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I too, enjoy good pop music. But there is so little truly good, interesting and unique pop music in the mainstream. I\’d much rather listen to prog rock solos which I find to be glorious, over Lil Wayne and all the legion of hack rappers tainting our collective consciousness.

That sweet spot in the middle I think you are referring to is so hard to do. Common\’s album \”Be\” I think is the perfect example of this. Classic sounding hip-hop beats with good melodies and samples and a clever MC to deliver sharp lyrics.

As for Aesop Rock and Atmosphere, that shit is for the birds. Never could get into those guys, but the Cannibal Ox album \”The Cold Vein\” had some of the most remarkably forward thinking beats I\’ve ever heard. Overall though, not really into \”backpacker rap\”. Just the classics: Nas, KRS-One, Rakim, Kool G Rap, Biggie, Ill Bill, Gang Starr, A tribe Called Quest, 2Pac etc…

I digress, this new album really has only two memorable songs for me. \”No Church in the Wild\” is definitely the best song on this album by a mile. Just get rid of the auto-tune and I can live with the R&b hook. The album desperately needed many more tracks of this calibur.

NWA, obviously you\’re a big genre fan of hip-hop. That\’s cool. Personally, Wu-Tang and backpack rap couldn\’t be more boring to me. I\’m a fan of pop music, not so much the sport of rapping and wordplay for the sake of wordplay. It\’s like prog rock solo sections (zzzzz…).

Not to say everything popular is good (not much is), but seeing something great find that sweet spot between genre and pop is more exciting than any Cannibal Ox, Atmosphere, Aesop Rock record I\’ve experienced.

And Lil Wayne is definitely cemented in history. Look at how influential he is.

If you like crappy synthesizer club beats, boring, uninspired lyrics and Beyonce singing hooks, then yes, this album is for you.

Because we all know an album by rap titans dueling it out on each track over dope hip-hop beats would have been a terrible disappointment. A huge disappointment like an album called, \”Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers\” was a monumental let down.

We need more cheesy beats and Beyonce R&B hooks.

Kanye and Jay have both done good things.

Jay-Z has three classic albums: Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint and The Black Album. American Gangster deserve praise also.

Common\’s album, \”BE\” has some of the best Kanye beats ever. Better than anything he ever did on his solo albums.

Considering the production list on this album, some of the greatest producers of all time, (RZA, Pete Rock and Q-Tip), what a stinker this is.

Now I\’m waiting for you to tell me that Lil Wayne is the best rapper in the world.

That was my biggest fear before this came out, that it\’d be this boring back and forth verse-fest for 12 songs. Thank God you\’re not musically influential. Are you going to be pissed off and bitter in 20 years when this and MBDTF are considered mountaintop classics of our generation?

It sucks. If it gets love from critics then the critics are wrong.

The song you posted is one of the worst. Terrible, typical mainstream pandering, synthesizer beats.

Jay and Kanye could have made a straight up hip-hop album, trading dope verses over dope beats but, big surprise…. They felt lazy, put any old shit together and the people will eat it up.

Jay-Z\’s collaboration albums with R. Kelly were better than this shit.

I mean, really?

I\’m now awaiting the million plus posts you will be making on the other million plus songs that have ever included audio from a movie. The whole Wu-Tang catalog alone should run you through Christmas.

Otherwise, this is at best a half-thought, random-as-hell post or a very weak attempt to posture on some \”look, what we\’re on shit.\” Or you are just pandering for page clicks.

Anyway, Murder to Excellence samples from the Color Purple soundtrack, so is that going to be your next gem?