Common’s review

Common
Universal Mind Control(Purchase)
G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen Records
3/5

Samir Siddiqui’s review of the album is below.

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Kanye West
808s & Heartbreak
Roc-a-Fella/Island Def Jam

4/5

True to form, Kanye West pushes forward in his quest for creative greatness by doing what he’s done throughout his career -the unexpected. Pulling further away from the sound of contemporary hip-hop than even his euro-pop-influenced last album Graduation did, 808s & Heartbreak contains eleven songs in which Kanye laments the recent losses of his deceased mother, and his ex-fiancé. While much has been made about how drastically different 808s is from West’s previous three offerings, there are some signs of musical continuity. The LP is far from a two-headed monster (though the influence of the auto-tune technique and the use of the TR-808 drum machine dominate the sound) - unlike Graduation, the synths no longer serve as the primary element of the album’s production, but instead beep over and prod at the layers of instrumentation underneath. The sonic arrangements, most notably those of “Bad News” and “Coldest Winter,” recreate the dramatic feel of Late Registration’s more touching moments, and the overall soulful nature of the album harkens back to the sentimentality of The College Dropout.

 

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T.I.
Paper Trail
Grand Hustle/Atlantic Records
4/5

Written By Samir Siddiqui

T.I.’s last major release, T.I. vs. T.I.P., was akin to a story about a hero without obstacles- though the protagonist (and in T.I.’s case, two lead characters) were interesting enough on their own, a sense of complacency on the writer’s part put a serious hamper on the well-produced proceedings. This time around, T.I. has simplified the writing process to a pen and a pad, and there is no shortage of drama for Tip to sort through. Juggling emotions and reflections on everything from his impending prison sentence (”Ready for Whatever) to the deaths of his daughter and close-friend (”You Ain’t Missin’ Nothin’), Paper Trail is T.I.’s most lyrically-engaging album to date.

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The Game
L.A.X.
Geffen Records/Interscope
6.5/10

Written By: Samir Siddiqui

The Game’s eagerness to engage in any and all rap beefs might be perceived as a legitimate hunger for competition, but in actuality, his latest barbs and jabs have been weak attempts at filling the holes in his somewhat underwhelming fresh material. His newest project, L.A.X., certainly suffers from stretches of uninspired rapping, but Game is clever enough to armour his album with a string of all-star guest-spots and a host of big-name producers.

This is the opinion of Samir Siddiqui and if you disagree feel free to leave a comment giving your thoughts on the review and album.

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Nas
Untitled
Def Jam Recordings/Columbia
4/5

Written By: Samir Siddiqui

‘”The game needs him,
plus the people need someone to believe in,
So in God’s Son we trust, cause they know I’ma give ‘em what they want
They lookin’ for a hero, I guess that makes me a hero”

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G-Unit
T.O.S. (Terminate On Sight)
G-Unit/Interscope Records
3/5

G-Unit’s follow-through in delivering an album that caters to their core fan-base proves to be a move that both helps and hinders their latest project, Terminate On Sight. Aside from the club-friendly synths on the lead single “I Like the Way She Do It,” T.O.S. is virtually void of pop influence; instead, the album is driven by aggressive content and gritty production. But while the familiarity of T.O.S. means 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks, and Tony Yayo are never out of place, it also ends up restricting the group’s ability to tread new ground or expand their sound. The cast of mostly unknown producers featured throughout the LP constantly hover just above mediocrity, with most of the numbers relying upon simplistic drum patterns or repetitive synth arrangements.

Review by Samir Siddiqui

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N*E*R*D
Seeing Sounds
Interscope Records
4/5

Written By: Samir Siddiqui

For superstar producer Pharrell, there’s not much at stake when he decides to gather his N*E*R*D cohorts for a new album. After all, the pockets of Skateboard P’s designer jeans are probably lined with dollar bills from all the producing he does for other A-list artists. And perhaps that’s what makes Seeing Sounds such an uninhibited success- with virtually no commercial expectations to live up to, Pharrell, Neptunes partner Chad Hugo, and rapper-friend Shay Haley combine talents to deliver a new LP bursting with energy and musical experimentation.

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