Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP 2 ALBUM REVIEW

Is there really anything left to say about the hip hop enigma that is Marshall Bruce Mathers? I myself have ran out of things of praise to say about him. Since 1999, Eminem has been hip hop's most successful lyrical juggernaut. There aren't many MC's in history who are not only amazingly talented on the mic but have the commercial success to go along with it. Especially in today's hip hop. For someone who musical content is quite...different to say the least, he still managed to become one of music top artists. Everything from drug abuse, killing his baby mother, homophobic and/or gay bashing lyrics, graphic and disturbingly violent lyrics, taking shots at random pop stars and media figures and so on. But throughout it all, throughout all the controversy and protest that surrounded him for majority of his career, Eminem never changed anything and it's got him to where he is now. Among hip hop's elite. For this, you may ask yourself what else does he need to prove? The answer is nothing. But Eminem is a competitor and the battle rapper in him is taking notice that lyricism is starting to become relevant again. He still wants to show that he still has it and will never fall and that he can hang with these new young MC's. That's just one of the many things proven on this anticipated release. The Marshall Mathers LP 2. Album number seven. Now we all know Eminem has quite the impressive discography. My favorite of course being 2000's The Marshall Mathers LP. The prequel to this album. A hip hop classic. But some folks weren't all to thrilled by his last two albums. 2009's Relapse which was filled with a bunch of Em's usual comedic antics but done while under the influence, and 2010's Recovery which many saw as way too mellow and pop-ish sounding. Thought they weren't necessarily "bad" albums, it was enough to cause concern among fans. Which I believe all went away after the release of 2011's Hell: The Sequel. His album with Royce Da 5'9". Taking all of this into account, I thought this album was a major upgrade from those previous two albums. I thought this album was nothing short of terrific. Easily one of the best listens of 2013. However, I gotta admit, I had to listen to it more than once for me to like it. I was a little uneasy after the first listen. On this album, Eminem pretty much gives you a mixture of everything he has ever done as far as his lyrics, content, production style and just overall sound. It pretty much sounds like all his albums rolled into one. In a attempt at what I believe was him trying to reach to multiple different audiences. But the true highlight of this project is, obviously, his lyrics. In short, Em basically snapped. Big time. His word play, metaphors and punchlines on a lot of the tracks on here were so amazingly dope that I found myself rewinding multiple songs to hear certain lyrics again (I'll give you some of my favorite line at the bottom of this review). Again, this is obviously nothing new when it comes to Eminem. Lyricism is his number one weapon. It appears to me that he may have took notice to those fans concerned over Relapse and Recovery and it became a wake up call to him to show that there's no need to be concerned. He still has it even in his 40's. Well now on to all the things I loved about this album. The beginning track "Bad Guy" sets the tone perfectly. A near seven minute track that's basically the sequel to his 2001 classic hit "Stan". He raps a Stan's little brother Matthew who has come back to get revenge on Eminem and kill him. Blaming him for his brother's death for not replying back to his fan mail. It ends with Matthew killing himself as well just as Stan did. Not only was this a dope part two for that song but it also the perfect way to link The Marshall Mathers LP and The Marshall Mathers LP 2 together. Picking up where it left off. By now many of you have already heard "Rap God" and I really don't need to explain much why this song is over the top dope. No hook. Just straight mind bending lyricism as only Eminem can do. If any song on here that proves why Eminem is a king in this rap shit it's this one. "Rhyme Or Reason" is yet another lyrical massacre that had me pressing repeat continuously. He speaks about his anger towards his father a lot for not being there for him and his mom. I loved the Zombies sample too. There was one bar (as there were a few on this album) where he did kinda gets a little corny: "can't even find the page I was writing this rhyme on/oh, it's on the ram-page". Of course Em does that at times purposely just to be funny. "So Much Better" I didn't like at first listen but it grew on me the more I listened to it. Here he snaps on his girlfriend accusing of her of sleeping around with other men, mainly celebrities. I always do enjoy when Em makes songs like this regarding women he's in relationships with and how he just so verbally abusive to them. I know it's not but it's funny when Eminem does it. Cool song. "Love Game" features Kendrick Lamar, a much anticipated collaboration. This song really caught me by surprise by how far left it was. I thought this was just gonna be pure lyrical bar for bar spitting from the two. There was that...just with some comedic wittiness. Kendrick got on Em's level and spit with a style that we've never heard from him. It was kinda weird hearing Kendrick being funny and silly but it worked so well. Great song. "Berzerk" is another song many of you are already familiar with that grew on me after some time.  I just love that throwback beat that sounds like a blend of 80's hip hop and 80's rock. It's that beat that truly makes the song in my opinion. "Headlights" was a song that I totally did not expect to be on this album. After all the years we've heard Em lash out at his mother, this time around he realizes that it's his father who's the problem and not his mom. Apologizing to her basically in the song. It's apparent that Em has grown up now and realizes mistakes that he has made in the past and regrets doing it. "Evil Twin" was a dope concept about him and his twin who I'm assuming is Slim Shady. The whole spit personality thing is what's showing here. The song is cool but there was one line that made me cling to that song: "fuck top five bitch I'm top four/and that includes Biggie and Pac whore/and I got a evil twin so who you think third and fourth spot is for?" Brilliant. I love Skylar Grey's hook on "Asshole". I also like how Em is kinda mocking those that call him that and how he admits that he is. I love the country music influenced beat on "So Far...". Again his lyrics were superb and I even like how he reference some of his older lyrics like the "spitting on onion rings" line from "The Real Slim Shady". My issues with this album are nothing serious at all. There were two songs that we're ruined by bad hooks. The first was "Legacy". I really was not feeling this hook at all. Thank God Em's rapping saved it. The other was "Survival" which had this really dope clapping beat but the hook was not good at all. He really should have sang these hooks himself instead of getting pop singers again. But it continues. After some success with "Love The Way You Lie" in 2010, he brought Rihanna back again for "The Monster". Personally, I think this song killed the albums vibe big time. It's not necessarily bad but it was just to pop friendly and happy. I understand he needs at least one radio song on here but man I wish it wasn't done like this. Rihanna sounded better before then on this song. The only song that I can say I truly disliked was" Stronger Than I Was". I really don't understand what he was trying to do here but it totally didn't work. His singing was terrible and even the rapping at the end didn't make it any better. A major album buzz kill. Well overall, I enjoyed this entire album front to back. Eminem delivered time and shows that there is no stopping him. I give this a final grade of an A. As I stated in the beginning of this, Eminem has nothing else to prove to hip hop or anyone else. His legacy as a immortal hip hop legend has already been cemented. But in making this album he still shows you why he is considered by many as the world's most notorious lyrical assassin. One thing this album did show was his growth. From the out of control white boy from the Detroit trailer park, to the madman out to kill his baby mom, to the battle rapping machine that backed down from no beef, to the pill popping addict, to where he is now. A hip hop lyrical legend. Or in this case, a "rap god". End.

Final Grade: A

Some notable dope lyrics:

-"maybe that's why I'm so bananas/I a-ppealed to all those walks"

-"cause a woman broke my he-art/I say he-art cause she ripped in into two pa-arts"

"too busy getting stoned in your glass house to kick rocks"

-"I'm swinging at these chicks on sight/long as I got a bat and two balls it's foul but my dick's on strike"

-"you fags think it's all game til I walk-a-flock of flames"

-"I might be about to busta, bust her, the thought is scary yo, though and it hurts--brace/hope it 'here we go yo' cause my head already goes to worst case scenario, thpugh in the first place/but you confirmed my low end theory though..."

-"fuck top five bitch I'm top four/and that includes Biggie and Pac whore/and I got a evil twin so who you think third and fourth spot is for?"

-"you done called every woman a slut but you're forgetting Sarah, Marshall"

CREDITS

Executive Producer

Andre Young

Rick Rubin

Lead Artist

Marshall Mathers, III

Production

Marshall Mathers III

Larry Griffin, Jr.

Mark Landon

Nicholas Warwar

Rick Rubin

Luis Resto

Emile Haynie

Alexander Grant

Bigram Zayas

Bryan Fryzel

Jeff Bhasker

Tavish Graham

Joey Chavez

Carl McCormick

Collaboration

Sarah Jaffe

Holly Hafermann

Liz Rodrigues

Polina Goudieva

Robyn Fenty

Kendrick Duckworth

Nathaniel Reuss

Jamie Commons

Sia Furler

Label

Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records

Young Dro - High Times ALBUM REVIEW

Normally when most rappers go on a long hiatus after just making their debut, you tend to not hear from them after that. Which leads to people calling them a one time wonder or just a "flash in the pan". I honestly thought this was the case for Young Dro. Debuting in 2006 under the wing of T.I., dropping his debut album Best Thang Smokin' which featured one of the biggest hits that year in "Shoulder Lean", I thought that would be it for Dro after not hearing from him since. Well seven years later, to my surprise and everyone else, Dro is back at it. He's back with his sophomore album High Times. I did listen to his first album and it wasn't all that to me. It wasn't terrible but just something that wasn't for me. Too much cornball lyrics, lack luster productions and happy sing-a-long hooks. So I kinda expected the same with this new album. Looks like I was right. I feel the same way about this that I did about his last album. Not terrible, but just not all that to me at all. Nothing about Dro has really changed. Which is crazy because you would think after such a long time away something would change but nope. Nothing. I'd say the only difference I see is a bit more aggressiveness in his voice but that's about it. His content surely hasn't changed. Still rapping mostly about his money and riches (what I like to call flaunt rap) and of course, smoking. Production is still a bit bland with the exception of a few tracks that I will mention. There are songs on here that are catchy and could become hits but a lot of it just isn't for me. I'll now start with what I did like. The album started off very aggressively as I mentioned before. It started with the first track "Odds". On here Dro was rapping very aggressively with a bit of raspy to his voice. Almost sounding Ja Rule like. He called out enemies, made threats and all of that extra tough guy talk. Didn't really expect him to start the album out in this manner. It was surprising. "Strong" has decent production. DJ Mustard is a pretty good mainstream producer and it shows here. Should be a club favorite. I thought the track "Bad Bitch" had a okay trap beat. Didn't over do it like most due. But this song was only listenable because of T.I. and Problem's guest verses. I really didn't even like Young Dro at all on this. Another song that was saved by T.I. was "Nope". Now this song had two glaring mistakes: repetitive hook and a dead production. But T.I. made it just barely listenable. I swear this album could have used more of T.I. on a lot of tracks. "Homeboyz" is normally the type of song I hate. Dro is barely tolerable when he's rapping so to hear him sing this hook, on auto tune at that, left me upset. But somehow after a few listens it grew on me and became kinda catchy. The beat kinda sounded like a re-made version of Joe Budden's hit "She Don't Put It Down" from earlier this year. I actually liked it. I have more negatives with this album so here they are. First off, lyrically Dro falls short a lot. The combination of his Atlanta slang, accent, deep voice and mumbled or slurred words about nothing just makes it impossible to make out what he's saying at times. It again, doesn't help him lyrically either (which laughably plays right into the irony of the magazine headline on his album cover). "Hammer Time" is the first example of this. No song on the album was filled with more corny lines and terrible delivery. "Check the alphabet nigga I'm the last G", "If a nigga think he better than me I forgive him", "five thousand dollar Yorkie named Poochie/I don't want your bitch I want coochie". Lines so bad that they were funny. Not to mention I had to play this song almost five times to make out every mumbled lyric he said. Now "Power Up" featured his worst flow on the album. Is that now popular fast aced jumpy flow that I have now dubbed as the "Versace" flow. Made popular of course by Migos and Drake. Wasn't feeling this track in the least bit. The single "FDB" I tried to give a chance but nope. This was bad too. This song oozed corniness too. "Bitch you ugly bitch you ugly both of y'all hoes look scary". That line alone did it for me. I can't really put my finger on the issue I have with "I'm Cold". The beat isn't that bad and it's rather catchy. Could it be his dreadful R&B attempt again? I don't really know but I feel like this may grow on me. He tries to drop a deep and meaningful song on "Free Fall" which isn't bad. The problem is like many others, Dro is just the type of rapper that's hard to take serious when trying to be deep and meaningful. Couldn't even relate to it like I was supposed to. Well overall, this album really didn't do much for me. With the exception of a few tracks, nothing has changed in Young Dro's music and still nothing moves me. I give it a final grade of a C-. I find it quite upsetting that Young Dro didn't change anything after being away for seven years. Not saying he has to change. It's okay to be yourself but at least do some experimenting with new sounds, new producers, new collaborators etc. Despite it all though, he's a hit maker and that's enough to keep him relevant even if he took another seven years off.Oh and yeah being buddies with T.I. helps too. End.

Final Grade: C-

CREDITS

Executive Producers

D'Juan Hart

Clifford Harris, Jr.

Lead Artist

D'Juan Hart

Production

Childish Major

Candice Mims

Cordale Quinn

Dijon McFarlane

Lamar Edwards

Kevin Briggs

Clifford Harris, Jr.

Collaboration

Clifford Harris, Jr.

Jason Martin

Natasha Mosley

Glenn Thomas

Miloh Smith

Label

Grand Hustle/eOne/Atlantic Records

Danny Brown - Old ALBUM REVIEW

Uniqueness and originality have been key components for all rappers. As far as their music and their character. There's certainly no denying that hip hop has seen it's fair share of stand out characters. From the humorous and comedic Redman, to the strange Ol' Dirty Bastard, to the over sexual Uncle Luke. Just to name a few. Well now...let's meet Danny Brown. He might possibly be the most strange and bizarre new comer to the hip hop scene. From the moment you hear his voice, you'll either laugh hysterically or shake your head in embarrassment. His outlandish persona, hilarious yet bizarre lyrics (mostly misogynistic) and his weird cartoon like voice makes him a huge stand out. Detroit has put out crazy hip hop characters like this before (D-12 for example) but none quite like Danny Brown. 2011 is when many people, including myself, started to take notice to him when he dropped his sophomore album XXX. One of my favorite albums that year. It was an album filled with humor and lyrical wittiness but at the same time was somewhat sentimental when talking about his drug addiction. It was an album that was so far left from everything that was out. So because of that, my expectations for this, his third album Old, were pretty high. Looks like my expectations were met...big time. I loved this album. Start to finish. I was very surprised what Danny did with this album. The concept he used for this album was interesting yet very smart. He splits the album into two parts. The first half of the album is where he gives you his old flow from when he first came in the game, as well as the things he rapped about then. The second half of the album he gives you current Danny Brown on tracks that sound more mainstream-ish. He titles the first half "Side A" and the second half "Side B". Kinda like the old cassette tapes from back in the day (playing into the "old" theme of the album). I believe he did this for the fans. You see, like many underground MC's, Danny's fan base right now is divided. There are the fans that been there since day one and know full well about his old flow and content. "Side A" is for them. Then there is the fans he's gaining now who caught on in 2011 after XXX dropped. The ones who are drawn to the more funny and witty Danny Brown. "Side B" is for them. Basically this was a way for Danny Brown to please both parties without dropping something that would have people calling him a sell out. Very smart and creative move. So for this review I'll do something different. I'm gonna break down both sides individually then talk about it as a whole. I'll start with my positives and negatives for the first half, "Side A". On this part of the album, Danny reflects back on his old self. As far as his lyrics, flow and content. He talks heavily on his drug abuse and how drugs destroyed his neighborhood and people he knew closely. The song that describes this the best is "Torture". Here he talks heavily about the terror he seen in his hood due to drugs. Everything from dope fiends killing one another, mothers and kids doing drugs and all kinds of terrible drug related situations. This was my favorite beat on this side of the album and really brought the full emotion out of the song. Majority of the songs on this side talked about this but none touched on it more deeply than this which is why it's my favorite. The second track "The Return" was another good track where Danny in a way warns you to not take his goofy side for granted. He's still hood and can get aggressive. Freddie Gibbs comes in and drops a pretty good guest verse. "Gremlins" is more dark hood tales where Danny speaks on the crooks he knew that stole and killed over the drug game. These are obviously situations that troubled Danny when he was living through it as you can hear it in his voice. Good song. On "Clean Up" he talks more about his own drug addiction. Talking about how it's messing with his mental which leads to him not remembering anything, how he can stop itching and grabbing himself and so on. Even mentioning receiving text messages from his daughter about how she misses him but he doesn't want her to see him like this. He really opened up and vented in a major way here. Very emotional song but a good one. My only issue with this side of the album is the track "Dope Fiend Rental". Now it was good song that featured a good guest verse from Schoolboy Q, the tempo and overall sound of this song sounds like it should have been on the second part of the album instead of this side which was supposed to be the more serious side. It kinda took away the mood from the other songs. Again a good song just bad placement. Now on to "Side B". On this side of the album, we get the Danny Brown of now or what he has now become. The one newer listeners are more familiar with. The tracks on this side shows the happier, sillier and goofy side of Danny on a lot of mainstream-ish almost trap sounding production. Fans who been here since day one might have to give this side some time to sink in but the new fans should like it. So now my positives and negatives for this side. The track "Kush Coma" may have been my favorite on this side. This was kinda the same song topic wise as "Clean Up" but told in a more happier way. Rapping about the weed and pills clouding his mind and causing him to lose train of thought. Being in a "coma". A$AP Rocky is on it and drops a okay verse minus that one horrible line ("so many numbers in my phone book, I could start a motherfucking phone book"). Still I liked the song. Not many songs on here sound like singles but if I had to pick one that sound close to it then it would be "Dip". It's by far the catchiest hook and has the most..."jumpiest" tempo and beat on the album. He raps more about alcohol on this track as apposed to the other drugs mentioned on the album. A similar song is "Handstand". As I mentioned before, Danny is a bit of a misogynist. He loves sexually degrading women in his lyrics and this song shows it. It basically about him being high and horny. It actually sounds like it would make a pretty good strip club and/or twerk song. It will have to grow on me honestly. I love the beat on "Break It (Go)". The sound effects sounded very techno/futuristic and really brought to life what would have been a boring beat. My only two issues with this side is first off, the track "Dubstep". I didn't quite like his flow on this. Sounded too much like these radio rappers now. That mainstream fast paced flow doesn't fit him. The other issue is the final track "Float On". Now again, just like with "Dope Fiend Rental", this song should have been on the first half of the album and not the second. It didn't fit at all with these happier songs. "Dope Fiend Rental" and "Float On" needs to switch spots. Overall, I loved this album from start to finish. The concept caught me by surprise. It was smart and one of the best this year. I give this a final grade of a A-. Due to his character and his content, for the average listener, Danny Brown takes some getting used to. Which is understandable because that was the case for me too. But there's no denying that his bizarre way of telling his stories of struggles through drug use and hood survival stand out and makes him very unique. A style like this should keep him in the game for a long time. My drug addiction are albums like this and rappers who can come up with unique concepts like this. Regardless of how "old" they are. End.

Final Grade: A-

CREDITS

Executive Producers

Nick Catchdubs

Alain Macklovitch

Lead Artist

Daniel Sewell

Production

Paul White

Corrin Roddick

Michael Jackson

Skylar Tait

Russell Whyte

Jeremy Coleman

Jeremiah Nteh

Adam Freeney

Matthew Tavares

Chester Hansen

Alexander Sowinski

Collaboration

Fredrick Tipton

Corrin Roddick

Megan James

Quincy Hanley

Romani Lorenzo

Herbert Stevens

Rakim Meyers

Charlotte Aitchison

Label

Fools Gold/ADA

Pusha T - My Name Is My Name ALBUM REVIEW

It seems as though for rappers who used to be one half of a popular duo, going solo is the right idea. Look what it did for 2 Chainz. Splitting from Playaz Circle and changing his name did wonders for him. Now it seems the same thing is happening for Pusha T (minus the name change). For a long time, he was known as being one half of the group Clipse along with his brother No Malice. Together they had many big hits and three critically acclaimed albums: 2002's Lord Willin', 2006's Hell Hath No Fury (my favorite) and 2009's Til The Casket Drops. It was in 2010 where they went their separate ways for a bit. Now as a member of Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music army, Pusha T has gained tons of notoriety as a solo act. He's dropped some good mixtapes and has done dope guest features. Well now it's time to add another one to his solo resume. This is his second album My Name Is My Name. Now personally I enjoyed his 2011 debut album Fear Of God II: Let Us Pray. The album has a true dark and gritty tone which goes so well with Pusha T's lyrics and flow. The production also matched that. I pretty much expected the same kind of thing going into this album. Well...it turns out that wasn't quite the case. However, I still am thoroughly impressed with this album. It sounds like this time around, Pusha kinda mixes up different sounds and tone whereas the last album the whole thing had a dark tone. This album had a more of a better variety of different production, and even the content isn't stuck on just one thing. I say that because as much as I do like Pusha T, my biggest issue with him has always been him constantly rapping about drugs. Mostly cocaine (he even dropped a mixtape earlier this year titles Wrath Of Caine). Before, he couldn't barely spit one bar without mentioning things like coke, powder, white, kilos and all other kinds of references to cocaine. On this album he still talks about it but just not as much as he normally does. The album just shows how Pusha has now learned to balance his dark, haunting street lyricism with his newly found commercial side. That said, here are my positives. Off top, there were two songs that I liked so much that I couldn't decide which one I liked more. The first is the second single "Numbers On The Boards". This song is a prime example of why I believe Pusha is one the best street lyricists in hip hop today. On here he spits such dark and menacing lyrics that even though is spoken in low tone, it's still sounds loud enough to get you hype. His word play is so clever and intricate on here that it's mind boggling. But it's nothing new because this is what Pusha is known for. I also just loved the production. That eerie, distorted vibrating sound. Almost sounding like a Odd Future like beat. I even liked the Jay-Z "Rhyme No More" snippet in the middle of it. The second song was the closing track "S.N.I.T.C.H.". There was so much I loved with this song I don't know where to start. First, I loved the story being told by Pusha about a friend of his that while  in jail with Pusha, snitches on him. Admitting it to Pusha that he did just to get an early release from jail. This ties in perfectly with the hook done by Pharrell. On it, he sings what the snitch acronym stands for: "Sorry Nigga, I'm Trynna Come Home". Which is essentially what a snitch in prison is thinking when snitching. Again, this goes along perfectly with the story Pusha is sharing. A very creative and cleverly done hook and song. Another incredibly dope song was "Nosetalgia". Pusha spits a very aggresive and evil verse on another eerie based production. But what stole the show was the outstanding guest verse from Kendrick Lamar. On his verse he cleverly compares himself to being cocaine. Speaking on his fathers drug dealing and how he should be the connect because everything he drops is a "brick" and he's "dope". Just more insanely clever lyrical story telling from Kendrick. Great song. "King Push" was the intro song and a great way to set the tone for the album. He drops more witty word play here from coming at the neck of today's rappers ("I rap nigga about the trap nigga I don't sing hooks") to comparing himself to Jay-Z, not as a rapper but as a drug dealer. I at first thought "Sweet Serenade" would be a attempt at a radio hit but it was far from that. It was a dope song with dope drum patterns and choir assisted background vocals. Chris Brown even does a great job with the hook despite distorting his voice. In fact, if I had heard this song without reading album credits I wouldn't have thought that it was Chris Brown on the hook. "Hold On" features Rick Ross and for the most part is a pretty cool laid back track. While I didn't like Kanye West's awkward humming ad-libs on this, it still didn't ruin the song thank God. Now my negatives. The beginning of this album was stellar, but right when it got to the middle things started to go left. Three songs in a row I did not like. The first was "No Regrets". This is where he trying to go after that mainstream sound but this type of track and production just does not fit him nor this album. Kevin Cossum's hook sounded very Kirko Bangz like and Young Jeezy's verse sounded very lazy and rushed. The next track is the Kelly Rowland assisted "Let Me Love You". Now for at least 90% of rappers, their biggest weakness is making good songs for the ladies. Pusha T is part of that 90%. The song took away all momentum from the album. This was the only song that sounded like a desperate attempt for a radio hit. Which honestly, Pusha doesn't need. On top of that, if I hadn't looked at the album credits I would have sworn Mase was on this. It sounded like Pusha mimicked his whole flow and voice. Just a bad song that did not belong on this album. Then there was the worst of them all, "Who I Am". This...was...terrible. It's mostly thanks in large part to the God awful guest verse from 2 Chainz and Big Sean. Neither said anything remotely good enough to be quoted. Then the song had this terrible "wooo" ad-lib that would even make Ric Flair face palm. The song was just absolute trash and should have been either a deluxe edition track or left off the album completely. To close, this album was definitely impressive. Thought it doesn't stick to the same dark tone as his last album, enough was presented to make this an album that was just as good. I give this a final grade of a B+. It seems that Pusha T, after a few years of experimenting, had finally found his lane as a member of G.O.O.D. Music. He is one of hip hop most witty and clever lyricists and it shows full well on this album. If he continues in this lane, plus the ties with his new team, Pusha T will never fall off. At this point, I could really careless for a Clipse reunion album, just give me more dope solo projects from "King Push". End.

Final Grade: B+

CREDITS

Executive Producer

Kanye West

Lead Artist

Terrence Thornton

Production

Kanye West

Sebastian Sartor

Donald Cannon

Charles Njapa

Kasseem Dean

Ross Birchard

Pharrell Williams

Ricardo Lamarre

Terius Nash

Bobby Yewah

John Glass

Emmanuel Nickerson

Dominick Lamb

Ernest Wilson

Collaboration

Christopher Brown

William Roberts

Rennard East

Terius Nash

Jay Jenkins

Kevin Cossum

Kelendria Rowland

Tauheed Epps

Sean Anderson

Kendrick Duckworth

Nayvadius Wilburn

Pharrell Williams

Label

G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam Recordings

Nelly - M.O. ALBUM REVIEW

There's probably not many things that feels better to a hip hop artist than to know that they were responsible for putting their hometown city on the hip hop map. It's hard to even remember anyone who did it in the same fashion as Nelly. St. Louis was very quiet in hip hop until Nelly emerged in 2000 and not only put the city on the map, but even had rap fans nationwide speaking the city's slang because of his music. In large part his debut album Country Grammar. One of the most successful hip hop debut albums of all time. It's because that album, and his just as successful sophomore album Nellyville, that Nelly has quite the resume of classic hit records. Now as a thirteen year veteran, he still finds himself mixing it up with this new generation of rappers and still putting out music. He's back now with his seventh album M.O. Now honestly I've haven't kept up with Nelly's music lately. In fact Nellyville was the last album of his I listened to in full. So my expectations for this album were really based off of his first two albums. After listening, I think I see why I haven't been following his music lately. I wasn't feeling this album at all. I wouldn't say it's complete trash or completely wack but it definitely didn't hold my attention whatsoever. Now a few are evident. Obviously Nelly has never been known for his lyrical ability. Secondly, I never really considered any of his music to be creative or innovative. Originality yes due to his voice, but otherwise no. So I didn't expect any of that from this album. What this album sounded like to me was a desperate attempt by Nelly to gain relevance again. Trying to make the kind of music that's hot now. What he ended up doing is making an album that sounded like it would have been good in 2004. The production was very mediocre and lackluster. Nothing great at all. Since I have more negatives to point out from the album, I'll start with the very few positives. The album actually started off decent. It's quite sad that the first track, which is also the first single is the best song on here. "Get Like Me". This was the only song that had a decent production courtesy of Pharrell. It was catchy, it was simple and didn't sound like Nelly was reaching like it does on the rest of the album. Even Nicki Minaj's verse wasn't that bad. Then the next two songs we're alright as well. The first was "Give U Dat" which I thought I was gonna hate because Future is on it. But the beat kinda saved it. Then following that was the track "Rick James". He tried to go for a little concept here buy using a Rick James-like dance beat and even singing like him. It could have been done a little better but the idea was cool. Then T.I. comes in with a verse I wasn't feeling like that but it wasn't bad enough to ruin the song. Well it's after those three tracks where the album goes all over the place and the reaching starts. Time to name all the negatives. There were so many bad songs that I can't even determine which was the worst of all. They were all equally bad. The first song I'll point out is "Maryland, Massachusetts". I don't even know where the topic of this song is going but it certainly wasn't about what the song title says. But what made this song horrible was the awful repetitive hook. One of the worst I've heard this year. There were two songs that featured failed collaborators. The first was the last track "Headphones". It featured Nelly Furtado and for two people who share the same name, you would think they would put something dope together. This turns out to be one of the most cheesiest duets I've heard in a long time. There was a time when Nelly used to do good with these pop crossover duets ("Dilemma" with Kelly Rowland and "Tilt Ya Head Back" with Christina Aguilera), but this was done very poorly. The second bad collaboration was "Walk Away" which featured country music group Florida Georgia Line. Now history has shown Nelly isn't afraid to collaborate with artists like this no matter how bad it makes him look (see "Over And Over" with Tim McGraw). But this one falls short of being good as well. I don't think a song much less a collaboration like this would get over in today's hip hop. Ten years ago maybe but now, no. "100K" actually had an okay beat and a okay guest verse from 2 Chainz. But Nelly's rapping on this was terrible. This song is an example of him trying to adapt to hip hop's new sound. Rapping on good production that's popular now but still using the same singy-rap vocals he's been using for over a decade. Does quite mesh well. I feel like this should have been 2 Chainz song featuring Nelly. It probably would have been much more enjoyable instead of barely decent. "IDGAF" is this uptempo dancy beat that sounds a lot like Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines". Ironically enough, it features the same two people, T.I. and  Pharrell. However I wasn't feeling it. Neither of T.I.'s guest verses on this album was good. The beat was way too happy for a song with that title. I expected something more aggressive. I should have known better knowing how Nelly does. "My Chick Better" is another case where Nelly's vocals does not mesh with today's style of production at all. Thank God for Fabolous and Wiz Khalifa dropping verses that saved the song a bit (except for that laughably terrible line from Wiz that went like "Rolex match Rolex I hit the jeweler and go buy some minutes"). I want to say this might grow on me but I doubt it will. In conclusion, this album just fails in a lot of areas. It doesn't excite and it fails to innovate. It just really seems like Nelly is trying to play catch up with today's hip hop. I give this a final grade of a D+. In the end, you can say what you want about Nelly now, but he still will go down as one of hip hop's all time great hit makers. There's no denying that. It's just now with hip hop evolving into a sound that's so much different from when he was in his prime, it's best that Nelly just hangs up the mic. At least for making albums anyway. He can continue to collaborate. I think he's done enough in hip hop to show where he stands. That's good enough. End.

Final Grade: D+

CREDITS

Executive Producer

Cornell Haynes, Jr.

Lead Artist

Cornell Haynes, Jr.

Production

Pharrell Williams

Noel Fischer

Erik Ortiz

Kevin Crowe

Kenny Bartalomei

Timothy Thomas

Theron Thomas

John McGee

Richard Butler, Jr.

Steven Goodson

Justin Franks

Karriem Mack

Collaboration

Pharrell Williams

Onika Maraj

Nayvadius Wilburn

Clifford Harris, Jr.

Gareth Daley

Tauheed Epps

Tremaine Neverson

Jonathan Jackson

Cameron Thomaz

Tyler Hubbard

Brian Kelley

Nelly Furtado

Mario Mims

Label

Republic Records