i'm trying man, i'm really tryyyyyying.

listening, and listening and listening.

forcing myself to hearing what others are hearing.

nothing is registering.

i dont' know what it is.

semi-boom-bap beats + b-boy lyrics + *gulp* r&b hooks?

umm....

just not feeling it.

disappointed.

not enough Malik B...

i love Black Thought and all, but....he sounds uninspired. i don't hear that hunger, man. i aint looking for him to go Busta Rhymes on the mic, but....that edge is missing. is it the lack of comp in the MC world? i don't know.

i'll give it some more listens (Game Theory won me over after more listens...well at least the 1st half of it did).

oh yeah....Mos Def and Kweli ripped their guest spots, man. I ain't hear Mos spit like that in years, man. Kweli had a little adrenaline in him too. Of course the god, Malik B, always brings it.

not feeling Wale or Porn at all.

Dice Raw is ripping the mic, though man. sounding nice. (although he could ease up on the r&b hooks though and make more rap hooks).

i really don't understand why Birthday Girl was taken off. It would fit right in with the album, imo.

i don't know, man. i hope it sells (i think it will). i think these joints would sound better in a live setting than it does in the studio-recorded setting, because seeing that interview on the web where they were playing some joints live in the listening seession, it sounded a lot better.

catch ya'll on the next one.