Thank Me Later is what I call the sequel to the highly successful 3rd mixtape from Drake, So Far Gone. Along with the official 1st single off the album Over and Kanye West produced Find Your Love the album does not disappoint. From the opening cleverly arranged Fireworks including the actual fireworks to Alicia Key’s not too much but just enough vocals on the hook. Drake again gives the listener honesty but then again most of what Drake spits feels honest. I rarely hear honesty in hip-hop, rap or whatever. It’s just refreshing to any fan of music. If you appreciate and enjoy a peep into the love life of a celebrity or on their way to celebrity it’s no way you cannot like Karaoke. There’s nothing truer than the song’s hook “I was only trying to get ahead, but the spotlight makes you nervous and you’re looking for a purpose.” The Resistance is definitely a continuation of So Far Gone with the usual 40, Drake and Sade feel embedded in the track he ask “What am I afraid of /This is what dreams are supposed to be made of/The people I don’t have time to hang with/Always look at me and say the same shit/ You promised you would never change.”

To prevent myself from writing about each song in this review I’m just going to talk about a couple of my favorites from the album because if I don’t I’ll be the author and publisher of Aubrey Graham’s unauthorized biography. On Unforgettable featuring Jeezy was a nicely done perfect homage sample of Aaliyah’s song, At Your Best You Are Love. So now I guess people can stop spewing at The Dream for his Aaliyah’s remake.

You can say what you want about Drizzy’s vocals but I think he stays in his lane on all of his songs and it works again on Ce Ce’s Interlude. If so called hip-hop fans really pay attention at that in last decade how many hip-hop songs where the artist is singing the hook. The club and summer anthem for the ladies is Fancy in which T.I. blesses it with the surprise of “Well aren’t you a breath of fresh air/From all these superficial gold diggin’ bitches in here/They get a baller think that they ain’t got to pick a career/Guess they plan on sucking some dicks until some millions appear.” And Swizz Beats’ production parties up on the hook like he usually does. In Drake’s & 40’s usual fashion of remixing the end of its own original song but this time including Mrs. Hip-Hop Soul herself, Mary J. Blige on the hook “Nails done hair done everything did” for the ladies as a final touch of seasoning on the track Drake leaves you lines like “Mature women with more than me were the 1st to tempt me/and Jason had this girl Tammy with a purple Bentley/how she got it I ain’t never get to ask/I just knew that she was fine like a ticket on the dash.”

To no surprise Miss Me featuring Lil Wayne, which enables the Young Money dynamic duo to drop their usual chemistry on a track and it, doesn’t look like their losing that chemistry anytime soon. Show Me A Good Time is another Kayne produced banger that is not only catchy but has me envisioning the ladies on the middle of the dance floor at one of the hottest spot in town. But best believe Drake acknowledged the haters while paying homage and shoutin’ out the underground hip-hop scene with a thing called the truth with “I came up in the underground though/so I’ma spend another $10,000 for Dilla/call me over rated or creative or too jaded/because any way you put it bitch I made it, YUP!” Nicki Minaj’s verse on “Up All Night” gives me a chuckle every time when I hear the line “We got the Hawks talking bout the peach state/Man for pete’s sake, scratch that, sweepstakes/Ha Ha Ha fuck I look ho ? /I look like yes & you look like no.” I mess with Shut It Down featuring The Dream and if you want to know what put it over the top for me, just go on Youtube under the song title and there will be an abundance of females winding to this joint. ‘Nuff said.

The song with heavy rotation on my iPod from Thank Me Later is Light Up with Drake giving the so-called players some knowledge. “Yeah, that’s what life becomes when you’re doing you/Welcome to Hollywood, don’t let this town ruin you/And if you pillow talking with the women that are screwin’ you/Just know that she gon tell another nigga when she through with you.” Noah “40” Shebib’ and Tone Mason’s production on this track is true hip-hop grit. It personifies the theme of the Godfather trilogy and that’s where Hov steps in passing down knowledge and schooling Drake as the next in la familia with “Drake, here’s how they gon’ come at you/With silly rap feuds, tryin’ to distract you/In disguise, in the form of a favor/The Barzini meeting, watch for the traitors.” Light Up sounds like a movie from the beginning to end. Even with a singing hook (where a lot of hate from some peeps in the game feel is one of the knocks on Drake not being an MC but if you can save money by not hiring a vocalist to do a hook why not do it yourself if you can lol) on such a dirty movie score-sounding track, Drizzy’s melodic hook accents the suspenseful mafia tone song. In my opinion definitely one of the hottest arranged tracks concept wise that’s out right now.

Bottomline, (So what I ended up reviewing the whole album…..as life goes on) forget about hip-hop, forget about pop and forget about R&B. Thank Me Later is a great musical album that’s more creative than some already established artist. This is a great debut and this kid will be around longer than the prediction of Drake as a two-album wonder. I’m sorry I like the honest feel of his music and Drizzy is spittin fiyah in his lane and not proclaiming he’s Thug of the year. Everybody didn’t grow up in the streets on a 24hr grind on the block. Drizzy’s a mad talented dude and I respect the craft and he gets it in on every song. People forget he dropped two mixtapes prior to So Far Gone (Room For Improvement & Comeback Season) so he didn’t just happen overnight. I rarely get to play a cd from beginning to end so I’m appreciative of the work put in on this album. It’s definitely a cd worth coppin’. So get it. UNO!

Written by Malcolm Batten – @showpiece425

Hip hop means so many different things to so many different people. For me it’s sitting in the staircase of LG and using a tape player to record ourselves rapping our own lyrics OVER the latest hot rappers vocals. Ghetto instrumentals-some of the best hip hop ever. 90% of the album I can rock to without skipping but there are a couple joints that mentally brought me back to the staircase-minus the ghetto instrumentals (in no particular order):

1-Project Boy Remix feat. Joell Ortiz-I hate to admit this song has been on repeat for the last 24 hours on my iPod and Bold 9650. Not much to say except this song bangs like the only way hood music can. Sadly, if this was a borough battle this would be Queens 1 Brooklyn 0.
“You can learn the game watching from a project window/how to add and subtract dough/watch where the rats go…“-that alone is 4 carats you getting for free. Some of these newbies need this given to them on a bumper sticker as part of their Welcome to Hip Hop Orientation class.

2-All In feat. Imam T.H.U.G., Glacierz DaVille, SHO & Fahyed-I wasn’t impressed when I initially heard about the song simply because let’s face it people- Hip hop has become like the fashion industry it’s all about your name and reading the line up of who is on the song I subconsciously wrote it off. Mind you at this stage of listening to the album I am already considering claiming QB as my hometown. (Yes, I am ashamed-but honest). Then Glacierz DaVille rides easy on the track and answers the question “Where Brooklyn At?”. With Glacierz there is some good news and some bad news: Good News-BK has finally shown a face card. A Queen-and she’s no stranger to hip hop and isn’t fighting over or collecting Barbie dolls. She confidently lays her verse, smirks then casually hands the mic over. Bad News-she’s a problem for anyone doomed to spit a verse after her on the same track. Honestly, I wasn’t interested in what anyone else had to say. But, just when I thought the song was slaughtered Caponecomes in and Re-bodies it “First 48 your whole lobby”. *Mortal Kombat theme music plays* …. and scene.

3.Kick It 2 ‘Em Man feat. Tragedy Khadafi & Imam T.H.U.G-There is no one particular thing about this song that I like. I just honestly find myself listening to it repeatedly because the entire song is DOPE. Straight hood, no college boy metaphors, no thesaurus needed-If you ever been to the hood or just a die hard fan of War Report-there is no explanation needed.

4. 1st Degree Murder feat.Glacierz DaVille & Fat Joe- To be brutally honest I have a love/hate relationship with this song. I felt like I was in a cipher on the roof of Any Projects, USA and everyone was geared up in black hoodies and scuffed timbs. Then, Fat Joe comes into the cipher wearing a suit, dress shoes from Fayva and carrying balloons on his way home from a Quinceñera. Don’t misunderstand me I still Lean Back every so often but it interrupts the fresh of the song for me. This really blew me because he contributes on a different track on this album called,It’s Over feat. Armageddon and spits the way you expect Joey Crack to spit and I can rock with that. The fact that his verse was cushioned in between Glacierz and Capone made it even more obvious that of the 4 MC’s on the track one of these things is not like the other-the title is an understatement.

Overall, this was a very expensive yet free appetizer before the main course. I am confident that War Report 2 will be the classic we’ve all been expecting sine 1997. I definitely suggest copping this album and get re-familiar with CNN in preparation for the July 13, 2010 release.

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Yours Sincerely is Marsha’s latest mixed tape that was released earlier this year-yes I said latest which means there are several prior mixed tapes #dontjudgeme. Oh Em Gee best describes this 8 track (including intro) album. I know I should dig into my extensive vocabulary and impress you with a big descriptive word but honestly this mixed tape is amazing to me and OMG fits perfectly. It lacks none of the ingredients that made me fall in love with Floetry-it lyrically takes me places, vocally there is no comparison and it completely shattered any expectation I may have had subliminally.

In all honesty this entire album does it for me but the tracks I tend to keep on repeat are Let Me Go,
Put It on Repeat feat Angelique and Take Care. This album covers a range of topics that I have, at some point or another, found myself in. There are ballads like Let Me Go that mentally paint you scene of dimmed lights, wine, kids at the sitter and all phones turned off. Then there are songs like Put It On Repeat that have an edge and reminds you Marsha isn’t your typical soft and pink R&B chic-Angelique’s lyrics added to this song may seem a tad raunchy to some-but if you’ve been a Floetry fan like I have it was perfect. Marsha always pens the type of songs that pull at you mentally- blended with the tracks chosen they definitely tug at your heart strings. I give this album 8 out of 5 stars.

I would have gladly purchased this album retail and not been disappointed. However, you can download this album for free. If you’ve been on Planet Lost the last several months like I have you should DOWNLOAD this album and get real familiar

Celebrity DJ SynCity & Superstar DJ ROS partnered together to create an unofficial ‘soundtrack’ completely inspired by the Disney blockbuster film Alice in Wonderland, as directed by Tim Burton and released in theatres March of this year.

The official title of the compilation is “Alice In Wonderland: The Lost Tape”> It’s dubbed as a groove infested sonic ride through Wonderland-making it very appropriately titled. Their goal was to simulate what a house party down the rabbit hole would sound like. The collabo features music by Madonna, Nelly Furtado, Wynter Gordon, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs (just to name a few).

I was feeling the creative direction of the album and flow throught the first 2 songs Wynter Gordon-Alice in Wonderland and Lauren Flax ft Sia-You’ve Changed. The 3rd song in was Kylie Minogue-Love at First Sight this stuck out like a sore thumb to me and interrupted the flow. From this point of the album on the songs began losing my attention. This continued for the next few tracks that followed, not because I don’t like the songs chosen (which includes Estelle feat Kanye-American Boy) I just would not have necessarily put certain songs on the same mixed tape or in that particular order. I think at one point it begins to veer away from the initial vision. Luckily it eventually picks back up from where it began with several more musical jewels.

This album had more of club music/techno vibe to it, which, admittedly isn’t what I would normally listen to. I did personally get turned on to several new artists and added a few songs to my personal ipod that I may not have normally come across. Having checked out their websites they don’t seem to have a particular musical specialty. Creatively, I am feeling the concept and if I was ever lucky enough to be at a party that either of these spinmasters were playing I am positive I’d dance all night.

“The Lost Tape” is expected to be the first in the new “Soundtrack Series” collection of branded mixtapes to be released by the two popular DJs. Seeking inspiration from any and all sources in pop culture, SynCity & ROS promise to keep the creativity flowing by letting these varied muses inspire the sound and themes of their future bi-coastal mixtape collaborations.

For more info on DJ SynCity you can check out her website at
www.djsyncity.com and to catch up on Superstar DJ ROS check out www.myspace.com/superstardjros

You can also listen to or download the album for free at djsyncity.com

This album caught me a tad off guard. I expected to like it, obviously, I didn’t expect to love it completely. This album has a smooth tempo vibe overall. One you can enjoy over candlelight dinner with that special someone or alone in a lavender infused bubble bath with a glass of wine.

This album hits on almost every possible relationship angle from a woman’s point of view. The good, the bad and the utterly incredible. I found myself with an unusual dilemma writing this review-trying to find my favorite songs. For arguments sake I’d say my top three faves are One in a Lifetime, Superman and Love All Over Me

This album is currently in store and definitely worth the purchase. From beginning to end this album hits all the right notes. Glad to see that even through all the things Miss Thang has been through over the years she is Still Standing.

Last summer when I first heard a ‘leaked’ song from Ludacris featuring Shawnna I was ecstatic to see she was back on the scene. She is not my all time fave femcee but I love her flow nonetheless. Of course me being the snoop that I am I did some digging and found out they were working on a collaboration album entitled “Battle of the Sexes”. I was stoked because I have been waiting for someone to bring this concept to fruition for years.

I am not one to gossip but I do read some of the blogs occasionally and started seeing stories surfacing claiming Shawnna was kicked off the album, she left DTP to sign with T-Pain; etc. I was admittedly disappointed until word spread that he was continuing with the vision with a variety of femcees instead. I could not have been more hyped.

Well kiddies, I am saddened to report that the air has been taken out of my balloon. In the spirit of positivity let’s talk about what’s hot.

What’s Hot:

The Intro-I felt this was a proper opening to what I was expecting the album to be – My only complaint was that it wasn’t a full length song.

Sexting- Is 100% about Tiger Woods having the bright idea to leave a voicemail asking a jump off to remove her name off of her phone and subsequent stint in rehab. Nothing short of hilarious and done in true Luda style.

Rollercoaster-featuring Dru Hill and Shawnna: Not to sound mean but when I read the track listing I had no intention on listening to this song. I believe it’s only found on the Deluxe Edition of the album. I said ok so Luda threw a reject song on the album-WRONG. This song epitomizes EXACTLY what I wanted this album to be. Not in the sense of it being overly sexual just the back and forth banter is what I expected from the entire album. This is hands down my favorite song on this album.

Of course the heavily radio rotated singlesHow Low/How Low (Remix) and My Chick Bad feat Nicki Minaj are definitely party starters. After listening to the How Low remix featuring Ciara and Pitbull I can’t help but wonder why Ciara wasn’t on the song to begin with? – It fits the theme.

Two songs worth mentioning off of this album are Sex Room featuring Trey Songz and Can’t Live With You featuring Monica both titles are basically self explanatory.

Not Hot:
My Chick Bad (Remix) feat Diamond, Trina and Eve-Luda calls this the P**y Rules the World version. Trina is Trina all day no complaints there. Eve definitely reminds us why she is a pitbull in a skirt but….Diamond *scratches head* she ruined the whole song for me. Truth be told he could have copied and pasted Nicki’s part over Diamonds and kept everyone else and bypassed doing a remix period.

Hey Ho feat Lil Kim and Lil Fate-I liked the song until Lil Fate started rapping. I would have loved for Luda and Kim to continue to kill the song. Truth be told I think Lil Kim should have been the feature on My Chick Bad Brooklyn Kim or even Foxy would have took this song somewhere else for me. (Not that Nicki didn’t do her thing)

I had to listen to this album 3 times to be honest to be able to assess it right. I didn’t want my own personal disappointment cause me to be harsher than necessary. I love Luda and think he is easiest one of the illest to ever do it. He should get much more credit than he does for his skills. I respect him continuing his vision despite whatever happened to really cause Shawna to be almost eliminated from the album completely. Shawnna is the perfect yin to Ludacris’s yang musically and the original concept would have been epic I am sure.

I remain a Luda fan regardless and know his true fans will still cop this album however I think someone should have strongly suggested he change the album title.

This would be a great gift for the person in your life that is a huge Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin or even Joss Stone fan that is always griping about how they just don’t make em like they used to. This album will truly change their mind.

This is another 2for gift. Give 1 for yourself and 1 for the Beyonce fan on your Christmas list.

We Are (RMX) feat. Illafied, Telep and J Napa, it reminds me of an early Wu Tang Clan. From the track, to how they each have their own lyrical style and flow-all very different artists but very much one unit. This song gives better insight into them as a group and as individual artists-perfect intro song. I was feeling the vibe of the whole album but a few that really stood out to me Tang Clan. From the track, to how they each have their own lyrical style and flow-all very different artists but very much one unit. This song gives better insight into them as a group and as individual artists-perfect intro song. There are quite few other songs that are definitely worth a listen:

28 Days feat Telep and Illafied, Change Your Love, Hold On, So Far (RMX), Da Theory andIt’s Like A Jungle

As a whole this album is a solid offering. I was forewarned the production was done on old equipment and they have since invested some serious resources into updating their sound system, but I couldn’t tell while listening. I felt the production as well as the lyrical skills could rival anything getting airplay today. Each track was layered with a certain musicality I haven’t heard commercially in a long time and tells a story on its own the lyrics layed over the track was just an added bonus. These were not cookie cutter hip hop tracks at all which made it even more refreshing to listen to. I can definitely see Illafied scoring movies. I am looking forward to hearing newer music from this team and hearing some of the production skills of the members they may be sitting on a gold mine. This album is definitely worth checking out you can download a free copy of the album here.

The current single off the album is Forever by Drake featuring Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem. I love this song you can check out the video and my thoughts on it in my previous thread. Another song on the soundtrack I liked is Drop It Low by Ester Dean featuring Chris Brown. I am usually not a fan of booty popping songs but this one grew on me it’s a very fun song. Sidebar: It was also nice to see Chris Brown back to his normal smiley happy go lucky demeanor.

Mary J Blige has another smash hit on this album as well Stronger. This song is deep “I will survive, as long as it’s you by my side”. It is a really moving and inspirational song which can be used in any type of meaningful relationship you may have.

Another touching song on the album is If You Dream by Tank featuring Tyrese, Toni Braxton, Jordin Sparks, Omarion, Faith Evans, JoJo, Charlie Wilson, Tamar Braxton and Steve Russell. It’s a pretty song I just found myself trying to figure out who was singing what part at times. Overall the soundtrack is very good. There are also tracks from Jay-Z, T.I., Souja Boy and Rich Boy just to name a few all of which made memorable contributions. After listening to the soundtrack I am definitely going to check out the movie.

When I heard the first track I Love Her feat Jim Jones I thought ok nice vibe and bounce to it, auto tune (gas face) but not a bad start to what hopefully would be a great album. Then I heard Body and this smooth track is definitely a light dimmer. I really like this song not the best vocal for it but I liked track so I let myself enjoy that and really focus on the lyrics. At this point I’m thinking so far so good with the album.

The songCase of You has a nice flow to it and catchy hook. The melody is everything you expect from smooth r & b, making this easily one of the songs I will keep on repeat in my iPod. However, my favorite song on the album is How Do I. A very well put together song-nice track and very visual lyrics which makes for what could be a classic r & b song but the use of auto tune ruined what could have been a great song.

On Date you find MH simply telling a woman he wants to take her on a date. I like it. Overall this album is average and won’t make any waves in the music world or solidify Marques as the King of R&B or even show he is any closer to the title. It would serve well as a mood setter for a night in without the kids but this album isn’t very memorable nor did it have any possible smash singles that I heard. If you’re a Marques Houston fan you might like it or be disappointed as I am. Unfortunately, MH is more of a trend follower than a trendsetter leaving you feeling like he is having an identity crisis while making this album.

I believe Marques is a very talented singer and from reading the credits on this album I see he’s been flexing his producer muscles as well but he didn’t let his light so shine on this album so to speak. I am not against the use of auto tune I believe it can be a nice touch in most cases, however I felt he overused it. It was mostly used on songs I felt didn’t need it when you add that to the fact that he didn’t emotionally connect to the songs for me it made for a bumpy ride. Some of the songs felt more like reference tracks than actual finished songs. I feel like he had a great idea the framework of the album is phenomenal could have been a classic but he took a right where he maybe should have went left. I tried to keep prominent in my mind that this album is almost a year old due to his release date repeatedly being pushed back. Maybe if he would have taken that time and improved upon or maybe make a completely different album altogether the end product would have been more appealing.

I have been a faithful passenger on the Marques Houston train from Immature to IMx to Sister Sister through a few albums and now at this album is where I must exit. I am all for growth and grown and sexy R&B but I am starting to feel like a lot of these otherwise talented artists are feeling pressured to water down their talent and splash some auto tune on it in order to sell records. Don’t get me wrong I think MH is a very talented singer whose past albums solo albums have not seen the success it should have BUT this time around I feel like he just dropped an album for the sake of dropping an album. I did find a few tunes I can keep in my iPod so not all was lost. Overall I give it 1.5 stars out of 5.

I am a huge fan of Mariah’s voice but after being slightly disappointed with her last album E=MC2 and slightly annoyed with the single Obsessed I didn’t plan on buying this album. After a couple of suggestions and someone hand delivering me the album I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a listen.

The first song that grabbed my attention was Inseparable, it has a decent mid tempo track and the lyrics are something I can relate to. I think we all know how it feels to break up with someone or have a huge fight and if one of you would just pick up the phone and call the other things could go back to being blissful. I am still on the fence about whether it stood out to me because this was the one song I didn’t skip when I started the CD or if I truly love this song.

A song that I’m clear how I feel about it is It’s a Wrap, the title is self explanatory and it’s a perfect break up song for that special someone that you have told repeatedly they had one more time to mess up. I loved the getupouttamyhouse attitude of the song felt this worked well. I found another sassy “we’re through” song on the albumUp Out My Face, the issue I have with the song is I’m not sure if the chorus gels with the song. To be perfectly honest I felt it was beneath Mariah, it seemed more like this was a song she could have passed off to an up and comer or a more vocally challenged female artist or even girl group.

More Than Just Friends would have been a tight Summertime single and in my opinion should have maybe been the single dropped instead of Obsessed. I would say this is easily my favorite song off the album by a landslide. It has a versatile vibe I could hear this is in the club or just cruising. She covered the Foreigners classic I Want To Know What Love Is which happens to be one of my favorite songs of all times. I felt she did it justice, she didn’t add anything special to it nor take anything away from it. There are a couple of other songs are actually starting to grow on me H.A.T.E.U and Standing O. This is one of those albums I had to listen to a few times to really get into it. I just didn’t feel like it was better than The Emancipation of MiMi, in fact it felt like a part two of the last album. I am a huge abuser of the Genius feature on iTunes. After every Mariah song off this album genius would play a song from her last album I found that ironic.

I really love Mariah and think she is an amazing talent but I felt I was shortchanged from experiencing any new MiMi Magic. On one hand I am glad she didn’t go overboard with the high notes, in fact I think I only heard it twice. But, on the other hand I felt she chose to sing average which for any other artist would probably be acceptable but coming from Mariah, no thank you. This song was blatantly missing a classic Mariah ballad which was a let down for me personally.

I know she worked with The Dream and Tricky Stewart for the entire album but maybe that was her biggest mistake. Don’t get me wrong a few songs with them would have been fine. I think Tricky is a decent producer and no doubt The Dream can write hits, but there were a couple songs I swear all I could hear was The Dream singing and I could have seriously done without that. I don’t feel like they created any magic in the studio together and I wasn’t impressed by most of the otherwise very elementary lyrics. I think if she stuck with her usual mix of JD formulated hits and maybe sprinkle it with some Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis this would have been a classic album. However, it’s Mariah and people will still buy it. Overall I give it 3 stars out of 5.

There’s been alot of negative buzz and upset fans when it comes to The Blueprint 3 as a whole. I think we’ve become so accustomed to same old same that we’ve come to expect it and rather appreciate it. A lot of us expected The Blueprint reloaded, but that’s not at all what you get, if that’s what you are looking for prepare to be disappointed. Think about what the term blueprint actually means and to do a repeat of what he did before is simply not Jay-Z’s style. So keeping all those points in mind I tried listening to the album with no expectations and found my view seems to oppose the masses. First and foremost I had an appreciation for the tentative release date of September 11. Without overshadowing the topic at hand we all know this date is very important to a lot of people, not just to us native New Yorkers. Having dropped The Blueprint on 9/11/01 I feel he has officially not only made a permanent mark on history but he has truly come full circle.

On this album there were a few songs worth keeping on loop in my iPod. One of them beingRun This Town feat. Rhianna and Kanye West- I really like this song and it took a few listens for it to grow on me, but I find myself humming this all day long and listening to it several times a day. Of course watching the video helped increase my appreciation for the song. I think I was initially disappointed, considering the the line up I expected to be more blown away then I was. All things considered this song is still fire!

I expected Off That Feat Drake to be a little more than it was. Let’s face it when you see Drake’s name attached to anything you expect to be hit with a new arsenal of Drake quotables. I really like the song for what it is lyrically, but he could have had anyone on the hook and I would’ve felt the same way about it. Only having Drake on the hook felt like a waste to me, but that’s just my opinion. Jay doesn’t disappoint with his witty lyrics but I expected 2 for the price of 1. Not having that is my only complaint about this otherwise hot song.

One of my favorite songs on the album is hands down Venus Vs. Mars produced by Timbaland. This song is typical platinum Jay-Z: a tight track, tighter rhymes and the daily quotables I’m sure we’ll hear repeated for years to come. Simply perfection in terms of all things Jay-Z.

Another fave of mine is On To the Next One produced by Swizz Beats. The title is pretty self explanatory and it’s another classic Jay banger. Witty lyrics, decent track and the typical Brooklyn boy swagger make this is a definite hit.

On A Star is Born I really dug how the concept of the song is basically a standing ovation for all those before, during and since Jay that have made a major impact on the game and are good at what they do. Considering the music game these days seems to be less about the art and more about who can diss who how many times on how many records. It’s refreshing to see someone seemingly the best to ever do it to step back and give props to others in the game. Kudos.

I know a lot of people won’t agree with my opinion of the album but art is open to interpretation and I’m not mad at the picture Jay-Z is drawing with this album. I will admit this album lacked an abundance of catchy hooks that we come to expect from Jay. I can also admit that at times I felt like his lyrics out shined the tracks, but keep in mind this is a blueprint and nothing on this album is should be what you would otherwise get from an artist lower on the totem pole. You can say what you want about Jay but I believe this album is gonna change the game for a lot of people. Lyrically Jay-Z is still Jay-Z and to be almost 40 years old and still be one of the best in this “young boys” game says a lot. People will hiss and diss but I assure you, as usual, we will hear a lot of regurgitated Jay lyrics off of this album on a lot of other artist’s CD’s, mixtapes; etc. .. Which I think further makes Jay on of the greatest of all time.

I would recommend copping the album but with the recommendation I issue a warning: This is definitely grown folks music, not for the lyrically immature

One of the songs that first struck me is I Invented Sex feat Drake. It is a really smooth mid tempo song coupled with a catchy hook and addictive lyrics. While reading over the track list I more than expected this to be a very explicit song, but to my surprise it’s a very tasteful song and definitely one of my favorites.

Say Ahh Feat Fabolous is definitely a club banger. This song definitely makes you want to dance. The whole swagger on this song is ill, but it is definitely more so for the grown and sexy. But on LOL feat Gucci Mane and Souja Boy, he definitely appeals to the younger crowd as well. It is a very fun song that you can appreciate if you’re a Twitter or text fan.

Jupiter Love is a slower track very sensual and smooth and it definitely works. There are a couple other slower songs that really made me feel some kind of way Love Lost and Holla If You Need Me.

To be perfectly honest, this album really impressed me and Trey Songz is now one of my favorite artists. I could listen to this album from beginning to end then back again without skipping a song. It was a struggle to pick out my favorite songs. Whether you’re a hip hop, r&b or soul music fan I would suggest copping this album it has something for everyone on it. I give this album a 4 out of 5 stars.

First song that got my attention was Break Up. I love the original Mario version and was excited to hear a different take on it. I must say that Verse’s delivery was ok but then I got to his guests Rock City and Lunch Money and they took this song to a new level for me. They definitely outshine him on the song which was kind of a bummer to me but I proceeded on in the hopes of getting a better feel for what Verse was about.

The next song that jumped out at me was If You Won’t Feat Bree Dval. The song is reminiscent of Akon to me but I actually like it. It has a nice groove to it not too fast and not too slow but not a traditional “mid tempo” track. I more so like the premise of the song “if you won’t do it, she gon do it, if you can’t do it, she will do and, if you don’t do it, she will do it”.. Ladies take heed.

My favorite song on this album is S.E.X. Musically and lyrically this song is hot. It sounds like something I can hear on the radio, of course extremely edited but it rivals some of the songs on today’s top 5 at 5 countdown. Another hot song is Come To Me Baby, it uses the Sexual Healing track but I feel like this song is another slam dunk.

A few other songs worth mentioning are Buy You A Round, Work it Out and Summer Song feat Rock City. Buy You A Round is his current “single” or premiere song it has a nice chill summer vibe to it. Work It Out is another summertime banger. I like this song a lot it a bit faster paced then the other songs on this album. It’s more lyrically driven as opposed to track driven which is good because you get a better feel for his lyrical skills. For Summer Song, the title speaks for itself.

My overall opinion is Verse Simmonds is very talented and can hold his own in today’s market. There were a couple of songs that the tracks felt incomplete which, in my opinion, took away from the songs overall potential. His flow is unique he doesn’t sound like a cookie cutter artist which is needed in this industry to survive. Vocally at times he reminds me of Akon, but not enough for me to make a hard comparison. His sound is versatile as is his flow so he doesn’t sound like he is singing one continuous song over various tracks. You can check him out on myspace.com/versesimmonds where you can hear some of his music and get the link to download his mixtape. He is definitely an artist to watch and if he drops a studio album I would cop it. I would give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.