• 15Nov 09

  2 Rap/hip-hop icons, 2 albums, 2 reviews, 1 to win it all?

  Hey everybody or anybody out there, well, after looking for some new music material, listening to some songs and suggestions from friends and people, have read some critics and reviews, i end up getting a copy of the album "Relapse" from Eminem, and "Before i Self Destruct" from 50 Cent; see, we are talking about 2 famous rap/hip-hop artists, veterans of Dr. Dre, 2 different rapping sttyles, 2 different concepts, 2 different musical records, but 1 genre, and that's rap/hip-hop but mostly rap.

  So this is it, Eminem vs 50 Cent, "Relapse" vs "Before i Self Destruct".

  Before i start, my review criteria is based mostly on sound quality, then on the music tones, rhythms, beats and sttyles, and maybe the "creativity" factor, which applies for funny lines and funny samples.

  First, i will go with 50 Cent with his latest production "Before i Self Destruct"

  

  1.- The Invitation - 2:54
  2.- Then Days Went By - 3:44
  3.- Death to my Enemies - 3:46
  4.- So Disrespectful - 3:39
  5.- Psycho ft. Eminem - 4:45
  6.- Hold Me Down - 3:19
  7.- Crime Wave - 3:44
  8.- Stretch - 4:08
  9.- Strong Enough - 3:01
  10.- Get it Hot ft. Lloyd Banks - 2:59
  11.- Gangsta's Delight - 3:14
  12.- I Got Swag - 3:34
  13.- Baby by Me ft. Ne-Yo - 3:35
  14.- Do You Think About me - 3:26
  15.- OK, you're Right - 3:04
  16.- Could've Been you ft. R. Kelly - 4:19

  Well, as one of 50 Cent fans, who owned and listened to every album he released, i might say that his latest album is a really good one. 50 Cent is back with his dark and tough gangsta stlye, as his lyrics are from his hard and tough thoughts and swagger earned from his living in the streets, nothing wrong with it, but nothing new and special about it, that's where he looses part of his creativity, but then, on certain songs, 50 sings like not being serious about it, like on "Crime Wave", so with that, i don't mind if 50 is performing like before. Now, lets take a look at the musical scores, which are sick, great, and fits nicely with 50 Cent's sttyle the album makes a good start from its introduction "The Invitation" to its twelfth song "I Got Swag", then it ends kinda lame with its 4 latest songs, where it gets less aggressive, which is dedicated mostly for those women fans of him, something that is very characteristic about him. The whole album which sounds just right, has just a right and cool sound quality that i think could have been better. So, all things considered, i say that 50 Cent latest album is just good, but in comparison to his previous albums, i say "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" did a whole better job from the rest, ithen, "Before i Self Destruct" felt and sound like his other album "The Massacre", somewhat like its moody twin, so if you're also a 50 Cent fan, this album won't dissapoint, but if you're a looking for a great rap/hip-hop fix you might check other albums from other artists, or go with "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" if you don't have it. Oh, and i almost forgot, my favorite song from 50 Cent latest is "Death to my Enemies", you might kinda love it too.

  Now its Eminem turn, with his latest album "Relapse"

  

  1.- Dr West - 1:29
  2.- 3 a.m. - 5:19
  3.- My Mom - 5:19
  4.- Insane - 3:01
  5.- Bagpipes From Baghdad - 4:43
  6.- Hello - 4:08
  7.- Tonya (skit) - 0:42
  8.- Same Song & Dance - 4:06
  9.- We Made You - 4:29
  10.- Medicine Ball - 3:57
  11.- Paul (skit) - 0:19
  12.- Stay Wide Awake - 5:19
  13.- Old Time's Sake - 4:38
  14.- Must Be the Ganja - 4:02
  15.- Mr. Mathers (skit) - 0:42
  16.- Deja Vu - 4:43
  17.- Beautiful - 6:32
  18.- Crack a Bottle - 4:57
  19.- Steve Berman (skit) - 1:29
  20.- Underground - 6:11

  Ok, to do this a honest and transparent review, i gotta tell you, this is the first Eminem album i completely listened to, as a matter of fact, i'm not an Eminem fan at all, but then i liked previous productions made by him alongside with Dr. Dre. "Relapse" tells a story of an Eminem getting back on drugs addiction, something that it really happened to him, but just once, so the sttyle and concept for this album from Eminem is more about his characteristic insanity than anything else, something that's very familiar with his previous albums, so Eminem fans will feel right at home with this album. The music scores and productions are, in my opinion, excellent, as this is material proof that Dr. Dre still got it when it comes to music production. The album has a dramatic introduction with its intro "Dr West" and the song "3 a.m.", that dramatic feeling is simply very characteristic of Eminem, and it did just good; then it gets better and more intense with songs like "Insane", "We Made You" and "Old Time's Sake", until reaching the profound and moody ending with "Underground", which it sucked in my opinion, rather than ending the album with "Underground" it could have been ended really really better with "Crack a Bottle" instead, but well, mistakes are human; but then, Eminem's insane and acid sense of humor plays a cool role in the album for the sake of creativity more than anything. Now, the sound quality of this album is crystal clear, the whole album including the short skits sounds very good, smooth and detailed, no song will sound louder nor softer than the other, so you might listen to the whole album with the same volume without any problem, and thats one of the good reasons i get to take or buy a music album. So overall, whether you are or not an Eminem's fan, this is a great album that will grow on you while you listen to it, you will really like it, and yes i say "will" and not "might". My favorite songs from this album are "Deja Vu", "We made You","Old Time's Sake" and "Crack a Bottle"

  So here i'm done with these 2 albums from these 2 rap icons educated by Dr. Dre, in short, i strongly suggest you to get or buy the album "Relapse" from Eminem, have extra money to buy two albums?, then buy also "Before I Self Destruct" from 50 Cent for more rap/hip-hop goodness.

  Sorry if i wrote wrong S-T-Y-L-E with 2 ts, the problem is that gamespot has a code problem with it and you can't write s-t-y-l-e because it ends up like this ****

  More music and games reviews soon...

  • Posted Nov 15, 2009 1:11 pm PT
  • Category: Music
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• 13Jul 09

  Back to gaming!!

  Yep, finally i got my new vid. card which is an ATI Radeon HD 3600 ready to test some new games, so, new game reviews coming soon..

  • Posted Jul 13, 2009 3:04 pm PT
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• 15May 09

  Be the part of a Jilted Generation!

  Hey out there again, i came to do another music album review, once again, is from "The Prodigy", which i reviewed its first studio album "Experience Expanded" as an excellent electronic/techno music album, now, if you got the album and heard all of its songs, and getting into their music, you didn't listen to their whole music at all, not even the half part of it, because there's another album which is considered one of their best albums ever, and i gotta tell you, that they may be f**ing right!, because this album got the hardest and most explosive beats ever heard from the band, and i talking about "Music for the Jilted Generation" as it's their second studio album, let's take a look.

  

  1.- Intro - 0:46
  2.- Break & Enter - 8:24
  3.- Their Law - 6:40
  4.- Full Throttle - 5:02
  5.- Voodoo People - 6:27
  6.- Speedway (Theme from Fastlane) - 6:23
  7.- The Heat (The Energy) - 4:27
  8.- Poison - 6:42
  9.- No Good (Start the Dance) - 6:17
  10.- One Love (Edit) - 3:53
  11.- 3 Kilos - 7:25
  12.- Skylined - 5:58
  13.- Claustrophobic Sting - 7:12

  Well, what can i say?, this album is yet simply the magnum opus of The Prodigy (though others say is really the album "The Fat of the Land"), is like the evil twin of the "Experience" album, as the band decided to bring a dark and aggressive underground tone and concept, it doesn't matter if you like it or not the Rave/Electronic music genre, because this album is simply amazing. Wanna try like a piece of it?, then go ahead and listen to "Break & Enter", "Their Law", and "No Good (Start the dance)".

  Also, they re-released this album with more remixes and other versions of the original songs with a 2-disc set which is called "More Music for the Jilted Generation", but i just recommend you to get the original album, cuz the best is on the first disc.

  • Posted May 15, 2009 8:02 pm PT
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