What happened to Party? Last year's tape was excellent, this was a step down.

Originally posted by Dion.OvOxO@Jul 25 2014, 06:48 PM
What happened to Party? Last year's tape was excellent, this was a step down.

yea i agree only a few good songs, last years was way better imo

Originally posted by JayTee@Jul 24 2014, 08:19 PM


This is true. Logic is a beast on the mic.

Ahhh yesh, cant wait for his album.

LMAO Kesler just now learned about Logic, from me :lol:

OCD Moosh and Twist >

Originally posted by 701@Jul 26 2014, 10:59 PM
LMAO Kesler just now learned about Logic, from me :lol:

OCD Moosh and Twist >

shut ur face.

Originally posted by diglet@Jul 26 2014, 10:56 PM


yea i agree only a few good songs, last years was way better imo

Belong To the City, Grown Women, Recognize, Thirsty, and Bout It is the only songs I can fuck with. But the whole album is kind of growing on me as I listen to it more

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Riff Raff - Neon Icon

Introducing the Icon: 4.25/5
-I do not love the skit at the beginning at this one, honestly, but otherwise, this one is very good. I never though I would like Riff Raff, but while this one is not the best track on this one, his flow is great, his delivery is great, and a lot of this one is pretty funny. Really, this whole section is my favorite as I love his flow/delivery on it:

"Jinjitsu, eating kung pow when the thunder storm tornado sized symbol on my Guess jeans / You on the guest list? You wanna French kiss? I gotta double check your French tips / Hygiene clean you Jean dream, I dream, I dream shake like Hakeem Olajuwon / Diplo trippin' talkin' 'bout / "You gotta focus on the lyrics in your songs, a lot is riding on this album" / Maaaaan, fuck that gimme piece of chain or medallion"

This serves as a very good intro to a surprisingly good album.

Kokayne: 3.75/5
-I do not love this one, but the beat is entirely infectious. While it may not be a picture of musical perfection, it is a very entertaining little track that is hard to resist moving to. The hook is catchy and easy to sing along to and the break neck pace is perfect and really keeps things lively. As a whole, this is not the best track here, but it does what music is supposed to do; entertain.

Wetter Than Tsunami: 4.25/5
-Man do the beats on this album bang and this track is no exception. Some of my favorite lines here include: "I can shoot a BB through a frosted Cheerio", "Met this bitch at the mall, ass like two volleyballs", and "Step inside the club and I smell like Power Ranger". Really, this one is another example of not being the picture of music as an art. Rather, it is music as entertainment. His bars are illogical, but are funny and his delivery and flow throughout the song are fantastic, which is really where his appeal comes from me, on top of his great beat selection. The hook here is also very catchy. Now, I have to question the title, but since it is funny and this is Riff Raff, I feel like i should not ask wtf Wetter Than Tsunami is supposed to mean.

Versace Python: 4.5/5
-The skit before this with Jody 3 Moons may be the best thing I ever heard and it serves as a great intro to this one. It is nice to know that I am able to let them tears fall like versace little raindrops. Alright, turning our attentions to the track, I like this one a lot as well. I really like the hook here as I think the singing fits the track well. It is not amazing singing, but it works for this track in particular. Plus, the line, "Tears fall from the castles around my heart" is hilarious. This track is also a great companion to piece to the great bars in Tip Toe Wing in My Jawwdinz, as "Every time I open my mouth, history / 2K13 dreams in the limousine" is perfection. His flow and delivery throughout this one are very good and I like the slowed down pace to this one. Allows the listener to catch their breath.

Lava Glaciers (ft. Childish Gambino): 3.25/5
-I do not love this one. Riff Raff's flow is a bit more muddled here and his delivery is solid, but not as great as it was on some of the tracks before this one. The hook is fine and works well on this track. Childish Gambino's verse is alright, but again, I do not love his flow here either, though his delivery is alright. However, with both verses, I think they are trying to say too much. Their lines are so filled that they lose all their impact. The beat here is also not my favorite. After all of the great beats early on, this one is a major letdown. It is not a horrid beat, but it certainly does not bump nor is this one loaded with great lines from Riff Raff that make you go, "What?!" as you laugh.

Tip Toe Wing in my Jawwdinz: 5/5
-Luckily, that last track is followed up by the best track ever released in the existence of humanity. The hook is utter perfection. Every line in his verses is quotable and hilarious. In particular, I love: "My bad, I'm dyslexic in a four-door mango Lexus / At the titty bar, I ain't afraid to tip em / Me and Sergio throwing pesos at some strippers" and "I'm at a slumber party, girls only, got you mad / But you can sleep outside, here's my Versace sleeping bag". Riff Raff's flow and delivery return to perfection, his slightly song hook/rapped hook works perfectly here and his flow/delivery there are top-notch. And then the beat bumps like all hell. I do realize this is not musical perfection, but in terms of beats, flow, and comedy, it simply does not get better than this track. This one is a complete and utter home run.

Maybe You Love Me (ft. Mike Posner): 3.5/5
-It is always tough to follow up the best track I may have heard all year, but this one kind of gets the job done. It is not horrible, it is not great, rather it is right in the middle. Riff Raff's flow and delivery here are solid and some of the lines here and reminiscent of the perfection from the prior track. However, I just do not really like Mike Posner here. He gives this one a very poppy feel that does not feel like Riff Raff to me. His voice/hook coupled with a much lighter beat give this one an odd feel that does not really fit on this album honestly. However, it is catchy at times, so props for that.

Aquaberry Dolphin (ft. Mac Miller): 4.75/5
-Second best track on the album right here. He really takes the line, "I could freestyle to a dolphin and a tambourine" to heart here as the beat does contain a dolphin and a tambourine. He has a great flow and delivery here and his bars are very good, not Tip Toe Wing in My Jawwdinz good, but darn close. This one is also blessed by having one of the best Mac Miller verses I have heard. "Yeah, I got bitches by the catalogue playing leapfrog / Butt-naked in the livin' room, look like Reese Witherspoon" and "I'm with my bitch in the bed watching Game of Thrones / Waiting 'til Khaleesi's dragon's big enough to take control" are great and his flow and delivery throughout the whole verse are top-notch. On top of that, the beat and length of this track are very good. The beat, in spite of the dolphin and tambourine (thanks to?), is very good and really bangs. In addition, I like how this one is a bit shorter. Sometimes, it is quality over quantity and cutting this one a bit short prevents this one from feeling bloated.

Time: 2.5/5
-Time to take a step back into reality here, as this one is just not very good. Riff Raff is not a very good singer. This one is certainly a bit goofy, but he seems to be trying to communicate some deep message here about not taking things for granted because they will not always be there. This contrast is a little odd. His singing is simply not appropriate for some pseudo intellectual track. Overall, the beat here is also not great and it just does not really work for me on any level. It is not complete trash, but it is definitely the worst track here by a good margin.

How to Be the Man: 4.5/5
-This one is a return to the great tracks. In the style of Tip Toe Wing in My Jawwdinz and Aquaberry Dolphin, How to Be the Man is filled with hilarious bars, great flow and delivery from Riff Raff, and a great beat. The best line here, to me, is, "Rap game Uncle Ben pulling rice out the oven". The delivery there and the line itself are perfect. What I have learned from this album about Riff Raff is that his delivery is what makes his tracks and this one is a great example of it. It is infectious, fun, and easy to listen to and bump in the whip, if you will.

Cool it Down (ft. Amber Coffman): 3.75/5
-I do not love Amber Coffman, but she is solid here on the hook. Riff Raff's flow and delivery are great and makes me lament the track "Time" even more. This one is a bit "deeper" by his standards, but he does not sing the whole damn thing. In addition, I simply like what he is saying. It is interesting and, for the most part, pretty engaging. This one is a tad bit slower, but the beat, hook, and lyrics are all solid, so I cannot be too mad at it. I do not know how much replay value this one truly has compared to many of the other tracks here, but I certainly would not skip it if it came up on Spotify.

VIP Pass to My Heart: 2.75/5
-Can anybody say "filler"? This one just does not fit on this album and is simply him saying the same thing over and over. This is more an instrumental track and while the instrumental is catchy and interesting, I really do not see the role this track fills on the album. It feels like excess and a waste of my time, honestly. If they had included a bit more here in terms of lyrics, then it would have been vastly improved, but as it stands, it is just a repetitive track that does really nothing for me. The only thing that saves it from being total trash is the alright beat, but even then, I do not love it in spite of its catchiness.

How to Be the Man Remix (ft. Slim Thug & Paul Wall): 4.5/5
-Since I already discussed this track, I will just discuss the added elements, being Slim Thug, Riff Raff and Paul Wall's verses. Slim Thug, who I am largely unfamiliar with, is a great addition to this track. His flow and delivery here are good and really goes well with the beat here. The new Riff Raff verse is great and I really like him using a deepened voice. It works well for the feel of the track and, for a minute, I almost thought it was Slim Thug again, which is impressive given his usual rapping style. His verse is also rife with great lines like, "Paul Wall and Johnny got me frozen like a penguin". Paul Wall is probably my third favorite here, though his verse does get the job done.

51.25/65 -> 3.94/5

As a whole, this one is very impressive to me. I always wrote off Riff Raff as being terrible, but I was very wrong. While this album is not amazing, it certainly has some very high highs to go with its few low lows. Tracks like "Tip Toe Wing in My Jawwdinz", "Aquaberry Dolphin", and "Versace Python", are some major standout tracks that showcase everything that make him so likable; enjoyable verses, great flow, great delivery, and great beats. "How to Be the Man" is another example of that and I am usually not a fan of including remixes on the standard edition, but the inclusion here is a solid one as the remix is different enough to make it feel like a new track. However, there are some lows here, such as "Time" and "VIP Pass to My Heart". They are not completely horrible, but they are far and away the worst tracks on this album that is otherwise very solid. While Neon Icon is certainly not an example of music as an art, it is a great example of music as entertainment and how far flow, delivery, and beats, can go for you.

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change my government name to Jody 3 Moons

Sample in Lava Glaciers >>>>>>>> Rest of the album.

Thank you to My boys @Merica and @Ragnar for the lovely sigs!

too bad jody never put out this shit on neon icon, it sounds like a classic tbh:


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Common - Nobody's Smiling

The Neighborhood (ft. Lil Herb & Cocaine 80s): 4.25/5
-First off, I love the hook from James Fauntleroy. Son has a great voice and does a great job here as usual. His great hook is a great first thing to hear on the album and really serves as a nice introduction. The Curtis Mayfield sample is also good and works well on the track. Then Common comes in and drops a dope verses. His flow and delivery are great on this one. In particular, I love, "Diamonds, blinding us of real shit we facin' / Forties wasted on 'ceased, Dion makin' the beats." Lil Herb is a name I am unfamiliar with, but he does a good job here as well. His flow and delivery are good here with the beat. On that note, No I.D.'s beat here is at times not what I really like, but for the most part, hits all the right notes and works well here. This track is a solid intro track and serves as a good intro to Common's latest LP.

No Fear: 3.5/5
-I do not love the beat on this track. It is kind of all over the place and draws too much attention away from Common's verse. Common is more a lyrical guy, obviously, so he needs a beat that is solid, but allows him to do his thing. Here, the beat kind of takes away from it. On top of that, the hook is annoying as all hell. Luckily though, this one is not all bad, because Common's verses are dope. In particular, I love, "The fortune of a caine, long live his reign / He do it for a son, he do it with a gun / Whatever he do, yo, he do it till it's done / A team full of hitters, so they hit and run / The priest don't even want none" from the first verse. Overall, this one is solid, but would be helped by a better beat and hook to compliment Common's rapping.

Diamonds (ft. Big Sean): 4.25/5
-This beat bumps pretty good and Common's flow and delivery here are nasty. He rides the beat perfectly and while this one has a lot of energy, in contrast to the tracks prior, his lyricism is not compromised at all here and is truly on point. Really, both of his verses are very good and, luckily, Big Sean does not take away from that at all. I am not a Big Sean hater, but at times, he can certainly struggle. However, his hypish hook and his verse are very nice additions to the track and go well with Common's verse. On top of that, his flow and delivery are good, as well as his lyrics. Overall, very impressed by this track and it is certainly one that is easy to listen to.

Blak Majik (ft. Jhene Aiko): 2.75/5
-During my initial listens of this album, this is one track that repeatedly stuck out like a sore thumb and made me wonder what the heck was going on. The beat is annoying and the repeating "blak majik" throughout is distracting and ruins every single word Common spits. I think his verses are good, but the beat and the repeating words just distract from it. Jhene Aiko's portion is great, however, which almost saves the track (though the freaking "blak majik" shit is still overlayed on top of it). Whoever decided to have "blak majik" repeated throughout this track is an idiot and ruined a perfectly good song with solid verses from Common and a nice contribution from Jhene Aiko. I'm bitter, man.

Speak My Piece: 3/5
-I love Biggie, but I do not like the sample here. The sound quality of it is really odd and it honestly sounds like shit. That weird sound quality continues at times, even though the beat, aside from that, is solid. On top of that Common's flow and delivery here are on point, as are his lyrics. In particular, "I'm iller than most, sick with it, feeling the dose / In a butter soft leather but I'm still with the toast / Toast to bros, you know the millions is close / Feel the ghost of Notorious, tell me who the naughtiest" is great. Overall, this is another track ruined by an iffy hook and a repeating, I am not even sure, but sound sort of thing, that take away from the track. Without those elements, this is one that could have been very good.

Hustle Harder (ft. Snoh Aalegra & Dreezy): 3.25/5
-The first thing we hear on this track is Snoh Aalegra's intro, which is perfect. 5/5 introduction here, similar to Fauntleroy's contribution to track one. Just perfect. However, beyond that, this one is iffy. I am getting used to saying that Common is fantastic, but everything else surrounding him struggles. His verses, flow, and delivery, are on point here. The beat is interesting and works alright for the track. Dreezy's guest verse, who I am unfamiliar with, is fine. However, everything about the hook just does work for me. Hooks are meant to be either be worthy of repeating or catchy. This one is neither. This track feels more dance oriented, which is not really what I am looking for from a Common track. While this one is not as bad as the ones before, I am just not really feeling it.

Nobody’s Smiling (ft. Malik Yusef): 4/5
-A much darker track, Nobody's Smiling has many highs and one distinctive low. The distinctive highs being Common (yet again) and the great beat. This one is a bit more low-key, but really works for this track, so props to No I.D. On top of that, Common's verses, flow, and delivery. are good. Also, I love the line, "Ain’t no fathers round, sons of anarchy / Fighting attempts, trafficking, and grand larceny" from the second verse, and not just because I love the show Sons of Anarchy, haha. Malik Yusef is also dope here and really fits the tone Common was going for. Dude almost renegades Common here because he brings the theme of the album and the track home here with brute force. The negative here is undeniably the hook. Common seemingly cannot win these hooks, because this is another one that just does not work for me. Luckily, everything else here is so good, I can look past it.

Real (ft. Elijah Blake): 4/5
-While this track is not perfect, it is certainly one of my favorite tracks here, because it puts all of the elements I want in a rap song together; dope verses, a good hook, and a dope beat. Here, Common, No I.D. and Elijah Blake, are on point and really wind up delivering a solid track. Now, it is not spectacular in really any fashion and on a better Common album, this one would likely be outshined, but here, it is one of the brighter (though not the brightest) stars. Elijah Blake's hook is very good and works very well for the track, Common's lyrics, flow, and delivery, are good, and as I said, the beat from No I.D. is good. Overall, a solid entry in this album.

Kingdom (ft. Vince Staples): 4.75/5
-This is undeniably the stand out track on this album for me. The sample is beautiful and works brilliantly here. On top of that, Common uses that as a spring board for a very poignant discussion of what is happening in Chicago right now. His flow and delivery here are perfect and the beat is perfect for a track of this nature. On top of that, Vince Staples drops by and drops a great verse. He is really a dude I need to check out more of, because whenever I hear a verse from him, I love it, but I have never really sought out his solo work. Here, he certainly catches my attention again as he kills his guest verse. With "Kingdom", Common takes the topic he badly wants to discuss on this album and turns it into a fabolous rap song.

Rewind That: 4.5/5
-Not as good as "Kingdom", but "Rewind That" is a great follow-up to wrap up this album. A touching nod to No I.D. and J. Dilla in particular, Common raps about their friendship, past regrets, and memories of when he was coming up. The beat is good and his lyrics, flow, and delivery, are top-notch. There is not too much to say here, other than that this makes for a great closing track and a great look back.

38.25/50 -> 3.83/5

Overall, Nobody's Smiling is a solid album. It has some definite lows in the middle with tracks such as "Blak Majik", "Speak My Piece", and "Hustle Harder", but those are sandwiched by good ones such as "Diamonds", "Kingdom", and "Rewind That". It is easy to become disillusioned by those middle tracks, but the inclusion of great tracks at the end brings you back into thinking this is a good album. As a whole, Common has released better ones, but Nobody's Smiling is a solid entry into his discography that gets the job done.

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Anyone reviewing "Blacc Hollywood" I listened to it and was disappointed. Wanted to see someone elses opinion on it.

Any new good albums on the spot? I haven't been listening to new music lately..

I think I just heard the worst song ever made, I dont think I heard a lick of english. How does this guy make money?

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Childish Gambino's new EP dropped earlier today. What does everyone think?

http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/...cebook_20141002