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T.I. – Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head

Chozen — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:23:49 +0000

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A$AP Rocky – Long.Live.A$AP

Chozen — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 20:03:56 +0000

After a few push backs, and some of the initial buzz being lost, A$AP Rocky reveals the artwork, tracklist and finally the release date of his anticipated debut "Long.Live.A$AP." Appearances on the project include ScHoolboy Q, Santigold, Drake, 2 Chainz, Kendrick Lamar, Yelawolf, Gucci Mane, and a few more, the tracklist appears to be a solid line up of tracks that could result in a dope album. One good thing about the project already is that it's only two singles in, which are "Goldie" and "Fuckin’ Problems", the latter being the first official single, check out the tracklist and artwork.

A$AP Rocky - Long.Live.A$AP Album Review

Coming soon.

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Wiz Khalifa – O.N.I.F.C.

Chozen — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 18:21:34 +0000

Wiz's highly anticipated new album O.N.I.F.C. has arrived! Head to iTunes now to download your copy of Wiz's sophomore album O.N.I.F.C. featuring the hit singles "Remember You" feat. The Weeknd, "It's Nothin" feat. 2 Chainz, "Work Hard, Play Hard", and "The Bluff" feat. Cam'ron. Check out the full track listing below.

Wiz Khalifa - O.N.I.F.C. Album Review

This album is what Rolling Papers should have sounded like, even Wiz Khalifa himself admitted to the flaws of his major debut and from the sound of this sophomore project, there's a clear effort to not repeat those mistakes. Wiz sounds much more comfortable on this album, more like the mixtape Wiz. The beat selection on this project is flawless and fits Wiz's style perfectly. The overall vibe and subject matter of the album paints a picture of a rapper who's evolving and moving up on the Hip Hop food chain. There's also this intentional presence of the Taylor Gang movement all over this album with features from Chevy Woods, Juicy J, Lola Monroe, and even Amber Rose. The external features also made allot of sense for their respective tracks, such as Cam'ron on Bluff, 2 Chainz on It's Nothin, and The Weeknd on Remember You. Once again what really makes this album special is the production, which is something that wasn't as coherent on his previous effort. Not that Rolling Papers didn't have it's moments and the production wasn't good but everything didn't play well together as a over all cohesive album. When you listen to the album, you can picture Wiz sitting in the studio going through hundreds of beats to find the right one for each track. There's something for every Wiz Khalifa fan out this album. I can't even really point out a filler track on the project, every track was solid. In conclusion whether your a new Wiz Khalifa fan or a veteran like myself, you'll find something on this album and it's definitely worth the purchase. I give it 4/5. What's your thoughts on O.N.I.F.C.? Leave your reviews below.

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Chief Keef – Finally Rich

Chozen — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 15:54:15 +0000

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Meek Mill – Dreams And Nightmares

Chozen — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 05:19:17 +0000

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Kendrick Lamar – good kid, m.A.A.d city

Chozen — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 00:05:15 +0000

The Kendrick Lamar good kid, m.A.A.d city album is here, without a doubt one of the most anticipated albums in years. Many have even argued that it's the most significant album debut since "Illmatic." Yeah, I know...Blasphemy! But that's the conversation being had around the web right now, for me personally the jury is still out on that. I believe that's a conversation for another time, but what we can talk about is this album being one of the most important album releases this year, or even in recent years. "good kid, m.A.A.d city" represents the changing of the guards in Hip Hop, a sign that we're moving away from the "1 + 2 = 3" simpleton way of rapping back to lyricists being at the forefront of rap. I believe this is something Drake started with Thank Me Later in 2010, though many would disagree because they don't believe Drake is a legitimate lyricist. That's debatable but that album signaled a change in what would shape the next 10 or so years of Hip-Hop. This was further confirmed with the release of J. Cole's "Cole World: The Sideline Story" in 2011, another major release from a true lyricist. Now we have Kendrick Lamar who basically brought the West Coast back, not mention being likened to Nas and 2 Pac due to his subject matter even before the release of his album. So now that the album has arrived lets get into it.

Kendrick Lamar - good kid, m.A.A.d city Review

1. Sherane a.k.a Master Splinter's Daughter The perfect track to start the album off with, produced by Tha Bizness, at first I thought Sherane was a metaphor for something else but Kendrick is referring to an actually girl, this will play out throughout the album in skits. The skits plastered all over this album is what makes it flow so well, after this track was over Kendrick's mom calls him asking where he is with her van (the one on the deluxe album cover). She mentions "Sherane" in hopes that he's not out messing with her. His father takes the phone, complaining about wanting Domino's pizza, at which point his mother tells him it's the voice mail and takes the phone back. They argue a little bit then Kendrick's father ends off with saying "Matter of fact, Cut my motherfucking oldies back on you killing my motherfucking vibe" 2. Bitch, Don’t Kill My Vibe In terms of vibe (No pun intended) this falls in place with the opening track, the Sounwave produced track presents a laid back feel that you wouldn't necessarily want to bump in the whip but definitely at the crib watching the TV on mute with some rolling papers and a red cup as apart of the recipe (I swear I'm not doing that on purpose). As I mentioned previously the skits connect this album, at the end of this one you hear one of Kendrick's friends saying "K.Dot, get in the car nigga, c'mon we fittin to roll out, nigga I got a pack of blacks and a beat CD, get your freestyles ready." 3. Backseat Freestyle This is where the album takes a turn, Backseat Freestyle produced by Hit-Boy switches up the pace with a much harder beat and much more aggressive rhymes. It's a banger, not much more I say than that, definitely added it my Fav's playlist. It's one of the few tracks on the album that could be considered a club record. No skit on this one. 4. The Art of Peer Pressure At first this song starts off sounding like it's going to be another laid back record, but at the 1:07 mark it turns into a much more serious record. Story telling is something Nas mastered, and Kendrick appears to have been taking notes. He paints a very vivid picture of rolling around with his friends and results of what happens due to Peer Pressure. This track resonated with me on a personal level, it embodies my teen years growing up in Jamaica (The country). I dug this track. The track ends off with Kendrick Lamar and his homies talking about the day they had, they talk about getting active, but before that dropping off K.Dot (Kendrick Lamar) at his crib so he can go see Sherane. 5. Money Trees This track was cool but nothing special in my opinion, you might think different though. It's in no way near being a filler but it just didn't move me in anyway and it's a little too long. The skit on this one dates back to the first track, his mom is still waiting for Kendrick to bring the car back. Kendrick Lamar's mom continues to call him and leave him voice messages, she lets him know she's still waiting on the car and that his father is drunk and trying to get his freak on, so she wants out of the house. 6. Poetic Justice What do I even have to say about this track it's already a classic? From the title to the Janet Jackson sample and the Drake feature, it's already a hit. You should recall Kendrick Lamar was featured on Drake’s most recent album Take Care on one of the interludes, so now Drizzy returns the favor. Even though Drake and Kendrick are polar opposites, the synergy on this one is undeniable and it's another hit from the album. The skit on this one ends off with Kendrick parked on Sherane's block and two dudes start pressing him, trying to figure out where he's from. 7. good kid This is one of the more lyrically compounded tracks on the album, he goes off on this one and it can be considered one half of the title track. 8. m.A.A.d city Obviously this would be the second half of the title track, it's more cracked up than good kid, it's actually 2 records in one. It's a banger. The skit at the end of this one is a continuation of Poetic Justice's skit where the 2 dudes (Happens to be Sherane's cousins) were pressing Kendrick while he was parked waiting for Sharene. As it turns out they gave him a beat down. His homies comfort him after the beat down, one of his friends says to him "they got you good my nigga? don't even trip just lay back a drink that" 9. Swimming Pools (Drank) Not much to say about this one, you already know about this one, it's a hit record. When it first came out, people saw the T-Minus production credit, plus the name of the track and started thinking -- oh boy he's about to go commercial. That turned out to not be the case, though it's a commercial success it's actually a part of a bigger story, that is good kid, m.A.A.d city. At the end of Swimming Pools is where things take a turn and start coming together, K.Dot and friends retaliate against Sherane's cousins by shooting at them and one of K.Dot's friend's brother gets killed in the exchange. 10. Sing About Me, I'm Dying Of Thirst This is a commentary on the storytelling of rap. Kendrick takes on the perspective of two people he knows - one positive and one negative. Would love to hear some conversations about this track and who you think these two perspectives Kendrick is writing from. At the end of this one, K.Dot's friend is getting ready avenge his brothers death, at this point a woman who by the sound of it is a senior calm them down and made them participate in a prayer. Lets talk about this one. 11. Real This song denotes an incredibly important realization that Kendrick Lamar has felt. The song as a whole alludes to really important topics like the importance of loving yourself (and how this is a necessary component of having some of the powerful insight that Kendrick describes through out the album) 12. Compton This track closes off the entire project, by bringing it right back to what it's all about, California. Kendrick Lamar is the new embodiment of the West Coast and he makes it clear that he's all about that and represents that. This banger was produced by Just Blaze, whom Kendrick actually met through Dr. Dre. According to him, this beat’s actually around three years old.

Conclusion

The album is pretty brilliant, I didn't realize how brilliant until I started writing this all out. It's so dope that a record like "Swimming Pools (Drank)" became a hit while actually being taken out of context, very much like how "Poetic Justice" and "Backseat Freestyle" were. Once you hear it in it's entirety, those songs acquire more meaning. I was very much impressed by this album, I give it 4.5/5. The reason why it didn't give it a perfect score is because as clever as it was, you also have to consider enjoyability. The question is will I be playing this a year from now and banging these records individually and liking them just for being great sounding tracks. Only time will tell. That's it, thanks for reading. What's your thoughts on the project?

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ZZ Ward – Til The Casket Drops

Chozen — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 14:19:48 +0000

The ZZ Ward "Til The Casket Drops" album has arrived. ZZ Ward just as of late started popping up on our radar, we heard on a couple features with guys like Freddie Gibbs and Asher Roth. But it wasn't until Cryin Wolf which featured Kendrick Lamar, that we really started to pay attention to her style. She then followed up with Lil Darlin which featured The O’My’s. Now Til The Casket Drops is here. (Preview)

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Ne-Yo – R.E.D.

IHHM — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 13:41:00 +0000

The official tracklist and artwork for Ne-Yo's new R.E.D. album has arrived. It's his fifth studio album and the follow-up to his 2010 album “Libra Scale.” So far we've heard Lazy Love and seen the music video, Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself), it's music video and the latest release Don’t Make ‘Em Like You featuring Wiz Khalifa. There haven't been any missteps yet in terms of single released for this album and we're looking forward to hearing this entire album.

Ne-Yo - R.E.D. Album Review

Coming soon....

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Alicia Keys – Girl On Fire

IHHM — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:38:11 +0000

Alicia Keys Girl On Fire album is fifth studio album, It's hard to believe she's only had only 5 albums -- It feels like she's had so much more body of work over the past 12 years. Of course you don't need to rush when all your efforts become platinum selling releases. Now I'm glad she is back to making music and November 27 couldn't get here any faster.

A Look At Alicia Keys' Girl On Fire Album......So Far

Lets first talk about the first single that wasn't really the first single.

New Day

The release of New Day was a bit of a blunder, Alicia released is via Twitter on the 27th of June and her fans immediately flocked to it, since it was the first new song we've seen from her in quite some time. The track was produced by her husband Swizz Beatz and though Alicia didn't say it was the first single, everyone thought it was. The song displayed a new sound for Alicia and people loved the song.

50 Cent - New Day

3 weeks after Alicia's single was released 50 Cent announced that his first official single was titled "New Day" and would feature Alicia Keys & Dr. Dre. At the time no one took notice of the fact that Alicia's release was also called New Day. The exactly a month Alicia version, Fif liberated his version and confusion ensued. 50 Cent took some time to explain in a video how the collaboration came about and why there's two versions of the single. Basically it was suppose to be 50 Cent's single which was originally being produced by Dr. Dre. Due to Dr. Dre taking his time with preparing the record, since the record was already sent to Alicia -- her and Swizz decided to produce an different version of the record which you can hear in both versions. Long story short, both versions of New Day will be featured on their perspective albums.

Alicia Keys – Girl On Fire (2 Versions) [Official Single]

Alicia's first official single arrived in the form of the album's title track September 3rd, the single has 2 versions, the first one is called the Inferno remix which features Nicki Minaj and was performed at the 2012 MTV VMAs. We haven't heard the other version yet. The single has been received mostly positive reaction from the public and is already doing well on the charts.

Alicia Keys - Girl On Fire Album Review (Coming Soon)

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DJ Drama – Quality Street Music

IHHM — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 18:58:21 +0000

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G.O.O.D. Music – Cruel Summer

IHHM — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 14:05:00 +0000

The G.O.O.D. Music Cruel Summer ship has landed. This album had the world on the edge waiting for it's release, making it one of the most anticipated albums of the year. So where do we start with this Cruel Summer album? I guess we should do singles first.

"Mercy" (Kanye West, Big Sean, Pusha T and 2 Chainz)

This is single that set everything off, this was first preceded by 2 Chainz having allot of hype around him after releasing a successful mixtape that brought us a slew of singles, followed by features with every single artist you can think of, even Justin Bieber. Then rumors started circulating that he was joining G.O.O.D. Music, which made things even more exciting. Then Mercy hits the web and it was an instant hit, the fans just gravitated towards it. Shortly after it started to climb the charts, which eventually lead to the single selling over 1 million copies, making it the first certified platinum single from the album. It was a great way to start the album run.

"Cold" (Kanye West and DJ Khaled)

This single went through a few transformations, it was originally called "Theraflu," and then "Way Too Cold" before it finally became "Cold" featuring DJ Khaled with some ad-lib assistance. This one wasn't without it's share of controversy, the first thing that sparked discussion on Twitter, Facebook and the web was when Kanye mentioned his current girlfriend Kim Kardashian, his ex Amber Rose and her man Wiz Khalifa (Now a baby father) all in the same bar: "And the whole industry want to fuck your old chick Only nigga I got respect for is Wiz And I'll admit, I had fell in love with Kim Around the same time she had fell in love with him" Many thought that was a shot at Wiz at first, to which Wiz responded:

"I've gone a long time without anybody actually saying my name out loud like that. It wasn't a bad thing. It was just the fact that it was my name. That's my name. it was wild, it was wild, but nothing negative. Everybody got positive from it, so it's positive."

That was the end of that. The single also became the topic of discussion on a episode of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" "Cold" was a radio favorite and I'm surprised the Hit-Boy produced track didn't also sell a million copies. The track also had a partial music video at the end of DJ Khaled's "I Wish You Would" music video.

"New God Flow" (Kanye West, Pusha T and Ghostface Killah)

Maaaaan, this track right here n*gga, this track right here is called def n*gga. Without a doubt one of my favorite records from the Cruel Summer album. This "New God Flow" record is very much a Pusha T track that features Kanye West. This track comes after 2 very hot releases from Pusha T that created allot of excitement for him and his solo project. The first track was "Exodus 23:1" (Exodus 23:1 music video) which was alledgely a diss record going at Drake to which Lil Wayne responded with Ghoulish (very weak), and the second track was In The Ho (Lambo) (feat. Swizz Beatz), and that one is a banger. By the time "New God Flow" was released, fans had already had a new found interest in Pusha T's music and Pusha had new found energy to make music which really came across on this track, it started off epic.

"I believe there’s a god above me, I’m just the god of everything else, I put holes in everything else, New God Flow, fuck everything else!"

The original release didn't feature the Ghostface Killah verse, but it was a great addition to an already good song. All in all this is a very dope record which is in my opinion one of the best tracks on the album.

"Clique" (Kanye West, Jay-Z and Big Sean)

This was one of the most highly anticipated collaborations from album, though it wasn't as epic as previous releases it was a solid record and another one that will live on the radio. It's yet another Hit-Boy produced record alongside Kanye West with the Co-producer credit. The verse from Jay was decent but Kaye and Big Sean held it down more on this one I think. The most standout lyrics from this track was when Kanye West once again decided to name drop his girlfriend Kim Kardashian:

"Break records at Louie, ate breakfast at Gucci My girl a superstar all from a home movie"

Other Tracks From The Album

"To the World" (Kanye West and R. Kelly) Could have done without R. Kelly on this one, the track is OK but nothing special, feels like a filler and definitely shouldn't have been the intro track. "The Morning" (Raekwon, Pusha T, Common, 2 Chainz, Cyhi the Prynce, Kid Cudi and D'banj) This record is dope, legit rider music. I like the fact the track before this one "New God Flow" ended with Ghostface Killah and then this one started off with Raekwon, keeping the Wu-Tang theme going. All the verses on this one were solid, I was mostly impressed by Cyhi the Prynce's verse though. "Higher" (The-Dream, Pusha T, Mase and Cocaine 80s) With a line-up like this you'd think you would be getting something interesting but it was a bit of a underachiever. With the exception of Pusha's verse, gonna have to file this one under filler as well. "Sin City" (John Legend, Travis Scott, Teyana Taylor, Cyhi the Prynce and Malik Yusef) Not necessarily a hot record but I like this one and the beat bangs. It's acceptable, enjoyed Teyana Taylor and John Legend on this one. "The One" (Kanye West, Big Sean, 2 Chainz and Marsha Ambrosius) Didn't know how I felt about this record at first but after hearing a few times, it's pretty tough, and I love Marsha Ambrosius on this one, her style was so raw on the chorus. This one is play worthy. "Creepers" (Kid Cudi) I know Cudi is a alternative style Hip Hop artist and even though I don't really fux with most of his music too much, I do understand why his fans like him and think he's dope. That aside I felt like this track doesn't belong on the album. Yeah I know, it's a G.O.O.D. Music album and each of them deserve air time. It's not a filler, but it just doesn't belong. Cool beat though. "Bliss" (John Legend and Teyana Taylor) I love Teyana Taylor and if this is the only way I'm going to get new music from her at the moment, I'll take it. This is a good R&B joint from John Legend and Teyana Taylor for adding some balance to the album. "Don't Like" (Kanye West, Chief Keef, Pusha T, Big Sean and Jadakiss) This is not a filler but it sure is a addon, if this Chief Keef record didn't become anything special, this remix would've never made the album since it wouldn't exist. In the context of Cruel Summer I can't even rate this record since it's not really their record. Beyond that it's a good remix but I've had with this beat, and If I never see another "Don't Like" freestyle, it will be too soon. Big Sean and Pusha T had the best verses.....Nope sorry Jadakiss verse was the hardest.

In Conclusion

Group albums are always iffy, I'm not talking about albums released by groups that are actually groups like a Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang, Slaughterhouse etc. I'm talking a major artist like Kanye West releasing an album presenting all the artists on his label, the same way Lil Wayne did with Young Money, or 50 Cent with G-Unit (that first G-Unit album was fire). Separately allot of these artists are great and already established and are great by themselves but when you put them together it actually diminishes their individual value. This is what usually happens, and unfortunately this Kanye West presented Cruel Summer project doesn't break the cycle. Even though they're some special moments on this project, overall it's a OK album. I give it a 3.5 out of 5. Thoughts on this album.

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Lupe Fiasco – Food & Liquor 2: The Great American Rap Album Pt. 1

IHHM — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:08:57 +0000

Lets start with the Lupe Fiasco Food & Liquor 2 album cover. It's classic Lupe Fiasco and so brilliant, similar to his Friend Of The People mixtape cover, your left asking yourself WTF. This is exactly the reaction that Lupe wants from you.

Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free)

The album isn't without it's fair share of controversy, Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free) the first release from the album which sampled Pete Rock & CL Smooth's “T.R.O.Y.” was the first bump in the road leading up to the release of this album. When Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth dropped "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)" 20 years ago, the celebrated rap duo was still reeling over the unexpected death of their dear friend Troy "Trouble T" Dixon of Heavy D & the Boyz. What began as the most personal of lyrical eulogies soon became an iconic hip-hop track. When Lupe Fiasco remade the T.R.O.Y. instrumental for Around My Way, Pete Rock decide to let his thoughts be known.

"No disrespect to lupe fiasco and i like him alot but TROY should be left alone. Feel so violated,the beat is next to my heart and was made Outta anguish and pain. When it's like that it should not be touched by no one,"

Tweeted by Pete Rock. The thing about the T.R.O.Y. instrumental though, it's not an original composition, since it samples from jazz musician Tom Scott's 1967 song "Today." It is possible that "Around My Way," which was produced by Simonsayz and B-Side, sampled the original. This is also not the first time Lupe has paid homage to Pete Rock either, he once freestyled over the "Reminisce" beat for his "Dopeboys" freestyle with Wale and Kardinal Offishall. Pete Rock said he didn't have a problem with Lupe but just didn't appreciate the remake.

"I'm not flattered @ all. Dat shit is wack, and the producer should be ashamed of his fuckin self. Smh,"

Lupe's response to this situation was that he started tweeting other songs that sampled "T.R.O.Y." including Mann's J.R. Rotem-produced "Reminisce" and a remixed version of the song which featured Journalist, Mr. Cheeks and Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth themselves. Finally Lupe took the high road and tweeted a YouTube link to the original Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth video with the hash tag "#20YearsLaterStillTheBest."

Lupe Fiasco Around My Way (Freedom Ain’t Free) Music Video

Bitch Bad

Moving on from that, we arrive at the second single "Bitch Bad" which when you first see the title, if it were from any other artist you'd know what the song was going to be about. This is not the case when it comes to Lupe, the song addressed the double standard placed upon the word "Bitch" or "Bad Bitch." It wasn't a "Old dude trying to kick knowledge to me" kind of record, it was catchy and simplistic in it's delivery. It was then followed by a music video that fit the context of the song exactly, which garnered Lupe a ton of praise and sparked discussions on Twitter, Blogs and the web as whole. The music video added a visual story line to the song's lyrics and guided you through the mind of Lupe, as he narrates the video.

Lupe Breaks "Bitch Bad" Music Video

Some argue that it's a none-topic, and Lupe just made the song for conversation's sake with no real goal in mind beyond that, which is a valid point but either way it worked.

Lupe Breaks Down "Bitch Bad"

Lamborghini Angels

Lupe random choice in album covers is only matched by his clever choices in song titles. Don't be fooled by the head banging beat and the snappy hook, there is serious stuff happening on this record. Lupe continues to push rap's topical boundaries, Lamborghini Angels touches on religion, pedophilia, scientific cures and more.

"With her eyes to the ceiling and the needle to her brain He looks back into the crowd, wipes the blood and then explains How she slipped from this existence to the realm of the deranged Her becoming must be halted to reverse what she became," "With his crucifix inside his pocket said his mission is divine Put his Bible on the bed and then he touched on his behind Told him take off all his clothes and put your penis next to mine Now the little boy think it's normal because they do this all the time"

That's heavy stuff, and something you weren't expecting with a title like Lamborghini Angels. This was quickly followed by a music video for another single off the album called Battle Scars which features Guy Sebastian. More info coming soon...

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Busta Rhymes – Year Of The Dragon

IHHM — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 21:58:12 +0000

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DJ Khaled – Kiss The Ring

IHHM — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 07:56:53 +0000

DJ Khaled Kiss The Ring Album: Khaled has definitely made a lane for himself, he's without a doubt the number DJ for albums, and over the years he's brought us many street singles and anthems. He's managed to top the charts on numerous occasion and pioneered the trend of Hip-Hop DJs releasing full fledged albums. His albums are always packed with all the current artist that are on top of the game and you'd think that would make hurt an album, but not DJ Khaled's.

DJ Khaled Kiss The Ring Album Review

Coming Soon

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2 Chainz – Based On A T.R.U. Story

IHHM — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 07:43:52 +0000

2 Chainz Based On A T.R.U. Story album: 2 Chainz has one hell of a run ever since the release of his classic T.R.U. REALigion mixtape, and now his album his album is ready for the streets. The album is set to hit stores, August 14th. Features will include Kanye West, Drake and Nicki Minaj. His No Lie single is now certified Gold, for which he thank Drake for on Twitter.

2 Chainz Based On A T.R.U. Story Album Review

Coming soon...

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Slaughterhouse – welcome to: OUR HOUSE

IHHM — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 07:17:27 +0000

The time has finally arrived, the Slaughterhouse album has arrived. welcome to: OUR HOUSE is the debut album from Slaughterhouse since signing to Eminem's Shady Records. So far we've heard records like Hammer Dance, My Life, and Throw It Away. On the tracklist you'll find features from Eminem, Busta Rhymes, B.O.B., Swizz Beatz, Skylar Grey and Cee-Lo Green.

Slaughterhouse welcome to OUR HOUSE Album Review

Coming soon...

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Rick Ross – God Forgives, I Don’t

IHHM — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 01:03:32 +0000

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Nas – Life Is Good

IHHM — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 23:14:20 +0000

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Usher – Looking 4 Myself

IHHM — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 07:51:44 +0000

Usher’s had an identity problem for a while now. He went nova with 2004?s Confessions, a concept album about his own bad habits, then followed it up with two more overtly introspective albums that didn’t do nearly as well. Blame the music biz collapse and the general recession, but it’s not terribly coincidental that his fifth album is titled Looking 4 Myself, nor that the title track is strutting ’80s pop-rock (featuring Luke Steele ofAustralia’s Empire of the Sun and the Sleepy Jackson), rather than the R&B or EDM of most of the rest. Being lost means he can try new things — or as he puts it on bludgeoning opener “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop,” “I don’t want to do all the normal things that all these other normal dudes do.” Like a lot of dudes who want to be out of the ordinary, he can be gauche: When he sings “We found euphoria” just before the trance synths go nova, it’s hard not to snicker and think about Brandon Walsh. But some of the most willful stuff here is also the most striking. “I Care 4 U” is a dubstep ballad that works, “Sins of My Father” a rock-like epic (with a melody that sounds almost exactly like Neil Young’s “Crime in the City,” from Freedom) with his most resonant personal lyric yet, and the Diplo-produced “Climax” simply a masterpiece. “Climax” may be the most daring piece of music Usher’s ever made, and it’s one of the very best.

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Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded

IHHM — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 06:33:09 +0000

The tracklist and artwork for Nicki Minaj sophomore album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, features include 2 Chainz, Camron & Rick Ross on a track, Drake, Young Jeezy and Nas on a track, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown and more on the album. Editorial Review: First came Taylor Swift’s bashful on-air recitation of “Super Bass.” Then, there was the snapshot of her in a front-row Fashion Week seat next to Anna Wintour. Both items told the same story: In the wake of her debut full-length Pink Friday, Nicki Minaj had become a verifiable crossover sensation. That didn’t come without a bit of prudent self-editing: On mixtapes and in guest spots, she was prone to launching into manic conversations with her alter egos, the back-and-forth insanity often escalating into literal screaming matches with herself. She dialed much of that back on Pink Friday, a prim and proper hybrid of pop and rap, but on Roman Reloaded, Minaj turns her id loose again, squealing with childlike glee and chattering through a string of manic snap raps. In “Pound the Alarm,” her steely, commanding verse sets off an avalanche of what sounds like every LMFAO breakdown, ever. And for just a few seconds of “Come on a Cone,” she pauses from rattling on a dizzying list of career highs to warble, “Put my dick in your face.” Minaj leaps from devil-may-care smack talk (the careening “HOV Lane,” the yelping “Stupid Hoe”) to Europop hooks she could have pawned to Rihanna, if she wasn’t using them herself (“Automatic,” “Beautiful Sinner”). The days of Minaj the well-behaved pop star are over. On Roman Reloaded, she’s playing fast and loose. By Christina Lee

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Young Jeezy – TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition

IHHM — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 09:00:18 +0000

Mad late on this review, but being that the album dropped on December 20th I was already well into the holiday vibe. But no matter how late, there is no way I could not do a review of a album I've been waiting for almost 2 years. It's been quite a journey for Young Jeezy leading up to the release of this album, his last album was The Recession which was back in 2008; it became a commercial success and the only album Hip Hop or otherwise that spoke to what was taking place at that time with big singles like "Put On" featuring Kanye West and "My President" featuring Nas which became the unofficial anthem for Barack Obama's presidential campaign and became one of Jeezy's most historic tracks. This was a big moment for Jeezy. Since then Jeezy has been out of the spotlight at least where mainstream is concerned, but he's been working hard to stay relevant with countless features with many big names, all due to artists having much respect for him. With T.I. going through repeated legal issues and Ludacris pursuing acting, Jeezy couldn't keep ATL on top by himself, then you had Rick Ross who involved into a superstar artist and to an extent took over Trap Rap which was Jeezy's signature thing. While Young Jeezy was dealing with label bullshit, he continued to feed the streets with the release a numerous mixtapes, which included the now classic Trap Or Die 2, a follow up that lived up to it's predecessor, then he gave us 1000 Grams Vol 1, The Last Laugh and of course The Real Is Back 2 which was also a follow up to yet another classic, not to mention another half dozen unofficial mixtapes from numerous DJs. These mixtapes single handedly kept Jeezy in the public's eye and kept his loyal fan base just that, loyal. It was all a set-up that ultimately lead up to the release of TM:103 Hustlerz Ambition. It's what we've all been waiting for and Jeezy didn't disappoint, the album did start off a little predictable and what I mean by that is few of the tracks in the beginning of the album sounded very repetitive and sort of had that Lex Luger-ish sound to them that has been done to death. But by the time you made to track 7 your were in full Thug Motivation mode, the album is classic Young Jeezy to say the least just a more polished more evolved version. They're quite a few features on the album but they work well and don't throw off the overall theme of the album, joints like I Do featuring Jay-Z and Andree 3000 instantly stroke a cord (you know everybody loves a Andre verse), then you have F.A.M.E featuring T.I., OJ featuring Fabolous and Jadakiss which is already a street smash. Overall the album is everything I was looking to hear from Jeezy, even the bonus tracks are bangers. It's more of the same just better and while other artists that use to have it are struggling to re-invent themselves Young Jeezy just cruises into the role of being a veteran artist and a staple in the Hip Hop culture. I honestly can't find anything wrong with this album, it's exactly what I expected - maybe one or two tracks were meh but the overall album was fire to me. The most ironic thing about this whole thing is that I thought Young Jeezy was the one of worst rappers when I first heard him 5 years ago. Now look at me, strange world huh? I give it 5 out 5, yeah that's right 5!!!! Thoughts?

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Drake – Take Care Album

IHHM — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:37:50 +0000

So where do I start? Lets just jump right in; this Take Care album is straight fire! No exaggeration it's a hot album from start to finish, when he said Thank Me Later he must have been referring to this album because thank yous are definitely in order for this joint. Now before the Draters (Drake Haters) start screaming dick rider let's begin digging into the album from a critical stand point. First off I think this album consist of maybe 3 fillers tops, and those are "We'll Be Fine," "Cameras," "Look What You've Done" and even those are arguably good tracks. I think where the over critical analyses lies with Drake is from his own fan base and what they want to hear from him, half his fans simply don't want to hear any singing with the exception of the hook, and of course women on the other hand are all for the love songs. Then you have the listeners like me who's been rocking with Drizzy since early 2007 before the singing, then got introduced to it later on and saw it as a bonus. I feel a healthy balance of both is what makes Drake who he is. This Take Care album has a perfect mixture of Drake and R&B Drizzy, there is no way you can doubt his lyrical prowess on tracks like "Under Ground Kings," "Hyfr (Hell Ya Fucking Right)" featuring Lil Wayne, "The Ride" (iTunes Bonus) and of course "Lord Knows" which he's really talking some shit on. That record in participial defines where Drizzy is in his career at this point, he's completely comfortable in his own skin and he's become much more confident which you can hear in the rhymes. He really feels like he's the one that can old the crown, they say you don't know who you truly are as artist until your third album and Drake is already showing you glimpses of what he's going to become. On the opposite side of the spectrum, Drake's vocals have improved immensely; just goes to show you what vocal training and some studio magic can do. Though he's not actually a real singer per say, it doesn't change the fact that he's a incredible song writer and when he does sing, it works for the songs he writes. Songs like "Doing It Wrong," "The Real Her," and "Good Ones Go Interlude" are all solid R&B stacks that any R&B artist will respect. Then you have the best-of-both-worlds joints like "Shot For Me," "Marvins Room," that have a great balance of both versions of Drake and of course the title track "Take Care" featuring Rihanna, which I guarantee you will be the biggest record on the album. And Of course you have records like "Motto" on which Drake completely channels the Bay Area, already becoming a street anthem, though I feel like Lil Wayne under delivered on his feature. Speaking of features the album has the right amount and didn't go over the top, that Kendrick Lamar interlude was definitely a good look and is surely a prelude to something else to come from Drake and Kendrick. The Rick Ross feature "Lord Knows" is also a sign of what's to come from Drake and Rick Ross on their collabo mixtape YOLO (You Only Live Once). The hottest new R&B act The Weeknd who's been in the studio allot with Drake, his features on the album are merely a fraction of what these two have been doing. Even though we've heard "Marvins Room", "Headlines" and "Make Me Proud" a million times, they're still good enough to not skip when listening to the album. The overall subject matter of the album is more of the same you expect from Drake, that average Joe rap that everyone can relate to. From relationships, heartbreak, ex-girlfriends, fame, family to money; the album has a little bit of everything. If your not a Drake fan then there is more than enough content on here for you to pick from to call him soft, gay or whatever other reasons you make up to dislike him. The overalls fans will be bumping this joint straight through to January and the over critical fans will at least like half the album. I give this album 4.5 out of 5. It's a great album but doesn't scream classic, hence the imperfect score; but that's just me what's your rating? Drake Take Care Album Download

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J. Cole – Cole World: The Sideline Story

IHHM — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:03:58 +0000

I should have been wrote this review but just didn't get around to it until now, you've all had a good week and a half to listen and have a accurate opinion on this album so lets get right into it. Where should I start with the Cole World: The Sideline Story album? Well first let me say that It wasn't as good as I thought it would be, not because the records or lyricism isn't on point; quite the opposite actually. The problem resides in the fact that the album feels kind of old, I mean I've been listening to "Lights Please" for almost 2 years now, "In The Morning" is about to be just over a year and if they didn't scrap "Who Dat" as the first single, that would have been a year and change as well. Then you have the partially old verses mixed in with new content, on other tracks on the album that aren't supposed be old. Now all that aside this is still a pretty good album, for some reasons most fans didn't gravitate towards a joint like "Mr. Nice Watch" while I believe that it was one of the most standout tracks on the album. On the flip side I thought a record like "Can't Get Enough" wasn't a good single, the pubic disagreed and responded very well to it, that record has since grown on me and feel the same way as others now. Overall the album is solid from a lyrical standpoint, there's also not much commercially or Pop viable records on the album. That could be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view. If coherent raps over hard beats is what your looking for then this album has it. Unlike Lil Wayne who hides his elementary punchlines behind one of the best deliveries in the game, Cole goes in the another direction. He uses very well thought out and clever lines but doesn't make it the highlight of a verse, you know style of rapping right? The filler line followed-by the "saw-what-I-did-there" punchline at the end of the bar, yeah J. Cole isn't one of those guys. J. Cole's style has always been more about a complete song and the message it delivers; other than trying to impress with a single line, the hook might not be the greatest and the verses aren't exaggerated but the overall song sores above your expectations. He also did a little story telling on the album like on the "Lost Ones" record where he raps in a 1st person point of view from both the male and female perspective, story telling is definitley one of his strong points and he should do more of that going forward. This is what makes the album worth while, and lets not forget this is a debut album so there's plenty of time for improvement. Cole is still in the transitional phase where he still doesn't know who he is as an artist to a full extent, he still doesn't know which records will work and which ones won't. The great thing about being a good rapper is that your fans will wait for you to figure it out and transform the same way Khalifa, Drake, and even Nicki Minaj fans did. Cole World: The Sideline Story is an official introduction to what J. Cole has to offer, which is a talented artist who's set to evolve and improve far beyond what you currently see. J. Cole has a bright future in this game. My rating for this album is from the state of mind of someone who hadn't heard most of the album prior to last week. I give it 4 out of 5. Leave your ratings and reviews below.

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Lil Wayne – Tha Carter IV

IHHM — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:52:53 +0000

I'm gonna keep this short, I counted this guy out. I felt like he was slipping since his release from prison, I didn't really hear anything that was particularly impressive about the content he was putting out. "6 Foot 7 Foot" was a solid record but it sure wasn't no "A Milli," like he said it would be, "John" was hot but Rick Ross carried that record and "How To Love" left me with a blank stare on my face - still not sold on that record. Then he dropped the Sorry 4 The Wait mixtape and usually as we all know mixtapes have always been where Wayne shines and there usually better than his albums, but this tape was easily the worst Wayne tape ever put out. After that I really had no hope for this album.

But Then I Heard It....

Ummm yeah, this album is tough. I've played MegaMan about 37 times in one day, She Will has gone from being just a solid record to being my favorite joint at the moment. The Interlude and Outro were nice touches, It's Good is a hot record too minus the imaginary diss raps from Weezy going at Jay-Z, no Wayne isn't actually capable of kidnapping Beyonce and holding her for Ransom. Remember folks rap is wrestling. I think Mirror should have been on the main album and not a bonus, it should've have replaced "So Special" which isn't as good. It's a overall good album, definitely better than Tha Carter III which I only played for a week and forgot about. I give it 4.5/5

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Jay-Z & Kanye West – Watch The Throne

IHHM — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 23:23:51 +0000

Wow, where do I even start? OK so yes the album has broken a record set by Coldplay for the most iTunes downloads of an album during its first week of release, Otis is a pretty epic single and H.A.M had it's time in the sun. That being said I'm immensely disappointed in this album........At first, which is my own fault because I over anticipated it due to the two people who were involved. You have Jay-Z the greatest rapper alive who's last album Blueprint 3 is considered a classic and Kanye West who's recent My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album took us on a musical journey none other for 2010. We all were expecting something great, words like ground breaking, innovative, epic come to mind when we thought about what the album would sound like. When I firts listened to the album I was thinking I can't believe I only like 3 songs on the whole album, since I'm analyzing music on a day to day basis I found my self holding the album to a different standard than the average music fan would. So I took few steps back, played it a few times on the computer, iPod, and the in the whip for a couple days. After a few days of listening to the album I feel allot different about the record now, Otis is still my jam, Lift Off has grown on me, Gotta Have It, Welcome To The Jungle, Murder To Excellence and Why I Love You are all fire. I still feel like album is all over the place though as far as theme is concerned, which creatively is expected when you have two leaders attempting to lead on the same album. I appreciate the fact that they kept the features to a minimum and didn't leave all the production to Kanye. It's not a home run by any means when you consider who's involved, but for me personally I went from saying WTF is this to saying it's not that bad to now playing it at least once a day. I give it a 4/5. That might be a little biased due to the fact that I'm a super Hova fan and Kanye as well. Leave your ratings a review below. Oh yeah what's with that 3 minutes of silence on the Illest Motherf**ker Alive track? SMH!

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Wiz Khalifa – Rolling Papers

IHHM — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 21:25:35 +0000

If you've been following the site for more than a year then you should already know we are big Wiz Khalifa supporters, he's been on our radar since 2006. They're 2 versions of Wiz Khalifa that fans are aware of, you have the pre Atlantic Wiz Khalifa that brought us classic projects like Flight School, Burn After Rolling and Kush & OJ. Then you have this new Wiz Khalifa with his breakout single Black & Yellow and Roll Up that present a more commercial version of Wiz Khalifa, and it seems when it came to this album creatively Wiz Khalifa decided to choose the latter. Let's be real when core Wiz Khalifa fans heard Blank & Yellow, we didn't think much of it and never thought it would be the one that brought him into the mainstream. I find my self trying to give the album a fare shake because I'm a fan and I'm fully aware of what Wiz is capable of musically, but as far as the album having special moments I find my self not hearing much of the Wiz I like to hear. That being said apart from the two singles I enjoy records like On My Level, The Race, Rooftops and Top Floor though I think he should have done more with such a sick beat. Apart from those I sum up the rest of the joints on the album as fillers. There isn't enough joints on Rolling Papers that put me in the zone, not the way his mixtape joints do. The Wiz I like to hear is the one that brought us joints like Boarding Pass, I'm Good, Superstar, Take Away, Sky High from his Flight School project, which had a track list full of bangers. Not to mention B.A.R. from Burn After Rolling, that record gets me so amped, don't even get me started on Kush & OJ. You already know. I just couldn't find the same feeling on this album, I find myself thinking that the change in his creative direction is more than likely due to him signing to Atlantic, which I expressed a few weeks ago. Either way the album isn't really what I was looking for from Wiz, I would even go as far as saying I even enjoyed Cabin Fever more than this album. I honestly don't even hear a 3rd single on this album, I'm only on my 4th listen so maybe I'll have to give it a couple more spins. My overall view on this project is that it was a good major release, and new Wiz Khalifa fans will more than likely enjoy this much more than core ones. Expect to see mixed reactions about this project across the web. I give it a 3.5 out of 5. Leave your ratings and reviews below.

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Lupe Fiasco – Lasers

IHHM — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 17:12:26 +0000

Lasers is the third studio album by American rapper Lupe Fiasco, released on 8 March 2011 by Atlantic Records in the United States. Production for the album took place between 2008 and 2010. Lasersfeatures production by The Audibles, The Neptunes, Needlz, Alex da Kid, Syience, and long-time collaborator Soundtrakk, among others. Trey Songz, John Legend, Skylar Grey, Sway, Matt Mahaffey, MDMA, Eric Turner and Sarah Green contribute vocals to the album. Lasers was preceded by the lead single "The Show Goes On" and its follow-up "Words I Never Said" featuring Skylar Grey. The songs have achieved moderate success peaking within the Billboard Hot 100 with "The Show Goes On" being certified Gold in the United States. The album has received mixed reviews from most major music critics, having a score of 57 out of 100 at the review aggregator Metacritic. It fared better commercially however debuting at number one on the USBillboard 200 with sales over 200,000 copies sold, making the album Fiasco's second top ten album as well as his highest entry on the chart. What did you think about the album, leave your reviews below.

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Tank – Now or Never

IHHM — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:09:51 +0000

Looking for an album designed with you and your desires in mind? Look no further. Tanks Now Or Never is a must have for true lovers of R&B. The journey starts with Tank’s pledge to put on a show for you followed by his bed-shaking hit single entitled “Sex Music.” Understanding that sometimes women have needs that put them in a state of “Emergency,” Tank comes to the rescue. “Scream” is my personal favorite. This track explores women's diverse range of emotions in the realm of a single word. Love is often difficult and Tank captures the essence of its tug of war. Other hot features include “Celebration” with Drake and “Foreplay” with Chris Brown, but be clear ladies, this album requires none but Tank. Just listen to “Amazing” and you will instantly be taken over by this baby-making ballad and Tanks intentions become clear; deliver a sensual work of art. If I haven’t made myself clear, let me do so now: Go purchase this album if you love R&B! It promises to please and makes good on that promise. Credits: SingersRoom.com

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Jamie Foxx – Best Night of My Life

IHHM — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 07:02:18 +0000

Do you understand how incredible Jamie Foxx’ story is? Do you really? Let’s review. Foxx started his musical career in church choirs and, in retrospect, a group hilariously called Leather and Lace, and ended up a Grammy winner with multiple number one singles and millions of albums sold. Foxx started his acting career as a comedian whose best known character involved him dressing in drag, and ended up the only actor besides Al Pacino to be nominated for two different Oscars in the same year. Hell, even his aborted career as an athlete worked out when he was cast as Willie Beamen in Any Given Sunday. Yes sir, for the last few years Jamie Foxx has been on one hell of a roll. Until now. Every so often a label will go all old-school-Nintendo playbook and hit the reset button, and that’s exactly what happened to Jamie. After months of buildup Foxx’ fourth studio album, Body, was in more trouble than a cab driver with Tom Cruise in the back seat. Body’s lead single, Speak French, flopped, and even when they called in the big guns (T.I. and JT), I’m a Winner didn’t hit as expected. For a man who had the entire world blaming it on the alcohol just a few months ago, it must have been cause for concern. Cue the reset button. Speak French? Never happened. Body? Don’t know what you’re talking about, you must mean Best Night of My Life. All those old guys? Quick, go get some young stars. Jamie Foxx is far too good and far too famous to put out a bad album, but considering the circumstances of its creation, it’s no wonder that Best Night of My Life is a solid but disjointed album without a true core. In fact, it sometimes feels more like market research than music. Just take the title track, the kind of romantically inclined jam that Foxx has perfected that features….Wiz Khalifa? Wiz does fine, but musically speaking the Black & Yellow emcee is an odd casting choice for such a sparkling mid-tempo jam. (Of course, popularly speaking, it’s brilliant.) And since Soulja Boy’s only barely allowed to touch Yep Dat’s Me’s hook, his inclusion feels purely like an effort to hit the teen demographic. Of course the young artist guest feature that really works is Drake on Fall For Your Type, but that’s mostly because it’s sounds like more of a Drake song he allowed Jamie to get in on than vice-versa (Noah “40” Shebib’s beat could have easily ended up on Thank Me Later). Not an auspicious start. Oddly (or transparently), every guest feature on Best Night of My Life is loaded into the first half of the album. Literally. Seven of the first eight songs have a guest, but starting with track nine the album is solely a Foxx affair, and in many ways, this is the better half of the album. Apparently freed from the demands to make a hit single, Jamie lets his true intentions shine, intentions that consist almost entirely of atmospheric, slow jam r&b. Although I’m sure he uttered a curse or two under his breath when Kanye’s Gorgeous came out, Jamie’s song of the same name reveals an artist with an expert grasp of grown and sexy r&b, while the minimalist Sleeping Pill lets Foxx’s impressive voice take center stage. True, Pill is no Freak in Me, the Marsha Ambrosius babymaker off his previous album (which belongs in the babymaker Hall of Fame), but I still won’t be surprised if we’re hearing the pitter patter of little foxes in nine months. I mean, even the quickie-advocating 15 Minutes is guaranteed to set the mood thanks to his carefully restrained vocals and undeniable charisma. Now this is more like the Jamie Foxx we know and love. So how do we reconcile these two halves of Best Night of My Life? Frankly, it’s hard to. Add up the release delays, the title change, the guest features and the divided nature of the album and it’s hard not to hear Jamie in the background of every song saying, “Enough is enough. Let’s just drop this thing and move on.” And while many won’t care about such behind-the-scenes maneuverings, the result’s the same – the weakest album of Foxx’ career. But knowing him, this is only a temporary setback. I’m sure in a couple years he’ll become the first person to have a number one movie and album at the same time. If history has taught us anything, it’s Jamie Foxx always wins. Review done by Nathan S on DJBooth.net

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T.I. – No Mercy

IHHM — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 22:40:04 +0000

Full credit for this review goes to Nathan S from DJBooth.net. If there’s any argument I get into over and over again with DJBooth Nation, it’s over who has the best beard in rap (how could you not go Freeway?!?). But if there’s another argument I get into over and over, it’s the importance of context when listening to music. Should we consider only the notes pulsing through our headphones, or the whole life of the artist, in all its glories and faults? Of course I think it’s impossible to listen to music in a vacuum, and I’m right. Music exists in the world, as part of the world, and you can’t separate an album from the circumstances it was created in any more than you can separate the link between a parent and a child. Case in point; T.I.’s new album, No Mercy. To listen to No Mercy without taking into account the extraordinary situation that shaped it would be to quote Kanye, f**king ridiculous. After all, if context didn’t matter, we’d be listening to King Uncaged - the album’s original, now painfully ironic title. The last time we were discussing Clifford Harris, the pressure of an impending jail sentence created the diamond that was Paper Trail. This time around, unfortunately, Tip’s return to confinement has yielded far more uneven results. Over the last few months we’ve watched No Mercy change more times than Lil Kim’s face, with songs being added and subtracted from the final tracklist on a seemingly daily basis. And then yet another arrest, and an eleven month sentence, forced the album into our hands with some very high highs, and what must be said are some disappointingly low lows. If T.I. had all the time he needed I think we’d be looking at a classic album, but that’s the thing about context. “If” can be everything. If all you ever listened to was the album’s first track, Welcome to the World, you have to assume it was five-spin candidate. Featuring both a verse and an absurdly head-nodding beat from Kanye, Welcome to the World is essentially a Good Friday track featuring T.I. absolutely going off, switching up his flow with a stuttered affect that absolutely kills. Y’all know I’m not one to engage in hyperbole, so you can trust me when I say that, Dark Twisted Fantasy aside, Welcome to the World is one of the best opening songs I’ve heard in a minute. While I don’t know if No Mercy ever gets quite that good again, the album has no shortage of similar dopeness, from the deeply autobiographical How Life Changed to the instant hip-hop history making All She Wrote, which finds Tip and Eminem going head to head over a hypnotic beat. One listen and it’s instantly clear that when these other rappers say they have swag, they really mean they’re copying T.I. Now onto those aforementioned lows. I keep reloading No Mercy hoping that Amazing will no longer appear on the tracklist, but so far, no luck. On the surface I should be putting a Neptunes and T.I. record on repeat, but Amazing is such a disorganized mess, with a minimalist beat that might be fine by lesser standards and an aggravating hook from Pharrell, that it’s frankly hard to believe it made it onto the album. And considering Rocko holds the unique distinction of having one of the lowest rated albums in hip-hip history, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was mystified by his inclusion on the otherwise knocking I Can’t Help It. Really Clifford? You could have any rapper in the world go in over this beat, and you went with Rocko? Really? And the embarrassingly basic Lay Me Down, featuring some heavily Lose Control influenced production from the usually stellar Jim Jonsin? I don’t think I even have to say it. In the grand scheme these are speed bumps in the usually fast flowing highway that is No Mercy, but great albums don’t contain mistakes like this. They just don’t. But why concentrate on the negatives, especially since we are missing the services of the King of the South? While I don’t think there’s another radio smash on the order of Live Your Life, both the Drake-assisted Poppin Bottles and the genre-melding Castle Walls have some serious hit potential, and when T.I.’s truly on, as he is on the soulfully charged Salute, he’s as good as ever. Let’s just hope that this is the time he really really changes his life. More than three years after he was arrested on weapons charges, we could all use a change of context when it comes to T.I. Full credit for this review goes to Nathan S from DJBooth.net, one of the few Hip Hop sites I fux with. I'm too busy to write review for this album right now Nathan did a great job with this review and I honestly feel the same way about the album more or less. I liked the album but it's not as good as Paper Trail and King Is Still his best work to date that's all I have to say, Chozen out. I give it 3.9/5, leave your reviews and ratings below.

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Rihanna – Loud

IHHM — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 07:38:24 +0000

My experience with Rihanna's music is hypocritical to say the least, I've gone from thinking she has no talent to now considering her to be one of the best R&B/Pop artist out. Not only does she have talent, but her singing has improved substantially and she's displayed that she has the ability give her varied fans the type of music they are looking for. She serves up a Pop/Dance/House sounding record like "Only Girl (In The World)" to the more commercial audience, then switches gears to serve her R&B/Hip Hop fans with a record like "What's My Name?" with raps raining champ Drake. She then gets get a little gully (chuckle) going back to her roots on the Reggae sounding "Man Down" record to keep her original West Indian audience satisfied the same way she did with "Rude Boy" on Rated R. On my iTunes, I have a playlist called "My Sh*T" that only certain songs throughout the years have the privilege of being added to, I'm talking about the likes of Jay-Z, Eminem, Michael Jackson etc. Rihanna is one of the few female R&B artists to make it to this playlist. Songs like "Only Girl" and "What's My Name?" are always in constant rotation on that list, despite the fact that the radio always plays them. Of course you all know I'm a Hip Hop dude so songs like "Cheers," "Fading" and "California King Bed" aren't really my type of joints, and I'm not checking for those when I'm looking to hear some R&B. On the other hand though the album does have special moments with songs like "What's My Name?," "Only Girl (In The World)," "Raining Men," and "Love The Way You Lie (Part II)." These songs are loved by most whether or not you like the artist or genre. Although many of the songs have a up beat and fun sound to them, the overall theme to the album is sex. Just go through the lyrics, from out right being excited by chains and whips on "S&M" to wanting a boy to go down town on "What's My Name?," Ri Ri is being clear about what she's down for at this time in her life. Rihanna is all grown up now and she wants everyone to know it. I think this is Rihanna's best work thus far, though some might consider Rated R her effort. I give Loud 4/5. Leave your reviews and ratings below.

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Lloyd Banks – H.F.M. 2 (Hunger For More 2)

IHHM — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 23:00:16 +0000

As much as I'm a fan of Nicki Minaj and as talented as Kanye West is, my favorite album out of the 3 releases is Hunger For More 2 from the boy Lloyd Banks. All 3 are very much Hip Hop albums but Hip Hop has been on the soft side as of late and Banks just came through and delivered that gritty rap album that was missing from all the releases. As I'm writing this I'm on my 10th listen of the album, when listening it's almost nostalgic to that old G-Unit sound we all loved back in 2003. After the less than spectacular performance of his sophomore album Rotten Apple, the G-Unit soldier disappeared from mainstream but since then had been consistently releasing new music on the web and slowly but surely rebuilt his brand. His dedicated fans stuck with him and he gained news ones through the popular site ThisIs50.com and with release of numerous mixtapes. The hard work eventually paid off when his debut single "Beamer, Benz or Bentley" took off. Banks didn't waste anytime and decided to strike while the iron was hot with the release of "Any Girl" followed by another monster record "Start It Up." The 3 singles created new excitement for the Emcee and set him up perfectly for the sequel to his debut classic. Hunger For More 2 plays through fully with no fillers, there is quite a few features but it wasn't overkill to a point where it sounds like a posse album. It's a straight up rap album, hard bars over hard beats. Apart from the radio singles some of the more notable records include "Celebrity," "Unexplainable," "Sooner Than Later," and "Payback (P's and Q's)" featuring 50 Cent which is reminiscent of that classic G-Unit sound. Out of all the November 22, 2010 releases, this is my favorite one. This one goes hard in the whip folks... Congrats to Banks, this is a great album for a comeback. I give it 4.3/5, leave your review and ratings below.

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Kanye West – My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

IHHM — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 22:43:29 +0000

Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album review, what can I say I love this album. I think that says it all. Although I said Hunger For More 2 is my favorite of all 3 November 22 releases, as far as production and just straight up good music is concerned, it doesn't get much better than "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy." I appreciate this album especially since really hated "808s and Heartbreaks" and have been patiently waiting for him to change direction. Truth be told it feels like I've been listening to this album for more than half the year due to the G.O.O.D Friday series plus other leaks. None the less the album is well done, when I listen to songs like "Dark Fantasy," "All Of The Lights," "Monster," and "Lost In The World" words like epic and intoxicating come to mind, I'm talking about I'll sit here and play those songs at least 5 times before I move on to the next record. The production on this album is so elaborate, and that by itself garners 5/5, I'm already searching the web trying to find all the instrumentals. The records sound like they should be in a movie, which is why that short film Kanye released a month ago makes even more sense now after you listen to this album. If I go any further I might start sounding like a groupie, so I'll stop here. It's Kanye West folks, so this level of music is expected. I give it 4.5/5, leave your reviews and ratings below.

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Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday

IHHM — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 06:51:38 +0000

The new Queen has arrived, It's been almost 10 years since a new female rapper has exploded onto the scene the way Nicki Minaj has, and 7 years since a female rapper has had a number 1 record on Billboards. If you've been reading this blog for more than a month then you already know I'm a big co-signer of Nicki Ninaj (borderline obsessed) and just like Drake this site was one of the first to cover her, I''ll try to be unbiased as possible and stick to what's fact. It's easy to say Nicki Minaj is the best female rapper alive at the moment, or that she is the Queen of Hip Hop. It's easy to say those things because she doesn't have any competition at the moment. The real question is, how good of a Hip Hop album is Pink Friday? Lyrically the album is far above average compared to other album releases these days, on songs like "Roman's Revenge" and "Blazin" she clearly displays that she possesses the lyrical prowess to hang with the likes of Kanye West and Eminem. She also shows off her song making abilities on "Save Me," the only record on the album that's considered to be on the R&B side. She then switches gears to the Pop side of things with "Check It Out" featuring will.i.am and still maintains enough Hip Hop for the record to be edgy. "Dear Old Nicki" was a interesting record which was pretty much a open letter to the old Nicki Minaj, the one that most of her new fans are not aware of. I judge how good a album is by how many songs I skip, how many I play back, and how many times I play the album overall. The only track that didn't make my favorites list was "I'm The Best" just for the simple fact that I didn't really like the hook or the beat for that matter, but bars were on point. Apart from that this album has no fillers, it plays right through and the only songs your going to be skipping are the ones that have already been on the radio for months. I'm already addicted songs like "Moment 4 Life," "Blazin," "Roman's Revenge" and "Fly" and I've already played those specific songs back at least 50 times. I enjoyed the album throughly, and will definitely be playing it for the rest of the year. I'm not sure if I'd label it a classic. In conclusion this is a solid album from the new Queen of Hip Hop, and like she said you either love it or get over it. I give it 4/5, leave your reviews and ratings below.

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