Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

So Drake decided to separate his R&B songs and put them on this album. Unfortunately the results are kinda mixed. This album is just lacking in energy for me. Sure it's only 37 minutes but my god does it feel longer than that. The first track, "Rusty Intro" is awful. I'm not sure what Drake was thinking. "WNBA" is decent tho with its smooth execution. "High Fives" is a pretty damn good song too. The biggest problem with this album is Drake just comes off as a little uninspired lyrically. I see what he was going for with "Hurrr Nor Thurrr" but Sexyy Red was probably the wrong artist for this kind of song. "Classic" is a banger tho. Drake still has the chops I guess lol. Overall tho it's not a terrible album just incredibly mid.  Lyrics 17 Beats 20 Depth 19 Tilt 19 Verdict 75

 Drake returns with his much anticipated rap album. For the most part it’s pretty good. He’s rapping better than he did on For All the Dogs. The best songs on this album are the Make Them songs: "Make Them Cry", "Make Them Pay", "Make Them Remember", and "Make Them Know". The songs are pretty similar as Drake spits over laid back production on those set of songs. He takes a lot of shots on this album too...and not just at Kendrick. Lebron James and Jay-Z get fired at too.  The song "Dust" is maybe my favorite song. Once the beat switches its straight fire. "Janice STFU" is pretty catchy too. "Little Birdie" has an ok beat but the heavy autotune on Drake's voice is so bad. Drake spits really well on "Plot Twist" too. 2 Hard 4 The Radio has a nice bounce too. Overall it's good to hear what Drake has been meditating on but you can't help but feel he's really just not over the beef he lost to Ke...

 Its hard to express how disappointed I was with this album. Sure there are some highlights. I really enjoyed "First Person Shooter" which features J. Cole. Both rappers really bring the heat. On "Fear of Heights" Drake take obvious shots at Rihanna and A$AP Rocky lol. "8 Am in Charlotte" features Drake at his lyrical best. I really like the ratchedness of "Rich Baby Daddy" which features Sexy Red & SZA. Most of these songs tho are really bad to mediocre tho. Drake doesn't put much effort in lyrically. At least the beats are good tho. Yeah there's just not a lot to go back to on this one. Lyrics 18 Beats 22 Depth 19 Tilt 18 Verdict 77

 Drake and 21 Savage get extra disrespectful on this one lol. The album is decent as Drake and well mostly Drake take shots at various women like Ice Spice, Megan thee Stallion ,Serena Williams etc. The two rappers have good chemistry. "Rich Flex" is the perfect album opener. In fact I'd say the first half of this album is great. But the 2nd half is kinda meh. The subject matter just gets kind of tired. The production is decent tho. "Spin Bout U" is another banger. "Circo Loco" is easily one of my favorite tracks due to the Daft Punk sample. Overall I enjoy this album I just think it could of been a tad bit better. The only rap feature is Travis Scott on "Pussy and Millions". We could have used a couple more features I think.  Lyrics 22 Beats 21 Depth 21 Tilt 22 Verdict 86

Ah the long awaited Certified Lover Boy from Drizzy Drake. I think its an upgrade over Scorpion which might be one of his worst projects. The album starts off well with the great "Champagne Poetry". The next song, "Papi's Home" is also really good. Drake seems to spit pretty well on this album. The beef with Kanye inspired the song "No Friends in the Industry" and "7am On Bridle Path". I found "Knife Talk" with 21 Savage and Project Pat to be another highlight. "Love All" with Jay-z is ok, but I found Jay's verse kinda average for him. "You Only Live Twice" which features Lil Wayne and Rick Ross might be the best song. Overall tho this is a typical Drake album. Lots of features, lots of singing...you get the idea. It almost sounds like this album coulda been released a few years ago with its tired subject matter. It's a good album but its not as good as I expected.  Lyrics 23 Beats 22 Depth 23 Tilt 22 Ver...

The great pop rapper, Drake, has really been striking out lately. This album/mixtape gets off to a decent start but then it just gets kinda ...boring. "Toosie Slide" has to be the most generic song of all time lol. As far as subject matter; its Drizzy rapping about women. You know, "Rapping, b*tches, b*tches and rapping"hahah. I did like the song "Desires" with Future. I didn't like the Chris Brown assisted "Not You Too". "D4L" with Future and Young Thug is pretty dope and is a nice of change of pace from the really slow tracks on this album. I'm not gonna beat around the bush....this might be his worst project in a while. Scorpion wasn't that great but it had some fire on it here and there. This has too many misses for me. The lyricism is very poor Drizzy Drake.  Lyrics:18 Beats: 21 Depth: 21 Tilt: 20 Verdict 80

Alas I’ve finally finished listening to Drake’s Scorpion album. It was really good but perhaps too much of a good thing can be bad. I love how Drake balanced his singing with his rapping. There’s great use of samples but we needed more guest features here. Jay Z and Michael Jackson are terrific names but I wanted more here. I think the album is pretty good but it looks like Drake needs a much needed artistic break. All in all Drake might go down as the definitive Pop rapper of all time. Lyrics: 23 Beats: 23 Depth: 20 Tilt: 22 Verdict: 8.8

The categories are the same but if not a tie, then a category can be split 7-3 or 6-4 also. Bracket C The Notorious B.I.G. vs. Nas- Another predicted matchup and a rematch…Nas won last year…lets get it! Flow: Tie. There’s no way I can give leverage to either rapper here, flow wise. (5-5) Creativity: Biggie was very creative, but I’ve got to give Nas a 6-4 edge here. (9-11) Storytelling: As a great a storyteller as Nas is, Biggie was also that great. Tie. (14-16) Impact: Ooo sh** that’s hard to call. Both are all time greats for sure. I’d have to say Biggie has meant a lil more to the game, but it’s close ie. 6-4 split. (20-20) Collaboration: Biggie wins this category 7-3. He literally always gets the job done, but not enough to give him all 10 points. (27-23) Versatility: Biggie is really really versatile. But so is Nas…tie….f*** it. (32-28) Albums: This is where having more albums comes in handy. Nas wins this category decisively. (32-38) Commercial Success: B...

S1)2pac vs. S4)T.I.: T.I. called himself the hottest rapper since Pac but lets see if he’s hotter lol. Flow: These are 2 very different rappers. I feel Pac is great, but so is TIP. So Tie. (5-5) Creativity: I feel T.I. is pretty creative, but only to a certain degree. Pac wins here. (15-5) Storytelling: Pac destroys T.I. here. T.I. is a dirty south rapper where they don’t storytell much. (25-5) Impact: Pac again!!!!  (35-5) Collaboration: T.I. is really effective as a guest rapper, I’d have to say even more so than Pac. (35-15) Versatility: Tie. Both rappers are very very versatile. Yes T.I. makes more than club bagners. (40-20) Albums: Believe it or not, T.I. has the edge here. King and Paper Trail are really good. While Pac has Me Agaisnt the World, and All Eyez on Me. Its close but the King of the South has more going on in his discography. (40-30) Commercial Success: This is where Pac distances himself. It’s not close. All Eyez on Me went 10x platinum by itself...

Heartbreak drizzle! 8) What a Time to Be Alive (84)- Drake’s collaboration with Future is his worst album and its just a collection of songs that don’t really be about much of nothing special. Still catchy tho. If you like Future you won’t mind these songs. Top Tracks: Jumpman, Big Rings, Digital Dash. 7) Take Care (87)- Take Care…mufu**in Take Care. Some songs have grown on me, but to me, this is Drake’s weakest solo body of work. Its too sappy, some songs are too long. However there are some serious gems here like “Headlines”. “Take Care” with Rihanna is hawt, and so is “Lord Knows” with Rick Ross. To me this is the most Drake Drake album lol. TT: Make Me Proud, Lord Knows, The Motto, Headlines, Crew Love, Marvin’s Room. 6) Thank Me Later (89)- The album that made me a Drizzy fan…yeah you read right. The album is loaded with star power…how could Drake fail? He didn’t! I think he didn’t balance his singing that well with the rapping here, but it was his first off...

Drizzy Drake has retuned with a follow up to Views, and its really good. The playlist as he calls it, is really cohesive. Drake does a lot of singing here, but not TOO MUCH. He’s a certified popstar now, not just a rapper. Glow with Kanye West is fire, as is Passionfruit. The album feels like leftovers from Views, but you better eat these lol. The album doesn’t have as much replay value as I’d hope but it still has some. It’s a tad too LONG. The production is really good as are Drake’s bars. Well I’m not sure what he will do from here but rest assured he’s rap’s biggest star right now in 2017. Verdict: 9.2

Drake “Heartbreak Drizzle” Breakdown Date: Early 2017 Rapper albums Thank Me Later 2010 Top 3-5 Songs: Over, Fancy, Find Your Love Album Score: Beats-4.2, Lyrics-4.0 = 4.1 Rapper Stats: Flow-80, Versatility-75, Relevancy-77, Rapper Rating: 77.3 Comments- Thank Me Later was a good album that hinted at Drake’s massive potential. The beats were better than the lyrics. He really was not very relevant early in his career compared to now. Take Care 2011 Top 3-5 Songs: Headlines, Lord Knows, Take Care Album Score: Beats-3.8, Lyrics-4.0= 3.9 Rapper Stats: Flow-80, Versatility-80, Relevancy-82, Rapper Rating: 80.7 Comments-This album isn’t quite as good as his debut but it’s really good. Drake was however, a better rapper on it. 2012 -Non-Album Year (+2)=82.7 Nothing Was the Same 2013 Top 3-5 Songs: Hold On We’re Going Home, Tuscan Leather, Worst Behavior Album Score: Beats-4.2, Lyrics-4.4= 4.3 Rapper Stats: Flow-84, Versatility-92,...

2)T.I. vs. 3) Drake 2 nd Seed T.I.: Beat Killer Mike4-2, Lil Wayne 4-3 3 rd Seed Drake: Beat Rick Ross 4-2, Ludacris 4-2, Big Boi 4-2… Flow-Hmm I really like Drake and TI flows so it’s a tie. 1-1 Delivery-Another tough category. Tie again 2-2 Albums-Okay this is supposed to be a tie, but I’m going to break it down. Drake has nothing but good albums, but he only has 1 classic, TI has 2 (King and Paper Trail) so TI gets the nod here. 3-2 Storytelling-Drake gets the nod here, sure he’s singing uh rapping about the girls, but hey its effective. 3-3. Legacy-We’re looking at a tie again, but TI wins and here’s why. He’s just been so dominant for so long, while Drake has been dominant just a few years. NO THIS IS NOT an easy decision, but what u gonna do partna? T.I. wins 4-3 Final Thought: T.I. faced tough completion and dominated. He faced off with Killer Mike and Lil Wayne, the latter almost beat him. Fellow YMCMB rapper Drake also almost won. So he is the King...

Views is kinda of a weird album from Drake. He dropped the “from the 6” from the title. No love for Toronto?? LOL It’s a great album tho, his rhyming and singing cadences are as good as ever. The beats are also really subtle and cohesive. Cohesion though is a weak point. There is filler here, but the stand out tracks really do stand out. The intro track Keep the Family Close, I liked. The guest spots are pretty good but some songs sound like cut and paste formula from past albums like Grammys with Future. Overall I like this album a lot. Its one of his best so I don’t agree with the reviews that score it poorly. Verdict: 9.3/10  

What a time to be a rap fan! Drake is collaborating with…not weezy, but Trap n B juggernaut Future.  The result is mostly good but the songs sound WAY WAY too similar. The two have chemistry, but it almost feels like on most songs, Drake doesn’t want to outshine Future.  My favorite tracks are Big Rings and Jumpman. Lyrically its not all that, but the production is solid. If you’re like me, you had a hard time deciding to give this one a chance. Give it a chance.  It’s good.   Verdict: 8.4/10

Drake’s original mixtape…I didn’t get to hear it till 2014. Yeah I had the EP…which was fire. I’ve heard some of these songs on the EP, but there are some standout songs here that I really like. Ignant Sh** with Lil Wayne is dope. Also Unstoppable featuring Santigold is arguably the best song. Of course there’s Best I Ever Had which is the  awesome heartbreak drizzy song. The extended version of Succesful, Trey Songz’s song is dope too. In hindsight, its better than Drake’s first 2 albums easily. The verdict... .9.25/10 . Shopping bag drizzy!

So Drake, Young Money rapper, has pulled a Beyonce and released an album out of nowhere. Yeah its an album, and a pretty good one too. He doesn’t sing much here, which is actually to his detriment. However on most songs Drake sounds more confident lyrically than he was on Nothing Was the Same. I like every song, except for two god awful songs in the middle which both feature PARTYNEXTDOOR lol. He makes a lot of references to the “6” and I don’t know what he’s talking about lol. Anyway give this a chance. Drake didn’t half ass it like I originally thought. No its not as good as his last album, but its better than Take Care lol. No artwork cause its nothiing special...the final verdict is a 9/10.

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...

Hey guys, I know I have been slackin on my blogging. As I sit here on my laptop I have decided to make another entry into "My THoughts" Series. This one is about Drake, one of my favorite rappers since 2010. The Canadian born rapper is, I think, the best rapper in YMCMB today. Yes I think Drake is clearly better than Lil Wayne at this point. Nicki Minaj is still really popular, but lets face it, she's very talented yet very limited. Back to mr. Drake. Drake seems to rap about very personal things, which most rappers these days don't do. He raps about his mother, his uncle, his ex girl friends, more ex girl friends. One of Drake's quotes was that he only cares about, "Rappin and Bitches". Well I know you have to throw money in there also. Let me rewind. Yes all the way back to 2009. When Drake first came out I didn't like him that much. I remember when my Drake playlist on my Ipod was a mere 4 songs! Yea now its over 60 easily. So what do I th...

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.