Friday Night Lights. Happy Birthday

Five years ago, on this date of November 12th, J. Cole released what I consider a top 5 Mixtape of all time... Friday Night Lights. Friday Night Lights is the third mixtape released by J. Cole. I feel this was the release that finally put people on notice about his talent. I won't even lie, this was the first project I heard from Cole. Ironically, when I heard it for the first time around my Freshman year of high school, I thought it was terrible. I only liked one song off it, 2Face. It took me two years until I realized the masterpiece he created. So on its 5th year anniversary, I've decided to review it.

Friday Night Lights is a mixtape about of J. Cole's youth. He rapped on a myriad of topics, so many that it's hard not to relate to something on here. I think what makes this tape so relatable is the way J. Cole told stories on these songs. J. Cole was storytelling. He was descriptive. You could hear all the emotions he dealt with, and that's where J. Cole excels. He tells tales better than any other rapper in the game, and Friday Night Lights is the highlight of it.

So Standout Tracks? I kid you not... All of them. There is not a bad song on this mixtape. So I'll start with my most favorite song on the whole mixtape

Too Deep For The Intro 

For anyone who hasn't heard this mixtape, I'd advise you to listen to this song first. I love this song, like I listen to it every day. I think it's my favorite because it's the most relatable to me. Cole talks about being a kid in high school. He then talks about domestic violence, and why it happens. The second verse was the verse that really gets to me. My favorite part of the song is when he starts talking about his virginity. " But being a virgin was something to be embarrassed about, I used that ass for practice so I wasn't scared out my mind". Raps about all this on a soulful Erykah Badu sample.

The Autograph

Another one of my favorites. He opens up with one of the most quotable lines in rap history. "They say anything's possible, you gotta dream like you never seen obstacles" The first verse is all about reaching your dreams, and how it feels to finally start doing so. The second verse he starts talking about this girl he knew. How he was this girls sidepiece. He kinda regrets making a women cheat on her husband. He keeps it's a buck with her the whole way though " I wouldn't say that you a hoe, just made a hoe decision" . The song is full of quotable lyrics all the way through, must listen. 

Villematic

On this track Cole remixed Kanye's Devil In A New Dress, and he snapped. A lot of rappers remixed this song, and Cole had the best one... by far. Another song full of quotes. This song has a lot of college references because Cole did graduate. He talks about the hate he gets for no reason. Then he talks about the hoes and the temptation of cheating. " But I'm tryna be strong, remind myself she ain't about shit, These hoes the same all that change is the outfit" 

In The Morning

This was probably the most popular song off the album. It was a nice slow jam, the ladies loved this track. Cole's first verse was him trying to run game. "Baby you summertime fine... You fine as hell, I guess I met you for a reason, only time will tell." The next verse comes from the 6God before he officially was. Drakes comes in singing. " Baby you wintertime cold, The night is still young drink that dinner wine slow," He goes on talking about his love for thick women, and even subs Serena Williams on here " That thing is pokin' , I mean you kinda like that girl that's in the US Open" Cole then delivers a dope third verse to close it out. 

Love Me Not

This was a song to Cole's girlfriend at the time. He talks about how the music changed him, and how it's hurting their relationship. He talks about how he's always gone, and the struggles of being a rapper on the road. I love this song because it's something straight form the heart, you hear the hurt and the truth about the whole situation. He then raps from his girl's perspective which was so creative. " The way you braking my heart, I should sue you for that, call up my uncles and my cousins, have 'em do you for that. " 

Blow Up
Another very popular song of this tape. Cole explained this song perfectly in the chorus. This is a song for his haters. He knows the fame and success is coming, and no amount of hate will stop it. One of the hardest bars of the whole tape comes on this song with his use of double ententes and irony.  " It's funny how money, chains, and whips, make us feel free." Cole says it's ironic that the things that kept us in slavery are the things we chase when we have money. Genius line.

2Face

2Face is probably the best bar for bar song on here. Cole was straight spitting the whole time. You could hear the anger all over the track, and it sounds even more prevalent considering how laid back the beat is. This was the first Cole song I actually liked, and the only one I liked when I first heard Friday Night Lights. Very quotable on here too, definitely a must listen if you one of those people that love straight spitting.

Farewell

Another top song is the tape's closing one. On Farewell, Cole raps from the perspective of him looking back on his life. He wonders what they will say about him when he dies, debating between many positives and negatives. He then starts reminiscing on his childhood and how that was such an easier time. " Yet I won't forget my past, and I hope it won't forget me"  Cole closed the album out perfectly with this one.

Looking For Trouble

Looking For Trouble was the bonus track for this mixtape. This is one of THE hardest songs... ever, Looking For Trouble featured all G.O.O.D. Music. We were blessed with fire verses from Pusha T, Kanye, Cyhi, Big Sean, and J. Cole. Back to back to back. Pusha T laid down a solid verse, a nice opening, then Kanye came in and started eating dropping bars like "The devil stay testin',  cause when you chase pussy it's a sin, but when it fall in your lap it's a blessing". Cyhi followed by Big Sean. Then J. Cole came in and literally dropped one of the hardest verses I've ever heard. " Cole world make way for the chosen one, what you now hear putting fear in all the older ones." " Fucking hoes while teaching niggas to hold they sons, this the rap Moses, scratch  that, Mary and Joseph son." He even dropped this line that blew up twitter for the longest. " They say you are what you eat, and I still ain't pussy" He by far had the best verse, dropping quote after quote. A J. Cole must listen.

Friday Night Lights is one of the greatest projects ever. Considering the fact it's a mixtape and not an album makes it even more prestigious. My personal belief, this is Cole's magnum opus. He's dropped three amazing albums, but none have surpassed the excellence of this tape. His flow was a work of art, the way he strung together stories on here is unrivaled. This mixtape deserves it's ranking as a Top 5 mixtape ever, and if you've truly listened to it, you would not debate it. Thank you J. Cole for this masterpiece, and Happy 5th Birthday.

Chance The Rapper, Concert Review

I made it out.

Chance The Rapper's concert at the Tabernacle defied my expectations completely. I came in with a group of friends, and within 30 minutes the crowd was so wild, I lost all of 'em. We waited about 40 minutes for the show to kick off (Albeit we did get in early) . I was hot, I was sweating, my feet were hurting, but hey, I'm about to see Chance The Rapper, so I knew it was all gonna be worth it. 

Towkio kicked off the show. I've heard his  name before, but I never listened to his music. I won't even lie though, his performance might change that for me. He brought the energy. There were only a few people that knew his lyrics, but he had EVERYBODY in the crowd jumping. He brought out Joey Purp for God In Me; that was the first time I heard it, but I loved it. Joey Purp's verse was dope as hell too. Another song I clearly remembered is a song I think called Abstract. He was singing on it, and when I tell you the whole crowd was shocked to see that, I'm not exaggerating. Towkio was the perfect opener, got the crowd jumping and wanting more.

METRO BOOM MAKE IT BOOM ON THESE HOES! And that's just what he did . Metro's set was spectacular. He opened up his set with one of Future's hardest, Thought It Was a Drought . 

He then proceeded to dole out the Drake bangers with Energy and Big Rings, but shit got crazy when he played Flocka. He played Grove Street Party and Hard in The Paint and had the whole crowd moving! Literally I had no control of my movements, I just swayed with the crowd. That was probably the most turnt moment of the whole concert. S/O to Boomin'. He then turnt the crowd up once again with a CLAASIC. Can't Tell Me Nothing had everyone singing along. He even threw in a couple Kid CuDi songs that had the crowd going crazy. Metro Boomin' finished his set with the smash mixtape he executively produced, What A Time To Be Alive.  Fantastic set Boomin'.

Another thing that was dope about Metro Boomin's set was not only his playlist, but him as a performer. 

He is Atlanta. Now I see why he gets so much love from the city. He literally represents Atlanta in everything about him. From his dressing, to his speech, to his stage presence. The way Metro Boomin' was turning up,dancing, having fun on stage is the same way I'd see a homie getting lit at a party. I met Metro the other day, and the way he talked to me is the same way any regular dude would've, exact same lingo and everything. Cool dude.

FINALLY.

Chance is up.

Chance The Rapper Setlist

Everybody's Something

Pusha Man

Smoke Again

Lost

Baby Blue

The Way

Church

Paranoia

14400 Minutes

Family

Long Time 

Brain Cells

Juice

Favorite Song

That's Love (Interlude)

Rememory

Miracle

Angels

Wonderful Day

Family Matters

Sunday Candy

Cocoa Butter Kisses

Chain Smoker

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Bird noises. That's all we heard until we see Chance pounce on stage amidst the colorful flashing lights and smokescreens. When it finally clears up, everyone can finally see him, and he stands there soaking up the applause. He's dressed Aiight. Just a black polo and camo pants, nothing too serious... Oh yeah, and some black Yeezy Boosts, my bad. He then goes right in to Everybody's Something. Obviously a favorite because the whole crowd was singing back to him.

He performs Pusha Man another obvious favorite.

It was kinda funny when he cut off all the music to introduce himself like everybody didn't know who he was...

Then he performed my favorite song, Lost... I'll just let y'all watch it for yourselves.

As he went deeper and deeper into his set, I realized something. I thought I was a huge Chance the Rapper fan, but I was mistaken. There were some people who knew all his lyrics, tongue twisters and all. I was kinda shocked; I was even more shocked to see the diversity in the crowd. Easily, Chance has one of THE most diverse fan bases. Easy. From blacks to whites, to Indians, to 80 year olds, Chance had 'em all there. He then went into his 10Day set, which was lit also.

 He performed Long Time, 144400 Minutes, and my personal favorite was Brain Cells. He then turnt the crowd back up with Juice, which every single body was jumping and singing to. It was hype as hell.

He then went into what I would call his ATL set. He started Dabbin' and what not; it's kinda funny how Dabbin' has really taken over, and how every artist shows tribute to it when they in Atlanta. But oh yeah, he surprised us and brought out Jeezy to perform Put On.

Then as if that wasn't enough, he brought out 2 Chainz to perform his hit Watch Out.... Lituation.

He performed a couple more songs, including his newest song, Angels, then sadly closed out with Wonderful Day and Family Matters....

Or so we thought. Chance blessed us with an encore of 3 of his top songs. Sunday Candy, Cocoa Butter Kisses, and Chain Smoker.

Finally the Finale.

Chance's stage presence is undeniable. If I can sum him up... He's a performer. It helps his personality shines through his music and performances. He showed the goofy side, dancing all over the stage. If I could use one word to describe his performance, I would say Cartoon-ish. It was colorful, and full of visuals, funny, but full of energy and excitement. You can tell he honestly loves being up there and doing what he does . But then, he has his emotional, serious side that's also in his music . To me, it came out when he was performing his second verse of Paranoia. As he rapped about the struggles of youth in Chicago, you could hear the seriousness in his voice, and feel the anger in his demeanor. He even free-styled a bar at the end of it talking about black boys still getting killed. Dope.

All in all, the concert was freakin' amazing. Best concert of my life. I might've struggled to stay up, I might've had no breathing room, and it was musty as hell. Shit, it was so hot in there too; I told myself I wouldn't let another man spray water in my mouth, but hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. To top it all off,  I sweated out my clean ass new Stussy shirt, but I'd do it all again. I'll close with what a buddy of mine said. "Chance's show is the best I've seen since Beyonce" 
Enough said.

T R A P S O U L Review

Kentucky native, Bryson Tiller, finally dropped his Debut album, Trapsoul, last week. This album was much anticipated  as Tiller has built up quite a buzz and a fan base on Soundcloud. He hopped on the scene a while back with the album's single, Don't,  and he's taken off ever since. What kind of album is Trapsoul? I wish I could tell you. Bryson Tiller has a Drake-esque style to him with the way he combines rapping and singing so effortlessly, and it was on full display here. 

What was dope about the album? His singing. The songs he was singing on here were excellent. He also had numerous standout tracks on here. Of course, his smash single, Don't, was one them, but he is no one hit wonder. Sorry Not Sorry, Exchange, Let 'em Know, Been That Way, and Right My Wrongs were all standouts to me. My personal favorite was Sorry Not Sorry. Crazy, Sorry Not Sorry was actually the song that put me on Tiller. If Trapsoul was a genre, Sorry Not Sorry, would be the definition of it . On here, Tiller Flirts between rapping and singing about the ain't Shit-ness of women over a trap beat. " I use to think about how you would act when a nigga got money, now you done switched up on me" "this the shit I don't condone in, cheating on your man, but you can get it if you want it." Another one of my favorites on Trapsoul is Right My Wrongs. Right My Wrongs is the final song on the album, and he closes out the album strong. The song has a very melancholic feel too it, a nice slow beat with Tiller singing. He also did a great job with the sample of Submotion Orchestra's All Yours on the chorus of this one. 

Disappointments? I really didn't like the songs Rambo and 502 Come Up. Those are the only two skippable songs on there to me. Also his rapping wasn't bad, but it definitely isn't as strong as his singing. The one complaint I have about the album is the amount of previously released songs on here, so we don't get as much "new" music as I would've liked. 

All in All, T R A P S O U L was a pretty good debut album. His style of rapping and singing is unique and works, and whenever your Compared to Drake musically, it doesn't hurt. Not to mention, he has also caught the 6God cosign. So if you're one of those few people still sleep on Bryson Tiller, you NEED to check out this album. It'll definitely wake you up . Excited to see the progression Tiller will make on his future projects, and I definitely will be at the tour if he comes to Atlanta.