Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

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

I had the opportunity to interview an up and coming rapper,  Errion Ali. 1)      So where are you from? I’m from Cleavland Ohio also known Theivland O’dro. Specifically uptown Cleavland, Kinsmen the 40s. 2)      What do you do for money besides rapping? I’m an artist and I’m an activist. So basically what I do is distribute music, profit off ticket sales, and I sell merchandise. I’m also and activist so I benefit off of community meetings, raising donations and etc. 3)      How long have you been rapping? I been rapping since 1998. I released my first solo project December 9, 2005. It was called Society’s Filth. 4)      Who are 3 of your biggest influences as a rapper? (1) Well the first one they tried to write out of history is my big brother B.A.N.G.O. Essentially he passed away in 1998. Which was the first time I wrote my first poems. I was in the 3 rd grade. He met a untimely de...

20) G-Eazy: The Beautiful & Damned (92)-I’m not the biggest G-Eazy fan but this is his best album. He’s dope. It dropped a bit from it’s earlier spot tho. 19) N.E.R.D.: No One Ever Really Dies (92)-If I had more time maybe this would be #15…but for now its 19. Great album from Pharrell and company tho. 18) Drake: More Life (92)-This album grew on me. Its really dope. The 3 songs in the beginning flow together so f***in well! (Passionfruit/Jorja Interlude/Get It Together). 17) Vic Mensa: The Autobiography (92)-I love this album but I wasn’t sure I wanted it till I saw other reviews. Its highly personal and introspective. He’s the future of Roc Nation. 16) Eminem: Revival (92)-This is a sequel to Relapse and Recovery. And I think it’s the best of the 3. Sure it doesn’t rank too high but it’s no this list of must listen to albums for the year. 15)Action Bronson: Blue Chips 7000 (92)-AB really killed it with this dope album. It was much better than his 2015 outing,...

*I could not get to all the album in time to put some on this list, but they'll be there on the year ends list* 1.        Big K.R.I.T.: 4eva is a Mighty Long Time (98)-In our 2 nd half albums BK reigns supreme. The album is amazing. Everything works. The duality of the album works. The production works, his hooks are fire. The real question is will it be #1 or #2 on the final list for 2017. 2.        Tyler the Creator: Flower Boy (95)- Another terrific album and the best TtC album to date. I loved almost every song here. The production is amazing and great lyrics too. Where does he go from here? 3.        Cyhi The Prynce: No Dope On Sundays (95)-This album much awaited, and it delivered. Cyhi proves he’s a great rapper. I gotta hear this one some more ya feel me…. 4.        Rapsody: Lalia’s Wisdom (94)-I was really feeling this album. So friggin soulful mane....

1.        Jay Z (10)-A big lift for arguably the greatest to ever do it. 4:44 is the reason he’s up here. But Jigga has long been one of my favorites. 2.        The Game (1)- I hear he’s only gonna make one more album. Well don’t rush it. I rated his last 3 albums really high. He’s got a case for best rapper of all time so far…. 3.        Kanye West (2)-I’m a giant Kanye stan I admit. But he’s not my favorite as of right now….Still top 3 tho. 4.        Drake (3)-Drizzy, I like some Drizzy songs mane. More Life grew on me, and Views was also great….he needs to let his works breathe before dropping another project. 5.        Logic (18)-A HUGE jump for Logic. I consider him one of the best rappers of today’s new elite. 6.        J. Cole (5)-Cole world seems to do no wrong since 2013. I loved 4YEO and w...

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...

S1)The Notorious B.I.G. vs. S5)J.Cole : I think it will be a close battle but Biggie should win. Flow: Hmm. This is so tough. Both rappers are fairly flawless here, but I obviously think Biggie is more so. (10-0) Creativity: I give Biggie a lot of credit for being a dominant rapper in his day, however I feel Cole’s music is a little more creative for his career. This may sound a little bias as when Biggie rapped most rappers were…actually good lol. (10-10) Storytelling: Tie. I don’t really need to explain it either. (15-15) Impact: Biggie wins this category by leaps and bounds. However in 20 years idk what I would say..but this is 2017 bro. (25-15) Collaboration: Hmm. Not too sure as neither rapper…wait nah its Biggie. Hahaha. (35-15) Versatility: Tie. I feel both rappers are pretty damn versatile. Biggie had club bangers, dark mafioso songs. J. Cole has everything else like conscious rap. (40-20) Albums: This is tough. Biggie has 2 classics…undeniable too. However Cole ...

Welcome to the 2017 Rapper Tournament! Criteria (1/10 points) Flow: How well the rapper articulates on beat. Creativity: How creative is the artist’s music compared to their peers. Storytelling: Self Explanatory. Impact: How have they affected the game. How are they influential. Collaboration/Guest Feature: How much fire do they typically bring to other people’s tracks. Versatility: How many kinds of songs are they effective at making Albums: How many good albums do they have, and how good are they. Commercial Success: How well have their albums/mixtapes/singles sold. *Categories are only scored in the head to head match ups* *5 points for a tie, 10 points for a categorical win* ·          32 Rappers total ·          5 Rounds ·          Brackets are A, B, C, and D. ·          4 Brackets with 8 ...

Here are the final albums ENJOY  9)Tetsuo & Youth-Lupe Fiasco-An incredibly complex and unique album. It's without question Lupe's best album. Just check out his relentless bars on Mural.  8)Reasonable Doubt-Jay-z-Jigga's debut album is one of the best lyrical performances ever. Dead Presidents II is the best track, but there's a lot to like here.  7)The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill-Lauryn Hill-Lauryn Hill's album(only album) is incredibly introspective and thoughtful. She raps about real issues with ease. Something that Nicki Minaj is just now trying to get around to in 2015.  6)Me Against the Wolrd-2pac:Pac's best album is devoid of beef and hostility for the most part; 2 things Pac is known for. Despite this its a terrific album, with the classic Dear Mama song, in which Pac raps about his appreciation for his mother.  5)Amerikkaz Most Wanted-Ice Cube: A great album that really smacks you in the face before the first song. Ice Cube is without a doub...

2000 : Jay-z- Jigga was my favorite rapper when I first getting into rap. Songs like Big Pimpin and Hard Knock life were some of my favorite songs by Jay-z. I really liked Eminem around this time, who had also burst on the scene around 2000. I wasn’t that heavy into rap yet, but I really liked Outkast as well.     2001 : Ludacris- Around the end of the year I bought my first album, Word of Mouf by Ludacris. The album was a favorite of mine. I remember listening to it a WHOLE LOT. I started liking a whole lot of rappers like Fabolous, Bubba Sparxxx, and others. Word of Mouf is still in my top 5 rap albums ever.     2002 : Eminem- The great white MC was without question my favorite rapper at this time. Not only was his Eminem Show in heavy rotation, but the songs from his movie 8 Mile were good. Most notably the incredible Loose Yourself. I also started listening to Nas’s Stillmatic a lot around this time   2003: 50 Cent- 03’ bel...

This is a list of rappers who I feel are the best right now, not all time. It’s mostly based on albums and songs from 2011-2012. Here’s the top 20 Top Rappers 2012 2 nd Edition *Eminem and Royce Da 5’9 are combined into Bad Meets Evil *Outkast didn’t have an album this year yet so they aren’t included.   1.       Nas(19)- Nasty Nas is finally on top. He’s jumped 18 spots mostly due to the fact he hadn’t done much in the 2010-2011 time frame. Life is Good is a stellar album that I didn’t think would be that good. Nas feels he still has something to prove…and maybe he does. “When you become better than legends you thought were the greatest”, raps Nas. Not only that, he’s had some good guest features as well like on Tha Carter IV and The Dreamer/The Believer , and   Pink Friday Roman Reloaded. When its all said and done Nas may be known as the best rapper ever. 2.       Lupe Fiasco(14)- I am incredib...