Woy's Album Reviews.

[Woy]

1.) Best Day Ever | 2 - 2.5
2.) Get Up | 2 - 2.5
3.) Donald Trump | 4 - 4.5
4.) Oy Vey | .75 - 1
5.) I'll Be There (ft. Phonte) | 4.25 - 5
6.) Wear My Hat | 2
7.) Wake Up | 1.75 - 2
8.) Down The Rabbit Hole | 4.5 - 5
- Gives me a Lil' Wayne "Single" vibe. I love that.
9.) All Around The World | 3 - 3.5
10.) In The Air | 2.5 - 3
11.) Play Ya Cards Right | 2.25 - 3
12.) She Said | 4
13.) Life Ain't Easy | 2 - 2.25
14.) Snooze | 3
15.) Keep Floatin' (ft. Wiz Khalifa) | 3.25 - 4
- Another nice Wiz hook.
16.) BDE Bonus | 3
- Love that interlude into the song with the drums, even if it's the same as the intro.

Overall: 2.95/5 [previous rating 3.36/5]

Brief Notes:
- Mac Miller is an interesting artist and someone I feel tied to more, just because he's from the Pittsburgh area and a year younger than me. He's put out some decent mixtapes in his brief two years, including last year's K.I.D.S tape and he's recently just been named to XXL's Freshman 11 list for 2011, which shall bring him even more attention.

What Mac's biggest flaw is (and this is a problem for many young artists) the lack of subject matter in his bars, which is fine for a tape or two, but I want to see progression throughout a career. This is why I usually just listen to Miller at parties and not during other times. If he can expand on that, then he really does have the potential to be a big name in the hip-hop game, because his flow is on point and really shocks a first-time listener.

I also don't like much of the production on this, which is strange because I'm a fan of the production he gets usually because it's on an older 90s tip and is different than what most young rappers are getting nowadays.

[Updated (4/3/2011): I legit only listen to three or four songs off this tape at the most. Not every enjoyable, but of course everyone around me is playing this shit constantly. *facepalm*]

[Woy]

1.) When I'm Gone | 2 - 2.75
- "And they say all I rap about is bitches and champagne, you would too if every night you'd seen the same thing."
2.) On My Level (ft. Too $hort) | 2
- Someone like Los needs to get this instrumental, ASAP.
3.) Black And Yellow | 3.75 - 4
4.) Roll Up | 3
- Catchy enough for me, plus I love the switch up of flow in the first verse.
5.) Hopes And Dreams | 1.5 - 2
6.) Wake Up | 1 - 1.25
7.) The Race | 3.5 - 4
8.) Star Of The Show (ft. Chevy Woods) | 1.75 - 2
9.) No Sleep | .5 - 1
- "It's going down in this bitch, concrete." I thought I would hear this line from Gudda Gudda before Wiz.
10.) Get Your Shit | 1
11.) Top Floor | 1.75 - 2
12.) Fly Solo | .75 - 1
- I love acoustic guitars in rap if it's the right artist...Wiz isn't the right artist.
13.) Rooftops (ft. Curren$y) | 2.25 - 3
14.) Cameras | 1 - 1.5

Overall: 2.01/5

Brief Notes:
- I'm glad Wiz is finally blowing up and making a big name for himself, but he shouldn't have to sacrifice the quality of his music.

[Woy]

House of Balloons - The Weeknd

Image

Co-signs help take you to most places in life. If you're looking for a job and have a co-sign from a higher power in the company, chances are that you'll be more of a candidate for the opening than John Doe. So after gaining some co-signs from famous artists like Drake, I decided to give The Weeknd's debut mixtape House of Balloons a listen, hoping to add some more new R&B to my iPod.

A quick glance at the mixtape's cover will confuse the listener at first, but as soon as they start listening to the songs, they'll realize how much the portrait makes sense. The picture of a passed out naked woman in a bathtub with balloons covering everything but an exposed breast likely shows the aftermath of a crazy party; one that she won't likely remember. In fact, in the mixtape's first song "High For This", the chorus advises the girl that she should be, well, high for this.

Despite listening to this mixtape for a solid week now, I still haven't uncovered most the mysteries behind The Weeknd. Is The Weeknd just a solo artist or an artist and a group of in-house producers? I want to lean towards the latter, especially since the one thing I do know is that the lead singer and maybe only singer is Abel Tesfaye, from Toronto, Canada. (Which, not surprisingly, is one of the reasons why Drake co-signed him/them.) Tesfaye doesn't necessarily have the best voice, but his ear for beats, the passion he puts behind each note and the way he pieces this mixtape together reminds me a lot of The-Dream - only a more explicit version.

The lyrics laced throughout the nine-track project are filled with drug references, swagger and sexual conquest that would make the younger R. Kelly raise his eyebrow in surprise. An example would be "The Morning", which is one of the tape's highlights. Right at the beginning of the verse, Tesfaye says that banging sounds coming from the walls of his room are reminiscent to an unborn baby kicking at its mother's stomach. Yeah, it might not necessarily be the smoothest line to use to woo a girl, but that's the beauty of this tape.

"Wicked Games" shows a slightly vulnerable side of The Weeknd. The first verse has him viciously attacking a past love, saying that he doesn't love her anymore behind a low, dark guitar riff. His pain can be felt through the lyrics of the bridge and chorus, telling a woman he just met to say she loves him, even if it's just a lie. The destruction his past girl has left on him killed his confidence and he hopes a one night stand can fix that.

House of Balloons is a very good debut release that deserves the co-signs it's been getting. With the production taking on samples from bands like Beach House and Siouxsie and the Banshee's, I don't see only R&B fans getting behind this mixtape, as it appeals to a lot of tastes. The only flaw I can pick out is that some of the songs drag out too long and get stale, but the mixtape's highlights are too awesome not to ignore.

1.) High For This | 4
2.) What You Need | 3 - 3.25
3.) House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls | 3.5 - 4
4.) The Morning | 4.5 - 5
5.) Wicked Games | 5
6.) The Party & The After Party | 3.5 - 4
7.) Coming Down | 4.25 - 5
8.) Loft Music | 4 - 4.25
9.) The Knowing | 3.5 - 4

Overall: 4.10/5

---

RYM Review (updated 6/25/2011):

1.) High For This | 4 - 4.25
2.) What You Need | 5
3.) House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls | 4
4.) The Morning | 4.75 - 5
5.) Wicked Games | 5
- I can't help but screaming out "let me seeeeeee that ass, look at all this caaaaaaaaaash" in the first verse.
6.) The Party & The After Party | 3.5 - 4
7.) Coming Down | 4.25 - 5
8.) Loft Music | 4.5 - 5
9.) The Knowing | 3 - 3.25

Overall: 4.36/5 [previous ratings 4.10/5 and 4.26/5]

Brief Notes:
- I get a lot of homework done while listening to this.

[Updated (5/31/2011): I can't believe I rated "What You Need" as the worst song on the album previously. Something just clicked recently with it as I've been bumping this mixtape again constantly. It's kind of an awesome feeling to come home from a party and wake up with this playing.]
[Updated (6/25/2011): Still on repeat. And if the songs "Rolling Stone", "The Birds (Pt. 1)" and "Trust Issues (Remix)" are any indication, then the next tape, Thursday, might find itself on the top of this list.]

[Woy]

I'll probably add his EP into my list soon but I won't do a full review like I did with The Weeknd above.

[Cody]

The Morning was great.

[Woy]

1.) Deuces (ft. Tyga & Kevin McCall) | 4 - 4.25
- A Tyga verse that doesn't make me want to strangle myself.
2.) No Bullshit | 2 - 2.5
3.) Up 2 You | 3
4.) Look At Me Now (ft. Busta Rhymes & Lil' Wayne) | 3.5 - 4
- Thankfully for CB, ridiculous verses from Busta and Weezy save his awful attempt at rapping and a mediocre beat.
5.) She Ain't You | 2.5 - 3
6.) Say It With Me | 1 - 1.5
7.) Yeah 3x | 1
8.) Next 2 You (ft. Justin Beiber) | 1.75 - 2
9.) All Black | 1 - 1.25
10.) Wet The Bed (ft. Ludacris) | 4 - 4.75
- Although I liked parts of Ludacris's verse, it was not needed. More on this track in particular below.
11.) Oh My Love | .75 - 1
12.) Should've Kissed You | 1 - 1.25
13.) Beautiful People (ft. Benny Benassi) | 1

Overall: 2.19/5

Brief Notes:
- Besides the first single from the mixtape, the first single from this album and Ludacris-assisted track, this sounds like a mess of Disney pop clashing with R-rated lyrics.
- Speaking of "Wet The Bed", I've heard a lot of mixed reactions to this track in particular. First off, the production on the song is the album's best, with soft guitars crescendoing into the chorus as well as a distant sound of a faucet dripping. I wasn't feeling it during my first listen (but I was probably more distracted by the title of the song than anything Chris said) but I've come around on it big time. CB doesn't have near the vocal range R. Kelly does, but I can definitely see the influence on this song from a lyrical standpoint as well as the overall vibe it gives off, which I love. In a time where most R&B tracks are the same, it's nice to see someone push the envelope, even if it's a little too over the top. I still haven't decided if I'd have sex to this however. *laughs*

[Cody]

I figured She ain't you would have got closer to a 4.

[1ke]

Woyseph. Thank you so very much for going through all this shit that I dont have the patience to.

Did you review Saigon's album?

[Woy]

Woyseph. Thank you so very much for going through all this shit that I dont have the patience to.

Did you review Saigon's album?

No problem man, and I'm planning on it. Maybe I'll get it done today, we'll see.

[1ke]

I only ask because I believe its one of the better albums if not THEE best ive heard this year or in a while.

[Rivers17ncsu]

Saigon's album is definitely one of the better rap albums of the year. I think the only one I have rated higher is Atmosphere's. I got a couple rock albums rated higher, well atleast one.

[Woy]

I only ask because I believe its one of the better albums if not THEE best ive heard this year or in a while.

When it came out I listened to it a lot, but haven't in a while. It's pretty good and should get a good score.

[KNUBB]

I miss when you ran down why each track got their score.

[Woy]

I miss when you ran down why each track got their score.

I still use that reviewing style in a way. These brief reviews are just to put onto my list and are albums that I don't feel like reviewing fully due to interest, how old it is, and/or time constraints.

My last full review was cut down from how much I actually wanted to write because it was meant just for the school paper. The LASERS review describes every song in detail, then I let you know how I scored it on the bottom, which is pretty much the style that you said you miss.

[Woy]

1.) Be Alone | 4 - 4.5
2.) Freaks and Geeks | 5
- This is reminiscent to Lil' Wayne in his prime, only a geekier version. His punchlines are on point.
3.) My Shine | 3
4.) Lights Turned On | 3.5 - 4
5.) Not Going Back (ft. Beldina Malaika) | 3 - 3.5

Overall: 3.85/5

Brief Notes:
- Childish Gambino is an interesting story and I might write a blog post focused solely on him one day, but we'll keep it brief for my list. The sound from this EP is a lot more refreshing than Culdesac and his voice/punchline style reminds me of a (kinda) sober Weezy, like I said after the song "Freaks and Geeks". He's a very talented individual and I'm interested to see where his rap career goes from here.