In light of Jerome's previously posted Gorilla vs. Bear (see Sept. 4), I'd have to say that the original competition shouldn't really have been Kanye vs. 50 since... well... I can't think of how to put it without being called judgmental... Fuck it. 50 has no talent.
So this past weekend, I got my grubby paws onto two great albums. Kanye's Graduation and Talib Kweli's Ear Drum. I gave the prior a spin and thought... this is exactly as I expected. Lots of samples, a few slow beats, and a dare I say overused mantra of materialistic addiction? It's a good album if you have no other albums to listen to in the car.
But the real winner was clearly the latter. I've been to Talib shows. I've heard his other albums. But for some reason, I still needed proof that he was, in fact, a lyrical genius. Well, this album apparently serves that purpose. The messages are strong, he touches upon family, politics, media, and social conflict... and all on a smooth beat. There was a point when while listening, I thought... what the fuck is this, he sounds like Kanye right here... and low and behold, the song was featuring the overdone kid. (It's the part where he's talking about Silicon Susie. I know, right?)
Anyway, if you guys like Kanye's album, that's fine. Like it. Love it. Sleep with it under your pillow. Everyone's entitled to his own opinion... even it's wrong. HA!
9 hours ago
3 comments:
Conn,
Agreed on 50. As much as I admire the man's smarts and business sense. His music is straight garbage at this point.
To clarify, I wasn't trying to diss 'Ye in that post... I'm a stan... matter fact Can't Tell Me Nothin is my myspace joint (my anthem).
I love the realness that he's bringing to the game and the heavy emphasis on visuals he stresses in his art. And he might be cocky and flamboyant but this is Hip Hop!
Plus dude actually speaks up on issues in 1 or 2 lines w/o coming off preachy or taking an entire album to beat you over the head with his politics.
I actually think Graduation is insanely good (minus one or two tracks... but the japanese version with the bonus cuts makes up for that).
The whole graduation/underdog theme might be getting old... but I think 'Ye manages to keep it fresh by upping his lyrics and changing his sound and experimenting (for the better). the album has this cinematic quality to it that keeps it cohesive and compelling.
Ye's brought his music to Emo levels... and that's a compliment. I really think he's made some timeless shit this time around...
Ear Drum for me was solid but < Graduation. I'm just glad that at least someone from black star is still making good music...
Yea, maybe i was a bit harsh. Everyone seems to like the Graduation album except me. I don't know. I feel like any day now, he's going to bust a Britney.
Update: Kanye's winning. And 50's blaming Interscope.
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