Good album, great pick. It put a smile on my face here and there, a nod to my head when listening seated, a spring to my step when listening while walking, and an occasional chuckle. Yeah, there isn't the highest level of wit, but some dotted about in there, that is simplistic enough that on a basic level transcends otherwise notable contextual and cultural differences. Add to that the bewilderment of some right flatearther approach to music it has brought out in the thread.
We praise catchy here don't we, well the rhythms and beats here are damn catchy. And its reach and impact on pushing rap into pop shouldn't be overlooked. My biggest gripe is its length, the songs.. sorry, 'songs'.. are too long, overdone, and lose their impact which could otherwise have been much sharper and snappier but for a bit of better editing down. It also lacks the vigour and aggression that comes with the genre (in the delivery, rather than in themes), but then, therein lies its broader appeal and success.
I don't struggle with rap/hip-hop in the slightest, but I do generally struggle with rap/hip-hop albums. In the sense of listening to them over a stretch and in volume. RTJ4 is probably one that comes to mind that I can enjoy the bulk of, but most others even the so thought of classics, they are a pick and choose from, and skip over type of an experience for me. Which is why I think it is even harder putting forward an album of this type, never mind to an audience of 'radiohead moms' and that I feel the need to acknowledge. Overall, for the mood and the spanner in the works, an 8 for me.
