Review: Eminem

Eminem Marshall Mathers LP 2 (Aftermath Entertainment)

I haven't a fucking clue how to open this review, so I shan't. Here's a (Facebook) dialogue of mine and Joe Sherwood's time with the Marshall Mathers LP 2:

Gilbey: My iTunes play count for MMLP2 currently stands at 18 and I still don't have the foggiest clue whether I love it or not. Thinking about it, its a hell of a lot better than Recovery although that isn't too hard I guess... yeah I love it.
Sherwood: tbf recovery was a pile of crap. this however... its much better than anything I thought a man of ems vintage could produce
Gilbey: I think his vintage has actually worked to his advantage on this is I'm honest. Most of the beats that he and Rubin worked on are testament to many of the tracks on the first LP, that's probably why I like Brainless so much... that beat is raw.
Sherwood: yeah man, having heard the beat for rap god i wasn't exactly expecting much, but on the whole i have to say the production is above average for late-period em.
Sherwood: speaking of rap god... what do you think of it
Gilbey: Well let's just put it this way, when he was on Radio 1 with Zane Lowe on Monday and revealed that he freestyled the whole track, I think I creamed... his flow is just absolutely untouchable. That shit about Ray J and Fabolous? My gosh that had me in bits.
Sherwood: if it was indeed a freestyle, then i guess em truly is the goat. shame he had to do it all over a wack beat
Sherwood: and the homophobia aint gonna win him any points in these hyperaware times

Gilbey: Talking of which, that Craig Jenkins Pitchfork review really pissed me off... I think he slated his controversial lyrics more than they reviewed the actual musical content. I'll admit that his politically incorrect slurs go too far sometimes but come ON man, it doesn't make him a bad rapper...

Sherwood: well em is operating within a genre which is heavily reliant on lyrics
Sherwood: but yeah you still cant knock his technical ability

Gilbey: Despite that, 90% of his lyrics are absolutely stellar, you can appreciate that after just listening to the first 30 seconds or so of Rap God. "...they said I rap like a robot so call be Rapbot. But for me to rap like a computer must be in my genes/jeans, I've got a laptop in my back pocket." JEEEEEEEZ

Sherwood: especially if theyre straight off the top of his dome

Gilbey: I actually read somewhere - I think it was in Complex's interview with Rick Rubin - that he writes lyrics all day every day to keep his mind exercised, and that he discards about 98% of the raps he writes. Surely that's gotta make him one of the most committed in the game?

Sherwood: probably, its just that said commitment is no substitute for quality lyrics, something hes lacked of late

Gilbey: Fair point, I thought his references to I'm Back and The Real Slim Shady in So Far... were pretty damn cool though, ngl. Anyway enough of the lyrics, what about the features?

Sherwood: fuck rihanna, all im saying
Sherwood: kendrick had a good turn on love game tho, some quality punchline rapping

Gilbey: To add to that, fuck Nate Ruess.

Sherwood: tru say

Gilbey: Kendrick's verse is so hard. Its been nice to see him feature on a lot of tracks in 2013 actually, he seems to have a very different street-smart persona when rapping on his own tracks to his comical, almost angry, approach on tracks like Nosetalgia and Control

Sherwood: its great having em and kendrick on the same track. like, one of mainstream hip-hops biggest artists collaborating with one of mainstream hip-hops most promising stars

Gilbey: I posted on Twitter a while ago that Kendrick's got the potential to become the greatest rapper alive and I'd definitely still stand by that. YOU WANNA SEE A DEAD BODY?

Sherwood: on a slightly related note, dig the kendrick sample on 18+ new mixtape
Sherwood: back on topic doe
Sherwood: is mmlp2 something of a swansong? a new beginning? or just another record?

Gilbey: That's an interesting one actually. I certainly wouldn't say its a swansong because he's still easily got another couple of albums in him, from what I've seen in interviews and documentaries he treats rap like a way of life so he'll want to hold onto it for as long as he can. A new beginning however... I'm really not sure, its difficult to say considering its a sequel to a 13 year old album. We'll just have to wait and see I guess

Sherwood: so, another record? id say so, albeit better than all of his recent stuff

Gilbey: Yeah I'd say its his best piece since The Eminem Show 11 years ago, loved that shit. One last thing, Em won a Global Icon Award at the MTV EMAs for MMLP2... deserved?

Sherwood: hmmm, probably. em IS a global icon, and mmlp2 is a pretty decent album of his, so alls good in my book

Review: Vic Mensa

Vic Mensa INNANETAPE (Self-released, 2013)

Following the split of Vic Mensa's rap group, Kids These Days, the future of the 19 year old was uncertain, so it was only natural for there to be much speculation as to whether his proposed debut mixtape would be a success or a complete flop. However, ever since he turned critics' heads after his stellar verse in Chance's "Cocoa Butter Kisses", Mensa has been quietly priming himself to break out of being a member of a not-so-successful rap group in order to shock the world with yet another Chi-town masterpiece, INNANETAPE.

There are various up-and-coming artists that feature on the tape including Chance The Rapper, Lili K and BJ The Chicago Kid, who recently attained new-found-fame through the incredibly successful release of Chance's second mixtape, Acid Rap, despite the fact that it wasn't released through a record label; an impressive achievement by any means. Ab-Soul (of Black Hippy) features on the track "Holy Holy", which shows off the strong flows of both himself and Mensa as they rap over a minimalistic underlying drum beat throughout the song, and with powerful vocals from BJ The Chicago Kid that emulate an early Frank Ocean, it is probably one of my favourite hip-hop tracks of the year. Other featuring artists include British singer-songwriter Eliza Doolittle and the multi-genre bassist Thundercat, who is most famous for his work with none other than Flying Lotus. Not a bad bunch of friends, eh?

I see INNANETAPE as being Vic Mensa's own version of 10 Day by Chance The Rapper. This of course isn't an offensive claim by any stretch of the imagination, but it just lacks a certain something, and although we hear moments of musical genius coming through on the tape, Mensa hasn't quite produced the finished product that we were oh so eagerly waiting to hear. Is it his flow? No. Is it his lyrics? Certainly not. Is it his choice of beat production? He's got Thundercat producing his tracks, are you fucking kidding me?! The only thing that Vic Mensa lacks, in my opinion, is direction; the tracks jump around too much for my liking, but considering that this is his second recognised solo release that definitely isn't something to worry about. This tongue-twisting teenager is definitely one to listen out for, and seems set to follow in Chance's footsteps by highlighting the dexterous and thoughtful side of Chi-Town rap.
 

New Track: Big Sean

First things first, there is some bad news. Although Big Sean's second studio album, Hall of Fame, will be dropping in stores on 27th August, this killer track hasn't made the final cut due to 'sample clearance issues'. However, the good news is that Sean revealed to Hot 97 yesterday that the song will be released for free on uknowbigsean.com at some point in the very near future.

GOOD Music (founded by Kanye West in 2004) has always been renown for having a fruitful abundance of  talented producers and up-and-coming Chi-town MCs, and Big Sean has utilised this to his fullest when piecing together his latest eagerly awaited LP - with lead producers such as No ID, Key Wane and Kanye West, it's difficult to see how this project could possibly go wrong. A glimpse of this anticipated production is showcased to us in single releases such as Switch Up (ft. Common) and Beware (ft. Lil Wayne & Jhene Aiko), and thus far has been well critically accepted by publications such as XXL Magazine and Complex Magazine, with the album being on their "Most Anticipated Albums of 2013" lists.

However, despite the fact that "Control (HOF)" is Big Sean's track, I think that I, and the world of Twitter, can safely agree on the highlight being Kendrick Lamar's two minute long verse, where the Compton rapper puts himself on a level next to Jay-Z and Nas, and seemingly calls out Big Sean in his own song by claiming that "I've got love for you all but I'm tryna murder you ni**as. Now if that isn't going hard then French Montana is a child prodigy.