The Bar Exam and Recovery

"Ladies and Gentleman, we have Eli Porter on guitar!"

The first album I will talk about is not really an album. It's a mixtape, by one of the many rappers nowadays that feels more comfortable making a career out of mixtapes than of albums. Royce Da 5'9's "Bar Exam 3: The Most Interesting Man" is an entertaining affair that is more focused on making the listener laugh than any other previous mixtape by him. Making fun of skinny jeans, using viral video samples, and penis and vagina jokes are some of the funny reoccurring gags in the tape. Even after 10+ years in the game, Royce is a growing artist that improves with each of his outputs. His flow, lyrics and punchlines (for the most part) are on point. There's not really a skippable track, even the skits will be worth a repeat for how hilarious they are. The only complaint I have is that Royce talks about his gun and dick too much. It's like he's obsessed with both (I wouldn't be surprised if his dick was actually small). He needs to get off of that because it gets really repetitive and as talented of a lyricist he is he should get on other subjects.

Highlights:
Top of the World (Best track on the album)
Nobody Fucking With Us (Bun B KILLS this)
Vagina (Really silly but it never gets old)
Psycho

Low points:
Beamer, Benz, or Bentley (I hate this beat, it's been rapped on to death, and more gun and dick rap)

**** There is a DJ and no DJ version of Bar Exam. Do yourslef a favor and get the no DJ version.

The next album is by a former friend (or did they make up...) of Royce; Eminem's "Recovery". Interestingly enough, as the album starts we don't get Em. Some whiny, shitty singer takes over probably thinking he's doing a good job. Then he comes back again 4 tracks later, then almost every track after he's on. Who is this guy you may wonder? Well, it's credited to Eminem, but my theory is that it's some secret alter-ego. Couldn't be Slim Shady because Slim Shady actually knows better despite being a lunatic. Maybe it's Slim Eezy, thinking he's a cousin to Lil Weezy or Lil Yeezy and can too be a shitty singer-rapper. On Talkin 2 Myself, Em proclaims that he feels like he's back and that he apologizes for his last album. Relapse was no treasure, but at least it had tracks like Medicine Ball, Must Be the Ganja, and Undergound that were just sick. There's nothing on Refill that really stands out. He does a lot of things right such as going back to his flow that works, improving his lyrics (his lyrics are technical, using careful wordplay and syllable counts), and not using a random accent. But his punchlines can be really corny (shake that ass like a donkey with Parkinson...), the sample choices are terrible (What is Love, really? was that a joke, and then the cheesy choice of Changes by Black Sabbath), and the guest spots are extremely disappointing (we get Lil Wayne instead of the hopeful Slaughterhouse). And then there are too many metaphors about fucking the Earth, or sometimes it will be something else like the rap game. Those metaphors are not clever (that goes for the Royce album too). Also, I think the albums would have actually benefited from skits. Eminem is usually the only one that knows how to do them correctly and without them it doesn't feel like an Em album.

Highlights:
Talkin 2 Myself
On Fire
Untitled
Won't Back Down (Pink is surprisingly not bad on the hook, just the donkey line and one or two others are weak. But the verses may be the best on the album.)

Low Points:
You're Never Over
Space Bound
No Love

**1/2 Overall, lyrically he's very good, not at his best though, and everything else about Recovery is embarrassing.

The bonus tracks for the album came out today and they are better than anything on the album. One features Slaughterhouse and the other is a Dre beat!



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All of my ratings are out of 5 stars.
*****=Classic
****=Very Good
***=Good
**=Sub-par
*=KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!