Do me a favor. Hit the play button you see above as you read this. It’s a necessity.
Nigga. Yea I said it. I was called it by a truck full of white dudes after 9/11 so I have as strong a claim to the word as those who are a darker shade of brown than me. So if you don’t like the word. Here’s your exit point. (Notice how the song matches my review?) The only difference between my brothers and I is that the term's use in reference to myself is prefaced by the word, “Sand.”
Oye fam, thanks for feeling me. We goin’ hip-hop tonight. Let’s be realistic about this. Hip hop is dying right now and we are having a hard time these days. Rihanna is sampling Boys Noize, Kanye is sampling Flux Pavillion; which leads us to the fact that we’re just going to venture into electronica moving forward. That's a rough state, but there's a new album hitting the street and it needs to be in your collection, son. It bleeds 'hood life rap so, if that’s yo thang, let your collection grow.
Waka.
Flocka.
Flame.
If you’re a fan of Juaquin Bertholimule “Waka Flocka Flame” Malphurs, you’ll understand the spacing. Let’s validate Juaquin's hip hop credentials; he was in jail after turning himself in when the police raided his mom’s home for: marijuana and hydrocodone possession, firearm possession, violation of probation and driving on a suspended license. That trumps Wayne & TI combined. What do we take from this? Expect his tracks to be 'hood life. Does he bring it? Hell yea nigga. Guess what his bail was. $31,950.00. I bet he throws that amount in the air in a club and I bet he doesn’t really care.
His album, Triple F Life: Friends, Fans & Family, brings 'hood back up to the top of your list. If you’re rollin’ ten deep in your low-low or heading to the club in your dumped Escalade, your fifteen-inch subs in the back will eat these beats like a pit bull’s first meal in three days.
“Triple F Intro,” brings us a standard hip hop track. These types of songs get hated on by the community. It’s what I like to call the “total recall” track where the artist talks about how he or she used to survive off of nothing and now they’re in the one percent. He brings it a little different by giving a shout out to you, the one who made it just like he did, and to his friends. I feel you son. I love my friends too, and my childhood survival comes with two words, “Top Rawmen.”
“Let Dem Guns Blam (feat. Meek Mill).” Put this on repeat when you’re on the way to a drive-by. Every situation in life needs a theme song. He saw a need, and filled it with this song.
The next track truly hits a needed spot for the weak-minded men of the world. “Round Of Applause (feat. Drake)” is a great track for the men of the world to listen to when they have trouble talking to girls at the club. Add this to your pre-funking session mix on your iPod. Obviously I am not saying you should treat women on a lower level, but you should go in with confidence. Saying things like, “Bust it,” and anything that Drake says in this track would work great for you in the club. Or you’ll get slapped in the face. Which is win-win really. You either get a chick or a story.
“I Don't Really Care (feat. Trey Songz)” is what you should be listening to right now. So much fun right? Love it. It’s going to be my TOW, maybe even TOM for the gym, club, pre-funking, and while I play chess against my mom. Hi Mom! Let’s touch on the roots of this track. Waka has history in the industry, but he’s in a good spot. His mother is Gucci Mane’s former manager. Even if he was dead broke when he was a wee one, he was definitely set up for a fast track of success. When I listen to this track, off of his second album, I am placing Waka above Gucci Mane when it comes to rap music. This track alone slays The Appeal: Georgia's Most Wanted by Gucci Mane.
How do I qualify Waka as an artist? “Get Low (feat. Nicki Minaj, Tyga & Flo Rida)” sets this album in a level that most would not exepect. If you’re going through the album track-for-track, you might end up taking pause here. “What the fuck?” You say to yourself. Nicki’s verse, the lovers-style beat and hook, Tyga’s bomb-bars and your swaying hips put you in a mood to go visit your girl. Or the strip club. Or your laptop…
Tapping into the move to electronica, “Fist Pump (feat. B.o.B)” will work perfectly for a break-it-up in the club track. If I was rocking out to Aviicii and this came on, I’d still be grooving and coincidentally; fist pumping. This track was a necessity to keep the album relevant to 2012, and has a brilliant execution.
Where’s the fo-realz 'hood life verification? “Candy Paint & Gold Teeth (feat. Ludacris & Bun B)” can deliver your answer in just the name and artist feature list. The letters U-G-K should come into your head, and if it’s not; I don’t need to validate hood to you.
I skipped some tracks in this review, and left seven more still to go for you to bump too, love and add to your collection. At fifteen tracks, Waka is delivering you a robust, modern rap album that is certified in all aspects for me. You can hate on Waka for his looks, or his Lil-Jon style yelling all you want, but I don’t really care; cop the album or just be one of those haters everywhere. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to stand on my chair and rock out to the same song you’re listening to.
Artist:
www.wakaflockabsm.com/tripleflife
www.myspace.com/wakaflockaflame
www.facebook.com/wakaflocka
www.twitter.com/WakaFlockaBSM
Album:
Triple F Life: Fans, Friends & Family is out now. Buy it here on Amazon .
