R.E.A.L. – “Stress Induced Illness” (Mixtape Review)

Eljay isn't the only person with bushy eyebrows. See?

Funny story. A few weeks back, I’m chillin and talkin to Rhymestyle (via Skype) and he’s talkin about some music that a guy sent him to check out. I was bored at the time so he skimmed through it aloud and it sounded ok for only hearing 12 second snippets of it (because Rhyme is the most ADHD person I’ve met by far) so I told him to link me to it. I got the link, never downloaded it…

…and a week or so later, J. Ideas hit me on Twitter about someone to review by the name of R.E.A.L. I said sure, and surprise, surprise…it’s the same mixtape. Interesting…

The Good:

R.E.A.L handpicks from industry beats as he jumps on to remix and re-imagine songs. For the most part, the delivery is there and his lyrics have more quotables than the average mixtape.

The selected beats for the mixtape stood out to me as well. From Clipse’s “Popeyes” to Talib’s “Get By” to Rich Boy’s “Drop” (which R.E.A.L. flips flows on pretty solidly), almost all of the beats seems picked out to show off the different styles of his rap flow, which is a nice touch.

Speaking of flow, that’s solid too. For the most part, the content and the versatility are well-documented on each track. Although some tracks relapse into common territory of most mixtapes, the tape really shines when R.E.A.L’s reflecting through his lyrics on tracks such as “Followin’ Dreams,” “R.E.A.L. Sh**”, and “The Light.”

The Bad:

Some of the hooks just seem forced. “Buzzin’” sounds as If he was trying to stretch the lyrics too much to fit the beat, and it all but took away the affect of the verses because of how the hook was constructed. For some people it might work, but in this case it hurt the overall potency of the tape. Sometimes, this seems to be the case during his verses as well…

The interludes are amusing too, but it seems almost hollow as well. Overall, if most of the aspects on the project were a little tightened up, it would lay the foundation better for R.E.A.L. to step out and show and prove, but it’s the little things here and there that slightly hinder him… this time.

Bottom Line:

The tape is thought out and put together pretty nicely, but not as fine-polished as most mixtapes that you’d want to listen to. Regardless, there’s raw talent here with R.E.A.L. and it won’t take long for others to realize that if he stays true to what’s in the content of his songs. There’s no way you can listen to “The Light” and not see something promising here. I’m watching to see what he does next, because the songs that are good are DEFINITELY worth the download.

Check the link below and come up with your own conclusion…

Eljay’s Favorites:

• “The Light”
• “R.E.A.L. Sh**”
• “Stress Induced Illness”
• “Come Party It Up”

(Click here to download R.E.A.L.’s “Stress Induced Illness” mixtape)