Best of Mixerr Album Reviews! Page 43

Utada Hikaru - Ultra Blue album review

Nichiyo no Asa is known for its funky arrangements. Its own arrangements make Nichiyo no Asa a J-Pop classic. Pop meets funk and electronic music on this particular Utada song. This one of her perfect works not just on this album. Keep Tryin' is a jazz fusion ridden pop song. Pop meets jazz on Keep Tryin'. The jazz fusion blends within the mix of pop fusion on Keep Tryin'. Utada Hikaru released yet another electrifying album that pleased the masses inside the J-Pop market. Ultra Blue is no exception. The instrumentation arrangements are what makes the album stand out from the rest. Which is a surprise because Utada Hikaru herself did most of the arrangements herself. 

4/5****

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Koda Kumi - Trick album review

J-Pop princess Koda Kumi has been dubbed the queen of "ero-kakkoii" (sexy-cool in Japanese). (Think erotic sexy cool.) This J-Pop album turned into an ero-pop album due to her raunchy erotic sexual lyrics. Trick as an album was an attempt to recover the status in her music career as a pop idol after her perverted sexual "rotten amniotic fluid" comment on nationwide radio in Japan back in 2008 that resulted her being penalized and fined. This attempt would result in several singles that would accompany a concert tour. However, the albums sales of Trick were lower than the last album. This pop album was too trashy for abide by pop market standards. The lyrics are provocative and teasing while being entertaining at the same time. Trick proves that sex doesn't always sell.

3/5***

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DJ Quik - Book of David album review

The old drums, beats, and percussion all have got character. The beats are on another level. DJ Quik sounds as fresh as he did in 1990 and 2005. He hasn’t lost his touch as time subsequently changes with music trends. He was losing interest in recording due to the changing trends in the music industry at one point.He's trying to bring back G-Funk. He production skills improves better and better on each album. His interest in recording is intriguing. Love of My Life is just beautiful. Book of David is great. The skit is played out.
[Some people referred to DJ Quik as DJ Quick King for the Book of David album.]

5/5*****!

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Creed - Human Clay album review

Human Clay is the best Creed album to have ever dropped! You will enjoy the thrash metal mashups with that electronic sound despite the whole album being rock music. Yes the whole album is basically all rock music. Scott Strapp does the vocals of course. The albums iridescent computer graphics are somewhat very staggering and unique. It’s modulated 3D graphics mixed with adobe clay. That’s one way to put it. The photography was unique and interesting as well. Wax models possibly from a wax museum were used. 

Higher explores leaving your comfort zone. Time and time again we are often dragged out of our own zone of comfort being forced to deal with modern reality on daily day to day basis. There’s a hunger to leave the zone of uncomfortableness. We don’t want to leave the comfort of our place. The world does not change to abide by our standards of comfort.

Never Die proves to us that youthfulness never dies. Youthfulness proves to be ageless. Youthfulness is ageless. The youthfulness inside of memories never dies. Such fruitful memories in a lifetime lie inside of us. We often search for substance only to be clouded by struggles in a haze. 

4/5****

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Lighter Shade of Brown - Layin’ In The Cut album review

Latin hip hop duo Lighter Shade of Brown takes us on a ride while layin’ in the cut on Dip Into My Ride. We dip into their ride and they take us on the other side. We enjoy a taste of good life on this joint. It’s late night and LSOB is living the night life like Letterman. We later find ourselves rollin’ down the strip. From here, we just sit back, chill, and enjoy the cool breeze. 

Funk meets hip hop on Where Ya At. LSOB drops mad funk in their scriptures in terms of lyrics resulting breaking grounds. Where Ya At breaks solid ground. LSOB gets down to the nitty gritty with their touch of Latin fusion in their raps. Lighter Shade of Brown took us on a ride while layin’ in the cut on this LSOB album right here. 

Talking’ ‘Bout Gettin’ It On is a perfect song for you and your love when you want to get into the mood. The song Talking’ ‘Bout Gettin’ It On is perfect for a light night romance rendezvous for your lover in bed. The Marvin Gaye - Let’s Get It On is a perfect sample to interpolate and sample in a song such as this. The percussion ensemble is very light in terms of musical presence. Communication is key in a relationship both physically and mentally. Overall, Talking’ ‘Bout Gettin’ It On is a perfect song for you and your partner to get in the mood with. 

Hey DJ is the LSOB anthem that became an international hit song across airwaves on radio stations across Earth. Rap meets Latin and dance music on Hey DJ. Hey DJ is a percussion heavy ridden dance radio ballad. Hey DJ was a hot song constantly played in rotation on airwaves back in the 1990s. In other words, Hey DJ dominated the radio waves later climbing to the single digits on the BillBoard Charts.  

Mercury dropped the ball on promoting this album because this album was overlooked as a result in lack of promotion. LSOB’s career did not last long as a result of the lack of promotion despite having a hot song constantly played in rotation on airwaves. The album did not chart very as expected. So Mercury dropped LSOB from the label and their recording contract. 

4/5****

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Gina Thompson -  Ya Di Ya/Take My Number Down single review

Ya Di Ya is the first single for her second album If Only You Knew featuring Missy Elliott released in 1999. Ya Di Ya has that Spanish mix and feel inside the percussion. The beats are very futuristic. Missy Elliott is known for her futuristic beats on her songs. Ya Di Ya is a standout track! The music video could have been improved with a little more money. Not their fault. Elektra and WMG were on the verge of going bankrupt around 1999-2001.


This is what Ya Di Ya is all about.:
Gina is saying that the man she is trying to get with is talking a lot of irrelevant nonsense. Irrelevant nonsense makes her want to leave him and not want to be bothered with him.

Gina just came from a late night, but once she got in she didn't feel right. The guy is uptight from the first time they met because Gina did not return his page. If he pages her once or twice, that's nice. It's crazy for ten times that he pages her. The mess that the guy is talking about Gina wants to say bye to him. The guy she is trying to get with is talking about irrelevant nonsense and it makes her want to leave him. Gina does not want to hear it. She does not want to be bothered by him. He is just really getting on her nerves.

Gina is not in the mood for the drama this evening. So Gina think the guy should be leaving because she doesn't need this or him because is it doesn't pay the bills. There are more guys with more skills that will definitely satisfy Gina. His talking is weighing out his good looks. Right now Gina thinks he should be walking right out that door.

On the last verse before the hook repeats, Missy Elliott wonders why the man she wants to get with is aggravating her. Everything he says agitates her. He’s bugging her with all that nonsense. Missy Elliott keeps it real on this song. She said don’t even play me  unless he pays her bills. 


Take My Number Down is the same thing as Ya Di Ya. Take My Number Down is a bland sultry sooth R&B/soul ballad with Gina Thompson singing the background and chorus. It’s not as good or upbeat to Ya Di Ya. The beats are very futuristic.

Gina just came from a late night, but once she got in she didn't feel right. The guy is uptight from the first time they met because Gina did not return his page. If he pages her once or twice, that's nice. It's crazy for ten times that he pages her. So Gina asks him to take her number down from his pager so he can call her later. It’s obvious that Gina is tired of hearing from him. So she asks him to stop calling her for the night. Or week if she is really annoyed. 

5/5*****!

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Chris Rock - Bigger & Blacker album review

Chris Rock came back bigger and blacker in his comedy album back in 1999! He hit audiences hard with laughter with his comedic efforts. This album is filled with adult humor cover nearly all angles of satire and parody. His stance on black humor along with black comedy is hilariously outstanding! Chris seeks out humor in nearly everything. He performs different parodies on this album with the help of several others listed in the liner notes credits. Prince Paul produced a majority of this comedy album.

Chris seeks out the humor in racism inside of race relations on the comedy piece Race. Racism is called out by Chris only to be made into satire. This satirical piece of comedy is quite controversial. Whites and blacks are racist. There is a bit of racism inside of everyone. That's just the truth. Snow Flake is a parody of Brown Sugar by The Rolling Stones. Chris Rock does a great impression of Mick Jagger. Wanda Sykes also guest stars as you can hear her in the lyrics. 

5/5*****!!

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The Brilliant Green - The Winter Album album review

The Brilliant Green's The Winter Album is the next best thing to Soylent Green. It's truly the greatest ever! The Winter album is a pop/grunge rock onslaught with demonstrated potential. An such as this particular one truly shows potential. Such songs are much darker in sound and style being much heavier than before. Their mature sound is fresh. The rhythm section is updated with more live instrumentation. Most of the guitars are set to overdrive which shift onto a glory ringing chorus. The Brilliant Green is the best thing happening to rock in Japan these days.

4/5****!

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Ikimono-gakari - Hajimari Uta album review

Joyful is fairly representative of cheerful lyrics about happiness and peace. Joyful being a light cheerful gentle ballad helps that statement. It's a perfect fit for happiness. The track has a naturally cheerful attitude to accompany the upbeat beats. Futari is a bittersweet bubblegum-pop song. Both in hymn and lyrics is this song a pop song. Lyrics on this album are deep and filled with complexity. This album is one of the bands most deeper works. Ikimono-gakari is also the best thing happening to rock in Japan these days.

4/5****

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KSJ ‎– Hard To Stop single review

Hard To Stop is four track EP not too long of a single. The beats are fresh and the lyrics are dope. The single is nothing too special however. Hard To Stop is a single that got overlooked in the beginning stages of Detroit hip hop and rap being that this single was released on vinyl in 1989. KSJ is none other than the K-Sone who dropped the underground classic 601 album on Bryant Records. Yes, the same K-Stone from Detroit, Michigan. KSJ explains why he’s so hard to stop lyrically on Hard To Stop. Bass Head is an ode to bass music. Bass Head is a heavy bass ridden song. 

3/5***

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Lisa Tingle - In The Water album review

Folk artist Lisa Tingle releases a calm mellowing album timid in nature and sultry in songwriting. In The Water showcases some of her most advanced songwriting skills. The instrumentation arrangements and rhythm selection has a more progressed polished sound too. A portion of live instrumentation was used on this album to match the rhythm selection. More musicians contributed to this album a lot more than her last album. Carl Thiel produced a majority of this album. 


Lisa Tingle gets person, sentimental, and biographical on Get Thru You as she describes her memories to us in songwriting. She tells us tales of her suffering through her hard times. Her childhood story is filled with hard times, trauma, and adventures waiting to be told. 

At the tender age of 15, Lisa had somehow contracted mono. Mono is a contracted disease that can prove to be deadly. This mono eventually led her to catching pneumonia twice. Lisa encountered trauma during the hard times of childhood. She learned to defend herself during childhood. If she can make it through, you can make it through. (When you make the effort, best intentions are always good.) It’s obvious that Lisa grew up in a troubled environment being that she lived in a rough neighborhood. Lisa Tingle never asked for your opinion or consulted your for advice. She made it on her own. 


Lisa goes gun crazy on the Gun Song. We are taken on an adventure with Lisa through her songwriting and lyrics. This adventure ends being rather long. Gun Song shows that her songwriting has clearly improved since the last album. She takes on an adventure with her lover.

Lisa is a nun who is escaping from the United States into Mexico. Never did Lisa think she was a criminal until she had a look at her lovers gun. We now find ourselves sneaking across the United States-Mexico border crossing into Mexico with Lisa and her lover. The Federales have been flipped off. Lisa was a nun until he dirtied up her mind with impure perverse thoughts. She left her religion behind her. Lisa was flirting with the busboy because he looked cute. Now we are included into a high-speed chase after the lover did to the busboy. Lisa jumped out of the car and he fell of a cliff like a rocketship. The only thing left the police officers found was a tiny piece of his gun.


She suffers a mental breakdown on Breakdown. Lisa is having a breakdown because she can’t pay her taxes. Everyone needs a meltdown once in a while. Lisa breaks down in singing and songwriting in her own lyrics. 

Can You Help Me? is a short sweet song about a girl asking for assistance. She truly has noting to show for her persistence. Can You Help Me? is a song of persistence. Many questions are asked by the girl in this song. These questions have yet to be answered.

Lisa Tingle never asked for your opinion or consulted your for advice when it came to Leave Me Alone as she makes it clear that she wants to be left alone. You don’t have to think twice to see inside her struggling with her internal struggle. Her internal struggles bother very deeply. She can’t get it out of her head. She needs time to be alone. Leave Me Alone is one long song. 

3/5***

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Detroit’s Most Wanted - City Of Boom EP review

DMW does not hesitate to put these suckers to sleep on City Of Boom. City Of Boom is a lyrical beatdown to let those who know what DMW is all about to not disrespect or sleep on the Detroit rap sound. City Of Boom is a heavy bass ridden song with ghetto tech sound prevalent in the song. City Of Boom is rare DMW song you will not find anywhere else except on the City Of Boom cassette that was released from Bryant Records in 1991. That’s what makes City Of Boom interesting.

DMW does not hesitate to put these suckers to sleep on Put The Suckers To Sleep. They let people know not to disrespect Detroit or DMW themselves. The Detroit rap sound is prevalent in the ghetto tech sound of Rhyme In Effect. Rap meets hip hop on Rhyme In Effect. Their rhymes have an effect on their audience. 

[City of Boom, Put The Suckers To Sleep, and Rhyme In Effect are DMW’s most rarest tracks next to I Save My Words 4 Wax and Where We From.]

5/5*****!

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Angela Spivey - Determined 2002 album review

Angela Spivey delivers her best ministry album! This is her best performance yet! You can enjoy this album from the beginning straight to the end without skipping any tracks. Any gospel music fan would appreciate to purchase this album.

Determined shows her ability to push through life’s troubles with religious high spirited a cappella. Note the high spirited hand-clapping just right in the background in the Determined track. Determined is a gospel harmony piece in a religious style.The choir pushes through with such clear vocal power loudly in a religious harmony. 

Jesus Saves is a religious harmony honoring Jesus. She is fairly well backed by the anointed voices Disciples For Christ on this particular hymn/harmony. The choir pushes through with such clear vocal power loudly in a religious harmony. 

Angela Spivey takes us to church on the tune You Have Brought Us. You Have Brought Us brings us to God as that’s what Angela intended. The tune You Have Brought Us is heartfelt. Angela Spivey says that you have heart. You need to have heart. 

5/5*****!!

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Coal Chamber - I.O.U. Nothing/The Bridges You Burn single review.

I.O.U. Nothing was released as a CD single in 2016 by Coal Chamber on Napalm Records from Austin, Texas. There are 2 tracks.
I.O.U. Nothing is basically heavy metal meets thrashcore with an emo/punk vibe. The gothic feel is very prevalent as the track has a dark mood of course. You can feel that emo vibe to it. Most of the single has a dark emo/gothic feel and vibe to it. Think Misfits meets Slipknot when you listen to this particular single. I.O.U. Nothing is basically heavy metal meets thrashcore with an emo/punk vibe. The emo vibe and gothic feel is very prevalent as the track has a dark mood of course.

IOU deals with the emotions of about being done with someone to the point when you know you owe them nothing. The words in their voice is very clear. Their words are pretty clear. They owe you absolutely nothing. Nothing at all. You get nothing in return. Coal Chamber will be the ones who will take the limits too far. Don't expect nothing. Make your moves and do it right. 


The Bridges You Burn is about how the bridges you burn will come back to haunt you. The Bridges You Burn is yet another emotional gothic metal song. This song also has a darkened mood to it in the background. Most of the song has the hard rock sound. The Bridges You Burn is quite essential to this single’s mood with it being about emotions mainly. The lyrics are not too staggering however. 

5/5*****!!

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Kanye West - The Life Of Pablo (Stream Edition) album review

The Life Of Pablo album by Kanye West has been given the popular abbreviation TLOP by Kanye West fans and Kanye West stans. This had made The Life Of Pablo album rise in terms of popularity. TLOP is the most discussed Kayne West album of 2016 by music critics, journalists, and fans alike. It’s scattered nature gave the album positive reviews due to the musical content of the album. 

The album cover artwork of The Life Of Pablo by Kanye West seems to have been slapped up in MS Paint. Is the new standard to have album covers created in MS Paint now? Is this the new standard? Kanye must have copied the idea from Frank Ocean - Channel Orange album. Kanye is trying to be like Frank Ocean and Future on TLOP.

TLOP was produced by a handful of producers such as Rick Rubin, Noah Goldstein, Frank Dukes, Havoc, Madlib, Plain Pat, Caroline Shaw, Swizz Beatz, and many more. TLOP was recorded in recording studios in various locations and not onto one property as SOME of Kanye’s other album were in the past. 
To sum it all up… Kayne used various locations to record the TLOP album.

As for the musical content of the album, Wolves, Only One, and All Day were great choices for singles due to the songwriting and productions skills. No one can write and produce like Kanye West can. Kanye West has a signature production style prevalent on his albums. Kanye blends in Electronic sounds into hip hop music thus somehow turning music into pop. This production style makes his albums go platinum Just listen to his previous albums such as College Dropout, Graduation, Yeezus, Late Orchestration, 808s & Heartbreak, and Late Registration just to name a few. 

Wolves is a great song, but can get redundant and annoying real quick due to the usage of autotune. Autotune is played out. The bridge is heavily auto-tuned. Yet somehow Wolves has that melodic feel. The “Bluesy” chorus is performed by Vic Mensa. Sia lends a hand in songwriting with Vic Mensa and Frank Ocean. Mix the genres of Blues, Hip Hop/Rap, and Pop and the result is the song called Wolves. Yet somehow Wolves feels melodic to Kanye fans when in reality, the song is annoying.

Kanye West catches the fade on the track Fade. Note the fade in and fade out features used. Fade is played out. The autotune is played out. People and fans should know that by now. In fact, Fade is similar to Facts by Kanye West. Fade and Facts have similarities in terms of sound.

I Love Kanye is an interlude about self-awareness and Christianity. Kanye takes it to the gospel on this one. Kanye really showcases off his gospel roots on I Love Kanye.

The Charlie Heat version of Facts is rather updated in terms of production. Producers Metro Boomin and Nicholas Smith both lend a hand in production along with 7 other producers. Kanye invited many producers in on this track.


From a sales point of view, the TLOP album was a flop. TLOP did not achieve as many streams or digital downloads as the Yeezus album from 2013 did. TLOP has yet to reach gold, platinum, or silver status. Kanye should change the title of this album from TLOP to FLOP to reflect the nature of the album sales. TLOP was a straight FLOP in terms of album sales. Even the audio streams couldn't compensate for the loss of album sales for The Life Of Pablo.

Life Of Pablo is the follow-up album to Yeezus from 2013. TLOP is not a very good follow up album to Yeezus. In all reality, TLOP does not come close to holding a candle towards Yeezus, College Dropout, 808s & Heartbreak, Graduation, or any other previous Kanye West albums out there.

TLOP is the most discussed Kayne West album of 2016 by music critics, journalists, news media, and fans alike which has made The Life Of Pablo album rise in terms of popularity. TLOP’s scattered nature gave the album positive reviews due to the musical content of the album. Despite that, the overhype by news media and overuse of autotune make TLOP the most unbrehsive shit ever heard.

Ø/5

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Tweet - Charlene (Deluxe Edition) album review 

First of all, Tweet is back! She has been gone for way too long! The Southern Hummingbird returns with a powerful soul classic entitled Charlene for 2016. Her voice is as strong yet subtle and gentle as before. The acoustic arrangements suits her voice so well. Musically speaking, she brings along old collaborators such as Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Nisan Stewart, and Craig Brockman from the It’s Me Again album in 2005. 

Magic is a breathtaking soulful experience to listen to while you enjoy this masterpiece of an album. The acoustic arrangements suit her voice well. Magic is about Tweet being happy in a relationship. The relationship feels like magic.

Rest assured, you will love the acoustic arrangements on Won't Hurt Me. The acoustic arrangements suit her voice well. Tweet shows indifference to a manipulating man on Won't Hurt Me. The choice to have Won't Hurt Me as a selection for the first single panned out stellar. Listen closely and you can hear that the acoustic arrangements match up with the percussion.

Tweet collaborating with Missy Elliott on Somebody Else Will was a genius idea! Timbaland had produced Somebody Else Will. Somebody Else Will is a breathtaking soulful experience. If the man doesn’t love Tweet, then another lover will. If he doesn’t love Tweet, then someone else will. 

Fool No More is about how Tweet will be no longer fooled or manipulated by her man’s actions. In other words, she will not be fooled anymore. The choice is his. Tweet shows indifference to a manipulating man on Fool No More too. Tweet somehow gets caught off guard by being hurt with no faith toward happiness on Fool No More. It really did account to being hurt emotionally by love.


One can hope that she continues to make great music. Hopefully this album will get the sales and promotions that it needs for airplay on radio stations nationwide. Tweet knows her craft and sticks to what she does best. Tweet's new album is awesome. So many albums now lack consistency of production value. Her new record label, eOne, proves to be going towards a step in the right direction. We need albums like this!

(If you got the Deluxe Edition of Charlene from Best Buy, you will find two bonus tracks. The two bonus tracks are Somewhere Out There and Fool No More. Both of which are 4 to 5 minutes long.)

5/5*****!! 

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