Justin Timberlake: The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2)

Well. Justin Timberlake, you go years and years without any new music and then you open the flood gates on me.

The 20/20 Experience (2 of 2) begins with the funky beats of Gimme What I Don’t Know (I Want). I’m on the fence about this song already and it’s only the first listen. There’s a lot of jungle, animal, etc references and an exuberant amount of Timbaland-style beats going on. It may be too much. Or this may just be my first listen response. I can say the actual animal sounds are taking it a bit too far – I’m here to listen to JT, not monkeys and lions, I mean really.

The first song on the album I actually like is TKO, the second single to be released from this half of the 20/20 Experience. This song tones down the experimental sounds a bit (just a bit, though) and does have an interesting beat. I would still be a-okay with a few less weird sounds going on in the background. Is this Justin’s Yeezus? Could be.

Murder has a great beat that I’m really digging and a great cameo from Jay Z. And if the lyrics are about Jessica Biel, well, congratulations, honey.

Drink You Away is so far away from the level of the six songs before it that I actually checked my iTunes to make sure I was still on the right album. This song has a definite bluesy country feel…and it doesn’t fit in at all.

Amnesia is a song I can fully get on board with. Vocals and background music are strong enough in this song that neither is overpowering. The emphasis is on Justin’s voice for once on this album and that was a much needed transition. The beat on this song is to die for and I’d say this song will end up being my favorite on the record.

I almost can’t handle how much I love Not A Bad Thing. The lyrics almost made me throw up they’re so cute, but I love it a little more every second.

So. It seems like the album picked up after Murder and stayed strong all the way through the end (including the seemingly random, so far unnamed Pair-of-Wings acoustic song that’s tacked onto the end of Not A Bad Thing). Do I like it better than Part 1? No. It may grow on me, though, cause it did take me a few listens to accept Part 1. It just doesn’t seem like the cohesive unit that Part 1 manages to be. I love Justin, and I always will, I’m just side eyeing him a little bit on this half.

 

Key Tracks
Amnesia (track 9)
Not A Bad Thing (track 11)
Murder (track 6)

Back to the Music vol. III

I’m a little behind with these playlists, aren’t I? I’ll try to catch up within the next couple of weeks since I usually post them on Sundays when I take the day off from reviews.

Without further ado, here is the third installment of my favorite tracks of the albums I’ve reviewed!

Click to open on Spotify.
Which are your favorites? Which do you not like? What would you like to see more of? Let me know in the comments!

Drake: Take Care

I’ve been meaning to sit down and give this album a good listen since it came out instead of just listening to Make Me Proud on repeat. I had a late lunch/early dinner with one of my best friends today and we were discussing this album, so I figured why not do it while my mind is on it? We’re getting at Drake‘s new album Take Care tonight!

I guess this is the first artist I’ve done two posts on – but Drake is a good one to double up on. I’m sure as this blog goes on there will be more doubling up. Who knows. The first track is oddly riveting – it’s a lot less music than you would expect and more just focusing on Drake. The boy can really rap.

Headlines has such a great beat and Drake’s raps run by like a chocolate fountain over a fresh strawberry.

Although she can’t live up to Nicki, I love when Drake and Rihanna are on the same track. Take Care is definitely not a disappointment as Riri opens it pretty slowly with a totally un-autotuned voice. Drake drops in with some fierce beats afterward.

We’ll Be Fine is a nice edge to it after a couple slower songs. I love Drake’s random mentions of Nicki. Am I the only person who wishes they’d just get together? This song leads into Make Me Proud, which I have listened to no less than 40 times. Nicki is such a great rapper and this song is one of my favorite rap tracks of all time.

Surprisingly, Drake pulls out some impressive singing on Cameras/Good Ones Go (Interlude). I had to check my iTunes to see who the guest was, but there is none showing up, so I’m assuming it is indeed Drake himself. And it’s pretty nice.

Could anyone on Cash Money Records get through an album without having a guest appearance from Lil Wayne? I think not. He’s not my favorite by any means, but he drops in during HYFR (Hell Yeah F****n’ Right). I can’t decide if this is actually a decent track on its own or if it’s a Cash Money Ripoff of H.A.M. by Kanye West and Jay Z (which clearly wins the contest).

Drake caught me off guard when he started singing a rap classic in the form of Back That Ass Up in Practice. I actually like Drake’s slowed down version better than the original.

I’m not sure I like the wind-up song, The Ride, enough to write a line about it, so we’ll move on. This is a pretty solid album – a couple let downs, but it does contain the fabulous Make Me Proud, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s all right by me. I should probably go listen to that track again, actually.
Key Tracks:
Make Me Proud (track 10)
Take Care (track 5)
Headlines (track 3)

Back to the Music vol. 1 on Spotify

After a grueling five hours with an almost-four-year-old, here’s an awesome playlist to wind down to. It’s featuring the first eighteen artists that I’ve written about on the blog and my favorite tracks of the albums I’ve reviewed.

Click here for eighteen tracks of gooey-goodness without the gooey.

Let me know what you think!

Jamie Foxx: Best Night of My Life

Switching directions completely. Tonight, I’m going to listen to Jamie Foxx because my mother and I were discussing him this evening. Besides Gold Digger and Blame It, I haven’t listened to much of his music. Why not? Good question.

I’m pretty sure most people would know who Jamie Foxx is – if not for his music or his nude pictures, at least for his work in movies. Clearly, one wouldn’t expect the lyrics to be anything groundbreaking or life-changing, but I’m semi-shocked at the lyrics in Best Night of My Life. “If we keep lovin like this, we might make make a child, a daughter or a son, whichever one.” Really, Jamie, really?

I do have to say, even from first glance at the track list, there are some pretty exciting guests. The first exciting one to me comes in the form of Mr. Justin Timberlake on Winner (when is that boy going to get back in the studio!?). This is the first track that I would listen to more than once – and isn’t all because of JT and T.I. But mostly.

Jamie Foxx definitely like to sing about alcohol, doesn’t he? I don’t think there’s been a track on the album so far that hasn’t in some way mentioned drinking. That might be overkill considering the success of Blame It…Despite the lyrics, I cannot deny that Hit It Like This is a total beat dropper. I couldn’t resist nodding my head along.

Soulja Boy and Luda step in to guest on Yep Dats Me. If you can’t say anything else about Soulja Boy, you can say that he’s recognizable.

At the end of the day, Jamie Foxx does have a beautiful voice. It’s a shame he doesn’t use it as much. Up until Fall For Your Type, there have been up-beat tracks with borderline idiotic lyrics. This song is much slower (and sweeter). Plus, Drake makes an appearance, and any track he’s going to be on is going to be a good one.

All Said And Done isn’t the best track to wrap up the album. The songs should’ve been mixed together a little more instead of such a stark contrast from the beginning of the album to the end. The lyrics are also…questionable at best. They’re not something I’m going to be quoting any time soon. And I don’t think the album is going to be one I’ll be repeating except for a song or two.
Key Tracks:
Fall For Your Type (track 8)
Winner (track 4)
Gorgeous (track 9)

Drake: Thank Me Later

I’ve been saying I wanted to have a rap entry for a couple days now and I figured after last night’s SNL, I may as well go ahead and put it through. Today’s album is Thank Me Later from Drake.

People around me watched Degrassi, but while it was on, I didn’t have the channel that it aired on (otherwise, I would probably have been obsessed). But to find out that Drake was on that show and then hear he turned around a few years later to release a very successful debut rap disc, I was shocked. I was also very skeptical when I heard he was putting out an album. Another actor turned musician?  Yawn.

Like Nicki Minaj, I’ve heard a lot of tracks that Drake has been on. I guess that’s the perk of being on a label with Weezy. I’ve had this album sitting around for a while, but this has been my first listen all the way through.

Let’s face it – a debut album with the first track featuring Alicia Keys? You know you’re on point when that lines up. There’s just something about Drake’s voice that I adore and Fireworks gives me all that charisma that I know and love. Since I’m not an avid rap listener (I’m getting better!), a lot of the artists out today sound the same to me, but Drake’s voice has stood out since I first heard him. Not only is it unique, but it flows like velvet.

Twenty seconds into Over and my head is bobbing. When I listen to rap, I like hard beats and good verses. This track delivers exactly that. And you know when there’s a Michael Jackson reference that it’s 2 legit 2 quit.

Miss Minaj sprinkles magic all over any track she’s on and Up All Night is no different. She and Drake have some insane chemistry and every track they do together gets better and better (Make You Proud anyone?).

For a debut CD, the guest spots just keep giving. Shut It Down is no exception as The Dream joins Drake for a slower, grooving seduction.

The title track, Thank Me Now, also hits hard. Drake’s lyrics are snappy, witty, and entertaining. And he doesn’t rap so fast that I could never keep up with him if I wanted to pretend to be the next big thing in rap music.

This album could have only been better with a spot from Yeezy.

Key Tracks:
Over (track 4)
Up All Night (track 6)
Thank Me Now (track 14)