Snoop Dogg- Tha Last Meal

Snoop Dogg
Tha Last Meal (2000)
No Limit Records / Priority
G-Funk

Damn, this is sick! People need to stop comparing everything Snoop drops to Doggystyle. Of course it isn't going to be as good, that's like comparing everything Nas does to Illmatic, or everything Wu does to 36 chambers. You need to recognize that their first album is the best they will ever release, and then treat all subsequent albums as a separate entity. If you compare everything to the greats, you won't enjoy it as much.

This is a fun album, and a great example of when features work perfectly. Some people hate features, but they can be great if used correctly. As the Doggfather demonstrates, the feature artist shouldn't overwhelm the main artist. Even with more features than tracks, Snoop still controls the mic on every song. There's never any question of who's album this is, as Snoop's confidence and control of the mic proves it beyond a doubt. There's great beats here too, banging G-funk joints. Snoop dropped some great albums.

7.5/10
Favorite Tracks: Set It Off, Lay Low, and Y'all Gone Miss Me

Kid Cudi- SATELLITE FLIGHT: The Journey To Mother Moon

Kid Cudi
SATELLITE FLIGHT: The Journey To Mother Moon (2014)
Island/ Republic/ Universal/ Wicked Awesome
Pop-Rap

If I wanted abstract electronic music I would listen to electronic musicians who actually know how to produce a track. Cudi is not a rapper who can self-produce, the beats on this are absolute shit. For example, he throws some psychedelic-sounding leads in with some strings, maybe a snare or two, and a toned down hit and calls that a beat (see Balmain Jeans)?

This wasn't as bad as Indicud, but what is? Bland really is the best way to describe Kudi. His music does nothing. It doesn't go anywhere, the beats are shit, he has a mediocre flow, and nothing to say. "But damn I’m feeling like Sam except my daddy ain’t stuck up no video game". I'll just let that sink in. Yes, he really used that line in a rap. And the singing? He has no voice to speak of, and yet he has to sing his own hooks. Maybe he should follow Pusha T's example. But when I thought the worst was over, Internal Bleeding hit. He's kind of drunkenly drawling a verse, attempting to sing. I don't know how anyone could call it music, and I really don't know how anyone could actually want to listen to it.

1.5/10
Worst Tracks: Internal Bleeding

Ty Dolla $ign- Beach House

Ty Dolla $ign
Beach House (EP) (2014)
Arsenal / Dollasign Records
Pop-Rap

Oh no. Autotune. He doesn't overuse it as much as some artists, but let's get one thing clear. Autotune is obnoxious. It's tolerable when used in hooks on a few songs off the album, but when it permeates the whole album, who actually enjoys that? That's a rhetorical question, please don't respond you future and ty fans.

The production on this EP is acceptable, but nothing special. A few tracks shine production-wise, but the rest aren't special. And production's the best part of this EP. He doesn't know how to rhyme words, so instead he just repeats the same word at the end of the line (see Or Nah). Check out this piece of genius: "That nigga ain’t had much money as I do/ That nigga don’t know your body like I do/ Your friends think I ain’t shit, I don’t like them either/ Them hoes ain’t shit, they can’t keep no man either". Word.

His lyrics and flow are weak. All he can rap about is bitches, money, and weed, and he can't even rap well about any of them. When the best verses on your album are Wiz features you know you're doing something wrong.

All in all, this EP kind of epitomizes all that's wrong with so much of modern mainstream rap. Thank god it was only an EP.

1.0/10
Worst Track: Or Nah

Pharrell- G I R L

Pharrell
G I R L (2014)
Columbia
Contemporary R&B

Pharrell is the happy, less soulful De'Angelo. This is 85% pure happiness, 15% dirty sexuality, and 5% love. I know that's 105%, but Pharrell  puts 105% into this album. He's been a great producer for a long time (Drop It Like It's Hot, most of Clipse's discography, Southern Hospitality, N*E*R*D, etc.), and his high pitched voice has graced a decent number of tracks. N*E*R*D has had some great songs, but I actually prefer this album. In Search Of was the less sappy, less happy, and less pristine version of this. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but If you're going to make sappy love/sex songs, why not go all out? 

This album of course includes the single from Despicable Me, Happy. This song encompasses half of the album, the pure happiness, while Hunter represents the rest of it. Still upbeat, Hunter is one of the sexual love songs off this album. It's masochistic, materializing women, but hey, it's a great song.

This is not an album you're going to enjoy while sitting in your Victorian chair and sipping a cup of extra-pretentious tea. It's an excessively upbeat album that could flip your mood from depressed with a chance of suicide to blissful with a chance of laughter. This is a dance album. It's pretty hard to resist jumping up and dancing to any of these songs. The only exception I can think of is if you're so sour you make unripe lemons taste sweet.

7.0/10

Favorite Tracks: Hunter, Marilyn Monroe, Happy, and Gust Of Wind

Pluto- Players Like Us Takin' Over

Pluto
Players Like Us Takin' Over (1995)
Dolla Bill Recordz

G-Funk

How could an album with that sort of cover be bad? I mean a car flying through space with three gangstas in it? It lives up to its cover though, don't worry. While there isn't too much creativity in lyrical topics (women, drugs, how great and funky they are, and one RIP track), it doesn't matter as it's 9 tracks long with a screwed version of the top song at the end. Pluto is a group of three rappers from Texas. One sounds like Geto Boys crossed with G-Funk, one sounds like a dirty south rapper, and the other, my favorite, sounds like a true G-Funk rapper, with a confident flow and creative lyrics (I'll refer to these MC's as the first second and third respectively from now on). Perhaps one of them is also the male singer in almost every song. The best way to describe the production is seamless. There are no real flaws, and most of the tracks excel with creativity and funkiness.

01) Nobody Phonkin Betta --- Production- G-Funk, Southern style. The female vocalist melds perfectly with the beat, and the production is so seamless there's no distinct break between the hook and the verse. /// Lyrics- Pluto sounds like a complete cross between the West and the South. They've got the drawl of UGK with the G-Funk triplet flow of Snoop and the gangster MC of Geto Boys.

02) I Getz HYA --- Production- Some of the best I've heard. Again it's seamless, and on par with Dre's G-Funk production. /// Lyrics- I love the hook on this, a male singer with Pluto muttering in the background. The third MC just has that up-front style like most of the G-Funk artists, no time for complexity. He has the first verse, followed by the second MC. They then do a back and forth in the third verse, trading every other line (the first MC doesn't seem to be on this track). Their flows and voices contrast nicely back and forth. Undaground Madness is listed on this track, presumably as the singer.

03) We Gon Ride --- Production- That high electric guitar lead though. /// Lyrics- The intro and hook are a bit wack, but they grow on you. The singing is reminiscent of Islamic prayer calls (quarter steps and descending notes). The first verse was the best so far on this album. The second verse, presumably Jiggheadz, is decent, but not on par with the other two. He doesn't sound as confident and his flow isn't as smooth. The third verse is from the second MC, and he definitely holds his weight on this one

04) Plutonian Ballers --- Production- The piano is really well used in this. That's the impressive part, these tracks are all extremely well produced for G-Funk, but also variable, utilizing many instruments/leads. /// Lyrics- The first part of the hook sounds somewhat like the voice effects used in Parliament tracks, and has the same rhyming comedy (“I feel it's our duty/ To make you shake your booty”). The second part of the hook uses the middle-east musicality again. Pluto's rapping about women, in a very comedic manner (“Well what do you know, if she'd pregnant she can't get pregnant again”), classic G-Funk style (see Snoop Doggy Dogg Lodi Dodi).

05) Smooth As A Dope Jam --- Production- Nothing special, but still great. /// Lyrics- Taz has got your Dope Jam. I'm guessing Taz is the other rapper on this track. This is truly a dope jam, Taz runs all over the beat, and Pluto keeps doing their thing

06) Playa's Phonk --- Production- More typical G-Funk, one of the weaker tracks production-wise. /// Lyrics- Pluto talks about their phonkiness, pimping hoes, and how much he loves funk. The third MC really does have lyrical flow, it's not just his delivery when he drops lines like “From the superb words I serve”.

07) Love 4 Da O.G.'s --- Production- Damn, the female vocalist is a great singer, perfect for G-funk. I love the funky bass on this one. I'm a sucker for dark remembrance raps, and this really hits the spot. /// Lyrics- This is a R.I.P. track, and the atmosphere is perfect. It sounds entirely different from all of the other tracks, downbeat and melancholy. The rappers' flows have changed subtly and the beat has too to match. Undaground Madness makes another appearance, and on this track it really clicks. Check out the closing line: “I gotta keep pushing till my time comes around/ When death knocks on my back door and asks me to lay it down”

08) Nickel Bag Blo' --- Production- Sleigh bells, and this is Christmas. /// Lyrics- The hook is among the best, with the male singer singing while one of the members sing-raps a chorus in a monotone. The second verse is from my the third MC. He's the most excessive rapper voice-wise, which is perfect for the G-Funk beats. They even use some Jamaica-style rapping on this track, perhaps one of their members mimicking the accent or perhaps a feature.

09) P.O.O.F (Planet Of Original Phonk) --- Production- Decent. /// Lyrics- The intro sounds like DJ Eazy Dick off Doggy style. Not a great track to finish off the album, but oh well.

10) Nickel Bag Blo' (Screwed Version) --- Production- I've never been a huge fan of chopping or screwing. I think the original version is a good bit better. /// Lyrics- see track 8.

9/10

Favorite Tracks: Plutonian Ballers, Love 4 Da O.G.'s, Nickel Bag Blo'

Kanye West - Yeezus

Kanye West

Yeezus (2013)

Def Jam

Left-Field Rap

I've never liked Kanye. There are three good reasons to have an overly cocky attitude. 1) Because you really are the best. 2) To be ironic. 3) As an act that is a part of your persona. Kanye falls in none of those categories. Obviously he's not the best, though he thinks he is. He's not being ironic however, as he actually thinks he's the best. It's not an act, as he has proved countless times in his personal life, and making a moron out of himself taking it too far in front of cameras. He can't even speak like an intelligent human being half of the time (see Sway in the morning).

Now that I've gotten my general Kanye hate over with, I tried to listen to this project without any bias, as I know he changes his style frequently. Here goes.

01) On Sight --- Beats- See Death Grips- Lost Boys. And then a choral sample, which just sounds out of place over the beats. Lyrics- Weak. One mediocre pun about getting off, and then he whines about the media again. And then says he doesn't care. Make up your mind, if you don't care, then don't keep bringing it up.

02) Black Skinhead --- Beats- Somewhat reminiscent of I've Seen Footage, not a complete ripoff though. Lyrics- A little more creative, but they also display one of my biggest problems with Kanye. He acts like a spoiled baby. He whines about his haters and then says he doesn't care, much like in the last song with the media. If you don't care, please stop talking about it. But his lyrics aren't complex, despite what his fans will tell you. He makes it seem like double rhymes in one section by ending every sentence with shit like Kendrick did with bish, but it doesn't accomplish anything in Kanye's verse.

03) I Am A God --- Beats- Nothing to mention. Death-grippy background noises. Lyrics- Here we go. Classic Kanye humility. He just really knows how to acknowledge his faults. As an atheist, I don't have a problem with his sacrilege, but he's definitely not a god of rap at least.

04) New Slaves --- Production- Meh. Lyrics- Of course, Ye needs to try and be deep and political. The fact is he's an idiot politically, and this song is disrespectful to civil rights. He's comparing slaves picking cotton to the way the capitalist system implores him to buy expensive items. Racism does still exist, but the real problems haven't moved to hollywood, they're still in the ghetto! This is distracting from life or death situations such as that of Trayvon or any number of cases of police brutality.

05) Hold My Liquor --- Production- Autotune is one of the most obnoxious inventions of all time. When used right it's bearable. That high lead doesn't contrast or even clash nicely with the beat, it's just annoying. Reminiscent of Hacker/The Cage. Lyrics- Shallow, sexual lyrics, dehumanizing women with no redeemable qualities. He wants to 'own her', and with 'one more hit' he can (I know he's making a drug reference, it's a joke).

06) I'm In It --- Production- The voice effect is similar to either Blackjack or Bitch Please, I can't remember which. It sounds like it's barely holding together at the seams, with reggae, Kanye, death grippy beats, the aforementioned voice effect, and Justin Vernon carelessly thrown together. Lyrics- We get it, you're being disrespectful and you don't care, but really? Free at last to refer to titties? I guess his having sex is a great civil rights struggle, also referenced in later lines ("Put my fist in her like a civil rights sign").

07) Blood On The Leaves --- Production- More nauseating autotune. Oh god. No. It's all autotune? This song reminds me of something, can't quite put my finger on it. Not Death Grips though, for once. Could he please stop the autotune? I'll take Pain over this. Hell, I'll even take Future over this. At least he's catchy. There's that song it reminds me of. He uses the same quote that song does- "Fuck them other niggas..." It's the Kendrick version, Tammy's Evils which it sounds most like, which of course is referencing C-Murder's song. This is basically a remix of TNGHT song it turns out. That's why it doesn't sound like Death Grips. Lyrics- You can write raps with great depth, great flow/rhymes, or both. Kanye chooses neither, rhyming: somebody/somebody/party/molly/body/body/love me.

08) Guilt Trip --- Production- Holy shit. Do we really need more autotune? I never thought I would hear more autotune than when I listened to Future's album, but... Fuck I thought it was just the intro this time. 1st verse, still autotuned. And then he tops it off by sampling Cudi's pathetic attempts at beautiful singing. [edit: When I was looking up lyrics to make sure I got everything right, I noticed this beat is a partial rip-off of the Steve Miller Band's song Fly Like An Eagle] Lyrics- This verse was definitely better technically, with some internal rhymes. I liked the line "Your feelins like Zulu, then nothing is a Shaka", and this song was lyrically more heartfelt than the rest, but the autotune detracts from this in the performance. Of course it's still a 'nobody really loves me' song, which Ye is proficient at.

09) Send It Up --- Production- Slowed down remixed version of The Cage (Death Grips of course). Lyrics- More about shallow hoes. If you really want a relationship with depth, you're gonna need to stop fucking everything with a nice ass.

10) Bound 2 --- Production- Is that woman's voice in the background talking to Kanye? It sounds like his mom telling him she likes his music, even though the big bad haters say mean things about him. Other than that irritating sample, probably the best song off the album production-wise. Lyrics- Fucking more shallow bitches, I'm surprised there were any left after the last nine tracks. That's not a bad thing though, lots of rappers talk about shallow bitches (virtually all). Most don't talk about how they want a real relationship at the same time though.

I came out of it disliking him even more. At first I thought the first half of the album was bad. Then I listened to the second half. Damn, he doesn't even seem to try, barely even has verses on some songs, and uses random reggae artists. To those saying it's not a rip off of death grips, have you actually heard death grips? Half of those beats are just like The Money Store, albeit lower quality. I'm fine with artists using influence in production, as without it subgenres like g-funk or left-field hip-hop wouldn't be formed. My problem is when an artists uses virtually the same sounds, and doesn't put his own stamp on it. Many of Kanye's beats are minimalist versions of Death Grips, which means he isn't pushing the boundaries of rap, he's staying comfortably within them while allowing everyone to think he's the edge and ignore the real far-out groups.

2.0/10
Favorite Tracks: Bound 2, Black Skinhead

T.I. - T.I. vs. T.I.P.

T.I.
T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007)
Grand Hustle/Atlantic Records

Dirty South

The track on Trap Muzik about T.I.'s internal conflict between his gangsta, hood side (T.I.P.), and his polished, public side (T.I.), was one of my favorite tracks from the new 'king of the south'. When I realized there was an entire album named after this argument, I was excited, thinking it was more of T.I. at his best. I was entirely wrong. 

The album didn't have any solid tracks from either persona, and Act III was weak at best. There were a few mediocre tracks that saved the album from becoming complete trash, but it still remains the worst work I've heard from T.I., and is on par with rappers like Wacka Flocka and Future. I've always hated Jay-Z, and I was disappointed in T.I. having him feature, but the most disappointing part was that Jay actually sounded better than T.I. on the track. I've always had more respect for T.I. than most rap critics, as I think he does sometimes manage to carry the flag of the south from UGK and Three-6, but he's no Pimp-C, and in this album he's closer to a Chief Queef.

1.0/10

Favorite Tracks: Big Shit Poppin, Help On The Way, and Respect This Hustle