It's going to take me another week or so form a solid opinion about the Kanye LP, but so far I'm OK with it. Not blown away like I was with the first two, but I think it'll grow on me.
Good Morning, Flashing Lights, and Everything I Am are my favorite cuts. Big Brother is great also. But DAHG is downright awful (after songs like "Roses" and "Diamonds" on LR, why the step back in subject matter?), and the potential new singles (Champion, Good Life) are simply alright. And the track with Chris Martin is simply a second-rate rehash of a previously released track "Home," which is much better.
At least that's my impression so far. Sonically it seems to be on par with LR and has some of the same soul influences as TCD, and I actually enjoy Kanye's swagger as a lyricist. The line about barber shops in "Everything I Am" is classic. But it just doesn't seem as challenging or boisterous or triumphant as his previous two efforts.
Still great though. Common, now Kanye, next Little Brother. A good couple of months for hip hop.
No comment on 50, haven't heard it, and probably won't bother. Kanye is gonna kill him in sales when the albums drop.
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