Sweatshop Union - "Water Street"

Grade: A-/A

Lupe Fiasco meets Common.
What a match. For being primarily considered underground rap, Sweatshop Union, definitely proves it worth on this album. Best of the best to come out of British Columbia and Vancouver. From "Water Street", Sweatshop Union's "Oh My" won in the 8th Annual Independent Hip-Hop award. Mos Eisley, the group's lead rapper, as Sweatshop is a group of four independents + Kyprios, carries the same beat in the voice, and swagger in the step as many of the great underground's, Lupe, Mos Def, Talib, Nas, and Obie Trice. Five albums in, and many more to come for the relatively new group.

My Favorite Song: "Cities of God's"

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Track listing

1. "Now"
2. "Goldrush"
3. "Oh My"
4. "Time Machine"
5. "So Tired"
6. "Blah Blah Blah"
7. "Comes & Goes"
8. "Jeers"
9. "Pot of Stew"
10. "Mashed Potatoes"
11. "High Grade"
12. "Cities of Gods"
13. "Shoot Low"
14. "Itchy Back"
15. "Gutter Ball"
16. "It's Alright"
17. "Never Go Home"
18. "Sunnyside Motel"
19. "Timelines"
20. "Moose"
21. "Said and Done"
22. "So Many People"
23. "Dig a Grave"

The Flaming Lips - "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"

Grade: A/A+

Math majors solve for "x".
Gorillaz "Plastic Beach" + Heart + Techno/Electro Vibes = X
This is "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" by The Flaming Lips.
Easily one of the best album on the blog site yet. Wayne Coyne in 1983, began dropping record albums as every artists begins with, but was yet to find the hit song with his group. After deals with Warner Brothers, finally the Oklahoman band hit it off well in 1993 with their biggest track yet "She Don't Use Jelly." That song set the tone for the rock band and the primarily rock-styled songs in their later albums...That is, until 2002, when The Flaming Lips dropped their 10th (out of 12) studio albums with "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots." It's in that album and the following album "Embryonic," (2009) that we can see the shift to a more Techno/Electro vibe come into play. Generally speaking, most of the rock fans still appreciate the quality of the music that The Flaming Lips have produced, regardless of the mild shift in genre. Favorite song for me on "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"  is the following: 1) "Approaching Pavonis Mons."

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"Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots" (REGULAR EDITION)

1. "Fight Test" – 4:14
2. "One More Robot/Sympathy 3000-21" – 4:59
3. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1" – 4:45
4. "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 2" – 2:57
5. "In the Morning of the Magicians" – 6:18
6. "Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell" – 4:34
7. "Are You a Hypnotist??" – 4:44
8. "It's Summertime" – 4:20
9. "Do You Realize??" – 3:32
10. "All We Have Is Now" – 3:53
11. "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)" – 3:09

Lil' Wayne - "Rebirth"

Grade: B-/C+


This was suppose to be Lil' Wayne's attempt to reach out to the world of rock. To mix genres in the heart and soul of each song. To bring the beat of the rock, with the vocals of the hip hop. Lil' Wayne is indubitably a worldwide record seller. No doubt about it. Any album he drops, will make it to some sort of leaderboard. Personally, I think this album could have been a lot better. Lil' Wayne's songs ALWAYS are "dense". A lot of vocals, a lot of noise, and a ton of "rapper shout-outs". This album was no different if not worse. If you a reader of my past blogs, you know that I am all about the beat. "If it gets your head rocking, then the beats will start popping." I didn't so much find it in this album, as I moderately did in his past albums. Any songs I would approve of...? Well, only one, just barely. "Drop the World" (Featuring Eminem).


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Next Post: Flaming Lips "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"

1.	"American Star" (featuring Shanell)	DJ Nasty & LVM	3:37
2.	"Prom Queen" (featuring Shanell)	DJ Infamous, Drew Correa	3:37
3.	"Ground Zero"	Streetrunner, DJ Infamous	3:57
4.	"Da Da Da"	Cool & Dre	3:40
5.	"Paradice"	Kevin Rudolf, Cool & Dre	3:57
6.	"Get a Life"	Cool & Dre	3:12
7.	"On Fire"	Cool & Dre	4:08
8.	"Drop the World" (featuring Eminem)	Hit-Boy, Chase N. Cashe	3:49
9.	"Runnin'" (featuring Shanell)	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League	4:31
10.	"One Way Trip" (featuring Kevin Rudolf)	Travis Barker, Kevin Rudolf, DJ Infamous	4:38
11.	"Knockout" (featuring Nicki Minaj)	J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League	4:09
12.	"The Price is Wrong"	DJ Infamous	3:28

[hide]Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"I'll Die for You"	Cool & Dre	5:07
14.	"I'm So Over You" (featuring Shanell)	DJ Infamous	2:58

Ludacris - "Battle of the Sexes"

Grade: A-/B+


Originally intended to be a modern issue-themed hip-hop CD produced by female rap artists only, Ludacris took over the failing CD and put down a beat of his own, along with some help via Swizz Beatz, to "remix" the short-lived CD. Re-doing all of the tracks, Ludacris took an un-sellable CD, and created a Billboard® top-50 CD, with three Top 10 billboard®. This makes it Ludacris' FOURTH #1 CD to be on the top of the record market. From the full length songs, to the intros, and skits, this CD, along with Ludacris' other CD's simply dominate the market and make for a good time listening, and provide a solid selection of "party songs" that everyone can really get into. Buy it? Hmm. Close call. Go to iTunes and download, "Low", "Hey Ho", and "My Chick Bad".

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1.	"Intro"	Xcel	1:28
2.	"How Low"	T-Minus	3:21
3.	"My Chick Bad" (featuring Nicki Minaj)	The Legendary Traxster	3:36
4.	"Everybody Drunk" (featuring Lil Scrappy)	DJ Montay	4:10
5.	"I Do It All Night" (featuring Shawnna)	B Crucial & Tony Dinero	4:41
6.	"Sex Room" (featuring Trey Songz)	Kajun	5:30
7.	"I Know You Got a Man" (featuring Flo Rida)	Infinity	4:03
8.	"Hey Ho" (featuring Lil' Kim & Lil Fate)	Khao	4:12
9.	"Party No Mo'" (featuring Gucci Mane)	Bangladesh	4:21
10.	"B.O.T.S. Radio" (featuring I-20 & Shawnna)	The Runners	4:56
11.	"Can't Live With You" (featuring Monica)	Khao	4:19
12.	"Feelin' So Sexy" (featuring Shawnna)	Gaggie	3:29
13.	"Tell Me a Secret" (featuring Ne-Yo)	Swizz Beatz	4:18
14.	"My Chick Bad (Remix)" (featuring Diamond, Trina & Eve)	The Legendary Traxster	3:23
15.	"Sexting"	The Neptunes

Gorillaz - "Plastic Beach"

Grade: B/B-

It's definitely worth listening to. If you are about to download the album hoping for another "Clint Eastwood" hit, definitely look elsewhere. I would DEFINITELY recommend previewing the album on iTunes or you legal music downloader choice.  Solid songs to sit back and relax to, but nothing really to "jam" to. Even though some of the songs feature the legends such as Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, and De La Soul, nothing really stands out. I am a fan of electronic music, so I'm a partial fan of this album, as it is definitely headed that way. If you are into techno/electronic/trance genres, this is a definite buy; if not because of the genre, because of the artist and to build-up a solid discography.

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1.	"Orchestral Intro" (featuring sinfonia ViVA)	Gorillaz	1:09
2.	"Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach" (featuring Snoop Dogg and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)	Gorillaz, Snoop Dogg	3:35
3.	"White Flag" (featuring Bashy, Kano, and The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music)	Gorillaz, Bashy, Kano	3:43
4.	"Rhinestone Eyes"	Gorillaz	3:20
5.	"Stylo" (featuring Bobby Womack and Mos Def)	Gorillaz, Mos Def	4:30
6.	"Superfast Jellyfish" (featuring Gruff Rhys and De La Soul)	Gorillaz, De La Soul, Gruff Rhys	2:54
7.	"Empire Ants" (featuring Little Dragon)	Gorillaz, Yukimi Nagano	4:43
8.	"Glitter Freeze" (featuring Mark E. Smith)	Gorillaz, Mark E. Smith	4:03
9.	"Some Kind of Nature" (featuring Lou Reed)	Gorillaz, Lou Reed	2:59
10.	"On Melancholy Hill"	Gorillaz	3:53
11.	"Broken"	Gorillaz	3:17
12.	"Sweepstakes" (featuring Mos Def and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)	Gorillaz, Mos Def	5:20
13.	"Plastic Beach" (featuring Mick Jones and Paul Simonon)	Gorillaz	3:47
14.	"To Binge" (featuring Little Dragon)	Gorillaz, Yukimi Nagano	3:55
15.	"Cloud of Unknowing" (featuring Bobby Womack and sinfonia ViVA)	Gorillaz	3:06
16.	"Pirate Jet"	Gorillaz

Welcome!

College student with a love for music, and all kinds...that are good. I will rate all albums and music I'm listening to. Want something rated? Let me know!

1. Gorillaz "Plastic Beach"
2. Ludacris "Battle of the Sexes: Deluxe Edition"
3. Lil Wayne "Rebirth"
4. Flaming Lips "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"
5. Sweatshop Union "Water Street"
6. Mos Def "The Ecstatic"

Keep posted!

Later!