This is the Pure Zero; sugar free thus theoretically healthier; version of Rockstar Punched Fruit Punch. If there’s a difference in taste, it’s negligible if not undetectable. This too tastes like Hawaiian Punch or Tropical Punch Kool-Aid with carbonation.
my rating : 3 of 5
Is this “great new JT album” Everything I Thought It Was going to be? Basically yes. A decent; nowhere near great; soul croon set with perhaps a few good songs is what I’ve come to expect from Justin Timberlake and that’s exactly what this is. He’s still romancing the girls with declarations of Love; the conceptual crutch for his genre of choice; and calling up Timbaland to make beats. Listen for the producer’s inept vocal ad-libs.
The reason Justin Timberlake never reached; again nowhere near; the level of Michael Jackson; his most obvious comparison in regard to career trajectory; to my ears is that his songs just don’t pop. Never mind his lack of stylistic flair. All it would take to make this album good, maybe even “great”, are better melodies, specifically at the choruses where it matters. The best here in that regard include Conditions, No Angels and Selfish.
my rating : 3 of 5
2024
Even as a kid, I’ve always preferred my ice cream in a cup rather than a cone; despite the fact that you can’t eat the cup, at least not without getting what I assume would be a major bellyache. These Blue Bunny Twist Cones are no exception. The actual sugar cones taste okay enough, but they don’t mesh with the “frozen dairy dessert”, which, though I wish it were more Cheesecake than Strawberry, is pretty good.
my rating : 3 of 5
“It ain’t the kind of Movie where the leading man gets the girl,” George Clinton announces at the four-minute mark. It’s presented as a single ad-lib, but it should’ve been looped as the base of the chorus. The beat is funky, but the one thing missing from the song is a catchy hook. The “broadway” bit sounds nice, but it serves as more of a refrain.
my rating : 3 of 5
2002
![audio review : Volume 2 [ Hard Knock Life ] ... Jay-Z](https://marcellee.com/posts/125403.jpg)
This is supposed to be the sequel to In My Lifetime. The reason for the missing title is anyone’s guess; perhaps to avoid the double Life; but that oddity is the album’s one major flaw. The songs themselves are mostly okay. 2 are actually quite good.
Those aforementioned highlights include A Week Ago, on which a surprisingly poignant Jay-Z plays the role of a drug dealer whose long-time friend turns snitch after getting locked up, and a group collaboration entitled Reservoir Dogs.
my rating : 3 of 5
1998
Paula Cole should make a whole album screaming. Her best songs tend to be the ones on which she drops the inhibitions and enters maniac mode à la Nietzsche’s Eyes, Elegy and Secretary. She’s now a Wildflower, she proclaims loud enough for the world to hear, and it’s another top pick.
The rest of the album is more guarded and less interesting. It starts off divinely enough. Follow The Moon, with the exception of the last line before each break, beams with melody. The Replacements, on the other hand, should’ve been replaced. Green Eyes Crying is another Lo point.
my rating : 3 of 5
2024
This is an Energy drink based on the Bomb Pop popsicle often referred to as Rocket Pop to avoid trademark infringement. The taste is a blend of blue raspberry, lime and cherry; three of the worst popular fruit flavors. I’d much prefer strawberry, grape and peach, but it is what it is.
my rating : 3 of 5
This energy drink, despite having zero sugar, is based on “a nostalgic classic” in the candy world; the Swirl Pop. The flavor is an “indistinguishable” blend of cherry, orange and pineapple, though it “contains no fruit juice”. As far as ratings go, the taste is about on par with the Bang Swirly Pop.
my rating : 3 of 5
This Thunder tastes better than the Doubleshot version because there’s less Coffee and more Milk, but the name is misleading if not an outright lie. I taste no Vanilla nor is any such flavor included on the short ingredients list. It’s the color of most vanilla drinks though, so I guess that’s supposed to be the link.
my rating : 3 of 5
This Doubleshot; the most “energizing” CoffeeMilk the Thunder brand has to offer as far as caffeine goes; lives up to the name. It’s a mixture of (“real”) Coffee and (“real”) Milk. The one thing missing from the name is the cane sugar; the third listing on its impressively simply ingredients list; which isn’t sweet enough to counter the fact that you’re drinking coffee.
my rating : 3 of 5
Masta Ace and Marco Polo are skilled at what they do, especially Polo. His beats are pure hip-hop; the boom-bap type that originated in the ghettos of New York City. He’s actually from Richmond Hill, Ontario, hence the title. Breukelen native Masta Ace has been dropping funky rhymes since The Symphony, but he’s sometimes too innovative for his own good.
The rapper has long had the tendency to limit himself to specific lyrical concepts that, over the course of a whole song, come across as somewhat gimmicky. The first word of almost every bar on Connections connects with the word before it. Outside Inside, with C-Red, puts the title words on repeat. All I Want, with Wordsworth, is a list of Christmas wishes.
Brooklyn Heights, all about what it “ain’t”, is one of the best songs though, along with Below The Clouds and Heat Of The Moment. Plant Based and Life Music deal with health, but Ace stays silent on the topic of MS. As a sequel, Hill is on par with the first Story. The worst bits are still the skits, though there should be an epilogue to match the prologue.
my rating : 3 of 5
2024
The title, based on the album’s lead single, is silly, but perhaps that’s appropriate. AMG is a rapper who likes to have fun. That fun comes almost exclusively in the form of sex with, or at least sexual attraction to, Bitches. It’s an obsession I can relate to, though I prefer the small Booty ones. Best songs include Nu Exasize, Jiggable Pie and Vertical Joyride.
my rating : 3 of 5
1991