Chesstown King's Reviews and Thoughts

Opening Opinion 98/100 Disc 29 29 Intro-An old timey like song plays about going to Carolina. It kinda sets the tone for the theme of the album. This album is a love letter to J.Cole’s hometown. Gunshots end the track which is wild.  6/10 Two Six-The lead single. I love Cole’s flows on this track. The beat is fire too. It sounds laid back and menacing.   9/10 SAFETY-J.Cole’s raps from the perspective of his friends from his hometown telling him about what’s been going on. It’s really creative and well produced. When he talks about the gay guy he almost calls him the f word but he stops himself lol. 9.5/10 Run A Train-This is a pretty interesting song. J.Cole is joined by Future who sounds pretty invigorated on the chorus. “Fuck do you know about my passion, fuck do you know about my pain, fuck do you know about my struggle, fuck do you know about Jermaine?”. It’s a decent song. It’s pretty laid back. 8/10 Poor Thang-This is a more intense song. I love Cole’s break down when he...

Hallelujah- This is a terrific opener. Logic really goes in on this. He sings at first, and you know from T.I.T.S. Its an uplifting track. At the end we get a skit that introduces Adam and Neil Degrasse Tyson playing God, literally lol. The skit continues later in the album. 9/10 Everybody- I really like Logic’s flow this song. “Everybody people, everybody bleed, everybody need something..”  It’s basically just a regular Logic song.9/10 Confess- This is where race really becomes a topic of discussion. Logic is really on point here. The chorus and production is really different than most tracks on his last album. Sonically this sounds amazing. Killer Mike does a confessional rap spoken word thing at the end of the track…. 9.5/10 Killing Spree- I really like the chorus on this song. Logic raps about the state of what I’m assuming is the black man’s struggle. However it could be a rapper’s struggle. He also raps, “Everybody looking for the meaning of life through a cell phone s...

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...

J.Cole Born Sinner Track by Track Review   Villuminati : The perfect album intro. The beat is hot, the Biggie sample is appropriate, and Cole does great lyrically. He gets at people that think he’s Illuminati also in the last verse. 9.5/10   Kenny Sermon(skit): An interesting piece by a preacher. It has the same beat as the next track. 7/10   Land of the Snakes: I think this song showcases Cole’s storytelling. It feels similar to some songs on his first album…but its more effective in my opinion. He deals with the pressure of stardom which includes the pursuit of women. 8/10   Power Trip:   Miguel joins Cole here. He does a good job with the chorus. I really like how the songs parts effortlessly flow together. The beat is fire and yet very relaxing and smooth. 9.5/10 Mo Money(Interlude): A nice interlude. I haven’t heard a rapper say “Money” so much since Game on “Money” lol. 7.5/10   Trouble: Thin...

Kanye West Yeezus Track by Track Review   On Sight- This track was produced by Daft Punk, so the beat is way out there….the lyrics aren’t all that but this is a great way to open the album… 9/10   Black Skinhead-This track is high energy as well. Its actually one of the finest Kanye songs I’ve heard…since MBDTF.   The beat is infectious, as is the chorus. The song borders on tribal with lots of other elements mixed in. 10/10   I Am A God-Spooky, horrocore, Enigmatic. All of these can be used to describe this song. Kanye’s Ego is on full force here. The result is an interesting track. The beat has a techno feel to it. The screaming is borderline annoying however. 8.5/10   New Slaves-Lyrically, I think this is the album’s best song. The beat is creepy, and the chorus is effective. “Used to only be n***as!”. The song is great but the end of the song is rather un necessary. 9.5/10   Hold My Liquor-This song remi...

Pusher Love Girl- It’s rare that an album starts with a song that is 8 minutes in length….however this song does a good job of setting the state for your 20/20 experience with Mr. Timberlake. The chorus is great, but I just wish the song was a bit shorter. 8/10   Suit & Tie- I didn’t like this song the very first time I heard it but man did it grow on me. The song features Jay-z, the great Brooklyn rapper. However JT is the star of the show, and Jay’s weak verse can’t steal the spotlight. The song has a varied beat, and is ridiculously catchy. 9.5/10   Don’t Hold the Wall- This song is really interesting. It has an Arabic feel to it(which seems quite common on Timberland produced songs). The lyrics are very clever here, and it’s clear that this midtempo song should have been the first song in my opinion. 9/10   Strawberry Bubblegum- J.T. slows things down a bit with Strawberry Bubblegum. Timbaland continues to add his vocals to the mix...

Kendrick Lamar Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City[Deluxe Edition] Album Review Seeing is this is the rap album of the year[2012], it was only tradition that I do a track by track breakdown of this work of art.     Sherane a.k.a. Master Splinter’s Daughter- The album starts with the “homies” & Kendrick Lamar giving their lives over to Jesus threw prayer. This part of the story is revealed later in the album. This song is pretty good.   Kdot talks about him being seduced by a gurl named Sherane. The song ends with Lamar’s mom and dad calling his voicemail. The album is off to a good start. 8.5/10 B*Tch, Don’t Kill My Vibe- This song has a pretty mellow feel to it. However Kendrik raps pretty well on it. “I am a sinner and I’m prolly gonna sin again” goes the chorus. The female voice on the chorus makes this track a winner. 8.5/10   Backseat Freestyle- This isn’t relevant to the album’s story, but this is one hot freestyle. Kendrick raps a...

Thank Me Later Fireworks- Drake raps about his newfound stardom. He’s joined by Alicia Keys who does a great job on the chorus. The beat is kinda nothing more than a backdrop. I really like Drake’s verses here. 9/10 Karaoke- Drake sings almost the entire song. Its an okay song but rather skippable. 5.5/10 The Resistance- This one is a little better than the previous track. I like the chorus. Drake continues to rap about his newly found stardom. The beat is interesting but the topic has gotten kinda stale by now. 6/10 Over- Over is a tremendous song with an awesome beat. Drake kills the song with sharp delivery. 9.5/10 Show Me a Good Time- Another uptempo song. I really like the beat, and the chorus is pretty hot too. 8.5/10 Up All Night- This is song has a real dark feel to it, as Drizzy and Minaj kill the song. Nicki really steals the show though…..with lines like “F*** I look like ho? I look like yes and you like no”. ...