No, this isn’t the project that blew up “OOOUUU” — the catalyst behind HipHopDX’s Best Beat of 2016.
This is the project that slipped “OOOUUU” on the tail end of the
tracklist virtually a year after the song was released because the
momentum couldn’t be maintained. The album name wasted a title for Young
M.A and didn’t delve too much into her Pandora’s box. It remains as a
stark warning to all up-and-coming rappers that playing the hit-making
game is a slippery slope. Cardi B should take note. Iggy Azalea didn’t
and…
Big Sean & Metro Boomin – Double Or Nothing
Metro Boomin had enough wins in 2017 to overcome this ridiculously
imbalanced joint feature, but Big Sean, having seen his buzz fade after
releasing I Decided. way back in February, didn’t need to represent the “or nothing” aspect of this album release. Wack lyrics
about smoking dope with Rosa Parks, fidget spinners and making his girl
feel blessed that he didn’t sodomize her will forever haunt this LP’s
legacy.
Fat Joe & Remy Ma – Plata O Plomo
From all the way up to not mentioned at all. Blame Remy Ma for sabotaging any buzz surrounding the album by releasing her “SHETHER” Nicki Minaj diss a
week later, but truth be told, this collaborative project fell flat
from the start. “Cookin” featured French Montana (much like the
Grammy-nominated and platinum smash “All the Way Up”), and felt every
bit the carbon copy it was. Assistance from Ty Dolla $ign, Kent Jones,
Sevyn and BJ The Chicago Kid did nothing to propel the quality either.
Not every single movement needs an album.
KRS-One – The World Is Mind
Thirteen albums in and the one and only T’cha is understandably at a
crossroads in his career. But instead of doubling down on the classic
sensibilities that made Boogie Down Productions such a legendary force,
or focusing on what he considers the direction 2K17 needs to be rooted
in, he just wallowed in between the two for a forgettable album, whose
ultimate footnote will be for killing off the wrong Beastie Boy.
Tyga – Bitch I’m The Shit 2
Mr. T-Raww has given the world plenty of opportunities not to take his rap career seriously and you’re muthafuckin’ right Bitch I’m The Shit 2
upheld that trend. Were you aware Quavo, Pusha T, Vince Staples and Ty
Dolla $ign were on this project? No? That’s probably because you’re not
taking Tyga’s career seriously!
Playboy Carti – Playboy Carti
A hot, platinum single in “Magnolia” and a shoutout from JAY-Z
couldn’t mask the notion that Carti’s self-titled debut was simply “a glorified beat tape with ad-libs.”
Simply put, this project epitomizes the “SoundCloud mumble rapper”
generation and hopefully, the day will come when Carti grows up and
denounces any affiliation to the album. Hopefully.
Macklemore – Gemini
No Ryan Lewis? No prob…oooh…not so fast, Ben Haggerty. Naming the album Gemini isn’t
an excuse for the music to be divided between a G-rated carnival of
suck (“Zara,” “Good Old Days” with Kesha and “Intentions”) and failed
trap auditions for Quality Control Music (“How To Play the Flute,”
“Willy Wonka” with Offset and “Marmalade” with Lil Yachty). Success has
damaged many an artist and it’s shaken Macklemore to the point where
he’s not even making music that’s as fun as his artistic persona. Get it
together, mate!
Fabolous & Jadakiss – Friday On Elm Street
For more than a year,
Fab and Jada masqueraded around with Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees
masks like they were about to 187 an album full of bars. The end result
felt like a colorful Bob Ross canvas — nothing stood out unless you want
to count to bodacious trap records such as “Stand Up” featuring Future
(smh). It got really painful when the duo decided to get “woke” and
preach peace on the song “Talk About It” after they filled the graveyard
on the opening title track. Fire the executive producer, fellas!
Nav – NAV
A kid from Canada crooning about his lows, woes and doing drugs until
they put a tag on his toes! How original! Nav came in the game down with
The Weeknd and Travis Scott and actually has some talent behind the
board — but when it comes to his lyrical diversity, it’s limited to the
contents of a medicine bottle. See the lyrics to “Myself,” which
perfectly sum up this wack-ass album: “I was sober for an hour but I’m
rollin’ off a bean now/ The drugs, they give me confidence, I’m sayin’
what I mean now/ The xannies help me slow up, the lean it help me speed
down.” Time to detox, dude.
Nav & Metro Boomin – Perfect Timing
This guy! Someone needs to remind us what this album’s name means
again. Was it “perfect timing” for a collaboration no one asked for? Or
was it “perfect timing” to hit the stop button on your Apple Music
stream partway into the opening track? On this particular project, Young
Metro rose to the occasion, but Nav — who still can’t find anything to
rap about aside from abusing drugs and sliding off with someone else’s
girl — will fully achieve “perfect timing” when he decides to stick to
producing.
Biggest Fuckin’ Disappointment: Eminem – Revival
Eminem told Elton John that he set out to make “a little something for everyone” on his ninth studio album, Revival.
After seeing the reactions following the pop-oriented project’s
release, it’s clear that everybody doesn’t want “a little something.”
They want that ‘ol Slim Shady feeling, or at least a matured version of
his impressive raps.
Between puzzling beat choices supplied by Rick Rubin and Alex da Kid,
to the decision for picking P!nk, X Ambassadors and Skylar Grey over
his own in-house roster of Slaughterhouse, Yelawolf, Westside Gunn and
Conway, it’s apparent Em chased the chart instead of trusting his
natural talent. Better luck next time and Em, we need that next time to
actually happen.
