Lazarus review.

After reviewing two of the biggest and most hyped albums of this summer, I decided to step back a little bit and cover an album that most people are sleeping on. Yeah, the first single Billionaire is getting loads of radio play, but I guarantee if you ask someone random, chances are they wouldn't know what album it's from.

Travie McCoy, the lead singer from Gym Class Heroes, released his debut album Lazarus on June 8th. So after weeks of putting it off, I finally sat down and gave Lazarus a full listen, collecting my thoughts on the way.

1.) Dr. Feel Good ft. Cee-Lo - 3/5

A nice, fun track to start off the album. Cee-Lo delievers on the chorus, but besides that, it sounds like just a track off of a Gym Class Heroes album. Not saying that's bad, but I'll talk about that a little more later.

2.) Superbad (11:34) - 3.5/5

I'm feeling this song, despite the lack of rapping. (This is supposed to be a hip-hop album, right?) The lyrics are darker than any other song on the album and the beat fits it pretty well. I'm still awaiting something that pushes this away from Gym Class Heroes though.

3.) Billionaire ft. Bruno Mars - 4/5

Everyone and their mother has heard this song already; I can tell by the constant quoting of the chorus on people's Facebook statuses. Bruno Mars is starting to become a go-to-guy for choruses as he does an excellent job here as well as Nothin' On You by B.o.B. Despite it being very radio-friendly, Travie does a nice job distancing himself from the band and doing his own thing here. Lyrics are decent and we all know by now it's very catchy.

4.) Need You - 2.5/5

This sounds like a Kelly Clarkson/Katy Perry song to begin with. Travie leaves rapping behind (again) and goes with strictly singing here, but once again, I'm feeling it...until the chorus; what an absolute buzzkill. The lyrics are fine, but the completely changing of the beat and his singing just ruined it for me. Change the chorus and you have a very good song.

5.) Critical ft. Tim William - 2.5/5

More singing...is Travie going to differ himself from the band? This isn't a bad song by no means, but nothing is standing out.

6.) Akidagain - 4.5/5

This is what I'm talking about. Travie finally starts rapping and the chorus is absolutely perfect for the subject matter. The lyrics speak about him reminiscing on when he was a little kid and that he would love to go back to that time. This is an absolute turn-off for the "gangster" rapper fans, but someone who enjoys a lot of different genres, this is great.

7.) We'll Be Alright - 1/5

Talk about a fall off. This song just screams dumbed down mainstream and in fact, it is the second single on the album. Sounds like a Disney Channel track, minus some of the lyrics speaking about alcohol and such. Worst track on the album.

8.) The Manual ft. T-Pain & Young Cash - 2.5/5

T-Pain and Travie...an interesting combo. Sounds like a Gym Class Heroes track again and although none of the lyrics stand out, the beat keeps me interested a little bit and let's me get through the whole song.

9.) After Midnight (It'll Burn) - 3.5/5

More Gym Class Heroes-esque music, but I really like this song. Again, he starts with singing and just when you think he's going to sing the whole song, he switches it up with a whole verse of just rapping.

10.) Don't Pretend ft. Colin Munroe & Travis Barker - 4.5/5

I was watching BET's 106 & Park the other day and sure enough, Travie was on it talking about his album. When they discussed Don't Pretend, he mentioned that he was sick when they recorded the track, hence why it sounds like he's crying in a way. Absolute genius because it adds so much emotion into an already deep track. Lyrics are on point and fit the subject matter perfectly (girlfriend cheating on him, ends up getting with the guy she cheated on him with) and the only thing stopping this song from getting a perfect rating is that it's too short. One more verse, Travie!

Overall Grade: 3.2/5

The first thing I thought of after seeing the average rating was, "maybe I was a little too tough on Drake's album." I can't see this getting as much play as Thank Me Later did, but maybe that's because it only has 10 tracks. Anyways, I digress; let's get back to Travie.

Travie will never spit like the best in the game, but his flow just fits his personality perfectly. It doesn't feel awkward or forced at all, just sounds like he's having fun (Billionaire, Akidagain) or he's showing true emotion (Don't Pretend). He needs to rap more though if he wants to receive more recognition by the true hip-hop heads of the world.

I enjoy the Gym Class Heroes, but one of the things I wanted to see out of this album is if Travie would step out of the box and do his own thing. For the most part, he didn't, because a lot of the album sounds like throw-away tracks from GCH. It affected my rating a bit, but this is still a decent debut which is perfect for the summer season.

Recovery review.

After a disappointment in most hip-hop fans' eyes with the release of Relapse last year, Eminem scraped the idea of releasing a 'sequel' to it and instead changed the name to "Recovery." As the album gained more press, those same fans started to get really excited once again. And why shouldn't they have been excited? It's been eight years since Slim Shady released a good album (The Eminem Show).

One of the biggest flaws on Relapse was the annoying accent Eminem tried to make work throughout most of the songs. Most of the casual hip-hop or Marshall Mathers' fans hated it; hell, even some of his 'Stans' didn't care for it either. Eminem saw that and addressed that in his first single, "Not Afraid."

"And to the fans, I'll never let you down again, I'm back
I promise to never go back on that promise, in fact
Let's be honest, that last Relapse CD was 'ehhhh'
Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground
Relax, I ain't going back to that now"

That line right there instilled more excitement in me than any other previous album, from any artist. With his promise, I expected an epic comeback and another project that would have him inching closer and closer to Pac and Big on the GOAT list.

Then the track-list was released and I know a lot of Eminem fans frowned that day. No Slaughterhouse? 50 Cent? Dre? D12? He's doing tracks with Rihanna and Pink? And Kobe Bryant is rapping nowadays? I'll even admit that I was bit disappointed, but I still had high expectations for the album.

Now, it has leaked onto the Internet and the most anticipated album of this entire year (for me, at least) is in my collection. All I can say is that before this leaked, I was listening to Thank Me Later and Bar Exam 3 (Royce da 5'9's new mix-tape) constantly. They haven't gotten a play since.

1.) Cold Wind Blows - 3.5/5

The start of this song really throws it back to the Slim Shady LP or Marshall Mathers LP days with the constant talking about his dick and other things; at least I thought so. Punchlines galore in this one, as Michael Vick, Mariah Carey (a given), and Aquaman all get mentioned. A nice song, but it's not anything I'd play constantly.

2.) Talkin' 2 Myself ft. Kobe - 5/5

Wow, after a single with the first track, Shady knocks this one out of the park. Kobe does an outstanding job on the hook and should be looked upon to deliver more hooks for more artists in the future. Em goes in with lots of confessions, including when he thought about dissing Lil' Wayne and Kanye West for no reason. The best quotable in this one is in the third verse:

"It’s different, them last two albums didn’t count
Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushing em out"

3.) On Fire - 4/5

Eminem unleashes some of the old magic again with this track. Crazy, out-of-this world lyrics, and a diss towards a celebrity or two. Let's hope Slim doesn't run into Hulk Hogan anytime soon or this will be his last album. Overall, it's a pretty good song, but like Cold Wind Blows, it gets skipped sometimes because of the great tracks later on.

4.) Won't Back Down ft. Pink - 4/5

What a weird collaboration, huh? It works though. Pink does a nice job on the hook, then Marshall goes in with so many punchlines that make you rewind it to hear if he actually said that. My favorite:

"I gave Bruce Wayne a Valium and said
Settle ya f***ing ass down, I'm ready for combat-man
Get it, calm batman?"

I also love how in the middle of the third verse that the music turns down and you're wondering if you nudged the volume button by accident, but then it picks back up. Just an overall great track and you could tell he had fun with it.

5.) W.T.P. - 3/5

W.T.P. stands for White Trash Party; fun fact of the day. The beat's nice and Eminem comes in with some nice punchlines, but I can't really pick anything out of this song that I love. Solid, but skippable.

6.) Going Through Changes - 5/5

Another incredible track. This gives me goosebumps because of the journey Eminem takes us listeners on when he discusses Proof's death and how he almost died from his drug addiction. The Ozzy Osbourne sample is perfect for this song as well. It's the second 5/5 on this album, but we're still a way from the top track.

7.) Not Afraid - 4.5/5

This was the first single from Recovery and it was one of his best ever. Instead of the corny, goofy ones, Shady comes with an inspirational track that fits perfectly after Going Through Changes. The line I posted in the introductory paragraphs got me hyped for this album like I said, but there are other great lines too:

"Quit playing with the scissors and s***, and cut the crap
I shouldn’t have to rhyme these words in a rhythm for you to know it’s a rap
You said you was king, you lied through your teeth
For that f*** your feelings, instead of getting crowned you’re getting capped"

8.) Seduction - 3/5

Besides W.T.P. and another track, this is one of the weakest on the album. I do like how Em took a page from Hov's book, by dropping some "aww's" in the second verse. Reminds me of Superman a little bit, but maybe that's just me. Another skip, but it's not horrible.

9.) No Love ft. Lil' Wayne - 5/5

We have another winner here. Wayne finally comes through with a nice verse in his guest appearance, then Just Blaze did an excellent job sampling Haddaway's What is Love? for the chorus. Eminem follows up with an outstanding verse of his own, combining raw emotion, punch-lines, a Kanye West/Taylor Swift moment, and some nice ad-libbing from Weezy. Just an amazing song...another 5/5, but STILL not the top track on here.

10.) Space Bound - 4.5/5

I'm not going to lie, but when I first looked at the track list, I thought this song was going to be completely lame. Sounds like something Kid Cudi would have on his album (just to let you know, I wouldn't have been upset if Cudi had a track named Space Bound on his album, because that's his thing). Anyways, this is another great track. This makes me feel that Em was in love with someone other than Kim and this song expresses that feeling. Of course, he goes with the Kim-esque ending on the third verse, but it still sounds nice.

11.) Cinderella Man - 3/5

Unlike Space Bound, I was excited to listen to this song because it just screamed "inspirational" to me, like a Till I Collapse. However, I was extremely disappointed when that was not the case. There's more Relapse bashing and some good flow, but another skippable track.

Note: When I say "skippable" track, I mean that I can listen to it sometimes, but usually it does get skipped. If a track's just awful, I'll say that and never listen to it again.

12.) 25 to Life - 5/5

And here's the best track on the album. I had high expectations for this one when I saw it on the track list, and it exceeded them by far. It sounds like Eminem is talking about Kim throughout the song, but then he drops the bomb at the end and changes the entire complexion of the story when he reveals it's about the hip-hop game. I'm dead serious when I say this could be one of his top five songs of all-time...or at least near that category. It's everything I wanted out of this album.

13.) So Bad - 2.5/5

Worst song on the album, gets skipped just about every time. Maybe it's because I was expecting something great after the masterpiece that was "25 to Life" but it just didn't happen. It's not even that bad, but just mediocre compared to the rest of the songs.

14.) Almost Famous - 4.5/5

Much better, Shady. Right off the bat he throws a Roethlisberger line in there, poking fun at the whole rape accusation like he did in the Despicable freestyle. This track discusses his state of mind before he actually blew up and made it. It reminds me a little of something I'd find on SSLP, but not quite as good.

15.) Love the Way You Lie ft. Rihanna - 4.5/5

And Rihanna makes it 4/4 on guest appearances, doing a fantastic job with the chorus on this song. Pretty obvious, but this talks about the highs and lows of a relationship, followed by its ending coupled with verbal and physical abuse. (How ironic is it that Rihanna is on this track with that type of subject matter?) I think this will end up being a single, which would make for one interesting video.

16.) You're Never Over - 4.5/5

The perfect tribute to Em's fallen friend, Proof. Very deep, emotional, and motivational; I know he's looking down at Marshall, smiling. The only downside of this song is the chorus, showing that Shady should stick to rapping.

17.) Here We Go [hidden track] - 4/5

Another track that reminds me of his older stuff ends this album. Just sounds like he had a lot of fun with this one and there are metaphors and punch-lines for days. Pretty nice for a hidden track to wrap this up.

Overall Grade: 4.1/5

If you were expecting another MMLP/SSLP, please slap yourself now. This is a new Eminem, with a little bit of the old sprinkled in and I love it. You can tell that he had a lot of motivation with the death of Proof and the so-so reviews of Relapse. Recovery was a true recovery of sorts.

Less singing and maybe a few more features to get his vocal cords off the choruses would shoot this album into the category of MMLP and SSLP. Some of the production is a little stale, but I'm more of a lyrics guy and that's what really won me over with this album.

I'd rank this just behind The Eminem Show, but miles ahead of Infinite, Relapse and Encore. It's pretty impressive that you can be nearing 40, haven't dropped a great album in eight years and then come with something very, very good after scrapping your original plans.

There's a lot of competition for AOTY (Album of the Year), but Recovery has to be near the top of the list. Eminem is back, folks.

Download: Eminem - Recovery

Thank Me Later review.

One of the most anticipated debut albums in recent history, Drake's "Thank Me Later" leaked onto the Internet for people to download just a few days ago. It officially doesn't come out in stores until June 15th, but I decided to give a review on it; maybe it'll influence your decision to cop it or just download single tracks.

1.) Fireworks ft. Alicia Keys - 4/5

Drake starts off his debut with a more emotional joint with the talented and beautiful Alicia Keys on the chorus. In this song, he addresses many different subjects, including his fling with Rihanna in the second verse. Sounds like a track you'd find off of So Far Gone, which isn't a bad thing at all. I liked the original leak better, but this version is still one of the best songs on the album.

2.) Karaoke - 3.5/5

At first listen, I thought this was one of the weakest tracks on the album, but after a few more run-throughs, I gained more of an appreciation for it. I like how he changes up from singing in the first verse to rapping the second. This track also shows a lot of improvement in his voice from So Far Gone...something I wanted to see because I feel he could be a better R&B artist than rapper (more thoughts on that later).

3.) The Resistance - 4.5/5

Top track on the album? Almost. The second verse in this could be one of the best Drake has spit; at least it's one of my favorites because of the story-telling and emotion coming from it. Kind of reminds me of "Fear" (one of my favorites of his) off of Heartbreak Drake 3.

4.) Over - 2/5

This was the first single off of TML, so it wasn't my first listen when I started to play the album. The beat is really hot, but I just feel like his verses are really annoying. I've heard other rappers - Eminem, Royce da 5'9, Los, even 14-year old prodigy Diggy Simmons - go over this beat and I found their versions more enjoyable to listen to. Definitely didn't keep the momentum going after a great track in "The Resistance."

5.) Show Me a Good Time - 4/5

Very fun track and very enjoyable to listen to; it's already leading the way in most plays out of this album. Drake spits a little faster than usual to keep up with the beat, but it still works out well. The second verse (been looking like his best verse in most of the songs so far) provides many quotables. There's not that emotion in this one that there is in other tracks, so that bumped the rating down just a tad.

6.) Up All Night ft. Nicki Minaj - 2.5/5

Another track I just can't connect to. I feel like Nicki outshines Drizzy on his own joint, which isn't bad if you're collaborating with one of the bests in the game...not Miss Minaj. It's not a bad song at all; it's just that nothing stands out.

7.) Fancy ft. T.I. & Swizz Beatz - 3/5

This would have seen a better rating but it ran too long for my tastes. T.I. went in on his verse like I expected and Drake didn't disappoint much. Swizz Beatz does a solid job on the hook, but I feel like this is a song geared towards the ladies more so than just the overall listener.

8.) Shut It Down ft. The Dream - 1.5/5

Seven minutes long...seriously? Nothing, I mean nothing at all, stands out in this song. I don't care for The Dream - minus Rockin' That Thang (Remix) - and both his and Drake's verses are very forgettable and plain. (Shut it down...Onyx. Really?) The chorus isn't that bad, but it doesn't make up for the rest of the song.

9.) Unforgettable ft. Young Jeezy - 3/5

First of all, this is not one of your dumbest flows ever, Drizzy. It sounds the same as most of your others. Young Jeezy comes in and does a good job and despite Drake's lie at the beginning, he still brings the heat with a solid verse. Once again, nothing stands out, but it's not a bad thing.

10.) Light Up ft. Jay-Z - 5/5

It's about damn time. After some blah and bad tracks, Drake brings Hov in for the best song on the album. Drake absolutely goes in during his verse, but Jay-Z overshadows him just a little bit; not a knock at all considering he's one of the greatest in the game. I just love everything in this song and that's why it's the only one to receive a perfect rating.

11.) Miss Me ft. Lil' Wayne - 3.5/5

Really like the beat in this one. I love how the bass kicks in mid-way through the song; shocks you, but in a good way. Drake's verse is alright...didn't care for the whole 'proposing to Nicki Minaj' section of it though. Weezy's verse was okay, but comparing yourself to a groundhog because you get money? You're much more creative than that.

12.) Cece's Interlude - 2/5

Drake doesn't know where his vocal range peaks at the beginning of this song. Eventually his singing gets back on par, but the first few notes made me want to hit the next button right away.

13.) Find Your Love - 4/5

This was the second single off the album and it was much better than Over. The beat sounds like something you'd find off of "808's & Heartbreaks," and of course Mr. West himself produced the track. I feel like he shows a lot of R&B potential in this song, moreso than others on this album, because of the up-beat, yet simplicity of everything. The lyrics won't stand out, but it's so damn catchy and something you want to sing along to.

14.) Thank Me Now - 4/5

I absolutely despised this track at first listen, but it's pretty good to me now. Not exactly the grand finale that I expected, especially starting off with all them Fireworks, but I wanted a really great ending song. Everything's solid about this song; nothing stands out, nothing disappoints.

Overall Grade: 3.3/5

With a lot of great music coming out this summer (Eminem's "Recovery", Kanye West's "Good Ass Job", J. Cole's debut album), I wanted to see if Drake could live up to all the hype and keep this album in my regular rotation for the next few months.

I didn't expect greatness from Drizzy, but he still did a solid job with his debut. There are a few throw-away tracks and some that have me shaking my head at moments, but for all the negatives, there are also some big positives and his collaborating artists really came with some good stuff.

I consider myself a Drake fan, but one thing that I have never liked from his music is that he sounds very monotone and shows little emotion in most of his tracks. (Obviously, "The Resistance," "Light Up" and others not on this album are an exception.) In addition, his punchlines at times are very weak (the Onyx line in "Shut It Down" is a big example) and makes me wonder if he should shift towards more of a R&B career.

But overall, this will get some play in my car for the next few months, but I see the rest of the summer's biggest releases jumping Thank Me Later.

Woy's Word: Top 10 quarterbacks going into the 2010 season: Part 4 (#8).

Over the next few posts, I'll be ranking from 10-1 my opinion on the top 10 quarterbacks in the NFL going into the 2010 season. Today I'll feature the ones that just missed the cut, then the next post will feature the 8th ranked signal-caller.

Rankings are based on a variety of factors, from "Career Stats/Achievements" to "Clutch Factor and Post-Season Performance."

Without further adieu, here is your 8th ranked quarterback.


8.) Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

"He's a choker!"

Unless you're a Cowboys fan, I bet that's the first thing that you think of when the name Tony Romo is brought up. The fact is that he has improved his late-game play enough that he took down the NFC East favorite Philadelphia Eagles in consecutive games to win the division and win Dallas's first playoff game in 15 years.

If this list was based on off-the-field antics, well there would be two guarantees: 1) Ben Roethlisberger wouldn't sniff the top 10 and 2) Tony Romo would be easily #1. Carrie Underwood and Jessica Simpson? Mr. Romo is one lucky man. But anyways, let's get back to the reason why he's the #8 signal-caller in the league.

Those two wins against the Eagles (actually they won all three times they faced Philly, but I'm focusing on the last two) showed a changing of the guard in relation to top NFC East quarterbacks. Mostly everyone's list would be McNabb/Romo/Manning, but as well as dethroning Philadelphia from the top of the division, Romo dethroned McNabb from the #1 quarterback slot in the division.

He's put up some unbelievable stats in his three and a half years as a starting quarterback. 107 touchdowns, 55 interceptions and a 95.6 quarterback rating; who would have thought an undrafted rookie out of Eastern Illinois have that type of success?

He's just entering his prime, so he has the potential to climb this list and become possibly a top five quarterback in the future; whether people like it or not.