Interesting take.

I can't say I agree. I do think it's a pretty goddamn slow record, and I wouldn't mind hearing a bit more diversity in meter and time signature. But you've given me a few things to chew on. Thanks for sharing. Really.

I've liked it since the beginning, but it felt almost like a Radiohead album at first... (you know, one of those slow, plodding Radiohead albums that sounds good at times, but when taken as a whole can be almost sleep-inducing). The more I listen, though, the more moments of revelation I find. It does seem to push itself forward fairly well, at a stately if subdued pace. It's a VERY welcome remedy to the vast majority of hip-hop releases that have come out this year, so many of which have been utterly without color or texture or hue, resorting instead to mid-tempo semi-banger after mid-tempo semi-banger, and god DAMN that shit gets old. So compared to all but two or three hip-hop and hip-hop adjacent albums this year's had to offer, it sounds like high art.

Regarding Channel Orange, no offense, but if you weren't into that album, I'm not sure why you'd even bother with this one, let alone hope or expect to like it. I guess I'm not sure why you're fucking with Frank at all. Channel Orange is his only proper album (pre-Blonde and Endless). He has ONE other release and it's a mixtape. If you don't like cO, you don't like 100% of his album-output, so ... why bother?

Personally, I think Channel Orange is a great record. I don't think it's as great as a lot of folks do... In the grand scheme of the decade's great R&B albums, it absolutely shrinks and pales in comparison to Black Messiah. But it was certainly one of the best albums of 2012. I wasn't entirely on board at first either. It took several listens for me to appreciate the production and writing, but it definitely made a lasting impression eventually.

In general, though I love Frank Ocean, I'm not usually in the kind of mindset where I can put such slow, meditative, often downer-heavy music (unless it's ambient guitar shit). I listen to Blonde in fragments. I can't sit still for the entire thing. But when I do listen, to it or to Channel Orange (or Nostalgia Ultra. for that matter) I always hear something amazing.

Long story short, stop listening to Frank Ocean, since you don't like Frank Ocean. ;)

that's my thing, there's this conception among people whose opinions I largely respect that he's a grand visionary who's been met with commercial success along the lines of aaliyah, d'angelo, janet jackson et al where he's making artfully-curated pop r&b, but I don't feel he approaches these artists on any level unfortunately. the first record felt like a competent throwback and this one at least approaches things interestingly (admirable but not necessarily a grand accomplishment) but it's not at the calibre of any of them. not saying he's bad but he is in no way befitting of that legend status people are unfairly ascribing to him.

My current situation is weird, see.. Frank and Vince dropped, but I find myself listening to JEFFERY the most, out of all things.

The critics are calling JEFFERY Young Thug's best one to date.. so at least it's not just me, and maybe I didn't go crazy after all. :o Anyone willing to listen?

I'm starting to realize that Frank Ocean is overrated. I have one friend who is obsessed with him and won't stop babbling about him everyday. There are other wonderful R&B acts out there who dropped fantastic albums this year, such as Anderson .Paak, Maxwell, KING.. and last year where we had some great albums which went under the radar by Miguel, Jazmine Sullivan, The Internet, Hiatus Kaiyote and RASHAD.. ah well.

I'll give it a listen. Remember, I gave Barter 6 a fair shot too. I don't want to dismiss this one just cuz I didn't like that one. And I actually really like "Mixtape" from Coloring Book. And I liked him on "Highlights."

Uh. Seriously?

that would get old, though. If someone blabbed in my ear about Frank — or anyone — every day. Yeah, I know I talk about certain dudes a lot here, but getting it in earful form is a lot more taxing.

Well, first off, what the critics are saying doesn't matter. Not much anyway. They exist for us to bitch and shoot the shit about. Nothing more. If critical opinion was important to you, you'd have gotten on board with Pablo (perhaps the one about-face you haven't made that you really should have made by now).

But I ain't beefin'.
I did listen to Jeffery avtually. I was a bit surprised at first. I thought, "this isn't so bad!" And I guess it's not so bad as pure ear candy. There's a bit of OutKast energy in there. A little oddball weirdo thuginess that I can kind of dig. But god damn those lyrics are awful. And often really disgusting... If the "bleached asshole" line bothered you and the lyrics to Thug's "Kanye West" don't, then I can only conclude that it's because Ye's were clear and understandable, and Thug's require RapGenius to even partially decode... but the slippery pussy shit gets old really fast. At least in "Father Stretch my hands..." It was only one line in a two-part, multi-faceted movement track with a shitload of other things to offer. With "Kanye West" it's just gratuitous, redundant, chaotic profanity for the fuck of it.

But, yes I've listened and will listen again. I want to like Thug. Really I do. I just... don't, particularly.

Yeah I'm talking about some dude I know in real life.

"Hardcore" Frank fans actually compare him to the likes of Marvin, Stevie and even Bob Dylan, which is.. too far.

Yeah I don't think of Thug's lyrics, he has no bars. I think he just says some random shit and his main focus is on his flow and energy. I'm not sure if I'd even consider him a rapper at this point. On "Jeffery" he's something inbetween a rapper and a singer.

Thanks for willing to give it a chance, y'all.

See Young Thug is a very weird fellow, and I don't get half of his ideas most of the time.. but it is what it is. And for what it's worth, I think Jeffery sounds good.

He's the kind of guy who raps "I fuck on your baby momma" repetitively on a hook just because, although recently said he doesn't even care for sex.

Man it really got to a point where I already get annoyed just from hearing him bringing up Frank or solely mentioning his name again. :mad: :mad: Ugh.

I still like Frank though, don't get me wrong.

I actually agree.

I mean, I quite like everything he's released, but I don't think there's anything new or trailblazing about any of it. I just think it's good crooner R&B/soul-inflected hip hop. Plain and simple. I think Channel Orange is great, but not earth shattering (which is an adjective I would certainly attach to everything D'angelo has released, as well as Aaliyah, and the best Erykah Badu and Roots records). It's just good old fashioned pop music to me. Kind of reminds me of an "urban" (god I hope that doesn't sound racially charged... I'm using the term in reference to common radio-based music categorizations) version of Sinatra.

Not to dig myself even deeper into a hole for knee jerk liberals to shit into, but I think that a fair amount of Frank's "OMG" value is a direct result of his being an openly gay hip hop artist. I think his music was applauded when he came out, when in reality his music carries absolutely no queer or LGBT elements. Frank Ocean the person should have been lauded for that particular display of bravery, but his music benefitted, which is kind of sad. Even though it's solid music, it's been attributed as "revolutionary" by some (mostly fickle millennials who don't know their ass from their mouth), and that's almost offensive in some ways.

That said, I think one of the most impressive things about Frank Ocean is that he came from OFWGKTA stock. In that context, he really does seem almost like a Phoenix rising from the ashes of juvenile absurdity. Earl has made similar leaps, but the great Odd Future experiment as a whole turned out to be kind of embarrassing once it was given time to marinate. So seeing Frank make solid, soulful pop music that isn't based on schtick is in itself impressive.

Still, though, as much as I like the guy, I don't think he's a savior. He makes some good music, and that is all. I quite hate it when artists are pegged as "geniuses" so early in their careers. It skews the whole goddamn process of absorbing their music. And the word "genius" is thrown around far too liberally these days. And yes, I realize that's a ridiculous thing for a Kanye West fan to say, but I wish Time had never called him the "smartest man in pop" (or whatever the title was), because it just set him up for the very public melodrama for which he's now known. The guy can't say a thing without having it measured against his alleged "genius" status. Yeah, I think he's great, but I could have done without all the media cocksucking. It turned me off of Kanye for YEARS.

But yeah, Frank Ocean. Shrug.

Thug said he named every track on Jeffery after one of his idols. There's a song bizarrely titled "Harambe", after the gorilla who got shot and soon turned into an Internet meme. When I hear the song, that name actually makes a bit sense, not because of the content but because his energy on it reminds me of an angry gorilla.

On "Guwop", he features Migos and Young Scooter, who along with Young Thug himself owe their careers to Gucci Mane, who mentored them and featured them on his mixtapes back when they were just some random dudes from Atlanta (Guwop is one of his monikers).

"Future Swag" just sounds like Young Thug making a Future type song. It has his signature sound and he emulates his delivery.

"RiRi" samples Rihanna's Work.

I don't get the other track titles yet though, probably just a bunch of dudes he idolizes.

I wonder how my girlfriend feels after 7 years of Sonic Youth and Kanye talk. I mean, I'm a bit of an old fuck, so I don't think I really do that incessant, naggy fanboy thing (anymore), but I wouldn't be surprised if she wanted to put a gun in her mouth. Hah.

(Actually she's been blasting Graduation and MBDTF a lot lately, on her own. I'll come home and it will just be playing, and she'll be singing along. Which is cool. I think she's getting excited for the concert :) )

When I first heard "Kanye West" (the first track from Jeffery that I played, as I'm sure you can imagine) I was sure I heard references to Ye, Chicago, etc. Then I checked the lyrics out, and I was like, "uuuhhhhh"... Because of course it's just slippery pussy this, slippery pussy that — the only possible 'Ye reference being in the "middle fingers up" line or whatever. And even with that, who knows?

From what I gather the whole "idol" thing is a bit tongue in cheek.

Hey, have you listened to Everybody Lookin yet?

Yeah, Everybody Lookin is good. Mike Will and Zaytoven really put in work and laced Gucci with some fire ass trap beats. Gucci spits some impressive flows, infectious hooks and his oddball sense of humor is still there (there's a song about proudly admitting he got robbed??). I enjoyed it.

I think that "Barter 6" title, although disguised as a tribute to his hero, was actually some sort of a backhanded compliment. The way I see it, it meant that Wayne's time has come and Thug is here to replace him. The fact it featured Birdman sending empty threats on his verse speaks volumes too.

Prima Donna short movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxw1Zef3EO0

Lovin' it. This is making me appreciate the EP much more. Wow.

Yeah, I thought we'd established this. It was very clearly either an outright insult or part of some calculated YMCMG marketing melodrama to bolster Wayne's falling stock. But I kind of doubt it was the latter, because Wayne's stock has never been lower.

Someone at work admitted to believing Lik Wayne was dead not long ago. I corrected him of corse, and said he just spit his best verse in ages on the new Chance the Rapper album... to which the kid said, ..."And there's no CHANCE I'm going to listen to it... Hahahaha!"

I think I may have blacked out with rage for a second. I definitely gave him a look that cannot be approximated by SYG's smiley roster.
That was the most "kids today" moment of the year for me.

Yeah man, I might be wrong but I think there's no place in the market for a new Wayne album anymore. The kids think he's old news. If it ever comes out, it'll most likely go away in the blink of an eye just like that FWA album from last year did.

hahaha I KNEW you'd come around!

Seriously tho, I like Prima Donna a lot. It's not mind-blowing like Summer06 was, nor does it have the same nihilistic bite that Hell Can Wait did... but it is really good and I think Vince is a great voice right now.

I mean, I never even heard FWA or No Ceilings 2. I really never thought a time would come where Weezy would drop two projects in a year and I couldn't be bothered to even check them out. Weird.

Weird... i think i like this young thug album.

Thug and Future and a lot of these guys arent even rapping. It's like chanting one line for 4 bars at a time. I dont know what it is. But i like it sometimes. Sometimes i dont.

Couldn't be bothered with No Ceilings 2. FWA was just sad..

I think we hear a little bit of Wayne in all these new rappers. The new generation looks up to him and Kanye the same way rappers always looked up to Jay Z and Nas. He's considered a veteran at this point, and a feature from him can be a welcome addition to a song, but an actual album.. I don't know.

Ha!! That's what's up.

So "Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight" finally comes out tomorrow.. and this is the cover art:



Hell yeah.

Alright alright!

Listened to a bit of Birds in the Trap today after work.
Not sure what I think of it yet, having only heard a few tracks, but it's left me with a desire to hear more, which is good. I like the textures on his albums. I liked Rodeo. I'm pretty sure I'll find a lot to like about this one.

Louder, what's your take?

travis scoot is schotlato being scrarapt. it's music for Brittney Spears to wake up and put make up on music. it's white bitch, lana del bake you rey, to wake up and dance music. it's trap music. it's Suchfriends. it's louder and noise redux. it's the same as his last album. it's my dick verses yr dick music. pimp music. cocaine XTC music. white trash music. high class shit on working class music wit better drugs music. mix tape vs grammy music. trump vs. hilarity music. money vs. a cast in arms music. probs vs. cops music. high top da la soul vs. public enemy music. it's travon martin vs. O.J./Rodney king music. it's 2010 vs. 2016 music. it's Biggie vs. fuck pac NAs music. it's u vs, u feelin sexy music. you aren't sexy because yr a punk ass bitch. sucking on mi dick uh. I unlock the gate uh. real life verses yr grateful dreams uh. slicky slick yo mama's is slick. uh

I fucked yo ma yo!! uh!! Bon Jovi album name vs, others. so Hit money panties slick dick wad. three some wit honeys i'll be uh! slick pussy uh! im de only nigga that...slick. golf ball uh!!
!

tell her kanye! tell her. already rate hate you do that by the day. THIS IS A GOD DREAM

this is a god dream. sucking on my dick she told me im her favorite. base cell. slagging. uh hell.

btich I dont' even like sex. uh date hell phoffing on my date heell

in da paint nigga. bakin in da cake hell. can't roll enofff, all day everyday, hell


can't smoke enough. seriously I can't smoke enough. hell. uh.

I bust a brick like I bust a nut.

in yr mum. im an outcast oddball. this is what I do.:) I rap.

Haven't listened yet. Will do later today.

Young Thug, is that you?

Weezy may have quit music...?

Heh?

Lil Wayne WEEZY F ✔ @LilTunechi
I AM NOW DEFENSELESS AND mentally DEFEATED & I leave gracefully and thankful I luh my fanz but I'm dun
4:06 AM - 3 Sep 2016
80,272 80,272 Retweets 91,635 91,635 likes

Wow. Do you believe it?

Birds in the Trap has some great moments as well as some reeeeally dragging ones. But I like it. It's just not the kind of thing I'll probably play for start to finish much.

the interlude is *excellent* and might be the most intersting song on the album. Still need to listen more. Can't really remember much about any of it when I'm not actively listening to it.