Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

Mr. West’s 6 th album is a remarkable one. Its short(only about 40 mins), but each song is effective. The music is very dark, bordering on horrocore. Not every song is dark, but the cohesiveness of the album is not in question. I really wish there was at least 2 more songs, but this is a good outing for Kanye. It’s different, it stands out, and its relevant to a degree. It’s not on the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’s level but this one is a win. YEEEZUS! Looking back, Yeezus has not aged well but that hasn’t stopped it from being really really memorable. I love the fact that Kanye wasn’t afraid to try new things. This album will go down as one of his mid level albums as I ultimately feel Life of Pablo was better. Verdict: 9.5

Droid X2 (2011) Ah man the Droid X2 was my first real smart phone. It was amazing to me. It could do so many things that we unfortunately, take for granted today. Being able to surf the web, add a huge variety of   mobile games, and a fast processor. The Droid X2 did a lot of things right, but it didn’t even have a front facing camera. It also had only 8gb. That wasn’t even much space at the time even in 2011. I ran out of space so quick! Score: 7.5/10 Samsung Galaxy S4 (2013) So after the droid I wasn’t sure which phone I wanted until I saw Jay Z promote the SGS4. This phone was beast. I knew I wanted it. I just went out and bought it. It was improvement over my Droid X2 in every way. Bigger screen, more memory, and a great camera. I remember taking a lot of pics. I think mine had 16gb of memory. I really enjoyed this phone but a little over 2 years later I wanted something new. Score: 8.5/10 Samsung Galaxy S6 (2015) This is where things get inter...

Justin Timberlake’s much awaited album lives up to the hype. The album has some really great songs, with most of them over 5 minutes long. I like every song, but “That Girl” might be the weakest of the bunch, but I feel “Pusher Love Girl” is just too damn long. Mirrors is even longer, but it’s a better song. I felt the production of the album was really strong. JT does really well here too, especially considering Jay Z is the only feature. “Don’t Hold the Wall” is probably my favorite song. “Blue Ocean Floor” is  a good song that really stands out. The 2 bonus tracks are good too if  you’ve heard them. Verdict: 9.5

OP: 9.5/10                 MMLP2 is a monster cd that is a sequel to Em’s best album MMLP 1.I knew, in 2013 that the album would be good. The album starts with “Bad Guy” which is actually Stan 2….Stan’s younger brother apparently kills Em. Yes very interesting. DO NOT Skip the track or you wont understand. The song has a dark and dreary beat. It is also the album’s longest track. The skit “Parking Lot” takes place right after the song “Criminal” on MMLP1. Its kinda pointless but I guess Em felt the need to do it.                 The next track is really cool, “Rhyme Or Reason” has a dope beat. It’s a slow paced song with a good feature. “SO Much Better” is a good song but really its one of   my least favorites. I assume he’s talking about Kim, but idk. The verses are good but the chorus is tasteless. The end is funny b/c its ...

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....

Talib comes back with yet another album in 2013. I don’t really think its better than Prisoner of Conscious….but it features Talib more in his element. He raps about a wide variety of topics on the short album including the ever talked about illuminati. I’m not really sure where to rank this in Talib’s discography…but its seems to be around the level of Gutter Rainbows…which isn’t bad in its own right. Final Verdict is 8/10

Nothing Was the Same Tuscan Leather- The intro is long, and Drake knows it. The beat changes up here and there. It’s a great opener. Drake immediately shows he is going to deliver a better album than Take Care or TML. 9/10 Furthest Thing- One of my least favorite songs, but it isn’t bad. The beat is hot and Drake does his singing thang. 8/10 Started From the Bottom- Drake loves to keep that 3 rd track the banger track. Its not really one of the better songs but its catchy as hell. Drake says he came from the struggle but im not sure this song gets the message across. The only other thing is I wish this song was longer. 9/10 Wu-Tang Forever- A really dope song. WTF…(Hmm yea I’m abbreviating the title) doesn’t really have much to do with WU Tang Clan but it’s a different look for Drake. He continues the aggressive raps, but he effortlessly mixes that with singing. 9/10 Own It- This song comes right after WTF and that’s appropriate. It’s a slow song which fe...

As you know i gave Eminem the album of the year last year, but truth be told he was tied with Pusha T. I gave both albums a 98/100. which is a tie. This happened in 2011 also with Game's Red Album and Common's The Dreamer/The Believer. Its ironic that those 2 albums i only had at 94...which is good but, lots of 2013 rap albums were rated higher than that,(J.Cole Born Sinner, Kanye West, Yeeuzus, Run the Jewels, Jay-z Magna Carta Holy Grail, and Drake Nothing Was the Same.) What does this mean? I think it means rap is recovering from an obvious recession in 2011 and yes even parts of 2012. I gave Kendrick Lamar a 99/100 which is borderline masterpiece. I think any album 97 and above is a classic. Nas came in 2nd at 97 with Life is Good. But anyways back to 2013. I hadnt really seen SO MANY good rap albums since 2010....which had the Masterpiece Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, which i went back and forth with the rating, but finally decided on a 100/100. ...

Yeezus Kanye West In Depth Review Opening Opinion: 9.5             Ah yes, I have finally gotten to Kanye’s latest album, Yeezus. Here’s a quick in Depth Review. The album starts off with On Sight, a Daft Punk produced song that hits hard. The beat is a bit much. It’s loud and features a really cool sample in the middle of the song. Musically and Lyrically this album has a lot of expectations.After all his 5 th album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy was one of his(if not his) best albums.I’m going to tell you if it met those expectations.             A lot of people(For some Reason) didn’t like this album. I bet most of them just don’t like Kanye period. I mean Yeezus is a very daring title for anyone. The album then continues with the excellent Black Skinhead song. I love this song. Its high tempo, dark, and explosive. Kanye raps like a man possessed…....

Beyonce has returned after the lackluster 4 album. On this album her approach is a lot different. She Is very sexy on this album, which at first kind of reminds me of Rihanna’s territory, but she is still classy with it. Beyonce worked with a lot of producers on this album and its apparent. The only real guests on the album are Jay-z and Drake. I personally preferred Drake’s cameo a lot more than Jigga’s. Anwyays I feel this is a complete album that Beyonce can fall back on for a while. She’s the queen of modern day R&B. Overall Rating 99 Grade A+ Lyrics 25 Beats 25 Depth 25 Tilt 24

As you know i had a previous post about the best rappers from earlier on in the year. Now ive compiled a non blogged list for the 2nd half...here's the list of my top favorite rappers......... Criteria is an album from late 2012-to late 2013 among other things like guest spots, and general popularity. Enjoy the dopeness. If i missed a rapper comment your pick(s). Eminem- I didnt know if Eminem had it in him, but he released the years best rap album. He just lyrically is above everyone else. Yes really. Eminem is an elite rapper who noone wants to beef with. Slimshady will continue to be a force in the rap game till he quits.  Kanye West- Mr. West is always up near the top of my lists. Yeezus is a great album, with minor flaws.Overall though, 2013 was a great year for Kanye. Personal life aside, i think Kanye is now an elite rapper just like Nas and Jay-z....and oh yeah #1. Drake- The new best rapper in Young Money is Drizzy. He really impressed me this year with NWTS. The...

2013 is perhaps the most competitive year I can remember for rap albums. There’s a ton of quality albums that I’ve listened to. Here’s the yearly list enjoy. 1.      Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP 2- Eminem, the greatest white rapper ever(without debate), has dropped another borderline classic album. Yes this is Eminem’s 2 nd best album ever. Its better than all of them except its predecessor, MMLP One. There is just so much lyricism , and the beats are more cohesive than the ones on Recovery. Its not perfect, but there’s not much wrong with it. Its kind of like MBDTF for Eminem. He has combined multiple styles of his past an incorporated it to this excellent album. 2.      Pusha T: My Name is My Name- Coming in at a close second is Pusha T.  I gotta admit I didn’t think Pusha could release an album that would surpass Jay-z, Kanye, and J.Cole’s albums; but he did just that. This album is dope with great rhymes and well used guest f...

The follow up to the Marshall Mathers LP is an incredible and may be his most complex and accessible album. At 21 tracks(bonus songs included) it’s a thrill ride. Lyrically Em proves he hits hard, perhaps harder than any other rapper today. His punchlines are better than on Recovery…..and the production is better too. There are just so many interesting songs….somehow Em has managed to be very introspective on almost every song. There’s also songs like Berserk and Rap God, that are just cool songs but very effective. The guest features are also good like Rihanna and Kendrick Lamar, but there aren’t many guests here and really you don’t need a lot. The bonus songs help balance the album out, but ultimately it’s the 2013 album of the year…. I give this album a 9.75/10....Its SHADY!

Pusha T made a bold claim that this album would be one of the best of the year, and he wasn’t bluffing. The album just hits hard from every angle. There aren’t any real weaknesses. Im sure one of the hardest decisions Pusha had to make was when to use Kanye beats or Neptunes beats. Regardless the album is really executed well. Pusha is a great lyricist who just seems to keep it simple and effective. The production is great here. I liked every song, but it’s not as addictive as some albums but that’s a short list. You need to listen to this ASAP if you haven’t already. I give this album a 9.75/10, Its a contender for album of the year.

Goodie Mob returns……where have they been? I mean Cee-Lo has been popular but….uh ok on to the review. This is a solid album with no real great weakness. What I also like is that the songs have meaning to them….Some may complain that there’s too much Cee-Lo here but he does a great job. The other 3 members aren’t bad either. Perhaps the worst thing about this album is the cover…it’s a tad bit strange. This is one album you don’t want to sleep on. Trust me.     I give this album a 9/10.

Drake’s 3 rd album is his best work yet. The album sounds incredibly well excuted. Also I noticed there’s not a huge guest list like on his first 2 albums. Drake is the star here, and isn’t really outshined by anyone except for maybe Jay-z on one song. The album gets off to a good start and doesn’t let up. Drake is a better lyricist this time around. Its not just about wordplay either: He’s varied his delivery here and it works. Started From the Bottom is an anthemic record. Hold On We’re Going Home reminds me of Find Your Love from his 1 st album, but its more uptempo. The beats on this album are also very good. The album has a whole lot of replayability but there are a couple songs at the end that don’t really help the album. Overall its nice to see Drizzy Drake progressing and making a 90+ album I knew he was capable of. Overall I give this album a 9.5/10......yea I know I gave this score to a lot of albums but this might be the year's best rap album.

My Thoughts Volume VII   Welcome back to my blog. I want to apologize for changing my URL….it must be the reason I lost so many views. Well anyway please inform anyone you know that my blog is in fact still up. Let me get right into a few things….on this edition of “My Thoughts” I normally do music reviews so I will not mention much about that. For one, this has been a great year for R&B and RAP music. I’ve counted about 20 rap albums for this year alone. There’s been some good R&B albums as well this year already. I also cannot forget about the resurgence of Justin Timberlake. Eminem and Drake are looking to drop albums this year and I hope they are both at least a 9/10.   Movie wise I haven’t seen that many this year. I saw that one movie Hansel and Gretchen which was quite entertaining. Rewind back to January. I saw that movie A Haunted House with a friend. It was good. It fueled by sexual and racist humor. Iron Man 3 was a blockbuster movie. ...

The latest Big Sean album is a major improvement over his debut….the formula is about the same but everything seems less formulatic and better executed. After hearing Finally Famous back in 2011 I wasn’t too impressed with the Detroit rapper. He had a big guest list, and honestly he needed it. However this sophomore effort is better in every way. Its not all about the $$ and the girls this time. The rapper talks about the struggles of Detroit Michigan. His lyricism has gotten better but not a whole lot better. Big Sean chose some really dope beats for his album as well. “MILF” seems to be the best track, but there are a lot of stand out songs. There is a nice guest list including Common, Nas, Young Jeezy, Nicki Minaj, Juicy J, 2 Chainz, and Lil Wayne. The album also has high replayability and cohesiveness. Waaaaay waaaay! I give this album a 9/10. Its not perfect, but theres not many flaws here.

Well it was only a matter of time before El-p and Killer Mike did an album together. The result is a really dope album. These two have incredible chemistry. The album has no technical weaknesses. My only real complaint is(like on El-P’s Cancer 4 Cure) that the subject matters are sometimes hard to pick up. El-P and Killer Mike lyrically destroy the futuristic beats. I like every song here. There’s not much of a guest list but Big Boi’s contribution on “Banana Clipper” is very good. With that said this album is candidate for album of the year.   I give this album a 9.5/10...good S***!

Well as you know the year is just over half over and I have been privileged to almost 20 rap albums already. If no more albums were to come out this is a list of who would make my annual top album of the year list. If the year were over today this would be the list. 1.       J.Cole: Born Sinner 2.       Kanye West: Yeezus 3.       Run the Jewels(Killer Mike & El-P):Run the Jewels 4.       Jay-z: Magna Carta Holy Grail 5.       Kid Cudi: Indicud 6.       Tech N9ne: Something Else 7.       Chance the Rapper: Acid Rap 8.       Wale: The Gifted 9.       Ghostface Killah: Twelve Reasons to Die 10.   Talib Kweli: Prisoner of Conscious The top 4 albums are actually tied(9.5/10). The bottom 3 are also tied. (9/10)