Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

Common returns with a great 2007 effort. The album features him in his comfort zone, and that’s not a bad thing. Lyrically it’s a great performance from the Common Sense. He got Kanye to produce a lot again, and the result are some wonderful beats. Will.i.am does a good job with “I Want You”. The first half of the album is the better half…but besides the ridiculously long end of Common album track at the end, all the songs are good to great. “The People” featuring Dwele is such a beautiful song. I really like the bounce of “Drivin’ Me Wild” which features Lily Allen.  “U, Black Maybe” is interesting too. I love the synergy of Kanye and Common on “Southside” too. Ultimately this album is just about as good as Be…..in my opinion. Lyrics 25 Beats 23 Depth 23 Tilt 23 Verdict 94

  8) Double or Nothing -78 : I don't have a whole lot to say about this one. The collaboration between Big Sean and Metro Boomin is pretty much what you’d expect. “So Good” with Kash Doll is really raunchy but it works. I don’t really have a lot to say about this project. The beats are pretty solid. great! 7)Finally Famous- 80 : Ive been really hard on this album but you know what it ain’t that bad. “I Do It” was his first big solo single. Its pretty good. It’s funny that some would clown Sean for some of his bars on this album. “I’m Quagmire, I fuck hoes, my cash flow, I giggity get it” Yeah lol. “Wait For Me” with Lupe Fiasco is good too…..and I love the Kanye assisted “Marvin & Chardonnay”. Some of these songs haven’t aged that well but hey its not a bad album by any means. 6)Twenty88-87: This is the collaboration album with his former lover Jhene AIko. For the most part I really like this album. The 2 have chemistry as they’ve collaborated on previous albums. The first...

 Ah the new Kanye West....after all the drama.....and oh yeah I thought Kanye was done done. But hey Vultures 1 and 2 weren't that bad imo. Bully is a good album...but I cant help but feel like Kanye is playing it way too safe on it. I love his flow on "This is a Must". "Father" with TRAVIS SCOTT is great too. "All The Love" is one of the best Kanye songs in years. On "Mama's Favorite" you get to hear Donda West speak. Kanye's mother meant so much to him. There were a few head scratchers here like "Last Breath" which I guess Kanye was going for a Spanish sound.....it didn't work! Overall tho this is a step in the right direction. The production was very sound. I will definitely have this album in my Kanye West album rotation.... Lyrics 20 Beats 23 Depth 21 Tilt 20 Verdict 84

16) Vultures 2 (72)- It should be no surprise this album is the worst of the bunch. It just comes off as lazy and uninspired most of the time. The production is decent tho. “Bomb” features Yuno Miles and his daughters: North and Chicago West…..and it's really corny. “Husband” is just god awful. I don’t know what he was going for with that one! “Fried” is pretty dope tho….and you can see the potential of “530”. 15) Donda 2 (75) - I haven’t had a lot of time to sit with this one. It’s not that bad tho…in fact it’s kind of average. I really like “City of God” which features Alicia Keys and Five Foreign. Sure lyrically its not great but the production again isn’t bad. Ultimately I feel like this has little to do with the first Donda album…. 14) 808s and Heartbreak (83) - You may be shocked to see this still near the bottom of his discography. While I bumped the score up a little from last time, I still feel 808’s isn’t all that. I love “Heartless” as it’s probably the best song. “Love...

This was another Kanye album I wasn't too hype to listen to cause of its bad reputation. I am glad he put it on traditional music services.The album was available on this weird music player thing in 2022 at first. Kanye raps alot about his ex wife Kim Kardashian here. I know he did on Donda 1, but he does it a lot more here. The song "Get Lost" feels empty and is so boring. "Security" has a weird beat...I mean it's too weird for its own good.  I really like "Keep the Flowers", its got a nice beat to it.I liked "Too Easy" as well. "City of God" is arguably the best song....Alicia Keys does a great job, as does Five Foreign. A different version of "530" is here as well. I enjoyed "Pablo" too which features Future and Travis Scott. Ultimately its an average album....but it wasn't that bad overall. However it did fall woefully short of the first Donda which was great. Lyrics 18 Beats 21 Depth 18 Tilt 18 Verdi...

 This is my list. All these albums are relatively 98-100 rated. I do have some personal bias here. If you don't see an album you think should have made the list just comment. Honorable Mentions Nas-Stillmatic Jay Z- Reasonable Doubt The Notorious B.I.G.- Life After Death Raekwon-Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Ice Cube- Amerikka’s Most Wanted Kendrick Lamar- To Pimp A Butterfly  Eminem- The Marshall Mathers LP 2 10) Outkast-Stankonia- This was the album really propelled Outkast to superstardom. Sure it’s a little weird at points but it really is an impressive album from Big Boi and Andre 3000. The production is really solid. I love the first song “Gasoline Dreams”. “Ms. Jackson” is one of those all-time great rap songs. You also have “So Fresh, So Clean” and the super hype “B.O.B.” There some other good songs too like “We Luv Deez Hoez” and “I’ll Call Before I Come”. It feels good to have a dirty south album on this list. Underrated Track Pick: Gasoline Dreams. 9) 2Pac- Me Against the...

Songs graded on Lyrics, Beat, and Replay ability each category out of 5.   13) I Thought About KillIng You: Ye (2.33)                    It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that this intro is Kanye’s worst intro track. Sure it fits in with the album’s theme…but there’s just not a whole lot I like here. The lyrics aren’t all that, but the beat is ok. The album does get better after that tho. 12) Selah: Jesus is King (2.5) I really like Kanye’s energy on this track. The way the song progresses is really cool too. The “halleluiah” chants are dope. Sure its not one of his better intro songs but its pretty damn good. The end of the song is pure Kanye lol. 11) To the World: Cruel Summer (2.83) People seem to forget or crap on this album but I have always really liked it. R.Kelly’s hook is infectious. I love Kanye’s funny bars too like “Mitt Romney don’t pay no Tax” LOL. The beat is pretty standard t...

 I gotta admit I didn't like this album that much when I first heard it over half a year ago. I've heard that Kid Cudi doesn't exactly play to his strengths....that's partly true. I do like his rapping here tho. Honestly most songs here kinda blend together....."Keep Bouncin'" is really hype....and it gets the album off to a good start. "At The Party" with Pharrell Williams and Travis Scott may be my favorite song. "Wow" with A$AP Rocky is another highlight. Overall tho I feel this album tries too hard to be trendy. Cudi needed to put more of his pain into it. I mean a happy Cudi album isn't a bad thing but it really seems odd to me. You're not getting alot of singing or hums here know what I mean? However the production I found to be very good. Cudi is one of my favorite rappers like top 20 and I guess this will do for 2024. Lyrics 20 Beats 23 Depth 21 Tilt 21 Verdict 85

 The latest Eminem album is pretty good, but perhaps a little disappointing overall. The theme is Eminem is killing off his infamous Slimshady persona. There are so many funny lines and disses on this album. Notably against the likes of Caitlyn Jenner, Megan Thee Stallion, Diddy, and Candace Owens.Lyrically Eminem is near top form. Some of his bars and flows are just amazing here like on "Fuel" with JID. The lead single, "Houdini" is the usual party track like songs he's done in the past like "The Real Slimshady" or "Without Me". It really grew on me. The album's production is nothing special but not bad. I liked most of these songs but songs like "Head Honcho" and "Road Rage" were kinda average. The back to back songs "Lucifer" and "Antichrist" are really good tho. "Brand New Dance" is a fun song. Sounds straight from his Encore era cause well it was."Temporary" is a great song ...

 This album review is way overdue. I've had a long time to sit with the album....I really liked it at first but it hasn't really aged as well as other Kanye projects. Kanye's lyricism has taken a noticeable decline. I mean hes not horrible but alot of these bars are bad or tasteless. Ty Dolla $ign on the other hand does a great job on pretty much every track. The production though, as with most Kanye albums is really good.   Some of it was reminiscent of My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy or Yeezus. There are a few guest spots and most are well used. Hearing Kanye's daughter, North West, on "Talking"is cute. Freddie Gibbs steals the show on the hilarious "Back to Me". "Carnival" is a certified hit which features Playboi Carti & Rich the Kid. Overall most of these songs are good but I cant say this really adds much to Kanye's illustrious discography. Lyrics 19 Beats 23 Depth 22 Tilt 21 Verdict 85

 The latest offering from Lupe Fiasco is a masterclass in lyricism. Lupe really has a sharp pen, you really have to give his bars some thought. I love the song "AUTOBOTO", its so smooth. He writes from the perspective of a hiphop kiosk salesman on "Kiosk". The production is jazzy and very cohesive; giving Lupe's rapping a great backdrop. There aren't really a whole lot of stand out tracks here like you might find on Food & Liquor album or The Cool....This album is short tho clocking in at just 41 minutes. I mean liked pretty every song.This album just proves Lupe is one of the best to pick up a mic...easily. Lyrics 25 Beats 22 Depth 24 Tilt 23 Verdict 94

  Eminem released these bonus cuts for those who wanted more. It's actually kind of like a whole other album tho. Lyrically Em is pretty impressive here but some of the punchlines are kind of corny. The subject matter is kind of becoming tired at this point. "Favorite Bitch" is about how Em feels about the game right now....and how rap has declined. The production is decent but nothing greater than on the first Music to Be Murdered By. There's nothing here as wonky as "Godzilla" but there are some great songs like "Gnat" and "Zeus". I really like how Eminem covers alot of ground on those songs. "Higher" is a great one too. "Key(skit)" is just god awful lol. On "Discombobulated" the closer, Eminem sounds reinvigorated...we needed more songs like that. Overall its not bad at all but its not really better than the first one which is actually included with the purchase of this one. I wasn't gonna originally e...

 The latest Big Sean album is a great album filled with great beats and clever punchlines and flows. The album gets off to a really good start with songs like "Deep Reverence", "Wolves", and maybe my favorite song on the album "Body Language" . There are some really good production on these songs. Big Sean celebrates Detroit by getting celebrities to talk about it on skits. He also has a "Friday Night Cypher" which features several Detroit artists including Kash Doll, Royce da 5'9, and the great Eminem. I didn't really think the cypher was all that but its ok. The album is long but hardly feels bloated. Theres high replay ability(tilt) here. This might be Big Sean's best album yet, but I feel Dark Sky Paradise had better singles.  Lyrics 23 Beats 23 Depth 24 Tilt 23 Verdict 93

I finally got around to reviewing this new Eminem album. The album is pretty damn good albeit not quite as good as Kamikaze.....I even prefer Revival to this one check my scores. "Godzilla" is a dope track featuring the late Juice WRLD. I love the beat, the chorus, and Eminem's verses. A lot of hooks on this album are a little lack luster but overall I enjoyed most songs. Not all the songs are dark here...in face very few are. "Stepdad" sounds like an old Eminem song which is a good thing. "Darkness" is one of the better songs. Its slow sure but hearing Eminem compare his rapping at a show to the Las Vegas shooter is very creative. Overall I'm pleased with this album but I kinda was wanting more...more songs like "Yah Yah" which was dope af. I'm debating on doing a Track by Track review for this album. We'll see. Lyrics:23 Beats:23 Depth:23 Tilt:21 Verdict: 90

The Chai town MC has come out the box, spitting as well as just about anyone to touch a mic. His breath control is terrific…Lupe is a rhythmic rapper, who doesn’t really have punchlines. The beats he is given are good too. The album has great depth, and rewards multiple listens. I feel the album is well constructed. Songs like IG and KP1 & 2 are terrific. The album is one of hip hop’s best. Overall Rating 98 ( A Winning Combination) Lyrics 25 Beats 23 Depth 25 Tilt 25 This album is far better than I gave it credit for. Lupe is a lyrical dynamo and it shows on every song. I think he was WAY AHEAD of his time. From get jump he’s been a great rapper and now in 2019 I’m wondering is he the best lyricist ever.

Shady has done it again! I like this album. Its kind of like Recovery part 2, however there is no….super positive message tho. Eminem is pissed the f*** off at..his fans and mumble rappers. I actually feel he’s justified to be pissed at both. Think about it. He’s the highest sellin rapper of ALL TIME. But his fans claimed Revival, his 2017 outing sucked? Peep my review for Revival.  https://maxreviewsandthoughts.blogspot.com/2017/12/album-review-eminem-revival.html?q=eminem The production was lackluster. That’s all. His lyricism is great here and word play is too. I feel yet again the production is below Em’s standards. I mean this guy once rapped over Dr. Dre beats like The Real Slimshady. I due believe we’ll get another album one day from this top 5 all time MC. Where does Eminem rank all time to me? Hmm. 1)Pac 2)Jay-Z, 3)Biggie 3)Nas 5) Eminem. Overall Rating 92 Grade A- Lyrics 24 Beats 22 Depth 23 ...

Kanye’s affirmative action plan comes to his own discography….And its good!!! A well rounded album but too short! Only 7 songs but all are good. I don’t really care much for the first one…but things only look up at that point. Kanye seems a little less tame here as well. On Life of Pablo, he seemed like he was trying to combine his current style with College Dropout Kanye sometimes. Here no…this sounds like Yeezus a little bit. The lyrics are on par with that album but that album was slightly better. Overall im pleased with this album but his collaboration with Kid Cudi was better. Overall Rating 94 Grade A Lyrics 23 Beats 24 Depth 24 Tilt 23 Yo chill on Mr. West lmao!!!