Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

 This latest K. Michelle album is really good but not quite as good as her last album. Her singing and the lyrics are as great as ever. The production was good too. I noticed a lot of the songs were slower ballad types. I really liked "Supahood" which features City Girls and Kash Doll. That was a fire single. "The Game" is another highlight. "Ciara's Prayer" is also really good. Overall it just feels like another K. Michelle album. She really has a great discography at this point. Check this one out. Lyrics 25 Beats 23 Depth 25 Tilt 23 Verdict 96

 The latest Big Sean album is a great album filled with great beats and clever punchlines and flows. The album gets off to a really good start with songs like "Deep Reverence", "Wolves", and maybe my favorite song on the album "Body Language" . There are some really good production on these songs. Big Sean celebrates Detroit by getting celebrities to talk about it on skits. He also has a "Friday Night Cypher" which features several Detroit artists including Kash Doll, Royce da 5'9, and the great Eminem. I didn't really think the cypher was all that but its ok. The album is long but hardly feels bloated. Theres high replay ability(tilt) here. This might be Big Sean's best album yet, but I feel Dark Sky Paradise had better singles.  Lyrics 23 Beats 23 Depth 24 Tilt 23 Verdict 93

  Bracket A   1)Beyonce’ vs. 9)Janelle Monae : While Queen B had it relatively easy in the first round this round should be a lot more competitive. Janelle is looking for an upset. Vocal Ability- I really feel Beyonce’ is a great singer but Janelle is just as good. 5-5 Albums- This is kinda tough to call but not really. It’s another tie due to Janelle having only classics, and Beyonce’ having classics to match. 5-5 Collaboration-  This round things look better in this category for B. She has had quite a bit more collabos. 7-3 Versatility- Janelle takes this category with a wide array of song styles. B is good here too tho. It’s a reasonable split. 4-6 Impact- This is closer than you might think. Both artists make some truly great music. Issa tie. 5-5 Comm. Success- This is where B tells you to “bow down b**ches” lol. It’s not a good look for Janelle here. 10-0   Beyonce’ wins 36 to 24.  Janelle was more competition for Queen B but ultimately she loses here prett...

  So Nas has finally released a full length album since 2012's Life is Good. I didn't like this album that much at first but it has grown on me. The album was produced entirely by Hit-boy. The production is really different from that on Lost Tapes 2 and Nasir. This is a good and bad thing. I love the message behind songs like "Till the War is Won" but having an autotuning artist like Lil Durk on it kinda messes it up. Overall Nas' lyricism while not bad, isn't up to his usual standards. The album has a good amount of good songs but I dont find the replayablity all that high. You kind of wonder is he far past his prime now. But I'm being kind of harsh; this is a good album from Nas. Lyrics 23 Beats 23 Depth 23 Tilt 21 Verdict 90

Bracket C 2) Mariah Carey vs. 15)Kehlani:  We have a matchup between two very different artists. MC a legend vs. The still up and coming Kehlani. This could be interesting.  Vocal Ability- The Songstress Supreme wins this category but I like Kehlani’s edginess. 7-3 Albums- This is hard to call. All in all Kehlani has some good albums but Mariah has a lot more. I’m going to say what ive heard from Kehlani has been just about on par with the best of MC, plus Kehlani doesn’t have any duds yet. 5-5 Collaboration- This is where things are again hard to call. In her prime MC’s features were much sought after. Kehlani’s features are always pretty good too tho. Both artists are distinctive here. 5-5 Versatility-  Call me crazy but I feel this is where Kehlani really brings it. She seems to be able to craft a lot of different songs, While MC does too maybe not as much…4-6 Impact-  There’s no denying the legendary status of MC which I feel even eclipses what Kehlani has been a...

Vocal Ability:  The artist’s ability to sing. (pretty self explanatory) Albums:  The artist catalogue strength. How many albums and how good are they? Collaboration:  The artist collaboration ability on other artist’s songs; can be a fellow RnB artist or Rapper’s song. Versatility:  The artist’s ability to make different kinds of songs. That might be ballads, club bangers, or average tempo songs. Impact:  The artist’s landmark they leave on the Rhythm and Blues nation. Their music’s ability to last. Commercial Success:  How many albums did they sell during their careers. Bracket A 1)Beyonce’ vs. 16)Keri Hilson:  The Queen B Beyonce goes up against Miss Keri baby. An upset is not expected here. There’s some hostility in this matchup as well should be lit. Vocal Ability-  So I honestly feel this is closer than you think. But I gotta give Beyonce’ the edge here. 6-4 Albums-  This is where its unfortunately for Keri, not close at all. Keri has 2 ...

 I'm not really a big Weeknd fan but he's got a lot of hits under his belt at this point. This album is a completely different sound from StarBoy. The beats are generally more laid back and old school sounding. "Snowchild" is a great song where he tells his story. The hit single "Blinding Lights" is truly amazing. I love the chorus. "Heartless" is another serious stand out. A lot of these songs sound kinda similar but thats kind of been the case with all his albums that I've heard. This might be his best album I've heard however. His lyrics and singing seems very on point here. This is a review for the regular version of the album. I dont have the deluxe. Lyrics 24 Beats 22 Depth 23 Tilt 23 Verdict 92