Red Cafe, Shy Glizzy & Lil B

The Good:

Red Cafe - American Psycho II

One of my biggest fears as a hip-hop reviewer is a mixtape coming around that makes me look like a foolish hypocrite. If you're a regular viewer of this blog, you know how much I stress quality lyrics. I've put down many a rapper who had a pretty good mixtape, but just didn't have the lyrics to earn my support.

And then there are those mixtapes that overlook lyrics for sick beats, but their production is so good that I can't help but love it. YG and Rockie Fresh both did it in the same week and I still haven't gotten over it. This week, Red Cafe joins them with American Psycho II.

The first American Psycho

Red Cafe has been around for a minute, releasing mixtapes since 2006. Hailing from Brooklyn, he's been signed to Akon and Diddy's respective labels. But American Psycho II is his first release since the first Psycho in late 2012.

The mixtape, hosted by DJ Whoo Kid (whoooo kiiiiddd) and the LA Leakers, seems to meet somewhere in between college and gangster rap. Separately, the two genres are flawed by nature. But together, they're almost too good to be true. So good, in fact, that it makes up completely for Red Cafe's lack of good lyrics.

A perfect example is "I Love This Shit," featuring the king of lyric-topping beats, DJ Mustard himself. In typical DJ Mustard fashion, there's some simple, but banging bass and some hard-hitting horns. It's generic Mustard, but damn, is it bumping. It's enough to make one forget that the hook is repetition of the song's title and the rhymes are made out of single syllables.

Then there's the more college rap side of things with "A World Alone," which heavily samples Lorde's song of the same name. And by "heavily sample," I mean just lay some hip-hop drums over the instrumental. I wish I could use this to fuel any potential anger, but I can't help but bob my head to this. Plus, any rapper who can see how amazing Lorde is automatically earns my vote.

Luckily, I can use the excuse, "Well, he does a lot of great features." This list includes, but is not limited to, Young Jeezy, Akon, Jeremih, Ace Hood, Tory Lanez, Kevin Cossom and Shyne. And that doesn't include the two biggest features on "Boss Bitches and Fast Cars."

The previously mentioned song features borderline superstar Pusha T and the always quality Fabolous. Neither delivers his best verse on this song, but plenty of good lines are dished, like Fabolous' "Walk bitch I'm not the fella for you / I cut a dame off--Roc a fella shorty" and Pusha's verse-ending "Got your feelings crushed like the ice in a blender."

Red Cafe has a lot to improve on if he ever wants to be considered a good rapper. But he's already figured out how to make a good mixtape, so I don't see why he would ever feel the need to actually become a good lyricist. I like American Psycho II, I just hate how much I like it.

The Bad:

Shy Glizzy - Young Jefe

There are the Young Thugs of the world, who find some way to sound amazing by using some off-kilter ad-libs. Then there are the Shy Glizzies of the world, who are modeled off that same mold, just not as good at it.

On Young Jefe, Shy Glizzy seems to try everything in his power to become a Young Thug, but he's just a little off, and not in the good way. And the thing about this new brand of ad-lib rappers is that, when it's done right, it's mind-bogglingly good. But when it's done any less than perfect, the whole thing is ruined.

Isn't Maddy ying beautiful?

One prime example of Shy Glizzy trying but failing to accomplish this near impossible feat is the song "Medellin." The song, titled after the city in Columbia, is filled with random shouts and screams. The chorus alone sounds like "Maddy ying / Maddy maddy yayo." And Shy's verse is filled with "kaw"s and "bring bring"s. And Young Scooter, whose Street Lottery I actually liked a bit, stops by to deliver some help. But because it's not done absolutely perfectly in its randomness, it's not even close to good enough.

Another high-profile trap artist, Gudda Gudda, stops by in "I'm a Star." The heavy-hitting beat is a good start for the egotistically-titled song. And Gudda Gudda delivers a surprisingly tolerable verse. But Shy Glizzy can't do the same. He's got the off-pitch singing. And the sporadic "skirt skirt"s. But once again, it's not good enough.

Young Thug in a dress. Really.

Hell, Young Thug himself even stops by on not one, but two occasions. And there's barely a difference between Glizzy and Thug on both tracks, except for the fact that I can, for the most part, understand Glizzy. I should be praising him for not going so far as to be incomprehensible. But I love Thug. I can't help it.

I wish I had even the slightest idea how to describe what makes Young Thug enjoyable. I'm a failure as a hip-hop reviewer because of it. But Young Thug defies all logic. He plays by his own rules. Not in the cool, lawless way, either--he just doesn't follow rhythm or normal musical standards. I should not just dislike him, but I should hate him. And yet, I'm mad at Shy Glizzy for not being enough like him.

But my love for Young Thug isn't the thing that's keeping Young Jefe from being a quality tape. No matter how you feel about Thug, Glizzy's tape clearly sounds more like an imitator than an original, and that's never how a rapper gets good. He's got some potential to be a good bad rapper, but he has to be original before this can happen.

The Based:

Lil B - Basedworld Paradise

As is tradition, I must pray to He Who Is Based before reviewing a Lil B mixtape.

Dear Based God,

I do not deserve you

You are my savior

My almighty favorite rapper

When 05 Fuck Em was released, I listened to every song wit a smile on my face.

But, when I went to write the review about it, I failed you.

I could not figure out how to describe the 101-piece masterpiece

And so, as Valentine's Day rolled around

I knew I would fuck a bitch who couldn't be fucked by you, Based God.

And, as the prophesy foretold, I did.

But then, just three days later, you rose again

To fuck my bitch

And to become the second-coming of Yeezus

So, for that, Based God,

I thank you.

Amen.

Now that I had the privilege to talk to the holy Lil B, I can move on with my review of the amazing Basedworld Paradise.

I've gone over my obsession with covers before, and this is my new favorite cover. Not just for Based God, but for all time. Let's list what makes this the greatest mixtape cover of all time:

1. Kanye reference

2. Lil B face

That's all it takes.

Now, bad news, Bitch Mob. Basedworld Paradise is only 31 songs. That's a helluva lot less than 05 Fuck Em. But, while it's basically a Lil B version of an EP, it's still damn good.

The first words Lil B says on Basedworld Paradise are "I'm Tupac." Big words for a little B. And it's too bad that they prove to be wrong as the mixtape goes on. Because he's better than Tupac!

Take the song "Bring the Beat Back." Lil B goes about and beyond the call of duty, even rapping words with more than one syllable. He raps "business" with "fitness" and "big tits." #Genius. And then he beat boxes! Sure, he sounds a little like a chicken, but the most based chicken of all time. Just call him Kentucky Based Chicken. Or something else that doesn't sound horrible. I bet Lil B could come up with something clever.

Or "Based Memories," which has production with all the swag of a keytar. Honestly, Lil B can make anything amazing. Young Thug can only work a dress. Lil B could work a chastity belt. The only reason he doesn't is because the laws of Basedianity state he must fuck every bitch.

Lil B is a mastermind. If this doesn't prove it so, then your bitch doesn't deserve to be fucked by the Based God. My Based God have mercy on your soul.

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

ACRN Week Special

This week, ACRN is turning 42. That's crazy! Forty-two years of music have gone by in the span of ACRN's existence. I've been alive for less than half of that impressive run, and Stack That Cheese has been around for an even shorter amount of time. While it would be nearly impossible to figure out what were the best releases in the span of ACRN's 42 years, it's fairly plausible to be able to do that for Stack That Cheese's run. So, why not do that? Let's look back at the year thus far and hand out awards to the best and most re-dic-yu-lus mixtapes that have been covered in Stack That Cheese.

The Best:

This was extremely difficult to figure out. There have been a lot of quality mixtapes that I have covered in Stack That Cheese's relatively short existence--so much so that I felt I had to split up this category. Because mixtapes can come from much different circumstances, I figured it would only be fair to separate the major releases from the mixtapes that barely made a splash.

The Best Major Release:

OCD: Moosh & Twist - Back to the Basement

This is one of the newest "good" mixtapes and that means that this award could have been affected by my emotions surrounding it being fairly recent. Hell, I'm pretty certain that's the reason I still like this mixtape so much.

But it's still such a good mixtape. I wrote about why I liked it already, obviously. But I might as well explain why it beat out it's biggest competitors.

One of Back to the Basment's biggest competition was Action Bronson's Rare Chandelliers. As I said when I reviewed it, it was just so brutal. And in the best possible way. Action Bronson is just an overall scary person and it comes out on Rare Chandelliers.

This was the hardest to decide. For one, Rare Chandelliers by far has the best cover of any mixtape that I reviewed. How could you not love a .gif for a mixtape cover? Secondly, Action Bronson has one of the best Twitters of any rap artist. His randomness is up there with Tyler, the Creator. However, if the things I remember most about your mixtape are your cover and how it led me to some great late-night tweets, then there are probably some better mixtapes out there.

The other dark horse for this category was Hoodie Allen's return to quality rap on Crew Cuts. This one was much easier because as I was deciding just which mixtape was the best, I realized the song I go to most on Crew Cuts is the one featuring OCD. And if OCD was the best part of Crew Cuts, then a mixtape of only them must be great.

Best Underground Release:

Blake Allee - Televisionn

This one wasn't even nearly as hard. In fact, the reason I made this a category was because I didn't want to try to figure out whether I liked this mixtape better than Back to the Basement or not. It just sounded like a daunting task that I wasn't ready to conquer.

This one is easily Blake Allee's to lose. Televisionn is the most creative mixtape that I've listened to all year. The beats are so different than what anyone else is doing, his lyrics are riddled with clever wordplay and complex rhymes and it has a really intelligent theme.

Sure, there was competition. Rubixx's To the Third and Cinos' #ChaosControl2 were among the biggest standouts. But neither were nearly as creative as Televissionn, along with having their own problems. So, the fake award goes to Allee.

Biggest Disappointment:

Pusha T - Wrath of Caine

I already went over why I didn't like this mixtape all that much, so I'm not going to bore you with me explaining it again.

Instead I'm just going to say why it was so disappointing.

Pusha T has always been a good rapper, going all the way back to his Clipse days. Wrath of Caine, though, was really his first major solo release. After being such a great rapper beforehand, both as one-half of Clipse and in various guest spots, it was expected to be fantastic. Instead, it was just mediocre. 

Now, if this category was the worst mixtape, Pusha T wouldn't be even close. It was probably among the best of "the bad." However, it shouldn't have even been bad. He's better than this. But on Wrath of Caine, he didn't prove it.

Most Re-Dic-Yu-Lus:

Lil Poopy - Coke Ain't a Bad Word

Was there anyone else who even had a chance against Lil Poopy? He's like a mini French Montana who's not even that good at a normal size and after actual experience. That's perfect. The only thing cooler would be if 2 Chainz had a mini-me. Now that would be amazing.

Another thing to say for Poopy is that he got me hooked on these little kid rappers. They're hilarious! Screw Degrassi, little kid rappers are my new guilty pleasure.

Sorry, Drake

Most Based:

Lil B - Pink Flame

Ok, some one could have beaten Lil Poopy out for most re-dic-yu-lus. But that's not fair to Lil Poopy if I put him up against Based God. And I'm not about to pick on a little kid. (It's funny, because by judging an eight-year-old's rapping skills, I am kind of picking on him.)

This might have been the toughest category to judge over all. I mean, how does one even begin to judge a mixtape's basedness?

Well, for starters, it must be by Lil B. That narrowed it down to three.

After that, I was lost. What makes a Lil B mixtape so based? Is it his clever wordplay? His brilliant lyrics? His bumping beats?

After many days of intense thought, I realized that basedness is not a measurable quality. It's something that's just unexplainable, like the size of the universe or whether the chicken came before the egg.

So I left it up for the Based God to decide. I printed out a picture of each mixtape cover and threw them up in the air. And then, Pink Flame was struck by lightning, thus symbolizing that it was so based.

That and "Eat" is one of my favorite Lil B songs of all time. Thank you, Based God.

So Re-Dic-Yu-Lus

This is an emotional Stack That Cheese for me, I'm not going to lie. As regular readers know, here at Stack That Cheese we like to look at the absolute worst mixtapes of the week. We call these albums "re-dic-yu-lus." And for those of you who don't know why, it's because I love how Swizz Beats says "ridiculous" during the hook of "So Apalled" off Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. And today, two of those featured artists from that song are here on Stack That Cheese. (No, Jay-Z and Kanye did not decide to release competing mixtapes the same week.) I'll try not to cry, but no promises can be made.

The Good:

Cyhi The Prince - Ivy League: Kick Back

Cyhi might be one of the most underrated members of G.O.O.D. music. He consistently shows up on his guest verses, but doesn't get the love that others like Big Sean or even G.O.O.D. Music collaborator 2 Chainz get. But on Ivy League: Kick Back, Cyhi proves just how good and versatile he is.

On "Mary Jane," Cyhi shows his abilities as stoner rapper. Obviously, a song called "Mary Jane" is most likely about weed. On this track, Cyhi talks about his love for the drug and how "Mary Jane bought [him] everything." With a nice, laid-back beat and a feature from Smoke DZA, it's a great track to smoke to.

Rodgers & Hammerstein
were pretty hood, though.

And he proves he can take on more serious issues with "Favorite Things," which is a more hood version of the song "These are a Few of My Favorite Things" from Sound of Music. On the track, Cyhi talks about growing up without the finer things, saying, "None of us were accustomed to being rich / Unless you was a hustler, hustling flipping bricks." The heavier lyrics accompanied by a piano-based beat produced by The Audibles work together to make this one of the best songs on the mixtape.

Djonald Glover Unchained?

Cyhi even shows his comedic side on "Young, Rich, Fly & Famous." One of my favorite lines from this song has to be, "She said, 'What kind of jeans are those.' I told her, 'Bitch, guess' / She said, 'True Religion.' I said, 'No, bitch. Guess.'" I honestly don't know what makes this line so ridiculously hilarious. It's such a stupid line and if nearly any other rapper said it, it wouldn't be as funny. But Cyhi manages to pull it off. Childish Gambino also shows up for a great verse, including the line, "Chain on my neck, like, boy's so Django / The 'D' is silent. My d is violent." That's right! Troy from Community is rapping about Django Unchained. I can die happy now.

Kick Back is an incredibly solid effort from Cyhi. With this mixtape, the young G.O.O.D. Music star shows just how bright his future is.

The Bad:

Pusha T - Wrath of Caine

If you would have told me a month ago--hell, a week ago--that friend of ACRN Pusha T's latest mixtape would be subpar, I would have thought you were crazy. But here we are, with the G.O.O.D. Music veteran in "the bad." (Ironic, isn't it?)

Most likely, this mixtape is compiled of left-overs from his upcoming album My Name Is My Name that should be out in March. So, it is excusable that the songs would be less than quality. However, that doesn't change the fact that Pusha T failed to show up.

What is most confusing about this mixtape is that Pusha has three features from Maybach Music and none from his own label. "Millions" features Maybach Music's boss himself, Rick Ross. Pusha opens the song up by saying that when G.O.O.D. Music and Maybach get together, they "get that money." But if this song says anything about the relationship between the two labels, they probably don't get that much money together. There's really not much to say about "Millions." It's just adequate. And it drags on for way too long. I was ready for the song to be over after Ross' verse, but there were still two-and-a-half minutes left.

Production is another major issue with Wrath of Caine. "Doesn't Matter," produced by Renegades, just seems to be off on the timing. It's almost confusing how anyone thought this would be aesthetically pleasing. And "Trust You" is an example of a good song being ruined by a bad hook. The hook, sung by Kevin Gates, seems overly saturated. And this is a problem that seems to come up time and time again.

The best song is probably "Revolution," produced by The Neptunes. With some cymbals and horns, mixed with some good lines ("Took our coach down, Al Davis."), it's hard not to like. Sadly, it's also the second shortest song on the 11-track mixtape, coming in at 1:43.

Wrath of Caine is far from horrible. But Pusha T is capable of so much more. Hopefully, he's saved the best for My Name Is My Name. And I refuse to believe otherwise until he proves it himself.

The Re-dic-yu-lus:

TSC - Life Love & Music

With such a momentous reunion of the "So Appalled" crew, it's essential to honor them with a mixtape as re-dic-yu-lus as they come. And thanks to TSC, Cyhi and Pusha T can be honored properly.

I don't know much about TSC. Okay, I don't know anything about TSC. But what I do know, thanks to his description of his mixtape on datpiff, is that he still relies on AOL to receive his email. That's right. AOL. You remember that, right? It was the service you used to flirt with "sokkerstud94" while asking your friend "b@kstreetgurl" if she thought sokkerstud like-liked you. And that's what TSC still uses. Clearly, the dude's old-school.

But he's not old-school in the Joey Bada$$ "bring hip-hop back to Brooklyn" way. He's old-school in the "I still use horrible recording equipment" way.

As soon as Life Love & Music starts, you can just tell TSC doesn't know what the fuck he's doing. In the song "Pretty Girl," the volume levels are off, proved by the fact that the beat soars over him and the hook is so loud that you need to turn down the volume.

Skip 11 tracks down to the song "When Da Angels Come," and now the volume is so much quieter. Even the verses from "Pretty Girl" are louder. And by the end of the song, the volume is somehow even lower. Along with the volume issues, TSC's flow is just absolutely horrid. It's hard to tell exactly what his rhyme scheme is and when one line ends and the other begins.

Based on Life Love & Music, TSC should probably consider switching to Gmail, along with changing his recording equipment, tweaking his flow, or maybe even just quitting rap in general.

-- Xavier Veccia, dropping the mic for now.

@xprime_time