For my last and final album review, I will be doing one that received a lot of praise and recognition because of the platform. This album features two major artists in the rap game and arguably two top 5 rappers. This album is “Super Slimey,” by artists Future and Young Thug. 

One of the things that makes this album so good is the consistency of the entire album. It’s an album that you can play all the way through and every song bangs. The reason for this being how well Future and Young Thug’s flow fit so well together. Their chemistry on this album is unmatched and this album shows both of these rappers’ versatilities. 

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“Super Slimey” was released on October 20, 2017 and was relatively not expected at all. The announcement for its release was on October 19, by both rappers posting on their social media accounts. While the album wasn’t recognized that much in terms of hardware, personally I love this album.

Like previously said, most of the songs on the album are good, but some of my personal favorites include: “Patek Water feat. (Offset),” and “No Cap.” 

One of the main reasons I love “No Cap” is Young Thug’s verse on it. His flow over the beat is exceptional and the way he breaks down his lyrics to perfectly fit the beat is amazing. Future adds a very nice touch to this song delivering solid verses helping contribute to the song.

The main reason I love “Patek Water” so much is the production on this song. The background beat is very good. Young Thug and Future are very good on this song as well. But, the best verse on this song is easily Offset’s. Offset’s flow is incredible and he showcases it on this song. Delivering hard hitting bars while flowing perfectly on beat. 

For my next album review, I’ll be doing an album that is a personal favorite of mine. It’s an album that really put this major rap artist on the map arguably his best album. This album is “AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP,” by rapper “A$AP Rocky. 

This album was released on May 26, 2015 and went onto become certified platinum. It reached number one on the US Billboard 200. “AT.LONG.LAST.A$AP” was supported by the following singles: “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2 (LPFJ2),” “Everyday,” and “LSD.” All of these songs in my opinion are very good but my personal favorite is “Lord Pretty Flacko Jodye 2(LPFJ2).” I love this song because of Rocky’s flow and confidence on this track. Rocky reminds us of how lavishly he lives with lines like, “Always been a stand up guy, rather stand out. Raf Simons, Stan Smith edition with my bands out.” Rocky’s always a rapper that is considered to be “well-dressed” and lives very lavishly, and he does nothing but remind us of this. 

Another song that I love on this album is “Canal St. (feat. Bones).” I love the pace in which Rocky flows with in this song. I also love his energy on this song as he raps about his early life. “Takin’ packs up the block, them older kids said I couldn’t hustle.” Rocky talks in depth on this song about how he grew up selling drugs to help his family make ends meet. He talks about how he had to establish himself on the “streets” and had to gain the respect of those selling drugs. I love this song because of how rarely Rocky talks about his early life and how personal he gets on this song. Rocky one who doesn’t usually let us in on how he grew up.

For my next album review I’m going to be doing a more recent album. This artist is a well known artist among those who follow the rap game, but not well known but those outside of it. This artist is Pusha-T. Pusha-T’s been heavily involved in the rap game and is someone who is for the most part considered a veteran.

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While not really having any major hits or albums, Pusha-T is well respected in the rap community. He’s mostly known for rapping about his street credit, and his former life as a major cocaine dealer. But, that’s not the case on his most recent album, “Daytona.” “Daytona” was released in May of 2018, under Kanye West’s record label of G.O.O.D. Music. This album reached as far as number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. It received a nomination for “Best Rap Album” at the 61st annual Grammy’s Award.

One of the reasons that this album was critically acclaimed was the different approach that Pusha-T took on this album. He raps about being a married man now and not being the same person that he once was. He reflects on his previous life of running the streets and dealing cocaine, and how far he’s come from that.

Another reason this album was so successful was because of the approach he takes on the current state of rap. Pusha-T quotes multiple lines from Jay-Z talking about rap has fallen off and isn’t as “hard” as it once was. Pusha-T calls out rapper/ hip-hop artist Drake for paying other people to write his songs for him and how he takes credit for it. This ultimately leads to beef between the two rappers, where Pusha would later release a song revealing that Drake had a child out of wedlock and was hiding him so it wouldn’t diminish his reputation.

For my fourth album review, I will be doing an album that was recorded by a very controversial artist. This artist is Eminem. Eminem is a rapper who is considered one of the MC’s in rap history. He’s considered this because of his debut album “The Marshall Mathers LP.” 

“The Marshall Mathers LP” was released in 1999. This self-titled album was Eminem’s major-label debut. But, that didn’t stop it from getting it’s well-deserved recognition. The album is now certified eleven times platinum and won three grammys, as well as debuting number one on the US Billboard 200. 

While there is little doubt of this album’s greatness, there is much controversy around it as well. Most of the controversy being around the album’s lyrics that express violence, homophobia, and misogynia. Eminem also began to have discrepancies with other artists as well. In 2002, Eminem was sued by French jazz pianist Jacques Louisser for 10 million dollars over a debate as to whether or not the beat for Eminem’s song “Kill You” was stolen.

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From the album, there were a few singles that hit the top charts as well. “The Real Slim Shady” debuted as number one on the charts in the United Kingdom, and it jumped as far as number four on the Billboard Hot 100. In this song, Eminem goes onto a rant on the current state of music and it is a criticism of popular artists at the time. Eminem harshly criticizes everyone from American pop-star Britney Spears, to actor/ hip-hop artist Will Smith. Another hit single from the album is “Stan.” “Stan” reached number one on the billboards in eleven countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia. In this song, Eminem raps about a crazed fan who is mentally unstable. Stan writes letters to Eminem proclaiming he is “his biggest fan.” As the letters are failed to be delivered to Eminem, Stan ties up his girlfriend and kid with the intention to leave a recording tape for Eminem as he drives off a bridge. As Eminem eventually receives Stan’s letters, he writes back thanking him for being a fan. Eminem takes interest in Stan’s personal life questioning his mental state and telling him he doesn’t want him to end up like “a man who had drunkenly drove off a bridge killing his wife and kid.” As Eminem concludes his letter he realizes that the person he was describing was Stan.

For my fourth album review I’ll be doing an album that is considered to be one of the best rap albums of time, if not the best. This is an album that changed the sound of rap entirely. This album is “Illmatic” by the rapper Nas.

This album was Nas’ debut album and it is without question his best album. “Illmatic” was  released on April 19, 1994 and forever changed the course of Nas’ career. This album is a reflection on Nas’ life before rap as well as rapping about the current political state of America. Lines like, “I’m out for dead Presidents to represent me,” shows Nas’ stance on where he feels the state of the country was in at the time.

A few songs from the album that are personal favorites of mine are : “The World is Yours,” “Represent,” and “N.Y. State of Mind.” In “N.Y. State of Mind,” Nas raps about the struggles of his early life. He talks about his struggles and how he was forced to sell drugs to make ends meet. He talks about the dangers that come with the life he lives and how envisions a life where he moves past his current one. In “The World is Yours,” Nas pays homage to an earlier rapper by the name of “Scarface,” this song begins the trend of rap Republicans and inspires an entire generation that the, “The World is Yours.” This song may be the single most important sing in rap history. In the song “Represent,” while this song doesn’t paint as important as a message than another song from the album, this song is a personal favorite of mine. In this song Nas stakes his territory, and let’s his audience know that the he’s from Queensbridge and he is not to be messed around with.

For my third album review, I will be doing one that’s a personal favorite of mine. This album is one that is very well known and it is, Rodeo by Travis Scott. This album is Scott’s first studio album and arguably his best. This album was released September 4, 2015, and it is now certified platinum.

Travis Scott is an artist who is considered to be one of the best in the rap industry right now. He is well known for his background beats and how well his voice fits over those beats. He is known for a slower pace of rapping and harmonizing over such beats. This album perfectly embodies Scott’s style of rap.

Some of my favorite songs from this album include: “90210” ft. Kacy Hill, “Nightcrawler” ft. Swae Lee and Chief Keef, and “Impossible.” In “90210,” Scott talks about his come up in the rap industry and his past relationships. But, what makes this song so intriguing is Scott’s tone and the background instrumentals that parallel with it. The song in the beginning is very slow track and Scott talks about how he originally couldn’t find success, but as the track progresses the beat stops and immediately the beat picks up. Scott then begins rapping about his early success in the rap industry. In “Nightcrawler,” while it could be argued that this isn’t one of the best songs on the album, this song is easily the catchiest and shows Scott’s range and potential. In “Impossible,” the meaning of this song doesn’t tie into the message of the album as a whole, but the background instrumentals of this song and the pace makes it worth mentioning.

This album is a personal favorite of mine and I would highly recommend listening to it when possible. It’s an album that you can play any of the songs and they will be really good.

In this first blog, I’m going to be explaining primarily what my blog will be about. Week by week, I am going to be reviewing some of my favorite past rap albums and explaining some of the meaning behind certain songs.

First up on the list we have 2014 Forest Hills Drive by rapper Jermaine Cole, also known as J. Cole. This album was released December 9, 2014. It was Cole’s 5th album and 3rd major studio album. 2014 Forest Hills Drive is undoubtedly Cole’s most successful. What makes this album so successful is the story that Cole tells to his audience. 2014 Forest Hills Drive is a breakdown of various points in Cole’s life. “03’ Adolescence” brings about how Cole felt insecure and lacked confidence as a youth. Cole talks about how he always felt like everyone else was much better than him and he talks about how he dealt with his confidence issues.

Another song that represents a major point in Cole’s life is “A Tale of 2 Citiez.” Cole raps about his transition from moving from his small hometown of Fayetteville, North Carolina to New York City. He raps about how different NYC life is because of the obsession with materialistic goods. In “No Role Modelz,” Cole tells us about how he learned how to grow up without a father figure in his life. He talks about having no one to look up to and how he used Television character to help become a better man.
He makes it relatable to the average person. He doesn’t rap about how rich he is, he talks about his past struggles and how he got through them.

I would definitely recommend listening to this album if you haven’t before, not just because of the great music but also because of the relatable message Cole puts out.

For my second album that I’m going to review, it will be one that is pretty

well known. Someone who solemnly follows rap will know this album and that’s because of the praise that it’s received is unparalleled. This is an album that has everything from social injustice to self-conflict. It is currently archived at Harvard University’s library and being labeled as a “masterpiece.” This album is “To Pimp a Butterfly” by Kendrick Lamar.

Kendrick Lamar is a rapper who many consider to be the best in the rap

game and this album tells us why. Lamar’s breakdown of rhyme schemes as well his flow is unmatched. But, what makes Lamar so great is his ability to tell a story on top of those things. “To Pimp a Butterfly” is the perfect example of Lamar’s abilities. Lamar released this album on March 16, 2015. This was Lamar’s 3rd major studio album. Lamar basis this album around the many struggles that the African American community faces and the song “Alright” has become a major focal point in the fight for social justice in the black community. Lamar also parallels modern day injustice to slavery in the song “King Kunta.” He tells the story of a slave Kunta Kinte. Kunta was slave in Virginia in 1767 whose right foot was cut off after he tried to escape the plantation he worked on. We hear this in the song when Lamar says, “Now I run the game got the whole world talking. King Kunta everybody wanna cut the legs off him.”

While it is debatably Lamar’s best album, there’s no doubting this albums

greatness. As it brings about many major social issues in today’s present state. Lamar is said to be a major political activist for the African American community, and this album reflects that.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton