notes:
- Bad hooks and bad production, plus a less-focused effort from the rapper himself. Most of my thoughts will go into my actual review, I just needed to add something here.

[Updated (3/24/2011): This was worse than I thought. If it weren't for the second single, "Beautiful Lasers" and the album closer, this might all be in my recycle bin.]

[KNUBB]

I respectfully disagree, but good work lil niglet

[Cody]

I respectfully disagree, but good work lil niglet

'Nough said

[KNUBB]

'Nough said

[BrntO4Life]

Woy, I've got a recommendation. Right before Odd Future blew up, there was another group getting a lot of attention who I find really interesting.

Called Main Attrakionz, they have a mixtape called "808s and Dark Grapes" I'd like for you to check out. Very different from Odd Future and don't have the shock value, so they lost attention fast, but I enjoy this mixtape quite a bit.

Link:

 

http://limelinx.com/files/d2cd711f79...bf1067bebb9796

[Woy]

1.) R4 Intro | 4 - 4.75
2.) Rise and Shine | 4.5 - 5
3.) R4 Theme Song | 4.75 - 5
4.) Dreamin' | 5
5.) Rotation | 4 - 4.5
6.) My Sub | 3 - 3.5
7.) Sookie Now (ft. David Banner) | 4.75 - 5
- The transition into this song is perfect. The hook gets me hyped and I always wanted a Banner/K.R.I.T. collab.
8.) American Rapstar | 4.75 - 5
9.) Highs & Lows | 4.5 - 5
10.) Shake It (ft. Joi) | 3 - 3.25
11.) Made Alot (ft. Big Sant) | 2.75 - 3
12.) Lions and Lambs | 4 - 4.75
13.) King's Blues | 4 - 4.5
14.) Time Machine (ft. Chamillionaire) | 4.5 - 5
- More collaborations between K.R.I.T. and Chamillionaire, please.
15.) Get Right | 3
16.) Amtrak | 3 - 3.25
17.) Player's Ballad (ft. Raheem DeVaughn) | 4.25 - 5
18.) Another N.I.G.G.E.R.| 5
19.) Free My Soul | 4.75 - 5
20.) The Vent | 5
21.) Country Shit (Remix) (ft. Ludacris & Bun B) | 5
- I liked the original version a good bit, but this remix is unreal. Luda finishes his verse perfectly to set up the awesome hook.

Overall: 4.33/5

Brief Notes:
- Do you know how hard it is to follow up a classic debut with even just a solid sophomore effort? So many rappers fail to do this, but yet K.R.I.T. succeeds with this album. It doesn't have the consistency that Krit Wuz Here has, but the stretch from "Another N.I.G.G.E.R." to "Country Shit (Remix)" at the end of the album might be better than Krit Wuz Here's best four song stretch.
- This might be a controversial view, but I feel like Big K.R.I.T. is the best producer for his own songs. Kanye West is still the best rapper/producer out there today, but all of K.R.I.T.'s beats fit him perfectly and are just easy to fall in love with. He's been blessed in both areas and I can't wait to see even more progression going into future albums.
- The only flaw I can say about this (and it's a slight one) is some of the hooks. "My Sub" is a great example of what I'm talking about. However, if you hate the hook "Sookie Now", then I might need to slap you in the face. That gets me hyped in the same way "O Lets Do It" by Waka Flocka Flame does. AWWWWWWWWWW SOOKIE SOOKIE NOW!

[Woy]

I'll just post all my small reviews in here for this year now, unless I already full-fledged reviewed them (LASERS and Nostalgia, ULTRA). And without posting the whole small review again, I'll just say I bumped up Nostalgia, ULTRA to a 4.30/5 and LASERS down to a 2.39/5.

[Woy]

1.) Intro | 3
2.) My God | 4.75 - 5
3.) I Still Wanna (ft. Rick Ross & Ab-Liva) | 5
- I love everything about this song, even Ross's verse. Ab-Liva reminds me of Chamillionaire on here.
4.) Money On My Mind Freestyle | 3.75 - 4
5.) Feeling Myself (ft. Kevin Cossom) | 2.5 - 3
- I was expecting a banger after the first ten seconds...wow.
6.) Blow-Funk Flex Freestyle | 3 - 3.25
7.) Cook It Down Freestyle | 4 - 4.75
8.) Open Your Eyes | 4.75 - 5
9.) Can I Live Freestyle | 4.5 - 5
10.) Raid (ft. 50 Cent & Pharrell) | 5
- 50's gonna be a problem this summer.
11.) Touch It (ft. Kanye West) | 2.75 - 3
12.) Speakers Going Hammer Freestyle | 4 - 4.5
13.) Alone In Vegas Outro | 4

Overall: 4.06/5

Brief Notes:
- Great tape with just two big flaws (mainly the hooks on "Feeling Myself" and "Touch It"). There's a variety of sounds from a production standpoint on here, as Pusha goes from rapping over one of the best songs on "Reasonable Doubt" to Soulja Boy's "Speakers Going Hammer" just three tracks later.
- Someone needs to update the RYM album page with the actual CD cover.

---

(updated 6/8/2011):

1.) Intro | 3
2.) My God | 4.75 - 5
3.) I Still Wanna (ft. Rick Ross & Ab-Liva) | 5
- I love everything about this song, even Ross's verse. Ab-Liva reminds me of Chamillionaire on here.
4.) Money On My Mind Freestyle | 3 - 3.5
5.) Feeling Myself (ft. Kevin Cossom) | 2 - 2.25
- I was expecting a banger after the first ten seconds...wow.
6.) Blow-Funk Flex Freestyle | 2.5 - 3
7.) Cook It Down Freestyle | 4 - 4.75
8.) Open Your Eyes | 4.75 - 5
9.) Can I Live Freestyle | 4.5 - 5
10.) Raid (ft. 50 Cent & Pharrell) | 5
- 50's gonna be a problem this summer.
11.) Touch It (ft. Kanye West) | 2 - 2.5
12.) Speakers Going Hammer Freestyle | 4 - 4.75
13.) Alone In Vegas Outro | 3.75 - 4

Overall: 3.88/5 [previous rating 4.06/5]

[Updated (6/8/2011): Went back to this a few days ago and wasn't as impressed. I fell victim to the hype during the opening weeks. The highlights are still as strong as ever but it isn't an absolutely amazing tape like I first rated. Still pretty good however.]

[Woy]

1.) Daze Of Thunder | 4.75 - 5
- I hate how Rick Ross got this beat originally.
2.) Rain Delay | 3.5 - 4
3.) On... | 2 - 2.5
4.) Trophy Case | 3.25 - 4
5.) Entire Monopoly | 3 - 3.75
6.) Frost | 3.75 - 4
- This gets a higher score if the last minute and a half isn't just instrumental.
7.) Record Deals | 3 - 3.25
- Same description as above. Probably was going to be some guest spots during those blank areas, but they didn't come in at time.
8.) Moon & Stars (Remix) (ft. Big K.R.I.T. & Killa Kyleon) | 5
9.) Role Model | 4 - 4.25
10.) Paydays | 3 - 3.5
11.) Jets At Ya Neck (ft. Trademark, Street Wiz & Young Roddy) | 3.5 - 4

Overall: 3.72/5

Brief Notes:
- Curren$y continues his hot streak with another good mixtape, though it could easily be better. One of the most notable things you'll notice when listening to this is that during "Frost" and "Record Deals", the instrumental plays for an extended period of time. Like I mentioned above, I bet there were guest verses that were supposed to fill the instrumental space but they didn't make the deadline, leaving that sort of awkwardness on the final copy.
- "Moon & Stars (Remix)" just reminds me how amazing K.R.I.T.'s debut was. That beat, that hook, and those guest spots from Spitta and Killa Kyleon make that just an incredible song.

[Woy]

1.) Time Is Up (ft. Jadakiss) | 3.75 - 4
2.) All She Wants Is Me | 3 - 3.5
3.) Second Time Around | 2.75 - 3
4.) When I'm Gone (ft. Styles P & Jadakiss) | 3.5 - 4
- Good choice for Emanny's debut (?) single.
5.) Get You Home | 4
6.) Blow Ya Mind | 2.25 - 3
7.) On My Job | 3.25 - 4
- Reminds me a little bit of "Bottoms Up" by Trey Songz.
8.) Fame | 3
9.) Hope He Cheats On You | 4 - 4.25
10.) All I Can Do (ft. Joe Budden) | 3.5 - 4
11.) One More | 2 - 2.25
- Drags on way too long and wasn't that interesting to begin with.
12.) Lock And Chain (ft. Ghostwidah) | 3.75 - 4

Overall: 3.41/5

Brief Notes:
- I feel like Emanny is a great talent who really was overshadowed (and deservingly so) by Joe Budden on their collabs throughout their careers. His hooks are always something I look forward to and I always wondered what it would be like if he got his shot at a solo project. Here on his debut mixtape, you can see the potential he has but realize he still has a long way to go. "On My Job" is a nice up-tempo R&B track in a time where those type of songs are cliche and uninteresting, but "One More" is long and dull. The guest spots come through to Emanny's cause, which helps him out because with Budden's co-sign, I know he'll be able to get some good people on his debut EP later.

[Woy]

1.) Phone Numbers (ft. Trae Tha Truth & Big Sean) | 3 - 3.5
2.) Cabin Fever | 4
- This song is two years old I think, but yet it's still the highlight of the tape.
3.) GangBang (ft. Big Sean) | 1 - 1.75
4.) Errday (ft. Juicy J) | 2
- When did Juicy J become relevant again?
5.) Taylor Gang (ft. Chevy Woods) | 2 - 2.75
6.) Hustlin' | 2 - 2.5
7.) Middle Of You (ft. Chevy Woods) | 2
- This sounds like a song made for Sam Adams.
8.) WTF | 2 - 2.25
9.) Homicide (ft. Chevy Woods) | 3 - 3.75

Overall: 2.53/5

Brief Notes:
- Why is it that Wiz can't stay with one style and stick with it? He's gone from an underground wannabe lyrical rapper, to jacking both Curren$y and Weezy's styles, to now this. With five beats from Lex Luger on this mixtape, I think it's pretty obvious to determine that he doesn't work on that type of production at all. It's pretty sad how he's fell from being extremely enjoyable on Kush & Orange Juice to boring and very predictable on his latest songs, minus "Black & Yellow".
- I never understood the Big Sean hype train. For people who like him and hate on Drake, newsflash: HE SOUNDS EXACTLY THE SAME. I think his "Looking For Trouble" verse was my favorite of his, because he wasn't fooling around with Drake's style and although the double-time attempt there was a little weak, it was still something new and I enjoyed it.
- "Hustlin'" has a good hook. I almost always enjoy Wiz's hooks when he's singing them.