I wonder if you or anyone could elaborate a little on what they liked about The Recession? Because I hated it (even though I loved his first two albums and most of his mixtapes, so I'm not this Jeezy-hater), and not to plug myself, but I explained why here:
Though I loved 'My President Is Black' (and did a huge post on why but that's enough plugging myself). Tray | Homepage | 11.23.08 – 1:00 am | #
Gravatar aight i'll bite.
first thing: i hesitate to write about the recession because i feel foolish in not being able to quantify exactly what puts it over the top for me. there's just 'something' about jeezy in my view, and yeah it's the "presence" that everyone's talked about ever since he broke, but it's just… different on the recession. there's a hurt and an insecurity that kinda runs under the album, and this is probably why the kanye collabo works so well but i think it's also what makes the recession better and more evocative than thug motivation– a fun summer record– and the inspiration– an uneven and basically lazy album.
and yeah, as david says in his post, it hit at the right time, but i think the recession is in the spirit of lots of classic southern rap records (tons of ugk comes to mind) where even though you can't relate exactly, just the feeling of the music hits really hard. Jordan | Homepage | 11.23.08 – 3:53 am | #
Gravatar See, I thought the Inspiration was incredible. I see it as this kind of winter record, which is appropriate given his moniker. The first three songs are this amazing trilogy of shit to play when you're speeding at 2 a.m. on a country road in the dead of winter. The synths on U Know What It Is sound like glimmering snowflakes, if that makes any sense. Then J.E.E.Z.Y. is the hypnotic crazy shit that makes white law students like me want to sell coke. Then I Luv It's like What You Know for the winter. Then Go Getta, take it or leave it, I ultimately take it. 3 A.M., one of Timbo's last great rap tracks. The Realest – eh. A little much. Streets On Lock is great, you've got those howling, whistling, sounds on the hook that sound like ghost sound effects in Halloween costume shops. Bury Me A G's flawed, but it works. Dreamin's amazing, these crazy nauseating synths, Jeezy pouring his heart out, a hook from an R&b chick that actually works – wow. What You Talkin Bout, huge, you listen to that shit when you're walking to work braving 12 degree wind chill. Mr. 17.5 is so great it makes you go, "yes, he's taking rap back to the block! Oh wait – that's kinda where it's been the past million years. Well whatever. Back to the block!" The last song is all this shit that doesn't make logical sense, where's the weatherman at when you need one, blah blah blah, but somehow seems very wise. And the rest is pretty decent. Even Hood Rat's fascinating, listening to this guy pick up shit literally as the song plays from two of his biggest influences. Recession, I'm listening to that and I'm like, your beats went downhill, you're singing these stupid little melodies on every track, your flow's "improved," in other words, you don't boss around tracks anymore and shout your crazy ad-libs, you just rap like everyone else, nothing here's inspiring me to do shit, you've got all kinds of awful filler… Tray | Homepage | 11.23.08 – 6:06 pm | #
we eat so many shrimp 
old discussion:
I wonder if you or anyone could elaborate a little on what they liked about The Recession? Because I hated it (even though I loved his first two albums and most of his mixtapes, so I'm not this Jeezy-hater), and not to plug myself, but I explained why here:
http://paytray.blogspot.com/2008…n- reviewed.html
Though I loved 'My President Is Black' (and did a huge post on why but that's enough plugging myself).
Tray | Homepage | 11.23.08 – 1:00 am | #
Gravatar aight i'll bite.
first thing: i hesitate to write about the recession because i feel foolish in not being able to quantify exactly what puts it over the top for me. there's just 'something' about jeezy in my view, and yeah it's the "presence" that everyone's talked about ever since he broke, but it's just… different on the recession. there's a hurt and an insecurity that kinda runs under the album, and this is probably why the kanye collabo works so well but i think it's also what makes the recession better and more evocative than thug motivation– a fun summer record– and the inspiration– an uneven and basically lazy album.
and yeah, as david says in his post, it hit at the right time, but i think the recession is in the spirit of lots of classic southern rap records (tons of ugk comes to mind) where even though you can't relate exactly, just the feeling of the music hits really hard.
Jordan | Homepage | 11.23.08 – 3:53 am | #
Gravatar See, I thought the Inspiration was incredible. I see it as this kind of winter record, which is appropriate given his moniker. The first three songs are this amazing trilogy of shit to play when you're speeding at 2 a.m. on a country road in the dead of winter. The synths on U Know What It Is sound like glimmering snowflakes, if that makes any sense. Then J.E.E.Z.Y. is the hypnotic crazy shit that makes white law students like me want to sell coke. Then I Luv It's like What You Know for the winter. Then Go Getta, take it or leave it, I ultimately take it. 3 A.M., one of Timbo's last great rap tracks. The Realest – eh. A little much. Streets On Lock is great, you've got those howling, whistling, sounds on the hook that sound like ghost sound effects in Halloween costume shops. Bury Me A G's flawed, but it works. Dreamin's amazing, these crazy nauseating synths, Jeezy pouring his heart out, a hook from an R&b chick that actually works – wow. What You Talkin Bout, huge, you listen to that shit when you're walking to work braving 12 degree wind chill. Mr. 17.5 is so great it makes you go, "yes, he's taking rap back to the block! Oh wait – that's kinda where it's been the past million years. Well whatever. Back to the block!" The last song is all this shit that doesn't make logical sense, where's the weatherman at when you need one, blah blah blah, but somehow seems very wise. And the rest is pretty decent. Even Hood Rat's fascinating, listening to this guy pick up shit literally as the song plays from two of his biggest influences. Recession, I'm listening to that and I'm like, your beats went downhill, you're singing these stupid little melodies on every track, your flow's "improved," in other words, you don't boss around tracks anymore and shout your crazy ad-libs, you just rap like everyone else, nothing here's inspiring me to do shit, you've got all kinds of awful filler…
Tray | Homepage | 11.23.08 – 6:06 pm | #