This is my first one and I wrote it a couple weeks back, lemme know what you think.
I'll start out by saying he has the KiD CuDi feel for me. Like Kanye and G.O.O.D. have CuDi, but TI and Grand Hustle have B.o.B. He can spit good when he needs to, but more relies on the beats and getting his stories told. Nothing sounded alike on this album a couple were quite melodic, but if different ways with different lyrics.
B.o.B. starts with a nice intro in "Don't Let Me Fail" and sets up his rapping/singing style for the album. We hit the radio hits early, and in "Past My Shades" him and Lupe do a good job about saying sure you know me from my songs, but I'm deeper than the outside appearance, it hits hard bass-wise to boot. Then we totally switch gears and have a nice Southern Rap song with his mentor TI that for you club bangers out there. We hit my favorite pat of the album , you could call this the main course. "Ghost in a Machine" is the melodic tale of how BoB wanders around feeling like a ghost in life. We then hit "The Kid" where he talks about no matter where you are, the kids are gonna end up bad cause of all the bad. It's not a ballad though, it's an up-beat/bassy song that had me grooving. Reminds me of "We Don't Care" by Kanye. Anywho "Magic" with the lead from Weezer is probably my favorite song so far. The beats great, good chorus, B.o.B. spits fire, and really, whose ever rapped about a whole damn magic show before? Next is "Fame" (which may or may not be influenced by Lady Gaga's song), in which B.o.B. tells us that even if the fame in life does take over, doesn't mean we change with it. I like it all so far cause the subject matter is very simple/relate-able. We end with "Lovelier Than You" which incorporates acoustic guitar, a harmonica and freaking bongos and takes me to a chill place that John Mayer does with people. But this is B.o.B. a rapper whose rapping about his baby. A solid Intergalactic ballad with an electric fell was good in "5th Dimension", and I like his verses in the song. We end with the newly released "Airplanes Pt.2" featuring Eminem this time around. He incorporated a 'what-if' rapping life for himself starting back from '98 and a mock story of his rise, and Em closes out the song asking what would've happened if he'd never done all he did for the rap business. Same beat and such as "Airplanes" and Hayley Williams has a nice voice IMO. We have some bonus tracks that are on par with the album, but I'll leave it with the main stuff.
Best Tracks; "Ghost in the Machine", "The Kids", "Magic", "Fame", "Airplanes Pt.1/2", aw hell they're all freaking great.
Best Line:
"The Kids" ft. Janelle Monee:
[i]Now since I was planted at birth
I abandoned my own planet and I landed on earth
As a kid I never understood what I observed
Some of it was strange, but most of it disturbing
Always in detention, for the lack of my attention
You could call it defect, really I just didn't listen
And I was always missin'
The teacher is like, 'Where is Bobby Simmons?'
But, tryin to get a record deal is all I can remember
It's funny, cause looking back on the past that I had
All my days in the streets, tryin' to prove that I was bad
I still elevated to the level to the level I'm at
(I still elevated to the level to the level I'm at)[/i]
8/10 or 4/5 Stars
He did such a good job with this album, and I can understand the hip-hop purists not liking it. But, if you try to get into things from every genre and such this is quite a great album. Each song has it's own style and it's own meaning, which is good if you're new and want to get your name out there in a bunch of genres (like B.o.B.). Also each song had it's own style, beats, and lyricism that you really can't compare tracks too much at all. Get this, good music, good style, and an overall good album.
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