Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

For this list, i went back to my old system of reviewing. Who knows, i might start using the simpler system. It seems better to me after reviewing these rap albums. To be eligible for this list, the album must have been released from 2010 to 2014. Also no mixtapes qualify (Sorry Vince Staples and Chance the Rapper) 20) Watch the Throne- Jay-z Kanye West (Great Rap Duo the Throne) Okay this is the 1 st album on the list. I feel this album was good enough and popular enough to beat out quite a few albums that scored lower. Jay-z and Kanye complement each other very well. Maybe not as well lyrically as Bad Meets Evil( Eminem and Royce da 5’9), but the production is solid. The album has interesting tracks on it like No Church in the Wild , New Day , and Murder to Excellence . There’s also hits like Otis , and N**gas in Paris. 19) Yeezus- Kanye West (Kanye’s Divinity in full force) Ah more Kanye. Face it; he’s been a dominant force in rap since 2004 when College Dropout dropped.

15- The Roots:And Then You Shoot Your Cousin -The dark Roots comes in over the competion below it.(Albums that didnt quite make this list.) That includes, Game's Year of the Wolf, Mobb Deep's The Infamous Mobb Deep, Twista Dark Horse, and Joe Budden's Some Love Lost. 14- Eminem & Shady Aftermath-Shady XV -I originally had this album higher up, but its a great compilation album. Ironically Eminem had the #1 album last year with Marshall Mathers LP 2.  Em's solo songs are good here, Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse also do well. 50 Cent's songs dont really belong on the bonus disc. D-12's songs are good, but not the new song. 13. Ab-Soul-These Days...- This album didn't really surprise me. Its actually tied with #14 and #13. Ab Soul's lyrics are promising, and i like most of these songs. He is kind of like Nas imo...but obviously not as great as the Queens Bridge Mc. I cant say this is better than his first album, but this was a stand out earlier in

This is Nicki’s most personal album yet by far. Above all else, Nicki’s lyrics and delivery is sharper than ever. The album is also very cohesive. I don’t really think she has any Roman’s Revenge or Come on a Cone type songs where she came off as insane. The album is to be compared to Jay-z’s masterpiece, but only due to the names being similar. The album starts out slow, but its effective. Then you get some more high tempo songs which Nicki pulls off easily. I feel the album has a good mix of guests, which include Beyonce, Ariana Grande, Jeremih, Skylar Grey, Drake and Lil Wayne. Meek Mill has 2 song features here but they’re very forgettable. Ultimately I’m really pleased that Nicki didn’t rush this album. It blows her competition away without much effort. She’s on top, and the way things look, Nicki won’t be relinquishing the crown any time soon. Overall Rating 92 Grade A- Lyrics 23 Beats 22

Hey I've played a few new games this  year. I' not going to navigate any game i havent played. So with that said Hyrule Warriors-A great game, but very very challenging. Destiny-A great game that has FPS and RPG elements, yet it doesn't do anything all that great. Mario Kart 8-The best looking MK to date. It also boasts great controls and lots of playable characters. The only downside is that the battle mode has taken a step back. Super Smash Bros. 3ds-Smash bros on the go! Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze-A great platformer but its very very difficult. Call of Duty Advanced Warfare- I haven't played it all that much, but the game seems very solid. The jetpacks bring a new element to combat. Super Smash Bros. Wii U-The best Smash bros to date is a great game with no real flaws, except online play. And the winner is.... Super Smash Bros Wii U. I havent played it a whole lot, but from what i've played its the definitive Smash bros

J.Cole’s third album is his best to date. The album is an interesting one. Its incredibly introspective. It’s a little more creative than Born Sinner, which was a great album, but perhaps a little too long. Here, Cole raps about him losing his virginity, the increasing amount of white rappers in the game, and even the lack of role models today. Lyrically he’s sounds very focused. His R&B crooning on certain parts of the album is actually pretty effective. The production is also very good and helps the album stay very cohesive. Some may still complain that he’s kinda of boring but I disagree. The album is all about J. Cole, but it doesn’t really come off like most rap albums do. It’s a personal journey and fun to listen to. J.Cole was the future of rap…but now its his time. So what's the final score....9.5/10. The album is a pleasant surprise.

In honor of Eminem’s Slim Shady LP turning 15 years old, we get Shady XV. The 1 st disc of this album is pretty good, and fairly cohesive. Eminem goes solo on a few songs, like Shady XV and Guts Over Fear. The former sounds like a long freestyle, while the former feels like it could go on his last album, the Marshall   Mathers LP2. Slaughterhouse does well as does Yelawolf…but I felt D-12 was a weak link on the 1 st cd. The 2 nd cd contains hits from 50 Cent, D-12, and well u get the idea. There’s even Loose Yourself, and a demo of Loose Yourself; which was one of Eminem’s best songs. Detroit vs. Everybody is nice as well. I really like this idea of Shady XV, but I can’t help but feel it shoulda been better. The verdict: 8.5/10. Its a good collage of Shady Aftermath songs.....the only person missing is DR. Dre.

I am treated to another version of Nas’s classic album Illmatic. Yes I have the 10 th anniversary addition….which was dope. This is the 20 th anniversary edition. Its amazing how an album made in 1994 is still so great…hell its better than 98% or rap albums I’ve heard. I gave the 10 th anniversary edition a perfect score but this version has a lot more songs, most are remixes of original songs. This album showcases what makes Nas so great. Lyricism, Storytelling….you name it. Nasty Nas’ got off to the best start of any rappers career. The verdict is a 10/10/. What else would it be?

Ok so i've decided to do something diffrent this year. It is December and 2 albums(Carter V and Pinkprint) are not out yet. So I will give you the top 10 albums for the 2nd half of the year....later, maybe early next year i will give you the complete list...enjoy this list for now! I also included the score in parentheses for each album.... 10) Twista-Dark Horse (80) 9) Game-Blood Moon:Year of the Wolf (80) 8) Dilated People's-Director's of Photography (83) 7)Jeezy-Seen It All:The Autobiography (83) 6)Eminem & Shady Aftermath-Shady XV (84) 5) T.I.-Paperwork (85) 4)Logic-Under Pressure (88) 3)Vince Staples-Hell Can Wait(88) 2) Big K.R.I.T.-Cadalctica(89) 1) Run the Jewels-Run the Jewels 2(90)

-I finally get to hear a Dilated Peoples album!! I don’t review much underground rap. I don’t know a whole lot about them, but this is a great album. The lyrics and beats are great. The album kind of has a dark tone like on most of Common’s Nobody’s Smiling album. My only complaint with the album is that it was kind of hard for me to keep up with their flows, without, well being a little bored sometimes. Complaints aside, this is a really good underground offering from Dilated People’s. Verdict: 8.25/10 2nd Opinion: 85/100

Ah yes, I am back my loyal followers...uh readers...most people dont...nevermind. I got a few things to talk about. 1)First off, let me give you my 2 cents on the shooting in Ferguson. I dont approve of the cop, but the victim was no angel either. Was race factor..yes...is this country still racist? Yes. I dont have a lot to say about it.... 2)I've been hearing that this year, 2014 hasnt' been a good year for rap music. Well i partly agree with that....I honestly think the main reason for this is that 2013 was a great great year for rap. There havent been that many great rap albums, but there have been a few that I really like. Well there's always next year right. I'm looking forward to Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar's albums. This year Lil Wayne will drop the Carter V and Nicki Minaj will drop her 4th album, Pinkprint. 3)Movie wise....its been a fairly dissapointing year imo. Sure i loved Transformers 4, and I enjoyed TMNT movie but thats about it. I am lookin