Flag.On.The.Play

Complex Magazine

First and foremost- I applaud Complex magazine. I am an avid reader and writer. I like music and writing. I would be a fool to trash another for doing what I do all the time. The whole point of my excuse of a blog is to throw two cents on all things media, urban, rap, blah, blah. I also do not write to discredit the artists I write on. These people are entertainers and offer their art to the world as a living. I applaud artists as well, I am not in your shoes. I'm a kid behind a Mac.

Are you done being politically correct?

Yeah.

Complex Magazine And That 50 best Album List

That sh!t was wack, brah.

I went on a Twitter rant. I went into a ceaseless, sarcastic, and maniacal rant on how I couldn't grasp the ranking system at Complex. To their credit, they try to explain the album why it's ranked where it is. These explanations are like the ones you give your teachers when they ask why you didn't complete an assignment... Useless.

What's good with the list, Tico? Why so hurt?

Daft Punk released an album, Random Access Memories. This album in my raw opinion is beautiful and a necessary break from the usual for Daft Punk. Complex Mag ranked this album 45.

Okay.

They ranked YRN (Young Rich N*ggas) x Migos (Quavo, Takeoff, Offset), as album 44.

Okay then, YRN bangs harder than...

NOPE. And this is my AP English constructed argument peeps...

Count This As A Dual Review

Random Access Memories, in a nutshell, was not only a commercially successful deviation from what Daft Punk usually puts out- it was also a nuevo classic. This album has some longevity in that the songs (while sampling others) will be sampled. The features on the album were diverse and the single used to promote the album was smart. Pharell, being the entertainer he is, is more attuned to a more urban or grittier audience. Daft Punk teamed up with him for Get Lucky- which is pretty catchy and remixable, and put their name on Urban America. Couple these things with the fact that Daft Punk also helped produce what Complex Mag named "Number One Album of the year", Yeezus. So how did Random Access Memories rank below Migos' Young Rich N*ggas?

Yes, tell me how..

Well it's simple. Just as simple as the production on YRN. Apparently club-spins may have to do with rankings. The songs on YRN are, at best, club bangers. In reality they are one-dimensional and very loud. Complex claims the album evokes some sort of energy from the listener... Yeah okay because, hearing about who to call- FEMA- in times of hurricanes- KATRINA- gets me going. 

Commercially this makes no sense: R.A.M sold 19,000 vinyl copies priced at 39.98 first week. I still haven't found how any copies YRN sold. Whenever I search, interestingly enough all search engines will tell me YRN is a mixtape. I knew that though, you can hear it...

Gee, Migos sucks.

No, it isn't that Migos sucks. Their music has a place in 2013, definitely. Listening to their mixtape-wanna-be-album did cause me to raise my arms and "crank". However the place of the album is not above Daft Punk's classic.

Music Does Evoke Emotion, Complex

The feel you get from Migos' music is like the feel you get after going to an awesome party. I mean a really good trap-tastic eager, okay? This feeling is nice to capture while riding to school, cleaning your room, or actually trapping. Daft Punk's album is that mature well-produced stuff though. That music theory, hand me a cigar type flow. If you as a listener haven't progressed to discern the difference, then I feel bad. *Hands you a cookie*

                Complex Magazine's List                                         Random Access Memories 

            

Young Rich N!ggas

 Follow Me On Twitter @iGetSalty

Hard Hitter Pt. 3

HaRd HiTtInG mUsIc?

Hopsin's new and third studio album, Knock Madness, dropped into this beautiful world on 

Noember 24, 2013. I haven't had the chance to listen to a single track from the album

 but his latest "ill-mind" single was dope and a little more vulnerable than usual. I happened 

across a review of the album on xxlmag.com and it seemed that the reviewer was spot on.

ThE tRaCkLiSt LoOkS dOpe

There are 18 tracks on the album, (18 is my lucky number), and these 18 tracks have climbed to

76 on the Billboard 200, 1 on Billboard Heatseekers, and 6 on US Billboard Independent Albums.

Hopsin usually does not disappoint; there is talk of retirement from him on this album. 

Hope that is all balderdash.

XXL MAG!                                                    Wiki HipHop                                                      H0PS!N

Hard Hitter Pt. 2

So... More Hard Hitters?

Of course I'm still writing about Hard Hitters man! We all listen to them weather running in the gym, driving to Starbucks, or dropping the kids off at school- Hard Hitters are omnipresent so listen up.

Ali Bomaye (Meaning Ali, kill him..) is that song that gets you hype about everything. This song actually swam under the radar for me. If your like me here is some background on the song:

Ali Bombaye x The Game ft. 2 Chainz & Rick Ross

Track 2 on Jesus Piece

Also Featured on Radio Los Santos (For My GTA Fans)

How Hard Does It Hit?

Within the scope of three categories: Beats, Content, and Flow. This song

goes and goes and... goes. 

First off CONTENT: the song starts with The Game commenting on social-injustices or outdated thinking. He simultaneously comments on how many of (assumed he's talking about Black America) our Black counterparts are in "chains" or handcuffs. He then blows the sad stereotype of poor and incarcerated colored man with verses filled with things people can only dream of.

Second off BEATS: The Track was produced by Black Metaphor who we've all probably heard but he tends to fly under the radar. He's produced Get Right, In God We Trust, The End, and Sanctuary for Jeezy, Meek Mill, and French Montana, respectively. The beat is a head-bopper. Just enough bass to roll up to a red-light like a thug and enough intricacy to revel in with the team. Rapping over a beat this nice shouldn't be that hard and hopefully we'll see more from @BlackMetaphor, who quote, "Yall will never hear a wack track from me. Ever". Okay man. We better not.

Third off FLOW: Okay so The Game has that OG-Kush-Cali-Gangster flow. There isn't much to be said, what you usually get is present here on the song. 2Chainz has his voice ever present within his verse and Rick Ross as well. The way each artists presents their verse isn't in deviation form how it's done. This isn't a bad thing- all three are consistent. However, because Ross and 2Chainz didn't jazz it up on The Game's song, their verses don't eclipse The Game's at all which is almost a trend lately: features going ham on someone else's song... (Or maybe thats just K.Dot...)

Hard Hitting Conclusion

Ali Bomaye is a dope song and the cool thing is that you can ride dirty to the song in real life or ride dirty virtually in Los Santos! This track encapsulates the feeling you'll get from Jesus Piece. The album and song itself is dope but audience oriented. This song obviously bangs a little harder with peeps from the west coast because they are used to The Game's "listless but angry" gangster flow. In my being an east-coast fan, I can appreciate Jesus Piece to the max but I'll never fully get behind it like a native of LA would I'm sure. 3.5/5

Ali Bomaye Info Jesus Piece Tracklist The Game

P.S.- Shout Out To The Kevin Hart Skit At The End Of The Song... Classic.

Hard Hitter Pt. 1

Big Beats, Big Bars

What's a Hard-Hitter? YO! A song that can help you hammer out a paper

a song that can get you from point A to point B, and that song that straight

up turns you into a rap-star. (You have to sing every lyric). This series here

is dedicated to Hard Hitting songs that "get the people going".

"You Wanna See a Dead-Body?"

Pusha T and Kendrick on a track together is a godsend man. The song Nostalgia is a Hard Hitter and let me dissect why:

Big Beat: 

The beat is different. The bass comes through on the off-beat and the trill trumpet keep s your head bopping. The turned-off snare brings that boom-bap, throw-back cypher feel to the song as well. The throwback ad-libs and samples are perfect, if you've ever seen the video the whole song and experience feels as if you are just walking along side Pusha T and K.dot while they are free-styling.

Big Bars:

Lately it's been tough for people on a track with Kendrick to get their own shine but Pusha T holds his own in the first couple of verses and really digs into his hometown, his grit, and his street personality to drop some science: "20 plus years of selling Johnson and Johnson,  started out a baby faced monster... my teething ring numbed by that nonsense..." He said he was "crack in a school-zone"!! And of course Kendrick doesn't disappoint, spitting another twitter-worthy phrase: "Ya wanna see a dead body?" to start his verse off.

The Conclusion

Nostalgia is that Hard Hitter to get you from Point A to Point B. You're driving, 

walking, or biking, or on the bus.. This song will get you through the commute.

The song is easy going and the music video is authentic and straight forward.

Much respect to them both. 5/5 stars

Birthday.Post

All I Want For My Birthday... Is a Big Cupcake

Yoooo, today marks my birthday. I won't tell you how old I'm turning but it's a milestone birthday- trust me. I've never really shared what the girl behind the reviews is like; and I still won't.

Just Kidding.

Things I Like/Respect/Wonder About: Jesus, Jordans, Pizza, Miley Cyrus, Hip-Hop, EDM, Avicii, Islam, Baby GAP, Polo Ralph Lauren, Skate 3, GTA, Cupcakes, The NFL, The Cowboys, Pro-Era, Lady Gaga, The Sims, My Hatred Of Pants, Justin Bieber, Krabby Paties, Trees

Tico Chanellington, at your service. I write about things big and small, relevant and unknown. I like to write and I like to share. Blogging is a two-birds-one-stone sort of activity for me so I partake as often as I can. Music, movies, video games, places, and even food have been called out so far. I'd like to think that my reviews are my 2-cents, something I would converse over with friends.

I'll push the boundaries of my writing/blogging capabilities and talk about tv, snacks, clothing, and even sports. Why not? I like all of these things, so just as I would talk with my ninjas over something- I'll post for you ninjas.

Happy Birthday to me, (and Zac Efron <3)and thanks for reading!

@iGetSalty                                           @ticonichole           

Gotta.Catch.Em.All

Gameplay: 10-16-13

I Want To Be The Very Best...

Yooooooo, Pokemon X & Y are TOO clutch. If you've been playing Pokemon as long as I have you know how far we've come in the poke-world. There are 718 Pokemon as of this post what with the 69 new Pokemon introduced into this 6th generation. The graphics are all new, the running system, the gameplay, the 2 decade-old-plot even has some twists on it! The game is brand new with a timeless story and it leaves nothing to the imagination.

That no one ever was...

Pokemon X/Y are exclusive to the new 3DS (and now 2DS) systems. The game is not backward compatible as said back in April (thats when I found out), however the game does make use of its operating system. The poke-graphics look good on the Nintendo 3DS screen and 3D mode really does bring the pocket monsters to life! There are some Pokemon that you've got to see hop off your screen.

The game engine is completely different too; the whole game is reminiscent of Pokemon Colosseum  (Albeit a portable, better written, and sleeker look version). The game starts with you choosing your character and a professor giving you a story on Pokemon, the usual stuff right? 

To Catch Them Is My Real Test....

*****SPOILER ALERT*****: Twists on the old story- you get more than one other friend, more than two for those who played gen-4 games, you get to pick a skin tone??!!, the professor is hawt... and your name automatically puts the letters in your name in lower-case!

Other amazing things: The Mega-Evolutions... These are rather hit-miss for me, as I don't see how some of these evolutions are "mega". The artists hired to make Gen-5 pokemon are back on the mega-evolutions and.... sheesh are some stupid. Doesn't make the premise any less exciting though- Pokemon powering up in battle? HECK YEAH.

To Train Them Is My Cause...

I'll leave you all with this:

The game itself is a solid 4/5.

The new game engine, better graphics, new story elements, new pokemon, and mega-evolutions really make a veteran poke-trainer cry. I literally shed a Drake-esqe tear upon playing...

However, if you introduce a skin tone option for characters, actually give us colors to pick from. I was excited to be a black poke trainer until I realized at best I was a tan-filipino poke-trainer... Minor things with the new elements aforementioned not being as wow as I thought are the negatives in game. As a vet though, I pick up on these- a newcomer will fall in love.

GO COP THE GAME AND BATTLE ME SOMETIME, POKEMON OF CHOICE? 

I'm trying to figure out how to get my Gen-3 Swampert into my game...

Pokemon US                                    Info On Pocket Monsters                            Mega Evolutions!

EDIT: (10-18-13) Pictures posted previously were misleading, as they were fan box and poke-art.

Meet.The.Cypher

Where Have I Been....

If you read my blog, you're a real ninja. The lack of posting recently can be attributed to school. WOMP. Education first, man. However, expect more posts coming

 at you soon. I have been on top of my music during my little break; I have much to bring to attention.

Anyways, The BET Awards...

The BET (Black Entertainment Television) Awards Show was this past night, right? This garbage-show was up to its usual mediocre-shadow showing, compared to its counterparts. However, the cyphers were really something. REALLY.

Before I continue, I'll let you in on what a cypher is: Anything cyclical. If your freestyling, you rap in a cypher (one after the other). Interrupting another man will break that cypher, unless he's next in line and the dude behind him is falling off (Urban Dictionary 2013)

The cyphers in general get a 5/5. I was thoroughly impressed and I fell in love with rap all over again. The delivery, the flow, the content, and the group dynamic in each group was refreshing and straight up dope. The bar continually was set higher, and each time, each group would murder the DJ's beat. 

#KendricksVerse

To be honest. I don't know if Kendrick had the best verse or if he was paraded and exalted for a good verse. Bear with me K.Dot fans, I love him as well.

Kendrick's verse had leaked on forums, Youtube, and blogs days before the award show; couple that with the buzz that he has made on Big Sean's song Control.... Kendrick is nice as anything, however, he is on a huge publicity wave right now. I honestly can't call it- whether Kendrick is overrated or just that good. I'm jaded beyond repair after his verse in the cypher.

He came for several people (Drake LOL) and murdered the beat. I can't ask.... nay....we cannot ask, for anymore.

I'll chalk up #KendricksVerse as worth the hype. He's still hungry and I hear it. 

To close and what not,

The BET Awards were terrible as usual.

The BET Cyphers were cray and we should all find them online. 

Lyricism and Passion aren't lost on rap yet.

P.S.- A$AP Twelvyy was dope, as well as Joe Budden. I mean..... SLAYED THE CYPHER.