Hello Baby, Guess Who's Back?

Entry posted by Neo Uruk January 27, 2014

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And thus begins an early rap Album of the Year candidate. I'm just gonna go ahead and post everything because $%&@ an introduction.

Kid Ink - My Own Lane - Kid Ink's sophomore effort comes with much hype among his fans on Twitter (god why did I just say that) and others who followed his movements in the freestyle and EP markets over the last year - give or take a few months. Given the amount of hype, I allowed a good while for it to sink in before I made any judgment calls on the album. I don't want to be !@#$@#$ Pitchfork, y'know? But here we go!

Hello World - Well this is probably one of the vibing-est ($%&@ you, Webster) songs since Cudi's first couple of albums. I've played this to people who hate anything but death metal and they loved it. Could've been the setting talking through them, but it was tight anyway. 8.5/10 song, baller intro.

The Movement - One of the worst on the album, still decent. Production makes it work a lot better than it would with another beat, imo. 6.5/10

Show Me - Let me start with this - I hate Chris Brown. As a person. That said, I can't bring myself to hate the artist. This isn't the strongest track on an album with enough "come home with me" type tracks to put pressure on CB to shine. And he manages to look pretty damn good. 7/10

Iz U Down? - Shoutout to #patriarchy crew. References to Chappelle's Show, too. Quite enjoyable as a music piece, even if you're not a fan of polygamy :v Tyga also manages not to look like !@#$. 7.5/10

We Just Came to Party - August Alsina > Chris Brown. That is all. 8.5/10

Main Chick - See, okay, now I can hate on Breezy. This hook isn't nearly as catchy as it was supposed to be, but Ink delivers some good verses. 8/10, saved by Kid Ink's versatility

No Option - Highlight of the album. Bouncing production with some nice bass. Boasting and showcasing talents from wordplay to flow are Kid Ink and King Los showing the whole damn album up. Reminds me of a hungry Lil Wayne - with a less irritating voice and disgusting-yet-funny metaphors. 10/10

Murda - Pusha Ton lends his dope boy style to the album as well, providing another pretty big name to the album. Rocketshipshawty drops missiles, and Pusha lets us know he got rich selling ice, ice baby. 9/10

Rollin' - Well, he is rollin' I guess. I dunno. Never hung out with the guy. I imagine someone has to do it according to his instagram photos everyone shows me! Anyways, no more corny !@#$, solid track. By no means a standout, still good enough. 6.5/10

Tattoo of My Name - As ridiculous as this song may be, the beat and the way he works with it works out. Lyrics aren't his best work (how could it be) but he manages to make the song so catchy that you'll have to get inked up with SOMEBODY's name. Hopefully not someone you've never met. 7/10

No Miracles - This is the type of track MGK stands out on. When he talks about actual !@#$ that happens. Elle Varner has an amazing voice :3 Inspirational song, fitting production. One of the best on the album. 8.5/10

I Don't Care - I don't even know what to think about this song. It just doesn't strike me. 6/10

More Than a King - To match the intro, we get a strong finish. A pretty great finish, actually.

The beat switchup works well to keep interest peaking. 8.5/10

Overall Score: 9/10, you'd think it was Yeezy or Lil B out here. Hopefully Ink gets the credit he deserves for his talent.