Throwback Pick Tweet Southern Hummingbird

Out of all Missy’s protégé’s hands down Tweet was the best one of them all. Her debut cd Southern Hummingbird is still one of the best of cd’s to date in the Neo-Soul era.  Where do I begin on this cd first it is a soulful ride from beginning to end that you won’t forget. Let me get to the weak songs to avoid by all means skip Boogie 2nite & Make Ur Move. These two tracks kinda weigh down what is otherwise a well rounded cd. Now I will admit I am 50/50 on the lead single Oops (Oh My) feat Missy it’s an every now and then type song I think. Everything else on the cd is heat straight heat you don’t skip any song you let it roll.  Shockingly hot song is Smoking Cigarettes title doesn’t let you know how hot the song is at all.  This cd is beyond emotional Tweet put her heart and soul into this cd that can be felt in songs like Drunk, Always Will & Beautiful. You feel the pain and know that Tweet been through something with these songs. She does venture into an up tempo track with Call Me not a bad song and she does pull it off but it’s not as strong as the other soulful songs on this cd like Heaven & Complain & Motel. The standout track on this cd is Best Friend feat Bilal this song will make you a Bilal fan you aren’t one. We all can relate to this song about having feelings for a friend but can’t cross that line.

This cd is a must have for your Neo Soul collection because it is incomplete without it.  I gotta give this cd a 4 out of 5 FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Throwback Pick of the week

D'Angelo: Brown Sugar

Since there seems to be word that after a 10 year layoff D’Angelo is finally about to drop his 3^rd cd I decided to review what got it all started Brown Sugar!  This is one of the best cd’s to introduce yourself to the world.  Very rarely can you put in a cd please play and let it ride this one is one of those rare times. The title track Brown Sugar lets you know this is a throwback singer in present times before there was Anthony Hamilton we had D’Angelo.  A standout moment about this cd is that there are no features on here at all. So you really get an introduction to who D’Angelo is as an artist. There are no bad songs on this cd at all even a song call Shit, Damn, Motherfucker you would think is wack it’s pretty considering the title.  The whole cd is a stand out cd that you can’t go wrong at all. The standout songs to me on this cd are Me & Those Dreamin’ Eyes of Mine, Cruisin’ & Lady start with these 3 and won’t be disappointed at all. Cruisin original done by Smokie Robinson that I feel D’Angelo made it sound better than the original version.  Anybody with that special lady in the life will feel the song Lady from start to finish.  Like I said in the beginning just put in this cd and let it ride you can’t go wrong at all.

This cd was classic from the beginning to end and show how much of a beast D’Angelo was go be in at the time wasn’t called Neo-Soul but he is the godfather of it I think. I rate this cd 5 out of 5 CLASSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rick Ross Rich Forever mixtape

Rozay jumps into 2012 with his first mixtape of the year Rich Forever. This was put with all new material to hold you over til the pushed back God Forgives I Don’t drops in the next month or so. Let me first say this cd is good enough to be a actual nationwide release.  Everybody in the rap game doing a mixtape this has set the bar for the year so far. Granted I know it’s early in the year but this made me forgot about TI F*ck Da City Up that just dropped 5 days prior! Okay now that I got that out the way lets breakdown this mixtape. Out the gate the beats are crazy like I expected them to beat Rozay always got the best on beats.  Let’s start different this go around and talk about the disappointments on this mixtape. Up first is Ring Ring feat Future this song is so horrible I think I can out do both of them. It was another sucka for love song that should have been left on the cutting room floor I think.  This is the worst song on the cd after that there are two so so songs that are borderline bad and okay all in the same breath.  Keys to the Crib feat Styles P this song just seemed hella long and a run on song with no end to it. Styles P was ok on it but nothing between him and Rozay stood out on this one. Next is Mmg The World is Ours feat Meek Mill, Pharrell & Stalley when are people go realize that Pharrell needs to make beats and be on the hook not spitting bars. As usual Meek Mill holds his own and Rozay was nice but Stalley new to the game was trash made Pharrell sound like Nas that is how bad he was.  Time for the good music of this mixtape first up Diddy is on two tracks New Bugatti & Holy Ghost two nice tracks if this is a sign of what is come with their cd Bugatti Boyz then it may be worth a good listen from what I am hearing right now from these tracks.  High Definition & Mmg Untouchable is just Rozay showing why he is the King of the 305 and nobody else.  Mine Games feat Kelly Rowland at first I was worried but once I heard Kelly on the hook I wasn’t worried in anymore. She hasn’t killed a hook this good since Dilemma with Nelly. If you go do your version of LL love song here is the blueprint on how to do it.  Don’t miss I Swear To God & King of Diamonds more solo heat of Rozay by himself to show he can hold it down with or without a guest.  Party Heart feat 2Chainz & Stalley because of this mixtape I will no longer call 2Chainz Titty Boi anymore he came with heat on both songs he is on. Newcomer Stalley showed why he was allowed on this mixtape on this track Rozay rode the beat effortlessly to where you can’t deny the skills. Now let’s talk about the joints you don’t want to and can’t miss on this mixtape.  Fck Em feat 2Chainz & Wale this song right here is heat Wale showing that his work on Ambition wasn’t a joke and 2Chainz is starting to pick up some steam in his solo career. Rozay came in and killed the beat and the song to remind you why he is the Boss as he says all the time.  Title track Rich Forever feat John Legend is just as good as the song if not better they did on Deeper Than Rap “Magnificent” this could have been a single. Rozay bars and Legend soulful voice on the hook you can’t deny this song at all. Last Breath feat Meek Mill & Birdman finally somebody keep up and surpassed Meek Mill on a track last couple mixtapes (fabo & ti) he been killing them but on this on Rozay let it be known it’s his song and Meek is the feature. I don’t know who wrote it but Birdman actually spit a decent set of bars for a change.  The top dawg song on this mixtape is Triple Beam Dream feat Nas is that song you put on repeat if you can only listen to one song on this mixtape this is the one. I can’t express enough how both of Rozay & Nas kill this beat the hook. Damnit this song is weapons of mass destruction Bush been looking for.  We got “Ether “ Nas on this track and this made Rozay step up to the plate. First listen I thought Nas got Rozay but second listen I think Rozay got Nas. It goes back and forth to where this a classic joint.

To sum up you gotta get this mixtape cause it is one step short of a classic and its early in the year but has set the bar for the rest of the year! Rozay just maybe the boss! I give this 4 out of 5 FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

T.I. F*ck Da City Up mixtape

The King of the South finally drops a mixtape since being out of lock up. While bringing in the New Year I made sure I was there for the midnight release of this mixtape.  Out the gate the beats on this cd are a crazy best collections of beats on one cd in awhile and sadly that being said the beats clearly outshine everything about this cd. Yes even the King of the South takes a backseat to the beats on this cd.  The title track F*ck Da City Up feat Young Jeezy was a nice ATL is back type track between  the two but it was missing Ludacris to really set it off I felt.  Loud Mouth feat 2Chainz (Titty Boi still refuse to say 2Chainz) was a surprisingly good song and Titty Boi finally spit something decent in a song. Of course though T.I. carved him up like a Thanksgiving turkey but if he didn’t that would have been horrible! Some other tracks to listen to on this mixtape are Who What When feat Meek Mill like I have said before on Fabo mixtape Meek is killing it and holding his own with heavyweights in the game. Let me take a moment and say this Rozay & Maybach music put his cd out while he spitting heat before he dries up and has no more good material! Give a listen to The One, I’ll Show You feat Pusha T on this one Pusha held his own considering he got way less time that T.I. on the song.  They both spit some good heat on this one.  Of course with good comes the bad avoid skip do whatever to not listen to these tracks Harry Potter (D.O.P.E.), In a Nut Shell feat Lady G & Spodee, Pimp feat Pimp C & Too Short not a shock Pimp C reminds why he was the weaker member of UGK & no knock on Too Short but his Cocktails flow has expired along time ago, This Time Of Night Feat Nelly nicest way I can is that this was a train wreck and leave it at that.  There was really one standout on this mixtape Piss’N On Your Ego feat B.O.B.  on this track Bobby Ray showing that his mixtape E.P.I.C. wasn’t misleading and the skills you heard were real on that mixtape. That being said Bobby Ray did steal the show on this track from T.I. even though this was his best verse’s throughout the whole mixtape.

If this is the best the The King of the South can do then I will start calling him The Prince of the South because he is going in the wrong direction skill wise!  I can only give this mixtape a 3 out of 5 SOLID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fabolous: There Is No Competition: Death Comes in 3's mixtape

Fabo steps into the scene again with DJ Drama for his third and final installment of “There is No Competition”.  Now upon first listen I thought this was a great disappointment and not away to end the trilogy at all. Since I listen to each cd at least 3 times before I do a review I started noticing that this was actually a good and fitting end to the trilogy. Title track Death Come in 3’s lets you that Fabo means business and letting cats in the game know he really does feel he can’t be touched.  Another good song to listen and shocker is Get Down or Lay Down feat Lloyd Banks reason it’s a shocker is because Lloyd Banks actually spits some decent heat on this track keeping up with Fabo and not getting killed like I expected him to get.  You Don’t Know Bout It feat Meek Mill is another banger showing why Meek was sign to Maybach and makes you want to say Rozay when this kid go drop something? I got to admit though that Meek Mill did outshine Fabo on this one. Fabo came nice with his verse and everything but was too laid back for this track when Meek went at it hard like it was his last bars he would ever spit.  Some other tracks to listen to are Swag Champ & Black City and this track was almost a standout but it was just too short to get that kinda of props too.  It’s that time again why rappers why is my question Fabo tries his best LL impression on She Did It wanna be strip anthem or something horrible. Also avoid these two songs that will take time out ya life Get That Work & Unfuckwitable. I really want to know what he was thinking making that trash! Now Fabo does have 3 standout tracks that are a must listen to on this mixtape if you listen to anything on it. First up is BET feat Jadakiss & Styles P now looking at that you would think they LOX would tag team and run circles around Fabo but he held his own from start to finish to where it created some heat. Next up is Death In The Family feat Paul Cain this was classic Fabo reminding you of his old track “Breathe” he went hard on this beat good to see he still got it. Now the best standout on this cd is a monster and true example of a mixtape. Fabo takes Just Blaze beat for Drake song Lord Knows and puts Lord Knows on his mixtape and he kills it. I already said in my review of Drake cd he got outshined on that song by Rozay well now he got finished off by Fabo with his 3 minutes of 187 on Drake’s verse. If you put Rozay verse with Fabo then you got a damn good song and Drake is now the definition of extra!!!!

Fabo & DJ Drama put together a nice final installment to There is No Competition all three are a mixtape must if you in the world of mixtapes! I will have to rate this cd 4 out of 5 FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Slim Thug: Houston mixtape

Slim Thug comes back to the scene with his new mixtape Houston and out the gate I will say this has to be his best work since “Already Platinum” dropped years ago. From the very beginning of this mixtape Slim lets you know this is all Houston on here no Neptune influence or anyone outside of H-town! The title track Houston feat Paul Wall & Z-Ro is a monster and lets you know what is in store for you. Some other good tracks to check out are O.C.D. feat Killa Kyleon & Les, Bout Dat feat Mug, Les & Lil O and don’t miss Halloween Night feat Les & Mug. These songs will keep ya head nodding and feeling like you need to go to H-town ASAP. Now there were some ugly moments in this mixtape. Yet again Slim falls in the sucka for love rap songs and had the nerve to sing on them PLEASE STOP THE MADNESS!!!!!!! By all means avoid Come Here Bitch, My Car feat Kirko Bangz & Dough Beezy, Favorite Bitch and let’s not forget Japanese Swag feat Dre Day. Words can’t express how bad these songs are and just leave you to say WTF Slim really!  Time to talk on the stand out tracks on the cd first up is Creepin feat Paul Wall & Bun B this song went so hard it reminded me of “Still Tippin” from his first cd “Already Platinum” each rapper on here showed why they are heavy weights in Houston rap. This song almost made me go get a oily cup of lean and Po’ it up! Shine feat E.S.G. is some more heat when Slim showing his verbal game that made him big on the underground in the early 2000’s. The two tracks that I think stood out the most are My Life feat Propain & the Outro reason I say this is because rappers don’t spend enough time educating people on their life and what it took to get into the game. So on these two tracks Slim is more sincere and not rapping about the life but telling us about his life and I give much props to that.

Welcome back Slim Thugga you went back to your roots and it works best cd since your first one hands down. Others have been good but missing something and what was that something HOUSTON!! I rate this cd 4 out of 5 FIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!