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Archive for December 3rd, 2009

Dec 3

Clipse – “Till The Casket Drops” (Album Review)

It's not dirty money...well...it might be. I wouldn't ask them though. Word of caution.

King Eljay – I could give you some type of introduction, but I really don’t need to. If you know of the Clipse, then you know what they’re capable of and how nice they are lyrically, even If all they do is rap about drugs (on the surface). If you don’t, then now’s the time to get introduced to them.

(Click here for rating scale link)

Flow (Album Playability):
-> .8  <-

For the most part, this album can be played from the beginning to the end. However, one of the things that the Clipse didn’t use to have was that completely playable album, and although the album was great in its own right, there was always that ONE song (or two) that just kind of threw the album in a different direction. Unfortunately…the problem is still here. “Never Will It Stop” sounds like a track removed from one of the Re-Up Gang mixtapes. That isn’t a BAD thing, but in the vibe of the album, this can easily become a skippable track. “Door Man” might get tiring to you too after a couple of plays.

Lyrics: -> 1 <-

Clipse has ALWAYS been nice with the pen, from the first time I bought a bootleg copy of “Lord Willin’” in front of Ford’s Crossing in Tuskegee, AL. Long time ago. Nothing’s changed, and Pusha T has actually gotten NICER with it… Read more

Dec 3

Juvenile – “Cocky and Confident” (Album Review)

Well...I never said the album was ORIGINAL...

King Eljay – Juvenile returns with his newest solo album since the release of his highly underrated (in my opinion) album “Reality Check” in 2006. The newest release, “Cocky and Confident”, almost seems as a part two to the last album.

Juve easily combines his street-savvy punchlines with trunk-rattling production with a Southern swagger that a lot of rappers try to imitate (hi Dorrough, how are you today? Swell…swell…) but they never quite duplicate as well.

As far as hip-hop appeal, there’s not much here. Juve stays in the streets with his lyrics, only taking a hip-hop break on the last track to address his son and to tell him not to be like him. To me, it somewhat contradicts his whole CD because he acts as if the street life is something he enjoys and embraces, but then he tells his son not to use him as an example.

Either way, for some solid RAP music (not hip-hop…rap…there’s a difference) that you can play and vibe to in the vehicle, Juvenile does it again. His street style is still prevalent in today’s music climate, and he does it better than most, so you can expect to hear more of the songs off this album on the radio soon.

For better or for worse, depending on how you look at it. I say ok (this time), but I’m one of the few hip-hop heads that has some type of weird appreciation for regular rap music when I’m in the right mood.

So…Yeah.

Final Rating: —> 3 / 5 <—

Eljay’s Favorites

  • “Gotta Get It”
  • “It’s All Hood”
  • “Everything” f/ Bobby V

Dec 3

2 Comments

Timbaland – “Shock Value 2″ (Album Review)

The cover art is dope. What do you think?

King Eljay – Guess what? Timbaland’s back at it again (surprise, surprise) with a new album that’s sure to shock fans in every single way possible. Unfortunately for him, that might not work out as well as it did the first time around…with one HUGE, Bran’ Nu exception…

(How about we roll out the rating system for this and see how it FLOWS? Check here for the details on it.)

Flow (Album Playability):
Because of the fact Timbaland jumps genre almost every single track, it’s hard to judge this one. If you like pop/rock/hip-hop infused with Tim’s new, traditional, eclectic style, then this will be great for you. If you prefer Timbaland’s OLD classic style and you aren’t too big on the new one, then you’re not going to appreciate this as much. I personally liked how it flows because I appreciate most of the genres represented on the album. As far as the songs…some were hit and miss. Sorry Miley Cyrus, but I’m not ever listening to “We Belong To Music” ever again.

EVER.

Lyrics:
Because it’s a compilation album of sorts, once again it’s hard to judge on this one as well. Some songs are deep and lyrically inclined (“Say Something” with Drake, “Long Way Down” with Daughtry, “The One I Love” with Keri Hilson and D.O.E.), some are just fun tracks to vibe to for some people (“Ease Off The Liquor”, “We Belong to Music”), but it honestly depends on your musical inclination. For me, I felt like the album met in the middle.

The headphones aren't really plugged in. It's probably just a picture. Disappointing...I know.

Originality:
Let it be stated that there is NEVER any question if Timbaland is original or not. The day he stops being original is the day that he falls off completely. If you’ve followed Tim from the beginning, you’ve seen how he’s evolved his style and remained relevant. Regardless if you like his new style NOW as opposed to THEN (which is understandable), his originality is all over this cd. He takes each artist and meshes them into his own style, for better or for worse.

Wildcard:
Timbaland has drifted further and further from the hip-hop scene, but he does have a seemingly nice backup business plan. He reinvents music artists, and the test subject for today is Bran’ Nu, aka Brandy. She’s featured on two songs (“Meet in the Middle” and “Symphony”) and to be completely honest… she’s a dope rapper. I’d be interested to hear an album from her more than Nikki Minaj…

Sound:
This one’s easy. It’s Timbaland. Of course the production is astounding, even if some of the songs aren’t.

Bottom Line:

Tim’s officially crossing over. It’s sad to see, and hopefully he’ll get back into hip-hop soon, but for this album, it’s only a glimpse of hip-hop, and more of the eclectic side of Timmy. But even as far as crossing over, his last album performed this more effortlessly, and included EVERY genre well, and this album excludes us hip-hop heads. Even still, it’s a solid compilation album if you’re not big into hip-hop and you like Tim’s sound.

Final Rating: —>3.25 / 5 <—

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