Its 5 p.m. and I’m rushing home from work, hoping that today is the day that I finally find MI2 to buy in traffic. And look! There it was!!! I could hardly contain myself. I bought the CD, and popped it into the player and I waited for the music to hit me. And I waited…and waited…and waited. And 5 complete listens later, I am still waiting.
I’m not gonna talk about the weak lines, or the punchlines that failed to punch. I’m not gonna talk about the errors that could have been corrected. I’m not gonna talk about the beats, of which a majority sounded like complete village tunes. A little too much funny drums and co. I’m not gonna talk about the skits…ooh the skits. Maybe I should. Seriously…who wrote those? Of what relevance were they to the album? I understand that it was supposed to be a “concept” album. But the skits… didn’t generally follow through. I am also not gonna talk about the use of auto-tune where it was totally irrelevant. Or maybe it was. I don’t know. And I’m not gonna talk about the obvious lack of attention to detail. That perhaps is the most glaring thing about this album, because someone, surely should have pointed out the obvious mistakes; especially how the album’s skits seemed to be losing direction.
I am instead gonna tell u what I was waiting for. I was waiting for music. The music that I have always believed was synonymous with MI Abaga. I was waiting for stories to relate to, melodies that I could dream to. I was waiting for rap verses that I’d be eager to learn, pressing pause after every line just so I can write them down. I was waiting for songs that would still be my favorites even after a whole year. That’s what I was waiting for. Reviews like these are perhaps the hardest to write. One reason why? Empathy for the artist. Because of a history of work that you have become attached to. But with that empathy comes the realization of the fact that its about a body of work. And in that body, the present is always the most important…Always.
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Hmmm..Loving this write uP!Mi2 has been the most anticipated so far!Still listening to it myself. Want it to grow! Thanks for the post Werunthings.com
no no no no, nooooo you cannot noooo, i cannot gr…noooo, who came with this write up, i meanyou sound like like you are stuck in that mi that did illegal music but man, he’s got to evolve and entertain so pls get over it. and don’t try to hold him back to some underground ish. meanwhile mi’s rap is enjoyable. so PLEAZzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
I have to agree with Yolar, yes, Underground Music was interesting for us ‘Hardcore Rap Heads’, but the truth of the matter, the album is enjoyable.
I don’t know about the skits, the cd I got only had that initial skit from track one.
try listening to the album via earphones(i’m dead serious)…mebbe thru an mp3 player ro sumthin …it grows on you man …thoroughly enjoyable …while still touching on major social themes …
I thoroughly disagree with this write up/ review esp when you talk about weak punchlines. MI2 was the most anticipated album and of a truth MI reinvented himself in this album. we can see a different side of him and therein lies the strength of an artist that will be relevant for a long time to come i.e. the ability to reinvent himself time and time again.
Seriously, d person dat wrote diz review doen’t know what he’s talking about. If, he thinks M.I2 is wack, he probably dunno anything about music. Did u listen 2 d track “number 1″. How many Nigerian rappers can combine rap with high-life?? Tracks lyk wild-wild west, Nobody, Unstoppable, Imperfect me were 4rm his heart and d lyrics were very emotional. U also saw M.I’s funny side in tracks lyk My head, my belle and beef. D track Action film was off d hook. Your review was biased, if u really know music u would not criticize M.I.
Spot on, bro. Know it’s hard to be this honest- peeps generally feel u should say only positive stuff no matter what but this keeps it real. M.I. is my numero uno artiste bar none but this album was nowhere near as crisp as Short Black Boy or wicked as Illegal Music.