Brilliance

Hello, children. Welcome back to Stack That Cheese. This week's theme is "brilliance." We will discuss the brilliant people behind rap, whether it be good, bad, or "re-dic-yu-lus," as they say. I hope you learn something today, and become brilliant in your own right.

The Good:

OCD: Moosh & Twist - Back to the Basement

I've been an OCD fan for at least a couple years. Their song "Take Me Back" has been on every warm weather playlist of mine since I first heard of them. They're one of those groups whose songs get better with each listen. Needless to say, I was pretty excited when Back to the Basement was announced.

OCD is a duo composed of, you guessed it, Moosh and Twist. Both are a ripe 20-years-old, meaning they were just high schoolers when they first started. They were good back then, but Back to the Basement proves that they haven't even hit their prime yet.

The moment I realized Back to the Basement was going to exceed any expectations I had was when I first heard their single, "This High." The song starts out with a typical OCD beat, with simple, short synths. But once the guitar was added to the mix, the song just went to a whole new level. OCD proves they are among the most passionate in the game with lines like, "My girlfriend is my ex now, 'cause she told me I had to quit." And that chorus, oh, that chorus is fantastic. Whenever Twist sings, "I don't want to come back down from this high," I get chills.

OCD is more than good. They're
grrreat!

That's the special thing about OCD--they're so real in their songs. They don't try to put on a front, acting like they're hot shit. They're just psyched that they get to be doing this for a living. Especially Twist. Don't get me wrong, I love Moosh, too. But Twist's tomfoolery and vigor reminds me of a young, human Tony the Tiger and his raspy voice is among the most distinct in all of rap. He truly is one of a kind.

Similar to how Jay-Z and Kanye West made an album dedicated to the fact that they made it in Watch the Throne, Moosh and Twist made a mixtape dedicated to the fact that they get the chance to make it.

Along with "This High," they also show this on "Top of the World." Over a piano-based beat, the duo takes time to smell the roses, as shown by the bridge, "No, I've never seen a crowd like this / They ain't never screamed like this / And it's more than beautiful." In a genre where artists often brag about their crowds, it's nice to see people humbled by it all.

OCD may not be the best lyricists or blessed with the best beats (though tracks like "In My Zone" and "Hipster Party" are certainly up there), but they have that X-Factor that makes it difficult not to enjoy them. And Back to the Basement is plenty enjoyable.

The Bad:

Cap 1 - T.R.U. 2 It

Have you ever been lying in bed, jamming to "I'm Different," wishing that 2 Chainz was just less cool. Sure, you like that he pulled up to the scene with his ceiling missing, but you just thought his flow was too contagious. You wanted a rapper just as unimpressive as his lyrics.

Well, now you don't have to deal with that bad-ass, 6'5" MC by the name of Tauheed Epps whenever you want to listen to horrible music. I offer you Cap 1. He's three or four inches shorter, has significantly less dreads (he doesn't have any) and he is ten times less exciting.

That seems to be Cap 1's goal here. He is basically just a less impressive clone of the artist formerly known as Tity Boi. He's got the same repetitive, ridiculous lyrics, just without less swag.

This might be through association. Cap 1 has been featured on a few 2 Chainz songs, and 2 Chainz makes sure to return the favor on T.R.U. 2 It. But this ends up hurting Cap 1's cause because the differences are just so much clearer when the listener has an opportunity to listen to both back-to-back.

Take the song "I Want Sum," the second 2 Chainz feature on the mixtape. He only appears on the chorus, but that chorus is easily the best part of the song. All 2 Chainz does is repeat two lines--"I want some" and "It must be your pussy, 'cause it ain't your face"--but those lines are so brilliant that it makes up for him not having a verse. "It must be your pussy, 'cause it ain't your face" has to be the best backhanded complement ever, right? Cap 1 has lines that are just as bad, just less creative, such as "Wanna swipe it 'cross her ass like I want debit," which is a line used by many before him.

Now I'll never be able to
look at Black Swan the same.

You still get the feeling that Cap 1 is just living in 2 Chainz's shadow even when Mr. Chainz isn't on the track. "Ballerina" certainly stands out. For one, it has a two-minute opening chorus of Cap 1 singing "She's my ballerina" with autotune over and over again. When the verse finally starts, he raps, "She could be the one, I ain't never coming home / Throwing money on her while she spinning on the pole / Shawty, she a pro / Getting down low / Ballerina spin when she standing on her toes." To Cap 1's defense, on this track he does step away from the 2 Chainz-like flow he dons on the rest of the mixtape. But he still brings the same simplistic rhymes, just less clever in the awfulness.

I get what Cap 1 was thinking. According to MTV, 2 Chainz is the second hottest MC right now. And when you're that hot, you have to be doing something right. Cap 1 just forgot that imitators can never be as good as the real thing. And 2 Chainz wasn't that good to start off with.

The Re-dic-yu-lus:

Big Daddy Debo - After Hours

Before I start out, let me just say that this was the most entertaining thing I've heard. Big Daddy Debo did stuff on After Hours that I never heard before and never expected to hear.

That being said, the things Big Daddy Debo did on his mixtape haven't been done before because they never should be done. Am I going to complain? Hell no. After Hours is hilarious.

Five-seconds into the first track, "Follow Me," I knew this was special. Hell, I had a hunch just from looking at the mixtape cover that screams Microsoft Paint. But it was "Follow Me" that confirmed my suspicions. "Follow Me" is like a modern-day "Cupid's Shuffle," just worse. Big Daddy Debo (I also really love his name) shouts commands such as "Put your left leg out and grind / Now grind" and "If that girl is wearing a weave / You swing it."

The creativity doesn't stop there. In fact, every song is just as fantastic. And because there's a mere seven songs on After Hours, I'm going to go into what makes each of them so special.

Yes, that's a temple behind her.

"If U Scared" has a chorus of "If you scared, just say you scared" and a beat that sounds like it belongs in a cheesy '80s porno starring Nina Hartley (I had to risk my search history to look up '80s porn stars, I swear). Debo gives his best effort in singing, but it doesn't sound very good.

"Money to Burn" sounds reminiscent of the theme songs from "Rugrats" and "Caillou," except with Debo saying "Now take your hands and put them up / Then you take them, then you wave them."

"I Fuck With the Best" is just Debo incomprehensibly whisper-rapping like he thinks people still like the Ying Yang Twins.

"Baby Got That Back" is just a huge disappointment, honestly. He got my hopes up that he would cover Sir Mix-a-lot's gem, but no, it's just him rapping over a repetitive horn and '90s synths.

Why NPH put R. Kelly in charge of
something with a teen is beyond me.

"On This Card" sounds like if Neil Patrick Harris tried making Doogie Howser, M.D. into a Broadway musical and put the score in the hands of R. Kelly, but R. Kelly got busted with urinating on another minor, so his 11-year old son took over for him. It sounds fantastic, yes. But I promise you it's not.

"I'm Gonna Get Him" just sounds like Debo discovered he could add synths to his voice, so he tried out all of them available on his 1993 music editing software in one song.

Honestly, After Hours is brilliant. I thought 2 Chainz was good at being bad, but he is nothing compared to Big Daddy Debo. He is the Steve Jobs of bad rap. And that's saying something

The One Where Your Faith in Rap is Destroyed Even More Than It Already Is

Before I start, I feel it's only right of me to be honest with you Cheeseheads. (Is that a good name for readers of this blog? Probably not, but I'm cheesy, so I'm keeping it. Pun extremely intended.) I didn't spend as much time this week on mixtapes as I normally will, the reason being that Kendrick Lamar's new album good kid, m.A.A.d. city just came out and I've been thoroughly obsessed. If you want my thoughts on that, though, you'll have to check ACRN's website within the next couple of days (shameless promotion).

But I still managed to put together an entertaining list of mixtapes this week, including a personal favorite of mine, a trip down memory lane and something so hilariously sad that you might lose all faith in hip-hop. Sounds fun, right? Right!

The Good:

XV & The Squarians – Squarians Vol. 1

I started getting into XV in 2010 with his mixtape Vizzy Zone, which is fairly recent on his discography timeline (according to the intro from Squarians Vol. 1, the discography goes back to 2003).

But it hasn't been until recently that he's been getting his props. His single “Awesome” was even on the videogame NBA 2K12.

And he truly deserves his props. Songs like “Mirror's Edge,” “Textbook Stuff” and “U.F.C.” show how unique he can be. And he's a fantastic performer (he took my rap concert virginity).

So when I saw XV had a new mixtape, this time with his crew The Squarians (made up of Freddy High, Sez Batters and producer The Awesome Sound), I knew I had to download it and give it a listen.

And XV lives up to his legacy on this one.

He explains the importance of The Squarians Vol. 1 on the intro, saying how this mixtape is for the Squarians, in this sense his fan base, so that when everyone's bumping XV & co., they can say they were bumping it since October 19, 2012. And that's pretty cool of him.

Probably my favorite track on this mixtape is “Ganja and Pasta.” With a chorus repeating the phrase, “Smoke like rastas, live like mobsters,” and lines like, “See what we started, smoking that olive garden,” how could you not like it?

And then there's “Be There, Be Square,” which is a re-release from his mixtape Popular Culture, but still deserves a mention because of the awesome production from Xaphoon Jones of Chiddy Bang.

And Xaphoon returns once again before the end of the mixtape on the edit of “All For Me,” another track from a previous mixtape, Zero Heroes.

Overall, this isn't XV's best mixtape, especially considering that he reuses some tracks. But because he reuses tracks like that, it becomes a great mixtape for new Squarians to listen to.

The Bad:

2 Pistols –Arrogant

Back in 2008, when 2 Chainz was still Tity Boi and T-Pain was still relevant, there was another rapper with 2 in his name who made quite a splash. And that rapper was 2 Pistols with “She Got It.”

That was my shit back in the day, so when I saw 2 Pistols' name on datpiff, I immediately headed to YouTube and let the nostalgia take me over. I went from “She Got It” to “Sweetest Girl” to “Hypnotized” to “Bartender” to “I'm in Love with a Stripper” before realizing I actually had to write this blog entry.

So I gave Arrogant a listen. I got five tracks in before happening around the most important track on the mixtape, “I Don't Care” featuring none other than 2 Chainz. And then an idea came down from the heavens and I realized I had to run with it.

Now let's play everyone's favorite game: 2 Pistols or 2 Chainz!

The rules are simple. I present a line or two from “I Don't Care” by one of the two artists and you guess which one said it. When you want to find out, just click on the lyric and it will send you to a picture of the artist who actually rapped the line.

“Swisher sweet, full, blowing on that great dane / On that big dog shit. Your bitch call me Max Payne.” 

“I look in the mirror, that's my competition / Then I talk to myself. Myself said,'What?' / I said 'You a ill nigga roll a blunt up.'”

“Left the supermarket, took the coup and parked it / You can catch me frequently at Gucci shoe department.”

“I'm with my white chick, nah she ain't super thick / Just call her Abby Wambach, her head game full attack.” 

And that's the end of this round of 2 Pistols or 2 Chainz! Let's hope there's many more rounds to be had!

But seriously, the fact that 2 Pistols is on 2 Chainz's level on this track without having the satisfaction of shouting “TWOOO CHAIIINZ!!!!” before every verse is just embarrassing. And the rest of the mixtape doesn't get any better. And that's enough to earn Arrogant a bad review.

The Re-dic-yu-lus

Lil Poopy – Coke Ain't A Bad Word

Look at that cover. Just let it sink in. And don't try to outsmart yourself. This isn't any Tha Carter IV shit. Lil Poopy isn't a 30-year-old dressing up a little kid to look like his mini-me. That is Lil Poopy.

Now listen to it. Just listen to any track. They're all so horrible. You don't know whether it's adorable or a sign that the Mayans were right. I'd like to fool myself into just thinking it's cute. But I can't.

And how the hell did he get legitimate features. I mean, I knew French Montana wasn't that great, but how did he agree to be on a track with an eight-year-old named Lil Poopy?

And usually it's clear that rappers are over-exaggerating, but there is no way this kid owns a “brand new Lamborghini” like he says in “'Bout That Life.”

And even when you're not focusing on the fact that AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD IS RAPPING, it's clear this mixtape is way too heavily produced, with the hosts Evil Empire & Big Mike interrupting every track.

I just...I just don't understand. I'm gonna leave it at that and hope that by next week, I have more faith in humanity.

-- Xavier Veccia, dropping the mic for now.

@xprime_time