The Good:
I've been over my fascination with mixtape covers in the selection process plenty of times. And if you know that, you understand why I selected this album.
Flatbush Zombies' mixtape cover seems like a scene straight out of a horror movie, fitting with their name and fitting with the sound they don.
As soon as you start the album with the track "Amerikkkan Pie," you know this trio is unique. A creepy beat is quickly interrupted by a mini drum solo that makes way for some angelic singing before Zombie member Meechy Darko releases an intense verse.
He ends his verse in such a chilling fashion with the line "Ever since I blew up niggas think I got bread / So they got their hands out, they gon' get their palms read / Red from all the bloodshed." That just sets the bar high for the other two Zombies, Erick Ark Elliot and Zombie Juice, who don't fail to deliver. The song comes to an epic finale with some guitar shredding and more drums. And that's just the first track.
The Flatbush Zombies are a rap trio straight out of Flatbush, Brooklyn. The mastermind behind the spooky sound is Ark Elliot, who raps and produces, doing both insanely well.
It's hard to pinpoint their sound exactly. It seems like a combination of The Coup, Danny Brown and rock--three things I never thought I'd see together. But oh, does it work.
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| Any drug parade must include Danny Brown. Fact. |
Speaking of Danny Brown, the Detroit artist makes an appearance on the appropriately-titled "Drug Parade." The song features a trippy, yet spooky repetition of "Shrooms, shrooms, LSD, mescaline, a lotta weed." So, you know Danny Brown belongs on this song.
Danny Brown even manages to deliver a unique flow for the Zombies, rapping lines like "Hickeys on her titties now she want to lick shit," in a sing-song manner. It might be seen as annoying to those who aren't Danny Brown fans, but as a XXX fanatic, it hits me in all the right places.
There's also the song "Club Soda," which combines a bit of an old-school feel with the Flatbush sound. The song features six verses and just one bridge, done by Action Bronson in typical ex-chef fashion.
"Unique" is an overused term and I won't deny that I contribute to that. But in Flatbush Zombies' case, it fits. I think it's safe to say that there are not too many people out there doing what the Zombies do, and I love it.
The Bad:
I was doing everything I could to avoid this release. I've been over my disdain for Gucci before, so I was hoping to at least find a new artist to criticize this time around.
But every semi-major artist who released a mixtape this week just wasn't bad enough. Jae Millz had a hard-knock life vibe to R.O.T.S. Black Dave was average, but not bad on Black Bart. L.A. the Darkman had some nice lines on Paid in Full. So now I'm here. Reviewing Diary of a Trap God. Trap Goddammit.
Let's just get to this.
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| Lucifer, thy name is Young Thug |
"Virgin" sucks. Like, a lot. You know how I said Danny Brown was borderline annoying on Better Off Dead? Well, on "Virgin," Gucci Mane has an artist by the name of Young Thug perform on a way too long bridge and a horrible last verse. He crosses the annoying line and just keeps going.
I imagine lying on my death bed, thinking about all the bad things that I've done in my life before closing my eyes for one last time. And then I see Young Thug surrounded by flames just shouting, "Baby girl ain't no virgin" at me. I'm in hell. This song is hell.
Oh, you need more? Remember Akon? Of course you do! Remember how much you loved "Smack That?" Hold on to that memory for a few more seconds. Cherish it. Breathe it in. Now let go. And listen to "Recognize."
On "Recognize," Akon sings an overly gross chorus including the line "Cause now you're all in my face, while I'm splashing all in your face / Cumming." Then Gucci Mane starts his verse, which has the quality of a radio rip rather than, oh, I don't know, the result of work in a recording studio.
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| Akon should've just stayed with Andy Samberg |
Then comes Young Scooter, who I'm assuming stole his name from an after-school special about rappers. He gets the privilege to end this song, which I am so grateful for. But even "Recognize" doesn't deserve to end with the line, "Now I'm shitting on these hoes like a toilet bowl."
And I haven't even gotten to the best part. I know Blogs Editor/'90s fanatic Sam will especially love this. Over all of the Waka Flockas and OJ Da Juicemans, there's one featured artist who stands above them all on Trap God. Ladies and gentlemen, Marilyn Manson.
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| Even Manson is shocked by this. |
That's right, the Antichrist Superstar himself makes an appearance on the song "Pussy Wet." He mostly just says, "Getting pussies wet." But he also sprinkles in the occasional "panties to the side, bitch, I want to see your camel toe" and "bitch, your pussy's solid gold." I know Marilyn Manson is all about the shock, but even he should draw the line at being on a Gucci Mane song.
So, if you're keeping track at home, Gucci Mane has created a personal hell for me, destroyed Akon more than Akon could even destroy himself and become the most shocking thing Marilyn Manson has ever done.
You know what, screw it.
The Re-dic-yu-lus:
Gucci Mane - Diary of Being a Trap God
You did this to yourself, Gucci Mane! You have no one to blame but yourself!
-X-Prime, dropping the mic for now
@XavierVeccia
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