The Great: Big K.R.I.T.'s newest single, "Dreamin'" (Produced by K.R.I.T. himself).
For those of you who haven't been following this MC, get on that, because you're missing out, big time (get it?). K.R.I.T. has been on the hip-hop radar since he got into the business in 2005, but what really brought him a lot of attention was his critically acclaimed mixtape, K.R.I.T. Wuz Here, released last April. I haven't been able to write up a formal review of it (although I probably should try to) but I will preach along with the choir on saying that it was very, very good (I did give it my "Best Mixtape of 2010" award after all).
So now K.R.I.T. is focusing on his debut studio album, Returnof4eva, and he's finally got a single out for it. Before I get to my analysis on it, I want to point out that it's cover art is f-ing brilliant. It reminds me of the type of artwork that was used for OutKast's album, Aquemini. That album is still debated as one of the greatest the duo ever released as well as one of the best efforts in hip-hop from the entire 90's decade. It's possible that K.R.I.T. may be using 'Kast as his main influence for his debut, which can only mean good things are to come for his following.
As for the first single, it's pretty damn good. The main theme of the song is exactly what the title says it is. It's a message to all the doubters who told K.R.I.T. that he was just "dreamin'" about a future career in music and that it wouldn't ever happen (wonder how the feel now...).
K.R.I.T. starts out his first verse reflecting on when he first started rapping. He mentions how he would rap about cars and clothes to his dad from what he had heard from UGK and Scarface tapes. He also let's us know he began rapping at just 13 and that he immediately wanted to start recording in a studio.
The next verse talks about how his career slowly began and how he had to write his rhymes on his playing gloves (I think the sport he was using them for was football, not completely sure though) just so that he could always remember what came to his mind. He also talks about how his big brother and grandmother encouraged him to follow his dream of being an artist.
It's the third verse though, that really let's listeners in on some of K.R.I.T.'s background. Here, K.R.I.T. raps about how he continued to push to find a record deal and how he actually turned down one because "it didn't feel right" (are you reading this Lupe?). He also mentions that labels wanted him to change his name and that they didn't think "the story of a country boy could sell". The best line though, is when K.R.I.T. provides some inspiration towards the end of the verse where he encourages people to follow their dreams and reminds them by saying:
"Just remember I was once considered just a dreamer/but I paid my dues and turned so many doubters into believers".
K.R.I.T. deserves a lot of praise for the lyrics on this, but maybe just as much should be given to him for the production element of it. He uses a classic soul sample (which I haven't found yet) for his hook and keeps the overall feel of the song very laid back, almost like he's having a conversation with his listeners. Again, I could hear heavy 'Kast influences here with the beat. If you give either ATLiens or Aquemini a spin, you'll notice that the beat K.R.I.T. uses on "Dreamin'" would probably gel very well with both of those albums.
If K.R.I.T. produces an album with more of stuff like this, we may be looking at a legitimate candidate for MC of the year, and it's only March.
One last thing, props to K.R.I.T. for also looking out for his fans. He is giving away "Dreamin'" (even the clean version for that playlist at work you want to put it on) on his album homepage for FREE. You can download "Dreamin'" here.
The Good: Eminem releases EP, Straight From the Vault, consisting of leftover Relapse and Recovery tracks.
I've noticed, along with many other hip-hop fans out there, that Em has been releasing single after single over the last few weeks. Well, Shady was nice enough to wrap them all up together into a nice little EP for us.
I haven't been able to really listen to the whole tape yet, but I'll warn Em fans that the majority of the beats on here are really whack. Except for "G.O.A.T." and "Emulate ft. Obie Trice", the rest of the tracks can be hard to listen to at times. Lyrically, it's solid, as we should expect from Slim. It also has got some good guest appearances, most notably by B.o.B. (who absolutely obliterates his verse) on the "Things Get Worse".There's a reason these tracks didn't make the albums (you'll know why after listening, trust me), but that doesn't mean this isn't worth a download. "Emulate" and "G.O.A.T." are both pretty good cuts and you'll get some laughs from "Apple" and, especially, "WEE WEE". The EP also has about 34 minutes worth of content in just eight tracks. That's not a bad deal at all, considering it's a free download. So while it may not be another Purp and Patron, it's still a great value and I recommend it to any Shady fan out there.
You can download Straight from the Vault, for free, here.
*Note: You will need a Datpiff account to download this. They are free to register for.
The Bad: Lupe's latest track leaks: "Out of My Head ft. Trey Songz" and "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now ft. MDMA"Really, these tracks aren't bad. No, a better phrase to describe them would be f-ing awful.
After hearing the first four tracks that have went viral (check this post for that), I thought Lupe's Lasers was going to be on an elite level. All four tracks were well produced, lyrically dense, and each had a good hook to accompany it.
These tracks though, lack all three of those elements. "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now" has as bad a beat as Nas's "Zone Out" or Jay-Z's "I Know What Girls Like". To add some perspective to that, those two songs are probably two of the worst tracks Nas or Hova ever did. If you follow my logic correctly, then you'll be able to come to the conclusion that this is maybe one of the worst songs Lupe has ever done (and I really hope ever will).
Meanwhile, "Out of My Head" sounds like something that Jason Derulo would do, not Lupe. While I can see it having a small chance of catching popularity in clubs, it's still a terrible song regardless of what happens with it. Not only that, but Lupe's verse is incredibly weak. It's clearly a song that Atlantic forced Lupe to do and it doesn't sound genuine to who Fiasco is as an artist. Thank God it's only a little over three minutes in length, because otherwise, I'd just put Lasers down right there.
I have, fortunately, been able to listen to Lasers in its entirety, and I will make sure to have a review up by the weekend. However, as I tweeted yesterday, the album does not meet the hype it has gained in recent months.
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