Love the album art on this one actually. Really a cool thing done with the smoke and light.
The title, according to Wiz, has a deeper meaning than just smoking papers. Er, sort of. It's about his contracts that came in when his career took off... and how he rolled up and smoked. It's also about him not using paper to really write anything. He jots notes and stuff, but doesn't ever write full songs down on paper.
This is Wiz's third independent album, and his first two Grammy nominations. And yes, I know how much that sounded like the announcer's voice over when someone wins an award.
"When I'm Gone" starts us off with this little pleasant piano intro that doesn't scare me away as much as I thought the album would. But the song, while having a cool background sound, is not about anything deep after death. It's just about spending money on drugs and alcohol before he's dead. No, seriously, that's what the song is about. Again, great backing music though.
"On My Level" (featuring Too Short) was released as one of the singles with this video:
"Black and Yellow" is the Grammy nominated song here, and what scored him both of the nods he got. Here's the video:
"Roll Up" is the next song, and the next video I have to share with y'all:
First track in a bit without a video, "Hopes & Dreams" is up next. There's this cool guitar at first, almost reminiscent of the oldies we were enjoying yesterday from Music City. But, of course, there's a DJ involved mixing it a little more. And it's kind of maybe about a stripper.
"Wake Up" has this pretty dreamy chorus and bridges. The raps are kind of shmeh, but the beat's pretty nice and fits. It's about making it in a career. Pretty cool to hear with someone who is managing to hit it bigger and bigger these days.
There is most definitely a lighter ignition at the beginning of "The Race." Ah, life and bitches y'all, life and bitches. Sorry, that's just what I'm getting from here. It's a little hard to relate to - go figure. Not a bad song in any way, just un-relatable a little bit. Not bad though.
"Star Of The Show" features Chevy Woods, and it kicks off with a phone conversation that I'm not sure entirely fits here. It's just a dude telling another dude to wake up. The song itself it about staying away from fake people, because everyone just wants to be famous. I guess if I had to look a little deeper into the artist, it's about his early career and the lessons he learned coming up.
The next one's another single, "No Sleep."
"Get Your Shit" has this fantastic beginning actually, totally mesmerizing. I actually wish it weren't a breakup song, because the lyrics kill it for me. The music throughout is really great though - the mix is fantastic. The rest of it's just hard to hear and enjoy. I understand he's actually pretty torn about it, but still.
I knew right from the start with this weird windy voice in the background that "Top Floor" was going to drive me insane. Honestly, just that one little element is literally giving me a headache.
It's okat though. "Fly Solo" brings in this sweet use of guitar and is a much better time. It's a rap song, but with so much good lighter rock behind it. It's entirely well done, and the subject matter is even pretty great. It's a good solo anthem and sort of encouraging even in the sad parts.
"Rooftops" featuring Curren$y is okay. It's a lot more of rising up from the bottom to the top of the heap in rap. It's a lot more of the same thing we hear a lot in rap. I guess that's the big thing in the genre - being able to make it to the fame.
The final song, "Cameras" has this really nice final feel to it as a whole. It's full of lyrics about the amazement of finally being where you wanted to be, and the journey there. Even the music feels like a good close out.
Added to My Playlist:
Full Spotify Listening Link
I'm surprised at how much I actually enjoyed this. It's not at all what I expected. It was light enough to remain enjoyable, but had enough rap and hardness to qualify in the category appropriately. The entire work was really well thought-out and compiled and I look forward to seeing where this goes and what's next.