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.

Beastcoast

The Good:

CJ Fly - Thee Way Eye See It

I apologize for how much I've been raving about the new East Coast movement as of late. Thanks to recent mixtapes from Flatbush Zombies and MeLo-X, along with the constant prominence of Joey Bada$$ and A$AP Rocky, the reemergence of the East Coast movement has been one of the more intriguing themes of hip-hop to date.

So, it's only fitting that East Coaster CJ Fly's mixtape be covered.

The poster child of beastcoast
himself, Joey Bada$$

CJ Fly is a member of Pro Era, aka Joey Bada$$ & Co. If anyone's to be credited with bringing the beastcoast movement to the mainstream, it's these guys. Their blend of jazz and hip-hop plays like classic hip-hop despite being from a group of teenagers who weren't even coherent when this style ruled the scene.

It's honestly quite inspiring. These guys are proving the uneducated rapper stereotype wrong by being fluent in complex musical styles and history.

On Thee Way Eye See It, CJ Fly makes the case that Pro Era is more than just Joey Bada$$'s crew. And the message is heard loud and clear. (Not to mention, this is one of the coolest album covers I've ever seen.)

"Emcee" is a perfect example of just how mature he is for a youngin'. The beat features a jazz-like keyboard and a nice mixture of bass and hi-hats while his flow sounds almost Fugees-like. And the chorus sounds like a classic Biggie theme, as he raps, "They care about the fame, all I wanted was a name / Dreaming big ever since I was a shorty."

Thee Way Eye See It also brings in some big names to help CJ Fly become more than just a member of Pro Era. Ab-Soul is featured on the song "Sadderdaze," which has such amazing sound production that I almost took off my headphones because I thought the horns blaring were outside my window.

CJ Fly shows his mastery of the English language when he says, "My pros, they killing it, know that and peep the forensics / Probably I'd investigate us and my f-riends sick." And when the beat changes to some funky guitar and Ab-Soul spits out, "Heaven knows that we're living in hell / But I cherish every day that we live and inhale," you're reminded just why he's so coveted for these guest verses.

And of course, you can't have a Pro Era mixtape without Bada$$ himself. That track, entitled "Sup Preme," comes at the tail end of this mixtape, but it's worth the wait. Once again over a jazz-fueled beat, Joey Bada$$ brings a scary good verse that includes the beautifully poetic verse, "Reminisce 'til I receive / Electricity resonance / I know some evil residents under sediments / Root of all evil, dead presidents."

Rap gets a lot of criticism for being nowhere as good as its golden years, especially in the mainstream. But the reemergence of the East Coast movement makes the criticism seem unnecessary and give hope for the future of rap. CJ Fly proves on Thee Way Eye See It that he is part of that future.

The Bad:

Young A.C. - Barchetta 166

And just like that, I'm a little less hopeful for rap. Granted, I actually had to go through Datpiff for this because the HotNewHipHop mixtapes were all pretty good this week, but that doesn't mean I should be less wary of the future.

Young A.C. is a Florida rapper who, according to his Facebook, draws influences from Andre 3000, Lil Wayne and CeeLo. Based on the bad tag that comes with Barchetta 166, I'll leave it to you cheeseheads to decide which one of those three artists he actually took to heart.

Barchetta 166 is classic dirty Southern rap, and I don't mean that as a compliment.

"Don't Even" is a good example of where Young A.C. comes from. Honestly, he sounds like a lot of mainstream rappers, but, once again, that's not a compliment. The beat is centered on bumping basses that show exactly what he's trying to accomplish on this song: the ability to be a mainstay in a person's ride. And his lyrics are, well, let's just say he's lucky "nigga" rhymes with itself.

Bugatti: The coolest bed you'll ever
wake up in.

"No Way" has the biggest feature of the album (Ace Hood) and is a little more interesting than "Don't Even." The bass has partially been replaced by some kicks and claps, and the underlying beat has a bit of a Latin flare played on the keyboard. But A.C.'s struggle with his lyrics is made even more evident when Ace Hood of all people puts together a much better verse. I guess this is why Ace Hood wakes up in a Bugatti and A.C., well, doesn't.

A.C. can be a little fun, though. For whatever reason, I actually kind of like the song "Prove It." Its heavy Auto-Tune usage is a major turn-off, but it's got a bit of a Chingy-like feel to it. It reminds me of when I cared less about lyrics and complete originality (which is clearly not a good thing), but it still hit a soft spot inside me.

A.C. actually isn't bad for his style, but if you're a regular reader of mine, you know I am by no means a fan of this type of hip-hop. If he works on his rhymes, he could be an artist to watch.

The Re-dic-yu-lus:

Waka Flocka - From Roaches to Rolex

Waka!

This is honestly so exciting. I love Waka in the worst ways. He's right underneath Lil B in my list of favorite bad rappers. When I first heard he was working with Amanda Bynes, I just about reached nirvana. (Too bad she ended up in a mental hospital, because that would've been amazing.)

Even though the Amanda Bynes thing didn't work out as well as just about everyone hoped it would, Waka's new project is just as exciting as one could hope. There's love (if by "love" you mean "bitches"), action (if by "action" you mean "shit talking") and drama (if by "drama" you mean...wait, there's actually drama.)

Hey bitch. I love it when your
pussy tight.

First, the love. That comes on "Heavyweight," which has a hook of "All my bitches bad / All my hoes straight." What a romantic! The beat is basically the same as any other Waka beat. You know how it goes. And overdose of bass. Random screaming in the background. Random synths just to add texture. And the lyrics are mostly just Waka rhyming one-syllable words with each other when he wants, and babbling whenever he's not rhyming.

But the love, oh, the love is real. When he raps "Fuck that pussy right / Love it when that pussy tight," I just get goosebumps, butterflies and the sudden urge to get a pint of ice cream and watch The Notebook.

The action comes in "Running Them Lips," which is really just Waka repeating "bitches running their lips" for most of the song. I guess if you're into hearing only four words for most of a song, this would be a pretty exciting find. But that just doesn't interest me much.

Why must good things come to an end?

And the drama, that actually comes from by far the most important track on the mixtape, "Ice Cream Cone," which is a diss track directed towards Gucci Mane. For those who don't know, the Waka-Gucci beef has been one of the biggest feuds in recent years. Gucci and Waka used to be frequent collaborators, but have fallen out since then and their beef is often in the public eye (usually on Twitter).

"Ice Cream Cone" is Waka's first Gucci diss track, despite the latter taking plenty of shots at the former over the years. Waka makes up for lost time, saying, "When I met Gucci, I thought I met a real nigga / Until he crossed the line, then he became a fuck nigga" and "Used to be my nigga, now you're jealous. Where the love at? / No loyalty, you put money over all that," plus so much more.

It's definitely entertaining to see these two subpar rappers take shots at each other, but it's worth noting that this feud is one of the more interesting in recent memory, and for that, we thank you.

I don't really have to sum up Waka's horribleness. So, I won't. Just know that's he's really bad, but he's also really entertaining.

-X-Prime, dropping the mic for now

@XavierVeccia

Daddy's Boys, Wakas and Based Gods! Oh my!

Earlier this week, it was announced that Kendrick Lamar will be headlining 11Fest. I'd be lying if I said the excitement from that news didn't cause me to spontaneously break out in dance. Multiple times. That excitement has carried into today and has put me in a good mood. And I'm passing that onto you, Cheeseheads, by giving you two re-dic-yu-lus mixtapes. You're welcome.

The Good:

Rich Hil - SYLDD (Support Your Local Drug Dealer)

Look at the man in that picture. Enlarge it if you must. Look at all those tattoos. They're everywhere! Even on the middle fingers he's using to cover his eyes. And the title of his album is Support Your Local Drug Dealer. This Hil guy is clearly a bad-ass.

Oh wait. What's that you say? Hil is actually short for something? It's short for what? Hilfiger? Like Tommy Hilfiger? As in, the company that made those salmon-colored shorts I own? That Tommy Hilfiger? He's Tommy Hilfiger's son? Are you serious? Well shit.

The Rich Hil of men's fashion

That's right, that faded-as-fuck individual in that album cover is the son of multi-millionaire fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger. Rich Hil is that classic kid who gets sick and tired of his rich daddy so he starts to rebel because if he falls, his rich daddy will be able to pick him back up. So he got loads of tattoos and started doing loads of drugs. This led him to music and music led him to Warner Brothers. SYLDD was slated to be his debut, but all that label crap that always gets in the way of artists got in his way and he decided to bypass it by being the rich rebel he is and releasing it online for free.

Hil's backstory isn't the typical backstory of a person in the hip-hop scene. This dude belongs in hip-hop as much as salmon-colored pants belong on a dude. But he's making hip-hop music and I'm wearing salmon shorts (I really like those shorts, guys).

Hil is the embodiment of the hip-hop hippie movement (I don't get it, but it's happening). He does copious amounts of drugs, his music is basically R&B but more ambient and more centered around guitars, and he's got an I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude. And his music does a good job of showing it.

The opening song, "Slickville" is the best example of the hippie image Hil has. The beat is a mixture of an acoustic guitar, drums and some ambient synths. Hil sings the first two-thirds of his song in his raspy voice that sounds as if it's been drenched in syrup. He then starts rapping, which isn't really his strong suit, but it's not bad and he mostly sticks to singing throughout the album.

He also has great features from The Weeknd, Leona Lewis and Fat Trel. "Nomads" with The Weeknd is probably one of the best songs, as The Weeknd's silky voice blends perfectly with Hil's song.

Hil's best song has to be "Xanax Bars." Imagine if one of the kids Frank Ocean sang about in "Super Rich Kids" made a song and that's what "Xanax Bars" basically is. When Hil says, "And the people in the street be staring when I walk / Go ahead Mr. Business man you can't dress like me" over the piano and electric guitar beat, it just seems as if Hil is being really self-reflective in a pretty beautiful way.

Even though having a rich daddy and coming from the lap of luxury doesn't seem like good fodder for a mixtape, Hil makes it just that. SYLDD is more than just hippie hip-hop as Hil takes a self-reflective turn. And it turns out well.

The Re-dic-yu-lus 1:

Waka Flocka - DuFlocka Rant 2

When you think "re-dic-yu-lus," if anyone else pops into your mind before Waka, you're doing it wrong. Waka is the physical manifestation of "re-dic-yu-lus." Honestly, I'm surprised it took ten posts until Waka ended up here. It's about damn time he did.

Waka's been going for a while and, according to his intro on DuFlocka Rant 2, after three years of rapping, he thinks he "made it." I guess he's not wrong. "No Hands" (the only Waka song I like) got some pretty legitimate hype and everyone knows who he is. So what if it's because he's so bad? Better than nothing, I guess.

But unless he's got Wale and Roscoe Dash coming on a song to provide some pretty decent verses, he's still just creating some horrendous hood-rat music.

Let's start with the first official song on DuFlocka Rant 2, "Stay Hood." Waka starts it off by making sure we know that he's "going to stay hood until the day that [he] die[s]." He then starts going off and rapping in his patented mumbling style. And then Lil Wayne comes on for the latter half of the song. Here's a good way to know that a rapper isn't good: Lil Wayne outperforms him. And that's with a Weezy verse that features the line "I'ma walk around wearing Jesus' crown."

"Parking in a no-parking zone?
That's a no-no."

"Shit Where You Sleep" is so bad it's laughable. It starts off with the line "He sellin' dope out his grandma's house / That's a no-no." If I ever win the lottery, the first thing I'm going to do is hire Waka Flocka to follow me and every time myself or someone around me does something dumb, he would say, "That's a no-no," because that's hilarious. He then goes on to say, "Stupid nigga, you don't shit where you sleep at," and "click-clack bwoh." Quick question: what does "bwoh" mean? To be fair, Ace Hood does a decent job on this song, but not well enough to make me forget about Waka.

The best thing about Waka Flocka is every time I listen to him, I have something new to say. From "Drunk 2 Much," off the original DuFlocka Rant, I got "uuuhhhhhh." From DuFlocka Rant 2, I get to take away "that's a no-no" and "bwoh." I'll take it.

The Re-dic-yu-lus 2:

Lil B - Pink Flame

We got our first ever two-time Stack That Cheeser! (Curren$y almost made it this week, too.) And I couldn't be happier that it's Lil B.

If you remember back at All Based Day I prayed to the almighty Based God. I think it's only right if we send up another prayer to Lil B. I hope you join me.

Dear Based God,

It's been awhile since we last talked.

We miss you down here on Earth.

I wish you would join us, but you are not mortal.

You are the most supreme being.

You are the reason I wake up in the morning

And the reason I go to bed at night.

You are the wind beneath my swag

The peanut butter to my swag jelly

If you're a bird

Then I'm a bird

Just a bird with less swag and bitches.

I don't ask much of you Based God

So please just grant me this one thing.

Fuck my bitch.

Amen.

Now that we've got that over with, let's get down to the nitty-gritty. And this nitty-gritty isn't very pretty. (Fun fact: that's a more complex rhyme than anything on Pink Flame.) Pink Flame got a fair amount of hype from the track "I'm the Bada$$," which was a diss track on Joey Bada$$. Joey Bada$$ is probably one of the best rappers going on right now. Despite being young, he seems to have a better handle on rapping than a lot of the people who have been doing it longer than he has. Needless to say, Bada$$ is way out of Lil B's league. But that didn't stop the Based God from going after him.

The song really isn't much of a diss track, as Lil B doesn't land any hard blows. The best line he has is probably, "Niggas say you doing bad but you can't get a job." "Bad" of course refers to Joey Bada$$ and by saying he can't get a job, he's comparing himself to Bada$$. This a shout out to the line from the late Capital Steez of Bada$$'s Pro Era in Bada$$'s song "Survival Tactics" in which Steez says, "tell the Based God don't quit his day job" which started the beef in the first place. Other than that, Lil B's pretty soft. Bada$$ of course responded much hotter on "Don't Quit Your Day Job" later on. And that's why Pink Flame was so hyped.

But that doesn't make Pink Flame any different from any other Lil B mixtape. It's still just as hysterically bad as any other of his mixtapes. "Eat" is the funniest/worst track on Pink Flame.

It starts off with an 8-bit snippet of "Pop Goes the Weasel" and then the bass drops. Then the hook starts, where Lil B explains through song how one needs to let him know that one's bitch is good before he fucks her. (I knew I forgot something.) And that's just the beginning. There's two verses of Lil B brilliance on this one. There's "25 bitches wanted me to fuck 'em / I can't do that 'cause I'm conceited." Or how about "You fucked the Based God, bitches love the Based God / 56 bitches and I look like Based God." There's also "You went to sleep at 5, I went to sleep at 6 / My bitch is my alarm clock 'cause she wakes me up." You know what, the last one is my favorite. He goes to bed an hour later and he explains the concept of an alarm clock! Thank you, Based God.

My alarm clock isn't a bitch

And there's many more gems like that on Pink Flame. From "1000 Bitches" to "Love N Hate," there are so many beautiful pieces that I'm even willing to look past the fact that he attempted dissing Joey Bada$$. I'm sorry for ever doubting you, Based God. Please forgive me.

-- Xavier Veccia, dropping the mic for now.

@xprime_time