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MIXTAPE REVIEW: Enemy of the State

So, Lupe decided to bring a new mixtape, Enemy of the State: A Love Story, for Thanksgiving (as if turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, mac n cheese, and green beans weren’t enough).  After hearing him do his thing on Turnt Up and Say Something, I was excited to hear what else he had been cooking up in the lab… unfortunately, it appears as though it wasn’t much.

This isn’t a bad mixtape, but its definitely not his best work, and falls short of his own usually high standards.  First, this thing is short, even for a mixtape.  It’s only 12 tracks, one of which is an intro, one is a 0:20 skit, and one is an HP commercial (hey, its a recession right?).  But of the 9 actual songs, probably about 7 are hot.  That’s a good percentage, but I expected more (in terms of quantity) from Lupe who hasn’t had a whole lot of new music since 2007.  This definitely isn’t Fahrenheit 1/15 (I, II, or III).

It also sounds as tho he’s adopeted some weird accent, kinda like what Eminem did on Relapse.  I think he’s trying to create a distinct sound like Lil Wayne does, but he’s regular voice is unique enough.  I’m sure many people who listen to this will disagree, but I really think he’s dumbed down his lyrics a bit so that more people can keep up.  I’m more used to the Lupe that I’ll listen to the same song 19 times and on the 20th I’m still figuring stuff out lol.

I like Lupe, and I’m looking forward to the next tape (scheduled to drop Christmas ‘09), but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed by this outing.  At least its free.

WHAT’S HOT:

The National Anthem, Turnt Up, Yoga Flame, Say Somethin’, Thank You

WHAT’S NOT:

Angels Remix, So Ghetto

OVERALL: B

DOWNLOAD: Enemy of the State: A Love Story (shoutout to 2dopeboyz for the link)

Mobile App Spotlight: Twikini

With Twitter seeing a big boon in popularity, many apps have been released to help people share their day-to-day while on the go.  One of these really stands out, and that is Twikini, developed by Trinket Software.  Twikini runs on Windows Mobile, and is a fast, lightweight, yet powerful app that WinMo Twitter users would do well to check out.  I’ve used it for a few months and came away very impressed.  Twikini supports status updates (obviously), viewing your timeline, following users, sending/receiving direct messages, twitpics… it covers most of the functionality you’d find on the actual site.  Not to mention the streamlined interface lets you see what you want very quickly.  And Twikini offers several different themes, so you can pick the style that fits you best.

You can check out Twinkini here.  You can try it free for 14-days.  Peep it and and leave a comment about what you think about it!

The Drought Is Over: Friend$ With Money Review

There’s been a lot of buzz around new artist Drake.  So Far Gone could be considered mixtape of the year, and as such, people have been waiting to hear more for the Young Money signee.

Enter The Drought Is Over: Friend$ With Money.  While not an official Drake mixtape (this is a DJ mixtape produced by the Empire), it still features a lot tracks that haven’t been previously released or haven’t made their way onto any previous mixtapes.

Tracks like Overdose, I Want This Forever, Cannon Ball, and Smile do well to show off Drake’s *somewhat* unique style of blending singing (without Autotune) with rapping.  His flow still incredible, rap fans will find a lot to like about these tracks.

The disappointing part of this mixtape is that it isn’t all new and features a lot of tracks from So Far Gone (namely, Uptown, Successful, and Best I Ever Had).  In addition to old Drake tracks, Friend$ With Money also features some previously released tracks on which Drake is a feature (Every Girl, Get Like Me).  Although there is a lot of new stuff on this ‘tape, there’s also a lot of stuff that Drake followers will have undoubtedly heard already.

Still, I would recommend getting a hold of this mixtape…  The new stuff is worth it.  While not as good as So Far Gone, Friend$ With Money should help maintain the hype that surrounds Drake, and with Drake currently on tour and gearing up for his debut album drop, this mixtape serves it purpose wonderfully.

And now, what you’ve all been waiting for:  the download.   The Drought Is Over: Friend$ With Money.

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Maroon Radio – Week of 4.20