Saturday, April 17, 2010
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Rest in Peace... 2Pac
Tupac Amaru "2Pac" ShakurJune 16, 1971 - September 13, 1996
Thirteen years... Rest in Peace.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3 (September 8, 2009)
Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3And here's Jay-Z's latest album, the third in a series, The Blueprint 3.
Jay-Z was set to drop his second sequel to 2001's The Blueprint eight years to the date the original released (and eight years to the date of the attack on the Twin Towers). However, around the beginning of September, Jay's new album leaked the internet and was downloaded and discussed the interbutts. Possibly feeling the heat, Jay and Roc Nation/Atlantic decided to push the date up to the earliest release date possible, yesterday, hoping to catch the misinformed off guard ("well, since it is out...").
Jay-Z's eleventh album is the first to be released under Roc Nation, after he chose to leave Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella. The hype for this album has lasted pretty long, especially for an album not named Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 or Detox. Back in January 2008, former Roc-A-Fella-signed DJ, DJ Clue, released a mixtape featuring a Jay-Z track titled "Ain't I", which Clue stated was off The Blueprint 3 (which Jay-Z firmly denied). Then rumors started up that Timbaland was producing the whole album, then Kanye West was producing the whole album. Then during Kanye's Glow in the Dark Tour, Hova himself came out on stage to perform "Jockin' Jay-Z (Dope Boy Fresh)", a Kanye-produced track that utilized a Run DMC sample ("I see you jockin' JC, 'cause he got a Mercedes and you know about his ladies"). Then another Kanye-produced song came out ("Brooklyn Go Hard", which featured Santogold), this one was released on the soundtrack for the film Notorious. The final of the trilogy of Kanye West produced supposed Blueprint 3 tracks would be "History" (my favorite out of the three), a song Jay-Z recorded after being on inspired by then-President-elect Barack Obama. He even got to perform the song at the Neighborhood Ball on Inauguration Night.
However, it wasn't until June of this year that the first ACTUAL song from The Blueprint 3 leaked/was released. "D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)" was dropped as the "street single" for TB3, with the first single, at that time it was supposed to be "Off That" featuring Drake, coming out in July. The first single was released in July, but "Off That" was replaced for the Kanye West & No I.D.-produced "Run This Town", featuring the previously mentioned producer (not No I.D.) and Rihanna. From there on, the album slowly leaked like molasses, until early September the whole jar fell to the floor.
And here we are... oh, and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 is tomorrow.
Jay-Z was set to drop his second sequel to 2001's The Blueprint eight years to the date the original released (and eight years to the date of the attack on the Twin Towers). However, around the beginning of September, Jay's new album leaked the internet and was downloaded and discussed the interbutts. Possibly feeling the heat, Jay and Roc Nation/Atlantic decided to push the date up to the earliest release date possible, yesterday, hoping to catch the misinformed off guard ("well, since it is out...").
Jay-Z's eleventh album is the first to be released under Roc Nation, after he chose to leave Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella. The hype for this album has lasted pretty long, especially for an album not named Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 or Detox. Back in January 2008, former Roc-A-Fella-signed DJ, DJ Clue, released a mixtape featuring a Jay-Z track titled "Ain't I", which Clue stated was off The Blueprint 3 (which Jay-Z firmly denied). Then rumors started up that Timbaland was producing the whole album, then Kanye West was producing the whole album. Then during Kanye's Glow in the Dark Tour, Hova himself came out on stage to perform "Jockin' Jay-Z (Dope Boy Fresh)", a Kanye-produced track that utilized a Run DMC sample ("I see you jockin' JC, 'cause he got a Mercedes and you know about his ladies"). Then another Kanye-produced song came out ("Brooklyn Go Hard", which featured Santogold), this one was released on the soundtrack for the film Notorious. The final of the trilogy of Kanye West produced supposed Blueprint 3 tracks would be "History" (my favorite out of the three), a song Jay-Z recorded after being on inspired by then-President-elect Barack Obama. He even got to perform the song at the Neighborhood Ball on Inauguration Night.
However, it wasn't until June of this year that the first ACTUAL song from The Blueprint 3 leaked/was released. "D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)" was dropped as the "street single" for TB3, with the first single, at that time it was supposed to be "Off That" featuring Drake, coming out in July. The first single was released in July, but "Off That" was replaced for the Kanye West & No I.D.-produced "Run This Town", featuring the previously mentioned producer (not No I.D.) and Rihanna. From there on, the album slowly leaked like molasses, until early September the whole jar fell to the floor.
And here we are... oh, and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx 2 is tomorrow.
1. What We Talkin' About (feat. Luke Steele)
Produced by Kanye West & No I.D.
First thing I noticed, Kanye (and No I.D.)'s production is not what you'd expect, especially for a Jay-Z album. Luke Steele, of The Sleepy Jackson and Empire of the Sun, has a really unneccessary chorus, as he could've easily been replaced by Uncredited Studio Singer #53 (he is the best USS after all, well, since USS #28 crushed his larynx in that lawn mowing accident). Oh, and Jay-Z's live freestyle that sparked the completely uninteresting Game/Jay beef (even though Jay hasn't even acknowledged the beef's existence) are here, too. Overall, though, this is a decent song, lackluster intro, though.
2. Thank You
Produced by Kanye West & No I.D.
Kanye and No I.D. channel some Dr. Dre here. The beat is really good and Jay actually sounds good on here. Jay thanks his fans on here. The lyric that stood out the most to me was "I was gonna kill a couple rappers/but they did it to themselves/I was gonna do it with the flow/but they did it with they sales/I was gonna 9/11 them/but they didn't need the help/and they did a good job/them boys is talented as hell", while I admit I do like that block, I must say I feel the phrase "9/11 them" was... oh... I don't know... unneccessary. Plus, there's actually a lot more 9/11 references in that verse. But, hey, at least he didn't call him and his co-horts "nine Bin Ladens" (looking at you, Raekwon).
3. D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)
Produced by No I.D.
If you have been at all paying attention to hip-hop during the summer, you've heard this song. You've formulated your opinions and you'll probably skip a review of it because you'd rather read about the songs you may or may not heard yet... but, too bad. I'm the boss 'round these parts. One thing I don't like, Jay-Z tells rappers to get aggressive in their songs, but throughout the song he has a flow that is anything but aggressive. One thing I do like, No I.D.'s beat. Let's hope he gets some more work soon. Also, I find it hilarious that this song was released in June and T-Pain is JUST NOW dissing Jay-Z.
4. Run This Town (feat. Kanye West & Rihanna)
Produced by Kanye West & No I.D.
When this song first dropped, I really was a fan. Despite Jay's annoying "WASSUP?" and "JEAH"s, this song is still really good. Rihanna sounds good on the hook, and this is coming from someone who does not fancy himself a Rihanna fan. But the best part of the song (not including Kanye and No I.D.'s beat) is Kanye's verse. Kanye murders Jay on his own shit. Also, the video's pretty good, too.
5. Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys)
Produced by Al Shux
This song is awesome. My favorite song from the album. Al Shux (who)'s beat is good and Alicia Keys's chorus is good. It just makes me wanna toss on my Yankees hat ("I made the Yankee hat more famous than the Yankee game") and insult some Sox fans... myself being a Sox fan. When I first listened to the song, the accent Jay put on at the end of some of his words kind of annoyed me. Now, however, I'm used to it. So I got over that... you can, too.
6. Real As It Gets (feat. Young Jeezy)
Produced by The Inkredibles
Ugh. The beat's boring and Young Jeezy does nothing but annoy me The only good thing I can say is at least Jeezy didn't ruin a good song, like he did to Kanye's "Amazing". However, I can only say this because this isn't a good song.
7. On to the Next One (feat. Swizz Beatz)
Produced by Swizz Beatz
I don't understand why Swizz Beatz continues to get feature credits. NOTHING he's done vocal-wise has ever been of importance. "Hov on that new shit, n---as like how come/N---as want my old shit, buy my old album", this makes little to no sense, since The Blueprint 3 is a sequel to The Blueprint... surely, there'd be some continuity in the sound, right? As for the song quality, this would classify as a SKIP.
8. Off That (feat. Drake)
Produced by Timbaland
What was supposed to be the first single. I listened to the leak when it's came out and I admittedly didn't like it. After a couple more listens, I could at least stand it. Here? It's still not my favorite Jay song, or Jay/Timbo collaboration for that matter, but it could be worse. A lot worse. I do have to admit, I like lines directed at Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. "This ain't black vs. white, my n---a, we off that/please tell Bill O'Reilly to fall back/tell Rush Limbaugh to get off my balls/it's 2010, not 1864".
9. A Star is Born (feat. J. Cole)
Produced by Kanye West & No I.D.
Jay provides to time to give the first Roc Nation artist not named Shawn Carter some time to show off. J. Cole (who's dropped two mixtapes so far, The Come Up and The Warm Up, I downloaded the latter). In Jay's three verses, he drops more names than The Game on any given Sunday. Jay even mentions Eminem's guest appearance on "Renegade", calling it "fucking awesome". J. Cole's only verse is pretty good. Overall, chalk it up to "good".
10. Venus vs. Mars
Produced by Timbaland
Timbo provides a minimalist beat for Jay laces the song with some simple, yet awesome lyrics. The chorus sucks, though. A lot.
11. Already Home (feat. Kid Cudi)
Produced by Kanye West
Kid Cudi, who's album drops next week, drops by for the chorus, which sounds pretty good. Kanye's production is the best he has on the album. Jay's lyrics are good, making this a pretty good track, rivaling "Empire State of Mind" as the best track on the album.
12. Hate (feat. Kanye West)
Produced by Kanye West
Kanye gives Jay something that really wouldn't have sounded out of place on Yeezy's 808s & Heartbreak. I seem to be in the minority here, in the fact that I actually enjoy this song. While it's not the best song these two can put out ("Diamonds of Sierra Leone (Remix)" comes to mind) and while I have to admit that The Ye & Jay Connection's lyrics aren't what up to the standard they could be, for some reason I enjoy the song. You probably don't...
13. Reminder
Produced by Timbaland
This isn't bad... not very good, either. Let's just say "meh" and move on.
14. So Ambitious (feat. Pharrell)
Produced by The Neptunes
Admitedly, I am not a fan of Jay and Neptunes/Pharrell collaborations, but something about this makes it more enjoyable than other collaboration. I like the beat. And Pharrell doesn't bother me too much. In fact, I'd actually say his chorus is... good.
15. Young Forever (feat. Mr Hudson)
Produced by Kanye West
I'm also in the minority on this song, too. Most people don't like this song, the typical complaint being Mr Hudson's chorus and the fact that the song samples and interpolates "Forever Young" by Alphaville. On first listen, I was unsure about the song. And then every other listen I began to like it more and more, going from "very, very meh" to "decent", and now, to "good". I'd also place this as one of my favorite tracks from the album. Good ender, in my opinion
Conclusion: The Blueprint 3 is a good album. It's nowhere near the garbage that some people claim it is. Nor does it live up to the original Blueprint album. It's better than the second, though. My main problem lies within the fact that the album is supposed to be a continuation of The Blueprint, but it sounds nothing like the acclaimed album, thanks to Kanye West's production, Jay-Z's heavy reliance on guest artists (even if 8 out of the 12 guests only appear for the choruses), and the fact that the album has more of a pop influence than other Jay-Z albums. Overall, I think the album is worth a purchase (I'd suggest Best Buy, $9.99 if you get it soon).
And below is an alternative cover that I personally like better and use for iTunes and my iPod...
Produced by Kanye West & No I.D.
First thing I noticed, Kanye (and No I.D.)'s production is not what you'd expect, especially for a Jay-Z album. Luke Steele, of The Sleepy Jackson and Empire of the Sun, has a really unneccessary chorus, as he could've easily been replaced by Uncredited Studio Singer #53 (he is the best USS after all, well, since USS #28 crushed his larynx in that lawn mowing accident). Oh, and Jay-Z's live freestyle that sparked the completely uninteresting Game/Jay beef (even though Jay hasn't even acknowledged the beef's existence) are here, too. Overall, though, this is a decent song, lackluster intro, though.
2. Thank You
Produced by Kanye West & No I.D.
Kanye and No I.D. channel some Dr. Dre here. The beat is really good and Jay actually sounds good on here. Jay thanks his fans on here. The lyric that stood out the most to me was "I was gonna kill a couple rappers/but they did it to themselves/I was gonna do it with the flow/but they did it with they sales/I was gonna 9/11 them/but they didn't need the help/and they did a good job/them boys is talented as hell", while I admit I do like that block, I must say I feel the phrase "9/11 them" was... oh... I don't know... unneccessary. Plus, there's actually a lot more 9/11 references in that verse. But, hey, at least he didn't call him and his co-horts "nine Bin Ladens" (looking at you, Raekwon).
3. D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)
Produced by No I.D.
If you have been at all paying attention to hip-hop during the summer, you've heard this song. You've formulated your opinions and you'll probably skip a review of it because you'd rather read about the songs you may or may not heard yet... but, too bad. I'm the boss 'round these parts. One thing I don't like, Jay-Z tells rappers to get aggressive in their songs, but throughout the song he has a flow that is anything but aggressive. One thing I do like, No I.D.'s beat. Let's hope he gets some more work soon. Also, I find it hilarious that this song was released in June and T-Pain is JUST NOW dissing Jay-Z.
4. Run This Town (feat. Kanye West & Rihanna)
Produced by Kanye West & No I.D.
When this song first dropped, I really was a fan. Despite Jay's annoying "WASSUP?" and "JEAH"s, this song is still really good. Rihanna sounds good on the hook, and this is coming from someone who does not fancy himself a Rihanna fan. But the best part of the song (not including Kanye and No I.D.'s beat) is Kanye's verse. Kanye murders Jay on his own shit. Also, the video's pretty good, too.
5. Empire State of Mind (feat. Alicia Keys)
Produced by Al Shux
This song is awesome. My favorite song from the album. Al Shux (who)'s beat is good and Alicia Keys's chorus is good. It just makes me wanna toss on my Yankees hat ("I made the Yankee hat more famous than the Yankee game") and insult some Sox fans... myself being a Sox fan. When I first listened to the song, the accent Jay put on at the end of some of his words kind of annoyed me. Now, however, I'm used to it. So I got over that... you can, too.
6. Real As It Gets (feat. Young Jeezy)
Produced by The Inkredibles
Ugh. The beat's boring and Young Jeezy does nothing but annoy me The only good thing I can say is at least Jeezy didn't ruin a good song, like he did to Kanye's "Amazing". However, I can only say this because this isn't a good song.
7. On to the Next One (feat. Swizz Beatz)
Produced by Swizz Beatz
I don't understand why Swizz Beatz continues to get feature credits. NOTHING he's done vocal-wise has ever been of importance. "Hov on that new shit, n---as like how come/N---as want my old shit, buy my old album", this makes little to no sense, since The Blueprint 3 is a sequel to The Blueprint... surely, there'd be some continuity in the sound, right? As for the song quality, this would classify as a SKIP.
8. Off That (feat. Drake)
Produced by Timbaland
What was supposed to be the first single. I listened to the leak when it's came out and I admittedly didn't like it. After a couple more listens, I could at least stand it. Here? It's still not my favorite Jay song, or Jay/Timbo collaboration for that matter, but it could be worse. A lot worse. I do have to admit, I like lines directed at Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh. "This ain't black vs. white, my n---a, we off that/please tell Bill O'Reilly to fall back/tell Rush Limbaugh to get off my balls/it's 2010, not 1864".
9. A Star is Born (feat. J. Cole)
Produced by Kanye West & No I.D.
Jay provides to time to give the first Roc Nation artist not named Shawn Carter some time to show off. J. Cole (who's dropped two mixtapes so far, The Come Up and The Warm Up, I downloaded the latter). In Jay's three verses, he drops more names than The Game on any given Sunday. Jay even mentions Eminem's guest appearance on "Renegade", calling it "fucking awesome". J. Cole's only verse is pretty good. Overall, chalk it up to "good".
10. Venus vs. Mars
Produced by Timbaland
Timbo provides a minimalist beat for Jay laces the song with some simple, yet awesome lyrics. The chorus sucks, though. A lot.
11. Already Home (feat. Kid Cudi)
Produced by Kanye West
Kid Cudi, who's album drops next week, drops by for the chorus, which sounds pretty good. Kanye's production is the best he has on the album. Jay's lyrics are good, making this a pretty good track, rivaling "Empire State of Mind" as the best track on the album.
12. Hate (feat. Kanye West)
Produced by Kanye West
Kanye gives Jay something that really wouldn't have sounded out of place on Yeezy's 808s & Heartbreak. I seem to be in the minority here, in the fact that I actually enjoy this song. While it's not the best song these two can put out ("Diamonds of Sierra Leone (Remix)" comes to mind) and while I have to admit that The Ye & Jay Connection's lyrics aren't what up to the standard they could be, for some reason I enjoy the song. You probably don't...
13. Reminder
Produced by Timbaland
This isn't bad... not very good, either. Let's just say "meh" and move on.
14. So Ambitious (feat. Pharrell)
Produced by The Neptunes
Admitedly, I am not a fan of Jay and Neptunes/Pharrell collaborations, but something about this makes it more enjoyable than other collaboration. I like the beat. And Pharrell doesn't bother me too much. In fact, I'd actually say his chorus is... good.
15. Young Forever (feat. Mr Hudson)
Produced by Kanye West
I'm also in the minority on this song, too. Most people don't like this song, the typical complaint being Mr Hudson's chorus and the fact that the song samples and interpolates "Forever Young" by Alphaville. On first listen, I was unsure about the song. And then every other listen I began to like it more and more, going from "very, very meh" to "decent", and now, to "good". I'd also place this as one of my favorite tracks from the album. Good ender, in my opinion
Conclusion: The Blueprint 3 is a good album. It's nowhere near the garbage that some people claim it is. Nor does it live up to the original Blueprint album. It's better than the second, though. My main problem lies within the fact that the album is supposed to be a continuation of The Blueprint, but it sounds nothing like the acclaimed album, thanks to Kanye West's production, Jay-Z's heavy reliance on guest artists (even if 8 out of the 12 guests only appear for the choruses), and the fact that the album has more of a pop influence than other Jay-Z albums. Overall, I think the album is worth a purchase (I'd suggest Best Buy, $9.99 if you get it soon).
And below is an alternative cover that I personally like better and use for iTunes and my iPod...
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Video Music Box: Raekwon - House of Flying Daggers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdG3fgBZZbI
For the second Video Music Box, here is Raekwon's video for "House of Flying Daggers", which features Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, and Method Man. It is produced by the late J Dilla.
Directed by Eric Sasso and Brian Wendelken for Chain Gang Productions, the video is an animated effort. It features an intro by RZA that isn't in the song. The story begins with RZA explaining the events.There was a massacre at Shaolin, that was apparently the work of one thousand warriors. A legendary assassin known as The Hunter was seen there. But then RZA drops the bomb... The Hunter had nothing to do with it... and it was only five.
Cue the song. The song... fuck the song is awesome. I remember when ?uestlove leaked it on Twitter and Raekwon followed up the next day, dropping a CD quality version.
Anyway, the video shows the five (Raekwon, Deck, Ghost, Meth, and GZA) just kicking the shit out of warriors, but in between, it shows their fighting style. For exampe, Inspectah Deck is "Scorpion style" which means he can apparently kick your fucking brain out of your skull and onto the ground. Raekwon is "Toad style", meaning he can punch you under the chin and watch blood fly out the back of your head. Oh, and he can block and unneccessarily long katana using just his forearm. Yeah... GZA (why doesn't he have a verse on this song?) would be "Centipede style", meaning he could repeatedly pound your face. Next up would be Ghostface who is "Snake style", with the ability TO FUCKING PUSH YOUR SPINAL CORD OUT OF YOUR BODY BY POKING YOU WITH TWO FINGERS. WHAT?! Method Man is "Lizard style", meaning he can climb up walls or something. They don't give him much to do here.
After killing tons of warriors, The Hunter shows back up. As he begins being engulfed in a blue light that pulls up his solder's dead bodies, a black cloaked figure begins to move behind him. It sneaks up on him and snaps his neck, revealing that the black cloaked figure is actually one Ol' Dirty Bastard. The video ends by closing up on the Wu-Tang symbol on a door.
To be honest, this video is amazing. You definitely need to watch this above, and then get it for you iPod.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Random Thought...
As I try and figure out which album to review next, I figured I'd post a random thought here.
A couple days ago, I listened to Jay-Z's Kingdom Come for the first time in over a year or so. I gotta say, three years reserved from it's release, that album isn't as bad as it's said to be. Yeah...
Random Thought numero dos, I'm gonna cop the The Blueprint 3 leak, primarily since Jay said he didn't have a problem with it.
A couple days ago, I listened to Jay-Z's Kingdom Come for the first time in over a year or so. I gotta say, three years reserved from it's release, that album isn't as bad as it's said to be. Yeah...
Random Thought numero dos, I'm gonna cop the The Blueprint 3 leak, primarily since Jay said he didn't have a problem with it.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Nas - It Was Written (July 2, 1996)
Nas - It Was WrittenTemplate change. Since I'm sick and I can't get to sleep, I figure I'll finish this review.
Nas was in a little bit of a pickle. I mean, he just dropped arguably the greatest hip-hop album of all time. How the hell would you follow that up?
Nas decided to go in a more mainstream direction for his sophmore album, getting the Trackmasters to have production credits in more than half the album. He also decided to change his manager, leaving MC Serch in the dust for Steve "My Only Claim to Fame is that Puff Daddy Hit Me in the Head with a Champagne Bottle" Stoute. He convinced Lauryn Hill of the Fugees to be featured on his first single, since she (and Wyclef and Pras) were still riding an insane wave of popularity, thanks to The Score.
He tapped only two producers from Illmatic, bringing back DJ Premier and L.E.S., both getting one song to themselves (L.E.S. would co-produce a song with the Trackmasters). Nas tapped fellow Queensbridgians Mobb Deep, getting Havoc to produce and appear on two songs, with Havoc's partner-in-crime Prodigy appearing on the second of those two. Nas also got Live Squad, Lo Ground, and General Sound to all produce one track. However, even with all those producers, the biggest production credits would belong to one, Andre Young.
The West Coast doctor, who was busy producing tracks for Death Row artists, collaborated with the East Coast MC, making Nasir the first East Coast MC to appear have a song produced by Dr. Dre.
When It Was Written dropped, it was sold more than Illmatic, but wasn't received as well as Illmatic, but then, how could it be?
1. Album Intro
Produced by Nas & Trackmasters
Nas's sophmore attempt begins with the most pretentious intro this side of Wu-Tang Clan's "Wu-Revolution". It then cuts to an intro similar to "The Genesis" off of Illmatic, where AZ blabbers and Nas appears to not even notice his Queensbridge counterpart.
2. The Message
Produced by Trackmasters
For the most mainstream producers not named "The Hitmen", the Trackmasters provided a beat that doesn't sound at all remotely like it was meant for the radio, which Poke and Tone are known for. And as such, their beat is pretty simple. Simple drum beat, a crash every now and then, and repeating strings. Simplicity can be good, you know. Nas's rhymes are on point making this a damn good song to reintroduce us to Nasir Jones.
3. Street Dreams
Produced by Trackmasters
The second single. If you fancy yourself a fan of Tupac Shakur, you'll notice pretty early that Nas samples the same song as 2Pac's "All Eyez on Me" off the self-titled album. If you fancy yourself a fan of "Street Dreams," you already know there's a remix of this track, featuring R. Kelly. If you fancy yourself a fan of good hip-hop songs, you'll probably think of this as a "Meh." track and skip onto the next track...
4. I Gave You Power
Produced by DJ Premier
The lone DJ Premier production... and it's REALLY good. Premo's beat is awesome, and Nas's lyrics are good. The gimmick of this track would be that Nas is rhyming in the viewpoint as a gun. And while it may sound as though it might not come off well, it really does.
5. Watch Dem N---as (feat. Foxy Brown)
Produced by Trackmasters
SKIP.
6. Take It in Blood
Produced by Live Squad, Lo Ground, & General Sound
I don't know the producers, but their beat is good and simple. Nas's lyrics are on point (like every album he's put out not named Nastradamus). This song is pretty good
7. Nas is Coming (feat. Dr. Dre)
Produced by Dr. Dre
The intro that takes us into the track lasts too long. Once it gets into the song, I notice that the chorus sucks. Dr. Dre's beat is actually pretty boring and totally unlike the good Doctor that we know and love. His appearance on this track is pretty much a non-factor here. Nas sounds good, but the problem is, is this whole collaboration needed to be perfect. We have the best producer on the West and (one of) the best MC(s) on the East collaborating. But Dre uncharacteristically faltered to come up with a good beat. If you need to hear a good Dre/Nas, I'd point you in the direction of "Hustlers" featuring The Game from Nas's Hip Hop is Dead, or the "East Coast/West Coast Killas" track, credited to Group Therapy (Dr. Dre, B-Real, and B-Real from the West, Nas and KRS-One from the East), off of Dr. Dre's Aftermath compilation/teaser CD.
8. Affirmative Action (feat. AZ, Cormega, & Foxy Brown)
Produced by Trackmasters
On his sophomore disc, Nas decides to give the members of his supergroup (featuring AZ (the only guest verse on Illmatic), Foxy Brown, and Cormega (who was dropped from the group and replaced by another MC from Queensbridge, Nature, before they released their first full-length album, titled... The Album). Over a Trackmasters-provided beat (they would go on to produce most of The Album, the only other produced being Dr. Dre). AZ, Cormega, and Nas all provide good verses... and then Foxy Brown drops by. I've never liked her and this is no exception. With Cormega providing a pretty good verse, you may ask yourself why Nas dropped him and replaced with Nature? I don't know why. I'm going to guess Cormega accidentally erased a sketch on Nas's Etch A Sketch that he had been working on for a while and Nas got pissed and dropped him.
9. The Set Up (feat. Havoc)
Produced by Havoc
Havoc, from Havoc & Prodigy Play the Blues (also known as Mobb Deep) drops by and provides Nas with a pretty good beat to which he successfully rhymes over with good results. Havoc, the lesser part of Havoc & Prodigy Play the Blues provides an annoying chorus, making this a meh track.
10. Black Girl Lost (feat. Jo-Jo Hailey)
Produced by L.E.S. & Trackmasters
L.E.S., who had production credits on Illmatic, drops by to co-produce a track with the album's primary producers, the Trackmasters. Jo-Jo Hailey of K-Ci & Jo-Jo provides a meh hook, but the beat is boring. As such, this would be ranked "meh".
11. Suspect
Produced by L.E.S.
Yawn.
12. Shootouts
Produced by Trackmasters
See track #11.
13. Live N---a Rap (feat. Mobb Deep)
Produced by Havoc
Havoc comes back around, bringing his Mobb Deep counterpart, Prodigy. Havoc's beat is good and he and the currently-incarcerated half of Havoc & Prodigy Play the Blues sounds good, as does Nas.
14. If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) (feat. Lauryn Hill)
Produced by Trackmasters & Rashad Smith
For a radio-ready track (this was the first single, after all), this is a pretty good song. Nas enlists the Fugees' Lauryn Hill for the chorus, which she sounds good. The ebat's pretty good, too.
Conclusion: There was no way that It Was Written wasn't going to be compared to Illmatic. Illmatic was a critically acclaimed classic, and It Was Written was his follow up. Just like Jay-Z's In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 was compared to Reasonable Doubt, It Was Written was/is compared to Illmatic. And while it's obvious that Illmatic is the better album, It Was Written is a good album on it's own. As such, it deserves money spent on it. The best part about buying it, would be that you can probably find it pretty cheap without spending much time looking for it.
Nas was in a little bit of a pickle. I mean, he just dropped arguably the greatest hip-hop album of all time. How the hell would you follow that up?
Nas decided to go in a more mainstream direction for his sophmore album, getting the Trackmasters to have production credits in more than half the album. He also decided to change his manager, leaving MC Serch in the dust for Steve "My Only Claim to Fame is that Puff Daddy Hit Me in the Head with a Champagne Bottle" Stoute. He convinced Lauryn Hill of the Fugees to be featured on his first single, since she (and Wyclef and Pras) were still riding an insane wave of popularity, thanks to The Score.
He tapped only two producers from Illmatic, bringing back DJ Premier and L.E.S., both getting one song to themselves (L.E.S. would co-produce a song with the Trackmasters). Nas tapped fellow Queensbridgians Mobb Deep, getting Havoc to produce and appear on two songs, with Havoc's partner-in-crime Prodigy appearing on the second of those two. Nas also got Live Squad, Lo Ground, and General Sound to all produce one track. However, even with all those producers, the biggest production credits would belong to one, Andre Young.
The West Coast doctor, who was busy producing tracks for Death Row artists, collaborated with the East Coast MC, making Nasir the first East Coast MC to appear have a song produced by Dr. Dre.
When It Was Written dropped, it was sold more than Illmatic, but wasn't received as well as Illmatic, but then, how could it be?
1. Album Intro
Produced by Nas & Trackmasters
Nas's sophmore attempt begins with the most pretentious intro this side of Wu-Tang Clan's "Wu-Revolution". It then cuts to an intro similar to "The Genesis" off of Illmatic, where AZ blabbers and Nas appears to not even notice his Queensbridge counterpart.
2. The Message
Produced by Trackmasters
For the most mainstream producers not named "The Hitmen", the Trackmasters provided a beat that doesn't sound at all remotely like it was meant for the radio, which Poke and Tone are known for. And as such, their beat is pretty simple. Simple drum beat, a crash every now and then, and repeating strings. Simplicity can be good, you know. Nas's rhymes are on point making this a damn good song to reintroduce us to Nasir Jones.
3. Street Dreams
Produced by Trackmasters
The second single. If you fancy yourself a fan of Tupac Shakur, you'll notice pretty early that Nas samples the same song as 2Pac's "All Eyez on Me" off the self-titled album. If you fancy yourself a fan of "Street Dreams," you already know there's a remix of this track, featuring R. Kelly. If you fancy yourself a fan of good hip-hop songs, you'll probably think of this as a "Meh." track and skip onto the next track...
4. I Gave You Power
Produced by DJ Premier
The lone DJ Premier production... and it's REALLY good. Premo's beat is awesome, and Nas's lyrics are good. The gimmick of this track would be that Nas is rhyming in the viewpoint as a gun. And while it may sound as though it might not come off well, it really does.
5. Watch Dem N---as (feat. Foxy Brown)
Produced by Trackmasters
SKIP.
6. Take It in Blood
Produced by Live Squad, Lo Ground, & General Sound
I don't know the producers, but their beat is good and simple. Nas's lyrics are on point (like every album he's put out not named Nastradamus). This song is pretty good
7. Nas is Coming (feat. Dr. Dre)
Produced by Dr. Dre
The intro that takes us into the track lasts too long. Once it gets into the song, I notice that the chorus sucks. Dr. Dre's beat is actually pretty boring and totally unlike the good Doctor that we know and love. His appearance on this track is pretty much a non-factor here. Nas sounds good, but the problem is, is this whole collaboration needed to be perfect. We have the best producer on the West and (one of) the best MC(s) on the East collaborating. But Dre uncharacteristically faltered to come up with a good beat. If you need to hear a good Dre/Nas, I'd point you in the direction of "Hustlers" featuring The Game from Nas's Hip Hop is Dead, or the "East Coast/West Coast Killas" track, credited to Group Therapy (Dr. Dre, B-Real, and B-Real from the West, Nas and KRS-One from the East), off of Dr. Dre's Aftermath compilation/teaser CD.
8. Affirmative Action (feat. AZ, Cormega, & Foxy Brown)
Produced by Trackmasters
On his sophomore disc, Nas decides to give the members of his supergroup (featuring AZ (the only guest verse on Illmatic), Foxy Brown, and Cormega (who was dropped from the group and replaced by another MC from Queensbridge, Nature, before they released their first full-length album, titled... The Album). Over a Trackmasters-provided beat (they would go on to produce most of The Album, the only other produced being Dr. Dre). AZ, Cormega, and Nas all provide good verses... and then Foxy Brown drops by. I've never liked her and this is no exception. With Cormega providing a pretty good verse, you may ask yourself why Nas dropped him and replaced with Nature? I don't know why. I'm going to guess Cormega accidentally erased a sketch on Nas's Etch A Sketch that he had been working on for a while and Nas got pissed and dropped him.
9. The Set Up (feat. Havoc)
Produced by Havoc
Havoc, from Havoc & Prodigy Play the Blues (also known as Mobb Deep) drops by and provides Nas with a pretty good beat to which he successfully rhymes over with good results. Havoc, the lesser part of Havoc & Prodigy Play the Blues provides an annoying chorus, making this a meh track.
10. Black Girl Lost (feat. Jo-Jo Hailey)
Produced by L.E.S. & Trackmasters
L.E.S., who had production credits on Illmatic, drops by to co-produce a track with the album's primary producers, the Trackmasters. Jo-Jo Hailey of K-Ci & Jo-Jo provides a meh hook, but the beat is boring. As such, this would be ranked "meh".
11. Suspect
Produced by L.E.S.
Yawn.
12. Shootouts
Produced by Trackmasters
See track #11.
13. Live N---a Rap (feat. Mobb Deep)
Produced by Havoc
Havoc comes back around, bringing his Mobb Deep counterpart, Prodigy. Havoc's beat is good and he and the currently-incarcerated half of Havoc & Prodigy Play the Blues sounds good, as does Nas.
14. If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) (feat. Lauryn Hill)
Produced by Trackmasters & Rashad Smith
For a radio-ready track (this was the first single, after all), this is a pretty good song. Nas enlists the Fugees' Lauryn Hill for the chorus, which she sounds good. The ebat's pretty good, too.
Conclusion: There was no way that It Was Written wasn't going to be compared to Illmatic. Illmatic was a critically acclaimed classic, and It Was Written was his follow up. Just like Jay-Z's In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 was compared to Reasonable Doubt, It Was Written was/is compared to Illmatic. And while it's obvious that Illmatic is the better album, It Was Written is a good album on it's own. As such, it deserves money spent on it. The best part about buying it, would be that you can probably find it pretty cheap without spending much time looking for it.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
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