official liveblog rap album review thread

oh and definitely not fulfilling Dame Dash's dreams

oh and add "Intro" to the xpost because that's BY FAR the best song on this album, forgot about that.

and subtract "pulling me back" i seem to have completely contradicted myself there. lol

dope dude

im gonna read this l8r

"Echo" seems to be blowing up here and I fuck with it. Shit is a jam.

wait really?

Yeah, seems as tho it isn't one of the actual singles tho?

i lol'd heartily at that liveblog, good shit

i would like to put together a documentary about a bunch of people's reactions the first time they heard "na na nanana na". mine was at my house with my roommate and we both just became paralyzed as if the 30 second itunes sample was actually a virus that turned your computer into medusa

dont like jim jones at all but the r les track was alright, and yeah the intro was kind of cool

can't decide what my favorite couplet on "Man I" is

We can make a porno
When we all done we can play a game of uno

or

Back in the day I used to wanna fuck Jada
2008 I still wanna fuck Jada

this album is good but I might delete four r five of the tracks because they are unlistenable. like "Echo"

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― preview& potmXII& chinchillas& surfboar (surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally), Monday, March 16, 2009 3:45 PM Bookmark

now ready to say "Echo" is like top 5 jams this year. surfboard dudes get wiped out, 51

went to sleep in michigan and woke up in miami
south beach sleepin with a bitch in my pajamies

no idea what 51 refers to but "Echo" sucks so fuckng hard. It's kind of an embarrasment no matter how many ptwittytv tweets remind me of it's existance. I guess GZ is past embarrasment at this point cuz this shit is like somethng timbaland would put at the end of his album ft. some random no ones ever heard of but then again that shit works who knows could be the next one republic good look for a dude who used to be in Boyz n Da Hood and made "Bite Down" and "Hood Nigga."

N
A
G
L

do u zoe listen to diddy etc

haha "Echo" does sound like some Shock Value Timbaland bullshit. 51 me, whatever.

It sounds more like an Akon ballad imo. A really good one.

I could give one less of a fuck if it or anything else isn't "real rap". It works for what it is. It's well-written, well-produced, and Zoe sounds like a badass on it. I don't see what's embarrassing about it at all.

I mean, does the criticism run any deeper than "rappers be singin'"?

i just thought it was kinda weak sauce even as an R&B song or whatever you wanna judge it by.

Fair enough

it would sound much better if it were an Akon song actually. I just think GZ's growly ass voice is better for "Lost" style dark shit, he's not really a guy I need to hear singing about a jilted lover. It has nothing to do with rappers be singing really cuz he pretty much proved that he can do it real well on "Lost"

or as a jilted lover, rather.

I think NOE is actually kind of a good rapper but no one will ever know because he sounds exactly like Jay-Z did I mention that.

― preview& potmXII& chinchillas& surfboar (surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally), Saturday, March 21, 2009 4:59 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha i've written a couple things about NOE because he's from Baltimore and yeah, that's kinda what I always come back to. him appearing on the "swagga from us" song was really the epic fail underlining his whole situation, i think.

al i nver bought a nas cd after fuckin.... whatever the 2cd is called

echo is ridiculous. it'd sound good with taylord swift on it.

haa

echo is awful

yall are on some other shit

hahaha omg sry rev but echo is sooo bad. feeling most of the first ten songs or so tho

"lol i have an idea, lets tack a nickelback homage on the end of our rap record!"

"i'm dumb" is a jaaaaam

at least saying it sounded like timbaland made any sense at all

ha, the way it's autotuned reminded me of that godawful "photograph". i'd go back to listen again to make sure, but nah ;)

"echo" is pretty good— i think it's hilarious that's it at the end of the record, like he has this album that's peppered w/ autotune sellout jams and at the end he finally goes in all the way

btw why was diddy tweeting about being on the song, is it a single version or something? diddy would be pretty awesome on this potentially

no he just hyped it like "go get Don' Feed The ANimals in stores now!!! ft 'Echo!!!'", suggesting that there will soon be a big push for it to be a hit (i dont think anyone here really needs me to do more of an accurate diddy tweeting impression than that)

Loso's Way tonight? <3 <3 <3

and now for our feature presentation

1. The Way (Intro)
Fabo walks onto the red carpet angry, "I woulda been your friend until the end, bitch." Synth brass is arresting for the first 30 seconds but then it starts to feel like a boring loop. Song doesn't really go anywhere interesting, Fabo's rhymes don't really build or anything, he's just consistently decent from 0:00 to 4:10. We learn that he's into Rosetta Stone, but he doesn't like swag. He claims he's going to start a new trend. I can't wait to find out what that is...

2. My Time (w/ Jeremih)
Oooh, we found the new trend: an autotune chorus. This is a big beat and a dope hook, actually very anthemic, i bet it's jammed in locker rooms all over the country. It shoulda been Jeremih's second single. I mean, 30 seconds later, I don't actually remember Mr. Loso appearing in the song? I think he had a verse near the beginning.

3. Imma Do It (feat. Kobe)
Fuck yes, this is more like it. Fabo announces that he feels like JFK in a city that lets you fly out of JFK. Ummmmm....Regardless, I really dig this track because this Kobe guy sings 500 registers deeper than most R&B hook guys and so it sounds, um, fresh. Also the verses get much better and, like "Knock You Down," the synths stutter in this really fun and exciting way.

you stopped

i live w/ my parents, sorry

here i go again

4 Feel Like I'm Back
Oh, look, the synth horns are back, but this time they're a lot fuller and the drums are exciting! Fabo once again asserts his newfound confidence (thanks man!). Not a very exciting hook, but good news: Fabo's verses are finally starting to improve, "I ain't losing step/i ain't missed a beat/thugs have emotions/we miss the streets"

5 Everything, Everyday, Everywhere (feat. Keri Hilson)
Nice! A fresh Leslie beat, not to mention a woman on the hook! Sadly, said hook isn't all that, it's nice but small, there's a lot of unrealized potential in the 'every every every' chant at the end. Unfortunately, I feel like the beat has way more character than Loso's verses? I think i'm going to start scoring, 7/10?

6 Throw It In The Bag (feat. The-Dream)
This one bounces like "Shawty Is Da Shit," i wouldn't be surprised if the hook was a l/h leftover, but i'm not going to complain about a leftover from the best album of 2008. Fabolous and -dream sound fresh here, not exactly next-level, but this is pretty awesome, thanks terius. 8/10

7 Money Goes, Honey Stay (When the Money Goes) (feat. Jay-Z)
This is some James Bond shit here, you know the tone: James finds hot girl on the beach and then they make love but you know there's a dangerous dwarf hiding in the closet? danger on the seemingly perfect island. This is very nicely done but there better be danger on the next track...

8 Salute [feat. Lil Wayne]
OH FUCK YES! This is even more James Bond, but james bond as he kills all the bad guys with his dope gadgets. "Shoot the motherfucker down!" A fierce marching band beat, totally banging--the first time the synth brass totally works. And both Fabolous and Lil Wayne are on fire, best track on the album so far!

9. There He Go [feat. Paul Cain, Red Cafe & Freck Billionaire]
Damnnnnn, I think this is actually my new favorite. I've listened to it three times in a row now. This beat is next-level, it really...flies? I mean, during the chorus it just very smoothly, seemlessly becomes HUGE. This girl plays a huge role in that, but the beat is just so big that it's not like "omg funky guitar/whirring synths coming in," instead those huge elements just feel natural and right. I want to blare this out of a car tonight

10. Fabolous Life [feat. Ryan Leslie]
I mean, this is pleasant, but tbh, I'd rather watch Leslie playing around in the studio during the making-of? This is a problem I have w/ a lot of Leslie stuff

11. Makin' Love [feat. Ne-Yo]
Everything about this is v alive, especially the beat. refreshing, but the hook isn't mindblowing or anything, just competent. subject matter, hmm...as usual, my homo friend ne-yo shows a fine understanding of 'love,' fabo not so much, even admitting at the end, "love, what the fuck is that?!" Isn't there a gay rapper out there?