The Weeknd - Thursday review.

Taken from soulculture.co.uk.

"...but on Thursday, make sure you are thirsty."

I can speak on behalf of many music fans that when it came to The Weeknd's newest mixtape, Thursday, we weren't just thirsty for it - we were parched. Just a few weeks after hearing the universally acclaimed, out-of-nowhere release House of Balloons, my hype level for the next chapter of the three-part trilogy was through the roof.

Besides some tweets in May saying Thursday was coming soon along with two "singles" in "Rolling Stone" and "The Birds Part 1" released within the same timeframe, there wasn't much news behind the mysterious mixtape. Abel Tesfaye did, however, host his first concert in early July and later performed at OVO Fest on the 31st. But once the lights turned off at Molson Amphitheatre, he went back into hiding and the release date of Thursday was still unknown.

Then on the 16th, Abel simply tweeted "this one..." and everyone knew what was finally coming soon. Two days later (obviously on a Thursday), the highly anticipated mixtape was released on his website and just shortly after, the site crashed and many people - including me - were searching for alternate links. In just the first day alone, Thursday was downloaded over 180,000 times; an incredible number for a still relatively unknown artist.

When I first listened to House of Balloons, I enjoyed it but nothing blew me away. Eventually a few more listens made me like it a lot, and continued listens over the past months made it one of my favorite projects of 2011. Unlike the first mixtape though, Thursday hit me square in the face during my first listen.

The entire tape sort of plays off "Wicked Games" from House of Balloons. Still heartbroken from a previous relationship, the nine-track project unravels as a story, documenting Abel's process of finding girls to hook up with. However, the story's antagonist doesn't provoke the same feelings that the other girls do.

In the opener "Lonely Star", Abel meets what could be his next hook up. The girl doesn't have much of a past because of a lack of relationships, so Abel takes her under his arm and shows she can have whatever she wants. It's a ploy to sleep with her however and after she gets some drugs in her system, she starts bringing his plan to life.

"Welcome to the other side," he cries out in "Life of the Party" - a signal of the transformation the girl has made since the previous song. She's starting to become exactly what Abel wanted her to be; from the innocent, lonely girl to a drug-induced whore. The title track "Thursday", reiterates that she's not different from the rest and that his feelings for her drastically change from day-to-day.

The Drake-assisted "The Zone" is not only my favorite song from the tape, but it also reiterates the fact that she isn't anything more than a hook up to him. Their first time together is more influenced by the codeine he's been drinking than actual feelings. Drake's verse doesn't necessarily tie in with Abel's story but it fits the theme of the tape and closes out the song perfectly.

Abel feels the need to remind the girl in "The Birds Part 1" that falling in love with him will be useless, cause he's done this exact thing plenty of times. But her response in "The Birds Part 2" is that she already fell in love with him and wants him to wait till she loses her feelings for her before he inevitably cheats on her.

But with her statement "it won't be long till I fall out of love" from the previous song, she insists that she doesn't want this to explicitly end. "Gone" is like "The Zone", piecing together their next hook up. The possible shifting of his intentions show up here when he allows her to drink the codeine that he values so much.

"Rolling Stone" shows Abel at his most vulnerable state. The morning after the party, he starts questioning his feelings and thinks he might actually want this girl to love him. He's worried about how the ineluctable fame will have women want him for that reason and not for himself. Confusion sets in at the end though because he is still unsure of what he wants. One line he's singing "I'll be different", the next is "I think I'll be different" and then finally "I hope I'm not different."

And that brings us to the tape's closer, "Heaven or Las Vegas". It briefly touches on a lack of a father figure in Abel's life, but the main theme of this song is how he feels like a king or a god because he has everything he wants in life: drugs, girls and friends. Whether this is like heaven to him or is more like Las Vegas remains to be seen (or rather, heard).

Comparing this to House of Balloons is tough, because they're both incredible mixtapes and some of the best projects in 2011. House of Balloons has better highlights ("What You Need", "Wicked Games") but Thursday is a more complete listen. The production is just as good, if not better as its counterpart and nothing seems out of place. The story flows beautifully and is also relatable in many aspects (one aspect not being the hardcore drug use found throughout the tape).

It seemed impossible at first, but The Weeknd did it. He somehow topped an absolutely brilliant debut and as of August 26th, this is your 2011 project of the year.

1.) Lonely Star | 4 - 4.25

2.) Life of the Party | 3.5 - 4

3.) Thursday | 4.5 - 5

4.) The Zone (ft. Drake) | 5

5.) The Birds Part 1 | 4.75 - 5

6.) The Birds Part 2 | 4.25 - 5

7.) Gone | 4.75 - 5

8.) Rolling Stone | 5

9.) Heaven or Las Vegas | 3 - 3.75

Overall: 4.49/5

Hell: The Sequel review.

With apologies to Tech N9ne and Skyzoo, who each have released great projects just recently, I decided to make my next review the years-in-the-making collaboration project between Eminem and Royce da 5'9, Hell: The Sequel. Although both artists are out of their prime, the annoucement of this EP gave the music world another highly anticipated, if not the most anticipated project for 2011.

However, for most hip-hop heads, high expectations weren't exactly the norm. Although Royce has been doing his thing with Slaughterhouse, Eminem has been extremely disappointing as of late with Relapse and Recovery. Both albums have showed signs of the old Eminem, but the majority of the songs on both showed an over-exaggerated delivery style (accent on Relapse, hardcore yelling on Recovery) that turned a lot of listeners off. That includes me, who if you can remember, originally gave Recovery a 4.2/5, but that was a result of falling victim to the hype.

Still, like all of my favorite artists growing up, I will support Eminem and continue to listen to all his projects in hopes of him recapturing one of the old styles or just making consistently good music. With all of that being said, I went into my listening sessions of Hell: The Sequel with bias aside, hoping the two Detroit artist could recapture the flame of their collaborations from The Slim Shady LP days.

The EP's intro track "Welcome 2 Hell" showcases supreme technical ability as Eminem storms out of the gate with a lightning-quick flow. The faster Eminem raps, the less evident his new yelling delivery is, which is always a positive. Royce matches him bar for bar by the time you're really starting to get into the song, it's over at under three minutes.

"Fastlane", the first single from the EP, is the best example of Eminem and Royce's chemistry together. In the second verse, Royce slowly starts to quicken his flow and right in the middle of a line, Eminem catches the flow and continues on with it. It's things like this that make these two a beauty to listen to when they're together.

"The Reunion" has a catchy Eminem-sung hook along with multiple Relapse references. Meanwhile, "Above The Law" slightly sounds like Rihanna's "Hard" from a production standpoint. Royce definitely gets the better of his counterpart in the latter; the first time I feel the one artist completely outshines the other.

"I'm On Everything" is just a fun song, showcasing some of the humor Eminem and Royce da 5'9 have shown over the years of their career while providing an extremely addicting hook by Mike Epps. "A Kiss" is another song where I think Royce is more notable than Em, but Slim Shady has the most hilarious line as he pokes fun at Lady Gaga.

"Lighters" is easily the most controversial song on the EP. The track doesn't fit the project's vibe at all and it just screams radio play on Bruno Mars's first note. However, differing from unpopular opinion, I feel Mars does an incredible job on the hook. Eminem and Royce's verses could be a lot better for the song to be executed perfectly, but it's still solid enough to not get really old and annoying when it's heard on the radio.

The final two songs showcase some of my favorite verses of the EP. Eminem is at his best on "Take From Me" as he takes shots at the mysterious Koolo, who leaked unreleased songs throughout the last few months. Slaughterhouse stops in for the final song, "Loud Noises", with Crooked I and Joe Budden standing over their peers.

The EP, like assumed, is a few years too late to realize its full potential, but it's still a fun listen. Only songs like "Fast Lane", "I'm On Everything", "Take From Me" and "Loud Noises" have some sort of replay value, but that might be just how I feel about Eminem nowadays. He can still spit sometimes, but for the most part, he's not nearly as enjoyable to listen to as other artists. Still, Hell: The Sequel is a solid project that deserves a listen.

1.) Welcome 2 Hell - 3.5 - 4

2.) Fast Lane - 4.5 - 5

3.) The Reunion - 2.5 - 3

4.) Above The Law - 3

5.) I'm On Everything (ft. Mike Epps) - 4 - 4.75

6.) A Kiss - 2 - 2.5

7.) Lighters (ft. Bruno Mars) - 3 - 3.5

8.) Take From Me - 4

9.) Loud Noises (ft. Slaughterhouse) - 4 - 4.5

Overall: 3.60/5

Goblin album review.

Vulnerability. It resides in all of our lives and in different forms. Some of us have a high level of vulnerability, while for others, it takes a lot to provoke it. For Tyler Okonma, his vulnerability is expressed throughout his second album, Goblin. He might seem like your typical happy-go-lucky, rebellious 20-year-old, but beyond the explicit tweets and humorous interviews, there's a young kid that misses how simple life used to be.

In the album's opening song, "Goblin", Tyler, The Creator's therapy session with Dr. TC continues from Bastard - right off the last track "Inglorious". Tyler vents about high expectations, his critics that try to bring him down, the lack of attention his fellow Odd Future members get, as well as other subjects. He admits he's too scared to tell his friends how he actually feels about things, because it would diminish the tough guy persona that he portrays through his subject matter.

"Her" shows a side of Tyler that is rarely, if ever seen in public. In a heart-felt confession to a girl named Raquel, Tyler admits that he wants to establish a relationship with her and do all the cheesy things that girls like in them. When she ends up getting back together with the ex-boyfriend that Tyler hates, Tyler wants to express his anger over a text but he would end up smiling just because they'd be conversing again.

However, Tyler's biggest showing of his vulnerability is in the album's closing track, "Golden". In the first verse alone, he addresses the lack of time he sees his mother, when this rapping thing was just for fun, how his friends are treating him differently and that they're more like his assistants now, and how he misses Earl Sweatshirt while his fans are moreso just missing new music from the young rapper.

Goblin might be one of the darkest albums I've heard in a while. The hit single "Yonkers" takes a haunting beat and complements it with contradictory lyrics that are based off the first line of the song. The video is equally brilliant and although it might not be creepy to me as an avid Odd Future listener, I guarantee that if you show the music video to a unbeknownst friend, they'll be creeped out.

The Left Brain-produced "Transylvania" has Tyler playing the role as Dracula, as he uses a vocal effect to make his extreme lyrics to make the song even more haunting. "Nightmare" is a message to his mother that the newfound fame is taking her son over, but he also takes the time to angrily lash out at Earl's parents, calling them failures for sending their son away.

Even the album's most mainstream ready song, "She", is haunting. Frank Ocean is attacked by Tyler during his sex session with the new girl down the block, who turns out to be Tyler's ex-girlfriend. Despite the subject matter, Frank delievers a beautiful hook about Tyler being a possessive, stalking ex-boyfriend, then Tyler cuts down on the shock lyrics (for the most part) after threatening to kill her if him and the girl don't hang out tonight. It's the perfect love song for the theme and vibe of Goblin.

But despite my earlier statement of how dark this album is, there are a few songs that don't exactly fit from that standpoint. "Analog" is also a song ready for the mainstream, taking the vocal effects similar to the ones in "Transylvania" and instead of continuing that vibe, both Tyler and Hodgy Beats create a "summer love" song that surprisingly is very good.

"Bitch Suck Dick" is the given joke track - see "Tina" on Bastard - with Jasper Dolphin and Taco. Think Waka Flocka Flame meets Odd Future when you're listening to it. The song itself is horrible (as expected), but it's fun to listen to when you're in a good mood. "Fish" isn't very dark either but it's also very forgettable.

But some of the darkest moments on the album happen right at the end of "Bitch Suck Dick" and the posse track, "Window". [SPOILER ALERT] In each of these, Tyler breaks down and shoots his friends, killing Jasper and Taco in their assisted song, then killing the rest after his verse in the latter. Hodgy isn't in my top three favorite members of OFWGKTA, but his "death" hit me the hardest because of the emotion he showed after "dying". It actually felt kind of real. [END SPOILER ALERT]

The influences of two albums released throughout the past few years are throughout Goblin. For instance, the instrumental changes and outros on songs like "Goblin", "Radicals" and "Tron Cat" are a direct influence of Kanye West's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy of last year. Lyrics similar to those in Eminem's 2009 release Relapse are found throughout tracks like "Transylvania", while Tyler's conscience rapping along with him in "Golden" is a lot like the bonus track "My Darling".

I can see the reasons why someone wouldn't like this however. Even though I noted the Kanye influence in songs like "Radicals", the change of chords aren't as interesting as they could be. The beats to "Her" and "Window" are too simplistic for even Tyler's standards and would bore most listeners. The explicit lyrics could wear thin after a while, especially on an album that just under 80 minutes long. If this album was cut down to a 40-50 minute version, then I could see a lot more people liking this.

As a whole, I feel this is a more focused effort from both a lyrical and production standpoint. Bastard's highlights aren't superior in quality and quanitity to Goblin's, while the middle-of-the-road tracks are better on the latest album as well. There's obviously room to grow for Tyler, The Creator as both an MC and a producer, but if the album concepts follow through into his already planned third album, Wolf, then in 2012 we might have an legitimate Album of the Year candidate by everyone's favorite (or most hated) loud-mouthed, rebellious artist.

1.) Goblin | 4 - 4.75

2.) Yonkers | 5

3.) Radicals | 4 - 4.5

4.) She (ft. Frank Ocean) | 5

5.) Transylvania | 3.25 - 4

6.) Nightmare | 3.5 - 4

7.) Tron Cat | 4 - 4.25

8.) Her | 4

9.) Sandwitches (ft. Hodgy Beats) | 4.75 - 5

10.) Fish | 2.5 - 3

11.) Analog (ft. Hodgy Beats) | 4.5 - 5

12.) Bitch Suck Dick (ft. Jasper Dolphin & Taco) | 2.25 - 3

13.) Window (ft. Domo Genesis, Frank Ocean, Hodgy Beats & Mike G) | 3 - 3.75

14.) AU79 | 3 - 3.5

15.) Golden | 5

Overall: 4.05/5

Welcome to Tennessee, Jake Locker.

"He had below a 60 percent completion rate!"

"Blaine Gabbert was still on the board!"

"What a reach!"

Yes, those are just some of the comments I heard when the Tennessee Titans shocked most of the NFL world by choosing Washington quarterback Jake Locker with the 8th overall pick. The disapproval rate of the selection was overwhelming and I felt like one of the few Titans fans who were okay with the pick. I admittedly was shocked at first and wanted Nick Fairley of Auburn, but I never flat-out hated the pick because I think Locker can become a very good NFL quarterback in the right situation.

Here in Tennessee, Locker is in the right situation. The front office is more than committed to pick up a veteran free agent quarterback to start, so Locker won't be forced into action right away. Bringing back Kerry Collins is also a possibility and as much flak he gets, he actually played above-average when healthy and given time in the pocket.

He has a quarterback guru to learn under. Chris Palmer has had a lot of success with young signal-callers; most recently with Eli Manning and Tony Romo. Palmer wanted Locker from the beginning and the two have even planned to spend time in July at Cape Cod. Why is Locker going to be at Cape Cod then? He's getting married and wants to spend his honeymoon with his wife and his offensive coordinator. That's dedication.

He has plenty of offensive weapons to help him. He has the best runningback in the league in Chris Johnson to hand the ball to and on the outside, there's one of the most explosive young receivers in Kenny Britt. Athletic freak Jared Cook excited many in his extended playing time at the end of 2010 and his offensive linemates are very solid, especially former All-Pro tackles Michael Roos and David Stewart. This isn't the group of no-bodies that Locker had with Washington, no, this is one of the brightest young offenses in the NFL. All they were missing was a quarterback.

The biggest knock on Locker is his accuracy, but if you watch tape, you'd see that a positive in his game is his accuracy out of the pocket. He's probably the best quarterback in this class at throwing on the run but the concerns are when he's in the pocket. But how many times was he actually comfortable in the pocket?

Most of his offensive teammates weren't Pac 10 level talent thanks to the recruiting practices of former coach Tyrone Willingham, so plenty of times the pocket collapsed extremely early and his receivers would drop catchable balls. I'm not denying that his accuracy needs work, but the situation he was in at Washington was a tough one to say the least.

His work ethic and leadership abilities already surpass the last Titans quarterback that wore #10. I already mentioned how he's planning to vacation with his offensive coordinator, but from a leadership standpoint, he stayed for his senior year to complete two goals: to get his degree and to lead Washington to their first bowl game since 2002. Despite his stock dropping with the emergence of other quarterbacks, he completed both goals, even leading the Huskies to a revenge win over Nebraska - a team that beat them earlier in the regular season.

Ever since Mike Reinfeldt took over for Floyd Reese as the team's General Manager, the Titans' first round selections have been great. Michael Griffin, although inconsistent at times, is one of the better safeties in the league. The aforementioned Johnson was a reach but he turned out okay. Britt, like I said, is one of the most explosive young receivers and despite a knee injury, last year's selection Derrick Morgan looks like the best defensive end in Tennessee since Jevon Kearse if/when he recovers fully. With all of those positive selections, it won't be much of a surprise if Locker turns out to be a winner as well.

There has been plenty of quarterbacks who have entered the league with accuracy concerns who turned out to be great, including one of the franchise's best in the late Steve McNair. I'm not saying he's the next McNair, but I feel we've gotten an excellent individual who has a great head on his shoulders and I'm very excited to have him as a Tennessee Titan.

Welcome to Tennessee, Jake Locker.

Titans draft thoughts.

Photo taken from NFLsoup.com.

Hey in case you didn't know, the NFL Draft is tomorrow! With the league currently (though not technically anymore) in a lockout, this year's draft has been one of the least anticipated in history. The event is a huge one for a Titans fan, as we'll find out (more than likely) who our next franchise quarterback will be within the first two rounds.

The 2010 draft was very kind to Tennessee as they found a starter in the middle rounds and a Pro Bowler in Round 7. Here's just a quick recap of how their selections fared in their rookie campaigns.

[1st round, 16th overall] Derrick Morgan, DE, Georgia Tech - 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks

Morgan was well on his way to proving his worth as the 16th overall selection. However, a torn ACL shut down his rookie season and left the Titans in a tough predictament by having to rotate players like Jacob Ford and William Hayes at defensive end. Morgan's rehab is reportedly going well and he should find himself back on the field by the start of the season.

[3rd round, 77th overall] Damian Williams, WR, USC - 16 catches, 219 yards

This is a pick I loved coming into the season and still do. Stats don't tell the story how impressive Williams was last year. He was buried on the bench for most of the season because of former coach (I love saying that) Jeff Fisher's love affair with Justin Gage, but when he did deservingly get into the game, he was a threat in the slot. Williams should have a big role in the Titans offense for years to come.

[3rd round, 97th overall] Rennie Curran, LB, Georgia - 8 tackles

Another pick I loved coming into the season, but I haven't seen anything yet to make me love it even more. His sample size came on the way of special teams in nine games, but he did good in that role. With the potential departure of Stephen Tulloch, look for Curran to get more playing time in 2011.

[4th round, 104th overall] Alterraun Verner, CB, UCLA - 101 tackles, 3 INT

An absolute steal. While teams like the Texans and the Jets were picking corners not named Joe Haden and Devin McCourty in the first round, the Titans quietly took this mathematics major in the fourth round. For part of the season, Verner was ranked as one of the top corners in the entire league by Pro Football Focus and although his play slipped slightly near the end of 2010, he still had an incredible year nonetheless. I'm thrilled to have this guy on the Titans and can't wait for him to develop even more in Jerry Gray's defensive scheme.

[5th round, 148th overall] Robert Johnson, S, Utah - N/A

The biggest news Johnson made all season was posing as Randy Moss during Moss's first practice in Tennessee. With an aging Chris Hope, Johnson should get some playing time at strong safety in 2011.

[6th round, 176th overall] Rusty Smith, QB, Florida Atlantic - 25.0 rtg., 200 yards, 4 INT

I had a love/hate relationship with this pick at first. I loved it because of Smith's first name, but hated it with Dan LeFevour still on the board. That being said, I still am okay with this selection. Ignoring the horrible showing against Houston, Smith showed an incredible work ethic to get better while flashing some sorts of skill in his two appearances. He never should have saw the field last season and although he'll possibly never be a consistent starting quarterback in his career, I can promise he'll be much better than what he showed against Houston.

[6th round, 207th overall] Myron Rolle, S, Florida State - N/A

Loved this pick too but maybe moreso for the story than the actual ability of Rolle. He was on the practice squad all season and might see some time at safety next year, but I'm not sure of that. One thing he needs to do however is knock some sense into Kenny Britt.

[7th round, 222nd overall] Marc Mariani, WR/KR, Montana - 60 KR, 1530 yards, 1 TD, 27 PR, 329 yards, 1 TD

I think Jeff Fisher and I were the only ones who liked this selection on draft day. I saw enough of Mariani on highlight videos to become a fan of his and hoped we would snag him late to shore up a shaky at best returning game. He did just that, being the only player last season to score on a kick and punt return, while making the Pro Bowl. He showed me a lot during the pre-season as a receiver too and I think will see time on offense next season.

[7th round, 241th overall] David Howard, DT, Brown - N/A

I thought he was still on the Titans practice squad but after a quick Google search, I found out he was waived and later picked up by the Oakland Raiders.

I'd check the 2010 NFL Draft as a success for the Titans, especially with their later selections of Verner and Mariani. This year's draft is more important however because with the departure of Vince Young and Jeff Fisher, new head coach Mike Munchak needs to find a franchise quarterback along with other players who will fit his new system.

There should be plenty of players to choose from with the eighth overall pick. Quarterbacks like Jake Locker and Andy Dalton will certainly be there but most teams have them graded as mid-first round selections at best. Cornerback Prince Amukamara of Nebraska should be there as well and maybe end North Carolina defensive end Robert Quinn. But at #8, I want and believe the Titans will take Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley.

Fairley has the potential to be one of the more dominant defensive tackles in the league someday. He can disrupt the run, gets to the quarterback and plays with a mean streak (sometimes a little too mean however). There are questions about his work ethic a la Albert Haynesworth but with his former college defensive line coach Tracy Rocker assuming the same position here, plus with a no-nonsense head man in Munchak, I see the rewards being much greater than the risk.

The quarterback position is tough to predict in this year's draft. Mostly everyone assumes Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert will be gone by the top 10, which leaves Locker, Dalton, Christian Ponder, Colin Kaepernick and Ryan Mallett as the remaining "top" quarterbacks on the board.

There are two scenarios that I would prefer the Titans to be in come draft day. The first is trading back into the first round if someone like Locker, Dalton or Ponder are there. I would prefer not to trade with New England because of their trading history or give up a first in 2012, but I can see both happening. I am a fan of Locker, Dalton and Ponder, but don't want them with the 8th overall selection because they aren't worth it there.

The second scenario is staying pat and waiting till the second round to pick a quarterback. Quarterbacks selected in the second round don't have a good success rate, which scares me, but if a lot of these guys are still on the board through the first round, then I would want a quarterback at #40. The most likely selection here would be Kaepernick, who I also like a lot, but I only want him if I know we'll get a veteran quarterback in free agency to mentor him. Kaepernick is at least two years away from being ready for the NFL, but the potential is definitely there.

Mallett is not on my draft board until the third or fourth rounds. I hate the drug rumors surrounding him, the character issues, the pompous attitude he carries and his mobility. There's no questioning his arm but I just can't see someone who has all those red flags being the face of the franchise. If he somehow falls to the third or fourth round and the Titans are still without a quarterback, then I'm all for drafting him just because he's not as much of a risk nor is he looked upon as the future of the franchise. If he pans out, fine, but if not, then oh well.

Other guys I would love in the middle to later rounds are Michigan State linebacker Greg Jones, USC center Kris O'Dowd and Clemson safety DeAndre McDaniel. All three would fit big needs in positions that we are very weak at.

Go Titans.

Side note: Huge game for the Penguins tonight with a Game 7 home match-up against the Tampa Bay Lightning. I hope Eric Tangradi and Deryk Engelland will find their way onto the ice tonight because Tangradi can help a more-than-pathetic power play while Engelland possibly can't be worse than Ben Lovejoy. Let's go Pens!