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I have it. 10 days early at that; and I am listening to the full thing. I'll give you a track by track rating....
Track 1 "What we Talkin About" 3/5
Nice line includes one from the concert freestyle " I ain't talking about Jimmy I ain't talking about Dame."
Track 2 "Thank You" 4/5
Really like this track. Good production and horn section. Jay's flow is the one we know and love kind of like, dare I say, before. " I was going to kill a couple rappers but they did it to themselves/ I was going to do it with the flow but they did it with their sounds." On repeated listenings, this track really sounds like it could be the bonus track on the classic Camp Lo album "Uptown Saturday night". One of the top 3 tracks on the album.
Track 3 "DOA" 3.5/5
I am certain you all have heard it. I like the track, with by far the hottest line to me being "You n***** jeans to tight, you're colors to bright, you're voices to light" I've been screaming that for YEARS.
Track 4 "Run this Town" 1.5/5
Don't like it. The less Rihanna appears on Hip Hop albums, the better.
Track 5 "Empire State of Mind" 3/5
Nice production. Alicia Key's part really adds to the song. Jay's flow is still recovering on this track.
Track 6 "Real as it gets" 2.5/5
Jeezy rhymes first with a couple nice similes, Jay follows with a normal flow. Nothing jumps out at me.
Track 7 "On to the Next One" 4/5
At first I thought this beat was trash, until I got about a minute into the song, I realized Swizz is a sorcerer. The beat coupled with Jay's flow is crazy. Talks about the progression of the game and defending why he moved away from his Reasonable Doubt style.
Track 8 "Off That" 2/5
This song gets that score just off of the strength of not having Jimmy spit a verse. Not feeling the production.
Track 9 "A Star is Born" 3/5
Talks about the stars that came after him in the game and how they have done, and gives them a "clap".
Track 10 "Venus vs. Mars" 3.5/5
Heard this one a while back as well. I like the metaphor, as well as the beat. Flow as well as production really favors LL Cool J circa "Doin It" and "Hey Lover."
Track 11 "Already Home" 3.5/5
Nice strings, good flow. Jay's 2nd verse much better then the first.
Track 12 "Hate" 3.25/5
FINALLY. Kanye rhymes without autotune. Interesting rhyme scheme between the 2 of them. Wish they were a bit faster with it though. Edit: They actually get faster with the flow about a minute and a half in. Ye could have done a better beat though.
Track 13 "Reminder" 3.75/5
Jay's flow is nice on this one, nice beat. One of the better tracks on the album.
Track 14 "So Ambitious" 4.10/5
Love it. Plays like part 2 to excuse me miss, but more a life mission/bragging tale/goal setter.Pharrell brought a grade A beat, unlike 'Ye. Listen to it on a lazy Sunday afternoon driving with the sunroof open on the way to pick up a snow cone with your chick. Sorry, my mind was wandering. Hot song.
Track 15 "Young Forever" 3.0/5
A direct example of Jay's "new" sound. Very much a ballad. Nice message with the hook.
Track 16 Ghetto Techno 2.0/5
Only reason I give this score is because of the beat, and the fact that I was really expecting Ain't I or so many other tracks that should have been at the end of this album. Jay trying with the Em flow at the begninning.
Final score: 47.1/80
An OK album with a few notable tracks, but lacks the "listenability" of his earlier releases (almost anything pre black album).
