Just yesterday, XX/\/\E dropped one of his better singles on his Soundcloud. Overall, it signified his development as a storyteller and depicted his life. Even though his delivery was a bit awkward on this track, it kind of fit in with the subject matter.
Production-wise, goonf!sh delivered. The beat was trippy, yet minimalistic at the same time, similiar to the cover art of this single. The drum pattern was a bit quiet, but it didn't take away from the song all that much. XX's flow was pretty nice too. Overall, I feel like XX is improving even more. I could see this on a dope storytelling mixtape.
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Out of the three singles released so far off of Alanda$$'s Shipwrecked EP, this is definitely my favorite. Its lush and dreamy production tantalizes the ears of the listener in a good way, and its watery theme fits in with its sexual theme.
No...these lyrics weren't great, but they served their purpose. Throughout the course of the song, Dahwoo empowers his girl while doubting himself at the same time, making it an interesting song conceptually. The one aspect of this song I wasn't so keen about was the Asian porn samples, which fit in a little, but didn't really feel necessary. Overall, this is a cool theme-based song which gives a new perspective on sex songs. Yes...it could sound a bit more professional, but Alanda$$ seems to know what he is doing for now. I'm still anticipating his upcoming project. 
Well...I finally got a chance to listen to this album (Ghost Stories). Even though I wasn't wild about it lyrically, I liked it from an artistic. "Midnight" specifically stood out to me due to its haunting vocal distortion filters. I also think this song is a bit overlooked lyrically. Martin is obviously telling a story as he sings "leave a light on", presumably after his divorce with Gwyneth Paltrow. I also like his use of imagery intricately weaved into lyrics such as: But bleed from thorns Another aspect of this track that lulled me was its beautiful instrumental and its melody. Overall, there's just a lot of substance in this track that keeps drawing me in. That is why it is my favorite track of the week.
That is all...stay tuned for more true music reviews! 
True Music Reviews does not claim ownership over the Abstract mixtape artwork. Full credits go to K-Mars and everybody else who was associated with the creation of this mixtape cover who is unknown to us. 
K-Mars is a rapper hailing from Rap Genius who recently released his debut mixtape, Abstract. Overall, I couldn't really get much from the mixtape and there are few tracks that I could say that I enjoyed listening to. Let's begin. Track 1) Abstract From this intro track, K-Mars gave off a few impressions. For a start, I immediately noticed that his mic quality was quite awful, and was kind of a red flag for the rest of the mixtape. Throughout the course of the intro, Mars explained that his art is “abstract” and “difficult to understand”. Perhaps an excuse for laziness? Let’s find out! Track 2) 915 My predictions were fulfilled within this song. The first thirty seconds of this song were nice, but then some country guitar chords came along with the beat, and the track just went downhill from there. K-Mars’s quality wasn’t completely unlistenable, but it is still pretty pitiful and the rock-guitar beat just doesn't seem to work with the track. I’m not too impressed so far…I’m still ready to have my opinion of Mars changed though. Track 3) May Day One thing I have to say…these lyrics are actually pretty damn dope. Yes…they are braggadocious and Mars’s delivery is a bit too aggressive for my enjoyment, but he just went off and did his thing. Even though the production was a bit cringe-worthy, it’s an improvement. Still…you got to love the Talladega Nights sample. Track 4) Algae Damn…either this tracks is either a complex metaphor or complete bullshit…I’m not sure which one it is. The beat sounded a bit amateur, but you know…it fit in. I (think) enjoyed the subject matter of the song, as this is the most personal K-Mars has gotten so far. I’m interested in hearing more. Track 5) Bam Bam Over a heavily-based beat, K-Mars manages to catch my attention with semi-conscious lyrics, referencing materialism. This track also features an attempt at mixing and mastering…which certainly improves its quality over a lot of the others. Compared to the first four tracks, “Bam Bam” is pretty damn amazing. I was a bit skeptical at first, but I am beginning to really enjoy this. Track 6) Celebrate Life feat. Rashad Abstract No…this track wasn’t terrible but it resembled the quality of the first few tracks a lot more than the previous too. The production was mediocre at best, K-Mars’s singing was pretty damn horrid, and I have no clue what filter was put on the guest feature Lyrically, this shit wasn’t terrible. There was some cool ice wordplay within K-Mars’s verse, and his guest feature also spit a tight verse. However, some of the rhyme schemes sound like they were taken straight off of rhymezone.com. Hmm… Track 7) Picasso I’m sorry, but this may be one of the most cringe-worthy tracks I have ever heard. The singing and microphone quality by Mr. K-Mars himself made me want to crawl up into the corner of my bedroom and cry. The repeated lyrics were also pretty pitiful. I feel like this track was trying to be conscious…but I just don’t think K-Mars got what he wanted. This track could have been a lot better if K-Mars paid a bit more attention to quality, but I was certainly not impressed. Track 8) Changes I do appreciate the change in subject matter, but the lyrics once again were pretty damn pitiful. The beat was pretty smooth and clean…I just thought the producer should have taken the filter s/he used off of the drum pattern. K-Mars needs to step up his flow game though. Track 9) Pound I’m sure most of you all have heard of Drake’s “Pound Cake”, which was one of the biggest rap songs of last year. These lyrics were among the better ones on this mixtape, and you can’t help but love the Ellie Goulding sampled beat. This also is one of K-Mar’s best tracks flow-wise. Track 10) Rain feat. Alpha T REX The first thing I have to point out is this lyric from the guest feature: In this world full of cooties 
Overall, the track was actually pretty decent though. I enjoyed listening to the production, even though I didn’t love it. K-Mars also had a nice verse lyrically, wordplay-wise, and flow-wise. However, I felt like the guest feature really killed the vibe of the song. What would you expect with that name though… Track 11) Double Cheeseburger (Remix) Domo Genesis completely renegaded K-Mars (even though he was part of the original song). However, Mars delivered one of his better verses on this track. Both artists used nice wordplay and managed to remain on beat with a smooth flow. The production and title of this track were pretty cringeworthy on the other hand. Both are very amateur and probably didn’t take much time to come up with. K-Mars just simply needs to be careful about what beats he chooses. Track 12) No Einstein (On The Spot) Once again, K-Mars proves that he is the epitome of mediocrity as he spits below-average verse over a low quality instrumental (the “Blood On The Leaves” sample is pretty nice though). K-Mars seriously does need to stop bragging about his raps though… The hook on this track was surprisingly somewhat catchy. I also enjoyed a couple of his lyrics and Kanye West references. Track 13) Celebration The Thanksgiving intro kind of set the song up to be a cool concept track, and K-Mars kept up with the theme of the track throughout the length of the song. Even though some of the lyrics seemed a bit far-fetched (I’m close to being famous) while others are just downright bad (I’m thanking god that I’m not getting faded). The production of this track was pretty nice, but this is probably the weakest track on the mixtape flow-wise. This is certainly one of the better tracks on the tape though. Track 14) Abstract Outro K-Mars’s speech at the beginning of this track was pretty damn inspirational, but a lot of the track was used for him to promote his other music. If I were him, I wouldn’t bother doing so…it makes you look self-centered. MY FAVORITE TRACKS3) Changes Lyrically, this track wasn’t all that great but I suppose K-Mars got the job done. The true highlight of this track is K-Mars’s flow, which rolled over the beat quite nicely. I also found my enjoying the production and its sampled hook. 2) Pound You can’t deny that Drake’s “Pound Cake” beat is fucking amazing…once again K-Mars stepped up his game with his flow on this track. This also contains one of K-Mars’s better verses lyrically on this mixtape. 1) Bam Bam I will have to admit right now...this track certainly raised my expectations for this tape after listening to the other tracks prior to it. With the smoothest beat, best lyrics, mixing/mastering, and overall listenability, this easily took the cake. SUGGESTIONS
 This week has been a pretty good one for music...however, you had to expect this. I reviewed it the day it came out, and I loved it on first listen. Even though it is among one of Lorde's weakest songs lyrically, it still is spectacular. Just lyrically, this track is genius. It is written from a double perspective, has a lot of themes and wordplay, and demonstrates Lorde's natural gift of imagery. The production was dark yet upbeat at the same time...fitting along with the subject matter of the song. More importantly, I feel like this track fits perfectly with the theme of the Hunger Games. In conclusion, this song is spectacular and definitely got me a lot more hyped for Lorde's upcoming album. She has been confirmed to be working with Kanye West, another one of my favorite artists. If you have not already, I would go ahead and give the track a listen! Lyrics
Aland$$ is a producer whose Shipwrecked EP is set to be released in the near future. Overall, I didn't really dig the singing/rapping on the track, but I enjoyed the instrumental far more than his previous single, due to its more professional quality.
No...the lyrics weren't terrible, but their subject matter is a bit vague, and they just lacked depth. The autotune fit in with the song though...I quite liked that part of the song. I'm not sure if Alanda$$ wrote this or not, but if he did, he needs to improve this writing skills. In conclusion, this single was pretty dope, and got me a bit more hyped for the upcoming Shipwrecked EP.  True Music Review does not claim ownership over the Cruz Control mixtape cover. Full credits go to Cruz and anybody else who was associated with the creation of this mixtape cover.  Cruz is a semi-famous rapper who is probably best known for his contributions to the official Rap Genius mixtape. This up and coming rapper has a handful of mixtapes in his growing discography. Overall, I really liked the vibes of this mixtape, even though it has its flaws. Let's begin. Track 1) Feel Good Overall, the positivity of the track caught my attention in a good way. I felt like this was a nice way to start this mixtape. I liked Cruz’s use of storytelling throughout the track, and I even enjoyed the jazzy instrumental after a few listens. If I had to make one complaint, it will have to be on the rhyme schemes. This has always been an issue with Cruz…a lot of them just feel a bit lackluster and easy to come up with. Another minor problem I discovered is that the hook feels filler to me. It’s still a good track though. Track 2) It’s True |
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