Yo, so as you know, I like to preface my shit before I write. <—–I say that every time I do an album review.
This time, I’m scaling back on the prefaces. I’m only giving you one…
Preface 1 – Luda went for blood on this shit.
That’s it. Now kick back and enjoy the review:
I’m sippin’ a Captain Morgan’s and Ginger Ale while I’m writing this. #creamSoda. So pardon any slips of the finger.
1 – Ludaversal Intro – Luda has a knack for killin intros. Honestly, he has a knack for killin’ beats…period. He does the same here. He just fux the beat up. I haven’t heard a premiere David Banner beat in a minute. I finally do and it’s used perfectly. 4.8/5 on this one.
2 – Grass is Always Greener – I like this shit because I get the message. It’s not overly preechy, it’s mad catchy and it gives us a small glimpse into Luda’s psyche. He’s basically saying that folks always think the grass is always greener on the other side, but he gives personal examples of how you should see both sides. I love the beat and how he rides it. pause.
3 – Call Your Bluff – THIS IS MY SH!T. The beat is fucking dumb. Luda shows up spittin’ lines that gets more disgusting as the song progresses. Add to that the #ludaFlow (you know wtf I’m talmbout if you’re a Luda fan). I always have a joint on an album that I put on EVERY time I play it, THEN I go back and play the album from the beginning. This is that joint for this album. Ludacris was rappin’ like he just turned 24 on this shit ;-).
4 – Lyrical Healing – Ok, so I’m diggin’ the beat and the shit talkin’ from Luda at the beginning, but I have a problem here. He starts sounding like Eminem to me. The punchlines are very marshall mathers like. I’m not sure if Luda thought he was bodying shit here…, but he wasn’t. I won’t knock him too hard though, because the album has been crack so far , so I’ll take a hit of weed here.
5 – Beast Mode – First off, the term “beast mode” should be applied to the beat here. Second, Luda shows up again, but with some questionable punchlines again. What keeps me on #teamLuda though is that he places these subpar bars amongst high-powered joints. This song aint weak, but nothing to call home about. Again, great beat though.
6 – Viagra (skit) – It’s cool. I’ve definitely heard better skits from him though.
7 – Get Lit – I’m starting to think Luda is an alcoholic. His #IDGAF mixtape had a bunch of alcoholic references. Anyway, this shit hot. And the flow is restupid. When he gets in that zone, Luda just fuckin’ blacks out . And that’s one of the things I love about this album…the blackouts. He keeps going in. The hook could be better, but I’m fuckin with this. This some gym shit too, btw.
8 – Come and See Me (Interlude) – I like this shit. It’s like a change of pace. Beat still hot as fuck, but it’s mellow. I wish it was more than one verse because I feel like some crazy shit can go down on this joint. It’s all good though, I’ll take it.
9 – Come and See Me ft. Big Krit – Car song for car lovers, but also for hip hop lovers. I like the chemistry between Krit and Luda. They don’t sound like they were both in the same studio when they composed this, but it seems like they could feed off each other well if they were. I’m fuckin’ with this.
10 – Good Lovin’ ft. Miguel – I heard this was on the radio already (I wouldn’t know, I don’t really fux with the radio). I completely get why it was on the radio…this shit is stupid hot. It’s mad catchy, Luda gets a little personal and Miguel croons this shit to perfection. Definitely a repeat joint for me.
11 – Ocean Skies ft. Monica – I completely forgot he won a grammy for best album. That’s crack. I watched a documentary on Luda while back. He talked a lot about his father in the film. This song is just a continuation of the feelings and thoughts from that. I like it. I will never skip it when I’m listening to the album, but I might zone out a little. I can easily relate to this btw. My pops is still alive though.
12 – Not Long – I’m diggin’ this shit. Beat is coookin’, Usher doesn’t do a bad job (although, I think he coulda got a cheaper R&B dude to knock this out with no problem) and I like the message. There’s such a good blend of everything here. It turned out to be a really good song. Props.
13 – Charge it to the Rap Game – It’s good to hear Luda speaking on some personal shit (including getting his jewels taken by some groupies). The beat allows for a nice flow and set of interesting bars. I’m a fan of any artist that can keep shit entertaining while speaking on some shit. For the record…this beat is fuckin’ crazy. I can easily hear it used in a cypher.
14 – This Has Been My World – This sound like something that coulda been taken in the “keep your head up and keep grinding” direction. Luda instead decided to talk about his world. The ups, downs, what’s important and what he’s lookin’ for. I like it. It’s a crack way to end the album. Shouts to Luda for a fire album. Peep the spoken word at the end.
Deluxe Edition Tracks
15 – Money ft. Ross – You know shit is about to go down once you hear the beat come in. This isn’t a new concept (talking about the impact money has had on your life), but I always like to hear a different perspective. Luda did a nice job here. Ross showed up too. He broke down life on some mo’ money mo’ problems shit (the concept, not the song). Nothing too crazy, but I’m fuckin’ with this.
16 – Problems ft. Cee Lo – He just goes in on a hot beat about issues he has in his life. I love the hook. Leave it up to Cee Lo to deliver on that front. He has laid down one of my favorite hooks ever.
17 – In My Life ft. John Legend – Good shit right here. Although, I only expected crack when I saw Legend was involved. I figured Luda just had to show up and do his thing. He did. It’s a look into his life again and more of just getting a candid look into his mind. Whole song is hot, but that third verse is mean.
18 – Burning Bridges ft Jason Aldean – Wow…The hook, the beat, the subject and the fuckin’ BARS. I love what Luda did here with the lyrics, but I think he shorted us on the last verse. He did his thing on the first verse and killed the second. I thought he was about to fuck shit up on the third…but he didn’t. He shorted it actually. It’s all good though, I’ll take it.
The album as a whole delivers and that’s really what’s important to me. I’ll be spinning this shit for a minute. Luda is an artist that def has high replay value, because after you’ve soaked up all that there is via his lyrics, you can listen for other reasons (the beat, the combo of beat and hook, the featured crooner, etc).
I give this album 4 outta 5 Shawnna from DTP ass shots.
Get at me on Twitter @ema_therm with your thoughts or listen to the latest show from us here at EMA