C+K KONNECSION

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS

2008-11-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Honestly I didn't really care that much to see this but I had seen all he Star Wars movies and figured I might as well watch this. Now they have a series of these on Cartoon Network that I would watch right before Family Guy, The Boondocks and other Adult Swim shows. So I catch them on and if I'm bored I watch. Honestly the TV show isn't horribly bad. I mean it's not really my thing but it's okay to watch. So I got a small taste of what the movie was like by watching the shows.

Now this movie has some cool animation and special effects but still I'm not to big on an animated Star Wars movie. Since it's a childrens movie I had to come to grips with the fact it's not as dark as the originals. But honestly everything is left open-ended basically. See this movie takes place before the 3rd movie so Anakin is still his whiny self and not killing younglings yet. Anyways, this movie has decent action scenes and introduces some cool characters such as a Clone Trooper Captain Named Rex. Actually first off I want to say is this movie is a lot cheesier than the originals. Yea I know that may be hard to believe but this movie is cheesy in a different way.

I don't get how Anakin has an apprentice when he himself is barely a full Jedi Knight. They wouldn't even let him on the council in the 3rd movie so they're gonna give him an apprentice? Remember how I said shit was left open? Yea, like why is his apprentice not in the 3rd one? It never says she dies in the movie nor does it even hint in to it. In my opinion it was a horrible idea to give him an apprentice. It just fucks the story up. Then there is some sith assassin who doesn't get killed but she's not mentioned in the 3rd one either. I understand it's a childrens movie so they wont have people getting killed like crazy but come on give me some closure. What is the point of bringing in a new character without giving me solid details as to what happened. As a matter of fact I'm seaching for answers right now. I just don't like movies where dudes ain't getting chopped in half.

A COUPLE OF MINUTES LATER

So yea I searched and the series isn't over yet the first season still has 12 episodes planned. So I don't know what happens to everyone. Also the storyline kind of seemed to small to base an entire movie on even though it meant a lot for the cause it just seemed like a badly written story.

Basically this movie is cheesy and very mellow dramatic and I got bored. But it is a good childrens movie and has some cool effects and characters to keep most Star Wars fans satisfied. After seeing this I think they should just leave Star Wars alone now and let it die, but live in the hearts of the fans.

GRADE: C

-C.S.

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

2008-11-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

I figured I would watch Hellboy 2 since I liked the first one alright and since I already had it at my house I figured what the hell. I popped it in and from the very beginning I wanted to die. The child version of Hellboy looks like an uglier version of the boy in Jumanji who turned into a monkey. Shit freaked me the fuck out. It just looked dumb as hell.

So this second installment had more cheesy jokes and was just cheesy overall. I mean the first one was cheesy but this one just was over the top cheesy. I tried to not pay attention to that but to many lame jokes came at me from all sides. I mean I expect some level of lameness from a superhero movie but come on! Anyways this movie did have some cool action scenes and the main bad guy was a bad mother fucker. Every scene with him in it kicked ass. Dude just straight worked dudes left and right.

Yes, there were some cool scenes but really the movie overall was a lame excuse for a superhero/action movie. I won't say the movie was horrible or unusually bad but it wasn't great. I mainly just sucked it up and pulled myself through most of it.

As for the moral of the story. Well basically it's about love being strong and how people are judged by how different they are. All that good stuff.

GRADE: C

-C.S.

TROPIC THUNDER

2008-11-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

Where to start with this movie. So I was really excited when I rented this movie this morning. I had been wanting to see it since its release cause I thought it looked hilarious and heard good things. Well I got a mixed reaction after watching it. I honestly wasn't sure if it was funny or just the stupidest fucking movie of the year. Well that might be to harsh.

Basically the movie is about actors making a movie about the Vietnam war. I wont spoil anyhing but every actor has his own problems and things he has to overcome. All the different back stories are pretty funny. Especially Robert Downey Jr.'s parts. So they start off shooting the climatic scene of their movie which is basically a rescue mission in a helicopter. The diva-like actors start fighting and the scene doesn't finish. First off I'll say this movie has a lot more cussing than I expected. The F word flies like nothing else but that's fine with me. I wouldn't suggest letting your child see it though. Another thing is this movie does some random ass things with random ass characters saying random shit. Often this movie is so stupid it's funny. Anyways back to the story; So the man who wrote the book for this movie says if they want the actors to get over themselves they need to put them in the jungle or in "the shit" as they say to learn. Basically the plan was to put them out there and stage explosions and random attacks to make it all realistic. Of course it didn't work out that way.

Blah Blah Blah the movie went on. Made jokes, made you laugh, made you wonder why the hell he just said that and at some times makes you wonder where the hell you are and what this movie is about. It's sort of like being fucked up on acid and watching Teletubbies or some shit. Point is the movie is on crack. Pure fucking 100% crack. I'm not dogging I'm only stating facts. Now just because the movie is random and at some times provacative doesn't mean it's not good or funny. The movie is funny and at times makes you laugh your ass off either because it's so dumb, random or it's just a funny scene.

I wont say anything else about the plot but the movie to me was sort of a disappointment. All the same though it's a funny movie and I enjoyed it just not as much as I'd like to. Would I buy it? Probably not unless it as cheap or I was rich. But will it be a good movie to catch on HBO down the road when you're feeling down? Hell yes.

GRADE: C

-C.S.

20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Chuck Berry

2008-11-18T14:21:00.000-08:00

1. Maybellene
- Hell yea this is what I'm talking about. Just simpler times and simpler songs. I listen to all types of music so older stuff doesn't bother me. Hell I actually like the whole carefree sounds of The Temptations, Jimi Hendrix and Chuck Berry. Just such a good song that's real simple and fast for you to sing along with. Sometimes simple is the best way to do it.

2. Roll Over Beethoven
- Another simple fast-paced track just doing what you can with your talent. In the terms of back then you could say Chuck Berry's style/swagger was the equivalent of present days Jay-Z. Dude had a style all his own that many borrowed from him. (Or Tried To) Anyways this song has great guitar play in it. Just a catchy song that you'll probably be singing for a few hours.

3. Brown Eyed Handsome Man
- Now for one I myself am a brown eyed handsome man so I identified with this song. Honestly this song is kind of borin but it is actually a well written track and story. This is easily worth a listen but I can see people getting bored with it unless your really old and grew up on Chuck.

4. School Day
- Good music right here. Another melodic sound and lyrical presence. Really no great meaning or point here yet you find yourself identifying with it simply because you went to school at some point. Pretty good, pretty good.

5. Rock And Roll Music
- This song embodies Chuck Berry as a singer/songwriter and rock music at the time. SOme may say Chuck is the King Of Rock 'N' Roll and I will definitely say he helped shape it. Very short song though but entertaining all the way.

6. Sweet Little Sixteen
- Yea the BEach Boys ripped Berry off while he was in jail and they made Surfin USA but whatever because in my opinion theirs is better. This is still good though but I am a secretly a fan of the Beach Boys for some odd reason (No Homo) Yes, I love rap and listening to cussing and death threats repeatedly is fun but nothing compares to good old simple old school American Music. Anyways this is a good song and as I said earlier everyone wanted to borrow from Berry. Another very short song though.

7. Johnny B. Goode
- Hmmmmm you know who also ripped this song off? Yea, the Beach Boys. Know something else? They made a damn good version as well. Doesn't matter though lol this song is good in every way. Good sound and very good lyrics.

8. Carol
- Now not to be a downer but a lot of Chucks song sound exactly alike like this and Johnny B. Goode. But thank god the sound is always gonna be good that way. This song is average and I could probably see myself skippig it. Still not bad at all. Berry is a dope guiatrist.

9. You Never Can Tell
- I like this song a lot because it's in Pulp Fiction. But really this is just a fun song and it's well written to boot. Wait a second...did i really just say "to boot". Hmmmmm I needa get that looked at. But anyways this is a wonderful song and a well told story.

10. No Particular Place To Go
- Here we go baby, one of the best songs ever recorded just because of its sound. This is just something you can kick back and listen to in the car. It's fun and light hearted and extremely catchy. GREATNESS!

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

Creepin On Ah Come Up by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony

2008-11-18T13:48:00.000-08:00

1. Intro
- Nice mysterious intro. SOme straight g ass shit. Just really sets the tone for the whole EP.

2. Mr. Ouija
- Yea I don't really agree with the whole Ouija board concept but the harmonizing and flow of the sound on this track is top notch. But it's not even rap really it's just singing so I can't say much more except......good singing?

3. Thuggish Ruggish Bone
- Many believe this is one of the realest/gangsta tracks ever. I'll have to agree this track embodies street music and the thug life in a way even Pac or Biggie could never do. Dope beat, dope hook/chorus just a dope track all in all. This song is off the hook with great flow and just a street banger. This is the type of song a hustler wakes up to and gets on his grind looking for a brighter tomorrow. Good ass shit.

4. No Surrender
- I liked the synthesized voice at the beginning and how it broke off into the rapping. Bizzie spit such an ill verse on this track. This is a good song but nothing more. This is a good cool down from Thuggish Ruggish. Good track that you can listen to repeatedly and not really get sick of.

5. Down Foe My Thang
- Dope beat and flow straight off the jump. One thing I will say that's for sure is Bone Thugs may have the best flow as a group out of any rap group ever. Their melodic style is ridiculous and scary good as its own style. This track is only average it isn't bad but isn't great.

6. Creepin On Ah Come Up
- Another great melodic song. Again just an average track but not a bad one. WOrth a listen easily but doesn't deserve great praise. Can't really hate on it but I can't say nothing exceptionally great either.

7. Foe Tha Love Of $
- Flesh's verse was real nice and flowed great. Well actually everyone who spit, spit real nice. Good song with another melodic sound. Eazy kinda came in and ruined the Bone Thugs style. Still he did fine and this track is nice.

8. Moe Cheese (Instrumental)
- Real nice instrumental for anybody to write to. Good sound to it that ends this EP nicely.

LAST WORDS:
Well I myself am not a big Bone Thugs fan and I think they may be one of the most overrated rap groups in history. TO tell you the truth they are sort of sellouts starting with E 1999 Eternal and Tha Crossroads. That shit was lame but whatever. This is a very solid EP and BTNH is a talented group and legends in their own right. Real ass dudes that anyone can identify with whether you from the ghetto or the burbs.

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

ALMOST FAMOUS

2008-11-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

So I caught this movie on HBO with my uncle. He told me it was a good movie so I sat and most of it (I Started Watching like 15 minutes in) So I thought it was good and went and bought it. Then I watched the enitre thing. I was impressed with this movie, far better than I thought it would ever be. It's one of those movies that is very good but it's not one of your favorite movies and such.

A very well written movie with some funny parts. Basically you follow a young aspiring rock journalist during the early 70's. The movie is about music setting us free, the glory days of Rock and Roll and being yourself. The tension between bands and journalists were high since journalists tended to ruin careers. This movie really embodies rock 'n' roll and the 70's together. The soundtrack complimented the movie greatly. An example is when the main character is on the tour bus with the band he is writing on, "Stillwater" and after fighting the song Tiny Dancer by Elton John comes on. Yea Elton John is gay but that song really complimented the scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Qn3tel9FWU)

The plot is really just about the band Stillwater rising to the top and about the main character writing about them. Of course Stillwater has a lot of drama going on as most bands and basically just everything goes wrong. The main character struggles to write the truth but remain friends with the band. He also struggles with his love for a Band-Aid (Basically A Groupie) which is played by Kate Hudson. So all tese struggles with everything and in the end everything basically works out.

Almost Famous is a very good story that will speak to you in some way and it actually for me gave me a new found reason to listen to Rock 'N' Roll again. The point here is that this is a good movie and should be seen by everyone at least once.

GRADE: A-

-C.S.

CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR

2008-11-17T12:41:00.000-08:00

First off let me start by saying when I first saw the trailer for this game and heard all the hype I was extremely excited to see how this matched up against one of the biggest fan favorites in years, Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. I myself was not one of those people upset that the game went back to World War II. For World War II was a great victory for the world and an entertaining war to play none the less. SO that did not bother me but what really bothered me was who was making the game. THe same company who tarnished Call Of Duty 3. People who can't make games for shit. So that was my biggest fear, that I would be paying 60 dollars to play a game that is ass. Yes, this left me bewildered to decide whether or not to buy it. Eventually I trusted that Treyarch would do its job and make a good game that is at least decent enough to entertain fans. I don't think anyone expected another COD4. Anyways so here is my review:

Graphics:
The graphics in this game are great, just as good as COD4's. Everything looks very realistic and I liked the detail they had for just about everything. The first level looked wonderful between the water shimmering in the night and the grass/trees/plants that looked so realistic you thought you were in a jungle. The game is beautifully made and looks great. The trailer didn't lie when it showed this graphic superiority. Sound really doesn't have anything to do with vision or graphics but I will include it simply because it is a sub category of detail and such. The gunshots sounded realistic enough but the grenades failed quite a bit. When the grenades explode it sounds like a rock falling on grass with a light thump. As far as sounds go COD4 takes that but graphics are about even.

Gameplay:
The controls themselves are the same as COD4 and that is pleasing. Everything seems to be realistic and nearly the same as COD4, which is a good thing. They didn't try to do that much in order to separate their game from Infity Wards. All the gameplay is solid with very few problems. Something I would like to add is that the Veteran difficulty is damn near impossible to beat but you'll keep attempting to get that trophy. All in all the levels are fun and there is a variety of them. Nothing better than stabbing a kamikaze Jap running at you with his bayonet. The game is highly entertaining. Solid gameplay even though I often hear complaints that people get caught on random things but I think it's because they suck ass. Nothing really stands out to me as a big problem. The game is also reasonably challenging even at the lowest difficulty.

Storyline:
THe story for this game is actually pretty entertaining even though I'll admit you don't get as attached to your Russian/American characters as you did to Soap Mctavish in COD4. Even though I could care less about him either. You don't normally get attached to characters in COD games because a lot of the time you play as numerous soldiers from different countries. PLaying as the Russians was fun and actually you played from a different perspective. Instead of you being outnumbered and the narrator telling you that your hard-pressed and there is little chance of success, for the most part of the game you outnumber the Germans and are about to take over Berlin. So really throughout the Russan Campaign your winning in a matter of speaking. Now this doesn't make anything simpler but still you get what I'm saying. The Japanese storyline was authentic and really captured what it was like over there. Nothing better tham torching the Japanese with a flamethrower in their bunker. Storyline is pretty good and very cinematic.

Online/Multiplayer:
Now this is the main reason a lot of people bought it, (at least serious gamers). The online play in my opinion is extremely solid. Although in my opinion the sniper rifles are kind of bad. They aren't very powerful and other than the Springfield they don't hit shit. I used stopping power to get them one hit kills with the Springfield. I like the levels and all the different weapons. Remember what I said about the grenades making little sound? Yea they also are pretty weak as well. I didn't see much of a point in putting vehicles if the only one is gonna be a tank which takes forever to destroy. The perks are fine and so is the attachments. I am very happy with the online play. Now it pains me to say this but I wouldn't be telling you everything if I didn't. It isn't really Treyarchs fault but on the Friday night after release there was a big glitch that made people lose ranks. On most consoles they lost no more than 3 (Like Me) but for PC users they went back to Rank 1. I doubt Treyarch can fix this but I wont play until it is fixed mainly because I don't like to do shit over and am Obsessive Compulsive about that. No matter it didn't happen to everyone and it probably wont happen again but it's still bullshit. Moving on to Co-op now. It's okay even though you on average get only 200 people playing at a time which is annoying when it's impossible to play in more than 3 rooms. Now something highly surprising and made fun of by many was the Nazi Zombies mode. Now I thought at first it was just a fun little many game but then when I started playing it online in 4 player co-op I discovered it's fun as hell. The online play is great other than that small glitch.

In the end this game is just as good as COD4 if not better and the people who hate on it are idiots. I was pleasantly surprised by how good the game is and that glitch is a shame not just for me but for the thousands of others it happened to. It's sad that I was having such a good time with this game and then that had to happen. Never the less this game is very solid.

GRADE: 9.5/10

-C.S.

Eazy-Duz-It by Eazy-E

2008-11-10T15:13:00.000-08:00

1. (Prelude) Still Talkin'
-Sort of a wierd flow but I myself find Eazy-E to both have an unorthodox flow and voice which sets him apart from other rappers. I like rappers who I can just identify as soon as they speak. This track really isn't that special though it's comedic with a few good lines. A good intro none the less that sets the tone for this albums light hearted gangster feel.

2. Nobody Move
- Could song right here not really because it's mad lyrical more because it's just a fun track to listen to with funny ass shit like this;
I said: "Lay down, and unbutton your bra!"
There was the biggest titties that a nigga ever saw
I said: "Damn", then the air got thinner
Only thought in my mind, was goin' up in her
The suspense was makin' me sick
She took her panties down and the bitch had a dick!"
Theres more than that though. See in my opinion the thing I like about all of N.W.A.'s former members is that none of them were great lyricists and at times I found their rhymes to be cheesy but thats the thing they had a whole nother style that was a serious gangster attitude yet in some way comedic. But that's just me you may not feel the same way. Anyways nice track.

3. Ruthless Villain
-Very nice old school sound to this track. Just a fun boppin beat and good lyricism to match it as far as the flow with the beat. Good track but not great I mean it's worth a listen but nothing special at all.

4. 2 Hard Mutha's
-I love Eazy's song intros and this song just reminds me of when rap was in simpler times in a way. Good drum playing Eazy ;) The beat is fire got a real nice sound to it that sort of makes you listen to the track. The lyricism ain't bad either and I like MC Ren being on all of these tracks. Ren is a talented MC that never truly got the respect he deserved. Nice track.

5. Boyz-n-the-hood (Remix)
- Just a nice smooth flow throughout this song. The beat is spectacular (no homo) but for real the song is really good and how could it not be with a beat like that. It's just something to cruise around in and chill.

6. Eazy-Duz-It
-lol at the beginning. True gangsta ass shit here. Not overly done but just well written track. Simple line here yet great, "Yo I'm Eazy-E I got bitches galore, you may have bitches but I have much much more" Ill, is really all that can be said about this track. The great flow and dope lyrics just make you weep that Eazy was still alive.......maybe I'm over exaggerating but you get my point. R.I.P. Eazy

7. We Want Eazy
-Sort of cheesy but a lot of gangsta rap was in some way cheesy especially when you have Eazy's style. To be honest I lost interest in this track while listening to it. I wasn't impressed with this song but it's not really bad just bored me a lot and couldn't get into it.

8. Eazy-er Said Than Done
- Shit one of the first tracks I ever heard from Eazy and I just loved the swag, style and seemingly effortless skill he displayed in his lyrics. His rhymes spoke for him in a flamboyant way. This track is just dope with no real weak lines and just a fun song to vibe to especially with homies. Just telling people he can't be fucked with and shit. Without a doubt one of his best songs maybe only second to his masterpiece Real Muthaphukkin G's. Love this track.

9. Radio
- Not really impressed with this song it just wasn't that good. Wasn't very interesting and didn't keep my attention. Just a very blah, sub-par song.

10. No More Questions
- Fun beat and song to listen to. It's average though nothing really special. Eazy shows some good lyricism here but it still lacks something that most of he other tracks had. Just didn't have the light-hearted gangster style to it. Kind of lame but the beat saved it. A few good lines helped as well.

11. I'mma Break It Down
- Average song really not very good I got bored with it real quick and it sounded like many of the previous songs. Very blah blah blah.

12. Eazy-Chapter 8 Verse 10
- Really not much of a track am I correct?

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation

2008-11-10T14:35:00.000-08:00

Graphics:
The graphics for this game aren't spectacular but they are not bad just right where a next gen game should be but nothing about the graphics stand out to me. Maybe a few graphical glitches here and there but the guns and player models are great, especially the guns which look supremely real. Good graphics!

Gameplay:
As far as core gameplay with buttons, aiming, control ability the game is solid but when you go into a more technical aspect like the online servers is where the large flaw in Socom is found. Before I get into that I'll say the game is surprisingly easy to pick up and play and get the hang of [At Least For Me] It's a very strategic game which is also fun and Socom takes advantage of many things. The realism is very welcome and you really feel your in a firefight. Other than a few slight problems with things that are probably my lack of skill instead of an actual game problem the core hands on gameplay is fine. Now back to the tech aspect of the game. Now I am a big fan of the In-depth clan options. Meaning You can start a clan online and invite members and promote them and so on. Just like Resistance with a few added things. I like that a lot and look for games to follow in suit. But as seems to be the trend with PS3 servers, Socoms servers fuck up a lot. It's a problem that needs to be fixed if the PS3 wants to compete with the 360 for online supremacy. Also this isn't exactly a tech problem but it's so hard to play anything besides Suppression (Team Deathmatch) or elimination. It gets annoying because there is many game modes I haven't even gotten to play because no one is willing.

Sound:
This category is on its own because there seems to be a lot of talking about the sounds in this game. I'll just say this real quick the sounds in this game are cool and realistic but nothing to rave about. Yes each weapon rightfully has its realistic sound and the sounds differ depending the area in which your shooting (i.e. Inside a Building Sounds More Suppressed Whereas Outside It Can Be Hurd Much Louder.) THe sounds are very good and unlike many other games it requires you to listen for enemy gunfire to find out where enemies are. Which is surprising how easy it is to find out where gun shots are from on a game.

GRADE: 7.5/10

-C.S.

D.Z. - Fuck This Mixtape Shit

2008-11-08T16:14:00.000-08:00

DZ's a member of NOHH, a dope hip-hop forum.

Sign up here:
http://www.nationofhiphop.net/register.php?referrerid=101
Download here:
http://www.nationofhiphop.net/2008-mixtapes/30132-d-z-fuck-mixtape-shit.html?highlight=fuck+mixtape+shit

1) Dope Boy Fresh
Solid intro. Flow goes well with the beat, had me nodding my head. Doesn't overstay it's welcome either, though, perfect length. Some lines were a bit unoriginal ("Stay on my green like an ATM machine"), but overall a nice intro to the mixtape.

2) B Ur Hustler
Yeaahhh JAMN 945 reference haha. Decent track, nothing exceptional but in no means is it BAD. Screwed up part over the chorus was sorta wack IMO. Verses were solid, but the song was a bit forgettable. Flow solid as usual though

3) What They Playin?
I feel like the flow/voice doesn't really suit the instrumental. Seems a lil gruff. And, to be honest, I had trouble understanding some of the lyrics, though what I heard was good. It was short, which was good IMO, cause I wasn't feeling the instrumental that much.

4) Thanks For Nothing
Singing was off on the chorus, sorta took away from the vibe. Verses were great though, went real well with the beat. Very solid track, except for the chorus. Liked the introspectiveness too, nice job getting personal and examining himself.

5) Not Around
Beat's sorta weird, didn't really like it, got annoying. Verses were fine though, lyricism was good. A decent track, but sort of forgettable, to be honest.

6) Born In This City
Real dope. Nice sample, great beat, and DZ didn't disappoint. A little short, which was disappointing, but a real dope track. One of the highlight of the albums.

7) It's Okay in a Way
Favorite song on the album. Talking about a bitchass friend who stabbed him in the back (), good beat and DZ flows on it perfectly. Solid, catchy chorus, and the sing-songy feel fits well when he uses it. Excellent song!

8) The Addiction
Nice song, didn't like the sample, but the verse was nice. Good concept too, a nice track overall. Not much else to say, haha. Just a good song

9) Shut Your Mouth (feat. TheSauce & Cadaver)
Nice track, for some reason I was expecting it to be wack haha. Other MC's hold their own. Beat's nothing special, but it doesn't matter cause the lyrics are good. Didn't like the chorus that much, but still, a good track overall. I will say, though, that if the chorus was any longer I'd have just gone to the next song haha

10) Music (Its) feat. Slick and KrazE
Another good track. All 3 MC's came correct, though the concept's been played to death (by everyone in the world ). A solid song overall. Not much else to say haha.

11) Lollipop Remix
Pure genius. Great use of the autotune. Not much else to say, just hear it. lmao

12)Midnight Train
Yeaaaaa. Nice use of the Journey song. Not sure about what was said on that autotune during the chorus...but 'sall good, sounded nice. Solid verses as well. Not amazing, but not bad at all...

13) Over My...
Wasn't really feeling it. Instrumental was solid, nice chorus, but I didn't find the flow or voice that good on it. The sample on the chorus was the highlight of the song to me. IDK, the vibe was off to me. I'd like that instrumental though haha

14) Love Ain't
DZ's voice was a bit too deep at the beginning for my liking. But it's a dope instrumental (<3 class="inlineimg" title="lol" alt="" src="http://www.nationofhiphop.net/images/smilies/ufunnyrt1.gif" border="0"> ("what's it matter to y'all"). Nice track though, really felt the verses. LOL @ "find me in your girl's mouth more than Listerine")

16) Heaven Knows - Outro
Great outro! Wow, very dope. Nice instrumental, nice verse, straight up goodness.

Grade: B

-DKE

Statik Selektah - Stick 2 The Script

2008-11-08T14:35:00.000-08:00

1) Stick 2 The Script (Intro)
Haha, Statik stars spitting. Doesn’t suck, either (wonder who ghost wrote it?). Anyway, just a short lil intro

2) To The Top (Stick 2 The Script) (Feat. Cassidy, Saigon, Termanology)
Nice track. Term had gotten annoying to me, but he was nice on this. All had nice verses. Liked Saigon breaking down his raps in comparison with legends. Overall, just a nice vibe and good lyrics.

3) For The City (Feat. MOP & Jadakiss)
Nice gutter shit, but I thought that a) the chorus didn’t really fit with the vibe, and b) the lyrics (especially MOP, not really Jada) were unoriginal. It’s decent, but probably on the weaker side of the album.

4) Get Out The Way (feat. Bun B & Cory Mo)
Yeaaahh, UGK track. Thought’d be more about Pimp’s passing, but it still works. Nice vibe, but I felt the beat was worse than some others, a bit annoying. A decent track overall.

5) All 2gether Now (Feat. Freeway, Peedi Crakk, Young Chris)
Didn’t Peedi diss Hov a ton? Sup with Freeway being on a track with him? Haha. Didn’t really like the sample, but once again, it’s not bad. One of my least favorites on the album though.

6) Interlude (feat. Q-Tip)
No rapping or anything, not really anything important.

7) Church (feat. Termanology)
I like the track. Term’s redeeming himself in my eyes. Nice track, nice beat.

8) Talkin’ Bout You (Ladies) (Feat. Skyzoo, Joell Ortiz, Talib Kweli)
Nice track. Good choice of samples IMO. And hell, you can’t really go wrong with this line-up. Gets the album back on track IMO. Very good track. Each verse is, IMO, dope.

9) On The Marquee (feat. Little Brother, Joe Scudda, Chandon)
Soulful vibe, real calm/placid/laidback. Great track. Everyone holds their own, and I really like the chorus. Just a really chill track.

10) Mr. Popularity (Feat. Consqequence)
First single. Overrated, IMO, but good nonetheless. Nice beat, gutter shit. I’m definitely a Cons fan, but I feel like he’s more suited on calmer/more soulful tracks. Not saying it’s bad at all though, I definitely fuck with it, but would’ve liked to see another rapper on it as well.

11) Interlude (feat. Madd Rapper)
Annoying talking. Skip.

12) This Is It (Showoff Remix) (Feat. D-Dot, Redman, Black Rob)
Dope beat, and nice line-up. All rappers hold their own on some smooth production. Fucking nice!

13) So Good (Live From The Bar) (Feat. Naledge, Reks, CL Smooth)
Psshh, took long enough for a Reks track! Needless to say, he spits nice, but so does everyone else. CL Smooth on a track with Reks! How dope is that? Nice instrumentation on this one. Very dope!

14) Streets of MA (Feat. Masspike Miles, Termanology, Supastah Snuk,
Reks, Slaine, Easy Money, Frankie Wainwright, and Smoke)
*Faints*. FINALLY a dope MA anthem! Like pretty much everyone it. Not surprisingly, one of my favorites was Reks, though I thought Easy Money and Frankie Wainwright were dope too. Nice, simple chorus, good vibe, just a dope posse cut for the MA, yeaaahhh

15) Sounds of the Street (Interlude) (Featuring JFK)
Didn’t know who JFK was…but I like what I hear. Quick verse, introducing a new rapper. Short and sweet. Point made: new rapper, best prepare yourself

16) Destined To Shine (feat. Torae, Sha Stimuli, Jon Hope)
Yeaahhh, Jon Hope! Dope rapper. Nice vibe again, talking about how they made it…nice track, good verses all around, good beat.

17) Cali Nights (feat. Glasses Malone, Mistah FAB, Novel)
Yeah, I wanna move to Cali (though I rep MA to the fullest, wtf?). Good track, nice vibe, good verses. I fuck with it. Had me nodding my head and all.

18) Take It All Back (feat. Reks, Ea$y Money, Royce Da 5’9”, Paula Campbell)
Dope fucking song. Reks goes in and talks to his mom, Ea$y spits some nice reminisceful bars, and Royce pretty much kills it: “Life ain't sweet, the Lord ain't said it was fair/Advice ain't cheap, I'm sure that I'm payin' for prayer/For granted I take it, some time my honor diseased/I'm only on my knees when I'm in need.” Paula Cambell’s chorus is nice too, and I like the vibe of the instrumental. Dope ending.

Grade: B

-DKE

P.S. We back niggaaaaazzzzzzzz

Saints Row 2

2008-10-27T18:35:00.001-07:00

Gameplay:
First off the combat plays basically like the first Saints Row game. Some people complained that the camera was too close to the player but I really didn't find that a big deal. With a game like this I don't really know where to start cause there is so much to talk about. Basically I found the controls fine and no big problems with aiming or fighting I actually found all of that easier than in GTA IV. I will be comparing both GTA and Saints Row 2 a lot throughout this review for obvious reasons. Something fun is that you can customize your gangs looks, graffiti tag and cars to drive. I do however have certain problems with this game. I hate when games fix things that aren't broken. Here I am playing and I play Snatch (Taking Ho's From Pimps) and the story for it just doesn't do it for me. For some reason to me a lot of the side missions seemed condensed and not as well written as they were in Saints ROw. I feel Saints Row was a funnier game and more out there. AI is actually not bad in this game either. The side missions needed work along with other things but that brought down my gameplay fun value. Saints Row just seemed to be a more hardcore/gangsta game than the new one. YEs this game is gangsta and has plenty of cussing and killing and it's satisfactory but it just doesn't seem as fucked up and thugged out as the first. Never the less there is tons to do in this game and it keeps you satisfied. Also the character customization is fun as hell but another small thing is I feel that there isn't as much clothes and such to buy. I could sit here and pick things out all day but I won't. I'll just say that this game has its flaws of course.

Graphics:
So when I first saw the trailer for this game I thought the graphics were unbelievable. Now after playing the graphics are only average for a next-gen game. I'm not someone who really cares to much about graphics as long as the game is good. But the graphics aren't nohing special but not horrible.

Storyline:
I loved this storyline just like I loved the first one. Out there? Maybe so but still well written. Getting to know each and every character and what they bring to the table is fun. Every gang is interesting to play against and brings something different from the first installment. Storyline is funny and it's just cool to see your gang go from something to nothing. Basically you start off in an abandoned church [Not The One From The Original For That Side Of Town Has Been Remodeled Thanks TO The Ultor Corp.] and you watch your gang rise up and see that hideout become a pimp ass place complete with thugs and strippers. You also can buy numerous different places and customize them. The customization in this game is great. I wont spoil anything or talk about characters and such. All I'll say is the storyline is engaging and fun just like the first with very worthy opponents. Game Is Over the top at times but Stilwater is an over the top town. (BTW THE SOUNDTRACK HAS SOME DOPE SONGS, ESPECIALLY THE 80's CHANNEL)

Multiplayer:
I hardly played the mutliplayer but I'm not impressed. None of these gangster games have good online play in my opinion. Takes far to long to get into a game.

Replay Value:
The game has plenty to do and easily 30+ hours of gameplay at least. But is it worth playing again? Shit isn't it always worth killing people over and over? I wont say this a must replay game but I can easily see someone getting bored and restarting with a newly made character. Like most games like this though you'll proably beat it and come back here and there to fuck up innocent people.

LAST WORDS:
I wont lie I like this game and feel sad that I beat it. Just like in GTA IV I grew attached to the characters ad now kind of miss them in a non nerdy way. lol But you catch what I'm saying and those are the best stories and games when you feel a connection with fellow characters. I'm having a hard time deciding if this installment is better than the first both were decent/good but both have there strong points and weak ones. So I'll say they're about even and this was a solid sequel. Now as much as I liked this I must say that this is in no way a GTA IV. Why? I can't really put my finger on it. But you play the two and you just know GTA IV is a superior game in every aspect. It's a shame but GTA is more polished and I'm not one of those haters that thinks Saints ROw isn't as good because it copied off GTA. Well it was only a matter of time anyways. Keep up the good working and I can't wait for the 3rd one!!!

GRADE: 8.5/10

-C.S.

The Cat With Hands (2001)

2008-10-02T18:19:00.001-07:00

A dark, short film (two and a half minutes) where a man is telling a younger one a story about a cat who desperately wanted to be human.

Firstly this is by far the creepiest thing I have ever seen. The dark, foreboding setting gives the short a very creepy atmosphere. The cat itself gave me nightmares for a week, it's intense. The facial movements, the hands, everything about it is just perfectly creepy.

The short easily could have been longer but it is perfect for what it is. The limited acting shown was great, the story was spot on, and the special effects were great. The title makes you think it's going to be a mediocre, uncreative experience but what we get is a short like no other.

There's really not much else that can be said. It's short, it's great, it's creepy, and it's available for viewing on youtube. Watch this!

10/10

-Kartoon

REC (2007)

2008-10-01T12:28:00.000-07:00

A news reported is doing a documentary on a day in the lives of firemen. The department receives a 911 call from an apartment building about an old lady in some sort of distress, once they arrive is when hell breaks lose. The women attacks a police officer and when they return to the hall they discover that the military has sealed off the building, with no explanation, trapping them inside.

REC is a pretty typical zombie movie made a little more unique with the POV style filming as seen in Cloverfield, Blair Witch, etc. Standard jump out tactics are used as well as fairly dumb characters. One interesting thing to note though is that none of the actors were aware of what was going to happen so the reactions we see are the real ones. Near the top when something falls (not going to go into detail) no one knew that one coming so we see there true fright. This was an interesting idea and paid off well as we get to see something we don't normally get in horror movies, genuine fear.

However this definetly isn't enough to save the movie from itself. It starts off extremely boring and trudges along at a snails pace. It does this to build the massacre and the creepy feeling till the end but it doesn't do it well. None of it is foreboding or even remotely creepy, it's just boring. I don't care that the firemen are eating, watching movies, etc. waiting for a call. The real movie doesn't actually start till about half way through the movie (which is 70 minutes in total). By then it's like who cares? I know I didn't.

Now people are calling this the scariest movie of all time. Why? No idea. There's a few scenes where something jumps out but that's it. The POV angle does nothing to increase the tension level. Most of the shots of the zombies are them being passive, or breaking out of a room but none of them are remotely scary.

There's a couple inconsistencies that remind you that this is only a movie. A special forces biosafety member enters wearing the full biosuit, makes sense. However after he checks on the two "dead" and handcuffs them to the bed he returns to the main hall and removes his helmet. He says the virus is spread through saliva, so this makes sense right? Why have it one? Exactly. He clearly knew how it was spread before entering the building so the suit in the first place is useless, it's only there to scare the people trapped in the building basically.

The plot is thin and cheesy as well. Exorcism, a virus that turns people into zombies passed through saliva (bites), etc. I'm fairly certain there wasn't one innovative idea in the entire film, it just took bits and pieces from other ones and pieced them together.

Overall it's a pretty poor movie. It moves way to slow, the acting is average, the plot is lame, and it's just not a very good movie. An American remake is coming out soon titled Quarantine and following the trend of shitty remakes I'm sure it's going to be even worse.

4/10

-Kartoon

D.I.R.T. by Heltah Skeltah

2008-09-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
- Nice beat and just good shit all around. The lyrics are in your face and everything was on point on this track. Great way to start off this album.

2. Everything Is Heltah Skeltah
- Dope at first on some musical shit but the lyrics are straight fire. Rock and Sean P were on point on this song and Sean P had one of the best lyrical showings on this album. Just an all out ill track.

3. The Art Of Disrespekinazation
- This beat is crack. This track is crack. Everything here is ill. I'm impressed by Heltah Skeltah so far I didn't expect to like it this much so far but I'm seeing a bright future for this album. Not even a big Heltah fan. Anyways this track is lyrically good gangsta shit.

4. Da Beginning Of Da End
- Another real nice beat. Rockness's verse was dope as fuck and I liked Sean P's as well. This track was dope as hell. The beat set off everything and these dudes could've spit ass and still sounded nice over this beat. Mad dope track i think I pissed myself in excitement for the other songs.

5. Twinz
- Damn Sean P dropped heat on this track and Rockness did as well. Perfect verses from everyone. Just some straight raw ass gangsta shit!!!! Damn I could listen to this over and over. Matter of fact if I ever want to fight with someone Ima listen to this to get me pissed. Ill ass track is all that can be said.

6. D.I.R.T. (Another Boot Camp Clik Yeah Song)
- Yeah!!!!! This track is ill as fuck. To be honest I never respected Sean P as much as I should've but now that I'm hearing this dudes mad ill. The flow is crazy, the lyrics are crazy. Just more raw rapping from these niggas. This is a hood banger right hurr.

7. So Damn Tuff
- "It's the left jab that'll have you fucked up like a crystal meth lab" Ha ill. Another dope track that's mad gangster. This is just an ill gangsta rap album. One of the best gangsta rap albums in awhile. It's got a perfect blend of lyrics, beats and hood status. Anyone can feel this and if you ain't than you should die.

8. Insane
- Maybe the worst track so far and that's saying a lot considering this isn't a bad track in the least bit. A real raw gangsta track but I just didn't like it as much as the other 7. The flow was tight from Sean P.

9. W.M.D.
- A real nice soothing beat and the flow and delivery is perfect from all MC's. Another real gangster track. Just talking about shooting dudes and all that hood/gangsta shit. I can feel it especially when I'm pissed. Props to M-Phazes on the production side. Ill beat ya digg?

10. That's Incredible
- The introduction lines were great. Beautiful almost. Like literally I was gonna cry :). Another nice Climatic beat and dope raw lyrics. I never heard Heltah Skeltah spit like this. Before now I thot of them as boring and overrated but this album makes them a serious case. Some may even call this album of the year. But I'm getting a head of myself. Point is this track is dope.

11. Ape Food
- The beat is once again nice and so is everything else. I might as well just say that for everything cuz thats how it is ya digg? Lyricism is ill from everyone on the track. The flow is hood the track is gangster I'm feeling this. Nothing more to say other than it's ill.

12. Hellz Kitchen
- Dope track repping the kitchen big. Nothing more Ima say. Ill!

13. Smack Muzik
- Second weakest track on here. It's raw and gangster but was lacking something. Not bad though it's real fast paced and up in your face.

14. Ruck N Roll
- Ill beat and nice change of pace from the other tracks in some ways. Still ill as hell. All the lyrics and flow was great. Sounded great over the beat. Just a perfect way to end a great album. Sean P>>>>>>>>>> Rockness>>>>>>>> Props to them niggas on this album.

~REVIEW DONE BY C.S.~

LAST WORDS:
Basically All Ima say is WOW. Dope ass album not a single weak track. true ass gangsta shit. If you have to choose between CRACK, Politicz As Usual, Paper Trail or any of the other recent albums. You go buy this.

GRADES:
C.S. : B+
KARTOON : 8/10

CRACK by Z-RO

2008-09-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

1. Crack (Intro)
- Dope ass intro it's real....real...chill? So yea the part when he's talking interesting and keeps you listening and then the part where he starts rhyming is good to. It was a different type of beat. Good rapping all together it's a nice intro.

2. Baby Girl
- Kind of an R&B flow but unlike Scarface when he does it I was feeling this. At first he sounded like he was singing and rhyming at the same time but no matter what it was dope as hell. Dope beat dope lyrics, dope everything. That's why they call it Crack.

3. Call My Phone Ft. Slim Thug
- Another smooth track from two of H-Towns bosses. Z-Ro may have the smoothest style. Dudes just so cool in the booth. Z-RO on some real shit right now though this track is chill as fuck.

4. Here We Go Ft. Mike-D
-"Put A Ring On My Own Finger Cuz I Sleep With Z-Ro" ill. Z-Ro spits another real ass track. Mike-D's verse was tight, I liked it the flow was nice and lyrically it wasn't bad. This entire track I could relate to and thats always a plus.

5. If That's How You Feel Ft. Lil Keke
- The beat was decent but this is probably the weakest track so far. The lyrics were sort of missing something and well actually the entire track was missing something. It was still average but not as good as the other 4. Worth a listen most definitely though.

6. Lonely
- Well another good track and Z-Ro does what? Spits more of dat real shit. That seemed to be Z-Ro's focus was to be real as fuck here not that he hasn't always been real. But all these are silent anthems. What I mean by that is that they don't make as much noise as an anthem but they're low profile and if u listen to them you'll relate to it. Nice track.

7. Made
- Good shit some nice smooth lyrics on this track. Not anything better than a good track but hey we'll take it. I listened to it a couple more times and noticed the good lyricism and flow. SO it was better at second listen definitely.

8. The Mo City Don
- Hmmmm the singing I can't kinda do without or whatever Z-Ro was trying to do. I mean he does it well and better than certain others I know. It was kinda like Gangsta R&B. Good track though not his best on here but worth a listen and has decent lyricism.

9. Top Notch
- Not a very good track just didn't have very much substance to it. Kind of catchy I mean I would play this in the club. But yea i'd skip this but decide for yourself cuz it's not completely bad.

10. Rollin'
-Another mellow track wit nice flow. Kind of boring though and as far as lyrics, Z-Ro is starting to sound like a broken record. Seems like every track has the same problem, same lyrics, same flow, same beat. I'm starting to get bored with this. :( sorry. He needs to use different beats instead of these slow ass beats.

11. Tired Ft. Mya
- Stop with the singing and shit. TO tell you the truth I'm not a huge Z-Ro fan. I like dude but not a big fan like fellow staff member DaOriginalKillaKastro. So IDK if Z-Ro sings like this on his other albums but it's getting old. Lyrics are bland and so is this beat.

12. You
- This song seems like the same beat from tracks 1-8 lol. I'm trying not to hate on the beat selection but it's hard. Sure it flows well with him but they all sound the same. This track though is actually not that bad I liked it. Real shit.

13. Eyes On Paper Ft. Paul Wall
- Good track but other than Z-Ro being better than Lloyd Banks there voices remind me of each other. IDK why I'm making the comparison but they seem monotone from time to time and just have bland voices. Not a bad track but not great. I can feel it though.

14. 25 Lighter
- I was vibing with this. Good ass track right here one of the best on the album. Had a great Dirty South sound and just an ill track. The lyrics and low tempo beat set off Z-Ro's voice and there wasn't no gay ass R&B sound. Dope fucking track with a nice length. That's really all I can say lol

15. Paid My Dues
- WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? This beat is different from every other beat. It's dope maybe the dopest since the Intro. Z-Ro ended this album with a real nice track. Shit's ill and a great way to end this album.

LAST WORDS:
Well let's see this album started off well mainly because I ignored certain things but as this album went on I noticed the beats were boring and sounded the same, the lyrics were decent at best and well Z-Ro kept being an R&B douche. Still I pressed on and found myself enjoying it here and there. Maybe it'll take more listens but whatever. Point is that Crack has gotten mixed reviews from listeners. Some saying it's dope [Kartoon] and top 5 of the year and then others saying it's a disappointment or "GARBAGE". I wouldn't say it's garbage at all and I really wasn't excited for it so it's not a disappointment. This is a real mellow album that you can zone out to and just chill with. Listen to some real shit while smoking a blunt.

~REVIEW DONE BY C.S.~

GRADES:
C.S. : B
Kartoon : 8/10
DKE : B+

Dr. Dooom 2 by Dr. Dooom

2008-09-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

1. Simon
- LMAO this shit was funny as hell. Dissing Simon Cowell and American Idol. I was dying laughing for some reason. I just didn't expect it at all. Really other than the comedy aspect the lyricism is lame and shit wasn;t impressive. A lot of repeated words.

2. The Countdown
- The beat is nice and sounds mad old school. The lyricism is better on this track and is just a more interesting song. Kinda seemed like this was the true beginning of the album and Simon was just an intro.

3. R.I.P. Dr. Octagon
- This is one of my favorite Keith tracks. SHits just fuckin ill. Octagon got merked but still I'll admit Keith's lyricism could use some work. But fuck that i won't critique the matsers style just his tracks. This was the first track I heard on youtube from this album and I was like "Holy Shit" this track is ill I gotta pick this up.

4. I'm Creepin
- "I'm Creepin" lol kind of a wierd song but of course it's kind of wierd its Dr. Dooom nigga. Decent track but nothing special kind of boring but I can't say skip it because I'm sure numerous Keith lovers will find some way to call this genius and dope.

5. I Followed You
- The beat is fucking heat. One thing I noticed so far is that the production on this album so far is nice. The flow is real nice and good "original" rhyming scheme. Dooom on some funny ass stalking shit.

6. Run For Your Life Ft. Father
- More nice original rhyming. I liked the line where he talks about watching the Backyardigans. No Homo but that takes balls to say u watching the backyardigans. Some times I look at Keith and wonder why people overrate him so much cuz lyrically he isn't very good I mean he sounds like a 6 year old but he's a very original rapper and does something different. You just really gotta dig Acid Rap to be into him. Decent track nice verse from Father.

7. Step-N-Fetchers
- Really this song is pointless but that's aight I can dig it. Another good simple beat kinda like a fast paced horro beat. Nice lyricism, nice song.

8. The God Of Rap
- The beat is ill and this track is dope as fuck. Dooom speaks on some real shit. He merks any rapper when it comes to being original and out of the ordinary. Dope ass track with good lyrics and just ill shit. the beat puts you in a trance. Ill Shit bruh!

9. How Sexy Ft.Denis Deft
- Some of Keiths best lyricism so far on this album and just a good track that wasn't like his others. The beat sounded nice like it was played off a Xylophone. Dr. Dooom is dat nigga. This track gets better in the second half.

10. That Girl Is A Monster
-Sounding like a 50 Cent/G-Unit except its Dr. Dooom on it lol. Some nice wordplay and lyricism here. Has quite a few nice lines. "What Side Of My Ass Do You Want To Kiss" Word nice. Good track

11. Do Not Disturb
- Beat is mad nice and track is a banger. Dooom be on some ethering shit on this track. Nice lyrics and just all out ill flow Dooom got at u straight up with this. BOW DOWN TO DOOOM!

12. Take That Ride
- Street banger right here for some reason lol. Shits nice and catchy as hell. I was feeling it at first but then I got mad into it after the beginning. The middle and beyone was dope.

13. Mopped Up
- This track has mad dope wordplay and lyricism. Talking about slicing kneecaps and shit. Keith gets at deez niggas and the fans. Right up in your face. Just some of Keiths best lyricism.

14. Always Talkin Out Your Ass
- The beat is real calm and Doom still droppin heat on dudes. Good one liners and nice lyrics. Otherworldly almost if u follow me. Still only an average track to me but definitely worth a listen.

15. Surgery Ft. Motion Man
- Average track nothing bad but nothing great. Stays right in the middle. I did like Motion Man's verse a lot though.

~REVIEW DONE BY C.S.~

GRADES:
C.S. : B-
KARTOON : 9/10

Mega Man 9 (Wii Version)

2008-09-22T21:04:00.001-07:00

It's been 15 years since the last 8bit Mega Man game was released with a slew of Mega Man titles released throughout (X series, MegaMan and Bass, Battle Network, ton of other shitty games, etc). Capcom decided to take it old school and finally release Mega Man 9 the way it should be and they did it right.

Story:
Let's be honest, the story is terrible. If you've played any Mega Man game you know what to expect, robots go nuts and threaten the planet and it's up to Mega Man to stop them. Dr. Light, Wily, Roll, etc. are all back. The first "cutscene" starts out with a MASSIVE plot twist (ok not really you know it's a lie) but it's more story then some of the games had, but still terrible. Who plays Mega Man for story, though?

Soundtrack:
The soundtrack is amazing and stands up there with all the NES ones, same addicting tunes, same 8bit style.

Graphics:
Now this graphics are either amazing or absolutely terrible depending on how you look at them. If you take it for what it's supposed to be, an 8bit Mega Man game, then they're exceptional and 100% accurate to the old school Mega Man games complete with sprite tearing, graphical glitches, etc. On the other hand if you look at them as being in 2008 they're terrible and probably the worst on any "new" game out. Personally I think they're great because that was the look Capcom was going for, they WANT it to be a new NES game.

Level Design:
The level design is on-point for every stage and it easily ranks up there as some of the best levels in Mega Man history, period. Galaxy Man, Jewel Man, etc. have really innovative level designs that have not been seen in any prior Mega Man game. The enemy spawn patterns are predictable and everything has a set route as is Mega Man tradition but they're still wonderfully clever. You WILL die to the perfectly placed enemy or that one spike that you got nudged into, Capcom knows what you will do and how to kill you when you do it.

Gameplay:
The Gameplay in 9 is great, spot-on like the originals. It's based on Mega Man 1-2 so there is no chargeshot, slide, etc. that we saw in the later games, it's just the basic run and jump. Of course the tradition of stealing the Robot Master's weapons is still there, and the rock-paper-scissors gameplay continues. There are multiple ways to play this game and that's what makes it great. You can figure out which weapon would be most effective against who, just use your powerbuster against everyone, or buy dozens of e-tanks and do whatever the hell you want. A new addition to 9 is the store, you can exchange screws you find for various items including e-tanks, the ability to play as helmetless Mega Man and other goodies. This offers a new unique way to play Mega Man and makes it more forgiving to players new to the franchise. Don't think this will make the game easy though because you will die, a lot. This is probably one of (if not THE hardest) of all the old school Mega Man games but that's what makes it great.

Downloadable Content:
Yes you read that header right, downloadable content. Capcom already announced the first batch is coming out sometime in October and assuming that does well more will probably be on the way. The sad part about this however is that you already bought the DLC when you purchased Mega Man 9, this initial set is already in the game but you have to pay for the right to use it. Basically Capcom is trying to milk us for money, instead of just including it like they should have. Anyway the first batch is the ability to play as Proto Man (a new way to play through the game as he has charge shot, slide, and handles differently), higher difficulties, and a few other goodies. Nothing else has been announced yet but expect a high change of seeing more characters or at the very least new outfits eventually.

Overall:
It's Mega Man, there's really nothing else to say. If the idea of a new 8bit Mega Man game sounds exciting to you then get it. It's $10, a nice retro-throwback, and a genuine fun game. Keep in mind this was based off of the Wii version as the 360/PS3 versions aren't out yet.

9/10

-Kartoon

Rotten Apple by Lloyd Banks

2008-09-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

1. Rotten Apple Ft. 50 Cent & Prodigy
- Real dope ass beat from Havoc and Sha Money XL. The track is decent only because of the banging beat. The lyricism isn't very good and all in all the track is pretty lame. Banks can spit better than this and his guests weren't help.

2. Survival
- This track was pretty boring. The lyricism was average but this track is just so boring....Like I had a hard time getting into it at all. He had a good topic but as complained before by others Banks shows no emotion he's just monotone.

3. Playboy 2
- Certain people was saying that this was one of the only good tracks off Rotten Apple but this track is pretty lame. An okay beat but the rhymes are overly simple and just a lame song that seemed to be made by a 10 year old rapper. Just cuz u say "Yup" after shit don't mean nothing.

4. The Cake Ft. 50 Cent
- I was actually feeling this. It started off pretty wack but got way better as it went on. Still only a average song though.

5. Make A Move
- A decently flowing song it just was also boring. I swear Banks has to be one of the most boring rappers in history. I mean I like the dude and believe he has talent but he shows no emotion and that don't help him.

6. Hands Up Ft. 50 Cent
- Oh snap this bass is bumping. 50 Cent really sounded nice over this beat and it is pretty catchy. Best track so far. Banks finally showed some nice lyricism here. Word up to Eminem for the beat naw mean?

7. Help
- So basically Banks thinks he's a pornstar in the music video? lol This track is aight lyrically. It's still another blah/decent track. Not much else to say except step ya game up Banks!

8. Addicted
-Jesus I just have lost so much interest in this album. This track is unappealing its so damn boring. No album should make you strain yourself to enjoy it. If I just heard one above average song I'd be happy.

9. You Know The Deal (Dollar Bill) Ft. Rakim
- Well this has Rakim on it so thats dope. Nice track still kind of a bore but it flowed well and kept me intrigued for half of it.

10. Get Clapped Ft. Mobb Deep
-Actually a pretty nice track I was feeling it. The beat had a real ill sound and everyone spit on point. Nice raw New York shit. i can dig it the whole way through and actually Banks's voice complimented him.

11. Stranger
- It started off slow but ended up being decent. Still not really worth a listen. Everything is blah and puts you to sleep.

12. Change
- Yea pretty lame. Skip!

13. NY NY Ft. Tony Yayo
-Another nice Eminem beat. God its almost like I'm listening for production only because the lyrics are ass and boring. Unoriginal. Shits just so predictable and boring. This track is no exception.

14. One Night Stand
-Not a bad track at all shit has good parts. The beat is nice and like a remedy ya digg? The lyricism is nice so all in all this track isn't bad but don't get me wrong it ain't any better than good.

15. Iceman Feat. young Buck, Scarface & 8 Ball
- The flows from all the rappers was tight. Everyone flowed well and spit great. Maybe the best track on this album. Beat is simple yet nice. Good shit from all 4 of them MC's.

16. Gilmore's
- Nice beat but every thing else on this track lacks greatly

GRADE: D-

-C.S.

One For The Journey EP by Sway

2008-09-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

1. True Stories
- The intro was interesting. Now I've never heard this Sway guy before but he's not that bad. He had a real nice flow and the lyricism was nice. Getting a little political on this and I liked it. Shit was nice he stayed dope throughout the track really not a single weak line.

2. Move Back
- Nice beat it sounded very epic. Sway's voice isn't annoying either so that's a plus. This track is nice as well. Raw UK shit and I never thought I'd say that. Nah 4real the lyricism ain't bad and I guess I'd have to live in the UK to feel some of this shit. It's hard to understand when he's saying Scottland Yard or I rep Buckland hard. Like I'm thinking to myself that's like saying "I Rep Hollywood" That's just how teh UK is portrayed in America but Ima look past that. Good track.

3. Baby Father
- Ok I won't fuckin lie. that bitch sounded like a retard and she completely made this track cheesy as hell. Very cheesy track I wasn't feeling it. The beat combined with the bitch's voice completely overshadowed the lyrics. :(

4. Up Your Speed
-This track has Chamillionaire on it? Hmmm thats wierd. Sway ain't a bad producer I've noticed so far. More heavy repping for the UK and all its cities or whatever they call them over there. :) The lyricism is okay it's more like a club banger than anything but I can dig it.

5. Ex Boyfriend
- Nice and slow I was feeling it and Sway was smooth like R Kelly ya digg? lol the singing was kind of wierd but it fit well. Sway has a nice speed to his voice when he raps. Nice rapid fire rapping. Different change of pace from the other songs. Not bad but not great. Just average.

6. Every Man (For Himself)
-Not a bad track but nothing special. Everything was just plain average.

7. Get 'Em High
- Sway seems to have done something different with his voice. None the less this track is okay. The beat and singing in the back adds a nice flavor to it. Decent track no more no less.

GRADE: B

-C.S.

Slim Shady EP by Eminem

2008-09-21T12:39:00.001-07:00

1. Intro (Slim Shady)
- Lol thats some crazy ass shit. Slim Shady is dat nigga yea digg? Kinda wierd.

2. Low, Down, Dirty
- Good underground track. Nice smooth track with nice lyricism. Not his best lyricism but nice of course. It's just mad raw and not the Eminem we see today. "If you hear a man who sounds like me smack'em/Ask him where he got his raps from/" Nice song.

3. If I Had...
- The beginning is some true shit that I was feeling. Good words from Eminem. Another real nice smooth track. I love Eminems slow tracks cuz really the dude spits ill ass true shit on his slower shit when he's not being all Up In Your Face as Slim Shady. "If I had One Wish/I'd wish for a big enough ass for the whole world to kiss" Yea nuff said.

4. Just Don't Give A Fuck
-Yea you all know this track. It's legendary and it's dope. Every line from the beginning is nice and on point. "You wacker than the mother fucker you bit your style from/You wouldn't sell to copies if you pressed a double album" Also that buying a ticket to your concert line was nice. More ill/real shit. Eminem is an angry poerson lol and I think this track embodies an entire generation of pissed off white people. Crazy good.

5. Mommy
- I honestly don't see the point at all. It was nothing.

6. Just The Two Of Us
- Haha this track is funny in a fucked up way. Ill as hell but Em is mad fucked up. I ain't one to judge though cuz from craziness comes ill tracks. Damn the raw lyricism and shit was just so perfect and the storytelling. Even when he's saying the baby words it sounds ill. Kim must feel kinda scared cuz Em makes like 30 tracks about killing her. But hey it's whatever this is ill as hell. Beat wasn't bad either.

7. No One's Iller
- The features are ill and many believe this to be one of Em's best underground tracks. Swifty and Bizarre were straight on point. Eminem's verse was mad nice he just makes it seem effortless. Dope track.

8. Murder, Murder
- Kind of boring. It's pretty slow but still nice lyricism of course. Just an average track.

9. If I Had....(Radio Edit)
-Same As Before Except edited. :(

10. I Just Don't Give A Fuck (Radio Edit)
-Same as b4

GRADE: B+

-C.S.

The Leak EP by Lil Wayne

2008-09-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

1. I'm Me
- Definitely a different style from his newest shit. Seems more grimy. I still can't really handle his flow and the way he talks like when he stresses his shit. He was definitely a different rapper at this time though. Well thats kinda wierd considering that was only a year ago but he changed up for The Carter III. The beat is real nice though. I can't actually say i dislike this track. :)

2. Gossip
- The intro was wierd I'll say. Lil Wayne's flow wasn't bad. At first I liked a couple of his metaphors/similies and just lines in general. Then he did typical Weezy and started making no sense. "If I'm Wrong, then there is no right" That was nice I liked it but then he says "If I'm wrong there is no white" What in the hell does that mean? So many missed oppurtunities to make good lines in the middle of the song.

3. Kush
- Uhhhhhhhhhhh yea I don't know what to say. Ass? Nothing here was working for me. The lines sounded retarded in a bad way and just were so wack that a 4 year old could rap better. He talks about random shit like ninja turtles and ormal turtles and other wierd shit. Dude must've been high as fuck. Nice beat but the lyrics are wack as fuck.

4. Love Me Or Hate Me
- loool he said, "I get right back up like Viagra" That is just horrible in every way. Why would you say that? That should've been followed up immediately by no homo cuz I felt very uncomfortable. He saves himself in the middle with some average stuff. This track is still wack cuz well......Wayne is rapping on it.

5. Talkin About It
- Haha "I'm So Fly I need my ass kicked/ These boys ballin by accident/" Sorry but Weezy has some of the most hilarious lines. [In A Bad Way] I mean Lil Wayne is more of a comedy rapper to me. This track is average. Not much else to say ust lame.

GRADE: C+

-C.S.

Astronaut EP by Quasimoto

2008-09-21T11:56:00.001-07:00

1. Astronaut
- You ain't no astronaut! The beat is all out dope as fuck of course its from Madlib. Now lyrically this track could use some work but this is a dope song make no damn mistake. I don't look to Quasi for great lyricism but the flow and delivery is great and anyone could sound dope over a Madlib beat. :) Ill track definitely listen if you're a hip hop head.

2. Am I Confused?
- Dat nigga Madlib dropped another dope ass beat. Shit was thumpin and Quasimoto was ill as fuck on this. Nothing really to say other than the beat is top notch, Quasi spit great to this. Just a nice track not as good as Astronaut but this is nice.Can't say enough about this beat its just so damn good. Madlib is God of the instrumental.

3. Lonely Piano
- One of the most beloved beats from Madlib. Hell look it up on youtube and see how many people love it. Just saw smooth like a lullaby but it bangs hard still. If your an upcoming producer take notes. If your an upcoming rapper look into taking this beat. It's almost just simple yet so complex. lol I don't know but it's ill. *Bumps Again*

Last Words:
Well I normally don't like doing EP's but whatever I felt a need to do this one. Also Ima be doing other EP's this week as well. At only 3 tracks I can't fully say much really. This was definitely good and worth a listen. At 3 tracks it shouldn't be that hard to lend your ears. I give this a B because it's so short, shorter than even other short EP's. All the tracks were solid but I just wasn't feeling an A.

GRADE: B+

-C.S.

Mirrors (2008)

2008-09-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

Well what can I say about the Exorcist, oh sorry I meant Silent Hill...the Eye?. My bad guys I meant Pulse.....oh yea, it's called Mirrors.

Alright so if you can't tell from that basically what you're getting with this movie is the pieces of various other (mostly shitty) movies combined into one, and then made even worse. An ex-detective (Kiefer Sutherland) who's on leave for killing someone (how, why, etc is never explained, they could have easily left out the detective BS because it was irrelevant) gets a job at as a nightwatchmen at an abandoned department store and soon begins having terrible visions around mirrors.

Let's start with the parts of the movie that make 0 sense. First off we're told that the department store he's patrolling has no electricity. Sounds reasonable right? Yes, except that he's constantly turning on lights. Next we have the watchmen job in general. The department store was part of a massive fire, the inside is completely destroyed, the basement is flooded, and they're never going to use it again. Why the hell have they being hiring a watchman to patrol it for five years now? Waste of finances, just a lil?

Then there's other things such as he smashes the rearview mirror in his car but apparently the two on the outside don't matter, or the windows themselves even though he covers them up in his house. He also is no longer a detective but he got to keep his gone, even though he's on pills to stop his alcoholism and other things, that sounds like a good idea.

The story is equally terrible. The idea is that wherever mirrors are the "thing" (I can him Satan) can get to you and manipulate you using your mirror image. We don't get told why exactly this thing is in the mirror until like half way through the movie and we never find out what it is. Does this sound familiar? Yea, it's from Pulse (an equally terrible movie where ghosts travel through electronics). He first gets visions in one of the mirrors of people burning to death. Oh, like the factory in the Eye! Yea...

We eventually find out (after a ton of useless information that has zero importance to the story) that the cause of the thing in the mirror is an old lady who used to be in the mental hospital where the department store now is. They thought she had a personality disorder when she was actually possessed by this Satan, her brother brought in priests, doctors, etc. to try to help her. I'm sure by now you said HEY EXORCIST! Well yes, she even looked similar. Anyway more useless info and we find out that the doctor at the hospital strapped her in a room surrounded by mirrors which eventually sucked Satan out. Now however he wants her back and he kills the families of all the watchmen until they find and bring her back to him. I won't spoil the ending but it's incredibly cheesy, especially the "epic" final battle and if you've seen Silent Hill the ending is IDENTICAL.

There really was no redeeming factors for this movie. The plot was terrible, the acting was fairly bad, the subplots were a waste of time, the actual movie could have fit in about a 30 minute TV slot which would have made it a lot better. I don't know what exactly I was expecting from this movie but like One Missed Call and Pulse earlier it certainly wasn't this.

4/10

-Kartoon

Anthropophagus (1980)

2008-09-19T17:23:00.001-07:00

A group of friends go on a trip to explore various Greek islands but end up stranded on a mainly deserted island being terrorized by someone or something that takes them out one by one.

A pretty standard Italian slasher movie complete with dramatic music buildup and the occasional thing popping out. If you watch it for what it is then it's a good movie, but don't expect anything groundbreaking or original in it. The gore effects are really well done for the time it was produced and two specific parts near the end (which I won't spoil, you'll know what they are when you see them) will definitely give you something to remember.

A lot of cliches in it of course. In the group we have the slut (although a surprising twist this time, it's a man!), the useless bitch (pregnant), the machoman, the hitchhiker, etc. Typical "twists" here and there and the characters all do incredibly moronic things such as one woman going to investigate a noise in the basement while the others are sleeping, one running off into the woods at night in a storm, the two men leaving the two women with a blind girl in a house to go and try and get on a boat, etc.

One thing that was terrible was the dubs and the subtitles. Now I did just watch a bootleg so I'm not sure if it was meant to be like this, but the subtitling was terrible. While listening to the dub and reading the subtitles it was like the subtitles were fan made, which they could have been, because they were so inaccurate it was unbelievable. They cut out words/phrases, added in other random words, etc. The dubs themselves weren't much better, easily featuring some of the worst voice acting I've heard. The scene with Nikos (the cannibal) or the boat with his family is possibly the cheesiest scene ever, simply because whoever did the voice was terrible.

Overall not a bad movie for what it is and does have a couple noteworthy scenes. It drags on a little bit at times but not too bad. Hopefully the true Italian version has better subtitles because then it would be much improved, as for the movie I watched I'd have to give it;

6/10

-Kartoon

Blu - Lifted (EP)

2008-09-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

For the record, Blu's Below The Heavens with Exile? Classic.

1) Another Day
Great, mellow beat, with some real nice lyrics. No chorus, just straight spittin’, with Blu touching on subjects ranging from why he’s rapping, talks about other career choices, and ends up on how his girl’s a hypocrite. Nice lines through it, my favorite part’s near the end talking about hypocrites/fake cats. Actually, hell, there’s too many quotable lines. Really, a dope, dope song. Peep it on youtube or something haha.

2) Soul Provider
Harder feeling to this. Beat’s ok, the scratches get annoying though. Nice, sick lyrics though. Really too many quotable lines on this one too, just sick lyrics, great flow.

3) Soul Amazin’ (Steel Blazin’)
Yeah, a song from the Below The Heavens album. Nice instrumental, really spiritual, and soulful (which is clearly what they were going for haha). Crazy flow, like usual. “Flow sweeter than swine/So any mic that I find, got a right to be hoggin’ it/Talkin’ shit, loudmouth, wild out, startin’ it/Alcoholic slaughter in my vocab department/So pardon if my talkin’ is slurred…”

4) Party Of Two
Love song…ish haha. Not liking the beat, but the lyrics are OK. Yeah, they’re pretty horny lol, and pretty much just like “yeah I wanna fuck you,” but still, nice lyricism amidst the limited subject matter. Chorus is meh, got a singer on it. But yeah, pretty good lines: “Love you got me awful/Cause you know I’m all for you/Plus I love it when you call me Blu.” Still, worst song of the 5.

5) The Narrow Path
Another from Below The Heavens. Good song, like the beat. Great lyrics, like usual. Nice vibe to the song. Talkin’ about walkin’ the road, the narrow path. Nice chorus, and overall just 5 minutes of nice lyricism. “Though I’ve managed to make it/I’ve damaged the places/Up in my mind/Life and times of Los Angeles’ greatest/Wasting time, wasting life spans fucking around/I’m spitting deep shit, stuck underground/So just dig it, I don’t fuck with it…”

Grade: A-
The EP is so short, that the misses are more noticeable. Tracks 3/4 just werent at the level as the other three, so i can't give this a perfect grade. Still definitely worth listening

- DKE

Seeing Sounds by N.E.R.D.

2008-09-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

N.E.R.D Seeing Sounds (2008)

Lets get into this latest project from N.E.R.D. and see what they brought to the table

Time For Some Action

This starts off with a little classical neighborhood intro as Pharrell reminisces over his 7 yr old lifestyle in the 80’s as began “seeing sounds”. So this beat came on and I was like damn… this bumps like I’ve been bumpin it for weeks already. And then it hit me that this sounds like Pharrell’s “Can I have It Like That” which I had been bumpin for weeks. This could be like part 2, the only difference is that pharrell punches in a small series of lines that are followed by the bridge of the song. It has a breakdown that’s mediocre but is a chill song overall.

Everyone Nose (All The Girls Standing In The Line For The Bathroom)

Love the remix to this but I like this version equally as much. The percussion on this is killer and this is one of the most live songs as far as production goes on this project. It’s pointed at coked up girls (in more of a LA scene) and the breakdown of this on-point. Loved the bass guitar and little sax sample the most.

Windows

Pharrell comes out with this 80’s style rockstar mixed with soul impersonation. I loved the songwriting on this one, but feel that maybe another band could come out and cover this better than N.E.R.D. could. I would like to see U2 come out and do this one

Anti Matter

Loved the grunge and distortion of the guitar in this song. There’s a sample that only N.E.R.D could make work with the hard drums heavy style of the production. The lyrics from Pharrell came out a little corny at times, but Pharrell said them as if he felt they were the shit but he definitely disappointed me when he got to singing a bridge. It felt unnecessary and N.E.R.D. tried to fit it in there and killed the mood for about 26 seconds.
Punkish Production >>> vocals on this track

Spaz

Loved the sample and drums in this. Wasn’t feeling the verse but the hook and chorus were cool. I have to say that N.E.R.D/Neptunes reminded me that they were the best at producing with a lot of FX sounds with this one. I wanna see a some skate shots in a viedo put together off of this song.

Yeah You

This song just began monotone and dull in the vocals. Listen out for the guitar in it, b/c that’s the only thing making the song. Chorus and Bridge could’ve been written and performed better. This is a blah filler track

Sooner or Later

This one had to grow on me, but once again I wish another lead singer could’ve taken over the vocals. I feel like the emotional down feeling that N.E.R.D was going for; wasn’t emphasized well enough by Mr. Williams.

Happy

When I hear this song, I hear Weezer. Guitars were playing the heart of the song while Pharrell fails sing with enough conviction or aggression. He’s sounds like an out of place R&B singer on stage. Does anyone have Rivers Cuomo’s number?

Kill Joy

This starts out with breath takes that mislead you into thinking your going to hear another N.E.R.D classic. Instead, it turns into Kurtis Blow vs. Metallica. In my opinion, the song should’ve been scrapped b/c I don’t even picture this being played anywhere from a car, ipod, to a club. Its one of my all-time least favorite N.E.R.D songs now

Love Bomb

Great Mellow track that starts out good and keeps rolling along as a piano complements Pharrell’s vocals and hard drums don’t hit too hard but still feel strong

You Know What

My favorite song on this album is right here. 2 Guitars keep a nice groove growing as Pharrell sings in an up paced tempo and casually expresses feelings though a hook, but once again N.E.R.D throws the rhythm of a track with a “where did that come from” breakdown and bridge. Still love this song and the attitude of it. Could even picture a remix to this.

Laugh Bout It

Here goes another nicely composed song where Pharrell’s vocals went along nicely. Very simple drums in this one sadly. They sounded as if they came from a machine, instead of being recorded. It’s a good song though

Production – 10/10

Lyrics – 6.5/10

Overall – 8/10

Well Pharrell and the gang never went wrong with piecing their sounds together but they pharrell isn’t a standout lead vocalist like you see in a U2, Weezer, PATD, Maroon 5
type of band. The punkish side of this album were the highlights (as that is their specialty) but then at times they strayed and did poorly b/c of that. The bridges is something that killed a lot of songs, as they were monotone, boring, or just awkward at times. Still you can make through this whole cd if your more interested in band than listening to Pharrell.

X was Here

Shwayze - Shwayze

2008-09-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

Shwayze is apparently great when you’re high, so keep in mind…I’m not haha. This is just on a music/relaxation POV.

1) Roamin’

Decent intro track. I liked the beginning, but it got old quick. The chorus is laid back, and the first verse is nice. But, then the second verse came around, and it felt like the song dropped. Talk about unoriginal and uninspired lyrics: “I’m the shit, ma, that’s the smell/The next big thing, yeah, can’t you tell?”

2) Lazy Days

Lazy track, real laid back. Track about LA, falling in love, shit like that. Not that good a song, but hell, if that’s how life is in LA, count me in for living there haha. Nice guitar beat, real lazy feel, so they captured that aura pretty well, but in general, the track is sorta soporific. A bit too laid back for me. Liked the chorus though: “Lazy days in Los Angeles/If it ain’t your parents it’s the damn police…”

3) Corona And Lime

Hate on this song all you want, I can guarantee you two things: A) girls get easier when they hear this song lol, and B) Driving down I-95 with your cousin, top down = chiiiiiiiiiillllllllllllllllllllllll. No, the lyrics aren’t great, but this is such a chill, laidback track. However, I can definitely see it getting pretty damn annoying after a few spins

4) Buzzin’

Another laid back track, one of my favorite on the album. Good chorus, much less annoying than Corona & Lime. Lyrics are better too, some lines I enjoyed (though they aren’t the most creative): “She said boy you’re crazy/Nah, I’m Shwayze.” Though, to be fair, he’s shown absolutely no range…everything’s about weed, beer and women.

5) Don’t Be Shy

Oh look, it’s the last few songs mixed together! Lyrics are better though, save for a lot of random lines there for basically no reason (cept he may have been high writing/recording). The chorus is ok, but really random. Just a generic song, its OK.

6) Hollywood

I liked Shwayze’s raps a lot more on this track. Talks more about trying to make it as a rapper, and wonders why he’s rhyming...Well, in the first verse anyway, then it goes back to generic. Still, nice lyrics overall, good vibe. Nice chorus too: “Some say when it rains it pours/Hollywood ain’t no place for lovers anymore/It ain’t no place for us…” Unfortunately, there’s some lame shit in the middle and near the end, repeating lines, doing weird sound effects, etc. Still, another favorite on the album.

7) Polaroid

Had be bumping my head quickly. Nice chorus/beat. Less acoustic feel on this one, more electric guitar. Nice lyrics as well, funny lines like: “Legs in the air like a goddamn gymnast/Please God, I beg for forgiveness” and he has a faster flow. Another track I really like from the album (though the repetition at the end of “They call me Shwayze, kinda like Patrick” is stupid as fuck)

8) James Brown Is Dead

Nice song, especially since it shows SOME artist depth. Talks about James Brown’s death, finding out about it, other shit like that (obviously). Nice chorus, simplistic but sounds good. Good lyrics, nice instrumental too. Another nice track, and, like I said, some different subject matter.

9) Lost My Mind

Breaking up with a girl is apparently the theme (or her leaving? Sorta varies). Bad mix of sadness and chillness. Decent lyrics, but I wasn’t feeling the chorus and the instrumental was..meh. Decent track, nothing more nor less.

10) Mary Jane

Should get a guest reviewer for this, someone who smokes weed, since I don’t (yet hahaha). Still…can give some feed. Faster tempo, and lyrics are pretty good. The singer is the one who does the entire song (or at least, it sounds like it). It’s a decent song, I liked some lines: “She sat right next to me/And she made me tell the truth like ecstasy.” But in general, its just decent.

11) Lazy Susan

Would it be stupid for me to say “lazy song” again? Cause it is. Wasn’t feeling the beat, nor the instrumental. Surprisingly, feeling the lyrics a lot though. She cheated on him (I guess?). Decent storytelling, pretty good lyricism…”Damn, don’t do to me like you did before/I just kept my mouth shut, and then we fucked some more.” Wish the instrumental was better, but meh, what can you do. Nice track lyrically, probably his best as far as the verses go.

12) Flashlight feat. Dave Navarro

Fuck this song. Don’t get me wrong, some of it’s ok. The beat’s pretty good, laidback once again. But the lyrics…wow. He repeats lines “shit is good, yeah shit is good”, and he highlights the weirdest shit: “Yeah I am, and I’m big in Japan/ [sound effect] My dick in my hand, and my dick in my hand.” WTF? And the chorus is decent, half of the time, I like it, other half I don’t. But in general…well hell, give me the beef, I’ll destroy it compared to this.

13) Bonus Track

Yeah, sang about smoking weed. I’m losing interest in this album, this is the last track right? Nice chorus, I guess. Makes me wanna smoke. Verses are ok, but very, very forgettable. Just a random, generic song.

Grade: C-

- DKE

LAIR

2008-09-05T19:19:00.000-07:00

Gameplay
- Oh shit where do I start? This game tried so hard to use the Sixaxis controller and make use of the PS3 features that it fucked everything up and made the game un-fun. Controlling with the Six-Axis is an absolute bitch. You never really get used to it and it just feels awkward when u want to control with the Left Analog stick. That alone would've made this game loads better. I mean use the six axis here and there I'll accept but not make that the sole control of the game. The aiming is sort of off as well. Just very clunky and messy controls make the gameplay 0 fun!

Graphics
-The only good thing about this game. Beautiful graphics and stunning physics. Water never looked so damn good. Here and there the graphics look kind of wierd and grave but all in all th egame is beautiful. The mountains and the rest of the landscape look so realistic. I could've done with more varied species of Dragon though but whatever. Just great graphics that made this game somewhat worth playing.

Storyline
-Really I doubt people are playing this game for a storyline. I mean u wanna just kill shit with a dope ass dragon. The storyline is you rtypical fantasy story. A world in ruins now two sides clash from different sides of the world. You sort of get to choose your path. Really just an okay storyline nothing great or new.

INNOVATION
-Well Factor 5 really tried hard to innovate this game with the six axis but they failed in an epic way turning one of the most anticipated games into an epic fail. They tried something new and that didn't work out for them which they should've known the six axis is lame and doing soemthing safer was a better idea. But I guess it's Trial & Error. So I gave them a 5/10 for trying soemthing that completely ruined the game.

2/10

-C.S.

Nightmare Man (2006)

2008-09-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Nightmare Man is one of the films from the After Dark Horror Fest 2007. Like most of the films shown it's rather cliched and low budget. The film centers around Ellen Morris, a women who orders a fertility mask to try and help her get pregnant. Shortly after receiving the mask she has a "dream" that she is raped by the Nightmare Man, a being that is wearing the mask. Her husband, William, and doctors think she's schizophrenic so William goes on a trip to a mental health clinic where the car breaks down on the way and the Nightmare Man returns. Ellen runs for her life and stumbles upon a cabin where she find four people spending the weekend, and they begin to get killed one by one.

Cliche city. Deserted road, the car breaks down and the man goes alone to find gas while leaving his crazy girlfriend in a car. Oh, and it's night. Now it's not as cliched as it sounds though as at the end it makes more sense and it's a little plot twist. But even though it's not what it seems it's still lame, you would have to be an IDIOT to actually stay in the car at night on a random road instead of going with your husband.

The acting is alright for a B movie. It's a horror movie so the standard rape scene is there, although it's short but we get a nice view of some big tits! The characters are generic also, the women in distress, the slut, the jock, the innocent but has a secret girl, and the badass. The most redeeming part of the movie is the slut basically naked, and then stripping more to get rammed. Alas this does not happen and with it our hopes for a decent part.

Overall it's a fairly lame movie. Some gore, some skin, some plot twists, but other then that it's a straight forward you know what's coming movie. Oh, and whoever plays the Nightmare Man is absolutely terrible. The voice is horrible, the movement is horrible, it's just terrible.

4/10

-Kartoon

Requiem For a Dream (2000)

2008-08-27T17:59:00.001-07:00

Requiem For a Dream is an epic movie. It focuses on the lives of four different people, Harry Goldfarb (Leto), his mother Sara (Burstyn), his girlfriend Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly), and his friend Tyrone C. Love (Wayans). The movie progresses in three parts, Summer, Fall, and Winter. The focus is on addiction to various things and the spiral downwards that each of the addicts face.

The film starts with Harry taking his moms TV and then meeting his friend Tyrone who helps him bring it to a market to sell. They use the money they get from it to buy heroine, and later Sara goes and buys it back and we are told this is a cycle that happens every time Harry needs drugs. Sara gets a phone call about how appearing on television and she gets very excited, but discovers she can't fit in her favorite dress. After a short attempt at a diet she goes on diet pills and slips into psychosis. Harry's girlfriend, Marion, is addicted to cocaine.

As the seasons progress the film shows out the characters descent from delusional dreamy bliss to harsh reality (in Winter).

The acting in perfect, every plays there roles very well and become more addict like. You start to sympathize with the characters even though you know there situations are their fault, Sara's to a lesser degree.

The film techniques are great, Aronofsky uses many montages of short clips to show them getting high, selling the drugs, etc as well as split screen use. This works very well and better then expected.

The musical score is simply mind blowing. The songs composed for the film are simply amazing, most notably Lux Aeterna which you will hear many times in the film. The title might not sound familiar but you've heard it, it's been used in many other things including the Saw franchise, Assassin's Creed, I Am Legend, Da Vinci Code, and more. It's a haunting melody that always makes you feel something massive and epic is taking place no matter what it is put to.

Overall it's a great movie. It has a good theme and deals with it great. You need to see this movie, now.

8/10

-Kartoon

The Recession by Young Jeezy

2008-08-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

1. The Recession (INTRO)
- The production on this is nice but lyrically speaking it's wack. Still a decent intro though.

2. Welcome Back
-Another nice well produced beat and the flow is nice on this track. Could definitely be better lyrics that actually mean more and connect with the listener but still a fun track to listen to in your car.

3. By The Way
-The beat is aight but the lyrics are overdone and lame. Saying By The Way after every line ets mad old after the first 20 times. Sort of a catchy track though. can see certain mainstream fans liking it but not anyone with a brain.

4. Crazy World
- It's a decent track talking about well this Crazy World. Really nothing special just a simple song with a simple chorus. Not much to it but it's an aight track.

5. What They Want
-Best track so far. A nice simple yet elegant beat and the flow is dope. Lyrically speaking the track is just decent at best but Jeezy ain't known for his lyricism more for his production and club bangers. Good track.

6. Amazin
- Just another blah track that didn't stand out at all. The beat sounded like one of the ones already made in my opinion which I guess its understandable. Pretty simple/lame track worth a skip.

7. Hustlaz Ambition
- A pretty boring track the beat is decent but lyrically this song isn't enough for me to recommend this track. Pretty weak.

8. Who Dat
- Sort of catchy but pretty stupid song. A few nice lines here and there but it is lyrically bad and the best part is when he says Who Dat lol Just cuz its the most meaningful words on the song.

9. DON'T KNOW YOU
- Good track here he speaks some real shit here. The lyricism is pretty good as well. This track was in no way Great or very good but it was aight. Passable u feel me? Could be improved drastically but it was only average but one of only 2 on the album so far.

10. Circulate
- Not a bad track at all. The lyricism is solid and the flow is aight. One thing I'm starting to hate about Jeezy is his scratchy voice. It's ridiculous actually how he sounds but he can't help it lol.

11. Word Play
- Meh this track sounds like 6 of the tracks before it. The wordplay is decent but everything else is pretty gay. Listening to 18 tracks of Jeezy is pointless and makes u go retarded I noticed.

12. Vacation
- An okay track with pretty good lyricism and flow. Definitely worth an intent listen well as intently as u can listen to Jeezy.lol Not bad at all though but not great either.

13.Everything
- A real smooth track with solid verses from everyone. [A. Hamilton & Lil Boosie] Only an average track still.....Just lacks the great lyricismand production to be great.

14. Takin' It There
- A pretty wack/boring song. I'm sure someone likes it but it ain't my thing. So This is a skip.

15. Don't Do It
- There is some good singing but still another wack track which seems to be the way life goes for Jeezy. I mean this song has really nothing good to it at all.

16. Put On
-Jeezy stay repping his city. This is a dope track, good lyrically and the beat suits the song well. Just a real nice track from Jeezy. This album needed this to keep me from falling asleep to be honest.

17. Get Allot
- Nice beat and not a bad track but not a good one. Meh its just blah but worth at least one listen in my opinion. It could be far worse seeing the other tracks on this album.

18. My President Is Black
- Finally its the final track. This was a testament to my endurance for real. Not a bad track it was a good ending to this album that was a huge disappoiontment.

GRADE: D

-C.S.

...AND THEN THERE WAS X by DMX

2008-08-26T15:33:00.000-07:00

1. The Kennel
- Just a little intro. Listen if you want I dont find intros/skits to be worth it usually.

2. One More Road To Cross
-lol good hook X. This is a pretty good lyrical song from X I was feeling the vibe of this. Just a nice all around track. Far from being very good but a nice first track in my opinion of course.

3. The Professional
- Just talking about asassinating someone. This is some real shit from DMX though. Anyone could kill you at any time that's what's so true about this track. It's ill. Could be a better track but I can dig it the way it is.

4. Fame
- A pretty good lyrical track. When X says "WHAT!" repeatedly it gets annoying so thats a negative but he says that all the time. This track is just average at best.

5. Alot To Learn
- A short skit about being loyal and shit. Wise Words.

6. Here We Go Again
- The first verse is pretty good lyrically. A rather good track I was feeling it a lot. It definitely has room for improvement as most of X's tracks do the beat is simple but a passable song though.

7. Party Up
- Y'all Gon Make Me Act A Fool! [Up In Here! Up In Here!] Dope club banger right here just something everyone can dig and vibe to. I loved this track from the moment I heard it. Just real catchy and fun to listen to. A str8 banger.

8. Make A Move
- A decent track talking about making moves in his life. I like this song a little bit I mean I can listen to it sometimes but then sometimes I'll choose not to bump it. But I'd definitely bump this a few times.

9. What These Bitches Want
- A good song. I actually was feeling what X was rapping about how bitches alwasys asking for shit from you and trying to get everything from you when you doing your best and shit or don't want nothing to do with them. Good song.

10. What's My Name
- I could do without the stressing of the syllabbles but it is a nice track I like it. "BITCHES WHAT'S MY NAME!" It's fast paced and in your face.

11. More 2 A Song
-Blah track wasn't really feeling it. Overly simple and just a decent track nothing special at first.

12. Don't You Ever
- Good track the lyricism is real raw and uncut. Just some hardcore shit and even the chorus was pretty nice. Just say how you feel X say it like it is you g ass nigga lol

13. D-X-L (Hard White)
- A pretty nice beat and all the verses were solid. Not one really stood out as great but still good shit on this track.

14. Shakedown [Skit]
-Just a simple little skit

15. Comin' For Ya
- Dope shit on this track. DMX spit heat on this. DOpe lyricism and good wordplay. I was feeling the beat and every second of this I listened real intently. DMX had nice flow with the bumpin beat.

16. Prayer III
-Just a prayer from DMX. How touching.

17. Angel
-This song is average I liked the singing actually but but everything else was blah and only passable. I thought this track was promising from the start but I got bored with it.

18. Good Girls, Bad Guys
-I'm one of those people who think an outro/ending song should be heartfelt or some real shit. This wasn't really wasn't what I was looking for. It's a decent song but still not good enough for me to say its great or nothing. Just decent at best.

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

Doctors Advocate by The Game

2008-08-24T13:22:00.001-07:00

1. Lookin' At You
- For a long time I didn't like this song very much but now I like it. The beat and lyricism is nice. The beat alone is should make you like this track. It's bumping. SOmething to kick in your car or some shit.

2. Da Shit
- I ain't feeling this song. The intro to it was pretty stupid and the beat was rather simplistic. Games lyricism was raw and not to bad actually on this track but everything else was pretty lame.

3. It's Ok (ONE BLOOD)
- This was my track of the year when it came out. Just a fucking dope track with a dope beat. Maybe not lyrically spectacular but still a dope club banger ya feel me? Hot ass track it was song of the year in my opinion.

4. Compton
- A song repping the CPT where Game is from. Meh really only a decent track I didn't like the whole Gangsta Boogie thing I found it cheesy and as for the lyrics and beat they were average. Will.I.Am can produce better shit than this beat.

5. Remedy
- The beat is nice but I could do without the Dre mentions which are present in half the songs on this album. :[ The song is another very average track that I wasn't feeling to much. It just seemed like a filler but I liked the keys on here it sounded like a nice car bumping song. Kind of made me think of rims spinning lol

6. Let's Ride (STRIP CLUB)
- lol so many people made comments about how Game sounded like Dre on this track and looked like him in the video. Well what the fuck do u expect? It's Game who is Dre's biggest dickrider [No OFfense] It don't bother me though this song is banging. The chorus is nice, Scott Storch is a beat master and this beat is fiyah! Games lyricism is nicely written and flows perfectly with the song.

7. Too Much
-Another dope ass beat from Storch. Such a great beat honestly and this track is fire in every way. A perfect beat, nice catchy lyrics makes for a great club banger. The beat reminds me of wind chimes it's peaceful but bumping at the same time. The chorus is mad catchy as hell.

8. Wouldn't Get Far
- The sample is from Creative Source and it's perfect for this song. The chorus is nice and this track itself is some true dopeness. Just Game spitting on them video vixens who fuck to make it places. I don't even like Kanye but his verse was nice as well. Good track.

9. Scream On 'Em
- Another dope club banger. It's real in your face and Swizz Beatz was nice on this with the beat. The screaming and yelling really gave the track it's own style and sound. Swizz Beatz verse wasn't half bad either. Nice song.

10. One Night
- It's wierd that this album ended up having Games best tracks on it and the tracks of the year [Mainstream]. But this is a nice slow song that just speaks on some real shit talking about his fake friends and his life and where it's at. Just an utterly dope lyrical track from Game.

11. Doctors Advocate
-The beginning with Busta is kinda cheesy but it's not to bad it sets up Games song. Another thing I like about Game is his ability to show emotion in his tracks like he did in Start From Scratch. The chorus and the verses are moving in this song. Just a masterpiece of a track. Of course it's about Dre but whatever still a dope track can't complain. Bustas verse was even alright and wasn't overly gay.

12. Ol' English
- I saw this track as a huge filler track and I wasn't impressed with it. Skip this in my opinion.

13. California Vacation
- The beat is pretty nice an this track is good. Snoops verse was heat and even Xzibits was rather nice. Just repping hard for the Westcoast you feel? This is a dope collabo.

14. Bang
- The chorus was nice on here it was mad catchy. I liked this track and lol at the squeaky voiced dude in the background. I was feeling this shit. Another banger maybe not lyrically but with the beat and decent lyrics this song is irresistable. BANG ya digg!

15. Around The World
- Jamie Foxx ruined this shit but whatever. Wasn't feelin this track it was to long for a song like this. Just couldn't get into this no matter how hard I tried.

16. Why You Hate The Game?
-The singing is good but other than that I couldn't really get into this. I was hoping for another nice track to end this album but I wasn't into this. I'm sure I'll get people who want to stone me for that but fuck them. It's my opinion and I don't like this song that much.

LAST WORDS: WHen I first listened to this album I thought it was mad overrated and about a C. Now after about 20 listens I've discovered that it has 4 GREAT tracks and a few good ones. So this album was better than I thought but it's still overrated and was overhyped.

GRADE: B

-C.S.

WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE by KOOL G RAP & DJ POLO

2008-08-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

1. Streets Of New York
- Good track and a good story. Kool G spit perfectly to the nice beat. This is just simply a dope ass song in general. Maybe a perfect track? Not saying it's the best ever

2. Wanted: Dead Or Alive
- This is a good song. I liked it I think it was the first Kool G track I ever heard. At first I wasn't feeling it but now I can dig this shit. Definitely listen to this crack.

3. Money In The Bank
-This song is only average I wasn't really feeling this. I mean it wasn't really bad and I would definitely tell you to bump it at least once. But in my opinion it's only average at best.

4. Bad To The Bone
- The beat is real funky like most the beats on this album. Kool G did his signature rapid fire delivery on this track. Pretty good lyricism almost like a freestyle it seemed. Good track.

5. Talk Like Sex
-This track may have the best one liners in history. They're all over the board. This song is beloved by hardcore Kool G fans and it has enough comedy for anyone to enjoy. A lot of people say this is the best Rap/Sex song ever. IDK if I agree with that but it's a real nice song none the less.

6. Play It Again, Polo
-The beat on this is mad funky. You can dance to this shit. Real old school 80's sound to it. But really other than Kool G's ope delivery there isn't much more to this track. By All means you should check this but it's not a great track.

7. Erase Racism
- The opening verse on this track was ill as fuck just the way it flowed and rhymed. Dope track really is all I can say. True, real ass shit being spit here. If you ain't feeling this than you retarded. Simple as that

8. Kool Is Back
-The speed of this track was just ill as hell. So fast paced and delivered perfectly from Kool. But really other than that the beat was simple but it fit into the song. Good track but not great.

9. Play It Kool
- Not a bad track. The lyricism and wordplay is nice. I can't say nothing hat bad about this track other than the beat is real simple and almost non existent. I'm still feeling the lyricism on here though.

10. Death Wish
- Dope/Raw track. The lyricism is great on here and the flow is iller. This is something to vibe too. Just a real real nice/dope track is all I can really say. KOOL G!!!!

11. Jive Talk
- Kool G really dont cuss much have you noticed? Well not as much as artists like Eminem, Tupac, Wu Tang Clan and such. But he lets it go on this track. At first I didn't think I would like this but I was proven wrong because the lyricism and raw flow is so ill.

12. The Polo Club
-Good scratching at the beginning real raw New York style. This is all Polo on this one with him showing off his DJ skillz. I'd probably never listen to it again not becuase it's bad or dumb or nothing just because I want to listen to the next track.

13. Rikers Island
- First verse is straight well actually all the verses are straight. They're just talking about Rikers. Uhhhh Big surprise since it's the name of the song but it's a good track with a cool beat. A good ending to a good album.

GRADE: B

-C.S.

DJ WHOO KID & G-UNIT PRESENT: ELEPHANT IN THE SAND

2008-08-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

1. Rat Joe (SKIT)
- Just Fat Joe snitchin or as 50 says he's snitching. IDK who am I 2 judge.

2. Hollow Thru Him
-The beat is nice and 50 actually spit heat. Yayo was ass and Banks was average. lol why even have Yayo on a verse? Good song though not really a good diss but a nice track.

3. Rider Pt. 2
- lol I had no idea this track was on this tape. This track is extremely homo as I've said in my review of T.O.S. Well at least the music video is gay. The track is lame and has nothing to do with Fat Joe. If you lik ehomo shit listen to this if not skip it.

4. Red Light Green Light
- Decent song can't say it's great or nothing but it's alright. Lloyd had a decent verse and 50 spit for the main duration of the song. It's just an average track but a well written song.

5. I'm On It Like That
- A Straight up gangsta ass diss at Fat Joe talking about killing him and beating his. I actually was feeling this beat, these lyrics and everything on this track. Fucking hood ass shit. Banks and Yayo were ass though.

6. Hip Hop Cop [Skit]
-A 9 second long skit ust a shout out. Skip!

7. Fully Loaded
- A smoother track than normal. The voice in the back was kind of wierd but it also worked nicely. Banks verse was nice. Just a blah track though can't say much great about it.

8. Rat Joe (SKIT 2)
- SKIP!

9. Confrontation
- 50 stay talking about how he loves beef. [NO HOMO] 4real he's just saying he loves beef with mc's and shit and dissing people. lol Yayo was fucking horrible on this and Banks was ok.

10. Sunroof Open
- This track is pretty bad. I just wasn't feeling it at all. 50's 2nd verse was okay but everything on this track was played out and lame. This is a pass if you don't like lame ass shit.

11. I FUCKED YOUR BITCH!
- This song was like an X rated R&B track. I wont even waste time explaining how gay this was. FUCK THIS TRACK! SKIP IT!

12. Chase Da Cat
- Slim Shady was on the intro. The beat is nice and fun. Other than that though this track was pretty weak in my opinion. Unless your a beat junkie this is a skip unless your high as well.

13. Lifetime Achievement
- A nice song and Yayo's verse was actually........good? Congrats Yayo I liked your verse. But this was a pretty good song. Could've been better and definitely wasn't great but it was passable.

14. Outro
- Haha at the gunshot to shut people up. Just more self praising for G-Unit!

GRADE: C+

-C.S.

L.A.X. by The Game

2008-08-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
-Maybe one of the gayest things I ever heard. DMX is a douchebag [or sounds like one] and this intro is just pretty lame.

2. LAX Files
- Shorty's vocals are rather nice on this track so I was feeling this from the start. This is some nice shit right here. Not really lyrically is it good but I was just feeling what he was speaking and it was just a good sounding gangsta track. I liked how he brought up people thinking they gangsta just cuz they scene Boyz N The Hood and Menace. Nice track.

3. State Of Emergency Feat. Ice Cube
- Pretty nice lyricism on this but the song is just average really. Can't say I'm 100% feeling it but I ain't hating it. Cube didn't have a verse he just spoke and said the chorus. Blah track.

4. Bulletproof Diaries Feat. Raekwon
- This track really wasn't as good as I expected. The lyricism was sort of awkward and not as serious as I expected. Raekwons verse was nice but I wasn't impressed with this track I mean why the fuck was he talking about Kobe and Lebron? What does that have to do with Bulletproof Diaries? Another blah track.

5. My Life Featuring Lil Wayne
- Well in my opinion any track with Lil Wayne loses any chance of being great. But actually the first shit from Weezys mouth was some g ass shit. I was feeling what he was saying and I think he brought a lot to the track. Still only a decent track though. Game had many verses but none stood out to me as great!

6. Money
- Second Cool & Dre track in a row. It's wierd how many Cool & Dre beats he had on here. Average song at best nothing about it was great it was just meh. Wasn't really feeling it and I thought it was boring.

7. Cali Sunshine Feat. Bilal
- Game was shouting out dudes and I liked his Suge line. He spoke on just about everyone big these days. Bilal's vocals sounded good though and it was a nice beat produced by Nottz. Not a bad track.

8. Ya HEard Feat. Ludacris
- Another bumpin Nottz beat. Not bad lyrics here I was feeling Games wordplay but the best line by far was from Luda. "The California Sun is Scorchin/I'm Emptying Bullets like my gun was having abortions/" Shit was fiyah but other than that fuck Ludas verse.

9. Hard Liquour [Interlude]
-This has Nas in it but this is definitely a skip you can easily do without this interlude.

10. House Of Pain
- First mention of Dr. Dre in this whole album is right here. I'm proud of Game for that he got over Dre. I would've liked some Dre beats tho just saying. Another blah track tho it wasn't very good lyrically or anything. Average!

11. Gentleman's Affair Feat. Ne-Yo
-WTF!!! A Ne-Yo feature on a Game track? Y'all are lucky I even listened to this cuz I hate Ne-Yo. A song about fuckin basically and Games thug appeal. Not a very good track in my opinion. Just wasn't feeling it.

12. Let Us Live Feat. Chrissette Michelle
-A Scott Storch beat that I wasn't really impressed with. It was just a blah beat and the song itself was average honestly.

13. Touchdown Feat. Raheem Devaughn
- The bass in this beat is fuckin knockin on the real. But this track lacked substance mainly just talking about fuckin which is understandably lacking substance but I'm not a fan of sexual songs so I didn't like this track plus it was kind of gay as far as vocals.

14. Angel Featuring Common
- Commons verse was blah I didn't think it was too good or nothing I mean it was just average considering it's coming from Common who can spit way better. Just a below average track cuz Games verses were worse than Commons.

15. Never Can Say Goodbye Featuring Latoya Williams
- Nice intro remembering B.I.G. This track was co-produced by Game and I actually liked the beat quite a bit it had my head noddin with it. Good meaningful track all in all I can't say nothing real bad. I was feeling it.

16. Dope Boys Featuring Travis Barker
-Travis Barker on the drums. At first I wasn't feeling this track but Barkers drumming actually was nice for the beat/song. Still not that great of a track mainly about Game being a drug dealer and shit. Although I believe its also about how dope They are in general lol. Average!

17. Games Pain Feat. Keyshia Cole
- I really hated this track from the moment I first heard it. I thought it was some pussy R&B shit. Good emotion from Games voice though and I respect the meaning. [Paying Homage Too The Legends] Keyshia sings good on this track but I wasn't feeling this at all. Many people were so it's really up to you.

18. Letter To The King Feat. Nas
- A smoother and slower song than many of the L.A.X. tracks. Nas spit a solid verse and Game was alright. This track was just ok. Nothing really bad stood out and it was about MLK. R.I.P.

19. Outro
- Another prayer by DMX lol. Fucking gay as hell again.

GRADE: B-

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EIYZX4BQ

-C.S.

STREET KINGS

2008-08-23T12:36:00.000-07:00

Plot (B-):
The plot for this film is semi out of the ordinary for a movie like this. I mean it's your typical Los Angeles street film kind of like Harsh Times or Training Day. Training Day is 100 times better than this though so don't compare them. But the same style of movie you see. The cops are crooked as fuck in this movie and I won't spoil nothing but this movie is a lot more in depth than you would expect. The plot maybe tries to hard to be like CSI and throw twists and turns at u but still a nice plot.

Acting (B-):
Maybe one of Keanu Reeves best performances solely because he didn't look like a douche and Paul Walker everything. It had an all star cast with Forrest Whitaker and the House guy, Jay Mohr and numerous others. The acting wasn't bad at all but it wasn't great. It exceeded my expectations though so that's a plus. The acting was just acceptable but like I said Keanu was passable and the cast was well put together.

Action (B)
-There's a lot of action from the start. Not just shooting and gunfights but mental CSI type action. A lot of killing throughout the film and new discoveries and twists leave you wondering whats gonna happen next. MAybe not edge of your seat but definitely something that keeps your eyes glued.

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

PRO TOOLS by GZA

2008-08-19T13:58:00.000-07:00

1. Intromental
- Real smooth intro I liked it.

2. Pencil FT.Masta Killa & RZA
- A lot of people acted like this track was the greatest song in years. Its a good track but nothing special. Dope? Yes. Classic? No. Just a good track really with a few nice lines and a decent beat.

3. Alphabets
-Real old school and nice beat thrown in on this track. Good track overall with decent lyricism but really its not great either it's still missing something. Good track though definitely worth a listen.

4. Groundbreaking Ft. Justice Kareem
- Another good track with nice lyricism. I was feeling it all in all a solid song to bump and vibe too.

5. 7 Pounds
-Nice chorus and nice lyricism. Interestingly produced by Black Milk and not a bad beat at all. Good track I thought it could've been better but it was nice all the same.

6. 0% Finance
- I liked the guitar on this track and the lyricism was dope. Nice track and the beat set it off well and complimented GZA's voice and flow. Nice track.

7. Short Race
- Decent story but it was just a decent track all in all I didn't love it but i didn't dislike it. I would probably skip it unless I was in the mood but it's up to you cuz I could easily see someone liking it.

8. Interlude
-.........Ok lol

9. Paper Plates
- Ohhhhhhhh Shit its a diss at 50. Pathetic? All in the mind of the listener. Just a decent track I didn't really like it don't get me wrong I'm fine with him dissing 50 but this diss was like a baby diss not even a track that would phase 50 probably. So yea it's whatever. [Produced By RZA :)]

10. Columbian Ties
-The story is aight but its been told before in a variated way. Just a blah track wasn't completely feeling it. Just average.

11. Firehouse Feat. Roc Marciano
- Roc spit nicely on this but all in all this track is just very blah I wasn't really feeling it. Everything was just average to me.

12. Path Of Destruction
- Meh whatever its not a very good track in my opinion I just wasn't feeling it. The beat was over simplistic as were the lyrics. Just couldn't get into it.

13. Cinema Feat. Justice Kareem
- Yea I was digging this right off the beginning. A perfect beat that just got you vibing to it relentlessly like a heartbeat it was on point. I liked he lyrics even though they were simple. A pretty good track with some definite flaws.

14. Interlude
-.....................

15. Life Is A Movie Feat. RZA & Irfane Khan-Acito
- Produced by RZA it was a real grimy song and I didn't like the beat or the lyrics. Like I said it sounded like a grimy underground track which is sometimes good but this song was ass.

16. Elastic Audio [BONUS]
-It's edited? At leats the version I had was so fuck this but it's not a bad track really if you get past the editing. It's a nice live performance.

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

OUTDAWOODWORKS PRESENTS: MADAZZ MIDDLE

2008-08-19T13:42:00.000-07:00

DISCLAIMER: Unfortunately I Was Not Able To Find Track Names For Most Of The Tracks So I ApoloGize For This!!!

1. Intro
- Nothing at all here so it's a skip but it'll be over before u can skip.

2. Track 02
-Dope ass beat and just dope track all together. Listen this raw ass gangsta shit intently this is the talent available in the Midwest. Real nice raw and uncut song.

3. Welcome 2Da Lou
- Another good ass track repping St. Louis hardcore. The lyricism isn't really good but its more the delivery and sound of the song that makes it good.

4. Get Your Weight Up
- Nice chorus and a pretty good song here. Talking about people who hate who have no business hating. Dope track

5. Scary Gary
- An okay gangsta rap song. Its decent but kind of boring actually.

6.Cock And Pop It

- Dope gangsta ass song just talking about popping off motha fuckas and shit. MIDWEST STAND UP! Lyrically it's aight nothin special really once again it's just the song itselfthat is good.

7. BarnFire

- Wasn't really feeling this. The chorus is kinda catchy but it sounded like a wack BTNH song. Just a decent track at best.

8. Track 08

- A song about taking rap back to da streets and shit. Another rather good track with good lyricism.

9. Track 09

-Nice beat sounds like a Southern style song but they just saying Fuck where ur from that dont mean u wont die by they gun ya digg? Kind of got annoying when they say Mayne every five seconds. Nice track.

10. Track 10

- A slowed down track that was a nice change of pace. It was real nice and something to vibe too. TOld a nice story and I dug the emotion and such on this track. GOod lyrics good overall sound to it. I can dig it.

11. Track 11
-Not a bad track but not a good one it was just average so yea you can skip it or not it really depends on your taste.

12. Track 12
- I didn't really like this that much but it had good parts in it and at least one good verse. Could've been a better track but whatever I can;t change that.

13. Track 13
- The beat was blah and the track itself wasn't that great I just wasn;t feeling it.

14. Track 14
-Dope track I was feeling it.

15. Track 15
- Nice song overall although it wasn't nothing special.

16. Track 16
-Average

17. Track 17
- Not bad I liked it although it has flaws.

18. Track 18
- Meh

19. Track 19
- Blah

20. Outro
- Good outro

GRADE: B

-C.S.

To The Extreme by Vanilla Ice

2008-08-13T16:09:00.000-07:00

1. Ice, Ice, Baby
- Dope ass track wit a dope sample. It's mad catchy and just a good track with nice lyricism actually. I remember listening to this with my grandma in her car. This is my jam. Fuckin dance music!!!!

2. Yo Vanilla!
- YO VANILLLLLLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAA!!!! Only 4 seconds here lol

3. Stop That Train
- Nice scratching here on this track but the lyrics are pretty lame and simple. Not much to this song it's boring and I have a hard time listening all the way through.

4. Hooked
- Nice track the lyricism ain't bad at all and he's just talking about men who are whipped by women and shit. I like what he's spitting on this some true shit.

5. Ice Is Workin It
- Not a bad rock beat at least it sounded like it. Something to dance to definitely and it didn't lack lyricism but it still was kind of cheesy and lame which is to be expected from Ice. Just a decent song not bad though.

6. Life Is A Fantasy
- lol at this song. The bitch in it is mad annoying she just keeps talking in that wierd voice. The song really lame and cheesy its definitely a skip.

7. Play That Funky Music
- Nice track not as good as the original song named that but still funny and something to vibe to. Vanilla's lyricism wasn't half bad on this song either. I was feelin this track for the most part. Not bad not bad at all.

8. Dancin
- It's okay song just like the title says it something to dance to lol. Really nothing els special other than the vibe on it that anyone can enjoy and bump in your car. Nice track.

9. Go III
-I wasn't feeling this really its not that great. Skip

10. It's A Party
-Many people say this is Vanillas best track and this song is pretty nice. The beat is fire and the lyricism is nice.

11. Juice To Get Loose Boy
-WTF?! Only 7 seconds long its wierd that he has these wierd ass interludes that are so short.

12. Ice Cold
- Dope lyrics here I was feeling all his lyrics on this track. This song is nice besides the blah beat but other than that its a dope ass track!

13. Rosta Man
-Was this a joke? Maybe one of the worst songs in history. I mean he wasn't even rapping it was utterly horrible and should never be listened to. I wanna kill myself now afer listening.

14. I Love You
-As gay as Life Is A Fantasy. Almost the same fuckin track. Its ass just liek Life Is A Fantasy as well.

15. Havin A Roni
-Fuck this piece of shit. Thank god this is over.

GRADE: C-

-C.S.

Battlefield: Bad Company

2008-08-10T14:58:00.000-07:00

Storyline 7/10:

The storyline is realy just average. I don't expect much from a war game and they tried at least to make a compelling storyline. Reallu there was nothing great about it tho. Other than the hilariious characters in my opinion the storyline was bland. Never really explaining the war and such.

Gameplay 7/10:
It isn't horrible but it isn't great. The aiming is pretty lame and it gets flustering. The gameplay has tons of flaws and I feel the sloppy/clunky controls are one of them. Aiming=Bad first of all and the character just seems hard to control so I'm getting shot at and its hard to do shit cuz of the controls getting me angry. It's not really a control thing its more of the way the dudes move. The game is reasonably challenging and it's still a fun game.

Graphics 8/10:
All anyone does is compliment this games graphics like its untouchable. It can't fuck wit COD4 so quit saying it graphically can.Yea it's cool that shit blows up and trees break but it ain't that great nor does it look completely different than other games. The game is a solid graphic showing but nothing special.

Sounds 8.5/10:
Game critics act like the sounds in this game are unbelievable. Maybe I'm just not impressed but whatever. Yea the game sounds good on surround sound. The loud sound of artillery fire and the sound of bullets slamming into walls and the ground. Definitely very realistic and maybe a notch above other games. This game makes you feel like your in a warzone. Still it wasn't all that great.

Online 8.5/10
The online play is fun but has many flaws. Up to 24 players of serious warfare. What the fuck is up wit no clan play? No matter the online play is fun but I don't believe its as good as COD4's. Theres only 2 game modes to play and shit gets repetitive fast.

GRADE: 8/10

-C.S.

Atmosphere - Sad Clown Bad Spring #12

2008-08-08T04:58:00.000-07:00

1) Less One
Great storytelling on this one, about a cop who’s personal life keeps influencing his professional work: “Officer got a little bit lost in the zone/It all took him back to childhood, home sweet home.” Really liking Slug’s flow on this one, can’t really explain why, though, just something about his breath control and the spots he pauses at. Got a bunch of nice lines in there, particularly ending the verses: the line above, and “Ain’t no telling what them boots might do/If she leaves him for someone that looks like you.” The beat’s pretty good too.

2) Good Daddy
More good storytelling. This track talks about a father-son relationship, before ending surprisingly with the lines: “That’s how good daddy takes care of him/Then that good daddy goes downstairs to package heroin.” Great finisher (Note: I’m probably reading more into the track than Slug intended lol), as it shows that even the best of people – in this case, a “good daddy” – can do bad things or have other problems in their life. Nice beat too, good instrumentation.

3) Carry Me Home
Nice sample and instrumental on this track. Once again, the track is good, Slug narrates (I’m sure a lot of people, especially Atmosphere fans can relate) about how his life is fucked up and he knows it (first verse is third person, second is self-narrated) Great lyrics, great flow. A lot of quotable lines…in particular I liked the part where he spits, “Not a victim, fuck the sympathy/Figure it out and kill the bitch in me/Pour a little liquor out and call it a victory/They said the sky was limit free.” Great song overall

4) Happy Mess
I like the instrumental, and the chorus, albeit repetitive (“This, that, and this”) is catchy and pretty good. The verses are great, with Slug making a love song that doesn’t ignore that life is painful and has a great mix of realism. For example, in the third verse he raps, “You see me at lowest moments/You give me sight when I have broken focus/With a smile that opens up like a rosebud/Even when it all seems so fucking hopeless.”

5) Not Another Day
Wow, a great ending to an EP that’s been dominated by storytelling, with Slug narrating three different stories in between a greatly chosen sample that wails “Oh, not another day.” The stories are, of course, of various hardships in life, be it a single mother, a bullied kid, or a homeless man. Great lyrics overall, can’t even pick any specific lines. All three stories are well done, and it’s a nice instrumental. Overall, a great end to the EP.

Grade: A

- DKE

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots

2008-08-03T13:53:00.000-07:00

Graphics 10/10:

This game is a visual masterpiece in every aspect. In my opinion the greatest graphic showing in history really showing next gen gamers what the definition of "next generation". This is a notch higher than my previous greatest graphics/physics champion, "Assassins Creed" Sorry Creed but u don't even compare to this game. The graphics in this game are so damn good they make u feel like your watching a movie. The facial expressions and the sheer physics are great. Well lets just shorten this up. BEAUTIFUL, STUNNING, BREATHTAKING and basically the most perfect visual showing in history. Yea I said it.

Gameplay 9/10:
The new over the shoulder camera was definitely a good idea. The octo camo suit is of course bad ass. A few rough spots here and there but they can't really be pin pointed so they aren't big problems. The stealth gameplay is still present here but you can still run and gun if you so choose. Liquid Easy is way to easy though. One shot kills? Yea at least play on normal but if you don't want to then the game is still reasonably challenging. Boss battles are pretty cool as well and not overly challenging so that you get frustrated but still enough to work at. As I said a few minor minor teeny flaws in this game not big enough to make this game bad.

Storyline 10/10:
Not only is this a great storyline this is the greatest storyline ever written. I admit at times it's hard to soak all this up because theres so much shit going on and especially if you haven't played this series. But isn't that what u want an in depth storyline that makes you feel immersed into your character. WIth background stories on each and every character making you feel connected to them in each and every way. The story is so well written its unbelievable. SO much though and such had to of gone into it. Such a damn good storyline like this that is so heart wrenching with every twist in it has to get a Perfect score.

Cutscenes 9.5/10:
First off yes the rumors are true that the cutscenes are horribly long. We're talking like hour long cutscenes. But guess what? Fuck all that the cutscenes are kick ass and graphically great. Of course it'll take a long time to explain a story like this but the cutscenes are so beautiful and so damn good and well told time doesn't matter. Plus you can skip a few if you so wish it's on you but to get the full effect you best watch them all. Fuck a life this is MGS4 bitch.

Replay Value 8.5/10
Why not step it up another difficulty level just for the hell of it? It's such a great game you'd be crazy not to play again if nothing else just to kill shit and mess around. Yea there isn't great incentive but it's a great game that's fun and everyone loves shooting stuff up.

GRADE: 10/10

-If you don't give this game at least a 9/A-/5 out of 5 or whatever then your a fool and should die. I didn't review MGO [Metal ear Online] but it takes forever to download and shit. Still rather fun once you get into it but the downloading part sucks. If youbought this game for online tho your retarded. THIS GAME IS GAME OF THE YEAR AND IS AN ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE!

-C.S.

The Cool by Lupe Fiasco

2008-07-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

1. Baba Says Cool For Thought
-What the fuck is this? Some retarded crack at being smart? Lupe comes on a little to strong with this crap and just sounds like a complainer instead of a politician/rapper. Lame shit

2. Free Chilly
-.........................Yea................What was all that about? Honestly who has an interlude after an intro? Good singing?

3. Go-Go-Gadget Flow
- Lupe wrote well to the beat but he kind of got annoying somewhere within the song. Decent track nothing great though but it's pretty damn long lol. Worth a listen I'd say.

4. The Coolest
-WHy does he have to keep repeating himself and then he wierdly sounds like a chinese person when he goes to ranting. He really sounds mentally retarded on this song. Real hip hop my ass. First he repeats, The Coolest Nigga What? like 20 times and then just says a bunch of dumb ass shit. The lyricism was ho hum and he obviously is chinese/jamaican.

5. Superstar
- Dope song. The dude who sings in it has a good voice and set it off. Really made the mood perfect. The lyricism was good besides the wierd vocab which I can't complain about. Great track good choice for a single. I could bump this on repeat for hours.

6.Paris, Tokyo
- Good lyricism but sort of a wierd song lol I guess it's a decent track but I wasn't feeling it it just seemed kind of cheesy in my opinion.

7. Hi-Definition
-Wasn't feeling Snoop or the singing on this song. Lupes verses were pretty good at least but it was just a blah track. The beat and singing overpowered and over shadowed Lupes verses and voice.

8. Gold Watch
-The instrumental once again overpowered Lupes voice and lyrics. I just wasn't feeling the beat the entire sound was overdone and got mad distracting.

9. Hip-Hop Saved My Life
- Real good storytelling and lyricism here. I was feeling what Lupe was writing on and it was something normal telling a story about an aspiring rapper. The beat was real smooth and nice, and I liked the chorus/sample. Good track.

10. Intruder Alert
- Good storytelling and rather good lyrics. Good meaningful track but i didn't like the chorus sorry. All together it was an average track.

11. Streets On Fire
- Took awhile to get to the verses and I guess I could've waited longer cuz what I got I didn't really like. Not very good verses = Not a very good song. The chorus sucked to. Just a boring song that couldn't keep my interest for a second.

12. Little Weapon
- First off Lupe knows nothing about guns. Second off I know this is a political song. It's a good song too. I was feeling what he was speaking on in this track for real. I won't say it's dope but it's a real good track.

13. Gotta Eat
-Is it a song about Rally's? No unfortunately. This is a blah song I just couldn't feel it really. Pretty shitty actually and then becomes cheesier than anythings. Fuck this song skip it.

14. Dumb It Down
-A real raw track that I didn't expect. It had a nice beat and sounded south-like lol. Just a blah track though I wasn't feeling it really.

15. Hello/Goodbye
-Fuckin dumb ass start to it. Just a bunch of noise. A few words and then more noise. Got real old real quick. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! It's enuf to wanna kill urself.

16. The Die
- Just a bunch of music as a beat. I guess it was decent and the lyricism was average. Just a below average track.

17. Put You On Game
-Ill beat and flow on this here track. Kind of a dark side of Lupe that I was feeling. Ill song all together hard to say anything bad really.

18. Fighters
- Saddening almost. Santos's singing was good and almost depressing. Just below average lyricism on the track from Lupe can't say I was feeling this song other than Santos being on it. No Homo!

19. Go Baby
-Has a nice old school sound on it but really nothing special. Pretty lame and cheesy. Wans;tfeelingit and Lupe had no lyrical presence.

GRADE: C-

-C.S.

The Dark Knight (2008)

2008-07-26T23:25:00.000-07:00

The Dark Knight was a real surprise. Most people had high expectations, and most likely it passed all of them, right from the first scene. Honestly everyone went to see it to see the Joker, and he was in the very first scene. Now the fact that Heath Ledger died has nothing to do with the popularity of the movie, it deserves every bit of praise it gets.

The acting was spot on, with no real weak points. The mob bosses were a little lacking (the fact that none of them really cared that the dude took all there money already) but that's minor. Dark Knight was probably Heath's best acting, and I'm not even really a fan of him. You didn't see any of the actors ever, you only saw who they were portraying. For the first time in a Batman movie, Joker was genuinely portrayed as insane and he is one of the few villains that are actually insane. Bale was great like always, so was Morgan and everyone else.

The plot was epic. It was dark, and incredibly well thought out. There was just so much going on at all times that you didn't have a chance to get bored and probably missed something. There were so many intricate subplots going on yet they all meshed together great. I was a little disappointed with the Harvey plot after he became Twoface as I feel he got fairly weak, but still good. The Joker was the center of all attention in every scene he was in, like the Riddler was in the older batman. The mass phone-sonar part in the end was incredibly ridiculous and in my opinion damage the realism in the rest of the movie, as it is fully impossible to ever actually do.

Surprisingly the movie was also quite funny considering how dark it was. There were many clever jokes and comments from the Joker. Many audience members were chuckling here and there, especially at the magic pencil part. Almost every scene with the Joker had something like this in it which made them highly entertaining.

One of the other things I didn't really like was the ending. Depending how the next movie continues it might be have been good, but as it is it was lacking.

Overall it is easily the best Batman movie. I knew it was going to be good but I didn't know it would be this good, and I didn't even like Batman Begins. There were many references to the older Batman's if you knew what to look for (Jack Nicholson's ending and when Joker gets caught at the end here for example). A couple hours after I saw it I wanted to see it again, and that doesn't happen much. If you only see one movie this year then make sure it's The Dark Knight.

9/10

-Kartoon

Breakout by Miley Cyrus

2008-07-23T20:30:00.000-07:00

1. Breakout
- Definitely a better song than any she released previously. Decent song nothing special really but her lyrics are more mature. You can still sense a lack of maturity but it's whatever. Fair track kids will love.

2. 7 Things
-lol not to be gay but I'm mad feeling this song to be honest. Trust me I hate this bitch with a passion but this song is actually good. It's catchy and it's actually good and well written. Yea probably not written by her but still a great track and her best I've heard so far.

3. Driveway
- Meh just a fair track nothing special or good really lol. It'll be beloved by her fans but I don't like it at all really. It has decent parts but most are stupid and poor lyrics with no substance.

4. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
-Yes it's a cover song for the original. This song has gotten mad hate but it's no worse than the original song. That's not saying much either but whatever. Yea she can't sing but the original song was just as dumb. Hell I like this version better cuz at least I expected it from a 14 year old.

5. Full Circle
-Not a bad track. Good lyrics and it shows more maturity from her. Yea she still can't sing but whatever I dont expect her to sing good. Fair track.

6. Fly On The Wall
-lol what a dumb ass song and the background singer was mad creepy lol. She sings bad, blah blah blah story of her life. She's saying how people all wish they could hear her conversations and be Flies on the wall. Well actually I don't care what u say woman. Stupid track but little kis who dont know how dumb it is will like it.

7. Bottom Of The Ocean
-OOOOOOOOOOOOOO yea real smooth beat here. It really makes u feel like ur on the bottom of the ocean. Just a real smooth soundand the lyrics were decently written. Still not good enuf to get a great review from me so it gets a average grade.

8. Wake Up America
-Oh she going political? *SHAKES HEAD* Bitch I wanna smack u now dont tell me bout no Global Warming and shit. Nobody gonna listen to u but ur dumbass fans. Fuck ur 10 year old ass slut. This song is lame and fuck what she sings about. I would've rather heard her diss someone.

9. These Four Walls
-Actually decent singing. :) :0 A well written song all in all this song has plenty of room for improvement but whatever it's good enuf for her if you catch my drift lol

10. Simple Song
-Someone shut this bitch up she can't sing. Who lets these hoes think they can sing? Oh wait its her gay ass father isn't it? Oh yea Disney Channel is from the devil. This should be renamed stupid song it's lame as hell like a filler or some stupid shit.

11. Goodbye
-Average track she's talking about her Ex-boyfriend again. Not bad songwriting it really showcased her emotion on the song. So I can't hate on that but still just a fair track.

12. See You Again [Rock Mafia Mix]
-lol at Rock Mafia thats just funny as hell. Pretty good song tho it has a real good sound to it I was feeling it after a few spins. Mellow mayne

GRADE: C

-C.S.

My December by Kelly Clarkson

2008-07-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

1. Never Again
-Great track probably her best since her early days. Hard to know whether she is supposively dead or just a heartbroken woman in this song but whatever. Well written song with good vocals.

2. One Minute
-Wasn't feeling this. Wasn't traditional Kelly which makes sense cuz this album isn't supposed to be traditional Kelly but still. This was very poppy and lame I just couldn't get into it.

3. Hole
-Wasn't really feeling this neither it was better than "One Minute" but just a blah track with bad production. Talking about the Hole in her life I think. It was just blah nothing really goo dabout it.

4. Sober
-Good track I was feeling the emotions on this just real raw and a beautiful song to say the least. Talking about how she's sober and shit. I think maybe in a hypothetical way but IDK. Good song maybe the best on here. I could listen to it repeatedly.

5. Don't Waste Your Time
- Decent track nothing great but it's fair at least. Good singing though of course. She's such a fabulous singer.

6. Judas
- Kind of a weak track I didn't like the beginning but it's still raw emotionally which always counts for something. A lot of women would like this track lol but it's just not my cup of tea.

7. Haunted
-This song rocks heavy actually. It's real emotional and the instrumentals are fire. I was feeling it mostly. The bass was nice and she sang along perfectly to it.

8. Be Still
- A real slow mellow track that was maybe to slow but whatever. She sings real good onit as she does on every single track. She's a ridiculously good singer. If she wrote all these songs then my hat if off but this track is fair at best.

9. Maybe
- I like the guitar at the beginning and the lyrics on this is cool. I like when women cuss or say hell lol which she does. Decent track though it's slow but that fits it. It's just missing something that most of these tracks are missing.

10. How I Feel
- Decent track it was actually rather nice to be honest. I was feeling it and the lyrics were good. It was catchy, well written and emotional. Just beautiful singing as well to top it off.

11.Yeah
-Didn't like the chorus it got annoying but at first it was a cool rock song.

12. Can I Have A Kiss
-A real raw song I was feeling that but then it got kind of boring and I wasn;t feeling it so much. The lyrics got bland and just blah not much substance. Decent song tho but I'd say skip.

13. Irvine
- Her voice hear is classy and almost saddening. Good track that sounds real old school Nancy Sinatraish as far as tone. Pretty good and sad

14. Chivas
-Hidden track on the album that starts at 5:18 on Irvine. It's an alright track it has another old school sound. I can feel it fro the most part but I dont wanna listen to it more than once really,

GRADE: C-

-C.S.

Open Range

2008-07-23T13:19:00.000-07:00

Plot (B)

-A rather good plot about a group of Free Grazers who roll up in the wrong town that's not to fond of them. Tempers flare and people get killed so the remaining free grazers get angry and start threatening the men in the town responsible for killing one of their own and injuring the other very badly. SO it traumatic kick ass fashion Kevin Costner who has a very bloody and disturbing past alongside Robert Duvall who is like the head hancho of the group go into this town to start trouble. They basically go to war with the Marshall and some powerful dude all the while Costner falls in love with Annette Benning. Decent plot.

Acting (B+)

-The acting was very good. This was easily Costner's best performance in my opinion and everyone acted very well. I was pleasantly surprised by the great acting in this film. You could feel the emotion the cowboys felt when they were faced with decisions and you could feel the comradery.

Scenery (B-)

-The scenery in this movie was beautiful. The green pastures and plains really set the tone for this cowboy movie. Absolutely beautiful once again. I wonder where it was shot at. I'll look it up later lol. All this made for an authentic Old Western experience.

Action (B)

-There isn't much "action" as far as gunfights until the end but boy oh boy is that gunfight good. 2 men with a little help take on like 20 men. People getting shot left and right in a vicious gun battle. It was great. But still there is small bits of action in a different sense of the word all throughout the film to keep u hooked. From a small beating in the middle of the night to drugging the marshall. Small things keep u paying attention until the end. Just a good film.

GRADE: B+

-C.S.

Ready To Die by Notorious B.I.G.

2008-07-22T18:21:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
-A lot of screaming and shit but it's aight. Just an intro

2. Things Done Changed
- Dope track. The chorus is fiyah! Just talking about how shit changed in this world and how gangsters ain't the same. How life has changed over the years and the struggles that come now. Dope track all in all.

3. Gimme The Loot
-Great track that has me rapping it forwards and backwards everytime I listen to it. "Nigga You Ain't Got To Exlain Shit/I been robbing motha fuckas since the slave ship, with the same clip and the same 4-5/ 2 point blank motha fucka sure to die/
Not sure if I got that last part correct but fuck it. Dope lyrical track, wordplay is fire. Just a great track.

4. Machine Gun Funk
- A decent track I don't like it as much as I use too but its pretty nice. A fair lyrical track all in all and the chorus is catchy. It's definitely a fan favorite u can tell.

5. Warning
-"Who the fuck is this paging me at 5:46 in the morning" I always say that IDK why. I actually ain't feeling this track really. I don't think it's as good as people say. It's just average.

6. Ready To Die
-A crazy lyrical track. Mad ill as far as lyricism goes but other than that IDK I just didn't like it that much. It was to one sided of a track. Not a bad track tho. It's still good.

7. One More Chance
-Boring track I didn't like it at all. Faith sounds good on it but just a boring track that slowed the pace down. Like a filler track.

8. Fuck Me [Interlude]
-looooooool I love this shit it's funny as hell what they be saying. I could beat off to this shit [no homo] Sexy....well Big isn't

9. The What
- Method Man's verse was nice but this track is blah with an average beat. Just a fair track.

10. Juicy
-One of the best hip hop tracks in history. Real hip hop right here. This is some real shit that sticks with you. My fav Biggie track that's just crazily ill. As soon as I heard this song I knew this album was greatness. You very rarely find tracks like this that make entire albums and define an MC. Great track

11. Everyday Struggle
-IDK what it is with Biggies obsession with death but whatever. It's a good lyrical track but other than that and the beat it aint that great of a song.

12. Me & My Bitch
- Boring track. Wasn't feeling it much at all. Nice story tho

13. Big Poppa
-Hella catchy chorus. GOod track for the most part wasn;t feeling some of it but it's a rather good track. "I like the way u call me Big Poppa"

14. Respect
- THe beat was dope but I didn't like the rasta bitch it got annoying as fuck. Decent track though.

15. Friend Of Mine
-Nice track that's reall all to say. Wasn't great but wasn't horrible just average.

16. Unbelievable
- Dope track. "Biggie Smalls Is The Illest" Rather true words right there. Hot ass track with good lyrics. Dope verses and a nice scratch beat. The chick in the background set it off to.

17. Suicidal Thoughts
-.........I don't know what to say.....The greatest song in the history of hip hop as far as the verses and there meaning. These verses are absolutely perfect in every way they hit u with raw emotion on each word. True shit has been spoken. <333333 This track. Once again obsessed with death and suicide

18. Who Shot Ya?
-Yea it's a diss track but it's really really boring and I think it's mad overrated. Overly long for really no reason it's just to stretched out. I ain't feeling this track at all.

19. Just Playing (Dreams)
- Blah it's not a very good track I ain't feeling it I think it's below average and is a bad ending to the album.

GRADE: A-

-C.S.

Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde by The Pharcyde

2008-07-21T16:38:00.000-07:00

1. 4 Better Or 4 Worse [Interlude]

-dope

2. Oh Shit

-dope shit right here the lyricism is off the chain. The beat was fire as well. just a real doog track. lol at me thinking it was sounding like the fresh prince theme song at first. poetry in motion.

3. It's Jiggaboo Time [Skit]
- Decent skit kind of stupid lol but it's alright.

4. 4 Better Or 4 Worse
- Nice beat and a real nice far out sound. Almost alien sounding, just different. Dope lyricism on a dope track.

5. I'm That Type Of Nigga
- Decent track it's nothing special. Not very well produced but a catchy chorus saved this from being completely worthless. Well maybe that's to harsh it's still just average at best.

7. If I Were Preseident [Skit]
-Nice skit all in all I liked it.

8. Soul Flower [Remix]
-Not nearly as good as the original which is a masterpiece but this was alright. It was just overproduced and to loud and it seemed like they tried to hard with this one.

8. On The DL
-Dope beat on a classic song. Listen to this shit and know......real hip hop you hath witnessed. :)

9. Pack The Pipe [Interlude]
-loooool good interlude. I liked it

10. Officer
-The Drum and bass at he beginning was kick ass. The chorus is fire. This entire track is awesome. It's just fun and like a PG-13 rated version of Fuck Tha Police lol. "PLEASE DONT PULL ME OVER OFFICER"

11. Ya Mama
- Hahaha dope ass song. I mean teh beat is simple and I guess it's not great but it's funny. Mama jokes are fire. A dope comedy song. Something to smoke too.

12. Passing Me By
- This bass is fucking kicking on the stereo. Dope ass beat and song. Great track in all aspects.

13. Otha Fish
- a good lyrical track but I thot it lacked a lot. Many believe it's a classic I don't agree. Fair track tho.

14.Quintons On The Way [Skit]
- Good skit. rather nice

15. Pack The Pipe
-Mad dope track wit dope flows and ma good similes. The wordplay here is great. If u aint feeling this your dumb.

16. Return Of The B-Boy
-Blah track I'd skip it I wasn't feeling it.

GRADE: B

-C.S.

Beauty From Pain by Superchic[k]

2008-07-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

1. Anthem
-A song for Tomboys basically telling you to never give up and be yourself. Do what you wanna do. A good song that rocks hard.

2. Pure
- A very boring track probably my least favorite on the album. I just don't like it. Sounds very new age like and it's mad boring. I don't even really know what this is fully about. I wanna say they was high when writing it.

3. Bowling Ball
-More woman empowerment saying how you don't need a man who mistreats you. Good song and it's very catchy.

4. Stories (Down To The Bottom)
-This track is also found on Diverse City by Toby Mac. The best song on the album that speaks on some real stuff. Just basically saying every one goes through bad times and we need each other to stay together in bad times. The rapping was cool as well.

5. Wishes
-The chick [Tricia] sings at the beginning in like a wierd voice. It's beautiful though ho wit was executed. Great song that rocks pretty hard. It's wonderfully written about Tricia and her ex boyfriend. A song perfect for any young teen that describes all relationships.

6. Beauty From Pain
-At first I wasn't a fan of this song. I thought it was really boring. But now it's like poetry and like a lullaby. Something so peaceful and sad to listen to. It's a work of art in every sense. Beautiful!!!!!

7. It's On
- Another anthem for the people. Just talking about standing up to the man and stuff like that. Giving it you rbest shot. All that good stuff.

8. Suddenly
-About someone who's life is going under and then she suddenly makes it through because of god.

9. Courage
-A sad song about people with eating disorders and other things like that. Pretty saddening but it's about sticking together through the dark times and that your not alone. There is help.

10. We Live
-A song about living life to the fullest and being with your loved ones and cherishing what you have because you could lose it at any moment. As told in the story. Good song

GRADE: B+

-C.S.

Where Do We Go From Here by Pillar

2008-07-20T19:08:00.001-07:00

1.Hypnotized
- Great track it speaks so much truth on it it's almost depressing. But it's absolutely a great song. Great way to get you hooked at the beginning.

2. Bring Me Down
-This song rocks extremely hard just saying no matter how much you hate on someone or try to bring them down you can't do it to them. Good lesson and it rocks like a motha fucka.

3. Holding On
-Another good track that sucks you in. Not as good as the first 2 tracks but a solid song none the less.

4. Let It Out
-The lead singer sounds great on this song. Just talking aboit letting out your anger and being you. A real chill track.

5. Simply
- A song about how god loves you through all no matter what. It starts off really slow but then it busts out into hard rock riffs.

6. Rewind
-Such a good heart spoken song. Talking about how he wishes he could rewind his life. Sort of a saddening song but you can tell when it was wrote it meant a lot. The slowness of it and heartfulness of it just made the song good.

7. Frontline
-What a great track I could listen to it over and over and not get tired of it. Just makes me wanna start a revolution. Just talking about getting on the frontlines for what you believe in.

8. Underneath It All
-Maybe the weakest track on here so far yet it's not to bad. It rocks hard and just says that the lead singer knows who he is and you can't change that no matter what. "I Know Who I Am UnderneatH It All!"

9. Dirty Little Secret
-A boring track that I wasn't feeling. It was to slow for my taste after hearing all the other shit.

10. Staring Back (Reflections)
-A blah track it was fast paced but lacked substance in my opinion. I'm sure there is substance it's just it wasn't a well written song. I just wasn't feeling it.

11. One Thing
-Pretty cool track it rocked hard as hell. It was real in your face. Not half bad.

12. Aftershock
-"BREAK ALL THESE CHAINS THAT KEEP ME BOUND, AND BREAK THROUGH THESE GATES THAT LOCK ME DOWNNNNN!" Real stuff right there. This song rocks real hard and is a perfect way to end the album.

LAST WORDS: This is Pillars best album and considering they haven't released any other good albums besides this. But this album is very good. The only other decent one that comes to mind is Fireproof.

GRADE: B+

-C.S.

SAINT by TED DEKkER

2008-07-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

"I know a few things about myself. I know that my name is Carl. My wife is
Kelly. I love her more than my own life. If she told me to kill you, I would.
I'm a captive, deep inside Hungary - no one knows I'm here. I can put a
bullet into a ten-inch target at 3,000 yards. They tell me that I'm the best
sniper in the world. Sometimes I sit in my dark hole for days without moving so
that they don't hurt me. I can kill a man with my bare hands.

If Kelly
told me to kill you, I would.

I only know a few things about myself. My
name is Carl. They call me Saint.

I think they want me to kill you."

Dekker hits you with a heart pounding, hard hitting page turner with this book. Almost like it's a movie and straight from the BourneIdentity. Carl Strople an assassin is in a special organization. That breeds the best assassins in the world. Unfortunately he doesn't know who he is, where he is or where he's from. The entire story is about him trying to figure all this out. Despite his organization being his greatest enemy trying to keep him contained there is dark secrets about Carl Strople aka Saint. Dekker has written a very smart book here that kicks off heart pounding action from the start.

GRADE: A+

-C.S.

AT THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS by H.P. Lovecraft

2008-07-20T18:03:00.000-07:00

Lovecraft hits you with a spine chilling 100 page story here. A very smart book that I wouldn't even suggest a read unless you have a college reading level at least. Sometimes it's hard to follow with the many terms he uses and big long words. It could easily confuse a normal casual reader. Don't be fooled by the 100 pages. The characters are extemely small. I for one was a little bored with this book cuz I'll admit it's an unorthodox story that bored me at parts but once I hit midway I became hooked to find out what really haunted the Mountains of Madness. I wont spoil anything but basically a group of early 1900 explorers go to Antarctica to explore and find out more about early civilizations. They find more than that. When they lose some of their own early on to mysterious reasons every one becomes paranoid in ways you couldn't believe. Even in fear they press on to look for the ancient civilizations. What they find looks to be "alien". As the explorers press on into the ancient city and the ancient building they find evil itself. Something terrifying was before them. Two of them escaped and while in the helicopter one of them sees something when he looks back. He sees something so terrifying he never talks about it. Lovecraft uses describing words and paints a perfect picture for the reader. The way he ends it is spine chilling with you never really knowing what was seen. Greatly written short story.

GRADE: C+

-C.S.

The Hunt For The Gingerbread Man by MF GRIMM

2008-07-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
-Cool intro I liked it. Def worth a listen

2.The Hunt for the Gingerbread Man
- Dope storytelling here and lyricism is fire. MF Grimm was spitting heat with every word I was hooked.

3. Head In The Clouds
-This track is lyically great and what he's rapping on is dope as well. I was feeling every word that was spit. Haha this is real ass hip hop

4. Gingy
- Rather nice track it could be better but the beat is great. It had an eery sound to it. Feeling this shit once again proving while MF Grimm is one of the dudes still keeping it real as an MC

5. Half Baked
- Fair track I didn't like it at first I thought it wasn't very good but now I'm feeling this shit.

6.The Fox
-Great track it's fire. This entire album is a great concept album. Beautifully executed story on this track and the lyricism was raw as hell. Fuckin love this shit right here.

7. My House
- Dope beat and great storytelling lol At first I was like what the fuck is up with this shit? But this is a great track. "I was about to leave, I'm very glad to meet you/You Look So Sweet I could just eat you" dope shit right thurr.

8. Fame
-thats deep as hell when he says he's a mental kickboxer because he lost his legs. This track is ill as fuck. The describing he does here is perfect he paints a great picture for the listener. Just such an ill song.

9. Earth
-This beat is ill as hell. He wrote so well to it. Just a great track that makes you wanna go do something mischievous lol. For real though this song is staight raw real hip hop greatness.

10. Gangsta Pastries
-Chico spit heat on his verse. The lyrics on this was crazy as hell. Dope track

11. See No Evil
- Hot track the beat is so mysterious and the lyricism is okay. He's speaking on some real shit though for real. R.I.P. GRIMM'S STEP BROTHER

12. Outro
-Cool outro what an end.

13. Head In The Clouds [Remix]
-Better than the original. Just fuckin greatness and the sampling is beautiful. Great ass track if u aint feeling it then u retarded.

LAST WORDS: One of the best Underground Albums released of the year. This is a buy in my opinion. Fuck What ALl Others say this is real ass hip hop from a very talented mc. Good luck finding it but you should cop it. But if u to lazy and don't feel like it then at least listen to it. If you have a brain you'll appreciate what I'm saying.

GRADE: B+

-C.S.

Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses

2008-07-20T16:52:00.000-07:00

1. Welcome To The Jungle
-Well, well, well what to say. This is one of the most popular songs ever and probably GNR's most well known. This song rocks hard and the jungle is just another word for L.A. This song is an absolute anthem that rocks real fuckin hard. Slash's guitar solos alone make this song hardcore. I myself still find this song is overrated but it's still legendary.

2. It's So Easy
-Cusses a lot for a rock song lol. A lot of people think this is one of there best but I don't like this song at all. I think it's dumb and I know there is controversy behind it but fuck it. This song is boring and doesn't rock hard.

3. Nightrain
-Good song it rocks and Axel sounds real smooth on this track.

4. Out Ta Get Me
-Decent song it rocks real hard and it has that bad boyish/edgy sound that all the good bands had back in the day. This song is just saying people are judging them and preaching to them and basically that the world is out to get them.

5. Mr. Brownstone
-This song rocks like a motha fucka. The first 30 seconds rock out like nothing else. Just has a cool sound. Cool song but I really dind't like the vocals.

6. Paradise City
-Such a great track one of my GNR favorites probably number 3 on the list. Just a cool song that is really really catchy. "Take Me Down To The Paradise City where the grass is green and the girls are pretty" I sing that for days at a time.

7. My Michelle
-A real rockin song from the get go. Not really feeling the vocals but it just had that edgy sound again. Kick ass shit right here.

8. Think About You
- A jammin song that I nodded my head to. Fast paced and just all out fun to listen too.

9. Sweet Child O' Mine
-My favorite song and there best by them In my opinion. It's such a smooth song and Slash's guitar parts are beautiful. Just so smooth and great. The vocals are beautiful the instrumentals are as well. Perfect in every way.

10. You're Crazy
-This song rocks real heavy. I was diggin it. The guitar solos are fuckin kick ass. "YOU DON'T WANT MY LOVE"!!!!!!!!!!!!

11.Anything Goes
-Interesting sound starting off with a wierd instrumental and then Axel screaming. Then it goes inot this "For Whom The Bell Tolls" sound. The track is blah though. I skipped it.

12. Rocket Queen
-Real cool track. It rocks hard and heavy from the start. Good gripping lyrics.

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

LabCabInCalifornia by The Pharcyde

2008-07-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

1. Bullshit
- I wasn't impressed with this track at all. Very boring and bad lyricism to be honest. Just wasn't feeling this track. Skip! it....

2.Pharcyde
- A very blah track not sure what I can say about it. You can skip or listen but I'd skip it. Not all that great of a track.

3. Groupie Therapy
-I was diggin the Q-Tip sample and shit. This track was rather nice. I was feeling it for the most part. Had room for a lot of improvement and I'd probably get bored with it after awhile.

4. Runnin
-The Jay Dee beat is absolut fire. (R.I.P.) The beat was great and Pharcyde flowed well to it. Dope track and the chorus was well written. I definitely get bored with this track a lot but you best go get the instrumental for this song if u know whats good.

5. She Said
-Fat Lip spits fiyah! on this track. Pretty good lyricism but this track is kind of boring.

6. Splattitorium
- Really such a laid back song that you can fall asleep to. Another good J Dilla beat. Though the beat was simple it fit the track so well. Just talking about getting high.

7. Somethin' That Means Somethin'
-First verse is damn good on this track. This track is just fair though. Really nothing special on this track. Good lyricism and flow but it lacks the sound to keep you hooked. Still worth a listen tho (Another Dope Jay Dee beat]

8. All Live (Interlude
-Pretty cool interlude the drums from Dilla were nice.

9. Drop
-The beat from Dilla is absolute greatness. The scratching on this track is fiyah. Such a good song. I remember when a friend of mine first showed me this song and I became a fan of Pharcyde instantly. This song is the best on the album and one of the best of the 90's. Fuckin fire!!!!!

10. Hey You
- Cool song I was feeling the smooth vibe on the beat and on the lyrics. Good lyrics as well.

11. Y?
- More good production from Jay Dee and Bootie Brown. If you wanna make a case that Dilla is one of the greatest producers ever just show some of the beats off this album. But he only co produced this. I was feeling the lyricism on this and Pharcyde wrote so well to the beat.

12. It's All Good
- Decent track. On some real ass shit.

13. Moment In Time
-Can't say I really like this track but can't say I didn't like it. It was just a lot of talking really and then a little rap. The beat kind of annoyed me but for some they'd probably like it.

14. The Hustle
-A damn dope track. I can listen to it over and over it's straight fire. Great lyricism and just the pure sound of the song is perfect.

15. Little D [Interlude]
-Blah Blah Blah whatever. Listen or dont I wont judge lol

16. Devil Music
-It's a decent track that FatLip produced. Nothing special just average.

17. The E.N.D.
-Rather dope track it starts slow but in the middle it gets better. Nice track to bump. It's real chill.

18. Emerald Butterfly [Bonus Track]
-Real boring track I wasn't liking it at all. Skip this

19. Just Don't Matter [Bonus]
- Another not so good track. Better than Emerald Butterfly but I still ain't feeling it.

GRADE: C

-C.S.

DOE OR DIE by AZ

2008-07-19T21:52:00.000-07:00

1. Intro
-Blah Blah Blah skip............

2. Uncut Raw
-He goes lyrically crazy with his first verse. Mad dope song. The beat is very simple it's just one sound and that's it so that is one wrong thing but fuck that sometimes simplicity works. This song is crazy!!!!

3. Gimme Yours Ft. Nas
- Pretty nice verse from AZ to start it wasn't nothing special. Nice sampling as well. The chorus was nice to it was catchy.

4. Ho-Happy Jackie
- The middle of this song was crazy when he starts talking about "You can't stop it when she in a nigga pocket" Just talking about the money hungry hoes in this world. Word up AZ on this shit.

5. Rather Unique
-Nothing special here just a boring song with a boring beat. Lyrically there ain't much to this. Maybe the chorus is what saves it from being below average. Really this is worth a skip.

6. I Feel For You
- Erica Scott sounded beautiful on this song but really other than that this song isn't very good. AZ is less than average on this shit.

7. Sugar Hill
-Nice track it had a nice beat and great hook. Just real mellow and something to kick back and vibe to. It was a different side to AZ that shows his versatility to be able to slow shit down. His verses were okay.

8. Mo Money, Mo Murder, Mo Homicide Feat. Nas
-Great ass track. Both Nas and AZ's verses were absolute fire. Feeling this shit for real. They spit heat on this beat. 5/5 track

9. Doe Or Die
-Rather nice track it took me a few spins to like it enough but I finally am feeling it. AZ spit so well to the beat. Great flowing. AZ's style was so flawless on this it was scary.

10. We Can't Win Feat. Amar
-Haha IDK why but I found this song funny at first but it's a pretty nice song. Amar spit an okay verse. Not lyrically but more delivery wise. AZ's verse was decent.

11. Your World Don't Stop
- Good verses from AZ but other than that I can't say I liked this track to much. Just a fair song.

12. Sugar Hill [Remix]
-Liked the original better to be honest I wasn't feeling this.

GRADE: C+

-C.S.

100 Grand Jin by Jin

2008-07-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

1. The Ambassador
- It was a blah track just talking about how he represents his entire race in his tracks. This you can probably skip this.

2. 100 Grand Jin
-Is it a freestyle? I think it is. It's real short but dope as hell

3. F.Y.I.
- A semi good track. It's just kind of cheesy and it was disappointing lyrically for me.

4. Long Winding Road
-Nice beat and good lyrics as far as the meaning and shit. Good lyricism as well. I was feeling this track for the most part but it still lacked something big.

5. Money Comes, Money Goes
- Good lyricism and all his verses were fire! Just so damn lyrical on this song and he's telling the truth which makes this track so much sweeter. Money does come and go

6. Mass Appeal
- Pretty nice track it wasn't nothing special though. I was feeling it for the most part.

7. Politics As Usual
-A blah track nothing special it's just aight IMO. Worth a listen though.

8. Fuck Jay-Z
- Word at this track. Jin spits serious shit. No it's not a diss at Jay unfortunately. Sort of sounds like Eminem on this but whatever. The verses are lyrical perfection and the meaning is great. I was feeling this shit.

9. Back Pack
-I'd skip this it's really not that good IMO

10. Music Is FOr Life
-This song is dope it's got a nice meaning and is lyrically great as u may come to expect by now.

11. Through Ha Days
-Dope ass beat and song in general.It's staight fire and I was feeling it the whole way through. Love this track on the real. <333

12. Let Me (Be Myself)
-Nice chorus and Jin is just proving how real he is but this track ain't nothing special. :(

13. Something About You
-Very boring song I wasn't feeling it at all. It's a skip in my book. There were ups and downs on this track though.

14. Food Fight
- Dope track it's got serious lyrical skill on it. It sucks you in with force to get you vibing.

15. Upside Down
-Decent track it had it's real good fiery oments but it's just average.

GRADE: D+

-C.S.

Illmatic by Nas

2008-07-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

1. The Genesis
-Real grimy off the bat with this cool New York sound. Nothin else to really say.

2. N.Y. State Of Mind
-Dope beat, dope lyrics. Everything on this song is fire. Nas spits absolute heat on this track. The beat complimented him so well as well so it mad him flow better IMO. Just dope verses from Nas. "Rappers stay monkey flippin wit the funky shit that i be kickin"

3. Life's A Bitch
- Really catchy song. AZ shit on Nas with his verse but still a nice track. "Life's A Bitch and then you die. That's Why We Get High" True ass words from Nasty Nas and AZ.

4. The World Is Yours
- I didn't like this song at first. As a matter of fact for awhile I wasn't feeling this song. But lyrically this shit kicks. The chorus is catchy I'm sure as you can tell.

5. Halftime
- A good lyrical song and the beat was a little to simple for me. I just wasn't feeling this track all that much. Yea it's still a fair track but I think it gets mad overrated.

6. Memory Lane
- I liked the "OOOOOooooOOOOOooooOOOO's" in this track. ANother good lyrical track proving that this album is easily his most lyrical. It tells a pretty good story that I can remanisce with. I feel liek I'm watching a music vid with Nas when I listen to it.

7. One Love
-This song is mad boring. "One Love, One Love, One Love" That's really all there is to it. Boring as hell I skip it every time I bump.

8. One Time 4 Your Mind
- Pretty raw song that u can vibe/flow to. Lyrically it's fair. All together though it's nothing special.

9. Represent
- REPRESENT! REPRESENT! I was feeling that part. Good song lyrically and the beat was pretty nice to rhyme to.

10. It Ain't Hard To Tell
- I was diggin the beat and everything on this. I wasn't necessarily impressed with the lyricism to be honest. Still worth a listen easily.

LAST WORDS: At first couple of listens I would've given this album a C+. Honestly I think this is the most overrated album in history. Best Album Ever? Not even close. I don't see 1 Absolute GREAT TRACK on here just a bunch of fair-very good songs. Still a solid album though

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

A Fever You Can't Sweat Out by PANIC! AT THE DISCO

2008-07-19T15:31:00.001-07:00

1. Introduction
-WTF? Fuck dis shit skip it. It's just a bunch of noise.

2. The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage
-I was diggin the real catchy sound of the song. It has you vibing to it. The chorus is perfect and the sound is flawless. Everything about the song is good. Like a nursery rhyme, just flowed so well.

3. London Beckoned Songs About Money Written by Machines
-Dope track, the chorus is once again perfectly catchy. "If u talk you better walk. You better back your shit up with more than good hoops while your under the gun" Another great flowing song that just sounds great to vibe to. Something simple and cheery.

4.Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks
-I wasn't really feeling this. It just depends on what mood I'm in. Sometimes I be feeling this track but for the most part I don't like this song. It's just got this mad wierd sound that I ain't liking.

5. Camisado
-I was diggin the keyboard at the beginning and then the sudden rocking out part. Another perfectly written track. The chorus is great and it's just a real mellow song.

6. Time To Dance
- The first couple of spins for this track I wasn't feeling but then I started to like it a lot. A wonderfully told story on the real. This story was some real shit about this girl under pressure as a teenager to look right. Good song

7. Lying Is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off
-Once again I really wasn't feeling this song at first but after about 10-20 listens I liked it a little more lol. Another catchy chorus. Still one of my least favorite songs on the album but I still respect it as a song now.

8. Intermission
-Stupid, skip!

9. But It's Better If You Do
-The chorus is so damn catchy here and the song is written so well. I still don't like the track so much but the first minute and a half gets you toes tappin. The lead singer actually sounds pretty good on this song.

10. I Write Sins Not Tragedies
-One of the most popular songs of the year and one of my favorite songs of the decade as far as rock. It's just a genius song that had the radios buzzing forever. Just a supremely catchy song that can stay in your head for days.

11.I Constantly Thank God for Esteban
- A cool song that gets political. Rhymes well, sounds well and speeds up in the middle beautifully that breaks into a real catchy chorus. Kind of got old after a while.

12. There's a Good Reason These Tables Are Numbered Honey, You Just Haven't Thought of It Yet

-Damn the title is mad long lol. But this is maybe my favorite song on the album. Tells a good story and is just so damn catchy like you couldn't imagine. Panic! is one of the most talented songwriting bands I've ever seen. This song has a cool meaning as well.

13.Build God, Then We'll Talk
-It took me awhile to warm up to this track but in the end I loved it. The story is perfectly told and it has a cool original meaning to it. In the end the sound of it with him repeating the same lyrics along side the violin sound was beautiful.

GRADE: A

-C.S.

Under My Skin by Avril Lavigne

2008-07-19T15:11:00.000-07:00

1. Take Me Away
- She sort of has a nice voice that gives this song a uniqueness to it but this song just was blah. I wasn't really feeling it. Some shit to slit your wrists to.

2. Together
-Boring song for the most part I just wasn't feeling it.

3. Don't Tell Me
-I liked this song a lot. It's about her not giving up her morals and sex for just anyone. ReallY i just like her cuz I'd tap that ass all night. For real I'd make the bitch squeal. But 4real I like the song cuz it's real emotional like all her songs. It's a good song. Definitely worth a listen

4. He Wasn't
- Wasn't feeling this much either it just is her complaining about how dudes are so bad. [She does this a lot :( ]It rocks pretty hard for a poppy/grunge singer.

5. How Does It Feel
- What a damn snorefest. It's just really slow and theres no real lyrics here that are worth a listen. So yea in my opinion this a skip in my book.

6. My Happy Ending
-Real good track. She sounds good on it and it's kind of powerful. It's sort of sad
:( She just talks about her boyfriend and how he broke her heart and it tore her up. GOod song actually. I listened to it like 10 times

7. Nobody's Home
-A really really raw and emotional song. Pretty good stoytelling even. Good track one of her more sad and emotional songs on here. You can feel the emotion coming through her voice.

8. Forgotten
- Her voice is ass sounding on this which she's not a good singer anyways but still. More complaining and shit. I swear she's a feminist. But the song rocks hard for an album like this. It's real in your face.

9. Who Knows
-A more light hearted song that's actually decent. She sounds good on it I mean she don't sound great but she's aight. Very catchy and just fun to listen to.

10. Fall To Pieces
- One of her singles but it's rather boring in my opinion. The chorus is catchy but everything else is just blah.

11. Freak Out
-This is her hardest rocking song on the album. The guitar is banging real garage band like. The lyrics though don't keep my interest enough for me to recommend this track. The chorus is sort of cool as far as sound and catchiness but I just couldn't get into this song. :(

12. Slipped Away
- Kind of boring but it's real emotional and I'd say it was written rather well

GRADE: C+

-C.S.

Grand Theft Auto IV

2008-07-19T13:35:00.000-07:00

Gameplay 7.5/10:

The gameplay on here is a little disappointing maybe the only weakness in this armour. Sure people think this game is overrated and then some think it's great. I definitely see why certain people wouldn't like this game. First off fuck the driving controls. Shit is fucking ridiculous even though I've finally gotten the hang of it for the most part but it's just so hard to get the hang of. Then the gameplay controls in general are weak as hell. Like trying to square up and fight with someone is like pulling teeth. The shooting isn't much better. Still there's decent gameplay here despite those weaknesses. The numerous things available to do in the city are ridiculous. Sometimes it's easy to get sidetracked.

Graphics 9/10:

The graphics in here could definitely be better but they're definitely good. When u run over someone and the blood stays on your car and the bullet holes stay in your car. That shit is fuckin awesome. The pure realism in this game is what is so great. Everything is realistic in the environment.

Characters 9.5/10:

The characters within this game truly brings Liberty City to life. Each and every character brings a special something to make you feel alive. Lmao at the radio stations and TV. Pure genius is shown here. I would've liked to see more prostitutes and maybe pimps but it's just such a realistic city with it's Rich areas and poor areas. Every single character brings something to this game to make it all seem real. All interactive and the fact that you have local thugs and sassy women makes it better. Genius shit throughout.

Replay Value 9/10:

It's GTA why wouldn't you play again at least to just kill things? Theres hours of enjoyment just outside of playing missions. I could watch TV for hours on there and surf the internet and fuck prostitutes. Of course with games like these you can play repeatedly but I understand certain reasons you wouldn't want to play. The game does sometimes get repetitive.

GRADE: 9/10

-C.S.

The Main Ingredient by PETE ROCK & CL SMOOTH

2008-07-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

1.In The House

-Just a blah track nothing special really. Cl had a nice flow and lyrically it was pretty good.

2. Carmel City

- Real funky ass beat for real I was feeling it. The lyrics, the sound the everything was perfectly put together.

3. I Get Physical

-A great track from the start this was making you bob your head to it. Fucking ill lyrically and the chorus was real nice a whole new take on "I GET PHYSICAL"

4. Sun Won't Come Out

- Sort of a boring track in my opinion it lacked a lot of power and lyricism. Just not a good track really. Had no good sound in it and lyrically it was weak.

5. I Got A Love
-Beautifully good old school scratching sound to it. The lyrics were average but the chorus was sort of catchy in a wierd old school boring gospel way.

6. Escape
-The beat was simple yet nice and lyrically this track was pretty nice. It was just a little boring but the first 6 bars were hot as hell. The first verse was a good lyrical verse in general.

7. The Main Ingredient
- The lyrics were nice real old school New York style ya digg? The beat was almost to simple for me but all together this track was pretty nice. But I can't say it's great or nothing.

8. Worldwide
-Nice sound on the beat it was well written. Mad old school DJing from Pete Rock. I can dig this shit. The song was just a little bit boring for my taste.

9.All The Places
-I didn't really like this track. Thought it was an average song at best. Just real boring in my opinion.

10. Tell Me
-Lyrically it's so damn nice on the beat. The beat could've been better but that whole first verse was just soooooo nice. Perfectly executed flows and verses. Thumbs up on this track.

11. Take You There
- Didn't really get into this other than the chorus. I just wasn't feeling it but as I said the chorus sounded good/cool on the song and lyrically it was good of course. Just lacked what it needs to be a great track.

12. Searching
-Dope ass beat and drumming. Hot track I was feeling it all the way through. The lyricism and flow was perfect on the beat. Just nodded my head all the way through and then there was a real smooth hook in the chorus.

13. Check It Out
- "Check It Out, Check It Out, CH-Ch-Ch-Check It Out" I liked that mixing and shit at the start. Good flow and lyricism from Smooth as usual.

14. In The Flesh
- Cool sound but it was nothing special. The scratching was average and so was everything else. The beat however I liked more and more as I listened.

15. It's On You
- It's a good track lyrically and Cl Smooth was super smooth on the track. lol but 4real he had a nice flow but the song semi-bored me on it so I had a hard time getting into it.

16. Get On The Mic
- Nice sound even though the repeating of Get On get's boring but the lyricism is fuckin crazy. This track is str8 fiyah!!!! SImple as that.

GRADE: B

-C.S.

FEVER TO TELL by YEAH YEAH YEAH'S

2008-07-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

1. Rich
- This song has a cool sound on it. I didn't like the screaming but it has this real nice grunge/punk sound to the song. The instrumentals on it were nice but they lyrics were pretty retarded.

2.Date With The Night
- The song sounds just like the song before it. I hate shit like that as u may be able to tell from my other reviews. More pointless lyrics that really mean nothing but whatever. I'd skip it but you can do whatever with this it really depends on your listening style.

3. Man
- I love her voice she sounds so cool and perfect on each track. She's really unique. Nice sounding track and I like what she singing about.

4. Tick
- A normal song actually. They sound really college bandish [which I think they are] The guitar parts were nice they had a nice funky sound.

5. Black Tongue
- Just a blah track really. It was more in your face than the other tracks but really not all that good of a track.

6. Pin
- I swear she's on drugs or some shit the way she writes the songs and sings them. She just sounds like she on crack. But it's alright by me. Another really short track even though there is a lot of those on here. This track isn't to good.

7. Cold Light
-2:16 run time so another mad short track but she sounds good on it as usual. Just she sort of gets flooded out by the guitar on it. This is worth a listen but it's not a good track in my opinion.

8. No No No
-RHCP sounding song in my opinion but she sounds nice on it again. Got this real old school feel.

9. Maps
- Easily the best track on here it's just made so much better than the other tracks it's a beautiful work of art as a song and it stays stuck in your head. A wonderful song even though I really don't know what it's about lol

10. Y Control
- Nice fast paced guitar shredding here. Slow and steady in the middle. She sounds real nice on it. The thing I like about Karen O. is her ability to translate here emotion into each and every track. [Maps is a beautiful example]

11. Modern Romance
-Just a meh track it's slow and shit but it sounds good and not as badly produced.

12. Poor Song [Hidden Tack]
-lol you wont know it's a hidden track you'll just think it's apart of Modern Romance but it is a hidden track. A decent song

GRADE: C

-C.S.

Lord of War by Yukmouth

2008-07-18T20:15:00.000-07:00

Lyricism B:

Good lyricism on this album as far as each track goes. Yes I am aware that these are recycled and already have been released but fuck it Ima treat this review as if the tracks are new. Good shit on each and every hard hitting track ya digg? It's not just the lyricism but the intensity that Yuk comes at u with on each track. So perfectly done.

Production B-:

The production was average. No real "GREAT" beats on here at all but good/decent/average beats on about every track. A lot of simple beats here and the skits are nice of course. (Lord of War Samples) The Lord of War shit really works since the mixtape is called "LORD OF WAR"

Track Selection B+:

Good selection. Yuk was being real when he said he was the Lord of War. I myself didn't really think about all his disses until I heard this. I went into it thinking it would be a blah tape but I was surpised by all the good tracks he put on here.

Disses A-:

Every diss on here hits hard as hell!!!!! Sure it's missing a few other great ones but Yuk murders every nigga he disses so of course they went on this tape. Beautifully done disses from a true Lord of War!!!

GRADE: B

-C.S.

Yukmouth Presents: WestCoast Gangsta Volume 15

2008-07-18T20:07:00.001-07:00

Track Selection B:
For the most part the tracks are nice. Stupid Doo Doo Dumb is a great track. Anybody See The Popo Is classic. Good track selection on both discs. Real nice shit that embodies the WestCoast/Bay Area. Certain tracks tho I don't like being on here. Yuk picked a few not so good/boring tracks so that dampened the mood ya digg?

Unreleased/Exclusives C:
I didn't like his unreleased disses and tracks. I thought they were all poorly done and just rushed. No wonder they were unreleased lol. Not very good compared to his great fuckin Game disses and his decent Daz disses. So I can't give these as high of a grade as I'd like to. :(

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

Batman Begins

2008-07-18T19:59:00.000-07:00

Plot (B): Real cool plot I liked the way that didn't go traditional with it. Like showing his training and what not as well as changing up some normal shit. The way they portrayed Gotham was great. Portrayed so much better than all the other Batman movies before it. Unfortunately I didn't like the way they changed who killed his parents and other small details. All just minor things though compared to a rather good plot. Having Scarecrow as one of the super villains was real cool. New Bat Mobile gets a thumbs down though.

Acting (B): The acting was good of course as I expected. Katie Holmes is a cute girl and not half bad of an actress. Bale was of course great as he is in every movie he's in. I'm a big fan of his. Good acting.

GRADE: B

-C.S.

I Pledge Allegiance To The Grind II by Killer Mike

2008-07-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

Lyricism C+:
The lyricsim on this album was average hence the grade. Nothing on here is lyrically special but a few aren't lyrically good. I actually was surprised by Mikes lyrical presence on here tho. He did have quite a few surprisingly good tracks. I didn't expect much from this album lyrically so I got surpised in a pleasant way.

Production C-:
Nothing on here as far as beats was very good. The production was blah and sloppy. A few cool sounds though. Track 6 had a nice Chopped and Screwed beat. A few real loud and in your face beats but most of it sounded the same. Just average, sloppy, rushed beats.

STREET ANTHEMS B+:
Of course Killer Mike had dope anthems all over the place. Dude has a cult following and he spoke for the people on every track. All up in your face you digg?

GRADE: C-

-C.S.

Friday After Next

2008-07-18T19:34:00.001-07:00

Plot (C-): The plot was well kind of wierd. A santa claus thief robs Craig and Day-Day. They get jobs as Top Flight Security and they search for this thief who robbed them on Christmas Eve. I mean I don't expect much plot from a movie like this really so I let a lot slide. Hell it could've gotten a better grade for plot but still I see some areas where it can improve.

Acting (B-): lol I don't expect great acting from Cube or any of the other actors/actresses so that's why it gets a B-. The acting wasn't really that bad at all. Nothing great but it was fair. Plus it had some hella fine bitches in it. Damn whoever the prostitute was.........mmmmm shawty is a 10!!!

Comedy (B): Maybe not as funny as the other movies in the series but still mad funny. When Day-Day goes mad with power as a security guard it's so damn funny. The pimp is real funny to. But when Damon starts being all homo I couldn't stop laughing. The movie gets right into the laughs and that's what you expect. So many funny parts.

LAST WORDS: Great comedy? No. Good light hearted comedy like the others? Yes. Don't come into this looking for much more than fun.

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

Untitled by Nas

2008-07-18T19:07:00.000-07:00

1. Queens Get The Money
-Decent introduction u could say nothing great kind of boring but it's just blah.

2. You Can't Stop Us Now
-Big fan of this sampling here good shit as far as beat and all that. The track is average.

3. Breathe
-Okay song just talking about the everyday struggles from racism to cops. Mad complaining though.

4. Make The World Go Round
- Pretty nice lyricism here but the track is boring and sounds just like the rest of the tracks before it. A cool idea though with this song I like the message and the chorus.

5. Hero Feat. Keri Hilson
-Very commercial song not traditional Nas but I don't care bout that. Just a decent track but to tell the truth at first I hated it a lot but it grew on me after the first couple of listens. Still nothing special but can be catchy. Keri Hilson <333>GRADE: D+

-C.S.

ATTENTION: SOMEHOW AN ERROR IN BLOGGER ERASED THIS REVIEW! :( THIS PISSES ME OFF A LOT BUT THERES NOTHING I CAN DO! I RECOVERED 5 SONGS BUT THE GRADE OF THIS ALBUM IS A D+!

Reks - Grey Hairs

2008-07-17T21:12:00.001-07:00

1) Grey Hairs
Nice track, good production by Blaze P. The chorus was a little annoying, when he started repeating “its all grey hairs,” but the verses are on point, with Reks making it clear what his ideas and views are, with lines like: “Cause we don’t let the radios make us different/Getting grey hairs from all of that anger building/I’d be lying if I say I ain’t aging, sensing/A bit of change in my ageless wisdom/What are we to do now, for our ageless victims/Who just wish music would return for its senses.” The delivery and lyrics make it clear that Reks really cares for the music, and knows its got problems

2) The One
Nice beat by Statik Selektah (dude’s the future of production, for real). Reks spits dope on this one, goes in and disses people and mentions random problems with everyday life and the world. “What have we learned from the rappers who got killed?/All of this commotion in rap, most of its not real” is good. I didn’t like how after each “verse” or section of the song (there’s no chorus) he sorta repeated the end line, but I did like the repetition on the “I am not…”s; example: “I am not a rapist, still I believe you can get touched” and “I am not a racist, but I do not believe any quality nigga spit, honky follow me.” Dope spitting on this one, for real.

3) Say Goodnight
Some people dislike this Premo beat, some people do like it; I’m in the latter category (though I wasn’t a fan of the song clips on the chorus). Either way, Reks goes IN on this track. Dope flow, and dope lyricism. This is the first single, and I hope it gets some sort of shine (though it probably won’t). Not gonna go in big detail on this one, but its quite dope.

4) How Can It Be
Statik Selektah with a nice track, the pitch of the sample’s a little bit annoying, but it’s still a dope instrumental. Lyrically, once again, he’s spitting real well: “Revelation: enemy, associate/Whoever get the premonition to fuck with me is over with.” Nice flow as well. The scratching on the chorus is good as well, as one sample declares Reks “An MC’s MC.”

5) Stages
Interesting beat from Large Professor. Nas sample on the chorus and another sample saying “it’s the stages, the phases, that we go through.” Another pretty dope track, I didn’t like the instrumental as much as most of the other ones, and the chorus isn’t that special, but lyrically its good. His flow’s really good on this one. It’s a good track lyrically, though not as good as some other oens.

6) All In One (5 Mics) feat. Lil’ Fame
Reks (and Lil’ Fame) imitate and pay homage to Biggie, Pac, Big L and Big Pun. The track is well done, and the imitations are pretty good, they get the flow and delivery down. I liked Fame on this one a lot, held his own with Reks. The production’s hard hitting as well. Overall, a really dope track.

7) Next 2 Me
Nice beat by DC the Midi Alien. The song is once again quite good lyrically: “Spitting so effortless/Every breath is as if/I’m the game of tetris/Hold every block down/Name any block round/I connect with it…” His flow is really good. Didn’t like the chorus though, Reks tries singing or something, , and it doesn’t really sound that good when he stretches some shit to make it rhyme, like the line “all these rappers ain’t shit next to me.” Still, the verses are fucking sick.

8) Money On The Ave feat. Skyzoo
Simple beat by Soul Theory, but I like it. The song title is misleading, as this is actually not glorifying money or coke dealing; it really has the point of view of a kid rapping, watching neighbors and local thugs sell drugs, filled with the frustration. The chorus includes lines like “The money makers on the ave/And they be getting dough/While I was tryin’ to rap/Nigga they were selling blow.” The verses have a really clever point of view of a struggling rapper being drawn to the more successful drug dealers, showing (much better than any coke rappers can, mind you) why people can be drawn to that culture: you can’t make money easily rapping. As Reks spits (from someone else’s point of view), “Diddy ain’t gon’ pop into your hood/And change your life, make the shit all good/Like shit ain’t fucked up on the streets/So to eat we keep/ them goods in the projects/Its all economics/You disagree, God bless, wish you the best/But you from Lawtown, Mass, who gon’ listen to Reks?” Still, they make it clear that they enjoy the choice that they made, to stay involved with rap.

9) Black Cream (The Negro Epidemic) feat. Big Shug
Don’t really like the best, and Shug’s singing on the chorus wasn’t anything special, and the message has been not a lot, particularly recently (Nas, Untitled, in stores now). Still, the verses are nice, with lyrics that are quite true, such as: “Everybody ain’t Kanye West, Lord/I try to tell the kids get a dream you can afford/But kids wanna stunt, smoke blunts and impress broads/Sip on syrup cause they idol got his cup/What this does/Is make it harder to give a fuck, the impulse/To ball got Cosby pissed off/That buck that bought the bottle could’ve struck the lotto/To invest in scratch tickets is a fucked up motto.” More dope spitting by Reks.

10) Love Sweet Misery
Wasn’t liking the sample at all, it was sorta ignoring to me, and the beat is sorta soporific to me. Still, once again, Reks spits real dope on this one. But the production’s lacking IMO, a rare miss from Statik, just didn’t like the beat. Nice flow and lyricism though.

11) Rise
The beat is nothing special, and the chorus is a bit dumb (“we all rise from the bottom to the top…” oh, really?). Not as good as some other songs. Not bad, by any means, but it wasn’t anything special.

12) Telescopes feat. Jon Hope & Lucky Dice
Liked the placid, serene feel on this beat, and also liked the chorus a lot. Both Jon Hope and Reks are dope rappers from MA, and both spit real well on this one. Lucky Dice’s verse isn’t as good (random lines like, “hey, hey, hey, you’re a super-superstar” sorta take away from it), but the song is still overall good. Nice cultural references to talking about life events and change/hope. Nice blend, nice production, nice lyrics, nice track.

13) Day 2
Production is ok, but the breathing/sighing in the background is annoying. Still, nice chorus/verses as he talks about mistakes in his life and how he wants to start over, all in regards to his love life. I didn’t like how he let the sample go on for a bit before the third verse, but the storytelling is there, and the lyrics are nice, as he talks about how he was “a dog from day one” in his relationship.

14) Premonition feat. Consequence & Termanology
This feels a bit more like a Consequence tracks, with him talking at the beginning and on the first chorus. Still, it’s a nice track about their lives. Both guest rappers did well, Termanology particularly, and I like how they mentioned their names in the verses. Reks also has a dope verse, I like how he doesn’t hide the fact that he’s flawed in his verses, helps the listener connect a bit more. Nice job by Statik on the beat.

15) My Life feat. Paula Campbell
Like the production and I like how the singing and rapping blend well. He talks about a few different events, has a real nice flow on this one as well. Some dope lyrics in here: “I feel the spirit in my lyrics of the ghosts’ path/Try to awake ‘em when I scribble on my notepad.” Nice, laid back beat, and Reks does it justice with some introspective lyrics.

16) Cry Baby
Nice storytelling on this song about a teenage pregnancy, which is then revealed to be about Reks’ life and mother. The first verse is about his mom, second is about him as a young kid, third about him as a teen. Got a lot of emotion in this, with him regretting showing disrespect to his now dead mom. Nice lyrics, and a nice chorus with Reks asking: “It made dear mama weak, what will it do to me?” Introspective, personal, and good lyricism? Dope.

17) Long While
Once again, thinking about the past. These about the homies who he hasn’t seen in a long while. Nice lyricism and a good beat. Good mix of reminiscing and missing, and the lyricism is still on point. Nice flow and delivery, it compliments the instrumental well. Not much else to say, just another good song

18) Big Dreamers (Lawtown Remix) feat. Termanology & Krumbsnatcha
Nice track, remixing a cut from Statik Selektah’s album. The chorus is pretty good, but the verses are much better. Again, not much to say on this one, just some real nice lyrics over a good beat.

19) Isiah
A little religious, but a nice beat, chorus, and lyrics. Some nice lines on this one, “I am forgiven, so I must forgive/Driven to do more than just scribble sentences with relentlessness/Paying rent, making sense, till my day is spent/If its meant to be rap, Lord, finally say its meant” is a nice way to finish it. Dope track.

20) Hidden Track (Pray For Me (Suicide Note))
DOPE track, first track I really heard from Reks that made me a huge fan. Nice Jay-Z sample, dope production, and dope outlook over the state of hip-hop. I could drop quotes, but to be honest, the whole song is just consistently fire lyrically. So just listen yourself.

Grade: A

Eraserhead (1977)

2008-07-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

Where to start, Eraserhead is an example of a movie that will always be classic, time cannot take that away from it like it does for some movies. Lynch is truly a master at what he does, and it's perfect.

The story centers around Henry Spencer (Jack Nance). Henry's life is turned around when he finds out his girlfriend Mary X (Charlotte Stewart) reveals that she had his "baby" (it's hard to call it this, you'll know why when you see it). Mary moves in with Henry in his small apartment with the baby, but the baby cries constantly. Nothing will calm it and it finally upsets Mary so much that she goes back to her parents house leaving Henry with the baby. Henry meets and has a short affair with Beautiful Girl Across the Hall (Judith Roberts) and encounters the Lady in the Radiator (Laurel Near).

The setting is perfect. It shows a bleak, dark and deserted industrialized city where there is no plants, except a dead one in Henry's room. Everything looks so depressing and devoid of life and it fits perfectly.

Acting is amazing. Jack Nance is genius as the quiet, odd Henry. Mary X's parents are both equally odd and ecentric which are good contrasts to Henry. All the characters are well played and there are no weak points.

On the surface the plot appears paper thin, Henry has a baby, becomes a single parent, and ultimately can't take it. The movie however is much deeper than this. There are many interpretations of what this movie is about and that's what makes it great, there are many different ideas of what it is and isn't. Some people think it's a religious movie about sins, others think it's just a pregnancy warning. Henry is haunted by terrifying dreams and visions as he spirals down into depression, and his inability to cope with this new world.

See this movie. It will stick with you for a long time not matter what you think it's about at the end. It's a true masterpiece of a movie and should not be missed.

9/10

*****SPOILERS*****

It's about Henry's desire to end his own life. At the start the Man in the Planet (God) tries to show Henry that life is worth living by removing his "sin" (the worm thing). Lady in the Radiator represents Death, deformed but something appealing to it. At the end Henry finally embraces Death and it's finally over. The Eraser scene is representing his need to erase the memories from his head. There are lots of other little clues like this, but you need to be watching.

*****END OF SPOILERS *****

-Kartoon

P2 (2007)

2008-07-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

Angela (Rachel Nichols) is at work late on Christmas Eve, and when she's finally ready to leave it's just her and the doorman, Karl (Philip Akin). Angela proceeds to the parking lot to find that her car won't start. She finds Thomas (Wes Bentley), a security guard, who tries to help with the car. It doesn't work, so she heads back up stairs after an odd conversation with Thomas. She finds the door is locked, and Karl is nowhere to be found. And so starts her terror.

First impression is "wow, I bet this movie cost a ton of money to make with all the no name actors and the grand two locations".

The acting is actually alright. Karl plays the typical old, nice doorman and Thomas is a good creepy obsessed stalker. Angela on the other hand is horrible. She does the typical trapped woman, she has many idiotic ideas and could have ended it all within 10 minutes of being captured.

The plot...is thin. Thomas has been stalking Angela for months so he captures her, she escapes, he hunts her, etc. Been done a million times before and there was NOTHING standout here.

Overall it's an overused, average movie. There's really no reason to watch it, unless there's nothing else to see. It's not exactly bad, it's just so extremely average it's like you have already seen the movie. It's incredibly predictable too, you know who's going to die, you know who's going to get out, you know what's going to happen, you know not to waste your time on this.

4/10

-Kartoon

DKE's Top Ten Favorite Joe Budden Tracks

2008-07-13T16:08:00.000-07:00

What with Joe Budden releasing a series of VERY dope songs recently (entitled “Who,” about the state of hip-hop), and since our blog was in dire need of a new post, I figured I’d give a quick countdown of my personal favorite tracks by the man they call Mouse. He’s one of my favorite rapper, and this is not necessarily his BEST songs, but they’re my favorites…you can definitely make a case for a few other tracks, of course. And I haven’t even heard all of his songs (obviously), so yeah, there’s way more, lol.

First a few honorable mentions that just miss the cut:
My Life (MM3 Bonus Track) – I’m normally against songs with such an absolute name – how can you put your entire life in a song? – but this one is good. A bonus track from Mood Muzik 3, this song has a nice sample, nice beat, good chorus, and some real good lyrics.
Unforgiven – This track, from The Growth has a well done Metallica sample, allowing Budden to get introspective on the beat, saying shit like “Lets talk about the struggle, lets talk about the pain/Some people say they love you, but that don’t mean a thang…That’s my depression talking…maybe it’s really real/Maybe them doctors was right, and maybe I’m really ill.” Flow's a bit off, but lyrically its great
Calm Down – A real introspective track from his self-titled solo debut, “Calm Down” has Budden talking about not only his former drug addiction, but his relationship with his mom and how it survived in regard to the drug habit.
She Wanna Know featuring Lil’ Mo – Yeah, yeah, I know I’m probably one of the few people who likes this. But I like the chorus, its really catchy, and the lyrics aren’t half bad:
”C'mon don't tell me that we already endin’/And fuck I need to cheat on you for? I'm already winnin’.” Of course the main thing that makes this song so great is the horns on the beat, real nice sounding. Haha, I’m gonna catch shit for this, but whatever.

10) Crazy
Though just a verse…well, what does Joe Budden on the Gnarls Barkley “Crazy” beat imply to you (if you’re a Budden fan)? Nice flow on the song, and nice lyrics and punchlines in regard to his life in general. I particularly liked the line, “I’m like Josh Howard, I need time out, but it’ll cost the game” (in regard to a playoff game from a few years ago where Josh Howard called timeout when the Mavericks didn’t want to call one…they ended up losing). Real nice track.

9) Sing For The Moment
Eminem’s “Sing For The Moment” track gets a visit from Mouse, and he once again has some nice thought-provoking lyrics. He talks about problems in the Hood, but unlike most people glorifying it, he spits: They say you soft when you move out the Hood/And so my goal is to make all of my loved ones punks/ My pop my mother, my son, his mother, my girl, my brother/My entire squad will be soft from far.” Also directly talks to his fans, showing both appreciation and inspiration.

8) Three Sides To A Story
DOPE Budden storytelling. This is many people’s favorite song by him, and though its not mine, I realize how dope it is. Nice beat, albeit a little sad, giving a three-way story from the perspective of an ex-convict who goes back to jail due to society’s reluctance to give him another chance. Then it shifts to the kid’s sister, who is molested and pregnant by his step-father. The step-father and brother have a shoot-out, and the girl gets hit by a stray and dies. It’s a sad story, but the narration is downright amazing, and he does an astounding job lyrically.

7) So Long Goodbye
A lot of people wouldn’t mention this in Budden’s best tracks, but I really like this one. A nice sample, and a really sweet sounding song. Budden spits about the problems that are in the game, and about how sometimes he thinks about quitting, before explaining why he doesn’t. Nice lines in here, like “Some people sell out, fuck everything they jot/
From their heart for that number one spot on the charts.”

6) Ten Minutes
This may be a little low on my list, and I may catch shit because of some of the tracks that I put ahead of it. Yes, the beat is nice sounding and Budden’s lyrics on it are real nice, but at ten minutes long, it gets a little boring and repetitive, in my humble opinion, at the end (lol). Still, the lyrics are nice in many spots. You can feel the honesty in the song, in lines such as: Some days I'm not invincible and I feel the pressure/Like if everyone's depending on me, and I just stop...Then what the fuck happens?” Not necessarily worse than the other ones, I just like them a bit more.

5) Walk With Me
Joe literally takes the listeners through a tour of his life. The lyrics are on point, and you can tell that he’s really not feeling his life, and that it’s honest. The beat is nice, and the chorus, though a bit long, is also dope. Nice lines like, “I’ll take you to meet my girl I got to see if you notice/If she love me or if the bitch got an ulterior motive.” He also isn’t afraid to get personal: “Where was the hate back when I wasn't on my feet/An alcoholic, school dropout, just a bum on the street/Where was the hate during my adolescence/Back when that psychiatrist was trying hard to get me on ammonic depressives.” Budden’s never afraid to get personal, and this track becomes dope because of this reason. For the record, this one is pretty much a tie (in my opinion) with the one I put it four, either one could be higher than the other.

4) Ransom Disses (Heart of the City/Ransom Note)
The reason these two are together is because they’re two disses at another rapper, Ransom, so they’re strongly related. These may not be this high normally, but they really show Budden’s punchlines and differ from the usual depressing topics he covers, so they earn a spot in the top four. I don’t like the talking he does (goes on and on lol) at the start of the songs, especially “Ransom Note.” The lyrics are on point though, he hit him with some nice lines. From “Heart Of The City”: “It's no wonder he aint gettin no bookings for shows/Cause your fans is like mine dog, looking for growth” & “Fuck how your glock pop off, how your flock not soft/You gettin no where fast being a Lox knock off,” plus nice one-liners like “Your tapes bang like hardwoods – they not classics.” “Ransom Note” also has some nice lines: “The fans can easily solve my shit/Cop his tape, maybe he'll hop off my dick” and “And this is when I know I heard it all/His stupid ass proud to live on the third floor/He like "Im in the hood all day, I gets it poppin'/you wack motherfucker, you ain’t got another option,” plus another one-liner: “Your career felt about short as a good weekend.” And trust me, that’s just the start, this has waaayyy more dope lines…I can pretty much quote the entire two songs, lol.

3) Dear Diary/Dear Diary (Remix)
Before I get into this one, it was also interchangeable with number two, “Broken Wings.” This one, like “Broken Wings” is really nice lyrically and is just him going on and on about his problems and life. Both versions, the original and remix, are produced by WMS the Sultan, and both are very dope. Love the instrumentals for each version, and like the tone that they sent. Some great lines in here, man, he really gets personal and just raw. I really, really liked some lines in the middle: “They tried to warn me, fought with my girl every night about you/Shit only hurts 'cause she was right about you/She run around wanting to shoot you the fair one/I keep telling her "chill, I don't care none"/I got another side I never showed to you/The side where everybody is disposable/See, relationships are never a threat/'Cause I'll erase the history and act like we never met/Become done giving a fuck and done calling/I got your e-mail, I was done way before then.” Another line I liked was about his baby mama problems: “Is she wrong using him so I can come back/Or am I wrong for wishing I could have my cum back?” And, like I said, both versions are real dope…WMS killed this shit.

2) Broken Wings (Freestyle)
Nice sampling of the ‘80s single, with the same title, by the band Mr. Mister (also sampled on the Pac track, “Until The End Of Time”). The beat’s the same, and he uses the chorus as well. Every line, literally, on this track is quotable. For real, very, very well written. Crazy flow, and some real dopeness in this shit. “You don't feel what the pencil scripts?/Then eight times outta ten you ain't been through shit,” “Was once tight, grew apart for dollars/Was on the same panel, now we Star and Barbara/Two different “Views” two different lifestyles/I think 'long the way one of us got confused,” “It's so sweet/Thought I was fucked up with no shoes 'til I met me a nigga with no feet,” and “Some wanna threaten me, ruin my health/Let me teach you a little something 'bout depression/Ain't shit you could do to me I ain't already thought about doing to myself.” He also has a dope few lines where he compares himself to Alex Rodriguez in regards to his label situation, ending cleverly with “Should get traded, but he don't wanna move/'Cause this the only city he got somethin' to prove/And that's why I'm seen with heaters/'Cause you can't be the man when you on the same team as Jeter.” Just a track that is dope beyond belief.

1) Whatever It Takes
As dope as every other track on this list is, before I even started writing it, I knew beyond a doubt that this was number one. The lyrics are Joe Budden’s “Find A Way,” but on this beat, it gets much, much doper. Nice sample, and ohhhh man, the lyrics are DOPE! Once again, almost every line is quotable…which, considering its very lengthy time, is quite impressive (“Broken Wings” isn’t as long). Maybe its just because I can connect with the lyrics so much, but its also definitely the lyricism and flow that impresses me on this song. “See I'm depressed lately, but nobody understands/That I'm depressed lately, I'm sorta feelin' repressed lately./But y'all been hearin' an' seein' me less lately/Like, has anyone noticed the regress lately?/Look deep nigga, don't I seem stressed lately?/Seemed disturbed, lotta' regrets lately?” and “They say he whines too much, he's too bitter/They call it, complainin', I call it, explainin'/How normal niggas could get caught-up in the game and/Lose they mind, and y'all call it entertainment” and “Now, if it goes to the wire, got the soul of a fighter/Bruised-up and sloppy, or damaged like Ali/Up-late talkin' to the fans on the website/That's the only thing that send yo' man off to bed right?!” Then it enters the last stretch, so to speak, with some really, really dope lines: “Fuck the world, fuck my moms and my girl!/Well, maybe not mom, jus' lemme' remain calm./This too won't last, this too shall pass/At least that's what I say y'all, that's what I pray for,” finally leading to the great ending, where he speaks from his depression’s point of view: “Been with you since 10, but you startin' to confuse me/'Cause it's been so long, and you still try'na lose me/Like, how could you show me such cruelty?/When everybody turns their back on you, Joe it's you and me/Joe, you don't want me to see you right?/Then why you always come get me, how we re-unite?/Tell me! I know you feel for me deep in your heart;/Doctors, meetings, pills couldn't keep us apart./But, now you got a deal an' you wanna get rid of me/We're roommates, I'm in your head, Joe you live with me." Overall, a really, really amazing track, one of my favorites ever.

I know I missed some, and I also know I overwrote, but fuck it, I was bored, and we haven’t had a post in a while. That’s my list, what’s yours?

Same Eyez On Me by Petey Pablo

2008-07-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

Tracklist:
01. We R Blown
02. Same Eyez On Me
03. Everywhere I Go
04. I'm Makin' Moves
05. I'll Beat Yo Azz (Feat. Kurupt)
06. It Aint Fair
07. So Crazy (Feat. 2Pac)
08. Push It Away
09. Too Much (Feat. Eastwood & Kurupt)
10. Somebody About To Get It
11. Set The Record Straight
12. Simple And Plain
13. Holla At Ya Folkz
14. Let's Do It
15. What Cha Gonna Do?
16. Thats Why
17. In Your Casket
18. In A Minute

Lyricism C:
Lyrically the album is just average. See considering I don't like Petey Pablo and didn't expect much from this it was a decent LP. Numerous tracks were nice and 3-4 were dope. Tracks like So Crazy, Same Eyez On Me and I'm Makin Moves are straight fire. They almost make the album. The lyrics in both I'm Makin Moves and Same Eyez On Me are great because of the story they tell and they create a connection with Petey. On So Crazy Tupac spits fiyah. Dope songs right thurr!

Production B:
The production on this LP was pretty good. Despite it being old unreleased tracks everything seemed so new and fresh other than Pac lol. The beat on Same Eyez On Me was real damn good. Good beats everywhere or a least solid to decent ones. Good production.

GRADE: B-

-C.S.

Fight With Tools by Flobots

2008-07-02T09:50:00.000-07:00

1. There's A War Going On For Your Mind

-Real nice intro just saying a bunch of shit that's going on in the world and ending it with a "Theres A War Going On For Your Mind"

2. Mayday
- Nice track and flow on this. It's just a well made track all together. The sound is perfect and its a heavily political track.

3. Same Thing

-Pretty nice track. Johnny 5 sounds a lot like Tonedeff though. Nice sound on the beat and such. All together good.

4. Stand Up
-Real powerful track. Speaking the truth mostly. ANother heavily political track. Talking about the government and Americas beliefs. Dope track.

5. Fight With Tools
- Maybe the only weak track on here. It's a blah track thats all.

6. Handlebars
- lol at first listen I just thought this was some stupid ass song about nothing. Then I actually listened to the full thing and was amazed by the power of it. It's such a good political song. Just an all together dope track. Plus it's mad catchy. Spekaing the truth.

7. Never Had It
-The woman on the track sounded perfect on here. Like a lullaby. All together it's a good track with a great sound and flow.

8. Combat
- Cool beat boxing sound in th ebackground. Just an average track though. Good lyricism tho.

9. The Rhythm Method [Move!]
- Dope verses from everyone. Just a real bumpin song thats fast paced.

10. Anne Braden
-Dope storytelling and just a plain dope 1st verse from Johnny. Such a good track about the sixties and race wars. Awesome song.

11. We Are Winning
-It starts off with some old bitch saying the opposite of things in this world. Just an average track. Lyricism was okay. Just average song.

12. Rise
- Together We Rise!!! Just more revolution political stuff. Decent track nothing special. It's mad in your face though.

GRADE: B+

-C.S.

DEFINITION OF REAL by PLIES

2008-06-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

Rating: 2.6 choppas out of 5 choppas

Plies' sophomore effort, while not horrible, is overall disappointing. While there are decent tracks throughout the album, there is no growth from his first album, which was somewhat novel in its brash bravado and anger. Definition of Real lacks the frank offensiveness that separates Plies from other rappers. Lyrically, not too much innovation or skill is expected out of Plies and true to expectations, he does not deliver any. Plies does not try to do too much with his lyrics, which prevents him from coming out looking like too much of an idiot. His straight forward approach is appealing for goons.
His flow and delivery on the album is quite good, but is not very unique. It cannot alone carry the album. In terms of content, Plies dropped the ball and missed the boat. He seems shy to preach to the goons and often turns to the ladies with vulgar bravado. Plies would be better off focusing on reaching all his goons and dawgs in prison (and all the suburban food court gangstaz who aspire to be goons.) However, he clearly did not get this memo. This leaves the album with a few good songs for what they are and a bunch of half assed collaborations with today's hot r and b artists. Plies refuses to allow other rappers to guest on his album, which hurts its ability to reach multiple segments of the rap listening population.
Highlights of the album include "Rich Folk" a lament about wanting to live like rich folks. Plies does demonstrate some depth when he raps about his seed's college plans: "Want my son to be the first one with a will/ Send him to college and pay it off fo fo year/ Let the streets be mad and tell him he ain't real." In addition, "Who Hotter Than Me," one of the album's single, works quite well because of Plies' simple bravado. He boasts with the best of them when the subject is realness and such, the supposed subject of the album. He raps: "Plies real, you preachin to the choiiiiiiir." This line, because of his simplicity works.
Definition of Real suffers because it does not do as promised. It doesn't define real as intended. Rather it flirts with real but does not seal the deal and take real home from the bar. Plies would be better off being as "real" as possible and let everything else fall into place. He softens up too much for the ladies on this effort.

-Timbo

http://www.audiblecrack.blogspot.com/

Last 2 Walk by 3 6 Mafia

2008-06-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

1. Intro

-Pretty cool intro reppin they hood and shit and lol at the cd skipping at the end. They got me there.

2. I Told Em'

- Nice chorus and all. It's an okay track though. Like I said the chorus gets catchy by the 3rd time and the beat is aight. It's a banger.

3. Trap Boom Feat. Project Pat

-Not a very good track. It's lyrically fair I suppose but it's just a lame track. It seems like it's missing something big.

4. Playstation

- Pretty dope track all in all. "Play wit your playstation dont play wit me booy" lol thats dope. I like the song and it's catchy mainly because of that line. Nice chorus and it' just a fun track. I dig what they saying and all.

5. I Got

- Rather boring track. Kind of catchy chorus but not a good track. The lyricism is almost not there

6. I'd Rather Feat. DJ Unk

-A good single. Catchy and it's a banger. The lyrics were kind of cheesy

7. That's Right feat. Akon

-Akons voice was nice and smooth on this I liked it. The song wa smore like a lullaby than a rap song. Got real boring and all of a sudden it's over. *Shakes Head*

8. Cornerman

- The beat wasn't very good or creative but the track is okay. Has decent lyrics but its rather monotone.

9. Weed, Blow, Pills

-Decent song. It sounds cool when it gets slower and the voice changes. The scratching in the back is nice. Nice song about drugs.

10. DSX Talk

- *SHAKES HEAD* It's an advertisement

11. Hoodstar ft. Lyfe Jennings

- Cool track it had a nice beat and decent lyricism. Had a nice sound all around it was slower which was a nice change of pace.

12. Get Ya Rob ft. Project Pat

- This track is aight another scratch track that sounded cool. Lyrically it isn't that good of a song but it is decent.

13. On Some Chrome feat. UGK

- A str8 up banger. It is a cool sounding track. Nice Pimp C verse, R.I.P. A nice track all in all. It sounded nice and it's hood as hell. The overstressing words in the chorus sounded really nice. Ya digg?

14. Rollin Feat. Lil Wyte

- Nice beat to flow to which would explain why all the flow on this is fire. They on them X pills. Good track though.

15. Click Bang

-Nice track. It was real hard, heavy and in your face. Just dissing those who hat and those who punked out.

16. My Own Way Feat. Good CHarlotte

-.......Good Charlotte?......Really?.....Are you serious? Fuckin nasaly bastards. How gay is that. They sounded alright on the track but it loses credibiltity for just that so fuck this track but u can still listen to it u may like it.

17. Dirty Bitch Feat. Project Pat

- Meh just an average song at best. Can be skipped.

18. First 48

- Not a very good track. Just stupid average lyricism.

19. Outro

-It's not really the outro? WTF! lame

20. Lolli Lolli [Pop That Body] Intro

-*SHAKES HEAD*

21. Lolli Lolli [Pop That Body]

-I like this track. It's a good single def worth a listen.

22. My Own Way [Remix]

-Fuck it again

GRADE: C-

-C.S.

Evolution Fight by CYNE

2008-06-28T15:30:00.000-07:00

If you don't already know, here is a bit about CYNE

CYNE ("Cultivating Your New Experience") is an American indie hip-hop group
originating from Gainesville, Florida. Characterized with a warm and soulful
sound influenced by left-field hip-hop, rock, trip-hop and jazz, the group is
known for lyrics that range from party boasting to meditations on the philosophy
of Rousseau. The group consists of emcees Akin and Cise Star, and producers
Enoch and Speck, and are currently signed to City Centre Offices.
CYNE has
collaborated with artists from around the world, including Nujabes, whose solo
projects have featured Cise Star and Akin, and Four Tet, who produced several
remixes for and toured with them in 2005.
CYNE's 2005 release Evolution
Fight was named Album of the Week at Stylus Magazine for the week of August 29 –
September 3, 2005. In 2007, Cyne releases Grey Matter EP on their website to be
downloaded, free of charge

Plight About Now

Nice opener. Both emcees drop 16 bars that if you are not already familiar with CYNE give you an insight into what they are all about, both have liquidy smooth flows, (Akin sounding slightly more gravelly than Cise Star) and are evidently dope lyricists. The beat is a typical "intro beat", simple yet dope and complimentary to the emcees. It is evident from the intro that both Cise Star and Akin have skills on the mic and that they have good chemistry. You are left expecting a conscious, hard-hitting LP that could end up being slightly boring and repetitive or could turn out to be a breath of fresh air in what I would call a polluted Hip Hop Nation.
4/5

Soapbox

Ridiculous beat, flawless. Probably one of my favorite beats ever. Akin and Cise Star's smooth flows and liquidy lyrics suit it perfectly and both emcee and track compliment each other nicely. They spit more conscious lyrics commenting on how dumb society has become and how the "Evolution Fight" is difficult amongst such idiocy. Its one of those tracks I could have on repeat forever! Every verse is incredible

"Buildings fall, for race war we brawl
like a new civil war f*ck Bush and Gore
I got one shot, to make it to the top
Like a runaway slave you better call the cop
I must be tragic, tortured by cultural fabrics
and real to the listener this shit must be magic"

Could go on about this track for ages but I'll let y'all listen and form your own opinions.
5/5

Evolution Fight

Another great beat. One of the best tracks on the album. Akin and Cise talk about trying to succeed in the "Evolution Fight" and how hard it is to do so whilst keeping it real and not betraying your morals. Akin raps "This beat must be heaven sent" Word! A bit of autobiographal stuff.

"Aids in Africa the children are dieing,
Billion dollar budget, conquer Mars who's flying?"

Great track
4.5/5

Haze

The dopeness continues. Great "organic" beat with super smooth liquidy bass line. Again conscious lyrics about life and how certain people are let down by government prejudice and how badly America is run.
4.5/5

Rousseau

Another nice beat with a repetitive vocal sample. fuck knows what the title means, I think Rousseau was a philosopher or something not sure if this has a relevance to the track. Not feeling the chorus or Cise Star's flow on the 3rd verse he switches it up to some weird Eminem on Superman from The Eminem Show type business and it doesn't sound great in my opinion, but lyrically its still tight and Akin's opening verse is dope. More government hating.
4/5

Fuck America

Wasn't feeling this track at first, the emcees switch up their flows again and I prefer it when they are just flowing hard on a beat. The beat itself isn't great but after a few listens it grew on me. They use a prostitute as a metaphor to describe America. Describing how she is glamorized and dressed up to look great; silicon tits, contacts, nail polish but underneath what a mess she (America) is "took me to the car made me feel like a star, but I paid for some head and you gave me a hand job" is a metaphor for the false promises offered by society! Nice double meaning of f*ck America and good story telling. Definite grower (no homo) 4/5

Growing

As the title suggests this track is about growing up and again how hard it is in today’s society. Cise and Akin rap about turning to alcohol during hard times, growing up without a father and other hardships they faced. Deep without sounding cliché and gimmicky and real nice beat.
4/5

Rappin

Beautiful beat laced with a nice Piano loop. Love this beat. Only one verse long, Cise Star's flow on this one is on point! displaying his dope mic skills and great lyrically ability. He raps a bit about the crew and it’s generally just a self-promoting dope verse yet still conscious and interesting. "Diamond on the wrist watch, nah that's not hip hop" Word! Would get full marks if it was slightly longer and didn't have some random Mr.T skit at the end
4/5

Automaton

Different from anything on the album. Almost the kind of beat you'd expect on a Gym Class Hero's track but I like it! real catchy. An Automaton is a robot or a self-operating machine, the term is often used to describe a brainless follower (yes wiki) and that is what the track is about. I think that is why they have chosen this beat and some of the repetitive chorus' used throughout the track "cause clever ringtones define me, clever ringtones define me" clearly an ironic stab at modern popular culture. They joke about power lunches, excessive mobile phone use, lack of individuality and star bucks breaks which all in their opinion are trends far to often seen in society. Don't think they'd like a 9-5 in the city. Nice track and a change from a majority of the album so far.
4/5

Arrow of God

Automation ends with "Snap out of it" and instantly rolls in the Arrow of God beat. Almost as if they have snapped out of the commercial sounding Automaton track back into what they recognize as real this beat is much more typical of Cyne and another one of my favorites on the album. Akin and Cise Star talk about their religious beliefs and thoughts on the afterlife and the greater being. Incredible lyrics, very deep and I agree with alot of what they say.
4.5/5

Running Water

Another near flawless beat. Another challenger for the dopest track on the album! Cise drops a short verse about the hardships of life real dope meaningful stuff then Akin raps what in my opinion is probably the best verse on the album he tells a story of a youth wasting life and the hardships faced growing up, his lyricism is ridiculous. All round near perfect track
5/5

Up Above

Anyone familiar with Immortal Technique's Revolutionary Vol. 2 will instantly recognize this one, the beats exactly the same as "One (Remix)" apart from the drums, I prefer the beat on the tech LP. This is a solo track by Cise Star talking about his mother who passed away. Typical dope emotional track about a lost one. Nice track, lyrically tight but the beat for me is one of the weakest on the album but still.......
4/5

Deferred

Darkest beat on the album, nice drums. Another one i didn't feel so much at first but grew alot on me. The lyricism is incredible. Cise and Akin talk about dreams and subconscious thought. Not sure if there is a meaning to this one that goes over my head but whatever its dope as hell. "A bitch made approachin the mic with a switch blade, This day and age I rage against the skits made" Evidently, there are no skits on the LP at all, apart from the short Mr T thing at the end of "Rappin".
4.5/5

Moonlight

Can the final cut live up to the 13 previous dope tracks? hell yeah. Love this beat, liquidy smooth again with a haunting female vocal looped throughout almost like that in the intro to "Triumph" by Wu-Tang Clan, Cise and Akin flow effortlessly over it both displaying mic skills that should make them far more recognized than they are. Akin raps "my styles kind of different, it's not quite commercial yet beyond the ground vision" and that’s pretty much a fair summary of Cyne's style. On this track they talk about fake emcees and their own skills and why they do what they do. Dope ending to an outstanding album.
4.5/5

Summary of Beats

Enoch and Speck are real talented producers and lace the whole album with dope beats. They display great versatility behind the boards making all kinds of tracks. Most of the beats are smooth, jazzy, natural sounding but they show they are capable of making equally good commercial sounding tracks and hard hitting grimy hip-hop. As well as the 14 track's beats there are a few 30 second or so samples or other beats at the end of some tracks and they are all dope too. All in all consistently great production throughout.

Summary of the Emcees

Although not overly outstanding and in your face Cise and Akin hold down the whole LP. Not a single bad verse, not a single featuring MC, not a single moment where I wished there were other emcees gracing the dope beats provided by Enoch and Speck. Their chemistry is tight and they compliment each other perfectly they both write intelligently and come across as passionate and motivated to make good music. Oh and they both have sick flows. A producers dream.

Conclusion

From start to finish Evolution Fight is a great album, not a single skipable track it holds my attention from beginning to end, which albums rarely do. I recommend any hip hop fan should own this, I think some of the messages will go over the heads of some people and therefore they may interpret it as boring and samey but it definitely isn't. I'm not the type of person to throw out the "classic" label easily and I'm not doing so here but its damn close. Take away a few tracks and make a few tracks a bit longer then we might be talking a classic. I've listened to Evolution Fight on and off since I got it and I will continue to. Don't sleep

Grade = A

Few Sample Tracks
The whole album can be heard on youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuJLIWBRZTI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZROFPUlfqY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6eVPUKU3F4

-Clockwork