Album Reviews I Regret

For those who don't know, in addition to manning these pages I also write album reviews for DJBooth.net, and over the years I've found myself embroiled in more than a couple controversies. Now maybe it's because I'm naturally stubborn and opinionated, but in retrospect, the vast majority of the time, I was right. When I said Chris Brown's "Graffiti" would flop you would have thought I'd burned down an orphanage for all the hate mail I got, but I was right. When I said that "L.A.X." would prove to be Game's least popular album yet I had to watch my back in L.A. for a few weeks, but I was right. And when I wrote that 2 Pistol's "Death Before Dishonor" would most likely be the last time we heard from Dos Pistolas a few people got heated, included Pistols, but (so far) I was right.

As rare as they may be, there have been times when I've slipped, and the vast majority of the time those slips have come in the form of failing to recognize when an album was truly classic. In my entire tenure at DJBooth I have never given out a perfect, classic,five-star rating, though a number of albums have come close (4.5). In my defense, my definition of a "classic" album is one that stands the test of time, an album that only seems to get still get better years, if not decades, after their release (see Mos Def's "Black on Both Sides", Jay's "Reasonable Doubt", Usher's "Confessions", etc.). It's obviously extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible, to know if you'll still be listening to an album years later when first writing a review, so most of my revisions come in the form of acknowledging that yes, an album has indeed proven to be a classic.

The-Dream "Love vs. Money"

If it wasn't for Usher's "Confessions" I wouldn't hesitate to call Dream's sophomore album the best r&B album of the past decade. As I wrote in the initial review, there's a solid fifteen straight minutes on "Love Vs. Money", stretching from the title track to "Fancy", that it'd put against any three track stretch on any album, of any genre. I don't want to get too personal, but let's just say there's a reason I've got a three-week-old baby at the crib right now. I'm officially calling it a classic.

Young Jeezy "The Recession"

I already wrote an entire article defending Jeezy, so let's just say that while "The Recession" certainly isn't anywhere near classic, over the last couple years it's surprisingly emerged as my go to "I want to shut my mind off and just bang" album (along with Re-Up Gangs' " ", which shouldn't be downplayed. You deserved better than the three stars Snowman, my bad. Let's upgrade you to four stars and call it even.

Lupe Fiasco "The Cool"

I know not everyone likes taking apart albums, but I do, and Lupe's "The Cool" has given me more to ponder than any other album over the past few years. While I immediately recognized his lyricism (even Helen Keller could here the man could rhyme), literally over one-hundred listens later I'm still uncovering layers of meaning. Fuck, "Put You On Game" alone has kept me busy for months. Like "Love vs. Money", I'm officially declaring this one a classic. I'm sure it's a proud moment in Lupe's life. You're welcome man.

Dwele "Sketches of a Man"

I feel worse about my review of Dwele's "Sketches of a Man" than any other review. Not because I was negative, even at the time I was pretty damn positive, but unlike Lupe and Dream, who certainly don't need my help to get noticed, Dwele deserved for me to wholeheartedly endorse "Sketches", but instead for some reason I held back. So let me apologize. I didn't see it coming at the time, but I've gotten more plays out of this album than I could have possible imagined. When you're chilling on a sunny Sunday afternoon, you'd be hard pressed to go better than "Sketches".

Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon: End of Day

This one's hard for me because, honestly, I still don't like this album very much. Obviously Cudi has some die-hard supporters, and I totally understand why, but for whatever reason I just don't connect that strongly with Man on the Moon. With that said, I will admit that I underestimated its impact. Cudi really opened some doors for artist to push boundaries at a time when record labels were content to pump out ringtone after ringtone, and for that contribution to the culture he deserved at least 4/5 stars. Consider it done.