4 Observations From T-Wayne

Finally!  Just when I was losing hope for hip hop and feared losing it to all that is fun and down-syndrome inducing music (wow... I kind of feel like a 23 year old Joe Budden now... it's a shame), a beam of light flashed down from the Heavens and shined it's light on all that is mumble rap-y and boring; T-Pain put up an Instagram post talking about feeling really "spontaneous" and boy is the internet glad that he was not bluffing. T-Pain dropped the long awaited (like, so long awaited that new hip hop kids probably don't know the significance of the phrase "lemme buy you a drank") much anticipated T-Wayne album that has been talked about since around the times Lil Wayne was at the top and not considered some feature verse ghost (songs are rumored to have been recorded around 2009). The 8 track EP boasts tons of catchy T-Pain vocals and even more Wayne quotables, so it's time to dig in. Here's a couple cool observations from the EP.


Wayne and Pain's chemistry on records is on point


Obviously, the idea of T-Wayne had been in the heads of the fans for years, and in the heads of Wayne and T-Pain for even longer, so for them to craft a body of work - though small - without feeding off of each other's energy for each track, would be nothing short of a disappointment. T-Wayne delivers, however, from the intro track "He Rap He Sang", in which even the title suggests that the 2 will be boasting the other one throughout the song while still finding ways to let out their signature sounds, all the way down to "Heavy Chevy", where the instrumental goes all out cool-car'd classic on 'em.


T-Pain goes throwback "buy you a drank" T-Pain on "DAMN DAMN DAMN"


The title of this song is rather funny considering a couple of things... was T-Pain thinking out loud when he saw that girl in the club?  Did Kendrick Lamar know something before the rest of us?  Regardless, the coolest thing to point out about this record is T-Pain's "sexy enough to seduce a stripper" vocals on the track, very much reminiscent of "Buy You A Drank" as well with the slow dance-vibe-instrumental.


"Waist Of A Wasp" beat is already a certified classic instrumental


Though I know the statement above is definitely a stretch,"Waist Of A Wasp" sounds amazingly classic in it's instrumental, and the main reason probably being that the song was previously leaked in 2010, though the version that leaked was not the final version. Wayne glides all over this beat in classic fashion, and T-Pain vocally dances just as 2008 T-Pain would have done on the hook. Bouncy vibes, and a classic sounding beat that even the most technical of emcees could probably do something with; would it be a stretch to say "Dilla vibes"?


"Heavy Chevy" is the best song on T-Wayne


No debates on this one. Yep, I'm being ignorant Geff on this one, but I have a feeling that I won't feel so ignorant once I see some other feedback from this album. "Heavy Chevy" is such a vibe-heavy song (almost as heavy as a Chevy, dare I say?) that the instrumental is practically dripping candy paint and spilled codeine (though I do not condone any use of codeine, for the record). Wayne's "PLEASE TURN DOWN THE STEREO" line literally got me to laugh out loud, and being reminded of how creative and hilarious Wayne could be in his prime almost made me shed a thug tear. How many official remixes will come of this?  Probably not the ones we want to come, if any, but if I could choose any other rappers I wish I could hear verses from over this beat, I'd easily go Big K.R.I.T and Bun B. The Houston vibes are real with this one, young O.G.

Overall, T-Wayne delivers a hit of nostalgia that hip hop right now is lacking, and I'd go as far to say that it is in need of it. It's great to hear Wayne having fun and doing his thing over beats again, and it might be safe to say that Wayne fans have something to hold them over while the wait for The Carter V continues (probably not safe to say though, with today's music indulgence). Could this project bring attention to T-Pain long enough to revamp his career?  As you know, the inter webs are nothing that anybody could predict, so we shall see what the future brings for the auto-tune originator, and people will definitely be on the look out for what happens with Wayne and the current situation with his held-hostage album, The Carter V.                       












              

My Letter To Slaughterhouse



 

Growing up listening to Eminem and his brain twisting ways of bending words and molding messages made me think that I would never find another personality of his type in rap again. His love for the craft and his ability to channel fiery anger into productive, though not exactly "politically correct" music allowed his message to be heard and his story to be felt. But with all of the drug talk and the syrup sippin', who feels anymore right?  Fans who crave more brain stimulation.

Under Shady's wing, and with a little help from Jersey City emcee Joe Budden on a song aptly titled "Slaughterhouse", the group's chemistry fit so well that they figured the title of the song might as well be the name of the newly formed super group that included 4 emcees from different parts of the hip hop suburbs (Royce from Detroit, Budden from Jersey City, Crooked from Long Beach and Joell from Brooklyn), all willing, and more than capable to give a side of the stories from the slums of these neighborhoods that many heard and feared.  Listening to the four members' dialect whilst speaking in interviews surely would have fooled the average hip hop listener, as their witty and humorous banter about each other could warm up even the chilliest hip hop critic, and open them up to the conversations taking place.  But where are they now?  (*cue behind the music voice* "coming up, the story that broke the band apart... and a grudge... that just won't budge.")

The group's last solo record appeared on the soundtrack for the 2015 movie Southpaw, a movie in which Eminem was supposed to originally appear in the lead role instead of Jake Gyllenhaal, but didn't due to his focus on creating his new album. Though Eminem didn't take the lead role in the movie, he and the movie's director Antoine Fuqua agreed upon an ultimatum; a soundtrack for the movie that featured all new music, including what is now Slaughterhouse's last released song, "R.N.S." The delay of Slaughterhouse's (supposedly) forthcoming second major label (third overall) LP Glass House has been addressed by Royce and Crooked in interviews and on social media, though no real conclusion has been lead to about the fate of the Slaughter. But what does Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg's tweet in the above picture mean?

          

(above pictures; When Crooked I was asked about the wait in late March of 2017, he shrugged off the question with "who knows.")

 

Paul Rosenberg's tweet (in the very first picture above) in February of 2017 leaves less to the imagination than previous answers and hints dropped about the album delay.  The answer (though the question has not been addressed publicly by any of the members or the label/parent labels Shady Records/Interscope Records) can be speculated as simply as this; label politics.  Slaughterhouse's last major label LP's opening week sales barely broke 50k (the exact number being 52k sold first week for Welcome To: OUR HOUSE), and while it seems it shouldn't matter for a record company that boasts a man who sells around 700-800k first week (hint; the man's nickname is in the label name), apparently Shady/Interscope feels that this time around, House Gang needs to deliver.  But now more than ever (the streaming age), wouldn't it be as easy as it's ever been for barely promoted artists to outsell expectations of the label?  So you'd think.

 

As for Slaughterhouse being the modern day Rage Against The Machine (which is incredibly ironic considering the title of Joe Budden's last solo album, although Budden has never been one to mince words or play nice) or Public Enemy, who says that they couldn't be?  With every headline and every think piece being put out nowadays practically being written because of mere tweets and comments, who says that 4 of the most lyrically talented emcees in the game couldn't say something that would ruffle some feathers?  Have they not heard of the "any publicity is good publicity" claim?  The saying has never held as much weight as it has today, and when you have Joe Budden going in on Lil Yatchy for destroying the culture, I'm sure the man (along with his House Gang mates) could find a way to make headlines and maintain relevancy, in an outspoken effort to push lyrics back to the top, even though the 4 humble members more often than not let their rapping do the talking (which is a rare trait nowadays, when your ACTUAL RAPPING is the reason you're considered so good).              

 

 

So here's my question to Slaughterhouse, to Shady Records, to Interscope; what do us as fans have to do to show you that we want new music?  What do we have to do to show you that we care about the group?  Slaughterhouse wasn't started to sell records, they were started to change the narrative and the overview that hip hop has succumbed to.  "Mumble rap" is killing hip hop heads' willingness to live, because when all you hear is "fun music", eventually the music stops being fun altogether. Not to mention the fact that the use of syrup/codeine, Xanax, and Molly are literally actually killing hip hop's artists AND it's fans.  Hip hop needs something relatable, something to challenge the ears and the minds of it's young fans.  Why can Slaughterhouse not be the answer to this dilemma?  The story-telling, the double-entendres, the word-play, the pure rapping ability, but most of all, the "never-serious-until-I-get-in-that-microphone-booth" attitude and mentality is a breath of fresh air that the currently drowning climate of rap needs right now.  And in your attempt to sell records, you fail to recognize the difference that this group makes, which ultimately makes you no better than the labels that are pushing the drug addict's records to sell.  I want to change the narrative; which is why I'm promoting the tweet below that could possibly be a big step in the right direction.  I will attach this tweet here and on my Twitter page, and even screenshot it for my Google+ and Facebook followers to find, and retweet in the hopes to get Slaughterhouse released from Shady Records, and back out in the music market ready to release their long awaited 3rd album, Glass House.  Please help to be a part of something important, something much bigger than rap that dumbs down it's fans; be a part of the change!       

 

#FreeSlaughterhouse