#FreeGS9

Imma cop a #FreeShmurda shirt tbh

Originally posted by 701@Dec 19 2014, 08:28 PM
It's really sad that you two are "laughing" at these guys charges. They are locked up for life, likely, now grow up.

These dudes killed people, sold drugs, and had illegal weapons. Sorry if I don't shed any tears for them.

Originally posted by JayTee@Dec 19 2014, 04:40 PM

Also lol at Under Pressure being best rap album of the year

no... just no...

is 701 serious? hopefully not.

Originally posted by MÉTIS@Dec 20 2014, 02:33 AM

no... just no...

Sorry, but nobody's really looking to you for this one.

Originally posted by Spangle@Dec 20 2014, 02:41 AM


Sorry, but nobody's really looking to you for this one.

Lmaoooo dead

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Royce da 5'9" & DJ Premier - PRhyme</div>

PRhyme: 4/5
-DJ Premier is probably the best producer around, so I will just say this now and stop myself from sounding like a broken record throughout; all of the beats are dope as fuck. Premo is a legend. On this particular track, Royce rides the beat very well and delivers all of his bars perfectly. I always love his flow and delivery and he does a great job here as usual. His lyrics also work well. They are not amazing, but certainly get the job done and ultimately work well with his flow and delivery. In particular, I really dug the lines, "I lost a whole bunch of money chasing bitches / But I never lost no bitches chasing money, how real is that? / Only time a woman made a man a millionaire / Was when that man was a former billionaire, how trill is that?" Not a completely unique idea, but I enjoyed the twist he added on the idea that women are, well, expensive. Overall, very dope beginning that does a great job of setting the mood for the rest of the album.

Dat Sound Good (ft. Ab-Soul & Mac Miller): 5/5
-"I got deceased contacts in my phone I never delete / I keep my cellular plugged into Heaven / Somebody nudge the reverend / Tell him I'm selling a white girl like I'm Starbucks, Uggs and leggings"...dayum son. My boy Royce went in on his first voice. Great flow/delivery, very good lyrics, and really all-around a great start to this. Ab-Soul comes in and does well on this beat as well and he keeps the bar set high for Mac Miller with lines like, "All the smoke that I inhale, I'm 'posed to be high as Hell / But that's a twisted figure of speech, Hell is below you / I'm guaranteed Heaven before I'm beneath the soil" and "Whoever gets a whiff of the base is loaded like the World Series / Steve Jobs died, now the world Siris". Very, very dope stuff from Soulo. Mac's flow and delivery are also strong, his verse does not necessarily have the standout lines that Royce and Ab-Soul had, so for that reason, his would have to be the worst here, but that is not to say it was bad, because it was a dope verse that flowed very well together. As a whole, extremely dope track that stands tall here.

U Looz: 3.75/5
-Oh God the scratches here. I know I said I didn't want to sound like a broken record, but oh man, oh man, the scratches. Not an overly complex track that, in spite of the scratches, is just too short to truly be captivating and really have a lasting impact. However, Royce has a solid verse, but it doesn't really prevent this one from sounding more like a brief interlude in the album as it kind of slows momentum a bit. Again, not a bad track, just not necessarily one that really, well, needed to be here.

You Should Know (ft. Dwele): 4.75/5
-"Allow me to put some sense on you coons / Too much success, um, here comes your doom / They told you niggas the sky's the limit / Then they turn around and tell you that there's footprints on the moon", insert Obama headwipe image here. Woo, that's a hot first four bars and really is a microcosm of just how much Royce tears this beat apart. The start to verse three, "I don't know why y'all so highly regarded / You rhyme like you're borderline mildly retarded" also stood out to me, as it gave me a nice chuckle. Great flow, delivery, and lyrics, all combine to help son just murder this thing. His verses are extremely easy to vibe to here because his flow is just silky smooth. Man is Royce and DJ Premier a great combination.

Courtesy: 4.5/5
-"Daddy taught me if the ass is so fat it's a fact / That if you with your ho, don't matter it's still appropriate to scope at it", try at your own risk. Also really loved the nod to Clipse, "All kind of clips with mo' malice than Pusha". As a continued theme with this one, Royce kills it. However, on top of the great bars throughout this one, I really dug the hook samples here. They work perfectly and while DJ Premier always kills it with his samples, I just felt the need to point that out on this track. Really fucked this one overall and while I would not call it the best track here, it certainly keeps that bar set very, very high.

Wishin (ft. Common): 4.5/5
-"Motherfuckers can't rhyme no more about rhyme no more / Cause I'm so raw" and "Kick in the door waving the .44" when Royce nods to Jay and Biggie and the beat picks up...I'd be lying if I said I didn't get at least a semi. Common's verse is dope, highlighted by the line, "Straight out of Chitown where they get that lean off / Fiends cough for serum, hitters rally rally like it's Durham". His flow and delivery work very well here as he really does his thing. Strong writing as usual when it comes to his verse too. As a whole, both rappers do their thing here and I love Royce's continued nods to hip hop legends. The beats here (yes, beats) are great as expected. Both guys do very well here over it and man oh man is this album good.

To Me, To You (ft. Jay Electronica): 4.5/5
-Before I get into the verses, the hook here is great. I love the singing on it and it blends perfectly with the song. The first real time we have a sung hook here and it works perfectly. Shocker. As for the verses, Royce goes in as expected, in particular the bars: "Long as these niggas call me GOAT / If I don't get through to you the call failed / Cause I was probably on that Wolf of Wall Street boat, I'm a hard sell / Maybe too lyrical for 'em" and "You ain't turnin' up, you're bein' backhanded like Pete Sampras", really stand out. His flow and delivery are perfect on them, as they are throughout the verses and his lyrics really work well and, ultimately, sound good. Jay Electronica is one of the better pure rappers out now and he shows that here. If only he could actually drop an album. The line, "I came from the bottoms of Hell with Jezebels / Sniffin' blow with her friends in the dens of iniquity" really stood out to me. I loved his delivery of it and it really popped and poked its head out from the rest of the verse.

Underground Kings (ft. Schoolboy Q & Killer Mike): 4.75/5
-This track goes 0 to 100 ***** real quick here, as Royce is going at a 100 miles an hour and keeps hitting you over the head with top-notch bars at a fast and furious pace. Hell, even Q turns up the speed here. For a dude who is not really known for going fast, he has no problems here. In fact, he had one of the bar that really stood out to me on this one with, "From Heaven to tHe lowest of devils / Spit every bar for tHe rebels". Now when it comes to Killer Mike, it goes without saying that he killed it (literally and figuratively) as his verse is incredibly dark, in particular the bars, "We killed the hubby and kiddies, murdered the dog and the misses / And made the maid do the dishes, now she sleep with the fishes / Now that sucka rapper's dead, I assume my position / In the place, a king, on the throne is where I'm sittin' / Yeah, the Iron Throne is mailed with the metal microphone". The hook, complete with scratches, works very well and really keeps the pace lightning quick and does its job as a short transition between verses. Here, I'd say Killer Mike did the best, followed by Royce and then Q, but I loved all three verses here, as all three MC's flexed their abilities lyrically and in terms of flow as they were all able to turn the speed up and really keep you vibing all the same.

Microphone Preem (ft. Slaughterhouse): 4.5/5
-Crooked I did well on the first verse of the track, but I didn't really love the bar, "If you are what you eat, how come I'm not pussy?". The line is just so oversaid and tired that at this point, I'm just not overly into it. However, the rest of the verse is dope. Royce, on the second verse, continues his strong performance. However, I have talked about him enough. Joell Ortiz does well, in particular the bars, "We started out as just a feature on a Joe joint / Fuck around now, you on the bleachers soon as Joe point / Brothers for real, I can honestly say / If you come at me, they'll be 3 dots on you while I'm still typin'". Joe Budden does well as expected on the closing verse. In particular, I really dug the lines, "A hundred guns, jeans big enough to tuck 'em all / Banana clips, fully automatic, you can't duck 'em all / Cause when it's gats involved, bodies'll fall / From the sky, could really be rainin' cats and dogs". So, to sum it all up, these guys all did well here. I'd say Crooked was the weakest, but as with Mac and Q on the track where they were the weakest, his verse was still dope. Royce kind of takes a backseat here, as well, though his verse still works very well. Joell Ortiz and Joe Budden really steal the show for me on this track as this beat works perfectly for them and they really killed it and knocked it out of the park. Good flow, delivery, and lyrics, throughout this track.

40.25/45 -> 4.47/5

As a whole, PRhyme may honestly be my favorite album from this year. At the very least, it certainly is a worthy counterpart to Run the Jewels 2 from RTJ and Pinata from Freddie Gibbs. DJ Premier is one of the best producers around and shows it here as every beat is just perfection. Complete with his trademark sound and trademark scratches, the production on the album is pure heaven for any fans of true hip hop. Royce is the perfect MC for this one as he really takes the opportunity to go over Premo's beats and runs with it. All of the guests here, namely Ab-Soul, Common, Joell Ortiz, and Joe Budden, have great verses and really hit a home run. For me, this is the closest any album has been to being a perfect 10 all year, but due to one track, "U Looz", that does not really do much, it is held back slightly. However, tracks such as "Dat Sound Good" and "Underground Kings" are truly amazing and really help bolster this album into being one of the best of 2014. On a final note, I really dug the length. It left me wanting more and yet still completely satisfied.

I'm listening to this right now.

Nickel Nina!

Don't know how I didn't hear about this. Listening to it now. Royce is still my favorite rapper. The guy's flow is just sick.

This was really good. Will it enter my top 10 albums of the year? No. Is it close to RTJ2? No.

But the beats and the switches are great and fluid. Royce kills a lot of the songs. I wasn't as hot on Common and Jay Elec like Spangs was.

Killer Mike was easily the best feature on this.

Damn I'm gonna have to give that premier / royce album a listen...

Everyone go listen to D'angelos new album if you have not.

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Nicki Minaj - The Pinkprint</div>

All Things Go: 4.25/5
-This track has many things going for it. Firstly, the soft, soothing beat is perfect for the subject matter. The emotion put into this song is also something I never really expect from Nicki and it is truly great to see her put so much raw emotion into her verses. The other major positive here would have to be the hook. I love it. It's the perfect the hook for this track with its gentle singing portion and then it speeds up just a touch and Nicki does a great job communicating the emotion she feels there and delivers the hook perfectly. As for the verses, they are lacking. There is a lot of depth here and I don't mind the lyrics, of course, but I am just not fucking with her flow and delivery on this track. However, I cannot hate on this one too much, because it is undoubtedly a beautiful and touching track that serves a good intro to this track as Nicki takes a page out of Drake's book and has one of the softer tracks as the intro. I see you, Nicki.

I Lied: 4.5/5
-Nicki flexing her singing game on this record to very good results. Honestly, I am not hating it. Strong vocals on her part and strong writing set to a solid production help to elevate this track into being another solid entry here. When she starts rapping and the beat picks up, it is impossible not to tap your feet along with it as the beat is entirely infectious and her flow over it is picture perfect. I also just realized this track was produced by Mike Will Made it. Woah. Never would have guessed. Another incredibly emotional track, I Lied is a beautiful track where Nicki continues on her emotional break upy song trip and to positive effects. Honestly, the improved rapping on this track moves it a bit above All Things Go for me.

The Crying Game: 4.5/5
-"Are you alone? Do you need someone? / Is it too late to talk? Did I wait too long? / Thousand words don't change a thing / Is it only three? Three words that you're missing?", Nicki sings this bridge perfectly and it truly breaks your heart hearing it. Her rapping on this track is also on point as her flow and delivery have just enough emotion and style to be effective. In addition, Jessie Ware murders her part her on the chorus and the pre-chorus. Man this album's beginning is rivaling Drake on Take Care, honestly. Taking another page out of Drake's playbook, I see you Nicki. As with the last two tracks, I am really loving the emotion put into this one, Nicki's signing is on point, and the production is very strong and complementary to Nicki and, on this one, to Jessie Ware. All in all, a very unexpectedly great start to Nicki's third album.

Get on Your Knees (ft. Ariana Grande): 3.75/5
-"Got a bow on my panties because my ass is a present". Oh dammit. I thought we were getting somewhere with this album. Let me focus on the positives here. Ariana Grande's voice is that of an angel and she could sing a phonebook and I'd love it. The production is also very good on this track, as are Nicki's flow and delivery. Overall, all of those elements are very much on point. I just am not really digging her lyrical content here. However, I can look past it because of the great Ariana stuff here, so thanks Nicki.

Feeling Myself (ft. Beyonce): 3.25/5
-Never been a huge fan of Beyonce (*hides*) and that continues here. Her parts are very short and unflattering to her vocals. While I may not love her, her vocal skills are undeniable and they're really caged here and not allowed to show, which is a bummer. In fact, they almost serve to interrupt the flow of the track. As for Nicki, she's got good flow and delivery on here on solid production, but I am not really digging the lyrics again. For example, "Feelin' myself, back off, cause I'm feelin' myself, jack off / He be thinking about me when he whacks off, whacks on? Wax off" and "He said 'Damn Nicki it's tight,' I say 'Yeah ***** you right' / He say 'Damn, bae, you so little, but you be really takin' that pipe'". Like, this is J. Cole level corn and cringe here, Nicki. Let's cut this shit out. However, I will recognize that I love the lines, "Trippin' on that work, trippin' off that purp / Flippin' up my skirt and I be whippin' all that work / Takin' trips with all them ki's, car keys got B's / Stingin' with the Queen Bey and we be whippin' all that D". Her flow/delivery on it is perfect and it really just drips with swagger. However, this one is just too disjointed and filled with poor lyrics to truly be successful, though it is not a complete failure to some positive elements.

Only (ft. Drake, Lil Wayne & Chris Brown): 2.75/5
-I can feel a guilty pleasure coming on. The moment this dropped, I knew it sucked, but I did continue to listen to it. Why? It's catchy as shit. For example, the line, "Had to show bitches where the top is, ring finger where the rock is" has been stuck in my head for a good month now. I'm just walking to class and it'll come up in my mind. Like, damn why did this shit have to happen. As for Drake, his verse sets men back at least three decades. Thanks Drake. His delivery of the line, "She was sitting down on that big butt / But I was still staring at the titties though" never fails to make me laugh, but damn is it cringe worthy. As are the following bars: "I never fucked Nicki, cause she got a man / But when that's over, then I'm first in line", "I mean, she say I’m obsessed with thick women and I agree / Yeah, that’s right, I like my girls BBW, yeah" and "And Nicki if you ever tryna fuck, just give me the heads-up / So I can plan for it". The male race may truly never recover from this one. As for Lil Wayne, he's on his old Lil Wayne terrible bar swag. Once he drops the lines, "I never fucked Nic and that's fucked up / If I did fuck, she'd be fucked up / Whoever is hittin' ain't hittin' it right / Cause she actin' like she need dick in her life", I knew we were in for some mediocre Wayne and I was certainly not wrong, though it is far better than Drake's, so I will give him that. The beat is pretty standard, but it certainly bumps. Chris Brown's hook is beyond stupid. I like his vocals, but all of the verses are chill and laid back and he just comes in yelling and fucking up the flow. Like, who told him to deliver the hook that way?

Want Some More: 3.5/5
-A victory lap of a track, Nicki thumps her chest in the direction of up and coming female rappers like Iggy Azalea. Maybe this is a good time for me to ask why all these female rappers have to be all catty to each other and constantly battle for the crown as the Queen of Rap. I get it that the guys do this too, but man, these women seem to want to try and be the only female rapper, which is odd to me. However, focusing on this track, I am not really fucking with the hook at all. Her verse really bumps though and I am fucking with her flow and delivery on what is a solid, worthwhile beat. No bars truly stand out to me, as it is all largely braggadocio, so you can pretty much imagine what the bars all really are on this one, but I'm not mad at this track. Not a great entry, but a step up.

Four Door Aventador: 3/5
-Not loving the beat here. It's a slowed down and sounds like it was pitched down (not really sure) and I'm not really digging the hook here either. All of it's too slowed down for me and just doesn't sound great. As for Nicki, he delivery is fine and her flow is good. Hell, her lyrics are not even bad on this one. In particular, I really dug the first lines from her on this one where she says, "Hit me on the celly, watching Belly / God's son, I can see they study Makaveli". However, nothing here really screams greatness and this one winds up being nothing but a track. Filler?

Favorite (ft. Jeremih): 3.25/5
-A song about Nicki trying to get this guy's heart and become, well, his main bitch. Her flow and delivery on here are solid and I really like her lyrics. None of them are amazing on their own, but in the context of the song, they all really work well and flow well together. The beat is pretty non-existent. It took me writing this to really think about the beat, which is never a positive for me. This one redefines background noise. Jeremih does well on the hook, but I just don't think it flows well with the verses and they don't really blend well together overall. Again, not a bad song, but not a particularly strong one either.

Buy a Heart (ft. Meek Mill): 4/5
-It's weird to think this was intended for Meek's album. Makes you wonder how that album will sound, since this doesn't really sound like Meek's type of shit and seems to be a better fit for a Nicki album, which it rightfully is on. Meek's flow and delivery is good on his verse, but he really does his best work here on the hook. With his voice altered for the hook, his rap singing of "anybody, anybody wanna buy a heart" is truly the lasting element of this track. Though, Nicki's verse is certainly not bad either. I really dug the singing on the portion of her verse where she says, "I could tell you was analyzing me, I could tell you was criticizing me / I could tell you was fantasizing that you would come slide in me and confide in me". Really, her verse was a series of seamless transitions between singing and rapping that really all flowed well. And in stark contrast to the last track, the hook really does blend well with the verses and serves a very good and beneficial purpose to this track. A return to the strong beginning.

Trini Dem Girls (ft. Lunchmoney Lewis): 2/5
-On every listen, this one one stood out to me for all of the wrong reasons. Very fast paced beat here that does suit Nicki well and she flows on it fine. In addition, her pre-hook is stellar and really makes me want to love this track. However, the hook is an abomination to music everywhere and should have been burned. How Lunchmoney Lewis can look himself in the mirror after dropping that hook is beyond me. Really, the only reason this one isn't a track I completely hate is because of the pre-hook that Nicki sings. However, it is sadly not all three minutes of this track, so because there is other extremely sub-par to horrible material here, I cannot like this track, which is a shame.

Anaconda: 1/5
-Probably the most attention grabbing track of the year, any straight male who listens to this track with just the audio and no video needs to reevaluate himself. This track is so unspeakably bad that the only redeeming quality is the ass in the video. Her flow and delivery are fine, but what the fuck. I guess she got her hit single here, but boy oh boy did she pimp herself out on this one.

The Night Is Still Young: 3.75/5
-This beat is undoubtedly infectious and this beat was built for the clubs. If this one does not blow up and become a white girl anthem, then I don't know music and I don't know white girls (I don't know women, but white girls are pretty easy to figure out). Her vocals on the hook are solid. In addition, her verses are surprisingly good. I like her flow and delivery on them and they really make for the perfect clubby/party track. In particular, I really dug the close to verse two with the lines, "So drop the pop and get low / Or we can drop the top and just cruise / We fresh to death, down to the shoes / My only motto in life is don't lose". Nothing ground breaking, but it simply just sounds good. As a whole, this track is far from amazing, but is catchy and entirely infectious, which should make it a good single (seriously Young Money, how was this not released as a single yet?) and makes it a solid entry on this album.

Pills n Potions: 4.5/5
-Ever since I first heard this track, I honestly loved it. Nicki's vocals are great on this track and the beat works perfectly for her. In addition, her rapping is on point. Good flow and delivery, as well as solid lyrics. In particular, I really dig the lines, "Niggas want respect, but niggas ain't earned that yet / Self-righteous and entitled but they swearin' on the Bible, that / They love you, when really they no different from all your rivals / But I still don’t wish death on ‘em, I just reflect on 'em". The writing on the pre-hook is also particularly strong, "Pills n' potions / We're overdosin' / I'm angry but I still love you / Pills n potions / We’re overdosin' / Can't stand it but I still love you". Another very emotional track, Nicki shows that she is truly at her best with tracks of this style. Tons of emotion, very ballady, solid production, and a nice blend of singing and rapping.

Bed of Lies (ft. Skylar Grey): 4.25/5
-I'm a big fan of Skylar Grey on hooks and this track is no exception. Her vocals are very strong and I love her voice on this production and with these lyrics. Overall, very complementary of her skills and she's really the perfect vocalist for this hook. The writing of the hook is also very good. Yet another personal track for Nicki, this one shows her rapping skills on these personal tracks to great effect. Solid flow and delivery that does not fuck with the mood set by the hook at all. Lines such as, "I was killin' it, now you got me poppin' pills in it", "Overdosin', no more coastin', no more toastin' over oceans", and "I just figured if you saw me, if you looked in my eyes / You'd remember our connection and be freed from the lies / I just figured I was something that you couldn't replace / But there was just a blank stare and I couldn't relate" are particularly effecting, though really the whole second verse really hits you and touches your heart. As a whole, this is yet another very strong track from Nicki on an album that surprisingly has some very good highs, such as this track.

Grand Piano: 5/5
-I am a sucker for good piano on a track and dayum is this piano good. Sets the mood perfectly for what may be one of the most emotional tracks on an album full of emotion. I was about to start quoting my favorite lines from this track, but then I realized I was about to quote everything, so I won't, but really, the writing here is great. Extremely heartfelt lyrics and extremely beautiful to listen to, especially with the piano (in addition to the violin) in the background. Never the track I would expect from Nicki and yet, here it is. A truly heartbreaking and moving track, it is impossible to not give this one a perfect rating. It may not be one of the years strongest tracks, but there is no way this one does not make a permanent home for itself in my Spotify play queue. Easily the best song I have ever heard from Nicki.

57.5/80 -> 3.59/5

Undoubtedly Nicki Minaj's best album to date, this album is a classic example of an album with highs and lows, as without horrible tracks like "Trini Dem Girls" and "Anaconda", as well as suspect tracks such as "Only" and "Four Door Aventador", this one could be truly something to behold, which was not at all what I expected. As her last album may have been one of my least favorite releases of 2012, I obviously had extremely low expectations for this one, but Nicki showed her skills her on many occasions, in large part thanks to her being willing to get emotional. Tracks such as "All Things Go", "I Lied", "The Crying Game", "Pills n Potions", and "Bed of Lies", are all very good songs that honestly helped to reshape my opinion of Nicki and elevated this album above her more stereotypical and sexed up tracks. In addition, the song "Grand Piano" just really, really touched my heart and is far and away the best track on this album and one that will be on replay for me for a while. Without some of the bottom feeding tracks aimed at the lowest common denominator, this album could have been something to truly behold, but sadly, it is not. I hope that for her next album, she sticks with the emotional side of things where she can truly flex her vocal skills, her rapping skills, and strike a chord rather than just try to sell her body to thirsty dudes.