Woy's Album Reviews.

[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 :gtfo:

 

[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

 

[Cody]

Nice review on Nelly. I thought Broke should have got a high rating.

 

[Rudi]

Good shit on the 5.0. I've been debating whether or not to download it for a few days and after reading this I doubt I will. Ill just keep that #FNL and Ye in rotation

 

[Woy]

Once again, I'm messing with my template for the next review, but it's not a drastic change. Reason is because I'm thinking about entering this into a contest for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, so I don't really want the numbers in the middle of my descriptions like they have been. You'll see when it's up; like I said, it's not a drastic change.

'Ye review will be up hopefully sometime this week.

 

[KNUBB]

Woy I demand you review this album

There are lulz to be written

 

[Woy]

Woy I demand you review this album

There are lulz to be written

I actually plan on it after I'm done with the Kanye review and the J. Cole one. There's so much shit to review coming up, with that just leaking, then Banks and Curren$y on top of that.

 

[Cody]

It's a good time for music right now. Keep up the good work Woy.

 

[Woy]

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West

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Arrogant, gifted and brave; those are just three of the adjectives that describe the controversial rapper, Kanye West. West's arrogance is shown from quotes like one in 2009, when he pronounced himself as "the New King of Pop." Although the statement might not be true, he's still very gifted, evidenced by his longevity in music industry from a production standpoint, in addition to his first two albums, The College Dropout and Late Registration, which were heralded as hip-hop classics by many. And 808's and Heartbreaks was a sign of his bravery, as he stepped out of the box to create an album composed completely from auto-tune. So what adjective can be tacked onto West's name after listening to his fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy?

How about ingenious? With My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, West has earned the label of "musical genius" in my mind, as I think this LP joins his first two efforts as classic albums. However, if this was judged on just rapping, I wouldn't have it in the conversation. Although the actual rapping isn't bad, it's not nearly as good as it was on The College Dropout or Late Registration. What makes this a classic though, is the production and his objective of what he wanted the album to represent.

The album starts with Nicki Minaj explaining what to expect throughout the entire LP, before a female voice cries out "can we get much higher?" with another following her, before an entire choir joins to create something that would you'd imagine be heard during church. The beat for Dark Fantasy then drops, as West describes his early years in Chicago and eventually makes a Family Matters reference saying "too many Urkels on your team, that's why your Winslow", which has a double-meaning to it.

A guitar riff comes in to introduce the second track, Gorgeous, with G.O.O.D. Music label-mate Kid Cudi responsible for hook duties. West mainly goes after the government in this song, claiming racial issues are America's downfall. Then in the next song, Power, he shifts the subject from just typical egotistical boasting, to a shot at Saturday Night Live for making fun of him, to contemplating suicide in the outro behind a beat sampled from British rock band King Crimison.

A piano and cello accompany each other on the interlude of All of the Lights, as they play a slowed-down melody of the actual track. Horns then introduce the start of the song and Rihanna lays down a great hook, singing about how the spotlight is always on celebrities. West follows that up with verses saying how he abused his celebrity status, which is referring to the Taylor Swift incident. He also gathered up a group of artists to make appearances through the song, whether it's a short verse from Fergie or a piano solo from Elton John.

Bon Iver kills the bright mood from All of the Lights with his first line in Monster, singing "I shoot the lights out." The beat is dark and scary, with thunderous bass only adding onto the "monster" theme. Kanye and Jay-Z deliver some impressive verses, but they are outshined by Nicki Minaj, who's ever-shifting voice is perfect for the subject matter. She mainly is taking shots at the people who claim she - mainly her body - is fake, but like I said, her voice just portrays the theme of the song perfectly.

So Appalled is just another track with numerous impressive guest appearances, but Jay-Z steals the show with one of his best verses of the year (his verse on Free Mason isn't going to be topped). This verse also started the strange beef between Hov and MC Hammer, with the line, "I lost 30 mil, so I spent another 30/cause unlike Hammer, 30 million can't hurt me." Then on the next track, Devil in a New Dress, another great guest feature comes through with Rick Ross on the third verse. This really surprised me, because I'm not a fan whatsoever of the former correctional officer, but even I have to admit he did his thing.

Runaway was the song that started it all, when West chose to debut it at the MTV Video Music Awards earlier this year. He admits that he has a problem with women throughout the song and although he tells the woman he's referring to (more than likely on and off-again girlfriend Amber Rose) to runaway from him, he doesn't know what he'd do without her. And I might be in the minority here, but I feel like the three-minute outro with Kanye using the vocoder is the best part of the song. You can't make out what he's saying, but that's the point, because it's showing how he's struggles to be understood, not only by the media but by the women in past relationships. You can feel the emotion coming through the vocoder as the orchestra keeps their melody.

From admitting his faults with women to marrying a porn star; no wonder this is a beautiful, twisted, dark fantasy. Hell of a Life opens up with a confession, with Kanye revealing he's fell in love with a porn star. This song takes you in many directions, with some out-of-this-world lyrics that will make you want to do a double-take. The hook is very, very catchy and a little wood block solo leads you into the next track, which is the best song on the album and one of the best in West's discography.

Blame Game starts with a piano playing Avril 14th from Aphex Twin while the drums and strings come in just seconds after the first note. John Legend lends his smooth R&B vocals for the hook, singing about how the blame game works, before West makes his intro. Again he struggles to decide what he wants from his girlfriend, whether to stay with her despite their constant fighting or to cheat on her. His full verse explains the abusive relationship they are in, but it also is a metaphor to his relationship with fame. He abused his fame with all the incidents throughout the last few years, but he felt like he had no choice. After another hook and outro by Legend, Kanye fades out once he says he called his girlfriend and she didn't pick up. However, she unknowingly calls him right back and the phone conversation is a hilarious skit from Chris Rock, who asks this woman all these questions about how she became so skilled at sexual intercourse, in which she would reply with "Yeezy taught me."

Bon Iver leads off the final full track, Lost in the World, before the hook comes in twice. West continues his struggle with the woman he's been speaking about in most of the second-half tracks, saying she brings out the best and worst in him with lines such as: "you're my devil, you're my angel" and "you're my freedom, you're my jail." As the track ends, the beat shifts right into the outro, Who Will Survive in America, which is an excerpt from Gil-Scott Heron's poem Comment #1. It's truly an epic ending to an epic album.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is not supposed to be your average album; it's a movie with the script coming through your speakers/headphones while you visualize what's happening in your mind. Or you can just watch his 35-minute short film, Runaway, which might not make sense the first time you watch it. However, once you closely listen to the album and recognize the subject matter of each song, the symbolism in the film will fall right into place and only will make you appreciate the album that much more.

Before this album, Kanye West probably could have gone down as one of the greatest music artists of the 21st century. But with the addition of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy among his classics The College Dropout and Late Registration, West has not only cemented his place on that list, but also is on track to put his name among some of the greatest artists of all-time.

1.) Dark Fantasy - 5
2.) Gorgeous ft. Kid Cudi & Raekwon - 4.5
3.) Power ft. Dwele - 4.5
4.) All of the Lights Interlude - 4
5.) All of the Lights ft. Alicia Keys, Charlie Wilson, Elton John, Fergie, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Rihanna, Ryan Leslie, The Dream & Tony Williams - 4.5
6.) Monster ft. Rick Ross, Jay-Z, Nicki Minaj & Bon Iver - 5
7.) So Appalled ft. Jay-Z, Pusha T, Cyhi the Prince, RZA & Swizz Beatz - 4.5
8.) Devil in a New Dress ft. Rick Ross - 4.5
9.) Runaway ft. Pusha T - 5
10.) Hell of a Life - 4.5
11.) Blame Game ft. John Legend - 5
12.) Lost in the World ft. Bon Iver - 4.5
13.) Who Will Survive in America - 5

Overall: 4.65/5

This is just a rough draft for the contest I said I'm entering, but I figured this would be fine for the blog. Hopefully you guys enjoy the read.

 

[CCBrink]

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy - Kanye West



This is just a rough draft for the contest I said I'm entering, but I figured this would be fine for the blog. Hopefully you guys enjoy the read.

You should definitely stay with this format. I love how you broke down each song. When I listened to Devil In a New Dress, I was wondering what you would think of Ross' verse even though you hate him. He surprised me.

 

[KNUBB]

Thank you good sir. If I'm not mistaken that score averages out to the best album this year

 

[Woy]

You should definitely stay with this format. I love how you broke down each song. When I listened to Devil In a New Dress, I was wondering what you would think of Ross' verse even though you hate him. He surprised me.

Yeah, I think I'm going to stay with this format because although it took longer, it was more enjoyable to write. And at first, I dismissed Ross's verse because I just thought it typical Ross horribleness, but the more I listened to it, the sooner I realized it was really dope.

Thank you good sir. If I'm not mistaken that score averages out to the best album this year

:yep: Edges out Mood Muzik 4 as the project of the year as well...for now. I've been listening to Friday Night Lights as much as this album, so it'll have a shot to overtake him for project of the year at least, and I think Pilot Talk 2 is going to be pretty damn good.

Did you guys catch the things I was catching throughout the album? Like my interpretation of Kanye's use of the vocoder on Runaway or the Chris Rock skit on Blame Game?