Review: Common -Finding Forever

Be loved by God as much as God loved Ghandi and Martin Luther King
Be that last one of 144,000, be the resident of that twelfth house
Be....eternal!

That's how Common Sense closed his almost-magical album Be, indeed inspiring to be someone better and a real tribute to life (no homo). Be was, in fact, so good that you think anything else that Commom dropped would fall short and be a dissapointment...and that's almost true. Yet Finding Forever it's still a masterpiece in its own right.

Virtually, there is nothing wrong with the album, my main problem being that it's too fucking short (12 tracks, 11 without the intro). Oh well you know what they say - quality over quantity - and that couldn't be more true to Finding Forever. Every joint is beautifully orchestrated, it feels like any of the songs could be anyone else album's highest point. Common has gotten a lil lazy on the pen(repeating the almost cliche "when I reminisce over you, my god line in the will.I.am collab "I Want You") but he stays faithful to his style and persona, dropping gems like Black Maybe and Misunderstood with amazing concepts.

Once again, Chicago's favorite crybaby is in head of most of the production, producing 9 of the 12 tracks (the other tracks being handled by will.I.am and Ye's cousin Devo Springsteen) and it's nice to see that Kanye triumphs once again, even when most of the beats are experimental (like the I-swear-Premo-made-that-fucking-beat The Game, and most tracks reminisce the late Dilla's style), with styles ranging from ol school (again, The Game) to hypnotic (Break My heart). They're delightful to hear, and also give even more hype to Graduation. (IMO, however, the best beat gotta be Devo's work, Misunderstood)

Finding Forever isn't Be pt 2 (although in time, it may be considered in the same level), nevertheless it's that rare album that, even when offering 12 tracks with 11 of them being no longer than 5 minutes, it's worth the asking price. Don't be misled by the peter pan cover, buy the fucking album, I beg you.

Rating: 8.5/10

Def look out for: Gee, all of 'em...my choices are the latter ones tho

Review: Pharoahe Monch - Desire

After hearing Desire, I almost wonder why are rappers like Pharoahe so scarce these days. But fuck explaining why, let's talk about the album since it's this blog's only purpose...and holy shit, what a great album this is.

After an 8-year hibernation, you'd expect Monch to come hard and fast. Instead, he comes singing, as you'll notice on Body Baby and Push. It ain't a bad thing - it actually reminds me of what Outkast tried, and failed, to do with Idlewild - and it shows change in Pharoahe's style. Not that he forgot his roots, as When The Gun Draws shows.

Variety, as they say, is the spice of life. And P-Monch seems to be a firm believer of this. From the inspiring Push, to the 30's-like Body Bag to the downright amazing Trology, a 9-min tale of death and revenge of Pharoahe's dead wife. The production is flawless, perfectly capturing Monch's style and every of his concepts.

It's also nice to see that, even with many different concepts, the album has this timeless feel: you could say that this album was recorded in 1997 and still sound believable. Not much needs to be said. Lyrically, P-Monch is as hard and consistent as ever, but it's nice to see he isn't afraid of sailing his uncharted waters (a Public Enemy cover? nice). Production is near-perfect, and so is Pharoahe's flow and complexity, and he sounds hungry as ever (like ethiopians fasting, as he raps). With so many dissapointments I had this year (T.I., Fab, Canibus, which I admit I overrated) it feels nice to be reminded of why did I took this album-revieweing task, even if no one outside RGF reads this shit.

Well worth the Detox-long wait? In Playda's humble opinion, Yes. Too bad dude won't sell shit.

Rating: 9/10

Def look out for: Free, Desire, Push...shit, the whole album.

Review: T.I. - T.I. vr T.I.P.

I just can't think of what went wrong with this album. All the right moves were set: collabs with Eminem, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Lil Wayne, Akon, etc and production handled by Mannie Fresh, Just Blaze, The Runners, Danja, etc. Yet somehow this, along with the rather cool yet unoriginal personality battle concept, turned into a mediocre album with boring raps, tired flow, lame beats and dissapointing guest appearances.

So...what went wrong? Take 1st the much-talked collabs with Akon, Jeezy, Wayne, Justin Timberlake that got axed, instead leaving us with the rather dissapointing Jay and Wyclef verses (oh yea, same with that Alfamega guy). Busta and Nelly(!) both dropped a nice verse, but why do you care? you probably wanna hear the much-hyped collab with Eminem, Touchdown...which also sucks ass, thanks to a (yawn) em beat and uninspired lyrics (not to mention that Shady sounds like he recorded his verse like he had a hangover or something).

So how does T.I. fares solo? well, so-so. His intros - I mean, Acts - have T.I. rapping with a lighting-quick flow over the album's arguably best beat, only to inmediately fall asleep during Big Shit Poppin', Raw and You Know What It Is (probably T.I.'s weakest single ever). Da Dopeman and Watch What You Say To Me don't help matters, both plagued by annoying choruses and uninspired beats. He steps up in Hurt, but gets outdone by Busta...ok, so much for the T.I.P. part.

The following Acts (T.I. and the "battle") are slighty better. Help Is Coming is arguably the album's best track, and We Do This ain't as bad as the name implies, yet the rest of the Act is rather mundane (Show It To Me, featuring the aforementioned Nelly, is passable). The production catches up, but it still doesn't feel right.

The last Act (the "T.I. vr T.I.P." one, althought it sounds like another T.I. Act) has only 3 songs. Tell 'Em I Said That is kinda nice, but it sure is annoying to keep hearing about him being rich by now, Respect My Hustle is...meh, and My Type is a nice finisher. You can't help but think that the whole album feels rushed out: T.I. had the right ideas, but the execution falls flat on some tracks, on others is flawless, and the production shines on one track then fades on the next... all this creates an overall monotome feeling, which is a shame comparing it to Urban Legend or even King.

Rating : 3.5/10

Def look out for: Act I, Hurt, Help Is Coming, We Do This, Show It To Me, My Type.

Just Don't.

If you are even interested in downloading Huey's album, then plz buy a gun and point it directly at your ear...or mouth, whichever is more violent. I'd write a full review of his album, but I'm terrified of that guy's album like a raped kid is terrified of priests.

On a side-note, I heavily recommend Mos Def's Most Definite mixtape or w/e it is. Heck, try to buy it legally, it's a lot better than Tru3 Magic.

And a final note: Since the drought ain't over after all, then I guess I'd review older major 2007 albums, starting with Buck Marley's Buck The World somewhere between tomorrow and the next day.

Review: DJ Khaled - We The Best

The 1st thing you'll notice about Khaled's latest effort (besides the lame-ass cover) is that his new album doesn't feel like an album at all. To be precise, it has an identity crisis: 10 tracks - ok, 12 if you count the intro and the following skit (was following the intro with a skit really necessary?) - don't make for an album nowadays (especially for a DJ that doesn't produce on his own album or even attempts to rap on it), yet it feels hi-tech enough to not be considered a mixtape. Oh well, can't hate if the content is good, right?


Right?

For the trunk, it is. Well, most of it actually. We Takin Over still proves to be a great banger, and Brown Paper Bag is a nice follow up (thank The Snowman and Weezy for that). After that, it goes downhill. The production remains quality stuff - even though it slighty falls- during the "album" (no thanks to Khaled, since his lazy ass only produced the Intro), but the features themselves get relatively worse. For every ill Sigel or Jada verse, we get lots of filler Weezy/Paul Wall/(insert florida rapper) content...but it wouldn't matter much, if it wasn't for the fact that the 1st 2 tracks easily outshine the others, so much that you rather bump them instead of the whole abum. And Khaled's own contributions to his album drag it down even more, he just sits and shouts "we the best" and other crap over and over with his ear-splitting voice at the beginning and end of each track....by the 7th song, it becomes unbearable.

To give We The Best some credit, Originators and Before The Solution are nice, if a lil out-of-place, tracks. Like I said before, it's perfect for hitting the road if you ever get bored of the album's singles...but, chances are that, when you do, Drama will most likely drop the Gangsta Grillz album. Save your money for Drama instead.

Rating: 5.5/10

Def look out for: We Takin Over, Brown Paper Bag, Before The Solution, The Originators

Review: Canibus - For Whom The Beat Tolls

Ah, Can-i-bus...we all know he's got mad lyrical talent. Yet, of 7 albums he has dropped, only 2 are listenable. While I appreciate that he tries to create different concepts for his albums, his usual bland, tasteless production choice, misguided ideas that take his lyrics the wrong way and boring flow (to some) shit on his potential greatness and the results are some pretty mediocre albums. However, we all know what happens when a Canibus albums gets good production...

...And thank God, For Whom The Beat Tolls delivers ill production. While the production ain't RZA-greatness, it certainly suits the Jacker's style. From Dreamzzz to Secrets Among Cosmonatus, the album is quite pleasing to listen to. So if your ear got raped after listening to Hip Hop For Sale's beats, fear not this time.

So the production delivered for once, can we expect the same for his spit game? Hell Yes. Canibus sounds more focused than ever, bringing much-needed lyrical heat to a year lacking just that. He's on his scientific shit again tho, so don't be surprised if you find yourself rewinding his shit a few times. Only 4 guest appearances this time (Sun, Killah Priest, Vinnie Paz from Jedi Mind Tricks and K-Solo) but they fit in seamlessly. They all spit a nice verse (outshined by Canibus tho), K-Solo's being my personal fave.

Canibus got a winner recipe here: Focused, intense lyrics, average-at-worst production (the title is no joke), and well-placed features. Althought I must add that is flow basically stays unchanged
between track to track, which might get a lil boring after a while. Nevertheless,
the Lp is easily one of the best albums of 2007 so far(not to mention being Canibus' best effort since Rip the Jacker, if it wasn't obvious enough) and definitely worth your money...just burn the cover as soon as you buy it.

Rating: 8.5/10


Def look out for: Harbinger of Light, Liquid Wordz, Dreamzzz, 702-386-5397 , Secrets Among Cosmonauts, Poet Laureate Infinity

Quick note

Some ppl have told me that recently leaked advance grouprips versions of Talib kweli's Eardrum
and Pharoahe Monch's Desire are legit enough to be considered retail. However, I rather wait till the retail grouprips leak, in case any changes pop up between the advance and the retail rips.