There used to be a standard that I could count on. In my late teens, early twenties, I had an insatiable appetite for hip-hop. I couldn't wait to buy a jeep/truck and bang out instead of driving around in the latest piece of shit my parents bought for me. I wanted to rock the block with my good taste in music.
I bought most music UNHEARD. I bought on recommendations by The Source. If they gave a release 3.5 to 5 mics, it was a wrap. I copped the CD. Without the internet as a guide, I just worked on the positive buzz and word of mouth.
I bought 2 CDs I vividly remember because of clever marketing campaigns, A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing and Cypress Hill. I hadn't even read reviews, I just liked their ads. I bought 'em because of bullshit hype, but the hype paid off. I loved both of those CDs dearly.
This weekend I bought Kanye West's latest CD. I hadn't heard a single, but he has a track record that can't be beat. His lyrics were mediocre but his beats were amazing. I knew what I was getting. Then, I got the unexpected.
His lyrics are quite possibly the worst shit ever magnetized to tape. I know he thought of some of those lines and thought "Aren't I clever?" I can tell he saved 'em up for his CD and didn't use 'em on guest appearances. Not only that, the beat quality has diminished. The beats are half-azzed, the hooks are wack. It's pretty poor product.
But at least the CD makes me feel young again. I got reeled in by a clever marketing campaign. It's almost like I'm 20 again.
Be Cool,
KZ
11 comments:
ooh wow! i kinda love the whole cd, and i don't really rep for the hip-hop nation.
I think Homecoming is almost poetic, Drunk and Hot Girls is hilarious, and Good Life is my official soundtrack for living right now....
But then again I'm a self described eternal child so maybe I don't know any better!
I am not a Kanye fan... I don't care...call me what you want...
I'll bootleg the CD from 1-2-5 this weekend...unless you wnat to send me a burned copy...
I thought I was the only persona non grata...3 comments?
@AJ
I don't like it one bit. Is Homecoming the first song? With that corny ass "Buy any jeans necessary" shit in it?
Drunk and Hot Girls irritates me to no end. Funeral dirge.
It might bang on the coasts, but it's cold and fucking desolate in the midwest and we hate it.
@BBB
Yeah, I might be getting shunned. I fuckin' hate most everybody anyway, so I'll indulge in this masturbatory exercise. It won't be the first time.
KZ
Homecoming is the one titled Homecoming about Chicago, I think Wyclef's singing the hook.
I dunno I like it, it's a great Album to run to. I can listen to the whole thing twice while I'm exercising and it keeps me pretty pumped up...
don't judge but i think kanye made a fan outta me!
@AJ
You're right. I like Homecoming. It's the only song I like on the whole fucking disc.
I thought it was a white guy singing the hook. It's a great song if Kanye would shut the fuck up.
KZ
And you should check out the cartoonish video to boot! Regression is rump-shaking, eh?
I go for mine
I gots to shine
So throw your hands up in the skyyy
I think I'm gonna start saving up my rhymes and accolades so I can write a song about "my big brudder."
Used to be Dames and Bigs brother.
you woulda THUNK he had some good music to back up his tantrum at the MTV music awards...*sigh*
i'm with "aunt jackie," goodlife is the jam. and even if you don't like kanye for the most part (like me), it still does a good job of making you sing along at certain points...or at least smirk a little bit.
Heard Homecoming on ERS (college station) up here in Boston. It made me cry... okay maybe it was some stray PMS that had me crying... Im not a Kanye fan by any stretch of the imagination. I dont understand rap that isnt made near an ocean (Atlantic, Pacific or the Gulf), but I know how it it to miss home.
I thought it was the Maroon 5 Guy singing the hook, but Its Chris Martin from Coldplay
@Pro
The worst thing that ever happened to man and country is that godawful hook on "Big Brother".
@GG
He's a little princess, isn't he?
@FA
I think the whole CD is "passable". It wouldn't be fighting for it in a crowded market of dopeness.
@Niki
Good ear. It's Gwyneth's boo.
I'm surrounded by 5 Great Lakes and you'd do yourself a disservice sleeping on these homegrowns. Want a primer? Find OneBeLo's S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M.
KZ
True true... I like Lupe, too. Although when I first heard him, I thought he was from Harlem
:-P
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