Mixtape Review: "For The Love of Dilla" by Dremur

1. THIS 1NE FOR DILLA/ F.T.L.D. TRIBUTE
Straight-to-the-point intro that is a talk and rhyme hybrid. Beat starts up along with many quotes about J Dilla.. and that’s all it is. Very prolonged introduction. Could have been much shorter.

2. BE ALRIGHT ft. ERIC SOSA
Opening sound clip gives you a sense right away of the topic. Nice flow and voice, but can’t help but draw a comparison to Kanye in that respect. Dope content. Switching up the flow with versatility. “Stimulus” line I didn’t fully get, some muddy pronunciation there. Not feeling the chorus, not well sung.
Eric – Quirky metaphor, but not bad. From there until the buddha line is abstract. Vocals could have been mixed better, hard to hear at times.

3. BAD DAY feat THOUGHTZ & YC THE CYNIC
Chuckle-worthy track intro. Thoughtz – Tight rhyme scheme. Good mic presence. Quirky skit at the end of the verse.
YC – Dope delivery, mic presence, and rhyme scheme. “Clockwork” ok. “Day off” hehe, that’s happened to me.
Dre – Rides the beat well. No real standout lines from either MC on this track.

4. CAN YOU FEEL IT/CONSCIOUS RHYMES
Feeling the Wylcef-ish type flow on this. Cool use of vocal effects. “Down with the beat/comatose” ok. Diggin’ this chorus, goes very well with the beat. Pretty decent, yet overdone, bridge into an awesome beat switch. Good use of vocabulary.

5. MR EDIBLE ft. GERONIMO
Nice topic. “Raisinette eyes”, “Ribs”. Dope chorus, but first verse was more about an edible girl. “From my candystand” haha! Ok here are some reference to being “Mr. Edible”. “Sour patch kids” Haha!!!
Geronimo – Good delivery. “Four ways to split that” stood out. Vocal mixing could have been better.

6. 1ST LUV (ANOTHER HIP-HOP LOVE STORY)
“Snappy happy neck” Hehe. Dope allegory and topic. Flow was alright for the most part, but a couple of rushed lines were in there (ie. “I knew this was right”).

7. MAN’S WORLD
Another unique topic. Nice content. Very short.

8. FELICIA
Yet another sick concept. Captivating story progression. Delivery is on-point. “Just killed a boy who thought he was my man” pretty good ending.

9. LET ME B THE 1NE
Nice rhyme scheme… but “Head spinnin” is repeated too much. Cool chorus. “Façade” line is rushed flow-wise. “Soul’s into you” tight. Beginning of “solar system” sequence threw me off at first. “Seed/Grow with ya” works.

10. GALAXY
“Like the clown fish” the flow on that was off. Chorus is decent. “Get Betha” semi-forced at best. After 2 minutes, only a bridge and chorus is left with a short outro. Would have rather heard another verse.

11. STAR LIGHT, STAR BRIGHT
Dope topic. Lyrics are heavy in detail. Feeling the energy and delivery on this track. The song was well-written for the beat. Chorus is pretty cool. This track should have been further up in the playlist.

12. F.L.I.P feat BLACK MAGIC
Flow is a tad choppy. Chorus is nice.
Black Magic – Good voice. Basic flow. Outro was too long. No one wants to hear that much talking, no matter the topic.

13. SICK MC feat Epiphany Blu and Lex
“Da-feet/defeat” played. Chorus was alright.
Lex – “Arthritis” not bad. Sequence was very on-topic though. Some obvious metaphors though.
Epiphany – Lyrics were hard to follow. I’m not sure if it’s her pronunciation or her writing.

14. FTLD RADIO
Interview skit. Was somewhat funny.

15. LIKE THIS
“Similes best sport” slurred. “Bars don’t sound right” I liked that line, although there was no clear punch there. Good emotion. “Tings” forced. Last minute is left for shoutouts.

16. RUNNIN feat GERONIMO & ARSINY
Beat rides for a while before the verse. Nice rhyme scheme. Chorus is tight, although a bit repetitive. “Mind over matter” nice.
Geronimo – Rudimentary flow. Delivery is held back by the flow at parts.
Ars – Tight flow. “Launchpad” dope.

17. DREMUR SPEAKS ON DILLA
Another speaking joint. It doesn’t provide anything new. Drags on.

18. BONUS BE ALRIGHT PT 2 feat OTIS CLAPP
Opening intro and Dre’s verses are identical to Pt. 1. Would have benefited with some sort of change in those aspects and production.
Otis – Lyrics aren’t very complex, but cohesive.


Strengths
+ Great quality and variety of song topics.
+ Rhyme scheme and delivery were on-point.
+ Songs were well-tailored to J Dilla’s beats.


Weaknesses
- Flow was on for the most part, but was inconsistent in some songs. Laggy and rushed lines both showed up at times.
- A lot of the songs sounded the same. I don’t believe this had to do with Dilla’s beats, but more so with similarity in delivery throughout the tape.
- Too much speaking; a couple skits were just too long.
- Overuse of repetitive and/or chant-like bridges and outros.
- Hardly any standout lines. Poetic devices were used sparingly and ineffectively.


Compatibility/Appeal Rating:
Underground: 65%
Mainstream: 35%


Favorite Song: Mr. Edible


Face Value: 8/10



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