Z-Ro and Chill - The Rain (Album Review)

Z-Ro doesn’t usually disappoint with solo’s or Collaboration albums. He is an extremely talented rapper and singer from Huston, TX. He has the most soulful voice that I have heard in rap, aside from Nate Dogg. Even though he has great vocal skills he has no shortage of rapping ability. I got interested in this new collaboration with Chill after hearing some of the buzz about it. I was very disappointed with the outcome. There is some rap substance on here, as far as subject matter, but most of the album sounds really repetitive. Most of the beats are very similar. Also Z-Ro’s hooks are all very similar. Not only are most of the album songs similar, they are not even good quality cuts. This whole album was a step back in quality for Z-ro. Z-Ro and Chill’s raps on this were pretty good considering the beats they were working with. This album just lacks Bump-ability. I think I only really like two or three songs on here: This Is What You Want, Mama's Lil Boy No Mo, and Everybody Raise Up. There was something different missing with each of the songs on here. This album doesn’t even compare to his last Collabo with Trae. I give this a 2.5/5.

01. Mamas Lil Boy No Mo Ft.Tunie (3:43)
02. Soulja Ft.Reggie Hackett (3:26)
03. Not So Hard Ft.Snake & Lionel B (4:47)
04. Everything In Front Of Me (3:26)
05. Dro Skit - Hood Chicks (0:59)
06. Hurt No More Ft.Dougie D (4:41)
07. Rain Or Die (4:26)
08. I Want Everything (4:25)
09. This Is What You Want (4:35)
10. Mama Don’t Cry Ft.Christopher Williams (4:53)
11. Everybody Raise Up (3:37)
12. False Profits (4:11)
13. I Miss My Homie Ft.Bam & Lionel Brown (4:25)
14. Fuck You Ft.TC (5:45)

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Wale - Back To The Feature (Mixtape Review)

This year has been the year of the freshmen in hip-hop. The freshmen with most buzz this year have been: Asher Roth, Kid Cudi, Drake, Charles Hamilton, and Wale. For those of you who do not know Wale, he has been gaining respect for a few years now. He was just signed to Jay-Z’s label: Roc Nation. Wale falls under the smooth/backpack hip-hop category, only he has a touch of pop. He is known for rapping about “real” subjects. His flow is consistent and laidback. He also has a large amount of mainstream appeal. It reminds me of when Kanye first emerged in hip-hop. His single “Chillen” with Lady Gaga has done well on the charts. You can tell from this single that his verses are infectious; fans will have no choice, but to rap along with him. Wale’s new mixtape Back To The Feature shows how Wale can hold his own with the freshman as well as the veterans of hip hop. 9^th Wonder handles all of the production on here and does a nice job with it (for the most part). There are some really good songs on this new tape, but there are also some mediocre ones. Wale’s flow is very consistent on the tape and never falters. There were a lot of standouts on here: New Soul, Reason, Rather Be With You, The Sun, Pot of Gold, Sharp, and Wordplay. If he keeps up his good work he will have a successful album this year. I give this tape a 3.5/5. I may have given this a 4/5, but there was too much talk from him at the end of each track.

1. “Wordplay” feat. Curren$y & Tre
2. “Cypha” feat. Young Chris, Freeway & Beanie Sigel
3. “Chillin’” [Catch vs. 9th] feat. Lady Gaga
4. “Tito Santana” feat. Joe Budden
5. “5 Minutes” feat. Skyzoo
6. “Lifes A B***H” feat. Talib Kweli & Joell Ortiz
7. “Night Life” feat. Young Chris & Tre
8. “Sweatin Out Weaves” feat. UCB
9. “Hot Shyt” feat. Peedi Peedi, Black Thought, Tu Phace & Young Chris
10. “Wonder Why” feat. Big Sean, Ken Starr & Mike Posner
11. “Pot Of Gold” feat. Daniel Merriweather
12. “Sharp” feat. Torae & Kingpin Slim
13. “Warwick Avenue” feat. Duffy
14. “The Sun” feat. Memphis Bleek
15. “Rather Be” feat. J Cole & Curren$y
16. “Goodbye” feat. Jean Grae
17. “Say It Again” feat. Royce Da 5'9
18. “Talkin Shyt” feat. Bun B & Dre
19. “Nothing To Worry About” feat. Peter, Bjorn & John
20. “Rhyme N Reason” feat. Tre
21. “Um Ricka” feat. K’Naan
22. “New Soul” feat. Yael Naim

 

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