Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

Paul Wall’s debut is really good. Lyrically he’s sharp. The beats are decent. I liked most of the songs toward the first half. The 2 nd half wasn’t that bad but there was a noticeable drop off. “Girl” is a good love song in that 2 nd half. “I’m a Playa” is fire and it features Three 6 Mafia. Mike Jones returns the favor by being featured on “They Don’t Know”. Trey Songz shows up on the anthemic “Ridin Dirty”. I really like “State to State” which features Freeway. My favorite song is “Internet Goin Nutz” where Paul gets his mack on. This is an album that maybe a lot of people missed but its really solid! Lyrics 23 Beats 20 Depth 22 Tilt 20 Verdict 85

Keyshia Cole’s first album is really quite superb. She is a vocal powerhouse and the lyrics are really good. The first few songs are great; starting with “(I Just Want It) To Be Over” all the way to “Love”. The latter being a beautiful ballad. The production is decent but it could have been better. “Down and Dirty” is another highlight…as is the album closer “Never”. I like most of these songs, and its aged well. Even though she’d top this album with her 2 nd album, this is a gem in Keyshia’s discography. Lyrics 25 Beats 19 Depth 23 Tilt 24 Verdict 91

Rihanna's debut album is really nice. It's a diffrent Rih Rih than i'm used to. She sings over very playful beats which make songs about classy love. Ya know what would be considered old school now. The song "Willing to Wait" is really nice about a love blossoming. While "The Last Time" and "You Don't Love Me (No No No)" are about a love that is not doing too well. "Music of the Sun" Might be my favorite tho. Its really smooth. "Let Me" is pretty uptempo and works to Rihanna's advantage.  Overall I feel this is a great debut album for her. Its really fun to listen to. Lyrics: 21 Beats: 23 Depth: 24 Tilt: 23 Verdict: 91

Rihanna is my favorite singer. I feel like I didn't really know a lot about her. I feel that she is a truly wonderful woman and she is SUPREMELY talented and a very beautiful. She is a tall woman from the Island of Barbados. I'm pretty sure my readers know of her. I feel the more I learn about her. The more intrigued I am by her. She's very passionate about what she does. Rihanna released 4 albums from 2009-2012. That's 4 years and all 4 albums were 90 rated (or above) which is incredible. I just feel she's a wonderful woman. I didnt know she was an ambassador fo rher country. She also is really into fashion. I think that what makes her perhaps the most dominant Pop-R&B artist of this current era is the fact that she is REAL. There is no fakeness with Rihanna. I can understand that an artist has to promote themselves for their music. But you don't get the sense "Artist Rihanna" is not the girl from "Barbados". I graded albums...

This was Mariah Carey’s come back album in 2005. The first 3 songs are some of her best. “We Belong Together” is one of my all time favorite songs. There are some other good ones here too…like “One and Only” featuring Twista. “Stay the Night” is compelling, and I like “Say Something” featuring Snoop Dogg. The album has a good mix of new fresh sounds mixed with some of her old sound too. The production is great as is her singing and lyrics.  Verdict: 8.8

All things considered I really enjoyed listenin to these Memphis rappers. The album is constructed well and the guest spots (Paul Wall, Bow Wow, Remy Ma, & Kanye West) are well used. 3 6 Mafia do a great job here. The production is noticeably better than the lyrics. I think both versions of Side 2 Side are great. Stay Fly and Poppin My Collar are terrific songs as well. Most songs sound really similar tho. It’s definitely one of the better dirty south albums.  Verdict: 8.8

This is a great album from Common. He’s Chai town’s Nas, so I don’t know what that makes Kanye, but this is an impressive performance. The Corner and Testify are incredible songs; both produced by Kanye. The album’s first half is the better half but it’s a solid project. The production is so soulful, but his lyrics are even better. I don’t feel the album is flawless as far as it’s depth but its not far from it. Maybe it didn’t help that I actually heard this after his Finding Forever album. This is in the top half of a great discography. Verdict: 9.4

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

Joey Crack blessed us in 2005 with a dope album. It’s one of my favorites for a few reasons. Fat Joe’s punchlines aren’t bad. The production is pretty stellar and consistent across the album. The album isn’t too deep as far as quality songs go, but its really addictive. It’s basically constructed like most mid 2000s albums: Club bangers, Songs for the ladies, etc. Temptation Pt 2 might be the best Fat Joe song I’ve ever heard. So Much More, Rock Ya Body, and Get it Poppin are also good. My Fofo is a viscious 50 Cent diss. All in all this is a great album that you should check out. Verdict: 8.9/10

This was really the first album that got me into Lil Wayne. The album has a lot of songs, and for the most part they are exceptional. In retrospect its almost as good as the Carter III and it blows away Carter I. Sure its simplistic, but it works. Songs like Feel Me, I’m a D’boy, Money on My Mind, and my personal favorite, Best Rapper Alive are dope. The beats are the weakest part of the album, and they are a solid 8.5. Now that I think about it I haven’t reviewed Carter I yet lol. This is Weezy F. Baby’s rise to power! The Verdict: 8.9/10

This is a cult favorite of mine. Cassidy spits with intensity, but the lyrics could be a little better. The production is the same as the lyrics. The album has quality tracks like the opener where he battles himself again. My biggest beef with the album is that some songs are hard to tell apart, whether by subject matter or hook wise. There’s 6 Minutes with Lil Wayne and Fabolous which is a great track. I’m A Hustla and its remix are tight. The Message is a thoughtful track about the system oppressing black America. Then there are some effective love songs too. I feel this album could have been better but it stands as one of my favorites. The verdict: 8.9/10

Animal Ambition: This album is by far 50’s worst. There’s not really any terrific songs, but there are some good ones like Animal Ambition, Flip On You, and Pilot. However he caters to the ladies far too much in the middle of the album. Maybe  he was making up for the lack of lady friendly songs on Before I Self Destruct. C- Before I Self Destruct: Fitty’s 4 th album is pretty damn good. He sounds very focused lyrically on it. The album has some quality songs like Baby By Me and Do You Think About Me. Those are the only lady friendly songs. The album is still high  quality. There’s not many guest spots either. Check out the excellent bonus track Flight 187. B- Curtis : The 3 rd album from 50 Cent is good, but you cant help but feel like he’s lost a lot of his ambition that made him great. However the album has some gems on it. However only 2 songs, “Ayo Technology” and “I Get Money” feel on par with 50’s usual standards for a hit. The album is hit or miss, w...

This battle will see Kanye West’s College Dropout (2004) vs. Late Registration (2005). The opening opinion is that College Dropout is the better album. Album The College Dropout Late Registration Result Singles A- A Late Lyrics B+ B+ Tie Beats A+ A+ Tie Cohesivness A+ A College Legacy A A Tie Final Result: Well this was a hard battle to call…in fact, it’s a tie! Late Registration had  better Singles (Gold Digger,Diamonds)…but CD had more cohesiveness. I Felt the Legacy of the albums was about the same as well….so its DRAW. A tie is a rarity in these battles.

Game’s G-Unit debut is a great album. He raps with more intensity than he showed on other G-Unit soldiers albums. In fact this album is every bit as good as 50 Cent’s debut. The production is terrific also. 50 and Game have serious chemistry. Of course there’s lots of other guests like Tony Yayo(uhhh?), Floetry, Faith Evans,Nate Dogg, Mary J. Blige,Busta Rhymes, and the legendary Eminem. The album has a lot of great songs, but some like Runnin’ seem like filler. The song with Mary J. Blige, “Don’t Worry” is also pretty average. Looking back Game would only get better lyrically, as he rapped over weaker beats in the future. I give this album a 9.5/10.

Late Registration   Kanye West   In Depth Review   Opening Opinion: 9.25                   I was very very excited to buy this album when it first came out. I’m pretty sure everyone was wondering could Kanye hit a home run again. And the answer is a resounding yes; even though his lyrics aren’t improved from College Dropout. The beats are also different. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but this album has a glossier sound than his debut album.               The album starts off with that teacher(yeah the faculty guy from CD) telling Kanye to wake up in his class. Then there’s 3 great songs, Heard Em Say featuring Adam Levine(who was pretty popular at the time). It’s a really nice laid back song. Then there’s the explosive Touch the Sky which has Lupe Fiasco on it. Ah I had never heard of the Chai Town ...