Album Review: Tyler, The Creator - Goblin

Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) has definitely taken over the hiphop scene armed and dangerous with anti-Christ contents and a mean chip on their shoulder. Anyone who claims to be a music critic, blogger, or journalist that mistaken these cats - specifically Tyler, The Creator - as a joke has eaten their words because of the massive reception from their mixtapes and, if that wouldn't be enough, their amazing ability to put words together AND make sense. Although the sense they make is not a popular one (at least for the religious people), they are impossible to ignore with cover stories from several magazines like Billboard and more.

By the way, if you need a better understanding of who they are then you must understand hiphop a whole lot deeper than lyricism, producing and other mechanics as they are extremely darker than every rapper out now yet are lyrically better than just about any rapper out now. Imagine if the Gravediggaz was as lyrical as Wu-Tang, if Nas continued down the path of the "when I was 12, I went to Hell for snuffing Jesus" line, and if MF Doom, People Under The Stairs, Tech N9ne, Brotha Lynch Hung and Sage Francis warped into a group of Black kids from California and gave less than a damn about rapping like hiphop's norm.

Tyler, The Creator has released his first album under XL Records called Goblin, a follow-up to his debut solo project Bastard. Goblin reveals the true objective of OFWGKTA: lashing out at the inability to stay teens forever and the frustration behind being extremely talented yet unexpressive. Tyler brings his group to the spotlight as just being teenagers who want to exercise, in the fullest force possible, their free speech. Meanwhile, they have roped in so many young folks who feel the same way about being able to express themselves in unorthodox ways - whether it's as a Jesus-hating, roach-eating Cali dude with an affinity for Yonkers or a Dad-less brat who has extremely mixed ideas about women (see "She," "Her" and "Bitch Suck Dick").

Speaking of "Bitch Suck Dick," here's where Tyler and Odd Future begin to sound unfortunately familiar to the wastes of talents we all know and love (i.e. Lil' Wayne, Waka Flocka, etc) from their repetitious and simplistic execution to their suggestive lyrics. Note: they are suggestive, but usually in the context of not sounding like a COMPLETE waste of time. But "Bitch Suck Dick" is just unruly to be unruly, and in turn becomes unjustifiable.

Continuing the minimalist hiphop production, Goblin shows a wide variety of musical elements that exemplifies Tyler's knowledge of music (he makes his own beats, by the way), specifically the alternative urban music sounds within hiphop. As seen in the past OFWGKTA projects, Odd Future brings the Cali sunshine flavor to hiphop music, which is usually accommodated with soothing key tunes and basslines. They also can turn around and bring some hot trunk-rattling big bass beats that originates from crunk music in the South. At times Tyler brings in 80s New Wave and electronic-style music, as well as most of the dark elements seen in old school hiphop music.

Sometimes it’s best to stay mysterious, especially when it comes to the material Odd Future puts out. Unfortunately, Tyler decides to let us know who he is and what he’s about. Goblin has an N.E.R.D Seeing Sounds kind of feel to it because Tyler’s justifying his extreme lyricism and content, which comes off as almost corny. With “Radicals,” which was unnecessarily long and extremely disclosed for even OFWGKTA, he messes up in giving the world all the details in why Tyler is Tyler. Same for “Golden” – minus Tyler, but add Ace and Thurnis Haney. Anyone who truly listens to Odd Future knows good and well those three are the same person, so there was no need for Tyler to display that explanation so blatantly. There are some of the greatest artists who would put themselves out like that, but not as lucid as Goblin. Think of any quirky, out-there artists and not one moment will come to mind when they just laid out their former or current selves in their work.

Ultimately, we learn through this album (and looking retrospectively from their discography) that OFWGKTA lashes out sarcastic lyrics that just so happen to tap into hiphop's original values and norms, letting them know that individualism is key to living, not necessarily all having the same cohesive mindset. This is a liberal mindset that hiphop has yet to grab, despite the outcry from cats like Lil' B claiming to be pretty bitches, disrespecting prominent Black "figures" like Steve Harvey, and so on. Tyler also shows his sarcasm isn't much more than someone is within the adult age range (although 20 is debatable among some) who wishes to still be a kid, so his lashing out is a form of goofiness he possesses. Fortunately for him, he has a gift of strong lyricism that can carry that silliness of not wanting to grow up on to better things. Unfortunately, and this has become a problem for hiphop lovers across the world, this leaves the question of whether or not we take these projects of groups like OFWGKTA (who just so happen to speak to an untapped audience) seriously.

I honestly blame the way these cats blew up so fast that the hype for them turned against them. Not mad though, the success may be damaging, but a talented guy like Tyler and Odd Future will figure something out.

Star's Grade: B

Album Review: Tendaberry - Hit It! (EP)

I am so in love with the Atlanta Black alternative music scene. I don't care if I sound like a complete outsider!

Tendaberry is a four-piece post-punk band from the A that has seen their fair share of shine from Afro Punk as well as praises from big-time Black alternative musicians like Janelle Monae. The five-song EP is the official debut album for Tendaberry, although they been around for about seven years, which is - from what I've been told - a typical thing for a debut project to take that long as an independent band.

They open Hit It! with a two-part joint that shows their soulful, retro side and their progressive, edgy side, an opening that really signifies the band's overall development as musicians. Although it sounds a little amateur, the delivery saves the flavor of this band's get-downing(ness).

The album quickly changes pace to an upbeat, oftentimes repetitious sound that is borderline a mixture between The Joy Division and Prince in their lyricism and execution throughout the EP. Then they also come with splashes of Devo and Janelle Monae in their sound and execution as well, but not like they would sound all over the place either. They keep their sound organized, which makes them clean and promising. Imagine if Hit It! was a playlist of all your favorite post-punk and soulful rock songs you could snatch from LimeWire before their settlement.

This album is filled with cynicism that only the alternative music folk can master. Enough sass and attitude a punk can handle, there are songs that make you think about the most basic of things - pop culture, hating love and being human. Not to mention the sarcasm. "Hater" is a song where Tendaberry apologizes for being such an offensive ass for telling the truth in a soft, harmonious finger-snapping ballad. Now, what hater you know is going to apologize for being one? No true hater will A) know they're a hater or B) apologize for being a hater, reasons why this song should not be realistic in any way but it is entertaining background music.

Although slack has been cut for this band due to the recession and the locality of this band, the sound of this album is often annoying, especially considering the amount of garage punk and noise bands already saturating the local Atlanta scene. Although you can tell these guys are a tall glass of fresh water, Tendaberry could've done a better, and definitely cleaner, job mastering this EP. It's one thing to carry on the tradition of sounding local, but if your guitarist is rocking with Deep Cotton and Janelle Monae and opening up for Prince, better will be expected after six years of work. Just saying!

The only true disorganizing thing about Hit It! is the content. It comes off as a showcase of music rather than something important to listen to. Like I said before, it's like a playlist of all your faves from the post-punk genre, as well as any soulful rock music you could think of. Just know that you will never realize it's over, and be pissed when it is. That's the joy of EP's, I guess... I would really look forward to a full-fledge project from this band.

Star's Grade: A-

Album Review: Lupe Fiasco - L.A.S.E.R.S.

Lupe Fiasco has quickly become one of the greatest lyricists of our time - easily! Blasting his way into the hiphop scene with Food & Liquor, he took folks away from worrying about how blinged out they had to be and ultimately provided a totally new perspective within the hiphop community. Conscious lyricism at-heart, Lupe made his music appreciative by old heads, young'ns, and even the non-hiphop listeners. He actually had enough of a following to form together so that this album would see the light of day.

Little did the people know that this would be the album that had millions shouting "We are not losers. We are L.A.S.E.R.S."

The opening wasn't half bad, to be frank. It was typical Lupe Fiasco, spitting prolific rhymes aimed at breaking through the minds of the socially oblivious. Production was on-point for this portion: tense, energetic to the point of awakening for Lupe's conscious lyrics and it even rocked out from a Japanese Cartoon/punk-pop standpoint. "Words I Never Said" is the strongest track on the entire album as it possesses everything that Lupe wanted to get across to his listeners, executives and maybe himself. However, it wasn't strong enough to carry fans through the other 40 minutes of L.A.S.E.R.S. (yes, even with Skylar Grey's amazing voice!).

Once the album hits "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now," Lupe becomes cliche, pop-ish and confusing. He goes from putting out a dance record to acting like a baby about it in three songs or less, as present in the middle of this album. With L.A.S.E.R.S., Lupe has his fans thinking that he is either taking an exaggerative and sarcastic leap into pop culture or he put that kind of material out because of the flack his label gave him to satisfy their demands.

Overall, Lupe has some random lyrical content in his head. There's little to no conceptual records on there, and nearly every song could leave listeners trying to figure out where he's going. "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now," "All Black Everything" and "Words I Never Said" aren't as complicated and abstract as the rest of his records, but lyrically Lupe wasn't as adventurous as he was in Food & Liquor and The Cool.


One thing that is blatantly present in L.A.S.E.R.S. is some mildly depressing lyrics. Almost every title has some sort of gloom to it, except for "The Show Goes On," Lupe's least moody track. However, this isn't even a depression that can be felt by his listeners, but only himself. He stingily writes rhymes laced with tantrums, depression and obscurity.

Too much was done to bring L.A.S.E.R.S. into existence. When was the last time you heard of different cities forming marches for an album release? And for Lupe to put out such garbage after all his fans have done for him (garbage that he even admits is garbage), should let fans know that he ignored their cries for new Lupe Fiasco music.

Star's Grade: D+ (this grade may be biased because I was one of those people who wanted L.A.S.E.R.S, but I don't think he disappointed anyone more than me with this record.)

Album Review: Adele - 21

Grammy award-winning artist Adele made a good decision taking some time to create her next album. Folks needed to fully digest 19, let alone her powerful hit "Chasing Pavements," before hearing something from her again. Yes, that album was that good! But people are all to familiar with the sophomore curse (where the artist either has the album shelved or it blows). Does Adele fall victim to that curse with 21?

Adele fires off 21 with "Rolling In The Deep," which highlights her throwback, Motown sound. While it's evident early that she's proving she's back like she never left, this is a sound that is beginning to go through the "let's play this out" phase. Fortunately, she later displays new perspectives in her songwriting, singing abilities and trying new sounds. The bad news is each and every songs is plagued by her out-the-booth affairs.

Can't knock her retro vibe though! The most surprising tracks on this album are "Rumour Has It" and "If It Hadn't Been For Love" because Adele steps out of the box folks have put her in while sticking to her retro roots.

Throughout 21 Adele's sound extends from just sounding retro, thanks to different variations in her singing, the production and her attitude. "Take It All" is a great example of this, as there are hints of almost every ballad-driven/uplifting genre (Gospel, Country, even Classical) plus her overall attitude towards her heartbreak. Instead of chasing her guy, she's telling him she doesn't want anything to do with him. "I'll Be Waiting" successfully shows her overall growth, as she gives listeners a new side to her vocal style. It's a refreshing song - it has that happy AT&T commercial feel to it.

21 has the most unique production clan with this year's music, which in turn makes Adele a more diverse artist than her previous work. Whereas 19 seemed one-dimensional in production, sound, lyrics, etc, this album is on some hi-def, 3D-type stuff. With the help of Rick Rubin and countless others, Adele improves dramatically as far as her sound goes.

In all of this "you can't tear me down" type of songwriting, the bad news (if you wanna call it that) is that each and every song is plagued by her out-the-booth affair with her former boyfriend. It's safe to say that the entire second half of 21's tracks reeks of heartbreak, revenge and empowerment (in that order). Luckily, these three raging emotions, as delivered by Adele, terrificly complement one another. Not to mention the artistry laced in every song.

Overall, there is no bad track on 21. One would think after winning a Grammy and having the greatest ballads of this generation that Adele would fall back. Instead she uses it get stronger, even through her breakup. Hopefully, this trend of making heartbreak songs will end soon with her because the world already has Jazmine Sullivan. Sorry, but it's true!

Star's Grade: A-

Album Review: Miguel - All I Want Is You

Miguel is the type of singer/songwriter that you hate to love (if you are like me, wanting more from music than a quickie). He has been drawing me in since 2007 with his EP Mischief because he had some of the most creative concepts that year as an R&B artist. He fused together different aspects of living with different aspects of loving (i.e. making direct comparisons like computer use to submission, supernatural to infidelity, fruit and pimping, etc). When his single "All I Want Is You" hit airwaves, I was one happy camper. It was different from the material Miguel has, but it managed to appeal to everyone - young, old, immature, mature, etc. So it seems that his newest album of the same name would be that way...

He puts listeners in a tough position - if labeling things are an issue, don't bother with this cat. He's uncategorical. In All I Want Is You, he's a little reminiscent of The Dream because of the songwriting and the content used. It's straight-forward, slightly reckless, and very sexual (not to get confused with sensual, which is far from what Miguel does). Unlike the said comparison, Miguel is a crooner at-heart that can successfully dive into the perverted side of love and everyone is fine with that. Fun, mature, nasty, sexy, eclectic - that's Miguel.

He continues to fly high as one of the best breakthrough vocalists of the year, with various tracks that compliment his soft, electric voice. His extra touch is his background vocals he places in songs like "Girl With The Tattoo Enter.lewd," "Girls Like You" and "Teach Me." He saves the best for last, as far as creative writing is concerned, with "My Piece." It's hypnotizing, and has the IDGAF-attitude that Miguel thrives in having. Not to mention the direct (and thorough) comparison between a man's gun and girlfriend is mighty powerful!

He does miss the mark on a couple tunes with this album. The "club banger" single of this album sounds like something out of the 90s, minus the hook which is all of 2009. Luckily, "Pay Me" gets away with that because it's catchy and totally danceable despite its outdated sound. He makes a bad attempt to fuse his grown and sexy vocalism with an electropop in "Girls Like You," which is a mark barely missed by Miguel. A total fail was the recycled beat from "All I Want Is You" with a half-assed heartbreak song called "Hard Way." Other than that, he continues to make a sound that is both grown, futuristic and freaky.

Overall, Miguel makes it cool to be corny, smooth, nasty (a borderline perv even), mature, fun, eclectic, and talented all in one swoosh, and expect nothing short of praise from even the most serious. In All I Want Is You he shows the world he's not afraid to show his inhibitions, as well as bring them out of his listeners. It is definitely an album that is and sounds a bit overdue, it's apparent with the lowpoints in here, but Miguel is still flaunting high-quality talent. Although artists need to stray away from styles like that, especially considering the world we're living in today, Miguel gets a pass because he appears born to be that kind of guy.... with his silly self!

Star's Grade - B+

Album Review: The Foreign Exchange - Authenticity

Most people, including me, are growing tired of singer/rapper-producer combo groups. It's like either have a band or don't. Expanding the idea of calling duos like Atmosphere, J*Davey, and even this group The Foreign Exchange a band is highly hesitant for me to do because there's no one playing an instrument (except for a keyboard or a beat machine). Plus, being that most of these duos lack the use of actual instruments make me even more reluctant to read any articles that call these groups a band. However, one thing that is undeniable about the aforementioned groups, especially The Foreign Exchange, is that their chemistry and the development of crafting their own art is phenomenal.


This group, consisting of rapper/singer Phonte (who some know from the awesome hiphop group Little Brother) and the Dutch producer Nicolay, are an unstoppable force in the R&B and hiphop community. Without even being signed, The Foreign Exchange has made greater accomplishments than folks with multi-million dollar deals, including a Grammy nomination. Their two previous albums, Connected and Leave It All Behind, have made the most noise out of the soul realm than the usual big-name musicians. Honestly, they're incomparable, and anyone with ears could hear the longevity in their musical talents.


From the opening chime I felt bad that I had to finally let go of Leave It All Behind, their sophomore effort that got them a Grammy nomination. It was so magical! There were so many emotions driven by that record that it became necessary to play in moments of downtime. Songs about abuse, suicide, neglect, all in the name of love, The Foreign Exchange knows a little something about love.


Flows much better than the last one, and that's not a shot at the last album, but it's like Authenticity is one giant, hour-long song. However, the line-up of these songs give the listener no time to really breathe or recuperate from the previous song before diving right into the next, making any emotion drawn out of the listener hard to sift through.


Phonte is finally given a vocal challenge on this album. The changes in the tempo, the various styles of singing, and the length of some of the records forced Phonte to step outside of being the type of singer that makes great hooks. The sound of this album is well beyond R&B and other Black music genres, and for a hiphop artist (rapper and singer) to mold his sound into that, while still having a standout reputation as an emcee, gives the guy an upstanding ranking in the music world. Phonte is no longer the guy from Little Brother that can sing. He's no longer a soul singer that can write good hooks to experimental records. Phonte's now a full-fledge musician.


The lyrical content on Authenticity mimics much of the last album, Phonte's aim at diving deep into relationship psyche continues to be on-point. The only difference between then and now is his explicit cynicism. In the best record on this album "Fight for Love" he says "I don't wanna be a soldier anymore / because the war never ends and no one ever wins / I don't understand why we should fight for love / either it ain't or it is..." And as opposed to being totally dark like before, he has flashes of positivity on a couple tracks, including "Maybe She'll Dream of Me" and "Don't Wait." Overall, this album tells feelings of neglecting it all in order to be loved.


The other half of The Foreign Exchange, Nicolay, carries on the distinct sound from Leave It All Behind into Authenticity. In fact, he brings in the little light of electrosoul from his City Lights set into this album, although Nicolay's solo records are arguably far from The Foreign Exchange's soul mantra. In this album is a more acoustic sound, which works well with the always-improving frontman Phonte. This album may not sound much different than the last, but the wish to have more hiphop like Connected is still just a wish.


Overall, to not buy this album is doing a disservice to the entire R&B community and industry. Groups and musicians like The Foreign Exchange need the support of true music lovers so that the R&B industry can shape up, because right now that industry is slowly becoming irrelevant to music in general. When Drake, who is a rapper, has better R&B songs on the radio than Dwele, the soul music genre is taking major steps back. Usually the blame is pointed at radio, but in reality the listeners and the artists need to put forth a greater effort.


Either that or get ready to hear melodies from every rapper n the music business.


I hope that The Foreign Exchange gets the recognition they deserve, from the eclectic soul groups to the mainstream audience, as this album (as well as their last works) has something that everyone, absolutely EVERYONE, could enjoy and learn from. In short, it's edutainment at its finest!


Star's Grade: A

Album Review: How to Dress Well - Love Remains

Wonderful, creative, extreme, I love it!!! Love Remains is arguably THE MOST creative album of the year brought to you by Tom Krell's How to Dress Well.

It is extremely difficult to classify this artist, if you are unaware of the culture of noise music (don't sleep on Wikipedia!!!). I went to a noise concert back in my college days (like that was a long time ago, but anyways) up in good ol' Athens, Ohio. I must say it forces you to open your mind of how technical difficulties merge well with unexpressed feelings. And often times it's the deep, dark feelings that don't want to have the same energy or delivery as other deep, dark music (i.e. heavy metal, metal core, etc). How to Dress Well is often put into this category because by nature the ears will call it noise, but they bring a-whole-nother aspect to original noise and lo-fi (even no-fi) music, which is blues.

So How to Dress Well’s official debut album Love Remains is an album packed full of emotions that are easy to express if sung on an R&B record or blues or even hiphop. Unfortunately, he is not an R&B, blues or hiphop artist. He doesn't have that talent, per se, but he wants that same emotion. So instead of going auto-tune to make an R&B album, they take what they do best and add those sounds to their record. And he becomes successful at doing it!

Blending the noise, lo-fi sound with a blues ballad, some R&B and hiphop tracks, and a mean falsetto makes this album one that has been totally slept on for the entire year! For example, "Ready for the World" capture one of the most exciting moments whenever an R&B artist performs their music. He cries out towards the end of the song, after many dings and distorted loops, "let me hear you say 'yeahhh'" with a call-and-respond effort that is commonly seen in urban music, but not in the noise culture. Another aspect he brings is their heavy sampling of R&B songs, and it's not like he's sampling the usual James Brown records that many artists from all genres try to cover. Krell tells Pitchfork in a Q&A "I really love 90s R&B. It's not a joke to me. "Twisted" by Keith Sweat is a fucking masterpiece." Although I didn't catch a direct Keith Sweat sample, I did peep the "Candy Rain" instrumental loop in Endless Rain.

Beyond all of the copy-catting in this album, the lyrical content in Love Remains is phenomenal. If How to Dress Well wanted to bring out a blues-esque emotion, he most certainly did with his constant falsetto-like vocalism. Plus, making his voice evaporate by the distortion causes an unforeseen emotion that most people can't catch in R&B, and it's a technical one. With turning up the bass and turning down the treble (or whichever way it's supposed to go), his vocals give a sound of struggle, like he's crying and sad, but also appearing to have trouble singing the song. To some that may seem annoying or irritating, but it's an emotion that needs to be expressed too.

At one point How to Dress Well tries to make a fast-paced, perhaps a club banger, but it just bangs. The distortion is nothing somebody wants to dance to, or even think of bumping at a party. Although the stomping noise as the bass is very creative in "Walking This Dumb," the up-tempo it creates for the hand claps and the mumbling-bumbling he does just doesn't blend well. At all.

So when it comes to this album, imagine cloudy and distorted Maxwell (circa late 90s, early 00s) vocals blended with the fainting sound of a guitar and piano mashed together at the hands of a noise artist. As effed up as it may sound (like a lot of noise) he gets his point across of what the title of the album means, making him one creative being. He successfully creates a piece that crosses genres, and ultimately bends genres, in a quest to seek out the emotion of one specific genre. That calls for talent! How to Dress Well may not hold much weight, but his talent is unmatched in the entire music industry.


Star's Grade: A+


POW!

Album Review: Bilal - Airtight's Revenge

Bilal has seem to risen into mainstream life from out of nowhere. This album drop is like running into your long lost high school friend you used to clown with in American Literature back in high school. You're like "aw man, I can't believe it's you! It's so good to see you!" But in the back of your mind you're thinking "wow, he's changed. A LOT!" Well, this is Bilal in a nutshell. Much of his creations have changed since his debut album First Born Second in 2001. Those who are expecting to hear another "Soul Sista" track should probably step away from this album in the record store (or Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon or where ever you shop for music). This is nothing like the guy we used to know.

This has to be the greatest album of 2010, arguably this decade, that expresses the mind of a musician. Aside from adding his anti-crooned out, all naturale vocals to love ballads, Bilal composes songs that are thought-provoking, deep-thinkers that just might hurt the average consumer's noggin. Airtight's Revenge goes an extra emotional step that most singers and songwriters choose to leave alone in their quest to the top of the music business.

A few of the songs on this album were remakes of previous Bilal brainchildren, but given a twist to fit Airtight's Revenge's sound. "All Matter" went from a jazz stream of consciousness to an adventurous, lesson-teaching track, but it lost its sincerity in the process. The blame for this falls on the production behind this, as well as the majority of the album. The band seemed so focused on sounding untouchable they forgot the emotional aspect of music.

These are songs that go deep, really deep, into subject matter Bilal fans - those who responded to the unreleased, the real, sophomore album Love for Sale well - will appreciate. The only thing that hinders them from enjoying it is how difficult it is to follow his change from his last album from nine years ago (which for anyone would seem easy to do, as old "fans" may not even remember it).

He tackles issues that most R&B crooners forget to cover - religion, parenthood, poverty and other socially conscious topics. "Little One," the most straightforward track on this album, is a song to his children about wanting to always be there, even when he's not. He says "I can help you walk, but can't make you stand" to illustrate that his presence should be felt whether or not he's there. Though the band keeps the track mellow and borderline boring - and could very well put your kids to sleep if you play it for them, it is probably the best lullaby (besides "Rock-a-Bye Baby" of course) you could play for your child.

The best head-nodder on this album is definitely "Flying." A song about the downside to drug abuse, as if no one knows of them, the song is near flawless. With elements of hiphop, soul and folk, Bilal tells a dark story of a travelling girl who lost her mom and dad during a drug bust, became a prostitute and a crackhead, pill-popping stripper, using drugs to ignore her surrounding though it is the cause of her tragedy. Raw in nature, his delivery is grand - like, he shits on every single R&B artist in this song by being as liberal as possible: using his entire vocal range, writing the most vulgar lyrics and dialect, and keeping the band as dark and soul-stirring as possible. It feels like a resurrection of Donny Hathaway on this song!

He reaches a level of boldness, according to how to be successful in 2010, in his songwriting through tackling these issues as well. In "Think It Over," instead of just humming a tune like "look, I'm sorry I left you" Bilal drops line that combine changing history with matters of the heart. He puts himself and his lover in the shoes of Martin and Coretta King by saying "I needed air / I stepped out / on the balcony / and the world took me out." I really enjoy how he calls out Obama in "Robots," as his presidency is in no way stopping "the machine" that is out to control us all!

Throughout Airtight's Revenge, Bilal showed signs of sarcasm in his voice. In "Who Are You," he tells tales about religion being a non-factor in how people should judge one another, but uses an old, old, traditional style of lyricism for this particular track with his usual vocalism. It goes from being innovative based on the lyrics alone to layers and layers of how expansive music is and how religion is incorporated into it. The song starts like a tale fresh out of Aesop's Fable but ends like a track a Rastafarian would enjoy rolling a fat one to.

Overall, Airtight's Revenge exemplified a deep-thinking progressive artist like Bilal. Although the album is a bit difficult to understand, it does carry itself freely from beginning to end. All elements of songwriting came out of this project, something that is well worth the wait. Not to mention Bilal's singing, though it hasn't changed much, is still untouchable. Some songs could have had less going on, production-wise, but it came off as necessary, especially considering its purpose - exploring the mind of Bilal.

Star's Grade: A-

Album Review: The Glitch Mob - Drink The Sea Part 2: The Mixtape

This electronic group The Glitch Mob has electrified the music world as soon as they touched down with Crush Mode. After working with Daedelus and Flying Lotus, and their newfound fanbase, they release their debut album Drink The Sea. This monstrous album quickly grew popular, spreading all over college radio stations like Cali summer wild fire!

The album itself sounds adventurous, with ambient beats taking you on a wild ride as if you are watching a crusade unfold, of some sort. Of course, being that the mixtape is nothing more than the album but with lyrics, the mixtape, Drink The Sea Part 2: The Mixtape should do the same by nature. The album though 30-minute-hitter-quitter have so much flavor swirled together - some rock elements, dub-step, electronic (of course), some Asian-influenced instruments, even gospel - it's like traveling around the world in that timespan. Surround sound on this bad boy (or well, any other grand sound system) will be epic!

This mixtape oozes of The Glitch Mob's hip-hop side, with blends from Wale to Mobb Deep. One key thing to note about this tape is that they shout out Los Angeles A LOT, which is a huge element in hip-hop culture (aside from the DJing element that they are mastering at the moment, though it's all computerized), with drops from The Game and Dr. Dre. There is also the electro artists like Daft Punk and M.I.A, solidifying their sound for the fans and listeners of the album Drink The Sea.

The lyrical excerpts, though not consciously significant at all, do tie in to a certain kind of journey Glitch wants you join. The lyrics complement the beats in a technical way, and barely conceptually. Expect a punchline to knock you out at almost every beat drop, and a deep flow when the climax is coming. "Fortune Days" falls victim to this, as well as "A Dream Within A Dream," featuring Busta Rhymes, Drake, The Game, Freddie Gibbs, and Jeezy (formerly Young Jeezy). The way the group ties in the hooks at the bridges and choruses of the beat is genius, and it has the potential to be very catchy.

This tape manages to mix extremely well, so well that it sounds almost nothing like the original album. I understand that The Glitch Mob is all about the beats, so to have people flow on their stuff - and fit - is dope. However, when the beat becomes ignored, then there's a problem. No one wants their music outshined by anyone, especially if it's outshined by pre-released music. Though the adventurous sound is still there, it's overshadowed by the extremely complementing lyrics. Instead of this being a remix to the album, it comes off more as a remix to the other songs. It seems more like the beats complement the lyrics. Songs like "Fistful of Silence" breeds a monstrous delivery from Rapper Big Pooh, not to mention the wicked punchlines becoming more wicked as the dubstep-influenced drums take effect.

Overall, Drink The Sea, Part 2 is a dope mixtape to download and bang while lounging around the house - playing video games, watching some NFL preseason games, or doing some household chores. Anything beyond that (i.e. a party or pre-game record) is asking for too much.

Star's Grade: the album gets an A, the mixtape gets a B+

Album Review: Eat, Pray, Love Soundtrack

Usually, I don't do soundtracks, but since I spent the time and energy into this for another job (it didn't get published *sadface*), I'll share this one with you.

Though the movie may seem to have a free-spirited message, “Eat, Pray, Love” the soundtrack falls short of flowing free. It complements the chic and contemporary vibe that the movie gives, but it can also come off as a typical compilation of today's movie score.

This soundtrack is full of eclectic and typical movie gems, from coffeehouse tunes to Middle Eastern pieces. Sony has managed to pull in timeless music by  Neil Young, Marvin Gaye, Eddie Vedder, and even Gato Barbieri. There is also a nice Brazilian twist from the Gilberto family, Bebel and Joao. It is brilliant to put together a diverse soundtrack, especially since the movie is based on Elizabeth Gilbert's international travel.

“Eat, Pray, Love” is a tale about a woman who travels to three different countries in search of a personal freedom. Gilbert (played by Julia Roberts) travels to Italy (Eat), India (Pray), and Indonesia (Love) on a quest to break the mold of being the average modern woman by searching within. The songs chosen, though no distinctive sound detected, represent the thought process of Gilbert throughout her travelling.

Most of the songs may be classic American pop music, but there are some tunes that identifies with the countries Gilbert visited. Not to mention they sound remarkable!  U. Srinivas performance on "Kaliyugavaradana" will whisk you away, guarantee! As a genius like Srinivas creates music that pleases ears worldwide, this track totally complements the Carnatic Indian sound from the movie.

 “Better Days” by Pearl Jam member Eddie Vedder explains the entire movie in a little more than four minutes. His first verse “I feel part of the universe opened up to meet me / My emotion so submerged, broken down to kneel in” spilling of individualism fits the purpose of “Eat, Pray, Love”. Although it surfaced the Web far before it hit the shelves, “Better Days” can be played on repeat forever.

Overall, to listen to this soundtrack requires the same desire Gilbert has in this film. If this is not present, then the soundtrack will be nothing more than a thrown-together, chill-time, book-reading background noise. “Eat, Pray, Love” is a small gem for the free-spirited and lovers of the book.

Album Review: Wavves - King of the Beach

From the opening of the new album King of the Beach, Wavves continues to change the game - when they started they had a typical indie vibe, as lead singer Nate William's band Jay Reatard had, then Wavves "went lo-fi", but now they appears to go 60s surf with a soft touch of punk. Not to make Wavves sound like a confused rock band, but this effort is definitely an exploratory album from the group.

As one could tell, from the tripped-out album cover to the sunshine "one day we'll take over the world" lyricism, King of the Beach comes off as an ode to the West Coast. The album appears like it was recorded in a garage, the noise and samples (though very little) give a taste of old school surf rock, and the physical album (i.e. the cover, the case, all of that) just give off a vibe that you're only two feet away from the Pacific shores. Why are there no tunes for the Atlantic? Enlighten my mid-Western mind, please!

Wavves did a wonderful job covering their shots at the Internet because of William's breakdown in 2009 by giving listeners content reminiscent of a wide array of 60s bands, from the Ramones to the Beach Boys. Their opening song named after their title may appear to be about being king of some beach, but during the hook ("you're never gonna stop me") places this song in a motivational, shot-taking, anti-media jam. "Take on the World" had to be one of the most disguising songs on the entire album, hell, even the summer! Instead of this track being more anti-Government like the hook intends ("to take on the world would be something"), the lyrical content revolves around the band's music. They start off with some satirical self-hatred, saying things like "I hate my music" and "I'm just too fucked up" and nobody likes me. Ultimately, a potentially awesome song became hella selfish, and to fully hear it is depressing - whether it's intended or not. And it's not even a great emotional effort, the self-hatred seems to be rather mocked. Overall, King of the Beach seems to be fueled by hate and depression, as if Williams (who also writes the songs, I presume) is still salty about his breakdown. Any efforts outside of that is unmentionable, like "Convertible Balloon" and Post Acid", as it is pretty lackluster in the delivery.

Although the lyrics seem depressing, maybe King of the Beach could be released as a total jam record, with no vocals whatsoever? The production behind this album is the total opposite of the lyricism - simply put, unselfish. The low quality of the record fits the tunes perfectly. If anybody wants a current sound of the 60s, this is how to do it. There were hints of the lo-fi sound we all know and love, giving off hints of an 80s style to some of the tracks. For example, "Baseball Cards" has random noises like toy machine guns and the laser gun noises from low-budget 80s movies and "Convertible Balloon", well towards the end, is a total 80s joint. "King of the Beach," "Idiot," and "Post Acid" sound like something fresh off an unreleased Ramones record, yet a tinge of repetition reminiscent of the Minutemen, a late 70s/early 80s punk band. The samples at the end of nearly every record though have small clips of other bands mixed with mad distortion, like the end of "Take on the World". And, just to throw this out there, the band's delivery of "Mickey Mouse" was the most hype delivery of the the whole album, though making out what Williams is saying is very difficult.

Overall, King of the Beach was so-so at best. If listeners just want to hear some jams, then by all means go for it. However, if listeners want to avoid a state of depression wrapped in fluffy sunshine band-music, then leave this album alone! This could come off as a great album to bang in the summer sun, yet it can be the album that creates cutters. Overall, it seems like everybody out of Wavves had fun making this album but the lead singer. That may have killed this album's potential.

Star's Grade: C+

Album Review: Rick Ross - Teflon Don

Instead of making that fast-food kind of rap most people have become accustom to (word to Gucci, Soulja Boy, etc), Rick Ross takes a classic approach to entertainment and makes generic rap that everyone can enjoy! Teflon Don has the potential to be everyone's, especially self-proclaimed elitists like myself, guilty pleasure of the summer with appearances from artists like Gucci Mane and Raphael Saadiq, yet keep an appearance to satisfy the streets and corporate businessmen. Yes, the "BAWSE!" hits a home run with his latest album by ducking behind his star-studded guests and production, just as his predecessors in rap have done before.

To shorten this - and every major summer 2010 rap album - review, I'm taking a different approach and using a guide I have made. Basically, Ross is following Jay-Z's "how to make it in rap" guide to the T! Here's how:

1. Add songs glorifying drug rap without necessarily saying dealing drugs is cool. His big summer hit "BMF" (which he says stands for Blowin' Money Fast, but also could stand for Black Mafia Family) is clearly a drug rap with several drug references from the hook to the bars. He starts off saying "I think I'm Big Meech, Larry Hoover, whipping work, hallelujah", and then brags about blowing money like several other drug dealers. Not to mention shouting out ex-cons and felons, among many other street-cred-boosting terms. Unfortunately, Rick Ross is only talking how much money he has and spends, so there's no real glorification of dealing drugs despite the drops of everything dealing with organized crime. So, back off coppers, he's clean.

2. Sprinkle songs that seem like it's remorseful for actions, but only rap about nothing of importance. After bringing up the names and references of street crime and dirty work, Ross attempts to wipe his hands clean of any wrongdoing people MIGHT think he did with songs like "Live Fast, Die Young," "Tears of Joy," and "All the Money in the World". He does put his fame and fortune in perspective, but no feelings are expressed for whatever past he had. This lack of remorse is a failure on his part as a true gangster rapper, just as any gangsta rapper that will talk about selling drugs and killing people will rap about the dark side of it in the same line. Take Tupac Shakur, for example, in "So Many Tears" or "Pain"; he always gave a reason or some sort of feeling of regret for his violent and damaging actions. In several of the songs on Teflon Don, the "BAWSE" falls short in taking advantage of that opportunity. This makes everyone question his street cred even more, as if people need more proof already.

3. Throw in a few political references that militants will enjoy. Not only does he makes songs that are appealing to the streets, but Ricky Rozay also makes references to prominent political figures. In "Tears of Joy", a rebelliously lackluster song about becoming successful and wealthy (as usual), he begins the song with an excerpt of a speech by Bobby Seale reciting America's greatest rebel Huey P. Newton. Overall, his attempt to be politically relevant falls short, but to say there really was an attempt just because of the Huey P. Newton recital would also be a fail as you can really tell he's not a militant-type of rapper. Instead of using it to push a political message, he spins it into a Biggie-type rap where he promotes getting money by any means necessary.

4. Stir in some songs for the ladies. Keeping things simple, Rick Ross attempts to woo the ladies with songs that ask them to be his ride or die chick. He joins forces with Ne-Yo (who was a bad call considering almost everyone in the world thinks he's gay) for "Super High" and collaborates with everyone's girlfriend's favorite rapper/singer Drake (who plays a singer role) as well as the most slept-on R&B singer of our time Chrisette Michelle for "Ashton Martin Music." In the beginning, he starts off with the infamous LL line from "I Need Love", but continues to spit about how much money he has. The only spin he makes to sooth the needs of the ladies is that his wealth makes him a worthy sponsor. In "Super High" he starts the second verse "I wanna buy my bitch every bag, and she ain't ever, ever, ever gotta take them back," and what woman wouldn't want to buy designer bags and not worry about lip-gloss stains because she has to make the 30-day, tag included return?

5. Add fired shots at people that took shots at success gained. Another one of Rick Ross's summer hits "Free Mason" was a direct shot at all of the conspiracy theorists that feel his success was not self-made. He even throws in everybody's favorite Illuminati rapper Jay-Z to state his argument "Bitch, I said I was amazing... not that I'm a Mason." Although Ross continues to flaunt his richness, the song is pure genius, with clever and witty references of the JFK assassination and allegations of the devil's hand in their success. The song, perhaps the strongest off Teflon Don, becomes generalized fuel for all people - whether members of the Illuminati or not - who seek to be successful.

6. Mix in star-studded cameos to every song to distract lack of talent and to satisfy everyone's musical taste. On Teflon Don, Rick Ross manages to pull in artists from all kinds of Black mainstream music. After the first song, Ross doesn't do a track alone. His lack of effort in changing up or diversifying his rhymes is ignored by the power his guests have. A list would include producers from the J.U.S.T.I.C.E League, No ID, Kanye West, and musicians Erykah Badu, T.I., John Legend, Drake, Trey Songz, and many more artists for EVERYONE to salivate over. His delivery is present on some tracks like "Free Mason" and "MC Hammer", but it comes at a cost of having guests that could care less about the collaboration love (Jay-Z and Gucci Mane, respectively). In result, people would rather cop the album for everyone on it (who does their job as guest on the album) but Rick Ross (who just takes up space and time talking about success he gained off of good musicians).

To sum up the success of this album, Ross gained the ability to slip past the Guards of Musical Taste and join the Album of the Summer Club by being that "oh, he's with me" kind of guy, despite the fact that Teflon Don is his album! As long as people can see past the stars and see that big ball of gas that is Rick Ross, then they will REALLY see how blahzay Teflon Don actually is.

Star's Grade: C+