State of the WWE...Road To Wrestlemania

Wanted to take a break from talking about hip-hop and sports and get into some other topics...like the World Wrestling Entertainment. Wrestlemania season is right around the corner which is the most exciting time for fans of the WWE. With stories, storylines, and anticipation at a high that the company probably won't reach the rest of the year, it now seems like a good time to make a State of the Union address from a fan on the complete opposite side of the country from where the headquarters are located. If I had a show, there would be a rundown of topics I will talk about but since I don't have a show or have the knowledge to do that even if I had a show, I'll just list what I will talk about: John Cena, the Wyatts, the Shield, CM Punk, Randy Orton vs Batista, and Daniel Bryan.

The biggest draw for the WWE the last decade has undoubtedly been John Cena. I was a huge fan back in the day and how could you not be. With his Thuganomics gimmick, he was something fresh and hilarious. It seemed like everyone loved him. Then he started to win...A LOT. After that, it seemed like fans were just getting sick of Cena getting shoved down our throats week after week. With Cena being the posterboy, he was always involved in the Wrestlemania spotlight. Every John Cena Wrestlemania match since 2005 (his first actual Wrestlemania match was 2004 and he won the US Title) was for the WWE title (or Heavyweight Title). I take that back, the only match in that time period that wasn't for the title was when he faced the Rock at Wrestlemania 28 in "Once In A Lifetime" part I. Also in that time period, John Cena always faced an established superstar (I'm pretending The Miz match didn't happen). This year's event appears to be heading in a different direction. Not only is John Cena probably going to steer clear of a title match he will be facing a fresh face in Bray Wyatt (at least that is the way it appears and I hope it turns out that way), which is a perfect segue to talk about Bray Wyatt and the amazing work he has done since coming onto the scene.

Bray Wyatt and his family (Luke Harper and Eric Rowan) burst onto the scene this past summer and made their mark. Bray established himself as the cult leader and gave WWE a character they have been severely lacking for a long time. I don't know if WWE will ever again come up with characters like The Undertaker, Kane, or Goldust anymore but Bray Wyatt is probably the closest thing they will get to those kinds of characters. Bray has come in and has made that character his own. Everything about him screams creepy cult leader from the blowy shirt to the tattoos to the beard to the long hair to the mannerisms when he opens his mouth to the way he paces back and forth when speaking. He is a person fans either are afraid of or absolutely love. The night he debuted the fans chanted Husky Harris because that was the character he broke in as but I do not think anyone chants that anymore and that is a credit to the job that Bray Wyatt has done. He is the best in the business right now whenever he touches a microphone because when he speaks, he commands attention. John Cena, Triple H, and Daniel Bryan may scream and shout more but no one makes an audience hang on to his every word quite like Bray Wyatt. He is the complete opposite of what John Cena is. This is the reason that this match is going to be the most anticipated match up for Wrestlemania 30. It doesn't involve a title match, it doesn't involve John Cena in a title match but it does involve John Cena. The common hate that John Cena receives is that he is such a stale character. WWE is too scared about their ratings and think that they must have John Cena be champion in order for fans to care or for viewership to stay up. That is not the case. John Cena is still the biggest draw in the company, I'm not arguing that. There are plenty of reasons for that. But the reason this match will be so intriguing is because this is a match that the John Cena haters have been waiting for. A match against a fresh superstar who is a legitimate threat to Super Cena. No one can predict how the match will end up. Bray Wyatt has a ton of momentum right now and it would be foolish to have him lose to Cena at Wrestlemania because 1) it could be a potential career killer for Bray and 2) Cena losing does absolutely nothing to hurt his own legacy. However, WWE is known to go against logic so it wouldn't surprise anyone to see Cena pull off a miracle victory while fighting off all 3 Wyatt family members. Personally, I think Bray Wyatt will score a victory but it will be because John Cena will get distracted by Harper and Rowan at ringside.

From talking about Bray Wyatt and the Wyatt Family, I'll start talking about the "other" trio that has been dominating WWE for the past year and some change and that is The Shield, made up of Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns. From the way things appear, it looks like the three are going to break up and have a Mexican stand off at the big show, possibly with Dean Ambrose's US Title on the line. Strange how things changed from the time this trio debuted. I still think they are a better team than the Wyatt Family (and I just watched their match from the Elimination Chamber again) because all three members of the Shield can hold their own and I am confident all three will have successful singles careers. But when they broke in, they claimed to have no leader yet it was clear that Dean Ambrose was positioned to be the breakout star. He was the best mic worker and had the US Title around his waist. Seth Rollins (known as Tyler Black in his independent days) was the acrobatic one who took all the hard falls, like a Jeff Hardy that could wrestle. Roman Reigns was the muscle, the enforcer. He didn't say too much. As time went on, Roman Reigns is the one positioned to be the breakout star of the group, with Rollins probably ending up with a Dolph Ziggler/Daniel Bryan-like career and Dean Ambrose will probably be forever chasing the Intercontinental Title and feuding with Kofi Kingston. I think they all have main event potential but whatever, that's not what I'm talking about here. The possible triple threat match is going to be exciting because as much as fans loved the Shield's dominance as a group, it had to come to an end sometime. The three guys are just too good to not go their separate ways and their break up will happen on the biggest stage. I predict Roman Reigns wins the match by pinning Ambrose and we'll see what happens from there.

One of the big stories (as of March 1) is going to be of someone who will not be in attendance. In the five weeks between now and Wrestlemania, CM Punk might come back to WWE but as of right now he is not on the roster, or as Vince McMahon would like to say...he is on a sabbatical. Punk left the night after the Royal Rumble and no one is entirely sure why. There have been different rumors and if I had to throw my two cents in, I think he left because of Batista winning the Royal Rumble match. CM Punk has voiced his displeasure in the past with people like The Rock getting to headline Wrestlemania and Batista winning did nothing to smooth out those feathers. I too disagree with part timers taking the spotlight from talented individuals like Punk and Bryan who have amazing crowd support plus bust their butts every show to not get their proper recognition as the stars of the company. Fans have been vocal at shows for their support of CM Punk but who knows if he will be back for Wrestlemania. I would hope he is but I do not know where that would leave him in the scheme of things. Does he insert himself into the Batista vs Randy Orton match, does he insert himself into the Bryan vs Triple H storyline? I don't think he will be back because there won't be a logical spot for him. Plus that would be hypocritical of him to quit on the company then come back right before Wrestlemania season and demand a main event spot at the event.

I alluded to it earlier but the Batista and Randy Orton is going to "headline" Wrestlemania. It is pretty sad that championship matches hardly are the spectacle they once were at Wrestlemania. Title matches are no longer guaranteed to close out the show and generally are not the focus of the event anymore despite that being the grandest prize in the business. The only other WWE Title match (I'm not counting the Heavyweight title matches) I can recall that has been met with a universal yawn was The Miz vs John Cena back in 2011. I don't know how anyone could possibly in their wildest dreams be excited about that match, which is funny because I don't know anyone can possibly be excited about this year's title match. I understand Vince McMahon's want of a big name draw to bring in those extra buys for Wrestlemania but I don't believe Batista to be that guy to bring those ratings in. At least The Rock was someone the fans wanted to see back in the ring and is a bonafide Hollywood star. Batista on the other is mehh to the wrestling fan. He was an integral part of business when he was a regular but when he left in 2010, no one was really longing for a Batista return. I'd rather see Ric Flair in the ring than Batista, and that statement is coming from a fellow Filipino. Notice how in this paragraph I didn't mention Randy Orton. No one even cared I didn't mention him. Although I will say that I absolutely loved the mannerisms he was pulling at the Elimination Chamber. He was playing the guy you just want to punch in the face but somehow always ends up on top. I can honestly see either guy coming out on top and neither is an appealing choice so I'll mix it up and say Daniel Bryan somehow gets into the match and wins the title.

Speaking of Daniel Bryan, he is the superstar that is on the biggest roll in the company. He has complete crowd support and he delivers on every match. Rich Homie Quan based his mixtape, I Go In On Every Song, on Daniel Bryan's wrestling style. As I just said I am praying that Bryan somehow gets involved in the title match and walks away as champion but I have been watching WWE for far too long and know that Vince McMahon would rather have his way than listen to the fans. It is ironic because Triple H keeps using the line "best for business" yet he constantly holds Bryan back when he is the hottest wrestler in the business. This long standing confrontation between the two have led to their match at Wrestlemania. I fully expect Bryan to win this match if it still proceeds but I would not put it past Triple H to have one last shining moment. I do not think that will happen though because it seems like Triple H is looking to model himself after his father-in-law. The thing that I will give Vince credit for is that whenever he showed up for a match at Wrestlemania, he made sure to get his ass kicked and then some. I don't anticipate Triple H to get a whooping but I don't believe he will steal Bryan's spotlight.

There is my way too early predictions/preview for Wrestlemania XXX in New Orleans. I hope Daniel Bryan gets his proper shine at the event. I hope each member of The Shield looks strong if they do have a triple threat match. And I hope that the Bray Wyatt and John Cena match is everything I think it could be. Can't wait to "order" it and watch Wrestlemania on TV.

Danny Brown- XXX

Who Is The G.O.A.T.?....Part 2: Rakim

I'm back for part two of the G.O.A.T. series and this one will feature the legendary, talented, amazing, trailblazing, super, God MC known as Rakim. Btw if you missed part one featuring Jay-Z, check that one here. Odds are pretty high that if your favorite rapper emerged in the 90's, there was a great chance his (or her) favorite rapper was Rakim. He influenced any rapper that has some skill on the mic. The man was revolutionary. I wasn't even alive during his reign as the best MC but that goes to show how much he meant to the game when I'm speaking of Rakim in this vain. However, because I wasn't around during Rakim's vice grip on the rap game in the late 80's and early 90's it is impossible for me to have perspective on just how much he meant to the art of rapping. I can only see what others have said about him and look at his work from my perspective. It's like when people say Jim Brown is the greatest running back of all time. You can see highlights and take other people's words for it because you weren't there, but at the same time recognize that people like Jim Brown and Rakim were also ahead of their times. So let's get down to trying to make sense of the God MC's greatness and impact on hip-hop. Btw I'm going to focus on Rakim solely during the Eric B. and Rakim days. Why? Because it's like taking a look at Michael Jordan during his Wizard days. I mean you could do that, but why would you. He was still better than 80% of everyone else but no one is going to remember that part of his career.

From what others have said about Rakim, he was the first to add complexity into his rhyming. For this alone he would be on the Mount Rushmore of rappers. People like Melle Mel was telling stories and had some weight behind what he was saying but he wasn't bending the language like how Rakim could. The Beastie Boys, Run DMC and LL Cool J mainly spoke about how fresh they were but weren't doing so in a complicated manner. What made Rakim special was that he could put messages behind his music, talk about how fresh he was, and just rap for days. If he was around today, he would be one of those guys who can lay down BARS. Also, Rakim knew how to ride a beat. For some weird reason (although probably not a coincidence) all of Eric B's instrumentals sounded like some 4th grader just starting out until Rakim jumped on the beat then they sound like the greatest thing to ever touch your ears. There is no Rakim as the God MC without Eric B and for that the DJ must get some love. That is why together they made four classic albums and once they went their separate ways, you could argue Rakim hasn't made anything on par with those first four albums...but I digress.

So what are some of the tracks that make Rakim one of the all time greats? One of my favorite hip-hop tracks of all time and one track that every rapper and rap fan no matter if you are/like a Kendrick Lamar, Kanye West, or even Tyga needs to hear is I Aint No Joke. I could base my whole argument for Rakim as one of the G.O.A.T.'s based on this track alone. He made sure that every single line hit. In that 3 minutes and 55 seconds there was not one wasted breath or throwaway line. I'll just go down the list of classic lines that Rakim put out in that song:

"I hold the microphone like a grudge
 B will hold the record so the needle don't budge"

"Before you know it, you're following and fiending
waiting for the punchline to get the meaning"

"I wake and as I stare in your face you seem stunned"

"I ain't no joke, I used to let the mic smoke
now I slam when I'm done and make sure it's broke"

"When you come up to speak, don't even lie to me
you like to exaggerate, dream and imaginate
then change the rhyme around that can aggravate me
so when you see me, come up, freeze
or you'll be one of those 7 emcees"--> which is a reference to one of his other great lines in My Melody when he said...

"i take 7 emcees, put em in a line
and add 7 more brothers who think they could rhyme
it will take 7 more before i go for mine
now that's 21 emcees ate up at the same time"

Rakim had more quotables in one song then a lot of "lyrical" rappers have in their entire careers. Can anyone name me a Joe Budden line? *crickets* You know what, since I can't really say how great Rakim was because i don't feel like I would be doing him justice since I can't speak to the impact he had at the time, I'm just going to post links to my favorite tracks of his then you guys could make your own conclusions to his place in the pantheon. I have much respect for Rakim but I won't call him my favorite rapper just because I didn't grow up listening to him. That's why a lot of kids now a days don't have Michael Jordan as their favorite basketball player. We all recognize him as one of the greats no doubt, but he was a little before the kids' time which is why they love Kobe and LeBron. Nothing wrong with that, just as long as they recognize MJ and Rakim as one of the greats, I'm good and so should all the OG's. If I had to rank the two rappers I have looked at so far it would be...
1) Rakim
2) Jay-Z

Part 3 coming soon with the Notorious BIG.

Here are the links of classic Rakim songs where you can make your own judgements to his greatness.

I Know You Got Soul
Paid In Full
Casualties Of War
Know The Ledge
Don't Sweat The Technique
Follow The Leader
Lyrics Of Fury
The "R"
Let The Rhythm Hit Em
In The Ghetto 


Murs- You & I


Pink- Just Give Me A Reason

New Name Change

Attention to all 0 of my subscribers. Changing the name of the blog from slimsamurai to crocsintheamazon. It was time for a name change. New name, same great content. Hopefully you guys don't get lost.

Flatbush Zombies- 222

2014 Slim Pickens/XXL Freshmen Predictions

It's that time of the year again. I'm guilty of it, you're guilty of it, hip-hop fans everywhere are guilty of it. The XXL Freshmen issue is coming soon and we will all be up in arms at the choices and we act as if XXL is the holy grail when it comes to this stuff. We all know making the cover of XXL is like winning an ESPY. It really doesn't mean anything other than giving an artist publicity and there is no such thing as bad publicity. Since I will be going over the XXL cover when it comes out, let's get it on with the 2014 Slim Pickens, formerly known as the Slim Samurai Freshmen. Check out my picks from 2013 here. Let's just say it wasn't a good year for me in terms of selections. I really picked J. Pinder. I don't even remember why I picked that guy. Anyways, the way Slim Pickens works is that these are 10 rappers who I was really digging this past year (some have been buzzing for several years) who have yet to release a studio album. These guys/girls have yet to blow up and may not blow up this year, but I feel like they should get their proper recognition...as if anyone reads this blog. But if you like this blog and like the artists I will be talking about, then tell people and spread the word. I now present...the 2014 Slim Pickens

Honorable Mentions: 
Amber London- check her out here

Kevin Gates- I love his Luca Brasi mixatape but out of respect for how long he has been in the game, i couldn't say that he was a freshman. check Paper Chasers

Boldy James- He would have been on here if My First Chemistry Set wasn't an album. If I could do it over, that would have been in my top 10 albums of the year. check Moochie

Rich Homie Quan- had a big year with Type Of Way and released I Promise I Will Never Stop Going In. Probably going to be on the XXL cover.

Mr. Muthafuckin eXquire

Here we have a 2013 Slim Pickens repeat. I will continue to put eXquire on this list until he gets his proper recognition. If you read my albums of the year list, you would have noticed that Kismet was my favorite project of the year. I held eXquire in high regards before that but when that dropped and  gave it a thorough listen, he became one of those rappers that I will follow their every move. There aren't many rappers where I will look for every track they are on and listen to but he is in that VIP club. Please download Kismet if you have not. Here is a link. And eXquire almost didn't make Slim Pickens because according to his twitter rant, Kismet was supposed to be the album that he dropped for Universal but they rejected it so eXquire decided to release it for free. I don't understand why a record label like Universal would sign eXquire then expect him to be something that he's not. That is what baffles me about record companies. What is the point of signing someone and then changing them which disregards why they were signed in the first place? I still got you Mr Muthafuckin. Keep doing you.

Chance The Rapper

Nothing really needs to be said about Chance The Rapper if you followed rap in 2013. Chancellor broke out with one of the more divisive projects of the year in Acid Rap, but whether or not you liked it, he got people talking. Personally I really enjoyed it and it was on my top 10 end of the year list. I think Chance is a breath of fresh air who has already made his presence felt in the hip-hop world. If you haven't heard of him, just go download Acid Rap and make your own opinion. Just get over his voice, it isn't going away.


Vince Staples

I've already talked about Vince Staples on this blog before. I crowned him the breakout star of Earl Sweatshirt's Doris and included his collaboration mixtape, Stolen Youth, with Mac Miller in my top ten albums of the year list. Obviously I feel that the kid from Long Beach has had a very good year. His verse on Hive was one of my favorite verses, if not my favorite, of the year. There is a lot of potential in Vince as the next west coast street rapper. To me, Vince Staples is like the 2014 remix of Spice 1. If there was twitter back in the early 90's I can see Spice saying some of the same stuff that Vince spouts off and I'm not even talking about their music yet. There is a believability in Vince's voice when he speaks. If he says he just robbed someone, he sounds pretty darn convincing. He is supposed to have another project coming out this year so we'll anticipate that. In the meantime you can catch him on tour with Schoolboy Q and Isaiah Rashad. Speaking of Isaiah Rashad...

Isaiah Rashad

This is one guy I fully expect to land on the XXL cover. He dropped an anticipated project in Cilvia Demo and he delivered on it for the most part. I couldn't say there were crazy expectations for it but at least the bar was set as to what kind of rapper the Chattanooga bred MC is. Btw, another reason I feel like he is going to be on the XXL cover other than being dope is that look at the trends of the Freshmen cover. Jay Rock was on it in 2010 (still the best class in my opinion), Kendrick was on it in 2011 (the second best class, TYBG), and Schoolboy Q and Ab Soul were on it last year. You see the pattern. XXL obviously likes having TDE on there and TDE feels comfortable putting their artists on there. It's a relationship. Anyways back to Isaiah Rashad. For some weird reason, when Cilvia Demo first came out, so many experts (aka people who post on forums) were complaining that the project was a dud and how Rashad was such a boring MC. However, once all the professional reviews started to pour in, all of a sudden the opinions changed to how Isaiah is the second best rapper in TDE behind Kendrick. Yeah, most of these opinions by internet people don't mean anything if you haven't already noticed because they will change it once they see an opinion go in the opposite direction. 2014 already started off strong for Isaiah Rashad and we'll see if he can keep that momentum rolling the rest of the year and build on it.

Fat Trel

Washington DC bred Fat Trel had a very fine 2013 for himself after releasing probably my favorite ignorant mixtape of the year in SDMG. If you don't know what that stands for, it is Sex, Drugs, Money, Guns. And I applaud Fat Trel because on that mixtape he followed that concept of SDMG very thoroughly. There wasn't any Aesop Rock lyrical dissection needed. If he said "I fucked your bitch," he meant "I fucked your bitch." That success brought him a deal with Rick Ross and MMG so i'm very interested to see if he can make an impact on the radio. Pretty much all of MMG, with the exception of Stalley and Gunplay (who ironically are considered the two best in the camp), have had their voices heard for mainstream America to hear so we'll see where Fat Trel fits into that dynamic. I'm a tad skeptical because my favorite tracks off of SDMG were No Lamez, Thots, and Bitches. Listen to those tracks and let me know if you could hear them played on your local radio station. Even the songs I like that are not on the tape don't have radio play success ingredients in them like Russian Roulette feat America's sweetheart Chief Keef and Fuk Yo Life. His Started From The Bottom jack did the beat justice though and She Fell In Love is a hilarious attempt at a love song I think. Speaking of She Fell In Love, the reason I stopped following Fat Trel on Instagram is because every ten minutes he would post a pic of him kissing a strippers bootyhole with #Shefellinlove and I don't need to be seeing that everytime I want to look at my feed. In addition to that Fat Trel is a part of the crew Slutty Boyz. Yeah, not exactly the recipe for radio but maybe Officer Ricky has something up his sleeve planned for him. Bottom line is that if you need trunk knockers, ignorance played at ignorant levels, and the police to come looking for you, then play some Fat Trel with the windows rolled down.

ILLFIGHTYOU

This trio comprised of Chris P and Ugly Frank and a producer whose name I don't know is new and was brought to attention by my homie a few weeks back but I like what they are doing. The first track I saw of them was Potty and I love the freshness of the sound they are bringing. The subject matter is nothing to bow down to but it's how they are presenting it that makes them stick out. I can't think of anyone at the moment who spits over the same beats that these two do. This is some super underground shit though that everyone is not going to like. They don't spit anything with some weight behind it though. ILLFIGHTYOU are just some young dudes talking about how dope they are so if you need to have lyrics in your life, then these aren't the guys for you. Case in point, "I'm on a mission for pussy, money, and liquor." However, if you need something to break the rhythm of lyrical overload on all those boom bap beats then these are the guys for you. Even though they are from Tacoma, Washington don't expect Macklemore to be collaborating with them anytime soon.

Azizi Gibson

Azizi is another guy that I have already mentioned on this blog before. His mixtape, Ghost In The Shell, made my top ten album of the year list. So go download that tape if you have not already. For those that don't know, Azizi Gibson is an MC signed to Brainfeeder, which is the label owned by Flying Lotus. Artists there have 100% creative control over their project so Ghost In The Shell was a complete reflection of who Azizi Gibson was as an artist. There wasn't any compromises made as to how he should have crafted that project. The only thing I'm disappointed about is that I haven't heard any music from him outside of that mixtape. On one hand I like the mysteriousness, but I want to hear some new music from him goddammit. Maybe I'm just not looking hard enough. The title track off of that mixtape was one of my favorite songs of the year btw. I'll keep that on repeat until I hear some new material.

The Underachievers

The Underachievers are a duo comprised of AK and Issa out of Flatbush, Brooklynand have also been featured by this blog on multiple occasions. I named their debut mixtape, Indigosm, as my second favorite project of 2013 at my end of the year list, and compared their rap success to the success that Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio have enjoyed. Trust me, it seemed like a good idea at the time. They dropped a second mixtape in 2013 called Lords of Flatbush which was not as good as the first mixtape but it wasn't really comparable because they were two different projects. Lords of Flatbush was more of a side project and it was just a bunch of bangers produced by Lex Luger that I didn't like at first but it eventually grew on me. Like Azizi Gibson, The Underachievers are signed to Brainfeeder so they got creative control over their projects and it shows. Along with that Brainfeeder association, they are aligned with Pro Era (Joey Badass and friends) and the Flatbush Zombies which together they form Beast Coast. UA were also featured on the new Talib Kweli album which I cannot find online for the life of me but that shows they got one of the greatest of all time in Talib in their corner. They are supposed to be dropping their studio debut this year so I'll be anticipating that and we'll see what this year has in store for the duo.

Denzel Curry
Denzel Curry is a rapper out of Florida who I jumped on the hype train pretty late. He is a part of Raider Klan which is led by Space Ghost Purp and are still salty about ASAP Mob getting shine. Curry released Nostalgic 64 in 2013 and that album caught me by surprise. When I hear Raider Klan, I did not expect Curry's album to sound anything like it did lyrically. The hooks and the production I saw coming and nothing he said through the first listen really impressed me. Once I went back to it, I realized that he had some skill and wasn't just spitting mindless/boring stuff that Space Ghost Purp is prone to do (honestly he just needs to stick to producing). He's got great flow, something to say, and an understanding of what is happening around him which is what is needed to become successful in music. Be warned though, if you're a generally happy go lucky person you might not want to venture into Denzel Curry. His material is pretty dark. But if you're a depressed person you might not want to listen to this because you just might go out and kill and rob people. So the only people that can listen to Denzel Curry are level headed people.


100s

Finally the last spot on the coveted Slim Pickens list goes to none other than the His Coldness out of Berkeley, 100s. The project that kind of put him on the map was 2012's Ice Cold Perm. It was an underrated one yet one that if you heard it, you loved it. I don't know when it happened but he is now signed to Fools Gold, the record company founded by A-Track and home to artists such as Danny Brown, Trackademicks, and Run The Jewels (El-P and Killer Mike). 100s gained more notoriety in 2013 with appearances on the GTA V soundtrack. Players of the game might remember Life Of A Mack as one of the standout tracks of the entire game. To put it bluntly, 100s is not one of those artists you really want to listen to with your parents. It will be bound to get awkward real quick and your relationship with them may never be the same. In of the very rare interviews he gave, 100s mentioned that his next project will be on some r&b stuff and Ten Freaky Hoes could very well be a preview of what is to come from the mysterious one. When he said he was changing his sound up, I got a little scared but I'm glad to see him keeping that pimp persona that he plays so well. He really is the modern day Too Short remix. 1999 will forever be my anthem.


Now onto my predictions as to who will make the XXL Freshmen cover:

Chance The Rapper
Rich Homie Quan
Vince Staples
Jarren Benton
Fat Trel
Ty Dolla Sign
Isaiah Rashad
Troy Ave
Jon Connor (that Dr Dre cosign tho)
Young Thug


AK feat Juice- I'm High


Freddie Gibbs- Eastside Moonwalker

Schoolboy Q...Oxymoron

After what seemed like forever and then some, Schoolboy Q finally released his "debut" album, Oxymoron. It's actually Q's third album released for sale but this is his first mainstream release. Oxymoron is also the second out of a supposedly six albums that are rumored to be dropping his year by Top Dawg Entertainment, the first being Cilvia Demo by Isaiah Rashad. Check out my review for that one if you have not already. Speaking of Schoolboy Q and Isaiah Rashad, they will be going on tour and will be joined by Vince Staples so go out and support them. Anyways, back to the main focus of this post. Q's been hyping this album ever since he let news out that this is what it was going to be called. He was calling himself the best rapper in Black Hippy and how Oxymoron was going to be better than Good Kid mAAd City but anyone who has ever seen an interview with Schoolboy Q knows he was just talking mess. If you were expecting an album on par lyrically with Kendrick Lamar's debut then you need to go listen to Setbacks and Habits & Contradictions. Q and Kendrick are two completely different rappers but from the responses I have seen so far, it seemed like people were expecting Q to do lyrical gymnastics. It's like expecting Tony Romo to be clutch in the 4th quarter. I guess it could happen in theory but it just won't. What I'm expecting out of this is an album of bangers. This is who ASAP Ferg strives to be. Someone who can knock speakers and not be complete trash while spitting in the vain of Get Rich Or Die Tryin, an album that Q has mentioned was very influential for his style. After the success of Habits & Contradictions, this album has been on everyone's most anticipated list, so we'll see if Schoolboy Q delivered.

 

To put it bluntly, I enjoyed this album. I still like Habits & Contradictions more and I like Setbacks more as a complete project but I like Oxymoron more for individual tracks. Obviously I was not there for the crafting of the album but it seemed to me that Q made a sacrifice searching for the big hit versus making a top notch project from front to back. He said in his interview with the Breakfast Club that he just wants that one hit to put him in that upper echelon and there were several tracks on here where that was a clear case. However, Q still did him which is being a street dude that can make the trunk bump. He's like what Tyga and French Montana hope one day they could be as rappers, which is ironic because Q wants to reach their status as club hit-makers.

Out of the 15 tracks on the album there were only 3 that I'll hit the skip for sure. One of the unholy trifecta was Los Awesome and I have no idea what in the blue hell that was supposed to be. It was also disappointing too because that was the first time in a very long time where I feel Jay Rock did not kill his verse. He has been on a roll lately after being an afterthought with TDE, but his verse on this did not do him any favors. Keep doing your thing though Jay Rock, I can't wait for that album. I also was not feeling Prescription-Oxymoron, no comment on that. The last track on the album, Fuck LA, was the last that I skip for sure. I don't like Q on that trap sound. Leave that for everyone else Q, you're better than that. The production was cool, but I preferred the beats that he had on his previous two albums. I feel like Q's pocket is better when it sounds like Habits & Contradictions but at the same time, I understand he is trying to evolve and all that good stuff. Like I said earlier, this album felt more like a collection of singles more so than an album. Q has stated that there is a theme with Oxymoron and that is he had to do bad in order to provide good for his daughter and I could see it, but it's getting a little old for me. I know rappers stick to what they do, but it seems like Q has been saying the same thing for 3 albums now. The theme for Setbacks was all the bad stuff he did set him back. The theme for Habits & Contradictions was that his habits were contradicting the positivity he was trying to inject into his life. You see the redundancy here.

With all this bashing, it seems like I didn't even like this album. As Charlie Murphy would say in regards to Rick James....WRONG. I really do like this album. If I put all that crap aside from what I just said and just listen to the album and let it be candy to my ears, it delivers. I could go on about the rest of the tracks that I like but I'll just give the ones I go out of my way to slap: Gangsta, Collard Greens, Hoover Street, Studio feat BJ the Chicago Kid, Blind Threats, Hell Of A Night, Break The Bank, and Grooveline pt 2 (Suga Free still got it). Like I said earlier, if you're expecting Q to hit you with some Kendrick bars just because he is in the same crew, then I'm just assuming you never listened to Schoolboy Q and I'll let that ignorance slide and give you a pass. Q is doing what he does on this album. The best comparison I could come up with is a more party orientated 50 Cent. Let me know if that is way off but if you're going to tell me how stupid I am for that comparison at least give me someone who he compares to.

Completely random thought, but how hard did Trinidad James fall off. He had to create some stupid ass controversy for him just to get semi-relevant again.

In conclusion, Oxymoron was a good album, but not as good as Habits & Contradictions for me at least. People will say it's disappointing because Q was hyping it up a lot, it was the first "album" release by TDE after Good Kid mAAd City, and it was delayed for the longest time. I guess I would call it disappointing too but for an album where I liked 12 out of the 15 tracks, that either says I'm a Russian judge or that was how highly I anticipated the album. I don't really know where Q goes from here. Does he continue to search for that hit that just moves units or does he do a reevaluation and try to craft a solid all around project? I hope he expands his subject matter repertoire but I'm not going to complain if he can deliver trunk bangers that don't make you feel light in the ass. Anyways, if you like this album go support Q, he's got a daughter to feed. Hopefully we get those other four TDE albums this year too. peace

Forgot to give it a grade. Its a B-. Weird because I enjoyed 12 out of 15 tracks but it still left me wanting more.


Damu The Fudgemunk feat. Raw Poetic- Hole Up


ILLFIGHTYOU- Potty