errbody know it ain't trickin' if u got it

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

OMG T.I. IS SO FIIIIINE. Those cheekbones! My knees are weakening just looking at them.

Anyway yes the great thing about T.I.'s amazingly sexy voice is that it works equally well whether he's swaggering hard or doing this singsong romantic croon, this is like a softer flip-reversal of 'What You Know' for the LAYDEEZ and I think I love it.

There hasn't been enough Lil' Wayne talk on poptimists either - he's made probably the best hip-hop album of the year, in a really great year for hip-hop albums (Bun B and Gucci Mane are two other favourites, eagerly anticipating T.I., Lil' Kim and Young Jeezy). Anywhere here is the video for 'A Milli' which has by all accounts eaten America alive, and I really do hope it does the same here.

It looks like the post-'Lollipop' singles off Tha Carter III are going to form some sort of overarching narrative too which is cool - I like the way the 'Got Money' video casts Weezy as, like, some sort of post-Katrina Robin Hood figure redistributing wealth as opposed to just a rapper bragging 'bout $$$$. Anyway as I was saying elsewhere today this track really grew on me, on first listen it's a(nother) cheesy T-Pain club banger but there are so many odd little tics throughout to keep your interest piqued - the handclaps, "I'm a GREAT DANE", the 'Umbrella' riffing, "so much ice they yell SKATE WAYNE", "bitch I'm the bomb like TICK - TICK - BEEYATCH!!!". Sadly half of those tics are in Wayne's third verse which is replaced to no discernibly positive effect on the single version by a Mack Maine guest verse but really you should be going out to buy the album anyway in order to encourage stoopid record companies to release these singles here at all.

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

if the MC is good enough rhymes over 808 will always be sufficient - as much as I love great production and think it can really make a track, the MC's meant to be the centrepiece, I think 'A Milli' is a real statement on Wayne's part as to how great he is. I like all the freestyles on it which have sprung up, Lil' Mama's is especially great. Have you heard Tha Carter III btw? I think objectively it's not quite as amazing as Tha Carter II but this doesn't seem to matter, I'm still in the throes of an obsession with it...favourites apart from 'A Milli' are 'La La', 'Shoot Me Down' and 'Mr Carter' probably.

Re: current favourite C3 verse

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

i heard the Chris Brown freestyle but no others yet. i've avoided the albums due to my aforementioned issues with production ethos. hard to not think it might be not worth it as i'll just be listening for cool rhythmic ideas/sounds that just ain't there (like going to a cocktail bar for a belgian beer, or something).

i am REALLY bored of 808 (also 'orch hits' which i hear in 'Got Money' altho i probably prefer that to 'A Milli' on first listen) now personally tho and it's become a bugbear for me. please use other drums (e.g. like the ones on New Amerykah?)! i don't want my indifference for a lot of this stuff to turn to actual dislike :/

also as an aside youtube is pretty much the only way i hear this stuff now, and the sound on this clip was weird - the bass/"A milli" loop going really muffled for the verses but much louder elsewhere. weird.

Re: current favourite C3 verse

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Tha Carter III is really varied, production-wise.

Yeah the sound on all the clips I found was weird, dunno why that is! figured that was better than the (ugh) clean version though, like way to destroy half the appeal.