Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

I was speculating on what to blog about when I remember I never gave you guys my thoughts on Cardi B. The New York rapper really took the game by storm in 2017 and last year. I would say the praise is pretty well deserved. Of course with every celebrity there is controversy. I'll touch on that too. If you've been following me you know that I'm a big Cardi B fan but I'm also a big Nicki Minaj fan too. I think Cardi is an explosive rapper. What she may lack in lyricism she makes up for in energy and delivery. And no I wouldnt qualify Cardi as a mumble rapper. She aint mumblin ha ha. She gets a lot of flack for not "writing her own raps" or "using ghost writers". Truth is a lot of rappers do that nowadays. There was also some controversy with Cardi inviting men to sleep with her and another woman and robbing them afterwards. I certainly don't condone these actions but everybody has darkspot or two in their past. Question: Is Cardi B now t...

Here's a list of my favorite small forwards all time. 10) Ron Artest (Metta World Peace)- MWP was a really good player. I didnt really like him until he joined the Lakers for the 2009-2010 season. He's an elite defender, and oh yeah, a decent rapper too. 9) Lamar Odom-Odom was a swiss army knife kinda of player. He was good at scoring, rebounding and passing. I really think he woulda been a star on most teams but he played for the stacked Lakers in the late 2000s. 8) Paul George-PG gets a lot of respect from me. He became a star in a duel with Lebron James when Paul played for the Pacers. He's been really good for the Thunder too. George is a lockdown defender and just beyond decent shooter. 7) Paul Pierce-Pierce was a really good 2 way player who played mostly for the Boston Celtics. He was a deadly shooter and good defender too. Seeing him beat the Lakers in the 2008 finals was something to behold. 6) Elgin Baylor-EB is kinda of like a pre Lebron Lebron. He was ...

Honestly I feel this edition of M.T. is way overdue. I've been a fan of Kid Cudi from really 2009. The first time I heard of him was on Kanye's 2008 album, 808's and Heartbreak. It seems Kanye has a knack for finding great new talent: Like when he found Lupe and put him on his 2005 album, Late Registration. Kid Cudi aka Scott Mescudi is a then very unique rapper. Nobody was really singing melodic hooks that much and rapping like they do now back in 2008-2009. This melodic style seemed to influence Kanye West also, not the other way around. Kid Cudder's first album, The Man on the Moon: End of Days was really really dope. I think I gave it the highest mark of any rap album that year. I think I graded it a tad too harshly so instead of a 97/100 it could have been more like a 99. Two points might not seem like much but to me that's a lot. I loved how melancholic the album sounded on some tracks, and then it could sound upbeat the next track. The album dealt wit...

Jeezy returns with yet another hot album. I can't say its better than Church in these Streets but its at least as good. The lyrics are dope as are the beats. Jeezy knows his lane by now and he sticks to it here. I really liked "American Dream" which features J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar. Jeezy's last 3 albums have all gotten the following score from me. Thats good but I'm not so sure he could make an album like The Recession at this point. Lyrics: 23 Beats: 21 Depth: 23 Tilt: 23 Verdict: 90

B.P. Soundtrack is pretty good. I think it really captures the spirit of the movie while still sounding like a good 2010s rap album. Songs like "Redemption" have a very African sound to them and its very welcome. Also there's "Ooops", "X", and "King's Dead"; which are all bangers. I really think "All the Stars is stil the signature track tho. There's just something about that SZA hook man. It's tremendous! All in all its a really good album and you can hear Kendrick Lamar's influence all over it. Lyrics: 21 Beats: 22 Depth: 23 Tilt: 23 Verdict: 89