Album Review: Kanye West: Yeezus

I am a huge Kanye fan. I have liked him from the jump and have always thought he was a great artist. I have respected his work and have been able to differentiate between his offstage antics and his work. With that being said, I am still able to be critical. I have lived with his new album for a few days now and these are some thoughts of “Yeezus”

On sight: The album starts out with an almost cacophonic sounding track. It’s jarring and a bit different sound. This track sets the stage for the rest of the album. Don’t expect to hear anything like what you’ve heard from the radio

Black Skinhead: The track has a great track with awesome drums. It ends up being a lush soundscape but it’s not the typical Kanye sound that we’ve been accustomed to. Funny enough it has a bit of the same swing as Christina Aguilera’s “I hate Boys” Ye’s delivery is rapid fire and aggressive. He ends it repeating “God” and sounding very Napoleon Dynamite.
I am a God: This track is just ridiculous. Play it on good headphones and you will appreciate it so much more. I think the second verse pales in comparison to the first. I like the song but think he could have taken it further. The track has screams and heavy breathing. Kanye, you stunt queen, you!

New Slaves: I like how the track starts out super stripped down (well for Kanye) so you can focus on his powerful words. I think lyrically this is where I like Kanye. I like when he’s talking about something a bit deeper over a banging beat. I kind of wish he brought this same lyricism to “I am a God”

Hold My Liquor: This track gives us time to pause. It is one of the more melodic, chill tracks. Maybe a bit of a throwback to his 808s album?

I’m in It: This track starts is weird in that it is minimalistic, yet has this bounce to it. Did he just say “put my first in her like a civil rights sign”? Umm, eww.

Blood on the Leaves: I love the sample used reminds me of Monica’s “IF you were the Girl” This song goes hard and might just fuck up your speakers. This is a standout track for me. It has the banging track and fun, quotable lyrics

Guilt Trip: I love this track as it has an almost ethereal feel to it. I think Kid Cudi was a good choice to guest on this.

Send it Up: There’s pretty much an alarm going off in the background of this song the whole time yet it’s not annoying. “We can send this bitch up it can’t go down” is as close to a hook as you are really going to get on this album.

Bound 2: This has the feeling of an old Kanye track. This time around, it still feels a bit more stripped down than old Ye. It has an old school sounding sample which is what became Kanye’s signature.


So after hearing this album about times now I am still hearing new things that I haven’t heard before. I LOVE that. It’s different and far from radio friendly. Typically I like songs that I can sing along to or be in a club yelling along drunkenly to. Yeezus doesn’t really give us that. Instead, it gives us something a bit more forward thinking and artistic. I say artistic, not because I think this is Kanye at his lyrical best. I say it because he is doing what artists should do: create art that makes them happy and that they think makes the world a more interesting place. Kanye’s sound is evolving to something that feels a bit more minimalistic than we are accustomed to. I suppose it is a nice balance to a man whose personality and ego continue to grow more and more over the tp. Overall, I think this is a great effort that is well produced and feels cohesive. It should be interesting to see how it is received by the masses.

Dates from Hell: How to NOT Have a One Night Stand

I’m sure that by now you all know the saying “The straw that broke the camel’s back” If you don’t then you are dumb. Real dumb. Anyway, in my experience I have found it to be more like “The shot that made me make poor life choices” I know I’m not the only one who has been out having a normal night out of fun and then that one drink/shot comes around and things go left. Like ALL the way left. Then you wake up pantless at 3:30a with Mariah Carey blasting on your stereo. Is that just me? Whatever. You just don’t want to admit to it. Thankfully my girl, Rebecca* has no trouble keeping it real with me. (even when it’s REAL messy)

So Rebecca is a 30 something woman who is kind of new to a major metropolitan city. She is on the fast track at work and things are looking up for her career wise. Now she is able to focus on building up her social life. So this past weekend, after work Rebecca goes out with her girlfriend and her gay friend. They are having drinks and enjoying one another’s company when Rebecca sees this cool phone and asks this guy about it. This leads them talking and flirting. Apparently the guy ends up being hot as hell and from South America. See, when I talk to strangers in a bar about something they have that I like, they end up being creepy and very local. Anyway, Rebecca was about to wrap up the conversation after the hot South American, who I shall call Alejandro from now on, mentioned his girlfriend back home.
Thankfully for the purpose of this story, the girlfriend and gay friend weren’t trying to let the fun stop, so they ordered a ridiculously oversized drink for Rebecca and Alejandro to share and the night started to heat up. They ended up going to a gay bar and having fun. They danced the night away and at some point someone thought it’d be a great idea to go a tequila bar for shots. This tequila shot was the final straw.
The two wing people went their separate ways, leaving Rebecca and Alejandro alone. By this point the gf back home was forgotten and the couple was on their way to Alejandro’s hotel. They were about to do what two drunk, attractive adults are prone to do when Rebecca had that all too familiar rumbling. She got up and proceeded to pray to the porcelain gods. Unlike me, Rebecca is not trained in the ways of the ninja and didn’t plan an escape so she ended up washing her mouth out and sleeping over.
The next morning Alejandro had to leave because he had an early flight. That’s what Rebecca told me, but I’m guessing her didn’t want to sleep with a girl who puked. Those are just my zesty two cents. Anyway, so he got up and showered and she slept in a bit longer. This, ladies and gentleman is a rookie mistake. Why prolong your walk of shame? Get out before the sun comes up is my mantra that has gotten me this far. Anyway, Rebecca had a last bathroom stop before leaving the hotel and heading home.

It wasn’t until she got downstairs and the door was VERY locked, that she realized that she had left her key in the room on the dresser. Damn, Gina! At this point Rebecca is over the whole situation. She puked and ruined her chance of getting with a hot South American and now she was locked out of her apartment. She walks up to the desk agent (mind you she still has on last night’s clothes and in my head she looks a hot ass mess) and explains that she met a guy in the bar last night and went home with him and now has her key in his room. The desk clerk is NOT discreet in the least (I mean, why be so for what could very well be a high priced call girl) and the next thing Rebecca knows, the whole world is hearing her business. They ask for Alejandro’s last name but Rebecca doesn’t know this, which makes it look even shadier! This, ladies and zestlemen, is why when you meet someone, you get his/her FULL name.

Rebecca ended up getting her key and went on her merry way. I’m guessing all of this foolishness MIGHT have been avoided if people had said a simple “no” to the idea of taking shots of tequila after a long night of drinking. You can take this however you choose. Some may just avoid the tequila. I say that it should be embraced, just be mindful of where you put your keys and get a last name. I mean really, only hookers don’t ask last names.

*names have been changed to protect the busy and whorey.

Album Review: Kelly Rowland: Talk a Good Game

So I really thought that Beyonce would have had an album by now. Hell even a single would have been nice. I never would have guessed that Kelly and Michelle are dropping new music before a Beyonce who is on tour. Anyway, it’s pretty bogus to start a review of Kelly Rowland’s new album by talking about someone whose shadow she seems to be placed in frequently. My bad.

Ok, so when Kelly first started dropping singles I got nervous. Her last album didn’t burn up charts the way people thought after her hot single, “Motivation” Her follow up single was “Ice” which followed the same formula as “Motivation” even down to the Lil Wayne cameo. Her dates kept on getting pushed around and she didn’t even have a title. I seriously thought she was on some Ciara foolishness. Kelly didn’t give up and just chugged along with her next single “Kisses Down Low” She even made a video for it, but the song didn’t do anything. Oh shit. Next up was “Dirty Laundry” which got a LOT of attention. It chronicled her domestic abuse as well resentment for Bey. It was pretty deep and got people talking about her. Shortly afterwards, she signed up to be on X Factor and announced a release date.

Some thoughts on Kelendria’s “Talk a Good Game”

Freak: I like the way the album starts out. The track is sexy and slinky. Kelly sings “Everybody’s somebody’s freak” I never really thought of it. Thanks, girl!
Kisses Down Low: This was produced by Mike Will made it, who is the it producer right. He did Rihana’s “Pour It Up” and Miley’s “ We can’t stop”, both of which are doing well on the charts. This song actually had to grow on me. It’s a cute song and is about oral sex. Why I wasn’t on board to begin with is beyond me.

Gone: This song features Wiz Khalifa and sample Joni Mitchell. The song is basically telling someone to piss off. I love a good break up joint and I like it even more when it has a bit of knock to it. The best line of the song “You’re dinner waiting down the street, and you can have it your way” It just makes me laugh that she’s sending his ass to BK for dinner. Wiz delivers a forgettable rap and still sounds high as hell.

Talk a Good Game: The song is sexy and in a great groove and then Kevin Cossom comes through and it gets a bit more crunk. I’m still undecided how I feel about his feature on this. I also hate that she says “mines”

Down on Love: the lyrics are in line with the title. It’s a standard breakup song but I like the breezy feel the track has.


Dirty Laundry: The track sounds like a 90s throwback to R Kelly or one of his protégés like Sparkle. The lyrics feel deeply personal which is odd since she didn’t even write the song. (The Dream did) I like the honesty of the song. I have always wondered how it felt to be a victim of Beyonceitis and it’s great to get a glimpse of that life.

You Changed: After airing her dirty laundry, she brings Beyonce and Michelle on this track. It kind of sounds like the track “Girl” from Destiny Fulfilled. This feels like three artists on a track, not Destiny’s Child. Yet again Kelly graces us with a kiss my ass and then kick rocks track.

I Remember: This is a light track that makes me think of Drake’s “Take Care” for some reason.

Red Wine: This song sounds like a 90s throwback. Usually I’d mean that as a good thing, but this is pretty unremarkable. Not bad, just not great.

This is Love: This has a very Keri Hilson feel to it. I like Keri, so I like the delivery of the song.

Street Life: I LOVE this song. Pharrell isgiving us early 2000s Neptune’s sound. It’s funky and has a bunch of soul to it. Lyrically it’s not impressive. Here the track is the star and Kelly doesn’t get in the way of it.

Stand in Front of Me: This song sounds like it’s from a different era. She sounds sweet on it, but it kind of feels gimmicky.

Sky Walker: This song features The Dream and is a typical Dream slow jam. It has explicit lyrics and her sounding a bit nasal like he does at times. He does more of a rap than really sings.

Put Your Name on It: I like this slow jam and her vocals sound strong. This is a song that you can make babies to.
#1: Another breakup song. I like the lyrics “If I’m not your number one, then you better call number two” No one likes to be a back burner bitch and Kelly is singing a song reminding people of that fact! Finally.


Overall this is a solid R&B album. I don’t know if this is the best idea career wise as people aren’t really lining up to pay for R&B albums anymore. I have always liked her uptempo/dance tracks and thought she should stay in that lane. That way she could avoid the Beyonce comparisons and really stand out on her own. I do think that with “Talk a Good Game” Kelly can stand out. She seems to have finally found her lane in R&B. Now let’s see if people actually want to hear the sound upon which she has settled.