Bad Sister isn’t a bad album, but it would be a lot better without all the filler, which come mostly in the form of overblown remixes. The Hip-Hop version of Live On Stage clocks in at damn-near seven minutes.
The best song is Feelin Kinda Horny, the only one not produced by Marley Marl, interestingly enough. Fatal Attraction and Knockin Hiney are also decent, though the latter includes a repeat (filler) verse.
my rating : 3 of 5
1989
I expected Anderson Silva, arguably the best pound-for-pound fighter in the history of The UFC, to get knocked out in the first round of this fight. Silly me. Even at 43, which is old for the sport, he’s got skills. The Spider is long past his prime; he’s slower and more tentative; but is able to hang with a top newcomer.
Israel Adesanya is, in essence, a younger version of Anderson Silva; a man he once idolized. Silva does some Matrix-style dodges in the first round and actually outstrikes Adesanya in the second, but it isn’t enough. Adesanya wins mostly by staying busier, particularly in the third, where Silva seems to fade.
my rating : 3 of 5
2019
![audio review : New Amerykah : Part One [ 4th World War ] ( album ) ... Erykah Badu](https://marcellee.com/posts/79110.jpg)
It’s still the 1970s as far as Erykah Badu is concerned and that’s fine with me. That decade produced some of the best music, at least when it comes to the sounds of the instruments. There’s just something about an old funk groove that never goes out of style. Badu has a knack for funk grooves. That’s why it’s sort of disappointing to hear her cover old songs instead of making them up on her own.
The opening bit is a note-by-note cover of a Ramp song. That shameless jack move, which hardcore fans might excuse as homage, takes away a lot of artistic credit when it comes to Badu’s originality. As does My People, based on an Eddie Kendricks chant. “My people, hold on,” she says, probably referring to politically oppressed black people as the overall theme of the album seems to suggest.
But even if you’re put off by her social ideology and annoyed by her comic spontaneity; the Kolleen bit is grating; it’s hard not to be enchanted by her overall musicality. The original songs are, to my ears, better than the covers, which says something in regard to her talent. The Healer, a tribute to J Dilla, is voodoo magic. Telephone, another lament, captures perfectly the essence of soul jazz.
my rating : 3 of 5
2008
audio review : New Amerykah : Part Two [ Return Of The Ankh ] … Erykah Badu
“The conversation is peace,” Stevie Wonder insists. He’s talking about world peace; a utopian state in which problems like poverty and war don’t exist. It’s an unrealistic fantasy. Human nature doesn’t work that way, but Stevie Wonder is a visionary, so he continues to spread benevolent messages thru music.
If you’re listening for the magic melodies of past albums, you’re in for a disappointment. These songs; meticulously produced, sometimes to the point of bloatedness; are mostly inferior. Exceptions include Robins Will Sing and Cold Chill, both of which serve as worthy additions to the Stevie Wonder song archive.
my rating : 3 of 5
1995
This begins with a Donald Trump dis, which is hardly surprising. Ice Cube started his career attacking then president George Bush. The rapper, like too many people in AmeriKKKa, seems to equate rich white men with racism, foolishly unaware of the hypocrisy. When he switches focus to dollar-chasing bitches on One For The Money, he’s got a point.
I’ll give Ice Cube credit for staying true to the game. For whatever it’s worth, Everythangs Corrupt sounds like an Ice Cube album right down to the go-hard Cali beats. Some of the samples are cliché and most of the hooks are banal, but there’s no hit-hungry trend-chasing happening here. It’s just nostalgic gangsta rap music for hood heads from the 90s.
my rating : 3 of 5
2018
This song is like Gypsy in that it’s not till the end that it goes from unremarkable to something special. For Gypsy it’s the final bridge and chorus section. Here it’s the following coda.
“Save that angel,” Gaga murmurs, but the music; a dreamy lullaby led by a mellotron and what sounds like a harp; is what’s enchanting. It’s a shame the whole song doesn’t sound like that.
my rating : 3 of 5
2016
Mariah Carey has gone full circle in the sense that this new album is, like her first few, limited to about ten songs with no reprises or interludes. That’s more or less a sign of the times but a notable mention “irregardless”, especially for listeners who can only take so much of her whispery falsetto.
8th Grade is the 8th song, appropriately enough, but it seems random to start with GTFO, the title and concept of which is suspiciously similar to Toni Braxton’s recent FOH single. The album, featuring a surprise verse by Slick Rick, is consistently decent though with no major highs nor lows.
my rating : 3 of 5
2018
The title would be better without the word “Only”. Dimes is a perfectly suitable title for a song about the fact that you only fuck with dimes. That means The-Dream, G-Eazy and Too Short, don’t get into sexual or romantic relationships with girls who score less than a ten out of ten on the scale of beauty.
At least that’s the concept. The music is pretty too. But the chorus, performed by The-Dream, should be replaced by the one he sings just once at the end. That and a do-over of Too Short’s verse, which is flawed by an awkward edit after the twelfth bar, is all it would take to make this a good song.
my rating : 3 of 5
2018
Too Short’s Sex Tape, released just a few months ago, was a pleasant surprise. It’s his first good album in a long time. The Pimp Tape, the title of which has been promoted for about the last two years; the rapper says he’s been in the game for thirty, so who knows how old these songs are; is a step back down to mediocrity.
Trophies is included on both albums; it should be limited to this one since it’s not about Sex; and it’s one of the best songs. Most of the others sound like mixtape filler due to lackadaisical beats and hooks. I like the theme though. Glorifying the pimping of “bitches” is a much-needed slap in the face of modern feminism.
my rating : 3 of 5
2018
I’d say this isn’t a Marco Polo album any more than The Falling Season is a Kic Beats album; Ace credits one and not the other; but Polo isn’t just the sole beatmaker here. He’s also the main character. This Story is, in other words, about Marco Polo in the same way The Falling Season is about Masta Ace. But Polo doesn’t rap, so Ace shouts him out every once in a while.
If that seems confusing, it is. Masta Ace has long been fixated on odd concept albums pervaded with narrative skits that have little replay value. A Breukelen Story is no exception. The best parts are the beats and rhymes; Ace and Polo are skilled in their fields; but not necessarily the songs themselves. Kings and God Bodies are good, but most falter at the breaks.
my rating : 3 of 5
2018
This is the story of five people stuck on an elevator in The North Tower of New York City’s World Trade Center. It’s a mundane concept made captivating because it happens to occur on “9-11”, but the execution is somewhat of a letdown.
Famous people playing strangers is par for the course. Charlie Sheen leads as a billionaire going thru divorce. What isn’t so forgivable is the script, which, despite some poignancy, never really stops feeling like a Hollywood movie.
my rating : 3 of 5
2017
This sequel isn’t a remake of the sequel to the Halloween the Halloween this is a sequel to is a remake of. It’s a new story. And if you’re confused, ghostly white horses will only make matters worse. Rob Zombie outdid John Carpenter with the liberties he took in 1, but he goes too far here. The first twenty-something minutes are a thrill, then a flashforth happens and Halloween is over.
At least that’s how it feels between kills. Those are the best parts. Laurie Strode and her PTSD are far less interesting, along with Samuel Loomis and his book. Even The Bogeyman himself is a bore; wandering around unmasked with a hood and beard, seeing visions of his mother and that damn white horse; when he isn’t severing a security guard’s spine or bashing a stripper’s face in.
my rating : 3 of 5
2009