Well, it's quite clear now that the west coast is back and possibly stronger than ever. No more doubting it. But for a long time the coast was generally known for gangsta rap. That was all you heard in the 90's. Today the coast is putting out all sounds of rap. So much so that gangsta west coast rap seems to be vanishing. At least mainstream wise. If that is the case, it's won't last long. Introducing YG. Compton's newest gangsta rapper. With Kendrick Lamar and TDE taking a more lyrically creative approach to gangsta rap, whose gonna be the one to do something more mainstream with it and put it back on the airwaves. This is where YG comes in. My first introduction to him was when he was on cover of XXL as one of the 2011 XXL Freshmen. From then to this moment now I've heard no projects from him. The only song I've ever heard from him was "Toot It And Boot It". Wasn't feeling that. But I could hear a little potential in him. So, because I never heard anything from him but one song, I was a little curious for this listening session. This is his debut album My Krazy Life. I kinda hoped prior to listening to this that my original thoughts about him would be diminished. I also hoped that this wouldn't be another one of those "swaggy" California rap albums that I find extremely boring. Turns out it was none of that at all. I overall thought this was a pretty cool album. This was certainly a strong debut for YG. Totally not what I was expecting to hear. Listening to this I could tell the influence comes straight from early 90's west coast gangsta rap. As far as samples and certain content. But that's the small part. The major thing YG did here was kinda combine that vintage old school gangsta sound with today's mainstream sound. Basically gangsta rap on party/"dancy" beats. Some may not like that but I think it's a smart move. Actually, this was kinda the same formula Dr. Dre had for The Chronic. Now calm down I'm not trying to compare this to The Chronic. But it does serve the same purpose as that. Dr. Dre dropped a gangsta rap album with a huge mainstream sound at a time where there was no gangsta rap on the radio. Same thing is happening here with My Krazy Life. This to me is basically YG's attempt at making gangsta rap relevant again mainstream wise. Instead of all the "swag rap" that's coming from there now. Well let me now get into my positives on this album. First of all, I think the most praise needs to go to DJ Mustard, who produced 95% of this album. His production is essentially what makes this album enjoyable. Usually DJ Mustard is known for making those heavy bassed strip club/twerk beats (like Tyga's "Rack City" and 2 Chainz "I'm Different"). Basically making beats for songs and rappers I don't care for. Now those same kinda beats are present on this album but blended with YG's lyric content and just the overall tone of the album, it's much more tolerable. The album got off to a good start. The third track "I Just Wanna Party" was a big stand out. I love this hard hitting beat that kinda took me back to 2Pac's classic album All Eyez On Me. In fact I could see 2Pac rapping on this track. But instead the track features a rather weak verse from Schoolboy Q and a very dope verse from Jay Rock whose been killing guest features lately. Nice track. Some tracks have very catchy but silly hooks. "Bicken Back Being Bool" is the best example. Now I do like the track because of it's catchiness but he really could have done more with that hook. I understand he reppin' his set (which by the way I had no idea he was blood affiliated) but pronouncing all the "c" words with "b" just sounded silly. Especially on the beginning skit. Either way, the red flag wavers will love this one. It's a "bool" song. Speaking of skits, he had a large number of them throughout this album that perfectly transitions through each track as he tells his day-in-the-life story. Much like Kendrick Lamar did on Good Kid, m.A.A.d City. Even thought the concept is not as good as Kendrick's. Anyway, I think the track I really enjoyed the most was "1 AM". I'm telling you there is so much early 90's west coast influence on this album and this is no exception. The haunting vibe from this beat reminds me of something from Ice Cube's Death Certificate. Hell I could even see Eazy-E story telling on this track. Lyrically it's not anything special (none of tracks are for that matter) but hard edginess of it makes it a nice track. Then there's the Drake assisted track "Who Do You Love" which has single written all over it. Once again, YG doesn't bring anything special tothe table lyrically but thanks to DJ Mustard again, that's easily ignored. Drake gets on and drops a rather good verse. A little fast paced for his style but it wasn't bad. Now yes, the beat saved this track and made it a fun listen but seriously, that "ay! ay! ay!" ad-lib in DJ Mustard's beats really gets irritating after a while. The original single "My Nigga" now has become tiring after countless radio spins. But when you listen to it in context with the album it's much more enjoyable. Not to mention the explicit version is a lot better as well. I get tired of hearing "my hitta my hitta" everyday on the radio. Now this track "Me & My Bitch" is basically his version of Biggie's classic track. Although the song itself is decent at best the topic message in the song is what I liked the most. Speaking on how he was played by a girl he thought he loved and how he wants nothing to do with her now after she tries to ask for forgiveness. We've all been there at some point. Definitely a change of pace from your normal songs for the ladies. Now my not so positives. I see what he was trying to do on "Meet The Flockers" teaching you the proper etiquette of breaking and entering. But why was this track so short like an interlude? In fact this was the case for a few songs. This track was more skit less song. I think that was just a waste of what could have been a great song concept. "Left, Right" will soon become the next big strip club song. This is DJ Mustard's true identity here as I mentioned before. I personally don't really care for it that much but I'm sure the females will enjoy posting their twerk videos dancing to this track. Speaking of the ladies, the worst song on this album to me was the main song for the ladies "Do It To Ya". The energy level just plummeted when it got to this track. The hook by TeeFLii was all kinds of bad. "Don't nobody beat the pussy up like me/who you know beat the pussy up like me". I mean who wrote that hook? Lil Wayne? Like I always say though, songs for the ladies is a weakness for many rappers so I'm not that surprised by this. I'm really on the fence with "Really Be (Smokin' N Drinkin')". I want to like this song more but I don't know. I'm really not feeling YG's flow on this at all. It's sounds like he was doing a bad impersonation of Too $hort. Then man...that opening line..."I woke up this morning, I had a boner". Biggest pause moment of the album. Honestly Kendrick Lamar's verse saved this track. But still it has some growing on me to do. I had the deluxe edition with three bonus tracks and I didn't care for any of them. "When I Was Gone" sounds like a rip off of Too $hort's "Blow The Whistle" speaking of him. "Bompton" had some of the worst lyrics of any of the tracks and "My Nigga (remix)" had all the wrong people on it. Lil Wayne? Meek Mill? Nicki Minaj? You would think he'd keep it local and gather some fellow west coast spitters for this remix. That would have been a hell of a lot better. Well in closing, the album didn't "wow" me but it certainly was so much better than what I was expecting. Lord knows if it wasn't for DJ Mustard's outstanding production this album would have probably been a major failure. I give this a final grade of a B. I believe YG is on to something here. This really could do well being the new sound of mainstream west coast. It's also the perfect way to bring gangsta rap back to the radio just like it was in the 90's. YG may have laid down a blue print here on how it really should be done. Lyrically he needs some work. A lot of work. But as long as this is the lane he chooses with his music then he'll be around for a while. He may even start a trend with this sound who knows. Will mainstream accept it? I don't see why not. It would be "bool" if they did. End.
Final Grade: B
CREDITS
Executive Producers
Keenon Jackson
Jay Jenkins
Dijon McFarlane
Sickamore (A&R)
Lead Artist
Keenon Jackson
Lead Artist
Keenon Jackson
Production
Dijon McFarlane
Tyrone Griffin
Michael Adam
Brandon Whitifield
Terrace Martin
Collaboration
Quincy Hanley
Johnny McKenzie
Jay Jenkins
Dequantes Lamar
Christian Jones
Aubrey Graham
Kendrick Duckworth
Tyrone Griffin
Dwayne Carter
Onika Maraj
Robert Williams
Natasha Mosley
Label
Pu$haz Ink/CTE World/Def Jam Recordings
No comments:
Post a Comment