Review By: Mic Geniuz
Beginning Thoughts:
Let me first say that anyone who knows me, understands clearly that I am one of the biggest Lil Kim supporters since I was old enough to be a supporter!! I grew up listening to Lil Kim. My mother being from Bed Stuy, my father being from Flatbush… lets just say, it was a given to hear Biggie, Kim, Foxy, Jay, Puffy and that whole era ...everyday, all day!! Through whatever, good and bad, happy or mad, I run with and ride with Kim. One the realist to ever do it, the Queen of this Rap and Hip Hop thing, fashion icon, put in work, proved herself amongst many!! Game changer! I feel a lot of people forgot and don’t give credit to her. Its sad.
Do ya Homework!! (lol)
So, when I heard that she was coming out with a mixtape last year titled “HARDCORE 2k13:Back To The Streets” I got super hype!! Cuz that meant that the hungry, deep voice, ghost of BIG, lyrical Kim was coming back for blood……….. Though, I was slightly skeptical about her naming it HARDCORE. Being that Hardcore is her most iconic album and… it’s a big risk naming something after it……………and then there was no mixtape. However she has been dropping songs consistenly since 2009 like ‘I Am Not The One’, ‘If You Love Me’, ‘Keys To The City’ feat Young Jeezy and so on and so forth…. along with the Black Friday mixtape which wasn’t a favorite for me at all!! and in 2007 she dropped her mixtape Ms. GOAT, which got extremely slept on but was super dope!! All in all, her mixtape dropped today, well kinda. It was supposed to drop 9/11 at 9:11pm. Great marketing idea and good for suspense but….. for some reason, her website was over capacity and the moment that could have been great was tarnished. I blame her team or whoever she gives responsibility and power to because in the past couple years, her business has not been done so properly and everything has been slightly tacky.
Regardless, the TAPE is here. The mixtape has arrived! ‘HARDCORE: The Mixtape’
and… here is my review. Song for song.
Lets Go.
1)Intro –
1)Intro –
A conversation based on what happened when Kim dropped that
infamous squatting poster for promo of the original Hardcore lp back in ;95-’96.
Hilarious listening to the dude tell the story. Great way to remind these people of
the frenzy she caused back then!
2)Stadium Music featuring Yo Gotti -
2)Stadium Music featuring Yo Gotti -
The beat is super hard… Real gritty and hip hop. I love
that! Not a big fan of Yo Gotti but I respect him. Kim could have delivered her
verse more harder with her iconic flow… but its street and she get a salute from
the streets.. im sure. Just when you get into it… the song is over…. I could
have got another verse.
Stand Out Line: “ 95 south I used to move it through the traffic/ Brooklyn Kim- Black Kardashian”
3) Identity Theft -
Kim dropped this a couple weeks ago which caused an internet frenzy of course. This song was a diss to Nicki Minaj. If real Kim fans can remember when Kim put out her trackslist for Hardcore 2k13 she had a song called “ Be Careful” listed… I believe it was this one, switched up to Identity Theft after her ‘beef’ with Nicki came back up… I honestly think that this song should have came out back when the beef was fresh years ago…. The momentum had left but however. “Ya’ll got just what ya’ll wished for “ she delivered this song well to me. It grew on me. Glad she added on the tape. Goes with the flow of everything.
Stand Out Line: “ I wont stop till I see my enemies rest/ they probably get locked up for identy theft”
Stand Out Line: “ 95 south I used to move it through the traffic/ Brooklyn Kim- Black Kardashian”
3) Identity Theft -
Kim dropped this a couple weeks ago which caused an internet frenzy of course. This song was a diss to Nicki Minaj. If real Kim fans can remember when Kim put out her trackslist for Hardcore 2k13 she had a song called “ Be Careful” listed… I believe it was this one, switched up to Identity Theft after her ‘beef’ with Nicki came back up… I honestly think that this song should have came out back when the beef was fresh years ago…. The momentum had left but however. “Ya’ll got just what ya’ll wished for “ she delivered this song well to me. It grew on me. Glad she added on the tape. Goes with the flow of everything.
Stand Out Line: “ I wont stop till I see my enemies rest/ they probably get locked up for identy theft”
4)Real Sick featuring Jadakiss
Yo!!! This is my favorite song on this whole mixtape. Real talk!! And she is accompanied by one of the greatest rappers to ever do it!!!!! Jadakiss murdered his verse… we have never heard them on a track together since The Lox – Money Power Respect and I salute both of them. I need a visual asap… and Kim… come on… can we get another verse to complete it! This song is radio ready to be pushed as a single… Lets go!!! Definitely been on Repeat.
Stand Out Line: “ Let it off then we fleein’ the scene / They aint seen us but they heard that its me and the Queen”
5) Trendsetter
Lil Kim is mos def a trendsetter. The blueprint, the PINK print of all these female rappers after her. TRUST! So this is cool. It’s the sound of today. So im sure fans of the current Hip Hop scene and sound will like this. I am personally not a fan of it but im sure it will grow on me a little bit… great album/mixtape filler.
6)Migo – featuring Young Bondz and TLZ
This beat go hard. Shout out to Young Bondz!! IRS, D.R.U.G.S all that!!! Again, not a fan of the sound but probably sounds mad good played loud in the club or party setting. Its like a Migos song or Future song or all the other cats out right now…. It is perfect for radio.
I personally don’t like Lil Kim sound and flow on here… but hey, they like it, I respect it.
7)Whenever You See Me – Lil Kim feat Cassidy
This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First of all … applause and respect and homage and salute to Cassidy. This beat is dope and I love KIM flow on it. This reminds me of something 50 Cent/G Unit would have did. One of my favz on the mixtape. I love the hook. Its hip hop to me. Real Brooklyn, Real Philly. Cassidy verse !!! He delivered… as he always did…. As he always do. But again….. we need another verse. (im sure you are going to see me say this a lot through the rest of this review). But this song should definitely be pushed with a visual.
8) Work The Pole
I don’t like this song. But its what Kim is known for as far as that raunchy rap and over explicit lyrics. So im sure the people are going to feel it. Again, perfect for the club. It is only like 1:56 seconds long… Like an interlude… could have been a whole song… but yea.
9)Suicide feat French Montana
Yo!!! This is my favorite song on this whole mixtape. Real talk!! And she is accompanied by one of the greatest rappers to ever do it!!!!! Jadakiss murdered his verse… we have never heard them on a track together since The Lox – Money Power Respect and I salute both of them. I need a visual asap… and Kim… come on… can we get another verse to complete it! This song is radio ready to be pushed as a single… Lets go!!! Definitely been on Repeat.
Stand Out Line: “ Let it off then we fleein’ the scene / They aint seen us but they heard that its me and the Queen”
5) Trendsetter
Lil Kim is mos def a trendsetter. The blueprint, the PINK print of all these female rappers after her. TRUST! So this is cool. It’s the sound of today. So im sure fans of the current Hip Hop scene and sound will like this. I am personally not a fan of it but im sure it will grow on me a little bit… great album/mixtape filler.
6)Migo – featuring Young Bondz and TLZ
This beat go hard. Shout out to Young Bondz!! IRS, D.R.U.G.S all that!!! Again, not a fan of the sound but probably sounds mad good played loud in the club or party setting. Its like a Migos song or Future song or all the other cats out right now…. It is perfect for radio.
I personally don’t like Lil Kim sound and flow on here… but hey, they like it, I respect it.
7)Whenever You See Me – Lil Kim feat Cassidy
This!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! First of all … applause and respect and homage and salute to Cassidy. This beat is dope and I love KIM flow on it. This reminds me of something 50 Cent/G Unit would have did. One of my favz on the mixtape. I love the hook. Its hip hop to me. Real Brooklyn, Real Philly. Cassidy verse !!! He delivered… as he always did…. As he always do. But again….. we need another verse. (im sure you are going to see me say this a lot through the rest of this review). But this song should definitely be pushed with a visual.
8) Work The Pole
I don’t like this song. But its what Kim is known for as far as that raunchy rap and over explicit lyrics. So im sure the people are going to feel it. Again, perfect for the club. It is only like 1:56 seconds long… Like an interlude… could have been a whole song… but yea.
9)Suicide feat French Montana
This sounds crazy with bass!! But I feel the same way about this song like I feel about Trendsetter and Migo. But because French on it
and the flow of the song, the streets and people are going to run with it. Cant
do anything but respect it. Shout out to French and his grind…. I mean… I get
it.
10) Dead Gal Walking -
Honestly, since this was released last year…. Its been on heavy RO… definitely should have been a visual… but Kimmy was pregnant and focused on Royal but I love this joint! I put everyone I know on to it when it dropped. I always said I wanted to hear Wyclef on it or somebody of that type of artist. Kim, if you ever shoot a video… let me direct it!!!! And its not too late!! Again… ya’ll know what im going to say….. yea…. Too short… doesn’t sound complete…. Definitely a mixtape fav.
11) Kimmy Blanco
This song grew on me throughout this past year. She dropped it around the same time she dropped Dead Gal Walking. Nothing bad to say about it. Epic Lil Kim flow. I would have liked another verse… but for what it was, im satisfied. This should have been a mixtape starter. Its like an introduction song that kind of set the tone of whats to come. Respect!
12) Haters
10) Dead Gal Walking -
Honestly, since this was released last year…. Its been on heavy RO… definitely should have been a visual… but Kimmy was pregnant and focused on Royal but I love this joint! I put everyone I know on to it when it dropped. I always said I wanted to hear Wyclef on it or somebody of that type of artist. Kim, if you ever shoot a video… let me direct it!!!! And its not too late!! Again… ya’ll know what im going to say….. yea…. Too short… doesn’t sound complete…. Definitely a mixtape fav.
11) Kimmy Blanco
This song grew on me throughout this past year. She dropped it around the same time she dropped Dead Gal Walking. Nothing bad to say about it. Epic Lil Kim flow. I would have liked another verse… but for what it was, im satisfied. This should have been a mixtape starter. Its like an introduction song that kind of set the tone of whats to come. Respect!
12) Haters
***
All in short, The mixtape is cool. I wouldn’t have named it Hardcore. I would have let that legacy live on for what it was. The mixtape is put together like an album and you can listen all the way through. It goes by very quick though. Its more like a teaser to what is coming. With an EP that never came, a delayed mixtape, no album, no official singles, I believe KIM and the LIL KIM brand has done a good job staying in people mouths throughout the years. Whether negative or positive, she is still talked about. Who you know still hold weight like that? At the end of the day respect it.
Kim is the queen of this and if her business and her executions were right, she can live good independently. I want to be on her team and have a say so…. but I’ll just remain her PR in my head. LOL !!
DL the mixtape for entertainment, embrace the new Kim and just wait for what she got coming next. If you aren’t satisfied, blast HER old stuff.... Either way, she’s Lil Kim and it don’t look like she is stopping anytime soon. We just need an album. Throw it on itunes and do a little tour and bow out gracefully. Its not over yet.
SHOUT OUT TO BIG FENDI, DIRTY MONEY, IRS, IRS SOUTH, QUEENBEE ENT, TIFFANY FOXX AND THE WHOLE FAM!
That QUEEN BEE Reign just wont let up!!
- Mic Geniuz
Instagram and Twitter: Mic_MalX
1 comment:
you forgot Real Sick... or maybe i missed it... but love that one too!
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