ALBUM REVIEW: YEEZUS - Kanye West and More...

Y do I love the Yeezus album?

Its simple, Kanye is interesting to me;
Musically and Lyrically.

On 1st listen, As the CD began.. I let go a huge UH OH! (As in: "WTF is this?)
The techno sounding beat to "On Sight" sounded weird at 1st (I eventually got used to it). This song is most definitely the weakest song on this 10 track album but I tolerate it because Kanye says enough interesting things for me to do so. U see, I know Kanye is not a wordsmith so I do not criticize him toughly, lyrically.

"Soon as I pull up and park the Benz/
We get this bitch shaking like Parkinson's/
Take my number and lock it in/
Indian hair, no moccasins/
It's too many hoes in this house of sin/
Real nigga back in the house again/
Black Timbs all on your couch again/
Black dick all in your spouse again/
And I know she like chocolate men/
She got more niggas off than Cochran, huh?"

...is all I expect from him and its entertaining.

"Black Skinhead" sounds like a retro tribal song and immediately invokes me to get my boogie on.
"I am God" is simply amazing, simply put. Ye' rides The beat perfectly and does what he does best which is cause an uproar with his far from delicate wordings.

("I just talked to Jesus, he said what up Yeezus/
i said: shit I'm chillin, trynto stack these millions/
i know he the most high...")

"New Slaves" sounds like a upbeat Negro Spiritual. He again shows he isn't scared to talk about this world seen through a black man's eyes regardless of his existence in a high tax bracket.
("Yall throwing contracts at me, yall know a nigga can't read...")

"Hold My liquor" features a hook by Chief Keef who's off beat flow is perfect for this beats deep bass line.
This is a Vintage Kanye track, as is "I'm in it". The former includes a reggae sample that fits the track perfectly.

"Blood on the leaves" perfectly samples Nina Simone's 'Strange Fruit' while "Guilt trip" is enjoyable as well. Another perfect reggae sample and Kid Cudi's singing on the hook makes this song completely dope.

"Send it up" is a party starter and Beenie Man's "Memories" sampled voice makes another reggae inspired appearance. It shows me that Ye' is willing to touch every genre and isn't afraid to let any and everybody into the party like he's the coolest 'bouncer' ever. LOL

"Bound2" is the perfect closing for this CD, another Vintage Kanye performance.


If this is Kanye's 'experimental' album then either he's found a formula that works or he can do no wrong musically (In my eyes). As a rapper myself, I DO NOT see myself rapping on most of these beats. They're too 'left field' for my taste but Yeezy makes it work almost flawlessly.

I would not by any means say this album is better than: "Born Sinner" or "Good Kid, Maad City" because those albums are completely different than Yeezus. J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar are wordsmiths and Kanye isn't. (But don't tell Ye that LOL)
I rate this album, not as just a Hip Hop album but a work of art.

Point is: I love this CD!
When I press play, I do not need the skip button... Only the rewind!
If it wasn't for the techno sounding 'On Sight', I would give this CD a 9.5!!
(Seriously Big Homie! #Insider)

Yeezus Grade = 9/10

Btw:

Nas - Life is Good = 10/10
(I can officially call this a #Classic <Nas at his best>

Wu Tang & D-Block - Wu Block = 8/10
(This flew under the radar last year, all these mc's brought their best rhymes to the table)

J.Cole - Born Sinner = 9/10
(Amazingly Constructed, Dope lyrics. Twice as good as his 1st album)

Kendrick Lamar - Good Kid Maad City= 9.5/10
(Kendrick is the young King of rap right now, this album will be talked about forever)

Wale - The Gifted=7/10
(Wale put together a solid album here but i do utilize the skip button a bunch of times on this)

ALBUM REVIEW: Magna Carta Holy Grail - Jay Z

Jay Z, is the best rapper alive in my opinion so I hold him to unbelievable standards when reviewing his works. One thing I can never do is compare his albums to anyone elses. I only compare Jay Z to Jay Z!

With that said, his new release "Magna Carta Holy Grail", while it has moments of greatness, falls short of what I expect from the self proclaimed "God MC".

I can make a case that this album can be ranked no higher than 8th compared to his prior work.
(Note: Jay Z says himself that he would rank this album 4th behind "Reasonable Doubt", "Blueprint" and "Black Album".)

I say those 3 are most definitely better but also "In My lifetime Vol 1", "Hard Knock life Vol. 2", "American Gangster" and "Blueprint 3" as well, while I put MCHG in the class of "Kingdom Come", and "Vol. 3". I say that because both these projects contain material I feel that are amazing, but also some songs that are sub par; meaning they all lack consistency.
(Ie. On Volume 3: Amazing: Dope Man, NYMP, Do it again, Come and get me, big pimpin. There's been a murder... Very Sub par: things that you do, pop 4 roc, s.carter)

This is no knock on Jay Z as it is common for us as hip hop fans to be tough graders when comparing certified classic material to new releases. I judge Jay on his consistency from track to track because he has such a huge catalog; And because of that we know exactly what we can expect from him. With that I also expect him to evolve in some way(s) which he did as he spoke more in-depth on his 5 percent beliefs. But besides that I heard the same braggadocio Jay-Z, rapping about what he has and what we don't. Maybe I expected the "Watch The Throne" Jay Z, where he opened up and actually rapped about the struggle and how it affects us. Or maybe I'm just tired of all "Money, Cars, Hoes" rap, but that's a different story on its own.

Again, this is MY opinion...
"You feel me? And if you don't like it then fine.." To quote Jay-Z himself. (Streets Is Watching off "In my lifetime Vol. 1")

MCHG has many high points: The opening track "Holy Grail" is an amazing song and the perfect intro to this CD. Track 2: "Picasso Baby" is one of the best songs on this Cd as it reminds me of a vintage Hova. The beat is dope and gets better it switches up toward the end... as he rhymes:
"I never stuck my c*ck into Foxes box but/
damn If I ain't open Pandora's box/
they tried to slander ya man on CNN and FOX...."
(Note: He's debuting the video for "Picasso Baby" on HBO 8/2 at 11pm)

The next song "Tom Ford" is dope as well and is a fan favorite, as it should be. Oceans, Jay Z Blue, FUTW, crown and Heaven round out the Amazing parts of the album.

Now to the sub par:
-"FuckWitMeYouKnowIgotIt" sounds more like Rick Ross' song.
-BBC is a little short of horrible. The beat is corny sounding and the hook is very, very weak.
-Part II (on the run) sounds forced; As if he wanted to squeeze his wife Beyonce on the album somehow, just chose one of her unfinished songs and added his lyrics quickly. LOL I do not enjoy this song 1 bit.
-His flow on LaFamilia is catchy but very awkward sounding. Also the "Lil Wayne dis" he started the song with was very weak as well. Like... C"mon Hova... That was very "Ghoulish" sounding. On BP3 you came at "the necks of your former Roc-A-Fellas signees hard and you come at Lil Wayne so softly? C'mon SUN!
-I can't get into Nickels and Dimes either... Even though lyrically he's bringing it, the beat and hook seems like something I've heard before. (Not my cup of tea)

I will say: "Versus", a interlude of sorts, should have been a full song. He needed that type of energy on this project.
But "Beach is Better" is the worst! It just sounds terrible to me .. Sorry!

Overall I like MCHG but I do skip a bunch of tracks as I play the album, which is something I'm not used to doing while playing Jay Z album through my speakers.


Ones' Rating:
Magna Carta Holy Grail = 7/10

Wondering how i would rate his other Albums?

Reasonable Doubt = 10/10 #Classic
In my Lifetime Vol.1 = 8/10
Vol. 2 ...Hard Knock Life = 9/10
S.Carter Vol.3 = 7/10
Dynasty La Familia = 6/10
Blueprint = 10/10 #Classic
Blueprint 2.1: The Gift & the Curse = 6/10
Kingdom Come = 7/10
Black Album = 10/10 #Classic
American Gangster = 9/10
Blueprint 3 = 8/10