Tag: Kanye West

audio review : We Got Love ( song ) … Teyana Taylor

What’s missing on the official version of this song is Kanye West’s melodic ad-libs from the demo. It didn’t really make sense for him to back only Teyana Taylor’s first verse; the second verse would’ve been better; but instead of being moved, he’s cut from the song entirely.

Still the best parts aren’t Teyana Taylor’s. That little scream she does after “Home is where the heart is” sounds mildly annoying. It’s the music she’s rapping to I like the most. What I Love is the ending where Lauryn Hill does a bombastic monologue over gorgeous synth chords.

my rating : 4 of 5

2019

audio review : Jesus Is Born ( album ) … Sunday Service

audio review : Jesus Is Born ( album ) ... Sunday Service

Perhaps this should’ve come before Kanye West’s last album. All miracles aside, Jesus had to be Born before becoming King. I guess this is the prequel, although the title cleverly coinciding with a Christmas release date shouts gimmick.

The music is the kind of choir-led gospel you’ll hear in most urban churches; the ones with mostly black people in them; marvelous harmonies that rarely stumble upon matching melodies, even though they’re singing cover songs.

The best include Sunshine, Lord Works; well, the first third of it; Souls Anchored and Paradise. Those latter two are based on secular songs about sex and drugs. Sounds like somebody in the Sunday congregation needs another chat with Jesus.

my rating : 3 of 5

2019

audio review : Not For Radio ( song ) … Nas ( featuring Diddy )

“Edgar Hoover was black; Willie Lynch is a myth,” Nas affirms, “Colombians created crack; the government made stacks.” It’s that first part about Hoover that represents the rapper’s state of mind. He, like too many Americans, is obsessively focused on race and racism, but only the white on black type, which itself seems racist in its exclusions.

To be fair, Sean Combs (Diddy) does suggest equality by commanding all listeners to put their fists in the air, whether they’re “white, black, Latino, Asian, Caucasian…” Hold on; isn’t Caucasian and white the same? In being inclusive though, he contradicts not only himself but the concept of the song, which is supposed to be about “they” and “us”.

The best parts are the hook, though what sounds like a silly falsetto effect added to it takes away from the song’s solemn message, and the beat, which is led by an epic sample from The Hunt For Red October. The worst part of the song, other than Diddy mentioning the year; “We ain’t posing for no pictures in 2018”; is the title, which seems irrelevant.

my rating : 4 of 5

2018

audio review : Nasir ( album ) ... Nas