Outkast - Aquemini THROWBACK ALBUM REVIEW

The year is 1995. The place is The Source Awards. Two young men from the country roads of Atlanta walk on stage to receive the award for best new rap group. While they didn't quite get the rousing ovation they hoped from the biased east coast crowd, it was Andre 3000 who made it clear to them and to everyone: "the south got something to say!" Those words and that moment would catapult Andre 3000 and Big Boi to immediate success while putting together a legendary career. I really don't have to go into too much detail about why Outkast are legends and why they are important to hip hop. While Scarface and the Geto Boys are credited for putting southern hip hop in general on the mainstream map, it was Outkast who was responsible for putting Atlanta on the map. 1994 is when they dropped their debut Southerplayalisticadillacmuzik. In a year where numerous classic debuts were released. But while that album and their 1996 sophomore album ATLiens were both great, it was 1998's Aquemini that to me put the stamp on Outkast being legends. Although I didn't hear this album until a few years after it released, I'm well aware of it's importance. The brilliant lyricism, production, creativity and originality spread all over this album is something to marvel at. They pushed the envelope with every released but they pushed it to greater heights here. I could go on but  I wanna get to the song by song break down so here it is:

2. Return Of The "G"

It's hard to pick a favorite track from this album but this is certainly top three for me. The dark, hard pounding and menacing beat is just amazing on all levels. Organized Noize were wizards on the production for this album. This song basically had addressed the concerns from the fans and media that their style and music had change drastically since their debut. Andre even mentions how people lashed out about him about his bizarre fashion and they called him either "gay or on drugs". It was a perfect way to start this album by showing that nothing has changed. The "G's" are still here.

3. Rosa Parks

Probably my third favorite Outkast single of all time. The jazz/blues sound mixed with those southern folk harmonies makes you feel and embrace the south. It's fun, it's catchy and it's a true southern boogie track. A classic hit.

4. Skew It On The Bar-B (featuring Raekwon)

The second single from this album was also one of the most interesting collaborations from that year. Outkast and the Wu-Tang Clan are pretty much from complete opposite worlds, but Raekwon blends well with the duo on a beat that's really out of his comfort zone. I liked how Big Boi addresses The Source for the rating their debut album got: "I gotta hit The Source/I need my other half a mic/because that Southerplayalisticadillacmuzik was a classic right?" I have to agree. Great song. 

5. Aquemini

This song defines the term psychedelic. All of the delays, echos and warped voices to make it sound dimensional. Like one massive acid trip. All of these psychedelic or "stoner" rappers you here today are trying to mimic that same sound. But here, Outkast does it to perfection.

6. Synthesizer (featuring George Clinton)

Another one of my favorite productions on this album. The strong electric funky sounds on this was o awesome that only George Clinton would have been fitting enough to be featured on such a out-of-this-world track. Super dope track, 

7. Slump (featuring Backbone and Cool Breeze)

Somewhat of a southern posse song, Backbone and Cool Breeze joins the duo to take you on a trip to the hardest neighborhoods in the south. You know...the trap. Trying to educate you on how the south isn't just all country lands and what not. The same crime and other nonsense occurs there too. Dope song. 

8. West Savannah

Big Boi is solo here and continuing the theme from the previous song, he takes you on a tour of his hood and gives you the south through his eyes. The things he seen and the goods and bads he's been through. I like this a lot. 

9. Da Art Of Storytellin' (Pt. 1) / 10. Da Art Of Storytellin' (Pt. 2)

Now it gets good. The duo flexes their amazing story telling abilities here. The story is about a childhood friend of theirs named Sasha Thumper who died of a drug overdose. Both Andre and Big Boi were involved with her but in two different ways. Andre comes off more emotional as he shared all of his happiest memories with her leading up to her death. I was impressed with how Andre seemed very calm even when reflecting on something so emotional as this. Then the next track, Part 2, the duo are at a time where they see it as the end of the world. They mention things they think would happen during it and how this could be their last song. These are all thoughts so when they rap it sounds like these words are coming straight from their head and not their mouths. Like in the movies when they show what the person is thinking. These two songs are what makes them...them. Perfection at it's finest.

11. Mamacita (featuring Masada and Witchdoctor)

This is a track that showcases both sides of a male/female relationship gone sour. I read that this track is based on an actual ex of Andre's who began dating other women after they broke up. Makes sense considering the lyrics. A lot of people today can probably relate to this with so many women claiming the lesbian title now after declaring how fed up they are with men. Cool song. 

12. SpottieOttieDopaliscious (featuring Sleepy Brown)

This is by far the weirdest song on the album....in a good way though. The two talk about a woman they approached at the club. Andre speaks on his over infatuation with her while Big Boi kinda pin points the hopelessness of a relationship with her. It's has this 70's sounding groove that's just sound so vintage. What's even more unique is there rhyming which is done like spoken word poetry. Dope track. Weird...but dope.

13. Y'all Scared (featuring T-Mo, Big Gipp and Khujo)

Here's another southern posse cut with more Dungeon Family members. Although this is my least favorite out of the two on this album, it's still not a bad song. Lot of dope lyrics and flows being thrown down here by everyone involved. Although it seems very relaxed considering the title and who's featured, it's a pretty good track for what it is.

15. Liberation (featuring Cee-Lo, Erykah Badu and Big Rube)

At eight minutes long, it's easy to see why this song is a major stand out. The entire song just sounds like an huge influx of genres. From R&B, to jazz, to blues, to gospel. Pretty much everything other than rap as there are no rap vocals at all on here. All the lyrics are either sung or done spoken word style. What I get from it is they are all speaking of artistic freedoms and not caring about the opinions of the public and/or media. It seems like they kinda compare it to slavery as well. There's so much soul coming out of this song that's it's amazing. This was certainly one of the best collaborations in 1998. Beautiful record. 

16. Chonkyfire

Filled with guitar riffs and a bunch of other "zoney" sounds, this was certainly a good way to end the album on a light note. Another amazing beat well done by the duo and another good showcasing of their lyricism. I especially liked the ending snippet from the 1995 Source Awards that I spoke about in the introductory paragraph. Dope track.

In closing, I really don't need to tell you why Aquemini is a classic album. It is one of the most important albums in hip hop's history for what it has done for southern hip hop. It gets a grade of an A+. With this album, Andre 3000 and Big Boi showed the world that Atlanta and the rest of the south DID have something to say. They are more than just country bumpkins on farm land eating maple syrup or however the public perceives them. They have rough neighborhoods too. They party and hit the clubs too. They do everything all other rappers nationwide do. Every southern rapper today, specifically the ones from Atlanta owe Outkast a great debt of gratitude. They told the world it's about to be our time and over a decade later, Atlanta is the number one city when it comes to southern MC's. Mission accomplished. End.

Final Grade: A+

CREDITS

Executive Producer

Kenneth Edmonds

Lead Artist

Andre Benjamin

Antwan Patton

Production

David Sheats

Patrick Brown

Ray Murray

Rico Wade

Andre Benjamin

Antwan Patton

Collaboration

Corey Woods

George Clinton

Patrick Brown

Erin Johnson

Robert Barnett

Cameron Gipp

William Knighton, Jr.

Thomas Calloway

Erica Wright

Ruben Bailey

Label

LaFace/RCA Records

Mic's Mixtape Of The Week

Travi$ Scott

Days Before Rodeo

Available now on Datpiff

Mic's Web Chick Of The Week

London Hill

Columbus, OH

Twitter/Instagram: @_londonbridgey

Copyright 2014. Mic Navarro's Corner.

micnavarro.blogspot.com

Wiz Khalifa - Blacc Hollywood ALBUM REVIEW

Hip hop stoners have been around for as long as we can remember. It's nothing new to us and this new wave of "stonerific" music shouldn't be a surprise. But you gotta believe one of the people, or the main person responsible for reviving this movement is Wiz Khalifa. Since 2010, Wiz has been a favorite for many stoners. His 2010 mixtape Kush & Orange Juice to some is a classic. It pretty much propelled him to all the way to where is now. But to me he hasn't quite matched the quality of music from that mixtape since. Did he this time? This is his fifth album Blacc Hollywood. Never hearing 2006's Show And Prove or 2009's Deal Or No Deal, I can only go off the last two releases. 2011's Rolling Papers was a very poor and lazy effort. Especially for a major label debut.To this day no album has literally put me to sleep quicker than that album. Lazy production, lazy flow. Just an overall lifeless album. Then 2012's O.N.I.F.C. while it had way more energy, it lacked any substance or decent content. The same topic on various trap beats or trap inspired beats. I had really hoped this time around Wiz would make a serious change to how he put together his albums. After listening to Blacc Hollywood, I'm kinda feeling the same way I felt about the last album. The album is just average...if that. He's done nothing to change or show any kind of progress. Same weed related topics, same basic flow with plenty of cringe worthy lines, same amount of trap beat abuse. I would say the only difference here is probably better singles and better features that makes the album a bit more listenable. It's a shame he's made no type of progress because he can certainly become a much better rapper with better content, flow, lyrics and beat selection. Anyway, I'll now break down the album song by song:

1. Hope (featuring Ty Dolla $ign)

...and here we go. Starting right off the back with trap beats. The track starts with what sounds like some spoken word poetry? It sounds like praise being given to Wiz and telling him to continue his grind or whatever. But the song is as generic as it gets. Generic trap beat and generic content. I guess it sounds good in the car (as many of these songs do) but other than that, nah. Ty Dolla $ign drops a quick R&B verse which really does nothing for it either. It's really a "meh" song overall.

2. We Dem Boyz

Believe it or not, I actually like this. This may be his best single since "Black And Yellow". Yeah the flow and lyrics are piss poor but it's incredibly catchy to the point you can't help but like it. One of the best songs on the album honestly.

3. Promises

If there's one thing I hate it's when not so good rappers try and sing. This song was a huge no no. Wiz sings majority of this song which is a love dedication to his wifey Amber Rose. If she heard this then she might be ready to put his ass on the couch. His singing is almost two times more horrendous than his rapping. Sometimes I wanna blame the weed for songs like this that he makes but you can't blame it every time. This was just horrible. Horrible.

4. KK (featuring Juicy J and Project Pat)

Here is the second trap beat of the album and this one is one of the better ones. Thanks really to Juicy J and Project Pat who gave it that vintage old school Three 6 Mafia feel. Thank goodness for them because Wiz is on this just unleashing all kinds of horrific lyrics: "Cali weed blowing like a rasta mime/kush seeds straight from Afghani-stein". Did this fool really mispronounce that word just so it could rhyme? This is how you know what rappers have limited vocabulary. Anyway, it's a tolerable song to an extent. (FYI: "KK" stands for Khalifa Kush. To no surprise.)

5. House In The Hills (featuring Curren$y)

On an album filled with not much decent content or subject matter, this is probably the only song that has a bit of it. He's talking about his come up, his dislike on how the media portrays him as a pot head when he's more than that and so on. He also goes on talking about his new responsibilities as a husband, as a father and as a young CEO. It seems he's trying to show a bit of maturity here in understanding where he is now. This is a good song just on the topic alone. If only the rest of the album could have shown the same maturity...

6. Ass Drop

Ladies...grab your favorite pair of twerking shorts. We got another one. I totally would not be surprised at all if this is the next single. Twerk songs do nothing for me and I can't get with them. But of course the females will love this. In the club, at parties or even in their house in front of their web cam. So yeah overall, this doesn't do anything for me.

7. Raw

This now the third trap beat. This song is a perfect example of a song saved by the beat. Again, it sounds good in the car but Wiz's pathetic lyrics and atrocious flow makes it hard to listen to this more than once. I mean I don't know what he was thinking with that flow. Epic fail.

8. Stayin' Out All Night

The mood and vibe of this song actually took me back to Rolling Papers. That's not a good thing because I was not a fan of that album. All he does here talk about partying all night and just celebrating life or whatever. It's an OK song at best. 

9. The Sleaze

This is one of the more better beats on the album. Well produced by Arthur McArthur. I actually didn't even mind his flow or lyrics on this either. It's a pretty good songs. Again, he isn't talking about much but compared to other songs on this album, this one is tolerable.

10. So High (featuring Ghost Loft)

This song was hilariously bad. Every bar he spits, he ends it with "uh huh". I feel like he's mimicking Kendrick Lamar's flow and if that's the case then it's the worst imitation ever. Also of course, no Wiz Khalifa album is complete without a track about being high which this is. The hook for this is actually not bad but his flow on here was pitifully bad. 

11. Still Down (featuring Chevy Woods and Ty Dolla $ign)

I swear damn every feature on this album murdered Wiz on his own track. I loved Chevy Woods verse on here. It was dope. Even Ty Dolla $ign was cool on the hook. For that alone this song is pretty good. I could probably play this in rotation a few times. Cool song.

12. No Gain

Trap beat number four. But this one is much more slower and R&B sounding. I honestly don't know how I feel about this one. It sounds like something from O.N.I.F.C. In fact, he's somewhat talking about the same stuff as the single "Work Hard Play Hard" from that album. But yeah...really don't know what to make of this yet.

13. True Colors (featuring Nicki Minaj)

This has one of the worst hooks on the whole album. I really, really cannot stand his so called singing. Then once again another feature, this time Nicki Minaj, takes him down on his own track. Truth be told this song has more of a Nicki vibe than it does Wiz. It's average overall I suppose. 

14. We Dem Boyz (remix) (featuring Rick Ross, Schoolboy Q and Nas)

This is the first of two bonus tracks. It's probably one of the worst remixes of 2014. The original is a hundred times better than this. The beat is different, the hook is different and although the features were all better than Wiz, none were eye popping like that. No even my favorite rapper Nas who sounds so uncomfortable even being on this. Yeah...I don't like it.

15. You And Your Friends (featuring Snoop Dogg and Ty Dolla $ign)

The second of the two bonus tracks. Surprisingly this is the only DJ Mustard produced track on the whole album. I expected more of his beats seeing as how he's been everywhere this year. Anyway, the beat makes this an okay listen. It sounds very much like a single if it isn't one already. It's cool overall.

Well in conclusion, this album overall just doesn't do it for me. Like I mentioned before, same old stuff. As far as flow, lyrics, content, beats. No sign of progression at all. I give this a final grade of a C-. Reflecting back to that song "House In The Hills", Wiz Khalifa really needs to show more of that same maturity he showed on that track. I understand that this is the persona he has put out there but also he needs to realize that he does have responsibilities now. He is a husband, he is a father, he is a CEO. At some point you gotta show a bit of growth in your music. You can still be a stoner, but now, be more wise about it in your music. Hopefully he comes around on the next album. Hopefully. End.

Final Grade: C-

CREDITS

Executive Producers

Cameron Thomaz

Lead Artist

Cameron Thomaz

Production

Ned Cameron

Noel Fischer

James Scheffer

Edward Murray

Lukasz Gottwald

Jeremy McArthur

Mikkel Ericksen

Tor Erick Hermansen

Daniel Johnson

Rasool Diaz

Luca Polizzi

Brian Soko

Dijon McFarlane

Anthony Tucker

Sonny Uwaekzuoke

Julian Gramma

Nathaniel Caserta

Collaboration

Tyrone Griffin

Jordan Houston

Patrick Houston

Shante Franklin

Danny Choi

Kevin Woods

Onika Maraj

William Roberts

Quincy Hanley

Nasir Jones

Jay Jenkins

Chad Butler

Label

Rostrum/Atlantic Records

Mic's Mixtape Of The Week

Travi$ Scott

Days Before Rodeo

Available now on Datpiff

Mic's Web Chick Of The Week

London Hill

Columbus, OH

Twitter/Instagram: @_londonbridgey

Copyright 2014. Mic Navarro's Corner.

micnavarro.blogspot.com

Announcements: New Changes

What's up y'all. Just wanted to give y'all a heads up on some new changes coming to my review site. Nothing major. I'll probably have to do this again in the future but right now we just gonna leave it at this. So, a couple things are about to change as far as how my reviews will be done, new features I'll add and new ways to hit me up and share my reviews. So here they are:


1. NEW REVIEW FORMAT- Since I started this thing last year, I always wrote these reviews as just one big paragraph. Well now I'ma try and do something different. I will now start doing song by song break downs. I'm talking every single song on the album. I will write a little "mini-graph" for each song giving my thoughts on it. I feel like this is much easier for people to read and take all in. Not to mention I've had a few people come to me about not mentioning certain songs from some of their favorite albums. So this helps a lot. Let me know what you think.


2. NEW FEATURES- I've thought about adding some fun new things to the page. Already I've added the mixtape of the week and web chick of the week section which is getting good responses. If you're an independent artists and have a mixtape out that you think I should check out and consider for mixtape of the week, you can hit me up via e-mail (see below). Also, ladies, if you want me to consider you for a web chick of the week spot, hit me up via e-mail as well (you'll need two pics, your city and state, and your Twitter or Instagram). Also, I will be adding a poll section asking you all how would you grade the album. I know you could just say it in the comments but the poll thing seems much easier than typing it out. That's pretty much it for right now.

3. NEW WAYS TO HIT ME UP: I've never really been a Instagram person. Never got into it. But I've realized that it would be best to promote and share on those kind of social sites. So in the next week or two, I will have an Instagram where you all can hit me up and follow my blog updates there. My IG name will be posted on every review so that's where you all will know when I have it up and running.

Again, nothing too serious. If you have any suggestions or anything like that, e-mail me or hit me up on Facebook until my IG is up. Thanks again y'all for showing me love and holding me down on this album review thing for a year. It's much appreciated.

- Mic Navarro

Copyright 2014. Mic Navarro's Corner.

micnavarro.blogspot.com
mgiles887@yahoo.com

Common - Nobody's Smiling ALBUM REVIEW

Peace, love and happiness. Three things to me that best describes the music from veteran rapper Common. Things that he likes to talk about. It's because of that and just his overall humbling and positive character that's made him one of hip hop's most respected MC's for nearly twenty years. Having a string of classic albums and songs. My personal favorite being "The Light" from his 2000 album Like Water For Chocolate. However, despite such longevity in the game, it seems like Common didn't really become a household name on a mainstream level until he linked with Kanye West and dropped his 2005 album Be. My favorite album of his. Basically, which such a great discography, a new Common album is always something to anticipate. This is his tenth album Nobody's Smiling. After coming off releasing a really dope album in The Dreamer/The Believer in 2011, I was eagerly anticipating that this album would be the same story. Well I can happily say that it was that...and more. This was a very well done project by Common. Now before I began the break down of the album, let me began with the inspiration behind this concept album. As most of you may know, 2014 has been a very tragic year for the city of Chicago (Common's home town if you didn't know that). The recent outbreak of crime, particularly gun violence has caused total devastation throughout the city. Catching the attention of everyone nationwide. Granted this is nothing new in Chicago. It's a city that's been known for gang violence since the days of Al Capone. But when 80+ people are shot in a single Fourth Of July weekend, then that's when you gotta think enough is enough. This is what lead to this album. On here Common speaks about the state of the city, what can be done to make change and where this will all lead to. He title's this album Nobody's Smiling because he says that with all that's gone on in the Chi, no one is smiling right now in that city. The album is very emotional, sympathetic and has a very dark energy hovering over it. Dark is a word you normally don't use to describe Common's music but as you know...things are not so "peaceful and happy" as I stated in the beginning. Plenty of positives to talk about on this album so let's start there. The album starts off in dramatic fashion with the track "The Neighborhood". First off, big time props to No I.D. who produced the entire album as well as The Dreamer/The Believer. He been doing work with Common since day one and the two make magic together. They truly are "Chi-town's Gang Starr" as he said on this album. Anyway, "The Neighborhood" gives off this truly dark and eerie feel especially when it begins. Lyrically Common was on point (as he was throughout this album). He talks about the history of violence in Chicago from hood to hood and block to block. What I actually liked the most was the impressive guest verse from Lil Herb. Now I don't know much about him nor heard any of his work but this verse was cool as he told his version of the cities struggle that he sees. This was a perfect way to begin this album and this story. The next track is "No Fear" and based on the lyrics, it sounds as if Common is describing the typical young thug/criminal in Chicago and how he shows "no fear" when in the streets committing his crimes. It was spoken very poetic like over another crisp production from No I.D. Excellent song. The track "Kingdom" I would have to say was my favorite of the whole album. I love the strong soulful sound of this production. Here he talks as a criminal who has passed away and tries to ask for forgiveness at the gates. He sees the city and all that he and others like him have done and he regrets it. It was powerfully told as you can literally vision in your head everything Common says on this track. The guest verse from Vince Staples was pretty cool too. Amazing song overall. The only two songs on here that sound anything close to single worthy are "Blak Majik" and "Speak My Piece". "Blak Majik" has this really cool heart pounding beat. Jhene Aiko sings the hook and at first I didn't like it too much because it's repetitive (says "blak majik" over and over). But the part at the end was alright so it kinda made up for it. Then there's "Speak My Piece" in which the hook samples a line from Biggie's song "Hypnotize". Now this definitely has a party/dancy sounding beat. This track actually took me back to Common's 2008 album Universal Mind Control where almost every song sounded like this. Very futuristic but still club oriented. But still, it's a fun track to kinda take away from the dark depressing sounds of majority of this album. "Hustle Harder" is where he talks about the typical Chi-town chick. Describing her high maintenance, how she plays dudes, how she stays in the streets and so on. Lots of heavy drums in this beat but it was a good one. There was a guest verse from Dreezy who I'm being introduced to for the first time. She wasn't bad. She kinda had somewhat of a Kanye/Nicki Minaj flow but she was cool. On the title track "Nobody's Smiling", Common breaks down exactly why "nobody is smiling" in Chicago. Talks about not only the crime, but the poverty stricken conditions, drug fiends and so on. This was probably the song that lived up to the albums theme the most. The closing track (on the regular edition) "Rewind That", Common reflects on his past. Just basically speaking on his come up in the game and all the people that helped him along the way. Specifically No I.D. and J. Dilla. Awesome track there. Out of the four bonus deluxe edition tracks, "7 Deadly Sins" was my only favorite (however, "Out On Bond" might grow on me). I liked how he broke down every sin in relation to what's going on in Chicago. Definitely dope. My only negatives are again, the bonus tracks. Aside from "7 Deadly Sins" and "Out On Bond", the other two songs really didn't do much for me or the album for that matter. Especially "City To City" which felt more like a short interlude than a song. Also, "Diamonds" is a song I'm trying to let grow on me but I just was not feeling Big Sean on it. I don't know. It just seems him and Common styles don't mesh at all. Plus that whining thing Big Sean was doing on the hook was awful. It may grow on me down the road but I don't know. We'll see. Overall, this was certainly a very impressive and very important project Common has here. It is an album that everyone, especially those in the windy city must listen to. Even thought I felt he could have went further in depth with this concept, the message is strong enough to make that forgettable. I give it a final grade of a B+. Although we sit here and witness what this city is going through, understand Chicago isn't the only city where violence occurs. It's all over. It's an issue that everyone needs to be more aware of along with being apart of the cause to end it. I'm so glad of all rappers it was Common to do this. He's been a very powerful speaker of sorts when it comes to spreading awareness of things like this. Other rappers should take notes from him and follow him. Understand this young generation looks up to rappers and everyone involved with hip hop. It's up to them to be leaders, to be teachers, to set an example. How many people must die before we realize that violence is never the answer people? It's not only up to hip hop, it's also up to us. Don't wait for change to come. Stand up and make a difference yourself. Peace. End.

Final Grade: B+

CREDITS

Executive Producers

Lonnie Lynn

Ernest Wilson

Lead Artist

Lonnie Lynn

Production

Ernest Wilson

Collaboration

Herbert Wright

James Fauntleroy

Sean Anderson

Jhene Chilombo

Snoh Nowrozi

Seandrea Sledge

Malik Yusef

Elijah Blake

Vince Staples

Label

ARTium/Def Jam Recordings

Mic's Mixtape Of The Week

Chris Webby

The Checkup 

Available now on Datpiff

Mic's Web Chick Of The Week

Ashley Lorraine

Orlando, FL

Twitter/Instagram: @siimplyashh

Copyright 2014. Mic Navarro's Corner.

micnavarro.blogspot.com

Riff Raff - Neon Icon ALBUM REVIEW

Plenty of artists in music now got their first taste of fame through television. Drake would be an immediate example. It can be a huge help in pushing music careers. However, for few, it's either a gift or a curse. Take Riff Raff for example. Many know of him from the MTV reality show From G'z To Gentz. A show that took thugged out guys off the street and tried turning them into clean cut gentleman. Now me personally I never did watch this show but based on reactions from those who did, Riff Raff was the stand out guy on the show. Mostly because of his rap skills...or lack there of. Everywhere I look, he seems to be the victim of countless jokes. Although he looks extremely corny, I couldn't judge until I finally heard his music. Now was the time. This is his sophomore album Neon Icon. Based on how everyone perceives him and based on what I already know about him, I was honestly expecting the worst. Guess what? That's exactly what I got. I am not exaggerating when I tell you this is easily the worst album I've heard so far in 2014. I honestly don't even know where to begin here. Everything from the lyrics to the production to the content was absolutely piss poor. There was not one original or creative idea presented anywhere on this album. Riff Raff comes off to me as simply a country white dude from Texas pretending to be thugged out or hood. It's almost like he's a comedian and he's spoofing southern gangster rappers. Speaking of comedians, that's really the only thing I could get out of this album was the comedy from his atrocious lyrics. I mean not since 2 Chainz first album have I literally been in tears of laughter listening to such terrible bars. So much corniness, so much lameness that it was unbearable. I mean just look at this dudes album cover. It just absolutely screams comedy. Not in a good way either. So because there were so many notable horrendous lines on this album, I'll list them all at the bottom of this review. Anyway now, as you probably have guessed by now I have way more negatives than positives so I'll start there. The album starts off with "Introducing The Icon". This actually was an okay song. Not as bad as the rest of the album. The lyrics and beat are still rubbish but his flow was alright and made it a little bit passable. It was here I thought to myself that maybe this won't be as bad as I've been expecting. I spoke way too soon. Right after that song this album goes down hill super fast. "Kokayne" sounded like some awful fusion of hip hop and country rock music. The hook was awful and the beat was a cluttered mess. A lot of the beats on this album sounded like generic throw away beats that the producers just had laying around and decided to give to Riff Raff. This sounded like one of them. "Versace Python" was another lame hook song filled with more comical lines. On this song as well as some others, he kinda raps with somewhat of a Pimp C like flow and voice. You could say that's his way of paying respect to him but I think Pimp C is doing back flips in his grave at the sound of these songs. Then, for you sneaker heads, there's the excessively titled "Tip Toe Wing In My Jawwwdinz". This had a trap inspired beat that for the most part was decent at best but the horrific hook and yet again horrific lines makes it a ear bleeder. I mean this hook is a perfect example of what I said before. It sounds like he's purposely sounding bad in a spoofing effort. It's like watching sketch comedy on TV. "Lava Glaciers" shows him completely not giving no fucks about riding a beat. I at times hate it when rappers rap fast on slower beats especially when they sound like this guy. Not even Childish Gambino's dope guest verse could save this train wreck. "Aquaberry Dolphin" was one of the most comical songs on the album. First of all, this dude literally put dolphin sound effects in the beat. That just reached all new heights of corniness. The lines (see bottom) were so horribly funny. Even Mac Miller, who's verse was cool, stooped to his level of corny with lame lines of his own ("these hoes thirsty and I look like pink lemonade"). But knowing Mac Miller I'm sure he was goofing around while Riff Raff is dead serious. Now I had the save the two most absolutely horrific songs of the album for last. The first is "Time". Picture this: You're hanging out at the karaoke bar having drinks enjoying yourself. Then that one sixty something year old drunk white guy gets on the mic and starts singing some terrible country music. Slurring words and everything. That's exactly what this sounds like. I mean that's literally what I pictured the whole time listening to this travesty of a song. Then...there's "VIP Pass To My Heart". Words cannot describe the level of horror I went through listening to this monstrosity. The beat has this awful techno/dance sound. Worst of all thought, he...is....singing. The whole song. It is some of the worst vocals I have ever had the discomfort of hearing. The audio sounds distorted as hell. On top of it all, he had the audacity to sing on auto-tune. Auto-tune! As if that would make this a more enjoyable song. This song alone made this album a painful listen. I wouldn't make my worst enemy listen to this. Truthfully, the only song that has any level of tolerance is "How To Be The Man" thanks in large part to DJ Mustard. The remix however is much better thanks to Slim Thug and Paul Wall's guest verses saving the day. Man...overall, this album was just too God awful for words to describe. Not even the comedy and the cool guest verses could uplift this album from the pits of failure. I give this a final grade of an E. The sad part about this is, if he actually gave a real effort, Riff Raff could be a decent rapper. I can see it in him. But he's so stuck in this goofy and corny persona that he believes this is who he really is. He's a cross between Vanilla Ice and B-Rad from Malibu and he thinks the hood feels that? It's almost a complete joke to even consider him an artist. I do wish him the best of luck with all of his future endeavors. But after this nightmare, I think I'll pass on "the icon" next time. End.

Final Grade: E

Notable wack lines

"Look who it is it's the white Chris Rock"

"Catch me cooking cookies but I'm not your damn granny"

"But I step inside the club and I smell like Power Ranger"

"Ice in my ear look like a baby penguin"

"Rockin' all this snow might freeze a rainbow"

"I'm the white Gucci Mane with a spray tan"

"You should practice martial arts the way you karate chop my heart"

"Ah shit look who it is the white Wesley Snipes"

"Might be in a movie with Barry Sanders/or Adam Sandler and my cup is pink panther"

"Might hit the club as the white Danny Glover"

CREDITS

Executive Producers

Horst Simco

Thomas Pentz

Lead Artist

Horst Simco

Production

Rory Quigley

Thomas Pentz

Dijon McFarlane

Larry Fisherman

Rafael Greifer

D.J. Allen

Collaboration

Donald Glover

Michael Posner

Malcolm McCormick

Amber Coffman

Stayve Thomas

Paul Slayton

Label

Mad Decent Records

Mic's Mixtape Of The Week

Chris Webby

The Checkup 

Available now on Datpiff

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Ashley Lorraine

Orlando, FL

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