Pharoahe Monch - PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ALBUM REVIEW

You know, you just gotta applaud the MC's who manage to have such longevity in hip hop. Especially the underground ones. The ones not well known to the mainstream audience. Pharoahe Monch is one of many that fit this bill. Now to you real hip hop heads who listen to the underground, I don't really need to give you a big introduction on who he is. But let me bring you young ones up to speed. Pharoahe Monch is one of hip hop's most prolific underground lyricists and has been for over twenty years now. He came into the game as a one half of the rap duo Organized Konfusion. Together they dropped three critically acclaimed albums together in the early 90's before splitting up in 1997. Then two years later he dropped his much anticipated solo debut Internal Affairs. Which featured one of the biggest records of the late 90's in "Simon Says". A record that's been heard in dozens of movies and TV shows because of the addictive beat and the controversy surrounding the sample. Sadly it's some folks til this day that don't even know that that was Pharoahe Monch's song. After an eight, yes eight year hiatus he dropped Desire. Which if I had to pick is my favorite album of his despite only hearing it once. Well now the time has come for the vet to drop a new project for the ears of the underground. This is his fourth album PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Unfortunately I never got to hear his previous 2011 album W.A.R. (We Are Renegades). But I already know what kind of artist Pharoahe Monch is so I had somewhat of a feeling on what to expect from this. I thought this was a pretty dope album overall. This album was full of so much emotion that I don't know where to begin. The whole idea or concept here is that he's going through a tremendous amount of stress. Throughout the album you get many emotions from him. Anger, rage, frustration, depression, aggravation and so on. All things that are putting him through traumatic stress. So he checks into a rehab, or in this case a recollection facility where they look into his mind. Open up his thoughts and dreams and discover all of these demons that's causing him all this great deal of emotion. Sounds very Inception like. It's a very interesting concept. One of those that you gotta get right because it's not easy. Pharoahe does a solid job doing it. The production, while it wasn't outstanding was good enough to give somewhat of a theatrical feel of the music. Perfectly coinciding with the albums concept. Now let me being with all that I liked. The track "D.R.E.A.M." was certainly a favorite of mine. The tempo of this beat was a true head nodder and I loved it. Well produced by Lee Stone. Talib Kweli gets on the tracks and drops a cool verse. The second track "Time2" is a dope track where he flexes his masterful word play: "the streets paved in gold often fade/when the paint they use to paint the streets is henna/and greener is the grass on the other side/except when that other side is geno/or sewer...". I'm not even gonna break that down. Keep reading it you'll figure it out. Anyway I enjoyed this track a lot. The stuttering he was doing on the second verse was a bit much but it's not much of a surprise. He at times gets a little wacky and bizarre with his flows. Then the next track "Losing My Mind" has this laid back piano assisted beat that's really cool. Here he just vents about all the evil that surrounds him and that he sees everyday and how that too plays into his constant stress. "Damage" finds him rapping from the point of view of a street gangster out for blood. Speaking on committing numerous violent acts. His superior lyricism comes into play again: "they cock them hammers wave them llamas/but that's that in front of the camera drama/so when the cameras are attached to dollys I call the dali llamas". Seriously how does someone even fathom that?  Lee Stone does it again with this hard electric sounding beat. "Bad M.F." had me on the fence at first but I find it cool now. The sample on the hook is kinda funny and catchy. However he has this line on the hook that was just way too corny: "who put these pussies on top?/putting out that pussy music/call it pussy pop". Never thought I would hear Pharoahe Monch spit a line that sounds like something out of Lil Wayne's catalog. Despite that thought the track is cool. "Rapid Eye Movement" features Black Thought of The Roots and may be the best track lyrically on the album. These two went toe to toe on this track with such a deadly lyrical assault. I would quote some of it but it's too much I liked from it. Just check that one out. Now, I do have a few issues. Throughout the album, there's this series of skits called "The Recollection Facility" where this computerized voiced is talking to him telling him everything he's about to experience. Now I don't know if they were placed wrong or if the skits itself were even done right. But they just didn't sell well to me. I can see how it ties in with the concept but they didn't hit home. Another thing that I think really held this album back from it's full potential...the hooks. There really wasn't any hook on this album I liked. Whether it was bad samples, bad singing by Pharoahe or just plain generic hooks, none of them were that good. It's a good thing he's such a incredible lyricist because if his lyrics was even average, and it was with these hooks, this album could have winded up being horrible. Even with the creative concept. The interlude "Heroin Addict" had a dope throwback beat. Like some kind of electric funk beat from the 70's. But I was a little upset that it was only a one minute interlude. Nothing major but I just would have liked to have heard that as a full song. In closing, this album was dope album. A must listen for fans of the underground, fans of lyricism, and just fans. I give this a final grade of a B. It's sad that underground legends like Pharoahe Monch, whose been doing this for so so long, still gets over looked to this day. Regardless of why, it doesn't seem to phase him. He continues master his craft as a superior lyricists and putting out quality projects. Then again, controversial early singles, numerous year gaps between albums, and being over looked for over twenty years could be the very thing causing his traumatic stress. But hey I'm no psychiatrist. You figure it out. End.

Final Grade: B

CREDITS

Executive Producers

Troy Jamerson

Guy Routte

Lead Artist

Troy Jamerson

Production

Marco Bruno

Jesse West

Lee Stone

Quelle Chris

Tim Walsh

Jeff Gitelman

Dan Edinberg

Collaborators

Denaun Porter

Tariq Trotter

Talib Green

Tim Walsh

Jeff Gitelman

Dan Edinberg

Vernon Reid

Label

W.A.R. Media/Duck Down Music

Mic's Mixtape Of The Week

King Los

Zero Gravity 2

Available now on Datpiff

Mic's Web Chick Of The Week

J'Virtease

Seattle, WA

Twitter: @ijvirtease

Instagram: @shushbequiet

Copyright 2014. Mic Navarro's Corner.

micnavarro.blogspot.com

Asher Roth - Retro Hash ALBUM REVIEW

If you haven't been properly introduced then allow me. Welcome to the official stoner era of hip hop. This new trend of mellow and trippy rap music has taken the game by storm. Not only from rappers who came into the game with this style but even rappers who normally don't do it are now dabbling into it. Case and point: Asher Roth. Okay...maybe Asher Roth doing this style of music isn't that much of a surprise. Especially for those that know him best. Debuting in 2009, the Internet was his biggest help at gaining notoriety. When he released his first ever single, the frat party anthem "I Love College", it became a huge Internet sensation before becoming big on the main airwaves. People loved it's catchy, witty and fun lyrics and just overall feel good party vibe. Still to some people he just looked like a nerdy college white boy rapping about well...nerdy college white boy stuff. Well as it turns out, despite a four year absence from the game, he's back with a new look and a new music style...somewhat. Here is his sophomore album Retro Hash. Now it's been five years (five years this month actually) since he dropped his debut Asleep In The Bread Aisle. One of my favorite albums from 2009. So with such a big gap between album releases, you knew there were gonna be some changes he would make to his music. His last album was a cool and fun college party album. Filled with fun, comedic and witty lyrics on various styles of production. A great debut for the type of artist he is and the kind of character he has. I really didn't know what to expect this time around from Asher. Especially considering how long of a wait this was for his second album. I said things might change and they did. As far as the theme goes, I thought this album was cool. I think if I was a smoker I would have enjoyed this much more than what I did. Basically because well...as mentioned...it's a stoner album. I mean it's defines it. A combination of calm, subtle and mellow instrumentals that gives that psychedelic or "trippy" sound. Even Asher's vocals when he singing just adds a more sorrowful and depressing like vibe to it. This is was nothing but a hip hop album for hippies. I mean just look at the album cover. Tell me that doesn't scream pot smoking hippy. In some ways, the album reminds me of a few other recent albums. From Mac Miller's Watching Movies With The Sound Off, to Kid Cudi's Indicud, even going a bit back further to Wiz Khalifa's debut Rolling Papers. It has a few elements from those projects. There also seems to be plenty of experimenting done on here too which is something else I didn't really expect to see from him. Well now let me fully break down the album. As always I'll start with positives. The album started off cool with the intro track "Party At The Disco". This I think was the only song on the album that presented the same vibe that was on his last album. He sings his own hook which wasn't great but still kinda catch and cool. He also gets assistance from ZZ Ward who sings on the hook with him. Her vocals sounded very Erykah Badu/Amy Winehouse like which was cool too. The next track "Dude" was also pretty dope. I loved the throwback drum patterns on the beat. Blended Babies, who produced the whole album, did a good job experimenting with these different psychedelic sounds that fit Asher the best. He begins this track in typical nerd/stoner fashion: "chilling in some shorts/sipping on a cold one sitting on the porch/only chop sticks I don't never use a fork/go for it little dork don't you know I'm that dude". The track features Curren$y who normally I'm not really a fan of but he was cool here. Dope song. Now like I said, Asher's singing isn't that good but man is it catchy. This is the case on the second single "Fast Life". The hook is incredibly catchy. But the song's meaning and story being told is what I enjoyed the most. In short he just talks about a situation where someone, in this case a young girl, is getting caught up in the fast life. Vic Mensa drops a decent guest verse on here as well. "Pull It" had a sound that sounded like something right up Kid Cudi's alley as far as his sped up flow and the production. This too was very catchy hook wise and the singing still, while not excellent, was feasible. I'm kinda on the fence with "Last Of The Flohicans". Lyrically this may be the best song on the album. Asher was spitting his hardest on this track more than the others. But for me the hook by Major Myjah was just iffy. I don't know. It may have to grow on me but right now I'm not too sure about it. There were only a few songs I had problem with. The first single "Tangerine Girl" was just not for me at all. Now I've been giving him props for his singing attempts but here he sings the whole song and it's just bad to me. It sounds like one of those vintage 60's/70's hippy pop songs. Especially within the hook. I can see people liking this but I don't think it's for me. The last three tracks didn't set too well with me either. "Be Right" had another questionable hook. I feel the same way about this that I do about "Last Of The Flohicans". It might grow on me but I'm not sure. Then "Pot Of Gold" and "Keep Smoking" I just wasn't feeling. The production on "Pot Of Gold" I wasn't feeling at all. Nor the hook where Asher just sounds half sleep. Or...he might be high? Then "Keep Smoking", although a perfect way to end the album, was way too slow and mellow for me. To the point where I fell asleep on it while listening. Well in the end, I thought the album for what it was was pretty good. Even though I'm not a smoker I still liked this. So I truly don't see how an actual stoner could not like this album. This is for them. I give this a final grade of a B-. It seems that Asher Roth may be embracing a new persona. He's went from the nerdy college white boy to hip hop's new resident hippy. This new stoner era I can see is only gonna grow stronger. At a time where marijuana is starting to be legalized everywhere, it's perfect timing for this new trend in hip hop to take off. So to all you stoners, kick back, roll one up, and enjoy the psychedelic ride. End.

Final Grade: B-

CREDITS

Executive Producers

Asher Roth

Blended Babies

Production

Blended Babies

Collaboration

Zsuzsanna Ward

Shante Franklin

Coyle Girelli

Victor Mensah

Evan Ingersoll

Label

Pale Fire/Federal Prism Records

Mic's Mixtape Of The Week

King Los

Zero Gravity 2

Available now on Datpiff

Mic's Web Chick Of The Week

J'Virtease

Seattle, WA

Twitter: @ijvirtease

Instagram: @shushbequiet

Copyright 2014. Mic Navarro's Corner.

micnavarro.blogspot.com

August Alsina - Testimony ALBUM REVIEW

You know, it seems like the more new singers that I hear every year the more different their music sounds. The genre is evolving beyond words. See here's the thing. There was once a time where R&B was either one of two things: your traditional love making slow jams and your more dancy radio/club friendly jams. Today, it's a combination of both but with a lot more hip hop influence. In both production and lyrical content. This is certainly the case with newcomer August Alsina. Although he's been in this since 2011, I'm actually just being introduced to him like a month ago. I always hear his current hit "I Luv This Shit" on the radio but never knew who it was until recently. But it appears to me that that record is what's essentially gaining him any kind of attention and is also making some anticipate this. His debut album Testimony. Like I said I'm just finding out who he is. So I've heard no other music from him besides that one song. Nor did I have any expectations for this. At first listen I really didn't know what to make of this album. When you first hear it it sounds like your typical hip hop/R&B fused music that's become popular today. Nothing special. But after I took my time and listened to it more closer I saw where he was coming from and thought the album was cool. Just cool. Again, heavy rap influence on this album. With the guest features and the production. However what makes it a stand out from the rest is his life story that he tells. He somehow finds a way to perfectly balance the tales of his struggle growing up in New Orleans and the party/sex lifestyle this style of R&B generally brings. Basking in all of his accomplishments thus far but also understanding what he has gone through to get there. Realizing that he too has made mistakes on the way. Things like this make him a interesting person to check out and get to know. The production on this album I felt was just decent. It's rap influence yes but it sounded repetitive at times. Like there was much variety of different sounds. This is why sometimes trying to blend rap beats with slow R&B beats doesn't often work depending on whose involved. But it didn't hurt the album at all though. There wasn't any songs I strongly liked or strongly disliked so I'll just break down some of the stand outs. The album starts with the track "Testify" and this is pretty much what I was just talking. his trials and tribulations growing up. From getting in trouble on the streets and in school, to not knowing his dad, to his moms putting him out and him becoming homeless. These kind of stories I love to hear because it's such a hard grind to go from that to fame and it certainly makes you think and appreciate things more. Then the very next track "Make It Home" continues to talk about all the troubles he endured on the streets. Selling drugs on the streets, running from police etc. On the hook he tells a loved one (I'm assuming a girlfriend) to tell everyone that he loves them if he doesn't make it home. It's quite obvious now that he is so happy that he's made it out of that struggle to where he is now as he should be. Jeezy drops a guest verse on here that wasn't bad but I don't think was really needed. August was very capable of carrying this song himself. In fact, I kinda felt that way about all the features on this album. They wasn't bad, just not needed. But with the heavy rap influenced sound on this album it's understandable. "FML" (which if you not familiar with Internet lingo stands for Fuck My Life) features Pusha T and here once again he's reflecting on his negative past and how he wishes life wasn't like this. I liked how it sounds like he singing over the phone because it gives the impression that he may be venting to someone over the phone. Which we all do a lot when we have problems to discuss. The track "Mama" is of course the dedication to is mother telling her that he made t and thanking her. No need to further explain that one after everything else I've said here. It seems all the songs with meaning were the most likeable songs because he has such an interesting back story. There's that and there's the tracks that I expected to hear. Songs like the second single "Ghetto" with Yo Gotti was cool, "Grind & Pray/Get Ya Money" with Fabolous was also cool (even though it sounds to me like he's talking about saving strippers which I thought was a no no in hip hop), and "Benediction" which featured Rick Ross was pretty cool as well. The best beat if I had to pick belonged to another single, "Numb". It features B.o.B and Yo Gotti and is produced by DJ Mustard who's been killing it lately with the beat making. Now like I said there were no songs that I strongly disliked but just some I didn't care for too much. "Porn Star" is a prime example of where R&B is today when it comes to sexual content. It's much more explicit and out there. Remember singers used to sugar coat their sexual lyrics (well....some did). Well it's not the case anymore. Some will like this song but it's kinda basic to me. It's really for the ladies to like I suppose. "Kissin' On My Tattoos" is not only a corny title but the hook was just as corny. I'll certainly be lad when this "tatted up" fad dies because these guys are full of themselves. Now the first single "I Luv This Shit" was cool when it first came out but of course, the radio abuses it and now it's become irritating. Especially the remix with Trey Songz and Chris Brown. I thought listening to it in context with the album would have changed that but nope. "You Deserve" was just average if that. I laughed because on here he's talking to a girl telling her that he's the man for her and she can do better than what she has. That's something straight out of Drake's playbook. More than likely people will like that song but it's not my cup of tea. Well anyway, to close this, the album was just okay. Production kinda held it back but the story and concepts make up for it. This album was a perfect example of coming from nothing to something from a R&B perspective. I give this a final grade of a C+. Overall, minus August Alsina's personal story, this album sound wise is a perfect example of where R&B is today. It's rap influenced, it's more edgy, and the sexual content is much more stronger. But the fact that August Alsina was able to tell his compelling story through that kind of sound speaks volumes. Many other aspiring singers, and rappers too can learn from Alsina's story. Just because your stuck now in a struggle doesn't mean you will never make it. Work hard, grind hard and have faith. The rest will fall into place. Just watch. End.

Final Grade: C+

CREDITS

Lead Artist

August Alsina

Production

Jasper Cameron

Eric Hudson

Christopher Gholson

Dijon McFarlane

August Alsina

Knucklehead

DJ Spinz

Collaborators

Jay Jenkins

Terrence Thornton

Jonathan Jackson

Mario Mims

William Roberts

Nicholas Williams

Bobby Ray Simmons

Christopher Brown

Tremaine Neverson

Label

Radio Killa/Def Jam Recordings

Happy Easter!

-Mic Navarro

Nas - Illmatic THROWBACK ALBUM REVIEW

1994. Twenty years ago this month. The world would listen upon a hip hop album that would change the industry forever. Who would have thought that this short ten track album by a then twenty year old kid from Queens would have such a massive impact on the music industry. It was certainly unexpected at that time. Now before I continue with this let me get this out. Anyone that personally knows me knows that I am a big time Nas fan. He is the sole reason why I got into hip hop music in the first place. Once I bought and listened to his 1999 album I Am, I was instantly hooked. So even though you won't find many people who don't like this album, I'm just warning you all now to expect plenty of bias in this throwback review (as well as future Nas reviews). Anyway back to the topic. This album was a game changer on so many levels. At that time in hip hop, it was all west coast and east coast yes, but a lot of it was mainstream. Nas dropped this album at a time where lyricism was being taken for granted. His lyricism, rhyme pattern, flow and knack for good story telling pretty much forced his peers to step it up. He made some MC's change lyrically, he made them change how to approach story telling, he even made some change their flow and rhyme style completely. Of course because of that, it would lead to a few feuds and battles with other New York MC's (which is a whole other story. Listen to "Last Real Nigga Alive").  Then there's the production on this album which was just flat out brilliant. Handled by the likes of DJ Premier, Large Professor, L.E.S., Pete Rock and others. They were boom-bap styled beats that could only fit the powerful lyrical words of Nas and really brought his stories that he told to life. Let me now break down what I loved about this album, which was pretty much everything. After the intro, the album begins with the track "New York State Of Mind". Right from the gate Nas punches you with a brute lyrical force. That opening verse is one of the best, and longest, I've ever heard in my life. "Rappers I monkey flip em with the funky rhythm I be kickin/Musician, inflicting composition/of pain I'm like Scarface sniffing cocaine/Holding a M-16, see with the pen I'm extreme, now/Bullet holes left in my peepholes I'm suited up in street clothes/Hand me a nine and I'll defeat foes...". But the ending lines of this verse sums up the whole song and possible the album: ""Beyond the walls of intelligence, life is defined/I think of crime when I'm in a New York state of mind". See this album just paints such a vivid picture of a young man's world growing up in the violent surroundings of the projects in Queens. It at times feels like a short life story on wax. The next track "Life's A Bitch" is another favorite of mine. It features fellow Queens native and friend AZ who's the only guest feature on the album. Quite frankly, no other feature was needed after AZ dropped such a superior guest verse. It's a track where the two rap about accomplishing it all before their day comes to see the reaper. This includes acts of crime. It's powerful words because you can picture some of New York's greatest gangsters and drug dealers thinking and saying this kind of stuff. Seems like that who's being channeled in this song. Speaking of, the next favorite is the Tony Montana inspired "The World Is Yours". Here Nas spits as a guy who has just risen to power from the drug game. This track was brilliantly produced by Pete Rock who's also does the hook. Of course this is the song that ends with the iconic line "I'm out for presidents to represent me". Which of course would be later sampled by Jay-Z on his classic hit "Dead Presidents". "Memory Lane (Sittin' In The Park)" finds him reminiscing on old times growing up. It's again another lyrical assault with booming opening lines: "I rap for listeners, blunt heads, fly ladies and prisoners/Hennessey holders and old school niggas, then I be dissin a unofficial that smoke woolie thai/I dropped out of Kooley High, gassed up by a coke head cutie pie/Jungle survivor, fuck who's the liver/My man put the battery in my back, a difference from Energizer/Sentence begins indented with formality/My duration's infinite, money wise or physiology/Poetry, that's a part of me, retardedly bop/I drop the ancient manifested hip-hop, straight off the block/I reminisce on park jams, my man was shot for his sheep coat/Chocolate blunts make me see him drop in my weed smoke". I know that was a lot but it's so dope I had to extend it a little. Nas's poetic skill set is so vividly present on this album. Prime example: "One Love". This was just so brilliant on many levels. The song is basically a letter to his homie who's locked down. Telling him how things are going, some reminiscing and other stuff. Q-Tip produced this track and produced it so well. I love the eerie xylophones that goes so well with the songs topic. The album closes out the same way it began with mind bending lyricism. The track "It Ain't Hard To Tell". Large Professor dropped a gem here with this beat. But Nas's lyrics just totally makes you forget about the beat. "It ain't hard to tell, I excel, then prevail/The mic is contacted, I attract clientele/My mic check is life or death, breathing a sniper's breath/I exhale the yellow smoke of Buddha through righteous steps". All the other tracks, "Halftime", "One Time 4 Your Mind" and yet another DJ Premier masterpiece "Represent" were all so incredibly dope. In closing, there's really nothing more I can say about this. You would be hard pressed to find any rapper, especially the new young lyricists, who would say they haven't been influenced in some sort of way by Illmatic. Of course this gets the classic grade of a A+. As I mentioned in the beginning, this month makes twenty years since it's release. To celebrate, Nas will be re-releasing this album along with a few newly recorded tracks. You know, to call Illmatic a classic just isn't enough. This album changed the course of hip hop history. It laid down the blue print on poetic lyricism  and story telling. It is an album that not only is one of the best in hip hop's history, but in the history of music period. It is timeless. It is immortal. It is hip hop. End.

Final Grade: A+

CREDITS

Executive Producer

Michael Berrin

Lead Artist

Nasir Jones

Producers

Curtis Martin

Leshan Lewis

Peter Phillips

William Mitchell

Jonathan Davis

Collaborators

Peter Phillips

Anthony Cruz

Label

Columbia Records

Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - Piñata ALBUM REVIEW

There's a new trend in hip hop and it's becoming bigger and bigger. Collaborative albums between the artist and the producer. Now of course it's not really that new. We've seen plenty rap duos in the past that fit this description (Eric B. & Rakim, Gang Starr to name a few). The difference however is that those were legit groups. We're talking about the random pairing of a producer and a MC. So far it's already seen some huge success. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis being the best example as those two just one a Grammy together. Well now comes hopefully the next big MC/producer tandem in rap. Freddie Gibbs & Madlib. Now Gibbs has been a well known underground name for at least the last half decade. He was at one point a member of Young Jeezy's CTE label (we'll address that later). Then there's Madlib who is one of the most recognized underground producers and musicians in all of hip hop. He's a veteran that's done numerous production and collaborative projects for artists like Talib Kweli, MF Doom, Jay Dilla and so on. So what we have here is two completely different types artists coming together for this much anticipated project. Their debut collaborative album Piñata. For me this is my first time hearing a full project from either of them. Gibbs is coming off of his debut solo album ESGN which dropped in June of last year. Meanwhile Madlib is coming off his third album Yessir Whatever (under the alter ego Quasimoto) which also released last year. Two projects that I unfortunately missed. However, I'm well aware of how different they are. When I heard about this project dropping my immediate thought was how would Freddie Gibbs gangsta street mentality mesh with the soulful, eccentric sounds of Madlib's production. How could they make this work? Well...they did it and did a superior job of it. This album was nothing short of fantastic. A damn near perfect album. Gibbs ad Madlib's different sounds meshed so perfectly together on this track that words can't describe how brilliant it is. The vintage soulful production mixed with Gibbs gangster persona made this sound like a true throwback gangster rap album. Generating a sound you don't hear a lot of today. I mean this literally was an old school gangster film on wax as Freddie Gibbs said himself. There's honestly so much I could say about this album as a whole but I'll keep it short and get right into everything I loved about this album. Right off the back the album started off with a bang. The second track "Scarface" has this strong vintage 1970's sounding production. It sounds like something straight out of a 70's blaxploitation film. Loved it. The next track "Deeper" is where he talks about a girl that left him for another guy because of his gangster or violent ways. It's a dope track because the way he describes this situation is exactly how I expect a thug to interpret it. Calling dude a sucker because he's an astronaut and running into him in the barbershop confronting him and such. That is how a rapper is supposed to tell a story like that. Had this had been a Drake song it would have sounding like a whining soap opera. "High" is a more fast paced jazzy instrumental that samples Freda Payne's "I Get High (On Your Memory)" (remember Styles P. "Good Times"? Same sample). The track features Danny Brown whose wild and bizarre flow on this laid back track was a little too much to take at first but I ultimately ended up liking it. Other faster paced tracks like "Shitsville" and "Uno" were also dope. The more controversial track and the track that had everyone talking was "Real". Now I spoke about him once being a member of CTE. Well that was a while ago when things were cool. Now...not so much. Gibbs attacks, not disses but straight up attacks Young Jeezy on this track. Apparently his separation from CTE wasn't a pretty one. He just goes in hard. Questioning Jeezy's hood cred, him being scared to respond to not only Gibbs but other people Jeezy has feuded with in the past like Rick Ross and Gucci Mane. Whether you're a Jeezy fan or not, you have to think there's some truth to what Gibbs is saying considering the fact that he's been around Jeezy for a while and knows him well. Anyway, this was one of the harshest diss tracks I've heard in a while and I loved it. I loved the zone out and "spacy" sounds of "Bomb". It's very fitting that he put Raekwon on this because this did sound like something straight from Only Built 4 Cuban Linx. "Thuggin" was a song the actually dropped a couple years ago and is superbly dope. He continues flexing his gangsta with lines like "pants gonna be saggin' til I'm 40". On "Robes", Domo Genesis and Earl Sweatshirt dropped some seriously dope guest verses on here that truly made the song shine. When I heard the track "Broken", 2Pac immediately came to mind. His flow, the production and the overall sound of it just sounds like 2Pac. Even the stuff he's rapping about sounds like something from Me Against The World. To make it even better, Scarface is on this song and just takes it to the next level with his masterful lyricism. Then there's the Ab-Soul assisted track "Lakers" which then transitions well in to the track "Knicks". Both dope. The final track "Piñata" is a hook-less posse track that features Domo Genesis, G-Wiz, Casey Veggies, Sulaiman, Meechy Darko and Mac Miller. There was not one wack verse on this in my opinion. The beat was also a big change of pace from other ones but still dope nonetheless. I want to also point out all the skits on this album that were all excerpts from old school 70's/80's films. That of course fit perfectly with the theme of this album. I honestly don't have any real negatives with this album. One thing I can say is that with Freddie Gibbs does take some getting used to. His monotone voice drags a bit at times and you sometimes get lost in what he rapping about. With these soulful mellow beats from Madlib it might make it a little worst for some. Not for me though. The only thing I would probably change with this album is it's length. Bonus tracks included it's twenty one tracks. Quite long for a debut. This could have easily been a fourteen/fifteen track album and still would have been just as good. Well in closing, I didn't have any real expectations for this but man did this blow me away. Totally wasn't expecting an album this great. I give this a final grade of an A. I really hope this isn't it for Freddie Gibbs & Madlib. I hope they drop another project because their chemistry is too perfect. This new trend of rapper/producer collabo albums definitely just had it's bar raised by these two guys. Although it's doubtful, we'll see if anyone can top this. As far as I'm concern, this is the blue print for these kind of albums. Take notes. End.

Final Grade: A

CREDITS

Executive Producers

Eothen Alapatt

Ben Lambert

Archibald Bunkers (A&R)

Lead Artist

Fredrick Tipton

Production

Otis Jackson, Jr.

Collaboration

Daniel Sewell

Corey Woods

Domonique Cole

Thebe Kgositsile

Brad Jordan

Herbert Stevens IV

Bryan Sledge

Glenn Browder

Casey Jones

Malcolm McCormick

Label

Madlib Invasion