Woy's Album Reviews.

[G-men]

It's a sad day in the rap game when Justin Bieber outraps somebody. Chris Brown should be forced into retirement.

 

[Woy]

Cities Aviv review?

Have about half of it rated, will get to the other half tomorrow. I'd do it now but I work soon.

 

[dell71]

Just wanted to say these reviews are on point like a pyramid
TXT8026/T05_0 UP.Browser/6.2.3.2 (GUI) MMP/2.0

 

[Woy]

Next full review will be The Weeknd's new mixtape, Thursday. I'll make sure that doesn't erase like my Watch The Throne review.

Speaking of WTT...that, Cities Aviv, RED and Wale's new tape will all get the RYM treatment and be up relatively soon. Looking to knock out a lot of these tomorrow.

 

[Woy]

1.) No Church In The Wild (ft. Frank Ocean) | 5
- I love that damn guitar. Great verses by Jay and 'Ye and a powerful hook by rising star Frank Ocean makes this one of the album's highlights.
2.) Lift Off (ft. Beyonce) | 2 - 2.5
3.) Niggas In Paris | 4 - 4.5
- Lil B meets The Throne (I hate listing them like that, by the way). I just want to cook to this.
4.) Otis (ft. Otis Redding) | 4.5 - 5
5.) Gotta Have It | 3.75 - 4
6.) New Day | 5
7.) That's My Bitch | 3.25 - 4
- Q-Tip brings some old school flavor with this beat.
8.) Welcome To The Jungle | 3 - 3.5
9.) Who Gon Stop Me | 4 - 4.25
10.) Murder To Excellence | 5
11.) Made In America (ft. Frank Ocean) | 4 - 4.75
12.) Why I Love You (ft. Mr. Hudson) | 3 - 3.75
13.) Illest Motherfucker Alive | 5
- Everyone really hates the three-minutes of silence here. *laughs*
14.) H•A•M | 4 - 4.5
- I'm not the only one who feels this way, but this song feels different than when it first dropped in January. I can't explain it.
15.) Primetime | 4 - 4.25
16.) The Joy (ft. Curtis Mayfield) | 3.75 - 4

Overall: 4.13/5

Brief Notes:
- I've heard that this album has no subject matter besides Jay and Kanye saying "we're rich, here's a bunch of stuff we have that you can't afford". First off, the album's called Watch The Throne - you should expect the two artists to spit about their riches to show they're the best in the game. But in a lot of tracks (i.e. "Murder To Excellence", "Made In America", "Who Gon Stop Me"), the subject matter is more geared towards celebrating black power. "New Day" is probably the best song for everyone crying about subject matter, as the two heavyweights have conversations with their unborn children. Instant classic like many were making it out to be? No. Album of the Year candidate? No. Absolutely awful like others were making it out to be? No. It's a very good album, plain and simple.

 

[Woy]

1.) Dr. Dre Intro | 3 - 3.25
2.) The City (ft. Kendrick Lamar) | 4.75 - 5
- I love Kendrick's hook, but his verse is a little overhyped. Game sounds really hungry and says some ridiculous things, but it doesn't ruin a great song.
3.) Drug Test (ft. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg & Sly) | 3
4.) Martians vs. Goblins (ft. Lil' Wayne & Tyler, The Creator) | 4
- Nice verse by Tyler.
5.) Red Nation (ft. Lil' Wayne) | 2 - 2.5
- Zombie Nation is great by itself, it never needs to be sampled.
6.) Dr. Dre 1 | 2.5 - 3
7.) Good Girls Go Bad (ft. Drake) | 4 - 4.25
- Steve McNair reference. *sheds tear* Drake's verse is cool but the ninja turtle line is so cringe-worthy.
8.) Ricky | 4.25 - 5
9.) The Good, The Bad, The Ugly | 3.25 - 4
10.) Heavy Artillery (ft. Rick Ross & Beanie Sigel) | 4
- Beanie with one of the best guest spots on the album.
11.) Paramedics (ft. Young Jeezy) | 3.75 - 4
12.) Speakers On Blast (ft. Big Boi & E-40) | 3 - 3.5
- I don't like Game's 3000 impression.
13.) Hello (ft. Lloyd) | 2.25 - 3
14.) All The Way Gone (ft. Mario & Wale) | 3.25 - 4
15.) Pot Of Gold (ft. Chris Brown) | 4.5 - 5
- Again, Chris Brown may be trash from an album standpoint now, but he can still kill a hook every now and then.
16.) Dr. Dre 2 | 2.75 - 3
17.) All I Know (ft. Lu Breeze)| 4
18.) Born In The Trap | 4 - 4.75
19.) Mama Knows (ft. Nelly Furtado) | 3.5 - 4
- Where did Game find Nelly Furtado at? She's been in hiding for years.
20.) California Dream | 4
21.) Dr. Dre Outro | 3

Overall: 3.64/5

Brief Notes:
- There's some really good songs on here, but overall The Game just doesn't entertain me as a MC like he did during The Documentary days. His impressions of the featured artists gets old after a while too. The production throughout the album however is incredible and really stands out.

 

[Rudi]

As always, good reviews. Im interested to see what you think of my boys mixtape.

 

[Miggy]

please review:

Brad Paisley - This Is Country Music
Justin Moore - Outlaws Like Me

 

[Woy]

The Weeknd - Thursday

"...but on Thursday, make sure you are thirsty."

I can speak on behalf of many music fans that when it came to The Weeknd's newest mixtape, Thursday, we weren't just thirsty for it - we were parched. Just a few weeks after hearing the universally acclaimed, out-of-nowhere release House of Balloons, my hype level for the next chapter of the three-part trilogy was through the roof.

Besides some tweets in May saying Thursday was coming soon along with two "singles" in "Rolling Stone" and "The Birds Part 1" released within the same timeframe, there wasn't much news behind the mysterious mixtape. Abel Tesfaye did, however, host his first concert in early July and later performed at OVO Fest on the 31st. But once the lights turned off at Molson Amphitheatre, he went back into hiding and the release date of Thursday was still unknown.

Then on the 16th, Abel simply tweeted "this one..." and everyone knew what was finally coming soon. Two days later (obviously on a Thursday), the highly anticipated mixtape was released on his website and just shortly after, the site crashed and many people - including me - were searching for alternate links. In just the first day alone, Thursday was downloaded over 180,000 times; an incredible number for a still relatively unknown artist.

When I first listened to House of Balloons, I enjoyed it but nothing blew me away. Eventually a few more listens made me like it a lot, and continued listens over the past months made it one of my favorite projects of 2011. Unlike the first mixtape though, Thursday hit me square in the face during my first listen.

The entire tape sort of plays off "Wicked Games" from House of Balloons. Still heartbroken from a previous relationship, the nine-track project unravels as a story, documenting Abel's process of finding girls to hook up with. However, the story's antagonist doesn't provoke the same feelings that the other girls do.

In the opener "Lonely Star", Abel meets what could be his next hook up. The girl doesn't have much of a past because of a lack of relationships, so Abel takes her under his arm and shows she can have whatever she wants. It's a ploy to sleep with her however and after she gets some drugs in her system, she starts bringing his plan to life.

"Welcome to the other side," he cries out in "Life of the Party" - a signal of the transformation the girl has made since the previous song. She's starting to become exactly what Abel wanted her to be; from the innocent, lonely girl to a drug-induced whore. The title track "Thursday", reiterates that she's not different from the rest and that his feelings for her drastically change from day-to-day.

The Drake-assisted "The Zone" is not only my favorite song from the tape, but it also reiterates the fact that she isn't anything more than a hook up to him. Their first time together is more influenced by the codeine he's been drinking than actual feelings. Drake's verse doesn't necessarily tie in with Abel's story but it fits the theme of the tape and closes out the song perfectly.

Abel feels the need to remind the girl in "The Birds Part 1" that falling in love with him will be useless, cause he's done this exact thing plenty of times. But her response in "The Birds Part 2" is that she already fell in love with him and wants him to wait till she loses her feelings for her before he inevitably cheats on her.

But with her statement "it won't be long till I fall out of love" from the previous song, she insists that she doesn't want this to explicitly end. "Gone" is like "The Zone", piecing together their next hook up. The possible shifting of his intentions show up here when he allows her to drink the codeine that he values so much.

"Rolling Stone" shows Abel at his most vulnerable state. The morning after the party, he starts questioning his feelings and thinks he might actually want this girl to love him. He's worried about how the ineluctable fame will have women want him for that reason and not for himself. Confusion sets in at the end though because he is still unsure of what he wants. One line he's singing "I'll be different", the next is "I think I'll be different" and then finally "I hope I'm not different."

And that brings us to the tape's closer, "Heaven or Las Vegas". It briefly touches on a lack of a father figure in Abel's life, but the main theme of this song is how he feels like a king or a god because he has everything he wants in life: drugs, girls and friends. Whether this is like heaven to him or is more like Las Vegas remains to be seen (or rather, heard).

Comparing this to House of Balloons is tough, because they're both incredible mixtapes and some of the best projects in 2011. House of Balloons has better highlights ("What You Need", "Wicked Games") but Thursday is a more complete listen. The production is just as good, if not better as its counterpart and nothing seems out of place. The story flows beautifully and is also relatable in many aspects (one aspect not being the hardcore drug use found throughout the tape).

It seemed impossible at first, but The Weeknd did it. He somehow topped an absolutely brilliant debut and as of August 26th, this is your 2011 project of the year.

1.) Lonely Star | 4 - 4.25
2.) Life of the Party | 3.5 - 4
3.) Thursday | 4.5 - 5
4.) The Zone (ft. Drake) | 5
5.) The Birds Part 1 | 4.75 - 5
6.) The Birds Part 2 | 4.25 - 5
7.) Gone | 4.75 - 5
8.) Rolling Stone | 5
9.) Heaven or Las Vegas | 3 - 3.75

Overall: 4.49/5

 

[Cody]

Easily one of your best reviews.

 

[Woy]

Thought it would be a little lengthy because of the story explanation, but it actually turned out to be pretty nice.

Thanks for all the love.

 

[Woy]

1.) Intro | .5 - 1
2.) Blunt Blowin | 3 - 3.25
3.) Megaman | 3
4.) 6 Foot 7 Foot (ft. Cory Gunz) | 4.25 - 5
- Sounds old now, but still a great track.
5.) Nightmares of the Bottom | 4
6.) She Will (ft. Drake) | 3.75 - 4
- Drake completely dominates this song in a good way.
7.) How to Hate (ft. T-Pain) | 1 - 1.25
- T-Pain completely dominates this song in a bad way.
8.) Interlude (ft. Tech N9ne & Andre 3000) | 4.75 - 5
9.) John (ft. Rick Ross) | 2.5 - 3
10.) Abortion | 3.5 - 4
11.) So Special (ft. John Legend) | 3.25 - 4
- John Legend sounds like a damn dream.
12.) How to Love | 4 - 4.25
13.) President Carter | 4.5 - 5
14.) It's Good (ft. Jadakiss & Drake) | 2.25 - 3
- The song should have ended after the Hov diss.
15.) Outro (ft. Bun B, Nas, Shyne & Busta Rhymes) | 4 - 4.75
- Nasty, Nas.

Overall: 3.43/5

Brief Notes:
- I enjoy this album - the score reflects that. But I don't think the album is that good. Compared to the previous Carters and the critically acclaimed mixtapes, I can definitely see why people would hate this. I won't even argue with them about that, but the album just sounds solid to me though. There is countless awful punchlines (most done in the new Young Money context - i.e. "and these n***as is pussies, camel toes") but I just can't really describe why I enjoy this - you either enjoy something or you don't, I guess. However, I can definitely see myself revisiting this in about 6 months and changing my tune on it, because it sounds like it'll lack replay value, but until then I'm comfortable with my score.
- Wayne's performance on "6 Foot 7 Foot" just towers over the rest of his performances. I don't know if he lost focus between recording that song and the rest of the album, but he just sounds more charismatic and fun on it.
- "How To Love" is a brilliant song. Don't let the constant radio spins and Facebook statuses affect your opinion of it. In a time where most women are motivated by Ke$ha's newest single and the sexual pressures that exist in our society, it's refreshing that a rapper with some of the most sexually motivating lyrics can create a song about true love. It's a catchy song, but what puts it over the top is its message. Wayne singing it without the aid of auto-tune makes it so much better too, because although he's not even close to being a great singer, it makes it more real and heartfelt.

 

[Woy]

1.) Wake Me When It's Over | 4.25 - 5
2.) Used To Be | 4 - 4.75
- This song kind of drags though.
3.) Long Gone | 3.75 - 4
4.) Ghetto (ft. Big Sean) | 3 - 3.5
5.) Wedding Crasher | 4
6.) Rolex (ft. Casha) | 2.75 - 3
7.) Silly (introducing Casha) | 4 - 4.5
- I really wanted to skip this song after hearing Casha on the previous track. Thank God I didn't.
8.) 1977 (Miss You Still) | 3.25 - 4
9.) Wish You Were Mine | 3.5 - 4
10.) This Shit Real Nigga (ft. Pharrell) | 3.75 - 4
11.) Form of Flattery | 5
- This entire song sounds like shots at The Weeknd.

Overall: 3.95/5

Brief Notes:
- The-Dream might be the most consistent R&B artist in the game today - he really knows how to make good music. Although this doesn't stack up to the greatness of Love vs. Money or Love/Hate, 1977 is still a damn good album and adds to the already great year in R&B. Oh, and it's free!

 

[Misogi]

I guess my biggest thing about the Dream album is how come the highest rating songs on The dream's album are detailed (prefaced) with negativity?

And Weeknd does sound like Dream half the time. Also, How to Love is asscheeks. And always will be. Big Ghost was dead on.

 

[Woy]

I guess my biggest thing about the Dream album is how come the highest rating songs on The dream's album are detailed (prefaced) with negativity?

And Weeknd does sound like Dream half the time. Also, How to Love is asscheeks. And always will be. Big Ghost was dead on.

The "shots at Weeknd" line isn't necessarily negativity; just something I picked out. Actually both comments aren't really geared towards being negative - they're just things I noticed while listening.

:smh: @ the How To Love hate, but I expected it. Whatever.

 

[Misogi]

The "shots at Weeknd" line isn't necessarily negativity; just something I picked out. Actually both comments aren't really geared towards being negative - they're just things I noticed while listening.

:smh: @ the How To Love hate, but I expected it. Whatever.

Nah fuck that shit son....I see a nigga listenin to this shit n Imma run up on him n explode him wit grenades b. I dont care if he drivin in a car wit his kids in it clappin they hands on some Kumbaya shit on they way to church son....I hear a nigga playin this shit in his whip n Imma pull him outta that shit n explode him wit grenades in front a his family b. Word is bond son. Anyways....I dont like this shit b.

Don't get exploded

Also, Interlude for C4 is like a 5, and the only reason why Outro isn't a 5 is because Shyne's retarded ass is on it. Luckily I have a copy of the song where someone cut out his verse.

 

[Fox1994]

I still think TCIV is wack. I dislike it more every time I listen to it. I'm just saying, this is the first time in my very short life that I've given this much of a fuck about anything Wayne was doing (and he's been doing it since before I was born or paying attention) and he completely dropped the ball. Can we drop all that "best rapper alive" nonsense now? Damn, I miss TCIII. That was some pseudo-classic shit. Very good at least.

I also think How to Love is wack, but mostly because it's soft as fuck. I'm mostly just concerned about how I reconcile "Use your head 'fore I blow it off ya shoulders, mail it to ya mom wit a dozen o' roses" with this corny love song... Should've seen it comin after Mrs. Officer and all the kissin Birdman, I guess. In any case, I respect your difference of opinion.

Only tracks I can consistently listen to are the Interlude and the Outro. And I agree with whomever said Shyne kinda brings the Outro down after Bun B and Nas kill it. Good thing Busta's there to salvage the track.

So, not that anybody gives a fuck about my opinion. I'm just saying I don't like the album, but I can appreciate that you do. Missed your reviews. Gonna be going through the archives to catch myself up. Just wanted to see how you felt about the most prominent recent releases (WTT, RED, TCIV).

 

[Obst]

- "How To Love" is a brilliant song. Don't let the constant radio spins and Facebook statuses affect your opinion of it. In a time where most women are motivated by Ke$ha's newest single and the sexual pressures that exist in our society, it's refreshing that a rapper with some of the most sexually motivating lyrics can create a song about true love. It's a catchy song, but what puts it over the top is its message. Wayne singing it without the aid of auto-tune makes it so much better too, because although he's not even close to being a great singer, it makes it more real and heartfelt.

You forgot your glass slippers at the door son.

He went from "You fuckin with a nigga who don't give a fuck/Empty the clip then roll the window up". To singing all bitch made "trying to create true love"

 

[Woy]

1.) Digital Lovvs | 3
2.) Black Box (ft. Fille Catatonique) | 4
3.) Die Young | 4 - 4.5
4.) Tongue Kisser | 3 - 3.25
5.) FuckEverybodyHere | 4.25 - 5
- I love the different vibes I get from this beat. At one point it sounds like it's made for Pilot Talk 3, the next it sounds like it'd fit in Goblin.
6.) Jaguar | 3.75 - 4
7.) A Beautiful Hell (ft. Fille Catatonique) | 3.5 - 4
8.) Doom x Gloom | 4
9.) Meet Me On Montrose (For Ex Lovers Only) | 3 - 3.5
10.) Sixsixsixes | 3.25 - 4
11.) Voyeurs | 2 - 2.5
- Sounds like some 90s video game soundtrack bullshit. Just way too much going on.
12.) Float On | 2.75 - 3

Overall: 3.61/5

Brief Notes:
- A brief, trippy and entertaining listen - you won't find production like this on most hip-hop albums these days.

 

[NAHSTE]

I still think TCIV is wack. I dislike it more every time I listen to it. I'm just saying, this is the first time in my very short life that I've given this much of a fuck about anything Wayne was doing (and he's been doing it since before I was born or paying attention) and he completely dropped the ball. Can we drop all that "best rapper alive" nonsense now? Damn, I miss TCIII. That was some pseudo-classic shit. Very good at least.

:denarded: