The craze this week in the Hip Hop industry has been the release of Cruel Summer, plenty of hype on it. Atleast for me, it didnt meet my expectations that I expected from the talented GOOD music family. I started to think “what could have made it meet our expectations?” Here’s a quick list of what we came up with:
- q-tip – self-explanatory; he brings his own artistic vibe
- no i.d. production – this was sort of a no brainer. one of the best.
- more substance/balance – cover more subjects, do a storyline track, etc.
- less Big Sean and CyHi – Big Sean is just bland and CyHi just overconfident in what little skills he has
- mos def – self-explanatory; he brings his own artistic vibe
- more Common and Kanye – They barely had any verses, especially Common
- no ma$e feature – wtf? that verse was dry as hell, are you serious?
- more elaborate production – refer to last item on list
- more cohesion – it felt like 12 random songs burned onto a cd.
- trip to hawaii to record – we’ve seen what a trip to hawaii, focus and teamwork can create.
These are our thoughts, what about you? What would you have liked to hear more/less of on Cruel Summer?
Just My Thoughts 
Totally agree. Didn’t quite live up to the hype, but it was still pretty good as a first attempt for the label.
Here’s my review for it on my blog….followed you by the way!
http://jibjabble.wordpress.com/2012/09/18/1655/
Good points, nevertheless I think it’s getting a bit too much criticisms and the strong points of the album are being overlooked. Head over to my site if you get a second to read my favourable review. http://hiphophideout.wordpress.com
Have a good one!
Thanks for your input. Both of you make good points in your reviews. Decent first group compilation but more is desired.
Surprisingly, I thought Teyana Taylor was dope on the album. Especially on the song with John Legend, one of the highlights of the album in my opinion.
I’ve come to the conclusion there’s 2 sides to GOOD music, the Big Sean, Cyhi, 2 chainz, Pusha side and the Common, John Legend, Teyana Taylor side. Kanye makes his best music with the latter as opposed to the former.
I agree with you. Teyana Taylor has been impressive, “Bliss” is a hit. If they can find the right balance between the two, they could have something special.