Mixtape Review: "Ode 2 Dilla" by Scienze

1. Intro
“Outro of my mind” nice. “Donuts” somewhat forced/abstract. Vocal production is on point, crisp with proper echoes. Nice delivery for this beat. Flow is solid. What’s with the donuts? Maybe I’m missing a reference. [UPDATE: Donuts is the name of a J Dilla album.]

2. Jamaal
Starts very abstract. “Are you/ or working for a” ok. “In a box/Stationary like cereal” played but flipped nicely. “Straight and arrow/turn” nice. After about 3:40 beat rides out for well over 2 minutes. I understand this is an ode to a producer but this isn’t acceptable.

3. Light Work ft. I.D.R.
Long intro but the beat is interesting enough for it to work. Vocal effect fits the beat well. Good use of multi-syllables. Rhyme scheme provides good segues between lines. “Shoe size” sounds forced.

4. Concrete Rose ft. Wacky Jr. & Fresco Love
Opening verse has a beat-appropriate old-school flow. “Drop” ok, nice effect though. “Heart hits you first” dope sequence. 3rd artist – not feeling the delivery. Flow is very basic.

5. Back Pack Raps
“Stay on traps” ok, but not well explained. “Food for thought/bananas will appeal” Bananas/appeal played but “food for thought” link makes up for it. “Spray on daps” dope. “Scienze blows up” nice.

6. Kwality by Talib Kweli
Quick skit that gives you some J Dilla background.

7. More Beats ft. Top $ Raz & Rich Daname
Flow is tight. “No progress reports” nice.
Raz – Good rhyme scheme. “African dance” solid. “Make an odd number out of dimes” ok.
Rich – Too much echo effect. “We just spark em” ok, played homonym usage but flipped uniquely. Not much direction or focus in content.

8. Ode 2 Love (Pre-Dream) by HERo
Female MC has an old school vibe and a nice voice. Lisp can be distracting though. This track seems out of place, Scienze only appears at the end with a chant.

9. Dream Me
Feelin’ the chorus. Delivery fits the beat well. Dope content, very smooth. “Plane/cupid” sequence is tight. Rhyme scheme is on-point. Humming at the end works well with the beat.

10. InterMISSION
“Writing songs backwards” nice, but odd punch. Quick track.

11. Mind Fuck’d
Nice vocal effects, reminds me of how Dead Weather does their effects. “Time’s up/under it” metaphor is played. Dope rhyme scheme. Sick delivery. “Oxen” haha! “Prophet/profit” been played, but your rhyme scheme on this makes up for it. “Wet like a faucet” sooo played.

12. Fall In Love ft. Joe Hidro & Kaito
Chorus is decent. Nice opening sequence. “Laid back/ never reclining” contradictory. “Parallel/perfect alignment” dope!
2nd – Curses used as filler. Sterile and basic flow. Lacks emotion.

13. Circus ft. I.D.R. & Joe Hidro
The simile in this chorus is plain silly but kinda catchy. “Flipped on me” nice. Not feelin the flow or delivery though.
2nd – Basic flow and lyrics. Mic presence lacking.
Sci – Brings the simile alive in this verse. I wish the other two lyricists did the same. “Ringmaster/ring/king/queen”, “Feel like a clown” dope!! “Tight rope” sequence could have been done better, but ok.

14. Sleeping Awake
“Countin’ the sheep until they run out” ok. “Bring the ton out” decent. Nice rhyme scheme. “Run out” alright.

15. Sweet ‘n’ Low, Half ‘n’ Half
Damn this beat is SICK! Rhyme scheme is INSANE. “Caprendo.capiche/plain and simple” dope. Verse ends flatly. “Fart is” immature but very funny!

16. Sunday Morning
Interesting concept. “Bling” haha! “Made the toilet a chair” hehe. “Night to see” nice.

17. Ode 2 Dilla
Long skit with props to Dilla. A lot of peeps contributing so it stays fairly interesting.

18. Flyyyyy
“livin’ fast like Sonic” ok. Sick rhyme scheme. Lyrics are very abstract on this track. “The air up there can kill ya” nice. “Voltronic” dope.

19. On The 1 (Outro)
Long outro speaking on Dilla. Could have been much shorter.


Strengths
+ Catchy, varied, and slick rhyme scheme that makes every track different despite similar track vibes.
+ Flow was solid and consistent throughout the tape.
+ Rode and melded with Dilla’s beats cohesively.
+ Delivery was well suited to beats and topics.
+ Vocal production and effects were impressive for the majority of tracks

Weaknesses
- Too many abstract lines and punches.
- Guest MCs were not very impressive overall.
- Some songs did not have much thematic focus.
- Not many standout punch-lines or use of poetic devices.
- Many played punch-lines.


Compatibility Rating:
Underground: 65%
Mainstream: 35%


Favorite Song: Mind Fuck’d


Face Value: 8.3/10


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