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So while what you said in the subject line is definitely true in general, I think that Phonte raps better AND has made better albums.
>To me, Pooh was squarely in a pocket that worked for him. The
>beats were on point, boom bap but not necessarily overly
>aggressive. I actually listened to it immediately after NNIGN
>and that record, although 13 or so years old, still is a more
>engaging listen (to me).
Word I'm gonna have to go back to Sleepers, haven't heard it in a while. My response was referencing his more recent work which I also liked, tho not as much as Phonte's solos. I really liked the album he did with Nottz. He sounded comfortable over that production. I just think Phonte's albums have been more complete.
>As far as NNIGN goes - and to an extension my recollection of
>thoughts on Charity, they aren't "bad" albums per se (and in
>the case of the latter, while there were criticisms, it wasn't
>panned) but Phonte seems to be stuck in FE+ mode - reworking
>Leave It All Behind and it's successors into rap albums and a
>decade in the concept is again, to me, tiring. If you're going
>to put out a rap album, put out a rap album. I think you can
>still approach adult subject matter without the sleepytime
>ethos. Imagine what kind of album he could put together with
>say the instrumentals of something like Skyzoo's In
>Celebration of Us...
Yea I mean I don't really disagree with your sentiments here. I also got tired of the FE+ formula after a while. I always give their albums a listen because they've more than earned my respect and time. But I don't think their recent output has the replay value that Connected and Leave It All Behind did. And that's largely because, as you touched on, they've had the same formula for what .. 4 straight albums now ?
And to your point about the FE+ sound infiltrating Phonte's solo albums, I feel you. The weakest parts of both albums are when he strings together 2-3 "adult contemporary" tracks in a row. I find those songs ("Beautiful Night" from Charity, and "Find That Love Again" from No News, for example) to be sort of background music, even if I like them and think Phonte went in on the lyrics.
So we're not that far apart here. I'd rather hear him spit on 12 beats like "So Help Me God" or "Dance in the Reign" as well. But at the same time I can appreciate his desire to showcase how dynamic he is on his solo albums, and I find that he does it really well so it doesn't hurt the album experience for me so much. ----------------------------------------
"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415
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