Good Ass Job:Not the next illmatic?

[Jaydc]

Like Eminem’s Recovery, Kanye West’s Good Ass Job, or whatever it’s gonna be called, looks like it could be one of those things that seemed like a good idea, but it turned out to be some ol’ bullshit.

Since I published my post the other day on how I’m no longer nearly as psyched for the new Eminem album as I had been, because I find the lead single kinda guy (unlike that “Despicable” freestyle, which was the freestyle equivalent of tits), the tracklist for Recovery hit the Internets. It was posted by RapPravda, which is secretly co-owned by Eminem, and hence probably shouldn’t report on Eminem, or at the very least should issue some sort of disclaimer. You can’t tell too much about how an album will sound based on its tracklist, aside from the fact that, if it’s got a lot of generic song titles, like “On Fire,” the artist might be out of good ideas, but I notice Recovery has songs with Pink and Rihanna - which can’t possibly be a good thing. Even if you’re gonna have songs with R&B chicks singing the chorus, those aren’t the two you wanna get. Rihanna can’t sing for shit. That may have even been part of the reason Chris Brown put a shoe on her. I’ll always love Pink, from back when she was a wigger (remember that first video she had?), but I can’t stand her music. The only other features on the album, besides Pink and Rihanna, are Lil Wayne, and someone named Kobe, who may or may not be Kobe Bryant, of the LA Lakers. Admittedly, that could be cool, if it’s the long-awaited response to Katelyn Faber’s “Kobe, Tell Me Why My Ass Bled.” But something tells me it isn’t.

I was never looking forward to the new Kanye album the way I was looking forward to the new Eminem album, but I did kinda like the idea of it. Even a Kanye West album produced by the likes of Pete Rock and the RZA is bound to suck balls, because it’s gonna have Kanye West rapping all over it, but I figured at the very least it might have a positive effect on hip-hop - or, a more positive effect than the typical Kanye West album anyway. Whatever Kanye West puts out, we’re gonna be hearing it on the radio ad nauseum, even if it’s just a bunch of songs in autotune about how he secretly fantasizes about killing his ex-fiance, to the tune of songs by Phil Collins and Tears for Fears. In this new song “Power,” he congratulates himself for the (actually rather marginal) commercial success of 808s & Heartbreak, despite it being such a bad idea, but I’m not sure if it should really count for anything, if there’s nothing to suggest that there’s a certain low he could reach where he wouldn’t go at least 1x platinum. He might be like Jay-Z, in that sense. At any rate, I figure there’s worse things we could hear on the radio than what we’ve led to believe Good Ass Job will sound like. Who knows, today’s youth might develop an appreciation of real hip-hop just yet. They might pretend to anyway, if Good Ass Job performs well in the marketplace. Those cynical fucks.

But it looks like Good Ass Job might not sound any different from the first few Kanye albums. (The horror!) So far, all we’ve heard from it is “Power,” and there’s nothing about that song that suggests to me real hip-hop, of the Rock the Bells/aging fat white kids in cargo shorts variety. Instead, it sounds like something from one of the first couple of Kanye albums. Literally. Like some douche took one of the songs from College Dropout, or Late Registration, loaded it up in whatever computer program people use to make rap music these days, deleted a few of the samples and replaced them with those samples from King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man.” I read an interview the other day with the guy Kanye hired to produce “Power,” after he heard some beats the guy did on a mixtape by Rhymefest. He seemed shocked and elated that he’d gone from working with Rhymefest, i.e. the absolute depths of obscurity and career failure, to producing the lead single on the new Kanye album. I was more concerned with the fact that Kanye is bringing in people to do his beats for him. I could see bringing in guys like Pete Rock and the RZA, to capture a certain sound, but why would he need someone else to produce the same shit he’s been producing? Has he gotten that lazy? Does he hire a special guy to press the button on his sampler that speeds up classic soul records, lest his finger get dirty? Tha fuck?

Let me guess - the fact that Kanye purchased a knockoff version of one of his own mid ’00s-era beats and released it as the first single from Good Ass Job was hardly any accident. The idea all along was to produce something along the lines of Late Registration, his most commercially successful album. (I just checked.) All that talk about bringing in collaborators an aging hater such as myself could appreciate was just a PR move, in case people were still pissed about 808s & Heartbreak, and the incident at the MTV Awards. Pete Rock and the RZA might still show up on the album, albeit in highly diluted form, but they were essentially used for their street cred, similar to VH1’s arrangement with Fab 5 Freddy. I hope they were paid well.
http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=81203

[Action!]

There's no telling until it drops so a lot of this is speculation and pessimism from someone who self-admittedly does not like Kanye West.

Additionally, who said it was the next Illmatic?  Just cause he brought in some producers who worked on it?  Come on, stop reaching

[Bananas]

byron crawford is like the perez hilton of hip hop.

[M Dogg™]

I don't care about the next Illmatic, as long as I get the next College Dropout, or the next Late Registration, I'll be happy.

[Jaydc]

byron crawford is like the perez hilton of hip hop.

You already agreed that hes the best hip hop blogger on the net,now hes the perez hilton?You must be a fan of perez hilton then.

Anyway,I think hes funny,I dont take the articles completely serious,I read them for teh lulz.

[you gon always be my latin queen bitch]

money on it....wont be what college dropout was

I don't care about the next Illmatic, as long as I get the next College Dropout, or the next Late Registration, I'll be happy.

[Action!]

byron crawford is like the perez hilton of hip hop.

You already agreed that hes the best hip hop blogger on the net,now hes the perez hilton?You must be a fan of perez hilton then.

Anyway,I think hes funny,I dont take the articles completely serious,I read them for teh lulz.

I've see you post his work before and I agree past material has been amusing while spot on but this is really off base and unfunny.

[Chamillitary Click]

But it looks like Good Ass Job might not sound any different from the first few Kanye albums. (The horror!)

i loved each of his first three albums, so right there me & this guy aren't seeing eye to eye lol.

honestly, if "Good Ass Job" sounds ANYTHING close to ANY three of those albums, i'll be more than satisfied, especially after we lost him to whatever the fuck he was thinking singing lol.

but i think we can all be in agreement that "Power", if the lead single to this album, is easily his worst single for an (Hip Hop) album; not that it's terrible, but it's just not as good as his past singles.

i'm rooting for Kanye to make a Hip Hop comeback but we'll just have to see.

& why did this guy compare it to "Illmatic"? nobody said that..lol.

[Jaydc]

I dont know man,the kobe line,the part about 808s and heartbreak and jay z,and the part about having kanye needing someone to press teh speed up button on samples made me laugh.And the rock bells aging white guy in cargos made me lol as well.

[you gon always be my latin queen bitch]

and that illmatic reference is bein used cuz kanye himself or someone was sayin this might be the next huge and best album since illmatic or some shit

[Action!]

I think he's a good writer because he covers his harsh criticism with jokes.  

Basically, he doesn't like Kanye West's as an MC due to his vocals and thinks this new record isn't that great especially since Ye didn't produce it but had to outsource to someone else to try to create sound that he blew up on.  

All of which is more or less true.  Kanye West never had a great flow or has never been a great vocalist.

And, it does say something if Ye has to outsource to someone else to create a beat he's known for creating.  What does it say?  some will say he's losing his ear, others will say something more positive like Ye is becoming more like Just Blaze where he'll get a track and then make it into a hit.

Power is dope but it's no game changer.  

I've liked all of Ye albums, even 808s despite it's self-indulgent denial.


I wouldn't put it past Ye to say that illmatic comment but I'd like to see a source.  

[you gon always be my latin queen bitch]

what was kanye's first single on college drop out? cant remember

[Jaydc]

I myself really enjoy kanye,I enjoy his vocals.I listened to 808s a couple times and I enjoyed some of the beats and a I bump a couple songs form it but some of it was just awful.im looking forward to good ass job.Hes really improved his flow and lyrics since college dropout,which for me was a classic album.

his first single was through the wire.

[you gon always be my latin queen bitch]

damn that was his single?  good song but cant listen to it too much
get em high is dope
jesus walks>>>>>through the wire
IMO homecomin is his  best single period

[Action!]

I myself really enjoy kanye,I enjoy his vocals.I listened to 808s a couple times and I enjoyed some of the beats and a I bump a couple songs form it but some of it was just awful.im looking forward to good ass job.Hes really improved his flow and lyrics since college dropout,which for me was a classic album.

his first single was through the wire.

Kanye West is a weird one to discuss because he's been this weird breed of producer/mc/a&r cat.  All of his album are representative of his ideas but it's like he's an a&r and has a talent pool of people to source from.    Similar to how Dr. Dre will create a beat.  It's a huge collaborative effort.  

A great example is Jesus Walks which is essentially a rhymefest & Ye collabo marketed as a ye track. 


So, one one hand I totally agree that's it's a classic album but on the other hand I can't.

I do agree he's improved as an mc on all grounds.

I was never bothered by his vocals or his flow so he's always sounded good for me.