Music – The Delvin Cox Experience

French Montana “Jungle Rules” Review

Does French Montana belong at the big boys table?

“Jungle Rules” is French Montana’s first official album release in over 4 years. While this maybe a problem for most artists not for French because he has consistently putting out music during this time. From “Lockjaw” with Kodak Black to “All the way up” with Fat Joe and Remy Ma French has never left people’s mindscape. After a couple of false starts “Jungle Rules”( including Joe Budden and Drake’s beef killing his rollout ) is finally out.

“Whiskey Eyes” feat Chinx was the perfect track to start the album off with as not only does it show French at his best but it also shows what could have been as we get an awesome verse from Chinx. It’s very unfortunate that we were robbed of seeing his true potential due to his untimely death in 2015.

Other bangers on the album “Migo Montana” feat Quavo, which seems like a solid next single, the already hot “A Lie” with Weekend and Max B and one of my favorites “Black Out” feat a solid verse from Young Thug. Speaking of blacking out TI does just that on “Stop It”.

Unfortunately as good as these songs are there are some noticeable problems with the album. One of them being that there are too many songs on the album. There are some songs like “Famous” that just don’t fit, and there are others that sound too much the same. If this album was a solid 10 to 14 tracks it would be a lot more cohesive. Also it’s evident that French is at his best when he plays off of his peers. Sometimes when he is left on his own his shortcomings as an MC show.

Overall a very solid album with some sure fire hits. While this album won’t push him to the forefront of Hip Hop ( like the Drake’s and Kendrick’s) it is one that will be banging in cars for a good portion of the summer.

Score: 7.5 out of 10

Jay-Z 4:44 Review

Jay-Z Gives us Grown Man Music In His Most Personal Album To Date

When you’ve been in the game as long as Jay-z ( 13 studio albums to date not including collaborations) it can be very difficult to still have something to say no less innovate. The big question about this album is can Hov still capture ours ears and heart ?

As much as people don’t want to admit it “Magna Carta Holy Grail”was a misstep. It didn’t have the presence that other Jay-Z albums had and the art talk went over many people’s head. Even the “Watch the Throne” album while good wasn’t the Jay-z we would want to hear. So how does Jay turn that around? He gives us his most personal album to date.

With No-ID on the boards 4:44 sounds as soulful as the classic Blueprint. Starting from the first track “Kill Jay-Z” where he opens up with how his ego sometimes got the best of him, as well as some of his insecurities. Even going as far as saying he almost lost “the baddest girl in the world” because of his shortcomings.

Another standout track is “The Story of OJ” in which he tells tales of bringing up your own community and empowering black communities by investing and remembering where you came from. It’s no surprise that he follows up this track with “Smile”. A song where Jay gives us an inside look into his mom and the hardships she had to deal with.

The highlight of the album is the title track 4:44 which is fitting because this song is his most personal. On this song he tells of some of the hardships he had in his relationship with his wife, including the Infidelity. He pulls no punches as the hip hop Superman pulls off his cape and pours out his heart. Showing you a side he never shows.

Overall with these tracks and gems like “Family Feud”, Marcy Me and Legacy 4:44 is a must have for a Jay-Z fans. Out of the ten tracks there no skippable ones as each song has its purpose and serves it nicely. Overall excellent album.

Score : 9.6 out of 10