Str8 Killa EP review.

In my opinion, Freddie Gibbs is the most underrated and most under-appreciated rapper in the game today. He has a ridiculous flow, very good lyrics, the ability to tell a great story and nice beats on his tracks. He doesn't always get recognition as one of the best up and comers like a J. Cole, but he's as every bit as good as him. (Note: Even though I'm fans of both, I still would listen to J. Cole nine times out of 10 over Gibbs, but that's not the focus of this review.)

He released two mix-tapes last year - The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs and midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik (a spin off of Outkast's album southernplayalisticadillacmuzik) - and I enjoyed both, which had me hyped for this EP. I had high expectations for Str8 Killa...could he meet them? In one word; definitely.

1.) Str8 Killa No Filla ft. Big Kill - 3.5/5
- Big Kill kills this song, and I don't mean in a good way. Luckily, the hook and Gibbs' verses keep it afloat.
2.) Rep 2 Tha Fullest ft. Jay Rock - 3.5/5
3.) National Anthem (F*** The World) - 5/5
- The way Gibbs throws his flow in this track is unreal. Hook's catchy too; this is truly an anthem. One of my favorite tracks of 2010 for sure.
4.) The Coldest ft. B.J. The Chicago Kid - 4.5/5
- This B.J. dude does a great job on the hook.
5.) Personal OG - 4/5
6.) Live By The Game - 4/5
7.) Rock Bottom ft. Bun B - 5/5
- Both Gibbs and Bun B kill it. Bun's one of my favorite rappers on guest appearances.
8.) Oil Money ft. Chuck Inglish, Chip Tha Ripper, Bun B & Dan Auerbach - 4/5

Overall Grade: 4.2/5

After Oil Money ended, I started wishing there was more tracks. Unfortunately, this is an EP and not a LP or mix-tape, but that doesn't diminish the quality of this release. It's up there for me with Pilot Talk by Curren$y and More About Nothing by Wale as one of the best this year so far.

I can't say enough how much I love National Anthem (F*** the World). The beat just fits perfectly, the subject matter is great, and like I said before, his flow is incredible on that track. Rock Bottom would be my second favorite from the EP, and even though I gave 3.5's to Str8 Killa No Filla and Rep 2 Tha Fullest, they were just a few changes away from 4-4.5's (hint: the guest appearances). Oil Money kind of disappointed me because I saw Bun B and Chip Tha Ripper on the track and although they did well, I don't care for the beat on it for some reason. It's still a good song though and finishes off the EP nicely.

Hopefully he'll pick up some more fans from this release and people will actually go out and pick up the physical copy of this. I know I would if I can find it; highly doubtful though. Gibbs hasn't hit his peak yet and if I think he's dope now, then I'm excited for what the future brings him.

Cardinals @ Titans notes.

Last year's match-up between the Titans and Cardinals provided one of the greatest finishes in recent NFL history and marked the beginning of a career turnaround for a former first round draft pick. After downing a punt at the one yard line, Vince Young took the 4-6 Titans - who previously started the season 0-6 under Kerry Collins - 99 yards for a game-winning touchdown. The former Texas star converted three fourth downs, including the one at the end of the game.

Last night's match-up didn't provide the same sort of suspense, but it was still a great showing by Young and the rest of the Tennessee squad. In their 24-10 win, I was impressed by just about everything the Titans did, and couldn't pick out a major flaw like last week.

Without further adieu, here's your Titans' good, bad and ugly for their second pre-season game.

Good:

- Vince Young. Over his first four seasons, I've never seen him perform particularly well in the pre-season. This year is different so far. He looked very sharp, hitting on almost all of his throws, even on an incompletion where he was a missed pass interference call from connecting Nate Washington for a huge gain. The third drive was great as well, as the passing game for once set up the running game for the Titans first touchdown.
- The receiving corps. Besides Paul Williams (why isn't he cut yet?), everyone performed well. Nate Washington made a very nice catch and was Vince's favorite target. Craig Stevens stopped being strictly a blocking tight end and brought in a perfect pass. Damian Williams impressed in his pre-season debut with some catches from Kerry Collins (who played well also). Jared Cook even finally found some playing time and responded well. I'm just as excited as Jeff Fisher when talking about this group, as he says it's the most talented group he's had since starting here 16 years ago.
- Running game. Chris Johnson ran okay (he is never a good pre-season player), but the other three backs were impressive. Javon Ringer found the open holes, Samkon Gado ran very hard and LaGarrette Blount was much better than last week.
- Pass rush. The first-string didn't get a sack, but they were in Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson's faces all game. Let's not forget they're playing without two starters and their first round pick on the defensive line. Jason Jones WILL have a big season if he stays healthy; quote me.
- Run defense. Gerald McRath is going to be a monster; it seemed like he was in on every tackle. It sucks he'll miss the first four games due to suspension though. Will Witherspoon and Stephen Tulloch looked sharp and Rennie Curran was decent.
- Chuck Cecil. I never, I mean NEVER praise this guy. However, he called a great game tonight, dialing up all the right blitz combinations to make Matt Leinart's life a living hell. Derek Anderson had one big throw, but was shut down for the rest of the night.

Bad:

- Jason McCourty. I needed to put someone/something here, so McCourty takes the slot for playing mediocre. Stephen Williams, a rookie receiver from Toledo, had his number most of the night.

Ugly:

- Chris Johnson's teeth.

Next week will probably be less detailed, as I'll be moving back in at college on the night of the game, but there'll be something up. Onto Carolina we go!

Titans @ Seahawks notes.

I love August.

After the Super Bowl confetti fell on the champion New Orleans Saints, fans of all 32 teams were ready for August to get here. Sure the draft and such would give fans their football fix for a short period of time, but live-game action is what we live for.

Yes, it's pre-season, and some people won't even watch a wink of their team's glorified practices, but I like seeing a glimpse of what my team looks like.

This isn't going to be a long post, just some random thoughts from the Titans/Seahawks game. Despite the 20-18 loss, I felt okay about our performance; especially since half the starters didn't play anyways.

The Good:

- First offensive drive for Tennessee. Vince Young was money on all of his passes and although it took Chris Johnson three times to get into the end zone, at least he didn't get hurt. Hell, Nate Washington had two nice catches.
- The "starting" defensive line. Although there was just one original starter - Jason Jones - on the d-line last night, they looked pretty impressive getting pressure on Matt Hasselbeck. Jason Babin even came in and contributed.
- Alterraun Verner and Jason McCourty. I'll get into more into the rest of the secondary later, but Verner and McCourty looked decent.

The Bad:

- Vince Young's interception. I'll place the blame on both him and Justin Gage. Gage got out of his break shaky, which gave Josh Wilson a nice opportunity to pick it off. The frustration Vince showed afterward wasn't good to see either.
- Rusty Smith. He wasn't horrible, but he didn't show me anything that makes me accept the Titans' decision of drafting him over Dan LeFevour.
- The fake punt. It worked and got a first down, but why use it now? Jeff Fisher has notoriously ran trick stuff in the pre-season and never has the balls to run it in the games that count.

The Ugly:

- The secondary...especially Ryan Mouton. Like I said, besides Verner and McCourty, the secondary was pretty much garbage. Mouton started off well with a nice break-up, then was toasted and picked on the rest of the night. Mike Williams of all people broke his ankles.
- Chris Simms. He's so bad, it's not even funny. I think I'd rather watch Jason Jones behind center than Simms.
- Stafon Johnson's injury. It sucks to see such a great story have a chapter ripped out of it because of another setback. It's a major ankle injury, but I really hope he can push himself through it like he did with the throat injury, and play again.

More About Nothing review.

It's been a while since we've heard Wale's name in the hip-hop scene. His debut album Attention Deficit released almost a year ago, and although disappointing - J. Cole's verse on Beautiful Bliss was the highlight - it was still a decent listen but had fans wanting more.

Now after an absence, he has released a "sequel" of sorts to A Mixtape About Nothing; which is, in my opinion, an absolute masterpiece and one of the best mixtapes I've ever heard. When it was announced, More About Nothing jumped into the top of my most anticipated projects for the rest of the year.

By the way, if you didn't know, Wale went to (my future alma mater) Robert Morris University for a year, running track and playing football. I just felt the need to brag.

1.) The Problem - 3.5/5
2.) The MC - 4/5
3.) The Soup - 4.5/5
- Stethoscope line is fire. "This is More About Nothing, I'm the f***ing show."
4.) The Breeze (Cool) ft. Wiz Khalifa & Tré of UCB - 5/5
- Finally Wiz and Wale do a track together. I love Khalifa on the hook.
5.) The Friends N Strangers ft. Tré of UCB - 4.5/5
6.) The Numbers Won (Competition) - 4.5/5
7.) The Eyes of the Tiger - 4.5/5
8.) The War ft. Daniel Merriweather - 5/5
- I'm glad I gave this a few more listens before the review...definitely changed my thoughts on it.
9.) The Break Up Song - 5/5
- This song really shows the smoothness of Wale's flow. The first 40 seconds throw you around for a loop though.
10.) The Work (Workin') - 3/5
11.) The Black N Gold ft. Sam Sparro - 4.5/5
12.) The Manipulation Pt. 2 - 4/5
13.) KD Interlude - 2.5/5
- Wasn't necessary, but I can see why Wale gave Kevin Durant a shoutout.
14.) The Posse Cut (Who Don't) ft. Fat Trel & Black Cobain - 4/5
15.) The Guilty Pleasure (No Hands) ft. Waka Flocka Flame & Roscoe Dash - 4/5
- Waka Flocka Flame should fall off a cliff.
16.) The Trip (Downtown) - 4.5/5
17.) The Ambitious Girl - 5/5
- Wale's exactly right; a girl with drive is extremely sexy.
18.) The Motivation (Be Right) ft. Dre from Cool & Dre - 4/5
19.) The Cloud ft. Tiara Thomas - 3.5/5
20.) The Power ft. Avery Storm - 4.5/5
- I haven't heard Avery Storm since Nelly's Sweatsuit album.
21.) The Get Away (Fly Away) ft. Northeast Groovers - 3.5/5

Overall Grade: 4.2/5

Like I said earlier, I thought A Mixtape About Nothing was a masterpiece. However, I have to say that although the previous tape was maybe a more complete project, this is a more enjoyable listen. There are many highlights - The Breeze, The War, The Break Up Song, The Ambitious Girl - and the stretch from The Soup to The War is one of the best sequences of tracks I've heard all year.

With so many good mixtapes out this year, it's pretty impressive when I say that this is the best out of the group. (Albeit, I think Mood Muzik 4 will give him a run for his money.) The Seinfield theme never gets old to me and Wale gives you a variety of different themes that can appeal to different tastes.

Now Wale just needs to come to RMU again for a concert.