OLDMAN! ONCE AGAIN!

The first family man of hip hop is back with some video reviews! Without further ado....

Gym Class Heroes w/ Adam Levine "Stereo Hearts"


I’m a grown man so no surprise that I think this song is wack. You know who doesn’t think this song is wack? My 5 year old daughter. That’s clearly who this song was made for: girls ages 5 to 13. Its all good, they need music too. Gym Class Heroes need to check their hip hop pass at the door tho. They are about as hip hop as Linkin Park. This is one of those feature songs totally void of any real soul or emotion behind it. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say I bet Adam Levine and Travie McCoy spent zero time together in the studio working on this one. Levine sang a hook, shopped it, and these dudes had the highest bid. Insert pop hook here. I actually think Levine is a pretty talented singer, however.

Gucci Mane "Round One (Salem Remix)"


Have you ever liked something that sucks? Me too! Its called "Round One" by Gucci Mane. I guess that’s the true definition of a guilty pleasure. Just to clarify, Gucci Mane sounds like he’s drunk and cant hear the beat at all, however I do like the hella 80’s synthed out beat which adds a dark cinematic feel to the song. I picture this playing during that scene in a movie when the main character is going through a hard period in his life when he’s zonked out on some illegal substance heading for rock bottom before he comes out on top at the end. It has the feel of Miami Vice on Codeine.

Pusha T/Tyler, The Creator "Trouble On My Mind"


Pusha knows new hip hop math. Odd Future = YouTube views. This song is nothing special and has three million views. In my humble opinion, they deserve the attention. These dudes are one of the more interesting things happening right now in hip hop. I know the comparisons to Wu-Tang are well documented, but Tyler has to share some genetic connection with ODB. Seeing him hitting two wheels on a handicap cart while wearing a cast and making out with an old lady harkens back to some of the crazy shit Dirty did in his day (ie picking up a welfare check in a limo). Pusha is a member of one of the most slept on groups of the past decade and he is an afterthought in his own song due to the presence of Tyler. Also kind of weird to see the more veteran rapper try to be like the new dude on the block. Big brothers aren’t supposed to wanna be like their little brother. Come on Pusha, at least wear different socks.

Frank Ocean "Novacane"


We really are living in a drug culture when even R&B songs are about drugs. I doubt Smokey Robinson sang about poppin' Quaaludes. He is a member of OF so I guess its not too surprising. It is kinda sad though that dudes so young (some under 18 I think) are into such hard drugs. Aren’t you supposed to be smokin' weed in your parents garage at that age? The song is ok; has an "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins vibe. The video is crazy. Its a really good low budget video. I've never tripped but it appears to be a very genuine representation of what it must be like, as opposed to the spinning spirals and color changes usually used on TV. Now I know why they call it getting melted.

I realize that I write about what I don’t like quite a bit in the reviews so let me share a "try this instead" suggestion.

Aceyalone "Book of Human Language"


As crazy as it is to pick one song as a favorite, this might be mine. The perfect storm of music/beat, flow, and writing. Acey's ability to describe basic things in the most poetically creative ways is rare if not unparalleled. Most MC's are either very literal or try too hard to be abstract and end up being totally unintelligible (see Aesop Rock). I think real genius is easily understood. "Even though I trail with bread crumbs, I'll take it the Max Headroom" for example as a way to describe his trait of being both cautious and aggressive is real lyricism in my mind. Or describing fear as "your spacesuit's got a tear." Not the most common metaphor for fear but I can’t think of anything that would make me piss my pants more. The lyrics are delivered with genuine passion that only true MCs have when they write something they know is next level. Enough gushing over another dude, check it out for yourself.