Mixtape Review: "R.I.P. Death To The Industry Vol. 1" by Illicit Visionariez

1. Intro
Starts off the mixtape with a haunting beat and requisite deep-voice taunt. I digs it.

2. Cold [Remix]
The beat is a bass-tastic smooth one with an often-used sample. The chorus works with the topic well. Simple yet catchy.
Gordo laces the first verse with lively emotion but with a flow that drags somewhat which could probably be remedied by tweaking the delivery or by adding a couple more syllables to increase fluidity. His lyrics are straight forward and direct.
Precise is next in verse 2 with a stable punch-line rhyme scheme. Pre’s delivery and emotion is well suited for the continuous array of punches. Flow is on point.
Gordo’s 3rd with more mellow and smooth-voiced lines. Dropping the beat for the last line was a nice touch.

3. Blueprint 2 [Freestyle]
Pre starts it off with a calmer approach. Mixing on this track seems to be a step down from Cold. “Read it twice”, “Hate IV”, “Can’t Stand”, “Matter of face” lines were nice. Doubles could have definitely matched better. Adlibs clutter up the verse a bit. Nice switch in rhyme scheme at parts.

4. I.V. Anthem
The beat is a steady piano jammer with a simple melody. Gypsy starts out this track with fierce emotion. Rhyme scheme and flow are simple but work well with his delivery. “Smilin back through the blood”.
Ghetto Preacher is next with a wild and erratic flow. Adlibs muffle out the verse a lot. Pronunciation can definitely use work. JusWyze is next with a lot of slurring throughout his verse. I dig his voice. Not feeling the flow on the mini-chorus no matter who spits it.
Gordo is next with an unexpected beat change. Good vocabulary.
Precise is last but not least. “Ten hut” adlib is dope. “No reason in general”.

5. If I Ruled The World [Freestyle]
JusWyze starts this one off. Sounds like breath control could use work. Pronunciation still an issue. Poor verse.
Precise with more hyphy punch-lines and steady flow. Interesting use of effects. Adlibs were used well and sparingly in this verse.
Gypsy on the next with a delivery that has some emotion but sounds monotone when compared to his viciousness on the Anthem track. Good vocab. Multi-syllabic rhymes spread throughout.
Cool track but would have preferred an on-topic remix to another “I’m the shit” track.

6. Stillmatic [Freestyle]
I always dug this beat. This is a Gordo-only affair with some chuckle-worthy lines about unsightly dress and “bubble-gum artists”. “Sesame street hat”.

7. Nicest Rappers Alive [skit]
An entertaining skit that was maybe a little longer than it should have been. I don’t think I’ve seen a skit over 4 minutes before. “Get your butt soft” Haha!

8. Wanted [Dead or Alive]
Nice beat made with a great sample. On Gordo’s stretched-out flow persists on his second solo track. Doubles are off. Lyrics are very concrete. Could use more poetic devices.

9. Under The Sun [Original Rendition]
Up next is Precise’s first solo joint on the tape. The beat is solid with a classic sample. Pre comes in with a good flow and a struggle-to-the-top concept. So far this is the most personal of the tracks I’ve heard. “Spillin the formaldehyde”, “mind on rigamortis”, “restraining order” are standout lines. “Period” line is played. My only real gripe with this track is that the topic doesn’t fit the chorus, but the vibe of the beat certainly does.

10. Last Hope [Original Rendition]
Soulful beat. I dig. The singer on the chorus is pretty decent. In what is Gordo’s 3rd solo on the tape, the topic and beat better match his mellow voice and delivery. Lyrics are deep and true to real-life situations. Would be great if this were earlier on in the tape as this is much better than his first 2 solos. I really dug the feel of this track.

11. Interlude
A (thankfully) brief intermission that is over before you know it.

12. One [Original Interlude]
I’m digging this upbeat.. beat and the sampled chorus. Pre is first with a laidback flow. Gordo is next with good vocabulary. Clever rock references abound. Last verse is a back-and-forth with Precise and Gordo which is always fresh. A light-hearted track that is light on lyricism but heavy on fun.

13. Bang, Bang [Original Rendition]
I love this beat and even contemplated lacing it myself. Pre starts it up his solo with his usual antics. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of the verse have been mentioned earlier in previous tracks. “Bone ya marrow”.

14. What Them Girls Like [Original Rendition]
A remix to a well-received pop song. I liked the original so this is an easy win for me. Precise starts it off with uber confidence. Gordo comes in strong for this type of song with his butter-svelte vocals. “What she wants and needs” is a simple line but effectively delivered. “Rum and coke”, “call yourself a cab”: hilarious! Precise again: “my carseat stinks”, “you’se a hoe”. I like the jovial twist to the track. The gypsy outro was classic.

15. Cross My Mind [Original Rendition] ft. Scooby
Pre starts it off with smooth punches. Doubles on this verse work a lot better. Gordo 2nd: “Yup!” I chuckled. Another Gordo-compatible track. Scooby does a great job singing on this track. Very catchy chorus!

16. Ode To New York
The last Precise solo of the tape is dedicated to NYC, obviously. This is a proper beat for the topic. “Ebola is a hood chick”, “J-A-F”, “take ya rock away”, “Lil Scrappy”. Clever wordplay.

17. Outro
The outro greets the listener with another creepy beat, this time one with a “Halloween” sample. More spooky deep-voiced messages and laughing.



Strengths:
+ The topic-based tracks definitely stood out and evoked some emotion.
+ Precise’s spare but hard-hitting punches.
+ Gordo’s humorous lines in his more mellow tracks.
+ The beat selection, although predictable, were well chosen and friendly to most ears.


Weaknesses:
- Mixing was hit-or-miss, especially doubles and adlibs. Oftentimes, the doubles didn’t match the punch-lines, and in some instances, two completely different things were being said.
- Pronunciation was a resounding weakness throughout the first half of the tape, particularly in verses by JusWyze and Ghetto Preacher.
- Song topics were not varied enough. The first half of the mixtape felt redundant while the second half brought more interesting and diverse concepts.
- Lyricism was there for the most part but, ideally, there should have been more standout lines overall.
- Flow was definitely an issue for much of this mixtape. Everyone could use at least a little more improvement, but Gordo, JusWyze, and Ghetto Preacher must step their game up.


Compatibility/Appeal Rating:
Underground: 55%
Mainstream: 45%

Favorite Song: Under The Sun

Face Value: 7.2/10



CLICK HERE FOR A FREE FULL DOWNLOAD OF R.I.P. DEATH TO THE INDUSTRY VOL. 1


CONTACT INFO

http://myspace.com/illicitvisionariez
http://twitter.com/iv_ent

http://myspace.com/gordoiv
http://twitter.com/gordo_iv

http://myspace.com/preciseiv
http://twitter.com/precise_iv

http://twitter.com/gypsy_iv

Introduction

This is my independent hip-hop review blog. The purpose of this blog is to help indie artists elevate and develop their skills by giving a completely objective, and sometimes harsh, review of submitted albums and mixtapes. While no one can be completely objective, I'll try as hard as I can to give a detailed critique based on my idea of what hip-hop is. Not only will I analyze your hard work for your own benefit, but it will also benefit me to bring forth to my conscious mind what I, and others, look for in a good hip-hop album or mixtape.

Please do notice that I have yet to mention the word "rap". I feel rap and hip-hop are two completely different things. What you hear on the radio is mostly rap. Commercialized, derivative, unimaginative, and "POPPY" rhyming. These songs usually lack introspection and are completely superficial. I do not endorse this. If you submit something like this to me, then I will have to put my bias into consideration. Having said that, I do recognize the place for that kind of music and it is what's making money for people these days. This is why when I review your work, I will also judge whether I think it's more appealing to The Underground or The Mainstream (ex. 55% Underground, 45% Mainstream). Could a 100% mainstream album earn a 9/10? Sure, of course. Anything is possible, and I fully believe that when it comes to life in general.

Will anyone ever get a 10/10? Possible. Is it probable? Nope. A 10/10 score will not be considered perfect since nothing can be perfect when it comes to music since everyone has their own tastes. A 10/10, which likely will never be awarded, would be something akin to "Capital Punishment" by Big Pun, "The Score" by the Fugees, or "All Eyez On Me" by Tupac. An album that, from production to lyrics, is the making of a classic. Scores will be broken down to each tenth of a point, making it as precise as possible without sounding pretentious (Ha!). So there is no confusion, here are what the numbers represent.


11: Perfect - "The Unicorn". Doesn't Exist.

10: Classic - "The Immortal". A rare gem that is few and far apart. In ten years, you could listen to this piece and still find relevance. It simply defies time.

9: Outstanding - "The Daaag". Impressive, amazing.. Whatever you wanna call it, this piece brings hip-hop to a new level with originality, depth, and catchiness. Only a few minor issues keep this from being a complete classic, but they're barely detectable. Although, it's possible there are SOME tracks on there which, in themselves, ARE indeed classics.

8: Great - "The Dope". Exceeding the standard of hip-hop today. This work has the right elements, save for a few somewhat perceptible blemishes. Maybe you shouldn't have done that one track about shoelaces. You're close to the top echelon. Just a few more steps and you're there!

7: Good - "The Trooper". This work is a mixed bag. There may be quite a few good parts to this piece, but there were also enough not-so-good parts to drag it down from dopeness. There's still a lot of potential, though.

6: Decent - "The Straggler". This album or mixtape shows a lot of effort and passion, but comes up short in many categories. Some facets aren't quite as listenable as others. There's still some good in there, but you may have to listen carefully to find them.

5: Mediocre - "The Lost Soul". There are major issues with this one. At this point, I'll be trying very hard to find something good to say about this piece. I will also likely get mean and vengeful on your ass and tear this thing apart for making me listen to the whole thing. But at least you'll know exactly what you need to save your hip-hop career. On the other hand, some may really like this joint. It may fall into a small niche I'm not privy to like "Electro-Pig Squeal-Death Rap".

4: Deficient - "The Cliffhanger". This is the moment in your life where you need to seriously ask yourself if the music business is right for you. Will you fight to pull yourself up out of the muck or will you fall 1000 feet to your sloppy death? The entirety of this piece is hardly listenable.

3: Bad - "The Torture Device". EVERYTHING about this goes against all that is good in the world. This is what interrogators use on captive terror suspects for quick answers. Yes, you could use this piece of work as a WEAPON. You shouldn't even be allowed to listen to OTHER people "rap".

Anything under that would just be an exercise in comedy. In any case, I aim to be highly selective in who's work I choose to review since the review process takes up a lot of my time.. and I'm NOT getting paid for this. Be very very surprised if I review anything under a 6.. They likely bribed me! Remember, my reviews are not written for promotional purposes, but are mainly for the MC's own elevation. Expect harsh reviews with no punches held. Throughout the years, I've learned that brutal critique is the BEST way for an MC to elevate his game. Welcome to Face Value.