Second Season Finale

It's been two whole years since Stack That Cheese was born. What started as a way to get involved within ACRN has become a weekly celebration of all that rap stands for, both good and bad. After looking back at the past 40-something posts, I can positively say that STC has really grown and so have I in the process. Thanks to whoever reads this, no matter what your reason.

To celebrate two years of hip-hop reviews, I decided to compile my favorite releases that I have reviewed. After starting with a list of over a dozen memorable mixtapes, I've whittled it down to a mere five. But before we get to those, let's just remember some of the tapes that didn't quite make the cut but were pretty gosh darn close.

Honorable Mentions:

Young Thug & Bloody Jay - Black Portland

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. Young Thug is one of the most fascinating rumors of recent memory. From the questionable fashion choices that lead to speculation over his sexuality to the constant rumors involving him and Young Money, Young Thug has taken everything crazy about this current Southern Renaissance and made it even crazier. Whether he will continue to remain so interesting has yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure: I'll always love "Danny Glover," and that's a Stack That Cheese promise.

King Los - Becoming King

Los has been one of the most impressive lyricists since he first stepped in the game. However, he never really had that "it" factor. That was until he became King. Becoming King was the first time that Los actually acted like the star everyone always knew he could be. Honestly, if this was a month ago, this would have made it into my top five easily. However, with King Los leaving Bad Boy (again) and releasing a mixtape that dropped slightly in quality, it seems the King still has some work to do before he rules over a court.

Flatbush Zombies - Better Off Dead

This was by far the hardest tape to leave out of the top five. I was accidentally on a real East Coast kick this past September. Artists like MeLo-X and CJ Fly proved how unique the Beastcoast movement was when done right. But no one, not even Joey Bada$$ himself, had as distinct a sound as the Flatbush Zombies. The Zombies managed to create a rap-rock hybrid that always been impressive. Their gritty sound can be matched by few and the fact that they had a Danny Brown feature launched it over the edge. It was a fantastic effort on their part and I can't wait to see what's up next for the East Coasters.

Now, time for the five best mixtapes this writer has ever reviewed. It was a tough list to compile and I'll probably change my mind within a month, but all of these mixtapes deserve praise no matter what.

5. YG - Just Re'd Up 2

I don't know what it is, but I have a huge soft spot for YG, and it all started with this tape.

YG is that ratchet rapper that you can't help but love. Sure, King Los and the Flatbush Zombies have better lyrics, but there's just something about the way YG carries himself that makes him so irresistible. It doesn't hurt, either, that he's got DJ Mustard on his side.

Looking back, this mixtape is even better now than it was back then. Since this tape was released, multiple guest stars have gotten fame of their own, from Ty Dolla $ign to Young Scooter, Just Re'd Up 2 has become a who's who of guest stars.

And then there's how awesome My Krazy Life turned out to be. On one hand, that shows how much better Just Re'd Up could have been, but on the other hand it just makes you like the guy even more. Plus, as much as I love "My Nigga," nothing will replace the pure insanity that is "Make It Clap."

4. Big K.R.I.T. - K.R.I.T. (King Remembered in Time)

As much as this Southern Renaissance in hip-hop is growing on me (I'm even starting to like some Future), there's still nothing better going on in the South than Big K.R.I.T.

K.R.I.T. has long been a power house in the Southern hip-hop community. Ever since he first burst on the scene in 2010, he's proven to be one the most authentic lyricists that hip-hop had to offer. And K.R.I.T. proved that stereotype to be true.

On his self-titled mixtape, K.R.I.T. brought a classic Southern sound that could have easily been on a UGK album. And the lyrics, as always, were spot-on. I'm really looking forward to his next project due out this year, especially since his last one turned out so good.

3. Action Bronson - Rare Chandeliers

Four words: Action Bronson and Alchemist. That's all you need to know in order to confirm this is a good mixtape. Alchemist has this way about him that allows him to make every artist sound good, but Bronson is a whole 'nother story.

What's so amazing about this mixtape is how perfectly the pairing goes together. Action Bronson is one of the most terrifying rappers around, always striking fear into the listener. And Alchemist makes some of the darkest, grimiest beats around. So together, the duo is basically a horror movie with better music.

I'm still embarrassed I didn't name this the best mixtape of Season One. Rare Chandeliers is the scariest form of perfection. Plus, it is the coolest mixtape cover ever.

2. CyHi The Prince - Black Hystori Project

This one is just flat out unfair. CyHi fans and most people in the hip-hop scene knew something like this was possible, but damn does it feel good to see CyHi actually achieving it.

The GOOD Music artist has been making music for a few years now. His Ivy League tapes and his appearances on GOOD Music affiliated songs have especially proven how strong of an artist The Prince was. But nothing he's done has ever been this good. Hell, I would say this has been one of the best releases in rap all year, and it's been a year crowded with quality releases.

The production on this was perfect, matching the mood of CyHi's lyrics exactly on every single song. And the concept behind this album--to pay tribute to the trailblazers of the black community--isn't a new one, but the way CyHi executes it makes it feel as if it is. This guy has to release a record soon or I'm going to go insane.

1. Vic Mensa - Innanetape

Who else could it be?

Vic Mensa's Innanetape was not only one of the best mixtapes of 2013, but it was one of the best releases of any genre. I ranked it fifth among all albums last year and I'm standing by that claim.

Outside of Chance the Rapper, Vic is just about the most inspired young rapper, embracing styles that most other hip-hop artists wouldn't even think of trying. Innanetape is the perfect example of this.

From the funky "Lovely Day" to the bubbly electronic "Run!" From the trappy "Yap Yap" to the soulful "Holy Holy" (which includes an emotional verse from Ab-Soul), there's nothing Vic Mensa can't do. Thanks to him and Chance, Chicago has a bright future that's only going to get brighter with time.

King Los, Soulja Boy, Waka Flocka

The Good:

King Los - Zero Gravity II

Last year, Los evolved into King Los on one of the better mixtapes of 2013, Becoming King. And following typical Los fashion, the Baltimore rapper released yet another mixtape after big career news. This time around, it's his departure from Diddy's (or Puff Daddy's?) Bad Boy Records.

King Los has been signed to Bad Boy twice, once under Bloc Incorporated and the second and latest deal with Interscope Records. According to Los, this past deal ended because of problems with Interscope, not Bad Boy. But either way, this could mean dire news for Los.

Luckily for the king, it has yet to affect him too much. Zero Gravity II is just about as good as his last.

As always, King Los delivers on just about every verse. The "Control Freestyle" track is the perfect example of this. The Big Sean song turned Kendrick Lamar vehicle is the perfect beat for a lyricist like Los. Changing tempos multiple times and constantly having bars as hot as "I write a verse in reverse that reverses the Earth's spin" make the listener forget this song ever belonged to another spitter. Plus, he proves to be a merciful king, ending the song by complimenting some of the best rappers out there.

And production, per usual, is on point for the most of ZG2. "Hard Time" heavily samples Suzanne Vega's "Tom's Diner" (which can also be heard in Kevin Cossom's "I Get Paper"). The slowed down sample deserves some head-bobbing with every listen and Kobe, Mark Battles and Shanica Knowles stop by for dynamite features.

That being said, there are some slight problems if you're nitpicking. With the Bad Boy breakup comes less connections which leads to less features. On Becoming King, everyone from Pusha T to Wiz Khalifa to Puff himself stopped by for guest spots. Granted, the themes of the mixtapes are different and Los is more than fine on his own, but some of the features on the last go-around were quite entertaining and they will be missed.

And of course, there's the constant problem with King Los: his lack of formula. Los has always been a fantastic lyricist, and it's that skill that allows him to get away with this issue. But if Los would get away from the Auto-Tune-heavy hooks and the heavy use of freestyles over other rapper's songs, he might be able to be more successful. Once again, I doubt that's Los' worry, especially since he just left his biggest supporter in Puff. But it does keep him from reaching his fullest potential.

King Los is hardly in any danger of losing his throne any time soon, even if it has left the Bad Boy Kingdom. He's still as good of a lyricist as ever and will be for a long time. And who knows, maybe the extra creative freedom will lead him to grow as an artist and maybe even release a real album. Maybe.

The Re-dic-yu-lus 1:

Soulja Boy -  King Soulja 2

That's right, homies! We have two re-dic-yu-lus mixtapes this week! Oh my lawd, I'm so excited, not even snow in spring could stop me.

The first re-dic-yu-lus mixtape is almost too old. Soulja Boy's King Soulja 2 was released a week ago, but I'm going to allow it because I love hating Soulja.

I mean, there's just so much to not like! Take the song "In Love With Me." It starts out alright with a half decent beat that I could probably get into if, say, Vic Mensa was behind it. With some decent lyrics and any resemblance of a flow, this might actually be a good song.

But Soulja Boy doesn't have either of those things. Soulja doesn't even default to his go-to yell/sing "flow," but instead just abuses Auto-Tune to the point that the listener can barely even understand him.

Then there's the remix of Drake's "We Made It" just in time for the Jay Electronica and Jay-Z to scorch it in their version. Not even the Drake feature could save this track. The OVO artist is too "Versace Versace" on this one, where Electronica and HOVA are real, unfiltered rap.

And then there's the ultimate piece of Based music: a feature from Lil B. I could write an entire post about this song, titled "I Got That Sack," alone. I mean, Lil B and Soulja Boy? In the same song? It's March! That's way too early for Christmas!

"I Got That Sack" is everything you could ever want from the duo. There's a repetitive beat, plenty of awesome ad libs on Based God's part and the line "Ohio girls make that pussy work the same way." He doesn't even clarify what he means by "same way!" But you got a shout out regardless, Ohio girls, and you should celebrate that!

Sadly, no amount of Based God features could save King Soulja 2. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish Soulja would return to "Crank That" form.

Wow. That's just embarassing.

The Re-dic-yu-lus 2:

Waka Flocka - Re-Up

Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!

Young Thug is on a song! I love him. I love him so much. I can't stop. It's an addiction, I realize, but oh my God, I can't stop. He's gonna save this bitch like Danny Glover! What's not to love!?

Okay, calm down there, Xavier. You're getting out of hand.

Deep breath.

Okay, I'm good. But yeah, this Waka tape is quite a treat. Actually, I do have to say I've grown to like Waka a little bit since getting more into the current Atlanta movement. Don't get me wrong--I still don't really like him by any means (besides the ironic way that makes me seem more hip). But guys like Young Thug and Young Scooter certainly owe guys like Waka for helping develop this new Southern sound.

That being said, this mixtape is still mostly crap. The Young Thug feature, coming in the form of a hook and a verse on "Ain't No Problems," is certainly a bright spot. The song sounds vaguely like Tech N9ne, which has never been quite my style, but is better than Waka's usual sound. And Waka and Thugger have pretty decent chemistry.

There's also "Cook Jug," featuring Young Scooter. And while the beat is as generic as generic can get, one can always count on Young SCOOOOTA to get ig'nant.

But then you're left with songs like "Lottery," where Flocka is alone, and you remember why Waka is reserved for times of ignorance. Somewhere between the multiple "Squad" shouts and the random laser synth, the listener is left wishing there was more Thug or Scooter. Granted, I think that on every song, but especially so with Waka Flocka.

Season Finale

It feels like just yesterday when I emailed my blogs editor about a mixtape review-based blog. Not long after, I followed through with it. It was rough at first. Hell, it still is rough sometimes. But I slowly started building a blog-writing formula that I have stuck with week after week (for the most part). And I've honestly really enjoyed it. But with the school year coming to an end, so must this blog. But come August, Stack That Cheese will be back and better than ever.

The Good:

King Los - Becoming King

Los was a Baltimore rapper who gained a pretty decent following due to his quick delivery and wordplay. But Los is no more. He goes from Los to King Los in a matter of minutes on the title track of Becoming King.

He begins with just talking about his goals, saying, "If I can do one thing in the world, it would be to inspire just one person" as the beat filled with cymbals and electric guitar builds and builds. As he reaches the conclusion, he begins his rap. And right away, the listener just knows he witnessed a transformation from a rapper to a king.

From there on out, King Los just rides that momentum to put together a fantastic mixtape.

While the king could certainly do that on his own, he brings along company to prove just how royal he truly is. With features from some of the biggest names in rap, from Diddy to Wiz Khalifa to Ludacris, it's clear this king has quite the court.

"Disappointed" is the song that features both Diddy and Ludacris. While Diddy's just there for the chorus, Ludacris is there to spit a great verse. One of his best lines is, "I can get a little cocky / Pulling off in my Kawasaki / Thousand dollar bottles of Saki / Taking shots to the head like Rocky." But, just like a true king, Los doesn't get outdone by his guests. His flow is crisp and his lines are empowering, making him stand out the most. "I move different and breathe different / Niggas cut me, I fuck around and bleed different," he says.

Another quality song is "Dope," featuring Pusha T and Yo Gotti. Yet again, the featured artists go all out, showing just how much respect they have for Los. Pusha delivers one of the best verses of any featured artist on Becoming King, saying, "King Los with the king pin / King Push about to king him / King's ransom for a kilo / Took mine and built a kingdom."

But King Los can also put together a great song by himself. "Hard Life" is one of those songs. He does the chorus himself, thanks to a little help from Auto-Tune. But it doesn't seem overdone when Los does it. And his second verse is so ridiculously good it's unbelievable. He comes in hard and quick and continues this pace throughout the verse. It's no wonder he's wearing the crown.

And the production on Becoming King is good, too. But the great thing about it is that it just seems to compliment Los. The listener can't be drawn into the production because he's so busy being drawn into Los.

Becoming King is quite ambitious, actually. Not only has Los taken on a new persona, but he's changed his being. He really is a king now. Los wasn't getting noticed enough, but thanks to Becoming King, it's all but certain King Los will be.

The Bad:

Future & FreeBand Gang - Black Woodstock

I'm not going to lie. I've gone pretty hard to some songs featuring Future. Everytime "Bugatti" by Ace Hood or "Love Me" by Lil Wayne comes on at a house party, I can't control myself. I may start shouting, "I woke up in a new Bugatti." And once I start, I can't stop.

"Hello my baby, hello my
honey, hello my ragtime bitch."

But every time I find myself in this situation, as I'm going HAM as hell, I can't help thinking, "How the hell is this dude famous?" Like, seriously, how is this dude famous? I don't get it. Maybe if he was a rapper and purely a rapper, I could get it. But he's not. That's not his call to fame. He's a singer. But in order to be a singer, don't you need to have a good voice? Apparently not, because Future sounds like a drunk frog and he still manages to do it.

I wish I could say that's harsh, but it's really not. It's the truth. Take the song "Keys" for example. He sings the chorus and he sounds horrible. Like if there was a ghetto karaoke bar, he would be performing there. But that doesn't stop Future. He just shouts out, "I know keeeeys" like it's nothing.

And then he raps the verses, but he's incomprehensible in those. I try to understand him, but I can't. I saw a comment on the album from some random Hot New Hip-Hop member saying that Future sounds like he stole Mike Jones' flow. And I can't help but notice how true that is. But why would you do that? Mike Jones' biggest song is "Who is Mike Jones?" Even Mike Jones thinks he's irrelevant.

This theme continues throughout the whole mixtape. "Take This 4 Granted" is another good example. Once again, Future sings the chorus, but this time, it's even less clear than before. He continues his singing into the verse, but it's still not clear. If you're going to release music, shouldn't it at least be possible to understand you?

But this mixtape also belongs to his crew, who apparently goes by the name "FreeBand Gang." And it's just a collection of people who are even worse than Future. The song "Blow Them Bands" is a song by Stuey Rock featuring Future. I was hoping for this to be good because most songs featuring Future manage to at least get the listener pumped up. But the beat here is just cheesy and Stuey Rock is intolerable. He sounds like a mix between a bad hair band singer and a 14-year-old who just discovered how to use Auto-Tune.

There's also a rapper on Black Woodstock that goes by the name of Casino. He might be one of the better members of the FreeBand Gang, but his flow is basically just him shouting into the microphone. Try listening to three minutes of that.

I don't think I'll ever get the hype behind Future, especially after Black Woodstock.

The Re-dic-yu-lus:

Soulja Boy - Foreign 2

What better way to end Stack That Cheese's year than with Soulja Boy? Answer: probably a lot of things. But Soulja will do.

Soulja Boy's been on Stack That Cheese before, but I spent most of the time talking about his olden days of "Crank That." Now I actually have to listen to it and just make fun of current Soulja Boy. Ugh. 

Soulja Boy's kind of like the human version of Lil B. He shouts out random sylables ("Wah!"), he makes horrible metaphors and he's just laughable. The only difference is that there is no suspicion that he's just joking around. He's completely serious. Which might make him even funnier.

Cake and a pussy. It's Soulja Boy's dream.

Take the song "Yea Yea." I don't even understand where he's trying to go with it. Over a repetitive beat, he just shouts out lines like "SBZ, I should be on the Lakers." At one point he just says, "Cake cake cake / I want that cake, cake, cake." Wait, what?

"Soulja Walk" is another fun song. The beat is better now, with some nice bass and synths that actually make it somewhat tolerable. Until Soulja starts rapping, that is. The chorus just consists of "Walk, walk, walk / Soulja walk, walk, walk" and it goes about 30 seconds too long. And his lines are just plain stupid, like "Shawty right here / All on my pants / Shawty right here / Go and do your dance." And this is all while shouting every one else's catchphrases, like "swerve," "swag" and "turn up."

There is a song featuring Sean Kingston, so that's cool, I guess? If you weren't excited for the "Crank That" nostalgia, then you should be about that "Beautiful Girls" swag. And this song, entitled "Everybody Hoe," is just up there with the sweet songs of Kingston's past, as he sings "That's not your girlfriend / That's everybody hoe." Aww, how sweet, Sean. The best part about Kingston being involved is that it gives the listener a break from Soulja Boy.

This Soulja Boy mixtape was a lot less fun than the last one. I think the further I get in years from "Crank That," the more I hate it. I can't believe I used to like, nay, love that song. I guess we all have regrets. For some, it's that embarrassing bowl cut. For me, it's Soulja Boy. Yah, trick, yah.

-X-Prime, dropping the mic for now

@xprime_time