Originally posted by Maxy@Jun 5 2013, 08:20 PM
Skyzoo- A Dream Deferred

Dreams In a Basement- 4.5/5 Great start, solid rapping, solid beat, pretty big fan of the hook. Love Jill Scott, nice to see her on here

Jansport Strings- 3.5/5 Like the beat a lot, rapping was good, hook was repetitive and wasn't a fan of it

Pockets Full- 5/5 Freeway so dope. Rapping was good, hook was again repetitive and the weak point but Freeway makes up for it

Give It Up- 4/5 Favorite rapping so far but the hook was annoying and the change of beat between the two kinda ruined it for me

Glass Ceilings- 5/5 My favorite song so far best full song

Range Rover Rhythm- 5/5 Picking up pace now, loved this one, solid hook, solid rapping

The Knowing- 4/5 Love the hook, Jessy Wilson tears it up, rapping was alright on this one, not as good as the last 2 songs though.

Drew And Darwin- 5/5 My favorite hook so far, just very well done imo, rapping was good, beat was okay, I had 4.5 until I heard the Yeezy sound bit

Realization- 5/5 This album gets better as it goes. Love the hook on this, love the hook and rapping in this one

The Rage of Roemello- 5/5 God man this album is dope as fuck as it goes on. Another great song

How To Make It Through Hysteria- 5/5 Love it. Great rapping, great beat solid as fuck.

Steel Apartment- 4/5 Fumbles a little bit compared to the last 4 but still a great song

Spike Lee Was My Hero- 5/5 Talib, need I say more?

Cost Of Sleep- 4.5 Solid enough good rapping, the hook is what I'm docking for just not great.

Live For the Moment- 5/5 One of my favorites, love the hook and the rapping and beat. Great song


Total 4.63/5

Damn good, can't believe I haven't heard this till now. Love this as a whole. Great album. Highly recommend it

Yayyyy. :D

What are the top potential summer releases you guys are hyped for the most? For me, I gotta say:

1. Kanye West - Yeezus
2. Schoolboy Q - Oxymoron
3. Pusha T - My Name Is My Name
4. J. Cole - Born Sinner
5. Freddie Gibbs - ESGN

Kanye
J Cole
Freddie Gibbs for me

Not a fan of Pusha

Thank you to My boys @Merica and @Ragnar for the lovely sigs!

Im psyched for Yeezus tbh

Vladimir Vaskov | RW | Colorado Raptors
Name:  Vladimir Vaskov
Age: 19
Height: 6’ 2”
Weight: 198lbs
Number:  14
-----------------------------------------------------------
Stats: 

S#    Team   GP   G  A   P   +/-   PIM  HIT  MPG

S41 Raptors  17   0   0   0   -3     15    33  15.08

S42  Raptors  50 10  8  18  +4     35   63  12.83

-----------------------------------------------------------

Playoff Stats:

S#    Team   GP  G  A  P  +/-  PIM  HIT  MPG

S41  Raptors  7   1   2  3   +1     2   11  16.21

S42  Raptors  4   0   0  0   0       2     6   12.81

-----------------------------------------------------------
Transactions:
Defected from KHL
Signed with Colorado Raptors
Drafted by Hamilton Steelhawks 25th Overall
[pbl]-----------------------------------------------------------
Awards:

Any of you fuckboys like Jon Connor / anticipate his upcoming album?

Born Sinner - J.Cole: Album Review



1|Villuminati| 5
2|Kerney Sermon| N/A
3|Land of Snakes| 3
4|Power Trip ft. Miguel| 4.5
5|Mo Money (Interlude)| 4
6|Trouble| 4
7|Runaway| 4.25
8|She Knows ft. Amber Coffman| 4
9|Rich Niggaz| 3.75
10|Where's Jermaine| N/A
11|Forbidden Fruit ft. Kendrick Lamar| 4.75
12|Chaining Day| 4.5
13|Ain't That Some Shit| 5
14|Crooked Smile ft. TLC| 5
15|Let Nas Down| 5
16|Born Sinner ft. James Fauntelroy| 5
Total: 60.75/70 = 4.33/5

J. Cole is a Carolina rapper who is signed under Jay-Z's Roc-a-fella records. This is his second full length album, following his commercial success Cole World the Sideline Story. While that album was a hit, the actual songs felt average and almost sell outish in this critiques opinion. I will admit that I was overwhelmed by the hype and gave the album an amazing score based off first listen. Since then I have simmered down a bit on that album and now it sits on the average side of albums released in the last 5 years.

To make sure I didn't make the same mistake with this album, I decided to listen to this a half dozen times before sitting down with my final grade. With all those listens I can definitively say this: J Cole is back with a vengeance. This album blows his previous effort out of the water with his concise subject matter, strong word play and fantastic beats. The album starts out with Villuminati which has the J.Cole I expected on his debut album. This is 5 minutes of ferocious spitting on top of a very accessible beat. From there you get tracks like the lead single Power Trip, which is a much better lead single than work out was and Miguel has a voice that makes you forgive the Hogan leg drop he delivered to that chick. Mo Money is a good little freestyle with some sick lines with Cole showing that while he has money, he still isn't in that upper echelon and that he has work to do if he is to ever get to Jay status which Cole still scoffs at when comparing it to old money. Runaway tells a fantastic story and has Cole getting more emotional. A quick note here, J Cole having no body else rap with him, may have been the smartest move he could of made as he sounds more comfortable going at it alone.

There are some major flaws to this album though. Land of Snakes is horrible with an average beat and some meh lyrics. Rich Niggaz tells a pretty good story but it just feels kind of boring. The whole middle part of the album actually felt kind of dry and I actually tuned in and out every once in a while on the first two or three listens.

After this though, man oh man does Cole deliver. The last four songs make up the best ending sequence that I have heard in a long time. Aint that some shit is on some raw grimey Freddie Gibbs shit while Crooked Smile has the best female RnB group ever with TLC that also tells a fantastic story. Born Sinner has an infectious hook, some great horns and Cole showcasing his finest to close out the album.

In the middle of this section however is J Cole's best track ever in Let Nas Down. This song tells the story about how he met his idol Nas and said he was a fan of Cole's work. He then drops Work Out and he gets a phone call from his boy saying that Nas hates it and he sold out. Cole goes over this and comes to the realization that you don't have to fake it to make it and points to guys like Kendrick Lamar who made the album that he wanted to make and also insinuating that Cole himself did not make the album he entirely wanted to make and that label pressure shaped the way of the album.

Overall Cole delivered a borderline classic album with some minor bumps on the road. This is the Cole I got into and love and hopefully he will stay as this Cole.

Shit I'm waiting on this summer:









I'll give Pusha's upcoming joint a listen as well, Wraith of Cain/Fear of God tapes were good. I thought him and Malice were doing another album though...






and I'm hoping that the sequel to this classic album comes out this year. It was slated for June, but I think it's been pushed back:



^ IMO the track '3030' is the best hip hop beat of all time. Can't wait to hear what Event II has to offer.

Since I am still up, my most anticipated rap stuff for the rest of the year.

Saab Stories - Action Bronson
Summer Knights - Joey Bada$$
Yeezus - Kanye
ESGN - Freddie Gibbs
My Name is My Name - Pusha T
Age Against the Machine - Goodie Mob (simply because old Goodie Mob was good. Doubt the older aged version will be up to snuff)

Born Sinner - J.Cole: Album Review



1|Villuminati| 5
2|Kerney Sermon| N/A
3|Land of Snakes| 3
4|Power Trip ft. Miguel| 4.5
5|Mo Money (Interlude)| 4
6|Trouble| 4
7|Runaway| 4.25
8|She Knows ft. Amber Coffman| 4
9|Rich Niggaz| 3.75
10|Where's Jermaine| N/A
11|Forbidden Fruit ft. Kendrick Lamar| 4.75
12|Chaining Day| 4.5
13|Ain't That Some Shit| 5
14|Crooked Smile ft. TLC| 5
15|Let Nas Down| 5
16|Born Sinner ft. James Fauntelroy| 5
Total: 60.75/70 = 4.33/5

J. Cole is a Carolina rapper who is signed under Jay-Z's Roc-a-fella records. This is his second full length album, following his commercial success Cole World the Sideline Story. While that album was a hit, the actual songs felt average and almost sell outish in this critiques opinion. I will admit that I was overwhelmed by the hype and gave the album an amazing score based off first listen. Since then I have simmered down a bit on that album and now it sits on the average side of albums released in the last 5 years.

To make sure I didn't make the same mistake with this album, I decided to listen to this a half dozen times before sitting down with my final grade. With all those listens I can definitively say this: J Cole is back with a vengeance. This album blows his previous effort out of the water with his concise subject matter, strong word play and fantastic beats. The album starts out with Villuminati which has the J.Cole I expected on his debut album. This is 5 minutes of ferocious spitting on top of a very accessible beat. From there you get tracks like the lead single Power Trip, which is a much better lead single than work out was and Miguel has a voice that makes you forgive the Hogan leg drop he delivered to that chick. Mo Money is a good little freestyle with some sick lines with Cole showing that while he has money, he still isn't in that upper echelon and that he has work to do if he is to ever get to Jay status which Cole still scoffs at when comparing it to old money. Runaway tells a fantastic story and has Cole getting more emotional. A quick note here, J Cole having no body else rap with him, may have been the smartest move he could of made as he sounds more comfortable going at it alone.

There are some major flaws to this album though. Land of Snakes is horrible with an average beat and some meh lyrics. Rich Niggaz tells a pretty good story but it just feels kind of boring. The whole middle part of the album actually felt kind of dry and I actually tuned in and out every once in a while on the first two or three listens.

After this though, man oh man does Cole deliver. The last four songs make up the best ending sequence that I have heard in a long time. Aint that some shit is on some raw grimey Freddie Gibbs shit while Crooked Smile has the best female RnB group ever with TLC that also tells a fantastic story. Born Sinner has an infectious hook, some great horns and Cole showcasing his finest to close out the album.

In the middle of this section however is J Cole's best track ever in Let Nas Down. This song tells the story about how he met his idol Nas and said he was a fan of Cole's work. He then drops Work Out and he gets a phone call from his boy saying that Nas hates it and he sold out. Cole goes over this and comes to the realization that you don't have to fake it to make it and points to guys like Kendrick Lamar who made the album that he wanted to make and also insinuating that Cole himself did not make the album he entirely wanted to make and that label pressure shaped the way of the album.

Overall Cole delivered a borderline classic album with some minor bumps on the road. This is the Cole I got into and love and hopefully he will stay as this Cole.


Shameless Repost

Must. Stay. Strong. Must. Wait. Until. The. 18th.

Born Sinner

Villuminati: 4.5/5
Land of the Snakes: 4.5/5
Power Trip (ft. Miguel): 4.25/5
-As JT said, this is much better than "Work Out", the lead single from his debut, but still, I don't know...it's taken a while for me to take a liking to this track here. Finally fuck with it.
Mo Money (Interlude): 3.25/5
Trouble: 4.25/5
Runaway: 4.25/5
-Good verses, though the hook feels...awkward at best.
She Knows (ft. Amber Coffman): 3.25/5
-Pretty weak...
Rich Niggaz: 4/5
Forbidden Fruit (ft. Kendrick Lamar): 4.75/5
-Love this. Please God, grant us with a Cole/Kendrick collabo album.
Chaining Day: 3.5/5
-The end annoyed me a bit.
Ain't That Some Shit (Interlude): 5/5
Crooked Smile (ft. TLC): 4.25/5
Let Nas Down: 3/5
-Might be the gayest song title I have ever seen. Why doesn't he just suck Nas off at this point? Like Cole, but wtf man.
Born Sinner (ft. James Fauntleroy): 5/5
-Ok, this is the shit.

57.75/70 -> 4.13/5

Yea, I caved. Overall, this is a ton better than his debut, Cole World: The Sideline Story. which quickly got boring and average with each passing listen. However, this one feels like it will have much more replay value than its predecessor. Weakest track to me is "Let Nas Down" (I keep hearing the final three tracks are the best and I tell ya what, I'm not seeing that all), which is basically him getting his disappointment on about how Nas didn't like his song "Work Out". Might be a decent mixtape track or something, but on your album?! You put a song about how much you suck Nas' dick on your album?! Nawwwwww. Regardless, Cole's bars are largely on point and this album is fine in my books. Not the best release of the year by far, but still, Cole is headed back in the right track here.

Originally posted by Spangle@Jun 7 2013, 12:54 PM
Born Sinner

Villuminati: 4.5/5
Land of the Snakes: 4.5/5
Power Trip (ft. Miguel): 4.25/5
-As JT said, this is much better than "Work Out", the lead single from his debut, but still, I don't know...it's taken a while for me to take a liking to this track here. Finally fuck with it.
Trouble: 4.25/5
Runaway: 4.25/5
-Good verses, though the hook feels...awkward at best.
She Knows (ft. Amber Coffman): 3.25/5
-Pretty weak...
Rich Niggaz: 4/5
Forbidden Fruit (ft. Kendrick Lamar): 4.75/5
-Love this. Please God, grant us with a Cole/Kendrick collabo album.
Chaining Day: 3.5/5
-The end annoyed me a bit.
Crooked Smile (ft. TLC): 4.25/5
Let Nas Down: 3/5
-Might be the gayest song title I have ever seen. Why doesn't he just suck Nas off at this point? Like Cole, but wtf man.
Born Sinner (ft. James Fauntleroy): 5/5
-Ok, this is the shit.

49.5/60 -> 4.13/5

Yea, I caved. Overall, this is a ton better than his debut, Cole World: The Sideline Story. which quickly got boring and average with each passing listen. However, this one feels like it will have much more replay value than its predecessor. Weakest track to me is "Let Nas Down" (I keep hearing the final three tracks are the best and I tell ya what, I'm not seeing that all), which is basically him getting his disappointment on about how Nas didn't like his song "Work Out". Might be a decent mixtape track or something, but on your album?! You put a song about how much you suck Nas' dick on your album?! Nawwwwww. Regardless, Cole's bars are largely on point and this album is fine in my books. Not the best release of the year by far, but still, Cole is headed back in the right track here.

you didn't even review all the tracks

Originally posted by JayTee@Jun 7 2013, 05:16 PM



you didn't even review all the tracks

Yes I did...I didn't do the deluxe because I don't think that's leaked yet.

Added the interludes (since that's what you were talking about); overall rating managed to stay the same though somehow.

Mac's new album is available for pre-order atm. Watching Movies With The Sound Off's preview bonus track Goosebumps sounds pree dope.

Vladimir Vaskov | RW | Colorado Raptors
Name:  Vladimir Vaskov
Age: 19
Height: 6’ 2”
Weight: 198lbs
Number:  14
-----------------------------------------------------------
Stats: 

S#    Team   GP   G  A   P   +/-   PIM  HIT  MPG

S41 Raptors  17   0   0   0   -3     15    33  15.08

S42  Raptors  50 10  8  18  +4     35   63  12.83

-----------------------------------------------------------

Playoff Stats:

S#    Team   GP  G  A  P  +/-  PIM  HIT  MPG

S41  Raptors  7   1   2  3   +1     2   11  16.21

S42  Raptors  4   0   0  0   0       2     6   12.81

-----------------------------------------------------------
Transactions:
Defected from KHL
Signed with Colorado Raptors
Drafted by Hamilton Steelhawks 25th Overall
[pbl]-----------------------------------------------------------
Awards: