Album Review: "Spilled Milk" by Top $ Raz

1. Spilled Milk w/ Additional Vocals by Mayo Bass
Feeling the mellow beat. The chorus is well written and sounds official with the background singer. “It’s all spilled milk, but you can’t let it stain”. The beat production is a tight fit for Raz, props to Thinker. This is real talk here and good topical cohesion to boot. Dope imagery. Nice outro by Mayo. I could nitpick and say the flow could have been more diverse, but I don’t feel this track really needed it. As an intro track, it definitely served its purpose.

2. No Tears
Starts up with another mellow beat that lets you vibe out. Flow is different on this one and works pretty well with the beat. I’m not feelin’ the delivery on the first verse that much though, sounds somewhat monotone. This chorus is alright. Second verse drops some eye-opening personal lines. Content was on-point. Not feeling this track as much as “Spilled Milk” though.

3. Get Up, Get Her
This beat is knockin’ a bit. “Underground like Broadway Junction”… I had to quote that; I’m in that station every damn week. Here’s a welcome change of pace, flow, and delivery. “Tryna get an advance”, nice. “Get it crackin’ like eggs”, a little too obvious but delivered well. The chorus is okay, but the delivery is somewhat quirky. Perhaps a hushed and “sexy”-like voice would have worked better for those “If you want that girl”/”They wanna front” etc. parts of it. “Get high like apostles”, forced. “Party like a rockstar, pissin’on a cop car”, haha! The third verse wasn’t impressive, but had a cool flow.

4. Dead!
I love this beat. Vivid imagery. Paints an accurate picture of how no one really gives a fuck about the dirt that goes on in the hood. “20 years later no killer is found”. Delivery fits the beat well, very smooth and calm. Nice vocal effects. *For more on this song, peep my review of the Fighting For Futures Mixtape (Feb. 2010).

5. Far Rock ’95 ft. Mike Love & Vithym
“Moving like Commander Cobra”, hehe, I like that reference. Really digging Top’s delivery and flow on this verse. 2nd MC – Interesting voice that stands out. “Ounce in a shoe”, haha, really?? Nice flow and delivery. 3rd MC – Flow is ok but somewhat erratic.

6. Cold Blooded ft. Imagine That
IT – Nice flow, could be tighter though. Delivery on point. “But hoping I could catch a little light”, decent. Raz has a good voice. Nice rhyme scheme. “Built my city on rock then rolled”, pretty tight flip on a common metaphor. Lyrics were mediocre.

7. Perfect Stranger
Calm but scheming beat, I likes. “Baker man/pies”, played. Interesting concept, but lyrics are rudimentary. “Elevator/stares” punch-line is tight but could have been written better. “Diamonds/full deck of cards”, not bad. Flow is elementary on this track as well. Hehe nice Cosby impression on the outro.

8. Be Gone ft. Kalil Kash
Kash – vocal production not on par with Raz’, sounds echoey. Overdose of adlibs, reminds me of the commentary track on DVDs. Tight delivery. “Barry Bonds” line was too simple. Feeling this chorus and the sax that plays during it.
Raz - “You’re not pussy, you’re a yeast infection”, nice. Digging Raz’ delivery on this track.
Kash – “Cream”/money, played. “Booted” line was played too. Definitely not the best I’ve heard from Kalil.
Raz – “You cannot reset or press pause”, played but flipped and delivered nicely.

9. Burning Bridge ft. Scienze
Ear-catching, playful beat. Nice start. I can relate to this, dope concept. The singing isn’t good but I really like the chorus.
Scienze – Tight flow and delivery. “Cause be/Cosby”, not bad. “Clear/Dare” rhyme scheme was sick. “Broken pod”, ok.
Raz – “Rewind”, decent line but the effect and delivery made it dope.

10. Wo(men)
A nice, different style of beat with a similar feel to some of the others. I’m a sucker for good piano melodies. Cool plant allegory. The metaphorical transition in the second half of the verse was a little vaguer. The chorus is powerful in terms of how the beat changes and how Raz’ lyrics and delivery fit on it. Vivid imagery. “When you get to heaven you’ll be a n***a too”, WOW.

11. Farewell
Another absorbing piano melody. Ok first verse. The chorus is bananas with the imagery and delivery. “Anyone of us could have been Sean Bell”, that is deep. ‘He didn’t realize we tied to the same rope”, nice. Beatles references.



Strengths
+ Raz has a great voice, especially for the type of topics he covers.
+ Delivery was on-point for the most part.
+ Song topics and concepts were relevant, personal, real, and unique. Although, some elements, such as lines about slinging crack, were over-abundant.
+ Great beat selection.
+ Well-constructed album that doesn’t just die off towards the end. It starts strong and ends strong with good content in the middle.

Weaknesses
- Flow was fairly simple and repetitive/recycled throughout the album.
- Some lyrics were too basic and not accentuated with enough poetic devices.


Compatibility Rating:
Underground: 40%
Mainstream: 60%


Favorite Song: Spilled Milk


Face Value: 8.4/10


CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE THIS ALBUM FOR ONLY $9.99!!!


CONTACT INFO

http://topdollagotit.com/
http://twitter.com/topdollaraz

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


CLICK HERE FOR A FREE FULL DOWNLOAD OF ODE 2 DILLA



CONTACT INFO

http://www.dopescienze.com/
http://twitter.com/dopescienze

Mixtape Review: "XS" by Jesse Abraham

1. Abraham & Cheese
Clever title. Clips from an audio book playing over a pretty decent beat.

2. So Whatcha Feelin’? Ft. Jenny Hartman
Diggin this beat. Fast marching-band percussion and groovy bass line. “Droppin cakes and candy corns” odd. “Mental laps/lapse” nice. The chorus is quirky but vibeable. “Efficient vibration” hehe. Flow speeds up nicely on last verse. The lyrics on this last verse are very abstract and random. Very hard to follow.

3. Either
Nice beat, remind me of a joint Jay-Z rocked before. The chorus is alright. “like Dr. Pepper when he throws his soda out” I have no idea what that means. Flow is on-point. “Nickel bag trickles”. Dope rhyme scheme/structure. Vocal production is off. “Stripper in a Duke dorm” reference was fairly obscure. “Genitals, heel” haha!

4. Between The Bars ft. Top $ Raz, Spills, & Pete Colon
The beat is sick, loving the deep synth. Vocals on chorus are too low and partially incoherent.
Raz – Nice multi-syllable rhymes. Delivery and flow work with the beat well. “Comes with the territory” tight.
JAbra – Good delivery and flow. Lyrics are on the battle tip. Dope rhyme scheme. Delivery change-ups are sick. Some of the content seemed out of place.
Pete – Vocals are too low. Interesting delivery. Nothing stood out lyric-wise.
All three verses were speaking on 3 different topics. No thematic cohesion at all.

5. Now I Know
The beat is bumping with a catchy percussion. Feelin’ the chorus. “Series of moments”. First track with a solid topic. “A part of each other” nice. “I’m a fraction”.

6. Softly
A dopely mixed & sampled beat.

7. Just In Time ft. YC The Cynic
Chorus is well structured but Jesse’s singing voice is too monotone. Beat is righteous. Flow is vicious. “Shuckin’ the corn” Haha! What!?
YC – Very on topic. “I fly with it”. Effective delivery and nice flow.
JA – Diggin’ this drastic change in delivery. More on-topic here. “Hadoken a wristwatch” hehe. Cool bridge-like transition before the last couple lines.

8. I Can’t Quit You
Beat is super-tight. “Legally bequeaths me with beats” ok. Great vocabulary. “Trees, leaves, and seedling.. paper” dope. Diggin’ the delivery a lot. Nice multis. Well done vocal effects.

9. All I Know Is
Chill beat, I feels it. “Playing with a dradel” Haha!! Chorus is decent. Nice topic and content.

10. When
Funky beat. “Stop being bendy” Haha! “When will vaccines get infected”, “When did everyone start wearing tight pants”, “Ticklish”. Unique topic and rhyme scheme.

11. The Sit Down
This was weird/interesting haha. It could have been better developed. If it's a "voicemail" how are you responding to him?

12. The Sickest
Vocal production is low quality. Some nice mixing, but also sometimes it’s too much. “Disinfect it”. Diggin’ this chorus.

13. That Song
Vocal production needs work. Flow is a tad basic compared to flow on previous songs. The main chorus sample is somewhat annoying after a while.

14. March
Very synthy and clubbish beat, I digs. Organs add nicely to it. Soft background ambient synth make a smooth transition. I like evolution of percussion after that midpoint. This is a really unique mix of techno, house, and hip-hop.

15. Take Me
Chorus is cool. “Even then we say yum” haha. The topic romantically describes NYC. The delivery was alright, but I felt was not up to par as in some of the earlier tracks.



Strengths
+ Excellent flow that stays on beat all throughout and changes up at the right times.
+ Varied rhyme structure that makes great effort towards keeping the listener’s attention.
+ Sick delivery in most of the tracks.
+ Guest artists were on-point for the most part.
+ Awesome beat production.

Weaknesses
- Random lyrics and content peppered much of the first half of this tape that can leave the listener confused and de-immersed.
- The bottom portion of the tape, from 11-15, consisted of tracks that, while more on-topic, were more bland than the first 10 songs, with not many stand-out lines at all.
- Vocal production was a mixed bag. Some tracks were well engineered, while others were clearly not.
- Jesse’s delivery was lackluster towards the end, especially compared to the first set of tracks.
- Song topics in the first half could have been better thought out and cohesive.



Compatibility Rating:
Underground: 75%
Mainstream: 25%


Favorite Song: Now I Know


Face Value: 7.8/10



CLICK HERE FOR A FREE FULL DOWNLOAD OF XS


CONTACT INFO

http://jesseabraham.com/index-highres.html
http://twitter.com/jesseabraham
http://www.youtube.com/user/JesseAbraham212