Tag: rap

T.I. Drops “F-ck Da City Up” Mixtape For Free

A full month before the release of his upcoming studio album Trouble Man and right after the ball dropped on the New Year, ATL rapper T.I. (aka Tip) released the mixtape F-ck Da City Up to the public, his first project since being released from prison a few months ago. and guess what? It is FREE! So does him releasing a high profile item like this for free necessarily mean it is good?

I am please to report that I have rather enjoyed this album. I actually had to listen to it a few times in its entirety over the last few days just to be sure it really was T.I. that I was listening to since his previous studio album (No Mercy) was almost my choice for the most underwhelming album of 2010.

We start out strong in this effort, with a little intro featuring Tip hyping up the album before leading into the very exciting “F-ck Da City Up” featuring Young Jeezy and from there the songs have held my attention. “Hot Wheels” features a side of group Travis Porter that I actually did not find annoying, “This Time of Night” has one of the catchiest lines I have heard in weeks (“This time of night aint nothing open but legs”) but the crown jewel in this album has to be the Dre produced and featured “Popped Off” that served as a closer to the mixtape. Seriously, the guests on the tracks looks like a Who’s Who of up and coming rappers. Just look at the track listing below.

Besides the quality of T.I.’s raps I was very weary about this mixtape for a whole other reason before I pressed play; the DJ. I have heard great songs absolutely RUINED because some ass wants to get a little more recognition for himself by talking over an entire song “hyping” up the crowd listening to it as they are on their comute or playing box or whatever. That is an absolute deal-breaker that I am happy to report is 100% lacking on this album.

In the end it is a good album and it leaves me excited for T.I.’s official studio album Trouble Man schedules to release in February. Did this mix f-ck the city up as advertised? No but it sure is at red alert.

Since this is a free album why don’t you be the judge and tell us what you think in the comments below? Click HERE for the album’s hosted site and check out the trailer below.

Track Listing:
 01. F*ck Da City Up (Intro) (1:36)
02. F*ck Da City Up (Feat. Young Jeezy) [Prod. By Chuck Deisel] (4:29)
03. Hot Wheels (Feat. Travis Porter & Young Dro) [Prod. By T-Minus] (4:50)
04. Loud Mouth (Feat. 2 Chainz) [Prod. By Valentino Khan] (4:45)
05. On Purpose (Feat. Trouble & Rich Kidd Shad) [Prod. By Jazzy & Mex Manny] (4:10)
06. Stunt’n Like A Fool [Prod. By Chizz] (3:39)
07. Pimp (Feat. Pimp C & Too Short) [Prod. By Cavi] (4:00)
08. This Time Of Night (Feat. Nelly) [Prod. By Mars] (4:00)
09. In A Nutshell (Feat. Lady G & Spodee) [Prod. By Will] (4:03)
10. Jeezy Speaks (Interlude) (2:09)
11. Who What When (Feat. Meek Mill & Yung Booke) [Prod. By Toomp] (3:37)
12. The One [Prod. By Manny Fresh] (3:18)
13. Piss’n On Your Ego (Feat. B.o.B) [Prod. By Lil C] (4:08)
14. Harry Potter (D.O.P.E. Feat. T.I.) [Prod. By Hit Boy] (4:43)
15. I See Ghost’s (Feat. Future & Rocko) [Prod. By Lil C] (4:51)
16. I’ll Show You (Feat. Pusha T) [Prod. By Cut The Check] (3:31)
17. Oh Yeah (Feat. Trey Songz) [Prod. By Just Blaze] (4:03)
18. Popped Off (Feat. Dr. Dre & DJ Drama) [Prod. By Dr. Dre] (3:43)
19. F*ck Da City Up (Outro) (5:08)

Drake – Take Care Album Review

Former Degrassi student, Jimmy Brooks, is back with his second studio release. Following up on his 2010 debut album Thank Me Later, Drake’s Take Care was (to me at least) one of the more highly anticipated albums that had me feeling both nervous and excited with each song released via underground mix tapes, leaks, and official singles on the radio stations. The first album came to me as an unexpected surprise, with each song freshly hitting my ears at the same time, but this time around I found myself actively looking for new samples of what was to come.

So how did it stack up? Well, in all honesty it was a far more grown-up album than what I had expected. Everything seems as though it was put together in a thoughtful and precise manner. The beats for the most part are mellow and low, often reflecting the mood of the mature content reflected in the lyrics. His flow is laid back on several of the songs, almost leaning more towards R&B than rap, but there are a few tracks in which he does speed it up to keep the more aggressive fan base amused (which I feel is not the direction he goes to by default). The words more than anything are the selling point for Drake. What he has to say is more important than how he does it. His words reflect an old soul who is weary on the fame but is hopelessly addicted to the power it brings at the expense of alienating loved ones and sabotaging any chance of a lingering love interest, past, present, and future.

Featuring guest spots from the usual suspects such as Rihanna, Nicki Manaj, Rick Ross, and Lil Wayne, as well as others I have not heard much from if anything at all like The Weeknd and Stevie Wonder, this album does a nice blend of back and forth between Drake and the other musicians rather than engaging in a pissing match over who is the better lyricist.

All in all this album is a keeper for those of you who are more into a grown, down to Earth feeling album. While there are one or two potential banger tracks to fill the quota needed in today’s rap game, this album truly is more of a thinking man’s record. If you are looking for something to cruise around with or game to this is not the album you would want to put on, but I suggest you give Lil Wayne’s Tha Carter IV a spin, which also happens to feature two tracks featuring Drake. Plus, look at that album cover. Doesn’t he look like a depressed Columbian kingpin? Not bad for a former child actor from Toronto.