Imperious Entertainment

Am I part of a dying breed or are there similar people who have the same convictions? I tend to believe that it's the former. But there is a glimmer of hope. Every time I venture into my local Best Buy or Virgin Megastore, there are tons of people perusing the aisles for their favorite cd's or something fresh and new. Maybe that is indicative of every locale or it may simply be attributed to the fact that I'm in a big city. [Aaliyah] let me knoooww, let me knoooow [Aaliyah]

Common hits the shelves next week with his seventh studio album Finding Forever. I must admit, I was a bit apprehensive about whether or not Common would be able to maintain the level of artistic excellence that is expected of him. As I listened to Kanye West let his presence be known over the first few seconds of the track “Start the Show”, those feelings of uneasiness began to rise again. When the instrumental finally dropped and Common began to rap, any doubts that were previously felt were promptly erased. On the opening track Common raps, “Synonym for fresh, yes it’s him again”. Indeed it is. Some of the standout tracks include “Start the Show”, “The People”, “Southside”, “The Game” and “Black Maybe”. This album is not on the same level as Be, but it is definitely worth a purchase. Common is one of the most consistent artists in the game right now and in rap’s existence for that matter. He has slowly crept his way into my top five favorite rappers in the game right now. 4.25/5.00

And for good measure…

T.I. - T.I. vs. T.I.P.:

If the number of superior tracks are any indication, T.I.P. needs to have a little more exposure than his smoother alter ego (Musically, not that lame alter ego stuff he’s been pulling at interviews and such). The album starts out pretty strong, becomes a train wreck in the middle & finishes on a good note. My favorite tracks include “Big Things Poppin”, “Tell ‘Em I Said That”, “Raw”, “Watch What You Say To Me” and “Respect This Hustle”. 3.50/5.00

Lil' Wayne – Tha Carter III Mixtape:

A makeshift compilation of recent mixtape tracks and throwaways have officially raised my expectations for Wayne’s upcoming album Tha Carter III. Some of my favorite tracks include, “What He Does”, “La La”, “I’m Raw” and “Money Ova Here”. 4.00/5.00

Comments (4)

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written by hiphop101 , July 27, 2007

I'll buy a cd every now and again if its worth it. Probably will buy Kanye. You are overrating Common's album. It is average and every song on the album is forgettable! That "conscious nigga" as he describes himself on the album, came pretty mediocre. I would listen to the Weezy or T.I. any day over the Common. You have to let the T.I. grow on you, but it is not his best work.

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written by Pam , July 31, 2007

I am a 56 year old Black woman. I download because since back in the day most of the albums produced are mediocre at best. There was a time you could buy Stevie Wonder, EWF or any number of artist back in the day and the majorityof the music if not all was great. I am not going to spend almomst $20 bucks on an album and maybe 2 songs are worth my time. I am not a sheep. I will not buy something because it is "in" or to support my people. I feel it is a diservice that we are not sold quality music instead of the crap that's sold as music. Granted you do have a few very talented artist today but...very few.

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written by insider , July 31, 2007

I'm not a big fan of letting an album or most other things for that matter grow on me. I feel like thats mind control or something (i.e. if you listen to anything long enough you'll get used to it and start to like it). If it doesn't grab me i'm not feelin' it. And I agree with Pam, these days and much grabbin' me and therefore I'm not buyin' much.

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written by TRoc860 , August 11, 2007

I also agree with Pam, a lot of music that artist are putting out today is trash. I refuse to spend my hard earn money on a mediocre albums at best. The quality of music has suffered some much that I find myself listening to a lot of old rap albums and more R & B than I usually have in the past. On a side note, I think its funny how a lot of new artist are claiming they are going to save hip hop but then they end up putting out more trash that just justifies why hip hop is slowing dying.

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