RollingStone reviews B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray

[Detox Iz Not Active]

 By  Jody Rosen

Atlanta MC Bobby Ray's debut album can be filed next to those by Wale and Kid Cudi: He's a left-of-center rap hero whose skills lag somewhere several miles south of his hipster bona fides. The guest list is formidably diverse: Janelle Monáe, T.I., Eminem, Rivers Cuomo, Paramore's Hayley Williams. The beats are quirky and peppy. (Check out Dr. Luke's power-pop-rap hybrid, "Magic.") B.o.B's got a Georgia drawl and tasty flow, but his witless boasts — "I sing just like Aretha/So respect me like I'm Caesar"; "When I'm up on the stage, they sangin'/But as soon as I step off, they hatin'" — leave you wondering what on Earth the bloggers are fussing about.


2.5/5


http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumReviews










ether

[NotoriousTDA]

what did rolling stone say about cudi's album i wonder?

[Young Old Head]

what did rolling stone say about cudi's album i wonder?

The music is engrossing and Cudi’s angst genuine (he mourns his dead father), but his raps get pedestrian (“Gray clouds up above, man/ Metaphor to my life, man”). And asserting ad nauseam that he is a “lonely stoner” is just annoying—a hipster boast masquerading as a confession.
3 out of 5

[Meho]

The album was very poor, low replay value. B.O.B. definitely got talent (his raps are weak but he's decent singer) but that was nowhere to be seen on the album, he really went the easy route. Not a good move in the long run imo, his singles are popping but the album will flop.

[Chamillitary Click]

what did rolling stone say about cudi's album i wonder?

The music is engrossing and Cudi’s angst genuine (he mourns his dead father), but his raps get pedestrian (“Gray clouds up above, man/ Metaphor to my life, man”). And asserting ad nauseam that he is a “lonely stoner” is just annoying—a hipster boast masquerading as a confession.
3 out of 5

LOL, that should strip them of credibility.

[Jaydc]

By  Jody Rosen

Atlanta MC Bobby Ray's debut album can be filed next to those by Wale and Kid Cudi: He's a left-of-center rap hero whose skills lag somewhere several miles south of his hipster bona fides. The guest list is formidably diverse: Janelle Monáe, T.I., Eminem, Rivers Cuomo, Paramore's Hayley Williams. The beats are quirky and peppy. (Check out Dr. Luke's power-pop-rap hybrid, "Magic.") B.o.B's got a Georgia drawl and tasty flow, but his witless boasts — "I sing just like Aretha/So respect me like I'm Caesar"; "When I'm up on the stage, they sangin'/But as soon as I step off, they hatin'" — leave you wondering what on Earth the bloggers are fussing about.


2.5/5


http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumReviews










ether

review of malice in wonderland

Who is Snoop Dogg, and just what has he done to become the single most iconic rapper of his generation -- a porn director, a reality TV staple, a pee-wee football coach, a walking embodiment of California stoner culture? The answer dates back to 1993, when the DO-double-G and his French braids were the hottest shit going. Thanks to Snoop’s casual, scowling delivery and simmering beats from G-funk pioneer Dr. Dre, Doggystyle was a whopping juggernaut, easily outselling Enter the Wu-Tang and Midnight Marauders and morphing into a benchmark against which all other blunt-fueled party-hop will forever be judged.

 

That album cemented Snoop’s reputation as the most effortlessly charming young rapper in the world, but it also did irreparable damage: He seems to have lost every shred of musical ambition that had driven his debut. He’s a smart guy, and he’s continued to be a commercial titan by working with an eclectic array of producers (Master P, the Neptunes, Teddy Riley, Lil’ Jon, Shawty Redd) without compromising his central likeability, but he’s not exactly an artistic virtuoso. Snoop’s last record, Ego Trippin, had a handful of thrillingly experimental tracks and a lot of unbearably tepid ones. The media responded by rubberstamping Trippin with obligatory three-star reviews. Figures. No one expects anything from the guy, so they can’t muster up the frustration to pan him.

 

Malice N Wonderland is not, by and large, very ambitious. For the most part, Ego Trippin' was intensely, exhaustingly boring, but tucked away in all of that dreariness were bursts of thrilling peculiarity: sleazy ‘80s funk tracks (“Cool”), guitar-strumming Johnny Cash homages (“My Medicine”), sparkling electro-pop (“Sensual Seduction”). Malice lacks that diversity, that spontaneity; if anything, it takes the concept of playing it safe to an obnoxious extreme. A prime example is “Pronto,” which sounds like a Rebirth leak with an Auto-Tuned hook from Soulja Boy. It’s as if Snoop actively tried to fit every loathsome hip-hop trend into one loathsome track.

 



Snoop’s big-talking, bad-bitch-craving lyrics are as pedestrian as ever, his flow still leisurely and assured. He mentions his “rich sponsors.” He dedicates skits to taunting haters, which is odd, since he generally doesn’t provoke feelings of hatred -- just indifference. And he makes empty promises to his wife, shortly after declaring that “pimpin’ ain’t easy.” But all is forgiven on “Gangsta Luv,” which hits the speakers with a splashy thump and is cheery enough to perk up frigid Northeast Ohio.

 

But the truest test of any MC is whether or not he can overcome the balmy, fireplace-ready boardwork of Pharrell. On “Special,” the formulaic, pseudo-quirky producer grants Snoop the same kind of mildly agreeable beat and hook he gave Clipse on “I’m Good.” Snoop’s response? Sweet nothings. He compares life to a carnival, describes a romantic getaway to France, and promises to give up weed.

 

So, I’ll ask again: Who is Snoop Dogg? Well, for one, he’s a hell of a liar

ether

[BOX5 the best poster on this site yell]

By  Jody Rosen

Atlanta MC Bobby Ray's debut album can be filed next to those by Wale and Kid Cudi: He's a left-of-center rap hero whose skills lag somewhere several miles south of his hipster bona fides. The guest list is formidably diverse: Janelle Monáe, T.I., Eminem, Rivers Cuomo, Paramore's Hayley Williams. The beats are quirky and peppy. (Check out Dr. Luke's power-pop-rap hybrid, "Magic.") B.o.B's got a Georgia drawl and tasty flow, but his witless boasts — "I sing just like Aretha/So respect me like I'm Caesar"; "When I'm up on the stage, they sangin'/But as soon as I step off, they hatin'" — leave you wondering what on Earth the bloggers are fussing about.


2.5/5


http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumReviews










ether

tho i can give a fucc about a rs mag, i agree with this guy being hyped as a rapper,i'm sorry that shit he does is more pop then b.e.p. yell

[NotoriousTDA]

yeah rolling stone seems sketchy with the reviews but i'll take meho's word for it and NOT download this album.

i downloaded B.o.b's "best mixtape" B.O.B vs Bobby Ray and was only feeling a couple songs off that soo....

[Chamillitary Click]

i never understood why people put stock into magazines opinion.

it's just one persons opinion.

literally anyone could get that job, so literally anybody could be saying what they want.

for example, i could get that job & write a great review for a Joe Budden album, but most of you wouldn't agree with it lol; so why listen to this guy?

[BOX5 the best poster on this site yell]

i never understood why people put stock into magazines opinion.

it's just one persons opinion.

literally anyone could get that job, so literally anybody could be saying what they want.

for example, i could get that job & write a great review for a Joe Budden album, but most of you wouldn't agree with it lol; so why listen to this guy?

so true my equal,but it was a time when they was on some networth shit with the music,tho it was before any of our times hahaha yell

[Lunatic]

haha ether with posting the snoop review 

anyways as mentioned, this is 1 person's opinion and it's hardly in depth. I would like to see more arguments or a track by track breakdown or something. I mean, it's a few sentences review.

[Episcop Cruel Cvrle]

Dont Let Me Fall
Nothing On You
Airplanes 1&2
Ghost In The Machine
Bet I Bust
 
those are constantly in rotation.

very good album indeed,

[the ghost]

Actually I agree with a 2.5 rating for BOB , but Cudi should have been a solid 4.

[BuddenzNasir]

this album is constantly hitting in my car, it'll be hard for a lot of people to really feel this album i felt like, and it seems to be true.

[K.Dub]

When it comes down to it, who really cares about album reviews?