BP3 or OB4CL II? Which one has more replay value?
Continued from A Tale Of Two Cd’s Part 1…
So now that I’ve expounded on the few successes and many shortcomings of The Blueprint 3 (though I will say if the spirit so moves you, by all means cop it) let us move on to another highly anticipated and critically acclaimed LP this quarter. Seems that this is the year for Emcee’s to follow up on the LP’s everyone has always deemed as an instantaneous classic.
Just as “The Blueprint” series is to Jay-Z what “The Carter” is to Lil’ Wayne, you cannot mention Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… and not immediately think of Raekwon. Well that is if you aren’t among those bitten by the Wu-Tang bug back when the crew was its most viable as a unit…
BP3 or OB4CL II? Which one has more replay value?
I told myself I was not gonna speak on either of these LP’s for the following reasons:
1. Not that my opinion means a whole hell of a lot but I didn’t want to jade anyone against or for either artist and the direction they took these albums in.
2. I have been listening to the leaked copies of both for the past week and a half now (BP3 officially drops on 9/8 now, due to the leak & OB4CL II still drops on 9/8 despite the leak)
3. I wouldn’t want to ruin the excitement most feel from actually purchasing a release by two Emcee’s of this kind of caliber.
So in the interest of sparing the feelings of those that fall into any of the above categories, let me put in some warnings/caveats/advisories right about here:
“The Solution for life is love” – V
I first became conscious of Valvin Roane II’s freshman effort, ”The Revelation Is Now Televised” on Amazon a couple years ago while still in the Navy. While doing a random search for some other artists, I happened to notice his LP as a “Customers who viewed this album, also bought this” item on their web marquee.
I was immediately was stricken by the Gil Scott-Heron familiarity of not only the title but the cover photo as well cause I’m a self described GSH enthusiast.
I was also tempted to listen to the samples on the Amazon page but what justice would that have really given my ears? Plus Navy life, at the time, had me bouncing from shore to sea and back in such a whirlwind that time to actually really listen to any music just hadn’t materialized yet. So the notion to do so was filed away in the “Must Do Soon” drawer of my mental cabinet.
I have had these Long Plays for what seems like forever (it also looks like it has been that long since I shaved too)…
Belief and Hustle Photo Credit: Ralph Feliciello
In the Urban/R&B/Soul music scene of today, it’s quite easy to get bombarded with what most people would call the “Cookie Cutter” sound. Whether it’s via radio, TV or even in your cousins ride on your way to the club on a Friday night, more than likely you won’t be able to escape the reality that there isn’t much originality anymore. It probably won’t escape you either that popular media has gone to great lengths to control what listeners deem as “good music”. It’s not a new phenomenon but it does make it uber-hard for lesser known artists with more than relevant music to get their spot in the sun.
Enter Social Media and the power that it wields.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/janielizabeth/2173244888/
Last night while laying in the bed having normal couple talk, Wifey came up with the idea that since we both have this strong passion for music, that we should try a blog writing experience and allow you the lucky readers to be privy to it.
So we decided to interview one another on the musical aspect of our relationship.
Here’s how it works:
I Shouldn't Have Left You...
If you have been checking TSR lately, you may have noticed a post about The Juice Crew titled Hip-Hop Superfriendz, written by someone other than yours truly. It was written by one of two new contributors to TSR, my homie ThaStreetz.
Since its inception, hip hop has always had a fascination with crews. Your crew was who you were. If you or members of your crew were considered to be great, then you all were; if you or your crew were considered wack, then that spread across the crew as well, maybe faster. There was Deejaying, Graffiti writing, Break dancing (or B-boys and girls) and Emceeing (rapping), which combined into Hip-Hop. But the common thread all of these elements possess is The Battle, the most furious of these being the rap battle.
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