★★★★✩
by Tony Diamonds
Rapsody launched her solo career in 2008 thanks to signing with 9th Wonder's record label. She is probably best known for her mixtapes "Return of the B-Girl" and "Thank H.E.R. Now". She's now dropped this latest EP featuring production from 9th Wonder and Nottz. Check out this Rapsody Beauty and the Beast review to find out just how good this EP is!
BEATS: ★★★★✩
Straight mellow boom bap on most beats with Portishead type breakbeat drum patterns. We get a jazzy treat on the Nottz produced Feel It to kick off the EP. Then there's the fresh yet sparse beat with some expert chopping by 9th Wonder on Hard to Choose. There is probably one commercial sounding beat with Drama, however it still fits perfectly with the songs around it and is overall still a nice track. We also get a reggae sample on Godzilla that adds a bit of a different flavor and some variety when contrasted with the other sounds on this album.
A couple of the beats are a little too sparse and mellow, such as Waiting On It, which doesn't really ever seem to take off and go anywhere. The bizarre The World samples the intro to If I Ruled The World and is a tad too abstract to really make it a hit. By contrast, Coming For You feels a tad boring when compared with the other 9th Wonder joints on this EP.
LYRICS: ★★★★✩
She basically spits over all the midtempo beats perfectly with punchline-heavy raps. She doesn't always stick right on beat; her style tends to have more "swing" to it. With Rapsody, its clearly more about the clever punchlines than the flows. Mad props for having a variety of content and dope lines, and there's plenty of quotables all over this album without stooping to "typical lyricist"-type corny hip hop bars. The only spots where Rapsody falters would be on the slower beats. Normally a rapper would speed up to fill some of the space but our MC likes to keep the same flow style and tempo regardless of beat, which for me on the slower tracks tended to accentuate the offbeat nature of some of her verses.
CONTENT: ★★★★★
Rapsody has proven to be diverse with her content, which is great. I could listen to her spit on a variety of topics and she brings it with tough lyrics on some tracks and topic-based bars on others. Overall she is not hurting for quality content or imaginative raps.
OVERALL: ★★★★✩
Rapsody is a legit MC, no doubt about it. She definitely sets herself apart from popular female rappers such as Nikki Minaj via her content and lyrical skill. My only issue with some of the tracks is that Rapsody's offbeat flow works better on certain beats than others. Some of the slower beats don't combine well with her slower flows. For example, I like the singing sample on The Man, but the slow pacing doesn't just doesn't match with Rapsody's flows all that well - she generally won't speed up her flows if given more room on a track. Overall, I'd recommend this album to those curious about just how nice a female MC can be. Also, if you're a fan of 9th Wonder projects, this is worth a listen. Even if he didn't produce all the beats on here, the whole album keeps the same vibe for the most part, which should appease those that like 9th's stuff in general.
Thus concludes this Rapsody Beauty and the Beast review. You can peep the album yourself on here: Rapsody "Beauty and the Beast". Also be sure to check out some of my other hip hop reviews here: Hip Hop Reviews
by Tony Diamonds
Rapsody launched her solo career in 2008 thanks to signing with 9th Wonder's record label. She is probably best known for her mixtapes "Return of the B-Girl" and "Thank H.E.R. Now". She's now dropped this latest EP featuring production from 9th Wonder and Nottz. Check out this Rapsody Beauty and the Beast review to find out just how good this EP is!
BEATS: ★★★★✩
Straight mellow boom bap on most beats with Portishead type breakbeat drum patterns. We get a jazzy treat on the Nottz produced Feel It to kick off the EP. Then there's the fresh yet sparse beat with some expert chopping by 9th Wonder on Hard to Choose. There is probably one commercial sounding beat with Drama, however it still fits perfectly with the songs around it and is overall still a nice track. We also get a reggae sample on Godzilla that adds a bit of a different flavor and some variety when contrasted with the other sounds on this album.
A couple of the beats are a little too sparse and mellow, such as Waiting On It, which doesn't really ever seem to take off and go anywhere. The bizarre The World samples the intro to If I Ruled The World and is a tad too abstract to really make it a hit. By contrast, Coming For You feels a tad boring when compared with the other 9th Wonder joints on this EP.
LYRICS: ★★★★✩
She basically spits over all the midtempo beats perfectly with punchline-heavy raps. She doesn't always stick right on beat; her style tends to have more "swing" to it. With Rapsody, its clearly more about the clever punchlines than the flows. Mad props for having a variety of content and dope lines, and there's plenty of quotables all over this album without stooping to "typical lyricist"-type corny hip hop bars. The only spots where Rapsody falters would be on the slower beats. Normally a rapper would speed up to fill some of the space but our MC likes to keep the same flow style and tempo regardless of beat, which for me on the slower tracks tended to accentuate the offbeat nature of some of her verses.
CONTENT: ★★★★★
Rapsody has proven to be diverse with her content, which is great. I could listen to her spit on a variety of topics and she brings it with tough lyrics on some tracks and topic-based bars on others. Overall she is not hurting for quality content or imaginative raps.
OVERALL: ★★★★✩
Rapsody is a legit MC, no doubt about it. She definitely sets herself apart from popular female rappers such as Nikki Minaj via her content and lyrical skill. My only issue with some of the tracks is that Rapsody's offbeat flow works better on certain beats than others. Some of the slower beats don't combine well with her slower flows. For example, I like the singing sample on The Man, but the slow pacing doesn't just doesn't match with Rapsody's flows all that well - she generally won't speed up her flows if given more room on a track. Overall, I'd recommend this album to those curious about just how nice a female MC can be. Also, if you're a fan of 9th Wonder projects, this is worth a listen. Even if he didn't produce all the beats on here, the whole album keeps the same vibe for the most part, which should appease those that like 9th's stuff in general.
Thus concludes this Rapsody Beauty and the Beast review. You can peep the album yourself on here: Rapsody "Beauty and the Beast". Also be sure to check out some of my other hip hop reviews here: Hip Hop Reviews
Comments
Post a Comment