I don't think there's any song on there that I dislike...

i like how i can put this album on and enjoy it again right after it ends.

his classic albums have a lot of overwhelming moments. this one is just a fun ride the whole way through.

My god, there are like FIVE current stories about Kanye in Pitchfork's news feed...

• Kanye gets honorary doctorate (and nobody was old enough in 2004 to recognize the opportunity for a College Dropout or Late Registration crack)
• Kanye performs "All Day" ... Again! This time in a basketball setting! OMGOD!
• Kanye plays with Vic Mensa and Chance the Rapper or something at some high school or some shit, wow, world is so crazy!
• Kanye to star in Spike Lee's new musical comedy!
• Wait, Kanye NOT starring in Spike Jonze musical comedy! Wow what a crazy world! Leave your comments below!

But NOTHING .... MOTHERFUCKING NOTHING ABOUT FUCKING MUSIC!!!

hip-hop journalism sucks. i hate how interviews with rappers are usually about everything but music too. always some gossip shit.

Agreed. 90% of hip hop journalism is boring bullshit

you guys, man you guys have passion. kudos!!!!

im just not in a hip hop mood. been too tired and unhealthy.

think i'll grill a big ol' steak now. and a baked potato with sour cream with lots of butter.

Thank you!

I've come to the same conclusion. I actually really liked it at first (perhaps you remember) and never outright hated on it, but I don't think I really found its groove, and it's place in JAY's discography, until I stopped trying to tell myself that it was another perfect HOV album, like Reasonable Doubt, Black Album, Kingdom Come (ya'heard me!), American Gangster, Blueprint and Blueprint III.

Once I was honest with myself about how terrible Justin T. sounds when he's trying to "go hard" in that awful and epically ill advised Smells Like Teen Spirit tribute, and I allowed myself to take a step back from my inner fanboy and take an objective look at the record as it compares to the others, I found that it was probably second tier Jay... like Vol. 1, 2, 3 and Roc La Familia.

But that said, it's probably at the top of the second tier. "Fuckwithmeyouknowigotit" is a straight up classic, and will rank among his biggest crowd favorites. I LOVE "FUTW," (that chorus is truly mature hip-hop songwriting... not lame, out of touch billionaire trying to stay ill), not to mention "somewhereinamerica" and "Heaven" and "Picasso Baby" (I can handle JT on that track... He fits) and the highly underrated "Tom Ford."

I think it's probably my 4th or 5th favorite Jay album. It's beautifully designed too, and the themes tie in with a lot of the topics Jay and Kanye touched on during WTT. No surprise that a lot of the MCHG songs were just starting to come together around that period.

It's a really good album, and if it's Jay's last, I won't complain.

I'm really glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. :)

It is 2nd tier

But Lifetimes and Dynasty are 3rd tier

No kidding. No wonder people think Rocky is a shallow screen whore. Have you ever caught him on (what passes for) an "interview" on MTV? They barely discuss music at all. They just want to know what brands he's wearing, which Mob member is the "fun" one/"serious" one/"creative" one... How would he describe his style (fashion style, not musical or lyrical style)...

He plays along. He's an attractive little dude, young as shit and despite the hardships of the past year, he's still in that "I'm so happy to be here" phase. But his music warrants more serious discussion. The work he's getting out of producers like Clams Casino, blended with his own flow, makes for an interesting and almost novel crossbreed of trap, hardcore, EDM and mother fucking shoegaze! Why aren't we talking about that?!

In short.... YEAH!

Oh hey, why do the Café frequent era seem to be sleeping on Logic?

Did anyone happen to hear Under Pressure, his 2014 album? It shows ridiculous potential. The man can spit complex flows with an almost effortless, liquid sounding ease.

Anyone else like what they've heard so far?

Vince Staples - Señorita video off his debut (Summertime '06): https://youtube.com/watch?v=5OAYMMod9Wo

i hate to say it, but this song and video are so fucking great.. the ending WOWZA. i'll cop this album for sure.

i must say that the new Earl is my fav from him now. i've been listening to it every day for the past few weeks. i love every song, the production is beautiful and Earl rides it so well. Doris has higher highs (Burgundy, Sunday, Chum), but I Don't Like Shit is a better listen from start to finish.

and "Solace", the 10 min track he put out a couple weeks ago is his most personal, touching statement to date. i like how direct he is on this one, as opposed to I Don't Like Shit which has a lot of abstract lyrics. "i got my grandmama's hands, i start to cry when i see 'em/ cuz they remind me of seein' her/ these the times that i needed her most cause i feel defeated". he admits he lacks confidence and is at a loss of friends cuz of what he's been going through too (Earl and Tyler aren't as close as they used to be anymore). amazing stuff.

i love how he's influenced by Jay Electronica and Andre 3000 now. back when he was 15 Eminem was his fav, his rhyme schemes were amazing but what he was actually rapping about was pretty much nonsense. now he's on his way to become one of hip-hop's greatest writers.

see i gave both Logic and Childish Gambino a chance this week but couldn't get into them.

Logic - raps in double time flow, borrows production ideas from Kendrick and J. Cole. he can rap his ass off, but i find him a bit boring.

Childish Gambino - GREAT production but a lot of corny lines, and uh.. well, he's childish. i like his singing though.

To Pimp a Butterfly still deserves more love here. i mean..

"Do you believe in me? Are you deceiving me?
Could I let you down easily, is your heart where it need to be?
Is your smile on permanent? Is your vow on lifetime?
Would you know where the sermon is if I died in this next line?
If I’m tried in a court of law, if the industry cut me off
If the government want me dead, plant cocaine in my car
Would you judge me a drug-head or see me as K. Lamar
Or question my character and degrade me on every blog
Want you to love me like Nelson, want you to hug me like Nelson
I freed you from being a slave in your mind, you’re very welcome
You tell me my song is more than a song, it’s surely a blessing
But a prophet ain’t a prophet til they ask you this question:"

and then you have "You Ain't Gotta Lie" which reminds me of A Tribe Called Quest in their heyday. "I could spot you a mile away/ I could see your insecurities written all on your face... You ain't gotta lie to kick it my nigga, you ain't gotta try so hard".

Complexion - "Give a fuck about your complexion, I know what the Germans done"

"Let me talk my Stu Scott, ‘scuse me on my 2Pac
Keep your head up, when did you stop loving thy
Color of your skin, color of your eyes
That’s the real blues, baby, like you met Jay’s baby
You blew me away, you think more beauty in blue, green and grey
All my solemn men up north, 12 years a slave
12 years of age, thinkin’ my shade too dark
I love myself, I no longer need Cupid"

^^^ i would quote the entire verse.. Kendrick actually wrote it and let Rapsody rap it.

just goosebumps all over. this album is really something special. it puts me on the verge of tears.

Listening to lots of A$AP.
And Doom, especially Monster Island Czars' Escape From Monster Island
Lupe Fiasco's The Cool
Logic - Under Pressure

I can't get into Gambino for shit. Zero interest.


Still loving To Pimp a Butterfly. Definitely one hell of an album. Can't pick a favorite tune.

* Actually, fuck that. "Mortal Man" is my favorite track on Butterfly. I don't think it has an equal in Kendrick's catalog (yet). Something about it... that rolling bass, that familiar impulse we've seen in our favorite musicians since Kurt Cobain to challenge the idea of fame, and question its purpose & meaning.... That beautiful delivery...

Song's a fuckin' masterpiece.

Honestly as much as I love Tetsuo & Youth, and as much as I believe it will be considered his masterpiece when all's said and done, I think THE COOL is actually my favorite (and possibly his best) album. It's not as conceptually full as Tetsuo, nor as musically unique. But for all the crap Lupe's taken about the consistency of his songwriting and production choices, THE COOL comes off without a hitch, really.

Even Tetsuo's absolute best track ("Mural") has its lyrical missteps, and due to the production of the album and the pacing of the vocal delivery, every big, epic line that falls flat does so very obviously. It's an intense and beautiful album, but it's few lyrical mistakes are not easy to ignore.

THE COOL feels tight as a goddamn vice. It makes mincemeat out of Food & Liquor, which is of course a classic. So, that's saying a lot.

These are just some of the things that have been going through my mind as I've revisited THE COOL.

TPAB is a good album of course. It just isn't doing much for me. I mean I'm still playing it shuffled w/ all the other recent releases tho.

Lupe has never really grabbed me. I like some songs by him. But never wanted to sit thru an album.

I Don't Like Shit is a great album.

If you want to see good interviews w/ A$AP Rocky, then you need to watch Suddenly, the documentary that Fuse did last year. It's great.

Anyway, I listened to Bush yesterday. It's good. Better than I feared anyway. I think that once the expectations were out of my head, it started to sound better. Like, what I wanted was Snoop rapping over Neptunes shit. I wanted an album of "Drop It Like It's Hot," "Beautiful," "From The Church," but that's not what this is. In fact, take a look at his resume. Snoop hasn't made a 'rap album' in a while.

SIDENOTE: I'm ok with that, to a degree. You have to admit that a fair share of Snoop's latter day work started to really blend together. Most of the work he did after No Limit say. You could easily confuse songs from Paid Tha Cost, Doggumentary, R&G, Ego Trippin, Malice... SOOOOO to see him just say "y'know what? I'm Snoop. I can do anything I want." is at least admirable. He could just coast in his comfort zone until retirement. Instead he's made 3 albums in a row now that are experimental and ignore the genre he's spent a career in.

So back to Bush: it's really not that much of a shocker after 7 Days Of Funk, y'all. And I mean Doggystyle is a G-Funk classic right? Why not want to go back and give homage to the samples? Meaning, I think Bush is basically Snoop's attempt at making a Parliament (et al) album. 7 Days hinted on this, but Bush is more sincere.

No lies - hearing Kendrick and Ross kill it on the closer certainly does make you wish for more rapping (and Snoop does drop a few verses throughout), but I still respect the grind here. And I liked (like really liked enough to say "I'd wanna hear that again") several songs here. And I enjoy the fact that it was kept to a nice brief 10-song svelte package instead of sprawling overkill (see: MOST Snoop albums).

So uh yeah. I guess I like this album then.

Bush is gonna get many plays in the car this summer.

yeah I can see that too. In the Summer when my wife and I are driving around hitting yard sales or going to the beach, we def do a lot of poppy shit. That's when I'll be in the mood for girl pop or electronic stuff or whatever.

The Springbreakers sndtrk is actually one of my favorite Summer albums of recent years. You got Skrillex & Cliff Martinez doing electro stuff, you got girl pop stuff like Ellie Goulding and then you got stuff like Gucci and Waka thrown in there. Such a good mix.

BY THE WAY...

iTunes is having a mother. fucking. massive sale on hip-hop & rap albums of all shapes, sizes, eras, ages, styles & sub genres... I mean it, there's so much music on sale tha even if you don't use iTunes, you'll find something you want to buy.

I guess the value of this sale will vary from person to person depending on your music-buying preferences. Obviously if you're a physical copy nazi, it's no value at all, and would actually be several times as expensive as simply downloading albums for free from "those" sites.

But if you're like me, and you enjoy actually owning your music collection legally, but don't have the time to make as many record store runs as you used to, it's a pretty good compromise. Owning an album through iTunes is nothing like owning a slab of vinyl.... But it's better than simply being a copier of files.

ANYHOO.. $5.99 is the going rate, and that's comparable to a lot of used CD stores. Also, longer albums, newer albums, etc. are all lumped in with shorter albums and older albums... same price. Deluxe editions don't seem to be included, but there are tons of 2015 albums to choose from. There's g-funk shit, indie hipster hop, rising stars like Rae Sremmurd and Young Thug and Logic, old souls like Tupac, Tribe and Roots... good kid MAAd city and Yeezus are two of the first titles you're likely to see.

Want some Meek Mill?
Been needing to catch up with Run the Jewels?
Miss the Fugees?

I'm not trying to hype iTunes or apple here. In fact, $5.99 feels pretty pricey for a bigass sale. Especially when most people can stream everything at their bloody leisure now. But the selection is really quite impressive.

Just thought I'd throw that out there.

yeah I tend to buy physical copies of hip hop, and Spotify tends to have me covered in in the digital realm these days. I used to buy digital albums (eMusic, iTunes, Amazon, Play) until Spotify came along.

See, I was thinking:

Tier 1: (The perfect and near-perfect records. All of them rank among the best of all time.)
• WTT
• Reasonable Doubt
• Black Album
• Blueprint
• Blueprint III
• American Gangster

Tier 2: (The good to great albums, mostly. Starting out with Great, moving to good, ending with a couple genuinely fun and worth-having albums that are about 45% good, 30% middle of the road: not offensively bad, but definitely not truly good; 15% terrible & 10% brilliant... like "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"

• Magna Carta Holy Grail
• Kingdom Come (hated by many, including Jay; loved by me)
• In My Lifetime: Vol.1 (overlooked by mainstream audiences; slammed by the "serious" fans except for me)
• Vol.2 Hard Knock Life
• Vol.3 Life & Times of S. Carter
• The Dynasty: Rock La Familia 2000

Tier 3: (the downright shitty ones. HUGE DIFFERENCE in quality between even the lower-raking Tier 2 records and the absolute best of this bunch... Makes me want to consider placing MCHG and Kingdom Come in #1)

• Blueprint 2/Blueprint 2.1
• MTV Unplugged
• Collision Course (W/ Linkin Park)
• Best of Both Worlds & Unfinished Business (w/ R. Kelly)

But... y'know... just one man's opinion. Those R. Kelly collabs could have been GREAT. Just think about "To The World" from Cruel Summer... One of the best Kanye tracks ever, even if it is a bit dumb. I'm sure HOV and Kelly could have made something more substantive than a two-part tribute to fucking dumb drunk bitches...
---
"Mitt Romney don't pay no tax!"

Tier 1: Classics
-Reasonable Doubt
-The Blueprint
-The Black Album
-American Gangster
-Watch The Throne

Tier 2: Good Solid Albums
-In My Lifetime Vol 1
-Volume 3 Life & Times Of S. Carter
-The Dynasty
-Unplugged
-The Blueprint 2
-The Blueprint 3
-Magna Carta Holy Grail

Tier 3: The Worst
-Streets Is Watching
-Volume 2 Hard Knock Life
-The Best Of Both Worlds
-Unfinished Business
-Collision Course
-Kingdom Come

With fear of reading like a suchfriends quote-a-thon less of this Jay-Z talk please.

You must spread some reputation around before giving it to h8kurdt again

on this page alone I've talked about Earl, Snoop, Lupe, Kendrick and A$AP Rocky along w/ Jay-Z. I go where the conversation goes. If y'all want to discuss other rappers, then start that discussion instead of just saying "please stop talking about something I don't like."

Ah stop being a tight ass. It was clearly a light-hearted comment.

I know. But i was trying to encourage more talk. Tightass. :)

so you guys aren't gonna watch the Vince vid that i posted in the last page, huh.

video of the year, hands down.

I will watch it, louder. When I get a chance. Vince is awesome.


You guys, I've been listening to Blacc Hollywood again lately. I had forgotten just how much I liked that album. One of those "oh yeah I forgot about THIS song. I love THIS song!" albums. I feel like if I had spent more time w/ it last year it would have ended up in my Top 10.

Totally. I've liked that record since it dropped. I too forget about it. I bought so many hip hop albums last year in my attempt to fill the void left my the end of 2013, and Wiz got lost in the mix. But every time I spot the cover out of the corner of my eye, I think, "I should throw that shit on!"

Blacc Hollywood is solid. It's a marked improvement from his other major label releases, which weren't terrible, but did pretty much cost him his entire hometown fan base, since they sounded so generic compared to his early mixtapes. Blacc Hollywood was definitely a step in the right direction.

Last year was so weird. It wasn't until the year was over than I actually started to see some of the albums in a more favorable light.

Like, Cellar Door was my top hip-hop record of the year almost by default, mostly because I loved Indigoism SO much, and because Piñata didn't fully make sense to me until the very end of the year. In retrospect, as good as Cellar Door was, it was not as nuanced as I would have liked. Piñata was definitely the best hip-hop album of the year.. a modern day street rap masterpiece. Gibbs is such a strong emcee that he stole the show from madlib, which I resented at first, but now I just fucking love that record. #1 with a bullet. Underachievers ... Sorry bros, but you're #2. Next time try putting all your energy into one 15 track LP instead of two solo EP's and a 10 track LP. That was a rookie misuse of time and energy.

I thought you liked Kingdom Come.

And I wouldn't include Streets is Watching. That's like... less than ½ Jay Z. And not in the same way as WTT and the other collabs, which feature Jay on every track. I would re-think including that.

Our top and bottom tiers are almost identical. I don't get how you can think of Blueprint 2/2.1 as anything other than complete and utter bullshit. I prefer to not even consider them proper Jay albums. Blueprint 2 should have been a true follow-up to Blurprint. Not just an opportunistic misuse of the iconic title.

I actually really enjoyed THEESatisfaction who opened for Sleater-Kinney a few weeks ago.. I initially didn't think I would check them out, but I got to the venue early and they were playing when i got inside. Actually pretty good! Very surprising, I don't generally think of the Pacific Northwest as any kind of hotbed for underground hip hop

yeah Gibbs is a fucking beast. i'm a big fan, got Piñata on vinyl.

did you listen to that little EP he dropped this year? 3 incredible songs.
i feel like he doesn't even need Madlib anymore to make a great album.

I do like Kingdom Come... but I think it's in the bottom third of his work. I should say that even the ones in the bottom tier, I mostly don't think are terrible.

I know Streets Is Watching isn't really a Jay-Z album. But it's y'know... it's something I do think of when thinking of his discography. Like QB's Finest sticks in my mind as a Nas album, but it's not a Nas album.

Blueprint 2... I don't know how we hear that album so differently. It's overly long, yes. But it's got a ton of great stuff on there. The title track is a great example of a track that could have fit in perfectly on the first album. There's plenty on there that I love - and when that album came out I was so obsessed w/ it.