Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

Section 80 (87)- Before you cry foul, hear me out. This is Kendrick’s first real TDE project (I think). The mixtape is good, but the production is pretty basic. You cannot debate me on that. I really like his lyricism tho. “Member’s Only”, “Rigamortis” and “A.D.H.D.” are great songs. I like how deep the album is too. This really was just a flash of greatness we know today as King Kendrick.  Top Songs: Poe Man’s Dream, HiiPower, A.D.H.D., No Makeup, Members Only. Untitled.  Unmastered(92)- Kendrick dropped an EP/Bonus Track type project on us in 2016. It’s a really odd album that sounds very similar to the excellent TPAB. Overall its really interesting and soulful sounding. He raps about the world’s end in Untitled 01. All the tracks are good but Untitled 07 is too long. Overall I’m not sure what the top songs are… DAMN (97)- Kung Fu Kenny as he calls himself, gave us a very accessible album recently in 2017. It’s dope as f*** but it’s not as complex or as well rounded as

OMG I should have reviewed this along time ago…I made an awkward statement that I’d never buy another Ying Yang Twins album again….and I didn’t! lol. No I shouldn’t have said that, and no its not horrible by any means. YYT are subpar rappers but they bring a lot of energy. Lyrically its very average, but the production is good. In fact most songs are good…like USA, Shake, Wait, and F*** the Ying Yang Twins. Some songs are really skippable like Long Time and My Brothers Keeper. Some songs like Wait and Pull My Hair are very sexually explicit. Overall tho, I’ve heard worst albums but this is decent. Check it out. Verdict: 7.4

Vince has blessed us with another great album. It sounds really EDM and electronic production wise. I think it works. It sounds a lot lighter than Summertime 06 which was a great album in his own right. There are no mentions of contributing artists on the tracklist which seems to work and annoy me at the same time. “Big Fish” features Juicy J. It’s one of the best songs no doubt. The whole album is hot except for a strange interlude in the album’s first half called “Alyssa Interlude”. “Rain Come Down” features Future and he does well. This is one of those artist defining rap albums. Verdict: 9.5 A Great Theory Indeed

I didn’t really enjoy Joey’s first album that much. This one however is good. Lyrically he’s pretty good, and the beats are good too. I liked most songs here, especially “Rockabye Baby” featuring Schoolboy Q. The album is basically about race relations in America…..you know how Black America is today. It’s a political rap album. Its fairly well executed but there’s little here I felt was mind blowing. Its nice to see he’s getting better however. It’s also nice to see he’s talking about relevant things. #Joeyisrappingbetterthantraprappers lol. Verdict: 8.8

The latest Raekwon album is really dope. While I still don’t feel his lyrics are up to the Perfect standard, they’re still very strong; as is the production. There are few rappers that can really paint a picture like Raekwon on “Marvin”. There’s a good amount of guest spots too: CeeLo Green, Lil Wayne, and G-Eazy. The song with Lil Wayne, “My Corner” is fuccn fire. The best song might be the G-Eazy assisted “Purple Brick Road”.I really feel this is better than his last album…a lot better. I really think the Chef is the best rapper in Wu-Tang period. Verdict: 9.4

Opening Opinion: 9.6 One of the most polarizing albums in Ye’s discography. It might have the worst lyrical performance from him since 808’s and Heartbreak. I initially really loved the album, but I’ll be 2 nd to admit the replay value isn’t that high. Lets get into the review. The album was originally titled “So Help Me God” and the first track reflects that. “Ultra Light Beam” is a nice song. Kanye is joined by Chance the Rapper and Kirk Franklin. Its 5 minutes long but never feels that long. “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” features Kid Cudi who absolutely does his thing on the song. Kanye’s lyrics are goofy, “Now if I fuck this model, and she just bleach her asshole, and I get bleach on my tee shirt, I’m a feel like an asshole”. LOL. The song has great production. “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 2” features Future clone, Desiigner, who at the time of writing this; has lost his 5 mins of fame. It’s a dope song. We get to hear a snippet of “Panda” for the first time.

Great Hova has returned! I was worried I wouldn’t be able to hear this one as it was announced as a TIDAL exclusive. Anyways it is the best album Jay has made since…The Black Album and that is saying something. The album doesn’t really have any big flaws. It’s short and every song is good. That No.ID production is terrific. Lyrically I felt Jay does really well. Songs like “The Story of O.J.”, “Caught Their Eyes” and the title track are very dope. Theres not a lot of guests on the album: Jay Z’s mom, Frank Ocean, Damian Marley, and Beyonce are all there is. On “Kill Jay Z” he takes shots at none other than Kanye. Man this album lives up to the hype! Verdict: 4.4..... Hah hah just kidding 9.7/10

Opening Opinion: 9.9/10 While not his best album, The Black Album is probably my favorite album from Jigga. It was supposed to be his last album. I’m glad its not, but it was good enough to be. “What More Can I Say” produced by the Buchananas, is like his “Hey I’ve got to be the best rapper ever song”….that’s the vibe I got from it. Its really triumphant sounding. The first 2 tracks; “Interlude” and “Decemeber 4 th ” are produced by Just Blaze. The latter features Jay’s mom, Gloria. She does a good job of adding to the picture Jay Z paints. The song is basically just about him growing up. The first track is nice too. “Encore” is incredible. It might as well be like the trailer or preview track for the entire album. It’s produced by Kanye West. I really like when the crowd chants. It feels like a concert. Jay wants to be appreciated here. “Change Clothes” was the first single I believe. It is so glossy so bright sounding…and man is it infectious! The Neptunes really hit

Opening Opinion: 8.9/10                 I gotta admit this is an album I loved more in 2009 then now 8 years later. Maybe it’s the fact Eminem himself hates this album. Maybe it’s the fact he did a 180 degree turn a year later with Recovery. Regardless this is a good album. Lets get into it, in depth.                 “Dr. West” is the intro. It’s creepy. Em wakes up after the doctor tempts him with pills. “3 a.m.” is very disturbing. In fact its one of his most graphic songs. Em goes on this kind of serial killer journey. Well get used to it cause it’s a reoccurring theme on Relapse… The next song, “My Mom” is funny. It’s produced by Dr. Dre(like most of the album). Em raps about his mom doing drugs and making him do drugs…which I am sure is mostly exaggerated. “Insane” is just that. Em raps about a being messed with sexually by a step dad as a kid. I like his flow here, but again its hard to stomach some of these subjects.                 Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon get at

1/2 of Outkast has returned yet again. This time around he does better than 2012’s album, Viscious Lies and Dangerous Rumors. The album has lots of depth. I liked every song, and they’re pretty varied too. The production and Big Boi’s lyrics just fit together really well. “Kill Jill” is sci-fi and funky. It gets the album off to a great start. “Order of Operations” is another good song. “All Night” follows that song and its so much fun to listen to. Overall it’s a very impressive outing for the rap veteran. Big Boi proves he’s one of the south’s best rappers. Verdict: 9.6