Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

Who said Madonna was washed up? Rebel Heart is a unique and stylish album. The biggest weakness is her singing and lyrics but they aren’t bad. I can’t help but think of Rihanna when I hear this…and it should be the other way around haha. The production is really great on this album. Ghosttown is a great song and B*tch I’m Madonna with Nicki Minaj is also great. My favorite track tho, is the chilly Illuminati whose beat was done by none other than Kanye West. Chance the Rapper and Nas also make appearances. This is a hot album that I’m glad I gave a chance to. Verdict 9.4/10 b**ch that's Madonna

Ah yes I get to review another G-Eazy album. I’m hearing after hearing When It’s Dark Out. Honestly this one is just as good overall. There are some well used guest spots like E-40 and A$AP Ferg. What about Gerald? Yeah he’s introspective to a degree, but his flow or delivery is nothing spectacular. I found the production was not as good as WIDO either.Despite this the album is really good. There’s plenty good songs here. The Verdict: 8.7/10..not stellar but good.

I just beat this game for the (i think) 4th time. It is masterful. I'm not going to go through the main points to it and give a score at the end of this review FFX is a Role Playing Game(RPG For short). It's easily my favorite final fantasy game. The HD Version came out in 2014 for PS3 and PS Vita and i bought both versions. I actually have the ps4 version which includes FFX-2 which i will play at a later date. Whats really cool is you can cross save your game date no matter which of the 3 systems you play on. Thats a really nice feature. I actually started on PS3, played most on PSVIta, played some on PS4, and finsished on PSVIta. Okay as for the game, it looks terrific. THe game is cinematic with terrific characters. The heroes are relatable, and the villains are interesting. I'm not going through the story in this blog post, but I have to say it's one of gaming best to date. It is the game that got me into the series(And sadly the only FF i've beaten so...

Welcome to the Rapper Rating system! Its something I came up with to evaluate the rappers' performances for the year, this happens to be 2014's table. The categories are: Album Quality, Lyricism, Versatility, Collaboration, Commercial hits, Potential, and Longevity. Rapper Ovr AQ Lyrics Vers Collab C.Hits Pot Long J. Cole 88.6 97 94 88 86 77 88 90 Big K.R.I.T. 88.3 96 92 89 84 79 90 88 Nicki Minaj 87.4 92 85 87 90 92 80 86 T.I. 87.4 92 88 86 89 90 78 89 Common 85 96 93 80 75 80 80 91 Schoolboy Q 84.9 90 ...

We get another Ricky Rossay album in 2014, and honestly it’s not bad. The album suffers from lackluster lyricism. The beats aren’t bad, neither is the guest list which includes: Yo Gotti, Snoop Dogg, K Michelle, Boosie Badazz, Big KRIT, and Jay-z. The songs with Jay-z and K Michelle are really good.Ultimately Ross just sounds like he’s going through the motions. It’s not his worst album but it’s a bit of a letdown. 8/10

This album is pretty good. From the first track you really get to know August and the struggle he’s been through. Lyrically its above a 8, but not a 9. No Love is a very catchy song. I didn’t find many weak songs here. The album’s production isn’t top tier, in fact more of a backdrop. This is very good for a debut album. He might have a long career ahead for him. 8.5/10

Yo Tinashe is hawt dawg. Uh the music too. LOL. I absolutely love the 2 On song. Other songs are slower, and others are high tempo. There’s not a big guest list either. I don’t really have much to say about this album, her singing isn’t spectacular, but then again most R&B singers are in the same boat. This is a great debut album and I look forward to her future projects. TURN UP! Is she the 2 nd coming of the baby girl?? Ok I’ll stop. The verdict.....my review is a little misleading cause its a  9/10

Well this is the first album I’ve reviewed by Future. He’s not a great rapper or singer, in fact he’s pretty average at both. The first song, Look Ahead, is dope, as is Move that Dope, which is has dope in the name. Honestly getting through this album is a chore. I just got the feeling that Future could do better lyrically. The beats were good though. To be honest, there’s just not a lot of replay value here, despite having a great guest list: Pharrell, Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West, Drake, Pusha T, and Lil Wayne. The verdict, a 6/10 . Poor album, but maybe worth a listen or two. 

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...

RTJ 2 is a slight improvement over the incredible RTJ1. Killer Mike & El-P are relentless on the mic again. The album seems to flow together slightly better than the first. There aren’t any big guests, but the spots are well used. The production is similar to the first RTJ, which isn’t a bad thing at all. I liked every song here especially Close Your Eyes, Oh My Darling Don’t’ Cry, and All Due Respect . I feel like it will be tough for this Rap Duo to best this effort.  The verdict is a 9.75/10. It's the album of the year for 2014.

K Michelle comes out with a masterful, well varied R&B album. She is a really good vocalist, and the lyrics are very on point. The beats aren’t bad either. The whole album is just amazing. The album has a lot of midtempo songs….which works well. It will be hard for her to top this effort. The verdict...9.75/10. Its a blast to listen to.

 Newcomer YG drops a decent debut album. The album is constructed well and has a good amount of guest spots. Theres nothing groundbreaking here, but the songs are well executed.I liked about every song.. Guests include School Boy Q, Jay Rock,Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Jeezy. The My N**ga song is hot, and there’s even a remix to it. YG is a decent rapper, and I look forward to his next project I feel he's an O-G, so this album gets a 8.5/10

This is a good debut album. Iggy sounds black but this review isn’t about her, its about the album. Its not that creative, and Iggy sounds bitter on so many songs. Complaints aside, it works for her. Her lyrics are sharp, and the album’s beats are nice. Her vocals stand out; I didn’t really get bored with her bars often. The album is pretty cohesive, but there are a couple of songs that she could have left off. This is a good start to her career. Who knows she might even challenge Nicki Minaj next year. The verdict...an 8.25/10....technically its more like a 8.4, but I cant give it that score.

Big Sean is back, after what I thought was a solid 2013 outing. This one is a tad bit better. In all honesty only Big Sean’s lyrics have improved. The beats are great but nothing better than you’ve already heard him on. The album has a dark feel to it unlike his first 2. There are some good guest spots which include Drake, Kanye, Jhene AIko, Lil Wayne, and E-40…yes E-40! The bonus tracks are good..good enough that they should have been on the album. The hit IDFWU is a classic….i also really liked the song Paradise. One Man Can Change the world is also good. I like Big Sean’s albums, but I cant help but get the feeling he’s either at his ceiling or he can’t make a classic album…but then again few rappers can. The Verdict... 9.25/10

Royce da 5’9 has joined forces with DJ Premier and the result is a pretty dope album. The album is just raw spitting. No themes or concepts. At only 9 songs its over quick and theres some good guest spots. They include Ab-Soul, Mac Miller, Common, Dwele, Schoolboy Q,Slaughethouse and Jay Electronica. Royce seems to spit a lot of rhymes that I’ve heard elsewhere…..but lyrically it’s a dope album. The beats aren’t bad but they sound a whole lot different than Shady Aftermath beats. Final Verdict: 9/10

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....

15- The Roots:And Then You Shoot Your Cousin -The dark Roots comes in over the competion below it.(Albums that didnt quite make this list.) That includes, Game's Year of the Wolf, Mobb Deep's The Infamous Mobb Deep, Twista Dark Horse, and Joe Budden's Some Love Lost. 14- Eminem & Shady Aftermath-Shady XV -I originally had this album higher up, but its a great compilation album. Ironically Eminem had the #1 album last year with Marshall Mathers LP 2.  Em's solo songs are good here, Yelawolf and Slaughterhouse also do well. 50 Cent's songs dont really belong on the bonus disc. D-12's songs are good, but not the new song. 13. Ab-Soul-These Days...- This album didn't really surprise me. Its actually tied with #14 and #13. Ab Soul's lyrics are promising, and i like most of these songs. He is kind of like Nas imo...but obviously not as great as the Queens Bridge Mc. I cant say this is better than his first album, but this was a stand out earlier in ...