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It's been a while since i did a review...yea this review is a little late, but i just recently got the album (it is a bit ironic i couldn't cop his album around my way, he is a local cat)...
"Straight out of Flushing it's the second coming."
Well, this is Yak Ballz second shot at solo material. The first being the revered Homepiss EP which helped propel Yak's career as an underground rapper. However, fans of Homepiss
should realize that the emcee who once spit lines like, "i'm a specialist in mic abusing/and brain intrusions/hold your neurons hostage so your sensory devices are forced to pay homage," has been replaced with a more gully ("the gulliest" as he puts it) and introspective Yak Ballz. How did this change pan out with Yak's debut LP on Eastern Conference Records?
This album contains 15 tracks (one of which is a skit), which are mostly produced by Mondee (Yak's "DJ Premier"), however Mighty Mi ("O.D.E." w/ Tame One) & Camu Tao (the grimy, anti establishment banger, "No Escape") also contribute tracks. As stated before, this is a different Yak, that we have witnessed since he remade 50 Cent's "In Da Club." The evidence? The track "Giddy Up" with the boisterous piano and chord loops. Yak is in full commercial mode, spitting about bitches, money and clubbing. "So dance girl and shake that ass like a ho/and if you're lucky i'll get up with you after the show," show a side of Yak that is keeping it real, without the concern of satisfying dictionary aficionados. However, the track ultimately comes off as a weak attempt at attracting the type of audience that plan their weekends getting smashed at the club. Are all of the tracks like this? No need to worry, Yak makes up.
On "Skywalker's Here," Yak rocks over a string laden, anxious, up tempo Mondee beat detailing nothing more than...Well, that Yak (Skywalker as he often calls himself) is here. In a see saw flow, he boasts "I Rap A Lot, so J Prince he probably bumping "Claim"/been expressing myself since Dre in NWA/the magazines they love him/they taking pictures of him/i put my middle finger up to them/and just so fuck them," and, "Bring it to Space with Star Trak/Neptunes they gon want Yak/put some money on that/Mariah, pour me some honey on that."
Another track to look for is "Queens Life," in which Yak talks about his life growing up in Flushing, Queens. Personally, i liked this track especially since i could relate to some of the things that he said (i also grew up and reside in Flushing). This Mondee beat is very sedate with a vocal loop, and feel of a large pro beat or classic nostalgic hip hop. My favorite lines: "I used to ball at Maple/My shot was water" (real shit; a park i balled at also) and "i watched the dice roll/the cash was immaculate/i saw the look in their eyes/the dough made them savages/and cats smoked L's in the back of buses/Large Pro, Mic Geronimo, and Flush all from Flushing." All topped off with various samples of Queens related rap lines in the hook, to tie in the track.
The collaborations are at a minimum, but there are a couple. The first being "Pimped Out" with Cage and Bobby Atlas, a track where Cage and Yak rap about pimping and keeping it pimp, while an annoying Bobby Atlas yells throughout the refrain. For a Cage and Yak track, this was somewhat disappointing, however, the Yak and Tame song was a different story. On "O.D.E." Yak and Tame create a somber yet uplifting joint dedicated to those lost and times past. Yak steals the show with his second verse dedicated to deceased friend, Jason Achodian (he also dedicates the album to, as indicated in the liner notes). Yak contemplates his friend's death with the following, "we never thought life existed beyond the block, when/we was young/we never thought we would die by the gun/and never thought/any of our moms would cry for sons/i wanna tell her not to cry anymore/dont hurt inside anymore/and she aint got to ask "Why?!" anymore."
Yak's material stretches from an attack on Hip Hop nerds ("Nerd Wars"), to an Arab vocal loop (suitable for the Iranian MC) Mondee beat detailing getting over a cheating broad ("Moving On..."), to the Amelie sampled banger, "Spy On You," which is about getting bitches again but from a more voyeuristic view (though with an uninspired hook, "Im in the back just sipping my cup/Not giving a fuck..."). However, the album ends with "Above And Beyond," with a very dreamy sort of hallucinogenic, simple Mondee beat, where Yak rhymes from the perspective of some one who is very high. However, it works; Yak comes through with a descriptive song for all weed heads, with the perfect sedated beat to just chill too.
So, Yak's solo debut LP does come off at times as an uninspired listen. However, the ratio of dope material to those instances of weak attempts at attracting a commercial audience is great. Yak doesn't change the world with this album, but he makes living in it much more pleasurable to the eardrum.
Rating: 4/5
"Straight out of Flushing it's the second coming."
Well, this is Yak Ballz second shot at solo material. The first being the revered Homepiss EP which helped propel Yak's career as an underground rapper. However, fans of Homepiss
should realize that the emcee who once spit lines like, "i'm a specialist in mic abusing/and brain intrusions/hold your neurons hostage so your sensory devices are forced to pay homage," has been replaced with a more gully ("the gulliest" as he puts it) and introspective Yak Ballz. How did this change pan out with Yak's debut LP on Eastern Conference Records?
This album contains 15 tracks (one of which is a skit), which are mostly produced by Mondee (Yak's "DJ Premier"), however Mighty Mi ("O.D.E." w/ Tame One) & Camu Tao (the grimy, anti establishment banger, "No Escape") also contribute tracks. As stated before, this is a different Yak, that we have witnessed since he remade 50 Cent's "In Da Club." The evidence? The track "Giddy Up" with the boisterous piano and chord loops. Yak is in full commercial mode, spitting about bitches, money and clubbing. "So dance girl and shake that ass like a ho/and if you're lucky i'll get up with you after the show," show a side of Yak that is keeping it real, without the concern of satisfying dictionary aficionados. However, the track ultimately comes off as a weak attempt at attracting the type of audience that plan their weekends getting smashed at the club. Are all of the tracks like this? No need to worry, Yak makes up.
On "Skywalker's Here," Yak rocks over a string laden, anxious, up tempo Mondee beat detailing nothing more than...Well, that Yak (Skywalker as he often calls himself) is here. In a see saw flow, he boasts "I Rap A Lot, so J Prince he probably bumping "Claim"/been expressing myself since Dre in NWA/the magazines they love him/they taking pictures of him/i put my middle finger up to them/and just so fuck them," and, "Bring it to Space with Star Trak/Neptunes they gon want Yak/put some money on that/Mariah, pour me some honey on that."
Another track to look for is "Queens Life," in which Yak talks about his life growing up in Flushing, Queens. Personally, i liked this track especially since i could relate to some of the things that he said (i also grew up and reside in Flushing). This Mondee beat is very sedate with a vocal loop, and feel of a large pro beat or classic nostalgic hip hop. My favorite lines: "I used to ball at Maple/My shot was water" (real shit; a park i balled at also) and "i watched the dice roll/the cash was immaculate/i saw the look in their eyes/the dough made them savages/and cats smoked L's in the back of buses/Large Pro, Mic Geronimo, and Flush all from Flushing." All topped off with various samples of Queens related rap lines in the hook, to tie in the track.
The collaborations are at a minimum, but there are a couple. The first being "Pimped Out" with Cage and Bobby Atlas, a track where Cage and Yak rap about pimping and keeping it pimp, while an annoying Bobby Atlas yells throughout the refrain. For a Cage and Yak track, this was somewhat disappointing, however, the Yak and Tame song was a different story. On "O.D.E." Yak and Tame create a somber yet uplifting joint dedicated to those lost and times past. Yak steals the show with his second verse dedicated to deceased friend, Jason Achodian (he also dedicates the album to, as indicated in the liner notes). Yak contemplates his friend's death with the following, "we never thought life existed beyond the block, when/we was young/we never thought we would die by the gun/and never thought/any of our moms would cry for sons/i wanna tell her not to cry anymore/dont hurt inside anymore/and she aint got to ask "Why?!" anymore."
Yak's material stretches from an attack on Hip Hop nerds ("Nerd Wars"), to an Arab vocal loop (suitable for the Iranian MC) Mondee beat detailing getting over a cheating broad ("Moving On..."), to the Amelie sampled banger, "Spy On You," which is about getting bitches again but from a more voyeuristic view (though with an uninspired hook, "Im in the back just sipping my cup/Not giving a fuck..."). However, the album ends with "Above And Beyond," with a very dreamy sort of hallucinogenic, simple Mondee beat, where Yak rhymes from the perspective of some one who is very high. However, it works; Yak comes through with a descriptive song for all weed heads, with the perfect sedated beat to just chill too.
So, Yak's solo debut LP does come off at times as an uninspired listen. However, the ratio of dope material to those instances of weak attempts at attracting a commercial audience is great. Yak doesn't change the world with this album, but he makes living in it much more pleasurable to the eardrum.
Rating: 4/5
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Good review Tone.
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