The Good:
What do they put in the water in Toronto? First Drake and now Tory Lanez? Whatever they're doing, they better keep it up. Unless, of course, that means they have to reelect Rob Ford.
Tory Lanez has mastered just about every aspect of hip-hop one could, including rapping, singing and producing. And while Lanez is certainly a skilled lyricist (just check out his "Danny Glover" freestyle), Chixtape 2 is indeed a tape for the chicks. So this is just some get down 'n' dirty rhythm and blues.
Lanez' singing voice sounds like The Weeknd, but his style is more similar to Drake or Ty Dolla $ign. And his beats, all self-produced, vary from bass-bumping to jazz-influenced. Plus, he has some of the best samples of the year so far. With Chixtape 2, Lanez certainly tries to prove he belongs in the same category as the aforementioned crooners, which he does in spades.
 |
| All of that All That |
The bass is incredibly heavy in this slow ballad. Mixed with the demented All That theme song, it stands out as one of the best beats on the mixtape. Plus, there's something about Lanez singing, "These niggas can fuck, but they'll never fuck you like I do" over a childhood memory that feels so good.
Another solid sample comes along in "T.L.C." Once again, the title gives it away, as the sample comes from TLC's "No Scrubs." By slowing it down significantly, Lanez creates a weirdly catchy chorus. The overall production is a bit eerie and Lanez sounds like early aughties R&B, matching the beat. It's a match made in heaven.
On the other end of the production spectrum is "U.N.I.T.Y." Lanez's rhythmic flow sounds a lot like early Drake. It doesn't hurt opening with a line about Texas. But the beat is mostly a saxophone and some simple drums. It's just about as smooth as R&B can get.
Lanez does a lot for himself on Chixtape 2. Even though he didn't drop any bars, he still delivered an entertaining mixtape and proves Drake isn't the only dual threat from Toronto.
The Bad:
Courtney Noelle - Love on the Run
I guess this is just R&B week with Stack That Cheese.
Courtney Noelle is Taylor Gang's residential female hook maker. To be honest, I came into Love on the Run expecting it to be mediocre. Aside from Ty Dolla $ign, I haven't liked anything from TGOD in a while. And considering Noelle is trying to get noticed, there's going to be a lot of Taylor Gang guest spots.
Just like most of what TGOD does, Love on the Run is pretty generic. The beats sound like just about anyone could sing over them, which isn't what an artist trying to break through should try for.
The songs most people will be heading to right away are "You Got Me" and "Just Fuckin," featuring Wiz Khalifa and Ty Dolla $ign, respectively.
"You Got Me" has a kind of string-like beat with some rhythmic guitar that sounds like something Ciara did at the beginning of her career. Wiz starts off alright by Wiz standards, but eventually starts "rhyming" things like "Rasta nation" and "crazy person." Plus, Noelle sounds especially annoying in between Wiz's verses.
And "Just Fuckin" just makes me feel bad for Noelle. She sounds better in this song than she did in "You Got Me," but compared to Dolla $ign, she sounds like an amateur. Granted, Ty has emerged as one of the leaders in this new generation of Auto-Tuned crooner, and Noelle is still relatively new, but she shouldn't sound so behind. Luckily, Ty's hook of "I love your body / But it ain't love / We just fuckin'" lasts for most of the song, making it tolerable.
There are some features from Juicy J and Chevy Woods as well, but Noelle does spend most of Love on the Run on her own. But those solo acts are just as bad.
"Fooled" is her single that, to be fair, is one of the better songs on the project. But she's not talented enough to carry a track by herself. She's just average, and that's not enough.
I could definitely see Noelle delivering some catchy hooks on her labelmates' projects, but that's just about all I can see from this Taylorina.
Another solid sample comes along in "T.L.C." Once again, the title gives it away, as the sample comes from TLC's "No Scrubs." By slowing it down significantly, Lanez creates a weirdly catchy chorus. The overall production is a bit eerie and Lanez sounds like early aughties R&B, matching the beat. It's a match made in heaven.
On the other end of the production spectrum is "U.N.I.T.Y." Lanez's rhythmic flow sounds a lot like early Drake. It doesn't hurt opening with a line about Texas. But the beat is mostly a saxophone and some simple drums. It's just about as smooth as R&B can get.
Lanez does a lot for himself on Chixtape 2. Even though he didn't drop any bars, he still delivered an entertaining mixtape and proves Drake isn't the only dual threat from Toronto.
The Bad:Courtney Noelle - Love on the Run
I guess this is just R&B week with Stack That Cheese.
Courtney Noelle is Taylor Gang's residential female hook maker. To be honest, I came into Love on the Run expecting it to be mediocre. Aside from Ty Dolla $ign, I haven't liked anything from TGOD in a while. And considering Noelle is trying to get noticed, there's going to be a lot of Taylor Gang guest spots.
Just like most of what TGOD does, Love on the Run is pretty generic. The beats sound like just about anyone could sing over them, which isn't what an artist trying to break through should try for.
The songs most people will be heading to right away are "You Got Me" and "Just Fuckin," featuring Wiz Khalifa and Ty Dolla $ign, respectively.
"You Got Me" has a kind of string-like beat with some rhythmic guitar that sounds like something Ciara did at the beginning of her career. Wiz starts off alright by Wiz standards, but eventually starts "rhyming" things like "Rasta nation" and "crazy person." Plus, Noelle sounds especially annoying in between Wiz's verses.
 |
| Ty Dolla $ign looking patriotic |
There are some features from Juicy J and Chevy Woods as well, but Noelle does spend most of Love on the Run on her own. But those solo acts are just as bad.
"Fooled" is her single that, to be fair, is one of the better songs on the project. But she's not talented enough to carry a track by herself. She's just average, and that's not enough.
I could definitely see Noelle delivering some catchy hooks on her labelmates' projects, but that's just about all I can see from this Taylorina.
The Re-dic-yu-lus:
I honestly have no clue what's going on with this one. Maybe it's my lack of sleep or maybe it's the mugshot looking at me. It doesn't help that every song title looks like it's a file name. All I know is this mixtape is absolutely horrible.
There's a decent chance this mixtape is half Beezy B and half...I don't even know. I just don't know anything anymore.
 |
| He didn't do it |
The first five songs are clearly Beezy. I think. The standout track is titled "gmb-ent o-j-didnot-do-it." So I'm assuming it's just "OJ Didn't Do It." The beat is just so incredibly bad. There are these horribly mastered bass hits mixed with simple hip-hop sounds that have been done a million times before. And then Beezy just mumbles a hook of "OJ didn't do it" over and over again until you actually believe him.
On the other half, it might be some group called Unstoppable? Maybe? There's this track I'm assuming is called "Free Everybody." It jacks the beat from Childish Gambino's "Freaks and Geeks," which is one of Gambino's best tracks, and they just ruin it completely.
The track opens up with a hook of "Stay swaggin' til they let all my people go" and "Free all my people." And there's not even real rhythm. It's just kind of like saying words as they come to mind.
There is a song called "100s Baby" that I kind of like because it does sound Young Thug-esque. But I can't tell if the hook--which takes up most of the song--is sung by a woman or a pubescent boy. And that's enough for me to hate it.
I just don't even know what hip-hop is after listening to this. I just can't.
No comments:
Post a Comment