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Spangle · 11-30-2014, 03:52 AM

I will review it soon, probably next.

~~gorlab~~ · 11-30-2014, 05:22 AM

Spangs who is your fav member of Slaughterhouse?

truck · 11-30-2014, 07:28 PM

Anybody here listen to Ferg Forever yet?

*Buster* · 12-01-2014, 12:59 PM

PiÃ±ata is still my rap/hip-hop AOTY

Spangle · 12-03-2014, 12:52 AM

Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels 2</div>

Jeopardy: 4.5/5
-Good production here from EI-P as it has the perfect intensity for this type of braggadocious track. Killer Mike has great flow and delivery here, as does El-P in his verse. In particular, I really liked the opening bars of his verse, namely, "I'm up at midnight / I'm dippin' off in my Nizzikes / A gun and a metal pizzipe / A knizzife is to my rizzight / I'm lurkin' servin' on pussies who lack a purpose / I've got 'em filled up with frizzight like Mizzike is you all rizzight?", as well as, "I'm putting pistols in faces at random places like / Bitch give it up or stand adjacent to Satan", a few lines later. Overall, a very well done track from the duo that starts the album off on great footing.

Oh My Darling Donâ€™t Cry: 3.75/5
-Did El-P fall asleep while making this one? Extremely annoying beat here, which is a bummer. Shit drives me up the wall and I imagine hell sounds similar. The background voice/noise thing is also incredibly horrible, maybe that is supposed to be the hook, don't know, but it sucks. However, this one is lucky that both Killer Mike and El-P are great rappers because they save this one. In particular, I really love the fifth verse in the track, handled by El-P. His flow is on point here and the lines, "We run this spot like a Chinese sweatshop / Don't stop / Work it work it till chest pop / Cardiac arrested, I'm so invested I'm self-invented, that no illusion, there's no confusion you see the future, you fear the future", but really, every verse is at least solid, so not many complaints can be made about the rapping here. I just wish the beat was not so horrid.

Blockbuster Night, Pt. 1: 5/5
-I would copy my favorite bars from this track, but I would wind up copying the whole song. Oops. Great beat that really compliments both rappers very well and they both tear it to shreds. Killer Mike goes in a bit more, but El-P certainly holds his own. Great lyrics, flow, and delivery from the both of them. Also really dig the Philip Seymour Hoffman shoutout here, since he is undoubtedly one of my favorite actors, RIP. It will be tough to top this track.

Close Your Eyes (And Count to Fuck) (ft. Zack de la Rocha): 4.5/5
-First off, I hate the repeating "run the run the run the run the run the" throughout the track, but the beat here is dope otherwise. Great flow and delivery from the duo again, as well as good lyrics. The one line that really stands out to me is from El-P here when he says, "I'm a New Yorkian, I'm fucked from the jump / I wear my Yankee so tilted I actually walk with a hunch". Something about this line is great to me and his flow and delivery on it is perfect. The line, "My solitary condition's preventin' conjugal visits / Though mainly missin' my missus, they keepin' me from my children" from Killer Mike is another one that works really well for me personally. However, Zack de la Rocha murders this track jeez. Really dig the bars, "Call her a skin job and my honey dip'll backflip for you / You playin', God your eye sockets, she gon' rip in two" and "With clips in the bottom, we dippin' from Gotham / Yes eclipsed by the shadows, a dark dance to the coffin / I'm a fellow with melanin, suspect of a felony / Ripped like Rakim Allah, feds is checkin' my melody". Overall, enough of this is great to make me overlook the negatives in the production.

All My Life: 4.5/5
-On this track, I continue to sound like a broken record, though the production here is dope. Great verses and flow and delivery from the two of them. El-P's closing lines are incredibly dope, as he says, "Better off dead like Paul is / Your name don't Ring, go Starrless / Me and Mike we a friend to the farmers / The weed run out, we might cop your whole harvest". Just wish there was more here than those two verses and then them saying "Go" at the end. Feel short changed.

Lie, Cheat, Steal: 4.75/5
-God is El-P a dope rapper. My God man. His entire verse is disgusting. Great lyrics, perfect flow and delivery. Oh man I fell in love with this verse. He also produced a great beat on this one. Though, this one does falter around the hook, as the hook is a bit repetitive for my liking and is a little busy with background noise. However, Killer Mike does come in and drop a solid verse. In particular, the line, "And I love Dr. King but violence might be necessary", really resonated with me on each listen through this one. Overall, a really dope track with an interesting message behind it .

Early (ft. Boots): 5/5
-If these lines, "I said 'Man, Iâ€™m tryin' to smoke and chill / Please donâ€™t lock me up in front of my kids / And in front of my wife / Man, I ainâ€™t got a gun or a knife / You do this and you ruin my life / And I apologize if it seems like I got out of line, sir / Cause I respect the badge and the gun / And I pray today ain't the day that you drag me away / Right in front of my beautiful son'", do not hit you, as well as the rest of what Killer Mike says on this track, I really do not know what is wrong with you. Regardless of where you stand on the whole Ferguson issue, what he speaks on is incredibly interesting and necessary point of view to hear. From El-P's verse, the line, "I made it in the dark like Civil War surgery" is a really unique and interesting way of saying he came from nothing. You hear that kind of stuff in rap songs a lot, but this is the first time I can think of where someone used a line similar to this. I kind of chuckled the first time I heard it, but really it is a truly dope line. In terms of the production, it is on point here and works perfectly. Great flow and delivery from both guys and really, this one is clicking from every angle.

All Due Respect (ft. Travis Barker): 4/5
-It is time to pick up the pace as this one is the definition of fast paced. Really hate the way they have the hook delivered. Sounds like cheerleaders at a sporting event. If you have ever heard cheerleaders, they may be beautiful (emphasis on may), but when they cheer, they can be annoying as fuck. The lyrics never struggle here, but on EI-P's second verse (third overall), where he touches on a kid whose father left him, his flow really falters, which is a bummer. This is a theme for the rest of the verses as well, so this one is ultimately a step down. However, I do like the verses, but this one feels lackluster compared to the rest of the album.

Love Again (Akinyele Back) (ft. Gangsta Boo): 2/5
-This song is just really fucking bad truly. Interesting beat and good flow/delivery from both Killer Mike and El-P as usual, as well as good flow and delivery from Gangsta Boo. However, I just felt creeped out and disgusted. The hook is also some different kind of horrible and annoying. I just cannot do this. I feel like I need a shower, especially when Gangsta Boo mentions putting your tongue in her ass. She better call up Kevin Gates or else nah.

Crown (ft. Diane Coffee): 5/5
-Great opening lines here from Killer Mike, as he says, "Down with the shame / Down with the shame / Used to walk traps in the rain with cocaine / Used to write raps in the traps as I sat in the rain and I prayed that God give me a lane / Give me a lane / Give me the fame / Give me the fame and I promise to change / Wonâ€™t be the same / Wonâ€™t be the same kind of man that puts cocaine in this ladyâ€™s hand". Great flow and delivery throughout his entire verse and I am also loving the hook on this one. From El-P's verse, the line, "You'll become death" really reminds me of the quote "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds" by Robert Oppenheimer, the guy who oversaw the creation of the bombs dropped in Japan in WWII, which really makes this line particularly impactful for me. Great production, lyrics, flow, delivery, and hook, on this one. Overall, stellar.

Angel Duster: 5/5
-For one final time on this album, El-P and Killer Mike trade bars. I really love their song formatting at times here. One of them gets a longer verse, then the other gets one, then they follow this up with each of them getting a few shorter verses. Just another plus to this album as a whole. The hook here is also very good. All of their verses also start off really strongly. For El-P, "A little toast to the no ones / With a nod to the masters" and then "You say you wanna be my leader / I think you wanna be my God" are dope ways to get things going. The line, "You want a whore with a white dress / I want a wife in a thong" is also very dope for him in his second verse. From Killer Mike, "In every holy book it says we suffer that's what it is / So riddle me this from the womb to the tomb why do / We fight to live" and "A pope is a fraud / A church is a lie / A queen is the same damn thing / You should pray to your fake god that she die" are both dope, even as a Christian. His flow and delivery are just so perfect in that second one that I cannot even get mad when he calls God fake. Overall, a great closer to what is a shockingly great album.

48/55 -> 4.36/5

As I hoped it would, Run the Jewels 2 makes me want to go revisit El-P's Cancer 4 Cure, Killer Mike's R.A.P. Music and then their first installment as a duo. I liked all of those albums, but did not love any of them. They were good, sure, but I never saw much beyond that. Now, after this, I cannot help but think I missed something in those projects. This was an amazing album blessed with great production from El-P throughout (with some minor missteps throughout, but whatever) and some great lyrics from both El-P and Killer Mike. Zack de la Rocha also killed it in his guest appearance here, though his hook was not great, but his verse was killer. The only track here that truly sticks out as bad is "Love Again", which is a major hole on an otherwise great album. I wish they had no included it, but it is what it is I guess. Overall, this one is album of the year for my by a slim, slim margin over Freddie Gibbs & Madlib's album, Pinata.

Lazgreg · 12-04-2014, 06:46 AM

1 cilvia demo
2 days before rodeo
3 pinata
4. my krazy life
5 pnd2

new j cole is nice

BasedMinkus · 12-04-2014, 03:27 PM

Quote:Originally posted by Lazgreg@Dec 4 2014, 02:46 AM
1 cilvia demo
2 days before rodeo
3 pinata
4. my krazy life
5 pnd2

[b]new j cole is nice[/b]

Spangle · 12-13-2014, 12:17 AM

J. Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive</div>

Intro: NA/5
-I wrote rate this one, since there is just not enough here bite into, but it does serve as a solid intro and tone setter for the album. J. Cole does well with his delivery and what not, though he is clearly not a singer.

January 28th: 3.5/5
-I saw a review that called J. Cole a "hip hop student" and it is never truer than this track. Son, we all know Jay-Z started off The Black Album with "December 4th". Could you try harder? The hook here is incredibly weak. The writing on it is solid, but it would be well benefited by someone who is not a horrible singer handling it. I really like the beat. It is very smooth and easy to vibe to, which does suit Cole well, especially early on in an album. It is a nice smooth transition from this track to the next and from the track prior to this one. The final lines of this one, "Like the great Rakim, when I make my notes / You niggas might be L or you might be Kane / Or you might be Slick Rick with 19 chains / Or you might be Drizzy Drake or Kendrick Lamar / But check your birth date *****, you ain't the God / Nah you ain't the God / *****, Cole the God", as Cole damn well better know that he is not near any of these dudes. Technically, he is very, very gifted, but son needs a classic before he can put himself in the same breath as Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Nas, or Big L. Overall, this one is ok. It is not a great track, but Cole does well here for the most part and it is enjoyable enough.

Wet Dreamz: 1.5/5
-Cole does very well here telling a story and really shows his storytelling abilities as he sets everything up well. Though, he does slip into corny ass lyrics many a time here, in particular, "I'm thinkin' how she rides on it, if she sits on it, if she licks on it" and "I'm watching pornos trying to see just how to stroke right". Really, for much of this track, I cannot control my laughter at how corny it can be. However, even more than the corny bars, the subject matter is what holds this one back. Dude, ain't nobody trying to hear about your first time having sex and how you and her both lied about your experience leading up to it. Virgin anthem confirmed, but dude...this should have been deleted from your computer, like it would be from mine if I bought the album.

03â€™ Adolescence: 3.75/5
-"I grew up, a fucking screw up". Listening to Cole sometimes can be too reminiscent of listening to The Game with better rapping ability. Let's come up with some new shit, homie. The hook also being an obvious nod to Nas as well is just...ugh. However, Cole does have some solid bars here, namely, "Cause I'm trying to stay alive, In the city where too many niggas die
Dreamin' quiet trying to dodge a suit and tie". As a whole, this one is another example of his storytelling ability. He really paints a great picture and you feel like you experienced the shit he experienced, that is just how vivid it is. The beat is ok, but really takes a backseat to Cole here, who certainly commands center stage. The hook is bad again, as I am not trying to hear him sing. Sorry.

A Tale of 2 Citiez: 4.25/5
-The minute this beat comes in, you know this one will be good. Great beat. Not too attention hogging and it is cool playing backseat to Cole, but it is very, very good. Cole also does his thing on it. The bar, "One day we gon' graduate and cop a brick / And thats the key my *****" in particular is very creative and is a microcosm of why I do like this song. While it is certainly purposely less "brainy" than the first few tracks, I like that. Cole has good flow and delivery here, as well. The singing portion on the outro sounds really cool and works perfectly at the end of this one. Overall everything really clicks, other than the hook. The first half is good, but then the repeating "hands in the air" in the second half is annoying. Overall, the best track thus far.

Fire Squad: 4.5/5
-Ah, the already infamous track for the alleged "shot" at Eminem and other white rappers. It is not a shot if it is true and Cole certainly is not wrong. As for the song itself, his hook delivery here is not that bad. I have heard worse on this album already. I appreciate on that is not that bad. Lines such as "I'm like that time you bagged a dime and checked ya phone and saw it was a number missing" and "While silly niggas argue over who gon' snatch the crown / Look around, my *****, white people have snatched the sound" are really good. The bridge is also really well delivered. This track is another case where the beat is fine and really takes second billing to Cole again, as his flow and delivery are very good again here. As a whole, I think this is one of the strongest tracks on the album.

St. Tropez: 1.75/5
-I hated Cole singing on hooks. You can only imagine how I feel about singing for an entire song. That's right, I hate it. The beat is silky smooth, but Cole sounds like a dying animal.

G.O.M.D.: 4.25/5
-While the hook is a rip-off from Lil Jon (lol), it is hard to ignore this track too much. Very nice beat on this one and Cole flows perfectly over it. It is impossible not to nod your head along to this, especially in that first verse, where he rides it perfectly. The line, "I wanna go back to Jermaine, and I won't tell nobody" really hit me hard, as it really underscores the struggle with fame these guys go through. They want nothing but fame, but when they get there, they find it is not all it was cut out to be. As a whole, while not the strongest track here, I thoroughly fuck with this one. The end line, "This for everyone on my testicle, make sure to put the rest in your mouth" also got a serious laugh out of me.

No Role Modelz: 4/5
-A strong entry to this album here as Cole learns what Drake learned; ya can't save them hoes/strippers. I love love love the intro, pre-hook, and hook, which all transition into a strong first verse highlighted by the line, "I came fast like 9-1-1 in white neighborhoods". Cole be dropping knowledge on this one. The bridge is also very strong, all of accompanied by a strong beat that Cole absolutely murders. However, all of it gets muddied a bit by a terrible third verse which comes off as thirsty and juvenile, in particular the lines about the pussy being deep, but the girl is shallow. Like, tf Cole? Trying to make me cringe harder than I did on Wet Dreamz or something, homie?

Hello: 2/5
-Did I ever mention how much I hate Cole's singing? Oh, I did? The subject matter here is certainly very sobering, but does come off incredibly desperate and only serves to hand Cole another L, but it is nice hearing rappers be a little more open with their feelings. However, I do think that Cole can do it better, while keeping himself from sounding desperate. Many will love this track for what he speaks on, but it truly sounds pretty damn bad and I thought the beat was incredibly mediocre. Filler for days on this album.

Apparently: 3/5
-YOU. CANNOT. SING. STOP TRYING, COLE. GOD. He says good shit, but if anybody needs somebody to come in as a feature and just sing the hook, it is Cole. Nobody needs a hired gun like he does. Man oh man. The sing rapping on the first verse is also incredibly weak. Luckily, the bars are good. "Think back to Forest Hills, no perfect home / But the only thing like home I've ever known / Until they snatched it from my mama / And foreclosed her on the loan / I'm so sorry that I left you there to deal with that alone / I was up in New York City chasing panties, getting dome / Had no clue what you was going through, how could you be so strong? / And how could I be so selfish, I know I can be so selfish" is very good and personally stuck out to me as the strongest lines on this track. Though, he does ruin it a bit with the line, "Give a virgin the urge to rape me / ***** please". Who writes this shit, Cole? I sure as hell hope you have some shitty ghostwriter who comes in and tosses a couple lines in after you're done writing and that'll explain these weird ass and corny ass lines you say sometimes. I am disappoint. If this one had more singing, it would be lower, but luckily, the rapping portion on the second verse and strong first verse lyrically, save this one from being a complete trainwreck. However, I cannot imagine myself going out of my way to listen to this one again.

Love Yourz: 3.25/5
-The lines, "On the road to riches listen this is what you'll find / The good news is ***** you came a long way / The bad news is ***** you went the wrong way / Think being broke was better" really show Cole's skill, because damn that shit hits hard again. Yet another time some bars on a track just really paint a perfect picture and hit you in some type of way. As a whole, this whole track is very much that way. However, in spite of the great lyrics and flow on them, this one feels entirely lackluster. When people say Cole is technically gifted, but boring, this is the track they had in mind. The beat just falls flat. Well made, sure, but boring as all hell. His delivery is not overly interesting either and really puts you to sleep. In addition, the singing on the hook just ugh. So much potential lost to this one being a perfect lullaby.

Note to Self: 2/5
-All singing again. Sweet. Just fucking stop, please. I want to like you, dammit!

37.75/60 -> 3.15/5

There is no rap artist out there now who I want to love more than J. Cole. He seems like a great guy who is very open, which I love in a rapper. For example, I love guys like Drake, 808's Kanye, and Kid Cudi. I have no problem with rappers being a bit "soft" to get stuff off their chest, but damn does he struggle when he does this. He cannot sing to save his life and whenever he has some great, personal bars, he always follows them up with something incredibly corny. For example, the track "Wet Dreamz" is very personal and I appreciate his openness on it, but it just comes off as corny and I cannot help but laugh at the thought he decided to put it on his album. The track and "St. Tropez", "Hello", and "Note to Self", are undoubtedly the worst ones here, largely thanks to the singing on those latter three. He cannot sing, yet decides to basically just sing on all three of them. Whose decision was that? Who told him he could sing? If anybody ever complimented his singing, they were lying. The beats are also just ok here. None of them are overly interesting, aside from on the four tracks that really stood out to me, "A Tale of 2 Citiez", "Fire Squad", "GOMD", and "No Role Modelz", where the beats are all very good. Otherwise, this one is a classic Cole release. Cole shows flashes of potential to drop a classic album one day, but gets bogged down in nods to legends, terrible hooks, his singing, mediocre beats, corny lyrics, and a general lullaby-type feeling. While I liked Cole World and Born Sinner when they first dropped, I eventually came to not really like either of them for the same reasons I did not enjoy this release. I was really hoping this one would be the Cole album that i would like when it drops and then continue to like for the foreseeable future, but that is sadly not the case. As I write this, the disappointment I feel is immense, as I just really want to like Cole, but I just cannot.

Maxy · 12-13-2014, 12:26 AM

I liked Note to Self :unsure:

Nothing on this album touches Lost Ones though. Still my favorite J Cole.

JayWhy · 12-13-2014, 12:30 AM

I love J.Cole, so I'll be listening to this album soon. Thus far, Born Sinner was amazing to me, Cole World was hit and miss. But I am wondering, what do people here think of his Michael Brown tribute on Letterman?

<object width="460" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_0LNMviSTTg"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_0LNMviSTTg" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="460" height="315"></embed></object>

I personally loved it, but then again, I don't critique music because I usually don't care to go through this stuff to find flaws. I think it would be interesting hearing from someone who knows this stuff a bit better than I do.

An old man's dream ended. A young man's vision of the future opened wide. Young men have visions, old men have dreams. But the place for old men to dream is beside the fire.

Thanks to Jackson, Copenhagen, and Harry Hans!

GOING DOWN IN STYLE. TOAST4LYFE

BasedMinkus · 12-13-2014, 12:36 AM

I threw on this album when I was out of melatonin. This did the job.

Spangle · 12-13-2014, 12:39 AM

Quote:Originally posted by JayTee@Dec 12 2014, 11:36 PM
I threw on this album when I was out of melatonin. This did the job.

Great part is it doesn't come with any of the melatonin dreams. Instead, you just get dreams of lost love and childhood.

BasedMinkus · 12-13-2014, 12:41 AM

Quote:Originally posted by Spangle@Dec 12 2014, 08:39 PM

Great part is it doesn't come with any of the melatonin dreams. Instead, you just get dreams of lost love and childhood.

Lel.

For real though, worst rap album from a rapper I even remotely care about.

Spangle · 12-13-2014, 12:46 AM

Quote:Originally posted by JayTee@Dec 12 2014, 11:41 PM

Lel.

For real though, worst rap album from a rapper I even remotely care about.

When I would say that only Kid Ink and Wiz Khalifa released worse rap albums that I actually listened to than J. Cole, you know that shit is bad. It's arguable for me that Cudi's is better even, since that one is shorter, so it spares me the wasting of an hour of my life. Same goes for Future's album. Brevity is appreciated for these bad albums.

~~gorlab~~ · 12-13-2014, 01:13 AM

jay hov > jay cole

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