Young Jeezy - The Recession
MusicMash Rating: not rated yet
thephoenix.com Rating: 0
Young Jeezy made a number of good decisions in crafting The Recession, but the best was to disregard raps stupider commercial requisites. So: only one slow jam, barely any guest verses, no stilted attempts to broaden his audience, and — deep breath — no auto-tune. Neither, however, will you hear any ill-advised formal experiments or state-of-hip-hop laments. Remember, Jeezy disdains rappers, just like the teen movie anti-hero who decries the phoniness of movie stars. He offers the thrilling fantasy of transcending the banal rules to which he is subject and which he has internalized and mastered. Word Play outlines his persona as quickly and dirtily as any sweeping establishing shot from Thug Motivation 101 or 102 (You niggaz want word play but Im bout bird play), but By the Way is the emphatic forward leap: looped atop a ridiculously huge beat built from ridiculously lo-fi Midi synths, those three indifferent words become a rap in-joke to end¤all...
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