Album Review: Bad Meets Evil - Hell: The Sequel

Ten years ago a Bad Meets Evil release would have been up their as one of my most anticipated releases ever. Nowadays though Eminem has fallen off possibly worse than anyone else ever before (admittedly he had a long way to fall) and Royce has been mediocre ever since he dropped BE2. Eminem is as expected on the release; a horrid screaming delivery, great flow, decent multi's, some of the worst and most forced punchlines you're ever likely to encounter and pretty much zero actual content. For the most part Royce is actually pretty good but he has his fair share of forced punches as well.

Cough from all the smoke, I'm tryna stay on fire
So you know if I hate fucking water sprinklers, I don't love the hose/hoes

Nowhere near a toosh, in fact if I jump out a bush
In a sneak attack's the only way I say I am-Bush

Both in the same verse as well. Someone desperately needs to let Eminem know that he can't write a decent simile to save his life.The album's production is hit-an-miss but mediocre for the most part. Bruno Mar's chorus on lighters gets old after around 3 plays and Budden and Ortiz are the only ones half decent on the slaughterhouse joint, 'Loud Noises'. The lack of any real content and the glaring flaws in relation to lyricism prevent the release from having much in the way of replay value. Some decent choruses and the odd Royce verse is the only reason I still play anyone of the songs (Take From Me, Above The Law, Fast Lane) at all really. Those with a fetish for multisyllable rhyme schemes will enjoy the release (really, the rhyming is impressive in parts but just as often forced), most everyone else will find it listenable for a short while (they do both have great flows) and forget about it come years end.

Highlights: Above The Law (Royce's portion anyway)
Lowlights: Kiss, On Everything, Lighters

Rating: 6.2/10

Album Review: Elzhi - Elmatic

If anyone was ever suited to recreating Illmatic, It was Elzhi (and no, not because 'El' is similar to 'ill'...smh). His rhyme scheme heavy bars and 'street' orientated content, together with his flawless flow are a great match to what Nas was doing in the mid 90's. What ELzhi has managed to do though is pay tribute to the classic LP while putting his won touch to it. Will Sessions did a, quite frankly, brilliant job in recreating the production while adding a Detroit feel to it and some of the intro's/outro's are stunning, particuarly the intro to Represent (man does that get me pumped!) and the outro to 'One Love'. Elzhi himself is pretty much flawless and puts on one of his best performances to date with his take on 'Memory Lane' being one of my favourite tracks of his to date.

So I visited places where spots got shot on a daily basis
Where kids pull triggers with babyfaces
Wait, I must be on the wrong side of the lane trail
Where they rob memory banks and end up in the brain cell
Where all my misery and pain dwell
I'm said to leave out my state of mind before the train bail

Much like the original record there is zero filler and the whole release has a ton of replay value. I'd say the only real mishap is the lone guest verse, Royce's on 'Life's A Bitch'. No one expected him to compete with AZ's classic bars but he could have at least put in one of his better verses knowing the comparisons that were going to be drawn.

Highlights: Detroit State of Mind, Memory Lane, Represent
Lowlights: None

Rating: 9.0/10

More Elzhi: Check out his Black Milk produced debut, 'The Preface'.

The Catch Up Pt. 2

Part 1 is here.

Jehst - England | 8.5/10
In 'England', the British MC paints a hauntingly vivid picture of his hometown as he points out societies ills over some grim and mournful production. The whole track has a '1984' vibe without really venturing into conspiracy theory territory.
'An i still got love for the place where i'm livin,
but right now there aint nothin great about Britain'
[Had to remove download link]


Nas- Nasty | 9.5/10
Anyone trying to recreate that early 90's sound, take note, this is how you do without sounding outdated. Nas REALLY goes in here and delivers a fast paced near-flawless performance. Nas is hungry.
'Ayo, late night, candlelight, fiend wit’ diesel in his needle
Queensbridge leader, no equal, I come from the Wheel of Ezekiel
To pop thousand-dollar bottles of scotch, smoke purp, and heal the people'
Download | Lyrics 

Royce Da 5'9 - Second Place (Prod. DJ Premier) | 9/10
This here is the Royce I enjoy. 'Second Place' sounds like something Royce and Preem would have cooked up in the Bar Exam 1 days. No lame punches or corny dick/shit/ass puns just a killer flow, some hard hitting lines and some witty ones. There's even a funny little retort to the often voiced (and valid imo) complaint regarding Royces' Eminem namedropping. I think one of Premo's most overlooked attributes his ability to craft a great hook out of a cut or 2 and a couple scratches and this track here is no exception. I look forward to the final version with Meth and Rae.
[Had to remove Download link, shouldn't have much trouble googling one though]| Lyrics

Kanye West - Mama's Boyfriend | 9/10
Apparently this isn't the final version but seeing as it doesn't sound unfinished and may not be released in the future I've decided to post it anyway. You can tell why this was left off MBDTF, it has a more 'See Me Now' feel to it. The production is fantastic with the backing vocals really bringing the track to life. The heartfelt first verse does a great job of capturing both childish resentment and love, and the irony-laced contrast of the second verse juxtaposes well against that backdrop.

'I drew a picture of her that'll make her proud
but the door is locked and the TV up so loud
I scream out 'I aint goin to sleep no time soon
and when I do, i'm sleeping in my mama room' '

While in another artists hands those line might come across as corny Kanye has knack for infusing such sincerity in his delivery that such words are, excuse the gushing, transformed into touching personal insights.
[Had to remove download link]


Co$$ - Only When I Dream ft. Sene & Aloe Blacc | 9/10
Wow, what a killer track. Love the beat, Aloe contributes a great hook, Co$$ has one of the years best verses and though Sene is completely outshined it can't be said his effort is anything approaching weak.
Download

Next Part coming soon. For Part 1 of The Catch Up head here.

Elzhi ft. Royce Da 5'9 - Motown 25 (Prod. Black Milk)

' n****s call me arrogant
That's because I'm confident, I found it when I found a pen '

It'd be hard not to be a bit confident, arrogant or downright cocky after releasing a track like this. Back in 08' when this first dropped with Elzhi's Europass CD I played the hell out of it. Then i forgot about it for a few months until the song re-appeared AGAIN on Elzhi's debut, The Preface. And then I played the hell out of it all over again. Elzhi's combines some great schemes with one of the best flows in the game while Royce comes in and shows why, at times, he's capable of possibly having THE best flow in the game. This is when Royce was probably at his peak (prior to his falling off post-Bar Exam 2) and he was capable of outshining anyone and everyone. Not to be outdone, Black Milk, one of the best producers in Hip-Hop and a personal favourite of mine, whips up one of his trademark vocal sample led beats that's just as much a  highlight as either of the verses.

9.5/10

Lyrics

If you're keen for more Elzhi check out his debut album The Preface