Author Topic: The Neptunes Presents Clones  (Read 934 times)

Vigilante

  • Muthafuckin' Don!
  • *****
  • Posts: 1777
  • Thanked: 1 times
  • Karma: -34
  • Future Revolutionary Classic
The Neptunes Presents Clones
« on: September 01, 2003, 08:40:49 AM »


Pros
The Neptunes production

Cons
Very pop sounding. Some woeful tracks.

The Bottom Line
Far from a classic, but those after light pop sounding hip-hop, would get enjoyment from this cd.

 
Full Review
The Neptunes are everywhere, if there not producing the next hit single or album, Pharell is singing his own joints. Since the mid 90’s The Neptunes have become a force in the music industry, arguably influencing commercial music more than any other, in these first few years of the new millennium. Whether that be hardcore hip-hop (think NORE or ODB), R & B, pop (Justin Timberlake) and even pop rock. In doing so they have bred fans, who now have a wide taste in music, as well as made some artists (Timberlake etc…) more palatable to hardcore hip-hop fans.

The Neptunes beats are heavy percussion wise, and as such, are good to dance to. They also often take a couple of listens to fully appreciate. I’m not really a big fan of their music, sometimes its too much drums and not enough riffs. That doesn’t mean I won’t enjoy this album, because I have no doubt of their incredible talent, and their ability to get the best out of mainstream artists. So let’s see…

1. Intro – N/A

2. Light You’re A** On Fire – 1/5
(Busta Rhymes)
Electro percussion sounding beat. Party banger has Busta laying a lot of average verses. This is just a lethargic track, which fails to break any new ground what so ever.

3. Blaze Of Glory – 3/5
(Pharell & Clipse)
Sample orchestra beat. The Clipse and Pharell work well together, and this song is no different. The harder rhymes give this song a good energy, and the interlaced spacey effects give the beat the depth it needs.

4. It Wasn’t Us – 3/5
(Ludacris)
Better party banger, with a tight bouncing beat. I’m not a fan of Ludacris, so this song was average for me, but Luda’s fans would enjoy it.

5. Frontin – 4.5/5
(Pharell & Jay-Z)
Smooth soul chart hit, with a chilled beat. Vocally Pharell isn’t amazing, but he does have an original style with plenty of character. The more I hear this song the more I like it, it’s pure commercial with a nice funky tip, and great production. Jay-Z works well in this track, giving it a little edge. I have to say it again but the beat is whoa. Nice.
"Trying to be the best girlfriend you could be
But still you sneak and look at me, and girl I love it
Then you give your other girl a shove
Tell her you gon' palm her a** like it was
And she's gon love it (whoa-oh whoa, yeah yeah)"

6. Good Girl – 2/5
(Vanessa Marquez)
Drum heavy track with a little synth and piano. The production is much better than the actual song, which is just another lame R&B joint. Vanessa Marquez fails to bring anything great to this song; she just sounds like every other fledgling R&B singer.

7. If – 3.5/5
(Nelly)
Tight bouncing piano beat. The beat is wasted on Nelly, who just raps his normal singy style. If you like Nelly, you’d love this track, as its really well produced. If you dislike Nelly, well this isn’t going to change your mind.

8. Hot – 4/5
(Roscoe P Coldchain feat. Pusha T and Boo Bonic)
Raw vinyl track, with minimalist sound. This track gives the MC’s a chance to shine, and while the MC’s make a good fist of it, none of them kill it. The tracks kinda dope though.

9. It Blows My Mind – 4/5
(Snoop Dogg)
Hard bass track will pound your ears. Another raw sounding track, actually works well, even with Snoop. Snoop spits some better than average rhymes about smokin weed (I thought Snoop quit). The subject matter is very played out, but Snoop rhymes well with this bangin beat.

10. Half Steering – 1/5
(Spymob)
Wanky pop rock feels over produced. Awful track. Next.

11. F**kin Spend – 3.5/5
(High Speed Scene)
Pop punk track will appeal to teenagers. Short but sweet.

12. Loser – 2.5/5
(N.E.R.D feat. Clipse)
Soft rock track has an infectious beat. Clipse rap tight over the rocky beat, but the subject matter about not being losers is very teeny boppish. Average.

13. Rock And Roll – 4/5
(Famlay)
Darker track with heavily synthesised beats. Famlay flow well on this joint, sounding like late 80’s gangster rappers. Sometimes the beats overshadow the rapping, however as a whole this song is tight. Good.

14. Don Of The Dons (Put De Ting Pon) – 2.5/5
(Jadakiss feat. Supercat)
Reggae track in the vain of Sean Paul. The beat has a little too much going on, and Supcats reggae flow is nice but ineffective. Jadakiss spits gangsta venom with an assortment of hip-hop cliches.

15. Cot Damn – 4.5/5
(Clipse feat. Ab-Liva and Roscoe P Coldchain)
Clipse fans will recognise this track from their Lord Willin album. It’s a good hip-hop track, and is one of the best joints on this compilation. Tight rhymes and a cruisy beat, will have you screaming ‘Cot Damn’ in no time.

16. Put Em Up – 2/5
(NORE feat. Pharell)
Bouncy party banger. Noreaga has done much better than this joint. Anyone looking for a bouncy joint for their car may like this, for me it’s a played out party track.

17. Pop S**t – 4/5
(Dirt McGirt feat. Pharell)
ODB has done some of his best stuff with The Neptunes, and this track brings out his deranged style well, with mental beats, and crazy chatter. There is only one Dirty, and like always his entertaining but never brilliant. Good to see him outta jail doing what he does best.

18. Popular Thug – 1.5/5
(Kelis feat. Nas)
Once again the beat is too busy, and overshadows the very talented Nas and Kelis. The track is pure commercial, but not great. I was hoping for more than this average effort from these two. Nas’ rhymes are up there with his worse. I hate when he raps about money and being a thug, it just doesn’t work. Disappointing.

This is a strictly by the numbers compilation joint. Some good songs, a few bad, and the rest are just to played out to enjoy to any great deal. The poppy rock tracks on this album, may be there to show The Neptunes range of abilities, but only highlight, that they are good with R&B and Hip-Hop, and not much else. Considering the calibre of artists on this album, I was hoping for a few more stand out joints, but ended up being constantly disappointed. Overall the production is very good, as far as commercial music goes. However I wish The Neptunes peeled back the production on a few tracks that feel over produced, which unfortunately over shadow the artists.

If you like light commercial Hip-Hop, than your bound to like this album. The variety of guests and styles will keep it interesting enough for you to give it a few rotations. Its not a classic album by any standards, however when compared to other commercial artists albums like Britney Spears, N’Sync or Nelly, its not bad either. If you’re into hardcore Hip-Hop than this album really isn’t for you, it’s too pop driven, and the rock tracks will make your ears bleed. I personally won’t bother playing this joint much, but I’m sure my teenage sister will enjoy it.


Recommended
No

Great Music to Play While: Driving  

http://www.epinions.com/content_110014992004


This album recieved 3 Mics in the Source.....BS
Go support him and go buy it!
 

West C. Connected

  • Guest
Re:The Neptunes Presents Clones
« Reply #1 on: October 03, 2003, 02:20:52 PM »
You defintly shouldn't rate any track of this album lyrically.
I like the beats on the album, surprised me because most of the
recent Neptunes beats (recent = before this album was released)
disapointed me because of their similarity. Btw, the intro sounds  :o
 

Lincoln

  • Muthafuckin' Don!
  • *****
  • Posts: 4677
  • Karma: -2421
  • The best in the game today....Black Jack Johnson
Re:The Neptunes Presents Clones
« Reply #2 on: October 03, 2003, 10:45:49 PM »
Only track I felt was above average was Cot Damn. I want the time I wasted listening to this album back.

Most hip-hop is now keyboard driven, because the majority of hip-hop workstations have loops and patches that enable somebody with marginal skills to put tracks together,...

Unfortunately, most hip-hop artists gravitated towards the path of least resistance by relying on these pre-set patches. As a result, electric guitar and real musicians became devalued, and a lot of hip-hop now sounds the same.

Paris
 

T.J.

  • Wanksta
  • Muthafuckin' Don!
  • *****
  • Posts: 2072
  • Karma: -18
  • my deck
Re:The Neptunes Presents Clones
« Reply #3 on: October 11, 2003, 12:57:53 AM »
gonne buy this tomorrow, ill let u know what i think of it being a semi-neptunes fan

kick ass album
 

Kill

  • Muthafuckin' Don!
  • *****
  • Posts: 5859
  • Karma: 254
Re:The Neptunes Presents Clones
« Reply #4 on: December 13, 2003, 04:50:10 AM »
i hated the neptunes like a year ago and I still only feel like 40% of their productions, so I'm not gonna cop this one...heard a few joints though and they were ok