[10 & 10 | Mixtape Review] Lewis – “Nothing Personal”

The Introduction

[Eljay] – Lewis is no stranger to the site by any means. He was one of the main reasons the K1ngEljay.com initially decided to take the angle of shining light on unsigned artists that deserved it; essentially, we saw potential a long time ago and we’ve been riding with him and watching the growth ever since. With his latest release, Nothing Personal is yet another solid mixtape from Lewis, but could he actually take another step and make that jump? Can he focus on making songs or will he stick to what he knows?

Well, yes and no. This [10 & 10] Review is as follows; If you don’t know, this is essentially two writers giving ten random thoughts/statements/etc, and following that up with a brief overview and rating. Jake is on the evens, and I’m handling the odds. Check out our thoughts below, and download the project at the end.

The [10 & 10] Review

1. Just a random note, but whether the beats are original or lifted, it would be nice if they gave credit to where the original beats came from. Just a quick note that I’m sure the listeners would appreciate in the future (for the record, “Gladiator” takes the instrumental from Usher’s “Lil Freak”).
2. Lewis has been releasing music at a pretty steady pace lately, and all of it sounds quite a bit different than last April’s record, When In Rome.
3. This is the second project to be released from the LION pairing of Lewis (formerly known as propaYne) and Martin Beamon, aka January’s First. Sadly, there’s no sighting of Beamon on here. Hope it’s nothing persona- oh, wow. Bad pun. Nevermind.
4. I’ve had “Ogre Oder” since about October, and it’s gotten some pretty consistent play on my iPhone ever since.  It was the first time I’d heard Lewis’ more aggressive sound, and I really dug it.  Still do.
5. Lewis has a habit of spazzing on tracks, but I’m hoping that with Nothing Personal he has more fully fleshed-out SONGS as opposed to just tracks like on his past projects.
6. To me, Lewis has always had trouble with staying on beat for an entire song.  While the problem certainly isn’t as pronounced as it was a year or two ago, there isn’t all that much improvement from When in Rome to Nothing Personal, which is a bit disappointing.
7. Lewis’ brash delivery is slowly becoming his calling card. I’m not sure if that’s what he wants to be associated to him, due to the fact he’s a talented writer when it comes to his verses.
8. I’m not sure why people keep rapping over “Welcome to the Jungle.”  Maybe it’s my not-so-secret dislike of Swizz Beatz, but the track is my least favorite on Watch the Throne, so it always bothers me when people rap over it.  That being said, Lewis does his thing on it.
9. “My First Failed Suicide” is a VERY interesting track, and it shows off the point I made earlier; Lewis is perfectly capable of making deep songs like this.
10. I saw a comment on the LupEND blog about this record being excessively vulgar.  While there is a good bit of profanity, I don’t really feel like it is overwhelming by any means.
11. I don’t know the entire situation with J. Ellis and the rest of the crew, but his contribution on the beat for “Window” is incredible, and Lewis laces it nicely. Easily one of my favorite tracks here.
12. 12.  Lewis has definitely stepped his hook game up.  While hooks aren’t present on every song, when they are, they are fairly catchy, which is something that held him back in the past.
13. I know he said he was just messing around, but the hook for “POPE” is… I mean, it’s originally a line from Kanye West’s “Power” Remix (that you NEED to hear, by the way), but it’s still a skippable track for me. *Kanye shrug*
14. The project hits a bit of a lull in the middle, and while the songs aren’t bad, they aren’t as attention getting as some of the ones at the beginning.
15. In the past, Lewis had issues delivering his verses without sounding as if he’s rushing or forcing them. On this project, the improvement is noticed in almost every song, and it boosts the replay value. For me, that realization snapped in place as “First World Problems” played.
16. I talked to Eljay a little bit about this project, and he and I both agree that Lewis is at his best when he is focused on making SONGS instead of just throwing verses on a freestyle.
17. The hook for “Based” is extremely catchy. Found myself humming the melody a few times after my initial playthrough.
18. This “Gladiator” record is INCREDIBLE. This is by far the best Lewis’ flow has sounded on a record, and the aggressive sound is very, very dope.  This could be one of my favorite records so far in 2012.
19. I enjoyed this project more than When In Rome, but it still sounds like more of the same, with the exception of “Suicide” and his comfort level on tracks.
20. “Watch the World Burn” is another great song, and along with “Blue & Green,” “Based,” and “Gladiator,” it ends the tape on a very, very strong note.  

The Wrap Up

[K1ng Eljay] – Jake alluded to this in one of his points, but one of the things that we KNOW Lewis can do is rap. Grab an instrumental and “make a part two” (to quote Lil’ Wayne) is almost second nature for him now since he’s been doing it for so long. The last project I heard from him (When In Rome) was solid, but left me wanting two things; more “songs”, and more of a comfort level with his rhyme schemes since it sometimes still felt forced.

With each project I’ve heard from him he’s improved, and this one’s no different. He’s much more comfortable with his rhymes, but unfortunately we only get a flash or two of the “song” aspect. He’s perfectly capable of doing it, but for some reason it wasn’t in the cards for him to demonstrate it on this project. This is a dope project (again), but I’m still waiting to hear him make that transition that can set him apart from other rappers… not make him similar.

• Eljay’s Rating: 3 out of 5
• Eljay’s Favorites:
  • “Window”
  • “My First Failed Suicide”
  • “Based”
  • “First World Problems”

 )()()(

[Jake Bouvy] – Like I said on the review for January’s First, I rock with Lewis and his crew, and I have for quite a while.  That being said, while some growth is shown on this project, like the evolution to a more aggressive sound overall, Lewis fails to make leaps in the area that has plagued him most in the past: his flow.  “Gladiator” showcases a massive improvement, but other than that, this project seems to be more of a plateau.  That isn’t to say that it isn’t a good project, it certainly is, but I would have liked to see some more growth from the New Jersey emcee.

• Bouvy’s Rating: 3.5 out of 5
• Bouvy’s Favorites:
  • “Gladiator”
  • “Watch the World Burn”
  • “Ogre Odor”
  • “My First Failed Suicide”

K1ngEljay.com Rating

3.5 out of 5

• Download “Nothing Personal” here | (mediafire)
• Check the [10 & 10 | Mixtape Review] on Martin Beamon’s “January’s First” here
• Like K1ngEljay.com on Facebook!