A.T.I.

Wu-Tang feat. Erykah Badu
'The Heart Gently Weeps'
8 Diagrams


The Wu are finally back together for a new project, and if the lead single is any indication, 8 Diagrams is sure to be an impressive LP from the veteran collective. An interpolation of the classic Beatles song 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' is the base for RZA's immaculate beat, which combines silky keys with electric guitar strings and a light drum kick. On the rapping side, Raekwon's lazy opening verse is left in the dust by the cool confidence of Ghostface's 16, another example of the agressive emcee sounding extremely comfortable over slow, smooth production. Ghost's dark story telling is followed by the solid flow of Method Man, who drops a quick verse reaffirming the return of the Wu. Complimented by a quietly effective chorus sung by Erykah Badu, The Wu are back with a somewhat new sound to aid them in what they've always done well- make unique rap music.




Jay-Z feat. Pharrell
'Blue Magic'
American Gangster


This isn't 'Show Me What You Got'...not even close. Comeback album number two includes the throwback lead single 'Blue Magic,' an ode to the 80's both sonically, and lyrically, as Jay-Z attempts to return to his "'87 state of mind". Utilizing a laid-back, noticeably different flow, Jay is back on his gangster tip, and after a sub-par first verse, Jigga regains some of the dark charisma of past, with lines like, "Blame Reagan for makin' me into a monsta, blame Oliver North and Iran-Contra, I ran contraband, that they sponsored, before this rhymin' stuff, we was in concert." It's not quite Reasonable Doubt-esque, but along with the surprisingly fresh Neptunes beat, a combonation of a rumbling drumline and patterened synths, the song works out well, and although not true for the emcee himself, the song gets better with age.




Little Brother
'Good Clothes'
Getback


The first single off the thoroughly excellent new LB LP, Getback, 'Good Clothes' is a lighthearted, humorous take on fashion sense, and, well, a lack thereof. Suffice to say the mention of husky jeans, boxes of air forces, and beautiful people sounds like the recipe for a played and skippable joint in essence, but the good-natured 'realness' of Little Brother's raps, combined with the triumphant horns on the beat make for a solid representation of what is an even better full album experience.




Lupe Fiasco
'Dumb It Down'
Lupe Fiasco's The Cool


The street single for the follow-up to 2006's critically-acclaimed Food & Liquor, 'Dumb It Down' is a clever take on the concept of hip-hop fans whole-heartedly accepting dumbed down content in hip-hop music. Lyrically a lot less easy to follow than most of his debut album, 'Dumb It Down' walks the line of clever and forced lyricism, as Lupe's bars don't hold much connection with the underlying idea of the song. If anything, this song could have used some dumbing down, as lines such as these make for decent raps on their own, but not as much in the midst of a 'concept' song: "that means I'm eyeless, which means I'm tearless, which means my iris resides where my ears is, which means I'm blinded, but I'ma find it, I can feel it's nearness". Mixtape-ready no doubt, and solid enough for the average artist, but not quite the genius concept it was made to be.


And for Review of Lil Wayne's 'Gossip':

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“At a snail's pace, I won this race that y'all trail"

Just_Blaze

Good thread. Why didn't you do a review for Lupe Fiasco - Superstar? Isn't that his real first single? And I would probably rate Blue Magic and Dumb it Down a little bit higher then you did. I havn't heard the Wu single and when I listend to the LB album that song didn't really grab my attention as a single but then I seen people talking bout it and realized it was.... I guess it grew on me a little bit.

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"tell blaze to stop it wit the embarassing posts.....he's making everything die" - Grandmaster G

Baller

lol dumb it down was dope n i think he did follow the concept better den u said he did...gemini was tellin him to dumb it down...n he stayed lyrical..n at da end 'i flately refuse i aint dumb down nothin'

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A.T.I.

yeah, but the funny thing was that it was one of the few times where I would agree that he forced the complexity in his rhymes to appear more lyrical

and @Blaze, I'm waitin' on the video to peep 'Superstar', and the LB track didn't really hit me as a single either, strange choice

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“At a snail's pace, I won this race that y'all trail"

Grandmaster G

^ok....i just peeped that lupe track....that shit is wack as fuck....im eyeless im tearless fear this i cant hear it cause u brainless......BLAH BLAH BLAH


and the chorus was real funny....esp gemini came tight on the last chorus......it was a great concept but he completely ruined the shit....either im overlookin his lyrics and not seein what he's tryin to say or i am just damn right........AND not to piss any lupe fans, i aint really a big fan of him....


ur review is alright and the thing i disagreed on wit u


is that blue magic song.....its like 2.5 out of 5 stars

and wu tang is 3.5 out of 5

Baller

actually i think he jus wrote those verses...n jus decided to use dem on his new single...dont really think he wrote it to dumb it down...it kinda fit a lil but i can kinda tell...he can use his verses to alot of different beats

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Grandmaster G

you putting me to sleep nigga <---gemini responded to lupe's whole track
make it rain for the chicks <----HAHAHAHAHAHAA
pour champagne on a bitch <----HAHAHAHAHAHAA

Nokster

that means I'm eyeless, which means I'm tearless, which means my Irish resides where my ears is, which means I'm blinded, but I'ma find it, I can feel it's nearness".

*iris

good shit though.

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Los Scandalous.

ILLogic

Whaaack! Shit is boring and homo-erotic as fuck.

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Recognized Thresholds of Negative Stress
"Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left" - Ras Kass

Grandmaster G

bad shit ya mean.....lu shoulda rapped about lucky charms and tony the tiger and then go on and talk bout cinnamon toast crunch (damn that shit was good back in the day) and then honey nut cheerios.....and how metaphorically its dumbin it down, cause u dumbin it just to eat cereal when u should be chowin down on some continental breakfast shit (no homo).

A.T.I.

lmfaooo, get to writing b

so is your life, but it doesn't deserve a thread

indeed, last time I ever copy lyrics from that site :/

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“At a snail's pace, I won this race that y'all trail"

YounG AleX

Dumb it Down, one of the best singles of 07
just ?

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I learned that everybody is not your friend. You have to watch who you associate with and surround yourself with positive things and people who want to do something positive.- Gucci!

Grandmaster G

^nice avy

A.T.I.

not one of the best singles of the year, not even close really

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“At a snail's pace, I won this race that y'all trail"

Just_Blaze

Singles are overrated... It rarely ever happens where your single is anywhere close to the best song on an album...

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"tell blaze to stop it wit the embarassing posts.....he's making everything die" - Grandmaster G

A.T.I.

^also true...

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“At a snail's pace, I won this race that y'all trail"

Baller

^stop cosigning your dumb bitch

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A.T.I.

^after you stop being a faggot

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“At a snail's pace, I won this race that y'all trail"

Baller

props on the reviews though

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A.T.I.

lol, fa sho

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“At a snail's pace, I won this race that y'all trail"

deetek

totally agree
propz ati

scool

llol yall so gay


dumb it down is dope as fuck... hates