Tweet

Most people hate bugs. No one wants bugs in their houses, cars, or really anywhere that they are. The thing about many bugs is that it’s hard to decipher their purpose, and what positive connotations they may have. While I am among the anti-bug population, there is one specific bug that hails from Cincinnati and holds a distinct purpose and has tons of positive connotations. I’m talking about the BIG artist in hip-hop; Buggs Tha Rocka!

While that may have been an extremely cheesy introduction, I just wanted to be among the first that get to use the “bugs are bad but Buggs is good” intro, because when this guy gets extremely popular, bloggers will be using that left and right!

Now, let’s move onto talking about the rapper with the goofy name and his new album, Scattered Thoughts of an American Poet. For starters, Buggs Tha Rocka is one hell of an emcee! The guy is exceptionally talented when it comes to rhyming, and all throughout this album, he doesn’t fail to impress. What is it that makes him so talented? Well, Buggs is a very versatile rapper, and he’s a pure lyricist. His subject matter spans through all spectrums on this album, but even on tracks about cliché topics, he still has mind boggling rhymes that make every second of his verse enjoyable.

His lyrics are strong, and his delivery is above par. Along with his clever wordplay and flow, he also has a very unique style and charisma, and with a name like Buggs Tha Rocka, I’m sure that’s quite evident. Every track shows a different side of him, and let it be known that there are nineteen tracks on Scattered Thoughts, so Buggs is not short of dimensions. Though, some of the best tracks tend to be towards the front of the album simply because of the energy and tempo he uses. Additionally, there are a few features on the album, notably Tanya Morgan, Chuck Inglish, MOOD, Phoenix Aphrodite, and Piakhan. However, none of the features will blow any listeners away. They weren’t awful, nor were they great, just very average features that the album could have done without. Other than the features, there are very minimal gripes coming from me in regards to the vocal content on Scattered Thoughts.

A big attention grabber for this album is the producers credited with beats on the album. Guys such as !llmind, Hop Trax, Jake One, Sal Dali and Kill Will handle the bulk of the production and they do an outstanding job at creating beats that really match Buggs’ style. A lot of jazzy boom-bap beats, and as a whole, all the beats are very cohesive and add another aspect to the album that further improves the overall listening experience. Come to think of it, I don’t recall a bad beat on the album. Either that was the case, or Buggs just killed every beat and took the focus off the production. Whichever way, the production on Scattered Thoughts gets four out of five stars in my book.

Buggs is one of the guys that most listeners will probably be hesitant to hear, simply because at first glance, no one’s really sure what kind of rapper he’ll be. Though, on this album, he is quick to show everyone that is his own kind of rapper with many elements to his craft. He created a great piece of work, and although it could’ve gone without some of the features, Scattered Thoughts is still a really strong piece of work. A smooth listen that can get a bit jumpy in some areas, but nothing too extreme. Some strong raps and dope beats. What more do people want out of a free album? Take my advice, and get this project!

Click here to preview/download Buggs Tha Rocka “Scattered Thoughts of an American Poet”.

Tweet

The definition of Hip-Hop seems to vary from person to person. That is, if they haven’t heard Mega Philosophy by veteran emcee, Cormega. Mega Philosophy is an album entirely produced by Large Professor, and has the innate ability to make listeners forget everything they thought they knew about the genre. This project was released on July 22nd, of this year, and is panning out to be an underground instant classic.

Some rappers may have a nice, smooth flow but simple and cliche’ lyrics. Other times, rappers may have some insane and thought provoking rhymes, only to be paired with poor delivery and flow. Cormega falls into neither of these categories. The man is a five-tool player (baseball terminology) and has every quality people would want their favorite artist to have. Not only is Mega a great hybrid of both delivery and lyrics, but he also is a great storyteller. Sure any rhymer can say that the game isn’t what it used to be, but few can tell you a story of how it’s changed. There are truly no flaws to Mega’s arsenal, and there is just something about him that will really keep the listeners entertained. He does, however, incorporate a dose of consistency into his craft. That’s not to say that this is a flaw, just that Cormega has a formula that works, and he sticks to it

Mega Philosophy has no bad tracks whatsoever. This isn’t to say that there are no tracks that won’t affect listeners as much as others, just that the album is packed with quality songs only. One stand out track is the lead single for the album “Industry” and in this song Cormega is letting everyone know what the industry is really all about, all while a smooth, head-nod-inducing beat keeps the rhythm.

If anyone is looking for an emcee to put their talents on full display, then look no further than the track “Reflection.” This is simply forty-one seconds of lyrical bombs being dropped in the form of an a cappella spoken word poem that will boggle the mind of all who hit play.

Is it evident that Cormega is one hell of an emcee? Hopefully the point is anything but moot. To touch on the production of the album, Large Professor really had a great showing on Mega Philosophy. He did produce every track on the album, and boy did he produce them well! His style is boom-bap that takes influences from R&B, Soul, and Blues. While the production is extremely solid, it just didn’t seem to do as much as it could have in terms of keeping the listener on the edge of their seats. That may be in large part to the fact that a Cormega album is usually created with the lyrics first mentality. No matter, the beats are still some of the smoothest around, and that is something to brag about

Cormega is the do-it-all emcee, and Large Professor knows his way around a beat machine the way Jameis Winston knows his way around the seafood section of a grocery store (get it?). There isn’t much wrong with this album at all, and in fact, listeners will surely find one or two songs from the album to keep on repeat. Hopefully for all who listen to this project in it’s entirety, they can walk away feeling a little bit better knowing just what hip-hop really is.

Click here to preview/purchase Cormega “Mega Philosophy” via iTunes.