"second time around"

last week, i hastily reviewed the three prominent hip-hop releases from kid cudi, raekwon, and jay-z. i broke down my thoughts on each track, but i didn't compile an overall score. being a mathematical genius, i composed a complex equation to normalize those numbers and produce an initial score. after having a few days to let each album soak in, i changed my final score accordingly and provided final thoughts. read on, friends!

+ kid cudi - man on the moon
initial 58/100
final 72/100
thoughts cudi is a good artist, but he still can't sing or rap. what he can do is select thought provoking production and craft memorable hooks and choruses. while man on the moon has grown on me immensely, this album would be better served if everything was kept in tact and cudi's attempts at rapping were discarded. maybe i was judging the book by its cover because dear god, that was one of the worst album covers i've seen this decade. i can't lie though. i find myself listening to this album more and more.

+ raekwon - only built 4 cuban linx pt. 2
initial 84/100
final 84/100
thoughts yes, this album sounds incredibly dated and would have been better if it met a pre-2000 release, but ob4cl2 is still dope. the production is vintage and top shelf while raekwon and company keep everything flowing smoothly as they weave in and out of the coke drama. there is classic material in there, but a handful of production missteps and sometimes stale lyrics keep it from achieving the lofty heights of its predecessor. for me, it won't get better with time... unless we were somehow able to revert time.

+ jay-z - the blueprint 3
initial 75/100
final 70/100
thoughts i didn't want to harp on this before, but jay-z has severely regressed as a rapper. there are moments of clarity where jay-z shows glimpses of his previous greatness, but they are few and far between. we are mostly left with a listless jay-z that's content with delivering passable verses. production wise, the timbaland tracks were indeed awful and we all would have been better served if jay-z had continued working with sean c and lv. personally, this is nearly a one and done listening experience.

"eating ya'll food leaving dishes"

if you've been roaming the internet in the past day, you've probably managed to snag a "copy" of the blueprint 3. i've been sitting on my pilfered jay-z goods, but i decided to give it a listen last night. without getting into great detail, my first impressions are as follows.

some listening material to begin:
+ oh, the powers that be deleted my joints!

+ "what we talkin' about"
feature luke steele of empire of the sun
producer kanye west, no i.d.
notes production is quality. jay-z appears to be in top form and effortlessly moves through the track. i've never heard of luke steele and it won't be too soon if i ever hear him again. overall, a more than solid intro.
first look score 4/5

+ "thank you"
feature none
producer kanye west, no i.d.
notes once again, the production is quality. the kanye west and no i.d. partnership works. jay-z sounds right at home and delivers both quotable and well constructed verses. his flow is flawless. he lays rest to his detractors, of the competing mc's sort, with the third verse. "thank you" might be my favorite track on the blueprint 3.
first look score 5/5

+ "d.o.a. (death of auto-tune)"
feature none
producer no i.d.
notes i've enjoyed no i.d.'s production since "d.o.a." was released. in contrast, i haven't thought too much about jay-z's contribution. i think it's kind of corny and "salty old man" like of jay-z to pull this card. the first verse is "meh", but jay-z marginally improves the quality through to the end.
first look score 3.5/5

+ "run this town"
feature kanye west, rihanna
producer kanye west, no i.d.
notes the beginning of this track is epic as rihanna croons out the hook as gritty guitars get pulled in. kanye west and no i.d. deliver again. unfortunately, jay-z comes out flat and uninteresting. the second verse is a complete throwaway. the third verse by kanye completely steals the track. it's reminiscent of eminem's turn on "renegades". like nas would say, kanye murdered jay-z on his own shit.
first look score 4/5

+ "empire state of mind"
feature alicia keys
producer al shux
notes can't say that i've ever heard of al shux. he provides standard, but inspiring work. jay-z does an adequate job. he doesn't say much of note. it's soothing to hear alicia keys' voice. her tone and inflection on "empire state of mind" remind me of chris martin of coldplay. it's odd, but it works.
first look score 4/5

+ "real as it gets"
feature young jeezy
producer the inkredibles
notes oh, this is tight! young jeezy ad libs can make anything better. the production by the inkredibles gets me pumped up. this could be the next "roc boys" is marketed properly. jay-z and young jeezy both deliver on their verses.
first look score 5/5

+ "on to the next one"
feature swizz beatz
producer swizz beatz
notes if you've been in a club in the last two years, you'll immediately recognize the justice sample. subsequently, you can recognize any swizz beatz production within seconds of it coming on. not a boring track, but swizz beatz is pretty formulaic. jay-z flexes lyrically and the flow is vintage. subliminals at weezy? sign me up!
first look score 3.5/5

+ "off that"
feature drake
producer timbaland
notes lmao.
first look score 1/5

+ "a star is born"
feature j. cole
producer kanye west, no i.d.
notes finally, a misstep by kanye west and no i.d. "a star is born" is a negative! the drums are horrid! in a reverse moment, jay-z does a commendable job until the middle of the track. the flow is reminiscent of "my humps" era black eyed peas. j. cole performs clean up and does well. considering he's on roc nation, i think he's one to look out for.
first look score 3/5

+ "venus vs. mars"
feature none
producer timbaland
notes chorus is pathetic. production is sad. jay-z is near perfect. it's hard to like this track because of what's wrong with it, but jay-z murders it. individually, i think this is his strongest performance.
first look score 4.5/5

+ "already home"
feature kid cudi
producer kanye west
notes frankly, the strings are incredibly annoying, but the horns are perfect. with that said, the balance simply works. kid cudi could become the no auto-tune version of t-pain or better yet, the next akon. i can see him crafting a career on choruses and hooks alone. lyrically, jay-z is on a roll as he puts in another strong performance.
first look score 4/5

+ "haters"
feature kanye west
producer kanye west
notes the productions sounds like a leftover from the 808s sessions. that's not necessarily a bad thing as i think the production is quality. "haters" works best when jay-z and kanye west are going back forth. i have to say that "eating ya'll food leaving dishes" is a classic line. the singing at the end was unnecessary and odd.
first look score 4/5

+ "reminder"
feature random singer that sounds like rihanna
producer timbaland
notes finally, timbaland has production that's not horrible. i'm glad that hov put the stops on a solely timbaland produced album. the production is fairly strong and sounds nothing like timbaland, but maybe that's a good thing. side note, the chorus is awful, aww! jay-z steps on the toes of prospective haters and declares himself the best, after the beatles that is. jay-z is on the preemptive here. he doesn't want the internets hating on him
first look score 4/5

+ "so ambitious"
feature pharrell
producer the neptunes
notes if this is what the neptunes were submitting, i think jay-z you should have considered replacing the timbaland productions. vintage neptunes. i'm looking forward to what else they gave to the clipse. i haven't decided if this is a complaint or not, but "so ambitious" reminds me of a lot other tracks. jay-z gets a little introspective and handles his section while pharrell absolutely murders it on the bridge. the last verse is memorable. this is a combo that works.
first look score 5/5

+ "young forever"
feature mr. hudson
producer kanye west
notes another 808s leftover, but i can't say i like this one as much. the synths sound like a programmed loop. i don't see what the big deal with mr. hudson is. i don't think he adds much to this track. the idea of this track is kind of humurous considering jay-z is old as shit, but he is still trying to remain relevant. could that be what's he's going for? i wish this was an itunes bonus track because "so ambitious" would have been a perfect closer.
first look score 2/5

"you can't bring the future back"

it looks like jay-z decided to funnel "off that" to the internets and the blogosphere has had the track in it's clutches for the past 24 hours. my review for this track can be summed up in two words: utter garbage.

to begin, the production is fecal matter at worst and lukewarm at best. i doubt that there is a soul that would consider this to be among timbaland's finest offerings. it's shameful that timbaland would even qualify this track as an adequate backdrop for jay-z and drake. in the early development stages of blueprint 3, timbaland claimed that he was producing the entire album. after hearing "off that", i think we are all grateful that his statement was merely ambition and not the truth. it's quite possible that this is all timbaland is capable of. it's possible that he spent what remains of his talent during his escapades with justin timberlake and nelly furtado. it's possible that he produced "off that" without the aid of danjahandz. that's a lot of possibilities, but i would conclude that timbaland simply settled. the thumping and powerful drums that were his trademark and sought out by "super producers" like kanye west were conspicuously absent. the melody was simple and lacked the intense layering of his r&b work. the intermittent sonic additions seemed to detract rather than add. "off that" was bland. it was an effort devoid of actual effort. honestly, the last timbaland production i appreciated was "ayo technology". years ago, he said hip-hop was boring to him. i guess he had to bring his musicianship to meet that standard...

for me, it's difficult to review jay-z. historically, i accept that jay-z is a revered icon in hip-hop and that he's widely considered one of the greatest mc's ever. personally, i have never liked jay-z as much as his rabid fans or hip-hop luminaries in general. i consider the blueprint to be a classic album. i think the black album is mostly great and i enjoyed a handful of tracks from reasonable doubt. my main gripe with jay-z is that he gets extremely lazy with his lyrics and he's apt to jump on whatever the bandwagon is in regards to ad libs, flow, and other lyrical trends. lyrically, the final verse on "off that" is an exemplary display of garbage. he takes note worty lyrical shortcuts like "fidduck" and needless repetition. it seems like he's competing with timbaland to see who's willing to accept mediocrity first.

the last piece of the puzzle is drake and unfortunately, nobody thought it would be a good idea to let him flex his lyrical prowess. he's relegated to chorus and bridge duties and there's little to even grade him on. he sounds like drake. he flows like drake. nothing else happened for him to even matter in the overall context of the track. if "off that" was supposed to be a widely anticipated showcase of the old and new, it completely failed. if drake was allowed to deliver a complete verse, he might have saved the track. at the least, it would temporarily put a stop gap on the dude's head in his lap fiasco.

despite my scrutiny, "off that" has a chance to become one of the last few hits of the summer and prep jay-z fans for blueprint 3. for the common music fan, i think the track will quench their desire to have the three heavyweights together and they won't mind or notice the faults. that is unless they were searching for the next "my love" because "off that" falls short of even decent pop music.