Good Morning SwizZzle - SwizZz

Funk Volume member SwizZz recently released a long time anticipated Mixtape titled “Good Morning SwizZzle” The 13 song project is definitely worth the wait due to SwizZz’s incredibly interesting wordplay and originally high pitched voice that many of his fans have learned to cherish. He put his own adaptation on many industry beats such as “Hard in the Paint” and “Kush” which were great, and mostly better than the original versions. The project also included one feature from his Funk Volume brother Hopsin, whose styles collided very nicely on the track “Bang Bang Boogie”

Lyrics: 9.5

Beats / Production: 8

Meaning: 8.5

Originality: 10

Final Rating: 8.5/10  You should definitely download this Mixtape and look forward to his album which will be released sometime in the next year.

Favourite Song: GMS Loyalty

Bad Meets Evil – Hell the Sequel

          

      The most successful rapper of all time, Eminem teams up with Slaughterhouse member Royce da 5”9 to create an 11 song EP titled Bad Meets Evil. Honestly, there’s not much to say about this, it seems there was a lyrical competition between these two artists and it seemed to pay off. As always on any Eminem song the production was absolutely astonishing. Although I did find that a few songs were too mainstream like the single “Lighters” which included a chorus from Bruno Mars. On the other hand, I personally loved the originality on many tracks such as “I’m on everything.”

Favourite Song: Echo

Lyrics: Solid 10

Production: 10

Meaning: 8.5

Originality: 10

Final Rating: 9.5/10 

It`s well worth the price!

Daydreamer by Kid Ink

                Los Angeles rapper Kid Ink has been buzzing around the internet after releasing his first Mixtape Crash Landing, he now returns with his sophomore release Daydreamer. The 22 song project includes features from Young Money members Gudda Gudda and Corey Gunz, Meek Mill and Sean Kingston. A strong point of this Mixtape would definitely be the instrumentals. The beats that I personally love came from Jahlil Beats and Young Jerz. A couple songs I loved included some samples that were wonderfully incorporated like the track “FastLane” or “Cali Dreamin”. Although Kid Ink does not show much originality, most of his songs are about his love for money and women, he still has some clever lyricism and incorporates some nice metaphors. One flaw of the release was that very few songs really stood out. Honestly, 15 songs on the tape sound exactly the same to me and have no different meaning to them. It is apparent Ink has some mainstream potential considering his songs with Sean Kingston and other artists who sing some hooks sound very commercial. I see Ink absolutely blowing up and teaming up with Young Money due to his selling capabilities.

Favourite Song: Blackout ft Meek Mill

Beats/Production: 9

Lyrics: 8

Meaning: 5

Originality: 4

Final Rating: 6.5/10  If you’re looking for some mainstream rap this is a decent download, the average Hip Hop fan will not enjoy the entire Mixtape.

Webster's Laboratory Review

Connecticut’s prize possession, Chris Webby released his 6^th Mixtape “Webster’s Laboratory” on June 1^st. The anticipation for this project was sky-scrapping considering his last release Best in the Burbs shut down the DatPiff servers and notched reached the silver status for over 50 000 downloads. For this new release Webster had hosted by the DJ heavyweights Ill Will and Rockstar which included industrial beats from songs like “Opposite of Adults”, “Romans Revenge” and “N 2Gether Now”. One thing I really enjoyed on this Mixtape was the samples that were applied such as the song “Just Can’t Kill the Beast” which was a sample of the legendary song Hotel California by the Eagles and “The Joker” which was off the Steve Millers Band’s 1980’s version. To me, this really shows that Webby has a large diversity in the music he listens, and appreciates true musical talent in all forms. The 17 song tape including features from underground legend’s such as Freeway and Apathy as well as Gorilla Zoe who now has a huge notoriety on the mainstream circuit. The originality in this work was pretty impressive considering the diversity of topics that are exposed which differentiate from Marijuana in the song “Sunny Afternoon”, his anger issues in “Temper Temper” or simply partying like in the song “W.D.G.A.F” (We don’t give a fuck.) A serious issue brought up is that Webby is considered a “gimmick” or just not respected simply because he resides from the suburbs. That topic was the most evident on the song “Block to the Burbs” where Webby basically says that Hip Hop exists everywhere and if you’re nice, you’re nice.

                What Webby has done is simply incredible, I’ve been following him for a long time now, and considering all the legal problems, and financial difficulties he had to face, he still pursued his dream and now if finding his triumph. Considering Chris has released 6 Mixtapes before he even turned 24 and just announced his 2^nd Tour this summer is absolutely amazing considering he’s still unsigned!

Favourite Song: Success

Beats/Production: 8

Lyrics: 10

Originality: 9

Meaning: 9

Final Rating: 9/10

Definitely a recommendations for anyone who appreciates true lyricism.

Raz Fresco – MCMXCV

                Raz Fresco, a rapper out of Toronto recently put out his third Mixtape MCMXCV last week. This is pretty amazing considering Raz is only 16 years old! There are a few features on the project, the only notable one being Taylor Gang member Neako who collaborated to make the song “Real Nice”. The Mixtape has amazing production by Don Cannon which definitely was a great addition to this up and coming Canadian’s tape.  put The release had incredibly original beats that really compliment Raz’s style. I find that this combination, of Raz's style and production really make them standout from ALOT of other artists. The beats also let Fresco show off his biggest skill, making hook’s which I truly appreciated through the whole tape. His lyricism differs from song to song, some tracks like "Og Raptor 7's" were incredibly strong and other songs were not as strong, yet still better than the average MC. The point I’m trying to make is that Raz is not yet attaining his full lyrical potential. The 17 song project was mostly based on Raz’s social life notably females which he was able to make somewhat original. A few songs stood out like “MJ Feeling” which consisted of Fresco wanting to be one of the greatest, and the song “Donald Trump” which is mostly based on Raz being successful. I have a feeling that consistency will come with time for this teenager and in a couple years he will find himself as a rap heavyweight.

Favourite Song: Happily Ever

Beats/Production: 10/10

Lyricism: 7.5/10

Originality: 8.5/10

Meaning: 8/10

Final Ration: 8/10

I have a feeling his next release will really make a name for himself around the worldwide Hip Hop scene.

P.S I still have no clue what MCMXCV stands for or means...

Tech N9Ne – All 6’s and 7’s Review

 The largest independent Hip- Hop artist of all time, the legend Tech N9Ne released his newly highly anticipated new project All 6’s and 7’s which included collaborations with rap giants Lil Wayne, T-Pain. The Song “Am I psycho” including collaborations with B.O.B and rising underground artist Hopsin. The 30 song project showed us an in depth look at Tech N9Ne’s life and his others sides showing that he’s “different” from “normal people”. The album has one of the deepest meanings of any album I have listened to in the past year! (There was not one song about popping bottles in the club or fucking bitches while making money.) Tech also includes the fact that there is no chance he is turning into a mainstream artist just because he made collaboration with Wayne and also put out the song “Cult Leader” which he is giving his message about his views that are completely against rape and molestation. As always Tech N9Ne has amazing production and his hooks are wonderfully rehearsed. Listening to this album from start to finish in order really made me appreciate REAL rap music in the way that it should be expressed.

Favourite Song: Mama Nem

Beats/Production: 10

Lyrics: 9

Meaning: 10

Originality: 10 (As always for Tech N9Ne)

Final Rating: 10/10

For only 15$ this album is a great recommendation for all lovers of Hip Hop and especially for older Tech fans because this is definitely is best work to date.

Hi-Rez - Early Release

Hi-Rez - Early Release Review

Around a month ago, an unknown rapper by the name of Hi-Rez released a Mixtape on DatPiff titled “Early Release”. Hi-Rez is a 17 year old Caucasian coming out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With a fan base of about 5 thousand, Early Release raked in 8000 downloads in only a month. Hi-Rez has opened shows for artists such as Chris Webby and Mac Miller, and is soon awaiting his turn to step into their spotlight.

For this Mixtape alone, he’s put out three music videos and has one in the works. The music videos were for the tracks “Gettin Started”  “The City” and “All I Have”, collectively gaining almost 200 000 views on YouTube.

Hi-Rez’s flow is above average, spitting some nasty verses in every song, making this a Mixtape a very pleasurable listen. Hi Rez is also able to make great hooks and choruses’ which are incorporated with many samples that his growing fan base seem to appreciate.

Final Analysis:

Favorite Song: Open House

Beats/Production: 9/10

Lyrics: 9.5/10

Originality: 8/10

Meaning: 8/10 <-- Talks about his life in general, school, parties, etc.

Final Rating: 9/10 A great up and coming artist, being compared to Webby and Mac, definitely should be on the lookout for his next Mixtape.

CyHi The Prynce - Royal Flush 2

Cyhi The Prynce – Royal Flush 2 Review

XXL Freshman Cyhi The Prince recently released his highly anticipated third Mixtape titled “Royal Flush 2” Cyhi has made a name for himself and created buzz for himself thanks to his freestyling talents and clever lyricism. Although, this 20 song project showed that Cyhi was able to put stronger meaning into his work, something that was not much apparent in his last two tapes. Cyhi is giving the message that he has the capability to get huge amounts of females and he can treat them favourably, unfortunately the tape shows that Cyhi simply can’t find anybody that meets his standards. This was very apparent on his song “New Girl” which was actually collaboration with mainstream artist Trey Songz. Another wonderful song was “Made Who I am” which was a look back at his past and showed appreciation toward his fans. It was safe to say that Cyhi had amazing wordplay on the Royal Flush but on the Royal Flush 2 the Atlanta resident brought his metaphors to a whole new level. The album was very well produced and had wonderful samples such as in the song Bulletproof. Some of the appearances on the album were from Yelawolf, Pill, Pusha T and B.O.B and Big Sean. One week aspect of the Mixtape is that Cyhi is unable to create strong hook’s and depends on his producers, other artists and even auto-tune such as in the song End Of the Night which I found was originally weak but once again his powerful lyrics salvaged the track to make it respectable.

Final Analysis:

Favourite Song: Sunday Morning

Beats/Production: 8/10 (Cyhi worked with different producers who did a great job although the style of beats changed too abruptly at moments.)

Lyrics: 9/10

Originality: 8/10 (A few too many songs about “bitches” but still amazing)

Meaning: 7/10

Final Rating: 8/10 A Great Mixtape for all Hip Hop Fans!